ALDERMAN

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ALDERMAN

ALDERMAN. An officer, generally appointed or elected in towns corporate, or cities, possessing various powers in different places. 2. The aldermen of the cities of Pennsylvania, possess all the powersand jurisdictions civil and criminal of justices of the peace. They arebesides, in conjunction with the respective mayors or recorders, judges ofthe mayor's courts. 3. Among the Saxons there was an officer called the ealderman.ealdorman, or aldernwn, which appellation signified literally elderman. Likethe Roman senator, he was so called, not on account of his age, but becauseof his wisdom and dignity, non propter oetatem sed propter sapientism etdignitatem. He presided with the bishop at the scyregemote, and was, exofficio, a member of the witenagemote. At one time he was a militaryofficer, but afterwards his office was purely judicial. 4. There were several kinds of aldermen, as king's aldermen, aldermenof all England, aldermen of the county, aldermen of the hundred, &c., todenote difference of rank and jurisdiction.

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