CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 3 1924 101 156 929 
 
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THE 
 
 STANDARD LIBRARY 
 CYCLOPEDIA 
 
 POLITICAL, CONSTITUTIONAL, STATISTICAL 
 AND FOEENSIC KNOWLEDGE. 
 
 A WORK OF UNIVERSAL REFERENCE 
 
 ON SUBJECTS OF 
 
 CIVIL ADMINISTRATION, POLITICAL ECONOMY, FINANCE, 
 COMMERCE, LAWS AND SOCIAL RELATIONS. 
 
 IN FOUR VOLUMES. 
 VOL. II. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 1853. 
 
**>«■,■. 
 
 -Or, 
 
 IPrcr'ic White 
 
 <S- 
 
 M3r?.ry v . / 
 
 .*/ 
 
 PRINTED BY HAWUSON AND SONS, 
 
 IONDON GAZETTE OKK1CK, ST. MARTI.\'s l.ANK; 
 
 AND 
 
 ORCHARD STItKKT, WKSTMINSTKK. 
 
CATHEDRAL. 
 
 [ 457 ] CATHOLIC CHUECH. 
 
 CATHEDRAL. Certain churches are 
 called cathedrals or cathedral churches, 
 in consequence of having a seat of dignity 
 {cathedra, a Greek term for such a seat) 
 appropriated to a bishop or archbishop. 
 Thus there is the cathedral church of 
 Canterbury, the cathedral church of Nor- 
 wich, &c. The collegiate churches of Man- 
 chester and Ripon were constituted 
 cathedral churches of the new sees of 
 Manchester and Ripon by 6 & 7 Wm, 
 IV -c. 77, the act under which these sees 
 were created. 
 
 CATHOLIC CHUECH (Roman). 
 Although in ordinary language this name 
 is often used to designate the ruling au- 
 thority or power in the Catholic religion, 
 as if distinct from the members of that 
 communion, yet the definition which Ca- 
 tholics give of the church is such as to 
 comprehend the entire body of its mem- 
 bers as well as its rulers, the flock as 
 much as the shepherds. Thus we hear 
 of Catholics being under the dominion of 
 their church, or obliged to obey it, as 
 though it were something distinct ,from 
 themselves, or as if they were not a part 
 of their church. This preliminary remark 
 is made to explain a certain vagueness of 
 expression, which often leads to misap- 
 prehension, and serves as the basis of in- 
 correct ideas regarding the peculiar doc- 
 trines of that church. The Catholic 
 church therefore is defined to be the com- 
 munity of the faithful united to their law- 
 ful pastors, in communion with the see of 
 Rome, or with the pope, the successor of 
 St. Peter and vicar of Christ on earth. 
 
 Simply developing the terms of this 
 definition, we will give a brief sketch of 
 the constitution or fundamental system of 
 ■this church under the leads of its govern- 
 ment, its laws, and its vital or constitutive 
 principle. 
 
 I. The government of the Catholic 
 church may be considered monarchical, 
 inasmuch as the pope is the ruler over 
 the entire church, and the most distant 
 bishop of the Catholic church holds his 
 appointment from him, and receives from 
 him his authority. No bishop can be 
 considered lawfully consecrated without 
 his approbation. The dignity or office of 
 pope is inherent in the occupant of the 
 bee of Rome, because the supremacy over 
 
 the church is believed to be held in virtue 
 of a commission given to St. Peter, not as 
 his own personal prerogative, but as a 
 part of the constitution of the church, for 
 its advantage, and therefore intended to 
 descend to his successors; as the epis- 
 copal power did from the apostles to 
 those who succeeded them in their respec- 
 tive sees. 
 
 The election of the pope, therefore, de- 
 volves upon the clergy of Rome, as being 
 their bishop ; and it is confided to the col- 
 lege of cardinals, who, bearing the titles 
 of the eldest churches in that city, repre- 
 sent its clergy, and form their chapter or 
 electoral body. The meeting or chapter 
 formed for this purpose alone is called a 
 conclave. The cardinals are appointed by 
 the pope, and compose the executive 
 council of the church. They preside over 
 the various departments of ecclesiastical 
 government, and are divided into boards 
 or congregations, as they are called, for 
 the transaction of business from all parts 
 of the world ; but every decision is sub- 
 ject to the pope's revision, and has no 
 value except from his approbation. On 
 some occasions they are all summoned to 
 meet the pope on affairs of higher import- 
 ance, as for the nomination of bishops, or 
 the admission of new members into their 
 body; and then the assembly is called a 
 consistory. The full number of cardinals 
 is seventy, but there are always some 
 hats left vacant. 
 
 The Catholic church, being essentially 
 episcopal, is governed by bishops, who are 
 of two sorts, bishops in ordinary, and 
 vicars apostolic. By the first are meant 
 titular bishops, or such as bear the name 
 of the see over which they rule ; as the 
 Archbishop of Paris, or of Dublin ; the 
 Bishop of Cambray, or of New Orleans. 
 The manner of appointing such bishops 
 varies considerably. When they are un- 
 shackled by the government, the clergy 
 of the diocese meet in chapter, according 
 to old forms, and having selected three 
 names, forward them to the Holy See, 
 where one is chosen for promotion. This 
 is the case in Ireland, Belgium, and per- 
 haps in the free states of America. In 
 most countries however the election of 
 bishops is regulated by concordat, that is, 
 a special agreement between the pope and 
 *2c 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH. |_ 458 J CATHOLIC CHURCH. 
 
 the civil government. The presentation 
 is generally vested in the crown; but 
 the appointment must proceed from the 
 pope. 
 
 The powers of bishops, and the manner 
 of exercising their authority, are regu- 
 lated by the canon law ; their jurisdiction 
 on every point is clear and definite, and 
 leaves no room for arbitrary enactments 
 or oppressive measures. Yet it is of such 
 a character as, generally considered, can 
 perfectly control the inferior orders of 
 clergy, and secure them to the discharge 
 of their duty. In most Catholic coun- 
 tries there is a certain degree of civil 
 jurisdiction allowed to the bishops, with 
 judicial powers, in matters of a mixed 
 character; as in cases appertaining to 
 marriages, where a distinction between 
 civil and ecclesiastical marriage has not 
 been drawn by the legislature. Some 
 offences connected with religion, as blas- 
 phemy or domestic immorality, are like- 
 wise brought under their cognizance. 
 
 Where the succession of the Catholic 
 hierarchy has been interrupted, as in 
 England, or never been established, the 
 bishops who superintend the Catholic 
 church and represent the papal authority 
 are known by the name of vicars apos- 
 tolic. A vicar apostolic is not necessarily 
 a bishop — an instance of which we had a 
 few years ago at Calcutta — where the vicar 
 apostolic was a simple priest. Generally, 
 however, he receives episcopal consecra- 
 tion ; and, as from local circumstances, it is 
 not thought expedient that he should bear 
 the title of the see which he administers, 
 he is appointed with the title of an an- 
 cient bishopric now in the hands of in- 
 fidels, and thus is called a bishop in par- 
 tibus infidelium, though the last word is 
 often omitted in ordinary language. A 
 vicar apostolic, being generally situated 
 where the provisions of the ca.id law 
 cannot be fully observed, is guided by 
 particular instructions, by precedents and 
 consuetude, to which all the uniformity 
 of discipline through the Catholic church 
 gives stability and security. Thus the 
 vicars apostolic, who rule over the four 
 episcopal districts of England, have their 
 code in the admirable constitution of Pope 
 Benedict XIV., beginning with the words 
 Apnffolicum ministerium. The powers of 
 
 a vicar apostolic are necessarily more 
 extended than those of ordinary bishops, 
 and are ampler in proportion to the diffi- 
 culty of keeping up a close communica- 
 tion with Rome. Thus many cases of 
 dispensation in marriage which a conti- 
 nental bishop must send to the Holy See 
 may be provided for by an English or 
 American vicar apostolic ; and other simi- 
 lar matters, for which these must consult 
 it, could at once be granted by the eccle- 
 siastical superiors of the Mauritius or of 
 China. The nomination of vicars apos- 
 tolic is solely with the pope. 
 
 The inferior clergy, considered in re- 
 ference to the government of the church, 
 consists mainly of the parochial clergy, 
 or those who supply their place. In all 
 countries possessing a hierarchy, the 
 country is divided into parishes, each 
 provided with a parochus or curate,* who 
 corresponds to the rector or vicar of the 
 English established church. The ap- 
 pointment to a parish is vested in the 
 bishop, who has no power to remove 
 again at will, or for any cause except a 
 canonical offence juridically proved. The 
 right of presentation by lay patrons is, 
 however, in particular instances fully 
 respected. In Italy the parish priests 
 are generally chosen by competition : upon 
 a vacancy, a day is appointed on which 
 the testimonials of the different candi- 
 dates are compared, .and they are ex- 
 amined before the bishop in theology, the 
 exposition of scripture, and extempora- 
 neous preaching; and whoever is pro- 
 nounced, by ballot, superior to the rest, 
 is chosen. 
 
 Under an apostolic vicariate, the clergy 
 corresponding to the parochial clergy 
 generally bear the title of apostolic mis- 
 sionaries, and have missions or local dis- 
 tricts with variable limits placed under 
 their care ; but are dependent upon the 
 will of their ecclesiastical superiors. 
 
 Besides the parochial clergy, there is a 
 considerable body of ecclesiastics, who 
 do not enter directly into the governing 
 
 • The parish priest in Ireland corresponds to 
 the cure in France, thecurato (or, in the country, 
 arciprete) of Ilaly, and the ciira of Spain. The 
 curate in Ireland, us in the church of England, is 
 equivalent to the vieaire of France und the sotto- 
 curato of Italy. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH. £ 469 ] CATHOLIC CHURCH. 
 
 part of the church, although they help to 
 discharge some of its most important 
 functions. A great number of secular 
 clergy are devoted to the conduct of edu- 
 cation, either in universities or semi- 
 naries; many occupy themselves exclu- 
 sively with the pulpit, others with in- 
 structing the poor, or attending charitable 
 institutions. A certain number also fill 
 prebends, or attend to the daily service of 
 cathedrals, &c. ; for in the Catholic church 
 pluralities, where the cure of souls exists, 
 are strictly prohibited, and consequently 
 a distinct body of clergy from those en- 
 gaged in parochial duties, or holding 
 rectories, &c, is necessary for those duties. 
 Besides this auxiliary force, the regular 
 clergy, or monastic orders, take upon 
 them many of these functions. The 
 clergy of the Catholic church in the west 
 are bound by a vow of celibacy, not for- 
 mally made, but implied in their ordina- 
 tion as sub-deacons. This obligation of 
 celibacy is only reckoned among the dis- 
 ciplinary enactments of the church. The 
 clergy of that portion of the Greek and 
 Armenian church which is united in 
 communion with the see of Rome may 
 be married ; that is, may receive orders 
 if married, but are not allowed to marry 
 after having taken orders. A similar 
 discipline, if thought expedient by the 
 church, might be introduced into the West. 
 The only point concerning the govern- 
 ment of the Catholic church which re- 
 mains to be mentioned is the manner in 
 which it is exercised. The most solemn 
 tribunal is a general council, that is, an 
 assembly of all the bishops of the church, 
 who may attend either in person or by 
 deputy, under the presidency of the pope 
 or his legates. When once a decree has 
 passed such an assembly, and received 
 the approbation of the Holy See, there is 
 no further appeal. Distinction must be, 
 however, made between doctrinal and dis- 
 ciplinary decrees ; for example, when in 
 Ihe Council of Trent it was decreed to be 
 Ihe doctrine of the church that marriage 
 .6 indissoluble, this decree is considered 
 binding in the belief and on the conduct, 
 nor can its acceptance be refused by any 
 one without his being considered rebel- 
 lious to the church. But when it is or- 
 dered that marriages must be celebrated 
 
 only in presence of the parish priest, this 
 is a matter of discipline not supposed to 
 rest on the revelation of God, but dic- 
 tated by prudence; and consequently a 
 degree of toleration is allowed regarding 
 the adoption of the resolution in particu- 
 lar dioceses. -It is only with regard to 
 such decrees, and more specifically the 
 one we have mentioned, that the Council 
 of Trent is said to have been received, or 
 not, in different countries. 
 
 When a general council cannot be sum- 
 moned, or when it is not deemed neces- 
 sary, the general government of the 
 church is conducted by the pope, whose 
 decisions in matters of discipline are con- 
 sidered paramount, though particular sees 
 and countries claim certain special privi- 
 leges and exemptions. In matters of 
 iaith it is admitted that if he issue a de- 
 cree, as it is called, ex cathedra, or as 
 head of the church, and all the bishops 
 accept it, such a definition or decree is 
 binding and final.* 
 
 The discipline or reformation of smaller 
 divisions is performed by provincial or 
 diocesan synods. The first consist of the 
 bishops of a province under their metro- 
 politan ; the latter, of the parochial and 
 other clergy under the superintendence 
 of the bishop. The forms to be observed 
 in 6uch assemblies, the subjects which 
 may be discussed, and the extent of juris- 
 diction which may be assumed, are laid 
 down at full in a beautiful work of the 
 learned Benedict XIV., entitled ' De Sy- 
 nodo Dicecesana.' The acts and decrees 
 of many such partial synods have been 
 published, and are held in high esteem 
 among Catholics ; indeed, they may be 
 recommended as beautiful specimens of 
 deliberative wisdom. Such are the de- 
 crees of the various synods held at Milan 
 under the virtuous and amiable St. Charles 
 Borromeo. 
 
 II. The laws of the Catholic church 
 
 • The great difference between the Transalpine 
 and the Cisalpine divines, as they are termed, is 
 whether such a decree has its force prior to, or 
 independent of, the accession of the body of bi- 
 shops to il, or receives its sanction and binding 
 liower from their acceptance. Pi actically there 
 is little or no difference between the two opinions ; 
 yet this slieht variety forms a principal ground- 
 work of what are called ihe liberties of the Gal- 
 lican cnurcj- 
 
CATHOLIC CHUECH. [ 460 ] CATHOLIC CHURCH. 
 
 maybe divided into two classes; those 
 which bind the interior, and those which 
 regulate outward conduct. This distinc- 
 tion, which corresponds to that above 
 made between doctrinal and disciplinary 
 decrees, may appear unusual, as the term 
 laws seems hardly applicable to forms of 
 thought or belief. Still, viewing the 
 Catholic church under the form of an 
 organized religious society, and consider- 
 ing that it professes to be divinely au- 
 thorized to exact interior assent to all that 
 it teaches, under the penalty of being 
 separated from its communion, we think 
 we cau well classify under the word law 
 those principles and doctrines which it 
 commands and expects all its members to 
 profess. 
 
 Catholics often complain that doctrines 
 are hid to their charge which they do 
 not hold, and in their various publications 
 protest against their belief being assumed 
 upon any except authoritative documents; 
 and as such works are perfectly accessible, 
 the complaint is reasonable and just. There 
 are several works in which an accurate 
 account is given of what Catholics are 
 expected to believe, and which caretully 
 distinguish between those points on which 
 latitude of opinion is allowed, and such 
 as have been fully and decisively decreed 
 by the supreme authority of the church. 
 Such are Veron's ' Regula Fidei,' or 
 Rule of Faith, a work lately translated 
 into English, and Halden's 'Analysis 
 Fidei.' But there are documents of more 
 authority than these ; for example, the 
 ' Declaration' set forth by the vicars apos- 
 tolic or bishops in England, in 1823, often 
 republished ; and still more the ' Cate- 
 chismns ad Parochos,' or ' Catechism of the 
 Council of Trent,' translated into Eng- 
 lish not many years ago, and published 
 in Dublin. A perusal of such works as 
 these will satisfy those who are desirous 
 of full and accurate information regard- 
 ing Catholic tenets, of their real nature, 
 and show that the popular expositions of 
 their substance and character are gene- 
 rally incorrect. 
 
 The formulary of faith, which persons 
 becoming members of the Catholic church 
 are expected to recite, and which is sworn 
 to upon taking any degree, or being ap- 
 pointed to a chair in a university, is the 
 
 creed of Pius IV., of which the following 
 is the substance : — 
 
 The preamble runs as follows • " I, 
 N. N., with a firm faith believe and pro- 
 fess all and every one of those things 
 which are contained in that creed which 
 the holy Roman church maketh use of." 
 Then follows the Nicene creed. 
 
 " I most steadfastly admit and embrace 
 apostolical and ecclesiastical traditions, 
 and all other observances and constitu- 
 tions of the same church. 
 
 " I also admit the holy scriptures, ac- 
 cording to that sense which our holy 
 mother the church has held and does 
 hold, to which it belongs to judge of the 
 true sense and interpretation of 3ie scrip- 
 tures : neither will I ever take and inter- 
 pret them otherwise than according to 
 the unanimous consent of the fathers. 
 
 " I also profess that there are truly and 
 properly seven sacraments of the new 
 law, instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, 
 and necessary for the salvation of man- 
 kind, though not all for every one, to 
 wit : baptism, confirmation, the eueharist, 
 penance,* extreme unction, holy orders, f 
 and matrimony : and that they confer 
 grace; and that of these, baptism, con- 
 firmation, and orders caunot be reiterated 
 without sacrilege. I also receive and 
 admit the received and approved ceremo- 
 nies of the Catholic Church, used in the 
 solemn administration of the aforesaid 
 sacraments. 
 
 " I embrace and receive all and every 
 one of the things which have been defined 
 and declared in the holy Council of 
 Trent, concerning original sin and jus- 
 tification. 
 
 "I profess likewise that in the mass 
 there is offered to God a true, proper, 
 and propitiatory sacrifice for the living 
 
 * Under penance is included confession ; as 
 the Catholic sacrament of penance consists of 
 three parts : contrition or sorrow, confession, and 
 satisfaction. 
 
 f 'Hie clerical orders of the Catholic church 
 are divided into two classes, saerfd and minor 
 orders. The first consists of suhdeacous, dea- 
 con-, and priests, who are bound to celibacy and. 
 the daily recitation of the Breviary, or collectiun 
 of psalms and prayers, occupying a considerable 
 time. The minor orders are fuur in number, and 
 are preceded by the Umsuie, an ecclesiastical 
 ceremony in which the hair i» shorn, ln.tiator} to 
 the ecclcsi.iatical state. 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH. [ 461 J CATHOLIC CHURCH. 
 
 and the dead : and that in the most holy 
 sacrament of the eucharist there is truly, 
 really, and substantially, the body and 
 blood, together with the soul and divinity 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and that there 
 is made a change of the whole substance 
 of the bread into the body, and of the 
 whole substance of the wine into the 
 blood, which change the Catholic church 
 calls transubslantiation. I also confess that 
 under either kind alone Christ is received 
 whole and entire, and a true sacrament. 
 
 " I firmly hold that there is a purgatory, 
 and that the souls therein detained are 
 helped by the suffrages of the faithful. 
 
 " Likewise, that the saints reigning 
 with Christ are to be honoured and invo- 
 cated, and that they offer up prayers to 
 God for us ; and that their relics are to 
 be had in veneration. 
 
 " I most firmly assert that the images 
 of Christ, of the mother of God, and also 
 of other saints, ought to be had and re- 
 tained, and that due honour and venera- 
 tion are to be given them. 
 
 " I also affirm that the power of indul- 
 gences was left by Christ in the church, 
 and that the use of them is most whole- 
 some to Christian people. 
 
 " I acknowledge the holy Catholic 
 Apostolic Roman church for the mother 
 and mistress of all churches : and I pro- 
 mise true obedience to the bishop of 
 Rome, successor to St. Peter, prince of 
 the apostles and vicar of Jesus Christ." 
 
 Then follow clauses condemnatory of 
 all contrary doctrines, and expressive of 
 adhesion to all the definitions of the 
 Council of Trent. 
 
 It is obvious that this form of confes- 
 sion was framed in accordance to the 
 decrees of that council, and consequently 
 has chiefly in view the opinions of those 
 who followed the Reformation. 
 
 Such is the doctrinal code of the Catho- 
 lic church; of its moral doctrines we 
 need not say anything, because no autho- 
 rised document could be well referred to 
 that embodies them all. There are many 
 decrees of popes condemnatory of im- 
 moral opinions or propositions, but no 
 positive decrees. The moral law, as 
 taught in the Catholic church, is mainly 
 the same as other denominations of Chris- 
 tians profess to follow. 
 
 Of the disciplanary or governing code 
 we have already spoken, when we ob- 
 served that it consisted of the Canon Law, 
 which, unlike the doctrinal and moral 
 code, may vary with time, place, and ac- 
 cidental circumstances. 
 
 III. The last head was the essential 
 or constitutive principle of the Catholic 
 church. By this we mean that principle 
 which gives it individuality, distinguishes 
 it from other religions, pervades all its 
 institutions, and gives the answer to every 
 query regarding the peculiar constitution, 
 outward and inward, of this church. 
 
 Now, the fundamental position, the 
 constitutive principle of the Catholic 
 ehurch, is the doctrine and belief that 
 God has promised, and consequently be- 
 stows upon it, a constant and perpetual 
 protection, to the extent of guaranteeing 
 it from destruction, from error, or fatal 
 corruption. This principle once admitted, 
 everything else follows. 1. The infal- 
 libility of the church in its decisions on 
 matters concerning faith. 2. The obli- 
 gation of submitting to all these deci- 
 sions, independently of men's own private 
 judgments or opinions. 3. The authority 
 of tradition, or the unalterable character 
 of all the doctrines committed to the 
 church ; and hence the persuasion that 
 those of its dogmas, which to others 
 appear strange and unscriptural, have 
 been in reality handed down, uncor- 
 rupted, since the time of the apostles, 
 who received them from Christ's teach- 
 ing. 4. The necessity of religious unity, 
 by perfect uniformity of belief: and 
 thence as a corollary the sinfulness of 
 wilful separation or schism, and culpable 
 errors or heresy. 5. Government by 
 authority, since they who are aided and 
 supported by such a promise must neces- 
 sarily be considered appointed to direct 
 others, and are held as the representatives 
 and vicegerents of Christ in the church. 
 6. The papal supremacy, whether consi- 
 dered as a necessary provision for the 
 preservation of this essential unity, or *s 
 the principal depository of the divine 
 promises. 7. In fine, the authority of 
 councils, the right to enact canons and 
 ceremonies, the duty of repressing all 
 attempts to broach new opinions; in a 
 word, all that system of rule and author 
 
CATHOLIC CHURCH. [ 402 ] CATHOLIC CHUECH. 
 
 ritative teaching which must strike every 
 one as the leading feature in the consti- 
 tution of the Catholic church. 
 
 The differences, therefore, between this 
 and other religions, however complicated 
 and numerous they may at first sight 
 appear, are thus narrowed to one ques- 
 tion : for particular doctrines must share 
 the fate of the dogmas above cited, as 
 forming the constitutive principle of the 
 Catholic religion. This religion claims 
 for itself a complete consistency from its 
 first principle to its last consequence, and 
 to its least institution, and finds fault with 
 others, as though they preserved forms, 
 dignities, and doctrines winch must have 
 sprung from a principle by them rejected, 
 but which are useless and mistaken the 
 moment they are disjoined from it. Be 
 this as it may, the constitution of the 
 Catholic church should seem to possess, 
 what is essential to every moral organized 
 body, a principle of vitality which ac- 
 counts for all its actions, and determines 
 at once the direction and the intensity of 
 all its functions. 
 
 We conclude this account of the Ca- 
 tholic church with a sketch of the extent 
 of its dominions, by enumerating the 
 countries which profess its doctrines, 
 or which contain considerable commu- 
 nities under its obedience. In Europe, 
 Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, 
 the Austrian empire, including Hun- 
 gary, Bavaria, Poland, and the Rhenish 
 provinces of Prussia, which formerly 
 belonged to the ecclesiastical electorates, 
 profess the Catholic religion as that of 
 the state, or, according to the expression 
 of the French charte, that of the majority 
 of the people. In America, all the coun- 
 tries which once formed part of the 
 Spanish dominions, both in the southern 
 and northern portion of the continent, 
 and which are now independent states, 
 profess exclusively the same religion. 
 The empire of Brazil is also Catholic. 
 Lower Canada and all those islands in 
 the West Indies which belong to Spain or 
 France, including the Republic of Haiti, 
 profess the Catholic faith ; and there are 
 also considerable Catholic communities 
 in the United States of North America, 
 especially in Maryland and Louisiana. 
 Many Indian tribes, in the Canadas, in 
 
 the United States, in California, and in 
 South America, have embraced the same 
 faith. In Asia there is hardly any nation 
 professing Christianity which does not 
 contain large communities of Catholic 
 Christians. Thus in Syria the entire 
 nation or tribe of the Maronites, dispersed 
 over Mount Libanus, are subjects of the 
 Roman see, governed by a patriarch and 
 bishops appointed by it. There are also 
 other Syriac Christians under other 
 bishops, united to the same see, who an 
 dispersed all over Palestine and Syria. 
 At Constantinople there is a Catholic 
 Armenian patriarch who governs the 
 united Armenians as they are called, 
 large commuuities of whom also exist in 
 Armenia proper. The Abbe Dubois, in 
 his examination before a committee of 
 the House of Commons in 1832, stated 
 the number of Catholics in the Indian 
 peninsula at 600,000, including Ceylon, 
 and this number was perhaps rather 
 underrated than otherwise. There are at 
 present an archbishop who is vicar apo- 
 stolic of Bengal, bishops who are vicars 
 apostolic of Madras, Bombay, and Ceylon 
 respectively, and they are assisted by co- 
 adjutor bishops. [Bishopric] A new 
 one has been added for Ceylon. We have 
 not the means- of ascertaining the number 
 of Catholics in China, but in the province 
 of Su-Chuen .alone they were returned, 
 22nd September, 1824, at 47,487 (Annales 
 de la Propag. de la Fed, No. XI. p. 257) ; 
 and an official report published at Rome 
 in the same year gives those in the pro- 
 vinces of Fo-kien and Kiansi at 40,000. 
 There are seven other provinces contain- 
 ing a considerab.e number of Catholics, 
 of which we have no return. In the 
 united empire of Tonkin and Cochin- 
 China the Catholics of one district were 
 estimated at 200,000 {Ibid, No. X. p. 
 194), and, till the late persecution, there 
 was a college with 200 students, and con- 
 vents containing 700 religious. Another 
 district gave a return, in 1826, of 2955 
 infants baptized, which would give an 
 estimate of 88,000 adult Christians. A 
 third gave a return of 170,000. M. Du- 
 bois estimates the number of native 
 Catholics in the Philippine Islands at 
 2,000,000. In Africa, the islands of 
 Mauritius and Bourbon are Catholic, and 
 
CAVALRY. 
 
 [463 ] 
 
 CAVALRY. 
 
 all the Portuguese settlements on the 
 coast, as well as the Azores, Madeira, 
 the Cape Verd, and the Canary Islands. 
 
 CAUCUS, a word in use in the United 
 States of North Ameria, which is applied 
 to public meetings which are held for the 
 purpose of agreeing upon candidates to 
 be proposed for election to offices, or to 
 concert measures for supporting a party, 
 or any measure of a public or local na- 
 ture ; but its use is more generally con- 
 fined to meetings of a political character. 
 The word is to be found in nearly every 
 American newspaper, and the ' American 
 Cyclopaedia' states that it is one of the 
 very few * Americanisms' which belong 
 entirely to the United States. It is used 
 in Gordon's ' History of the American 
 Revolution,' published in London in 1 788. 
 Gordon says, that more than fifty years 
 prior to the time of his writing, " Samuel 
 Adams' father, and twenty others in Bos- 
 ton, one or two from the north end of the 
 town, where all ship business is carried 
 on, used to meet, make a caucus, &c." 
 It has therefore been supposed that " cau- 
 cus" was a corruption of " caulkers," the 
 word meeting being understood. 
 
 CAVALRY (remotely from the Latin 
 caballus, ' a horse') is that class of troops 
 which serve on horseback. In the British 
 army it consists of the two regiments 
 of Life Guards, the royal regiment of 
 Horse Guards, seven regiments of Dra- 
 goon Guards, and seventeen regiments of 
 Light Dragoons, of which the 7th, 8th, 
 10th, 11th, and 15th are Hussars, and 
 the 9th, 12th, 16th, and 17th are Lancers. 
 A complete regiment of cavalry is divided 
 into four squadrons, and each of these 
 into two troops. The full strength of a 
 troop is 80 men ; and to each troop there 
 is appointed a captain, a lieutenant, and a 
 cornet. 
 
 The charge of the regimental establish- 
 ments of the Life and Horse Guards in 
 the year 1845, was — Life Guards, each re- 
 giment 29,8032. ; Horse Guards, 26,295/. 
 The number of rank and file in each of 
 these regiments is 351; non-commis- 
 sioned officers, trumpeters, and drummer 
 53 ; officers 32 : total 436. The pay in 
 the Life and Horse Guards is higher in 
 every grade than for the cavalry of the 
 line. 1 ourteep regiments of dragoons cost 
 
 altogether 239,4422. One regiment of 
 Dragoon Guards (the 1st) contains 479 
 of all ranks, and costs 22,264/. The 
 cost of six regiments of Light Dragoons, 
 each with 791 officers and men, in service 
 in India, is defrayed by the East India 
 Company, and amounts to 34,6382. per 
 annum for each regiment. The cavalry 
 in the pay of this country for 1844-5 was 
 7970 officers and men, out of a standing 
 army of 99,707, exclusive of cavalry in 
 India; or including the Queen's troops in 
 India, the charge for cavalry for 1844-5 
 was — 
 
 808 Officers £190,322 
 
 1059 Non-Commissioned Officers 44,382 
 9634 Rank and File 235,519 
 
 £470,223 
 Dragoons are a species of light cavalry 
 trained to act either on horseback or on 
 foot as may be required. They appear 
 to have been introduced into the English 
 service before the middle of the seven- 
 teenth century ; but the oldest regiment 
 of dragoons in the army is that of the 
 Scotch Greys, which was raised in 1681. 
 Dragoons perform the duty of advanced 
 guards and patroles ; they escort convoys, 
 and harass the enemy in his retreat ; or, 
 in reverses of fortune, they protect the 
 dispersed and defeated infantry. The 
 name Dragoon appears to come from the 
 Latin Draconarius, the appellation given 
 to a standard-bearer, who carried a 
 standard or colour with the figure of a 
 dragon on it. (Ammianus Marcell. xx. 
 4, and the notes in the edition of J. Gro- 
 novius ; Vegetius, ii. 7.) 
 
 Hussars are also a species of light ca- 
 valry, which originally constituted the 
 national militia of Poland and Hungary. 
 They are usually employed to protect re- 
 connoitring and foraging parties, and to 
 serve as patroles. 
 
 The Lancers were introduced into the 
 British service in order to correspond to 
 the corps of what were called Polish 
 Lancers in the French army. The long 
 lance carried by this class of troops was 
 supposed to be of use in a charge against 
 infantry ; and the fluttering of the flag at 
 the extremity of the lance, by alarming 
 the horse, to give an advantage over a 
 dragoon otherwise armed. 
 
CENSUS. 
 
 [ 464 ] 
 
 CENSUS. 
 
 In the late war a portion of the French 
 cavalry was furnished with cuirasses, and, 
 in imitation of them, the English Life 
 Guards and Horse Guards have since 
 borne the same heavy armour. These 
 troops carry a sword, two pistols, and a 
 carabine; the heavy cavalry in general 
 carry carabines, pistols, and swords ; and 
 the light cavalry very small carabines, 
 pistols, and sabres. 
 
 In the French budget for 1845-6, the 
 estimate for the army was for 81,689 
 horses and 340,000 men. There are 
 fifty-four regiments of cavalry, of five 
 squadrons each, in the French service, 
 besides four regiments (the African Chas- 
 seurs), each composed of six squadrons. 
 The fifty-four regiments consist of — Cara- 
 biniers 2; Cuirassiers 10; Dragoons 12; 
 Lancers 8; Chasseurs 13; and Hussars 
 9 regiments. 
 
 In the Austrian service the number of 
 regiments of Cavalry of the line is 37 : 
 Cuirassiers 8 ; Dragoons 6 ; Light-horse 
 7 ; Hussars 12 ; Uhlans, 4. 
 
 The Russian cavalry in 1835 consisted 
 of 86,800 men, besides 4000 Cossacks. 
 
 The Prussian cavalry in 1843 amounted 
 to 19,960 men. 
 
 CEMETERY. [Interment.] 
 
 CENSOR. [Census, Roman.] 
 
 CENSORSHIP OF THE PRESS. 
 [Press.] 
 
 CENSUS, THE, at Rome, was anum- 
 bering of the Roman people, and a valua- 
 tion of their property. It was held in the 
 Campus Martius, after the year b.c. 432. 
 (Liv. iv. 22; Varro, De It. R. iii. 11.) 
 Every Roman citizen was obliged, upon 
 oath, to give in a statement of his own 
 name and age, of the name and age of his 
 wife, children, slaves, and freedmen, if he 
 had any. The punishment for a false re- 
 turn was, that the individual's property 
 should be confiscated, and he himself 
 scourged and sold for a slave. Taxation 
 depended on the results of the census; 
 many kinds of property were excepted, 
 while, on the other hand, some sorts of 
 property were assessed at several times 
 their value. Constant changes were made 
 by successive censors i,i the valuation 
 of taxable property. Cato and Flaccus 
 rated the taxable value of high-priced 
 slaves at ten times the purchase-money. 
 
 (Niebuhr, ii. 402.) It appears from a 
 passage in Livy (vi. 27) that the census 
 also showed the amount of a man's debts 
 and the names of his creditors. 
 
 According to the valuation of their pro- 
 perty at the census, the citizens were di- 
 vided into six classes; each class con- 
 tained a number of centuries or hundreds. 
 That a century did not always consist of 
 a hundred men is clear, from the fact that 
 the richest centuries were the most nu- 
 merous, and consequently must individu- 
 ally have contained fewer persons than 
 the centuries of the poor. {Hist, of Rome, 
 by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful 
 Knowledge, p. 21.) The first class con- 
 sisted of those whose property amounted 
 to 100,000 ases, about 3222. 18s. of Eng- 
 lish money : the second class consisted of 
 persons worth 75,000 ases ; the fortune of 
 the third class amounted to 50,000 ases ; 
 that of the fourth to 25,000 ; that of the 
 fifth to 11,000; and the sixth class in- 
 cluded all below the fifth, even those who£'' 
 had no estate whatever. This was naturally 
 the fullest of the six, but was accounted 
 only as one century. Now, as the richer 
 classes contained far more centuries than 
 the poorer, so much so that the first class 
 contained more than all the rest together; 
 and as the votes in the Comitia Centuriata 
 were taken within the centuries individu- 
 ally, and then the voice of the majority 
 of centuries was decisive, it is obvious 
 that the influence of wealth was greatly 
 preponderant in this assembly. Cicero 
 (-De Repub. ii. 22) assigns this as the ob- 
 ject aimed at in the institution. The real 
 object of the Comitia Centuriata was (as 
 Niebuhr supposes) to bind the different 
 orders of the state together in one con- 
 sistent and organised body. In the Comitia 
 Centuriata the people always appeared 
 under arms, and each class had a par- 
 ticular kind of armour assigned to it 
 
 The census was held at first by the 
 kings, afterwards by the consuls, and, 
 from b.c. 442, by two magistrates called 
 Censors (Censores), who were appointed 
 every five years. After the census a sa- 
 crifice of purification was generally but 
 not always, offered. The victims were a 
 sow, a sheep, a>-d a bull, which were led 
 thrice round the army, and then slain • 
 the sacrifice was called Suovetaurilia 
 
CENSUS. 
 
 [465 J 
 
 CENSUS. 
 
 It does not appear that the census was 
 held with strict regularity. It was some- 
 times altogether omitted. (Cic. Pro Arch. 
 5. 11.) The usual interval was five 
 years ; and in allusion to the sacrifice of 
 purification, the interval was commonly 
 called a lustre (lustrum). 
 
 When a person was duly entered on 
 the books of the censors, this was taken as 
 a proof of his citizenship, even if he were 
 a slave, provided he had been registered 
 with his master's consent. (Cicero, De 
 Or. i. 40 ; Ulpian, Frag. tit. i. 8 ; Gaius, 
 i. 17.) As the census was held at Kome, 
 citizens who were in the provinces, and 
 wished to be registered, were obliged to 
 repair there on that occasion (Cicero, Ad 
 Att. i. 1 8, &c.) ; but this was sometimes 
 evaded, and was made a matter of com- 
 plaint by the censors. The census, ac- 
 companied with the ceremony of the lus- 
 trum, seems to have fallen into disuse 
 after the time of Vespasian ; but the num- 
 bering of the population, and the regis- 
 tration of property, continued under the 
 empire. 
 
 The term census is also used in Latin 
 authors to signify the amount of a per- 
 son's estate, and hence we read of census 
 equestris, the estate of an eques, and cen- 
 sus senatorius, the estate of a senator. 
 
 The nature of the Roman census may 
 be collected from various particulars. 
 One object was to ascertain the number 
 of men capable of bearing arms ; and an- 
 other, to ascertain the amount of each 
 person's property, and the various heads 
 of which it consisted. Cicero's treatise 
 on Laws, though it contains a picture of 
 an ideal republic, appears in one passage 
 (iii. 3, 4) to describe what the Roman 
 census was as it existed in his time. He 
 says — " Let the censors take a census of 
 the ages of the people, the children, the 
 slaves, the property ; let them look after 
 the temples of the city, the roads, waters, 
 treasury, the, taxes; let them distribute 
 into tribes the parts of which the people 
 consist ; then let them distribute the po- 
 pulation according to property, ages, 
 classes ; let them register the children of 
 the cavalry and the infantry ; let them 
 forbid celibacy ; let them regulate the 
 morals of the people ; let them leave no 
 infamous man in the senate ; let there be 
 
 two censors ; let them hold their office for 
 five years, and let the censorial authority 
 be always continued. Let the censors faith- 
 fully guard the law ; and let private per- 
 sons bring to them their acta " (probably 
 their vouchers or evidences). Thus the 
 Romans must have had an immense mass 
 of statistical documents, collected every 
 five years, from which the population and 
 the wealth of the community at each 
 quinquennial period could be accurately 
 known. Florus (i. 6) observes, " that by 
 the great wisdom of King Servius the state 
 was so ordered that all the differences of 
 property, rank, age,, occupations, and pro- 
 fessions were registered, and thus a large 
 state was administered with the same ex- 
 actness as the smallest family." The 
 Roman law fixed the age of legal ca- 
 pacity, and the ages at which a man could 
 enjoy the various offices of the state. 
 There must consequently . have been a 
 register of births under the republic ; and 
 a constitution of the emperor Marcus 
 Antoninus, as to the registration of births 
 for a special purpose, is recorded. (Jul. 
 Capitolinus, M. Antonin. c. 9.) 
 
 In addition to this we have from the 
 Codes of Theodosius and Justinian various 
 particulars as to the census under the 
 empire, and particularly from a valuable 
 fragment of Ulpian, entitled ' De Censi- 
 bus.' {Dig. 50, tit. 15, s. 2, 3, 4.) These 
 authorities have preserved even the form 
 of the registration under the Roman 
 census. These registers showed the num- 
 ber, class, age, and property of all free 
 persons, and also indicated the heads of 
 families, mothers, sons, and daughters ; 
 they also comprised the slaves, male and 
 female, with their occupations and the 
 produce of their labour. They also con- 
 tained all the lands, and indicated the 
 mode in which they were cultivated; 
 whether as vineyards, olive-yards, corn- 
 land, pastures, forest, and so forth. They 
 showed the number of acres (jugera), of 
 vines, olives, and other trees. In fact, the 
 Roman census under the empire was a 
 complete register of the population and 
 wealth of all the countries included 
 within the limits of the Caesar's domi- 
 nions. These remarks are from Dureau 
 de la Malle, ' Economie Politique des 
 Uomains,' who has given at the end of 
 2 H 
 
CENSUS. 
 
 [40 
 
 CENSUS. 
 
 one of his volumes the form of the regis- 
 tratiou tables. 
 
 CENSUS. Before the first enumera- 
 tion of the people of this country, hi 
 18^1, the number of the population was 
 a fruitful topic with party writers. By 
 dome it was contended that England was 
 £ir less populous than it had been for- 
 merly. Arthur Young, writing in 1769, 
 states (vol. iv. p. 55tl, ' Northern Tour'; 
 that these writers asserted we had lost a 
 million and a half of people since the 
 Revolution. Even so intelligent a writer 
 as Dr. Price was of opinion that in 1 780 
 ' England and Wales contained no more 
 than 4,763,000 souls. The increase of 
 manufactures, and the greater abundance 
 of employment, which had of course the 
 effect of raising wages, might also be re- 
 garded from another, though a one-sided 
 point of view, as the result of the decline 
 of population. It was in vain to tell 
 Such persons that all the circumstances 
 of the country were favourable to the in- 
 crease of population ; and that while agri- 
 culture was improving, manufactures and 
 commerce rapidly extending, wages 
 higher, and provisions continued at a 
 reasonable price, it was not in the nature 
 of things that population should even 
 continue stationary, but that it would be 
 ssost likely to increase with great ra- 
 pidity. It is now known that the popu- 
 wi;L of England increased upwards of 
 two millions and a quarter between 1750 
 add the end of the century ; but it was 
 liot until a census was actually taken that 
 an end was put to the disputes as to the 
 amount of the population. 
 
 Having once obtained an enumeration 
 of the people, it has been possible to ap- 
 ply the facts to antecedent periods, in 
 order to form an approximative estimate 
 of the amount of population. This task 
 was undertaken by the late Mr. Rick- 
 man, who, in 1836, addressed a circular 
 letter to the clergy throughout England 
 und Wales, asking for their assistance in 
 preparing returns from the parish regis- 
 ters of the births, marriages, and deaths at 
 different periods. Out of about ten thou- 
 sand parishes in England, one-half possess 
 registers which were commenced prior to 
 1600, and of these, three- fourtns com- 
 Weuoe as early as the year 1570. From 
 
 these registers Mr. Rickman was supplied 
 with the number of births, marriages, 
 and deaths for six periods, each embrac- 
 ing three consecutive years, from which 
 he calculated the average population of 
 each period. It was then assumed that 
 the births, marriages, and deaths were in 
 the same proportion to the population of 
 each period as in 1801. The result of 
 Mr. Rickman's estimate, according to his 
 mode of calculation, showed that the po- 
 pulation of England and Wales in each 
 of the following years was as under : — 
 England. Wales. 
 
 1570 3,737,841 301,038 
 
 1600 4,460,454 351,264 
 1680 5,225,263 375,254 
 
 1670 5,395,185 378,461 
 
 1700 5,653,061 391,947 
 
 1750 6,066,041 450,994 
 
 1. Census of 1801. — The first census of 
 Great Britain was limited to the follow- 
 ing objects: 1, The number of indivi- 
 dual inhabitants in each parish, distin- 
 guishing males from females; 2, The 
 number of inhabited houses, and the 
 number of families inhabiting the same 
 in each parish ; 3, The number of unin- 
 habited houses ; 4, A classification of the 
 employment of individuals into the 
 great divisionsof agriculture, trade,manu- 
 factures and handicraft, and a specifica- 
 tion of the numbers not included in either 
 of those divisions; 5, The number of 
 persons serving in the regular army, the 
 militia, and the embodied local militia. 
 The inquiry under the fourth head en- 
 tirely failed, through "the impossibility," 
 as Mr. Rickman states, "of deciding 
 whether the females of the family, chil- 
 dren, and servants, were to be classed as 
 of no occupation, or of the occupation of 
 the adult males of the family. (State- 
 ment of Progress under Pop. Act of 1830.) 
 The results of the census were, however, 
 very valuable in putting an end to doubts 
 and controversy on the subject of the 
 numbers of the people. 
 
 2. Census of 1811.— The second census 
 embraced all the points which were the 
 subject of inquiry in 1801 ; but the 
 question respecting the number of houses 
 was subdivided, so as to distinguish the 
 number of houses building, which, in the 
 
CENSUS. 
 
 [ «7 1 
 
 CENSUS. 
 
 Cvrt census, were classed under the head 
 of uninhabited houses. With a view also 
 of obtaining a more accurate return of 
 the occupations of the people, the form of 
 inquiry under this head was modified so 
 as to ascertain, 1st, What number of /«- 
 milies (not persons, as in 1801) were 
 chiefly employed in or maintained by 
 agriculture; 2nd, How many by trade, 
 manufactures, and handicraft ; and, 3rd, 
 The number of families not comprised in 
 either class. 
 
 3. Census of 1821.— The heads of in- 
 quiry were the same as in 1811, with an 
 additional head respecting the ages of the 
 population. For the first time it was at- 
 tempted to ascertain the age of every per- 
 son, distinguishing males from females. 
 The first head included persons under 
 the age of five ; and the quinquennial 
 period was adopted for all persons not ex- 
 ceeding 20, after which the ages were 
 classified in decennial periods ; and there 
 was a head which comprised all persons 
 aged 100 and upwards. The ages of 92 
 out of every 100 persons were thus ascer- 
 tained. 
 
 4. Census of 1831. — The new features 
 in this census were an alteration in the 
 form of inquiry respecting occupations. 
 In 1801 the attempt to ascertain the oc- 
 cupation of every individual was, as al- 
 ready stated, a failure; and the, inquiry 
 in 1811 and 1821 had reference only to 
 the heads of families ; Dut this form was 
 altered, in consequence, as Mr. Eiekman 
 states, of " the often recurring and un- 
 answerable doubt as to what is to be 
 deemed a family." The returns to'' the 
 questions, as modified under the census of 
 1831, showed, as in 1811 and 1821, the 
 number of families employed in, 1, Agri- 
 culture ; 2, In trade, manufacture, and 
 handicrafts ; and 3, The number of fami- 
 lies not comprised in either class ; but 
 they also showed, in addition to the infor- 
 mation procured at any former period, the 
 number of persons (males aged twenty 
 years and upwards) employed in, 1 , Manu- 
 facture or in making manufacturing ma- 
 chinery; 2, Ketail trade or handicraft, 
 as, masters or workmen ; 3, The number 
 of capitalists, bankers, and other educated 
 men; 4, Labourers employed in non- 
 agricultural labour ; 5, Other males aged 
 
 twenty years and upwards (not including 
 servants) ; 6, Male servants aged twenty 
 and upwards ; and also male servants un- 
 der twenty. The number of female ser- 
 vants was also returned under a separate 
 head. The returns also showed, in re- 
 ference to the occupation and cultivation 
 of the land, the number of — 1, Occupiers 
 employing labourers; 2, Occupiers not 
 employing labourers ; 3, Labourers. The 
 inquiry respecting age, which had on 
 the whole been so successful in 1821, was 
 abandoned, except in so far as it went to 
 ascertain the number of males aged twenty 
 years and upwards, on the ground that it 
 imposed " too much labour in combina- 
 tion with the other inquiries," and that^ 
 for so short an interval as ten years, the 
 information was " unnecessary and in- 
 conclusive." With regard to males aged 
 twenty and upwards employed in trade, 
 manufactures, and handicrafts, an attempt 
 was made to show the number employed in 
 different branches of these employments. 
 The following was the plan adopted for 
 this purpose : — A form, containing a list 
 of one hundred different trades and handi- 
 crafts, comprising those most commonly 
 carried on, was furnished to the overseers 
 in each parish or place required to make 
 a separate return, to be filled up with 
 the number of males aged twenty and 
 upwards ; and the overseers were au- 
 thorized to add to the list such additional 
 trades as were not included in the printed 
 form. The absence of uniformity in de- 
 scribing occupations not inserted in the 
 official formula, and the difficulty of test- 
 ing the accuracy of that part of tie classi- 
 fication which was left to the discretion of 
 the overseers, were the principal defects 
 of this plan. The number of distinct 
 occupations returned in the census was 
 598. , , 
 
 The censuses of 1801, 1811, 1821, and 
 1831 were each superintended by the 
 late Mr. Eiekman, clerk assistant of the 
 House of Commons, and the business of 
 enumeration was conducted by the over- 
 seers of the poor in England and Wales, 
 and by the parochial schoolmasters in 
 Scotland. 
 
 Census of 1841. — This is far more com- 
 plete and comprehensive than any pre- 
 ceding census. The heads of inquiry 
 2a2 
 
CENSUS. 
 
 L 40S ] 
 
 CENSUS. 
 
 were more numerous and more minute, 
 while the results obtained are more ac- 
 curate. In consequence of the death of 
 Mr. Rickman, two census commissioners 
 (Edward Phipps and Thomas Vardon, 
 Esqrs.) were appointed, and the officers 
 of the registrar-general of births, mar- 
 riages, and deaths were employed as enu- 
 merators, instead of the less intelligent 
 parochial overseers. England and Wales 
 were divided into about 35,000 enumera- 
 tion districts, each containing not less than 
 twenty-five nor more than two hundred 
 houses, so that each district might be com- 
 pleted in a single day. Public institu- 
 tions, barracks, gaols, workhouses, &c. 
 were required under the Census Acts, 3 
 & 4 Vict. c. 99, and 4 Vict. c. 7, to be 
 t numerated by the several officers re- 
 siding therein. Two very important im- 
 provements were made as to the inquiry 
 respecting ages and occupations. Instead 
 of quinquennial and decennial periods be- 
 ing taken, as in 1821, or only the age of 
 males aged twenty and upwards, as in 
 1831, the exact age of every person was 
 ascertained. Iu reference to occupations, 
 the enumerators were directed to ascertain 
 the employment of every person, distin- 
 guishing sex, and whether above or un- 
 
 der twenty years of age. A new head of 
 inquiry was also introduced for the pur- 
 pose of showing the number of persons 
 bom in the comity in which they resided ; 
 the number born in other counties of the 
 same country ; and the number born in 
 Scotland (for Scotland the number born 
 in England), Ireland, the colonies, and in 
 foreign parts. 
 
 The number of parishes which made a 
 return of all the above particulars was 
 9942 for England, and 838 for Wales. 
 In the volumes of Abstracts of the Popu- 
 lation Returns the population is given se- 
 parately for 17,476 parishes and other di- 
 visions in England, and 1984 in Wales; 
 and for Great Britain the population is 
 separately stated for 22,303 parishes, 
 towns, hamlets, &c, which is 5601 more 
 than under the census of 1831. The 
 analysis of this immense body of facts 
 was very admirably arranged under the 
 superindendence of the census commis- 
 sioners. 
 
 An examination into the results of the 
 census of 1841 is treated of under a sepa- 
 rate head. [Census of 1841.] The fol- 
 lowing is a comparative summary of 
 each census from 1S01 to 1841 in- 
 clusive : — 
 
 England .... 
 
 Wales ..... 
 
 Persons travelling at night, 
 
 June 6 . . . . 
 
 1801. 
 
 8,331,43-1 
 
 5-11,516 
 
 8,872,980 
 1,599,068 
 
 1811. 
 
 9,538,827 
 61 1, ',88 
 
 1821. 
 
 11,261,437 
 717,438 
 
 11,978.875 
 
 2,093.456 
 89,508 
 
 1831. 
 13,091,005 
 806,182 
 
 13,897,187 
 
 2,305,114 
 103,710 
 
 16,366,011 
 
 7,767,401 
 
 24,133,412 
 
 1841. 
 14,995,508 
 911,321 
 
 4,896 
 
 England and Wales . 
 
 Scotland .... 
 Islands in the British Seas 
 
 10,150,615 
 1,805,688 
 
 15,911,725 
 
 2,628,957 
 124,079 
 
 Total Great Britain . . 
 Ireland • 
 
 
 14,161,838 
 
 6,801,827 
 
 20,963,666 
 
 18,664,761 
 8,175,124 
 
 Total United Kingdom 
 
 
 26,839,885 
 
 The first census of Ireland was taken in 
 1813, but in a very imperfect and incom- 
 plete manner. Six counties and the cities 
 of Limerick and Kilkenny were omitted 
 altogether. In 1821/ and again in 1831, 
 a census was taken in a manner which 
 afforded no ground of complaint. The 
 inquiry respecting age in 1821 was 
 more successful than in Great Britain, 
 where it was defective in respect of 8000 
 
 in every 100,000, while in Ireland the 
 defect was only 126 in each 100,000. 
 The preface to the Abstracts of the Cen- 
 sus Returns of 1841 is a very elaborate 
 disquisition on the results which the re- 
 turns present, and it embraces a compre- 
 hensive view of the social condition of 
 the country. [Census of 1841.] 
 
 Amongst the defects of the census of 
 Great Britain and Ireland may be men- 
 
CENSUS. 
 
 [ «9 ] 
 
 CENSUS. 
 
 tioned the absence of information con- 
 cerning the number of persons belonging 
 to each religious denomination. 
 
 In 1834 a specific census was taken 
 in Ireland with a view of ascertaining 
 for purposes of legislation the religious 
 persuasion of the people. This inquiry 
 was not repeated at the last census, and 
 it has never found a place in the census 
 of either England or Scotland. 
 
 In the Colonial possessions of Great 
 Britain a census is taken at intervals, 
 under acts of the local legislature or 
 under the direction of the governor. In 
 some cases the ages of the population are 
 ascertained ; in others the religious per- 
 suasion; and in many the value and 
 amount of stock and produce are re- 
 turned. 
 
 In France there have been six enu- 
 merations of the people during the pre- 
 sent century : in 1801, 1806, 1821, 1820, 
 1831, 183S, and 1841. The census is 
 now taken every five years. In the 
 census of 1801 the sexes were distin- 
 guished, and those in each sex who were 
 or Tiad been married, and those who were 
 single. In 1806, widowers and widows 
 were also distinguished. The census of 
 1826 was simply an enumeration without 
 distinction of age or sex ; but in 1836, 
 and at each subsequent census, the in- 
 quiry was pursued in the same form as in 
 1821. 
 
 In Belgium the census distinguishes 
 the town and country population, sexes 
 and ages, the number-of single and married 
 persons, and widowers and widows. The 
 occupations of the people are also shown, 
 divided into two classes, liberal and in- 
 dustrial. The first includes seven sub- 
 divisions, and the second twelve sub- 
 divisions. The number of persons be- 
 longing to each religious profession is 
 also given. 
 
 In Holland the census is taken on the 
 1st of January in each year. 
 
 In Saxony the census embraces in- 
 quiries as to sexes, age, number of fa- 
 milies, number unmarried and married, 
 widowers and widows, religious profes- 
 sion, and the number of the blind, deaf 
 and dumb. 
 
 In Prussia the census is taken every 
 three years. The ages of males and 
 
 females are given in five classes, and 
 in this respect the census is less minute 
 than might have been expected. The 
 numbers belonging to each religious de- 
 nomination are also given. 
 
 Sweden has long been remarkable for 
 the minute and even ultra-inquisitorial 
 character of its census. A board called 
 the "Table Commission" was organised 
 in 1749 for collecting and digesting ac- 
 curate statistics of the population, which 
 are supplied by the clergy. The Swedish 
 census exhibits the circumstances of all 
 the households, arranged in three classes : 
 1st, the number who have more than they 
 require for subsistence, or are in good cir- 
 cumstances; 2nd, the number who can sup- 
 port themselves ; and 3rd, those who are 
 in bad circumstances, or have less than 
 they want for subsistence. The number of 
 the poor and by whom they are supported 
 is accurately ascertained. Censuses are 
 also taken by the civil ofiicers for the 
 purposes of taxation, but they are not so 
 exact as the enumeration by the clergy. 
 It is said, indeed, that during the pro- 
 gress of the civil census the poor la- 
 bourers, especially in the towns, contrive 
 to go away or conceal themselves. 
 
 In Norway the census is taken by the 
 magistrates in towns, and in the country 
 by the rectors of parishes. The inquiries 
 extend to the number of cattle and the 
 production of grain. Temporary ab- 
 sentees are returned in the family to 
 which they belong, and as casual strangers 
 and visitors are not returned, the census 
 comprises those only who have house and 
 home in the country. The number of 
 idiotic and of deaf and dumb persons is 
 distinguished. Under the head of occu- 
 pations, persons having more businesses 
 than one are returned under each. A 
 general census has been five times taken 
 in Norway: in 1769, 1801, 1815, 1825, 
 and in 1835 ; and as the census is taken 
 decennially, there will be one in 1845. 
 
 In Denmark the census is both varied 
 and minute, and in the information which 
 it gives it does not differ much from the 
 Swedish census. 
 
 The census of Sardinia, made in 1838, 
 is said to be as complete in its objects and 
 method as any in Europe. It was exe- 
 cuted under the superintendence of a 
 
CENSUS. 
 
 [470 j 
 
 CENSUS. 
 
 Central Statistical Commission assisted by 
 local committees for the several provinces, 
 consisting each of five members, besides 
 the " Intendente" of the province, who 
 acted as its president. The system of 
 enumeration by names was adopted, and 
 the returns showed, for each person in a 
 population of 4,650,370 Fouls, the name 
 and surname j age : civil condition, whe- 
 ther single, married, or widowed ; place 
 of birth, whether in the province in 
 which they resided, or subjects born in 
 some other province ; residents who were 
 foreign subjects ; occupation ; and re- 
 ligious profession. 
 
 In Austria the census is taken every 
 year, but neither sex nor occupations ;:re 
 distinguished ; but this defect is partially 
 remedied by the very accurate registry 
 which is kept of the births, marriages, 
 ami deaths. 
 
 In the vast empire of Russia a census of 
 the population is taken, but we are unable 
 to state at what intervals ; and there is a re- 
 gistration of births, marriages, and deaths. 
 
 In Portugal a census was taken in 
 1841. In Spain a census has been taken 
 at irregular periods ; but at present the 
 number of the population is only con- 
 jectured. 
 
 There is not at the present time a 
 single European state (Turkey excepted) 
 in which a census of the population 
 is not taken with more or less minute- 
 ness ; and this is accompanied, with few 
 exceptions (amongst which are Scotland 
 and Ireland), by a more or less per- 
 fect system of registering every birth, 
 marriage, and death. [Registration of 
 Births, Deaths, and Marriages.] In 
 addition to these means of information re- 
 specting the population, there are in most 
 states returns respecting property, which 
 further illustrate the condition of the 
 people. [Statistics.] 
 
 In the United States of North America 
 the representative system iG based on 
 numbers, and whenever direct taxation 
 is resorted to, it is apportioned on the 
 same principle. A census is therefore 
 indispensable; and provision was made 
 respecting it by the constitution of the 
 United States. There are other reasons 
 which render a census of peculiar im- 
 portance. Professor Tucker, of the uni- 
 
 versity of Virginia, remarks: — "Our 
 changes are both greater and more rapid 
 than those of any other country. A re- 
 gion covered witli its primeval forests is, 
 in the course of one generation, covered 
 with productive farms and comfortable 
 dwellings, and in the same brief space 
 villages are seen to shoot up into wealthy 
 and populous cities. The elements of 
 our population are, moreover, composed 
 of different races and conditions of civil 
 freedom, whose relative increase is 
 watched with interest by every reflecting 
 man, however he may view that diversity 
 of condition, or whatever he may think 
 of the comparative merit of the two 
 races." Thj first census was taken in 
 1790, and referred to the 1st of August 
 of that year ; the second in 1 800, and 
 subsequently in every tenth year. In 
 1830 the period of enumeration was 
 changed to the 1st of June, so that the 
 preceding decennium was two months 
 short of ten years. The last census was 
 taken on the 1st of June, 1840. 
 
 In the first census of the United States 
 the heads of inquiry were five, and the 
 numbers were ascertained of — 1, Pice 
 white males, aged sixteen and upwards. 
 2, The same under sixteen. 3, Free 
 white females of all ages. 4, Slaves. 5, 
 Free persons of colour, for the phrafe 
 " all other persons" could comprise only 
 them. In the second census the ages of 
 the white population were ascertained 
 and distributed under five beads, showing 
 the number under 10; between 10 and 
 16 ; 16 and 26 ; 26 and 45; and 45 and 
 upwards. The census of 1810 was taken 
 in the same manner as that of 1800. In 
 the succeeding census, in 1820, free 
 coloured persons and slaves were for the 
 first time classified as to age and sex, 
 and they were distributed in four divi- 
 sions of ages. A column was added for 
 white males aged between 16 and 18. 
 The population was also classified as to 
 occupations in the three great divisions 
 of agriculture, commerce, and manufac- 
 tures. In 1830 the population was dis- 
 tinguished with greater minuteness as to 
 age. The white population under 20 
 was classed into quinquennial periods, 
 and from 20 and upwards into decennial 
 periods. The free coloured persons and 
 
CENSUS. 
 
 C«i 3 
 
 CENSUS 
 
 slaves were classed, in respect to age, in 
 six divisions. The number of persons 
 blind, and deaf and dumb, were ascer- 
 tained in each class of the population, 
 and their ages distinguished. No notice 
 was taken in the census of 183U of the 
 occupations of the people. The aensus of 
 1840, on the contrary, is remarkable for 
 its attempt to supply minute details of 
 every branch of industry in the United 
 States, but in other respects the heads of 
 inquiry were the same as in 1 830. Not 
 only were the people classified according 
 to their occupations, but estimates were 
 obtained relative to the annual products 
 of industry, under the six heads of — 
 Mines, with nine subdivisions ; Agricul- 
 ture, with twenty-nine ; Commerce, with 
 five ; Fisheries, with five ; the Forest, 
 with five; Manufactures, with forty-six 
 subdivisions. It appears, however, from 
 the ' American Almanac' (Boston, 1845) 
 that the statistical details of productive in- 
 dustry are not so correct as could be wished. 
 Professor Tucker, however, is of opinion 
 that the errors so balance and compensate 
 each other, as to afford on the whole " an 
 approximation to the truth, which is all 
 that the subject admits of." (Progress 
 of the Uniteu States in Population and 
 Wealth in Fifty Years, as exhibited by 
 the Decennial Census. By George 
 Tucker, Prof, of Moral Philosophy and 
 Political Economy in the University of 
 Virginia, Boston, 1843. This is a valu- 
 able and useful work, and it is to be 
 regretted that no writer of this country 
 has undertaken a similar task for the 
 five censuses of Great Britain, the results 
 of which are only to be found in the cum- 
 brous volumes of Parliamentary Returns 
 which give the details of each census.) 
 CENSUS OF 1841. In June, 1841, 
 was taken the decennial census of Great 
 Britain and Ireland, the results of which, 
 ■when compared with other statistical re- 
 turns, afford the means of examining the 
 condition and prospects of the country. 
 It is not proposed, in this article, to enter 
 with any minuteness either upon the 
 manner in which the census was taken, 
 or upon the detailed results appearing in 
 the reports of the commissioners ; but it is 
 intended to present a comparison of the 
 increase and distribution of the popula- 
 
 tion, with their means of employment, 
 their command of the necessaries a. j 
 conveniences of life, the growth of capi- 
 tal, the extension of trade and manufac- 
 tures, and with other indications of the> 
 progress of society. If it shall appear 
 that in all these respects the means of en- 
 joyment have increased more rapidly than 
 the population, this review of the national 
 resources will be most encouraging ; and 
 may be more generally acceptable than a 
 tedious examination of the specific results 
 of the census itself. As the selection of 
 the various subjects of comparison will 
 be made without reference to any pre- 
 conceived theory, the accuracy of the 
 facts may be relied on : and it is hoped 
 that no conclusions will be drawn from 
 them which they do not fairly justify. 
 
 In several particulars, it will be neces- 
 sary to advert to Great Britain and to 
 Ireland separately ; but it will be conve- 
 nient, in the first place, to present a sum- 
 mary of the population of the United 
 Kingdom in 1831 and in 1841, with cal- 
 culations of the rate of increase per cent. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1831. 
 
 1841. 
 
 A 2. 
 
 England • 
 
 13,091,005 
 
 14,995,138 
 
 14'5 
 
 Wales . . 
 
 806,182 
 
 911,603 
 
 13 
 
 Scotland 
 
 2,365,11, 
 
 2,620,184 
 
 10-7 
 
 Army, navy, and * 
 
 
 
 
 registered sea- \ 
 
 277,017 
 
 J8S.453 
 
 
 men afloat . ) 
 
 
 
 
 Persons travel- 1 
 
 
 
 
 ling on the > 
 
 ,. 
 
 5,016 
 
 
 nKjht of June 6 ) 
 
 
 
 
 islands in the t 
 British Seas . ) 
 
 103,107 
 
 124,040 
 
 19-6 
 
 Grkat Britain . 
 
 16,643,028 
 
 16,844,434 
 
 13-2 
 
 Ireland . . ■ 
 
 7,767,401 
 
 8,175,124 
 
 5-M5 
 
 United Kingdom . 
 
 24,410,429 
 
 27,019,558 
 
 10'6 
 
 The Irish census commissioners (Re- 
 port, p. xi.) enter into certain calculations, 
 by which they raise the per centage of 
 increase in the population of Ireland from 
 5-25, as actually shown in the returns, to 
 nearly 12 per cent. If the same prin- 
 ciples of calculation were applied to the 
 population of Great Britain, the increase 
 would also be greater ; but it will be suf- 
 ficient, for the purposes of this inquiry, if 
 the entire population of the United King- 
 
CENSUS. 
 
 f 472 ] 
 
 CENSUS. 
 
 dom, during the ten years from 1831 to 
 1841, be assumed to have increased 12 
 per cent 
 
 In judging of the condition of the peo- 
 ple, the first point which may be investi- 
 gated is their consumption of those articles 
 "which are used more or less in proportion 
 to their means. Unhappily there are no 
 means of estimating the quantities of bread 
 and meat or other staples of food produced 
 in this country ; but the quantities of aux- 
 iliary articles of food and luxury imported 
 from abroad for home consumption, or 
 manufactured in this country, are fair in- 
 dications of the means possessed by the 
 people of enjoying the comforts of life. 
 If the increase in the consumption of such 
 articles be in a greater proportion than 
 the increase of population, it may reason- 
 ably be inferred that their means of en- 
 joyment have generally increased ; or, in 
 other words, that the people enjoyed more 
 comforts in 1841 than in 1831, relatively 
 to their numbers. 
 
 The quantities of several articles which 
 paid duty for home consumption in the 
 United Kingdom, in 1831 and 1841 re- 
 spectively, and the rate of increase, will 
 appear from the following table : — 
 
 
 
 
 6. <— nj 
 
 
 1831. 
 
 1841. 
 
 1SS 
 
 Butter . . cwts. 
 
 121,193 
 
 251,255 
 
 106 4 
 
 Cheese . . ,, 
 
 130,039 
 
 248,: J 35 
 
 90'9 
 
 Cocoa . . „ 
 
 502,306 
 
 1,930,764 
 
 283-9 
 
 Coffee . . lbs. 
 
 22, 715,807 
 
 28,420,980 
 
 25-1 
 
 Tea 
 
 29,997,055 
 
 36,l9o',078 
 
 21-3 
 
 Rice . . . cwts. 
 
 140,100 
 
 245,88; 
 
 75'5 
 
 Eggs . . No 
 
 58,464,690 
 
 91,880,187 
 
 57-1 
 
 Tallow . . cwts. 
 
 918,733 
 108,956,030 
 
 1,243,112 
 
 35 -.1 
 
 Soap (hard) His. 
 
 156,008,290 
 
 43' 1 
 
 Tobacco . ,, 
 
 19,333,840 
 
 22,308,385 
 
 14-2 
 
 Crown-glass, cw t 
 
 103,80-i 
 
 116,895 
 
 12-6 
 
 Flate glass . „ 
 
 14,019 
 
 27,639 
 
 97 1 
 
 Green or hottle 
 
 
 
 
 glass . .cwts 
 
 888,760, 
 
 499,581 
 
 73-0 
 
 Papiu- . . lbs. 
 
 62,7c)8,000 
 
 97,103,5i8 
 
 54-7 
 
 This list might be extended much fur- 
 ther; but it will suffice to show that the 
 consumption of these articles (restrained 
 in some cases by too heavy a taxation) 
 was enjoyed in a larger ratio than the 
 increase of population, and that the com- 
 forts of the people must have been pro- 
 portionately greater in 1841 than in 1831. 
 
 Concurrently with this "increased con- 
 
 sumption of articles of comfort and 
 luxury, it is worthy of special notice 
 that the use of intoxicating drinks had 
 apparently decreased. We are not aware 
 of any causes which encouraged the 
 smuggling or adulteration of spirits in 
 1841 which did not exist in 1831; and 
 yet it appears, from the returns, that the 
 consumption of duty-paid spirits of all 
 kinds, whether British or foreign, had 
 decreased in that interval to the exten' 
 of 7'8 per cent. In the same period the 
 consumption of all wines had increased 
 only 3' 9 per cent. The consumption of 
 beer cannot be ascertained, but the quan- 
 tity of hops that paid duty had fallen from 
 36,500,028 lbs. in 1831, to 30,504,108, 
 or 19'6 per cent.; and of malt, from 
 40,334,987 bushels to 35,656,713, or 13-1 
 per cent. From these facts, however, no 
 certain inference can be drawn, on ac- 
 count of the great varieties in the natural 
 produce of these articles in different years, 
 and of the free use of other ingredients by 
 brewers. 
 
 Our view of the evidences of increased 
 consumption may be closed by the notice 
 of the three articles of timber, cotton- 
 wool, and wool, all of which are used 
 solely in giving employment to produc- 
 tive industry. Taking all the different 
 kinds of imported timber, there appears 
 to have been an increase of 37'5 per cent. 
 In cotton-wool there was an increase of 
 61-1 per cent. ; and in sheep and lambs' 
 wool imported, of 78'7 per cent. 
 
 The next subject of comparison may 
 be the exports of British and Irish pro- 
 duce and manufactures from the United 
 Kingdom, in 1831 and in 1841. from 
 which the manufacturing and commer- 
 cial condition of the country, and the em- 
 ployment of its people, at those periods, 
 may be collected. 
 
 The quantities and declared value of 
 some of the principal articles of export 
 are exhibited in the table in the following 
 page :— 
 
 On referring to the two last columns of 
 this table, it appears that the value of the 
 exports did not always increase in the 
 same ratio as the quantities ; but the total 
 declared value of all British and Irish 
 produce aud manufactures exported in 
 1S',1 was 37, 64.372Z. ; in i 841f 
 
CENSUS. 
 
 [ i'3 j 
 
 CENSUS. 
 
 Anpnrel 
 
 Brass and Copper ma- ) . 
 
 uufactures J cwts - 
 
 Cordage ,, 
 
 Cotton manu tactnres . .. yds. 
 Cotton twist and yarn . . lbs. 
 
 Earthenware pieces 
 
 Glass (entered by weight) .... 
 
 • (entered at value) .... 
 
 Hardwares and cutlery c-.wts. 
 Iron and steel (wrought ) t 
 
 or unwrouglll) S 
 
 Leather , lbs. 
 
 Ijiueu manufactures .... yds. 
 
 thread, tapes, &c. 
 
 yam ... lbs. 
 
 Machinery and mill-work 
 
 Silk manufactures 
 
 Tin and pewter wares .... 
 
 Wool, British lbs. 
 
 Woollen and worsted yarn 
 
 — ■ manufactures, pieces 
 
 yards, 
 
 hosiery, &c 
 
 1831. 
 
 Quantities. 
 
 181,951 
 
 36,276 
 
 421,3S5,30.S 
 
 63,821,440 
 
 37,0;*, 897 
 
 177,915 
 
 336,194 
 
 124,312 
 
 1,314,931 
 69,233,8a2 
 
 110,188 
 
 3,494,275 
 1,592,455 
 1,997,348 
 5,797,546 
 
 Declared 
 value. 
 
 £. 
 
 790. 
 
 803, 
 
 81. 
 
 12,163. 
 
 3,975 
 
 461, 
 
 420 
 
 9: 
 
 1,622 
 
 1,123,372 
 
 246,410 
 
 2,400, "43 
 
 61,661 
 
 8,705 
 
 105,491 
 
 578,874 
 
 230,143 
 
 173,105 
 
 158,111 
 
 4,580,902 
 
 500,956 
 
 150,555 
 
 Quantities. 
 
 327,247 
 
 63,822 
 
 751,125,024 
 
 123,2^6,519 
 
 53,150,903 
 
 338,890 
 
 353,348 
 
 360,875 
 
 2,623,075 
 90,321 761 
 
 25,220,290 
 
 8,471,235 
 4,903,291 
 2,291,273 
 9,831,975 
 
 Declared 
 value. 
 
 " £■ 
 
 1,217,975 
 
 1,523,744 
 
 130,414 
 
 14,985,810 
 
 7,266,986 
 
 600,759 
 
 400,168 
 
 21 ,7(=8 
 
 1,623,961 
 
 2,877,278 
 332,573 
 
 3,200,467 
 147,088 
 972,466 
 551,361 
 788,894 
 390,621 
 555,620 
 552,148 
 
 4,821,820 
 696,462 
 228,391 
 
 1 ncrease 
 per cent. 
 
 In the 
 quantity 
 
 75-9 
 78-2 
 93-0 
 43-5 
 90-4 
 
 5-1 
 174-2 
 99 4 
 30-4 
 
 22788-4 
 
 142-4 
 
 207-9 
 
 14-7 
 
 69-5 
 
 In the 
 
 declared 
 
 value. 
 
 54-1 
 89-7 
 71-2 
 232 
 82 -3 
 30-3 
 
 127-2 
 0-09 
 
 156-1 
 34-9 
 33-3 
 
 138-S 
 
 11071-3 
 
 422-6 
 
 36-2 
 
 69-7 
 
 2*0-9 
 
 - 249-2 
 
 5-2 
 
 39-4 
 
 51-7 
 
 51,634,623/. ; thus showing an aggre- 
 gate increase of 38-9 per cent. 
 
 Another evidence of the increased com- 
 merce of the country is afforded by the 
 returns of shipping. In 1831, 20,573 
 ships (British and foreign) engaged in 
 the foreign and colonial trades, entered 
 inwards; of which the total tonnage 
 amounted to 3,241,927. In 1841 the 
 number of ships had increased to 28,052, 
 and the tonnage to 4,652,376 ; thus show- 
 ing an increase of tonnage in the propor- 
 tion of 43 ■ 5 per cent. In 1832,119,283 
 ships were employed (including their 
 repeated voyages) in the coasting trade, 
 of which the tonnage amounted to 
 9,419,681. In 1841 the number of ships 
 had increased to 146,127, and the tonnage 
 to 11,417,991, showing an increase of 
 21 "2 per cent, in the tonnage employed. 
 
 Thus far an increased prosperity can 
 admit of no doubt. It is evident that 
 consumption, production, and commerce 
 •ill increased in a greater ratio than the 
 population. But it may here be asserted 
 that profits were low, and that, notwith- 
 standing the outward signs of prosperity, 
 
 the capital, available for further enter- 
 prises, was not increasing with corre- 
 sponding rapidity: The evidences of ac- 
 cumulation cannot be of so distinct a 
 character as those of consumption and 
 production ; but it may be asked, in the 
 outset, how could so vast an increase in 
 the productive industry of the country, in 
 the value of its exports, in its shipping 
 and commerce, have been supported with- 
 out prodigious additions to its capita-l? 
 The best evidence of the quantity of capi- 
 tal in a country is its results. Without a 
 sufficient quantity, production and con- 
 sumption could not continue to increase : 
 and as capital is likely to be applied to 
 production and consumption as much at 
 one period as at another, all that seems 
 necessary for ascertaining the increase of 
 capital, is to know the ncrease of its im- 
 mediate results. If, in addition to the 
 vast increase of production and consump- 
 tion which could only have been sup- 
 ported by a proportionate amount of capi- 
 tal, we see the price of all public securi- 
 ties high, the interest of money low, and 
 capital seeking investment in every specu- 
 
CENSUS. 
 
 [474 j 
 
 CENSUS. 
 
 lative enterprise, and devoted to religious 
 and charitable objects over the whole 
 world, it is absurd to doubt the abundance 
 of capital. But in addition to this in- 
 direct evidence of the increase of capital, 
 there are other indications of its accumu- 
 lation, of a more direct nature, a few of 
 which may suffice : — 
 
 Notwithstanding the discouragement 
 of insurance, caused by a duty of 200 per 
 cent., the sums insured against fire, in 
 the United Kingdom, amounted in 1 83 1 to 
 526,655,332/.,and in 1841 to 68 1 ,539,839?.; 
 being an increase of 29 ■ 4 per cent. The 
 accumulations annually made through 
 the instrumentality of life assurance are 
 known to be enormous, but no reasonable 
 estimate can be made of their amount, nor 
 any comparison of the rate of increase in 
 the period of which we are treating. The 
 most interesting evidence of accumulation 
 is presented by the returns of savings' 
 banks. In 1831 there were 429,503 de- 
 positors, whose deposits amounted to 
 13,719,495/. : in 1841 there were 841,204 
 depositors, and the amount of their de- 
 posits had increased to 24,474,089/. ; so 
 that, both in number and amount, the 
 deposits may be said to have been doubled 
 in this short period of ten years. The 
 capital invested in railways in the same 
 period may safely be estimated at up- 
 wards of 60,000,000/. (see ' First Report 
 on Railways,' 1839, Appendix) ; and the 
 sums authorised by Parliament to be 
 raised for various public purposes — for 
 roads, bridges, docks, canals, navigations, 
 markets, lighting and improving towns, 
 afford evidence of the abundance of capi- 
 tal which was constantly seeking invest- 
 ment, in addition to its customary em- 
 ployment in commerce and manufac- 
 tures. 
 
 The returns of the assessment of pro- 
 perty for the income tax will not pre- 
 sent any comparison of the wealth of the 
 country in 1831 and in 1841; but very 
 important results may be deduced from 
 them, which must not be overlooked. 
 The annual value of real property, as 
 assessed to the property tax in 1815, was 
 returned at 51,898,423/.; in 1842 it was 
 returned at 82,233,844/. ; and the tithes 
 at 1,668,113/. In Scotland the real pro- 
 perty was assessed in 1811 at 5,972,523/.; 
 
 in 1842 at 9,284,382/. In the absence Oi 
 any intermediate assessment a rough esti- 
 mate only can be made of the increase in 
 the value of real property between 1831 
 and 1841 ; but we are inclined to think 
 it was not less than from 20 to 25 per 
 cent. In 1815 the annual profits of trade 
 in England and Wales were assessed at 
 35,028,051/. No similar account for 
 1842-3 has yet been published ; but as 
 the actual receipts by government 
 amounted to 1,466,985/ at 2/. 18s. id. per 
 cent.,after exempting all profits underl 50/. 
 a year, the annual amount of all profits 
 above 150/. a year may be fairly estimated 
 at 50, 1 53,333/. ; and after adding a fifth, or 
 10,000,000/., for profits under 150/., the 
 proportion of increase which accrued be- 
 tween 1831 and 1841 will not be over- 
 rated at 20 per cent. 
 
 The amount of capital upon which legacy- 
 duty had been paid in Great Britain, from 
 1797 to 1831 inclusive, was 741,648,197/.; 
 in 1841 it amounted to 1.163,284,207/. 
 Thus, in this period of ten years, legacy- 
 duty had been paid upon a capital of 
 422,636,009/. 19s. 5d., or considerably 
 more than one-half of the aggregate 
 amount upon which the duty had been 
 paid in the thirty-four preceding years. 
 In 1831 the produce of the stamp-duties 
 upou probates of wills and letters of ad- 
 ministration in the United Kingdom 
 amounted to 918,667/.; in 1841 to 
 1,012,481/., showing an increase of 10-2 
 per cent. 
 
 These various statements all confirm, 
 more or less distinctly, the conclusion 
 which had been suggested by less direct, 
 but not less conclusive evidence, viz., 
 that the capital of the country appears to 
 have increased in the period of ten years 
 from 1831 to 1841, in a greater ratio than 
 the population ; and, consequently, that 
 the funds necessary for the employment 
 of labour and for maintaining the grow- 
 ing population in increased comfort, had 
 multiplied more rapidly than the people 
 for whose use they were available. 
 
 Having now compared the increase- of 
 national wealth with the increase of po- 
 pulation, so far as the statistics of con- 
 sumption, production, and accumulation 
 afford such comparison ; a confirmation 
 of the results presented by our analysis is 
 
CENSUS. 
 
 [ 475 ] 
 
 CENSUS. 
 
 to be found in the Reports of the Census 
 Commissioners, together with many sin- 
 gular facts illustrative of the state and 
 destinies of our country. In following 
 these, however, it will be necessary to 
 consider Great Britain and Ireland sepa- 
 rately. 
 
 The first point illustrative of the con- 
 dition of the people is, that the increase 
 in the number of inhabited houses in 
 England and Wales since 1831 was two 
 per cent, greater than that of the popula- 
 tion. Too much reliance, however, must 
 not be placed upon this bare statistical 
 result, as the quality of the houses may 
 be a more important matter than their 
 positive number ; but so far as it goes it 
 is. satisfactory. The misery and destitu- 
 tion which prevail in many parts of Great 
 Britain are undeniable ; squalid poverty 
 and glittering wealth meet the eye in 
 every street ; but the apparent, fact of an 
 increased house accommodation should 
 make men hesitate before they declare 
 that poverty is spreading at one extremity 
 of society while wealth is agglomerating 
 at the other. Apart from this direct evi- 
 dence that one of the most painful results 
 of poverty, the overcrowding of many 
 families into the same houses, though 
 painfully prevalent in Liverpool and 
 some other places, has not generally 
 increased— it may be asked what better 
 proof, amongst many, can be given of 
 the general prosperity of the masses of 
 the people than the application of so vast 
 a capital to productive industry as must 
 have been required for the building of 
 500,000 new houses in a space of ten 
 years ? 
 
 It is well known that the rate of increase 
 of the population from 1831 to 1841 in 
 England and Wales was apparently less 
 than in the preceding ten years, by l£ 
 per cent. ; and if the bare fact of nume- 
 rical increase were taken as a test of 
 national strength and prosperity, this fact 
 might be deemed a symptom of decay. 
 To this discouraging view, however, a 
 complete answer is given by the commis- 
 sioners, who ascribe the apparently dimi- 
 nished rate of increase wholly to emigra- 
 tion. " The additional population which 
 would be required in order to make the 
 ratio of increase equal to that of the 
 
 former decennial period would be 208,998. 
 being l-£ per cent, on the population of 
 1831 ; and from returns which have been 
 furnished from the Emigration Board, it 
 appears that the total excess of emigration 
 in the ten years ending 18-41, compared 
 with the ten years ending 1831,, may be 
 estimated at 282,322." (See Preface, p. 
 11.) Thus, instead of attributing this 
 apparent decrease to the pressure of po- 
 verty by which the natural growth of 
 population was checked, we must ascribe 
 it to a cause which is calculated to raise 
 the wages of labour in this country, 
 while it affords to the emigrants a wider 
 field and, we trust, » larger reward for 
 their industry. 
 
 Another fact of the highest importance 
 is clearly proved, viz. — that the com- 
 merce and manufactures of Great Britain 
 alone afford employment for the increasing 
 population. While the increase upon the 
 whole kingdom amounted, as already 
 stated, to 13'2 per cent., the increase in 
 the manufacturing and commercial coun- 
 ties was greatly above that proportion, 
 and in the agricultural counties consi- 
 derably below it. In Chester the increase 
 was 18 - 3 per cent. ; in Durham, 27"7 ; 
 in Lancaster, 24-7 ; in Middlesex, 1 ti ; 
 in Monmouth, 36'9 ; in Staiford, 24-3 ; 
 in Warwick, 1 9-3 ; and in the West Riding 
 of York, I8 - 2. In Buckingham the in- 
 crease was only 6-4 per cent. ; in Cum- 
 berland, 4'9; in Devon, 7'8; in Dorset, 
 9'9 ; in Essex, 8'6 ; in Hereford, 2'4 ; in 
 Norfolk, 5-7 ; in Oxford, 6-2 ; in Suffolk, 
 6'3 ; in Westmoreland, 2-5 ; and in the 
 North Riding of York 7 per cent. It is 
 useless, therefore, to discuss the relative 
 importance of agriculture and manufac- 
 tures in the abstract; for agricultural 
 counties cannot support their own popula- 
 tion ; while the manufacturing and com- 
 mercial counties find employment for 
 their own natural increase and for the 
 surplus of other counties which the land 
 cannot maintain. 
 
 The relative increase of the agricul- 
 tural and commercial population is shown 
 by the following proportions per cent. : — 
 
 
 Agricul- 
 
 Commer- 
 
 Miscella 
 
 
 tural 
 
 cial. 
 
 ueous. 
 
 1831 
 
 28 
 
 42 
 
 30 
 
 1841 
 
 22 
 
 46 
 
 32 
 
CENSUS. 
 
 L <t"s ] 
 
 CENSUS. 
 
 But in 1831 the returns referred to fami- 
 lies, and in 1841 to individuals ; and as 
 a greater number of children are em- 
 ployed in manufactures than in agricul- 
 ture, the difference may have been slightly 
 augmented by this form of enumeration. 
 
 A still more important point of com- 
 parison is the relative increase of different 
 classes of occupations in the same period 
 of 10 years from 1831 to 1841. A com- 
 parative return of the Commissioners 
 (Preface, p. 21) includes males only 
 aged 20 years and upwards, and exhibits 
 the following results : — The number of 
 occupiers and labourers in agriculture had 
 decreased in that period from 1,251,751 
 •to 1,215,264; but the Commissioners ex- 
 plain this result by supposing that nu- 
 merous farm-servants had been returned in 
 1841 as domestic servants instead of as 
 agricultural labourers. Persons, engaged 
 in commerce, trade, and manufacture had 
 increased from 1,572,292 to 2,039,409 
 (or 29--7 per cent.) : capitalists, bankers, 
 professional and other educated men, 
 from 216,263 to 286,175 (or 32 3 per 
 cent.) : labourers employed in labour 
 not agricultural had decreased from 
 611,744 to 610,157: other males 20 
 years of age, except servants, had in- 
 creased from 237,337 o 392,211: male 
 servants 20 years of age and upwards 
 had increased from 79,737 to 164,384, 
 including, however, as already noticed, 
 many farm-servants. For the purpose of 
 instituting a just comparison of the rela- 
 tive increase of particular employments, it 
 must be understood that the total number 
 of male persons 20 years of age and 
 upwards (exclusive of army, navy, and 
 merchant seamen) had increased, in this 
 period of ten years, from 3,969,124 to 
 4,707.600 (or 18-6 per cent.). Making 
 due allowance for the probable error in 
 the return of agricultural labourers, we 
 are forced to conclude that that class had 
 either not increased at all or had increased 
 in a very small degree : and that the class 
 of labourers not agricultural had po- 
 sitively diminished : while capitalists, 
 bankers, professional and other educated 
 men, had increased 32-3 per cent. ; per- 
 sons engaged in trade and in manufac- 
 tures 29-7 per cent. ; and domestic servants 
 106 per cent., or allowing for farm-ser- 
 
 vants, say 90 per cent. Thus the two 
 classes who earn the lowest wages were 
 alone stationary or retrograde : the highest 
 class in wealth and intelligence had in- 
 creased 32'3 per cent. ; and the domestic 
 servants, whose numbers are a certain 
 indication of the means of their employers; 
 had increased 90 per cent. Nor must 
 another important fact be omitted in con- 
 nexion with the decrease in the class of 
 labourers, viz. the immense numbers of 
 Irish who notoriously perform the most 
 laborious parts of industry. In Lanca- 
 shire the persons born in Ireland formed, 
 in 1841, 6'3 per cent, upon the whole 
 population; in Cheshire, 3 per cent.; 
 in Middlesex, 3-6 per cent.; in Ayr- 
 shire, 7'3; in Dumbartonshire, 11; and 
 in Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire, up- 
 wards of 13 per cent. It would seem, 
 therefore, that the cJass of British labour- 
 ers are gradually raising themselves into 
 a higher condition and more lucrative 
 employments ; and that the demand for 
 the lowest description of labour, caused 
 by their withdrawal from it, is supplied 
 by their Irish brethren. 
 
 The number of female domestic ser- 
 vants increased in Great Britain from 
 670,491 in 1831, to 908,825 in 1841, or 
 35 per cent. 
 
 In concluding this statement of the in- 
 dustrial occupations of the people of Great 
 Britain, it is gratifying to learn that the 
 whole of the " almspeople, pensioners, pau- 
 pers, lunatics, and prisoners" amounted in 
 1841 to 1-J per cent, only upon the popu- 
 lation. 
 
 We may now pass to some of the most 
 material facts disclosed by the census of 
 Ireland. The constant migration of la- 
 bourers from the agricultural counties of 
 England to the manufacturing districts, 
 and the extensive emigration of the last 
 ten years, have been already noticed ; and 
 precisely the same circumstances are ob- 
 servable in Ireland. In the period from 
 1831 to 1841 no less a number than 
 403,459 persons left Ireland, either to 
 settle in the populous towns of Great 
 Britain or to emigrate to the British 
 Colonies or the United States ; while an 
 extensive migration was taking place, 
 within Ireland itself, to Dublin and to othei 
 commercial and manufacturing places. 
 
CENSUS. 
 
 [ 477 J 
 
 CERTIORARI. 
 
 The returns of house accommodation 
 in Ireland present a very lamentable 
 picture. The Commissioners have adopted 
 n judicious classification by which the 
 houses are distinguished under four 
 classes, the last being that of the cabin 
 or mud hut with one room, and the third 
 class but one degree better. The follow- 
 ing statement shows the proportion per 
 cent, which the number of families in 
 each class of accommodation bear to the 
 total number of families : — 
 
 1 Class. 2 Class. 3 Class. 4 (.'lass. 
 
 Rural dis- 
 tricts 1-2 15-3 40- 43-5 
 
 Civic dis- 
 tricts 7- 22-4 33-9 36-7 
 
 The value of this classification is ob- 
 . vious, and if hereafter adopted in England 
 it will render the statistics of house ac- 
 commodation of considerably greater 
 weight, in estimating the social condition 
 and habits of the people. A mud hut 
 upon a common ought not to rank even, 
 m the array of figures, with the mansions 
 of wealthy cities. 
 
 Even in. Ireland it appears that manu- 
 factures are attracting the agricultural 
 population; for the number of families 
 engaged in trade and manufactures have 
 increased five per cent, since 1831 ; and 
 the number employed in agriculture have 
 diminished in a corresponding propor- 
 tion. 
 
 The population have been divided by 
 the commissioners into three great classes, 
 nearly equivalent to the three ordinary 
 grades of society : and the proportions of 
 families appear as follow : 
 
 Rural. Civic. 
 Vested means, Professions, &c. 1-8 6-6 
 The direction of labour . 28-3 50- 
 Their own manual labour 68' 36'4 
 Means not specified . . 19 7- 
 
 The occupations of all individuals 
 above 15 years of age are classified : 1st, 
 as ministering to food ; 2nd, as minfster- 
 ing to clothing ; 3rd, as ministering to 
 lodging, &c. ; 4th, as ministering to 
 health, education, &c. ; and 5th, as 
 unclassified or miscellaneous ; each class 
 bearing respectively the following pro- 
 portions to the entire population, viz. 
 '<!3-3; 11' • 1-; 17 - ; and 6-. But as no 
 
 similar classification had ever been 
 adopted before, no comparison is prac- 
 ticable with any preceding period. 
 
 The report of the Irish Census Com- 
 missioners abounds in highly interesting 
 inquiries into the condition of the Irish 
 people ; but as they do not afford any 
 comparison with the year 1831, the 
 object which we had proposed cannot be 
 carried any further with respect to that 
 country. 
 
 This succinct view of the material pro- 
 gress of society, as far as it admits of 
 elucidation by statistics, is certainly in- 
 complete without a consideration of its 
 advances or retrogression in religion, in 
 morals, and in education ; but these 
 questions, far more important in them- 
 selves rlian aay we have here discussed, 
 are not so immediately connected with 
 the results of the Census. 
 
 CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT. 
 [Circuits.] 
 
 CERTIFICATE. [Bankrupt, p. 
 292.] 
 
 CERTIORARI, in law, is a writ issu- 
 ing from one of the superior courts, di- 
 recting the judges or officers of an inferior 
 court to transmit or cause to be certified 
 (certiorari facias) records or other pro- 
 ceedings. The object of tho removal is 
 either that the judgment of the inferior 
 jurisdiction may be reviewed by the su- 
 perior court, or that the decision and the 
 proceedings leading to it may take place 
 before the higher tribunal. An instance 
 of the former is where the convictions of 
 magistrates or the judgments or orders 
 of courts of quarter-sessions are removed 
 by certiorari into the court of King^s 
 Bench by way of appeal against their 
 validity, in which case the decision which 
 has previously been given is re-consi- 
 dered, and is confirmed or set aside. An 
 instance of the latter is where an indict- 
 ment found against a peer by an inferior 
 jurisdiction is certified or transmitted into 
 the Court of Parliament or the Court of 
 the Lord High Steward, in order that the 
 further proceedings and the adjudication 
 may take place before the proper tribunal. 
 By this writ, indictments, with the pro- 
 ceedings thereon, may, at any time before 
 actual trial, be removed from the assizes 
 I or quarter-sessions into the Court of 
 
CES3I0 BONORUM. 
 
 [478] 
 
 CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 King's Bench, as the supreme court of 
 ordinary criminal jurisdiction. The 5 & 
 6 Wm. IV. c. 33, enacts that no certiorari 
 shall issue to remove indictments or pre- 
 sentments from inferior courts to the 
 Court of King's Bench, at the instance 
 of a prosecutor, without leave obtained 
 from the court, as by a defendant In order 
 to avoid the occurrence of frivolous ap- 
 peals, it is usual in statutes which give 
 summary jurisdiction to inferior tribunals 
 to restrict, or altogether take away, the 
 right to a certiorari. 
 
 CE'SSIO BONO'RUM, in the law of 
 Scotland, is the name given to a process 
 by which, as by the insolvency system in 
 England, the estate of an insolvent person 
 who does not come within the operation 
 of mercantile bankruptcy is attached and 
 distributed among his creditors. The 
 term is derived from the deed of cession, 
 or the assignment by which, as the coun- 
 terpart of the relief afforded to him from 
 the immediate operations of his creditors, 
 the insolvent conveys his whole property 
 for their behoof. Both the nomenclature 
 and the early practice of the system are 
 taken from the Roman law. (Dig. 42, 
 tit. 3, " de cessione bonorum.") Accord- 
 ing to the more ancien' law, the person 
 released from prison on a cessio bonorum 
 was bound to wear a motley garment 
 called the dyvour's habit In later times 
 this stigma became the penalty of fraud, 
 and it was subsequently disused. Bafore 
 the passing of the late act, the jurisdiction 
 in the awarding of Cessio was entirely 
 confined to the Court of Session, and the 
 insolvent was required to have been a 
 month in prison before he could sue out 
 the process. By 6 & 7 Will. IV. c. 56, the 
 system was remodelled. The process 
 may now be sued out either in the Court 
 of Session or in the sheriffs local court. 
 It may be taken advantage of by any 
 person who is in prison for civil debt, or 
 against whom such a writ of imprison- 
 ment has issued. It proceeds on notice to 
 the creditors, and an examination and 
 surrender of the insolvent. Proceedings 
 instituted in the Sheriff Court are liable 
 to review in the Court of Session. Cessio 
 bonorum exhibits, like the insolvency 
 system in England, this important differ- 
 ence from mercantile bankruptcy, that 
 
 the person who obtains the privilege 
 is not discharged from his debts, but only 
 from proceedings against his person for 
 payment of past debts, his estate conti- 
 nuing to be liable to the operations of his 
 creditors. In Scotland, however, the 
 common law means of attaching a 
 debtor's property are simple and effec- 
 tual, and there does not appear to have 
 been there the same inducement as i.i 
 England to make the process for the dis- 
 tribution of the debtor's effects an instru- 
 ment of their discovery. The Scottish 
 system, moreover, cannot be used by the 
 creditors as a means of compelling their 
 debtor to distribute his estate. It is a 
 privilege of the debtor, and being seldom 
 resorted to except by persons in a state of 
 destitution who are harassed by vindictive 
 creditors, the improvement of the system 
 has not been a matter of much interest 
 either among lawyers or legislators. 
 CESSION. | Benefice, p. 349.] 
 CESTUI QUE TRUST. [Tkustee.] 
 CHALLENGE. [Jury.] 
 CHAMBERLAIN (custos cubiculi, or 
 cubicularius, keeper of the chamber). Cu- 
 bicularius was the Roman name for a 
 slave whose special business was to look 
 after the rooms or chambers in the house, 
 introduce visitors, and the like. The 
 cubicularius was thus a confidential slave 
 or freedman, as the case might be, and a 
 kind of guardian of his master's person. 
 Under the emperors the cubicularii were 
 officers in the imperial household ; and 
 were called the " cubicularii sacri cabi- 
 culi," the chamberlains of the imperial 
 chamber. {Cod. xii. tit 5.1 The em- 
 peror's wife, the Augusta, also had her 
 chamberlains. This office, like many 
 others in royal households, is derived 
 from the usages of the later Roman Em- 
 pire. In the Anglo-Saxon times, in 
 England, the chamberlain appears to 
 have had the name of Camerarius, and 
 had the keeping of the king's treasure 
 (Ealred, in Vit. S. Edw. Confess., c ii 
 p. 9), by which name this officer also 
 occurs in the Domesday Survey. The 
 word chamber (French, chambre) is from 
 the Latin camera. 
 
 The office of lord great chamberlain 
 of England was once of the highest dig- 
 nity, and was held in grand serjeantv 
 
CHAMBERLAIN. 
 
 479 ] 
 
 CHANCEL. 
 
 from the second year of King Hem-y I. 
 by the family of De Vere, from 'whom it 
 passed, by a female heir, to the family of 
 Bertie. By the statute of precedency, 31 
 Hen. VIII., the great chamberlain's place 
 ■was next to that of the lord privy seal. 
 In 1714 the Marquess of Lindsay, then 
 hereditary great chamberlain of England, 
 having been raised to the dukedom of 
 Ancaster, surrendered this precedency 
 for himself and his heirs, except only 
 ■when he or they should be in the actual 
 execution of the duties of the said office, 
 in attending the person of the king or 
 queen, or introducing a peer into the 
 House of Lords. This surrender was 
 confirmed by 1 Geo. I. c. 3. The duties 
 which now devolve upon the great cham- 
 berlain are, the dressing and attending on 
 the king at his coronation ; the care of 
 the ancient Palace of Westminster ; the 
 provision of furniture for the Houses of 
 Parliament, and for Westminster Hall, 
 "when used on great occasions ; and attend- 
 ance upon peers at their creation, and 
 upon bishops when they perform their 
 homage. On the death of Eobert, the 
 last duke of Ancaster but one, in 1779, 
 the office of hereditary great chamberlain 
 descended to his two sisters, Priscilla, 
 Lady Willoughby de Eresby, and Geor- 
 gians Charlotte, Marchioness Cholmon- 
 deley. The office is cow jointly held by 
 the families of Cholmoudeley and Wil- 
 loughby de Eresby, and the honours are 
 enjoyed in each alternate reign by each 
 family successively. 
 
 The office of lord chamberlain of the 
 king's household is changed with the 
 administration. He has the control of 
 all parts of the household (except the 
 ladies of the queen's bed-chamber) which 
 are not under the direction of the lord 
 steward, the groom of the stole, or the mas- 
 ter of the horse ; the king's chaplains, phy- 
 sicians, surgeons, &c, as well as the royal 
 tradesmen, are by his appointment; the 
 companies of actors at the royal theatres, 
 as part of the household, are under his 
 regulation, and he is also the licenser of 
 plays. [Theatke.] Oue of the officers 
 in his department is styled Examiner of 
 Plays. 
 
 The chamberlain of the corporation of 
 the city of London is an officer, sleeted by 
 
 the freemen who are liverymen. By an 
 act of common council of 5 Henry IV. 
 the office is an annual one, but it is very 
 rarely that the existing officer is opposed. 
 There has been no such opposition since 
 1778. The duties of the chamberlain 
 are judicial and adminietrative. He ad- 
 mits on oath all persons entitled to the 
 freedom of the city, and hears and deter 
 mines all matters of complaint between 
 masters and apprentices, and may com 
 mit either. He may discharge the ap- 
 prentice from his indentures, and a part 
 of the premium may be recovered by a 
 peculiar process in the Lord Mayor's 
 Court. An appeal is taid to lie from the 
 decision of the chamberlain to the lord 
 mayor. The chamberlain has the con- 
 servation of lands, monies, or goods of 
 citizens who die intestate, leaving orphans, 
 on the application of such orphans or 
 others on their behalf, for which purpose 
 the chamberlain is deemed in law a cor- 
 poration sole ; but such applications are 
 now rarely made. As treasurer of the 
 corporation he has to receive all rents, 
 profits, and revenues of markets and other 
 items of receipt forming the income of 
 the corporation, and to pay all money on 
 account of the corporation upon competent 
 warrants or orders. The fixed annual in- 
 come of the chamberlain is 1 1 olZ. 9s. 4<A : 
 his " ancient bill of fees" is 94/. 4s. a- 
 year. He obtains an annual profit of 
 from 1000Z. to 2000/1. from balances of 
 the corporation money retained in his 
 hands. This principle of remunerating 
 a public officer is strongly objected to by 
 the Commissioners of Corporation In- 
 quiry (Second Report, p. 102). 
 
 In the Exchequer Court of the County 
 Palatine of Chester there is a chamber- 
 lain, an office generally held by some 
 nobleman ; and there is also a vice-cham- 
 berlain. 
 
 There was an officer called the cham- 
 berlain in two hundred and three of the 
 municipal corporations investigated in 
 1834 by the Commissioners of Corpora-- 
 tion Inquiry. 
 
 CHANCEL. This is rather a term of 
 ordinary discourse than one which would 
 be used' in a technical description of the 
 several parts of a Christian church. As 
 far as we have observed, it is now used 
 
CHANCELLOR. 
 
 [ 480 J 
 
 CHANCELLOR. 
 
 to denote that part of a church in which 
 the communion table or altar is placed, 
 with the area before it, in which the con- 
 gregation assemble when the Eucharist 
 is administered. An outcry was raised 
 at the Reformation against the rubric 
 prefixed to the Common Prayer, which 
 ordained that the chancels should remain 
 as in times past. The more ardent re- 
 formers asserted that this ordinance tended 
 only to magnify the priesthood ; and hence 
 the modern practice of performing di- 
 viue service in the body of the church, 
 though the chancel still mmains as a 
 separate part of the edifice. In many 
 churches the Epistles and Gospels and 
 the Commandments are read at the 
 communion-table, the proper place for 
 which is the chancel. The chancel was 
 often separated from the nave or body of 
 the church by lattice-work, ca?tcelli, and 
 it was from this circumstance that the 
 term chancel seems to have originated. 
 The word cancelli is used by Cicero and 
 other Latin writers to express a partition 
 made by upright and cross pieces of wood 
 or metal for the purpose of making any 
 barrier or separation in courts of justice, 
 in a theatre, and so forth. 
 
 In some churches we may hear of 
 the chancel of a particular family. This 
 is in cases in which some particular 
 family has had a private oratory within 
 the church, which has usually been also 
 the burial-place of the family. These 
 private chapels or chantries are some- 
 times called chancels, for the same reason 
 that the great choir is sometimes so called ; 
 that is, in consequence of being divided 
 from the rest of the church by cancelli. 
 
 CHANCELLOR (in Latin, Cancelld- 
 rius). The primary meaning of cancel- 
 larius is " qui ad cancellos assistit," one 
 who is stationed at the lattice-work of a 
 window or a door way, to introduce visi- 
 tors, &c. A cancellarins in this sense 
 was no more than a door-keeper. The 
 emperor Carinus made one of his cancel- 
 ■lariipraefeetof the city,a promotion which 
 caused great dissatisfaction. (Vopiscus, 
 Carinus, c. 16.) In another sense, can- 
 cellarius was a kind of legal scribe, so 
 called also from his position at the can- 
 celli of the courts of law. The cancella- 
 rius, under the later emperors, and in the 
 
 Constantinopolitan court, was a chief 
 scribe or secretary {6 fieyas KayoSeTys), 
 who was ultimately invested with judi- 
 cial powers, and a general superintend- 
 ence over the rest of the officers of the 
 emperor. He was called cancellarius 
 because he sat intra cancellos (.within the 
 lattice), a screen which divided off a por- 
 tion of a larger room for the sake of 
 greater privacy ; from which circum- 
 stance the chancel of a church also ac- 
 quires its name. 
 
 The prelates of the Roman church had 
 likewise an officer so called ; in the Church 
 of England, each bishop has a chancellor, 
 who exercises judicial functions. All the 
 modern nations of Europe have or have 
 had chancellors, though the powers and 
 duties seem to have varied in each. 
 
 In England the chancellor was origin- 
 ally the king's chief secretary, to whom 
 petitions were referred, by whom patents 
 and grants from the crown were approved 
 and completed, and by whom reports 
 upon such matters were, if necessary, 
 made to the king ; hence he was some- 
 times styled Referendarius. This term 
 occurs in a charter of Ethelbert, a.d. 605 ; 
 and Selden (Treatise on the Office of 
 Chancellor) considers it synonymous with 
 chancellor, a name which, he says, first 
 occurs, in the history of England, in the 
 time of Edward the Elder, about a.d. 
 920. 
 
 In the capacity of secretary he was the 
 adviser of his master ; prepared and made 
 out his mandates, grants, and charters, 
 and finally (when seals came into use) 
 affixed his seal. Hence, or perhaps be- 
 cause in early times he was usually an 
 ecclesiastic, he became keeper of the king's 
 conscience, examiner of his patents, the 
 officer by whom prerogative writs were 
 prepared, and keeper of the great seal. 
 The last ecclesiastic who exercised the 
 office was John Williams, archbishop of 
 York, who was lord keeper from July 
 10, 1621, to November 1, 1G25 ; hii 
 friend and secretary, John Hacket, wh* 
 became bishop of Lichfield and Coventry 
 wrote his life in a volume of singular in- 
 terest, which he entitled ' Scrinia Rese- 
 rata.' 
 
 The interference of the king, as the 
 source of justice, was frequently sought 
 
CHANCELLOR. 
 
 [481 j 
 
 CHANCELLOR. 
 
 against the decisions of the courts of law, 
 where they worked injustice ; and also in 
 matters which were not cognizable in the 
 ordinary courts, or in which, from the 
 maintenance or protection afforded to his 
 adversary, the petitioner was unable to 
 obtain redress. The jurisdiction with 
 which the English chancellor is invested 
 had its origin in this portion of discre- 
 tionary power, which was retained by the 
 king on the establishment of courts of 
 justice {Legal Judicature in Chancery 
 stated, p. 27, et seq.). Though the exer- 
 cise of these powers in modern times is 
 scarcely, if at all, less circumscribed by 
 rule and precedent than the strict juris- 
 diction of the courts of law [Equity], 
 controversies have at times arisen as to 
 the powers of the chancellor ; the parti- 
 culars of one dispute have been preserved 
 to us entire. {The Jurisdiction of the 
 Court of Chancery vindicated. Printed at 
 the end of 1 Ch. Rep. and in the 1st vol. 
 of Collect. Jurid.) 
 
 The style of the Chancellor in England 
 is Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. 
 He takes rank above all dukes not of the 
 blood royal, and next to the archbishop 
 of Canterbury. He is appointed by the 
 delivery of the great seal into his custody, 
 though there are instances of his having 
 been appointed by patent. The resump- 
 tion of the great seal by the king deter- 
 mines his office. By virtue of his office 
 he is the king's principal adviser in mat- 
 ters of law, and a privy counsellor; 
 speaker and prolocutor of the House of 
 Lords, chief judge in the Court of Chan- 
 cery, and the head of the profession of 
 the law ; visitor in the king's right of all 
 hospitals and colleges of royal foundation ; 
 and patron of all crown livings under the 
 value of 20Z. a year, according to the va- 
 luation made in the reign of Henry VIII., 
 and confirmed in that of Elizabeth. [Be- 
 nefice, p. 352.] He appoints and re- 
 moves all justices of the peace, though 
 usually only at the recommendation of 
 lords-lieutenants of counties. He issues 
 writs for summoning parliaments, and 
 transacts all business connected with the 
 custody and use of the great seal. To 
 him was intrusted the care of infants and 
 their property upon the dissolution of the 
 eourt of wards and liveries : and he has 
 
 the jurisdiction over idiots and lunatics 
 by special delegation from the crown. 
 He also exercises a special jurisdiction, 
 conferred upon him by various statutes, 
 as original and appellate judge, as to 
 charitable uses, friendly societies, infant 
 lunatic and idiot trustees, in certain ap- 
 peals from the court of review, in bank- 
 ruptcy, and in many other cases. He is 
 a conservator of the peace, and may 
 award precepts and take recognizances to 
 keep the peace ; and has concurrent juris- 
 diction with the other judges of the supe- 
 rior courts, with respect to writs of ha- 
 beas corpus. Except in the case of ser- 
 vice of process, given tq him by some 
 recent statutes, the lord chancellor has no 
 jurisdiction in Scotland. 
 
 The authority of lord chancellor and 
 lord keeper are made the same by the 
 stat. 5 Eliz. c. 18: it is not now custo- 
 mary to appoint a lord keeper, and of 
 course there cannot now be a lord chan- 
 cellor and lord keeper at the same time. 
 The last lord keeper was Lord Henley, in 
 1757. The great seal is however some- 
 times put into commission during the 
 temporary vacancy of the office, or the 
 sickness of the chancellor, the seal being 
 intrusted to the chief commissioner. 
 (1 Will, and M. c. 21.) 
 
 The chancellor has also important poli- 
 tical functions : he has a seat in the cabi- 
 net, and usually takes an active part in 
 public measures. He resigns office with 
 the party to which he is attached. 
 
 By 3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. Ill, § 3, in 
 consideration that the Chancellor had lost 
 the patronage of certain offices then abo- 
 lished, the king is empowered to grant an 
 annuity of 50002. a year to the Lord 
 Chancellor or Lord Keeper on his resig- 
 nation of office. The salary of the Lord 
 Chancellor is 10,000Z. a year, and is paid 
 out of the Suitors' Fee Fund. He has 
 besides a salary as Speaker of the House 
 of Lords. There is also a Lord High 
 Chancellor of Ireland, whose authority 
 within his own jurisdiction is in most 
 respects the same as that of the Lord 
 High Chancellor of Great Britain. The 
 salary of the Irish Chancellor, which is 
 paid out of the Consolidated Fund, is 
 8000Z. a year. His retiring pension is 
 3592/. a year. (Selden, Off. Ch.; Black- 
 2 I 
 
CHANCELLOR. 
 
 [ 482 ] 
 
 CHANCELLOR. 
 
 stone, Com. ; Story On Equity ; and the 
 Boohs of Chancery Practice.) [Chan- 
 cery.] 
 
 The Chancellor of a Diocese or of a 
 Bishop is Vicar-general to the bishop, 
 holds his courts, and directs and assists 
 him in matters of ecclesiastical law. He 
 has a freehold in his office, and he is not 
 necessarily an ecclesiastic ; but if he is a 
 layman, or married, he must be a Doctor 
 of the Civil Law. (Blackstone, Com. ; 37 
 H. VIII. c. 17.) 
 
 The Chancellor of a Cathedral is an 
 officer who superintends the regularity of 
 the rdigious services. 
 
 The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lan- 
 caster presides either in person or by 
 deputy in the court of the Duchy of Lan- 
 caster concerning all matters of equity 
 relating to lands holden of th° king, in 
 right of the Duchy of Lancaster. His 
 salary is 2000/. a year, and that of the 
 Vice-Chancellor is BOO/. : the fees, which 
 amount to 30/. or 40/. annually, are de- 
 ducted from the salary The Vice-Chan- 
 cellor holds courts both in Westminster 
 and in Lancashire. 
 
 The Chancellors of the Universities of 
 Oxford and Cambridge are elected by the 
 respective corporate bodies of which they 
 are the heads ; they exercise exclusive ju- 
 risdiction in all civil actions and suits 
 where a member of the University or 
 privileged person is one of the parties, ex- 
 cept in cases where the right to freehold 
 is concerned. In both the English Uni- 
 versities the duties of the Chancellor are 
 in nearly all cases discharged by a Vice- 
 Chancellor. 
 
 The Chancellor of the Exchequer is 
 under-treasurer, and holds the seal of the 
 Exchequer. The office of Lord High 
 Treasurer is now executed by the Lords 
 Commissioners of the Treasury. The 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer is the prin- 
 cipal finance minister of the crown : the 
 office is sometimes held by the Prime 
 Minister when he is a member of the 
 House of Commons. The legal functions 
 of the Chancellor of the Exchequer are 
 now merely formal. [Exchequer.] Bills 
 m the Exchequer were addressed to him, 
 and to the barons of that court, so long as 
 the equity jurisdiction of the Exchequer 
 existed, and on some occasions (as on his 
 
 appointment) he sits in court ; but all the 
 legal business is transacted by the barons. 
 If the chief baron and barons are equally 
 divided in opinion, the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer may be required to re-hear 
 the cause with the barons, and give his 
 decision. The last instance occurred in 
 1735, when Sir Robert Walpole gave his 
 decision upon a question of considerable 
 doubt and difficulty, which is said to have 
 given great satisfaction. (Blackstone, 
 Com. ; Fowler's Exchequer Practice.) 
 
 The Chancellor of the Order of the 
 Garter and other orders of knighthood 
 seals and authenticates the formal instru- 
 ments of the chapter, and keeps the regis- 
 ter of the order. He exercises various 
 functions at the installation of the knights, 
 and during their meetings and proces- 
 sions. 
 
 CHANCELLOR OF SCOTLAND, 
 As in England, the chancellor of Scot- 
 land was always a high officer of the 
 crown, and had great influence with the 
 king and authority in his councils. As 
 in England too, that authority at length 
 extended itself beyond its former limits, 
 and affected the whole judicial power of 
 the kingdom. Its operation and effect 
 in the two countries, however, was dif- 
 ferent : for while in England the chan- 
 cellor only carved out for himself a juris- 
 diction in equity, in Scotland he reached 
 the head of the administration of justice, 
 and sat in a court which dispensed both 
 equity and common law, and the course 
 of proceeding in which all the other ju- 
 dicatures of the realm were bound to 
 follow. 
 
 In 1425, which was shortly after the 
 return of King James I. from his long 
 captivity in England, the " chancellor 
 and with him certaine discreete persones 
 of the thre estates chosen and depute by 
 the king" were erected into the court of 
 the session, for the final determination of 
 all matters competent to the king and his 
 council. The court of the session, how- 
 ever, expired with Bishop Wardlaw, from 
 whom in all likelihood it originated ; the 
 chancellor's office being taken, on his 
 death, from his protege', Bishop Cameron, 
 and given to Sir William Crichton, a 
 layman, when the former policy of deter- 
 mining suits by the old common law was 
 
CHANCELLOR. 
 
 L «3] 
 
 CHANCELLOR. 
 
 restored. This continued (with the excep- 
 tion of an attempt to the contrary in 1457, 
 probably under the influence of Bishop 
 Shorsewood, the favourite and confessor 
 of King James II.) till the time of Bishop 
 Elphinstone, to whom undoubtedly may 
 be ascribed the crafty acts passed in 1487 
 for the recovery of the large jurisdiction 
 of the chancellor and court of the session, 
 as well as the act 1494, c. 5, to enforce 
 in the courts the study and practice of 
 the canon and civil laws. ■ Nor perhaps 
 shall we greatly err in conceiving his 
 zeal to have been employed in establish- 
 ing in 1503 the court of daily council, 
 which was essentially a restoration of the 
 old court of the session. But all these 
 proved only preparatory steps to the erec- 
 tion of the court of council and session, or 
 college of justice, which was instituted in 
 1532, and has continued to our own time. 
 Of this college the chancellor, or, as he 
 then began to be styled, lord chancellor 
 of Scotland, was to be principal ; and as 
 on the one hand it was the supreme court 
 of the kingdom, and on the other all in- 
 ferior courts were required to copy its 
 proceedings, it wielded the whole judica- 
 tive power of the country. It early 
 claimed also, and exercised, a large legis- 
 lative power under the statutes permitting 
 it to pass acts of sederunt ; and the offi- 
 cers who executed its warrants and de- 
 crees were either its own macers or else 
 messengers, over whom it obtained com- 
 plete control. These powers the court 
 wielded so as to effect nearly an entire 
 change of the law. The ecclesiastical 
 estate for- some time predominated both 
 on the bench and at the bar. The con- 
 sequence was, the canon and civil laws 
 became, what indeed they used to be 
 styled, the common law of the land, and 
 the old common law became obsolete and 
 antiquated. Much of this has been cor- 
 rected since the Reformation ; and still 
 more since the union with England, 
 where the old common law has ever con- 
 tinued the antagonist of Roman jurispru- 
 dence. At the Reformation the authority 
 of the canon law ceased, and not long- 
 afterward ministers of the gospel were 
 disabled by statute from being either of 
 the bench or bar. The authority of the 
 canon law was in like manner essentially 
 
 broken by the Union, when both portions 
 of the island became one great mercan- 
 tile community, to which the civil law 
 was in many respects unsuitable ; and 
 since that event various provisions have 
 been made to improve and assimilate the 
 laws and practice of the two kingdoms. 
 
 The similarity of procedure in the 
 court of session m Scotland and the high 
 court of chancery in England is striking. 
 Both courts indeed, and the ecclesiastical 
 courts of both countries, borrowed their 
 forms from the court of Rome, and with 
 these last the forms of the court of session 
 in many respects still agree. The bill 
 or written supplication to the court for 
 letters, whether of summons or of dili- 
 gence, is of the same nature with the sup- 
 plication for letters in the court of Rome , 
 and it is observable that when the de- 
 sire of the bill is granted, it is in the same 
 terms in both courts. The condescen- 
 dence and answers are plainly derived 
 from the articuli and responsiones of the 
 papal tribunal. The initialia testimonii, 
 or purging of a witness, are identical 
 with the interrogatoria generalia of that 
 court. Letters of advocation, suspension, 
 and reduction are well known there. The 
 "male appellatum etbene processum" is 
 but verbally translated in the phrase of 
 the Scots court, "finds the letters orderly 
 proceeded ;" and letters of horning, cap- 
 tion, and relaxation bear their papal 
 origin impressed upon them. It appears 
 also that from an early period the court 
 issued commissions to its macers to per- 
 form judicial duties, as the ecclesiastics 
 appoint the inferior church officers their 
 legates and commissaries for the like pur- 
 poses; and at an early time also the 
 judges began the yet subsisting custom of 
 changing their name on their elevation 
 to the bench, in imitation, as it seems, of 
 the like custom on elevation in the papal 
 hierarchy. 
 
 From what is above stated, we may see 
 why there is no court of chancery in 
 Scotland, separate from the courts of com- 
 mon law, as in England ; the whole judi- 
 catures of Scotland having become sub- 
 ject to the court of session, where the 
 chancellor presided, dispensing both equity 
 and common law. But from the earliest 
 times there was an office of chancery in 
 2:2 
 
CHANCERY. 
 
 [4S4] 
 
 CHANCERY 
 
 Scotland, and we shall find that many of 
 the early chancellors had been 'clerici 
 cancellarii.' 
 
 In the list of chancellors for Scotland 
 in the ' Penny Cyclopaedia,' art. " Chan- 
 cellor, " various errors are corrected 
 which occur in Crawford's ' Officers of 
 State' in the series of chancellors of Scot- 
 land. In Beatson's ' Political Index ' 
 there is a chancellor as early as the reign 
 of Malcolm III., but the more authentic 
 series begins with Constantine, earl of 
 Fife, who was chancellor in the, time of 
 Alexander I. 
 
 By art. 24 of the treaty of Union, it 
 was provided that there should in future 
 be hut one great seal for the United King- 
 dom, and that a seal should be kept and 
 used in Scotland for such private rights 
 or grants as had usually passed the great 
 seal of Scotland. The office of chancel- 
 lor of Scotland then properly expired, 
 and none have been appointed to it since 
 the earl of Seafield, who was chancellor 
 at the time of the Union. 
 
 CHANCERY ( Canccllaria) ; the term 
 is derived from Chancellor, Cancellariits, 
 and signifies the court where that judge 
 exercises his functions. There are several 
 chanceries, as there are several chancel- 
 lors ; but the place where the Lord High 
 Chancellor's judicial functions are exer- 
 cised is called the High Court of Chan- 
 cery. 
 
 The principal part of the business of 
 the Court of Chancery consists in the 
 administration of Equity, a name which 
 in this country comprehends those rules 
 of law, which are applicable to such 
 matters as belong to the jurisdiction of 
 the court. The Court of Exchequer had 
 a similar jurisdiction, which was abo- 
 lished by 5 Viet. c. 5. [Equity.] 
 
 The Lord Chancellor, the three Vice- 
 Chancellors, and the Master of the Rolls, 
 are the judges by whom equity is admi- 
 nistered in Chancery. Each of them has 
 a separate court. In term-time they sit 
 in Westminster Hall; in vacation, the 
 Chancellor and Vice-Chancellors sit in 
 Lincoln's Inn, and the Master of the Eolls 
 at the Rolls, in Chancery-lane. 
 
 The Master of the Rolls is appointed by 
 <he crown by letters patent, and holds his 
 office on the same terms as the common 
 
 law judges, that is, during good behaviour. 
 He has the power of hearing and deter- 
 mining originally the same matters as the 
 Lord Chancellor, excepting cases in lu- 
 nacy and bankruptcy ; orders and decrees 
 pronounced by the Master of the Rolls 
 are good and valid, but they must be 
 signed by the Lord Chancellor before 
 they are enrolled, and they are subject 
 to be reversed by the Chancellor. The 
 Master of the Rolls has precedence next 
 to the Lord Chief Justice of the King's 
 Bench. This office is one of high an- 
 tiquity. The salary is 7000/. a year 
 under 1 Vict. c. 46. The Master of the 
 Rolls in Ireland has 3969/. a year under 
 
 4 Geo. IV. c. 61. 
 
 The office of Vice-Chancellor was cre- 
 ated by 53 Geo. III. c. 24. This officer 
 (who, in Chancery, takes precedence next 
 to the Master of the Rolls) is appointed 
 by the crown by letters patent, and 
 holds his office during good behaviour. 
 Rank and precedence are given him by 
 
 5 Vict. c. 5 next after the Lord Chief 
 Baron of the Exchequer. If a mem- 
 ber of the Privy Council, he is also to 
 be a member of the Judicial Commit- 
 tee. He has power to hear and determine 
 all matters depending in the Court of 
 Chancery, either as a court of law or as 
 a court of equity, or as incident to any 
 ministerial office of the said coui% or 
 which are subjected to the jurisdiction of 
 such court or of the Lord Chancellor by 
 any special act of parliament, as the Lord 
 Chancellor shall from time to time direct. 
 All orders and decrees of the Vice-Chan- 
 cellor are valid, but subject to be altered 
 or reversed by the Chancellor ; and they 
 must be signed by the Lord Chancellor 
 before they can be enrolled. It is ex- 
 pressly provided by the act that the Vice- 
 Chancellor has no power to alter or dis- 
 charge any decree or order made by the 
 Lord Chancellor, unless authorised by 
 the Lord Chancellor, nor any power to 
 alter or discharge any order or decree oi 
 the Master of the Eolls. The salary is 
 6000/. a year, granted by 2 & 3 Will. IV. 
 c. 116. On the next appointment of a 
 Vice-Chancellor, under 53 Geo. III. c. 
 24, the salary will be 5000/., with a retir- 
 ing pension of 3500/. Since the appoint- 
 ment of two additional Vice-Chancellors 
 
CHANCEin. 
 
 J 
 
 CHANCEKY. 
 
 by 5 Vic. c. 5, he is styled the Vice- 
 Chancellor of England. 
 
 . The act appointing two additional 
 judges (Vice-Chancellors) to assist in the 
 discharge of the functions of the Lord 
 Chancellor is the 5 Vict. c. 5. They are 
 respectively styled the first Vice-Chan- 
 cellor and the second Vice-Chancellor, 
 and hold office during good behaviour. 
 The act prohibits the appointment of a 
 successor to that one of the two new 
 Vice-Chancellors who was appointed se- 
 cond. The salaries of the new Vice- 
 Chancellors are 5000/. a year each, paid 
 out of the interest arising from the Sui- 
 tor's Fund. The salaries of the secretary, 
 usher, and train-bearer, of each Vice- 
 Chancellor are fixed by the act at 300/. a 
 year for the secretary, 200?. for the usher, 
 and 100/. for the train-bearer.- After fif- 
 teen years' service, or when incapacitated 
 for the duties of office by infirmity, a pen- 
 sion not exceeding 3500/. a year may 
 be granted to each Vice-Chancellor. If 
 he holds any other office of profit under 
 the crown the annuity will be reduced, so 
 that on the whole his public income may 
 not exceed 3500/. a year. 
 
 , An appeal (which, strictly speaking, is 
 nothing more than a re-hearing of the 
 cause) may be made from any decision 
 of the Master of the Rolls or the Vice- 
 Chancellors to the Lord Chancellor, and 
 the court of the Lord Chancellor has 
 been of late years much occupied with 
 such appeals : original causes are gene- 
 rally confined to the courts of the Master 
 of the Rolls and the Vice-Chancellors. 
 The appeal from the decree of the Lord 
 Chancellor is to the House of Lords. 
 
 There are officers of the Court of Chan- 
 cery by whom certain parts of the equit- 
 able jurisdiction are exercised. These 
 officers have however no original power 
 for this purpose, but derive all their au- 
 thority from special delegation by one of 
 the judges in Chancery. The principal 
 of these officers are the Masters in Ordi- 
 nary, and the Accountant-General. The 
 Masters in Ordinary are eleven in num- 
 ber, besides the Master of the Eolls, who 
 is the chief of them, and the Accountant- 
 General. The number of Masters was 
 increased from ten to eleven when the 
 equity jurisdiction of the Court of Ex- 
 
 chequer was abolished by 5 Vict. c. 5. 
 They were formerly appointed by the 
 Lord Chancellor, but are now appointed 
 by the crown, and hold office during good 
 behaviour. (3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 94.) The 
 salary is 2500/. a year. It is the duty of 
 the Masters to execute the orders of the 
 court upon references made to them, 
 whether in exercise of its original juris- 
 diction, or under the authority of an act 
 of parliament, and to make reports in 
 writing upon the matters that are re- 
 ferred to them. The Masters' reports 
 must be confirmed by the court in order to 
 make them effectual. The heads of refer- 
 ence to the Masters are almost as numerous 
 as the subjects of the court's jurisdiction. 
 The principal subjects of reference are, 
 to examine into any alleged impertinence 
 contained in pleadings, and into the suf- 
 ficiency of a defendant's answer ; to ex- 
 amine into the regularity of proceedings 
 taken in any cause, or into alleged con- 
 tempts of court ; to take the accounts of 
 executors, administrators, and trustees, 
 or between any parties whatsoever ; to 
 inquire into, and decide upon, the claims 
 of creditors, legatees, and next of kin ; to 
 sell estates, and to approve of the invest- 
 ment of trust-money in the purchase of 
 estates, and, for this purpose (or for any 
 other, as the case may be), to investigate 
 titles, and settle conveyances ; to appoint 
 guardians for infants, and to allow proper 
 sums for their maintenance and educa- 
 tion ; to tax the costs of the proceedings, in 
 any suit, or under the orders of the court : 
 and generally to inquire into and inform 
 the equity judge upon all matters of fact, 
 which are either disputed between the 
 parties, or not so far ascertained by evi- 
 dence as to preclude all doubt on the 
 subject. 
 
 The Accountant-General is an officer 
 created by the stat. 12 G. I. c. 32, which 
 also regulates his duties. [Accountant- 
 Genekai..] 
 
 The proceedings in the Court of Chan- 
 cery are conducted by Bill and Answer. 
 But besides the jurisdiction, of which a 
 sketch has been given above, a summary 
 jurisdiction, upon Petition only, has been 
 given to Courts of Equity in certain cases 
 by acts of parliament. The principal 
 cases in which this summary jurisdiction 
 
CHANCERY. 
 
 t +S6 j 
 
 CHANCERY. 
 
 has been granted are those where trustees 
 or mortgagees die without heirs or leaving 
 infant heirs, or where trustees are out of 
 the jurisdiction, or refuse to convey pro- 
 perty to the persons beneficially entitled 
 to it. In these, and many similar eases, 
 the court is empowered, upon petition of 
 the parties beneficially interested, to di- 
 rect a conveyance or assignment of the 
 property held in trust or on mortgage by 
 the infant, or in case of a trustee having 
 died without heirs, or being out of the 
 jurisdiction of the court, or refusing to 
 convey, to appoint some other person to 
 convey in his place. The principal sta- 
 tutes relating to this branch of the ju- 
 risdiction of the court are, 1 Wm. IV. 
 c. 47, 1 Wm. IV. c. 60, 1 Wm. IV. c. 65, 
 4 & 5 Wm. IV. c. 23, 5 & 6 Wm. IV. 
 c. 17. 
 
 The stat. 52 G. III. c, 101 gives the 
 court a summary jurisdiction in cases of 
 abuse of charitable trusts. The court 
 also appoints guardians for infants upon 
 petition merely. 
 
 The jurisdiction exercised in Chancery 
 over iijjfants and charities is partly derived 
 from the general equity jurisdiction, and 
 partly from acts of parliament. (As to 
 the origin of the jurisdiction over infants, 
 see Coke upon Litt., by Hargrave, 88 b. 
 n. 16 ; 2 Fonbl. on Eq., p. 226, 232.) 
 
 The jurisdiction over infants is exer- 
 cised principally in directing maintenance 
 to he given them out of the property 
 which they will enjoy on attaining their 
 full age ; in appointing and controlling 
 yuardians of them ; and in providing 
 suitable marriatjes for them. 
 
 A distinct part of the business in Chan- 
 cer}', though but a small part, arises from 
 what is called the common law jurisdiction 
 of the Court of Chancery 
 
 It has chiefly respect to actions by or 
 against any officer or minister of the 
 Chancery, and to judicial proceedings 
 respecting the acts of the king, when 
 complained of by a subject. 3 Black- 
 stone, Com. 48. 
 
 In actions depending in the Court of 
 Chancery by virtue of its common law 
 jurisdiction, the court has no power to 
 try issues of fact. For this purpose the 
 record of the pleadings must be delivered 
 to the Court of King's Bench, and that 
 
 court will have the issues tried by jury, 
 and give judgment in the actions: and, 
 from a judgment on demurrer in this 
 court, it is said that a writ of error lies 
 to the Court of King's Bench. 
 
 To the common law jurisdiction of the 
 Court of Chancery belongs the power of 
 issuing certain writ3 ; particularly the writ 
 of habeas corpus, and the writs of certiorari 
 and prohibition, for restraining inferior 
 courts of justice from assuming unlawful 
 authority. (1 Madd. Chanc. 1 7, &c.) 
 
 The place where the common law 
 jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery is 
 exercised is the petty bag office ; which is 
 kept solely for this purpose. No part of 
 the equity business of the Court of Chan- 
 cery is carried on there. 
 
 The Court of Chancery, in respect of 
 its common law jurisdiction, is said to be 
 a court of record, which, as a court of 
 equity, it is not. (Spelm. Gloss. 3 111. 
 Com. 24.) 
 
 " In this ordinary or legal court," says 
 Blackstone (vol. iii. 49), "is kept the 
 qfficina justitia, out of which all original 
 writs that pass the great seal, all letters 
 patent, and all commissions of charitable 
 uses, bankruptcy, sewers, idiotcy, lunacy, 
 and the like do issue." The issuing of 
 original writs, however, is now unfre- 
 quent. These writs, which were for- 
 merly the foundation of all actions in 
 the courts of law at Westminster, have, 
 with few exceptions, been abolished by 
 recent statutes. Commissions of bank- 
 ruptcy also are now never issued, owing 
 to the late alterations in the bankrupt 
 law. [Bankkupt.] 
 
 The principle of the High Court of 
 Chancery in England has led to the esta- 
 blishment of courts of equity in the Bri- 
 tish dominions and dependencies. Some 
 of these are called Courts of Chancery. 
 In each of the counties palatine of Lan- 
 caster and Durham, and also in Ireland, 
 there is a court so named, which dispenses 
 the same equity within the limits of its 
 jurisdiction, as the High Court of Chan- 
 cery. By 6 & 7 Wm. IV. c. 19, the pala- 
 tine jurisdiction of Durham was separated 
 from the bishopric and vested in the king, 
 but the courts were expressly reserved. 
 In the Irish Court of Chancery the Lord 
 Chancellor for Ireland presides. From 
 
CHANTRY. 
 
 [ 487 j 
 
 CHANTRY. 
 
 these courts the appeal is immediately 
 to the House of Lords. 
 
 In most of our colonies there are Courts 
 of Chancery (Howard's Laws of the Colo- 
 nies). From the colonial courts an appeal 
 now lies to " the judicial committee oiXhs 
 Privy Council." (Stat. 2 & 3 Win. IV. 
 c. 92.) 
 
 There are Chancery Courts in some of 
 the states which compose the North 
 American Union. 
 
 CHANCERY, INNS OF. [Inn.] 
 
 CHANTRY (Cantaria, in the middle 
 age Latin), a private religious foundation, 
 of which there were many in England 
 before the Reformation, established for 
 the purpose of keeping up a perpetual 
 succession of prayers for the prosperity 
 of some particular family while living, 
 and the repose of the souls of those mem- 
 bers of it who were deceased, but espe- 
 cially of the founder and other persons 
 named by him in the instrument of foun- 
 dation. The French word Oratoire ap- 
 pears to correspond to chantry. 
 
 Chantries owed their origin to the opi- 
 nion once generally prevalent in the 
 Christian church of the efficacy of prayer 
 in respect of the dead as well as the liv- 
 ing. Among the English, it prevailed 
 in all ranks of society. The inscriptions 
 upon the grave-stones of persons of ordi- 
 nany condition in the times before the 
 Reformation almost always began with 
 " Orate pro anima," " Pray for the soul," 
 which was an appeal to those who 
 resorted to the churches to pray for 
 the soul of the person who slept below. 
 Princes and persons of great wealth, 
 when they founded monasteries, included 
 amongst the duties of the religious for 
 whose use they gave them, that they 
 should receive in them their bodies, 
 and for ever make mention of them in 
 their daily services. When a taste for 
 founding monasteries declined, which 
 may be referred to about the close of the 
 twelfth century, the disposition to secure 
 the same object, by the foundation of 
 chantries, began to prevail extensively 
 in the better classes of society, and it con- 
 tinued to the Reformation, when all such 
 'oundations were swept away as super- 
 stitious. 
 
 A chantry did 7-ot necessarily require 
 
 that any edifice should be erected for 
 it. Chantries were usually founded in 
 churches already existing : sometimes the 
 churches of the monasteries, sometimes the 
 great cathedral or conventual churches, 
 but very frequently the common parish 
 church. All that was wanted was an altar 
 with a little area before it and a few ap- 
 pendages ; and places were easily found 
 in churches of even small dimensions in 
 which such an altar could be raised with- 
 out interfering with the general purposes 
 for which the churches were erected. An 
 attentive observation of the fabric of the 
 parish churches of England will often 
 show where these chantries have been ; 
 in some churches there are perhaps small 
 remains of the altar, which was removed 
 at the Reformation, but the traces of them 
 are seen more frequently in one of those 
 ornamented niches called piscinas, which 
 were always placed near the altars. Some- 
 times there are remains of painted glass 
 which was once the ornament of these 
 private foundations, and more frequently 
 we see one of those arched recesses 
 in the wall which are called Founders' 
 Tombs, and which in many instances no 
 doubt were the tombs of persons to whose 
 memory chantries had been instituted. 
 
 In churches which consisted of only 
 nave and chancel with side aisles, the 
 eastern extremities of the north and south 
 aisles were often seized upon for the pur- 
 pose of these foundations j in the larger 
 churches, in which the ground-plan re- 
 sembles the cross on which the Saviour 
 suffered, the transverse beams (transepts) 
 were generally devoted to the purpose of 
 these private foundations. In the great 
 conventual churches and the churches of 
 monasteries, it would appear as if provi- 
 sion was often made for these private 
 chantries in the original construction, 
 each window that looks eastward being 
 often made to light a small apartment 
 just sufficient to contain an altar and a 
 little space for the officiating priest. 
 
 It was by no means unusual to have 
 four, five, or six different chantries in a 
 common parish church': in the great 
 churches, such as old St. Paul's in Lon- 
 don, the Minster at York, and other ec- 
 clesiastical edifices of that class, there 
 were at the time of the Reformatioa 
 
CHANTRY. 
 
 [ 488 ] 
 
 CHANTRY. 
 
 thirty, forty, or fifty such foundations. 
 When the church allowed no more space 
 for the introduction of chantries, it was 
 Usual for the founders to attach little 
 chapels to the edifice. It is these chantry 
 chapels, the use and occasion of which 
 are now so generally forgotten, which 
 occasion so much of the irregularity of 
 design which is apparent in the parish 
 churches of England. They were gene- 
 rally erected in the style of architecture 
 which prevailed at the time, and not in 
 accommodation to the style of the original 
 fabric. 
 
 When chapels were erected for the 
 especial purpose of the chantries, they 
 were usually also the places of interment 
 of the founder and his family, whence 
 we sometimes find such chapels belong- 
 ing, even to this day, to particular fa- 
 milies, and adorned with monuments of 
 many generations. One of the most beau- 
 tiful chapels of this kind is in the little 
 village of Sandal, a few miles from Don- 
 caster, the foundation of Rokeby, arch- 
 bishop of Dublin, who died in 1521. 
 The church of Sandal being small, af- 
 forded no scope for the design of this 
 magnificent prelate. Having determined 
 that this should be the place of his inter- 
 ment, he erected a chapel on the north 
 side of the choir, open, however, to the 
 church on one side, being separated from 
 it only by open wainscot. On entering 
 it by the door the whole economy of one 
 of these chapels is manifest. Under the 
 window looking eastward an altar has 
 stood ; the piscina on the right remains. 
 Jn each side of the east window is a niche 
 where once, no doubt, stood an effigies of 
 a saint whom the archbishop held in pe- 
 culiar honour. In the centre is a brass 
 indicating the spot in which the body of 
 the prelate lies ; and in the north wall is 
 a memorial of him, having his arms and 
 effigies, with an inscription setting forth 
 his name and rank and the day of his 
 decease, with divers holy ejaculations. 
 The stone and wood work have been 
 wrought with exquisite care, and the 
 windows appear to have been all of 
 painted glass. The Beauchamp chapel 
 at Warwick contains the very fine monu- 
 ment and effigy of Richard de Beauchamp, 
 Earl of Warwick, who died in 1439. 
 
 Sometimes chantries were established 
 in edifices remote from any church, a 
 chapel being erected for the express pur- 
 pose. 
 
 In chantries of royal foundation, or in 
 chantries founded by the more eminent 
 prelates or barons, the service was con- 
 ducted sometimes by more than one per- 
 son. But usually there was only one 
 officiating priest. The foundation deeds 
 generally contain a specification of his 
 duties, which consisted for the most part 
 in the repetition of certain masses : but 
 sometimes the instruction of youth in 
 grammar or singing, and the delivering 
 pious discourses to the people, made part 
 of the duty of the chantry priests. They 
 also contain an account of the land settled 
 by the founder for the support of the 
 priest. The names of the persons whom 
 he was especially to name in his service! 
 are set forth, as well as the mode of his 
 appointment and the circumstances in 
 which he might be removed. Generally 
 the king was named together with the 
 founder and members of his family. 
 This, it was supposed, gave an additional 
 chance of the foundation being perpetu- 
 ated. The king's licence was generally 
 obtained for the foundation. 
 
 In many towns and country places 
 there are ancient houses called chantry 
 houses, or sometimes chantries, or col- 
 leges, which were formerly tire residence 
 of the chantry priests, and when called 
 colleges they were the places where they 
 liyed a kind of collegiate life. These, as 
 well as all other property given for the 
 support of the chantry priests, were seized 
 by the crown and sold to private persons, 
 when by an act passed in the first year of 
 King Edward VI. cap. 14, all founda- 
 tions of this kind were absolutely sup- 
 pressed and their revenues given to the 
 king. An account had been taken a few 
 years before of all the property which 
 was settled to these uses, by the commis- 
 sioners under the act 26 Hen. VIII. cap. 
 2, whose returns form that most important 
 ecclesiastical document the ' Valor Eccle- 
 siasticus' of King Henry VIII. The 
 ' Valor* has been published by the com- 
 missioners on the ' Public Records' in 
 five volumes folio. 
 
 The act of Edward VI. gave the king 
 
CHANTRY. 
 
 [ 489 ] 
 
 CHAPEL. 
 
 all the colleges, free chapels, chantries, 
 hospitals, fraternities or guilds, which 
 •were not in the actual possession of King 
 Henry VIII. to whom the Parliament in 
 the thirty-seventh year of his reign had 
 made a grant of all such colleges, &c, nor 
 in the possession of King Edward. The 
 preamble of the act of Edward states that 
 the object of the act was the suppression 
 of the superstitions which such founda- 
 tions encouraged, and the amendment of 
 • such institutions, and the converting them 
 to good and godly uses, as for the erection 
 of grammar-schools, and for augmenting 
 of the universities, and better provision 
 for the poor and needy. But this act was 
 much abused, as the act for dissolving 
 religious houses in King Henry VIII.'s 
 reign had been, and private persons got 
 most of the benefit of it. The money was 
 not only not appropriated as it ought to 
 have been, but both many grammar- 
 schools and much charitable provision 
 for the poor were taken away under the 
 act. As already observed, the teaching of 
 youth was sometimes one of the duties of 
 the chantry priests, and it is probable 
 that wherever there was a school and a 
 chantry provided by the same foundation, 
 the existence of the chantry was made a 
 pretext for suppressing the whole endow- 
 ment. Thus at Sandwich, in Kent, the 
 chantry of St. Thomas was suppressed. 
 One of the priests of this chantry was 
 bound to teach the children of Sandwich 
 to read. The citizens, feeling the loss of 
 their school, raised money by subscription 
 for making a new school, and Roger Man- 
 wood, afterwards chief baron of the Ex- 
 chequer, was at the head of the subscrip- 
 tion. This is the origin of the present free 
 grammar-school of Sandwich. (Journal 
 o£ Education, vol. x. p. 63.) King 
 Edward founded a considerable num- 
 ber of grammar-schools, and the endow- 
 ments were for the most part out of 
 tithes formerly belonging to religious 
 houses, or out of chantry lands given 
 to the king in the first year of his reign. 
 These schools are now generally called 
 King Edward VI.'s Free Grammar- 
 Schools ; and many of them, such as Bir- 
 mingham for instance, are now well en- 
 dowed in consequence of the improved 
 value of their lands. (Strype. Ecclesias- 
 
 tical Memoirs, ii. 101— 103, ii. 423, 
 iii. 222, vi. 495.) 
 
 CH A PEL (inFrench, chapelle ; inLatin, 
 capella), a word common to many of the 
 languages of modern Europe, and used to 
 designate an edifice of the lower rank ap- 
 propriated to religious worship. 
 
 In England it has been used to desig- 
 nate minor religious edifices founded 
 under very different circumstances and 
 for different objects. 
 
 1 . We have a great number of rural 
 ecclesiastical edifices, especially in the 
 north of England, where the parishes arc 
 large, which are not, properly speaking, 
 churches, ecclesice, though they are some- 
 times so called, but are chapels, and not 
 unfrequently called parochial chapels; 
 Most of them are of ancient foundation, 
 but still not so ancient as the time when 
 the parochial distribution of England was 
 regarded as complete, and the right to 
 tithe and offerings was determined to be- 
 long to the rector of some particular 
 church. In the large parishes a family 
 of rank which resided at an inconvenient 
 distance from the parish church would 
 often desire to have an edifice near to 
 them, for the convenience of themselves 
 and their tenants. On reasonable cause 
 being shown, the bishop would often yield 
 to applications of this kind ; but in such 
 cases he would not suffer' the rights of 
 the parish church to be infringed; no 
 tithe was to be subtracted from it and 
 given to the newly erected foundation, 
 nor was that foundation to be accounted 
 in rank equal to the older church, or its 
 incumbent otherwise than subordinate 
 minister to the incumbent of the parish 
 church. But the bishop generally, 
 perhaps always, stipulated that there 
 should be an endowment by the 
 founder of such an edifice. Frequently 
 in edifices of this class there was the 
 double purpose of obtaining a place of 
 easier resort for religious worship and 
 ordinances, and a place in which perpe- 
 tual prayers might be offered for the 
 family of the founder. [Chantry.] 
 Others of these rural chapels were 
 founded by the parishioners. The popu- 
 lation of a village, which lay remote from 
 the criurch of the parish within whose 
 limits it was included, would increase, and 
 
CHAPEL. 
 
 [ +90 ] 
 
 CHAPLAIN'. 
 
 thus the public inconvenience of having 
 to resort to the parish church on occasion 
 of christenings, churchings, marriages, 
 and funerals, besides the services on the 
 festivals, become great; they would 
 therefore apply to the bishop in petitions, 
 many of which are in the registers of the 
 sees, setting forth the distance at which 
 they lived, the impediments, constant or 
 occasional, in the way of their ready 
 resort to their parish church, as want of 
 good roads, snow, the rising of waters, 
 and the like, on which the ordinary 
 would grant them the leave which they 
 desired, reserving, however, as seems al- 
 most always to have been the case, what- 
 ever rights and emoluments had before- 
 time belonged to the parish church. In 
 the parish of Halifax there are twelve of 
 these chapels, all founded before the Re- 
 formation. In the parish of Manchester, 
 and in most of the parishes of Lancashire, 
 such subsidiary foundations are numerous. 
 Those foundations of this class which 
 could be brought within the description 
 of superstitious foundations we re dissolved 
 by the act of 1 Edward VI. for the sup- 
 
 Sression of chantries ; but while the en- 
 owment was seized, it not unfrequently 
 happened that the building itself, out of 
 the piety of the person into whose hands 
 it passed in the sale of the chantry lands, 
 or the devotion of the persons living near 
 it, and long accustomed to resort to it, 
 continued to be used for religious worship 
 in its reformed state, and remains to this 
 day a place of Christian worship, the in- 
 cumbent being supported by the casual 
 endowments of the period since the Re- 
 formation, and especially by what is 
 called Queen Anne's Bounty, in which 
 most of the incumbents of chapels of this 
 class have participated. 
 
 2. The term chapel is used to desig- 
 nate those more private places for the 
 celebration of religious ordinances in the 
 castles or dwelling-houses of persons of 
 rank. These chapels, says Burn, were 
 anciently all consecrated by the bishop. 
 We find in some of the oldest specimens 
 of the castles of England some small 
 apartment which has evidently been used 
 for the purposes of devotion, and this 
 sometimes in the keep, the place of last 
 resort in the time of a siege. An instance 
 
 of this is at Conisbrough, near Doncaster. 
 But more frequently chapels of this kind 
 were erected near to the apartments ap- 
 propriated to the residence of the family. 
 Most of the baronial residences, it is pro- 
 bable, had chapels of this kind. How 
 splendid they sometimes were we may 
 see in St. George's Chapel at Windsor 
 and St. Stephen's Chapel at Westminster, 
 both chapels of this class attached to the 
 residences of our kings. 
 
 3. The chapels of colleges, as in the 
 two universities; of hospitals, or other 
 similar foundations. 
 
 4. Chapels for private services, chiefly 
 services for the dead, in the greater 
 churches, as the chapel of Saint Erasmus, 
 and others, in the church of Westminster. 
 Additions made to the parish churches 
 for the support of chantries are sometimes 
 called chantry chapels. 
 
 5. Places of worship of modern foun- 
 dation, especially those in towns, are 
 called chapels of ease, being erected for 
 the ease and convenience of the inhabi- 
 tants when they have become too nume- 
 rous for the limits of their parish church. 
 Most of these are founded under special 
 Acts of Parliament, in which the rights 
 and duties of the incumbent and the foun- 
 ders are defined. Under the Church 
 Building Acts the commissioners may as- 
 sign districts to chapels under care of 
 curates. By 3 Geo. IV. c. 72, they may 
 convert district chapelries into separate 
 parishes. ' [Benefice, p. 343.J 
 
 6. The word chapel is pretty generally 
 used to denote the places of worship 
 erected by various sects of Dissenters 
 under the Act of Toleration, though the 
 Quakers and some of the more rigid Dis- 
 senters of other denominations, out of 
 dislike to the nomenclature of an ecclesi- 
 astical system which they do not approve, 
 prefer to call such edifices by the name of 
 meeting-houses. The name chapel is now 
 also generally given, by Protestants at 
 least, to the Roman Catholic places of 
 worship. 
 
 CHAPLAIN (capellanus, a word 
 formed from the middle Latin, capella, 
 chapel). A chaplain is properly a clergy- 
 man officiating in a chapel, in contradis- 
 tinction to one who is the incumbent of a 
 parish church. But it now generally de- 
 
CHAPLAIN. 
 
 [ «1 J 
 
 CHAPLAIN. 
 
 (ignates clergymen who are either (1) 
 residing in families of distinction and ac- 
 tually performing religious services in the 
 family; or (2) who are supposed to be so, 
 though not actually so engaged. This 
 fiction proceeds on the assumption that 
 every bishop and nobleman, with some of 
 the great officers of state, have each their 
 private chapel, to which they nominate a 
 priest, or more than one. Certain privi- 
 leges respecting the holding of benefices 
 belonged to these chaplains, by reserva- 
 tion out of the Act against Pluralities, 
 21 HenryVIII. c. 13, which were restricted 
 by 57 Geo. III. c. 59 ; and by 1 & 2 Vict. 
 c. 106, both these acts were repealed so 
 far as they related to the subject of plura- 
 lities. By 21 Henry VIII. the number of 
 chaplains which noblemen and other per- 
 sons may nominate was limited : an 
 archbishop may nominate eight ; a duke 
 or a bishop, six ; a marquis or earl, five ; 
 a viscount, four ; a baron, a knight of the 
 garter, or the lord chancellor, three ; the 
 treasurer of the king's house, the comp- 
 troller of the king's house, the clerk of 
 the closet, the king's secretary, the dean 
 of the chapel, the almoner, and the master 
 of the rolls, may nominate each two ; the 
 chief justice of the King's Bench and the 
 warden of the Cinque Ports, each one ; a 
 duchess, marchioness, countess, and baro- 
 ness, being widows, are allowed to nomi- 
 nate each two. 
 
 The Speaker of the House of Commons 
 appoints his chaplain, who reads prayers 
 daily at the House before business com- 
 mences. In the House of Lords prayers 
 are read by the bishop last raised to the 
 episcopal bench, 
 
 A chaplain is appointed to each of her 
 Majesty's ships when in active service. 
 He must have been regularly ordained, 
 and a graduate of Oxford, Cambridge, 
 Dublin, or Durham, and not above the 
 age of thirty-five. He undergoes an ex- 
 amination by some competent person ap- 
 pointed by the Admiralty, and must pro- 
 duce testimonials of good moral and 
 religious conduct from two beneficed 
 c.ergymen. The pay of a chaplain is 
 ill. 5s. per month for ships of all rates, 
 and the half-pay is 5s. or 10s. a day, 
 according to length of service. In the 
 uriny it is not necessary to appoint a 
 
 chaplain to each regiment, but there are 
 a few clergymen appointed for the army 
 under the name of Chaplains to the Forces. 
 
 The magistrates in quarter-sessions are 
 required by 4 Geo. IV. c. 64, to appoint 
 a chaplain to every prison within their 
 jurisdiction. His salary is regulated by 
 the number of persons which the prison is 
 capable of containing, and must not exceed 
 150Z. when the number of prisoners does 
 not exceed fifty, nor 200Z. if the number 
 of persons which the prison can contain 
 does not exceed one hundred ; and the 
 salary may be fixed at the discretion of 
 the justices when the number of prisoners 
 exceeds two hundred. A chaplain to a 
 prison must be a clergyman of the Church 
 of England, and be licensed by the bishop 
 before he can officiate. The magistrates 
 have the power of removing him from his 
 office in case of misconduct andneglect, and 
 of granting him an annuity when incapable 
 from infirmity of performing his duties : 
 his duties are pointed out by the above 
 act, and amongst other things he is re- 
 quired to keep a journal. The duties of 
 chaplains in jails are further regulated 
 by 2 & 3 Vict. c. 56. They must not 
 reside more than a mile from the prison. 
 A chaplain in any jail in which the 
 number of prisoners confined at one time 
 during the three years preceding his ap- 
 pointment was not less than one hundred, 
 cannot hold a benefice with cure of 
 souls, or any curacy with the office of 
 chaplain. An assistant chaplain or chap- 
 lains may be appointed in jails where 
 the number of prisoners exceeds 250. 
 The reports of chaplains are sometimes 
 of great interest and throw light upon 
 the causes of crime. Appended to the 
 act 2 & 3 Vict. c. 56, are a number of 
 questions, the answers to which are 
 annually returned to the Secretary of 
 State; and the 28th question relates to 
 the duties of the chaplain. 
 
 Chaplains are required to be appointed 
 to every County Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 The Poor " Law Amendment Act 
 (4 & 5 Will. IV. c. 76) empowers the 
 Poor Law Commissioners to appoint paid 
 officers of parishes and unions, and this 
 includes chaplains. The act contemplates 
 that the inmates of union workhouses, of 
 whatever religious persuasion, should have 
 
CHARTE. 
 
 [ 492 ] 
 
 CHARTE. 
 
 instruction in that persuasion. It is not 
 peremptory to appoint a clergyman of the 
 Church of England as chaplain, and the 
 guardians may appoint a dissenting mi- 
 nister. 
 
 Both in jails and union workhouses 
 licensed dissenting ministers are allowed 
 to visit the inmates of their respective 
 persuasions at reasonable times and under 
 certain restrictions. By the Irish Poor 
 Law Act (1 & 2 Vict. c. 5S) three chap- 
 lains may be appointed for the union 
 workhouses, one of the Established 
 Church, one Roman Catholic priest, and 
 one Protestant dissenter. 
 
 CHAPTER. The canons in the ca- 
 thedral or conventual churches, when 
 assembled, form what is called the chap- 
 ter, capitulum ; anciently the council of 
 the bishop. Other religious communities, 
 when assembled for business, sat in 
 chapter. Attached to many cathedral 
 and conventual churches are buildings for 
 the meeting of the chapter, called chapter- 
 houses. The buildings of this kind con- 
 nected with the churches of Westminster 
 and York are octagonal and of singular 
 beauty. 
 
 The members of the College of Arms, 
 that is, the king's heralds and pursui- 
 vants, are said to hold a chapter when 
 they confer on the business of their office ; 
 and in like manner chapters of the order 
 of the Garter are held. 
 
 CHARGE' D' AFFAIRES. [Am- 
 bassador, p. 126.] 
 
 CHARITABLE USES. [Uses, Cha- 
 ritable.! 
 
 CHARTA MAGNA. [Magna 
 Chabta.] 
 
 CHARTE, from charta, " paper," was 
 the name given tc the letters of franchise 
 granted by the kings of France during 
 the middle ages to several towns and 
 communities, by which they were put in 
 possession of certain municipal privileges, 
 such as the free election of their local 
 magistrates and others. The word Charte 
 lias been used in France to signify the 
 solemn acknowledgment of the rights of 
 the nation made by Louis XVIII. on his 
 restoration in 1814. The Charte was 
 the fundamental law of the French con- 
 stitutional monarchy. Oneartii le of this 
 charte, having given occasion to a false 
 
 interpretation, of which the ministers of 
 Charles X. availed themselves to issue 
 the ordonnances which gave rise to the 
 revolution of July, 1830, was altered on 
 the accession of Louis-Philippe, and it 
 was clearly explained that " the king 
 issues the necessary ordonnances and 
 regulations for the execution of the laws, 
 without having the power in any case to 
 suspend the course of the law or to delay 
 its execution." The " Charte de 1830," 
 with this and one or two more modifica- 
 tions of minor importance, was sworn to 
 by Louis-Philippe on the 9th of August, 
 1830. After that date, a change was 
 made by the legislature in the constitu- 
 tion of the Chamber of Peers. The 
 Peers were only for life, and the peerage 
 was consequently not hereditary. 
 
 As France is so closely connected with 
 England in the progress of constitu- 
 tional history, we give an abstract of the 
 " Charte de 1830." The general out- 
 line of the late government of France 
 bore a resemblance to our own, being an 
 hereditary constitutional or limited mo- 
 narchy. Itsgeneral constitution isdofined 
 in the charter granted by Louis XVIII. 
 upon his restoration in a.d. 1814; mo. li- 
 ned in 1830, after the revolution which 
 dro\e out the elder branch of the Bour- 
 bons; and further modified since that 
 time. The Charte, as modified after the 
 revolution of 1830, and as it stood in 
 February 1848, consisted of sixty-seven 
 articles, arranged under seven heads. 
 
 1st head, containing eleven articles. — 
 Droit public des Francais (Public or na- 
 tional Eights of the French"). — This head 
 provides for the equality of all French- 
 men in the eye of the law, their equal 
 admissibility to civil and military em- 
 ployments, and their equal freedom from 
 arrest otherwise than by legal process. 
 It guarantees the full enjoyment of reli- 
 gious liberty ; and while it recognises 
 Catholicism as the religion of the ma- 
 jority of Frenchmen, it provides for the 
 payment not only of the Catholic priest- 
 hood, but of the ministers of other Chris- 
 tian denominations, out of the public 
 purse.* It ensures the liberty to all 
 
 • A Ijwnf Feb 6 1R3I, includes payment W 
 the U'uiiaicrd of the Jewish religion. 
 
CHARTE. 
 
 [ 493 j 
 
 CHARTE. 
 
 Frenchmen of printing and publishing 
 their opinions, and prohibits for ever the 
 re-establishment of the censorship.* It 
 abolishes the conscription ; provides for 
 the oblivion of all political offences pre- 
 vious to the restoration of the Bourbons ; 
 and guarantees the security of property 
 (including the so-called " national do- 
 mains" sold during the first Revolution), 
 except -when the public good, as made 
 out in a legal manner, requires the sacri- 
 fice of individual property, in which case 
 the owner must be indemnified. 
 
 2nd head, containing eight articles. — 
 Formes du Gouvernement du Hoi {Limits 
 of the Kingly Power). — This head secures 
 to the king the supreme executive power, 
 the command of the army and navy, the 
 right of making war and treaties of peace, 
 alliance, and commerce ; of nominating to 
 all the offices of public administration ; 
 and of making all regulations needful for 
 the execution of the laws, without the 
 power of suspending them or dispensing 
 with them. It provides that the legisla- 
 tive functions shall be exercised by the 
 king, the Chamber of Peers, and the 
 Chamber of Deputies ; that every law 
 must be agreed to by a majority of each 
 chamber (the discussions and votes of 
 which are to be free), and sanctioned by 
 Ihe king; that bills may originate with, 
 any of the three branches of the legis- 
 lature, except money bills, which must 
 originate in the Chamber of Deputies ; 
 and that a bill rejected by any branch 
 of the legislature cannot be brought in 
 again the same session. The civil list 
 is fixed at the commencement of every 
 r. ign, and cannot be altered during that 
 -eign. 
 
 3rd head, containing ten articles. — 
 T)e la Chambre des Pairs (Of the Cham- 
 ber of Peers). — This head provides for the 
 assembling of this chamber simultaneously 
 with the deputies, and renders every sit- 
 ting illegal (except when the chamber is 
 exercising its judicial power) unless it is 
 held during the session of the deputies. 
 The nomination of the peers is vested in 
 the king (the princes of the blood are 
 peers by right of birth) ; their number is 
 
 * The law of Sept. 9. 1835, r 'strains the free- 
 dom of the press by several severe enactments. 
 
 unlimited, and their dignity is for life 
 only ; art. 23 of the " Charte," which 
 related to the peerage, having been 
 replaced by the law of 9th December, 
 1831, which abolished an hereditary 
 peerage. This law is incorporated in 
 the " Charte." It points out the class 
 of persons from whom peers must be se- 
 lected ; and prohibits pensions being at- 
 tached to the dignity of a peer. The 
 ordonnance of nomination must mention 
 the services for which the honour is con- 
 ferred. The peers have no right of entry 
 into the chamber under twenty-five years 
 of age or of voting under thirty. The 
 chancellor of France is president, or, in 
 his absence, a peer nominated by the 
 king. The sittings of the peers are pub- 
 lic. The chamber takes cognizance of 
 offences against the state. A peer can 
 only be arrested by the authority of the 
 chamber, and is not amenable to any other 
 tribunal than the chamber in criminal 
 matters. 
 
 4th head, containing sixteen articles. — 
 De la Chambre des Deyutis ( Of the Cham- 
 ber of Deputies).— This head provides for 
 the election of the deputies and the sit- 
 tings of the chamber. The electors must 
 be not less than twenty-five years of age 
 and the deputies not less than thirty, and 
 each must possess whatever other qualifi- 
 cations the law requires.* (The law of 
 19th April, 1831, for regulating the elec- 
 toral franchise was passed in pursuance 
 of a promise given in the Charte.) 
 The deputies are elected for five years, 
 and one-half of the deputies for each 
 department must have their political 
 domicile in it. The remaining heads 
 refer to ministers and the administration 
 of justice; but as the entire Charte has 
 become a nullity by the extraordinary 
 revolution of February 1848, it is unne- 
 cessary to dwell further upon it. By the 
 
 * The deputies are all chosen by the depart- 
 ment; or, to borrow the language of our 6wn 
 institutions, they are all " county members ;" and 
 the electoral qualification consists in the pay- 
 ment of .200 francs direct taxes. The qualifica- 
 tion of a deput\ is the payment of 500 francs. 
 The voti'S are given by ballot, both by electors 
 and bv the deputies in the chambers. The whole 
 number of deputies is now 459, having been in-' 
 creased within the last few years from 430, 
 
CHARTER. 
 
 [ 494 J 
 
 CHARTER. 
 
 new constitution promulgated November 
 4, I H IK, the constitutional monarchy of 
 Louis Philippe has been converted into 
 a democratic republic, one and indivisi- 
 ble. Article 1 of the constitution de- 
 clares, that " in adopting this definitive 
 form of government, the ends proposed 
 are — a freer advance in the path of 
 civilization, and more equitable distri- 
 bution of the burdens and advantages 
 of society. Next follow declarations 
 abolishing the punishment of death for 
 political offences ; slavery cannot exist 
 upon "any French territory;" and con- 
 fiscation of property is abrogated. 
 
 By chap. 4, the legislative power is 
 delegated to a single assembly of 950 
 members, including the representatives 
 of Algeria and the French colonies All 
 Frenchmen of the age of 21, enjoying 
 their civil rights, are made electors, and 
 all electors of the age of 25 are eligible 
 to be representatives. The National 
 Assembly is elected for three years, and 
 one half the members and one more 
 is necessary to the validity of any vote 
 upon the laws. No project of a law, 
 except in urgent cases, to be definitively 
 decided upon till after three debates, at 
 intervals of not less than five days. 
 
 By chap. 5, the executive power is de- 
 legated to a citizen, wi;h the title of 
 President of the Republic. He must be 
 thirty years of age, be elected for four 
 years, and not be eligible to be re-elected 
 until after an interval of four years; 
 neither during the same period can the 
 vice-president be chosen, nor any rela- 
 tive of the president to the sixth degree 
 of affinity. The president is chosen by 
 ballot by the election of the Assembly. 
 He is empowered to dispose of the armed 
 force, but not to command it in person. 
 He cannot prorogue or dissolve the As- 
 sembly, or suspend in any way the con- 
 stitution or the laws. He may nego- 
 tiate public treaties, but no treaty is 
 definitive until approved by the Assem- 
 bly. He cannot cede territory, nor 
 begin any war without the assent of the 
 Assembly. The president's salary is 
 600,0<I0 francs, with residence. 
 
 CHARTER,. This word is from the 
 Latin charta, a word of uncertain origin : 
 the Greek form of the word is chattel 
 
 (x<fy>r»is). Charta appears to have signi. 
 fied writing material made of papyrus. 
 The term was afterwards applied not 
 only to the materials for writing, but to 
 the writing itself, as to a letter or the 
 leaf of a book. In English law it was 
 used to denote any public instrument, 
 deed, or writing, being written evidence 
 of things done between man and man, 
 and standing as a perpetual record. 
 (Bracton, lib. 2, c. 2u.) Among the 
 Saxons such instruments were known as 
 gewrite, or writings. 
 
 Charters are divided into — I. charters 
 of the crown, and II. Charters of private 
 persons. 
 
 I. Royal charters were used at a very 
 early period, for grants of privileges, ex- 
 emptions, lands, honours, pardon, and 
 other benefits that the crown had to con- 
 fer ; and thus the term became restricted 
 to such instruments as conferred some 
 right or franchise. These instruments 
 did not differ in form from letters patent, 
 being usually addressed by the king to 
 all his subjects, and exposed to open view, 
 with the great seal pendent at the bot- 
 tom ; but such as contained grants of 
 particular kinds were distinguished by the 
 name of charters. Thus as giving was 
 the object of a charter, the term became 
 very popular, and was used in a more 
 extended sense, to denote laws of a popu- 
 lar character. 
 
 Whatever may have been the pre- 
 rogatives and legislative authority of 
 the kings of England, it is certain that 
 from the earliest times there were many 
 rights and liberties which by the law of 
 the land belonged to the people. As 
 these were often restrained and violated, 
 nothing was more acceptable to the nation 
 than a formal recognition of them by 
 the crown: and the popular name of 
 charter was applied to those written laws 
 by which the kings from time to time 
 confirmed or enlarged the liberties of the 
 people. Such laws were regarded not 
 only as concessions from the king, but 
 as contracts between man and man — be- 
 tween the king and his subjects; while, 
 at the same time, they were promulgated 
 as the legislative acts of the sovereign 
 authority in the state. 
 
 The charter of William the Conqueror, 
 
CHARTER 
 
 [ 495 ] 
 
 CHARTER. 
 
 for observing the laws throughout Eng- 
 land, was in the nature of a public law. 
 It settled the religion of the state and 
 provided for its peace and government, 
 for the administration of justice, the pun- 
 ishment of criminals, and the regulation 
 of markets; it confirmed the titles to 
 lands, and the exemption of the tenants 
 in chief of the crown from all unjust ex- 
 action and from tallage. The words are 
 those of a lawgiver appointing and com- 
 manding ; " statuimus," " volumus et fir- 
 miter precipimus," "interdicirmis," "de- 
 tretum est," are the forms of expression 
 by which matters are ordered or prohi- 
 bited. (Fcedera Sec. Comm. Ed., vol. i. 
 
 P- 1.) 
 
 The charters of liberties granted by 
 Henry I., Stephen, Henry II., John, 
 Henry III., and Edward I., are all, more 
 or less, in the nature of public laws, 
 either making new provisions, or confirm- 
 ing, enlarging, and explaining existing 
 laws, and relate to the freedom and good 
 government of the people, and all the 
 most important interests of the country. 
 Some of them are still regarded as autho- 
 ' ritative declarations of the rights and 
 privileges which the people of England 
 have enjoyed for centuries.* So valid 
 and binding were the royal charters 
 esteemed as laws, that in the 37 Henry 
 III. (a.d. 1253), in the presence of the 
 king, several of the first nobles, "and 
 olher estates of the realm of England," 
 the archbishop and bishops excommuni- 
 cated and accursed all who should violate 
 or change " the church's liberties or the 
 ancient approved customs of thu realm, 
 and chiefly the liberties contained in the 
 charters of the common liberties and of 
 the forest, granted by our lord the king." 
 In those times no sanction more solemn 
 could have been given to the authority of 
 any law. It was intended chiefly as 
 a check upon the king himself, whose 
 power had been restrained by the popular 
 concessions made in the charters of liber- 
 ties, but it was also directed against all 
 
 • They are printed at length in the first volume 
 of the ' Statutes of the Realm,' published by 
 the Record Commissioners. With the exception 
 of one charter in the 25th Edw. I., they are all in 
 the Latin language. 
 
 his subjects who should violate the liber. 
 ties of the people. [Magna Charta.] 
 
 These charter-laws, though often ex 
 pressed to have been made by the advice 
 of the king's council, implied an absolute 
 legislative power vested in the crown ; and 
 as royal prerogative became restrained 
 and the public liberties enlarged, legis- 
 lation by charter was gradually super- 
 seded by the statutes and ordinances 
 made in Parliament. During the reigns 
 of Henry III. and Edw. I. laws were 
 promulgated in both forms ; but since 
 that time statutes and ordinances have 
 been the only records of legislation — not 
 differing materially, at first, either in 
 form or in the nature of the authority 
 from which they emanated, from the 
 charters of earlier reigns, but gradually 
 assuming their present character as acts 
 agreed to by the entire legislature. 
 
 But notwithstanding the discontinuance 
 of the practice of promulgating general 
 laws by royal charter to bind the whole 
 kingdom, the exercise of prerogative, by 
 means of charters, has partaken of a legis- 
 lative character throughout the entire 
 history of the British government. Some 
 of the most ancient and important of 
 these were charters to boroughs and mu- 
 nicipal bodies, conferring immunities and 
 franchises, of which the greatest was that 
 of sending representatives to parliament. 
 There are still extant municipal charters 
 of the Saxon kings, and of the Norman 
 kings after the Conquest, conferring 
 various rights upon the inhabitants of 
 boroughs, of which an exclusive juris- 
 diction was always one ; but the first 
 charter of incorporation to any municipal 
 body appears to have been granted in 
 1439, in the reign of Henry VI., to Kings- 
 ton-upon-Hull ; although, in the absence 
 of prior charters, it has been usual to 
 presume that charters confirming existing 
 usages had been lost. 
 
 But though the king's charters have 
 conferred upon boroughs the right of 
 sending members to parliament, it was 
 held in several cases, by the House of 
 Commons, that the right of voting by the 
 common law, could not be varied by 
 charters from the crown. (Glanville's 
 Reports, p. 47, 63, 70.) Between the 
 reigns of Henry VIII. and Charles II. 
 
CHARTEK. 
 
 [ J96 ] 
 
 CHARTER. 
 
 no less than 180 members were added to 
 the House of Commons by royal charter, 
 the last borough upon which that right 
 was conferred, in this manner, having 
 been Newark, in 1673. Several of these 
 were ancient boroughs which had ceased 
 to send members, and whose rights were 
 thus restored by charter; while some 
 towns, expressly created boroughs by 
 charter, did not send members to parlia- 
 ment for centuries afterwards, as Queen- 
 borough, for example, to which a charter 
 was granted in 131J8, but which did not 
 return members until 1578. Hence it 
 has been argued that, notwithstanding 
 the practice of later reigns, the charter of 
 the crown alone was not sufficient in law 
 to entitle a town to send members to par- 
 liament, although expressly created a 
 borough, to which, by the common law, 
 the right of sending members was inci- 
 dent. (Merewether and Stephen's His- 
 tory of Boroughs and Municipal Corpora- 
 tions, Introduction, and pp. 664, 1256, 
 1 774, &c.) This view derives confirma- 
 tion from the acknowledged law that the 
 crown was unable, by charter, to exempt 
 a borough from returning members, since 
 that right was always held to be exercised 
 for the benefit of the whole realm, and 
 not for the advantage of the particular 
 place. (Coke, 4th lust. 49.) Upon these 
 grounds a charter of exemption to the 
 citizens of York was declared void by 
 act of parliament, 29 Henry VI. c. 3. 
 Bat as parliamentary representation has, 
 at length, been comprehensively arranged 
 for the whole kingdom by the Reform 
 Acts, the legal eftect of royal charters 
 upon the elective franchise has become a 
 question merely of historical interest. 
 The peculiar rights of corporations have 
 also been determined by the Municipal 
 Corporations Act ; but a power has been 
 reserved to the crown, with the advice of 
 the Privy Council, to grant charters of 
 incorporation to other towns, upon the 
 petition of the inhabitants, and to extend 
 to them the provisions of the Municipal 
 Corporations Acts (5 & 6 Will. IV. c. 76, 
 § 141). [Municipal Corporations.] 
 
 Charters were formerly granted by the 
 crown, establishing monopolies in the 
 buying, selling, making, working, or 
 using certain things ; an injurious prac- 
 
 tice, contrary to the ancient and fnmla- 
 mental laws of the realm, which was 
 abolished by the act 21 James I. c. 3. 
 [Monopoly.] 
 
 The crown has ever exercised, and still 
 retains, the prerogative of incorporating 
 universities, colleges, companies, and other 
 public bodies, and of granting them, by 
 charter, powers and privileges not incon- 
 sistent with the law of the land. But as 
 the most considerable bodies ordinarily 
 require powers which no authority but 
 that of parliament is able to confer, such 
 corporations as the East India Company 
 and the Bank of England, which were 
 originally established by royal charter, 
 have long since derived their extraordi- 
 nary privileges from acts of parliament, 
 as well as other public companies which 
 have been incorporated in the first in- 
 stance by statute. 
 
 But the largest powers now conferred 
 by royal charter are those connected with 
 the colonies and foreign possessions of the 
 crown. Whenever a new country is ob- 
 tained by conquest or treaty, the crown 
 possesses an exclusive prerogative power 
 over it, and by royal charters may esta- 
 blish its laws and the form of its govern- 
 ment; may erect courts of justice, of civil 
 and criminal jurisdiction, and otherwise 
 provide for its municipal order, for the 
 raising its revenue, and the regulation of 
 its commerce. (Chitty, On Preroga- 
 tives, c. iii.) This sovereign power, how- 
 ever, is always subject to the ultimate 
 control of parliament ; and even if de- 
 puted to a legislative assembly, or other 
 local government, possessing rights and 
 liberties defined by charter, the crown 
 cannot recall the charter, and govern by 
 any laws inconsistent with its provisions, 
 or at variance with the common law. 
 
 II. Charters of private persons are the 
 title-deeds of lands, many of which are 
 the ancient grants of feudal lords to their 
 tenants. These pass with the land as in- 
 cident thereto, and belong to him who 
 has the inheritance ; or, if the laud be 
 conveyed to another and his heirs, the 
 charters belong to the feoffee. A charter 
 of the crown, granted at the suit of the 
 grantee, is construed most beneficially for 
 the crown, and against the party ; but a 
 private charter is construed most strongly 
 
CHARTISTS. 
 
 [497 ] 
 
 CHARTISTS. 
 
 against the grantor. (Fleta, lib. iii. o. 
 14 ; Corny n's Digest, tit. Charters; Coke, 
 1st Inst. 6 a, la, 2nd Inst. 77; Cowel, 
 Law Dictionary; Blackstone and Ste- 
 phen's Commentaries ; Preface to Statutes 
 of the Realm, &c.) 
 
 CHARTER PARTY. [Ships.] 
 CHARTISTS, the name given to a po- 
 litical party in this country, who propose 
 extensive'alterations in the representative 
 system, as the most direct means of at- 
 taining social improvement, and whose 
 views are developed in a document called 
 the " People's Charter." The principal 
 points of this proposed charter are, uni- 
 versal suffrage, vote by ballot, annual 
 parliaments, the division of the country 
 into equal electoral districts, the abolition 
 of property qualification in members and 
 paying them for their services. The 
 principles of the charter and the means of 
 carrying them into effect have also been 
 embodied in the form of a bill. It was pre- 
 pared in 1 838 by six members of the House 
 of Commons, and six members of the 
 London Working Men's Association j and 
 the following are the most important of 
 its enactments : — I. The preparers of the 
 Bill allege the low state of public feel- 
 ing as an apology for not admitting wo- 
 men to the franchise, and it is there- 
 fore only provided that every male in- 
 habitant be entitled to vote for the election 
 of a member of the Commons' House of 
 Parliament, subject however to the fol- 
 lowing conditions : — 1 . That he be a 
 native of these realms, or a foreigner who 
 has lived in this country upwards of two 
 years, and been naturalized. 2. That he 
 be twenty-one years of age. 3. That he 
 be not proved insane when the lists of 
 ' voters are revised. 4. That he be not 
 convicted of felony within six months 
 from and after the passing of this act. 
 5. That his electoral rights be not sus- 
 pended for bribery at elections, or for 
 personation, or for forgery of election cer- 
 tificates, according to the penalties of this 
 act. II. That the United Kingdom be 
 divided into 300 electoral districts, so as 
 to give uniform constituencies of about 
 20,000 voters each. III. That the votes 
 be taken by ballot IV. That a new Par- 
 liament be elected annually; that the 
 elections take place on the same day in 
 
 all the districts ; and that electors vote 
 only for the representative of the district 
 in which they are registered. V. That 
 no other qualification be required for 
 members than the choice of the electors. 
 VI. That every member be paid 5001. a 
 year out of the public treasury for his 
 legislative services ; and that a register 
 be kept of the daily attendance of each 
 member. 
 
 There is nothing new in the principles 
 or details of the People's Charter. They 
 have, either separately, or some one or 
 other of them in conjunction, been a pro- 
 minent subject of discussion at various 
 intervals within the last seventy years. 
 In 1780 the Duke of Richmond intro- 
 duced a bill into the House of Lords for 
 annual parliaments and universal suffrage. 
 In the same year the electors of West- 
 minster appointed a committee to take 
 into consideration the election of mem- 
 bers of the House of Commons, and in 
 their report they recommended the iden- 
 tical points which now constitute the 
 main features of what is called the 
 People's Charter. The Society of the 
 Friends of the People, established in 
 1792, three years afterwards published a 
 declaration which recommended a very 
 large extension of the suffrage. In sea- 
 sons of national distress, the amendment 
 of the representative system has always 
 been warmly taken up by the people of 
 this country. 
 
 In 1831 the wishes of a large mass of 
 the middle classes were realized and 
 satisfied by the passing of the Reform 
 Act. A season of political repose, and, as 
 it happened also, of commercial pros- 
 perity, followed the excitement which 
 preceded the passing of that measure. 
 A victory had been gained, and the peo- 
 ple waited for the benefits which they 
 were to derive from it. In the next 
 period of distress which arose, the 
 amended state of the representative 
 system and the advantages which it had 
 brought were narrowly scanned ; and the 
 consequence was, the gradual formation 
 of a party who were dissatisfied with its 
 arrangements, and sought to attain the 
 ends of political and social good by a 
 more extensive change. This is briefly 
 the origin of Chartism and of the Pel- 
 
CHARTISTS. 
 
 [ 498 ] 
 
 CHATTELS. 
 
 pie's Charter. The middle classes were, 
 however, well satisfied on the whole with 
 the overthrow of the rotten boroughs and 
 the enfranchisement of the large towns, 
 and therefore the Chartists stood alone, 
 and began to regard them with a feeling 
 of hostility. Chartists were sometimes 
 found, as in all other parties, ready to 
 assist the party which differed most 
 widely from them, with the object of 
 thwarting the political objects which the 
 middle classes had at heart. In 1838 
 they had become a large party and em- 
 braced a great number of the working 
 classes employed otherwise than in agri- 
 culture. The number of signatures at- 
 tached to the petition presented at the 
 commencement of the session of 1839 in 
 favour of the People's Charter was up- 
 wards of one million and a quarter. Un- 
 fortunately the idea began to be enter- 
 tained amongst a certain class of the 
 Chartists, that physical force might be 
 justifiably resorted to if necessary for 
 obtaining political changes; and the 
 party became divided into the Physical 
 Force Chartists and the Moral Force 
 Chartists. The former became impli- 
 cated in disturbances which took place at 
 various times in several parts of the 
 country ; and many persons of this class 
 never having had correct views respect- 
 ing the wages of labour, it appeared as if 
 they had adopted the cry of " a fair day's 
 wages for a fair day's work " as an ad- 
 ditional point of the People's Charter. 
 The disturbances in 1842 in the midland 
 and northern counties were to some ex- 
 tent encouraged by the less intelligent of 
 the Physical Force Chartists. At the 
 close of 1841, however, an attempt was 
 made to combine the middle classes with 
 the Chartists in their attempt to obtain an 
 extension of the suffrage. Early in 1842 
 a Complete Suffrage Union was formed 
 at Birmingham, and in April of the 
 same year a Conference, consisting of 
 eighty-seven Delegates, was assembled 
 at Birmingham, which sat for four days ; 
 three of which were spent in agreeing 
 upon a basis of union between the middle 
 and working classes, and the last day in 
 adopting plans of practical organization. 
 The six points of the People's Charter 
 ■~«re adopted by the Conference, and the 
 
 details were left for settlement to a future 
 Conference. It was resolved also at this 
 conference to establish a National Com- 
 plete Suffrage Union. The proposed 
 National Conference commenced its meet- 
 ings in December, 1842, and was attended 
 by 374 delegates. Here a rupture took 
 place between the Chartists and the Com- 
 plete Suffrage party, and the latter were 
 outvoted on the question of adopting the 
 People's Charter instead of the Complete 
 Suffrage Bill. The minority, however, 
 proceeded to act upon their views as de- 
 veloped in the Complete Suffrage Bill. 
 This Bill does not contain any dis- 
 qualifying clauses. In other respects it 
 differs from the People's Charter only in 
 matters of detail. These are the only 
 two plans connected with the extension of 
 the franchise which are at present sup- 
 ported by any large class in this country. 
 The Chartists and the Complete Suffragists 
 are only nominally distinct parties ; but 
 the former may be characterized as pos- 
 sessing a greater hold on the working 
 classes than the Complete Suffragists, 
 whose ranks are chiefly recruited from the 
 middle classes : their objects, however, 
 are so similar, that they may at any time 
 unite without any sacrifice of principle. 
 
 CHASE. [Forest.] 
 
 CHATTELS (in Law Latin, Catalla). 
 This term comprehends all moveable pro- 
 perty, and also all estates in land which 
 are limited to a certain number of years 
 or other determinate time. All moveable 
 goods, as horses, plate, money, and the 
 like, are called Chattels Personal. Es- 
 tates or interests in land, which are com- 
 prehended in the term chattels, are called 
 Chattels Real. " Goods and Chattels " is 
 a common phrase to express all that a 
 man has, except such estates in land as 
 are freehold estates ; but the word chattels 
 alone expresses the same thing as " goods 
 and chattels." The word goods is merely 
 a translation of the Latin word Bona, 
 which was used by the Romans to express 
 all property, and generally all that a 
 man was in any way entitled to. (Dig. 
 50, tit. 1 6, s. 49.) The nature of personal 
 property in England is further considered 
 under Property. Chattels of each de- 
 scription pass to the personal representa- 
 tives of the deceased proprietor, and are 
 
CHEQUE. 
 
 [ 499 J CHILTEEN HUNDEEDS. 
 
 comprehended under the general term 
 "Personal Property." The law as to 
 chattels is now, owing to the great in- 
 crease of wealth, and particularly of move- 
 ables, of equal importance with the law 
 relating to land; hut under the strict 
 feudal system, and the laws to which it 
 more immediately gave rise, chattels (in- 
 cluding even terms for years) were con- 
 sidered of small importance in a legal 
 point of view, and, indeed, prior to the 
 reign of Henry VI., were rarely men- 
 tioned in the law treatises and reports of 
 the day. (Eeeve, Hist. Em). Law, 369.) 
 Many articles which are properly chattels, 
 owing to their intimate connexion with 
 other property of a freehold nature, and 
 being necessary to its enjoyment, descend 
 therewith to the heir, and are not treated 
 
 ' as chattels. Thus, for instance, the mu- 
 niments of title to an estate of inheritance, 
 
 . growing trees and grass, deer in a park, 
 and such fixtures as cannot be removed 
 from the freehold without injury to it, 
 are not chattels, because they pass to the 
 heir. In the hands of a person however 
 who has a limited interest in such things 
 they become his chattels, and pass to his 
 executor. Chattels, except so far as they 
 may be heir-looms, cannot be entailed, 
 though they may be limited so as to vest 
 within twenty-one years after the death 
 of a person or persons in being. They 
 are not within the Statute of Uses, inas- 
 much as the proprietor of a chattel is 
 said to be possessed of it, not seised, which 
 is the word used in that statute. The 
 same forms were not required in passing 
 a chattel by devise, as in the case of real 
 property, and a will of chattels might 
 also be made at an earlier age than one 
 which disposed of real estate ; at fourteen 
 years of age by a male, and twelve by a 
 female. But this is now altered by 1 
 Vict. c. 26, and no person under twenty- 
 one years of age can now dispose of any- 
 thing by will. Chattels do not go in suc- 
 cession to a corporation sole, except only 
 in the cases of the king and the chamber- 
 lain of the city of London. (Co. Litt. ; 
 Blackstone, Contm.') 
 
 CHEQUE, an order on a banker by a 
 person who has money in the bank, direct- 
 ing him to pay a certain sum of money to 
 the bearer or to a person named in the 
 
 cheque, which is signed hy the drawer. 
 Cheques are immediately payable on 
 presentment. They are not liable to 
 stamp-duty, and are therefore limited in 
 their functions in order to prevent their 
 circulating as bills of exchange. They 
 must, for example, be payable on demand, 
 without any days of grace, and must be 
 drawn on a banker within fifteen miles of 
 the place where they are issued. The 
 place of issue must therefore be named, 
 and they must bear date on the day of 
 issue. A cheque should be presented on 
 the day which it is received, or within a 
 reasonable time. One of the first rules to 
 be observed in writing a cheque is to 
 draw it in a business-like manner, so as to 
 prevent a fraudulent alteration in the 
 amount, for if otherwise the drawer may 
 be liable. A "crossed" cheque is an 
 ordinary cheque with the name of a par- 
 ticular banker written across the face of 
 it for security, or it may be crossed simply 
 " & Co." ; and in this case it will only 
 be paid through that banker. If presented 
 by any other person, it is not paid without 
 further inquiry. The 'Bankers' Maga- 
 zine' for Oct. and Nov. 1844, and Jan. 
 and Feb. 1845, contains some valuable 
 information on the Law of Cheques. 
 
 One of the great advantages of a bank- 
 ing account is the convenience of draw- 
 ing cheques. A person is thus relieved 
 of the necessity of keeping ready money in 
 his hands, and a cheque is some evidence 
 of payment in the absence of a proper 
 receipt. The Bank of England allows 
 cheques to be drawn for sums of 5i, but 
 a few years ago it allowed no cheques 
 under 10/. 
 CHICOEY. [Adulteration,] 
 CHIEF JUSTICE. [Courts.] 
 CHILD-KILLING. [Infanticide.] 
 CHILD-STEALING. [Abduction.] 
 CHILTEEN HUNDEEDS. A portion 
 of the high land of Buckinghamshire is 
 known by the name of the Chiltern Hills. 
 " Formerly these hills abounded in timber, 
 especially beech, and afforded shelter to 
 numerous banditti. To put these down, 
 and to protect the inhabitants of the 
 neighbouring parts from their depreda- 
 tions, an officer was appointed under the 
 crown, called the steward of the Chiltern 
 Hundreds." (Geog. of Great Britain, 
 2k2 
 
CHILTEEN HUNDREDS, r 500 
 
 CHIMNEY-SWEEPER. 
 
 by the Society for the Diffusion of Use- 
 ful Knowledge.) The duties have long 
 since ceased, but the nominal office is 
 retained to serve a particular purpose. 
 A member of the House of Commons, 
 who is not in any respect disqualified, 
 cannot resign his seat. A member there- 
 fore who wishes to resign, accomplishes 
 his object by applying for the steward- 
 ship of the Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, 
 Desborough, and Bodenham, which, being 
 held to be a place of honour and profit 
 under the crown, vacates the seat, and a 
 new writ is in consequence ordered. 
 This nominal place is in the gift of the 
 chancellor of the exchequer. As soon as 
 the office is obtained it is resigned, that it 
 may serve the same purpose again. 
 Another office which is applied for under 
 similar circumstances, is the stewardship 
 of the manors of East Hendred, North- 
 stead, and Herapholme. The offices 
 which have been held to vacate seats may 
 be collected from the several General 
 Journal Indexes, tit. " Elections." 
 
 In the session of 1842 a committee of 
 the House of Commons was appointed 
 " to inquire whether certain corrupt com- 
 promises had been entered into in speci- 
 fied boroughs, for the purpose of avoid- 
 ing investigation into gross bribery, 
 alleged to have been practised in them ;" 
 and a member for one of these boroughs 
 (Reading) having applied to the chan- 
 cellor of the exchequer, requesting that 
 Ihe stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds 
 might be conferred on him, the chancellor 
 of the exchequer, who anticipated similar 
 applications from members of some of 
 the other boroughs implicated, decided 
 upon refusing the appointment. The 
 reasons he alleged for this refusal, in a 
 letter addressed to the member for 
 Reading, were as follows : — " Under or- 
 dinary circumstances I should not feel 
 justified in availing myself of the dis- 
 cretion vested in me in order to refuse or 
 delay the appointment for which you 
 have applied, when sought for with a 
 view to the resignation of a seat in par- 
 liament. But after the disclosures which 
 have taken place with respect to certain 
 boroughs, of which Heading is one, and 
 after the admission Of the facts by the 
 parties interested, I consider that by 
 
 lending my assistance to the fulfilment of 
 any engagement which may have been 
 entered into as arising out of any such 
 compromise, I should, in some sort, make 
 myself a party to transactions which I do 
 not approve, and of which the House of 
 Commons has implied its condemnation. 
 I feel, moreover, that by a refusal on my 
 part of the means by which alone such 
 engagements can be fulfilled, I afford the 
 most effectual discouragement to the 
 entering into similar compromises in 
 future, and thus promote, so far as is in 
 my power, the intentions of the House of 
 Commons." 
 
 CHIMNEY-SWEEPER, a person 
 whose trade it is to cleanse foul chim- 
 neys from soot. The actual sweepers 
 were formerly boys, of very tender age, 
 who were taught to climb the flues, and 
 who, from the cruelties often practised 
 upon them by their masters, had for the 
 last half-century become objects of parti- 
 cular care with the legislature. The first 
 and chief act by which regulations con- 
 cerning them were enforced was the 28 
 Geo. III. c. 48. In 1834 the act 4 & 5 
 Will. IV. c. 35, was passed for the better 
 regulation of Chimney-sweepers and their 
 Apprentices, and for the safer Construc- 
 tion of Chimneys and Flues. From that 
 date no child who was under ten years of 
 age could be apprenticed to a chimney- 
 sweeper. A particular form of indenture 
 of apprenticeship is required in the case of 
 chimney-sweeps. In 1840 another act (3 
 & 4 Vict. c. 85) was passed, 7th August, 
 for the regulation of chimney-sweepers and 
 chimneys. This act annulled existing 
 indentures of chimney-sweepers' appren- 
 ticeship, where the apprentice was under 
 sixteen, and prohibited in future the bind- 
 ing of any child under that age. Any per- 
 son who compels, or knowingly allows, 
 any young person under the age of twenty- 
 one, to ascend or descend a chimney, or 
 enter a flue, for the purpose of sweeping 
 or extinguishing fire, is liable, under this 
 act, to a penalty not exceeding 10/. and 
 not less than 5/. That part of the act 
 3 & 4 Vict. c. 85, which related to chim- 
 neys is repealed by 7 & 8 Vict. c. 84 (the 
 Metropolitan Buildings Act), which sub- 
 stitutes new regulations as to the dimen- 
 sions and construction of chimneys. 
 
CHURCH-RATES,. 
 
 [ 501 j 
 
 CHURCH-RATES. 
 
 The number of persons returned as 
 chimney-sweepers in 1841 was 4620 in 
 England, 56 in Wales, and 331 in Soot- 
 land. Two-fifths (1974) were under 
 twenty years of age. 
 
 About the beginning of the present cen- 
 tury, a number of individuals joined in 
 oifering considerable premiums to any 
 one who would invent a method of cleans- 
 ing chimneys by mechanical means, so 
 as to supersede the necessity for climbing- 
 boys. . Various inventions were in con- 
 sequence produced, of which the most 
 successful was that by Mr. George Smart 
 The principal parts of the machine are a 
 brush, some hollow tubes which fasten 
 Into each other by means of brass sockets, 
 and a cord for connecting the whole. 
 CHIVALRY, COURT OF. [Courts.] 
 CHURCH BRIEF. [Brief.] 
 CHURCH-RATES are rates raised, 
 by resolutions of a majority of the pa- 
 rishioners in vestry assembled, from the 
 parishioners and occupiers of land within 
 a parish, for the purpose of repairing, 
 maintaining, and restoring the body of 
 the church and the belfry, the churchyard 
 fence, the bells, seats, and ornaments, and 
 of defraying the expenses attending the 
 service of the church. The spire or 
 tower is considered part of the church. 
 The duty of repairing and rebuilding the 
 chancel lies on the rector or vicar, or 
 both together, in proportion to their be- 
 nefices, where there are both in the same 
 church. But by custom it may be left to 
 the parishioners to repair the chancel, and 
 in London there is a general custom to 
 that effect 
 
 The burden of repairing the church 
 was anciently charged upon tithes, which 
 were divided into three portions, one for 
 the repair of the church, one for the poor, 
 and one for the ministers of the church. 
 Pope Gregory had enjoined on St Au- 
 gustine such a distribution of the volun- 
 tary offerings made to his missionary 
 church in England; and when Chris- 
 tianity came to be established through 
 the land, a.d parish churches generally 
 erected, and when tbe payment of tithes 
 was exacted, the tithes were ordered to 
 be distributed on Pope Gregory's plan. 
 Thus, one of Archbishop JEMnc's canons, 
 made in the year 970, is as follows.— 
 
 " The holy fathers have also appointed 
 that men should give their tithes to the 
 church of God, and the priests should 
 come and divide them into three parts, 
 one for the repair of the church, and the 
 second for the poor, but the third for the 
 ministers of God, who bear the care of 
 that church." (Wilkins, Concilia, i. 253.) 
 The same division of tithes was enacted 
 by King iEthelred and his councillors 
 in Witenagemot assembled, in the year 
 1014. A portion of the fines paid to 
 churches in the Anglo-Saxon times for 
 offences committed within their jurisdic- 
 tions was also devoted to church repairs. 
 The bishops were likewise required to con- 
 tribute from their own possessions to the 
 repair of their own churches. A decree 
 of King Edmund and his councillors, 
 in 940, headed "Of the repairing of 
 churches," says that " Each bishop shall 
 repair God's house out of what belongs 
 to him, and shall also admonish the king 
 to see that all God's churches be well 
 provided, as is necessary for us all." 
 (Schmid, Gesetze der Angel-Sachsen, i, 
 94.) One of King Canute's laws says, 
 " All people shall rightly assist in repair- 
 ing the church ;" but in what way it is 
 not said. There is no pretence however 
 for interpreting this law of Canute's as 
 referring to anything like church-rate. 
 A payment to the Anglo-Saxon church, 
 called cyric-sceat (church scot), has been 
 erroneously identified with church-rate 
 by some writers. This was a payment 
 of the first-fruits of corn-seed every St. 
 Martin's day (November 11), so much for 
 every hide of land, to the church : and 
 the laws of King Edgar and King Canute 
 direct all cyric-sceat to be paid to the 
 old minster. (Schmid, i. 99, 165.) Cy- 
 ric-sceat was otherwise called cyric- 
 amber, amber being the measure of pay- 
 ment. 
 
 Churches continued to be repaired with 
 a third of the tithes after the Norman 
 conquest, and to as late as the middle of 
 the thirteenth century. How the burden 
 came to be shifted from the tithes to the 
 parishioners is involved in much obscu- 
 rity. The following conjectural sketch 
 of the rise of church-rates is from a pam- 
 phlet by Lord Campbell:— "Probably 
 the burden was very gradually shifted to 
 
CHURCH-RATES. 
 
 L 502 J 
 
 CHURCH-RATES. 
 
 the parishioners, and their contributions 
 to the expense were purely voluntary. 
 The custom growing, it was treated as an 
 obligation, and enforced by ecclesiastical 
 censures. The courts of common law 
 seem to have interposed for the protection 
 of refractory parishioners till the statute 
 of Circumspecte Agatis, 13 Ed. I., which 
 is in the form of a letter from the ting to 
 his common law judges, desiring them to 
 use themselves circumspectly in all mat- 
 ters concerning the bishop of Norwich 
 and his clergy, not punishing them if 
 they held plea in court Christian of such 
 things as are merely spiritual, as "si 
 pralatus puniat pro cimeterio non clauso, 
 ecclesia discooperta vel non decenter 
 ornata." Lord Coke observes, "that 
 some have said that this was not a statute, 
 but made by the prelates themselves, yet 
 that it is an act of parliament." In the 
 printed rolls of parliament, 25 Ed. III. 
 No. 62, it is called an ordinance ; but in 
 the statute 2 & 3 Ed. VI. c. 13, § 51, it is 
 expressly styled a statute, and it must 
 now clearly be taken to be the act of the 
 whole legislature. From the year 1285 
 therefore the bishops were authorized to 
 compel the parishioners by ecclesiastical 
 censures to repair and to provide orna- 
 ments for the church." (Sir John, now 
 Lord, CamphelVs Letter to Lord Stanley 
 on the Law of Church- Rates, 1837.) But 
 for long after the existence of the custom 
 of making the parishioners contribute to 
 the repairs of the church, and after the 
 statute Circumspecte Agatis, the original 
 obligation on the clergyman to repair out 
 of the tithes was remembered. Lord 
 Campbell quotes in the same pamphlet a 
 passage from a MS. treatise in the Har- 
 leian Collection, written in the reign of 
 Henry VII., by Edward Dudley, a privy 
 councillor of that king, which thus lays 
 down the law for appropriation of the in- 
 comes of the clergy : — " One part thereof 
 for their own living in good household 
 hospitality ; the second in deeds of cha- 
 rity and alms to the poor folk, and spe- 
 cially within their diocese and cures, 
 where they have their living ; and the 
 third part thereof for the repairing and 
 building of their churches and mansions." 
 Lyndwode, who wrote in the fifteenth 
 century, says that by the common law 
 
 the burden of repairing the church is on 
 the rector, and not on the laity. " But 
 certainly," he adds, " by custom even the 
 lay parishioners are compelled to this 
 sort of repair ; so that the lay people is 
 compelled to observe this laudable cus- 
 tom." (Const. Legatin. 113.) 
 
 Church-rates are imposed by the pa- 
 rishioners themselves, at a meeting sum- 
 moned by the churchwardens for th* 
 purpose. Upon the churchwardens, con- 
 jointly with the minister, devolves the 
 care of the fabric of the church and the 
 due administration of its offices. With a 
 view to provide a fund for such expenses, 
 it is the duty of the churchwardens to 
 summon parish-meetings for the purpose 
 of levying rates ; and if they neglect to 
 do so, they may be proceeded against cri- 
 minally in the ecclesiastical courts. They 
 may also be punished by the ecclesiastical 
 courts for neglecting to make repairs for 
 which money has been provided by the 
 parish; but if they have no funds in 
 hand, and if they have not failed to call 
 the parishioners together, they cannot be 
 punished. A mandamus also is grantable 
 to compel the churchwardens to call a 
 meeting. If the parish fail to meet, the 
 churchwardens then constitute the meet- 
 ing, and may alone impose a rate ; but if 
 the parish should assemble, it rests with 
 the parishioners themselves to determine 
 the amount of the rate, or to negative the 
 imposition of a rate altogether. 
 
 The repair of the parish church and 
 the provision of the necessaries for divine 
 service are thus entirely at the option of 
 the majority of the parishioners assembled. 
 Before the Reformation the parishioners 
 could be punished in the ecclesiastical 
 courts for failing to repair the parish 
 church ; and the punishment was, to 
 place the parish under an interdict, or 
 sentence of excommunication, by which 
 the church was shut up, the administra- 
 tion of the sacraments suspended, and 
 any parishioner who died was buried 
 without bell, book, or candle. But there 
 is now no means of compelling the pa- 
 rishioners to provide church-rates. There 
 is no remedy by mandamus : the Court 
 of King's Bench will grant a mandamus, 
 as has been already said, directing church- 
 wardens to call a parish meeting, but not 
 
CHURCH-RATES. 
 
 [ 503 J 
 
 CHURCH-RATES. 
 
 to compel parishioners to make a rate. 
 The ecclesiastical courts cannot make a 
 rate, nor appoint commissioners to make 
 one. An obiter dictum of Chief Justice 
 Tindal in delivering the judgment of the 
 Court of Exchequer Chamber in error in 
 the Braintree case, has lately suggested 
 the possibility of proceeding criminally 
 against parishioners for voting against a 
 a rate, or absenting themselves from a 
 meeting called to consider of a rate, 
 where repairs are needed. In Braintree 
 parish, after the parishioners on meeting 
 had refused to make any rate, the church- 
 wardens had levied a rate of their own , 
 authority, and proceeded against a pa- 
 rishioner for refusing to pay his por- 
 tion. The Court of Exchequer Chamber, 
 to which the churchwardens appealed 
 against a prohibition issued by the Court 
 of Queen's Bench, confirmed the prohi- 
 bition, and declared the churchwardens' 
 rate to be illegal. But in delivering the 
 judgment of the court, Chief Justice 
 Tindal made the following remark : — " It 
 is obvious that the effect of our judgment 
 in this case is no more than to declare 
 the opinion of the court, that the church- 
 wardens have in this instance pursued a 
 course not authorized by law, and conse- 
 quently all the power with which the 
 spiritual court is invested by law to com- 
 pel the reparation of the church is , left 
 untouched. If that court is empowered 
 (as is stated by Lyudwode, page 53, voce 
 sub poena, and other eccle&'-jstical writers) 
 to compel the churchwardens to repair 
 the church by spiritual censures ; to call 
 upon them to assemble the parishioners 
 together, by due notice, to make a suffi- 
 cient rate; to punish such of the pa- 
 rishioners as refuse to perform their duty 
 in joining in the rate by excommunica- 
 tion, that is, since the statute of 53 Geo. 
 III. c. 127, by imprisonment, and under 
 the same penalty to compel each pa- 
 rishioner to pay his proportion of the 
 church-rate ; the same power will still 
 remain with them, notwithstanding the 
 decision of this case." In December, 1 842, 
 some parishioners of St. George's, Cole- 
 gate, Norwich, were articled in the 
 Court of Arches for having wilfully and 
 contumaciously obstructed, or at least 
 refused to make, or join and concur in 
 
 making, a sufficient rate for the repair ol 
 the church of the parish. The articles 
 were admitted by Sir Herbert Jenner 
 Fust, the judge of the Court of Arches ; 
 but on application to the Court of Queen's 
 Bench the proceedings were stayed by 
 prohibition. Church-rates depend, there- 
 fore, entirely on the will of a majority 
 of the parishioners assembled : and this 
 is obviously a state of things which, where 
 dissenters from the established religion 
 abound, may lead to parish churches 
 being left to go to ruin. 
 
 The existing poor-rate of the parish is 
 generally taken as the criterion for the 
 imposition of the church-rate ; but de- 
 cisions as to poor-rates are not binding 
 in cases of church-rates, and the proper 
 test for church-rates is a valuation by 
 competent judges, grounded on the rent 
 the tenant would be willing to pay for 
 the premises. All property in the pa- 
 rish is liable except the glebe-land of 
 that parish, and the possessions of the 
 crown when in the actual occupation of 
 the crown, and places of public worship. 
 Stock in trade is not generally rated for 
 church repairs, but a custom may exist 
 rendering it rateable in a particular parish. 
 The ecclesiastical courts have the ex- 
 clusive authority of deciding on the va- 
 lidity of a rate, and the liability of a 
 party to pay it ; but a ratepayer cannot 
 by an original proceeding in those courts 
 raise objections to a rate for the purpose 
 of quashing it altogether. If he wishes 
 to dispute it, he ought to attend at the 
 vestry, and there state his objections ; if 
 they are not removed, he may enter a 
 caveat against the confirmation of the 
 rate, or refuse to pay his assessment. In 
 the latter case, if proceeded against in the 
 ecclesiastical court, he may in his defence 
 show either that the rate is generally 
 invalid, or that, he is unfairly assessed. 
 The consequence of entering a caveat is 
 an appeal to the ecclesiastical judge, who 
 will see that right is done. 
 
 A retrospective church-rate, or rate 
 for expenses previously incurred, is bad. 
 This has been often decided in the courts 
 of common law and equity, and in the 
 ecclesiastical courts. The reason is stated 
 by Lord Ellenborough in the judgment 
 of the court in Rex v. Haworth (12 East, 
 
CHUECH-EATES. 
 
 [ 504 ] 
 
 CHUECH-EATES. 
 
 556) : — " The regular way is for the 
 churchwardens to raise the money before- 
 hand by a rate made in the regular form 
 for the repairs of the church, in order 
 that the money may be paid by the ex- 
 isting inhabitants at the time, on whom 
 the burden ought to fall." It has lately 
 been decided by the Judicial Committee, 
 in the case Chesterton v. Hutchins, re- 
 versing the decision of the Court of 
 Arches, and confirming the previous de- 
 cision of the Consistory Court, that a rate 
 not retrospective on the face of it, but ad- 
 mitted to be partly retrospective, was bad. 
 
 Previously to 53 Geo. III. c. 127, the 
 only mode of recovering church-rates 
 from parties refusing to pay was by suit 
 in the ecclesiastical court for subtraction 
 of rate. By that statute, where the sum 
 to be recovered is under 101. and there is 
 no question as to the validity of the rate, 
 or the liability of the party assessed, any 
 justice of the county where the church is 
 situated may, on complaint of the church- 
 warden, inquire into the merits of the 
 case, and order the payment. Against 
 his decision there is an appeal to the 
 quarter - sessions. By several statutes, 
 principally the 58 Geo. III. c. 45, and 
 59 Geo. III. c. 134, acts passed for the 
 promotion of building churches, the com- 
 mon-law powers of churchwardens have 
 been varied, and extended so as to enable 
 them to raise money on the security of 
 church-rates, and to apply them for the en- 
 largement, improvement, &e. of churches, 
 and for the building of new ones, &c. 
 
 The levying of church-rates on dissent- 
 ers, who are so numerous in this country, 
 has caused so much irritation, and the 
 frequently successful opposition of dis- 
 senters at vestry-meetings called to im- 
 pose rates has rendered church-rates so 
 precarious a resource, that various at- 
 tempts have been made of late years to 
 abolish them, and to substitute some 
 more certain and less obnoxious provi- 
 'sion for the repair of churches and the 
 due celebration of divine worship. Lord 
 Althorp, as chancellor of the exchequer 
 in Lord Grey's government, brought in a 
 bill for the abolition of church-rates in 
 1834, which proposed to charge the Con- 
 solidated Fuud with 250,000?. a year, to 
 be devoted to the repair of parish churches 
 
 and chapels (including the chancel), and 
 to be disbursed by commissioners after 
 certificate from the quarter-sessions of the 
 county in which the parish might lie, 
 founded on a report by the county sur- 
 veyor, — to place on the rector or lay im- 
 propriator, relieved of the duty of repair- 
 ing the chancel, the burden of providing 
 necessaries for the performance of divine 
 service, — to leave the preservation of 
 pews to the owners or occupiers, and to 
 leave the provision and repair of bells, 
 organs, and ornaments to voluntary con- 
 tributions. This bill fell to the ground, 
 principally owing to the opposition of 
 dissenters, who viewed the substitution 
 for church-rates of a charge on the public 
 taxes as a mere shifting of the burden 
 upon themselves, and objected altogether 
 to being called upon to contribute to a 
 church to which they did not belong. In 
 1837 Lord Melbourne's government made 
 a second attempt to settle the question ; 
 and a bill was brought in by Mr. Spring 
 Eiee, chancellor of the exchequer, to 
 abolish church-rates, and provide for the 
 objects of them by a surplus created by a 
 better management of the ehurch lauds 
 held by the archbishops, bishops, and 
 deans and chapters; these lands to be 
 managed by commissioners, and 250,0002. 
 a year to be the first charge on the sur- 
 plus. The opposition of the church and 
 of church lessees frustrated this measure, 
 and no measure has since been brought 
 forward by any government. 
 
 Lord Althorp stated, in introducing his 
 measure, that the amount of ehureh-rates 
 annually levied was from 500,000/. to 
 600,000/.; and about 249,000/. was an- 
 nually expended on the fabrics of churches. 
 Mr. Spring Eice calculated that in 5000 
 parishes in England no church-rates are 
 levied. There are endowments in many 
 parishes for the repair of the church, 
 which render church-rates unnecessary ; 
 and in many parishes arrangements have 
 been made for voluntary subscriptions, to 
 avoid squabblings between churchmen 
 and dissenters, and the scandal of such 
 disputes. 
 
 The Parliamentary Returns respecting 
 local taxation issued in 1839 (No. 5(,2^ 
 give the following particulars respecting 
 church-rates in England and Wales for 
 
CHURCHWARDENS. ['505 ] CHURCHWARDENS. 
 
 the year ending Easter, 1839 : — Total 
 amount of rates and monies received by 
 churchwardens, 506,812/., of which 
 363,103/. was derived from the church- 
 rates, and 143,709/. from other sources. 
 The total sum expended was 4S0,662/., and 
 of this sum 21 5,301/. was expended in the 
 repairs of churches. The debt secured on 
 church-rates amounted to 535,236/. There 
 is a more complete return for the year end- 
 ing Easter, 1832, which shows some of the 
 principal of the " other sources" alluded 
 to in the return of 1839. In 1831-2 the 
 total amount which the churchwardens 
 received was 663,814/., derived from 
 the following sources j— Church-rates, 
 446,247/. i estates, &c, 51,919/.; mor- 
 tuary or burial fees, 18,216/. ; poor-rates, 
 41,489/. ; pews and sittings, 39,382/. ; 
 other sources not stated, 66,559/. The 
 payments by the churchwardens in the 
 same year amounted to 645,883/., and 
 included 46,337/. for books, wine, &c, ; 
 salaries to clerks, sextons, &c, 126,185/.; 
 organs, bells, &c, 41,710/. ; and repairs 
 of churches, 248,125/. 
 
 CHURCHWARDENS are parish of- 
 ficers, who by law have a limited charge 
 of the fabric of the parish church, of the 
 direction and supervision of its repairs, 
 and of the arrangement of the pews and 
 seats. Certain other duties are imposed 
 upon them on particular occasions. 
 There are usually two churchwardens in 
 each parish, but by custom there may be 
 only one. It is said by some authorities, 
 that by the common law the right of 
 choosing churchwardens is in the parson 
 and the parishioners. This is however 
 by no means universally the oase, as a 
 custom prevails in many parishes for the 
 parishioners to choose Doth, and in some 
 both are elected by a select vestry. The 
 eighty-ninth canon of 1603 directs that 
 " churchwardens shall be chosen yearly in 
 Easter week by the joint consent of the 
 minister and parishioners, if it may be ; 
 but if they cannot agree, the minister 
 shall choose one and the parishioners an- 
 other." It has however been questioned 
 how far these canons are binding upon 
 the laity, even in matters ecclesiastical. 
 
 The usual duties of churchwardens are, 
 to take care that the churches are suffi- 
 ciently repaired; to distribute seats 
 
 among the parishioners, under the control 
 of the ordinary ; to maintain order and 
 decorum in the church during the time of 
 divine service ; and to provide the furni- 
 ture for the church, the bread and wine for 
 the sacrament, and the books directed by 
 law to be used by the minister in conduct- 
 ing public worship. In addition to these 
 ordinary duties, the churchwardens are 
 by virtue of their office overseers of the 
 poor, under the statutes for the relief of 
 the poor; they summon vestries; they 
 are also required to present to the bishop 
 all things presentable by the ecclesiastical 
 laws, which relate to the church, minister, 
 or parishioners. They act as seques- 
 trators of a living. They are also re- 
 quired to perambulate the bounds of the 
 parish. In large parishes there are some- 
 times officers called sidesmen (synodsmen) 
 or questmen, whose business it is to 
 assist the churchwardens in inquiring 
 into offences and making presentments. 
 Churchwardens and sidesmen were for- 
 merly required to take an oath of office 
 before entering upon their respective 
 duties ; but by a recent statute, 5 & 6 
 Will. IV. c. 62, § 9, it is enacted that, in 
 lieu of such oath, they shall make and 
 subscribe a declaration before the ordi- 
 nary (the bishop of the diocese, or the 
 archdeacon, official, or surrogate) that 
 they will faithfully and diligently per- 
 form the duties of their offices. This is 
 done at the archdeacon's visitation. It 
 is said by various old writers that the 
 churchwarden might act before he was 
 sworn ; but 5 & 6 Will. IV. c. 62, re- 
 quires that the declaration should be taken 
 first. The old churchwardens usually 
 act until the archdeacon's visitation, about 
 the month of June, though their suc- 
 cessors are appointed at Easter. 
 
 If churchwardens are guilty of any 
 wilful malversation, or if they refuse to 
 account to the parishioners at the termi- 
 nation of their period of service, they may 
 be proceeded against summarily before 
 the bishop by any parishioner who is in- 
 terested, or the new churchwardens may 
 maintain an action of account against 
 them at common law ; in which action 
 the parishioners, other than such as re- 
 ceive alms, are admissible as witnesses. 
 (3 Will. III. c. 11, § 12.) On the 
 
CINCINNATI. 
 
 [ 506 J 
 
 CINQUE POUTS. 
 
 other hand, in all actions brought against 
 them for any thing done by virtue of 
 their office, if a verdict be given for 
 them, or if the plaintiff be nonsuited or 
 discontinue, they are entitled to double 
 costs by 7 Jas. I. C. 5, and 21 Jas. I. 
 c. 12. 
 
 Under the 59th Geo. III. c. 12, § 17, 
 churchwardens and overseers are em- 
 powered to take and hold lands in trust 
 for the parish as a corporate body ; and 
 by a decision under this act, they can also 
 take and hold any other lands and here- 
 ditaments belonging to the parish, the 
 profits of which are applied in aid of 
 the church-rate. (Burn's Justice and 
 Burn's Ecclesiastical Law, tit. " Church- 
 wardens.") 
 
 CINCINNATI, OEDEE OF, an as- 
 sociation established at the termination 
 of the revolutionary war by the officers 
 of the American army, which, in refer- 
 ence to the transition made by most of 
 them from the occupation of husbandry to 
 that of arms, took its name from the Bo- 
 man Cincinnatus. The society was called 
 an " order," and an external badge was 
 provided of a character similar to those 
 worn by the knights and other privileged 
 orders of Europe. It was moreover pro- 
 vided that the eldest son of every deceased 
 member should also be a member, and 
 that the privilege should be transmitted 
 by descent for ever. This principle of 
 perpetuating a distinction soon became 
 the object of attack. Judge Burke, of 
 South Carolina, endeavoured, in a pam- 
 phlet, to show that it contained the germ 
 of a future privileged aristocracy, and 
 that it should not be allowed to develop 
 itself. The society was publicly censured 
 by the governor of South Carolina in his 
 address to the Assembly, and by the legis- 
 latures of three states, Massachusetts, 
 Ehode Island, and Pennsylvania. A 
 correspondence ensued between General 
 Washington and Mr. Jefferson concerning 
 the institution in 1 784, and Mr. Jefferson 
 expressed himself altogether opposed to 
 the principle of hereditary descent. The 
 public disapprobation did not run less 
 strongly in the same direction. At a 
 meeting of the society soon afterwards, in 
 Philadelphia, the hereditary principle 
 and the power of adopting honorary 
 
 members were abolished ; but the society, 
 in all other respects, was preserved. Ac- 
 cording to Mr. Jefferson, General Wash- 
 ington used his influence at the meeting 
 in Philadelphia for its suppression, and 
 the society would probably have been 
 dissolved but for the return of the envoy 
 whom they had despatched to France for 
 the purpose of providing badges for the 
 order, and of inviting the French officers 
 to become members. As they could not 
 well retract, it was determined that the 
 society should retain its existence, its 
 meetings, and its charitable funds. The 
 order was to be no longer hereditary ; it 
 was to be communicated to no new mem- 
 bers; the general meeting, instead of 
 being annual, was to be triennial only. 
 The badges were never publicly worn in 
 America, but it was wished that the 
 Frenchmen who were enrolled in the 
 order should wear them in their own 
 country. In some of the States the so- 
 ciety perhaps still exists, and the mem- 
 bers hold, or until lately held, triennial 
 meetings. In others it has been allowed 
 silently to expire. That of Virginia met 
 in 1822, and transferred its funds 
 (15,000 dollars) to Washington College. 
 (Tucker's Life of Jefferson, vol. i. pp. 
 184-188.) 
 
 CINQUE PORTS. It is stated by 
 Jeake (' Charters of the Cinque Ports'), 
 that in one of the records of the town of 
 Eye is a memorandum that " the five 
 ports were enfranchised in the time of 
 King Edward the Confessor;" the five 
 ports here intended, the original Cinque 
 Ports of the Normans, being the towns of 
 Sandwich, Dover, Hythe, and Eomney, 
 on the coast of Kent,- and Hastings on that 
 of Sussex. Only three of these five ports 
 being mentioned in the Domesday Sur- 
 vey, viz. Sandwich, Dover, and Eomney, 
 Lord Coke thence infers that at first the 
 privileged ports were these three only. 
 
 Though some part of the municipal 
 constitution of the individual ports may 
 be anterior to the Norman invasion, yet 
 the organization of the general body, as 
 it has existed in later times, is plainly 
 traceable to the policy of the Conqueror in 
 securing, by every means, his communica- 
 tions with the Continent. These ports and 
 their members occupy exactly the tract of 
 
CINQUE PORTS. 
 
 [ 507 j 
 
 CINQUE PORTS 
 
 sea-coast of which, after the victory of 
 Hastings, he showed most eagerness to pos- 
 sess himself, by sweeping along it with 
 his army before he directed his march to- 
 wards London ; and the surrender into 
 his hands of the castle of Dover, which 
 is the centre of the Cinque Ports' juris- 
 diction, was one of the stipulations intro- 
 duced into the famous oath which, in 
 Edward's lifetime, the duke had extorted 
 from Harold. To enable his government 
 to wield the resources of this maritime 
 district with the greater vigour and 
 promptitude, he severed it wholly from 
 the civil and military administrations of 
 the counties of Kent and Sussex, erecting 
 it into a kind of palatine jurisdiction, 
 under a gardien, or warden, who had the 
 seat of his administration at the castle of 
 Dover, and exercised over the whole 
 district the combined civil, military, and 
 naval authority ; uniting in his own hands 
 all the various functions which, to use 
 the terms most intelligible to modern 
 readers, we may describe as those of a 
 sheriff of a county at large, a custos rotu- 
 lorum, a lord lieutenant, and an admiral 
 of the coast. 
 
 To the five ports of the Conqueror's 
 time were added, before the reign of 
 Henry III., with equal privileges, what 
 were called the ancient towns of Winchel- 
 sea and Rye, lying on the Sussex coast, 
 between Hastings and Romney. To each 
 of these seven municipal towns, except 
 Winchelsea, were attached one or more 
 subordinate ports or towns, denominated 
 members of the principal port. 
 
 The internal constitution of each port, 
 as well as the Norman denominations of 
 jurats and barons, which, in lieu of alder- 
 men and freemen, have constantly pre- 
 vailed in them all since William's time, 
 concur to show the solidity of his plan 
 for rendering this maritime line one of 
 the grand outworks of the Conquest. The 
 earliest members of the municipal bodies 
 established under these foreign denomi- 
 nations, at a time when the English mu- 
 nicipalities in general were subjected to 
 the most rigorous enslavement, were doubt- 
 less trading settlers from William's conti- 
 nental dominions ; and the term barons, 
 as applied to the Cinque Ports' representa- 
 tives, which in the later periods of English 
 
 parliamentary history has usually been 
 considered as simply synonymous with 
 burgesses, did, before the several elements 
 of the Commons' House coalesced into 
 one homogeneous body, imply a political 
 as well as a municipal superiority. 
 
 Until the time of Henry VII. the crown 
 appears to have had no permanent navy : 
 the Cinque Ports constantly furnished 
 nearly all the shipping required for the 
 purposes of the state, and their assistance 
 to the king's ships continued long after 
 that time. When ships were wanted, the 
 king issued his summons to the ports to 
 provide their quota. In the time of Ed- 
 ward I. the number they were bound to 
 provide was fifty-seven, fully equipped, 
 at their own cost : the period of gra- 
 tuitous service was limited to fifteen days. 
 
 Each of the five original ports returned 
 two barons to parliament, as early as the 
 18th of Edward I. The peculiar nature 
 of the relation between the Cinque Ports 
 and the crown must have given the latter, 
 from the commencement, a very power- 
 ful influence in their internal transac- 
 tions ; and, in later times, when the parlia- 
 mentary relations of the municipal towns 
 came to be the grand object of solicitude 
 to the royal prerogative, these munici- 
 palities imbibed an ample share of the 
 prevalent municipal as well as political 
 corruption. In the 20th of Charles II. 
 the first open blow was struck by the 
 crown at the liberties of the Ports in ge- 
 neral, in the provision of Charles's char- 
 ter of that year, by which the elections 
 of all their recorders and common clerks 
 were made subject to the royal approba- 
 tion. Subsequently, in 1685, all the gene- 
 ral charters of the Ports, and most of the 
 particular charters of each individual 
 town, were, by the king's special com- 
 mand, delivered up to Colonel Strode, 
 then constable of Dover Castle, and were 
 never afterwards recovered. 
 
 Before the Revolution in 1688 the lord- 
 wardens assumed the power and the right 
 of nominating one, and sometimes both, 
 of the members for each of the port-towns 
 having parliamentary representation ; but 
 this practice was terminated by an act 
 passed in the first year after the Revolu- 
 tion, entitled ' An Act to declare the 
 Right and Freedom of Election of Mem- 
 
CINQUE POETS. 
 
 [ 508 j 
 
 CINQUE POETS. 
 
 Iiers to serve in Parliament for the Cinque 
 Ports.' 
 
 The jurisdiction of the Cinque Ports 
 collectively extends along the coast, con- 
 tinuously, from Birchington, which is 
 west of Margate, to Seaford in Sussex. 
 But several of the corporate members are 
 quite inland. Tenterden, in the centre 
 of a rich agricultural district, has not 
 even a river near it. Many of the unin- 
 corporate members are not only inland, 
 but situated at great distances from their 
 respective ports, some as far as forty to fifty 
 miles. All the unincorporated members 
 being exclusively under the jurisdiction 
 of their own ports, each of those members 
 was obliged to have recourse to the jus- 
 tices and coroner of its own port. This 
 inconvenience was partially removed by 
 51 Geo. III. c. 36, entitled 'An Act to 
 facilitate the Execution of Justice within 
 the Cinque Ports.' 
 
 The Parliamentary Eeform Act of 1832 
 worked a considerable revolution in the 
 political relations of the Cinque Ports, 
 aud the Municipal Reform Act has ope- 
 rated yet more decidedly to break up the 
 ancient organization of the ports, and 
 assimilate their internal arrangements to 
 those of the improved English munici- 
 palities at large. 
 
 Anciently there were several courts, 
 exercising a general jurisdiction over all 
 the ports and members. The Court of 
 Shepway was the supreme court of the 
 Cinque Ports. The lord warden presided 
 in it, assisted by the mayors and bailiffs 
 and a certain number of jurats summoned 
 from each corporate town. Two other 
 ancient courts are still occasionally held, 
 the Court of Brotherhood and the Court 
 of Guestliug. The Court of Brotherhood 
 is composed of the mayors of the five 
 ports and two ancients towns and a cer- 
 tain number of jurats from each of 
 them. The Court of Guestling con- 
 sists of the same persons, with the addi- 
 tion of the mayors and bailiffs of all 
 the corporate members, and a certain 
 number of jurats from each of them. It 
 is thought that the bodies forming this 
 addition may originally have been merely 
 invited by the Court of Brotherhood to 
 give their assistance, and that hence the 
 assembly may have received the name 
 
 of Guestling. In the Court of Brother- 
 hood the arrangements and regulations 
 were made as to the apportioning of the 
 service of ships to the crown. The ne- 
 cessity for proceedings of this kind no 
 longer exists ; and although these courts 
 have been occasionally held of late years, 
 such holding seems to have been mere 
 matter of form, excepting only the Courts 
 of Brotherhood and Guestling, held be- 
 fore each coronation, at which the ar- 
 rangements have been made respecting 
 the privilege of the barons of the ports to 
 hold the canopy over the king's head on 
 that occasion ; another mark of the pre- 
 eminence among the municipalities of 
 England given to these towns by the 
 princes of the Norman line. 
 
 It remains to notice more particularly 
 the nature of the lord warden's jurisdic- 
 tion as now exercised. All writs out of 
 the superior courts are directed to the 
 constable of Dover Castle, who is always 
 the lord warden ; upon which his war- 
 rant is made out, directed to and executed 
 by an officer called the bodar. This 
 officer, by a curious anomaly, has also 
 the execution of writs out of the distant 
 civil court at Hastings ; and the necessity 
 of having recourse to him has been a 
 source of inconvenience and dissatisfac- 
 tion to the latter town. The clerk of 
 Dover Castle acts as under-sheriff. The 
 constable's gaol for debtors is within 
 Dover Castle ; and by act 54 Geo III. c. 
 97, their maintenance was provided for by 
 an annual contribution of 300/.,to be levied 
 on the ports and members in proportions 
 fixed by the act. 
 
 The Admiralty jurisdiction of the 
 Cinque Ports, attached to the office of 
 lord warden, is expressly reserved in the 
 Municipal Reform Act. A branch of 
 this jurisdiction appears in the court of 
 Lodemanage, so call from the old Eng- 
 lish word Todeman, a /cad-man or steerer, 
 which is held for the licensing and regu- 
 lating of pilots, by the lord warden and 
 a number of commissioners, of whom tht 
 mayors of Dover and Sandwich are offi- 
 cially two. The lord warden seems an- 
 ciently to have held a court of chancery 
 in one of the churches at Dover, but it 
 has long been obsolete. (Jeake's Char- 
 ters of the Cinque Porta, &c.) 
 
CIRCUITS. 
 
 [ 509 j 
 
 CIRCUITS. 
 
 CIRCUITS (from the French cir- 
 cuit, which is from the Latin circuitus, 
 " a going about"), in English law, denote 
 the periodical progresses of the judges 
 of the superior courts of common law 
 through the several counties of England 
 and Wales, for the purpose of administer- 
 ing justice in civil and criminal matters. 
 The ordinary circuits take place in the 
 spring and summer of each year. In 
 1843 and 1844 a winter assize was 
 held, and it is probable that a third 
 assize will now take place every year. 
 These winter commissions of oyer and 
 terminer and general gaol delivery have 
 not hitherto included the counties of 
 cities. All the circuits take place under 
 the authority of several commissions under 
 the great seal, issued to the judges and 
 others associated with them on each oc- 
 casion. [Assize.] Most barristers prac- 
 tising in the common law courts in 
 London are attached to one or other of 
 the circuits ; and each circuit is con- 
 stantly attended by a numerous bar. The 
 transaction of judicial business in the pre- 
 sence of a professional audience of this 
 kind, has been justly considered one of 
 the best securities for the due administra- 
 tion of justice ; and in consequence of 
 the system of circuits, this advantage is 
 not confined to the metropolis, but is 
 communicated to the most remote parts 
 of England and Wales. 
 
 Since the statute 11 Geo. IV. & 1 
 Will. IV. c. 70, by which the ancient 
 Welsh judicature was abolished, the cir- 
 cuits of the judges are eight in number, 
 and the counties of England and Wales 
 are distributed among them in the follow- 
 ing manner : — 
 
 The Northern Circuit comprehends 
 the counties of York, Durham, Northum- 
 berland, Cumberland, Westmoreland, and 
 Lancaster. 
 
 The Western Circuit comprehends the 
 counties of Southampton, Wilts, Dorset, 
 Devon, Cornwall, and Somerset,— and 
 Bristol. 
 
 The Oxford Circuit comprehends the 
 counties of Berks, Oxford, Worcester, 
 Stafford, Salop, Hereford, Monmouth, and 
 Gloucester. 
 
 The Midland Circuit comprehends the 
 counties of Northampton, Rutland, Lin- 
 
 coln, Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, and 
 Warwick. 
 
 The Home Circuit comprehends the 
 counties of Hertford, Essex, Kent, Sussex, 
 and Surrey. 
 
 [For several years preceding 1834 one 
 of the judges made a circuit through the 
 counties of Hertford, Essex, Kent, Sussex, 
 and Surrey, in the month of December, for 
 the trial of criminals. But in that year 
 an act was passed (4 Wm. IV. c. 36) for 
 establishing a central criminal court for 
 London and Middlesex, and parts of 
 Essex, Kent, and Surrey, the sessions 
 for which are held at the Old Bailey, at 
 least twelve times a year. The judges are 
 the Lord Mayor, the Lord Chancellor, the 
 Judges, the Aldermen, Recorder, and 
 Common Sergeant of London, and such 
 others as her Majesty may appoint. The 
 jurisdiction of this court extends to all 
 treasons, murders, felonies, and misde- 
 meanours within ten miles of St. Paul's 
 Cathedral. Offences committed on the 
 high seas, within the jurisdiction of the 
 Admiralty of England, are tried in this 
 court.] 
 
 The Norfolk Circuit comprehends the 
 counties of Buckingham. Bedford, Hun- 
 tingdon, Cambridge witn the Isle of Ely, 
 Norfolk, and Suffolk. 
 
 The South Wales Circuit comprehends 
 the counties of Glamorgan, Carmarthen, 
 Pembroke, Cardigan, Brecon, and Radnor. 
 
 The North Wales Circuit comprehends 
 the counties of Montgomery, Merioneth, 
 Carnarvon, Anglesey, Denbigh, Flint, and 
 Chester. 
 
 Ireland is divided into the North-East 
 Circuit, the North-West Circuit, the 
 Home Circuit, and the Leinster, Con- 
 naught, and Munster Circuits. 
 
 Scotland is not divided into Circuits. 
 Assizes are held twice a year in Aber- 
 deen, Inverness, Perth, Ayr, Dumfries, 
 Jedburgh, Glasgow, Inverary, and Stir- 
 ling : at Glasgow they are held three 
 times a year. 
 
 The total number of towns in which 
 assizes are held is, in England, 66 ; Ire- 
 land, 34; and Scotland, 9. In many 
 counties, especially in England, the as- 
 sizes are held alternately at two different 
 towns of the county. In Surrey they are 
 held in three different towns, — the Spring 
 
CIRCUITS. 
 
 [ 510 J 
 
 CITIZEN. 
 
 assizes at Kingston, and the Summer as- 
 sizes at Croydon and Guildford alter- 
 nately. 
 
 The Commissioners of Insolvent Deht- 
 ors make circuits thrice a year through- 
 out England and Wales, for the purpose 
 of discharging insolvent debtors. There 
 are four circuits, corresponding with the 
 number of commissioners. The Home 
 Circuit comprises five towns, the Mid- 
 land twenty-six, the Northern twenty- 
 two, and the Southern twenty-six, — in all 
 seventy-six towns. 
 
 The Romans used to divide their Pro- 
 vinces into districts, and to appoint certain 
 places, at which the people within the seve- 
 ral districts used to assemble at stated times 
 for the purpose of having their disputes 
 settled by legal process. These places 
 were called Conventus, "meetings," a word 
 which properly signified " the act of meet- 
 ing, " and the assembly or people who 
 met ; and the term " Conventus" was also 
 used to express the jurisdiction exercised 
 by the governor at such district courts, 
 and also the districts themselves. The 
 practice was for the governor to make a 
 circuit through the province and hold his 
 courts at each Conventus at stated times, 
 as we see from various passages in Cice- 
 ro's works and Caesar's 'Gallic War.' 
 (Cicero Against Ferres,Yii. c. 11 ; Caesar, 
 Gallic War, i. 6, v. 2.) During his 
 Gallic War Caesar used to go his Circuits 
 in the winter after the campaign for the 
 year was over. Some towns in the 
 Roman Provinces obtained the privileges 
 of having magistrates of their own (Jus 
 Italicum), but as the governor (procon- 
 sul, or praetor) had the supreme authority, 
 there was probably an appeal to him from 
 the decision of such magistrates. Pliny 
 (Hi. 1. 3; iv. 22) states that in his time 
 Hispania Citerior, which lay between the 
 Ebro and. the Pyrenees, was divided into 
 seven Conventus, or judicial districts, 
 and Hispania Baetica, which was com- 
 prised between the Ebro and the Guadi- 
 ana, was divided into four judicial dis- 
 tricts. The Province of Lusitania, which 
 corresponded pretty nearly with modern 
 Portugal, was divided into four judicial 
 circuits. Strabo (xiii. p. 629) has some 
 remarks on the judicial districts in the 
 west part of Asia Minor. The business 
 
 done at the Conventus was not confined to 
 the settlement of legal disputes ; but 
 other matters were also transacted there 
 which required certain forms in order to 
 have a legal effect, such as the manumis- 
 sion of slaves by those who were under 
 thirty years of age (Gaius i. 20). 
 
 CITATION, a process- in the com- 
 mencement of a suit by which the parties 
 are commanded to appear before theCon- 
 sistorial Courts. In the Prerogative 
 Court it is called a Decree. 
 
 CITIZEN, from the French word 
 Citoyeii, which remotely comes from 
 the Latin Civis. Aristotle commences 
 the Third Book of his 'Politik' with 
 an investigation of the question, What 
 is a citizen (iroAJT7js) ? He defines him 
 to be one who participates in the ju- 
 dicial and legislative power in a State ; 
 but he observes, that his definition 
 strictly applies only to a democratical 
 form of government. The Roman word 
 Civis, in its full sense, also meant one who 
 had some share in the sovereign power in 
 the State. The word citizen then, if we 
 take it in its historical sense, cannot apply 
 to those who are the subjects of a 
 monarch, or, in other words, of one who 
 has the complete sovereign power. It is 
 consistent with ancient usage and modern 
 usage, and it is also convenient to apply 
 the word citizen only to the members of 
 republican governments, which term, as 
 here understood, comprehends [Re- 
 public] constitutitional monarchies. The 
 term constitutional monarchy is not 
 exact, but its meaning is understood : it 
 is a form of republican government at 
 the head of which is a king, or person 
 with some equivalent title, whose power 
 and dignity are hereditary. Constitu- 
 tional monarchies approach near to abso- 
 lute monarchies when the constitution 
 gives very little power to the people, and 
 this little power is rendered ineffectual by 
 the contrivance of the prince and his ad- 
 visers. Constitutional monarchies are of 
 an aristocratical character when much 
 political power is vested in the hands of 
 a minority which is small when com- 
 pared with the majority ; or they may 
 approach to a democracy, and differ from 
 it only in having an elective instead of an 
 hereditary head. Citizenship therefore 
 
CITIZEN. 
 
 [ 5-1 j 
 
 CITIZEN. 
 
 is here understood as only applying to 
 those States in which the constitution, 
 whether -written or unwritten, gives to 
 those who are members of such States, or 
 to some considerable number of them, 
 some share of the sovereign power. 
 
 The usual form in which citizenship is 
 acquired is by birth ; by being born of 
 citizens. In the old Greek states, and 
 generally in those states of antiquity where 
 citizenship existed, this was the only 
 mode in which as a general rule it could 
 be acquired. A person obtained no rights 
 of citizenship by the mere circumstance 
 . of being born in a country or living there. 
 Citizenship could only be conferred by a 
 public act either on an individual or on 
 all the members of other communities. 
 Difference of religion was one of the 
 causes of these communities excluding 
 strangers from their political body. The 
 Roman system was at first a close com- 
 munity, but the practice of admitting 
 aliens (peregrini) to the citizenship was 
 early introduced. They were even ad- 
 mitted by the old burgers (the Patri- 
 cians) in considerable numbers, but 
 only by a vote of the collective body 
 of Patricians. The admission of aliens 
 to the citizenship, either partial or 
 complete, became a regular part of the 
 Roman polity to which Rome owed the 
 extension of her name, her language, and 
 her power. It is true that the process of 
 admission went on slowly, and for a long 
 time the Romans, unwisely, and with 
 danger to their state, resisted the claims of 
 their Italian allies, or subject people, who 
 demanded the Roman citizenship; but 
 this claim was finally settled in favour of 
 the Italians by the Social or Marsic War 
 (b.c. 90), and by the concessions that fol- 
 lowed that war. Sometimes the States of 
 Italy declined admission into the Roman 
 political body ; they preferred their own 
 constitution to the rights and duties of 
 Roman citizens. 
 
 The Roman system did not allow a 
 man to claim the citizenship by birth, 
 unless he was born of such a marriage as 
 the state recognised to be a legal mar- 
 riage. If a Roman married a woman 
 who belonged to a people with whom the 
 Roman state recognised no intermarriage 
 (connubium), the child was not a Roman 
 
 citizen ; for he was not the child of his 
 father, and it was only as the child of a 
 Roman father that he could claim Roman 
 citizenship. 
 
 The English law gives the citizenship 
 to all persons who are born anywhere of 
 a British citizen or of one whose father 
 or father's father was a citizen of 
 Great Britain. The English law also 
 gives the citizenship to every person 
 born in the British dominions; which 
 rule originated in the king claiming 
 such persons as his subjects who were 
 born within his dominions. [Alle- 
 giance.] In the earliest periods of 
 English history, those were properly 
 called subjects who may now properly 
 be designated citizens; though citizen- 
 ship in England must be divided into 
 two kinds, as it was in Rome. Some 
 native citizens do not enjoy the suffrage, 
 nor are they eligible to certain offices, 
 such for instance as a membership of the 
 House of Commons. But these, are not 
 permanent and personal disabilities : they 
 are temporary incapacities arising from 
 not having a certain amount of property, 
 and therefore the complete citizenship 
 may be acquired by every man who can 
 acquire the requisite property qualifica- 
 tion. It follows from what has been said 
 that those who happen to be under 
 this disability are not full citizens, but 
 have a capacity to beeome such. Those 
 who have not the suffrage are in the 
 situation of subjects to that sovereign 
 body, of which those who possess the 
 suffrage form a part. The terms on 
 which foreigners are admitted to the 
 citizenship are different in different 
 countries. A recent act of parliament 
 (7 & 8 Vict. c. 76) has rendered the ac- 
 quisition of partial citizenship in Eng- ■ 
 land much easier and less expensive than 
 it was under the former process of a spe- 
 cial act of parliament. [Natubaliza- 
 tion.] 
 
 The United States of North America 
 have had various rules as to the admis- 
 sion of aliens to citizenship ; but at pre- 
 sent they require a period of five years' 
 residence as a preliminary to obtaining the 
 citizenship. [Alien.] Some persons in 
 that country would extend the period of 
 probation to twenty-one years. This 
 
CITIZEN. 
 
 [ 512] 
 
 CITY. 
 
 However would be a very impolitic mea- 
 sure, for if foreigners will throng to a 
 country such as the United States, with 
 the view of settling there, the best thing 
 is to make them citizens as soon as they 
 wish to become such ; and there would be 
 manifest danger to the United States if 
 the large number of foreigners who set- 
 tle there should be considered as aliens 
 for a period which would extend to the 
 whole term of the natural life of many of 
 the new settlers. Indeed there seems to 
 be no objection to giving to aliens in re- 
 publican governments, as soon as they 
 choose to ask for them, all the rights and 
 consequent duties of citizens, if they are 
 ever to have them. It may be prudent to 
 exclude aliens by birth from some of the 
 high offices in a state, which is done 
 in England and in the United States of 
 North America. [Alien.] 
 
 In ancient Borne, aliens were not al- 
 ways admitted to the full rights of 
 Roman citizens ; and indeed in the early 
 history of the state, even the Plebeians 
 formed an order who were without many 
 of the privileges which the Patricians en- 
 joyed. A person might receive the Roman 
 citizenship so far as to enjoy every advan- 
 tage except a vote at the public elections 
 and access to the honours of the state. 
 This however was not citizenship as 
 understood by Aristotle, nor is it citizen- 
 ship as understood by the free states of 
 modern times. The acquisition of com- 
 plete citizenship implies the acquisition 
 of a share of the sovereign power : the 
 acquisition of all the rights of a citizen, ex- 
 cept the suffrage and access to the honours 
 of the state, is a limited citizenship ; and 
 it is no more than may be acquired in 
 those states where there is no representa- 
 tive body, and in which a man by such 
 acquisition gets not citizenship, but the 
 state gets a subject. 
 
 The great facilities for a man changing 
 his residence which now exist, and the 
 increased motives to such change in a 
 desire to better his condition by perma- 
 nently settling in another country, lead to 
 emigration from one country to another, 
 and more particularly from Europe to 
 America. The advantage which any 
 country receives from the emigration of 
 those who possess capital or peculiar arts 
 
 is so great, that, under the present circum- 
 stances of the world, it is not easy to dis- 
 cover any good reason for Republican 
 governments refusing to give the citizen- 
 ship to any person who comes to another 
 country with the view of settling there. 
 A difficulty will arise in case of war, 
 when a man owes a divided allegiance, 
 for it is a principle of English law that a 
 man cannot divest himself of his alle- 
 giance to the king of England ; and pro- 
 bably an American a,".izen cannot divest 
 himself of his allegiance to the United 
 States. [Alien.] And yet the two 
 countries which maintain this legal prin- 
 ciple, allow the citizens of any other 
 country to become citizens of their several 
 communities. The Roman principle 
 under the Republic was, that as soon 
 as a Roman was admitted a citizen o 
 another State, he ceased to be a Roman 
 citizen, because a man could not belong 
 to two States at once ; wherein we have 
 one among many examples of the precision 
 of Roman political principles. The same 
 principle must certainly be adopted some 
 time into the international law of modern 
 States. 
 
 The nations c ' Europe and the States 
 of the two Americas have all a common 
 religion, which however contains a great 
 number of sects. A person of any 
 religion in the United States of North 
 America may become a citizen, and his 
 opinions are no obstacle to his enjoying 
 any of the honours of the country. But 
 this is not so in England. No man for 
 instance, though an English citizen, can 
 be a member of the House of Commons 
 unless he is, or is willing to profess that 
 he is, a Christian. 
 
 CITY (in French CiV, ultimately 
 from the Latin Cimtas). Certain large 
 and ancient towns both in England and 
 in other countries are called cities, and 
 they are supposed to rank before other 
 towns. On what the distinction is 
 founded is not well ascertained. The 
 word seems to be one of common use, or 
 at most to be used in the letters and 
 charters of kings as a complimentary or 
 honorary name, rather than as be- 
 tokening the possession of any social 
 privileges which may not and in fact do 
 not belong to other ancient anrt incorpo- 
 
CIVIL LIST. 
 
 t 513 J 
 
 CIVIL LIST. 
 
 rated places which are still known only 
 by the name of towns or boroughs. 
 Richelet (Dictionnaire) says that the 
 French word cite is only used in general 
 when we speak of places where there are 
 two towns, an old town and another 
 which has been built since ; and he adds 
 that " la cite de Paris" means old Paris. 
 
 Sir William Blackstone, following Coke 
 (1 Inst. 109 b), says, " A city is a town 
 incorporated, which is or hath been the 
 see of a bishop." ( Comm. Introd., sec. iv.) 
 But Westminster is a city, though it is 
 not incorporated. Thetford is a town, 
 though incorporated, and once the seat of 
 a bishop. Whether Westminster owes its 
 designation to the circumstance that it 
 had a bishop for a few years of the reign 
 of Henry VIII., and in the reign of 
 Edward VI., may be doubted. But there 
 are, besides Thetford, many places which 
 were once the seats of bishops, as Sher- 
 burn, and Dorchester in Oxfordshire, 
 which are never called cities. On the 
 whole, we can rather say that certain of 
 our ancient towns are called cities, and 
 their inhabitants citizens, than show why 
 this distinction prevails and what are the 
 criteria by which they are distinguished 
 from other towns. These ancient towns 
 sire those in which the cathedral of a 
 bishop is found ; to which are to be added 
 Bath and Coventry, -which, respectively 
 with Wells and Lichfield, occur in the 
 designation of the bishop in whose dio- 
 cese they are situated ; and Westminster, 
 which in this respect stands alone. 
 
 In the United States .of North America 
 the name City is usually given to large 
 towns, as New York, Philadelphia, and 
 -others. 
 
 CIVIL LAW. [Eoman Law.] 
 
 CIVIL LIST. The expenses of the 
 English government, including military 
 expenses, were formerly comprehended in 
 one general list, and defrayed out of what 
 was called the royal revenue. For a con- 
 siderable period after the Conquest this 
 revenue, derived from the rents of the 
 crown lands, and from other sources, was 
 at the , command and under the un- 
 controlled management of the crown 
 through the exercise of the prerogative. 
 Even when at a later period the greater 
 portion of the expenses of the government 
 
 came to be granted by parliament in the 
 form of supplies, the entire expenditure 
 was still left with the crown, and the 
 supplies were either voted for no specific 
 purpose, or when they were voted for a 
 special purpose, parliament had no con- 
 trol over their application. 
 
 This state of things continued to the 
 Restoration in 1660. A distinction was 
 then made between the military expenses 
 of the government, or those occasioned 
 by war, which were considered of the 
 nature of extraordinary expenses, and 
 those incurred in the maintenance of the 
 ordinary establishments of the country. 
 The revenues appropriated to the latter 
 were called the hereditary or civil-list 
 revenues, and were provided for partly 
 from the crown lands that remained un- 
 alienated, and partly from certain taxes 
 imposed by parliament expressly for that 
 purpose during the life of the reigning 
 king. In the reign of King William 
 III. the sum applicable to the civil 
 list, on an average of years, amounted 
 to the annual sum of about 680,000/. 
 This sum was applied in defraying 
 the expenses of the royal household 
 and of the privy- purse, the mainte- 
 nance and repairs of the royal palaces, 
 the salaries of the lord chancellor, the 
 judges, the great offioers of state, and the 
 ambassadors at foreign courts; and out 
 of it were also paid the incomes of the 
 members of the royal family, the secret, 
 service money, pensions, and a long list 
 of other claims. The interest of the 
 national debt* however,, was never de- 
 frayed from the sum allotted for the civil 
 list. 
 
 In the reign of Queen Anne the civil 
 list remained of nearly the same amount 
 as in the reign of King William. The 
 principal taxes appropriated to it were an 
 excise of 2s. 6d. per barrel on beer, which 
 produced about 286,000/. per annum, a 
 tonnage and poundage duty, which pro- 
 duced about 257,000/., and the profits of 
 the post-office, from which about 100,0017. 
 was derived. 
 
 At the commencement of the reign of 
 George I., 700,000/. a year was voted by 
 parliament for the civil list, and certain 
 taxes, as usual, were appropriated to that 
 branch of the public expenditure. 
 2l 
 
CIVIL LIST. 
 
 [ 514 ] 
 
 CIVIL LIST. 
 
 On the accession of George II. it was 
 provided, that if the taxes 'which had 
 been appropriated to the civil list in the 
 previous reign did not produce 800,000/. 
 per annum, the deficiency should be 
 made up by parliament, and that any 
 surplus beyond that sum should be re- 
 tained by the crown. 
 
 At the accession of George III. he 
 surrendered the larger branches of the 
 hereditary revenue of England, and the 
 sum of 800,000/. was again voted by par- 
 liament for the civil list, but no particular 
 taxes were set apart to provide that reve- 
 nue. In the course of a few years, how- 
 ever, a large amount of debt had accu- 
 mulated in this department, and to pay it 
 off, two sums amounting together to con- 
 siderably above 1,000,000/. were voted by 
 parliament in 1769 and 1777. In the 
 latter year also the civil-list revenue was 
 permanently raised to 900,000/. This, 
 however, did not prevent further defi- 
 ciencies, which were again made good by 
 parliament in 1784 and 1786, to the ex- 
 tent of about 270,000/. 
 
 In 1780 Mr. Burke brought in his bill 
 for the better regulation of the civil list, 
 which, although it was greatly mutilated 
 before it passed into a law (in 1782), 
 abolished several useless offices, and ef- 
 fected some reduction of expenditure. 
 
 According to the report of a committee 
 of the House of Commons which sat upon 
 the subject of the civil list in 1802, the 
 total average annual expenditure in that 
 branch since 1786 had been 1,000,167/., 
 under the following heads : — royal family 
 in all its branches, 209,988/. ; great 
 officers of state, 33,279/. ; foreign minis- 
 ters, 80,526/. ; tradesmen's bills, 174,697/.; 
 menial servants of the household, 
 92,424/.; pensions, 114,817/.; salaries 
 to various officers, 76,013/. ; commission- 
 ers of the treasury, 14,455/. ; occasional 
 payments, 203,964/. At this time another 
 sum of above 990,000/. was voted by par- 
 liament to pay the debts on the civil list ; 
 and in 1804 the civil-list revenue was 
 raised to 900,000/. In 1812 it was fur- 
 ther augmented to 1,080,000/.; besides 
 which, annuities to the amountof 260,000/. 
 were then paid to the different branches 
 of the royal family out of the consoli- 
 dated fund. 
 
 Another committee inquired into the 
 subject of the civil list in 1815, and it was 
 upon the report made by this committee 
 that the amount of the civil list was set- 
 tled, on the accession of George IV., at 
 850,000/. per annum, 255,000/. of annual 
 charge being at the same time transferred 
 from this branch to other funds. It was 
 calculated that the distribution of this sum 
 would be under the following heads :— 
 
 1. His Majesty's privy purse, 60,000/. 
 
 2. Allowances to the lord chancellor, 
 judges, and Speaker of the House of 
 Commons, 32,956/. 3. Salaries, &c. of 
 his Majesty's ambassadors and other mi- 
 nisters, salaries to consuls, and pensions 
 to retired ambassadors and ministers, 
 226,950/. 4. Expenses, except salaries, of 
 his Majesty's household in the departments 
 of the lord steward, lord chamberlain, 
 master of the horse, master of the robes, 
 and surveyor-general of works, 209,000/. 
 5. Salaries in the last-mentioned de- 
 partments, 140,700/. 6. Pensions limited 
 by Act 22 Geo. III. c. 82, 95,000/. 7. 
 Salaries to certain officers of state, and 
 various other allowances, 41,306/. 8. 
 Salaries to the commissioners of the trea- 
 sury and chancellor of the exchequer, 
 13,822/. 9. Occasional payments not 
 comprised in any of the aforesaid classes, 
 26,000/. The crown was left besides in 
 the enjoyment of the hereditary revenues 
 in Scotland, amounting to about 110,000/. 
 per annum ; and also of a civil list for 
 Ireland, of 207,000/. 
 
 On the 15th of November, 1830, im- 
 mediately after the accession of King 
 William IV., the late Lord Congleton, 
 then Sir Henry Parnell, carried in the 
 House of Commons a motion for appoint- 
 ing a select committee to inquire into the 
 civil list. The chief object proposed 
 was the separation of the proper expenses 
 of the crown from all those other charges 
 which still continued to be .mixed up with 
 them under that title. The consequence 
 of the success of this motion (besides the 
 overthrow of the Wellington administra- 
 tion and the introduction of the Reform 
 Bill) was another report, upon wlych was 
 founded the Act 1 Will. IV. c. 25, for 
 the regulation of the civil list. The 
 committee which was appointed on the 
 motion of Sir H. Parnell, recommended 
 
CIVIL LIST. 
 
 [ 515 j 
 
 CIVIL LIST. 
 
 that the civil-list charges should be con- 
 fined to expenses proper for the mainte- 
 naneeof their Majesties' household, and the 
 sum of 510,000Z. was granted to his Ma- 
 jesty by the above act under the following 
 classes: — 1. For their Majesties' privy 
 purse, 1 10,000/. 2. Salariesof his Majesty's 
 household, 130,300/. 3,. Expenses of his 
 Majesty's household, 171,500/. 4/ Spe- 
 cial and secret service, 23,200/. 5. Pen- 
 sions, 75,000/. A separate civil list for 
 Ireland was discontinued ; and the Scotch 
 hereditary revenues, as well as the droits 
 of admiralty, and the 4J per cent, duties, 
 were to be paid into the Exchequer for 
 the use of the public. 
 
 Speaking of the civil list as settled by 
 1 Will. IV. c. 25, and comparing it with 
 the civil list of King Geo. IV., Lord 
 Congleton remarked ('Financial .Reform,' 
 p. 205) "that there was no real reduction 
 in that arrangement, for whatever ap- 
 pears to be a reduction, has been pro- 
 duced by a transfer of charge from one 
 head to another of the old civil list. The 
 chief difference in this arrangement from 
 the former consists in the transfer of 
 about 460,000/. a year from the civil list 
 to the consolidated fund, and in providing 
 for the gradual reduction of the pensions 
 to 75,000/. a year." 
 
 William IV. retained the revenues of 
 the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, 
 which are considered to be the hereditary 
 revenues, not of the crown, but of the 
 duchies of Lancaster and of Cornwall. 
 The duchy of Lancaster is permanently 
 annexed to the crown, and the duchy of 
 Cornwall belongs to the crown when there 
 is no Prince of Wales. No account of the 
 amount of these revenues had ever been 
 laid before parliament until very recently. 
 In his speech on Economical Reform 
 in 1780, Mr. Burke said, "Every one of 
 those principalities has the appearance of 
 a kingdom, for the jurisdiction over a few 
 private estates ; and the formality and 
 charge of the Exchequer of Great Britain, 
 for collecting the rents of a country 
 squire. Cornwall is the best of them ; 
 but when you compare the charge with 
 the receipt, you will find that it furnishes 
 no exception to the general rule. The 
 duchy and county palatine of Lancaster 
 do not yield, as I have reason to believe. 
 
 on an average of twenty years, 4000Z. a 
 year clear to the crown. As to Wales 
 and the county palatine of Chester, i 
 have my doubts whether their productive 
 exchequer yields any returns at all."* 
 
 The Civil List of Queen Victoria was 
 settled by 1 Vict. c. 2. This act contains 
 a very important and salutary provision, 
 which will shortly be noticed, respecting 
 pensions. The preamble of the act states 
 that her majesty had placed unreservedly 
 at the disposal of the commons in par- 
 liament those hereditary revenues which 
 were transferred to the public by her im- 
 mediate predecessors, and that her ma- 
 jesty felt confident that her faithful com- 
 mons would gladly make adequate pro- 
 vision for the support of the honour and 
 dignity of the crown. It is then enacted, 
 that the hereditary revenue shall be 
 carried to the Consolidated Fund during 
 the life of her majesty, but that after 
 her demise it shall be payable to her suc- 
 cessors. The latter part of the enactment 
 is a mere form. By § 3 the clear yearly 
 sum of 3S5,000Z. is to be paid out of the 
 Consolidated Fund for the support of her 
 majesty's household and of the honour 
 and dignity of the crown, to be applied 
 according to a schedule as under : — 
 
 1. For her Majesty's privy purse £60,000 
 
 2. Salaries of her Majesty's 
 
 household and retired al- 
 lowances . . . 131,260 
 
 3. Expenses of her Majesty's 
 
 household . . . 172,500 
 
 4. Eoyal bounty, alms, and 
 
 special services . . 1 3,200 
 
 5. Pensions to the extent of 120C/. 
 
 per annum. 
 
 6. Unappropriated monies . 8,040 
 
 £385,000 
 The restriction to which allusion has been 
 made relates to class' 5 in the schedule. 
 
 * The gross revenues of the duchy of Cornwall 
 in 1843 amounted tt> 40,1002. The two largest 
 items were, rents and arrears 14,0692. ; compensa- 
 tion in lieu of the tin coinage duties 15,741/. The 
 sum required to defray salaries, allowances, aiid 
 annuities was H4252-, the' payments made to the 
 use of the Prince of Wales, and which in the previ- 
 ous reign were enjoyed by the king, were 18,5792., 
 and a sum of 20002. was expended in purchasing 
 the surrender of beneficial leases. The sum set 
 down as balances and arrears was 84862. The gross 
 212 
 
CIVILIZATION. 
 
 [ 516] 
 
 CIVILIZATION. 
 
 This check upon the wanton and extra- 
 vagant disposal of the public money is 
 thoroughly in accordance with just and 
 constitutional principles. The amount 
 which can be granted in pensions by the 
 crown in any one year is not to exceed 
 1200Z. ; and the Civil List Act restricts, 
 though in a comprehensive spirit, the per- 
 sons to whom they are to be granted, who 
 must be such persons only as have just 
 claims on the royal benevolence, or who by 
 their personal services to the crown, by 
 the performance of duties to the public, or 
 by their useful discoveries in science and 
 attainments in literature and the arts, have 
 merited the gracious consideration of their 
 sovereign and the gratitude of their coun- 
 try. A list of all such pensions must be 
 laid before parliament yearly. [Pen- 
 sions ; Woods and Forests.] 
 
 CIVILIZATION. The words civi- 
 lization, education, and religion, with 
 many others, are often used without any 
 precise ideas being attached to them ; yet 
 there are no words that require to be 
 more thoroughly analysed. 
 
 The meaning of a word is often formed 
 by degrees. As soon as a particular fact 
 presents itself to our notice which ap- 
 pears to have a specific relation to a 
 known term, it becomes immediately in- 
 corporated with it ; and hence the mean- 
 ing of many terms gradually extends, and 
 finally embraces all the various facts and 
 ideas which are considered to belong to 
 it. On this account, there is more depth 
 as well as accuracy in the usual and ordi- 
 nary meaning of complex terms than in 
 any definitions which can be given of 
 them, notwithstanding the definition may 
 appear to be more strict and precise. In 
 the majority of instances scientific de- 
 finitions are too narrow, and owing to this 
 circumstance they are frequently less 
 exact than the popular meaning of terms ; 
 it is therefore in its popular and ordinary 
 signification that we must seek for the 
 various ideas that are included in the 
 term civilization. 
 
 i ncnme of the duchy of Lancaster, which, as al- 
 ready explained, is enjoyed by the crown inde- 
 pendent of arrangements under the Civil List Act, 
 was 33,0371. in 1843. The sum paid out of this 
 revenue to the keeper a£ her majesty's privy 
 -«tse »asI3,00(W. 
 
 Now, the fundamental notion of civi- 
 lization is that of a progressive move- 
 ment, of a gradual development, and a 
 tendency to amelioration. It always 
 suggests the idea of a community, of a 
 political body, of a nation, which is ad- 
 vancing methodically, and with distinct 
 and clear views of the objects which it 
 seeks to attain: progress, continual im- 
 provement, is therefore the fundamental 
 idea contained in our notion of the term 
 Civilization. 
 
 As to this progress and improvement 
 involved in the term Civilization, to what 
 do they apply ? The etymology of the 
 word answers the question. From this 
 we learn that it does not contemplate the 
 actual number, power, or wealth of a 
 people, but their civil condition, their 
 social relations, and intercourse with 
 each other. Such then is the first im- 
 pression which arises in our mind when 
 we pronounce the word Civilization. It 
 seems to represent to us at once the 
 greatest activity and the best possible 
 organization of society ; so as to be pro- 
 ductive of a continual increase, and a 
 distribution of wealth and power among 
 its members, whereby their absolute and 
 relative condition is kept in a state of 
 constant improvement. 
 
 But great as is the influence which a 
 well organised civil society must have 
 upon the happiness of the human race, 
 the term Civilization seems to convey 
 something still more extensive, more full 
 and complete, and of a more elevated and 
 dignified character, than the mere perfec- 
 tion of the social relations, as a matter 
 of order and arrangement. In this other 
 aspect of the word it embraces the deve- 
 lopment of the intellectual and moral 
 faculties of man, of his feelings, his pro- 
 pensities, his natural capacities, and his 
 tastes. 
 
 Education, which is the result of a 
 well ordered social arrangement, and also 
 its perfector and conservator, an educa- 
 tion which shall give to every member 
 of the community the best opportunities 
 for developing the whole of his faculties, 
 is the end which civilization, or a society 
 in a state of continued progress, must 
 always have in view. 
 
 The fundamental ideas then, contained 
 
CIVILIZATION. 
 
 [ 517 j 
 
 CIVILIZATION. 
 
 in the word Civilization are — the con- 
 tinual advancement of the 'whole society 
 in wealth and prosperity, and the im- 
 provement of man in his individual ca- 
 pacity. 
 
 When the one proceeds without the 
 other, it is immediately felt that there 
 is something incomplete and wanting. 
 The mere increase of national wealth, 
 unaccompanied by a corresponding know- 
 ledge and intelligence on the part of the 
 people, seems to be a state of things pre- 
 mature in existence, uncertain in dura- 
 tion, and insecure as to its stability. We 
 are unacquainted with the causes of its 
 origin, the principles to which it can be 
 traced, and what hopes we may form of 
 its continuance. We wish to persuade 
 ourselves that this prosperity will not be 
 limited to a few generations, or to a par- 
 ticular people or country, but that it will 
 gradually spread, and finally become the 
 inheritance of all the people of the earth. 
 And yet what rational expectation can 
 we entertain of such a state of things be- 
 coming universal ? It is only by means 
 of education, conducted upon right prin- 
 ciples, that we can ever hope to see true 
 national prosperity attained, and rendered 
 permanent. The development of the 
 moral and intellectual faculties must go 
 hand in hand with the cultivation of the 
 industrious arts; united, they form the 
 great engine for giving true civilization 
 to the world. 
 
 In fact, without the union of these two 
 elements, civilization would stop half 
 way; mere external advantages are liable 
 to be lost or abused without the aid of 
 those more refined and exalted studies 
 which tend to improve the mind, and call 
 forth the feelings and affections of the 
 heart. It must be repeated, civilization 
 consists in the progressive improvement 
 of the society considered as a whole, and 
 of all the individual members of which it 
 is composed. 
 
 The means by which this improve- 
 ment of the whole of a society and of all 
 the members of it may be best effected, 
 will vary somewhat in different countries. 
 European nations consider and call their 
 social state civilized, and they view the 
 social states of other countries, which do 
 not rest on the same foundation, either as 
 
 barbarous or as less civilized than their 
 own. An impartial observer may allow 
 that if we measure civilization by the 
 rule here laid down, the nations of Eu- 
 rope, and other nations whose social sys- 
 tems have a like basis, are the most civi- 
 lized. The civilization of Europe and cf 
 the nations of European origin is founded 
 mainly on two elements, the Christian 
 religion and the social state which grew 
 up from the diffusion of the power of the 
 Romans. The establishment of feudality 
 in many countries greatly affected the 
 social basis ; and the consequences are 
 still seen, but more distinctly in some 
 parts of Europe than in others. The ele- 
 ments of such a social system are es- 
 sentially different from those on which 
 is founded the system of China, of the 
 nations which profess Mohammedanism, 
 and of the nations of the Indian pen- 
 insula. European civilization is active 
 and restless, but still subordinate to 
 constituted authority. It gives to man 
 the desire and the means to acquire wealth 
 at home, and it stimulates him to adven- 
 ture and discovery abroad. It seeks to 
 assimilate the civilization of other nations 
 to its own by conquest and colonization, 
 and it is intolerant of all civilization that 
 is opposed to itself. Asiatic civilization 
 is at present inert, it is not in a state of 
 progress, and is exposed to the inroads of 
 European civilization. European civi- 
 lization has been and is most active in 
 increasing the power of states as states, 
 and in increasing their wealth ; it also 
 gives facilities for men of talent and en- 
 terprise to acquire wealth and power by 
 means recognised as legal and just ; and 
 it is now beginning to extend the means 
 of individual improvement among all the 
 members of its communities more widely 
 than any other civilization; but the 
 amount of poverty and ignorance which 
 still co-exist by the side of wealth and in- 
 telligence, wherever European civiliza- 
 tion has been established, show that much 
 remains to be done before the individual 
 happiness of these States can be as com- 
 plete and their internal condition as sound 
 as their collective wealth is unbounded 
 and their external aspect is fair and 
 flourishing. 
 
 The nations of Europe consider their 
 
CIVILIZATION. 
 
 [ 518 j 
 
 CIVILIZATION. 
 
 social system as the standard by which 
 the civilization of other countries must be 
 measured, and they assume as a funda- 
 mental principle, that in countries where 
 there is no individual property in land, and 
 where the land is not cultivated, there is 
 no civilization, and that they may there- 
 fore seize it. This assumption is true, 
 if we measure civilization by the rule 
 here laid down, for on individual owner- 
 ship of land, and the cultivation of land, 
 the whole European system rests. Whe- 
 ther laud might be advantageously culti- 
 vated in common, and the institution of 
 private property in land might be abo- 
 lished, is another question, which however 
 has not yet been satisfactorily resolved, 
 and cannot be resolved without destroy- 
 ing the present social systems of Europe. 
 A recent committee of the House of 
 Commons, appointed to inquire into the 
 state of New Zealand, have put forth the 
 following doctrine : — " The uncivilized 
 inhabitants of any country have but a 
 qualified dominion over it, or a right 
 of occupancy only, and until they esta- 
 blish amongst themselves a settled form 
 of government, and subjugate the ground 
 to their own uses by the cultivation of it, 
 they cannot grant to individuals, not of 
 their own tribe, any portion of it, for the 
 simple reason that they have not them- 
 selves any individual property in it." 
 This is not very precise language, but 
 -one may collect what it means. Lord 
 Stanley, in a despatch to the governor of 
 New Zealand, dated 13th August, 1844, 
 says, " With respect to this doctrine, I am 
 not sure that, were the question one of 
 mere theory, I should be prepared to 
 subscribe, unhesitatingly and without re- 
 serve, to the fundamental assumption of 
 the committee; and I am sure that it 
 would require considerable qualification 
 as applicable to the aborigines of New 
 Zealand. There are many gradations of 
 ' uncivilized inhabitants,' and practically 
 according to their state of civilization 
 must be the extent of the rights which 
 they can be allowed to claim, whenever 
 the territory on which they reside is oc- 
 cupied by civilized communities." After 
 describing the " aborigines of New Hol- 
 land " as far below " the New Zealanders 
 in civilization, and being wholly ignorant 
 
 of or averse to the cultivation of the soil, 
 with no principles of civil government 
 or recognition of private property, and 
 little if any knowledge of the simplest 
 form of religion, or even of the existence 
 of a Supreme being ;" he adds, that " it 
 is impossible to admit, on the part of a 
 population thus situated, any rights in 
 the soil which should be permitted to 
 interfere with the subjugation by Eu- 
 ropeans of the vast wilderness over which 
 they are scattered ; and all that can be 
 required by justice, sanctioned by policy, 
 or recommended by humanity, is to en- 
 deavour, as civilization and cultivation 
 extend, to embrace the aborigines within 
 their pale, to diffuse religious knowledge 
 among them, to induce them, if possible, 
 to adopt more settled means of providing 
 for their subsistence, and to afford them 
 the means of doing so, if so disposed, by 
 an adequate reservation of lands within 
 the limits of cultivation." The principles 
 laid down by Lord Stanley are those 
 which the civilized nations of Europe 
 have long acted on, sometimes tempering 
 their conquests of uncivilized nations 
 with mercy and humanity, and some- 
 times treating them as if they were 
 merely wild beasts that infested the 
 country. The foundations on which 
 even Lord Stanley places the justifica- 
 tion of European occupation are not 
 stated with much precision. The real 
 foundations are, the enterprising spirit of 
 Europeans ; the pressure of difficulties at 
 home, which drive men abroad ; the ne- 
 cessity of possessing land in their new 
 country, as the basis of that edifice of 
 civilization which they propose to erect 
 after the model of the mother coun- 
 try ; and the power to take from those 
 who are too feeble to resist. Europeans 
 admit, and the admission is contained 
 by implication in Lord Stanley's re- 
 marks, that the nearer a nation's social 
 system approaches to their own, the safer 
 should it be against unprovoked aggres- 
 sion ; but they contend, as Lord Stanley 
 does, that the same self-restraint will not 
 and ought not to be practised in those 
 cases where the social system, or the 
 mode of life, is altogether opposed to 
 those fundamental principles on which 
 European society is constituted. 
 
CLERGY. 
 
 t 519 ] 
 
 CLERGY. 
 
 CLARENDON, THE CONSTITU- ; 
 TIONS OF, were certain declaratory or- i 
 dinances agreed to at a general council of | 
 the nobility and prelates assembled by 
 Henry II. at his palace or manor of Cla- 
 rendon, in Wiltshire, in the year 1164. 
 These ordinances were sixteen in number, 
 and were intended to define the limits be- 
 tween civil and ecclesiastical jurisdictions, 
 to prevent the further encroachments of 
 the clergy, and to abolish the abuses which 
 had arisen from the gradual and increas- 
 ing usurpations of the pope. (Howell's 
 State-Trials, vol. ii. p. 546.) 
 
 CLEARING-HOUSE. [Bank, p. 
 273.] 
 
 CLERGY, a collective term, under 
 which that portion of the population of a 
 country is comprehended who are in holy 
 orders. It is used in contradistinction to 
 laity, which comprehends all other per- 
 sons. Like most ecclesiastical terms, it 
 is of Greek origin, the word K\-qpuc6s 
 (clericus) having been used in the sense 
 of " appertaining to spiritual persons " by . 
 the Greek ecclesiastical writers. From 
 clericus comes the word clerk, which is 
 still a law-term used to designate clergy- 
 men, but which appears antiently not to 
 have been confined to persons actually in 
 holy orders, but to have been applied to 
 persons possessed of a certain amount of 
 learning. 
 
 The distinction of clergy and laity in 
 the Christian church may be considered 
 as coeval with the existence of the church 
 itself; for in the apostolic period there 
 were officers in the church specially ap- 
 pointed to discharge the duties of pastors 
 or deacons, and even, as many suppose, 
 bishops or overseers, who had the super- 
 intendence of various inferior officers. 
 These persons, though they might not 
 perhaps be entirely relieved from the 
 ordinary duties of life, so that they might 
 devote themselves exclusively to their 
 sacred office, yet must necessarily have 
 been nearly so, and it is certain that they 
 were nominated to their offices by some 
 peculiar forms. Very early however the 
 distinction became complete. The bi- 
 shops, priests, and deacons of the Chris- 
 tian church, each ordained to the office 
 in a manner which it was believed the 
 founders of Christianity appointed, and 
 
 each supposed to have received a peculiar 
 spiritual grace by devolution from the 
 apostles and from the founder of Chris- 
 tianity himself, soon formed a distinct 
 body of men whom it was convenient to 
 distinguish by some particular appella- 
 tion. 
 
 In Christian nations the distinction has 
 been usually recognised by the state, who 
 have allowed certain privileges or ex- 
 emptions to the clergy. No inconsider- 
 able share of temporal power, extending 
 not only over the members of their own 
 body, but over the laity, has in most 
 states been conceded to them. In the 
 old German confederation the sovereign 
 power in some of the states was vested in 
 ecclesiastics ; while at Rome there has 
 been for many ages an elective head, in 
 whom all temporal and spiritual authority 
 over the states of the church has been 
 vested. 
 
 It is easy to account for the ascendency 
 of the clergy in the middle ages, and 
 their acquisition of power. They were 
 the best instructed part of the population. 
 The learning of the age was almost ex- 
 clusively theirs ; and knowledge is a 
 means of obtaining power. Beside this 
 they had the means of working upon the 
 ruder minds of the laity, in the power 
 vested in them alone of administering the 
 sacraments of the church, and of regu- 
 lating under what circumstances those 
 sacraments ought to be administered. 
 This enabled them to win acquiescence 
 in any favourite design, sometimes by 
 gentle influences and sometimes by terror . 
 
 The history of almost every .country 
 of modern Europe presents instances of 
 struggles between the laity and the clergy 
 for power or privilege. All power in 
 the clergy of England to erect an autho- 
 rity dangerous to the laity, or to secure 
 to themselves political immunities or pri- 
 vileges inconsistent with the general 
 good, was broken at the Reformation. 
 The clergy of England then became a 
 fragment of a once great and well dis- 
 ciplined body dispersed through the 
 whole of Christendom, which, when 
 acting with common effort, and putting 
 forth all its strength, it had been difficult 
 for any single temporal prince to resist 
 with effect 
 
CLERGY. 
 
 [ 520] 
 
 CLERGY. 
 
 The clergy were before the Reform- 
 ation in England divided into regu- 
 lar and secular. The regular clergy 
 were the religious orders who lived under 
 some religious rule (regula), such as 
 abbots and monks. The secular clergy 
 were those who did not live under a re- 
 ligious rule, but had the care of souls, as 
 bishops and priests. The phrase the clergy 
 now means in the English and Irish esta- 
 blished church all persons who are in holy 
 orders. The privileges which the law 
 of England allows to the clergy are but 
 a faint shadow of the privileges which 
 they enjoyed before the Reformation. 
 A clergyman cannot be compelled to 
 serve on a jury, or to appear at a court 
 leet or view of frankpledge. He cannot 
 be compelled to serve the office of bailiff 
 reeve, constable, or the like. He is pri- 
 vileged from arrest in civil suits while 
 engaged in divine service, and while 
 going to or returning from it ; and it is a 
 misdemeanour to arrest him while he 
 is so engaged. (5 Geo. IV. c. 31, s. 23.) 
 He is exempted from paying toll at turn- 
 pike-gates, when going to or returning 
 from his parochial duty. He could claim 
 benefit of clergy more than once. [Bene- 
 fit of Clergy.] The clergy cannot now 
 sit in the House of Commons. This was 
 formerly a doubtful point, but it was set- 
 tled by 41 Geo. III. c. 63, which enacted 
 that " no person having been ordained to 
 the office of priest or deacon, or being a 
 minister of the Church of Scotland, is 
 capable of being elected ;" and that if he 
 should sit or vote, he is liable to forfeit 
 500L for each day, to any one who may 
 sue for it. The Roman Catholic clergy 
 are excluded, by 10 Geo. IV. c. 7, § 9. 
 (May's Parliament, p. 27.) 
 
 The old ecclesiastical constitutions pro- 
 hibited clergymen acting as judges in 
 causes of life and death ; but there was 
 usually a clause saving the privilege of the 
 king to employ whom he thought proper 
 in any way, and the prohibition was there- 
 fore of little practical effect. The bishops, 
 however, do not at the present day vote in 
 the House of Lords in any case of life 
 or djath. [Bishop, p. 376.] Ecclesiasti- 
 cal persons have sat as chief justices of the 
 King's Bench in former times. (Blacks. 
 Comm. c. 17.) The last ecclesiastic 
 
 who filled the office of lord high chan- 
 cellor was Bishop Williams, from 1621 
 to 1625 [Chancellor, p. 480]; and the 
 last who acted publicly in a diplomatic 
 capacity was the Bishop of Bristol, at 
 Utrecht, when the treaty of 1713 was 
 negotiated: In 1831 a parliamentary 
 paper was issued (No. 39), which showed 
 the number of clergymen in the commis- 
 sion of the peace in England. In many 
 counties the proportion of clergymen was 
 one-third of the whole number of jus- 
 tices ; in several counties above one- 
 half; in Derbyshire and Sussex there 
 was not one clergyman in the commis- 
 sion, and in Kent only two. Lord-lieu- 
 tenants have in some cases made it a rule 
 not to recommend clergymen to the lord 
 chancellor. This is in strict accordance 
 with some of the old constitutions, which 
 were founded on the principle that clergy- 
 men should not be entangled with tem- 
 poral affairs. 
 
 By 21 Henry VIII. c. 13. the clergy 
 were forbidden to farm, lands, or to buy 
 any cattle or merchandise to sell for pro- 
 fit ; but if their glebe-lands were insuffi- 
 cient, they might farm more, in order to 
 maintain their families, and might buy 
 cattle to obtain manure. By 57 Geo. III. 
 c. 99, they were permitted, with consent 
 of the bishop of the diocese, to farm lands 
 to the extent of eighty acres for a term not 
 exceeding seven years. 
 
 The act which now applies to fanning 
 and trafficking by the clergy is the 1 & 2 
 Vict. c. 106, which consolidated former 
 acts ,on this subject : its provisions do not 
 extend to Ireland. The term " spiritual 
 persons" includes persons "licensed or 
 otherwise allowed to perform the duties 
 of any ecclesiastical office whatever," 
 The clause (§ 28) which relates to farm- 
 ing is substantially the same as in 57 
 Geo. III. c. 99. 
 
 The clause (§ 29) respecting spiritual 
 persons engaging in trade, or buying to 
 sell again for profit, enacts that it shall 
 not be lawful for such persons " to engage 
 in or carry on any trade or dealing for 
 gain or profit, or to deal in any goods, 
 wares, or merchandise, unless in any case 
 in which such trading or dealing shall 
 have been or shall be carried on by or on 
 behalf of any number of partners exceed- 
 
CLEEGY. 
 
 [ 521 ] 
 
 CLEBGY. 
 
 ing the number of six, or in any case in 
 which any trade or dealing, or any share 
 in any trade or dealing, shall have de- 
 volved, or shall devolve upon any spiri- 
 tual person or upon any other person for 
 him or to his use, under or by virtue of 
 any devise, bequest, inheritance, intestacy, 
 settlement, marriage, bankruptcy, or in- 
 solvency; but in none of the foregoing 
 excepted cases shall it be lawful for such 
 spiritual person to act as a director or 
 managing partner, or to carry on such 
 trade or dealing as aforesaid in person." 
 
 Spiritual persons holding benefices could 
 not legally become members of a joint- 
 stock banking company before the pass- 
 ing of a short act, 1 Viet. c. 10, which 
 enacted that no association or co-partner- 
 ship or contract should be void by reason 
 only of spiritual persons being members 
 thereof; and the principle of the act is 
 now adopted in 1 & 2 Vict. c. 106. 
 
 It is enacted in § 30 of 1 & 2 Vict. t. 
 106, " That nothing hereinbefore con- 
 tained shall subject to any penalty or 
 forfeiture any spiritual person for keep- 
 ing a school or seminary, or acting as a 
 schoolmaster or tutor or instructor, or 
 being in any manner concerned or en- 
 gaged in giving instruction or education 
 for profit or reward, or for buying or 
 selling or doing any other thing in rela- 
 tion to the management of any such 
 school, seminary, or employment, or to 
 any spiritual person whatever, for the 
 buying of any goods, wares, or merchan- 
 dise, or articles of any description, which 
 shall without fraud be bought with intent 
 at the buying thereof to be used by the 
 spiritual person buying the same for his 
 family or in his household ; and after the 
 buying of any such goods, wares, or mer- 
 chandises, or articles,' selling the same 
 again or any parts thereof, which such 
 person may not want .or choose to keep, 
 although the same shall be sold at an 
 advanced price beyond that which may 
 have been given for the same ; or for 
 disposing of any books or other works to 
 or by means of any bookseller or pub- 
 lisher ; or for being a manager, director, 
 partner, or shareholder, in any benefit 
 society, or fire or life assurance society, 
 by whatever name or designation such 
 society may have been constituted ; or 
 
 for any buying or selling again for gain 
 or profit, of any cattle or corn or other 
 articles necessary or convenient to be 
 bought, sold, kept, or maintained by any 
 spiritual person, or any other person for 
 him or to his use, for the occupation, ma- 
 nuring, improving, pasturage, or profit of 
 any glebe, demesne lands, or other lands 
 or hereditaments which may be lawfully 
 held and occupied, possessed, or enjoyed 
 by such spiritual person, or any other for 
 him or to his use; or for selling any 
 minerals, the produce of mines situated 
 on his own lands ; so nevertheless that 
 no such spiritual person shall buy or 
 sell any cattle or corn, or other articles 
 as aforesaid, in person in any market, 
 fair, or place of public sale." 
 .. ; Under § 31 of the act the bishop of the 
 diocese might suspend a spiritual person 
 for illegally trading, and for the third 
 offence such person might be deprived ; 
 but proceedings for this offence would 
 now be regulated by 3 & 4 Vict. c. 86. 
 
 This act (3 & 4 Vict. c. 86, commonly 
 called the Church Discipline Act) was 
 passed in 1840, " for better enforcing 
 Church Discipline," and it repeals the 
 old statute (1 Henry VII. c. 4) under 
 which bishops were enabled to proceed 
 against their clergy and sentence them 
 to imprisonment. Before this act was 
 passed, the mode of procedure against 
 spiritual persons for ecclesiastical offences 
 was " by articles in the diocesan or pecu- 
 liar court, or by letters of request to the 
 court of the metropolitan," (Philli- 
 more's Burn, iii. 365.) Dr. Phillimore 
 states, that " any person, it has been held, 
 may prosecute a clergyman for neglect of 
 lis clerical duty." The 3 & 4 Vict c. 86, 
 enacts, "that no criminal suit or proceed- 
 ing against a clerk in Jjoly orders of the 
 United Church of England .and Ireland, 
 for any offence against the laws ecclesias- 
 tical, shall be instituted in any ecclesias- 
 tical court otherwise than is hereinbefore 
 enacted or provided," nor in any other 
 mode than that pointed out by the act 
 (§ 3). The act provides, " that in every 
 case of any clerk in holy orders in the 
 United Church of England and Ireland, 
 who may be charged with any offence 
 against the laws ecclesiastical, or con- 
 cerning whom there may exist scandal 
 
CLERGY. 
 
 [ 522 ] 
 
 CLEKGY 
 
 or evi) report, as having offended against 
 the said laws, it shall be lawful for the 
 bishop of the diocese within which the 
 offence is alleged or reported to have 
 been committed, on the application of 
 any party complaining thereof, or if he 
 shall think fit, of his own mere motion, to 
 issue a commission under his hand or 
 seal to five persons, of whom one shall be 
 his vicar-general, or an archdeacon or 
 rural dean within the diocese, for the 
 purpose of making inquiry as to the 
 grounds of such charge or report : pro- 
 vided always, that notice of the intention 
 to issue such commission under the hand 
 of the bishop, containing an intimation 
 of the nature of the offence, together with 
 the names, addition, and residence of the 
 party on whose application or motion 
 such commission shall be about to issue, 
 shall be sent by the bishop to the party 
 accused fourteen days at least before such 
 commission shall issue." The bishop may 
 pronounce sentence without further pro- 
 ceedings, by consent of the clerk; and 
 such sentence is good and effectual in 
 law. If he refuse or neglect to appear 
 and make answer to the articles alleged, 
 other than an unqualified admission of 
 the truth thereof, " the bishop shall pro- 
 ceed to hear the cause, with the assistance 
 of three assessors, to be nominated by the 
 bishop, one of whom shall be an advocate 
 who shall have practised not less than five 
 years in the court of the archbishop of the 
 province, or a serjeant-at-law, or a bar- 
 rister of not less than seven years' stand- 
 ing; and another shall be dean of his 
 cathedral church, or of one of his cathe- 
 dral churches, or one of his archdeacons, 
 or his chancellor ; and upon the hearing 
 of such cause the bishop shall determine 
 the same, and pronounce sentence there- 
 upon, according to the ecclesiastical law." 
 When the charge is under investigation 
 the bishop may inhibit the party accused 
 from performing any services of the church 
 "within his diocese until sentence has been 
 passed ; but if the person accused be the 
 incumbent of a benefice, he may nomi- 
 nate any person or persons to perform 
 such services during his inhibition, and 
 such persons are to be licensed by the 
 bishop, if they are approved of by him. 
 Appeals under the act are to the arch- 
 
 bishop, and are to be heard before the 
 judge of the court of appeal of his pro- 
 vince ; but if the cause has been heard 
 and determined in the first instance in 
 the court of the archbishop, the appeal is 
 then to the queen in council, and is to be 
 heard before the judicial committee of 
 Privy Council ; and at least one arch- 
 bishop or bishop, who is a member of the 
 Privy Council, must be present. 
 
 In the Constitutions and Canons Eccle- 
 siastical of 1603, canons 31 to 76 inclu- 
 sive relate to " Ministers ; their Ordina- 
 tion, Function, and Charge." By the 
 76th canon " no man, being admitted a 
 deacon or minister, shall from thence- 
 forth voluntarily relinquish the same, nor 
 afterwards use himself in the course of 
 his life as a layman, upon pain of excom- 
 munication." 
 
 The clergy meet by delegates in con- 
 vocation at the beginning of every new 
 parliament, but this is now merely a form ; 
 the king, as supreme head of the Church 
 of England, invariably dissolves the 
 convocation before they can proceed to 
 any business. They have however still 
 courts in which jurisdiction is exercised 
 touching ecclesiastical affairs, and causes 
 matrimonial, and testamentary so far as 
 concerns the granting of probates and 
 letters of administration, and where the 
 church's censures are directed against 
 particular classes of offenders. To them 
 also belongs the whole ecclesiastical re- 
 venue in the Established Church of Eng- 
 land, with divers fees or customary pay- 
 ments, and to them also the whole regu- 
 lation of the terms of admission to their 
 order. 
 
 The three great classes of the English 
 clergy are the bishops, priests, and dea- 
 cons. To be admitted into each of those 
 classes requires a peculiar ordination. 
 This distinction is of an entirely different 
 kind from that which arises out of office 
 or appointment. Of this kind of dis- 
 tinction there is in the English clergy 
 the archbishop, the bishop, the dean and 
 canons of a conventual or collegiate 
 church (some of the canons being in 
 many instances invested with particular 
 characters, as precentors, succentors, and 
 the like), the archdeacon, the rural dean, 
 the dean of some church whose consti- 
 
CLEEK. 
 
 L 523 ] 
 
 CLERK. 
 
 ;ution is peculiar, the rector, the vicar, 
 She curate in some chapels called pa- 
 rochial, the minister in some newly- 
 founded chapel, whether a chapel of ease 
 or what is called a proprietary chapel, 
 assistant ministers to aid the vicar or 
 the rector in some churches of antient 
 foundation, and, finally, a body of persons 
 called curates, who are engaged l>y the 
 incumbents of benefices to assist them in 
 the performance of their duties, but who 
 are not dismissable at the caprice of the 
 incumbent, nor left by law without a 
 claim upon a certain portion of the profits 
 of the benefice. 
 
 England is divided into 10,780 dis- 
 tricts, varying in extent, called pa- 
 rishes. Each of these parishes must be 
 regarded as having its church, and one 
 person (or in some instances more than 
 one) who ministers divine ordinances in 
 that church. This person, whose proper 
 designation is persona ecclesics, enjoys of 
 common right the tithe of the parish, and 
 has usually a house and glebe belonging 
 to his benefice. When this, the original 
 arrangement, is undisturbed, we have a 
 parish and its rector ; and in other cases 
 the vicar and perpetual curate. [Bene- 
 fice, pp. 341-343.] 
 
 CLERGY, BENEFIT OP. [Bene- 
 fit of Clergy.] 
 
 CLERK IN ORDERS. [Clergy.] 
 
 CLERK OF ASSIZE is an officer 
 attached to each circuit, who accompanies 
 the judges at the assizes, and performs all 
 the ministerial acts of the court. He 
 issues subpsenas, orders, writs, and other 
 processes, draws indictments ; takes, dis- 
 charges, and respites recognizances ; files 
 informations, affidavits, and other instru- 
 ments, enters every nolle prosequi, records 
 all the proceedings of the court, and en- 
 ters its judgments. He is associated with 
 the judges in the commissions to take 
 assizes ; and he is restrained by statute 
 33 Hen. VIII. u. 24, from being counsel 
 for any person on his circuit. He is paid 
 by fees which are charged upon the seve- 
 ral official acts performed by him, some, 
 by virtue of established usage, and 
 others, under various statutes, 55 Geo. 
 
 III. c. 56 ; 7 Geo. IV. u. 64 ; 7 & 8 Geo. 
 
 IV. c. 28 ; 11 Geo. IV. ; & 1 Wm. IV. c. 
 58. The fees payable on each circuit will 
 
 be found' in Pari. Paper, No. 631 of 
 1843. {Pari. Paper, 1843, No. 631; 
 Wood's Institutes.') 
 
 CLERK OF THE CROWN IN 
 CHANCERY, is an officer of the crown 
 in attendance upon both Houses of Par- 
 liament, and upon the great seal. In the 
 House of Lords he makes out and issues 
 all writs of summons to peers, writs for 
 the attendance of the judges, commissions 
 to summon and prorogue Parliament, and 
 to pass bills ; and he attends at the table 
 of the House to read the titles of bills 
 whenever the royal assent is given to 
 them, either by the queen in person or by 
 commission. He receives and has the 
 custody of the returns of the represent- 
 ative peers of Scotland, and certifies them 
 to the House ; and makes out and issues 
 writs for the election of representative 
 peers of Ireland and their writs of sum- 
 mons. He is the registrar of the Lord 
 High Steward's Court for state trials and 
 for the trial of peers ; and he is also re- 
 gistrar of the Coronation Court of Claims. 
 
 In connexion with the House of Com- 
 mons, he makes out and issues all writs 
 for the election of members in Great 
 Britain (those for Ireland being issued 
 by the clerk of the crown in Ireland); 
 gives notice thereof to the secretary-at- 
 war, under act 8 Geo. II. c. 30, for the 
 removal of troops from the place of elec- 
 tion ; receives and retains the custody of 
 all returns to Parliament for the United 
 Kingdom ; notifies each return in the 
 ' London Gazette,' registers it in the books 
 of his office, and certifies it to the House. 
 By act 6 & 7 Vict. c. 18, he has the cus- 
 tody of all poll-books taken at elections, 
 and is required to register them, to give 
 office copies or an inspection of them to 
 all parties applying, and to prove them 
 before election committees. He attends 
 all election committees with the returns 
 of members ; and when a return is to be 
 amended in consequence of the deter- 
 mination of an election committee, he 
 attends at the table of the House to 
 amend it. 
 
 He is an officer of the lord high chan- 
 cellor, not in his judicial capacity, but as 
 holding the great seal ; and in this de- 
 partment he makes out all patents, com- 
 missions, warrants, appointments or other 
 
CLERK. 
 
 [524] 
 
 CLERK. 
 
 instruments that pass the great seal, except 
 patents for inventions and other patents 
 and charters which are passed in the 
 Patent Office. He also administers the 
 oaths of office to the lord chancellor, the 
 judges, the serjeants-at-law, and all other 
 law officers, and records the same in the 
 books of his office. For these several 
 duties he receives a salary of 1000/. a 
 year, under 7 & 8 Vict c. 77. (Pari. 
 Report, No. 455, of Session 1844.) 
 
 The office of the Clerk of the Crown 
 is commonly called the Crown Office ; 
 but there is also an office in the Court of 
 Queen's Bench called the Crown side of 
 the Court, of which there is a master and 
 other officers. 
 
 CLERK OF THE HOUSE OF 
 COMMONS. The chief officer of that 
 House is appointed by the crown for life, 
 by letters patent. Upon entering office 
 he is sworn before the lord chancellor 
 " to make true entries, remembrances, 
 and journals of the things done and passed 
 ■in the House of Commons ; in which 
 duties he is aided by the clerk-assistant 
 and second clerk-assistant. These three 
 officers are more commonly known as 
 "clerks at the table." The chief clerk 
 •6ign« all orders of the House, endorses 
 the bills, and reads whatever is required 
 to be read in the proceedings of the House. 
 He is also responsible for the execution 
 of all the official business of the House, 
 which is under his superintendence. In 
 the patent he is styled " Under Clerk of 
 •the Parliaments to attend upon the Com- 
 mons ;" whence it is inferred that on the 
 separation of the two Houses, the under- 
 clerk of the Parliaments went with the 
 Commons, leaving the clerk of the Par- 
 liaments in the Upper House. His salary 
 is 3500/. a year, that of the clerk-assistant 
 2500/., and that of the second clerk-assist- 
 ant 1000/. ; but under act 4 & 5 Will. 
 IV. c. 70, the salaries of the two first 
 offices will be reduced to 2000/. and 
 1500/. respectively, on the first vacancy. 
 (Hatsell's Precedents, vol. ii. p. 251 ; May's 
 Proceedings and Usage of Parliament, p. 
 157 and Index.) 
 
 CLERK OF THE MARKET. 
 [Weights and Measures. 1 
 
 CLERK OF THE PARISH. [Pa- 
 rish Clerk.] 
 
 CLERK OF THE PARLIAMENTS 
 is the chief ministerial officer of the House 
 of Lords. His duties (which are exe- 
 cuted by the clerk-assistant and addi- 
 tional clerk-assistant) are to take minutes 
 of all the proceedings, orders, and judg- 
 ments of the House ; to sign all orders, 
 to endorse bills, to swear witnesses at the 
 bar, to wait upon the queen when she 
 comes to give the royal assent to bills, 
 and to take her command upon them; 
 and to signify the royal assent in all 
 cases, whether given by the queen in per- 
 son or by commission. He is also sent 
 occasionally with a master in chancery 
 as a messenger from the Lords to the 
 Commons in the absence of another 
 master. Besides these and other special 
 duties, he is charged with the general 
 superintendence of the official establish- 
 ment of the House of Lords. He is paid 
 out of the Lords' Fee Fund, of which 
 no account is ever given. It is under- 
 stood that on the death of Sir G. Rose 
 (aged 73) the office will not be filled up. 
 (May's Proceedings and Usage of Parlia- 
 ment.) 
 
 CLERK OF THE PEACE is an offi- 
 cer attached to every county or division 
 of a county, city, borough, or other place 
 in which quarter-sessions are held ; being 
 the ministerial officer of the court of 
 quarter-sessions. He is appointed by 
 the (Justus Rotulorum of the county, and 
 holds his appointment so long as he 
 shall well demean himself. In case of 
 misbehaviour the justices in sessions, 
 on receiving a complaint in writing, 
 may suspend or discharge him, after an 
 examination and proof thereof openly in 
 the sessions; in which case the Custos 
 Rotulorum is required to appoint another 
 person residing within the county or di- 
 vision. In case of his refusal or neglect 
 to make this appointment, before the next 
 general quarter-sessions, the justices in 
 sessions may appoint a clerk of the peace. 
 (1 Will. III. c. 21, § 6.) The Custos Ro- 
 tulorum may not sell the office or take 
 any bond or assurance to receive any 
 reward, directly or indirectly, for the ap- 
 pointment, on pain of both himself and 
 the Clerk of the Peace being disabled 
 from holding their respective offices, and 
 forfeiting double the value of the consi- 
 
CLERK. 
 
 [525] 
 
 CLIENT. 
 
 deration, to any one who shall sue them. 
 (Id. § 8.) To give effect to this pro- 
 vision, before the CHerk of the Peace 
 enters upon the execution of his duties he 
 takes an oath that he has not paid any- 
 thing for his nomination. 
 
 The Clerk of the Peace may execute 
 the duties of his office either personally, 
 or by a sufficient deputy approved by the 
 Custos Rotulorum. He or his deputy 
 must he constantly in attendance upon 
 the court of quarter-sessions. He gives 
 notice of its being holden or adjourned ; 
 issues its various processes; records its 
 proceedings ; and performs all the minis- 
 terial acts required to give effect to its 
 decisions. During the sitting of the 
 court, he reads all acts directed to be 
 read in sessions; calls the jurors, and 
 parties under recognizance ; presents the 
 bills to the grand jury and receives them 
 again; arraigns prisoners, administers 
 oaths, and receives and records verdicts. 
 Whenever prosecutors decline any other 
 professional assistance, he is required to 
 draw bills of indictment, for which, in 
 cases of felony, he can charge 2s. only, 
 but in cases of misdemeanor he may 
 charge any reasonable amount for his 
 sen-ice. 
 
 In addition to these general duties he 
 has other special duties imposed upon him 
 by different statutes, in regard to the 
 summoning of juries, the appointment of 
 sheriffs and under-sheriffs, the enrolment 
 of rules of savings' banks and friendly 
 societies, the custody of documents re- 
 quired to be deposited with him under 
 standing orders of the Houses of Parlia- 
 ment, and other matters. 
 
 By act 22 Geo. II. c. 46, § 14, he is 
 restrained, as being an officer of the 
 Court, from acting as a solicitor, at- 
 torney or agent, or suing out any pro- 
 cess, at any general or quarter sessions, 
 to be held in the county, &c. in which 
 he shall execute his office. 
 
 The Clerk of the Peace is paid by fees. 
 Those chargeable upon prisoners acquit- 
 ted were abolished by the 55 Geo. III. 
 c. 50, for which he is indemnified by the 
 county. By the 57 Geo. III. c. 91, the 
 justices of the peace for the county are 
 authorised to settle a table of fees, to be 
 approved by the Judges of Assize, which 
 
 may not be exceeded by the Clerk of the 
 Peace, under a penalty of 51. If he take 
 more than is authorised by such table 
 of ip.es, he will also be liable to be pro- 
 ceeded against at common law for extor- 
 tion, and to be removed from his office by 
 the court of quarter-sessions. The ses- 
 sions cannot, however, compel the pay- 
 ment of these fees by summary process, 
 nor detain the parties until they be paid, 
 but the Clerk of the Peace is left to his 
 remedy by action. A bill, however, is 
 now before parliament, by which Clerks 
 of the Peace are in future to be remune- 
 rated by salaries, payable out of the fees 
 collected. (Dickinson's Quarter-Sessions ; 
 Burn's Justice of the Peaee ) 
 
 CLERKS IN ORDINARY OF THE 
 PRIVY COUNCIL. [Privy Coun- 
 cil.] 
 
 CLERKS AND SERVANTS. [Ser- 
 vants.] 
 
 CLIENT (Cliens), supposed by some 
 writers to be derived from the verb 
 clueo; but the derivation is somewhat 
 doubtful. Prom the origin of ancient 
 Rome, there appears to have existed 
 the relation of patronage (patronatus) 
 and clientship (clientela). Romulus, 
 the founder of Rome, was, according to 
 tradition, the founder of this system ; but 
 it was probably an old Italian institution 
 and existed before the foundation of the 
 city. The clieus may perhaps be com- 
 pared with the vassal of the middle ages. 
 Being a man generally without .posses- 
 sions of his own, the client in such case 
 received from some patrician a part of his 
 domains as a precarious and revocable 
 possession. The client was under the 
 protection of the patrician of whom he 
 held his lands, who in respect of such a 
 relation was named patron (patronus), i.e. 
 father of the family, as matrona was the 
 mother, " in relation to their children and 
 domestics, and to their dependents, their 
 clients." (Niebnhr.) It was formerly the 
 opinion that every plebeian was also a 
 client to some patrician ; but Niebuhr, in 
 speaking with reference to the proposition 
 that " the patrons and clients made up the 
 whole Roman people," affirms that the 
 proposition is only true "if applied to the 
 period before the commonalty (plebs) 
 was formed, when all the Romans were 
 
CLIENT. 
 
 [523 J 
 
 COAL TRADE. 
 
 comprised in the original tribes by means 
 of the houses they belonged to." It is most 
 consistent with all the testimony that we 
 have, to view the Roman state as origin- 
 ally consisting of a number of free citi- 
 zens who shared the sovereign power, and 
 of a class of dependents, or persons in a 
 state of partial freedom (clientes), who 
 were attached to the several heads of 
 houses and had no share in the sovereign 
 power. The commonalty, or Plebs, as 
 the writers call that class who from an 
 early period stood in political opposition 
 to the citizens who had the sovereign 
 power (Patrcs), was of later growth, and 
 was distinct from the Clients. The Ple- 
 beians, whatever may have been their 
 origin, were Roman citizens, from the 
 time that they were recognised as an 
 order by the legislation of Servius Tullus ; 
 but they had not all the rights of the 
 Patricians : they only attained them after 
 a long struggle. The legislation of Ser- 
 vius appears also to have placed the 
 Clients on something like the same foot- 
 ing as the Plebs with respect to civic 
 rights. 
 
 There existed mutual rights and obli- 
 gations between the patron and his client, 
 of which Dionysius {Roman Antiq. ii. 
 10) has given a summary. The patron 
 was bound to take his client under his 
 paternal protection ; to help him in case 
 of want and difficulty, and even to assist 
 him with his property ; to plead for 
 him and defend him in suits. The 
 client on his part was bound in obe- 
 dience to his patron, as a child to his 
 parent ; to promote his honour, assist him 
 in all affairs ; to give his vote for him 
 when he sought any office, for it appears 
 that the Clients had votes in the Comitia 
 Centuriata ; to ransom him when he or 
 any of his sons was made prisoner ; and 
 to contribute to the marriage portion of 
 the patron's daughters, if the patron was 
 too poor to do it himself. The obliga- 
 tion to contribute to a daughter's por- 
 tion and to ransom the patron or his 
 sons bears some resemblance to the aids 
 due under the feudal system. [Aids.] 
 The patron succeeded to his property 
 when the client died without heirs; 
 which was also the law of the twelve 
 tables in the case of a freedman (De 
 
 Bonis Liberturum, Dig. 38, tit. 2) who 
 died intestate and left no heir {sunt 
 hares). Patron and client were riot per- 
 mitted to sue at law, or give evidence 
 against one another ; of which an in- 
 tance is mentioned by Plutarch in his 
 Life of Marius (c. 5), though the relation 
 of patron and client was not at that time 
 exactly what it once had been. 
 
 The relation between patron and client 
 was hereditary; and the client had the 
 gentile name of his patron, by which he 
 was united to his patron's family and to the 
 Gens to which his patron belonged. 
 
 Originally patricians only could be 
 patrons ; but when, in the later times of 
 the republic, the plebeians had access to 
 all the honours of the state, clients also 
 were attached to them. 
 
 The terms patronus and libertus, or even 
 patronus and cliens, as used in the later 
 years of the republic, and under the em- 
 perors, cannot be considered as expressing 
 the same relation as the terms patronus 
 and cliens in the early ages of Rome, 
 though this later relation was probably 
 derived from the earlier one. When a 
 foreigner who came to reside at Rome 
 selected a patron, which, if not the uni- 
 versal, was the common practice, he did 
 no more than what every foreigner who 
 settled in a strange country often found it 
 his interest to do. The relationship ex- 
 isting at Rome between patron and client 
 facilitated the formation of similar rela- 
 tions between foreigners and Roman citi- 
 zens ; the foreigner thus obtained a pro- 
 tector and perhaps a friend, and the 
 Roman increased his influence by becom- 
 ing the patron of men of letters and of 
 genius. (See Cicero Pro Archia, c. 3, 
 and Z>e Oratore, i. 39, on the ' Jus Appli- 
 cationis,' the precise meaning of which, 
 however, is doubtful. See also Niebuhr, 
 vol. i. p. 316, &c, and the references in 
 the notes ; and Becker, Handbuch des 
 RSm. Alterthums, vol. ii.) 
 
 As a Roman client was defended in 
 law-suits by his patron, the word client 
 is used in modern times for. a party who 
 is represented by a hired counsellor or 
 solicitor. The term Patron is also now 
 in use : the present meaning of the word 
 requires no explanation. 
 
 COAL TRADE. The quantity of 
 
COAL TEADE. 
 
 [ 527 j 
 
 COAL TEADE. 
 
 coals shipped coastwise from ports of 
 Great Britain to other ports of Great 
 Britain and to Ireland amounted, in the 
 year 1843, to 7,447,084 tons; and the 
 quantity exported to the British colonies 
 and to foreign countries in the same year 
 was 1,866,21 1 tons ; making an aggregate 
 of 9,313,295 tons of coals sea-borne from 
 the maritime districts. The market of 
 London alone required a supply of 
 2,663,204 tons, for the conveyance of 
 which 9593 ships (which make repeated 
 Toyages) were employed. The great 
 towns of Lancashire, of the three Eidings 
 of Yorkshire, 6f Nottinghamshire, Derby- 
 shire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, and 
 Staffordshire, are supplied by canals or 
 by land-carriage from collieries in the 
 respective counties here enumerated. In 
 1816 it was ascertained that the quantity 
 of coals then sent by inland navigation 
 and by land-carriage to different parts of 
 the kingdom was 10,808,046 tons; and 
 the quantity must now be very much 
 greater, not only from the increase of 
 population, but the growth of manufac- 
 tures. The quantity used in the imme- 
 diate neighbourhood of the collieries is 
 also very great. The town of Sheffield, 
 for example, alone requires for manufac- 
 turing and domestic purposes more than 
 half a million of tons annually drawn 
 from collieries on the spot ; and it has 
 been estimated that the iron-works of 
 Great Britain, most of which are situated 
 in spots where coal is found, require every 
 year, for smelting the ore and converting 
 the raw material into bars, plates, &c, 
 nearly seven million of tons. There is 
 good reason for believing that the annual 
 consnmptiou of coals within the United 
 Kingdom is not far short of 35,000,000 
 tons. In 1841 the number of persons in 
 Great Britain employed in coal-mines 
 was 118,233. In Durham there were more 
 persons employed under ground in coal- 
 mines than in cultivating the surface. 
 On the 10th of August, 1842, an act was 
 passed " to prohibit the employment of 
 women and girls in mines and collieries, 
 to regulate the employment of boys, and 
 to make other provisions relating to per- 
 sons working therein." No boys can be 
 employed under ground in any colliery 
 who are under the age of ten. This in- 
 
 terference of the legislature was founded 
 on an extensive inquiry by the Children's 
 Employment Commission, which pre- 
 pared three Reports that were presented 
 parliament in 1842. 
 
 It was long considered politic to check 
 the exportation of coals to other countries, 
 both through fear of exhausting the mines, 
 and because it was imagined that our su- 
 periority as manufacturers might be en- 
 dangered. A heavy export duty was 
 accordingly levied, amounting to 17s. the 
 chaldron, Newcastle measure, or 6s. 5rf. 
 per ton upon large, and 4s. 6d. the chal- 
 dron, or Is. 8d. per ton, upon small coals. 
 In 1831 these duties were modified to 
 3s. 4id. per ton upon large, and 2s. per 
 ton upon small coals; and in 1835 they 
 were repealed, with the exception of an 
 ad valorem duty of 10s. per cent. ; but if 
 exported in foreign ships not entitled to 
 the privileges conferred by treaties of re- 
 ciprocity, the duty was 4s. per ton, whe- 
 ther the coal was exported to foreign 
 countries or to British possessions. In 
 1842 Sir E. Peel altered the duties to 2s. 
 per ton on all large coal exported to 
 foreign countries, and Is. per ton on 
 small coals and culm ; but if exported in 
 foreign ships not entitled to the privileges 
 conferred by treaties of reciprocity, the 
 duty was 4s. per ton on large coal, and 
 the same on small coals, culm, and cin- 
 ders. In the session of 1845 Sir E. Peel, 
 in bringing forward the budget, an- 
 nounced his intention of abandoning the 
 coal-duty; and on the 12th of March it 
 was abolished. This duty had the effect of 
 checking the foreign coal-trade, which had 
 been rapidly increasing for several years, 
 and had, in fact, trebled in amount since 
 1835. The duty was comparatively in- 
 significant as a source of revenue ; it led 
 to greater activity in foreign mines, and 
 reduced the profits of the shipper of Eng- 
 lish coal, who had to meet foreign com- 
 petitors. 
 
 A considerable revenue was for many 
 years raised from all coal carried coast- 
 wise by sea from one part of the kingdom 
 to another. When first imposed, in the 
 reign of William III., this tax was 5s. 
 per chaldron, but was raised during the 
 war of the French revolution to 9s. 4a., 
 at which rate it was continued until 1824; 
 
COAL TRADE. 
 
 528 J 
 
 COAL TRADE. 
 
 it was then reduced to 6s., and in 1831 
 was wholly repealed. 
 
 Although the government has remedied 
 the evil so far as the public revenue is 
 concerned, the consumer is still burthened 
 in some places with local or municipal 
 duties, &c. Thus in the city of London 
 the corporation was empowered, by the 
 acts 10 Geo. IV. c. 136, and 11 Geo. IV. 
 c. 64, to levy eight pence per ton " for 
 providing for the payment of the interest 
 and ultimate liquidation of monies bor- 
 rowed for making the approaches to 
 London Bridge." The produce of this 
 tax, which in 1842 was 89,6422., is mort- 
 gaged for the cost of rebuilding London 
 Bridge and approaches. One penny per 
 ton is levied under the act 47 Geo. III. 
 for establishing a market for the sale of 
 coals. This tax realized 11,5212. in 1842. 
 It has been said that the means of esta- 
 blishing the Coal Market might have 
 been provided without difficulty by a 
 more economical management of some of 
 the City departments ; but it was an easier 
 task to apply for an act of parliament to 
 levy an additional tax. Under the act 
 1 & 2 Will. IV. c. 76, four pence per 
 ton is levied " for metage by prescription 
 and charters," making together Is. lrf. 
 per ton upon all coals brought coastwise 
 to the port of London. 
 
 By letters patent granted by Charles II., 
 the Duke of Richmond was entitled to re- 
 ceive Is. per chaldron, Newcastle mea- 
 sure, on all coals shipped in the river 
 Tyne to be consumed in England ; and 
 on the average of ten years ending 1799, 
 the amount of that duty had been '21,0001. 
 a year. On the 19th of August, 1799, 
 the Treasury agreed with the duke for 
 the purchase of this duty by an annuity 
 of 19,0002., which sum was charged upon 
 the consolidated fund, to be -paid quarterly. 
 The sum issued by the Exchequer at 
 three several periods for the purchase of 
 a perpetual annuity of 19,0002. for the 
 duke was 490,8332. ; but the sums re- 
 ceived by the Custom House, as the repre- 
 sentative of the Duke of Richmond, from 
 August, 1799, up to March, 1831, when 
 all coasting duties ceased, exceeded the 
 payments made from the Exchequer by 
 315,0002. The total revenue derived 
 from the coasting duties on coals in 
 
 1830, the year preceding its repeal, was 
 1,021,8622. 
 
 A very peculiar regulation has been 
 established by the coal-owners of the 
 northern coal-field, called the " limita- 
 tion of the vend." It is important that 
 the consumers of coal should understand 
 the nature and effects of this restriction ; 
 and the following account of it, by G. R. 
 Porter, Esq., is therefore given at some 
 length. Mr. Porter says : — " The limit- 
 ation of the vend has existed, with some 
 partia* interruptions, since the year 1771. 
 This arrangement is no less than a sys- 
 tematic combination among the owners of 
 collieries having their outlets by the Tyne, 
 the Wear, and the Tees, to raise the price 
 to consumers by a self-imposed restric- 
 tion as to the quantity supplied. A com- 
 mittee appointed from among the owners 
 holds its meetings regularly in the town 
 of Newcastle, where a very costly esta- 
 blishment of clerks and agents is main- 
 tained. By this committee not only is the 
 price fixed at which coals of various 
 qualities may be sold, when sea-borne, for 
 consumption within the kingdom, but the 
 quantity is assigned which, during the 
 space of the fortnight following each 
 order or " issue," the individual collieries 
 may ship. Upon the opening of a new 
 colliery, the first thing to be determined 
 is the rank or " basis " to be assigned to 
 it. _ For this purpose, one referee is ap- 
 pointed by the owners of the colliery, 
 and another by the coal-trade committee, 
 who, taking into view the extent of royalty 
 or coal-field secured, the size of the pits, 
 the number and power of steam-engines 
 erected, the number of cottages built for 
 workmen, and the general scale of the 
 establishment, fix therefrom the propor- 
 tionate quantity the colliery shall be per- 
 mitted to furnish towards the general sup- 
 ply, which the directing committee shall 
 from time to time authorise to be issued. 
 The point to be attained by the owners of 
 the colliery is to secure for their esta- 
 blishment the largest basis possible ; and 
 with this view it is common to secure a 
 royalty extending over from five to ten 
 times the surface which it is intended to 
 work, thus burthening themselves with 
 the payment of possibly 50002. per an- 
 num, or more, of "dead rent," to the 
 
COAL TKADE. 
 
 [ 529 ] 
 
 COAL TRADE. 
 
 owner of the soil, who, of course, exacts 
 such payment in return for his concession, 
 although his tenants may have no inten- 
 tion of using it. Instead of sinking one 
 or two pits, which would afford ample fa- 
 cility for working the quantity which the 
 mine is destined to yield, a third and pos- 
 sibly a fourth pit are sunk, at an enor- 
 mous expense, and without the smallest 
 intention of their being used. A like 
 wasteful expenditure is made for the 
 erection of useless steam-power ; and to 
 complete and give an appearance of con- 
 sistency to the arrangements, instead of 
 building 200 cottages for the workmen, 
 double that number are provided. In 
 this manner a capital of 160,000Z. to 
 200,000/. may be invested for setting in 
 motion a colliery, which will be allowed 
 to raise and sell only such a quantity of 
 coals as might be produced by means of 
 an outlay of one-fourth or one-fifth of 
 that amount. By this wasteful course 
 the end of the colliery owners is attained : 
 they get their basis fixed, if it is a large 
 concern, as is here supposed, say at 50,000, 
 and this basis will probably secure for 
 them a sale of 25,000 chaldrons during 
 the year, instead of 100,000 chaldrons, 
 which their extended arrangements would 
 allijw them to raise. The Newcastle 
 committee meet once a fortnight, or 
 twenty-six times in the year, and, accord- 
 ing to the price in the London market, 
 determine the quantity that may be issued 
 during the following fortnight. If the 
 London price is what is considered high, 
 the issue is increased ; and if low, it is 
 diminished. If the " issue " is twenty on 
 the 1000, the colliery here described 
 would be allowed to sell (20X50) 1000 
 chaldrons during the ensuing fortnight. 
 The pit and the establishment may be 
 equal to the supply of 3000 or 4000 chal- 
 drons ; orders may be on the books to 
 that extent, or more ; ships may be wait- 
 ing to receive the largest quantity ; but, 
 under the regulation of the " vend," not 
 one bushel beyond the 1000 chaldrons 
 may be shipped until a new issue shall be 
 made. By this system the price is kept 
 up ; and, as regards the colliery owners, 
 they think it more for their advantage to 
 sell 25,000 chaldrons at 30s. per chaldron 
 than to sell 100,000 chaldrons at the ; 
 
 price which a free competition would 
 bring about. They may be right in this 
 calculation ; but if, under the system of 
 restriction, any uudue profit is obtained, 
 nothing can be more certain than that 
 competition for a portion of this undue 
 profit will cause the opening of new col- 
 lieries until the advantage shall be neu- 
 tralized, and this result of the system is 
 already fast approaching. Every new 
 colliery admitted into the " vend " takes 
 its share in the " issues," and, to some 
 extent, limits the sales of all the reft. 
 The disadvantage during all this time to 
 the public at large is incontestable. . . . 
 The owners of collieries, being restricted 
 in their fortnightly issues to quantities 
 which their establishment enables them 
 to raise in three or four days, are natu- 
 rally desirous of finding for their men 
 during the remainder of the time some 
 employment which shall lessen the ex- 
 pense of maintaining them in idleness, 
 and spread over a larger quantity of pro- 
 duct the fixed expenses of their establish- 
 ments and their dead rents. To this end 
 coals are raised which must find a sale in 
 foreign countries ; and it practically re- 
 sults that the same quality of coals which, 
 if shipped to London, are charged at 30s. 
 6d. per Newcastle chaldron, are sold to fo- 
 reigners at 18s. for that quantity, giving 
 a preference to the foreign buyer of 40 
 per cent, in the cost of English coal. By 
 this means the finest kinds of coal, which 
 in London cost the consumer about 
 30s. per ton, may be had in the distant 
 markets «f St. Petersburg and New York 
 for 15s. to lCs., or little more than half 
 the London price. Nor is this the worst 
 effect of the system. In working a col- 
 liery a great proportion of small coal is 
 raised. The cost to the home consumer 
 being exaggerated, and the freight ami 
 charges being equally great upon this 
 article as upon round coal, very little 
 small coal finds a market within the king- 
 dom, except on the spot where it is 
 raised ; and as the expense of raising it 
 must be incurred, the coal-owners must 
 of course seek elsewhere for a market at 
 any price that will exceed the mere cost 
 of putting it on board ship. By this 
 means " nut-coal," which consists of small 
 pieces, free from dust, which have passed 
 2 m 
 
COAL TRADE. 
 
 [ 530 ] 
 
 COAL TRADE. 
 
 through a screen, the bars of which are 
 five-eighths of an inch apart, are sold for 
 shipment to foreign countries at the low 
 price of 3s. per ton. The intrinsic 
 quality of this coal is quite as good as 
 that of the round coal from the same pits ; 
 it is equally suitable for generating steam, 
 and for general manufacturing purposes ; 
 and thus the manufacturers of Denmark, 
 Germany, Russia, &c. obtain the fuel 
 they require, and without which they 
 cannot carry on their operations, at a 
 price not only below that paid by English 
 manufacturers, but for much less than the 
 cost at which it can be raised. The coal- 
 owner might, it is true, sell this small 
 coal at home at a better price than he 
 obtains from his foreign customer, but 
 every ton so sold would take the place of 
 an equal quantity of large coal, upon 
 which his prolit is made, and by such 
 home sale he would by no means lessen 
 his sacrifice, but the reverse." (Progress 
 of the Nation, vol. iii. p. 98.) 
 
 Another regulation affecting the coal 
 trade from the Tyne and the Wear has 
 been established by act of parliament (6 
 Geo. IV. c. 32), under the provisions of 
 which every ship must be loaded in her 
 turn ; and if any colliery refuse to sell, a 
 penalty is imposed of 100/. ; but this 
 regulation may be and has been evaded 
 by the coal-owners towards ships the 
 owners of which refuse to be bound by 
 their regulations in the port of discharge ; 
 and the mode of evading it is to fix an 
 exorbitant price upon their coal, which 
 may be done although a price below the 
 regulation is not allowed, and by this 
 means the vessels are either brought into 
 conformity with the regulations in the 
 port of discharge, or forced out of the 
 trade. The regulations here alluded to 
 were made in June, 1834, at a meeting of 
 the coal-factors in Loudon, and are to this 
 effect: — "That whenever a greater num- 
 ber than eighty ships reach market on 
 any one day, the factors shall offer them 
 for sale according to the rotation of entry ; 
 and that not more than forty of such ships 
 shall be offered for sale on one market- 
 day, unless the prices of best coals be 
 20s. or upwards, and in that case to be at 
 liberty to sell such further number of 
 ■hips as each factor may think proper, 
 
 giving to every vessel with the same coals 
 her fair and regular turn of sale, by which 
 arrangements the ships will experience 
 little or no detention, and the evil be 
 avoided of pressing for sale at a reduced 
 price a larger quantity of coals than the 
 average demand of the market requires." 
 This rule was altered as follows in Janu- 
 ary, 1835, as far as regards the number of 
 ships the cargoes of which may be offered 
 for sale in one market-day : — 
 
 " When the price of the best Sunderland 
 coals has been on the previous market- 
 day 21s. or less, the number of cargoes to 
 be oifered for sale shall be . 40 
 
 When 21s. 3d. or 21s. 6d. . 50 
 21s. 9<2. or 22s. . . 60 
 22s. 3d 70." 
 
 Some alteration has since been made in 
 this scale, but the principle is fully acted 
 upon. Vessels loaded with coal for gas 
 companies begin to work upon arrival, 
 and also all vessels whose cargoes are for 
 the use of the government 
 
 In May, 1844, the harbour-master of 
 the port of London presented a return to 
 the lord mayor, which shows the opera- 
 tion of the regulations established by the 
 coal-owners in the port of London for 
 keeping up the price of coal. On lie 1st 
 of May there were 2G0 vessels laden with 
 coal, detained in sections waiting their 
 " turn" of sale. On one day in the same 
 mouth, ten colliers had been detained, 
 with their captains and crews, for forty- 
 six days, and two had been detained above 
 fifty days. On the 27th of May, 109 
 coal-laden ships were detained in sections, 
 and the price of the best coal had ad- 
 vanced to 24s. and 25s. per ton, or about 
 34s. per ton to the consumer. " A saving 
 of every shilling per ton on the average 
 consumption of the metropolis is equiva- 
 lent to an annual saving to its inhabitants 
 of 150,000/." (Railway Report of Board 
 of Trade, 28th Feb., 1845 ) During the 
 winter of 1844-5, the price of coal in Lon- 
 don has been as high as 40s. a ton. If the 
 " limitation of the vend" and other restric- 
 tions on the coal trade were abolished, 
 and there was no detention and waste of 
 time either at the port of shipment or in 
 London, it is believed that the best coal 
 could be brought from Sunderland into 
 the port of London at 15s. per ton, and 
 
COAL TRADE. 
 
 C 531 ] 
 
 COAL TRADE. 
 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Goole 
 
 175,735 
 
 Llanelly 
 
 170,608 
 
 Irvine, N. B. . 
 
 169,54a 
 
 Maryport 
 
 124,700 
 
 Borrowstoness 
 
 91,174 
 
 Alloa 
 
 86,606 
 
 Gloucester . 
 
 84,773 
 
 Ayr 
 
 71,015 
 
 that 7*. per ton at the pit would he as 
 remunerating to concerns working to their 
 full power as lis. with their powers 
 limiter" by the vend regulations j and that 
 a freigi.t of six shillings per ton would be 
 as profitable as the higher freight now 
 paid, part of which is to cover the ex- 
 pense of detention. 
 
 The railways now in progress will no 
 doubt in time have an important and most 
 beneficial effect in reducing the price of 
 coal in those parts of the country where 
 it is at present so high as almost to place 
 it beyond the reach of the poorest classes 
 of the population. Soon- after the Great 
 North of England Bailway, from Dar- 
 lington to York, was opened, the price of 
 coal at York fell to the extent of from 5s. 
 to 10s. per ton. There will also most 
 probably soon be a large increase in the 
 supply of inland coal in London, as more 
 than one of the great railway companies 
 whose lines extend from London to the 
 midland coal-fields have agreed to convey 
 loal " at rates not exceeding Id. per ton 
 per mile, including toll and locomotive 
 power." Thus the cost of conveying coal 
 from the south of Staffordshire and Derby- 
 shire will not exceed 10s. and 12s. a ton; 
 and such coal may then be sold with a 
 profit in London at 20s. per ton. Whether 
 in time the opening of additional sources 
 for the supply of coal will have an effect 
 on the restrictions of the coal-owners of 
 the north, cannot of course be as yet 
 safely predicted. 
 
 The statistics of the coal-trade are 
 given for Oie sake of distinctness under 
 the following heads: — 1. Coasting Trade. 
 
 2. Coal Trade of the Port of London. 
 
 3. Foreign Trade. 
 
 1. Of 7,447,084 tons of coal shipped at 
 the several ports of the United Kingdom, 
 to other parts of the United Kingdom, 
 in 1843, tie shipments from fifteen ports 
 exceeded 70,000 each, viz. : — 
 
 
 Tons'. 
 
 Newcastle . 
 
 . 2,239,591 
 
 Stockton 
 
 . 1,446,069 
 
 Sunderland . 
 
 877,451 
 
 Newport 
 
 495,419 
 
 Swansea 
 
 401,893 
 
 Whitehaven . 
 
 300,498 
 
 Cardiff 
 
 267,303 
 
 2. The quantity of .coal and the number 
 of ships, including their repeated voyages, 
 in which the same was brought into the 
 port of London in each year, from 1832 
 to 1844, were as follows : — ■ 
 
 Years. 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 1832 
 
 7,528 
 
 2,139,078 
 
 1833 
 
 7,077 
 
 2,020,409 
 
 1834 
 
 7,404 
 
 2,078,685 
 
 1835 
 
 7,958 
 
 2,298,812 
 
 1836 
 
 8,162 
 
 2,398,352 
 
 1837 
 
 8,720 
 
 2,626,997 
 
 1838 
 
 9,003 
 
 2,581,085 
 
 1839 
 
 . 9,340 
 
 2,625,323 
 
 1840 
 
 9,132 
 
 2,566,892 
 
 1841 
 
 10,311 
 
 2,909,144 
 
 1842 
 
 9,691 
 
 2,723,200 
 
 1843 
 
 9,593 
 
 2,628,520 
 
 1844 
 
 9,466 
 
 2,490,919 
 
 The monthly arrivals in the port of 
 London in 1844 were as under ; but from 
 April to August there was a strike for 
 wages amongst the colliers, and this cir- 
 cumstance affected the regularity of the 
 supply: — 
 
 Ships. 
 
 
 Tons. 
 
 799 
 
 Jan. 
 
 224,633 
 
 741 
 
 Feb. 
 
 205,746 
 
 977 
 
 March 
 
 270,771 
 
 751 
 
 April 
 
 198,674 
 
 405 
 
 May 
 
 84,993 
 
 351 
 
 June 
 
 132,238 
 
 517 
 
 July 
 
 144,130 
 
 795 
 
 Aug. 
 
 192,231 
 
 1220 
 
 Sept. 
 
 319,295 
 
 1283 
 
 ■ Oct. 
 
 337,518 
 
 1066 
 
 Nov. 
 
 296,381 
 
 291 
 
 Dec. 
 
 88,330 
 
 9466 
 
 2,490,919 
 
 The quantity which arrived by inland 
 navigation, in 1S43, was 34,684 tons. 
 2»S 
 
COAL TRADE. 
 
 .M2 j 
 
 COAL TRADE. 
 
 The quantity of each particular sort of 
 coal which arrived in the port of London 
 is certified by the Fitters ; and, in 1844, 
 was as follows : — 
 
 
 Ships. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Newcastle Wallsend 
 
 1,428 
 
 424,548 
 
 Other Newcastle Coal 
 
 1,757 
 
 577,073 
 
 Sunderland Wallsend 
 
 2,149 
 
 611,662 
 
 Other Simderland Coal 
 
 109 
 
 28,064 
 
 Stockton Wallsend 
 
 1,877 
 
 482,807 
 
 Other Stockton Coal 
 
 109 
 
 22,016 
 
 Scotch Coal 
 
 354 
 
 66,347 
 
 Blyth Coal . . 
 
 313 
 
 76,361 
 
 Yorkshire Coal . 
 
 945 
 
 94,199 
 
 Welsh Coal . . 
 
 318 
 
 83,039 
 
 
 7 
 
 1,568 
 
 Cinders 
 
 .54 
 
 13,150 
 
 From Sundry Places 
 
 5 
 
 424 
 
 3. In 1 842 the declared value of 1,999,504 
 tons of coal exported to foreign countries 
 and British possessions was 734,000?. ; 
 in 1843 the declared value of coal thus 
 exported was 690,424/., and in 1844 
 665,584/. In 1843 the exports of coal 
 to foreign countries and the colonies were, 
 815,434 tons from Newcastle, 305,991 
 tons from Sunderland, and 224,593 from 
 Stockton; or 1,346,018 out of 1,866,211 
 tons exported in that year. 
 
 The exports of coal to foreign countries 
 only have been as follows in the under 
 mentioned years : — 
 
 Years. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Duty. 
 
 1828 
 
 . 228,681 
 
 . £34,540 
 
 1829 
 
 . 244,330 
 
 . 37,170 
 
 1830 
 
 . 359,886 
 
 . 56,432 
 
 1831 
 
 . 359,039 
 
 . 51,082 
 
 1832 
 
 . 415,247 
 
 . 56,507 
 
 1833 
 
 . 449,655 
 
 . 64,795 
 
 1834 
 
 . 432,406 
 
 . 34,815 
 
 1835 
 
 . 548,574 
 
 5,340 
 
 1836 
 
 . 716,961 
 
 8,705 
 
 1837 
 
 . 865,774 
 
 . 10,153 
 
 1838 
 
 . 1,052,272 
 
 7,342 
 
 1839 
 
 . 1,192,896 
 
 . 8,587 
 
 1840 
 
 . 1,307,722 
 
 6,664 
 
 1841 
 
 . 1,500,701 
 
 . 10,697 
 
 1842 
 
 . 1,647,450 
 
 . 57,884 
 
 1843 
 
 . 1,547,297 
 
 . 132,609 
 
 The following table shows the principal 
 foreign countries to which coal from the 
 United Kingdom was exported in 1838 
 and 1843:— 
 
 France 
 
 Holland 
 
 Germany 
 
 Prussia . 
 
 Denmark 
 
 Russia 
 
 Spain 
 
 Italy 
 
 1838. 
 
 Tons. 
 334,563 
 149,137 
 
 89,701 
 
 60,401 
 105,109 
 
 68,051 
 9,049 
 
 2C.709 
 
 1843. 
 Tons. 
 462,941 
 153,632 
 153,099 
 148,197 
 137,268 
 116,041 
 64,009 
 48,854 
 41,504 
 
 Turkey and Greece 33,224 
 United States of N. 
 
 America . . 57,175 33,948 
 
 Foreign West Indies 7,097 30,008 
 
 Portugal . . . 34,550 29,057 
 
 Sweden . . . 23,690 25,961 
 
 In addition to the above, the quantity 
 of coal exported to British possessions iff 
 the four years from 1840 to 1843 was — 
 Tons. 
 
 1840 . . 298,591 
 
 1841 . . 347,593 
 
 1842 . . 352,054 
 
 1843 . . 318,914 
 
 In the last of these years the Channel 
 Islands took 80,413 tons; the British 
 West Indies, 74,889 tons ; British North 
 America, 67,939 tons; Malta, 37,935 
 tons ; East Indies and China, 30,087 tons. 
 
 The quantity of coal raised in France 
 increased 2,744,590 tons from 1814 to 
 1841, or 412 per cent, and between 1836 
 and 1841 the increase was 34 per cent 
 The number of mines in 1841 was 256, 
 and the quantity raised was 13,321 tons 
 each; in 1836 the average of each mine 
 in France was 9863 tons. Each person 
 employed in coal-mines (29,320) raises, 
 on an average, 116 tons a year. The 
 quantity raised in each of the under- 
 mentioned years was as follows : — 
 
 Tons. 
 1814 . . 665,610 
 
 1826 . . 1,301,045 
 
 183d . . 2,544,835 
 
 1841 . . 3,410,200 
 
 The export of. coal from France has 
 never reached 50,000 tons in one year. 
 The importation has been constantly in- 
 creasing, notwithstanding the great addi- 
 tion to the domestic supply. In 1814 the 
 quantity of coal imported into France 
 was 165,345 tons; 505,180 tons in 1826; 
 
CODE. 
 
 [ 533 ] 
 
 CODE. 
 
 999,452 tons in 1836; and 1,619,160 tons 
 in 1841 ; and of the quantity last men- 
 tioned 992,226 tons were received from 
 Belgium, 196,502 from the Rhenish 
 provinces of Prussia and Bavaria, and 
 429,950 from the United Kingdom. The 
 import duty on sea-borne coal was re- 
 duced in 1834 from a uniform rate of fif- 
 teen francs per ton, to three, six, and ten 
 francs per ton, according to the district 
 into which it was imported ; and on coal 
 brought by land-carriage the duty was 
 reduced from three francs to one-half that 
 amount. In 1841 the increase of imports 
 was 130 per cent., and the productive- 
 ness of the French mines had in the same 
 time increased 65 per cent. 
 
 (Mining Industry in France, by G. E. 
 Porter, Esq., P.R.S.; Journ. ofLond. Stat. 
 Soc, No. 6, 1838, and part iv. vol. vii., 
 Dec. 1844.) 
 
 In Belgium there are 352 coal-mines. 
 The Belgian coal is conveyed inland into 
 France as far as Eouen, where it comes 
 into competition with English coal. In 
 1834 the quantity of coal raised in Prus- 
 sia was 1,810,000 tons; and in 1839 the 
 quantity had increased to 2,442,632 tons. 
 The coal from the Rhenish provinces 
 comes down the Rhine into Holland, and 
 it also enters into competition with Eng- 
 lish coal. In 1837 the produce of the 
 coal-mines in the German Customs' Union 
 (including Prussia) was 10,393,470 tons. 
 
 In the United States of North America 
 there are extensive collieries in Pennsyl- 
 vania. Out of 863,489 tons (of 28 
 bushels) of anthracite coal raised in 1840 
 in the North American Union, 859,686 
 tons were raised in Pennsylvania; and 
 out of a total of 27,603,191 bushels 
 of bituminous coal, 11,620,654 bushels 
 were raised in Pennsylvania, 10,622,345 
 bushels in Virginia, and 3,513,409 
 bushels in Ohio. Nearly 7000 persons 
 were employed in coal-mines, in the 
 United States in 1840. 
 
 CODE, CODEX. The original mean- 
 ing of the Latin word Caudex or Codex 
 was the trunk or stem of a tree. Before 
 the use of more convenient materials, 
 wooden tablets were employed by the 
 ancients for writing on. Such a written 
 tablet was called Codex, of which Codi- 
 cillus is a diminutive. First they wrote 
 
 by making notches or indents in these 
 tablets, but afterwards they covered them 
 with wax, and used a style to write with. 
 The notion of the word was then ex- 
 tended, and it had several new significa- 
 tions. 1. Codex denoted any hand- writ- 
 ing on parchment,- or paper, or ivory, or 
 other material (Dig. 32, s. 52). 2. The 
 diminutive Codicilli (codicil) was used in 
 the plural number in various senses, and 
 finally in that of a testamentary writing, 
 3. A collection of laws was also called 
 Codex, and is now called a Code in modern 
 languages, as in English and French. In 
 this sense the word is now most commonly 
 used. There are several kinds of codes. A 
 code may be made by merely collecting 
 and arranging in a chronological or sys- 
 tematic order the existing laws of a state, 
 which have been made at various times by 
 the sovereign power. Such a collection is 
 either made by public authority, as was 
 the case with the Codex Theodosianus 
 and Codex Justinianeus, or by private 
 individuals, as was the case with the 
 Codex Gregorianus and Hermogenianus. 
 The Germans call collections of old Ger- 
 man laws, made in the middle ages, 
 " Rechtsbiicher" (books of law). A code 
 (in German Gesetzbuch, book of laws), 
 by which the legislative power makes a 
 new system of laws, is very different 
 from a compilation of existing laws. A 
 mere arrangement and classification of 
 existing laws is more properly called a 
 Digest (Digesta), which is the Roman 
 name for one of Justinian's legal com- 
 pilations. If to this classification and 
 arrangement selection be superadded, it 
 would still be properly only a Digest. 
 A code, though it may adopt many ex- 
 isting laws and customs, is now generally 
 used to express a new system, founded on 
 new fundamental principles ; such prin- 
 ciples, for instance, as are set forth in 
 Bentham's ' Leading Principles of a Con- 
 stitutional Code for any State.' In Eng- 
 land, for example, if it were proposed to 
 make a code in the modern sense, it 
 might be found useful or necessary to 
 modify the law of tenures, or to abolish 
 certain kinds of tenures, such as cus- 
 tomary tenures ; and also to provide 
 positive rules for numerous cases that are 
 still either unprovided for or left doubtful 
 
CODES, FIVE. 
 
 L 534 ] 
 
 CODES, FIVE. 
 
 by conflicting decisions, or decisions re- 
 garded as of little authority. 
 
 CODES, LES CINQ, is the name 
 given to several compilations of laws, 
 civil and criminal, made in France after 
 the revolution, and under Bonaparte's 
 administration. They consist of the 
 Code Civil, Code de Proce'dure Civile, 
 Code de Commerce, Code dTnstruction 
 Criminelle, and Code Penal. To these 
 lias been added the Code Forestier, or 
 regulations concerning the woods and 
 forests, promulgated under Charles X. 
 in 1827. Hence the whole collection is 
 sometimes called ' Les Six Codes.' But 
 even this name is not correct, as, in addi- 
 tion to the six already mentioned, there 
 are the following codes : Code Adminis- 
 tratif ; Code de l'Arme'e ; Code des Avo- 
 cats ; Code de la Chasse ; Code de la Con- 
 t rainte par Corps ; Code des Contribuab] es ; 
 Code des Cultes ; Code Electoral ; Code 
 de l'Enregistrement (which includes the 
 Stamp laws) ; Code de l'Expropriation 
 par Cause d'Utilite' Publique ; Code des 
 Frais, for regulating the official charges 
 of courts of law ; Code de la Garde Na- 
 tionale ; Code de l'lustruction Publique ; 
 Code Municipal et De'partemental ; Code 
 des Ofiiciers Ministe'riels (advocates, no- 
 taries, &c.) ; Code des Patentes ; Code 
 de la Peehe Fluviale ; Code des Poids et 
 Mesures; Code de la Police Me'dicale; 
 Code de la Presse ; Code de la Proprie'te 
 Industrielle et Litte'rairc ; Code Rural ; 
 Code des Tribunaux ; Code de la Voirie 
 (rivers, canals, highways, streets, and 
 public vehicles). The Charte of 1830 is 
 sometimes called the Code Politique. 
 
 Civil Code.— The old laws of the French 
 kingdom were founded partly on the Ro- 
 man law, partly on the customs of the 
 various provinces, and partly on the ordi- 
 nances of the kings. Having been abro- 
 gated at the Revolution, several attempts 
 were made, by Cambace'rcs among others, 
 to form a code adapted to the altered state 
 of society ; but the fury of the internal 
 factions, the cares of foreign war, and 
 the frequent changes of rulers, prevented 
 any calm deliberation on the subject 
 during the first years of the Revolution. 
 After Bonaparte became First Consul, he 
 appointed, in 1800, a commission, con- 
 sisting of Trouchet, president of the 
 
 Court of Cassation, Bigot de Pre'ameneu, 
 Portalis, and Malleville, to draw up a 
 project of a civil code. The project was 
 printed early in 1801, and copies were 
 sent to the different courts of France for 
 their observations and suggestions. The 
 observations and suggestions were like- 
 wise printed, and the whole was then laid 
 before the section of legislation of the 
 council of state, which consisted of 
 Boulay, Berlier, Emmery, Portalis, Roe- 
 derer, Real, and Thibaudeau. Bona- 
 parte himself, and Cambace're's, his 
 colleague in the consulship, took an 
 active part in the debates. The various 
 heads of the code were successively dis- 
 cussed, after which they were laid before 
 the tribunate, where some of the pro- 
 visions met with considerable opposition. 
 The code, however, passed at length both 
 the tribunate and the legislative body, 
 and was promulgated in 1 804 as the civil 
 law of France— 'Code Civil des Fran- 
 oais.' Under the empire its name was 
 changed into that of Code Napoleon, bj; 
 which it is still often designated, though 
 it has now officially resumed the original 
 title of Code Civil. This code defines 
 the civil rights of Frenchmen, and their 
 legal relations to each other and to 
 society at large. In its general arrange- 
 ment and distribution it resembles the 
 Institutions of Justinian. It consists of 
 three books, divided into titles or heads, 
 each of which is subdivided into chapters 
 and sections. Book I., in eleven heads, 
 treats of persons; specifies their civil 
 rights ; regulates the means by which 
 their rights are certified ; prescribes the 
 mode of registering births, marriages, 
 and deaths ; defines the conditions which 
 constitute the legal domicile of each indi- 
 vidual ; and provides for cases of absence. 
 It treats of marriage as a civil contract, 
 the forms required, the obligations result- 
 ing from it, and lastly, of separation and 
 divorce. The articles concerning divorce, 
 which gave rise to much debate and 
 opposition at the time, have been repealed 
 since the Restoration, and separation alone 
 is now allowed. The code proceeds to 
 treat of the relations of father and son, 
 of legitimate and natural children, of 
 adoption and guardianship, and of pater- 
 nal power. Under this last head, the 
 
CODES, FIVE. 
 
 [ 535 ] 
 
 CODES, FIVE. 
 
 French code, without adopting the rigid 
 principle of the old Roman law in its 
 full extent, gives to a father the right of 
 imprisoning his son during his minority 
 for a term not exceeding six months, by 
 a petition to that effect, addressed to the 
 president of the local court, who, after 
 consulting with the king's attorney, may 
 give the order of arrest without any other 
 judicial forms being required. The re- 
 maining heads treat of minority and 
 emancipation ; majority, which is fixed, 
 for both sexes, at 21 years complete; of 
 interdiction, and of trustees who are ap- 
 pointed in certain cases to administer the 
 property of a man who is incapable of 
 doing it himself. Book II. treats of pro- 
 perty. The 1st head draws the distinc- 
 tion between meubles and immeubles, or 
 personal and real property ; though these 
 two words do not exactly express, to an 
 English lawyer, the distinction between 
 meubles and immeubles. The 2nd defines 
 the different rights of ownership. The 
 3rd treats of usufruct, use, and habitation. 
 The 4th concerns rural servitudes, the 
 pradiorum servitutes of the Roman law : 
 all former personal servitudes were abo- 
 lished at the Revolution. Book III. treats 
 of the various modes by which property 
 is legally acquired, such as inheritance, 
 donation inter vivos, and wills or testa- 
 ments. A father can dispose by testament 
 of one-half of his property if he has only 
 one legitimate child, of one-third only if 
 he has two, and of one-fourth if he has 
 three or more. The law then proceeds to 
 treat of contracts, and specifies the modes 
 of proving them by written documents, 
 official or private, or by witnesses, or 
 lastly by presumption. The 5th head 
 treats of marriage, and the respective 
 rights of husband and wife according to 
 the terms of the marriage contract. Next 
 come the heads of sales, exchanges, leases, 
 partnerships, loans, deposits, and seques- 
 tration. The 12th head concerns the 
 contracts called ale'atoires, which depend 
 in a great measure upon chance, such as 
 insurance, annuities, &c. The law treats 
 next of power of attorney, of bail and 
 security, and of amicable compromise. 
 The 18th head concerns privileged credi- 
 tors and mortgages. This subject is very 
 elaborately treated, and has been much 
 
 extolled as a very valuable part of the 
 Civil Code, on account of the security 
 which it gives to property by means of 
 the public offices for registering mort- 
 gages, of which there is one in every 
 district. The registration of mortgages 
 has been adopted in most of the Italian 
 states, and other countries besides France ; 
 but even this system is not considered 
 perfect, because there is bo obligation to 
 register every sale or transmission of 
 property, nor the servitudes affecting 
 property; and because the French code 
 admits of sales by private contract, and 
 of mortgages in favour of minors or 
 wives, even without registration. In this 
 particular the Austrian code is considered 
 superior, because it enforces the registra- 
 tion of every transmission of property, 
 and of every burthen or servitude, in the 
 book of census, or cadasto, for each dis- 
 trict. (Grenier, Traitg des Hypotheques, 
 1824 : Introduction.') The nineteenth 
 head of the French civil code treats of 
 expropriation or seizing, or selling off by 
 execution ; and the twentieth, or last, of 
 prescription. 
 
 Much has been written on the merits 
 and defects of this celebrated code. In 
 order to judge of its value, we ought to 
 read the reports of the discussions in the 
 council of state by the most distinguished 
 jurists of France. ( Loere, Esprit du Code 
 Napole"an tire" de la Discussion, 6 vols. 
 8vo., 1805; and Malleville, Analysis 
 raisonnee de la Discussion du Code Civil 
 au Conseil d'Etat, 4 vols., 8vo., 1807.) 
 On the other side, several distinguished 
 German jurists have pointed out its im- 
 perfections. (Saviguy, On the Aptitude 
 of our Age for Legislation, translated 
 from the German by a barrister of Lin- 
 coln's Inn ; Eehberg, Ueber den Code 
 Napoleon, Hanover, 1814 ; Thibaut, 
 Schmidt, &c.) With regard to the part 
 which Bonaparte took in its discussion, 
 not as a professional man, but as a quick- 
 sighted observer and critic, a lively ac- 
 count is given in Thibaudeau's Me~moires 
 sur le Consulat, in which his own original 
 expressions are preserved. 
 
 Code de Procedure Civile.— The Code 
 de Proce'dure is divided into two parts. 
 The first part treats of the various courts • 
 1st. Of the justices of peace and their 
 
CODES, FIVE. 
 
 [ 536 ] 
 
 CODES, FIVE. 
 
 jurisdiction. There are about 2840 of 
 these magistrates in France, whose powers 
 are very similar to those of magistrates 
 in England in matters of police ; but they 
 also decide petty cases not exceeding 200 
 francs, and in certain cases not exceeding 
 1 00 francs their decision is without appeal. 
 They also act as conciliators between 
 parties at variance, who are not allowed 
 to take proceedings in a court without 
 having first appeared before the juge de 
 paix. 2nd. Of the process before the 
 tribunaux de premiere instance, which 
 try civil cases without jury. There is 
 one of these courts in every arrondisse- 
 ment. 3rd. Of appeals to the Cours 
 Eoyales, of which there are 27 estab- 
 lished in the larger towns, each having 
 several departments under its jurisdic- 
 tion : these courts try cases by jury. 4th. 
 Of various modes of judgment. 5th. Of 
 the execution of judgments. The second 
 part treats of the various processes for 
 the recovery of property, separation be- 
 tween husband and wife, interdiction and 
 cession of property by an insolvent debtor. 
 Foreigners are excluded from the benefit of 
 the cessio bonoruin. The code then passes 
 to the subject of inheritance, the affixing 
 of seals, taking inventories, &c. The last 
 book treats of arbitration. 
 
 The Code de Procedure was in great 
 measure founded on the ordonnance pro- 
 mulgated in 1667 by Louis XIV., but 
 with considerable ameliorations. It was 
 framed by a commission appointed in 
 1800, then discussed in the council of 
 state and the tribunate, and lastly passed 
 by the legislative body. It was put in 
 force in January, 1807. The expenses, 
 duties, fees, &c. attending civil process 
 are now regulated by the Code des Frais. 
 The principal reproach made against the 
 Code de Procedure is the multiplicity of 
 formalities, written acts, registrations, 
 stamps, &c. Another objection is, that in 
 actions in which the state is concerned, it 
 has advantages over private parties. But 
 the publicity of the discussions, the security 
 to all civil proceedings by means of regis- 
 tration, the well-defined authority of the 
 various courts, the independence of the 
 judges, and the establishment of local 
 courts all over the country, and above all 
 the institution of the supreme Court of 
 
 Cassation — these are essential and lasting 
 advantages. 
 
 The Code de Commerce was promul- 
 gated in January, 1 808. It was founded 
 in some measure upon the ordonnances of 
 1673-81 of Louis XIV. On account of 
 the many modifications which the Code 
 of 1805 had undergone, a new text of the 
 Code was promulgated in January, 1841. 
 The Code de Commerce is considered the 
 best part of French legislation. The insti- 
 tution of the commercial tribunals has been 
 of great advantage to France, and has been 
 adopted in other countries. These courts, 
 of which there are 213, consist of a presi- 
 dent and two or more judges, all chosen 
 by the merchants among themselves, and 
 for a limited time ; they are not paid, but 
 the greffier or registrar receives a salary. 
 The Code de Commerce consists of four 
 books : the first treats of commerce in 
 general, of the various descriptions of 
 commercial men, of the keeping of books, 
 of companies and partnerships, of brokers, 
 commissioners, carriers, &c. ; the second 
 treats of maritime commerce, shipping, 
 insurances, bankruptcy, &e, ; the third 
 concerns bankruptcies ; and the fourth 
 treats of the commercial tribunals, their 
 jurisdiction and proceedings. By a law of 
 April, 1838, appeals in matters above 1500 
 francs (formerly 1000 francs) lie to the 
 Cour Royale of the district. 
 
 Code d' Instruction Criminelle. — The 
 criminal laws of France under the mo- 
 narchy were defective, confused, and arbi- 
 trary. There was no penal code, but 
 there were various ordonnances for the 
 punishment of particular offences. The 
 ordonnance of Louis XIV. for regulating 
 proceedings in criminal cases introduced 
 something like uniformity, but it main- 
 tained torture and secret trial. Torture 
 was abolished by Louis XVI. The first 
 National Assembly in 1791 recast the cri- 
 minal legislation, introduced the trial by 
 jury, and remodelled the criminal courts 
 after those of England. Bonaparte, when 
 First Consul, appointed a commission, 
 consisting of Viellard, Target, Oudard, 
 Treilhard, and Blondel, to frame a crimi- 
 nal code. The fundamental laws were 
 drawn up in 1801, and were then dis- 
 cussed in the council of state. Bonaparte 
 took a lively part in these first discussions^ 
 
CODES, FIVE. 
 
 i 537 J 
 
 CODES, FIVE. 
 
 especially on the institution of the jury, 
 which he strongly opposed on the ground 
 of the probable incapacity or party spirit 
 of jurors : he looked upon the question in 
 a political rather than a judicial light. 
 Portalis, Simeon, Bigot de Preameneu, 
 and Segur sided with Bonaparte. Treil- 
 hard, Berlier, Deferraon, Cre'tet, Be'renger, 
 Merlin, and Louis Bonaparte defended 
 the jury. There is an interesting account 
 of this discussion in Thibaudeau (vol. vii. 
 pp. 88, &c). The question being put to 
 the vote, the majority was in favour of 
 the jury. The matter, however, was 
 finally settled by suppressing the jury 
 d'accusation, or grand jury, and retaining 
 the jury de jugement. The jurors are 
 taken from the electors who are qualified 
 to vote for a member of the legislature, 
 graduates in law, medicine, and other 
 sciences, notaries, members of the Insti- 
 tute, and of other learned bodies recog- 
 nised by the State, officers on half-pay 
 who have been domiciled for five years in 
 the department, and whose pay amounts 
 to 1200 francs a-year, &c. A list of per- 
 sons so qualified is made out by the pre- 
 fect of the department, from which the 
 President of the Cour Koyale, or of the 
 Cour d' Assise, selects the number required 
 to serve. The proceedings in criminal 
 trials are partly written and partly oral. 
 The accused is first brought before the 
 procureur du roi (king's attorney), who 
 examines him, and simply reports the 
 ease to the juge d'instruction, without 
 giving any opinion upon it. At the same 
 time, if the accused is charged with a 
 crime punishable with personal and de- 
 grading penalties, he orders his detention. 
 For mere delits or misdemeanors, bail is 
 allowed^ The juge d'instruction summons 
 and examines the witnesses, and then 
 sends back the report to the procureur du 
 roi, who makes his remarks on the case, 
 which is then laid before the chambre de 
 conseil, consisting of three judges of the 
 tribunal de premiere instance. These 
 judges investigate the case minutely, and 
 decide if there is ground for further pro- 
 ceedings. In such case the report is laid 
 before the chambre d'accusation, composed 
 of five judges of the Cour Koyale, who 
 ultimately decide for commitment or ac- 
 quittal. If committed for a crime punish- 
 
 able by peines afHictives or infamantes, 
 the prisoner takes his trial before the next 
 cour d'assise of the department. If for 
 mere de'lit or misdemeanor, he is sent 
 before the correctional tribunal. The 
 courts of assize consist of two of the judges 
 of the Court of First Instance of the town, 
 and the president is a member of the Cour 
 Koyale of the department. Their sessions 
 are held every three months in the chef 
 lieu of each department. The jury vote 
 by ballot, and decide by a majority on 
 the fact of the charge ; eight constitute a 
 majority. The mode of voting was regu- 
 lated by a new law, May, 1836. The 
 court then awards the sentence, having a 
 discretion between a maximum and a 
 minimum penalty. By a law passed in 
 1831 the court was prohibited from setting 
 aside the verdict of the jury and referring 
 the case to a new trial ; but by the law of 
 September, 1 835, the judges can order the 
 case to be tried at the next assizes by a 
 new jury, when they must pronounce sen- 
 tence according to the verdict, although it 
 may not diifer from that of the first jury. 
 The prisoner may challenge twelve jurors. 
 One or two juges d'instruction are attached 
 to each court of assize for criminal cases ; 
 they are generally taken from among the 
 juges de premiere instance, and for a 
 definite time only. The Code d'instruc- 
 tion Criminelle consists of the following 
 books : 1 . Of the judiciary police and the 
 various officers whose duty it is to inquire 
 after offences, collect the evidence, and 
 deliver the prisoners to the proper courts. 
 These officers are very numerous, includ- 
 ing the maires and their assistants, the 
 commissaries of police, the rural guards 
 and forestrkeepers, the justices of the 
 peace, the king's attorneys and their sub- 
 stitutes, the juges d'instruction, &c. It 
 also treats of the manner of proceeding by 
 the king's attorney, as already stated ; and 
 of the juge d'instruction and his functions. 
 Book 2 treats of the various courts ; tri- 
 bunaux de simple police, which take cog- 
 nizance of petty offences, and can inflict 
 imprisonment of not more than five days, 
 and a fine not exceeding fifteen francs ; 
 tribunaux en matiere correctionelle, which 
 are composed of at least three judges of 
 the tribunaux de premiere instance, and 
 take cognizance of de'lits or misdemeanors. 
 
CODES, FIVE. 
 
 [ 538 ] 
 
 CODES, FIVE. 
 
 the penalties for which are defined in the 
 Code Pe'nal ; and cours d'assise, already 
 mentioned, from which there is an appeal 
 for informality or want of jurisdiction to 
 the Court of Cassation. The cours spe- 
 ciales, or exceptional courts, which Napo- 
 leon insisted upon having at his disposal, 
 and which were often resorted to after the 
 Restoration, are abolished by Art. 54 of 
 the Charte of 1830. These special courts 
 were assembled in cases of armed rebellion 
 against the authorities, and they also took 
 cognizance of the offence of coining, and 
 of crimes committed by vagabonds and 
 convicts who have escaped ; they were 
 composed of a president taken from among 
 the judges of the Cour Royale, four 
 judges, and three military officers of the 
 rank of captain or above. They tried 
 without jury, judged by majority and 
 without appeal, and the sentence was 
 executed within twenty-four hours. The 
 Chamber of Peers, by virtue of Art. 28 
 of the Charte, sits as a court of justice in 
 matters of high treason and attempts 
 against the safety of the State. On the 
 subject of the Code d'Instruction, Thibau- 
 deau observes that it retained many of the 
 ameliorations introduced by the National 
 Assembly, especially the publicity of trial 
 and the institution of the jury. Its chief 
 faults are, the great number of officers, 
 whose business it is to follow up offenders, 
 by which circumstance the citizens are 
 often exposed to vexatious interference ; 
 the too great extent given to the jurisdic- 
 tion of the correctional courts, by which, 
 in many cases, the citizens are deprived 
 of the security of the jury ; the restrictions 
 on the choice of jurors, which is too much 
 in the power of prefects and other local 
 authorities ; and, lastly, the frequent 
 abuse of the power of the police, by which 
 its agents could issue warrants of arrest. 
 This last abuse is now corrected, or at 
 least greatly mitigated. Other provisions 
 of the Code d'Instruction, as well as of the 
 Penal Code, have been also altered for 
 the better by the law of April 28, 1832, 
 entitled 'Modifications aux Codes d'In- 
 struction Crimiuelle et Pe'nal,' which is 
 found at the end of the later collections of 
 the French codes. 
 
 The Code Pe'nal, or the laws that define 
 crimes and punishments, was completed 
 
 in January, 1810. Its discussion occupied' 
 forty-one sittings of the Council of State. 
 Of these sittings Napoleon attended only 
 one (21st January, 1809). Cambace'res 
 presided at all the rest. " Napoleon was 
 therefore a stranger to its discussions ; he 
 only expressed an opinion that the laws 
 ought to be concise, and leave much lati- 
 tude to the judges and the government in 
 the application of the penalty, ' because,' 
 said he, ' men had feelings of compassion 
 unknown to the law.' He insisted upon 
 the penalty of confiscation being retained 
 in certain cases, because most nations had 
 sanctioned it in cases of conspiracy, rebel- 
 lion, and false coining. But the defini- 
 tion of crimes and offences, the nature of 
 the penalties, and the mode of their appli- 
 cation, were the work of criminal jurists, 
 who were generally inclined to severity, 
 and were well acquainted with the ideas 
 of Napoleon, who was persuaded that 
 criminal legislation ought to be very' 
 rigorous in order to maintain order and 
 support the authority of the government." 
 (Thibaudean, vol. viii. p. 3.) Hence the 
 penalty of death was fixed in numerous 
 cases, and those of perpetual imprison- 
 ment, hard work, or transportation for 
 life, in a still greater number. The pillory 
 is also one of the punishments. 
 
 If we look at book iii. ch. 1, which 
 treats of the crimes and offences against 
 the safety of the State (a term susceptible 
 of indefinite and arbitrary application), 
 we find that the penalties of death and 
 confiscation are fixed very generally. 
 Confiscation, however, has been abolished 
 by a law passed under Louis XVIII. By 
 the head " Des critiques, censures, ou pro- 
 vocations contre l'autorito pnblique dans 
 un discours pastoral," any clergyman 
 found guilty of having, in a pastoral 
 charge, sermon, or other public address, 
 spoken or printed, criticised or censured 
 any act of the government authorities, is 
 subject to banishment, transportation, and 
 even death, according to the consequences 
 which have resulted from his act. The 
 following head,"Ki r sistance, dr'solx ; issance, 
 et autres manquemens envers l'autorite' 
 publique," is equally severe. The article 
 " Delits commis par la voie d'e'erits, images 
 ou gravures, distribues sans nom de l'au- 
 tjur," &c, concerns the press, which was 
 
CODES, FIVE. 
 
 [ 539 ] 
 
 ODES, FIVE. 
 
 under a strict censorship in Napoleon's 
 time. Since the Restoration the censor- 
 ship has been abolished, and several laws 
 have been enacted to repress abuses of 
 the press, especially in April and October, 
 1831. The last law on this subject was 
 promulgated in September, 1835, and con- 
 sists of five heads : 1 . Crimes, de'lits, et 
 contraventions. 2. Du gerant (editor) 
 des journaux on ecrits pe"riodiques. 3. 
 Des desseins, gravures, lithographies, et 
 emblemes. 4. Des theatres, et pieces de 
 theUtre. 5. De la poursuite et du juge- 
 ment By the section of the Penal Code 
 entitled " Des Associations ou Reunions 
 illicites," which continues in force to this 
 day, every association of more than twenty 
 persons for the purpose of meeting on 
 fixed days to discuss either political, reli- 
 gious, literary, or other subjects, is de- 
 clared illegal, unless the approbation of 
 the government is obtained, which can 
 prescribe conditions and fix regulations at 
 its pleasure. The chiefs or directors of 
 any such illegal association are punished 
 by fine. If at the meetings of such assem- 
 blies there has been any provocation to 
 crimes or de'lits, as defined in the other 
 articles of the Penal Code, the chiefs or 
 directors and administrators are liable to 
 imprisonment from three months to two 
 years, besides fine, although they them- 
 selves may not have been guilty of the 
 offence. No individual can lend his house 
 or apartments for the meeting even of an 
 authorized association, unless with the 
 permission of the municipal authorities. 
 By a law which passed the Chambers in 
 April, 1834, the above regulations have 
 been made even more strict. Every mem- 
 Der of an illegal association is liable to a 
 fine of 1 000 francs, and to imprisonment 
 from two months to one year. Under the 
 heads. " Vagabondage" and " Mendicite"," 
 vagrants are defined to be all those who 
 Have no fixed domicile nor means of sub- 
 sistence, and who do not follow habitually 
 any trade or profession. On the legal 
 evidence of being such, they are con- 
 demned to an imprisonment of from three 
 to six months, after which they are under 
 the surveillance of the police for periods '■ 
 varying from six months to ten years. '. 
 With regard to mendicants or beggars, 
 any person found begging in a place 
 
 where there is a workhouse or depot for 
 the poor is subject to from three to six 
 months' imprisonment In places and 
 cantons where there is no depot for the 
 poor (which is the case in most rural dis- 
 tricts of France), able-bodied beggars may 
 be imprisoned for a period of from one to 
 three months ; and if arrested out of the 
 canton where they reside, they are impri- 
 soned for a term of from six months to 
 two years. By Art. 402, fraudulent bank- 
 rupts may be punished by imprisonment 
 with hard labour, and bankrupts not 
 fraudulent are liable to imprisonment 
 from one month to two years. Fraudulent 
 brokers are condemned to hard work for 
 a time. The law of France makes a wide 
 distinction between native and foreign in- 
 solvents. Foreigners not domiciled in 
 France, having no commercial establish- 
 ment or real property there, are liable to 
 double the period of imprisonment that a 
 Frenchman is, but it must not exceed two 
 years for a debt less than 500 francs ; four 
 years for a higher sum under 1000 francs ; 
 six under 3000 ; eight for less than 5000 ; 
 and ten years for 5000 and upwards. 
 (Okey, Concise Diyest of the Law, Usage, 
 and Custom affecting the Commercial and 
 Civil Intercourse of the Subjects of Great 
 Britain and France. There is also a 
 useful epitome of the French law as it 
 affects British subjects in Galignani's 
 Paris Guide.) By the head " Viola- 
 tions des reglemens relatifs aux manu- 
 factures, au commerce, et aux arts," any 
 coalition between masters to lower wages 
 is punished by a fine of from 200 to 3000 
 francs, besides imprisonment not exceed- 
 ing a month. Coalition among workmen, 
 followed by an attempt to stop the works 
 of a manufactory, is punished by impri- 
 sonment of from one to three months; 
 the leaders or originators of the coalition 
 or attempt are subject to imprisonment 
 from two to five years. By Art. 417, 
 any one who, with the view of injuring 
 Frencji industry, has removed to a foreign 
 country the workmen or clerks of a manu- 
 factory, may be imprisoned from six 
 months to two years, besides paying a fine 
 of from 50 to 300 francs. Art. 418 i 
 Any director, clerk, agent, or workman, 
 of a manufactory, who communicates to 
 foreigners or to Frenchmen residing 
 
CODES, FIVE. 
 
 [ 540 J 
 
 COFFEE TRADE. 
 
 abroad any secret of the fabric in which 
 he is employed, is punished by a fine of 
 from 500 to 20,000 francs, besides impri- 
 sonment at the discretion of the court. 
 Art. 421 : All wagers or bets upon the 
 rise or fall of the public funds are punish- 
 able by imprisonment from one month to 
 one year, besides a fine of from 500 to 
 10,000 francs. The offenders may after 
 the expiration of their imprisonment be 
 placed by sentence of the court under the 
 surveillance of the police from two to 
 five years. This sentence, " placed under 
 the surveillance of the high or govern- 
 ment police," which is added at the end of 
 numerous penalties, means that the person 
 so placed is to give security for his good 
 conduct ; in default of which he is " at the 
 disposal of government," who may fix a 
 particular place for his residence. All 
 individuals who have undergone the 
 punishment of imprisonment and hard 
 labour for a time, or that of banishment 
 or transportation, or those who have 
 suffered a penalty for political crimes, are 
 placed under the surveillance of the high 
 police for the rest of their lives. 
 
 The above extracts are sufficient to 
 show the spirit in which the French cri- 
 minal code has been framed. It is, in 
 fact, as harsh and illiberal in many of its 
 enactments as that of any absolute govern- 
 ment in Europe. In speaking therefore 
 of Napoleon's legislation, it is necessary 
 to discriminate between the civil and the 
 criminal law ; and again between the 
 laws themselves and the practice and 
 rules of proceeding in the courts. The 
 adoption of the French criminal code met 
 with great opposition in Italy. . At Milan 
 the legislative body attempted to modify 
 and adapt it to the habits and wants of 
 the Italians. Two commissions were ap- 
 pointed by the minister of justice, one for 
 the code of instruction, and the other for 
 the code penal. Their reports were sent 
 to Paris, but were rejected by Napoleon, 
 and an answer came with peremptory 
 orders to translate literally and enforce 
 the two French codes without any altera- 
 tion. At Naples similar objections were 
 also made, but with no better effect. 
 (Colletta, Storia del Heame di Napoli, 
 book vi.) 
 
 The French code is retained in Ehe- | 
 
 nish Prussia ; in the kingdom of Naples 
 with some few modifications ; in the Can- 
 ton of Geneva in Switzerland ; and in 
 Belgium. The commercial code and the 
 registry of mortgages have been adopted 
 all over Italy. 
 
 For comments and strictures by French 
 jurists on the criminal laws of France, 
 see Berenger, De la Justice Criminelle en 
 France, 1818 ; Dupin, Observations sur 
 plusieurs points importans de noire legis- 
 lation Criminelle; and Bavoux, Lecons 
 prdiminaires surle Code Pelial, 1821. 
 
 There are in France more than 3000 
 judges, including those of the commercial 
 courts, besides 2846 juges de paix. The 
 judges of the Tribunaux de Premiere In- 
 stance have salaries varying from 2000 to 
 6000 francs ; those of the Cours Eoyales, 
 from 3000 to 8000. The presidents and 
 vice-presidents receive more in propor- 
 tion. The juges de paix receive about 
 800 francs, besides certain fees. The 
 various courts, magistrates, greffters, &c. 
 cost the state about fifteen millions of 
 francs annually. (Goldsmith, Statistics 
 of France, 1832.) 
 
 For a general view of the judiciary 
 system of France, see Meyer, Esprit des 
 Institutions Judiciaires, last vol. ; and 
 Key, Des Institutions Judiciaires de I'An- 
 gleterre comparers avec celles de France 
 et de quelques autres Etats, 1826. 
 
 CODICIL. [Code; Will.] 
 
 CODIFICATION. [Law and Le- 
 gislation.] 
 
 COFFEE TRADE (French, Cafe-; 
 German, Kaffe, Koffebohnen ; Dutch, 
 Koffy, Koffebomen; Italian, CaffC; 
 Spanish, Cafe'; Turkish, Chaube ; Swe- 
 dish, Koffe; Russian, Kofe). This 
 great branch of commerce has been 
 wholly created since the beginning of the 
 eighteenth century. Nearly all the 
 coffee which now comes to Europe is the 
 produce of trees propagated from a single 
 plant, which, having been raised from 
 seed procured from Mocha in Arabia by 
 Van Hoorn, governor of Batavla, was 
 sent by him to the botanical garden at 
 Amsterdam, and the progeny of which 
 was, in the year 1718, twenty years after 
 its reception from Java, sent to Suri- 
 nam. 
 
 There is a table by Mr. M'Queen in 
 
COFFEE TRADE. 
 
 [ 541 ] 
 
 COFFEE TRADE. 
 
 the appendix to the Parliamentary Re- 
 port on the Produce of India, which pur- 
 ports to show the quantity of coffee pro- 
 duced in the various countries of its 
 growth ; but there scarcely exist accurate 
 data for such information, and the table 
 in question is confessedly only an ap- 
 proximative estimate. The total quan- 
 tity of coffee produced in all countries is 
 stated to be 359,000,000 lbs. (3,205,351 
 cwts., or 160,267 tons); but Ceylon, 
 from which in 1844 we received 138,846 
 cwts., is not given in the table ; and the 
 total production Of British India, from 
 which in 1841 we imported 15,896,624 
 lbs., is set down at 6,245,000 lbs. The 
 declining production of coffee in the Bri- 
 tish West Indies, though favoured by a 
 differential duty, rendered it necessary 
 to admit the coffee of some other region 
 on equally favourable terms, and in 1835 
 East India coffee was admitted on the 
 same terms as West India. The imports 
 from the East Indies increased from 
 5,182,856lbs. in 1835 to 15,896,624 lbs. 
 in 1841 ; and the coffee of Ceylon in- 
 creased from 1,870,143 lbs. in 1835 to 
 15,550,752 lbs. in 1844. From 1831 to 
 1834 the annual imports of British West 
 India coffee averaged above 21,000,000 
 lbs.; and in 1841, 1842, and 1843, they 
 did not reach 10,000,000 lbs. In 1843 
 they were only 8,530,1 10 lbs. 
 
 In 1824 the consumption of coffee in 
 the United Kingdom was 8,262,943 lbs., 
 and the duties were — 
 
 On foreign coffee . . 2s. 6d. per lb. 
 East India ..16 
 British West India 1 
 
 In 1824 there was consumed 
 
 Of foreign coffee . . 1,540 lbs. 
 
 East India . . . 313,513 
 West India . . . 7,947,890 
 
 In 1825 Mr. HusMsson reduced the 
 duties on 
 
 Foreign coffee to . . Is. 3d. per lb. 
 East India ... O 9 
 West India ... 6 
 The consequence was a rapid increase 
 in the consumption, which in 1830 was 
 22,691,522 lbs. In 1835 there was con- 
 sumed 
 
 Of foreign coffee 
 East India 
 West India 
 
 2,126 lbs. 
 5,596,791 
 17,696,129 
 
 The consumption having overtaken the 
 supply of those kinds of coffee which 
 were admissable at the lowest rate of 
 duty, had remained almost stationary for 
 several years. At the end of 1835, there- 
 fore, the duty on East India coffee was 
 reduced to 6a. per lb. ; and subsequently 
 coffee, of whatever growth, if imported 
 from a British possession eastward of the 
 Cape of Good Hope, or from that place, 
 was admitted at a duty of 9d. Practi- 
 cally speaking, the duty on foreign coffee, 
 instead of being Is. 3d. per lb., became only 
 9d., to which Id. must be added for the 
 cost of additional freight from the Cape 
 of Good Hope, whither it was sent for the 
 purpose of being transhipped for England 
 at a duty of 9d. instead' of Is. 3d, to 
 which it would have been subject if im- 
 ported direct. The quantity of coffee 
 shipped for the Cape to be re-shipped for 
 this country at the 9d. duty was estimated 
 in 1840 at 7080 tons from Europe, 5060 
 tons from the foreign West Indies, 5680 
 tons from Brazil, and 2030 tons from 
 Java ; and the additional cost upon this 
 quantity, in one way or other, amounted, 
 according to Mr. Porter's calculation, to 
 177,0002. a year. He showed also that 
 " the price of all the coffee used in this 
 country was increased to the consumer 
 by 28s. per cwt., the difference of duty, 
 in addition to 13s. Id. per cwt., the ex- 
 pense of sending coffee from Europe tc 
 the Cape and back." This increased 
 price amounted to 533,227 1., but the duty 
 of 9d. per lb. was received only on about 
 half the quantity imported, and the addi- 
 tional sum accruing to the Exchequer was 
 only 192.416Z. 
 
 In 1840 the consumption was as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 lbs. Duty. 
 
 Of East and West 
 
 India . . 14,443,398 0s. 6<f. 
 Foreign . . 14,143,438 9 
 Foreign direct 77,504 1 3 
 
 By the tariff of 1842 the duties were 
 reduced to 8d. per lb. on foreign coffee, 
 and id. on coffee from British possessions. 
 
COFFEE TRADE. 
 
 [ 5^2 j 
 
 COFFEE TRADE. 
 
 On the 6th of June, 1844, the duty on 
 fi rcigu coffee was further reduced to Gd. 
 per lb. There arc now, therefore, only 
 two rates of duty, id. and Gd. per lb. 
 
 1801 
 1811 
 1821 
 1831 
 1841 
 
 Numher of 
 
 Pouuds 
 consumed. 
 
 lbs. 
 
 750,861 
 
 6,390,122 
 
 7,327,283 
 
 21,842,264 
 
 27,298,322 
 
 Rate or Duty 
 
 pel- Pnunil 
 
 on British 
 
 Plantation 
 
 Coffee. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 The stock of coffee on hand in the fol- 
 lowing places, on the 1st of February, 
 1845, was as under:— Importa . 
 
 Stock. tions, 1844. 
 
 wts. cwts. 
 
 Holland . 
 
 . 847,000 
 
 1,300,000 
 
 Antwerp . 
 
 . 140,000 
 
 500,000 
 
 Hamburg 
 
 . 175,000 
 
 620,000 
 
 Trieste . 
 
 57,000 
 
 232,000 
 
 Havre 
 
 31,000 
 
 230,000 
 
 England . 
 
 . 502,000 
 
 440,000 
 
 1,752,000 3,222,000 
 The shipments from these ports to one 
 another are estimated at 350,000 cwts., 
 which reduces the total importation to 
 2,972,000 cwts. This does not include 
 the whole of the supply received in Eu- 
 rope. Sweden, for instance, in 1840 im- 
 ported 2,519,986 lbs. from Brazil. In 
 1835, or within a year or two of that 
 date, the imports into Bremen were 
 4500 cwts. ; St. Petersburg, 2000 cwts. ; 
 Denmark, 1400 cwts. ; Spain (from Cuba 
 only), 1000 cwts.; Naples and Sicily, 
 640 cwts.; Venice, 320 cwts.; Fiume, 
 1 70 cwts. ; but in these last-mentioned 
 places the imports were not wholly direct 
 from the countries of production. 
 
 In the nine months ending June 30, 
 1 843, there were imported into the United 
 States of North America 92,295,660 lbs. 
 of coffee, valued at 6,346,787 dollars : the 
 importation from Brazil was 49,515,666 
 lbs.; from Cuba, 16,611,987; and from 
 Hayti, 10,811,288 lbs. The quantity of 
 .coffee re-exported during the above period 
 was 6,378,994 lbs. There is no import 
 duty on coffee in the United States. 
 
 The influence of high and low duties 
 is shown with great clearness in the fol- 
 lowing table, taken from Mr. Porter's 
 ' Progress of the Nation :' — 
 
 Sum 
 
 Population Average contributed 
 
 of Consumption per Head 
 
 Great per head. to the 
 
 Britain. Revenue. 
 
 lb. OZS. d. 
 
 10,942,646 1-09 If 
 
 12,596,803 8-12 4 
 
 14,391,631 8-01 6 
 
 16,262,301 1 5-49 8 
 
 18,532,335 1 7-55 10$ 
 
 For the year ending 5th Jan., 1845, 
 the consumption of coffee in the United 
 Kingdom was 31,394,225 lbs. (19,564,082 
 British, and 11,830,143 foreign); the 
 importations were — 
 From British possessions 24,1 10,283 lbs. 
 Foreign „ 22,410,960 „ 
 
 46,521,243 „ 
 
 Since 1835 we have been gradually 
 enlarging the sources of supply, and the 
 consequence has been increased importa- 
 tion and diminution of price. 
 
 The quantity of coffee re-exported 
 from the United Kingdom in 1844 Was 
 6,306,000 lbs., all of which, with the ex- 
 ception of 155,703 lbs., was foreign. Of 
 9,505,634 lbs. exported in 1842, Belgium 
 took 3,709,400 lbs. ; Germany, 1,005,206 
 lbs. ; Holland, 986,122 lbs. ; Italy, 926,279 
 lbs. ; Turkey, 850,829 lbs. ; and the re- 
 mainder was sent in smaller quantities to 
 thirty-one other countries. 
 
 The price of coffee in London has been 
 gradually declining for several years, and 
 has fallen as follows per cwt. : — 
 
 1839. 1845. 
 
 Jamaica, low middling.and 8. 8. 8. s. 
 
 middling . . . Ill to 116 72to90 
 Cevlou, good ordinary . 102 52 
 
 Mo'clia. ordinary to flue . 110 135 40 90 
 Java . . . .71 80 30 61 
 
 Bruil, ordinary to fine .46 53 27 66 
 
 From the above statements it will be 
 seen that coffee is an article of the first 
 commercial importance, and in most 
 countries it is made to yield a consi- 
 derable revenue. In Holland the duty 
 is 3s. id. per 100 lbs., and there is no 
 differential duty in favour of the Dutch 
 
COGNOVIT. 
 
 L 343 J 
 
 COINING. 
 
 colonies. In Belgium the duty is 16s. 8d. 
 per 100 lbs. ; in Austria, 42s. per 123J lbs.; 
 jn France, 2/. 8s. to 4/. per 100 kilo : 
 grammes. 
 
 In 1835 the duty on coffee consumed 
 in the United Kingdom was 652,123/. ; 
 564,1762. in 1838 ; 373,573/. in 1840 ; 
 and in the years ending 5th July, 1843 
 and 1844, 375,974/. and 351,101/. 
 
 Chicory and other substitutes for cof- 
 fee are prohibited in several countries ; but 
 in England it is becoming an important 
 article in commerce. In 1840 the quan- 
 tity of raw chicory retained for home 
 consumption was 3932 cwts. ; and in the 
 years ending 5th July, 1843 and 1844, 
 20,775 and 31,720 cwts. The duty of 
 20s. per cwt. was not altered by the tariff 
 of 1842. The present value of the ar- 
 ticle is 9s. 6d. per cwt. exclusive of duty. 
 
 The effect of rendering such a beverage 
 as coffee cheap has been attended with 
 beneficial moral effects. In 1685 Charles 
 II. issued a proclamation for suppress- 
 ing coffee-houses, in which he speaks 
 of " the multitude of coffee-houses lately 
 set up in this kingdom" as being the re- 
 sort of disaffected persons. The pro- 
 clamation was soon withdrawn. In 1844 
 the number of coffee-houses in London 
 was above 600. Thirty years ago there 
 was scarcely one where coffee was sup- 
 plied at less than 6d. a cup ; and there 
 were none to which the humbler classes 
 •could resort. There are now many houses 
 (coffee-shops) where from 700 to 800 per- 
 sons a day are served at the charge of Id. 
 per cup; somewhere 1500 or 1600 per- 
 sons are served at l^rf. ; and all these 
 houses are supplied with newspapers and 
 periodical publications for the use of the 
 persons who frequent them. A few years 
 ago the working classes had no other 
 place but the public-house to which they 
 could resort for refreshment. 
 
 COGNO'VIT is a plea, in an action at 
 law, whereby the defendant acknowledges 
 or confesses the justice of the plaintiffs 
 demand against him {cognovit actionem). 
 By this plea a trial is avoided and judg- 
 ment is entered up for the plaintiff. But 
 where the action is for damages, this 
 judgment is not final, as the amount of 
 damages remains to be assessed by a jury, 
 under a writ of inquiry, which is exe- 
 
 cuted by the sheriff, by the agency of his 
 under-sheriff. When the jury have as- 
 sessed the damages, the sheriff returns the 
 inquisition, which is entered upon the 
 roll in the form of a postea, and the judg- 
 ment is then complete, the defendant's 
 plea having already confessed the cause of 
 action, and the damages having been as- 
 sessed by a jury. If the action be for the 
 recovery of a specific amount, as in an 
 action of debt, the judgment entered up 
 upon a plea of cognovit actionem is con- 
 clusive against the defendant, as it con- 
 fesses the entire declaration. On this 
 account it is a common practice for a 
 debtor to strengthen the security of his 
 creditor by executing a warrant of attor- 
 ney to an attorney named by the creditor, 
 authorising him to confess a judgment by 
 a plea of cognovit in an action of debt to 
 be brought by the creditor against the 
 debtor for the specific sum due to him. 
 But in order to prevent fraud, it is pro- 
 vided by 1 & 2 Vict. c. 110, § 9, 10, that 
 such warrant of attorney or cognovit is of 
 no force unless there be present an attor- 
 ney of one of the superior courts, on be- 
 half of the party who gives it, expressly 
 named by him, and attending at his re- 
 quest, to inform him of the effect of the 
 instrument before he executes it, and 
 who must subscribe as a witness to the 
 execution, and declare himself to be the 
 attorney for the party. In order to make 
 this process effectual as against the as- 
 signees of the debtor, if he should become 
 bankrupt or insolvent, warrants of attor- 
 ney and cognovits must be filed in the 
 Court of Queen's Bench within twenty-one 
 days after execution, or judgment must 
 be signed or execution issued thereon 
 within the same period. (3 Geo. IV. c. 
 39 ; 6 Geo. IV. c. 16, J 108 ; 1 & 2 Vict, 
 c. 110, § 60, 61 ; 6 & 7 Vict. c. 66. Har- 
 rison's Digest of Reported Cases, titles 
 " Bail," " Warrant of Attorney ;" Ste- 
 phen's Comm. vol. iii. p. 634.) 
 
 COHABITATION. [Concubinage.] 
 COINING. The numerous and com- 
 plicated laws upon this subject, passed 
 from time to time during several cen- 
 turies, to protect the coin of the realm, 
 were repealed by the 2 Will. IV. c. 34, 
 The operation of this statute is confined to 
 Great Britain and Ireland ; and the former 
 
COINING. 
 
 [ 544 ] 
 
 COINING. 
 
 are not repealed, so far as they may be in 
 force in any part of the khig's dominions 
 out of the United Kingdom. The making 
 or coining of money being one of the pre- 
 rogatives of the crown, the counterfeiting 
 of the king's coin was in early periods of 
 the history of English law considered to 
 be a usurpation upon the royal authority, 
 and upon that principle constituted the 
 offence of high treason both by the com- 
 mon law and by various statutes. By 2 
 Will. IV. c. 34, § 3, it is enacted, with 
 respect to gold and silver coin, That any 
 person falsely making or counterfeiting 
 any coin resembling, Or apparently in- 
 tended to resemble or pass for, the king's 
 current gold or silver coin, shall be liable 
 to transportation for life, or any term not 
 less than seven years, or to imprisonment 
 for any term not exceeding four years. 
 The 4th section of the act imposes the 
 same punishment upon the offences of 
 colouring, washing, or casing over any 
 metal or counterfeit coin so as to pass for 
 the genuine gold and silver coin of the 
 realm ; and of filing, washing, or other- 
 wise altering silver coin so as to pass for 
 gold, or copper coin so as to pass for sil- 
 ver or gold. By § 5, persons impairing, 
 diminishing, or lightening the king's cur- 
 rent gold or silver coin, with intent to 
 make it pass for the king's current gold 
 or silver coin, are made liable to trans- 
 portation for fourteen years, or imprison- 
 ment for three years. 
 
 By § 6 of the statute it is enacted, That 
 if any person shall buy, sell, receive, 
 pay or put off, any false or counterfeit 
 coin resembling, or apparently intended 
 to resemble or pass for, any of the king's 
 current gold or silver coin, or offer so to 
 do, at or for a lower rate or value than the 
 same by its denomination imports ; or if 
 any person shall import into the United 
 Kingdom, from beyond the seas, any false 
 or counterfeit coin resembling, or appa- 
 rently intended to resemble or pass for, 
 any of the king's current gold or silver 
 coin, knowing the same to be false or 
 counterfeit, he shall be liable to be trans- 
 ported for life, or for any term not less 
 than seven years, or to be imprisoned for 
 any term not exceeding four years. 
 
 By § 7 it is enacted, That if any person 
 shall tender, utter, or put off any false or 
 
 counterfeit coin, resembling, or apparently 
 intended to resemble or pass for, any of 
 the king's current gold or silver coin, 
 knowing the same to be false or counter- 
 feit, he shall be liable to imprisonment 
 for any term not exceeding one year ; and 
 if any person shall tender, utter, or put off 
 any false or counterfeit coin resembling, or 
 apparently intended to resemble or pass 
 for, any of the king's current gold or sil- 
 ver coin, knowing the same to be false or 
 counterfeit, and such person shall, at the 
 time of such tendering, uttering, or putting 
 off, have in his possession, besides the false 
 or counterfeit coin so tendered, uttered, or 
 put off, one or more piece or pieces of 
 false or counterfeit coin resembling, or 
 apparently intended to resemble or pass 
 for, any of the king's current gold or sil- 
 ver coin, or shall, either on the day of 
 such tendering, uttering, or putting off, 
 or within the space of ten days then next 
 ensuing, tender, utter, or put off any more 
 or other false or counterfeit coin resem- 
 bling, or apparently intended to resemble 
 or pass for, any of the king's current gold 
 or silver coin, knowing the same to be 
 false or counterfeit, he shall be liable to 
 imprisonment for any term not exceeding 
 two years. And it is further declared by 
 the same section, that if any person who 
 shall have been convicted of any of the 
 offences therein before mentioned, shall 
 afterwards commit any of such offences, 
 he shall be liable to be transported for 
 life, or for any term not less than seven 
 years, or to be imprisoned for any term 
 not exceeding four years. 
 
 By § 8 it is enacted, That if any person 
 shall have in his custody or possession 
 three or more pieces of false or counter- 
 feit coin resembling, or apparently in- 
 tended to resemble or pass for, any of the 
 king's current gold or silver coin, know- 
 ing the same to be false or counterfeit, 
 and with intent to utter or put off the 
 same, he shall be liable to be imprisoned 
 for any term not exceeding three years ; 
 and if any person so convicted shall after- 
 wards commit the like misdemeanor, or 
 crime and offence, he shall be liable to be 
 transported for life, or for any term not 
 less than seven years, or to be imprisoned 
 for any term not exceeding four years. 
 
 The above provisions relate to the pro 
 
COINING. 
 
 L 5 J 5 J 
 
 COLLEGIUM. 
 
 tection of the gold and silver coin : by 
 § 12 of the same statute similar provisions 
 were made with respect to copper coin ; 
 but the penalties are transportation for 
 seven years, or imprisonment for any 
 term not exceeding two years. 
 
 Section 10 of the act contains a provi- 
 sion against making, mending, or having 
 in possession any coining tools. The 
 penalties are transportation beyond the 
 seas for life, or for any term not less than 
 seven years, or imprisonment for any term 
 not exceeding four years. 
 
 The form of this act of parliament is a 
 good example of the adherence to esta- 
 blished principles. The object of the act 
 is to protect the public interest, and to 
 prevent people from being defrauded by 
 the makers and issuers of base coin ; and 
 it is for the public interest that such fraud 
 as coining should be punished with any 
 amount of severity that is necessary to 
 attain the object. But the offence is 
 treated, even in the last act, as if it con- 
 sisted in counterfeiting the king's coin, 
 and not in injuring the public ; and thus 
 the legal offence is made to consist in the 
 imitating of that coin which the king 
 alone, by his prerogative, can make and 
 issue; for it is an offence against the 
 king's prerogative, whether the coin is of 
 base metal or as good as the king's coin. 
 The form of the act, however, accom- 
 plishes the object, just as well as if it 
 irere based on the principle of the mis- 
 chief of coining ; and the preservation of 
 forms is certainly of some importance in 
 governments of all kinds. The punishment 
 for making coin to imitate the king's coin, 
 even if the metal be as good as the king's, 
 is necessary ; for there would be no secu- 
 rity for good money if anybody might 
 make it. But some changes have been 
 made by the act of William IV., which 
 have brought the law nearer to its true 
 object. Those offences against the coin 
 which were formerly high treason are 
 now felony ; and the punishment of 
 transportation has been substituted for 
 the former punishment of death, a cir- 
 cumstance which tends to render the 
 execution of the law more steady an«i e£~ 
 ficient. [Mint.] 
 
 COLLATION. [Advowson ; Bene- 
 IICE, p. 340.] 
 
 COLLE'GIUM, or CONLE'GIUM 
 (from the word Colligo, " to collect or 
 bring together"), literally signifies any 
 association or body of men. The word 
 Corpus was also used in the same sense, 
 and those who were members of a col- 
 legium or corpus were hence called cor- 
 porate ; from which come our terms cor- 
 poration and corporators. The word 
 Corporatio (Corporation) was also used 
 under the Empire. The word Universi- 
 tas was sometimes used as equivalent to 
 Collegium or Corpus, but it had also the 
 more general signification of " com- 
 munity," or '■ collective body of citizens." 
 In the Koman polity collegium signified 
 any association of persons such as the law 
 allowed, and which was confirmed by 
 special enactment or by a senatus con- 
 sultum, or an imperial constitution, in 
 which case it was called Collegium Le- 
 gitimum. A collegium necessarily con- 
 sisted of three persons at least. {.Dig. 
 50, tit. 16, s. 85.) 
 
 In general, any association for the pur- 
 pose of forming a collegium, unless it had 
 the sanction of a senatus consultum, or of 
 the emperor, was illegal (illicitum) ; but 
 when dissolved, the members were al- 
 lowed to divide the property of the as- 
 sociation according to their respective 
 shares. The members of a collegium 
 were called Sodales : the terms and ob- 
 ject of their union or association might 
 be any that were not illegal. They could 
 make regulations for the administration 
 of affairs, or by-laws as we call them, 
 provided such regulations were not con- 
 trary to law. \Vig. 47, tit. 22.) 
 
 A great variety of collegia (many of 
 them like our companies or guilds) existed 
 at Kome both before and under the empire, 
 as we see by ancient writings and inscrip- 
 tions, such as the Collegia Pabrorum, Pis- 
 torum, Pontificum, Fratrum Arvalium,Vi- 
 roruni Epulonum, Augurum, &c. Some 
 of these, such as the colleges of Pontifices 
 and Augurs, were of a religious charac- 
 ter. These collegia possessed property 
 as a corporate body ; and in the time of 
 the emperor M. Antoninus, if they were 
 sX'Uegia legitima, they could take a legacy 
 C" bequest {Dig. 34, tit. 5, s. 20) in their 
 corporate capacity. Collegia were al- 
 lowed, as a matter of course, to have a 
 2n 
 
COLLEGIUM. 
 
 [ 546 J 
 
 COLLEGIUM. 
 
 common ehost, and an actor, syudicus or 
 httorney, to look after their rights and 
 interests, and appear on their behalf. 
 {Dig. 3, tit. 4, s. 1.) The maxims that 
 what was due to a university was not due 
 to the individual members, and that the 
 debts of universities were not the debts of 
 the individual members, and that even 
 though all the members were changed, 
 the university still existed, comprehend 
 the essential notion of a corporation as 
 now understood. In most cases the 
 members probably filled up vacancies in 
 their own body. 
 
 The word Collegium was also applied 
 to various magistrates : the Tribunes of 
 the Plebs were called Collegium Tribu- 
 liorum ; and the Prators, Collegium Prte- 
 torum. The word is also applied to the 
 consuls, though they were only two (Liv. 
 x. 22) ; and the two consuls were called 
 Collegae with respect to one another. 
 Varro {Ling. Lat. vi. 66) says that those 
 Uoman magistrates were called Collegae 
 with respect to one another, who were 
 elected at the same time (una lecti) ; and 
 consistently with this explanation, it is 
 stated by M. Messala (quoted by Gellius, 
 xiii. 15), that the Censors were not col- 
 leagues of the consuls, but the Praetors 
 were. 
 
 Besides the senses above mentioned, 
 Collega was used to express any associate ; 
 and Collegium to express any association 
 of individuals. Accordingly Collegia 
 are sometimes called Soeietates ; but the 
 proper sense of Collegium must not be 
 confounded with the proper sense of So- 
 cietas, which is merely a partnership. 
 The nature of Roman corporate bodies is 
 further considered under University. 
 
 In Lngland a College is an Eleemo- 
 synary Lay Corporation, of the same 
 kind as an hospital, and it exists as a cor- 
 porate body either by prescription or by 
 the grant of the king. A college is not 
 necessarily a place of learning. An 
 hospital also is not necessarily a mere 
 charitable endowment, but is sometimes 
 also a place of learning, as Christ's Hos- 
 pital, London. 
 
 A college is called Eleemosynary, be- 
 • ruse its object is the perpetual distribu- 
 tion of alms (eleemosynae) or bounty of 
 the founder, among such persons as he 
 
 has mentioned in the terms of the endow- 
 ment. It is called a Lay corporation, 
 because it is not subject to the jurisdiction 
 of the ecclesiastical courts, or to the visit- 
 ation of the ordinary or diocesan in his 
 spiritual capacity. (Ulackstone, Comm, i. 
 p. 471.) These eleemosynary corpora- 
 tions however are generally composed of 
 spiritual persons, and have a spiritual 
 character; but they are considered as 
 Lay corporations for the reason just men- 
 tioned. 
 
 The particular form and constitution 
 of a college depend on the terms of the 
 foundation. A college generally con- 
 sists of a head, called by the various 
 names of provost (propositus), master, 
 rector, principal or warden, and of a body 
 of fellows (socii), and generally of scho- 
 lars also, besides various officers or ser- 
 vants, according to the peculiar nature of 
 the foundation. A college is wholly 
 subject to the laws, statutes, and ordi- 
 nances which the founder makes, and to 
 the visitor whom he appoints, and to no 
 others. All elections, and the general 
 management of a college, must be in con- 
 formity with such statutes or rules. If a 
 college does not exceed its jurisdiction, 
 the king's courts have no cognizance, and 
 expulsion of a member is entirely within 
 its jurisdiction. If there is no special 
 visitor appointed by the founder, the 
 right of visitation, in default of the heirs 
 of the founder, devolves upon the king, 
 who exercises it by the great seal. When 
 the king is founder, his successors are 
 the visitors. 
 
 The general power of a visitor is to 
 judge according to the statutes of a col- 
 lege, to expel and deprive for just reason, 
 and to hear appeals. His precise powers 
 are determined by the founder's statutes, 
 and if there are any exceptions to his 
 power, the jurisdiction in such excepted 
 cases devolves on the king. Certain 
 times are generally Darned in the statutes 
 for visitation, but the visitor may visit 
 whenever he is called on, for it is incident 
 to his office to hear complaints. So loug 
 as a visitor keeps within his jurisdiction 
 his acts cannot be controlled, and there is 
 no appeal from him, as was decided in 
 the well known case of Philips v. Bury, 
 cr the case of Exeter College, Oxford, 
 
COLLEGIUM. 
 
 [ 547 ] 
 
 COLLEGIUM. 
 
 (Show. P. C. 35.) A visitor is not bound 
 to any particular forms of proceeding, 
 and, in general, want of jurisdiction is 
 the only ground on which he is liable to 
 prohibition. If a visitor's power is not 
 limited or defined, he must use his best 
 discretion. If a power to interpret the 
 statutes is given to any person, as to the 
 bishop of the diocese, this will constitute 
 him and his successors visitors. The 
 heirs of a founder cannot alter the sta- 
 tutes, unless such a power is expressly 
 reserved ; and it appears, that where the 
 king is founder, his successors cannot 
 alter statutes without the consent of the 
 college, unless such a power is reserved. 
 But as to the power to alter statutes, it 
 must be observed, that in the ease of the 
 crown at least, it has not unfrequently 
 been done, though such a power might 
 possibly be disputed, unless expressly 
 reserved to the founder and his successors 
 by the original statutes. 
 
 Whenever a visitor is appointed, the 
 Court of Chancery never interferes with 
 the internal management of a college ; but 
 this court exercises jurisdiction on all 
 matters pertaining to the management of 
 the funds, for as to the funds of a college, 
 those who possess the legal estate are in 
 the situation of trustees. If governors, 
 or persons called visitors, have the legal 
 estate, and are intrusted with the rents 
 and profits, the Court of Chancery will 
 make them account. In colleges, whpn 
 a new foundation is engrafted on the old 
 one, it becomes part ol the old one, and 
 subject to the same visitorial authority, 
 unless new statutes are given with the 
 new foundation. 
 
 The validity of all elections in colleges 
 must be determined by the words of the 
 founder's statutes or rules. In the dis- 
 putes that have arisen on elections, the 
 point has generally been, whether the 
 master's concurrence is necessary, or 
 whether a bare majority of the electors, 
 of which electors the master is one, is 
 sufficient. In Catherine Hall, Cam- 
 bridge, fellows must be elected "com- 
 muni omnium consensu, aut saltern ex 
 consensu magistri, et majoris partis com- 
 munitatis ;" and it was held by Lord 
 Eldon, upon these words and another 
 clause which follows, that no election 
 
 was valid in which the master did not 
 concur. 
 
 The statutes of Clare Hall, Cambridge, 
 require "that the election of a fellow 
 shall be by the master and the major part 
 of the fellows present ;" and here it was 
 held (a.d. 1788) that a valid election 
 might be made without the concurrence 
 of the master. But this interpretation is 
 obviously wrong, and is referred to with 
 disapprobation in the subsequent case of 
 Queen's College, Cambridge (5 Russell). 
 
 Colleges (13 Eliz. c. 10) cannot grant 
 leases of their land beyond twenty-one 
 years, or three lives ; and in such leases 
 the accustomed yearly rent, or more, must 
 be reserved, payable yearly during the 
 term. By 18 Eliz. c. 6, in all leases 
 made by colleges in the universities, and 
 by the colleges of Winchester and Eton, 
 one-third of the whole rent must be re- 
 served in corn. The Mortmain Act of 
 9 Geo. II. c. 36, which has put consi- 
 derable obstacles in the way of gifts of 
 land or money to be laid out in land in 
 England for charitable purposes, does not 
 extend to the two universities of Oxford 
 and Cambridge, or to colleges in the two 
 universities, nor to gifts in favour of the 
 scholars of Eton, Winchester, and West- 
 minster. This statute contained a re- 
 striction as to the number of advowsons 
 which a college in either of the univer- 
 sities of Oxford and Cambridge was al- 
 lowed to hold ; but this restriction was 
 removed by 45 Geo. III. c. 101, having 
 been found, as the preamble to this statute 
 sets forth, injurious to "learning. These 
 colleges can therefore now purchase and 
 hold as many advowsons as they please. 
 
 Of late years various places of learning 
 have been incorporated under the name 
 of Colleges by royal charter, such as 
 University College and King's College, 
 London. Both these colleges consist of 
 a large number of shareholders or pro- 
 prietors, in whom the property of the 
 college is vested. Both these colleges 
 are governed by a council ; and King's 
 College has also a principal, and in other 
 respects is assimilated to the colleges at 
 Oxford and Cambridge. University Col- 
 lege has no principal or other correspond- 
 ing ofiicer : but it has a senate composed 
 of the professors of the college, a pre- 
 2 N2 
 
COLLEGIUM. 
 
 [ 548 ] 
 
 COLLEGIUM. 
 
 eident and two vice-presidents ; and facul- 
 ties of arts and laws, and a faculty of 
 medicine. The constitution of King's 
 College assimilates it to the nature of a 
 college at Cambridge or Oxford : that of 
 University College assimilates it more 
 to the character of the universities of 
 Oxford and Cambridge, which are mere 
 civil corporations. Neither University 
 College nor King's College confers de- 
 grees ; but the students of both colleges 
 may take degrees in the University of 
 London, subject to certain regulations. 
 The College of Physicians in London, 
 and the College of Surgeons, are also in- 
 stances of civil corporations established 
 under the name of colleges ; and the 
 Herald's College is another. 
 
 A Collegiate Church is a church that 
 lias a college or chapter of canons, but 
 no bishop, and yet it is said to be under 
 the authority of a bishop. But in the 
 case of Manchester College, a manda- 
 mus from the Court of King's Bench was 
 directed to the Bishop of Chester, as 
 warden of Manchester College, to ad- 
 mit a chaplain. The bishop happened 
 also to be visitor of the college. It was 
 held by the King's Bench, that in the case 
 of a spiritual corporation the jurisdiction 
 was in that court, unless there was an 
 express visitor appointed, and the court 
 interposed in the present case, because 
 there was no separate visitorial power 
 then existing, owing to the union of the 
 wardenship and visitorship in the same 
 person. This case was afterwards pro- 
 vided for by an express act, 2 Geo. II. 
 c. 29. The canonists require three 
 canons at least to constitute a collegiate 
 church, because three, according to the 
 Roman law, were required to make a 
 college. These collegiate churches are 
 sometimes simply called colleges, and 
 were formerly more numerous. West- 
 minster, Windsor, Eton, Winchester, 
 Southwell, and Manchester are collegiate 
 churches. Probably schools were always 
 a part of such foundations: those of 
 Eton, Westminster, and Winchester have 
 flourishing schools. 
 
 As to the relation between the English 
 universities and the colleges within their 
 limits, see University. 
 
 The statutes of all the old colleges in 
 
 England are in Latin ; and, indeed, with 
 the exception of some comparatively 
 modern endowments, probably all college 
 statutes are in Latin. Those of Eton 
 College, of Trinity College, Cambridge, 
 and of St. John's College, Cambridge, 
 which may serve as specimens of the 
 statutes of such foundations, are printed 
 in the Education Reports of the House of 
 Commons, 1818. 
 
 Meiners ( Geschichte der Enstehung und 
 Entwicltelimg der Hohen Schvlen, &c, 
 Gottingen, 1802, vol. i.) has given an 
 interesting chapter on the origin of col- 
 leges in universities. The colleges in 
 the University of Paris were the first 
 institutions of the kind in Europe, though 
 it is a mistake to suppose them older than 
 the university itself. 
 
 The terms College and University have 
 been often confounded in modern times, 
 and indeed are now sometimes used in- 
 discriminately. Some of the incorporated 
 places of learning in the United States, 
 which confer degrees, are called univer- 
 sities, and some are called colleges, though 
 there is in fact no distinction between the 
 two. Some of these institutions called 
 colleges contain the schools or depart- 
 ments of arts, law, medicine, and theo- 
 logy ; and some that are called univer- 
 sities contain only those of arts, law, and 
 medicine. Some of these colleges arc 
 more limited as to the objects of instruc- 
 tion, but still they confer degrees. If 
 we look to the origin of colleges and their 
 connexion with universities, it will be 
 evident that the indiscriminate use of 
 these terms is incorrect, and tends to lead 
 to confusion. When an incorporated 
 college, such as the College of Surgeons 
 in London, is empowered to confer a 
 degree or title after examination of can- 
 didates, some other name would be more 
 appropriate. According to modern usage, 
 the term university is properly applied to 
 corporate bodies which confer degrees; 
 and this is the title by which the Uni- 
 versity of London, which is empowered 
 to confer degrees in arts, law, and medi- 
 cine, is incorporated. It is convenient 
 at present to distinguish colleges as places 
 of learning which do not confer degrees, 
 from universities which do. The word 
 Academia, though an old Greek word, 
 
COLONEL. 
 
 [ 549 ] 
 
 COLONEL. 
 
 is the most modern of all the terms 
 now applied to places of higher instruc- 
 tion : it has been most usually applied 
 to endowed corporate bodies which have 
 for their object the improvement of some 
 particular science or some particular 
 branch of knowledge, in some cases with 
 the power to confer degrees in such par- 
 ticular science, &c, and sometimes with- 
 out this power. Yet the terms academia 
 and university have often been used, and 
 now are used indiscriminately. (Mei- 
 ners, vol. iv., On the Different Names of 
 High Schools.) 
 
 The history of the Scotch universities 
 shows that the terms college and univer- 
 sity were, both at the time of the founda- 
 tion of these institutions and subsequently 
 also, used with little discrimination ; and 
 this carelessness in the application of 
 the terms has led to anomalies in their 
 constitution, and no little difficulty in 
 comprehending the history and actual 
 constitution of these bodies. (See the 
 Report of the Royal Commission of In- 
 quiry iiito the State of the Scotch Uni- 
 versities, printed 1831 ; and Maiden's 
 Origin of Universities, London, 1835.) 
 
 In France, the term college signifies a 
 school, though the constitution of a French 
 college is very different from that of our 
 grammar-schools. It comes nearest, per- 
 haps, to a GermaD gymnasium. Of these 
 colleges there are about 320, every large 
 town having one of them. They are 
 maintained by the towns, and the heads 
 and professors are paid out of the re- 
 venues of the communes. They are all 
 under the superintendence of the Uni- 
 versity of France. There are also about 
 forty royal colleges, in which the direc- 
 tors (adtninistrateurs) and professors are 
 paid by the state. The College Royal of 
 France, founded by Francis I., has above 
 twenty professors, who lecture on the 
 various sciences and the Oriental lan- 
 guages. (See Journal of Education, 
 No. III. ' On the State of Education in 
 France.') 
 
 COLLEGE. [Collegium.] 
 
 COLONEL, the commander of a regi- 
 ment or battalion of troops; he is the 
 highest in rank of those called field-offi- 
 cers, and is immediately subordinate to a 
 general of division. 
 
 The derivation of the word is uncertain. 
 It is supposed to have been given origi- 
 nally to the leader of a body of men ap- 
 pointed to found a colony; or to have 
 come from the word coronarius, indica- 
 ting the ceremony of investing an officer 
 with the command of a corps ; or, finally, 
 from the word columna, denoting the 
 strength or support of an army. 
 
 The title of colonel-general was, for the 
 first time, conferred by Francis I., about 
 the year 1545, on officers commanding 
 considerable divisions of French troops, 
 though, according to Brantome, it had 
 been given to the chief of an Albanian 
 corps in the service of France at an ear- 
 lier period. When the troops of that 
 country were formed into regiments (the 
 infantry about 1565, and the cavalry 
 seventy years afterwards), the chiefs of 
 those corps were designated Mestres de 
 Camp; and it was not till 1661, when 
 Louis XIV. suppressed the office of colo- 
 nel-general of infantry, that the com- 
 manders of regiments had the title of 
 colonel. 
 
 In England, the constitution of the 
 army was formed chiefly on the model of 
 the French military force ; and the terms 
 regiment and colonel-general were intro- 
 duced into this country during the reign 
 of Elizabeth. It must, morever, be ob- 
 served, that in the regulations made by 
 the citizens of London for forming the 
 militia in 1585, it is proposed to appoint 
 colonels having authority over ten cap 
 tains ; and that both colonels and lieu 
 tenant-colonels are distinctly mentioned 
 in the account of the army which was 
 raised in order to oppose the threatened 
 invasion of the country in 1588. Before 
 the time of that queen, it appears that the 
 commanders of bodies of troops equiva- 
 lent to regiments had only the general 
 title of captain. 
 
 The duties of colonels are described 
 in Ward's ' Animadversions of Warre,' 
 which was published in 1639; and from 
 the account there given, it appears that 
 those duties were then nearly the same 
 as they are at present. To the colonel 
 of a regiment, besides the general super- 
 intendence of the military duties per- 
 formed by the troops composing it, is in- 
 trusted the care of providing the clothing 
 
COLONIAL AGENTS. 
 
 [ 550 ] 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 f.f the men and of appointing the agent 
 through "whom their pay is transmitted. 
 Colonels take precedence of one another 
 according to the dates of their commis- 
 sions, and not according to the seniority 
 of their regiments. 
 
 The lieutenant-colonel is immediately 
 under the full colonel.- He assists the 
 latter in directing the evolutions of the 
 battalion or regiment, which he also com- 
 mands during the absence of his superior 
 officers. 
 
 If appointed after 31st March, 1834, 
 the annual pay of a colonel is, in the Life 
 and Horse Guards, 1800?. without other 
 emolument ; but in all other regiments the 
 colonel derives emoluments from cloth- 
 ing. The annual pay, exclusive of these 
 emoluments, is — in the Grenadier Guards, 
 1 2007. ; in the Coldstream and Scots Fusi- 
 lier Guards, 1000/. ; in the cavalry regi- 
 ments generally, 900/. • and in the regular 
 infantry, 500/. The sum voted for the 
 full pay of 135 colonels, in 1845, was 
 88,450/. The daily pay of a lieutenant- 
 colonel is— in the Life Guards, 11. 9s. 2d ; 
 jn the Foot Guards, 1/. Cs.Od.; in the 
 Eoyal Artillery, l/. 7s. Id. in the Horse 
 Brigade, and 18s. Id. in the Foot ; in the 
 Koyal Engineers, 18s. Id. and 16s. Id. ; 
 and in the Koyal Marines and in the In- 
 fantry, 17s. The full pay of 17fi lieuten- 
 ant-colonels was 59,181)7. in 1845. The 
 half-pay of a colonel of cavalry is 15s. 6d., 
 and of infantry 14s. 6rf. per diem. A 
 lieutenant-colonel of cavalry receives 
 12s. 6d, and of infantry, lis. ; and in the 
 Artillery and Engineers, lis. 8d. For 
 prices of commissions see Commission. 
 
 In February, 1845, there were in the 
 British army 374 colonels and 697 lieu- 
 tenant-colonels. 
 
 COLONIAL AGENTS. Most of the 
 British colonies have agents in England, 
 whose duties do not appear to be very 
 accurately defined. The act of 1843, 
 appointing an agent for Jamaica, recites, 
 " that it is necessary the inhabitants of 
 this island should have a person in Great 
 Britain fitly qualified and fully em- 
 powered to solicit the passing of laws 
 and to transact other public matters 
 committed to his care for the good of the 
 island." In this case the salary of the 
 agent is 1000/. per annum. A person 
 
 called " the agent-general" acts for the 
 crown colonies ; but where there is a local 
 legislature the appointment is generally 
 made by it. Previously to the separation 
 of the North American colonies most of 
 them had a special agent in England for 
 the management of their affairs, to whom 
 a salary was given. They were appointed 
 by the Assemblies, and sometimes con- 
 firmed by the governor. Sometimes, as 
 in Massachusetts, the legislative council 
 and the Assembly had each its own agent 
 The persons generally selected were dis- 
 tinguished lawyers or merchants, usually 
 the former, and often members of parlia- 
 ment. William Knox, under-secretary 
 of state, was agent for Georgia in 1764 ; 
 John Sharpe, M.P., was agent for Massa- 
 chusetts in 1755; Charles Garth, M.P., 
 acted for South Carolina from 1765 to 
 1775, and his correspondence during this 
 period contains a full account of the pro- 
 ceedings of the Imperial Parliament. 
 Richard Jackson, M.P., acted for Connec- 
 ticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, 
 about the year 1774. Edmund Burke 
 was appointed agent, by the House of 
 Assembly alone, for New York, Decem- 
 ber 21, 1770, with a salary of 500/. a 
 year, and continued to act until 1775, 
 when all intercourse with the colony was 
 suspended. The House of Assembly of 
 Lower Canada several times appointed 
 special agents, the last of whom was 
 Mr. Roebuck, M.P., who in that ca- 
 pacity, but not at the time an M.P., 
 was heard at the bar of both Houses of 
 Parliament in opposition to the Bill to 
 suspend the constitution of Lower Ca- 
 nada. (Pamphlet On the Nomination of 
 Agents formerly appointed to act in Eng- 
 land for the Colonies of North America, 
 1844.) 
 
 CO'LONY (in Latin Colonia, a word 
 derived from the Latin verb ' colo,' ' co- 
 lere,' to till or cultivate the ground) ori- 
 ginally signified a number of people 
 transferred from one country or place to 
 another, where lands were allotted to 
 them. The people themselves were 
 called Coloni, a word corresponding to 
 our term colonists. The meaning of the 
 word was extended to signify the country 
 or place where colonists settled, and is 
 now generally applied to any settlement 
 
COLONY. 
 
 [ 551 ] 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 or land possessed by a sovereign state 
 upon foreign soil. Thus Ceylon and the 
 Mauritius are called British colonies, 
 though they are not solely colonized by 
 Englishmen, the former being chiefly 
 inhabited by natives, and the second by 
 French or descendants of French colo- 
 nists and Africans. The present notion of 
 the word " colony " (as determined by 
 the general use of the term) seems to be 
 a foreign country, either -wholly or partly 
 colonized, that is to say, possessed and 
 cultivated by natives, or the descendants 
 of natives, of another country, and stand- 
 ing in some sort of political connection 
 ■with and subordination to the mother 
 country. The notion of a British colony 
 implies that the waste lands belong to the 
 British crown. The continental posses- 
 sions called British India are not a co- 
 lony : the island of Ceylon is a colony. 
 
 The formation of colonies is among 
 the oldest events recorded in history or 
 handed down by tradition. Maritime 
 states, such as those of Phoenicia and of 
 Greece, which possessed only a scanty 
 territory, would have recourse to emi- 
 gration as their population increased. In 
 both these countries the sea afforded a 
 facility for transferring a part of their 
 superabundant citizens, with their fami- 
 lies and movables, and their arms, to 
 some foreign coast, either uninhabited or 
 thinly peopled by less civilized natives, 
 who, by good will or by force, gave up 
 to them a portion of their land. The 
 emigration might be voluntary or forced ; 
 it was sometimes the result of civil con- 
 tentions or foreign conquest, by which 
 the losing party were either driven away, 
 Or preferred seeking a new country to re- 
 maining at home. The report of some 
 remote fertile coast abounding invaluable 
 productions would lead others to emigrate. 
 Lastly, the state itself having discovered, 
 by means of its merchants and mariners, 
 some country to which they could trade 
 ■ with advantage, might determine upon 
 sending out a party of settlers, and might 
 establish a factory there for the purpose 
 of sale or exchange. In fact, commercial 
 Enterprise seems to have led both to mari- 
 time discovery and to colonization as 
 much as any one single cause. Such 
 Seem to have been the cause of the nu- 
 
 merous Phoenician colonies which, at a 
 very early date, were planted along the 
 coasts of the Mediterrannean. Tyre 
 itself was a colony of Sidon, according to 
 the ' Old Testament,' which calls it the 
 "daughter of Sidon." Leptis Magna, 
 near the great Syrtis, was also a colony 
 of Sidon, according to Sallust (Jugurth, 
 c. 78). Hippo, Hadrumetum, Utica, and 
 Tunes, were Phoenician colonies, and all 
 of greater antiquity than Carthage, which 
 was subsequently settled by Phoenicians 
 in the neighbourhood of Tunes. The 
 Phoenician colonies extended along the 
 north coast of Africa as far as the Pillars 
 of Hercules (the Straits), and along the 
 opposite coast of Spain, as well as to the 
 Balearic Islands, and Sardinia and Sicily, 
 Those on the Spanish coast seem to have 
 been at first small settlements or factories 
 for the purpose of trade between the me- 
 tropolis or mother country and the na- 
 tives. Several of them, however, such 
 as Gades (the site of the modern Cadiz), 
 became independent of the mother coun- 
 try. The foundation of Carthage was an 
 instance of another kind. It resulted, ac- 
 cording to tradition, from an emigration 
 occasioned by the tyranny of a king of 
 Tyre. 
 
 Of the early settlements in the islands 
 of the jEgean Sea we have only tra- 
 ditions referring to times previous to 
 the war of Troy. Thucydides (i. 4) says 
 that the Carians inhabited the Cyclades 
 islands, and carried on piracy, until Mi- 
 nos, king of Crete, drove them away and 
 planted new colonies. Thucydides does 
 not mention the Phoenicians as occu- 
 pying the Cyclades, but he speaks of 
 the islands of the JEgean generally as 
 possessed by Carians and Phoenicians, 
 who carried on piracy ; and he adds 
 that they settled on most of the islands 
 (i. 8). Herodotus (ii. 44 ; vi. 47) also 
 states that the Phoenicians had once 
 a settlement in the island of Thasus, 
 where they worked the gold-mines. 
 They also had a settlement on the island 
 of Cythera (Cerigo), which lay conve- 
 niently for their trade with the Pelopon- 
 nesus. (Herodotus, i. 105.) Thucydides 
 (vi. 2) mentions that the Phoenicians 
 formed establishments on the promon- 
 tories and small islands on the coast of 
 
COLONY. 
 
 532 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 Sicily, from which they traded with the 
 native Siculi; but that when the Greeks 
 came to settle in great numbers in that 
 island, the Phoenicians abandoned several 
 of their posts, and concentrated them- 
 selves at Motya, Soloeis, and Panormus, 
 now Palermo (which must have then 
 had another name, for Panormus, or All- 
 port, is Greek), near the district occupied 
 by the Elymi or Phrygian colonists (who 
 had emigrated from Asia after the fall 
 of Troy, and had built Entella and 
 Egesta), trusting to the friendship of the 
 Elymi, and also to the proximity of these 
 ports to Carthage. These three Phoe- 
 nician settlements merged afterwards into 
 Carthaginian dependencies. The Phoe- 
 nicians appear also to have occupied 
 Melita or Malta, and the Lipari Islands, 
 one of which retained the name of Phoe- 
 nicusa. Of the Carthaginian settlements 
 in Sardinia we have the report of Diodo- 
 rus (v. 13) and a fragment of Cicero 
 Pro Scauro, published by Mai. ( Com- 
 pare Pausanias, x. 17 j Strabo, p. 225, ed. 
 Casaub.) Caralis (Cagliari) and Sulchi 
 were Carthaginian settlements. A Phoe- 
 nician inscription was found in a vineyard 
 at Cape Pula, belonging to the monks of 
 the order of Mercy, and was explained 
 by De Eossi, ' Effemeridi Letterarie di 
 Roma,' 1 774. But the chief field of Phoe- 
 nician colonization was the north coast of 
 Africa. There the Phoenician settlements 
 seem to have been independent, both of 
 the mother country and of each other. 
 We have the instance of Utica and Tunes, 
 which continued separate communities 
 even after Carthage had attained great 
 power, Carthage only exercising the he- 
 gemony, or supremacy. This seems to 
 have been the case among the original 
 Phoenician towns ; Sidon, Tyre, Aradus, 
 and others, each a distinct commonwealth, 
 formed a sort of federation, at the head 
 of which was the principal city, at first 
 Sidon, and afterwards Tyre. A feeling 
 of mutual regard seems to have prevailed 
 to the last among the various Phoenician 
 towns and colonies, including Carthage, 
 as members of one common family. 
 
 The colonies established afterwards by 
 the Carthaginians in the interior as well 
 as on the coast of Africa, Sicily, and 
 Spain, were upon a different plan from 
 
 those of the Phoenicians : they were made 
 through conquest, and for the purpose of 
 keeping the country in subjection, like 
 those of the Romans, with the remarkable 
 exception of the colonies planted by 
 Hanno on the west coast of Africa. 
 
 The earlier Greek colonies appear to 
 have owed their origin to the same causes 
 as those of the Phoenicians. Thucydides 
 (i. 12) says, that after the Trojan war, 
 and the subsequent conquest of Pelopon- 
 nesus by the Dorians, Greece, being re- 
 stored to tranquillity, began to send out 
 colonies. The Athenians, whose country 
 was overflowing with people from other 
 parts of Greece, who had flocked thither 
 for security, began to send out Ioniaus, 
 as Thucydides terms the settlers in the 
 country in Asia called after them Ionia, 
 and to many of the islands : the Pelopon- 
 nesians sent th«irs to Italy, Sicily, and 
 some parts of Greece. The Dorians from 
 Megaris, Argos, Corinth, and other places, 
 colonized some of the larger islands, part 
 of Creta, Rhodes, Corcyra, as well as 
 /Egma, Cos, and other islands. They 
 founded the Hexapolis on the south-west 
 coast of Caria, in Asia Minor, which dis- 
 trict took from them_the name of Doris. 
 A colony of Lacedaemonians founded Cy- 
 rene. The Megarians founded Chal- 
 cedon, Byzantium, Selymbria, Heraclea, 
 and other places on the coasts of the 
 Euxine. Sicily also was chiefly colonized 
 by Dorians. Syracuse was a Corinthian 
 colony, which afterwards founded Acree 
 and Camarina: Gela was a colony of 
 Rhodians and Cretans, and Agrigentum 
 was a colony from Gela. The Megarians 
 founded Selinus. The Chalcidians built 
 Naxus, which was the first Greek settle- 
 ment in Sicily, and afterwards took Leon- 
 tini and Catana from the Siculi. For a 
 more detailed account of the numerous 
 Dorian colonies, see K. O. MUller's ' His- 
 tory of the Doric Race." 
 
 The Ionians from Attica, who emi 
 grated to the west coast of Asia Minor, 
 which took from them its name Ionia, 
 established there twelve cities or commu- 
 nities, which quickly rose to a high de- 
 gree of prosperity, and formed a kind of 
 federal union. These Ionians who settled 
 in Asia were a mingled people, of whom 
 the Ionians who emigrated from Athens 
 
COLONY. 
 
 [ 553 ] 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 considered themselves the best part. 
 They gave the came Ionia to their new 
 settlements in Asia from the country in 
 the Peloponnesus, once called Ionia, and 
 subsequently Achsea, from which they 
 had been driven by Achseans who settled 
 there. As the Ionians consisted of twelve 
 states in their old country, so they made 
 twelve states in their new settlements. 
 (Herodotus, i. 143, &c.) Four genera- 
 tions before the Ionian emigration, ac- 
 cording to Strabo (p. 582, ed. Cas.), the 
 ./Eolians and some Achseans, two nearly 
 allied races, being driven away from part 
 of the Peloponnesus by the Dorians, had 
 emigrated to the coast of Asia Minor, 
 where they formed colonies from Cyzicus 
 on the Propontis as far southwards as the 
 Hennus. Phocsea was the most northern 
 of the Ionian towns, and it was on the 
 borders of iEolis. The jEolians also co- 
 lonized the islands of Lesbos, Tenedos, 
 and others in that part of the Mgean. 
 These emigrations were posterior to the 
 time of Homer, who mentions other 
 people as occupying that coast. The 
 Athenians at a later date colonized Eu- 
 boea, where they founded Chalcis and 
 Eretria; and they also sent colonies to 
 Naxos, to the islands of Ceos, Siphnos, 
 Seriphos, and other islands of the 
 iEgean. Many of these colonies, having 
 thriven and increased, became colonizers 
 in their turn. The enterprising mariners 
 of Phocsea formed various colonies, the 
 most celebrated of which is Massilia 
 (Marseille), on the south coast of Gaul. 
 Miletus, also one of the Ionian cities, 
 was the parent of numerous colonies, 
 many of which were on the south coast 
 of the Black Sea. The Chalcidians of 
 Euboea founded Cumse, on the west coast 
 of Italy, in the country of the Opici. 
 Pirates from Cumse founded Zancle in 
 Sicily, on the'Straits of Messina ; but a 
 fresh colony Of Samians and some Milesians 
 escaping from the Persian invasion, in 
 the time of the first Darius, B.C. 494, took 
 Zancle, and were afterwards in their 
 turn dispossessed by Anaxilas, tyrant of 
 Rhegium, who called the town Messene 
 (now Messina), from the name of his ori- 
 ginal country in the Peloponnesus. The 
 iEolians founded Dicsearchia, afterwards 
 Puteoli, in Italy, and they, with the Cu- 
 
 mseans, are supposed to have rounded 
 Parthenope (Naples). 
 
 The Greek colonies on the east coast 
 of Italy, setting aside the confused tra- 
 ditions of Arcadian and other immigra- 
 tions, consisted chiefly of Dorians and 
 Achseans from the Peloponnesus. Cro- 
 ton, Sybaris, and Pandosia were Achaaan 
 colonies. Tarentum was a colony of La- 
 cedaemonians, and Locri Epizephyrii of 
 the Locrians. Greek colonies were 
 settled both on the north and east sides 
 of the Pontus (Black Sea), and also on 
 the north coast and in the modem Cri- 
 mea. Many of them, as already observed, 
 were Milesian colonies. 
 
 The relation which subsisted between 
 the Greek colonists and the prior in- 
 habitants of the countries which they 
 occupied, was undoubtedly in most cases 
 that of conquerors and subjects. Either 
 the natives withdrew into the interior and 
 left the ground to the new occupants, as 
 the Siculi did in several instances, or 
 they resisted, in which case, when over- 
 powered, the men were exterminated or 
 reduced to slavery, and the conquerors 
 kept the women for themselves. In some 
 instances the older inhabitants were re- 
 duced to the condition of serfs or bond- 
 men to the new settlers. The records of 
 authentic history do not present us with 
 an instance of any colony being settled in 
 a country where there were not previous 
 inhabitants. The consequence of the 
 immigration of a new race, who seek to 
 possess themselves of the land, must be 
 the extermination or gradual decay of the 
 prior race, unless the old inhabitants are 
 made slaves. So far as we trace the his- 
 tory of Greek colonies in the scattered 
 fragments of antiquity, such were the 
 consequences of their colonial settlements. 
 On the coast of Italy it would appear that 
 the Greeks pursued a more humane or 
 more politic course. They are said to 
 have allied themselves to and intermar- 
 ried with the natives, and by their supe- 
 rior civilization to have acquired great 
 influence. It may here be remarked that 
 the Greeks, so far from being averse to 
 foreign intermixture, as some have said, 
 mingled their blood freely with that of 
 all the nations with whom they came into 
 contact, and thus the. civilization of the 
 
COLONY. 
 
 554 ] 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 Hellenic stock -was gradually introduced 
 among nations less advanced in the useful 
 arts. 
 
 The relations between these Greek 
 colonies and the mother country, and 
 between those colonies that were of a 
 kindred race, may be gathered pretty 
 clearly from Thucydides (i. 24, &c). 
 Epidamnus was a covony of Corcyra: 
 but the leader of the colony (oimorfc), 
 the founder of the colony, or the person 
 under whose conduct it was settled, was 
 a Corinthian, who was called or invited, 
 says Thucydides, from the mother city 
 (called by the Greeks the metropolis, 
 /j*ITpiiro\ts, or parent state), according 
 to an ancient usage. Thus it appears 
 that if a colony wished to send out a 
 new colony, this was properly done with 
 the sanction of the mother country. Some 
 Corinthians and other Dorians joined in 
 the settlement of Epidamnus, which be- 
 came a thriving community, and inde- 
 pendent both of Corcyra and Corinth. In 
 the course of time, however, civil dissen- 
 sions and attacks from the neighbouring 
 barbarians induced the Epidamnians to 
 apply to Corcyra, as to their metropolis, 
 for assistance, but their prayers were not 
 attended to. Being hard pressed by the 
 enemy, they turned themselves to the 
 Corinthians, and gave up their town to 
 them, as being the real founders of the 
 colony, in order to save themselves from 
 destruction. The Corinthians accepted 
 the surrender, and sent a fresh colony to 
 Epidamnus, giving notice that all the 
 new settlers should be on an equal foot- 
 ing with the old settlers : those who did 
 not choose to leave home were allowed to 
 have an equal interest in the colony with 
 those who went out, by paying down a 
 sum of money, which appears to have 
 been the price of allotments of land. 
 Those who went out gave their services ; 
 those who stayed at home gave their 
 money. " Those who went out," says 
 Thucydides, " were many, and those who 
 paid down their money were also many." 
 For the moneyed people it was in fact an 
 affair of pure speculation. The Corcy- 
 neans, themselves originally a colony 
 from Corinth, having become very power- 
 ful by sea, slighted their metropolis, and 
 " did not pay to the Corinthians the cus- 
 
 tomary honours and deference in the pub- 
 lic solemnities and sacrifices, as the other 
 colonies were wont to pay to the mother 
 country." They accordingly took offence 
 at the Corinthians accepting the surrender 
 of Epidamnus, and the result was a war 
 between Corcyra and Corinth. 
 
 Again, the Corcyraian deputies, who 
 were sent to seek the alliance of the 
 Athenians against Corinth, stated in an- 
 swer to the objection that they were a 
 colony of Corinth, that " a colony ought 
 to respect the mother country as long as 
 the latter deals justly and kindly by it, 
 but if the colony be injured and wrongly 
 used by the mother country, then the tie 
 is broken, and they become alienated from 
 each other, because, said the Corcyrseans, 
 colonists are not sent out as subjects, but 
 as free men to have equal rights with 
 those who remain at home." (i. 34.) This 
 shows the kind of relation as understood 
 by the Greeks between the metropolis and 
 its colonies. The colonies were in fact 
 sovereign states, attached to the mother 
 country by ties of sympathy and common 
 descent, so long as those feelings were 
 fostered by mutual good-will, but no fur- 
 ther. The Athenians, it is true, in the 
 height of their power, exacted money 
 from their own colonies as well as from 
 the colonies of other people, and punished 
 severely those who swerved from their 
 alliance, such as Naxos ; but this was not 
 in consequence of any original dominion 
 as supposed to belong to the mother coun- 
 try over the colony. Many of the colo- 
 nies, especially the earlier ones, which 
 were the consequence of civil war or 
 foreign invasion, were formed by large 
 parties of men under some bold leader, 
 without any formal consent being asked 
 from the rest of the community : they 
 took their families, their arms, and their 
 moveables with them, to conquer a new 
 country for themselves ; they left their 
 native soil for ever, and carried with 
 them no political obligations. Those that 
 went off in more peaceful times, by a 
 common understanding of the whole com- 
 monwealth, went also away for ever, and 
 freely and voluntarily, though under a 
 leader appointed by the parent state, tc 
 seek a country where they could find an 
 easier subsistence than at home. 1e 
 
COLONY. 
 
 [ 555 ] 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 either case it was a complete separation 
 of a member from the body. Such were 
 the proper colonists (ctaroiK/cu) of the 
 Greeks ; but they were not colonies in 
 the modern sense of the word, nor colo- 
 nies in the Roman sense. We have 
 derived from the Romans the name of 
 colony, and our colonies resemble theirs 
 in a great degree, and bear no resem- 
 blance to the so-called Greek colonies. 
 Indeed, the Greek colonies should be 
 called by another name ; and the word 
 " foreign settlements," or the German 
 term " auswanderung," comes nearer to 
 the sense of Apoikia (airomia) than the 
 term colony. When the Athenians, in 
 later times, took possession of parts of 
 Euboea (Thucyd. i. 114), and of iEgina 
 (ii. 27), of Melos (v. 116), and shared the 
 lands among their own citizens who went 
 there, the relationship thus formed was of 
 a different kind, and came nearer to the 
 nature of a Roman and a modern colony. 
 Yet Thucydides calls the settlers in Me- 
 los, Apoikoi (&roiKoi) : but the name Cle- 
 ruchi was usually given to such settlers : 
 and their allotments were called Cleruchiae 
 (;t\7)poux''<")- ln the case of iEgina the 
 whole population, which was of Hellenic 
 stock, was turned out, and a body of 
 Athenians occupied their place, with the 
 express object of being as a body or com- 
 munity subordinate to the state of Attica, 
 in order to prevent the annoyance to 
 which Attica had long been subject 
 by the proximity of an independent is- 
 land so well situated both for the pur- 
 pose of annoying Attica and for self-de- 
 fence. The relation between the settlers 
 called Cleruchi and the parent state of 
 Athens appears not to have been always 
 the, same ; that in some cases at least, 
 they retained all the privileges of Athe- 
 nian citizens is sufficiently clear. Of 
 these Athenian settlements the earliest is 
 the instance mentioned by Herodotus (v. 
 77), which belongs to the last part of the 
 sixth century b.c, of the settlement of four 
 thousand Athenians in Chalcis on the con- 
 quered lands. The system subsequently 
 was extended to other places, as appears 
 from the passages above referred to ; and, 
 among other places, the island of Lesbos 
 received Athenian settlers. (Thucydides, 
 iii. 50.) The battle of .ffigospotanii (b.c. 
 
 401) deprived the Athenians of their 
 foreign dependencies, though they were 
 partially recovered. But Athens never 
 succeeded in establishing a system of co- 
 lonies on a sure and lasting basis, as the 
 Romans did. 
 
 That the Greek settlements of a kin- 
 dred race should feel a common interest 
 in opposition to those of a rival branch is 
 natural, and is proved, among other in- 
 stances, by the case of the deputies from 
 Egesta in Sicily, who, while requesting 
 the assistance of the Athenians against 
 the Syracusans and Selinuntians, urged 
 as an additional plea that the Leontines, 
 who were originally Chalcidians, and 
 therefore akin to the Athenians, had been 
 expelled from their town by the Syra- 
 cusans, and showed that it was the in- 
 terest of the Athenians to assist a kindred 
 people against the prevailing power of 
 the Dorian colonies in Sicily. (Thucyd. 
 vi.) 
 
 Before we pass to the Eoman colonies, 
 we must say something of the system of 
 colonization among the other inhabitants 
 of the Italian peninsula in the ante- 
 Eoman times. The Etruscans extended 
 their conquests north of the Apennines in 
 the great plain of the Po, and founded 
 there twelve colonies, the principal of 
 which was Felsina (Bologna). After- 
 wards, having defeated the Umbrians, 
 many years before the assumed founda- 
 tion of Rome, they extended themselves 
 into East and South Italy, penetrated into 
 Latium, and took Campania from the 
 Oscans, where they founded likewise 
 twelve colonies, the principal of which 
 was Capua. The Etruscans, being skilled 
 in architecture, surrounded their towns 
 with solid walls built of massive stones 
 without any cement ; they were also well 
 versed in agriculture and hydraulics, and 
 several of the earliest drains and canals 
 in the Delta of the Po are attributed to 
 them. They subjected, but at the same 
 time civilized, the people among whom 
 they settled. Their colonies seem to have 
 formed independent communities, though 
 allied by a kind of federation. The Etrus- 
 cans also founded colonies in the Pieenum, 
 such as Hatria, Cupra Montana, and Cu- 
 pra Maritima. They took from the Li- 
 gures the country around the gulf now 
 
COLONY. 
 
 [ 556 J 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 called Delia Spezia, and founded the city 
 of Luua. They likewise sent colonies to 
 the islands of Elba and Corsica, for the 
 Etruscans were a commercial as well as 
 agricultural people ; they navigated the 
 sou, and in the sixth century B.C. they 
 defeated the Phocteans, and drove them 
 out of Corsica. The Etruscans contri- 
 buted to civilize Italy by means of their set- 
 tlements ; but, unlike Rome, they did not 
 keep them united under a central power. 
 
 The Sabini, an agricultural and pastoral 
 people, lived in the Apennines of Central 
 Italy, and occupied part of the modern 
 Abruzzi : they sent out colonies in very 
 early times to other parts of Italy. It 
 was a custom common among many of 
 the old Italians, after the lapse of a cer- 
 tain number of years, to celebrate solemn 
 sacrifices in the spring season, and to 
 consecrate to the gods a number of young 
 men, who were to quit their native land, 
 and proceed under the auspices of Hea- 
 ven to seek a new country. (Dionysius, 
 Roman Antiquities, i. 16.) In this man- 
 ner the Piceni and the Samnites are said 
 to have been colonies of the Sabini. The 
 Samnites in their turn sent out other 
 colonies, and the Lucanians were one of 
 these. The Samnites, as well as the Sa- 
 bini, were entirely given to agricultural 
 pursuits. 
 
 Rome, in the earliest ages, adopted the 
 system of sending out colonies to those 
 parts of Italy which she conquered. 
 Colonies were established during the 
 kingly period (Livy, i. 11, 27, 50); and 
 the practice was continued after the ex- 
 pulsion of Tarquinius Superbus, the last 
 king (Livy, ii. 21, 39). But the Roman 
 colonies were different from those of most 
 other people, inasmuch as they remained 
 strictly subject to the mother country, 
 whose authority they were the means of 
 enforcing upon the conquered nations. 
 They were, in fact, like so many garri- 
 sons or outposts of Rome. Servius (jEn. 
 i. 16) gives the following definitions of a 
 colony, taken from much older autho- 
 rities : — " A colony is a society of men led 
 in one body to a fixed place, furnished 
 with dwellings given to them under cer- 
 tain conditions and regulations." Again, 
 " Colonia is so called a colendo; it consists 
 of a portion of citizens or confederates 
 
 sent out to form a community elsewhere 
 by a decree of their state, or with the 
 general consent of the people from whom 
 they have departed. Those who leave 
 without such a consent, but in conse- 
 quence of civil dissensions, are not colo- 
 nies." The notion of an early Roman 
 colony was this : the colonists occupied 
 a city already existing; and this, with 
 perhaps one exception or two, was the 
 general character of the early Roman 
 colonies in Italy. These colonists were 
 a part of the Roman state ; they secured 
 her conquests and maintained the subject 
 people in obedience. When the Romans 
 afterwards extended their conquests into 
 countries where there were no regular 
 towns, or where the population was fierce 
 and hostile, and the Roman settlers must 
 be ever on their guard against them, they 
 built new towns in some favourable posi- 
 tion. Such was the case in several parts 
 of Gaul, Germany, and Spain. The first 
 Roman colony beyond the limits of Italy 
 was that founded on the site of Carthage, 
 in the tribunate of Caius Gracchus, B.C. 
 122. This colony, which was originally 
 called Junonia, did not succeed, or was ne- 
 glected, owing to the dissensions at Rome : 
 it was restored, or finally established, by 
 C. Julius Caesar. (Plutarch, Caius Grac- 
 chus, c. 11.) Narbo Martius, Narbonne 
 in the south of Prance, was one of the 
 early colonies beyond the limits of Italy. 
 The early Roman colonies then in Italy 
 consisted of Roman citizens, who were 
 sent as settlers to fortified towns taken in 
 war, with land assigned to them at the 
 rate generally of two jugera of arable 
 land or plantation for each man, besides 
 the right of pasture on the public or 
 common land. The old inhabitants were 
 not ejected, or dispossessed of all their 
 property ; the general rule was, that one- 
 third of the territory of the town was 
 confiscated and distributed among the 
 colonists, and the rest was left to the 
 former owners, probably subject to some 
 charges in the shape of taxes or services. 
 The colonists constituted the populus of 
 the captured place; they alone enjoyed 
 political rights and managed all public 
 affairs. The ownership of the publicum 
 or public property, including the pasture 
 i land, was probably also vested in the new 
 
COLONY. 
 
 [ 557 J 
 
 COLONS 
 
 settlers. It is natural to suppose, that for 
 some generations at least, no great sym- 
 pathy existed between the old and the 
 new inhabitants, and hence we frequently 
 hear of revolts of ihe colonies, which 
 means, not of the colonists against the 
 mother city, but of the old inhabitants, 
 who rose upon and expelled the colonists. 
 (Livy, ii. 39; vi. 21.) But these events 
 generally ended by a second conquest of 
 the place by Eoman troops, when the old 
 inhabitants were either put to the sword 
 or sold as slaves, or, under more favour- 
 able circumstances, lost at least another 
 third of their property. In later times, 
 during the Civil Wars of Rome, which 
 commenced with the disputes between 
 Marius and Sulla, new colonies were sent 
 by the prevailing party to occupy the 
 place of the former ones ; and the older 
 colonists were then dispossessed of their 
 property either wholly cr in part, just as 
 they had dispossessed the original inhabit- 
 ants. Sometimes colonies, especially at 
 a great distance from Rome, having 
 dwindled away, or being in danger from 
 the neighbouring people, asked for a re- 
 inforcement, when a fresh colony was 
 sent, which also received grants of land. 
 (Livy, ii. 21 ; vi. 30; xxxi. 49.) Each 
 of the older colonies, it is observed by 
 Gellius (x^' : . 1 3), was a Rome in minia- 
 ture; it had its senators called Decuriones, 
 its Duumviri, iEdiles. Censores, Sacer- 
 dotes, Augurs, and other officers. 
 
 A distinction must be made between 
 Roman colonies and Latin colonies. The 
 citizens who went out to form a Roman 
 colony retained all their civic rights, 
 although Sigonius and some others pre- 
 tend that they lost the franchise (jus 
 suffragii ) ; and yet, in various passages of 
 Livy and elsewhere, colonists are styled 
 cives and Romae censi. The members of 
 Rqman colonies which were called Latin 
 (Coloniae Latinse), had not the Roman 
 citizenship, and those Roman citizens who 
 went out in such a colony thereby lost 
 their suffrage ; they voluntarily renounced 
 part of their civic rights in consideration 
 of a grant of lands. The practice was for 
 those persons who were willing to join a 
 colony, to give in their names at Rome, 
 and as the consequence of joining a Latin 
 colony was. a loss of civic rights, Cicero 
 
 {Pro Carina, c. 33) argues that the join- 
 ing such colony must be a voluntary act. 
 There is also no reason for supposing that 
 the joining of a Roman colony was com • 
 pulsory; and if it was, it follows from 
 what has been said, that a Roman colonist 
 retained his civic rights. These Latin 
 colonies were Roman colonies, inasmuch 
 as they were subject to the Roman 
 state; and hence they are sometimes 
 called Roman colonies, which in one 
 sense they were. But as opposed to 
 Roman colonies which consisted of 
 Roman citizens (Colonial civium), they 
 were called Latin colonies, by which 
 term was denoted their political condition. 
 Before the Social War (b.c. 90), the 
 following was the classification of people 
 in the Roman dominions : — 
 
 1. Cives Romani, Roman citizens, that 
 is, the inhabitants of Rome, the citizens 
 of the Colonia; Civium or proper Roman 
 colonies, and the citizens of the Municipia 
 without reference to the stock to which 
 they belonged. 
 
 2. Latini, or the citizens of the old 
 towns of the Latin nation, with the ex- 
 ception of those towns which were raised 
 to the rank of Municipia ; and also the 
 numerous and important Colonia? Latinse. 
 
 3. Socii (Allies), the free inhabitants 
 of Italy who did not belong to the two 
 classes first enumerated, and belonged to 
 very various national stocks. 
 
 4. Provincials : the free subjects of the 
 Romans beyond the limits of Italy. 
 
 This is the division of Savigny (Zeit- 
 schrift fur Geschichtliche Rechtswissen- 
 schajt, xi. 6) ; and it appears to be con- 
 sistent with all the best ancient authori- 
 ties. He adds that as to the political con- 
 dition of the people included under these 
 four heads, those included under the first 
 head, Cives Romani, were alone Cives ; 
 those included under the three other heads 
 were Peregrini (aliens). According to 
 this view, the members of Latin colonies 
 before the Social War were simply sub- 
 jects of the Roman state : they had none 
 of those political capacities which were 
 the characteristics of Roman citizenship. 
 As the term Peregrinus, however, was 
 very comprehensive, and included all who 
 were not Cives, it follows that, according 
 to this view, the Latinse Colonise and 
 
COLONY. 
 
 [ 558 ] 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 foreigners not under Roman dominion 
 were precisely on the same footing as to 
 the privileges of Roman citizens; but 
 their condition differed in this, that 
 foreigners (aliens, properly so called) 
 were not Roman subjects, but the mem- 
 bers of Latin colonies were. This view 
 is perhaps on the whole right, yet the 
 inhabitants of Latin colonies were in a 
 sense Cives, as contrasted with foreigners 
 not subject to Rome, though they were 
 not Roman citizens, in the sense of those 
 who had all the capacities of Roman 
 citizenship. 
 
 The result of the Social War was, that 
 the Roman citizenship (civitas) was given 
 to all the inhabitants of Italy south of the 
 Po : all became Romani Cives ; and the 
 Latini — the inhabitants of Colonise Latinse 
 —and the Socii were all merged in the 
 class of Cives. The distinction of Ro- 
 mani Cives and Peregrini still subsisted ; 
 but the class of Roman citizens had be- 
 come enlarged. A new class of persons 
 was now established, and distinguished by 
 the name of Latini. This term now did 
 not denote a particular people, but a poli- 
 tical status — an imperfect citizenship, by 
 virtue of which this new class had the 
 right of acquiring property (commer- 
 cium) just like Roman citizens ; but they 
 had not the connubium, or civic right of 
 contracting such a marriage as would be 
 a Roman marriage ; in other words, a 
 Roman citizen who married a woman in 
 the condition of a Latina, was not accord- 
 ing to Roman law the father of his chil- 
 dren, and the children consequently were 
 not Roman citizens. But in certain cases, 
 a Latinus might acquire the Roman citi- 
 zenship, for instance, by holding the high 
 offices in his city. This rule was first 
 established for the people north of the Po, 
 and then given to many towns, and to 
 large tracts out of Italy. The privilege 
 of thus acquiring the Roman citizenship 
 was the Jus Latii (Appian, Civil Wars, 
 ii. 26), or Latinitas (Cicero, Ad Atticum, 
 xiv. 12) ; and it was given to some towns 
 founded after the Social War, as Novura- 
 Comum, which was founded in Italy 
 north of the Po. by C. Julius Caesar, B.C. 
 59. The privilege which/ the Romans 
 sometimes conferred on a town or district, 
 under the name of Jus Italicum, was a 
 
 different thing from the Jus Latii. " It 
 had no reference to the status of indivi- 
 duals, but to the condition of many com- 
 munities. When a Provincial town re- 
 ceived as a special favour by a Privilegium 
 those rights which were the peculiar 
 privileges of the Italian towns, this favour 
 was called Jus Italicum. It consisted of 
 three things : a free constitution, with the 
 choice of their own magistrates, such as 
 are mentioned in the Italian Municipia 
 and Colonies (Duumviri, Quatuorviri) ; 
 exemption from land-tax and poll-tax ; 
 the capacity of the land within the limits 
 of the community to be held in Roman 
 ownership (ex jure Quiritium), and the 
 consequent application to such land of the 
 Roman rules of law, as to Mancipation 
 and Usucapion." (Savigny, Zeitschrift, 
 &c, xi.) 
 
 The correctness of this view of the 
 nature of the Colonial Latina 1 , the La- 
 tinitas, and the Jus Italicum, will hardly 
 be disputed now. 
 
 The Roman Agrarian Laws, or the 
 laws for the distribution of public land, 
 were often passed with the view of found- 
 ing a colony : and this became a usual 
 mode of providing for veteran soldiers. 
 Perhaps one of the earliest instances is 
 mentioned by Livy (xxxi. 4). The senate 
 passed a decree for the measurement and 
 distribution of public land in Samnium 
 and Apulia among those veteran soldiers 
 who had served in Africa under P. Scipio. 
 But after Sulla had defeated his opponents, 
 the grants of lands to soldiers became 
 more common, and they were made to 
 gratify the demands of the army, at the 
 cost of former settlers, who were ejected 
 to make way for the soldiers. Julius 
 Cffisar and Octavianus Augustus added 
 to the number of these military colonies, 
 and the practice of establishing them in 
 parts beyond Italy existed under the 
 Empire. 
 
 These colonies are distinguished by 
 having military ensigns on their coins, . 
 while the Colonise Togatse, or citizen 
 colonies, have a plough on theirs. The 
 coins of some colonies have both marks, 
 which means that the original colony 
 consisted of citizens, after which a second 
 was sent, composed of soldiers. In Taci- 
 tus {Annal. i. 17), the veterans complain 
 
COLONY. 
 
 [ 559 j 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 that, after their long service, they -were 
 rewarded only with lands situated in 
 swampy tracts or on barren mountains. 
 
 The early system of colonies adopted 
 by Rome had a double political object; 
 to secure the conquered parts of Italy, and 
 to satisfy the claims of its own poorer 
 citizens by a division of lands among 
 them. The importance of the Roman 
 colonies is well expressed by Cicero, who 
 calls them " propugnacula imperii et spe- 
 cula? populi Romani." Such they doubtless 
 were, and at the same time, by their ex- 
 tension beyond Italy, they were the germ 
 of the civilization of Northern and West- 
 ern Europe. A nation of civilized con- 
 querors, whatever evils it may inflict, 
 confers on the conquered people greater 
 benefits. By their colonies in Spain, 
 Gaul, on the banks of the Rhine, and in 
 Britain, the Romans established their 
 language and their system of administra- 
 tion. The imprint of their Empire is 
 indelibly fixed on all the most civilized 
 nations of Europe. 
 
 The difference between a Roman Co- 
 lonia and an Italian Municipium is, that 
 the latter was a town of which the inha- 
 bitants, being friendly to Rome, were left 
 in undisturbed possession of their pro- 
 perty and their local laws and political 
 rights, and obtained moreover the Roman 
 citizenship, either with or without the 
 right of suffrage ; for there were several 
 descriptions of Municipia. The Roman 
 colonies, on the contrary, were governed 
 according to the Roman law. The Mu- 
 nicipia were foreign limbs engrafted on 
 the Roman stock, while the colonies were 
 branches of that stock transported to a 
 foreign soil; There is, however, some 
 difficulty as to the precise character of an 
 Italian- Municipium in the republican 
 period of Rome; and the opinions of 
 modern writers are not quite agreed. 
 
 The Roman Provincial system must 
 not be confounded with their Colonial 
 system. A Roman province, in the later 
 sense of that term, meant a country which 
 was subjected to the dominion of Rome, 
 and governed by a praetor, propraetor, or 
 proconsul sent from Rome, who generally 
 held office for a year, but sometimes for 
 a longer period. 1'hus Spain, after the 
 Roman conquest, was a Roman province, 
 
 and was divided into several administra- 
 tive divisions. The earliest foreign pos- 
 session that the Romans formed into a 
 province was Sicily (is.c. 241). Sardinia 
 (b.c. 235) became a Roman province, and 
 the system was extended with the exten- 
 sion of the Roman power to all those parts 
 of Europe, Asia, and Africa which were 
 subjected to Roman dominion. A pro- 
 vince was originally a foreign dependency 
 on Rome ; after all Italy became Roman, 
 at the close of the Republican period, we 
 may view all the provinces of Rome as 
 foreign dependencies on Italy, of which 
 Rome was the capital. The condition of 
 the provinces, viewed as a whole, with 
 respect to Rome was uniform : they were 
 subject countries, subject to the ruling 
 country, Italy. But the condition of the 
 towns in the provinces varied very greatly : 
 some had the Jus Italicum, or privilege of 
 Italian towns, in the sense already ex- 
 plained, and these were probably in most 
 cases settlements of Roman citizens ; some 
 towns retained most or perhaps all of 
 their old privileges; and others were 
 more directly under the Roman governor. 
 Thus while the whole country was a de- 
 pendency on Rome, particular cities might 
 have all the privileges of Italian cities ; 
 and others would be in a less favoured 
 condition. Both under the Republic and 
 the Empire, but still more under the Em- 
 pire, the Romans established colonies both 
 of Roman citizens and Latin colonies, in 
 their provinces; and in this way they 
 introduced their language and their law. 
 Tracts of land were doubtless seized as 
 public land and distributed from time to 
 time, but there does not appear to have been 
 any claim on all the lands in any pro- 
 vince, as lands that the Roman state might 
 distribute, though undoubtedly the theory 
 under the Empire was that all land in 
 the provinces belonged to the Caesar or 
 the Roman state (Gaius, ii. 7). And 
 this theory would have a practical effect 
 in all cases where an owner of land died 
 and left no next of kin, or anybody who 
 could claim his land. The maxim also 
 implied the duty of obedience to the Ro- 
 man state, and that rebellion or resistance 
 to the Romans would at once be a for- 
 feiture of that land which was held by 
 provincials, according to this theory, as a 
 
COLONY. 
 
 [ 5C0 J 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 precarious possession. But the Romans 
 never gave the name of Colony to any of 
 their Provinces. There were Eoman 
 colonies in Britain, but Britain itself was 
 not a Colony ; it was a Province. In mo- 
 dern usage, whenever the word colony is 
 applied to a country, it includes all the 
 territory of such country. 
 
 The Northern tribes who overthrew 
 the Western Empire did not found colo- 
 nies; they overran or conquered whole 
 provinces, and established new states and 
 kingdoms. The same may be said of the 
 Saracen conquests in Asia and Africa. 
 But, after a lapse of several centuries, 
 when Europe had resumed a more settled 
 form, the system of colonization was re- 
 vived by three maritime Italian republics. 
 Pisa, Genoa, and Venice. Their first 
 settlements on the coasts of the Levant 
 and Egypt were mercantile factories ; 
 which the insecurity of the country soon 
 induced them to convert into forts with 
 garrisons, in short into real colonies. The 
 Genoese established colonies at Famagosta 
 in Cyprus, at Pera and Galata, opposite to 
 Constantinople, and at Cafl'a in the Cri- 
 mea, in 1266 ; they also acquired posses- 
 sion of a considerable extent of coast in 
 that peninsula, which was formed into a 
 district subject to Genoa under the name 
 of Gazaria. Another tract, on the coast 
 of Little Tartary, called Gozia, was also 
 subject to the Genoese, who had there 
 the colony of Cembalo. In the Palus 
 Maeotis they had the colony of La Tana, 
 now Azof. On the south coast of the 
 Euxine they possessed Amastri ; they had 
 also a factory with franchises and their 
 own magistrates at Trebizond, as well as 
 at Sebastopolis. These colonies were 
 governed by consuls sent from Genoa, 
 and the order and justice of their admi- 
 nistration have been much extolled In 
 the archives of St. George, at Genoa, 
 there is a valuable unpublished MS. con- 
 taining the whole colonial legislation of 
 the Genoese in the middle ages. 
 
 The Pisans, having taken Sardinia from 
 the Moors, sent colonies to Cagliari and 
 other places. Their settlements in the 
 Levant were mere commercial factories. 
 
 The Venetians established colonies in* 
 what are now called the Ionian Islands, 
 and in Candia and Cyprus. Their sys- 
 
 tem resembled that of Rome ; by means 
 of their colonies and garrisons they go- 
 verned the people of those islands, whom 
 they left in possession of their municipal 
 laws and franchises. These were not like 
 the settlements of the Genoese, merely 
 commercial establishments — they were 
 for conquest and dominion ; in fact, Can- 
 dia and Cyprus were styled kingdoms 
 subject to the Republic. The Venetians 
 had also at one time factories and garri- 
 sons on various points of the coasts of the 
 Levant, but they lost them in the Morea, 
 Eubcea, Syria, and the Euxine, either 
 through the Genoese, or afterwards by 
 the arms of the Ottomans. We can 
 hardly number among their colonies the 
 few strongholds which they had until 
 lately on the coast of Albania, such as 
 Butrinto, Prevesa, and Parga, any more 
 than those once possessed by the Spaniards 
 and Portuguese on the coast of Barbary, 
 Oran, Melilla, Ceuta, and others. They 
 were merely forts with small garrisons, 
 with no land attached to them. The 
 name used in the Mediterranean for such 
 places is presidii ; and they are often used 
 as prisons for criminals. 
 
 An essential qualification of a Colony in 
 the Roman sense, and in the present sense 
 of the word is, that it should have land, 
 and contain a body of settlers who are 
 cultivators. The question agitated in 
 France, with regard .' Algiers, turned 
 upon this, — whether the French were 
 merely to occupy the towns on the coast 
 as military and in some degree com- 
 mercial colonies, or to establish an agri- 
 cultural colony in the interior, by taking 
 possession of and cultivating the land. 
 This question touches several points both 
 of justice and policy. When a colony is 
 sent to a country occupied by a few hunt- 
 ing tribes, as was the case in North Ame- 
 rica wher the English settled there, and 
 as is now the case in New Holland, the 
 taking possession of part of the land for 
 the purpose of cultivation is attended with 
 the least possible injury to the aborigines, 
 while, at the same, it has in its favour the 
 extension of civilization. [Civiliza- 
 tion.] The savages generally recede 
 before civilized man ; a few of them adopt 
 his habits, or at least the worst part of his 
 habits, and the rest become gradually ex- 
 
COLONY. 
 
 [ 561 ] 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 tinct. When the limits are confined, the 
 progress towards extinction is exceedingly 
 rapid. The aborigines of Van Diemen's 
 Land having been reduced to a very small 
 number, were wholly removed to a small 
 island in Bass's Straits ; and there is 
 every probability that their race will soon 
 be extinct. This has been, from the ear- 
 liest times, the great law of the progress 
 of the human race. But the case is much 
 altered when the natives are partly civil- 
 ized, have settled habitations, and either 
 cultivate the land or feed their flocks upon 
 it. The colonists in such case do what 
 the Romans did in their colonies ; they 
 take part of the arable land, or the whole 
 of the common or pasture land, and leave 
 to the natives just what they please, and 
 if the natives resist they kill them. Such 
 was the system pursued by the Spaniards 
 in various parts of America, by the Dutch 
 at the Cape of Good Hope and the Mo- 
 lucca Islands, and by all maritime nations 
 in some part or other of Asia, Africa, or 
 America j and this is now done by the 
 French against the Arabs and Kabyles of 
 the state of Algiers. The French have sent 
 numerous colonists to Algiers, and among 
 the colonists are many old soldiers who 
 have received a grant of lands after the 
 Roman fashion. The case may be one 
 of greater or less oppression : according 
 as the land is either enclosed and culti- 
 vated, or merely used for pasture or the 
 chace ; and according as the natives are 
 more or less numerous in proportion to 
 the land, colonization may proceed on a 
 milder or harsher system. The system 
 of purchase from the natives has been 
 practised both by the English and Anglo- 
 Americans in North America; but though 
 it has the specious name of bargain, it has 
 often been nothing more than a fraud, or 
 sale under compulsion. The man of 
 Europe has been long accustomed to re- 
 gard the possession of the soil as that 
 which binds him to a place, and gives 
 him the most secure and least doubtful 
 kind of property. His habits of accumu- 
 lation, and of transmitting to his children 
 a permanent possession, make him covet 
 the acquisition of land. In whatever 
 country he has set his foot, and once got 
 a dominion in the soil, neither contracts, 
 nor mercy, nor feelings of humanity, nor 
 
 the religion which he carries with him, 
 have prevented him from seizing on the 
 lands of the natives, and punishing their 
 resistance with death. British coloniza- 
 tion is at present conducted on principles 
 more consistent with justice and humanity, 
 as we see in the case of New Zealand. 
 [Civilization.] 
 
 European colonies in Asia and America 
 have been formed partly on the Roman or 
 Venetian and partly on the Genoese or 
 old Phoenician principle. When the Poi - 
 tuguese first began their voyages of dis- 
 covery in the fifteenth century, they took 
 possession of some islands or points on 
 the coasts of Africa and of India, and 
 left there a few soldiers or sailors under 
 a military commander, who built a fort 
 to protect the trade with the natives, and 
 afterwards also to keep those natives 
 under a sort of subjection. No great 
 emigrating colonies were sent out by 
 them, except in after times to Goa and 
 the Brazils, which latter is really a colony 
 of Portuguese settlers. The Spaniards, 
 on the contrary, when they discovered 
 America, took possession of the soil, and 
 formed real colonies kept up by successive 
 emigrations from the mother country. In 
 the West India Islands the natives were 
 made slaves, and by degrees became ex- 
 tinct under an intolerable servitude. On 
 the mainland they were exterminated in 
 some places, and in others reduced to the 
 condition of serfs or tributaries. The 
 Spaniards colonized a great part of the 
 countries which they invaded. The 
 Spanish American colonies had for their 
 objects both agriculture and mining. The 
 English North American colonies were 
 the consequence of emigration, either vo- 
 luntary or produced by religious persecu- 
 tion and civil war at home. The Puritans 
 went to New England, the Quakers to 
 Pennsylvania, and the Cavaliers to Vir- 
 ginia. They formed communities under 
 charters from the crown, and local legis- 
 latures, but were still subject to the sove- 
 reignty of the mother country. The mother 
 country sent its governors, and named, 
 either directly or indirectly, the civil 
 functionaries. The precise amount o? 
 obedience that the colonies then owed to 
 the mother country cannot be exactly de- 
 fined. The American revolution only 
 2 o 
 
COLONY. 
 
 L 562 J 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 riiowed that it did not extend to a certain 
 point, without showing how far it did 
 extend. 
 
 A new feature has appeared in modern 
 European colonization, that of penal co- 
 lonies, which was an extension of the 
 principle of the presidii on the coast of 
 Barhary, already mentioned. Coavicts 
 were sent by England first to North 
 America, and afterwards to New Hol- 
 land, by France to Guiana, by Portugal 
 to the coast of Angola, and by the Dutch 
 to Batavia. They were either employed 
 at the public works, or hired to settlers as 
 servants, or were established in various 
 places to cultivate a piece of land, for 
 which they paid rent to the government 
 The policy of penal colonies has been 
 much discussed. They may afford a tem- 
 porary relief, but at a great cost to the 
 mother country, by clearing it of a num- 
 ber of troublesome and daugerous persons, 
 especially so long as criminal legislation 
 and the system of prison discipline con- 
 tinue as imperfect as they are at present 
 in most countries of Europe ; but with 
 regard to the convicts themselves, and 
 the prospect of their reformation, every- 
 thing must depend upon the regulations 
 enforced in the colony by the local au- 
 thorities. If we look, however, at the 
 horrid places of confinement to which 
 convicts are sent by most continental go- 
 vernments, and which are sinks of every 
 kind of corruption and wretchedness, we 
 cannot help feeling disposed to think more 
 favourably of such colonies, under proper 
 management, and to prefer the penal co- 
 lonies of Great Britain to such ill-regu- 
 lated places of punishment, which do not 
 even affect to be places of reformation, 
 [Transportation.] 
 
 The advantages which may result from 
 colonies to the mother countiy appear to 
 be, the extension of the manufactures and 
 the trade of the mother country by the 
 demand for home products which arises 
 in the colonies, the consequent impulse 
 given to industry in the mother country, 
 and the opportunities which industrious 
 labourers and small capitalists have of 
 mending their condition by emigrating 
 to a country where labour is wanted, and 
 where land can be had at a moderate 
 price. The establishment of a colony 
 
 draws capital from the mother country, 
 which is a disadvantage to the parent 
 state, unless the colony also draws off 
 superabundant labourers ; and without a 
 due supply of labour the exportation of 
 capital to a colony is unproductive in 
 the colony, while it diminishes the 
 wealth and {he productive power of the 
 parent state. If a colony is to be a mat- 
 ter of expense to the state, if the adminis- 
 tration of it is to be maintained entirely 
 or in part at the expense of the mother 
 country, that is a direct loss to the parent 
 state. And if, in order to support such 
 colony, or the interests of any body of 
 persons that are connected with it, the 
 trade of the^ mother country is encum- 
 bered by regulations which diminish the 
 free interchange of commodities with 
 other countries, and render foreign pro- 
 ducts dearer to the citizen of the parent 
 state, that is another manifest loss to the 
 parent state. The history of modern 
 colonization, on the whole, shows that 
 the parent states have sustained great 
 loss by the system of colonization that 
 has been adopted ; but it cannot therefore 
 be inferred that colonization may not be 
 placed on such a footing as will make it 
 both advantageous to the parent state, 
 and to those who live in the colony under 
 its protection. 
 
 Much has been written upon this sub- 
 ject by political and economical writers, 
 and the advantages of colonies have been 
 exaggerated by some, and too much un- 
 derrated by others. In a general point 
 of view, as connected with the progress 
 of mankind, a busy prosperous colony on 
 a land formerly desert is undoubtedly a 
 cheering sight. Commercial colonies or 
 factories are likewise useful for protecting 
 traders in remote and half - barbarous 
 countries. 
 
 The Colonies of England are men- 
 tioned subsequently. 
 
 France has the French West India 
 Islands, and French Guiana in America; 
 Senegal, on the coast of Africa; the island 
 of Bourbon; Pondicherry, in the East 
 Indies ; and Algeria, on the north coast 
 of Africa. 
 
 Spain has lost her vast dominions in 
 Mexico and South America, but has 
 retained the fine islands of Cuba and 
 
COLONY. 
 
 [ 563 J 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 Puerto Eioo; she has also the Philippine 
 Islands. 
 
 Portugal has lost the Brazils, but has 
 still numerous settlements ou the coast of 
 South and East Africa, at Angola, Ben- 
 guela, Loango, and on the Mozambique ; 
 but these settlements are the most degene- 
 rated of all European colonies. In India, 
 the Portuguese retain Goa, and they have 
 a factory at Macao, and a settlement on 
 the northern part of the island of Timor. 
 
 The Dutch have the islands of Curacao 
 and St. Eustaz, and Surinam in Guiana. 
 In Asia they have the great colony of 
 Batavia with its dependencies, various 
 settlements on the coasts of Borneo, Su- 
 matra, Celebes, and the Molucca islands. 
 
 The Danes are possessed of the islands 
 of St. Cruz and St. Thomas in the West 
 Indies ; Christianburg, near Accra, on the 
 Guinea coast; and Tranquebar in the 
 East Indies. 
 
 The Swedes have the island of St. 
 Bartholomew in the West Indies. 
 
 A society of North American philan- 
 thropists has founded, since 1821, on the. 
 Guinea coast, a colony of emancipated 
 negroes, who have been transferred thither 
 from the United States. The colony is 
 called Liberia. 
 
 On the subject of modern colonies, 
 Eaynal, Histoire des Etablissemens des 
 Europe'ens dans les deux Indes, may be 
 useful, though it is often exaggerated and 
 turgid ; but the best authorities are the 
 original accounts of the various disco- 
 verers and founders of the colonies, such 
 as have been published by Navarrete 
 for the Spanish, and Barros for the Por- 
 tuguese. 
 
 England was not the first among Eu- 
 ropean nations that planted settlements in 
 parts beyond Europe. But by her own 
 colonization, and by the conquest of the 
 settlements of other nations, she has now 
 acquired a more extensive dominion of 
 colonies and dependencies than any other 
 nation. 
 
 The English Colonies have, as a general 
 rule, local legislatures, elected by ,the 
 people, and a governor and executive 
 council named by the crown. In New 
 South Wales, which obtained a legislative 
 council in 1842 (5 & 6 Vict. c. 76), 
 twelve of the thirty-six members are ap- 
 
 pointed by the crown and the remainder 
 are elected by the people. The colonies 
 which are governed by the secretary of 
 state for the colonies without tfca inter- 
 ference of a local legislature are termed 
 Crown Colonies. In such colonies there 
 is an executive council, which consists 
 partly of ex-offido members who hold 
 offices at the pleasure of the crown, and 
 partly of persons selected from among the 
 principal inhabitants, who are likewise 
 removable at pleasure. The foreign com- 
 merce of these colonies is regulated by 
 the sovereign parliament of the mother 
 country, and put on such a footing as 
 generally to allow the products of the 
 colonies admission into British ports on 
 more favourable terms than the like 
 products of other countries. To the 
 amount of this protecting duty, the colo- 
 nies then have the advantage of a mono- 
 poly in the markets of the mother country. 
 The old strict colonial system of exclud- 
 ing foreign countries from direct com- 
 mercial intercourse with the colonies, had 
 the double object in view of securing all 
 the supposed advantages of the exchange 
 of British for colonial products, and giv- 
 ing employment to the British merchant 
 navy. The rigour of this system, how- 
 ever, has gradually relaxed, and given 
 way to clearer views of self-interest. 
 Still the colonial system, as maintained 
 by Great Britain, presents in many in- 
 stances examples of foreign possessions 
 which are expensive to the country with- 
 out any equivalent advantages ; and also 
 of foreign possessions the trade with 
 which is so regulated as to be designedly 
 put on a footing which shall be favourable 
 to the colony and unfavourable to the 
 parent state. This is effected by discri- 
 minating or differential duties, as they 
 are termed, the effect of which is to make 
 the consumer of sugar (to take that as an 
 example) in Great Britain pay to the 
 favoured colonists a sum equal to the 
 difference between the duty on colonial 
 sugar and the higher duty on other sugar. 
 The mother country which imposes this 
 additional duty to protect her colonial 
 subjects, not only gets no revenue by such 
 ill-timed partiality in favour of her 
 foreign dependencies, but she loses the 
 increased revenue that she might have, 
 2o2 
 
COLONY. 
 
 [ 564] 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 if she would allow her own people to buy 
 foreign sugar on the same terms as the 
 sugar of the colonies. 
 
 The direct expenditure in some of the 
 colonies for the purposes of administra- 
 tion is beyond the means of the colonial 
 revenues to meet, and the deficiency 
 must of course be supplied by the parent 
 state. Colonial possessions put some 
 amount of patronage at the disposal of 
 the home government, and colonies are 
 therefore looked upon as profitable things 
 by those who participate in the advantages 
 of posts and places in them. On the other 
 hand, those who only contribute to these 
 expenses may reasonably ask for some 
 proof of solid advantage to the parent state 
 in return for the deficiency which she sup- 
 plies. Setting aside the interests of those 
 concerned in the administration of the 
 colonies, it is asked, in many cases, what 
 advantage does the rest of the nation re- 
 ceive ? So far as some colonies may be 
 desirable posts for protecting British com- 
 merce and shipping, the advantage of 
 maintaining them may be fully equivalent 
 to the expense. But in every particular 
 instance the question as to the value of a 
 modern colony to the mother country 
 (omitting, as before mentioned, the value 
 of the patronage to those who confer places 
 in the colonies, and the value of the places 
 to those who receive them) is simply 
 this ; — what advantage is this said colony 
 to the productive classes of the country? 
 a question not always easy to answer; 
 but this is the question, the solution of 
 which must decide whether a colony 
 ought to be maintained or not, if we look 
 only to the interests of the mother coun- 
 try. If we look to the interests of the 
 colony, it may be in many, and certainly 
 is in some cases, the interest of the colony 
 to remain as it now is, under the protec- 
 tion and sovereign authority of the mo- 
 ther country ; for it is protected at little or 
 no cost to itself, and it often gets commer- 
 cial advantages which, if the relationship 
 to the mother country were to cease, would 
 cease with it. But again the question re- 
 curs, what is the advantage to the mother 
 country ? If some advantage cannot be 
 6hown, the maintenance of a useless co- 
 lony is a pure act of national benevolence 
 towards the colony and to those f«w of tbs 
 
 mother country who have places or pro- 
 perty in it. If our present relation with a 
 colony such as Jamaica or Canada entails 
 any expense on the mother country, we 
 may ask whether all the commercial advan- 
 tages that result from this relation, what- 
 ever they may be, would not be equally 
 secured, if only a free commercial rela- 
 tion existed, and that of administratiou 
 were to cease. In support of this view, 
 it is shown that the commerce of Great 
 Britain with the United States, now free 
 and independent, has increased most won- 
 derfully since the separation, and probably 
 more rapidly than it would have increased 
 under the colonial system. This being 
 the case, a similar increase might be an- 
 ticipated in the trade with all those foreign 
 possessions whose trade is really of any 
 importance. This argument, to which it 
 is difficult to reply, is met by saying that 
 if we give up those colonies that cause 
 expenditure on the part of the mother 
 country, some of them at least would be a 
 prize for other nations, who would ex- 
 clude us from the commerce of those 
 former colonies, or allow it only on un- 
 favourable terms ; or that these colonies 
 would throw themselves into the arms 
 of foreign nations, and the same result 
 would follow. To this it is replied, that 
 no other nation is in a condition to take 
 on itself the management of expensive 
 colonies ; that nations, like individuals, 
 will, if let alone, buy where they can 
 buy cheapest, and sell where they can 
 sell dearest ; and that if we should be 
 shut out from the commerce of any of 
 our present colonies, there are equally 
 good or better markets from which we are 
 now in part or altogether excluded owing 
 to those very regulations, which only exist 
 because we have colonies to maintain. 
 
 The colonial administration of the Bri- 
 tish colonies is an important department 
 of the general administration. At the head 
 of it is the principal colonial secretary. 
 
 Historical and Statistical View of British 
 Colonies, Sec. 
 
 The word Colony is not applicable to 
 all the foreign possessions of Great Bri- 
 tain. Gibraltar, Malta, and Heligoland 
 may be more correctly termed Posses- 
 sion* , Port Essington, on the northern 
 
COLONY. 
 
 [ 565 J 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 coast of Australia, is a Settlement ; British 
 India is a Dependency, and so likewise 
 are the Channel Islands and the Isle of 
 Man ; Van Diemen's Land, New Zealand, 
 &o. are Colonies. The seven Ionian 
 Islands are under the protection of Great 
 Britain. Tenasserim, Singapore, Penang, 
 Malacca, Aden, and some other places, are 
 Dependencies of the East India Company. 
 The Chatham Islands are Dependencies of 
 New Zealand, and Norfolk Island of Van 
 Diemen's Land. In the British Colonies 
 the waste lands belong to the British 
 Crown, and they are now disposed of by 
 sale only, under one tolerably uniform 
 system. The mode in which these lands 
 are sold, and leased, or depastured under 
 licences, and the mode in which emigra- 
 tion to them is now conducted, are con- 
 sidered uuder the head of Emigration. 
 
 I. Date of Capture, Cession, or Settle- 
 ment. 
 
 Canada, capitulation, 18th Sept. 1759, 
 and 8 Sept. 1760, and cession by treaty, 
 1763. 
 
 New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape 
 Breton, Prince Edward's Island, and 
 Newfoundland — fisheries or settlements, 
 established soon after their discovery in 
 1497. 
 
 Antigua, settlement, 1632. 
 
 Barbados, settlement, 1605. 
 
 Dominica and Grenada, ceded by 
 France, 1763. 
 
 Jamaica, capitulation, 1655. 
 
 Montserrat, settlement, 1632. 
 
 Nevis, settlement, 1628. 
 
 St. Kitt's, settlement, 1623. 
 
 St. Lucia, capitulation, 22 June, 1 803. 
 
 St. Vincent and Tobago, ceded by 
 France, 1763. 
 
 Tortola and Anguilla, settlement, 1666. 
 
 Trinidad, capitulation, 18 Feb. 1797. 
 
 Bahamas, settlement, 1629. 
 
 Bermudas, settlement, 1609. 
 
 British Guiana, including Demerara, 
 Essequibo, and Berbice, capitulation, Sep- 
 tember, 1803. 
 
 Honduras, treaty, 1670. 
 
 Gibraltar, capitulation, 4 Aug. 1704. 
 
 Malta and Gozo, capitulation, 5 Sept. 
 1800. 
 
 Cape of Good Hope, capitulation, 
 Jan. 1806. 
 
 Sierra Leone, settlement, 1787. 
 
 Gambia, settlement, 1618. 
 
 Gold Coast, African Forts, 1618. 
 
 Ascension Island, taken possession of 
 by permission of Spain, 1827. 
 
 Fernando Po, taken possession of, 1815. 
 
 Ceylon, capitulation, 17 Sept. 1795. 
 
 Mauritius, capitulation, 3 Dec. 1810. 
 
 New South Wales, settlement, 1787. 
 
 Van Diemen's Land, settlement, 1803. 
 
 Western Australia, settlement, 1829. 
 
 South Australia, settlement, 1834. 
 
 New Zealand, settlement, 1839. 
 
 Falkland Islands, taken possession of, 
 1833 
 
 St. Helena, ceded by Holland, 1673. 
 
 Hong-Kong, treaty, 1842. 
 
 The immense territory in North Ame- 
 rica which lies north of the British 
 Colonies, and extends to the Pacific, 
 where it is bordered on the north- west by 
 the Russian possessions, and on the south 
 by the Territory of the United States, is 
 administered by the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany under a charter. Another vast 
 territory in North America, which lies 
 between the Eocky Mountains and the 
 Pacific, and is called the Oregon Terri- 
 tory, is claimed by Great Britain as far 
 south as the Columbia river ; but it is 
 partly occupied by citizens of the United 
 States, and partly by British subjects; 
 and there are conflicting claims between 
 the two governments as to the right of 
 sovereignty. 
 
 II. Population of the principal British 
 
 Colonies in 1842, or according to the 
 
 latest census. 
 
 
 Eastern (Lower) Canada 678,590 
 
 Western (Upper) Canada 486,055 
 
 New Brunswick . 
 
 156,142 
 
 N. Scotia and C. Breton 
 
 178,237 
 
 Prince Edward's Island 
 
 47,034 
 
 Newfoundland 
 
 75,094 
 
 Antigua 
 
 36,405 
 
 Barbados 
 
 122,198 
 
 Dominica • 
 
 18,291 
 
 Grenada 
 
 29,650 
 
 Jamaica . • 
 
 377,433 
 
 Montserrat • , 
 
 7,119 
 
 Nevis . 
 
 7,470 
 
 St. Kitf s 
 
 21,578 
 
 St. Lucia 
 
 21,001 
 
 St. Vincent . 
 
 27,248 
 
COLONY. 
 
 [ 566 J 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 Tobago 
 
 Tortola 
 
 Anguilla 
 
 Trinidad 
 
 Bahamas 
 
 Bermudas 
 
 Demerara and Essequib 
 
 and Berbioe 
 Honduras 
 Gibraltar 
 Malta and Gozo 
 Cape of Good Hopi 
 Sierra Leone 
 Gambia 
 Ceylon 
 Mauritius 
 New South Wales 
 Van Diemen's Land 
 Western Australia 
 South do. 
 
 New Zealand 
 St. Helena 
 
 13,208 
 
 8,500 
 
 2,934 
 
 60,319 
 
 25,244 
 
 9,930 
 
 102,354 
 
 10,000 
 
 11,318 
 
 118,759 
 
 159,451 
 
 39,839 
 
 4,495 
 
 1,421,631 
 
 174,699 
 
 130,856 
 
 50,216 
 
 3,476 
 
 15,527 
 
 17,000 
 
 4,834 
 
 III. Form of Government. 
 By a Governor, Legislative Council, 
 and Assembly. 
 
 Canada 
 
 New Brunswick 
 
 N. Scotia and C. 
 Breton 
 
 Prince Edward's Is- 
 land 
 
 Antigua 
 
 Barbados 
 
 Dominica 
 
 Grenada 
 
 Jamaica 
 
 Montserrat 
 
 Nevis 
 
 St. Kitt's 
 
 St. Vincent 
 
 Tobago 
 
 Tortola 
 
 Anguilla 
 
 Bahamas 
 
 Bermudas 
 
 By a Governor and Legislative Council. 
 New South Wales Van Diemen'sLand 
 
 By a Governor and Executive Council, 
 and Orders of Queen in Council. 
 
 St Lucia 
 
 Trinidad 
 
 British Guiana, con- 
 sisting of Deme- 
 rara, Essequibo, 
 and Berbice 
 
 Gibraltar 
 Malta and Gozo 
 Cape of Good Hope 
 Ceylon 
 Mauritius 
 Hong-Kong 
 
 By a Governor and Executive Council, 
 and British Acts of Parliament. 
 
 Sierra Leone 
 Gambia 
 Gold Coast 
 Western Australia 
 
 South Australia 
 New Zealand 
 Falkland Islands 
 St. Helena. 
 
 By a Superintendent and Magistrates. 
 Honduras, &c. 
 
 IV. Imports into the United Kingdom 
 
 from British Colonies, and Declared Value 
 
 of British anc 
 
 Irish Produce 
 
 exported 
 
 from the United Kingdom to the same : 
 
 
 Imports. 
 
 Exports. 
 
 
 £. 
 
 £. 
 
 Canada . 
 
 . . 922,731 
 
 1,589,169 
 
 New Brunswick . 171,155 
 
 146,513 
 
 Nova Scotia 
 
 50,801 
 
 268,149 
 
 P. Edward's Island & 
 
 
 Newfoundland . 246,568 
 
 276,650 
 
 Antigua. . 
 
 . . 272,397 
 
 87,338 
 
 Barbados . 
 
 . 520,097 
 
 266,942 
 
 Dominica ■ 
 
 . 109,293 
 
 32,258 
 
 Grenada 
 
 133,857 
 
 48,882 
 
 Jamaica . 
 
 . 1,818,227 
 
 1,161,146 
 
 Montserrat . 
 
 22,574 
 
 " 3,884 
 
 Nevis . 
 
 38,790 
 
 4,884 
 
 St. Kitt's . 
 
 . 164,426 
 
 55,533 
 
 St. Lucia . 
 
 . 132,795 
 
 23,750 
 
 St. Vincent 
 
 . 234,233 
 
 72,625 
 
 Tobago . . 
 
 82,564 
 
 21,845 
 
 Tortola 
 
 9,316 
 
 97 
 
 Trinidad • 
 
 . 572,879 
 
 223,647 
 
 Bahamas ■ 
 
 59,626 
 
 45,448 
 
 Bermuda ■ 
 
 16,958 
 
 55,103 
 
 Demerara and 
 
 Es- 
 
 
 sequibo . 
 
 . 788,884 
 
 332,613 
 
 Berbice . . 
 
 . 174,347 
 
 43,625 
 
 Honduras • 
 
 . 864,502 
 
 111,804 
 
 Gibraltar . 
 
 • 39,891 
 
 937,719 
 
 Malta . . 
 
 . 232,414 
 
 289,304 
 
 Cape of Good 1 
 
 lope 280,324 
 
 369,076 
 
 Sierra Leone, &c. . 89,823 
 
 132,112 
 
 Ceylon . . 
 
 . 1,012,266 
 
 248,841 
 
 Mauritius . 
 
 . 960,396 
 
 244,922 
 
 New South Wales 298,507 
 
 598,645 
 
 Van Diemen's Land 1 34,1 50 
 
 260,730 
 
 Western Austi 
 
 alia 1,297 
 
 22,579 
 
 South Australk 
 
 i . 23,127 
 
 34,212 
 
 New Zealand . 
 
 10,998 
 
 42,758 
 
 Falkland Islanc 
 
 Is . 1,077 
 
 384 
 
 St. Helena . 
 
 3,729 
 
 17,530 
 
 V. Tonnage 
 
 Entered Inwards and 
 
 Cleared Outwa 
 
 rds, in the trade between 
 
 British colonies and the United Kingdom : 
 
 
 Entered. 
 
 Cleared. 
 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Canada 
 
 . . 322,145 
 
 267,492 
 
 New Brunswic 
 
 i. . 173,544 
 
 107,965 
 
 Nova Scotia . 
 
 . . 25,309 
 
 44,753 
 
 P. Edward's Island & 
 
 
 Newfoundlar 
 
 d . 19,450 
 
 25,360 
 
 Antigua . 
 
 . . 10,298 
 
 13,383 
 
 Barbados 
 
 . . 26,085 
 
 51,758 
 
 Dominica 
 
 . . 3,051- 
 
 2,678 
 

 COLONY. 
 
 I 567 J COLONY. 
 
 
 
 Entered. 
 
 Cleared. 
 
 
 Entered. 
 
 Cleared 
 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Grenada . 
 
 
 4,358 
 
 11,045 
 
 Bermudas 
 
 968 
 
 18,488 
 
 Jamaica . 
 
 
 
 47,776 
 
 61,923 
 
 Berbice .... 
 
 6,158 
 
 5,985 
 
 Monteerrat 
 
 
 
 804 
 
 481 
 
 Honduras . . 
 
 13,028 
 
 5,257 
 
 Nevis . 
 
 
 
 1,995 
 
 1,147 
 
 Gibraltar . . 
 
 20,602 
 
 43,508 
 
 St. Kitt's 
 
 
 
 6,072 
 
 5,271 
 
 Malta and Gozo . 
 
 21,583 
 
 40,141 
 
 St Lucia. 
 
 
 
 3,321 
 
 2,238 
 
 Cape of Good Hope 
 
 4,980 
 
 16,408 
 
 St. Vincent 
 
 
 
 7,911 
 
 7,952 
 
 Sierra Leone, &c. . 
 
 18,464 
 
 13,519 
 
 Tobago . 
 
 
 
 3,323 
 
 3,752 
 
 Ceylon .... 
 
 9,666 
 
 10,959 
 
 Tortola . 
 
 
 
 146 
 
 283 
 
 Mauritius 
 
 28,650 
 
 16,397 
 
 Trinidad 
 
 
 
 19,219 
 
 21,866 
 
 Australian Settlements 
 
 22,865 
 
 51,234 
 
 Bahamas 
 
 
 
 3,864 
 
 2,312 
 
 New Zealand . . 
 
 1,341 
 
 9,651 
 
 Demerara ai 
 
 ad Es 
 
 
 
 Falkland Islands 
 
 92 
 
 216 
 
 sequibo 
 
 
 33,316 
 
 45,525 
 
 St. Helena . . . 
 
 350 
 
 2,086 
 
 
 VI. Summary of Population and Trade. 
 
 
 
 
 
 N. American Other 
 
 
 
 
 Colonies. W. Indies. Colonies. 
 
 Totals. 
 
 Population, 1 
 
 842 
 
 , or 
 
 last census 
 
 . 1,621,152 901,082 2,152,101 4,674,3S5 
 
 Imports from into the United King- 
 dom 1,391,255 6,015,765 3,087,999 10,495,019 
 
 Declared Value of British and Irish 
 
 produce and manufactures ex- 
 ported 
 
 Vessels entered inwards from the 
 United Kingdom ; 
 
 Ships 
 
 Tons ...... 
 
 Cleared outwards from the United 
 Kingdom : 
 Ships 
 
 2,280,481 2,591,424 3,198,812 8,070,717 
 
 1,552 
 540,448 
 
 1,329 
 
 Tons 4,455,570 
 
 714 
 191,688 
 
 896 
 261,344 
 
 VII. Bevenue and Expenditure 
 British Colonies in 1842. 
 
 Revenue 
 
 of 
 
 Gibraltar 
 
 £.31,454 
 
 Malta . . . 
 
 120,852 
 
 Canada . . . 
 
 476,304 
 
 Nova Scotia 
 
 95,899 
 
 New Brunswick 
 
 81,920 
 
 Prince Edward's Is- 
 
 
 land . . . 
 
 19,626 
 
 Newfoundland . 
 
 56,686 
 
 Bermuda 
 
 19,342 
 
 Honduras . . 
 
 13.459 
 
 Jamaica . 
 
 . 321,945 
 
 Barbados 
 
 17,707 
 
 Tobago . . 
 
 8,532 
 
 Grenada 
 
 15,933 
 
 St. Lucia 
 
 11,694 
 
 St. Vincent 
 
 13,892 
 
 Antigua . . 
 
 17,110 
 
 Expend. 
 
 £31,445 
 
 110,759 
 
 465,141 
 
 84,869 
 
 55,792 
 
 13,411 
 40,787 
 17,435 
 12,515 
 303,195 
 15,957 
 8,514 
 12,643 
 11,409 
 12,236 
 15,880 
 
 Montserrat . . 
 St. Kitt's . . 
 Nevis . . . 
 Virgin Islands . 
 Dominica . . 
 British Guiana 
 Trinidad . . 
 Bahama . 
 Mauritius • 
 St. Helena . • 
 Ceylon . . 
 Cape of Good Hope 
 Sierra Leone 
 Gambia . . . 
 New South Wales 
 Van Diemen's Land 
 Western Australia 
 South Australia 
 New Zealand . 
 
 522 
 128,593 
 
 852 
 204,119 
 
 Revenue, 
 
 £1,871 
 
 6,892 
 
 8,834 
 
 2,332 
 
 8,504 
 
 243,985 
 
 109,545 
 
 21,943 
 
 259,075 
 
 17,756 
 
 311,248 
 
 226,261 
 
 26,209 
 
 9,592 
 
 844,265 
 
 182,622 
 
 18,334 
 
 84,531 
 
 2,788 
 860,729 
 
 3,077 
 911,033 
 
 Expend. 
 
 £2,244 
 
 6,933 
 
 8,678 
 
 2,440 
 
 7,880 
 
 237,759 
 
 71,674 
 
 23,570 
 
 206,355 
 
 17,643 
 
 301,791 
 
 226,025 
 
 24,165 
 
 7,472 
 
 804,982 
 
 160,003 
 
 17,031 
 
 81,813 
 
COLONY. 
 
 [ 568 ~] 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 VIII. Principal items of Revenue and 
 Expenditure in British Colonies in the 
 year 1842. 
 
 Gibraltar. Revenue : — Wine duty, 
 2717/.; spirit duty, 8101/. ; auction fees, 
 32 J7/. ; ground and house rents, 3836/.; 
 post rates and duties, 5806/. ; licences on 
 taverns and wine-houses, 3153/. Expen- 
 diture : — Government, 5013/. ; post de- 
 partment, 5031/. ; police, 3S89/.; revenue 
 department, 3527Z. ; judicial, 2975/.; civil 
 secretary's department, 18G2/. 
 
 Malta. Revenue : — Import duties, 
 81,G49/. ; tonnage dues, 4618/.; quaran- 
 tine dues, 3855/. ; post-office, 2431/. Ex- 
 penditure : — Governor's establishment, 
 5177/.; chief secretary's office, 3142/.; 
 courts of justice, 6575/. ; interior police, 
 7374/. ; marine police and quarantine, 
 6240/. ; University and Lyceum, 2679/. ; 
 primary schools, 079/. ; charitable insti- 
 tutions, 4173/. ; pensions, 9920/. ; alms to 
 the poor, 3086/. ; hospitals and asylums, 
 90C1/. 
 
 Canada. Revenue :-Customs, 238,784/.; 
 excise, 27,617/.; territorial, 31,648/.; pub- 
 lic works, 11,160/.; American Land Com- 
 pany, 10,000/. Expenditure : — Governor- 
 general, 6937/.; judicial establishment, 
 15,006/.; pensions and salaries of crown 
 officers and contingencies, 22,716/.; chief 
 secretary, provincial secretaries (east and 
 west) and their offices, and registrar, 
 12,981/., &c. &c, making a total for civil 
 establishments of 74,560/. which is 
 provided for in the Union Act. The 
 chief expenses provided by provincial 
 enactments are, — Legislature, 14,423/. ; 
 interest on loans, 68,554/. ; education, 
 20,478/. ; rural police, 10,999/. ; improv- 
 ing navigation, 11,029/.; hospitals and 
 charities, 11,004/.; printing laws, &c, 
 9587/. ; roads and bridges, 4917/. ; public 
 works, 179,291/.; emigration, 12,388/. 
 
 Nova Scotia. Revenue : — Customs, 
 30,937/. ; excise, 35,022/. ; rents, &c. of 
 coal-mines, 4389/. Expenditure : — Go- 
 vernor and civil establishment, exclusive 
 of customs, 11,374/. ; judicial, 5014/. ; 
 ecclesiastical, 7640/. ; custom-house, 
 10,069/.; legislature, 4707/.; roads and 
 bridges, 27,319/. ; grammar schools, 
 1095/. ; common schools, 1095/. ; col- 
 leges, 1225/. 
 
 New Brunswick. Revenue : — Pro- : 
 
 vincial revenue, 20,935/. ; customs' duties 
 under imperial acts, 15,001/. Expendi- 
 ture : — Civil list, 13,050/. ; pay and ex- 
 pense of legislature, 6991/. ; collection 
 and protection of revenue, 3202/. ; parish 
 and Madras schools, 12,480/. ; college and 
 grammar schools, 2025/. ; roads, 6373/. ; 
 bye roads and bridges, 14,853/. 
 
 Prince Edward's Island. Revenue : — 
 Customs, 5931/. ; land assessment, 1896/. ; 
 parliamentary grant, 3070/. ; governor, 
 judicial and civil establishments, 5116/. ; 
 roads, bridges, &c., 5387/. 
 
 Newfoundland. Revenue :— Customs, 
 41,119/. Expenditure: — Civil depart- 
 ments, 24,011/., including customs' esta- 
 blishment, 6038/. ; courts of law, 5837/. ; 
 police, 3785/. ; legislature, 3255/. 
 
 Bermudas. Revenue: — Customs,7582/.; 
 parliamentary-grant salaries, 4049/. Ex- 
 penditure: — Civilestablishments,10,718/., 
 including 2988/. for the governor and his 
 establishment. 
 
 Honduras. The principal item of re- 
 venue is 4721/. duty on wines, spirits, and 
 cordials. 
 
 St. Helena. Customs' revenue, 6441/. ; 
 harbour dues, 2555/.; and the total ex 
 pense of the civil establishments is 
 14,064/. 
 
 Ceylon. Revenue : — Sea customs, 
 90,476/. ; land customs, 10,305/.. princi- 
 pally bridge and ferry tolls ; land rents, 
 43,318/.; licences for arrack and toddy 
 farms, 44,768/., and for salt farms, 
 31,322/.; stamps, 17,560/.; postage, 5163/. 
 Expenditure: — Governor, 7100/.; arch- 
 deacon of Colombo, 7207/. ; schools, 
 3318/. ; with other items in the civil 
 department, 95,127/. ; judicial establish- 
 ment, 47,603/. ; revenue department, 
 49,784 ; military expenditure, part of 
 which is defrayed by the imperial go- 
 vernment, 97,000/. 
 
 Cape of Good Hope. There are as- 
 sessed taxes on servants, horsea, car- 
 riages, a capitation and an income tax, 
 which produce 7632/. ; stamps, 19,288/. ; 
 customs, 56,485/. ; auctions, 11,627/. ; 
 post-office, 6454/. The expense of the 
 civil establishments was 17,817/.; judi- 
 cial, 10,799/.; revenue and magistracy, 
 22,584/. ; church establishments, 8049/. : 
 post-office, 5769/. ; police, 5861/. 
 
 Sierra Leone. The customs' duties 
 
COLONY. 
 
 i 5K9 J 
 
 COLONY. 
 
 were 75842., and the greater part of the 
 disbursements are paid out of parliamen- 
 tary grants. The expenses of the libe- 
 rated African department were upwards 
 of 90001. 
 
 New South Wales. Revenue : — Syd- 
 ney, Spirits imported, 107,9242., and 
 5155?. on spirits distilled; tobacco duty, 
 41,2222. ; duties ad valorem on foreign 
 goods, 24,9442.; post-office, 17,2662.; auc- 
 tions, 10,0942.; spirit licences, 15,2752.; 
 assessments on stock beyond the limits of 
 location, 1 5,3572. Port Philip revenue : — 
 Spirits, 41,5102.; tobacco, 10,3942.: ad 
 valorem duties, 72292.; spirit licences, 
 29232.; assessments on stock, 61072. In 
 the Sydney district the proceeds of land 
 sales were 11,387/.; quit-rents, 14,8552.; 
 licences to depasture-stock on crown 
 lands, 87822. In the district of Port 
 Philip the sale of land produced 17,7282. ; 
 pasture licences, 77752. The cost of the 
 civil establishments was 93,5052., which 
 included 20,0532. for the surveyor-gene- 
 ral's department; 12,0002., colonial en- 
 gineer; 18,4842., post-office. The judicial 
 department cost 23,8122. ; police, 77,8822. ; 
 gaols, 10,2422. ; clergy, 18,1442., which 
 included payments to the Established 
 Church, Presbyterians, Wesleyans, and 
 Roman Catholics; and 75682. was paid 
 on account of the schools belonging to 
 those religious denominations ; and the 
 sum of 12,8672. was contributed towards 
 erecting their churches and chapels, and 
 dwellings for their ministers. Bounties 
 on immigration at Sydney, 143,4132. ; at 
 Port Philip, 99,4922. There were other 
 disbursements on account of Port Philip 
 amounting to 59,0072. 
 
 Van LHemen's Land. — Revenue from 
 Customs, 80,9692.; Post-office, 73212.: 
 retail wine and sp'jrit licences, 65502. ; 
 quit rents, 34232.; land sales, 30,5182. 
 Expenditure : — Governor and judges, 
 53512.; Customs establishment, 50242.; 
 Post-office, 60812.; police, 36,3952.; courts 
 of law and their officers, 97752. ; public 
 works, roads, bridges, and public build- 
 ings, 20,5712.; Church of Englawi, 
 10,8642.; Church of Scotland, 2697ft; 
 Church of Rome, 18732. ; Queen's Orphan 
 Schools, 56832. ; day-schools, 37752.; Wes- 
 leyan and Methodist missions, 5252. 
 
 Western Australia.— The sum of 44932. 
 
 was received on imported spirits, and 
 there are other import duties and various 
 licences. The total expense of the civil 
 establishment was 97782., and the largest 
 items were 17292. maintenance of a co- 
 lonial vessel, and 16062. for the survey 
 department. 
 
 South Australia. — The sum of 36,6072. 
 was received on account of drafts drawn 
 on the home government; and the prin- 
 cipal items of local revenue were, Cus- 
 toms' duties on spirits, 85022. ; on tobacco, 
 35042.; licences, 22712.; land sales, 
 17,8302. The total expenses of the civil 
 establishment amounted to 34,41 C2., which 
 includes 17252., governor and judge ; sur- 
 vey department, 34342. ; Customs, 22792. ; 
 harbour department, 20192.; police, 85512. 
 
 Jamaica. — The principal items of re- 
 ceipt are given under the following 
 heads : — Additional Duty Act, 18,2522. ; 
 Customs' Tonnage Act, 14,2002. ; Import 
 and Export Act, 127,8212.; Land-tax 
 Act, 19,51802.; Rum Duty Act, 43,2392.; 
 Stamp Duty Act, 48002. ; Sugar Duty 
 Act for island consumption, 85962. ; and 
 a similar duty on coffee, 7502. ; Tea Duty 
 Act, 12902.; tax on stock, wheels, here- 
 ditaments, rent, trade, dogs, &c. &c, 
 66,5872. Expenditure: — Revenue esta- 
 blishments, 35,4952. ; clergy stipends, 
 11,5002.; curates' stipends, 15,9632.; 
 police, 41,3992.; immigration, 33,3232.; 
 public hospital, 11,3712.; roads and 
 bridges, 10,1062.; military, 15,1662.; 
 judicature, 55,3332. ; Assembly, 39692. ; 
 governor, his secretary and island agent, 
 12,0782., but in this sum the salaries of 
 five quarters are included. The debt of 
 the island was 613,2972. 
 
 British Guiana. — Tax on income, 
 12,5582. ; on produce, 47,9082. ; wine and 
 spirit duties, 14,2292.; import duty, 
 66,1602. ; rum duty, 25,1892. ; spirit retail 
 licences, 15,0392.; shop-tax, 15512.; 
 huckster licences, 32412. ; colony craft- 
 tax, 10862. Expenditure: — Civil List, 
 36,6212.; police, 29,4572. ; gaols, 89062.; 
 colonial hospital, 90102. ; immigration, 
 39,6242. ; penal settlement expenses, 
 75152. ; grants to the Established, Dutch, 
 and Romau Catholic churches. 
 
 Trinidad. — There are several kinds of 
 import duties, and under the head " foreign 
 duties on imports" the receipts were 
 
COMBINATION LAWS. [ 570 ] COMBINATION LAWS. 
 
 17,507/.; import duties, 8834/.; wines 
 and spirit duty, 14952. ; tonnage duty, 
 39302. ; export duties, 13.745Z. ; fees of 
 public offices, 4182/.; spirit licences, 
 32002. The civil, judicial, ecclesiastical, 
 and police establishments cost 33,8941. 
 
 Other Welt India Islands.— It is not 
 necessary to give details of the revenue 
 and expenditure of each island. The re- 
 venue is principally derived from cus- 
 toms' duties, licences, export duties on 
 island produce, direct taxes, licences, and 
 some other sources ; and it is expended 
 in defraying the cost of civil establish- 
 ments, improvement of roads, and for 
 churches, schools, &c. &c. 
 
 Mauritius. — Kevenue of Customs : 
 Imports, 53,9682. ; exports, 37,9022. ; port 
 collections, 14,3122. ; direct taxes, 52692. ; 
 licences, 35,1362.; registration fees, 
 33,1622. ; stamps, 52402. ; canteens, 90702. 
 Expenditure: — Civil List, 26,0002.; ju- 
 dicial, 32,0502. ; ecclesiastical, 32732. 
 
 The mother-country does not levy taxes 
 or duties in any colony except for their 
 use ; but the colonies do not usually de- 
 fray all the cost of their own establish- 
 ments, and the entire charge of them to 
 England, inclusive of naval and military 
 outlay, is above 3, 100,000/. annually. 
 The colonial revenues are expended in 
 maintaining establishments which are 
 often not only expensive, but sometimes 
 nearly useless. The charges of collecting 
 colonial revenues are frequently greater 
 than the produce of the revenue. The 
 sum of 166,0672. of the public money was 
 voted by Parliament in 1838 for religious 
 establishments in the colonies : of this 
 sum 134,4502. was for the established 
 church ; church of Scotland 99672. ; Ro- 
 man Catholic church 14,7632. ; Dutch 
 church 68862. ; besides 2175/. to Jews, 
 Baptists, and Wesleyans for religious pur- 
 poses. But it is the drain upon the mili- 
 tary resources of the mother - country 
 which render the British colonies so heavy 
 a burden. From 1839 to 1843 inclusive, 
 the charges incurred on account of Canada 
 in respect of the army, navy, ordnance, and 
 commissariat, was 5,532,9572. (Pari. 
 Paper, 304 Sess. 1844.) 
 
 COMBINATION LAWS. The laws 
 known by this name were repealed in 
 1824. Till then any combination of any 
 
 two or more masters, or of any two or 
 more workmen, to lower or raise wages, 
 or to increase or diminish the number of 
 hours of work, or quantity of work to be 
 done, was punishable at common law 
 as a misdemeanor : and there were also 
 thirty-five statutes in existence, most 
 of them applying to particular trades, 
 prohibiting combinations of workmen 
 against masters. The act passed in 1824 
 (5 Geo. IV. c. 95) repealed all the statute 
 and common law against combinations of 
 masters and of workmen, provided a sum- 
 mary mode of conviction, and a punish- 
 ment not exceeding two months' imprison- 
 ment for violent interference with work- 
 men or masters, and for combinations fbr 
 violent interference ; and contained a pro- 
 viso with regard to combinations for vio- 
 lent interference, that no law in force with 
 regard to them should be altered or 
 affected by the act. But all the common 
 law against combinations being repealed 
 by the act, this proviso was considered as 
 of no force ; and the act also went beyond 
 the intentions of the framers in legalizing 
 combinations unattended with violence for 
 the purpose of controlling masters in the 
 mode of carrying on their trades and 
 manufactures, as well as peaceable com- 
 binations to procure advance of wages or 
 reduction of hours of work. The act was 
 passed after an inquiry into the subject by 
 a committee presided over by Mr. Hume, 
 which reported to the house the following 
 among other resolutions : — ■ 
 
 " That the masters have often united 
 and combined to lower the rates of their 
 workmen's wages, as well as to resist a 
 demand for an increase, and to regulate 
 their hours of working, and sometimes to 
 discharge their workmen who would not 
 consent to the conditions offered to them j 
 which have been followed by suspension 
 of work, riotous proceedings, and acts of 
 violence. 
 
 " That prosecutions have frequently 
 been carried on under the statute and the 
 common law against the workmen, and 
 many of them have suffered different 
 periods of imprisonment for combining 
 and conspiring to raise their wages, or to 
 resist their reduction, and to regulate their 
 hours of working. 
 
 " That several instances have been 
 
COMBINATION LAWS. [ 571 ] 
 
 COMMANDERT. 
 
 stated to the committee ,of prosecutions 
 against masters for combining to lower 
 wage?, and to regulate tie hours of work- 
 ing ; but no instance has been adduced of 
 any master having been punished for that 
 offence. 
 
 " That it is the opinion of this commit- 
 tee that masters and workmen should be 
 freed from such restrictions as regard 
 the rate of wages and the hours of work- 
 ing, and be left at perfect liberty to make 
 such agreements as they may mutually 
 think proper. 
 
 " That therefore the statute laws which 
 interfere in these particulars between 
 masters and workmen should be repealed ; 
 and also that the common law, under 
 which a peaceable meeting of masters or 
 workmen may be prosecuted as a conspi- 
 racy, should be altered." 
 
 Immediately after the passing of this 
 act a number of widely organized and 
 formidable combinations arose in various 
 trades and manufactures for the purpose 
 of controlling the masters as to the way 
 in which they should conduct their busi- 
 ness ; and the extent to which the act 
 had repealed the common law being 
 doubtful, and the act having clearly gone 
 beyond the resolutions on which it was 
 grounded in legalizing combinations, Mr. 
 Huskisson, then President of the Board 
 of Trade, moved early in the session of 
 1825 for a committee to consider the 
 effects of the act 5 Geo. IV. c. 95 ; and 
 a. committee was appointed with Mr. 
 (afterwards Lord) Wallace, then Vice- 
 President of the Board of Trade, for its 
 chairman. This committee recommended 
 the repeal of the act of the previous 
 session, and the enactment of another ; 
 and in consequence of their recommenda- 
 tion the 6 Geo. IV. c. 129, was passed, 
 which is the act now in force relative to 
 combinations. 
 
 This act repealed the 5 Geo. IV. c. 95, 
 and all the statutes which that act had 
 repealed. It relieved from all prosecution 
 and punishment persons meeting solely to 
 consult upon rate of wages or hours of 
 work, or entering into any agreement, 
 verbal or written, on these points. And 
 it provided a punishment of not more than 
 three months' imprisonment, with or with- 
 out hard labour, for any one using vio- 
 
 lence or threats to make a workman leave 
 his hiring, or return work unfinished, or 
 refuse to accept work, or belong to any 
 club, or contribute to any common fund, 
 or pay any fine for not belonging to a club, 
 or contributing to a common fund, or 
 refusing to conform to any rules made for 
 advance of wages or lessening of the hours 
 of work, or regulations of the mode of 
 carrying on any business, and for any one 
 using violence to make any master alter 
 his mode of carrying on his business. 
 
 By the act 6 Geo. IV. c. 129, there- 
 fore, combinations of masters and work- 
 men to settle as to rate of wages and hours 
 of labour are made legal and freed from 
 all punishment; but the common law 
 remains as it was as to combinations for 
 otherwise controlling masters. 
 
 By 9 Geo. IV. c. 31, assaults in pur- 
 suance of a combination to raise the rate 
 of wages are made punishable by imprison 
 ment and hard labour. 
 
 A committee of the House of Commons 
 sat in 1838, presided over by Sir Henry 
 Parnell, to consider the effect of combina- 
 tions of workmen ; but nothing followed 
 from this committee. 
 
 COMMANDER. [Captain.] 
 
 COMMANDERY, a species of benefice 
 attached to certain foreign military Or- 
 ders, usually conferred on knights who 
 had done them some especial service. 
 According to Furetiere, these Gomman- 
 deries were of different kinds and de- 
 grees, as the statutes of the different 
 orders directed. The name of Com- 
 mandery in the Order of St. Louis was 
 given to the pension which the King of 
 France formerly assigned to twenty-four 
 commanders of that order, of whom eight 
 received 4000, and sixteen 3000 livres 
 each. The Order of Malta had com- 
 manderies of justice, which a knight ob- 
 tained from long standing ; and others of 
 favour, of which the grand master had 
 the power of disposal. 
 
 In England, commanderies were the 
 same amongst the Knights Hospitallers 
 as preceptories had been among the 
 Knights Templars: they were societies 
 of those knights placed upon some of 
 their estates in the country under the 
 government of a commander, who were 
 allowed proper maintenance out of the 
 
COMMISSARY. 
 
 [ 572 ] 
 
 COMMISSION. 
 
 revenues under their care, and accounted 
 for the remainder to the grand prior at 
 London. At the dissolution of religious 
 houses, in the time of Henry VIII., there 
 were more than fifty of these com- 
 manderies in England, subordinate to the 
 great priory of St. John of Jerusalem. 
 A. few of these held productive estates, 
 and had even the appearance of be- 
 ing separate corporations, so much so as 
 to have a common seal ; but the greater 
 part were little more than farms or 
 granges. The Templars' term of pre- 
 ceptory was as frequently used to de- 
 signate these establishments as the term 
 commandery. (Furetiere, Dictionnaire 
 Universel ; Tanner, Notitia Mona&tica, 
 edit. 1787, pref. p. xvii. ; Dugdale's Mo- 
 nasticon Anglicanumi last edit. vol. vi. 
 pp. 786, SM.) 
 
 COMMENDAM. [Benefice, p. 350.] 
 COMMISSARY, an officer who is 
 delegated by a bishop to act in a particu- 
 lar part of the diocese, to exercise juris- 
 diction similar in kind to that exercised 
 by the chancellor of the diocese in the 
 consistory court of the diocese. A com- 
 missary has, generally speaking, the 
 authority of official principal and vicar- 
 general within his limits. An appeal lies 
 from his decisions to the metropolitan. 
 In some dioceses there is a commissary 
 court for each archdeaconry. The com- 
 missariat courts were established for the 
 convenience of the people in parts of the 
 diocese remote from the consistory court. 
 A commissary must be learned in the 
 civil and ecclesiastical law, a master of 
 arts or bachelor of law, not under the age 
 of twenty-six, and he must subscribe the 
 Thirty-nine articles (Canon 127). 
 
 In Scotland the same classes of ques- 
 tions which in other parts of Europe were 
 arrogated to the ecclesiastical judicatories 
 came under the authority of the bishop's 
 courts while the episcopal polity con- 
 tinued, and subsequently devolved on 
 special judges, who were called commis- 
 saries. The four commissaries of Edin- 
 burgh constituted the Supreme Commis- 
 sary Court, which had jurisdiction in 
 questions of divorce, and of declarations 
 of the existence or non-existence of mar- 
 riage. The district commissaries had 
 the udministrative authority of confirm- 
 
 ing executors to persons deceased, a func- 
 tion resembling the granting of letters 
 of administration in England. By 4 
 Geo. IV. c. 97, the functions of the pro- 
 vincial commissaries were vested in the 
 sheriffs of the respective counties, who, 
 before the passing of that act, were usu- 
 ally appointed the commissaries of their 
 districts. By 11 Geo. IV. 1 Wm. IV. 
 c. 69, the jurisdiction of the commissaries 
 of Edinburgh, as above, was vested in 
 the Court of Session. 
 
 COMMISSION. This word appears 
 to be used generally to express the instru- 
 ment by which authority is delegated by 
 one person to another: and it is parti- 
 cularly used to express the instrument 
 by which the crown gives authority to a 
 person or persons to do any act. A com- 
 mission, then, is a warrant or letter pa- 
 tent by which a person is empowered, 
 or persons are empowered, to do any act, 
 either ordinary or extraordinary. Some 
 commissions in England issue from the 
 king under the Great Seal, and others 
 are only signed by the king. There was 
 formerly a High Commission Court, but 
 it was abolished by 16 Charles I. c. 11, 
 and 13 Charles II. c. 2. 
 
 An enumeration of some of the prin- 
 cipal kinds of commissions will show the 
 nature of the power thereby given, and 
 the objects of it : — 
 
 Commissions of Oyer and Terminer, 
 and Gaol Delivery. [Assize.] 
 
 Commission of Lunacy. [Lunacy.] 
 
 Commission of the Peace. [Justices 
 of the Peace.] 
 
 Commissions, Naval and Military, and 
 others. [Commissions, Military.] 
 
 COMMISSION. [Agent; Broker; 
 Factor.] 
 
 COMMISSION ECCLESIASTICAL. 
 [Ecclesiastical Commission.] 
 
 COMMISSION, in military affairs, is 
 the document by which an officer is autho- 
 rized to perform duty for the service of 
 the state. 
 
 In England in former times the regular 
 mode of assembling an army, either tc 
 resist an invading enemy, or to accom- 
 pany the king on a foreign expedition, 
 was by sending a royal command to the 
 chief barons and the spiritual lords, that 
 they should meet at a given time and 
 
COMMISSION. 
 
 [ 573 j 
 
 COMMISSION. 
 
 place with their due proportion of men, 
 horses, &c. properly equipped, according 
 to the tenure by which they held their 
 estates ; and these tenants in capite appear 
 to have appointed by their own authority 
 all their subordinate officers. But com- 
 missions were granted by the kings to in- 
 dividuals, authorizing them to raise men 
 for particular services; thus, in 1442, 
 Henry VI. gave one to the governor of 
 Mantes, by which he was appointed to 
 maintain 50 horsemen, 20 men-at-arms 
 on foot, and 210 archers, for the defence 
 of that city. According to Pere Daniel, 
 the commission was written on parch- 
 ment, and, that it might not be counter- 
 feited, the piece was divided, by cutting 
 it irregularly, into two portions, of which 
 doubtless each party retained one. 
 
 Commissions of array, as they were 
 called, were also issued by the king in 
 England, probably from the time of 
 Alfred, for the purpose of mustering and 
 training the inhabitants of the counties in 
 military discipline ; and in the reign of 
 Edward III. the parliament enacted that 
 no person trained under these commis- 
 missions should be compelled to serve out 
 of his own county except the kingdom 
 were invaded. Of the same nature as 
 these commissions of array was that 
 which, in 1572, when the county was 
 threatened with the Spanish invasion, 
 Queen Elizabeth issued to the justices of 
 the peace in the different counties, autho- 
 rizing them to muster and train persons 
 to serve during the war. Those magis- 
 trates were directed to make choice of 
 officers to command bodies of 100 men 
 and upwards ; and such officers, with the 
 consent of the magistrates, were to ap- 
 point their own lieutenants. This privi- 
 lege of granting commissions to the offi- 
 cers of the national militia continued to 
 be exercised by the lord-lieutenants of 
 counties, the king having the power of 
 confirming or annulling the appointments ; 
 and it was made law in the reign of 
 Charles II. The militia has been disem- 
 bodied for several years; but commis- 
 sions in the yeomanry cavalry, a force 
 which is still kept up in England, are 
 granted by the lord-lieutenants. It ap- 
 pears, however, that before the Revolu- 
 tion, the lieutenants and ensigns were 
 
 recommended for commissions by the 
 captains of the companies. 
 
 In the French service, between the 
 reigns of Francis I. and Louis XIV., we 
 find that the kings reserved to themselves 
 the nomination of the principal com- 
 manders only of the legions or regiments, 
 and that the commanders were permitted 
 to grant commissions under their own 
 signature and seal to the subordinate 
 officers, who were charged with the duty 
 of raising the troops and instructing them 
 in the use of arms. 
 
 In the British regular army all the com- 
 missions of officers are signed by the king. 
 The several commissions in the navy are a 
 sort of warrant, and are signed by the 
 Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty ; 
 but the documents are called commissions, 
 and they are signed in the name of the 
 king. In the navy, in the regiment of 
 artillery, and in the corps of engineers 
 and marines, the commissions are con- 
 ferred without purchase ; and to a certain 
 extent this is the case with the commis- 
 sions granted to officers of the line. Those 
 cadets who have completed a course of 
 military education in the Royal College 
 at Sandhurst are so appointed. In other 
 cases, gentlemen obtain leave to enter the 
 army by the purchase of an ensigncy, the 
 prices of which, in the different classes 
 of troops, are regulated by authority ; 
 and they proceed to the higher grades on 
 paying the ditterence between the price 
 of the grade which they quit and of that 
 which they enter. 
 
 The commissioned officers of a batta- 
 lion of infantry are as follow : Field- 
 officers — colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and 
 major. Regimental officers — captains, 
 lieutenants, and ensigns. Staff-officers — 
 chaplain, adjutant, quartermaster, and 
 surgeon. 
 
 The prices of commissions in the Bri- 
 tish army are as follows : — Life Guards — 
 lieutenant-colonel, 72502.; major, 53502. ; 
 captain, 3500/.; lieutenant, 17852.; cor- 
 net, 12602. Royal Regiment of Horse 
 Guards — lieutenant-colonel, 72502. ; ma- 
 jor, 53502.; captain, 35002.; lieutenant, 
 16002. ; cornet, 12002. Dragoon Guards 
 and Dragoons — lieutenant - colonel, 
 61752.; major, 45752.; captain, 32252.; 
 lieutenant, 11902.; cornet, 8402. Foot 
 
COMMITTEE OF 
 
 [574 j 
 
 PUBLIC SAFETY. 
 
 Guards — lieutenant-colonel, 9000?. ; ma- 
 jor, with rank of colonel, 83002. ; captain, 
 with rank of lieutenant-colonel, 48002. ; 
 lieutenant, with rank of captain, 20502. ; 
 ensign, with rank of lieutenant, 1200Z. 
 Kegiments of the Line — lieutenant-colo- 
 nel, 45002. ; major, 32002. ; captain, 
 18002. ; lieutenant, 7002. ; ensign, 4502. 
 Fusilier and Kifle regiments — 1st lieu- 
 tenant, 7002. ; 2nd lieutenant, 5002. 
 
 Commissions in the military service 
 of the East India Company are given by 
 the Court of Directors. 
 
 In the British colonies where a mili- 
 tia is kept on foot commissions are given 
 in it by the governor as captain-general. 
 
 In the National Guards of France the 
 officers are selected by their comrades. 
 
 COMMISSIONERS, LORDS. [Ad- 
 miral; Assent, Royal; Parliament.] 
 
 COMMISSIONERS OF BANK- 
 RUPTS. [Bankrupt.] 
 
 COMMISSIONERS OF LUNACY. 
 [Lunacy.] 
 
 COMMISSIONERS OF SEWERS. 
 [Sewers.] 
 
 COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC 
 SAFETY, Comite - de Salut Publique, 
 the name given to a committee of mem- 
 bers of the National Convention, who 
 exercised a dictatorial power in France 
 for about fifteen mouths, which is known 
 by the name of the Reign of Terror. The 
 National Convention having abolished 
 the royal authority at the end of 1792, 
 and proclaimed the republic, found them- 
 selves invested with the whole sovereign 
 power. They delegated the executive part 
 of it to several committees or departments 
 of government, and placed a Committee 
 of Public Safety over all. This com- 
 mittee consisted of ten members of the 
 Convention, appointed for three months, 
 but re-eligible indefinitely : they were 
 commonly called the decemvirs. Their 
 business was to watch over the conduct 
 of the public authorities, and to promote 
 the cause of the revolution. By degrees 
 their powers attained a most extensive 
 range ; all the constituted authorities and 
 public functionaries, civil and military, 
 were placed under their immediate in- 
 spection. This was after the successful 
 insurrection on the 31st of May, 1793, 
 when the Mountain or terrorist party in 
 
 the Convention gained the victory, by 
 means of the armed multitudes of Paris, 
 over their fellow-deputies of the Gironde 
 party, who wished to govern the republic 
 according to legal forms, and when the 
 leaders of the Girondins were sent to 
 prison and to the scaffold. From that 
 time Robespierre and his friends monopo- 
 lized all the power of the Committee of 
 Public Safety. By a decree of the Con- 
 veution, 4th of December, 1793, the 
 committee had the power of appointing 
 and removing all the administrative au- 
 thorities, all the agents and commissioners 
 sent to the departments and to the various 
 armies, and the agents sent to foreign 
 countries. They were to watch and 
 direct public opinion, and denounce all 
 suspected persons. By another decree, 
 of 28th July, 1793, the committee was 
 invested with the power of issuing war- 
 rants of arrest. There was another com- 
 mittee, called de Surete GeneYale, which 
 has been sometimes confounded with the 
 Committee of Public Safety, but was 
 subordinate to it, and concerned itself 
 with the internal police and judicial 
 affairs. " The Committee of Public 
 Safety," says a witness and a member of 
 the Convention, " did not manifest its 
 ambition at the outset ; it was useful at 
 first. But that prudent conduct ceased 
 after the revolt of the 31st of May, when 
 the Convention, its several committees, 
 and especially that of General Security, 
 fell under the yoke of the Committee 
 of Public Safety, which acted the part 
 of the Council of Ten and of the three 
 inquisitors of the Venetian government 
 Its power was monstrous, because it was 
 in a manner concealed — because it veiled 
 its acts amidst the multitude of other 
 committees — because, by renewing itself 
 perpetually from among men of the same 
 stamp, it took away the responsibility 
 from its members, although its measures 
 were ever the same. The committee 
 concentrated itself at last in three of its 
 members : Robespierre, who was the real 
 chief, though half-concealed from view, 
 and Couthon and St. Just. There was 
 perfect unanimity among these three 
 down to the moment of their fall ; in pro- 
 portion as the Mountain itself became 
 divided, and its chiefs perished on the 
 
COMMITTEE. 
 
 C 575 ] 
 
 COMMON LAW. 
 
 scaffold, the alliance between the three 
 became more firmly cemented. There is 
 reason to believe that they had resolved 
 to perpetuate their power by establishing 
 a supreme council of three consuls, in 
 which Robespierre would have had the 
 perpetual presidency, with the departments 
 of justice, exterior, and finance; Couthon 
 that of the interior, and St. Just the war 
 department." (Histoire pittoresque de la 
 Convention National*, par un Ex-Con- 
 ventional, 4 vols. 8vo. Paris, 1833.) The 
 means by which these men contrived to 
 maintain their usurped power are shown 
 by Mignet in his ' History of the French 
 Revolution.' Acting in the name of the 
 National Convention, the Committee was 
 in fact master of that assembly, which 
 it compelled to adopt its reports and re- 
 solutions ; it decreed the proscription of 
 any member who resisted its will ; it had 
 at its command the armed multitudes of 
 Paris and the suburbs, whose passions 
 and fears it kept constantly excited by 
 suspicions of royalists and traitors; it 
 was supported by the numerous clubs 
 and revolutionary committees distributed 
 all over the country, the poorer members 
 of which received by a decree of the 
 Convention, extorted from that assembly 
 on the 31st of May by the armed mob, 
 an allowance of forty sols a day ; and it 
 sent commissioners to the armies, who 
 impeached every general suspected of 
 disaffection, and easily prevailed on the 
 deluded soldiers to give him up. " It 
 had at its command the law against the 
 suspected passed by the Convention, by 
 which it could arrest any citizen ; the re- 
 volutionary tribunals which summarily 
 sent the accused to the scaffold ; and the 
 decrees of confiscation, forced loans and 
 requisitions, and the maximum upon pro- 
 visions, by which it disposed of the pro- 
 perty of all." This law of the maximum 
 fixed the highest legal price of provisions 
 and other necessaries, both for wholesale 
 and retail dealers, and forbade them to 
 ask more. ( Tableau du Maximum de la 
 Hepublique Franpaise dfcrete~par la Con- 
 vention Rationale k 6 Ventose, An II.) 
 The net was so widely spread that it 
 took in all France; and a few obscure 
 men exercised in the name of liberty a 
 tyranny infinitely greater than that of the 
 
 most arbitrary king of the old dynasty. 
 In the Convention, from which nominally 
 they derived their power, they were 
 supported by a few bold men, who fright- 
 ened the rest with the pikes of the mob 
 and with threats of the scaffold. But 
 when these men, Tallien, Barras, and 
 others, discovered that they themselves 
 stood in the way of Robespierre's ambi- 
 tion, and were destined to the common 
 lot of the guillotine, they turned upon 
 him and his friends of the Committee, 
 and the majority of the Convention, 
 which had through fear acquiesced in all 
 their measures, immediately sided with 
 them; the National Guards, weary of 
 useless proscriptions, stood by their re- 
 presentatives, and Robespierre and his 
 few friends found themselves alone, with- 
 out any military man to support them. 
 Even in the Committee of Public Safety, 
 Collot d'Herbois and Billaud Varennes 
 turned against Robespierre. On the 9th 
 Thermidor, July 28, 1794, Robespierre, 
 Couthon, and St. Just were executed. 
 From that time the moderate party 
 gradually, though slowly, acquired the 
 ascendency in the Convention. 
 
 COMMITTEES. [Parliament.] 
 
 COMMODORE (Comendador), in the 
 royal navy, is the officer commanding a 
 small number of ships of war, when de- 
 tached for any particular service from 
 the fleet. His rank is immediately below 
 that of a rear-admiral, and he is classed 
 with a brigadier-general in the army 
 His ship is distinguished by a red pen- 
 dant at the mast-head. The title is some- 
 times given to the senior captain in a 
 fleet of merchant ships. 
 
 In the French service the commander 
 of a detachment of ships is called Chef 
 d'Escadre; and in the time of Louis 
 XIII. the commander-general of the fleet 
 was so called when he had not the rank 
 of admiral. 
 
 The highest rank in the navy of the 
 United States of North America is that 
 of commodore, which is given to the com- 
 manders of squadrons at the six stations 
 at which a naval force is maintained by 
 the United States government. 
 
 COMMON LAW. In its most general 
 signification the expression Common Law 
 denotes the ordinary law of any country : 
 
COMMON LAW. 
 
 [ 576 ] 
 
 COMMON LAW. 
 
 when used in this sense it is called com- 
 mon, as prevailing generally over a whole 
 country, in contradistinction to particular 
 laws, the operation of which is confined 
 to a limited district or to a peculiar class 
 of inhabitants. In England the Common 
 Law is that body of customs, rules, and 
 maxims which have acquired their bind- 
 ing power and the force of laws in con- 
 sequence of long usage, recognised by ju- 
 dicial decision, and not by reason of sta- 
 tutes now extant. The common law is 
 therefore called, in early periods of our 
 legal history, the " lex et consuetudo Ang- 
 lise," and at the present day the appella- 
 tion is used to denote " lex non scripta," 
 in opposition to " leges scriptse," or sta- 
 tutes. Sir Matthew Hale, in his ' History 
 of the Common Law of England,' divides 
 all the laws of England into two kinds, 
 lex scripta, the written law, and lex non 
 scripta, the unwritten law ; and he adds, 
 " although all the laws of this kingdom 
 have some monuments or memorials there- 
 of in writing, yet all of them have not 
 their original in writing; for some of these 
 laws have obtained their force by imme- 
 morial usage or custom, and such laws 
 are properly called leges non scriptce, or 
 unwritten laws or customs" (chap. 1). 
 He confines the term leges scriptse, or 
 written laws, in which he is followed by 
 Blackstone, to statutes or acts of parlia- 
 ment ; but this is not quite correct, for 
 there are other rules, such as rules of court, 
 made by the judges of the common-law 
 courts, and orders in chancery, made by 
 the judges in chancery pursuant to power 
 given to them, which are laws, and " writ- 
 ten laws," according to Hale's definition, 
 for the " original " of them is in writing. 
 The term unwritten law also is applicable 
 to a great part of that kind of law called 
 equity, for the original of it does not exist 
 in writing. A large part of the law of 
 equity is founded on judicial decisions 
 made in conformity with some established 
 principles, and therefore it resembles that 
 part of the common law which is recog- 
 nised as such by the decisions of common- 
 law judges. In addition to customs and 
 usages, whose particular origin is un- 
 known, many portions of the common law 
 consist of statutes passed before the time of 
 legal memory, that is, the beginning of 
 
 the reign of Richard I., which, though 
 known historically to have been acts of 
 parliament, have no authority as laws in 
 that character, but derive their obligation 
 from immemorial usage, recognised by 
 judicial decision. "The provisions of the 
 common law are, however, quite as bind- 
 ing as acts of the legislature, for they 
 have received the character of law bv 
 force of judicial decisions. In very early 
 times it is probable that the system of 
 rules which composed the common law 
 was wholly traditional. In course of 
 time the decisions of the king's ordinary 
 courts of justice were recorded, and be- 
 came the most authoritative evidence of 
 such customs and maxims as formed part 
 of the common law, according to the rule 
 of the civil law, that what the emperor 
 had once judicially determined was to 
 serve as a guide in all like cases for the 
 future. (Cod. 1, tit. 14-12.) In addition 
 to the recorded judgments of courts, tech- 
 nically called precedents, the treatises of 
 Bracton, Fleta, Britton, Staundforde's 
 ' Pleas of the Crown,' and Coke's ' Com- 
 mentary upon Littleton,' are acknow- 
 ledged as evidence of what is Common 
 Law. Of the whole system the judges of 
 the superior courts are the expositors; 
 they declare the law by applying certain 
 established rules and principles to cases 
 which come before them for judgment, 
 but they have no power to add to or vary 
 the law in any other way than by their 
 decisions upon particular cases that are 
 brought before them. Law made by 
 judicial decision is called by Bentham 
 judt/e-made law ; a term which, as already 
 intimated, belongs to a part of the law 
 called equity, which is administered in 
 the courts of chancery. 
 
 Learned writers have indulged in much 
 speculation respecting the origin of the 
 common law of England, though Sir 
 Matthew Hale says it is " as undiscover- 
 able a; '.he head of the Nile." It seems, 
 however, to be well ascertained that the 
 customs which in ancient times were in- 
 corporated with it were of compound 
 origin, and introduced at various times 
 in consequence of the political vicissi- 
 tudes of the country ; some being Saxon, 
 others Danish, and others Norman. It is 
 also evident, from the adoption of the 
 
COMMON LAW. 
 
 L 5" J 
 
 COMMON PLEAS. 
 
 Roman terms of art and many Eoman 
 provisions, that many of the rules and 
 maxims of the common law were derived 
 from the civil law. Bracton's work con- 
 tains many passages which are taken di- 
 rectly from the ' Digest ' and the ' Institu- 
 tions ' of Justinian. Again, many parts 
 of the common law have gradually arisen 
 from the necessary modification of its an- 
 cient doctrines and principles, in order to 
 render them applicable to new states of 
 society, produced by enlarged commerce 
 and advancing civilization. From this 
 cause some branches of our system of ju- 
 risprudence have wholly sprung into ex- 
 istence in modern times. Thus almost 
 the whole of the law of evidence, now 
 perhaps the most important part of our 
 practical jurisprudence, has appeared as 
 part of the common law since the time 
 of the Commonwealth. But perhaps the 
 most remarkable instance of the total 
 change in common-law institutions with 
 the progressive improvement of society is 
 the trial by jury, which may be traced 
 through all its gradations, from a rude 
 kind of trial, in which the jury were 
 merely witnesses called from the neigh- 
 bourhood, in order that they might de- 
 clare the truth to the judge, to the present 
 system, where the jury themselves decide 
 upon the truth of facts by the testimony 
 of witnesses examined before them. On 
 the other hand, many rules and provi- 
 sions of the common law have wholly 
 disappeared, having either become obso- 
 lete from disuse, or been gradually de- 
 clared inoperative by decisions of the 
 judges as they became inapplicable to the 
 altered state of society. So great has 
 been the alteration of the common law 
 which these accessions and abstractions 
 have occasioned, that it can' scarcely be 
 termed with propriety the same body of 
 law that it was six hundred years ago, 
 unless it be upon the principle upon which 
 Sir M. Hale maintains its identity: that 
 the changes have been only partial send 
 successive, whilst the general system has 
 been always the same, " as the Argonauts' 
 ship was the same when it returned home 
 as it was when it went out, though in 
 that long voyage it had successive amend- 
 ments, and scarce came back with any of 
 its former materials.' 
 
 (Hale, History of the Common Law ; 
 Blackstone, Commentaries, vol. i. p. 63 ; 
 Reeve, History of English. Law, vol. i. ; 
 and Hallam, Middle Ages, vol. ii., ' On 
 the Origin of the Common Law.') 
 
 COMMON PLEAS, COURT OF, a 
 superior court of record, which has juris- 
 diction over England and Wales in all 
 common pleas or civil actions commenced 
 by man against man. It is at present 
 composed of five judges, one of whom is 
 chief justice and the other four me puisne 
 justices. All are created by the king's 
 letters patent. 
 
 This court has been stationary at West- 
 minster Hall for several centuries. During 
 the existence of the Aula or Curia Regis, 
 established by the Conqueror in the hall 
 of his usual residence, the palace at West- 
 minster, that single tribunal had supreme 
 jurisdiction in all temporal causes, which 
 were adjudicated by the principal officers 
 of the royal household, often assisted by 
 persons learned in the law, called the 
 king's justiciars. In this state of things, 
 the poorer class of suitors in the common 
 civil pleas, or actions between man and 
 man in which neither the king's revenue 
 nor his character of prosecutor of offences 
 on behalf of the public were concerned, 
 laboured under the inconvenience of either 
 attending the frequent and distant pro- 
 gresses of the court, or of losing their 
 remedies altogether. This evil, as well 
 as the jealousy entertained by the crown 
 of the ascendancy of the chief justiciar, 
 who presided over the whole Aula Regis, 
 occasioned the article in Magna Charta, 
 that common pleas should not follow the 
 king's court, but be held in some certain 
 place. This court thereupon became 
 gradually detached from the Aula Regis, 
 and assumed its present separate form. It 
 has ever since continued its sittings daily 
 during the four terms of each year, with- 
 out removal from the palace of Westmin- 
 ster or its immediate vicinity, except on 
 a few occasions, in time of plague or con- 
 tagious disease. 
 
 Before the passing of the statute of 3 & 
 4 Will. IV. c. 27, this court had an ex- 
 clusive jurisdiction in. all those actions 
 which, as they concerned freeholds or 
 realty, were called real, including as well 
 those on which the common assurances of 
 2 P 
 
COMMON, EIGHTS OF. L 578 ] COMMON, EIGHTS OF. 
 
 fines and recoveries passed, as the others 
 which were commenced by the king's 
 original writ out of chancery. On this 
 account it was styled by Coke the " lock 
 and key of the common law." Since the 
 abolition of real actions by the above- 
 mentioned act (with three exceptions), 
 dower and quare impedit are the only 
 forms of action in which this court has 
 exclusive jurisdiction ; for in mixed and 
 personal actions the King's Bench and 
 Exchequer of Pleas have long exercised 
 concurrent power. The Court of Com- 
 mon Pleas is a court of appeal from the 
 decision of the revising barristers in the 
 matter of disputed claims to vote for 
 members of parliament. (6 Vict. c. 18, 
 § 42.) 
 
 In the original constitution of this 
 court, and down to the beginning of the 
 reign of William IV., its proceedings in 
 actions between persons not its officers 
 were founded on original writs issued out 
 of the Court of Chancery, though in pro- 
 cess of time they did not actually issue 
 except in cases where it became necessary 
 to perfect the record. But now by a 
 statute (2 Will. IV. c. 39) introduced by 
 the late Lord Tenterden, to secure the 
 uniformity of process in personal actions 
 in the three superior courts of law, certain 
 forms of process, called writs of summons 
 and capias, are provided as the only 
 means for commencing personal actions 
 in any of those courts, and they may be 
 issued from any of them. 
 
 Before 1830 the appeal from the judg- 
 ments of this court was by writ of error 
 to the justices of the King's Bench, a 
 vestige of superiority in the Bench as the 
 remnant of that Aula Eegis from which 
 this court as well as those of Chancery 
 and Exchequer have been gradually de- 
 tached. But now by 11 Geo. IV. & 1 
 Will. IV. c. 70, the judgments of this 
 court can only be reviewed by the judges 
 of the King's Bench and the barons of 
 the Exchequer, who form a court of error 
 in the Exchequer Chamber ; the further 
 appeal is by writ of error returnable in 
 the Lords' House of Parliament. 
 
 [For an account of the privileges of 
 sergeants-at-law in the Court of Common 
 Pleas, see Sebceant.] 
 
 COMMON, EIGHTS OF, in law, is 
 
 the right of taking a profit in the land of 
 another in common with others. It may 
 either be such a right as is enjoyed in 
 common with others to the exclusion of the 
 owner of the land, or it may not exclude 
 the owner of the land. The commoner 
 has no interest in the soil of the land on 
 which he has a right of common. 
 
 The profits which may be the subjects 
 of common are the natural produce of 
 land (or water, which is included in the 
 legal signification of land) ; such as grass 
 and herbage, turf, wood, and fish. The 
 commons relating to these subjects are 
 accordingly called common of pasture, 
 turbary, estovers, and piscary. Other 
 things which cannot be called products of 
 land, but rather part of the land itself, as 
 stones and minerals, may also be the sub- 
 jects of common right. Eights of way 
 and other accommodations in the land of 
 another, though enjoyed in common by 
 several persons, do not bear that name, 
 but are called Easements. 
 
 Of all commons, that of pasture is the 
 most frequent. It is the right of taking 
 grass and herbage by the mouths of graz- 
 ing animals. It differs from that property 
 which may exist in the vesture or vege- 
 table produce of the land, without any 
 property in the land itself, and which is 
 a corporeal hereditament; whereas all 
 rights of common are incorporeal rights. 
 The same remark applies to other rights 
 of common, the subjects of which — as 
 for instance woods and mines — may be- 
 long as corporeal hereditaments to one, 
 while the land generally belongs to an- 
 other. 
 
 Common of turbary is the right of 
 taking turf for fuel; and common of 
 estovers is the right of taking wood for 
 fuel, and for the repairs of houses, fences, 
 and implements of husbandry. These 
 supplies of wood are called fire bote, 
 house bote (which includes the former), 
 plough bote, and hedge or hay bote. 
 These estovers or botes may also be 
 taken by every tenant for life or years 
 from the land which lie himself occupies, 
 but in that case they are not subjects of 
 common rights. 
 
 Common of piscary is the right of 
 fishery in rivers not navigable ; the right 
 of fishing in the sea and in navigable 
 
COMMON, RIGHTS OF. [ 579 ] COMMON, RIGHTS OF. 
 
 rivers is common to all persons in the 
 realm. 
 
 The extent of rights of common de- 
 pends very much upon the title to them. 
 There are four titles on which such rights 
 may be founded ; common right (which 
 seems to be nearly the same thing as the 
 common law), prescription, custom, and 
 grant (deed). 
 
 Thetitle by common right arose with 
 the creation of manors, when land was 
 granted out in fee to be held of the grantor 
 as lord. As such grants were forbidden 
 by the statute "quia emptores" (18 Edw. 
 I. c. 1), it follows that all commons ap- 
 pendant now existing must have been 
 created before the date of that statute. 
 The law allowed to every such grantee, 
 as common right, common of pasture, 
 turbary, estovers, and piscary in the waste 
 of the lord, or that part of his lands which 
 was neither taken by him into his de- 
 mesnes or actual occupation, nor granted 
 out by him to others. These implied 
 rights of common, however, were allowed 
 no fhrther than necessity seemed to re- 
 quire, and rights of common thus origi- 
 nating are still confined nearly within 
 their ancient limits. As they originated 
 in grants of land, they were considered as 
 inseparably appendant to the land, so that 
 they could not be separated from the land 
 without becoming extinct. Accordingly 
 what is called Common Appendant is a 
 right of common which a man enjoys in 
 respect of his title to a piece of land. The 
 right is appendant or attached to the land. 
 The common of pasture was confined to 
 the purpose of maintaining from seed-time 
 to harvest the cattle of the commoner 
 which were used by him in cultivating 
 his land, and which that land would 
 maintain through the winter, or which 
 were, as the law styled it, levant and 
 couchant upon it. Horses, oxen, kine, 
 and sheep, used either for tilling or ma- 
 nuring land, were the commonable cattle. 
 The land to which the common was ap- 
 pendant must have been originally arable, 
 though the subsequent change of arable 
 into meadow, &c. does not extinguish the 
 right, Common of turbary appendant was 
 confined to the purpose of supplying fuel 
 for the domestic use of the tenant; and so 
 strictly must this right be still confined 
 
 within its ancient limits, that it must be 
 appendant to an ancient messuage or 
 house, and no more turves can be taken 
 under it than will be spent in the house. 
 Common of estovers appendant gives, as 
 it gave originally, only the right of taking 
 wood for the repair of ancient fences and 
 houses. Common of piscary appendant 
 was only for supplying the tenant's own 
 table with fish, and it must be still limited 
 to this purpose. 
 
 Common claimed by prescription 
 (which supposes a grant) may be as 
 various as grants may be. A right of 
 common thus founded may be either 
 annexed to land (when it is said to be 
 appurtenant), or altogether independent 
 of any property in land, when it is said 
 to be in gross. Common in gross must 
 be claimed either by prescription or by 
 deed; and is not appendant or appurte- 
 nant to any certain land. If common of 
 pasture, it may be for any kind of animals, 
 whether commonable or not, as swine and 
 geese. The number of animals may be 
 fixed, or absolutely unlimited, and they 
 need not be the commoner's own. 
 
 Common appurtenant may be severed 
 from the land to which it was originally 
 annexed, and then it becomes common in 
 gross. 
 
 The title to common by custom is 
 peculiar to copyholders and may also give 
 the commoner various modifications of 
 right. 
 
 Right of common of pasture may also 
 be claimed because oV vicinage, or neigh- 
 bourhood. This is where two wastes 
 belonging to different lords of manors 
 adjoin each other without being separated 
 by a fence. The cattle lawfully put 
 upon the one common may then stray, or 
 rather are excused for straying, into the 
 other. 
 
 The rights of the owner of the soil 
 over which a right of common exists, are 
 all such rights as flow from ownership, 
 and are not inconsistent with the com- 
 moner's rights. 
 
 Rights of common are conveyed, like 
 all other incorporeal hereditaments, by 
 deed of grant. When they are annexed 
 to land, they will pass with the land by 
 any conveyance which is adapted to trans- 
 fer the land. 
 
 2 r 2 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OF. [ S80 ] COMMONS, HOUSE OK. 
 
 Itights of common are liable to be ex- 
 tinguished in several ways, and often 
 contrary to the intentions of parties. It 
 is a rule, that if the owner of common 
 appurtenant purchase any part of the land 
 over which the right extends, the right of 
 common is altogether extinguished ; it is 
 the same if he release his right over any 
 part of the land. This unreasonable rule, 
 however, does not extend to common ap- 
 pendant, though that will be extinguished 
 if the commoner becomes the owner of all 
 the land in which he has common, and 
 partial extinguishment of the common 
 will follow from acquisition of part of the 
 land. The enfranchisement of a copyhold 
 to which a right of common is annexed 
 extinguishes the right. 
 
 The most common mpde of extinguish- 
 ing rights of common in modern times is 
 by inclosure under act . of parliament. 
 (Inclosure ; also generally on this sub- 
 ject Woolrych, on ' Rights of Common ;' 
 Coke on Littleton, 122 a ; Comyn's Di- 
 gest, tit. ' Common ;' and Blackstone's 
 Commentaries, book ii. chap. 3.) 
 
 COMMONS. [Inclosure.] 
 
 COMMONS, HOUSE OF. The ob- 
 ject of this article is to present a compen- 
 dious view of the history and actual state 
 of the House of Commons as a part of the 
 Imperial Parliament of Great Britain 
 and Ireland. 
 
 Long after the first signing of the great 
 charter, the levying of tallage upon the 
 burgesses, as upon the villains, was still 
 claimed as an inherent right of the Anglo- 
 Norman crown, and was of itself an 
 abundant source of vexatious oppression. 
 To show the galling nature of this ex- 
 action, we may instance the levy made 
 by Henry II., on pretext of a crusade, in 
 1087, one of the last years of his reign : 
 — He had a list made out of the richest 
 citizens and burgesses of all the munici- 
 pal towns, and had them individually 
 summoned to appear before him at an 
 appointed time and place. The honour 
 of being admitted into the presence of 
 the Conqueror's great grandson was in 
 this manner granted to two hundred citi- 
 zens of London, one hundred of York, and 
 to a proportionate number in the other 
 cities and boroughs. The letters of con- 
 vocation admitted neither of excuse nor 
 
 of delay. The burgesses thus summoned 
 were rccei red a certain number at a time, 
 at several different days and places ; and 
 as each band presented themselves, it 
 was notified to them, from the Norman 
 king, through an interpreter, what 
 sum he required from them. " And 
 thus," says a contemporary historian 
 (Roger de Hoveden, Annales), " did the 
 king take from them a tenth of their pro- 
 perties, according to the estimate of good 
 men and true, that knew what income 
 they had, as likewise what goods and 
 chattels. Such as he found refractory he 
 sent forthwith to prison, and kept them 
 there until they had payed the uttermost 
 farthing. In like manner did he to the 
 Jews within his realm, which brought 
 him incalculable sums." This assimila- 
 tion of the great mass of Anglo-Saxon 
 burgesses to the Jews gives us the exact 
 measure of their political condition at the 
 commencement of the second century of 
 the regime of the Conquest. 
 
 To the sagacity of Simon de Montfort, 
 the great Earl or rather Count of Leices- 
 ter, who led the national resistance to 
 the tyranny of the weak and treacherous 
 Henry III., the first general summoning 
 of representative citizens and burgesses to 
 parliament seems to be attributable, for 
 it was in the year 12S5, while Henry 
 was a captive in De Montfort's power, 
 after the battle of Lewes, that, in calling 
 a parliament, he issued the earliest writs 
 requiring each sheriff of a county to re- 
 turn, together with two knights for the 
 shire under his jurisdiction, two citizens 
 for each city, and two burgesses for each 
 borough within its limits. Although the 
 defeat and destruction of De Montfort, 
 shortly after, by the exertions of Prince 
 Edward, appear to have prevented this 
 plan of representation to the commons 
 from taking immediate effect, yet it was 
 permanently adopted by Edward himself, 
 at least from the twenty-third year of his 
 reign, as an amelioration which, under 
 the existing internal circumstances of the 
 couDtry, sound policy dictated. 
 
 It is plain, however, that in this mea- 
 sure little wap contemplated by Ed- 
 ward beyond the facilitating of the extra- 
 ordinary supplies of money, indispensable 
 for the prosecution of those schemes ot 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OF. [ 581 ] COMMONS, HOUSE OF 
 
 uatioual aggrandizement ■which so ac- 
 tively and steadily occupied his vigorous 
 reign. The advantage immediately de- 
 rived to the burgf-ss population from the 
 substitution for the arbitrary and vexa- 
 tious mode already described of summon- 
 ing their deputies to the king's court for 
 the purposes of taxation, of the uniform 
 practice of calling them together at the 
 same times and places at -which the 
 established estates of the Anglo-Norman 
 parliament were convened, was, not so 
 much the lightening of their pecuniary 
 burdens on the whole, as the eft'ecting 
 and maintaining a more equal and regu- 
 lar distribution of them. The Anglo- 
 Norman king and his great council, into 
 which, among the laity, none but his 
 immediate feudal tenants and a few sum- 
 moned by his personal letters were yet 
 admitted, still claimed and exercised the 
 power of taxing the burgesses almost at 
 discretion. Although the knights of the 
 shires, at that period, that is, the repre- 
 sentatives of the county freeholders at 
 large, were first regularly summoned to 
 attend on parliament at the same time as 
 the representative burgesses, and, like 
 them, for the purpose of taxation only, 
 yet they and the burgesses were for some 
 time longer regarded as forming two dis- 
 tinct representative bodies. Thus the 
 writs for the parliament of the 23rd of 
 Edward I expressly direct that the 
 elected citizens and burgesses shall have 
 full power to act on behalf of the citizens 
 and burgesses at large separately (divi- 
 sim) from the county representatives, for 
 transacting what shall be ordained by the 
 great council (whose composition is above 
 described) " in the premises," that is, in 
 providing remedies for the dangers of the 
 kingdom, as set forth in the preamble of 
 the writ, sufficiently intimating that a 
 " grant of supply," as it is now termed, 
 was a primary object of this parliament- 
 ary convocation. And we find that 
 while the county freeholders at large, 
 as regards the rate of impost on their 
 personal property, were placed on the 
 same level as the tenants-in-chief, the 
 citizens and burgesses were constantly 
 called upon to give a fall third more. 
 
 This very circumstance, however, the 
 large proportion which they were made 
 
 to bear of the burden which each great 
 pecuniary exigency of the state imposed, 
 inevitably accelerated their advance to- 
 wards the attainment of a permanent 
 control over all the great operations of 
 government, by rendering their peaceable 
 assent to the several impositions the more 
 indispensable. The lasting establishment 
 just described, of the practice of convok- 
 ing them collectively, at the same places 
 and times as the legislative estates of par- 
 liament, indicates the first great step in 
 this progression. Arbitrary intimidation 
 was no longer felt to be the best means 
 of exacting through the town delegates 
 the desired contributions. It was found 
 expedient that they should at least hear 
 the objects stated and discussed, to which 
 the proceeds were to be applied. Their 
 second step naturally was, to exercise a 
 judgment on the wisdom and fitness, first, 
 of the objects themselves, and next of the 
 means by which they were to be prose- 
 cuted. So rapid was the march of the 
 delegated body of citizens and burgesses 
 in this career, that in the year 1297, the 
 25th of Edward I., we arrive at the first 
 solemn recognition of their political exist- 
 ence in the statutum de tallagio, which 
 has been commonly called statutum de 
 tallagio non concedendo, by which the 
 right of taxing them arbitrarily was 
 finally relinquished. The statute de- 
 clares — " No tallage or aid shall be taken 
 or levied by us or our heirs in our 
 realm without the good will and assent 
 of the archbishops, bishops, earls, barons 
 knights, burgesses, and other freemen of 
 the land." At this date then we may fix 
 that important step in the constitutional 
 progression, the union of the representa- 
 tive freeholders or knights of the shire 
 with the representative citizens and bur- 
 gesses in one assembly. 
 
 In the great national measure of the 
 year 1327, which closed. tht calamitous 
 reign of the second Edward, Tt e find them 
 confounded together under the general 
 name of commons, by whose " counsel and 
 assent," as well as by that of " the pre- 
 lates, earls, barons, and other great men" 
 of the kingdom, it is stated in the writs 
 issued to the sheriffs on that occasion by 
 the young Edward to proclaim himself 
 king, that his father had " removed him- 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OP. [ 582 ] COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 
 
 self" (that is, had been deposed), and he 
 (the younger Edward) had taken unon 
 him the government. 
 
 And according to the preamble of the 
 statutes made at the first parliament of 
 Edward III., the acts were passed "at 
 the petition of the commons presented to 
 the king in his council of parliament, by 
 the assent of the prelates, earls, barons, 
 and other great men." This form of 
 petitioning the king in parliament, that 
 is, in the baronial assembly or house of 
 lords, was long the only mode possessed 
 by the commons of introducing a measure 
 sanctioned by themselves into that higher 
 assembly, and remained a memorial of 
 their first seemingly timid advances to- 
 wards the complete legislative character, 
 until, on their attainment of the latter 
 station, they abandoned, the term petition 
 for the more business-like and less sub- 
 missive one of bill. [Bill in Parlia- 
 ment.] 
 
 In tnis very reign of Edward III., they 
 proceeded so far as to claim an absolute 
 veto upon all enactments affecting those 
 great bodies of the people which they 
 represented, by declaring to the king in 
 parliament that they would not be com- 
 pelled by any of his statutes or ordinances, 
 made without their assent. Edward III. 
 had too much general sagacity, and was 
 too mindful of the popular concurrence 
 in the revolution which had deposed his 
 father, to seek to evade or oppose this 
 legislative assent of the Commons. 
 
 It should be borne in mind that the ori- 
 ginal basis of the representation, in the 
 time of Edward I., was very different from 
 what we must suppose it would have been 
 made, had the crown and its advisers at 
 that period contemplated in this arrange- 
 ment any such thing as the composition 
 of a legislative assembly. The very large 
 proportion of the whole number of its 
 members that were sent from the towns, 
 at a period when the population and 
 general importance of the towns, as com- 
 pared with those of the counties at large, 
 were vastly less than they are now, was 
 manifestly a circumstance repugnant to 
 all the political notions and tendencies 
 of the government of that day. Under 
 Edward I. the town representatives bore 
 co large a proportion to those of the 
 
 shires as 246 to 74; and under Ed- 
 ward III. as 282 to 74. The reason 
 why, on the first settling of the repre- 
 sentative system into regularity and per- 
 manency, each constituency was uni- 
 formly summoned to elect two, members, 
 without regard to its known or presumed 
 proportion of wealth or populousness, 
 seems to have been very simple and very 
 natural. So long as die parliamentary 
 voice of the commons was confined to 
 matters of taxation merely, the only thing 
 that appears to have been seriously re- 
 garded in fixing the number of delegates 
 was the securing such a delegation from 
 each constituency as at the smallest in- 
 convenience and expense to it should 
 have full power to treat of the pecuniary 
 business in question , and two, being the 
 smallest number compatible with the im- 
 portant conditions of mutual consultation 
 and joint testimony, was fixed upon as 
 the number that imposed the smallest bur- 
 den on the constituents, and was also most 
 convenient for avoiding a too crowded 
 assemblage of representatives. And thus 
 it seems to have been that the periodi- 
 cal and frequent shire and borough 
 courts presenting the most natural and 
 convenient modes and occasions of ap- 
 pointing the parliamentary deputies of the 
 several communities, two representatives, 
 and two only, were summoned, indiffer- 
 ently from the shire as from the borough, 
 and from the largest shire or borough as 
 from the smallest. 
 
 When the power and authority of the 
 commons in parliament had become so 
 firmly consolidated under the first three 
 Edwards as to exercise an effective control 
 over all the great measures of govern- 
 ment, the composition of the representa- 
 tive body was an object of constant atten- 
 tion and solicitude to the crown. As the 
 number and names of the counties entitled 
 to send members admitted neither of 
 doubt nor of dispute, the right of the 
 boroughs became the first object of attack 
 from that quarter. The attempts of this 
 nature, made through the arbitrary exer- 
 cise of the presumed power of the sheriff 
 to select or omit boroughs, were defeated 
 by parliamentary enactment of the 5th of 
 Richard II.; and, in like manner, statutes 
 were passed in the three following reigns 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OF. [ 583 J COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 
 
 to restrain the corrupt and irregular pro- 
 ceedings of the sheriffs both in county 
 and in borough elections. 
 
 Hitherto, however, the parliamentary 
 determinations of the commons, as re- 
 garded the constitution of their own 
 house, had constantly tended to maintain 
 the political rights of their constituents 
 against invasion on the part of the crown. 
 But that firm and lasting establishment 
 of their own power as a distinct legisla- 
 tive body, which may be dated from the 
 great revolution that first brought the 
 house of Lancaster to the throne, seems, 
 by that very additional security which it 
 gave them against royal encroachment, 
 to have tended to embolden the house, 
 not, as formerly, to maintain the elective 
 franchise to the utmost with the same 
 zeal with which they upheld their own 
 interest and independence as a legislative 
 chamber, but to commence a sort of reac- 
 tion against the constituent bodies by 
 narrowing the basis of the suffrage itself. 
 The earliest of these disfranchising enact- 
 ments, and one of the most remarkable, is 
 that of the 8th Henry VI., which restricts 
 the county franchise, formerly possessed 
 by all freeholders, to such only whose 
 freeholds were worth clear forty shillings 
 a year, a sum at least equal to twenty 
 pounds of the present day. The next 
 remarkable instance, though very different 
 in its nature, of legislative enactment 
 respecting the constitution of the Com- 
 mons' House, appears in the parliamentary 
 incorporation of Wales and. Cheshire in 
 the reign of Henry VIII., which brought 
 an accession of sixteen county and fifteen 
 borough members. 
 
 The borough representation in general 
 was still the great object of attention to 
 the crown in undermining the independ- 
 ence of the House of Commons. This part 
 of its policy was diligently pursued under 
 the later reigns of the Tudors, and car- 
 ried to the utmost limit by the Stuarts : 
 1st, by creating or reviving parliamentary 
 boroughs, and at the same time remould- 
 ing their municipal constitutions accord- 
 ing to the views of the crown ; 2nd, by 
 proceeding to assimilate the municipal 
 constitutions of the old parliamentary 
 boroughs to those of this newly created 
 class. Of the 46 parliamentary boroughs 
 
 first created in the reigns of Edward VI., 
 Mary, and Elizabeth, i.o fewer than 27 
 appear in schedule A of the Reform Act 
 of 1832, besides five of the same number 
 which are in schedule B ; a very clear 
 indication as to the description of places 
 which were chiefly selected at that period 
 to exercise for the first time the parlia- 
 mentary franchise. The last addition to the 
 English representation, previous to the 
 recent changes, was, under Charles II., 
 the enfranchisement by statute of the 
 county and city of Durham, and the crea- 
 tion by charter of the parliamentary bo- 
 rough of Newark. James I., by virtue 
 of his royal prerogative, had already con- 
 ferred the right of electing two members 
 upon each of the two universities of Ox- 
 ford and Cambridge, quite independently 
 of the city and borough representation of 
 those places already existing : thus intro- 
 ducing an anomaly, as well as novelty, 
 into the representative system. 
 
 Those who conducted the revolution of 
 1688 made much more effectual provision 
 against the return of Roman Catholic _ 
 ascendency than they did for the purifi-' 
 cation of the representative system. The 
 Bill of Rights does, indeed, express, "that 
 the election of members of parliament 
 ought to be free ;" but this vague decla- 
 ration seems to have amounted to nothing 
 more than an indication of the prevailing 
 public opinion on the subject. We find 
 another strong proof that the public at- 
 tention had now begun to be directed not 
 merely, as in former times, to upholding 
 the authority of the Commons' House as 
 constituted in parliament, but to the na- 
 ture of the relations, on the one hand, 
 between the house and the constituent 
 body of the nation, on the other between 
 the several members and their individual 
 constituencies, in the enacting of the 
 statute commonly called " the Triennial 
 Act," which deprived the crown of the 
 power of continuing the same House of 
 Commons for a longer period than three 
 years. The Triennial Act of 6 & 7 Wil- 
 liam and Mary, c. 2, was an enactment 
 wholly on the side of electoral freedom. 
 The discretionary power previously exer- 
 cised by the crown, not only of dissolving, 
 but of continuing at pleasure, was highly 
 favourable to any such view, on the part 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OF. [ 584 1 COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 
 
 of the crown, as that of forming a tacit 
 compact with a corrupt or servile majority 
 of the Commons' House, and was there- 
 fore, as had been lately seen under Charles 
 31., exceedingly convenient both to king 
 and commons, when the latter happened 
 to be sufficiently pliant. So strongly, 
 however, was the popular opinion on this 
 point expressed at the period in question, 
 that it compelled the commons to persist 
 in the measure in spite of King William's 
 refusal of assent to the bill after its first 
 passing the two houses, so that on the 
 second occasion his assent was reluctantly 
 yielded. The same activity of the public 
 opinion of that day respecting the com- 
 position of the commons, produced the 
 several acts of that reign which disqualify 
 various classes of placemen for seats in 
 the house. 
 
 The legislative union with Scotland, 
 effected in 1707 by statute 6 Anne, c. 8, 
 brought an accession to the English 
 (which thereby became the British) 
 House of Commons, of thirty members 
 for counties, and exactly half that 
 number for cities and boroughs; ex- 
 hibiting between the numerical amount 
 of the county and that of the borough 
 representation a proportion quite the re- 
 verse not only of that which existed in 
 England, but of that which had previously 
 appeared in the Scottish parliamentary 
 representation. 
 
 The same reign presents us with an 
 enactment of the British House of Com- 
 mons respecting its own future constitu- 
 tion, totally different in character from 
 those of William lll.'s time just referred 
 to. This is the very important act (9 
 Anne, c. 5) which established the quali- 
 fication of landed property for English 
 members, whether for counties or bo- 
 roughs. In the reign of Henry VI., 
 which gave birth to the enactment dis- 
 franchising the smaller county free- 
 holders, was passed an act, in the same 
 spirit, restricting the choice of those free- 
 holders who still retained the franchise. 
 The very terms of this statute imply, that 
 in the case of the counties, as in that of 
 the boroughs, there was originally no 
 legal distinction between the qualification 
 of the electors and that of the elected, 
 but that the former were simply called 
 
 upon to return two of their own number 
 according to their own best discretion. 
 The circumstance, too, of the daily ex- 
 penses uniformly paid under legal obli- 
 gation by the constituents to each repre- 
 sentative while absent on parliamentary 
 duty, may in this place be properly men- 
 tioned as a striking evidence of the fact, 
 that the qualification of considerable 
 property, how much soever it might be 
 regarded in the judgment of the consti- 
 tuents, was originally not at all con- 
 templated by the law. The statute in 
 question (23 Henry VI. c. 14) declares, 
 that thenceforward the county represen- 
 tatives shall be " notable knights of the 
 same counties, or shall be able to be 
 knights," that is, shall have freehold to 
 the amount of 407. per annum, and that 
 no man shall be eligible " that stands in 
 the degree of a yeoman or under." On 
 this legal footing the county representa- 
 tion remained until the ninth year of 
 Queen Anne, when not only was the 
 landed property qualification re-enacted 
 for the counties on a scale nearly pro- 
 portioned to the decrease in the nominal 
 value of money, but an unprecedented step 
 was taken, by including in the very same 
 clause of the same act a provision, that 
 while every knight of the shire should pos- 
 sess a freehold or copyhold estate of clear 
 601)1. per annum, so also every citizen, 
 burgess, and baron of the Cinque Ports 
 should have the like landed qualification 
 to the amount of 3001. per annum. The 
 statute of the 1st of George I., commonly 
 called the Septennial Act, which extended 
 the legal duration of parliaments from 
 three years to seven, how cogent soever 
 might be the political motives of the chief 
 promoters of the measure, is another me- 
 morable instance of the lengths to which 
 the House of Commons could now ven- 
 ture in dealing with the elective rights 
 of its constituents. 
 
 After all that royal prerogative and 
 parliamentary enactment had now done 
 to undermine the originally free and in- 
 dependent basis of the national represen- 
 tation in general, little more seemed 
 necessary in order to render the sub- 
 version of this part of the legislative 
 constitution complete ; and the door was 
 permanently shut against the prosecu- 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OF. [ 585 J COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 
 
 tion of any scheme for reforming or im- 
 proving the constitution of the Commons' 
 House, originating within the assembly. 
 It would require volumes to describe the 
 operation and effects of this great political 
 machine during the period that followed 
 — the period of its most absolute perver- 
 sion to ministerial and to party purposes, 
 and at the same time to trace the fearful 
 and fluctuating conflict thus excited and 
 protracted between the vitiated constitu- 
 tion of the house and the growing strength 
 and intelligence of public opinion. It is 
 no matter of conjecture ; it is a momen- 
 tous and significant fact in the history of 
 this great political institution, that it was 
 " the pressure from without," and that 
 alone, forcibly stimulated, indeed, by the 
 recent success of a popular revolution in 
 France (July, 1830), that drove the 
 House of Commons to compel, first, the 
 formation of a ministry pledged to amend 
 the constitution of the representative 
 body in general, and secondly, by 
 adopting and perseveringly supporting 
 the measure of amelioration consequently 
 brought forward, to force the acqui- 
 escence of the hereditary chamber of the 
 legislature in this degree of purification 
 of the representative. 
 
 One of the most important operations 
 of the British House of Commons during 
 the period above mentioned, was the en- 
 acting of the statute, passed in 1800 and 
 taking effect from January 1st, 1801, 
 by which it incorporated the parliamen- 
 tary representation of Ireland with that 
 of Great Britain. For the previous his- 
 tory of the Anglo-Irish representation, 
 and the degree of alteration made in it by 
 the Act of Union, we refer to Parlia- 
 ment op Ireland. Sixty-four mem- 
 bers for counties, thirty-five for cities and 
 boroughs, and one for Dublin university, 
 were thus added to the number of the 
 British House of Commons. In this in- 
 stance, as in that of the Scottish union, 
 the ancient proportion between the city 
 and borough representation was reversed, 
 and an additional weight consequently 
 thrown into the scale of the county re- 
 presentation of the United Kingdom at 
 large. 
 
 The following is a view of the present 
 state of the representative system, with 
 
 the alterations made by the Reform Acts 
 of 1832: 2 Will. IV. c. 45, England ; 
 2 & 3 Will. IV. c. 65, Scotland; 2 & 3 
 Will. IV. c. 88, Ireland:— 
 
 1. As regards the number and local 
 limits of constituencies, and the number of 
 representatives. 
 
 England and Wales. — The number 
 of county constituencies before the Ueform 
 Act was 52, returning collectively 94 
 members : viz. two for each county of 
 England, except Yorkshire ; four for the 
 latter county ; and one for each county of 
 Wales. The several cities and boroughs 
 which are counties-corporate were ex- 
 cluded from the limits of the several 
 shires within which they were locally 
 situated : viz., from Carmarthenshire, the 
 town of Carmarthen ; from Kent, the 
 city of Canterbury ; from Cheshire, that 
 of Chester ; from Warwickshire, that of 
 Coventry; from Gloucestershire, that of 
 Gloucester ; from Yorkshire, the town of 
 Kingston-upon-Hull and the city of York ; 
 from Lincolnshire, the city of Lincoln ; 
 from Middlesex, London ; from Northum- 
 berland, the town of Newcastle-upon- 
 Tyne ; from Dorsetshire, Poole ; from 
 Worcestershire, the city of Worcester • 
 and from Hampshire, the town of Soutl 
 amp ton. 
 
 The Keform Act increased the number cr 
 constituencies to 82, by dividing into two 
 electoral districts each of the 25 counties in 
 schedule F of the act : constituting each 
 of the three ridings of Yorkshire a dis- 
 tinct district for the same purpose ; and 
 in like manner severing the Lindsey divi- 
 sion of Lincolnshire from the other por- 
 tion of that county, and the Isle of Wight 
 from Hampshire. The number of county 
 members was raised from 94 to 1 59, as fol- 
 lows : — Two are assigned to each division 
 of each of the counties in schedule F and 
 of Lincolnshire; two to each riding of 
 Yorkshire : one member is added to each 
 of the seven undivided counties included 
 in schedule F 2 of the act ; one to each 
 of the three Welsh counties of Carmar- 
 then, Denbigh, and Glamorgan ; and one 
 is assigned to the Isle of Wight; sepa- 
 rately from Hampshire. 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OF. [ 586 J COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 
 
 Scotland. — The number (30) of 
 county constituencies and of county 
 members, as existing before the Reform 
 Act, remains unaltered. But for two of 
 the 27 counties which returned one 
 member each, viz., Elgin and Ross, 
 are substituted Bute and Caithness, 
 which before sent only in alternate par- 
 liaments; and the remaining six coun- 
 ties, instead of electing alternately as be- 
 fore, now return jointly as follows : — 
 Elgin and Nairn, one member ; Ross and 
 Cromarty, one ; Clackmannan and Kin- 
 ross, one. To the last-mentioned electoral 
 district are also annexed three whole 
 parishes, and part of two others, detached 
 by the act from the shire of Perth, and 
 one entire parish from that of Stirling. 
 And, to obviate the inconvenience arising 
 from the great irregularities in the boun- 
 daries of some of the Scottish counties, it 
 is enacted that all detached portions of 
 counties shall, for election purposes, be 
 held to be in the several shires within 
 which they are locally included. 
 
 Ireland. — The Irish Reform Act of 
 1832 made no change in the county re- 
 presentation as to local limits or number 
 of representatives; two members were 
 still returned for each of the 32 counties. 
 
 CITIES AND BOROUGHS. 
 
 England and Wales. — The whole 
 number of the cities and boroughs, or dis- 
 tricts of boroughs, previously to the act, 
 was 208, returning collectively 415 mem- 
 bers. For total extinction as parliamen- 
 tary boroughs, those were selected the 
 population of each of which, according to 
 the parliamentary returns of 1831, was 
 below 2000. Within this description came 
 the 56 English boroughs which returned 
 collectively 111 members. For reduc- 
 tion from the sending of two representa- 
 tives to that of one only, those were 
 selected the population of which, according 
 to the same census, was under 4000. 
 These were the 30 English boroughs 
 from whose proportion of the repre- 
 sentation 30 members were deducted ; to 
 these must be added two members de- 
 ducted from the four formerly sent by the 
 united boroughs of Weymouth and Mel- 
 combe Regis ; making altogether a total 
 
 of 143 borough members struck out of the 
 old frame of the representation. 
 
 Of the distribution of this number 
 among the new constituencies of the 
 United Kingdom (as the total number of 
 members remains unaltered), we have 
 here to speak only of the portion assigned 
 to the populous parliamentary boroughs 
 now created in England and Wales. To 
 these was transferred the election of 63 
 members out of the 143 thus taken from 
 the old constituencies. Of the 43 new 
 boroughs, 22, containing each a population 
 of 25,000 and upwards, and including the 
 great metropolitan districts, were em- 
 powered to return two members each ; 
 and the remaining 21, containing each 
 12,000 inhabitants or upwards, to send one 
 member. 
 
 New Boroughs created by the Birfarm Act, 
 passed June 7, 1832. 
 
 Ashton-under-Lyne (Lancash.) . 1 
 
 Birmingham Warwickshire) . 2 
 
 Blackburn (Lancashire) . 2 
 
 Bolton (Do.) . 2 
 
 Bradford (Yorkshire) . 2 
 
 Brighthelmstone (Sussex) . 2 
 
 Bury (Lancashire) . 1 
 
 Chatham (Kent) ' . 1 
 
 Cheltenham (Gloucestershire) . 1 
 
 Devonport (Devon) . 2 
 
 Dudley (Worcestershire) • 1 
 
 Finsbury (Middlesex) . 2 
 
 Frome (Somerset) . 1 
 
 Gateshead (Durham) . 1 
 
 Greenwich (Kent) . 2 
 
 Halifax (Yorkshire) . 2 
 
 Huddersfleld ' (Do.) . 1 
 
 Kendal (Westmorland) . 1 
 
 Kidderminster (Worcestershire) . 1 
 
 Lambeth (Surrey) . 2 
 
 Leeds (Yorkshire) . 2 
 
 Macclesfield (Cheshire) . 2 
 
 Manchester (Lancashire) . 2 
 
 Marylebone (Middlesex) . 2 
 
 Merthyr Tydvil (Glamorganshire) . 1 
 
 Oldham (Lancashire) . 2 
 
 Rochdale (Do.) . 1 
 
 Salford (Do.) . 1 
 
 Sheffield (Yorkshire) . 2 
 
 South Shields (Durham) . I 
 
 Stockport (Cheshire) , 2 
 
 Stoke-upon-Trent (Staffordshire) . 2 
 
 Stroud (Gloucestershire) , 2 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OP. [ 587 J COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 
 
 Sunderland (Durham) . 2 
 Swansea, sharing with Aberavon, Ken- 
 fig, Loughor, and Neath : formerly 
 contributory to Cardiff, now de- 
 tached (Glamorganshire) . 1 
 Tower Hamlets (Middlesex) . 2 
 Tynemouth (Northumberland) . 1 
 Wakefield (Yorkshire) . 1 
 Walsall (Staffordshire) . 1 
 Warrington (Lancashire) . 1 
 Whitehaven (Cumberland) . 1 
 Whitby (Yorkshire) . 1 
 Wolverhampton (Staffordshire) . 2 
 
 Contributory Boroughs added by the 
 Reform Act in Wales. 
 
 To Beaumaris — 
 
 Amlwch 1 
 
 Holyhead > Anglesey 
 
 LlangefriiJ 
 To Carmarthen — 
 
 Llanelly . Carmarthenshire 
 To Carnarvon — 
 
 Bangor . Carnarvonshire 
 
 To Denbigh- 
 Wrexham . Denbighshire 
 
 To Flint— 
 Holywell 1 
 Mold VFlintshire 
 St. AsaphJ 
 
 To Haverfordwest — 
 
 To Montgomery — 
 
 Llanfyllin 1 
 
 Llanidloes I 
 
 Machynlleth ^Montgomeryshire 
 
 Newtown 
 
 Welsh Pool J 
 To Pembroke — 
 
 Milford . Pembrokeshire 
 
 To Eadnor — > 
 
 Presteigne . Radnorshire 
 
 In the important matter of boundaries, 
 two great objects were to be attained ; the 
 fixing of appropriate limits to the boroughs 
 of large population newly created, and the 
 extending the limits of the old boroughs 
 in the many instances in which a con- 
 siderable population had, in the lapse of 
 ages, accumulated without the ancient 
 
 boundary. A large agricultural district 
 was also annexed, for the purposes of par- 
 liamentary election, to each of the four 
 boroughs of Aylesbury, Cricklade, East 
 Ketford, and New Shoreham. And as 
 regards the Welsh districts of boroughs, it 
 may be observed that the principle laid 
 down in the act of Henry VIII., that all 
 the boroughs in each county should share 
 the representation — a principle which the 
 arbitrary interference of the Crown, and 
 the decisions of election committees, had 
 since rendered in many instances inopera- 
 tive — was now restored in its full vigour. 
 
 Scotland. — The number of town re- 
 presentatives was raised from 1 5 to 23 ; two 
 instead of one being assigned to the city 
 of Edinburgh ; two to that of Glasgow ; 
 one to that of Aberdeen ; one each to the 
 towns of Dundee and Perth; and one 
 each to the large modern towns of 
 Greenock and Paisley. As regards the 
 districts of burghs, their number, their 
 general locality, and their proportion of 
 members (one to each district), remain 
 nearly as before ; but as regards the par- 
 ticular places joined in the respective 
 districts, various alterations were made 
 by the Reform Act. Some towns were 
 disfranchised, and others which had 
 formerly been unrepresented were in- 
 cluded. The great increase in the 
 population of the maritime vicinity 
 of Edinburgh has occasioned the cre- 
 ating of one district entirely new, com- 
 prising the three towns of Leith, Porto- 
 bello, and Musselburgh, without, how- 
 ever, increasing the previous number of 
 districts, the towns in the old arrange- 
 ment being all distributed in the new. 
 New and suitable parliamentary limits 
 are assigned in the schedules of the act, 
 as well to the several ancient boroughs 
 as to those newly created. 
 
 Ireland. — In the list of cities and 
 boroughs which sent representatives, no 
 alteration was made by the Irish Reform 
 Act ; but two jnembers each, instead 6f one, 
 were assigned to Belfast, Galway, Lime- 
 rick, and Waterford, thus raising the 
 whole town representation from 35 mem- 
 bers to 39. The limits of the parlia- 
 mentary boroughs are defined, and to the 
 greater number of them new limits are 
 assigned by the Boundary Act. 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OF [ 588 ] COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 
 
 UNIVERSITIES. 
 
 One member was added by the Irish 
 Reform Act to the one previously re- 
 turned by the University of Dublin. 
 
 2. Elective Franchise. 
 
 COUNTIES. 
 
 England and Wales. — Until the Re- 
 form Act, the parliamentary franchise in 
 counties had remained -without extension 
 or alteration, as limited full three cen- 
 turies before by the statutes of the 8th & 
 10th of Henry VI., the former of which 
 confined the right to such " as had free- 
 hold land or tenement to the value of 40s. 
 by the year at least, above all charges ;" 
 the latter to " people dwelling and resi- 
 dent within the county, &c, whereof 
 every man shall have freehold to the va- 
 lue of 40s. by the year." In order to ren- 
 der a man a freeholder, and complete his 
 qualification for voting, it was necessary 
 not only that he should have a freehold 
 interest in his lands and tenements, but 
 that he should hold them by freehold 
 tenure : consequently copyholders, hold- 
 ing by what is technically termed base 
 tenure, as well as termors, having only a 
 chattel interest in their estates, were ex- 
 cluded from voting. Doubts having been 
 raised as to the right of copyholders, it 
 was expressly enacted by the 31 Geo. II. 
 c. 1 4, that no person holding by copy of 
 court-roll should be thereby entitled to 
 vote. The Reform Act extends the fran- 
 chise by admitting not only copyholders, 
 but leaseholders, and even occupiers, un- 
 der certain limitations ; and abridges in 
 some cases of freeholds not of inheritance, 
 as also in all cases of land situate in a 
 city or borough, and which, being occu- 
 pied by the proprietor, would give him a 
 parliamentary vote for that city or bo- 
 rough. In establishing the right to the 
 county franchise, questions of tenure and 
 interest have become of comparatively 
 little importance, except as they are con- 
 nected with value ; for now what is com- 
 monly, though improperly, called a te- 
 nant at will (that is, from year to year) 
 occupying land of the annual rent of 501. 
 has a right to vote for a county, without 
 reference to the tenure by which the 
 lessor holds the land, or the interest that 
 
 he may have in it. By 18 Geo. II. c. 
 18. § 5, it was enacted that no person 
 should vote for a county until he had 
 been for twelve calendar months in ac- 
 tual possession of the rents and profits to 
 his own use, except in particular cases. 
 But by the statute of 1832, by § 26 it is 
 enacted that no person shall be registered 
 as a freeholder or copyholder, unless he 
 was in actual possession of the. rents 
 and profits for six months previous to the 
 last day of July of the year wherein he 
 claims to be registered. Leaseholders 
 and their assignees, and yearly tenants, 
 must have occupied for twelve months 
 before the same period, except in the 
 cases excepted by the above-mentioned 
 statute of Geo. II. Value, therefore, has 
 now become the criterion upon which, in 
 many cases, the right of voting wholly 
 depends ; and in all cases it is a most 
 material subject of inquiry, in order to 
 determine in what character, whether as 
 freeholder, copyholder, leaseholder, or oc- 
 cupier, an elector should make his claim 
 to be registered. 
 
 1. If lands or tenements are held at 
 a yearly rent of 50/., bare occupation as 
 tenant from year to year is sufficient to 
 qualify ; no further interest in the lands, 
 &c. being necessary, and it being imma- 
 terial by what tenure they are held. 2. 
 So also is the occupation of lands, &c. of 
 50/. yearly value, as sub-lessee or assignee 
 of any under-lease, which lease was 
 created originally for a term of not 
 less than 20 years, how small a portion 
 soever of the original term may re- 
 main unexpired. 3. The original lessee 
 of a term created originally for 20 
 years, of lands of 50/. yearly value, 
 or the assignee of such term, is en- 
 titled to vote in like manner, whether 
 or not he is the occupier of such lands. 
 4. The occupier of lands of 10/. yearly 
 value, as sub-lessee or assignee of any 
 under-lease of a term of not less than 
 60 years. 5. So likewise the original 
 lessee or the assignee of such a term of 
 the lands of 10/. yearly value is entitled, 
 whether occupying or not ; nor is the 
 nature of the tenure material in any of 
 the above cases ; but twelve months' pos- 
 session previous to the last day of July 
 of the year in which he claims to be Tv 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OF. L 5W J COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 
 
 gistered is required in all. 6. The being 
 seised of an estate — whether of inherit- 
 ance or for a life of lives — whether 
 freehold, copyhold, or of any other te- 
 nure, to the like yearly value of Wl., 
 entitles. 
 
 Freehold lands or tenements of 40s. 
 yearly value, § 18, are still sufficient to 
 give a vote in the four following cases : — 
 
 1. If it be an estate of inheritance. 2. 
 If not an estate of inheritance, but only 
 an estate for life or lives, if the elector 
 was seised previously to the 7th of June, 
 1832 (the day on which the act received the 
 royal assent",, and continues so seised at 
 the time of registration and of voting. 
 3. If acquired subsequently to that day, 
 if the elector be in actual and bonajide 
 occupation at the time of registration and 
 of voting. 4. Or if acquired subsequently 
 to that day, if it came to the elector by 
 marriage, marriage settlement, devise, or 
 promotion to any benefice or any office. 
 
 Of freehold or copyhold estates six 
 months' possession, and of leasehold es- 
 tates twelve months', is required, previ- 
 • ously to the last day of July in the year 
 of registration, except they come by de- 
 scent, succession, marriage, marriage set- 
 tlement, devise, or promotion to any bene- 
 fice or office. 
 
 Now, also, it has become material to 
 consider how the lands or tenements are 
 locally situated, §§ 24, 25 : for if they 
 are freehold within a city or borough, and 
 in the freeholder's own occupation, so 
 as to confer a right to vote for such city 
 or borough — or if copyhold or leasehold, 
 and "occupied by him or any one else so 
 as to give the right of voting for such 
 city or borough to him or to any other 
 person— they cease to qualify for a county 
 vote. 
 
 However, by the 18th section of the 
 act, an express reservation is made of all 
 existing rights of suffrage possessed by 
 county freeholders, provided they are 
 duly registered according to the provi- 
 sions of the act itself. 
 
 Scotland. — Under George II. enact- 
 ments were made which rendered the 
 proving of the old forty-shilling votes yet 
 more difficult, so that many more of them 
 disappeared, and at the close of the last 
 century very few remained. Although 
 
 the Scottish act of 1681 enacted that the 
 right of voting should be in persons pub- 
 licly infeoffed in property or superiority 
 of lands of 40s. old extent, or of 400/. 
 Scots valued rent, thus making a dis- 
 tinction, it shoald seem, between property 
 and superiority, yet it was constantly in- 
 terpreted to mean that superiors, that is, 
 tenants-in-chief, or persons holding im- 
 mediately of the crown, were alone en- 
 titled to vote. Thus proprietors of estates 
 of whatever value, holding from a subject, 
 were excluded from the franchise. It is 
 computed that in several counties nearly 
 one-half the lands were held in this man- 
 ner, and in the whole kingdom one-fifth 
 of the lands were so held. The class of 
 landholders thus excluded comprised not 
 only the middling and smaller gentry, and 
 the industrious yeomen and farmers who 
 had inherited or acquired some portion 
 of landed property, but also some men 
 of estates worth from SOQl. to 2000/. 
 per annum ; while many persons, who 
 had not the smallest actual interest in 
 the land, possessed and exercised the 
 elective franchise. When a person of 
 great landed property wished to multiply 
 the votes at his command, his course was 
 to surrender his charter to the crown, 
 to appoint a number of his confidential 
 friends, to whom the crown parcelled out 
 his estates in lots of 400Z. Scots valued 
 rent, and then to take charters from those 
 friends for the real property, thus leaving 
 them apparently the immediate tenants 
 of the crown, and consequently all en- 
 titled to vote. This operation being open 
 as well to peers as to great commoners, 
 they availed themselves of it accordingly, 
 thus depreciating or extinguishing the 
 franchises of the smaller proprietors. 
 This legal fraud began in the last cen- 
 tury, and was chiefly practised subse- 
 quently to the accession of George III. 
 Among the various modes by which it 
 was performed, the most common were 
 by life-rent charters, by charters on wad- 
 set or mortgage, and by charters in fee. 
 The parliamentary representation of the 
 Scottish counties therefore had, accord- 
 ing to the expression of a learned lord, 
 " complely slid from its basis. " The 
 total number of county voters, as com- 
 pared with the number of persons directly 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OF. [ 590 ] COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 
 
 interested in the property of the soil, was 
 extremely small, and of these the num- 
 ber of real votes scarcely exceeded that 
 of the fictitious ones. 
 
 The new basis of county suffrage ap- 
 pears, by the Reform Act for Scotland, to 
 be assimilated, as closely as the difference 
 between the modes of possessing and oc- 
 cupying lands, &c. in the two countries 
 will permit, to the system established for 
 England and Wales. While the old class 
 of rights to the suffrage are preserved to 
 the individuals in actual possession of 
 them before March 1, 1831, provision is 
 made against their perpetuation; while 
 the body of electors newly admitted con- 
 sists of owners to the value of 102. a year, 
 —of leaseholders for 57 years or for life, 
 whose clear yearly interest is not less than 
 102. — of leaseholders for 19 years, where 
 such yearly interest is worth not less than 
 501., — of yearly tenants whose rent is not 
 less than 50Z. per annum, — and of all 
 tenants whatsoever who have paid for 
 their interest in their holding an amount 
 not less than 3001. The same difference 
 is made as in the English act, between the 
 freeholder and the mere occupier, as to 
 the six months' proprietorship required in 
 the former case and the twelve months' 
 occupancy in the latter ; and the like ex- 
 ceptions from this condition as to the 
 length of possession in favour of cases 
 wherein either ownership or lease comes 
 to a person by inheritance, marriage, 
 marriage settlement, " mortis causa dis- 
 position," or appointment to any place or 
 office. 
 
 Ireland. — The Act of Union made no 
 alteration in the parliamentary suffrage 
 of the Irish counties. The qualification 
 of a freeholder remained the same as be- 
 fore, a clear annual forty-shilling interest 
 for a life ; and as it was customary in 
 Ireland to grant leases on lives, free- 
 holders were thus created whose votes, 
 from their extreme poverty, and conse- 
 quent inability to discharge their legal 
 obligations to their landlord, were dis- 
 posable by him as a matter of course. 
 This practice of multiplying freeholds 
 for election purposes merely was carried 
 to an excessive and most mischievous ex- 
 tent, reducing the franchise almost to 
 universal suffrage, among individuals 
 
 who, by the very instrument by which 
 they were professedly made free, were 
 reduced to the most abject state of poli- 
 tical bondage. Thus many of the coun- 
 ties, in choosing their representatives, lay 
 under the absolute dictation of some great 
 territorial proprietor ; and there were few 
 in which a coalition of two or three of the 
 principal landowners would not deter- 
 mine the election according to their own 
 wishes. Under these circumstances, the 
 provision of the Catholic Emancipation 
 Act of 1829, which raised the freehold 
 qualification in the counties of Ireland 
 from 40s. to 10Z., can hardly be regarded 
 as a virtual disfranchisement. 
 
 The whole civil organization of Ireland 
 having been introduced directly from 
 England, and the system of tenures in 
 particular being the same in both coun- 
 tries, the provisions of the Irish Reform 
 Act which have reference to the terri- 
 torial franchise are more strictly analo- 
 gous to those of the act for England than 
 those of the Scottish act could well be 
 made, at least in appearance. The exist- 
 ing freehold rights being preserved here, 
 as in the other two divisions of the em- 
 pire, to their individual possessors, and 
 the 101. freehold franchise being already 
 established by the above-mentioned pro- 
 vision of the act of 1829, the classes of 
 electors newly created are — 1, the 10/. 
 copyholders ; 2, lessees or assignees hav- 
 ing a clear yearly interest of 101. in a 
 leasehold created originally for 60 years 
 or upwards, or of 207. in a leasehold of 
 not less than 14 years, whether in their 
 actual occupancy or not; 3, sub-lessees 
 or assignees of any under-lease in either 
 of the two cases just mentioned, actually 
 occupying ; 4, the immediate lessees or 
 assignees, and they only, having a 101. 
 yearly interest in a 20Z. lease, and actu- 
 ally occupying. The lite provision is 
 made as in the English act, against any 
 title to the county franchise being derived 
 from any holding whatever that would 
 entitle to vote for a city or borough. 
 
 CITIES AND BOKOUCHS. 
 
 England and Wales. — The want of 
 any uniform basis of suffrage in the par- 
 liamentary boroughs, the endless diversity 
 of the claims to its exercise derived from 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OP. [ 591 J COMMONS, HOUSE OP. 
 
 the various political as well as local iu- 
 fluences that had operated upon them in 
 the course of ages, — a diversity which 
 the numerous, various, and often conflict- 
 ing decisions of election committees of the 
 House of Commons had additionally com- 
 plicated and confused — was one of the 
 most grievous defects of the old repre- 
 sentative system, The generally prevail- 
 ing custom, too, that the non-residence of 
 borough voters entailed no disqualifica- 
 tion, was one of the most serious evils 
 comprised under this head. The Reform 
 Act prepared the way for sweeping off 
 all the claims to the franchise founded on 
 the old and long-abused titles to borough 
 freedom, by establishing a uniform quali- 
 fication, resting chiefly on the basis of 
 inhabitancy. 
 
 It provides, § 27, that in every city 
 or borough which shall return members, 
 every male person of full age and not 
 subject to any legal incapacity, who shall 
 occupy, within such city or borough, or 
 within any place sharing in elections with 
 it, as owner or tenant, any house, ware- 
 house, counting-house, shop, or other 
 building, either separately or jointly with 
 any land, of the clear yearly value of not 
 , less than 10Z., shall, if duly registered, as 
 directed in another part of the act, be 
 entitled to vote in the election of members 
 for such city or borough ; provided 
 always, that no such person shall be so 
 registered in any, year, unless he shall 
 have occupied suclrpremises for twelve 
 calendar months previous to the last day 
 of July in that year ; nor unless such per- 
 son, where there shall be a rate for the 
 relief of the poor, shall have been rated 
 to all the rates for the relief of the poor 
 made during such his occupation ; nor 
 unless such person shall have paid, on or 
 before the 20th of July in the same year, 
 all the poors' rates and assessed taxes due 
 from him previously to the 6th of April 
 preceding ; provided also, that no such 
 person shall be so registered unless he 
 shall have resided for six calendar months 
 previous to the last day of July in such 
 year within the city or borough, or within 
 the place sharing in the election, or within 
 seven miles thereof. The premises in re- 
 spect of the occupation of which any per- 
 son shall be entitled to be registered as a 
 
 voter, need not be always the same pre- 
 mises, § 28, but may be different premises 
 occupied in immediate succession by such 
 person during the twelve calendar months 
 next previous to the last day of July in 
 such year : such person having paid, on 
 or before the 20th of July in such year, 
 all the poors' rates and assessed taxes 
 due before the 6th of April preceding, in 
 respect of all such premises so occupied 
 by him in succession. — Furthermore, 
 § 29, when any premises in any such 
 city or borough, or place sharing in the 
 election, shall he jointly occupied by more 
 persons than one, each of such joint occu- 
 piers shall be entitled to vote, in case the 
 clear yearly value of such premises shall 
 be of an amount which, when divided by 
 the number of such occupiers, shall give 
 a sum of not less than lOi. for each occu- 
 pier. And, § 30, in every city, borough, or 
 place sharing in election, it shall be law- 
 ful for any person occupying as above 
 specified in any parish or township in 
 which there shall be a rate for the relief 
 of the poor, to claim to be rated ; and 
 upon such occupier so claiming, and ac- 
 tually paying or tendering the full amount 
 of the rates, the overseers are to put the 
 name of such occupier upon the rates ; 
 and in case such overseers shall neglect or 
 refuse so to do, such occupier shall never- 
 theless be deemed to have been rated. 
 
 The formerly anomalous position of 
 cities and towns which are counties of 
 themselves, as regards the possession of 
 the elective franchise, is rectified by the 
 act, § 18. Such counties of cities and towns 
 are now included, for the purposes of 
 county elections, in the several counties 
 at large, or divisions of counties, in which 
 they are locally situated — with this re- 
 striction only as regards freeholds for life; 
 — that no person shall be entitled to vote 
 in the election of knights of the shire, or 
 of members for any city or town a county 
 of itself, in respect of any freehold where- 
 of such person may be seised for his own 
 life, or for the life of another, or for any 
 Jives, except such person shall be in the 
 actual occupation, or except the same 
 shall have come by marriage, marriage 
 settlement, devise, or promotion to any be- 
 nefice or to any office, or except the same 
 shall be of the clear yearly value of not 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OP. [ 592 ] COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 
 
 less than 10Z. It is farther provided, §31, 
 that in every city or town being a county 
 of itself, in the election for which free- 
 holders or burgage tenants, either with or 
 without any superadded qualification, 
 now have a right to vote, every such free- 
 holder or burgage tenant shall be entitled 
 to vote, if duly registered ; but no such 
 person shall be so registered in respect of 
 any freehold or burgage tenement, unless 
 he shall have been in actual possession 
 thereof, or in receipt of the rents and pro- 
 fits for his own use, for twelve calendar 
 months previous to the last day of July 
 (except where the same shall have come 
 to him, within such twelve months, by 
 descent, succession, marriage, marriage 
 settlement, devise, or promotion to any 
 benefice or office), nor unless he shall 
 have resided for six calendar months pre- 
 vious to the last day of July within such 
 city or town, or within seven miles of it ; 
 — the limits of such city or town a county 
 of itself, being, for the purpose of this 
 enactment, those settled by the general 
 parliamentary Boundary Act for England 
 and Wales. Similar provision as to 
 length of occupancy, &c. was made in the 
 case of persons having a previous free- 
 hold qualification to vote for any of the 
 boroughs of Aylesbury, Cricklade, East 
 Retford, or New Shorcham. 
 
 Such are the provisions which consti- 
 tute what is popularly called, by reference 
 to their most prominent feature, " the ten- 
 pound householder qualification." 
 
 But as in the settling of the places 
 which were thenceforward to elect, and 
 in apportioning the members, the new act 
 made a large compromise with the old 
 system, so also it made no inconsiderable 
 one, for a season at lrast, in sparing to a 
 certain extent the rights to the parlia- 
 mentary franchise grounded on the old 
 titles to borough freedom. In all such 
 cases, however, it imposes the very impor- 
 tant condition of residence. It provides 
 that every person who would have been 
 entitled to vote in the election of members 
 for any city or borough as a burgess or 
 freeman, or in the city of London as a 
 freeman and liveryman, shall be entitled 
 to vote if duly registered: and that every 
 other person having, previous to the art, 
 a right to vote in the election for any city 
 
 or borough by virtue of any other quali- 
 fication than those already mentioned, 
 shall retain such right so long as he shall 
 be qualified as an elector according to the 
 usages and customs of such city or bo- 
 rough, oi any law in force at the passing 
 of the act, and shall be entitled to vote if 
 duly registered ; but in both of the above 
 cases it is enacted that no such person 
 shall be so registered unless he shall, on 
 the last day of July, be qualified in such 
 manner as would entitle him then to vote 
 if such day were the day of election ; nor 
 unless for six calendar months previous 
 to that day he shall have resided within 
 such city or borough, or within seven 
 miles from the place where the poll shall 
 heretofore have been taken, or, in the 
 case of a contributory borough, within 
 seven miles of such borough. As regards 
 the second class of voters last mentioned, 
 it is further enacted that every such person 
 shall for ever cease to enjoy such right of 
 voting if his name shall have been omit- 
 ted for two successive years from the 
 register of parliamentary voters for such 
 city or borough, unless he shall have 
 been so omitted in consequence of his 
 having received parochial relief within 
 twelve calendar months previous to the 
 last day of July in any year, or of his 
 absence on naval or military service. 
 
 The expedient to which, to serve party 
 purposes during the agitation of the Ee- 
 form measure, many of the governing 
 bodies of corporations had re-sorted, of 
 admitting unusually large numbers of 
 freemen, occasioned the following limita- 
 tions of the above reservation of the 
 elective franchise of freemen to be intro- 
 duced into the act, viz : — That no person 
 who shall have been elected, made, or 
 admitted a burgess or freeman since 
 March 1 , 1 83 1 , otherwise than in respect of 
 birth or servitude, or who shall hereafter 
 be so, shall be entitled to vote, § 32 ; that no 
 person shall be entitled as a burgess or 
 freeman in respect of birth, unless his 
 right be originally derived from or 
 through some person whowas a burgess 
 or freeman, or was entitled'to be admitted 
 as such, before the said 1st of March, 
 1831, or from some person who since 
 that time shall have become, or shall 
 hereafter become, a burgess or freeman 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OF. [ 593 ] COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 
 
 in respect of servitude, § 32 ; and that no 
 person shall be entitled to vote for any city 
 or borough (except it be a county of 
 itself) in respect of any estate or interest 
 in any burgage tenement or freehold 
 which shall have been acquired by such 
 person since the same 1st of March, 1831, 
 unless it shall have come to such person 
 previously to the passing of this act, by 
 descent, succession, marriage, marriage- 
 settlement, devise, or promotion to any 
 benefice or office, § 35. 
 
 It' is also provided in general that no 
 person shall be entitled to be registered 
 in any year as a voter for any city or 
 borough who shall, within twelve calendar 
 months previous to the last day of July 
 in that year, have received parochial relief 
 or other alms which, according to the 
 previously existing law of parliament, 
 disqualified from voting. 
 
 Scotland. — Owing to the previous 
 absence of all pretence or shadow of 
 popular suffrage in the Scottish boroughs, 
 the revolution made in their parlia- 
 mentary constituencies by the Reform 
 Act of 1832 was effected simply, com- 
 pletely, and at once. The franchise is 
 taken from the members of the town 
 councils and their delegates, in whom as 
 such it was before exclusively vested, 
 and a 10/. qualification, by ownership or 
 occupancy, substituted in its place, with 
 the like conditions, as in the English act, 
 of twelve months' previous occupancy, 
 payment of assessed taxes, registration, 
 and non-receipt of parochial relief. 
 
 Ireland. — In the Irish cities and 
 boroughs the change immediately worked 
 by the Parliamentary Reform Act was 
 relatively greater than in England, owing 
 chiefly to the fact that the municipal 
 corporations of the former country existed 
 in a state yet more thoroughly anomal- 
 ous and corrupt than those of England. 
 Here again, the actually existing and 
 the inchoate titles to the parliamentary 
 suffrage being reserved, as in the English 
 act, on condition of residence within 
 seven miles, and honorary freemen 
 created since March 30, 1831, being ex- 
 cluded, the 10/. ownership or occupancy 
 qualification is established as the new 
 basis of suffrage, on condition of registra- 
 tion with six months' previous occupancy 
 
 and payment of all rates due for more 
 than one half-year. Reservation was also 
 made, as in the English boroughs, of 
 rights by freehold under 10/., when 
 accruing before the passing of the act, by 
 descent, marriage, &c. The clause of 
 the Catholic Emancipation Act, which 
 raised the freehold qualification in coun- 
 ties at large to 10/., left it at the old 
 amount of 40s. in the several counties of 
 cities and towns; but the Reform Act 
 raised it there to the same scale as in the 
 counties at large (only reserving for life 
 the existing 40s. rights), and at the same 
 time gave the parliamentary franchise for 
 such corporate counties to the same 
 classes of leaseholders, and on the same 
 conditions, whom it admitted in the coun- 
 ties at large. 
 
 UNIVERSITIES. 
 
 In the two English universities the 
 parliamentary suffrage is independent of 
 residence, property, or occupancy, being 
 vested in the doctors and masters of arts 
 of Cambridge and Oxford respectively, 
 so long as they keep their names on the 
 boards of their respective colleges. In 
 that of Dublin, in like manner, it is pos- 
 sessed by the fellows, scholars, and gra- 
 duates of Trinity College, on the like 
 condition. 
 
 The establishment of a general and 
 uniform system of registration of voters, 
 calculated to obviate much of the incon- 
 venience of contested returns, is another 
 very important feature of the Reform 
 Acts ; for the various and rather compli- 
 cated details of which we must refer the 
 reader to the acts themselves. 
 
 Having thus given a view of the quali- 
 fications for exercising the parliamentary 
 franchise as now established throughout 
 the British Islands, it remains to notice 
 the principal of those legal disqualifica- 
 tions which are of a personal nature, and 
 operate independently of all proprietor- 
 ship or occupancy. 
 
 Every woman, of whatever age, and 
 however independently situated as to pro- 
 perty and social relations, is as much 
 excluded from voting as from being 
 elected. As to age in male persons, the 
 only exception is that which excludes all 
 minors, that is, all who have not com. 
 2 Q 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OF. [ 594 J COMMONS, HOUSE OP. 
 
 pleted their twenty-first year. As to the 
 exception which regards aliens, this is not 
 the place in which to examine the various 
 difficulties that in many cases have arisen 
 and still arise in strictly defining who are 
 aliens and who are not. By the ancient 
 " law of parliament," which forms an in- 
 tegral portion of the common law, luna- 
 tics are very reasonably incapacitated, as 
 also are paupers in city or borough elec- 
 tions. It was resolved by the House of 
 Commons in 1699 (14th December), that 
 " no peer of parliament" has a right to 
 vote for members of that house. After 
 the Union with Ireland, this resolution, 
 which was usually repeated at the be- 
 ginuiug of every session, was altered into 
 the following form : " That no peer of 
 this realm, except such peer of that part 
 of the United Kingdom called Ireland as 
 shall for the time being be actually elected, 
 and shall not have declined to serve, for 
 any county, city, or borough of Great 
 Britain, hath any right to give his vote 
 in the election of any member to serve in 
 parliament." The vast increase, since the 
 commencement of the last century, owing 
 to the establishment of so many new 
 branches of revenue, in the number of 
 persons employed immediately by the 
 crown as revenue-collectors, occasioned 
 the enactment of several statutes of ex- 
 clusion from the parliamentary franchise. 
 Thus the 22 George III. c. 41, excludes 
 every class of officers concerned in the 
 collection or management of the excise, 
 customs, stamp duties, salt duties, vindow 
 and house duties, or in any department 
 of the business of the post-office. By 3 , 
 George IV. c. 5C, § 14, it was first en- : 
 acted that no justice, receiver, surveyor, ' 
 or constable, appointed by that act at any 
 one of the eight police-offices of the Eng- 
 lish metropolis, shall be capable of voting 
 for Middlesex, Surrey, Westminster, or 
 Southwark ; and by 10 George IV. c. 44, 
 which established the new system of 
 police in certain districts of the metro- 
 polis (the operation of which has since 
 been extended to meet the local exten- 
 sion of the police-system), it was enacted 
 that no justice, receiver, or person belong- 
 ing to the police-force appointed by virtue 
 of that act, shall be capable of voting for 
 Middlesex. Surrey, Hertfordshire, Essex, 
 
 or Kent, or for any city or borough within 
 the metropolitan district. By 2 Geo. II., 
 c. 24, § 6, persons legally convicted of 
 perjury or subornation of perjury, or of 
 taking or asking any bribe, are thereby 
 for ever incapacitated from voting. 
 
 As regards religious grounds of dis- 
 qualification in general, it should be ob- 
 served, that as no oaths are now required 
 to be taken, nor declarations to be made, 
 as preliminary either to registration or to 
 voting, all such disabilities as might have 
 arisen from refusal to take or make them 
 are of course removed. 
 
 3. Qualifications of Candidates. 
 
 Of the close relation so long subsisting 
 between the grounds of the elective fran- 
 chise and of eligibility, and which had 
 sprung from their original identity, we 
 find distinct traces in the similarity be- 
 tween the heads of disqualification in 
 either case. Women, minors, aliens, and 
 lunatics are of course excluded in the 
 latter case as well as in the former. It 
 would be needless to remark, that peers 
 of parliament, that is, actual members of 
 the House of Lords, are ineligible to the 
 House of Commons, except in order to 
 point out this distinction — that any Irish 
 peer, not being among the twenty-eight 
 sitting in the House of Lords for the time 
 being as representatives of the Irish peer- 
 age, and being, therefore, though a peer 
 of the realm, not a peer of parliament, is 
 eligible to represent any constituency in 
 the United Kingdom, although such is 
 not the case with Scotch peers who are 
 not representative peers. No person con- 
 cerned in the management of any duties 
 or taxes created since 1692 (except com- 
 missioners of the treasury), nor any offi- 
 cer of the excise, customs, stamps, &c, 
 nor any person holding any office under 
 the crown created since 1705, is eligible. 
 In like manner, pensioners under the 
 crown during pleasure, or for a term of 
 years, are wholly excluded. Any mem- 
 ber, however, who accepts an office of 
 profit under the crown existing prior to 
 1 705, though he thereby vacates his seat, 
 is capable of being re-elected. Contrac- 
 tors with government are ineligible ; and 
 it is enacted, that if any person so dis- 
 qualified shall sit in the Hi use, he shall 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OF. [ 595 ] COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 
 
 forfeit 5001. per day for so doing; and 
 that if any person having a contract of 
 this nature admits a member of the house 
 to share in it, he shall forfeit 500Z. to the 
 prosecutor. Again, by 3 Geo. IV. c. 55, 
 no police justice of the metropolis can sit 
 in parliament. 
 
 The judges of the superior courts of 
 common law are disqualified. The three 
 vice-chancellors also are excluded, though 
 the master of the rolls is not. The 
 clergy are also excluded. [Clergy.] 
 Sheriffs of counties, and mayors and 
 bailiffs of boroughs, as being themselves 
 returning-officers in parliamentary elec- 
 tions, are ineligible for the several dis- 
 tricts respectively for which it is their 
 duty to make returns. 
 
 The repeal of the Corporation and Test 
 Acts in 182S, and the passing of the Ca- 
 tholic Emancipation Act in 1S29, have 
 worked one very important alteration in 
 the constitution of the Commons' House, 
 by removing nearly altogether the widely 
 operating religious disqualifications which 
 previously existed. The engagement " on 
 the true faith of a Christian," to abstain 
 from all designs hostile to the church 
 as by law established, which the latter 
 act has substituted for the oath and de- 
 claration formerlv required, excludes no 
 man professing Christianity in however 
 general terms, and seems indeed to have 
 no effective operation but against indi- 
 viduals of the Jewish race and creed, to 
 whose admission this bar is still opposed. 
 
 Such are the chief personal disqualifi- 
 cations, at common law and by statute, 
 from sitting in the Commons' House of 
 Parliament ; presenting, as already re- 
 marked, a general analogy to those ex- 
 isting against the voter. 
 
 We now come to the other branch of 
 the subject, the qualifications by property 
 and residence ; and here, in the ease of 
 the English and Irish representation at 
 least, the analogy no longer holds good. 
 The qualification for an English, Welsh, 
 or Irish member, was not altered by the 
 Reform Acts, and was— for a county 
 member a clear estate of freehold or 
 copyhold of 6001. a year, and for a city 
 or borough member, 300/. To repre- 
 sent a university no property qualifica- 
 tion is requisite. In 1838 an act was 
 
 passed (2 Vict. c. 48), which amends the 
 laws relating to the qualifications of mem- 
 bers to serve in parliament : a knight of 
 the shire must be entitled, for his own 
 use and benefit, to real or personal pro- 
 perty, or both together, to the amount of 
 6001. ; and to be a citizen or burgess, 
 only one-half the qualification is re- 
 quired. The only personal exceptions 
 from this condition are in favour of the 
 eldest sons of peers, of bishops having 
 seats in the House of Lords, and of 
 persons legally qualified to be county 
 members. The qualifying property may 
 be situated in any part of England, Wales, 
 Ireland, or Berwick-upon-Tweed. As 
 regards the Scottish part of the repre- 
 sentation, it is worthy of especial remark, 
 that the property qualifications enacted 
 for England within a very few years 
 after the union with Scotland, have never 
 been extended to the latter portion of the 
 kingdom ; and that consequently the con- 
 ditions of suffrage and of eligibility have 
 remained there, according to the original 
 constitution of the representative system 
 in both countries, one and the same, ex- 
 cepting only the antiently essential con- 
 dition of residence, which has long been 
 done away throughout the United King- 
 dom without any reservation or limita- 
 tion whatever; and excepting also that 
 the Scottish Eeform Act of 1832 has ren- 
 dered unnecessary for county members 
 the qualification of an elector formerly 
 required. 
 
 Issuing of Writs for a General Election ; 
 Election Proceedings and Returns. 
 
 An essential and very important part 
 of the representative machinery is that 
 which regards the due transmission from 
 the central to the local authority of the 
 summons to elect, the superintendence of 
 the election proceedings, and the due re- 
 turn from the local to the central au- 
 thority of the names of the individuals 
 chosen. When the lord chancellor, the 
 highest officer of state, has received the 
 written command of the king in council 
 for the summoning of a new parliament, 
 he thereupon sends his warrant or order 
 to the highest ministerial officer acting 
 under him, the clerk of the crown in 
 chancery, to prepare and issue the writs, 
 2 « 2 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OF. [ 506 ] COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 
 
 or written authorities for that purpose, to 
 the several sheriffs, whether of counties 
 at large or of counties corporate. 
 
 In the early periods of our history, 
 when the shire-motes, or county courts, 
 were held regularly once a month, and 
 the borough courts once a week or once a 
 fortnight, there was no need to incur the 
 trouble and inconvenience of a special 
 meeting of the members of those courts, 
 that is, of the freeholders in the former 
 case and the burgesses in the latter, to 
 elect the parliamentary representatives; 
 and accordingly the sheriff was simply 
 required to cause the election of the 
 county members at the next county court, 
 held in the regular course, or at an ad- 
 journed meeting of that court, in case 
 such adjournment were necessary in or- 
 der to allow time for giving due notice 
 of the election. It was not until the im- 
 portance of the county courts declined, 
 that a different arrangement became ne- 
 cessary; nor was it until the 25 George 
 III. that it was enacted that the sheriff, 
 on receipt of the writ, should call a spe- 
 cial county court for the purpose of the 
 election. 
 
 The writ, thus addressed under the 
 great seal to the sheriff of a county at 
 large, requires him not only to cause the 
 election of the county representatives, 
 but also of those of each city and borough 
 within his jurisdiction. And accordingly, 
 on receiving this command, he issues a 
 precept under his own seal to the head of 
 each municipality enjoying the elective 
 franchise, which precept is to be returned 
 to him within a limited time, together 
 with the name of the person or persons 
 chosen ; * in like manner as he himself is 
 bound to return, before a certain day pre- 
 vious to that on which the parliament is 
 summoned to assemble, to the clerk of the 
 crown, from whom he received it, the 
 writ, with the names of the persons cho- 
 sen, whether as county or as borough 
 members. Such, in brief, as regards the 
 returning-officers and responsible conduc- 
 tors of elections, has been the system from 
 the commencement of the general repre- 
 sentation. 
 
 • Id the universities, the vice-chancellor, as 
 leturninij-officer, receives and returns the sheriff's 
 precept of election. 
 
 In fourteen of the forty-three new and 
 populous parliamentary boroughs created 
 by the Reform Act for England and 
 Wales, which had already a municipal 
 or other chief civil officer or officers in 
 whom this function could be appropriately 
 vested, it is so intrusted by the Act. As 
 regards the others, it is provided, that the 
 sheriff of the respective counties shall, in 
 the month of March in each year, by 
 writing under his hand, to be delivered 
 to the clerk of the peace for that county 
 within a week from its date, and be by 
 him filed with the records of his office, 
 appoint for each of such boroughs a fit 
 person resident therein to be the return- 
 ing-officer until the nomination to be 
 made in the March following. In case 
 of such person's death or incapacity from 
 sickness or any other sufficient impedi- 
 ment, the sheriff, on notice thereof, is 
 forthwith to appoint in his stead a fit 
 person, resident as aforesaid, to be the 
 returning-officer for the remainder of the 
 year. No person so nominated as return- 
 ing-officer shall, after the expiration of 
 his office, be compellable thereafter to 
 serve again in the same office. Neither 
 shall any person in holy orders, nor any 
 churchwarden or overseer of the poor, be 
 so appointed; nor shall any person so 
 nominated be appointed a churchwarden 
 or overseer during the time he shall be 
 such returning-officer. Any person qua- 
 lified to serve in parliament is exempted 
 from such nomination as a returning- 
 officer, if within one week after receiving 
 
 I notice of suck appointment he make oath 
 of his qualification before any justice, and 
 
 | forthwith notify the same to the sheriff. 
 
 ! In accordance, however, with all previous 
 usage, it is provided that "in case his 
 Majesty shall be pleased to grant his 
 royal charter of incorporation to any of 
 the said boroughs named in the said 
 schedules (C) and (D), which are not 
 now incorporated, and shall by such 
 charter give power to elect a mayor or 
 other chief municipal officer for any such 
 borough, then and in every such case such 
 mayor or other chief municipal officer for 
 the time being shall be the only return- 
 ing-officer for such borough; and the 
 provisions hereinbefore contained with 
 regard to the nomination and appoint- 
 
COMMONS, HOUSE OF. [ 597 ] COMMONS, HOUSE OF. 
 
 ment of a retuming-officer for such 
 borough shall thenceforth cease and de- 
 termine." 
 
 The division of both counties and 
 boroughs into convenient polling-districts, 
 — the shortening of the time of polling in 
 contested elections, from the old period of 
 fifteen days to two days in England, Wales, 
 and Scotland, and to five in Ireland, — the 
 restriction of inquiry at the poll into the 
 elector's right to the ascertaining the 
 identity of name and qualification with 
 those contained in the register of voters 
 (thus abolishing the old tediously litigi- 
 jus practice of election scrutinies), — and 
 the limitation of the necessary expense of 
 election proceedings, borne by the candi- 
 dates or their proposers — are among the 
 more important of the recent improve- 
 ments. For details, as we have already 
 done in the case of the new system of 
 registration, we must refer to the several 
 Eeform Acts of 1832. 
 
 Having thus given, we believe, a toler- 
 ably just though succinct view of the 
 history and present state of the repre- 
 sentative system of the British empire, so 
 far as it can be distinctly shown without 
 continual reference to the other branches 
 of the legislature, we refer for an ac- 
 count of the organization and operations 
 of the Commons, " in parliament assem- 
 bled," to the article Parliament, Impe- 
 rial. 
 
 We have seen how the popular repre- 
 sentation arose, first as a convenient, then 
 as a necessary appendage to the feudal 
 parliament of the Anglo-Normans. We 
 have seen how, as early at least as the 
 parliamentary settlement of the crown 
 upon the house of Lancaster, that popular 
 representation, under the title of the 
 House of Commons, had become an effec- 
 tive, integral, independent, and solemnly 
 recognised branch of the legislature. We 
 have traoed, from that period downwards, 
 the twofold operation of the crown in 
 undermining this equal and sometimes 
 preponderating independence of the Com- 
 mons' House, and of that House itself in 
 contracting the limits and abridging the 
 rights of the constituent bodies, until the 
 original constitution of the representative 
 body itself was absolutely subverted. 
 And last of all we have seen that which, 
 
 in the present day, it is most interesting 
 to consider, — the reaction of an enlarged 
 and enlightened public opinion on the 
 legal constitution of the House. In an 
 historical view it is far less important to 
 examine the merits of the late measures 
 of representative amelioration in detail, 
 than to mark the maturity of a new 
 political element which they indicate, and 
 the new line of constitutional progression 
 which they have begun. No matter that 
 the Eeform Acts, as they are called, have 
 made but a compromise with the exceed- 
 ing corruptions and anomalies of the old 
 system, and have left some of its most 
 important usurpations untouched ; no 
 matter that the Commons' House, which 
 in the days of its pristine vigour was 
 democratic in the fullest sense of the 
 term, is still, though somewhat popu- 
 larized by the recent changes, a highly 
 aristocratic body ; we do not the less find 
 in these changes a successful effort of the 
 national intelligence and will, not so much 
 to.replace the legislative representation on 
 the basis on which it stood at the close of 
 the fourteenth century, and which, from 
 the causes we have previously stated, was 
 fixed without any scientific or symme- 
 trical proportioning even of the number of 
 representatives to that of constituents, but 
 to mould it into some shape more accor- 
 dant with the present advanced state of 
 general information in the great body of 
 the people ; to render it, in short, a popu- 
 lar representation in fact as well as in 
 name. Towards this point, how much 
 soever they have fallen short of it, the 
 late alterations by parliamentary enact- 
 ment distinctly tend. The spirit (hat 
 predominates in them plainly shows from 
 what quarter the impulse came to which 
 they owe their being ; and it is a reason- 
 able, at least, if not a necessary inference, 
 that nothing short of a retrogression of 
 the public intelligence can prevent the 
 impulse from being repeated until the 
 great object we have stated shall be com- 
 pletely attained. 
 
 COMMONS, IRISH HOUSE OF. 
 [Parliament of Ireland.] 
 
 COMPANIES, or GUILDS. [Col- 
 legium ; Guilds.] 
 
 COMPANIES, JOINT-STOCK. 
 [Joint-Stock Company.] 
 
CONCORDAT. 
 
 [ 598 J 
 
 CONCORDAT. 
 
 COMPANY. [Corporation; Part- 
 nership.] 
 
 COMPURGATOR. A practice once 
 prevailed, derived from the common law, 
 of permitting persons accused of certain 
 crimes to clear themselves by purgation. 
 In these cases the accused party formally 
 swore to his innocence, and, in corrobora- 
 tion of his oath, twelve other persons, 
 who knew him, swore that they believed 
 in their consciences that he stated the 
 truth. These twelve persons were called 
 compurgators. (Ducange, ad vocem " Ju- 
 ramentum.") This proceeding appears to 
 have existed among the Saxons, and, in 
 process of time, it came into use in Eng- 
 land in civil cases of simple contract 
 debts. The ceremony of canonical pur- 
 gation of clerks-convict, which was no- 
 thing more than the formal oath of the 
 party accused, and the oaths of his twelve 
 compurgators, continued in England until 
 it was abolished by the stat. 1 8 Eliz. c. 7. 
 [Benefit of Clergy, p, 360.] 
 
 CONCEALMENT OF BIRTH. [In- 
 fanticide.] 
 
 CONCLAVE. [Cardinal; Catho- 
 lic Church.] 
 
 CONCORDAT is the name given to a 
 formal agreement between the see of 
 Rome and any foreign government, by 
 which the ecclesiastical discipline of the 
 Roman Catholic clergy and the manage- 
 ment of the churches and benefices within 
 the territory of that government are regu- 
 lated. It is, in fact, a diplomatic nego- 
 tiation and treaty concerning ecclesias- 
 tical affairs, which includes also tempo- 
 ralities belonging to the church. The 
 frequent disputes between the popes and 
 the various states of Europe touching the 
 right of appointing to vacant sees and 
 benefices, and also about the claims of the 
 see of Rome to part, or in some cases tfie 
 whole, of the revenues of vacant sees and 
 livings, and of the first-fruits and tenths 
 of those which it had filled, as well as the 
 immunities claimed in various times and 
 countries by the clergy and supported by 
 Rome, such as exemption from taxation, 
 and from the jurisdiction of the secular 
 courts, the right of asylum for criminals 
 in the churches, and other similar claims ; 
 — all these have given occasion to concor- 
 dats between the popes and particular 
 
 states, in order to draw a line between 
 the secular and ecclesiastical jurisdictions, 
 and thus put an end to controversy and 
 scandal. 
 
 By the concordat of 1516 between Leo 
 X. and Francis I. the king abolished the 
 right exercised by the chapters of electing 
 the respective bishops, a right assured to 
 them by St. Louis and by the states of the 
 kingdom under Charles VII. in 1438. 
 The parliament refused for two years to 
 register this concordat, as contrary to 
 the spirit of the general councils and the 
 liberties of the Gallican church; it re- 
 gistered it at last March 19th, 1518, 'by 
 express and repeated commands of the 
 king.' (Gregoire, Essai Historique stir 
 les Liberty cle VEglise Gallicane.) 
 
 Concordats have become most frequent 
 since the middle of the eighteenth century, 
 an epoch from which the European go- 
 vernments have made themselves more 
 independent of the ecclesiastical power, 
 and the popes have been for the most part 
 men of an enlightened and conciliatory 
 spirit. Benedict XIV., by a concordat 
 with the King of Sardinia, in 1741, gave 
 up to the king the right of nomination to 
 benefices in various provinces of the Sar- 
 dinian kingdom, which the see of Rome 
 had claimed till then, as well as the tem- 
 poralities of the same during a vacancy. 
 A concordat was made between the pope 
 and Charles, King of Naples, about the 
 same time, by which the property of the 
 clergy became subject to taxation, and 
 the episcopal jurisdiction in temporal 
 matters was greatly limited. By another 
 concordat between Clement XIV. and the 
 King of Sardinia, the right of asylum to 
 criminals in the churches was much re- 
 stricted, and full power was given to the 
 respective bishops to expel and give up 
 to the secular power those who were 
 guilty of heinous offences. But the most 
 celebrated concordat is that agreed upon 
 between Cardinal Consalvi, in the name 
 of Pius VII., and the first consul Bona- 
 parte, in July, 1801. By it the head of 
 the state had the nomination to the vacant 
 sees, but the pope was to confer canonical 
 institution, and the bishops had the ap- 
 pointment to the parishes in their re- 
 spective dioceses, subject however to the 
 approbation of the government. The 
 
CONCUBINAGE. 
 
 r 699 | 
 
 CONFEDERATION. 
 
 clergy became subject in temporal matters 
 to the civil power, just like laymen. All 
 immunities, ecclesiastical courts, and juris- 
 dictions, were abolished in France, and 
 even the regulations of the public worship 
 and religious ceremonies, and the pastoral 
 addresses of the clergy, were placed 
 under the control of the secular authori- 
 ties. Most of these provisions remain in 
 force in France to the present day. Re- 
 gulations nearly similar exist in Aus- 
 tria and other German states. Other 
 concordats have been made with some of 
 the Italian states. By that of 1818 with 
 Naples the king proposes the bishops, sub- 
 ject to the pope's scrutiny, and the pope 
 consecrates them ; the bishops have the 
 right of censorship over the press, and 
 the ecclesiastical courts are re-established 
 for matters of discipline and for eccle- 
 siastical causes as denned by the council 
 of Trent. Appeals to Rome are allowed. 
 It appears from the above facts, that the 
 ecclesiastical authority and influence in 
 Roman Catholic countries vary consider- 
 ably according to the concordats, if there 
 be any, entered into with Rome, or accord- 
 ing to the civil regulations adopted and 
 enforced by the respective governments 
 towards the clergy as towards laymen. 
 
 CONCUBINAGE is the cohabitation 
 of a man with a woman, to whom he is 
 not united by marriage. Augustus, with 
 the view of preventing celibacy and en- 
 couraging marriage, a.d. 9, caused the 
 law called Lex Julia and Papia Poppaea 
 to be passed, which may be considered as 
 much an ordinance of moral police as a 
 measure in favour of population. This 
 law contained several conditions advan- 
 tageous for those, who had the greatest 
 number of children. It also gave to 
 concubinage (concubinatus) a legal cha- 
 racter. The union of concubinage seems 
 to have been commonly formed between 
 a man and his liberated female slave. It 
 appears that a man might have either 
 another person's freedwoman or his own 
 freedwoman as a concubine, or even a 
 woman who was born free (ingenua) ; but 
 they were chiefly taken from the class of 
 persons of mean birth, or those who had 
 been prostitutes. A man could not have 
 a woman of honest life and conversation, 
 a free-born woman, as a concubine, with- 
 
 out some formal declaration of his inten- 
 tion. To cohabit with a free woman 
 otherwise than in a matrimonial con- 
 nection or that of concubinage, was a 
 legal offence (stuprum). It appears that 
 free-born women must have been some- 
 times had as concubines ; for the Emperor 
 Aurelian forbade such unions. By a con- 
 stitution of Constantine a man could not 
 keep a concubine while he was married. 
 In Roman inscriptions we find instances 
 of a woman raising a monument to her de- 
 ceased companion, and calling herself his 
 concubina. No female could be had as a 
 concubine if she was under twelve years 
 of age. Several instances are recorded of 
 Roman emperors who, after the death of 
 their wives, took a concubine instead of 
 contracting a legal marriage ; Vespasian, 
 Antoninus Pius, and the philosopher 
 Marcus Aurelius. The object of this 
 union was, that the father might not beget 
 children who would have the same rights 
 as his children by his wife ; for as concu- 
 binatus was not marriage, the children of 
 such a union were not lawful children. 
 
 In Germany, among the reigning fami- 
 lies, a left-handed marriage (Trauung an 
 die linke hand or morganatische ehe) still 
 sometimes occurs. This kind of marriage 
 resembles the Roman concubinage, as well 
 in its conditions as its consequences, 
 {Dig. 25, tit. 5.) 
 
 CONFEDERATION OF THE 
 RHINE. The Confederation of the 
 Rhine was established by an act, signed 
 at Paris on the 12th of July, 1806, by the 
 Kings of Bavaria and Wirtemberg, the 
 Elector of Mainz, the Elector of Baden, 
 the Duke of Cleves and Berg (Murat), 
 the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, the 
 Princes of Nassau-Usingen, Nassau-Weil- 
 burg, Hohenzollern-Hechingen, Hohen- 
 zollern-Siegmaringen, Salm-Salm, Salm- 
 Kyrburg ; the Duke of Aremberg ; the 
 Princes of Isenburg, Birstein, Lichten- 
 stein, and the Count of Leyen. By this 
 act the Elector of Mainz received the title 
 of the Prince Primate ; the Elector of 
 Baden, the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, 
 and the Duke of Berg, received the titles 
 of grand dukes, with royal rights and 
 privileges; the Prince of Nassau-Usingen 
 received the ducal, and the Count of 
 Leyen the princely dignity. The French 
 
Confederation. [ 600 j 
 
 CONGE D'ESLIRE. 
 
 Emperor declared himself Protector of 
 the Confederation. By the establishment 
 of this Confederation many towns and 
 principalities lost their political existence : 
 such were the imperial city of Ntirnberg, 
 which was given to Bavaria ; and Frank- 
 fort, which was given to the prince pri- 
 mate. Several petty sovereign princes 
 were by the same act mediatised, or de- 
 prived of their sovereign rights, such as 
 making laws, concluding alliances, de- 
 claring war, coining money, &c. : they 
 retained their hereditary estates, but be- 
 came subjects to the sovereigns who were 
 members of the Confederation. The ob- 
 ject of the Confederation was declared to 
 be, the maintenance of external and in- 
 ternal peace by the mutual assistance of 
 all the members of the Confederation as 
 well as of France, in case any one of them 
 should be attacked by an enemy. The 
 affairs of the Confederation were to be 
 conducted by a congress sitting at Frank- 
 fort-on-the-Maine, and divided into two 
 colleges — the royal one, in which the 
 grand dukes had also their seats, and the 
 princely one. The president of the con- 
 gress in general, and of the royal college 
 in particular, was the prince primate, but 
 the president of the princely college was 
 the Duke of Nassau. The Elector of 
 Wurzburg joined the Confederation in the 
 same year, and the King of Prussia medi- 
 tated the establishment, under his own 
 protection, of a similar Confederation, 
 composed of the princes of Northern Ger- 
 many, in order to counterbalance the 
 power of the Confederation of the Rhine. 
 This project was destroyed by the war of 
 1806, which was not over when the Elec- 
 tor of Saxony, who had received the title 
 of king, by his treaty with France, on the 
 11th of December, 1806, joined the Con- 
 federation, and his example was followed 
 by all the Saxon princes. By the treaty 
 of Warsaw, on the 13th of April, 1807, 
 the two princes of Schwarzburg, the three 
 ducal lines of Anhalt, the princes of Lippe- 
 Dettmold and of Lippe-Schaumburg, and 
 the princes of Reuss, were received mem- 
 bers of the Confederation, which was 
 increased by the accession of the newly 
 erected kingdom of Westphalia, as well 
 as that of both the Dukes of Mecklenburg, 
 and of the Duke of Oldenburg. Thus in 
 
 1808 the Confederation comprehended 
 5910 geographical square ( Germ an) miles, 
 with a population of 14,608,877 souls ; the 
 army of the Confederation, which was 
 fixed in the beginning at 63,000, was 
 increased to the number of 1 1 9, 1 80. The 
 act of the Confederation was violated by 
 its protector himself, who united with 
 France, by a decree of the 10th December, 
 1 8 1 0, all the country situated between the 
 mouths of the Schelde and the Elbe, and 
 deprived many sovereign princes of their 
 dominions, taking away from the Con- 
 federation of the Rhine an extent of 532 
 geographical square (German) miles, with 
 a population of 1,133,057. Napoleon did 
 not observe any better the promise which 
 he gave at the establishment of the Con- 
 federation not to meddle with its internal 
 affairs, but treated it in every respect as 
 one of his provinces. The events of 1813 
 put an end to the Confederation of the 
 Rhine ; and the Congress of Vienna 
 established, in 1815, the Germanic Con- 
 federation, composed of all the States of 
 Germany. [Germanic Confedera- 
 tion.] 
 
 CONFERENCE at Hampton Court, 
 was held on the 14th, 16th, and 18th of 
 January, 1 C04, in the presence of King 
 James I., who took a' leading part in the 
 discussion, between nineteen bishops and 
 inferior clergymen of the Church of Eng- 
 land, and four Presbyterian or Puritan 
 divines, to argue certain objections to the 
 doctrine and discipline of the Church, 
 respecting which the Puritans had peti- 
 tioned his Majesty. It was followed by 
 no result. 
 
 CONFERENCE. [Bill in Parlia- 
 ment, p. 367; Parliament.] 
 
 CONFISCATION. [Forfeiture.] 
 
 CONFLICT OF LAWS. [Interna- 
 tional Law.] 
 
 CONGE' D'ESLIRE, a term in Nor- 
 man French, literally signifying ' leave 
 to elect,' which is appropriated to the 
 king's writ or licence to a dean and 
 chapter to elect a bishop, at the time of 
 the vacancy of the see. The right ot 
 nominating to bishoprics was in most 
 countries of Europe enjoyed by the tem- 
 poral princes, with little opposition from 
 the ecclesiastical authorities, until the 
 eleventh century, when a contest began 
 
CONGE D'ESLIEE. [ 601 J 
 
 CONGRESS. 
 
 between the popes and the princes of 
 Europe, which, in the next century, 
 ended in the princes surrendering this 
 power to the clergy. Father Paul ( Trea- 
 tise of Benefices, c. 24) says that between 
 a.d. 1122 and a.d. 1145 it became a 
 rule almost everywhere established, that 
 bishops should be chosen by the chapter. 
 In England, by the constitutions of Cla- 
 rendon, a.d. 1164, the election was vested 
 in the chapters, subject to the king's ap- 
 probation of their choice. The right of 
 election was afterwards surrendered to 
 the chapters by a charter of King John, 
 by which however he reserved to himself, 
 among other things, the right of granting 
 a conge d'eslire, and of confirming the 
 choice of the chapter. This grant of 
 freedom of election was expressly recog- 
 nised in Magna Charta, and also by a 
 subsequent statute, 25 Ed. III., stat. 6 
 (one of the statutes of praemunire), which 
 was passed for the purpose of preventing 
 the popes from interfering with the elec- 
 tions to dignities and benefices in England. 
 This was the law until the passing of 
 25 Henry VIII. c. 20, which was re- 
 pealed in Edward the Sixth's reign. It 
 is stated (Blackstone, Comm. i. 380, Note 
 by Coleridge) " that the statute (of Hen. 
 VIII.) is held to have been constructively 
 revived and to be still in force, though it 
 does not apply to the five bishoprics cre- 
 ated by Henry VIII. subsequently to its 
 passing; these are Bristol, Gloucester, 
 Chester, Peterborough, and Oxford, which 
 have always been pure donatives in form 
 as well as substance." The authorities 
 for this opinion are not given by Cole- 
 ridge. This act of Henry VIII. provides 
 that upon every avoidance of an arch- 
 bishopric or bishopric the king may send 
 to the dean and chapter a licence under 
 the great seal to proceed to the election of 
 a successor, and with the licence a letter 
 missive containing the name of the person 
 whom they are to elect. If the dean and 
 chapter delay their election above twelve 
 days after receiving the licence, the king 
 may, by letters patent, nominate any per- 
 son to the vacant see ; if they delay the 
 election beyond twenty days, or elect any 
 other person than the candidate recom- 
 mended by the king, or do anything else 
 in contravention of the act, they incur 
 
 the penalty of a praemunire. The cere- 
 mony of election is followed by confir- 
 mation,investiture, and consecration ; after 
 which the bishop sues to the king for his 
 temporalities. Bishoprics in Ireland are 
 donative by letters patent, without a 
 conge d'eslire. {Irish Stat. 2 Eliz. 
 c. 4.) 
 
 CONGRESS, an assembly of envoys 
 delegated by different courts with powers 
 to concert measures for their common 
 good or to adjust their mutual concerns. 
 The term is given also to a meeting of 
 sovereign princes which is held for the like 
 purpose. The delegates from the Assem- 
 blies of the British colonies who met at 
 New York 7th October, 1 765, to consider 
 their grievances, called their assemblage 
 a Congress. A second congress, which 
 assembled in June, 1774, and sat for eight 
 weeks, published a Declaration of Rights. 
 Another congress met in May 1775, 
 which proceeded to organize the military 
 and financial resources of the colonies ; 
 and thus these assemblies of delegates 
 exercised the functions of a supreme 
 government, and under their authority 
 the war of independence was brought to 
 a successful termination. In 1789 the 
 constitution was re-organized, and a con- 
 gress of two houses was formed. [United 
 States, Constitution of.] The meet- 
 ing of envoys or plenipotentiaries which 
 precedes a treaty of peace is sometimes 
 called a Congress ; but the term is more 
 generally applied to such meetings when 
 they have to settle, either before or after 
 the peace, an extensive plan of political 
 arrangements and re-organization. This 
 was the business of the Congress of 
 Vienna in 1815. Sometimes a meeting 
 of sovereign princes or plenipotentiaries 
 takes place to concert a certain line of 
 political action, and this is also commonly 
 termed a Congress. At the Congress of 
 Carlsbad, held in August, 1819, measures 
 were adopted by the ministers of Austria, 
 Prussia, Bavaria, Hanover, Saxony, Wfir- 
 temberg, Baden, Saxe-Weimar, Mecklen- 
 burg, and Nassau, touching the affairs of 
 Germany and the question of granting 
 constitutious to some of the German states. 
 The Congress of Troppau, which met in 
 December, 1820, and was afterwards ad- 
 journed to Laybach, was held to deli- 
 
CONSANGUINITY. 
 
 [ 602 J 
 
 CONSANGUINITY. 
 
 berate on the political condition of Na- 
 ples, Spain, and Portugal. At the Con- 
 gress of Verona, which sat from October 
 to December in 1 822, it was determined 
 that French troops should march into 
 Spain to restore to Ferdinand VII. his 
 freedom of action, or, in other words, to 
 put down constitutional principles. The 
 Duke of Wellington was present at this 
 congress, and through him the protest 
 of the British Government against inter- 
 fering with the internal politics of Spain 
 was conveyed to the Congress. 
 
 CONSANGUINITY, or KIN, is the 
 relation subsisting between persons who 
 are of the same blood, or, in other terms, 
 who are descended from the same stock 
 or common ancestor. There can be no 
 legal consanguinity without a legal mar- 
 riage. [Bastabd.] Consanguinity is 
 either lineal or collateral. Lineal con- 
 sanguinity subsists between persons who 
 are related to each other in the direct 
 ascending line, as from son to father, 
 grandfather, great-grandfather, &c. ; or 
 in the descending line from great-grand- 
 father to grandfather, father, and son. 
 Collateral kindred are those who, though 
 they have the same blood, derived from a 
 common ancestor, and are therefore con- 
 sanguinei, do not descend one from the 
 other. Thus brothers have the same 
 blood and are descended from a common 
 ancestor, bnt they are related to each 
 other collaterally, and the children and 
 descendants of each of them are all col- 
 lateral kinsmen to each other. The 
 Canon Law and the Boman Law have 
 different methods of computing the de- 
 grees of collateral consanguinity. Ac- 
 cording to the Canon Law, which has 
 been followed by the law of England, we 
 begin at the common ancestor and reckon 
 downwards to the persons whose degree 
 of consanguinity we desire to ascertain, 
 counting each generation as a degree : 
 and the degree of consanguinity in which 
 they stand to each other is the degree in 
 which they stand to their common an- 
 cestor, if they are removed from the 
 co.-nmon ancestor by the same number of 
 degrees: if they are not, their degree is that 
 in which the more remote of them stands 
 to the common ancestor. Thus (to use 
 the example given by Sir William Black- 
 
 stone), Titius and his brother are related in 
 the first degree ; for from the father to each 
 of them is counted only one ; but Titius 
 and his nephew are related in the second 
 degree, for the nephew is two degrees 
 removed from the common ancestor, 
 namely, his own grandfather, the father 
 of Titius On the other hand, in this 
 supposed case, the Rdmans place Titius 
 and his nephew in the third degree of 
 consanguinity, for they count all the 
 degrees from one given person upwards 
 to the common ancestor, and downwards 
 from that common ancestor to the person 
 whose degree of relationship to the first 
 person it is the object to establish. Thus 
 they would count from Titius's nephew 
 to his grandfather two degrees, and one 
 more from the grandfather to Titius. By 
 the law of England, all persons related to 
 each other by consanguinity or affinity, 
 nearer than the fourth degree of the Ro- 
 man law, are prohibited from marrying, 
 excepting in the ascending or descending 
 line (in which the case is hardly possible 
 by the course of nature) ; and by statute 
 5 & 6 Will. IV. c. 54, sec. 2, it is enacted, 
 " that all marriages celebrated after the 
 date of that act between persons within 
 the prohibited degrees of affinity or con- 
 sanguinity, shall be absolutely null and 
 void to all intents and purposes whatso- 
 ever." [Affinity.] Under the statute 
 of distributions, 22 & 23 Car. II. c. 10, 
 in making the distribution of an intes- 
 tate's personal estate among the next of 
 kin, the computation of degrees of kin- 
 dred is according to the Roman law, 
 which has probably been adopted in this 
 case, because the other provisions of the 
 statute are mainly taken from the Roman 
 law. In England real estate descends to 
 the next heir, and the descent is regulated 
 by the general doctrine of consanguinity 
 of the Common Law and the statute of 
 3 & 4 Will. IV. c. 106. (Novell, 118; 
 Blackstone's Essay on Collateral Con- 
 sanguinity, and Blackstone's Commenta- 
 ries, vol. ii. p. 202.) 
 
 The question of consanguinity is the 
 question of relationship between two 
 given persons, as explained above. If 
 
 one of these persons is called IA| all his 
 
 lineal ancestors will be found in (a) in 
 
CONSANGUINITY. 
 
 [ 603 J 
 
 CONSANGUINITY 
 
 the ascending line above him, and all his 
 lineal descendants in the descending line 
 below him. His collateral relations will 
 be found in the parallel lines (6), (c), (d), 
 &c. The Soman numerals denote the 
 respective degrees of consanguinity in 
 the Canon, and the Arabic those in the 
 Roman Law. Thus, III. in the ascending 
 line is A's great grandfather, and III. in 
 the descending line his great grandson. 
 In the ascending and descending lines 
 the computation of the Koman and canon 
 laws, as already explained, is the same : 
 in both laws the great grandfather and 
 great grandson are respectively in the 
 third degree from A. No. III. in line 
 (6) is A's great uncle, who, according to 
 the mode of reckoning already explained, 
 is in the third degree of consanguinity to 
 A by the canon law ; and in the fourth, 
 as denoted by the Arabic numeral 4, 
 placed under III., by the civil or Eoman 
 law. 
 
 The following are the names for con- 
 sanguinity in the Roman law. In line 
 (a) ascending from A : 1, pater, mater ; 
 2, avus, avia ; 3, proavus, proavia ; 4, aba- 
 vus, abavia ; 5, atavus, atavia ; 6, tritavus, 
 tritavia: all above 6 are included in' the 
 
 feneral name "majores." In line (a) 
 escending from A: — 1, Alius, Alia; 
 2, nepos, neptis ; 3, pronepos, proneptis ; 
 4, abnepos, abneptis ; 5, atnepos, atneptis ; 
 6, trinepos, trineptis : all below 6 are in- 
 cluded in the general name of " posteri " 
 or " posteriores." 
 
 In line (4), beginning with 2 and 
 ascending : — 2, frater, soror ; 3, patruus, 
 amita (uncle and aunt on the father's 
 side) ; avunculus, matertera (do. on the 
 mother's ! ; 4, patruus magnus, amita 
 magna, avunculus magnus, matertera 
 magna ; 5, propatruus, proamita, proa- 
 vunculus, promatertera ; 6, abpatruus, 
 abamita, abavunculus, abmatertera. 
 
 In line (6), beginning with 3 and de- 
 scending, the names are, 3, fratris, sororis, 
 filius et filia, and so on. 
 
 In (c), beginning with 4 and ascending : 
 — 4, consobrinus, consobrina, which are 
 the general terms, but properly signify 
 those born of two sisters (quasi consoro- 
 rini) ; sons born of two brothers are pro- 
 perly called fratres patrueles ; daughters, 
 sorores patrueles. 5, proprior, or prior 
 
 sobrino, proprior sobrina, the sons and 
 daughters of the patruus magnus, amita 
 magna, &c. (Tacit., Annal. xii. 64.) 
 
 Some of the Latin writers used " nepos" 
 to express a brother's or sister's son. 
 
 The term consanguinity is derived from 
 the Eomans; but among the Romans, 
 Consanguinei were properly only those 
 who had a common father. Cognatio 
 was a larger term, and it was divided into 
 naturalis and civilis. Naturalis cognatio 
 was that which existed without civilis 
 cognatio, that is, without reference to 
 marriage. Accordingly naturalis cog- 
 natio existed among all persons who 
 were mei-ely of kin through the mother, 
 whether they were the offspring of a 
 marriage or not. Naturalis cognatio, or 
 the natural propagation of the species, was 
 the element upon which the civilis or 
 legal cognatio was formed. But civilis 
 cognatio might exist without the naturalis, 
 as in the case of adoption. When cog- 
 natio resulted from a legal marriage, 
 there was both the naturalis and civilis 
 cognatio combined. The naturalis cog- 
 natio was simply called cognatio; the 
 civilis cognatio might be called civilis 
 cognatio, but its proper name was ag- 
 natic All those between whom cognatio 
 existed were Cognati : all those between 
 whom agnatio existed were Agnati. Cog- 
 nati then were all those who were con- 
 nected either by father or mother, or 
 both, whether they were agnati also, or 
 were merely connected by the naturalis 
 cognatio. Those only were agnati who 
 were in the power of a father of a family ; 
 and among them was the wife, who was in 
 the hand (manus) of her husband ; and 
 they were still agnati after his death. They 
 ceased to be agnati if they were adopted 
 into another family. Also those who were 
 adopted into a family became agnati 
 to all who belonged to such families. 
 Accordingly the definition of agnati, 
 which defines it to be those cognati who 
 are related through males, that is, by 
 being 'begotten by a man in lawful mar- 
 riage, is not quite exact ; for the defini- 
 tion does not comprise those who are 
 adopted into a familia, though by such 
 adoption they became agnati; and it 
 does comprise those who are adopted ou* 
 of the family, and who thereby cease to 
 
CONSANGUINITY. 
 
 [ 604 ] CONSANGUINITY. 
 
 bo agnati to the members of the family 
 which they have left. In the old Roman 
 law it was only agnatio, that is, civilis 
 cognatio, which was a matter of legal 
 consideration ; but under the empire the 
 strict nature of agnatio lost its meaning, 
 and cognatio also was regarded, as we 
 see in the case of succession to intestates. 
 Thus those agnati who had lost their 
 rights to the succession under the old 
 law in consequence of a capitis diminutio 
 were admitted by the prsetorium jus to 
 
 the succession of intestates, for they were 
 cognati, though they had ceased to be ag- 
 nati.' The same equity of mutual suc- 
 cession was extended to a mother and her 
 children when the mother had not been in 
 the hand of her husband, and consequently 
 the legal consanguinity between her and 
 her children was wanting. (Gaius, iii. 
 24, &c.) 
 
 (Institut., iii. tit. 6, De Grad. Cogna- 
 tionum; Dig., 38, tit. 10: Ulpian, Frag., 
 tit. 26 ; Booking, Institutional, i. 253.) 
 
 (a) 
 
 
 
 
 VI. 
 
 
 
 
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 V. • 
 
 
 
 
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 (*) 
 
 
 
 IV. 
 
 V. 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 III. - 
 
 ' ■ IV. 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 5 ' . 
 
 («) 
 
 
 II. • . 
 
 ' -III. 
 
 4 ' . 
 
 • . IV. 
 
 6 
 
 
 I. . 
 
 1 
 
 ' • II. 
 3 ' . 
 
 • I. 
 •2 
 
 II. 
 3 
 
 . III. 
 
 5 ' . 
 
 (0 
 
 1 A 1 
 
 I. 
 1 
 
 ' 11. 
 
 4 
 
 rjl. 
 
 5 
 
 ' ■ . III. 
 
 6 
 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 4 
 
 ■ V. 
 6 
 
 
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 IV. 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 IV 
 
 V. 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 V. 
 
 
 
 
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 VI. 
 
 
 
 
 C 
 
 
 
 
CONSCRIPTION. 
 
 L 605 ] 
 
 CONSCRIPTION. 
 
 CONSCIENCE, COURTS OF. [Re- 
 quests, Courts of.] 
 
 CONSCRIPTION is the name given 
 to the mode of recruiting the French 
 army under the Republic and the Empire. 
 Under the old French kingdom the 
 army was recruited chiefly by volun- 
 tary enlistment, and the soldiers were 
 taken mostly from the peasantry, by 
 ■whom the change from the condition of a 
 daily labourer to that of a soldier was 
 considered as an improvement. The 
 officers were appointed from among the 
 higher or educated classes. When the 
 revolution commenced, (he old army was 
 broken up, the whole nation was called 
 to arms, and volunteers were found in 
 abundance. But as the soldiers were 
 bound by no permanent obligation, a sys- 
 tem of requisition was enforced, by which 
 every district was bound to furnish a cer- 
 tain number of men for the regular army. 
 But even this proved insufficient, and the 
 Executive Directory found itself in want 
 of soldiers to supply the numerous armies 
 on the frontiers. In 1798 General Jour- 
 dan presented to the Council of Five 
 Hundred a project of a law for a new 
 mode of recruiting, under the name of 
 Conscription. This project was approved 
 by the legislature, and passed into a law 
 5th of September, 1798. After setting 
 down as a principle that every French- 
 man is bound to defend his country when 
 in danger, the law went on to say, that 
 independently of danger to the country, 
 every Frenchman from the age of twenty 
 to twenty-five is liable to be called out 
 to serve in the regular army. Every 
 year lists were made in every department 
 of the young men of the age above stated, 
 divided into five classes, the first being 
 those between twenty and twenty-one 
 years; the second from twenty-one to 
 twenty-two ; and so forth. The number 
 of men required for that year being 
 made known by the government, and 
 voted by the legislature, a distribution was 
 made among the departments and districts 
 of the quota which each was to furnish. 
 The number required was then taken by 
 lot from the first or junior class, and 
 when that was exhausted, from the se- 
 cond, and so on. This operation was re- 
 peated every year. The first levy by ! 
 
 conscription in 1799 was 200,000 men. 
 Bonaparte, when first consul, found the 
 system already established, and he applied 
 himself strenuously to render it more 
 effective and to carry it to the utmost ex- 
 tent. At the beginning of 1 802 a levy 
 was made of 120,000 conscripts, 60,000 of 
 whom were to fill up vacancies in the 
 army on the peace establishment, and the 
 other 60,000 to form a reserve in case of 
 war. In April, 1803, 120,000 more con- 
 scripts were levied out of the conscription 
 lists for the years xi. and xn. In Oc- 
 tober of the same year 60,000 more were 
 levied out of the lists of the year xni. 
 By an arrete" 19 Vendemiaire, year xu. 
 (12 October, 1803), severe penalties were 
 enacted against refractory conscripts, that 
 is, those who had not joined their regi- 
 ments. Eleven depots in various citadels 
 were marked out for them, where they 
 were to be kept under arrest, and work at 
 the fortifications. They were also con- 
 demned to a fine, payable by their rela- 
 tions. In January, 1804, 60,000 men of 
 the list of the year xiv. were levied. On 
 this occasion Bonaparte said to the Coun- 
 cil of State that the law of the conscrip- 
 tion was the dread and desolation of fa- 
 milies, but that it formed the security of 
 the state. (Thibaudeau, tome v. p. 319.) 
 In 1805, just before the war of Austerlite, 
 a Senatus Consultum ordered a levy of 
 80,000 men. Till then the levies had 
 been voted by the legislative body, but 
 henceforth a Senatus Consultum was 
 deemed sufficient. 
 
 In December, 1806, a levy was ordered 
 of 80,000 men; in 1808, 80,000, besides 
 80,000 more of the conscription lists of 
 1810, to be called out in 1809. This was 
 on account of the Spanish war, which the 
 senate said was " politic, just, and neces- 
 sary." Instead of men of twenty years 
 complete, according to the original law, 
 the young men now taken were hot nine- 
 teen. In 1809 a new Senatus Consultum, 
 18th April, ordered a levy of 40,000; 
 and on the 5th October, another of 36,000. 
 In 1810 there was a levy of 120,000 of 
 the lists of 1811, besides 40,000 conscripts 
 of the maritime departments for the ser- 
 vice of the navy. In 1811 the levy was 
 120,000 conscripts, besides those levied 
 in Tuscany, the Roman states, Holland, 
 
CUlNSCRIPTION. 
 
 [ GOO J 
 
 CONSCRIPTION. 
 
 and the Hanseatic towns recently annexed 
 to the empire. As the levies increased, 
 the repugnance of young men to the ser- 
 vice became greater, and the severity of 
 the government against refractory con- 
 scripts increased in proportion. A re- 
 ward of twenty-five francs was given for 
 seizing one. When there was a consider- 
 able number of refractory conscripts in a 
 department, a moveable column was 
 formed to hunt after 'them, and the sol- 
 diers were quartered in the houses of the 
 relations of the fugitives, who were 
 obliged to board them. 
 
 The disasters of the Russian campaign 
 occasioned new expedients for raising men 
 besides the regular conscription. Half a 
 million of men was voted by the senate 
 towards the end of 1812, consisting of 
 150,000 conscripts of 1813, 150,000 of 
 1814, 100,000 out of the lists of 1809, 
 1810, 1811, and 1812, who had not been 
 included in the former levies, and 100,000 
 men of the first ban of the National 
 Guard, who were formed into regiments 
 of the line. 
 
 In November, 1813, another Senatus 
 Consul turn placed at the disposal of the 
 emperor 350,000 more conscripts of the 
 lists of 1813-14, who had not been in- 
 cluded in the previous levies ; and by a 
 decree, 1 7th December of the same year, 
 180,000 men, taken chiefly from the Na- 
 tional Guards, were ordered for the de- 
 fence of the towns, as the allies threatened 
 the French territory ; and yet, notwith- 
 standing these enormous calls, Napoleon, 
 in 1814, had hardly 150,000 regular 
 troops to oppose to the allies. 
 
 Besides the above conscriptions of the 
 French empire, the kingdom of Italy fur- 
 nished the following numbers : — in 1 805, 
 6000; January, 1807, 9000; October, 
 1807, 10,000; 1808, 12,000; 1810, 
 11,000; January, 1811, 15,000; Novem- 
 ber, 1811, 15,000; 1812, 15,000; Feb- 
 ruary, 1813, 15,000; October, 1813, 
 15,000. 
 
 Few soldiers, unless disabled by infir- 
 mities or wounds, ever got their discharge 
 under Napoleon. The time of service 
 was unlimited. By art. 1 1 of the Charte 
 of 1830, the conscription was abolished, 
 and a new law was promised respecting 
 the recruitment of the army and navy. 
 
 This law was promulgated 21st March, 
 1832, and it declares that the army is to 
 be recruited only by voluntary engage- 
 ments and by the ' appel,' which term 
 signifies a choice by the drawing of lots 
 amongst the young men of each canton 
 who have completed their twentieth year 
 during the year preceding. The follow- 
 ing persons are exempt from the ' appel :' 
 any orphan with younger brothers or 
 sisters— an only son or grandson, and the 
 oldest son or grandson of a widow or 
 blind father, or of a father above sixty — 
 but if the eldest son or grandson in either 
 of the last-mentioned cases is blind or 
 infirm, the youngest is exempted. There 
 are also some other exemptions, as per- 
 sons engaged in public instruction, or who 
 are preparing for the church or the 
 ministry in any religious denomination 
 which is paid by the State, also students 
 who have obtained certain prizes. There 
 is an appeal to a council of revision for 
 those who conceive that they ought to have 
 been exempted. The period of service is 
 seven years. Persons who have drawn 
 lots which render them liable to serve 
 may obtain a substitute, who must be 
 above twenty and not above thirty years of 
 age, or thirty-five if he has already served 
 in the army, or between eighteen and 
 thirty if the brother of a person liable. 
 Substitutes must not be married, or 
 widowers with children. A person under 
 the age of thirty cannot be admitted to 
 any civil or military office unless he has 
 fulfilled the obligations of the law of 21st 
 March, 1832. Napoleon admitted in prin- 
 ciple the procuring of substitutes, and even 
 defended it in the Council of State, as 
 necessary " in the present state of society, 
 which was very different from that of 
 Sparta or Rome ;" but he afterwards sur- 
 rounded it with so many difficulties, that 
 substitutes became extremely scarce and 
 expensive. 
 
 In Prussia all men able to bear arms 
 from twenty to twenty-five belong to the 
 standing army : they serve three years, 
 and are then discharged for two years, 
 during which they are liable to be called 
 out as the reserve. All those who have 
 served in the standing army belong to the 
 landwehr of the first ban, from the age of 
 twenty-six to thirty-two inclusive. This 
 
CONSERVATOR. 
 
 [ 607 J 
 
 CONSERVATOR. 
 
 ban, in time of war, is liable to serve 
 abroad as well as at home. It is called 
 out every year to exercise. The second 
 ban is called out only in time of war, and 
 includes all men capable of bearing arms 
 till the age of thirty-nine. All older men 
 fit for service belong to the landsturm. 
 For an account of the Prussian military 
 system see Laing's ' Notes of a Traveller.' 
 [Militia.] 
 
 CONSERVATORS OF THE PEACE, 
 before the comparatively modern institu- 
 tion of justices.of the peace, were officers 
 who by the common law of England were 
 appointed for the preservation of the pub- 
 lic peace. These conservators, whose 
 powers were far inferior to those of modern 
 justices of the peace, consisting almost 
 entirely of the authority to take sureties 
 for the peace and for good behaviour, 
 were of several kinds. In the first place, 
 certain high functionaries were general 
 conservators by virtue of their offices. 
 Thus the king, the lord chancellor or lord 
 keeper, the judges of the Court of King's 
 Bench, and the master of the rolls, were 
 intrusted by the common law with the 
 general conservancy of the peace through- 
 out the realm, as incidental to their 
 several offices. Other officers again were 
 conservators only in special places ; thus 
 the judges of the common pleas and 
 barons of the exchequer were conservators 
 of the peace only within the precincts of 
 their several courts. In like manner, 
 judges of assize and jail delivery within 
 the places limited by their commissions ; 
 coroners and sheriffs within their several 
 counties ; the steward of the Marshalsea 
 within the verge of the king's household ; 
 and constables and tithingmen within 
 their hundreds or tithings, were all con- 
 servators of the peace at common law ; 
 and all the officers above enumerated re- 
 tain their authority at the present day. 
 But besides these official conservators 
 there were others who were expressly 
 intrusted with the charge of the peace, 
 «ther by prescription, election, or tenure. 
 Thus it is said that the owner of a manor 
 might have prescribed that he and his 
 ancestors, whose estate he had, were en- 
 titled to be conservators of the peace 
 within such manor. So also as sheriffs 
 were formerly elected, and as coroners 
 
 still are elected, by the freeholders of the 
 county, certain persons were, before the 
 reign of Edward III., elected conservators 
 of the peace in different counties. There 
 were also instances in which lands were 
 granted by the king to hold of him by 
 knighf s service, and also by discharging 
 the duties of conservation of the peace 
 within the county where the lands lie. 
 Besides these, there were conservators of 
 the peace appointed by letters-patent from 
 the Crown, in cases of emergency, to de- 
 fend particular districts, where breaches 
 of the peace were apprehended in conse- 
 quence of foreign invasion or intestine 
 tumult. All the different kinds of con- 
 servators of the peace above noticed, ex- 
 cepting those who have the duty cast upon 
 them as incidental to other offices, were 
 entirely superseded upon the establish- 
 ment of the system of justices of the peace, 
 in the early part of the reign of Edward 
 III. [Justices of the Peace.] (See 
 also full details upon this subject in Lam- 
 bard's Eirenarcha, book i., c. 3.) 
 
 CONSERVATOR OF THE STAPLE, 
 in the law of Scotland, an officer in the 
 nature of a foreign consul, resident at 
 Campvere, in the Netherlands. By the 
 act 1503, c. 81, passed, as the preamble 
 states, for the welfare of merchandise, 
 and to provide remedy for the exorbitant 
 expense of pleas in foreign courts, the 
 conservator of Scotland was vested with a 
 jurisdiction to do justice be tweenmerchant 
 and merchant in the parts beyond sea, 
 such merchants being the king's lieges, 
 and the conservator exercising his juris- 
 diction by advice of at the least four mer- 
 chants, his assessors ; and it was further 
 provided by the act, that no Scotch mer- 
 chant sue another before any other judge 
 beyond sea, nor do in the contrary of the 
 statute, under the penalty set down there- 
 in. By subsequent acts he was empowered 
 to put the usury laws and other like laws 
 in execution among the same merchants ; 
 so that the conservator might be regarded 
 as a commercial judge, with a civil and 
 criminal jurisdiction over native Scotsmen 
 beyond the realm. 
 
 From the chapter immediately follow- 
 ing that first above cited, wherein the con- 
 servator is required to come yearly home, 
 or send a procurator for him, to answei 
 
CONSIDERATION. 
 
 [ 608 ] 
 
 CONSIDERATION. 
 
 all matters laid to his charge, we might 
 suppose that appeal lay from him only to 
 the king and council. But since the erec- 
 tion of the Court of Session, in 1532, he 
 has been regarded as an inferior judge, 
 and his court as an inferior court, which 
 it is accordingly considered by Erskine in 
 his ' Institutes,' b. i. tit. 4, sec. 32. In 
 the case of Hoy v. Tenant, June 27, 1760, 
 the Court of Session went still further, 
 and held itself as the forum originis of all 
 Scotsmen, to have a cumulative jurisdic- 
 tion with the conservator. 
 
 CONSIDERATION. This is a Latin 
 word, " consideratio," which, as well as 
 the verb " considero," was used by Cicero 
 and others to express " careful observa- 
 tion." or " reflection," or " deliberation 
 before action." It has nothing to do 
 with looking at the stars, as the Latin 
 grammarian Festus states ; but it implies 
 something which is nearer to the business 
 of common life than star-gazing : it im- 
 plies the sitting down of a man in a place 
 alone or with others. The word " con- 
 sideration" means 'de'iberatlon' in the 
 English language of common life. 
 
 But consideration has also a legal and 
 technical meaning, which seems to flow 
 naturally from its primary and vulgar 
 meaning. A consideration is something 
 which enters into all contracts, and is a 
 part of all transfers of property, except 
 they are made by will or testament. The 
 following are examples of expressed con- 
 siderations, from which examples the tech- 
 nical meaning of consideration may be 
 collected : — If a man agrees to sell his 
 land to another for 100/., the 1001. is the 
 consideration for which he agrees to part 
 with his land ; or if a man promises to 
 give 1000/. to another man if he will 
 marry his daughter, the man is entitled 
 to the 1000/. if he does marry the daugh- 
 ter. There is an implied consideration 
 in many cases where none is expressed. 
 A man may undertake to do a piece of 
 work for another without any express 
 bargain that he shall be paid ; but if he 
 does the work according to his agreement, 
 the other man may be compelled to pay 
 him. The implied consideration here is 
 the implied promise to pay if the work is 
 done. 
 
 The word consideration applies either 
 
 to agreements about something which is 
 to be done, which in England are gene- 
 rally called contracts, or to something 
 that is done, some transfer of property, 
 which is generally done by the act which 
 is called a deed. 
 
 Contracts cannot be enforced if there 
 is no consideration. A man may promise 
 to give another 1000/., but the promise 
 cannot be enforced unless there is a con- 
 sideration, which has been defined to be a 
 reason which moves the contracting party 
 to enter into the contract. This is not a 
 very good definition, but it will do : the 
 meaning is, there must be a motive which 
 the law considers a sufficient motive. A 
 consideration must of course be a thing 
 lawful. 
 
 Considerations are sometimes divided 
 into valuable considerations and good con- 
 siderations. Marriage, as in the instance 
 just given, that is a marriage intended, 
 and afterwards carried into effect, is 
 a valuable consideration; money, and 
 any other thing which is of the nature 
 of property, and has a money value, 
 are valuable considerations. Therefore, 
 if a man parts with his estate for a 
 valuable consideration, the transaction is 
 valid, and he who gets the estate has, so 
 far as the consideration is concerned, a 
 good title. A good consideration is the 
 consideration of natural affection between 
 blood relations, and a man may give his 
 estate to another for such a consideration. 
 But this kind of consideration is not 
 sufficient to maintain the validity of a con- 
 veyance of property against the claim of 
 a subsequent purchaser for valuable con- 
 sideration. Thus if a man after his mar- 
 riage settles an estate upon his wife and 
 children in consideration of his natural 
 affection, and then sells the estate for 
 money, the purchaser will have the estate, 
 and not the wife and children. (Hill v. 
 Bishop of Exeter, 2 Taunt. 69.) Such a 
 settlement after marriage is called volun- 
 tary or gratuitous. A settlement of pro- 
 perty made in consideration of a future 
 marriage, which afterwards takes place, 
 is a settlement for valuable consideration. 
 The actual settlement may be made after 
 marriage, if it is made pursuant to a 
 written agreement entered into before 
 marriage. 
 
CONSIDERATION. 
 
 [ 609 J 
 
 CONSIDERATION. 
 
 In the statute 13 Eliz. c. 5, the object 
 of which is to prevent persons from 
 cheating their creditors by disposing of 
 their real or personal property, it is 
 declared that the provisions of the act 
 do not extend to estates or interests 
 made or conveyed " upon good con- 
 sideration and bond fide" and the good 
 consideration here means money, or 
 money's worth, or a marriage which is 
 then intended and afterwards takes effect. 
 Good consideration here is therefore equi- 
 valent to what has been above denned to 
 be a valuable consideration. 
 
 The acts 27 Eliz. c. 4, and 30 Eliz. 
 c. 18, § 3, make void, as against sub- 
 sequent purchasers, all conveyances, &c. 
 of real property which are made for the 
 purposes of defrauding such purchasers, 
 unless " upon or for good consideration and 
 bond fide." This statute has received a sin- 
 gular interpretation, for it has been de- 
 cided that it makes void a previous con- 
 veyance, though not made with the intent 
 to defraud any one, if the consideration is 
 not such as the statute intends ; and accord- 
 ingly, as in the case just stated, if a man 
 settles his land after marriage on his 
 wife and children, and then sells it, the 
 prior settlement is void as a fraudulent 
 conveyance. 
 
 A voluntary conveyance then by a 
 man who is at the time insolvent, is 
 not valid against his creditors ; but if 
 a man is not insolvent at the time, a vo- 
 luntary conveyance, that is, one where 
 there is no valuable consideration, is 
 valid against future creditors (13 Eliz. c. 
 5). A conveyance for valuable consider- 
 ation, such as marriage, is a valid con- 
 veyance, even if a man be insolvent at 
 the time. An insolvent man may therefore 
 cheat his creditors by settling his property 
 on a woman with a view to marriage, and 
 then marrying her ; but in certain cases, 
 such settlements are not valid against 
 creditors when made by a person who is 
 subject to the bankrupt laws. A vo- 
 luntary conveyance is not valid against a 
 future purchaser for good consideration : 
 it is a fraudulent transaction according to 
 the construction of the 27th of Eliz., and 
 as such is declared void against the pur- 
 chaser. If the purchaser knew that there 
 was such a voluntary prior conveyance, 
 
 that makes no difference ; his purchase is 
 valid against such conveyance. 
 
 It appears from these instances that 
 the legal notion of consideration is this : — 
 the fact of there being a good considera- 
 tion is evidence that there is no fraud, 
 and the absence of it is a presumption of 
 fraud. The doctrine of consideration is 
 intended to protect either the giver or 
 grantor, or other persons whom he may 
 wish to defraud by disposing of his pro- 
 perty. 
 
 Every deed therefore or instrument by 
 which property is conveyed ought to 
 show some consideration for which the 
 person conveys the property to another ; 
 for though a deed is valid between the 
 parties to it, when no consideration is 
 expressed, it may be invalid with respect 
 to other persons who are not parties to 
 it. There is no absolute amount of con- 
 sideration which can be legally required, 
 but a very small amount of consideration 
 might in some cases raise a presumption of 
 fraud ; and, indeed, even if the amount of 
 consideration should be the full value of 
 the thing conveyed, it may be necessary 
 in some cases to inquire whether the con- 
 sideration expressed was actually paid. 
 
 In the case of a contract or agreement 
 to give or settle property, the necessity 
 for a consideration is obvious, both for 
 the protection of the giver, and of others 
 fowhom he is indebted, or whom it is his 
 moral duty to provide for. No contract 
 to give can be enforced unless there is a 
 sufficient legal consideration. An agree- 
 ment to settle property on a lawful child 
 is such consideration: an agreement to 
 settle property on an illegitimate child is 
 not such a consideration. 
 
 Many curious legal questions have 
 arisen on the doctrine ot consideration, 
 such for instance as the case of one mail, 
 promising to pay the debt *f another 
 man. The general principle is, as already 
 stated, that there must be some advantage 
 to the person promising, either certain or 
 prospective, which shall be a reasonable 
 and sufficient inducement for him to |>ro* 
 mise. If a man were to give his phy- 
 sician a bond which should bind his 
 executors to pay the physician a certain 
 sum after his death, a case which has 
 happened, the validity of the bond might 
 2r 
 
CONSPIRACY. 
 
 [ 610 ] 
 
 CONSTABLE. 
 
 be disputed if the circumstances under 
 which it was given were such as to raise 
 a suspicion of fraud ; for instance, if no 
 person was privy to the transaction ex- 
 cept the man and his physician, and if 
 the sum should be very large, and the 
 services of the physician altogether dis- 
 proportionate to the amount. 
 
 CONSISTORIUM. [Cardinal, p. 
 455.] 
 
 CONSISTORY is the court Christian, 
 or spiritual court, formerly held in the 
 nave of the cathedral church, or in some 
 chapel, aisle, or portico belonging to it, in 
 which the bishop presided, and had some 
 of his clergy for assessors and assistants. 
 But this court is now held by the bishop's 
 chancellor or commissary, and by arch- 
 deacons or their officials, either in the 
 cathedral church or other convenient 
 place in the diocese, for the hearing and 
 determining of matters of ecclesiastical 
 cognizance happening within that diocese. 
 (Burn's Ecclesiastical Law, tit. " Consis- 
 tory.") The consistory courts grant pro- 
 bates of wills for the goods and chattels 
 of a deceased person which are within 
 their jurisdiction : but if the deceased has 
 bona notabilia in two dioceses, the probate 
 must be granted by the prerogative court 
 of the province. The officers of a consis- 
 tory court usually consist of a judge, de- 
 puty-judge, registrar, deputy - registrar, 
 and apparitor. ' 
 
 By stat. 24 Hen. VIII. c. 12, an appeal 
 lies from this court to the court of the 
 archbishop of the province. 
 
 CONSOLS. [National Debt.] 
 
 CONSPIRACY. Every conspiracy to 
 do an unlawful act which is injurious to 
 individuals or to the public, is a misde- 
 meanor by the common law of England. 
 Many frauds affecting individuals, which 
 cannot be made the subject of prosecution 
 as such, become indictable when they are 
 effected by the co-operation of several 
 confederates. Thus if several persons 
 agree by indirect means to impoverish a 
 third person, as by circnlating calumnies 
 injurious to his character or credit, the 
 offence is punishable as a conspiracy, 
 though the concerted acts alone, when 
 committed by individuals, could only 
 have formed the subject of a civil action 
 by the injured party. Another instance 
 
 of this is the case of a conspiracy among 
 journeymen or servants to raise the price 
 of wages by refusing to work under a 
 certain price. [Combination Laws.] 
 In former times persons convicted of con- 
 spiracy at the suit of the king (the nature 
 of which offence is very doubtful) were 
 liable to receive what was called villanous 
 judgment, by which they were rendered 
 incapable of acting as jurors or witnesses, 
 their lands and goods were forfeited for 
 life, and their bodies committed to prison. 
 This judgment was never, however, in- 
 flicted upon persons convicted of conspi- 
 racies of a less aggravated kind at the 
 suit of the party ; and in modern times, 
 the villanous judgment having become 
 obsolete by long disuse, the punishment 
 of conspiracy has been by fine, imprison- 
 ment, and sureties for good behaviour, at 
 the discretion of the court. 
 
 (Russell, On Crimes and Misdemean- 
 ors, vol. ii.) 
 
 CONSTABLE. This word is sup- 
 posed by Ducange, Spelman, Cowell, and 
 other legal writers, to be corrupted from 
 comes stabuli, which was another name 
 for the Iribunus stabuli, or praepositus 
 equorum, a kind of master of the horse, 
 frequently mentioned as an officer of state 
 in the middle ages. (Ducange, Glossary, 
 ad vocem Comes Stabuli.) Sir Edward 
 Coke, Selden, and several other writers, 
 insist upon another etymology — from two 
 Saxon words, honing, a king, and stupid 
 or stabel, a stay or support — quasi cola- 
 men regis. Both these derivations are 
 equally remote from the description of 
 the office of our modern constable ; but 
 the former appears to be far the more 
 probable ; and, in accordance with it, the 
 Constable of France was an important 
 officer of the highest rank in that country, 
 who had the chief command of the army, 
 and had cognizance of military offences : 
 it was also his duty to regulate all mat- 
 ters of chivalry, such as tilts, tourna- 
 ments, and feats of arms. This office 
 was suppressed in France by an edict in 
 the year 1607: it was revived by Napo- 
 leon, and constituted one of the six grand 
 dignities under the French empire ; and 
 was finally abolished upon the restora- 
 tion of the Bourbon dynasty, in 1814. 
 
 Immediately after the Norman con 
 
CONSTABLE. 
 
 [611 ] 
 
 CONSTABLE. 
 
 quest we find in England an officer of 
 the crown called the lord high constable, 
 whose duties, powers, and jurisdiction 
 were in most respects like those of the 
 Constable of France. The office was one 
 of great dignity and power, both in war 
 and peace, the constable having the com- 
 mand of the army and the regulation of 
 all military affairs. He was the supreme 
 judge of the court of chivalry, in which 
 character his encroachments upon other 
 courts were so heavy a grievance, that 
 the stat. 13 Rich. II. c. 2, was passed to 
 restrict his jurisdiction to " contracts and 
 deeds of arms and things which touch 
 ■war, and which cannot be discussed or 
 determined by the common law " The 
 office, for several centuries after the Con- 
 quest, passed by inheritance in the line 
 of the Bohuns, earls of Hereford and 
 Essex, and afterwards in the line of their 
 heirs-general, the Staffords, dukes of Buck- 
 ingham, in right of certain manors held 
 by them by the feudal service of being 
 constables of England. The fees of the 
 office were extremely burdensome to the 
 crown ; and the possession by a subject 
 of the hereditary right to command the 
 militia of the realm, independently of any 
 royal appointment, was an unusual and 
 frequently a dangerous power; and on 
 this account Henry VIII., in the early 
 part of his reign (1 514), consulted the 
 judges respecting the means of abolishing 
 the tenure. He was advised by them, 
 that as the individuals holding the ma- 
 nors were only compellable to exercise 
 the office ad voluntatem regis, he had the 
 power of discharging the feudal service 
 altogether ; and acting upon this opinion, 
 the king abolished the office, by disclaim- 
 ing to have the services any longer ex- 
 ecuted. (Dyer, Reports, p. 285 b.) The 
 effect of this was, that Edward Stanley, 
 the last duke of Buckingham in that line, 
 the hereditary high constable of England 
 at the time of this resolution, held the 
 manors after this period discharged of 
 the service of being constable. AU doubt 
 which might have been suggested re- 
 specting the legal extinction- ol the office 
 by this' means was removed eight years 
 afterwards by the attainder of the duke of 
 Buckingham for high treason, upon which 
 even the manors in Question were for- 
 
 feited to the crown. Since that time the 
 office of high constable has never been 
 granted to any subject, excepting for 
 some special occasion, such as the king's 
 coronation or trials of peers. 
 
 " Out of this high office," says Lam- 
 bard, in his ' Duties of Constables,' " the 
 lower constableship was first drawn and 
 fetched, and is (as it were) a verie finger 
 of that hand ; for the statute of Winches- 
 ter, which was made in the time of Ed- 
 ward I., and by which the lower con- 
 stables of hundreds and franchises were 
 first ordained, doth, amongst other things, 
 appoint that, for the better keeping of 
 the peace, two constables in every hun- 
 dred and franchise should make the view 
 of armour." He then concludes, in justi- 
 fication of his etymology of the term, 
 that " the name of a constable in a hun- 
 dred or franchise doth mean that he is an 
 officer that supporteth the Icing's majesty 
 in the maintenance of his peace." This 
 derivation of the office of a common con- 
 stable seems very improbable, especially 
 as it is the better opinion that these offi- 
 cers were known to the common law be- 
 fore the statute of Winchester. (Haw- 
 kins, Pleasofihe Crown, book ii. cap. 10.) 
 Chief Justice Fineux, in the reign of 
 Henry VII., gives a more reasonable ac- 
 count of the matter. He says that when 
 the superintendence of the peace of a 
 county was found too great a task for the 
 sheriff, hundreds were formed, and a con- 
 servator of the peace, under the sherifi, 
 appointed in each, who was called a con- 
 stable. This was the high constable, or 
 constable of the hundred. As population 
 increased and owns sprung up, it was 
 found expedient to make a further sub- 
 division for the preservation of the peace, 
 and accordingly conservators were ap- 
 pointed for manors, vills, and tithings; 
 who were then called petty constables. ' 
 ( Year-Book, 12 Henry VII. pi. 18.) 
 
 Constables, in the usual acceptation of 
 the term at the present day, are of two 
 kinds : constables of hundreds, who are 
 still called high constables ; and consta- 
 bles of vills or tithings, who are called 
 
 ! either petty constables or tithingmen. 
 
 ; Both high and petty constables were for. 
 
 j merly chosen by the jury at a court leet, 
 
 , and were sworn in and admitted there by 
 2b2 
 
CONSTABLE. 
 
 [ 612 j 
 
 CONSTABLE. 
 
 the lord or his steward; but until recently 
 the high constables were usually chosen 
 by the magistrates at quarter - sessions. 
 The petty constables are still often chosen 
 by the homage at the court-leet ; but by 
 the stat. 13 & 14 Car. II. c. 12, § 15, it is 
 enaoted, that if any constable shall die or 
 go out of the parish, any two justices shall 
 make and swear a new constable, until 
 (he lord of the manor shall hold a court, 
 or until the next quarter-sessions? who 
 shall approve of them or appoint others. 
 By virtue of this statute, and by reason 
 of the frequent disuse of courts-leet in 
 modern times, the duty of nominating and 
 swearing the constables is now generally 
 discharged by the justices of the peace. 
 
 By the Metropolitan Police Acts, 10 
 Geo. IV. c. 44, and 2 & 3 Vict. c. 47, the 
 police force are appointed by direction of 
 the Secretary of State, and sworn in as 
 constables by the commissioners ; and in 
 boroughs affected by the provisions of 
 the Municipal Reform Act (5 & 6 Wm. 
 IV. c. 76), constables are now appointed 
 by the Watch Committee, under the au- 
 thority of the 76th section of that statute. 
 County and district constables (rural 
 police) may be appointed by the justices 
 at quarter-sessions, under 2 & 3 Vict. c. 
 93. and 3 & 4 Vict. c. 88 ; constables (a 
 police) for the protection of property on 
 canals and rivers, by justices in counties, 
 and by the Watch Committee in boroughs, 
 under 3 & 4 Vict. c. 50. By these acts 
 the duties of the office of constable are 
 altered, as well as the mode of appoint- 
 ment. By 5 & 6 Vict. c. 109, parish con- 
 stables may be appointed by the justices 
 from the lists to be returned by the ves- 
 tries, and vestries may unite to appoint a 
 permanent and salaried constable for a 
 union of parishes. These recent modifi- 
 cations of the ancient office of constable 
 are noticed under Police. The office 
 of constable at common law is a yearly 
 appointment, and if any officer has served 
 longer than a year, the justices at quarter- 
 sessions will, upon his application, dis- 
 charge him, and appoint another officer 
 in his stead. 
 
 Besides these general constables, two 
 or more justices of the peace, upon in- 
 formation that disturbances exist or are 
 apprehended, arc authorized by the stat. 
 
 1 & 2 Wm. IV. c. 41, to appoint special 
 constables ; and by the 83rd section of 
 the Municipal Reform Act magistrates 
 in boroughs are authorized to swear in as 
 many inhabitants as they think fit to act 
 as special constables when called upon. 
 The act 5 * 6 Wm. IV. c. 43, and 1 & 
 
 2 Vict. c. 80, enlarged the provisions of 
 1 & 2 Wm. IV. c. 41, by enabling justices 
 to appoint persons to act as special con- 
 stables in other places than where they 
 resided, and to pay constables engaged to 
 suppress outrages by labourers and others 
 engaged on railways and other public 
 works. 
 
 By 7 & 8 Vict. c. 33, an act was passed 
 for " relieving high constables from at- 
 tendance at quarter-sessions, in certain 
 cases, and from certain other duties." It 
 was formerly the duty of the high con- 
 stable to collect and pay the county rates 
 to the county treasurer, but the duty is 
 transferred to the Boards of Guardians ; 
 and in parishes which are not in any 
 union, it devolves upon the overseers. 
 High constables for each division are to 
 be appointed at the special sessions held 
 for hearing appeals against the rates, 
 and not at the quarter-sessions, as hereto- 
 fore. 
 
 In general all the permanent inhabit- 
 ants within a district, borough, parish, 
 or place, are liable to serve as constables; 
 but they must be persons of good charac- 
 ter and of competent ability; and the lord 
 or steward of the manor at the leet, or 
 the justices, may exercise a discretion as 
 to the appointment of proper persons. It 
 is obligatory upon a constable who has 
 been legally appointed to serve the office, 
 unless he can show some lawful exemp- 
 tion ; and if he refuses to serve, he may 
 be fined or punished by indictment. The 
 following persons are exempt from serv- 
 ing the office ; namely, members of the 
 colleges of physicians and surgeons, and 
 the Apothecaries' Company in London, 
 practising barristers, attorneys, dissenting 
 ministers following no trade or other em- 
 ployment except that of a schoolmaster, 
 schoolmasters, parish-clerks, clerks of 
 guardians in poor-law unions, masters of 
 workhouses, churchwardens, overseers 
 and relieving-omcers, registrars and 
 superintendent - registrars ; and game- 
 
CONSTABLE. 
 
 [ 613 j 
 
 CONSTABLE. 
 
 keepers, victuallers, licensed retail beer- 
 sellers, and dealers in exciseable liquors, 
 are disqualified. 
 
 The Metropolitan Police Act and the 
 Municipal Reform Act contain provisions 
 that the constables to be appointed under 
 those statutes respectively shall have all 
 such powers and privileges, and be liable 
 to all such duties and responsibilities as 
 any constable has within his constable- 
 wick by virtue of the common law of this 
 realm. In consequence of these provi- 
 sions, it becomes of great practical impor- 
 tance to ascertain with precision the 
 common-law incidents of the office of 
 constable. 
 
 1 . By the common law, constables are 
 said to have been conservators of the 
 peace; and in consequence of this cha- 
 racter, probably, every constable has un- 
 doubted authority to arrest all persons 
 who commit an affray, assault, or breach 
 of the peace in his presence, and keep 
 them in safe custody until they can be 
 brought before a magistrate. But as his 
 duty is to preserve the peace, and not to 
 punish for the breach of it, it is doubtful 
 whether he can arrest by his own autho- 
 rity and without a warrant, upon the 
 information or charge of a third person, 
 for an affray committed in his absence. 
 (See the case of Timothy v. Simpson, 1 
 Crornpton, Meeson, and Eoscoe's Reports, 
 p. 760.) By the Metropolis Police Act, 
 and the Municipal Corporation Reform 
 Act, constables appointed under those acts 
 are expressly authorised, in charges of 
 petty misdemeanor in the night time, to 
 take bail by recognizance for the appear- 
 ance of the offender before a magistrate 
 within a limited time. 
 
 2. A constable having reasonable cause 
 to suspect that a felony has been commit- 
 ted, may arrest and detain the supposed 
 offender until he can be brought before a 
 magistrate to have his conduct investigat- 
 ed ; and he will be justified in so doing 
 even though it should afterwards appear 
 that in fact no felony was committed. In 
 this case there is a distinction between 
 the authority of a constable and that of 
 a private person ; the former may arrest 
 if he can show a reasonable ground of 
 suspicion that a felony has been commit- 
 ted ; but a private person, in order to 
 
 justify himself for causing the imprison- 
 ment of another, must prove, in addition to 
 the reasonable suspicion of the individual, 
 that a felony has actually been committed. 
 A constable is bound to arrest any person 
 whom he sees committing a felony, or any 
 person whom another positively charges 
 with having committed a felony; but 
 generally speaking, he has no authority 
 to ai-rest for a misdemeanor, either upon 
 his own reasonable suspicion or the charge 
 of another person, without a magistrate's 
 warrant. With respect to the authority 
 of a constable to arrest for felony or 
 breach of the peace, Mr. Justice Bullet- 
 is reported to have said, that " if a peace- 
 officer, of his own head, takes a person 
 into custody on suspicion, he must prove 
 that such a crime was committed ; but if 
 he receives a person into custody on a 
 charge preferred by another of felony or 
 breach of the peace, then he is to be con- 
 sidered as a mere conduit; and if no 
 felony or breach of the peace was com- 
 mitted, the person who preferred the 
 charge alone is answerable." Lord 
 EUenborough, in the case of Hobbs v. 
 Branscomb (3 Campbell's Reports, 4,20), 
 said that " this rule appeared to be rea- 
 sonable." 
 
 3. Constables were authorised by tiie 
 common law to arrest such " strange per- 
 sons as do walk abroad in the night- 
 season." (Lambard's Constable, p. 12.) 
 This authority, which was perhaps suffi- 
 ciently definite in times when the curfew 
 was in practice and when watch and 
 ward were kept, is at the present day of 
 so vague a nature, that a peace-officer 
 could scarcely act under it without danger 
 of an action in every particular instance. 
 It is, however, obviously essential to the 
 efficiency of any system of police, that 
 constables should be armed with some 
 general authority of this nature, especially 
 in towns. By the Metropolitan Police 
 Acts (10 Geo. IV. c. 44, and 2 & 3 Vict. 
 c. 47), it is provided that any man be- 
 longing to the police force appointed 
 under these acts may apprehend all loose, 
 idle, and disorderly persons whom he 
 shall find disturbing the public peace, 
 and any person charged by another with 
 having recently committed an aggravated 
 assault, or any person whom he shall 
 
CONSTABLE. 
 
 [ "I ] 
 
 CONSTABLE. 
 
 have just cause to suspect of any evil 
 designs, and all persons whom he shall 
 find between sunset and the hour of eight 
 in the morning lying in any highway, 
 yard, or other place, or loitering therein, 
 and not giving a satisfactory account of 
 themselves, and deliver them to the con- 
 stable in attendance at the nearest watch- 
 house, to be secured until they can be 
 lirought before a magistrate. The con- 
 stable may detain persons, and vessels, 
 and carriages conveying property sus- 
 pected to be stolen, &c. Offenders are to 
 \k taken to the nearest station-house, and 
 the horses and carriages of offenders are 
 to be detained. The Municipal Reform 
 Act contains a similar but less compre- 
 hensive provision, authorising any con- 
 stable appointed under that act, while on 
 duty, to apprehend all idle and disorderly 
 persons whom he shall find disturbing the 
 public peace, or whom he shall have just 
 cause to suspect of intention to commit a 
 felony. The constable of a municipal 
 borough undir the act has power within 
 any part of the county to which the 
 borough belongs, and also within every 
 other county within seven miles of such 
 borough. Besides the specific authorities 
 which apply to the metropolitan police 
 district and the boroughs affected by the 
 Municipal Reform Act, there is no doubt 
 that in general a constable, by virtue of 
 his common-law authority, may stop any 
 person carrying by night a bundle or 
 goods under circumstances of reasonable 
 suspicion; and if upon examining him 
 his suspicions are not removed, he may 
 detain him in his custody. A constable 
 has also a general authority to apprehend 
 for offences against the Vagrant Act, 4 
 & 5 George IV. c. 83, or against the 
 Larceny Act, or the Malicious Injuries 
 Act, 7 & 8 George IV. c. 29 and 30. 
 
 4. In the execution of a warrant a 
 constable acts only as a ministerial officer 
 to the magistrate who signs it. He is the 
 proper officer to a justice of the peace, 
 and is bound by law to execute his war- 
 rants, and may be indicted for disobeying 
 them. It is his duty to execute the war- 
 rant of a magistrate as soon as it comes 
 to hi* hands; and where he arrests or 
 distrains or does any other act, though it 
 is not absolutely necessary that he should 
 
 show his warrant, he ought always to 
 give notice of it, and he will be wise to 
 produce it in all cases where it is de- 
 manded; but as the warrant constitutes 
 his justification, he is not required to 
 part with it out of his possession. If 
 the constable has a legal warrant to arrest 
 for felony, or even breach of the peace, 
 he may break open doors after having 
 demanded admittance and given notice of 
 his warrant ; and if, after such notice, he 
 is resisted and killed, it will be murder. 
 If a warrant be directed to a constable by 
 his name of office merely, he is authorised 
 by the stat. 5 Geo. IV. c. 18, to execute 
 it out of his own constablewick, provided 
 it be within the jurisdiction of the magis- 
 trate who signs it ; but he is not bound to 
 do so, and may in all cases choose whe- 
 ther he will go beyond his own precincts 
 or not. 
 
 5. There are several provisions for the 
 indemnity and protection of constables 
 in the proper discharge of their duty. 
 Thus by the stat. 7 Jac. I. c. 5, if an 
 action be brought against a constable for 
 anything done by virtue of his office, he 
 may plead the general issue and give the 
 special matter in evidence ; and if he re- 
 covers, he is entitled to double costs. 
 Formerly if a magistrate granted a war- 
 rant in a matter over which he had no 
 jurisdiction, the officer who executed it 
 was liable to an action of trespass for so 
 doing ; but by the stat. 24 George II. c. 
 44, § 6, it is enacted, that "no action 
 shall be brought against any constable 
 for anything done in obedience to the 
 warrant of a justice of the peace, until 
 he has neglected or refused to show 
 his warrant on being demanded so to do. 
 And if after he has shown his warrant, 
 any action is brought against the con- 
 stable alone, without joining the justice 
 who signed the warrant, the defendant, 
 on producing the warrant at the trial, 
 shall be entitled to a verdict, notwith- 
 standing the defect of the justice's juris- 
 diction; and if the action be brought 
 against the constable jointly with the 
 justice, the constable is to be entitled to 
 a verdict on proof of the warrant." By 
 section 8 of the same statute, all actions 
 against constables for anything done in 
 the execution of their office must be 
 
CONSTABLE. 
 
 [ 615 .1 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 brought within six months. For the 
 further protection of constables! the stat. 
 9 George IV. c. 31, § 25, enacts that 
 persons convicted of assaults upon peace- 
 officers in the due execution of their 
 duty may be imprisoned with hard labour 
 for two years, and be fined or required to 
 find sureties for keeping the peace. (For 
 fuller information upon the whole of this 
 subject, see Viner's Abridgement ; Bacon's 
 Abridgement; and Burn's Justice, title 
 " Constable.") 
 
 For an account of the rural police 
 established in several counties of Eng- 
 land, and of the constabulary in Ireland, 
 see Police. 
 
 CONSTABLE, LORD HIGH, OF 
 SCOTLAND. In the twelfth century 
 we have a list of eleven lord high con- 
 stables in Scotland. Sir Gilbert de Hay 
 got the office in fee and heritage in the 
 year 1314; since which time the con- 
 stable's staff, then put into his hands by 
 Bruce, has remained in the Errol family. 
 
 The office and jurisdiction of the lord 
 high constable of Scotland differ from 
 those of the like officer in England. No 
 formal distribution of the powers of the 
 lord justiciar of Scotland, such as took 
 place at the breaking up of the aula regis 
 of England, was ever made in the former 
 kingdom ; nor when in the course of years 
 this happened, did the once large powers 
 of the justiciar pass to the like officers in 
 the one country as in the other. v On the 
 new modelling of the judicial polity of 
 England by King Edward I., the con- 
 stable and mareschal were set over a 
 court of chivalry, with jurisdiction in 
 matters of honour and arms. But in 
 these the constable of Scotland never 
 had jurisdiction. His jurisdiction was of 
 the nature of that in England, vested by 
 33 Henry VIII. c. 12, in the lord steward 
 of the king's household, or (in his ab- 
 sence) of the treasurer, comptroller, and 
 steward of the Marshalsea ; for according 
 to the Leges Male. II., he judged jointly 
 with the mareschal in all transgressions 
 committed within certain limits of the 
 king's court. But even this jurisdiction 
 seems to have been exercised in fact by 
 the lord justiciar ; the constable only pro- 
 testing against the interference with his 
 powers. In the reign of King Charles 
 
 I., a commission was issued to inquire 
 into the nature and extent of the con- 
 stable's jurisdiction; and they reported 
 that it extended to all slaughters and 
 riots committed within four miles of the 
 king's person, or of the parliament or 
 privy council. No alteration was made 
 at the Union ; and by the act 20 Geo. II. 
 c. 43 — which swept away so many other 
 heritable jurisdictions — the office and 
 jurisdiction of the lord high constable of 
 Scotland were expressly reserved. 
 
 CONSTITUTION, a term often used 
 by persons at the present day without any 
 precise notion of what it means. Such a 
 definition of a Constitution, if it were 
 offered as one, might be defended as 
 equally good with many other definitions 
 or descriptions which are involved in the 
 terms used whenever a constitution is 
 spoken of. 
 
 The constitutions which are most fre- 
 quently mentioned are the English Con- 
 stitution, the constitutions of the several 
 States composing the North American 
 union, the Federal constitution, by which 
 these same States are bound together, and 
 various constitutions of the European con- 
 tinent. 
 
 The vague notion of a constitution is 
 that of certain fundamental rules or laws 
 by which the general form of adminis- 
 tration in a given country is regulated, 
 and in opposition to which no other fun- 
 damental rales or laws, or any rules or 
 laws, can or ought to be made. 
 
 The exact notion of a constitution can- 
 not be obtained without first obtaining a 
 notion of sovereign power. The sovereign 
 power in any state is that power from 
 which all laws properly so called pro- 
 ceed ; it is that power which commands 
 and can enforce obedience. Such a power, 
 being sovereign or supreme, is subject to 
 no other power, and cannot therefore be 
 bound by any rules laid down, either by 
 those who have at any previous time en- 
 joyed the sovereign power in the same 
 community, or by any maxims or rules 
 of conduct practised or recommended by 
 its predecessors in power, whether those 
 rules or maxims be merely a matter of 
 long usage or solemnly recorded in any 
 written instrument. The sovereign power 
 for the time is supreme, and can make 
 
CONSTITUTION. 
 
 [ gig ] 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 what laws it pleases without doing any 
 illegal act, and, strictly speaking, also 
 ■without doing any unconstitutional act. 
 For this word Constitution, taken in its 
 strongest sense, can never mean more 
 than a law made or a usage sanctioned 
 by some one or more possessed of sove- 
 reign power, which law or usage has for 
 many generations been observed by all 
 those who have successively held the 
 sovereign power in the same country. 
 To modify or destroy such a rule or law 
 might be unwise, as being an act in op- 
 position to that which many successive 
 generations had found to be a wise and 
 useful rule ; it might be dangerous as 
 being opposed to that to which the expe- 
 rience or prejudices of many generations 
 had given their sanction ; and it might 
 lead to resistance on the part of the go- 
 verned, if either their own interest or 
 their passions were strong enough to lead 
 them to risk a eontest with the sovereign 
 power. If (as would generally be ad- 
 mitted) the assembled parliament of Great 
 Britain and Ireland possess the sovereign 
 
 Sower, there is no act which they could 
 o which would be illegal, as everybody 
 must admit : and further, there is no pos- 
 sible act which they could do which would 
 be unconstitutional, for such act would be 
 no more than repealing some law or usage 
 having the force of law which the mass 
 of the nation regarded with more than 
 usual veneration, or enacting something 
 at variance with such law or usage. For 
 example, if the next assembled parlia- 
 ment should abolish the trial by jury in 
 all cases, such an act might be called by 
 some persons illegal, unconstitutional, and 
 unwise. But it would not be called illegal 
 by any person who had fully examined 
 into the meaning of the word Law ; it 
 would not be called unconstitutional by 
 any man who, having called it illegal, 
 wished to be consistent with himself: it 
 could only be properly called wise or un- 
 wise by those who had reflected suffi- 
 ciently on the nature of the institution 
 aud its operations to know whether such a 
 modification would do more good or harm. 
 The words constitution and unconsti- 
 tutional appear to be only strictly appli- 
 cable to those cases where the sovereign j 
 power, whether held by one, or two, or : 
 
 five hundred, or all the males of an inde- 
 pendent political community who are 
 above a certain age, or by any other num- 
 ber in such a community, lays down cer- 
 tain rules to regulate the conduct of those 
 to whom the sovereign power intrusts the 
 legislative functions. Such are the Con- 
 stitutions of the several states composing 
 the North American Union, and such is 
 the Constitution of the Federation of these 
 several states. In these several states the 
 people, in the mass, and as a general rule, 
 are the sovereign. The people assembled 
 by their delegates, named for that especial 
 purpose, have framed the existing Consti- 
 tutions ; and they change the same Con- 
 stitutions in the same way whenever the 
 majority of the people, that is, when the 
 sovereign, chooses to make such change. 
 
 These constitutions lay down certain 
 rales, according to which the legislative, 
 executive, and judicial functionaries must 
 be chosen ; they fix limits to their several 
 powers, both with respect to one another, 
 and with respect to the individuals who 
 compose the sovereign. " They do ordain 
 and declare the future form of govern- 
 ment." For example, the Constitution of 
 Virginia of 1770 declares "that all mi- 
 nisters of the Gospel of every denomina- 
 tion shall be incapable of being elected 
 members of either House of Assembly, 
 or of the Privy Council." The same rule, 
 we believe, forms a part of the amended 
 Constitution of the same state. If the 
 Virginian legislature were to pass an act 
 to enable clergymen to become members 
 of the House of Assembly or of the Privy 
 Council, such an act would be unconsti- 
 tutional, and no one would be bound to 
 obey it. The judiciary, if such a matter 
 came before it, would, in the discharge of 
 its duty, declare it unconstitutional, and 
 such so-called law could have no further 
 effect than if any unauthorized body of 
 men had made it. 
 
 A constitution, then, is nothing more\ 
 than an act of the sovereign power, by 
 which it delegates a part of its authority \ 
 to certain persons, or to a body, to be 
 chosen in a way prescribed by the Act 
 of Constitution, which at the same time 
 fixes in a general way the powers of the 
 body to which a part of the sovereign 
 power is thus delegated. And the sove- 
 
CONSTITUTION. 
 
 [017 J 
 
 CONSTITUT-I©N. 
 
 J reign power changes this Constitution 
 whenever it pleases, and in doing so acts 
 
 i neither constitutionally nor unconstitu- 
 tionally, but simply exercises its sovereign 
 
 *• power. No body can act unconstitution- 
 ally except a body which has received 
 authority from a higher power, and acts 
 contrary to the terms which fix that 
 authority. Wherever, then, there is a 
 sovereign power, consisting either of one, 
 as the Autocrat of Russia, of three mem- 
 bers, king, lords, and commons, as in 
 England (provided these three members 
 do possess the complete sovereign power), 
 or of all the males born of American citi- 
 zens and of a given age, and of all natu- 
 ralized foreigners, as in most of the 
 United States of North America — such 
 sovereign power cannot act unconstitu- 
 tionally. For to act unconstitutionally 
 would be to act against a rule imposed by 
 some superior authority, which would be 
 a contradiction. 
 
 A constitutional government may be 
 either purely democratical, as those of 
 the United States of North America, or 
 it may be republican, that is, a govern- 
 ment in which the sovereign power is 
 simply defined as not being held by one 
 person, as in France and England. It may 
 be of such a kind that it shall approach very 
 near to a monarchy, if the king or other 
 head of the state is by the constitution 
 invested with very great powers, or such 
 powers as may enable him to overpower, 
 overawe, or render incapable of action, 
 the other limbs of the Constitution. A 
 constitutional government may be of the 
 aristocratical kind, as England, where the 
 power of the crown is now very limited 
 in practice, and is in effect wielded by 
 the small number who for the time ob- 
 tain the direction of affairs by means of 
 being able to get a majority of the House 
 of Commons ; for this body, though 
 elected by the people, cannot yet be con- 
 sidered as a really popular body. The 
 French king, under the Charter, has 
 greater powers than the English king 
 has in faot, though in theory it may seem 
 otherwise. The present King of the 
 French presides in his own Cabinet ; the 
 English Cabinet deliberates without the 
 presence of the king, whose wishes, in 
 opposition to those of the Cabinet, can 
 
 never be carried into effect. The Cabinet 
 consists of the responsible ministers ; they 
 are the king's servants, but so long as 
 they are in office they act as they please. 
 But whatever variety of form there may 
 be in constitutional governments, the essen- 
 tial element to a constitutional govern- 
 ment, as here understood, is an assembly 
 of representatives chosen by all the people, 
 or by a considerable proportion of them. 
 This is the body on which a constitutional 
 government depends for its strength, its 
 improvement, and its existence. This is 
 the element out of which ought to come 
 all the ameliorations of the condition of 
 the people which can be effected by legis- 
 lative measures. The limb or member of 
 a constitutional government, which is 
 composed either of hereditary peers, or 
 of peers named for life by a king, is from 
 its nature an inert body. It may resist 
 unwise and hasty change, but it is not 
 adapted for any active measures. 
 
 The policy of having a constitution in 
 a state where the sovereign power is in 
 the hands of all the citizens may be de- 
 fended on general grounds of conveni- 
 ence. When the community have settled 
 that certain fundamental maxims are 
 right, it is a saving of time and trouble 
 to exclude the discussion of all such mat- 
 ters from the functions of those to whom 
 they have by the constitution intrusted 
 legislative power. Such fundamental 
 rules also present a barrier to any sudden 
 and violent assumption of undue authority 
 either by the legislative or executive, and 
 oblige them, as we see in the actual work- 
 ings of constitutions, to obtain their ob- 
 ject by other means, which, if not less 
 dangerous in the end, are more slow in 
 their operation, and thus can be detected 
 and are exposed to be defeated by bimi- 
 lar means put in action by the opposing 
 party. There are disadvantages also in 
 such an arrangement. Constitutional 
 rules when once fixed are not easily 
 changed ; and the legislative body when 
 once established, though theoretically, 
 and in fact too, under the sovereign con- 
 trol, often finds means to elude the vigi- 
 lance and defeat the wishes of the body 
 to which it owes its existence, and from 
 which it derives its power. One of the 
 great means by which these ends are 
 
CONSTITUTION. 
 
 [ 618 ] 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 effected is the interpretation of the writ- 
 ten instrument or constitution, which is 
 the warrant for their powers. The prac- 
 tice of torturing the words of all written 
 law, till in effect the law or rule is made 
 to express the contrary of what seemed 
 to be at first intended, appears to be 
 deeply implanted in the English race, 
 and in those of their descendants who 
 have established constitutional forms on 
 the other side of the Atlantic. The value 
 of all written instruments, whether called 
 constitutions or not, seems considerably 
 impaired by this peculiar aptitude of men 
 to construe words which once seemed to 
 have one plain meaning only, so that they 
 shall mean anything which the actual cir- 
 cumstances may require, or may seem to 
 require. 
 
 It is beside our purpose to discuss the 
 advantage of a Constitution in a commu- 
 nity where the sovereign is one. Being 
 supreme, the sovereign may change the 
 Constitution when he pleases. It may 
 be said that if the Constitution is good, 
 and has been allowed to stand by several 
 successive possessors of the sovereign 
 power, it obtains an apparent prescriptive 
 authority, which is the more binding on 
 the sovereign, as the mass of the nation 
 habitually regard this same Constitution 
 as something which even the sovereign 
 cannot touch with impunity. It would 
 shock common prejudice if the actual 
 sovereign were to violate that which has 
 been sanctioned by his predecessors, and 
 is recommended by an apparently higher 
 antiquity than the power which, in the 
 actual sovereign's hands, appears to be of 
 more recent birth. The precise meaning 
 of what is called the English Constitution 
 must be got from the various writers who 
 have made its origin and progress their 
 study. In reading them it may not be 
 amiss to bear in mind that the word Con- 
 stitution, as used by them, has not the exact, 
 but the vague meaning as explained above. 
 
 States where there is a king, or other 
 person with corresponding name and 
 power, are now most usually distributed 
 into the two classes of monarchies and 
 constitutional monarchies. The term 
 Monarchy is a proper term to express a 
 form of government in which one man 
 has the sovereign power, ai in Russia. 
 
 The term Constitutional Monarchies i: 
 not an appropriate term, because the word 
 monarchy is not capable of a limitation 
 of meaning without the implication of a 
 contradiction in terms. Still the expres- 
 sion is used, and it is understood to ex- 
 press those states in which the kingly 
 power is limited or defined by a written 
 instrument, which also lays down certain 
 general rules affecting the form of go- 
 vernment and the condition of the people, 
 which are not to be varied by any legis- 
 lative act. Such an instrument is the 
 French Charte [Chakte], under which 
 Prance, instead of being a monarchy, as 
 it was once, is now a constitutional state, 
 or, as it is called, a constitutional mo- 
 narchy. This act, which proceeded from 
 the king (Louis XVIII.), cannot be re- 
 voked by any future king consistently 
 with good faith ; and, besides this, such 
 revocation would be followed by resist- 
 ance to the government, if the actual 
 government were not too strong to be 
 resisted. The violation of such a solemn 
 act would, in the opinion of all mankind, 
 justify revolution, and the inflicting the 
 punishment of death on all who advised 
 or participated in so flagrant a violation 
 of good faith. 
 
 At present there is a struggle in some 
 countries, as in Prussia for instance, be- 
 tween the sovereign (the king) and his 
 subjects, who call for a constitution. The 
 late King of Prussia, Frederick William 
 III., solemnly promised his people a con- 
 stitution in the hour of difficulty, on the 
 22nd of May, 1815, when Napoleon was 
 again threatening Prussia and all Europe, 
 The promise was a reward due to the 
 Prussian nation, for their services in the 
 years 1813, 1814: it was a compensation 
 due for the blood shed at Leipzig, and 
 the overthrow of the enemy of all free- 
 dom and constitutions. He promised not 
 only a representative system for the eight 
 provinces of Prussia, but a representative 
 system for all Prussia; the only sure 
 foundation on which that kingdom can 
 now stand. Frederick William III. died 
 on the 7th of June, 184(1, without having 
 fulfilled his promise of giving Prussia a 
 general representative system, — without 
 having made good the solemn promise of 
 a king to a people who had again built 
 
CONSTITUTION. 
 
 [619] 
 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 up his throne that had crumbled to the 
 dust before the armies of Prance. The 
 son of Frederick William III., King Fre- 
 derick William IV. of Prussia, has de- 
 clared to the states of Posen, on the 9th 
 of September, 1840, that his father's pro- 
 mise does not bind him, because his father 
 thought a constitution incompatible with 
 the good of his people, and accordingly 
 gave them, in place of it, the law of the 
 5th of June, 1823. To this it is replied, 
 that the law of the 22nd of May, 1815, 
 promised provincial estates and represen- 
 tatives for the whole nation. The law of 
 the 5th of June, 1823, established the pro- 
 vincial estates, and gave a prospect of the 
 representatives of the nation being called 
 together ; consequently, in making this 
 renewal of his promise, Frederick Wil- 
 liam III. could not have intended that 
 the second law should stand in the place 
 of the first. (Das Konigliche Wort, Frie- 
 derich Wilhelms III., von Dr. Johann 
 Jacoby, dated Konigsberg, 16th Decem- 
 ber, 1844, but printed in London.) 
 
 In some monarchical governments, as 
 in Prussia, a constitutional government is 
 of urgent necessity. When a nation has 
 reached a certain, point in its social pro- 
 gress, a participation in the sovereign 
 power becomes a universal desire. It 
 does not follow that a nation will be 
 better administered because the people 
 participate in the sovereign power, but 
 they will not be satisfied till they do par- 
 ticipate in it ; and that is the important 
 matter for an absolute power to consider. 
 The representatives may often, and will 
 certainly sometimes, enact laws which are 
 mischievous to themselves ; but that is an 
 incident to, or an accident in, a constitu- 
 tional system, not its essential. The es- 
 sential of a constitutional system is to 
 call all men into political activity as mem- 
 bers of a state, to secilre the highest degree 
 of individual freedom that is consistent 
 with the general interest, to establish a 
 real national character by making each 
 man a poteutia land living member of the 
 body corporate, and, above all, to keep a 
 tight and steady hand upon the public 
 purse ; to see that no more taxes are 
 raised than are necessary for the due 
 support of the administration, and to see 
 that they are raised in such a way as to 
 
 bring the largest sum into the treasury 
 with the least detriment to the individual. 
 Freedom of publication, or, as it is usually 
 called, the liberty of the press, is in 
 modern times indispensable as a means of 
 maintaining constitutional freedom where 
 it exists, and of attaining it where it does 
 not. In an absolute government, like 
 Prussia, it is restrained by a censorship : 
 in France, which is a young constitution, 
 it is checked by severe enactments ; in 
 England the freedom of the press is 
 amply secured both by law and usage. 
 In the actual state of Germany, in which 
 political life hardly exists, the establish- 
 ment of a true constitutional government 
 in Prussia would be the commencement 
 of a new sera for the Germanic nation. 
 The Russian subjects of the Czar of Mus- 
 covy, or of the greater part of his do- 
 minions at least, may be at present as 
 contented and as well governed as they 
 would be under a constitution ; for a con- 
 stitution, in order to be beneficial, must 
 be founded upon a representation of a 
 whole nation which has political know- 
 ledge, or of a majority so large that the 
 minority shall be insignificant when com- 
 pared with it. 
 
 In the articles Charte and United 
 States, Constitution of, an account is 
 given of the constitutions of France and 
 the United States of North America, 
 which countries, and England, enjoy a 
 higher degree Of constitutional freedom 
 than any other states. Spain has made 
 extraordinary efforts to obtain the advan- 
 tages of a constitution. [Cobtes.] Some 
 of the smaller states of Germany have 
 constitutions, as Wiirtemberg, Hanover, 
 Baden, Hesse Darmstadt, Hesse Cassel, 
 Nassau, &c. The European states which 
 have no constitution are Kussia, Austria, 
 Prussia, Ottoman Empire, Naples and 
 Sicily, Papal States, Grand Dukedom of 
 Tuscany, Dukedom of Parma, Dukedom 
 of Modena, Dukedom of Lucca, Sardinia, 
 the Principality of Monaco, &c. The 
 constitutions of Mexico and of the Repub- 
 lics of South America resemble that of 
 the United States. Brazil has a constitu- 
 tion and a representation. 
 
 For the nature of a Federal Govern- 
 ment, which necessarily implies the notion 
 of a Constitution, see Federation. 
 
CONSTITUTIONS. 
 
 [ 620 ] 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS. 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS AND CANONS 
 ECCLESIASTICAL. King James I., 
 in the first year of his reign in England, 
 by his writ directed to the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, summoned and called the 
 " bishops, deans of cathedral churches, 
 archdeacons, chapters and colleges, and 
 the other clergy of every diocese within 
 the province of Canterbury," to meet in 
 the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in 
 London, to " treat, consent, and conclude 
 upon certain difficult and urgent affairs 
 mentioned in the said writ." The persons 
 so summoned met in Convocation, and 
 " agreed upon certain canons, orders, 
 ordinances, and constitutions, to the end 
 and purpose" by the king " limited and 
 prescribed unto them;" to which the 
 king, out of his " princely inclination and 
 royal care for the maintenance of the pre- 
 sent estate and government of the Church 
 of England by the laws of this realm now 
 settled and established," gave his royal 
 assent by letters-patent, according to the 
 form of the statute of the twenty-fifth 
 year of King Henry VIII. The king, 
 by his prerogative royal and supreme 
 authority in causes ecclesiastical, com- 
 manded these said canons, orders, and 
 constitutions to be diligently observed, 
 executed, and kept by his loving subjects 
 of the kingdom, both within the provinces 
 of Canterbury and York, in all points 
 wherein they do or may concern every or 
 any of them ; and the king also com- 
 manded that every minister, by whatever 
 name or title soever he be called, shall in 
 the parish church or chapel where he 
 hath charge read all the said canons, 
 orders, ordinances, and constitutions once 
 every year, upon some Sundays or holy- 
 days, in the afternoon before divine service 
 
 The canons and constitutions may be 
 divided into fourteen heads, which treat 
 as follow : — 1. Of the Church of England. 
 2. Of divine service, and administration 
 of the sacraments. 3. Ministers, their 
 ordination, function, and charge. 4. 
 Schoolmasters. 5. Things appertaining 
 to churches. 6. Churchwardens, or quest- 
 men, and side-men, or assistants. 7. 
 Parish clerks. 8. Ecclesiastical Courts 
 belonging to the archbishop's jurisdiction. 
 9. Ecclesiastical Courts belonging to the 
 jurisdiction of bishops and archdeacons, 
 
 and the proceedings in them. 10. Judges 
 ecclesiastical and their surrogates. 11. 
 Proctors. 12. Registrars. 13. Appari- 
 tors. 14. Authority of synods. The 
 number of constitutions is one hundred 
 and forty-one. The authority of these 
 canons is binding on the clergy, but not 
 on the laity, except so far as is stated 
 under the head Canon, p. 446. The 
 authority of Canon 77 may be doubted ; 
 it is this : " No man shall teach, either in 
 public school or private house, but such 
 as shall be allowed by the bishop of the 
 diocese, or ordinary of the place, under 
 his hand and seal ; being found meet as 
 well for his learning and dexterity in 
 teaching, as for sober and honest conver- 
 sation, and also for right understanding 
 of God's true religion ; and also except he 
 shall first subscribe to the first and third 
 articles afore mentioned simply, and to 
 the first ten clauses of the second article." 
 The 78th Canon provides that " curates 
 desirous to teach shall be licensed before 
 others ;" and 79 declares " the duty of 
 schoolmasters." The Constitutions and 
 Canons Ecclesiastical have been printed 
 by the Society for Promoting Christian 
 Knowledge, London, 1841, together with 
 the Thirty- Nine Articles of the Church of 
 England. 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS, EOMAN. The 
 word Constitutio (from constituere, to set 
 up, to establish) signifies any disposition 
 or appointment ; for example, an edict of 
 the praetor is called constitutio (Dig. 4, 
 tit. 2, s. 1 . 9). The decrees and decisions 
 of Roman emperors are also called con- 
 stitutiones; and, according to Gaius (L 
 5), an imperial constitution is what the 
 emperor declares by a decree, or an edict, 
 or a letter (epistola). That modern sig- 
 nification of the term, which denotes the 
 fundamental law of a state, was not in 
 use among the Romans ; yet Cicero (lie 
 Repubtica, i. 45) employs the word to 
 express a similar notion. An imperial 
 constitution, then, was a rule of law 
 established by the Roman emperor, either 
 as a judge or as a legislator. A Decree 
 (decretum) was a judgment in some mat- 
 ter brought before the emperor either 
 upon appeal or originally. Some of these 
 decreta were final, and, at least after the 
 legislation of Justinian, had the force of 
 
CONSTITUTIONS. 
 
 ,[ 621 ] CONSTITUTIONS. 
 
 Jaw; but interlocutory judgments had 
 not. An Edict (edictum, edictales leges) 
 was an ordinance promulgated by the 
 emperor, and as a general rule applicable 
 to all his subjects. The word Epistola is 
 a general name for any constitution which 
 was promulgated in the form of a letter ; 
 and this term also comprises Subscrip- 
 tiones and Annotationes, which were short 
 answers to questions propounded to the 
 emperor, and written, as these terms im- 
 port, at the foot or on the margin of the 
 paper which was laid before him. Re- 
 scripts (rescripta) were properly answers 
 to an individual who presented a petition 
 to the emperor, or to magistrates who 
 prayed for his advice in any matter. 
 Rescripta, according to their nature, were 
 only applicable to a particular ,case, though 
 they might contain general principles 
 which would be applicable to other cases, 
 and so in time they would obtain the force 
 of law. Mandata were instructions to 
 the provincial governors for their direc- 
 tion in matters of administration. All these 
 forms of expressing the imperial pleasure, 
 though originally not equally binding as 
 general laws, became in various ways 
 rules of law, and formed a part of what 
 appear in the codes of Theodosius and 
 Justinian as imperial constitutions. 
 
 The origin of this system of legislation 
 is properly referred tp the time of Octa- 
 vianus Augustus, who united in his person 
 the various kinds of authority which, 
 under the Republic, were distributed 
 among several magistrates. From the 
 time of Augustus, legislation by the popu- 
 lar assemblies fell gradually into disuse, 
 and the ordinances of the senate (senatus 
 consulta) were the shape in which laws 
 were formally promulgated. The legisla- 
 tion of the senate was superseded by the 
 Orationes Principum, or messages of the 
 emperor to the senate, which contained 
 his proposed laws, to which the senate 
 gave a formal assent. Still later, about 
 the time of Hadrian and the Antonines 
 the edicta and rescripta of the emperor 
 became the usual form of legislation ; and 
 finally imperial constitutions, as above 
 explained, became the only source of 
 written law. 
 
 In course of time the number of these 
 constitutions became so great, that to pre- 
 
 vent confusion collections were made, and 
 called Codes. The first collections made 
 by private persons were the codices Gre- 
 goriani and Hermogeniani, of which we 
 know very little ; it is even uncertain if 
 they were two separate codes or only one, 
 but the general opinion is that there were 
 two codes. Opinions vary as to the time 
 when these compilers lived. The Gre- 
 gorianus Codex was divided into books 
 and titles. Of the Hermogenianus only 
 twenty-five constitutions are preserved 
 These collections, which contained the 
 constitutions from the time of Septimius 
 Severus to Diocletian, are lost, and we have 
 only some fragments, which were first edit- 
 ed by Jac. Sichardus (Basil. 1528, fol.), 
 together with the Codex Theodosianus. 
 The fragments are in Schulting's ' Juris- 
 prud. Vet. Antejust,' Lugd.-Bat. 1712, and 
 in the ' Jus Civile Antejust.,' Berol. 1815. 
 Another and more important collection 
 was made under the reign of Theodosius 
 II., by public authority. The emperor 
 nominated, in the year 435, a commission 
 of sixteen persons, under the direction of 
 Antiochus, for the purpose of collecting 
 the constitutions from the time of Con- 
 stantine the Great ; and three years after 
 wards (a. d. 438), the new code, called 
 Codex Theodosianus, was confirmed by 
 the emperor, and published in the Eastern 
 empire. In the same year (438) the code 
 was sent to Rome to Valentinian III., and 
 confirmed as law for the Western empire. 
 This compilation was formed on the model 
 of those of Gregorianus and Hermogenia- 
 nus. It contains sixteen books, divided 
 into titles, in which the separate constitu- 
 tions are arranged, according to their 
 subject-matter, in such a way that many 
 of them are subdivided. Some additions, 
 called Novelise, were afterwards made to 
 the collection of Theodosius. The first 
 five books were lost, but some parts of 
 them have been discovered at Milan, by 
 Clossius (Clossii, ' Theodos. Codic. Genu- 
 in. Fragmenta,' Tub. 1 824) ; and at Turin, 
 by Peyron (' Codic. Theodos. Fragmenta 
 Ined.,' Tur. 1823-24). Carlo Baudia 
 Besme has recently discovered at Turin 
 palimpsests which contain valuable addi- 
 tions to, and means of improving the text 
 of the Theodosian Code. The edition 
 of the Theodosian Code by Jac. Gotho- 
 
CONSUL. 
 
 [ 622 J 
 
 CONSUL. 
 
 fredus, torn. vi. Lugd., 1665, is valuable 
 for the commentary which was also pub- 
 lished, together with the text, by Bitter, 
 Leipzig, 1736-54. The last edition is the 
 valuable critical edition of G. Haenel, 
 Bonn, 1837. 
 
 In the year 506, Alaric II. caused an 
 abridgment to be made of the Theodosian 
 Code, to which were added excerpts from 
 the codices Gregoriani and Hermogeniani, 
 and of the works of the Roman lawyers 
 Gaius and Paulus, for the use of the Ro- 
 mans then living in the empire of the 
 Visigoths : the collection is called ' Bre- 
 viarium Alaricianum.' 
 
 The last and most important collection 
 of Roman constitutions was made by the 
 order of Justinian, and is entitled Codex 
 Justinianeus. [Justinian's Legisla- 
 tion.] 
 
 CONSUL. The two chief magistrates 
 who were annually elected by the Ro- 
 mans were called Consuls. Their powers 
 and functions were the same or nearly 
 the same as those of the kings ; but they 
 were elected and only held office for a 
 year. The original name was Praetor 
 and not consul. The consuls were chosen 
 solely from the Patricians, or order of 
 old nobles, till B.C. 369, when a law was 
 passed which allowed one of the consuls 
 to be chosen from the commons (Plebs). 
 After this time, sometimes both consuls 
 were plebeians. After the establishment 
 of the imperial power in the person of 
 Augustus, the office of consul was little 
 more than honorary ; and the election 
 was transferred from the people to the 
 senate; and it also became the practice 
 for the consuls to hold office only for a 
 few months, in order that the emperor 
 might gratify others with the honorary 
 title. The Romans reckoned their epochs 
 of time by reference to the foundation of 
 the city, B.C. 753, according to the sera 
 of Varro ; and they marked the particu- 
 lar years by the names of the consuls. 
 The first consuls were appointed B.C. 509, 
 or in the year of the city (a.u.c.) 245 : 
 they were L. Junius Brutus and L. Tar- 
 quinius Collatinus. From B.C. 509 there 
 are extant the names of consuls down to 
 a.d. 541. These names were registered 
 in the Roman Fasti, which is the Roman 
 name for the registered list of their ma- 
 
 gistrates ; and though there are some dis- 
 crepancies in the various authorities from 
 which our complete lists of consuls are 
 compiled, the series is on the whole es- 
 tablished by good evidence. The consulB 
 under the Empire were consuls only in 
 name. 
 
 The word consul, like many other 
 Roman terms, has passed into the lan- 
 guages of Europe, and modern times have 
 witnessed the establishment of a consul- 
 ate in France ; the establishment in name, 
 but in nothing else. 
 
 The word consul has been used in va- 
 rious senses in modern times. The Ge- 
 noese had consuls in the factories or 
 ports which they established. [Colony, 
 p. 560.] Richelet (Dictionnaire) speaks 
 of a consul as a judge at Paris who settled 
 disputes among merchants : his office 
 lasted only a year. He adds that many 
 of the old counts in France were called 
 consuls. The name was also used in the 
 courts of Provence and Languedoc in the 
 sense of Echevin. [Echevin.] 
 
 A modern consul is an officer appointed 
 by a government to reside in some fo- 
 reign country, in order to give protection 
 to such subjects of the government or 
 citizens of the state by which he is ap- 
 pointed as may have commercial deal- 
 ings in the country where the consul 
 resides, and also to keep his government 
 informed concerning any matters relating 
 to trade which may be of advantage for 
 it to know. To these duties are some- 
 times added others with objects more 
 directly political, but into this part of a 
 consul's duty it is not necessary to enter 
 at present, as such functions are assigned 
 to consuls mot as such, but in the absence 
 of an ambassador or other political agent. 
 The duties of an English consul, as 
 such, cannot perhaps be better described 
 than by giving the substance of the gene- 
 ral instructions with which he is fur- 
 nished by the government on his appoint- 
 ment. 
 
 His first duty is to exhibit his com- 
 mission, either directly, or through the 
 English ambassador, to the authorities of 
 the country to which he is accredited, 
 and to obtain their sanction to his ap- 
 pointment : the document whereby this 
 sanction is communicated is called an 
 
CONSUL. 
 
 [ 623 ] 
 
 CONSUL. 
 
 exequatur; its issue must precede the 
 commencement of his consular duties, 
 and its possession secures to the consul 
 " the enjoyment of such privileges, im- 
 munities, and exemptions as have heen 
 enjoyed by his predecessors, and as are 
 usually granted to consuls in the country 
 in ■which he is to reside." It must be the 
 particular study of the consul " to be- 
 come conversant with the laws and gene- 
 ral principles 'which relate to the trade 
 of Great Britain with foreign parts ; to 
 make himself acquainted with the lan- 
 guage and with the municipal laws of the 
 country wherein he resides, and especially 
 with such laws as have any connexion 
 with the trade between the two countries." 
 It is the consul's principal duty " to pro- 
 tect and promote the lawful trade and 
 trading interests of Great Britain by 
 every fair and proper means ;" but he is 
 at the same time " to caution all British 
 subjects against carrying on an illicit 
 commerce to the detriment of the revenue 
 and in violation of the laws and regula- 
 tions of England, or of the country in 
 which he resides ;" and he is to give to 
 his own government notice of any at- 
 tempt at such illicit trading. The con- 
 sul is "to give his best advice and as- 
 sistance, whenever called upon, to his 
 majesty's trading subjects, quieting their 
 differences, promoting peace, harmony, 
 and good-will amongst them, and con- 
 ciliating as much as possible the subjects 
 of the two countries upon all points of 
 difference which may fall under his cog- 
 nizance." Should any attempts be made 
 to injure British subjects in person or in 
 property, he is to uphold their rightful 
 interests and the privileges secured to them 
 by treaty. If, in such cases, redress can- 
 not be obtained from the local adminis- 
 tration, he must apply to the British 
 minister at the court of the country in 
 which he resides, and place the matter in 
 his hands. The consul must transmit to 
 the secretary of state for foreign affairs 
 at the end of every year a return of the 
 trade carried on at the different ports 
 within his consulate, according to a form 
 prescribed. He is also required to send 
 quarterly an account of the market prices 
 of agricultural produce in each week of 
 the preceding three months, with the 
 
 course of exchange, and any other remarks 
 which he may consider necessary for 
 properly explaining the state of the mar- 
 ket for corn and grain. . It is further his 
 duty to keep his own government informed 
 as to the appearance of any infectious 
 disease at the place of his residence. The 
 consul is required to afford relief to any 
 distressed British seamen, or other Bri- 
 tish subjects thrown upon the coast, or 
 reaching by chance any place within his 
 district, and he is to endeavour to pro- 
 cure for such persons the means of re- 
 turning to England. He is to furnish 
 intelligence to the commanders of king's 
 ships touching upon the coast where he 
 is, and to obtain for them, when required, 
 supplies of water and provisions, and he 
 is to exert himself to recover all wrecks 
 and stores belonging to king's ships when 
 found at sea, and brought into the port 
 where he resides. 
 
 In most cases consuls are subjects or 
 citizens of the state by which they are 
 appointed, but this is by no means an in- 
 variable rule, and they are sometimes the 
 subjects or citizens of the country in 
 which they reside, or of some other coun- 
 try foreign to both. Persons are usually 
 selected for filling the office from among 
 the mercantile class, and it very com- 
 monly happens that they are engaged in 
 commercial pursuits at the port where 
 their official residence is fixed. In this 
 respect the English government is charge- 
 able with some inconsistency, for while, 
 in many instances, British consuls are 
 permitted to trade, in others they are ex- 
 pressly interdicted from so doing. It 
 would be difficult to discover the appli- 
 cation of any fixed principle in deter- 
 mining the places where either of these 
 opposite rules has been adopted. We be- 
 lieve the interdiction to be of modern 
 application, and that the desire of dimi- 
 nishing the public expense has since led, 
 in many cases, to the relaxation of what 
 was once intended to be made a general 
 rule, for it is necessary to ,give a higher 
 salary whenever trading is not allowed. 
 Many traders are willing to undertake 
 the office at a low rate of direct remu- 
 neration for the sake of the commercial 
 influence which it brings, and which is 
 frequently of far greater value to them 
 
CONSUL. 
 
 [ G24 J 
 
 CONSUL 
 
 Chan any salary which the government 
 would give. The policy of this kind of 
 economy has been much questioned. 
 
 Stations of British consuls, &c. in 
 1844 :— 
 
 Russia. — St. Petersburg, Archangel, 
 Riga, Liebau, Wiburg, Warsaw, Odessa, 
 Taganrog, Kertch. 
 
 Sweden. — Stockholm and Gottenburg. 
 
 Norway. — Christiania and Bergen. 
 
 Denmark. — Elsinore and Copenhagen. 
 
 Prussia. — Memel, Pillau, Stettin, K6- 
 nigsberg. 
 
 Hans Towns. — Hamburg, Bremen, Lu- 
 beck, Cuxhaven. 
 
 Holland. — Amsterdam, Rotterdam, 
 Flushing. 
 
 Belgium. — Antwerp and Ostend. 
 
 France. — Paris, Calais, Boulogne, 
 Havre, Caen, Granville, Brest, Nantes, 
 Charente, Bordeaux, Bayonne, Marseille, 
 Toulon, Corsica. 
 
 Spain. — Madrid, Bilbao, Corunna, 
 Cadiz, San Lucar, Malaga, Carthagena, 
 Alicante, Barcelona, Mahon, Teneriffe, 
 Santiago de Cuba, Puerto Rico. 
 
 Portugal. — Lisbon, Oporto, Madeira, 
 St. Michael's, Fayal, Terceira, Cape Verd 
 Islands. 
 
 Sardinia. — Genoa, Nice, Cagliari. 
 
 Tuscany. — Leghorn. 
 
 Roman States. — Ancona. 
 
 Two Sicilies. — Naples, Gallipoli, O- 
 tranto, Palermo, Messina. 
 
 Austrian States. — Venice, Trieste, 
 Fiume, Milan. 
 
 Greece. — Patras, Syra, The Pireeus, 
 Missolonghi. 
 
 Persia. — Tabreez, Tehran. 
 
 Servia. — Belgrade. 
 
 Wallachia.— -Bucharest, Ibraila. 
 
 Moldavia. — Jassy, Galatz. 
 
 Albania. — Joannina, Prevesa, Scutari. 
 
 Turkey. — Dardanelles, Salonica, Ad- 
 rianople, Enos, Brussa, Smyrna, Myte- 
 lene, Scio, Erzeroom, Trebisonde, Kais- 
 seriah, Batoom, Samsoom, Moussul. 
 
 Syria. — Damascus, Aleppo, Adalia, 
 Alexandretta, Tarsous, Beyrout, Candia, 
 Cyprus. 
 
 Palestine. — Jerusalem. 
 
 Egypt. — Alexandria, Cairo, Damietta. 
 
 Tripoli. — Bengazi. 
 
 Tunis.— Tunis, Sfax. 
 
 Algiers. — Algiers, Oran, Bona. 
 
 Marocco. — Tangier, Mogador, Tetuan. 
 
 United States. — Portland, Boston, New 
 York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Norfolk, 
 Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, New Or- 
 leans. 
 
 Texas. — Houston, Galveston. 
 
 Mexico. — Mexico, San Bias, Vera Cruz, 
 Tampico, Matamoros. 
 
 Central America. — St. Salvador, Mos- 
 quito. 
 
 Hayti. — Port-au-Prince, Cape Haytien. 
 
 New Granada. — Bogota, Carthagena, 
 Panama, Santa Martha. 
 
 Venezuela. — Caracas, La Guayra, 
 Puerto Cabello, Maracaibo. 
 
 Ecuador.— Guayaquil. 
 
 Brazil. — Rio de Janeiro, Maranham, 
 Para, Pernambuco, Bahia, Paraiba. 
 
 Monte Video. — Monte Video. 
 
 Buenos Ayres. — Buenos Ayres. 
 
 Chili. — Santiago, Valparaiso, Concep- 
 cion, Coquimbo. 
 
 Peru. — Lima, Callao, Arica, Isla. 
 
 Bolivia. — Chuquisaca. 
 
 China. — Under the treaty of August 
 29, 1842, consular officers are appointed 
 at the five ports of Canton, Amoy, Foo- 
 choo-foo, Ning-po, Shang-hae, to regulate 
 the trade between the Chinese and the 
 subjects of Great Britain. Their duties 
 are of course very important in the pre- 
 sent state of our relations with China. 
 The consul at each port is security for 
 the payment of duties, and is bound to 
 prosecute for all infractions of the revenue 
 laws. 
 
 Sandwich Islands.— Woahoo. 
 
 Society and Friendly Islands. — Tahiti. 
 
 The stations of consuls-general, and 
 agents and consuls-general, in 1845, are 
 as follows : — 
 
 Consuls-General. — At Odessa, Chris- 
 tiania, Danzig, Hamburg, the Havana, 
 Austrian States, Belgrade, Constantinople, 
 Syria, Houston for Texas, St. Salvador 
 for Central America, Port-au-Prince for 
 Hayti, Bogota for New Grenada, Caracas 
 for Venezuela, Monte Video, Santiago for 
 Chili, Lima for Peru, Woahoo for the 
 Sandwich Islands. The highest salary 
 is 2000Z. a-year. 
 
 Agents and Consuls-General. — For 
 Egypt, Tunis, Algiers, Tangier for Ma- 
 rocco, and at Mosquito in Central America. 
 
 The total amount paid in salaries to 
 
CONTEMPT. 
 
 [ 625 J 
 
 CONTRABAND. 
 
 English consuls, &c. and vice-consuls in 
 1844 was 107,300/.; in 1835, 61,950/. ; in 
 1825, 71,716/. 
 
 Under 6 Geo. IV. c. 87, the contingent 
 expenses of the consular establishment 
 in 1844 were 17,000/. They consisted 
 of relief to distressed British subjects, 
 expenses for chaplains, churches, burial- 
 grounds, interpreters in the Levant, &c. 
 
 The consuls of the United States of 
 North America do not receive salaries, 
 except those for London, Tangier, Tunis, 
 Tripoli, 2000 dollars each, and the consul 
 for Beirout 500 dollars. 
 
 CONSUMPTION. [Capital.] 
 
 CONTEMPT. A contempt in a court 
 of law is a disobedience of the rules, 
 orders, or process of the court, or a dis- 
 turbance or interruption of its proceed- 
 ings. Contempts by resistance to the 
 process of a court, such as the refusal of 
 a sheriff to return a writ, are punishable 
 by attachment ; but contempts done in the 
 presence of the court, which cause an ob- 
 struction to its proceedings in administer- 
 ing the law, may be punished or repressed 
 in a summary manner by the commit- 
 ment of the offender to prison or by fin- 
 ing him. The power of enforcing their 
 process, and of vindicating their autho- 
 rity against open obstruction or defiance, 
 is incident to all superior courts ; and the 
 means which the law intrusts to them for 
 that purpose are attachment for con- 
 tempts committed out of court, and com- 
 mitment and fine for contempts done be- 
 fore the court. (Viner's Abridgment, tit. 
 " Contempts.") 
 
 If a defendant in Chancery, after being 
 served with a subpoena, does not appear 
 within the time fixed by the rules of the 
 court, and plead, answer, or demur to the 
 bill, he is in contempt, and he is liable to 
 various processes in succession according 
 to the continuance of his disobedience. 
 The first process is attachment, , which is 
 a warrant directed to the sheriff ordering 
 him to bring the defendant into court, 
 who is thereupon committed to the Queen's 
 Prison till he complies with the orders of 
 the court. 
 
 There are also contempts against the 
 King's prerogative, contempts against his 
 person and government, contempts of the 
 King's title, which fall short of treason 
 
 or praemunire ; and contempts against 
 the king's palaces and courts of justice ; 
 all which contempts and their several 
 punishments are discussed by Blackstone 
 ( C'omm. book iv. c. 9). 
 
 CONTRABAND, from the Italian 
 Contrabando, against the proclamation, a 
 term commonly used in commercial lan- 
 guage to denote articles the importation 
 or exportation of which is prohibited by 
 law. Since the adoption of the ware- 
 housing system in Great Britain, the list 
 of goods the importation of which is pro- 
 hibited has been made exceedingly short : 
 it comprises at this time (1845) only the 
 following articles : — 
 
 Arms, ammunition, and utensils of 
 war, by way of merchandise, except by 
 license from his Majesty for the public 
 stores only. 
 
 Books first printed in the United King- 
 dom, and reprinted in any other country 
 and imported for sale. Notice must be 
 given by authors or others to the Com- 
 missioners of Customs, that copyright is 
 subsisting. 
 
 Clocks or watches, with any mark or 
 stamp representing any legal British 
 assay mark or stamp, or purporting to be 
 of British make, or not having the name 
 and abode of some foreign maker visible 
 on the frame and the face, or not being 
 complete. 
 
 Foreign goods bearing the names or 
 marks of manufacturers in the United 
 Kingdom are forfeited on importation. 
 
 Coin, counterfeit, or not of the esta- 
 blished standard in weight and fineness. 
 
 Malt. 
 
 Snuff- work, tobacco-stalks, and tobacco- 
 stalk flour. 
 
 The list of articles contraband as re- 
 gards exportation from the United King- 
 dom is still more limited, and comprises 
 only the following articles : — 
 
 Clocks and watches : the outward or 
 inward case or dial-plate of any clock or 
 watch without the movement complete, 
 and with the clock or watchmaker's 
 name engraved thereon. 
 
 Lace made of inferior metal, in whole 
 or in part, to imitate gold or silver lace. 
 
 The schedule of prohibitions to im- 
 portations was formerly much more ex- 
 tensive. Under the Customs' Act of 
 2s ' 
 
CONTRABAND. 
 
 626 ] 
 
 CONVENT. 
 
 3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 56, cattle, sheep, fresh 
 bsef and pork, or slightly salted, and fish 
 were contraband; but under the tariff 
 established by 5 & 6 Vict. c. 47, they 
 have ceased to be contraband. Tools, 
 utensils, and machinery were also con- 
 traband, but the restriction with respect to 
 machinery was very much relaxed under 
 the power given by act of parliament to 
 the Board of Trade to license upon appli- 
 cation the exportation of such tools and 
 machines as in the opinion of the Board 
 might without inconvenience be allowed 
 to go out of the country ; and the restric- 
 tion was at length limited almost entirely 
 to machinery required for the prosecution 
 of the processes of spinning various kinds 
 of yarn. The act 6 & 7 Vict. c. 84, re- 
 peals, with some exceptions, the pro- 
 hibition against machinery. 
 
 There are some other prohibitions by 
 which trade in certain articles is restricted, 
 but these refer to the manner in which 
 the trade may be conducted, as the size of 
 the ship, or the package, or the country 
 from or to which the trading may take 
 place, and these being only of the nature 
 of regulations, the articles in question 
 cannot be considered contraband. Of this 
 nature are the prohibitions which extend 
 to our colonies, and which have for their 
 object the encouragement of the trade of 
 the mother country. The list of articles 
 prohibited by many foreign countries is 
 much larger than that enforced in this 
 country. 
 
 Another sense in which the term Con- 
 traband is applied refers to certain 
 branches of trade carried on by neutrals 
 during the continuance of war between 
 other countries. It has always been held 
 under these circumstances that belli- 
 gerents have a right to treat as contra- 
 hand, and to capture and confiscate, all 
 goods which can be considered munitions 
 of war, under which description are com- 
 prehended everything that can be made 
 directly and obviously available to a hos- 
 tile purpose, such as arms, ammunition, 
 and all kinds of naval stores, and all such 
 other articles as are capable of being used 
 with a like purpose, such as horses, and 
 timber for building ships. Under some 
 circumstances, provisions which it is at- 
 tempted to convey to an enemy's port are 
 
 contraband, as when a hostile armament 
 is in preparation in that port. These re- 
 strictions rest upon principles which are 
 reasonable in themselves, and have been 
 generally recognised by neutrals ; others 
 which have at various times been enforced 
 or attempted to be enforced have been 
 contested, but a description of this branch 
 of the subject belongs rather to the matter 
 of International Law than to a descrip- 
 tion of contraband trading. 
 
 CONTRACT, ORIGINAL. [Ori- 
 ginal Contract.] 
 
 CONVENT, from the Latin conventus, 
 an assembly or meeting together. This 
 word is used in a double sense, first, for 
 any corporation or community of reli- 
 gious, whether monks or nuns ; and se- 
 condly, for the house, abbey, monastery, 
 or nunnery in which such monks or nuns 
 dwell. Shakspere uses it in the first 
 sense, when he says of Wolsey — 
 
 " At last, with easy roads, lie came to Leicester, 
 Lodged in the abbey ; where the reverend abbot 
 With all his convent honourably received him." 
 Hen. VIII., act iv. sc. 2. 
 
 Addison uses it for the building: — 
 " One seldom finds in Italy a spot of 
 ground more agreeable than ordinary 
 that is not covered with a convent." 
 
 Furetiere, who wrote his dictionary in 
 the time of Louis XIV., says there were 
 no fewer than 14,000 convents formerly 
 in France. 
 
 Convent, as related to the foreign mili- 
 tary orders, meant the principal seat or 
 head of the order. Furetiere says, " La 
 Commanderie de Boisy, pres d'Orleans, 
 est le Couvent general de l'Ordre de St. 
 Lazare." 
 
 The earliest inhabitants of convents 
 were termed Coenobites, from the Greek 
 words koiv4s and /3ios, as living in com- 
 munity. They dwelt chiefly in Egypt. 
 Fleury (Hist. Eccles. 4to. Paris, 1720, 
 torn. v. p. 14) dates their institution as 
 early as the days of the Apostles ; others, 
 probably with more correctness, give 
 them a later origin. St. Pachomius, ab- 
 bot of Tabenna, on the banks of the Nile, 
 who was born at the close of the third 
 century, is believed to have been the first 
 person who drew up a rule for the Coeno- 
 bites. (Moreri, Die, Htitor., torn, viii.) 
 [Monastery.] 
 
CONVENTION, MILITARY. [ 627 ] CONVENTION TREATIES. 
 
 CONVENTION, MILITARY, a treaty 
 made between the commanders of two 
 opposing armies concerning the terms on 
 which a temporary cessation of hostilities 
 shall take place between them. It is 
 usually solicited by that general who has 
 suffered a defeat, when his retreat is not 
 secure and small chance is left of main- 
 taining his position; and it is seldom 
 refused by the victor, since, without in- 
 curring the unavoidable loss attending an 
 action, his force becomes immediately dis- 
 posable for other operations. 
 
 In 1757 the Duke of Cumberland, when 
 in danger of being surrounded, entered 
 into a convention with the Duke de Riche- 
 lieu, through the medium of Denmark, 
 -by which, on consenting to disband all 
 his auxiliaries, he was allowed to retire 
 with the English troops across the Elbe. 
 And in 1799, when the Anglo-Rufjian 
 army failed in the attempt to deliver Hol- 
 land from the French power, the Duke Of 
 York made a treaty with General Brune, 
 ■by which the invading force was allowed 
 to re-embark, Tm condition that 8000 
 French and Dutch prisoners of war in 
 England should be restored. 
 
 After the battle of Vimeira in 1808, the 
 Duke of Abrantes, having been defeated, 
 and fearing a general rising in Lisbon 
 against him, sent General Kellerman to 
 the quarters of the British commander- 
 in-chief, to request a cessation of arms, 
 and propose a convention by which the 
 French troops might be allowed to retire 
 from Portugal. This being granted, it 
 was finally arranged in the convention 
 that they should not be considered as pri- 
 soners of war ; and that, with their pro- 
 perty, public and private, their guns, and 
 cavalry horses, they should be transported 
 to France : On the other hand* all the 
 fortresses which had not capitulated were 
 to be given up to the British, and a Rus- 
 sian fleet, then in the Tagus, was to be 
 detained in English ports till after the 
 conclusion of a peace. This is the cele- 
 brated convention which was made at 
 Lisbon, and is generally but improperly 
 called "the Convention of Cintra." It 
 •excited much dissatisfaction both in Por- 
 tugal and England, as the cupidity of the 
 French induced them to appropriate to 
 themselves property to which they had 
 
 no claim. (Napier.-vol. i.). By the ap- 
 pointment of a committee consisting of 
 one individual of each of the three na- 
 tions, all causes of complaint were, how- 
 ever, finally removed. 
 
 CONVENTION PARLIAMENT. 
 Two days after the abdication [Abdica- 
 tion] of James II., the lords spiritual and 
 temporal, to the number of about ninety, 
 who had taken their places in the House of 
 Lords, requested the Prince of Orange to 
 issue writs for a " Convention," to meet on 
 the 22nd, of January, 1689 ; and on the 
 26th of December, 1688, an assembly of 
 such persons as had sat in parliament in 
 the reign of Charles II., to the number of 
 about a hundred and fifty, together with 
 the aldermen of London, and fifty of the 
 common council, agreed upon an address 
 similar to that of the Lords The prince 
 accordingly dispatched circular letters to 
 the several counties, universities, cities, 
 and boroughs, for the election of mem- 
 bers. The convention, or parliament, as 
 it was afterwards declared to be, passed 
 the Act of Settlement, which declared the 
 throne vacant, and conferred the crown, 
 with constitutional limitations to its power, 
 on the Prince and Princess of Orange 
 jointly. The Convention Parliament was 
 dissolved 29th January, 1691. 
 
 CONVENTION TREATIES. These 
 are treaties entered into between different 
 states, under which they each bind them- 
 selves to observe certain stipulations con- 
 tained in the treaty. In 1843 two acts 
 were passed (6 & 7 Vict. c. 75 and c. 76) 
 for giving effect to conventions between 
 her majesty and the King of the French 
 and the United States of America for the 
 apprehension of certain offenders. 
 
 The act relating to France (c. 75) le- 
 galizes the convention entered into with 
 the government of that country for the 
 giving up of offenders who may escape 
 from France into England. On requisi- 
 tion duly made by the French ambas- 
 sador, a warrant will be issued for the 
 apprehension of fugitives accused of hav- 
 ing committed the crimes of murder (as 
 defined by the French code), attempt at 
 murder, forgery, or fraudulent bank- 
 ruptcy; and any justice before whom 
 they may be brought is authorized to 
 commit them to gaol until delivered up 
 2s 2 
 
CONVENTION TREATIES. [ 62S J 
 
 CONVOCATION. 
 
 pursuant to the ambassador's requisition. 
 Copies of the depositions on which the 
 original warrant was issued, duly certified 
 as true copies, are to be received as evi- 
 dence. But no justice is to issue a war- 
 rant for the apprehension of any French 
 fugitive unless the party applying is the 
 bearer of a warrant or document, issued 
 by a judge or competent authority in 
 France, authenticated in such a manner 
 as would justify the arrest of the sup- 
 posed offender in France upon the same 
 charge. The secretary of state will order 
 the person committed to be delivered up 
 to the person or persons authorized to re- 
 ceive him. If the prisoner committed 
 shall not be conveyed out of her ma- 
 jesty's dominions within two months 
 from the time of his committal, any of 
 her majesty's judges, on application made 
 to them, and after notice of such appli- 
 cation has been sent to the secretary of 
 state (or to the acting governor in a co- 
 lony), may order such person to be dis- 
 charged, unless good cause shall be 
 shown to the contrary. The act is to 
 extend to all her majesty's present or 
 future possessions, and to continue in 
 force during the continuance of the con- 
 rention. 
 
 The act relating to America (c. 7fi) 
 is similar in its nature and purposes 
 to the one relating to France; but the 
 crimes specified include, in addition, pi- 
 racy, arson, and robbery, and do not in- 
 clude fraudulent bankruptcy. 
 
 In 1844 a case occurred of a fraudulent 
 French bankrupt who had escaped to 
 England, and the French government 
 demanded that he should be given up 
 under the Convention Treaty. He was 
 arrested and taken to prison ; but before 
 the surrender could take place he applied 
 for a writ of habeas corpus, on the ground 
 that fraudulent bankruptcy was an offence 
 unknown to the law of England, and that 
 therefore it was contrary to law to arrest 
 him or keep him in custody on such a 
 charge. The warrant of commitment did 
 not specify that the prisoner should be 
 given up on requisition duly made ac- 
 cording to the act, but the words were, 
 "until he shall be delivered by due course 
 of law." In consequence of the defective 
 application of the Convention Treaty in 
 
 this particular case the prisoner was dis- 
 charged. 
 
 At the close of 1843, seven persons ac- 
 cused of murder, robbery, and piracy 
 fled for security from Florida, in the 
 United States, to Nassau, one of the Ba- 
 hama Islands. They were followed by 
 a marshal of the United States, who was 
 authorized hy his government to demand 
 that the fugitives should be given up under 
 the Convention Act. The governor, Sir 
 Francis Cockburn, issued his warrant 
 accordingly to the chief justice of the 
 colony, authorizing and directing him to 
 take measures for the fulfilment of the 
 act. In anticipation of the application of 
 the marshal, the chief justice had a war- 
 rant prepared for apprehending the fugi- 
 tives, expecting that the evidence tendered 
 would be such as could be judicially 
 received. The only evidence offered was 
 documentary, consisting of indictments, 
 without the evidence upon which they 
 were framed. The act requires that 
 copies of the depositions upon which the 
 original warrant was gfanted, certified, 
 &c, must be adduced in order to render 
 the provisions of the act available. The 
 chief justice, with his associate judges, 
 were under the necessity of refusing the 
 warrant applied for, chiefly on the fol- 
 lowing grounds : — " An indictment per se 
 can never be received as evidence : it is 
 not enough for us to know that the Ame- 
 rican jury thought the parties guilty; 
 we ought to know the grounds upon 
 which they thought them guilty. What 
 may constitute the crime of murder iu 
 Florida may be very far from doing so 
 according to the British laws, or even to 
 the laws of the Northern States of Ame- 
 rica. By issuing a warrant, then, to ap- 
 prehend the parties in virtue of these 
 indictments, we might be doing so ou 
 evidence which would not justify their 
 apprehension by the British law, and 
 should thereby be proceeding in direct 
 violation of the act." (Pari. Paper, 
 No. 64, sess. 1844.) 
 CONVICT.' [Transportation.] 
 CONVOCATION, the assembly of 
 the Clergy of England and Wales, under 
 the authority of the king's writ, which 
 takes place at the commencement of every 
 new parliament. The couvocation write 
 
CONVOCATION. 
 
 [629 ] 
 
 CONVOCATION. 
 
 issue from the Crown Office, and are 
 addressed to the two primates of Can- 
 terbury and "York. 
 
 The tendency of the western states 
 of modern Europe in political relations 
 to become thrown into the form of which 
 kings, lords, and commons is no inapt 
 type, is apparent in the ecclesiastical 
 constitution of almost every country in 
 which Christianity has been received 
 and professed. The archbishop has had 
 his suffragan bishops, and the bishops 
 each his canons, who formed his council, 
 in some of whom have been vested pecu- 
 liar functions, as dean, archdeacon, and 
 the like ; while the great body of the 
 clergy have had their meetings under 
 the form of diocesan synods or provincial 
 assemblies, in which they have been ac- 
 customed to discuss matters pertaining to 
 the common interest and benefit of them- 
 selves or of the whole church. 
 
 These meetings, resembling as they do 
 in some points the convocation of the 
 English clergy in later times, might 
 easily be supposed to be that assembly 
 in its primordial state. But writers 
 on this subject trace the origin of the 
 convocation to something more special 
 than this. It is supposed that originally 
 the clergy were thus called together by 
 the king's authority for the purpose of 
 assessing themselves in levies of taxes at 
 a time when they contended for exemp- 
 tion from the general taxation of the 
 country imposed by the authority of par- 
 liament. Like many other questions in 
 our early constitutional history (we mean 
 by " early " when we ascend beyond the 
 reign of King Edward the First), this is 
 perhaps one of presumption and probabi- 
 lity, rather than of evidence and certainty. 
 It is said that the convocation which was 
 summoned in 1295, in the reign of King 
 Edward the First, was for the purpose of 
 obtaining a supply of. money from the 
 clergy by means of their representatives. 
 Edward had taxed the clergy very heavily 
 in 1294, and, instead of repeating the ex- 
 periment, he thought it better to get some 
 money out of them with their own con- 
 sent. 
 
 The clergy were not willing to obey 
 the king's writ which summoned them to 
 convocation, upon which the king issued 
 
 his writ to the Archbishops of Canterbury 
 and York, who, in obedience to it, sum- 
 moned the clergy in their respective pro- 
 vinces to grant the king a subsidy. Thus 
 there were two convocations, one for the 
 province of Canterbury and the other for 
 the province of York. The convocation 
 of Canterbury contained two houses, the 
 Upper House of Bishops and Archbishops, 
 and the Lower House of Deans, Archdea- 
 cons, and Proctors of the clergy. In the 
 convocation at York, all the members 
 composed (or at present compose) only 
 one house. 
 
 From this time to the year 1663, the 
 clergy were taxed in convocation in re- 
 spect of their benefices and lands ; and 
 the grants of subsidies by the clergy in 
 convocation required no confirmation ex- 
 cept the assent of the king, who wanted 
 the money. From the time of Henry 
 VIII. the grants were always confirmed 
 by act of parliament. Thus it appears 
 that the origin of the convocation was 
 like the origin of the House of Com- 
 mons : the first object of the convoca- 
 tion was to grant money. By the 8 Hen. 
 VI. c. 1, all the clergy called to convo- 
 cation by the king's writ, their servants 
 and familiars, shall enjoy the liberty, in 
 coming, tarrying, and returning, as the 
 commonalty called to parliament enjoy. 
 The two convocations of Canterbury and 
 York were quite independent of one an- 
 other, and they did not always grant the 
 same or a proportionate amount. In the 
 twenty-second year of Henry VIII. the 
 convocation of Canterbury granted the 
 king 100,OCOZ., in consideration of which 
 an act of parliament was passed which gave 
 the clergy a free pardon for all spiritual 
 offences, with a proviso that the pardon 
 should not extend to the province of York, 
 unless the clergy would show themselves 
 equally liberal. 
 
 When such an assembly was called 
 together under the direct authority of 
 the crown, it was natural that ecclesias- 
 tical subjects should be introduced, dis* 
 cussed, and in some instances determined 
 by it. The old doctrine was that the con- 
 vocation had only authority in spiritual 
 matters, and that they had no power to 
 bind the temporalty, but only the spiritu- 
 alty. (Comyns' Digest, ' Convocation.') 
 
CONVOCATION. 
 
 [ 630 j 
 
 CONVOCATION. 
 
 The crown, however, had always in its 
 hands the power of controlling this as- 
 sembly, by possessing the prerogative of 
 proroguing and dissolving. But at the 
 Reformation an act was passed (25 Henry 
 VIII. c. 19), which expressly deprived 
 the convocation of the power of perform- 
 ing any act whatever without the Icing's 
 licence. The act declares that the " clergy, 
 nor any of them, from henceforth shall 
 presume to attempt, allege, claim, or put 
 in use any constitutions or ordinances, pro- 
 vincial or synodal, or any other canons, 
 nor shall enact, promulge, or exercise any 
 such canons, constitutions, or ordinances 
 provincial, by whatever name or names 
 they may be called in their convocations 
 in time coming, which always shall be as- 
 sembled by authority of the king's writ, 
 unless the same clergy may have the 
 king's most royal licence." 
 
 By an act passed in 1665 (16 & 17 
 Chas. II. c. 1), the clergy were bound 
 by the act, which was for the raising of a 
 tax, just like the laity, and they Were 
 discharged from the payment of the sub- 
 sidies hitherto granted in convocation. 
 Though this act reserves to the clergy 
 the right of taxing themselves in convo- 
 cation if they think fit, it has never been 
 attempted, and the clergy and the laity 
 are now precisely on the same footing as 
 to taxation. The clergy, instead of being 
 represented by the lower house of convo- 
 cation, are now represented in parliament 
 in the House of Commons, not however 
 as an ecclesiastical body, but simply as 
 citizens ; they can vote for a member in 
 respect of their ecclesiastical freeholds, 
 or in respect of any other qualification 
 which they may have in common with 
 the laity. 
 
 The decisions of the convocation of the 
 province of Canterbury have always had 
 great authority in that of York ; and 
 sometimes the two convocations have 
 acted as one, either by jointly consenting, 
 or by the attendance of deputies from the 
 province of York at the convocation of 
 Canterbury. One of the most important 
 of the convocations, that in which the 
 Constitutions and Canons Ecclesiastical 
 were established in 1603 [Constitutions 
 and Canons Ecclesiastical], appears to 
 have been only attended by deputies of 
 
 the Canterbury convocation ; but the 
 king's confirmation of the canons then 
 made extends them to the province of 
 York. No business beyond mattersof form 
 has been done in convocation since 1741, 
 
 The practical annihilation of the con- 
 vocation was a considerable change. It 
 may be viewed as completing the vic- 
 tory obtained in England by the civil 
 power over the ecclesiastical. The clergy 
 can now make no canons which shall bind 
 even their own body without the consent 
 of the crown, that is, of the ministers of 
 the crown; and it is certain that what- 
 ever canons they might make, even with 
 the licence of the crown, would not bind 
 the laity. In fact, the British parlia- 
 ment now makes canons for the clergy, 
 as we see in the Church Discipline Act. 
 [Clergy.] The Anglican Church is now 
 completely in the power of parliament, 
 with no other weight there than the bench 
 of bishops in the House of Lords, who may 
 be considered as in some way represent- 
 ing the ecclesiastical estate. 
 
 But though the convocation has become 
 a nullity, the practice has been continued, 
 and continues to the present day, of sum- 
 moning the clergy to meet in convocation 
 whenever a new parliament is called; and 
 the forms of election are gone through in 
 the dioceses, and the meeting for the 
 province of Canterbury is held, usually 
 in St. Paul's Church, when the form is 
 also gone through of electing a prolo- 
 cutor or speaker. The king's writ, as 
 already stated, is directed to the arch- 
 bishops, commanding them to summon 
 the bishops and the inferior clergy. The 
 archbishops, in compliance with this writ, 
 summon the bishops, and command them 
 to summon the archdeacons and deans in 
 their respective dioceses, and to command 
 the chapters to elect one proctor each, and 
 the great body of the clergy in each dio- 
 cese two proctors, to represent them in 
 the convocation. When assembled, they 
 form two houses in the province of Can- 
 terbury, but, as stated above, only one 
 house in the province of York. In the 
 upper house of the convocation of Can- 
 terbury sit the bishops ; in the lower, the 
 other clergy, in all 143 ; viz. 22 deans, 53 
 archdeacons, 24 canons, and 44 proctors 
 of the inferior clergy. It is the usual 
 
CONVOCATION. 
 
 [ 631 ] 
 
 COPPER. 
 
 practice for the king to prorogue the 
 meeting when it is about to proceed to 
 any business. 
 
 There is no convocation for Ireland. 
 
 The history of the English convocation 
 may be collected from Gibson's Codex, 
 and Atterbury's Eights, Powers, and Pri- 
 vileges of the English Convocation stated 
 and vindicated, London, 1 700 ; and from 
 a Charge, delivered at a visitation of the 
 Archdeaconry of Oxford, 1841, by Arch- 
 deacon Clarke. 
 
 The sketch of the history of convoca- 
 tion here given may be tolerably correct 
 as far as it goes, and it pretends to be 
 nothing more. The complicated and in- 
 extricable difficulties which beset every 
 attempt to restore the convocation, or to 
 set it to work again, are fully stated in an 
 article in the ' Quarterly Review,' No. 150. 
 
 This article makes us acquainted with 
 the strange fact (strange enough it seems 
 to us, who have thus heard of it for the 
 first time), that a parliamentary writ 
 issues from the Petty-Bag Office [Chan- 
 cer!, p. 486] concurrently with the con- 
 vocation writs from the Crown Office. 
 
 The parliamentary writs are addressed 
 to the archbishops and bishops of Eng- 
 land and Wales, who are commanded to 
 attend the parliament to be holden at 
 Westminster. The same writ also com- 
 mands the attendance of the dean of the 
 bishop's church of Canterbury, Exeter, 
 and so forth, and the archdeacons to ap- 
 pear also at Westminster in their proper 
 persons ; and each chapter by one, and 
 the clergy of each diocese by two meet 
 proctors. A similar notice is sent to the 
 Irish archbishops and bishops. These 
 ecclesiastics are summoned to Westmin- 
 ster at the day appointed, to consent to 
 what shall be advanced by the common 
 counsel of the United Kingdom. Accord- 
 ing to the summons, the clergy ought to 
 appear at Westminster as a component 
 part of the Imperial Parliament ; and the 
 English clergy are required at the same 
 time to appear in convocation at St. 
 Paul's, London, for the province of Can- 
 terbury, and at St. Peter's, York, for the 
 province of York. The parliamentary 
 writ was no doubt the original one ; and 
 it is suggested by the writer in the ' Quar- 
 terly Review,' that the concurrent con- 
 
 vocation writ was probably introduced to 
 enable the clergy to save their privileges 
 at the expense of their money. Since 
 the conovcation writs have been issued, 
 the practice has been for the clergy to 
 obey the writ of convocation. 
 
 CONVOY, in the military service, is a 
 detachment of troops appointed to guard 
 supplies of money, ammunition, provisions, 
 &c, while being conveyed to a distant 
 town, or to an army in the field, through 
 a country in which such supplies might 
 be carried off by the peasantry or by par- 
 ties of the enemy. In the navy, the name 
 is applied to one or more ships of war 
 which are ordered to protect a fleet of, 
 merchant vessels on their voyage. 
 
 COPPER, STATISTICS OF. Copper 
 was at first obtained in this country in 
 small quantities in working the tin-mines 
 in Cornwall ; but about the close of the 
 seventeenth century mines were set at 
 work purposely for copper. The first 
 application of the steam-engine in drawing 
 water from copper-mines was in 1710, 
 and the quantity of ore raised has increased 
 with each successive improvement in the 
 steam-engine. In 1837 the number of 
 steam-engines employed in the copper- 
 mines in Cornwall was 58. The produce 
 of the Cornish mines is known with 
 tolerable accuracy as far back as 1771, 
 and there are accounts of the produce of 
 other copper-mines since 1821. Improve- 
 ments in the art of smelting have greatly 
 increased the products of the mines, and 
 ores which produce only three or four per 
 cent, of metal are now smelted. 
 
 The number of persons employed in 
 the copper-mines in England and Wales, 
 in 1841, was 15,407 ; and the number em- 
 ployed in copper manufactures was 2126. 
 The average annual produce of the 
 Cornish mines at different periods between 
 1771 and 1837, was as follows : — 
 
 1771-75, 3450 tons. 
 
 1776-80, 3310 
 
 1781-85, 3990 
 
 1796 to 1800, 5174 
 
 1801-5, 5544 
 
 1806-10, 6575 
 
 1811-15, 7181 
 
 1816-20, 7018 
 
 1821-31, 9143 
 
 1831-37, 11,637 
 
COPPER. 
 
 [ 632 ] 
 
 COPPER. 
 
 In 1837 the value of the ore was 
 908,813/., and the quantity of copper was 
 10,823 tons. 
 
 The value of the produce of all the 
 British copper-mines is in good years 
 about 1,500,000/. Four-fifths of the whole 
 quantity is raised from the Cornish mines. 
 The produce of the mines in Devonshire 
 and Staffordshire was 871 tons in 1821, 
 hut it has not much exceeded 500 tons 
 since 1827. In 1831 the mines in Angle- 
 sey produced 915 tons, which was above 
 the average quantity. In 1843, 176 tons 
 of ore were received from the Isle of 
 Man. The total quantity of copper from 
 all British mines in the following years 
 i s been as under : — 
 Years. Tons. Years. Tons. 
 
 1821 . 10,288 18.31 . 14,685 
 
 1822 . 11,018 1832 . 14,450 
 
 1823 . 9,679 1833 . 13,260 
 
 1824 . 9,705 1834 . 14,042 
 
 1835 . 14,474 
 
 1836 . 15,369 
 
 1837 . 15,360 
 
 1838 . 13,958 
 
 1839 . 14,672 
 
 1840 . 13,022 
 In the year ending 30th June, 1840, 
 
 the mining and smelting operations in 
 Cornwall and at Swansea were as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 CORNWALL. 
 
 Ore raised . . 159,214 tons 
 
 Value . . . 792,750/. 
 
 Metallic copper produced 11,056 tons 
 
 Produce per cent, of metal 7£ 
 
 SWANSEA. 
 
 Ore smelted . . 56,285 tons 
 
 Value . . . 674,012/. 
 Produce per cent, of metal 15 
 
 Quantity of copper , 8,476 tons 
 
 Of the above, the following portion was 
 foreign ore : — 
 
 Quantity of ore . . 30,367 tons 
 Metallic copper produced 6,510 „ 
 
 Produce per cent, of metal 21 J 
 
 The copper yielded by the British mines 
 heing more than sufficient for the use of 
 the kingdom, a considerable quantity is 
 exported every year, both in its unwrought 
 and in a manufactured state. 
 
 The quantity of British copper retained 
 yearly for use, on an annual average of 
 
 1825 
 
 10,358 
 
 1'826 
 
 11,093 
 
 1827 
 
 12,326 
 
 1828 
 
 12,188 
 
 1829 
 
 12,057 
 
 1830 
 
 13,232 
 
 each decennial period during the present 
 century, is calculated by Mr. Porter 
 (• Progress of the Nation,' iii. p. 92), as 
 follows : — 
 
 
 1801-10, 
 
 3 r 94 tons. 
 
 
 
 1811-20, 
 
 3472 
 
 
 
 1821-31, 
 
 4912 
 
 
 
 1831-40, 
 
 6290 
 
 
 The exports since 
 
 1820 have been : — 
 
 Years. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Years. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 1820 
 
 . 6,094 
 
 1831 . 
 
 8,530 
 
 1821 
 
 . 6,271 
 
 1832 . 
 
 9,730 
 
 1822 
 
 . 5/'83 
 
 1833 . 
 
 7,811 
 
 1823 
 
 . 5,326 
 
 1834 . 
 
 8,886 
 
 1824 
 
 . 5,305 
 
 1835 . 
 
 9,111 
 
 1825 
 
 . 3,931 
 
 1836 . 
 
 8,076 
 
 1826 
 
 . 4,799 
 
 1837 . 
 
 7,129 
 
 1827 
 
 . 7,171 
 
 1838 . 
 
 7,469 
 
 1828 
 
 . 6,206 
 
 1839 . 
 
 7,687 
 
 1S29 
 
 . 7,976 
 
 1840 . 
 
 5,926 
 
 1830 
 
 . 9,157 
 
 
 
 In the accounts of English produce 
 and manufactures exported, the Custom- 
 House statements include brass and 
 copper manufactures together : the total 
 quantity and declared value of these 
 shipments averaged as follows for each 
 year in the four years ending 1831 and 
 1835 :— 
 
 Years. Cwts. £ 
 
 1828-31 . 165,222 . 790,405 
 1832-35 . 213,627 . 964,321 
 From 1838 to 1844 inclusive the quan- 
 tity and declared value of the exports have 
 been as under : — 
 Years. Cwts. 
 
 1838 . 265,204 
 
 1839 . 272,141 
 311,153 
 395,210 
 364,128 
 
 1840 
 1842 
 1843 
 1844 
 
 £ 
 1,221,737 
 1,280,506 
 1,450,464 
 1,810,742 
 1,644,248 
 1,735,528 
 
 The quantities and declared value of 
 the principal shipments in 1842 were as 
 follows:— 
 
 Cwts. £ 
 
 France . . 155,848 682,833 
 East India Company's 
 
 Territories & Ceylon 109,107 514,945 
 
 Holland . . 36,934 163,988 
 
 United States of 
 North America . 
 
 Italy and the Italian 
 Islands . 
 
 Belgium . . 
 
 19,097 89,952 
 
 13,813 
 13,166 
 
 62,691 
 57,480 
 
COPPER. 
 
 [ 633 J 
 
 COPYHOLD. 
 
 And the remainder to forty other States 
 and countries. 
 
 In the year 1843 the exports of 
 British copper consisted of 8463 tons un- 
 wrought, in bricks, pigs, &c., 60 tons of 
 coin, 8386 tons of sheet, nails, &c, 6 tons 
 of wire, 598 tons of wrought copper; 
 making a total of 17,515 tons. 
 
 Within the last twenty years a con- 
 siderable quantity of copper-ore has been 
 brought to England for the purpose of 
 being smelted and re-exported in the me- 
 tallic state. These importations amounted 
 only to 2 cwts. in 1825, and have gradu- 
 ally but rapidly increased as follows : — 
 
 Years. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Years. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 1826 . 
 
 64 
 
 1836 
 
 18,491 
 
 1827 . 
 
 32 
 
 1837 
 
 19,465 
 
 1828 . 
 
 334 
 
 1838 
 
 30,000 
 
 1829 . 
 
 1,212 
 
 1839 
 
 30,195 
 
 1830 . 
 
 1,436 
 
 1840 
 
 41,925 
 
 1831 . 
 
 2,545 
 
 1841 
 
 . 34,150 
 
 1832 . 
 
 3,955 
 
 1842 
 
 48,546 
 
 1833 . 
 
 5,931 
 
 1843 
 
 . 54,391 
 
 1834 . 
 
 6,987 
 
 1844 
 
 . 55,720 
 
 1835 . 
 
 13,945 
 
 
 
 The duty on copper-ore is paid after 
 smelting, but it is paid upon the ore : in 
 1843, 64,445 tons of ore produced 11,640 
 tons of metal. Since July, 1842, the duty 
 has been charged according to the fol- 
 lowing proportions of metal which the 
 ore contains. 
 
 Tons, 
 in 1843. 
 
 5,460 
 10,339 
 48,630 
 
 Duty per ton 
 £3 
 
 3 
 
 4 14 
 6 6 
 
 Ore containing 
 
 Under 1 5 per cent 
 1 5 and under 20 
 Above 20 . . 
 
 The duty on copper-ore from British pos- 
 sessions is 21s. per ton, but only 14 tons 
 from Australia were imported. Copper- 
 mines have been recently discovered in 
 South Australia; which, it is said, are 
 likely to prove very productive. In 1843 
 we received 31,683 tons of ore from Cuba ; 
 19,829 from Chili; 1200 from Mexico; 
 1151 from the United States of North 
 America; and smaller quantities from 
 Peru, the British West Indies, Italy, 
 Spain, and some other places. 
 
 The value of the foreign copper-ore 
 imported in 1843 was about 900,000/., 
 the freights varied from 2/. 10s. to CZ. 
 
 per ton. It is a valuable return cargo to 
 vessels trading to the Pacific, Australia, 
 and especially the western coast of South 
 America, which affords few commercial 
 products. A high duty on such a com- 
 modity is more especially impolitic, as it 
 may be an inducement to other countries 
 to commence smelting operations on a 
 large scale, and since the increase of 
 duty in 1842 this has taken place 
 in France, Holland, and the United 
 States. Any diminution in the foreign 
 supply, which now amounts to nearly 
 three-sevenths of the copper made in 
 Great Britain, would be seriously felt by 
 the smelters and manufacturers of this 
 country. Although the import of foreign 
 copper is now so much greater than it was 
 ten years ago, the price of British ore has 
 not fallen, but is at present higher than it 
 was in 1832, and the supply from our own 
 mines has also steadily increased. 
 
 COPYHOLD, a term in English law 
 applied to lands held by what is called 
 tenure by copy of court roll, the nature 
 of which is thus described by Littleton 
 (§ 73, 4, 5) : " Tenant by copy of court 
 roll is as if a man be seised of a manor, 
 within which manor there is a custom 
 which hath been used time out Of mind 
 of man, that certain tenants within the 
 same manor have used to have lands and 
 tenements to hold to them and their heirs 
 in fee-simple or fee-tail, or for term of 
 life, at the will of the lord; according to 
 the custom of the same manor. And 
 such a tenant may not alien his land by 
 deed, for then the lord may enter as into 
 a thing forfeited unto him. But if he 
 will alien his land to another, it behoveth 
 him after the custom to surrender the 
 tenements in court into the hands of the 
 lord to the use of him that shall have the 
 estate. And these tenants are called 
 tenants by copy of court roll, because 
 they have no other evidence concerning 
 their tenements, but only the copies of 
 court rolls." From this it appears that 
 the title to copyhold' lands is not only 
 modified but altogether constituted by 
 custom; subject to the estates in them 
 which the custom confers, they are held 
 by the lord under the common law as 
 part of the demesnes of his manor. For 
 these customary estates were in their 
 
COPYHOLD. 
 
 L 634 J 
 
 COPYHOLD. 
 
 origin mere tenancies at will, though by 
 long usage they have in many instances 
 acquired the character of a permanent 
 inheritance, descendible (except where 
 otherwise modified by custom) according 
 to the rules of the common law ; and as 
 tenancies at will they continue to be con- 
 sidered in all questions relating to the 
 legal as distinguished from the customary 
 property in the land. 
 
 The origin of copyholds is involved in 
 great obscurity. The opinion generally 
 adopted among our lawyers and antiqua- 
 rians, and supported by the authority of 
 Littleton, Coke, Sir Martin Wright, and 
 Mr. Justice Blackstone, is, that copy- 
 holders have gradually arisen out of the 
 villeins or tenants in villeinage who com- 
 posed the mass of the agricultural popu- 
 lation of England for some centuries after 
 the Norman conquest, through the com- 
 mutation of base services into specific 
 rents either in money or money's-worth. 
 (See Co. Litt., 58 a — 61 a; Blackstone's 
 Comm., ii. p. 92; Wright on Tenures, 
 3rd edit., p. 215. See also Hallam's 
 Middle Ages, vol. hi., p. 254.) [Villein- 
 age.] 
 
 Although the change in the condition 
 of these classes of persons was accom- 
 plished gradually, it seems in the middle 
 of the thirteenth century to have begun to 
 assume a more decided character. There 
 are proofs of as early a date as the reign 
 of Henry III. of a limitation of the 
 services of villeins to certain specified 
 acts which were recorded in the lord's 
 book. The descendants of persons so 
 privileged began to claim a customary 
 right to be entered on the court roll on 
 the same terms as their predecessors, and, 
 in process of time, prevailed so far as to 
 obtain a copy of the roll for their security. 
 It is said in the year-book of the 42nd of 
 Edw. III. to be " admitted for clear law 
 that if the customary tenant or copy- 
 holder did not perform his services, the 
 lord might seize his land as forfeited," 
 which seems to imply a permanent in- 
 terest in the copyholder, so long as he 
 performed the services. This view of the 
 law is confirmed by Britton in a passage 
 cited by Lord Coke (Co. Litt., 61 a) and 
 was adopted by the judges in Edward 
 IV.'s time, who held that a copyholder 
 
 might maintain an action of trespass 
 against the lord for dispossession. 
 
 The two great essentials of copyhold 
 tenure, according to Blackstone, are : 1. 
 That lands be parcel of and situate within 
 that manor under which they are held ; 
 and 2, That they have been demised or 
 demisable by copy of court roll imme- 
 morially. " For immemorial custom," 
 says that author, ii. p. 96, "is the life of 
 all tenures by copy; so that no new 
 copyhold can, strictly speaking, be grant- 
 ed at this day." 
 
 The burdens to which a copyhold 
 tenure is liable in common with free 
 tenures, are fealty, services, reliefs, and 
 escheats; besides which it has certain 
 liabilities peculiar to itself in the shape 
 of heriots and fines. A heriot is the ren- 
 der of the best beast or other chattel (as 
 the custom may be) to the lord on the 
 death of a tenant. 
 
 Of fines, some are due on the death of 
 a tenant, and others on the alienation of 
 the land; they are sometimes fixed by 
 the custom, sometimes arbitrary ; but in 
 the latter case it is an established rule of 
 law that the lord cannot demand by way 
 of fine upon the descent or alienation of 
 the land more than the amount of two 
 years, improved value of the property, 
 after deduction of the quit-rents to which 
 it is liable. The ordinary mode of 
 alienating a copyhold estate in fee-simple 
 is by surrender and admittance, which is 
 effected in the following manner : — The 
 copyholder appears in court and professes 
 to surrender or deliver up his land to the 
 lord (either in person, or, which is more 
 usual, as represented by his steward), ex- 
 pressing the surrender to be to the use of 
 A and his heirs ; and thereupon A is ad- 
 mitted tenant of the land to hold it to him 
 and his heirs at the will of the lord ac- 
 cording to the custom of the manor. He 
 then pays a fine, and also (if required) 
 does fealty. All these circumstances, or 
 at least the surrender and admittance, are 
 entered on the court rolls ; and the new 
 tenant, paying his fees to the steward, 
 receives a copy of this fundamental docu- 
 ment of his title. Surrenders are made 
 in various forms, as by the delivery of a 
 rod, glove, or other symbol, to the steward 
 or other person taking the surrender. 
 
COPYHOLD. 
 
 t 635 J 
 
 COPYHOLD. 
 
 Surrenders may also be made to the lord 
 in person out of court ; to the steward ; 
 and by special custom to the lord's bailiff; 
 to two or three copyholders, or into the 
 hands of a tenant in the presence of other 
 persons. But when a surrender is taken 
 out of court it must be presented by the 
 homage or jury of copyholders at the 
 next general court, except where a special 
 custom authorizes a presentment at some 
 other court. Admittances also may be 
 made out of court and even out of the 
 manor. 
 
 The words in the admittance " to hold 
 at the will of the lord" are characteristic 
 of those customary estates to which the 
 term copyhold is in ordinary legal lan- 
 guage exclusively appropriated, in con- 
 tradistinction to what are sometimes called 
 " customary freeholds" (which estates are 
 very common in the north of England), 
 and ancient demesne lands. These are 
 all included under the term copyhold in 
 the statute 12 Car. II. c. 24, which abo- 
 lished all the old tenures in England ex- 
 cept common soccage, copyhold, and some 
 other specified tenures. Though custom- 
 ary freeholds and ancient demesne lands 
 for the most part pass by surrender and 
 admittance, the admittance is expressed 
 to be " to hold according to the custom of 
 the manor." 
 
 The Statute of Entails (13 Edw. I.), 
 commonly called the Statute of West- 
 minster the 2nd, does not extend to copy- 
 holds; but in most manors a custom of 
 entailing copyholds has prevailed. These 
 entails might formerly be barred by a 
 proceeding in the lord's court, analogous 
 to a common recovery, or, in the absence 
 of a custom authorizing such a proceed- 
 ing, by a mere surrender. And now by 
 statute (3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 74, § 50-54 
 inclusive) entails of copyholds may be 
 barred by assurances made in pursuance 
 pf the provisions of that act. It is a 
 general rule that no statute relating to 
 lands or tenements in which those of a 
 customary tenure are not expressly men- 
 tioned, shall be applied to customary 
 estates, if such application would be 
 derogatory to the customary rights of 
 the lord or tenant. Hence neither the 
 Statute of Uses (27 Henry VIII. c. 10), 
 nor the Statutes of Partitions (31 Henry 
 
 VIII. c. 1, and 32 Henry VIII. c. 32), 
 nor the statute enabling persons having 
 certain limited interests in lands to grant 
 valid leases (32 Henry VIII. c. 28), nor 
 any of the local Registry Acts, are appli- 
 cable to copyholds. 
 
 Copyholds now descend to the heir-at- 
 law according to the rules that regulate 
 the descent of all other kinds of land, 
 under the 3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 106. 
 
 The Statutes of Wills (32 Hen. VIII. c. 
 1, and 34 & 35 Hen. VIII. c. 5) do not 
 include copyholds, and therefore it was 
 formerly necessary, in order to enable a 
 person to dispose of copyholds by will, 
 that he should first have surrendered 
 them to the use of his will, as it was 
 called. This ceremony was rendered 
 unnecessary in most cases by the 55 Geo. 
 III. c. 192. This statute, however, did not 
 apply to customary freeholds, nor to cases 
 where there was no custom to surrender 
 to the use of a will, nor did it extend to 
 estates of customary tenure not being 
 copyhold, though the distinction between 
 them is little more than nominal. There 
 were also some customary freeholds which 
 were neither devisable at law nor capable 
 of being conveyed or surrendered to the 
 use of a will ; and it was even thought 
 doubtful whether a custom against a sur- 
 render of copyholds to the use of a will 
 might not be supported. But though a 
 surrender to the use of a will might be 
 dispensed with, admittance of the devisor 
 before the date of the will was necessary 
 in all cases except that of a person claim- 
 ing as heir of the person last admitted. 
 In the case of a surrender the legal estate 
 remained in the surrenderor till the sur- 
 renderee was admitted, and therefore the 
 surrenderee had nothing to dispose of but 
 his right to admittance, which could not 
 be devised. Also the 12th section of the 
 Statute of Frauds, whereby estates pur 
 auler vie were made devisable, did not 
 extend to copyholds. By the 1st section 
 of the I Vict. c. 26, the last statute which 
 relates to wills and testaments, the 55 Geo. 
 III. c. 192, and the above-mentioned enact- 
 ment of the Statute of Frauds, are repealed ; 
 and by the 3rd section the power of dis- 
 position by will is extended to customary 
 freeholds and tenant right estates, and all 
 estates of a customary or copyhold tenure, 
 
COPYHOLD. 
 
 [ 636 J 
 
 COPYHOLD. 
 
 without the necessity of any surrender or 
 admittance, and notwithstanding the want 
 of a custom to devise a surrender to the 
 use of a will ; and to all estates pur auter 
 vie, whether of customary freehold, tenant 
 right, customary, or copyhold tenure. The 
 4th section provides that where any real 
 estate of the nature of customary freehold, 
 or tenant right, or customary or copyhold, 
 might by the custom of the manor of 
 which the same is holden, have been sur- 
 rendered to the use of a will, and the tes- 
 tator shall not have surrendered the same, 
 no person claiming to be entitled under 
 his will shall be entitled to be admitted, 
 except upon payment of all such stamp- 
 duties, fees, and sums of money as would 
 have been due in respect of the surrender 
 of such estate, or the presentment, regis- 
 tering, and enrolment of such surrender 
 to the use of his will. And also, that 
 where the testator, being entitled to ad- 
 mission to any real estate, and upon such 
 admission to surrender the same to the 
 use of his will, shall not have been ad- 
 mitted thereto, no person claiming to be 
 entitled to such real estate in consequence 
 of such will shall be entitled to admission, 
 except on payment of all such stamp- 
 duties, fees, fine, and sums of money as 
 would have been due in respect of the 
 admittance of the testator to such real 
 estate, the surrender to the use of his will, 
 the presentment, registering, or enrolment 
 of such surrender ; all such stamp-duties, 
 fees, fine, or sums of money, to be paid in 
 addition to the stamp-duties, fees, fine, or 
 sums of money due on the admittance of 
 the person so claiming to be entitled to 
 such real estate. 
 
 By the 5th section, when any real 
 estate of the nature of customary free- 
 hold, or tenant right, or customary, or 
 copyhold, is disposed of by will, the lord 
 of the manor, or reputed manor, of which 
 such real estate is holden, or his steward, 
 or the deputy of such steward, is to cause 
 the will by which such disposition is made, 
 or an extract thereof, to be entered on the 
 Court Rolls; and when any trusts are 
 declared by the will, it is not to be neces- 
 sary to enter the declaration of such 
 trusts, but it is to be sufficient to state in 
 the entry on the Court Rolls that such 
 real estate is subject to the trusts declared 
 
 by the will ; and when such real estate 
 could not have been disposed of by will, 
 except by virtue of the act, the same fine, 
 heriot dues, duties, and services are to 
 be paid and rendered by the devisee as 
 would have been due from the customary 
 heir in case of the descent of such red 
 estate. And the lord is, as against the 
 devisee, to have the same remedy fur 
 recovering and enforcing such fine, heriot 
 dues, duties, and services as he is entitled 
 to against the customary heir in case of a 
 descent. 
 
 By the 6th section, if no disposition by 
 will be made of any estate pur auter vie 
 of a freehold nature, the same is to be 
 chargeable in the hands of the heir, if it 
 come to him by reason of special occu- 
 pancy, as assets by descent, as in the case 
 of freehold land in fee simple; and m 
 case there be no special occupant of any 
 estate pur auter vie, whether freehold or 
 customary freehold, tenant right, custom- 
 ary or copyhold, or of any other tenure, 
 and whether a corporeal or incorporeal 
 hereditament, it is to go to the executor 
 or administrator of the party that had the 
 estate by virtue of the grant ; and if the 
 estate come to the executor or adminis- 
 trator either by reason of a special occu- 
 pancy or by virtue of the act, it is to be 
 assets in his hands, and to go and be ap- 
 plied and distributed in the same manner 
 as the personal estate of the testator or 
 intestate. By the 2Gth section a general 
 device of the testator's lands is to include 
 copyholds, unless a contrary intention 
 appear by the will; which is an altera- 
 tion of the old rule whereby copyholds 
 did not pass under a general device ot 
 "lands, tenements, and hereditaments," 
 or other general words descriptive of real 
 estate, unless the copyholds had been sur- 
 rendered to the use of the will, or the 
 testator had no freehold lands upon which 
 it could operate. And besides the above- 
 mentioned changes relating peculiarly to 
 copyholds, all the other enactments of the 
 act, including that which prescribes the 
 formalities to be observed in making a 
 will, are applicable to estates of copyhold 
 or customary tenure. 
 
 Copyholds cannot be seized upon an 
 outlawry, and not being expressly men- 
 tioned in the Statute of Westminster 
 
COPYHOLD. 
 
 [ 637 j 
 
 COPYHOLD. 
 
 which introduced the elegit, could not be 
 taken under it upon a judgment against 
 the copyholder; but by the 11th section 
 of the 1 & 2 Vict. c. 110, copyholds are 
 made subject to execution by judgment 
 creditors in the same manner as free- 
 holds. 
 
 Copyhold lands belonging to traders 
 have been subjected to the operation of 
 the bankrupt laws (stat. 6 Geo. IV. c. 
 16, § 68 and 69 ; 3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 74, 
 § 66) ; and by stat. 3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 104, 
 customaryhold and copyhold lands which 
 a man has not by his last will charged 
 with or devised subject to the payment of 
 his debts, are rendered assets to be ad- 
 ministered in a court of equity for the 
 payment both of specialty and simple 
 contract debts. Copyholds are not liable 
 (except by special custom) to the inci- 
 dents of curtesy or dower. The latter, 
 where authorized by the custom, is called 
 the widow's " free bench." These estates, 
 being considered continuations of that of 
 the deceased tenant, are perfected without 
 admittance. A purchaser or devisee of 
 copyholds has an incomplete title until 
 admittance, but the customary heir is so 
 far legal owner of the land before ad- 
 mittance, that he can surrender it or 
 maintain an action of trespass or eject- 
 ment in respect of it. The lord may by 
 a temporary seizure of the land compel 
 an heir or devisee to come in and be ad- 
 mitted; and he is himself compellable 
 by a mandamus of the Court of King's 
 Bench to admit any tenant, whether 
 claiming by descent or otherwise. 
 
 By the general custom of all manors, 
 every copyholder may make a lease for 
 any term of years, if he can obtain a 
 licence from the lord, and even without 
 such licence he may demise for one year, 
 and in some manors for a longer term ; 
 and the interest thus created is not of 
 a customary nature, but a legal estate 
 for years, of the same kind as if it had 
 been created out of a freehold interest. 
 But every demise without licence for a 
 longer periocTthan the custom warrants, 
 and in general, every alienation contrary 
 to the nature of customary tenure, as a 
 feoffment with livery of seisin, is followed 
 by a forfeiture to the lord. A copyhold 
 estate may also be forfeited by waste ; as 
 
 by cutting down timber, or opening 
 mines, when such acts are not warranted 
 by the custom. In the absence of such 
 special custom, the general rule seems to 
 be that the right of property both in trees 
 and mines belongs to the lord, while only 
 a possessory interest is vested in the 
 tenant ; but neither can the lord without 
 the consent of the tenant, nor the tenant 
 without the licence of the lord, cut down 
 trees, or open and work new mines. In 
 like manner forfeiture may be incurred 
 by an inclosure or other alteration of the 
 boundaries of an estate, refusal to attend 
 the customary courts, or to perform the 
 services, or to pay the rent or fine incident 
 to the tenure. The 9tb section of the 1 
 Wm. IV. c. 65, protects infants, lunatics, 
 and married women from the last-men- 
 tioned cause of forfeiture. In case of 
 felony or treason being committed by a 
 copyholder, the lord has the absolute 
 benefit of the forfeiture, unless it has 
 been expressly provided otherwise by act 
 of parliament. In all cases of forfeiture, 
 the lord may recover the forfeited estate 
 by ejectment, without prejudice to the 
 rights of the copyholders (if any there 
 be) iu reversion or remainder. He may 
 waive the forfeiture by a subsequent act 
 of recognition of the tenure. If he does 
 not take advantage of the forfeiture for 
 twenty years, his right to do so is barred 
 by the act for the Limitation of Actions, 
 3 & 4 Wm. IV. And if he neglect to 
 take advantage of the forfeiture in his 
 life-time, his heir cannot avail himself 
 of it. 
 
 The lord may also become entitled to 
 a customary tenement by escheat for 
 want of heirs. Formerly where a copy- 
 hold was surrendered to a mortgagee and 
 his heirs, and no condition was expressed 
 in the surrender, and the mortgagee died 
 intestate and without an heir, the lord 
 was entitled to enter for escheat To 
 remedy this, the 4 & 5 Wm. IV. c. 23, 
 enacts that where a trustee or mortgagee 
 of lands of any tenure whatsoever dies 
 without an heir, the Court of Chancery 
 may appoint a person to cpnvey or sur- 
 render the legal estate for the benefit of 
 the persons entitled to the equitable in- 
 terest in the property, and provides against 
 the future escheat or forfeiture of lands 
 
COPYHOLD. 
 
 [ C38 ] 
 
 COPYHOLD. 
 
 by reason of the attainder or conviction 
 of trustees or mortgagees who have no 
 beneficial interest therein. 
 
 If the lord (having acquired a copyhold 
 tenement by forfeiture, escheat, or sur- 
 render to his own use) afterwards grant 
 it away by an assurance unauthorized by 
 the custom, the customary tenure is for 
 ever destroyed. And if he makes a legal 
 conveyance in fee-simple of a copyhold 
 tenement to the tenant^ the tenement is 
 said to be enfranchised, that is, converted 
 into freehold. 
 
 Copyholders were till very lately in- 
 capable of serving on juries, or voting at 
 county elections of members of parlia- 
 ment ; but the former disability was re- 
 moved by 6 Geo. IV. c. 50, § 1, and the 
 latter by the 2 & 3 Win. IV. c. 45, § 19. 
 As to the qualification for killing game 
 under 22 and 23 Chas. II. c. 25, § 3, there 
 seems to be no distinction between free- 
 holders and copyholders. 
 
 There are no lands of a copyhold tenure 
 in Ireland. 
 
 Still greater changes in the nature of 
 estates of copyhold and customary tenure 
 are gradually taking place under the pro- 
 visions of the stat. 4 & 5 Vict. c. 35, the 
 principal objects of which are — 1. The 
 commutation of certain manorial rights 
 in respect of lands of copyhold and cus- 
 tomary tenure ; 2. The facilitating the 
 enfranchisement of such lands; and 3. 
 The improvement of such tenure. 
 
 1. The enactments with respect to the 
 commutation of manorial rights are partly 
 compulsory and partly permissive. All 
 rents, reliefs, and services (except service 
 at the lord's court), fines, heriots, or money 
 payments in lieu thereof, the lord's rights 
 in timber, and in mines and minerals, may 
 be made the subject of compulsory com- 
 mutation upon an agreement being entered 
 into between the lord and the tenants of 
 any manor at a meeting called in the way 
 prescribed by the act. As soon as this 
 agreement receives the signatures of the 
 lord or tenants whose interests are not 
 less than three-fourths in value of such 
 manor and lands, and of three-fourths in 
 number of the tenants, it becomes (on re- 
 ceiving the confirmation of the commis- 
 sioners appointed under the act) compul- 
 sory on the lord and all the tenants of such 
 
 manor. Powers are likewise given to any 
 lord, and any one or more of the tenants, 
 to effect by agreement between themselves 
 a commutation, wholly voluntary, of the 
 above-mentioned rights or any other rights 
 of the lord, such as escheats, waifs, fairs, 
 markets, &c. The lord's rights may be 
 commuted either for an annual rent- 
 charge and a small fixed fine not ex- 
 ceeding 5*. on death or alienation, or for 
 the payment of a fine on death or aliena- 
 tion or any other contingency, or at any 
 fixed period or periods to be agreed upon 
 between the parties: such annual rent 
 charge or such fine, as the case may be, 
 if exceeding the sum of 20s., to be vari- 
 able according to the price of corn, upon 
 the principle of tithe rent-charges. After 
 the completion of the commutation, the 
 lands are to continue to be held by copy 
 of Court Roll, and to pass by surrender and 
 admittance or other customary mode of 
 conveyance, but the customs of Borough- 
 English, or Gavelkind (except in Kent), 
 or any other customary mode of descent 
 or custom relating to dower, freebench, or 
 curtesy to which the lands may have been 
 subject, are to cease, and they are to be 
 thenceforth subject to the general law of 
 descent, dower, and curtesy relating to 
 lands of freehold tenure. 
 
 2. For the purpose of facilitating the 
 enfranchisement of copyhold lands, the 
 act enables lords of manors, whatever 
 may be the extent of their interests, with 
 the consent of the commissioners under 
 the act, to enfranchise all or any of the 
 lands holden of their manors, in con- 
 sideration of any sum or sums of money 
 payable forthwith or at a future time, 
 according to agreement : and tenants, 
 whatever be the extent of their interests, 
 are in like manner enabled, with the 
 consent of the commissioners, to accept 
 of enfranchisement on the terms agreed 
 upon. After the completion of any such 
 enfranchisement, the lands included in it 
 are to become of freehold tenure, subject 
 to the consideration agreed upon for the 
 enfranchisement, but without prejudice 
 to the tenant's right of common and 
 existing limitations affecting the land. 
 
 3. The act contains a clause applicable 
 to cases where commutation or enfran- 
 chisement has been effected, and there has 
 
COPYHOLD. 
 
 [_ 639 J 
 
 COPYRIGHT. 
 
 been a reservation of the lord's right in 
 mines and minerals, enabling the tenants 
 to grant to the lord such rights of entry 
 and way, and such other easements, as 
 may be necessary to the enjoyment of the 
 reserved rights. [Enfranchisement.] 
 
 It also, after stating the doubts enter- 
 tained as to the power of the courts of 
 equity to decree a partition of lands of 
 copyhold or customary tenure, confers 
 that power to be exercised according to 
 the practice of the court in freehold cases. 
 Formerly a customary court could not be 
 legally constituted unless two or more 
 tenants were present to form the homage ; 
 all acts of court were by usage required 
 to be matters of presentment by the 
 homage ; and in a great majority of 
 manors grants could not be made nor 
 admissions taken except at courts held 
 within the manors. A remedy is pro- 
 vided for these inconveniences by clauses 
 giving power to hold customary courts 
 though there should be no tenant of the 
 manor holding by copy, or though no 
 such tenant, or not more than one such 
 tenant, should be present ; enabling lords 
 and stewards to make grants and take 
 admissions out of court and out of the 
 manor : and requiring the lord forthwith, 
 upon payment of the usual fees, to enter 
 on the rolls all such surrenders, deeds, 
 wills, grants, and admissions as would 
 formerly have required the formality of 
 a court to authorize their entry or to give 
 them legal effect ; and also declaring that 
 no presentment of a surrender, will, or 
 other instrument shall be essential to the 
 validity of any such admission. But the 
 operation of these provisions is restrained 
 by a clause providing that wastes and 
 commons are not to be granted or in- 
 closed without the consent of the homage 
 at a court duly constituted. 
 
 The act also contains a provision ex- 
 tending the powers of the lords and 
 tenants of certain manors to dispose of 
 and divide ancient tenements held of the 
 manor, subject to a due apportionment of 
 the ancient rent where a tenement is sold 
 in parcels. 
 
 There are likewise numerous provisions 
 in the act for defining boundaries, settling 
 disputes, providing for cases of disability, 
 payment of expenses, &c, similar to those 
 
 in the Tithe Commutation Act, 6 & 7 
 Wm. IV. c. 71. 
 
 The act applies partially to the Duchy 
 of Lancaster, but not otherwise to Crown 
 lands, and not at all to the Duchy of 
 Cornwall. 
 
 COPYRIGHT, or, as it was formerly 
 termed, Copy, has been defined by Lord 
 Mansfield, "to signify an incorporeal 
 right to the sole printing and publishing 
 of somewhat intellectual, communicated 
 by letters." By this " somewhat intellec- 
 tual" is to be understood something pro- 
 ceeding from the mind of the person by 
 whom, or through whom, such a right is 
 claimable. Yet, although mere republi- 
 cations of the compositions of others are 
 no subject for copyright, it is not limited 
 to such productions as contain new or 
 original ideas. Translations both from 
 ancient and modern languages, and notes 
 and additions to existing works, are 
 similarly protected. Further, a right of 
 copy attaches to the authors of ideas 
 expressed by other symbols as well as 
 letters, to musical composers for example. 
 
 The origin of copyright must be sought 
 in the general opinion of its justice and 
 expediency. It has been supposed that 
 a common-law right of copy existed in 
 England previously to any statute on the 
 subject. As a legal proposition, however, 
 this cannot be supported by any proper 
 and direct proof of a fair judicial ie- 
 cision before the passing of the first sta- 
 tute relating to copyrigt, 8 Anne, c. 1 9 ; 
 inasmuch as it never appears to have 
 been directly controverted up to that 
 time. But, in the absence of positive 
 authority, it may be fairly inferred, from 
 the old charters of the Stationers' Com- 
 pany, and much more from their regis- 
 ters, whence it appears that some thou- 
 sands of books, even as early as the times 
 of Elizabeth, passed from one owner 
 to another by descent, sale, and assign- 
 ment ; from acts and ordinances of par- 
 liament which imply a recognition of it 
 by the nature of their provisions respect- 
 ing printing; and from decrees of the 
 Star-chamber, which, though not binding 
 precedents, are evidence of the opinion of 
 many learned men as to the then state of 
 the law. The non-existence of express 
 decisions on the point is accounted for 
 
COPYRIGHT. 
 
 [ G40 J 
 
 COPYRIGHT. 
 
 down to 1640 by the necessity of obtain- 
 iug a licence prior to the printing of any- 
 thing, so that authors had no occasion to 
 apply to civil tribunals for protection, as 
 none but themselves and those claiming 
 under them were so licensed, and he who 
 printed a book without this was subject 
 to enormous penalties. 
 
 It has hardly been controverted in the 
 various arguments upon this eoinmon- 
 law right of copy that literary composi- 
 tions in their original state, and the right 
 of the publication of them, are the exclu- 
 sive property of the author. The argu- 
 ment has been that this property was put 
 an end to by publication : and yet without 
 publication it is useless to the owner, 
 because it is without profit, and property 
 without the power of use or disposal is 
 not property. In that state it is lost to 
 society as a means of improvement, as 
 well as to the author as a means of gain. 
 Publication is therefore the necessary act 
 and the only means to render such a pro- 
 perty useful to the public and profitable to 
 the owner. If, says Lord Mansfield, the 
 copy which belonged to the author before 
 publication does not belong to him after, 
 where is the common law to be found 
 which says there is such a property be- 
 fore? All the metaphysical subtleties 
 from the nature of the thing may be 
 equally objected to the property before. 
 It, is equally detached from the manu- 
 script or any physical existence whatso- 
 ever. There is in fact nothing in the act 
 of publication to vary the nature of the 
 right, so that what is necessary to make 
 a work useful and profitable should be 
 taken as destructive at once of an au- 
 thor's confessed original property against 
 his expressed will. It has accordingly 
 been the almost unanimous opinion of the 
 high authorities who were called on to 
 decide the point, that by the common 
 law of England authors were entitled to 
 copyright, and. as there was nothing in 
 statute or custom to determine it, or dis- 
 tinguish this from other species of pro- 
 perty, that such right was once perpetual. 
 The arguments for the contrary opinion 
 are collected in the judgment of Mr. Jus- 
 tice Yates in the case of Millar v. Taylor, 
 4 Burrow, p. 2303. It must be observed 
 that this argument in favour of a com- 
 
 mon-law copyright is founded on the as- 
 sumption that copyright is property inde- 
 pendently of written law ; a proposition 
 which may be denied. 
 
 From the above premises arose the 
 question, after the passing of the first 
 statute respecting literary property in 
 1710, whether by certain of its provisions 
 this perpetual copyright at common law 
 was extinguished for the future. After 
 some less important decisions in the ne- 
 gative on motion in the Court of Chancery 
 and elsewhere, the question was argued 
 before the Court of King's Bench, during 
 the term, when Lord Mansfield presided, 
 in 1769. Tiie result was a decision in 
 favour of the common-law right as un- 
 altered by the statute, with the disap- 
 proval, however, of Mr. Justice Yates. 
 Subsequently, in 1774, the same point 
 was brought under the consideration oi 
 the House of Lords, and the decision erf 
 the court below was reversed by a ma- 
 jority of six judges in eleven, as Lord 
 Mansfield, who adhered to the opinion 
 of the minority, declined to interfere ; 
 it being very unusual, from motives of 
 delicacy, for a peer to support his own 
 judgment on appeal to the House of 
 Lords. It is somewhat remarkable, that 
 although this could hardly be termed a 
 decision, as the judges were in point of 
 fact divided equally, it has since been 
 held so important as a precedent and sus- 
 tained in so many subsequent cases, that 
 it must now be considered as settled law 
 that perpetual copyright is put an end to 
 by the statutes. 
 
 The universities of Cambridge and 
 Oxford protected themselves from the 
 consequences of this decree in the case of 
 Donaldsons and Beckett, by obtaining 
 from parliament, in 1775. the following 
 year, an act for enabling the two univeiv 
 sities in England, the four universities in 
 Scotland, and the several colleges of Eton, 
 Westminster, and Winchester, to hold in 
 perpetuity their copyright in books given 
 or bequeathed to the said universities and 
 colleges for the advancement of useful 
 learning and other purposes of education. 
 This protection, sanctioned by penalty 
 and forfeiture, so long as such books are 
 printed at the presses of the universities 
 and colleges respectively, is still enjoyed, 
 
COPYRIGHT. 
 
 [ 641 J 
 
 COPYRIGHT. 
 
 unaffected by the general statutes on the 
 subject; and a similar protection is ex- 
 tended to the university of Dublin by 41 
 Geo. III. c. 107. 
 
 The chief provisions of the 8 Anne, c. 
 19, entitled 'An act for the encourage- 
 ment of learning, by vesting the copies of 
 printed books in the authors or purchasers 
 of such copies during the times therein 
 mentioned,' as regards the effecting of 
 that purpose, were, that the authors of 
 books already printed, and those claiming 
 under the authors, should have the sole 
 right and liberty of printing them for a 
 term of twenty-one years and no longer ; 
 and that the authors of books thereafter to 
 be printed, and their assigns, should have 
 the same right for fourteen years and no 
 longer. The last clause of the statute 
 directed that after the expiration of these 
 fourteen years the same right should re- 
 turn to the authors, if living, for another 
 fourteen years. The persons infringing 
 these provisions were to be punished by 
 forfeiture of the pirated book to the pro- 
 prietor, and a penalty of one penny for 
 each sheet, one-half to go to the crown 
 and the other half to the informer, pro- 
 vided always the title to the copy of the 
 book had been duly entered with the 
 Stationers' Company. 
 
 The 41 Geo. III. c. 107, which extended 
 the same law to Ireland, gave a further 
 protection to authors and their assigns by 
 action for damages and double costs, and 
 raised the penalty per sheet to three pence, 
 to be divided in the same way. 
 
 The 54 Geo. III. c. 156, entitled 'An 
 aet to amend the several acts for the en- 
 couragement of learning by securing the 
 copies and copyright of printed books to 
 the authors of such books and their 
 assigns,' enacted, that the author of any 
 book which should be published after the 
 passing of the act, and his assigns, should 
 have the sole liberty of printing and re- 
 printing such book for the full term of 
 twenty-eight years from the day of publi- 
 eation, and, if the author should be living 
 at the end of that period, for the residue 
 of his natural life; while with regard 
 to books at that time already published, 
 of which the authors were then living, 
 and in which copyright had not expired, 
 if the authors should die before the expi- 
 
 ration of fourteen years from publication, 
 their representatives should have the 
 benefit of the second fourteen years ; and 
 if the authors should survive till twenty- 
 eight years from publication, they them- 
 selves should have the benefit for the 
 remainder of their lives; the rights of all 
 assigns being saved in both cases. The 
 penalties for the infringement of copy- 
 rights were the same as in the former 
 statutes, but with the limitation that all 
 legal proceedings under the act must be 
 commenced within one year. 
 
 The act 5 & 6 Vict. e. 45 (Lord Ma- 
 hon's Act), entitled 'An act to amend 
 the law of copyright,' and having for its 
 preamble, " Whereas it is expedient to 
 amend the law relating to copyright, and 
 to afford greater encouragement to the 
 production of literary works of lasting 
 benefit to the world," is the act now 
 regulating literary property. It repeals 
 the three before-mentioned acts, and 
 enacts that, in every book published 
 in the life-time of the author, after the 
 passing of the act (1st of July, 1842), the 
 author and his assigns shall have copy- 
 right for the term of the author's life, and 
 for seven years after his death, or if these 
 seven years expire before the end of forty- 
 two years from the time of publication, 
 then for such period of forty-two years ; 
 while for books previously published, in 
 which copyright still subsisted at the 
 time of the passing of the act, the copy- 
 right should be continued for the full 
 term provided in the cases of books there- 
 after published, except in cases where 
 the copyright should belong wholly or in 
 part to a person other than the author, 
 " who shall have acquired it for other 
 consideration than that of natural love 
 and affection.'' In these excepted cases, 
 however, the author, or his personal re- 
 presentative, and the proprietor or pro- 
 prietors of copyright may agree, before 
 the expiration of the subsisting term of 
 copyright, to accept the benefits of the act : 
 and on a minute of such agreement being 
 entered in a book of registry directed to 
 be kept at Stationers' Hall, the copyright 
 will be continued, as in other cases, for 
 the author's life and seven years after his 
 death, or for forty-two years from the 
 time of publication, arid will be the pro- 
 2 T 
 
COPYRIGHT. 
 
 [642] 
 
 COPYRIGHT. 
 
 perry of the person or persons specified in 
 the minute. The copyright of a book 
 published after the author's death is to 
 endure for forty-two years from the time 
 of publication, and to belong to the pro- 
 prietor of the manuscript from which it 
 is first published, and his assigns. With 
 regard to encyclopaedias, reviews, maga- 
 zines, periodical works, or works pub- 
 lished in a series of books or parts, or 
 any book in which the publisher or pro- 
 jector shall have employed persons to 
 write, on the terms that the copyright 
 shall belong to himself, the copyright 
 shall be in the publisher or projector, after 
 he has paid for it, in the same manner and 
 for the same term as is given to authors 
 of books, except only in the case of essays, 
 articles, or portions forming part of and 
 first published in reviews, magazines, or 
 other periodical works of a like nature, 
 the right of publishing which separately 
 shall revert to the authors at the end of 
 twenty-eight years after publication, for 
 the remainder of the term given by this 
 act ; and during these twenty-eight years 
 the publisher or projector shall not have 
 the right to publish any such essay, ar- 
 ticle, or portion separately, without the 
 consent of the author or his assigns. 
 
 The act provides, at the same time, 
 against the suppression of books of im- 
 portance to the public, by empowering the 
 judicial committee of the Privy Council, 
 on complaint made to them that the pro- 
 prietor of the copyright in any book, 
 after the death of its author, refuses to 
 republish or allow the republication of 
 the same, to license the complainant to 
 publish the book, in such manner and 
 subject to such conditions as the Privy 
 Council may think fit. 
 
 The remedies provided by this act for 
 infringement of copyright are, an action 
 for damages (in which the defendant is 
 required, on pleading, to give notice to 
 the plaintiff of the objections to the plain- 
 tiff's title on which he means to rely), and 
 a power given to the officers of customs 
 and excise to seize and destroy all fo- 
 reign reprints of books in which copyright 
 exists, with a penalty on the importer (if 
 he be not the proprietor of the copyright) 
 of 10/., and double the value of every 
 copy of any book imported, on conviction 
 
 before two justices of the peace ; 52. of 
 the penalty to go to the officer of customs 
 or excise who shall procure the convic- 
 tion, and the remainder to the proprietor 
 of the copyright. 
 
 The act provides that a book of registry 
 be kept at Stationers' Hall, where entries 
 may be made of proprietorships of copy- 
 right, assignments thereof, licences of the 
 judicial committee, and agreenv its as to 
 copyrights subsisting at the time of the 
 passing of the act, on payrrent in each 
 case of a fee of 5s. The jntry of pro- 
 prietorship of copyright in this book does 
 not affect copyright; but no action can be 
 brought for infringement of copyright, 
 nor any other legal proceedings taken, 
 unless the proprietorship of copyright 
 has been entered. The entry of an as- 
 signment in the registry book is to all 
 intents and purposes an effectual assign- 
 ment. § 1 3. Certified and stamped copies 
 of entries in the registry book arc to be 
 evidence in all courts of justice, and are 
 to be taken as prima facie proof of copy- 
 right. The making of a false entry in 
 the registry book, or the production in 
 evidence of any paper falsely purporting 
 to be the copy of an entry therein, is 
 made a misdemeanor. Persons thinking 
 themselves aggrieved by any entry in the 
 registry book, may apply to a court of 
 law in term time, or a judge in vacation, 
 for an order to vary or expunge such 
 entry ; and such court or judge may 
 make an order for varying, expunging, 
 or confirming such entry, with or without 
 costs. 
 
 It has been said that the exclusive pro 
 perty of authors in their manuscripts has 
 always been recognised by the law. But 
 as this principle only prevented the print- 
 ing or circulating copies of them without 
 the licence of the owner, it has been found 
 necessary to provide for the peculiar pro- 
 tection of the authors of dramatic and 
 musical compositions. The 3 Will. IV. 
 c. 15, entitled 'An Act to amend the 
 Laws relating to Dramatic Literary Pro- 
 perty,' and known as Sir Bulwer Lyt- 
 ton's act, after reciting the 54 Geo. III. 
 c. 156, provided that the author of any 
 dramatic piece, not hitherto printed or 
 published by authority of him or his as- 
 signs, should have as his property the so»e 
 
COPYRIGHT. 
 
 [643] 
 
 COPYRIGHT. 
 
 liberty of representing it, or causing it to 
 be represented, at any place of dramatic 
 entertainment ; and the author or assig- 
 nees of any such work, printed and pub- 
 lished within ten years before the date of 
 the act, should have the same privilege, 
 for twenty-eight years from publication, 
 and for the remainder of the author's life, 
 if he lived longer ; the penalty for violat- 
 ing these enactments to be enforced by ac- 
 tion for damages, with double costs, to be 
 brought within twelve months from the 
 commission of the offence. The 5 & 6 
 Vict. c. 45, has extended the term of the 
 sole liberty of representing dramatic 
 pieces to the period provided by that act 
 for the copyright of books, and gives the 
 same protection to the authors of musical 
 pieces and their assigns. The remedies 
 provided by the 3 Will. IV. c. 15, in the 
 case of dramatic pieces are confirmed by 
 the 5 & 6 Vict c. 45, and extended to 
 musical pieces. The 5 & 6 Vict. c. 45, 
 also enacts that no assignment of the 
 copyright of any book consisting of a 
 dramatic piece or musical composition 
 shall convey the right of representing or 
 performing such dramatic piece or musical 
 composition, unless an entry, expressing 
 the intention that such right should pass 
 by the assignment, be made in the registry 
 book at Stationers' Hall. 
 
 There are certain works excepted from 
 the benefit of the law of copyright from 
 the nature of their contents. Such are, 
 all publications injurious to morality, 
 inimical to Christianity, or stimulating, 
 either as libellous or seditious, to a breach 
 of the peace. This must however be un- 
 derstood of their general tenor, and not of 
 isolated passages. As far as a rule on the 
 subject can be laid down, it is, that any 
 work containing matter for which a pub- 
 lic indictment or private prosecution could 
 be sustained is not protected by the law, 
 but may be pirated by other parties 
 at pleasure, who, if sued for penalties 
 under the act, are allowed to give in evi- 
 dence the nature of the composition which 
 they have published, in order to defeat 
 the action. This is a remarkable excep- 
 tion to the general rule of law, that none 
 shall take advantage of his own wrong ; 
 and its operation is quite as remarkable, 
 the effect of the rule having often been to 
 
 disseminate more widely that which the 
 law has declared not to merit protection. 
 
 The protection given to authors by the 
 statute of copyright is coupled with the 
 condition of presenting five copies of every 
 book to public libraries. A copy of every 
 work, and of every second or subsequent 
 edition which contains any additions or 
 alterations, bound, sewed, or stitched 
 together, and on the best paper on which 
 the same shall be printed, is to be de- 
 livered at the British Museum within one 
 month after its first publication, if it is 
 published within the bills of mortality, or 
 within three months if published in any 
 other part of the United Kingdom, or 
 within twelve months if published in any 
 other part of the British dominions ; and 
 a copy of every work, or second or subse- 
 quent edition, containing additions and 
 alterations, on the paper of which the 
 largest number of copies shall be printed 
 for sale, in the like condition as the copies 
 prepared for sale by the publisher, is to 
 be delivered, if demanded, within twelve 
 months after publication, within one month 
 after demand made, at Stationers' Hall, for 
 the Bodleian Library at Oxford, the Public 
 Library at Cambridge, the Library of the 
 Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh, the 
 Library of Trinity College, Dublin, under 
 penalty of forfeiting the value of the 
 copy of each book or edition not delivered, 
 and a sum not exceeding 5l., to be reco- 
 vered by the Librarian, or other officer pro- 
 perly authorised, of the Library to which 
 the book should have been delivered, 
 on conviction before two justices of the 
 peace for the county or jjlace where the 
 publisher resides, or by action of debt in 
 any Court of Record in the United King- 
 dom. Formerly, under the 54 Geo. III. 
 c. 156, an author was obliged to give 
 eleven copies of his work to public libra- 
 ries. The 6 & 7 Will. IV. repealed the 
 54 Geo. III. c. 156, so far as related to 
 the delivering of copies to the four 
 universities of Scotland, Sion College, 
 and the King's Inns, Dublin, compensa- 
 tion being given to these institutions 
 upon an estimate of the annual value of 
 books supplied on an average of three 
 years„ending the 30th of June, 1836. 
 
 Besides the special copyrights of the 
 universities secured to them as before 
 2 t 2 
 
COPYRIGHT. 
 
 [ 644 ] 
 
 COPYRIGHT. 
 
 mentioned by statute, there still exist 
 certain prerogative copyrights attaching 
 to the owners in perpetuity. Of these the 
 chief belong to the king, which were more 
 numerous and considerable formerly than 
 at present. Many are now quite obso- 
 lete, such as those of almanacs, law- 
 books, and Latin grammars ; and others 
 very questionable, such as that of the ex- 
 clusive right of the universities of Oxford 
 and Cambridge, and the king's printer in 
 England and in Scotland, to print the 
 English translation of the Bible. The 
 king has a prerogative copyright in the 
 liturgy and other services of the church, 
 in proclamations, orders in council, and 
 other state papers, and in the statutes. 
 It has- been decided, that the University 
 of Cambridge shares by letters patent in 
 the king's prerogative of printing acts of 
 parliament. The House of Lords also ex- 
 ercises an exclusive privilege, somewhat 
 fallen into disuse, of publishing its own 
 proceedings as the supreme court of judi- 
 cature. 
 
 The modes of legal proceeding to pre- 
 vent or punish the infringement of copy- 
 right, or as it is more usually termed, 
 piracy, are by action for damages; or 
 more commonly by obtaining an injunc- 
 tion in equity to prohibit the unlawful 
 publication, which affords immediate and 
 summary redress. This is always granted 
 where the legal title of the plaintiff to the 
 work is made out, and the identity of the 
 pirated publication with his own shown to 
 the satisfaction of the court. The proof 
 even of an equitable title has been held 
 sufficient to entitle the plaintiff do this 
 relief. (Mawman v. Tegg, 2 Russ. 385.) 
 Neither will the court refuse to grant the 
 injunction on the ground that the matter 
 pirated forms only a part pf the publica- 
 tion complained of, and that what is ori- 
 ginal will be rendered useless to the de- 
 fendant and the public by prohibiting its 
 sale. But as this mode of proceeding 
 presses very severely upon defendants, 
 and often inflicts irreparable injury, the 
 court, where any doubt attaches, will 
 either refuse the injunction altogether, or 
 grant it only on condition of the plaintiff's 
 bringing an action immediately, to have 
 the merits of the case decided by a jury 
 with the smallest possible delay ; and in 
 
 the mean time the defendants will be or- 
 dered to keep an account of the copies 
 sold. 
 
 The strict powers given by the 5 & 6 
 Vict. c. 45, have been exercised vigorously 
 by the Custom-house authorities, and found 
 very effectual to prevent the importation 
 into this country of the French, Belgian, 
 German, and American reprints of popu- 
 lar English works ; but English authors 
 still suffer by the circulation of these re- 
 prints abroad ; and a practice so destructive 
 of the fair profits of mental labour can only 
 be effectually redressed by prevailing on 
 foreign countries to extend the benefits of 
 their own laws against literary piracy to 
 aliens as well as native authors. Two 
 statutes have been passed in the present 
 reign to enable her Majesty to extend to 
 foreigners the benefits of our laws of copy- 
 right. The first of these, 1 & 2 Vict, c 59, 
 was repealed by 7 Vict. c. 12, the statute 
 which is now in force, and which was sub- 
 stituted in consequence of the alterations 
 in our law of copyright. This act, entitled 
 ' An Act to amend the law relating to In- 
 ternational Copyright,' empowers her Ma- 
 jesty by order in council to enable authors 
 of works first published in foreign countries 
 to have copyright in the British domi- 
 nions for books, prints, articles of sculp- 
 ture, and the sole liberty of representing 
 dramatic and musical pieces, for periods 
 not exceeding those allowed by the vari- 
 ous copyright acts for the respective classes 
 of works when first published in this 
 country, on conditions of registration and 
 delivering of one copy at Stationers' Hall ; 
 but no such order in council is to have 
 any effect unless it is stated therein, as 
 ground for issuing the same, that reci- 
 procal protection for British authors has 
 been secured in the foreign country to 
 which the order in council refers. The 
 power given by this act has not yet been 
 exercised in the case of any single 
 foreign country. 
 
 A notice of the law of copyright would 
 be incomplete which did not advert to 
 some other compositions which receive 
 from statute a protection analogous to that 
 of literature. Such are engravings, etch- 
 ings, and prints, maps and charts, designs 
 for articles of manufacture, and sculpture 
 of all kinds. These resemble written 
 
COPYRIGHT. 
 
 [ 645 J 
 
 COPYRIGHT. 
 
 works as regards the incorporeal right in 
 them accruing to the author by the exer- 
 tion of his mental powers in their produc- 
 tion, but differ as they also require a 
 good deal of his manual skill and labour, 
 and are therefore his property upon the 
 same general principles as any other ma- 
 nufacture. Such productions therefore 
 are e^en more plainly entitled'to the pro- 
 tection of the law than books. 
 
 The chief statutes affecting the copy- 
 right in the arts of designing, engraving, 
 and etching prints, are the 8 Geo. II. c. 
 13, which vests it in the inventor, de- 
 signer, and proprietor, for fourteen years 
 from the first publication, and enforces 
 this provision against any person pirating 
 the same by forfeiture of the plate and 
 prints, and a fine of 5s. for each print, 
 to be recovered by action within three 
 months of the discovery of the offence. 
 The 7 Geo. III. c. 38, extends the term 
 of copyright to twenty-eight years ; and 
 in addition to the subjects of the former 
 statute, includes maps, charts, and plans, 
 under the same conditions. It also ex- 
 tends the time of bringing an action for 
 the penalties to six mouths. The 17 
 Geo. III. c. 57, gives the owner of the 
 copyright a further remedy of action for 
 damages and double costs within the same 
 limits of time. The 6 & 7 Will. IV. ex- 
 tends the provisions of the previous acts 
 to Ireland. 
 
 With regard to models, casts, and other 
 sculptures, the 38 Geo. III. c. 71, vests the 
 right and property in these for fourteen 
 years in the proprietor, and gives him a 
 special action on the case against the 
 offender, if brought within six months. 
 These provisions were rendered more 
 effectual by 54 Geo. III. c. 56, by which 
 double costs were given, and an additional 
 term of fourteen years superadded in case 
 the maker should be living at the end of 
 the first term. 
 
 As to sculpture certainly, but more 
 doubtfully as to prints, for there have 
 been conflicting decisions on the point, 
 the work must bear upon it the name of 
 the maker and the date of publication to 
 entitle it to the protection of the law. 
 
 With regard to designs for manufac- 
 tured articles, the 27 Geo. III. c. 38, con- 
 tinued by 29 Geo. III. o. 19, and con- 
 
 firmed and made perpetual by 34 Geo. 
 III. c. 23, gave the sole right of using 
 a new pattern in the printing of linens, 
 cottons, calicoes, and muslins for three 
 months ; and the 2 Vict. c. 13, extended 
 this privilege to designs for printing other 
 woven fabrics besides calicoes. The 2 
 Vict. c. 1 7, regulated copyright of designs 
 in all articles except lace, and the articles 
 to which the above-mentioned acts apply. 
 But all these statutes were repealed by 
 the 5 & 6 Vict. e. 100 (Mr. Emerson Ten- 
 nent's Act), which considerably extended 
 the periods of copyright in designs. 
 
 This act distributes articles to which 
 designs may be applied into twelve 
 classes : — 
 
 1. Articles of manufacture composed 
 wholly or chiefly of any metal or mixed 
 metals. 
 
 2. Articles of manufacture composed 
 wholly or chiefly of wood. 
 
 3. Articles of manufacture composed 
 wholly or chiefly of glass. 
 
 4. Articles of manufacture composed 
 wholly or chiefly of earthenware. 
 
 5. Papel'-hangings. 
 
 6. Carpets. 
 
 7. Shawls, where the design is applied 
 solely by printing, or by any other pro- 
 cess by which colours are or may here- 
 after be produced upon tissue or textile 
 fabrics. 
 
 8. Shawls not comprised in class 7. 
 
 9. Yarn, thread or warp, the design 
 being applied by printing, or by any 
 other process by which colours are or 
 may hereafter be produced. 
 
 10. Woven fabrics, composed of linen, 
 cotton, wool, silk, or hair, or of any two 
 or more of such materials, if the design 
 be applied by printing, or by any other 
 process by which colours are or may 
 hereafter be produced upon tissue or tex- 
 tile fabrics ; except the articles included 
 in class 11. 
 
 11. Woven fabrics composed of linen, 
 cotton, wool, silk, or hair, or of any two 
 or more of such materials, if the design 
 be applied by printing, or by any other 
 process by which colours are or may 
 hereafter be produced upon tissue or tex- 
 tile fabrics, such woven fabrics being or 
 coming within the description technically 
 called furnitures, and the repeat of the 
 
COPYRIGHT. 
 
 [ 646 J 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 design whereof shall be more than twelve 
 inches by eight inches. 
 
 12. Woven fabrics not comprised in 
 any preceding class. 
 
 13. Lace, and any article of manufac- 
 ture or substance not comprised in any 
 preceding class. 
 
 The act gives to the proprietor of a 
 design not previously published the sole 
 right of applying it to ornamenting ar- 
 ticles of the first, second, third, fourth, 
 fifth, sixth, eighth, and eleventh classes, 
 for three years ; to articles of the seventh, 
 niuth, and tenth, for nine months ; and 
 to articles of the twelfth and thirteenth 
 classes for twelve months ; whether such 
 design be applicable for the pattern, or 
 for the shape and configuration, or for 
 the ornament of the articles, or for any 
 two or more such purposes, and by what- 
 ever means the design may be applicable, 
 whether by printing, or by painting, or by 
 embroidery, or by weaving, or by sewing, 
 or by modelling, or by casting, or by em- 
 bossing, or by engraving, or by stain- 
 ing, or by any other means whatsoever, 
 manual, mechanical, or chemical, separate 
 or combined. The benefits of copyright of 
 designs are made to depend on registration 
 before publication. Piracy is punished by 
 a penalty of not less than 5/. nor more 
 than 30/., to be paid to the proprietor 
 of the design, and to be recovered 
 by an action of debt or for damages, or 
 by summary proceeding before two jus- 
 tices. 
 
 The right of patents in many respects 
 resembles that of copyright [Patent.] 
 The act ' for preventing the publication 
 of lectures without consent' (5 and 6 
 Wm. IV. c. 65) gives to authors of lec- 
 tures the sole right and liberty of print- 
 ing and publishing the same, and imposes 
 a penalty on other persons, including 
 printers and publishers of newspapers, who 
 shall print, or publish, or sell them with- 
 out the author's leave. The act does not 
 extend to lectures of the delivering of 
 which notice in writing shall not have 
 been given to two justices, living within 
 five miles of the place, two days at least 
 before their delivery, or to any lecture 
 delivered in any university, or public 
 school or college, or any public founda- 
 tion, or by individuals in virtue of any 
 
 gift, endowment, or foundation. The act 
 does not extend to sermons. 
 
 CORN-LAWS and CORN-TRADE. 
 The history of the corn-laws and corn- 
 trade in this country may be conveniently 
 divided into several periods. 
 Period I.— From Early Times to 1688. 
 
 A statute of the thirteenth century, sup- 
 posed to be of the date of 51 Henry III. 
 (1266-7), shows that the average prices of 
 wheat and other grain had become an ob- 
 ject of attention. In 1360 the exportation 
 of corn was prohibited by statute (34 Edw. 
 III. c. 20). In 1393 corn might beexport- 
 ed by the king's subjects " to what parts 
 that please them," except to the king's ene- 
 mies. " Nevertheless," it is added, " the 
 king wills that his council may restrain 
 the said passage when they shall think 
 best for the profit of the realm." (17 Ric. 
 II. c. 7.) This act was confirmed in 
 1425 (4 Hen. VI. c. 5). Sufficient grain 
 was raised in England to admit of export- 
 ation, but it was the policy of that age to 
 endeavour to retain within the kingdom 
 all those things which were indispensable 
 to its wants, rather than by permitting 
 freedom of export and import to trust to 
 the operation of the commercial principle 
 for an adequate supply. 
 
 In 1436 the exportation of wheat was 
 allowed without the king's licence when 
 the price per quarter at the place of ship- 
 ment was (is.Sd. or under. In the preamble 
 of the statute (15 Hen. VI. c. 2) restrictions 
 on exportation are loudly complained of: 
 " for cause whereof, farmers and other 
 men, which use manurement of their land, 
 may not sell their corn but of a bare price, 
 to the great damage of all the realm;" 
 and the remedy provided is a freer per- 
 mission to export the surplus — a regula- 
 tion which is intended for the profit of the 
 whole realm, but "especially for the coun- 
 ties adjoining to the sea." In 1441 this 
 statute was continued (20 Hen. VI. c. 6), 
 and in 1444-5 it was rendered perpetual 
 (23 Hen. VI. c. 5). 
 
 Nearly thirty years after the statute 
 of 1436 occurs the first law to prevent 
 a supply of foreign grain. In the 
 preamble of a statute (3 Edw. IV. c. 2), 
 which was passed in 1463, it is remarked 
 that, " Whereas the labourers and occu- 
 piers of husbandry within this realm bg 
 
CORN-LAWS. 
 
 [647] 
 
 COEN-LAWS. 
 
 daily grievously endamaged by bringing 
 of corn out of other lands and parts iuto 
 this realm when corn of the growing 
 of this realm is at a low price ;" in 
 remedy of which it was enacted that 
 wheat should not be imported unless 
 the price at the place of import exceeded 
 6s. 8d. per quarter. By the act of 1463, so 
 long as the price of wheat was below 
 6s. 8d. per quarter, exportation was per- 
 mitted, and importation was prohibited. 
 The price, therefore, was intended to be 
 sustained at that height ; and the benefit of 
 the corn-grower was the sole object of the 
 statute. But in 1 474 (eleven years after the 
 statute 3 Edw. IV. c. 2 was passed) we 
 have the authority of the Paston Letters in 
 proof of the suffering experienced from 
 the want of a market for the superabund- 
 ant supply of grain. Margaret Paston, 
 writing to her son on the 29th of Jan. 
 1474, after quoting the very low price of 
 corn and grain, says — " There is none out- 
 load (export) suffered to go out of this 
 country as yet ; the king hath commanded 
 that there should none go out of this land. 
 I fear me we shall have right a strange 
 world : God amend it when his will is." 
 In a letter written in the following year 
 she makes the same complaints about low 
 prices and the scarcity of money. (' Paston 
 Letters,' ii. 91-93. Edit, by A. Eamsay.) 
 
 In 1533-4 an end was put to the system 
 of ' exportation which had been esta- 
 blished in 1463, and, with some occa- 
 sional exceptions, had continued from 
 that time ; and thenceforth it was forbid- 
 den to export corn and provisions without 
 the king's licence. The statute enacted 
 for this purpose was intended to keep 
 down prices, though the preamble sets 
 out with the rational observation that, 
 " forasmuch as dearth, scarcity, good 
 cheap [good market], and plenty [of vic- 
 tual], happeneth, riseth, and chanceth, of 
 so many and divers reasons that it is very 
 hard and difficult to put any certain prices 
 to any such things." It however ended 
 by enacting that, on complaint being made 
 of high prices, they shall be regulated by 
 the lords of the council, and made known 
 by proclamation; and that farmers and 
 others shall sell their commodities at the 
 prices thus fixed. 
 
 During the greater part of the sixteenth 
 
 century a struggle was maintained by the 
 makers of the laws against the rise of 
 prices which characterised nearly the 
 whole of that period. In September, 
 1549, a proclamation was issued, directed 
 against dealers in the principal articles of 
 food. According to it, no man was to 
 buy and sell the self-same thing again, 
 except brokers, and they were not to have 
 more than ten quarters of grain in their 
 possession at one time. This proclamation 
 directed " that all justices should divide 
 themselves into the hundreds, and look 
 what superfluous corn was in every barn, 
 and appoint it to be sold at a reasonable 
 price; also, that one must be in every 
 market-town to see the corn bought. 
 Whoso brought no corn to market, as he 
 was appointed, was to forfeit 107., unless 
 the purveyors took it up, or it was sold to 
 the neighbours." (Turner's Hist. Eng. i. 
 172.) Obedience to these regulations was 
 not confined to the temporary provisions 
 of a proclamation ; but in 1551-2 they 
 were, with some modifications, embodied 
 in a statute (5 & 6 Edw. VI. c. 14). By 
 this enactment, engrossers (persons buying 
 corn to sell again) were subjected to heavy 
 penalties. For the third offence they 
 were to be set in the pillory, to forfeit 
 their personal effects, and to be imprisoned 
 during the king's pleasure. Farmers 
 buying corn for seed were compelled to 
 sell at the same time an equal quantity of 
 their corn in store, under penalty of for- 
 feiting double the value of what they had 
 bought. Persons might engross corn, 
 not forestalling it — that is, enhancing the 
 price or preventing che supply — when 
 wheat was under 6s. 8d. per quarter. 
 
 In 1 562-3 a further attempt was made 
 to restrict the operations of buying and 
 selling in articles of food, as well as many 
 other commodities. The 5 & 6 Edw, VI. 
 c. 14, already quoted, contained a proviso 
 that corn-badgers, allowed to that office 
 by three justices of the peace of the county 
 where the said badger dwelt, could buy 
 provisions in open fair or market for 
 towns and cities, and sell them, without 
 being guilty of the offence of forestalling; 
 but this relaxation was not permitted by 
 a subsequent statute passed in 1562-3 
 (5 Eliz. c. 12), in the preamble of which 
 the act 5 & 6 Edw. VI. is thus alluded 
 
CORN-LAWS. 
 
 [ 648 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 to : — " Since the making of which act 
 such a great number of persons, seeking 
 only to live easily and to leave their 
 honest labour, have and do daily seek to 
 be allowed to the said office, being most 
 unfit and unmeet for those purposes, and 
 also very hurtful to the commonwealth 
 of this realm, as well by enhancing the 
 price of corn and grain, as also by the 
 diminishing of good and necessary hus- 
 bandmen." Accordingly it was then enact- 
 ed that the licences to corn-badgers should 
 only be granted once a year by the justices 
 at quarter-sessions, instead of at any period 
 by three justices ; and that none were to 
 obtain a licence but resident householders 
 of three years' standing, who are or have 
 been married, and of the age of thirty, 
 and are not servants or retainers to an- 
 other person. Those who received a 
 licence were to have it renewed at the end 
 of every year. Licensed persons were 
 also required to find security not to fore- 
 stall or engross in their dealings, and not 
 to buy out of open fair or market, except 
 under express licence. The statute did 
 not apply to the counties of Westmore- 
 land, Cumberland, Lancaster, Chester, 
 and York. 
 
 In 1554 a new act was passed (1 & 2 
 Phil, and Mary, c. 5) which allowed ex- 
 portation so long as the price of wheat 
 should not exceed 6s. 8d., that of rye 4«., 
 and that of barley 3s. per quarter. The 
 preamble complains that former acts 
 against the exportation of grain and 
 provisions had been evaded, by reason 
 whereof they had grown unto a " won- 
 derful dearth and extreme prices." 
 Under the act of 1554, when prices 
 exceeded 6s. 8d. per quarter for wheat 
 exportation was to cease; and when it 
 was under that price it could not be 
 exported to any foreign country, or to 
 Scotland, without a licence, under penalty 
 of forfeiting double the value of the cargo 
 as well as the vessel, besides imprison- 
 ment of the master and mariners of the 
 vessel for one year. The penalty for 
 exporting a greater quantity than was 
 warranted by the licence was treble the 
 value of the cargo, and imprisonment; 
 and a cargo could be taken only to the 
 port mentioned in the licence. The ob- 
 ject was to prevent exportation when 
 
 there was not a sufficient supply in the 
 home market, and to permit it to be sent 
 abroad when it was below a certain price 
 at home. 
 
 In 1562, only eight years after the act 
 1 & 2 Phil, and Mary had been passed, 
 the liberty of exportation was extended, 
 and wheat might be carried out of the 
 country when the average price was 10s. 
 per quarter and under, that of rye, peas, 
 and beans 8s., and that of barley or malt 
 6s. 8rf. per quarter (5 Eliz. c. 5) ; and to 
 prevent evasion of the law, it was enacted 
 that the corn and grain should only be 
 exported from such ports as her Majesty 
 might by proclamation appoint. 
 
 In 1571 a statute was passed (13 
 Eliz. c. 13) which contains provisions 
 for settling once a-year the average prices 
 by which exportation should be governed. 
 The Lord President and Council in the 
 North, also the Lord President and 
 Council in Wales, and the Justices of 
 Assize, within their respective jurisdic- 
 tions, " yearly shall, upon conference had 
 with the inhabitants of the country, of 
 the cheapness and dearth of any kinds of 
 grain," determine " whether it shall be 
 meet at any time to permit any grain to 
 be carried out of any port within the said 
 several jurisdictions or limits ; and so 
 shall, in writing, under their hands and 
 sea), cause and make a determination 
 either for permission or prohibition, and 
 the same cause to be, by the sheriff of 
 the counties, published and affixed in as 
 many accustomed market-towns and 
 ports within the said shire as they shall 
 think convenient." The averages, when 
 once struck, were to continue in force 
 until the same authorities ordered other- 
 wise; and if their regulations should 
 " be hurtful to the country by means of 
 dearth, or be a great hinderance to tillage 
 by means of too much cheapness," they 
 could make the necessary alterations. 
 All proceedings under this act were to 
 be notified to the queen or privy council. 
 The statute enacted that, " for the better 
 increase of tillage, and for maintenance 
 and increase of the navy and mariners of 
 this realm," corn might be exported at 
 all times, to friendly countries when pro- 
 clamation was not made to the contrary. 
 A poundage or customs duty of Is. per 
 
COKN-LAWS. 
 
 L 649 j 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 quarter -was charged on all wheat ex- 
 ported; hut if exported under special 
 licence, and not under the act, the duty 
 ■was 2s. per quarter. ■ 
 
 The lair of 1463, which prohibited 
 importation so long as the price of wheat 
 was under 6s. 8d., that of rye under 4s., 
 and that of barley under 3s. the quarter, 
 appears not to have heen repealed, but it 
 must have remained inoperative, from 
 the prices seldom or probably never de- 
 scending below these rates. The im- 
 portation of corn, therefore, we may 
 reckon tu have been practically free at 
 this time. 
 
 In 1592-3 the price at which exportation 
 was permitted was raised to 20s. per quar- 
 ter, and the customs duty was fixed at 2s. 
 v 35 Eliz. c. 7). In 1603-4 the importation 
 price was raised to 26s. Sd. per quarter 
 (1 Jac. I. c. 25); and in 1623 to 32s. 
 (21 Jac. I. c. 28). By the 21 Jac. I. 
 c. 28, unless wheat was under 32s. 
 per quarter, and other grain in pro- 
 portion, buying corn and selling it 
 again was not permitted. The king 
 could restrain the liberty of exportation 
 by proclamation. In 1627-8 another 
 statute relative to the corn-trade was 
 passed (3 Car. I. c. 5), which, however, 
 made no alteration in the previous statute 
 of James I. In 1660 a new scale of 
 duties was introduced. When the price 
 of wheat per quarter was under 44s. the 
 import duty was 2s. ; and when the 
 price was above 44s., the duty fell to 
 id. Exportation was permitted at a duty 
 of Is. per quarter whenever the price of 
 wheat did not exceed 40s. per quarter (12 
 Car. II. c. 4) : the export duty was Is. 
 per quarter. 
 
 In 1063 the corn-trade again became 
 the subject of legislation, and an act was 
 passed (15 Car. II. c. 7). The preamble 
 of this act commenced by asserting that 
 "the surest and effectualest means of 
 promoting and advancing any trade, 
 occupation, or mystery, being by ren- 
 Jering it profitable to the users thereof," 
 •nd that, large quantities of land being 
 waste, which might be profitably cul- 
 tivated if sufficient encouragement were 
 given for the cost and labour on the 
 same, it should be enacted, with a view 
 of encouraging the application of capital 
 
 and labour to waste lands, that, after 
 September, 1663, when wheat did not 
 exceed 48s. per quarter at the places and 
 havens of shipment, the import duty 
 should be 5s., and when the price was 
 above 48s. the duty was to be 4d. By the 
 same act when wheat did not exceed 48s. 
 per quarter, it might be exported, and 
 when it was also at this price " then it 
 shall be lawful for all and every person 
 (not forestalling nor selling the same in 
 the open market within 3rree months 
 after the buying thereof) to buy in open 
 market, and to keep in his or their 
 granaries or houses, and to sell again, 
 such corn and grain," any statute to the 
 contrary notwithstanding. This latter 
 part of the statute abolished in effect the 
 provisions of 5 & 6 Edward VI. c. 14, 
 respecting the buying and selling of corn 
 and grain. 
 
 In 1670, by another act (22 Car. II. c. 
 13), exportation was permitted, although 
 the price of wheat should exceed the price 
 fixed by the act of 1663 (48s.); but a 
 customs' duty of Is. per quarter was in 
 this case to be charged. Wheat imported 
 from foreign countries was at the same 
 time loaded with duties so heavy as effectu- 
 ally to exclude it, the duty being 10s. when 
 the price in this country was at or under 
 53s. id. per quarter, and 8s. when above 
 that price and under 80s., at which latter 
 price importation became free. The ob- 
 ject of this act was to relieve the agricul- 
 tural interests from the depression under 
 which they weie labouring from the low 
 prices of produce which had existed for 
 twenty years, more particularly from 1 646 
 to 1665. Between 1617 and 1021 wheat 
 fell from 43s. 3d. the quarter to 27s., in 
 consequence of which farmers were unable 
 to pay their rents. The low price was 
 occasioned by abundant harvests ; " for 
 remedy whereof the Council have written 
 letters into every shire, and some say to 
 every markist-town, to provide a granary 
 or storehouse, with a stock to buy corn, 
 and keep it for a dear year." (Contem- 
 porary writers quoted by Mr. Tooke in 
 his ' Hist, of l'rices.') The cheapnes-s 
 of wheat was attended with the good 
 effect of raising the standard of diet 
 amongst the poorer classes, who are 
 described as " 'reversing the markets to 
 
CORN-LAWS. 
 
 [ 650 ] 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 find out the finest wheats, for none else 
 would now serve their use, though before 
 they were glad of the coarser rye-bread." 
 (Ibid.) The act of 1 670 does not appear 
 to have answered its object. Roger Coke, 
 writing in 1671, says — " The ends de- 
 signed by the acts against the importation 
 of Irish cattle, of raising the rents of the 
 lands of England, are so far from being 
 attained, that the contrary hath ensued" 
 (Ibid) j and Coke speaks of a great di- 
 minution of cultivation. 
 
 The harvests of 1673-4-5 proved de- 
 fective, and the same result occurred in 
 1677-8, 60 that the average price of the 
 seven years ending 1672, during which 
 wheat ranged at 36s. the quarter, was 
 followed iu the seven subsequent years, 
 ending 1679, by an average of 46*., being 
 a rise of nearly 30 per cent. But these 
 years of scarcity were followed by twelve 
 abundant seasons in succession (with the 
 exception of 1684, which was somewhat 
 deficient), and the price of corn and 
 grain again sunk very low. In the six 
 years ending 1691 the average price of 
 wheat was 29s. 5d. the quarter, and if the 
 four years ending 1691 be taken, the 
 average price was only 27s. Id., being 
 lower than at any period during the whole 
 of the century. There was no compe- 
 tition in the English market with the 
 foreign grower during the above-men- 
 tioued years of low prices ; and exporta- 
 tion was freely permitted on payment of 
 a nominal duty. The means which the 
 landed interest took to relieve themselves 
 will be noticed in the next period. 
 
 The mode of taking the average prices 
 of corn and grain established in 1570 (13 
 Eliz. c. 13) was acted upon till 1685, the 
 necessary provisions for an alteration 
 having been neglected in the Corn Act of 
 1670. These were made by a statute 
 which enacted that justices of the peace, 
 ii| counties wherein foreign corn might 
 be imported, may, at quarter-sessions, by 
 the oaths of two persons duly qualified — 
 that is, possessed of freehold estates of the 
 annual value of in/., or leasehold estates 
 of 50/., and not being corn-dealers, and 
 by such other means as they shall see fit, 
 determine the market price of middling 
 English corn, which is to be certified on 
 oath, hung up in some public place, and 
 
 sent to the chief officer at the custom- 
 house in each district. 
 
 II.— From 1689 to 1773. 
 
 The high prices of the seven years 2i«*. 
 ing 1679 led to an extension of tillage, 
 and this was followed by a succession of 
 favourable seasons which occasioned low 
 prices. Exportation of corn therefore 
 was not only permitted as heretofore, 
 but encouraged by bounties. The sta- 
 tute for granting bounties (1 Wm. and 
 Mary, c. 12) is entitled 'An Act for En- 
 couraging the Exportation of Corn.' 
 The preamble states that it had been 
 " found by experience that the exporta- 
 tion of corn and grain into foreign coun- 
 tries, when the price thereof is at a low 
 rate in this kingdom, hath been a great 
 advantage, not only to the owners of land, 
 but to the traders of this kingdom in gene- 
 ral ;" and it was enacted that a bounty 
 of 5s. the quarter should be granted on 
 the exportation of wheat, so long as the 
 home price did not exceed 48s. , with 
 other bounties of smaller amount upon 
 the exportation of barley, malt, and rye. 
 The growers of corn were in possession 
 of a market the sole supply of which 
 was secured to them by the act of 1670 
 (22 Car. II. c. 13), and by the Bounty 
 Act it was designed to prevent the over- 
 stocking of that market. 
 
 The seven years immediately succeed- 
 ing 1693 were remarkable for a succession 
 of unfavourable seasons. In the four 
 years ending 1691 the price of wheat 
 averaged 27s. Id. the quarter, but in the 
 four years preceding and including 1699 
 it reached 56s. 6a. The bounty was 
 inoperative during this period, and was 
 suspended by statute (12 Wm 111. c. 1), 
 from the 9th of February, 1699, to the 
 29th of September, 1700. The preamble 
 of the act contained an acknowledgment 
 that the statute granting the bounty " was 
 grounded upon the highest wisdom and 
 prudence, and has succeeded, to the great- 
 est benefit and advantage to the nation by 
 the greatest encouragement of tillage." 
 Before this temporary act had expired, 
 another act was passed iu 1700 (11 & 12 
 Wm. III. c. 20), which abolished the 
 export duties of Is. per quarter for wheat, 
 and a kss sum on other corn. " From 1697 
 
CORN-LAWS. 
 
 [ 651 ] 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 to 1773 the total excess of exports over im- 
 ports was 30,968,366 quarters, upon which 
 export bounties, amounting to 6,237,1782. 
 were paid out of the public revenue." 
 (Commons' Report on Agric. Distress, 
 1821.) In 1750 the sum of 324,176?. 
 Was paid in bounties on corn. The 
 exports of 1748-49-50 (during which, 
 moreover, the price of wheat fell from 
 32s. lOJd. to 28s. lOfd. the quarter) 
 amounted to 2,120,000 quarters of wheat, 
 and of all kinds of corn and grain to 
 3,825,000 quarters. This was the result 
 of a cycle of abundant years and of ex- 
 tended cultivation caused by the bounty. 
 In the twenty-three years from 1692 to 
 1715, says Mr. Tooke, in his elaborate 
 ' History of Prices,' there were eleven 
 bad seasons, during which the average 
 price of wheat was 45s. 8d. the quarter ; 
 in the fifty years ending 1765 there were 
 only five deficient harvests, and the ave- 
 rage price for the whole half-century 
 ranged at 34s. lid.; and, taking the ten 
 years ending 1751, during which the 
 crops were constantly above an average, 
 the price of -wheat was only 29s. 2jd. the 
 quarter. 
 
 Adam Smith refers to " the peculiarly 
 happy circumstances" of the country 
 during these times of plenty ; and Mr. 
 Hallam describes the reign of George II. 
 as " the most prosperous period that Eng- 
 land had ever experienced." " Bread 
 made of wheat is become more generally 
 the food of the labouring people," ob- 
 serves the author of the ' Corn Tracts,' 
 writing in 1765. Referring to the same 
 period, Mr. Malthus remarks : — " It is 
 well known that during this period the 
 price of corn fell considerably, while the 
 wages of labour are stated to have risen." 
 Trade was flourishing, and the exports 
 and imports progressively increasing 
 during this period of abundance. 
 
 In twenty-six years, from 1730 to 
 1755, there had been only one unfavour- 
 able season, but from 1765 to 1775 there 
 was a very frequent recurrence of unfa- 
 vourable years, and the last five years of 
 this period were all of this character. 
 In 1766 the quartern loaf was selling in 
 London at Is. 6d. ; addresses were sent 
 up from various parts of the country com- 
 plaining of general distress ; and a pro- 
 
 clamation was issued suspending exporta- 
 tion, and for enforcing the laws against 
 forestallers and regraters. Exportation 
 was suspended also in the following year, 
 and also in 1770 and 1771. In 1772 im- 
 portation was allowed duty-free to the 1st 
 of May, 1773 ; and in this latter year the 
 city of London offered a bounty of 4s. 
 per quarter for 20,000 quarters of wheat, 
 to be imported between March and June, 
 The average prices of wheat had risen 
 from 29s. 2^rf. in the ten years ending 
 1751, to 51s. for the ten years ending 
 1774, being an advance of 75 per cent. 
 The excess of exports over imports from 
 1742 to 1751 had been 4,700,509 quarters 
 of wheat, and, including all kinds of grain, 
 8,869,190 quarters, but from 1766 to 1775 
 there was ah excess of imports to the ex- 
 tent of 1,363,149 quarters of wheat and 
 3,782,734 of corn and grain of all kinds. 
 The old corn-law of 1689, under which a 
 bounty on exportation had been granted, 
 was now become a dead letter in conse- 
 quence of the high range ofprices in the 
 home market. 
 
 After the peace of 1763 population 
 rapidly advanced with the growth of 
 trade and manufactures. In the reign 
 of George I. there had only been sixteen 
 enclosure acts passed ; in the succeeding 
 reign there were 226 ; but the number 
 of such acts from 1760 to 1772 inclusive 
 amounted to 585. 
 
 Several acts were passed in the period 
 between 1C89 and 1773 relating to the 
 mode of ascertaining the average prices 
 of corn and grain. In one of them, 
 passed in 1729, the preamble states that 
 the justices of the peace had " neglected 
 to settle the price of corn at their quarter- 
 sessions after Michaelmas last, and to re- 
 turn certificates thereof to the chief ofiicer 
 and collector of the customs residing in 
 the respective ports where the said corn 
 or grain has been or may be imported ; 
 by means whereof the said officers were 
 at a loss how to charge the customs and 
 duty due for such corn ; which has been, 
 and may be, a great loss to the revenue, 
 and a detriment to the farmers and fair 
 traders." To remedy the negligence of 
 the gentry, the collectors of customs were 
 empowered to settle the averages. 
 
 In 1732 another act was passed "for the 
 
CORN-LAWS. 
 
 [ 652 J 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 better ascertaining the common prices of 
 middling English corn and grain, and 
 for preventing the fraudulent importation 
 of corn and grain." After 1st June, 
 1 732, the justices of the peace, in coun- 
 ties which contained ports of importation, 
 were to charge the grand jury at quarter- 
 sessions to make inquiry and presentment 
 upon oath of the common market-prices, 
 which were to be certified to the officers 
 at the ports specified. The averages 
 were, however, only to be taken four 
 times a year. 
 
 In 1766 the authorities of the city of 
 London were empowered to settle the 
 price of middling English corn and grain 
 in January and July, in addition to the 
 former periods of April and October. 
 
 It wiis not until 1770 that returns of 
 prices were directed to be made weekly. 
 In that year an act was passed, on the 
 ground that a " register of the prices at 
 which corn is sold in the several couuties 
 of Great Britain will be of public and 
 general advantage." The justices of the 
 peace were to order returns to be made 
 weekly of the prices of British corn and 
 grain from such towns in each county 
 as they thought proper ; the number of 
 towns selected in each county not being 
 more than six nor less than two. The 
 Treasury was to appoint a receiver of corn 
 returns, who was to publish an abstract 
 of the weekly returns in the ' London 
 Gazette,' and four times a year certify to 
 the clerks of the peace the prices which 
 were respectively prevalent in each 
 county. 
 
 In 1772 an act was passed (12 Geo. 
 III. c. 71) which removed several re- 
 strictions in old statutes on the ground 
 that, " by preventing a free trade in 
 the said commodities [corn, flour, cattle, 
 &c], they have a tendency to discou- 
 rage the growth and enhance the price 
 of the same, which statutes, put into 
 execution, would bring great distress on 
 the inhabitants of many parts of the 
 kingdom." 
 
 in.— From 1773 to 1791. 
 
 In the preamble of the Corn Act of 1773 
 (13 Geo. III. c. 43) it is acknowledged 
 that previous laws had greatly tended to 
 
 the advancement of tillage and navigation, 
 but that, on account of the small supplies 
 on hand and scanty crops, it had been 
 frequently necessary to suspend the ope- 
 ration of the laws ; and that a permanent 
 law on the coru-trade " would afford en- 
 couragement to the farmer, be the means 
 of increasing the growth of that necessary 
 commodity, and of affording a cheaper 
 and more constant supply to the poor." 
 And the act then fixes the following scale 
 of duties, to come into operation on the 
 1st of January, 1774: — Whenever the 
 price of middling British wheat, at ports 
 of importation, was at or above 48s. per 
 quarter, a duty of only &d. per quarter 
 was to be taken on all foreign wheat im- 
 ported during the continuance of that 
 price. When the price was at or above 
 44s., exportation and the bounty together 
 were to cease ; and the carrying of Bri- 
 tish grain coastwise ceased also. Under 
 this act, corn and grain might be shipped 
 to Ireland when exportation was prohi- 
 bited from that country. Foreign corn 
 warehoused under bond in twenty-five 
 ports of Great Britain mentioned in the 
 act might be re-exported duty free. 
 
 The home market was now opened to 
 foreign supplies of corn under much more 
 advantageous terms than before. Import- 
 ation was constant and considerable, and. 
 prices were steadier on the whole, during 
 the eighteen years from 1775 to 1792 — 
 notwithstanding the occurrence of five 
 seasons in which the harvests were de- 
 ficient — than they had been in the ten 
 years preceding 1773. In the ten years 
 ending 1769 the excess of exports 
 amounted to 1,384,561 quarters; but in 
 the next ten years, ending 1779, the ex- 
 cess was on the side of the imports to the 
 extent of 431 ,566 quarters ; and in the simi- 
 lar ten years ending 1 789 there was also an 
 excess amounting to 233,502 quarters. 
 From 1760 to 1780 the number of acres 
 enclosed under local acts was 1,912,350; 
 in the ten years ending 1789 the number 
 of acres enclosed had fallen to 450,180. 
 The average price of wheat was 45*. the 
 quarter in the ten years ending 1779, and 
 45s. 9d. in the ten years ending 1789. 
 The extension of cultivation in the twenty 
 years from 1760 to 1780, together with 
 the improvement of- agriculture, sufficed 
 
CORN-LAWS. 
 
 [ 653 J 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 for the increased demands of the country, 
 without breaking up much fresh land. 
 
 It was alleged, however, that the act of 
 1773 had rendered England dependent 
 upon other countries for the supply of 
 corn. The bounty by which the corn- 
 growers had formerly profited, and which 
 they were led to anticipate would still be 
 secured to them, had never been obtained 
 under this act. 
 
 At the commencement of the present 
 period the average prices of corn were 
 struck four times a-year, at the quarter- 
 sessions, and they could not be altered 
 between the interval of one quarter- ses- 
 sion and another. In 1774, however, an 
 act was passed (14 Geo. III. c. 64) by 
 which exportation was regulated by the 
 price on the market-day preceding the 
 shipment; thus adopting the real average 
 price at the time, instead of the average 
 which existed three months before.. 
 
 Six years afterwards, in 1780-1, it was 
 enacted (21 Geo. III. c. 50) that the 
 prices of English corn for the port of 
 London and the ports of Kent and Essex 
 should be determined by the averages 
 taken at the London Com Exchange. 
 The weekly average was to regulate the 
 exportation ; but the importation of fo- 
 reign com and grain was regulated by 
 averages struck only once a quarter. 
 
 In the session of 178S-9 new regula- 
 tions were framed (29 Geo. III. c. 58), 
 applying to all parts of the kingdom, 
 which was divided into twelve districts, 
 and in each a number of the principal 
 market-towns was selected, in which, and 
 at the sea-ports, the price of corn was to 
 be ascertained for each district. Weekly 
 returns were to be made to the receiver 
 in London, who, on the 1st of February, 
 May, August, and November, was to 
 compute from the returns of the Six pre- 
 ceding weeks the average price of each 
 description of British corn and grain 
 (with the exception of oats, the averages 
 of which were to be computed on the 
 returns of the twelve preceding weeks). 
 The aggregate average price of the six 
 weeks (and for oats of the twelve weeks) 
 was to be transmitted to the principal 
 officer of the customs in each district, and 
 to regulate the importation at each port 
 of the said district. The export-trade 
 
 was still regulated by the weekly averages. 
 Under this act each of the twelve mari- 
 time districts was treated as distinct in 
 itself, and counties on one side of the 
 kingdom might be exporting their sur- 
 plus produce to a foreign market, while 
 those on the other side might be import 
 ing. 
 
 IV.— From 1791 to 1804. 
 
 In the new corn-law of 1791 it was en- 
 acted that the bounty of 5s. per quarter 
 should be paid when wheat was under 
 44s., and that, when wheat was at or 
 above 46s., exportation was to cease. 
 The new scale of import duties was as 
 follows : — For wheat under 50s. per quar- 
 ter, the " high duty" of 24s. 3d. was pay- 
 able ; at 50s., but under 54s., the " first 
 low duty" of 2s. 6d. ; at or above 54s., 
 the " second low duty" of 6d. was pay- 
 able. The duty of 24s. 3d., so long as 
 the price of wheat was under 50s. the 
 quarter, was equivalent to a prohibition. 
 
 The thirteen years from 1791 to 1804 
 form a very eventful period in the history 
 of the Corn Laws. Under the compara- 
 tively free system established by the Corn 
 Act of 1773, the excess of imports had 
 been comparatively trifling; but under 
 an act constructed rather to prevent im- 
 portation, the excess of imports in the 
 thirteen years from 1791 to 1803 amount- 
 ed to 6,458,901 quarters of wheat and 
 wheat-flour, and enormous sacrifices were 
 made to obtain this quantity. 
 
 The harvest of 1793 was below an 
 average, and those of the two follow- 
 ing years were still more deficient. The 
 average price of wheat rose from 55s. 7d., 
 in January, 1795, to 108s. 4d. in August. 
 Parliament met in October, when the 
 King's speech alluded to the " very high 
 price of grain" as a subject of "the 
 greatest anxiety." An act was passed, 
 granting a bounty of from 16s. to 20s. the 
 quarter, according to the quality, on 
 wheat from the south of Europe, till the 
 quantity should amount to 400,000 quar- 
 ters; and from America till it should 
 amount to 500,000 quarters ; and 12s. to 
 15s. from any other part of Europe till it 
 should amount to the same quantity ; the 
 bounty to be 8s. and 10s. after that quan- 
 tity was exceeded. Neutral vessels laden 
 
CORN-LAWo. 
 
 L 684 ] 
 
 UOKN-LAWS. 
 
 with grain were forcibly seized on the 
 high seas, and the masters compelled to 
 sell their cargoes to the government 
 agents. The members of both houses of 
 parliament bound themselves by a written 
 pledge to observe the utmost frugality in 
 the use of bread in their respective house- 
 holds ; and engaged to reduce the con- 
 sumption of wheat by at least one-third 
 of the usual quantity consumed in ordi- 
 nary times, unless the average price of 
 wheat should be reduced to 8s. the 
 bushel. The hair-powder tax was im- 
 posed at this period, as one means of di- 
 minishing the consumption of wheat. 
 
 For two or three years after 1795 the 
 harvests were more favourable, until the 
 disastrous season of 1799. The average 
 price of wheat at the commencement of 
 1799 was 49s. 6rf. the quarter, but in De- 
 cember it had risen to 94s. 2d. ; and soon 
 after the commencement of the following 
 year the prospects of scarcity had alarm- 
 ingly increased. Recourse was again had 
 to a bounty ; and an act was passed, 
 offering to die importer the difference 
 between the average price of English 
 wheat in the second week after importa- 
 tion and 90s. on wheat from the south of 
 Europe, Africa, and America ; 85s. from 
 the Baltic and Germany ; and 90s. from 
 Archangel, if imported before the 1st of 
 October, 1800. Lord Hawkesbury also 
 brought in a bill, which was passed 
 through its various stages on the follow- 
 ing day, prohibiting the sale of bread 
 until twenty-four hours after it had been 
 baked. Prices, however, continued to 
 advance, and in June, 1800, wheat was 
 134s. !Sd. the quarter. Considerable im- 
 portations brought down the price to 96s. 
 'id. in August ; but in December it had 
 again advanced to 133s., in consequence 
 of the deficiency of the harvest of 1800. 
 Parliament in consequence met in Novem- 
 ber, 1800, earlier than had been intended. 
 The speech from the throne alluded to the 
 supposition of combination and fraudulent 
 practices for the purpose of raising the 
 price of grain, but this a committee of 
 the House of Lords denied. A select 
 committee of the Commons was again 
 appointed to take into consideration the 
 existing high prices, and by the end of 
 December this committee had presented 
 
 six reports to the house, in the first of 
 which the deficiency of the crops was 
 stated to be one-fourth, and that the old 
 supplies were exhausted before harvest 
 The committee suggested a variety of 
 remedies to meet the emergency. Among 
 other things they recommended the en- 
 couragement of the fisheries, the stop- 
 page of the distilleries, a bounty on im- 
 portation ; also a recommendation from 
 persons in authority, pointing out the 
 necessity of the general practice of eco- 
 nomy and frugality in all articles of 
 food ; and it was proposed to call upon 
 the other house of parliament to join in 
 an address to the throne, requesting his 
 Majesty to issue a proclamation in favour 
 of this suggestion. A royal proclama- 
 tion was issued accordingly, and was 
 widely circulated by the clergy and ma- 
 gistrates throughout the kingdom. An 
 act was also passed, guaranteeing the 
 difference between the average price of 
 foreign wheat in the third week after 
 importation and 100s. to the importer of 
 all wheat weighing 53 lbs. per bushel, if 
 imported within the time limited by the 
 act. The advance of prices continued 
 unchecked in spite of these various plans ; 
 and in March, 1801, wheat averaged 156s. 
 2d. the quarter, or, taking the imperial 
 measure now in use, 20s. the bushel; 
 barley averaged 90s. Id. the quarter, and 
 oats 47s. 2d. The importations of the 
 year were, wheat, 1,424,766 quarters; 
 barley, 1 13,966 ; oats, 583,043. For four 
 weeks the quartern loaf in London was 
 as high as Is. 10§d. The agricultural 
 districts were again disturbed by riots. 
 The money wages of the agricultural la- 
 bourer, in order to have been equal to 
 those which he received in the reign of 
 George II., should have risen to about 
 30s. per week. An advance of wages to 
 a trilling extent was obtained in some 
 trades. The salaries of persons holding 
 official situations under the government 
 were also increased. The misery of the 
 bulk of the people during the years of 
 scarcity is shown by the diminished num- 
 ber of marriages, which, from 79,477 in 
 1798, were reduced to 67,288 in 1801. 
 The fallacy that wages advance with the 
 price of food was never more glaringly 
 displayed than at this period. This me- 
 
CORN-LA.WS. 
 
 [655 J 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 morable dearth was a season of prosperity, 
 as Mr. Tooke states, " to the landlords, 
 •who were raising, or had the prospect of 
 Boon raising, their rents ; and to the far- 
 mers, who were realizing enormous gains 
 pending the currency of their leases." 
 
 Comparative abundance was restored 
 by a tolerably good harvest in 1801. In 
 the two following years the harvests, 
 though not very abundant, were favour- 
 able, and a further depression of prices 
 took place. At the close of 1802 the 
 average price of wheat was 57s. Id. the 
 quarter; early in 1803, 52s. 3d. ; and at 
 a corresponding period in 1804 the ave- 
 rage price was as low as 49s. 6d. Meet- 
 ings were now held by the agriculturists 
 for the purpose of petitioning parlia- 
 ment for additional protection to agri- 
 culture, the act of 1790-1, which had 
 raised the free import price (there was 
 merely a nominal duty of 6d.) from 48s. 
 to 54s., not having satisfied them. This 
 brings us to the termination of the fourth 
 period. 
 
 The Corn Act of 1790-1 consolidated, 
 amended, and repealed a number of old 
 statutes relating to the corn - trade ; 
 amongst the latter, the 15 Charles II. 
 c. 7, which prohibited buying corn to sell 
 again and laying up corn in warehouses. 
 It also permitted foreign com and grain 
 to be bonded in the king's warehouses, 
 the duty to be payable only when taken 
 out for home consumption. The object 
 of this beneficial clause is stated as fol- 
 lows : — " To promote and extend the 
 commerce of the merchants of this king- 
 dom in foreign corn, and to provide stores 
 which may always be ready for the 
 relief of his Majesty's subjects in times 
 of dearth." Many of the provisions of 
 the act, however, interfered with trade to 
 a vexatious and injurious extent. When 
 foreign exportation was not allowed at 
 any particular port, not even home pro- 
 duce could be carried thence coastwise, 
 even to a port at which exportation was 
 at the time taking place. Foreign vessels 
 might, however, change their destination 
 to any port where importation was per- 
 mitted, if, on their arrival at that for 
 which their cargo had been shipped, im- 
 portation had ceased to be allowed. The 
 country was still divided into so many 
 
 independent sections, and this regulation 
 was introduced into Scotland, which was 
 divided into four districts. For the pur- 
 poses of exportation, the weekly averages 
 of each district were cited, and, for im- 
 portation, the average of the six weeks 
 preceding the 15th of February, May, 
 August, and November. Thus the one 
 varied from week to week, and the latter 
 could only be changed four times a-year 
 
 V— From 1804 to 1815. 
 
 On the 13th of April, 1804, the Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer moved for the 
 appointment of a select committee to in- 
 quire into the principle and operation of 
 the Corn Regulation Act of 1791, and to 
 determine whether the scale which it 
 fixed for the regulation of imports and 
 exports was now applicable. On the 1 4th 
 of May the committee reported that the 
 act alluded to required "very material 
 alteration." On the 14th of June they 
 stated in a second report " that the price 
 of corn from 1791 to the harvest of 1803 
 has been very irregular ; but, upon an 
 average, increased in a great degree by 
 the years of scarcity, has in general yielded 
 a fair profit to the grower. The casual 
 high prices, however, have had the effect 
 of stimulating industry, and bringing into 
 culture large tracts of waste land, which, 
 combined with the two last productive 
 seasons, has occasioned such a depression 
 in the value of grain as it is feared will 
 greatly tend to the discouragement of 
 agriculture, unless maintained by the sup- 
 port of parliament." 
 
 A new Corn Act was therefore passed 
 which established the following scale for 
 the admission of foreign corn : — Wheat 
 under 63s. per quarter, the " high duty" 
 of 24s. 3d. payable; at 63s. and under 
 66s., the " first low duty ;" and at or 
 above 66s., the "second low duty," which 
 amounted only to 6d. The free import 
 or nominal duty price was thus raised 
 from 54s., at which it stood in the act of 
 1790-1, to 66s. — an increase of 12s. The 
 bounty of 5s. on exportation was to be 
 paid when the average price of wheat was 
 at or under 48s. ; and when the average 
 rose to 54s. exportation was to be pro- 
 hibited : these two provisions of the act 
 proved inoperative. 
 
CORN-LAWS. 
 
 [ 656 J 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 Immediately after the passing of this 
 act prices rose between March and De- 
 cember from 49s. erf. the quarter to SBs. 2d. 
 The crop of 1 804 proved deficient ; in the 
 three following seasons the harvests were 
 not abundant ; and in the five years from 
 1808 to 1812 they were very deficient. 
 In August, 1812, the average prices were 
 — for wheat 155s., barley 79s. 10rf., and 
 oats 5<;s. 2d. ; and Mr. Tooke says (Hist, 
 of Prices, i. 323) that in Mark-lane the 
 finest Dantzic wheat fetched 180s., and 
 oats in one or two instances were sold at 
 the enormous price of 84s. the quarter. 
 
 The war in which we were engaged 
 during the above-mentioned years when 
 the harvests were deficient, added to the 
 expense and difficulty of procuring sup- 
 plies of grain from abroad ; but notwith- 
 standing the anti-commercial spirit which 
 the war had assumed, the French govern- 
 ment granted licences under which about 
 400,000 quarters of wheat, besides other 
 grain, were imported to supply the defi- 
 ciency of the harvest of 1809. In 1810 
 we imported 1,500,000 quarters of wheat 
 and flour, and 600,000 quarters of other 
 grain and meal. The expenses of freight, 
 insurance, and licenses amounted to from 
 30s. to 50s. per quarter on wheat. The 
 enormous charges on importation were 
 added to the natural price of British corn ; 
 and this was one of the causes of what 
 were called the " war prices" of this 
 memorable period, and of the extraor- 
 dinary profits of farmers and landowners 
 The high prices stimulated cultivation, 
 and from 1804 to 1814 inclusively the 
 number of inclosure bills which received 
 the royal assent was 1084, being con- 
 siderably more than for any other corre- 
 sponding period. The state of the agri- 
 cultural interest at this time has been 
 impartially described by Mr. Tooke : — A 
 great amount of gain had been distributed 
 among the agricultural classes; and as 
 •he range of high prices (with an interval 
 of depression between the harvests of 
 1810 and 1811, so short as not to have 
 been felt at all by the landlord, and very 
 .ittle by the farmer) had been of an un- 
 usually long continuance, it was concluded 
 that the causes of that high range were 
 permanent. From 1809 to 1813 was 
 accordingly the period in which rents I 
 
 experienced their greatest rise, — that is, 
 upon the expiration of leases, they wer» 
 advanced in full proportion to the high 
 range of the prices of produce ; and in 
 several instances they were raised three- 
 fold or upwards of what they had been in 
 1792. (Hist, of Prices, i. 323-6.) 
 
 A year or two of low prices of agricul- 
 tural produce again brought to a close 
 another period in the history of the Corn 
 Laws. -Wheat, which had been sold as 
 high as 180s. the quarter (for select par- 
 cels) in 1812, fell to 73s. (id. after the 
 abundant harvest of 1813 ; and after that 
 of 1814, which was rather favourable 
 than otherwise, the average price was 
 reduced to 53s. Id. the quarter. This 
 fall in prices and the cessation of hostili- 
 ties led to the reconsideration of the whole 
 question of the Corn Law. 
 
 During the preseut period an important 
 change was made in the mode of striking 
 the average prices of corn and grain. The 
 twelve maritime districts of England, and 
 the four similar districts of Scotland, 
 ceased to be regarded as sixteen separate 
 sections, each of which was regulated by 
 the prices prevalent within its separate 
 limits ; but for England, the averages, 
 taken as before, were computed for the 
 whole of the twelve districts at once, and 
 the average price obtained from the com- 
 putation regulated importation and ex- 
 portation at sea-ports situate in any part 
 of the country ; and for Scotland the same 
 plan was pursued. The six weeks' 
 averages, struck quarterly, regulated the 
 import-duty, and the weekly average the 
 exports. 
 
 In 1806 was passed 'An Act to permit 
 the free Interchange of every Species of 
 Grain between Great Britain and Ire- 
 land' (46 Geo. III. c. 97). Ireland had 
 been previously treated as a colony, but 
 this act placed her on an equality with 
 other parts of the kingdom. 
 
 VI.— From 1815 to 1822. 
 
 The real object of the Corn Act of 1815 
 was to perpetuate high prices and high 
 rents by artificial scarcity. In June, 
 1814, a committee of the House of Lords 
 on the corn trade was appointed, and in 
 their second report the committee recom- 
 mended that so long as the average price 
 
CORN-LAWS. 
 
 1657] 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 of wheat was under 80s. the ports should 
 be completely closed against supplies from 
 other countries. The prohibitive price 
 suggested by the agricultural witnesses 
 examined by the committee varied from 
 72s. to 98s. Out of sixteen witnesses 
 belonging to this class, only four were in 
 favour of the free importation price being 
 below 80s. per quarter. This second 
 report was presented on the 25th of July ; 
 but a bill which had been brought in, 
 founded on its recommendations, was 
 strongly opposed, and eventually aban- 
 doned. An act was however passed, which 
 repealed the bounty on exportation (54 
 Geo. III. c. 69). From 1792, the high 
 prices which prevailed in the home mar- 
 ket rendered the bounty inoperative. By 
 the new act exportation might take place 
 at any time without reference to prevail- 
 ing prices. 
 
 The average price of wheat for the 
 year 1814 was about 34s. per quarter 
 lower than the average of the preceding 
 year, though the harvest had not been an 
 abundant one. In the month of February, 
 1815, the average price was under 60s., 
 and before harvest it might rise to 66s., 
 when under the act of 1804 the ports 
 would be open and prices again be de- 
 pressed, and it was thought to a very low 
 point, in consequence of the obstacles to 
 free intercourse with the continent being 
 lemoved. Early in the session of 1815, 
 therefore, a bill was brought in, giving 
 effect to the recommendation of the com- 
 mittee of the previous year, and fixing 
 80s. as the lowest point at which importa- 
 tion should take place. The measure 
 produced great excitement throughout 
 the country, particularly in the manufac- 
 turing districts and in all the large towns. 
 In the House of Commons, at an early 
 period, a division took place in favour of 
 72s. being substituted for 80s., with the 
 following result : — For the motion, 35 ; 
 against it, 154; majority, 119. Onthe3rd 
 of March an attempt was made to throw 
 out the bill : — For the motion, 56 ; against 
 it, 218 ; majority, 162. On the 6th of 
 March the vicinity of the House of Com- 
 mons was thronged by an excited multi- 
 tude, and several members were stopped, 
 some of them roughly handled, and they 
 were questioned by the mob as to the vote 
 
 which they intended to give. Ultimately 
 the military were called out, and, with 
 the civil force, kept the streets clear. This 
 evening the gallery of the House of Com- 
 mons was closed. An attempt was made 
 to render the bill more favourable by 
 substituting 74s. instead of 80s. as the 
 pivot price ; and the motion was sup- 
 ported by 77 against 208, being a majority 
 of 131. On the 8th of May, on bringing 
 up the report, an amendment was moved, 
 that the bill be read that day six months, 
 when there voted 50 in its favour, and 
 168 against it; majority, 118. A final 
 attempt was made to substitute a lower 
 rate than 80s., leaving it to the House to 
 determine the exact price at which pro- 
 hibition ceased ; but only 78 voted for the 
 motion, and 184 in favour of the measure 
 as originally proposed. On the 10th of 
 March, on the third reading, an amend- 
 ment was moved, that the bill be thrown 
 out, but it was only supported by 77 
 against 245; majority 168. On the 20th 
 of March the bill passed the Lords by a 
 majority of 107 : — 128 contents, and 21 
 non-contents. The measure was opposed 
 with great force and acuteness by several 
 of the most eminent statesmen of the day ; 
 and Lord Grenville drew up an excellent 
 protest embodying the views of the 
 minority. 
 
 The 23rd of March, 1815, the bill re- 
 ceived the Royal assent. 
 
 Until the average price of wheat rose 
 to 80s. the ports were now to be effector 
 ally closed. Colonial wheat was admitted 
 when the average prices reached 67s. per 
 quarter. Such was the leading feature 
 of the new act (55 Geo. III. c. 26). But 
 the mode in which the average prices 
 were determined greatly increased its 
 stringency. A new average was to be 
 struck quarterly, on the 15th of February, 
 May, August, and November, from the 
 aggregate prices of the six preceding 
 weeks ; but it was provided that, if dur- 
 ing the six weeks subsequent to any of 
 these dates the average prices, which' 
 might be at 80s., fell below that price, 
 no supplies should be admitted for home 
 consumption from any ports between the' 
 rivers Eyder and the Bidassoa, — that is, 
 from Denmark to Spain. 
 
 It was the general expectation of the 
 
CORN-LAWS. 
 
 [ 658 ] 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 farmers that the act of 1815 'would main- 
 tain the prices of their produce at a rate 
 somewhat under that of the scale which 
 the legislature had adopted ; and which, 
 for wheat, was 80s. ; barley 40s. ; oats 
 27s. ; and rye, beans and peas, 53s. They 
 entered into contracts with their landlords 
 and others with this conviction. But, 
 as in every measure passed since 1773 
 
 S rices had risen above the scale which 
 ad been fixed as the prohibitive rate, it 
 happened that they now sunk below it. 
 In 1816, 1817, and 1818, three deficient 
 harvests occurred, that of the former 
 year being below an average crop to a 
 greater extent than in any year since the 
 periods of scarcity at the close of the last 
 century. Prices rose above the rate at 
 which foreign supplies were admitted, 
 and in 1817 and 1818 above 2,600,000 
 quarters of wheat were imported. In 
 1821 and 1822 the agriculturists endured 
 the severest distress, and the engagements 
 which they had been induced to make 
 under the fallacious hopes excited by the 
 last Corn Act and the range of high 
 prices during the war occasioned them to 
 be swept from the land by thousands. In 
 the week ending December 21st, 1822, 
 the average prices of corn and grain were 
 as follow : — 
 
 ■Wheat. Barley, Oats. Rye. Beans. Peas. 
 
 a. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. 
 
 38 8 29 4 18 9 23 6 28 10 29 4 
 
 Bran? 414 10 883 29 6242238 
 
 lower than the scale which was framed 
 for the farmer's protection. The harvest 
 of 1820 was estimated as one-fourth above 
 an average crop, and by some, who in- 
 cluded the extended breadth of wheat 
 under cultivation in consequence of the 
 liighprice6of 1816-17-18, the surplus was 
 computed at about one-third above the 
 average, — that is, there was a surplus of 
 between 3 and 4 million quarters of wheat, 
 for which there was no demand. The 
 crop of 1821 was large, but of inferior 
 quality ; that of 1822 was above an aver- 
 age, and the harvest was unusually early. 
 The cause of the great fall of prices and 
 of its distressing effects on the farmers 
 was sufficiently obvious. They were 
 under leases and rents founded upon an 
 extraordinary conjuncture of bad seasons 
 
 with a state of war, and upon an act 
 which promised to keep up high prices bj 
 excluding supplies of foreign grain. 
 
 The fluctuations in price under the 
 corn-law of 1815 were as extraordinary 
 as they were unexpected, and amounted 
 to 199^ per cent. 
 
 The cry of agricultural distress never 
 ceased to ring in the ears of the legisla- 
 ture during the years 1820-1-2. Com- 
 mittees of the House of Commons were 
 appointed to inquire into the condition of 
 agriculture. In Parliament Sir Thomas 
 Lethbridge proposed a permanent duty on 
 foreign wheat of 40s. per quarter. Mr. 
 Benetfs plan was a permanent duty of 
 24s. per quarter after the averages had 
 again reached 80s., and a drawback of 
 18s. per quarter to be allowed on the ex- 
 portation of wheat of marketable quality. 
 Mr. Curwen suggested that when the 
 average price of wheat reached 80s. the 
 ports should be opened for the admission 
 of 400,000 quarters of foreign wheat, at a 
 duty of 10s. ; and if, six weeks after this 
 quantity had been admitted, the average 
 price should still continue above 80s., then 
 to allow of the importation of an additional 
 400,000 quarters, at a duty of 5s. The 
 late Mr. Ricardo moved resolutions to the 
 effect that when the averages rose to 05s. 
 per quarter all the foreign wheat then in 
 bond should be liberated at a duty of 15». ; 
 and that afterwards, whenever the aver- 
 ages exceeded 70s. the trade in wheat 
 should be free, at a permanent duty of 
 20s. : one year from that time the duty to 
 be reduced to 19s., and a similar reduction 
 to be made each year until the duty was 
 10s., at which it should be permanently 
 fixed ; at the same time allowing a draw- 
 back or bounty on exportation of 7s..per 
 quarter. On the 29th of April, during 
 the agricultural panic of 1822, Mr.Hus- 
 kisson moved a series of resolutions, the 
 first and second of which affirmed that 
 prices had fallen, although the quantity 
 of corn imported was trifling, and the 
 third resolution showed — " That the ex- 
 cess of the supply above the demand must 
 have arisen either from an extent of corn- 
 tillage more than commensurate to the 
 average consumption of the country, or 
 from a succession of abundant harvests 
 upon the same extent of tillage, or from 
 
CORN-LAWS. 
 
 [ 659 ] 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 the coincident effect of both these causes." 
 To prevent the alternate evils of scarcity 
 and redundance. Mr. Huskisson proposed 
 that the trade should be permanently free 
 at a duty of 1 5s. per quarter, when the 
 averages were under 80s. ; and when 
 above 80s. the duty to he 5s. ; and above 
 85s. a nominal duty of Is. only to be iin- 
 
 The Select Committee of the House of 
 Commons had a still greater variety of 
 projects offered for its consideration. One 
 plan proposed to the Committee of 1821 
 was to withdraw the permission to ware- 
 house foreign wheat or any other foreign 
 grain in England. The Committee of 
 1822 had under its serious consideration 
 two plans for the alleviation of agricul- 
 tural distress; — 1. The application of 
 1,000,OOOZ. in Exchequer bills, to be 
 employed through the agency of govern- 
 ment in buying up a certain quantity of 
 British wheat to be placed in store. 2. 
 Advances to be made to individuals on 
 produce deposited in warehouses, to pre- 
 vent them coming into the market simul- 
 taneously. The first plan was rejected 
 by the Committee, but they considered 
 the second was feasible, and were of opi- 
 nion that "The sum of 1,000,0002. so 
 employed (in loans on stock) would pro- 
 bably be fully adequate to give a tempo- 
 rary check to the excess which is conti- 
 nually poured into the overstocked mar- 
 ket." In the House of Lords, the Mar- 
 quis of Londonderry, on the 29th of 
 April, moved that 1,000,000/. be advanced 
 in Exchequer bills, when the average 
 price of wheat was under 60s. 
 
 The fall of prices in 1820-1-2 had fully 
 demonstrated the futility of the corn-law 
 of 1815, and it was therefore proposed to 
 modify it. 
 
 VII.— From 1822 to 1828. 
 
 The corn-law of 1815 was suspended 
 bya new act passed in July, 1822, which 
 enacted that, " as soon as foreign wheat 
 shall have been admitted for home con- 
 sumption under the provisions of the Act 
 of 55 Geo. III. c. 26 [the corn-law of 
 1815], the scale of prices at which the 
 home consumption of foreign corn, meal, 
 or flour is permitted by the said Act shall . 
 
 cease and determine." The new scale 
 was as follows ; — Wheat at or above 70s., 
 duty 12s. ; and for the first three months 
 of the ports being open an additional duty 
 of 5s. per quarter, being a duty of 1 7s. 
 Above 70s., and under 80s., the " first low 
 duty" of 5s., with the addition of 5s. for 
 the first three months ; above 80s. and un- 
 der 85s., the "second low duty" of Is. was 
 alone to be charged. This act never came 
 into operation. It is justly described as 
 being merely a pretended relaxation of 
 the act of 1815 ; for, though the limit of 
 total prohibition was lowered from 80s. to 
 70s., yet the duty would have rendered 
 it more severe than the measure for 
 which it was substituted as an improve- 
 ment. In 1826, in consequence of the 
 unfavourable harvest, a temporary act 
 was passed, under which a quantity of 
 foreign grain was admitted for home con- 
 sumption. In 1827 the Government was 
 driven to a still more decisive step. In 
 the spring of the year ministers had stated 
 that it was not their intention to liberate 
 the corn then in bond, upon which prices 
 immediately rose. This was followed by 
 some disturbances in the manufacturing 
 districts, to allay which the Government, 
 on the 1st of May, proposed to Parlia- 
 ment to release the bonded corn, and, as 
 a measure of precaution, required to be 
 invested with powers to admit during the 
 recess of Parliament an additional quan- 
 tity, not exceeding 500,000 quarters, in 
 case the harvest proved deficient. These 
 powers were acted upon, and on Septem- 
 ber 1 an Order in Council was issued, ad- 
 mitting certain descriptions of grain for 
 home consumption, until forty days after 
 the next meeting of Parliament, at an 
 almost nominal rate of duty, on the 
 ground that, " if the importation for home 
 consumption of oats and oatmeal, and of 
 rye, peas, and beans, be not immediately 
 permitted, there is great cause to fear 
 that much distress may ensue to all 
 classes of his Majesty's subjects." In the 
 ensuing session of Parliament ministers 
 obtained an act of indemnity for this 
 order. 
 
 In 1827 it had become sufficiently evi- 
 dent that some other system must be de- 
 vised, and Mr. Canning introduced cer- 
 tain resolutions in the House of Commons, 
 2c2 
 
CORN-LAWS. 
 
 [ 6G0 ] 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 the leading principle of which was to per- 
 mit importation at all times by substitut- 
 ing a graduated scale of duties. A bill 
 ■was brought in, founded on these resolu- 
 tions, fixing a duty of Is. on foreign 
 "wheat when the average price was 70s. 
 per quarter. In respect to colonial wheat, 
 the duty was fixed at 6d. when the ave- 
 rages were 65s. per quarter, and when 
 under that sum at 5s. per quarter. The 
 hill was not carried, as the Duke of Wel- 
 lington moved and carried a clause the 
 effect of which would have been to keep 
 the ports entirely shut so long as the 
 price of wheat was under 66s. the quarter. 
 An act was, however, passed during this 
 session to permit corn, meal, &c, ware- 
 Loused on the 1st of July, 1827, to be 
 entered for home consumption upon pay- 
 ment of duties according to a fluctuating 
 scale. About 572,000 quarters of wheat 
 and flour were entered for consumption 
 under this act, at a duty averaging above 
 20s. per quarter. The harvest had not 
 been defective, and this was the very 
 reason why the corn in bond was released 
 notwithstanding the high duty, as there 
 was no prospect of prices advancing. 
 
 In 1821 a new act was passed relative 
 to the averages. Instead of " the mari- 
 time districts," 148 towns were named, 
 for which the magistrates were to appoint 
 inspectors to make a return of the weekly 
 purchases. 
 
 The six weeks' averages still regulated 
 the amount of duty on importation, but 
 they were greatly improved by being 
 every week subject to an alteration. Each 
 week the receiver of corn returns struck 
 out one week's averages, admitting those 
 last received, and thereby affecting the 
 aggregate average, as prices rose or fell 
 from week to week. The introduction 
 of a fluctuating scale of duty was an im- 
 portant step, and its effect will be consi- 
 dered in the next period. 
 
 It was impossible to continue any 
 longer a system which, for three succes- 
 sive years, 1825-G-7, had been compelled 
 to bend to the force of temporary circum- 
 stances; and like previous measures it 
 was abandoned by its supporters either as 
 inefficient or injurious. Such a state of 
 things brings us to another period in the 
 history of corn-law legislation. 
 
 VIII. — From July 1828 to April 23, 
 1842. 
 
 In 1828 Mr. Charles Grant (afterwards 
 Lord Glenelg) introduced a series of re- 
 solutions slightly differing from those 
 which had been moved by Mr. Canning, 
 and they were eventually embodied in a 
 bill which was carried through both 
 Houses, and received the Royal assent on 
 the 1 5th of July. The act was entitled, 
 ' An Act to amend the Laws relating to 
 the Importation of Com,' and it re- 
 pealed 55 Geo. III. c, 26 (1815); 3 Geo. 
 IV. c. 60 (1822); and 7 and 8 Geo. IV 
 c. 58 (1827). 
 
 The provisions for settling the averages 
 under this act were as follow : — In one 
 hundred and fifty towns in England and 
 Wales, mentioned in the act, corn-dealers 
 were required to make a declaration, that 
 they would return an accurate account of 
 their purchases. [In London, the sellers 
 made the return.] Inspectors were ap- 
 pointed in each of these one hundred and 
 fifty towns, who transmitted returns to the 
 Receiver in the Corn Department of the 
 Board of Trade, whose duty it was to com- 
 pute the average weekly price of each 
 description of grain, and the aggregate 
 average price for the previous six weeks, 
 and to transmit a certified copy to the 
 collectors of customs at the different out- 
 ports. The return on which the average 
 prices were based was published every Fri- 
 day in ' The London Gazette.' The aggre- 
 gate average for six weeks regulated the 
 duty on importation. 
 
 Wheat at 50s. paid a duty of 36s. 8(2. ; 
 barley at 32s. a duty of 13s. lCrf.; oats at 
 24s. a duty of 10s. 9d. ; rye, peas, and 
 beans, at 35s., a duty of 16s. 9<f. Colo- 
 nial wheat was admitted at a duty of 6d. ' 
 when the average of the six weeks was 
 at or above 67*. ; and when below 67s. 
 the duty was 5s. the quarter, and for 
 other grain in proportion. Importation 
 was free on payment of Is. on the quarter 
 when wheat in the home market was 
 73s. ; barley 41s. ; oats 31s. ; and rye, 
 peas, and beans 46s. the quarter. 
 
 In the following Table the scale of 
 duties proposed by Mr. Canning, and that 
 adopted by the legislature in 1828, are 
 placed in juxtaposition : — 
 
CORN LAWS. 
 
 [ 661 J 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 Average 
 Prices of 
 Wheal. 
 
 S. 
 
 73 
 
 72 
 
 71 
 
 70 
 
 69 
 
 68 
 
 67 
 
 66 
 
 05 
 
 64 
 
 63 
 
 62 
 
 61 
 
 60 
 
 59 
 
 58 
 
 57 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 54 
 
 53 
 
 Duty accord- 
 ing \o Mr. 
 Canning's Bill. 
 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 10 
 12 
 14 
 16 
 18 
 20 
 22 
 24 
 26 
 28 
 30 
 32 
 34 
 
 Duty fined 
 
 by Lurd 
 
 Glcuelg's Act. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 1 
 
 2 8 
 6 8 
 
 10 8 
 
 13 8 
 
 16 8 
 
 18 8 
 
 20 8 
 
 21 8 
 
 22 8 
 
 23 8 
 
 24 8 
 
 25 8 
 
 26 8 
 
 27 8 
 
 28 8 
 
 29 8 
 
 30 8 
 
 31 8 
 
 32 8 
 
 33 8 
 
 After the experience of a few seasons 
 the corn-law of 1828 gave no more satia- 
 tion than those which had preceded it. 
 In December, 1835, the average price of 
 wheat was down to 35s. id. per quarter, 
 and in January, 1839, it was as high as 
 81*., being a difference of 129 per cent. 
 In 1833 and 1836 the distressed condition 
 of the agricultural interest was noticed 
 in the speech from the throne on the open- 
 ing of parliament, and select committees 
 were appointed in both years to inquire 
 into it. The law had neither prevented 
 great fluctuation in prices nor agricul- 
 tural distress. This unsteadiness of price 
 was complained of by persons engaged 
 in manufactures and trade ; for, assuming 
 the consumption of Great Britain to be 
 16,000,000 quarters of wheat, the sum 
 paid for a year's consumption would be 
 about 31,000,000/. in 1835, while the same 
 quantity would cost 56,000,000/. in 1839. 
 The difference, amounting to 25,000,000/., 
 was withdrawn from the usual channels of 
 circulation, and created stagnation in the 
 different branches of non-agricultural in- 
 dustry. The new principle of a sliding- 
 6cale of duty required time and variety of 
 circumstances fully to develop its effect ; 
 but it was at length placed beyond a 
 
 doubt that the manner in which the scale 
 was arranged tended to give a gambling 
 character to the corn trade, which, in- 
 stead of being a steady branch of com- 
 merce, was subjected to sudden move- 
 ments and speculative operations. In 
 one year ( 1838 ) the duty underwent 
 thirty different changes from January to 
 the end of November, and in the short 
 period of two weeks went up from Is. to 
 10s. 8d. the quarter. It was generally 
 believed that, about the period of harvest, 
 fraudulent returns were made of corn sold, 
 with a view of raising the average price, 
 and consequently lowering the duty ; and 
 it was quite certain that the scale oper- 
 ated in such a manner as to check the 
 supplies of foreign grain until prices 
 reached their maximum and the duty fell 
 to the lowest point. " The gain of specu- 
 lators is calculated not only on the ad- 
 vance in the price of corn, but also in the 
 fall in the scale of duty ; and as the duty 
 falls in a greater ratio than the price 
 of the corn rises, the duty operates as a 
 bounty to withhold sales." (Salomons, 
 On the Operation of the Sliding Scale.) 
 When, for example, the average price in 
 the home market was 66s., the duty was 
 20s. 8rf., and on prices reaching 73s. the 
 duty was only Is. ; the difference of pro- 
 fit to the importer was thus 7s. by the 
 advance of prices, and 19s. 8d. -by the 
 fall of duty, making a total of 26s. Sd. 
 When the quantity of wheat in bond had 
 been liberated at the lowest duty the ob- 
 ject of the speculators was attained, and to 
 some of them, doubtless, the trade became 
 an object of indifference until another 
 opportunity occurred for availing them- 
 selves of the gambling capabilities of the 
 sliding scale. The transactions in the 
 corn trade of the year 1838 exhibited 
 several of the inherent evils of tins scale : 
 first, as causing scarcity; secondly, as 
 glutting the market just at the period 
 when home produce was coming in ; and, 
 thirdly, by violently disturbing prices 
 and overthrowing all the calculations on 
 which a steady trade must be founded. 
 In the second week of January the duty 
 was 34s. 8d., and it declined gradually 
 until September 13th, when it reached 
 Is., the lowest point. During this period 
 prices were rising in the home market ; 
 
CORN-LAWS. 
 
 [ 6G2 ] 
 
 CORN-LAW <?. 
 
 but instead of the foreign corn in bond 
 being gradually admitted for consump- 
 tion, there were only about 33,000 quar- 
 ters entered from the beginning of the 
 year up to the end of August, though the 
 average price for that month was 74s. 3d. 
 The speculators waited until the second 
 week of September, when, by having 
 withheld the supply, the duty became 
 nominal, and in a single week 1,514,047 
 quarters of foreign wheat were thrown 
 upon the markets. This sudden addition 
 to the supply occasioned a decline of 
 prices, and the duty again rose. The 
 progress of the duty in the short space of 
 six weeks was as follows : — 
 
 *. d. 
 
 Week ending Sept. 13th . . . 1 
 
 „ 20th .. . 2 8 
 
 „ „ 27th ... 10 8 
 
 „ Oct. 4th ... 16 8 
 
 „ 11th. . . 20 8 
 
 „ 18th ... 21 8 
 
 „ „ 25th ... 22 8 
 
 A cargo which arrived at the end of 
 September, instead of the middle of the 
 month, would have been subject to a 
 duty of 10s. 8d. instead of Is. per quarter. 
 It would then be bonded, and might re- 
 main in the warehouses until actually 
 unfit for use. In a parliamentary paper 
 (No. 46, Sess. 1839) it is stated that 899 
 quarters of foreign wheat were abandoned 
 and destroyed that year in the port of 
 London. 
 
 Another natural effect of the sliding 
 scale was to limit the radius of supply. 
 Buyers rushed into the markets of Ham- 
 burg, Danzig, and the Baltic ports, and, 
 by competition within a narrow circle, 
 raised the prices to an excessive height, 
 in reliance npon the profits to be obtained 
 by speculating upon the lowest duty. The 
 unsteadiness of the trade did not encou- 
 rage that demand for our manufactures 
 which would have sprung up if it had 
 been less subject to impulsive starts. The 
 derangement of monetary affairs was a 
 necessary consequence of a trade con- 
 ducted under these circumstances ; and 
 the value of merchandise of all kinds de- 
 clined from sales being forced in order 
 to meet engagements at a time when 
 money had been rendered scarce by the 
 drain of remittances for corn. 
 
 In years when the crops were of infe- 
 rior quality another disadvantage of the 
 sliding scale was experienced. There 
 was not in this case a general scarcity, 
 but there was an excessive scarcity of 
 wheat of good quality ; and the quantity 
 sold of an inferior quality depressed the 
 average prices, and raised the duty so as 
 to exclude a supply of sound foreign 
 wheat except at the most extravagant 
 prices. 
 
 On the 7th of May, 1841, after the in- 
 jurious operation of the sliding scale had 
 long been obvious, Lord John Russell, as 
 the organ of the government, announced 
 the intention of substituting a fixed duty, 
 which had not hitherto been adopted un- 
 der any of the numerous acts for regu- 
 lating the importation of foreign corn. 
 The fixed duties which Lord John Eus- 
 sell proposed were as follows : — 
 
 Wheat 8s. Od. per quarter. 
 
 Rye, peas, and beans 5 „ 
 
 Barley 4 6 „ 
 
 Oats 3 4 „ 
 
 The proposed duty of 8s. on wheat ex- 
 ceeded by 2s. id. the duty (5s. id.) which 
 had actually been paid on all wheat im- 
 ported during the thirteen years that the 
 sliding scale had been in operation, and 
 by 4s. 5d. the duty per quarter paid on 
 the importation of four and a half million 
 quarters imported in 1838 and 1839 ; but 
 a fixed duty would have rendered the 
 trade steady ; the supplies would have 
 come into the market gradually as they 
 were wanted, when the bonus-which the 
 sliding scale offered for withholding them 
 was withdrawn ; and they would also 
 have been procured at a less cost than 
 when speculators suddenly rushed into 
 the foreign markets. But in the general 
 election which took place in June and 
 July, 1841, the government was defeated, 
 and shortly after the parliament had as- 
 sembled the ministry resigned office. 
 
 The government which had been over- 
 thrown at the general election partly in 
 consequence of the plan for the proposed 
 alteration of the corn-law, was replaced 
 by one which was raised to office in 
 a great measure by the agricultural in- 
 terest, who probably now felt confident 
 that the corn-laws would not be thrown 
 I into the " lottery of legislation." Th» 
 
COKN-LAWS. 
 
 [ 663 J 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 prime minister, however, knew too well 
 that at least such a change as would miti- 
 gate the evils of the sliding scale of 1828 
 •was at all events essential ; and in the 
 speech from the throne, 3rd February, 
 1842, her majesty recommended to the 
 consideration of parliament " the state of 
 the laws which affect the import of corn, 
 and of other articles the produce of fo- 
 reign countries.'' On the 9th Sir Robert 
 Peel brought forward the government plan, 
 in which a sliding scale of duty was still 
 retained, but instead of the duty succes- 
 sively falling from 10s. to 6s. 8d., 2s. 8d., 
 and Is., it was proposed to have two sta- 
 tionary points of price, and with these 
 exceptions (52s. to 55s., and 66s. to 69s.), 
 the duty would only fall Is. for each in- 
 crease of Is. in the average price. On 
 the 7th April the new corn bill was read 
 the third time in the Commons ; on the 
 22nd of April it was read the third time 
 in the Lords ; and on the 29th of the same 
 month the act (5 Vict. c. 14) came into 
 operation. 
 
 Under the act 9 Geo. IV. c. 60, which 
 regulated the foreign trade in corn from 
 the 15th of July, 1828, to the 29th of 
 April, 1842, the total quantity of foreign 
 wheat admitted was 13,562,856 quarters 
 and 4,305,150 cwts. of foreign wheat- 
 flour, and, in addition, at a lower rate of 
 duty, 597,700 quarters of colonial wheat 
 and 1,744,591 cwts. of colonial flour. 
 Nearly one-half of the foreign wheat 
 and flour was admitted at the lowest rate 
 of duty, and comparatively little at the 
 higher rates, as the following statement 
 will show : — 
 
 Duty at Wheat. Wheat-flour. 
 
 Is. 5,788,045 qrs. 1,758,372 cwts. 
 
 2s. 8(1. 2,880,013 862,262 
 
 6s. Sd. 1,997,226 519,123 
 
 10s. Sd. 820,342 243,120 
 
 The average rate of duty for the period 
 was under 6s. the quarter. For the whole 
 period during which the act was in ope- 
 ration the average price of wheat in Eng- 
 land and Wales was 59s. id., and the ex- 
 treme points of fluctuation in the weekly 
 averages were from 36s. &d. to 81s. 6d., 
 or 122 per cent. The highest yearly 
 average was 70s. 8d., in 1839 ; and the 
 lowest 39s. id., in 1835. The largest 
 
 quantity of wheat and wheat-flour in the 
 warehouse at the end of any month was 
 1,006,832 quarters in August?1840. The 
 year of largest importation was 1839, 
 when 2,711,723 quarters of wheat and 
 wheat-flour were admitted for home con- 
 sumption. In 1 835 the quantity admitted 
 was only 28,554 quarters, and in the fol- 
 lowing year only 30,107 quarters. In 
 1839 and 1840 the duties on foreign and 
 colonial corn and grain yielded above a 
 million sterling each year: in 1839 
 1,098,849/., and in 1840 1,156,660/. 
 
 IX.— From 1842 to 184!). 
 
 The following was the scale of prices 
 and rates of duty for foreign wheat under 
 5 Vict. c. 14 :— 
 
 Average per Qr. 
 
 Duty per Qr. 
 s. d. 
 
 If under 
 51 
 
 52-3-4 „ 
 55 
 56 
 57 
 58 
 
 59 „ 
 
 60 
 61 
 
 62 „ 
 
 63 
 64 
 05 
 
 66-7-8 „ 
 69 
 70 
 71 
 72 
 73 & upwards. 
 
 51 
 
 52 
 
 55 
 
 56 
 
 57 
 
 58 
 
 59 
 
 60 
 
 61 
 
 62 
 
 63 
 
 64 
 
 65 
 
 66 
 
 69 
 
 70 
 
 71 
 
 72 
 
 73 
 
 20 
 
 19 
 
 18 
 
 17 
 
 16 
 
 15 
 
 14 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 S 
 
 The lowest rate of duty (Is. per quar- 
 ter) occurs for rye, peas, and beans, when 
 the price is 42s. and upwards the quarter ; 
 on barley when the price is 37s. ; and on 
 oats when the price is 27s. and upwards. 
 The lowest duty for wheat is not reached 
 by jerks, as in the former scale, by which 
 the duty fell at each iucrease of Is. in 
 price from 10s. 8d. to 6s. 8d ., and next to 
 2s. 8d. and Is., and the "rest" between 
 66s. and 69s. is an important modification. 
 Still, like the preceding scale, the present 
 did not admit of a steady trade with 
 every country which had com to export.; 
 
CORN-LAWS. 
 
 [ 664 ] 
 
 CORN-LAWS. 
 
 and it was in fact only a mitigated evil. 
 One hundred and thirty-eight new towns 
 were added by 5 Vict, c 14, to the one 
 hundred and fifty which returned the 
 average prices under the act of 1828. 
 The average duty for six weeks regu- 
 lated importation as under the previous 
 act. 
 
 From April 29th, 1842, to 5th Janu- 
 ary, 1844, the quantity of foreign wheat 
 entered for consumption was 3,464,618 
 quarters ; foreign wheat-flour, 554,559. 
 The lowest rate of duty was 8s. per 
 quarter, at which 2,105,484 quarters of 
 wheat and 427,579 cwts. of wheat-flour 
 were entered ; 740,149 quarters of wheat 
 were entered at a duty of 14s. In 1844 
 the quantity of wheat and wheat-flour 
 entered was 1,026,076 quarters, and of 
 barley 1,029,021 quarters. The duty on 
 foreign and co'bnial corn and grain in 
 1843 was 758,295/., and in 1844 was 
 1,098,333/. 
 
 After the passing of 5 "Vict. c. 14, an- 
 other change was made in the corn law. 
 Under the act of 1828 the duties on 
 colonial wheat were 5s. when the price 
 here was under 67s., and Gd. when at or 
 above 67s. the quarter. The act 5 Vict. 
 c. 14, fixed the duties on colonial wheat 
 as follows : — When the price here was 
 under 55s. the quarter, the duty was 5s. ; 
 
 55s. and under 56s. 
 56s. „ 57s. 
 
 57«. „ 58s. 
 
 58s. and upwards 
 
 duty 4s. 
 „ 3s. 
 „ 2s. 
 „ 1». 
 
 The above, to 1 849, were the rates of 
 duty charged on wheat imported from 
 all other colonies, except Eastern and 
 Western Canada ; but the Canadian 
 legislature having, at the suggestion of 
 the home government, agreed to impose 
 a duty of 3s. ou all wheat imported into 
 Canada, an act was passed (6 & 7 Vict. 
 c. 29) in 1843, and came into operation 
 10th Oct., under which wheat from Ca- 
 nada, or flour manufactured there, might 
 be at all times admissible into the United 
 Kingdom at a fixed duty of Is. per quar- 
 ter, charged here. For the five years 
 ending January, 1843, the rate of duty 
 on Canadian wheat averaged 2s. Id. per 
 quarter. The largest quantity of wheat 
 and wheat-flour imported from Canada 
 
 in any one year previous to this act was 
 259,600 quarters, in 184],ofw]iicli above 
 two-thirds was in the shape of flour. The 
 largest quantity in any one year from 
 1831 to 1840 was 193,985 quarters in 
 1832, and the average price of wheat in 
 this country for that year was 58s. 8d. ? 
 the smallest quantity imported during 
 the above nine years was 12,742 quarters 
 in 1839, and the average price in Eng- 
 land for the year was 70s. 8d. The im- 
 portations of the three years 1842-4, and 
 the average price of wheat in England, 
 were as follows : — 
 
 Average price 
 Qrs. for the veur. 
 
 1842 . 214,348 . . 57s. 3d. 
 
 1843 . 138,100 . . 60s. Id. 
 
 1844 . 235,591 . . 51s. 'id. 
 
 The quantity of wheat imported from 
 the United States into Canada, at the 
 3s. duty, was 31,265 quarters, from 11th 
 Oct., 1843, to 31st July, 1844. 
 
 This brings our retrospect to the last 
 and most important change in the his- 
 tory of the Corn Laws, and which was 
 effected in 1846, under the administra- 
 tion of Sir R. Peel. The success which 
 had attended the minister's relaxations 
 in the tariff from 1 842-4, strongly en- 
 forced the policy of the unreserved ap- 
 plication to every productive interest, of 
 the great principle of Free Trade. The 
 manufacturers of the North were deeply 
 impressed with the conviction that the 
 most certain mode of widening the mer- 
 cantile circle abroad, for the reception 
 of their fabrics, was the throwing open 
 the British ports for the free interchange 
 of the products of other countries. 
 Under this impression they continued 
 for years, with extraordinary vigour and 
 great pecuniary sacrifices, their popular 
 agitation against the corn-duties, and 
 no intermediate resting-place seemed 
 left to the government save their entire 
 repeal. Other circumstances tended to 
 accelerate this issue, and smooth the 
 way to the abandonment of what might 
 be considered the corner stone of tlifi 
 protective system. This was the letter 
 from Edinburgh, dated Nov. 22, 1845, 
 addressed by Lord John Russell to his 
 London constituents, in which he in- 
 formed the electors that he had relin- 
 
CORN-LAWS. 
 
 f 665 ] 
 
 CORN-RENT. 
 
 quished his former position of a fixed 
 duty in preference to the graduated 
 scale, and declared himself in favour of 
 a total repeal of the Corn Laws. The 
 public renunciation by the opposition 
 leader of a fixed duty on corn, was an 
 example of yielding either to the forcible 
 representations of the Anti-Corn Law 
 League, or other urgencies that oppor- 
 tunely lessened the obloquy of derelic- 
 tion from past professions in the minis- 
 ter; while contemporary therewith, the 
 dreadful famine impending in Ireland, 
 from the failure of the potato crop, 
 pleaded strongly in favour of the prompt 
 removal of every obstruction to the free 
 importation of food. 
 
 Accordingly, on the first day of the 
 parliamentary session of 1846, Sir R. 
 Peel announced his entire conversion ; 
 declaring that his opinions on the law 
 which governed the importation of corn 
 had undergone a change, that he could 
 no longer meet the annual motion of 
 Mr. Villiers for the repeal of the duties 
 thereon by a direct negative, and that 
 he now felt that all the grounds on 
 which protection to native industry had 
 been advocated, were untenable. 
 
 In conformity with these sentiments, 
 the minister lost no time in bringing for- 
 ward a measure, first for the immediate 
 reduction of the import duties on corn, 
 and next, their final repeal in 1849. 
 The following is the last scale of duties 
 imposed upon the chief corn article from 
 . the passing of the 9 & 10 Vict. c. 22, 
 up to February 1st, 1849 : — 
 
 Wheat per quarter — a. d. 
 
 Under 48s. the duty - - - 10 
 
 48s. and under 49s, - - - 9 
 
 49s. and under 50s. - - - 8 
 
 50s. and under 51s. - - - 7 
 
 51s. and under 52s. - - - 6 
 
 52s. and under 53s. - - - 5 
 
 53s» and upwards - - - 4 
 
 From February 1, 1849, there has 
 been levied on every quarter of wheat, 
 barley, oats, bigg, rye, pease, and beans 
 imported, the nominal or register duty 
 of one shilling, and upon every hun- 
 dred-weight of wheat-meal, barley or 
 oatmeal, &c. a duty of four-pence half- 
 penny. 
 
 CORN-RENT is a money rent -varying 
 in amount according to the fluctuations 
 of the price of corn. In some countries 
 rent is paid in the produce of the land 
 itself [Metayer Rents] ; but in no 
 part of the United Kingdom does this 
 primitive custom exist. Some landlords 
 in Ireland, indeed, for the accommoda- 
 tion of their tenants, agree to accept corn 
 in payment of their rent, at the price of 
 the nearest market, and ship it to Eng- 
 land for sale ; but the rent is calculated in 
 money. (See Appendix F to First Report 
 of Poor Laws (Ireland) Commissioners, 
 1836, p. 221.) 
 
 A corn-rent is founded upon the prin- ' 
 ciple that a farm being assumed to grow, 
 upon an average, a certain quantity of 
 produce, the value of such proportion of 
 that produce as may be agreed upon, 
 shall be paid to the landlord as rent. 
 But as the prices of all produce are liable 
 to considerable variation, and as the pro- 
 fits arising from the land must generally 
 be mainly dependent upon the prices for 
 which the produce is sold, it is supposed 
 to be equitable to the farmer, that the 
 money yjjue of that portion of the pro- 
 duce which he pays as rent should be 
 calculated so as to vary with prices, in- 
 stead of being determined by any arbi- 
 trary or unvarying standard. And it is 
 undeniable, that with long leases a corn- 
 rent is a security against the growth of 
 any serious disproportion between the 
 rent originally agreed upon and the actual 
 value of the produce of the land. If the 
 farmer, under the security of a long lease, 
 lay out capital upon the land and thus 
 increase the quantity of produce, he 
 derives the entire benefit arising from 
 increased production, as the quantity to 
 be paid as rent has already been agreed 
 upon; and he is secured against loss 
 caused by a fall in prices, as the amount 
 of his rent is governed by prices. 
 
 For the purpose of assessing a corn- 
 rent the average price of wheat alone, or 
 of wheat and other grain, is taken — some- 
 times for the last year, and sometimes for 
 a certain number of years. If the price 
 for one year only be taken, the results to 
 the farmer may be thus stated. When 
 prices are low from a limited demand for 
 produce, his rent is reduced ; and when 
 
CORN-RENT. 
 
 [ 666 ] CORN-TRADE, ANCIENT. 
 
 they are low from increased production, 
 his rent is still reduced, although he has 
 more produce than usual to sell. When 
 prices are high from an increased demand, 
 he has more rent to pay, but the remu- 
 nerative prices enable him to pay it 
 easily ; but when an advance of prices is 
 caused by scarcity, his rent is raised, 
 while the high prices may be counter- 
 balanced by the diminished quantity of 
 produce which he has to sell. Thus in 
 three cases out of four a corn-rent is 
 favourable to the farmer; and even in 
 the fourth case he is secured from loss by 
 its favourable operation in other years. 
 In some leases, also, a further advantage 
 is given to him by fixing a maximum 
 price : and thus if prices should happen 
 to rise beyond that point, he derives the 
 whole profit accruing fi-om the difference. 
 Under this system of annual averages, so 
 advantageous to the farmer, there is a 
 certain degree of unfairness to the land- 
 lord, which is sometimes corrected by 
 assessing rent upon the average price of 
 different kinds of produce for a certain 
 number of years; by which means a just 
 proportion is maintained between the 
 money-rent and the average annual value 
 realized from the land. It is upon this 
 principle that the tithe rent-charges are 
 calculated, from the average price of grain 
 for seven years [Tithes] ; and corn-rents 
 are sometimes regulated by the scale of 
 average prices published annually for the 
 purposes of the Tithe Commutation Act. 
 In Wiltshire some farms are let in this 
 manner, but their number is inconsi- 
 derable. The rent of grazing and dairy 
 farms cannot be regulated by the ordi- 
 nary system of corn-averages ; but in 
 some of the dairy-farms of Cheshire the 
 rent is determined by the average price 
 of wheat and of cheese. In many parts 
 of the south of Scotland corn-rents are 
 paid according to the Jiar prices of corn, 
 as determined in each county by a jury 
 summoned by the sheriff for that pur- 
 pose. 
 
 The principle of a corn-rent is by no 
 means of recent origin ; for by an act 
 18 Elizabeth, § 6, it was required that in 
 all future leases granted by the colleges 
 in the universities of Oxford and Cam- 
 bridge, and by the colleges of Winchester 
 
 and Eton, one-third part, at least, of the old 
 rent shall be reserved and paid in goo3 
 wheat at 6s. 8rf. the quarter or under, and 
 good malt at 5s. the quarter or under : or 
 shall be paid in ready money after the rat* 
 of the best wheat and malt sold at tht 
 nearest market. (Journal of the Hoyai 
 Agricultural Society, vol. v. p. 84, 177: 
 see also Index to Meport on Agricultural 
 Distress, 1836.) 
 
 CORN-TRADE, ANCIENT. The 
 production of corn, one of the chief neces- 
 saries of life, and its commercial exchange, 
 have been a subject of the first importance 
 in all ages. It is proposed here to state 
 briefly the general nature of the trade in 
 corn among two of the states of antiquity 
 to whom we are mainly indebted for out 
 knowledge of the economical condition 
 of antient times. There are few import- 
 ant political questions at the present day 
 to which we cannot find something similai 
 in former times; and the blunders oi 
 antient legislation may still be instructivo 
 to modern statesmen. 
 
 The small and comparatively barren 
 territory of Attica did not produce suffi- 
 cient corn for the consumption of the in- 
 habitants. Corn was brought into the 
 Piraeus, the port of Athens, from the 
 countries bordering on the Black Sea, 
 Syria, Egypt, and other parts of Africa, 
 and from Sicily. Demosthenes asserted 
 (b.c. 355) that the Athenians imported 
 more grain than any other people. 
 (Against Zeptines, c. 9.) But the trade in 
 corn between Greece aBd the Black Sea 
 was of some magnitude at a much earlier 
 date. In B.C. 480, Xerxes, while atAby- 
 dos on his way to the invasion of Greece, 
 saw the corn-ships that were sailing from 
 the Black Sea and through the Darda- 
 nelles and carrying corn to Peloponnesus 
 and jEgina. (Herodotus, vii. 147-) Some 
 parts of the country on the coast of the 
 Black Sea now export grain, and proba- 
 bly have exported grain ever since the 
 time of Xerxes. 
 
 The importation of grain into Attica 
 was a matter that was protected and regu- 
 lated by the state ; and instances are men- 
 tioned of armed ships convoying the com- 
 vessels from the Black Sea to the Piraeus. 
 The exportation of corn from Attica was 
 forbidden ; and only one-third of the 
 
CORN-TEADE, ANCIENT. [ 667 J CORN-TRADE, ANCIENT. 
 
 foreign corn that was imported into the 
 Piraeus could be re-exported to other 
 countries : this law as to importation was 
 enforced by the overseers of the harbour. 
 The law interfered with the trade in corn 
 ir other ways also, with the intention 
 apparently of keeping prices low; but 
 with what success it is easy to conjecture. 
 Engrossing or the buying-up of corn was 
 a serious offence : a man could not pur- 
 chase more than fifty loads (called <popfwi). 
 The amount of these loads cannot be 
 exactly ascertained, nor is it material: 
 the principle is clearly shown by the 
 limitation. The penalty for violating this 
 law was death. Boeckh {Public Economy 
 of Athens, Eng. transl.) states the law 
 thus : " in order to prevent the accumu- 
 lation and hoarding of corn, engrossing 
 was very much restricted; it was not 
 permitted to buy at one time more than 
 fifty such loads as a man could carry." 
 According to this a man might buy fifty 
 loads as often as he pleased at different 
 times. But the meaning of the passage 
 of Lysias appears to be that a man must 
 not buy up corn so as to have on hand 
 more than fifty loads at a time. This 
 interpretation is consistent with the Greek, 
 and the other is not ; and it is not open to 
 the same kind of objection that Boeckh's 
 interpretation is. 
 
 The absurdity of the Athenian legisla- 
 tion on the trade in corn appears from a 
 speech of Lysias against the corn-dealers 
 (Kara rati SirorwKuy). The corn-dealers 
 were generally aliens, and their business 
 made them objects of popular detesta- 
 tion : it was alleged that they bought up 
 corn and refused to sell it when it was 
 wanted, and thus compelled the buyers 
 to pay them their own price. Yet it is 
 stated by Lysias that the law was, that a 
 dealer must sell his corn only one obolus 
 dearer (the medimnus ?) than he bought it. 
 Thus the law attempted to fix the maxi- 
 mum profit of the dealers. But they 
 evaded the law according to the same 
 authority by selling it a drachma (six 
 oboli) higher on the same day ; the mean- 
 ing of the orator here is not quite clear. 
 The orator states that the hope of great 
 gain made the dealers run the risk of the 
 extreme penalty of the law. He urges the 
 eourt which was then sitting for the trial 
 
 of some of the corn-dealers whom he was 
 prosecuting, to enforce the penalty against 
 them, and so make them mend their man- 
 ners; and he represents both the con- 
 sumers and the importers of corn as suf- 
 fering from the combinations of the deal- 
 ers. A more signal instance of absurdity 
 and commercial ignorance is not extant 
 than this oration. 
 
 To carry the laws as to the sale of 
 corn into effect, the Athenians had Corn, 
 Wardens {arroipvXaKes) who kept an ac- 
 count of the corn that was imported, in- 
 spected flour and bread, and saw that they 
 were sold of the weight and at the price 
 fixed by law. 
 
 Various enactments were made with a 
 view of securing a supply of corn ; such 
 as that no money should be lent on a 
 vessel which did not bring back to Athens 
 a return cargo of goods, among which 
 corn was mentioned ; and that no person 
 living in Attica should import corn to 
 any place except the port of Athens. 
 The interests of individuals, and ulti- 
 mately the real interests of the com- 
 munity, were thus set in opposition to the 
 supposed interests of the state, and eva- 
 sions of the laws are often spoken of. 
 Individuals attempted what they will 
 always do, to sell their grain at the 
 dearest market. (Xenophon, (Econom, 
 c. 20.) 
 
 There were public corn-warehouses at 
 Athens, in which corn was lodged that 
 had been purchased at the expense of the 
 State, and sometimes as it appears, by 
 private contributions. There were offi- 
 cers appointed to purchase the corn 
 (corn-buyers, oiruvat) and persons to 
 give or measure it out (d-rroSeKTat). Corn 
 so purchased was probably sold to the 
 people at a low price, and sometimes also 
 there were gratuitous distributions of it, 
 as at Rome ; and occasionally, as at Rome 
 also, presents of grain were received from 
 foreign princes or rich persons, and dis- 
 tributed among the people gratis. 
 
 This subject has been investigated by 
 Boeckh, Public Economy of Athens, trans- 
 lated by G. C. Lewis, 2nd edition, revised, 
 1842; and these remarks are mainly 
 founded on what is said there. The sub- 
 ject is curious, but unfortunately, as we 
 must collect our information mainly from 
 
CORN-TRADE, ROMAN. [ 668 ] CORN-TRADE, ROMAN. 
 
 detached passages of the Athenian orators, 
 who deal largely in falsehood and exag- 
 geration, it is not possible to arrive at 
 certainty ou some points. 
 
 CORN-TRADE, ROMAN. What we 
 know of the ancient corn-trade of Italy 
 mainly relates to the city of Rome. From 
 an early period it belonged to the admi- 
 nistration to see that the city was duly 
 supplied with grain. The immediate 
 neighbourhood of Rome did not supply 
 the wants of the city, and grain was im- 
 ported into Rome from the country of the 
 Volsci and from Curnae soon after the 
 establishment of the consular govern- 
 ment. (Livy, ii. 9.) An importation of 
 corn from Sicily is mentioned by Livy 
 (ii. 41) under the year B.C. 486. As the 
 Romans extended their empire, and pro- 
 vincial governments were formed, such 
 as those of Sicily and Sardinia, supplies 
 of grain were got from foreign parts. 
 After the conquest of Sicily, the proprie- 
 tors were allowed to keep their lands ou 
 condition of paying a tenth of the produce 
 to the Romans, according to the system 
 which had been established by King 
 Hiero. Sardinia, after the conquest, paid 
 the same (Livy, xxxvi. 2). The mode of 
 proceeding, as to the tenths in Sicily, was 
 this. The cultivator gave notice of what 
 quantity of land he intended to sow, and 
 an entry was made of it. The Roman 
 State took the tenth of the produce in 
 kind, which the cultivator was bound to 
 convey to some port in Sicily, where it was 
 embarked for Rome. All the wheat pro- 
 duced by the tenths was entered in the 
 public books, and it was all conveyed to 
 Rome or to the armies ; this at least ap- 
 pears to have been the general rule. 
 
 Sometimes two-tenths of the produce 
 were claimed by the Roman State (Livy, 
 xxxvi. 2 ; xxxvii. 2), but in this case the 
 second tenth was paid for out of the Roman 
 Aerarium. Presents of grain from foreign 
 states and princes were sometimes made 
 to the Romans (Plutarch, C. Gracchus,e. 
 2). Thus it appears that the State under- 
 took to provide the chief supply of grain 
 for the city : the grain was sometimes 
 sold, and sometimes distributed gratis 
 among the poor, a practice which became 
 common under the late Republic. Besides 
 these distributions of corn at the public 
 
 expense, the wealthy Romans who sought 
 popularity sometimes made like distribu- 
 tions of corn among the poorer citizens, 
 as M. Crassus the Rich did in his consul- 
 ship (Plutarch, Crassus, c. 2, 12). 
 
 It does not appear, then, that the chief 
 supply of corn for the city of Rome during 
 the Republic was furnished in the regular 
 way of trade. It was the business of the 
 State to keep the proper supply of corn for 
 the city in the public warehouses ; but 
 the supply was not always equal to the 
 demand, and it also often happened that 
 many people could not afford to pay the 
 price. Scarcity was not uncommon both 
 under the Republic and the Empire. 
 
 In Livy (iv. 12) we have a notice of 
 the creation of a Praefectus Annonae, or 
 Superintendent of Provision, L. Minu- 
 cius, B.C. 440, in a season of scarcity, 
 lie exercised his office in an arbitrary 
 manner, by compelling persons to state 
 what corn they had in their possession, 
 and to sell it; and he endeavoured to 
 raise a popular clamour against the corn 
 dealers; if Frumentarii here means pri- 
 vate dealers. Cn. Pompeius Magnus was 
 intrusted with the superintendence of Pro- 
 vision for five years. (Cicero, Ad. Attic, 
 iv. 1.) Augustus, at the urgent impor- 
 tunity of the people, took on himself the 
 office of Praefectus Annonae, such as Pom- 
 peius held it. (Dion Cassius, liv. 1.) 
 
 Under the early Republic many parts 
 of Italy were well cultivated, and Rome, 
 as already observed, derived supplies of 
 corn from various parts of the Peninsula. 
 But the civil wars which devastated Italy 
 near the close of the Republic were inju- 
 rious to agriculture. Murder and pro- 
 scription thinned the numbers of the 
 people, and life and property were inse- 
 cure. Many of the lands changed owners, 
 and the property of those who were cut 
 off by violence fell into the hands of 
 others, and chiefly of the soldiers. These 
 and other causes made Italy less produc- 
 tive about the time of the Christian sera 
 than it had been some centuries earlier. 
 Even under the peaceable administration 
 of Augustus, 60,000,000 modii of wheat 
 were annually imported into Italy and 
 Rome from Egypt and the Roman pro- 
 vince of Africa. The modius is estimated 
 at 1 gallon and 7-8576 pints, English 
 
CORN-TRADE, ROMAN. [ 669 ] CORN-TRADE, ROMAN. 
 
 measure. But this did not prevent 
 scarcity: there was a great famine at 
 Rome in the latter part of the adminis- 
 tration of Augustus (Dion Cassius, It. 
 26 ; Veil. Patere. ii. 104 ; Suetonius, 
 Augustus, c. 42). The general adminis- 
 tration of Tiberius, the successor of Au- 
 gustus, is commended by Tacitus (Annal. 
 iv. 6). He endeavoured to secure a 
 proper supply of corn by intrusting to 
 the Publicaui the management of the 
 tenths of grain from the provinces ; but 
 there was a great famine in his time, 
 and the high price of grain almost caused 
 an insurrection. . The emperor showed 
 that he had not neglected this important 
 part of the administration : he published 
 a list of the provinces from which corn 
 was brought, and he proved that the im- 
 portation was larger than in the time of 
 Augustus (Tacit. Annul, vi. 13). Again, 
 under the administration of the Emperor 
 Claudius, a famine in Rome occurred 
 (Tacit. Anna!, xii. 43). Tacitus observes 
 that during the scarcity Claudius was 
 assailed with menaces while he was seated 
 on the tribunal in the forum, and he only 
 escaped by the aid of his soldiers. He 
 adds there were only fifteen days' pro- 
 visions in the city ; and " formerly Italy 
 used to export supplies for the legions to 
 distant provinces ; nor is Italy now barren, 
 but men prefer cultivating Egypt and 
 Africa, and the existence of the Roman 
 people is intrusted to ships and the dangers 
 of the sea." Claudius subsequently paid 
 great attention to the supplying of Rome 
 with corn. Under Nero, the successor 
 of Claudius, there was a famine at Rome 
 (Suetonius, Nero, c. 45). 
 
 The comparison of antient and modern 
 prices of grain is a difficult subject, and 
 the results hitherto obtained are not satis- 
 factory. It is also necessary to be careful 
 in considering the circumstances when 
 any prices are mentioned. P. Scipio ou 
 one occasion (b.c. 200) sent a great 
 quantity of corn from Africa, which was 
 sold to the people at four asses the modius 
 (Livy, xxxi. 4). In the same book of 
 Livy (c. 50) another sale is mentioned at 
 the rate of two asses the modius. But on 
 these, as on many other occasions, these 
 prices were not the market prices at 
 which wheat would have sold, but they 
 
 were the lower prices at which the State 
 sold the grain in order to relieve the 
 citizens. Rome, both under the Republic 
 and the early Empire, suffered occasion- 
 ally from scarcity or from high prices 
 of grain. It is possible that a supply 
 might have readily been procured from 
 foreign parts if there had been a body of 
 consumers in Rome to pay for it. But 
 the export of grain to Rome was not a 
 regular trade ; it was, as above explained, 
 a system by which the Romans drew 
 from their provinces a contribution of 
 corn for the consumption of the capital, 
 and it was not regulated by the steady 
 demand of an industrious class who could 
 pay for it. The reign of Tiberius appears 
 to have been a period of scarcity; the 
 complaints were loud, and the emperor, 
 fixed the price of corn in Rome, and he 
 promised to give the merchants a bounty 
 of two sesterces on the modius. This 
 seems to mean that the emperor fixed the 
 prices for all grain, including whatever 
 private merchants might have ; but to 
 make them amends for any loss, he paid 
 them part of their prices out of the trea- 
 sury. After the fire at Rome, in the time 
 of Nero, Tacitus speaks of the price of 
 corn being lowered to three sesterces the 
 modius. Under the reign of Diocletian, 
 the emperor, by an edict, fixed the prices 
 of all articles through the Roman Empire. 
 The reason for this measure is stated, in 
 the preamble to the edict, to be the high 
 market price of provisions, which is 
 attributed to the avarice of the dealers, 
 and was not limited even when there was 
 abundance (Inscription of Stratoniceia ; 
 see an Edict of Diocletian, fixing a maxi- 
 mum of prices throughout the Roman 
 Empire, a.d. 303, by Colonel Leake, 
 London, 1826, 8vo.). 
 
 It does not appear whether the grain 
 which was brought to Rome from the pro- 
 vinces was brought in public ships, or in 
 private ships, by persons who contracted 
 to carry it. There seems, however, to be 
 no doubt that there was also importation 
 of corn by private persons, and that there 
 were no restrictions on the trade, for the 
 object was to get a full supply. A consti- 
 tution of Valentinian and Valens (De 
 Canone Frumentario Urbis Roma?, Cod. 
 xi. tit. 23), declares that merchants (nan- 
 
C0RN-T11ADE, ROMAN. [ 670 J 
 
 CORNET. 
 
 tici) were to make a declaration of the 
 grain which they imported before the 
 governors (of provinces) and the magis- 
 trates, and that they had only good com on 
 board; and it was the business of the 
 authorities to see that the grain was good. 
 The provisioning of Constantinople, Alex- 
 andria, and probably other great cities, 
 under the later Empire, was subject to 
 regulations similar to those of Rome, and 
 there were public granaries in those 
 cities. 
 
 It is almost impossible to collect from 
 the scattered notices in the Roman writers 
 a jnst notion of the nature of .the trade in 
 grain. So far as concerns Rome, we can 
 hardly suppose that there was a regular 
 trade in our sense of the term. The chief 
 supply of grain was provided by the State. 
 That which is best left to private enter- 
 prise was undertaken by the government. 
 It is true that the condition of Rome was 
 peculiar under the late Republic and the 
 Empire. The city was full of paupers, 
 who required to be fed by occasional 
 allowances of corn. The effect, however, 
 of the State purchasing for the people 
 was not a certain supply, but occasional 
 scarcity. Whether a State undertakes to 
 buy for the people what they may want 
 for their consumption, or regulates the 
 trade by interfering with the supply, is 
 immaterial as to the result. In either 
 case the people may expect to be starved 
 whenever corn is scarce. The Roman 
 system was to import all that could be 
 got into Rome, but it was not left to 
 private enterprise. There was no exclu- 
 sion of foreign grain in order to favour 
 the Italian farmer ; nor can it be said that 
 the Italian farmer suffered because foreign 
 grain was brought into Rome and other 
 parts of Italy ; he could employ much of 
 his land better than in growing corn for 
 Rome and sending it there. Corn came 
 from countries which were better adapted 
 to corn-growing than many parts of Italy ; 
 and besides this, the transport of grain 
 from many foreign parts to Rome, such 
 as Sardinia, Sicily, and the province of 
 Africa, would be as cheap as the transport 
 of grain by sea from the remote parts of 
 Italy, and much cheaper than the transport 
 by land. The English foreign corn-trade is 
 regulated with the avowed purpose of giv- 
 
 ing the English wheat-grower a high or 
 what is considered a sufficient price, with- 
 out any consideration of the pecuniary re- 
 sources of those who have to buy corn. By 
 interfering with the free trade in grain, the 
 English system keeps the price unsettled, 
 and exposes the people in times of scarcity 
 to the danger of famine ; for when a bad 
 harvest occurs in England, the deficiency 
 must be made up from abroad, and the 
 price must be paid for it, whatever that 
 price may be, which must always be paid 
 for an article that is suddenly in demand, 
 and is not an article of regular supply. 
 The two systems were equally bad, but 
 bad in a different way. The Roman 
 system was founded on ignorance of the 
 true nature of trade, and it was closely 
 connected with the vices of the political 
 constitution. The English system is 
 founded partly on ignorance, and partly 
 on the wish of the landowners, who pos- 
 sess a preponderating political power, to 
 keep up their rents, which are derived 
 from the lands which their tenants cul- 
 tivate. 
 
 The essay of Dureau de la Malle, ' De 
 1'Economie Politique des Romains,' and 
 the treatise of Vincentius Contarenus, 
 ' De Frunien taria Romanorum Largitione,' 
 in Graevius, Antiq. Rom. Thesaurus, vol. 
 viii., contain most of the facts relating to 
 the supply of corn to Rome; and both 
 have been used for this article. 
 
 CORNET, a commissioned officer in a 
 regiment of cavalry. He is immediately 
 inferior to a lieutenant, and his rank cor- 
 responds to that of an ensign in a batta- 
 lion of infantry 
 
 The word is derived from the Italian 
 cornetta, signifying a small flag; and 
 hence, both in the English and French 
 services during the sixteenth and seven- 
 teenth centuries, it was applied not only 
 to the officer who had charge of the 
 standard, but to the whole troop, which 
 seems then to have consisted of 100 men 
 and upwards, and to have been com- 
 manded by a captain. 
 
 The full-pay of a cornet, which is the 
 same in all the regiments of cavalry in 
 the British army, is 8s. per day, or 146i. 
 a year, and the half-pay is 3s. 6d. ,a day. 
 In 1845 there were on full-pay twenty- 
 four cornets in the household cavalry and 
 
CORONATION. 
 
 [671 ] 
 
 CORONATION. 
 
 one hundred and fifty in the cavalry of 
 the line, constituting a charge of 25,404Z. 
 a year. 
 
 CORONATION, the act of crowning 
 or consecrating a king. This rite is of 
 remote antiquity, as may be gathered 
 from the notices which we have in Scrip- 
 ture, in the first and second books of 
 Kings, of the coronations of Solomon, and 
 of Joash the son of Ahaziah, of the latter 
 of whom it is said that Jehoiada the priest 
 took him, put the crown upon his head, 
 and gave him the testimony, and they 
 made him king, and anointed him. 
 
 In England, after the kingdoms of the 
 Heptarchy had become united, we find 
 the ceremony of coronation alluded to in 
 the Saxon Chronicle, under the term 
 " gehalgod," by which is expressed that 
 the king was hallowed or consecrated. 
 Kingston-upon-Thames was the place 
 where the Saxon kings were crowned 
 during nearly the 'whole of the tenth 
 century. (See Diceto and the other his- 
 torians in the Decern Scriptores.) Edgar, 
 •who succeeded to the throne in 959, is 
 said to have been crowned either at 
 Kingston or at Bath. Edward the Con- 
 fessor was crowned at Winchester in 1042. 
 The copy of the Gospels upon which the 
 Saxon kings were sworn at their corona- 
 tions is believed to be still preserved 
 amongst the Cottonian Manuscripts in the 
 British Museum, in the volume Tib. A. ii. 
 Harold and William the Conqueror were 
 crowned at Westminster. It was cus- 
 tomary with the Norman kings to be 
 crowned more than once. Henry II. 
 crowned his eldest son, and associated him 
 with himself in the administration during 
 his own life. 
 
 In one or two instances, in the Norman 
 times, we find the regnal years of our 
 kings dated from their coronations only ; 
 the previous time, between the predeces- 
 sor's death and the performance of the 
 inaugural ceremony, was considered as an 
 interregnum. This is a fact of no small 
 importance to those who would accurately 
 fix the dates of public instruments and 
 transactions in the reigns of Richard I., 
 John, and their successors. 
 
 The first English coronation of which 
 we have any detailed account is that of 
 Richard I., in the Histories of Diceto 
 
 and Bromton. (Twysden, Script, x. coll. 
 647, 1157.) An account of all the for- 
 malities observed at that of Richardi II., 
 taken from the ' Close Rolls,' is in Ry- 
 mer's ' Foedera,' the old edition, vol. vii. 
 p. 157. Froissart has given a short but 
 interesting narrative of the coronation of 
 Henry IV., which is printed in the Eng- 
 lish edition of his ' Chronicle,' by Lord 
 Berners, 4to., London, 1812, vol. ii. pp. 
 753, 754. The details of the English 
 coronations of Henry V. and VI., and of 
 that of Henry VI. in France, are con- 
 tained in the Cottonian Manuscripts, Tib. 
 E. viii. and Nero C. ix. Hall and Grafton 
 have described the ceremonies at the coro- 
 nation of Richard III. The account of 
 the coronation of Henry VIII., with the 
 king's oath prefixed, interlined and altered 
 with his own hand, is likewise preserved 
 in the Cottonian Manuscript already 
 mentioned, Tib. E. viii. The oath, with 
 its interlineations, is engraved in fac- 
 simile in the first volume of the second 
 series of Ellis's ' Original Letters illus- 
 trative of English History.' Fuller, in 
 his ' Church History,' and Ellis's ' Let- 
 ters,' 1st Ser., vol. iii. p. 213, detail the 
 particulars of the coronation of Charles I. 
 Several editions of the Form and Order 
 of Charles II.'s coronation at Scone in 
 1651 were published at the time in 4to. at 
 Aberdeen ; reprinted at London in folk), 
 1660 ; and the entertainment of Charles 
 II. in his passage through London to his 
 coronation, with a narrative of the cere- 
 mony at the coronation, by John Ogilby, 
 with plates by Hollar, fol., London, 1662. 
 Sandford's ' History of tfte Coronation of 
 James II.,' fol. London, 1687, illustrated 
 with very numerous engravings, is the 
 most complete of all our works upon 
 English coronations published by autho- 
 rity. That of George IV., of which two 
 portions only appeared, was far more 
 splendid, with coloured plates, but remains 
 unfinished. 
 
 A very antient MS. of the ceremonial 
 of crowning the German emperors at 
 Aix-la-Chapelle was purchased at the last 
 of the sales of Prince Talleyrand's libra- 
 ries, by the late Mrs. Banks, and is now 
 among the additional manuscripts in the 
 British Museum. Of foreign published 
 coronations, that of Charles V. at Bologna 
 
CORONATION. 
 
 [G72 j 
 
 CORONER. 
 
 as emperor, in 1530, is one of the most 
 carious, engraved in a succession of plates 
 upon a roll of considerable length. The 
 * Sacre de Louis XV., Roy de France et de 
 Navarre, dans 1' Eglise de Reims, 25 Oct. 
 1722,' is a work of pre-eminent splendour, 
 full of finished engravings. The ' Descrip- 
 tion of the Ceremonies at the Coronation 
 of Napoleon as Emperor of France, with 
 his Consort Josephine, 2 Dec. 1804,' is a 
 work of equal size, but the engravings 
 are chiefly in outline : folio, Paris, 1807. 
 There is a volume, with engravings, of 
 the coronation of the Empress Anne of 
 Russia, fol. Petersburg. 1731 ; and many 
 others might be enumerated. 
 
 The formulary which has served as the 
 general model for the English coronations 
 since the time of Edward III. is the 
 ' Liber Regalis,' which is deposited in the 
 archives of the dean and chapter of West- 
 minster. It is supposed to have been 
 written for the particular instructions of 
 the prelates who attended at the coronation 
 of King Richard II. and his queen. Copies 
 of this manuscript, without its illumina- 
 tions, are preserved in one or two of our 
 manuscript libraries. The substance of 
 the ceremonial directed in it is abridged 
 in Strutt's ' Manners and Customs,' vol. ii. 
 p. 22-37. 
 
 The following is the form of and cere- 
 monial in administering the Coronation 
 Oath to our kings : — Sermon being ended, 
 and the King having made and signed the 
 declaration, the Archbishop goes to the 
 King, and standing before him, adminis- 
 ters the Coronation Oath, first asking the 
 King — " Sir, is your Majesty willing to 
 take the Oath ?" and the King answering, 
 " I am willing ;" the Archbishop minis- 
 tereth these Questions ; and the King, 
 having a Copy of the printed Form and 
 Order of the Coronation service in his 
 hands, answers each Question severally as 
 follows : — 
 
 Archb. " Will you solemnly promise 
 and swear to govern the People of this 
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
 Ireland, and the Dominions thereto be- 
 longing, according to the Statutes in Par- 
 liament agreed on, and the respective Laws 
 and Customs of the same ?" 
 
 King. " I solemnly promise so to do." 
 
 Archb. " Will you to your Power cause 
 
 Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed 
 in all your Judgments ?" 
 
 King. " I will." 
 
 Archb. " Will you to the utmost of 
 your Power maintain the Laws of God, 
 the true Profession of the Gospel, and the 
 Protestant Reformed Religion established 
 by Law? And will you maintain and 
 preserve inviolably the settlement of the 
 United Church of England and Ireland, 
 and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and 
 government thereof, as by Law established 
 within England arid Ireland, and the ter- 
 ritories thereunto belonging ? And will 
 you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy 
 of England and Ireland, and to the United 
 Church committed to their charge, all 
 such rights and privileges as by Law do 
 or shall appertain to them, or any of 
 them ?" 
 
 King. " All this I promise to do." 
 
 Then the King arising out of his Chair, 
 supported as before, and assisted by the 
 Lord Great Chamberlain, the Sword of 
 State being carried before him, shall go 
 to the Altar, and there being uncovered, 
 make his solemn Oath in the sight of all 
 the People to observe the premises : lay- 
 ing his right hand upon the Holy Gospel 
 in the Great Bible, which was before 
 carried in the Procession, and is now 
 brought from the Altar by the Archbishop, 
 and tendered to him as he kneels upon the 
 steps, saying these words : 
 
 " The Things which I have here pro- 
 mised I will perform and keep, So help 
 me God." 
 
 Then the King kisseth the Book, and 
 signeth the Oath. (See the Form and 
 Order observed in the Coronation of Hn 
 Majesty King George IV., 4to., London, 
 1821.) 
 
 CORONER. The coroner (coronatory 
 is an ancient officer by the common law 
 of England. The name is said by Lord 
 Coke to be derived " a corona," because 
 he is an officer of the crown, and hath 
 conusance in some pleas which are called 
 placita corona." In this general sense 
 the chief justice of the Court of King's 
 Bench is by virtue of his office the su- 
 preme coroner of all England, and may, 
 if he pleases, hold an inquest, or other- 
 wise exercise the office of coroner, in any 
 part of the kingdom. Lord Coke men- 
 
CORONER. 
 
 [ 673] 
 
 CORONER. 
 
 tions an instance in -which Chief Jus- 
 tice Fineux in the reign of Henry VII. 
 held an inquest on the body of a man 
 slain in open rebellion (5 Reports, 51). 
 In this sense also, the Master of the 
 Crown Office in the Court of King's 
 Bench, is styled the " coroner or attorney 
 for the king;" his business being con- 
 fined to pleas of the crown discussed in 
 that court. But the officers now usually 
 understood by this term are the coroners 
 of counties, who are of high antiquity, 
 being said in one of the oldest treatises 
 on the common law to have been ordained 
 together with the sheriffs to keep the 
 peace of counties when the earls gave up 
 the wardship. {Mirror, c i. § 3.) In 
 early times too, the office appears to have 
 been one of great estimation ; for by the 
 statute 3 Edw. I. c. 10, they are required 
 to be knights, and by the 28 Edw. III. c. 
 6, they must be " of the most meet and 
 most lawful men of the county." By the 
 14 Edward III. st. 1, c. 8, " no coroner 
 shall be chosen unless he have land in 
 fee sufficient in the county, whereof he 
 may answer to all manner of people." 
 No peculiar qualification is now required, 
 though Serjeant Hawkins seems to ex- 
 press an opinion that the persons chosen, 
 though not knights, must be "of good 
 substance and credit." (Hawkins's Pleas 
 of the Crown, book ii. cap. 9.) Most com- 
 monly there are three or four coroners 
 in each county ; but the number varies, 
 and in some there are six or seven coro- 
 ners. There have been instances in which, 
 upon a representation made to the lord 
 chancellor by the magistrates, that the 
 existing number of coroners was insuffi- 
 cient for the business of the county, writs 
 have issued for the election of additional 
 coroners. (3 Swanston's Reports, 181.) 
 
 There are divers, coroners for fran- 
 chises and other separate jurisdictions. 
 The dean of York, as custos rotulorum 
 of the liberty of St. Peter's, in the city 
 of York, appoints two coroners for the 
 liberty. A coroner for the honor of 
 Pontefract is appointed by letters patent 
 under the seal of the duchy of Lancaster. 
 Lords of manors or liberties in some 
 cases appoint a coroner for their lordship. 
 In Huntingdonshire there are five coro- 
 ners, who are all so appointed. The arch- 
 
 bishop of York and bishop of Ely ap- 
 pointed coroners before their secular 
 jurisdiction was extinguished by 6 & 7 
 Wm. IV. c. 87. The bishop of Durham 
 appointed the coroners for that county 
 before the passing of 1 Vict. c. 64, " for 
 regulating the coroners of the county of 
 Durham." The constable of the Tower 
 of London appoints a coroner for the 
 Tower liberty. The coroner for the city 
 and liberty of Westminster is appointed 
 by the dean and chipter. By a charter 
 of Edward IV. the mayor and common- 
 alty of London may grant the office of 
 coroner to whom they please, and no co- 
 roner except the city coroner shall have 
 any power in the city. 
 
 Coroners of counties are elected under 
 the direction of the stat. 28 Edw. III. c. 
 6, by the freeholders in the county court, 
 in the same manner as sheriffs and con- 
 servators of the peace formerly were ; the 
 election takes place by virtue of an an- 
 cient king's writ, De Coronatore Eli' 
 gendo, returnable in chancery. The 58 
 Geo. III. c. 95, which made provision 
 for conducting these elections, similar to 
 those for the election of knights of the 
 shire, was repealed in 1844 by 7 & 8 
 Vict. c. 92, which substituted other regu- 
 lations on the ground that the former 
 mode of election was inconvenient and 
 attended with great and unnecessary ex- 
 pense. This act applies only to county 
 coroners. The coroners of the City of 
 London and Borough of South wark, of the 
 Queen's Household and the Verge of the 
 Queen's Palace, and Admiralty coroners, 
 are specially exempted from the operation 
 of the act. Counties may be divided by 
 the justices into two or more districts for 
 the purposes of this act, and alterations' 
 may be made in existing divisions. The 
 justices, in making such divisions, are in 
 the first place to petition her majesty, 
 and notice is to be given to each coroner 
 by the clerk of the peace of the time 
 when the justices will take snch pe- 
 tition into consideration. Any coroner 
 of the county may present a petition 
 to her majesty touching the proposed 
 division or alteration of districts. Her 
 majesty, with the advice of the privy 
 council, may order that such county shall 
 be divided into so many districts as may 
 
 ax 
 
CORONER. 
 
 [674] 
 
 CORONER. 
 
 be considered convenient, and determine 
 at what place within each district the 
 conrt for the election of coroner for such 
 district shall be held. The justices are 
 to direct the clerk of the peace to make 
 out a list of the several parishes, town- 
 ships, or hundreds in each of the coroner's 
 districts into which the county is divided, 
 specifying the place within each district 
 at which the court for the election of 
 coroner is to be held, the place or places 
 at which the poll is to be taken, and the 
 parishes or places attached to each poll- 
 ing place. The justices may then assign 
 one district to each coroner ; and when- 
 ever a vacancy occurs the election is to 
 be made in the manner prescribed by the 
 act, which provides that the coroner shall 
 reside in the district for which he is 
 elected, or in some place wholly or partly 
 surrounded by such district, or not more 
 than two miles beyond its outer boundary ; 
 that the election must be made in the 
 district; and that the coroner shall be 
 chosen by a majority of persons duly 
 qulified who shall reside in such district : 
 no voter can poll out of the district where 
 his property lies. Within not less than 
 seven or not more than fourteen days 
 after the sheriff shall have received the 
 writ De Coronatore Eligendo, he is re- 
 quired to hold in the district for which 
 a vacancy has occurred a special county 
 court for the election ; and if a poll be 
 demanded, it may be kept open for two 
 days, eight hours each day, from eight 
 o'clock in the morning. The sheriff is to 
 erect polling-booths ; poll-clerks are to 
 be sworn ; and an inspector of poll-clerks 
 is to be appointed on the nomination of 
 each one of the candidates. Electors 
 may be required by or on behalf of any 
 candidate to make oath respecting their 
 qualification. The result of the poll is to 
 be declared by the sheriff. The coroner, 
 although elected for a district, is to be 
 considered as a coroner for the whole 
 county ; but he is only to hold inquests 
 within his own district, except in case of 
 the illness or unavoidable absence of the 
 coroner for another district ; and his in- 
 quisition must certify the cause of his 
 holding such inquest. 
 
 Coroners in counties are elected for 
 life; but if they accept an office incom- 
 
 patible with the duties, such as that of 
 sheriff, or dwell iu a remote part of the 
 county, or are incapacitated by age or 
 infirmity, they are removable by means 
 of the writ De Coronatore Exonerando ; 
 and by the stat. 25 Geo. II. c. 29, § C, 
 they may be removed upon conviction 
 of extortion, wilful neglect of duty, or 
 misdemeanor in their office. The Lord 
 Chancellor has authority, however, inde- 
 pendently of the above statute, to remove 
 coroners for neglect of duty, upon pe- 
 tition presented by the freeholders of the 
 county. (1 Jacob and Walker, Reports, 
 451.) 
 
 At common law the coroner had autho- 
 rity to hear and determine felonies ; but 
 his powers in this respect were expressly 
 abrogated by Magna Charta, cap. 17. 
 The article (G) Officer in Comyns' ' Di- 
 gest" contains a statement of the various 
 duties of the coroner in the king's house, 
 and of the coroner in a county. The most 
 usual duty of a coroner is that of taking 
 inquisitions when any person dies in pri- 
 son or comes to a violent or sudden death ; 
 and though his duties, as well as his au- 
 thority in this respect, are said to have 
 existed at common law, they are declared 
 by the 4 Edw. I. stat. 2, commonly called 
 the statute De Officio Coronatoris. His 
 court is a Court of Record. By the direc- 
 tions of that statute, " the coroner, upon 
 information, shall go to the places where 
 any be slain, or suddenly dead or wounded, 
 and shall forthwith command four of the 
 next towns, or five or six, to appear be- 
 fore him in such a place ; and when they 
 are come thither, the coroner, upon the 
 oath of them, shall inquire in this man- 
 ner ; that is to wit, if they know where 
 the person was slain, whether it were in 
 any house, field, bed, tavern, or company, 
 and who were there ; who are culpable, 
 either of the act, or of the force ; and who 
 were present, either men or women, and 
 of what age soever they be, if they can 
 speak, or have any discretion ; and how 
 many soever be found culpable, they 
 shall be taken and delivered to the sheriff, 
 and shall be committed to the gaol ; and 
 such as be found and be not culpable, 
 shall be attached until the coming of the 
 judge of assize." And it is declared by 
 the same statute, that " if it fortune any 
 
CORONER. 
 
 [675 J 
 
 CORONER. 
 
 Buch man be slain, -which is found in the 
 fields or in woods, first it is to be in- 
 quired whether he were slain in the same 
 place, or not ; and if he were brought and 
 laid there, they should do so much as 
 they can to follow their steps that brought 
 the body thither, whether he were brought 
 upon a horse or in a cart. It shall also 
 be inquired if the dead person were 
 known, or else a stranger, and where he 
 lay the night before." It is declared also 
 by the same statute, that "all wounds 
 ought to be viewed, the length, breadth, 
 and deepness ; and with what weapons ; 
 and in what part of the body the wound 
 or hurt is ; and how many be culpable ; 
 and how many wounds there be ; and 
 who gave the wound." In like manner 
 it is to be inquired by the coroner " of 
 them that be drowned, or suddenly dead, 
 whether they were so drowned or slain, 
 or strangled by the sign of a cord tied 
 straight about their necks, or about any 
 of their members, or upon any other hurt 
 found upon their bodies. And if they 
 were not slain, then ought the coroner to 
 attach the finders and all other in the 
 company." The provisions of this an- 
 cient statute are still in force, and are to 
 be followed by coroners in all their par- 
 ticular directions as nearly as possible at 
 the present day in inquisitions of death. 
 In case of a death happening upon the 
 high sea, inquisitions are taken before 
 the Admiralty coroner, Who is appointed 
 by the king or the lord admiral ; and the 
 county coroners have in such a case no 
 jurisdiction. The inquisitions taken be- 
 fore the Admiralty coroner are returned 
 to the Commissioners of the Admiralty 
 under stat. 28 Hen. VIII. c. 15. Coro- 
 ners ought to sit and inquire into the 
 cause of death of all persons who die in 
 prison. They have no jurisdiction within 
 the verge of the king's courts. The coro- 
 ner of the king's household has jurisdic- 
 tion within the verge of the king's courts. 
 The coroner has authority to assemble 
 a jury by means of a precept directed to 
 the constables of the hundred or adjoining 
 township, and jurors and witnesses who 
 make default may, under 7 & 8 Vict. c. 
 92, be fined any sum not exceeding 40s. 
 and their names returned to the clerk of 
 the peace, who is to levy the fine. Be- 
 
 fore this act the names of jurors who did 
 not attend were returned to the judges of 
 assize, by whom they might be fined. 
 The coroner may also punish witnesses 
 who refuse to give evidence, for contempt 
 of court. When the jury are assembled, 
 they are charged and sworn by the coro- 
 ner to inquire, upon view of the body, 
 how the party came by his death. The 
 act for the registration of deaths (6 & 7 
 Will. IV. c. 86) provides that at every 
 inquest " the jury shall inquire of the 
 particulars herein required to be regis- 
 tered concerning the death, and the coro- 
 ner shall inform the registrar of the find- 
 ing of the jury." One of the particulars 
 herein required to be registered is the 
 " cause of death." The inquiry assumes 
 therefore something of a medico-juris- 
 prudential character, by being directed 
 to the " cause " of death, instead of being 
 chiefly made with a view to ascertain if 
 death were the result of homicide. That 
 was and is important ; but there are other 
 points to be settled which are also im- 
 portant, and in which medical and che- 
 mical skill can alone determine whether 
 the cause of sudden death has been na- 
 tural or whether suicide has been com- 
 mitted. Instances have occurred in 
 which death from opium has been mis- 
 taken for apoplexy, until a post-mortem 
 examination has taken place. The Life 
 Insurances have a direct interest in as- 
 certaining the precise cause of death, and 
 to the community generally it is of con- 
 sequence that there should be as little 
 impunity as possible to crime. The co- 
 roner has no authority to take an inqui- 
 sition of death, except upon view of the 
 body by himself and the jury ; and if he 
 does so, the inquisition is wholly void. 
 (Rex v. Ferrand, 3 Barn, and Aid. Re- 
 ports, 260.) Formerly, it is probable 
 that the whole inquisition was taken in 
 the presence of the body, but it is now 
 sufficient if the coroner and jury together 
 see the body, so far as to ascertain whe- 
 ther there are marks of violence upon it 
 or any appearances which may account 
 for the cause of death. The coroner 
 must sit at the place where the death has 
 happened. If the coroner's inquest finds 
 that any person is guilty of murder or 
 other homicide, it is his duty to commit 
 2x2 
 
CORONER. 
 
 L 676 ] 
 
 CORONER. 
 
 them to prison for trial, and he must also 
 inquire what lands, goods, and chattels he 
 may have, which are liable to forfeiture 
 for such murder. He must also inquire 
 whether any deodand has in any case of 
 violent death become due to the king, or 
 the lord of the franchise by the death of 
 the person upon whose body the inquisi- 
 tion is held. If a body liable to an in- 
 quest has been buried before the coroner 
 has notice of the circumstances of the 
 death, he has authority to cause it to be 
 disinterred for the purpose of holding the 
 inquest, provided he does so within a 
 reasonable time. The coroner has power 
 to exclude persons from his court By a 
 recent statute (7 Geo. IV. c. 64, § 4), 
 which repeals an old enactment on this 
 subject, it is provided that " every corc- 
 Ber, upon any inquisition before him 
 taken, whereby any person shall be in- 
 dicted for manslaughter or murder, or as 
 an accessary to murder before the fact, 
 shall put in writing the evidence given 
 to the jury before him, or as much thereof 
 as shall be material ; and shall have au- 
 thority to bind by recognizance all such 
 persons as know or declare anything ma- 
 terial touching the said manslaughter or 
 murder, or the said offence of being ac- 
 cessary to murder, to appear at the next 
 court of oyer and terminer, or gaol de- 
 livery, or superior criminal court of a 
 county palatine, or great sessions, at which 
 the trial is to be, then and there to prose- 
 cute or give evidence against the party 
 charged ; and every such coroner shall 
 certify and subscribe the same evidence, 
 and all such recognizances, and also the 
 inquisition before him taken, and shall 
 deliver the same to the proper officer of 
 the court in which the trial is to be, be- 
 fore or at the opening of the court." It 
 is also a branch of the coroner's business 
 to inquire into shipwrecks, and certify 
 whether it is a wreck or not and who has 
 got possession of the goods. He also in- 
 quires into treasure trove. By a sec- 
 tion of the 7 Geo. IV. c. 64, authority 
 is given to the court to which the in- 
 quisition ought to be delivered to exa- 
 mine in a summary manner into any 
 
 offence committed by the coroner against 
 the act, and to punish him by fine. The 
 coroner's inquisition may be removed 
 into the Court of King's Bench, and the 
 facts found may be traversed by the per- 
 sonal representatives of the deceased ; or 
 the court may make it for any apparent 
 defect. By 7 & 8 Vict, the coroner is 
 prohibited from acting professionally in 
 any case in which he shall have sat as 
 coroner. 
 
 For every inquisition taken in any 
 place contributing to the county rates, 
 the coroner is entitled to a fee of 20s., and 
 by 1 Vict. c. 68, to an addition of Is. 8rf, 
 and also to 9d. for every mile which he 
 is obliged to travel from his usual place 
 of abode to any other place, for the pur- 
 pose of taking it, to be paid by order of 
 sessions out of the county rates. If he 
 holds two or more inquisitions at the 
 same place at the same time, he is only 
 entitled to one 9d. for each mile of dis- 
 tance ; but this rule is not always very 
 strictly observed in some counties. By 
 7 & 8 Vict. c. 92, the coroner may be 
 paid travelling expenses, although in the 
 exercise of his discretion he may have 
 deemed it unnecessary to hold an inquest. 
 The sum paid to coroners out of the 
 county rates in 1834 was 15,648/. In 
 1838 and 1839 about 35,000 inquests were 
 held in the two years. The act 1 Vict, 
 c. 68, authorises the justices of the peace 
 in England and Wales, at their quarter- 
 sessions, and the town councils of every 
 borough which has a coroner's court at 
 their quarterly meetings, to make a sche- 
 dule of the fees, allowances, and disburse- 
 ments which the coroner is allowed to 
 pay (except the fees payable to medical 
 witnesses, under 6 & 7 Will. IV. c 89), 
 on holding any inquest. This schedule 
 regulates for each county or division of 
 a county the expenses to be paid to the 
 constable for summoning witnesses, Sec 
 There is usually a small sum allowed to 
 each juryman, generally Is. 6<f. in coun- 
 ties and Is. in boroughs. The following 
 are extracts from the schedule of fees 
 settled by the magistrates of the county 
 of Warwick : — 
 
CORONER. 
 
 [677] 
 
 CORONER. 
 
 At the dis- 
 cretion of the 
 coroner, and 
 not exceeding 
 
 s. d. 
 
 To the Keeper of any Inn or 
 other public-house for the 
 use of a room for a dead 
 body until the Inquest is 
 held . . . 20 
 
 To the Keeper of any Inn or 
 other publie-house for the 
 use of a room for holding 
 an Inquest . . .50 
 
 To a Witness residing in the 
 parish where the Inquest is 
 held, for loss of time in at- 
 tending to give evidence . 5 
 
 To a witness who does not 
 reside in the parish, is al- 
 lowed per mile . . 4 
 
 To every Witness in the three 
 professions of law, physic, 
 and divinity, for each day 42 
 
 To each Juryman residing in 
 the parish where an Inquest 
 is held .... 1 6 
 
 To each Juryman not residing 
 in the parish where the In- 
 quest is held . . .30 
 
 To any person for taking a 
 dead body out of the water, 
 extinguishing fire in the 
 case of a person burning, or 
 removing a dead body when 
 found to some convenient 
 place till an Inquest can be 
 held, and giving notice to 
 the proper authorities . 7 6 
 
 To a Chemist, Engineer, or 
 other scientific person per 
 day . . . . 42 
 
 For interring the body of a 
 Felo de se, including horse 
 and cart, and other trouble 
 (exclusive of burial fees, if 
 any) . . . 10 
 
 For digging the grave for in- 
 terring the body of a Felo 
 de se . . . 3 6 
 
 To bearers of the body of a 
 
 Felodese . . 10 
 
 Coffin for a Felo de se . . 7 
 
 By a recent act of parliament, 6 & 7 Will. 
 
 IV. c. 89, the coroner is empowered to 
 order the attendance of legally qualified 
 medical practitioners upon an inquisition 
 of death, and to direct the performance ot 
 a post mortem examination ; and if the 
 majority of the jury are dissatisfied with 
 the first examination, they may call upon 
 the coroner to summon a second medical 
 witness, to perform a post mortem exami- 
 nation, whether it has been performed 
 before or not. The statute also author- 
 izes the coroner to make an order for the 
 payment of a fee of one guinea to such 
 witness, if he has not performed a post 
 mortem examination, and of two guineas 
 if he has performed such examination. 
 Medical practitioners are also liable to a 
 penalty of 51. if they neglect to attend. 
 By 1 Vict. c. 68, the fees of medical wit- 
 nesses are to be paid at once by the coro- 
 ner, instead of by an order on the church- 
 wardens, as directed by 6 & 7 Wm. IV. 
 c. 89. 
 
 The coroner has also occasionally to 
 exercise a ministerial office, where the 
 sheriff is incapable of acting. Thus 
 where an exception is taken to the sheriff 
 on the ground of partiality or interest, the 
 king's writs are directed to the coroner. 
 This incident to the office of coroner 
 points distinctly to their ancient character 
 as ministerial officers of the crown. For 
 his services when acting for the sheriff, 
 he was not allowed any fees before the 
 passing 7 & 8 Vict., but this statute se- 
 cures to him the same amount of fees as 
 the sheriff would be entitled to. 
 
 By the Municipal Reform Act, 5 &h6 
 Will. IV. c. 76, § 62, the council of every 
 borough, to which a separate court of 
 quarter-sessions has been granted, is em- 
 powered to appoint a fit person, not being 
 an alderman or councillor, to be coroner 
 of the borough, who is to hold his office 
 during good behaviour. The fees and 
 general duties of borough coroners are 
 the same as those of county coroners ; but 
 the borough coroners are required by the 
 statute to make an annual return to the 
 secretary of state of all inquests of death 
 taken by them. The number of inquests 
 held in the boroughs of Manchester, Bir- 
 mingham, Liverpool, and Bristol in 1844, 
 and their proportion to the population, 
 was as follows : — 
 
CORPORATION. 
 
 [ 678 ] 
 
 CORPORATION. 
 
 One in 
 Manchester . 259 938 
 Birmingham 263 741 
 Liverpool . 432 663 
 Bristol . . 203 690 
 The average cost of the coroner's conrt for 
 the borough of Birmingham, averaged 
 899Z. for the five years ending 31st of 
 December, 1844 ; coroner's fees (20s.) un- 
 der 25 Geo. II. c. 29, and 6s. 8d. under 
 1 Vict. c. 68, annually averaged 337Z. 4s. ; 
 and the expense of 1416 inquests ave- 
 raged 32. 3s. 5Jrf. each. The disburse- 
 ments, independent of coroner's fees, ave- 
 raged 561/. 8s. 2§d. a year. [Deodand.] 
 (Hawkins's Pleas of the Crown, book ii. 
 cap. 9; Bnrn's Justice, tit. 'Coroner;' 
 and Jervis's Practical Treatise on the 
 Office and Duties of Coroners.') 
 
 CORPORAL (in the French service 
 caporal), a non-commissioned officer in a 
 battalion of infantry. The word is de- 
 rived from the Italian capo, signifying a 
 head ; and the title denotes that the person 
 ■who bore it was the chief of a small squa- 
 dron or party. During the reigns of 
 Mary and Elizabeth the corporal was a 
 kind of brigade-major ; he superintended 
 the marches of the companies, and com- 
 manded the troops who were sent out on 
 skirmishing parties. But at present he 
 is immediately under the sergeant; he 
 places and relieves the sentinels, and at 
 drill he has charge of one of the squads. 
 In the ranks he does the same duty as a 
 private soldier, but his pay is rather 
 higher. 
 
 Lance-corporal, originally lance-spe- 
 sata, denoting a broken or spent lance, 
 was a term applied to a cavalry soldier 
 who had broken his lance or lost his 
 horse in action, and was subsequently 
 retained as a volunteer in the infantry till 
 he could be remounted. He is now 
 merely a soldier who does the duty of a 
 corporal, but without the pay, previously 
 to obtaining the full appointment to that 
 grade. 
 
 CORPORATION. For the purpose 
 of maintaining and perpetuating the unin- 
 terrupted enjoyment of certain powers, 
 rights, property, or privileges, it has been 
 found convenient to create a sort of arti- 
 ficial person, or legal person, not liable to 
 the ordinary casualties which affect the 
 
 transmission of private rights, but capable, 
 by its constitution, of indefinitely continu- 
 ing its own existence. This artificial 
 person is called an incorporation, corpora' 
 Hon, or body-corporate. The last of these 
 names is the most correct, as well as the 
 earliest, that occurs in our law. The 
 former express rather the act of creating 
 the body than the body itself, and do not 
 appear to have been used in their modern 
 sense till the fifteenth century. The 
 institution of such bodies under similar 
 or different names was common among 
 the Romans [Collegium], and it seems 
 probable that bodies possessing all the 
 essential characteristics of modern cor- 
 porations were known in the Greek 
 polities. 
 
 Corporations may be divided into va- 
 rious kinds, according to the mode in 
 which they are viewed. Viewed with 
 respect to number, they are either corpora- 
 tions sole, which consist of a single person 
 and his successors ; or they are composed 
 of many persons, who are legally con- 
 sidered as one, and are called corporations 
 aggregate. Viewed with respect to the 
 distinction between things spiritual and 
 things temporal or civil, all corporations 
 are either ecclesiastical or lay corpora- 
 tions. Lay corporations are subdivided 
 into civil corporations and eleemosynary 
 corporations. Civil corporations are those 
 which have purely a civil object, such as 
 administration, commerce, education, and 
 other like purposes. Eleemosynary cor- 
 porations may have various objects, but 
 they all agree in this, that they have been 
 endowed for the purposes of distributing 
 the alms or bounty of the founder and 
 other donors. Spiritual corporations are 
 divisible into regular and secular corpo- 
 rations. 
 
 The idea of a corporation sole, formed 
 by a succession of single persons, occupy- 
 ing a particular office or station, and each 
 in virtue of his character succeeding to 
 the rights and powers of his predecessor, 
 has been said to be peculiar to our law, 
 and to be an improvement upon the 
 original notion of a corporation. (4 Black- 
 stone's Comment. 469.) The king, a 
 bishop, a parson, the chamberlain of 
 London, &c. are examples of such corpo- 
 rations sole. It may be observed, how- 
 
CORPORATION. 
 
 [ 679 ] 
 
 CORPOEATION. 
 
 ever, with respect to the supposed novelty 
 of the invention, that similar cases of 
 official succession and representation pro- 
 bably occur in almost every system of 
 law, so that the claim of originality must 
 be restricted to the mere name ; and even 
 in this respect, we incline to the opinion 
 of Dr. Wooddesson, " that as so little of 
 the law of corporations in general applies 
 to corporations sole, it might have been 
 better to have given them some other 
 denomination." (1 Wooddes. Vin. Lect. 
 471, 2.) The following notice is chiefly 
 confined to the law of corporations aggre- 
 gate. The legal incidents of such corpo- 
 rations sole, as bishops and parsons, are 
 mentioned under Bishop and Benefice. 
 
 The members of cathedral and colle- 
 giate chapters are secular ecclesiastical 
 corporations aggregate. Before the reform- 
 ation the law recognised a class of eccle- 
 siastical corporations regujar, consisting 
 of abbots or priors and their respective 
 convents, and apparently the societies of 
 friars or mendicant orders. (Brook's 
 Abr. Corporations, pi. 12.) The heads of 
 these conventual bodies were often distinct 
 corporations sole, as is still the case in 
 many of the modern secular ecclesiastical 
 establishments. 
 
 The colleges in Oxford and Cambridge, 
 and incorporated schools and hospitals, 
 are instances of eleemosynary corpora- 
 tions ; being endowed and established for 
 the purpose of perpetuating the bounty of 
 their respective founders. [Collegium.] 
 
 But the largest class of corporations, 
 and those which are most varied in their 
 object and character, are lay and civil in- 
 corporations. Among these are the uni- 
 versities of Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, 
 and London, the municipal corporations 
 of different cities and boroughs, the East 
 India Company, the Bank of England, the 
 Colleges of Physicians and of Surgeous, 
 the Royal Society and Academy, the 
 Society of Antiquaries, and numerous 
 commercial and other companies erected 
 by charter or by act of parliament 
 
 A corporation cannot be created by any 
 authority except that of the king or the 
 parliament. Where any such body has 
 existed from time beyond legal memory, 
 it is presumed to have a legitimate origin 
 in one or the other of the above sources. 
 
 Until the Reformation the pope and the 
 bishop of the diocese were considered 
 necessary parties to the foundation of any 
 new society of monks or regular clergy. 
 The refusal of the pope to confirm the 
 foundation of Sion Monastery in the reign 
 of Henry VI. is known to have caused 
 an alteration in the original plan of that 
 establishment. (Cotton's Abridgment, 
 589.) The king creates a corporation by 
 letters-patent : the parliament by act of 
 parliament, that is, by a law. Sometimes 
 a corporation is created by implication 
 from the words of an act of parliament ; 
 for instance, if certain persons, such as 
 the conservators of a river, are declared 
 to take lands by succession, they are in- 
 corporated : for the word " succession" is 
 opposed to "inheritance," and involves 
 the notion of a corporate body. Custom 
 sometimes establishes a corporation, as in 
 the case of churchwardens, who are a 
 corporation with respect to the goods and 
 chattels of the church, and they may pur- 
 chase goods for the church, but not land, 
 except by the special custom of the city 
 of London. Those corporations which 
 have existed from time beyond legal 
 memory, and have no charter or warrant 
 to show for their authority, are said to be 
 corporations by prescription. 
 
 The principal incidents of a corporation 
 aggregate are the following : — 
 
 1. It can purchase, convey, and hold 
 land or goods in perpetual succession, not- 
 withstanding the changes and fluctuations 
 that occur among the members successively 
 appointed to fill the vacancies which hap- 
 pen in it. 
 
 2. It can become a party to proceedings 
 at law, or to contracts, by the corporate 
 name given to it on its foundation. 
 
 3. The act or assent of the majority is 
 binding on all the rest ; such at least is 
 the general rule, wherever the instrument 
 of foundation does not otherwise provide. 
 
 4. It signifies its assent, and testifies its 
 corporate acts, by a common seal, without 
 which hardly any contract is binding on 
 the corporate body. 
 
 5. It is competent to enact regulations 
 called bylaws, which are binding on the 
 members of the corporation, and, in some 
 cases, on strangers also. [Bylaw.] 
 
 6. The particular members of the body 
 
CORPORATION. 
 
 [ 680 ] 
 
 .CORPORATION. 
 
 are not in general personally responsible 
 for the acts, contracts, or defaults of the 
 corporation, so long as the acts of the cor- 
 poration are conformable to the powers 
 which are given to it. This exemption 
 from individual liability makes it very 
 desirable for commercial and other trading 
 companies to obtain charters of incorpora- 
 tion, by which the members escape the 
 risk of ordinary partnerships. 
 
 7. The personal defaults or misconduct 
 of the members cannot in general be 
 visited on the corporate body. 
 
 The capacity of holding land is re- 
 strained by the statutes of mortmain, 
 which make it necessary to obtain an 
 express licence to that effect, from the 
 crown or the legislature. [Mortmain.] 
 
 With regard to the exemption from 
 personal responsibility in respect of cor- 
 porate acts, the members of the body can- 
 not directly authorize an injury to be 
 done to another under the sanction of a 
 corporate act, without incurring the usual 
 personal consequences. Thus, if a cor- 
 poration should by an instrument under 
 the common seal direct a trespass to be 
 committed on a third person, every mem- 
 ber of the majority who was present, and 
 actually assenting to the act, would be 
 liable in his private capacity. 
 
 The mode of filling up vacancies which 
 occur in the constituent members of the 
 corporate body, is determined either by 
 the express provisions of the charter of 
 incorporation, or (in the case of immemo- 
 rial corporations) by ancient usage. The 
 most common and regular method of 
 maintaining the succession is by election. 
 In the case of corporations sole the suc- 
 cessor is appointed by the crown, or by 
 a patron or founder. In the case of 
 ecclesiastical corporations the forms of 
 election are in many instances preserved, 
 but the substantial right of nomination 
 has long been exercised either by the 
 crown or by some authority or person 
 independent of the chapter or other cor- 
 porate body. 
 
 With a view to ensure the performance 
 of those duties, and a strict adherence to 
 those regulations which are imposed upon 
 corporate bodies either by the will of 
 their founders or the general tenor of 
 their charters, there are certain persons 
 
 and courts, whose office it is to exercise 
 a power of superintendence and correc- 
 tion. 
 
 In the instance of eleemosynary bodies, 
 as colleges, schools, and hospitals, the 
 person so appointed is called a visitor, and 
 is either the heir of the original founder, 
 or some person specially appointed by him, 
 or (in the absence of either of these) the 
 king. [Collegium.] 
 
 In ecclesiastical corporations, the bishop 
 of the diocese is, of common right, the 
 visitor. His right of visitation formerly 
 also extended over all the monastic estab- 
 lishments within the same district, unless 
 the abbot or other head of the convent 
 had purchased a papal bull of exemption, 
 the effect of which was to subject him to 
 the sole superintendence of the pope 
 himself. With regard to lay corpora- 
 tions, such as municipal corporations, 
 trading companies, and similar bodies, 
 their irregularities are left for correction 
 to the ordinary courts of justice, which 
 have sufficient powers for that purpose. 
 The Court of King's Bench exercises the 
 authority by the writ of mandamus of 
 compelling corporate bodies to do acts 
 which they ought to do and neglect to do. 
 
 A corporation may be extinguished in 
 various ways. 
 
 1. A corporation aggregate may be ex- 
 tinguished by the natural death of all the 
 members. 
 
 2. Where a select body of definite num- 
 ber, constituting an integral part of the 
 corporation, is so reduced by death, or 
 other vacancy, that a majority cannot be 
 present at corporate meetings, the whole 
 body becomes incapable of doing any cor- 
 porate act, and, according to the better 
 opinion, the corporation is thereby extin- 
 guished. This is the result of a rule in 
 corporation law, — that every act must be 
 sanctioned, not only by a majority of the 
 number actually present at a meeting, but 
 also at a meeting composed of a majority 
 of each definite body into which the cor- 
 poration has been subdivided by the 
 charter. Thus, if a corporation consists 
 of a mayor, twelve aldermen, and an in- 
 definite number of burgesses, at least 
 seven aldermen must be present at every 
 meeting ; nor can a legal meeting be con- 
 vened in the absence of the mayor, except, 
 
CORPORATION. 
 
 [ 681 3 
 
 CORTES. 
 
 for the purpose of electing a new one. 
 The tendency of the rule is to compel the 
 elective body to nil up vacancies without 
 delay, and to secure the attendance of a 
 competent number when the public busi- 
 ness is transacted. The rule is inappli- 
 cable to a body of indefinite number, such 
 as the general body of freemen ; and it is 
 liable to be modified and controlled by the 
 charter, or other fundamental constitution 
 of the corporation. The rule of the civil 
 law, requiring the actual presence of two- 
 thirds of the corporation at elections, 
 seems to have been dictated by a similar 
 policy ; but Sir W. Blackstone ( Com- 
 mentaries, vol. i. p. 478) is in error, when 
 he supposes that a bare majority of the 
 body so assembled could not bind the rest. 
 (See Pancirollus, He Magist. Municip. 
 apud Gravium.) 
 
 3. A dissolution may be effected by a 
 surrender to the crown ; at least where 
 the incorporation is by charter, and where 
 all the members concur and are competent 
 to concur. 
 
 4. A corporation may be forfeited, 
 ■where the trust for which it was created 
 is broken, and its institution perverted. 
 Such a forfeiture can only be declared by 
 judgment of the superior courts on process 
 issued in the ordinary course of law, called, 
 from the initial words of the writ, Quo 
 Warranto, in which the fact of misuser, 
 if denied, must be submitted to a jury. 
 
 5. A corporation may be dissolved or 
 remodelled by act of parliament. 
 
 Having already alluded to the religious 
 corporations of monks and other regular 
 clergy formerly existing in this country, 
 we may observe that the validity of the 
 surrenders obtained by the crown at their 
 suppression was deemed sufficiently doubt- 
 ful to require the confirmation of an 
 express act of parliament. Even then, in 
 the opinion of the canonists, the spiritual 
 incorporations still continued until sup- 
 pressed by competent spiritual authority, 
 and were capable of perpetuation, although 
 their possessions were lost, and their civil 
 rights extinguished. Hence it was that 
 the Brigettine nuns of Sion, suppressed by 
 Henry VIII., restored by Queen Mary, 
 and again ejected by her successor, con- 
 tinned to maintain a migratory existence 
 for two centuries and a half in Holland, 
 
 Belgium, France, and Portugal, and still 
 claimed to be the same convent which 
 Henry V. had founded on the banks of 
 the Thames. ( See letter of the Abbe" Mann, 
 13 ArchceologiaJ) 
 
 The corporations established for local' 
 administration of towns are now generally 
 called municipal corporations. [Muni- 
 cipal Corporations.] Bodies incor- 
 porated for the purpose of commerce, or 
 the profitable investment of capital, such 
 as railway companies, mining companies,: 
 banking companies, belong to the class 
 of Joint-stock Companies, under which 
 head they are treated of. Any number of 
 individuals associated for purpose of 
 traffic, who are not incorporated, form a 
 partnership, and they are individually, 
 liable like the partners of any mercantile 
 firm. 
 
 CORPORATIONS, MUNICIPAL. 
 [Municipal Corporations.] 
 
 CORPORATION AND TEST 
 ACTS. [Test and Corporation Acts.] 
 
 CORRECTION, HOUSES OK 
 [Transportation.] 
 
 CORRUPTION OP BLOOD. [At- 
 tainder.] 
 
 CORTES, the name of the assembly 
 of representatives of the Spanish nation.: 
 These assemblies have been variously 
 constituted in different ages, and in the 
 different kingdoms into which Spain was 
 divided till the time of Ferdinand and 
 Isabella. The cortes of Castile and Leon 
 and those of Aragon were the principal. 
 Considerable obscurity -prevails as to the 
 origin and the formation of both. The 
 earliest national assemblies under the 
 Visigothic kings met generally at Toledo ; 
 they consisted chiefly of the dignitaries 
 of the church, and were called councils. 
 After deciding all questions of church 
 discipline, they deliberated upon tem- 
 poral affairs, and in this stage of the dis- 
 cussion the lay lords or barons took 
 an active part, and the king presented 
 his requests. In the acts of the coun-. 
 cil of Leon, a.d. 1020, ch. vi., the 
 transition from ecclesiastical to temporal 
 affairs is clearly pointed out : — " Judicata 
 ergo ecclesise judicio, adeptaque justitia, 
 agatur causa regia, deinde populorum." 
 In the acts of the council of Jaca, 1063, 
 we find that several points of discipline 
 
CORTES. 
 
 [ 682 J 
 
 CORTES. 
 
 were reformed " with the consent of the 
 nobles and prelates ;" and the signatures 
 are those of the king, the infantes, nine 
 bishops, three abbots, and three magnates ; 
 but it is added in a note that " all the 
 other magnates had subscribed to the 
 same acts." It is now generally acknow- 
 ledged, that in that age, and down to the 
 end of the twelfth century, there was no 
 popular representation from the towns or 
 commons of Castile and Leon in those 
 assemblies. (Marina, Teoria de las Cartes; 
 Sempere, Histoire. des Cortes; Dunham, 
 History of Spain and Portugal.") The 
 people are said to have occasionally at- 
 tended these national councils on some 
 solemn occasions, as at the council held 
 at Toledo in 1135, but only as spectators 
 and witnesses, " to see, to hear, and to 
 praise God." By degrees, as the towns 
 rose into importance, and obtained local 
 fueros, or charters, from the kings for 
 their own security, or formed themselves 
 into fraternities for their mutual protec- 
 tion against the Moors or against the 
 violence of their own nobles, some of 
 them obtained at last the privilege of 
 sending deputies to the national councils, 
 which were now styled cortes, because, 
 according to some etymologists, they 
 were held at the place where the king 
 had his court. The cortes held at Sala- 
 manca by Ferdinand II., in 1178, con- 
 sisted only of the nobility and clergy; 
 but at the cortes of Leon, a.d. 1188, we 
 first hear that there were present deputies 
 "of towns chosen by lot;" and in the 
 same year the cortes of Castile assembled 
 at Burgos, where deputies from about 
 fifty towns or villages, the names of 
 which are mentioned, were present. How 
 these places came to obtain this privilege 
 is not known, although it is probable that 
 it was by the king's writ or by charter. 
 The cortes were henceforth composed of 
 three estamentos or states, clergy, lords, 
 and procuradores, or deputies from the 
 enfranchised towns, forming together one 
 chamber, but voting as separate estates. 
 It was a standing rule, that general laws 
 must have in their favour the majority of 
 each est amen to. This was the principle 
 a! the cortes of the united kingdom of 
 Castile and Leon. The same principle 
 existed in the kingdom of Aragon,- only 
 
 there the cortes were composed of four 
 brazos or estates, namely, the prelates, 
 including the commanders of the military 
 orders, the ricos hombres, or barons, the 
 inf'anzones, or caballeros, who held their 
 estates of the great barons, and lastly, the 
 universidades, or deputies of the royal 
 towns. These last are first mentioned at 
 the cortes of Monzon, in 1131. The 
 towns and boroughs in Aragou which 
 returned deputies were thirty-one; but 
 the number of deputies returned by each 
 is not stated by the historians, any more 
 than those for the cortes of Castile. We 
 find the same town returning sometimes 
 a greater, sometimes a smaller number, 
 and at other times none at all, and a small 
 town or village sending more deputies 
 than a large one ; while many considerable 
 towns never returned any, independently 
 of the seignorial towns, which of course 
 had no representative privilege. How 
 all this was made to agree with the man- 
 ner of voting, in order to ascertain the 
 opinion of the majority, is not clearly 
 stated. The institutions of the kingdom 
 of Aragon, which have been much ex- 
 tolled by some writers, appear to have 
 been better defined than those of Castile, 
 as the Aragonese, with the exception of 
 the peasant serfs of the nobility, certainly 
 enjoyed a greater share of individual 
 liberty than the rest of the Peninsula. 
 
 In Castile, from the end of the thir- 
 teenth century, the popular estamento 
 made rapid strides towards increasing 
 its influence, being favoured in this by 
 some kings or pretenders to the crown, 
 such as Sancho IV. and Enrique II., or 
 taking advantage of disputed successions 
 and 6tormy minorities, to obtain from one 
 of the contending parties an extension of 
 their privileges. In 1295 the deputies 
 of thirty-two towns and boroughs of 
 Castile and Leon assembled at Valladolid, 
 and entered into a confederacy to defend 
 their mutual rights against both the crown 
 and the nobles. Among many other 
 resolutions, one was, that each of the 
 thirty-two constituencies should send two 
 deputies every two years to meet about 
 Pentecost at Leon or some other place, in 
 order to enforce the observance of their 
 agreement. In 1315, during the fright- 
 ful confusion which attended the minority 
 
COETES. 
 
 [ 683 J 
 
 COETES. 
 
 of Alonso XI., we find another con- 
 federacy between the nobles and the pro- 
 curadores of 100 communities, with a 
 similar clause as to deputies meeting once 
 or twice every year. These meetings of 
 deputies for special purposes ought not to 
 be confounded with the general cortes of 
 the kingdom, which were always con- 
 voked by the king, though at no fixed 
 times. Enrique II., having revolted 
 against his brother Pedro the Cruel, 
 courted the support of the municipal 
 towns, which at the cortes of 1367 de- 
 manded the admission de jure of twelve 
 deputies into the royal council, which 
 had till then consisted of hereditary 
 nobles and prelates, with occasionally some 
 civilian called in by the king. Enrique 
 promised to comply with their request ; 
 but bJ6 brother's death having ensured 
 his seat on the throne, he evaded the 
 fulfilment of his promise by creating an 
 Audiencia Real, or high court of appeal, 
 consisting of prelates and civilians, and 
 a criminal court of eight alcaldes chosen 
 from different provinces of the kingdom. 
 Juan I., who succeeded him, after the 
 loss of the battle of Aljubarrota, created a 
 new council in 1385, consisting of four 
 bishops, four nobles, and four citizens, 
 with extensive executive powers. The 
 towns next solicited the dismissal of the 
 bishops and nobles from the council, in 
 order that it should consist entirely of 
 citizens; but Juan rejected the demand. 
 They also contrived at times to exclude 
 -the privileged orders from the cortes. 
 Manna says that the privileged orders 
 themselves, having lost much of their 
 influence, abstained from attending the 
 cortes; yet it is certain that although 
 money might be voted without them, for 
 the simple reason that they were exempt 
 from taxation, the third estate alone pay- 
 ing all direct taxes, yet nothing else of 
 importance could be decided without their 
 concurrence. Although members of the 
 privileged orders should not attend, they 
 might be represented by proxy, as was 
 the case in Aragon. Besides, the cortes 
 were not all of one sort; there were 
 general or solemn cortes, and especial 
 cortes, for some particular purpose. Juan 
 appointed by his testament six prelates 
 and nobles as guardians of his infant son 
 
 Enrique III., who were not, however, to 
 decide in any important affair without 
 the concurrence of six deputies, one from 
 each of the cities of Burgos, Toledo, 
 Leon, Seville, Cordova, and Mureia. 
 The fourteenth century seems to have 
 been the brightest period of popular or 
 more properly municipal representation 
 in Spain. The cortes were frequent, and 
 the subject of their deliberations of the 
 most important nature. But Spain had 
 never a definite representation; to no 
 meeting of this period did all or half the 
 great towns send deputies; and those 
 which did return them appear to have 
 observed little proportion in the numbers. 
 There can be no doubt that two ought to 
 have been returned from each; yet in 
 the cortes of Madrid, in 1390, we find that 
 Burgos and Salamanca sent eight each, 
 while the more important cities of Seville 
 and Cordova sent only three ; Cadiz only 
 two ; Oviedo and Badajos one ; Santiago,. 
 Orense, Mondonedo, and other great cities 
 of Galicia sent none at all. In fact, only 
 forty-eight places returned deputies to 
 these cortes, and the number, at the most, 
 was inconsiderable. Incidentally we learn 
 that in the assemblies of this period the 
 archbishop of Toledo spoke for the eccler 
 siastical state, and the chief of the house 
 of Lara for the nobles. Some of thj 
 deputies contended for the precedence in 
 voting, as well as for that of seats. This 
 rivalry was more conspicuous between 
 Burgos and Toledo, until Alonso XI. 
 found the means of settling it. "The 
 deputies of Toledo," said the king in 
 the midst of the assembly, " will do what- 
 ever I order them, and in their name, I 
 say, let those of Burgos speak." The 
 municipal corporations could boast of 
 something more than the honour of re- 
 turning deputies, an honour to which 
 many of them were perfectly indifferent. 
 Their condition was far superior to that 
 of the seignorial towns, which for the 
 most part groaned under the oppressions 
 of the nobles. (Dunham, Instory of 
 Spain andvPortugal, b. iii. sect. 3, ch. ii.) 
 The remonstrances or petitions of the 
 general cortes to the king generally be- 
 gan as follows: — "The prelates, lords, 
 and caballeros of the kingdoms of Castile 
 and Leon, in the name of the three estates 
 
CORTES. 
 
 [684] 
 
 CORTES. 
 
 of the kingdom," &c. Remonstrances 
 from the deputies of the towns began : — 
 " Most high and powerful prince ! your 
 very humble vassals, subjects, and ser- 
 vants, the deputies of the towns and bo- 
 roughs of your kingdoms, who are as- 
 sembled in your presence by your order," 
 &c. (Cortes of Valladolid, June, 1420.) 
 In the cortes of 1402, Enrique III. 
 demanded for his wars with the Moors a 
 supply of 60,000,000 maravedis, but the 
 deputies granted only 45,000,000. The 
 king then proposed that if the money 
 should be found insufficient, he might be 
 allowed to raise the deficiency by a loan 
 without convoking the cortes afresh for 
 the purpose. To this the majority of the 
 deputies assented. By his testament En- 
 rique excluded the citizens from the 
 Council of Regency during the minority 
 of his son Juan II., and after this they 
 •were no longer admitted into the royal 
 council. Thus the municipal towns lost 
 a great advantage which they had gained 
 thirty years before under Juan I. They 
 soon after sacrificed, of their own accord, 
 their elective franchises. The expenses of 
 the deputies to the cortes had been till then 
 defrayed by the towns, but now having 
 lost their influence at court by their 
 exclusion from the royal council, the 
 towns began to complain of their burthen. 
 Juan II. listened attentively to their com- 
 plaints, and in the cortes of Ocana, 1422, 
 he proposed that the future expenses of 
 the deputies should be defrayed out of 
 the royal treasury, a proposal which was 
 willingly accepted. Accordingly, in the 
 next cortes, 12 cities only, Burgos, Toledo, 
 Leon, Zamora, Seville, Cordova, Murcia, 
 Jaen, Segovia, Avila, Salamanca, and 
 Cuenca, were summoned to send their 
 deputation; some other towns were in- 
 formed that they might entrust their 
 powers to any deputy from the above. 
 The privilege was subsequently extended 
 to six more cities; Valladolid, Toro, 
 Soria, Madrid, Guadalaxara, and Gra- 
 oada. These eighteen places constituted 
 henceforth the whole representation of 
 the kingdoms of Castile, Leon, Galicia, 
 and Andalusia. The other communities at 
 last perceiving the advantage they had 
 lost, petitioned to be restored to their 
 right, but found themselves strenuously 
 
 opposed by the eighteen privileged towns. 
 The influence of the court was openly 
 exercised in the elections of these towns, 
 and although the cortes of Valladolid in 
 1442, and those of Cordova in 1445, re- 
 quested the king to abstain from such 
 interference, yet the practice became more 
 barefaced than ever. In 1457 Enrique 
 IV. wrote to the municipal council of 
 Seville, pointing out two individuals fit to 
 be deputies in the next session, and re- 
 questing they might be elected. The mu- 
 nicipal councils, which elected their own 
 officers as well as the deputies to the 
 cortes, were composed of all the heads of 
 families, hut by degrees the crown in- 
 terfered in the appointment of the mu- 
 nicipal officers. [Ayuntamiento.] 
 
 Thus long before Charles I. (the em- 
 peror Charles V.), who has been generally 
 accused of having destroyed the liberties 
 of Spain, the popular branch of the repre- 
 sentation was already reduced to a sha- 
 dow, for the deputies of the eighteen cities, 
 elected by court influence, were mere 
 registrars of the royal decrees, and ready 
 voters of the supplies demanded of them. 
 Under Ferdinand and Isabella the royal 
 authority became more extended and 
 firmly established by the subjection of 
 the privileged orders ; the turbulent no- 
 bles were attacked in their castles, which 
 were razed by hundreds, and the Santa 
 Hermandad hunted the proprietors 
 throughout the country. Many of the 
 grants by former kings were revoked, and 
 the proud feudatories were tamed into 
 submissive courtiers. 
 
 Charles only finished the work by ex- 
 cluding the privileged orders from the 
 cortes altogether, he and his successors 
 contenting themselves with convoking the 
 deputies of the eighteen royal cities of 
 the crown of Castile on certain solemn 
 occasions, to register their decrees, to ac- 
 knowledge the prince of Asturias as heir 
 apparent to the throne, to swear allegiance 
 to a new prince. The policy of abso- 
 lutism has been the same in all countries 
 of Europe : it has used the popular power 
 against the aristocracy, in order to re- 
 duce and destroy both in the end. 
 
 In Aragon, Valencia, and Catalonia, 
 which formed the dominions of the crown 
 of Aragon, the cortes of each of these 
 
CORTES. 
 
 f 685 j 
 
 COKTES. 
 
 three states continued to assemble under 
 Charles I. and his successors of the Aus- 
 trian dynasty, who convoked them in 
 their accustomed manner by brazos or 
 orders, and they maintained some show 
 of independence, although in reality 
 much reduced in importance . after Philip 
 II. had abolished the office of the Justiza. 
 But after the War of the Succession, 
 Philip V. of Bourbon formally abolished 
 the cortes of these states by right of con- 
 quest, as he expressed it, because they 
 had taken part with his rival the Arch- 
 duke Charles. 
 
 In 1808. when the Spanish people rose 
 in every province against the invasion of 
 Napoleon, the king was a prisoner in 
 France, after having been obliged by 
 threats to abdicate the crown, and the na- 
 tion was without a government. Muni- 
 cipal juntas were formed in every pro- 
 vince, consisting of deputies taken from 
 the various orders or classes of society, 
 nobles, clergymen, proprietors, merchants, 
 &c. These juntas sent deputies to form 
 a central junta, with executive powers 
 for the general affairs of the country, 
 but a legislature was still wanting. The 
 central junta was called upon to assemble 
 the cortes for all Spain. They at first 
 thought of reviving the ancient cortes by 
 estamentos or brazos, but many diffi- 
 culties presented themselves. The dif- 
 ference of formation between the old 
 cortes of Aragon and those of Castile; 
 the difficulty of applying those forms to 
 the American possessions of Spain, which 
 were now, for the first time, admitted to 
 equal rights with the mother country, but 
 where the same elements of society did 
 not exist, at least not in the same propor- 
 tion ; the difficulty even in Spain of col- 
 lecting a legitimate representation of the 
 various orders, while most of the pro- 
 vinces were occupied or overrun by 
 French armies, and while many of the 
 nobility and the higher clergy had ac- 
 knowledged the intrusive king Joseph 
 Napoleon ; all these, added to the altered 
 state of public opinion, the long dis- 
 continuance of the old cortes by orders 
 or estates, the diminished influence of 
 the old nobility, and the creation of a new 
 nobility during the latter reigns merely 
 through court favour, made the original 
 
 plan appear impracticable. The situation 
 of the country was in. fact without a paral- 
 lel in history. The central junta con- 
 sulted the consejo (reunido) or commis- 
 sion of magistrates, from the old higher 
 courts of the kingdom, who proposed to 
 assemble deputies of the various brazos or 
 estamentos, all to form one house, a pro- 
 posal extremely vague and apparently 
 impracticable, which looks as if made to 
 elude the question. Jovellanos and 
 others then proposed two houses, consti- 
 tuted as in England ; but this would also 
 have been a new creation without pre- 
 cedent in Spain, and surrounded by many 
 difficulties, the state of society being 
 greatly different in the two countries. 
 Meantime the central junta being driven 
 away by the French, first from Madrid, 
 and afterwards from Seville, in January, 
 1810, took refuge at Cadiz, which became 
 the capital of the Spanish patriots, 
 whither a number of persons from the 
 various provinces and classes had flocked. 
 Before leaving Seville, the central junta 
 issued regulations addressed to the pro- 
 vincial juntas about the manner of elect- 
 ing the deputies to the cortes, stating at 
 the end that " similar letters of convoca- 
 tion would be addressed to the repre- 
 sentatives of the ecclesiastical brazo and 
 of the nobility." This, however, was 
 never done. 
 
 The central junta soon after arriving at 
 Cadiz resigned its power into the hands 
 of a council of regency composed of five 
 individuals, but before its resignation it 
 issued a decree approving of the plan of 
 Jovellanos for two chambers, and recom- 
 mending it to the regency. The regency 
 however paid little attention to this re- 
 commendation ; it seemed to hesitate 
 during several months about convoking 
 any cortes at all, for there was at Cadiz 
 a party of pure absolutists opposed to any 
 representation whatever. The regency 
 again consulted the consejo reunido, the 
 majority of which, departing from its 
 former opinion, gave up the idea of cortes 
 by estamentos, and proposed the election 
 of deputies without distinction of classes. 
 The council of state being likewise con- 
 sulted by the regency, decided that, 
 owing to the actual state of affairs, it was 
 best to elect the deputies without esta- 
 
CORTES. 
 
 L 686 J 
 
 COKTES. 
 
 memos, reserving to the " representatives 
 of the nation once assembled to decide 
 whether the cortes should be divided by 
 brazos or into two chambers, after listen- 
 ing to the claims of the nobility and 
 clergy." The regency at length issued 
 letters of convocation for the deputies of 
 all the provinces to assemble in cortes at 
 the Isla de Leon on the 24th September, 
 1810. The elections for those provinces 
 which were entirely occupied by the 
 French were made at Cadiz by electoral 
 juntas, composed of individuals of those 
 provinces who had taken refuge there. 
 A similar process was adopted with re- 
 gard to the American provinces. (Ar- 
 guelles, Examen historico de la Reforma 
 Constitutional; Jovellanos, Memoria a 
 ms Compatriotas, with appendix and notes 
 to the same.) 
 
 The cortes, styled " extraordinary," sat 
 at Cadiz from September, 1810, till Sep- 
 tember, 1813. During this time, amidst 
 numerous enactments which they passed, 
 they framed a totally new constitution 
 for Spain, which has become known by 
 the name of "the Constitution of 1812," 
 the year in which it was proclaimed. 
 This constitution established the repre- 
 sentative system with a single popular 
 chamber, elected in a numerical propor- 
 tion of one deputy for every 70,000 in- 
 dividuals. The elections were not direct, 
 but 4>y means of electoral juntas or col- 
 leges, as in France : assembled citizens of 
 every parish appointed, by open written 
 votes, a certain number of delegates, who 
 chose, by conference among themselves, 
 one or more parish electors, in proportion 
 to the population. All the parish elec- 
 tors, of every district, assembled together 
 at the head town or village of the same, 
 and there proceeded to elect by ballot the 
 electors for the district. All the district 
 electors of one province formed the elec- 
 toral junta which assembled in the chief 
 town of that province to appoint the 
 deputies to the cortes, either from among 
 themselves or from among the citizens 
 who were not district electors, provided 
 they were Spanish citizens born, in the 
 full exercise of their civil rights, were 
 more than 25 years of age, and had had 
 their domicile in the province for at least 
 seven years past. By Art. 92, a qualifi- 
 
 cation was inserted of a yearly income, 
 the amount and nature of which were left 
 to the discretion of future cortes to deter- 
 mine. Every district elector, in succession, 
 stepped up to the table where the presi- 
 dent and secretary were, and told the 
 name of his candidate, which the secre- 
 tary wrote down. The scrutiny then took 
 place, and the majority of votes decided 
 the election. The deputies elected re- 
 ceived full powers, in writing, from their 
 electors, " to act as they think best for the 
 general welfare, within the limits pre- 
 scribed by the constitution, and without 
 derogating from any of its articles." They 
 were allowed by the respective provinces a 
 fixed emolument during the time of the 
 sessions. The ordinary cortes assembled 
 once every year, in the month of March, 
 and the session lasted three or, at the 
 utmost, four months. The deputies were 
 renewed every two years. 
 
 These were the principles of the forma- 
 tion of the cortes of Cadiz of 1812, which, 
 whatever might have been their merits, 
 had evidently little in common, except 
 the name, with the old cortes of Castile 
 or Aragon. The king had a veto for two 
 years following; but if the resolution 
 were persisted in the third year, his veto 
 ceased. 
 
 The extraordinary cortes of Cadiz were 
 succeeded in October, 1813, by the ordi- 
 nary cortes, elected according to the prin- 
 ciple of the Constitution. In January, 
 1814, they transferred their sittings to 
 Madrid, which had been freed from the 
 French. In March, of that year, King 
 Ferdinand returned to Spain, and soon 
 after dissolved the cortes, abrogated the 
 Constitution, and punished its supporters. 
 In 1820 the Constitution was proclaimed 
 again through a military insurrection ; 
 the king accepted it, and the cortes assem- 
 bled again. The king and the cortes, 
 however, did not remain long in harmony. 
 In 1823 a French army, under the Duke 
 of Angoulgme, entered Spain ; the cortes 
 left Madrid, taking the king with them to 
 Seville, and thence transferred him by 
 force to Cadiz. Cadiz having surrendered 
 to the French, the cortes were again dis- 
 persed, the Constitution was again abo- 
 lished, and the liberals were again 
 punished. This name of " liberal," which 
 
CORTES. 
 
 [ G87 ] 
 
 CORTES. 
 
 has become of such general use in our 
 days, originated in the first cortes of 
 Cadiz, where it was used to designate 
 those deputies who were favourable to 
 reform, whilst the opposite party were 
 styled "serviles." (Arguelles, end of 
 chap, v.) 
 
 The history of the first cortes of Cadiz 
 has been eloquently written by Arguelles ; 
 that of the cortes of 1820-23 and of the 
 subsequent royalist reaction is found in 
 numerous works and pamphlets of con- 
 temporary history, written with more or 
 less party spirit, among which the least 
 partial is perhaps the Revolution d'Es- 
 pagne, Examen Critique, 8vo., Paris, 
 1836 : it professes to be written by a 
 Spanish emigrant, who, though no great 
 admirer of the Constitution of 1812, 
 speaks with equal freedom of the guilt 
 and blunders of the violent men of both 
 parties. • 
 
 Ferdinand VII., before his death, in 
 1833, assembled the deputies of the royal 
 towns, according to the ancient form, not 
 to deliberate, but to acknowledge as his 
 successor his infant daughter Isabella. 
 
 On the 10th of April, 1834, the queen 
 regent proclaimed a charter for the 
 Spanish nation, which was called Estatuto 
 Real. It established the convocation of 
 the cortes and its division into two houses, 
 the procuradores, or deputies from the 
 provinces, and the proceres, or upper 
 house, consisting of certain nobles, pre- 
 lates, and also of citizens distinguished 
 by their merit. The po 1 wer of the cortes, 
 however, was very limited, the initia- 
 tive of all laws being reserved to the 
 crown. This charter was in force only 
 tt> the 14th August, 1836. In the summer 
 of 1836 insurrections broke out at Malaga 
 and other places, where the Constitution 
 of 1812 was again proclaimed; and at 
 last the insurrection spread among the 
 troops which were doing duty at the 
 queen's residence at La Granja, in conse- 
 quence of which the queen accepted the 
 Constitution, " subject to the revision of 
 the cortes." The cortes were therefore 
 convoked according to the plan of 1812. 
 Early in 1837 they commenced their 
 duties, and finally approved of and 
 decreed a Constitution, which was pro- 
 claimed in Madrid on the 16th of June, 
 
 1837. This Constitution has since been 
 arbitrarily suspended. 
 
 The following were some of the leading 
 provisions of the Constitution of 1837, so 
 far as they related to the powers of the 
 cortes :— The power of enacting the laws 
 is possessed by the cortes in conjunction 
 with the king, who sanctions and promul- 
 gates the laws. The cortes is composed 
 of two co-legislative bodies, equal in 
 powers, the Senate and Congress of De- 
 puties. Of the Senate : The number of 
 senators shall be equal to three-fifths of 
 the total number of deputies. They are 
 appointed by the king, from a triple list, 
 proposed by the electors of each province 
 who elect the deputies. To each province 
 belongs the right of proposing a number 
 of senators, proportionable to its popula- 
 tion ; but each is to return one senator at 
 least. To be a senator, it is necessary to 
 be a Spaniard ; to be forty years of age, 
 and to be possessed of the income and 
 other qualifications defined in the electoral 
 law. All Spaniards possessed of these 
 qualifications may be proposed for the 
 office of senator in any of the provinces. 
 The sons of the king and of the imme- 
 diate heir to the throne are senators of 
 right at the age of twenty-five years. 
 Of the Congress of Deputies : Each 
 province shall appoint one deputy, at 
 least, for every 50,000 souls of the 
 population. The deputies are elected 
 by the direct method, and may be re- 
 elected indefinitely. To be a deputy it is 
 necessary to be a Spaniard, in the secuUr 
 state, to have completed the twenty-fifth 
 year, and to possess all the qualifications 
 prescribed by the electoral law. Every 
 Spaniard possessing these qualifications, 
 may be named a deputy for any of the 
 provinces. The deputies shall be ap- 
 pointed for three years. The Cortes are 
 to assemble each year. It is the right of 
 the king to convoke them, to suspend and 
 close their meetings, and dissolve the 
 Cortes ; but under the obligation, in the 
 case of dissolution, of convoking and 
 reassembling another Cortes within three 
 months. If the king should omit to con- 
 voke the Cortes on the 1st of December 
 in any one year, the Cortes are notwith- 
 standing to assemble precisely on that 
 day ; and in case of the conclusion of the 
 
CORTES. 
 
 68S ] 
 
 CORTES. 
 
 term of the congress holding office hap- 
 pening to occur in that year, a general 
 election for the nomination of deputies is 
 to commence on the first Sunday of the 
 month of October. On the demise of the 
 crown, or on the king being incapacitated 
 to govern, through any cause, the extra- 
 ordinary cortes are immediately to as- 
 semble The sessions of the 
 
 senate and of the congress shall be public, 
 and only in eases requiring reserve can 
 private sitting be held. The king and 
 each of the co-legislative bodies possess 
 the right of originating laws. Laws re- 
 lating to taxes and public credit shall be 
 presented first to the congress of deputies ; 
 and if altered in the senate contrary to 
 the form in which they have been ap- 
 proved by the congress, they are to receive 
 the royal sanction in the form definitely 
 decided on by the deputies. The reso- 
 lutions of each of the legislative bodies 
 are to be determined by an absolute plu- 
 rality of votes ; but in the enactment of 
 the laws, the presence of more than half 
 the number of each of these bodies is 
 necessary. If one of the co-legislative 
 bodies should reject any project of law 
 submitted to them, or if the king should 
 refuse it his sanction, such project of law 
 is not to be submitted anew in that con- 
 gress. Besides the legislative powers 
 which the cortes exercise in conjunction 
 with the king, the following faculties be- 
 long to them : — 1st, To receive from the 
 king, the immediate successor to the 
 throne, from the regency or regent of the 
 empire, the oath to observe the constitu- 
 tion and the laws. 2ndly, To resolve 
 any doubt that may arise of fact or of 
 right with respect to the order of succes- 
 sion to the crown. 3rdly, To elect the 
 regent, or appoint the regency, of the em- 
 pire, and to name the tutor of the sove- 
 reign while a minor, when the constitu- 
 tion deems it necessary. 4thly, To render 
 effective the responsibility of the minis- 
 ters of the crown, who are to be impeached 
 by the deputies, and judged by the 
 senators. The senators and deputies 
 are irresponsible and inviolable for 
 opinions expressed and votes given by 
 them in the discharge of their duties. 
 Deputies and senators who receive from 
 the government, or the royal family 
 
 any pension, or employment which may 
 not be an instance of promotion from a 
 lower to a higher office of the same kind, 
 commission with salary, honours, or titles, 
 are subject to re-election. 
 
 On the 27th of December, 1843, the 
 cortes were suddenly suspended by an 
 arbitrary decree of the ministers. Tt was 
 rumoured that the cabinet would promul- 
 gate certain laws by edict, after which the 
 cortes were again to be assembled to pass 
 a bill of indemnity for this act of usurpa- 
 tion j and that if the cortes did not pass 
 such bill, they would be dissolved. On 
 the 10th of July, 1844, a decree was pub- 
 lished in the Madrid Gazette dissolving 
 the cortes and summoning a new cortes 
 for the 10th of October. They were 
 opened at the appointed time by the 
 queen in person, who on that day com- 
 pleted her fourteenth year, and in the 
 speech from the throne some measures of 
 constitutional reform were recommended 
 to their consideration. On the 18th of 
 October a bill for remodelling the consti- 
 tution was presented to the congress. 
 This bill proposed to suppress the pre- 
 amble to the constitution of 1837, which 
 asserted the national supremacy. The 
 members of the senate were to be abso- 
 lutely appointed by the crown for life. 
 The article requiring the cortes to assem- 
 ble every year was altered, and it was pro- 
 posed that they should be convoked by the 
 crown only when it thought fit. These im- 
 portant changes in the constitutional law 
 of the state amounted in fact to a revo- 
 lution. It was moreover proposed by 
 this bill that political offences, including 
 those of the press, were not to be sub- 
 mitted to the jury. 
 
 On the 1 1th of March, 1 845, a new elec- 
 toral law was brought forward in the 
 cortes by the ministry. The qualification 
 of deputies is to be the possession of 
 12,000 reals (120J.)per annum, from real 
 property, or the payment of 1000 reals 
 (UW.) indirect taxes. The qualification 
 for electors is to consist in the payment 
 of 400 reals (4/.) per annum, in direct 
 taxes ; but members of the learned pro- 
 fessions, retired officers in the army and 
 navy, and persons in the employment of 
 government or in active service, who have 
 a salary of 15,000 reals (150/.) and up- 
 
CORTES. 
 
 [ 689 ] 
 
 COTTON. 
 
 wards, are qualified if they pay 200 reals 
 (2/.) a year direct taxes. When the 
 number of electors in a district does not 
 amount to one hundred and fifty, that 
 number is to be made up by adding the 
 highest tax-payers. Both deputies and 
 electors must be twenty -five years of age. 
 The number of persons who pay 400 
 reals direct taxes is said to be very small 
 in many parts of Spain, and the admission 
 to the electoral franchise of persons in 
 the employment of government with a 
 salary of 150l. a year is calculated to 
 neutralize the independent opinions of 
 the country, and may sometimes have the 
 effect of keeping in power a government 
 adverse to the general interests. By this 
 electoral law the country is to be divided 
 into 306 electoral districts, each to contain 
 about 40,000 inhabitants, and each district 
 will return one member. This is con- 
 sidered an improvement upon the plan of 
 returning the deputies by provinces. 
 
 The history of the cortes of Portugal 
 is nearly the same as that of those of 
 Spain, only that the towns which sent 
 deputies were comparatively fewer, seldom 
 more than ten or twelve at a time, and 
 the influence of the privileged orders 
 greater in proportion. The nobles having 
 by degrees become courtiers, as in Spain, 
 the kings reigned in fact absolute. In 
 latter times there were less remains of 
 popular freedom observable in Portugal 
 than in Spain. In 1820, while King Joao 
 VI. was in Brazil, a military insurrection 
 broke out in Portugal, and a Constitution 
 was framed in imitation of the Spanish 
 one of 1812, but it was soon after upset. 
 For an account of these transactions see 
 Kinsey's Portugal Illustrated, 1828. After 
 the death of King Joao, his son, Don 
 Pedro, gave a charter to Portugal, estab- 
 lishing a system of popular representation, 
 with two houses ; this charter was after- 
 wards abolished by Don Miguel, and 
 again re-established by Don Pedro j but 
 some changes have subsequently been made 
 ji it. 
 
 The Aragonese, during their period of 
 splendour, extended their representative 
 system by brazos or estamentos to the 
 island of Sardinia, then subject to the 
 rrown of Aragon, and the institution, 
 although on a contracted basis, remains to 
 
 this day in Sardinia under the name of 
 Stamenti, or Estates: 
 
 COTTAGE SYSTEM. [Allot- 
 ments.] 
 
 COTTON CULTIVATION AND 
 TRADE. Cotton is called, in French, 
 Coton ; German, Baumwolle ; Dutch, 
 Katoen, Boomwol ; Danish, Bomuld ; 
 Swedish, Bomull ; Italian, Cotone Bamba- 
 gia ; Spanish, Algodnn ; Portuguese, Al- 
 godao ; Russian, Chloblschataja Bumaga ; 
 Polish, Bawelna ; ■ Hindustani, liuhi ; 
 Malay, Kapas ; Latin, Gossypium. 
 
 The distinctive names by which cotton 
 is known in commerce are, with the fol- 
 lowing two exceptions, derived from the 
 countries of their production. The finest 
 kind, which commands the highest price, 
 is called sea-island cotton, from the cir- 
 cumstance of its having been first culti- 
 vated in the United States of North 
 America, in the low sandy islands on the 
 coast, from Charlestown to Savannah. It 
 is said that its quality is gradually de- 
 teriorated in proportion as file plants are 
 removed from " the salutary action of the 
 ocean's spray." The seed is supposed 
 to have come originally from Persia. 
 It was taken from the island of An- 
 guilla to the Bahamas for cultivation, 
 and was first sent thence to Georgia 
 in 1780. The annual average crop 
 does not exceed 11,000,000 pounds. 
 Upland or Bowed Georgia cotton, the 
 green-seed kind, has received its name 
 of upland to distinguish it from the 
 produce of the islands and low districts 
 near the shores. The expression bowed 
 was given as being descriptive of the 
 means employed for loosening the seed 
 from the filaments, which was accom- 
 plished by bringing a set of strings, at- 
 tached to a bow, in contact with a heap 
 of uncleaned cotton, and then striking the 
 strings so as to cause violent vibrations, 
 and thus open the locks of cotton and 
 cause the seeds to be easily separable 
 from the filaments. 
 
 A few years ago Mr. Woodbury, secre- 
 tary of the United States' Treasury, pre- 
 pared some tables which showed the cul- 
 tivation, manufacture, and trade in cotton 
 throughout the world. According to these 
 tables, which must be considered as rough 
 estimates, though probably not far from 
 2y 
 
COTTON. 
 
 [ 690 
 
 COTTON. 
 
 the truth, the progress of production in 
 the United States was as follows from 
 1791 to 1831:— 
 
 lbs. lbs. 
 
 1791 2,000,000 1821 180,000,000 
 1801 48,000,000 1831 385,000,000 
 1811 80,000,000 
 
 From the season 1 832-33 to the season 
 1 843-44 the growth of cotton estimated in 
 bales was as under : — 
 
 Bales. Bali'l. 
 
 1832-33 1,070,438 J838-39 1,360,532 
 1833-34 1,205,394 1839-40 2,177,835 
 1834-35 1,254,328 1840-41 1,634,945 
 1835-36 1,360,725 1841-42 1,683,574 
 1836-37 1,422,930 1842-43 2,379,000 
 1837-38 1,801,497 1843-44 2,030,000 
 
 In the ten years preceding 1845 the 
 average annual rate of increase in the 
 growth of cotton in the United States 
 has been about 100,000 bales. The dis- 
 tribution of the cotton crops of the United 
 States was as follows in 1843 and 1844 : 
 1*43. 1844. 
 
 Bales. Bales, 
 
 Great Britain . . 1,470,000 1,203,000 
 France .... 346,000 283,000 
 Other parts of Eu- 
 rope .... 194,000 144,000 
 American consump- 
 tion .... 326,000 346,744 
 
 The progressive average annual in- 
 crease in the consumption of American 
 cotton in the ten years from 1835 to 1845 
 has been about 43,609 bales in Great 
 Britain; 12,448 in the United States of 
 North America; and 27,187 on the Con- 
 tinent of Europe and all other places. In 
 the same period the consumption of cotton 
 from all other countries, except North 
 America, has increased at an annual aver- 
 age rate of 14,107 bales. 
 
 The cotton wool imported into Great 
 Britain from Brazil, India, Egypt, &c. in 
 1843 and 1844 was as under : — 
 
 1643. 1844. 
 Bales. Bales. 
 
 Brazil 98,821 112,031 
 
 Demerara and Berbice 114 234 
 
 Egypt 47,638 66,563 
 
 East Indies .... 181,993 237,559 
 West Indies, Cartha- 
 
 gena, &c 19,098 17,373 
 
 It appears from Mr. Woodburv's tables 
 
 that in 1834 rather more than two-thirds 
 (68 per cent.) of all the cotton sent away 
 from all the places of production were 
 shipped to England. About five-sixths of 
 all the cotton brought into the United 
 Kingdom is of the growth of the United 
 States of North America. Above one- 
 half in value Of the exports of the United 
 States consists of cotton wool — 47,090,000 
 out of a total of 92,000,000 dollars in 
 the year ending 30th September, 1842, 
 and 49,000,000 out of a total of 77,000,000 
 dollars in the nine months ending Jnne 
 30th, 1843. 
 
 During the period in which the in- 
 creased production has been going forward 
 with the greatest rapidity in America, the 
 prices have been continually declining. 
 In the table of prices given by Mr. Wood- 
 bury as those of the United States, at the 
 places of exportation, and including all 
 kinds of cotton, it is shown that the 
 average price of each period of five years, 
 from 1791 to 1835, has been as follows, 
 viz. : — 
 
 per lb. per lb. 
 
 1791 to 1795. 15|d. 1816 to 1820.13d. 
 1796 to 1800. 18Jd. 1821 to 1825. 8d. 
 1801 to 1805. 12Ad. 1826 to 1830. 5d. 
 1806 to 1810. 9|d. 1831 to 1835. 6d. 
 1811 to 1815. 7|d. 
 
 Mr. Woodbury states that " where rich 
 lands and labour were low, as in Missis- 
 sippi and Alabama a few years ago, two 
 cents (one penny) per pound for cotton in 
 the seed, or eight cents when cleaned, 
 would pay expenses. It is supposed to be 
 a profitable crop in the South-western 
 States at ten cents per pound." Mr. Bates, 
 of the house of Baring and Co., stated 
 before a Parliamentary Committee, in 
 1833, that "even six cents, or three- 
 pence per pound, is a price at which the 
 planters can gain money in the valley of 
 the Mississippi." 
 
 Land fresh brought under cultivation 
 in the United States will yield on an 
 average from 1000 to 1200 pounds per 
 acre of cotton with the seed, which will 
 yield of clean cotton from 250 to 300 
 pounds. 
 
 Bengal cotton of inferior quality can, 
 it is said, be raised for three half pence 
 per pound, and delivered in England at 
 
COTTON. 
 
 [ 691 ] 
 
 COTTON. 
 
 au advance of one penny upon that price. 
 Good Surat cotton is said to cost two- 
 pence half-penny per pound, delivered at 
 Bombay. The cost of production in our 
 West India colonies is considerably 
 greater, and the cultivation of cotton has 
 consequently been for the most part aban- 
 doned by the British planters. 
 
 The relative value of the kinds of cotton 
 most commonly introduced for sale and 
 use in this country, will be seen in the 
 following list of average prices per lb. 
 for the years 1843 and 1844 :— 
 
 1843. 1844. 
 
 a. a. a. a. 
 
 Sea Island . 10£ to 21 10 to 22 
 
 Bowed . 4£to 6 3&to 5 
 
 Orleans, &c. . 4j} to 7J 3J to 6 
 
 Pernambuco . 54 to 6} 5 to 6j 
 
 Bahia . 5$ to 6£ 4J to 5| 
 
 Maranham . 4J to 6i 4 to 5 j 
 
 Egyptian . 6 to 8f 5 to 8J 
 
 Surat . 3£to 4} 2£ to 4 
 
 The growth of the cotton trade has 
 been rapid beyond all commercial prece- 
 dent. In 1786 the total imports were 
 somewhat less than 20,000,000 pounds, no 
 part of which was furnished by North 
 America. Our West India colonies sup- 
 plied nearly one-third, about an equal 
 quantity was brought from foreign colo- 
 nies in the same quarter, 2,000,000 pounds 
 came from Brazil, and 5,000,000 pounds 
 from the Levant. In 1790 the importa- 
 tions amounted to 31,447,605 pounds, 
 none of which was supplied by the United 
 States. In 1795 the quantity was only 
 26,401,340 pounds. In this year a com- 
 mercial treaty was made between the 
 United States of North America and 
 Great Britain, by one article of which, as 
 it originally stood, the export was pro- 
 hibited from the United States in Ameri- 
 can vessels of such articles as they had 
 previously imported from the West Indies. 
 Among these articles cotton was included, 
 Mr. Jay, the American negotiator, not 
 being aware that cotton was then becom- 
 ing an article of export from the United 
 States. In 1800 the imports had more 
 than doubled, having reached 56,010,732 
 pounds. This was the first year in which 
 any considerable quantity was obtained 
 from America^ the imports from that 
 
 From the United 
 
 States. 
 
 lbs. 
 
 32,500,000 
 
 36,000,000 
 
 45,666,000 
 
 89,999,174 
 
 139,908,699 
 
 210,885,358 
 
 284,455,812 
 
 487,856,504 
 
 574,738,520 
 
 quarter were about 16,000,000 pounds. 
 The progress of this trade during the 
 present century is shown by the following 
 table, exhibiting the imports at intervals 
 of five years : — 
 
 From all places, 
 lbs. 
 1805 . 59,682,406 
 1810 . 132,488,935 
 1815 . 99.306,343 
 1820 . 151,672,655 
 1825 . 228,605,291 
 1830 . 263,961,452 
 1835 . 363,702,693 
 1840 . 59^,488,010 
 1842 . 673,193,136 
 1844 . 646,874,816 
 
 The quantities actually employed in 
 our manufactories in different years 
 during the same period have been as 
 under : — 
 
 lbs. lbs. 
 
 1800, 51,594,122 1837, 368,445,035 
 1805, 58,878,163 1838, 455,036,755 
 1810, 123,701,826 1839, 352,000,277 
 1815, 92,525,951 1840, 528,142,743 
 1820, 152,829,633 1841, 437,093,631 
 1825, 202,546,869 1842, 473,976,400 
 1830, 269,616,640 1843, 585,922,624 
 
 1835, 326,407,692 1844, 558,015,248 
 
 1836, 363,684,232 
 
 The average deliveries of cotton per 
 week, for home consumption, from the 
 ports of Great Britain, distinguishing the 
 deliveries at Liverpool, have been as 
 follows since 1835 : — 
 
 
 Liverpool. 
 
 Total 
 Great Britain 
 
 
 Bales. 
 
 Bales. 
 
 1835 
 
 16,806 
 
 18,127 
 
 1836 
 
 18,495 
 
 19,851 
 
 1837 
 
 19,271 
 
 20,785 
 
 1838 
 
 22,934 
 
 24,320 
 
 1839 
 
 18,888 
 
 19,935 
 
 1840 
 
 23,037 
 
 24,837 
 
 1841 
 
 20,041 
 
 22,133 
 
 1842 
 
 22,142 
 
 23,749 
 
 1843 
 
 24,738 
 
 27,004 
 
 1844 
 
 25,213 
 
 27,255 
 
 The rapid increase in the consump= 
 
 tion of cotton has altogether resulted 
 
 from the inventions of Hargreaves, 
 
 Arkwright, Crompton, and others, in 
 
 2x2 
 
COTTON. 
 
 I 692 
 
 COTTON. 
 
 spinning machinery, and more recently 
 from the invention by Dr. Cartwright, 
 since perfected by other mechanicians, of 
 the power-loom. But for these inventions 
 it would have been impossible for our 
 artisans to have competed successfully 
 ■with the spinners and weavers of India, 
 from which country we previously received 
 our supply of muslins and calicoes. Not 
 only have we ceased to import for use the 
 muslins of India, but have for many years 
 sent great and continually increasing ship- 
 ments of those goods to clothe the natives 
 of India. In 1814 our looms supplied 
 818.202 yards of cotton goods to India. 
 Two years afterwards the shipments were 
 doubled. In 1818 they amounted to 
 9,000,000 yards; in 1835 the markets of 
 India and China took from us 62,994,489 
 yards, the declared value of which 
 amounted to 1,660,8062., exclusive of 
 8,233,142 lbs. of cotton yarn, valued at 
 603,2112. In 1842 we exported to India 
 and Ceylon 155,506,914 yards, of the 
 declared value of 2,480,0312., besides 
 12,050,839 lbs. of cotton yarn, valued at 
 545,0752. Considerable shipments of 
 cotton piece goods are still made from 
 India to this country, but nearly the whole 
 are re-exported. 
 
 The duty on cotton wool was wisely 
 abandoned in 1845, although it amounted 
 to only 5-16ths of Id. per lb. This ap- 
 parently small duty constituted a tax of 
 10 per cent, on the New Orleans price of 
 middling cotton most extensively used in 
 this country. It placed the English cot- 
 ton spinner on very unequal terms with 
 the cotton manufacturers of the United 
 States, who were already in possession of 
 advantages arising from contiguity to the 
 cotton-market, saving in freight, and other 
 diminished charges, which were esti- 
 mated at 14 per cent., making a total 
 diiference of 24 per cent. In 1844 the 
 cotton-spinners of the United States of 
 America were larger consumers of the 
 raw material than the spinners of Great 
 Britain in 1815. The duty pressed most 
 heavily on the coarsest kind of manufac- 
 tures. Comparing it with the wages of 
 the spinners, the duty of 5-16ths of Id. 
 was 50 per cent, upon the wages of the 
 operatives employed in producing the 
 coarsest heavy yarns ; on yarn for do- 
 
 mestic goods 30 to 45 per cent. ; on yarns 
 spun for printed calicoes 25 per cent.; 
 on yarn for ordinary muslin 10 per cent.; 
 while on the finest lace-yarns the fraction 
 of duty upon the wages of labour was 
 almost inappreciable. On No. 100 twist 
 the pressure of the tax was 2* per cent 
 on the material, and 1£ on the cost of 
 twist; on No. 12, the coarsest kind, the 
 tax was 12 per cent, on the material and 
 7J per cent on the cost of twist On a 
 coarse cotton shirt or stout piece of calico, 
 the duty, small as it might really be, was 
 200 times greater than on fine muslins. 
 In 1843 the gross duty on cotton-wool 
 amounted to 736,5462., and in 1844 to 
 672,6142. (Messrs. Blackburn and Co.'s 
 Annual Statistics of the Cotton Trade, 
 1844.) 
 
 COTTON MANUFACTURE AND 
 TRADE. The nse of cotton as a mate- 
 rial for the production of woven fabrics 
 was known in India and China for many 
 centuries before its introduction into Eu- 
 rope. The earliest mention of cotton by 
 the Greek writers is by Herodotus (Hi. 
 106) in his brief notice of the usages of 
 the Indi : he calls it (iii. 47) by the 
 significant name of tree-wool (rfpiov avo 
 Jii\ou), apparently not being acquainted 
 with the native name. In the reign of 
 Amasis, B.C. 563 — 525, cotton was known 
 in Egypt, but it must have been imported, 
 as there is no reason for supposing it was 
 then grown in Egypt Cotton cloths 
 were, according to Arrian, among the 
 articles which the Romans received from 
 India, and there is no doubt the manu-, 
 facture had been carried on in many parts 
 of Asia, long before any extant notice of 
 that quarter of the world being visited by 
 Europeans. The perfection to which the 
 weaving of cotton had then been brought 
 by the natives of many parts of India, 
 notwithstanding their rude and imperfect 
 implements, attests at once their patience 
 and ingenuity. In China, this manu- 
 facture is supposed not to have existed at 
 all before the beginning of the sixth cen- 
 tury of the Christian sera. The cotton 
 plant was indeed known in that country 
 at a much earlier period, but continued 
 till then to be cultivated only as a garden 
 shrub, and was not indeed propagated on 
 a large scale until the eleventh century ; 
 
COTTON. 
 
 L 693 ] 
 
 COTTON. 
 
 at the present time nearly all the in- 
 habitants of that populous empire are 
 clothed in cotton cloths of home manu- 
 facture. 
 
 Before the discovery of the passage to 
 India by the Cape of Good Hope, cotton 
 wool is said to have been spun and woven 
 in some of the Italian states, the traders 
 of which were the channels through 
 which the cotton fabrics of India were 
 distributed to the different countries of 
 Europe. Becoming thus acquainted with 
 these goods, and having near at hand the 
 raw material of which they were formed, 
 it was natural that they should apply to 
 the production of similar goods the manu- 
 facturing skill they had long possessed. 
 
 Mr. Baines has shown (' Hist, of Cot- 
 ton Manufacture,') that the cotton plant 
 was extensively cultivated, and its pro- 
 duce manufactured, by the Mohammedan 
 possessors of Spain in the tenth century. 
 This branch of industry flourished long 
 in that country. In the thirteenth cen- 
 tury, the cotton manufacturers formed 
 one of the incorporated companies of 
 Barcelona, in which city two streets re- 
 ceived names which point them out as the 
 quarter in which the manufacturers re- 
 sided. The cloths made were mostly of 
 coarse texture, and a considerable quan- 
 tity was used as sailcloth. The name 
 fustians, from the Spanish word Juste, 
 signifying "substance," was borrowed 
 from the Spanish weavers, and is still 
 used to denote a strong fabric made of 
 cotton. In consequence of religious pre- 
 judice, the arts which long nourished 
 among the Mohammedan possessors of 
 Spain did not extend themselves to the 
 Christian inhabitants of other European 
 countries: the traffic of Andalusia was 
 all carried on with Africa and the 
 East 
 
 From Italy the art made its way to the 
 Netherlands, and about the end of the 
 sixteenth or the beginning of the seven- 
 teenth century was brought thence to 
 England by protestant refugees. Lewis 
 Koberts, in 'The Treasure of Traffic,' 
 published in 1641, makes the earliest 
 mention extant of the manufacture in 
 England. He says, " The town of Man- 
 chester buys cotton wool from London 
 that comes from Cyprus and Smyrna, 
 
 and works the same into fustians, ver- 
 millians, and dimities." 
 
 There is abundant evidence to show 
 that in the beginning of the sixteenth 
 century, and probably before that time, 
 cotton was cultivated and converted into, 
 clothing in most of the countries occupy- 
 ing the southern shores of the Mediterra- 
 nean. The European conquerors of Mex- 
 ico in their first invasion of that country 
 found in use native manufactures of cot- 
 ton, both unmixed and mixed with the 
 fine hair of rabbits and hares. Some of 
 these fabrics were sent by Cortes to Spain • 
 as presents to the Emperor Charles V. 
 Cotton was cultivated and manufactured 
 at an equally early period by different 
 nations on the coast of Guinea, and it is 
 stated by Macpherson in his ' Annals of 
 Commerce,' that cotton cloths were im- 
 ported into London in 1590 from the 
 Bight of Benin. 
 
 Previous to the introduction of Ark- 
 wright's inventions the cotton manufac- 
 ture was of small importance, as is evident 
 from the quantities of the raw material 
 then brought into the country. Arkwright"s 
 first patent for the mode of spinning by 
 rollers was taken out in 1 769, and the 
 following account of the importations of 
 cotton at different periods preceding and 
 speedily following that event will show 
 how rapid was the progress occasioned 
 by it, and by the other inventions for. 
 which it prepared the way : — 
 
 1697 . . 
 1701 to 1705 
 1710 . 
 1720 . 
 1730 . 
 1741 . 
 1751 . 
 1764 . 
 1771 to 1775 
 1776 to 1780 
 1790 . . 
 1800 . . 
 
 1,976,359 lbs. 
 1,170,881 „ average 
 
 715,008 „ 
 1,972,805 „ 
 1,545,472 „ 
 1,645,031 „ 
 2,976,610 „ 
 3,870,392 „ 
 4,764,589 \ 
 6,766,613 j 
 
 average 
 
 31,447,605 ' 
 56,010,732 „ 
 
 The system under which this manu- 
 facture was long carried on was very dif- 
 ferent from that which is now pursued. 
 It was the custom for the weavers who 
 were dispersed in cottages throughout the 
 district to purchase the material with 
 which they worked, and having con- 
 
COTTON. 
 
 [ 694 ] 
 
 COTTON. 
 
 verted it into cloths to carry their wares 
 to market and sell them on their own ac- 
 count to the dealers : but about 1760, the 
 merchants of Manchester began to em- 
 ploy the weavers, furnishing them with 
 yarn for warp, and with raw cotton, 
 wkich was spun by the weaver's family 
 for the weft, and paying a fixed price for 
 the labour bestowed in weaving. 
 
 The application of machinery to the 
 preparation and spinning of raw cotton 
 for weft preceded by some years the in- 
 ventions of Arkwright. In the year 1760, 
 or soon after, a carding engine not very 
 different from that now used was con- 
 trived by James Hargreaves, an illiterate 
 weaver, residing near Church in Lanca- 
 shire ; and in 1 767 the spinning-jenny was 
 invented by the same person. This ma- 
 chine as at first formed contained eight 
 spindles, which were made to revolve by 
 means of bands from a horizontal wheel. 
 Subsequent improvements increased the 
 power of the spinning-jenny to eighty 
 spindles, when the saving of labour which 
 it thus occasioned produced considerable 
 alarm among those persons who had em- 
 ployed the old mode of spinning, and a 
 party of them broke into Hargreaves' 
 house and destroyed his machine. The 
 great advantage of the invention was so 
 apparent, however, that it was soon again 
 brought into use, and nearly superseded 
 the employment of the old spinning- 
 wheel, when a 6econd rising took place of 
 the persons whose labour was thus super- 
 seded T>y it. They went through the 
 country destroying wherever they could 
 find them both carding and spinning ma- 
 chines, by which means the manufacture 
 was for a time driven away from Lanca- 
 shire to Nottingham. 
 
 The cotton-yarn produced both by the 
 common spinning-wheel and spinning- 
 jenny could not be made sufficiently 
 strong to be used as warp, for which pur- 
 pose linen-yarn was employed. It was 
 not until Arkwrighf s spinning-frame was 
 brought into successful operation that 
 this disadvantage was overcome. Yarn 
 spun with Hargreaves' jenny continued 
 for some time to be used for weft. At 
 first, the manufacturers of cloths com- 
 posed of cotton only were subject to much 
 annoyance from the determination of the 
 
 revenue officers to charge them with 
 double the duty paid upon calicoes 
 woven with linen warp and printed for 
 exportation ; and also by prohibiting their 
 use at home. With some difficulty an 
 act of parliament was obtained for re- 
 moving these obstacles to the develop 
 ment of the manufacture, which from 
 that time was prosecuted with a great 
 and continually accelerated rate of in 
 crease. 
 
 The earliest attempts at producing 
 muslins were made about the year 1 780, 
 but without much success, although India- 
 spun yarn was substituted as weft for 
 that produced by the spinning-jenny : the 
 greatest degree of fineness to which yarn 
 spun with Arkwrighfs frame had then 
 been brought, was eighty hanks to the 
 pound, and even this degree was not at- 
 tainable by means of the jenny. This 
 disadvantage was overcome by the inven- 
 tion of Mr. Samuel Crompton, which 
 came into general use about the year 1786, 
 and which partaking of the nature of both 
 Hargreaves' and Arkwrightfs machines, 
 was aptly called the mule-jenny. By means 
 of this piece of mechanism, yarns were 
 produced of a much greater fineness than 
 had before been attained. Mr. Cromp- 
 ton's invention was made several years 
 before it could be openly used, because of 
 its interference with the patented inven- 
 tion of Arkwright : but when this patent 
 was annulled, the mule-jenny was brought 
 rapidly and extensively into use, so that 
 in 1787, 500,000 pieces of muslin were 
 made at Bolton, Glasgow, and Paisley, 
 with yarn of British production. The 
 price paid at that time by the manufac- 
 turers for these fine yarns was 20 guineas 
 per lb ; but such have been the improve- 
 ments since made in the machine and the 
 manner of working it, that yarn of the 
 same fineness has been sold at 14. 
 shillings per lb. Mr. Crompton did 
 not secure to himself the benefit of his 
 invention by taking out a patent ; he 
 carried on a spinning and weaving busi- 
 ness on a small scale at Bolton, and 
 worked his mule-jenny with his own 
 hands in an attic. In a brief memoir of 
 Crompton, Mr. Kennedy has stated, that 
 about 1802 he, in conjunction with Mr. 
 Lee, set on foot a subscription which 
 
COTTON. 
 
 [ 695 J 
 
 COTTON. 
 
 amounted to 500/., and with this Cromp- 
 ton was enabled to increase his manu- 
 facturing establishment^ and to set up 
 several looms for fancy work at Bolton. 
 In 1812 he made a survey of all the cot- 
 ton-manufacturing districts in the king- 
 dom, and ascertained that the number of 
 spindles then at work upon his principle 
 amounted to between four and five mil- 
 lions: since that time the number has 
 been doubled. The kind friends already 
 named assisted him in making an applica- 
 tion to parliament for some reward, and 
 the great merit of his invention having 
 been established before a Committee of 
 the House of Commons, he received a 
 grant of 5000/., which was paid to him in 
 full without any deduction for fees or 
 charges. This money was employed by 
 Crompton in putting his sons into busi- 
 ness, but they proved unsuccessful, and 
 he was reduced to poverty, when Mr. 
 Kennedy again interfered in his behalf, 
 and raised a second subscription, with 
 the produce of which a life annuity of 63Z. 
 was purchased. He lived only two years 
 to enjoy this small provision. The first 
 mule-jennies consisted of not more than 
 thirty spindles each, but the number has 
 been progressively increased, and they 
 now frequently contain more than 600 
 spindles each. With one of these ma- 
 chines, a good workman can produce in a 
 week consisting of sixty-nine working 
 hours, thirty-two pounds of yarn of the 
 fineness of 200 hanks to the pound, and 
 as each hank measures 840 yards, the 
 produce of his week's work if extended 
 nra line would measure 3050 miles; This 
 work, extraordinary as it may seem, does 
 not afford a full conception of the degree 
 of tenuity to which cotton is capable of 
 being reduced, one pound of raw cotton 
 having been converted into 350 hanks, 
 forming a continuous thread 167 miles in 
 length. Mules have been put to work 
 which carry each 1100 spindles. The 
 greatest recent improvement made in the 
 construction of this machine has been 
 effected by Messrs. Sharp, Roberts, and 
 Co., machinists, of Manchester. These 
 machines, which are called self-acting 
 mules, do not require the manual aid of a 
 spinner, the only attendance necessary 
 being that of children, called piecers, 
 
 who join such threads as may be acci- 
 dently broken. Self-acting mules were 
 contrived at different times by Mr. Wil- 
 liam Strutt of Derby, Mr. Kelly of 
 Lanark, Mr. De Jongh of Warrington, 
 and others ; but none of these were 
 brought successfully into use, owing no 
 doubt in some measure to the inferior 
 skill of the machine-makers as compared 
 with the perfection which they have since 
 attained. 
 
 The first successful attempt to weave 
 by means of machinery was made in 1785 
 by Dr. Cartwright; who secured the in- 
 vention by patent. In a commercial point 
 of view Dr. Cartwright did not draw any 
 advantage from his power-loom : but in 
 1809 he obtained from parliament a grant 
 of 10,0002. as a reward for his ingenuity. 
 Mr. Monteith, of Pollokshaws, Glasgow, 
 who fitted up 200 power-looms in 1801, 
 was the first person who brought them to 
 profitable use. A great obstacle to their 
 success was presented by the necessity for 
 the frequent stopping of the machine in 
 order to dress the warp. This difficulty 
 was removed in 1804 by the invention of 
 a machine for dressing the whole of the 
 warp before it is placed in the loom, 
 which was made the subject of a patent 
 by Mr. Radcliffe, the inventor. In the use 
 Of this machine the warp in its progress 
 to the weaving beam is passed through 
 a dressing of hot starch ; it is then com- 
 pressed between rollers to free it from 
 the superfluous quantity of starch taken 
 up, and is afterwards, in order to dry it, 
 drawn over a succession of cylinders 
 heated by passing steam through them ; 
 during this last part of the operation the 
 warp is "lightly brushed as it moves 
 along, and is fanned by rapidly revolving 
 fanners." The flour used for this dress- 
 ing operation throughout the cotton fao- 
 tories of this kingdom amounts in the 
 year to at least 650,000 bushels. The 
 number of power-looms used in cotton 
 factories throughout the kingdom at the 
 end of the year 1835 was stated by the 
 inspectors of factories in a return laid 
 before parliament to be 109,626. The 
 number in England was 90,679 ; Scot- 
 land, 17,531 ; Ireland 1416. In Lanca- 
 shire the number of spindles was 61,176 j 
 Cheshire, 22,491 ; Lanarkshire, 14,069. 
 
COTTON. 
 
 [ 696 ] 
 
 COTTON. 
 
 Each of these looms, if of good con- 
 struction and attended by a skilful weaver, 
 was capable of producing 120 yards of 
 cloth per week, or 6240 yards in the year, 
 at which rate the annual productive 
 power of the whole number of looms 
 amounted to 684 millions of yards. 
 
 Hitherto it has not been practicable to 
 produce any but coarse or heavy goods 
 by means of the power-loom ; fine cali- 
 coes, muslins, and fancy goods are woven 
 by the hand. The number of hand-loom 
 weavers cannot be ascertained with the 
 same correctness as the number of power- 
 looms, the latter being collected together 
 in factories which are under the super- 
 intendence of official inspectors, while 
 hand-loom weaving is altogether a do- 
 mestic manufacture carried on in the cot- 
 tages of the artisans. Computations of 
 the number of these domestic looms have 
 been made by different intelligent persons 
 conversant with the trade, who have es- 
 timated them variously; the lowest at 
 200,000 and the highest at 250,000. 
 
 Mr. Kennedy, who is considered a good 
 authority on this subject, supposed the 
 value of cotton goods made in Great Bri- 
 tain in 1832, when the quantity of the 
 raw material used was about 12 per cent, 
 less than in 1833, was 24,760,000/. Mr. 
 Baines, who has taken great pains to test 
 the accuracy of his calculations in every 
 possible way, has made the value amount, 
 in 1833, to 31,338,693/. Of this value the 
 part exported amounted to 18,459,000/., 
 and the value of the goods remaining for 
 home consumption would therefore be 
 12,879,693/. {Hist, of Cotton Manufac- 
 ture, p. 412.) Following Mr. Baines's 
 mode of calculation, Mr. Porter estimated 
 the value of the cotton goods manufac- 
 tured in 1841 at 48,641,343/. ; and as the 
 exports, including yarn, amounted to 
 24,668,618/., there would remain for home 
 consumption goods to the value of 
 23,972,725/. The capital invested in the 
 cotton manufacture in Great Britain is 
 variously estimated at from 30,000,000/. 
 to 34,000,000/. ; and Mr. Baines regards 
 the latter estimate as very moderate. 
 
 The number of persons returned under 
 the head Cotton Manufacture in the Cen- 
 sus Returns of 1841 is 302,376, to which 
 should be added those returned under the 
 
 heads Hose and Lace, which are branches 
 of the Cotton Manufacture, and also a 
 proportionate number of those who were 
 returned as weavers, spinners, and factory 
 workers ('fabric not specified'), and we 
 have then a total of nearly half a million 
 persons engaged in this great branch of 
 national industry, and this at a time when 
 it was in a very depressed state. 
 
 Persons Employed. 
 Cotton . . 377,6(i2 
 Hose . . 50,955 
 
 Lace . . 35,347 
 
 463,964 
 
 The ages and sex of the above number 
 (377,662) engaged in the manufacture of 
 cotton fabrics were as follows : — 
 
 Males aged 20 and upwards. 138,112 
 
 under 20 . . . 59,171 
 
 Females aged 20 and upwards . 104,470 
 
 under 30 . . . 75,909 
 
 The employment of young persons in 
 cotton factories is regulated by statute. 
 [Factories Act.] 
 
 The first cotton-mill built in the United 
 States was set to work in Rhode Island in 
 1790, and about the same time one was 
 erected at Beverley, Massachusetts, by 
 an incorporated company. The manu- 
 facture made at first so little progress in 
 the United States, that up to 1808 not 
 more than 15 spinning-mills had been 
 erceted. There was a great increase in 
 1812, occasioned by the war between 
 England and America; again from 1820 
 to 1825 much capital was applied to this 
 object; also in 1831 and 1832; and still 
 more since the passing of the tariff of 
 1842, which imposed higher import duties 
 on cotton and other manufactured goods 
 generally. 
 
 In 1840 the number of cotton manufac- 
 tories in the United States was 1240, 
 which employed 2,284,631 spindles, and 
 produced manufactured articles valued at 
 46,350,000 dollars. The capital invested 
 was estimated at 51,000,000 dollars ; and 
 the number of persons employed, includ- 
 ing dyers, printers, &c, was 72,119. The 
 value of goods produced in Massachu- 
 setts in 1840 was 16,553,000 dollars; 
 Rhode Island 7,116,000; Pennsylvania, 
 5,013,000; New Hampshire, 4,142,000, 
 New York, 3,640,000; Connecticut 
 
COTTON. 
 
 r w i 
 
 COTTON. 
 
 2,715,964; New Jersey, 2,086,104; Mary- 
 land, 1,150,000 dollars ; and in other 
 States in smaller quantities. One-half of 
 the cotton manufacture "was carried on in 
 Massachusetts and Rhode Island. 
 
 The great demand for cotton goods 
 within the States at first prevented any 
 very considerable exportation. Between 
 1826 and 1832 the total annual value of 
 the shipments made was under 250,0002., 
 the greater part of which were to Mexico 
 and the South American States. The 
 annual value of the exports in the follow- 
 ing years was as under : — 
 
 Dollars. Dollars. 
 
 1834 . 2,200,000 1837 . 3,758,000 
 
 1835 . 2,255,000 1838 . 2,975,000 
 
 1836 . 2,831,000 1839 . 3,549,000 
 In the year ending 30th September, 
 
 1842, the exports of cotton manufactured 
 goods from the United States consisted of 
 Dollars. 
 
 Printed and coloured piece goods 385,040 
 White . . . 2,297,964 
 
 Twist, yarn and thread . 37,325 
 Other cotton goods . . 250,361 
 
 2,970,690 
 
 In the nine months ending 30th June, 
 1843, the value of the exports of cotton 
 goods was 3,223,550 dollars, and the 
 principal countries to which they were 
 sent were China, Chili, Brazil, and Mex- 
 ico, which took about four-fifths of the 
 whole : it is stated in the official returns 
 that white cotton goods of the value of 
 113,694 dollars were exported to the Bri- 
 tish East Indies. The value of the ex- 
 ports to China was 1,063,285 dollars ; to 
 Chili, 550,857 dollars; Brazil, 383,408 
 dollars; and Mexico, 193,027 dollars. 
 
 The quantity of cotton imported into 
 France in 1787, the earliest year as to 
 which any returns are given, was 
 4,466,000 kilogrammes, or not quite ten 
 millions of pounds. In 1815 the import- 
 ation was 16,414,606 kilogrammes; in 
 1820 had reached 20,000,000 kilogram- 
 mes ; in 1825 it was still below 25 mil- 
 lions; in 1830 it amounted-*© 29£ mil- 
 lions, and in 1835 reached 38,760,000 
 kilogrammes, and in 1840 it was 
 62,942,000 kilogrammes(l 1 6,000,000 lbs). 
 . In 1840 the quantity of cotton spun in 
 
 France was about one-fifth of that used in 
 our mills, and the value of the exports 
 from France, nearly one-third of which, 
 according to Mr. Macgregor (' Commer- 
 cial Statistics ') are smuggled into Spain, 
 was between one-fifth and one-sixth part of 
 the value of the shipments from England. 
 In 1820 the value of the exports of cotton 
 manufactured goods was 29,000,000 fr., 
 and in 1840 107,000,000 fr.; and the 
 value of cotton twist exported in 1820 
 was 397,000 fr., and 593,000 fr. in 1840. 
 
 The cotton manufacture is of modern 
 introduction in Switzerland. The first 
 spinning-machine was established at St 
 Gall, in the year 1800; but Switzerland 
 still imports considerable quantities of 
 foreign-spun yarns for the use of her 
 hand-loom weavers, as well as of power- 
 loom cloths from England, which are 
 dyed and printed, and afterwards ex- 
 ported. So great is the degree of perfec- 
 tion attained in the application of the 
 colour denominated Turkey red, that 
 calicoes and prints of that colour are im- 
 ported from Switzerland into England: 
 the same may be said of embroidered 
 muslins. 
 
 Within the last few years the cotton 
 manufacture has made great progress in 
 the Rhenish provinces of Prussia and in 
 Saxony, and also, though to a smaller 
 extent, in Wurtemberg and Baden. It is 
 one of the objects of the German Customs' 
 Union to foster the cotton and other manu- 
 factures by high duties on the cheaper 
 products of England. 
 
 The cotton manufacture is the most 
 generally diffused of all the branches of 
 industry upon which the production of 
 clothing depends. The greater part of 
 the countries in which it is carried on 
 limit their production of cotton goods to 
 the wants of their own people. The per- 
 fection to which the spinning processes 
 have been carried in this country has 
 made the greater part of the world in 
 some measure dependent upon our cotton- 
 mills for the finer descriptions of yarns. 
 In 1844 the exports of cotton goods, 
 hosiery, and twist from England amounted 
 in value to 25,831, 586/., or nearly one- 
 half of the total exports. In the follow- 
 ing years the declared value was as 
 follows : — 
 
COTTON. 
 
 [ 698 ] 
 
 COTTON. 
 
 £ £ 
 
 1820 . 16,516,748 1835 . 22,128,304 
 
 1825 . 18,359,526 1840 . 24,668,618 
 1830 . 19,428,664 
 
 * The following tables show the coun- 
 tries to which we exported cotton goods, 
 hosiery, and twist and yarn, in 1 842 : — 
 
 I. Account of the Declared Value of 
 British Cotton Manufactured Goods, Ho- 
 siery, Lace, and small Wares, and Cotton 
 
 Yarn and Twist, Exported from the 
 United Kingdom in 1842. 
 
 1. Cotton Goods. 
 
 Russia .... £36,345 
 
 Sweden .... 5,481 
 
 Norway .... 26,231 
 
 Denmark .... 3,766 
 
 Prussia .... 104 
 
 Germany .... 757,771 
 
 Holland .... 475,465 
 
 Belgium .... 78,302 
 
 France .... 72,578 
 
 Portugal .... 602,311 
 
 Spain .... 32,724 
 
 Gibraltar .... 633,817 
 
 Italy and the Italian Islands 901,954 
 
 Malta .... 127,570 
 
 Ionian Islands . . . 41,339 
 
 Morea and Greek Islands . 552 
 
 Turkey .... 901,264 
 
 Syria and Palestine . . 240,678 
 
 Egypt .... 124,877 
 Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and 
 
 Morocco . . . 22,940 
 Western Coast of Africa . 220,564 
 Cape of Good Hope . . 79,575 
 Cape Verd Islands . . 1,250 
 St Helena . . . 1,108 
 Ascension Island . . 6 
 Mauritius . . . 79,887 
 East India Company's Terri- 
 tories and Ceylon . . 2,480,031 
 Sumatra, Java, and other 
 
 Islands of the Indian Seas 194,173 
 
 Philippine Islands . . 39,360 
 
 China .... 468,539 
 
 New Zealand . . . 1,791 
 British Settlements in Australia 6 9,3 1 2 
 
 Do. North America . . 435,511 
 
 Do. West Indies . . 613,632 
 
 Hayti .... 78,936 
 
 Cuba and Foreign W. Indies 283,596 
 United States of North America 358,573 
 
 Texas .... 1,452 
 
 Mexico .... 147,143 
 
 Columbia ■ 
 
 Brazil 
 
 Rio de la Plata 
 
 Chili 
 
 Peru 
 
 Guernsey, Jersey, Man 
 
 &c. 
 
 128,641 
 786,572 
 374,451 
 555,002 
 354,265 
 47,781 
 
 Total 12,887,220 
 2. Hosiery, Lace, and small Wares. 
 Germany .... £184,341 
 France .... 131,136 
 United States of North America 125,811 
 Belgium .... 9i;380 
 
 Holland .... 70,282 
 
 British North America . 49,979 
 British West Indies . . 42,549 
 
 Rio de la Plata . . . 36,435 
 
 E. I. Co.'s Territories and Ceylon 35,366 
 Brazil .... 32,958 
 
 Italy and the Italian Islands 28,371 
 Chili ... . . 22,706 
 
 British Settlements in Australia 20,712 
 Cuba and Foreign W. Indies 19,639 
 Peru .... 19,636 
 
 Gibraltar .... 18,744 
 
 To 29 other countries, &c. . 90,619 
 
 
 1,020,664 
 
 3. Cotton Yarn and Twist. 
 
 Deuliired Value. 
 
 Germany .... 
 
 £2,842,628 
 
 Holland .... 
 
 1,609,460 
 
 Russia .... 
 
 1,256,172 
 
 East India Company's Terri- 
 
 
 tories and Ceylon . 
 
 545,075 
 
 Italy and the Italian Islands 
 
 480,658 
 
 Turkey .... 
 
 319,590 
 
 China .... 
 
 245,965 
 
 Sweden .... 
 
 124,199 
 
 Syria and Palestine . 
 
 123,174 
 
 Norway .... 
 
 30,964 
 
 Malta .... 
 
 27,270 
 
 Portugal .... 
 
 20,868 
 
 Ionian Islands . . 
 
 17,336 
 
 Egypt .... 
 
 15,529 
 
 All other countries . . 
 
 112,576 
 
 7,771,464 
 4. Exports of cotton twist and yarn, at 
 various periods from 1820 to 1842: 
 
 lbs. lbs. 
 
 1820 .23,032,325 1835 . 83,214,198 
 1825 . 32,641,604 1840 118,470,223 
 lb30 . 64,645,342 1842 .137,466,892 
 
COUNCIL. 
 
 [ 699 ] 
 
 COUNSEL. 
 
 COUNCIL OF THE CHURCH, an 
 assembly of prelates who meet, being duly 
 convoked by the legitimate authority, for 
 the purpose of defining questions of doc- 
 trine, or making regulations or canons in 
 matters of discipline. There are various 
 sorts of councils : 
 
 1. General or (Ecumenic councils, which 
 are considered as a representative and 
 legislative assembly of the whole church, 
 and to which all bishops are summoned. 
 In the early ages of the Christian Church 
 the general councils were convoked by 
 the Roman Emperor; they have been 
 since convoked by the Popes, at least for 
 the Western or Roman Church. The 
 authority of general councils is considered 
 as binding on the whole church only in 
 matters of faith when the canon esta- 
 blishes a dogma which it enjoins all the 
 faithful to believe under pain of anathema 
 and heresy. In matters of faith the 
 Roman Church considers a general coun- 
 cil to be infallible : some say, however, 
 only after its canons have been confirmed 
 by the Pope. All bishops have a right 
 to attend and vote in a general council ; 
 the abbots and generals of monastic orders 
 have also been admitted to vote in most 
 councils by consent of the council. Priests 
 and monks have also attended the councils 
 as theologians and advisers, with a con- 
 sultative and deliberative vote. In the 
 Western Church the Pope, or his legate 
 for him, presides in the council. For a 
 council to be legitimate it is required that 
 all the bishops should be called, whether 
 they attend or not, except those who are 
 declared by the church to be schismatical 
 or heretical, and all deliberations should 
 be free and unconstrained. 
 
 2. National councils, consisting of the 
 bishops of a whole kingdom or state, 
 which can be convoked by the sovereign 
 power of such state ; but the authority of 
 such council is limited to the kingdom or 
 state for which it is convened. 
 
 3. Provincial councils are convoked by 
 the respective metropolitans, with the con- 
 sent of the sovereign power, or the king, 
 as in England. A bishop may also con- 
 voke a diocesan council, with the consent 
 of his superior. (Benedict XIV. de Sy- 
 nodo diocesana.) The Church of Rome 
 reckons several councils, though not oscu- 
 
 menic, previous to that of Nice, the ear- 
 liest of which seems to be that held at 
 Jerusalem, about a.d. 50, and which was 
 attended by the apostles Peter, John, 
 James, and Barnabas, and which is men- 
 tioned in the fifteenth chapter of thi ' Acts 
 of the Apostles.' 
 
 COUNCILLORS. [Municipal Cor- 
 porations.] 
 
 COUNSEL, an abbreviation of coun- 
 sellor. In England a counsellor is a bar- 
 rister [Barrister], or one who has kept 
 twelve terms at one of the four inns of 
 court, and has been called to the bar. 
 After keeping his terms a man may act as 
 a conveyancer, special pleader, or equity' 
 draftsman, without being called to the bar, 
 but he must take out a certificate under 9 
 Geo. IV. c. 49. The word counsel has no 
 plural number, and is used to denote either 
 one or more counsel. The duty of counsel 
 is to give advice in questions of law, and 
 to manage causes for clients. They are 
 styled common-law, equity, or chamber 
 counsel, according to the nature of the 
 business they transact. They are sup-- 
 posed to work for nothing, but in fact 
 they are paid. But, according to Mr. 
 Justice Bayley, 1 Chit. R. 351— "they 
 are to be paid beforehand, because they 
 are not to be left to the chance whether 
 they shall ultimately get their fees or not, 
 and it is for the purpose of promoting the 
 honour and integrity of the bar that it is 
 expected all their fees should be paid 
 when their briefs are delivered. That is 
 the reason why they are not permitted to 
 maintain an action for their fees." Though 
 it is expected that all their fees should be 
 paid before the work is done, this is very 
 far from being the general practice; 
 and sometimes the payment is de- 
 ferred, and sometimes it happens that 
 it is never made. The counsel is 
 paid by the attorney or solicitor of the 
 person whose business he does. Coun- 
 sel may be retained generally, that is, 
 to advocate any cause in which the re- 
 taining party may be engaged, or spe- 
 cially with reference to a pending cause ; 
 and generally speaking, a counsel cannot 
 refuse a retainer : there are certain rules, 
 however, by which their practice is regu- 
 lated. 
 
 Counsel in a cause may urge and argue 
 
COUNT. 
 
 [ 700 j 
 
 COUNT. 
 
 upon anything which is contained in their 
 instructions, and is pertinent to the matter 
 in question, aid it is not considered to be 
 their business to inquire whether it be 
 true or false : they are also at liberty to 
 make comments on the evidence adduced 
 on that part of the case to which they are 
 opposed, and to cross-examine the wit- 
 nesses of the opposite party. 
 
 Formerly, in cases of felony, counsel 
 for the prisoner were not allowed to 
 address the jury on his behalf: they 
 might, however, examine and cross- 
 examine the witnesses, and argue points 
 Qf law ; hut now by stat. 6 & 7 Wm. IV. 
 c. 114, all persons tried for felony may 
 make full answer and defence by counsel. 
 
 Counsel are punishable by stat. West. 
 1. 3. Ed. I., c. 28, for deceit or collusion, 
 and are so far under the jurisdiction of 
 the judges, that in the event of malprac- 
 tice they may be prohibited from address- 
 ing the court : there are also certain rules 
 established by each court for the regula- 
 tion of its own practice, to which counsel 
 are subject. 
 
 COUNT, through the French word 
 comte, from the Latin comes, comitis, 
 meaning companion. The word, though 
 simply meaning Companion, received va- 
 rious particular significations. Young 
 Romans of family used to go out with the 
 governor of a province and commander 
 of armies, under whom they got an insight 
 into public and military matters. They 
 ■were called comites ; Juvenal (Sat. viii. 
 127) speaks of the cohors comitum. Per- 
 haps some of them acted as secretaries to 
 the commander or governor, as in the 
 case of Celsus Albinovanus, the friend of 
 Horace, to whom he addresses the eighth 
 epistle of the first book. With the esta- 
 blishment of the imperial power at Rome, 
 comites were established about the em- 
 peror's person ; and a great number of 
 functionaries and officers received the title 
 of comes, with some addition to indicate 
 their duty. When the emperor sat as 
 judge he had comites and jurisconsulti 
 (jurists) with him. (Spartian, Hadrian. 
 c. IS.) In the time of Constantine, 
 comes became a title, .and there were 
 comites of the first and second class, and 
 go forth. The term comes, as a title, was 
 established both in the eastern and the 
 
 western empire. Some of them were 
 governors of provinces or particular dis- 
 tricts. The rank aud condition of these 
 comites may be collected from the Theo- 
 dosian Code, vi, tit. 12-20, with the com- 
 mentary of Gothofredus (Godefroy). The 
 kingdoms of modern Europe have inherited 
 the tributary spoils of the lower empire. 
 By substituting the word grand for that of 
 count, which was a title common to all the 
 officers or ministers of the emperors of the 
 East, it is easy to show the analogy of the 
 titles of modern court dignities to the 
 antient. Thus the comes sacrarum largi- 
 tionum has been called grand almoner; 
 the comes curiae, grand master of cere- 
 monies ; the comes vestiarius, grand master 
 of the wardrobe ; the comes domesticorum, 
 grand master of the royal household ; the 
 comes equorum regiorum, grand equerry, &c. 
 The comes marcarum, counts of the fron- 
 tiers, which were formerly called marches 
 (a denomination still in use in the papal 
 states), took subsequently the title of 
 marquis; an innovation which raised long 
 and serious discussions among the learned 
 in feudal right and court etiquette. 
 
 Under the first two races of the Frank 
 kings, the counts were, as under the lower 
 empire, officers of various degrees. The 
 count of the palace was the first dignity in 
 the state, after the maire of the palace. 
 He presided in the court royal when the 
 prince was absent, and possessed sovereign 
 jurisdiction. He also exercised a great 
 influence in the nomination of the king's 
 delegates, who, under the title of counts, 
 administered the provinces. A count had 
 the government of a small district, often 
 limited to a town and its dependencies. 
 He was at the same time a judge, a civil 
 administrator, and a military commander. 
 In case of war, he led in person the con- 
 tingent of his county to the army. The 
 learned Dutillet, in his ' Recueil des Rois 
 de France, de leur Couronne et Maison,' 
 &c, expatiates on the functions of antient 
 counts. With the progress of time, the 
 counts, as well as the other officers 
 appointed to govern the provinces, the 
 towns, and the frontiers, succeeded in 
 rendering their places hereditary, and in 
 making themselves sovereigns of the dis- 
 tricts of which they had only been created 
 removable and revocable administrators. 
 
COUNT. 
 
 L 701 ] 
 
 COUNTY COURT. 
 
 At first they contented themselves with 
 securing the reversion to their sons, then 
 to their collateral heirs, and finally they 
 declared those places hereditary for ever, 
 tinder Hugh Capet, the son of Robert, 
 count of Paris, who himself only obtained 
 the throne partly in consequence of that 
 concession. It was feudalism that intro- 
 duced inheritance instead of election as a 
 permanent rule in political successions. 
 The supreme chief of the antient Franks, 
 honing (Lat. rex), was a magistrate, and 
 as a magistrate he was elected, although 
 always from the same family. The infe- 
 rior chiefs, heri-zoghe, graven, rakhen- 
 bvrghe (Lat. duces, comites, judices), were 
 also elected. But when the feudal system 
 attained its perfection, when men were no 
 longer ruled by men, but lands by lands, 
 and men by lands or by the legitimate 
 heir of the lands, then no kind of election 
 remained. One demesne made a king, as 
 another made a duke, a count, a viscount, 
 &c. ; and thus the son of a count became 
 a count, the son of a duke became duke, 
 and the son of a king became king. 
 Finally, to form a just idea of the formid- 
 able power of the feudal counts, we must 
 refer to the period of the erection of the 
 towns of the northern provinces of France 
 into commonalties or republics, when 
 their heroic population had to sustain a 
 most deadly struggle, from the eleventh 
 century to the middle of the fourteenth, 
 before they could shake off the iron yoke 
 of the counts and the bishops. The term 
 " count" is now become in France a mere 
 title, conferring no political power. In 
 the papal states, as well as in those of 
 Austria, it may be bought for a moderate 
 sum ; and in the other monarchical states 
 of the continent, it is granted as a mark of 
 imperial or royal favour. 
 
 The title of earl, or, as it was often 
 rendered in official Latin, comes, com- 
 panion, is of very high antiquity in Eng- 
 land, being well known to the Saxons 
 under the name of ealdorman, that is to 
 say, elder-man, and also shireman, because 
 each of them had the government of a 
 distinct shire, or, as it is now generally 
 called, countt/. The sheriff, under his 
 Latinized name, is called vice-comes, or 
 viscount, which term is now one of the 
 titles of rank in the British peerage. The 
 
 term count seems not to have been used 
 in England as a title of honour, though 
 the wives of earls from a very early 
 period have been addressed by the title of 
 countess. The king, in mentioning an 
 earl in any writ or commission, usually 
 styles him "trusty and well-beloved cousin" 
 — a peculiarity at least as antient as the 
 reign of Edward III. 
 COUNTY. [Shire.] 
 
 COUNTY COURT. Before the su- 
 perior courts of Westminster were created 
 the County Courts kept by the sheriffs were 
 the chief courts of the kingdom. Their 
 powers were, however, greatly curtailed 
 by Magna Charta, and their ordinary 
 jurisdiction limited to debts under 
 40*. Specialty debts were not reco- 
 verable in them, and the cause must 
 arise within the county. In conse- 
 quence of the inadequacy of these tri- 
 bunals, with the dilatory and expensive 
 proceedings of other local courts, there 
 were few courts of inferior jurisdiction 
 in which debts above 40s. could be re- 
 covered. To remedy these deficiencies 
 in local administration, the County Court 
 Act of 1846 was passed, and gave in- 
 creased facilities by a prompt, inexpen- 
 sive, and simple procedure for the re- 
 covery of small debts. 
 
 The Act of 1846, the 9 and 10 Vict, 
 c. 95, ha been put in force by the Privy 
 Council, who were empowered to divide 
 counties; and any city, borough, or dis- 
 trict, if more convenient to be included 
 in an adjoining county. Local courts, 
 already existing, to be held as county 
 courts, and districts assigned them. 
 
 Another Act, 13 and 14 Vict. c. 61, 
 extends the jurisdiction of the county 
 courts to the recovery of any demand 
 not exceeding 501. With respect to fees, 
 it provides that an attorney shall be en- 
 titled to a fee not exceeding U 10s. for his 
 fees and costs, when the demand shall not 
 exceed 35Z. or a fee of 21. in any other 
 case within the jurisdiction of the Act. 
 No fee, exceeding 21. 4s. fid. in amount, 
 to be allowed for employing a barrister 
 in any cause. 
 
 By the Act of 1846, the Lord Chan- 
 cellor appoints the judges of the county 
 
COUNTY COURT. 
 
 [ 701*] COUNTY COURT. 
 
 courts, each of whom must be a barrister 
 of seven years' standing, or a barrister, 
 attorney, or other person who has pre- 
 sided as judge in a local court ; and they 
 axe removable for inability, or their dis- 
 trict may be changed. 
 
 By a reference to section 58, it will 
 be seen what causes of action are within 
 the jurisdiction of the County Courts. 
 These are all pleas of personal actions, 
 where the debt or damage claimed is not 
 above 20/., whether on balance of ac- 
 count or otherwise ; and with the view 
 of confining suits for small debts to the 
 new tribunals, the 128th section enacts, 
 that "no costs shall be awarded to a 
 plaintiff in a superior court, excepting 
 where the plaintiff or defendant live 
 twenty miles apart, if the verdict be for 
 plaintiff for less than 20/. on contract, or 
 61. on tort, unless the judge will certify 
 that it was a proper action to be tried in 
 a superior court." 
 
 A creditor whose debtor owes him 
 above twenty pounds is at liberty to re- 
 linquish the difference beyond twenty 
 pounds, and commence a suit for that 
 sum ; but if he obtain a judgment it will 
 be a release to the defendant of all the 
 excess that he owed to the plaintiff be- 
 yond twenty pounds; and even should 
 the defendant not comply with the order 
 of the court by paying the twenty pounds 
 and costs, the plaintiff cannot afterwards 
 sue him in a superior court for the ori- 
 ginal larger debt, for he will have made 
 his election to proceed in the County 
 Court, and must abide by its decision. 
 
 By the splitting of demands, the juris- 
 diction of the act has been sought to be 
 extended to collective debts which in the 
 whole exceed 201. ; but none of the de- 
 cisions in the County Courts yet go the 
 length of empowering a plaintiff in an 
 arbitrary way to divide a cause of action. 
 For example, if a plaintiff had a running 
 account which amounted to 100/., he 
 could not bring an action in the County 
 Court for every item, or more than 201., 
 and the judgment of the court would be 
 a bar to his recovering the remaining 
 80/, ; but if it was stipulated between 
 the plaintiff and defendant, prior to the 
 commencement of the credit, that ail 
 goods delivered within tvo three, or six 
 
 months should be paid for at the expi. 
 ration of these respective periods, the 
 plaintiff may enter a plaint for each 
 cause of action, if the defendant failed 
 to pay at the time when the credit ex- 
 pired ; but the plaintiff could only bring 
 one action against the defendant if the 
 credit was given unconditionally : pro- 
 hibiting splitting demands, in such a 
 case, appears to be what was contem- 
 plated by the act. ( Jagoe's Practice of 
 the Count;/ Courtt, p. 193.) 
 
 If an account is settled by two parties, 
 consisting of several items, each of which 
 separately would be a sufficient cause of 
 action, it has the effect of consolidating 
 them into one, which, if over 20/., can- 
 not be sued for in a County Court with- 
 out abandoning the excess. If there are 
 two or more causes of action, that toge- 
 ther do not amount to 20/., an action 
 may be brought for each, the judge 
 having no power to compel a plaintiff to 
 consolidate causes of action; and the 
 act gives a right to enter a plaint for 
 each. 
 
 The judge has no power to imprison 
 merely for failure of payment, either of 
 the whole debt or any instalment. Im- 
 prisonment does not satisfy or extinguish 
 the debt, and is meant only for the 
 punishment of a positive offence by the 
 fraudulent concealment of property, a 
 contempt of court, or other wilful de- 
 fault. 
 
 This important act has doubtless 
 effected a great improvement in one 
 branch of the debtor laws. It comprises 
 143 clauses, and is too long for abridg- 
 ment; but we shall endeavour to present 
 a condensed analysis of the sections not 
 already referred to. 
 
 The judges are not interdicted from 
 acting as justices, if in the commission 
 of the peace. Their salary is not to 
 exceed 1200/., nor that of a clerk 600/. 
 A barrister or attorney who has presided 
 as a judge in a local court is eligible to 
 a judgeship; but any attorney appointed 
 a judge, who is in partnership, must 
 dissolve such partnership within twelve 
 calendar months. Officers of the court 
 are not allowed to act as attorney or 
 agent in the same court. 
 
 The actions for small debts withheld 
 
COUNTY COURT. 
 
 [702] 
 
 COUNTY RATE. 
 
 whether on balance of account or other- 
 wise, may be holden in the county 
 court without writ, and such actions 
 determined in a summary way. On 
 the application of any person desirous 
 to commence a suit, the clerk of the 
 court shall enter in a book a plaint in 
 writing, stating the names and the last 
 known places of abode of the defendants, 
 and the substance of the action intended 
 to be brought ; upon which a summons 
 shall be served on the defendant so many 
 days before the day on which the court 
 shall be holden at which the cause is to 
 be tried, as shall be directed by the 
 rules; and delivery of such summons, 
 in manner specified in the rules of 
 practice, shall he deemed good servioe; 
 no misnomer or inaccurate description 
 of any person or place in any such plaint 
 or summons shall vitiate the same, so 
 that the person or place be therein de- 
 scribed so as to be commonly known. 
 Such summons may issue in any district 
 in which the defendant shall dwell or 
 carry on his business at the time of the 
 action brought ; or, by leave of the 
 court for the district in which the defen- 
 dant shall have dwelt or carried on his 
 business, at some time within six calen- 
 dar months next before the time of the 
 action brought, or in which the cause of 
 action arose. 
 
 A plaintiff having a cause of action for 
 more than 501. must not divide the claim 
 for the purpose of bringingtwoor more ac- 
 tions ; but if he has so done, he may aban- 
 don the excess, and the judgment of the 
 court will be a full discharge of all de- 
 mands in respect of such cause of action. 
 Minors may sue under this Act for wages 
 or piece-work, or for work as a servant ; 
 and the court has also jurisdiction in 
 cases of partnership or intestacy; execu- 
 tors also may sue and be sued, and no 
 privilege of exemption can be pleaded. 
 Where two or more persons are liable, 
 one may be sued, and on satisfying the 
 judgment when obtained, such person 
 may proceed for contribution against any 
 other person jointly liable with him. 
 
 The judge is to determine all questions, 
 whether of fact or of law, unless a jury 
 be summoned ; either plaintiff or defen- 
 
 * 2 v 
 
 dant may demand a jury ; or, where the 
 amount is under 51., if required, the 
 judge, at his discretion, may grant a jury, 
 the party giving notice of his requiring 
 a jury, and this notice being communi- 
 cated to the opposite party; and the party 
 requiring a jury is to pay a deposit for 
 payment of the jury, to be considered as 
 costs in the cause. The number of the 
 jury is to be five, and their verdict must 
 be unanimous. 
 
 COUNTY RATE. County rates are 
 taxes levied for the purposes of defray 
 ing the expenses to which counties are 
 liable. They are levied either under the' 
 authority of acts of parliament, or on the 
 principle that as duties are imposed upon 
 a county, there must be a power to raise 
 the money for the costs incurred in the 
 performance of such duties. 
 
 The ancient purposes of the county 
 rate "were to provide for the maintenance 
 of the county courts, for the expenses 
 incidental to the county police, and the 
 civil and military government of the 
 county ; for the payment of common judi- 
 cial fines ; for the maintenance of places of 
 defence (sometimes, however, provided 
 by a separate tax common to counties and 
 to other districts, called burgbote), prisons; 
 gaols, bridges (when these were not pro- 
 vided for by a separate tax common to 
 counties and to other districts, called bruk- 
 bote), and occasionally high roads, rivers, 
 and watercourses, and for the payment of 
 the wages of the knights of the shire. Ad- 
 ditions to these purposes, some occasional 
 and some permanent, were made from 
 time to time by statutes. The King's 
 aids, taxes, and subsidies, were usually 
 first imposed on the county, and collected 
 as if they had been county taxes. But 
 the first statute defining any of its pre- 
 sent purposes (though now repealed as to 
 the mode it prescribes for imposing the 
 tax) was passed in the 22nd Hen. VIII. 
 From that time up to the present, new 
 purposes have constantly been added, and 
 new and distinct rates were constantly 
 created for purposes of comparatively 
 little importance, and to raise sums of 
 money quite insignificant in amount." — 
 (Report on Local Taxation, by the Poor. 
 Law Commissioners.) 
 
 The assessment and collection of sepa- 
 
COUNTY RATE. 
 
 [- 702*] 
 
 COUNTY RATE. 
 
 rate county rates was not only very incon- 
 venient and troublesome, but so expensive 
 that the charge of collection and assess- 
 ment frequently exceeded the sum rated. 
 For remedying this evil the 12 Geo. II. c. 
 29, was passed, whereby justices of the 
 peace at general or quarter-sessions were 
 enabled to make a general rate to answer 
 the purpose of the distinct rates pre- 
 viously leviable under various acts of 
 parliament for the purposes of bridges, 
 gaols, prisons, and bouses of correction, 
 such rate to be assessed upon every 
 town, parish, and place within the 
 county, to be collected by the church- 
 wardens and overseers along with the 
 poor rates of every parish and paid over to 
 the high constables of hundreds, by them 
 to treasurers appointed by the justices, 
 and again by them to whomsoever the 
 justices should direct. The county rate 
 for lunatic asylums is, however, by sta- 
 tute, a special rate, and so is likewise the 
 county rate for shire-halls, assize courts, 
 session-houses, judges' lodgings, &c. ; but 
 the provisions of the statutes under which 
 these rates are levied are disregarded, and 
 the justices pay the expenses out of the 
 general county rate. This is the case 
 also with the rate for the county and dis- 
 trict police force, where such force is es- 
 tablished, though it is directed to be a 
 special rate. There are some other spe- 
 cial rates which are required to be sepa- 
 rate rates, one of which is the rate for 
 reimbursing to overseers the costs incurred 
 in the burial of dead human bodies found 
 on the shore of the sea. The contribu- 
 tions of a whole parish to this rate would 
 perhaps not amount to a farthing, and the 
 expense is of course defrayed out of the 
 general county rate. 
 
 In places -where there is no poor's rate 
 the county rate was directed by 12 Geo. II. 
 c. 29, to be levied by the petty constable or 
 other peace officer of the place in the same 
 manner as poor rates are levied, and paid 
 over by him to the high constable of the 
 hundred. The counties of York, Derby, 
 Durham, Lancaster, Chester, Westmore- 
 land, Cumberland, and Northumberland, 
 were excepted from the compulsory direc- 
 tion that the county rate should be levied 
 aiong with the poor's rate, and it was left 
 discretionary with the justices of those 
 
 counties at quarter-sessions to direct the 
 county rate to be levied either by the 
 churchwardens and overseers along with 
 the poor rate or, by the petty constable, 
 by au assessment after the manner of the 
 poor-rate. The rates so levied are ap- 
 plicable to the repair of bridges, gaols, 
 prisons, or houses of correction, on pre- 
 sentment made by the grand jury at 
 the assizes or quarter-sessions of their 
 wanting reparation. The act gave to 
 the churchwardens and overseers a right 
 of appeal against the rate on any par- 
 ticular parish to the justices at the 
 next sessions. It also contained pro- 
 visions enabling the justices to con- 
 tract for repairs, to oblige collectors to 
 account, &c. It was not the object of 
 this act to impose any new rates, nor 
 to vary the obligation to pay, but merely 
 to facilitate the collection of the amounts 
 previously leviable : it therefore con- 
 tained an exception of places not thereto- 
 fore liable to the payment of all or any 
 of the county rates referred in the act, 
 and also a provision that the rate should 
 be assessed in every parish or place in such 
 proportions as any of the rates by the 
 former acts therein referred to had been 
 usually assessed. But this last pro- 
 vision is now to be interpreted with re 
 ference to the next-mentioned act as 
 applying only to the fair and equal 
 proportionable rates. 
 
 By the 55 Geo. III. c. 51, further im 
 provements were made in the assessments 
 to county rates. The justices of counties 
 at quarter-sessions were by it empowered 
 to make a fair and equal county rate 
 when circumstances required, for all the 
 purposes to which the county stock or 
 rate was then or should thereafter be 
 made liable by law, extending to all parts 
 of the county except liberties or fran- 
 chises having a separate oo-extensive 
 jurisdiction. The act contained numerous 
 provisions giving powers for enforcing 
 payment of the rate; for ascertaining 
 the value of property for the purpose of 
 assessment ; for regulating the right of 
 appeal given by the former act ; extend- 
 ing the provisions of the former act to that 
 act ; enabling counties where the rates 
 had been regulated by local acts to 
 make use of that act ; extending the pro- 
 
COUNTY RATE. 
 
 [ 703 ] 
 
 COUNTY RATE. 
 
 visions of the act to places having com- 
 missions of the peace within themselves, 
 &c. 
 
 By the 56 Geo. III. c. 49, extra pa- 
 rochial and other places, though not rate- 
 able to the relief of the poor, were made 
 subject to county rates, and certain 
 powers were given for the ascertainment 
 of boundaries between counties, ridings, 
 &c, and other places of separate juris- 
 diction for the purpose of assessing and 
 levying county rates. 
 
 By the 57 Geo. III. c. 94, the provisions 
 contained in the 56 Geo. III. c. 49, as to 
 appeals, were repealed and other regula- 
 tions established in that respect ; and it 
 was provided that where there were no 
 high constables the constables of the pa- 
 rish or place might levy the rates on the 
 warrant of the justices. 
 
 By 58 Geo. III. c. 70, all such parts of 
 former statutes as provided that rewards 
 should be paid out of the public revenue 
 to prosecutors upon conviction for various 
 crimes were repealed, and it was enacted 
 that in future the county rates were to be 
 charged with the allowances to prosecu- 
 tors in such prosecutions. By subsequent 
 statutes the costs in the prosecution of 
 certain misdemeanours are paid out of 
 the county rates. By 7 Geo. IV. c. 64, 
 the principle of compensation to witnesses 
 and prosecutors at the expense of the 
 county was carried into effect more ex- 
 tensively. In 1 836, however, the govern- 
 ment determined that one-half of the ex- 
 pense of prosecutions and the convey- 
 ance of prisoners should be defrayed out 
 of the public revenue. 
 
 By the 1 Geo. IV. c. 85, the powers 
 of former acts were extended to places 
 where there were no separate church- 
 wardens, and where no separate or distinct 
 poor rate has been made for any place 
 extending into two or more counties, 
 ridings, or other divisions ; justices were 
 empowered to appoint persons to tax and 
 assess the county rate in extra-parochial 
 places where no poor rate exists, and cer- 
 tain regulations were made as to distress 
 for rates. 
 
 By the 4 & 5 Wm, IV. c. 48, all busi- 
 ness relating to the assessment and appli- 
 cation of. county rate is to be transacted 
 in open court held upon due notice. 
 
 By the 5 & 6 Wm. IV. c. 76, § 112, 
 after a grant of a separate court of quar- 
 ter-sessions has been made to any borough 
 the justices of the county in which such 
 borough is situate are not to assess any 
 property therein to any county rate there- 
 after to be made, but (§ 113) such bo- 
 roughs are to bear the expenses of prose- 
 cutions at the assizes. 
 
 By 7 & 8 Vict. c. 33, high constables 
 are relieved from the duty of collecting 
 the county rate and paying it to the 
 county treasurer, and these functions are 
 to be undertaken by the Boards of Guar- 
 dians. 
 
 Several local acts have been passed 
 from time to time for regulating the county 
 rates in particular counties. On this sub- 
 ject see Burn's 'Justice of Peace,' 29th 
 edit., County Rate, where the different 
 purposes for which county rates may be 
 levied are enumerated at length. 
 
 The expenditure of county rates in 
 England and Wales in 1792 and 1832 was 
 as follows : — 
 
 1792 
 £. 
 
 Bridges . 42,237 
 
 Gaols, Houses of 
 
 Correction, &c. 92,319 
 
 Prisoners' Main- 
 tenance, &c. 45,785 
 
 Vagrants . 16,807 
 
 Prosecutions 34,218 
 
 Lieutenancy and 
 
 1832 
 £. 
 
 Inc. p. 
 Cent. 
 
 74,501 76 
 
 177,245 92 
 
 127,297 178 
 
 28,723 70 
 
 157,119 359 
 
 Militia 
 Constables . 
 Professional .- 
 Coroners 
 Salaries 
 Incidental 
 Miscellaneous, 
 
 Printing, &c. 
 
 16,976 
 
 659 
 
 8,990 
 
 8,153 
 
 16,315 
 
 17,456 
 
 2,116 
 26,688 
 31,103 
 15,254 
 51,401 
 32,931 
 
 4338 
 248 
 
 87 
 
 215 
 
 88 
 
 15,890 59,061 
 
 315,805 783,441 
 
 The amount disbursed in 1834 under 
 the different heads of expenditure for 
 which provision is made by the county 
 rates was as follows : — 
 
 £. 
 Bridges, Building and Re- 
 pairs, &c. . . 72,532 
 Gaols, Houses of Correction, &c, 
 and Maintaining Prisoners, &c. 222,787 
 
COUNTY RATE. 
 
 [ 701 ] 
 
 COUNTY RATE. 
 
 Shire-Halls and Courts of Jus- 
 
 £ 
 
 tice, Building, Repairing, &c. 
 
 13,951 
 
 Lunatic Asylums 
 
 12,371 
 
 Prosecutions . . 
 
 131,416 
 
 Clerks of the Peace . 
 
 31,880 
 
 Conveyance of Prisoners before 
 
 
 Trial' . 
 
 31,030 
 
 Conveyance of Transports 
 
 10,370 
 
 Vagrants, Apprehending and 
 
 
 Conveying . 
 
 7,621 
 
 Constables, High and Special 
 
 14,007 
 
 Coroners 
 
 15,648 
 
 Debt, Payment of Principal and 
 
 
 Interest • 
 
 78,022 
 
 Miscellaneous • 
 
 52,112 
 
 693,747 
 The expenditure in the following years 
 was as under : — 
 
 , £ 
 
 1835 .. 705,711 
 
 1836 .. 699,845 
 
 1837 .. 604,203 
 
 1838 .. 681,842 
 
 1839 . . 741,407 
 
 1840 . . 855,552 
 
 1841 . . 1,026,035 
 
 1842 .'. 1,230,718 
 
 1843 .. 1,295,615 
 
 In the last three years the county police 
 expenditure, which in 1843 amounted to 
 243,738/ , is included. 
 
 From 1830 to 1838 the proportion of 
 five heads of expenditure was 69 per cent, 
 of the total expenditure : — Bridges, 9-3 per 
 cent; Gaols, 9 - 7 ; Prisoners' Maintenance, 
 25-8 ; Prosecutions, 19-9 ; Constables and 
 Vagrants, 4-3 per cent. 
 
 The county rate is levied on the same 
 description of property as the poor's rate, 
 that is, on lands, houses, tithes impro- 
 priate, propriations of tithes, coal-mines, 
 and saleable underwoods : the term " lands" 
 includes improvements of lands, by roads, 
 bridges, docks, canals, and other works 
 and erections not included under the 
 term " houses." Under " houses" is com- 
 prehended all permanent erections for the 
 shelter of man, beast, or property. Mines, 
 other than coal-mines, are exempted, and 
 the exemption extends to limestone and 
 other stone quarries, or to other matter 
 that is obtained by quarrying. The 
 county rate is to be assessed upon parishes 
 " rateably and equally according to the full 
 
 and fair annual value of the messuages, 
 lands, tenements, and hereditaments liable, 
 or which might be liable, to be rated to 
 the relief of the poor." The sum as- 
 sessed in 1833 was about 8} per cent, (or 
 lather more than one-twelfth ) of the levy 
 for the poor, out of which fund it is paid, 
 and in 1843 the proportion was between 
 one-sixth and one-seventh. About five- 
 eighths of the assessment is paid by land, 
 and three-eighths by houses, mills, ma- 
 nors, canals, &c The act 55 Geo. III. c. 
 51, already mentioned, has not been found 
 very successful in correcting unfair valu- 
 ations, as the overseers on whom the re- 
 valuation depends have an interest in a 
 low rateable value. " In some counties 
 the contribution to the Land Tax serves 
 as a scale for the proportionate contribu- 
 tion. In these cases the proportion has 
 been unchanged since the year 1792, not- 
 withstanding the subsequent alterations in 
 the value of property. In other counties 
 the valuation to the Property Tax made 
 in the years 1814-1815 determines the ■ 
 scale of contribution. In other counties 
 some ancient scale, of which the origin is 
 unknown to the respective clerks of the 
 peace, determines the proportion. In 
 other counties the nominal valuation to 
 poor's rate, uncorrected by the applica- 
 tion of the powers of 55 Geo. III. c. 51, 
 and made in some counties in or very early 
 after the year 1739, and in other counties 
 at various periods between that date and 
 the present time, serves as the basis of the 
 contribution to the county rate. All these 
 various practices are alike complained of 
 as unequal in the counties in which they 
 are adopted." (Report on Local Taxation.) 
 In the session of 1845 a bill was brought 
 in to amend the law relating to the assess- 
 ing, levying, and collecting of county 
 rates. It provided for the appointment 
 by the justices at general or quarter ses- 
 sions of a committee to consist of not 
 more than eleven nor less than five jus- 
 tices, whose duty it should be to prepare 
 a fair and equal county rate, with power 
 to alter and amend it from time to time as 
 circumstances might require. By § 4 
 the words " full and fair valuation" shall 
 be taken to mean " the net annual value 
 of any rateable property, that is to say, 
 the rent at which the same might reason- 
 
COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 [705] 
 
 COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 ably be expected to let for from year to 
 year free of all tenants' rates and taxes, 
 and tithe commutation rent-charge (if 
 any), and deducting therefrom the pro- 
 bable average annual cost of the repairs, 
 and insurance, and other expenses (.if 
 any), necessary to maintain them in a 
 state to command such rent." The fate 
 of this bill is not at present (May, 
 1845) known. 
 
 The proportion in the £ to the county 
 rate valuation in England and Wales and 
 for several of the counties is as follows : — 
 
 England, Sfi ; Wales, 3jd. ; Nor- 
 thumberland, lid.; Bedford, 12jd. f' 
 Westmoreland, 2$d. ; Middlesex, 3£<£; 
 Lancaster, l^rf. ; Anglesey, 2id. ; Pem- 
 broke, Id. 
 
 COURT BARON. [Manor.] 
 
 COURT-MARTIAL, a tribunal occa- 
 sionally instituted for the purpose of try- 
 ing military and naval men for the com- 
 mission of offences affecting discipline in 
 either of those branches of the public 
 service. 
 
 Courts for the trial of rebels by martial 
 law appear to have early existed in this 
 country ; and in the time of Henry VIII. 
 the Marshal of England held one regu- 
 larly for the trial of causes connected 
 with military discipline. In the reigns 
 of Elizabeth and her successor, those 
 courts of war, as they were called, were 
 superintended not by the marshal, but by 
 a president chosen for the purpose. This 
 president was probably a general or field- 
 officer, but captains of companies were 
 allowed to sit as members. The colonel 
 of each regiment was charged with the 
 duty of preparing the evidence relating to 
 offences which fell under his cognizance, 
 and of bringing it before the court. But 
 courts-martial in their present form were 
 instituted in the reign of James II. ; and 
 in the ordinances of war published in 
 1686 they are distinguished as general or 
 regimental. Subsequently to the revolu- 
 tion, their powers have been expressly 
 regulated by parliament, and are fully 
 detailed in what is called the Mutiny Act, 
 which is revised and renewed every year. 
 Naval courts-martial are regulated by the 
 statute 22 Geo. II. c. 33. 
 
 General courts-martial are assembled 
 under the authority of the king, or of an 
 
 officer having the chief command within 
 any part of his majesty's dominions to 
 whom such authority may be delegated. 
 Regimental courts-martial are held by the 
 appointment of the commanding officer 
 of the regiment. The East India Com- 
 pany's Mutiny Act empowers the govern- 
 or-general in council, and the governor 
 in council, at the presidencies of Fort 
 William, Fort St. George, and Bombay, 
 and at St. Helena, to appoint general 
 courts-martial, or to authorize any mili- 
 tary man not below the rank of a field- 
 officer to do so. What are called detach- 
 ment courts-martial may be either general 
 or regimental, and their appellation is 
 derived from the nature of the command 
 with which the officer convening the court 
 is invested. 
 
 The chief crimes of which a general 
 court-martial takes cognizance are mutiny, 
 abandonment of a fortress, post, or guard 
 committed to the charge of an officer or 
 soldier, disobedience of orders, and deser- 
 tion : these crimes, if proved to their 
 greatest extent, are punishable with death ; 
 and the penalty extends to any military 
 man, being present, who does not use his 
 best endeavours to prevent them. In 
 desertion is included the fact of enlisting 
 in any regiment without having had a 
 regular discharge from that in which the 
 offender may have last served. The prac- 
 tice of sending challenges between com- 
 missioned officers is punished with cash- 
 iering j between non-commissioned officers 
 and privates, with corporal punishment : 
 and, in all cases, seconds and accessories 
 are held to be equally guilty with the 
 principals. Self-mutilation, theft, making 
 false returns of stores, and neglect of 
 ordinary duty, in non-commissioned offi- 
 cers and privates, are usually punished by 
 the infliction of a certain number of lashes, 
 not exceeding one thousand ; and men of 
 the former class may, in addition to other 
 punishments, be suspended, or degraded 
 to the ranks. There are many offences 
 which might tend to the subversion of 
 discipline; but which are hardly capable 
 of being precisely defined, as immorali- 
 ties, and behaving in a manner unbe- 
 coming an officer and a gentleman ; of 
 these the courts-martial take cognizance, 
 and on conviction the offender may be 
 
COURT-MARTIAL. [ 706 J 
 
 COURT-MARTTAL. 
 
 dismissed from the service. At home, 
 military men are not, in general, amena- 
 ble to courts-martial for civil offences ; 
 hut abroad, where there may be no civil 
 tourts, the case is different. 
 
 The provisions of the Mutiny Act affeet 
 not only the cavalry and infantry of the 
 regular army, but extend to the officers 
 and privates in the corps Qf artillery, 
 engineers, and marines ; to all troops in 
 the employment of the East India Com- 
 pany, or serving in the colonies ; to the 
 militia during the time that it is assem- 
 bled and being trained ; and, lastly, to the 
 yeomanry and volunteer corps. All are 
 subject, without distinction, to trial and 
 punishment by courts-martial. 
 
 The rules of the service require that 
 the president of every general court-mar- 
 tial should be a field-officer, if one of that 
 rank can be obtained; but, in no case, 
 must he be inferior in rank to a captain. 
 And it should be observed, that none of 
 the members are to be subalterns when a 
 field-officer is to be tried. As the presi- 
 dent has the power of reviewing the pro- 
 ceedings, it is prescribed, and the pro- 
 priety of the regulation is manifest, that 
 he be not the commander-in-chief or 
 governor of the garrison where the offend- 
 er is tried. A judge-advocate is appointed 
 to conduct the prosecution in the name of 
 the sovereign, and act as the recorder of 
 the court. 
 
 No general courts-martial held in 
 Great Britain or Ireland are to consist 
 of less than thirteen or nine commissioned 
 officers, as the case may require ; but in 
 Africa and in New South Wales the 
 number may be not less than five ; and, 
 in all other places beyond sea, not less 
 than seven. Commonly, however, a 
 greater number are appointed, in order to 
 guard against accidents arising from any 
 of the members being found disqualified 
 or falling sick. An uneven number is 
 purposely appointed, in order that there 
 may be always a casting vote ; and the 
 concurrence of two-thirds of the members 
 composing the court is requisite in every 
 capital sentence. No officer serving in 
 the militia can sit in any court-martial 
 upon the trial of an officer or soldier in 
 the regular army ; and no officer in the 
 regulars is allowed to sit in a court-mar- 
 
 tial on the trial of an officer or private 
 serving in the militia. Likewise, when 
 marines, or persons in the employment of 
 the East India Company, are tried, the 
 court must be composed of members con- 
 sisting in part of officers taken from the 
 particular service to which the offender 
 belongs. The members both of genera.', 
 and regimental courts-martial take rank 
 according to the dates of their com- 
 missions ; and there is a particular regu- 
 lation for those who hold commissions by 
 brevet. [Brevet.] They are always, 
 sworn to do their duty, and witnesses are 
 examined upon oatb. 
 
 In the accusation the crime or offence 
 must be clearly expressed, and the acts of 
 guilt directly charged against the accused ; 
 the time and place must be set forth with 
 all possible accuracy ; and, at a general 
 court-martial, a copy of the charge must 
 be furnished by the judge-advocate to the 
 accused, that he may have full opportu- . 
 uity of preparing his defence. . The ac- 
 cused has the power of challenging any of 
 the members, but the reason of the chal- 
 lenge must be given, and this must be 
 well founded, otherwise it would not be 
 admitted j for the ends of justice might be 
 often defeated from the impossibility of 
 getting members to replace those who 
 were challenged. 
 
 The court must discuss every charge 
 brought against the accused, throwing out 
 only such as are irrelevant ; and judgment 
 must be given either upon each article 
 separately, or the decision of the court 
 upon all may be included in one verdict. 
 The evidence is taken down in writing, so 
 that every member of the court may have 
 the power occasionally of comparing the 
 proceedings with his own private notes ; 
 and he is thus enabled to become com- 
 pletely master of the whole evidence before 
 he is required to give his opinion. At the 
 last stage of the trial the decisions of the 
 several members are taken in succession, 
 beginning with the junior officer on the 
 court : a regulation adopted obviously in 
 order to insure the unbiassed opinions of 
 those who might otherwise be influenced 
 by deference to the members who are 
 superior to them in age or rank. 
 
 Regimental or garrison courts-martial 
 are appointed by the commanding officer, 
 
COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 [707] 
 
 COURTESY. 
 
 for the purpose of inquiring into criminal 
 matters of the inferior degrees ; and they 
 are empowered to inflict corporal punish- 
 ments to a certain extent only. The 
 articles of war require that not less than 
 five officers should constitute a court of 
 this nature, or three when five cannot be 
 obtained. The practice is to appoint a 
 captain as president, and four or two 
 subalterns as the case may be ; the court 
 has no judge-advocate to direct it ; there- 
 fore the members must act on their own 
 responsibility. The proceedings are to be 
 taken down in writing, and the sentence 
 cannot be put in execution till it has been 
 confirmed by the commanding officer, or 
 by the governor of the garrison. 
 
 No commissioned officer is amenable to 
 a regimental court-martial ; but if an in- 
 ferior officer or private should think him- 
 self wronged by such, he may, on appli- 
 cation to the commanding officer of the 
 regiment, have his cause brought before 
 a regimental court-martial, at which, if 
 the complaint is judged to be well founded, 
 he may on that authority require a general 
 court-martial to be held. 
 
 An appeal may be made from the sen- 
 tence of a court-martial by the party who 
 conceives that he has suffered injustice : 
 the appeal lies from a regimental to a 
 general court-martial ; and from this to 
 the supreme courts of law in the kingdom. 
 It is easy to imagine, however, that the 
 superior court will refuse to receive the 
 appeal unless there should be very satis- 
 factory evidence that the merits of the case 
 have not been fairly discussed. 
 
 After the sentence of the court-martial 
 has been pronounced, it is transmitted to 
 the king, who may either confirm it, or, 
 if sufficient reason should exist, may, on 
 the ground that the process is not complete 
 till the royal sanction has been given to 
 the judgment, return it to the court for 
 revision ;. or again, by virtue of his pre- 
 rogative, he may remit the punishment 
 awarded. 
 
 The chief distinction between the trial 
 by court-martial and by jury is, that in 
 the latter the verdict must be unanimous, 
 while in the former the concurrence of a 
 majority only in opinion determines the 
 verdict. The writers on military law 
 have endeavoured to show that the advan- 
 
 tages in this respect are on the side of the 
 court-martial : they contend that every 
 member of such court delivers the opinion 
 which he has formed from the evidence 
 before him ; while it may frequently 
 happen in other courts that, in order to 
 procure unanimity, some of the jury must 
 surrender their own opinions. It may be 
 observed, however, that in such a case 
 the decisions are at least of equal value, 
 since, in the event of a concession of 
 private judgment, the verdict is in fact 
 formed on the opinion of the majority. 
 
 (Grose, Military Antiquities ; Tytler, 
 Essay on Military Law ,• Samuel, His~ 
 torical Account of the British Army.; 
 Simmons, On the Practice of Courts- 
 Martial, with Supplement.') 
 
 COURTESY OF ENGLAND is the 
 title of a husband to enjoy for life, after 
 his wife's decease, lands of the wife 
 of which she and the husband were 
 seised in deed in the wife's right, for an 
 estate of inheritance, and to which issue 
 of the marriage is born which by possi- 
 bility may inherit. It is said to be called 
 courtesy of England as being peculiar to 
 this country. In the law of Scotland 
 however it is known under the title of 
 "jus curialitatis," and it is also stated 
 in the laws of the Alemanni, Linde- 
 brog, ' Codex Legum Antiquarum,* 1613, 
 p. 387, ' Lex Aleman.' c. 92 ; though by 
 the law of the Alemanni the husband took 
 the inheritance under circumstances simi- 
 lar to those that establish the title to a 
 life estate only in the English law. This 
 title of the husband's tenancy of the 
 estates of his wife depends upon a valid 
 marriage, the seisin of the husband and 
 wife in right of the wife during marriage 
 of the same estate respecting whicli 
 courtesy is claimed, issue born alive 
 during the wife's life which is capable of 
 inheriting, and the previous death of the 
 wife. Lands held by the wife descendible 
 only to her sons would not, in case of the 
 birth of a daughter, be subject to this 
 claim of the husband; nor would a child 
 brought into the world by the csesarean 
 operation, after the mother's death, esta- 
 blish it. It differs from the similar right 
 of the wife to dower in several respects. 
 [Dower.] 
 
 By the custom of Gavelkind, a man 
 2z2 
 
COURTS. 
 
 I 708 ] 
 
 COURTS. 
 
 may be tenant by the courtesy with- 
 out haying had issue by his wife; but 
 he has only half of the lands, and he loses 
 them if he marries again. There is no 
 tenancy by the courtesy of copyhold 
 lands except by special custom, and the 
 customs are various. (Cruise, Digest i. 
 ' Copyhold.') 
 
 COURTESY OF SCOTLAND, other- 
 wise called in the law of that kingdom 
 'jus curialitatis,' or right of courtship, 
 is substantially the same with the courtesy 
 of England. As in the latter kingdom, 
 five things are necessary to it ; namely, 
 marriage, that the wife is an heiress and 
 infeft, issue, and the death of the wife. 
 
 As to the marriage, it must indeed be 
 a lawful marriage, but it is not necessary 
 that it be regular and canonical; it is 
 sufficient that it is valid in law, whatever 
 be the precise form in which it became 
 so. According to the ancient borough 
 laws, c. 44, the courtesy extended only to 
 such lands as the woman brought in 
 tocher ; but afterwards it was the lands 
 to which she had right by inheritance, as 
 the law still is. It was always the law 
 that the wife must be heritably infeft and 
 seised in the lands. The fourth requisite 
 is, inheritable issue born alive of the mar- 
 riage ; that is to say, the child born must 
 be the heir of the mother's estate, and it 
 must have been heard to cry ; for though 
 it be otherwise in England, crying is in 
 Scotland the only legal evidence of life. In 
 the last place, by such issue the husband 
 has during the life of the wife only jus 
 mariti, as Skene says (De verb, signif. 
 voce Carialitas) ; after her decease he has 
 jus curialitatis ; or as Blackstone speaks, 
 with reference to the law of England, the 
 husband by the birth of the child becomes 
 tenant by the courtesy initiate, but his 
 estate is not consummated till the wife's 
 death ; which is the fifth and last requi- 
 cite to give the complete"rightof courtesy, 
 the husband needing no seisin or other 
 solemnity to perfect his title. 
 
 COURT OF RECORD. [Courts.] 
 
 COURTS. The word court has come 
 from the French cour, which is from the 
 Latin curia. The Roman citizens were 
 originally distributed into thirty curiae, 
 which were political divisions ; but the 
 name curia was also given to the buildings 
 
 in which the curiae met. The place of 
 assembly of the Roman Senate was also 
 called curia, and the name is often used 
 to signify the senate or body of senators. 
 The name curia was in fact given to a 
 place either for the celebration of religious 
 observances or the transaction of civil 
 business. The French word cour is de- 
 fined to be " a part of the house which is 
 not built upon, and is immediately behind 
 the carriage entrance or other entrance, 
 and in the better sort of houses is paved." 
 (Richelet, Dictionnaire.) It also signifies 
 the residence of a prince (Aula); the 
 government of a country, as la cour de la 
 France ; the judges of a supreme court, or 
 the court itself, as la cour de parlement. 
 These various significations occur in the 
 English language : we speak of the court 
 of a house, of the king's court, of the 
 high court of parliament, and of the courts 
 of law and equity. 
 
 The courts of common law in this 
 country, like most other branches of our 
 constitution, have grown up gradually 
 with the progress of the nation, and may 
 be traced back, partly to the institutions 
 of our Anglo-Saxon forefathers, and 
 partly to the more artificial systems intro- 
 duced under the government of the Nor- 
 mans. 
 
 From the earliest times of which we 
 have any account, we find the tribunals 
 of the Germanic nations consisting of a 
 presiding officer, called graf reeve or 
 earl, comes or count ; together with cer- 
 tain assessors, whose denominations (and 
 probably their functions also) were dif- 
 ferent among different tribes and at dif- 
 ferent periods. Of this nature were the 
 earliest tribunals with which we are 
 acquainted in this country. The most 
 important of these was that whose juris- 
 diction extended over a shire or county, 
 in which the presiding officer was at first 
 the earl, alderman, or count ; and subse- 
 quently, his deputy the vice-count or 
 sheriff (shire-reeve). This tribunal exer- 
 cised ecclesiastical as well as civil juris- 
 diction, and the bishop sat as an associate 
 to the earl or sheriff. 
 
 The judicial functions of this court 
 were divided into four distinct branches. 
 The first included all ecclesiastical of- 
 fences ; and in these the bishop was judge, 
 
COURTS. 
 
 L709] 
 
 COURTS. 
 
 and the count or sheriff his assistant, and 
 if the delinquent disregarded the censures 
 of the church, he enforced the sentence 
 by imprisonment. The second branch 
 (in which the sheriff was judge) included 
 all temporal offences, such as felony, 
 assaults, nuisances, and the like. The 
 third head included all actions of a purely 
 civil nature : here the sheriff was the pre- 
 siding officer, and executed the judgment ; 
 but the judges were the freeholders who 
 did suit to the court. And, fourthly, the 
 sheriffs court held an inquest yearly of 
 frank pledge. One branch of the juris- 
 diction of this tribunal was abolished by 
 William the Conqueror, who separated 
 the ecclesiastical from the civil power, 
 and the bishop was no longer associated 
 with the civil magistrate. The view of 
 frank pledge now exists only as a form, 
 but the other two branches of jurisdiction 
 still subsist, though with diminished power 
 and importance. 
 
 In order to exercise his criminal juris- 
 diction, the sheriff was required twice in 
 every year to make a tour or circuit of 
 his county. The power of determining 
 felonies was taken away by Magna Charta, 
 but the remains of this tribunal are still 
 known as the sheriff's tourn, in which 
 cognizance is taken of false weights, 
 nuisance, and other misdemeanors. The 
 civil jurisdiction of the sheriff still con- 
 tinues in the county court, the powers of 
 which were limited to cases under forty 
 shillings, at least as early as the reign of 
 King Edward I. : and that sum now (ex- 
 cept in case of replevin) limits the ordin- 
 ary jurisdiction of the county court. 
 
 The land over which the jurisdiction 
 of the sheriff extended, is said to have 
 been distinguished as reve land. The 
 thanes or nobles had, in the lands granted 
 to them, a similar jurisdiction of their 
 own, both civil and criminal. (1, Reeve's 
 Hist, of English Law, 7.) The limits 
 between the jurisdiction of the sheriff and 
 that of the lord were strictly preserved. 
 But when the lord had no court, or refused 
 to do -justice, or when the parties were 
 not both subject to his jurisdiction, the 
 suit was referred to the tribunal of the 
 reeve ; and a suit commenced before the 
 lord might be removed by the defendant 
 before the higher tribunal. 
 
 The civil tribunal of the lord was 
 similar to the county court in its consti- 
 tution and its powers, except that the 
 presiding officer was not a public func- 
 tionary (as the reeve was), but the bailiff 
 of the lord. This court still exists under 
 the style of the court baron, and is inci- 
 dent to every manor in the kingdom. The 
 judges are the freeholders who owe suit 
 and service to the lord of the manor, and 
 if there are not at least two such free- 
 holders in the manor, the court is lost. 
 This was formerly the proper court in 
 which to commence real actions to try 
 the title to lands within the manor. The 
 lord's court in criminal cases, in which 
 he had the same powers that the sheriff 
 exercised in his turn, was called the 
 Leet. 
 
 The same powers which were exercised 
 over a particular manor by the court 
 baron and court leet, were also exercised 
 over particular hundreds by the hundred 
 court and the leet of the hundred. But 
 the number of these courts was much 
 diminished by stat. 14 Edward III., by 
 which all hundreds, except such as were 
 of estate in fee, were rejoined (as to the 
 bailiwick of the same) to the counties at 
 large. 
 
 Besides these courts of inferior juris- 
 diction, there was also a Supreme Court 
 in which the king presided. In the Saxon 
 age, and for some time after, the legis- 
 lative, the administrative, and the ju- 
 dicial functions of the government had 
 not been separated ; and the Wittenage- 
 mote, or meeting of the wise, was con- 
 sulted by the king in all these depart- 
 ments indiscriminately. The Anglo- 
 Saxon king had the same jurisdiction 
 over his thanes that they had over their 
 own vassals. He punished all enormous 
 crimes committed against the king^s 
 peace. His court was likewise open to 
 all those to whom justice had been 
 refused in the inferior courts ; and he had 
 the power of punishing the judges if they 
 pronounced an iniquitous sentence. It 
 also seems probable that the king's court 
 was a court of appeal, in which the judg- 
 ments of all other tribunals, if erroneous, 
 might be reversed. 
 
 The Norman Conquest does not seem 
 to have produced any immediate change 
 
COURTS. 
 
 [710 ] 
 
 COURTS. 
 
 in the constitution of this national assem- 
 bly, which thenceforth became more 
 known as the Great Council. The mem- 
 bers exercised the same varied functions 
 as under the Saxons ; but when they sat 
 in their judicial capacity, they had the 
 assistance of the great officers of state and 
 certain persons learned in the law, styled 
 justiciars, or justices. William trie Con- 
 queror also created an officer to preside 
 over judicial business, under the title of 
 chief justiciar. The functions of this 
 court thus became gradually separated 
 from the general business of the grand 
 council ; and from being held in the hall 
 of the king's palace, it was distinguished 
 by the style of Aula Regis. A great dis- 
 tinction was drawn between this and all 
 the courts of Saxon origin, from the mode 
 of authenticating its proceedings. There 
 were at this time no written memorials of 
 legal proceedings, and indeed of few 
 other public acts ; and when it was neces- 
 sary to establish any judgment or statute 
 which had been made by the king assisted 
 by his council, it was usual to call the 
 testimony of some of the nobles who were 
 present, to bear record of the fact. In 
 progress of time, all such proceedings 
 were written down at the time on parch- 
 ment, the nobles present signing their 
 names as witnesses, and so bearing record 
 of the truth of what was there alleged. 
 The writing itself was called a Record ; 
 mi it was held to be evidence so con- 
 clusive, that when produced, nothing was 
 allowed to be alleged in derogation of it. 
 The entry of proceedings on record was 
 adopted in the judicial, as well as in the 
 other departments of the great council, 
 and hence the Aula Regis became dis- 
 tinguished as a court of record. The 
 power and importance of the Aula Regis 
 rapidly increased. It not only maintained 
 the former powers of the council in 
 punishing offences against the public, in 
 controlling the proceedings of inferior 
 courts, and in deciding on questions re- 
 lating to the revenue of the king, but it 
 engrossed also a great portion of the 
 " common pleas," or causes between party 
 nnd party. And though we may suppose 
 that it was only the more important 
 causes that were taken into the Aula 
 Begis, yet as early as the reign of Edward 
 
 I., when the jurisdiction of the county 
 courts was confined to 4Ps., all actions 
 above that amount were brought into the 
 king's courts. 
 
 The Aula Regis seems at a very early 
 period to have been distinguished as exer- 
 cising three several functions, according 
 to the different natures of the causes that 
 were brought before it, which are treated 
 of in our earlier legal writers as Pleas of 
 the King, Common Pleas, and Pleas of 
 the Exchequer. The bond of connexion 
 between these several jurisdictions was 
 the chief justiciar, who presided over all 
 of them. But in the reign of Edward III. 
 this office was abolished, and thus were 
 finally destroyed the unity of the Aula 
 Regis and its connexion with the grand 
 council, which became henceforth essen- 
 tially a legislative body j and though it 
 still retains traces of its original functions 
 in its title of the High Court of Parlia- 
 ment, yet it has ever since ceased to exer- 
 cise any judicial powers, except in cases 
 of impeachment, or as a court of ultimate 
 appeal. On the dissolution of the Aula 
 Regis, the three courts of the King's 
 Bench, the Common Pleas, and the Ex- 
 chequer, had each of them a perfectly 
 distinct and separate existence. The 
 Court of King's Bench had the control of 
 all inferior courts,, and the cognizance of 
 all trespasses against the king's peace ; 
 the Court of Exchequer had cognizance 
 of all cases relating to the revenue ; and 
 the Court of Common Pleas was the only 
 court for causes of a purely civil nature 
 between private persons. The Courts of 
 King's Bench and Exchequer still retain 
 each of them its peculiar jurisdiction ; 
 and the Common Pleas is still the only 
 court in Westminster in which the three 
 real actions that remain since the passing 
 of 3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 27 can be tried ; but 
 the great mass of causes between party and 
 party may now be brought indiscrimi- 
 nately in any of the three courts. The 
 King's Bench and the Exchequer ori- 
 ginally contrived by fictitious proceedings 
 to appropriate to themselves a share in 
 the peculiar jurisdiction of the Common 
 Pleas. 
 
 There was likewise another court, of a 
 more limited character, which, though 
 held in the Aula Regis, does not appear 
 
COURTS. 
 
 [711] 
 
 COURTS. 
 
 ever to have been under the control of 
 the chief justiciar, the Court of the Mar- 
 shalsea, which had jurisdiction -where 
 one of the parties at least was of the 
 king's household. Charles I. created by 
 letters patent a new court, styled the 
 Court of the Palace, with jurisdiction 
 over all personal actions arising within 
 the verge of the palace, that is, within 
 twelve miles of Whitehall. These courts 
 are now held together every Friday. 
 The Court of Marshalsea is, in fact, dis- 
 used, but the Palace Court is in active 
 operation. 
 
 The Saxon kings had been in the habit 
 of making progresses through their do- 
 minions for the purpose of administering 
 justice. This practice was not continued 
 by William the Conqueror ; but he an- 
 nually summoned his great council to sit 
 at the three feasts of Easter, Whitsuntide, 
 and Christmas, in three different parts of 
 the kingdom — Winchester, Westminster, 
 and Gloucester. But when the great 
 mass of the legal business of the country 
 was brought into the king's courts at 
 Westminster, it became necessary to take 
 some more efficient measures for the trial 
 of causes in the country. 
 
 The first expedient adopted was to ap- 
 point itinerant judges, justices in Eyre, 
 who travelled through the kingdom, hold- 
 ing plea of all causes civil or criminal, 
 and in most respects discharging the 
 office of the superior courts. These 
 itinera, or Eyres, usually took place every 
 seven years. 
 
 About the end of the reign of Edward 
 III. this system was wholly discontinued, 
 except as to pleas of the king's forests, 
 the functions of the justices in Eyre being 
 superseded by the justices of Nisi Prius. 
 This system was first established by a 
 statute of Edward I., which, in order to 
 prevent the expense of bringing up the 
 juries to the king's courts at Westminster, 
 provided that certain judges of those 
 courts should be appointed to make cir- 
 cuits twice a year for the trial of issues 
 upon which judgment was to be given in 
 the court above. This system is still in 
 operation. The justices of Nisi Prius also 
 receive commissions of Oyer arid Ter- 
 miner and of gaol delivery, to authorize 
 them to try criminals ; and a commission 
 
 of assize under which they used to try a 
 peculiar species of action called assizes. 
 These actions have long been obsolete ; but 
 the name of assizes is still given to the sit- 
 tings of the justices on circuit under their 
 several commissions. 
 
 Under the Norman kings the fines, 
 amerciaments, and forfeitures in the king's 
 courts constituted a considerable portion 
 of the revenue, and the administration of 
 justice was an important branch of the 
 royal prerogative ; but, like other branches 
 of the prerogative, we sometimes find it 
 in the hands of a subject, either by grant 
 from the crown, or by prescription, which, 
 according to legal notion, supposes a 
 grant, though such supposition is often 
 at variance with probability : within tiie 
 counties Palatine and other royal fran- 
 chises, the earls or lords had regal juris- 
 diction, saving the supreme dominion of 
 the king. They had the same right as 
 the king to pardon offences; they ap- 
 pointed judges of eyre, assize, and gaol 
 delivery, and justices of the peace ; all 
 legal proceedings were made in their 
 name, and offences were said to be com- 
 mitted against their peace, as in other 
 places against the peace of the king. 
 These royal prerogatives were, for the 
 most part, re-annexed to the crown by 
 stat 27 Hen. VIIL; but the form of the 
 judicial establishment still remained. 
 [Palatine Counties.] But besides 
 these palatinate jurisdictions, created to 
 increase the power and gratify the pride 
 of the nobles on whom they were con- 
 ferred, the crown has also from time to 
 time created courts, with a jurisdiction 
 united in point of territory, and always 
 under the control of the king's superior 
 courts. If, in the Saxon times, the bo- 
 roughs had courts similar to those of the 
 hundreds, there are now no traces to be 
 found of their existence; but however 
 that may be, it is certain that when com- 
 merce increased, it was found of the ut- 
 most importance to the boroughs to be 
 relieved from the jurisdiction of the 
 feudal lord, and at the same time to have 
 some court of justice to apply to, less dis- 
 tant, dilatory, and expensive than the 
 king's courts at Westminster; and ac- 
 cordingly there has, at some time or 
 other, been granted to almost every bo« 
 
COURTS. 
 
 [712 J 
 
 COUKTS. 
 
 rough of any importance a civil and 
 criminal jurisdiction within certain pre- 
 scribed limits. These courts were in all 
 cases courts of record, but in other re- 
 spects were not modelled on any uniform 
 system. There was the greatest possible 
 variety in their constitution and the ex- 
 tent of their powers; but the mode of 
 proceeding in all of them was founded on 
 the common law and the practice of the 
 superior courts, and a writ of error lay 
 into the King's Bench, except from the 
 courts of London and the Cinque Ports. 
 By far the greater number of these courts 
 have fallen into disuse. One of the 
 causes of their 'inefficiency, the want of 
 competent judges and juries, has been 
 partially removed by the Municipal Cor- 
 porations Act, and a greater uniformity 
 has been introduced by giving to all of 
 them jurisdiction as far as 20l. But in 
 order to bring these courts into active 
 operation, it still remains for the legis- 
 lature to provide some more simple means 
 for carrying on their ordinary proceed- 
 ings ; to give them better means of exe- 
 cuting process, and of compelling the 
 attendance of witnesses ; to secure the 
 efficiency and responsibility of the inferior 
 ministers, and to restrict the power of 
 removing trifling suits into the superior 
 courts. The general incompetency of 
 inferior courts in carrying on the ordinary 
 proceedings in a cause is attested by a 
 plan which has lately been introduced by 
 the legislature. Any of the courts at 
 Westminster is authorized, when a cause 
 commenced there has been carried 
 through all its preliminary stages, to send 
 it by writ of trial, to be tried before any 
 inferior judge, and, after trial, the cause 
 is returned, and judgment given in the 
 superior court. If the borough courts 
 should ever be brought into a state of ac- 
 tivity, the system of writs of trial, which 
 is merely a substitute for local tribunals, 
 would probably fall to the ground. 
 
 Whenever that time shall arrive, it 
 ■will be a curious thing to trace the his- 
 tory of the administration of justice, 
 which, under the Saxons, essentially local, 
 rising from the smaller jurisdiction gra- 
 dually to the higher, became, under the 
 Norman dynasty, centered in one point, 
 the king being the fountain of justice. 
 
 This system of centralization, connected 
 as it was with the principles of feudalism, 
 which so long prevailed in this island 
 with peculiar force, was elaborated, in 
 the course of centuries, to a high state of 
 perfection; it absorbed the remains of 
 the ancient local jurisdictions, and stunted 
 all attempts at the establishment of new. 
 But as the artificial systems and feudal 
 associations, which owed their establish- 
 ment here to the Normans, gradually 
 wear away, people are prepared to revert 
 to the simpler and more popular institu- 
 tions which existed ages ago among our 
 forefathers, and which seem to be pecu- 
 liarly adapted to the character of the 
 Germanic nations. 
 
 There is a great distinction between 
 Courts of Kecord and courts not of record : 
 courts of record are the king's courts of 
 common law, and have power to fine and 
 imprison, which is not the case with 
 courts not of record. From the judg- 
 ment of a court of record there lies an 
 appeal to the superior courts by writ of 
 error: in courts not of record this is 
 effected by a writ of false judgment. The 
 county court, court baron, and hundred 
 court, are courts not of record. The 
 other courts of common law which we 
 have mentioned are courts of record. 
 
 The great mass of the litigation of the 
 kingdom is carried on by means of the 
 superior courts of Westminster. In each 
 of these courts there is a chief justice and 
 four puisne judges. In the Exchequer 
 these are styled the chief baron and ba- 
 rons, a title which points to the time 
 when their office was filled by the lords 
 of parliament. Another remnant of the 
 original constitution of the courts appears 
 in the judges being addressed as "my 
 lord," which is always given to the 
 judges in their official character. 
 
 The number of puisne judges has 
 varied at different times. During the 
 reigns of the Stuarts there were frequently 
 four, but after the revolution the number 
 seems to have been constantly three in 
 each court, constituting, together with 
 the two chief justices and the chief baron, 
 the twelve judges of England. By an 
 act of parliament of the year 1830, a 
 fourth puisne judge was added to each 
 court, making the total number of the 
 
CREDIT. 
 
 L713] 
 
 CREDIT. 
 
 superior judges of common law fifteen 
 instead of twelve. But the five judges 
 never sit all together, the full court con- 
 sisting, as formerly, of four only. 
 
 During the terms, which are four pe- 
 riods in the year of about three weeks 
 each, the three courts sit at Westminster 
 for the determination of all questions of 
 law ; and twice a year fourteen of the 
 judges make their circuits through Eng- 
 land and Wales, to try, with the assistance 
 of juries, all disputed questions of fact 
 that arise in the country. Actions brought 
 in Middlesex or London are tried in the 
 same manner at the sittings which are 
 held on certain days in and immediately 
 after every term. 
 
 From each of the three courts there 
 lies an appeal by writ of error to the 
 Court of Exchequer Chamber. This is 
 not a permanent court, consisting always 
 of the same members ; but from which- 
 ever of the three courts the appeal is 
 made, it is brought before the judges of 
 the other two. From the constitution of 
 this tribunal, it is evident that where any 
 considerable difference of opinion exists 
 among the fifteen judges, it is incapable 
 of effecting one of the chief purposes of a 
 court of appeal — that of producing uni- 
 formity of decision ; and, accordingly, a 
 further appeal lies by writ of error to 
 the House of Lords. 
 
 For the history of the courts, sec 
 Eeeve's History the English Law ; Mad- 
 dox's History of the Exchequer; Pal- 
 grave's Progress of the English Common- 
 wealth ; Allen's Inquiry into the Prero- 
 gative. 
 
 COURTS CUSTOMARY. [Copt- 
 hold.] 
 
 COURTS ECCLESIASTICAL. [Ec- 
 clesiastical Courts.] 
 
 COURTS OF RECORD. [Courts.] 
 
 COVERTURE. [Wife] 
 
 CREDENTIALS. [Ambassador.] 
 
 CREDIT, in commerce and in political 
 economy, signifies the trusting or lending 
 of one man's property to another. The 
 man who trusts or lends is said to give 
 credit, and he who is trusted is said to 
 obtain it. The one is called a creditor, 
 and the other a debtor. 
 
 Credit is given either in goods or in 
 money. By the former mode goods are 
 
 supplied to a purchaser, for which the 
 payment is deferred for some fixed 
 period, or indefinitely, and the person 
 who supplies them indemnifies himself 
 for the delay by an increased price. By 
 the latter mode, money is advanced, upon 
 security or otherwise, and interest is 
 charged upon the loan. [Interest ; 
 Mortgage.] Both these modes are 
 used, in conjunction with each other, in 
 the large transactions of commerce. A 
 manufacturer, for example, sells to a 
 merchant, for exportation, goods to the 
 value of a thousand pounds. Themerchant, 
 however, is unable to pay for them until 
 he has received remittances from abroad ; 
 and the manufacturer, aware of his sol- 
 vency, is contented to receive in payment 
 a bill of exchange, due at some future 
 period. [Exchange, Bill of.] But in 
 the mean time he is himself in need of 
 money to carry on his business ; and in- 
 stead of waiting for the payment of the 
 bill when it shall become due, he gets it 
 discounted by a banker or other capitalist 
 Thus having given credit to one person 
 in goods, he obtains credit from another 
 in money. In this and other ways capital 
 is circulated and applied to the various 
 purposes for which it is required. But 
 without entering further upon the prac- 
 tical methods by which the mercantile 
 system of credit is conducted, it is pro- 
 posed to inquire into its causes and into 
 its economical uses and results. 
 
 There can be no system of credit until 
 there has been a considerable accumula- 
 tion of capital; for when capital first 
 begins to be accumulated, those who pos- 
 sess it apply it directly in aid of their 
 own labour. They have no superfluity 
 which they can afford to lend to others ; 
 and they are generally engaged in some 
 business in which their savings can be 
 profitably employed. As a country in- 
 creases in wealth, many persons acquire 
 capital which they cannot employ in their 
 own business, or can only employ by 
 offering inducements to purchase in the 
 shape of deferred payments. Others, 
 again, inherit capital from which they 
 wish to derive an income without the 
 trouble of personally superintending its 
 application. It is from these classes of 
 persons that lenders of capital arise ; and 
 
CEEDIT. 
 
 "[ 71*-] 
 
 CHJGDIT. 
 
 they have no difficulty in finding bor- 
 rowers. Setting aside that countless class 
 of mankind whose maxim it is to get money 
 or money's worth, honestly if they can, but 
 at all events to get it — who will borrow 
 whenever others will lend, and reckon the 
 loan as so much money earned, most men 
 have an instinctive perception that the 
 next best thing to having capital of their 
 own is to have the use of the capital of 
 others. The efficacy of capital is very 
 soon discovered as an instrument for the 
 production of wealth, and those who have 
 it not are willing to pay for its use ; or, 
 in other words, to share with a capitalist 
 the profits of their own industry, on con- 
 dition that he intrusts to them sueh funds 
 as they require for making it productive. 
 Thus as soon as a sufficient capital exists, 
 a system of credit has a natural tendency 
 to arise, and will continue to grow with 
 the increase of capital, unless it be 
 checked by a general insecurity of pro- 
 perty, by imperfect legal securities for 
 the payment of debts, or by a want of 
 confidence in the integrity of the parties 
 who desire to borrow. When the society 
 and laws of a country are in a sound state, 
 and capital is abundant, credit comes fully 
 into operation. 
 
 The precise use of credit as an agent 
 in the production of wealth is that it 
 gives circulation to capital, and renders it 
 available wherever it can be most profit- 
 ably employed. It does for capital what 
 division of employments does for labour. 
 Without augmenting its quantity it in- 
 creases its utility and productiveness. 
 Credit, in fact, may be best understood 
 by regarding it as one of the many forms 
 in which the division of employments 
 facilitates the production of wealth. 
 Without the aid of capital, the labour of 
 man is comparatively ineffectual; and 
 credit, by circulating capital among 
 those who are engaged in the productive 
 employment of labour, promotes the most 
 essential of all divisions of industry— that 
 which uses and makes effective the in- 
 genuity of men in those pursuits for 
 which they are adapted. [Division or 
 Employments.] 
 
 To employ capital productively is a 
 business requiring great knowledge, skill, 
 and industry ; and is rendered mor; effec- 
 
 tive by a division of superintendence, as 
 manual labour is facilitated by a judicious 
 distribution of employments among several 
 hands. Every man who borrows money 
 for the legitimate purposes of industry, 
 and applies it with judgment, is really the 
 agent of the capitalist, in executing duties 
 which the capitalist himself would be 
 unable to perform. A man's capital would 
 be comparatively useless without an active 
 superintendence, and a uuion of skill and 
 industry in a particular business. These 
 qualities are placed at his disposal by the 
 system of credit, and stimulated to exer- 
 tion by a share in the profits arising from 
 the use of his capital. If the capitalist 
 should trust persons improvidently, these 
 useful results will not follow j but it is his 
 peculiar province, as it is his interest, tc 
 exercise caution and judgment in the in- 
 vestment of his own capital ; and if he 
 fail to do this, his fortune will suffer in 
 precisely the same manner as if he super- 
 intended a factory himself without under- 
 standing the business, and employed idle 
 and ignorant foremen and unskilled 
 operatives. 
 
 These illustrations will suffice to ex- 
 plain the nature and uses of credit : but 
 it must always be borne in mind that in 
 circulating capital and making it available 
 in aid of industry, it calls no new capital 
 into existence. It makes the existing 
 capital of a country more productive, ana 
 consequently accelerates the accumulation 
 of fresh capital ; but credit cannot be, in 
 itself, a substitute for capital. A man 
 without any capital of his own may carry 
 on business by the aid of credit ; but he 
 is merely using the capital of another. 
 No man can lend his money, and still use 
 it himself. It is not ubiquitous — nor can 
 it serve two purposes at once. If a man 
 does not use his own capital, he may lend 
 it to another to use ; but it is impossible 
 that he can both use it himself and allow 
 another to use it at the same time. He 
 cannot use it in person and by proxy. 
 
 Stated in this manner, the truth of these 
 principles is obvious ; yet so great is the 
 influence of credit in stimulating enter- 
 prise, that it is constantly mistaken for a 
 distinct productive agency. Thus it is 
 said, for example, that wherever credit is 
 freely obtained in a country, great pro* 
 
CREDIT. 
 
 [ 715 ] 
 
 CREDIT. 
 
 sperity is the result ; and it is undeniable 
 that facilities in obtaining credit and 
 prosperity are ordinary concomitants ; but 
 they are both equally the results of an 
 abundance of capital seeking employment, 
 Under circumstances favourable for its 
 profitable use. If credit be granted too 
 freely for the amount of capital by which 
 it is supported, or if it be forced beyond 
 the natural demands of trade, speculations 
 and improvidence are encouraged which 
 are ruinous to the parties concerned, and 
 deeply injurious to society. An apparent 
 prosperity exists for a time, but when 
 the day of reckoning arrives, it is dis- 
 covered that credit, instead of creating 
 capital, has merely diverted it from 
 one investment to another more specu- 
 lative and hazardous, which at best can 
 only be made ultimately profitable by 
 a continuance of the credit by which it 
 was encouraged. But if this credit be 
 limited or withdrawn, what becomes of 
 the fictitious capital upon which so much 
 reliance had been placed ? Without any 
 failure of the enterprise, the capital by 
 which it was conducted is gone at once. 
 This could not happen if credit created 
 capital ; but it is perfectly accounted for 
 when it is understood that capital, how- 
 ever it may be circulated and made acces- 
 sible by credit, in order to be applied 
 to any new object must have been with- 
 drawn from another, to which it is liable 
 to revert. As one of the forms in 
 which capital is distributed, a system of 
 credit is of the highest value; but if 
 relied on as an independent equivalent 
 of capital, it is delusive or fraudulent. 
 [Money.] 
 
 As yet tjiat description of credit which 
 consists in defined payments for goods 
 has only been generally adverted to ; but 
 we cannot close this article without a 
 special notice of its peculiar character 
 and effects. This system of credit is 
 generally resorted to by tradesmen to 
 increase their business; and it is unde- 
 niable that deferred payments offer a 
 strong temptation to purchase. We are 
 always eager to possess, and the cost of 
 possession appears small in remote per- 
 spective. When a customer buys an 
 article for which he is not to pay for 
 twelve months, he becomes indebted for 
 
 its value, and he has also, in fact, bor- 
 rowed that amount of the tradesman, to 
 whom he must ultimately repay — 1st, the 
 cost price of the article ; 2ndly, the profit 
 upon the sale; and, 3rdly, the year's 
 interest upon the amount advanced. The 
 tradesman, if he have capital, and can 
 rely upon ultimate payment, is very glad 
 to encourage purchases, and not only to 
 sell his goods, but to charge a high rate 
 of interest for deferred payments. If he 
 have not a sufficient capital, he must 
 borrow money from others to enable him 
 to give credit ; and, of course, he will 
 charge to his customers a higher interest 
 than he has paid himself. In either case 
 he runs considerable risk, for the debts 
 contracted in this manner are devoid 
 of all security. The goods are supplied 
 and consumed ; and if the parties fail in 
 payment, there can be no restitution or 
 compensation. When the system is fully 
 established, many persons avail themselves 
 of it dishonestly ; others are improvident, 
 and without intentional fraud, exceed 
 their means, and become insolvent ; and 
 various accidental circumstances may pre- 
 vent the tradesman from recovering his 
 debts. His risk, therefore, is exceedingly 
 great ; and in charging interest for his 
 loans, he must cover all his losses. He 
 consequently charges not only a reason- 
 able interest for the risk which he runs 
 in each case, but also an insurance against 
 ail the losses which he may incur in his 
 business. Thus a customer pays the price 
 of his own purchases, a high rate of 
 interest for his loans, and a portion of the 
 unpaid debts of other people. Nor can 
 any check be placed upon the creditor, as 
 in other forms of credit. Wo specific sum 
 is advanced with a stipulated interest ; 
 but a gross amount is due, in which the 
 rate of interest is concealed. It may be 
 exorbitant, and out of all proportion to 
 the value of the article supplied, and the 
 accommodation given ; but it is not sepa- 
 rable from the delusive price. This cir- 
 cumstance is an obvious encouragement 
 to fraud ; and it has a tendency to raise 
 prices injuriously to the consumer ; an 
 evil which even extends itself, in a great 
 measure, to purchases paid for in ready 
 money. 
 It is the abuse, however, or the exces- 
 
CREDIT. 
 
 [ 716 J CREDIT, LETTER OF. 
 
 $ive use of this form of credit, which is 
 mischievous. If properly used, and within 
 reasonable limits, it is as useful as credit 
 in any other form. A few examples will 
 suffice to illustrate this position. The 
 receipts of different consumers are irre- 
 gular; their consumption constant. With- 
 in the year their receipts and expenditure 
 may be about the same ; but in point of 
 time, they cannot be accurately balanced 
 and adjusted one to the other. This 
 system of credit enables them to provide 
 for themselves and their families without 
 privation, and at the cost of no one else. 
 By an operation scarcely perceptible, their' 
 receipts and expenses are adjusted. If, 
 instead of satisfying their wants, they had 
 suffered privation, trade would have been 
 injured and capital employed less fully. 
 Again, a man who pays for everything he 
 consumes a year hence practically adds to 
 his capital a sum equal to the value of his 
 consumption. He gains a whole year of 
 productive industry in advance of his own 
 subsistence. It is true that he will ulti- 
 mately have to pay for it, together with 
 a high interest ; but if he has been 
 able, in the meantime, to apply this 
 additional capital so productively as to 
 leave a balance in his favour, he has en- 
 riched himself and the community. The 
 tradesmen who have trusted him, and the 
 capitalists by whom they have been aided, 
 will have made a profit upon his consump- 
 tion, and have realized the interest upon 
 their loans; while he will have given 
 more employment to capital and to labour 
 than he would have been able to give if 
 he had been compelled to pay for his own 
 subsistence from day to day. 
 
 In various other ways credit, in this 
 form, is a valuable auxiliary to capital and 
 industry ; but whenever it is injudiciously 
 given or accepted it becomes injurious. 
 In this respect it does not differ from 
 other forms of credit. The precise uses 
 of credit in general have been already 
 explained. In whatever form it is judi- 
 ciously and honestly applied it is an 
 efficient agent in the circulation and pro- 
 ductive use of capital ; but whenever it is 
 used without judgment or fraudulently 
 abused, it becomes injurious, and wastes 
 capital instead of encouraging its growth. 
 All great means conducive to social good 
 
 are, unhappily, liable to perversion and 
 abuse. The public credit of nations and 
 mercantile credit have too often been 
 abused, as recently, in the most signal 
 manner, by the Americans ; and the 
 system of tradesmen's credit has also been 
 shamefully perverted; but all alike are 
 conditions inseparable from the applica- 
 tion of capital to the infinite purposes for 
 which it is required. The advantages of 
 credit are so great that it will always be 
 extensively used in every form of which 
 it is susceptible ; but its evils may be 
 mitigated by the judgment and experience 
 of capitalists, and by improved laws for 
 adjusting the relations between debtor 
 and creditor. [Debtor and Creditor ; 
 National Debt.] 
 
 CREDIT, LETTER OF, is an order 
 given by bankers or others at one place, 
 to enable a person to receive money from 
 their agents at another place. The person 
 who obtains a Letter of Credit may pro- 
 ceed to a particular place, and need only 
 to carry with him a sum sufficient to 
 defray his expanses ; and it gives him 
 some of the advantages of a banking 
 account when he reaches his destination! 
 as he may avail himself of it only for part 
 of the sum named in it. If it were not 
 for the convenience which a Letter of 
 Credit affords, a person who was intending 
 to make a tour on the Continent, for 
 example, would be under the necessity 
 either of taking with him the whole of the 
 sum which he would require during his 
 absence, or of receiving remittances from 
 home, addressed to him at particular 
 places. 
 
 A Letter of Credit is not transferable. 
 By a strict interpretation of a clause in 
 the Stamp Act (b5 Geo. III. c. 184), an 
 instrument of this nature would seem to 
 be liable to the same duty as on a bill of 
 exchange payable to bearer or order ; but 
 in practice the duty is openly evaded. If 
 the law were more stringently acted upon, 
 evasion of the duty could be easily prac- 
 tised, as a banker, instead of granting a 
 written instrument, could advise his agent 
 privately to pay certain sums to certain 
 parties, according as the agent might be 
 advised. 
 
 CRIME AND PUNISHMENT 
 [Transportation.] 
 
CUEATOE. 
 
 t 717 ] 
 
 CUEATOE. 
 
 CRIMINAL CONVERSATION. 
 [ Adultery.! 
 
 CRIMINAL LAW. [Law, Cri- 
 minal.] 
 
 CROWN SOLICITOR. In state pro- 
 secutions in England the solicitor to the 
 treasury acts as solicitor for the crown in 
 preparing the prosecution. In Ireland 
 there are officers called crown solicitors 
 attached to each circuit, whose duty it is 
 to get up every case for the crown in 
 criminal prosecutions. They are paid by 
 salaries. There is no such system in 
 England; where prosecutions are can- 
 ducted by solicitors appointed by the pa- 
 rish or other persons bound over to pro- 
 secute by the magistrates on each com- 
 mittal,; but in Scotland the still better 
 plan exists of a crown prosecutor in every 
 county, who prepares every criminal pro- 
 secution whatever. 
 
 CUEATE, PERPETUAL. [Bene- 
 fice, p. 343.] 
 
 CUEA'TOR, from the Latin Cura, 
 ' care.' Curators in ancient Rome were 
 public officers of various kinds, particu- 
 larly after the time of Augustus, who 
 established several officers with this title. 
 (Suet., Augustus, cap. 37.) 
 
 1. Curatores viarum, that is, curators 
 who superintended the laying out and 
 repairing of the public roads. This 
 office existed under the Republic (Cicero, 
 Ad Attic, i. 1), but it was only held 
 as an extraordinary office, and was con- 
 ferred only for special purposes. 
 
 2. Curatores operum publicorum, 
 aquarum, cloacarum, who had the su- 
 perintendence of the public buildings, 
 theatres, bridges, aqueducts, and cloaca!. 
 
 3. Curatores alvei Tiberis, who were 
 the conservators of the Tiber. 
 
 4. Curatores frumenti populo divi- 
 dundi, whose duty was to distribute corn 
 among the people. Under the emperors 
 we find other officers with the name 
 of curatores ; as, for instance, the cu- 
 ratores ludorum, who had the superin- 
 tendence of the public amusements : and 
 curatores reipublicae, also called logistse, 
 whose duty it was to administer the 
 landed property of municipia. 
 
 Curator is also the name of a person 
 who was appointed to protect persons in 
 their dealings who were above the age of 
 
 puberty and under the age of twenty-five 
 years. On attaining the age of puberty, 
 which was fourteen according to some 
 authorities, a youth acquired full legal 
 capacity, and he could act without the 
 intervention of a tutor. But though he 
 had thus attained full legal capacity, it 
 was considered that he still required pro- 
 tection, and this was given him by a Lex 
 Plaetoria, the date of which is uncertain, 
 but it is as old as the time of Plautus, who 
 alludes to it The effect of this law was 
 to divide all males into two classes, those 
 above twenty-five years of age and those 
 below, who were sometimes called minores, 
 or minors. The object of the law was to 
 protect minors against fraud, for the 
 minor, if he had been cheated in a con- 
 tract, might plead the Lex Plaetoria 
 against an attempt to enforce it. Pro- 
 bably, also, a man who dealt with a 
 minor might protect himself against any 
 risk of the dealing being called in ques- 
 tion, by requiring the minor to have a 
 curator for the occasion. It would not 
 be the business of the curator to assent to 
 the contract of the minor, who had full 
 legal capacity, but to prevent his being 
 cheated. The praetorian edict extended 
 the principle of the Lex Plaetoria by 
 setting aside all transactions by a minor 
 which might be injurious to him ; but it 
 was necessary for the minor to apply to 
 the praetor for redress during his minority, 
 or within one year after he had attained 
 his majority. The remedy that the 
 praetor gave to the minor was the " in 
 integrum restitutio," which means restor- 
 ing the applicant to his former position by 
 setting aside the contract or dealing. 
 
 Till the time of the Emperor Marcus 
 Aurelius, it appears that a minor only had 
 a curator on special occasions, as when he 
 wished to make a contract. In this case 
 he applied to the praetor, and stated the' 
 grounds on which he applied. The praetor 
 then gave him a curator if he thought 
 proper. We must suppose that the appli- 
 cation would only be made when the 
 matter was of some importance. The 
 object of the application was the security 
 of the person who dealt with the minor, 
 and the benefit of the minor also ; for a 
 prudent person would not deal with him 
 without such security. The Emperor 
 
CUSTOMS. 
 
 t 718 ] 
 
 CUSTOMS. 
 
 Aurelius established it as a general prin- 
 ciple that all minors should have curators. 
 The subject of the Roman curators is fully 
 investigated by Savigny. ( Von dent Schutz 
 der Minderjaliriqen, Zeitschrift fur Ge- 
 schichtliche Hechtswissenschaft, x.) 
 
 If a man was wasting his property 
 imprudently (prodigus), his next of kin 
 (agnati) were his curators ; and the same 
 was the rule as to a man who was out of 
 his mind (furiosus). The law of the 
 Twelve Tables fixed this rule ; and in 
 cases to which the law of the Twelve 
 Tables did not apply, the prsetor named a 
 curator or committee. 
 
 It may be just as well to warn people 
 not to confound a Roman Curator with a 
 Roman Tutor [Tutor]. 
 
 CURRENCY. [Money.] 
 
 CUIiSITOR BARON, an officer of 
 the Court of Exchequer, is appointed by 
 patent under the great seal to be one of 
 the barons of the Exchequer. He attends 
 at Westminster to open the court prior to 
 the commencement of each of the four 
 terms, and on the seal day after each 
 term to close the court. He administers 
 the oaths to all high-sheriffs and under- 
 sheriffs who are sworn by the court, and 
 to several officers of revenue. Prior to 
 1833 he had various other duties to per- 
 form; but since the passing of the act 
 3 & 4 Will. IV. c. 99, much of the busi- 
 ness of his office has entirely ceased ; and 
 the commissioners appointed under the 
 1 Will. IV. c. 58, in reporting on the con- 
 solidation of the offices in the Courts of 
 Queen's Bench and Common Pleas, re- 
 commended the abolition of the office of 
 cursitor baron. This recommendation 
 however has not been carried into effect. 
 (Report of Commissioners on offices of 
 Courts of Justice, 1822 ; Pari. Paper, 
 No. 125 ; Pari. Paper, 1835, No. 314.) 
 
 CUSTOMARY FREEHOLD. [Co- 
 pyhold.] 
 
 CUSTOMS, or USAGES (consuetu- 
 dines), are either general or local. The 
 first kind consist of those usages which 
 have prevailed throughout England from 
 time immemorial: their origin is un- 
 known, but having been recognized by 
 judicial decision,* they form that common 
 
 * Bractoo's definition of a custom is this — 
 
 law, or lex non scripta, which is the 
 foundation of English Law. To like 
 immemorial usage is to be ascribed the 
 existence of such parts of the Roman and 
 canon laws, as from the earliest times 
 have formed the rule in the king's eccle- 
 siastical, military, and admiralty tribu- 
 nals, and also in the courts of the two 
 English universities. These laws of 
 foreign origin subsist however only as 
 inferior branches of the customary law, 
 subject to control by the superior temporal 
 courts, and to a strict adhereilce to the 
 rules of construction observed by these 
 courts in the interpretation of statute 
 law. 
 
 These general customs of the realm, 
 which form the common law, properly so 
 called, alone warrant the existence and 
 jurisdiction of the king's superior courts ; 
 and can only be drawn into question 
 there. These general customs, as ori- 
 ginally methodized by the Saxon kings, 
 and in some cases modified in the early 
 Norman reigns, supplied those funda- 
 mental rules by which, in cases not other- 
 wise regulated by statute, the law of in- 
 heritance, the interpretation of acts of 
 parliament, and most of the remedies for 
 civil and criminal injuries are regulated. 
 Numerous axioms essential to the admi- 
 nistration of justice have no other binding 
 force than antient and uninterrupted 
 usage, which has obtained the force of 
 law by the recognition of the courts. 
 [Common Law.] 
 
 Among these general customs are those 
 rules which prevail among the particular 
 bodies of men to which they relate; 
 merchants, innkeepers, carriers, owners of 
 lands adjoining the sea-coast, &c. &c, as 
 well as the inhabitants of particular 
 counties or boroughs, in the particular 
 instances of gavelkind and Borough Eng- 
 
 * CoDsuetwlo vero quandnque pro lege obeerva 
 tur, in partibus ubi fuerit more utentium appro- 
 bata, et vicem legis obtinet, longBBVi eaim tern 
 poris usiis et consnetudinis non est vilis aulhori- 
 tas.' (Uracton, fol. ii., cd. Lond. 1569.) This 
 is no inapt definition of a custom observed as if 
 it were law, by those who find it convenient and 
 reasonable; but we can hardly conclude from 
 this passage that this excellent old writer clearly 
 saw that custom could not be law till made so 
 by the sovereign power, or those to whom the 
 sovereign power has delegated parts of its an., 
 thority. 
 
CUSTOMS. 
 
 L 719 J 
 
 CUSTOMS. 
 
 Jish. That custom called the law of the 
 road, by which riders and drivers are 
 expected to keep the left hand, as well as 
 that respecting servants hired at yearly 
 wages, by which either master or servant 
 may determine the contract at a month's 
 warning, or on paying a month's wages, 
 have been recognized by the courts from 
 time to time as parts of the common law. 
 These, like the rest, originated in general 
 convenience, and being gradually drawn 
 more into notice by frequent recurrence, 
 have been finally sanctioned by judicial 
 authority. For the principle of imme- 
 morial customs may be extended to things 
 and circumstances which arise at the 
 present times. Thus a custom from time 
 immemorial that all officers of a court of 
 justice shall be exempt from serving other 
 offices includes offices created within the 
 time of legal memory, but cannot be 
 enlarged beyond the extent t» which the 
 use has been carried; for that, and not 
 the reason of the thing, determines the 
 courts in declaring what the law is in 
 such cases. Yet, though the judges in 
 such a case as this declare the law to be 
 what they do declare it, they dp in fact 
 make a new rule of law ; they legislate 
 by analogy to the rule that subsists. 
 
 The customs by which the king's 
 superior courts of Westminster Hall regu- 
 late their administration of justice, are 
 termed their practice. These rules are 
 founded on antient usage, and, in respect 
 ef their universality, form a part of the 
 common law without its being necessary 
 to allege custom or prescription to warrant 
 them. 
 
 Where a custom is already part of the 
 common law, the superior courts take 
 notice of its existence as such, without 
 requiring it to be stated in the written 
 pleadings. Thus each of these tribunals 
 takes notice of its own customs or practice 
 as well as of that the rest ; whereas the 
 practice of inferior courts, as well as local 
 customs, extending to certain persons or 
 districts only, being therefore different 
 from and contrary to the common law, 
 must, with the exception of gavelkind and 
 Borough English, be set forth with due 
 precision. 
 
 This, though an observation apparently 
 technical only, forms in its application 
 
 the test by which we distinguish general 
 from the local or particular customs just 
 described. Particular customs must have 
 had their origiu in the peculiar wants of~ 
 their respective districts, and are the 
 remains of that multitude of similar usages 
 from which Alfred and his Saxon succes- 
 sors collected those laws which may be 
 considered as forming the common law of 
 the nation at the time. 
 
 Many of these customs, for reasons now 
 forgotten, have remained in some counties, 
 cities, aud manors, in their former vigour, 
 though at variance with the laws of the 
 rest of the nation, and are confirmed by 
 Magna Charta and other acts of parlia- 
 ment. Such are the customs of gavelkind 
 (abolished in Wales by stat. Henry VIII.), 
 by which all the sons inherit alike, of 
 Borough English, by which lands held in 
 burgage tenure descend to the youngest, 
 instead of the eldest son ; and of some 
 boroughs, that widows shall have dower 
 of all, instead of a third of their husbands' 
 lands. A more striking instance is that 
 custom in many cities and towns to hold 
 courts for trial of causes without royal 
 grant. The particular customs of manors 
 as to descent were also of this kind, aud 
 bind the copyhold and customary tenants ; 
 but the law of descent is now made uni.-* 
 form. The existence of every such local 
 custom, with the exceptions above noticed, 
 as well as its application in each particu- 
 lar case, must be alleged in the pleadings, 
 and proved, like any other fact, before a 
 jury : sometimes they are open to evidence 
 without being pleaded. Under no cir- 
 cumstances can these questions be enter-, 
 tained by an ecclesiastical court without 
 the consent of the party who impugns the 
 custom. 
 
 Such customs of London as do not con- 
 cern the property of the corporate body 
 itself are proved by a peculiar mode, that 
 of a certificate to the superior courts of 
 law from the lord mayor and aldermen,, 
 conveyed by the mouth of their recorder 
 in a solemn ceremonial ; without this cer- 
 tificate these courts will not take judicial' 
 notice of them. 
 
 A custom to be valid must have been 
 used " from time whereof the memory 
 of man runneth not to .the contrary.", 
 This is " prescription," or " title by pre-. 
 
CUSTOMS. 
 
 [ 720 
 
 CUSTOMS. 
 
 scriptiou ;" and more accurately descrihes 
 what is commonly called " time imme- 
 morial," which, means, says Littleton, 
 " that no living witness hath heard any 
 proof or had any knowledge to the con- 
 trary," and as Lord Coke adds, "that 
 there is no proof by record or writing or 
 otherwise to the contrary." It has been 
 doubted whether a prescription (in its 
 proper sense) and a custom can coexist. 
 There is some curious learning on this 
 point collected in the arguments and judg- 
 ment in Blewett v. Tregoning, 3 Ad. and 
 Ellis. It has been held that a custom in 
 a particular market that every pound of 
 butter sold in it should weigh 1 8 oz. was 
 bad, being directly contrary to 13 & 14 
 Charles II. c. 26, which enacted that every 
 pound avoirdupois throughout the king- 
 dom should weigh 16 oz. only. The right 
 to a particular custom must have been 
 continued within time of memory peace- 
 ably and without lawful interruption, and 
 will not be lost by mere disuse for ten or 
 twenty years ; though in such case it be- 
 comes more difficult to establish it by 
 proof. But it cannot stand against an 
 express act of parliament to the contrary, 
 for that itself proves a time when the 
 right to such a custom could not exist. 
 It must also be so far reasonable, accord- 
 ing to the standard warranted by authority 
 of law, that though no particular origin 
 can now be assigned for it, or though the 
 state of things in which it is known to 
 have arisen has been altered, no good 
 legal reason can be given against its con- 
 tinuance. If it may have had a legal and 
 reasonable origin, it shall be presumed 
 that it actually had it; and its varying 
 from the general law forms no objection, 
 for that is the very essence of a particular 
 custom : but if it be so contrary to any 
 known rule or principle of law, or to the 
 good of the public, or of a multitude of 
 persons, that it cannot be presumed to 
 have had a reasonable commencement in 
 voluntary agreement for some beneficial 
 object, as for securing possessions, pro- 
 moting trade, or suppressing fraud, it will 
 be void. Thus no length of usage would 
 render good a custom of the secretary of 
 state's office to issue warrants in general 
 terms against the authors, printers, and 
 publishers of a libel, without naming 
 
 them ; that course is contrary to clear 
 and well-settled principles of law, which 
 will not suffer a mere officer to decide on 
 the individuals who are to be imprisoned. 
 Again, a custom in an inferior court to 
 try causes by six jurors was held bad, as 
 contrary to the common law, though 
 saved in Wales in some instances by a 
 statute of Henry VIII., which confirmed 
 such custom where it then existed. But 
 long usage and acquiescence in one uni- 
 form payment, or in exempting persons 
 particularly situated from contributing to 
 it, are cogent evidence that it is reason- 
 able ; for, as Lortl Mansfield once said, it 
 cannot be presumed that during a long 
 period of years one-half the parties were 
 knaves in wrongfully receiving that to 
 which they were not entitled, and the 
 other fools for submitting to an unjust 
 demand. It belongs to the judges of the 
 courts to decide what is reasonable when 
 the question arises in any matter that 
 comes before the court. 
 
 Where a custom is harmless and affords 
 recreation to a number of persons, though 
 to the temporary inconvenience of an in- 
 dividual, it will be upheld and referred 
 to a legal origin. Thus a custom for the 
 inhabitants of a parish to play at cricket, 
 or dance, on private property in the parish, 
 was held good, as the lord might have 
 annexed this condition to his original 
 grant of the land. A custom must also 
 be certain as to the description of parties 
 benefited, and compulsory, without its 
 depending on the caprice of any third 
 person whether it can be acted on or not. 
 It must also be consistent ; for repugnancy 
 to any other local custom would be plainly 
 contrary to that origin in common con- 
 sent on which alone it stands : and, lastly, 
 it must be strictly pursued, being deroga> 
 tory from the common law. 
 
 Local custom varies from prescription 
 in this : local custom is alleged in legal 
 forms as existing not in any person cer- 
 tain, but within a certain named district, 
 without showing any legal cause or con- 
 sideration for it; whereas prescription 
 must have a presumed legal origin, and 
 is either a personal right, always claimed 
 in the name of a person certain and his 
 ancestors, or those whose estate he has, or 
 by a body politic and their predecessors, 
 
CUSTOMS. 
 
 C 721 J 
 
 CUSTOMS-DUTIES. 
 
 or else is in a que estate ; that is, a right 
 attached to the ownership of a particular 
 estate, and only exercisable by those who 
 are seised of it. All customs of cities, 
 towns, and boroughs, by which persons 
 not freemen were prevented from keeping 
 shops or using trades or handicrafts within 
 them, were abolished by 5 & 6 Wm. IV. 
 c 76, § 14, except in the case of the cus- 
 toms of the city of London. 
 
 Customs of traders, or seamen, as also 
 ff agriculture, mining, and other branches 
 of industry, will be followed in the con- 
 struction of contracts, unless they are in- 
 consistent with their express terms, and, 
 subject to that condition, they are ad- 
 missible even to annex incidents to them 
 as to which they are silent. The " custom 
 of the country" means the custom of all 
 parts of the country to. which it can in its 
 nature be applied. Thus a custom that 
 land accruing imperceptibly to the sea- 
 shore belongs to the owners of the shore, 
 applies to all such parts of the realm as 
 adjoin the sea, unless limited in terms to 
 a particular district. 
 
 The immemoriality of a particular local 
 custom may be sufficiently proved by 
 living witnesses who can attest its con- 
 tinued existence for twenty years, unless 
 contradicted by contrary proof. Upon 
 this doctrine will be found to depend a 
 great variety of public as well as private 
 rights to ancient offices, estrays, treasure 
 trove, wreck, nomination of juries, &c. ; 
 as well as to tolls of markets, port duties, 
 tithes, ancient rents, &c, and to exemp- 
 tions from? those burdens. The numerical 
 amount of instances in which the privilege 
 can be proved to have existed must be 
 considerable or not according to the fre- 
 quency or the rarity with which according 
 to the nature of the case they may be ex- 
 pected to recur. 
 
 Reiterated facts of user make a custom 
 of trade ; but the mere opinion of mer- 
 chants is not sufficient for that purpose ; 
 nor can any course of action pursued 
 under colour of a custom of merchants 
 alter a general rule of common law when 
 established by judicial decisions .. 
 
 A long continued usage for exempting 
 particular persons from a local burden, 
 will, if necessary, be supported by pre- 
 suming that it originated ir> an act of par- 
 
 liament now lost, though no length of 
 usage will avail against the terms of a 
 statute to the contrary. 
 
 CUSTOMS-DUTIES consist for the 
 most part of taxes levied upon goods and 
 produce brought for consumption from 
 foreign countries ; such duties are some- 
 times collected upon exports made to 
 foreign countries, and upon goods and 
 produce passing from one port to an- 
 other of the same country. Of this na- 
 ture were the duties on coals, slate, and 
 stone, carried coastwise from one port in 
 the United Kingdom to another, which 
 duties were repealed in 1831. Since the 
 abolition of the export duty on coal in 
 1845, the only duties outwards consist of 
 an ad valorem duty of one-half per cent, 
 on the shipment of some articles of Bri- 
 tish production, and it will not produce 
 so much as 1500/. a year. 
 
 The earliest statute passed in this coun- 
 try whereby the crown was authorised 
 to levy customs-duties, was the 3rd of 
 Edward I. The mode long employed in 
 the collection of these duties was to affix 
 a certain rate or value upon each kind or 
 article of merchandise, and to grant what 
 was called a subsidy upon these rates. 
 This subsidy was generally one shilling 
 of duty for every twenty shillings of 
 value assigned in the book of rates. The 
 early acts which grant these duties speak 
 of them as subsidies of tonnage and pound- 
 age. The word tonnage was applied to 
 a specific duty charged on the importa- 
 tion of each tun of wine and the export- 
 ation of each tun of beer ; and the word 
 poundage was applied to other articles 
 valued as already explained. 
 
 The first " book of rates agreed upon by 
 the House of Commons," is believed to be 
 that compiled by a committee in 1642, 
 during the reign of Charles I., and pub- 
 lished under the authority of the • House 
 by Lawrence Blaiklock. The next book 
 of rates of which we have any record 
 was also published by order of the House 
 of Commons in 1660, the year of the 
 restoration of Charles II. In the fifteenth 
 and twenty-second years of the reign of 
 that king, the principle of poundage was 
 altered as respected some articles, and 
 upon those articles specific duties weie 
 charged instead, though the system was 
 3 A 
 
CUSTOMS-DUTIES. [ 722 ] CUSTOMS-DUTIES. 
 
 still followed with regard to the great 
 bulk of articles. But in the reigns of 
 William III. and Anne many additional 
 specific rates were imposed, in place of 
 the valuation for the subsidy. This 
 course of substitution was continued from 
 time to time, and some other innovations 
 were adopted, by which the simplicity of 
 the ancient plan was destroyed ; so that 
 in a work of authority, published by Mr. 
 Henry Saxby, of the Custom-House, Lon- 
 don, in 1757, we find as many as thirty- 
 nine principal branches of customs-duties, 
 with subdivisions applying to different 
 kinds of goods, whereby a degree of com- 
 plication was introduced into the subject 
 which must have caused great embarrass- 
 ment to traders. 
 
 The difficulties here mentioned were 
 increased by the great number of acts of 
 parliament passed from year to year for 
 altering the duties or regulations of this 
 branch of the revenue; and the great 
 bulk and intricacy of the customs-laws 
 had caused such inconvenience that about 
 the year 1810 the lords of the Treasury 
 employed Mr. Jickling to prepare a 
 digest of those laws. Five years were 
 employed in completing this task, and 
 some idea may be formed of the laborious 
 nature of the work, and of the necessity 
 for its performance, from the fact that 
 the digest forms a large octavo volume 
 of 1375 pages. The work is entitled 'A 
 Digest of the Laws of the Customs, com- 
 prising a Summary of the Statutes in force 
 from the earliest period to the 53rd 
 George III. inclusive.' The effect of 
 numerous fresh enactments to impair the 
 usefulness of this exposition of the reve- 
 nue laws was very soon apparent, and in 
 1823 Mr. Hume, the secretary of the 
 Board of Trade, then comptroller of the 
 Customs in the port of London, was ap- 
 pointed by the Treasury " to undertake 
 the preparation of a general law or set of 
 laws for the consolidation of the Customs 
 of the United Kingdom." In the per- 
 formance of this duty, Mr. Hume pre- 
 pared eleven bills, which received the 
 royal assent in July, 1825, and came into 
 operation lstof January, 1826. Theseacts 
 were 6 Geo. IV. caps. 106, 107, 108, 
 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114,115,116. 
 Tho first of these acts repealed 443 sta- 
 
 tutes, many of which were obsolete. In 
 1833 eight of Mr. Hume's acts were re- 
 pealed or altered by 3 & 4 Wm. IV. caps. 
 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57. Theseacts no 
 doubt effected great improvements in the 
 management of the Customs, but cap. 56 
 enumerated no fewer than 1150 different 
 rates of duty chargeable on imported ar- 
 ticles, all other articles paying duty as 
 '• unenumerated." In 1 840 Mr. Porter, 
 of the Board of Trade, in his evidence 
 before the Parliamentary committee on 
 import duties, showed that out of a total 
 amount of 22,902,6102. of Customs-duties 
 received in 1839, 
 
 17 articles produced 94^ per 
 
 cent, or , . £21,700,630 
 
 29 articles produced 3$ per 
 
 cent or ... 898,661 
 
 46 articles produced 98| per 
 
 cent, or . . £22,599,291 
 
 In 1842 Sir Robert Peel effected some 
 improvements in this system, which were 
 carried into effect by 5 & 6 Vict. c. 47. 
 This act reduced the duty on about 750 
 different articles on which the receipts 
 had amounted to about 270.000Z. The 
 general principle of the measure was to 
 reduce the duty on raw materials to about 
 5 per cent, to limit the highest duty on 
 partially manufactured materials to 12 
 per cent., and on complete manufactures 
 to about 20 per cent. The number of 
 articles in the tariff was now reduced to 
 813. Foreign horned cattle, sheep, goats, 
 swine, salmon, soles, and other fish, and 
 fresh beef and pork, which had been pro- 
 hibited formerly, were admitted on pay- 
 ing a duty under the tariff of 1842. In 
 1844 the duty on foreign wool was abo- 
 lished. In 1845 Sir Eobert Peel effected 
 further improvements in the tariff by 
 abolishing the duty on cotton wool (about 
 680,0002.) and on 430 other articles, on 
 which the duty amounted to 320,0002. 
 By this plan expenses of warehousing 
 are saved [Warehousing System], and 
 a number of troublesome accounts and 
 impediments to business are got rid 
 of; but for statistical purposes the Cus- 
 toms department retains the power of 
 examining articles which do not pay 
 
CUSTOMS-DUTIES. 
 
 [ 723 ] CUSTOMS-DUTIES. 
 
 duty. The paramount object of the tariff 
 reform of 1845 was to encourage the abun- 
 dance and cheapness of raw materials of 
 manufacture. 
 
 The following is an abstract from an 
 official 'Expository Statement,' showing 
 the net annual produce of the duties of 
 Customs on all articles imported into the 
 United Kingdom in two years preceding 
 and in two years following the establish- 
 ment of the new tariff (5 & 6 Vict. 
 c. 47). 
 
 Articles producing Old Tariff. New Tariff, 
 under the 
 
 New tariff. £ £ 
 
 Under 100/. 19,037 8,040 
 
 £100 to 500 71,972 34,4fil 
 
 500 to 1,000 69,032 36,258 
 
 1,000 to 10,000 570,718 317,492 
 
 10,000 to 50,000 706,991 511,570 
 
 50,000 to 100,000 389,006 395,603 
 
 1 00,000 & upwards 20,810,542 21,417,462 
 
 Exempt from duty 
 
 or prohibited . 196 „ 
 
 In 1844 the gross receipt on the fol- 
 lowing five articles was 15,728,857/. : — 
 
 Sugar . . 
 
 £4,758,415 
 
 Tea . . . , 
 
 3,884,726 
 
 Tobacco . . . 
 
 3,093,217 
 
 Foreign Spirits . 
 
 2,193,067 
 
 Wine . . 
 
 1,799,430 
 
 22,637,494 22,720,886 
 
 On 598 articles, the duties on which 
 were altered in 1842, 1843, and 1844, the 
 receipts were 3,851,259/. in 1840 and 
 1841, and 2,478*306/. in 1843 and 1844. 
 
 On 214 articles, the duties on which 
 were not altered in 1842, 1843, and 1844, 
 the receipts were 18,114,525/. in 1840 
 and 1841, and 19,094,890/. in 1843 and 
 1844. 
 
 The net amount of duties collected in 
 the United Kingdom on imported articles, 
 after the deduction of drawbacks, repay- 
 ments, &c. in the several years from 1828 
 to 1844, both inclusive, was as follows : — 
 On Corn (in- 
 cluded iu the pre- 
 ceding column), 
 
 1828 . . 21,691,613 193,251 
 
 1829 . . 21,359,802 898,794 
 
 1830 . . 21,622,683 790,110 
 
 1831 . . 21,272,263 544,792 
 
 1832 . . 21,714,524 307,988 
 
 1833 . . 20,892,902 35,342 
 
 1834 . . 21,282,080 97,987 
 
 1835 . . 21,873,814 234,576 
 
 1836 . . 22,758,369 149,662 
 
 1837 . . 21,849,109 583,271 
 
 1838 . . 22,121,038 186,759 
 
 1839 . . 22,958,254 1,098,849 
 
 1840 . . 23,153,958 1,156,660 
 
 1841 . . 23,302,152 568,341 
 
 1842 . . 22,356,324 1,363,978 
 
 1843 . . 22,450,074 758,295 
 
 1844 . . 23,864,494 1,098,383 
 The following table shows the nature 
 
 of the tariff previous to the alterations in 
 1845:— 
 
 Articles 
 
 each producing in , 
 
 1843-14, 
 
 Under £100 . 
 £100 to 500 . 
 500 to 1,000 . 
 1,000 to 10,000 . 
 10,000 to 50,000 . 
 50,000 to 100,000 . 
 100,000 and upwards. 
 Exempted from duty or pro- 
 hibited 
 
 Articles 
 in. a raw 
 state for 
 Manu- 
 factures. 
 
 No. 
 
 144 
 
 45 
 
 16 
 
 28 
 
 6 
 
 Articles 
 partially 
 manu- 
 factured. 
 
 No. 
 54 
 19 
 
 5 
 11 
 
 5 
 
 8 — 
 
 Total. 252 
 
 The charges of collection on the gross 
 receipt of Customs-duties (24,277,477/.) 
 
 Articles 
 wholly 
 manu- 
 factured. 
 
 No. 
 113 
 
 31 
 
 17 
 
 27 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 196 
 
 Articles 
 
 of 
 
 Food. 
 
 No. 
 46 
 15 
 
 6 
 28 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 12 
 
 121 
 
 Notcom- 
 prehend- 
 ed under 
 the pre- 
 ceding 
 heads. 
 No. 
 91 
 27 
 6 
 15 
 2 
 
 149 
 
 Total. 
 
 No. 
 448 
 137 
 
 50 
 109 
 
 25 
 5 
 
 17 
 
 22 
 813 
 
 95 
 
 for the United Kingdom were 1,264,996/. 
 in 1844, or 5/. 4s. 2$d. per cent On a 
 3 A2 
 
CUSTOMS-DUTIES. 
 
 L 724 j 
 
 DAMAGES. 
 
 gross receipt of 2,358,543/. for Ireland 
 the charges of collection were 215,223/., 
 or 9/. 2s. 6d. per cent., or nearly doable 
 the per centage for Great Britain. The 
 great heads of expenditure of the Cus- 
 toms establishment are— 797,910/. civil 
 department ; preventive water - guard, 
 345,226/.; cruisers, 97,401/. ; land-guard 
 19,058/. The sum of 797,910/. for the 
 civil department consists of 429,147/. sa- 
 laries and allowances; 128,201/., day-pay; 
 121,017/., superannuation allowances ; 
 16,711/. for compensation and allowances 
 for offices and fees abolished; 17,789/. 
 law charges; special services and tra- 
 velling charges, 19,208/., besides some 
 other heads under which the disburse- 
 ments were of smaller amount. Besides 
 the actual charges of collection, the Cus- 
 toms revenue is charged with the follow- 
 ing payments : — Quarantine and ware- 
 housing establishments, &c., 148,070/. ; 
 payments in support of the civil govern- 
 ment of Scotland, 108,640/. ; compensation 
 to naval officers in the coast-guard, &c, 
 and to officers of the late tax-department 
 in Ireland, 44,139/. ; payments on account 
 of the difference of Trinity light and 
 pilotage dues between British and foreign 
 vessels, and on account of compensation 
 to the South Sea Guarantee Fund, 14,220/. ; 
 and some other sums, making a total of 
 315,624/. 
 
 The management of the revenue of 
 Customs is committed to a board of nine 
 commissioners, acting as a subordinate 
 department of the Treasury. The com- 
 missioners receive a salary of 1200/. : the 
 chairman receives 800/. in addition, and 
 the deputy-chairman 500/. In 1845 
 two of the commissioners were young 
 men of twenty-six years of age. The 
 total number of persons in the Customs 
 establishment of the port of London in 
 1844 was 1881, and the total expense 
 thereof was 259,632/. 
 
 Nearly one-half of the Customs revenue 
 of the United Kingdom is collected in the 
 port of London, and about one-fifth of 
 the whole in the port of Liverpool. In 
 1 843 the amounts collected at five prin- 
 cipal ports was as under : — 
 
 London 
 Liverpool . 
 
 .£11,354,702 
 4,121,522 
 
 Bristol . . . £996,750 
 Dublin . . . 977,890 
 
 Hull .... 525,418 
 
 CUSTOS BRE'VIUM. Officers so 
 called existed until lately both in the 
 Court of Queen's Bench and the Court of 
 Common Pleas. They received and had 
 the custody of all the writs returnable in 
 their respective courts, filed warrants of 
 attorney, and various other documents 
 connected with the business of the courts. 
 By virtue of the act 1 Will. IV. c. 58, 
 these offices (of which the duties were 
 performed by deputy) were abolished in 
 both courts, and compensation granted to 
 their possessors. The office in the Court 
 of Queen's Bench was held by Lords 
 Kenyon and Ellenborough jointly, and 
 the compensation granted them was 
 2089/. 17s. id. per annum. In the Court 
 of Common Pleas the compensation grant- 
 ed to the custos brevium was 606/. 10s. (,d. 
 per annum. {Pari. Papers, 1835, No. 
 314; 1844, No. 413.) 
 
 CUSTOS BOTULO'RUM is the chief 
 civil officer of the county, to whose cus- 
 tody are committed the records or rolls 
 of the sessions. He is always a justice 
 of the peace and quorum in the county for 
 which he is appointed. The lord-lieu- 
 tenant has the chief military command of 
 the county, and his office is quite distinct 
 from that of custos rotulorum ; but it is 
 the invariable practice to appoint the 
 same person to both offices, in whom is 
 united the highest military and civil au- 
 thority within the county. By statute 
 37 Hen. VIII. c. 1, and 1 Wm. III. c. 21, 
 he is appointed under the queen's sign 
 manual. As he has the custody of the 
 rolls of the sessions, he should attend there 
 in person or by deputy ; and this duty is 
 performed by the clerk of the peace as 
 his deputy. [Clerk of the Peace.] 
 (Blackstone's Comm. ; Burn's Justice of 
 the Peace ; Dickinson, Guide to Quarter 
 Sessions.} 
 
 D. 
 
 DAMAGES, for which the Law Latin 
 uses the word Damna, signifies a com- 
 pensation iu money which a man gets by 
 the verdict of a jury for some wrong 
 
DAMAGES. 
 
 [725] 
 
 DAMAGES. 
 
 that he has sustained. The damages in 
 any action in which compensation for a 
 wrong may be got are assessed by a 
 jury, and when judgment is given, the 
 plaintiff is entitled to get these damages 
 from the defendant. 
 
 The plural word "damages" in this 
 sense appears to be a technical use of the 
 word "damage," damnum in the Law 
 Latin, which means the loss that one 
 man sustains by the act of another. The 
 loss may be either a loss that affects his 
 property or it may arise from an act 
 which affects only his person, as assault, 
 and imprisonment. There is a legal 
 maxim that a man cannot recover dam- 
 ages when there is a " damnum absque 
 injuria," a loss without an injury, that 
 is, when one person sustains a loss by the 
 act of another, but the act is not an ille- 
 gal act. The word "injury" is here 
 used in the proper sense of the Latin 
 word " injuria," from which it comes : 
 " injuria" signifies that which is " non jure 
 factum," or done contrary to law. Dam- 
 ages then may be got when the act which 
 causes the damage is an "injury" or 
 " legal wrong," but not otherwise, how- 
 ever great may be the loss caused by the 
 act of another. If one comes and sets up 
 a shop by the side of another and takes 
 away all his custom, he has caused him 
 loss enough, but the sufferer can have no 
 compensation, for it is legal for a man to 
 set up a shop, even if he thereby ruins 
 ail other shopkeepers. 
 
 The kind of acts which are considered 
 injuries is fixed bylaw; but sometimes 
 cases arise in which it is difficult to de- 
 termine how far the act which causes loss 
 is an act which is permitted, or should be 
 permitted, for the administrators of the 
 law sometimes determine what shall be 
 law by an appeal to what should be. 
 
 The word " damnum," damage, is used 
 in the Roman Law. There might be 
 " damnum sine injuria facientis," which 
 was called Pauperies, a term which signi- 
 fied some damage caused by a quadruped, 
 for which the owner was liable. The 
 word " injuria" implied that the doer must 
 be a rational agent ; and therefore in the 
 case of an animal, the mischief was said 
 to be done without "injuria." When 
 the loss or damage was caused by the act 
 
 of a human being, it was " damnum in- 
 juria." {Dig. 9, tit 1 and 2.) 
 
 A man may receive great loss from the 
 
 wrongful act of another, and have no 
 compensation by the law of England. He 
 may have damages for loss to his property 
 caused by an illegal act; and he may 
 have compensation in some cases for 
 damage to his body caused by the wrong- 
 ful act of another. But as wrongs in the 
 English law are distributed into private 
 and public, and private wrongs are called 
 civil injuries, and public wrongs are 
 called crimes and misdemeanors, so there 
 is a private, that is, an individual com- 
 pensation in case of a private wrong, and 
 a public compensation (if we may use the 
 term) in the case of a public wrong. A 
 man cannot recover compensation in re- 
 spect of being robbed, for robbery is a 
 public wrong, and the punishment that is 
 inflicted is not inflicted with a view to 
 compensate the injured person. A man 
 may recover compensation if be is beaten 
 by another, when the case is an as- 
 sault ; but if he should be half killed by 
 a man who intended to kill him outright, 
 this is a public wrong, and the sufferer 
 gets no private compensation. Thus, 
 says Blackstone, " Robbery is an injury 
 to private property, but were that all, a 
 civil satisfaction in damages might atone 
 for it: the public mischief is the thing 
 for the prevention of which our laws 
 make it a capital offence. In these gross 
 and atrocious injuries the private wrong 
 is swallowed up in the public : we seldom 
 hear of any mention made of satisfaction 
 to the individual ; the satisfaction to the 
 community being so very great." It 
 seems that the amount of satisfaction to 
 the community, that is, to all the mem- 
 bers of the state, is so great that the in- 
 dividual who sustains the loss may be 
 well satisfied to go without anything ex- 
 cept his share of the public satisfaction. 
 
 The extension of the principle of re- 
 covering damages, that is, pecuniary com- 
 pensation, to other cases than those in 
 which they may now be had, is a sub- 
 ject that deserves the attention of legal 
 reformers. 
 
 Blackstone (iv. c. 1) has6tated generally 
 the cases in which a man may get dam- 
 ages and may not: but, as usual, he is 
 
DEACON. 
 
 [ 726 J 
 
 DEAN. 
 
 not satisfied with stating the law ; he 
 will give a foolish and insufficient reason 
 to show that it is good. 
 
 DAMNUM. [Damages.] 
 
 DEACON, an ecclesiastical term of 
 Greek origin, from Aiaxovos (Didconus, 
 literally, a servant), introduced into the 
 Saxon vocabulary, and continued in use 
 to the present time. 
 
 It designates one of the orders in the 
 Christian priesthood, the lowest of the 
 three — bishops, priests, and deacons. 
 
 The first institution of the order is par- 
 ticularly set forth in the sixth chapter of 
 the Book of Acts. The administration of 
 charities in the Church of Jerusalem was 
 complained of as partial by the Grecian 
 converts. The apostles, in whom the ad- 
 ministration had been vested, thought it 
 expedient to divest themselves of this 
 duty, and to devolve it on other persons, 
 that they might devote themselves to 
 prayer and to the ministry of the word. 
 Seven persons were selected for the office, 
 and by prayer and the imposition of hands 
 ordained deacons. 
 
 It appears by the First Epistle of St. 
 Paul to Timothy, that there were deacons 
 in other Christian churches, and pro- 
 bably in all where such an officer was 
 needed. He gives instructions (chap. iii. 
 8-13) respecting the character which be- 
 came persons who should be admitted 
 into the office. See also Phil. i. 1. There 
 were also deaconesses in the primitive 
 church, one of whom, Phoebe, is men- 
 tioned, Bom. xvi. 1. This female officer 
 may be traced to the eleventh or twelfth 
 century. 
 
 The peculiar office of both deacons and 
 deaconesses was to attend to works of 
 mercy, to be the administrators of the 
 alms of the more opulent members of the 
 church. 
 
 In the English church the name con- 
 tinues, and the peculiar form of ordina- 
 tion, but the peculiar duties of the office 
 seem to be lost sight of. In fact the 
 Poor Laws, by creating certain civil offi- 
 cers whose duty it is to attend to the 
 poor, have perhaps rendered the services 
 of the deacon in this his characteristic 
 capacity less necessary. 
 
 In some dissenting communities there 
 are deacons who still discharge the duties 
 
 for which the office was instituted : they 
 collect the alms of the people at the sacra- 
 ment, and distribute them among the 
 poor. But they are always laymen, or 
 persons who have not gone through the 
 forms, generally few and slight, of or- 
 dination as practised among the dis- 
 senters. 
 
 There is a form for the ordination of 
 deacons in the English church : some 
 clergymen never take priests' orders. It 
 appears by the Rubric that a person in 
 deacon's orders is empowered to read 
 publicly the Scriptures and homilies, to 
 catechise, to preach when licensed to do 
 so by the bishop, and to assist a priest in 
 divine service, and especially in the com- 
 munion. When contemplated in the light 
 in which this form places him, he appears 
 as an assistant to a priest, for he is to 
 seek out the sick and poor, and report 
 them to the priest, and in the absence of 
 the priest to baptize. This latter per- 
 mission has led to the introduction of the 
 performance of other ecclesiastical duties, 
 namely, the celebration of matrimony and 
 the burial of the dead. In fact the dea- 
 con performs all the ordinary offices of 
 the Christian priesthood, except conse- 
 crating the elements at the administration 
 of the Lord's Supper and pronouncing 
 the absolution. 
 
 A person may be ordained deacon at 
 twenty-three. He may then become a 
 chaplain in a private family ; he may be 
 a curate to a beneficed clergyman, or 
 lecturer in a parish church, but he cannot 
 hold any benefice, or take any ecclesias- 
 tical promotion. For this it is requisite 
 that he take priesf s orders. 
 
 DEADWEIGHT. [National Debt.] 
 
 DEAN (French Doyen, and in Latin 
 Decanus), a word which, at first sight, 
 would appear to be allied to Deacon, but 
 which has probably a different origin. 
 Etymologists seem not to be agreed con- 
 cerning the origin of the word ; but the 
 most usual origin assigned to it is the 
 word decern, ten, as if a dean were a per- 
 son who presided over collective bodies of 
 men or things, in number ten. The word 
 Dean is generally used as an ecclesi- 
 astical term. The French word Doyen 
 is applied both to ecclesiastical and lay 
 personages. Kichelet {Diet., art. Doieri) 
 
DEAN. 
 
 [727] 
 
 DEAN. 
 
 Bays, that when applied to other than 
 ecclesiastical bodies, it signifies the oldest 
 of the body; thus the French used to 
 speak of the Doien des Conseillers du 
 Parlement. The Italian word Decano 
 also signifies the head of a lay corporation, 
 as well as an ecclesiastical dignitary. In 
 Scotland it is used for the head of lay 
 communities, but in England we believe 
 it is generally confined to promotions or 
 presidencies spiritual. It is, however, used 
 in some colleges, as in University Col- 
 lege, London, to signify the chief or head 
 of a faculty chosen for a limited period. 
 Deans in the Colleges of Oxford and Cam- 
 bridge are persons appointed to super- 
 intend the religious service in the College 
 chapels, to enforce the attendance of the 
 students there, and to exercise some con- 
 trol over them in other respects. 
 
 In England there are three classes of 
 ecclesiastical presidencies to which the 
 title Dean belongs. 
 
 1. Deans rural.. The dioceses are 
 divided into archdeaconries, and the arch- 
 deaconries into deaneries, below which 
 there is no other subdivision till we come 
 to parishes, the minutest of the proper 
 ecclesiastical divisions of the country. 
 The whole country is thus divided, with 
 the exception of certain districts of no 
 great extent, which claim to be exempt 
 jurisdictions. 
 
 Those who contend for the derivation 
 of the word dean, whence deanery, from 
 decern, suppose that originally there were 
 ten churches or parishes forming each of 
 these deaneries. This is a very obscure 
 point and it is equally uncertain at what 
 time this distribution of the dioceses was 
 made. It appears, however, that there 
 were deaneries before the Norman Con- 
 quest. 
 
 In each of these deaneries there was a 
 clergyman who was dean ; he was usually 
 a beneficed clergyman within the dean- 
 ery. His duties were to exercise a super- 
 intendency over the clergy, to preside at 
 their assemblies, and to be the medium 
 of their communication with their spi- 
 ritual superiors. He had his public seal. 
 He appears also to have discharged those 
 duties which are now performed by cler- 
 gymen called surrogates. 
 
 By degrees this office in the English 
 
 church fell into disuse. The history or 
 the reason of its decline is not very well 
 known, for the advantage of having such 
 an officer, especially where the arch- 
 deaconries were extensive, must have 
 been always evident. The office, how- 
 ever, did by degrees disappear in one dio- 
 cese after another, till it became totally 
 lost. There was a dean of Chalke, in the 
 diocese of Salisbury, as late as the reign 
 of Charles, the Second ; and a dean of 
 Ooncaster, in the diocese of York, in the 
 reigns of George the First and Second. 
 
 Attempts have been made to revive it. 
 Berkeley, bishop of Cloyne, tried to es- 
 tablish the office again in Ireland ; and 
 soon after the late Dr. Burgess was made 
 bishop of Salisbury, he did actually re- 
 vive the office in th^t diocese, appointing 
 Mr. Dansey, the rector of Donnead St. 
 Andrew, rural Dean of Chalke : this was 
 in 1 825. The Report of the Eeclesiastir 
 cal Commissioners, 1835, under the head 
 Territory, recommends that each parish 
 shall be assigned to a deanery, and each 
 deanery to an archdeaconry. There is a 
 work, in two volumes quarto, entitled 
 ' Horse Decanicse Eurales,' which is an 
 attempt to illustrate by a series of notes 
 and extracts, the name and title, the ori- 
 gin, appointment, and functions, personal 
 and capitular, of Rural Deans, by Will 
 liam Dansey, &c. 1835. 
 
 The office existed in other parte of 
 Christendom. 
 
 2. Dean in a Cathedral Church. The 
 canons who formed the bishop's council 
 were presided over by a dean ; this has 
 been the case from the remotest times. 
 [Canon.] Decanus et Capitulum is the 
 form in which all the acts of such com- 
 munities run. 
 
 Anciently the deans were elected by 
 the chapters ; but here, as in other points, 
 the royal power has encroached on the 
 privileges of the church. Now the form 
 is for the erown to issue a conge' d'elire, 
 naming, the person whom the chapter is 
 to choose, in the bishoprics of ancient 
 foundation ; but in the bishoprics, founded 
 by Henry the Eighth, the king names the 
 dean by his letters patent merely. In the 
 former case the bishop is called in to con- 
 firm the election, and he issues his man- 
 date for the installation of the person 
 
DEBENTURE. 
 
 [728 j 
 
 DEED. 
 
 elected. In the bishoprics of St. David's 
 and Llandaff the office of bishop and dean 
 is united in the same person. 
 
 3. Dcaiis in Peculiars. — There are in 
 England certain ecclesiastical promotions, 
 in which the person holding them is 
 called by the name of dean, and they 
 seem to have all had anciently, as some 
 of them have now, capitular bodies con- 
 nected with them, and in all there is 
 something peculiar in reference to their 
 spiritual superiors, and in the jurisdiction 
 exercised by them. The principal of 
 them are — the dean of Westminster ; the 
 dean of the chapel of St. George, of 
 Windsor ; the dean of Christ Church, Ox- 
 ford ; the dean of the Arches ; the dean 
 of the King's Chapel ; the dean of Battel ; 
 the dean of Booking ; the dean of Mid- 
 dleham, &c. If the history of these 
 foundations were traced to their origin, 
 it would be seen that they were eccle- 
 siastical establishments, mostly of royal 
 foundation, possessing peculiar privileges 
 and a peculiar jurisdiction, which escaped 
 dissolution when the framework of the 
 -ecclesiastical institutions of England un- 
 derwent some alteration at the time of 
 the Reformation. There are also Hono- 
 rary Deans, as the dean of the Chapel 
 Royal of St. James's Palace. The Bishop 
 of London is dean of the province of Can- 
 terbury, and the Archbishop of Canter- 
 bury sends to him his mandate for sum- 
 moning the bishops of his province in 
 Convocation. 
 
 DEBENTURE (Latin, debentur, from 
 debeo, to owe), formerly written debentur, 
 is a kind of certificate used at the Custom- 
 house, which entitles a merchant who 
 exports goods upon which a drawback or 
 bounty is allowed to receive payment. 
 Goods on which drawback or bounty is 
 allowed are called Debenture goods (3 & 
 4 Wm. IV. c. 58, §§ 86, 87, 88, &c). The 
 forging of a Custom-house debenture is 
 simple felony (41 Geo. III. c. 75, § 7). 
 The 7 & 8 Geo. IV. o. 29, § 5, makes it 
 felony to steal any debenture or other 
 security for money. 
 
 The word has been used in some acts 
 Of parliament to denote a bond or hill, by 
 which the government is charged to pay 
 a creditor or his assigns the money due 
 on auditing his account. Debentures were 
 
 used to secure the arrears of pay to the 
 soldiery during the Commonwealth, and 
 are mentioned in the Act of Oblivion, 12 
 Car. II. c. 8. They are in use now in 
 the receipt of Exchequer and Board of 
 Ordnance, and, it is believed, in the king's 
 household. (Cowel's Interpreter.) 
 
 Debentures are often issued by various 
 associated bodies. 
 
 DEBT. [Insolvent.] 
 
 DEBT, NATIONAL. [National 
 Debt.] 
 
 DEBTOR AND CREDITOR. [In- 
 solvent.] 
 
 DECLARATION. [Oath.] 
 
 DECLARATION OF RIGHT. 
 [Bill of Rights.] 
 
 DECREE, DECRETAL. [Canon 
 Law, p. 445 ; Catholic Chckch, p, 
 459.] 
 
 DECREE [Equity.] 
 
 DEED, an instrument in writing or 
 print, upon paper or parchment, compre- 
 hending the terms of an agreement be- 
 tween parties able to contract, duly sealed 
 and delivered. The name for a dsed in 
 the Law French of Littleton and others 
 is fait, that is, factum, a thing done ; of 
 which deed is the translation. Deeds are 
 of two kinds, indented and poll : a deed 
 indented is called an indenture, and has 
 a waving line cut teeth-fashion on one of 
 the edges of the material upon which it 
 is written, usually the top edge; and 
 when the deed consists of more sheets 
 than one, on the first sheet only. The 
 term indenture implies that the deed is of 
 two parts, that is, two parts or copies 
 exactly alike, and that the two parts were 
 divided by the line in order to afford ad- 
 ditional means of authentication ; but, ex- 
 cept in the cases of leases, marriage set- 
 tlements, partnership deeds, and some few 
 others, there are seldom more parts than 
 one. The expense of stamps on deeds is 
 so heavy, that frequently, where two or 
 more parties are equally interested in a 
 deed, it is deposited with some person 
 for their joint use. Hence the term in- 
 denture, in common acceptation, now im- 
 plies little more than that the deed is 
 made by and between two or more parties. 
 Anciently some word, as for instance 
 " chirographum" (whence " chirograph"), 
 was written in capital letters upon the 
 
DEED. 
 
 [ 729 ] 
 
 DEED. 
 
 part where the parchment or paper was 
 to be divided, and afterwards cut in an 
 indented or, in some cases, a straight line. 
 
 A deed poll is cut even, or polled at 
 the edges, and is usually of one part only, 
 that is, the deed of one party, or of seve- 
 ral parties of the same part. The form 
 commences in the mode of a declaration, 
 " Know all men by these presents, that," 
 &c. : the form appropriated to an inden- 
 ture or a deed among several parties is 
 " This indenture, made, &c. between, 
 (here the parties to the deed are named), 
 &c. Witnesseth," &c. A deed between se- 
 veral persons is not necessarily indented, 
 except in those cases where an indenture 
 is required by statute, and except in the 
 working of what is called an estoppel. 
 The indenting is not essential, even 
 though the instrument should commence 
 " This indenture," &c. It has been said 
 that the indenting may be supplied after 
 the deed is executed, and even in court ; 
 but in all cases where the indenting is 
 essential to the validity of the deed, it 
 seems clear that this must be a mistake. 
 Since the passing of the act 7 & 8 Vict. c. 
 76, § 11, entitled 'An Act to simplify the 
 Transfer of Property,' it is not necessary 
 to indent a deed. 
 
 A deed, to be absolute and irrevocable, 
 must be founded on a valuable or good 
 consideration, untainted by anything im- 
 moral, illegal, or fraudulent, though a 
 gift or voluntary conveyance will be effec- 
 tual as between the parties, and is only 
 liable to be questioned in certain cases by 
 creditors or subsequent purchasers ; and a 
 "Voluntary deed may become irrevocable 
 by a subsequent sale by the grantee of the 
 subject-matter conveyed by it. [Consi- 
 deration.] 
 
 Ancient deeds were short, and suited to 
 the simplicity of the times. When trans- 
 actions became more complicated, it was 
 customary to divide deeds into several 
 formal parts ; but it is not necessary that 
 a deed should be so divided : it may be a 
 good deed, if there are sufficient words to 
 show the meaning and intention of the 
 parties to it. 
 
 Previous to its execution, the deed 
 should be read, if any of the parties to the 
 deed require it. The modern mode of 
 executing deeds is by signing, sealing, 
 
 and delivery. Signing is not essential 
 to the validity of a deed, though it is 
 required as to less formal instruments by 
 the Statute of Frauds, 29 Ch. II. c. 3 ; but 
 sealing is absolutely necessary, which is 
 the most ancient mode of authentication, 
 and has been in use from the earliest 
 times. At present the seal is no real 
 security against fraud, for any impression 
 upon wax or other substance employed is 
 sufficient ; indeed it is generally affixed' 
 by the stationer who engrosses the deed, 
 and it is not even necessary that there 
 should be a seal for each party ; one is 
 sufficient for all. In some of the Ameri- 
 can States the impression upon wax has 
 been disused, and a flourish with the pen 
 at the end of the name, or a circle of ink, 
 or a scroll, is allowed to be a valid substi- 
 tute for a seal. The last essential to the 
 due execution of a deed is delivery, ex- 
 cept in the case of a corporation, where 
 sealing by the common seal has the effect 
 of delivery. The usual manner of deliver- 
 ing a deed is for the executing party to 
 say, "I deliver this as my act and deed ;" 
 but any less formal mode by which the 
 party signifies his intention to deliver it 
 will be effectual. The delivery means 
 that the person whose deed (act) the 
 instrument is to be, and who is to be 
 bound by it, delivers it to the person who 
 is to receive some benefit from this deed, 
 or to some person acting for him, and 
 thereby declares that the act is complete. 
 All the parties whose deed (act) the in- 
 strument is to be, must deliver it as their 
 deed. A deed may also be delivered as 
 an escrow, i. e. to a third person to keep 
 till something is done by the grantee : 
 when the condition is performed, the deed 
 becomes effectual. A deed takes effect 
 from the delivery, and not from the date, 
 and therefore if it has no date, or a date 
 impossible, the delivery ascertains the 
 time from which it is to take effect. Evi- 
 dence is admissible also of delivery on a 
 day different from the date written. The 
 execution is usually attested. Enrolment 
 and registration are rendered necessary 
 in some cases by statutory enactment, and 
 the revenue laws have imposed certain 
 stamps upon every description of deeds, 
 the absence of which prevents them from 
 being admissible in evidence. 
 
DEED. 
 
 [ 730 J DELEGATES, COURT OP 
 
 After execution, a deed may become 
 void by erasure, interlineation, or other 
 alteration in any material part ; but, 
 generally speaking, such alterations will 
 be presumed to have been made before 
 the execution, if nothing appear to the 
 contrary, or there be no cause to suspect 
 that it has been done in a clandestine 
 manner. A grantee may also disclaim 
 the grant or disagree thereto ; and a deed 
 may be destroyed or cancelled, but such 
 destruction or cancellation will not revest 
 the thing granted in the grantor, though 
 all personal engagements established by 
 the deed between the parties will be put 
 an end to. If the seal is broken from the 
 deed, the covenants contained in it are 
 void. If the deed has transferred property 
 from one person to another, the property 
 continues transferred, just as if the deed 
 existed ; but if the seal is any way de- 
 stroyed, the covenants which are to be 
 executed are destroyed, because when any 
 legal proceeding is taken upon the deed, 
 it must be pleaded as a deed, and it is not 
 the deed of the party whose deed it pro- 
 fesses to be, if that mark is destroyed 
 which is the legal evidence of its being 
 his deed. But as long as the seal is on a 
 deed, and the deed exists entire, so long is 
 the party, whose deed it is, bound by the 
 covenants. In the case of a bond, which 
 is a deed by which a man binds himself, 
 his heirs, executors, and administrators, 
 to pay a certain sum of money to another 
 at a time named, length of time was 
 formerly no legal bar to an action upon 
 it ; yet it was a ground for a jury presum- 
 ing that it had been satisfied. But by the 
 3 & 4 Will. IV. c. 42, actions upon spe- 
 cialties, that is, founded upon instruments 
 which are deeds, must be brought within 
 twenty years after the cause of action has 
 arisen. 
 
 The effect of the seal remaining is 
 sometimes an unexpected surprise to a 
 man. If a man has taken a lease for a 
 term of years of premises, with covenants 
 to repair, and at the expiration of the 
 lease should agree with his landlord to 
 become tenant from year to year, he 
 should get the seal off the lease in the 
 landlord's hands. If he does not, the 
 landlord may still make him repair by 
 virtue of the seal, if he brings his action 
 
 within the time fixed by law, for the 
 judges have decided that, though tenant 
 from year to year, he is bound by the ori- 
 ginal covenants. 
 
 (Butler, n. Co. Litt. 295 b. ; Shepherd, 
 Touchstone ; Dixon ; Co. Litt. ; Cruise's 
 Digest.) 
 
 DEER-STEALING, [Game Laws.] 
 
 DEFAMATION. [Slander.] 
 
 DEGREE. [University] 
 
 DEL CREDERE COMMISSION. 
 [Agent.] 
 
 DELEGATES, COURT OP, was the 
 great court of appeal in ecclesiastical 
 causes, and from the decisions of the Ad- 
 miralty Court. It was so called because 
 the judges were delegated or appointed 
 by the king's commission under the great 
 seal ; they usually consisted of judges of 
 the courts at Westminster and doctors of 
 the civil law, but lords spiritual and tem- 
 poral might be joined. This court was 
 established by the statute 25 Henry VIII. 
 c. 19, which was passed in consequence 
 of the practice of appealing to the pope 
 at Rome from the decisions of the Eng- 
 lish courts in the above-mentioned mat- 
 ters. 
 
 Appeals lay to the court of delegates in 
 three cases — 1, where sentence was given 
 in any ecclesiastical cause by the arch- 
 bishop or his official ; 2, where any sen- 
 tence was given in an ecclesiastical cause 
 in place exempt ; 3, where sentence was 
 given in the admiralty, in suits civil and 
 marine, according to the course of the 
 civil law. After sentence by the dele- 
 gates, the king might grant a commission 
 of review ; but the power was rarely ex- 
 ercised, except upon the ground of error 
 in fact or in law, and it was usual to re- 
 fer the memorial praying for a commis- 
 sion of review to the chancellor, before 
 whom the expediency of granting the 
 prayer was argued. 
 
 By statute 2 & 3 William IV. c. 92, 
 the Court of Delegates was abolished, and 
 its powers and functions were transferred 
 to the king in council, and by the same 
 statute it. is enacted that the decision of 
 the king in council shall be final, and 
 that no commission of review shall in 
 future be granted. (Cowell's Intrepreter 
 Blackstone, Com.) [Admiralty Courts ; 
 Arches Court of ; Privx Council.] 
 
DEMAND AND SUPPLY. [ 731 J DEMAND AND SUPPLY. 
 
 DEMAND AND SUPPLY are terms 
 used in political economy to express the 
 relations between consumption and pro- 
 duction — between the demand of pur- 
 chasers and the supply of commodities by 
 those who have them to sell. The rela- 
 tions between the demand for an article 
 and its supply determine its price or ex- 
 changeable value [Value] : the relations 
 , between the demand for labour and its 
 supply determine the amount of wages to 
 be earned by the labourer [Wages]. For 
 causes explained elsewhere, the price of 
 an article will rarely vary, for any length 
 of time, very much above or below its 
 cost of production ;* nor will the wages of 
 labour, for any length of time, much ex- 
 ceed or fall below the amount necessary 
 to maintain labourers and their families 
 in such comforts as their habits of life 
 have accustomed them to believe neces- 
 sary for their subsistence ; but bearing in 
 mind that, in the prices of commodities 
 and labour, there is a certain point, de- 
 termined by causes independent of de- 
 mand or supply, above or below which 
 prices cannot materially vary for any 
 considerable time : all variations of price, 
 if the medium in which they are calcu- 
 lated remains unchanged, may be referred 
 to the proportion which exists between 
 the demand for commodities and the sup- 
 ply of them — between the quantities which 
 purchasers are willing and able to buy, 
 and the quantities which producers are 
 able and willing to sell. 
 
 To have any influence upon prices a 
 demand must be accompanied by the 
 means of purchasing. A demand is not 
 simply a want— a desire to obtain and 
 enjoy the products of other men's labour ; 
 for if this were its meaning, there would 
 never be the least proportion between de- 
 mand and supply : all men would always 
 want everything, and production could 
 not keep pace with consumption. But an 
 "effective demand," as it is termed by 
 
 * " Cost of production " is used by political eco- 
 nomists in a sense different from that of com- 
 merce, and includes profits. (See M'Cnlloch's 
 edition of Adam Smith, c. 7.) It means, in fact, 
 the price below which no man would continue to 
 sell his goods. An ordinary profit is a part of the 
 cost of production in an enlarged sense, as much 
 as the expense 0/ wages and materials. 
 
 Adam Smith, exists wherever one man is 
 anxious to exchange the products of his 
 own labour for that of other men. It is, 
 therefore, of an effective demand only 
 that political economists are speaking 
 when they examine the circumstances of 
 demand and supply in connexion with 
 prices. 
 
 But although a demand, without the 
 means of purchase, cannot affect prices, 
 the universal desire of mankind to pos- 
 sess articles of comfort and luxury sug- 
 gests other important considerations. As 
 this desire is natural to man, and too often 
 is so strong as to tempt him even to commit 
 crime, it obviously needs no encourage- 
 ment; men will always gratify it when- 
 ever they have the means, and these means 
 consist in the products of their own la- 
 bour. Hence all that is required to con- 
 vert this desire of acquisition into an 
 effective demand is ample employment for 
 industry. Increase the production of all 
 commodities and an increased consump- 
 tion of them is the certain result ; for, men 
 having larger products of their own la- 
 hour to offer in exchange for the products 
 of other men's labour, are enabled to pur- 
 chase what they are always eager to ac- 
 quire. Production, therefore, is the great 
 object to be secured, not only as furnish- 
 ing a supply of commodities necessary 
 and useful to mankind, but also as creat- 
 ing an effective demand for them. When 
 trade is depressed by a languid demand, 
 it is commonly said that increased con- 
 sumption is all that is required to restore 
 its prosperity. But how is this consump- 
 tion to be caused ? The desire to con- 
 sume is invariable, and thus any falling 
 off in consumption must be attributed to 
 a diminished production in some depart- 
 ments of industry which causes an inabi- 
 lity to consume. When production is re- 
 stored, an effective demand for all articles 
 will immediately follow; but until the 
 productive energies of the consumers are 
 in a state of activity it is in vain to ex- 
 pect from them an increased demand. 
 
 These considerations lead us to the 
 conclusion that a universal glut of all 
 commodities is impossible. The supply 
 of particular commodities may easily ex- 
 ceed the demand for them, and very often 
 does exceed it ; but as the constant desire 
 
DEMAND AND SUPPLY. [ 732 ] DEMAND AND SUPPLY. 
 
 to obtain commodities needs nothing but 
 the power of offering other commodities 
 in exchange, to become an effective de- 
 mand, it is evident that a universal in- 
 crease of production is necessarily accom- 
 panied by a proportionate increase of con- 
 sumption. Men are stimulated by no love 
 of production for its own sake, but they 
 produce in order to consume directly, or 
 because by exchanging their produce with 
 others they are able to enjoy the various 
 comforts and luxuries which they are all 
 desirous of obtaining. Active production, 
 therefore, in all departments of industry 
 causes a general and effective demand for 
 commodities, which will continue to be 
 equal to the supply unless it be checked 
 by war, by restrictions upon commerce, or 
 by other circumstances which prevent a 
 free interchange of commodities. 
 
 A country is in the highest prosperity 
 when there is an active and steady de- 
 mand for commodities and labour, and a 
 sufficient supply of them. Any disturb- 
 ance of the proportion between one and 
 the other is injurious to the community ; 
 and the injury is greater or less according 
 to the extent and duration of such dis- 
 turbance. When the proportion is well 
 adjusted, the whole community derive 
 benefit from the circumstance, both as 
 producers and consumers ; when it is dis- 
 turbed, they are injured iu both capaci- 
 ties. 
 
 Having - described thus generally the 
 nature and causes of demand, and its- in- 
 timate connexion with supply, it becomes 
 necessary to examine the influence of de- 
 mand and supply upon one another, and 
 upon production, consumption, prices, and 
 profits. This influence varies according 
 to the circumstances of the market, and 
 the nature of the commodities to which 
 its laws may be applied. These may be 
 best understood by considering, 1st, the 
 effects of a demand exceeding the supply ; 
 and, 2ndly, of a supply exceeding the de- 
 mand. 
 
 1. The first effect of a demand ex- 
 ceeding the supply of a commodity, is 
 to raise its price. As more persons want 
 to buy the commodity than the producers 
 are able or willing to supply, they can- 
 not all obtain what they desire; but 
 must share the supply between them in 
 
 some manner. But their wants are very 
 much regulated by the cost of gratifying 
 them. One man would purchase an ar- 
 ticle for a shilling for which he may be un- 
 willing or unable to pay two ; while others, 
 rather than forego the purchase, will con- 
 sent to pay that amount. Those who have 
 commodities to sell, finding that they have 
 more customers than they can satisfy, im- 
 mediately infer that they are selling them 
 too cheaply, and that they could dispose 
 of all their stock at a higher price. The 
 price is accordingly raised, when the sale 
 becomes limited to those who are not re- 
 strained from buying by the increased 
 price. In principle, though not in out- 
 ward form, the market is in the nature of 
 an auction. The sellers endeavour to ob- 
 tain the highest price for their goods ; the 
 price rises with the eagerness of those 
 who wish to buy, and the highest bidders 
 only secure the prizes. In the market, 
 however, the competition of the buyers is 
 not perceptible amongst themselves ex- 
 cept through the prices demanded. Their 
 competition determines the prices, but the 
 sellers judge of its extent, and regulate 
 their demands so as to obtain the greatest 
 possible advantage from it. 
 
 Some commodities are positively neces- 
 sary for the support of the people, of 
 which the supply may fall very short of 
 the demand and be incapable of increase. 
 This is the case when there is a bad har- 
 vest in a country which is excluded from 
 a foreign supply by war or by fiscal re- 
 strictions. Here the price rises in pro- 
 portion to the deficiency of the crops. 
 The competition for food is universal. 
 Some, indeed, may be driven to the con- 
 sumption of inferior articles of food, and 
 others to a diminished consumption ; but 
 all must eat. The number of consumers 
 is not diminished, while the supply is re- 
 duced ; and the price must, therefore, rise 
 and continue high until a fresh supply 
 can be obtained. In a siege the com- 
 petition is still greater. The prices of 
 provisions become enormous : the rich 
 alone can buy ; the poor must starve or 
 plunder. 
 
 A similar effect is produced if the 
 supply, without being deficient, be con- 
 fined to the possession of a small number 
 of persons, who limit it to the consumers 
 
DEMAND AND SUPPLY. [ 733 ] DEMAND AND SUPPLY. 
 
 in order to secure higher prices. How- 
 ever abundant corn might be in a besieged 
 town, if one man were exclusively autho- 
 rised by law to sell it, it might rise to a 
 famine price, unless the people broke into 
 the granaries, or the government inter- 
 fered with the monopoly. Less in degree 
 but similar in principle is the effect upon 
 prices of every limitation of the market 
 by fiscal restrictions. When any sellers 
 are excluded, the others are enabled to 
 raise their prices. 
 
 These are cases in which the supply 
 cannot be increased to meet the demand, 
 or in which the supply is monopolized. 
 But the greater number of commodities 
 may be increased in quantity, and the 
 supply of them is not artificially limited. 
 The price of these also rises when the de- 
 mand exceeds the supply: but the in- 
 creased price raises the profit of the pro- 
 ducer and attracts the competition of 
 others in the market. Fresh capital and 
 labour are applied to the production of 
 the profitable article, until the supply is 
 accommodated to the demand or exceeds 
 it. The prices gradually fall, and at 
 length the profits are reduced to the same 
 level as the profits in other undertakings, 
 or even lower. The encouragement to 
 further production is thus withdrawn, and 
 prices are adjusted so as to secure to the 
 producers the ordinary rate of profits, and 
 110 more. 
 
 But sometimes the demand for a com- 
 modity is diminished, if the supply fall 
 short of it for any considerable time. 
 There are various articles useful and 
 agreeable to mankind but not essential to 
 their existence, which they are eager to 
 enjoy as far as they can, but for which 
 they are not prepared to make great 
 sacrifices. When the price of an article 
 of this description is raised by a deficient 
 supply, continuing for some length of 
 time, it is placed beyond the reach of 
 many persons who learn to regard it with 
 indifference. They would buy it if it 
 were cheap ; but as it is dear, they go 
 without it or are satisfied with a substi- 
 tute. In this manner the number of 
 consumers is diminished. Others again, 
 who will not be deprived of an accus- 
 tomed luxury, enjoy it more sparingly, 
 and consume it in less quantities. But so 
 
 long as the supply is not increased, the 
 price will continue high, because the con- 
 sumers who still purchase the article, 
 notwithstanding its price, keep up an 
 effective demand equal to the whole 
 supply ; while there is still a dormant 
 demand, only awaiting a reduction of 
 price to become effective. 
 
 For the same reasons a demand for 
 articles is diminished when their price is 
 artificially raised by taxation. The de- 
 mand is gradually confined to a smaller 
 number of persons, and many consume 
 more sparingly. [Tax, Taxation.] 
 
 In these various ways demand and sup- 
 ply become adjusted through the medium 
 of price, whenever the one exceeds the 
 other. This is the result of natural laws, 
 the operation of which is of the highest 
 value to mankind. If the supply be in- 
 capable of increase, it economises con- 
 sumption : if the supply can be increased, 
 it encourages production. In either case 
 it is of great benefit to the consumer. To 
 revert, for a moment, to the example of 
 a bad harvest in a country excluded from 
 all foreign supply. Suppose that prices 
 did not rise, but remained precisely the 
 same as if the harvest had been abundant, 
 what would be the consequence? The 
 whole population would consume as much- 
 bread as usual, and use flour in every way 
 that luxury points out, unconscious of any 
 scarcity. Farmers might even feed their 
 cattle with wheat. By reason of this im- 
 providence the whole of the corn would 
 be consumed before the next harvest, and 
 the horrors of famine would burst, with- 
 out any warning, upon a people living as 
 if they were in the midst of plenty. This 
 evil is prevented by a rise of prices, which 
 is a symptom of scarcity, just as pain is a 
 symptom of disease. By timely precau- 
 tion the danger is averted. A high price 
 renders economy and providence compul- 
 sory, and thus limits consumption. The 
 supply, therefore, instead of being ex- 
 hausted before the next harvest, is spread 
 over the whole year. In the case of food 
 it is true that such economy is painful 
 and presses heavily upon the poor : but 
 this evil is a mercy compared with famine, 
 If no privation had been endured before 
 scarcity became alarming, none b:it rich 
 men could buy a loaf: for every one who 
 
DEMAND AND SUPPLY. [ 734 J DEMAND AND SUPPLY. 
 
 had a loaf to sell would be risking bis 
 own life if he sold it. 
 
 These observations are also applicable 
 in some measure to cases in which prices 
 are raised by the supply being confined to 
 one or to a few persons, who have con- 
 trived to buy up the whole or nearly the 
 whole of any commodity. But such ex- 
 clusive possession (sometimes improperly 
 called a monopoly) cannot exist, for any 
 length of time, in articles of which the sup- 
 ply is capable of increase. The extreme 
 case has been put of a besieged town in 
 which the whole supply of corn was mono- 
 polized by one man. Under those circum- 
 stances of course he would demand a high 
 price ; but unless his exclusive supply were 
 upheld by law, it does not follow that the 
 inhabitants would suffer on that account. 
 A most provident consumption of food is 
 absolutely necessary for the defence of a 
 town, and no organization could distribute 
 provisions according to the wants of the 
 people so well as a system of purchase 
 restrained by a high price. It must also 
 be recollected that, without any such ex- 
 clusive possession, the factof the siege alone 
 must raise prices by cutting off fresh sup- 
 plies. If the siege continue, provisions are 
 more likely to last out by the instrumen- 
 tality of prices than by any other means. 
 At the same time the sole possessor of the 
 corn would be restrained from keeping 
 back the supply beyond the actual neces- 
 sity of the occasion by many considera- 
 tions. He would know that if a popular 
 tumult arose, if the town were relieved, 
 the siege raised — a capitulation agreed to 
 or the place suddenly carried by assault 
 — the value of his exclusive property 
 would be destroyed. His own interest, 
 therefore, is coincident with that of the 
 people. It is better fcf both that the 
 supply should be meted out with parsi- 
 mony; it is dangerous to both that it 
 should be immoderately stinted. 
 
 In circumstances less peculiar than 
 these, very little evil can arise from an 
 exclusive possession of any commodity 
 not protected directly or indirectly by 
 law. If the supply be capable of increase, 
 and the demand be sufficient to enable 
 the owner to secure a high price, for rea- 
 sons already explained, the market would 
 rapidly be supplied from other quarters. 
 
 If the supply cannot be increased, that 
 fact alone would raise the price ; and it 
 is probable that the supply would not 
 have been so great without the extraor- 
 dinary activity of the capitalist who had 
 been able to secure for his country the 
 whole accessible supply to be collected 
 from the markets of the world. 
 
 A monopoly, properly so called, is of a 
 totally different character: for however 
 abundant the supply of an article may be, 
 it may, nevertheless, be inaccessible to 
 the consumer. [Monopoly.] Such mo- 
 nopolies were properly condemned so 
 far back as the reign of James I. (21 
 James I. c. 3), although vast monopolies 
 are still indirectly maintained by our 
 fiscal laws. [Tax, Taxation.] The 
 legislature of this country, however, did 
 not observe any distinction between a 
 legal monopoly and the great specula- 
 tive enterprises of commerce, miscalled 
 monopolies; and severe penalties were 
 inflicted both by the common and sta- 
 tute laws against offences called " badger- 
 ing, forestalling, regrating and engross- 
 ing." The impolicy of such laws was 
 gradually perceived. If prices were oc- 
 casionally raised by speculations of this 
 kind, yet the restraints upon commerce, 
 which resulted from these lawn, were in- 
 finitely more injurious to the consumer. 
 Many of the statutes were therefore re- 
 pealed by act 12 Geo. III. c. 71 ; but the 
 common law, and all the statutes relating 
 to the offences of forestalling, regrating, 
 and engrossing, were not erased from our 
 commercial code until the year 1844 (act 
 7 & 8 Vict. c. 24). 
 
 When prices are high by reason of the 
 demand exceeding the supply, it is by no 
 means necessary that the profits of those 
 who sell the dear commodities should 
 always be greater than the profits in other 
 branches of trade. It must always be 
 recollected, that where scarcity is the 
 cause of the high price, the sellers who 
 demand it have the less to sell. Where 
 scarcity is not the cause, but the demand 
 is great because the supply, notwithstand- 
 ing the exertions of producers, cannot 
 keep pace with it, the profits are un- 
 doubtedly greater than usual, until the 
 supply has been increased. 
 
 II. It is now time to consider the 
 
DEMAND AND SUPPLY. [ 735 J DEMAND AND SUPPLY. 
 
 effects of a supply exceeding the demand, 
 and this division of the inquiry will re- 
 quire less elucidation, as the effects of 
 such a condition of the market may be 
 stated to be the very reverse of those 
 •which we have just been examining. 
 When there is more of a commodity than 
 people are prepared to buy, its price must 
 fall. Its sellers must ofter it for sale at 
 the price at which they can induce people 
 to purchase. All is now in favour of 
 consumers. They are no longer bidding 
 against each other: but the sellers are 
 competing among themselves to get rid 
 of their goods. The price falls generally 
 in proportion to the excess of the quan- 
 tity, but this result is very much qualified 
 by the nature of the article. If there be 
 an excess of supply in perishable goods, 
 there is nothing to prevent the natural 
 fall of prices. When fish is unusually 
 abundant, it must be cheap, or a great 
 part of it will be destroyed : it must be 
 eaten at once, or not at all ; and to induce 
 people to eat it, it must be offered to 
 them at a low price. But with articles 
 which may be held back, in expectation 
 of higher prices, their value may be par- 
 tially sustained. Production may be re- 
 duced, and the stock gradually brought 
 into the market, until the supply has been 
 equalized with the demand ; and wherever 
 the article is such as to admit of volun- 
 tary increase or diminution, the natural 
 result of an excessive supply is to reduce 
 production, until the balance of supply 
 and demand has been restored. This 
 mutual adjustment is in perpetual opera- 
 tion, and is ordinarily effected with such 
 precision, that it may be said, without 
 exaggeration, that a large city is supplied 
 exactly with everything its inhabitants 
 require — even down to an egg or a pint 
 of milk. There is always enough of 
 everything, and rarely too much. 
 
 Whenever there is an excessive pro- 
 duction of any commodity, it is an evil 
 almost as great as scarcity. It is 
 true that the consumer derives benefit 
 from it, but the producing classes are 
 most injuriously affected. In order to 
 raise the value of the produce of their 
 labour, they must cease to produce, or 
 must 'produce in less quantities. The 
 workmen are thus either deprived of em- 
 
 ployment altogether for a time, or are 
 employed for a portion of their time only, 
 at reduced wages ; while their employers 
 are disposing of their goods at low prices, 
 which scarcely repay the outlay of their 
 capital. Nor does the penalty of over- 
 production fall exclusively upon those 
 engaged in the trade in which supply has 
 exceeded the demand. Their distresses 
 extend to other classes. It has been 
 shown already that it is to production we 
 must look as the cause of sustained con- 
 sumption, and thus the pressure upon any 
 considerable branch of productive industry 
 must be sensibly felt by those who have 
 the produce of their own labour to sell. 
 Production has failed, and consumption 
 must therefore be diminished. 
 
 The ruinous consequences of gluts, in 
 particular staples of trade and manu- 
 facture, are too well known, especially 
 in this country, to require any further 
 illustration ; but their causes are not 
 always agreed upon. Such gluts are 
 often attributed to the facility with 
 which manufactures are produced by 
 machinery, but we have shown that over- 
 production in all branches of industry is 
 impossible, and if that be true, it is evi- 
 dent that when partial gluts are produced 
 by the aid of machinery, that powerful 
 agent must have been misapplied. It is 
 not contended that nothing can be pro- 
 duced in too great abundance. Whether 
 machinery be used or not, production 
 must be governed by the same laws of 
 demand and supply. Those things only 
 must be produced for which there is a 
 demand, and they must not be produced 
 in greater abundance than the demand 
 warrants. But the more generally ma- 
 chinery is used, the more abundant will 
 be the products which men will have to 
 exchange with each other, and therefore 
 the better will be the market. It follows 
 that machinery can only cause a glut 
 when applied excessively to particular 
 objects, precisely in the same manner as 
 an excessive quantity of labour would 
 cause one if applied where it was not 
 needed by the demands of commerce. 
 
 The supply of markets is a very specu- 
 lative business, and is often conducted 
 with more zeal than discretion. When 
 a particular trade is supposed to be more 
 
DEMAND AND SUPPLY. [ 736 J 
 
 DEMOCRACY. 
 
 prosperous than others, capitalists rush 
 into it in order to secure high profits; 
 and in this country the abundance of 
 capital, the perfection of our machinery, 
 and the skill of our workmen, enable them 
 to produce with extraordinary facility. 
 Over-production in that particular trade is 
 the consequence, and all engaged in it 
 suffer from the depreciation in the value 
 of their goods ; but if, instead of rushing 
 into the favourite trade, they had distri- 
 buted their enterprises more widely, their 
 own interest and that of the community 
 would have been promoted. When a 
 ship is wrecked, if all the crew precipi- 
 tate themselves into one boat, they swamp 
 it ; but if they wait till all the boats are 
 lowered, and apportion their numbers to 
 the size of each, they may all reach the 
 shore in safety. And so it is in trade : 
 one trade may easily be glutted, while 
 there is room in other trades for all the 
 capital and industry that need employ- 
 ment. 
 
 In proportion to the extent of the mar- 
 ket and the variety and abundance of 
 commodities to be exchanged, will be the 
 facility of disposing of the products of 
 capital and labour; and this considera- 
 tion points out as the most probable anti- 
 dote to gluts a universal freedom of 
 commerce. When the free interchange 
 of commodities is restricted, not only is a 
 glut caused more easily, but its causes 
 are more uncertain, and dependent upon 
 unforeseen events. With the whole world 
 for a market, the operation of the laws of 
 demand and supply would be more 
 equable, and the universality of the objects 
 of exchange would make gluts of rare 
 occurrence. The market would still be 
 liable to disturbance by bad harvests, by 
 errors in the monetary system, by shocks 
 to public credit, and by war ; but apart 
 from these' causes of derangement, de- 
 mand and supply would be adjusted, and 
 the productive energies of all nations 
 called into full activity. 
 
 (Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, 
 book i. ; M'Culloch, Principles of Po- 
 litical Economy, part i. ch. 7, and 
 part ii. ch. 1, 2 ; Malthus, Principles of 
 Political Economy ; Ricardo, ch. 30 ; 
 Mill, Essays on Unsettled Questions of 
 Political Economy, Essay ii.) 
 
 DEMESNE. [Manor.] 
 
 DEMISE, from the Latin Demissio, 
 is commonly used to express an estate for 
 years. The word demist, ' I have demised,' 
 is a term that is or may be used in the 
 grant of a lease for years. The word de- 
 mise may also signify an estate granted 
 in fee or for term of life ; but the most 
 common signification is that which has 
 been stated. 
 
 The term demise, as applied to the 
 crown of England, signifies the trans- 
 mission (demissio) of the crown and dig- 
 nity by the death of a king to his suc- 
 cessor* 
 
 DEMOCRACY (SvitoKparla), a word 
 taken from the Greek language, like aris- 
 tocracy, oligarchy, monarchy, and other 
 political terms. 
 
 The third book of Herodotus (chap. 
 80 — 82) contains what we may consider 
 to be the views of the oldest extant Greek 
 historian on the merits and defects of the 
 three respective forms of government as 
 they are called, democracy, oligarchy, 
 and monarchy. It would be difficult to 
 extract from the chapters referred to an 
 exact definition of democracy, but still 
 we learn from them what were considered 
 to be essentials : first, complete political 
 equality (lowo/i/jj) ; secondly, the elec- 
 tion of magistrates by lot (vi\<f) — which, 
 coupled with the first condition, implies 
 that public offices must be accessible to 
 all ; thirdly, responsibility or accoun- 
 tability in public functionaries (4px^ 
 ineiBuvos), which implies a short term 
 of office and liability to be ejected from 
 it; fourthly, the decision by the com- 
 munity at large of all public matters (ri 
 
 IJituKtv/xaTa irdfra is TO Koivhv ixvaipe- 
 peix). 
 
 It is unnecessary to discuss the merits 
 and defects of a democracy as pointed out 
 in the above chapters, the defects being 
 only certain consequences supposed to 
 flow from, and the merits certain advan- 
 tages incident to, a democratical institu- 
 tion, and neither being essentially parts 
 of the fundamental notion of a demo- 
 cracy. 
 
 In forming a notion of a democracy as 
 conceived by the Greeks, and indeed in 
 forming any exact notion of a pure de- 
 mocracy, it is convenient to consider a 
 
DEMOCRACY 
 
 L 737 ] 
 
 DEMOCRACY. 
 
 small community, such as a single town 
 with a little territory, and to view such 
 a community as an independent sove- 
 reignty. The institutions which in mo- 
 dern times have approached most nearly 
 to the form of a pure democracy are some 
 of the Swiss cantons. The boroughs of 
 England, as existing in their supposed 
 original purity, and as partly restored to 
 that supposed original purity by the late 
 Municipal Corporations Act, may help to 
 explain the notion of a democracy, though 
 thty are wanting in the necessary ele- 
 ment of possessing sovereignty. Further, 
 to conceive correctly of a Greek demo- 
 cracy and of some of the democracies of 
 the North American Union, it must be 
 remembered that the whole community 
 in such States consisted and consists of 
 two great divisions, freemen and slaves, 
 of whom the slaves form no part of the 
 political system. 
 
 In most Greek communities we find 
 two marked divisions of the freemen, the 
 ' few ' (oAfyoi) or ' rich' (Bworof, irAoia-wi), 
 and the ' many ') ol iroWol, 6 Srjuos) or 
 'pot rich' QSmopoi), between whom a 
 fierce contest for political superiority was 
 maintained. This contest would often 
 end in the expulsion of the ' few,' and the 
 division of their lands and property 
 among the many; sometimes hi the ex- 
 pulsion of the leaders of the ' many,' and 
 the political subjugation of the rest. 
 Thus the same state would at one time be 
 called a democracy ; at another, an oli- 
 garchy, according as one or the other 
 party possessed the political superiority ; 
 a circumstance which evidently tended to 
 confuse all exact notions of the meaning 
 of the respective terms used to denote the 
 respective kinds of polities. Under the 
 circumstances described, what was called 
 an oligarchy might perhaps be appro- 
 priately so called ; what was called a de- 
 mocracy was not appropriately so called, 
 even according to the notions entertained 
 by the Greeks themselves of a democracy ; 
 for such so-called democracy was only a 
 'Taction of the community that had ob- 
 ained a victory over another fraction of 
 jie community, less numerous and indi- 
 vidually more wealthy: for the 'few' 
 and the 'rich' were always united in 
 idea ; it being, as Aristotle remarks, inci- 
 
 dent to the ' rich ' to be the ' few,' and 
 the rest to be the ' many.' 
 
 Aristotle felt the difficulty of defining 
 what a democracy is. He observes (Po- 
 litik. iv. 4) that neither an oligarchy nor 
 a democracy must be defined simply with 
 reference to the number of those who 
 possess the sovereign power : if a consider- 
 able majority, he says, are rich, and ex- 
 clude the remaining body of freemen, 
 who are poor, from political power, this 
 is not a democracy. Nor, on the con- 
 trary, if the poor, being few, should ex- 
 clude the rich, being more numerous, 
 from all political power, would this be 
 an oligarchy. Indeed such a supposition 
 as the latter is impossible in a sovereign 
 community, except during a short period 
 of revolutionary change. 
 
 Aristotle, after some preliminary re- 
 marks, concludes by defining a democracy 
 to be, when the freemen and those not 
 the rich, being the majority, possess the 
 sovereign power ; and an oligarohy, when 
 the rich and those of noble birth, being 
 few, are in possession of the sovereign 
 power. This definition of an oligarchy 
 necessarily implies that the majority are 
 excluded from participating in the sove- 
 reign power. It might be inferred, on 
 the other hand, that in this definition of 
 a democracy the few are excluded from 
 the sovereign power ; and such in this 
 passage should be the meaning of the 
 author, if he is consistent with himself. 
 In another passage (iv. 4), where he is 
 speaking of the different kinds of demo- 
 cracy, he speaks of the first kind as cha- 
 racterized by equality (kotoi t! Xaov) : 
 and by this equality he understands when 
 the law (4 v6/los) of such a democracy 
 declares that " the not rich have no more 
 political power than the rich, neither 
 body being supreme, but both equal, and 
 all participating equally in political 
 power." Such in fact approaches very 
 near the exact notion of a pure demo- 
 cracy, or at least a democracy as pure as 
 we have any example of; for all women, 
 persons of unsound mind, males not adult, 
 and slaves, are excluded from political 
 power even in democracies. Aristotle 
 adds : " But as the popular party (Sri/tos) 
 is the majority, and that which is the will 
 of the majority is supreme, such a ccnsti,- 
 38 
 
DEMOCRACY. 
 
 [ WW] 
 
 DEMOCRACY. 
 
 tution must be a democracy. Aristotle 
 then mentions a second kind of demo- 
 cracy, in which the offices of the state are 
 only open to those -who have a property 
 qualification, but it must be a small 
 amount of qualification; and a third, in 
 which all citizens have access to the offices 
 of the state, unless they are under some 
 special disability. But Aristotle still sup- 
 poses that this second and third kind of 
 democracy, as he defines it, is subordinate 
 to the law (6 v6/ios) ; he supposes some- 
 thing like what we call a Constitution, or 
 certain fundamental laws, in conformity 
 to which the state is administered. For, 
 after enumerating the various species of 
 democracies, he says, " There is another 
 kind of democracy which in all other re- 
 spects is the same as these, except that 
 the people are sovereign and not the law ; 
 and this happens when the enactments of 
 the people are supreme and not the law." 
 His exposition is founded on the nature 
 of the democratic assemblies in the Greek 
 States, in which all the people met in the 
 assembly individually and not by repre- 
 sentatives, and were guided by their lead- 
 ers. He does not explain what the law 
 is which in some democracies is supreme, 
 and here his exposition is deficient in 
 fullness and clearness. But it appears 
 that he means that there can be no stabi- 
 lity, unless there are certain fundamental 
 rules which are respected and regarded 
 as unchangeable. Where a small com- 
 munity is sovereign, and every question 
 can at any time be proposed to the as- 
 sembly, and any law can be changed and 
 altered, it is clear, as Aristotle observes, 
 that if Democracy is a Polity, such a 
 government, in which everything is lia- 
 ble to be changed at any moment, is not 
 properly a Democracy. Still it is a De- 
 mocracy ; but if a Polity is a stable thing, 
 such Democracy is not a Polity. The 
 Canton of Schwyz in its constitution 
 comes very near to the notion of such a 
 Democracy. Modern Democracies by 
 virtue of the representative system are 
 secured against perpetual change, for the 
 people legislate by deputy, and continual 
 change is practically made impossible. 
 
 A pure democracy then is where every 
 mal« citizen, with the exceptions above 
 mentioned, forms an equal and integral 
 
 part of the sovereign body ; or, as Aris- 
 totle expresses it, where he is speaking 
 of a democracy in which the people are 
 supreme and not the Law, the democracy 
 is " monarch, one compounded of many • 
 for the many are supreme, not as indivi 
 duals, but all collectively." This is th» 
 fundamental notion of a democracy 
 every other institution incident to oi 
 existing in a democracy is either a neces- 
 sary consequence from this notion or a 
 positive law enacted by the universal 
 sovereign. 
 
 Thus it is absolutely necessary, in order 
 that a democracy should exist and con- 
 tinue to exist, that the whole body should 
 recognize the principle that the will of 
 the majority must always bind the mi- 
 nority. There must therefore be some 
 means of ascertaining the will of every 
 individual, who is a member of the sove- 
 reign body, and there must be no interfere 
 ence with the free expression of his will, 
 so far as such interference can be pre- 
 vented. Whenever the persons who com- 
 pose a democracy give their opinion on 
 any subject, they express it by what is 
 called a vote, which is recorded, and the 
 majority of the votes is the will of the 
 democracy. The vote may be given 
 either openly by word of month or in 
 writing; or it may be given secretly, 
 which is called vote by ballot, and the vote 
 by ballot is considered by many political 
 writers essential to secure the voter from 
 all interference with the free expression 
 of his opinion. Every freeman, being an 
 equal part of the sovereign, has no re- 
 sponsibility in the proper sense of that 
 term, such as some persons dream of: the 
 many who compose the sovereign are no 
 more responsible than when the sove- 
 reign is one ; and the notion that the vote 
 of those who possess sovereign power 
 should be open and notorious, on the 
 ground of their being responsible, is in- 
 consistent with the notion of their possess- 
 ing sovereign power. The only way in 
 which the universal sovereign can be so 
 made responsible to a positive morality 
 (for there is nothing else that such sove- 
 reign can be made responsible to) must 
 be by the universal sovereign makir 
 such open voting a constitutional rule, 
 which rule the same body that made may 
 
DEMOCRACY. 
 
 [ 739 ] 
 
 DEMOCRACY. 
 
 repeal when it pleases. But if such rule 
 is inconsistent with the free exercise by 
 each individual of his share of sove- 
 reignty, it would be an act of suicide in 
 the body politic. 
 
 If the democracy consider a constitu- 
 tion [Constitution] to be useful for 
 carrying into effect the will of the sove- 
 reign, such constitution, when made by 
 the expressed will of the majority, what- 
 ever may be the terms of such constitu- 
 tion, does not affect the principle of the 
 democracy. Such constitution can be 
 altered or destroyed by the same power 
 that made it If a representative body is 
 necessary for effecting the purposes of 
 the sovereign, such body may be elected 
 and invested with any powers by the so- 
 vereign body, always provided that the 
 representative body is responsible to the 
 sovereign whose creature it is. What- 
 ever institutions are created, and whatever 
 powers are delegated by the sovereign 
 many, the principle of democracy still 
 exists so long as every- individual and 
 every body of individuals who exercise 
 delegated power are responsible to the 
 sovereign body by whom the power is 
 delegated. Hence if property be made a 
 qualification for certain offices, as in one 
 of the forms of democracy mentioned by 
 Aristotle, by the universal sovereign, such 
 requisite qualification does not in itself 
 alter the nature of the democracy, being 
 only a rule or law fixed by the sovereign. 
 It is, however, a rule or law of that class, 
 the tendency of which, where the sove- 
 reign power is possessed by the many, is 
 to undermine and ultimately destroy the 
 power that made it. 
 
 Experience has shown that even where 
 the universal people are sovereign, if the 
 political community is large and spread 
 over a great surface, every delegation of 
 power, however necessary, is accompanied 
 with danger to the existence of the sove- 
 reign power. The more complicated the 
 machinery of administration becomes, and 
 the more numerous are the administering 
 bodies interposed between the sovereign 
 and the accomplishment of the object for 
 which the sovereign delegates part of his 
 power, the greater is the risk that those 
 who have had power delegated to them 
 will make themselves the masters of those 
 
 who have conferred the power. In a de- 
 mocracy the great problem must be to 
 preserve unimpaired and undisputed tha 
 vital principle of the sovereign powel 
 being in all and in every individual, and 
 to combine with this such a system oi 
 delegated powers as shall in their opera- 
 tion always recognize that principle to 
 which they owe their existence. Aris- 
 totle (Pol. iv. 5) well observes that a 
 Polity may not be democratic according 
 to the Laws, that is, the fundamental 
 Laws or Constitution; but that by opinion 
 and usage it may be administered demo- 
 cratically : in like manner a democratic 
 constitution may come to be administered 
 oligarchically ; and he explains how this 
 may come to pass. 
 
 It may happen that other persons be- 
 sides those enumerated may be excluded 
 from participation in the sovereign power 
 in a government which is called a demo- 
 cracy. The suffrage may be given only 
 to those who have a certain amount of 
 property, which resembles one of the 
 cases mentioned by Aristotle. If the 
 amount of property required should ex- 
 clude a great number of the people, the 
 government might still be called deino- 
 cratical rather than by any other name, 
 if the persons excluded were a small 
 minority compared with the majority. If 
 they were nearly equal in numbers to the 
 majority, they would find out some name 
 for the majority which would express their 
 opinion of the form of government : and- 
 the word that they would now use would 
 be aristocratical, a word which would 
 imply dislike and censure. If the portion 
 of the people who were thus excluded 
 from the suffrage should be a majority, 
 the ruling body would be properly called 
 an aristocracy. 
 
 A democracy has been here defined as 
 it has existed in some countries and as it 
 exists in others. No attempt is made to 
 ascertain its origin, any more than the 
 origin of society. It is here viewed as a 
 form of government that may and does 
 exist. The foundation of the notion of a 
 democracy is that the sovereign power is 
 equally distributed, not among all the 
 people in a state, but among all the free- 
 men who have attained a certain age, 
 which is defined. Democracy therefore, 
 3b2 
 
DEMOCRACY. 
 
 [ W ] 
 
 DEMURRAGE. 
 
 if we derive the notion of it from all de- 
 mocracies that have existed, instead of 
 from certain wild theories of natural 
 rights, is based upon the principle that 
 it is for the general interest that some 
 persons should be excluded from the pos- 
 session of that political power which others 
 enjoy. A democracy also like a monar- 
 chy can only give effect to its will through 
 the medium of forms and agents. Prac- 
 tically there cannot always be a reference 
 to the will of the majority on every occa- 
 sion, no more than there can be in a mo- 
 narchy. A monarch must govern by the 
 aid of others, and the sovereign demo- 
 cracy must carry its purposes into effect 
 by the aid of members of its body, to 
 whom power sufficient for the purpose is 
 given. The agent of a democracy is a 
 representative body for the purpose of le- 
 gislating. For the usual purposes of ad- 
 ministration a democracy must have 
 agents, officers, and functionaries, as well 
 as a monarchy. The mode in which they 
 are chosen and the tenure of office may 
 be different, but while they act, they must 
 have power delegated of a like kind to 
 that which a monarch delegates. A 
 form of government may be such that 
 there shall be an hereditary head, a class 
 with peculiar privileges, and also a repre- 
 sentative body. The existence of a re- 
 presentative body chosen by a large class 
 of the people has led to the appellation of 
 the term democratical to that portion of 
 such governments which is composed of 
 a representative body and to those who 
 elect such body. But the use of the terms 
 democracy and democratical as applied to 
 such bodies tends to cause confusion. It 
 is true that such mixed governments pre- 
 sent the spectacle of a struggle between 
 the different members of the sovereign 
 power, and as it is often assumed that the 
 popular part aims at destroying the other 
 parts, and as many speculators wish that 
 it should ultimately destroy them, such 
 speculators speak of such so-called demo- 
 cracy as a thing existing by itself, as if 
 it were a distinct power in the state ; 
 whereas, according to the strict notion of 
 sovereignty, there is no democracy except 
 when there is no other power which par- 
 ticipates in the sovereignty than indi- 
 viduals possessed of equal political power. 
 
 When the popular member of a sovereign 
 body has destroyed all the other members, 
 the popular member becomes the sovereign 
 body, and it is a democracy, if it then 
 corresponds to the description that has 
 been given of a democracy. 
 
 A curious article by M. Guizot, entitled 
 ' Of Democracy in Modern Society,' has 
 been translated and published in England. 
 It is written with reference to the condi- 
 tion of France and in opposition to the 
 assertion made by some French writers 
 " that modern society, our France, is demo- 
 cratical, entirely democratical ; and that 
 her institutions, her laws, her government, 
 her administration, her politics, must 
 all rest on this basis, be adapted to this 
 condition." M. Guizot successfully com- 
 bats certain hypotheses and assumptions, 
 most of which however have either been 
 exploded by all sound political writers or 
 would be rejected by any man of reflec- 
 tion. His essay contains, as we might 
 expect from his attainments and long ex- 
 perience in the world, many just remarks, 
 but it is disfigured and often rendered 
 almost unmeaning by the lax use of poli- 
 tical terms and a tone of mysticism and 
 obscurity which are better adapted to 
 confuse than to convince. 
 
 DEMURRAGE, the term used in com- 
 merce to denote the money payable to the 
 owner of a ship on the part of the shippers 
 or consignees of goods, as compensation 
 for detention beyond the time stipulated 
 for her loading or discharge, as the same 
 is expressed in the charter-party or bills 
 of lading. It is usual to insert in all 
 charter-parties the number of working 
 days allowed for the loading of the ship, 
 and also for her unloading, and likewise 
 the sum per diem which may be claimed 
 for delay beyond those periods in either 
 case, in addition to the stipulated freight. 
 Sometimes the number of working days 
 for loading and unloading are stated to- 
 gether, so that any delay in the one case 
 may be compensated by greater speed in 
 the other. When the owners of the ship 
 enter her outwards for any port, to re- 
 ceive such goods as may offer, and con- 
 sequently where no charter-party exists, 
 there is no stipulation for demurrage in 
 the part of loading, but in this case it is 
 common to insert on the face of the bill 
 
DENIZEN. 
 
 L 741 J 
 
 DEODAND. 
 
 of lading a statement of the number of 
 days after her arrival at her destined port 
 in which time the goods must be taken 
 from on board the ship, and also the rate 
 of demurrage chargeable daily for any 
 exceeding that time. No claim for de- 
 murrage can be set up where a ship is 
 detained by contrary winds or stress of 
 weather, nor where the government in- 
 terferes to lay an embargo, nor where 
 the port is blockaded by a hostile force. 
 
 DENIZEN, an alien born, who has 
 been constituted an English subject by- 
 letters of denization granted by the crown 
 through the home secretary of state. The 
 facilities for an alien becoming natural- 
 ized, which the act 7 & 8 Vict. c. 66, 
 provides, will render it easier for aliens 
 to obtain naturalization than it was pre- 
 viously to obtain the lesser privilege of 
 denizenship ; and therefore, speaking of 
 the future, denization will probably not 
 be resorted to. Before this act was passed 
 the number of aliens who became deni- 
 zens was about twenty-five annually, and 
 the number who were naturalized was 
 about seven. The cost of letters patent of 
 denization was 1201., and it was the prac- 
 tice for the Home Office to insert several 
 names in one patent for the purpose of 
 diminishing the expense. A denizen is 
 in a kind of middle state between an 
 alien and a natural-born subject. [Alien.] 
 He may take lands by purchase or de- 
 vise, which an alien cannot ; but he can- 
 not take by inheritance, for his parent 
 through whom he mast claim, being an 
 alien, had no inheritable blood. A deni- 
 zen cannot transmit real property to those 
 of his issue who were born before his 
 denization. By 11 & 12 Wm. III. c. 
 6, a natural-born subject may derive 
 a title to inheritance through alien pa- 
 rents or ancestors; the statute 25 Geo. 
 
 II. c. 39, provided that the person who 
 claimed under the statute of William 
 
 III. must be in existence at the time of 
 the death of the person to whom he 
 claims as heir ; but if the claimant be a 
 female and have afterwards a brother or 
 sister born, the estate will descend to the 
 brother, or she and her sister will take it 
 -as coparceners. A denizen, when other- 
 wise qualified, may vote for members 
 of parliament. Naturalization gives the 
 
 same privileges as denization and some- 
 thing more. [Naturalization.] A 
 denizen cannot be a member of the privy 
 council, or sit in either House of Parlia- 
 ment, or hold any office of trust, civil or 
 military, or be capable of any grant of 
 lands or other thing from the crown. 
 
 DEODAND (deodandum, what is due 
 to God). The word deodand expresses 
 the notion of a thing forfeited, because it 
 has been the immediate cause of death. 
 The thing forfeited is sometimes called 
 deodand, which signifies any personal 
 chattel which is the immediate cause of 
 the death of a human being. In England 
 deodands are forfeited to the king, to be 
 applied to pious uses and distributed in 
 alms by his high almoner ; but the crown 
 most frequently granted the right to deo- 
 dands, within certain limits, either to in- 
 dividuals for an estate of inheritance or 
 as annexed to lands, in virtue of which 
 grants they are now claimed. 
 
 Blackstone supposes " that the custom 
 was originally designed in the blind days 
 of popery as an expiation for the souls of 
 such as were snatched away by sudden 
 death, and for that purpose ought pro- 
 perly to have been given to holy church, 
 in the same manner as the apparel of a 
 stranger who was found dead was applied 
 to purchase masses for his soul." But it 
 is perhaps more reasonable to imagine 
 that it was a civil institution intended to 
 produce care and caution on the part of 
 the owners of cattle and goods, and that 
 the subsequent application of the things 
 forfeited has been mistaken for the origin 
 of the law itself. The custom was also a 
 part of the Mosaic Law. (Exod. xxi. 28.) 
 In England it has prevailed from the 
 earliest period, and there is no trace of 
 the deodands having been applied to pious 
 uses. The custom is thus mentioned by 
 Bracton, one of the earliest writers on 
 English law, who lived in the reign of 
 Henry III. : ' Omnia quse movent ad mor- 
 tem' sunt deodanda,' which is Englished 
 in the ' Termes de la Ley,' 
 
 What moves to death, or killed the dead. 
 Is deodand, and forfeited. 
 
 A different rule prevails when the 
 thing which occasions accidental death is 
 at rest, and is composed of several parts. 
 For instance, if a man, in climbing up 
 
DEPARTMENT. 
 
 [742] 
 
 DEPARTMENT. 
 
 the wheel of a cart, falls and is killed, 
 the wheel only is forfeited ; but if the cart 
 is driven against the man, and the wheel 
 goes over and kills him, not only the 
 wheel but the cart and its loading are for- 
 feited. In cases of homicide, the instru- 
 ment of death is forfeited, even if it be- 
 longs to an innocent party, for which 
 reason, in all indictments for homicide, a 
 value is placed on the weapon used in 
 killing, that the king or his grantee may 
 claim the deodand, for it is no deodand 
 unless it be presented by a jury of twelve 
 men. Accordingly, when the coroner's 
 jury find the cause of deajth, they ought 
 also to find the value of the thing which 
 was the immediate cause of a death. It 
 is common for the coroner's juries to 
 award a given amount as a deodand less 
 than the value of the chattel ; and though 
 it is said that this rinding is hardly war- 
 rantable by law, yet the Court of King's 
 Bench has usually refused to interfere on 
 behalf of the lord of the franchise to assist 
 his claim. 
 
 The general rule, then, is, that all 
 personal chattels in motion which kill a 
 human being are forfeited. But the 
 subject has ceased to be of interest since 
 1846, the 9 & 10 Vict. c. 62 declaring 
 that the law respecting chattels which 
 have moved to or caused tile death of 
 man, and respecting deodands, is unrea- 
 sonable and inconvenient ; and subse- 
 quent to September 1, 1846, it is enacted 
 that there shall be no forfeiture of any 
 chattel in respect of homicide, nor in- 
 quiries by any coroner's inquisition rela- 
 tive to deodands. 
 
 DEPARTMENT (or in French DE'- 
 P ARTEMENT), aterritorial division of 
 France, introduced by the States-General 
 in the reign of Louis XVI. 
 
 A commune is the smallest territorial 
 division in tbe present system of France. 
 In the rural districts and in the smaller 
 towns a commune may be considered as 
 equivalent in area and population to our 
 ordinary parishes, or to the townships 
 into which our more extensive parishes 
 are divided. It is only in respect of area 
 and population that we compare the com- 
 munes of France with our own parishes: 
 the two divisions were made for different 
 purposes, the parish being an ecclesias- 
 
 tical division, which existed in France as 
 well as in England, while the commune 
 was for civil or military purposes. There 
 is moreover this difference, that while our 
 larger towns and cities (especially those 
 whose extent and importance are of an 
 ancient date, such as Norwich, Exeter, 
 Bristol, or York) consist of several 
 parishes, the larger towns of France, with 
 the exception of Paris, form but one com- 
 mune. The term commune, which is 
 nearly equivalent to corporation, is of 
 ancient date. When Louis VI. (le Gros) 
 sought to raise from the towns of the 
 royal domain a burgher militia as a sub- 
 stitute for the troops of his rebellious and 
 disorderly vassals, and in order to form 
 an alliance between the crown and the 
 commons by sheltering the latter against 
 feudal oppression, he formed the freemen 
 inhabiting the towns into communautes 
 (in the Latin of the middle ages commu- 
 nitates) or corporations, gave them power 
 to raise troops from among themselves, 
 and conferred upon a municipal body, 
 constituted for the purpose, an authority 
 over these troops similar to that which 
 had been exercised over the baronial 
 levies by the great lords themselves, and 
 by their subordinates, the counts, or 
 governors of towns, the viscounts, castel- 
 lans, &c. These are not to be regarded 
 as the first municipal corporations which 
 had existed in France. Under the Roman 
 dominion there were many ; but during 
 the distracted reigns of the later Carlo- 
 vingian princes, these corporations had 
 mostly, if not entirely, become extinct. 
 The militia of the towns was designated 
 in the Latin of the middle ages communis; 
 (communes), communitates paroehiarum 
 (the commonalties of the parishes), or 
 burgenses (the burghers or burgesses). 
 Where the town consisted of several 
 parishes the troops were formed into 
 smaller bodies according to their parishes, 
 and marched into the field in those divi- 
 sions, the parochial clergy accompanying 
 their respective parishioners, not to join 
 in the conflict, but to discharge their 
 spiritual duties of preaching to them, con- 
 fessing them, and administering religious 
 rites to the dying. Some communes con- 
 sisted of a number of small towns united 
 under one corporation charter. In pro- 
 
DEPARTMENT. 
 
 [ 743] 
 
 DEPARTMENT. 
 
 cess of time the greater barons followed 
 the example of the king, in order to be- 
 come independent of their vassals, among 
 whom the like insubordination existed as 
 among the vassals of the king. 
 
 The municipal officers were generally 
 designated Scabini or Echevins, and the 
 principal of them had the title of Major 
 or Maire (Mayor). The communes en- 
 joyed many rights and exemptions ; they 
 fortified their respective towns, and were, 
 iu fact, so many municipal republics scat- 
 tered over the kingdom, constituting the 
 most substantial bulwark both of the pub- 
 lic liberty and the rights of the crown 
 against the encroachments of the nobility. 
 As, however, the regal power gained 
 strength, the influence and importance of 
 the communes declined. Their militia 
 came into disuse when the kings of the 
 race of Valois began to form a standing 
 army ; and upon various causes or pre- 
 texts many of the incorporated towns lost 
 their charters, and returned under the 
 jurisdiction of their feudal lords. (For the 
 history of the communes see Raynouard, 
 Hist, du Droit Municipale en France, 
 1829.) 
 
 Under the present System of provincial 
 organization the whole of France, the 
 country as well as the towns, is divided 
 into communes. As the plan has been to 
 assimilate the divisions for civil and eccle- 
 siastical purposes, we believe that the 
 communes may in the rural districts and 
 the smaller towns be regarded as ecclesi- 
 astically equivalent to our parishes. Each 
 has its church and its cure or clergyman. 
 Some have also succursales or chapels of 
 ease. The larger towns have several 
 churches. 
 
 The local administration and the 
 revenues of each commune are placed 
 in the hands of a municipal body, which 
 consists of a mayor and one or more 
 assistants (adjoints), and a certain num- 
 ber of councillors. The number of ad- 
 joints and of councillors varies with the 
 population. In the larger communes the 
 mayor and his assistants were appointed 
 by the king, and in those of smaller size 
 by the prefect ; but they must be selected 
 from among the councillors elected by the 
 inhabitants. This gave the central go- 
 vernment the nomination of about 90,000 
 
 functionaries. In a commune which con- 
 tains a population not exceeding 500, the 
 number of councillors is 10 ; and when 
 the population is 30,000 and upwards, the 
 number is 36. The term of office for 
 mayors and adjoints is three years ; and 
 though they may be temporarily sus- 
 pended in their functions by the prefect, 
 they can only be dismissed by the king. 
 The members of the municipal body are 
 elected by the inhabitants who pay the 
 largest amount of direct taxes, and, con- 
 sequently, there is no fixed qualification. 
 In communes with a population not ex- 
 ceeding 1000 inhabitants, one-tenth are 
 eligible as electors, which proportion is 
 increased 5 per cent, for communes ex- 
 ceeding 1000 and not exceeding 5000 
 population ; , and by 4 and 3 per cent, 
 according to the further extent of the 
 population. The number of communal 
 electors in France is 2,795,000, and 
 they elect 426,000 communal coun- 
 cillors. In communes with a less po- 
 pulation than 2000, the council are 
 elected by the voters assembled in one 
 body ; but those of larger population are 
 divided into sections as nearly equal as 
 possible, and each section returns its own 
 councillors, as in this country where a 
 town is divided into wards. In com- 
 munes of 500 inhabitants and upwards, 
 near relations, as a father and brothers, 
 cannot be at the same time members of 
 the communal council. Provision is made 
 Dy the law for the meeting of the council 
 four times a-year, and each sitting may 
 be continued for ten days. On the requi- 
 sition of the mayor, or of one-third of the 
 council, the prefect or sub-prefect may 
 call an extraordinary meeting. Com- 
 munal councils are prohibited from cor- 
 responding with other councils, or issuing 
 ^protestations, proclamations, or addresses. 
 "The king may dissolve a municipal coun- 
 cil, but the ordonnance must make pro- 
 vision for a new election. According to 
 the terms of the law of 21st March, 1831, 
 the mayor acts under the authority and 
 surveillance of the prefect <or sub-prefect. 
 The duties which devolve upon him may 
 be compared generally to those which are 
 severally discharged by the overseers of 
 the poor and the churchwardens and over- 
 seers of the highways in an English 
 
DEPARTMENT. 
 
 [ 744 J 
 
 DEPARTMENT. 
 
 parish ; but as he is a ministerial officer 
 of the prefect, and executes the orders of 
 the prefect or those which are transmitted 
 through him by the central government, 
 the mayor has duties for which there is no 
 analogy in the administrative system of 
 the rural parts of England. The mayor 
 of a French commune has the absolute 
 right of appointing local officers in some 
 cases ; but in others he must have the 
 approbation of the council and the sanc- 
 tion of the prefect. The municipal council 
 " determines" matters relating to the pub- 
 lic property of the commune, and executes 
 its decisions, provided that within thirty 
 days they are not annulled by the prefect 
 as contrary to the law or to the routine 
 of the administration. The council 
 " deliberates" on a variety of other sub- 
 jects affecting the immediate interests of 
 the commune ; gives its " advice" on a 
 number of others ; and is authorized to 
 express its views and wishes generally on 
 all objects of local interest. The sittings 
 of the council are not public, and its dis- 
 cussions cannot be published officially 
 without the sanction of the prefect. On 
 the demand of any three members the 
 votes may be taken by ballot. The budget 
 of the commune is open to inspection, and 
 in the communes which have a revenue of 
 10,000f. and upwards it is required to 
 be printed. A certain class of expenses, 
 which are enumerated in the municipal 
 law, are obligatory ; such as the payment 
 of municipal officers, the keeping in repair 
 the town-hall, a portion of the expenses 
 of public instruction and the national 
 guard, the cost of foundlings, of public 
 cemeteries, &c. Every commune is bound 
 to maintain a primary school, or to unite 
 with another commune for that pur- 
 pose. These schools are supported by 
 a government grant and by a com- 
 munal tax. A law of 25th June, 1841, [ 
 gives to the prefect of a department 
 the power of fixing, with the advice of 
 the council of arrondissement, the mini- 
 mum of the monthly contributions of a 
 commune to the primary schools, and a I 
 maximum for the number of free scholars. 
 All other expenses are " optional." In ' 
 case of a council refusing to provide 
 for the discharge of obligatory expenses, [ 
 the necessary sum may be constituted a 
 
 part of the communal budget by a royal 
 ordonnance for the larger communes, and 
 by an arret of the prefect for the smaller 
 communes. By the same authority an 
 extraordinary contribution maybe levied, 
 the. proportion of which is, however, 
 limited by the law of 25th June, 1841. 
 
 A department consists of several arron- 
 dissements, usually four or five: some 
 departments have only three arrondisse- 
 ments; others have as many as six. 
 There are eighty-six departments. These 
 departments have been divided into 
 363 arrondissements, 
 2835 cantons, 
 37,021 communes. 
 
 A canton is a division consisting of 
 several communes (the average is nearly 
 fifteen) ; over each a judicial officer entitled 
 juge de paix (justice of the peace) is ap- 
 pointed. These functionaries receive a 
 small salary ; they decide civil suits if the 
 amount in question is under 50 fr. : and 
 all suits whatever must be heard by one of 
 them (in order that he may if possible 
 bring the parties to an agreement) before 
 the cause is carried into a higher court. 
 The number of juges de paix is 2846. 
 They are appointed by the government, 
 but are not removable at pleasure. Each 
 juge has a greffier (clerk), and to each 
 court are attached one or two huissiers 
 (bailiffs). 
 
 An arrondissement (circle) compre- 
 hends several cantons, seven on the aver 
 age of France. The arrondissements may 
 be compared to the Hundreds or Wapen- 
 takes of English counties. Each arron- 
 dissement is under the administration of 
 a sous-pre"fet (sub-prefect), subordinate to 
 the prefect of the department, to whom 
 he addresses a memorial on anything of 
 importance to the arrondissement, assign- 
 ing the reasons on which his opinions are 
 founded. He receives and settles the ac- 
 counts of the maires of the several com- 
 munes. He is assisted by a conseil d'ar- 
 rondissement (council of the arrondisse- 
 ment), which consists of not fewer than 
 nine members, and otherwise as many as 
 there are cantons in the arrondissement. 
 They are elected for six years, and their 
 qualifications consist in the payment of 
 150fr. a year direct taxes. The electors 
 are the highest taxed inhabitants of the 
 
DEPARTMENT. 
 
 r 745 j 
 
 DEPAKTMENT. 
 
 canton, in the proportion of 1 to 100. 
 This council, like that of the department, 
 meets at a time fixed by the government. 
 It holds two ordinary sittings annually, 
 one before and the other after the sitting 
 of the Council general of the department. 
 In the first of these sittings the Council 
 deliberates on the allocation of the con- 
 tingent of direct taxes for the arrondisse- 
 ment and listens to the claims of com- 
 munes who ask for a reduction of their 
 proportion. In the second part of its 
 sittings the Council apportions the amount 
 of direct taxes amongst the different com- 
 munes. Should it fail to do this, the pre- 
 fect is authorized to supply the omission 
 on the basis of the preceding repartition. 
 The sub-prefect has the right of speaking 
 at the sittings of the council. Councils 
 of arrondlssement are authorized to make 
 a report to the prefect of the wants and 
 condition of the arrondissement, similar 
 to that which the departmental council 
 addresses to the minister of the interior. 
 As the capital of the department is also 
 the chief place of an arrondissement, the 
 prefect and the prefectorial (not the de- 
 partmental) council discharge in that 
 arrondissement the duties which in the 
 other arrondissements are assigned to 
 their respective sub-prefects and councils. 
 At the head of each department is an 
 officer entitled prefet (prefect), who has 
 alone the administration of the local go- 
 vernment. His usual residence is at the 
 departmental capital ; but he makes every 
 year a circuit of inspection through his 
 department, and gives an account of the 
 result of his circuit to the minister of the 
 interior. The prefect is assisted by a 
 conseil de prefecture (prefectorial coun- 
 cil), consisting of three, four, or five 
 members, which decides upon individual 
 appeals for an entire exemption or a re- 
 duction of the direct taxes ; and upon 
 questions arising from the execution of 
 public works, whether between the go- 
 vernment and the contractors as to the 
 particulars of the contract, or between 
 the contractors and parties who complain 
 of injuries sustained at their hands, and 
 upon the indemnity due to individuals 
 whose possessions have been required for 
 carrying on public works. The prefect 
 when present at the sittings of this coun- 
 
 cil acts as chairman, and in case of an 
 equal division has a casting vote. 
 
 In each department there is a council 
 general with as many members as the 
 department contains cantons, but the 
 number must not exceed thirty. Each 
 canton elects a member whose qualifi- 
 cation consists in the payment of 200fr. 
 a-year direct taxes. He is elected for 
 nine years, but a third of, the council is 
 renewed every three years. The electors 
 are the highest taxed inhabitants, in the 
 proportion of 1 to 1000. The council 
 assembles annually by virtue of a royal 
 ordonnance which fixes the time and du- 
 ration of its sittings, which are private ; 
 and on the demand of four members the 
 votes may be taken by ballot. The 
 council cannot deliberate except in the 
 place assigned for its sittings, and on 
 matters within its jurisdiction as deter- 
 mined by the law of 23rd June, 1833; 
 nor can it put itself in correspondence 
 with the council of another department or 
 of an arrondissement. On an infrac- 
 tion of these articles the council is sus- 
 pended by the prefect ; and printers or 
 others who publish the proceedings of a 
 council which commits either of these 
 infringements is liable to imprisonment 
 for a period of from two to six months, 
 to the loss of civil rights and of all public 
 employment for ten years. The powers 
 and functions of both the councils of a 
 department and of an arrondissement are 
 regulated by a law of 10th May, 1838. 
 Their powers are not near so extensive 
 as those of county magistrates in England 
 assembled at quarter-sessions. The cen- 
 tral authority of the government pervades 
 every partof the local administration from 
 the commune to the department. The chief 
 business of the council is to apportion 
 between the arrondissements the direct 
 taxes which are required by the general 
 government ; to hear and determine upon 
 appeals made by the councils of arron- 
 dissements against this assessment", to 
 levy, within certain limits fixed by law, 
 an additional tax, destined, like our 
 county rates, to meet the expenses of the 
 local administration ; to audit the account 
 yearly rendered by the prefect of the ex- 
 penditure of this local revenue; and to 
 express, in a report addressed to the 
 
DEPARTMENT. 
 
 C 746 J 
 
 DEPOSITION 
 
 minister of the interior, an opinion upon 
 the condition and wants of the depart- 
 ment. 
 
 The number of members of councils- 
 general is 2300, and of councils of arron- 
 dissements 3200. 
 
 The departments and arrondissements 
 are electoral divisions. The members of 
 the National Assembly are chosen for 
 the departments, not for single towns, 
 however important or populous ; so that 
 the deputies are all, according to our 
 phrase, county members. [Chakte.] 
 
 Each arrondissement has a court of 
 justice, entitled tribunal de premiere in- 
 stance, which, except in a very few cases, 
 has its sittings at the capital of the arron- 
 dissement These courts commonly con- 
 sist of three or four ordinary and two or 
 three supplementary judges: a few ar- 
 rondissements which include large towns, 
 such as Marseille or Bordeaux, have a 
 considerably greater number of judges, 
 who are divided into two or more sec- 
 tions. To each court there is a procureur 
 du roi, or attorney-general; and where 
 the court consists of two or more sections 
 there are deputy attorneys. Each de- 
 partment has a tribunal criminel (crimi- 
 nal court), or cour d'assize (assize court), 
 consisting of a president, who is a coun- 
 sellor of the cour royale, to the jurisdic- 
 tion of which the department is subject, 
 two ordinary and two supplementary 
 judges : to each court is attached a pro- 
 cureur du roi, or attorney-general, and a 
 greffier, or registrar. These courts, ex- 
 cept in a few instances, have their seat at 
 the capital of the department. Besides 
 these courts, there are in different parts 
 of France twenty-seven higher tribunals, 
 called cours royales, consisting of from 
 twelve to thirty-three salaried judges. 
 Each of these courts has under its juris- 
 diction several departments. There is an 
 appeal from these courts on questions of 
 law, not of fact, to the supreme court, 
 cour de cassation, at Paris. The depart- 
 ments are also formed into twenty di- 
 visions militaires, or military districts : 
 the head-quarters of these districts are 
 fixed at some important town, usually at 
 the capital of one of the included depart- 
 ments. The departments are also grouped 
 into divisions for other objects of central 
 
 government: 1, as to bridges and high- 
 ways ; 2, forests ; 3, mines. 
 
 A department usually constitutes an ec- 
 clesiastical diocese. In a few instances 
 two departments are comprehended in one 
 diocese; and in one or two cases a de- 
 partment is divided between two dioceses. 
 The dioceses of France amount to eighty, 
 of which fourteen are archbishoprics and 
 sixty-six bishoprics. 
 
 The instruction of youth in France 
 being under the surveillance of govern- 
 ment, has occasioned an arrangement of 
 territory with a view to this object. 
 
 DEPORTATION. [Banishment.] 
 
 DEPOSIT. The term is applied to 
 the sum of money which under 43 Geo. 
 III. c. 46 a man might deposit with the 
 sheriff after he was arrested, instead of 
 putting in special bail. The amount of 
 the deposit was the sum sworn to on the 
 back of the writ. (Blackstone's Comm. 
 iii. 290.) 
 
 Deposit is also used for any sum of 
 money which a man puts in the hands of 
 another as a kind of security for the ful- 
 filment of some agreement, or as a part 
 payment in advance. 
 
 The Roman word depositum signified 
 anything which a man put in the hands 
 of another to keep till it was asked back, 
 without anything being given to the de- 
 positarius for his trouble. The depositor 
 was called deponens or depositor. The 
 depositary was bound to take care of the 
 thing, and to make good any damage that 
 happened to it through fraudulent design 
 (dolus) or gross neglect (lata culpa). The 
 depositor could recover the thing by 
 action ; but the depositary was entitled to 
 satisfaction for any loss that he sustained 
 in the matter of the deposit by any de- 
 fault (culpa) on the part of the depositor. 
 The depositary could make no use of the 
 deposit, except with the permission of the 
 depositor, either given in express words 
 or arising from implication. If a man 
 refused to return a deposit, and was con- 
 demned in an action of deposit (actio de- 
 posit), infamy (infamia) was a conse- 
 quence of the condemnation. (Dig. 16, tit 
 3 ; Juvenal, Sat. xiii. 60.) 
 
 DEPOSITION, in its extended sense, 
 means the act of giving public testimony, 
 but as applicable to English law the word 
 
DEPOSITION. 
 
 L747] 
 
 DEPOSITION. 
 
 is used to signify the testimony of a wit- 
 ness in a judicial proceeding reduced to 
 writing. Informations upon oath and the 
 evidence of witnesses before magistrates 
 and coroners are reduced into writing in 
 the very words used by the witnesses, or 
 as near as possible thereto. Evidence 
 in the Court of Chancery is taken in 
 written answers to interrogatories, which 
 are also in writing, either by commis- 
 sioners appointed for that purpose in the 
 particular cause, if the witness resides 
 at a greater distance from London than 
 twenty miles, or if he resides nearer or is 
 otherwise willing to appear, before the 
 examiners of the Court of Chancery. 
 These depositions are the evidence which 
 is read at the hearing of the cause. The 
 course of the Ecclesiastical Court is also 
 by written interrogatories and answers. 
 The Court of Chancery has power to grant 
 a commission for the examination of wit- 
 nesses residing abroad ; and by the 1 Wm. 
 IV. c. 22, which extends the provisions 
 of the 13 Geo. III. u. 64, the courts of 
 law at Westminster, in actions pending 
 before them, have power to order the ex- 
 amination of witnesses residing in any of 
 his Majesty's foreign dominions. By the 
 13 Geo. III. c. 63, § 40, in cases of indict- 
 ments in the King's Bench for misde- 
 meanors or offences committed in India, 
 that court may award writs of mandamus 
 to the judges of the courts in India to 
 examine witnesses concerning the matters 
 charged in such indictments and offences, 
 and the depositions so taken may be read 
 at any trial for such misdemeanors or 
 offences. Sections 41 and 42 provide for 
 taking the depositions of witnesses on any 
 information or indictment in the King's 
 Bench against the judges of the Supreme 
 Courts in India, and in proceedings in 
 parliament for offences committed in that 
 country. By section 44, when an action 
 or suit in law or equity, the cause whereof 
 shall arise in India, is commenced in any 
 of the courts of Westminster, such court 
 on motion may award a writ in the nature 
 of a mandamus to the judges of the courts 
 in India for the examination of witnesses, 
 and such examination may be read at any 
 trial or hearing between the parties in 
 such action or suit. The 1 Wm. IV. c. 
 22, § 1, extends the power and provisions 
 
 of the 13 Geo. III. c. 63, to all colonies 
 and places under the king's dominion, 
 and to all the judges of the same, and to 
 all actions depending in the courts of law 
 of Westminster. The fourth section of 
 this act empowers the courts at West- 
 minster, and also the Court of Common 
 Pleas of the County Palatine of Lancaster 
 and of Durham, and the several judges 
 thereof, in every action depending in such 
 courts, upon the application of any of the 
 parties to such action, to order the ex- 
 amination upon oath, upon interrogatories 
 or otherwise, before the master or protho- 
 notary of such court, or person or persons 
 named in such order, of any witnesses 
 within the jurisdiction of the court where 
 the action shall be depending, or to order 
 a commission to issue for the examination 
 of witnesses on oath in places out of such 
 jurisdiction by interrogatories or other- 
 wise. But (§ 10) no examination or de- 
 position to be taken under this act shall 
 be used as evidence at any trial without 
 the consent of the party against whom 
 the same may be offered, unless it shall 
 appear to the satisfaction of the jury that 
 the examinant or deponent is beyond the 
 jurisdiction of the court, or dead, or un- 
 able, from permanent sickness or other 
 permanent disability, to attend the trial. 
 
 When a witness is above the age of 70, 
 or very infirm, or about to go abroad, so 
 that his testimony may be lost before the 
 regular period for his examination arrives, 
 the Court of Chancery will order him to 
 be examined de bene esse, as it is termed ; 
 that is, his examination is received for the 
 present, and will be accepted as evidence 
 when the proper time for taking the other 
 evidence in the cause arrives, if the wit- 
 ness cannot be then produced. Courts of 
 law do not possess similar power without 
 the consent of both parties, but in order 
 to enforce consent they will put off the 
 trial at the instance of a defendant, if the 
 plaintiff will not consent ; and if the de- 
 fendant refuse, will not give him judgment 
 in case of nonsuit. 
 
 The Court of Chancery will also, upon 
 bill filed by a person in the actual and 
 undisturbed possession of property, and 
 who has therefore no means of making 
 his title the subject of judicial investiga- 
 tion, but which nevertheless may be ina- 
 
DESCENT. 
 
 [ 748] 
 
 DESCENT. 
 
 terially affected by the evidence of living 
 witnesses, allow the witnesses to be ex- 
 amined in perpetuam rei memoriam, that 
 is, to perpetuate testimony. This is done 
 in order that if any of the witnesses 
 should die before the title to the property 
 is disputed, their evidence may be pre- 
 served ; otherwise a claimant might lie 
 by until all the evidence against him was 
 lost 
 
 Depositions are not admitted as evi- 
 dence in courts of law, unless the witness 
 is either dead, or from some cause beyond 
 the control of the party seeking to read 
 the deposition, cannot be produced, or 
 against any other persons than the parties 
 to the proceeding in which they were 
 taken, or claimants under them, and who 
 had the opportunity of cross-examining 
 the witness. In cases, however, relating 
 to a custom, prescription, or pedigree, 
 where mere reputation would be good 
 evidence, a deposition may be received as 
 against a stranger. 
 
 Depositions taken in Chancery de bene 
 esse before answer put in, unless the de- 
 fendant is in contempt for refusing to 
 answer, are not admissible as evidence in 
 a court of law, because until the defendant 
 has answered he could not have an oppor- 
 tunity of cross-examining the. witness ; 
 but the Court of Chancery will some- 
 times direct such depositions to be read. 
 Such order, however, while it concludes 
 the parties, is not binding upon the court 
 of law ; of course, however, if the depo- 
 sitions be not read and the decision should 
 be contrary to justice, the Court of Chan- 
 cery would interfere as between the 
 parties. 
 DEPRIVATION. [Benefice, p. 351.] 
 DEPUTY. [Chakte, p. 393.] 
 DESCENT, in English law (from 
 discent, Norman French, and so written in 
 our older law books), may be defined to be 
 the rule of law pursuant to which, on the 
 death of the owner of an estate of inherit- 
 ance, without making any disposition 
 thereof, it descends to another as heir. 
 Inheritance is sometimes used in the same 
 sense as descent, though it rather signifies 
 that which is, or may be, inherited, or 
 taken by descent. (Littleton, sect 9.) 
 
 The law of inheritance with respect to 
 descents which have taken place since or 
 
 shall take place after the 1st of January, 
 1834, is now regulated by the Act 3 & 4 
 Wm. IV. c. 100. The object here is 
 merely to explain the general notion of 
 descent. 
 
 All modes of acquiring property in 
 land by the English law are either Descent 
 or Purchase. Descent, or hereditary suc- 
 cession, signifies the title by which a man 
 acquires an estate in land as the heir-at- 
 law of a person deceased. 
 
 The death of the owner of the estate of 
 inheritance is the occasion of the descent 
 of it. In his lifetime there can be no 
 descent, and therefore no heir, though 
 there may be an " heir apparent," or " heir 
 presumptive." An heir apparent is he 
 who must be the heir, if he lives till the 
 inheritance descends ; an heir presumptive 
 is he who may be forestalled by the birth 
 of a nearer heir. 
 
 The person who dies must be at his 
 death owner of the estate of inheritance, 
 or no descent of it will then take place. 
 
 Inheritances, otherwise called heredita- 
 ments, things which may be inherited or 
 taken by descent, are various. The prin- 
 cipal of these is the Crown, or royal title, 
 dignity, and power of the king of the British 
 Empire, the descent of which differs in 
 one material respect from that of a private 
 inheritance, inasmuch as where there are 
 no sons of the king, an elder daughter 
 takes the whole of the inheritance, in 
 exclusion of the younger sisters. In the 
 case of the descent of private land, when 
 there are several daughters, they all take 
 alike in equal shares, and are called par- 
 ceners, or coparceners. Dignities and 
 honours, as baronies and other peerages, 
 are descendible, according to the limita- 
 tions contained in the patents by which 
 they were created. If created by sum- 
 mons in the first instance, thfty are called 
 dignities in fee, and are descendible to 
 females. [Barony.] Finally, all the sub- 
 jects of real property, and all annuities, 
 offices, and whatever other .hings may be 
 " held in fee," are " descendible," and 
 this whether they are in possession, rever- 
 sion, remainder, or expectancy. So are 
 all rights and titles to things that may be 
 held in fee, and the expectancy of an heir 
 apparent or presumptive. There arc also 
 " descendible freeholds," that is, estates 
 
DESCENT. 
 
 [ 749 ] 
 
 DESCENT. 
 
 created by leases for lives, which, though 
 not estates in fee, may during their con- 
 tinuance be inherited as if they were. It 
 has been already noticed [Chattel] that 
 the large class of things called chattels 
 are not generally the subject of descent, 
 but that some of them are. 
 
 Upon the death of the owner, the in- 
 heritance devolves upon the heir, without 
 -any act done by him, or price paid for his 
 acquisition : in both these respects, the 
 present law of descent differs from the old 
 feudal customs from which it is derived. 
 According to the old feudal customs, upon 
 the death of the tenant of a fee, the lord 
 of whom it was held was entitled to take 
 and retain it till the heir, for whom pro- 
 clamation was made, appeared, and paid 
 a sum of money called a relief [Relief] 
 as the consideration for his admission into 
 the tenancy ; whereupon " seisin" or pos- 
 session was given him, and he took the 
 " oath of fealty" [Fealty], and if the 
 tenancy was by " knight's service," "did 
 homage" [Homage] also to the lord. All 
 this was more like a new donation, than 
 the present quiet succession of an heir. 
 The descent of copyholds, however, is 
 still regulated much in the manner de- 
 scribed. The heir was not, however, 
 formerly, to the same extent as now, sub- 
 ject to the charges and debts of the de- 
 ceased tenant, in respect of the property 
 that descended to him. [Assets]. The 
 present law of descents qualities materially 
 in one respect the title of the heir to the 
 inheritance descended. Though it makes 
 him as completely the owner of it as if he 
 had purchased it, that is, acquired it 
 otherwise than by descent, as to right of 
 enjoyment and power of alienation, it does 
 not allow it at his death to descend as if 
 he had purchased it, but, on the contrary, 
 declares that it shall descend as if he had 
 never had it. Such at least is the new 
 law. (§ 1, 2, of the Act.) The heir of an 
 inheritance must be always the heir of the 
 last " purchaser" of it, that is, of the last 
 person who acquired the property " other- 
 wise than by descent, or than by an es- 
 cheat partition or inclosure, by the effect 
 of which the land shall have become part 
 of, or descendible, in the same manner as 
 other land acquired by descent." The 
 practical importance of this rule cannot 
 
 be understood without knowing who the 
 person is who in any case is designated by 
 the law as the " heir" to another. 
 
 As to descents in fee simple, the funda- 
 mental rule is, that any person of kin to 
 another, that is, descended from the same 
 ancestor, however distant, may be his 
 heir, but that no person connected with 
 him by marriage or affinity only, can 
 inherit to him. [Consanguinity ; Af- 
 finity.] If the son inherits to the father, 
 his mother cannot succeed to him, for 
 though she may be heir to the son, she 
 cannot be heir to the father, from whom, 
 and not from the son, " the descent is to 
 be traced." On the other hand, if the 
 father inherits to the son, the mother may 
 succeed to him, for though she cannot be 
 the heir of the father, she may be the 
 heir of the son. The fee, fief, or feud, 
 which may thus now descend to the kin- 
 dred of the purchaser in infinitum, was 
 once nothing more than a life-interest 
 given to the tenant or holder of it in con- 
 sideration of the military services to be 
 rendered by the tenant to the donor. The 
 fee was afterwards permitted to descend 
 to the issue of the original grantee, and 
 in process of time to his collateral heirs. 
 This was only effected by means of a 
 fiction ; for so firmly settled was the 
 notion that " the blood" (descending) 
 alone of the purchaser or original grantee 
 could be allowed to inherit, that the feudal 
 law was never brought to allow collateral 
 heirs, as such, to be heirs. But when a 
 feud was granted tit antiquum, that is, to 
 be held by the donee as if it had descended 
 to bim from some remote unknown an- 
 cestor, then the law permitted collateral 
 relations however distant, that is, relations 
 descended from any common ancestor, 
 however remote, to inherit. For it was 
 not known how far distant the ancestor 
 was who was supposed to have been the 
 purchaser, nor who he was, and it was 
 sufficient that the heir might be a descend- 
 ant of his. (See for the early history of 
 inheritable fiefs, Robertson's Charles V., 
 Sullivan's Lectures, Wright's Tenures, 
 Gilbert on Tenures by Watkins, Butler's 
 Coke upon Littleton, 191, a. v. 4, where 
 there is a comparison of the Roman and 
 feudal laws of inheritance.) 
 
 While the law, however, went thus far. 
 
DESCENT. 
 
 [ 750 ] 
 
 DESCENT. 
 
 it did not, for reasons which some writers 
 have attempted to explain, allow the lineal 
 ancestors of the purchaser of the quasi 
 ancient feud to inherit it, nor his relations 
 by the half blood, that is, persons de- 
 scended not from the same father and 
 mother as the purchaser, or any lineal 
 ancestor of his, but from one of them 
 only. Still further exclusions followed 
 from the rule which was afterwards es- 
 tablished, that the heir of the fee must be 
 the heir of the person last seised or pos- 
 sessed of it, as well as a kinsman of the 
 whole blood to the actual purchaser. 
 Among the practical consequences of this 
 rule were the following: that if the child 
 of the actual purchaser inherited to him, 
 and became seised, the purchaser's child 
 by another wife could not succeed, be- 
 cause only half brother to the person last 
 seised ; and that if the father's brother 
 inherited to the son and became seised. 
 the mother's brother could not succeed, 
 because only related by marriage to the 
 person last seised. All these exclusions 
 and the fictions of the ancient feuds are 
 done away with by the new act, the effect 
 of which is, as before said, to admit 
 among the heirs of the purchaser all his 
 kindred, both of the whole and the half 
 blood, and notwithstanding any previous 
 descent to any heir of his. This it does 
 by enacting that every lineal ancestor 
 shall be capable of being heir to any of 
 his issue (§ 6); that any person re- 
 lated to the purchaser by the half 
 blood shall be capable of being his heir 
 (§ 9), and that in every case descent 
 shall be traced from the purchaser (§ 2). 
 Still, however, the wife or her kin cannot 
 inherit to the husband, nor the husband 
 or his kin to the wife. But the hard- 
 ship of these exclusions is at least miti- 
 gated by the law of dower and curtesy, 
 which must be read together with the law 
 of descent as one law. The order in 
 which the kindred of the purchaser in- 
 herit is a matter purely legal. The prac- 
 tical difficulty in finding who is heir, is 
 not the difficulty of understanding the 
 law, but in ascertaining the facts upon 
 which the law of descent operates. The 
 new act declares that the last owner of 
 the land shall be presumed to be the pur- 
 chaser, unless it can be proved that he is 
 
 not ; and this rule diminishes the difficulty 
 of tracing the descent. 
 
 The English word heir comes from the 
 Roman heres ; hut the Roman word heres 
 had two significations. It signified either 
 the person or persons to whom a testator 
 gave his property by testament; or the 
 person or persons who took the property 
 of a deceased person in case of his dying 
 intestate. The heres by testament corre- 
 sponds to the English devisee, and to the 
 person or persons to whom a man be- 
 queaths his personal estate for the purpose 
 of distribution, that is, his executors. Fur- 
 ther, the Roman law made no distinction 
 between land and other property, as to 
 descent or testamentary disposition. The 
 Roman heres, therefore, who succeeded 
 in case of intestacy (ab intestato) filled the 
 place of the English heir at law, and also of 
 the person who obtains the administration 
 of an intestate's personal estate. Again, 
 in the case of intestacy among the Romans, 
 all persons were heredes, and took the 
 property in equal portions, who were in 
 the same degree of consanguinity to the 
 intestate : sons and daughters who were 
 in the power of their father inherited 
 alike, whether the real children of the 
 intestate or his adopted children ; and the 
 wife who was in the hand of her husband 
 (in maim ) inherited with the brothers and 
 sisters of the intestate, for such wife was 
 considered as a daughter. If a man left 
 children living, and there were also chil- 
 dren of a son deceased, these grand-chil- 
 dren took the share which their father 
 would have had if living: thus the 
 division among the grandchildren in this 
 case was not in capita, but in stirpes. In 
 fact, the Roman law of succession, in case 
 of intestacy, should be compared , with 
 the English law of succession to the 
 personal estate of an intestate, which is 
 founded on the Roman law ; and it should 
 not be compared with the English law of 
 descent, which is of a feudal character. 
 The law of Roman intestacy is stated by 
 Gaius, lib. iii. 
 
 The rule of descent, which makes the 
 eldest son, brother, &c. sole heir, exclusive 
 of the other children, or the other ne- 
 phews and nieces, &c, is well known by 
 the name of ' the law of primogeniture.' 
 [Primogeniture. ] It is almost peculiar 
 
DESCENT. 
 
 [ 751 ] 
 
 DESERTER. 
 
 to our country, not having been observed 
 by the ancients, and being generally abo- 
 lished ■where it existed on the Continent 
 and in the United States of America. For 
 the history of this rule, see- Hale's His- 
 tory of the Common Law; Sullivan's 
 Lectures; Robinson On Gavelkind; 2 
 Blackstone's Com. ; Wright's Tenures ; 
 and for observations on its expediency, 
 Smith's Wealth of Nations. The prefer- 
 ence of males to females is not so pecu- 
 liar. The Jews, Athenians, and Arabians, 
 though not the Romans, gave the inherit- 
 ance to sons exclusive of daughters. 
 (For the Athenian law of inheritance, see 
 Jones's Isams ; for that of the Jews, 
 Selden, De Successionibus apud Hebrceos.) 
 This is not however the case among most 
 foreign nations at present. The prefer- 
 ence of the child of the elder son dead in 
 the purchaser's lifetime to the younger 
 Bon has some interesting historical asso- 
 ciations. The law on this point seems 
 not to have been settled till after most 
 of the other rules of descent. It was still 
 somewhat doubtful when King John kept 
 his nephew Arthur from the throne by 
 disputing it. (2 Blackstone's Com. ; Sulli- 
 van's Lectures, lect. 14. In Robertson's 
 Charles V., vol. i. p. 272, there is a curi- 
 ous story of the trial by combat of this 
 point of law.) 
 
 The descent of estates tail (regulated 
 by stat. 3 Ed. I. c. 1) differs from that 
 of fees simple principally in this, that 
 only the descendants of the first donee 
 can inherit; and of these only males 
 claiming exclusively through males can 
 be heirs when the estate is in ' tail male :' 
 when it is in tail female (a mode of. gift 
 which is quite obsolete), only females 
 claiming exclusively through females. 
 [Entah..] The limited descent of the 
 estates, together with other qualities of 
 them, makes them the best representa- 
 tives at present existing (excepting indeed 
 copyholds) of the ancient fiefs. 
 
 (On the law of descent, as it existed 
 before the late act, see Sir Matthew Hale's 
 History of the Common Law, chap. xi. ; 
 2 Blackstone, Com., chap. xiv. ; Cruise's 
 Digest, vol. iii. Watkins On Descents 
 principally treats of curious points, many 
 of which have ceased to be important. As 
 to the reasons for the new alterations, 
 
 see First Report, Real Properly Commis- 
 sioners.') 
 
 DESERTER, an officer or soldier who 
 either in time of peace or war, abandons 
 the regiment, battalion, or corps to which 
 he belongs, without having obtained leave, 
 and with the intention not to return. 
 
 The word deserter is from the Roman 
 Deserter, which had various meanings, 
 A soldier who did not give in his name 
 (dare nomen) when duly summoned to 
 service might be treated as a Deserter. 
 (Liv. iii. 69.) The soldier who fled in 
 battle and left the standard was called 
 Deserter, and the punishment was death : 
 sometimes every tenth man was taken by 
 lot and put to death. (Livy. ii. 59 ; Plu- 
 tarch, Crassus, c. 10.) Debertion among 
 the Romans ■nas a general term for 
 any evasion of military duty: the old 
 punishment was death, or loss of citizen- 
 ship, as the case might be. He who went 
 over to the enemy was transfuga or per- 
 fuga, and was always put to death. 
 Under the Empire there were various 
 classifications of desertion with their 
 several punishments. {Dig. 49, tit. 1 5, 
 " De Re Militari.") 
 
 As the last-mentioned circumstance dis- 
 tinguishes the crime of desertion from 
 the less grave offence of being absent 
 without leave, it becomes necessary, be- 
 fore the conviction of the offender, that 
 evidence should be apparent of such in- 
 tention. This evidence may be obtained 
 generally from the circumstances under 
 which the deserter is apprehended; for 
 example, he may have been found in a 
 carriage or vessel proceeding to a place 
 so distant as to preclude the possibility 
 of a return to his corps in a reasonable 
 time ; or letters may have been found in 
 which an intention to desert is expressed ; 
 or some offer may have been made by 
 him of enlisting in another corps, or of 
 entering into some other branch of the 
 service. 
 
 The civil courts of law in this country 
 have ever had authority to try offenders 
 accused of desertion ; but they have long 
 since ceased to exercise such authority, 
 and they now interfere only in the rare 
 case of an appeal from the decision of 
 the court-martial which is held for tile 
 purpose of investigating the charge and 
 
DESERTER. 
 
 [ 752 j 
 
 DESERTER. 
 
 awarding the punishment. The courts- 
 martial exercise, to a certain extent, a 
 discretionary power in proportioning the 
 punishments to the criminality in the ac- 
 cused ; and this power is generally con- 
 sidered as more likely to promote the 
 ends of justice than the inflexibility of 
 the law in civil courts, where, since no 
 middle course can be taken between con- 
 demnation and acquittal, the criminal 
 frequently escapes through the compas- 
 sion of the jury, when the punishment 
 which by law must follow a verdict of 
 guilty appears disproportionate to the 
 crime. The leniency which has invari- 
 ably characterised the sentences of courts- 
 martial, and the custom of not awarding 
 the punishment in its full extent till after 
 a repetition of the crime, sufficiently jus- 
 tifies the confidence reposed iu those 
 courts. 
 
 The practice of deserting from one 
 regiment or corps, and of enlisting in an- 
 other, either from caprice or for the sake 
 of a bounty, having been very frequent, 
 a particular clause has been inserted in 
 the Articles of War, in order to prevent 
 this abuse. It declares that any non- 
 commissioned officer or soldier so acting 
 shall be considered as a deserter, and 
 punished accordingly ; and that any offi- 
 cer who knowingly enlists such offender 
 shall be cashiered. It is also declared 
 that if any soldier, having committed an 
 offence against military discipline, shall 
 desert to another corps, he may be tried 
 in the latter corps, and punished for such 
 offence ; and his desertion may be stated 
 before the court as an aggravation of his 
 guilt. Any officer or soldier who may 
 advise or encourage another to desert is 
 also punishable by a general court-mar- 
 tial. 
 
 Absconding from a recruiting party 
 within four days after having received 
 the enlisting money is also considered as 
 desertion ; and an apprentice who enlists, 
 representing himself as free, if he after- 
 wards quits the corps, is esteemed a de- 
 serter unless he deliver himself up at the 
 expiration of his apprenticeship. Va- 
 grants also, who, pretending to be desert- 
 ers, give themselves up as such with a view 
 of obtaining money or provisions, are, by 
 a clause of the Mutiny Act, to be con- 
 
 sidered as soldiers whether enlisted or 
 not. 
 
 A non-commissioned officer or soldier 
 who simply absents himself from his 
 corps without leave is exonerated from 
 the graver part of the charge, if any cir- 
 cumstances can be adduced from which 
 it may be inferred that the absence was 
 intended to be only for a short time. 
 Such circumstances are, goods of value 
 being left behind, the occupation in which 
 the absentee is found to be engaged being 
 in its nature temporary, an intention of 
 returning having been expressed, or again, 
 the offender suffering himself to be 
 brought back without resistance. Simple 
 absence without leave is referred to regi- 
 mental courts-martial merely, and these 
 award the punishment discretionally. 
 
 The Mutiny Act authorises general 
 courts-martial to condemn a culprit to 
 death, if his crime should be found to 
 deserve the extreme punishment ; in other 
 cases they may sentence him to be trans- 
 ported as a felon, either for life or for a 
 term of years, or to serve in the ranks 
 for life, or for a length of time exceeding 
 that for which he had originally engaged 
 to serve. In some cases, also, corporal 
 punishment is awarded, and an offender 
 may be sentenced to lose the increased 
 pay or the pension to which he would 
 have been entitled if the guilt had not 
 been incurred. 
 
 Desertion is justly considered one of 
 the greatest offences that can be com- 
 mitted by any man who has adopted the 
 profession of arms. The officer or sol- 
 dier who has undertaken to assist in the 
 defence of his country, and steals away 
 from the duties he is called upon to per- 
 form, violates a sacred engagement. 
 Whether he withdraw through caprice, 
 or to escape the privations to which the 
 soldier is occasionally exposed, he sets 
 an example of discipline infringed, he de- 
 prives the army of his services at a time 
 perhaps when he can with difficulty be 
 replaced ; arid while he basely seeks his 
 own ease, he throws an additional burthen 
 upon his companions in arms. If he 
 pass over to the enemy, he becomes the 
 vilest of traitors ; and, should he escape 
 the retribution which awaits him from 
 his injured country, he must submit to 
 
DIPLOMATICS. 
 
 [ "3] 
 
 DIRECTOIRE. 
 
 live dishonoured, an exile from its bo- 
 som. 
 
 DESPOTISM. [Monarchy i Ty- 
 rant.] 
 DEVISE. [Will.] 
 DIFFEREATION. [Marriage.] 
 DIFFERENTIAL DUTIES. [Tax- 
 ation.] 
 
 DIGEST. [Justinian's Legisla- 
 tion.] 
 
 DIGNITIES. [Titles of honour.] 
 DILAPIDATION, ECCLESIASTI- 
 CAL. [Benefice, p. 349.] 
 DIOCESE. [Bishopric] 
 DIPLOMACY is a term used either 
 to express the art of conducting nego- 
 tiations and arranging treaties between 
 nations, or the branch of knowledge 
 ■which regards the principles of that art 
 and the relations of independent states to 
 one another. The word comes from the 
 Greek diploma, which properly signifies 
 any thing doubled or folded, and is more 
 particularly used for a document or writ- 
 ing issued on any more solemn occasion, 
 either by a state or other public body, 
 because such writings, whether on waxen 
 tablets or on any other material, used 
 anciently to be made up in a folded form. 
 The principles of diplomacy are to be 
 found partly in that body of recognized 
 qustoms and regulations called public or 
 international law, partly in the treaties or 
 special compacts which one state has 
 made with another. The superintend- 
 ence of the diplomatic relations of a 
 country has been commonly entrusted in 
 modern times to a minister of state, called 
 the Minister for Foreign Affairs, or, as 
 in England, the Secretary the Foreign 
 Affairs. The different persons per- 
 manently stationed or occasionally em- 
 ployed abroad, to arrange particular 
 points, to negotiate treaties commercial 
 and general, or to watch over their exe- 
 cution and maintenance, may all be con- 
 sidered as the agents of this superintend- 
 ing authority, and as immediately ac- 
 countable to it, as well as thence deriving 
 their appointments and instructions. For 
 the rights and duties of the several de- 
 scriptions of functionaries employed in 
 diplomacy, see the articles Ambassa- 
 dor and Consul. 
 DIPLOMATICS, from the same root 
 
 as Diplomacy, is a term used to express 
 the acquaintance with ancient documents 
 of a public or political character, and 
 especially of the determination of their 
 authenticity and their age. But the ad- 
 jective, diplomatic, is usually applied to 
 things or persons connected not with di- 
 plomatics, but with diplomacy. Thus 
 by diplomatic proceedings we mean pro- 
 ceedings of diplomacy ; and the corps di- 
 plomatique, or diplomatic body, at any 
 court or seat of government, means the 
 body of foreign agents engaged in diplo- 
 macy that are resident there. 
 
 Some of the most important works 
 upon the science of diplomatics are the 
 following : — ' Ioannis Mabillon de Re 
 Diplomatica,' lib. vii., fol., Paris, 1681- 
 1709, with the ' Supplementum,' fol., 
 Paris, 1704; to which should be added 
 the three treatises of the Jesuit, Barthol. 
 Germon, addressed to Mabillon, 'De Ve- 
 teribus Regum Francorum Diplomatibus,' 
 12mo., Paris, 1703, 1706, and 1707:— 
 Dan. Eber. Baringii ' Clavis Diplomatica,' 
 2 vols. 4to., Hanov., 1754; loan. Wal- 
 theri 'Lexicon Diplomaticum,' 2 vols, 
 fol., Gotting., 1745-7; 'Nouveau Traite 
 de Diplomatique,' par les Benedictins 
 Tassin, &c, 6 vols. 4to., Paris, 1750-65 ; 
 ' Historia Diplomatica,' da Scipione 
 Maffei, 4to., Mant., 1727 ; Io. Heumann 
 von Teutschenbrunn ' Commentarii de 
 Re Diplomatica Imperiali,' 4to., Nnrem., 
 1745; Dom de Vaines, ' Dictionnaire 
 Raisonne de Diplomatique,' 2 vols. 8vo., 
 Paris, 1774; J. C. Gatterer, ' Abriss der 
 Diplomatik,' 8vo., Gotting., 1798 ; and 
 C. T. G. Schoenemann ' Versuch eines 
 vollstandigen Systems der allgemeinen 
 besonders altern Diplomatik,' 8vo., Got- 
 ting., 1802. 
 
 DIRECTOIRE EXE'CUTIF was the 
 name given to the executive power of the 
 French republic by the constitution of the 
 year 3 (1795), which constitution was 
 framed by the moderate party in the 
 National Convention, or Supreme Legis- 
 lature of France, after the overthrow of 
 Robespierre and his associates. [Com- 
 mittee of Public Safety.] By this 
 constitution the legislative power was 
 intrusted to two councils, one of five 
 hundred members, and the other called 
 " des anciens," consisting of 250 members.' 
 3C 
 
DIRECTOIRE. 
 
 [ 754 J 
 
 DISABILITY. 
 
 The election was graduated : every pri- 
 mary or communal assembly chose an 
 elector, and the electors thus chosen 
 assembled in their respective departments 
 to choose the members for the legislature. 
 Certain property qualifications were requi- 
 site for an elector. One-third of the 
 councils was to be renewed every two 
 years. The Council of Elders, so called 
 because the members were required fo be 
 at least forty years of age, had the power 
 of refusing its assent to any bill that was 
 sent to it by the other council. The 
 executive power was intrusted to five 
 directors chosen by the Council of Elders 
 out of a list of candidates presented by 
 the Council of Five Hundred. One of 
 the five directors was to be changed 
 every year. The directors had the 
 management of the military force, of the 
 finances, and of the home and foreign 
 departments; and they appointed their 
 ministers of state and other public func- 
 tionaries. They had large salaries, and 
 a national palace, the Luxembourg, for 
 their residence, and a guard. 
 
 The project of this constitution having 
 been laid before the primary assemblies 
 of the people, was approved by them. 
 But by a subsequent law the Convention 
 decreed that two-thirds of the new coun- 
 cils should be chosen out of its own 
 members. This gave rise to much oppo- 
 sition, especially at Paris, where the sec- 
 tions, or district municipalities, rose 
 against the Convention, but were put 
 down by force by Ban-as and Bonaparte, 
 on the 13th Vendemiaire (4th of October, 
 1795). After this the new councils were 
 formed, two-thirds being taken out of the 
 members of the Convention, and one-third 
 by new elections from the departments. 
 The councils then chose the five directors, 
 who were Barras, La ReVeilliere-Lepaux, 
 Rewbell, Letounieur, and Carnot ; all of 
 whom, having voted for the death of the 
 king, were considered as bound to the 
 republican cause. On the 25th of October 
 the Convention, after proclaiming the 
 beginning of the government of the laws, 
 and the oblivion of the past, and changing 
 the name of the Place de la Revolution 
 into that of Place de la Concorde, closed 
 its sittings, and the new government was 
 installed. Upon Bonaparte's gaining the 
 
 ascendancy, the constitution of the year 3 
 and the Directory were overthrown, after 
 four years' existence. (Histoire du Di- 
 rectoire ExCcutif, 2 vols. 8v»., Paris, 
 1802.) The law of the conscription was 
 passed under the administration of the 
 Directory. [Conscription.] 
 
 DISABILITY is a term used to denote 
 a legal incapacity in a person to inherit 
 lands or enjoy the possession of them, or 
 to take that benefit which otherwise he 
 might have done, or to confer or grant an 
 estate or benefit on another. All persons 
 who are disabled from taking an estate or 
 benefit are incapable of granting or con- 
 ferring one by any act of their own, but 
 many persons who are incapable of dis- 
 posing of property may take it either by 
 inheritance or gift. 
 
 This legal disability may arise in four 
 ways, which are expressed by the English 
 law in the following terms : By the act of 
 the ancestor ; by the act of the party him- 
 self; by the act of the law ; or by the act 
 of God. 
 
 By the act of the ancestor, as where he 
 is attainted of treason or murder, for by 
 attainder his blood is corrupted, and his 
 children are made incapable of inheriting. 
 But by the stat. 3 & 4 Wm, IV. c. 106, 
 § 10, this disability is now confined to the 
 inheriting of lands of which the ancestor 
 is possessed at the time of attainder : in 
 all other cases a descent may be traced 
 through him. [Attainder.] 
 
 By the act of the party himself, as 
 where a person is himself attainted, out- 
 lawed, &c, or where, by subsequent deal- 
 ings with his estate, a person has disabled 
 himself from performing a previous en- 
 gagement, as where a man covenants to 
 grant a lease of lands to one, and, before 
 he has done so, sells them to another. 
 
 By the act of law, as when a man, by 
 the act of law, without any default of hu 
 own, is disabled, as an alien born. 
 
 By the act of God, as in cases of idiotcy, 
 lunacy, &c. ; but this last is properly a 
 disability to grant only, and not to take 
 an estate or benefit, for an idiot or luna- 
 tic may take a benefit either by deed or 
 will. 
 
 There are also other legal disabilities, 
 as infancy, and coverture, or the state of a 
 married woman [Wife] ; but these dis- 
 
DISCOUNT. 
 
 755 J 
 
 DISCOUNT. 
 
 abilities are confined to the conferring of 
 interests, for infants and married women 
 are capable of receiving gifts of land or 
 other property. 
 
 .Married women, acting under and in 
 conformity to powers, since the 3 & 4 
 Wm. IV. c. 74, by deed executed under 
 the provisions of that statute, may convey 
 lands. Infants, lunatics, and idiots, being 
 trustees, and having no beneficial interest 
 in the property vested in them, are by 
 various statutes enabled to do the neces- 
 sary legal acts as to such properly under 
 the direction of the Court of Chancery. 
 
 Particular disabilities also are created 
 by some statutes ; as, for instance, Eoman 
 Catholics, by the 10 Geo. IV. c. 7 (the 
 Emancipation Act), are disabled from 
 presenting to a benefice ; and foreigners 
 (although naturalized) cannot hold offices 
 or take grants of land under the crown. 
 (Cowel's Interp. ; Termes de la Ley.) 
 
 DISCOUNT, a sum of money deducted 
 from a debt in consideration of its being 
 paid before the usual or stipulated time. 
 The circumstance on which its fairness is 
 founded is, that the creditor, by receiving 
 his money before it comes due, has the 
 interest of the money during the interval. 
 Consequently he should only receive so 
 much as, put out to interest during the 
 period in question, will realize the amount 
 of his debt at the time when it would 
 have become due. For instance, 1002. is 
 to be paid at the end of three years ; what 
 should be paid now, interest being 4 per 
 cent. ? Here it is evident that if we 
 divide the whole debt into 112 (or 
 100+3X4) parts, 100 of these parts will 
 make the other 12 in three years (at 
 simple interest), whence the payment 
 now due is the 112th part of 10,0002., or 
 892. 5s. 9<2. The rule is, n being the 
 number of years (a fraction or number 
 and fraction), r the rate per cent., and D 
 the sum due, 
 
 100 D 
 Present value = 
 
 100+nr 
 
 Discount = - 
 
 Dnr 
 
 100+nr 
 
 In practice, it is usual not to find the 
 real discount, but to allow interest on the 
 whole lebt in the shape of abatement. 
 
 Thus it would be considered that, in the 
 preceding example, three years' discount 
 upon 1002. at 4 per cent, is 122., or 882. 
 would be considered as the present value. 
 In transactions which usually proceed 
 on compound interest, as in valuing leases, 
 annuities, &c, the principle of discount is 
 strictly- preserved. The present value in 
 the preceding case is, in its most usual 
 form, 
 
 D D 
 
 " and the discount D — ■ 
 
 0+e) K d+e)" 
 
 where j is the rate per pound (not per 
 cent. : thus it is -04 for 4 per cent.). But 
 recourse is usually had to the tables of 
 present values which accompany all works 
 on annuities or compound interest. 
 
 The name of discount is also applied to 
 certain trade allowances upon the nomi- 
 nal prices of goods. In some branches 
 of trade these allowances vary according 
 to the circumstances which affect the 
 markets, and what is called discount is in 
 fact occasioned by fluctuations in prices 
 which it is thought convenient to main- 
 tain nominally at unvarying rates. This 
 system is practised in some branches of 
 wholesale haberdashery business, and we 
 have now before us a list of prices fur- 
 nished to his customers by a manufac- 
 turer of tools at Sheffield, in which the 
 nominal price of each article is continued 
 the same at which it has stood for many 
 years, while to every different species of 
 tool there is applied a different and a 
 fluctuating rate of discount, this fluctua- 
 tion constituting in fact a difference of 
 price between one period and another : 
 the rates of discount in this list vary from 
 5 to 40 per cent, upon the nominal prices 
 of the different articles. 
 
 The term discount is also employed to 
 signify other mercantile allowances, such 
 for example as the abatement of 12 per 
 cent, mide upon the balances which un- 
 derwriters, or insurers of sea risks, re- 
 ceive at the end of the year from the 
 brokers by whom the insurances have 
 been effected. The word discount is 
 further used, in contradistinction to pre- 
 mium, to denote the diminution in value 
 of securities which are sold according to 
 a fixed nominal value, or according 4o 
 the price they may have originally cost. 
 , 3c2 
 
DISTRESS. 
 
 [ 753 j 
 
 DISTRESS. 
 
 If, for example, a share in a canal com- 
 pany upon which 100/. has been paid is 
 sold in the market for 98/., the value of 
 the share is stated to be at 2 per cent. 
 discount. 
 DISCOUNT BROKEE. [Broker.] 
 DISCOVERY. | Evidence.] 
 DISPENSATION. [Benefice.] 
 DISSEISIN. [Seisin.1 
 DISTRESS, " districtio," in the juris- 
 prudence of the Middle Ages, denotes 
 legal compulsion generally, whether ec- 
 clesiastical or civil. One mode of com- 
 pulsion extensively adopted among the 
 nations of Teutonic origin was the taking 
 possession of the whole or a part of the 
 property of the offender or defaulter, and 
 withholding it from him until the re- 
 quirements of the law had been complied 
 with. This species of distress was called 
 " naam," from nyman, nehmen, to take — 
 a verb common to the Anglo-Saxon, Ger- 
 man, and other cognate languages. The 
 modern distress is the " naam," restricted 
 in the taking of personal chattels ; and in 
 its most simple form it may be stated to 
 be — the taking of personal chattels out of 
 the possession of an alleged defaulter or 
 wrong-doer for the purpose of compelling 
 him, through the inconvenience resulting 
 from the withholding of such personal 
 chattels, to perform the act in respect of 
 which he is a defaulter, or to make com- 
 pensation for the wrong which he has 
 committed. 
 
 Some rights to which the law annexes 
 the remedy by distress, have been con- 
 sidered too important to be left to the 
 protection afforded by the mere detention 
 of the distress (by which term the thing 
 taken is also designated), and more effi- 
 cacious means of dealing with it have 
 been introduced ; and in certain cases a 
 sale of the property taken by way of dis- 
 tress is allowed, if, after a certain in- 
 terval, the party distrained upon con- 
 tinues to be unwilling or unable to do 
 the act required. 
 
 Distresses are either for some duty 
 omitted, some default or nonfeasance, — 
 or they are in respect of some wrongful 
 act done by the distrainee. The subject 
 of distress is one of great extent, and in 
 the English law involves a great number 
 of uarticular cases. Under the head of 
 
 Distress for Omissions, the most im- 
 portant among the feudal duties for 
 which a distress may be taken is Rent 
 Rent, in its original and still most usual 
 form, is a payment agreed to be made by 
 the tenant to his landlord as an equiva- 
 lent or a compensation for the occupation 
 of land or a house. Such rent is de- 
 nominated rent-service. It comes in lieu 
 of and represents the profits of the land 
 granted or demised, and is therefore said 
 to issue out of the land. To rent-servica 
 the law annexes the power of distress, al- 
 though there may be no agreement be- 
 tween the parties as to distress. But a 
 rent reserved upon a grant or demise 
 ceases to be a rent-service if it be separated 
 from the ultimate property in the land, 
 generally called the reversion. Thus, if 
 the owner of land in fee demises it for a 
 term of years, reserving rent, and after- 
 wards assigns the rent to a stranger, re- 
 taining the reversion, or grants the re- 
 version, retaining the rent, the rent being 
 disconnected from the reversion is con- 
 sidered as a branch severed from the 
 trunk, and is called a dry rent or rent- 
 seek, to which the common law annexed 
 no power of distress. In like manner, if 
 the owner of the land, without parting 
 with the land, grants lo another a rent 
 out of the land , the grantee having no 
 reversion had only a rent-seek, unless the 
 grant expressly created a power of dis- 
 tress, in which case the rent would be a 
 rent-charge. But now, by statute 4 Geo. 
 II. c. 28, § 5, the like remedy by distress 
 is given in cases of rent-seek, as in the 
 case of rent reserved upon lease. 
 
 All rents, though distinguished by a 
 variety of names derived from some par- 
 ticular circumstance attached to them, are 
 resolvable into Rent-service, Rent>seck, 
 or Rent-charge, and there may now be a 
 distress for every species of rent, though 
 a practical difference still subsists as to 
 the mode of dealing with distresses taken 
 for the one or for the other. 
 
 There may also be distress for Heriots 
 and Tolls. 
 
 There is also Distress for Damage done, 
 which is called Distress for Damage- 
 feasant. Cattle or dead chattels may be 
 taken and be detained to compel the pay- 
 ment of a reasonable sum of money by 
 
DISTRESS. 
 
 [ 757 j 
 
 DISTRESS. 
 
 way of satisfaction for the, injury sus- 
 tained from such cattle or dead chattels 
 being 'wrongfully upon property in the 
 occupation of the party taking them, and 
 doing damage there, either by acts of 
 spoliation or merely by incumbering such 
 property. This is called a distress of 
 things taken dtimage-feasant (doing da- 
 mage). 
 
 The occupier of land is allowed not 
 only to defend himself from damage by 
 driving out or removing the cattle, but 
 also to detain the thing which did the 
 injury till compensation be made for the 
 trespass. Upon referring to Spelman and 
 Ducange, it will be seen that a simi- 
 lar practice obtained on the Continent 
 amongst the Angli, Werini, Ripuarii, and 
 Burgundians. 
 
 The. right to distrain damage-feasant is 
 given to all persons who have an imme- 
 diate possessory interest in the soil or in its 
 produce, and whose rights are therefore 
 invaded by such wrongful intrusion. 
 Thus, not only the occupier of the land 
 trespassed upon, but other persons enti- 
 tled to share in the present use of the land 
 or of the produce, as commoners, &c, 
 may distrain. But though a commoner 
 may always distrain cattle, &c. of a 
 stranger found upon the common, it would 
 seem that he cannot, unless authorized by 
 a special custom, distrain the cattle, &c. 
 of the person who has the actual possession 
 of the soil. Nor can he distrain the cattle 
 of another commoner who has stocked 
 beyond his proportion, unless the common 
 be stinted, i. e. unless the proportion be 
 limited to a certain number. In the more 
 ordinary case of rights of common in 
 respect of all the cattle which the com- 
 moner's enclosed land can support during 
 the winter, cattle exceeding the propor- 
 tion cannot be distrained. 
 
 Cattle found trespassing may be dis- 
 trained damage-feasant, although they 
 have come upon the land without the 
 knowledge of their owner and even 
 through the wrongful act of a stranger. 
 But if they are there by the default of the 
 occupier of the land, as by his neglecting 
 to repair his fences, or to shut his gates 
 against a road or a close in which the 
 cattle lawfully were, such negligent oc- 
 cupier cannot distrain unless the owner 
 
 of the cattle suffer them to remain on tho 
 land after notice and time given to him to 
 remove them ; and if cattle trespass on 
 one day and go off before they are dis- 
 trained, and are taken trespassing on the 
 same land on another day, they can be 
 detained only for the damage done upon 
 the second day. 
 
 Cattle, if once off the land upon which 
 they have trespassed, though driven off 
 for the purpose of eluding a distress, can- 
 not be taken even upon immediate pur- 
 suit. The occupier must get satisfaction 
 for the damage by action. 
 
 Things necessary for the carrying on 
 of trade, as tools and utensils, —or for the 
 maintenance of tillage, as implements of 
 husbandry, beasts of the plough, and. 
 sheep as requisite to manure the land, 
 are privileged from Distress whilst other 
 sufficient distress can be found. But this 
 rule does not extend to a distress for a 
 toll or duty arising in respect of the thing 
 taken as a distress, or of things connected 
 with it ; as a distress of two sheep for 
 market-toll claimed in respect of the 
 whole flock, or of the anchor of a ship 
 for port-duty due in respect of such ship. 
 For (he protection of tradesmen and 
 their employers, property of which the 
 distrainee has obtained the possession 
 with a view to some service to be per- 
 formed upon it by him in the way of his 
 trade, is absolutely privileged from dis- 
 tress ; as a horse standing in a smith's 
 shop to be shod, or put up at an inn, or 
 cloth sent to a tailor's shop to be made 
 into clothes, or corn sent to a mill or mar- 
 ket to be ground or sold. The goods of 
 a guest at an inn are privileged from 
 distress ; but this exemption does not ex- 
 tend to the case of a chariot standing ic 
 the coach-house of a livery-stable keeper ; 
 nor does it protect goods on other pre- 
 mises belonging to the inn but at a dis- 
 tance from it ; and even within the inn 
 itself the exemption does not extend to 
 the goods of a person dwelling there as i 
 tenant rather than a guest Goods in the 
 hands of a factor for sale are privileged 
 from distress ; and also goods consigned 
 for sale, landed at a whari 1 , and placed in 
 the wharfinger's warehouse. 
 
 Beasts of the plough may be distrained 
 where no other distress can be found; 
 
DISTRESS. 
 
 [ 758 ] 
 
 DISTRESS. 
 
 mid it is sufficient if the distrainor use 
 diligence to find some other distress. A 
 distress is not said to be found unless it 
 be accessible to the party entitled to dis- 
 train, by the doors of the house being open, 
 or the gates of the fields unlocked. Beasts 
 of the plough may be distrained upon 
 where the only other sufficient distress 
 consists of growing crops, which though 
 now subjected to distress, are not, as they 
 cannot be sold until ripe, immediately 
 available to the landlord. 
 
 A temporary privilege from distress 
 arises when the chattel is in actual use, 
 as an axe with which a man is cutting 
 wood, or a horse on which a man is 
 riding. Implements iu trade, as frames 
 for knitting, weaving, &c., are absolutely 
 privileged from distress whilst they are 
 in actual use, otherwise they may be dis- 
 trained upon if no other sufficient distress 
 can be found. 
 
 Rent is not due until the last moment 
 of the day on which it is made payable. 
 No distress therefore can be taken for it 
 until the following day. 
 
 A distress for rent or other duties or 
 services can be taken only between sun- 
 rise and sunset ; but cattle or goods found 
 damage-feasant may be distrained at any 
 time of the day or night. 
 
 No distress can be taken for more than 
 six years' arrears of rent ; nor can any 
 rent be claimed where non-payment has 
 been acquiesced in for twenty years (3 
 and 4 Wm. IV. c. 27). 
 
 A distress for rent or other service 
 could at common law be taken only upon 
 the land charged therewith, and out of 
 which such rent or services were said to 
 issue. 
 
 But this restriction did not apply to 
 the king, who might distrain upon any 
 lands which were in the actual occupation 
 it his tenant, either at the time of the dis- 
 tress or when the rent became due. 
 
 The assumption of a similar power by 
 other lords was considered oppressive, 
 and it was ordained by the statute of 
 Marlbridge, that no one should make dis- 
 tress for any cause out of his fee, except 
 the king and his ministers thereunto spe- 
 cially authorized. The privilege of dis- 
 training in all lands occupied by the 
 party chargeable, is communicated by 22 
 
 Car. II. c. 6 ; 26 Geo. III. c. 87 ; 30 Geo. 
 III. c. 50 ; and 34 Geo. III. c. 75, to the 
 purchasers of certain crown rents. 
 
 Under 8 Ann. c. 14, and 11 Geo* II. c 
 19, where a lessee fraudulently or clan- 
 destinely carries off his goods in order to 
 prevent a distress, the landlord may 
 within five days afterwards distrain them 
 as if they had still continued on the de- 
 mised premises ; provided they have not 
 been {bond fide) sold for a valuable con- 
 sideration. 
 
 And by the 7th section of the latter 
 statute, where any goods fraudulently and 
 clandestinely carried away by any tenant 
 or lessee, or any person aiding therein, 
 shall be put in any house or other place, 
 locked up or otherwise secured, so as to 
 prevent such goods from being distrained 
 for rent, the landlord or his bailiff may, 
 in the day time, with the assistance of 
 the constable or peace officer (and in case 
 of a dwelling-house, oath being also first 
 made of a reasonable ground to suspect 
 that such goods are therein), break open 
 and enter into such house or place, and 
 take such goods, for the arrears of rent, 
 as he or they might have done if such 
 goods had been put in an open field or 
 place. 
 
 To entitle the landlord to follow the 
 goods, the removal must have taken place 
 after the rent became due, and for the 
 purpose of eluding a distress. It is not 
 however necessary that a distress should 
 be in progress, or even contemplated: 
 nor need the removal be clandestine. 
 Although the goods be removed openly, 
 yet if goods sufficient to satisfy the arrears 
 are not left upon the premises, and the 
 landlord is turned over to the barren 
 remedy by action, the removal is fraudu- 
 lent and the provisions of these statutes 
 may be resorted to. These provisions 
 apply to the goods of the terant only. 
 The goods of a stranger or of an under- 
 tenant may be removed at any time be- 
 fore they are actually distrained upon, 
 and cannot be followed. 
 
 The landlord may enter a house to dis- 
 train if the outer door be open, although 
 there be other sufficient goods out of tnc 
 house. It is not lawful to break open 
 outer doors or gates ; but if the outer door 
 be open, an inner door may be forced. 
 
DISTRESS 
 
 [ 759 1 
 
 DISTRESS. 
 
 If the landlord, having distrained, is 
 forcibly expelled, he may break open 
 outer doors or gates in order to retake 
 the distress. If a window be open, a dis- 
 tress within reach may be taken out at 
 it. 
 
 At common law a distress might be 
 taken for rent in a street or other high- 
 way being within the land demised. But 
 now, by the statute of Marlbridge, pri- 
 vate persons are forbidden to take dis- 
 tresses in the highway. This statute ap- 
 plies only to distresses for rent or for 
 services, and not to toll. Nor does the 
 statute make the distress absolutely void ; 
 for though the tenant may lawfully 
 rescue cattle distrained in the highway, 
 or may bring his action on the case upon 
 the statute, yet if he brings trespass or 
 replevin, it seems to be no answer to a 
 justification or an avowry made in respect 
 of the rent. 
 
 A distress may be made either by the 
 party himself or his agent, and as dis- 
 tresses in manors were commonly made 
 by the bailiff of the manor, any agent 
 authorized to distrain is called a bailiff. 
 The authority given to the bailiff is 
 usually in writing, and is then called a 
 warrant of distress; but a verbal au- 
 thority, and even the subsequent adoption 
 of the act by the party on whose behalf 
 the distress is made, is sufficient. In 
 order that the distrainee may know what 
 is included in the distress, an inventory 
 of the goods should be delivered, accom- 
 panied, in the case of a distress for rent, 
 by a notice stating the object of the dis- 
 tress, and informing the tenant that 
 unless the rent and charges be paid 
 within five days, the goods and chattels 
 will be sold according to law. This no- 
 tice is required by 2 W. & M. sess. i. c. 
 5, § 2, which enacts, " where any goods 
 shall be distrained for rent due upon any 
 demise, lease, or contract, and the tenant 
 or owner of the goods shall not, within 
 five days next after such distress taken, 
 and notice thereof with the cause of such 
 taking, left at the chief mansion house, 
 or other most notorious place on the pre- 
 mises, replevy the same, with sufficient 
 security to be given to the sheriff, — that 
 after such distress and notice and expira- 
 tion of the five days, the person dis- 
 
 training shall and may, with the sheriff 
 or under-sheriff, or with the constable of 
 the place, cause the goods to be appraised 
 by two sworn appraisers, and after such 
 appraisement may sell the goods dis- 
 trained towards satisfaction of the rent, 
 and of the charges of distress, appraise- 
 ment, and sale, leaving any surplus in 
 the hands of the sheriff, under-sheriff, or 
 constable,, for the owner's use." 
 
 At common law, goods distrained were, 
 within a reasonable time, to be removed 
 to and confined in an enclosure called a 
 pound, which is either a pound covert, 
 i. e. a complete enclosure, or a pound 
 overt, an enclosure sufficiently open to 
 enable the owner to see, and if necessary, 
 to feed the distress, the former being 
 proper for goods easily removed or in- 
 jured, the latter for cattle ; and by 5 & 
 6 Will. IV. c. 59, § 4, persons impounding 
 cattle or animals in a common open or 
 close pound, or in enclosed ground, are 
 to supply them with food, &c, the value 
 of which they may recover from the 
 owner. By 11 Geo. II. c, 19, § 10, 
 goods distrained for any kind of rent may 
 be impounded on any part of the tenant's 
 ground, to remain there five days, at the 
 expiration of which time they are to be 
 sold, unless sooner replevied. The land- 
 lord is not however bound to remove the 
 goods immediately after the expiration 
 of the five days; he is allowed a rea- 
 sonable time for selling. After the lapse 
 of a reasonable time he is a trespasser if 
 he retain the goods on the premises with- 
 out the express assent of the tenant, 
 whieh assent is generally given in 
 writing. 
 
 The 1 & 2 Ph. & M. c. 12, requires 
 that no distress of cattle be removed out 
 of the hundred, except to a pound overt 
 in the same county, not above three miles 
 from the place where such distress is 
 taken, and that no cattle or other goods 
 distrained at one time be impounded in 
 several places, whereby the owner would 
 be obliged to sue out several replevins. 
 
 The 2 Will. & Mary, sess. 1, c. 5, § 3, 
 directs that corn, grain, or hay distrained 
 be not removed, to the damage of the 
 owner, out of the place where the same 
 shall be found or seized, but be kept 
 there until replevied or sold- and 11 
 
DISTRESS. 
 
 L 760 
 
 DISTRESS. 
 
 Geo. II. c. 19, which gives a distress for 
 rent-service upon growing crops, directs, 
 §§ 8 and 9, that they shall be cut, 
 gathered, and laid up, when ripe, in the 
 barn or other proper place on such pre- 
 mises, or if none, then in some other 
 barn, &c, to be procured for that purpose, 
 and as near as may be to the premises, 
 giving notice within one week of the 
 place where such crops are deposited ; 
 and if the tenant, his executors, &c, at 
 any time before the crops distrained are 
 ripe and cut, pay or tender the rent, costs, 
 and charges, the goods distrained are to 
 be restored. In all other cases, if the 
 rent or other duty be paid, or performed, 
 or tendered to be paid or performed be- 
 fore the distress is impounded, a subse- 
 quent detainer is unlawful, and a subse- 
 quent impounding or driving to the 
 pound is a trespass. 
 
 The statutes authorising the sale of 
 distresses extend only to those made for 
 rent. At common law distresses cannot 
 in general be either sold or used for the 
 benefit of the party distraining. But a 
 distress for fines and amerciaments in a 
 court leet, or for other purposes of public 
 benefit, may be sold ; and a special cus- 
 tom or prescription will warrant the sale 
 of a distress in cases where the public 
 has no immediate interest. 
 
 A distress made by a party who has no 
 right to distrain, or made for rent or 
 other service which the party offers to 
 pay or perform, or made in the public 
 highway, or upon goods privileged from 
 distress either absolutely or temporarily, 
 is called a wrongful distress. Where no 
 right to distrain exists, or where the rent 
 or duty is tendered at the time of the dis- 
 tress, the owner of the goods may rescue 
 them or talce them forcibly out of the 
 possession of the distrainer, or bring 
 either an action of replevin, or of trespass. 
 In replevin, the cattle or goods taken- are 
 to be redelivered to the owner upon his 
 giving security by a replevin bond, for 
 returning them to the distrainer, in case 
 a return shall be awarded by the court ; 
 and therefore in this action damages are 
 recovered only for the intermediate deten- 
 tion and the costs of the replevin bond. 
 In the action of trespass the plaintiff re- 
 covers damages to the full value of the 
 
 goods ; because upon such recovery, the 
 property in the goods is transferred tc 
 the defendant. 
 
 The 2 W. & M. sess. i. c. 5, § 5, pro- 
 vides " that in case of any distress and 
 sale for rent pretended to be due, where 
 in truth no rent is due, the owner of the 
 goods so distrained and sold may, by ac- 
 tion of trespass or upon the case, recover 
 double the value of such goods, with full 
 costs of suit." 
 
 Whether goods are rightfully or wrong- 
 fully distrained, to take them out of the 
 pound is a trespass and a public offence. 
 The proceeding by action is a more pru- 
 dent course than making a rescue, even 
 before an impounding, where any doubt 
 exists as to the lawfulness of the distress. 
 Independently of the danger of provoking 
 a breach of the peace by the rescuer'* 
 thus taking the law into his own hands, 
 he will be liable to an action for the 
 injury sustained by the distrainor by the 
 loss of the security of the distress, should 
 the distress ultimately turn out to be law- 
 ful ; and in such action, as well as in the 
 action for poundbreach, the rescuer will 
 be liable, under 2 W. & M. sess. i. c. 5, 
 § 4, to the payment of treble damages 
 and treble costs. 
 
 A distress for more rent, or greater 
 services than are due, or where the value 
 of the property taken is visibly dispropor- 
 tionate to the rent or other appreciable 
 service, is called an excessive distress, for 
 which the party aggrieved is entitled to 
 recover compensation in an action on the 
 case ; but he cannot rescue, nor can he 
 replevy or bring trespass. 
 
 Upon a distress rightfully taken being 
 afterwards irregularly conducted, the sub- 
 sequent irregularity at common law made 
 the whole proceeding wrongful, and the 
 party was said to be a trespasser "ab 
 initio." But now, by 11 Geo. II. c. 19, 
 where distress is made for rent justly 
 due, and any irregularity or unlawful act 
 is afterwards done by the party distrain- 
 ing or his agent, the distress itself is not 
 to be deemed unlawful nor the party 
 making it a trespasser; but the person 
 aggrieved by such irregularity, &c. may 
 recover satisfaction for the special damage 
 sustained. (Bradby On Distresses, 
 Gilbert, Vistr.; Bracton; Fleta; Col* 
 
DIVISION OF 
 
 [761 j 
 
 EMPLOYMENTS. 
 
 upon Littleton ; Bacon, Comyns, and 
 Viner"s Abridgments ; Willes's Reports ; 
 6 Nevile and Mann, 606.) 
 
 DIVIDEND, in commerce, is a word 
 ■which has two distinct meanings. In its 
 more general employment it is under- 
 stood to express the money which is 
 divided, pro rata, among the creditors of 
 abankrupt trader, out of the amount real- 
 ised from his assets. [Bankrupt.] 
 
 The other meaning attached to the 
 word dividend is not so appropriate as 
 that which has just been explained. It 
 is used to signify the half-yearly pay- 
 ments of the perpetual and terminable 
 annuities which constitute the public debt 
 of the country, and does not therefore 
 strictly express that which the word is 
 made to imply. The payment of those 
 so-called dividends is managed on the part 
 of the government by the Bank of Eng- 
 land, which receives a compensation from 
 the public for the trouble and expense 
 attending the employment. The exact 
 number of individuals who are entitled to 
 receive these half-yearly payments is not 
 known, as the number of annuitants is not 
 nearly so great as the number of distine 
 warrants, because many individuals are 
 possessed of annuities due at the same 
 periods of the year, which are included 
 under different heads or accounts in the 
 books of the bank, as bearing different 
 rates of interest, or being otherwise under 
 different circumstances ; and besides, 
 many persons hold annuities which are 
 payable at both half-yearly periods. It is 
 certain, however, that the greater part of 
 the public creditors are entitled to annui- 
 ties for only small sums, more than nine- 
 tenths of the payments being for sums not 
 exceeding 10G7., and nearly one-half for 
 sums not exceeding \0l. The number of 
 warrants issued for the payment of divi- 
 dends at each quarter of the year ending 
 5th January, 1843, was as follows : — 5th 
 April, 89,560; 5th July, 191,980; 10th 
 October, 89,379 ; 5th January, 192,970. 
 
 DIVISION OF EMPLOYMENTS, 
 in political economy, is an important 
 agent in increasing the productiveness of 
 labour. It is by labour alone that wealth 
 is produced. It is a law of man's nature 
 that " by the sweat of his face he shall 
 eat bread ;" and in return for his labour 
 
 he acquires various sources of enjoyment. 
 The ingenuity with which he has been 
 endowed, and the hard necessities of his 
 condition, lead him to discover the most 
 effective' means of applying his labour to 
 whatever objects he may be seeking to 
 attain. He desires first to work no more 
 than is necessary, and secondly to obtain 
 the largest return — the most abundant 
 enjoyment, for his industry. He soon 
 finds that his own unaided labour will 
 scarcely provide for him the barest neces- 
 saries, and that ease or enjoyment is un- 
 attainable. Thus instead of each man 
 labouring separately, and independently 
 of all others, many men combine together 
 for securing the various objects of life, by 
 means of their joint labour; and this 
 combination of labour leads to division of 
 employments. Labour is naturally ex- 
 erted in these two forms in the very ear- 
 liest stages of society. The first pair 
 whom God's ordinances and their own 
 instinct united, must have combined for 
 the support of themselves and their com- 
 mon family, and diversity of sex alone 
 must have produced distinct employments. 
 Among savages the man engages in the 
 chase, for which he has a natural predi- 
 lection, and for which his strength adapts 
 him, while his mate rears their children 
 and executes those functions which are 
 suited to her sex, but which are as con- 
 ducive to the comfort of both as if both 
 performed them. In this manner a divi- 
 sion of employments naturally arises, and 
 each family affords an example of its 
 origin and character. 
 
 This combination for a common object, 
 succeeded by a division of employments, 
 pervades ever)' process of human indus- 
 try, and increases in variety and com- 
 plexity with the growth of civilization. 
 One of the earliest forms of industry is 
 that of fishing, and none, perhaps, exem- 
 plifies more aptly the mode in which 
 labour is necessarily applied to the pur- 
 poses of life. A man desirous of building 
 a fishing-boat may cut down a tree, with- 
 out any assistance from others, and may 
 even hew it into shape : but if it be larger 
 than a mere canoe he cannot, by his own 
 strength, remove it from the spot on which 
 the tree had fallen, and launch it upon the 
 sea. To effect this, others must combine 
 
DIVISION OF 
 
 [ 762] 
 
 EMPLOYMENTS. 
 
 their strength with his. To manage a 
 boat the labour of more than one man is 
 ordinarily required, and the larger the 
 boat the greater must be the number who 
 combine to navigate it If they paddle 
 or row it, their labour is simply combined 
 for one purpose and in one manner, 
 except that one, instead of rowing, may 
 probably steer the boat. As the art of 
 navigation improves and its objects be- 
 come multiplied, in addition to a more 
 extensive combination of men in pursuit 
 of the same objects, a diversity of employ- 
 ments ensues. In a deep-sea fishery, 
 some attend to the nets, others to the 
 sails ; and on their return to land, some 
 arrange the nets to dry and repair them, 
 while others are engaged in disposing of 
 the fish. 
 
 From these illustrations it is evident 
 that the cause of a division of employ- 
 ments is to be sought in the nature and 
 circumstances of man. It is not the 
 result of extraordinary foresight, but is 
 suggested by the most common exigencies 
 of life : its convenience is obvious, but 
 the feeling which prompts men to adopt 
 it is spontaneous and, as it were, intui- 
 tive. It is a social necessity, and the 
 very foundation of any social system 
 whatever, yet it is practised almost un- 
 consciously by the greater part of man- 
 kind. Its existence, however, lies so open 
 to observation that it is scarcely to be 
 ranked as a discovery of political eco- 
 nomy ; but that science, having noted the 
 facts of a combination of labour and a di- 
 vision of employments, explains their uses 
 and results ; and in pursuingthese inquiries 
 it developes some of the most important 
 principles connected with the production 
 and distribution of wealth. To these in- 
 quiries we must now devote our atten- 
 tion. 
 
 As labour is the lot of man, it is desir- 
 able that his labour should be as pro- 
 ductive as possible, in order that the sum 
 of his enjoyments should exceed that of 
 his endurance. This result is attained by 
 several men combining their labour for 
 one object, and pursuing different em- 
 ployments for their reciprocal benefit, in- 
 stead of each man labouring independent- 
 ly for himself and employing himself in 
 the same manner as all other men. A 
 
 division of employments, therefore, is not 
 only a natural incident of labour, but is 
 an important auxiliary of human enjoy- 
 ment. The means by which it adds to 
 the efficacy of labour are described by 
 Adam Smith to be — 1st. an "increase of 
 dexterity in every particular workman ;" 
 2ndly. " the saving of the time which is 
 commonly lost in passing from one spe- 
 cies of work to another;" and, 3rdly. 
 " the invention of a great number of ma- 
 chines which facilitate and abridge labour, 
 and enable one man to do the work of 
 many :" to which may be added, 4thly, 
 the separation whioh it causes between 
 labour and the direction of labour ; Bthly, 
 the power which it gives of using ma- 
 chinery effectually, when invented; fithly, 
 the opportunities of exchange which it 
 affords and the means of availing our- 
 selves of the enjoyments arising from 
 the natural capabilities of the soil, cli- 
 mate, situation, or mineral productions of 
 different parts of the world, and of the 
 peculiar aptitude of their inhabitants for 
 various kinds of industry. 
 
 1. The superior dexterity of workmen 
 engaged exclusively in one occupation is 
 universally known. " Use is second na- 
 ture," and when a man has been long 
 accustomed to a particular employment, 
 not only has he acquired great dexterity, 
 but his mind appears to be endowed with 
 faculties specially adapted to his business. 
 The jockey seems to have been born for 
 the saddle ; the sailor for the ship : both 
 are active, intelligent, dexterous : but 
 fancy their occupations exchanged or 
 combined ! the sailor in the saddle, the 
 jockey at the helm ; or both alternately 
 riding the favourite horse at Newmarket 
 and furling the top-gallants of a three- 
 decker at Spithead 1 The constant exer- 
 cise of the faculties in any act or business 
 gives them an aptitude for it, which to 
 others is a matter of astonishment. The 
 eye and the hand perform their offices 
 with such precision and rapidity, that their 
 work seems spontaneous, as it were, and 
 independent of the will of the workman. 
 Without deliberation, almost without 
 care, the business is done ; and done better 
 than others could do it with the greatest 
 pains. All processes of art and manu- 
 facture, and the daily experience of all 
 
DIVISION OF 
 
 [763] 
 
 EMPLOYMENTS. 
 
 men, confirm this statement as an un- 
 questionable fact (Babbage, Economy of 
 Machinery and Manvfactures). The 
 advantages of peculiar skill are that men 
 can work better and faster, that the pro- 
 ducts of their labour are more valuable 
 and more abundant, and that their contri- 
 butions to the general stock of the world's 
 enjoyments are multiplied. By folio-w- 
 ing out these advantages through all their 
 relations, they will be fonnd to be the 
 primary source of wealth; and, in a 
 laoral point of view, the main cause of 
 social progress and of the development of 
 the highest faculties of man. 
 
 2. " The saving of time which is com- 
 monly lost in passing from one species of 
 work to another" enables a man who is 
 constantly engaged in one process to per- 
 form more work than he would have 
 beefl able to get through in the course of 
 a day, if he had been required to change 
 his employment. For this reason, as well 
 as on account of his skill, a division of 
 employments makes his labour more pro- 
 ductive. 
 
 3. The invention of tools and machine- 
 ry is the most effective auxiliary of 
 labour, and it is necessarily promoted oy a 
 division of employments. Those who are 
 constantly attending to one business or de- 
 scription of labour must become best ac- 
 quainted with its requirements — their ob- 
 servation and experience are concentrated 
 upon it — their interest urges them to facili- 
 tate their own exertions. How many inven- 
 tions are due to workmen employed in 
 manual labour the history of the steam-en- 
 gine and of the cotton manufacture will 
 furnish examples : but it is not in the case 
 of workmen alone that division of em- 
 ployments facilitates invention. Their em- 
 ployers also have their whole minds bent 
 upon improving their business ; and amidst 
 the multiplication of trades arise engineers 
 and machinists, whose sole business it is 
 to construct, improve, • and invent ma- 
 chinery, aided by all the lights of theo- 
 retical science. And this leads us to the 
 fourth advantage of a division of employ- 
 ments. 
 
 4. If all men were doing the same 
 thing, and working for themselves un- 
 aided by others, their condition would 
 never be improved; but by following 
 
 particular occupations those who exert 
 most skill and industry produce more 
 than they require for their own subsist- 
 ence, and reserve a fund for the employ- 
 ment of others. [Capital.] And thus 
 there grows up from the midst of the 
 people a class of employers who direct 
 the labour of others. Until labour is so 
 directed and maintained by the previous 
 accumulation of capital, it is compara- 
 tively ineffectual ; and while a division of 
 employments is a powerful agent in pro- 
 ducing capital, the latter, in its turn, faci- 
 litates a further subdivision. Without 
 it, indeed, a system of division can only 
 be carried out imperfectly and to a very 
 small extent. The growth of capital also 
 gives to many men the glorious privilege 
 of leisure, exempts them from the neces- 
 sity of labour, and leaves them free to 
 study, to reflect, to observe, to reason and 
 investigate. From this class arise men 
 of science and of letters — philosophers, 
 statesmen, historians, poets. And even 
 with these the apportionment of a pecu- 
 liar province gives power to their minds, 
 and expands their knowledge. Their 
 natural talents are developed, and their 
 aptitude for particular pursuits becomes 
 as conspicuous in intellectual industry as 
 that of other men in manual operations. 
 
 5. Adam Smith speaks of the importance 
 of a division of employments as leading 
 to the invention of machinery, but passes 
 over its utility in using machinery effec- 
 tually, when invented. Every part of a 
 large machine requires workmen whose 
 sole business it is to work in unison with 
 its peculiar movement. So distinct are 
 these various processes — so diverse their 
 character— that in all large manufactures 
 there is an extensive vocabulary of names 
 by which operatives working in the very 
 same factory are distinguished.* With- 
 out such a subdivision of peculiar em- 
 ployments the most ingenious machinery 
 would be useless: and thus while ma- 
 chinery multiplies distinct operations of 
 labour, they are, in their turn, essential 
 to its efficacy. 
 
 * A curious example will be found in the glos- 
 sary annexed to the ' Report of the Commission 
 on Frame-Work Knitters,' 1845 : and numerous 
 others in the Occupation Abstract of the Census 
 Commissioners— counties of Lancaster, Leicester, 
 West Riding of Yorkshire, &c. 
 
DIVISION OF 
 
 L -04 ] 
 
 EMPLOYMENTS. 
 
 6. Adam Smith assigns the origin of a 
 division of employments to the " trucking 
 disposition " of mankind — to their " pro- 
 pensity to truck, barter, and exchange 
 one thing for another " (book i. ch. ii.). 
 This love of barter, however, is only a 
 secondary cause : men have no natural 
 taste for it ; but use it as a means of ob- 
 taining the various objects which they 
 desire. If they could obtain them with- 
 out the trouble of barter, they would un- 
 questionably not follow barter as an 
 amusement, any more than they would 
 work if they could get what they wanted 
 without labour. So far, then, from the 
 trucking disposition of men being the 
 cause of a division of employments, it 
 would appear that a division of employ- 
 ments is rather the proximate cause of 
 commerce. For if all men worked in 
 the same manner and produced the same 
 things, there would be nothing to ex- 
 change : but as soon as men learn to devote 
 themselves to the production of one com- 
 modity, the whole of which they cannot 
 consume, they must exchange the produce 
 of their labour with others, who have 
 been producing objects which they desire 
 to possess. This is an intelligible origin 
 of barter and commerce — consistent with 
 the natural propensities of mankind, and 
 not requiring for its support the strained 
 hypothesis that men have an innate dispo- 
 sition to truck. But a division of employ- 
 ments, like barter, is itself but a second- 
 ary cause ; and both alike must ultimately 
 be referred to the one original cause of all 
 forms of industry — the desire of mankind 
 to possess various enjoyments which are 
 only to be gained by labour. 
 
 This would appear to be the natural 
 course of social progress. First, a man 
 applies himself to a particular business be- 
 cause he has facilities for following it. 
 One man lives by the sea and is a fisher- 
 man: another lives near the forest and 
 hunts game. Each could obtain more 
 of this particular food than he requires 
 for his own use, and may desire some 
 little variety. Under these circumstauces 
 it is very natural that they should effect 
 exchanges with each other — not for the 
 mere love of barter — but for the love of 
 food. But such an exchange could not he 
 made between two men who both lived by 
 
 fishing — nor between two others who both 
 lived by hunting : for under such circum- 
 stances neither party would have anything 
 to offer but that of which the other 
 already had enough. It is perfectly true 
 that without barter no extensive division 
 of employments can exist : but it is clear 
 that barter is the immediate effect rather 
 than the cause of such division. Of the 
 influence of commerce upon the division 
 of employments we shall have to speak 
 presently ; but, in this place, it is suffici- 
 ent to show that the production of differ- 
 ent commodities beyond the immediate 
 wants of those who produce them enables 
 men to barter, by giving them something 
 to offer in exchange : and, that after- 
 wards, the advantages derived from bar- 
 ter are an encouragement to further pro- 
 duction of the same kind. 
 
 When this state of things has been once 
 established, men avail themselves of all 
 the natural advantages of their several 
 positions, and apply themselves to the 
 production of those commodities for which 
 they have peculiar facilities. In one 
 country minerals can be drawn from the 
 bowels of the earth in unlimited abun- 
 dance : in another the fruits of the earth 
 teem upon its surface — fostered by a 
 genial climate and a fertile soil. The 
 inhabitants of these countries naturally 
 seek to develop the resources of the 
 earth which are within their reach. 
 They labour effectively and produce 
 abundance of their particular commodi- 
 ties, which they give in exchange for 
 other things which they cannot produce 
 themselves, but which they desire to enjoy. 
 And thus a division of employments, by 
 the aid of an extended commerce, distri- 
 butes over the whole world, the advan- 
 tages of soil, climate, situation, and mine- 
 ral productions, obtained by the experi- 
 ence and skill of men who have adapted 
 their talents to the circumstances of each 
 country. 
 
 Having thus hastily enumerated the 
 several ways in which a division of em- 
 ployments adds to the efficacy of human 
 labour, and increases the enjoyments of 
 men, let us inquire in what manner it is 
 restrained and limited. It may be col- 
 lected from several of the preceding re- 
 marks, that the power of distributing men 
 
DIVISION OF 
 
 765 ] 
 
 EMPLOYMENTS. 
 
 into particular employments must be 
 limited by the extent of the market in 
 which the produce of their labour may 
 be exchanged. When there are no means 
 of exchanging, men must provide every- 
 thing for themselves that they require ; 
 and there is no further division of em- 
 ployments than that which necessarily 
 takes place in families, and in the most 
 simple forms of industry. So in every 
 degree in which the situation and cir- 
 cumstances of men give facilities of ex- 
 change, do particular employments -be- 
 come assigned to individuals. A village 
 w draper sells all kinds of drapery, together 
 with hats, shoes, coats, smock-frocks: 
 nay, in some villages there is but one 
 shop, in which nearly every kind of trade 
 is carried on. In a populous city, on the 
 other hand, trades are almost indefinitely 
 subdivided. And why is this 1 Solely be- 
 cause of the extent of the market. In 
 the one case, if a man sold nothing but 
 hats, he could not gain a livelihood, and 
 therefore he sells coats, ' smock-frocks, 
 shoes, and all kinds of drapery — every- 
 thing, in fact, which the people round 
 about him are likely to buy. In the other 
 case, there is so large a demand for hats, 
 that a man can gain a better livelihood by 
 the exclusive sale of them, than by a he- 
 terogeneous trade like that of the village 
 shopkeeper. 
 
 But while, by means of exchange, em- 
 ployments are thus subdivided, the labour 
 of many men is most efficiently combined 
 in producing particular results. The 
 combinations of industry for one object 
 are often truly wonderful, while the em- 
 ployments of those who are really co- 
 operating with one another are so distinct, 
 that they are wholly unconscious of any 
 combination at all ; nor is their combina- 
 tion at once perceptible to others. If you 
 ask a man " who made his coat ?" — he 
 will naturally answer " his tailor." But 
 ask him to enumerate the persons who 
 had contributed to its production, and he 
 will pause long before he attempts any 
 answer, however incomplete. He will be 
 reminded of the grazier, the shepherd, 
 the wool-salesman, the various workmen 
 in the cloth factory — the button-makers, 
 the manufacturers of silk, and thread, and 
 needles : but still the catalogue will be 
 
 imperfect. In producing the raw ma- 
 terials, and in conveying, selling, and 
 manufacturing ihem, the diversity of oc- 
 cupations is extraordinarily great. Each 
 man attends to his own business, and 
 scarcely thinks of its relations to the 
 business of other people ; and 1 yet all are 
 co-operating in the most effectual manner, 
 for the most perfect and economical ma- 
 nufacture of this finished work of varied 
 art. 
 
 The general operation of the principles 
 of a combination of labour and division of 
 employments has now been sufficiently 
 explained, so far as it relates to the 
 efficiency of human industry. Of its 
 effects upon the distribution of wealth 
 (another important branch of political 
 economy) no more need be said, than that 
 by multiplying the modes in which in- 
 dustry is made productive, it is the main 
 cause of the various grades of society 
 which exist in all civilized countries. 
 The different employments of men deter- 
 mine their social position as labourers or 
 employers of labour ; and the wealth 
 arising from the effective employment of 
 labour is distributed, through the several 
 classes, as rent, profits, and wages. 
 
 It has been urged as an objection to an 
 extended division of employments, that it 
 unfits men for any change of business 
 which altered circumstances may require ; 
 and that, on that account, great misery is 
 caused when the demand for any particu- 
 lar kind of labour is reduced. Of this 
 position the hand-loom weavers of Eng- 
 land and Scotland are a familiar example, 
 who are said to have been thrown out of 
 employment by the extension of machi- 
 nery. That they have been reduced to 
 great distress is certain ; but in their 
 employment there was nothing to unfit 
 them from engaging in power-loom weav- 
 ing. On the contrary, the transition from 
 one employment to the other would have 
 been perfectly natural ; but they preferred 
 their independent life to the discipline of 
 a factory, and for that and other reasons, 
 persisted in continuing in their old trade. 
 In the mean time thousands of agricultural 
 labourers and their families, whose occu- 
 pations had been totally dissimilar, flocked 
 into the manufacturing districts, and rea- 
 dily learned their new business. This 
 
DIVISION OF 
 
 [ 766 1 
 
 EMPLOYMENTS. 
 
 example, therefore, instead of sustaining 
 the objection, proves that a division of 
 employments does not disable men, so 
 much as might be expected, from trans- 
 ferring their labour to other departments 
 of industry^ whenever a sufficient induce- 
 ment attracts them. But any interruption 
 or change in the ordinary course of in- 
 dustry is necessarily productive of tempo- 
 rary suffering to the working classes, from 
 whatever cause it may arise ; and an al- 
 teration in the forms of applying labour 
 is but one out of many such causes. Yet 
 much as this evil must be deplored, it is 
 a satisfaction to know that it is only occa- 
 sional, temporary, and partial in its ope- 
 ration, while the permanent welfare of 
 mankind is promoted by all those means 
 which render industry most productive 
 and multiply the sources of human enjoy- 
 ment. 
 
 Another objection to a minute subdivi- 
 sion of employments is, that it reduces 
 vast masses of men to the condition of 
 organized machines, uses them like tools, 
 and uses them as such merely because 
 machines have not yet been invented to 
 do their work. From these facts, which 
 are, to a certain extent, undeniable, it is 
 inferred that the moral and intellectual 
 character of men is degraded. This in- 
 ference, however, is not supported by 
 experience. Agricultural employments 
 are less subdivided than trades and 
 manufactures; but no one will contend 
 that the farm labourer is ordinarily more 
 intelligent than the operative, nor that his 
 morals are decidedly superior. In com- 
 paring their relative condition, we shall 
 oe led into error if we confine our atten- 
 tion to the influence of a division of em- 
 ployments. In the lower departments of 
 labour the work is rarely of a kind to 
 enlarge the understanding, whether it 
 consist of a combination of several occu- 
 pations or of one only ; and in either case 
 the greater part of a man's time is engaged 
 in his daily work. It is, therefore, to the 
 circumstances by which he is surrounded, 
 rather than to the nature of his work 
 itself, that we must generally refer his 
 condition. In thinly peopled countries 
 there can be comparatively little division 
 of employments, and in populous cities 
 the principle of division, for reasons 
 
 already explained, is carried very far. In 
 the one case the intercourse of persons 
 with each other is very confined, and is 
 enlivened with scarcely any variety : in 
 the other case persons are crowded toge- 
 ther, and brought into continual inter- 
 course. These opposite circumstances 
 produce different results for good and for 
 evil. The intelligence of mankind is un- 
 questionably increased by extended inter- 
 course with one another : their morals, at 
 the same time, are more liable to corrup- 
 tion. In large cities they are exposed to 
 more temptations — they are under less 
 restraint ; and, above all, they have, 
 almost universally, higher wages, which 
 enable them to indulge their propensities 
 more freely. Much of the intellectual 
 disparity of rural and town populations 
 might be removed by an efficient system 
 of education, by which men would be 
 better qualified to observe and reflect 
 upon the objects by which they may be 
 surrounded. And great would be the 
 moral influence of education in rendering 
 high wages innocuous, by offering liberal 
 sources of recreation to the operative, more 
 attractive than the temptations of vice. 
 
 But to all objections it may be answered, 
 that a division of employments is an im- 
 perative law of civilization. So over- 
 powering is the necessity of a combina- 
 tion of labour with a distribution of dis- 
 tinct employments, for the production of 
 wealth, that Mr. Wakefield has inge- 
 niously ascribed to it the origin of slavery, 
 in countries where labour has not been 
 accessible by means of wages. (See Note 
 to Adam Smith, book i. ch. 1.) Where 
 land is abundant, families naturally scat- 
 ter themselves over it, and provide for 
 themselves nearly all that they want. 
 More than they want they do not produce, 
 as there is no market ; and the growth of 
 capital, under such circumstances, is im- 
 possible. One man has no inducement to 
 offer to another for his labour ; and thus 
 the strongest men, with dominant wills, 
 finding the necessity of combined indus- 
 try for any extensive production, wage 
 war upon their weaker neighbours and 
 compel them to work by force. But 
 where land becomes scarce and dear, 
 men are forced into other employments 
 distinct from agriculture ; capital grows. 
 
DIVORCE. 
 
 L 767 ] 
 
 DIVORCE. 
 
 wages are offered as an inducement to 
 work, and the more wealthy and populous 
 a country becomes, the more extensive 
 must be the distribution of separate em- 
 ployments. To object to a division of 
 employments, therefore, is no less than to 
 object to civilization altogether ; for the 
 two conditions are inseparable. It is 
 deeply to be lamented that many evils 
 have hitherto clung to the progress of 
 civilization, which are not its necessary 
 accompaniments. Many of them may be 
 referred to the slow growth of political 
 science, and might be corrected by the 
 application of sound principles of govern- 
 ment; many may be attributed to the 
 neglect of the religious and moral cul- 
 ture of an increasing population : but 
 short indeed must be the sight of any 
 man who would seek to correct them 
 by applying to a civilized state the rude 
 expedients of barbarism. 
 
 (Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, 
 book i. chapters 1, 2, 3, with Notes by 
 M'Culloch and Wakedeld ; M'Culloch's 
 Principles of Political Economy, &c.) 
 
 DIVORCE (from the Latin word di- 
 vdrtium, a divertendo, from diverting or 
 separating), the legal separation of hus- 
 band and wife. In England, divorce is of 
 two kinds : h mensa et thoro, from bed 
 and board; and & vinculo matrimonii, 
 from the bond of the marriage. The di- 
 vorce & mensst et thoro is pronounced by 
 the spiritual court for causes arising sub- 
 sequent to the marriage, as for adultery, 
 cruelty, &c. : it does not dissolve the 
 marriage, and the parties cannot contract 
 another marriage. [Bigamy.] In fact 
 it is equivalent only to a separation. 
 
 The divorce k vinculo matrimonii can 
 be obtained in the spiritual courts for 
 causes only existing before the marriage, 
 as precontract, consanguinity, impotency, 
 &c. This divorce declares the marriage 
 to have been null and void, the issue be- 
 gotten between the parties are bastardized, 
 and the parties themselves are at liberty 
 to contract marriage with others. 
 
 From the curious document preserved 
 by Selden (' Uxor Ebraica,' c. xxx., vol. 
 iii. 845, folio ed. of his Works), whereby 
 John de Cameys, in the reign of Edward 
 I., transferred his wife and her property 
 to William Paynel ; and also, from the 
 
 reference to the laws of Howel the Good, 
 at the end of this article, it would seem 
 that in the early periods of English law 
 a.divorce might be had by mutual con- 
 sent ; but all trace of such a custom is 
 lost. We know however (3 Salk. Sep. 
 138) that, until the 44 Eiiz., a divorce a 
 vinculo matrimonii might be had in the 
 ecclesiastical courts for adultery ; but in 
 Foljambe's case, which occurred in that 
 year in the Star Chamber, Archbishop 
 Bancroft, upon the advice of divines, held 
 that adultery was only a cause of divorce 
 a mensa et thoro. 
 
 The history of the law of divorce in 
 England may perhaps be thus satisfacto- 
 rily explained. Marriage, being a con- 
 tract of a civil nature, might originally 
 be dissolved by consent; and probably 
 the ordinary courts of justice asserted 
 their jurisdiction over this as well as 
 every other description of contract At 
 length, the rite of marriage having been 
 elevated to the dignity of a sacrament by 
 Pope Innocent III., a.d. 1215, the eccle- 
 siastical courts asserted the sole jurisdic- 
 tion over it. In the course of time the 
 power of these courts was again con- 
 trolled, and the sole jurisdiction for 
 granting divorces for matter arising sub- 
 sequently to the marriage was vested in 
 the superior court of the kingdom, the 
 House of Lords, where it was less likely 
 to be abused than by the ecclesiastical 
 authorities, who used to grant these and 
 other dispensations for money. 
 
 Marriage is now, by the law of Eng- 
 land, indissoluble by the decree of any of 
 the ordinary courts, on account of any 
 cause that arises subsequently to the mar- 
 riage ; but divorce a vinculo matrimonii 
 may still for adultery, &c. be obtained by 
 act of parliament. For this purpose it is 
 necessary that a civil action should have 
 been brought by the husband in one of 
 the courts of law against the adulterer 
 [Adultery], and damages obtained 
 therein, or some sufficient reason adduced 
 why such action was not brought, or da- 
 mages obtained, and that a definitive sen- 
 tence of divorce & mens§. et thoro should 
 have been pronounced between the parties 
 in the ecclesiastical court. But this sen- 
 tence cannot be obtained for the adultery 
 of the wife, if she recriminates, and can 
 
DIVORCE. 
 
 [ 768] 
 
 DIVOKCE. 
 
 prove that the husband has been unfaith- 
 ful to the marriage vow ; and further, to 
 prevent any collusion between the parties, 
 both houses of parliament may, if neces- 
 sary, and generally do, require satisfac- 
 tory evidence that it is proper to allow 
 the bill of divorce to pass. 
 
 The first proceeding of this nature was 
 in the reign of Edward VI., and bills of 
 divorce have since greatly increased. 
 Where the injured husband can satisfy 
 both houses of parliament, which are not 
 bound in granting or withholding the in- 
 dulgence by any of those fixed rules 
 which control the proceedings of ordinary 
 courts, a divorce is granted. The ex- 
 penses of the proceeding are so consider- 
 able as to amount to an absolute denial of 
 the relief to the mass of society ; indeed 
 from this circumstance divorce bills have 
 not improperly been called the privilege 
 of the rich. There is an order of the 
 House of Lords that, in every divorce bill 
 on account of adultery, a clause shall be 
 inserted to prohibit the marriage of the 
 offending parties with each other ; but 
 this clause is generally omitted ; indeed 
 it has been inserted only once, and that in 
 a very flagrant case. But it is not un- 
 usual for parliament to provide that the 
 wife shall not be left entirely destitute, 
 by directing a payment of a sum of mo- 
 ney, in the nature of- alimony, by the hus- 
 band, out of the fortune which he had 
 with the wife. By the divorce a vinculo 
 matrimonii the wife forfeits her dower. 
 [Dower.] 
 
 A Parliamentary return (354, Sess. 
 1844) gives the number of matrimonial 
 suits instituted in each metropolitan and 
 diocesan court in England, Wales, and 
 Ireland, for the four years 1840-1-2-3; 
 the number in the Court of Session, Scot- 
 land ; the number of appeals before the 
 Judicial Committee of Privy Council, or 
 the House of Lords ; and the number of 
 divorce acts passed in the same four years. 
 The following is an abstract of this re- 
 turn : — 
 
 
 Suits 
 
 England 
 
 . 160 
 
 Wales . 
 
 2 
 
 Ireland . 
 
 57 
 
 Scotland 
 
 . 169 
 
 Appeals, 
 Judicial Committee . b 
 House of Lords . 4 
 
 Divoroe Acts. 
 
 1840 ... 8 
 
 1841 ... 5 
 
 1842 ... 9 
 
 1843 ... 5 
 
 In the Court of Arches the average ex- 
 pense of 32 suits was 168Z. ; in the Con- 
 sistorial and Episcopal Court of London 
 the average expense of 87 suits was 120Z. 
 In appeals before the Judicial Committee 
 the average expense of 6 suits was 586/. ; 
 in appeals before the Lords (4 cases, all 
 from the Court of Session, Scotland) the 
 expenses varied from 23/. to 53/. The 
 average expense (fees, House of Lords), 
 of each act (27 acts) was 87/. 16s. \0d. 
 
 The causes admitted by various codes 
 of law as grounds for the suspension or 
 dissolution of marriage are various, and 
 indicative of the state of society. 
 
 According to the law of Moses (24 
 Veut. i.), " When a man hath taken a 
 wife and married her, and it come to pass 
 that she find no favour in his eyes, be- 
 cause he hath found some uncleaqness in 
 her, then let him write her a bill of di- 
 vorcement and give it in her hand, and 
 send her out of his house." After 90 
 days, the wife might marry again. But 
 after she had contracted a second mar- 
 riage, though she should be again di- 
 vorced, her former husband might not 
 take her to be his wife. About the time 
 of our Saviour, there was a great dispute 
 between the schools of the great doctors 
 Hillel and Shammai as to the meaning of 
 this law. The former contended that a 
 husband might not divorce his wife except 
 for some gross misconduct, or for some 
 serious bodily defect which was not known 
 to him before marriage ; but the latter 
 were of opinion that simple dislike, the 
 smallest offence, or merely the husband's 
 will, was a sufficient ground for divorce. 
 This is the opinion which the Jews gene- 
 rally adopted, and particularly the Phari- 
 sees, which explains their conduct when 
 they came to Jesus " tempting him, and 
 saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man 
 to put away his wife for every cause ?" 
 {Maith. xix.) The answer was, " Moses, 
 because of the hardness of your hearts. 
 
DIVORCE. 
 
 [ 769] 
 
 DIVORCE. 
 
 suffered you to put away your wives, but 
 from the beginning it was not so." From 
 this it is evident that Christ considered 
 that the law of Moses allowed too great a 
 latitude to the husband in his exercise of 
 the power of divorce, and that this allow- 
 ance arose from " the hardness of their 
 hearts;" by which we may understand 
 that they were so habituated to the prac- 
 tice, that any law which should have 
 abolished such practices would have been 
 ineffectual. All it could do was to intro- 
 duce such modifications, with the view of 
 diminishing the existing practice, as the 
 people would tolerate. The form of a 
 Jewish bill of divorcement is given by 
 Selden, Uxor Ebraica, lib. iii., ch. 24; 
 and see Levi's Ceremonies of the Jews, 
 p. 146. 
 
 It is probable that the usages in the 
 matter of divorce now existing among 
 the Arabs, are the same, or nearly so, as 
 they were when Mohammed began his 
 legislation. An Arab may divorce his 
 wife on the slightest occasion : he has 
 only to say to her " Thou art divorced," 
 and she becomes so. So easy and so com- 
 mon is that practice, that Burckhardt 
 assures us that he has seen Arabs not 
 more than 45 years of age who were 
 known to have had 50 wives, yet the 
 Arabs have rarely more than one wife at 
 a time. 
 
 By the Mohammedan law a man may 
 divorce his wife orally and without any 
 ceremony; when this is done, he pays 
 her a portion, generally one-third of her 
 dowry. He may divorce her twice, and 
 take her again without her consent ; but 
 if he divorce her a third time, or put her 
 away by a triple divorce conveyed in the 
 same sentence, he cannot receive her 
 again until she has been married and 
 divorced by another husband, who must 
 have consummated his marriage with 
 her. 
 
 By the Jewish law it appears that a 
 wife could not divorce her husband ; hut 
 under the Mohammedan code, for cruelty 
 and some other causes, she may divorce 
 him; and this is" the only instance in 
 which Mohammed appears to have been 
 more considerate towards women than 
 Moses. 
 
 (Sale's Koran; Lane's Modern Egyp- 
 
 tians ; Hamilton's Hedaya, and the Mish- 
 cat ul-Masdbih ; Selden's Uxor Ebraica ; 
 and see the case of Lindo v. Bdisariv, 
 1 Hagg. 216, before Lord Stowell.) 
 
 Among the Hindoos, and also among 
 the Chinese, a husband may divorce his 
 wife upon the slightest grounds, or even 
 without assigning any reason. Some of 
 the rules mentioned by the Abbe" Du- 
 bois, as laid down in the ' Padma Purana,' 
 one of the books of highest authority 
 among the Hindoos, show their manner 
 of thinking concerning the conduct of 
 their wives. " In every stage of her 
 life, a woman is created to obey. At 
 first she yields obedience to her father 
 and mother ; when married, she submits 
 to her husband and her father and mother- 
 in-law ; in old age, she must be ruled by 
 her children. During her life she can 
 never be under her own control. If her 
 husband laugh, she ought to laugh; if 
 he weep, she will weep also; if he is 
 disposed to speak, she. will join in con- 
 versation. When in the presence of her 
 husband, a woman must not look on on 
 side and the other ; she must keep her 
 eyes on her master, to be ready to receive 
 his commands. When he speaks, she 
 must be quiet, and listen to nothing be- 
 sides. When he calls her, she must 
 leave every thing else, and attend upon 
 him alone." And in the Hindoo code it 
 is said, " The Creator formed woman for 
 this purpose, viz., that children might be 
 born from her." The reasons for which, 
 according to the Brahmanic law, a man 
 may divorce his wife, may he seen in 
 Colebrooke's Digest of Hindoo Law, vol. 
 ii. p. 414, &c, 8vo. edit.; and Kalthoff, 
 Jus Matrimonii veterum Indorum (Bonn. 
 1829, 8) p. 76, &c. 
 
 The laws in the several Grecian states 
 regarding divorce were different, and in 
 some of them men were allowed to put 
 away their wives on slight occasions. 
 The Cretans permitted it to any man who 
 was afraid of having too great a number 
 of children. Among the Athenians either 
 husband or wife might take the first step to- 
 wards dissolving the marriage. The wife 
 might leave the husband, or the husband 
 might dismiss his wife. Adultery on the 
 part of the wife was apparently in itself a 
 divorce ; but the adultery, we may pre- 
 t D 
 
DIVORCE. 
 
 [ "o J 
 
 DIVORCE. 
 
 same, must have been legally proved 
 first. The Spartans seldom divorced 
 their wives; indeed the ephori fined 
 Lysander for repudiating his wife. Aris- 
 ton (Herod, vi. 63) put away his second 
 wife, but it seems to have been done 
 rather to have a son, for his wife was 
 barren, than according to the custom of 
 the country. Anaxandrides (Herod, v. 
 ;19) was strongly urged by the ephori to 
 divorce his barren wife, and on his not 
 consenting, the mattei was compounded 
 by his taking another wife : thus he had 
 two at once, which Herodotus observes 
 was contrary to Spartan usage. 
 
 The common Roman term for Divorce 
 is Divortium. It is said that the word 
 Repudium, corresponding to which we 
 have the word " repudiate," applied only 
 to the dissolution of a contract of mar- 
 riage (sponsalia), and not to an actual 
 marriage {Dig. 50, tit. 16, s. 101): but 
 Divortium and Repudium are sometimes 
 used indifferently. Plutarch states (Ro- 
 mulus, c. 22) that originally the husband 
 alone had the power of effecting a di- 
 vorce, which may be true, but it was not 
 so in the late period of the Republic and 
 under the Empire. When the wife was 
 in manu viri, a technical term that im- 
 plied she was in the relation of a daughter 
 to her husband, it is not easy to conceive 
 how the wife could effect a divorce. In 
 other cases, it is easily conceivable. The 
 essence of the nature of a Roman mar- 
 riage was abiding consent, and if either 
 party expressed a dissent to the union, 
 it followed that it was at an end. The 
 first instance of a divorce at Rome, ac- 
 cording to Gellius (iv. 3), was the case 
 of Sp. Cervilius Ruga, who put away his 
 wife because she was barren. As to this 
 story, see Savigny, Zeitschrift der Ges- 
 chichthe Jiechtswissenschaft, v. 269. Di- 
 vorces were common at Rome in the time 
 of Cicero, as we may collect from his 
 writings; and Cicero himself divorced 
 his aged wife Terentia and took a young 
 wife in her place. The portion (dos) 
 which the wife brought with her to sup- 
 port part of the matrimonial expenses, 
 was as a general rule returned to the wife 
 when she was divorced by the husband, 
 or when they separated by consent : this 
 condition tended somewhat tc check a 
 
 husband from divorcing his wife on light 
 grounds. 
 
 As the children of a Roman mar- 
 riage were in the power of the father, 
 and belonged to him alone, there was no 
 difficulty in divorce as to this point. 
 Whether the marriage continued to sub- 
 sist or not, the children were alone at the 
 disposal of the father. But a constitution 
 of Diocletian and Maximian empowered 
 a competent judge to declare whether the 
 children should stay with the father or 
 with the mother (Corf. v. tit. 24). In 
 some cases, where the wife was to blame, 
 as for instance if she had committed 
 adultery, a sixth part of the dos might be 
 retained by the husband. 
 
 As to the form of divorce, it was neces- 
 sary that there should be some distinct 
 declaration of the intention of the husband 
 or wife, or of both, to separate. In some 
 cases, a written notice was delivered. 
 The Lex Julia de Adulteriis required 
 seven witnesses to the divorce, and a freed- 
 man of the person who made the divorce. 
 One object of the Lex Papia et Poppsea, 
 which, as well as the Lex Julia de Adnl 
 teriis, was passed in the time of Augustus, 
 wasto impose some restraint on divorces. 
 The practice of divorce continued under 
 the Christian Emperors, but subject to 
 the observance of certain forms, and cer- 
 tain penalties. 
 
 Among the antient Britons, it may be 
 collected from the laws of Howel the 
 Good that the husband and wife might 
 agree to dissolve the marriage at any 
 time; in which case, if the separation 
 took place during the first seven years of 
 the marriage, a certain specified distri- 
 bution of the property was made, but 
 after that period the division was equal. 
 No limit was set to the husband's discre- 
 tion in divorcing his wife, but the wife 
 could only divorce her husband in case 
 he should be leprous, have bad breath, or 
 be impotent, in which cases she might 
 leave him and obtain all her property. 
 The parties were at liberty to contract a 
 fresh marriage ; but if a man repented 
 of having divorced his wife, although 
 she had married another man, yet if he 
 could overtake her before the consumma- 
 tion of the marriage, or, as the law ex- 
 presses it. " with one foot in the bed of 
 
DIVORCE. 
 
 [. 771 j 
 
 DIVORCE. 
 
 her second husband, and the other out- 
 side," he might have his wife again. 
 
 The law of Scotland relating to divorce 
 differs widely from that in England: 
 there, a divorce a vinculo matrimonii is a 
 civil remedy, and may be obtained for 
 adultery, or for wilful desertion by either 
 party, persisted in for four years, though 
 to this a good ground of separation is a 
 defence. But recrimination is no bar to 
 a divorce, as it is in England. 
 
 In the Dutch law there are only two 
 causes of divorce a vinculo matrimonii, 
 adultery and desertion. 
 
 In Spain the same causes affect the 
 validity of a marriage as in England, and 
 the contract is indissoluble by the civil 
 courts, matrimonial causes being exclu- 
 sively of ecclesiastical cognizance, (ira- 
 stit. Laws of Spain.) 
 
 The law of France, before the Revo- 
 lution, following the judgment of the 
 Catholic Church, held marriage to be in- 
 dissoluble ; but the legislators of the early 
 Revolutionary period permitted divorce at 
 the pleasure of the parties, where incom- 
 patibility of temper was alleged. In the 
 first three months of the year 1793, the 
 number of divorces in the city of Paris 
 alone amounted to 562, and the marriages 
 to 1785, a proportion not much less than 
 one to three ; while the divorces in Eng- 
 land for the previous century did not 
 amount to much more than one-fifth of 
 the number. (Burke's Letters on a Regi- 
 cide Peace.) Burke further states thait 
 he followed up the inquiry through 
 several subsequent months till he was 
 tired, and found the results still the same. 
 It must be remembered however that 
 Burke wrote in the spirit of an advocate ; 
 that the period he chose was that imme- 
 diately following the promulgation of the 
 law, when all couples previously discon- 
 tented with each other obtained divorces ; 
 and that if his calculations had fully 
 borne out his statement, he would have 
 given them in his pamphlet, which was 
 written for a political purpose, and he 
 would not have rested satisfied with inde- 
 finite allegations. It was generally ad- 
 mitted however that the licence was too 
 great. The Code Napoleon accordingly 
 restricted the liberty, but still allowed 
 either party to demand a divorce on the 
 
 ground of adultery committed by the 
 other; for outrageous conduct, or ill- 
 usage ; on account of condemnation to 
 an infamous punishment ; or to effect it 
 by mutual consent, expressed under cer- 
 tain conditions. By the same code a 
 woman could not contract a new mar- 
 riage until the expiration of ten months 
 from the dissolution of the preceding. 
 
 On the restoration of the Bourbons a 
 law was promulgated (8th May, 1816), 
 declaring divorce to be abolished: that 
 all suits then pending for divorce, for 
 definite cause, should be for separation 
 only, and that all steps then taken for 
 divorce by mutual consent should be 
 void ; and such is now the law of France. 
 
 In the United States, marriage, though 
 it may be celebrated before clergymen as 
 well as civil magistrates, is considered as 
 a civil contract. The causes of divorce, 
 and the facility or difficulty of obtaining 
 it, are by no means the same in the seve- 
 ral States. The more general causes of a 
 divorce a vinculo matrimonii are, former 
 marriage, physical incapacity, or consan- 
 guinity ; by the Connecticut law, fraudu- 
 lent contract; and by the New York 
 code, idiotcy and insanity, and either 
 party being under the age of consent. 
 Adultery is also a cause of divorce a vin- 
 culo matrimonii ; and the laws of some of 
 the States prohibit the guilty party from 
 marrying again. If the husband or wife 
 is absent seven years, or by the laws of 
 some States, three years, and not heard 
 from, the other is at liberty to marry 
 again ; and in some States, if the husband 
 desert the wife, and make no provision 
 for her support during three years, being 
 able to make such provision, the wife can 
 obtain a divorce. Extreme cruelty in 
 either party is also generally a cause of 
 divorce a vinculo matrimonii. In many 
 of the States applications to the legislature 
 for divorce, in cases not provided for by 
 the statutes, are very frequent. In New 
 York and New Jersey divorce is a sub- 
 ject of Chancery jurisdiction, from which, 
 as in other cases, questions of law may be 
 referred to a jury for trial. In New 
 Hampshire, joining the religious society 
 of Shakers, who hold cohabitation un- 
 lawful, and continuing in that society for 
 three years, is sufficient ground for a 
 3P 2 
 
DIWAN. 
 
 I 7"] 
 
 DOCTOR 
 
 divorce. But in most of the States the 
 courts of law have cognizance of divorce. 
 The laws prescribe the provision to be 
 made for the wife in case of divorce, con- 
 fiding to the courts however some degree 
 of discretion in fixing the amount of ali- 
 mony. 
 
 It is very questionable, says Chancellor 
 Kent, whether the facility with which 
 divorces can be procured in some of the 
 States be not productive of more evil than 
 good: and he states that he has had 
 reason to believe, in the exercise of a 
 judicial cognizance over numerous cases 
 of divorce, that adultery was sometimes 
 committed on the part of the husband for 
 the very purpose of the divorce. 
 
 (Kent's Commentaries ; Ency. Americ. 
 Upon the general advantages of indis- 
 solubility, as opposed to unlimited di- 
 vorce, see Hume's Essay on Polygamy and 
 Divorce ; Paley"s Moral Philosophy ; and 
 the judgment of Lord Stowell in Evans 
 v. Evans, 1 Hagg. Repts., 48 ; Milton, in 
 his famous treatise, advocates the in- 
 creased facility of obtaining a divorce ; 
 and see also Gibbon, Decline and Fall, c. 
 44.) , , 
 
 DIWAN is a Persian word familiar 
 to readers of works relating to the East, 
 in the sense of — 1st, a senate, or council 
 of state ; and, 2nd, a collection of poems 
 by one and the same author. The ear- 
 liest acceptation, however, in which we 
 find it employed is that of a muster-roll, 
 or military pay-book. — The Arabic his- 
 torian, Fakhreddin Razi, informs us that 
 when, in the caliphat of Omar, the second 
 successor of Mohammed, the conquests of 
 the Mussulmans assumed an extensive 
 character, the equal distribution of the 
 booty became a matter of great difficulty, 
 A Persian marzban, or satrap, who hap- 
 pened to be at the head-quarters of the 
 caliph at Medinah, suggested the adoption 
 of the system followed in his own coun- 
 try, of an account-book, in which all 
 receipts and disbursements were regularly 
 entered, along with a list, duly arranged, 
 of the names of those persons who were 
 entitled to a share in the booty. With 
 the register itself, its Persian appellation 
 (dlwan) was adopted by the Arabs. (Frey- 
 tag, Locmani Fabulce et plura loca ex 
 **odd. hisloricis selecta, &c, pp. 32, 33 ; 
 
 Henzi, FragmentaArabica, St. Petersburg! 
 1820, p. 36, etseq.) Whether a council 
 of state was subsequently called diwan, 
 as having originally been a financial 
 board appointed to regulate the list 
 (diwan) of stipendiaries and pensioners, 
 or whether it was so called as being sum- 
 moned according to a list (diwan) con- 
 taining the names of all its members, we 
 are unable to determine. The opinion 
 that a body of councillors should have 
 received this appellation, as has been as- 
 serted by some, in consequence of the 
 expression of an ancient king of Persia, 
 indn diwan end, " these (men) are (clever 
 like) devils," will scarcely be seriously 
 entertained by any one. The word ' di- 
 wan ' is also used to express the saloon or 
 hall where a council is held, and has been 
 applied to denote generally a state cham- 
 ber, or room where company is received. 
 Hence probably it has arisen that the 
 word 'divan,' in several European lan- 
 guages, signifies a sofa. Collections of 
 poems in Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Hin- 
 dustani, &c, seem to have received the 
 appellation ' diwan ' from their methodi- 
 cal arrangement, inasmuch as the poems 
 succeed one another according to the 
 alphabetic order of the concluding letters 
 of the rhyming syllables, which are the 
 same in all the distichs throughout each 
 poem. 
 
 DOCKET. [Bankbdtt.] 
 
 DOCTOR, one that has taken the 
 highest degree in the faculties of Divinity, 
 Law, Physic, or Music. In its original 
 import it means a person so skilled in his 
 particular art or science as to be qualified 
 to teach it. 
 
 There is much difference of opinion as 
 to the time when the title of Doctor was 
 first created. It seems to have been es- 
 tablished for the professors of the Roman 
 law in the University of Bologna, about 
 the middle of the twelfth century. An- 
 tony & Wood says, that the title of Doc- 
 tor in Divinity was used at Paris, after 
 Peter Lombard had compiled his Sen- 
 tences, about the year 1151. {Hist, and 
 Antiq. Univ. of Oxford, 4to. Oxf. 1792, 
 vol. i. p. 62.) Previously those who had 
 proceeded in the faculties had been 
 termed Masters only. The title of Doc- 
 tor was not adopted in the English Uni- 
 
DOCTOR. 
 
 [ 773 j 
 
 DOMESDAY BOOK. 
 
 versifies earlier than the time of John or 
 Henry the Third. ,Wood cites several 
 instances of the expense and magnificence 
 which attended the early granting of the 
 higher degrees in England in the reigns 
 of Henry III. and Edward I. (Wood, 
 ut supr. pp. 65, 66.) 
 
 In Oxford the time requisite for the 
 Doctor of Divinity's degree, subsequent 
 to that of M.A., is eleven years : for a 
 Doctor's of Civil Law, five years from 
 the time at which the Bachelor of Laws' 
 degree was conferred. Those who take 
 this degree professionally, in order to 
 
 Sractise in Doctors' Commons, are in- 
 ulged with a shorter period, and per- 
 mitted to obtain it at four instead of five 
 years, upon making oath in convocation 
 of their intentions so to practise. For 
 the degree of M.D., three years must in- 
 tervene from the time of the candidate's 
 having taken his Bachelor of Medicine's 
 degree. For a Doctor's degree in Divi- 
 nity or Law three distinct lectures are to 
 be read in the schools, upon three differ- 
 ent days : but by a dispensation, first ob- 
 tained in convocation or congregation, all 
 three are permitted to be read upon the 
 same day ; so that by dispensation a single 
 day is sufficient in point of time for these 
 exercises. For a Doctor's degree in Medi- 
 cine, a dissertation upon some subject, to 
 be approved by the Professor of Medicine, 
 must be publicly recited in the schools, 
 and a copy of it afterwards delivered to 
 the Professor. 
 
 In Cambridge a Doctor of Divinity 
 must be a Bachelor of Divinity of five, or 
 an M.A. of twelve years' standing. The 
 requisite exercises are one act, two oppo- 
 nencies, a Latin sermon, and an English 
 sermon. A Doctor of Laws must be a 
 Bachelor of Laws of five years' standing. 
 His exercises are one act and one oppo- 
 nency. Doctors of Physic proceedin the 
 same manner as Doctor of Laws. For 
 a Doctor's degree in music, in both Uni- 
 versities, the exercise required is the 
 composition and performance of a solemn 
 piece of music, to be approved by the 
 Professor of the Faculty. (Oxf. and 
 Camb. Calendars.') 
 
 Coloured engravings of the dresses 
 worn by the doctors of the several facul- 
 ties of Oxford and Cambridge will be 
 
 found in Ackermann's History of the 
 Univ. of Oxford, 4to., 1814, vol. ii. p. 
 259, el seq. ; and in his History of the 
 Univ. of Cambridge, 4to., 1815, vol. ii. 
 p. 312, et seq. 
 
 DOCTORS' COMMONS, the College 
 of Civilians in London, near St. Paul's 
 Churchyard, founded by Dr. Harvey, 
 Dean of the Arches, for the professors of 
 the civil law. The official residences of 
 the judges of the 'Arches' Court of Can- 
 terbury, of the judge of the Admiralty, 
 and the judge of the Prerogative Court 
 of Canterbury, are situated there. It is 
 also the residence of the doctors of the 
 civil law practising in London, who live 
 there (for diet and lodging) in a collegi- 
 ate manner, and common together, and 
 hence the place is known by the name of 
 Doctors' Commons. It was burnt down 
 in the fire of London, and rebuilt at the 
 charge of the profession. ( Chamberlayae 
 Mag. Brit. Notitia.) To the college be- 
 long a certain number of advocates and 
 proctors. [Bahristee, p. 317 ; Pboctor.] 
 
 In the Common Hall are held all the 
 principal spiritual courts, and the High 
 Court of Admiralty. 
 
 DOMESDAY BOOK, the register of 
 the lands of England, framed by order of 
 King William the Conqueror. It was 
 sometimes termed Rolulus Wintonia, and 
 was the book from which judgment was 
 to be given upon the value, tenures, and 
 services of the lands therein described. 
 The original is comprised in two volumes, 
 one a large folio, the other a quarto. The 
 first begins with Kent, and ends with Lin- 
 colnshire ; is written on three hundred 
 and eighty-two double pages of vellum, 
 in one and the same hand, in a small but 
 plain character, each page having a 
 double column; it contains thirty-one 
 counties. After Lincolnshire (fol. 373), 
 the claims arising in the three ridings in 
 Yorkshire are taken notice of, and set- 
 tled ; then follow the claims in Lincoln- 
 shire, and the determination of the jury 
 upon them (fol. 375) < lastly, from fol. 
 379 to the end there is a recapitulation of 
 every wapentake or hundred in the three 
 ridings of Yorkshire : of the towns in 
 each hundred, what number of carucates 
 and ox-gangs are in every town, and the 
 names of the owners placed in very small 
 
DOMESDAY BOOK. 
 
 [ 774 J 
 
 DOMESDAY BOOK. 
 
 character above them. The second vo- 
 lume in quarto, is written upon four hun- 
 dred and fifty double pages of vellum, 
 but in a single column, and in a large fair 
 character, and contains the counties of 
 Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk. In these 
 counties the " liberi homines" are ranked 
 separate : and there is also a title of " In- 
 vasiones super Regem." 
 
 These two volumes are preserved, 
 among other records of the Exchequer, 
 in the Chapter House at Westminster: 
 and at the end of the second is the fol- 
 lowing memorial, in capital letters, of the 
 time of its completion : " Anno Millesimo 
 Octogesimo Sexto ab Incarnatione Do- 
 mini, vigesimo vero regni Willielmi, facta 
 est ista Descriptio, non solum per hos tres 
 Comitatus, sed etiam per alios." From 
 internal evidence there can be no doubt 
 but that the same year, 1088, is assign- 
 able as the date of the first volume- 
 
 In 1767, in consequence of an address 
 of the House of Lords, George III. gave 
 directions for the publication of this Sur- 
 vey. It was not, however, till after 1770 
 that the work was actually commenced. 
 Its publication was intrusted to Mr. Abra- 
 ham Farley, a gentleman of learning as 
 well as of great experience in records, 
 who had almost daily recourse to the 
 book for more than forty years. It was 
 completed early in 1783, having been ten 
 years in passing through the press, and 
 thus became generally accessible to the 
 antiquary and topographer. It was 
 printed in fac-simile, as far as regular 
 types, assisted by the representation of 
 particular contractions, could imitate the 
 original. 
 
 In 1816 the commissioners upon the 
 Public Kecords published two volumes 
 supplementary to Domesday, which now 
 form one set with the volumes of the 
 Record : one of these contains a general 
 introduction, accompanied with two dif- 
 ferent indexes of the names of places, an 
 alphabetical index of the tenants in capite, 
 and an " Index Rerum." The other con- 
 tains four records ; three of them, namely, 
 the Exon Domesday, the Inquisitio Eli- 
 ensis, and the Liber Winton., contempo- 
 rary with the Survey ; the other record, 
 called ' Boldon Book,' is the Survey of 
 Durham, made in 1183, by Bishop Hugh 
 
 Pudsey. These supplementary volumes 
 were published under the superintend- 
 ence of Sir Henry Ellis. 
 
 Northumberland, Cumberland, West- 
 morland, and Durham were not included 
 in the counties described in the Great 
 Domesday; nor does Lancashire appear 
 under its proper name ; but Furness, and 
 the northern part of that county, as well 
 as the south of Westmorland and part of 
 Cumberland, are included within the 
 West Riding of Yorkshire : that part of 
 Lancashire which lies between the rivers 
 Ribble and Mersey, and which at the 
 time of the Survey comprehended six 
 hundreds and a hundred and eighty-eight 
 manors, is subjoined to Cheshire. Part 
 of Rutlandshire is described in the coun- 
 ties of Northampton and Lincoln ; and 
 the two ancient hundreds of Atiscross and 
 Existan, deemed a part of Cheshire in 
 the Survey, have been since transferred 
 to the counties of Flint and Denbigh. In 
 the account of Gloucestershire we find a 
 considerable portion of Monmouthshire 
 included, seemingly all between the rivers 
 Wye and Usk. Kelham thinks it proba- 
 ble that the king's commissioners might 
 find it impossible to take any exact sur- 
 vey of the three counties northernmost of 
 all, as they had suffered so much from the 
 Conqueror's vengeance. As to Durham, 
 he adds, all the country between the TeeB 
 and Tyne had been conferred by Alfred 
 on the bishop of this see, and at the com- 
 ing in of the Conqueror he was reputed a 
 count-palatine. 
 
 The order generally observed in writ- 
 ing the Survey was to set down in the 
 first place at the head of every county 
 (except Chester and Rutland) the king's 
 name, Hex Willielmus, and then a list of 
 the bishops, religious houses, churches, 
 any great men, according to their rank, 
 who held of the king in capite in that 
 county, likewise of his thains, ministers, 
 and servants ; with a numerical figure in 
 red ink before them, for the better find- 
 ing them in the book. In some counties 
 the cities and capital boroughs are taken 
 notice of before the list of the great 
 tenants is entered, with the particular 
 laws or customs which prevailed in each 
 of them ; and in others they are inserted 
 promiscuously. After the list of the 
 
DOMESDAY BOOK. [ 775 ] DOMESDAY BOOK. 
 
 tenants, the manors and possessions them- 
 selves which belong to the king, and also 
 to each owner throughout the whole 
 county, whether they lie in the same or 
 different hundreds, are collected together 
 and minutely noted, with their under 
 tenants. The king's demesnes, under 
 the title of Terra Regis, always stand 
 first 
 
 For the adjustment of this Survey cer- 
 tain commissioners, called the king's justi- 
 ciaries, were appointed. In folios 164 
 and 181 of the first volume we find them 
 designated as " Legati Regis." Those for 
 the midland counties at least, if not for 
 all the districts, were Bemigius, bishop of 
 Lincoln, Walter Giffard, Earl of Bucking- 
 ham, Henry de Ferrers, and Adam, the 
 brother of Eudo Dapifer, who probably 
 associated with them some principal per- 
 son in each shire. These inquisitors, 
 upon the oaths of the sheriffs, the lords 
 of each manor, the presbyters of every 
 church, the reves of every hundred, the 
 bailiffs and six villains of every village, 
 were to inquire into the name of the 
 place, who held it in the time of King Ed- 
 ward, who was the present possessor, how 
 many hides in the manor, how many 
 carucates in demesne, how many ho- 
 magers, how many villains, how many 
 cotarii, how many servi, what free-men, 
 how many tenants in socage, what quan- 
 tity of wood, how much meadow and 
 pasture, what mills and fish-ponds, how 
 much added or taken away, what the 
 gross value in King Edward's time, what 
 the present value, and how much each 
 free-man or soc-man had or has. All 
 this was to be triply estimated : first, as 
 the estate was held in the time of the Con- 
 fessor ; then as it was bestowed by King 
 William ; and thirdly, as its value stood 
 at the formation of the Survey. The 
 jurors were, moreover, to state whether 
 any advance could be made in the value. 
 Such are the exact terms of one of the 
 inquisitions for the formation of this Sur- 
 vey, still preserved in a register of the 
 monastery of Ely. 
 
 The writer of that part of the Saxon 
 Chronicle which relates to the Conqueror's 
 time, informs us, with some degree of 
 asperity, that not a hide or yardland, not 
 an ox, cow, or hog was omitted in the 
 
 census. It should seem, however, th* 
 the jurors, in numerous instances, frameo. 
 returns of a more extensive nature than 
 were absolutely required by the king's 
 precept, and it is perhaps on this account 
 that we have different kinds of descrip- 
 tions in different counties. 
 
 From the space to which we are neces- 
 sarily limited, it is impossible to go more 
 minutely into the contents of this extra- 
 ordinary record, to enlarge upon the 
 classes of tenantry enumerated in it, the 
 descriptions of land and other property 
 therewith connected, the computations of 
 money, the territorial jurisdictions and 
 franchises, the tenures and services, the 
 criminal and civil jurisdictions, the eccle- 
 siastical matters, the historical and other 
 particular events alluded to, or the illus- 
 trations of ancient manners, with inform- 
 ation relating to all of which it abounds, 
 exclusive of its particular and more im- 
 mediate interest in the localities of the 
 country for the county historian. 
 
 As an abstract of population it fails. 
 The tenants in capite, including ecclesi- 
 astical corporations, amounted scarcely to 
 1400 ; the under-tenants to somewhat less 
 than 8000, The total population, as far 
 as it is given in the record itself, accounts 
 to no more than 282,242 persons. In 
 Middlesex, pannage (payment for feeding) 
 is returned for 16,535, in Hertfordshire 
 for 30,705, and in Essex for 92,991 hogs; 
 yet not a single swineherd (a character 
 so well known in the Saxon times) is 
 entered in these counties. In the Norman 
 period, as can be proved from records, the 
 whole of Essex was, in a manner, one 
 continued forest; yet once only in that 
 county is a forester mentioned, in the 
 entry concerning Writtle. Salt-works, 
 works for the production of lead and iron, 
 mills, vineyards, fisheries, trade, and the 
 manual arts, must have given occupation 
 to thousands who are unrecorded in the 
 survey ; to say nothing of those who 
 tended the flocks and herds, the returns 
 of which so greatly enlarge the pages of 
 the second volume. In some counties we 
 have no mention of a single priest, even 
 where churches are found ; and scarcely 
 any inmate of a monastery is recorded 
 beyond the abbot or abbess, who stands as 
 a tenant in capite. These remarks might 
 
DOMESDAY BOOK. 
 
 [ 776 ] DOMESDAY BOOK. 
 
 be extended, but they are sufficient for 
 their purpose. They show that, in this 
 point of view, the Domesday Survey is 
 but a partial register. It was not intended 
 to be a record of population further than 
 was required for ascertaining the geld. 
 
 There is one important fact, however, 
 to be gathered from its entries. It shows 
 in detail how long a time elapsed before 
 England recovered from the violence 
 attendant on the Norman Conquest. The 
 annual value of property, it will be found, 
 was much lessened as compared with the 
 produce of estates in the time of Edward 
 the Confessor. In general, at the survey, 
 the king's lands were more highly rated 
 than before the Conquest ; and his rent 
 from the burghs was greatly increased : 
 a few also of the larger tenants in capite 
 had improved their estates ; but, on the 
 whole, the rental of the kingdom was 
 reduced, and twenty years after the Con- 
 quest the estates were, on an average, 
 valued at little more than three-fourths of 
 the former estimate. An instance appears 
 in the county of Middlesex, where no 
 Terra Regis, however, occurs. The first 
 column, headed T. r. e., shows the value 
 of the estates in the time of King Edward 
 the Confessor; the second, the sums at 
 which they were rated at the time of the 
 survey, tempore Regis Williehai : — 
 
 T.R.E. T.R.W. 
 
 £ s. d. £ s. d. 
 
 Terra Archiep. Cant. 100 14 86 12 
 
 Terra Episc. Land. 190 11 10 157 19 6 
 
 Eccl. S. Pet. West. 114 86 16 c 
 
 Keel. Trin. Rouen 25 10 SO 10 
 
 Geoff, de Manaeville 121 13 112 5 
 
 Ernald de I leading 58 O 24 
 
 Walter de St. Waleri 120 111 
 
 Terr, alior. Tenent 204 147 8 
 
 932 8 10 740 11 
 
 We shall now say a few words on the 
 uses and consequences of the Survey. By 
 its completion the king acquired an exact 
 knowledge of the possessions of the crown. 
 It afforded him the names of the land- 
 holders. It furnished him with the means 
 of ascertaining the military strength of 
 the country ; and it pointed out the possi- 
 bility of increasing the revenue in some 
 cases, and of lessening the demands of the 
 tax-collectors in others. It was moreover 
 a register of appeal for those whose titles 
 to their property might be disputed. 
 
 Appeals to the decision of this Survey 
 occur at a very early period. Peter of 
 Blois notices an appeal of the monks of 
 Croyland to it in the reign of Henry I. 
 Others occur in the Abbreviatio Placito- 
 rum from the time of John downward. 
 In later reigns the pleadings upon ancient 
 demesne are extremely numerous; and 
 the proof of ancient demesne still rests 
 with the Domesday Survey. Other cases 
 in which it6 evidence is yet appealed to 
 in our courts of law, are in proving the 
 antiquity of mills, and in setting up pre- 
 scriptions in non decimando. By stat. 9 
 Edw. II., called Articuli Cleri, it was 
 determined that prohibition should not lie 
 upon demand of tithe for a new mill. The 
 mill, therefore, which is found in Domes- 
 day must be presumed older than the 9th 
 Edw. II., and is of course discharged, by 
 its evidence, from tithe. 
 
 On the discharge of abbey-lands from 
 tithes, as proved by Domesday, it may be 
 proper to state that Pope Paschal II., at 
 an early period, exempted generally all 
 the religious from paying tithes of lands 
 in their own hands. This privilege was 
 afterwards restrained to the four favoured 
 orders, the Cistercians, the Templars, the 
 Hospitallers, and the Premonstratensians. 
 So it continued till the fourth Council of 
 Lateran, in 1215, when the privilege was 
 again restrained to such lands as the 
 abbeys had at that time, and was declared 
 not to extend to any after-purchased 
 lands. And it extends only to lands dum 
 propriis multibus coluntur. From the 
 paucity of dates in early documents, the 
 Domesday Survey is very frequently the 
 only evidence which can be adduced that 
 the lands claiming a discharge were vested 
 in the monastery previous to the year ex- 
 pressed in the Lateran Council. 
 
 Although in early times, Domesday, 
 precious as it was always deemed, occa- 
 sionally travelled, like other records, to 
 distant parts, till 1696 it was usually 
 kept with the king's seal, at Westminster, 
 by the side of the Tally Court in the 
 exchequer, under three locks and keys, 
 in the charge of the auditor, the chamber- 
 lains, and deputy chamberlains of the ex- 
 chequer. In the last-mentioned year it was 
 deposited among other valuable records in 
 the Chapter House, where it still remain*. 
 
DOMICILE. 
 
 [ "7 J 
 
 DOMICILE. 
 
 The two most important works for the 
 student of the Domesday Survey are Kel- 
 ham's Domesday Booh illustrated, 8vo., 
 London, 1788, and the General Introduc- 
 tion to the Survey, Beprinted by command 
 Of his Majesty under the direction of the 
 Commissioners on the Public Records, 2 
 vols. 8vo., 1833, accompanied by fresh 
 indices. A translation of the whole, under 
 the title of 'Dom-Boc,' was undertaken 
 early in the present century by the Rev. 
 William Bawdwen, Vicar of Hooton Pag- % 
 noil, in Yorkshire, who published York- 
 shire, with the counties of Derby, Not- 
 tingham, Rutland, and Lincoln, in 4to., 
 Doncaster, 1809, followed by the counties 
 of Middlesex, Hertford, Buckingham, Ox- 
 ford, and ' Gloucester, 4to.. Doncaster, 
 1812 ; but the work went no further. 
 County portions of this record will be 
 found translated in most of our provincial 
 histories ; the best are undoubtedly those 
 in Dugdale's Warwickshire, Nichols's 
 Leicestershire, Hutchins's Dorsetshire, 
 Nash's Worcestershire, Bray and Man- 
 ning's Surrey, and Clutterbuck's Hert- 
 fordshire. Mr. Henry Penruddocke 
 Wyndham published Wiltshire, extracted 
 from Domesday Book, 8vo., Salisb., 1788, 
 and the Rev. Richard Warner, Hampshire, 
 4to., Lond., 1789. Warwickshire has 
 been published recently by Mr. Reader. 
 There are numerous other publications 
 incidentally illustrative of Domesday to- 
 pography, which the reader must seek for 
 according to the county as to which he 
 may desire information. 
 
 DOMICILE. In the Roman law Domi- 
 cile (Domicilium) was defined to be that 
 place which a person " makes his family 
 residence, and principal place of business ; 
 from which he does not depart unless 
 some business requires : when he leaves 
 it he considers himself a wanderer, and 
 when he returns to it he deems himself 
 no longer abroad." (Cod. lib. 10, tit. 39, 
 1, 7.) Similar definitions of the term are 
 given by modern jurists. 
 
 The constitution of domicile depends 
 on the concurrence of two elements— 1st, 
 residence in a place ; and, 2nd, the inten- 
 tion of the party to make that place his 
 home. Domicile cannot be established 
 except it be animo et facto, that is, ac- 
 tually and in intention also. It is some- 
 
 times not very easy to determine in what 
 place a person actually has his domicile. 
 It is obviously a question depending upon 
 the evidence in each particular case, 
 which is of course capable of every variety 
 both in nature and degree. The evidence 
 as to the place of residence is frequently 
 far from clear ; while the intention of the 
 party has to be gathered from circum- 
 stances yet more difficult to come to a 
 conclusion upon. 
 
 The following rules appear to comprise 
 the generally adopted principles on the 
 subject : — 
 
 1. The domicile of the parents is the 
 domicile of the child. " Patris originem 
 nnusquisque sequitur." (Cod. lib. 10, tit. 
 31, 1, 36.) This is usually called the 
 domicile of origin or nativity, and is in 
 most cases the same with file place of 
 birth. But the mere accident of birth 
 in a place where the parents may happen 
 to be in itinere, or on a visit, will have 
 no effect in determining the domicile of 
 origin. An illegitimate child, having no 
 father in contemplation of law, follows 
 the domicile of his mother. 
 
 2. Minors are generally considered 
 incapable of changing, by their own act, 
 the domicile of origin during their mi- 
 nority. If the father change his domi- 
 cile, that of the children follows it ; and 
 if he dies, his last domicile will be that of 
 his infant children. It has been much 
 questioned whether the guardians of mi- 
 nors, idiots, or lunatics can change their 
 domicile. It has been held in England 
 that a mother, being guardian, might 
 change the domicile of her children, pro- 
 vided it was not done for a fraudulent 
 purpose, which would be presumed in the 
 absence of any reasonable motive. In 
 Scotland a minor, after the age of puberty, 
 is not personally under the control of his 
 guardian, and may change his domicile 
 by his own act. 
 
 3. A married woman follows the domi- 
 cile of her husband. 
 
 4. A widow retains the domicile of her' 
 late husband till she acquires another. 
 
 5. The place where a man resides is, 
 for a great many purposes, to be. con- 
 sidered his domicile, and, prima facie, is 
 to be taken to be so till other facts estab- 
 lish the contrary, 
 
DOMICILE. 
 
 [ 778 ] DONA'TIO MORTIS CAUSA. 
 
 6. Every person of full age, who re- 
 moves from one place to another, with 
 the intention of .making the latter his 
 place of residence, immediately constitutes 
 it his domicile. 
 
 7. The domicile of origin must be con- 
 sidered to prevail till the party has not 
 only acquired another, but manifested and 
 carried into effect an intention of aban- 
 doning his former domicile, and abiding 
 by another as his sole domicile. But the 
 domicile of origin cannot be preserved 
 by a mere floating intention of returning 
 to it at some fut.-re period, or revived by 
 a mere abandonment of the acquired domi- 
 cile, unless perhaps where the party dies 
 in itinere towards the intended domicile. 
 " It is to be remembered," says Sir Wm. 
 Scott (Lord Stowell), "that the native 
 character easily reverts, and that it re- 
 quires fewer circumstances to constitute 
 domicile in the case of a native subject 
 than to impress the national character on 
 one who is originally of another country." 
 
 8. An acquired domicile is not lost by 
 mere abandonment, but continues until a 
 subsequent domicile is acquired, which 
 can be done only animo et facto. 
 
 9. A married man's domicile is gener- 
 ally to be taken to be where the residence 
 of his family is ; unless this conclusion is 
 controlled by circumstances, such as proof 
 that he has altogether abandoned his 
 family, or that their place of residence is 
 temporary: but 
 
 1U. If a man, whether married or not, 
 has two places of residence at different 
 times of the year, that will be esteemed 
 his domicile which he himself selects, 
 describes, or deems to be his home, or 
 which appears to be the centre of his 
 affairs ; e.g. that of a nobleman or country 
 gentleman, his residence in the country — 
 that of a merchant, his residence in town. 
 
 1 1. Residence in a place, to produce a 
 change of domicile, must be voluntary. 
 Thus, if it be produced by constraint, as 
 by banishment, arrest, or imprisonment, 
 it cannot affect the domicile. For the 
 same reason a person abroad in the ser- 
 vice of the state does not change his domi- 
 cile. But it has been held that a Scotch- 
 man entering the service of the East India 
 Company acquires a domicile in India, 
 which (like a domicile acquired in any of 
 
 the colonies) is in legal effect the same as 
 a domicile in England. 
 
 12. It was held in the Roman law that 
 a man might, under certain circumstances, 
 be said to have no domicile, as when he 
 quits one place of residence with the in- 
 tention of fixing himself in another. But 
 this is not admitted in our law, in which, 
 as before stated, it is held that the former 
 domicile is not lost till the new one is 
 acquired animo et facto. And in the pos- 
 sible case of a man of unknown origin 
 acquiring two contemporaneous domiciles 
 under the same circumstances, the lex loci 
 rei sitae would probably prevail ex neces- 
 sitate in questions as to his personal pro- 
 perty. 
 
 Thus it appears that domicile, con- 
 sidered in relation to the civil status oi 
 the person, is of three kinds — 1st, domi- 
 cile of origin, depending on that of the 
 parents at the time of birth ; 2nd, domi- 
 cile of choice, which is voluntarily ac- 
 quired by the party ; and, 3rd, domicile 
 by operation of law, as that of a wife, 
 arising from marriage. 
 
 The word domicile is sometimes used 
 in another sense, as signifying the length 
 of residence required by the law of some 
 countries for the purpose of founding 
 jurisdiction in civil actions. In England 
 every person, whether native or foreigner, 
 who is for the time being within England, 
 is amenable to the jurisdiction of its 
 courts, and may sue or be sued in them ; 
 but in Scotland a residence of at least 
 forty days within the country is necessary 
 to establish jurisdiction ratione domicilii. 
 
 (On the subject of Domicile, see Story's 
 Commentaries on the Conflict of Laws, 
 a. iii.) 
 
 DONA'TIO MORTIS CAUSA, a gjlft 
 made in prospect of death. The doctrine 
 is derived from the Roman law, and a 
 donation of this kind is defined in the 
 Institutes (ii., tit. 7) as " a gift which is 
 made under an apprehension of death, as 
 when a thing is given upon condition that, 
 if the donor die, the donee shall have it, 
 but that the thing given shall be returned 
 if the donor shall survive the danger 
 which he apprehends, or shall repent that 
 he has made the gift; or if the donee 
 shall die before the donor." The defini- 
 tion of a " donatio mortis causa" in Fleta 
 
DONA'TIO MORTIS CAUSA. [ 779 ] 
 
 DOWER. 
 
 (ii. 57, De Testamentis) agrees almost 
 word for word with that of Ulpian {Dig. 
 39, tit. 6, s. 2). Fleta's definition is, per- 
 haps, taken from Braoton (ii. 26), who 
 has adopted the words of Ulpian, In the 
 English law it is necessary to the validity 
 of this gift that it be made by the donor 
 with relation to his dying by the illness 
 which affects him at the time of the gift, 
 but it takes effect only in case he die of 
 that illness. There must be a delivery 
 of the thing itself to the donee ; but in 
 cases where actual transfer is impossible, 
 as, for instance, goods of bulk deposited 
 in a warehouse, the delivery of the key 
 of the warehouse is effectual. This prin- 
 ciple is expounded by Lord Hardwicke, 
 in the case of Ward v. Turner (2 Vez. 
 431). A donatio mortis causa partakes 
 of the nature of a legacy so far as to be 
 liable to the debts of the donor, and, by 
 36 Geo. III. c. 53, §. 7, to the legacy 
 duty ; but as it takes effect from the 
 delivery, and not by a testamentary act, 
 it is not within the jurisdiction of the ec- 
 clesiastical courts, and neither probate or 
 administration is necessary, nor the assent 
 of the executors, as in the case of a legacy. 
 
 The English law of Donations, " mortis 
 causa," is explained in Roper On Legacies, 
 vol. i. ; and in the judgment of Lord 
 Hardwicke already referred to. See also 
 Edwards v. Jones, 1 M. & C. 226 ; Duf- 
 field r. Elwes, 1 S. & S. 239. 
 
 Ulpian {Dig. 39, tit. 6, s. 2) quotes Julian 
 as laying down three forms of " donatio 
 mortis causa :" first, when a man under no 
 present danger of death, but solely influ- 
 enced by a consideration of his mortality, 
 makes a gift ; second, when a man, moved 
 by imminent danger of death, makes a 
 gift, so that the thing becomes forthwith 
 the property of the receiver ; third, when 
 a man, moved by danger, gives not so 
 that the thing shall forthwith become the 
 property of the receiver, but only in case 
 of the death of the giver. But the third 
 was the only proper kind of "donatio 
 mortis causa." Any thing might be the 
 subject of a " donatio mortis causa," as a 
 piece of land, an agreement that a sum of 
 money should be paid to the donee after 
 the death of the giver, or a slave. It fol- 
 lows from the nature of the things that 
 might be the subjects of a " donatio mortis 
 
 causa," that the Roman law did not re- 
 quire delivery, as the English law does, a 
 circumstance which restrains the power 
 of making a " donatio mortis causa" by 
 the English law. It was long disputed 
 whether " donationes mortis causa" should 
 be considered as legacies, or as other 
 gifts; but a constitution of Justinian 
 {Cod. viii. tit. 57, s. 4) assimilated them 
 in all respects to legacies, and declared 
 that they might be either made orally or 
 in writing, but it required four witnesses. 
 
 DONATIVE. [Benefice, p. 344] 
 
 DOWAGER is a widow who is en- 
 dowed [Dower]; but the term is often 
 applied to ladies of rank, whether they 
 may be endowed or not. 
 
 The Queen Dowager is the widow of a 
 king, and she has many of the privileges 
 of a queen-consort. But it is not high 
 treason to conspire to kill her ; nor is it 
 high treason to have sexual intercourse 
 with her, as in the case of a queen- 
 consort. The reason of the distinction 
 in this second case is, that the succession 
 to the crown is not endangered by sexual 
 connection with her. It is said that a 
 man cannot marry a queen-dowager with- 
 out a licence from the king, under pain of 
 forfeiting his lands and goods ; but this 
 may not be so now. 
 
 By the Regency Billef 1830.(1 Wm. IV. 
 c. 2), the queen of William IV. would, 
 if she had survived him, have been Re- 
 gent of the United Kingdom, in case of 
 his Majesty's demise and his leaving issue 
 by the queen. 
 
 The queen-dowager has now, by act 
 of parliament (1 & 2 Wm. IV. c. 11), 
 a pension of 100,OOOZ., and also Marl- 
 borough House and the rangership of 
 Bushy Park for life. 
 
 DOWER is that part of the husband's 
 lands, tenements, or hereditaments to 
 which the wife is entitled for her life upon 
 the husband's death. 
 
 Prior to the reign of Charles II. five, 
 and, until the passing of the act 3 & 4 
 Wm. IV. c. 105, there were four kinds of 
 dower known to the English law. 
 
 1. Dower at the common law. 
 
 2. Dower by custom 
 
 3. Dower ad ostium ecclesiae. 
 
 4. Dower ex assensu patris. 
 
 5. Dower de la plus beale. 
 
DOWER. 
 
 L 780 J 
 
 DOWER. 
 
 This last was merely a consequence uf 
 tenure by knight's service., and was abo- 
 lished by stat. 12 Charles II. c. 24 ; and 
 the 3rd and 4th having long become ob- 
 solete, were finally abolished by the above- 
 mentioned statute of Wm. IV. 
 
 By the old law, the right called dower 
 extended to all the lands of which the 
 husband was seised at any time during 
 the marriage, and which a child of the 
 husband and wife might by possibility 
 inherit ; and they remained liable to dower 
 in the hands of a purchaser, though 
 various ingenious modes of conveyance 
 were contrived, which in some cases pre- 
 vented the attaching of dower ; but this 
 liability was productive of great incon- 
 venience, and frequently of injustice. The 
 law, too, was inconsistent, for the wife 
 was not dowable out of her husband's 
 equitable estates, although the husband 
 had his courtesy in those to which the 
 wife was equitably entitled. To remedy 
 these inconveniences the statute above 
 mentioned was passed, and its objects may 
 be stated to be — 1, to make equitable 
 estates in possession liable to dower ; 2, 
 to take away the right to dower out of 
 lands disposed of by the husband abso- 
 lutely in his life or by will ; 3, to enable 
 the husband, by a simple declaration in a 
 deed or will, to bar the right to dower. 
 
 "The law of dower," say the Real 
 Property Commissioners, in their Second 
 Report, upon which this statute was 
 founded, " though well adapted to the 
 state of freehold property which existed 
 at the time when it was established, 
 and during a long time afterwards, 
 had, in consequence of the frequent 
 alienation of property which takes place 
 in modern times, become exceedingly 
 inconvenient." In short, dower was 
 considered and treated as an incum- 
 brance, and was never, except in cases of 
 inadvertency, suffered to arise. The in- 
 crease of personal property, and the al- 
 most universal custom of securing a pro- 
 vision by settlement, afforded more ef- 
 fectual and convenient means of providing 
 for the wife. Dower at the common law 
 is the only species of dower which affects 
 lands in England generally; dower by 
 custom is only of local application, as 
 dower by the custom of gavelkind and 
 
 Borough Enlish ; and freebench applies 
 exclusively to copyhold lands. The 
 former is treated of in Robinson's ' His- 
 tory of Gavelkind,' the latter in Watkins 
 on ' Copyholds.' 
 
 As to dower at common law, every 
 married woman who has attained the 
 age of nine years is entitled to dower by 
 common law, except aliens, and Jewesses, 
 so long as they continue in their religion. 
 From the disability arising from alienage, 
 a queen, and also an alien licensed by 
 the king, are exempt. 
 
 The wife is entitled to be endowed, 
 that is, to have an estate for life in the 
 third part of the lands and tenements of 
 which the husband was solely seised 
 either in deed or in law, or in which he 
 had a right of entry, at any time during 
 the marriage, of a legal or equitable 
 estate of inheritance in possession, to 
 which the issue of the husband and wife 
 (if any) might by possibility inherit. 
 
 By Magna Charta it is provided, that 
 the widow shall not pay a fine to the lord 
 for her dower, and that she shall remain 
 in the chief house of her husband for forty 
 days after his death, during which time 
 her dower shall be assigned. The par- 
 ticular lands and hereditaments to be held 
 in dower must be assigned by the heir of 
 the husband, or his guardian, by metes 
 and bounds if divisible, otherwise spe- 
 cially, as of the third presentation to a 
 benefice, &c. If the heir or his guardian 
 do not assign, or assign unfairly, the 
 widow has her remedy at law, and the 
 sheriff is appointed to assign her dower ; 
 or the widow may enforce her rights by 
 bill in equity, which is now the usual 
 remedy. 
 
 A woman is barred of her dower by 
 the attainder of her husband for treason, 
 by her own attainder for treason, or 
 felony, by divorce a vinculo matrimonii, 
 by elopement from her husband and 
 living with her adulterer, by detaining 
 the title-deeds from the heir at law, until 
 she restores them, by alienation of the 
 lands assigned her for a greater estate 
 than she has in them ; and she might 
 also be barred of her dower by levying a 
 fine, or suffering a recovery during her 
 marriage, while those assurances existed. 
 But the most usual means of barring 
 
DRAWBACK. 
 
 781 ] 
 
 DRAWBACK. 
 
 dower are by jointures, made under the 
 provisions of the 27 Hen. VIII. c. 10 ; 
 and by the act of the husband. Before 
 the stat. 3 & 4 Will. IV. c. 105, a fine 
 or recovery by the husband and wife upas 
 the only mode by which a right to dower 
 which had already attached could be 
 barred, though, by means of a simple 
 form of conveyance, a husband might 
 prevent the right to dower from arising 
 at all upon lands purchased by him. 
 By the above-mentioned statute, it is pro- 
 vided that no woman shall be entitled to 
 dower out of any lands absolutely dis- 
 posed of by her husband either in his 
 life or by will, and that his debts and 
 engagements shall be valid and effectual 
 as against the right of the widow to 
 dower. And farther, any declaration 
 by the husband, either by deed or will, 
 that the dower of his wife shall be sub- 
 jected to any restrictions, or that she 
 shall not have any dower, shall be ef- 
 fectual. It is also provided that a simple 
 devise of real estate to the wife by the 
 nusband shall, unless a contrary intention 
 be expressed, operate in bar of her dower. 
 This statute, however, affects only mar- 
 riages contracted, and only deeds, &c, 
 subsequent to the 1st of January, 1834. 
 
 Most of these alterations, as indeed 
 may be said of many others which have 
 recently been made in the English real 
 property law, have for some years been 
 established in the United States of Ame- 
 rica. An account of the various enact- 
 ments and provisions in force in the 
 different States respecting dow«r may be 
 found in 4 Kent" s Commentaries, p. 34-72. 
 (Blackstone, Comm. ; Park On .Dower.) 
 
 DKAMATIC LITERARY PRO- 
 PERTY. [COPYRIGHT.] 
 
 DRAWBACK is a term used to signify 
 the sum paid back on the re-exportation 
 of goods, upon the importation of which 
 an equal sum has already been paid as 
 duty. A drawback is also allowed on the 
 exportation of articles which are subject 
 to excise duties. The object of this 
 repayment is to enable the exporter 
 to sell his goods in foreign markets 
 imburthened with duties ; and it is clear 
 that if duties are required to be paid 
 on the first importation, no transit 
 trade can possibly be carried en unless 
 
 drawback is allowed by the government. 
 Payments of this nature are in principle 
 essentially different from bounties, which 
 enable the exporter to sell his goods at 
 less than they cost ; but a drawback does 
 not interfere with the natural cost 
 [Bounty.] Previous to the establishing 
 of the warehousing system in this country 
 in 1803, and when the payment of duties 
 on all foreign and colonial merchandise, 
 with the exception of tobacco and East 
 India goods, was required on the first 
 importation, drawbacks were in all cases 
 allowed upon re-exportation. This course 
 was injurious to trade, because of the 
 larger capital which was necessarily em- 
 ployed, and it was prejudicial to the 
 revenue because it gave rise to numerous 
 and ingenious fraudulent expedients, by 
 means of which greater sums were re- 
 ceived for drawback than had been ori- 
 ginally paid by the importers ; besides 
 which, the machinery required for the 
 collection and repayment of duties was 
 more complicated and expensive than 
 would otherwise have been necessary. 
 The amount of customs' duty collected 
 in Great Britain before the passing of the 
 Warehousing Act in 1803 was usually 
 from twice to three times as great as the 
 sum paid into the exchequer, the greater 
 part of the receipts being absorbed by 
 drawbacks, bounties, and charges of man- 
 agement. 
 
 The only articles upon which drawback 
 was paid at our Custom-houses, and the 
 amount of repayment in 1844, were as 
 follows : — 
 
 
 £ 
 
 Coffee 
 
 146 
 
 Rice in the husk 
 
 3,937 
 
 Thrown silk 
 
 30 
 
 Sugar 
 
 892 
 
 Timber . 
 
 1,115 
 
 Tobacco and Snuff 
 
 20,058 
 
 Wine 
 
 65,489 
 
 Total . . 91,669 
 
 The drawback on timber is not indeed 
 a payment made on its re-exportation, 
 but an allowance upon such quantities as 
 are used in the mines. The quantities of 
 thrown silk, sugar, and tobacco entitled 
 to drawback had already paid duty pre- 
 vious to their undergoing a manufacturing 
 
DUELLING. 
 
 [782 J 
 
 DUELLING. 
 
 process, and drawback on wine is only 
 paid when exported in bottles, for trans- 
 ferring it to which from the cask it was, 
 until lately, necessary to pay the duty. 
 >u 1830 the sum paid for various draw- 
 backs amounted to 3,300,000i. ; and in 
 1836 to 781,1542. The reduction has 
 been obtained by totally repealing many 
 duties, and by affording greater oppor- 
 tunity of exportation from the ware- 
 houses. 
 
 DRAWER. [Exchance, Bill of.] 
 
 DROITS OF ADMIRALTY are the 
 perquisites attached to the office of Admi- 
 ral of England (or Lord High Admiral). 
 Prince George of Denmark, the husband 
 of Queen Anne and Lord High Admiral, 
 resigned the right to these droits to the 
 Crown for a salary, as Lord High Ad- 
 miral, of 7000Z. a year. When the office 
 was vacant they belonged of right to the 
 Crown. Of these perquisites the most 
 valuable is the right to the property of an 
 enemy seized on the breaking out of hos- 
 tilities. Large sums were obtained by 
 the Crown on various occasions in the 
 course of the last war from the seizure of 
 the enemy's property, most of which how- 
 ever was eventually given up to the public 
 service. In the arrangement of the Civil 
 List, during the last two reigns, it was 
 settled that whatever Droits of Admiralty 
 accrued were to be paid into the Exche- 
 quer for the use of the public. The Lord 
 High Admiral's right to the tenth part of 
 the property captured on the seas has been 
 relinquished in favour of the captors. 
 
 DUCHIES OF CORNWALL AND 
 LANCASTER. [Civil, List, p. 515.] 
 
 DUELLING. The rise of the prac- 
 tice of duelling is to be referred to the 
 trial by battle which obtained in early 
 ages, jointly with the single combat or 
 tournament of the age of chivalry, which 
 again most probably owed its own exist- 
 ence to the early trial by battle. The 
 trial by battle, or duel (as it was also 
 called), was resorted to, in accordance 
 with the superstitious notions of the time, 
 as a sure means of determining the guilt 
 dr innocence of a person charged with a 
 trime, or of adjudicating a disputed right. 
 It was thought that God took care to see 
 that, in every case, innocence was vindi- 
 cated and justice observed. The trial by 
 
 battle was introduced into England by 
 William the Conqueror, and established 
 in three cases ; viz., in the court-martial 
 or court of chivalry, in appeals of felony, 
 and in civil cases upon issue joined in 
 a writ of right Once established as a 
 mode of trial, the duel was retained after 
 the superstition which had given rise to 
 it had died away, and was resorted to 
 for the purpose of wreaking vengeance, 
 or gaining reputation by the display of 
 courage. Then came the age of chivalry, 
 with its worship of punctilio and per- 
 sonal prowess, its tilts and tournaments, 
 and the duel, originally a mode of trial 
 established by law, became in time (what 
 it now is) a practice dependent on fashion 
 or certain conventional rules of honour. 
 
 It is an instance of the length of time 
 for which abused and improper obsolete 
 laws are often allowed to encumber the 
 English statute-book, that the trial by 
 battle in appeals of felony and writs of 
 right was only abolished in 1818. An 
 appeal of felony had been brought in the 
 previous year, in a case of murder, and 
 the appellee had resorted to his right of 
 demanding wager of battle (Ashford v. 
 Thornton, 1 Barn, and Aid. 405). The 
 appeal was not proceeded with, to that 
 the barbarous encounter did not take 
 place. [AppeajlJ 
 
 The law of England makes no dis- 
 tinction between the killing of a man in 
 a duel and other species of murder : and 
 the seconds of both parties are also guilty 
 of murder. But the practice of duelling 
 is maintained by fashion against laws 
 human and divine ; and it may be well 
 to enter a little into the reasons of this 
 practice, without reference to its illegality, 
 or to its variance, which no one will dis- 
 pute, with Christianity. 
 
 The professed object of a duel is satit- 
 faction. The affronter professes to have 
 satisfied the man whom he has affronted, 
 and the challenger professes to have been 
 satisfied by the man whom he has chal- 
 lenged, after they have fired, or have had 
 an opportunity of firing, pistols at one 
 another. That this satisfaction is of the 
 nature of reparation, is of course out of 
 the question. Satisfaction in this its most 
 obvious sense, or reparation for an injury, 
 cannot be effected by the injured man 
 
DUELLING. 
 
 [ 783 ] 
 
 DUELLING. 
 
 firing at his injurer, and being ared at in 
 return. 
 
 The satisfaction famished by a duel is 
 of a different sort, and of a sort which, 
 were it distinctly comprehended, would 
 at once show the absurdity of the prac- 
 tice ; it is a satisfaction occasioned by the 
 knowledge that, by standing fire, the 
 challenger has shown his courage, and 
 that the world cannot call him coward. 
 Now it is clear that there would be no 
 reason for dissatisfaction on this point, 
 previous to the fighting of the duel, and 
 therefore no reason for seeking satisfac- 
 tion of this sort, were it not that the prac- 
 tice of duelling existed. Were men not 
 in the habit of fighting duels, and there- 
 fore not expected to expose themselves to 
 fire after having received an affront, there 
 would be no ground for calling their cou- 
 rage into question, and therefore no ne- 
 cessity for satisfying themselves that the 
 world thinks them courageous. The 
 practice of duelling thus causes the evil 
 which it is called in to remedy, — the in- 
 jury for which it is required to administer 
 satisfaction. And every one who saw 
 this would immediately see the absurdity 
 of the practice. But the word satisfac- 
 tion is conveniently ambiguous. When 
 one speaks of it, or hears it spoken of, one 
 thinks of that satisfaction which means 
 reparation for an injury, and which is not 
 the satisfaction furnished by the duel. 
 Thus are men the dupes of words. 
 
 The real object then of the duel is, in 
 most cases, to satisfy the person who pro- 
 vokes it, or who sends the challenge, that 
 the world does not suspect him of a want 
 of courage : and it will be useful to ob- 
 serve, in passing, that the duel furnishes 
 this sort of satisfaction as well to the man 
 who gave the affront, as to him who was 
 affronted. Its object also, in certain 
 cases, is doubtless to gratify the ven- 
 geance of the man who has received an 
 affront. But in all cases the object which 
 is professed, or generally understood to 
 be professed, of satisfaction in the sense 
 of reparation for the affront, is no more 
 than a pretence. 
 
 But though the practice of duelling 
 cannot effect the good of repairing an 
 injury, it may very possibly effect other 
 sorts of good. The advantage of the 
 
 practice of duelling is generally said to 
 consist in its tendency to increase courtesy 
 and refinement of manners ; as it will be 
 a reason for a man to abstain from giving 
 an affront, that he will be subjected in 
 consequence to the fire of a pistol. 
 
 Now it is clear, in the first place, that 
 all the affronts which are constituted rea- 
 sons or grounds of duels by fashion, or 
 the law of honour or public opinion, are 
 so constituted because they are judged by 
 public opinion deserving of disapproba- 
 tion. If then the practice of duelling did 
 not exist, public opinion, which now con- 
 stitutes these affronts grounds of a duel, as 
 being deserving of disapprobation, would 
 still condemn them, and, condemning 
 them, provide men with a reason to ab- 
 stain from them. Thus there would still 
 exist a reason to abstain, in all cases in 
 which the practice of duelling now pro- 
 vides a reason. But, in the second place, 
 the practice of duelling itself depends on 
 public opinion alone. A man fights be- 
 cause public opinion judges that he who 
 in certain cases refuses to challenge or to 
 accept a challenge is deserving of disap- 
 probation : he fights from fear of public 
 opinion. If he abstain from giving an 
 affront on account of the existence of 
 the practice of duelling, it is because the 
 fear of public opinion would oblige him 
 to fight; he abstains then from fear of 
 public opinion. Now we have seen that 
 there would be the fear of public opinion 
 to deter him from the affronts which now 
 lead to duels, if the practice of duelling 
 did not exist. Thus the practice of duel- 
 ling does not in any case provide a reason 
 to abstain, which public opinion would 
 not provide without ifs aid. As a means 
 then of increasing courtesy and "refine- 
 ment of manners, the practice of duelling 
 is unnecessary ; and inasmuch as its ten- 
 dency to polish manners is the only ad- 
 vantage which can, with any show of pro- 
 bability, be ascribed to it, there will be 
 no good effects whatever to set against 
 the evil effects which we now proceed to 
 enumerate. There will be no difficulty 
 in striking the balance between good and 
 evil. 
 
 First, the practice of duelling is disad- 
 vantageous, inasmuch as it often dimi- 
 nishes the motives to abstain from an af- 
 
DUELLING. 
 
 [ 784] 
 
 DUELLING. 
 
 front. We have seen that the existence 
 of this practice leads public opinion to 
 employ itself concerning the courage of 
 the two persons, who (the one having 
 affronted and the other having been 
 affronted) are in a situation in which, 
 according to custom or fashion, a duel 
 takes place. Public opinion then is di- 
 verted by the practice of duelling from 
 the affront to the extraneous considera- 
 tion of the courage of the two parties. 
 It censures the man who has given the 
 affront only if he shrinks from a duel ; 
 and even goes so far as to censure the 
 man who has received the affront for the 
 same reason. Thus in a case where a 
 man, reckless of exposing his life, is dis- 
 posed to give affronts, he is certain that 
 he can avert censure for an affront by 
 being ready to fight a duel ; and in a case 
 where a bold or reckless man is disposed 
 to affront one who is timid, or a man ex- 
 pert with the pistol one who is a bad shot, 
 he can reckon on the man whom he 
 affronts refusing to fight, and on censure 
 being thus diverted from himself who has 
 given an affront to him who has shown 
 want of courage. It is well observed in 
 a very ingenious article on this subject 
 in the 'Westminster Eeview:' — " It is 
 difficult to conceive how the character of 
 a bully, in all its shades and degrees, 
 would be an object of ambition to any 
 one, in a country where the law is too 
 strong to suffer actual assaults to be com- 
 mitted with impunity, where public opi- 
 nion is powerful, and duelling not per- 
 mitted; but where duelling is in full 
 vigour, it is very easy to understand that 
 the bully may not only enjoy the delight 
 of vulgar applause, but the advantages of 
 real power" (vol. iv. p. 28). 
 
 Secondly, the practice of duelling is 
 disadvantageous, as increasing the amount 
 of injury which one man can do to ano- 
 ther by an affront. 
 
 Thirdly, the practice of duelling affords 
 means for the gratification of vengeance ; 
 and thus tends to hurt the characters of 
 individuals, by the encouragement both 
 of that feeling, and of hypocrisy in those 
 "who, thirsting for vengeance, and daring 
 not to own it, profess (in the common 
 ambiguous phrase) to be seeking for 
 satisfaction. 
 
 Fourthly (which is the most important 
 consideration), there are the evils entailed 
 by the deaths which the practice of duel- 
 ling brings about — evils entailed both on 
 the persons dying, and on their surviving 
 relatives and friends. It is an evil that a 
 man should be cut off from life, "un- 
 houseled, unappointed, unaneled." It is 
 an evil that he should be taken from rela- 
 tives and friends to whom his life is, in 
 different ways and degrees, a source of 
 happiness ; from parents who have cen- 
 tred in him their hopes, and to whom, in 
 their declining years, he might be a com- 
 fort, or from a wife and children who look 
 to him for support. 
 
 Such are the evil effects of the practice 
 of duelling; and there being no list of 
 good effects to set against them, it follows 
 immediately that the tendency of the 
 practice is, on the whole, evil. There 
 arises, then, the question, how is it to be 
 got rid of ? 
 
 A mild and judicious legislation — one 
 which takes into account, and does not set 
 itself violently against, public opinion, 
 may do much. The punishment assigned 
 to the crime of duelling should be popular. 
 It should be a punishment which does not 
 tend to excite sympathy for the criminal, 
 and thus defeat its own object ; for where 
 an opinion prevails that a punishment is 
 too severe, witnesses, jurors, judges are 
 provided by the punishment itself with 
 motives to shield the criminal. It is clear 
 that the punishment of death, which the 
 law of England now assigns, is not popu- 
 lar ; and it is clear further that, in conse- 
 quence of this, it is almost entirely nuga- 
 tory. Public opinion, which favours 
 duelling, sets itself against the punish- 
 ment of death, and renders legislation 
 vain. 
 
 Were a man who had killed his an- 
 tagonist in a duel compelled by the law to 
 support, or assist in supporting, some of 
 his surviving relatives, this, so far as it 
 would go, would be a punishment popular 
 and efficacious. Public opinion would 
 then infallibly be against the man who, 
 having incurred the penalty, should en- 
 deavour to avoid it. And such a punish- 
 ment as this would furthermore be supe- 
 rior to the punishment of death, as being 
 susceptible of graduation.— as furnishing 
 
DUELLING. 
 
 [ 785 j 
 
 DUELLING. 
 
 reparation to a portion of those who have 
 been most injured, and as preserving the 
 offender, that he may have all those op- 
 portunities, -which his natural life will 
 afford him, of improving himself and of 
 benefiting others. 
 
 A mild and judicious legislation would 
 tend to guide and improve public opinion ; 
 whereas such a legislation as the present 
 tends only to confirm it in its evil * ays. 
 
 And as legislation may and should 
 assist the formation of a right public 
 opinion, so is it possible and desirable to 
 operate independently on public opinion, 
 either that the absence of good legislation 
 may, as far as is possible, be compensated 
 for, or that good legislation may be 
 assisted. This operation on public opinion 
 must be brought about by the endeavours 
 of individuals. It is the duty of each 
 man to oppose this practice to the utmost 
 extent of his power, both by precept and 
 example, — to abstain from challenging 
 when he has received an affront, and to 
 refuse a challenge when he is considered 
 to have given one, making public in both 
 cases, so far as his situation allows, his 
 reasons for the course which he takes, and 
 thus producing an impression against the 
 practice as widely as he can. In the 
 second of these two cases, he must either 
 be able to defend, or he must apologize 
 for, that which was considered an affront. 
 If he can defend it, or show that the evil 
 to the person insulted was overbalanced 
 by the good accruing to others, he refuses 
 rightly to be fired at for having been the 
 author of a benefit ; or, if unable to de- 
 fend the affront, he apologizes for it, he 
 performs a manly and a rational part in 
 refusing to fire at a man whose feelings he 
 has wantonly injured. 
 
 This duty is peculiarly incumbent on 
 public men, whose sphere of influence is 
 larger, and whose means of producing 
 good effects by example are therefore 
 greater, than those of others. A public 
 man who should at all times refuse to 
 challenge or to accept a challenge, resting 
 his refusal on the ground of the evil ten- 
 dency of duelling, not of the infraction of 
 some other duty which an aocident has in 
 his case connected with it (as the violation 
 of an oath), and who should at the same 
 time preserve himself from suspicion or 
 
 reproach by circumspection in speech, by 
 a manly defence, where it is possible, 
 and, where it is not, by a manly apology, 
 would be a mighty aid for the extirpation 
 of this practice. 
 
 The following three new articles of 
 war were issued in the course of the year 
 (1844), with a view to the abatement of 
 duelling in the army : — 
 
 1. Every officer who shall give or send 
 a challenge, or who shall accept any 
 challenge to fight a duel with another 
 officer, or who, being privy to an intention 
 to fight a duel, shall not take active mea- 
 sures to prevent such duel, or who shall 
 upbraid another for refusing or for not 
 giving a challenge, or who shall reject, 
 or advise the rejection, of a reasonable 
 proposition made for the honourable ad- 
 justment of a difference, shall be liable, if 
 convicted before a general court-martial, 
 to be cashiered, or suffer such other 
 punishment as the court may award. 
 
 2. In the event of an officer being 
 brought to a court-martial for having 
 acted as a second in a duel, if it shall 
 appear that such officer had strenuously 
 exerted himself to effect an adjustment of 
 the difference on terms consistent with the 
 honour of both parties, and shall have 
 failed through the unwillingness of the 
 adverse parties to accept terms of honour- 
 able accommodation, then our will and 
 pleasure is, that such officer shall suffer 
 such punishment as the court may award. 
 
 3. We hereby declare our approbation 
 of the conduct of all those who, having 
 had the misfortune of giving offence to, 
 or injured or insulted others, shall frankly 
 explain, apologize, or offer redress for the 
 same ; or who, having had the misfortune 
 of receiving offence, injury, or insult from 
 another, shall cordially accept frank ex- 
 planations, apology, or redress for the 
 same ; or who, if such explanations, apo- 
 logy, or redress are refused to be made or 
 accepted, shall submit the matter to be 
 dealt with by the commanding officer of 
 the regiment or detachment, fort or garri- 
 son ; and we accordingly acquit of dis- 
 grace, or opinion of disadvantage, all 
 officers and soldiers who, being willing 
 to make or accept such redress, refuse to 
 accept challenges, as they will only have 
 acted as is suitable to the character of 
 
 3 s 
 
DUKE. 
 
 [ 786 ] 
 
 DUKE. 
 
 honourable men, and have done their 
 duty as good soldiers, who subject them- 
 selves to discipline. 
 
 DUKE, the title given to those who 
 are in the highest rank of nobility in 
 England. The order is not older in Eng- 
 land than the reign of king Edward III. 
 Previously to that reign those whom we 
 now call the nobility consisted of the ba- 
 rons, a few of whom were earls. Neither 
 baron nor earl was in those days, as now, 
 merely a title of honour ; the barons were 
 the great tenants in chief, and the earls 
 important officers. It does not appear 
 that in England there was ever any office 
 or particular trust united with the other 
 titles of nobility, viscount, marquis, and 
 duke. They seem to have been from the 
 beginning merely honorary distinctions. 
 They were introduced into England in 
 imitation of our neighbours on the Conti- 
 nent. Abroad however the titles of duke 
 and marquis had been used to designate 
 persons who had political power, and 
 even independent sovereignty. The czar 
 was duke of Russia or Muscovy. There 
 were the dukes of Saxony, Burgundy, 
 and Aquitaine : persons with whom the 
 earls of this country would have ranked, 
 had they been able to maintain as much 
 independence on the king as did the 
 dukes on the continent of the Germanic 
 or Gallic confederacy. 
 
 The English word duke is from the 
 French due, which originally was used 
 to signify " a man of the sword (a soldier) 
 and of merit, who led troops." The 
 remote origin is the Latin dux, a " guide," 
 or a "military commander." The word 
 is used by the Latin writers to signify 
 generally any one who has military com- 
 mand, but sometimes "dux," as an in- 
 ferior officer, is contrasted with " impera- 
 tor," commander in chief. Under the 
 Lower Empire, dux was the title of a 
 provincial general, who had a command 
 in the provinces. In the time of Con- 
 stantine there were thirty-five of these 
 military commanders stationed in differ- 
 ent parts of the empire, who were all 
 duces or dukes, because they had mili- 
 tary command. Ten of these dukes were 
 also honoured with the title of comtes 
 [CoontT or counts. (Gibbon, Decline 
 mi Fall, &c, cap. 17.) 
 
 The German word herzog, which cor- 
 responds to our duke, signifies " a leader 
 of an army." 
 
 The first person created a duke in Eng- 
 land was Edward, Prince of Wales, com- 
 monly called the Black Prince. He was 
 created duke of Cornwall in parliament, 
 in 1335, the eleventh year of king Ed- 
 ward III. In 1350, Henry, the king's 
 cousin, was created duke of Lancaster, 
 and when he died, in 1361, his daughter 
 and heir having married John of Gaunt, 
 the king's son, he was created duke of 
 Lancaster, his elder brother Lionel being 
 made at the same time duke of Clarence. 
 The two younger sons of king Edward 
 III. were not admitted to this high dig- 
 nity in the reign of their father : but in 
 the reign of Richard II. their nephew 
 Edmund was made duke of York and 
 Thomas duke of Gloucester. 
 
 The dignity was thus at the beginning 
 kept within the circle of those who were 
 by blood very nearly allied to the king, 
 and we know not whether the creation of 
 the great favourite of king Richard II., 
 Robert Vere, earl of Oxford, duke of Ire- 
 land, and marquis of Dublin, is to be re- 
 garded as an exception. Whether, pro- 
 perly speaking, an English dignity or an 
 Irish, it had but a short endurance, the 
 earl being so created in 1385 and attainted 
 in 1388. 
 
 The persons who were next admitted 
 to this high dignity were of the families 
 of Holland and Mowbray. The former 
 of these was half-brother to king Richard 
 II. ; and the latter was the heir of Mar- 
 garet, the daughter and heir of Thomas 
 de Brotherton, a younger son of king Ed- 
 ward I., which Margaret was created 
 duchess of Norfolk in 1358. This was 
 the beginning of the dignity of duke of 
 Norfolk, which still exists, though there 
 have been several forfeitures and tempo- 
 rary extinctions. Next to them, not to 
 mention sons or brothers of the reigning 
 king, the title was conferred on one of 
 the Beauforts, an illegitimate son of John 
 of Gaunt, who was created by king 
 Henry V. duke of Exeter. John Beau- 
 fort, another of this family, was made 
 duke of Somerset by king Henry VI. 
 
 In the reign of Henry VI. the title was 
 granted more widely. There were at 
 
DUKE. 
 
 [ 787 J 
 
 DUKE 
 
 one time ten duchesses in his court. The 
 families to whom the dignity was granted 
 in this reign were the Stafford's, Beau- 
 champs, and De la Poles. In 1470, under 
 the reign of Edward IV., George Nevil 
 was made duke of Bedford, but he was 
 soon deprived of the title, and Jasper 
 Tudor was made duke of Bedford by his 
 nephew king Henry VII. in the year of 
 his accession. 
 
 King Henry VIII. created only two 
 dukes, and both were persons nearly con- 
 nected 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 ex- 
 tinguished in 1572 ; and from that time 
 there was no duke in the English peer- 
 age except the sons of king James I., till 
 1623, when Dudovick Stuart, the king's 
 near relative, was made duke of Rich- 
 mond, 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 Albe- 
 marle. 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- 
 
 mouth. In 1664 he restored to the How- 
 ards the title of duke of Norfolk ; and in 
 1665 he created a Cavendish, who had 
 held a high military command in the 
 civil war, duke of Newcastle. In 1682 
 he created the marquis of Worcester 
 duke of Beaufort. As for the rest the 
 dignity was granted only to issue of the 
 king or to their mothers. The only duke 
 created by king James II. was the duke 
 of Berwick, his natural son. 
 
 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 Rich- 
 mond Charles granted letters patent which 
 entitled him to a tonnage duty on coal. 
 In 1799 this duty was commuted for an 
 annuity of 19,000/. a-year. The duke of 
 Grafton is still paid a pension of 58432. 
 a-year out of the Excise revenue, and 
 3407Z. 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, Rus- 
 sell duke of Bedford, Cavendish duke of 
 Devonshire, Holies 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 Mar- 
 shal Schomberg, who was made an Eng- 
 lish peer as duke of Schomberg. This 
 great accession gave an entirely new cha- 
 racter 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 New- 
 castle, Bentinck duke of Portland, Whar- 
 ton duke of Wharton, Brydges duke of 
 Chandos, Campbell didce 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 uddi- 
 3e2 
 
EARL. 
 
 f 788 | 
 
 EARL. 
 
 lion 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 Clin- 
 tons, by whom the dukedom is now pos- 
 sessed. From 1720 to 176G there was 
 no creation of an English duke except in 
 the royal house. In that year the repre- 
 sentative 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 Bru- 
 denels, 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 Wel- 
 lington 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 Nor- 
 thumberland. The marquis of Buck- 
 ingham 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. 
 
 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- 
 lish peerage is at present twenty, exclu- 
 sive of the blood royal. There are seven 
 Scottish dukes (Argyll, Atholl, Buccleuch, 
 Hamilton, Lennox, Montrose, and Rox- 
 burghe), 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. [Rioht.] 
 
 E. 
 
 EARL. The title of count, or earl, in 
 Latin comes, is the most ancient and 
 widely spread of the subordinate or sub- 
 ject titles. This dignity exists under 
 various names in almost every country in 
 
 Europe. By the English it is called 
 earl, a name derived to us from the ealder- 
 man 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 grqf, under which title are in- 
 cluded several distinct degrees of rank — 
 landgraves or counts of provinces, pals- 
 graves, 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.] 
 
 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 jurisdic- 
 tion and seigniory. In short, a county 
 palatine was a perfect feudal kingdom in 
 itself, but held of a superior lord. The 
 counties of Chester, Pembroke, Hexham, 
 and Lancaster, and the bishopric of Dur- 
 ham, 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., surnamsd 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 justi- 
 ciaries, 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 oouuty. The third 
 
EARL MARSHAL OP ENGLAND . [ 789 J EARTHENWARE. 
 
 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 comitates. 
 
 Under the early Norman kings, all 
 earls, as well as barons, held their titles 
 by the tenure of their counties and ba- 
 ronies ; 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 soli- 
 tary exception of the earldom of Arundel, 
 earldoms by tenure have long since dis- 
 appeared, 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 con- 
 sequence 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 gird- 
 ing on the sword of the intended earl, 
 and placing his cap and coronet on his 
 bead 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 vis- 
 counts 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 Hbuse of 
 Lords by such title. So the eldest sons 
 of dukes are called earls where their 
 fathers have an earldom but no marquis- 
 ate, 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 mar- 
 shals 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 
 atria militaris, or court of chivalry, was 
 
 formerly under his jurisdiction, and lie 
 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 Mow- 
 bray, 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 ; Dal- 
 laway'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 im- 
 portant and most useful manufacture 
 (' Pottery, China, and Earthenware,') 
 was 24,774, of whom 17,442 were re- 
 turned for Staffordshire, which is the 
 great seat of the manufacture. The dis- 
 trict in this county known as ' The Pot- 
 teries' is about a mile from the borders 
 of Cheshire, and extends through a dis- 
 tance of more than seven miles, in which 
 there are towns and villages so dose 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 appli- 
 cable 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 pot- 
 tery ; 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 inti- 
 mately combines with and envelopes the 
 infusible part, producing a smooth, com- 
 pact, shining and semi-transparent sub- 
 stance 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- 
 
EASEMENT. 
 
 [ 790 } 
 
 EASEMENT 
 
 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 
 nome manufacture, generally speaking, 
 had not established its reputation. The 
 improvement of the earthenware manu- 
 facture originated with Mr. Wedgwood, 
 who carried it to great perfeotion. 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 manufac- 
 tures exported gradually rose from 
 461.090Z. in 1831 to 540,42lZ. in 1835. 
 The value of the exports to the United 
 States of North America in 1835 was 
 246,220Z. The number of pieces of 
 earthenware exported and the real value 
 of the same for the last four years were 
 as under : 
 
 Pieces. £. 
 
 1841 53,150,903 600,759 
 
 1842 52,937,454 555,430 
 
 1843 55,597,705 629,148 
 
 1844 .... 751,279 
 The countries to which the largest quan- 
 tities were exported in 1842 were as fol- 
 lows :— 
 
 £. 
 United States of North America 168,873 
 Brazil .... 38,976 
 
 British North America . . 35,152 
 Germany .... 34,445 
 East India Company's territo- 
 ries and Ceylon . . 28,891 
 British West Indies . . 26,155 
 Holland .... 24,645 
 Cuba and Foreign West Indies 18,024 
 Italy and Italian Islands . 17,201 
 Kio de la Plata . . . 15,946 
 
 Chili 14,414 
 
 Denmark .... 12,434 
 
 Peru 11,421 
 
 Sumatra, Java, and Indian Ar- 
 chipelago . . . . 11,198 
 The earthenware manufacture in France 
 is far inferior to that of England. (M'Gre- 
 goi^s Statistics.) In the United States 
 of North America, the number of pot- 
 teries in 1840 was 659 ; but no earthen- 
 ware is exported. 
 EASEMENT vfrom the French words 
 
 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 in- 
 accurately, 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 unex- 
 plained enjoyment of an easement formerly 
 constituted suflicient 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. 7 1, several important alterations have 
 been made with regard to this description 
 of property : forty years' enjoyment of 
 any way or other easement, or any water- 
 course, and twenty years' uninterrupted 
 " access and use of any light to and for 
 any dwelling-house," &c, now constitute 
 an indefeasible title in the occupier, unless 
 he enjoys " by some consent or agreement 
 expressly given or made for that purpose 
 by deed or writing." The same statute also 
 enacts that nonuser for the like number of 
 years (according to the description of the 
 particular right) shall preclude a litigat- 
 ing party from establishing his claim to it. 
 
 The easements of the English corre- 
 spond to the Servitutes of the Koman and 
 the Servitudes of the French law. ( Code 
 Civil, liv. ii. tit. 4, Des Servitudes ou 
 Services Fonciers.) 
 
 The Roman Servitutes comprehended 
 those rights which a man had in the pro- 
 perty of another, and in a corporeal thing. 
 The subject of easements forms a large 
 head in the Koman Law, which was so far 
 
EAST INDIA COMPANY. [ 791 ] EAST INDIA COMPANY. 
 
 elaborated as to form a basis on which mo- 
 dern decisions may repose. The title De 
 Servitutibus in the eighth book of the Di- 
 gest contains the chief rules of Roman law 
 on this subject, which have been discussed 
 by various modern writers, as Miihlen- 
 brach, Doctrina Pandectarum, p. 268, 
 &c. ; Savigny, Das Secht des Besitzes, 
 p. 525, 5th ed. ; Dirksen, Zeitschrift fur 
 Geschichtliche Hechtswissenschaft, vol. 
 ii. ; Puchta, Cursus der Institutionen, ii. 
 739 &c 
 
 EASTER OFFERING. [Offer- 
 ings.] 
 
 EAST INDIA COMPANY. This 
 association originated from the subscrip- 
 tions, trifling in amount, of a few private 
 individuals. It gradually became a com- 
 mercial body with gigantic means, and 
 next, by the force of unforeseen circum- 
 stances, assumed the form of a sovereign 
 power, while those by whom it was di- 
 rected continued in their individual ca- 
 pacities 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 Lon- 
 don in 1599, when its capital, amounting 
 to 30,000Z., was divided into 101 shares. 
 In 1600 the adventurers obtained a char- 
 ter 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 car- 
 goes 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 re- 
 quired to complete the lading of the 
 ships, and received back the amount, to- 
 gether with their share of the profits, at 
 the termination of every voyage. 
 
 The charter of the Company was re- 
 newed for an indefinite period in 1609, 
 subject to dissolution on the part of the 
 government upon giving three years' no- 
 tice to that effect. 
 
 In 1611 the Company obtained permis- 
 sion from the Mogul to establish factories 
 at Surat, Ahmedabad, Cambaya, and 
 Goga, in consideration of which per- 
 mission 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 
 420,000/., and in 1617-18 a new fund of 
 1,600,0002. 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 fir«* 
 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 
 420,700/., 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 un- 
 certain whether the capitals here severally 
 mentioned were considered as permanent 
 investments, or were returned to the sub- 
 scribers at the termination of each dif- 
 ferent 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, notwithstand- 
 ing 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 
 
EAST INDIA COMPANY. [ 792 ] EAST INDIA COMPANY. 
 
 bodies united in 1650, and thenceforward 
 carried on their operations under the 
 title of " The United Joint-Stock." 
 
 In 1652 the Company obtained from the 
 Mogul, through the influence of a medical 
 gentleman, Mr. Boughton, who had per- 
 formed some cures at the Imperial Court, 
 the grant of a licence for carrying on an 
 unlimited trade throughout the province 
 of Bengal without payment of duties. 
 
 Some proprietors of the Company's 
 stock, becoming dissatisfied with the ma- 
 nagement of the directors, obtained from 
 Cromwell, in 1655, permission to send 
 trading vessels to India, and nominated 
 a committee of management from their 
 own body, for which they assumed the 
 title of "The Merchant Adventurers." 
 The evils to both parties of this rivalship 
 soon became apparent, and in about two 
 years from the commencement of their 
 operations the Merchant Adventurers 
 threw their separate funds into the gene- 
 ral stock under the management of the 
 directors. On this occasion a new sub- 
 scription was raised to the amount of 
 786,000/. In April, 1661, a new charter 
 was granted to the Company, in which all 
 its former privileges were confirmed, and 
 the further authority was given to make 
 peace or war with or against any princes 
 and people " not being Christians ;" and 
 to seize all unlicensed persons (Euro- 
 peans) who should be found within the 
 limits to which its trade extended, and 
 to send them to England. 
 
 The first factory of the English was at 
 Bantam, in Java, established in 1602. 
 In 1612 the Mogul granted certain pri- 
 vileges at Surat, which was for a long time 
 the centre of the English trade. In 1639 
 permission was obtained to erect a fortress 
 at Madras. In 1652 the first footing was 
 obtained in Bengal through the influence 
 of Mr. Boughton, as already mentioned. 
 In 1868 the Company obtained a further 
 settlement on the western coast of the 
 peninsula by the cession in its favour of 
 the island of Bombay, made by Charles 
 II., into whose hands it had come as part 
 of the marriage portion of the Princess 
 Catherine of Portugal. At the same 
 time the Company was authorized to 
 exercise all the powers necessary for the 
 defence and government of the island. 
 
 At the close of the seventeenth century 
 the three presidencies, Bengal, Madras, 
 and Bombay, were distinguished as they 
 still are, but it was not until 1773 that 
 Bengal became the seat of the supreme 
 government. 
 
 The first occasion on which the Compa- 
 ny was brought into hostile collision with 
 any of the native powers of India occurred 
 in the beginning of 1 664, when Sevajee, the 
 founder of the Maharatta States, found oc- 
 casion, in the prosecution of his plans, to 
 attack the city of Surat. On this occasion 
 the native inhabitants fled ; but the mem- 
 bers of the British factory, aided by the 
 crews of the ships in the harbour, made a 
 successful resistance, and forced Sevajee 
 to retire. To show his satisfaction at 
 the conduct of the Europeans upon this 
 occasion, the Mogul accompanied the ex- 
 pression of his thanks with an extension 
 of the trading privileges enjoyed by the 
 Company. Another attack made upon 
 Surat by the Maharattas in 1670 was re- 
 pelled with equal success. 
 
 The right given to the Company by the 
 charter of 1 66 1 of seizing unlicensed per- 
 sons within the limits above mentioned, 
 and sending them to England, was exer- 
 cised in a manner which, in 1666, pro- 
 duced a very serious dispute between the 
 two houses of parliament. 
 
 For several years following the junc- 
 tion with the Merchant Adventurers about 
 1657, the trade of the Company was car- 
 ried on without any serious rivalry, and 
 with considerable success. Sir Joshua 
 Child, who was one of the directors of 
 the Company, in his ' Discourses on 
 Trade,' published in 1667, represents that 
 trade as the most beneficial branch of 
 English commerce, employing from 
 twenty-five to thirty sail of the finest 
 merchant ships in the kingdom, each 
 manned with from sixty to one hundred 
 seamen. 
 
 In 1677-78 the whole adventure of 
 the Company to India was 7 ships, with 
 an investment of 352,000/. In 1678- 
 
 79 the number of ships was 8, and the 
 amount employed 393,950Z. In 1679- 
 
 80 there were despatched 10 ships with 
 cargoes valued at 461, 7001. In 1680-81, 
 1 1 ships, with the value of 596,00 0/. ; and 
 in 1681-82 there were 1 7 ships employed. 
 
EAST INDIA COMPANY. [ 793 ] EAST INDIA COMPANY. 
 
 and the investment amounted to 740,000/. 
 
 In 1682-83 a project was set on foot 
 for establishing a rival company, but it 
 failed to obtain the sanction of the go- 
 vernment. As one means for discouraging 
 similar attempts in future, the Company 
 ceased to give any detailed statements 
 concerning the amount of the trade. This 
 caused the public to entertain an exag- 
 gerated opinion concerning it, and 
 tempted many private adventurers to set 
 the regulations of the Company at de- 
 fiance. These interlopers, as they were 
 called, were seized by the Company's 
 officers wherever they could be found, 
 and under the pretext of piracy or some 
 other crimes, they were taken before the 
 Company's tribunals. Sentence of death 
 was passed upon several, and the Com- 
 pany boasted much of the clemency that 
 was shown in staying execution until the 
 king's pleasure could be known ; but they 
 kept the parties meanwhile in close con- 
 finement. 
 
 A new charter, to have effect for twenty- 
 one years, was granted in 1 693, in which 
 it was stipulated that the joint-stock of 
 the Company, then 756,000/., should be 
 raised to 1,500,000/., and that every 
 year the corporation should export British 
 produce and manufactures to the value of 
 100,000/. at least. The power of the 
 crown to grant the exclusive privileges 
 given by this charter was questioned by 
 the House of Commons, which passed a 
 declaratory resolution to the effect " that 
 it is the right of all Englishmen to trade 
 to the East Indies, or any part of the 
 world, unless prohibited by act of par- 
 liament." The House of Commons di- 
 rected an inquiry to be made into the 
 circumstances attending the renewal of 
 the charter in 1693, when it was ascer- 
 tained that it had been procured by a 
 distribution of 90,000/. amongst some of 
 the highest officers of state. The duke 
 of Leeds, who was charged with receiving 
 5000/., was impeached by the Commons ; 
 and it is said that the prorogation of par- 
 liament, which occurred immediately 
 afterwards, was caused by the tracing of 
 the sum of 10,000/. to a much higher 
 quarter. 
 
 The resolution of the House of Com- 
 mons just recited, acted as an encourage- 
 
 ment to new adventurers, many of whom, 
 acting individually, began to trade with 
 India ; but a still more formidable rival 
 arose in a powerful association of mer- 
 chants, whose means enabled them to out- 
 bid the old Company for the favour of 
 the government. The old Company, 
 which had now been in existence nearly 
 a century, was dissolved, and three years 
 were allowed for winding up its business. 
 In 1700 the old Company obtained an 
 act which authorized them to trade under 
 the charter of the new Company, of which 
 privilege it availed itself to the amount 
 of 315,000/. The existence of two trad- 
 ing bodies led to disputes which bene- 
 fited neither. In 1702 an act was passed 
 for uniting them, and seven years were 
 allowed for making preparatory arrange- 
 ments for their complete union. Before 
 the expiration of these seven years vari- 
 ous differences which had arisen between 
 the two bodies were settled by reference 
 to Lord Godolphin, then Lord High Trea- 
 surer, whose award was made the basis of 
 the act 6 Anne, c. 17, which was the 
 foundation of the privileges long enjoyed 
 by the Company. The united bodies 
 were entitled " The United Company of 
 Merchants of England trading to the 
 East Indies;" a title which was continued 
 until 1834. 
 
 The capital stock of the Company, 
 which in 1708 amounted to 3.200,000/., 
 was increased, under successive acts of par- 
 liament, as follows: — in 178C, 800,000/.; 
 1789, 1,000,000/. ; 1794, 1,000,000/. ; mak- 
 ing its total capital 6,000,000/. ; and upon 
 this sum dividends are now paid : the 
 later subscriptions were made at rates 
 considerably above par, so that the money 
 actually paid into the Company's trea- 
 sury has been 7,780,000/. 
 
 The home government of the Company 
 consists of — 1st. The Court of Proprie- 
 tors ; 2nd. The Court of Directors ; and 
 3rd. The Board of Control, the origin and 
 functions of which body will be hereafter 
 explained. 
 
 The Court of Proprietors elect the di- 
 rectors of the Company, declare the 
 amount of dividend, and make bye-laws^ 
 which are binding upon the directors for 
 the management of the Company in all 
 respects which are not especially regit- 
 
EAST INDIA COMPANY. [ 794 ] EAST INDIA COMPANY. 
 
 lated by act of Parliament Tne votes of 
 the proprietors are given according to 
 the amount of stock which they possess. 
 The lowest sum which entitles a proprie- 
 tor to vote is 1000Z. of stock; 3000/. stock 
 entitles to two votes; 60001. to three 
 votes ; and 10,000Z. to four votes, which 
 is the largest number of votes that can be 
 given by any one proprietor. In 1825 
 the number of proprietors entitled to vote 
 was 2003 ; in 1833 the number was 1976 ; 
 and in 1843 there were 1880; of whom 
 44 were entitled each to four votes, 64 
 had each three, 333 had two votes, and 
 1439 had single votes. In 1773, when 
 all owners of stock amounting to 500Z. 
 had each one vote, and none had a plura- 
 lity, the number of proprietors was 2153. 
 
 The Court of Directors consists of 24 
 proprietors elected out of the general 
 body. The qualification for a seat in the 
 direction is the possession of 2000Z. stock. 
 Six of the directors go out of office every 
 year ; they retire in rotation, so that the 
 term of office for each is four years from 
 the time of election. The directors who 
 vacate their seats may be re-elected, and 
 generally are so, after being out of office 
 for one year. The chairman and deputy 
 chairman are elected from among their 
 own body by the directors, thirteen of 
 whom must be present to form a court. 
 
 The power of the directors is great: 
 they appoint the governor-general of 
 India and the governors of the several 
 presidencies; but as these appointments 
 are all subject to the approval of the 
 crown, they may be said to rest virtually 
 with the government. The directors 
 have the absolute and uncontrolled power 
 of recalling any of these functionaries; 
 and in 1844 they exercised this power 
 by recalling Lord Ellenborough, the go- 
 vernor-general. All subordinate appoint- 
 ments are made by the directors, but, as a 
 matter of courtesy, a certain portion of 
 this patronage is placed at the disposal of 
 the President of the Board of Control. 
 
 The Board of Control was established 
 by the act of parliament passed in Au- 
 gust, 1 784, and which is known as Mr. 
 Pitt's India Bill. This board was ori- 
 ginally composed of six privy councillors, 
 nominated by the king ; and besides these, 
 the chancellor of the exchequer and the 
 
 principal secretaries of state are, by virtue 
 of their office, members of the board. 
 
 By an act passed in 1793 it is no 
 longer necessary to select the members 
 from among privy councillors. In prac- 
 tice the senior member, or president, 
 ordinarily conducts the business, and on 
 rare occasions only calls upon his col- 
 leagues for assistance. It is the duty of 
 this board to superintend the territorial 
 or political concerns of the Company ; to 
 inspect all letters passing to and from 
 India between the directors and their 
 servants or agents which have any con- 
 nexion with territorial management or 
 political relations ; to alter or amend, or 
 to keep back, the despatches prepared by 
 the directors, and, la urgent cases, to 
 transmit orders to the functionaries in 
 India without the concurrence of the di- 
 rectors. In all cases where the proceed- 
 ings of the directors have the concur- 
 rence of the Board of Control, the court 
 of proprietors has no longer the right of 
 interference. The salaries of the presi- 
 dent and other officers of the Board, as 
 well as the general expenses of the esta- 
 blishment, are defrayed by the East India 
 Company. 
 
 The act 6 Anne, c. 17, already men- 
 tioned, conferred upon the Company the 
 exclusive privilege, as regarded English 
 subjects, of trading to all places eastward 
 of the Cape of Good Hope to the Straits 
 of Magalhaens; and these privileges, 
 with some unimportant modifications, 
 which it is not necessary to explain, were 
 confirmed by successive acts of parliament, 
 and continued until 1814. By the act 
 53 Geo. III. c. 155, passed in 1813, the 
 Company's charter was renewed for 
 twenty years, but received some important 
 modifications, the trade to the whole of 
 the Company's territories and to India 
 generally being thrown open to British 
 subjects under certain regulations; the 
 trade between the United Kingdom and 
 China was still reserved as a monopoly in 
 the hands of the East India Company. It 
 was also provided by the act of 1813 that 
 the territorial and commercial accounts 
 of the Company should be kept and ar- 
 ranged so as to exhibit the receipts and 
 expenditure of each branch distinctly 
 from those of the other branch. 
 
EAST INDIA COMPANY. [ 795 ] EAST INDIA COMPANY. 
 
 The act of 1833, by which the charter 
 was renewed for twenty years, took away 
 from the Company the right of trading 
 either to its own territories or the domi- 
 nions of any native power in India or in 
 China, and threw the whole completely 
 open to the enterprise of individual mer- 
 chants. 
 
 The progress of the Company's trade 
 at different periods has not been regu- 
 larly published. The following particu- 
 lars, showing the annual average amount 
 of the Company's trade in the forty years 
 between 1732 and 1772, are from the 
 report of the selecj committee of 1773 : — 
 
 Exports of goods and bullion . £742,285 
 
 Bills of exchange paid . . 247,492 
 
 Total cost of goods received . 989,777 
 
 Amount of sales of goods . . 2,171,877 
 
 The average annual profit amounted, 
 from 1733 to 1742, to 116 per cent. ; in 
 the second ten years, to 90 per cent. ; in 
 the third, to 84 per cent. ; in the fourth, 
 to 132 per cent.; and embracing the 
 whole forty years, the gross profit amount- 
 ed to 119J per cent. It must be borne 
 in mind, however, that this was gross 
 profit, and that the expenses of carrying 
 on the trade according to the method em- 
 ployed of establishing factories were ne- 
 cessarily very great. In fact, they were 
 such as to absorb the profits and to bring 
 the Company considerably into debt : a 
 result which it would be more correct to 
 attribute to the political character of the 
 Company than to its necessary commercial 
 expenditure. In 1780 the entire value 
 of the export goods and bullion amounted 
 to only 401,166/., a large part of which 
 must have consisted of military stores and 
 supplies required by the Tarious factories 
 and establishments of the Company. In 
 1784 Mr. Pitt made a great reduction in 
 the duty on tea, and this gave a stimulus 
 to the exports ; but in each of the three 
 years which preceded the renewal of the 
 charter of 1793 they did not exceed one 
 million sterling. Under the provisions 
 of this new charter, the Company was 
 oound to provide 3000 tons of shipping 
 «very year for the accommodation of 
 private traders, and under this apparently 
 unimportant degree of competition the 
 trade of the Company increased rapidly 
 
 and greatly. During the last four years 
 of its existence, from 1810-11 to 1813-14, 
 the average annual exports of the Com- 
 pany to the three Presidencies, Batavia, 
 Prince of Wales's Island, St. Helena, and 
 Bencoolen, and to China, amounted to 
 2,145,365Z. Of this sum 102,585Z. con- 
 sisted of exports to China, and 397,481/. 
 of military and other stores. 
 
 On the occasion of the renewal of 
 its charter, viz. in 1813, the Company 
 was obliged to make a further ces- 
 sion of its exclusive privileges, and sti- 
 pulating only for the continuance of its 
 monopoly in the importation of tea into 
 this country, to allow the unrestricted in- 
 tercourse of British merchants with the 
 whole of its Indian possessions. Under 
 these circumstances the Company found 
 it impossible to enter into competition 
 with private traders, whose business was 
 conducted with greater vigilance and 
 economy than was possible on the part of 
 a great company j its exports of merchan- 
 dise to India fell off during the ten years 
 from 600,000/. in 1814-15, to 275,000/. in 
 1823-24, and to 73,000/. in the following 
 year, after which all such exportation of 
 merchandise to India on the part of the 
 Company may be said to have ceased. 
 The shipments to China were still con- 
 tinued, and large quantities of stores were 
 also sent to India for the supply of the 
 army and other public establishments. 
 
 In the twenty years from 1813 to 1833 
 the value of goods exported by the pri- 
 vate trade increased from about 1,000,000/. 
 sterling to 3,979,072/. in 1830, while the 
 Company's trade fell from 826,558Z. to 
 149,193/. The actual returns of the 
 trade at the commencement, middle, and 
 termination of the above twenty years, 
 were as follows : — 
 
 By the East By Private 
 
 India Company. Traders. 
 
 1814 . £826,558 . . £1,048,132 
 
 1815 . 996,248 . . 1,569,513 
 
 1822 . 606,089 . . 2,838,354 
 
 1823 . 458,550 . . 2,957,705 
 
 1831 . 146,480 . . 3,488,571 
 
 1832 . 149,193 . . 3,601,093 
 The impossibility, as thus shown, of the 
 
 Company's entering into competition with 
 private merchants had apowerful influence 
 with parliament w hen it was last called 
 
EAST INDIA COMPANY. [ 796 ] EAST INDIA COMPANY. 
 
 upon to legislate upon the affairs of India, 
 and in the charter of 1833 not only -was 
 the monopoly of the China trade abo- 
 lished, but the Company was restricted 
 from carrying on any commercial opera- 
 tions whatever upon its own account, and 
 was confined altogether to the territorial 
 and political management of the vast em- 
 pire which it has brought beneath its 
 sway. The title of the Company is now 
 simply "The East India Company." Their 
 warehouses and the greater part of the 
 property which was required for com- 
 mercial purposes were directed to be sold. 
 The real capital of the Company in 1832 
 was estimated at 21,000,0002. The 
 dividends guaranteed by the act which 
 abolished trading privileges is 630,0002., 
 being 10£ per cent, on a nominal capital 
 of 6,000,0002. The dividends are charge- 
 able on the revenues of India, and are 
 redeemable by parliament after 1874. 
 
 It would extend this notice to an un- 
 reasonable length if we attempted to trace 
 the successive wars and conquests which 
 mark the annals of the Company. All 
 that it appears requisite to give under 
 this head will be foimd in the following 
 chronological table of the acquisitions of 
 the British in India and other parts of 
 Asia. 
 
 Date. Districts. 
 
 1757 Twenty-four Pergunnahs 
 
 1759 Masulipatam, &c. 
 
 1760 Burdwan, Midnapore, and Chitta- 
 
 gong 
 
 1765 Bengal, Bahar, &c. 
 
 — Company's Jaghire, near Madras 
 
 1766 Northern Ci rears 
 
 1775 Zamiudary of Benares 
 
 1776 Island of Salsette 
 1778 Nagore 
 
 — Guntoor Circar 
 1786 Pulo Penang 
 
 1792 Malabar, Dundigul, Salem, Barra- 
 mahal, &c. 
 
 1799 Coimbatore, Canara, Wynaad,&c. 
 
 — Tanjore 
 
 1 800 Districts acquired by the Nizam in 
 
 1 792 & 1 799 from Sultan of Mysore 
 1802 The Carnatic 
 
 — Gorruclvpore, Lower Doab, Bareilly 
 
 — Districts in Bundeleund 
 .804 Cuttack and Balasore 
 
 — Upper part of Do.\b, Delhi, &c. 
 
 1805 Districts in Gujerat 
 
 1815 Kumaon and part of the Terraie 
 
 1817 Saugur and Hut tali Darwar, &c. 
 
 — Ahmedabad Farm 
 
 1818 Candeish 
 
 — Ajmeer 
 
 — Poonah.Concan, SouthernMaharatta 
 
 Country, &c. 
 1820 Lands in Southern Concan 
 1822 Districts in Bejapore and Ahmed- 
 nuggar 
 
 1824 Singapore 
 
 1825 Malacca 
 
 1826 Assam, Aracan, Tarvi, Tenasserim 
 1828 Districts on the Nerbudda, Patna. 
 
 Sumbhulpore, &c. 
 1832 Cachar 
 
 1834 Coorg, Loudhiana, &c 
 
 1835 Jynteeah 
 
 1839 Aden 
 
 1840 Kurnoul 
 1843 Scinde 
 1849 Punjaub. 
 
 It has always been felt to be highly 
 anomalous than an association of indivi- 
 duals, the subjects of a sovereign state, 
 should wage wars, make conquests, and 
 hold possession of territory in foreign 
 countries, independent of the government 
 to which they owe allegiance. At a very 
 early period of the Company's territorial 
 acquisitions, this feeling was acted upon 
 by parliament By the act 7 Geo. III. 
 c. 57 (1767), it was provided, that the 
 Company should be allcwed to retain 
 possession of the lands it had acquired in 
 India for two years, in consideration of 
 an annual payment to the country of 
 400,0002. This term was extended by 
 the 9 Geo. III. c. 24, to February, 1774. 
 The sums paid to the public under these 
 acts amounted to 2,169,398Z. The last 
 of these payments, which should have 
 been made in 1773, was not received un- 
 til 1775, and could not then have been 
 paid but for the receipt of 1,400,0002., 
 which was lent to the Company by par- 
 liament. This loan was afterwards dis- 
 charged, and the possession of its terri- 
 tory was from year to year continued to 
 the Company until 1781, and was then 
 further continued for a period to termi 
 nate upon three years' notice to be given 
 after 1st March, 1791. Under this act 
 the Company paid to the public 400,0002. 
 
EAST INDIA COMPANY. [ 797 J EAST INDIA COMPANY. 
 
 in satisfaction of all claims then due. In 
 1793 the same privileges were extended 
 until 1814, the Company engaging to pay 
 to the public the sum of 500,000/. an- 
 nually, unless prevented by war expendi- 
 ture ; but owing to the contests in which 
 it was engaged throughout that period, 
 two payments of 250, 000Z. each, made in 
 1793 and 1794, were all that the public 
 received under this agreement. 
 
 The act of 1813, by which the charter 
 was renewed for twenty years from 1814, 
 continued the Company in the possession 
 of its territory, without stipulating for any 
 immediate payment to the public. It 
 contained provisions which established 
 the right of parliament to assume posses- 
 sion of the Company's territories and of 
 the revenues derived from them. 
 
 Throughout the whole of the territo- 
 ries held in absolute sovereignty by the 
 East India Company, it exercises the 
 right of ownership in the soil, not by re- 
 taining actual possession in its own hands, 
 but by levying assessments. 
 
 The executive government of the Com- 
 pany's territories is administered at each 
 of the presidencies by a governor and 
 three councillors. The governor of Ben- 
 gal is also the governor-general of India, 
 and has a control over the governors of 
 the other presidencies, and if he sees fit 
 to proceed to either of those presidencies, 
 he there assumes the chief authority. 
 The governors and their councils have 
 each in their district the power of making 
 and enforcing laws, subject in some cases 
 to the concurrence of the supreme court 
 of judicature, and in all cases to the ap- 
 proval of the court of directors and the 
 board of control. Two concurrent sys- 
 tems of judicature exist in India, viz., 
 the Company's courts, and the king's 
 or supreme courts. In the Com- 
 pany's courts there is a mixture of 
 European and native judges. The ju- 
 risdiction of the king's courts extends 
 over Europeans generally throughout 
 India, and affects the native inhabitants 
 only in and within a certain distance 
 around the several presidencies : it is in 
 these courts alone that trial by jury is es- 
 tablished. Every regulation made by 
 the local governments affecting the 
 rights of individuals must be registered 
 
 by the king's court in order to give it 
 validity. 
 
 The constitution, in other respects, of 
 the East India Company is shown by the 
 following brief analysis of the principal 
 clauses of the act 3 & 4 Will. IV., c. 85, 
 which received the royal assent, 28th 
 August, 1833, and under which its con- 
 cerns are at present administered : — 
 
 The government of the British territo- 
 ries in India is continued in the hands of 
 the Company until April, 1854. The 
 real and personal property of the Com- 
 pany to be held in trust for the crown, for 
 the service of India. (§ 1.) 
 
 The privileges and powers granted in 
 1813, and all other enactments concern- 
 ing the Company not repugnant to this 
 new act, are to continue in force until 
 April, 1854. (§2.) 
 
 From 22nd April, 1834, the China 
 and tea trade of the Company to cease. 
 (§3.) 
 
 The company to close its commercial 
 concerns and to sell all its property not re- 
 quired for purposes of government. (§4.) 
 
 The debts and liabilities of the Com- 
 pany are charged on the revenues of 
 India. (§ 9.) 
 
 The governor-general in council is 
 empowered to legislate for India and for 
 all persons, whether British or native, 
 foreigners or others. (§ 43.) 
 
 If the laws thus made by the governor- 
 general are disallowed by the authorities 
 in England, they shall be annulled by the 
 governor-general. (§ 44.) 
 
 Any natural-born subject of England 
 may proceed by sea to any part or place 
 within the limit of the Company's charter 
 having a custom-house establishment, 
 and may reside thereat, or pass through 
 to other parts of the Company's territo- 
 ries to reside thereat. (§ 81.) 
 
 Lands within the Company's territories 
 may be purchased and held by any per- 
 sons where they are resident. (§ 86.) 
 
 No native nor any natural-born subject 
 of his majesty resident in India, shall, by 
 reason of his religion, place of birth, 
 descent, or colour, be disabled from hold- 
 ing any office or employment under the 
 government of the Company. (§87.) 
 
 Slavery to be immediately mitigated, 
 and abolished as soon as possible. (§ 88.) 
 
EAST INDIA COMPANY. [ 798 J EAST INDIA COMPANY. 
 
 Previously to the passing of this act, 
 the Company possessed the power of arbi- 
 trary deportation against Europeans with- 
 out trial or reason assigned, and British- 
 born subjects were not only restricted 
 from purchasing lands, but were prohi- 
 bited from even renting them. Under the 
 87th section, if fairly carried into execu- 
 tion, a greater inducement than had 
 hitherto been offered, is held out to the 
 natives of India to qualify themselves for 
 advancement in the social scale; a cir- 
 cumstance from which the best moral 
 effects upon their characters are expected 
 to result. 
 
 The revenue of the Indian government 
 is not confined to its collections from the 
 land, but consists likewise of customs' 
 duties, stamp-duties, subsidies, and tribute 
 from certain native states, some local 
 taxes, and the profits arising from the 
 monopolies of salt and opium. The fol- 
 lowing is an abstract of the principal 
 revenues and charges of the Indian go- 
 vernment for 1839-40 : 
 
 £. 
 Gross Revenue . . 17,577,244 
 
 Charges of Collection . 2,238,507 
 
 Net Revenue . . . 15,338,737 
 Indian Debt . . . 30,703,778 
 Interest on Debt . . 1,447,453 
 Other Principal Charges : — 
 Army- .... 7,932,268 
 Civil and Political Establish- ) „„,„„„_ 
 ments . . . . J 2,018,205 
 Judicial Establishment . 1,428,777 
 Provincial Police . . 283,440 
 
 Total Charges, exclusive of 
 Interest on Debt and Al- 
 lowances, paid underTrea- 
 ties 11,663,638 
 
 Allowances and Assignments 
 payable out of the Reve- 
 nues in accordance with 
 Treaties or other Engage- 
 ments .... 1,596,377 
 
 Principal Charges defrayed in England 
 in 1841-42. 
 
 £. 
 Dividends to Proprietors of 
 
 India Stock . . . 632,545 
 
 Interest on Home Bond Debt 61,373 
 
 Furlough and Retired Pay 
 to Officers . . . 535,608 
 
 Payments on account of Her 
 
 Majesty's Troops in India 400,000 
 Retiring Pay to ditto . 60,000 
 
 Total Charges defrayed in 
 
 England . . . 2,848,618 
 
 In 1830, the total number of the mili- 
 tary force employed at the three presi- 
 dencies and subordinate settlements in 
 India amounted to 224,444 men, and its 
 expense to 9,474,481/. ; but in several 
 years subsequently a larger force has 
 been employed. 
 
 The progress of the trade with India 
 since the abolition of the East India 
 Company's privileges is shown generally 
 in the following tables : 
 
 1 . Average annual number of ships and 
 their tonnage which entered and cleared 
 the ports of the United Kingdom, from 
 and to the East India Company's terri- 
 tories and Ceylon, in the six years ending 
 1836, and in the six years ending 1842 : 
 
 1831-36. 1837-48. 
 
 Ships Inwards . 188 329 
 
 Tons .... 79,204 149,064 
 
 Ships Outwards . 202 323 
 
 Tons .... 88,920 156,141 
 
 2. Ships entered inwards and cleared 
 outwards in the years 1838 and 1844 be- 
 tween the ports of the United Kingdom 
 and Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Ceylon, 
 Singapore and Penang, and China :— 
 
 1838. 1844, 
 
 Ships Inwards . 318 534 
 
 Tons .... 128,087 247,087 
 Ships Outwards . 307 540 
 
 Tons .... 143,458 239,368 
 The increase has been almost uniformly 
 gradual in each year between 1838 and 
 1844. 
 
 3. Ships inwards and outwards in 1838 
 and 1844 between the ports of the United 
 Kingdom and the following places : 
 
 Inwards. Outwards. 
 
 1838. 1844. 1838. 1844. 
 
 Calcutta .118 226 117 228 
 
 Bombay . 57 109 73 132 
 
 Madras .13 22 11 39 
 
 Ceylon . 16 35 14 29 
 Singapore &) 
 
 Penang j 
 
 China . 52 99 43 78 
 
 The proportion per cent, of the shipping 
 
 16 
 
 43 
 
 31 
 
 34 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL 
 
 [ 799 J 
 
 COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 employed to and from the ports of the 
 United Kingdom and the Cape of Good 
 Hope, and places eastward thereof, was 
 as follows, in 1839 and 1844 : — 
 
 Inwards, 
 
 1839. 
 
 1844. 
 
 London 
 
 . 74-1 
 
 66-8 
 
 Liverpool . 
 
 . 20-5 
 
 27>2 
 
 Hull & Bristol 
 
 1-95 
 
 1-9 
 
 Clyde, &c. . 
 
 3-45 
 
 41 
 
 Outwards. 
 
 
 
 London . 
 
 . . 61-7 
 
 50 
 
 Liverpool . 
 
 . 25-5 
 
 31-9 
 
 Hull and Bristol . 2-0 
 
 1-9 
 
 Clyde, &c. . 
 
 10-8 
 
 16-2 
 
 4. Value of British and Irish Produce 
 
 and Manufactures exported to 
 
 the East 
 
 India Company 1 
 
 s Territories, and Ceylon, 
 
 and to China, 
 
 in the undermentioned 
 
 years. 
 
 
 
 
 East Indies. 
 
 China. 
 
 
 £. 
 
 £. 
 
 1834 
 
 2,576,229 
 
 842,852 
 
 1835 
 
 
 3,192,692 
 
 1,074,708 
 
 1836 
 
 
 4,285,829 
 
 1,326,388 
 
 1837 
 
 
 3,612,975 
 
 678,375 
 
 1838 
 
 
 3,876,196 
 
 1,204,356 
 
 1839 
 
 
 4,748,607 
 
 851,969 
 
 1840 
 
 
 6,023,192 
 
 524,198 
 
 1841 
 
 
 5,595,000 
 
 862,570 
 
 1842 
 
 
 5,169,888 
 
 969,381 
 
 1843 
 
 
 6,404,519 
 
 1,456,180 
 
 In the last of the above years, the 
 exports to the East Indies and China 
 (7,860,699Z.) were between one-sixth and 
 one-seventh of the whole of our exports, 
 and more than double the value exported 
 in 1834. In 1844 the exports to China 
 were considerably more than double the 
 value of the exports of 1843. In the ten 
 years from 1834 to 1844 the value of the 
 exports to Ihe West Indies has rather de- 
 clined ; and to British North America 
 the increase is not very great. 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSION- 
 ERS FOR ENGLAND. On the ground 
 that it was " expedient that the fullest 
 and most attentive consideration should 
 be forthwith given to ecclesiastical duties 
 and revenues," a royal commission was 
 issued, dated 4th February, 1835, which 
 appointed certain commissioners, and 
 directed them "to consider the state of 
 the several doiceses in England and 
 Wales, with reference to the amount of 
 
 their revenues and the more equal distri- 
 bution of episcopal duties, and the pre- 
 vention of the necessity of attaching, by 
 commendam, to bishoprics benefices with 
 cure of souls;" and the commissioners 
 were further directed "to consider also 
 the state of the several cathedral and col- 
 legiate churches in England and Wales, 
 with a view to the suggestion of such 
 measures as may render them conducive 
 to the efficacy of the Established Church ; 
 and to devise the best mode of providing 
 for the cure of souls, with special refer- 
 ence to the residence of the clergy on their 
 respective benefices." The commissioners 
 were required to report their " opinions 
 as to what measures it would be expe- 
 dient to adopt" on the several points sub- 
 mitted to their consideration. 
 
 The commissioners were the archbi- 
 shops of Canterbury and York, the bishops 
 of London, Lincoln, and Gloucester, the 
 lord chancellor, the first lord of the 
 Treasury (Sir Robert Peel), and several 
 members of the government, with other 
 laymen. A change in the cabinet having 
 occurred a few months afterwards, a new 
 commission was issued on the 6th of June^ 
 1835, for the purpose of substituting the 
 names of members of the new cabinet. 
 
 The four Reports presented by the 
 commissioners were respectively dated 
 17th March, 1835, and 4th March, 20th 
 May, and 24th June, 1836. A fifth Report 
 was prepared, but it had not been signed 
 when the death of king William IV. 
 occurred, and it was presented as a 
 parliamentary paper (Sess. 1838 (66), 
 xxviii. 9). 
 
 The First Report related to the duties 
 and revenues of bishops. The commis- 
 sioners recommended various alterations 
 of the boundaries of dioceses, the union 
 of the sees of Gloucester and Bristol, 
 the union of the sees of Bangor and 
 St. Asaph, and the erection of sees at 
 Ripon and Manchester. They calcu 
 lated the net income of the bishoprics 
 of England and Wales at 148,875/., but 
 from the unequal manner in which this 
 revenue was distributed, the income of 
 one-half of the bishoprics was below 
 the sum necessary to cover the expenses 
 to which a bishop is unavoidably subject ; 
 and to remedy this state of things, and 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL 
 
 [ 800 ] 
 
 COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 with a view of doing away with cominen- 
 dams and diminishing the motives for 
 translations, they recommended a differ- 
 ent distribution of episcopal revenues. 
 
 The Third Keport also related to epis- 
 copal matters. 
 
 The Second and Fourth Reports, and 
 the draft of the Fifth Report, related to 
 the cathedral and collegiate churches 
 and to parochial subjects. They recom- 
 mended the appropriation of part of the 
 revenues of the cathedral and collegiate 
 churches, and the entire appropriation of 
 the endowments for non- residentiary pre- 
 bends, dignities, and officers, and that the 
 proceeds in both cases should be carried 
 to the account of a fund out of which 
 better provision should be made for the 
 cure of souls. 
 
 The Commissioners stated in their 
 Second Report that they had prepared a 
 bill for regulating pluralities and the re- 
 sidence of the clergy ; and in 1838 an act 
 was passed (1 & 2 Vict. c. 106) relating 
 to these matters. The chief provisions of 
 the act are given in Benefice, p. 347 and 
 p. 351. 
 
 On the 13th of August, 1836, an act 
 was passed (6 & 7 Wm. IV. c. 77) which 
 established the ecclesiastical commis- 
 sioners as " one body politic and cor- 
 porate, by the name of the ' Ecclesiastical 
 Commissioners for England.' " The num- 
 ber of commissioners incorporated was 
 thirteen, of whom eight were ex-officio, 
 namely, the archbishops of Canterbury 
 and York, the bishop of London, the lord 
 chancellor, the lord president of the 
 council, the first lord of the Treasury, 
 the chancellor of the exchequer, and such 
 one of the principal secretaries of state as 
 might be nominated under the sign ma- 
 nual. There were five other commis- 
 sioners, of whom two were bishops ; and 
 these five were renun able at the pleasure 
 of the crown. The laymen who were 
 appointed were required by the act to 
 subscribe a declaration as to their being 
 members of the United Church of Eng- 
 land and Ireland by law established. 
 
 By an act passed 11th August, 1840 
 (3 & 4 Vict c. 113), the constitution of 
 the Ecclesiastical Commission was con- 
 siderably modified by increasing the num- 
 ber of ex-officio members, and by other 
 
 alterations. In addition to the members 
 constituted ex-officio commissioners un- 
 der the act 6 & 7 Wm. IV. c. 77, the 
 following were by this act also appointed : 
 — all the bishops of England and Wales, 
 the deans of Canterbury, St. Paul's, and 
 Westminster, the two chief justices, the 
 master of the rolls, the chief baron, and 
 the judges of the Prerogative and Admi- 
 ralty Courts. By this act the crown is 
 empowered to appoint four, and the arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury two laymen as com- 
 missioners in addition to the three ap- 
 pointed under the former act. Under 
 the former act the commissioners were 
 removeable by the crown ; but now each 
 commissioner continues a member of 
 the corporation " so long as.he shall well 
 demean himself in the execution of his 
 duties." Lay members are required as 
 before to subscribe a declaration that they 
 are members of the Established Church. 
 Five commissioners are a quorum at 
 meetings of which due notice has been 
 given. The chairman, who has a casting 
 vote, is the commissioner present first in 
 rank ; and if the rank of all the commis- 
 sioners present be equal, the chair is to 
 be taken by the senior commissioner in 
 the order of appointment. Two of the 
 episcopal commissioners must be present 
 at the ratification of any act by the com- 
 mon seal of the corporation ; and if they, 
 being the only two episcopal commis- 
 sioners present, object, the matter is to be 
 referred to an adjourned meeting. The 
 commissioners may summon and examine 
 witnesses on oath, and cause papers and 
 documents to be produced before them. 
 
 The act (6 & 7 Wm. IV. c. 77) em- 
 powers the ecclesiastical commissioners 
 to prepare and lay before his majesty in 
 council such schemes as shall appear to 
 them to be best adapted for carrying into 
 effect the recommendations contained in 
 the five Reports already mentioned, with 
 such modifications or variations as to 
 matters of detail and regulation as shall 
 not be substantially repugnant to any 
 or either of those recommendations. The 
 ki n g> by an order in council, ratifies these 
 schemes, and appoints a time for their 
 coming into operation. This order must 
 be registered by the diocesan registrar 
 of the diocese within which the place or 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL 
 
 [ 801 ] 
 
 COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 district affected by the order is situated, 
 and it must also be published in the 
 London Gazette.' A copy of all the 
 orders issued during the preceding 
 twelve months must be presented annu- 
 ally to Parliament within a week after its 
 meeting. As soon as an order is regis- 
 tered in the diocese, and gazetted, it has 
 the same force as if it had been included 
 in the acts for carrying into effect the 
 Reports of the Commissioners. 
 
 By special enactments, and by the joint 
 authority of the Queen in council and the 
 Ecclesiastical Commissioners, changes of 
 great importance have been made in rela- 
 tion to ecclesiastical revenues and duties. 
 
 The first act (6 & 7 Wm. IV. c. 77) is 
 entitled ' An Act for carrying into effect 
 the Reports of the Commissioners ap- 
 pointed to consider the state of the Esta- 
 blished Church in England and Wales, 
 with reference to Ecclesiastical Duties 
 and Revenues, so far as they relate to 
 Episcopal Dioceses, Revenues, and Pa- 
 tronage.' By this act the dioceses of 
 England and Wales have been re-ar- 
 ranged, four sees have been consolidated 
 into two, two new sees have been created, 
 the patronage of the several bishops has 
 been more equally divided, commen- 
 dams are abolished; and the revenues of 
 the different sees have been also more 
 equally apportioned. [Bishop, p. 385.] 
 The jurisdiction of archdeacons was also 
 settled by the Act. [Archdeacon, p. 180.] 
 
 The second act (3 & 4 Vict. c. 1 13) was 
 passed 11th August, 1840, and is entitled 
 ' An Act to carry into effect, with certain 
 modifications, the Fourth Report of the 
 Commissioners of Ecclesiastical Duties 
 and Revenues;' but its enactments also 
 comprehend some of the propositions of 
 the Second Report and of the draft Fifth 
 Report. The main subject of the act is 
 the cathedral and collegiate churches, 
 and the application of parts of their reve- 
 nues to spiritual destitution in parishes. 
 The act made some change in the consti- 
 tution of deans and chapters, suspended a 
 large number of canonries, founded ho- 
 norary canonries [Canon, p. 443], abo- 
 lished non - residentiary deaneries and 
 sinecure rectories in public patronage; 
 deprived non-residentiary prebends and 
 other non-resident offices in cathedral 
 
 and collegiate churches of the endow- 
 ments formerly attached to such offices. 
 Self-elected deans and chapters are abo- 
 lished : deans are to be appointed by the 
 crown, and the canons by the bishops. 
 Sinecure rectories, in private patronage 
 may be bought by the Commissioners and 
 suppressed. The profits of these dignities 
 and offices, and sinecure rectories, are 
 vested in the Ecclesiastical Commission- 
 ers, and are carried to a common fund, out 
 of which additional provision is to be 
 made for the cure of souls in parishes 
 where such assistance is most required. 
 Thus the act provided that a portion of 
 the proceeds of prebends suppressed in 
 Lichfield Cathedral should be devoted 
 to making provision for the rector of 
 St. Philip's, Birmingham, and for the 
 perpetual curate of Christ Church in 
 the" same town ; that the endowments 
 belonging to the collegiate churches of 
 Wolverhampton, Heytesbury, and Mid- 
 dleham should be applied to making 
 better provision for the cure of souls 
 in the districts with which those places 
 are connected; and that the endow- 
 ments of the collegiate church of Wini- 
 borne minster should be applied with 
 a like object to the parish of Wim- 
 borne minster. The act empowers the 
 Commissioners to annex the whole or 
 any part of the endowments of sinecure 
 rectories abolished by the act or pur- 
 chased to the vicarages or perpetual 
 curacies dependent on them, when the 
 extent of the population or the incompe- 
 tent endowment of such vicarages or 
 curacies may render it expedient. Sine- 
 cure preferments may be annexed to bene- 
 fices with cure of souls. Benefices may 
 be divided or consolidated with consent 
 of patrons. Arrangements may be made 
 for a better provision for the spiritual 
 duties of ill-endowed parishes by exchange 
 of advowsons or other alterations in the 
 exercise of patronage. When two bene- 
 fices belong to the same patron, the in- 
 come maybe differently apportioned with 
 his consent. 
 
 A. third Act was passed 21st June, 
 1841 (4 & 5 Vict. c. 39). Its chief object 
 was to amend and explain the two former 
 acts, but it contains various enactments 
 calculated to carry out the principle of 
 3 J? 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. [ 802 ] ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. 
 
 the first two acts as to various regulations 
 and details. 
 
 In each of the acts for carrying into 
 effect the recommendations of the Eccle- 
 siastical Commissioners, vested interests 
 are specially protected. 
 
 From a return presented to Parlia- 
 ment, it appears that, down to May 1st, 
 1844, the number of benefices and 
 churches whose incomes had been aug- 
 mented by the Ecclesiastical Commis- 
 sioners for England, was 496, and that 
 the annual augmentation amounted to 
 the sum of 25,779/. 
 
 There is in Ireland a body styled the 
 Ecclesiastical Commissioners, who were 
 appointed under the act 3 & 4 Wm. IV. 
 c. 37 (' Church Temporalities Acf ), and 
 are empowered to receive the incomes of 
 bishoprics on their becoming extinct in 
 pursuance of the abovementioned act. 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. 
 Courts in which the canon law is admi- 
 nistered [Canon Law], and causes ec- 
 clesiastical determined. Coke, in treat- 
 ing of the distinction between temporal 
 and spiritual causes, says : — " And as in 
 temporal causes, the king, by the mouth 
 of his judges in his courts of justice, doth 
 iudge and determine the same by the 
 temporal laws of England ; so in causes 
 ecclesiastical and spiritual, as, namely, 
 blasphemy, apostacy from Christianity, 
 heresies, schisms, ordering admissions, 
 institutions of clerks, celebration of di- 
 vine service, rights of matrimony, di- 
 vorces, general bastardy, subtraction and 
 right of tithes, oblations, obventions, di- 
 lapidations, reparation of churches, pro- 
 bate of testaments, administration and 
 accounts upon the same, simony, incests, 
 fornications, adulteries, solicitation of 
 chastity, pensions, procurations, appeals 
 in ecclesiastical causes, commutation of 
 penance, and others, (the cognizance 
 whereof belongeth not to the common 
 laws of England.) the same are to be de- 
 cided and judged by ecclesiastical judges 
 according to the king's ecclesiastical laws 
 of this realm." 
 
 In July, 1830, a Commission was ap- 
 pointed to inquire into the Practice and 
 Jurisdiction of the Ecclesiastical Courts 
 in England and Wales. The Report of 
 the Commissioners, which was presented 
 
 in 1831, was signed by the archbishop of 
 Canterbury, and three of the bishops, the 
 two chief justices, the chief baron, and 
 several other persons of authority and 
 eminence. This report gives the most 
 correct and authentic account which ex- 
 ists of: 1, The nature of the ecclesiasti- 
 cal courts. 2, Of the course of proceed- 
 ing in ecclesiastical suits; and 3, The 
 nature of the processes, practice and 
 pleadings of the ecclesiastical courts. 
 The report in question has been almost 
 solely used in the present article with 
 such abridgment and slight alterations, 
 as were necessary to bring it within the 
 requisite space which could be devoted 
 to the subject 
 The ordinary ecclesiastical courts are — 
 
 1 . The Provincial Courts, being, in the 
 province of Canterbury, the Court of 
 Arches, or Supreme Court of Appeal, the 
 Prerogative or Testamentary Court, and 
 the Court of Peculiars ; and in the pro- 
 vince of York, the Prerogative or Tes- 
 tamentary Court, and the ChanceryCourt; 
 
 2. the Diocesan Courts, being the consis- 
 torial court of each diocese, exercising 
 general jurisdiction ; the court or courts 
 of one or more commissaries appointed 
 by the bishop, in certain dioceses, to ex- 
 ercise general jurisdiction, within pre- 
 scribed limits ; and the court or courts of 
 one or more archdeacons, or their offi- 
 cials, who exercise general or limited ju- 
 risdiction, according to the terms of their 
 patents, or to local custom. 3. There are 
 also Peculiars of various descriptions in 
 most dioceses, and in some they are very 
 numerous : royal, archiepiscopal, episco- 
 pal, decanal, sub-decanal, prebendal, rec- 
 torial and vicarial ; and there are also 
 some manorial courts, which exercise 
 testamentary jurisdiction. 
 
 The Provincial courts of the arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, and the archbishop 
 of York, are independent of each other; 
 the process of one province does not run 
 into the other, but is sent by a requi- 
 sition from the court of one province to 
 the local authority of the other, for exe- 
 cution, when it is necessary. The ap- 
 peal from each of the provincial courts 
 lies to the Judicial Committee of Privy- 
 Council ; but before the passing of the 
 statute 2 & 3 Wm. IV. c. 92. the ap- 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL COUETS. [ S33 ] ECCLESIASTICAL COUKTS. 
 
 peal was to the king, and a commission 
 issued under the Great Seal in each indi- 
 vidual case of appeal, to certain persons 
 or delegates, to hear and determine the 
 matter in contest. [Delegates, Court 
 of.] 
 
 Of the three Archiepiscopal Courts of 
 Canterbury, the Arches Court is the first. 
 [Akches, Court or.] This court exer- 
 cises the appellate jurisdiction from each 
 of the diocesan and most of the peculiar 
 courts within the province. It may also 
 take original cognizance of causes by let- 
 ters of request, from each of those courts ; 
 and it has original jurisdiction, for sub- 
 traction of legacy given by wills proved 
 in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. 
 
 The Prerogative Court has jurisdiction 
 of all wills and administrations of personal 
 property left by persons having bona nota- 
 bilia, or effects of a certain value, in divers 
 ecclesiastical jurisdictions within the pro- 
 vince. A very large proportion, not less 
 than four fifths of the whole contentious 
 business, and a very much larger part of 
 the uncontested, or as it is termed common- 
 form business, is dispatched by this court. 
 Its authority is necessary to the adminis- 
 tration of the effects of all persons dying 
 possessed of personal property to the 
 specified amount within the province, 
 whether leaving a will or dying intestate ; 
 and from the very great increase of per- 
 sonal property, arising from the public 
 funds and the extension of the commer- 
 cial capital of the country, the business 
 of this jurisdiction, both as deciding upon 
 all the contested rights, and as register- 
 ing all instruments and proofs in respect 
 of the succession to such property, is be- 
 come of very high public importance. 
 
 The Court of Peculiars, which is the 
 third Archiepiscopal Court of Canterbury, 
 takes cognizance of all matters arising in 
 certain deaneries : one of these deaneries 
 is. in the diocese of London, another in 
 the diocese of Eochester, another in the 
 diocese of Winchester, each comprising 
 several parishes ; and some others, over 
 which the archbishop exercises ordinary 
 jurisdiction, and which are exempt from 
 and independent of the several bishops 
 within whose dioceses they are locally 
 situated. 
 
 The province of Canterbury, includes 
 
 twenty-one dioceses, and therein the dio- 
 cese of Canterbury itself, where the or- 
 dinary episcopal jurisdiction is exercised 
 by a commissary, in the same manner as 
 in other dioceses. 
 
 The province of York includes five 
 dioceses, besides that of Sodor and.Man, 
 and the archiepiscopal jurisdiction is 
 exercised therein much in the same man- 
 ner as in the province of Canterbury. 
 
 The Diocesan Courts take cognizance of 
 all matters arising locally within their 
 respective limits, with the exception of 
 places subject to peculiar jurisdiction. 
 They may decide all matters of spiritual 
 discipline ; they may suspend or deprive 
 clergymen, declare marriages void, pro- 
 nounce sentence of separation k mensa et 
 thoro, try the right of succession to per- 
 sonal property, and administer the other 
 branches of ecclesiastical law. 
 
 The Archdeacon's Court is generally 
 subordinate, with an appeal to the bishop's 
 court ; though in some instances it is in- 
 dependent and co-ordinate. 
 
 The archdeacons' courts,and the various 
 peculiars already enumerated, in some 
 instances take cognizance of all ecclesias- 
 tical matters arising within their own 
 limits, though the jurisdiction of many 
 of the peculiar courts extends only to a 
 single parish : the authority of some of 
 them is limited to a part only of the mat- 
 ters that are usually the subject of eccle- 
 siastical cognizance ; several of the pe- 
 culiars possess voluntary, but not conten- 
 tious, jurisdiction. 
 
 The total number of courts which exer- 
 cise any species of ecclesiastical jurisdic- 
 tion in England and Wales is 372, which 
 may be classed as follows : — 
 
 Provincial and diocesan courts . 36 ' 
 Courts of bishops' commissaries . 14 
 Archidiaconal courts . . 37 
 
 PECULIAR JURISDICTIONS. 
 
 Eoyal 11 
 
 Archiepiscopal and episcopal . 44 
 
 Decanal, subdecanal, &c. . . 44 
 
 Prebendal . . . .88 
 
 Eectorial and vicarial . . 63 
 
 Other peculiars . . .17 
 
 Courts of lords of manors . .48 
 
 In 1843 the gross fees, salaries, and 
 emoluments of the judges, deputy judges, 
 3P2 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. [ 804 ] ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. 
 
 registrars, deputy-registrars, and all otter 
 officers in the ecclesiastical courts of Eng- 
 land, Wales, and Ireland, amounted to 
 120,5132., as follows: — 
 
 £. 
 England . . 101,171 
 Wales . . 4,882 
 
 Ireland . . 14,459 
 
 The ecclesiastical jurisdiction compre- 
 hends causes of a civil and temporal 
 nature ; some partaking both of a spiritual 
 and civil character, and, lastly, some 
 purely spiritual. 
 
 In the first class are testamentary 
 causes, matrimonial causes for separation 
 and for nullity of marriage, -which are 
 purely questions of civil right between 
 individuals in their lay character, and 
 are neither spiritual nor affect the church 
 establishment. 
 
 The second class comprises causes of a 
 mixed description, as suits for tithes, 
 church-rates, seats, and faculties. As to 
 tithes, however, the courts of common 
 law can restrain the ecclesiastical courts 
 from trying any cases of modus or pre- 
 scription, if either of the parties apply 
 for a prohibition. 
 
 The third class includes church disci- 
 pline, and the correction of offences of a 
 spiritual kind. They are proceeded upon 
 in the way of criminal suits, pro salute 
 animse, that is, for the safety of the of- 
 fender's soul, and for the lawful correc- 
 tion of manners. Among these are offences 
 committed by the clergy themselves, such 
 as neglect of duty, immoral conduct, ad- 
 vancing doctrines not conformable to the 
 articles of tbe church, suffering dilapida- 
 tions, and the like offences ; also by lay- 
 men, such as brawling, laying violent 
 hands on any person, and other irreverent 
 conduct in the church or churchyards, 
 violating churchyards, neglecting to re- 
 pair ecclesiastical buildings, incest, incon- 
 tinence, defamation ; all these are termed 
 " Causes of Correction," except defama- 
 tion, which is of an anomalous character. 
 These offences are punished by monition, 
 penance, excommunication, formerly, 
 and now in place of it imprisonment for 
 a term not exceeding six months [Ex- 
 communication], suspension ab ingressu 
 ecclesioe, suspension from office and 
 •IcDrivation. 
 
 The canon law has been practised in 
 the Ecclesiastical courts as a distinct 
 profession for upwards of three centuries. 
 The rules for the admission of advocates 
 are given in Barrister, p. 317. The 
 residence of the judges and advocates, and 
 the proper buildings for holding the Ec- 
 clesiastical and Admiralty Courts, are at 
 Doctors' Commons, the site of which was 
 purchased by some members of this body 
 in 1567. [Doctors' Commons.] The 
 members of the society were incorporated 
 in 1768 by a royal charter, under the name 
 of " The College of Doctors of Laws exer- 
 cent in the Ecclesiastical and Admiralty 
 Courts." The proctors discharge duties 
 similar to those of solicitors and attorneys 
 in other courts. [Proctor.] 
 
 The course of proceeding in these 
 courts is as follows : — The mode of com- 
 mencing the suit, and bringing the parties 
 before the court, is by a process called a 
 Citation, or summons. This citation, in 
 ordinary eases, is obtained as a matter of 
 course, from the registry of the court, 
 and under its seal ; but in special cases, 
 the facts are alleged in what is termed 
 an act of court, and upon those facts the 
 judge or his surrogate decrees the party 
 to be cited ; to which, in certain cases, is 
 added an intimation, that if the party 
 does not appear, or appearing does not 
 show cause to the contrary, the prayer of 
 the plaintiff, set forth in the decree, will 
 be granted. The party cited may either 
 appear in person, or by his proctor, who 
 is appointed by an instrument, under 
 hand and seal, termed a proxy. The 
 proctor thus appointed represents the 
 party, acts for him and manages the cause, 
 and binds him by his acts. 
 
 In Testamentary causes, the proceeding 
 is sometimes commenced by a Caveat, 
 which may be entered by a party inte- 
 rested in the effects of the deceased person, 
 against the grant of probate of will o: 
 letters of administration, without notice 
 being first given to him who enters the 
 caveat. This caveat is then warned by 
 the party who claims the representation 
 either as executor or administrator, which 
 is in effect a notice to the proctor who 
 enters the caveat, that he must appear and 
 take further steps, if he intends to con- 
 tinue his opposition. Both parties are then 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. \ 805 J ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. 
 
 assigned by order of court to set forth 
 their respective claims, and the suit thus 
 commences, either to try the validity of 
 an alleged will, or the right to adminis- 
 tration, either under an intestacy or with 
 a will annexed. [Administration; 
 Executor.] 
 
 There is another process in testamentary 
 matters, extremely useful and frequently 
 resorted to. The executor, or other person 
 who claims the grant of probate of a 
 will or other testamentary instrument, 
 may cite the next of kin and other 
 parties interested in case there should 
 be an intestacy or under a former 
 will, to appear and see the will pro- 
 pounded and proved by witnesses ; and 
 if the parties cited do not appear and 
 oppose the probate, they are barred from 
 afterwards contesting its validity, unless 
 on account of absence out of the kingdom, 
 or some other satisfactory cause. 
 
 So again, the next of kin, or other par- 
 ties entitled either to the grant of letters 
 of administration or under a former will, 
 may cite the executor or other person ap- 
 parently benefited under a suggested will 
 or testamentary instrument, to appear and 
 propound it; or otherwise show cause 
 why probate should not be granted of the 
 suggested will of the deceased, on the 
 ground of his having died intestate, or 
 why probate should not be granted of a 
 former will; and the parties cited, not 
 appearing, are barred from afterwards set- 
 ting up the will. But if probate or ad- 
 ministration be taken in common form, 
 without citing persons who have an ad- 
 verse interest, the grant may afterwards 
 be called in, and the executor or admi- 
 nistrator cited, and put upon proof of his 
 right, as if no such common form grant 
 had issued. Again, where no grant is 
 applied for by the person primarily 
 entitled to it, such as an executor, resi- 
 duary legatee, or next of kin, process may 
 be taken out by any person who claims an 
 interest in the effects of the deceased, such 
 as a legatee, a party entitled to a distri- 
 butive share of the estate, or a creditor, 
 but he must call upon the persons pri- 
 marily entitled to accept or refuse the 
 grant, or otherwise show cause why it 
 should not pass to such person who claims 
 an interest. Or if a person be dead in- 
 
 testate, without leaving any known rela- 
 tions, a creditor may obtain letters of 
 administration, upon advertising for next 
 of kin in the Gazette and a morning and 
 evening newspaper, provided he serves a 
 process on the Royal Exchange and on 
 the king's proctor, but the Crown has a 
 right to take the grant, if it makes the 
 claim. 
 
 In all these and similar cases, the facts 
 must be supported by affidavit, all due 
 notice is required to be given, and the 
 grant is moved for before the court, at its 
 sitting. 
 
 The mode of enforcing all process, in 
 case of disobedience, is by pronouncing 
 the party cited to be contumacious ; and 
 if the disobedience continues, a signifi- 
 cavit issues, upon which an attachment 
 from Chancery is obtained, to imprison 
 the party till he obeys. In cases where 
 some act is required to be done by the 
 party cited, to exhibit an inventory and 
 account, for instance, or to pay alimony, 
 the compulsory process is enforced ; but 
 in some cases, where no act is necessary 
 to be done by the party cited, the plaintiff 
 may proceed in poenam contumaciic, and 
 the cause then goes on ex parte, as if the 
 defendant had appeared. The party cited, 
 to save his contumacy, may appear under 
 protest, and may show cause against being 
 cited ; such as, that the court has no juris- 
 diction in the subject-matter, or that he 
 is not amenable to that jurisdiction : this 
 preliminary objection is heard upon peti- 
 tion and affidavits ; and either the protest 
 is allowed, and the defendant dismissed, 
 or the protest is overruled, and the de- 
 fendant is assigned to appear absolutely ; 
 and costs are generally given against the 
 unsuccessful party. Either party may 
 appeal from the decision on this prelimi- 
 nary point; or the defendant, in case the 
 judge decides against him on the question 
 of jurisdiction, and on some other ques- 
 tions, may apply to a court of law for a 
 prohibition. 
 
 Some other points, such as the claim to 
 administration among persons of admitted 
 equal degree of kindred, objections to an 
 inventory and account, and other similar 
 matters, may be heard upon petition and 
 affidavit, where the facts are not of such 
 a nature as to require investigation in the 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. [ 806 J ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. 
 
 more formal proceeding of regular plead- 
 ings and depositions, with the benefit of 
 cross-examining witnesses. 
 
 The form of the pleadings is next to be 
 described. These are intended to contain 
 a statement of the facts relied upon and 
 proposed to be proved by each party in 
 the suit, the real grounds of the action, 
 and of the defence. 
 
 Causes, in their quality, are technically 
 classed and described as plenary and 
 summary, though in modern practice 
 there is substantially little difference in 
 the mode of proceeding. All causes in 
 the Prerogative Court are summary. 
 
 The first plea bears different names in 
 the different descriptions of causes. In 
 criminal proceedings, the first plea is 
 termed the Articles ; in form, it runs in 
 the name of the judge, who articles and 
 objects the facts charged against the de- 
 fendant ; in plenary causes, not criminal, 
 the first plea is termed the Libel, and runs 
 in the name of the party or his proctor, 
 who alleges and propounds the facts 
 founding the demand; in testamentary 
 causes, the first plea is termed an Allega- 
 tion. Every subsequent plea, in all causes, 
 whether responsive or rejoining, and by 
 whatever party given, is termed an Alle- 
 gation. 
 
 Each of these pleas contains a state- 
 ment of the facts upon which the party 
 founds his demand for relief, or his de- 
 fence ; they resemble the bill and answer 
 in equity, except that the allegation is 
 broten into separate positions or articles : 
 the facts are alleged under separate 
 heads, according to the subject-matter, or 
 the order of time in which they have oc- 
 curred. Under this form of pleading the 
 witnesses are produced and examined 
 only to particular articles of the allega- 
 tion, which contain the facts within their 
 knowledge; a notice or designation of 
 the witnesses is delivered to the ad- 
 verse party, who is thereby distinctly 
 apprised of the points to which he should 
 address his cross-examination of each 
 witness, as well as the matters which it 
 may be necessary for him to contradict 
 or explain by counter-pleading. 
 
 Before a plea of any kind, whether 
 articles, libel, or allegation, is admitted, 
 it is open to the adverse party to object 
 
 to its admission, either in the whole or in 
 part : in the whole, when the facts alto- 
 gether, if taken to be true, will not en- 
 title the party giving the plea to the 
 demand which he makes, or to support 
 the defence which he sets up ; in part, if 
 any of the facts pleaded are irrelevant to 
 the matter in issue, or could not be 
 proved by admissible evidence, or are 
 incapable of proof. These objections are 
 made and argued before the judge, and 
 decided upon by him, and his decision 
 may be appealed from. For the purpose 
 of the argument, all the facts capable of 
 proof are assumed to be true : they are, 
 however, so assumed merely for the argu- 
 ment, but are not so admitted in the 
 cause ; for the party who offers the plea 
 is no less bound afterwards to prove the 
 facts, and the party who objects to the 
 plea is no less at liberty afterwards to 
 contradict the facts. If the plea is ad- 
 mitted, the further opposition may be 
 withdrawn: if the plea is rejected, the 
 party who offers it either abandons the 
 suit, or appeals against the rejection, in 
 order to take the judgment of a superior 
 tribunal. When a plea has been admitted, 
 a time, or term probatory, is assigned to 
 the party who gives the plea, to examine 
 his witnesses ; and the adverse party is 
 assigned, except in criminal matters, to 
 give in his answers upon oath, to his 
 knowledge or belief of the facts alleged. 
 The defendant may proceed then, if he 
 thinks proper, or he may wait until the 
 plaintiff has examined his witnesses, to 
 give an allegation controverting hi6 ad- 
 versary's plea. This responsive allega- 
 tion is proceeded upon in the same man- 
 ner ; objections to its admissibility may 
 be taken, answers upon oath be required, 
 and witnesses examined. The plaintiff 
 may, in like manner, reply by a further 
 allegation ; and on that, or any subsequent 
 allegation, the same course is pursued. 
 
 In taking evidence the witnesses are 
 either brought to London to be examined, 
 or they are examined by commission near 
 their places of residence. Their attend- 
 ance is required by a Compulsory, some- 
 what in the nature of a subprena, obe- 
 dience to which is enforced in the same 
 way as in other cases of contumacy. The 
 examination is by depositions taken in 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. [ 807 ] ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. 
 
 writing and in private by examiners of 
 the court, employed for that purpose 
 by the registrars. The examination 
 does not take place upon ■written in- 
 terrogatories previously prepared and 
 known ; but the allegation Is delivered to 
 the examiner, who, after making himself 
 master of all the facts pleaded, examines 
 the witnesses by questions which he frames 
 at the time, so as to obtain, upon each 
 article of the allegation separately, the 
 truth and the whole truth, as far as he 
 possibly can, respecting such of the cir- 
 cumstances alleged as are within the 
 knowledge of each witness. The cross- 
 examination is conducted by interroga- 
 tories addressed to the adverse witnesses, 
 and when the deposition is complete, the 
 witness is examined upon the interroga- 
 tories delivered to the examiner by the 
 adverse proctor, but not disclosed to the 
 witness till after the examination in chief 
 is concluded and signed, nor to the party 
 producing him till publication passes; 
 and each witness is enjoined not to disclose 
 the interrogatories, nor any part of his 
 evidence, till after publication. In order 
 that the party addressing the interrogato- 
 ries may be the better prepared, the proctor 
 producing the witness delivers, as before 
 stated, a designation, or notice of the 
 articles of the plea on which it is intended 
 to examine each witness produced. 
 
 The examination and cross-examina- 
 tion of witnesses is kept secret until pub- 
 lication passes, that is, until copies of the 
 depositions may be had by the adverse 
 parties, after which either party is al- 
 lowed to except to the credit of any wit- 
 ness, upon matter contained in his de- 
 position. The exception must be con- 
 fined to such matter, and not made to 
 general character, for that must be plead- 
 ed before publication ; nor can the excep- 
 tion refer to matter before pleaded, for 
 that should be contradicted also before 
 publication. The exception must also 
 tend to show that the witness has deposed 
 falsely and corruptly. The exceptive 
 allegations are proceeded upon, when 
 admitted, in the same manner as other 
 pleas. They are not frequently offered, 
 and are always received with great 
 caution and strictness, as they tend more 
 sommonly to protract the suit and to 
 
 increase expense than to afford substantial 
 information in the cause. It is always, 
 however, in the power of the court to 
 allow further pleading in a cause ; and if 
 new circumstances of importance are un- 
 expectedly brought out by the interroga- 
 tories, the court will, in the exercise of 
 its discretion, allow a further plea after 
 publication. This may also be permitted 
 in cases where facts have either occurred 
 or come to the knowledge of the party, 
 subsequently to publication having passed. 
 
 The evidence on both sides being pub- 
 lished, the cause is set down for hearing. 
 All the papers, the pleas, exhibits (or 
 written papers proved in the cause), inter- 
 rogatories, and depositions are delivered 
 to the judge for perusal before hearing 
 the case fully discussed by counsel. All 
 causes are heard publicly in open court ; 
 and on the day appointed for the hearing, 
 the cause is opened by the counsel on both 
 sides, who state the points of law and fact 
 which they mean to maintain in argu- 
 ment : the evidence is then read, unless 
 the judge signifies that he has already read 
 it, and even then particular parts are read 
 again, if necessary, and the whole case 
 is argued and discussed by the counsel. 
 The judgment of the court is then pro- 
 nounced upon the law and facts of the 
 case ; and in doing this the judge pub- 
 licly, in open court, assigns the reasons 
 for his decisions, stating the principles 
 and authorities on which he decides the 
 matters of law, and reciting or adverting 
 to the various parts of the evidence from 
 which he deduces his conclusions of fact, 
 and thus the matter in controversy be- 
 tween the parties becomes adjudged. 
 
 The execution of the sentence, in case 
 there be no appeal interposed, is either 
 completed by the court itself, according 
 to the nature of the case — such as by grant- 
 ing probate or letters of administration, or 
 signing a sentence of separation — or re- 
 mains to be completed by the act of the 
 party, as by exhibiting an inventory and 
 account, by payment of the tithes sued 
 for, and other similar matters, in which 
 cases execution is enforced by the com- 
 pulsory process of contumacy, significavit. 
 and attachment. The question of costs 
 in these courts is, for the most part, a 
 matter in the discretion of the judge, ac- 
 
ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS. [ 808 J 
 
 ECHEVIN. 
 
 cording to the nature and justice of the 
 case; and the reasons for granting or 
 refusing costs are publicly expressed at 
 the time of giving the judgment. 
 
 Attempts were made more than three 
 centuries ago, to remedy the defects of 
 the ecclesiastical courts. The earliest 
 efforts of this kind -were directed to the 
 peculiar jurisdictions. Some of these juris- 
 dictions extend over large tracts of coun- 
 try, and embrace many towns and parishes; 
 others comprehend several places lying 
 at a great distance apart from each other ; 
 and some only include one or two pa- 
 rishes. The jurisdiction to be exercised 
 in these courts is not defined by any ge- 
 neral law, and it is often difficult to as- 
 certain to what description of cases toe 
 jurisdiction of any particular court ex- 
 tends. The commissioners appointed to 
 revise the ecclesiastical laws, in the 
 reigns of Henry VIII. and Edward VI., 
 recommended that the power of the 
 bishop, in matters of discipline, should 
 extend to all places in the diocese, not- 
 withstanding the exemptions and privi- 
 leges of Peculiars. In the reign of Queen 
 Elizabeth, it was proposed or talked of 
 in convocation that parliament should be 
 applied to, to subject peculiar and ex- 
 empt rites and jurisdictions of what had 
 belonged to monasteries to the diocesan. 
 Nothing, however, appears to have been 
 done. 
 
 In 1812, Sir W. Scott (Lord Stowell) 
 brought a bill into parliament which 
 passed the House of Commons, but was 
 afterwards dropped in the Lords, which 
 provided that " the power of hearing and 
 determining contested causes of ecclesias- 
 tical cognizance should be exercised only 
 by ecclesiastical courts sitting under the 
 immediate commission and authority of 
 the archbishops and bishops, and not by 
 inferior or other ecclesiastical courts." 
 
 In 1 832, the commissioners appointed to 
 inquire into the practice and jurisdiction 
 of the ecclesiastical courts, recommended 
 a number of important changes in these 
 courts. In 1833 the real property com- 
 missioners expressed an opinion in favour 
 of their extensive reform. In the same 
 year a select committee of the House of 
 Commons made a report in which similar 
 views were urg' 1, and in 1836 a se- 
 
 lect committee of the House of Lords 
 adopted the same course. From 1836 
 until the present time several bills have 
 been brought in for amending the eccle- 
 siastical courts, none of which were car- 
 ried. In 1836 Lord Cottenham brought 
 in an ecclesiastical courts bill. On open- 
 ing the session of parliament in 1842 a 
 measure for the improvement of the ec- 
 clesiastical courts was announced in the 
 speech from the throne ; but the bill 
 brought in by the government, lingered 
 through the session and was finally aban- 
 doned. In 1843 and 1844, other bills 
 with the same object were equally un- 
 successful. In the session of 1845 Lord 
 Cottenham brought in an ecclesiastical 
 courts' bill, and as it had received the 
 concurrence of the Lord Chancellor, 
 hopes were indulged that it might pass. 
 Lord Cottenham's bill was identical with 
 that which he brought in in 1836. It 
 proposed the establishment of a central 
 court in London to which all wills were 
 to be sent. Surrogates were to act in 
 the towns where there are now diocesan 
 courts, who were to grant probates 
 where the amount of property was small ; 
 but in every case the will was to be sent 
 to London to be registered. The cen- 
 tral court was to retain the power of 
 the old courts in questions of divorce. 
 In matters relating to church-rates, 
 there was to be an appeal to quarter 
 sessions, where the rate had been ille- 
 gally levied; and in that of tithes the 
 power of the ecclesiastical courts was 
 to be abolished altogether. But this 
 bill shared the fate of its predecessors, 
 and all anterior efforts at reform; and 
 the spiritual courts remain an unre- 
 dressed grievance. 
 
 By a clause in 6 & 7 Will. IV. a. 77, 
 which was an act for carrying into effect 
 the Reports of the Ecclesiastical Com- 
 missioners of 1835, it was enacted that 
 future appointments in any of the eccle- 
 siastical courts in England and Wales 
 (except the Prerogative Court of Canter- 
 bury) were not to give a vested interest 
 in any office, nor any claim or title to 
 compensation in case of the abolition of 
 offices. 
 
 E'CHEVIN.the namegiveu underthe 
 old French monarchy to the municipal 
 
EDUCATION. 
 
 [ 809 ] 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 magistrates of various cities and towns. 
 At Paris there were four echevins and a 
 prevot des marchands, whose jurisdiction 
 extended over the town and adjacent ter- 
 ritory ; in the other towns there was a 
 maire and two or more echevins. In the 
 south of France the same officers were 
 called by other names, such as consuls in 
 Languedoc and Dauphine', capitouls at 
 Toulouse, jurats at Bordeaux. The last 
 name, that of jurats, was used in some of 
 the English municipalities. They tried 
 minor suits, laid the local duties or octroi 
 upon imports, had the inspection of the 
 commercial revenues and expenditure, as 
 well as the superintendence of the streets, 
 roads, and markets, the repairs of public 
 buildings, &c. The name echevins seems 
 to have been derived from scabini, a Latin 
 word of the middle ages, which was used 
 in Italy under the Longobards, and in 
 France, Flanders, and other countries - 
 under the Carlovingian dynasty. In 
 Holland they are called schepens. The 
 scabini were the assessors to the counts, or 
 missi dominici, appointed by the monarch 
 to administer a province or district ; and 
 they were chosen among the local inhabi- 
 tants. Afterwards, when charters were 
 given to the communes, the municipal 
 magistrates elected by the burgesses as- 
 sumed also the name of scabini or echevins. 
 (Ducange, Glossarvum.') 
 
 ECONOMISTES. [Political Eco- 
 nomy.] 
 EDICTA, EDICTS. [Equity.] 
 EDUCATION. In every nation, even 
 those called uncivilized, there are, and ne- 
 cessarily must be, certain practices and 
 usages according to which children are in- 
 structed in those things which are to form 
 the occupation of their future life ; and 
 every civilized nation, and, we may pre- 
 sume, nations also called uncivilized, have 
 some general term by which they express 
 this process of instruction. In the European 
 languages derived from the Latin, and in 
 others that have a mixture of that lan- 
 guage, this general term is Education. 
 It is not important to consider the more 
 or less precise notions attached to this or 
 any other equivalent word, but it is 
 enough to observe, that, as the language 
 of every nation possesses such a term, it 
 is a universal truth that all nations admit 
 
 that there is something which is expressed 
 by the comprehensive term education, or 
 by some equivalent term. But like all 
 other general terms which have been 
 long in use, this term Education compre- 
 hends within the general meaning already 
 assigned to it a great number of particu- 
 lars, which are conceived by various 
 people in such different modes and de- 
 grees and in such varying amount as to 
 the number of the particulars, some 
 nations or individuals conceiving a cer- 
 tain set of particulars as essential to the 
 term, others conceiving a different set of 
 particulars as essentials, and others again 
 conceiving the same particulars in such 
 different ways, that two or more persons 
 who agree in their general description of 
 the term might very probably, in descend- 
 ing into the enumeration of the particu- 
 lars, find themselves completely at vari- 
 ance with one another. This remark 
 possesses no claim to novelty, but it is not 
 on that account the less important. The 
 discrepancy just stated is apparent not 
 only as to such general terms as Educa- 
 tion, Government, Eight, Duty, and nu- 
 merous other such words ; but it is per- 
 ceived and occurs even in things obvious 
 to the senses, which consist of a number 
 of parts, such as a machine, or any other 
 compound thing. The general use of a 
 machine, as a mill, for instance, is con- 
 ceived in the same way by all, by the 
 miller and by persons who knew nothing 
 more about the mill than that it is used 
 for grinding corn. As to the particulars, 
 there may be all imaginable discrepan- 
 cies among the persons who are only 
 acquainted with the general purpose of 
 the mill. But discrepancies as to the 
 mode in which the several parts of a 
 thing and the uses of the several parts 
 are conceived, are generally discrepancies 
 to be referred to the inaccuracy of the 
 conceptions ; they are, in fact, only errors, 
 not the same but about the same thing. 
 The more completely a large number of 
 persons approach to harmony in their 
 whole views as to this machine, the nearer, 
 as a general rule, do their several views 
 approach to accuracy ; it being of the 
 nature of truth to produce a harmony of 
 opinion, (he truth being one and invari- 
 able ; and it being of the nature of error 
 
EDUCATION. 
 
 [ 810 ] 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 to admit of more varieties than man has 
 yet conceived, inasmuch as men yet un- 
 born will conceive errors never conceived 
 before. 
 
 The same holds good as to Kducation 
 which holds good of the machine. The 
 general use, the general object of Educa- 
 tion is roughly and rightly conceived by 
 all persons to whom the name is familiar ; 
 but the great contrariety which exists 
 among mankind as to the particulars 
 which they conceive as entering into and 
 forming a part of this term, and as to 
 their mode of conceiving the same, proves 
 either that all are still wrong as to their 
 particular conceptions of this term, or 
 that hitherto no means have been disco- 
 vered of producing a general harmony of 
 opinion, or in other words, of approach- 
 ing to the truth. And here there is no 
 person, or class of persons, who, as in the 
 case of the miller, is or are allowed to be 
 an authority competent to decide between 
 conflicting opinions. 
 
 In every society, Education (in what 
 particular manner conceived by any par- 
 ticular society is of no importance to our 
 present inquiry) is, as a general rule, and 
 must necessarily be, subjected to the posi- 
 tive law of the society, and to that assem- 
 blage of opinions, customs and habits 
 which is not inappropriately called by 
 some writers the Positive Morality of 
 Society, or the Law of Opinion. This 
 truth, or truism, as some may call it, is 
 the basis of every inquiry into Education. 
 In no country can there exist, as a gene- 
 ral rule, an Education, whether it be 
 good or bad, not subordinate to the law 
 as above explained : for if such Educa- 
 tion did exist, the form of that society or 
 political system could not co-exist with 
 it. One or the other must be changed, 
 so that on the whole there must at last 
 result a harmony, and not a discord. 
 In every country then there does exist 
 Education, either directed by and subor- 
 dinate to the Positive Law and Positive 
 Morality of that country, or there is an 
 Education not so directed and subor- 
 dinate, and consequently inconsistent 
 with the continuance of that political sys- 
 tem in which it exists. But such an ano- 
 maly, if found anywhere, should not be 
 allowed to exist, because it is inconsistent 
 
 with the continued existence of the so- 
 ciety in which it has established itself; 
 and if such an Education does exist, and 
 can maintain itself in a society, against 
 the will of that society, such a society is 
 not a sovereign and independent society, 
 but is in a state of anarchy. Education 
 then should be in harmony with and sub- 
 ordinate to the political system : it should 
 be part of it ; and whether the political 
 system is called by the name good or bad, 
 if that political system is to continue, 
 Education must not be opposed to it, but 
 must be a part of it. From this it follows 
 that the question, What is the best educa- 
 tion ? involves the question, What is the 
 best political system ? and that question 
 again cannot be answered without con- 
 sidering what are the circumstances of 
 the particular nation or society as to 
 which we inquire what is the best politi- 
 cal system. Kecollecting however that 
 the question of the best education and of 
 the best political system cannot be dis- 
 cussed apart, because, as we have shown, 
 Education is a part of the system, still we 
 can consider several important questions 
 as to Education, without determining 
 what is the best political system. 
 
 One is, the political system being given, 
 what ought the Education to be ? 
 
 And, how far is it the business of the 
 state to direct, control, and encourage that 
 Education ? 
 
 A man (under which term we include 
 woman) has two distinct relations or 
 classes of relations towards the state : one 
 comprehends his duties as a citizen, 
 wherein he is or ought to be wholly sub- 
 ordinate to the state ; the other compre- 
 hends all his functions as a producer and 
 enjoyer of wealth, wherein he has or 
 ought to have all freedom that is not in- 
 consistent with the proper discharge of 
 his duties as a citizen. It is barely ne- 
 cessary to state this proposition in order 
 to perceive that his Education as a citizen 
 should be directed by the state. To sup- 
 pose any other directing power, any 
 power for instance which may educate 
 him in principles opposed to the polity of 
 which he is to form a part, is to suppose 
 an inconsistency which, in discussing any 
 question involving principles, we always 
 intend to avoid. 
 
EDUCATION. 
 
 [811 ] 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 His Education then as a citizen, it must 
 be admitted, ought to be under the super- 
 intendence of the state : but How ought 
 the state to exercise this superintend- 
 ence? 
 
 It is not our purpose to attempt to an- 
 swer this question, which involves the 
 consideration of some of the most difficult 
 questions in legislation. It is our object 
 here to present the questions which it 
 belongs to the civilization of the present 
 and future ages to solve ; to show What 
 is to be* done, not How it is to be done. 
 
 But we may answer the question so far 
 as this : the state having the superintend- 
 ence of the citizen's Education, must have 
 the superintendence of those who direct 
 that Education ; in other words, must di- 
 rect those who are to carry its purposes 
 into effect. The body of teachers therefore 
 must be formed by, or, at least, must be 
 under the superintendence of the state. 
 Unless this fundamental truth is admitted 
 and acted on, the state cannot effectually 
 direct or superintend the Education of its 
 citizens. 
 
 Every branch of this inquiry into Edu- 
 cation runs out into other branches almost 
 innumerable.till we find that the solu- 
 tion of this important question involves 
 the solution of the greater part of those 
 questions which occupy or ought to oc- 
 cupy a legislative body. For this reason, 
 as above stated, we cannot attempt to 
 answer in its full extent, How the state 
 must direct the Education of its citizens, 
 because this question involves the consi- 
 deration of How far the direction and 
 control of the state should be a matter of 
 positive law imperative on all, how far 
 and with respect to what particular mat- 
 ters it should encourage and give facili- 
 ties only, how far it should act by penal- 
 ties or punishment, how far it should 
 allow individuals or associations of indivi- 
 duals to teach or direct teaching accord- 
 ing to their own will and judgment, or, 
 to express the last question in other 
 Words, whether and to what extent the 
 state should allow competition in Educa- 
 tion ? 
 
 To these questions, and more especially 
 to the last, the apswer is in general terms, 
 that the general interest, considered in all 
 its bearings, must determine what and 
 
 how much the state must do. This an- 
 swer may be said to determine nothing. 
 It_ is true it determines no particular 
 thing, but it determines the principle by 
 which all particular measures must be 
 tested; and it would not be difficult to 
 select instances from our own legislation, 
 where enactments relating to places of 
 education have been made with a view 
 to particular interests only, without a re- 
 ference to all the bearings of the question, 
 and which, consequently, if tried by the 
 test above given, would be found to be 
 mischievous. As to the last question, the 
 answer more particularly is, — that indi- 
 vidual competition must not be destroyed. 
 It is possible to reconcile the two prin- 
 ciples of state direction and control and 
 individual competition. The state may 
 allow no person to teach without being 
 examined and registered : such regis- 
 ter will show if he has been trained 
 under the superintendence of the state or 
 not. This fact being established, it may 
 be left to individuals or associations of 
 individuals to employ what teachers they 
 please. In all the schools founded by the 
 state, in all schools under the superin- 
 tendence of the state (to which latter class 
 belong nearly all charitable foundations ; 
 and all such foundations which are not 
 under the superintendence of the state 
 ought, consistently with the general prin- 
 ciples already laid down, to be brought 
 under that superintendence), it follows as 
 a matter of course that none but teachers 
 trained under the superintendence of 
 the state should be appointed. The 
 selection of the teachers, out of the 
 whole authorized body, for any particular 
 school of the class just described, may be 
 safely left to the local authorities who 
 have the immediate superintendence of 
 these schools. 
 
 If the principle that a state ought to 
 exercise a superintendence over the Edu 
 cation of its citizens as citizens be admit 
 ted, it may be asked, how far and to what 
 branches of knowledge does this extend 'C 
 To this we reply that a precise answer 
 can only be given by the legislature of 
 each country, and the question cannot 
 be answered without many years of la- 
 bour and perhaps without many experi- 
 ments. But it follows from the principles 
 
EDUCATION. 
 
 [ 812 j 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 already laid down that no citizen ought 
 to exercise any function of government, 
 or be intrusted with the exercise of any 
 power delegated by the state, without 
 having received some (what, we cannot 
 here say) Education under the superin- 
 tendence and direction of the state. 
 
 When the sovereign is one, it is clear 
 how he will and ought to direct the Edu- 
 cation of his people. His first object must 
 be to maintain his own power. It is an 
 absurdity to suppose any Education per- 
 mitted in any state which shall be incon- 
 sistent with the existence of that state ; 
 and consequently in a monarchy, the first 
 object is and must be the preservation of 
 the monarchy. It is unnecessary to show 
 that the attainment of this object is by no 
 means inconsistent with good Education, 
 and Education which is good when con- 
 sidered with reference to other objects 
 than the conservation of the monarchy. 
 
 In a democracy [Democracy] the busi- 
 ness of the state is also plain and easy. 
 It is not plain how far and to what classes 
 of subjects the superintendence of the state 
 should extend, for that may be as difficult 
 to determine in a democracy as in any 
 other form of government ; but it is plain 
 to what objects the superintendence of the 
 state in such a community should extend. 
 Its objects should be to maintain iu all its 
 purity the principle of individual poli- 
 tical equality, that the sovereign power is 
 in all and every person, that the will of 
 the majority declared in the form pre- 
 scribed by the constitution, is the rule 
 which all must obey, and that the ex- 
 pression of opinion on all subjects, by 
 speaking or writing, should be perfectly 
 free. If any checks are wanting on 
 the last head, they will always be sup- 
 plied in a democracy by the positive 
 morality of the society in a degree at 
 least great as is required, and certainly 
 in a greater degree than in any other 
 form of government ; and when opinion 
 is ineffectual, law must supply its weak- 
 ness. 
 
 What must the state do in a political 
 system which is neither a monarchy nor 
 a democracy ; in a system where there 
 are contending elements, and none has 
 yet obtained the superiority ? The an- 
 swer is, it must do what it can, and that 
 
 which it does, being the will of the 
 stronger part for the time, must be con- 
 sidered right. But such a political sys- 
 tem, though it may continue for a long 
 time, is always moving (at least it is only 
 safe when it is moving) in the direction 
 impressed upon it by one or other of the 
 contending powers which exist in the 
 state. Still, so long as the struggle con- 
 tinues, there can be no Education in the 
 sense which we are considering, no Edu- 
 cation which has the single, clear, and 
 undivided object proposed to it in a mo- 
 narchy and in a democracy. Such a 
 political system then would appear to be 
 wanting in one of the chief elements of a 
 political system, which we have explained 
 to be the bringing up of the citizens in 
 such a manner as to secure the stability 
 of that system under which they live. 
 In such a system as we here imagine, 
 there being no unity in the object, there 
 can be no unity of means with reference 
 to any object ; and such a system might 
 be more properly called an aggregation 
 of political societies, than one political 
 society ; what is implied by the word 
 aggregation being the existence of some- 
 thing just strong enough to keep the 
 whole together. Such a society, in spite 
 of its incongruity, may be kept together 
 by several things : one may be, that the 
 positive morality of the whole society is 
 favourable to order, as characterized by 
 a love of wealth, and impressed with a 
 profound conviction of the necessity of 
 leaving free to every individual the pur- 
 suit of wealth and the enjoyment of it 
 when it is acquired. Another may be, 
 that in this same society, though there 
 are contending elements, there may be a 
 slow and steady progress, and a gradual 
 change, tending in one direction only; 
 such a gradual progress in such a system 
 may be regarded as the only security 
 against its destruction. 
 
 If the history of the world has ever 
 presented, or if it now presents, such a 
 phenomenon as we have attempted to de- 
 scribe ; further, if such a society contains 
 the greatest known number of instances 
 of enormous individual wealth opposed 
 to the greatest amount of abject poverty ; 
 the highest intellectual cultivation and 
 tlie greatest freedom of thought, side by 
 
EDUCATION. 
 
 [ 813 ] 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 side with the grossest ignorance and the 
 darkest superstition ; thousands in the en- 
 joyment of wealth for which they never 
 labom-ed, and tens of thousands, depend- 
 ing for their daily bread upon the labour 
 of their hands and the sensitive vibra- 
 tions of the scale of commerce ; political 
 power in appearance widely diffused, in 
 effect confined to the hands of a few ; ig- 
 norance of the simplest elements of society 
 in many of the rich and those who have 
 power ; ignorance not greater in those 
 who are poor and have none — such a so- 
 ciety, if it exists, is a society in which 
 every reflecting man must at moments 
 have misgivings as to its future condition 
 and as to the happiness of those in whom 
 he is most nearly interested. But if such 
 a society contains a class, properly and 
 truly denominated a middle class, a class 
 neither enervated by excessive wealth and 
 indolence nor depressed by poverty ; a 
 class that is characterized by industry 
 and activity unexampled; a class that 
 considers labour as the true source of 
 happiness, and free inquiry on all sub- 
 jects as the best privilege of a free man — 
 such a society may exist and continue to 
 be indefinitely in a state of progressive 
 improvement. Such a society, with its 
 monstrous anomalies and defects, offers 
 to a statesman of enlarged mind and vi- 
 gorous understanding the strongest mo- 
 tive, while it supplies him with all the 
 means, to give to the political system an 
 impulse that shall carry it beyond the 
 region of unstable equilibrium and place 
 it at once in a sta',e of security. 
 
 In such a society the simple enuncia- 
 tion by one possessed of power, that Edu- 
 cation is a part of the business of the 
 state, would be considered as the fore- 
 runner of some measure which should 
 lay the foundation of that unity without 
 which the temporary prosperity of file 
 nation can never become permanent and 
 its real happiness can never be secured. 
 
 The particular questions that the phi- 
 losophic legislator has then to solve with 
 respect to the education of the citizens, 
 are — 1. How are teachers to be taught, 
 and what are they to be taught ? 2. How 
 is the body of teachers to be directed, 
 superintended, rewarded, and punished ? 
 3. What schools and what kinds of schools 
 
 are to be established and encouraged for 
 the Education of the people 1 4. What 
 are the teachers to teach, in those schools? 
 5. Where is the immediate government 
 of such schools to be placed? 6. And 
 where the ultimate and supreme direction 
 and control of such schools ? The word 
 Schools is here used as comprehending 
 all places of Education. 
 
 It remains to consider those other rela- 
 tions of a man to the state in which we 
 view him as a producer of wealth for his 
 own enjoyment. Here the general prin- 
 ciple is, that the pursuit and enjoyment 
 of wealth must be left as free as the pub- 
 lic interest requires ; and this amount of 
 freedom will not depend in any great de- 
 gree on the form of government. To 
 this head, that of the production of 
 wealth, belong all the divisions of labour 
 by which a man, to use a homely but ex- 
 pressive phrase, gets his living, or what 
 in other words are called the professions, 
 trades, and arts of a country. The only 
 way in which the state can with any ad- 
 vantage direct or control the exercise of 
 any profession, trade, or art, is by requir- 
 ing the person who undertakes to exer- 
 cise it to have been trained or educated 
 for the purpose. Whether this should be 
 done in all cases, or in some and what 
 cases, and to what extent, and how, are 
 questions for a legislature guided by a 
 philosopher to answer. 
 
 In all countries called civilized this has 
 been done to a certain extent. The legis- 
 lation of our own country offers instances 
 of great errors committed by legislating 
 where no legislation was wanted, or by 
 legislating badly. Perhaps instances may 
 also be noted in all countries where evil 
 has arisen for want of legislation on the 
 subject. W : may explain by example. 
 
 Perhaps it is unnecessary for a state to 
 require that a shoemaker, or a tailor, or 
 a painter, or a sculptor, should be re- 
 quired to go through a certain course of 
 training before he exercises his art. The 
 best shoemaker and best tailor will be 
 sure to find employment, and individual 
 shoemakers and tailors have as ample 
 means of giving instruction in their craft 
 as can be desired. It may be true or not 
 true, that the best painters and sculptors 
 will meet with most employment : but is 
 
EDUCATION. 
 
 814 ] 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 it unnecessary or is it necessary for a state 
 to offer facilities and encouragement to 
 those who design to educate themselves 
 as painters and sculptors ? Most civilized 
 nations have decided this question by 
 doing so, and there are many reasons in 
 favour of such a policy. 
 
 Ought the state to require the pro- 
 fessor of law, of medicine, or of religious 
 teaching, to undergo some kind of preli- 
 minary Education, and to obtain a certi- 
 ficate thereof? Nearly all civilized 
 countries have required the lawyer and 
 physician to go through some course of 
 Education. There are strong reasons in 
 some countries, our own for instance, both 
 for and against such a requisition; but 
 ou the whole, the reasons seem to pre- 
 ponderate in favour of requiring such 
 Education from him who designs to prac- 
 tise law, and still more from him who 
 designs to practise the art of healing. 
 Most civilized countries, perhaps all, ex- 
 cept two (so far as we know), require all 
 persons who profess the teaching of Re- 
 ligion to have received some Education, 
 to be ascertained by some evidence. But 
 in both the nations excepted, any person, 
 however ignorant, may preach on subjects 
 which the mass of the community believe 
 or affect to believe to be of greater im- 
 portance both for their present and future 
 welfare than any other subjects. Pro- 
 fessing to maintain, as we hope they al- 
 ways will do, the principle of religious 
 freedom, these two nations have fallen 
 into the greatest inconsistencies. They 
 have checked the free expression of indi- 
 vidual opinion byword of mouth, and fet- 
 tered it in the written form, in the one 
 country by the severe penalties of posit' ve 
 law, and the no less severe penalties of 
 positive morality; and in the other by 
 the penalties of positive morality carried 
 to an excess which is destructive to the 
 interests of the society itself. (See At- 
 torney General v. Pearson, 3 Merrivale, 
 353.) But both nations allow any per- 
 son, if he professes to be a teacher of 
 religion, however ignorant he may be, to 
 become the weekly, the daily instructor 
 of thousands, including children, who 
 derive and have derived no instruction of 
 any kind except from this source. Such 
 a teaching or preaching, if it only as- 
 
 sumes the name and form of religious 
 teaching, is permitted to inculcate prin- 
 ciples which may be subversive of the 
 political system; and it may and often 
 does inculcate principles the tendency of 
 which is to undermine the foundations of 
 all social order ; Jfor it should never be 
 forgotten that all religious teaching must 
 include moral teaching, though moral 
 teaching is quite distinct from religious 
 teaching. And though it must he ad- 
 mitted that no teacher of religion recom- 
 mends a had thing as bad, he may recom- 
 mend a bad thing as good, solely because 
 he knows no better. We have endea- 
 voured to point out an anomaly which 
 exists in certain political institutions, and 
 which can only be allowed to exist so 
 long as it protects itself under a specious 
 and an honoured but misunderstood 
 name. For though it be admitted that 
 such anomaly exist, it may be said that 
 it cannot be remedied without interfering 
 with the important principle of religious 
 freedom. But what is religious or any 
 other freedom? Is it the individual 
 power of doing or saying what a man 
 likes ? Certainly not. It means no more 
 than a freedom not inconsistent with the 
 public welfare. Still it may be urged 
 that this is precisely the kind of freedom 
 with which no state, where the principle 
 of religious freedom is admitted, can 
 safely interfere. But this is only bring- 
 ing us round again to the question, What 
 is religious freedom ? To say that it 
 cannot be interfered with is to assume an 
 answer to the question. Does what is 
 called religious freedom, as the same is 
 now understood, admitting it to produce 
 much good, produce also any evil ? If it 
 does, can the evil be remedied ? Is the 
 free practice of any art or profession, me- 
 dicine or law, for instance, or the art of 
 instructing children in general know- 
 ledge, or perfect freedom in teaching and 
 expounding religious doctrines, incon- 
 sistent with the condition of qualification ? 
 How the qualification is to he ascertained, 
 and what it is to be, is the question ; and 
 it is a question which may be answered. 
 
 It may be asked : If a man should not 
 be a teacher of Religion without comply- 
 ing with some previous conditions, why 
 should he be allowed to write on Religion 
 
EDUCATION. 
 
 L 815 j 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 without some like qualification, for he 
 may do mischief by his writing as well as 
 his oral preaching ? This is true ; and if 
 it were possible, consistently with reli- 
 gious freedom, as here understood, to pre- 
 vent persons from writing on Eeligion 
 who have not had a competent Education, 
 it would be a good thing to prevent them. 
 So would it also be a good thing to pre- 
 vent persons from writing on many other 
 subjects, who know little or nothing about 
 them, if it could be done consistently 
 with letting those write who do under- 
 stand what they are writing about. But 
 it cannot be done ; and as the free ex- 
 pression of opinion is essential to the full 
 development of a nation's powers, both 
 physical and intellectual, we must be con- 
 tent to take the bad with the good. Writ- 
 ing, however, is different f»m teaching 
 and preaching. Oral instruction reaches 
 thousands whom a book, however small 
 or cheap, never can reach. If a man 
 should propound doctrines destructive to 
 all social organization in a learned and 
 exteesive work, it might be most prudent 
 to take no notice of him. If he should 
 propound them in a form adapted for 
 universal circulation, the case is different ; 
 and if his doctrines are such as tend to 
 overthrow the political system under 
 which he lives, it would be a gross in- 
 consistency to allow them to be circu- 
 lated. Still more, if he should go about 
 preaching them, would it be the business 
 of the state to quench such a firebrand by 
 any means, however severe, that are re- 
 quired for the purpose. 
 
 In a Monarchy, such an Cvil is stopped 
 by the monarch or his agents ; but there is 
 the danger that the interference may ex- 
 tend to cases when no real harm could be 
 done by the circulation of the book or 
 the preaching of the doctrine, and to 
 cases in which good would follow. In a 
 free state, no man is convicted of the of- 
 fence of writing or teaching what is bad 
 without the judgment of his fellow-citi- 
 zens — in England by a jury ; and though 
 a jury is neither always wise nor always 
 impartial, no better means have yet been 
 discovered of reconciling the free expres- 
 sion of opinion with the restraint of opi- 
 nions which cannot be broached without 
 danger to the state. 
 
 The relation of Eeligion to the State is 
 a question of vital importance to all na- 
 tions, but to none is it of so great import 
 ance as to those of a Eepublican form, 
 those in which political power is distri- 
 buted among many individuals, and 
 extends to a large part of the people in 
 general, as distinguished from a privi 
 leged class. 
 
 He who views a state rightly views it 
 as a Unity : the sovereign power, whe- 
 ther it is lodged in one or in many, is 
 that which gives a unity to all the mem- 
 bers of the social body. In the middle- 
 age history of Europe, we see two con- 
 tending bodies in a state, a body Political 
 and a body Ecclesiastical, and the conse- 
 quence was anarchy. The states of Eu- 
 rope have long been Christian States, and 
 the Christian Eeligion is inseparably 
 blended with all European systems, and 
 those of America, which have arisen out 
 of them. In one state in Europe, the 
 Papal State, the constitution is Eccle- 
 siastical, and the Political is merged in 
 it. In some other states of Europe the 
 Ecclesiastical body is now completely 
 subjected by the Political ; in others the 
 Ecclesiastical body still possesses large 
 political power. The paramount import- 
 ance of Eeligion leads many persons to 
 conclude that the Ecclesiastical Estate 
 should have political power, or at least 
 that it should have the sole power of re- 
 gulating all its own concerns. Those who 
 maintain this proposition must admit that 
 a state is not a Unity : it is a divided 
 body, one member of which is to some 
 extent independent of the whole body ; 
 a monstrous anomaly which can only 
 breed confusion and stop all social im- 
 provement. 
 
 If the state is to be One, must it be 
 One as a Political body, or as a body 
 Political and Eeligious ? If there is only 
 one religion in the state, and no other 
 allowed, the state may be Politically and 
 Eeligiously one. Such a state may be 
 perfect in theory, but, in fact, its move- 
 ments will not be towards improvement, 
 but retrograde. Experience has shown 
 that the free exercise of the understand- 
 ing on all matters of speculation, on all 
 matters of belief, on all matters that ex- 
 tend beyond the limits of sense, is as 
 
EDUCATION. 
 
 [ 816 ] 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 necessary to the development of the un- 
 derstanding, as freedom from unwise 
 restrictions on trade and industry is ne- 
 cessary to the increase of national wealth. 
 If a state then allows each man to think, 
 speak, and so write as he pleases, subject 
 only to the condition that he shall not 
 speak, write, or act, as to attempt to over- 
 throw the power which gives him this 
 freedom, the state must consistently de- 
 clare, the sovereign body by its acts of 
 legislation must declare, that it is neither 
 a Religious nor an Anti-religious body. 
 The state is neither Christian nor not- 
 Christian. But it is objected — it has been 
 admitted that all European nations are 
 now Christian, and that Christianity is 
 intimately blended with them, frue; 
 and for this reason, — the state need not 
 occupy itself about the matter. It is 
 admitted that Christianity has rooted it- 
 self in all our social systems deeper than 
 any legislation can do. It pervades all 
 society, its influence is above law. 
 Christianity is therefore recognised by 
 all ; for as to the few speculative thinkers 
 who do not recognise its truths, and as 
 to the still larger number who are indif- 
 ferent, they do not affect the great mass. 
 It is a truth indisputable, a truth which 
 no man in his senses can deny, that mo- 
 dern civilization is Christian ; and that if 
 all state establishments of religion were 
 abolished, Christianity would exist in the 
 minds of the great mass of a nation, and 
 would be taught and propagated by zeal- 
 ous teachers. Nay, were a state to oppose 
 itself to all religion, to persecute those 
 who profess and those who teach it, 
 Christianity would only flourish the 
 more. For a state is directed by a com- 
 paratively small number, and this small 
 number, if it opposed Christianity, would 
 be precisely in the same position as if one 
 man should attempt to control by force a 
 million. 
 
 If then Christianity pervades the mass 
 of a nation, the political system, the Go- 
 vernment, cannot oppose Christianity, 
 and it need not be identified with it. 
 Christianity, though one thing as con- 
 trasted with Mohammedanism or other 
 religions, is not one in itself. There are 
 numerous sects : all profess ( .hristianity, 
 but all differ among themselves in some 
 
 matters of faith and ceremony. If all 
 are allowed to differ, and all are allowed 
 to profess Christianity as they choose, it 
 is an idle thing to speak of a Christian 
 State, if we understand thereby that the 
 state is to be considered both a Political 
 and a Religious body. It involves a 
 contradiction, for the state can not be 
 Christian in any given form, without 
 being opposed to those who are Christians 
 in a different form. It follows that in a 
 state where all forms of Christianity are 
 allowed, the state is not Christian, and it 
 gives, or ought to give, no more encou- 
 ragement to one form of Christianity than 
 to another. It allows to all the free exer- 
 cise of their religion, it subjects all alike 
 to the same rules and restraints, it gives 
 its aid and encouragement to all on equal 
 terms. How far it shall give its aid, and 
 in what form, is a matter that it is not 
 necessary to determine here. It is 
 enough to show that in a state which 
 allows all forms of Christianity, the 
 state as such is not Christian, and that 
 when the principle of the free profession 
 of any form of Christianity is once ac- 
 knowledged, from that time the state has 
 abandoned the character of being Chris- 
 tian as a state. The practical conse- 
 quences of this must be that whatever 
 remains there may be in an old state of 
 this identity of a Church and a state, or, 
 as it is sometimes expressed, union of 
 church and state, the course of events, if 
 it proceeds onwards in the same direc- 
 tion, must in time efface every trace of 
 this union. 
 
 If a state, besides allowing the profes- 
 sion of Christianity in any form, shall 
 likewise allow the open profession of any 
 other faith, that is not Christian, it is 
 still more absurd to speak of the state, as 
 such, being Christian. It is, as a state, 
 as much non-Christian as Christian ; 
 and it must, to be consistent, give its 
 protection to those who are not Chris- 
 tians as much as to those who are Chris- 
 tians, and as a state it must make no 
 distinction between those who are not 
 Christians and those who are. 
 
 If the number of those who profess 
 some faith which is not Christian should 
 increase and approach to the number of 
 those who are Christian, such a State 
 
EDUCATION. 
 
 [ 817 ] 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 would be threatened with anarchy or a 
 revolution. But the amount of risk of 
 this kind is not great ; for as the world 
 stands at present, there seems little dan- 
 ger of a Christian country becoming Mo- 
 hammedanized, and not much prospect of 
 a Mohammedan country becoming Chris- 
 tianized. 
 
 The practical conclusion is, that in a 
 State where perfect religious freedom, as 
 it is termed, exists, the State treats all 
 religious associations or communities 
 alike : it shows no favour, extends no 
 aid, and gives no countenance to one 
 more than to another. This is the true 
 conclusion that is deduced where a State 
 which had once one religion, and only 
 one, and allowed no other, has so changed 
 this its fundamental polity as to allow all 
 religions to be professed openly, freely, 
 without penalty, persecution, or restraint. 
 
 In all that we have said on Education 
 as a subject of legislation, it is assumed 
 either that the state can enforce, if ne- 
 cessary, that which it enacts ; or that the 
 enactments of the state will be only the 
 expression of the public will; or that 
 they will be founded on reasons so clear 
 and convincing as to receive, when pro- 
 mulgated, the assent and support of a 
 majority large enough to secure their 
 being carried into effect. If some one of 
 these conditions cannot be fulfilled, the 
 legislation is premature, and will pro- 
 bably be injurious. 
 
 The extent of that department of Edu- 
 cation with which the legislature should 
 not interfere can only be fixed with pre- 
 cision by ascertaining the extent of its pro- 
 per, that is, its useful interference. We 
 may state, however, in general terms, that 
 the early and domestic Education of the 
 young of both sexes is in nearly all, perhaps 
 all, modern political systems, placed be- 
 yond the reach of direct legislative control 
 oy the constitution of modern society. But 
 inasmuch as one of the great functions of 
 government is the instruction, direction, 
 and superintendence of the teaching body, 
 even the domestic Education is not be- 
 yond its influence, but will be subjected 
 to it in precisely the same degree as the 
 state shall succeed in forming a body of 
 good teachers. For the importance and 
 value of Education (in some sense or 
 
 other : it matters not here in what sense) 
 are universally admitted. The objects of 
 Education, it is true, are often misunder- 
 stood by parents and those who have the 
 charge of youth, and the means are as 
 often ill-calculated for the end proposed 
 But this is only a consequence of igno 
 ranee, not an indication that Education is 
 undervalued. When better objects and 
 better means are proposed, whether by 
 individual example or by associations of 
 individuals called societies, or by the 
 state, such objects and means will be 
 readily embraced by all who can com- 
 prehend them. It being assumed that 
 the objects and means thus presented are 
 desirable in themselves, there can be no 
 obstacle to the reception of them, so far 
 as the state allows the reception to be 
 voluntary, except the ignorance and pre- 
 judices (which are, in fact, only igno- 
 rance under another name) of those to 
 whom they are proposed. But till this 
 obstacle which ignorance presents is over- 
 come, nothing can be effected in the 
 way of improvement; and it being ad- 
 mitted, that as to the department of edu- 
 cation under consideration, direct legisla- 
 tion is not the proper means, some other 
 means must be adopted. Individuals and 
 societies often effect their benevolent ob- 
 jects by example, and by the authority of 
 their name and character. The state may 
 do the same. The influence of authority 
 and example is in all countries most effi- 
 cient when the sovereign power calls 
 them in to its aid. Individuals may do 
 much ; societies have done more ; but 
 Society (the whole, in its collective power) 
 is the body from which all improvements 
 must come that are calculated to operate 
 on the mass. From these considerations 
 we conclude that if any state seriously 
 and anxiously apply itself to the business 
 of forming a body of teachers, it is impos- 
 sible to foresee how far the beneficial in- 
 fluence of such a body, well organized, 
 may extend. It may penetrate into the 
 house of the wealthy, where the child who 
 is born to the possession of wealth is not 
 thereby secured in the enjoyment of it, 
 or against any one calamity of human 
 life. His wealth may be wasted by im- 
 providence ; his health may be enfeebled 
 by indolence and debauchery ; his under- 
 30 
 
EDUCATION. 
 
 [ 818 J 
 
 EDUCATION. 
 
 standing may be cramped and corrupted 
 by vicious Education and bad example ; 
 and he may become an object of detesta- 
 tion and contempt, though born to the 
 command of wealth sufficient to pur- 
 chase all the luxuries that combined in- 
 genuity and industry can produce. This 
 influence may also reach, and perhaps 
 sooner and more effectually reach, the 
 hovels and the garrets of the poor, where 
 thousands of children are now brought 
 up under such circumstances, that to be 
 unhealthy, vicious, criminal, and un- 
 happy, are the only results which, as a 
 general rule, can follow from the given 
 conditions of their existence. When the 
 unhappy wretch, who cannot be other 
 than what he is, has at last transgressed 
 the limits of the positive morality of 
 society, and got within the verge of the 
 penalties of the law, his crimes are bla- 
 zoned forth by the public prints, the re- 
 spectable part of society are shocked at 
 the disclosures, and are only relieved from 
 their pain when the criminal is hid in a 
 prison, or his life is taken by the execu- 
 tioner. But the example is soon forgotten, 
 and misery and vice fester in the very 
 heart of society unheeded, till some new 
 warning again startles it from its lethargy. 
 
 Some zealous promoters of education 
 set great value on books as a means of 
 improvement, and much has been done 
 towards supplying all classes of society 
 with better elementary works. This is a 
 department that perhaps should not be 
 overlooked by the State ; for good books 
 are of course better than bad. But no 
 elementary books for learners will ever 
 effect any great change. If the teachers 
 are made what they ought to be, books 
 are of little importance for learners ; and 
 if the teachers are not well trained, a 
 good book in their hands will not be 
 much more efficacious than a bad one, 
 The kind of elementary books most 
 wanted are books for the use of teachers. 
 Those who lay so much stress on books 
 for learners, and especially for the child- 
 ren of the poor, speak as men who know 
 little of practical education. 
 
 It may appear almost superfluous to 
 state that the true interest of the sovereign 
 power, considered in all its bearings, 
 must coincide with the interest of the 
 
 governed ; the difference in forms of 
 government or in the distribution of the 
 sovereign power being mainly to be con- 
 sidered a difference in the instruments or 
 means by which an end is to be obtained. 
 But still this difference is important. 
 Where the sovereign power is in all those 
 who as individuals are subject to it, the 
 coincidence of power and of interest is 
 complete ; and the nearer any form of go- 
 vernment approaches to this distribution 
 of power, the more obvious and the 
 stronger is the principle laid down. The 
 principle may express a common-place 
 truth ; but the consequences that flow 
 from it are numerous and important. 
 When it is clear that the state can 
 promote the general good by its regu- 
 lations, its business is to make regula- 
 tions. If regulations will not promote 
 the general good, that is a reason for 
 not making them. Now, to protect a 
 man in the enjoyment of his property, and 
 to preserve him from the aggressions of 
 others, is a main part of the business of 
 governing. For this purpose restraints 
 and punishments are necessary : imme- 
 diately, to protect the injured, and give 
 compensation, when it can be given ; 
 remotely, to prevent others from being 
 injured, and, so far as it can be done, to 
 reform the offender. But the punishment 
 of any offender, in its extremest shape,, 
 can do little more than prevent the same 
 person from offending again. Those who 
 are deterred from crime by his example 
 can at any rate only be those to whom the 
 example is known, and they are a small 
 portion even of the actual society. Gener- 
 ally, then, those who do not offend against 
 the laws, do not offend, cither because they 
 have been sufficiently educated to avoid 
 such offence, or because the opportunity 
 and temptation have not been presented 
 to them, or because they know that punish- 
 ment may follow the crime. But a large 
 class cf offenders have not been sufficiently 
 educated to enable them to avoid the com- 
 mission of crime ; a very large number 
 are brought up amidst the opportunities, 
 the temptations, and the example of crime, 
 to oppose all which the single fact of 
 knowing that the crime may be punished 
 (and even that amount of knowledge is 
 , not always possessed by the criminal) is 
 
EDUCATION. 
 
 [ 819 ] 
 
 EGG-TRADE. 
 
 all the means of resistance that such per- 
 sons are armed with. In societies which 
 boast of their wealth, their civilization, 
 and their high intellectual cultivation, 
 such is the feeble barrier opposed by those 
 who have the government of a people 
 between thousands of their fellow-citizens 
 and the commission of crimes the penal- 
 ties of which are always severe and often 
 cruel. 
 
 If the general considerations which we 
 have urged are of any weight, there is no 
 branch of legislation which comprehends 
 so many important questions as are com- 
 prehended in the word Education, even 
 when taken in its ordinary acceptation ; 
 but when viewed in all its bearings, it is 
 of all questions most peculiarly that which 
 it concerns the present age and the present 
 state of society to determine. That Edu- 
 cation was an integral, an essential part 
 of legislation, was clearly seen by the 
 Greeks, to whom belongs the merit of 
 having approached, and often having 
 solved, nearly all the important questions 
 that affect the constitution of society. It 
 was their good fortune to contemplate 
 many truths from a nearer point of view 
 and in a clearer light than we can do 
 now. The relations of modern society 
 are so numerous and complicated, that the 
 mind is bewildered amidst the multiplicity 
 and variety of facts, the claims of opposing 
 interests, and the number and magnitude 
 of the objects which are presented for its 
 consideration. It is only by keeping our- 
 selves as free as possible from mere party 
 influences, and steadily looking to the 
 general welfare as the end to be attained 
 by and the true test of all political insti- 
 tutions, that we can hope to discover and 
 apply the principles which shall secure, so 
 far as such a thing can be secured, the 
 universal happiness of a nation. 
 
 " That the legislator should especially 
 occupy himself with the education of 
 youth, no one can dispute ; for when this 
 is not done in states, it is a cause of 
 damage to the polity (form of govern- 
 ment). For a state must be administered 
 with reference to its polity ; and that 
 which is the peculiar characteristic of 
 each polity is that which preserves and 
 originally constitutes it ; as, for instance, 
 the democratical principle in a democracy, 
 
 and the oligarchical in an oligarchy ; and 
 that which is the best principle always 
 constitutes the best polity. Further, in 
 every occupation and art a person must 
 receive previous instruction and discipline, 
 in order to the exercising of the occupa- 
 tion or art ; consequently also to the 
 enabling him to the exercise of virtue. 
 Now, since the end of every state is one, 
 it is evident that the education must be 
 one, and of necessity the same for all, and 
 that the superintendence of the education 
 must be with the public and not with indi- 
 viduals, as it now is, when each indi- 
 vidual superintends his own children 
 singly, and teaches them what he chooses. 
 But when things are matter of public 
 concern, the discipline pertaining to them 
 must also be matter of public concern ; 
 and we must not consider any citizen as 
 belonging to himself, but all as belonging 
 to the state ; for each is a part of the 
 state, and the superintendence of each part 
 has naturally a reference to the superin- 
 tendence of the whole. In the matter of 
 education, as well as in other matters, the 
 Lacedaemonians deserve praise ; for they 
 take the greatest pains about the educa- 
 tion of their children, and that, too, as a 
 public concern. That, then, a state ought 
 to legislate on education and make it a 
 public concern, is clear ; but what educa- 
 tion is, and how education must be con- 
 ducted, is a subjeet for consideration.' 
 (Aristotle, Politick, viii. c.) 
 
 EFFENDI is a Turkish word, which 
 signifies ' Master, Monsieur,' and is sub- 
 joined as a title of respect to the names of 
 persons, especially to those of learned men 
 and ecclesiastics, e. g. Omar Effendi, 
 Ahmed Effendi, in the same manner in 
 which Agha is placed after the names of 
 military and court officers. The word 
 Effendi occurs also as part of some titles 
 of particular officers, as Beis Effendi, 
 the title of the principal secretary of 
 state and prime minister of the Ottoman 
 empire, which is properly an abbreviation 
 of Reis-al-Kottab, i. e., ' the head or chief 
 of secretaries or writers.' 
 
 EGG-TKADE. The supply of ap- 
 parently insignificant products of rural 
 industry is often a branch of trade of 
 considerable importance in this country. 
 All these products must be obtained 
 3 a 2 
 
ELECTION. 
 
 [ 820 ] 
 
 ELECTION. 
 
 through the medium of dealers or shop- 
 keepers by the non-agricultural part of 
 the population ; and even those who are 
 employed in agriculture are, generally 
 speaking, supplied with the products 
 which they raise in the same way as those 
 who have no connexion with the soil. 
 There is no large class of persons who 
 consume the products of their labour. 
 
 In 18.35 the value of eggs exported from 
 Ireland to Great Britain was G8,687i. ; and 
 perhaps at the present time it may exceed 
 100,000/. At id. per dozen the num- 
 ber of eggs which this sum would pur- 
 chase would l>e 72,000,000. From France 
 and Belgium we imported 96,000,000 
 eggs in 1840 ; on which the duty of one 
 penny per dozen produced 34 , 4 Ml. Nine- 
 tenths of the foreign eggs are from France 
 The departments nearest to England, 
 from the Pas de Calais to La Manche, are 
 visited by the dealers, and their pur- 
 chases often produce a scarcity in the 
 country markets. At most of the ports 
 of these departments, from Calais to Cher- 
 bourg, some vessels are employed in the 
 egg-trade. The weight of 80,000,000 
 eggs will not be far short of 2500 tons. 
 1 n the last three years the importations of 
 foreign eggs were as follows : — ■ 
 
 1842 . . 89,548,747 
 
 1843 ... 70,415,931 
 
 1844 . . . 67,487,920 
 
 The consumption of eggs at Paris is 
 estimated at one hundred millions a-year. 
 
 A hen of the Polish breed will lay 175 
 eggs in one year. Their weight will be 
 between 13 and 14 lbs. 
 
 ELECTION is when a man is left to 
 his own free will to take or do one 
 tiling or another which he pleases (Ter- 
 mes de la Leif) ; and he who is to do the 
 first act shall have the election. If A 
 covenants to pay B a pound of pepper or 
 saffron before Whitsuntide, it is at the 
 election of A at all times before Whit- 
 suntide which of them he will pay ; but 
 if he does not pay either before the time 
 fixed, then it is at the election of B to 
 sue for which he pleases. If a man give 
 to another one of his horses, the donee 
 may take which he chooses; but if the 
 donation be that he will give one of his 
 horses (in the future tense), then the 
 election is in the donor. 
 
 Courts of equity frequently apply tha 
 principle of election in cases where a 
 party has inconsistent rights, and compel 
 him to elect which he will enforce : as, if 
 A by his will assumes to give an estate 
 belonging to B to C, and gives other 
 benefits to B, B cannot obtain the bene- 
 fits given to him by the will unless he 
 gives effect to the testator's disposition to 
 C. It does not appear to be quite settled 
 whether the party who elects to retain 
 his own property in opposition to the in- 
 strument is bouud to relinquish only so 
 much of the property given to him as 
 will be sufficient to compensate the disap- 
 pointed parties, or whether his election 
 will be followed by absolute forfeiture of 
 the whole. The arguments on both sides 
 are ably stated 1 Roper, Husband and 
 Wife, 566 n. ; 1 Swanst. Reports, 441; 
 2 Coke's Repts., 35 b., Thomas's note. 
 The principle of election is equally 
 recognized in courts of law, though they 
 are seldom called to deal upon it, except 
 where the alternative is very distinct, or 
 the party has already elected. Indeed 
 this principle is of universal application, 
 and prevails in the laws of all countries ; 
 it is applicable to all interests, whether of 
 married women or of infants ; to interests 
 immediate, remote, or contingent; to 
 copyhold as well as to freehold estates ; to 
 personalty as well as to realty ; to deeds 
 as well as to wills. 
 
 Courts of equity also will compel a 
 plaintiff suing at law as well. as in equity, 
 or in a foreign court as well as in the 
 court in England, for the same matter, at 
 the same time, to elect in which court he 
 will proceed, and will restrain him from 
 pursuing his rights iu all others. There 
 are some exceptions to this doctrine, as in 
 the case of a mortgagee, who may proceed 
 in equity for a foreclosure, and on his 
 bond or covenant at law at the same time ; 
 but this arises from the difference of the 
 remedy, and from the original agreement 
 to give the concurrent remedies: and 
 even in such a case a court of equity will 
 restrain a mortgagee from enforcing his 
 judgment at law upon the bond or cove- 
 nant, if he is not prepared to deliver up 
 the mortgaged property and the title- 
 deeds belonging to it. 
 
 On Election under a will in the Roman 
 
ELECTION-COMMITTEES. [ 821 ] ELECTION-COMMITTEES. 
 
 Law see Dig. xxxiii. tit 5, De Optione 
 vel Electione Legata: and as to the 
 French Law, see the Code Civil, 
 art. 1189, &&, Des Obligations Alterna- 
 tives. 
 
 The term Election is borrowed from 
 the Roman Law. The word optio often 
 occurs in the Roman writers to express 
 that a man may choose of two or more 
 things or conditions, which he will take. 
 The instances of election and option given 
 in the title of the Digest, above referred 
 to, are limited to options given by way of 
 legacy, which is 1 the subject treated of in 
 that part of the Digest. Probably the 
 legal meaning of election and option was 
 limited to election under a testament 
 
 ELECTION-COMMITTEES. The 
 course of elections of members of the 
 House of Commons from the issuing of 
 the writs to the returns made to the 
 Clerk of the Crown is briefly sketched 
 under the head House of Commons. 
 The Clerk of the Crown certifies the re- 
 turns made to him to the House [Clerk 
 of the Crown.] The mode of adjudi- 
 cating election-petitions is the subject of 
 the present article. 
 
 Till 1770, when the act well known as 
 the Grenville act was passed, questions 
 of controverted elections were decided by 
 the whole House of Commons : and every 
 such question was made a party contest. 
 The Grenville act introduced a plan, 
 which, with several modifications, con- 
 tinued till 1839, of appointing committees 
 for the trial of election petitions by lot. 
 Since 1839 a different system has been 
 in operation, under which the choice of 
 members of election-committees has not 
 been left to chance, and their individual 
 responsibility has been increased by di- 
 minishing the number of members. By 
 the 7 & 8 Vict. c. 1C3 (passed the year, 
 1844) the number of members of an 
 election-committee was redueed from 
 seven to five, including the chairman. 
 
 The 7 & 8 Vict c. 103, now regulates 
 the constitution and the proceedings of 
 committees on controverted elections. 
 
 At the commencement of every session, 
 the Speaker appoints by warrant six 
 members of the House to be a General 
 Committee of Elections. The General 
 Committee of Elections, when appointed, 
 
 proceed to select, "in their discretion, 
 six, eight, ten, or twelve members, whom 
 they shall think duly qualified, to serve 
 as chairmen of election-committees ; " and 
 the members so selected for chairmen 
 are formed into a separate panel, called 
 the Chairmen's Panel. The members of 
 the General Committee of Elections are 
 excused from serving as members of 
 election committees, and all members of 
 the House of Commons above the age of 
 sixty are also excused from this service. 
 The House also allows other special 
 grounds of exemption ; the principal 
 ministers for instance are excused from 
 serving on election-committees, so long 
 as they hold their offices, on account of 
 their official duties. After the General 
 Committee of Elections have appointed 
 the Chairmen's Panel, they divide the 
 remaining members of the House who are 
 not exempted from service, into five 
 panels ; and members are chosen to serve 
 on elections froi? these panels, in an 
 order of succession determined by lot 
 All election-petitions are referred by the 
 House to the General Committee of Elec- 
 tions ; and this General Committee give 
 notice, as provided by the act, of the days 
 ou which particular election-committees 
 will be appointed, and of the panel from 
 which members will be taken, " The 
 General Committee shall meet at the time 
 appointed for choosing the committee to 
 try any election-petition, and shall choose 
 from the panel then standing next in 
 order of service, exclusive of the chair- 
 men's panel, four members, not being 
 then excused or disqualified for any of 
 the eauses aforesaid, and who shall not 
 be specially disqualified for being ap- 
 pointed on the committee to try such 
 petition for any of the following causes ; 
 (that is to say) by reason of having voted 
 at the election, or by reason of being the 
 party on whose behalf the seat is claimed, 
 or related lo the sitting member or party 
 on whose behalf the seat is claimed by 
 kindred or affinity in the first or second 
 degree, according to the canon law." 
 (§ 55.) At least four members of the 
 general committee must agree in the ap- 
 pointment. On the same day on which 
 the general committee choose the mem- 
 bers of an election-committee, . the chair- 
 
ELECTION-COMMITTEES. [ 822 J 
 
 EMBARGO. 
 
 men's panel choose from themselves a. 
 chairman for the committee, and commu- 
 nicate the name of the chairman selected 
 to the general committee. The names of 
 the chairman and members selected are 
 thus communicated to the petitioners and 
 sitting member or members, who may 
 object to any of the members on any 
 ground of disqualification specified in the 
 55 th section of the act, but on no other 
 ground. If any member is shown to be 
 disqualified, the general committee select 
 another ; or if the chairman is disqualified, 
 they send back his Dame to the chair- 
 men's panel, who proceed to choose an- 
 other chairman. The five members 
 finally chosen are afterwards sworn at 
 the table of the House " well and truly to 
 try the matter of the petitions referred to 
 them, and a true judgment to give accord- 
 ing to the evidence." 
 
 Such is a general sketch of the present 
 mode of constitution of election-commit- 
 tees: for other details the reader must 
 refer to the act itself, or to Mr. May's 
 Treatise on the Law of Parliament, pp. 
 341-373. It is a matter of practioe for 
 the General Committee of Elections to 
 take the four members of an election 
 committee equally from the two sides of 
 the House. 
 
 The second section of the act defines 
 election-petitions, and specifies by whom 
 they must be signed. Election-petitions 
 are petitions complaining, 1. Of an undue 
 election, or, 2. That no return has been 
 made to a writ on or before the day on 
 which the writ was returnable, or, 3. If 
 the writ be issued during any session or pro- 
 rogation of Parliament, that no return has 
 been made within fifty-two days after the 
 date of the writ, or, 4. That a return is 
 not according to the requisition of the 
 writ, or 5. Of special matters contained 
 in the writ ; and they must-be signed by 
 some person claiming therein to have 
 had a right to vote at the election, or to 
 have had a right to be returned, or alleg- 
 ing himself to have been a candidate at 
 the election. 
 
 All election-committees are empowered 
 to send for persons, papers, and records, 
 and to examine any one who may have 
 signed the petition, unless it shall appear 
 that he is an interested witness, and to 
 
 examine all witnesses upon oath, which 
 is to be administered by the clerk attend- 
 ing the committee. Election-committees 
 are the only committees of the House of 
 Commons in which evidence is taken 
 upon oath. Any one giving false evi- 
 dence is made liable to the penalties of 
 wilful and corrupt perjury. 
 
 Parties complaining of or defending 
 a return are required to deliver in to the 
 clerk of the General Committee of Elec- 
 tions lists of the voters intended to be 
 objected to, with the several heads of ob- 
 jections, not later than six in the after- 
 noon of the sixth day next before tho 
 day appointed for choosing the commit- 
 tee to try the petition : and the election- 
 committee cannot enter into evidence 
 against any vote, or upon any head of 
 objection, not included in the lists. 
 
 The committee are required to decide 
 " whether the petitioners or the sitting 
 members or either of them be duly re- 
 turned or elected, or whether the election 
 be void, or whether a new writ ought to 
 issue." Their decision on these points is 
 final between the parties : and the House 
 carries it into execution. 
 
 ELECTOR. [Commons, House of; 
 Municipal Corporations.] 
 
 ELOPEMENT. [Dower.] 
 
 EMANCIPATION. [Parent and 
 Child.] 
 
 EMBARGO, the word used to denote 
 the act by which any government lays an 
 arrest on ships to prevent their leaving 
 its ports. On the breaking out of war 
 with any nation it has been usual for the 
 government of each country to lay an 
 embargo upon such of the enemy's ships 
 as are within reach, with a view to their 
 being declared good and lawful prize. 
 During the progress of war, when any 
 expedition is on foot against the enemy, 
 and it is desirable to keep the circum- 
 stance from the knowledge of the party 
 to be attacked, it is usual to lay an em- 
 bargo upon all private vessels, as well 
 those under the national flag as foreign 
 vessels, until the object to be attained by 
 seeresy is accomplished. An embargo 
 may also be laid by the government upon 
 ships belonging to its subjects with a view 
 to their employment for the service and 
 defence of the nation. In all these cases 
 
EMIGRATION. 
 
 [ 823 ] 
 
 EMIGEATION. 
 
 it is clear that embargoes are detrimental 
 to commerce ; the only case in which they 
 have an opposite character is when a 
 foreign vessel of war or privateer frer 
 quents a neutral port, and is restrained 
 from quitting the same until a certain 
 time shall have elapsed after the de- 
 parture from the port of any vessel of 
 which it might otherwise make prize. 
 
 EMBEZZLEMENT. [Agent.] 
 
 EMIGRATION may be defined to be 
 a man's leaving his native country with 
 all his property to settle permanently in 
 another. Emigration is therefore neces- 
 sarily implied in the word Colonization, 
 and it is by the terms of our definition 
 easily distinguished from a man's tempo- 
 rary absence from his native country, and 
 from the kind of absence specially called 
 Absenteeism. 
 
 Though a man may be properly called 
 an emigrant who leaves Great Britain or 
 Ireland, for instance, and settles in France 
 or Germany, or elsewhere in Europe, the 
 term has in modern times come to have a 
 more restricted and particular sense. By 
 the term emigrant we generally under- 
 stand one who leaves an old and thickly 
 peopled country to settle in a country 
 where there is abundance of land that has 
 never been cultivated before, and where 
 the native population is thinly scattered, 
 and the- foreign settlers are yet either few 
 compared with the surface or none at all. 
 The countries to which emigration is 
 mainly directed at present are ,the British 
 possessions in North America, the United 
 States of North America, and the great 
 island of Australia, with Van Diemen's 
 Land and New Zealand. 
 
 An emigrant to any of these remote 
 countries must be either a capitalist or a 
 labourer, or he may combine in himself 
 both conditions; but even a mere la- 
 bourer cannot emigrate without some ca- 
 pital, though the amount may be only 
 enough to convey him to the spot where 
 his labour and skill will be in demand. 
 It was long a prevalent notion among na- 
 tions, or perhaps we may rather say with 
 those possessed of power at the head of 
 nations (who have generally been slower 
 in learning any great practical truth than 
 the mass of the people, whose understand- 
 ing is sharpened by a nearer view of their 
 
 own interest), that emigration should be 
 discouraged or prevented, as tending to 
 weaken a nation. The objection, we be- 
 lieve, was generally founded rather on a 
 notion that the nation lost by its dimi- 
 nished population, than that it suffered 
 from the abstraction of capital. As to 
 the matter of population, however, 6ome 
 observers even then could not fail to re- 
 mark, that emigration did not seem to 
 diminish the population, but that on the 
 contrary it seemed to be soon followed by 
 an increase. This was observed with 
 respect to Portugal at the time when she 
 was extending her conquests and colonies, 
 and is a feet confirmed by more recent 
 experience, the explanation of which 
 presents no difficulty. The abstraction 
 of capital, skill, and industry might seem, 
 and indeed is primarily, so much good 
 taken from the mother country ; but in- 
 asmuch as the emigrants retain in their 
 new settlements, through the medium oi 
 commercial exchange which is daily be- 
 coming more rapid and easy, a connexion 
 with the parent state, it may be and often 
 is the fact, that they ultimately contribute 
 more to the wealth of the mother country 
 when in the new settlements than they 
 could have done at home. Many of those, 
 for example, who settle in the western 
 states of America or in Canada with no 
 capital beyond their hands, by their in- 
 dustry become the possessors of a well- 
 cultivated piece of land, and ultimately 
 consume more of the products of British 
 industry, for which they must give some- 
 thing in exchange, than if they had re- 
 mained in their native country : and as, 
 in order that emigration to new countries 
 may be a successful undertaking to those 
 who emigrate, and ultimately advantage- 
 ous to the mother country, there must be 
 an emigration both of capitalists and la- 
 bourers, it would seem to follow that a 
 state, if it consult the happiness of its 
 citizens, should place no impediments to 
 the emigration either of capitalists of all 
 kinds or of labourers or artisans of any 
 kind, but should on the contrary give rea- 
 sonable facilities. 
 
 If a state then should be wise enough 
 not to discourage emigration, it may be 
 asked, should it aid and direct it ? So far 
 as a state should aid and direct emigra* 
 
EMIGRATION. 
 
 f 824] 
 
 EMIGRATION. 
 
 tion, there must be two distinct objects 
 kept in view by the state ; one must be 
 to benefit the parent country, the other 
 to benefit those who emigrate. On the 
 contrary, as to the individual who emi- 
 grates, whether he emigrates under the 
 protection and direction of the govern- 
 ment or not, his sole object is of course to 
 better his own condition. 
 
 One cannot well conceive why a state, 
 or any section or part of a nation, should 
 make any contribution or raise any fund 
 for the purpose of aiding emigration, ex- 
 cept it be with the view of bettering the 
 condition of some who cannot find em- 
 ployment at home, and at the same time 
 adopting some systematic plan for improv- 
 ing the condition of those who are left 
 behind Yet any system of emigration 
 thus conducted by government, or by so- 
 cieties, or by the inhabitants of particular 
 districts, would fail in its primary object, 
 relief to the emigrants, unless a corre- 
 sponding amount of capital should be 
 taken out of the country by other emi- 
 grants who might settle in the same place 
 to which the emigrant labourers were 
 sent To effect such an adjustment be- 
 tween capital and labour, not only should 
 both these elements of wealth in due pro- 
 portion be transported to the new country, 
 but such proportion should, for some time 
 at least, be maintained by the body which 
 superintends such system of emigration ; 
 an arrangement which seems imprac- 
 ticable, except by some such provisions 
 as are hereinafter mentioned. 
 
 It is further to be observed that, as no 
 persons can ever succeed as emigrants 
 who are not sober, intelligent, and indus- 
 trious, and as such alone are consequently 
 fit people to go to a new country, such 
 alone should be sent out by a state or a 
 society, if it interferes in the matter of 
 emigration. But if a large number of the 
 most industrious labourers should emi- 
 grate from a given district, and leave 
 behind them the worthless and idle, 
 though the emigrants might better their 
 condition and improve the settlement of 
 which they go to form a part, the mother 
 country would be no gainer by this 
 change. We are not inclined to consider 
 that any advantage, at all commensurate 
 to the expense, would result from any 
 
 emigration, however extensive, from dis- 
 tricts where there is a superabundant and 
 pauperized, or a pauperized and not su- 
 perabundant population. If the idle, the 
 ignorant, and the vicious were exported 
 wholesale, they would only die a few 
 years sooner in the land of their new 
 settlement, without conferring any benefit 
 on it, and those of the same kind who 
 were left behind would hardly be more 
 susceptible of improvement in consequence 
 of the removal of any part of their num- 
 bers which did not amount to pretty nearly 
 the whole number ; while the industrious 
 and the intelligent,who, by the supposition, 
 remain at home and are willing to labour 
 whenever it is in their power, would 
 hardly derive any benefit by this removal 
 of the bad from among them, at all com- 
 mensurate to the amount of capital which 
 must be expended on such wholesale ex- 
 portations. Besides, as already observed, 
 unless a proper supply of emigrant capi- 
 talists can be secured, all general plans 
 for the emigration of labourers can only 
 lead to disappointment and starvation. 
 Any plan, therefore, which shall have for 
 its object the amelioration of a population 
 sunk in ignorance or debased by pauper- 
 ism, must be one of an internal charactei , 
 one which must gradually and on certain 
 fixed principles aim at removing the evils 
 which exist in the social system. Emi- 
 gration must be left to the free choice of 
 individuals, and must be recommended to 
 the young, the sober, and industrious 
 solely on the grounds of offering to them 
 a reasonable prospect of bettering their 
 condition in a new country. 
 
 The disadvantages of emigration how- 
 ever, when there is no plan, no controlling 
 or directing power, are obvious. Emi- 
 grants often go to a new country without 
 any definite or clear notion of what they 
 are going to. Dissatisfied or unhappy at 
 home, imagination pictures to them a 
 remote and unknown country as an asy- 
 lum from all the evils of life ; or if they 
 have any distinct idea of the new kind of 
 existence which they are going to adopt, 
 they often underrate the difficulties of the 
 undertaking, or form a false estimate of 
 their own capabilities to meet them. It 
 is no wonder then that so many, on land- 
 ing in the New World, are startled at the 
 
EMIGRATION. 
 
 [ 82fl ] 
 
 EMIGRATION. 
 
 obstacles which then stare them in the 
 face, and shut their eyes to the real ad- 
 vantages, such as they are, which a fertile 
 unoccupied soil presents to a hardwork- 
 ing industrious man. 
 
 We have stated that any system of 
 emigration for labourers without a corre- 
 sponding emigration of capitalists would 
 be fruitless; it is also obvious that if 
 capitalists only were to emigrate without 
 being able to secure a supply of labour, 
 the result would be equally unfortunate. 
 
 Considerations like these led to the 
 formation of a scheme of emigration 
 which was first brought into operation in 
 the colony of South Australia. "The 
 distinguishing and cardinal principles of 
 the colony of South Australia are, that 
 all public lands shall be sold, and that 
 the proceeds of the sale shall be employed 
 in conveying labourers to the colony." 
 Further : " It is essential to the prosperi ty 
 of a new colony in which there are 
 neither slaves nor convicts, that there 
 should be a constant supply of free la- 
 bourers willing to be employed for wages. 
 No productive industry worthy of the 
 name can be undertaken, unless several 
 hands can be put on the same work at 
 the same time ; and if there be not. in a 
 colony in which the compulsory services 
 of slaves or convicts cannot be obtained, 
 a constant supply of labour for hire, no 
 extensive farm can be cultivated, no 
 large and continuous work can be carried 
 on, and the capital imported must perish 
 for want of hands to render it reproduc- 
 tive." (First Annual Report of South 
 Australian Commissioners, 1836.) 
 
 It was therefore the object of the com- 
 missioners to prevent the labourers, for 
 sometime after their arrival in the colony, 
 from purchasing land. This was done 
 by fixing the price of laud sufficiently 
 high to prevent the labourer from being 
 tempted too soou to exchange that con- 
 dition which is for the time the most 
 profitable both to himself and the body of 
 emigrants for the apparently higher cha- 
 racter of a landowner. 
 
 It is justly remarked in the Report 
 that the result of such premature pur- 
 chases " would be alike disastrous to the 
 capitalist and to the labourer; as the 
 supply of labour for hire being thus di- 
 
 minished, improvements requiring the 
 co-operation of many hands would be 
 suspended, and capital would waste and 
 perish for want of means to use it ; and 
 the labouring population becoming sepa- 
 rated upon small patches of land, each 
 family would be obliged to perform every 
 species of work for themselves ; and the 
 absence of all division of employment 
 and combination of labour would so re- 
 duce the efficacy of their industry, that 
 instead of advancing in wealth and civili- 
 zation, they would fall back to a semi- 
 barbarous state." Such a result has 
 already been witnessed in numerous new 
 settlements, and such a result must in- 
 evitably follow the dispersion of small 
 capitalists and labourers who aspire to be 
 land holders over a large uncultivated 
 surface, however rich it may naturally 
 be'. 
 
 The mode in which unoccupied Land is 
 disposed of in the colonies has, it will be 
 seen, a most important influence on the 
 condition and welfare of immigrants. 
 
 By the application of a general prin- 
 ciple of law the waste lands in the Bri- 
 tish colonies were considered to be vested 
 in the Crown, and that every private title 
 must rest upon a royal grant as its basis. 
 But since 1831 another principle has been 
 acknowledged and observed: that the 
 Crown holds the lands in question in trust 
 for the public good, and cannot, without 
 a breach of that trust on the part of the 
 responsible ministers of the government, 
 be advised to make to any person a gra- 
 tuitous donation of any such property. 
 It is held in trust, not merely for the 
 existing colonists, but for the people of 
 the British empire collectively. It must 
 be appropriated to public uses and for 
 the public benefit. (Instructions ad- 
 dressed by Lord John Russell when Se- 
 cretary of State for Colonial Affairs, 14th 
 Jan. 1840.). The Land Sale Act for the 
 Australian Colonies (5 & 6 Vict. c. 36) 
 prohibits land being alienated by her 
 Majesty, or by any one acting under her 
 authority, except by sale, and in the man- 
 ner directed by the act. 
 
 Down to the year 1831 no regular or 
 uniform system of selling land appears 
 to have been adopted in the British colo- 
 nies. In place of such system conditions 
 
EMIGRATION. 
 
 [ 826 ] 
 
 EMIGRATION. 
 
 were attached to the occupation of land 
 under the name of Quit-Rents, money 
 payments, or the cultivation of the soil ; 
 but these conditions were not effectually 
 enforced, and in fact it was generally 
 found impossible to enforce them. Land 
 was profusely granted to individuals in 
 large tracts, and as cultivation was not 
 enforced, and no roads were made through 
 these tracts, they interrupted the course 
 of improvement. Under the old system 
 lands in the colony of the Cape of Good 
 Hope, amountiug to upwards of thirty-one 
 million acres, have been disposed of for 
 less than 46,000/. In Prince Edward's 
 Island the whole of the land was granted 
 in one day to absentee proprietors upon 
 terms which have never been fulfilled. 
 The influence of these proprietors with 
 the Home Government prevented such 
 measures being adopted as were calcu- 
 lated to enforce the settlement of the 
 (rants, and consequently the greater part 
 of them remained chiefly in a wild state. 
 (Report of Mr. C. Buller, M.P., to the 
 Karl of Durham, on Public Lands in 
 British North America, 1838.) This Re- 
 port contains an account of the system of 
 granting lands in each of the provinces 
 of British North America ; and in all of 
 them it appears to have been injurious to 
 the public interests. 
 
 In 1831 the Earl of Ripon framed 
 certain regulations which required that 
 all land in the colonies should be dis- 
 posed of at a minimum upset price for 
 ready money only. In 1842 an act was 
 passed (5 & 6 Vict. c. 36), already noticed, 
 " for regulating the sale of waste lands 
 belonging to the Crown in the Australian 
 colonies." The chief provisions of this 
 statute are given in a subsequent part of 
 this article under the head " Australian 
 Colonies and New Zealand," to which 
 islands the act also applies. The expense 
 of making surveys, which are usually 
 from id. to i\d. an acre, and other ex- 
 penses connected with the sale of the 
 land, are, under this act, the primary 
 charges on the land fund. The rest of 
 the proceeds are applicable to the public 
 service of the colony, after one-half at 
 least has been appropriated to the pur- 
 poses of immigration. 
 
 The select committee of the House of 
 
 Commons on the disposal of lands in the 
 British colonies, which sat in 1836, re- 
 commended that the whole of the ar- 
 rangements connected with the sale of 
 land, including both the price and the 
 precise mode of sale, should be placed 
 under the charge of a land board in Lon- 
 don. 
 
 In January, 1840, commissioners were 
 appointed under the royal sign manual 
 to act as a Land and Emigration Board. 
 The sale of the waste lands of the Crown 
 throughout the British colonies is re- 
 gulated by the commissioners, and they 
 apply the proceeds of such sales towards 
 the removal thither of emigrants from 
 this country, when the land-fund is ap- 
 propriated to this object. This board is 
 a subordinate department of the Colonial 
 Office. 
 
 In none of the British colonies is the 
 disposal of unoccupied lands conducted 
 in such a systematic and perfect manner 
 as in the United States of North America. 
 The unoccupied lands within the limits 
 of the Union are vested in the Federal 
 government. There is a General Land 
 Office at Washington, under which there 
 are abo^e forty district land-offices in 
 other parts of the Union. Connected 
 with the Land Office is a Surveying De- 
 partment. The surveys are founded upon 
 a series of trne meridians. The greatest 
 division of land marked out by a survey 
 is called a township, and it contains 
 23,040 acres, being a square of six miles 
 to the side. The township is divided 
 into thirty-six equal portions, or square 
 miles. These portions are called sec- 
 tions, and they are subdivided into 
 quarter sections of a hundred and sixty 
 acres each. The quarter sections are 
 finally divided into two parts, called 
 half- quarter sections. Section sixteen 
 (one square mile) in every township is 
 reserved for schools in the township. 
 All salt springs and lead-mines are also 
 reserved, and are let on lease by the ge- 
 neral government. In 1820 purchasers 
 of land were no longer allowed to obtain 
 laud on credit : and in the same year the 
 minimum price of land was reduced from 
 two dollars to one and a quarter dollar 
 per acre. The mode of sale is by public 
 auction, and lands nc* sold on the day 
 
EMIGRATION. 
 
 [ 827 j 
 
 EMIGRATION. 
 
 fixed may be bought by private contract 
 at the minimum price. Squatters, or per- 
 sons who settle on the land without a title, 
 have pre-emptive rights. [Squatter.] 
 
 Of the public lands of the United 
 States there had been sold up to 1843, 
 107,796,536 acres, and the amount re- 
 ceived for the same was 1 70,940,942 dol- 
 lars (36,000,000Z.). In the year 1836, 
 the receipts from land sales amounted to 
 25,167,833 dollars. The net residue of 
 the proceeds of lands are distributed 
 amongst the different states under an act 
 passed in 1841. In 1843 the estimated 
 quantity of land remaining to bo sold 
 within the limits Of the union was 
 1 ,084,064,993 acres, and of this quantity 
 272,646.356 acres had been surveyed. 
 
 The following is an abstract of the 
 regulations at present in operation in the 
 British colonies for the disposal of waste 
 lands : — ■ 
 
 Canada. — By a provincial act of 1841 
 Crown lands are to be sold at a price to 
 be from time to time fixed by the governor 
 in council. The proceeds of the land 
 sales are not specially appropriated, but 
 form part of the general colonial revenue. 
 The prices fixed for the present are as 
 follows : 
 
 For Canada, West (Upper Canada), 8s. 
 currency (about Cs. Id. sterling) per acre ; 
 for Canada, East (Lower Canada), in the 
 county of Ottawa, and south of the river 
 St. Lawrence, to the west of the Kenne- 
 bec road, 6s. currency (about 4s. lid. 
 sterling) ; and elsewhere in that division 
 of the province, 4s. currency (about 3s. 3^d. 
 sterling) per acre. These prices do not 
 apply to lands resumed by government 
 for non-performance of the conditions of 
 settlement on which they were granted 
 under a former system now abolished, nor 
 to lands called Indian Reserves, and 
 Clergy Reserves ; which three classes are, 
 as well as town and village lots, subject 
 to special regulations. 
 
 The size of the lots of country lands is 
 usually 200 acres ; but they are sold as 
 frequently by half as whole lots. 
 
 The following are the conditions of sale 
 at present in force : — 1st. The lots are to 
 be taken at the contents in acres marked 
 in the public documents, without guaran- 
 tee as to the actual quantity contained in 
 
 them. — 2d. No payment of purchase- 
 money will be received by instalments, 
 but the whole purchase-money, either in 
 money or land scrip,* must be paid at the 
 time of sale. — 3rd. On the payment of 
 the purchase-money, the purchaser will 
 receive a receipt which will entitle him 
 to enter r a the land which he has pur- 
 chased, and arrangements will be made 
 for issuing to him the patent without 
 delay. The receipt thus given not only 
 authorizes the purchaser to take imme- 
 diate possession, but enables him, under 
 the provisions of the Land Act, to main- 
 tain legal proceedings against any wrong- 
 ful possessor or trespasser, as effectually 
 as if the patent deed had issued on the 
 day the receipt is dated. 
 
 Government land agents are appointed 
 in the several municipal districts, with 
 full power to sell to the first applicant 
 any of the advertised lands which the 
 return open to public inspection may 
 show to be vacant within their districts. 
 
 Nova Scotia. — The public lands are 
 here also sold at a fixed price of Is. 9rf. 
 sterling per acre, payable at once. The 
 smallest regular farm lot contains one 
 hundred acres. Any less quantity of 
 land may be had, but the cost would be 
 the same as for one hundred acres, viz. 
 &l. 15s., the minimum sum for which a 
 deed of grant is issued. 
 
 New Brunswick. — The mode of sale in 
 this province is by auction. The upset 
 price is generally about 2s. 8<i. sterling 
 (3s. currency), but varies according to 
 situation, &c. The average price of or- 
 dinary country lands has been from 
 4s. ed. to 9s. sterling (5s. to 10s. cur- 
 rency) per acre, according to situation, 
 &c. Fifty acres is the smallest quantity 
 usually sold. 
 
 Prince Edward's Island. — In this co- 
 lony the Crown has little land at its dis- 
 posal, namely, about 8400 acres. Sale 
 by auction prevails, and the average 
 price realized for ordinary country lands 
 has been from 10s. to 14s. currency per 
 acre. 
 
 Newfoundland. — There exists no offi- 
 cial return of the surveyed and accessible 
 
 * This is Scrip issued by the local government 
 ; satisfaction of ceitain old militia claims. 
 
EMIGRATION. 
 
 [ 828 ] 
 
 EMIGRATION. 
 
 land at the disposal of the Crown in this 
 colony. The area has been estimated at 
 about 2,300,000 acres, of which about 
 23,000 have been appropriated. Although 
 the agriculture of the province is pro- 
 gressively increasing, there are yet com- 
 paratively few persons exclusively em- 
 ployed in it, the population being nearly 
 all engaged in the fisheries. 
 
 Tlie Falkland Islands. — The lands in 
 this colony are now open for sale. The 
 mode of sale is the same as that adopted 
 in the Australian colonies. The upset 
 price of country lands is, for the present, 
 8s. per acre. Town lots of half an acre 
 each, and suburban lots of fifty acres each, 
 will be put up at 50/. Deposits of pur- 
 chase-money may be made in this coun- 
 try, in the mode prescribed for the Aus- 
 tralian colonies, but the depositors will 
 he entitled to nominate for a free passage 
 six, instead of four, adult labourers, for 
 every 100/. deposited. 
 
 Cape of Good Hope. — Applications for 
 the purchase of Crown lands must be 
 made to the governor, if the lands are 
 situated in the western division ; and to 
 the lieutenant-governor if in the eastern 
 division of the province. The application 
 must pass through the surveyor-general 
 to the land board, and if the land be un- 
 surveyed, the applicant must deposit an 
 amount equal to the probable expense of 
 inspection and survey. If on inspection 
 it be decided that the land ought not to 
 be alienated, the deposit for survey will 
 be returned ; otherwise, the land will be 
 surveyed and offered for sale at public 
 auction. Should the applicant not be- 
 come the purchaser at the sale, he will 
 be entitled to a return of the preliminary 
 expenses, which must in that case be 
 borne by the actual purchaser ; but 
 should the lands be not then sold, the de- 
 posit will be retained until they are sold. 
 The upset price will in no case be less 
 than 2s. per acre, and should it become 
 necessary to ascertain the amount which 
 ought to be demanded for lands under 
 peculiar circumstauces, such amount is to 
 be ascertained by valuation, and made 
 the upset price at auction. 
 
 Ceylon. — In this colony the Crown 
 lands are sold by auction, at an upset 
 price, which is to be fixed by the go- 
 
 vernor, but which is not to be less than 
 U. per acre. Before being put up to 
 auction, the lands are surveyed by the 
 government, and duly advertised. 
 
 Hong Kong. — The Crown lands will 
 not be alienated in perpetuity, but let on 
 leases, which are to be offered for sale at 
 public auction. The duration of the 
 leases will not exceed 2 1 years for coun- 
 try lauds ; but land for building pur- 
 poses will be let on leases for 75 years, 
 not renewable of right, but at the option 
 of the government, and on the holder's 
 paying an increased rent. Powers will 
 be reserved, when necessary, for regu- 
 lating the character of the buildings to be 
 erected in particular situations. 
 
 The rent to be paid for lands designated 
 as marine, town, or suburban lots, will be 
 determined exclusively by public auction ; 
 but leases of country lots, if they have 
 been once exposed to auction and not sold, 
 may be afterwards sold by private agree- 
 ment at the upset price. 
 
 The governor will decide whether there 
 is sufficient demand to call for public 
 sales at fixed periods, or whether the 
 leases should only be advertised and 
 brought into the market as they may b a . 
 applied for. 
 
 The colonies in which military and 
 naval officers are allowed privileges in 
 the acquisition of public lands are the 
 following : — New South Wales, Van Die- 
 men's Land, South Australia, Western 
 Australia, New Zealand, Ceylon, Nova 
 Scotia, and Cape Breton, the only pro- 
 vince in North America where privileges 
 are still allowed. In the different Aus- 
 tralian settlements, and in Ceylon, land 
 is disposed of by sale only ; but officers 
 purchasing land are allowed a remission 
 of the purchase-money. Thus field-officers 
 of twenty-five years' service and upwards 
 are entitled to a remission of 3001. ; and in 
 proportion for different periods of service 
 and according to the rank of the officer. 
 Subalterns of seven years' service and 
 upwards are entitled to a remission oi 
 1001. ; but subalterns under seven years 
 standing are not entitled to any remission 
 in the purchase of land. Regimental 
 staff officers and medical officers of the 
 array and navy are allowed the benefit of 
 this rule. 
 
EMIGRATION. 
 
 L 829 ] 
 
 EMIGRATION. 
 
 In Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, allot- 
 ments of land are granted to officers on 
 the following scale and conditions, viz. — 
 To a lieutenant-colonel, 1 200 acres ; to a 
 major, 1000 acres ; to a captain, 800 acres ; 
 to a subaltern, 500 acr^s. Military chap- 
 lains, commissariat officers, and officers 
 of any of the civil departments of the 
 army ; pursers, chaplains, midshipmen, 
 warrant officers of every description, and 
 officers of any of the civil departments of 
 the navy, are not allowed any privileges 
 in respect of land. Although members 
 of these classes may have been admitted 
 formerly, and under different circum- 
 stances, they are now excluded. Mates 
 in the royal navy rank with ensigns in 
 the army, and mates of three years' stand- 
 ing with lieutenants in the army, and are 
 entitled respectively to corresponding pri- 
 vileges in the acquisition of lands. 
 
 Australian Colonies and New Zealand. 
 — These colonies are the principal field for 
 the operations of the Land and Emigra- 
 tion Commissioners, as it is in them that 
 the principle of devoting the proceeds of 
 the sale of waste lands to emigration is 
 capable of application on a large scale. 
 In the colony of New South Wales the 
 sales of land from 1831 to 18+2 inclusive 
 realized the sum of 1,090,583/., out of 
 which 951,241/., or more than 87 per 
 cent., was expended on immigration. In 
 1840 land was sold in the Port Philip 
 district which produced 218,020/. In 
 1843, when the colony of New South 
 Wales was in a very depressed state, the 
 sum arising from the sale of land was 
 only 11,030/. Immigration is therefore 
 under a self-regulating principle: when 
 capital is abundant, and purchases of land 
 are made on a large scale, a fund is sup- 
 plied for introducing labourers; and 
 when the fund from the sale of land di- 
 minishes, a check is given to the intro- 
 duction of redundant labour. In South 
 Australia, from 1835 to 1840 inclusive, 
 land was sold to the amount of 272,878/. 
 In Western Australia there is scarcely 
 any revenue from public lands, in conse- 
 quence of the large grants of land which 
 were made to individuals when the co- 
 lony was established. 
 
 The following are the regulations now 
 in force under the provisions of the Aus- 
 
 tralian Land Act, 5 & 6 Vict. c. 36, for 
 the disposal of the waste lands in thu 
 colonies of New South Wales (including 
 the Sydney and Port Philip districts, and 
 any other districts that may hereafter oe 
 opened), Van Diemen's Land, South 
 Australia, Western Australia, and New 
 Zealand: — 1. All lands will be disposed 
 of by sale alone, and must have once at 
 least been exposed to public auction. 2. 
 The lowest upset price will be not less 
 than 1/. per acre; but the government 
 will have power to raise the same by pro- 
 clamation, though not again to reduce it. 
 3. The lands will be distinguished into 
 three different classes, viz., town lots, 
 suburban lots, and countiy lots. 4. Upon 
 town and suburban lots, as well as upon 
 a proportion not exceeding one-tenth of 
 the whole of the country lots offered for 
 sale at any auction, the governor will 
 have the power of naming a higher than 
 the general or lowest upset price ; the 
 country lots on which such power is ex- 
 ercised to be designated " Special Coun- 
 try Lots." 5. Town and suburban lots 
 will in no case be disposed of except by 
 public auction, but country lots which 
 have already been put up to public auc- 
 tion and not sold, may be disposed of 
 afterwards by private contract at the up- 
 set price. 6. No lands will be sold by 
 private contract except for ready money. 
 When sold by public auction, one-tenth 
 at least of the whole purchase-money 
 must be paid down, and the remainder 
 within one calendar month, or the deposit 
 will be forfeited. 7. Lands will be put up 
 for sale in lots not exceeding one square 
 mile in extent. 8. As an exception to 
 the general regulations, and subject to 
 certain restrictions laid down in the Aus- 
 tralian Land Act, the governor will 
 have it in his discretion to dispose, by 
 private contract, at a price not less than 
 the lowest upset price tor the district, of 
 blocks comprising 20,000 acres or more. 
 9. Persons will be at liberty to make 
 payments for colonial lands in Great Bri- 
 tain, for which payment or deposit they 
 will receive an order for credit to the 
 same amount in any purchase of land 
 they may effect in the colony, and will 
 have the privilege of naming a propor- 
 tionate number of emigrants for a free 
 
EMIGRATION. 
 
 [ 830 ] 
 
 EMIGRATION. 
 
 passage, as explained in article No. 10. 
 The deposits must be made in one or more 
 sums of 100Z. each at the Bank of Eng- 
 land, to the account of Edward Barnard, 
 esq., agent-general for crown colonies, 
 No. 5, Cannon-row, Westminster; and 
 the depositor must state at the time the 
 colony in which the land is to be selected, 
 and give notice to Mr. Barnard, and to 
 the colonial land and emigration com- 
 missioners, of the deposit Upon receiv- 
 ing Mr. Barnard's certificate that the 
 money has been duly paid in, the com- 
 missioners will furnish the depositor with 
 a certificate, which states the amount 
 which he has paid, and entitles him to ob- 
 tain credit for that sum in any purchase 
 which he may effect in the colony, subject 
 to all rules and regulations then in force. 
 10. For every sum of 1001. deposited as 
 above, the depositor will be entitled, for 
 six months from the date of payment, to 
 name a number of properly qualified 
 emigrants, equal to four adults, for a free 
 passage. Two children between one and 
 fourteen are to be reckoned as equal to 
 one adult. The emigrants are required 
 to be chosen from the class of mechanics 
 and handicraftsmen, agricultural labour- 
 ers, or domestic servants, and must be 
 going out with the intention to work for 
 wages. They are to be subject to the 
 approval of the commissioners, and must, 
 in all respects, fall within their general 
 regulations on the selection of labourers. 
 
 In New South Wales, and in others of 
 the Australian colonies, though to a 
 smaller extent, a system prevails of grant- 
 ing licences to use lands for pasture. In 
 New South Wales it had long been an 
 established regulation of the government 
 that no land should be sold beyond the 
 part of the country laid out into counties. 
 Beyond these boundaries, therefore, licen- 
 ces are granted for the occupation of such 
 tracts as may be desired for pasture by 
 prop rietors of stock. The cost of a licence 
 is 10/. a-year. The stock depastured is 
 subject to a fixed assessment per head, the 
 proceeds of which are applied to the main- 
 tenance of a border police. The licence is 
 not for any determined quantity of land, 
 and hitherto the extent of each station or 
 "run" "has only been limited by the 
 moderation of the parties, or the mutual 
 
 pressure of the neighbouring squatters." 
 (Report of Land and Emigration Com- 
 missioners, 1845.) The extent of a run 
 usually varied from 3000 to 5000 acres. 
 In 1843 the number of licences issued in 
 New South Wales for the use of land 
 beyond the boundaries was 852, " the 
 space over which they were to take effect 
 being unsurveyed and the extent un- 
 known." The land occupied on these 
 terms in New South Wales extends 
 through fourteen degrees of latitude ; 
 from Harvey's Bay on the north to South 
 Australia the diagonal line is 1100 miles. 
 This large tract is divided into fifteen 
 districts, and contained in 1844 a popula- 
 tion of nearly 10,000 persons ; and the 
 stock consisted of 15,000 horses, 570,000 
 cattle, and upwards of 3,000,000 sheep. 
 The assessment on the stock was, on sheep 
 %d., cattle lj<£., and horses 3d. per head. 
 In 1844 the governor of New South 
 Wales proposed regulations which he 
 intended should come into operation in 
 July, 1845, which will not leave the ex- 
 tent of the "runs" to the discretion of 
 persons who hold occupation licences, but" 
 a limit will be fixed in each case. This 
 limit is not to exceed twenty square miles 
 (12,800 acres), or sufficient land to depas- 
 ture '500 cattle or 4000 sheep ; and it is 
 proposed to define in other respects what 
 shall be accounted a separate station or 
 run. The proposed regulations excited 
 great opposition in the colony. The 
 official correspondence on this subject, 
 accompanied with a number of documents, 
 is published as a parliamentary paper. 
 (Session, 1845, 267, iii.) 
 
 There are some difficulties attending 
 the occupying of waste lands under crowu 
 1 icences. Without some pre-emptive rights 
 the squatters could not be expected to 
 make any improvements, and the conse- 
 quence might be that a large population 
 would be growing up under circumstances 
 disadvantageous to their civilization. On 
 the other hand, the crown is liable to lose 
 its control over the public lands unless 
 the pre-emptive rights which it concedes 
 are carefully guarded. The difficulty has 
 been met in New South Wales by the 
 following arrangement : persons who have 
 already been five years in the occupation 
 I of a station are permitted to buy any part 
 
EMIGEATION. 
 
 [ 831 1 
 
 EMIGEATION. 
 
 of their run, not being less than 320 
 acres. The land must be put up at the 
 upset price of 20s. an acre, to which wil! 
 be added the value of the improvements 
 made, which are assessed according to the 
 government regulations ; and on a sale tak- 
 ing place, the government will receive the 
 price which the land fetches, and the value 
 »f the improvements will be returned to 
 the occupant if he becomes the purchaser ; 
 and if he does not, it will be paid to him 
 out of the gross purchase-money. 
 
 Land is also oocupied under licences 
 within the colonial boundaries of New 
 South Wales. In 1843 the number of 
 licences issued for land thus situated was 
 237, and the quantity of land over which 
 they extended was 183,859 acres. The 
 sum paid for this limited occupation was 
 at the rate of from 51. to 61. per square 
 mile. 
 
 The pasture licence system has been 
 adopted in South Australia, Van Diemen's 
 Laud, and New Zealand. In South Aus- 
 tralia the licence is lower, and the as- 
 sessment on stock higher, than in New 
 South Wales. The licence costs only 
 10s. 6d. ; but the assessment is, on sheep 
 Id., cattle Is., and horses 2s. 6d. per 
 head. 
 
 West ladies. — In the West Indies 
 Crown lands are to be sold by auction at 
 an upset price of not less than \l. per 
 acre. 
 
 In the Bahamas the mode of sale is 
 also -by auction, but the lieutenant-go- 
 vernor is, from time to time, to name the 
 upset price, which is never to be less than 
 (is. per acre. Land once exposed to auc- 
 tion may, in the discretion of the lieu- 
 tenant-governor, be afterwards sold by 
 private contract, at not less than the up- 
 set price of such land. The ordinary 
 size of the lots in the Bahamas is to be 
 twenty acres, but lots of five acres may, 
 if thought expedient, be disposed of. 
 
 The salt ponds in the Turks' Islands 
 (within the government of the Bahamas) 
 have been the subject of recent regulation 
 .by the Land and Emigration Commis- 
 sioners. These ponds are an important 
 public property, but they were divided 
 annually amongst all persons, without 
 distinction, who happened to be resident 
 on the spot, and these shares had no real 
 
 value. Instead of this plan, the ponds 
 will in future be granted on leases, which 
 will give the lessees a durable interest, 
 and encourage them to make the outlay 
 requisite for their improvement. It has 
 already been stated that in the United 
 States of North America salt springs are 
 reserved by the federal government, and 
 leased for the public benefit. 
 
 The plan under which the great land 
 companies dispose of their lands may be 
 ascertained by application to the secre- 
 taries of each company. The principal 
 companies are, the Upper Canada Com- 
 pany, the British American Land Com- 
 pany, the New Zealand Company, and 
 the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia 
 Land Company. The first of these com- 
 panies has a plan of leasing their lands, 
 which is very advantageous to small capi- 
 talists. The South Australian Company 
 have lands which they dispose of both by 
 lease and sale. 
 
 The business of regulating emigration 
 has been undertaken to some extent by 
 the government. First an agent-general 
 for emigration was appointed. This 
 officer introduced many judicious plans 
 for rendering the passage of emigrants 
 across the ocean as free as possible 
 from discomfort, and a code of rules 
 was framed to secure this and other 
 objects. The functions of the agent-gene- 
 ral for emigration are now exercised by 
 the Laud and Emigration Commissioners. 
 Emigrants are also protected by the Pas- 
 sengers' Acts, namely, the 5 & 6 Vict, 
 c. 107, amended by 10 & 1 1 Vict. c. 103, 
 and in respect to passengers to North 
 America, by the 11 Vict. c. «. The 
 general scope of these statutes are to 
 regulate the number of passengers in 
 each ship, and to provide for their proper 
 accommodation on board; to ensure a 
 proper supply of provisions and water 
 for their use; to provide for the sea- 
 worthiness of the vessels; and to protect 
 emigrants from the numerous frauds to 
 which their helplessness and inexperi- 
 ence expose them. If the ship does not 
 sail on the day mentioned in the agree- 
 ment, the Passengers' Act compels the 
 captain to victual the emigrants just the 
 same as if the voyage had commenced ; 
 and they are entitled to remain on board 
 
EMIGRATION. 
 
 [ 832 J 
 
 EMIGRATION. 
 
 forty-eight hours after the ship reaches 
 her destination. 
 
 As a further protection to emigrants 
 and to enforce the provisions of the Pas- 
 sengers' Act, government emigration 
 agents are appointed for the ports of Lon- 
 don, Liverpool, Plymouth, Glasgow and 
 Greenock, Dublin, Cork, Belfast, Lime- 
 rick, Sligo, and Londonderry. These 
 officers act under the immediate direc- 
 tions of the Colonial Land and Emigra- 
 tion Commissioners. They procure and 
 give gratuitously information as to the 
 sailing of ships, and means of accommo- 
 dation for emigrants ; and whenever ap- 
 plied to for that purpose, they see that all 
 agreements between ship-owners, agents, 
 or masters, and intending emigrants, are 
 duly performed. They also see that the 
 provisions of the Passengers' Act are 
 strictly complied with, viz., that passen- 
 ger-vessels are sea-worthy, that they have 
 on board a sufficient supply of provisions, 
 water, medicines, &c, and that they sail 
 with proper punctuality. They attend 
 personally at their offices on every week- 
 day, and afford gratuitously all the assist- 
 ance in their power to protect intending 
 emigrants against fraud and imposition, 
 and to obtain redress where oppression or 
 injury has been practised on them. 
 
 In the colonies there are government 
 immigration agents. The duties of these 
 officers are to afford gratuitously to emi- 
 grants every assistance in their power by 
 way of advice and information as to the 
 districts where employment can be ob- 
 tained most readily, and upon the most 
 advantageous terms, and also as to the 
 best modes of reaching such districts. 
 In Canada there are immigration agents 
 at Quebec, Montreal, Kingston, Bytown, 
 Port Hope and Cobourg, Toronto, and 
 Hamilton ; in New Brunswick at St. 
 John's and Fredericton ; and the deputy- 
 treasurers act as immigration agents at 
 St. Andrew's, Bathurst, Dalhousie, and 
 Chatham (Miramichi). There are also 
 government immigration agents for the 
 colonies of New South Wales (at Sydney 
 and Port Philip) and for Van Diemen's 
 Land, Western Australia, Southern Aus- 
 tralia, and New Zealand. 
 
 Emigration is one of the " modes of 
 relief" contemplated by the Poor Law 
 
 Amendment Act (4 & 5 Wm. IV. c. 76> 
 In some years a large number of persons 
 have emigrated with the assistance of 
 funds obtained under the act. In 1835-6 
 the number of emigrants was 5141, and 
 the sum borrowed, either from the Ex- 
 chequer Loan Office or from private per- 
 sons, amounted to 28,414/. By § 62 of 
 the Poor Law Act owners and rate-payers 
 are empowered to raise money on security 
 of the rates for purposes of emigration, 
 under the authority of the Poor Law 
 Commissioners. The sum so raised must 
 not exceed half the average yearly rate of 
 the preceding three years, and it must be 
 repaid within five years. The money is 
 advanced to emigrants by way of loan, 
 and is recoverable against persons above 
 the age of twenty-one, who, having con- 
 sented to emigrate, refuse to do so after 
 the expenses of emigration have been 
 incurred ; and the loau is also recoverable 
 if persons who emigrate shall return to 
 this country. 
 
 By the act 7 & 8 Vict. c. 101, for the 
 amendment of the Poor Laws, it ispio- 
 vided that the boards of guardians are 
 exclusively to apply money raised or 
 borrowed for the purpose of emigration. 
 
 Under the Irish Poor Law Act money 
 may be raised for enabling poor persons 
 to emigrate to British colonies ; but the 
 money so raised must not exceed one 
 shilling in the pound on the net annual 
 value of rateable property. 
 
 The Bounty System derives its name 
 from the mode in which the proceeds of 
 land sales are applied in obtaining im- 
 migrants. In this case persons who intro- 
 duce persons into the colony receive so 
 much per head, according to the terms 
 of ag. cement. The contractors engage 
 to find persons willing to emigrate, and 
 undertake to land them in the colony; 
 This system is in force only in some oj 
 the Australian colonies. In New South 
 Wales 51,736 persons were introduced 
 from 1831 to 1842 under bounties. 
 
 The Land and Emigration Commis- 
 sioners are required by their official instruc- 
 tions to prepare and issue " a distinct and 
 compendious account of whatever relates to 
 the agriculture, the commerce, the natural 
 products, the physical structure, and the 
 ecclesiastical and political institutions of 
 
EMIGRATION. 
 
 [ 833 ] 
 
 EMIGRATION. 
 
 each of the colonies " in which they offer 
 lands for sale. Lord John Russell issued 
 these instructions, in the hope that the 
 office of the Land and Emigration Com- 
 missioners would become the depository 
 of information " for the assistance, not of 
 private adventurers only, but of this (the 
 colonial) and of every other department 
 of the state." The Commissioners in pur- 
 suance of this object have published in 
 a cheap form " Information for Emigrants 
 to British North America/' a. similar 
 pamphlet relating to the Falkland Isles j 
 and they issue occasionally a " Coloniza- 
 tion Circular" which contains matter cal- 
 culated to be of use to emigrants or persons 
 who intend at some time to settle in the 
 colonies. The Annual Reports of the 
 Commissioners presented to parliament 
 are also reprinted in a convenient form 
 for general use. These useful matters 
 are published by Knight & Co., London ; 
 and may be procured through any book- 
 seller. 
 
 The average annual number of per- 
 sons who emigrated in the ten years from 
 1825 to 1834 was 50,304; and in the ten 
 years from 1835 to 1844 inclusive 75,293. 
 The largest number who emigrated in 
 any one year, in the first ten years, was 
 103,140, in 1832. The number in each 
 of the last ten years was as follows : — 
 
 1835 . . 44,478 1840 . . 90,743 
 
 1836 . . 75,417 1841 . . 118,592 
 
 1837 . . 72,034 1842 . . 128,344 
 
 1838 . . 33,222 1843 . . 57,212 
 
 1839 . . 62,207 1844 . . 70,686 
 A variety of circumstances affect the 
 
 extent of emigration and its particular 
 direction. In some years the stream is 
 increased by distress at home ; in others, 
 by the activity caused by the bounty sys- 
 tem, and the amount raised by the sales 
 of land in the Australian colonies ; an in- 
 surrection in Canada diverts the current 
 of emigrants to other colonies ; a mas- 
 sacre in New Zealand, and the effects of 
 misgovernment there, have their influ- 
 ence. The fluctuation in the average 
 annual number of emigrants during the 
 following periods is curious. 
 
 " Average annual 
 
 number of emi- 
 grants. 
 In the 4 years ending 1828 . 22,500 
 
 Average annual 
 number of emi- 
 grants. 
 In the 6 years ending 1834 . 69,00ft 
 „ 5 years ending 1839 . 57,50<l 
 „ 3 years ending 1842 . 112,50<> 
 1843 and 1844 . 64,000 
 The numbers who proceeded to the 
 United States, British North America, 
 the Australian Colonies, and New Zea- 
 land, in each of the following years was 
 as under : — 
 
 
 liritish North 
 America. 
 
 United 
 
 States. 
 
 Australia 
 and New 
 Zealand. 
 
 1835 
 
 . 15,573 
 
 26,720 
 
 1,860 
 
 1836 
 
 . 34,226 
 
 37,774 
 
 3,124 
 
 1837 
 
 . 29,884 
 
 36,770 
 
 5,054 
 
 1838 
 
 . 4,577 
 
 14,332 
 
 14,02 i 
 
 1839 
 
 . 12,658 
 
 33,536 
 
 15,7SG 
 
 1840 
 
 . 32,293 
 
 40,642 
 
 15,850 
 
 1S41 
 
 . 38,164 
 
 45,017 
 
 32,625 
 
 1842 
 
 . 54,123 
 
 63,852 
 
 8,534 
 
 1843 
 
 . 23,518 
 
 28,335 
 
 3,478 
 
 1844 
 
 . 22,924 
 
 43,660 
 
 2,229 
 
 The destination of the emigrants wh« 
 left the United Kingdom, in 1844, is more 
 minutely given in the following table : — 
 
 Destination. 
 United States 
 Texas .... 
 Central and South America 
 Canada 
 
 New Brunswick 
 Nova Scotia and Cape Breton 
 Newfoundland 
 Prince Edward's Island . 
 Jamaica * • • 
 British Guiana 
 Trinidad 
 Other settlements in British 
 
 West Indies 
 Foreign West Indies 
 East Indies . 
 Hong Kong . 
 China . . . • 
 Mauritius ... 
 Cape of Good Hope 
 Western Africa and Madeira 
 Sydney 
 Port-Philip . 
 South Australia 
 Van Diemen's Land 
 New Zealand 
 
 Grand Total . 70.68U 
 3 U 
 
 43,660 
 
 1 
 
 710 
 
 18,747 
 
 2,489 
 
 747 
 
 684 
 
 257 
 
 126 
 
 142 
 
 GO 
 
 168 
 
 39 
 
 176 
 
 18 
 
 ii 
 
 13 
 
 161 
 
 250 
 
 1,179 
 
 934 
 
 47 
 
 1 
 
 68 
 
EMPEROR. 
 
 [ 834 ] 
 
 EMPEROR. 
 
 In 1844 the number of persons who 
 emigrated from ports in England was 
 50,257; Scotland, 4504 ; Ireland, 15,!><25. 
 The number of emigrants who embarked 
 at Liverpool was 44,427, and from London 
 only 2303. The number of cabin passen- 
 gers was 4889, of whom 4070, or 1 in 
 laj, were from England; 663, or 1 in 
 7, were from Scotland; 156, or 1 in 102, 
 were from Ireland. The destination of 
 the English, Scotch, and Irish emigrants 
 is shown in the subjoined table. 
 
 Went to English. Scots. Irish. 
 
 United States . 39,070 1,597 2,993 
 Central and South 
 
 America . . 668 43 — 
 North American 
 
 Colonies . . 8,058 2,470 12,396 
 
 British West Indies 283 197 16 
 
 Foreign do. . . 38 1 — 
 
 East Indies . . 131 45 — 
 Hong Kong . 17 1 
 
 China ... 9 — — 
 
 Mauritius . . 9 ,4 — 
 
 Western Africa and 
 
 Madeira . . 240 10 — 
 The Cape . .153 8 — 
 Australian Colonies .1,581 128 520 
 
 The emigration of native labourers, 
 from China and Iudia, and of liberated 
 and other Africans from Sierra Leone to 
 the Mauritius and to the British Colonies 
 in the West Indies, it may be sufficient to 
 mention, is under the regulation of the 
 Land and Emigration Commissioners. 
 
 The various political questions which 
 arise from the connexion between a pa- 
 rent state and colony are treated ef in 
 " An Essay on the Government of De- 
 pendencies," by George Cornewall Lewis, 
 London, 1841. 
 
 EMPANNEL. [Panel.1 
 
 EMPEROR, from the Latin Impe- 
 rator. Among the early Romans the 
 title of Imperator was bestowed by the 
 acclamations of his soldiers in the camp 
 on a commander-in-chief who had signal- 
 ized himself hy a victory. (Tacit. Amtal. 
 iii. 74.) In the case mentioned by Taci- 
 tus, Tiberius is said to have allowed the 
 soldiers to salute Blaesus by the title of 
 Imperator (Compare Velleius, ii. 125). 
 But the word Imperator was properly 
 applied to him who had what the Romans 
 
 called Imperium, which was conferred 
 on the Roman kings by the Comitia Cu- 
 riata (Cicero, He Repub. ii. 17). This 
 was the case with Tullus Hostilius, and 
 his predecessor Numa, and his successor 
 Ancus Marcius. Under the Republic the 
 title was sometimes conferred on an'indi- 
 vidual for the occasion of a triumph 
 ( Livy, xxvi. 21 ; xlv. 35). Cicero 
 {Pkilipp. ix. 16), defines Imperium to 
 be " that power without which military 
 affairs cannot be carried on, an army 
 commanded, or a war conducted." Con- 
 formably to this we have an instance in 
 Livius, in which the Senate refused to 
 acknowledge a general as a convmander 
 because he had not received the Impe- 
 rium in due form (xxvi. 2). In his ora- 
 tion on the Lex Manilia, Cicero says that 
 a single Imperator was required to con- 
 duct the war against Mithridates (c. 2). 
 The name used by the Greek historians 
 of Rome to express Imperator isAntocra- 
 tor (avroKp&TupX one who has full power, 
 from which is derived the 'word autocrat, 
 which is sometimes applied to the Empe- 
 ror of Russia. C. Julius Csesar assumed 
 the name Imperator as a preenomen, or 
 title (Imperator C. Julius Cffisar), a prac- 
 tice which was followed by his successors, 
 as we may observe on their coins. (Sue- 
 tonius, Ceesar, 76.) There are examples' 
 of this title in the coins of Antoninus, 
 Aurelius, . and other Roman emperors. 
 On the reverse of the coin of Aurelius 
 we observe Imp. VIII., that is Imperator 
 octavum, or imperator the eighth time, 
 which shows, as indeed can be proved 
 from a variety of examples, that the Ro- 
 man emperors often assumed the title on 
 special occasions when they or their ge- 
 nerals had obtained some signal victory. 
 This term Imperator, under the early . 
 emperors, cannot be considered as de- 
 noting any sovereign power. But still 
 this distinction was observed : the em- 
 peror, when the title was applied to hiin 
 in his sovereign capacity, had the name 
 Imperator prefixed, as Imperator Csesar 
 Augustus ; but the individual to whom 
 the honorary distinction was given on 
 some particular occasion had it placed 
 after his name, Iunius Blasus Imperator, 
 as in the Republican period. 
 After the time of the Antomnes the 
 
EMPEROE. 
 
 [ 835 J 
 
 ENLISTMENT. 
 
 term Imperator seems gradually to have 
 grown into common use as one of the 
 titles which expressed the sovereign- of 
 the Roman world, though the name 
 Princeps was also long used as indicating 
 the same rank and power. (See the Dedi- 
 cation of J. Capitolinus to Constantine.) 
 It may be difficult to state when this 
 term Imperator became exclusively the 
 designation of the Roman sovereign. In 
 the introduction to the Digest (De Con- 
 ception Digestorum), Justinian assumes 
 the title of Imperator Csesar Flavius Jus- 
 tinianus, &o., semper Augustus. la the 
 proemium to the Institutes, Justinian 
 uses the terms Imperatoria Majestas to 
 express his sovereign power, and yet in 
 the same paragraph he calls himself by 
 the name of Princeps^ a term which 
 dates from the time of the so-called Re- 
 public, and expressed the precedence 
 given to one particular member of the 
 Senate. The term Princeps was adopted 
 by Augustus as the least invidious title 
 of dignity, and was applied to his suc- 
 
 From the emperors of the West this 
 title, in the year-800, devolved to Char- 
 lemagne, the founder of the second or 
 German empire of the West. Upon the 
 expiration of the German branch of the 
 Carlovingian family, the imperial crown 
 became elective, and continued so until 
 the last century. The title of Emperor 
 of Germany now no longer exists : Fran- 
 cis II. laid it aside, and assumed the title 
 of Emperor of Austria. The only other 
 European potentate who uses the style of 
 emperor is the autocrat of Russia, the 
 monarchs of which country, about the 
 year 1 520, exchanged their former title 
 of duke or great duke of Russia, for that 
 of Czar or Tzar. In early times it was 
 asserted ;by the civilians that the posses- 
 sion of the imperial crown gave to the 
 emperors of Germany, as titular sove- 
 reigns of the world, a supremacy over all 
 the kings of Europe, though such was 
 never attempted to be exercised; and 
 they denied the existence of any other 
 empire : but in spite of this denial it is 
 certain that severalof the kings of France 
 tif the second race, after they had lost the 
 empire of Germany, styled themselves 
 Basileus and Imperator. Our own King 
 
 Edgar, in a charter to Oswald bishop of 
 Winchester, styled himself "Anglorum 
 Basileus omnium que regum insularum 
 oceani que Britanniam circumjacentis 
 cunctarum que nationum qua! infra earn 
 includuntur Imperator et JUominus." Al- 
 fonso VII. also, in the 12th century, 
 styled himself Emperor of Spain. It 
 might be easily shown how the title and 
 rank of king and emperor have been 
 feudalized, as it were, in passing through 
 the ordeal of the middle ages. 
 
 ENDOWMENT. [Dower; Bene- 
 fice ; Uses, Charitable.] 
 ENEMY. [Alien, p. 102.] 
 ENFEOFFMENT. | Feoffment.] 
 ENFRANCHISEMENT. The Third 
 Annual Report of the Copyhold Commis- 
 sioners, dated 22hd June, 1844, gives the 
 following information respecting the pro- 
 gress of enfranchisement of manors under 
 the Copyhold Act. The Commissioners 
 state that "enfranchisement of church 
 property is now proceeding to a consider- 
 able extent, and there is every reason to 
 suppose that in manors held by ecclesi- 
 astical persons the disposition to avail 
 themselves of the act will become gene- 
 ral." Enfranchisements had also increased 
 in other manors, but not in the same pro- 
 portion, and that the act had encouraged' 
 building, especially in thejieighbourhood 
 of London. They suggested, as an im- 
 provement, that, without being in any 
 way compulsory on the lord, enfranchise- 
 ments might be made binding on the other 
 tenants, if two-thirds of the tenants," in 
 number and value, agreed. At present 
 it may happen that the lord is willing to 
 enfranchise, and he can make arrange- 
 ments with the principal tenants ; but if 
 there is a difficulty in agreeing with the 
 smaller tenants, enfranchisement is hin- 
 dered, as the lord might be left with the 
 dregs of the manor. 
 
 ENGROSSING. [Forestalling.] 
 ENLISTMENT, an engagement to 
 serve ai? a private soldier either during 
 an unlimited period or for a certain num- 
 ber of years, on receipt of a sum of 
 money. Enlistment differs from enrol- 
 ment, inasmuch as it is a voluntary act, 
 whereas the latter is, under some cir- 
 cumstances, rendered compulsory : as in 
 the case of men who are selected by bal- 
 3h 2 
 
ENLISTMENT. 
 
 [ 836 ] 
 
 ENLISTMENT. 
 
 lot for the militia in this country, or by 
 the conscription, for military service 
 generally, on the continent. 
 
 The practice of impressing men to 
 serve as soldiers, on sudden emergencies, 
 was formerly very common in England ; 
 and it is well known that within the last 
 half century young men were entrapped 
 and secretly conveyed away to recruit 
 the armies employed in the east The 
 discovery of this illegal and disgraceful 
 method of obtaining soldiers was speedily 
 followed by its abolition ; and now, the 
 East India Company's troops, as well as 
 those of the regular army, are obtained 
 by voluntary engagement. 
 
 The number of young men who are 
 induced to enlist by the ambition of en- 
 tering upon a course of life which ap- 
 pears to hold out a prospect of distin- 
 guishing themselves by gallant achieve- 
 ments in the field is, however, too small 
 for the wants of the military service ; and 
 the allurement of a bounty must neces- 
 sarily be presented in order that the ranks 
 of the army may be filled. But the pro- 
 fession of a soldier can never possess such 
 advantages as might induce an industri- 
 ous man who can obtain a subsistence in 
 another way to embrace it ; and it is to 
 be regretted that too frequently those 
 who enter the service are thoughtless 
 youths or men of indolent habits or des- 
 perate fortunes. Some attention, how- 
 ever, to the character of a person offer- 
 ing himself for enlistment is necessary 
 if it be desired to render the service 
 honourable : for it is found that idle and 
 dissipated men are with difficulty brought 
 to submit to the necessary restraints of 
 discipline ; their frequent desertions en- 
 tail heavy losses on the government, and 
 they often corrupt those who are com- 
 pelled to associate with them. When 
 circumstances render it necessary to' en- 
 list such men, it is obvious that they 
 ought to be distributed in small numbers 
 among the different regiments, and quar- 
 tered in places remote from those from 
 which they were taken. 
 
 By the 34th clause of the Mutiny Act, 
 every person who has received enlisting- 
 money from any military man employed 
 in the recruiting service is considered as 
 l"»viug enlisted; but within forty-eight 
 
 hours afterwards notice is to be given to 
 the recruit, or left at his place of abode, 
 of bis having so enlisted : and again, 
 within four days from the time of re- 
 ceiving the money, the recruit, attended 
 by any person employed as above-said, 
 is to appear before a magistrate (not be- 
 ing a military man), when, if he declare 
 that he has voluntarily enlisted, the ma- 
 gistrate is to question him concerning his 
 name, age, and condition, and particu- 
 larly to inquire of him whether he is 
 then serving, or whether he have ever 
 served, in the army or navy. The ma- 
 gistrate is then to read to the recruit the 
 articles of war relating to mutiny and 
 desertion, and administer to him an oath 
 of allegiance, of which a form is given in 
 a schedule to the act: if the recruit 
 refuse to take the oath, he may be im- 
 prisoned till he do so. 
 
 But as the young and simple have been 
 sometimes inveigled by illusory pro- 
 mises, or persuaded, while deprived of 
 judgment by intoxication, to enlist, if a 
 recruit, on reflection, wish to withdraw 
 from the engagement into which he may 
 have been surprised, it is provided by the 
 35th clause of the Mutiny Act that when 
 taken before the magistrate as above he 
 shall be at liberty to declare his dissent 
 from such enlistment ; on making which 
 declaration and returning the enlisting 
 money, with 20s. in addition for the 
 charges which may have been incurred 
 on his account, he shall be forthwith dis- 
 charged. But if he omit within twenty- 
 four hours after so declaring his dissent 
 to pay such money, he is to be considered 
 as enlisted, as if he had given his assent 
 before the magistrate. 
 
 If a recruit, after receiving the enlist- 
 ment-money, and after notice of having 
 enlisted has been left at his place of 
 abode, shall abscond, he may be appre- 
 hended and punished as a deserter, or for 
 being absent without leave ; and if it be 
 discovered that he is unfit for active ser- 
 vice, in consequence of any infirmity 
 which he had not declared before the 
 magistrate, he may be transferred to any 
 garrison, or veteran or invalid battalion, 
 though he may have enlisted for some 
 particular regiment. If it be proved that 
 the recruit concealed the fact of his being 
 
ENLISTMENT 
 
 [ 837 ] 
 
 ENLISTMENT. 
 
 a discharged soldier, he may be sen- 
 tenced to suffer punishment as a rogue or 
 vagabond ; and if, at the time of enlist- 
 ing, he falsely deui"d being in (he mili- 
 tia, he may be committed to the house of 
 correction for a period not exceeding 
 six months ; and, from the day in which 
 his engagement to serve in the militia 
 ends, he is to be deemed a soldier in the 
 regular forces. 
 
 An apprentice who shall enlist, denying 
 himself to be such, is deemed guilty of ob- 
 taining money under false pretences; 
 and, after the expiration of his appren- 
 ticeship, if he shall not deliver himself 
 up to some officer authorised to re- 
 ceive recruits, he may be taken as a 
 deserter. A master is not entitled to 
 claim an apprentice who may have en- 
 listed unless the claim be made within 
 one month after the apprentice shall have 
 left his service. 
 
 In the third clause of the Mutiny Act 
 it is stated that no man enlisted as a sol- 
 dier is liable to be arrested on account 
 of any process for leaving a wife or child 
 chargeable to a parish, or on account of 
 any engagement to work for an em- 
 ployer (except that of an apprenticeship), 
 or on account of any debt under 30/. 
 And in the 41st clause it is declared that 
 negroes, purchased on account of the 
 crown and serving in any of the regular 
 forces, are deemed to be free, and are con- 
 sidered as soldiers having voluntarily en- 
 listed. Every military officer acting con- 
 trary to the provisions of the Mutiny Act, 
 in what regards enlisting recruits, is lia- 
 ble to be cashiered, and disabled to hold 
 any civil or military office or employ- 
 ment in her Majesty's service. 
 
 During the reign of Queen Anne it was 
 the custom to enlist recruits for three 
 years ; but this period seems too short, 
 considering the time unavoidably spent in 
 training the men, to afford the govern- 
 ment an advantage adequate to the ex- 
 pense of maintaining them; and the pre- 
 sent practice is regulated by 10 & 11 
 Vict. c. 39. By this act no person can 
 be enlisted for longer than ten years in 
 the infantry, or twelve years in the ca- 
 valry, artillery, or other ordnance corps; 
 the term of service to be reckoned from 
 the day of attestation, or day on which 
 
 the party, if under eighteen years of age, 
 attains that age. Tlie term of enlist- 
 ment in the marine forces is limited to 
 twelve years. The enlistments for the 
 Honourable East India Company's ser- 
 vice are either for unlimited periods, or 
 for twelve years, provided the recruit be 
 not less than eighteen years of age. 
 
 The advantages of a limited period of 
 service are, that a greater number of re- 
 cruits are obtained under that condition, 
 probably because men are more willing 
 to engage themselves for a certain num- 
 ber of years than for life ; and that, dur- 
 ing the period, opportunities are afforded 
 of discovering the character of a man. 
 Should this be such as to render it not 
 advisable to retain him, he may be dis- 
 charged at the aid of his time of service ; 
 while an additional bounty, strengthened 
 by the unwillingness of most men to 
 leave the comrades with whom they have 
 been long accustomed to associate, will 
 probably induce a good soldier to re- 
 enlist should the continuance of his ser- 
 vices be desired. 
 
 By an act passed in 1835 a man is 
 allowed to enlist in the navy for a period 
 not exceeding five years, after which he 
 is entitled to his discharge and to be sent 
 home, if abroad, unless the commanding 
 officer should conceive his departure to 
 be detrimental to the service ; such offi- 
 cer is then empowered to detain the man 
 six months longer, or until the emergency, 
 shall cease, in which case the man is en- 
 titled, during such extra service, to re- 
 ceive an increase of pay amounting to 
 one-fourth of that which he receives ac- 
 cording to his rating. At the end of his 
 time of service a seaman may re-enlist 
 for a like period, and he will then be 
 allowed the same bounty as at first. Sea- 
 men entering as volunteeis within six 
 days after a royal proclamation calling 
 for the services of such men receive 
 double bounty. In the year 1819 was 
 passed that which is called the Foreign 
 Enlistment Act, by which British sub- 
 jects are forbidden to engage in foreign 
 service without licence from the crown. 
 This act for several years was suspended 
 in favour of the British troops employed 
 in the service of the present Queen of 
 Spain. Lastly, a bill has recently passed, 
 
ENSIGN. 
 
 [ 838 ] 
 
 EQUITY. 
 
 confirming the act of 55 Geo. III., by 
 which her majesty is empowered to grant 
 the rank of field and general officers to 
 foreigners; and to allow foreigners to 
 enlist and serve as non-commissioned offi- 
 cers and soldiers in the British service in 
 the proportion of one foreigner for every 
 fifty natural born subjects. 
 
 ENSIGN, a commissioned officer, the 
 lowest in degree, and immediately subor- 
 dinate to the lieutenants in a regiment of 
 infantry. One of this rank is appointed 
 to each company, and the junior ensigns 
 are charged with the duty of carrying 
 the colours of the regiment. Ensigns in 
 the regiments of foot guards have also 
 the rant of lieutenants. In the rifle 
 brigade, and in the royal corps of artil- 
 lery, engineers, and marines, in place of 
 an ensign, a second lieutenant is attached 
 to each company. 
 
 Among the Spaniards and Italians, in 
 the seventeenth century, it appears that 
 no officer existed like the lieutenant of a 
 company, whose rank is between that of 
 a captain and ensign, any such being con- 
 sidered superfluous, and as tending to 
 diminish the importance which was at- 
 tached to the post of the officer who had 
 the charge of the colours, on the pre- 
 servation of which, in action, the honour 
 of the regiment was made greatly to de- 
 pend. 
 
 When, as formerly, a battle partook far 
 more than at present of the nature of a 
 melee, the loss of a standard, which 
 served as a mark for the soldiers under 
 eaoh leader to keep together in the fight, 
 or to rally when dispersed, must have 
 been a serious misfortune, and probably 
 was often attended by the total defeat and 
 destruction of the party ; and hence, no 
 doubt, arose the point of honour respect- 
 ing the colours. A French military au- 
 thor, who served and wrote in the time 
 of Charles IX., intending to express the 
 importance of preserving the colours to 
 the last, observes that, on a defeat taking 
 place, the flag should serve the ensign as 
 a shroud ; and instances have occurred of 
 a standard-bearer who, being mortally 
 wounded, tore the flag from its staff and 
 died with it wrapped about his body. 
 Such a circumstance is related of Don 
 Sebastian, king of Portugal, at the battle 
 
 of Alcazar, and of a young officer named 
 Chatelier at the taking of Taillebourg, 
 during the wars of the Huguenots. 
 
 In the ancient French service, the duty 
 of carrying the oriflamme at the head of 
 the army was confided to a man of rank, 
 and also of approved valour and pru- 
 dence ; the post was held for life. 
 
 The price of an ensign's commission in 
 the foot guards is 12U0L, and his daily 
 pay is 5*. 6d. ; in the regiments of the 
 line the price is 450/., and the daily pay 
 5s. 3d. 
 
 ENTAIL. [Estate.] 
 
 ENVOY, a diplomatic minister or 
 agent, inferior in dignity to an ambas- 
 sador, but generally invested with equal 
 powers. [Ambassador,] 
 
 EPISCOPACY. [Bishop.] 
 
 EQUALITY. [Liberty.] 
 
 EQUERRIES (from the French dearie, 
 a stable), vhe name given to certain 
 officers of the household of the King of 
 England in the department of the master 
 of the horse, the first of whom is styled 
 chief equerry and clerk-marshal. Their 
 duties fall in rotation. When the king 
 or queen ride abroad in state, an equerry 
 goes in the leading coach. They formerly 
 rode on horseback by the coach side. 
 Officers of the same denomination form a 
 part of the established household of the 
 Prince Consort, the Duke of Cambridge, 
 and the Queen Dowager. 
 
 EQUITY, according to the definition 
 given by Aristotle, is " the rectification of 
 the law, when, by reason of its univer- 
 sality, it is deficient ; for this is the rea- 
 son that all things are not determined by 
 law, because it is impossible that a law 
 should be enacted concerning some things, 
 so that there is need of a decree or de- 
 cision ; for of the indefinite the rule also 
 is indefinite : as among Lesbian builders 
 the rule is leaden, for the rule is altered 
 to suit t v e figure of the stone, and is not 
 fixed, and so is a decree or decision to 
 suit the circumstances." {Ethics, b. v. c. 
 x. Oxford trans.) " Equity," says Black- 
 stone, " in its true and genuine meaning, 
 is the soul and spirit of all law ; positive 
 law is construed and rational law is made 
 by it. In this respect, equity is synony- 
 mous with justice ; in that, to the true 
 and siund interpretation of the rule." 
 
EQUITY. 
 
 I 839 ] 
 
 EQUITY. 
 
 According to Grotius, equity is the cor- 
 rection of that wherein the law, by reason 
 of its generality, is deficient. 
 
 It is probable that the department of 
 law called equity in England once de- 
 served the humorous description given 
 by Selden in his ' Table Talk:' " Equity 
 in law is the same that spirit is in reli- 
 gion, what every one pleases to make it : 
 sometimes they go according to con- 
 science, sometimes according to law, some- 
 times according to the rule of court. 
 Equity is a roguish thing : for law we 
 have a measure, know what to trust to ; 
 equity is according to the conscience of 
 him that is chancellor; and as that is 
 larger or narrower, so is equity. It is all 
 one as if they should make the standard 
 for the measure we call a foot a chancel- 
 lor's foot; what an uncertain measure 
 would this be! One chancellor has a 
 long foot, another a short foot, a third an 
 indifferent foot : it is the same thing in 
 the chancellor's conscience." 
 
 This uncertainty has however long 
 ceased in that branch of our law which 
 is expressed by the term Equity, and, 
 from successive decisions, rules and prin- 
 ciples almost as fixed have been framed 
 and established in our courts of equity as 
 in our courts of law. New cases do in- 
 deed arise, but they are decided according 
 to these rules and principles, and not ac- 
 cording to the notions of the judge as to 
 what may be reasonable or just in the par- 
 ticular case. Nothing in fact is more 
 common than to hear the chancellor say, 
 that whatever may be his own opinion, 
 he is bound by the authorities, that is, by 
 the decisions of his predecessors in office 
 and those of the other judges in equity, 
 that he will not shake any settled rule 
 of equity, it being for the common good 
 that these should be certain and know n, 
 however ill-founded the first resolution 
 may have been. 
 
 In its enlarged sense, equity answers 
 precisely to the definition of justice, or 
 natural law (as it is called), as given in 
 the ' Pandects ' (i. tit. 1, s. 10, 11); and 
 it is remarkable that subsequent writers 
 on this so-called natural law, and also the 
 authors of modern treatises on the doc- 
 trine of equity, as administered in the 
 English oourts, have, with scarcely any 
 
 exception, cited the above passage from 
 Aristotle as a definition of equity in our 
 peculiar sense of a separate jurisdiction. 
 But according' to this* general definition 
 every court is a court of equity, of whicli 
 a familiar instance occurs in the construc- 
 tion of statutes, which the judges of the 
 courts of common law may, if they please, 
 interpret according to the spirit, or, as it 
 is calledj the equity, not the strict letter. 
 
 It is hardly possible to define Equity 
 as now administered in England and Ire- 
 land, or to make it intelligible otherwise 
 than by a minute enumeration of the 
 matters cognizable in the courts in which 
 it is administered in its restrained and 
 qualified sense. 
 
 The remedies for the redress of wrongs 
 and for the enforcement of rights are dis- 
 tinguished into two classes, those which 
 are administered in courts of law, and 
 those which are administered in courts of 
 equity. Accordingly rights may be distri- 
 buted into Legal and Equitable. Equity 
 jurisdiction may therefore properly bt 
 defined as that department of law Which 
 is administered by a court of equity as 
 distinguished from a court of law, from 
 which a court of equity differs mainly in 
 the subject matters of which it takes cog- 
 nizance and in its mode of procedure and 
 remedies. 
 
 Courts of common law proceed by cer- 
 tain prescribed forms of action alone, and 
 give relief only according to the kinds of 
 actions, by a general and unqualified 
 judgment for the plaintiff or the defend- 
 ant. There are many cases, however, in 
 which a simple judgment for either party, 
 without qualifications or conditions, will 
 not do entire justice. Some modifications 
 of the rights of both parties may be re- 
 quired; some restraints on one side or 
 the other, or perhaps on both ; some quali- 
 fications or conditions present or future, 
 temporary or permanent, ought to be an- 
 nexed to the exercise of rights or the re- 
 dress of injuries. To accomplish such 
 objects the courts of law in this country 
 have no machinery : according to their 
 present constitution they can only adjudi- 
 cate by a simple judgment between the 
 parties. Courts of' equity, however, are 
 not so restrained ; they adjudicate by de- 
 cree pronounced upon a statement of his 
 
EQUITY. 
 
 840 1 
 
 EQUITY. 
 
 case by the plaintiff, which he makes by 
 a writing called a bill, and the written 
 answer of the defendant, which is given 
 in upon oath, and the evidence of wit- 
 nesses, together, if necessary, with the 
 evidence of all parties, also given in 
 writing and upon oath. These decrees 
 are so adjusted as to meet all the exi- 
 gencies of the case, and they vary, qualify, 
 restrain, and model the remedy so as to 
 suit it to mutual and adverse claims, and 
 the real and substantial rights of all 
 the parries, so far as such rights are ac- 
 knowledged by the rules of equity. 
 
 The courts of equity bring before them 
 all the parties interested in the subject 
 matter of the suit, and adjust the rights 
 of all, however numerous ; whereas 
 courts of law are compelled by their con- 
 stitution to limit their inquiry to the liti- 
 gating parties, although other persons 
 may be interested; that is, they give a 
 complete remedy in damages or otherwise 
 for the particular wrong in question as 
 between the parties to the action, though 
 such remedy is in many cases an incom- 
 plete adjudication upon the general rights 
 of the parties to the action, and fails alto- 
 gether as to other persons, not parties to 
 the action, who yet may be interested in 
 the result or in the sublet matter in dis- 
 pute. 
 
 The description of a court of equity, 
 as given by Mr. Justice Story in the ' En- 
 cyclopaedia Americana,' which he has 
 filled up in his recent Treatise on Equity, 
 is this. A court of equity has jurisdiction 
 in cases where a plain, adequate, and com- 
 plete remedy cannot be had in the com- 
 mon law courts. The remedy must be 
 plain, for if it be doubtful and obscure at 
 law, equity will assert a jurisdiction. It 
 must be adequate, for if at law it fall 
 short of what the party is entitled to, that 
 founds a jurisdiction in equity; and it 
 must be complete, that is, it must attain 
 the full end and justice of the case ; it 
 must reach the whole mischief and secure 
 the whole right of the party present and 
 future, otherwise equity will interpose 
 and give relief. The jurisdiction of a 
 court of equity is sometimes concurrent 
 with the jurisdiction of the courts of law ; 
 sometimes assistant to it ; and sometimes 
 exclusive. It exercises concurrent Juris- 
 
 diction in cases where the rights are 
 purely of a legal nature, but where other 
 and more efficient aid is required than a 
 court of law can afford. In some of these 
 cases courts of law formerly refused all 
 redress, but now will grant it. For strict 
 law comprehending established rules, and 
 the jurisdiction of equity being called into 
 action when the purposes of justice ren- 
 dered an exception to those rules neces- 
 sary, successive exceptions on the same 
 grounds became the foundation of a gene- 
 ral principle, and could no longer be con- 
 sidered as a singular interposition. Thus 
 law and equity are in continual progres- 
 sion, and the former is constantly gaining 
 ground upon the latter. Every new and 
 extraordinary interposition is by length 
 of time converted into an old rule; a 
 great part of what is now strict law was 
 formerly considered as equity, and the 
 equitable decisions of this age will un- 
 avoidably be ranked under the strict law 
 of the next. (Prof. Millar, View of the 
 Eiy. Govt.) But the jurisdiction having 
 been once acquired at a time when there 
 was no such redress at law, it is stilt 
 retained by the courts of equity. 
 
 The most common exercise of the con- 
 current jurisdiction is in cases of account, 
 accident, dower, fraud, mistake, partner- 
 ship, and partition. In many cases which 
 fall under these heads, and especially in 
 some cases of fraud, mistake, and acci- 
 dent, courts of law cannot and do not af- 
 ford any redress : in others they do, but 
 not in so complete a manner as a court of 
 equity. 
 
 A court of equity is also assistant to 
 the jurisdiction of the courts of law in 
 cases where the courts of law have na 
 like authority. It will remove legal im- 
 pediments to the fair decision of a ques- 
 tion depending at law, as by restraining 
 a party from improperly setting up, at a 
 trial, some title or claim which would 
 prevent the fair decision of the question 
 in dispute ; by compelling him to dis- 
 cover, upon his own oath, facts which are 
 material to the right of the other party, 
 but which a court of law cannot compel 
 him to disclose ; by perpetuating, that is, 
 by taking iu writing and keeping in its 
 custody, the testimony of witnesses, which 
 is in danger of being lost before the mat- 
 
EQUITY. 
 
 [841 ] 
 
 EQUITY. 
 
 ter can be tried; and by providing for 
 the safety of property in dispute pending 
 litigation. It will also counteract and 
 control fraudulent judgments, by re- 
 straining the parties from insisting upon 
 them. 
 
 The exclusive jurisdiction of a court of 
 equity is chiefly exercised in cases of 
 merely equitable rights, that is, such 
 rights as are not recognised in courts of 
 law. Most cases of trust and confidence 
 fall under this head. This exclusive 
 jurisdiction is exercised in granting in- 
 junctions to prevent waste or irreparable 
 injury ; to secure a settled right, or to 
 prevent vexatious litigation ; in appoint- 
 ing receivers of property which is in 
 danger of being misapplied; in com- 
 pelling the surrender of securities impro- 
 perly obtained; in preventing a party 
 from leaving the country in order to 
 avoid a suit; in restraining any undue 
 exercise of a legal right; in enforcing 
 specific performance of contracts ; in sup- 
 plying the defective execution of instru- 
 ments, and reforming, that is, correcting 
 and altering them according to the real 
 intention of the parties, when such inten- 
 tion can be satisfactorily proved ; and in 
 granting relief in cases where deeds and 
 securities have been lost. 
 
 Various opinions have been expressed 
 upon the question whether it would or 
 would not be best to administer justice 
 altogether in one court or in one class of 
 courts, without any separation or distinc- 
 tion of suits, or of the forms or modes of 
 procedure and relief. Lord Bacon, upon 
 more than one occasion, has expressed 
 his decided opinion that a separation of 
 the administration of equity from that of 
 the common law is wise and convenient. 
 " All nations," says he, " have equity, but 
 some hare law and equity mixed in the 
 same court, which is worse, and some 
 have it distinguished in several courts, 
 which is better ;" and again, " In some 
 states, that jurisdiction which decrees ac- 
 cording to equity and moral right, and 
 that which decrees according to strict 
 right, is committed to the same court ; in 
 others, they are committed to different 
 courts. We entirely opine for the sepa- 
 ration of the courts ; for the distinction 
 of the cases will not long be attended to 
 
 if the jurisdictions meet in the same per- 
 son ; and the will of the judge will then 
 master the law." 
 
 Lord Hardwicke held the same opinion. 
 Lord Mansfield, it is to be presumed, 
 thought otherwise, for he endeavoured to 
 introduce equitable doctrines into the 
 courts of law. The old strictness has 
 however been restored. His successor, 
 Lord Keuyon, made use of these expres- 
 sions : " If it had fallen to my lot to form 
 a system of jurisprudence, whether or not 
 I should have thought it advisable to 
 establish different courts, with different 
 jurisdictions, and governed by different 
 rules, it is not necessary to say ; but in- 
 fluenced as I am by certain prejudices 
 that have become inveterate with those 
 who comply with the systems they find 
 established, I find that in these courts, 
 proceeding by different rules, a certain 
 combined system of jurisprudence has 
 been framed most beneficial to the people 
 of this country, and which I hope I may 
 be indulged in supposing has never yet 
 been equalled in any other country on 
 earth. Our courts of law only consider 
 legal rights ; our courts of equity have 
 other rules, by which they sometimes 
 supersede strict legal rules, and in so 
 doing they act most beneficially for the 
 subject." In this country the principle 
 of separating jurisdictions has been largely 
 acted upon. We have our courts of 
 equity and law; our bankrupt and in- 
 solvent courts, and courts of ecclesiastical 
 and admiralty jurisdiction ; indeed until 
 lately our several courts of law had, in 
 principle, jurisdiction only over certain 
 specified classes of suits. In countries 
 governed by the civil law, the practice 
 has in general been the other way. Bui 
 whether the one opinion or the other be 
 most correct in theory, the system adopted 
 by every nation has been mainly influ- 
 enced by the peculiarities of its own in- 
 stitutions, habits, and circumstances, and 
 the original forms of giving redress for 
 wrongs. 
 
 In some of the American states, the 
 administration of law and equity is dis- 
 tinct; in others the administration of 
 equity is only partially committed to dis- 
 tinct courts; in a third class the two 
 jurisdictions are vested in one and the 
 
EQUITY. 
 
 [ 842 ] 
 
 EQUITY. 
 
 same tribunal ; and in a fourth there are 
 no courts that exercise equitable jurisdic- 
 tion. 
 
 In most of our colonies the governor 
 is invested with the jurisdiction of chan- 
 cellor ; but in some of the most important 
 colonies, where a judicial establishment of 
 some magnitude is maintained, the chief 
 or supreme court is invested with the 
 chancery jurisdiction. 
 
 This attempt at the exposition of the 
 general principles of what in this country 
 is called Equity, seems to be better suited 
 to a work of this nature than a full de- 
 scription of the practice of, that is, the 
 course of proceeding in a suit in a court 
 of equity. The practice or procedure of 
 any court can hardly be made intelligible 
 to any person except one who knows 
 something of it by experience ; and any 
 technical descriptiou of it is useless un- 
 less it is minutely and circumstantially 
 exact. It is desirable, however, that in 
 addition to some knowledge of the sub- 
 jects which belong to the jurisdiction of a 
 court of equity, all persons should have 
 some clear notion of the way in which 
 the matters in dispute between parties to 
 a suit in equity are brought before the 
 court, and by what kind of proof or evi- 
 dence they are established. It may also 
 be useful that persons should have a gene- 
 ral and, so far as it goes, a correct know- 
 ledge of the different modes in which 
 such questions of fact are put in issue, and 
 proved in our courts of law and equity. 
 The following short outline of the course 
 of proceeding in a suit of chancery, taken 
 in connection with other articles in this 
 work, such as Cfianceixor, Chancery, 
 Deposition, and Evidence, may pro- 
 bably give somewhat more information 
 on the subject of equity jurisdiction that 
 is found in books not strictly profes- 
 sional. 
 
 A suit on the Equity side of the courts 
 of chancery is commenced by presenting a 
 written petition to the lord chancellor, 
 containing a statement of the plaintiff's 
 case, and praying for such relief as he 
 may consider himself entitled to receive. 
 This petition is technically called a Bill, 
 and is in the nature of the Declaration at 
 common law ; but if the suit is instituted 
 in behalf nf the crown, or a charity, or 
 
 any of the objects under the peculiar pro- 
 tection of the crown, the petition is in the 
 form of a narrative of the facts by the 
 attorney-general, and is called an Infor- 
 mation. There is also a petition termed 
 an information and bill, which is, where 
 the attorney-general, at the relation (that 
 is, the information) of a third person 
 (thence called the relator), informs the 
 court of the facts which he thinks are a 
 fit subject of inquiry. The practice it 
 all these proceedings is the same. At 
 the end of the statement in a bill, there 
 is added what is called the interrogating 
 part, which consists of the statements of 
 the hill thrown into the form of distinct 
 questions, and often expressed in terms of 
 great length and particularity. The state- 
 ments in the bill are not made upon oath : 
 and further, in order to obtain a full and 
 complete discovery from the defendant, 
 both as regards the complaint and the 
 supposed defence, various allegations are 
 made in many cases from mere conjec- 
 ture, a practice which tends to the due 
 administration of justice; for though 
 many frivolous suits are instituted, 
 yet, from the nature of cases of fraud 
 and concealment, the plaintiff is often 
 ignorant of the precise nature of his 
 own case, and frames his bill in various 
 forms so as to elicit from the defendant a 
 full discovery of the truth. Bills of this 
 nature are called original bills, and either 
 may be for Discovery and Relief, or for 
 Discovery merely. 
 
 When the bill is placed on the records 
 of the court it is: said to be filed, and the 
 writ of subpoena issues which commands 
 the defendant to appear and answer the 
 allegations of the bill within a certain 
 time. 
 
 If, upon the face of the bill, it shonld 
 appear that the plaintiff is not entitled to 
 the relief prayed for as against the de- 
 fendant, the defendant may demur, that 
 is, demand the judgment of the court upon 
 the statement made by the plaintiff, 
 whether the suit shall proceed ; and if any 
 cause, not apparent upon the bill, should 
 exist why the suit should be either dis- 
 missed, delayed, or barred, the defendant 
 may put in a plea, stating such matter, 
 and demanding the judgment of the court 
 as in the case of a demurrer. But if 
 
EQUITY. 
 
 [ 843] 
 
 EQUITY. 
 
 neither of these modes of defence are 
 applicable, and the defendant cannot dis- 
 claim all knowledge of the matters con- 
 tained in the bill, he must answer upon 
 oath the interrogatories in the bill accord- 
 ing to the best of his knowledge, remem- 
 brance, information, and belief. This mode 
 of defence is styled an Answer. All or 
 any of these several modes of defence 
 may be used together, if applied to sepa- 
 rate and distinct parts of the case made 
 by the plaintiff. 
 
 In the successive stages of a suit, re- 
 ferenees as to the pleadings, and as to 
 facts, may be made to the Masters of the 
 court of Chancery : as for instance, if any 
 improper statements be made reflecting 
 upon the character of any party, which are 
 not necessary to the decision of the suit, 
 the pleadings may be referred to the master 
 for scandal ; if there be long and irrele- 
 vant statements, not concerning the mat- 
 ter in question, a reference may be made 
 for impertinence, and the matter so com- 
 plained of as scandalous or impertinent 
 may be expunged at the expense of the 
 party in fault. Again, if the defendant 
 does not answer the bill with sufficient 
 precision, the plaintiff may except to the 
 answer for insufficiency, and this question 
 is decided by the masters in Chancery. 
 If the answer is decided to be insufficient, 
 the defendant must answer further. 
 
 It frequently happens that during the 
 progress of the suit, from the discovery 
 of new matter, the deaths and marriages 
 of parties, and other causes, the pleadings 
 become defective, and in these cases it is 
 necessary to bring the new matter, or 
 parties becoming interested, before the 
 - court This is done by means of further 
 statements, which refer to the previous 
 proceedings, and are in fact merely a con- 
 tinuation of them, which are called sup- 
 plemental bills, bills of revivor, or bills 
 of revivor and supplement, according to 
 the nature of the defect which they are 
 intended to supply. These bills are 
 called bills not original. 
 
 There is also a third class, called bills 
 in the nature of original bills, which are 
 occasioned by former bills, such as cross 
 bills, which are filed by the defendant to 
 an original bill against the plaintiff who 
 files such bill, touching some matter in 
 
 litigation in the original bill, as where a 
 discovery is necessary from the plaintiff in 
 order that the defendant may obtain com- 
 plete justice. There are also bills of re- 
 view, to examine a decree upon the dis- 
 covery of new matter, &c, and several 
 others. Upon both these latter descrip- 
 tions of bills the same pleadings and pro- 
 ceedings may follow as to an original 
 bill. 
 
 Pleas and demurrers are at once argued 
 before the court : if allowed, the suit, or 
 so much of it as is covered by the demur- 
 rer or plea, is at an end, though the court 
 will generally permit the plaintiff to 
 amend his bill where it is not apparent 
 from his own statement that he cannot 
 make any case against the defendant; 
 otherwise the only object attained by the 
 demurrer or plea would be to drive the 
 plaintiff to file a new bill, in which ie 
 would omit or amend the objectionable 
 part. But if the demurrer or plea is 
 overruled, the defendant is compelled to 
 answer fully, just as if he had not demur- 
 red or pleaded. When the answer is 
 filed, the plaintiff, if from the disclosures 
 made he deems it advisable, may amend 
 his bill, that is, erase such part of his 
 statements as he no longer considers ne- 
 cessary, and insert other statements which 
 may appear necessary to sustain his case ; 
 and the defendant must answer to this 
 new matter. 
 
 In cases where the bill is for discovery 
 only, and in some others, the answer puts 
 an end to the suit ; and when the object 
 of the bill is to obtain an injunction, 
 which is granted either upon affidavits 
 before answer or in default of an answer, 
 the suit is also ended, unless the defend- 
 ant desires to dissolve the injunction. 
 But where a decree is necessary, the cause 
 must come on to be heard either upon 
 evidence taken in writing before the 
 examiners of the court or commissioners 
 appointed for the purpose [Deposition ; 
 Evidence] ; or where the plaintiff con- 
 siders the disclosures in the answer suffi- 
 cient, the cause is heard upon bill and 
 answer alone, without further evidence, 
 and this is at the plaintiff's discretion. 
 
 The cause is heard in its turn by the 
 master of the rolls or the vice-chancellors, 
 for the lord chancellor rarely hears causes 
 
EQUITY. 
 
 [ 844 J 
 
 EQUITY. 
 
 in the first instance. [Chancery.] If the 
 nature of the suit admits, a final decree is 
 made •, or if any further inquiry be neces- 
 sary, >r any accounts are to be taken, re- 
 ferences are made to a master in Chan- 
 cery for those purposes. 
 
 The master, being attended by the 
 parties or their agents, makes his report ; 
 and the cause again comes on in its turn 
 to be heard upon further directions (as it 
 is called), when the like practice pre- 
 vails as at the hearing. 
 
 This is the form of the simplest suit in 
 equity, and is sufficient to point out the 
 successive 6teps necessary to be taken ; 
 but generally suits are of a far more com- 
 plicated character. Many special appli- 
 cations to the court may become neces- 
 sary at various stages before the cause is 
 ready for hearing ; and when reference is 
 made to the master, the inquiries to be 
 prosecuted before him may be entangled 
 in the greatest confusion ; and even when 
 he has made his report, either party may 
 except to it, and have his exceptions 
 argued before the court. Also when the 
 cause i6 heard on further directions, that 
 is, further instructions given by the court 
 to the master to whom the cause has been 
 already referred, other references to the 
 master may be found to be necessary, or 
 may arise out of the circumstances stated 
 in his report; the subject matter of the 
 suit may be such as to prevent an imme- 
 diate and final decree ; a party may be 
 entitled for life to the interest of money, 
 and the persons to take after him may 
 not be born or may be infants. In these 
 and many other cases the court makes 
 such decree as may be necessary, and re- 
 tains the suit, giving liberty to any parties 
 interested to apply to the court for direc- 
 tions as may become necessary from time 
 to time. It is impossible here to give an 
 adequate notion of the various and com- 
 plicated operations performed by decrees, 
 by which the interests and rights of all 
 parties are settled, and the most embar- 
 rassed affairs are arranged. A very 
 valuable collection of decrees has been 
 published by Mr. Seton. 
 
 Those who wish for a more accurate 
 knowledge of the proceedings in a suit in 
 Chancery may consult Lord Redesdale's 
 Treatise on Pleading; Beanies On Pleas; 
 
 and the various books on Chancery Prac- 
 tice. 
 
 The principal English treatises on 
 Equity are those of Mr. Maddock and 
 Mr. Fonblanque : the former treats of his 
 subject under heads devoted to the seve- 
 ral subject matters cognisable in courts of 
 equity ; the latter considers it with refer- 
 ence to the jurisdiction exercised by 
 courts of law, as concurrent, assistant, 
 exclusive. The American treatise of Mr. 
 Justice Story unites these two modes. 
 
 The English Equity has some resem- 
 blance to the Roman Edictal Law, or Jus 
 Pratorium or Honorarium, as it is often 
 called. All the higher Roman magis- 
 trates (magistratus majores) had the Jus 
 Edicendi or authority to promulgate 
 Edicta. These magistratus majores were 
 Consuls, Praetors, Curule Aediles, and 
 Censors. By virtue of this power a Magis- 
 trate made Edicta or orders, either teir 
 porary and for particular occasions 
 (edicta repentina); or npon entering 
 on his office he promulgated rules or 
 orders, which he would observe in the 
 exercise of his office (edicta perpetua). 
 These Edicta were written on a white tab- 
 let (album) in black letters ; the headings 
 or titles were in red : the Alba were 
 placed in the Forum, in such a position 
 that they could be read by a stander-by. 
 Those Edicta which related to the admi- 
 nistration of justice had an important 
 effect on the Roman law ; and especially 
 the Praetoria Edicta and those of the Cu- 
 rule Aediles. That branch of law which 
 was founded on the Praetorian Edicta was 
 designated Jus Praetorium, or Honorari- 
 um, because the Praetor held one of these 
 offices to which the term Honores was ap- ■ 
 plied. The Edicta were only in force dur- 
 ing the term of office of the Magistratus 
 who promulgated them ; but his successor 
 adopted many or all of his predecessor's 
 Edicta, and hence arose the expression of 
 "transferred edicts" (tralaticia edicta); 
 and thus in the later Republic the Edicta 
 which had been long established began to 
 exercise a great influence on the law, and 
 particularly the formsof procedure. About 
 the time of Cicero many distinguished 
 jurists began to write treatises on the 
 Edictum (libri ad edictum). Under the 
 Emperors new Edicta were rarer, and 
 
EQUITY 
 
 [ 84S j 
 
 ESCHEAT. 
 
 in the third century of our aera they 
 ceased. Under the Empire we first find the 
 Edicta of the Praefectus Urbi mentioned ; 
 but these must be considered as founded 
 on the Imperial authority (majestas prin- 
 cipis), and to have resembled the Impe- 
 rial Constitutions. Under the reign of 
 Hadrian, a compilation was made by his 
 authority of the Edictal rules by the 
 distinguished jurist Salvius Julianus, 
 in conjunction with Servius Cornelius, 
 which is spoken of under the name of 
 Edictum perpetuum. This Edictum was 
 arranged under various heads or titles, 
 such as those relating to Marriage, Tu- 
 tores, Legata ( legacies), and so on. 
 
 By the term Praetorian Edict the Ro- 
 mans meant the Edicts of the Praetor Ur- 
 banus, who was the chief personage em- 
 ployed in the higher administration of 
 justice under the Republic. The Edicta 
 which related to Peregrini (aliens) were 
 so named after the Praetor Peregrinus ; 
 and other edicta were called Censoria, 
 Consularia, Aedilicia, and so on. Some- 
 times an Edict of importance took its 
 name from the Praetor who promul- 
 gated it, as Carbonianum Edictum. 
 Sometimes the Honorariae actiones, those 
 which the Praetor by his Edict per- 
 mitted, were named in like manner 
 from the Praetor who introduced them. 
 Sometimes an Edict had its name from 
 the matter to which it referred. The 
 Romans generally cited the Edicta by 
 parte, titles, chapters, or clauses of the 
 Edictum Perpetuum by naming the initial 
 words, as Unde Legitimi, and so on; 
 sometimes they are cited by a reference 
 to their contents. Examples of these 
 modes of citing the Edictum occur in the 
 titles of the forty-third book of the 
 ' Digest.' (See the title ' Quorum Bono- 
 rum.') In our own law we refer to certain 
 forms of proceedings and to certain ac- 
 tions in a like way, as when we say Quo 
 Warranto, Quare Impedit, and speak of 
 Qui tarn actions. 
 
 The Jus Praetorium is defined by Pa- 
 pinian {Dig. i., tit. i. 7) as the law which 
 the Praetors introduced for the purpose of 
 aiding, supplying, or correcting the law 
 (jus civile), with a view to the public 
 interest. The edict is called by Marcia- 
 ius "the living voice of the jus civile," 
 
 that is, of the Roman law. (Dig. i., tit. i. 
 8.) The Praetorian Law, as thus formed, 
 (Jus Praetorium) was a body of law which 
 was distinguished by this name from the 
 Jus Civile, or the strict law ; the op- 
 position resembled that of the English 
 terms Equity and Law. In its complete 
 and large sense Jus Civile Romanorum, 
 or the Law of the Romans, of course com- 
 prehended the Jus Praetorium ; but in its 
 narrower sense Jus Civile was contrasted, 
 as already explained, with the Jus Prae- 
 torium. 
 
 The origin of the Roman edictal Law 
 is plainly to be traced to the imperfec- 
 tions of the old Jus Civile, and to the ne- 
 cessity of gradually modifying law and 
 procedure according to the changing cir- 
 cumstances of the times. It was an 
 easier method of doing this than by direct 
 legislation. Numerous modern treatises 
 contain a view of the origm and nature 
 of the Roman Jus Praetorium, though on 
 some points there is not complete uni- 
 formity of opinion. 
 
 (Booking, Institutional, vol. i. ; Puchta, 
 Cursus der Institutionen, vol. i. p. 293 ; 
 Savigny, Geschichte des Rlim. Mechts, 
 vol. i. ; Heffter, Vie Oeconomie des 
 JEdictes, Jiheiii. Mus.fiir Juris, i. p. 51 ; 
 E. Schrader, Die Pratorischen Edicte der 
 Homer, 1815.) 
 
 ESCHEAT is from the Norman French 
 eschet, which is from the word eschier or 
 eschoir, ' to fall ;' for an escheat is a 
 casual profit, which comes to the lord of 
 a fee. 
 
 An escheat may happen in two ways, 
 as it is stated by the old law writers, Per 
 defectum sanguins, for want of heirs, or 
 Per delictum tenentis, for the crime of the 
 tenant. There can only be an escheat, of 
 the whole fee ; and this happens when the 
 tenant of lands in fee simple dies in- 
 testate and without an heir : the lands, 
 if freehold, escheat to the king, or 
 other lord of the fee; if copyhold, to 
 the lord of the manor. All such lands 
 therefore either escheat to the king as 
 the supreme lord, or to the intermediate 
 lord, if there is one. Lands which have 
 descended to the last tenant from a pa- 
 ternal or maternal ancestor, escheat, if 
 there are no heirs on the part of that 
 ancestor from whom the lands descended. 
 
escheat. 
 
 [MB] 
 
 ESQUIRE. 
 
 Since the 1st day of January, 1834, there 
 can be no escheat on failure of the whole 
 blood, wherever there are persons of the 
 half-blood capable of inheriting under 3 
 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 106, § 9. 
 
 Tf a bastard dies intestate and without 
 issue, his lands escheat to the lord of 
 whom they are held [Bastard, p. 330]. 
 Escheats propter delictum may happen in 
 consequence of a man being attainted for 
 treason or felony, by which he becomes 
 incapable of inheriting from any of his 
 next of kin, or transmitting an inheritance 
 to them. This is the consequence of At- 
 tainder and the legal corruption of blood. 
 The 3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 106, § 10, which 
 is referred to under Attainder, some- 
 what modifies the old law, so as to pre- 
 vent escheat in some cases. 
 
 By the 4 & 5 Wm. IV. c. 23, no pro- 
 perty vested in any trustee or mortgagee 
 shall escheat or be forfeited by reason of 
 the attainder or conviction for any of- 
 fence of such trustee or mortgagee, except 
 so far as such trustee or mortgagee may 
 have a beneficial interest in the property. 
 
 In 1838 an act was passed (1 & 2 Vict, 
 c. 69) for removing doubts which had 
 arisen respecting the acts 1 Wm. IV. c. 
 60, and 4 Wm. IV. c. 23, with reference 
 to mortgagees; and it enacts that these 
 acts shall extend only to cases where any 
 person seised of any land by way of mort- 
 gage shall have died without having been 
 in possession of such land, or in receipt 
 of the rents arid profits, and the money 
 due thereon shall have been paid to his 
 executor, and the devisee or heir of such 
 mortgagee shall be out of the jurisdiction 
 of the Court of Chancery, or it shall be 
 uncertain whether he be living or dead, 
 or who are his heirs; or when such 
 mortgagee, or devisee, or heir shall have 
 died without an heir, or such devisee, &c, 
 neglect or refuse to convey for twenty- 
 eight days after tender of a deed. In 
 any of these cases the court may direct 
 any person to convey such land as di- 
 rected by 1 Wm. IV. c. 60. 
 
 The words Escheat and Forfeiture are 
 carelessly used even by law writers. Es- 
 cheat arises solely because there are no 
 heirs to take the land, for one or the other 
 of the two reasons stated above. Forfeiture 
 is a direct consequence of an illegal act: 
 
 it is a punishment of feudal origin in- 
 flicted on a tenant who breaks his fealty 
 (fidelity) to his lord. 
 
 The doctrine of escheat seems to har° 
 been adopted in every civilized country 
 to avoid the confusion which would other, 
 wise arise from the circumstance of any 
 property becoming common ; and the 
 sovereign power, or those who claim un- 
 der it, are consequently the ultimate heirs 
 to every inheritance to which no other 
 title can be found. 
 
 ESCUAGE. [Feudal System.] 
 
 ESQUIRE (from the French escuier; 
 or shield-bearer) is the next title or dig- 
 nity to that of knight. The esquire was 
 the second in rank of the aspirants to chi- 
 valry, or knighthood, and had his name 
 from carrying the shield of the knight, 
 whose bachelor, or apprentice in arms, he 
 was. The gradations of this service, oi 
 apprenticeship to arms, were page, es 
 quire or bachelor, and knight, who, in his 
 turn, after the formation of degrees ol 
 knighthood, was called a knight bachelor, 
 as aspiring to the higher honours of chi- 
 valry. The esquire was a gentlemai. 
 and had the right of bearing arms on his 
 escutcheon or shield: he had also the 
 right of bearing a sword, which denoted 
 nobility or chivalry, though it was not 
 girded by the knightly belt ; he had also 
 a particular species of defensive armour 
 which was distinguished from the full 
 panoply of the knight. This is the es- 
 quire of chivalry, which order is only 
 preserved in the almost obsolete esquires 
 for the king's body, whom antiquaries 
 have pronounced to be the king's esquires 
 in chivalry (that is, his esquires, as being 
 a knight), and in the esquires of knights 
 of the Bath. 
 
 There was also another class, who may 
 be called feudal esquires, and consisted 
 of those tenants by knight's service who 
 had a right to claim knighthood, but haj 
 never been dubbed. They were in Ger- 
 many called ritters, or knights, but were 
 distinguished from the actual knights, 
 who were called dubbed knights, or 
 Hitter Geschlagen, and had many of the 
 privileges of knighthood. This distinction 
 still exists in many of the countries 
 which formed part of the German em- 
 pire. In Ilainault, Brabant, and other 
 
ESTABLISHED CHURCH. [ 847 ] ESTABLISHED CHURCH. 
 
 provinces of -what was Austrian Flanders, 
 the antient untitled nobility, or gentry 
 as they are called in England, to this 
 day are styled collectively the Ordre 
 Equestre. or knightly order. It also ex- 
 isted in England until James the First 
 had prostituted the honour of knighthood, 
 for Camden frequently speaks of knightly 
 families (Jamilias equestres, or familias 
 ordinis equestris)* where the heads of 
 them were not, at the time, actual knights. 
 Writers on precedence make mention of 
 esquires by creation, with investiture of 
 a silver collar or chain of ss, and silver 
 spurs : but these seem to have been only 
 the insignia of the esquires for the king's 
 body, which being preserved in a family 
 as heir-looms, descended with the title of 
 esquire to the eldest sons in succession. 
 The sons of younger sons of dukes and 
 marquesses, the younger sons of earls, 
 viscounts, and barons, and their eldest 
 sons, with the eldest sons of baronets, and 
 of knights of all the orders, are all said 
 to be esquires by birth, though their pre- 
 cedence, which differs widely, is regu- 
 lated by the rank of their respective an- 
 cestors. Officers of the king's court and 
 household, and of his navy and army, 
 down to the captain inclusive, doctors of 
 law, barristers, and physicians, are re- 
 puted esquires. A justice of the peace is 
 only an esquire during the time that he is 
 in the commission of the peace, but a 
 sheriff of a county is an esquire for life. 
 The general assumption of this title by 
 those who are not, in strictness, entitled 
 to it, has virtually destroyed it as a dis- 
 tinct title or dignity. It is now usual to 
 address most people as esquires on the 
 outside of a letter ; but even in this prac- 
 tice and other cases, the title is not gene- 
 rally given to inferior tradesmen and 
 shopkeepers. The heads of many old 
 families are, however, still deemed es- 
 quires by prescription. 
 
 ESTABLISHED CHURCH. United 
 Church of Englaud-and Ireland. [Scot- 
 land, Chuech of.] The history of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church in England, 
 now called the United Church of Eng- 
 land and Ireland, commences in the reign 
 of Henry VIII., when that king abjured 
 the ecclesiastical supremacy of the Pope 
 and declared himself head of the church. 
 
 [Supremacy.] The object of this notice 
 is to show the nature of the connexion 
 which exists between the united church 
 of England and Ireland and the state. 
 
 Whoever shall come to the posses- 
 sion of the crown of England shall. 
 join in communion with the church of 
 England as by law established. (12 & 
 13 Wm. III., c. 2, § 3.) The Regency 
 act, 3 & 4 Vict. c. 52, which appoints 
 Prince Albert Regent of the United 
 Kingdom in case of Her Majesty dying 
 before her next lineal successor is 
 eighteen years of age, provides that in 
 case of his marrying a Roman Catholic 
 the guardianship of the heir to the crown 
 and regency should thenceforth cease. 
 
 At the coronation of the king or queen 
 regnant of England, one of the archbishops 
 or bishops is required by 1 Wm. HI., c. 6, 
 to administer an oath, that they will, to 
 the utmost of their power, maintain the 
 Protestant reformed church established 
 by law, and will preserve unto the bishops 
 and clergy of this realm, and to the 
 churches committed to their charge, all 
 such rights and privileges as by law do 
 or shall appertain unto them or any of 
 them. By 5 Anne c. 5, § 2, the king at 
 his coronation is required to take and 
 subscribe an oath to maintain and pre- 
 serve inviolably the settlement of the 
 Ichurch of England, and the doctrine, 
 worship, discipline, and government 
 thereof, as by law established. 
 
 The religious tenets of the United 
 Church of England and Ireland, are con- 
 tained in the Thirty-nine Articles; and 
 the services of the church [Feankal- 
 moigne] are set forth in the Book of 
 Common Prayer. The Thirty-nine Arti- 
 cles and the Rubric of the Book of Com- 
 mon Prayer, " being both of them esta- 
 blished by act of parliament, are to be 
 esteemed as part of the statute law." 
 (Burn, Preface, Ecc. Law.) Articles 
 of Religion were published by order 
 of Henry VIII. in 1536. In 1552, Ed- 
 ward VI. promulgated Forty-two Arti- 
 cles which had been drawn up and 
 signed by the Convocation. These Arti- 
 cles were set aside in the reign of 
 Queen Mary. In 1562 Queen Elizabeth 
 confirmed the Thirty-nine Articles which 
 had been agreed upon by the Convocation, 
 
ESTABLISHED CHURCH. L 848 J ESTABLISHED CHURCH. 
 
 They were published it Latin, but when 
 the) were revised in 1571 the Convoca- 
 tion signed an English as well as the 
 Latin copy. 
 
 The act 13 Eliz. c. 12, requires that 
 all persons who are admitted to holy 
 orders, shall subscribe the Thirty nine 
 Articles. 
 
 The Thirty-nine Articles include some 
 which are of a political character, or re- 
 late to the government of the Established 
 Church. Article 39 recognizes the 
 Queen's supremacy as head of the Church. 
 Article 37 asserts the power of the 
 Church to decree rites and ceremonies. 
 
 The promulgation of the Thirty-nine 
 articles by Queen Elizabeth was accom- 
 panied by a ' Declaration' which set forth 
 Her Majesty's powers as head of the 
 Church, and denned the powers of the 
 clergy in Convocation. The Queen de- 
 clared herself " the supreme governor of 
 the Church ; and that if any difference 
 arise about the external policy, concern- 
 ing the injunctions, canons, and other 
 constitutions whatsoever thereto belong- 
 ing, the clergy in their Convocation is to 
 order and settle them, having first ob- 
 tained leave under our broad seal so to 
 do; and we approving their said ordi- 
 nances and constitutions, providing that 
 none be made contrary to the laws and 
 customs of the land." In like manner 
 the clergy in convocation might settle 
 matters of doctrine and discipline, which 
 were, however, only to be authoritative 
 after the queen had given her assent; 
 and this being done, the declaration says : 
 " we will not endure any varying or de- 
 parting in the least degree." It is de- 
 clared of the articles that " no man here- 
 after shall either print, or preach, to 
 draw the article aside any way, but shall 
 submit to it in the plain and full meaning 
 thereof; and shall not put his own sense 
 or comment to be the meaning of the 
 article, but shall take it in the literal and 
 grammatical sense ;" also " That if any 
 public reader in either of our Universi- 
 ties, or any head or master of a college, 
 or any other person respectively in either 
 of them, shall affix any new sense to any 
 article, or shall publicly read, determine, 
 or hold any public disputation, or suffer 
 any such to be held either way, in either 
 
 the Universities or colleges respectively ; 
 or if any divine in the Universities shall 
 preach or print anything either way 
 other than is already established in con- 
 vocation with our royal assent, he o- 
 they, the offenders, shall be liable to our 
 displeasure and the church's censure it. 
 our commissiot ecclesiastical, as well as 
 any other ; and we shall see there be due 
 execution upon them." 
 
 The Constitutions and Canons Eccle- 
 siastical were framed by the Convocation 
 of the province of Canterbury in 1C03, 
 and assented to by King James (who 
 coufirmed them for the province of York 
 also). These Canons maintain the king's 
 supremacy over the Church of England, 
 and subject to the punishment of excom- 
 munication whoever shall affirm the fol- 
 lowing things : " That the Church of 
 England, by law established under the 
 King's Majesty, is not a true and aposto- 
 lical church, teaching and maintaining 
 the doctrine of the apostles" (Canon 3). 
 " That the form of God's worship in the 
 Church of England, established by law 
 and contained in the Book of Common 
 Prayer and Administration of Sacra- 
 ments, is a corrupt, superstitious or un- 
 lawful worship of God, or containeth 
 anything that is repugnant to the Scrip- 
 tures" (Canon 4). " That any of the 
 Thirty-nine Articles are in any part su- 
 perstitious or erroneous, or such as he 
 may not with a good conscience subscribe 
 to" (Canon 5). "That the rites and 
 ceremonies of the Church of England are 
 wicked, anti-christiau or superstitious, or 
 such as being commanded by lawful au- 
 thority, men who are zealously and godly 
 affected, may not with any good conscience 
 approve them, use them, or as occasion re- 
 quireth, subscribe unto them" (Canon 0). 
 " That the government of the Church of 
 England under his Majesty by arch- 
 bishops, bishops, deans, archdeacons and 
 the rest that bear office in the same, is 
 anti-christian or repugnant to the word 
 of God" (Canon 7). " That the form 
 and manner of consecrating and ordering 
 archbishops, bishops, &c, containeth any- 
 thing in it that is repugnant to the word 
 of God ; or that they who are thus made 
 are not truly either bishops, priests, &c., 
 'until they have some other calling to 
 
ESTABLISHED CHURCH. [ 849 ] ESTABLISHED CHURCH. 
 
 those divine offices.'" Schismatics were 
 directed by the canons to be excommuni- 
 cated. [Nonconformists.] 
 
 The reign of Queen Elizabeth is a 
 most important period in the history of 
 the Established Church. On the queen's 
 accession an act was passed (stat. 1, Eliz. 
 c. 1), which conferred on her the su- 
 premacy over the church as fully as it 
 had been enjoyed by Henry VIII. and 
 Edward VI. There is a clause in this 
 act which empowered the queen to name 
 and authorise by letters patent, as often as 
 she shall think meet, for such time as 
 she shall please, such person or persons, 
 being natural born subjects, as she shall 
 think fit, to execute all jurisdiction con- 
 cerning spiritual matters within the 
 realm, and to visit, reform, redress, order, 
 correct, and amend all errors, heresies, 
 schisms, abuses, offences, contempts, and 
 enormities whatsoever, which by any 
 ecclesiastical authority might be lawfully 
 ordered or corrected. This was the 
 origin of the Court of High Commission, 
 which exercised a sort of jurisdiction 
 equivalent to that of the Inquisition or 
 Holy Office in some other countries ■ One 
 of the clauses for regulating the proLped- 
 ings of this court, authorised the commis- 
 sioners to make inquiry by juries and wit- 
 nesses, "and all other means and Wiiys 
 which they could devise, which seems," 
 observes Reeves (Hist. English Zoic), ''to 
 authorise every inquisitorial power — the 
 rack, the torture, and imprisonment." By 
 the same act the oath of supremacy was 
 directed to be taken by all persons hold- 
 ing any office, spiritual or temporal, on 
 pain of deprivation, and also by all per- 
 sons taking degrees in the Universities, 
 and by all persons wearing livery or 
 doing homage: writing or preaching 
 against the queen's supremacy was made 
 punishable for the first offence with for- 
 feiture of goods and one year's imprison- 
 ment, for the second with the pains of 
 praemunire, for the third as high treason. 
 In 1563, by an aot (5 Eliz. c. 1) "For 
 the assurauce of the Queen's Majesty's 
 royal power over all estates and subjects 
 within her highness's dominions," the 
 oath of supremacy was required also to 
 be taken by all persons taking holy 
 orders, by all schoolmasters, barristers, 
 
 teachers, and attorneys, by all officers of 
 any court of common law or other court 
 whatever, and by all members of the 
 House of Commons ; and the refusing it, 
 or upholding the jurisdiction of Rome, 
 was made punishable with the pains of 
 praemunire for the first offence, and for 
 the second with those of high treason. 
 The penal enactments against the Roman 
 Catholics in this and other reigns are 
 noticed under the head Roman Catho- 
 lics. 
 
 Another act (1 Eliz. c. 2) was passed 
 on the accession of Elizabeth, entitled 
 " An Act for the Uniformity of Common 
 Prayer and Divine Service in the Church, 
 and the Administration of the Sacra- 
 ments." By this act, clergymen who 
 refused to use King Edward's Book of 
 Common Prayer were ordered to be pun- 
 ished, for the first offence, with forfeiture 
 of one year's profit of their benefices and 
 six months' imprisonment ; for the second, 
 with one year's imprisonment and depri- 
 vation ; for the third, with deprivation and 
 imprisonment for life : all persons, either 
 speaking anything against the said ser- 
 vice-book, or causing any other forms 
 than those it prescribed to be used in any 
 church or other place, in the performance 
 of prayer or the administration of the 
 sacraments, were subjected to a fine of 
 100 marks, and for the third offence to 
 forfeiture of goods and imprisonment for 
 life. 
 
 The course of legislation throughout 
 the whole of Elizabeth's reign was de- 
 signed to enforce religious uniformity, 
 and it was consistent with this idea to 
 punish nonconformity with various pains 
 and penalties. These are specifically no- 
 ticed under Nonconformists and Roman 
 Catholics. The same policy was pur- 
 sued in the succeeding reign. Penal 
 enactments were multiplied ; but they 
 only hastened a crisis in which the fabric 
 and polity of the Established Church 
 were overthrown. 
 
 The disputes between King Charles I. 
 and the parliament, which resulted in a 
 civil war, brought on the overthrow of 
 the Established Church, which occurred 
 several years before Charles was be- 
 headed, a.d. 1649. The Court of High 
 Commission was abolished by statute (16 
 Si 
 
ESTABLISHED CHURCH. [ 850 ] ESTABLISHED CHURCH. 
 
 Car. I. c. 11), a.d. 1641. In 1642 bishops 
 were deprived of their seats in parliament, 
 and their lands were subsequently seized 
 for the expenses of the civil war. Par- 
 liament passed numerous ordinances by 
 which many hundreds of clergymen were 
 turned out of their livings. The cathedral 
 service was everywhere put down, and 
 the clergy were left to read the Liturgy 
 or not, as they pleased, and to take their 
 own way in other things. Marriage was 
 made a civil rite, and was performed by 
 justices of the peace. In 1643 the Assem- 
 bly of Divines was called together by an 
 order of the two Houses of Parliament, 
 to give their advice respecting a new sys- 
 tem of ecclesiastical polity. [Westmin- 
 ster Assembly of Divines.] The 
 majority of the assembly were Presby- 
 terians ; and, in place of the suppressed 
 Liturgy, they formed a Directory of Pub- 
 lic Worship, which was established by 
 an ordinance of the parliament on the 
 3rd of February, 1645. The assembly 
 also laid down a Confession of Faith, 
 which comprehended a Presbyterian form 
 of ecclesiastical polity, and was at once 
 received by the Scottish Church ; but it 
 was never distinctly sanctioned by the 
 English legislature. On the 6th of June, 
 1 646, an act was passed which partially 
 established the Presbyterian form of 
 church government in England ; but 
 Ais was confessedly done by way of ex- 
 periment, as the preamble of the act ex- 
 pressly declares, "that if upon trial it 
 was not found acceptable it should be 
 reversed or amended ;" and to this law a 
 further effect was afterwards given by 
 several additional ordinances of the House 
 of Commons ; till at last, in 1649, it was 
 declared, without qualification, by the 
 House, that Presbyterianism should be the 
 established religion. The Presbyterian 
 form of church government, however, 
 never obtained more than a limited and 
 imperfect establishment. The clergy 
 were not exclusively Presbyterians : some 
 benefices were retained by their old Epis- 
 copalian incumbents ; a few were held by 
 Independents ; and some by persons be- 
 longing to the minor sects, which in- 
 creased so abundantly at this time. At 
 last, in March, 1653, Cromwell, by an 
 ordinance of council, appointed a Board 
 
 of Triers, as they were termed, in all 
 thirty-eight in number, of whom part 
 were Presbyterians, part Independents, 
 and a few Baptists, to which was given, 
 without any instructions or limitations 
 whatever, the power of examining, ap- 
 proving, or rejecting all persons that 
 might thereafter be presented, nominated, 
 chosen, or appointed to any living in the 
 church. This was tantamount to dividing 
 the church livings amongst these differ- 
 ent religious bodies ; but the measure 
 was designed by Cromwell to restrain 
 the excessive liberty that had previously 
 existed, when any one who chose might 
 set up as a preacher, and so give himself 
 a chance of obtaining a living in the 
 church. The Board of Triers continued 
 to sit and to exercise its functions at 
 Whitehall, till a short time after the death 
 of Cromwell. 
 
 As soon as the Restoration of Charles 
 II. was effected in 1660, the work of re- 
 constructing the Established Church was 
 commenced. The convention parliament 
 passed an act (12 Car. II. c. 17) " for the 
 confirming and restoring of ministers ;" 
 and the next parliament, which met in 
 May, 1661, repealed the act which dis- 
 abled persons in holy orders from ex- 
 ercising any temporal jurisdiction or 
 authority, the effect of which was to 
 restore the bishops to their seats in the 
 Upper House. 
 
 The Book of Common Pra'fer, which 
 had been revised by a commission ap- 
 pointed by Charles II. after his restoration, 
 was unanimously adopted by both houses 
 of convocation, and having been approved 
 of by the king, was transmitted to the 
 House of Peers on the 24th of February, 
 1662, with a message from his majesty, 
 recommending that the book so altered 
 should be that " which in and by the in- 
 tended Act of Uniformity shall be ap- 
 pointed to be used by all that officiate in 
 all cathedrals and collegiate churches 
 and chapels, and in all parish churches 
 of England and Wales, under such sanc- 
 tions and penalties as the parliament shall 
 think fit." The act here alluded to re- 
 ceived the royal assent on the 19th of 
 May (14 Car. II. c. 4), and was entitled 
 "An Act for the Uniformity of Public 
 Prayers and Administration of Sacra- 
 
ESTABLISHED CHURCH. [ 851 J ESTABLISHED CHUECH. 
 
 ments, and other Eites and Ceremonies, 
 and for establishing the form of making, 
 ordaining, and consecrating Bishops, 
 Priests, and Deacons, in the Church of 
 England.'' It provided that all ministers 
 should henceforth use the amended Book 
 of Common Prayer, and that all persons 
 who enjoyed any ecclesiastical benefice 
 or promotion should publicly declare 
 their assent to the use of the same, and 
 their approval of everything contained in 
 it: and, besides the oath of canonical 
 obedience, the terms of conformity were 
 now made to include the abjuration both 
 of the solemn league and covenant, and 
 of the lawfulness of taking up arms against 
 the king, or any commissioned by him, on 
 toy pretence whatsoever. 
 
 During the reign of Charles II. many 
 acts were passed for the punishment of 
 persons who did not conform to the Esta- 
 blished Church. Some of them were 
 even more severe than those passed in 
 the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. 
 [Nonconformists.] 
 
 William III. was more tolerant than 
 most of his subjects, and soon after his 
 accession he proposed a repeal of the Test 
 Act, the statute most obnoxious to the 
 Nonconformists ; but the House of Lords 
 rejected a motion to this effect. Even- 
 tually, however, an act was passed (1 
 Wm. III. c. 18) which mitigated the 
 enactments against all sects except the 
 Eoman Catholics. We must again refer 
 to the article Nonconformists, for a 
 brief notice of the Toleration Act, and 
 some other statutes of a like character. 
 Between this act of Wm. III. and the 
 reign of Geo. IV. little was done to re- 
 lieve Nonconformists or Roman Catholics 
 from any of the penalties against those 
 who did not conform to the doctrines and 
 discipline of the Protestant Established 
 Church of England and Ireland. 
 
 In 1828 an act was passed (9 Geo. IV. 
 c. 17) "for repealing so much of several 
 acts as imposes the necessity of receiving 
 the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, as a 
 qualification for certain offices and em- 
 ployments." This act, which repeals 
 the Test Act, provides another security 
 in lieu of the tests repealed : " And 
 whereas the Protestant Episcopal Church 
 of England and Ireland, and the Pro- 
 
 testant Presbyterian Church of Scot- 
 land, and the doctrine, discipline, and 
 government thereof respectively, are 
 by the laws of this realm severally 
 established, permanently and inviolably : 
 and whereas it is just and fitting, that 
 on the repeal of such parts of the said 
 acts as impose the necessity of taking 
 the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, 
 according to the rite or usage of the 
 Church of England, as a qualification for 
 office, a decaration to the following effect 
 should be substituted in lieu thereof, it 
 is therefore enacted, that every person 
 who shall hereafter be placed, elected, or 
 chosen in or to the office of mayor, alder- 
 man, recorder, bailiff, town clerk, or com- 
 mon councilman, or in or to any office of 
 magistracy, or place, trust, or employment 
 relating to the government of any city, 
 corporation, borough, or cinque port with- 
 in England and Wales, or the town of 
 Berwick-upon-Tweed, shall within one 
 calendar month next before or upon his 
 admission into any of the aforesaid of- 
 fices or trusts, make and subscribe the 
 declaration following : — ' I, A. B., do 
 solemnly and sincerely, in the presence 
 of God, profess, testify, and declare, upon 
 the true faith of a Christian, that I will 
 never exercise any power, authority, or 
 influence which I may possess, by virtue 
 
 of the office ■ , to injure or 
 
 weaken the Protestant Church as it is by 
 law established in England, or to disturb 
 the said church, or the bishops and clergy 
 of the said church, in the possession of 
 any rights or privileges to which Such 
 church, or the said bishops and clergy, 
 are or may be by law entitled.' " The 
 7th section of the act provides that no 
 naval officer below the rank of rear-ad- 
 miral, and no military officer below the 
 rank of major-general in the army, or 
 colonel in the militia, shall be required 
 to make or subscribe the above declara- 
 tion ; and no commissioner of customs, 
 excise, stamps, and taxes, or any person 
 holding any of the offices concerned in 
 the collection, management, or receipt of 
 the revenues which are subject to the 
 said commissioners, or any persons sub- 
 ject to the authority of the postmaster 
 general, shall be required to make or de- 
 scribe such declaration. 
 
 3i2 
 
ESTABLISHED CHURCH. [ 852 ] ESTABLISHED CHURCH. 
 
 In 1829, when the Roman Catholic 
 Relief Act (10 Geo. IV. c. 7) was passed, 
 a provision was made for the security of 
 the Established Church ; and the oath to 
 be taken by Roman Catholic peers on 
 taking their seat in the House of Lords, 
 and Roman Catholic persons upon taking 
 their seat as members of the House of 
 Commons, contains the following pledge, 
 which is sworn to " on the true faith of 
 a Christian :" " I do hereby disclaim, dis- 
 avow, and solemnly abjure any intention 
 to subvert the present Church Establish- 
 ment as settled by law within this realm." 
 
 Other acts have also been passed which 
 have further departed from the old prin- 
 ciple of requiring uniformity of reli- 
 gious faith. The act 6 & 7 Wm. IV. 
 c. 85, enables persons to be married ac- 
 cording to the rites of their own sect, in- 
 stead of those of the Established Church 
 only ; and the same act permits the mar- 
 riage contract to be made by a merely 
 civil ceremony, in which respect the law 
 now resembles in effect that which was 
 established during the Commonwealth. 
 In the act 3 & 4 Vict. c. 72, which is an 
 act relating to marriages, the recent acts 
 on the same subject are alluded as being 
 framed with the view of enabling mar- 
 riage to be " solemnized according to the 
 form, rite, or ceremony the parties see fit 
 to adopt." The act for the registration 
 of births, marriages, and deaths renders 
 baptism unnecessarv for civil purposes, and 
 establishes a lay department for the regis- 
 tration of births, marriages, and deaths. 
 The act 3 & 4 Vict. c. 92, enabled courts 
 of justice to admit nou-parochial registers 
 as evidence of births or baptisms, deaths 
 or burials, and marriages. In England 
 the chaplains of gaols must be clergymen 
 of the Church of England, but in Ireland 
 there may be appointed for each union 
 workhouse three chaplains, one Roman 
 Catholic, one of the Established Church, 
 and one Protestant dissenter. 
 
 Rates are levied in England and Wales 
 called Church Rates, which Noncon- 
 formists are required to pay as well as 
 churchmen. In Ireland the churches are 
 kept in repair out of funds in the hands 
 of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, 
 which are derived from extinguished sees 
 and other sources. 
 
 The principle of the state maintaining 
 an exclusive system of education in ac- 
 cordance with the principles and doctrines 
 of the Established Church has been par- 
 tially abandoned both in England and 
 Ireland. The parliamentary grants for 
 education are enjoyed by dissenters as 
 well as churchmen. In Ireland the state 
 supports schools which are established on 
 the plan of not permitting the inculcation 
 of the peculiar doctrines of any religious 
 body as a part of the regular course of 
 teaching, but religious instruction is 
 given by the ministers of different reli- 
 gious bodies to the scholars of each deno- 
 mination separately. In the government 
 plan for founding provincial colleges in 
 Ireland the same principle has been 
 adopted. Lastly, parliament has annu- 
 ally voted funds for the maintenance of 
 an institution (Maynooth) for the educa- 
 tion of Roman Catholic priests ; and in 
 1845 this annual vote was converted into 
 a fixed annual payment. 
 
 The King and Queen of England must 
 be members of the Established Church, 
 and may not marry a Roman Catholic ; 
 but the only other offices from which 
 Roman Catholics are now excluded are 
 the offices of guardians and justices of the 
 United Kingdom, or Regent of the same, 
 the office of Lord High Chancellor 
 of Great Britain or Ireland, the Lord 
 Lieutenant of Ireland, and the office of 
 High Commissioner to the General Assem- 
 bly of the Church of Scotland. With 
 these exceptions the members of the cabi- 
 net council, privy councillors, the judges 
 and magistrates, all offices in the state 
 and in the army and navy, may be filled 
 by Roman Catholics or dissenters from 
 the Established Church. The repeal of 
 the Corporation and Test Acts opened the 
 Municipal Corporations to Roman Catho- 
 lics and Dissenters. Jews are the only 
 class of persons who are excluded from 
 the Houses of Lords and Commons, and 
 from municipal corporations ; but a bill 
 under the superintendence of the govern- 
 ment is at present passing through par- 
 liament which contains a form of oath 
 to be taken by Jews who are elected to 
 municipal offices in corporate boroughs. 
 There are at present instances of persons 
 of the Jewish religion who fill the office 
 
ESTABLISHED CHURCH. [ 853 J ESTABLISHED CHURCH. 
 
 of high sheriff, and are in the commission 
 of the peace. [Jews.] 
 
 The connection between the Church 
 and State has been brought within com- 
 paratively narrow limits by the course 
 of recent legislation. The Established 
 Church is in possession of revenues from 
 land, a large part of which are enjoyed 
 under the old law of Prankalmoigne. 
 [Frankalmoigne.] The clergy also re- 
 ceive certain customary payments for 
 the performance of marriages, christen- 
 ings, and interments. Its form of polity 
 is also guaranteed by the State. Parlia- 
 ment may alter the distribution of the pro- 
 perty of the Church, as it has recently 
 done by uniting and suppressing bishop- 
 rics, creating new sees, abolishing sine- 
 cures, and disposing of some parts of the 
 revenues of the church for other church 
 purposes [Ecclesiastical Commis- 
 sioners ; Bishopric] ; but it has not yet 
 sanctioned the diversion of the revenues 
 of the Church to other purposes, though 
 it has been on the point of doing so in the 
 case of the revenues of the Established 
 Church in Ireland. 
 
 On the 25th of April, 1836, Lord Mor- 
 peth, who was then Secretary for Ireland, 
 brought in a measure whieh contained a 
 clause known as the "Appropriation 
 Clause," by which it was intended, after 
 supplying the legitimate wants of the 
 Irish Church, to apply 97,6I2Z. out of the 
 revenues of the Church to the moral and 
 religious instruction of the Irish people. 
 The principle of the appropriation clause 
 was affirmed by the House of Commons 
 after three nights' discussion, by a majority 
 of 300 to 261. In the House of Lords the 
 clause was rejected by 138 against 47. 
 
 The clergy of the Established Church 
 constitute a distinct order. [Clergy.] 
 No person can be ordained to holy orders 
 who does not subscribe to the Liturgy and 
 the Thirty-nine Articles, which latter com- 
 prehend his assent to the doctrine of the 
 king's supremacy. No person can hold 
 any benefice without taking the oath of 
 canonical obedience to the bishop. The 
 constitution of the Universities of Oxford, 
 Cambridge, Durham and Trinity College, 
 Dublin, is such as to exclude persons 
 who do not belong to the Established 
 Church from a full participation in the 
 
 advantages of these endowed seats of 
 learning. [University.] 
 
 The revenues of the Established Church 
 in England and Wales, as returned to the 
 Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1831, 
 were as follows . 
 
 Grogs. Net. 
 
 £ £ 
 
 Archbishops and bi- 
 shops . . 181,631 160,292 
 
 Cathedral and colle- 
 giate churches and 
 ecclesiastical corpo- 
 rations aggregate . 284,241 208,289 
 
 Prebends and other 
 preferments in cathe- 
 dral and collegiate 
 churches . 54,094 44,705 
 
 Renewals of leases 
 (average of three 
 years) . 21,760 21,760 
 
 Benefices* (10,718) 3,251,159 3,055,451 
 
 £3,792,885 3,490,497 
 The following is an account of all pay- 
 ments from the public monies to the Es- 
 tablished Church of England and Ireland, 
 or to the commissioners of Queen Anne's 
 Bounty, from 1801 to 1840, both inclu- 
 sive : — 
 
 England. £ 
 
 Commissioners for building 
 
 new churches . . 1,500,000 
 
 Grants from 1809 to 1820 in- 
 clusive, to governors of 
 Queen Anne's Bounty for 
 poor clergy . . . 1,000,000 
 Drawback on materials used 
 
 in building new churches . 153,000 
 Ireland. 
 Grants for building churches 
 
 from 1801 to 1820 . . 749,551 
 
 Grants for Protestant charter- 
 schools from 1801 to 1829 741,048 
 Grantfor relief of tithearrears 1,000,000 
 
 Total . . £5,193,599 
 In reference to the history of the Esta- 
 blished Church in Ireland, it will be suf- 
 ficient here to quote the fifth article of ihe 
 act for the Union of Great Britain with 
 Ireland (40 Geo. III. c. 67), passed July 
 2nd, 1800, which enacts, " That it be the 
 
 * See the article Benefice, j>y. 354-5-6-7. 
 
ESTABLISHED CHURCH. [ 854 J ESTABLISHED CHURCH. 
 
 fifth article of union, that the Churches 
 of England and Ireland, as now hy law 
 established, he united into one Protestant 
 Episcopal Church, to be called the United 
 Church of England and Ireland; and 
 that the doctrine, worship, discipline, and 
 government of the said united church 
 shall be and shall remain in full force 
 for ever, as the same are now by law es- 
 tablished for the church of England ; and 
 that the continuance and preservation of 
 the said united church, as the established 
 church of England and Ireland, shall be 
 deemed and taken to be an essential and 
 fundamental part of the union." 
 
 There is this, amongst other peculiari- 
 ties in the Established Church in Ireland, 
 that it is the church of only about a tenth 
 part of the population. When a special 
 census of the population was taken in 
 1834, with the object of ascertaining the 
 religious persuasion of the people, it was 
 found that out of a total population of 
 7 904,760 there were— 
 
 Proportion 
 per cent. 
 Roman Catholics 6,436,060 80-9 
 Established Church 853,160 10-7 
 Presbyterians . . 643,658 8-4 
 Other Dissenters . 21,882 -2 
 In England and Wales, on the con- 
 trary, the majority of the population be- 
 long to the Established Church, and it is 
 not placed in that anomalous position 
 which the church occupies in Ireland. 
 There is no authentic account of the num- 
 ber of persons who belong to the Esta- 
 blished Church in England and Wales, 
 and the number of marriages which are 
 celebrated at dissenting places of worship 
 is not an index of the numbers of the po- 
 pulation who are dissenters; but it is 
 indicative of the fact that the church has 
 a considerable hold on the respect of a 
 large miss even of those who do not 
 belong to it, while its rites and cere- 
 monies and doctrines contain so little, to 
 repulse men who are not churchmen, 
 that we find in 1842, out of 1 18,825 mar- 
 riages, only 6200 (representing a popula- 
 tion of 806,000, out of a total of nearly 
 sixteen millions) were celebrated in regis- 
 tered places of worship, under the act of 
 the 6 & 7 Wm. IV. c. 813 ; and in only 
 2357 cases was the ceremony celebrated 
 
 without any religious service. The num- 
 ber of dissenting places of worship regis- 
 tered pursuant to 6 & 7 Wm. IV. is 2232, 
 while the number of marriages at each 
 place does not on an average amount to 
 three in the course of a year. 
 
 It is stated (App. to First Report of the 
 Commissioners of Public Instruction, Ire- 
 land, 1834) that of the 1387 benefices in 
 Ireland there were 41 which did not con- 
 tain any Protestants ; 20 where there were 
 less than or not more than 5 ; in 23 the 
 number was under 10 ; in 31 under 15 ; in 
 23 under 20; and in 27 henefices the 
 number of Protestants was not above 25. 
 There were 425 benefices in Ireland 
 in which the number of Protestants was 
 below 100. There were 157 benefices in 
 which the incumbent was non-resident, 
 and no service was performed. The num- 
 ber of parishes or ecclesiastical districts 
 is 2408, and of this number 2351 possess 
 a provision for the cure of souls ; but the 
 total number of benefices is only 1387, as 
 before mentioned, of which 908 are single 
 parishes, and 479 are unions of two or 
 more parishes. Parishes are permanently 
 united by act of Parliament, by act of 
 Council, or by prescription, and they may 
 be temporarily united by the authority of . 
 the bishop of the diocese. Latterly, per- 
 petual curates, a new order in the Irish 
 Church, have been appointed to a portion 
 of a parish especially allotted to them, the 
 tithe of which they receive and are not 
 subject to the incumbent of the remaining 
 portion of the parish, but hold their situa- 
 tions for life. 
 
 The episcopal revenues in Ireland are 
 chiefly derived from lands let upon lease 
 for twenty-one years, and renewed from 
 time to time at the original rent, on pay- 
 ment of a fine on renewal, which fluc- 
 tuates according to the altered value of 
 the land. In 1831 the income of the epis- 
 copal establishment was 151,1282. This 
 amount will in the course of a short time 
 be reduced to 82,95SZ., under the opera- 
 tion of the Church Temporalities Act 
 [Bishop ; Ecclesiastical Commission- 
 ers] ; and the surplus of 68,175/. will 
 be applied to the purposes of ecclesiastical 
 discipline and education. Some of the 
 leases belonging to the suppressed sees in 
 Ireland have been converted into perpe- 
 
ESTABLISHED CHURCH. [ 855 ] ESTABLISHED CHURCH. 
 
 tuities by the Irish ecclesiastical commis- 
 sioners under the powers of the Church 
 Temporalities Act^ and have consequently 
 been in so far alienated. The beneficed 
 clergy derive their income chiefly from 
 tithes, which have been placed on a better 
 footing -within the last few years. Glebe- 
 houses are attached to 851 benefices. 
 They have been built partly by donations 
 and partly by loans from the Board of 
 First-Fruits, and partly at the cost of the 
 incumbent, repayable by instalments from 
 his successors. The total quantity of 
 glebe-land attached to benefices is 91,137 
 acres, but it is very irregularly distributed, 
 and the proportion to each benefice is 
 considerably greater in the province of 
 Armagh than in other parts of Ireland. 
 In cities and towns the parochial clergy 
 are paid by an assessment called minister's 
 money, which is levied on every house 
 of a certain value. Some of these par- 
 ticulars are taken from Dr. Phillimore's 
 edition of Burn's ' Ecclesiastical Law.' 
 
 By Lord Morpeth's (government) bid, 
 introduced in 1836, and which was thrown 
 out on the question of appropriation, as 
 already stated, it was proposed to reduce 
 the number of benefices in Ireland to 
 1250, and to give each incumbent an 
 average income of 2952., which would 
 have been a higher average income than 
 the incumbents enjoy in England and 
 Wales. A table, which shows the num- 
 ber of benefices at different rates of in- 
 come, as arranged under the Church 
 Temporalities Act, will be found at p. 
 353, article Benefice. The extensive 
 powers which the Irish ecclesiastical 
 commissioners possess in relation to be- 
 nefices are noticed in Benefice, p. 353. 
 
 The annual revenue of the Established 
 Church in Ireland, during the three years 
 ending 1831, was returned to parliament 
 as follows ; — 
 
 Archbishops and bishops . £151,128 
 
 Deans and Chapters . . ' 1,043 
 Economy estates of cathedrals 11,056 
 Other subordinate corporations 10,526 
 Dignities (not episcopal) and 
 
 prebends without cure of 
 
 souls .... 34,482 
 
 Glebe-lands . . . 92,000 
 
 Carried forward . 300,235 
 
 Brought forward 
 Tithes 
 Ministers' money . 
 
 £300,235 
 
 555,000 
 
 10,300 
 
 £805,535 
 The incomes of the parochial clergy in 
 Ireland are subject to some deductions, 
 as payments towards diocesan and paro- 
 chial schools, repairs of certain parts of 
 churches, and repairs of glebe-houses. 
 Diocesan schools ought to be main- 
 tained by annual contributions from the 
 bishop and the beneficed clergy ; but the 
 levy drawn from this source is little more 
 than nominal. The parochial schools are 
 supposed to be maintained by an annual 
 stipend from the incumbent, which is 
 estimated by custom at two pounds per 
 annum : in many cases this has not been 
 paid. (Phillimore's Burn, vol. i. p. 415.) 
 The First-Fruits have been abolished by 
 recent acts. They were designed to be 
 the amount of the first year's income of 
 every benefice, which was to be employed 
 in the building and repairing of churches 
 and glebe-houses, and the purchase of 
 glebe-land ; but the assessment was made 
 on the value of benefices in the reigns of 
 Henry VIII., Elizabeth, and James I., 
 and yielded only a trifling sum. 
 
 In the British colonies the Episcopal 
 Church is not established on an exclusive 
 footing : other churches are supported or 
 aided out of the public funds either fur- 
 nished by the colony or the mother coun- 
 try. Some of the bishoprics in the colonies 
 have been created by act of parliament, 
 and their incomes are derived from the 
 publicrevenues; butother colonial bishops 
 are consecrated by the heads of the church, 
 and appointed by them to colonial dio- 
 ceses simply with the sanction of the 
 government for the time. 
 
 The expression — Church and State, 
 which is in common use, is apt to mis- 
 lead. There was a time when the con- 
 nection of Church and State in England 
 was that which it is not now. At present 
 the relationship of the State to the Es- 
 tablished Church of England and Ireland 
 is this. The King is the head of the 
 United Church of England and Ireland, — 
 a notion which is expressed by the term 
 the King's Supremacy. A compound 
 body makes laws for the British Empire, 
 
ESTABLISHED CHURCH. [ 856 ] ESTABLISHED CHURCH. 
 
 — the King, the House of Lords, and the 
 House of Commons ; and of these three 
 members the two last have no connection 
 as legislative bodies with the Established 
 Church, except so far as the bishops of 
 England and Wales, and certain bishops 
 of Ireland who sit in a certain rotation, 
 have seats in the House of Lords. But 
 the other members of the House of Lords 
 and all the members of the House of 
 Commons may profess any form of Chris- 
 tianity that they please. The property 
 of the Church (a phrase also apt to mis- 
 lead) is either enjoyed by ecclesiastical 
 bodies, as deans and chapters, or collegiate 
 churches, or it is enjoyed by individuals, 
 as archbishops, bishops, rectors, and 
 vicars. The ecclesiastical patronage, or 
 the right to name those persons who 
 shall enjoy the emolument arising from 
 this property, is either in the Crown, that 
 is, it is exercised by the Lord Chancellor 
 in some cases, and in other cases by the 
 prime minister for the time ; or it is 
 vested in private individuals. The 
 Crown, that is, the minister, appoints to 
 bishoprics and other ecclesiastical dig- 
 nities. The Lord Chancellor has the pa- 
 tronage of many benefices at his disposal ; 
 and that of a very large number is in the 
 hands of private individuals. The legis- 
 lature has of late years interfered with 
 the emoluments attached to bishoprics 
 and ecclesiastical corporations, so as to 
 make a different distribution of the reve- 
 nues, but no emoluments have been ap- 
 plied to other purposes than purposes 
 ecclesiastical. The legislature has not 
 interfered with the revenues appropri- 
 ated to benefices which are in the gift 
 of the crown, at least not by any general 
 measure, nor to those that are in the 
 gift of private individuals. Benefices 
 which belong to private individuals are 
 appropriated to ecclesiastical purposes, 
 and certain services [Frankalmoigne] 
 must be performed by those ecclesiastics 
 who are nominated to such benefices. 
 The right to present to vacant benefices 
 is a kind of property ; and benefices are 
 things that may be bought and sold [Ad- 
 vowsons], and have so far the character- 
 istics of other private property, from which 
 they differ only in this, that the annual 
 proceeds of such benefices can only be 
 
 enjoyed by ecclesiastical persons, who 
 must perform the services of the Esta- 
 blished Church. Tithes are due both to 
 spiritual persons and in many cases to 
 laymen ; and accordingly they are pro- 
 perty. Those tithes, which are due to 
 laymen or civil corporations, are exactly 
 on the footing of any other private pro- 
 perty, and so are those which are due to 
 spiritual persons, except that ecclesiastical 
 services must be rendered for them, and 
 they are set apart for the support of ecclesi- 
 astics. There can be no interference with 
 this kind of property which would not jus- 
 tify any like interference with the pro- 
 perty which Roman Catholics and other 
 nonconformists hold for religious purposes. 
 Tithes are often found to be an injurious 
 charge upon lands ; but those who own 
 tithes own them by as good a title as he 
 who owns the land which is charged 
 with them ; and under several recent 
 acts provision is now made for commuting 
 tithes into money payments. If Church 
 Rates were abolished, there would be 
 no reason for any member of the com- 
 munity, whether of the Established 
 Church or not, to complain of the Esta- 
 blished Church in England and Wales 
 as a grievance, so far as concerns the 
 property from which the revenues of 
 ecclesiastical persons in the Church of 
 England are derived. The case of the 
 Church of Ireland is peculiar, and it is 
 stated in this article. 
 
 If persons are allowed to form associa- 
 tions for the purposes of religion, which 
 must be allowed in all states where every 
 form of Christianity is allowed to be 
 professed, they must also be allowed to 
 hold property for religious purposes, un- 
 less the state pays all the preachers of 
 religion. Whatever restraints, if any, 
 should be put on the acquisition or hold- 
 ing of property for religious purposes, 
 ought to be put on all religious bodies 
 alike. That part of the land in England 
 and Wales which is appropriated to the 
 revenues of those ecclesiastics who are 
 appointed by the Crown, must be con- 
 sidered as so much property held by the 
 Crown for the purposes of the Church of 
 England ; and those benefices to which 
 private individuals appoint must be con- 
 sidered as so much property held by pri- 
 
ESTATE. 
 
 [ 857 ] 
 
 ESTATE. 
 
 vate persons for the same purposes. Any 
 alteration in either of these two kinds 
 of property in England and Wales, by 
 which any part of it would be applied to 
 other purposes than those to which it is 
 at present applied, does not seem to be 
 recommended by any measure of policy 
 at present ; and if it were, the same rea- 
 sons would equally apply to all other 
 property which is held by any person or 
 body of persons in England and Wales, 
 for the purposes of any other form of 
 religion. 
 
 _ ESTATE. An estate signifies that 
 title or interest which a man has in lands, 
 tenements, hereditaments, or other pro- 
 perty. It is either Real Estate, which 
 comprises lands, tenements, and heredita- 
 ments held or enjoyed for an estate of 
 freehold ; or Personal Estate, which com- 
 prises interests for terms of years in lands, 
 tenements, and hereditaments, and pro- 
 perty of every other description. Personal 
 Estate [Chattels] goes to the executors, 
 and is liable for payment of debts before 
 Seal Estate. 
 
 This is the legal signification of Estate, 
 which, as already shown, is not a piece of 
 land or other property, but signifies the 
 relationship of ownership between a man 
 and property. The word was also used 
 in former times to signify men's station 
 (status) or condition in life. It was also 
 used, and is still sometimes used, to sig- 
 nify a class or order in a state. 
 
 Real Estate may be considered under 
 three heads : — (1) the quantity of estate, 
 t. e. the amount of interest in the owner ; 
 (2) the time when that interest is to com- 
 mence ; and (3) the quality of estate, or 
 the mode in which it is to be enjoyed. 
 
 1. All real estates not being of copy- 
 hold tenure [Copyhold], or what are 
 called customary freeholds, are either of 
 Freehold or less than Freehold. Free- 
 holds may be divided into two kinds ; 
 freeholds of inheritance, and freeholds 
 not of inheritance. Freeholds of inherit- 
 ance admit of a further subdivision, into 
 inheritances absolute, called fees simple, 
 and inheritances limited, called qualified 
 or base fees, and fees conditional. A 
 freehold of inheritance absolute or Fee 
 Simple is the largest estate which a man 
 can have : the owner may freely dispose 
 
 of it to whom he pleases in his lifetime 
 by deed or by will, and if he dies without 
 making any disposition, it descends to his 
 heir. [DescentJ 
 
 A qualified or Base Fee has some qua- 
 lification or limit annexed, which may 
 determine the estate, as in the instance of 
 a grant to A and his heirs tenants of the 
 manor of Dale. Whenever A or his heirs 
 cease to be tenants of that manor, their 
 estate is determined, that is, is at an end, 
 though during its continuance the pro- 
 prietor has the same rights as if he were 
 absolute tenant in fee simple. 
 
 A Conditional Fee at common law was 
 a fee restrained to some particular heirs 
 exclusive of others, as to a man and the 
 heirs male of his body, by which limit- 
 ation his lineal heirs female and collate- 
 rals were excluded ; and this is the origin 
 of Estates Tail. It was held that if the 
 donee, in the case supposed, had no heirs 
 male of his body, or if, after a male 
 child was born, no alienation were made, 
 the land should revert to the donor on 
 the failure of heirs male of the donee's 
 body : in fact, for all purposes of alien- 
 ation it was a fee simple, on condition 
 that the donee had male issue. The nobi- 
 lity, however, being anxious to preserve 
 their estates in their own families, pro- 
 cured the Statute of Westminster the 
 Second, 13 Ed. I. c. 1, commonly called 
 Statute de Donis Conditionalibus, to be 
 made, which enacted that the will of the 
 donor should be observed, and that the 
 land should go to the heirs specified, if 
 there were any, or if none, should revert 
 to the donor. Thus the donor acquired 
 an estate in reversion, which could only 
 be allowed, consistently with the nature 
 of estates in reversion, by considering the 
 conditional fee to be changed into a 
 limited, or, as it is called in technical lan- 
 guage, a particular estate. This kind of 
 estate was called an estate tail, from the 
 word talliare, to cut, being as it were a 
 portion cut out of the whole fee. Means 
 were soon however discovered by the in- 
 genuity of the lawyers to enable the donee 
 and his heirs of the specified description 
 to cut off the Entail, as it was called. 
 
 A Freehold, not of inheritance, is an 
 estate which tiie owner has for his ow& 
 life only, or the life of some other person, 
 
ESTATE. 
 
 [ 858 J 
 
 ESTATE. 
 
 or until the happening of some uncertain 
 event. The following are instances : — 
 a gift to A until B returns from Rome ; 
 but if the gift had been to A and his heirs 
 until B returns from Rome, the estate 
 would have been a qualified or base fee ; 
 and if B had died without returning from 
 Rome, would have beeome a fee simple 
 absolute. Some freeholds not of inherit- 
 ance, arise from operation of law, as 
 tenant in tail after possibility of issue ex- 
 tinct, which is where an estate is limited 
 to A and the heirs of his body to be be- 
 gotten on the body of B his wife, which 
 is called an estate tail special, as distin- 
 guished from an estate tail general, that 
 is, to A and the heirs of his body, without 
 specifying the woman from whom they 
 must spring. If B dies without children, 
 A is no longer tenant in tail, but tenant 
 in tail after possibility of issue extinct, 
 and, as to the duration of his estate, he is 
 simple tenant for life. As to tenant by 
 courtesy and tenant in dower, see Cour- 
 tesy and Dowek. 
 
 Of estates less than freehold there are 
 three kinds — estates for years, at will, 
 and by sufferance. An estate for years 
 (which includes an estate from year to 
 year) is personal property, and, like 
 other chattels [Chattels], upon the 
 death of the owner, without having dis- 
 posed of it in his lifetime, devolves upon 
 his executors or administrators. An es- 
 tate at Will arises where a man lets lands 
 to another expressly at the will of both 
 parties, or without limiting any certain 
 estate ; either party may put an end to 
 the tenancy, though, for the sake of gene- 
 ral convenience, the courts as far as pos- 
 sible consider them as tenancies from 
 year to year, for the purpose of rendering 
 a six months' notice necessary to their 
 determination. An estate by Sufferance 
 arises where a tenant, who has entered by 
 lawful title, continues in possession after 
 his interest has determined : this estate 
 may be put an end to at any time by the 
 lawful owner, though, after acceptance of 
 rent, the law would consider it as a tenancy 
 from year to year, as in the case of a 
 tenancy at will. 
 
 AH these estates, real and personal, 
 freehold or less than freehold, freeholds 
 of inheritance or not of inheritance, may 
 
 become subject to another qualification, 
 and be called estates upon condition, be- 
 ing such whose existence depends upon 
 the happening or not happening of some 
 uncertain event whereby the estate may 
 be either originally created or enlarged, 
 or finally defeated. 
 
 2 Estates are either in possession or in 
 expectancy. 
 
 An estate in possession requires no ex- 
 planation here. Estates in expectancy 
 involve some of the nicest and most 
 abstruse learning in English law : they 
 are divided into estates in remainder and 
 reversion, and by executory devise or 
 bequest ; and again, remainders are di- 
 vided into estates in remainder vested or 
 contingent. An executory devise or be- 
 quest is such a limitation of a future 
 estate or interest in lands or chattels as 
 the law admits in the case of a will, 
 though contrary to the rules of limita- 
 tion in conveyance by deed. 
 
 3. Estates may he enjoyed in four ways j 
 in severalty, in joint tenancy, in copar- 
 cenary, and in common. 
 
 An estate in severalty is when one te- 
 nant holds it in his own right without 
 any other person being joined with him. 
 
 An estate in joint tenancy is when an 
 estate is granted to two or more persons 
 at the same time, in which case they are 
 joint tenants, unless the words of the 
 grant expressly exclude such construc- 
 tion ; they have unity of interest, of title, 
 of time of vesting, and of possession, and 
 upon the decease of one, his whole in- 
 terest, unless disposed of by him in his 
 lifetime, remains to the survivor or sur- 
 vivors. 
 
 An estate in coparcenary is when an 
 estate of inheritance descends from the 
 ancestor to two or more persons, who are 
 called parceners, and amongst parceners 
 there is no survivorship. If a man dies 
 seized of an estate of inheritance in land, 
 and have no male heir, it descends to the 
 female heir, and if there is more than one 
 of them in the same degree of kin, it de- 
 scends to them in equal shares, and they 
 are called parceners or coparceners. 
 
 An estate in oommon is when two or 
 more persons hold property, by distinct 
 titles and for different interests, but by 
 unity of possession. 
 
EVIDENCE. 
 
 [ 859 ] 
 
 EVIDENCE. 
 
 All these three last-mentioned modes 
 of joint and undivided possession may be 
 put an end to by the parties interested, 
 either by certain modes of conveyance or 
 by partition. 
 
 Estates are a.so Legal or Equitable. 
 It is a legal estate when the owner is 
 in the actual seisin or possession, and also 
 entitled to the beneficial interest himself 
 or in trust for some other person. An 
 Equitable estate is when some other per- 
 son, not the person who is the actual 
 and legal owner, is entitled to the bene- 
 ficial interest of the property of which 
 that other is in possession. The power 
 of the beneficial owner over his equitable 
 estate is as complete as if he were pos- 
 sessed of the legal estate. 
 
 EVIDENCE. Legal evidence denotes 
 the means by which facts are ascertained 
 for judicial purposes. The practical im- 
 portance of the subject is obvious from 
 this definition ; and it has accordingly 
 not only attracted much attention from 
 judicial writers, but has formed a pro- 
 minent part of the jurisprudence of most 
 civilised countries, though the particular 
 rules of evidence have been different in 
 different systems of law. The Koman law 
 contains (so far as we now know it) few 
 regulations respecting evidence, the whole 
 subject being comprised in one short chap- 
 ter of the Digest, which lays down several 
 positive rules for the exclusion of wit- 
 nesses within prescribed degrees of con- 
 sanguinity to the litigant parties. In the 
 common law of England, where facts are 
 ascertained by juries, the body of rules 
 and restrictions denominated the law of 
 evidence has been gradually established 
 within the last two centuries. Previ- 
 ously to that time, in the infancy of the 
 trial by jury, as we understand that in- 
 stitution, the only positive rules respect- 
 ing evidence were those which related to 
 the two witnesses in treason required by 
 statutes passed in the reign of Edward VI. 
 This gradual development of restrictions 
 upon the admission of testimony seems to 
 show that, in this country at least, the 
 tendency has been to contract and not to 
 enlarge (as some writers have supposed) 
 the rules of judicial evidence. The ac- 
 counts of our earlier judicial proceedings 
 contained in the state trials sufficiently 
 
 prove that it was the practice formerly 
 to admit without scruple or question 
 every species of testimony ; whereas the 
 present law of evidence is almost wholly 
 composed of restrictive rules. 
 
 In giving a compendious view of the 
 principles of the English law of evidence 
 (which are the same at equity as at com- 
 mon law, and in criminal and civil pro- 
 ceedings) it is proposed — 1. To enumerate 
 the limitations which it prescribes to the 
 competency of witnesses; 2. To give a 
 brief summary of the principal rules by 
 which the reception of oral evidence is 
 governed ; and 3. To state the principal 
 rules which relate to written evidence. 
 
 I. Of the competency of witnesses. — The 
 general rule of English law upon this 
 subject is, that all persons may be wit- 
 nesses in courts of justice who have suffi- 
 cient understanding to comprehend the 
 subject of their testimony, and sufficient 
 religious principle to ensure a right sense 
 of the obligation of an oath to speak .the 
 truth. Thus very young children are 
 admissible as witnesses, if they have a 
 competent knowledge of the nature of an 
 oath, and a religious apprehension of the 
 consequences of falsehood. All testi- 
 mony, by the law of England, must be 
 given under the sanction of an oath, or 
 affirmation in the case of Quakers and 
 Moravians ; but the form of the oath is 
 immaterial, and nothing is required be- 
 yond a persuasion upon the mind of the 
 witness that in swearing to the truth of 
 what he states he is appealing to a Divine 
 Being who will punish him for false- 
 hood. A Christian is sworn upon the Gos- 
 pels ; a Jew, upon the Old Testament ; 
 and a Mohammedan or other person not a 
 Christian, in such form as he considers 
 binding. [Oath.] 
 
 To the general rule of the admissibi- 
 lity of all persons of sufficient intellect 
 and religious belief there are several im-, 
 portant exceptions. In the first place, a 
 husband cannot be a witness for or against . 
 his wife, nor a wife for or against her 
 husband; a rule which is said to arise 
 from the identity of interest subsisting in 
 such a connexion. However, in crimw 
 nal prosecutions founded upon personal 
 violence committed by either of these 
 parties upon the other, such testimony is 
 
EVIDENCE. 
 
 [ 860 1 
 
 EVIDENCE. 
 
 admitted upon the ground of necessity. 
 Secondly, in actions at the common law, 
 a party to the suit cannot be examined 
 as a witness ; but in courts of equity de- 
 fendants in a cause may be made wit- 
 nesses upon a special application for that 
 purpose ; and in those courts, if a plaintiff 
 consents to be examined as a witness his 
 evidence may be admitted. Thirdly, a 
 person cannot be a witness who has been 
 convicted of treason or felony, or of any 
 offence which involves the crimen falsi 
 (such as perjury or cheating), or which 
 is liable to a punishment which the law 
 considers infamous, as whipping, brand- 
 ing, or the pillory. This principle of 
 exclusion, which is derived from the 
 Roman law {Digest ii., tit. " De Tes- 
 tibus"), is now of little practical im- 
 portance, as the recent statutes have en- 
 acted that a pardon in felons, or the ac- 
 tual endurance of the punishment in 
 felony or misdemeanour, excepting per- 
 jury or subornation of perjury, shall have 
 the effect of restoring the competency of 
 the party as a witness. Fourthly, the 
 law of England excludes the evidence of 
 those who have a direct interest in the 
 result of the proceedings in which they 
 are called to testify. The indefinite state 
 of the rule respecting the nature of the 
 disqualifying interest led to much per- 
 plexity in its practical application. These 
 rules are, however, now altered by a 
 recent act, which will presently be men- 
 tioned. 
 
 The nature of the interest which dis- 
 qualified a witness was this: either he 
 must be directly and immediately bene- 
 fited by a result of the proceeding favour- 
 able to the party who called him, by ex- 
 onerating himself from a liability to costs, 
 sr to some process founded upon the deci- 
 sion of the cause in which he was called to 
 testify ; or he must be in such a situation 
 as to be able to avail himself of the deci- 
 sion of the cause, by giving it in evidence 
 in support of his own interest in some 
 future litigation. With the view of re- 
 moving the practical difficulties arising 
 from the rule as to a witness being able 
 to avail himself of the decision of the 
 cause, by giving it in evidence in support 
 of his own interest in some future litiga- 
 tion, it was enacted by the stat. 3 & 4 
 
 Will. I V. c. 42, § 26, that " if any witness 
 shall be objected to as incompetent, on the 
 ground that the verdict or judgment in 
 the action on which it shall be proposed 
 to examine him would be admissible in 
 evidence for or against him, such witness 
 shall nevertheless be examined ; but in that 
 case a verdict or judgment in that action in 
 favour of the party on whose behalf he shall 
 have been examined, shall not be admissi- 
 ble in evidence/or him ; nor shall a verdict 
 or judgment against the party on whose 
 behalf he shall have been examined 
 be admissible in evidence against him. 
 By the 27th section, it was enacted that 
 the name of every witness objected to as 
 incompetent, on the gronnd that the ver- 
 dict or judgment in tlie cause in which 
 he is examined would be admissible in 
 evidence for or against him, shall, at this 
 trial, be indorsed on the record on which 
 the trial shall be had, together with the 
 name of the party on whose behalf he was 
 examined, and shall be afterwards en- 
 tered on the record of the judgment ; such 
 indorsement or entry to be sufficient evi- 
 dence that such witness was examined in 
 any subsequent proceeding in which the 
 verdict or judgment shall be offered in 
 evidence. The act 6 & 7 Vict. c. 85, 
 entitled ' An Act for improving the Law 
 of Evidence,' enacts, "That no person 
 offered as a witness shall hereafter be 
 excluded by reason of incapacity from 
 crime or interest from giving evidence, 
 either in person or by deposition, accord- 
 ing to the practice of the court, on the 
 trial of any issue joined, or of any matter 
 or question or on any inquiry arising in 
 any suit, action, or proceeding, civil or 
 criminal, in any court, or before any 
 judge, jury, sheriff, coroner, magistrate., 
 officer, or person having, by law or by 
 consent of parties, authority to hear, re- 
 ceive, and examine evidence; but that 
 every person so offered may and shall be 
 admitted to give evidence on oath, or 
 solemn affirmation in those cases wherein 
 affirmation is by law receivable, notwith- 
 standing that such person may or shall 
 have an interest in the matter in question, 
 or in the event of the trial of any issue, 
 matter, question, or injury, or of the suit, 
 action, or proceeding in which he is 
 offered as a witness, and notwithstanding 
 
EVIDENCE. 
 
 [ 861 ] 
 
 EVIDENCE. 
 
 that such person offered as a -witness may 
 have been previously convicted of any 
 crime or offence : provided that this act 
 shall not render competent any party to 
 any suit, action, or proceeding indivi- 
 dually named in the record, or any lessor 
 of the plaintifF, or tenant of premises 
 sought to be recovered in ejectment, or 
 the landlord or other person in -whose 
 right any defendant in replevin may make 
 cognizance, or any person in whose imme- 
 diate and individual behalf any action 
 may be brought or defended, either 
 wholly or in part, or the husband or wife 
 if such persons respectively; provided 
 also, that this act shall not repeal any 
 provision in a certain act passed in the 
 session of parliament holden in the 
 seventh year of the reign of his late ma- 
 jesty and in the first ysar of the reign of 
 her present majesty, intituled 'An Act 
 for the amendment of the Laws with re- 
 spect to Wills :' provided that in courts 
 of equity any defendant to any cause 
 pending in any such -court may be exa- 
 mined as a witness on the behalf of the 
 plaintiff or of any co-defendant in any 
 such cause, saving just exceptions ; and 
 that any interest which such defendant 
 so to be examined may have in the mat- 
 ters or any of the matters in question in 
 the cause shall not be deemed a just ex- 
 ception to the testimony of such defendant, 
 but shall only be considered as affecting 
 or tending to affect the credit of such 
 defendant as a witness." This act does 
 not extend to Scotland. 
 
 II. The principal general rules by which 
 the reception of oral evidence is regulated. 
 — The first general rule (which applies 
 equally to written as to oral testimony) 
 is that all evidence produced must be 
 relevant to the point at issue between the 
 parties. The object of special pleading 
 by the common law is to reduce contro- 
 versies between parties to particular 
 issues, or propositions of fact affirmed by 
 one and denied by the other, which are 
 to be decided by the jury ; and the rule 
 of evidence, that the proofs in the cause 
 must be strictly confined to these issues, 
 is founded upon obvious reasons of jus- 
 tice as well as convenience. Secondly, 
 the affirmative of every issue is to be 
 proved; that is. the party who asserts the 
 
 affirmative of a proposition must prove it. 
 Thirdly, in proving a fact, the best evi- 
 dence of it must be given of which the 
 nature of the thing is capable. Thus, a 
 party is not permitted to prove the con- 
 tents of a deed by a copy, and still less by 
 oral testimony, where the deed itself may- 
 be produced ; nor to prove the execution 
 of a deed by any other person than a sub- 
 scribing witness, when he is living and 
 producible. This rule is justified by the 
 presumption which the offer of secondary 
 evidence raises, that the production of 
 the best evidence might have prejudiced 
 the party in whose power it is, had he 
 produced it. This rule is not, however, 
 to be understood as requiring that all the 
 evidence which can be given upon the 
 fact in dispute should be produced ; as, 
 for instance, if there are several attesting 
 witnesses to a deed or other contract, it 
 is not necessary that more than one should 
 be called. Fourthly, hearsay testimony, 
 which is a statement on oath of what an 
 absent person has said respecting a fact to 
 be proved, is, in general, excluded both 
 on the ground that the witness to the 
 actual fact does not declare his knowledge 
 upon oath, and also because he is absent 
 from the cross-examination of the party 
 who is to be affected by what he states. 
 To this rule, however, there are the fol- 
 lowing exceptions: — 1. The declarations 
 of persons who are in imminent danger 
 and under the apprehension of immediate 
 death, and who are therefore considered 
 to be speaking under as powerful a reli- 
 gious sanction as the obligation of an 
 oath ; 2. The declarations of deceased 
 persons, and made against their interest ; 
 as, for instance, charging themselves with 
 the receipt of money on account of third 
 persons, or acknowledging the payment 
 of money due to themselves ; 3. The de- 
 claration of deceased persons respecting 
 rights of a public nature, such as the 
 boundaries or general customs of a manor 
 or district; 4. The declarations of de- 
 ceased persons on questions of pedigree, 
 or family occurrences of ancient date be- 
 fore the memory of living witnesses, such 
 as births, deaths, or marriages. With re- 
 spect to the two last exceptions, however, 
 evidence of declarations of this kind is 
 inadmissible, if they have been made post 
 
EVIDENCE. 
 
 [ 862 ] 
 
 EVIDENCE. 
 
 litem motam, that is, after the matter to 
 which they relate has become the subject 
 of litigation. 
 
 III. Written evidence consists of records, 
 documents under seal, as charters and deeds, 
 and writings not under seal. — Acts of par- 
 liament are records of the highest nature, 
 being the memorials of the legislature ; 
 but a distinction is made 'with respect to 
 evidence between public and private 
 statutes. A public statute requires no 
 express proof in courts of justice, every 
 one being presumed to know the law 
 which he is bound to observe ; as to them, 
 therefore, the citation of the statute itself 
 is in all cases sufficient. But private acts 
 of parliament are considered as documents 
 relating to individuals, and must therefore 
 be proved by copies compared with the 
 original roll of parliament. A second and 
 inferior species of records is the proceed- 
 ings of courts of justice, which are proved 
 by exemplifications, sworn copies, and 
 office copies. Exemplifications are tran- 
 scripts of the records of different courts, 
 accredited by having the seals of such 
 courts attached to them. Sworn copies 
 are transcripts made by individuals who 
 authenticate them upon oath, when they 
 are produced in evidence. Office copies 
 are copies certified to be true and accurate 
 by an officer expressly intrusted for that 
 purpose by an officer of the court to which 
 the records belong. Charters and deeds 
 are proved by the production of the instru- 
 ment and proof of the execution by the 
 party to be charged with it ; but where 
 the document is more than thirty years 
 old, the execution need not be proved. 
 The general rule is that the original deed 
 must be produced, on the principle already 
 alluded to of its being the best evidence ; 
 but this is subject to the following excep- 
 tions : — 1. Where it has been lost or 
 destroyed by accident ; 2. Where it is in 
 the possession of a party to a suit against 
 whom it is sought to tie produced, and 
 who refuses to produce it : in either of 
 which cases the contents of the document 
 may be proved by a copy, or, if no copy 
 exists, by oral testimony. Deeds attested 
 must, in general, be proved by one at least 
 of the subscribing witnesses ; but if the at- 
 testing witnesses be dead, or are not to be 
 found aftir a diligent search, or for any 
 
 other reason incompetent to give evidence, 
 the execution of the deed may be proved 
 by proof of the hand-writing of the party. 
 The proof of hand-writing, by the law of 
 England, is peculiar. The testimony of 
 persons skilled in hand-writing is wholly 
 excluded, comparison of hands being in- 
 admissible for the purpose. The course 
 is, that a witness acquainted with the 
 writing of the individual in question, and 
 who has seen him write, or who has had 
 a written correspondence with him, shall 
 testify to his belief that the document to 
 be proved is in his handwriting. 
 
 From the above summary of the prin- 
 cipal rules of evidence existing in the 
 English law, it will be observed that the 
 system is extremely exclusive. Upon the 
 subject of interested witnesses, the law has 
 lately been altered in the way already ex- 
 plained. With respect to the reception of 
 secondary and hearsay evidence, it sanc- 
 tions no degree or kind of testimony at 
 second-hand (except in the cases above 
 enumerated), but excludes it under all 
 varieties of circumstances. It is true that 
 we ought not to attach so much weight to 
 hearsay evidence as to direct testimony, 
 because it is beyond all doubt that the 
 certainty of obtaining the truth is dimin- 
 ished, and that the means and causes of 
 error are multiplied, in proportion as you 
 remove from the actual observer and add 
 links to the chain of testimony. But it 
 may still be questioned whether the abso- 
 lute and unconditional rejection of hear- 
 say evidence is useful. Also with respect 
 to the mode of proving hand-writing, it 
 might be unsafe wholly to rely upon the 
 evidence of comparison of hands by per- 
 sons of experience in that occupation, but 
 there seems no good reason why such 
 proof should not be admissible in aid 
 of the present vague and unsatisfactory 
 mode Of proof by the general belief of a 
 witness. 
 
 The most plausible reason for the ex- 
 clusiveness of the English law of evidence 
 is derived from the nature of the trial by 
 jury, with reference to which it is con- 
 tended to be safer to withdraw doubtful 
 evidence altogether from their considera- 
 tion, than to leave it to persons who are 
 often uii instructed, and incapable of draw- 
 ing correct distinctions upon the subject 
 
EVIDENCE. 
 
 [ 863 ] 
 
 EVIDENCE. 
 
 of testimony, to form a proper estimate of 
 its credibility. But this reason is founded 
 upon an assumption not justified by the 
 fact, namely, that the means of proof actu- 
 ally legalized are infallible guides to 
 truth ; whereas the truth is, that many of 
 them are quite as liable to lead to a false 
 conclusion as those which are excluded. 
 In this state of things, therefore, there 
 seems no good reason -why all practicable 
 means of attaining to truth, however 
 various in their degrees of effectiveness, 
 should not be committed to juries. This 
 seems indeed to be the growing impression 
 in the profession ; the inclination of the 
 Courts of late years being to let in as much 
 light to a cause as possible, and to regard 
 objections to evidence rather as matters of 
 credibility upon which juries may exercise 
 their judgment, than of competency to be 
 wholly withdrawn from their consider- 
 ation. 
 
 Witnesses in proceedings in Equity are 
 examined upon written interrogatories, as 
 explained in the article Equity. The 
 interrogatories are drawn by counsel, 
 according to the instructions which he 
 receives as to the facts which a witness is 
 considered able to prove ; but it frequently 
 happens that the instructions are very de- 
 fective, and the counsel is ohliged to frame 
 his interrogatories as well as he can, in 
 order to elicit the proof of facts favour- 
 able to the party for whom he is employed. 
 Though each several interrogatory, when 
 well drawn, is framed for the purpose 
 of establishing some single and distinct 
 fact, or connected facts, written inter- 
 rogatories cannot from their nature be 
 otherwise than long and somewhat dif- 
 ficult to comprehend. In the oral ex- 
 amination of a witness, it necessarily hap- 
 pens that several questions must be asked 
 consecutively for the purpose of com- 
 pleting the investigation into and the 
 establishment of every important fact to 
 which the examination is directed. Writ- 
 ten interrogatories must be framed on the 
 same principle, and therefore every subse- 
 quent part of an interrogatory must he 
 framed on the supposition of every pre- 
 vious part being answered in some way ; 
 and, consequently, it is hardly possible in 
 written interrogatories to avow what is 
 called making them leading, and at the 
 
 same time verbose and cumbrous. These 
 long interrogatories, it is proved by expe- 
 rience, areoften imperfectly comprehended 
 by the witnesses, and consequently their 
 evidence is in some respects either incom- 
 plete or inaccurate, or both. The inter- 
 rogatories which either party proposes to 
 his witnesses are not known to the adverse 
 party until the examination of all the wit- 
 nesses on both sides is concluded, when 
 publication is passed, as it is termed, and 
 copies of all the depositions are delivered 
 to the litigating parties under an order of 
 the court. 
 
 Witnesses in courts of law are pro- 
 duced before the court, and examined by 
 counsel ; after which they may be cross- 
 examined by the counsel for the other 
 side. In the equity system these is of 
 course no cross-examination, in the proper 
 sense of the term ; for one party does not 
 know what the witnesses examined by the 
 opposite party have deposed, and cannot 
 therefore effectually examine them, as in 
 a court of common law, where the cross- 
 examination of a witness follows, and is 
 founded upon what the witness has stated 
 in his examination in chief. If a party 
 to a suit in chancery will cross-examine 
 a witness who is produced by his adver- 
 sary for examination, he must examine 
 him on written interrogatories, without 
 knowing what interrogatories have been 
 proposed to him by the opposite party, 
 and without knowing what he has said in 
 his depositions in chief. Such a cross- 
 examination must be in general altogether 
 useless, and often dangerous to the inte- 
 rest of the party making it ; unless the 
 witness is one whom he would him- 
 self have examined in chief. Under the 
 32nd order of the 21st of December, 
 1833, the last interrogatory before that 
 date commonly in use is in future to be 
 allowed as follows : " Do you know or 
 can you set forth any other matter or 
 thing which may be of benefit or advan^ 
 tage to the parties at issue in this cause, 
 or either of them," &c. A party, how- 
 ever, is not bound to insert this interro- 
 gatory ; and, indeed, no great harm will 
 result if it is never used. Owing to vari- 
 ous causes, such as disinclination on the 
 part of a witness to give himself further 
 trouble, particular affection to one of the 
 
EXCHANGE, BILL OF. [ 864 J EXCHANGE, BILL OP. 
 
 litigating parties, or forgetfulness, it 
 might have been anticipated that this 
 general interrogatory would fail in its 
 object; and so far as it has been used, 
 such is said to be the case. 
 
 This mode of ascertaining facts in suits 
 in equity is evidently very defective, and 
 has been the subject of considerable com- 
 plaint and of lengthened inquiry ; but 
 hitherto nothing has been done to amend 
 the system. 
 
 (See Minutes of Evidence taken before 
 the Chancery Commissioners, annexed to 
 their Report of 1826 ; and a pamphlet 
 (1837), by W. A. Garratt, entitled Sugges- 
 tions for Reform in Proceedings in Chan- 
 cay.) 
 
 Those who may be inclined to follow 
 this subject further will find it discussed 
 at great length in Bentham's Rationale 
 of Judicial Evidence, a work which has 
 certainly contributed to the formation of 
 more correct opinions on evidence ; but it 
 has neither exhausted the subject, nor is 
 it free from great defects. The rules of 
 the English law of evidence are contained 
 in the treatises of Mr. Phillipps and Mr. 
 Starkie. 
 
 EXCHANGE. [Division of Em- 
 ployment ; Demand and Supply ; 
 Balance of Trade.] 
 
 EXCHANGE, BILL OF, may be de- 
 scribed as a written order or request ad- 
 dressed by one person to another, direct- 
 ing him to pay on account of the writer 
 to some third person or his order, or to 
 the order of the person addressing the 
 request, a certain sum of money at a time 
 therein specified. The person who gives 
 the direction is called the drawer of the 
 bill, he to whom it is addressed the 
 drawee, and he in whose favour it is 
 given the payee, or, occasionally, the re- 
 mitter. Bills of exchange are ordinarily 
 divided into two classes, foreign and in- 
 land; foreign bills comprehend such as 
 are drawn or are payable abroad ; inland, 
 those which are drawn and payable in 
 England. Thus, a bill drawn in France, 
 or even in Scotland or Ireland, upon a 
 party in England, or conversely, is a fo- 
 reign bill ; and this is a distinction that 
 has important legal consequences. 
 
 The origin of bills of exchange is un- 
 known. It is probable or almost certain 
 
 that the Greeks and Romans were ac- 
 quainted with some modes of remitting 
 money and paying debts, similar to those 
 effected by a bill of exchange. Instruments 
 of this kind were current among the com- 
 mercial states of Italy in the early part of 
 the fourteenth century, and it is probable 
 they were not unknown at the close of the 
 same century in England. 
 
 It is certain that bills of exchange were 
 originally employed solely as media of 
 remittance, and the circumstances which 
 brought them into use may be explained 
 as follows : — A., at Hamburg, consigned 
 goods to B., in London, either in execu- 
 tion of an order, or as his factor for sale. 
 B , thereupon, being debtor to A. for the 
 invoice amount, or the proceeds of the 
 sale, as the case might be, was desirous 
 of remitting to A. accordingly. The re- 
 mittance could only be made in money or 
 in goods ; but A. might not want a return 
 cargo of English commodities, and the 
 sending out of specie would be inconve- 
 nient and hazardous. Now suppose that 
 some third person, C, were about to go 
 from Hamburg to London, mutual accom- 
 modation would suggest the following ar- 
 rangement : — A. would deliver to C. an 
 open letter addressed to B., requesting 
 him to pay to C. the amount intended to 
 be remitted: and C. on receiving the 
 letter would pay to A. the value of it in 
 money current at Hamburg, and having 
 carried it over to London would there , 
 receive from B. the sum specified. Thus 
 much of the expense, and all the risk and 
 trouble of remittance would J>e saved to 
 B. or A. ; and C, besides having a more 
 convenient sign of wealth, would proba- 
 bly receive some advantage for the ac- 
 commodation. It is obvious, however, 
 that to bring this exchange into opera- 
 tion several things would be wanting: 
 first, the knowledge by the two par- 
 ties of the mutual want ; secondly, confi- 
 dence on the part of C. that the money 
 would be paid by B. on presentment of 
 the letter of request, or that in default 
 of payment by him he would be repaid 
 by A. ; and, thirdly, the determining how 
 much C. ought to give A. in ready money 
 of Hamburg for the sum specified in the 
 letter, to be paid at a future day in money 
 of England. Now the adjustment of the 
 
EXCHANGE, BILL OF. [ 865 ] EXCHANGE, BILL OF. 
 
 comparative value of different currencies, 
 fell directly within the province of the 
 money-dealers or bankers, and as all per- 
 sons about to remit or to proceed to fo- 
 reign countries resorted to them for the 
 requisite coin, they would furnish the 
 merchants with information as to the 
 other particulars also, and would thus be- 
 come the negotiators of this sort of ex- 
 
 But there were other cases in which 
 the like operation might take place, for 
 although A. might not want goods from 
 England in return for those shipped by 
 him from Hamburg, other Hamburg mer- 
 chants might, and so it might happen that 
 at the time of the intended remittance B. 
 had money owing to him at Hamburg in 
 respect of goods so shipped. Let it be 
 supposed then that C, instead of going to 
 London, were about to remit money to 
 B., in that case the whole or a portion, as 
 well of B.'s debt to A. as of C.'s debt to 
 B., might be settled by a simple arrange- 
 ment of the same kind as that before de- 
 scribed. B. would write a letter ad- 
 dressed to C, requesting him to pay a 
 specified sum to A., or, in mercantile 
 phrase, would draw upon C. in favour of 
 A. ; this letter or draft he would remit, 
 as payment, to A., who, upon presentment 
 to C. would receive from him the amount, 
 and would give credit to B. accordingly. 
 
 Now, as the trade between two coun- 
 tries never, unless under very unusual 
 circumstances, consists solely of ship- 
 ments of goods on the one part, and solely 
 of remittances of money on the other — it 
 might happen that if B. had not a debtor 
 at Hamburg other London merchants 
 would have sums of money owing from 
 Hamburg. B. would endeavour to find 
 out some such merchant, from whom he 
 might procure an order upon his debtor ; 
 in other words, he would buy a bill on 
 Hamburg for remittance to A. For the 
 reasons before mentioned, recourse would 
 be had for this purpose to the money- 
 dealers ; and it is not difficult to conceive 
 by what steps the procuring and supply- 
 ing of bills soon became in their hands a 
 distinct business. 
 
 Indeed, without the intervention of 
 such dealers, the system could never have 
 become extensively useful ; because in 
 
 the commercial intercourse of two coun- 
 tries the commodities exchanged will never 
 be exactly balanced. There is at times 
 a scarcity of bills upon one country and 
 an excess of those upon some other : but 
 this inequality is equalized by the care 
 of those persons whose business it is to 
 deal in bills ; for they send or procure the 
 superfluous bills in one market to meet 
 the demand in another. 
 
 The instrument of transfer, or bill of 
 exchange, now assumed a concise and 
 permanent form. At first the order 
 would probably be, to pay on presentment 
 to the drawee, or as it was expressed in 
 the instrument, " on sight" But, as the 
 intervals between drawing and present- 
 ment would be variable, it became the 
 practice to fix them by a definite scale ; 
 and hence probably arose what was called 
 the usance between two ports or countries, 
 or the period fixed by usage, at which, 
 with reference to the date, a bill was pre- 
 sentable for payment. Afterwards these 
 usances came to signify the periods at 
 which the merchants of any particular 
 country or port were in the practice of 
 paying the bills so drawn upon them, and 
 these customary periods being universally 
 known, the word usance soon came to 
 signify a specific term of days, and it was 
 formerly not uncommon, when by agree- 
 ment the time of payment was deter- 
 mined, to draw foreign bills payable at 
 one, two, or more usances. In modern 
 times, the more trequent practice has been 
 to make them payable at so many days 
 after sight, or at so many months or days 
 after date. In course of time the practice 
 was also established of granting what was 
 termed days of grace, or a short time to 
 the drawee for providing the requisite 
 cash : these days of grace, though vary- 
 ing as to limits in different communities, 
 are generally recognised as part of the 
 custom of merchants. 
 
 Originally, as we have supposed, the 
 bill was a letter addressed by B. to C, 
 directing him to pay A. But as it might 
 not be convenient to A. to present the 
 letter in person, it became usual to give 
 him authority to appoint another, by whom 
 the presentment might be made and the 
 money received. It assumed therefore 
 the form of a direction to pay A., or such 
 3k 
 
EXCHANGE, BILL OF. [ 8G6 ] EXCHANGE, BILL OF. 
 
 other person as A. should appoint, ex- 
 pressed with the conciseness of mercantile 
 language, thus : " Pay A., or order." But 
 if the letter or bill in the hands of A. 
 were assignable, that is transferable by 
 him to another person, there was no rea- 
 son why it should not be so in the hands 
 of his assignee, and thus by the operation 
 of the words " or order," it obtained the 
 character of a negotiable instrument or 
 sign of value, transferable from one per- 
 son to another. The assignment might 
 be in such form as this : " Pay the within 
 to D., or his order — signed A.," and by 
 a similar superscription D. might in like 
 manner assign the bill to E., and E. to F., 
 and so on. But as the bill was of course 
 delivered to each successive assignee, pos- 
 session was of itself a sufficient voucher 
 for payment, and the special superscrip- 
 tion therefore was soon frequently dis- 
 pensed with as unnecessary, the assign- 
 ment of the prior holder being indicated 
 by his signature alone. In England, and 
 in some other countries, it has long been 
 the practice to write the assignment on 
 the back of the instrument, and it has 
 thence received the name of an indorse- 
 meat : the form first described, in which 
 the assignee is named, is termed a special 
 indorsement, or an indorsement in full; 
 and the mere signature of the assigner is 
 called an indorsement in blank. 
 
 When bills were drawn payable at 
 some future day, one might suppose that 
 the first holder who had the opportunity 
 of doing so should, during the currency 
 of the specified period, shew the bill to 
 the drawee, and procure from him an 
 undertaking to pay it at maturity. If he 
 refused, the bill was protested for non- 
 acceptance, and notice of the dishonour 
 was immediately communicated to the 
 drawer. If he gave the undertaking 
 either verbally or in writing upon the 
 bill or otherwise, he was said to have ac- 
 cepted it, and became thenceforth liable, 
 as the acceptor, for the amount specified. 
 For the effect of the acceptance was this : 
 the drawee thereby affirmed the right of 
 the drawer to call upon him for payment 
 of the money, and he assented to the 
 transfer of the right. If, therefore, after 
 acceptance, he refused to pay the bill 
 when due, he was responsible to the 
 
 drawer as having acknowledged himself 
 to be his debtor, and to the payee or other 
 party in possession of the bill, in respect 
 of his express engagement. But the 
 right of the holder was not confined to 
 the acceptor ; for although, after accept- 
 ance, the drawee became the principal 
 debtor, to whom recourse must be had in 
 the first instance, yet if upon regular pre- 
 sentment the drawee did not pay, the 
 holder was not bound to take measures 
 against him alone, but might resort to all 
 prior parties whose names appeared upon 
 the instrument. For as the indorsement 
 gave the right to receive the money, it 
 was to be presumed that it had not teen 
 made without an equivalent, and it was 
 but justice, therefore, that on the dis- 
 honour of the bill by the drawee, the 
 holder should receive back the value 
 which he had given : and as every person, 
 whose signature, whether as drawer or 
 indorser, appeared upon the bill, acknow- 
 ledged himself by the act of signing to 
 have received value for the delivery of 
 the order, it was not unreasonable that 
 th* -eimbursement should be claimed, not 
 merely from the party from whose hands 
 the bill had been received, but also 
 from the drawer and every other party 
 whose name preceded that of the holder. 
 The result therefore was this : if the 
 drawee paid the bill, the matter was set- 
 tled ; but if he dishonoured it, by a re- 
 fusal either to pay or to accept on due 
 presentment, a notification of the disho- 
 nour was conveyed by the holder to all 
 parties preceding him, or to such as he 
 thought fit to call upon for indemnity ; if 
 then the drawer paid the money, or as it 
 was termed took up the bill, all the other 
 parties were exonerated, and the drawer 
 had his remedy against the drawee, upon 
 the bill if accepted, or upon the original 
 consideration in respect of which it was 
 drawn, if the acceptance had been re- 
 fused. In like manner, whoever satisfied 
 the bill by payment, thereby discharged 
 all parties posterior to himself, and ob- 
 tained a right against all who preceded 
 him. Thus each successive indorsee had 
 the accumulated security of all the parties, 
 whose signatures were upon the instru- 
 ment as acceptor, drawer, or indorser, 
 I when it came into his hands. 
 
EXCHANGE, BILL OF. [ 867 ] EXCHANGE, BILL OP. 
 
 The party who remits a bill is by the 
 supposition debtor to him to whom the 
 remittance is made; and after the ex- 
 planation just given, it will be obvious 
 that it would be required of him to ac- 
 knowledge his liability by making him- 
 self a party to the instrument. The bill 
 therefore purchased by him would not 
 be, as has been above supposed, a direc- 
 tion to pay the remittee, but to pay the 
 remitter or his order ; and hence it hap- 
 pens, as was said in the commencement, 
 that the party to whom the bill is made 
 payable, is sometimes called the remitter. 
 
 To obviate the inconvenience that may 
 result from bills being lost, it became 
 usual to draw them in sets ; that is to say, 
 two or more parts of each bill were drawn, 
 and described as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so 
 on, each containing a condition that it 
 should be payable only while the others 
 remained unpaid. But this practice of 
 drawing in sets is made available for an- 
 other purpose. The payee having indorsed 
 and paid away one part, frequently remits 
 another part to some agent or correspond- 
 ent at the place of the drawee's residence, 
 to be by him presented for acceptance, 
 with a direction added, by way of memo- 
 randum, to the bill, that, when accepted, 
 it is to be held for the use of the person 
 who shall duly present the other part or 
 parts for payment at maturity. The ad- 
 vantage of this arrangement is obvious : 
 if the bill be accepted, it is held, accord- 
 ing to the direction, till maturity : if re- 
 fused, it is protested, and notice is given 
 to the drawer. Upon this protest the 
 drawer may be called upon to give se- 
 curity for the due payment of the bill at 
 the expiration of its currency ; or, as oc- 
 casionally happens, some correspondent 
 of the drawer at the place upon which the 
 bill is drawn accepts it for his honour, 
 and thereby places himself in the situation 
 of the original drawee, being liable as ac- 
 ceptor to all parties subsequent to the 
 drawer. Such an acceptance is called an 
 acceptance supra protest, or for honour, 
 and may be made at any time during the 
 currency of the bill, and on behalf of any 
 party who is liable upon it after default 
 made by the drawee. The following il- 
 lustration will show the use of a Bill of 
 Exchange. 
 
 A person in London has a payment of 
 10004. to make in Paris. Instead of re- 
 mitting the money, he goes to an ex- 
 change-broker, and purchases from him 
 a bill on Paris equivalent to that sum. 
 The bill will be payable in francs ; and it 
 will be necessary to ascertain how many 
 francs are equal to \000l. By the mint 
 regulations between England and France, 
 \l. sterling of English money is equal to 
 25 francs, 20 cents, which is therefore the 
 nominal or standard par of exchange be- 
 tween the two countries. According to 
 this scale, then, WOOL in London would 
 be worth 25,200 francs in Paris. But the . 
 par is fixed on the supposition that the 
 currencies of the two countries respec- 
 tively are uniformly of the weight and 
 purity established by the Mint, whereas 
 the coin is often debased by alloy or at- 
 trition, and the relative value undergoes a 
 corresponding alteration. This deviation 
 however is well known, and may be re- 
 garded as comparatively constant. But 
 other circumstances, which are not con- 
 stant, affect the ratio of value. When, 
 for instance, any considerable portion of 
 the circulating medium of either of the 
 two countries between which the exchange 
 is to be effected consists of a paper cur- 
 rency, the standard is materially affected 
 by the quantity of paper in circulation. 
 A redundancy of paper money has inva- 
 riably the effect of depreciating the stan- 
 dard, or, in other words, of raising the 
 Value of the standard coin as compared 
 with the same nominal sum in paper 
 money. This effect is temporary only 
 when the paper is convertible into specie 
 on demand ; if inconvertible, it is both 
 permanent and considerable. Thus at 
 one period of the late war, the English 
 guinea was worth 26s. in money, esti- 
 mated according to the value of the I/, 
 sterling in bank notes. At that time 
 therefore the English pound would fall far 
 below the Mint standard of 3l. 17s. lO^d. 
 per ounce, and a proportionate effect 
 would be produced on the rate of ex- 
 change with any other country in which 
 the standard was maintained. Taking, as 
 before, the instance of France, the par 
 would vary, other things remaining con- 
 stant, from 25 francs to somewhei'e about 
 19 francs, or \000l-, in a Bank of England 
 3 K2 
 
EXCHANGE, BILL OF. [ 868 ] EXCHANGE, BILL OF. 
 
 note, would buy a bill on Paris, not for 
 25,200 francs, but for about 19,000 francs 
 only. But the same cause might be ope- 
 rating hi France also, in which case the 
 calculation would be still further compli- 
 cated by a comparison of the depreciation 
 in (he one country with that in the other. 
 The variation here taken for an example 
 is an extreme case, but fluctuations the 
 same in kind, though less in degree, are 
 still of continual occurrence, an 1 must be 
 carefully taken into account in all calcu- 
 lations as to the price of bills. 
 
 But there are other causes in operation 
 which materially affect the rate of ex- 
 change and the price of bills. The ac- 
 commodation of a remittance in the form 
 of a bill of exchange is worth a calculable 
 sum, the maximum being the compound 
 of the labour, expense, and risk of the 
 transmission of money in specie. Suppose 
 this maximum to be one per cent., it is 
 evident it is worth the while of the re- 
 mitter to pay any sum short of 10Z. for 
 the purchase of a bill equivalent to 1000/. 
 Now the market price of bills is mainly 
 dependent on the relation of the supply 
 to the demand, and this again is primarily 
 regulated by the state of trade between 
 two given countries. When the value of 
 the exports to any country in a given 
 period is equal to the value of the imports 
 from the same country in the same period, 
 the trade is said to be balanced : the bills 
 drawn in each country upon the other 
 will be equal in amount, and this equili- 
 brium constitutes what is called the real 
 par of exchange. But this state of things 
 can never actually exist. Even where, 
 upon the average of years or months, the 
 trade is nearly even, there will be disturb- 
 ing circumstances which will have a tem- 
 porary efFect upon the exchanges. There 
 will consequently be occasional scarcity 
 and occasional abundance of foreign bills 
 in the market. When scarce, their price 
 of course is higher, or, as it is ordinarily 
 expressed, they bear a premium. At such 
 times the imports exceed the exports, and 
 the exchanges are said to be against vs. 
 Suppose that, iu the trade between Eng- 
 land and France, the value of our imports 
 from Franc* exceeds that of our exports 
 to France by about three-fourths. The 
 «fiect of this, if matters were left to them- 
 
 selves, would be, that of the remittances 
 to France three-fourths must be made in 
 specie, and that the bills in which the re- 
 maining one-fourth was made would be 
 at the maximum price, that is to say, tak- 
 ing the scale before adopted, would bear 
 a premium of all but one per cent. But 
 it is an established fact, that in every 
 trading community the value of the whole 
 of the exports taken together is, upon an 
 average, very nearly balanced by the 
 value of the whole of the imports, or, in 
 other words, that ultimately all commo- 
 dities imported are paid for directly 
 or indirectly in commodities exported. 
 Therefore, the bills drawn in England 
 upon foreign countries nearly balance the 
 bills drawn in foreign countries upon 
 England in the same period. Thus, al- 
 though there may be a deficiency in Lon- 
 don, to the extent of three-fourths, of bills 
 upon France, there may be an excess, in 
 nearly the same ratio, of bills upon Bel- 
 gium, and in like manner there may be 
 an excess in Belgium, to the same extent, 
 of bills upon France. The London bill- 
 merchant by means of his agent will buy 
 bills upon Paris at Antwerp, where they 
 are cheapest, and bring them for sale to 
 London, where they are dearest. The 
 cost of procuring, and the profit of the 
 bill-merchant, therefore, upon this trans- 
 action, constitute the third element in the 
 calculation. Supposing then the bill to 
 be a good one, that is to say, guaranteed 
 by names of known and established credit, 
 the only remaining operation is to esti- 
 mate the discount according to mercantile 
 practice, or, in other words, the interest 
 of lOOOi. in money for the time which 
 will elapse before payment of the bill; 
 and the combined result will give the sum 
 in francs for which the bill is to be drawn, 
 or the amount of bills already drawn to 
 be given in exchange for 1000Z. 
 
 Bills of exchange are also in frequent 
 use for the purpose of remittance from 
 one part of the United Kingdom to an- 
 other. Thus the trader in Manchester, 
 Leeds, or Birmingham, who has a pay- 
 ment to make in London, remits bills of 
 his customers in the country. These are 
 discounted by the moneyed capitalists 
 through the intervention of bill-brokers. 
 A few of the London bankers also dis- 
 
EXCHANGE, BILL OP. [ 869 ] EXCHANGE, BILL OF. 
 
 count for the accommodation of their 
 customers, and the Bank of England 
 deals extensively in that department. 
 The bills so cashed are transmitted to the 
 provincial banks to be presented at ma- 
 turity for payment. Conversely, in the 
 provincial towns the country bankers dis- 
 count bills on London, and transmit them 
 to their correspondents there for payment. 
 The rate of discount varies according to 
 the demand for money, and the character 
 of the particular bills ; but it is seldom, 
 upon regular transactions, more than four, 
 or less than two and a half per cent. 
 
 Bills of exchange are also much used 
 as follows : — A tradesman may not be able 
 to pay ready money, but he can give the 
 seller an order for payment on some other 
 person, receiving or paying the difference, 
 as the case may be, and making an allow- 
 ance by way of interest, or, which is the 
 same thing in other words, paying an ex- 
 tra price, in proportion to the time of the 
 bill's currency. To the seller this mode 
 of dealing is better than the giving of a 
 naked credit, as he gets an additional 
 ehance of payment, and a written acknow- 
 ledgment of his debt. When the nego- 
 tiability of inland bills was admitted, 
 they served all the purposes of actual 
 money, because in the same manner as 
 the original seller had taken the order in 
 payment, another would receive it from 
 him in the purchase of other commodi- 
 ties ; or it might be at once discounted or 
 converted into cash by application to a 
 money-dealer. 
 
 The drawing of a bill supposes that 
 the drawee either has in his possession 
 funds of the drawer, or is his debtor to 
 the amount specified in the order : it was 
 therefore an easy step in the transactions 
 of wholesale dealing for the seller to 
 draw upon the buyer, for the price of the 
 goods, a bill payable to his (the seller's) 
 own order at some future day. This bill 
 the buyer immediately accepted, and thus 
 in effect acknowledged himself to be the 
 debtor of the drawer to the amount spe- 
 cified, and engaged to pay the holder at 
 maturity. By this arrangement, now 
 very general, the buyer obtains credit for 
 the term at the expiration of which the 
 bill is made payable, and the seller has 
 the advantage of a fixed day for payment 
 
 being named in the Dill, and a means of 
 procuring cash if he chooses to negotiate 
 the bill. 
 
 Bills of Exchange are also frequently 
 drawn and accepted under such circum- 
 stances as follow : — There are in most of 
 the principal trading ports of the world, 
 merchants who carry on the business of 
 general factors or agents for sale, and 
 whose establishments are known among 
 mercantile men under the name of com- 
 mission-houses. The course of dealing 
 with such houses is, for the most part, 
 this : — A., a manufacturer at Manchester, 
 consigns a cargo of cotton pieces to B. 
 and Co., a commission-house at Mexico, 
 for sale on his account The English 
 correspondents of B. and Co. are Messrs. 
 C. and Co. of London. By an arranger 
 ment among these several parties A. 
 draws on C. and Co. for half or two- 
 thirds, as may be agreed, of the invoice 
 price of the goods consigned, and by dis- 
 counting the bill with his banker obtains 
 at once an instalment in money, which 
 immediately returns into his capital, and 
 becomes useful in producing more goods. 
 Ultimately, account sales are furnished 
 by the Mexican house, and A. again draws 
 on C. and Co. for the balance in his fa- 
 vour. Annual balances are struck be- 
 tween B. and Co. and C. and Co., and 
 remittances by bills for the adjustment of 
 the account complete the transaction. 
 Now the advantages of this anticipatory 
 part-payment are obvious, more espe- 
 cially in the trade with distant countries, 
 as South America or the East Indies. 
 But the practice has degenerated into 
 something of an abuse ; for it has of late 
 been frequent with the consigners of 
 goods to make out invoices with prices 
 artificially high, and so to procure a re- 
 munerating return even from the pro- 
 portion for which they are authorized to 
 draw in advance. The effect is to throw 
 upon the consignees the whole risk, which 
 was formerly shared between the two, and 
 proportionately to impair the steadiness 
 and security of commerce. 
 
 Good bills, as already observed, may 
 be always discounted. Accordingly, any 
 man whose credit is good may at any 
 time raise money upon a bill drawn, ac- 
 cepted, or indorsed by himself. If his 
 
EXCHANGE, BILL OF. [ 870 J EXCHANGE, BILL o7 
 
 credit be doubtful he may still procure 
 cash by the same expedient, but he will 
 have to pay a premium or rate of dis- 
 count proportioned to the increased risk. 
 Among needy men instances are not un- 
 frequent of discounts procured by these 
 means at the exorbitant rate of 20 or 
 30 per cent. But a still more common 
 practice is the negotiation of what are 
 called by the significant name of accom- 
 modation bills. A trader unable to meet 
 his liabilities applies to a friend whose 
 credit is better than his own, to accept, or 
 in some other way to become a party to, 
 a bill drawn for the purpose : the trader 
 undertakes to provide the funds necessary 
 for paying it when due, and generally 
 gives in return his own acceptance of 
 another like bill, known in the mercan- 
 tile world as a cross acceptance. When 
 one or more names have thus been ob- 
 tained sufficient to give currency to the 
 bill, it is discounted, and the money ap- 
 plied to the necessities of the trader. As 
 this bill falls due, the same operation is 
 repeated in order to raise money, until 
 the system of expedients failing at last, 
 as sooner or later it inevitably must, the 
 ruin of the insolvent trader himself is 
 accomplished, and not unfrequently draws 
 along with it others who, unfortunately 
 or imprudently, may have become parties 
 to these unsubstantial representatives of 
 value. Of the more serious mischiefs of 
 this dangerous practice, such as the temp- 
 tation to forgery by the use of fictitious 
 names as drawers or payees, it is perhaps 
 useless to speak, because few men at first 
 seriously contemplate the commission of 
 a crime, but are rather drawn into it by 
 circumstances not foreseen or not appre- 
 ciated ; but the reflect.on that it is a 
 foolish and improvident practice— that, 
 in addition to the loss of credit, which, 
 once perceived (and how can it fail to be 
 perceived ?), it is sure to occasion, there 
 is the certain expense of stamps and 
 higher rates of discount, and moreover 
 a double liability in respect of every 
 shilling for which cross acceptances are 
 given — may perhaps have some effect in 
 deterring honest men, however necessi- 
 tous, from having recourse to this fatal 
 expedient. 
 
 Viewed as a legal instrument, a bill of ! 
 
 exchange, as well in its original forma- 
 tion as in its successive transfers, is an 
 assignment of a debt, by which the light 
 of the original creditor to sue for and ob- 
 tain payment is transferred to the holder 
 for the time being. The Roman law 
 presented no obstacles to such a substi- 
 tution ; and in those countries therefore 
 which had adopted the civil law, the 
 negotiation of bills found no impediment. 
 But it was a principle of the common law 
 of England, that the assignment of things 
 not in possession, such as a debt of right, 
 being in truth the assignment of suits at 
 law, might be converted into a means of 
 oppression, and the validity of such trans- 
 fers was not recognised by it Bnt in the 
 case of bills of exchange the principle of 
 law yielded to general convenience ; and 
 the negotiability of foreign bills was re- 
 cognised by the Knglish law. It was not, 
 however, until three centuries later, that 
 the negotiability of inland bills was re- 
 cognised by the courts, unless on proof 
 of some special custom of trade ; but ex- 
 pediency finally prevailed, and at the 
 present day, as well by the common law 
 as by the statutes of 9 & 10 Wm. III. c, 
 17, and 3 & i Anne, c. 9, they stand on 
 the same general footing as foreign bills. 
 It is this assignability, vesting in the 
 holder a right of action against the ori- 
 ginal parties, which chiefly distinguishes 
 a bill of exchange from every other form 
 of legal contract. Another and scarcely 
 less important privilege is, that though a 
 simple contract debt, and as Buch requir- 
 ing a consideration to give it legal effi- 
 cacy, the consideration is presumed until 
 the want of it be shown. It is available 
 therefore in the hands of a bond fide 
 holder, upon merely formal proof of title 
 by the signature of the party to be 
 charged : that is to say, it is unnecessary 
 to prove value given, unless it be first 
 shown on the other side that the bill is in 
 some stage or other tainted with an ille- 
 gality, and the bond fides is assumed un- 
 til it shall be made to appear that the 
 holder was, at the time of taking it, privy 
 to that illegality. From this rule an ex- 
 ception is made as to bills given for a 
 gambling debt, which by statute are void 
 even in the hands of an innocent holder. 
 The rules of law applicable to bills of 
 
EXCHEQUER COUET. [ 871 j EXCHEQUER COURT. 
 
 exchange have been settled bv numerous 
 decisions, and it is of great"importance 
 to mercantile men to be acquainted -with 
 them ; but the consideration of them pro- 
 perly belongs to a legal treatise. 
 
 EXCHANGE BROKER. [Broker.] 
 
 EXCHEQUER BILLS. [National 
 Debt.] 
 
 EXCHEQUER CHAMBER. [Ex- 
 chequer, Court of ; Courts.] 
 
 EXCHEQUER COURT is a superior 
 court of record established by William 
 the Conqueror as part of the Aula Regis, 
 and reduced to its present order by Ed- 
 ward I. 
 
 It is the lowest in rank of the four great 
 courts of law which sit at Westminster 
 Hall, although in ancient times one of the 
 first in importance, as all causes relating 
 to the rights of the crown were there. 
 heard and determined, and the revenues' 
 of the crown were supposed to be received 
 there. 
 
 The Latinized form of the word Ex- 
 chequer is Scaccarivm. Camden says it 
 was so called from the covering of the 
 table at which the barons sat being party- 
 coloured or chequered, and on which, 
 when certain of the king's accounts were 
 made up, the sums were marked and 
 scored with counters. 
 
 The judges of the court of exchequer 
 are the chancellor of the exchequer for 
 the time being [Chancellor, p. 482], 
 the chief baron, and four other barons, 
 who are created by letters patent, and are 
 so called from their having been formerly 
 chosen from such as were barons of the 
 kingdom, or parliamentary barons (Sel- 
 den's Titles of Honour). 
 
 The Court of Exchequer was formerly 
 held in the king's palace. Its treasury 
 was the great deposit of records from 
 the other courts; writs of summons to 
 assemble the parliaments were issued by 
 its officers ; and its acts and decrees, as 
 they related almost entirely to matters 
 connected with the king's revenue, were 
 not controlled by any other of the king's 
 ordinary courts of justice. 
 
 It now consists of two divisions, one of 
 which exercises jurisdiction in all cases 
 relating to the customs and excise, and 
 over revenue matters generally. The 
 ather division is a court of common law, 
 
 in which all personal actions may be 
 brought : the exchequer court of equity 
 was abolished by 5 Vict. c. 5. 
 
 A plaintiff, when bringing an action in 
 this court, previously to the Act for Uni- 
 formity of Process in personal actions 
 (2 Wm. IV. c. 39), frtitiously alleged 
 himself to be the king's debtor, in order 
 to give the court jurisdiction in the cause ; 
 but since the passing of that act it is no 
 longer necessary to resort to this fiction 
 in order to bring an action in the Court 
 of Exchequer, as that statute assimilates 
 the practice of all the common law courts, 
 and the operation as well as the name of 
 the processes issued from them are the 
 same. 
 
 The number of officers on the plea side 
 of the Court of Exchequer, and their 
 several duties were regulated by 2 & 3 
 Wm. IV. c.110. By 3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 
 9y, the following officers in the Court of 
 Exchequer were abolished : — the lord 
 treasurer's remembrancer, the filacer, se- 
 condaries, deputy remembrancer, and 
 sworn and other clerks and bag-bearer 
 belonging thereto ; clerk of the pipe, de- 
 puty-clerk of the pipe, controller and 
 deputy-controller of the pipe, secondaries, 
 attornies, or sworn and other clerks and 
 bag-bearer in the said office of the pipe ; 
 clerk of the estreats ; surveyor of the 
 green wax ; the foreign apposer, and de- 
 puty foreign apposer, ana clerk of the 
 nichills. By 5 & 6 Vict. c. 86, certain 
 officers on the revenue side of the court 
 were abolished, and the office of remem- 
 brancer of the court was regulated. 
 
 An appeal lies from this court by writ 
 of error to the justices of the courts of 
 king's bench and common pleas sitting in 
 the exchequer chamber, who alone have 
 power to review the judgments of the 
 barons : and from their decision a further 
 appeal may be brought before the House 
 of Lords. 
 
 The Court of Exchequer chamber was 
 first erected in England by stat. 31 Ed- 
 ward III., to determine causes upon writs 
 of error from the common law side of the 
 Court of Exchequer. The judges of the 
 three superior courts occasionally sit here 
 to hear arguments in important criminal 
 cases, and upon causes of great weight 
 .and difficulty, in which the judges of the 
 
EXCISE DUTIES. 
 
 [ 872 ] 
 
 EXCISE DUTIES. 
 
 eourts below have not given their judg- 
 ment. 
 
 As a court of error, the Court of Ex- 
 riiequer chamber underwent considerable 
 alterations by the passing of the 1 1th Geo. 
 IV. and 1st Wm, IV. c. 70, and its con- 
 stitution is now regulated by that statute. 
 
 fCoDRTS.] 
 
 The Court of Exchequer in Scotland 
 was established by the 6th Anne, c. 26. 
 This court was abolished in 1832 by 2 & 
 8 Wm. IV. c. 54. The judges were the 
 high treasurer of Great Britain, with a 
 rhief baron, and four other barons. 
 
 The Court of Exchequer in Ireland 
 was established by the 40th Geo. III. c. 
 39, and consists of the chief justices, chief 
 baron, and the rest of the justices and 
 barons, or any nine of them. 
 
 EXCISE DUTIES, the name given 
 to taxes or duties levied upon articles of 
 consumption which are produced within 
 the kingdom. This description, which 
 has usually been given of excise duties, is 
 more strictly applicable now than it was 
 formerly, when the commissioners of ex- 
 cise revenue were also charged with the 
 collection of duties upon various articles 
 imported from foreign countries. Among 
 these foreign articles were wine, spirits, 
 tobacco, glass, and tea. The last named 
 of these was the last that was withdrawn 
 from the management of the Excise and 
 transferred to the Board oi Customs. 
 There are still, it is true, certain duties 
 to which the name of excise is applied 
 which can hardly be called duties upon 
 consumption, such as the sums charged 
 for licenses to permit persons to carry on 
 certain trades, the post-horse duties, and the 
 duty on sales by auction abolished in 1845. 
 
 Excise duties are said to have had their 
 origin in this country in the reign of 
 Charles I., when a tax was laid upon 
 beer, cider, and perry, of home produc- 
 tion. The act by which these duties 
 were authorised was passed by the long 
 parliament in 1643. This act contains 
 also a list of foreign articles, and among 
 others tobacco, wine, raisins, currants 
 and loaf sugar, upon which excise duties 
 were imposed in addition to duties of 
 customs already chargeable. This act 
 was adopted and enforced under the pro- 
 tectorate of Oliver Cromwell; and by 
 
 the statute 12 Charles II. c. 24, the du- 
 ties of excise were granted to the crown 
 as part of its revenue. 
 
 For a long time this class of duties was 
 viewed with particular dislike by the 
 people, on account of its inquisitorial in- 
 terference with various industrial pur- 
 suits ; and it certainly forms a very strong 
 ground of objection against excise duties, 
 that the security of the revenue is held 
 to be incompatible with the perfect free- 
 dom of the manufacturer as to the pro- 
 cesses which he may apply in his works. 
 In every highly-taxed country where 
 consumption duties form part of the pub- 
 lic revenue, it would seem however to be 
 hardly possible to avoid the adoption 
 of this class of duties. In France 
 there is, for example, a customs duty 
 upon foreign-made sugar ; and it is clearly 
 necessary for the protection of the reve- 
 nue that an excise duty should be im- 
 posed upon sugar produced at home from 
 beet-root, otherwise the producer of indi- 
 genous sugar would charge the consumer 
 nearly as much as he would pay to the 
 importer of foreign sugar, and would for 
 a time pocket the amount of the duty. 
 By such means a branch of industry 
 would be fostered, unprofitable to the 
 country at large, and profitable only to 
 the few persons by whom the indigenous 
 sugar is produced, but whose profits 
 would not long continue greater than the 
 usual profits upon the employment of 
 stock obtainable in the same country from 
 ither branches of industry. In this coun- 
 try sugar manufactured from beet-root or 
 potatoes is subjected to an excise duty. 
 For the same reason it would be unfair 
 to permit malt to be imported without im- 
 posing on it a duty corresponding in 
 amount to the excise duty." There are 
 consequently " countervailing duties" on 
 the importation of articles subject to ex- 
 cise duty ; and a drawback is allowed on 
 the exportation of domestic articles which 
 are subject to excise duty. 
 
 Excise duties are liable to this among 
 other very serious objections, that the 
 regulations under which they are col- 
 lected interfere with processes of ma- 
 nufacture, so as to prevent the adoption 
 of improvements. Upon the same pre- 
 mises, with the same capital, and the 
 
EXCISE DUTIES. 
 
 [ 873 J 
 
 EXCISE DUTIES. 
 
 same amount of labour, double the quan- 
 tity of cloths has been printed which could 
 have been printed previous to the repeal 
 of the duty and the consequent abolition 
 of the excise regulations. The abolition 
 of the excise duty on glass -was avowedly 
 made with the object of facilitating im- 
 provements in the manufacture. The 
 excise regulations respecting the manu- 
 facture of soap have prevented our soap 
 manufacturers from entering into compe- 
 tition with the manufacturers of other 
 countries. 
 
 Another great objection that may he 
 urged against excise duties is, the facili- 
 ties which they offer for the commission 
 of frauds against the revenue. In the 
 Seventeenth Report of the Commission- 
 ers appointed to inquire into the manage- 
 ment and collection of the excise revenue, 
 it is stated as a striking proof of the ex- 
 tent to which frauds are committed by 
 manufacturers of soap, that " there are in 
 England fifty that take out licenses, for 
 which they pay 42. per annum, each of 
 which makes, or rather brings to charge, 
 less than one ton of soap per annum, from 
 which it is obvious that as the profits of 
 such a sale would not pay for the licence, 
 the entry is made in order to cover smug- 
 gling." With regard to malt, another 
 article of great consumption which is sub- 
 ject to excise duties, the commissioners 
 state it to be their opinion, founded upon 
 the evidence given by several respectable 
 maltsters, " that malt is sold throughout 
 the season, and in large quantities, for a 
 price that is insufficient to pay the ex- 
 pense of making it and duty ; and that 
 the duty is evaded to a great amount." 
 
 In 1797 the number of articles subject 
 to excise duties was 28 ; 15 in 1833 ; 10 
 in 1835; and now, June, 1845, there are 
 only 9, including sugar. The Post-horse 
 duty is under the management of the 
 Board of Excise, and in Ireland the duty 
 on game certificates. In the following 
 list of the articles which paid Excise du- 
 ties in 1797, the first eight are still sub- 
 ject to these duties, and with sugar made 
 here constitute all the articles on which 
 the Excise duty is now collected : 
 
 Bricks. 
 
 Hops. 
 
 Licences. 
 
 Malt. 
 
 Paper. 
 
 Soap. 
 
 Spirits, British. 
 
 Vinegar. 
 
 Salt, repealed 1825. 
 
 Wi re. do. 1826. 
 
 Beer, do 1830. 
 
 Cyder and Perry, do. 1830. 
 
 Hides and Skins, do. 1830. 
 
 Printed Goods, do. 1831. 
 
 Candles, do. 1832. 
 
 Tiles, do. 1833. 
 
 Starch, do. 1834. 
 
 Stone Bottles, do. 1834. 
 
 Sweets and Mead, do. 1834. 
 
 Auctions, do. 1845. 
 
 Glass, do. 1845. 
 
 Tea, transferred to Customs. 
 
 Coaches, transferred to Stamps. 
 
 Cocoa and Coffee, transferred to Customs. 
 
 Pepper, do. 
 
 Spirits, Foreign, do. 
 
 Tobacco and Snuff, do. 
 
 Wine, do. 
 
 In 1822 the Excise duties yielded for 
 the United Kingdom twice as much as 
 the Customs duties. The receipts from 
 Customs were 14,384,7102. and from the 
 Excise 31,190,948?. In 1797 the Excise 
 duties collected in England amounted to 
 11,069,668/., and in 1821 they reached to 
 27,400,3002., which is the highest sum 
 they ever attained. In 1845 they are 
 again reduced to the amount at which 
 they stood in 1797. In 1829 the large 
 sum of 6,013,1592. was paid at the chief 
 office for the London " collection," and in 
 1835, only 1,462,9192.: the boundary of 
 the " collection," it may be as well to state, 
 does not comprise the whole of the metro- 
 polis. In 1825 several articles were 
 transferred to the Customs, and in the 
 same year the salt duty was repealed. 
 This example was followed in the case of 
 many other articles, so that between 
 1825 and 1834 the duties transferred to 
 the Customs amounted to 11,238,3002. 
 and the duties altogether repealed to 
 6,782,0002., making a total of 18,020,3002., 
 Two articles alone on which the duty 
 was taken off produced upwards of 
 5,000,0002. annually, namely, beer 
 3,100,0002. and printed cottons 2,104,0002. 
 
 In 1835 the number of traders in the 
 
EXCISE DUTIES. 
 
 [ 874 ] 
 
 EXCISE DUTIES. 
 
 United Kingdom who were surveyed peri- 
 odically by Excise officers was 588,000. 
 They were divided into five classes: 1. 
 Persons visited for the purpose of charg- 
 ing the "growing" duties, as maltsters, 
 soap-makers, &c. 2. Persons who paid 
 a licence according to the extent of their 
 business, as brewers and some others. 3. 
 Innkeepers and retailers of beer and 
 others, who dealt in articles upon which 
 an Excise duty was levied. 4. Persons 
 who were dealers in articles upon which 
 Customs duties had been paid. 5. Per- 
 sons who did not pay duties, but were sub- 
 ject to cautionary surveys ; tallow-melt- 
 ers, for example, as a check upon soap- 
 makers. The cost of these surveys in 
 England only amounted to 533,902?. In 
 a single year the number of surveys of 
 dealers in tea, wine, and tobacco has been 
 about fifteen millions ; 1,657,957 permits 
 were required before goods in certain 
 quantities could leave their premises ; and 
 778,988 books were supplied to these 
 dealers in which to keep an account of 
 their stock and sales. Since 1835 several 
 of the surveys have been abolished, and 
 it has generally been found that they 
 were of little or no value so far as the re- 
 venue was concerned, while they were a 
 
 Gross Receipt 
 
 Repayments, Allowances, Drawbacks, &c. 
 
 Charges of Collection 
 
 Rate per cent of Charges of Collection . 
 Paid into the Exchequer 
 
 Prior to 1823 there were separate and 
 independent Boards of Excise for Eng- 
 land, Scotland, and Ireland, and the total 
 number of Excise commissioners was 
 twenty-one. The business is now better 
 conducted by seven commissioners and 
 by one board in London. The chairman 
 has a salary of 2000/., thedeputy-chairman 
 1500/., and each of the other commis- 
 sioners 1 500/. a year. The commissioners 
 hold courts and decide summarily in caseof 
 the infraction of the Excise laws. The 
 number of persons employed at the chief 
 Excise-office in London is about five 
 hundred. In 1797 Mr. Pitt pointed at the 
 Excise establishment as a model for other 
 public departments on account of its cffi- 
 
 vexatious hinderance to business. These 
 and some other improvements in the 
 Excise department are in a great measure 
 the result of the Seventeen sound, able, 
 and elaborate Reports of the Commission- 
 ers of Excise Inquiry, appointed 27th of 
 March, 1833, and which embraced each 
 of the articles subject to Excise duties. 
 
 The gross receipt collected by the Ex- 
 cise on each article of duty in 1844 was 
 as follows : — 
 
 
 EnglnTHl. 
 
 Scotland. 
 
 Ireland. 
 
 Auctions . . . 
 
 ±'275,177 
 
 ±'20,025 
 
 ±13,427 
 
 
 435,336 
 
 11,379 
 
 
 
 785,869 
 
 54,714 
 
 6,575 
 
 
 245, 6G8 
 
 
 
 Licences. . . . 
 
 835,430 
 
 105,460 
 
 95,504 
 
 
 4,285,887 
 
 546,345 
 
 161,003 
 
 
 542,907 
 
 135,649 
 
 30,702 
 
 Post - Horse 
 
 
 
 
 
 146,195 
 
 16,966 
 
 
 Post- Horse 
 
 
 
 
 Licences.. 
 
 4,166 
 
 357 
 
 55 
 
 
 1,092,690 
 
 97,962 
 
 
 
 8,694,049 
 
 1,533,028 
 
 1,014,505 
 
 
 6,867 
 
 
 93 
 
 Viaegar . . . . 
 
 17,805 
 
 127 
 
 269 
 
 ■11,368,054 2,522,017 1,133,773* 
 
 The gross receipt, charges of manage- 
 ment, and the rate per cent, for w.hich the 
 gross revenue of Excise was collected in 
 1844 were as follows : — 
 
 Great Britain. 
 £ s. 
 
 d. 
 
 Ireland. 
 £ '■ 
 
 a. 
 
 13,905,022 
 
 773,468 
 
 809,038 
 
 5 16 
 
 12,160,111 
 
 
 
 
 
 *i 
 
 
 
 1,339,394 
 
 1,612 
 
 166,671 
 
 12 8 
 
 1,402,986 
 
 
 
 
 10J 
 
 
 ciency and good management. In 1797 
 the number of officers belonging to the 
 department in England was 4777, and 
 their salaries amounted to 323,671/. ; in 
 1815 the number of officers was 7986, 
 and their salaries 904,922/. ; and in 1835 
 there were 41 90 officers, and their salaries 
 amounted to 518,620/. 
 
 For the management of the business of 
 the Excise department the whole of the 
 United Kingdom is divided into Collec- 
 tions, and these are subdivided into Dis- 
 tricts, Rides, and Divisions. There are 
 fifty -five collections in England and 
 
 * This sum includos 11,575/. on account o 
 ami? certiQcates. 
 
EXCISE DUTIES. 
 
 [ 875 ] EXCOMMUNICATION. 
 
 Wales, exclusive of the London collec- 
 tion, and at the head of each is a collector, 
 who visits the principal towns in his cir- 
 cuit eight times a year to receive the 
 duties and transact other business con- 
 nected with the department; besides 
 which he is required to have an eye gene- 
 rally upon the discipline and efficiency of 
 the service. The number of officers in a 
 collection varies from forty to ninety. 
 The next subdivision of a collection is 
 the district, at the head of which is a 
 supervisor. Next come the subdivisions 
 of the districts into rides and divisions, 
 or foot-walks. Where the traders are 
 scattered, the officer is obliged to keep a 
 horse, and his circuit is called a ride ; but 
 if a larger number of traders reside in a 
 smaller circuit, they are visited by the 
 officer on foot, and then the subdivision 
 is termed a division or foot-walk. Before 
 going out each day, the officer leaves a 
 memorandum at his home which states 
 the places he intends to survey, and 
 the order in which he will visit them ; 
 and the exact time at which he com- 
 mences each must be entered in his 
 journal. The supervisor re-surveys some 
 of the officer's surveys, but which they 
 will be the officer is of course ignorant ; 
 and if errors are discovered, they must be 
 entered in the supervisor's diary. These 
 diaries are transmitted to the chief office 
 every two months, and no officer is pro- 
 moted unless the diaries show him to be 
 efficient. The periodical removal of offi- 
 cers from one part of the country to an- 
 other was Mr. Pitt's suggestion, and is 
 still acted upon : about 1100 officers 
 change their residence yearly. The Com- 
 missioners of Excise Inquiry doubt the 
 advantage of this system to the public 
 service ; and it is injurious to the officers 
 by interfering with the comfort of their 
 families and interrupting the education of 
 their children. At the chief office in 
 London there is a department of Survey- 
 ing-General Examiners, who are des- 
 patched to any district without previous 
 intimation, as a check upon the accuracy 
 and integrity of the supervisors. Promo- 
 tions take place in the Excise department 
 after a certain fixed period in each grade, 
 and only then when the officer petitions 
 for advancement. This involves a rigid 
 
 examination into his qualifications, which 
 is termed " taking out a character." To 
 take the case of a supervisor, for example 
 who petitions for promotion : the whole 
 of his books for one year and the books 
 of the officers under him for a quarter of 
 a year, are examined in the office of the 
 country examiners ; all the accounts are 
 re-cast, and errors in the books of the 
 subordinate officers are reckoned to the 
 supervisor's disadvantage. When this has 
 been done, a surveving-general examiner 
 carries the investigation further, and as- 
 certains whether the supervisor has, dis- 
 charged his duties judiciously or not; 
 amongst other things, whether he has 
 been longer employed on a duty than he 
 ought to have been if fully competent for 
 his office. The whole examination occu- 
 pies about two months ; and when the 
 final report is laid before the commis- 
 sioners the name of the officer is not 
 given. 
 
 - EXCOMMUNICATION is the high- 
 est ecclesiastical censure which can be 
 pronounced by a spiritual judge. The 
 person against whom it is pronounced is 
 for the time excluded from the com- 
 munion of the church. This punish- 
 ment, according to some opinions, had its 
 origin in the advice given by St. Paul 
 when reproving the early Christians for 
 scandalizing their profession by prosecut- 
 ing law-suits against each other before 
 heathen judges ; and the apostle accord- 
 ingly recommended them to leave all 
 matters in dispute between them to the 
 decision of the Ecclesia, or the congrega- 
 tion of the faithful. 
 
 The bishop and his clergy, and after- 
 wards the bishop alone, became sole 
 judge in these disputes ; but possessing 
 no coercive powers to enforce their de- 
 crees, tliey were obliged to adopt the only 
 means of which they could avail them- 
 selves, to bring the refractory to sub- 
 mission, namely, by excluding them from 
 the rites of the Church, and warning 
 other Christians from their company and 
 presence. A Christian thus shut out 
 from the fellowship of his own brethren 
 could not do otherwise than submit. 
 
 This censure, although instituted by 
 the primitive church as the means of pre- 
 serving its purity, and of enforcing obe- 
 
EXCOMMUNICATION. f '876 ] EXCOMMUNICATION. 
 
 dience to its laws, was afterwards used 
 for the extensive promotion of ecclesias- 
 tical power, and was converted into a 
 means of oppression in those countries 
 which were most subject to ecclesiastical 
 power. (Robertson's History of ( harles 
 V., vol. ii. p. 109.) 
 
 In England excommunication became 
 at an early period the means of punish- 
 ment under the authority of the bishops, 
 and others who had ecclesiastical juris- 
 diction. It was divided into the greater 
 and the less excommunication. The lat- 
 ter only removed the person from a par- 
 ticipation in the sacraments, and is what 
 was most commonly meant by the term 
 excommunication ; the other was called 
 anathema, and not only removed the 
 party from the sacraments, but from the 
 Church and all communication with the 
 faithful, and even deprived him of Chris- 
 tian burial. Subjects were absolved from 
 their allegiance to an excommunicated 
 prince. Gregory V. was the first pre- 
 late who ventured to excommunicate a 
 reigning prince in the case of Robert, 
 King of France, in 998. John and Heury 
 VIII. are well-known instances in Eng- 
 lish history. 
 
 The following offenders were punished 
 with the greater excommunication: di- 
 viners, heretics, their receivers and com- 
 forters ; simoniacs ; violators and plun- 
 derers of churches ; those who spoiled 
 clerks going to Rome ; the plunderers of 
 the property of a bishop which ought to 
 go to his successor ; those who gave aid, 
 favour, or counsel to excommunicated 
 persons ; those who laid violent hands on 
 clerks or religious persons, or commanded 
 others to do so. 
 
 Those punished with the less excom- 
 munication were persons committing any 
 mortal sin, as sacrilegious persons ; those 
 who received a Church from lay hands ; 
 t-jtorious offenders; those who talked 
 with, saluted, or sat at the same table 
 with, or gave anything in charity to per- 
 sons excommunicated by the greater ex- 
 communication, unless they were fami- 
 liars or domestics. 
 
 Excommunication was also pronounced 
 for other matters which belong to eccle- 
 siastical jurisdiction, such as adultery 
 and fornication, or for contempt of any 
 
 ecclesiastical order or sentence. A sen- 
 tence of excommunication was preceded 
 by three monitions at due intervals, or 
 one peremptory, containing the legal 
 space of time, with a proper regard to the 
 quality of the person and the nature of 
 the offence. But, as Blackstone in his 
 usual manner remarks, "heavy as the 
 penalty of excommunication is, considered 
 in a serious light, there are, notwithstand- 
 ing, many obstinate or profligate men, 
 who would despise the brvtum fvlmen of 
 mfo ecclesiastical censures, especially 
 when pronounced by a petty surro- 
 gate in the country, for railing or con- 
 tumelious words, for non-payment of fees 
 or costs, or other trivial causes. The 
 common law therefore compassionately 
 steps in to the aid of the ecclesiastical ju- 
 risdiction, and kindly lends a supporting 
 hand to an otherwise tottering authority." 
 This was effected by the writ " de excom- 
 municato capiendo," or for seizing the 
 excommunicate. But before the writ for 
 taking the excommunicated person could 
 be granted, the contumacy and contempt 
 of the party were to be certified by the 
 bishop to the court of Chancery by letters 
 under his seal ; and by 5 Eliz. c. 23, the 
 writ was made returnable into the King's 
 Bench. By the statute just cited the 
 cause of excommunication was to be 
 stated in the writ, in order that the court 
 might judge as to the justice of the case. 
 The sentence of excommunication might 
 be revoked by the judge who passed the 
 sentence, or upon appeal the party might 
 be absolved. Absolution generally be- 
 longed to the same person who passed 
 the sentence, unless in some particular 
 cases, which were referred to the pope or 
 a bishop. (Reeves's Hist, of English Law ; 
 Sullivan's Lectures.) 
 
 By a sentence of excommunication, 
 both greater and less, the excommunicated 
 were excluded from the right of Chris- 
 tian burial, from bringing or maintaining 
 actions, from becoming attorneys or jury- 
 men, and were rendered incapable of 
 becoming witnesses in any cause. But 
 since the 53 Geo. III. c. 127 (54 Geo. 
 III. c 68, for Ireland), excommunication 
 cannot now be pronounced in England or 
 Ireland, except in certain cases (as spi- 
 ritual censures for offences of ecclesias- 
 
EXECUTION. 
 
 t 877 j 
 
 EXECUTION. 
 
 tical cognizance) ; and by the 3rd section 
 or that statute " no person who shall be 
 pronounced or declared excommunicate 
 (pursuant to the second clause of this 
 statute) shall incur any cjlvil penalty or 
 incapacity, in consequence of such ex- 
 communication, save such imprisonment, 
 not exceeding six months, as the court 
 pronouncing or declaring such person 
 excommunicate shall direct." The pro- 
 ceedings in those cases, in which excom- 
 munication may still be pronounced, are 
 the same, as to the; issuing and return of 
 the writ, as they were before the act of 
 53 George III. By the same act (53 
 George III. c. 127), in all cases cogniza- 
 ble by the laws of England in ecclesias- 
 tical courts, when any person shall refuse 
 to appear when cited by such court, or 
 shall refuse to obey the lawful order or 
 decree of such court, no sentence of ex- 
 communication, except in the cases 
 above alluded to, shall be pronounced; 
 but a writ " de contumace capiendo" shall 
 issue, which m effect is the same as the 
 old writ " de excommunicato capiendo " 
 was. 
 
 EXECUTION is the effect given to 
 the judgments and other proceedings 
 analogous to judgments of courts of law 
 in civil suits. This term denotes the 
 process by which a party is put into the 
 possession of that to which the judgment 
 of a competent court declares him to be 
 entitled. 
 
 As a judgment of a court of common 
 law ascertains that the party is entitled 
 to the possession of some object of a real 
 or personal nature; or to recover dam- 
 ages in respect of property withheld or 
 injuries done, so the execution founded 
 upon such judgment will be framed with 
 a view to putting the party in whose 
 favour the judgment is given either in 
 the possession of the thing in dispute, or 
 to enable him to obtain pecuniary com- 
 pensation. 
 
 For this purpose a written command 
 issues in the name of the king or other 
 lord of the court, to an officer of the 
 court. When the judgment is in one of 
 the king's superior courts at Westminster, 
 the officer of the court for this purpose is 
 the sheriff of the county in which the 
 property is situated, or, in the case of 
 
 pecuniary compensation, the sheriff of 
 the county in which the party from whom 
 such compensation is due is supposed to 
 reside ; which, until the contrary is 
 shown, is taken to be the county in which 
 the litigation was carried on. 
 
 When lands or other corporeal here- 
 ditaments are recovered, the process of 
 execution varies according to the nature 
 of the interest recovered. If a right to a 
 freehold interest has been established, the 
 writ commands the sheriff to give the re- 
 coverer seisin of the lands, &c, and is 
 called Habere facias seisinam. If a 
 chattel interest in land is recovered, the 
 writ does not affect to authorize the 
 sheriff to intermeddle with the freehold, 
 and directs that officer merely to give 
 possession of the land, &c. This is called 
 Habere facias possessionem. 
 
 A judgment in the action of Detinue 
 establishes the right of the recoverer to 
 the possession of a specific personal chattel, 
 and the writ of execution called a Dis- 
 tringas ad deliberandum issues, which re- 
 quires the sheriff to coerce the defendant 
 by his distringas (distress) to restore the 
 specific chattel or its value. 
 
 A judgment for the defendant in 
 Replevin establishes his right to the pos- 
 session of the personal chattel which 
 formed the subject of the litigation. In 
 the ordinary case of an action of replevin 
 after a distress, the right of the defend- 
 ant in respect of the chattel distrained is 
 merely to hold it as a security for the 
 payment of the debt or duty, the pay- 
 ment or performance of which is sought 
 to be enforced by the coercion of a dis- 
 tress. The writ of execution requires 
 the sheriff to cause the chattel to be re- 
 stored to the possession of the defendant. 
 This is called a writ De retomo habendo, 
 and in case the sheriff is unable to find 
 the chattel, further process issues com- 
 manding him to take other chattels of the 
 plaintiff as a substitute for that which is 
 withheld, by a writ called a Capias in 
 withernam. 
 
 The most ordinary cases of execution 
 are those in which pecuniary compensa- 
 tion is to be obtained, but in these casts 
 the sheriff is not authorized directly to 
 take money from the party by whom it is 
 to be paid. Formerly the only, mode of 
 
EXECUTOR. 
 
 t 878 ] 
 
 EXECUTOR. 
 
 obtaining this compensation was by pro- 
 cess of distringas or distress. And this 
 is still the case in inferior courts ; but in 
 the superior courts execution of judg- 
 ments or other records which establish 
 pecuniary claims, may be had by a writ 
 of Fieri facias, which affects the personal 
 property ; by writ of Elegit, which affects 
 both real and personal property ; and by 
 Capias ad satisfaciendum, by which com- 
 pliance with the pecuniary demand is en- 
 forced by detention of the person of the 
 defaulter in prison until the claim be 
 satisfied, or the adverse party consents to 
 his discharge. 
 
 A subject is not entitled to pursue all 
 these remedies at once ; but in the case of 
 the crown, the right to obtain satisfaction 
 from the goods, lands, and person of its 
 debtor may be enforced simultaneously, 
 by writ of Capias, and Extendi facias, or 
 Extent. 
 
 Execution is also the term applied to 
 denote the giving effect to the sentence 
 of a court of criminal jurisdiction. In 
 this sense it is most commonly used with 
 reference to the execution of sentence of 
 death. [Sheriff.] 
 
 EXECUTOK. An executor is he to 
 whom another man commits by will the 
 execution of his last will and testament 
 The origin of executors seems to be 
 traceable to a constitution of Manuel 
 Comnenus (?repl StotKrjTay ruy Stadijieav). 
 All persons who are capable of making a 
 will, and some others besides, as married 
 women and infants, are capable of being 
 made executors ; but infants are by statute 
 rendered incapable of acting in the exe- 
 cution of the will until they attain the 
 age of twenty-one. 
 
 An executor can derive his office from 
 a testament alone, though it is not neces- 
 sary that he should be appointed by any 
 particular words. If no executor is ap- 
 pointed by the will, administration is 
 granted by the ordinary, with the will 
 annexed, in which case the administrator 
 is bound to obey the directions of the 
 will. An executor may decline to act ; 
 but having once acted, he cannot divest 
 himself of the office or its liabilities ; nor 
 can an administrator who has accepted 
 the office get rid of his responsibility. 
 
 The first business of an executor is to 
 
 prove the will, as it is termed, which is 
 done before the proper ecclesiastical 
 court, which furnishes him with a Pro- 
 bate, or approved copy of the will, which 
 is his authority for acting. The original 
 will is deposited in the registry of the 
 court. An executor may do many acts 
 in execution of the will before probate, 
 as paying and receiving debts, &c, but 
 he cannot, before probate, sustain actions 
 or suits. An administrator can do no- 
 thing till the letters of administration are 
 issued ; for he owes his appointment to 
 the ordinary. If an executor die before 
 probate, administration must be taken 
 out to his testator, with the will annexed ; 
 but if an executor, having proved the 
 will, die, his executor will be the execu- 
 tor and representative of the first testator, 
 unless, before proving the will of the 
 second testator, he expressly renounces 
 the execution of the will of the first. If 
 the executor dies intestate, his adminis- 
 trator is not the representative of the 
 testator, but an administrator de bonis nan, 
 as it is termed, of the testator must be 
 appointed by the ordinary. If there are 
 several executors, the office survives, and 
 is transmitted ultimately to the executor 
 of the surviving executor, unless he dies 
 intestate. Executors have a joint . and 
 entire interest in the effects of their testa- 
 tor ; any one of them is capable of acting 
 by himself; and the receipt of a debt, or 
 the transfer of property by one, is as 
 valid as if it had been done by all. 
 
 If a stranger takes upon himself to act 
 as executor without any authority, he is 
 called an executor de son tort (of his own 
 wrong), and is liable to all the trouble of 
 an executor without any of the advan- 
 tages attached to the office. He is charge- 
 able with the debts of the deceased, so far 
 as assets come to his hands ; and is liable 
 not only to an action by the rightful ex- 
 ecutor or administrator, but also to bs 
 sued as executor of the deceased by the 
 creditors and legatees. The only advan- 
 tage which an executor derives from his 
 office is the right to retain any debt due 
 to him from the testator, as against cre- 
 ditors of equal degree, and this privilege 
 is allowed him, because he cannot take 
 any legal steps to recover payment 
 
 The duties of executors and adminis- 
 
EXECUTOR. 
 
 [ 879 ] EXON DOMESDAY. 
 
 trators are in general the same. Their 
 tones are to bury the deceased, to prove 
 his will (which of course only an exe- 
 cutor has to do), to get in his goods and 
 chattels, to pay his debts in the order ap- 
 pointed by law, and also his legacies, if 
 he has bequeathed any, and to dispose of 
 the residue of his goods and chattels in the 
 manner by the will directed, or accord- 
 ing to the statutes for the distribution of 
 the effects of intestates, if there should be 
 a total or partial intestacy. Executors 
 and administrators are liable to an action 
 at law, and also to a suit in equity, for 
 the payment of the debts and liabilities of 
 their testator or intestate ; and to a suit 
 in. equity and the Ecclesiastical Court for 
 the legacies bequeathed by him, and the 
 due administration of his estate : but no 
 action at law lies for, a legacy, at least not 
 until after the executor has assented to it, 
 as it is called, that is, has acknowledged 
 the sufficiency of the assets after pro- 
 viding for the payment of the debts. 
 
 The Ecclesiastical Courts are the only 
 courts in which, except by special pre- 
 scription, the validity .of wills of person- 
 alty can be established or disputed. If 
 all the goods of the, deceased lie in the 
 diocese or jurisdiction within which he 
 died, the will is proved before the bi- 
 shop or ordinary of that diocese or juris- 
 diction; but if he had bona notabilia 
 (that is, goods and chattels to the amount 
 of 51.) within some other diocese or ju- 
 risdiction than that in which he died, then 
 the will must be proved before the arch- 
 bishop or metropolitan of the province by 
 special prerogative ; and if there be bona 
 nolabilia in different provinces, there 
 must be two prerogative probates. A 
 will should be proved within six months 
 after the death of the. testator, or within 
 two months after the termination of any 
 dispute respecting the probate. (55 Geo. 
 III. c. 184, § 57.) 
 
 Executors and administrators are 
 treated by the courts of equity as trustees 
 for the creditors, legatees, and next of 
 kin of their testators or intestates. They 
 are bound to administer the assets accord- 
 ing to their due order of priority, and to 
 pay the debts of the deceased in like 
 manner; and though the ecclesiastical 
 courts will entertain suits for the pay- 
 
 ment of debts or legacies and the due ad- 
 ministration of the assets, yet, where 
 there is any trust to be executed, or any 
 charge on the real estate to be established, 
 a court of equity will interfere by inr 
 junction or prohibition ; for the consti- 
 tution of the ecclesiastical courts is not 
 adapted to the administration of trusts, 
 and over real estate they have no juris- 
 diction. The probate is exclusive evi- 
 dence of a will of personalty ; but courts 
 of equity assume the jurisdiction of con- 
 struing the will in order to enforce the 
 performance of the trusts by the execu- 
 tor: hence they are sometimes styled 
 courts of construction, in contradistinction 
 to the ecclesiastical courts, which, al- 
 though they also are courts of construe 
 tion, are the only courts of probate. 
 Formerly, the personal estates only of 
 persons deceased were liable for the pay- 
 ment of their simple contract debts ; but 
 now, since the statute 3 & 4 Wm. IV. c. 
 104, real estates are liable for the pay- 
 ment of debts of that nature ; and it may 
 be broadly stated that all the real and 
 personal estates of the deceased are assets 
 for the payment of his debts. The per- 
 sonal estate is liable in the first instance, 
 unless the testator direct otherwise. Es- 
 tates descended are applied before estates 
 devised ; and in other respects the estates 
 of the deceased are administered in the 
 order laid down by the courts. 
 
 The debts are payable in a certain or- 
 der, which is fixed by law, and the ex- 
 ecutor should observe it. If he finds any 
 difficulty in this matter, he ought to take 
 the best legal advice that he can get. 
 
 The next duty of an executor or admi- 
 nistrator is to pay the legacies, and to 
 distribute the personal estate of the de- 
 ceased pursuant to his will ; and if there 
 is no will, to dispose of it pursuant to the 
 Statute of Distributions. [Administra- 
 tion, p. 24.] In this part of his duty 
 also, if he find difficulties, the safe and 
 proper course is to take legal advice. 
 
 Full information upon these subjects 
 will be found in the works of Williams 
 and Toller 'On Executors,' and Went 
 worth ' On Administrators.' 
 
 EXEMPLIFICATION. [Evi- 
 dence.] 
 EXETER,or EXON DOMESDAY, tbe 
 
EXON DOMESDAY. [ 880 J EXON DOMESDAY. 
 
 name given to a record preserved among 
 the muniments and charters belonging to 
 the dean and chapter of Exeter cathedral, 
 which contains a description of the west- 
 em parts of the kingdom, comprising the 
 counties of Wilts, Dorset, Somerset, De- 
 von, and Cornwall. It is supposed, as far 
 as it extends, to contain an exact transcript 
 of the original rolls or returns mad e by the 
 Conqueror's commissioners at the time of ' 
 forming the General Survey, from which 
 the great Domesday itself was compiled. 
 It is written on vellum in the form of a 
 book of the small folio size, containing 
 532 double pages. The skins or sheets of 
 vellum of which it is composed vary in 
 the number of leaves which they comprise 
 from one to twenty ; the lands of each 
 of the more considerable tenants begin 
 a new sheet, and those of almost every 
 tenant a new page. The lands in the 
 counties of Devon, Somerset, and Corn- 
 wall belonging to one tenant, are classed 
 together, and the counties follow each 
 other, though not always in the same 
 order ; and, in like manner, the sum- 
 maries of property in Wilts and Dorset 
 are classed together. 
 
 Upon collating the returns of lands 
 which form the great body of the Exeter 
 Survey with the Exchequer Domesday, 
 they have been found, with a few trifling 
 variations, to coincide ; one entry of pro- 
 perty alone is discoverable in the 
 Exeter which is omitted in the Exche- 
 quer Domesday, relating to Sotrebroc in 
 Devonshire. The Exeter manuscript, 
 however, is not complete in its contents. 
 There are considerable omissions of lands 
 in Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, and Devon- 
 shire ; but these have evidently been cut 
 out and lost. In Cornwall every manor 
 mentioned in the Exchequer occurs in 
 the Exeter Domesday. One leaf of this 
 record was accidentally discovered in pri- 
 vate possession within these few years, 
 and has been restored to the manuscript. 
 In the writing of the names of places and 
 persons there is a remarkable difference 
 between the two records. 
 
 The most striking feature of the Exeter 
 Domesday, in which it uniformly sup- 
 plies us with additional knowledge to that 
 in the Exchequer Survey, is the enume- 
 ration of Jive stock upon every estate; 
 
 there is an account of the number of oxen, 
 sheep, goats, horses, and pigs, exactly it 
 the same manner as it is given in the se- 
 cond volume of the Great Domesday. 
 The reason for omitting this enumeration 
 in the breviated entries of the first volume 
 of the Great Survey is self-evident. The 
 live stock was altering every day and 
 year; the enumeration of it therefore 
 could be of no further use than for the 
 exact time when the survey was made. 
 A comparison of this part of the Exeter 
 with the second volume of the Great Sur- 
 vey tends greatly to corroborate the notion 
 that the returns of the counties of Essex, 
 Norfolk, and Suffolk were transcribed 
 in full from the original rotuli, in the 
 same manner as the Exeter Domesday. 
 The difference between the two surveys 
 as to expression, when they agree in 
 sense, is likewise remarkable ; as for in- 
 stance, 
 
 Exeter Domesday. 
 
 Agra 
 
 ad combustionem 
 
 gablatores 
 
 sacerdotes 
 
 reddidit Gildum 
 
 leuga 
 
 mansio 
 
 ad soldarios 
 
 molinus 
 
 denarii 
 
 pariter 
 
 portatores 
 
 pascura 
 
 poterat sibi eligere 
 dominum secun- 
 dum voluntatem 
 suam cum terra 
 sua (fol. 383). 
 
 quadragenaria 
 
 nemuseulum 
 
 Die qua rex Edwar- 
 dus fuit vivus et 
 mortuus 
 
 tagnus 
 
 possunt arare viii. 
 carr. 
 
 Dominicatus Regis 
 (and in one in- 
 stance - ), dnminica- 
 tus Regis ad re£- 
 niini pertinens 
 
 Exchequer Domesday, 
 Acra . 
 ad arsuram . 
 oensores-v . 
 clerici W . • 
 geldabat . 
 leuca . 
 manerium . 
 ad opus militum . 
 molendinum 
 nummi 
 in paragio ■ 
 portarii 
 pastura 
 poterat ire quo vo- 
 
 lebat (torn. i. fol. 
 
 97 J.) . 
 
 quareutena . 
 sylva . 
 
 T. E. E. (tempore 
 regis Edwardi) 
 
 tainus 
 
 Terra est viii. car. 
 
 Terra Regis. 
 
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