Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/130

114 tiently no man was uffered to abide in England above forty days, unles he were enrolled in ome tithing or decennary. One of the principal inhabitants of the tithing is annually appointed to preide over the ret, being called the tithing-man, the headborough, (words which peak their own etymology) and in ome countries the borholder, or borough’s-ealder, being uppoed the dicreetet man in the borough, town, or tithing.

, towns, or vills, are of the ame ignification in law; and are aid to have had, each of them, originally a church and celebration of divine ervice, acraments, and burials : though that eems to be rather an eccleiatical, than a civil ditinction. The word town or vill is indeed, by the alteration of times and language, now become a generical term, comprehending under it the everal pecies of cities, boroughs, and common towns. A city is a town incorporated, which is or hath been the ee of a bihop; and though the bihoprick be diolved, as at Wetminter, yet till it remaineth a city. A borough is now undertood to be a town, either corporate or not, that endeth burgees to parliament. Other towns there are, to the number ir Edward Coke ays of 8803, which are neither cities nor boroughs; ome of which have the privileges of markets, and others not; but both are equally towns in law. To everal of thee towns there are mall appendages belonging, called hamlets; which are taken notice of in the tatute of Exeter, which makes frequent mention of entire vills, demi-vills, and hamlets. Entire vills ir Henry Spelman conjectures to have conited of ten freemen, or frank-pledges, demi-vills of five, and hamlets of les than five. Thee little collections of houes are ometimes under the ame adminitration as the town itelf, ometimes governed by eparate officers; in which lat cae they are, to ome purpoes in law, looked upon as ditinct townhips. Thee towns, as