Page:History of Manchester (1771), Volume 1, by John Whitaker.djvu/272

Chap. VIII. OF MANCHEST E R. ^ In our own province of Maxima, the praetor conftanriy re- sided at York. There, in the capital of the province, was the manfion-houfe of the praetor, and it was denominated Palatium or Domus Palatina by the Romans In this was aflembled the principal court of juftice ; in this judicial determinations were made by the praetor ; and in this the imperial decrees and the praetor ial edi&s were promulged by his minifters. And other courts muft have been opened under his commiftion in the other towns of the province, in which his deputies prefided, inferior caufes were determined, and the decrees and the edi&s were equally promulged.^ Each praetor muft have had many of thefe deputies under him, as each province had many of thefe towns. Britannia Prima comprized about forty towns, Britannia Secun- da about fifteen, Flavia about fifty, Valentia about ten, and our own Maxima about twenty-five. Thus Britain, from the fouthern fea to the friths of Forth and Cluyd, had at the clofe of the firft century about an hundred and forty towns in all. Of thefe the neighbouring county of Chefter had four or five, Chefter, Kinderton, Hanford, and others And the county of Lancafter had eight, Blackrode, Freckleton, Ribchefter, and Colne, Overborough, Warrington, Lancaster, and Manchef- ter 5 . Thefe towns were of different degrees. They varied greatly from themfelves, not merely in the rank of their civil estima- tion, but even in the nature of their civil conftitutions. They were particularly diftinguifhed into the four orders of towns municipal and ftipendiary, of colonies, and of towns inverted with the Latin privileges 6 . And as there muft neceflarily have been many ftipendiary towns in every conquered kingdom, fo were there no lefs than two municipia, nine colonies, and ten Latin towns within our own 7 . The generality of the Britith towns therefore was merely ftipendiary. Such were Winches- ter, Canterbury, Exeter, and Lincoln, in particular*. Such alfo was our own Mancunium : and, like them, it was fubjeft , to all the provincial regimen. It was governed by a particular commandant, the deputy of the praetor, and a merely annual ef- I i ficer.