moval or disfranchisement of all other officers or members of the corporation. The common clerk, who is also, ex officio, coroner, and clerk of the peace, is chosen by the major part of the mayor, recorder, aldermen, brothers, and capital burgeffes, the mayor or recorder being one, and continues in office during the pleasure of the majority of his electors. The aldermen, brethren, and capital burgeffes, must be constantly refident in the borough. The mayor, aldermen, brethren, capital burgeffes, recorder, and common clerk, all take an oath of office: the mayor (either on the day of election, or, if abfent, within one month after the election), before his predeceffor, or, in his abfence, before the recorder, or one of them, takes an oath; the aldermen, brethren, and capital burgeffes, and the recorder, all take their oaths before the mayor for the time being; and the common clerk takes his oath before the mayor and recorder, or either of them, and as many of the aldermen, brethren, and capital burgeffes, as choose to be prefent. The recorder and common clerk cannot enter on their offices, until approved by the king. The mayor and recorder have power to appoint deputies; the mayor's deputy to be named from among the aldermen ; and the recorder's deputy to be skilful in the laws of Eng

land.

land: these deputies muft likewise take an oath before the mayor. The aldermen, brethren, and capital burgeffes, form the common council; and the majority of them, together with the mayor, have power to make bye-laws, impofe fines, &c. The mayor, the bishop of Litchfield and Coventry, bis chancellor, the recorder and town clerk, the mayor of the year preceding, and the four fenior aldermen, are the local juftices of the peace, but removable at the king's pleasure.

RIGHT OF ELECTION. The members are chosen by the corporation, freemen, and fworn burgeffes, by charter 14 Charles I.

NUMBER OF VOTERS-655.

RETURNING OFFICER-is the mayor.

PATRON-Duke of Devonshire.

DEVON

DEVONSHIRE.

ANCIENT STATE.

THIS county is the eastern part of the coun

try; which, while under the Roman government, was called Danmonii, or Denmonii, the name being differently written by different authors. During the heptarchy, Devonshire was under the Weft Saxons, from whom it received the name of Deuonfcyre. Moft of the towns and villages being in low fituations, feem to have been the caufe of its being fo named; for the Britons calling deep vallies deunan and deuffnaynt, the word appears to be compounded of both the British and Saxon languages.

The inhabitants of this county had always a good character; for, according to Diodorus, the Danmonii were as civil and courteous as they were ftout and courageous: this feems to be true, from their not being entirely fubdued by the Saxons until A. D. 465. At this time they maintain their ancient character; the meaneft fort are fo strong and robuft as to be able to endure all forts

of

of labour and hardship both by land and fea. The manufacturers are diligent, ingenious, and industrious. The gentry, like those of Cornwall, are hospitable at home, and splendid abroad; and fo well are their children educated, that this county has the diftinguished honour of having produced many characters eminent for their genius and learning. Among thefe may be reckoned, Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the famous Bodleian Library at Oxford; Sir W. Petrie, secretary of state to Henry VIII. Edward VI. Mary, and Elizabeth; Peter King, baron of Oakham, and lord high chancellor, in the 18th century; Richard Hooker, celebrated author of The Laws of Ecclefiaftical Polity; Jewel, bishop of Salisbury; Harding, profeffor at Louvain; the poet Gay; Aaron Hill, the dramatic poet; Hinton, chancellor of Lincoln; Dr. Mufgrave, &c.

Devonshire is divided into 33 hundreds, and contains one city and thirty-feven market-towns. It is feated in the province of Canterbury, and diocese of Exeter. It fends twenty-fix members to parliament; namely, two knights for the fhire, two citizens for Exeter, and two burgeffes for each of the following towns-Afhburton, Barnftaple, Bearalfton, Dartmouth, Honiton, Oak

hampton,

hampton, Plymouth, Plympton, Tavistock, Tiverton, and Totnefs.

POLITICAL CHARACTER.-The political fituation of this county is the direct oppofite of the rotten boroughs. Like Yorkshire and Lincolnfhire, the extensiveness of its territory, the number of its inhabitants, and its weight of property, give it a capacity for the importance of a ftate equal to fome of the American governments, rather than a poife in the reprefentation with Old Sarum or Gatton. According to the ratio of its taxes, its proportion of reprefentatives in the legiflature of the kingdom would be twenty-one out of five hundred and fifty-eight. Yet we see the united boroughs of Weymouth and Melcombe with a hundred electors, and which is only a small portion of the eitate of an individual, fend twice as many members as this extensive county.

The freedom of election is likewife as much destroyed by its extended limits, population, and opulence, as it is in a rotten borough by the total want of thefe qualities. The expences attending a contested election for so large a district, effectually prevents an oppofition. The two most opulent gentlemen

VOL. I.

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