whom the government of it was intrufted. This he ufually exercifed by his deputy, ftill called in Latin vice comes, and in English, the fheriff, fhrieve, or fhirereeve, fignifying the officer of the fhire; upon whom by process of time the civil administration of it is now totally devolved. In fome counties there is an intermediate divifion, between the fhire and the hundreds, as lathes in Kent, and rapes in Suffex, each of them containing about three or four hundreds a piece. These had formerly their lathereeves and rapereeves, acting in fubordination to the fhirereeve. Where a county is divided into three of these intermediate jurisdictions, they are called tithings P, which were anciently gov erned by a tithingreeve. These tithings ftill fubfift in the large county of York, where by an eafy corrup tion they are denominated ridings; the north, the east, and the weft riding. The number of counties in England and Wales have been different at different times: At prefent they are forty in England, and twelve in Wales. Three of these counties, Chefter, Durham, and Lancafter, are called "Counties Palatine." The two former are fuch by prescription, or immemorial custom; or, at least as old as the Norman conqueft : The lat ter was created by King Edward III. in favour of Henry Plantagenet, firft Earl and then Duke of Lancafter; whofe heirefs being married to John of Gant the King's fon, the franchife was greatly enlarged and confirmed in parliament, to honour John of Gant himself, whom, on the death of his father in law, the King had also created Duke of Lancafter t. Counties Palatine are fo called a palatio, because the owners thereof, the Earl of Chefter, the Bishop of Durham, and the Duke of Lancaster, had in thofe counties jura regalia, as fully as the King hath in his palace; regalem poteftatem in omnibus, as Bracton expreffes it". They might pardon treasons, murders, and felonies; they P LL. Edw. c. 34. Pat. 25. Edward III. p. 1. hift. 112. 4. Inft. 204. t Pat. 51. Edward III, m. 33. u 1. 3. 6. 8. §. 4. m. q Seld. tit. hon. 2. 5. 8. they appointed all judges and juftices of the peace; all writs and indictments ran in their names, as in other counties in the King's; and all offences were faid to be done against their peace, and not, as in other places, contra pacem domini regis". And indeed, by the ancient law, in all peculiar jurifdictions, offences were faid to be done against his peace in whofe court they were tried: In a court leet, contra pacem domini; in the court of a corporation, contra pacem ballivorum; in the fheriff's court or tourn, contra pacem vice comitis *. Thefe palatine privileges (fo fimilar to the regal independent jurifdictions ufurped by the great barons on the continent, during the weak and infant ftate of the first foedal kingdoms in Europe ) were in all probabilty originally granted to the counties of Chester and Durham, because they bordered upon inimical countries, Wales and Scotland: In order that the inhabitants, having juftice administered at home, might not be obliged to go out of the county, and leave it open to the enemy's incurfions; and that the owners, being encouraged by fo large an authority, might be the more watchful in its defence. And upon this account also there were formerly two other counties palatine, Pembroke fhire and Hexhamshire; the latter now united with Northumberland: But thefe were abolished by parlia ment, the former in 27th Henry VIII, the latter in 14th Elizabeth. And in 27th Henry VIII. likewise, the powers before mentioned of owners of counties palatine were abridged; the reason for their continuance in a manner ceafing: Though ftill all writs are witnessed in their names, and all forfeitures for treafon by the common law accrue to them z. Of these three, the county of Durham is now the only one remaining in the hands of a fubject. For the earl dom of Chester, as Camden teftifies, was united to the Crown by Henry III. and has ever fince given title to the King's eldest fon. And the county palatine, or duchy of Lancaster was the property of Henry of Bolingbroke, the son of John of Gant, at the time when he wrested the crown from King Richard II, and assum w 4 Inst. 204. * Seld. in Beng, magn. c. a. y Robertfon. Cha. V. i. 60. x 4 Inft. 205. ed ed the ftyle of King Henry IV. But he was two prudent to fuffer this to be united to the crown; left, if he loft one, he should lose the other also. For, as Plowdena and Sir Edward Coke b observe, “he knew he "had the duchy of Lancaster by fure and indefeasible "title, but that his title to the crown was not so affured: For that after the decease of Richard II. the #right of the crown was in the heir of Lionel Duke " of Clarence, fecond fon of Edward III; John of "Gant, father to this Henry IV. being but the fourth "fon." And therefore he procured an act of parlia ment, in the first year of his reign, ordaining that the duchy of Lancaster, and all other his hereditary estates, with all their royalties and franchises, should remain to him and his heirs for ever; and should remain, descend, be administered, and governed, in like manner as if he never had attained the regal dignity: And thus they de fcended to his fon and grandfon, Henry V. and Henry VI; many new territories and privileges being annexed to the duchy by the former. Henry VI. being attainted in 1 Edward IV. this duchy was declared in parliament to have become forfeited to the crown &, and at the fame time an act was made to incorporate the duchy of Lancaster, to continue the county palatine (which might otherwise have determined by the attainder) and to make the fame parcel of the duchy: And, farther, to veft the whole in King Edward IV. and his heirs, Kings of England, for ever; but under a separate guiding and governance from the other inheritances of the crown. And in 1 Henry VII. another act was made, to refume fuch part of the duchy lands as had been difmembered from it in the reign of Edward IV. and to vest the inheritance of the whole in the king and his heirs for ever, as amply and largely, and in like manner, form and condition, separate from the crown of England and poffeffion of the fame, as the three Henries and Edward IV, or any of them, had and held the fame. f. b 4 Inft. 205. a 215. ex Ventr. 157. The f Some have entertained an opinion (Plowd. 220, 1, 2, Lamb. Archeion. 233. 4 Inft. 206.) that by this act the right of the duchy vetted only in the natural, and not in the policeica The ifle of Ely is not a county palatine, though fometimes erroneously called fo, but only a royal franchife: The bifhop having, by grant of King Henry I. jura regalia within the ifle of Ely; whereby he exercifes a jurifdiétion over all caufes, as well criminal as civ il 8. There are also counties corporate: Which are certain cities and towns, fome with more, some with less territory annexed to them; to which out of fpecial grace and favour the kings of England have granted the priv ilege to be counties of themselves, and not to be comprifed in any other county; but to be governed by their own fheriffs and other magistrates, so that no offi. cers of the county at large have any power to intermeddle therein. Such are London, York, Bristol, Norwich, Coventry, and many others And thus much of the countries fubject to the laws of England. COMMENTARIES political perfon of King Henry VII. as formerly in that of Henry IV. and was defcendible to his natural heirs, independent of the fucceffion to the crown. And, if this notion were well founded, it might have become a very curious queftion at the time of the rev. olution in 1688, in whom the right of the duchy remained after King James's abdication, and previous to the attainder of the pretended prince of Wales. But it is obfervable, that in the fame act the duchy of Cornwall is alfo vefted in King Henry VII. and his heirs; which could never be intended in any event to be feparated from the inheritance of the crown. And indeed it feems to have been understood very early after the ftatute of Henry VII. that the duchy of Lancafter was by no means thereby made a feparate inheritance from the reft of the royal patrimony; fince it defcended, with the crown to the half blood in the inftances of Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth Which it could not have done as the eftate of a mere duke of Lancafter, in the common courfe of legal defcent. The better opinion therefore feems to be that of thofe judges, who held (Plowd. 221.) that notwithstanding the statute of Henry VII. (which was only an act of refumption) the duchy ftill remained as eftablished by the act of Edward IV. feparate from the other poffeffions of the crown in order and government, but united in point of inheritance. 8 4. Inft. 220. THE objects of the laws of England are fo very numerous and extensive, that, in order to confider them with any tolerable eafe and perfpicuity, it will be neceffary to diftribute them methodically, under proper and diftin&t heads; avoiding, as much as poffible, divifions too large and comprehenfive on the one hand, and too trifling and minute on the other; both of which are equally productive of confufion. G Now, |