TUMULTUOUS ASSEMBLAGES are, in point of law, in the category of riots, and were carried to an enormous height in the reign of Charles I. It was afterward enacted by a statute of 13 Ch. II. c. 5, that not more than twenty names should be signed to any peti tion to the crown or either house of parliament for any alteration of matters established by law in church or state, unless the contents be previously approved by three justices or a grand jury; and no petition should be delivered by a company of more than ten per sons. A later statute of 57 Geo. III. c. 19, made it unlawful to convene a meeting of more than fifty persons, or for more than fifty to meet in any street within a mile of Westminster hall for the purpose of considering any petition or complaint to either house of parliament, for alteration of matters in church or state, on any day when parliament is sitting. But the act does not apply to meetings to elect members of parliament. Other enactments were passed as to assemblies of persons collected under precut of uublie grievances, but these were temporary, and have now expired.
TUN, a word which, under various modifications, exists in the Celtic and Teutonic languages, seems connected with the Latin teneo, I hold, or the Greek teino, I stretch, and signifies primarily a large vessel or cask. In various countries, Britain included, it denotes also a liquid measure of capacity; in old ale and beer measure, the tun was equal to 216 gallons (each gallon = 282 cubic in.), in old wine measure it was equal to 252 gal lons (each gallon = 231 cubic inches). The tun and all other liquid measures of higher denomination than the gallon are no longer legal; but the names are, for conve nience, still retained. These denominations had their origin in the natural practice of giving names to casks in common use which preserved a uniform size. As a tun of water weighs a little more than 2,000 lbs., it is probable that the ton weight (see Tox) was taken from the tun measure.