Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/618

 606 ENGLAND of record. It consisted of a chief justice and four other justices. The court of common pleas likewise consisted of five justices, and took cognizance of civil cases between sub- jects. The court of exchequer consisted of a chief baron and four other barons; it was both a law and an equity court, trying all rev- enue questions and many other cases. The judges of these three courts were called the fifteen judges of England. In August, 1873, by an act to take effect in November, 1874, the superior courts of England were united into a supreme court of judicature, divided into two parts, a high court of justice and a court of appeal. The judges of the old courts are retained in the new one, which is presided over by the lord chancellor. The forms of administering justice are simplified, while the former distinction between law and equity is not recognized. The high court is divided into sections named after the old courts. The court of appeal consists of the chancellor, the two chief justices, the chief baron, and master of the rolls, with not exceeding nine ordinary judges. By act of parliament in 1846, and by several subsequent acts, a system of county courts has been formed, giving increased fa- cilities for the prompt and inexpensive collec- tion of small debts. The judges of these courts are appointed by the lord chancellor, and must not exceed 60 in number. Demands not ex- ceeding 50 are brought before these courts, the judges of which determine all questions whether of law or fact, unless a jury be sum- moned, which is done at the request of either party. The number of jurymen is five. A court of general quarter sessions of the peace is held four times a year in every county, its jurisdic- tion extending to all felonies and trespasses, but the capital cases generally are remitted to the assize. The criminal code, which for a long time was excessively severe, has been greatly improved. The commitments and con- victions from 1869 to 1873 were as follows:

OMMITTE) X Con- Men. Women. Total. victed. 1869. . 15722 3596 19318 14340 1870 14010 3568 17578 12953 1871... 12640 3629 16 269 11 946 1872. 11467 8334 14.809 10 862 Most of the convicts sentenced for long terms of detention were formerly transported to pe- nal colonies, or confined on board hulks, but prisons are now established at home capable of receiving all. There are in England 121 county, borough, and " liberty " prisons (*. ., prisons for the districts so called). The com- mitments for 1872 to reformatory schools were 1,445 ; the number detained at the end of the year was 6,356, 4,322 males and 1,034 females. The average annual cost per head was, boys 18 19*. 9|d, girls 17 16s. 3fcZ. There were also 2,050 commitments to industrial schools schools in the year, and detained at the close of the year 7,120, 5,443 boys and 1,677 girls. The police force of England and Wales in 1870 was 26,441, and the cost of maintaining it du- ring the year was 2,182,522. The history of England begins shortly before the commence- ment of the Christian era, when Casar first in- vaded the island, landing near Deal or Walmer (55 B. 0.). Britannia and Albion were the names by which it was known to the Romans. The inhabitants, called Britons, were of Celtic race, kindred to the Gauls. The Phoenicians had known the island, and so had the Cartha- ginians and Massilians; and all of them are supposed to have traded with it directly or in- directly, the Phoenicians especially, for tin. Yet at the time of Caesar's invasion little was really known concerning the country, and for a long period afterward it was regarded as cut off from the rest of the world. He made little impression on it, and his invasion probably met with more resistance than is commonly sup- posed. Augustus proposed an expedition to Britain, but never attempted it. Caligula also threatened an invasion without executing it. Claudius began the work of real conquest, A. D. 43. During the next 40 years the conquest of south Britain was completed, many generals being employed, including Aulus Plautius, Ves- pasian, Suetonius Paulinus, and Agricola. The main divisions of the country were Britannia Romana, embracing England and Wales, which had been entirely subdued, and Britannia Bar- bara, which at first included all the country to the north of the wall of Hadrian, but later only what was to the north of the wall built by Antoninus, from the frith of Clyde to the frith of Forth. This region defied all the ef- forts of the Roman arms. The other was in a very flourishing condition, and at a later period was divided into five provinces, named Britannia Prima, Britannia Secunda, Maxima Cassariensis, Maxima Flaviensis, and Valentia. Christianity had been early introduced, and before the close of the 3d century a regular hierarchy was established. The country suf- fered with the rest of the empire from the in- vasions of barbarians, and was abandoned by the Romans before the middle of the 5th cen- tury. The Britons then became independent, and displayed much energy and spirit in con- tending with the invaders. They were less successful in their endeavors to establish a body politic, and the island was distracted by con- tentions and civil wars. The disturbed state of the country was favorable to the incursions of the Picts and Scots, tribes like the Britons of Celtic origin, when a few Saxons, said to have been exiles, arrived in the isle of Thanet. They were but 300, and were led by two broth- ers commonly called Hengist and Horsa. They were, it is probable, on a piratical excursion. The story that they came by invitation probably originated in the fact that other Saxons were subsequently invited to Britain. The British chiefs hired their visitors as soldiers, according