important, whether the word "burgenses," mentioned in the charter, was to be understood as meaning the whole inhabitants of the town, or only the corporate officers.-Resolved: "That the word 'burgenses,' extends to the inhabitants at large, within the borough."

Our present able and judicious Lord Chancelfor, upon the hearing of the Inverness case, stop-ped the advocate who was arguing on the ancient right of the inhabitants to be burgesses, by saying, "there would be no difficulty in shewing, that anciently, all the inhabitants of the several boroughs in England and Scotland, were burgesses."

It is perhaps a circumstance, more curious than important, that in Queen Elizabeth's reign, in a proclamation, dated 30th March, 1563, issued during the Siege of Havre, when it was in possession of the English, all foreigners were ordered out of the town, "not being the burgesses, or proper inhabitants of it." (See Dr. Forbes' Transactions of Queen Elizabeth, 2 vol. p. 369.)

As far as the information goes, which I have been enabled to collect, of the Court Leet of the borough of Tiverton, it appears there is no doubt, but that the inhabitant householders of the town and parish, were the original burgesses; being such as shared in the burdens of the borough, and who are still subject to its jurisdiction.

The last reference I will, at this time, trouble the reader to make, shall be to a clause in the charter of James, which, I should think, must be suffi cient of itself to put this question at rest: I allude to that which grants the privilege of holding two fairs. This grant is expressed, as all the privileges in the charters are, as made to the mayor and burgesses; I will here give the first few lines verbatim from the charter,"And, moreover, we, affecting the utility of the town and parish aforesaid, and that the said mayor and burgesses of the town and parish aforesaid, may the better support, and maintain, the charges and expence of the said town and parish, and also for the better relief and sustenance of poor artificers, and other inhabitants of the same town and parish, we will, and do give to the said mayor and burgesses, and their successors, that they, and their successors, may hold two fairs," (1) "paying for the same five marks."

I presume, the expences and charges of the

(1) There are traces (Mr. Merewether informs us, in his preface to the report of the case of West Looe) in some boroughs, even now, of the poor and church rates being paid out of the borough funds; and Stafford, some years ago, afforded an instance (which perhaps at Tiverton would hardly be credited) of a borough having no church or poor rate, because both of these charges were satisfied out of the sums paid by the burgesses on their admission.

town and parish, the mayor, capital burgesses, and assistants, will not feel inclined to acknowledge themselves liable alone to defray; neither have they, at the same time, felt it to be their duty to relieve the poor artificers, and other inhabitants of the town and parish, without connecting with themselves, the inhabitant householders of the town and parish: yet these privileges and immunities, are granted to those, who do pay the charges and expences, and to those who are legally called upon to contribute towards alleviating the exigencies of their distressed fellow townsmen, and parishioners. (m)

No one, I should think, can deny that the word burgess, (n) in its primary signification, means an inhabitant of a borough; and that the modern use of this term, as confined to a corporate officer,

(m) I have long thought that the proceeds of the fairs, all fines received, and several other items, constituting what is generally called the mayor's income, should be appropri ated to objects now included in the liberty rate; and, if I mistake not, the opinions of the Attorney General, and the Common Serjeant, on the liability of the citizens of Exeter to pay a county rate, &c. will confirm my views.

1

(n) In all boroughs, the election of members to the parliament, is to be made by the burgesses; every borough, therefore, in which the inhabitants paying scot, and bearing lot, have a right to vote, (and which amount to thirty-seven) is an instance of the term "burgess," meaning an inhabitant paying scot and lot.

is a misapplication. Let any person shew, an etymological, historical, or legal definition, of the term, as applicable to a corporate officer, contradistinguished from an inhabitant of a borough. If indeed, the inhabitants of a borough, who are, ex concessis, duly described by the term "burgesses," are incorporated (as those of Tiverton are by the charters of James and George) then, certainly, the term also describes a corporator; not in respect of his corporate character, but that being an inhabitant of a borough, and consequently a burgess, he is thereby also a corporator. (0)

C.

We now proceed to inquire, by whom the affairs of the inhabitants, thus incorporated under the name of mayor and burgesses, are to he conducted. The first officer is the mayor, who must' be one of the town or parish, and be living within the parish. He is always to preside at such meet

(0) I shall avail myself of every opportunity, which may present itself throughout our examination of the charters, granted to the inhabitants of Tiverton, to establish this very important position:-"That the corporation of Tiverton is. not confined to the mayor, twelve capital burgesses, and twelve assistants; " these being merely the officers of the incorporated body, which consists of all the inhabitant house. holders within the town and parish, paying scot, and bearing lot.

ings which are held, relative to the concerns of the corporation, with this exception, that at the court of record of the town and parish, the recorder, it will be seen, may preside, assisted by the deputy recorder, and justice, or either one of them.

The term mayor, as descriptive of the head officer of a borough, is not confined to corporations. In the borough of Downton, which is not incorporated, there is a mayor appointed at the court leet. The mayor, is an expression, says, Mr. Luder, formerly applied to the head officer of every town, whether corporate or not; and this is according to the original derivation of the word, from the saxon "maer," signifying great, or powerful, i. e, the chief man of the place.

In Honiton, Downton, Callington, &c. not corporations, the portreeve or head officer, has had this name. The same name is applied to the head officer of Petersfield, where there is no corporate mayor, but an officer chosen by the court leet. So in Penryn, before it was incorporated by James the first, as appeared in the records produced to the committee, in 1785. The present spelling of the word is modern; and seems to have been adopted, in order to make it agree more with the latin "major." Spelman observes, that those who were formerly called portreeves, or prepositi, were called by the Normans, "mayors,"