Offences against the Common Law, not prohibited by any Statute: The other called the County Court, wherein he hears and determines Civil Caufes of the County under Forty Shillings, which anciently was a confiderable Sum; fo that by the great Fall of Monies now, the Sheriffs Authority in that part is much diminished.

No Suit be ins, and no Process is ferved, but by him; no Execution of the Law but by him. Laftly, He is the chief Confervator of the Peace in the whole County.

Bailis.] Every County being fubdivided into Hundreds (fo called at firft, either for containing an hundred Houfes, or an hundred Men bound to find Arms) or Wapentakes, fo called from touching a Weapon when they fwore Allegiance, as the manner at this day is in Sweden, at their folemn Weddings, for the chief Witneffes to lay all their Hands upon a Launcé or Pike: Every fuch Wapentake or Hundred hath commonly a Bailiff, a very ancient Officer, but now of fmall Authority.

Bigh-Conftable] Alfo Officers call'd High-Conftables, Cuftodes Pacis, first ordained by the Statute of Winchester, 13 Ed I. for the Confervation of Peace, and View of Armour; they difperfe Warrants, and Orders of the Juftices of the Peace, to each petty Conftable.

Contrs.] There are alfo in every County two Officers called Coroners, whofe Office is to enquire by a Jury of Neighbours, how, and by whom any Perfon came by a violent Death, and to enter the fame upon Record, which is Matter Criminal,. and a Plea of the Crown, and thence they are called Crowners

or Coroners.

Thefe are chofen by the Free-holders of the County, by virtue of a Writ out of the Chancery. They were anciently Men of Eftates, Birth, and Honour; and therefore in the Reign of Edward III. a Merchant being chofen a Coroner was removed quia communis Mercator fuit, whereas he ought to have been a Gentleman, and no Tradefman.

Clerk of the Market.] Every County alfo hath an Officer called Clerk of the Market, whofe Office is to keep a Standard of all Weights and Meafures exactly agreeing with the King's Standard kept in the Exchequer, and to fee that none other be ufed in the fame County; to feal all Weights and Measures made exactly by the Standard in his Cuftody, and to burn fuch as are otherwife. He hath a Court, and may keep and hold a Plea therein.

of

Of the Civil Government of Cities, Boroughs, or Towns Corporate, and Villages.

[Bayoz and Aldermen.]

'Very City of England, by their Charters or Priviledges, granted by feverai Kings, is a little Commonwealth a-part, govern'd not as the Cities of France and Spain, by a Nobleman or Gentleman placed there by the King, but wholly by themfelves. They chufe among themselves their own Governour. In Cities a Mayor is chofen commonly out of Twelve Aldermen. In fome other Corporations a Bailiff is chofen out of a certain number of Burgeffes.

Citizens are not taxed but by the Officers of their own Corporation, every Trade having fome of their own always of the Council, to fee that nothing be enacted contrary to their Profit.

Every City by Charter from the King, hath haute, moyenne, &baffe Justice, a Jurifdiction among themfelves, to judge in all Matters Criminal and Civil, only with this Restraint, That all Civil Causes may be remov'd from their Courts to the higher Courts at Westminster.

The Mayor of the City is the King's Lieutenant, and with the Aldermen and Common-Council (as it were, King, Lords, and Commons in Parliament) can make Laws, call'd By-Laws, for the Government of the City.

He is for his time (which is but for one Year) as it were a Judge, to determine Matters, and to mitigate the Rigour of the Law.

Boroughs. The Government of Boroughs (that is to fay, fuch of them as are Incorporated, for many of them are not) is much after the fame manner. In fome there is a Mayor, in others one or two Bailiffs; in others, the chief Magiftrate goes by other Names, as Aldermen, Portreve, &c. who have equal Power with a Mayor and Sheriffs; and during their Offices, they are Juftices of the Peace within their Liberties, and have there the fame Power that other Justices of the Peace have in the County.

Thofe Towns that fend Burgeffes to Parliament are what they ftrictly call Boroughs, without any regard to their Incorporation, which is not effential to them; and also, that there are feveral Corporations which are not Boroughs, fuch as Kingston in Surrey, Southwold in Suffolk, Deal in Kent, and others.

illages.] For the better Government of Villages, the Lord of the Soil hath ordinarily Power to hold a Court Baron, so called, because anciently fuch Lords were called Barons, as

14

they

they still are in Scotland; or else Court Baron (i. e.) Court of Freeholders; as the Barons of Germany, are call'd Freyherren; fo the Barons of the Cinque-Ports in England are but the Freeholders of the Cinque-Ports. And this Court may be held every three Weeks.

Petty-Conftables.] Alfo for the Government of Towns and Parishes, there is another very useful Officer, call'd a Petty-Confable. This Officer is to keep the Peace in cafe of Quarrels ; to fearch any Houfe for Robbers, Murderers, or others that have any ways broken the Peace, to raise the Hue and Cry after Robbers fled away, to feize upon them, and keep them in the Stocks, or other Prifon, till they can bring them before fome Juftice of the Peace, to whom the Conftables are fubfervient upon all Occafions, either to bring Criminals before them, or to carry them by their Command to the common Prison.

Every little Village hath almoft an Epitome of Monarchical Government, of Civil and Ecclefiaftical Polity within it felf; which if duly maintained, would render us a very Happy People.

CHAP. XVI.

Of the Military Government of England.

F the Military Power of England, both by Land and Sea, the King hath the fole Supreme Power, Government, Command, and Difpofition; And neither one nor both Houses of Parliament have any Right to levy any Forces, or make any War Offenfive or Defenfive, as they have at large declar'd in Parliament Anno 14 Car. II. but by the fame Act the King is oblig'd to repay a Months Pay formerly advanc'd, before he can raise the Militia; for which reason it has ever fince been rais'd by Act of Parliament.

Befides his Majefty's Guards aforemention'd of Horse, there are two Regiments of Foot-Guards, the first confifting of Twenty eight Companies, of Seventy private Soldiers in each Company; the fecond, called the Cold-ftream Regiment, confifting of Eighteen Companies, of Seventy private Men in each Company.

The first General Officer is the Pay-Mafter-General of all the Land-Forces, who is alfo Surveyor of the Guards.

An Auditor of the Mufter-Rolls.

A Clerk of the Books, who have feveral Clerks under them. The next is the Commiffary-General, who has under him a Deputy commiffion'd by the King.

There

There are Eight Deputy-Commiffaries, who have their Commiffions from the Commiffary-General; and the feveral Counties in England and Wales are divided into Eight Circuits, and each Commiffary is to take care to mufter all fuch Forces as at any time comes into his Circuit: Immediately after each Mufter is taken, the faid Deputy-Commiffaries make a Return of all their Rolls upon Oath to the Deputy-Commissary General, who keeps one Roll of each Troop and Company as a Record in his Office; and another Roll is deliver'd to the Pay-Mafter General upon Oath, and fign'd by the Commiffary who musters them; and fign'd alfo by two Commiffion-Officers of each Troop or Company, and the Mayor or Chief Magiftrate where each Troop or Company quarters.

These have their diftin&t Circuits in the Country, for muftering the Forces which lie in feveral Garrifons.

The next is the Secretary of War, who has two chief Clerks; the last of which is Meffenger to the Secretary. The next is the Judge Advocate.

The Chirurgeon-General of all his Majefty's Forces.

Of the Standing Militia, or Train'd-Bands.

Efides the fore-mention'd Forces, there is a Standing Militia by Land of all England, fettled in the King, to be Govern'd, and Order'd, and Enlarg'd from time to time as his Majefty fhall fee occafion. They are at prefent computed to be near 20000o Horfe and Foot.

For the Management of thefe ftanding Land Forces, the King himself makes choice of divers of the principal Peers, and by Commiffion creates them Lord Lieutenants of the feveral Counties of England; with Power to Arm, Array, and Form into Companies, Troops, and. Regiments, to conduct and employ (upon occafion of Rebellion or Invafion) the Men fo arm'd within the Counties and Places for which the faid Lords are commiffionated, or in any other County, as the King fhall give order, to give Commiffions to Colonels, or other Commiffionated Officers, to prefent to the King the Names of the Deputy-Lieutenants, who have, in the Absence of the Lord Lieutenant, the fame Power (and these are to be of the prime Gentry of the County); to charge any Person in the County with Horfe, Horfe-men, and Arms, or Foot-Soldiers and Arms, within the faid County, proportionably to their Eftates, on condition, That no Perfon be charg'd with a Horse, unless he hath 500 Pounds Yearly Revenue, or 6000 Pounds Perfonal Eftate; nor with a Foot-Soldier, unless he hath 50 Pound Yearly Revenue, or 600 Pound Perfonal Eftate;

thofe

.

those that have meaner Eftates are to join Two or Three together to find a Horfe and Horse-man, or a Foot-Soldier.

The fore-mention'd Horfe and Foot are to muster once or twice a Year, and each Horfe-man, during the time of the Mufter, to be allow'd him, from whom he ferves, 25. a Day, and each Foot-Soldier 12 d. a Day.

For furnishing Ammunition, and other Neceffaries, the Lord Lieutenant or Deputy Lieutenant may levy every Year one fourth part (if they judge it expedient) of each Man's Proportion in the Tax of 70000 l. a Month, upon the whole Kingdom; and in cafe of marching against an Enemy, they have Power to cause every Man fo charged, to allow each Soldier one Month's Pay, which the King is after to repay, before they may be charged with another Month's Pay.

These are to be commanded only within the Kingdom for the Security of the King and Kingdom.

Subfervient in the Standing Militia to the Lord Lieutenant and Deputy Lieutenant, are the Juftices of the Peace of every County, who upon all occafions, according to the Orders of their Superiors, are to fend their Warrants to the High-Conftable of the Hundred, or Petty Conftable of the Parish, &c.

Beacons.] For the better fecuring of the Kingdom from Foreign Invafion, befides the Ships of War (whereof more anon) there were upon certain eminent Places of all Parts of England, high Poles erected, whereon were faftned Pitch-Barrels to be fired by Night, and a Smoak made by Day, thereby to give notice in a few Hours to the whole Kingdom of the approaching Invafions. These are call'd Beacons, from the Saxon Word Beacen, or Beacnian, to fhew by a Sign.

Of the prefent Maritime Power belonging to the Crown of Great-Britain.

HE Kingdom of Great-Britain being on all- fides furrounded by the Sea, there will always be a Neceffity of Maritime Forces; and as Neighbours grow potent at Sea, the Kings of this Nation will be neceffitated to augment their Maritime Forces proportionably.

To the Crown of Great-Britain belongs the Dominion of all the Narrow Seas round about the whole Island of Great-Britain, and by ancient Right thereof it hath had Poffeffion in all Times. First, the Aborigines, or Ancient Britains, were poffeft thereof, (as Mr. Selden makes appear) and in their Right the Romans held it: Then the Saxons having gotten Poffeffion of England, kept that Dominion; their King Edgar, amongst his Royal Titles, call'd himfelf Sovereign of the Narrow Seas.

After