Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 3.djvu/49

10ᵗʰ S. III. 14, 1905.] tion of the publishers. The preface, as originally printed, contained several introductory paragraphs afterwards omitted, and the conclusion, containing the humorous reference to the "ponderous tomes of figures in his remarkably neat hand (the ledgers of the East India House), which, more properly than his few printed tracts, might be called his 'Works.

(10ᵗʰ S. ii. 247, 335, 371, 431).—Although appeals specially to  for "chapter and verse" respecting my statement that it is the duty of a parish constable to communicate personally with the coroner and empanel a jury in cases of sudden death or suicide, perhaps I may be allowed to say a word or two as well. Since I penned my note I have been looking up information concerning the duties of parish constables; but as I have found it rather a difficult task, I will detail my experience. First of all I wrote to Eyre & Spottiswoode, to ask if any Act of Parliament was in their possession containing such information. The only one they could supply me with was An Act to render unnecessary the General Appointment of Parish Constables, 35 & 36 Vict., chap. 92, 10 August, 1872. From this it appears that after 24 March, 1873, no parish constable would be appointed, except where the Court of General or Quarter Sessions deem it necessary. Section 4 states:—

On the establishment of parish councils in 1894 this power of the vestry passed to them, under section 6, subsec. 1 (a), of the Local Government Act, 56 & 57 Vict., chap. 73. I have had the opportunity of looking through the "instructions" in the possession of our local parish constable, but they simply relate to his duties with respect to the preservation of the peace. There is not a word in them governing his action in case of a sudden death or suicide. Finding no information here, I then applied to our resident police constable. He told me that as the duty of communicating with the coroner was the only one to which any appreciable pay was attached, the parish constable generally performed it. If he, for any reason, failed to do it, the police constable would have to carry it out. He showed me a book bearing the following title:

From it I copied the following paragraphs. Sec. 56, p. 12:—

Sec. 336, p. 89:—

(10ᵗʰ S. ii. 425, 536).—In his disquisition ignores two of the points raised at the first reference, and in a somewhat hasty and inconclusive fashion grapples with the third. "I am not aware," he observes, "that all along there have been advocates for the authorship of Sir John Bruce of Kinross." It might have been expected that, in the circumstances, he would have endeavoured to supplement the imperfect knowledge thus admitted, but this he does not appear to have done. He refers to Percy's "threshing" of Lady Wardlaw's claim, and leaves his readers to infer that the result established the lady as the author of the ballad given by Ramsay. If he will look a little more closely into the matter, he will find that Percy writes:—

Percy and the authorities he cites may be all wrong, but that is not to the immediate purpose, which is the attribution of the poem to Bruce. In the contents of the 'Reliques,' vol. ii., this descriptive entry speaks for itself: "Hardyknute. A Scottish Fragment. By Sir J. Bruce."

(10ᵗʰ S. ii. 445, 496).—I fear has not noticed the second word in the second line of my note, which is its "point." I took it for granted that most