UNIVERSITY. 
assessor, or assistant, in tlie vice chancellor s 
court; besides which, he holds a court ot 
record, wliere all causes are subject to the 
statute and civil law and custom of the. 
university, and the persons for whom it is 
held are all privileged, and scholars under 
the degree of master of arts. The registrar 
attends himself, or by deputy, all congrega- 
tions, to give directions, if necessary, for 
the correct wording of such graces as are 
propounded, and to draw up any that the 
vice chancellor may appoint; to receive 
them when passed through both houses, and 
to register them in the archives of the uni- 
versity ; exclusive of which, his office re- 
quires him to record the seniority of those 
who proceed annually in the arts or facul- 
ties, agreeably to the schedules furnished 
to him by the proctors. 
The esquire bedells attend the vice chan- 
cellor during all public solemnities, pre- 
ceding him with their insignia of silver 
maces: tliey attend, besides, the doctors 
when present in the regent house, by bring- 
ing them to open scrutiny, there to deliver 
their suffrages, either by word or writing, 
according to the order of the statute ; and 
to receive from the vice-chancellor and the 
rest of the Caput the graces, which they de- 
liver to the scrutators in the lower house ; 
when, if granted, they convey them to the 
proctors in the other. Previous to a meet- 
ing, they proceed to every college, with an 
open summons, either to the Senate, or 
whatever else place may be appointed under 
the regulations of the university ; and, final- 
ly, they attend tlie professors and respon- 
dents in each faculty from their several 
colleges to the schools, collect penalties and 
fines, and summon all members of the Se- 
nate to the chancellor’s court. 
We have now mentioned the different 
officers of an university in England, with as 
much brevity as the nature of the subject 
will permit ; at the same time we must ob- 
serve, that none can be more important in 
a state, or can more deserve explanation. 
There are two courts of law in the univer- 
sity of Cambridge : the first of which is the 
consistory court of the chancellor, where 
that officer, or in his absence the vice chan- 
cellor, assisted by some of the heads of col- 
leges, and one or more doctors of the civil 
law, preside, and administer justice de- 
manded by any member of the university, 
or afford it to those who conceive them- 
selves injured by them in the cases cog- 
nizable by this particular court; there all 
pleas and actions personal, originating with- 
in the jurisdiction of the university, to which 
a privileged person is a party, and not re- 
lating to mayhem or felony, is decided ac- 
cording to the usual course of civil law, by > 
citation, libel, &c. When the cause relates 
to the sale or purchase of victuals, the 
chancellor is directed by the charters and 
customs of the body he governs ; and in 
case they are silent upon the subject, the 
statutes of England are his guide. The 
decisions of this court are not absolute, as 
an appeal may he made to the Senate, 
which appoints three or five doctors, or 
masters of art, who are empowered to exa- 
mine, confirm, or reverse the decree com- 
plained of. 
The other court is the consistory court 
of the commissary. The commissary, a 
doctor of the civil law, acts under the 
authority and seal ot the chancellor, and 
sits as well in the University, as at Midsum- 
mer and Stirbitch fairs, there to take know- 
ledge, and to proceed in' all causes “ ad in- 
stantiam et proraotionem partis ut supra,” 
the parties, or one of them, being privi- 
leged : saving that within the University all 
causes or suits whereunto the proctors, or 
taxors, or any ot them, or a master of arts, 
or any other of superior degree, is a party, 
are reserved solely and wholly to the juris- 
diction of the chancellor or vice chancellor. 
The manner of proceeding in tins court is 
similar to that of the preceding, which has 
a registrar, procurators, and advocates, and 
a yeoman bedell, as is required in the con- 
sistory court. Appeals are also allowed, 
but in this case it must be made in the first 
instance to the higher court, and may 
from thence be removed to the Senate, and 
the three or five delegates appointed by 
that body. 
The University possesses the right of 
sending two members to the Imperial Par- 
liament of the United Kingdom, who are 
chosen^by the collective body of the Senate. 
A council, termed the University council, 
appointed for various purposes, is composed 
by a grace of the Senate, and a solicitor is 
nominated by the vice-chancellor. 
The syndics, chosen from the members of 
the senate, conduct all special affairs, such 
as framing laws, regulating fees, and inspect- 
ing the library, the printing, buildings, &c. 
&c. Those of the University press cannot 
proceed to business unless the vice-chancel- 
lor and four others are present in the par- 
lour of the office. All the professors of the 
sciences are allowed stipends, which are 
derived from various sources, composed of 
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