773 . DEV 
Thro’ fplendid kingdoms he devolves his maze, 
Now wanders wild through folitary trails 
Of life-deferted fand. Thomfon. 
To move from one hand to another.—Becaufe they found 
too much confufion in fucli a multitude of ftatefmen, 
they -devolved their whole authority into the hands of the 
council of fixty. Addifon. —The matter which devolves 
from the hills down upon the lower grounds, does not 
confiderably raife and augment them. Woodward. 
To DEVOL'VE, v. n. To roll down. To fall in fuc- 
ceffion into new hands,—Suppofing people, by wanting 
fpiritual bleflings, did lofe all their right to temporal, 
yet that forfeiture mull devolve only to the fupreme Lord. 
Decay of Piety. 
DEVOLU'TION, f. {_devolutio, Lat. ] The aid of rol¬ 
ling down.—The railing of new mountains, deterrations, 
or the devolution of earth down upon the valleys from the 
h.illsand high grounds, will fall under our confideration. 
Woodward. —Removal fucceflivS from hand to hand;— 
The jurifdiifio.n exercifed in thofe courts is derived from 
the crown of England,'and the lad devolution is to the 
king by way of appeal. Hale. 
DE'VONSHIRE, a maritime county of England, fitu- 
ated between two Teas, having to the north-and north-weft 
the Briftol channel, and to the fouth and fouth-eaft the 
Englifti channel. Its weftern fide borders upon Corn¬ 
wall, from which it is feparated almoft the whole way 
by the river Tamar; and its eaftern fide trends upon the 
counties of Somerfet and Dorfet. Its figure is nearly 
rhombdidal. From the moft foutherly to the mod north¬ 
erly point it meafures about feventy miles, and from eaft 
to weft fixty-five. It is 280 miles in circumference ; con¬ 
taining 2520 fqttare miles, or 1,612,800 Iquaje acres; 
divided into thirty-three hundreds, 394 pariflies, 117 vi¬ 
carages, and 1733 villages; one city, Exeter, which is a 
county of itfelf; forty market towns, and about 340,000 
inhabitants. During the Saxon heptarchy, it belonged 
to the kingdom of the Weft Saxons ; it is now in The 
province of Canterbury, diocefe of Exeter, and is in¬ 
cluded in the weftern circuit. Devonlhire was formerly 
more celebrated for its mines than even Cornwall; and 
in.the reign of king John, when the mines of the latter 
were farmed for one hundred marks, the mines of De- 
vonfhire produced one hundred pounds per annum. 
Four ftannary courts were eftablilhed for the government 
of the miners, and regulation of the mines: and although 
Cornwall has nearly monopolized the trade, the ftannary 
laws in fome degree remain in force : the Devonlhire tin¬ 
ners are not under the lord lieutenant, but form a militia 
by themfeives. Iron mines have been difcovered, as 
likewife copper mines, with veins of loadftone and filver. 
Here are likewife quarries of good ftone for building, 
and Hate for covering houfes, great quantities of which 
are exported. The chief manufactures of the county are 
ferges, durcys, druggets, (balloons, narrow cloths, ftuffs, 
See. The principal rivers' are the Ex, Tamar, Tave, 
Xad, Oke, Tame, Towridge, Dart, Ken, &c. The towns 
are Barnftaple, Plymouth, Tiverton, Dartmouth, Tavi- 
itock, Oakhampton, Afhbnrton, Honiton, Plympton, Tot¬ 
ters, Beeralfton, Crediton, Biddeford, Topfham, Axmin- 
fter, Bampton, Newton-Abbot, Lyfton, Bowe, Brad- 
ninch, Brent, Kingfbridge, Dodbrook, Chudleigh,Chum- 
leigh, Collumpton, Comb Martin, Culliton, Hartland, 
Hatherly, Hoidfworthy, Ilfracomb, Modbury, Morton, 
■Sidmouth, South Moulton,Torrington, Chegford, Sheep- 
•ivafti, and Teignmouth, or Tinmouth ; of which the ele¬ 
ven firft are borough towns, and fend each two members 
to the Britifli parliament; which, with two for the city 
of Exeter and two for the county, make in the whole 
twentv-fix members. 
The foil and face of the country in this fpacious coun¬ 
ty, are extremely various. From the borders of Dorfet- 
jfliire to Exeter, and moll of the land towards the fouthern 
coall, is very fertile and pleafant; and fuch is the general 
mildnefs of the climate, that the myrtle grows unlhel- 
I) E V 
tered and fpontaneoufiy on the fea fhore. Acrofs the 
county from Exeter to the edge of Cornwall, lies the 
wide barren traft of Dartmoor, a rufiiy naked morals, 
bounded on the north by bleak hills. This fort of coun- 
try, clayey, wet, and fteril, extends northwards quite 
through the centre of the county ; and, on the Cornifh 
border, to the fea. Many (beep are bred here, but of an 
inferior kind, and fubjedt to the rot. The chief riches 
of the grazing farmers are their black cattle, which thrive 
well on the coarfe herbage ; and, after being fattened in 
the fu peri or paftures of Somerfetfhire, are driven in great 
numbers to Smithfield market. The climate of Devon- 
fiure, though mild, is too much inclined to moifture, on 
1 account of its pofition between two feas ; and for that 
reafon its produfts are apt to be lefs nutritive. Much 
of the cider made in it is of a harfh and four nature, to 
which qualities is commonly'^puted a kind of fevere 
colic prevalent among the lower clafs of people; though 
fome attribute this diftemper to the lead of the cider- 
preffes, diftolved by the acidity of the liquor. 
Of the many rivers which water this county, fome 
difeharge themfeives into the northern, and fome into 
the fouthern, fea. Among the former there are two 
which unite the reft, and flow together into Barnftaple 
bay. Thefe are, the Towridge, which, rifing near the 
(ea on the Cornifh border, runs fouth-eaftward toHather- 
leigh, and then, meeting with the Oke from Okehamp- 
ton, turns fhort to the north, and pafles Torrington and 
Biddeford; and the Taw, which, taking its rife from 
the centre of the county, flows on to Barnftaple, and 
then turns wefterly to join the Towridge at its mouth. 
Of the rivers running into the fouthern fea, or Englifti 
channel, one of the principal is the Ex. This has its 
fource in Exmoor; and, leaving Somerfetfhire below 
Dulverton, proceeds by Tiverton to Exeter, widening 
from Topiliam into an arm of the fea which terminates 
at Exmouth. To the weft of this is the Teign, com- 
pofed of two branches, which, uniting, join the fea at 
Teignmouth. Then fucceeds the Dart, which rifes in 
the hills of Dartmoor, and flowing rapidly fouthwards, 
pafles Totnefs, whence it fpreads into the arm which 
forms Dartmouth-haven. The Tamar takes its origin 
near that of the Towridge, not far from the Briftol chan¬ 
nel ; and, flowing fouthwards in a gently winding courfe, 
forms the boundary between Cornwall and Devonfbire, 
except in one place, w here the latter county throws out 
a horn-like projection. Below Saltafb it becomes an arm 
of the fea, ending in Plymouth found. 
The fea coaft of Devonlhire, or the Englifti channel, 
may be faid to confift of a number of bays, not deeply 
incurvated, bounded by headlands, often of a reddifh in¬ 
durated clay or fandftone. The Ihoresare flat, gravelly, 
or fandy. The country within rifes and breaks into fine 
lofty inequalities. Chalk is found upon the coaft at dif¬ 
ferent places as far as ten miles weft of Lyme. About- 
Dartmouth-is a limeftone rock, which continues to Ply¬ 
mouth. The firft place on this coaft deferving notice, is 
Sidmout-h, a fifhing town, frequented for fea-bathing. 
Then fucceeds the broad mouth of the Ex, which ad¬ 
mits laden (hips of three hundred tons. Vefiels of one 
hundred tons can proceed as far as the quay of Exeter, 
Teignmouth creek is reckoned part of the port of Exe¬ 
ter. Farther to the fouth-weft is Torbay, a femicircular 
bafon, which is frequently the refort of our fleets in time 
of war. Plere, on November 3th, 1688, landed the prince 
of Orange, on his memorable expedition to this nation. 
At Brixham, within this bay, are kept the trawling 
Hoops, by which the belt flat fifh, as turbots, foals, and 
plaice, befides great quantities of whiting, piper, gurnet, 
and other fifh, which frequent the coaft, are taken 
throughout the year, and fent by land carriage to the 
markets of London, Bath, Briftol, Exeter, Sec. Next 
appears the fpacious haven of Dartmouth, capable of 
flickering a large number of ftiips. The coaft continues 
to run fouthwards as. far as the Start point, after.which it 
turns 
