the description of the premises in the deeds, under which the voters claimed, was the fame in all the four, viz. "All that antient burgage, fituate or being within the borough of Downton, in the county of Wilts, part of the land belonging to the White Horfe." The entry in the quit-rent-roll for this land is thus, "G. Eyre, for part of that land belonging to the White Horfe,-19s. 6d." which is the rent of nineteen burgages and a half; whatever the antient divifions may have been, it has not now fo many. On the fide of the fitting members it was denied, that there were any divifions at all, and this point occafioned some dispute in evidence, which however did not alter the line of argument on the principal queftion. Mr. Bell, a furveyor, called on the part of the petitioners, who had known Downton about four years, and had furveyed Mr. Shafto's property there, faid, there appeared plain traces of fourteen divifions in this land by large bound-ftones, called there Meer-ftones, which were placed 20, 40, and 50 yards afunder, and seemed very antient; and

that

that eleven of these divifions were made by fences (but on comparing the evidence of both fides, I find a doubt, whether fix of these meer-stones belonged to the White Horse, or to an adjoining meadow called Bulham Mead.) He faid, a bound-stone is always a guide to a furveyor in making his plan, who draws a line from stone to ftone: While making his furvey, he derived the information he wanted from friends of Mr. Shafto, but had been accompanied by fome others, for it had been publicly made, and employed him for fome weeks.

John Smith, aged 73, who had lived all his life in Downton, a witness called on the part of the petitioners, remembered these meer-ftones from his childhood, and had heard old people formerly fay, they had always known them; but he could not tell how many divifions there were in this land, nor how many burgages; he had heard there were nineteen.

Mr. Webb, a furveyor, called on the part of the fitting members, who had taken a hafty survey of the place in question by

their direction while this inquiry was going on, faid, he had no doubt but that ten of these stones had been placed there to mark out an old ditch, and five of them for the boundary of a ftream of the river called the Trench. He had been accompanied in his furvey (which he made in two hours) by friends of Lord Radnor.

John Fanstone, an old inhabitant of Downton, aged upwards of 70, said, he always understood that they were the boundaries of the ditch, not of the burgages.

Samuel Bailey, an inhabitant of Downton, aged about 40, examined on the fame fide, faid, he had always heard that these ftones were to mark the water-courfe. On the fame fide a deed was produced, dated 20 March, 1673, by which part of this land had been leafed by Mr. Eyre to Mr. Ash for 1500 years, wherein these stones are described as the boundary between their respective lands.

Two burgages had been granted by the trustees out of land called Legg's Farm; the description of the premises in both

deeds

deeds was as follows: "An antient burgage, fituate or being within the borough of Downton, in the county of Wilts, part of Legg's Farm, formerly in the poffeffion of J. Plafket*.'

The entry in the quit-rent roll for this is thus, Anthony Duncombe, Efq; for that which was Legg's, in J. Plasket's poffeffion-10s."

Mr. Bell, the furveyor, faid, there appeared marks of this land's having been antiently divided into ten parts, fome of which divifions were more plain than others.

There was no evidence of more than one vote's having been given and allowed for either of these three eftates of Farr's, the White Horse, and Legg's, at any former election +.

Under

* In the election of 1774, Mr. Duncombe had granted quarters of burgages, out of Farr's and Legg's, for each of which a vote was claimed; this occafioned a very different inquiry from the prefent, and the fact being, that there were no marks of divifions into quarter burgages in this land, the queftion was eafily determined.

+ In fact, more votes have been given for them, but they were of the irregular fort brought forward in

Under thefe circumftances, it was contended by the counsel for the fitting members,

That these eleven votes ought to be rejected, as not being for entire burgages, but for parts only; That the property granted was not in itself capable of giving the right of voting, but that if it were, the terms of the grants were fuch, that this right did not thereby pass. They defined * a burgage to be an entire indivisible tenement, bolden of the fuperior Lord of a borough by an immemorial, certain rent, diftinctly reServed, to which the right of voting is incident (M).

That if burgage-tenure be the constitution of the borough of Downton, the right of voting must be in the freeholders of fuch tenements; if one entire rent be paid to the lord of the borough for the tenement, there can be but one vote given for it. But even if the rent could be divided with

1774, confifting of new divifions into halves and quarters of burgages.

* See 1 Doug. Elect. 217.

in