s to cause
deputies to be elected to a general council from every city, borough,
and trading town. And although the last words are omitted in subsequent
writs, yet their spirit was preserved; many towns having constantly
returned members to parliament by regular summonses, from the sheriffs,
which were no chartered boroughs, nor had apparently any other claim
than their populousness or commerce. These are now called boroughs by
prescription.[258]

Besides these respectable towns, there were some of a less eminent
figure which had writs directed to them as ancient demesnes of the
crown. During times of arbitrary taxation the crown had set tallages
alike upon its chartered boroughs and upon its tenants in demesne. When
parliamentary consent became indispensable, the free tenants in ancient
demesne, or rather such of them as inhabited some particular vills, were
called to parliament among the other representatives of the commons.
They are usually specified distinctly from the other classes of
representatives in grants of subsidies throughout the parliaments of the
first and second Edwards, till, about the beginning of the third's
reign, they were confounded with ordinary burgesses.[259] This is the
foundation of that particular species of elective franchise incident to
what we denominate burgage tenure; which, however, is not confined to
the ancient demesne of the crown.[260]

[Sidenote: Power of the sheriff to omit boroughs.]

The proper constituents therefore of the citizens and burgesses in
parliament appear to have been--1. All chartered boroughs, whether they
derived their privileges from the crown, or from a mesne lord, as
several in Cornwall did from Richard king of the Romans;[261] 2. All
towns which were the ancient or the actual demesne of the crown; 3. All
considerable places, though unincorporated, which could afford to defray
the expenses of their representatives, and had a notable interest in the
public welfare. But no parliament ever perfectly corresponded with this
theory. The writ was addressed in general terms to the sheriff,
requiring him to cause two knights to be elected out of the body of the
county, two citizens from every city, and two burgesses from every
borough. It rested altogether upon him to determine what towns should
exercise this franchise; and it is really incredible, with all the
carelessness and ignorance of those times, what frauds the sheriffs
ventured to commit in executing this tr