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672 CLERGY CLERMONT clerical dignity, and lay claim to an apostolic succession, but the majority believe in the ministry of only one order. CLERGY, Benefit of. See BENEFIT OF CLERGY. CLERK (Lat. clericus, from Gr. A^pof, por- tion or heritage), the designation of all ecclesi- astics in the middle ages. The various usages of the word illustrate the influence exercised by the clergy in the affairs of learning and civil administration. After the barbarism of the northern tribes was transplanted south- ward, the ecclesiastical order alone retained ac- quaintance with ancient literature and some of the traditions of ancient scholarship. They were therefore esteemed a learned class, and clerk was synonymous with man of science. At the period of the renaissance it was a com- plimentary title for men of distinguished learn- ing, even if they were not attached to the priesthood. Most of the high offices were in their hands, since they possessed above others the intelligence requisite for fulfilling them. As learning became more widely diffused, and other classes became qualified to administer affairs, the term clerk was gradually limited to its present signification of an officer in whose duties the keeping of records predominates ; and it is now antiquated, except in legal papers, as an appellation of the clergy. Among classes of clerks, in their ecclesiastical capacity, were the clerici acephali, who were distinguished from the clerici canonici by not uniting in a congregation under the orders of a bishop ; the clerks or brothers of common life, a congrega- tion of regular canons which was originated by Gerard Groot of Deventer in the latter part of the 14th century, and spread throughout the Netherlands and Westphalia ; and the regular clerks, who lived in community, with or with- out vows, and formed various congregations, as the Theatines, Barnabites, and Jesuits. The ministers of France were formerly termed royal clerks and clerks of accounts. A large number of clerkships in the courts and govern- ment offices of England were abolished by statutes in 1832 and 1837 ; but several high officers are still designated by this title, as the clerk of the crown, who attends upon both houses of parliament, and issues writs of sum- mons to peers and judges, and writs for the election of members of the house of commons ; the clerk of the house of commons, who en- dorses the bills and signs the orders of the house, and reads whatever may be required in the course of proceedings ; and the clerk of the parliaments, who is the chief ministerial officer of the house of lords, and waits upon the king or queen to receive the royal assent to bills, which he communicates to the lords. CLERK, John, a British naval tactician, born at Eldin, Scotland, about 1730, died in 1812. He was a country squire who studied naval science, and is said to have disclosed in 1779 his discovery of a new mode of operation for breaking the enemy's line in naval battle, which was successfully applied by Rodney in his victory over the French under De Grasse- in the West Indies, April 12, 1782, and sub- sequently by other British commanders in many memorable encounters. Sir Howard Douglas, whose father had served under Rod- ney, contested Clerk's claim to the discov- ery ; and it was asserted by others that Clerk had taken his "Essay on Naval Tactics" (privately circulated in 1782 ; republished 1790-'98, with additions ; new ed., 1804 ; French translation by Lescalier, 2 vols., 1797) from Father Paul Hoste's UArt des armees navale (Lyons, 1696 and 1727). The fact of his having never been in the naval service, or even at sea, strengthened his opponents ; but Clerk's claim to the invention is generally re- garded as substantiated. CLERKE, Charles, an English navigator, bora in 1741, died Aug. 22, 1779. He was educated at the naval academy of Portsmouth, and made his first voyage round the world as midshipman under Commodore Byron. In 1768 he sailed round the world a second time, accompanying Capt. Cook in the Endeavor, and was raised to the rank of lieutenant. In 1776 he was placed in command of one of the ships which formed the Cook squadron, and on the death of Capt. Cook in 1779 he succeeded to the chief com- mand. The hardships which he was compelled to endure while searching for a passage be- tween Asia and America broke down his health, and he expired off the coast of Eamtchatka r and was buried at Petropavlovsk. CLERMONT, a S. W. county of Ohio, separa- ted from Kentucky on the 8. and S. W. by the Ohio river, touched on the N. W. corner by the Little Miami, and intersected by one of its branches ; area, 462 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 34,268. The soil is fertile, and the surface rolling and hilly. The Marietta and Cincin- nati and the Cincinnati and Muskingum Valley railroads touch the N. W. corner. The chief productions in 1870 were 181,532 bushels of wheat, 878,027 of Indian corn, 825,755 of oats, 308,006 of potatoes, 19,535 tons of hay, 769,- 133 Ibs. of butter, 39,425 of wool, and 1,219,- 762 of tobacco. There were 8,107 horses, 6,837 milch cows, 5,848 other cattle, 12,762 sheep, and 25,028 swine ; 8 grist mills, 13 saw mills, 2 distilleries, 24 manufactories of furni- ture, and 1 of woollen goods. Capital, Batavia. CLERMONT, or Clermont-Ferrand, a town of Auvergne, France, capital of the department of Puy-du-D6me, 215 m. S. S. E. of Paris; pop. in 1866, 37,690. It is situated on a hill between the rivers Bedat and Allier, in a mountainous region at the foot of a range of extinct volca- noes, the highest of which is the Puy-de-D6me mountain. A line of boulevards extends almost round the circuit of the town. In the place de Jaude, the principal square, is a statue of Desaix, and another square is named after the poet Delille, who, like that general, was born near Clermont. Pascal was a native of the town. The W. part of the cathedral, which was greatly damaged during the revolu-