Stranica 121 [121]
OCR
THE CITY GOVERNMENT 99 porta, a market-place in low Latin. /orfa further refers more or less distinctly to a place where certain dues were exacted, like the French octrot at the gates of Paris. The king’s officer had to account for these dues as the shire-reeve had to account for the royal revenue from a county. We find him after the Conquest sitting, no doubt with the king’s leave, as a judge or magistrate, and after a time he seems to have held in his own person various offices of authority which, by degrees, he delegated to others. Thus, when he had the name of mayor conferred on him, he appointed two sheriffs to be under him. There had frequently been two reeves, and sometimes even four, as in 1130. This was, of course, to divide the responsibility. After the first mayor came in there were always two sheriffs, but no more. Here we must pause a moment. We observe that when the portreeve became mayor and had sheriffs under him he only abdicated certain duties but continued to fulfil others— I mean others which pertained to his position as reeve. I do not think the king ever claimed the appointment of these subordinate sheriffs. In a county the Queen appoints the high sheriff but "not the
