LON 
and Lambeth. It has its name from London-bridge, with 
the addition of the word without , becaufe the bridge muft 
be paffed in order to come at it. 
The office of [her iff, or governor of the {hire, or county, is 
an office of great antiquity, truft, and authority. The lord- 
mayor and citizens of London have the iheritfalty of Lon¬ 
don and Miadlefex, in fee, by charter; and the two Ihe¬ 
riffs are by them annually elected. If one of the Iheriffs 
dies, the other cannot act till a new one is chofen ; for 
there mult be two fnerifFs for London, which is a city and 
a county, though they make but one flieriff for the county 
of Middlefex. Any citizen may be chofen alderman be¬ 
fore he has ferved the oliice of flieriff; but he mult difcbarge 
that office before he can be lord-mayor. The fheriffs are 
chofen on Midfummer-day, and enter into the office on 
Michaelmas-day. If a perlbn chofen Iheritf refufes to ferve, 
lie pays a fine of four hundred pounds to the city, and 13I. 
16s. 8d. to the minilters of the city-prifons, unlefs he fwears 
himfelfnot worth fifteen thoufand pounds; and, if he ferves, 
he is obliged to give bond to the corporation. Their bu- 
finefs, in general', is to colle£t the public revenues within 
their jurildictions ; to gather into the exchequer all fines 
belonging to the crown; to ferve the king’s writs of pro- 
cefs; to attend the judges, and execute their orders ; toim- 
pannel juries, and to take care that all condemned crimi¬ 
nals are duly punilhed and executed. In particular, they 
are to difeharge the orders of the court of common-coun¬ 
cil, when they have refolved to petition parliament, or to 
nddrefs his majefty. They have alfo a power to make ar- 
relts, and ferve executions, on the river Thames. 
The election of city-officers, in common-halls, as has been 
already mentioned, was regulated by an act of parliament 
palfed in the year 1725; in conformity with which, it is 
now the cultom for the lord-mayor, attended by the 
aldermen and fheriffs, to appear on the huttings; when, 
proclamation being made by the common crier, for the 
liverymen to draw near and give attention, according to 
their luminous, and for-all others to depart the hall on 
pain of imprifonment, the recorder, or common-ferjeant, 
declares to the livery the purport of their meeting; after 
which the lord-mayor and aldermen retire, leaving the in¬ 
termediate proceedings of election to the Iheriffs only. 
The common-ferjeant then propofing the candidates, the 
fheriffs form a judgment in whole favour the majority of 
hands appear. If a poll is demanded, it is taken by clerks 
tinder their appointment: if a ferutiny is demanded, it is 
referred to their judgment; and, after all, it is they who 
make a declaration of the majority to the lord mayor and 
-aldermen. 
In the election of a lord-mayor, all the aldermen under 
the chair, who have ferved the office of flieriff, are propofed 
in rotation, two of which are to be returned by the com¬ 
mon-hall to the court of aldermen; and the majority of 
that court determine on which of the two the election is 
fallen. It has been the ufual cultom of the liverymen to 
nominate the two fenior aldermen under the chair; and 
the court of aldermen, upon the like example, have ufually 
elefted the fenior of thofe two into the office. Each of 
them, however, has a right to deviate from this ufual 
method ; and, in cafes where a particular dillike is taken 
to any of the aldermen, efpecially when the city is divided 
into parties on political difputes, the order of rotation is 
feldom regarded. In like manner, upon the election of 
fheriffs, all the aldermen who have not ferved that office 
are firi't put up in their order of feniority ; notwithftanding 
■which, the livery have the privilege of choofing whom they 
think proper, either out of that court, or of thofe perlons, 
who, having been drunk to by a lord-mayor as proper to 
be chofen to that office, are alio put in nomination on 
Midfummer-day. Alter the Iheriffs are elected, on Mid¬ 
fummer-day, the livery choofe the chamberlain of the city, 
raid other officers, fuch as the bridge-makers, the auditors 
of the city and bridge-houfe accounts, and the ale-con- 
ners. 1 
The chamberlain is an officer of great truft, and, though 
DON. 
elective annually, is never difplaced, unlefs for fome great 
crime. He is the city-treafurer; he receives all the money 
belonging to the corporation, for which he annually ac¬ 
counts to the proper auditors; and in his cuitody are ail 
the bonds and fecurities taken by the city, and the coun¬ 
terparts of the city-leafes; for which realon lie gives great 
fecurity for the fidelity of his conduft. 
The recorder, who is a counlellor experienced in the 
law, is chofen by the lord-mayor and aldermen for their 
inltruftion and affiltance in matters of julticeand proceed¬ 
ings according to law; and continues in his office during 
life. He takes place in all courts, and in that of the 
common-council, before any one that hath not been mayor. 
He is one of the j 11 It ices of oyer and terminer, and a juf- 
tice of peace for putting the laws in execution to preferve 
the peace and government of the city. He fpeaks in the 
name of the city upon all extraordinary occasions; reads 
and prefents their addrelTes to the king; and, when feated 
upon the bench, delivers the fentence of the court. He 
is the firlt officer in order of precedence who is paid a fa 1 ary; 
which originally (anno 1304) was no more than ten pounds 
perannum, with loine perquifites; but it has been from time 
to time augmented to one thoufand pounds per annum. 
Befides thefe officers of truft belonging to the corpora¬ 
tion, there are the following, viz. the common-l'erjeanf, 
the town-clerk, and the city-remembrancer; all of whom 
are appointed by the court of common-council.—The 
common-ferjeant is to attend the lord-mayor and court of 
aldermen on court-days, and to be in council with them, 
on all occalions, within or without the preciniffs or liber¬ 
ties of the city. He is to take care of orphans’ elfates, ei¬ 
ther by taking account of them, or to fign their indentures, 
before their patting the lord-mayor and court of aldermen. 
He is likewifeto let, fell, and manage, the orphans’ eftates, 
according to his judgment, to their bed advantage.—The 
town-clerk, or common-clerk, is an officer who keeps the 
original charters of the city, the books, rolls, and other 
records, wherein are regiftered the a£ls and proceedings 
of the city; fo that he may not be improperly Ityled the 
city-regilter. He attends the lord-mayor and aldermen 
at their .courts, in order to take down any extraordinary- 
proceeding that may occur. The town-clerk and common 
ferjeant take place according to feniority.—The city-re¬ 
membrancer is to attend the lord-mayor on certain days, 
and to put his lordthip in mind of the feket days when 
he is to go abroad with the aldermen. He invites the 
great officers of lfate on lord-mayor’s day ; and is alfo ta 
attend daily at the parliament-honfe during the le (lions, 
and to report to the lord-mayor fuch proceedings of the 
houfe as may arfeft the city of London. 
The four following officers, viz. the fvvord-bearer, com¬ 
mon-hunt, common-crier, and water-bailiff, belong to 
the lord-mayor’s houfehold, and are efquires by virtue of 
their places. The two firlt purchafe their offices, and the 
other two are in the appointment of the common council. 
—The fword-bearer is to attend the lord-mayor, and carry 
the fword before him on all public occalions. The carry¬ 
ing of the l'vvord before the lord-mayor being an honour 
he is entitled to as the reprefentative of his majefty, Gerard 
Leigh, in his Accidence of Armoury, p. 94, fays “That 
the bearer muft carry it upright, the liilc being holden 
under his bulk, and the blade directly up the midft of his 
bread, and fo forth between the fword-bearer’s brows. 
This in diftinction from bearing the fword in any town 
for a duke, or an earl, or a baron : if for a duke, the blade 
thereof muft lean from the head, between the neck and the 
right (houider, nearer to the neck than the (houlder: for 
an earl, the bearer muft carry the lame between the point-’ 
of the Ihoulder and the elbow,; and there is another dif¬ 
ferent bearing of the fword for a baron.”—The common 
hunt, whofe bufinefs was formerly to take care of the 
hounds belonging to the city, and to attend the lord-mayor 
and citizens in hunting on thofe grounds which they were 
authorized by different charters to do, is now chiefly oc¬ 
cupied in attendance upon the lady-mayorefs* and acts as 
ni alley 
