CORONER CORPORATION. 



463 



eious solemnities (prayer and anointing). In Eng- 

 land, kings have been anointed and crowned in 

 Westminster abbey, even to the latest times, with 

 great splendour, and the observance of ancient feudal 

 customs, many of which are very singular. So also 

 in France, where the church of the archbishop of 

 Rheims has from ancient times enjoyed the privilege 

 of the celebration of this ceremony. (Histoire du 

 Sucre de Charles X., by F. M. Miel, Paris, 1825.) 

 Splendid engravings of the coronations, both of king 

 George IV. of Great Britain, and of king Charles 

 X . of France, have made their appearance. * The 

 coronation oath of Charles X. ran thus : " In the pre- 

 sence of God, I promise my people to defend and 

 honour (de maintenir et cThonorer) our holy religion, 

 as it becomes the most Christian king and the eldest 

 son of the church ; to cause justice to be done to all 

 my subjects ; finally, to govern in conformity to the 

 laws of the kingdom, and to the charter, which I 

 swear truly to observe ; so help me God and his 

 holy gospel." The coronation oath of the king of 

 Britain is prescribed by 1 VVilliam and Mary, c. 6, 

 modilied by 5 Anne, c. 8 and 39, 40 George III., c. 

 67 : " ' I solemnly promise and swear to govern the 

 people of this United Kingdom of Great Britain and 

 Ireland, and the dominions thereto belonging, 

 according to the statutes in parliament agreea on. 

 and the laws and customs of the same ; to the 

 utmost of my power to maintain the laws of God, 

 the true profession of the gospel, and the Protestant 

 reformed religion established by the law ; to pre- 

 serve unto the bishops and the clergy of this realm, 

 and the churches committed to their charge, all 

 such rights and privileges as by law do or shall 

 appertain unto them or any of them.' After this, 

 the king or queen, laying his or her hand upon the 

 holy Gospels, shall say, ' The things which I have 

 before promised, I will perform and keep ; so help 

 me God ;' and then shall kiss the book." The 

 coronation of the German emperor, by the pope, in 

 former times, was the source of much disorder, as 

 the emperor was generally obliged to go to Rome 

 with an army. Napoleon crowned himself, and 

 then put the crown on the head of his wife Jose 

 phine. 



CORONER ; an officer in England and some of 

 the United States of America, the chief part of 

 whose duty is to inquire into the cause of the death 

 of persons killed, or dying suddenly. In England, 

 lie inquires also into the cause of death of persons 

 dying in prison. His examination is made, in all 

 cases, with the aid of a jury, in sight of the body, 

 and at the place where the death happened. In 

 England, the coroner has also to inquire concerning 

 shipwrecks, and certify, in any particular case, 

 whether there be an actual wreck or not, and who 

 is in possession of the goods; also to inquire con- 

 cerning treasure trove , that is, gold or silver, which 

 appears, when found, to have been purposely hidden, 

 and remains unclaimed. Such treasure, in England, 

 belongs to the king. The coroner, in that country, 

 is also the sheriff's substitute ; and, when an excep- 

 tion can lie taken to the sheriff, for partiality, pro- 

 cess is awarded to the coroner. In those of the 

 United States where there are coroners, their princi- 

 pal dtity is to inquire into the causes of violent or 

 extraordinary death. In Connecticut, the duty is 

 performed by a justice of: the peace or a constable. 



CORONET ; an inferior crown, belonging to 



The British king at arnm, George Naylor, hag published 

 the history of the coronation of George IV., in a work of 

 4'IO pages, with 70 copperplates price 2fl pnineas, the first 

 official desiriptiuu of the ceremony in Britain, since the 

 urnuiiit of the coronation of James II. by Sandford, in 

 1087. 



the British nobility. The coronet of a British 

 duke is adorned with strawberry leaves ; that of a 

 marquis lias leaves with pearls interposed ; that of 

 an earl raises the pearls above the leaves ; that of a 

 viscount is surrounded with pearls only ; that of a 

 baron has only four pearls. 



CORPORAL. Tliis word is written in the 

 same, or in a similar, manner in many languages, 

 and, at first sight, would seem to be derived from 

 corps (body) ; but it originates, in fact, from the 

 French caporul and the Italian caporale, which are 

 derived from capo, the Italian form of the Latin 

 capitt (the head). The change of the first syllable, 

 ca, into cor, is of much antiquity. Du Fresne uses 

 the Low Latin term corporate. From this author it 

 appears, that corporal formerly signified a superior 

 commander ; but, like captain and many other 

 words, it has sunk in its dignity. A corporal is 

 now a rank and file man, with superior pay to that 

 of common soldiers, and with nominal rank under a 

 sergeant. He lias charge of one of the squads of 

 the company, places and relieves sentinels, &c. 

 Every company in the British service has three or 

 four corporals. In armies in which privates may 

 advance to the highest ranks, as in France, Prussia, 

 &c., great care is taken in selecting corporals. In 

 fact, they are officers of much importance, associat- 

 ing, as tiiey uo, with the privates, over whom their 

 superiority of rank gives them much influence. 

 The feeling of military honour, good morals, and 

 emulation in the discharge of duty, are, in a great 

 degree, to be infused into the mass by means of the 

 corporals. A corporal of a man of war is an officer 

 who has the charge of setting and relieving the 

 watches and sentries, and who sees that the soldiers 

 and sailors keep their arms neat and clean : he 

 teaches them how to use their arms, and has a mate 

 under him. 



CORPORATION. A corporation is a political 

 or civil institution, comprehending one or more per- 

 sons, by whom it is conducted according to the 

 laws of its constitution. It is a conventional and 

 artificial organ, of an integral or individual character, 

 whether it embraces one or more members, and is 

 invested witli certain powers and rights, varying 

 according to the objects of its establishment. Its 

 acts, when done in pursuance of its powers, are con- 

 sidered those of the body, or organ, and not those of 

 the member or members composing the corporation. 

 In respect to the number of members, corporations 

 are div ided into sole, consisting ot one person, and 

 aggregate, consisting of more than one. A corpora- 

 tion tloes not lose its identity by a change of its 

 numbers. Hence the maxim, in the British law, 

 that the king never dies ; for the regal power is 

 considered to be invested in a sole corporation, 

 which continues the same, though the individual 

 corporator may die. The whole political system is 

 made up of a concatenation of various corporations, 

 political, civil, religious, social, and economical. 

 A nation itself is the great corporation, comprehend- 

 ing all the others, the powers of which are exerted 

 in legislative, executive, and judicial acts, which, 

 when confined within the scope, and done according 

 to the forms, prescribed by the constitution, are 

 considered to be the acts of the. nation, and not 

 merely those of the official organs. 



Corporations are also either local or at large. A 

 nation, state, county, town, or parish, is a localcorpo- 

 ration ; stage-coach or navigation companies, charit- 

 able and many other associations, may be at large 

 and transitory, that is, not restricted as to the resi- 

 dence of their members, or the place at which their 

 affairs are to be conducted ; but, whether local or 

 ambulatory, their objects, powers, and foims of pro- 



