Formerly, in cases of felony, counsel for the prisoner were not allowed to address the jury on his behalf: they might, however, examine and crossexamine the witnesses, and argue points of law; but 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 malpractice they may be prohibited from addressing the court: there are also certain rules established by each court for the regulation 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 various 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. Perhaps 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 establishment of the imperial power at Rome, comites were established about the emperor'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. 18.) In the time of Constantine, comes became a title, and there were comites of the first and second class, and so forth. The term comes, as a title, was established both in the eastern and the

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 largitionum has been called grand almoner; the comes curia, grand master of ceremonies; 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 frontiers, 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 contingent 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 districts of which they had only been created removable and revocable administrators.

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, under 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 introduced inheritance instead of election as a permanent rule in political successions. The supreme chief of the antient Franks, koning (Lat. rex), was a magistrate, and as a magistrate he was elected, although always from the same family. The inferior chiefs, heri-zoghe, graven, rakhenburghe (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 formidable 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, companion, is of very high antiquity in England, 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, county. 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. [COURTS.]

COUNTY RATE. County rates are taxes levied for the purposes of defraying 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.

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The ancient purposes of the county rate Iwere 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 judicial 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 provided for by a separate tax common to counties and to other districts, called brukbote), and occasionally high roads, rivers, and watercourses, and for the payment of the wages of the knights of the shire. Additions 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 present 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

rate county rates was not only very inconvenient and troublesome, but so expensive that the charge of collection and assessment 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 previously leviable under various acts of parliament for the purposes of bridges, gaols, prisons, and houses of correction, such rate to be assessed upon every town, parish, and place within the county, to be collected by the churchwardens 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 statute, 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 district police force, where such force is established, though it is directed to be a special rate. There are some other special rates which are required to be separate 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 contributions 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, Westmoreland, Cumberland, and Northumberland, were excepted from the compulsory direction that the county rate should be levied along 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 an assessment after the manner of the poor-rate. The rates so levied are applicable to the repair of bridges, gaols, prisons, or houses of correction, on presentment 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 particular parish to the justices at the next sessions. It also contained provisions enabling the justices to contract 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 contained an exception of places not theretofore 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 provision 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 franchises having a separate co-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; extending 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

visions of the act to places having commissions of the peace within themselves, &c.

By the 56 Geo. III. c. 49, extra parochial and other places, though not rateable 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 jurisdiction 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 regulations established in that respect; and it was provided that where there were no high constables the constables of the parish 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 prosecutors 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 extensively. In 1836, however, the government determined that one-half of the expense of prosecutions and the conveyance 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 churchwardens, 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 certain regulations were made as to distress for rates.

By the 4 & 5 Wm. IV. c. 48, all business relating to the assessment and application 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 quarter-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 thereafter to be made, but (§ 113) such boroughs are to bear the expenses of prosecutions 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 Guardians.

Several local acts have been passed from time to time for regulating the county rates in particular counties. On this subject 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: