The following is the mode of proceeding at the elec tion of a representative for a county. When a new par liament is called, the lord chancellor sends his warrant to the clerk of the crown, to issue writs to the sheriff of each county for the election of members. When the writ comes into the hands of the sheriff, he appoints a flay for the election, which must be at least twelve days before the meeting of parliament ; and the writ must be published three days before the election, at the head borough of the county, on a market-day, betwixt ten and twelve forenoon,. and at each parish-church on the Sun day immediately thereafter. The freeholders being as sembled in the court-room, between twelve and two, the sheriff produces the writ and reads it, and produces the executions at the market-cross and parish churches. If the publication has been regular, the business proceeds by the reading of the act 2 Geo. II. c. 24. for the more effectually preventing bribery and corruption. The she riff-clerk then produces the roll of freeholders, and the minutes of their proceedings, together with copies of the oaths of allegiance and abjuration, written on parch ment. The freeholders, whose names stand on the roll, then proceed to make choice of a preses and clerk. In the case of an equality of votes, the casting vote is given in the following order : 1. To the last representative of the county in parliament. 2. To the representative of the county in a preceding parliament. 3. To the free holder who last presided at a meeting of election. 4. To the freeholder who has presided at a Michaelmas meet ing; and, failing all these, to the freeholder present whose name stands first on the roll. A minute is then prepared, stating the appointment of their officers, which is signed by the last representative for the county, or by the sheriff-clerk, and delivered to the clerk to the meet ing ; after which the freeholders proceed to take and subscribe the oaths of allegiance, abjuration, and assu rance; and the trust-oath may also now be put, if re quired. The next step is to clear the roll of the names of those who have died since the former meeting. The freeholders then proceed to consider the objections made to those who stand on the roll, and, last of all, they take up the claims for enrolment that have been presented. A new roll is then made up, and delivered to the sheriff clerk to be recorded. The preses and clerk, however, may alter the order of the business in any manner they think proper.
At a meeting of election, the preses next calls the rectified roll, and takes the votes of the freeholders for the representative of the county, and he possesses a casting vote in case of equality. The person having the majority of votes is declared to be duly elected ; and mi nutes of the whole procedure are prepared by the clerk to the meeting, and signed by the preses and clerk. The clerk to the meeting must immediately return the per son chosen ; and the sheriff, after annexing the return to the writ, transmits both to the crown-office in Chan cery ; and the clerk to the crown must enter the writ and return, in a book kept in his office, without altera tion, within six days after they shall have come into his hands.
The duties incumbent on persons acting at elections in any official capacity, are enforced by heavy fines. The member who presides in the election of preses and clerk must call the roll regularly, under a penalty of 3001. ; the minutes of this nomination must be made up, and delivered under a penalty of 1001.; the clerk of the election must make his return to the sheriff-clerk, under a penalty of 5001. ; and the clerk of the crown-office must perform his duty under a like penalty.
3. Election of Commissioners for Royal Boroughs.
Of the 45 commoners by whom Scotland is represent ed in parliament, 15 are chosen by the boroughs, one by Edinburgh, and one by each of the other 14 districts o!' royal boroughs.
The following is a list of the 14 districts of royal ba roughs, in the order of their precedency : When an election is to take place, each royal borough in the district chuses a commissioner, or delegate, who meet and chuse the representative for the district. At the meeting of the commissioners for chasing a repre sentative, the commissioners from the several boroughs in the district preside in their respective turns, and have a casting vote in the case of an equality. Any person, whether a burgess or not, may be chosen as a delegate, to whom a commission is drawn up by the clerk of the borough, authenticated with the common seal. clerk_ of from the Greek word Oisxreov, amber, properly signifies the science which treats of the phe nomena of attraction and repulsion, produced by the fric tion of amber. As similar and analogous appearances, afterwards observed during the friction of glass, and a vast number of other bo dies, and were developed by various other means, and under various circumstances, the term Electricity has been extended to embrace the humorous and diversified phenomena which appear to have the same origin as those of excited amber or glass. As we are not yet entitled to include the Galvanic phenomena as a branch of electricity, we shall reserve for the article GALVAN ism, the consideration of that interesting subject.
In the present treatise, we propose to give a full and popular view of the various steps by which electricity has advanced to its present importance among the sciences; to describe the numerous phenomena which it comprehends; to explain the various theories which have been brought forward to account for them; and to describe the most improved machines and instruments which have been employed in advancing the progress of the science, in exhibiting its splendid phenomena, or in applying its tremendous energy to the useful pur poses of life.
We shall, therefore, divide the article into three Parts. I. DESCRIPTIVE ELECTRICITY, or an account of all electrical phenomena, whether they are produced by natural or artificial means; Il. Pit ne-ricAL ELEC TRICITY, or a description of electrical instruments, and the method of constructing and using them; and Ill.