Council House.—­See “Public Buildings.”

County Areas.—­The total areas of this and adjoining counties are:—­ Warwickshire 566,458 acres, Worcestershire 472,453, Staffordshire 732,434, and Shropshire 841,167.

County Court.—­First opened in Birmingham at the Waterloo Rooms, Waterloo Street, April 28th, 1847.  R. G. Welford, Esq., Q.C., acting as judge until September, 1872.  He was followed by H. W. Cole, Esq., Q.C., who died in June, 1876; James Motteram, Esq., Q.C., who died Sept. 19, 1884:  the present judge being W. Chambers, Esq., Q.C.  The Circuit (No. 21) includes the towns and places of Aston, Atherstone, Balsall Heath, Curdworth, Castle Bromwich, Erdington, Gravelly Hill, Handsworth, Harborne, King’s Heath, King’s Norton, Lea Marston, Little Bromwich, Maxstoke, Minworth, Moseley, Nether Whitacre, Perry Barr, Saltley, Selly Oak, Sutton Coldfield, Tamworth, Water Orton and Wishaw.

County Officials.—­For names and addresses of the Lord Lieutenant, Deputy Lieutenant, High Sheriff, County Magistrates, and other official gentlemen connected with the county of Warwick, see “Red Book.”

Court of Bankruptcy holden at Birmingham (at the County Court, in Corporation Street) comprises all the places within the district of the County Court of Warwickshire holden at Birmingham, Tamworth and Solihull, and all the places in the district of the County Court of Worcestershire holden at Redditch.

Court Of Judicature.—­Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall, and Worcester, are District Registries of the Supreme Court of Judicature.

Court Leet.—­The origin of that peculiar kind of Local Government Board, known in the olden days as the Court Leet of the Manor of Birmingham, is lost in the misty shadows of our past history.  Doubtless there were many onerous duties connected therewith, and very possibly the officials considered themselves as “men of high degree,” but what those duties actually were, and what the remuneration for their due fulfilment, appears to have been matter of doubt, even so late as a hundred and a few odd years ago.  The rights, powers, and privileges of the officers of this Court had evidently been questioned by some of our Radical-minded great-grandfathers, as we find it was deemed necessary to assemble a jury on the 20th day of October, 1779, to “ascertain and present” the same, and from a little pamphlet at that time published, we extract the following:—­

The Office of Low Bailiff.—­“The Jury find and present that this officer is annually elected by the Jury, and that his office is in the nature of Sheriff of the Manor; that to him all the process of the Court is to be directed, and that it is his right and duty to summon all Juries to this court.  And the Low Bailiff, at each fair, is entitled to one penny for each stall or standing pitched in the said fairs.”