Gents Mag 1812 part 2 p.232

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	Gentleman's Magazine 1812 part 2 p.232 [coun]try *: but in what manner the name was applied is not certain. At least 100 (which in Saxon numeration means 120 †) Free Men, Householders, answerable for each other, may be supposed originally to have been found in each Hundred; for that the Hundreds were originally regulated by the population is evident, from the great number of Hundreds in the Counties first peopled by the Saxons. Thus, Kent and Sussex, at the time when Domesday-Book was compiled, each contained more then 60 Hundreds, as they do at present. In Lancashire, a County of greater area than either, there are no more than Six Hundreds,- in Cheshire, Seven: and upon the whole, so irregular is this distribition of territory, that while several Hundreds do not exceed a square mile in area, nor 1000 persons in Population; the Hundreds of Lancashire average at 300 square miles in area, and the Population contained in one of them (Salford Hundred) is above 250,000. 'This striking irregularity seems to have been felt as an inconvenience as early as the time of Henry VIII. when a remedy was attempted by ordaining Divisions (called also Limits or Circuits), (22 Henry VIII. c.12. A.D. 1531.) which still exist (more or less manifestly) in most of the English Counties. These Divisions seem to have been formed by a junction of small Hundreds, as convenience required in each particular case, and are recognized in subsequent Acts (43 Eliz. and 12-13 Car. II.) which regard the maintenance and relief of the Poor. 'But time, which had caused the irregularity of the antient Hundreds, gradually has the same effect on modern arrangements; so that to alter the Names or Limits of the antient Hundreds would really be equivalent to inventing and learning a new and changeable language, instead of retaining the use of that which has been established for ages. An instance of the inconvenience of such reform occurs in Wales, several of the Counties of which were created by Act of Parliament in 1535 (27 Henry VIII. c.26.) and the antient Districts called Cantrefs and Commots were altered into Hundreds, by virtue of a Commission under the Great Seal for that purpose; but the alteration was attended with much unexpected difficulty, three years, and afterwards three years further, being allowed for it by subsequent Acts of Parliament (28 Henry VIII. c.3. and 31 Henry VIII. c.11.); and after all this deliberation the new Counties and Hundreds exhibit more instances of indistinct boundary, that is, of Parishes and Townships not conterminous with the County or Hundred, than do the antient Counties; while the abolished Cantrefs and Commots are not yet quite forgotten, and occasionally cause some confusion. 'Such innovations are really unnecessary, as temporary Districts, for present convenience will always be settled by Civil Magistrates, or by custom, around each place where Petty Sessions are usually holden *: and in like manner for the business of the Lieutenancy of each County, Sub-Divisions are formed from the antient Hundreds, subject to such alteration as circumstances may require. 'In the Northern Counties, formerly exposed to hostile invasion, Wards and Wapentakes stand in place of Hundreds; and in the Population Abstract they are alike arranged in alphabetical order in each County. 'Where the Divisions are very antient, as the Lathes of Kent and the Rapes of Sussex, or where necessary from the multiplicity of the Hundreds, as in Hampshire and Dorset, they are preserved, and their several Hundreds ranged under them. The Divisions of Dorset underwent a change in the year 1740. 'One exception to the general arrangement occurs in regard to the larger Towns, which as usual are placed at the end of their several Counties. For this there is a better reason than at first sight appears: Corporate Towns and some others have a peculiar jurisdiction, and rarely are in any Hundred. The degree of separation and exemption varies infinitely, as might be expected, and cannot be reduced to any general rule, being indeed sometimes a subject of litigation. Hence the strict propriety
	* 'Tacitus seems to describe a Hundred-Court very exactly: 'Eliguntur et principes qui hura per pagos vicosque reddunt: Centeni singulis ex plebe comites, concilium simul et auctoritas, adsunt.' De Morib. German.' † 'Numerus Anglice computator 1 cent. pro CXX. Domesday-Book, vol.1. p.336. In Civ. Linc.' * 'iin the year 1805, an opportunity occured of learning from the several Clerks of the Peace, the places in England and Wales where Petty Sessions or Divisional Meetings were then usually holden; they amounted to 520; and the number of acting County Magistrates was 3,293; but many of these, no doubt, acted under more than one Commission of the Peace, which must make the real number much less.'
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