CORONER. 435 COROT. cusiodes placitorum corona' and coronatorcs. The exact ilate of origin of thi? odiee is not known, but the better modern view is that it was at least firmly established under Henry II. in the twelfth eentnry. From England the office of coroner has arisen in the United States and in the English colonies. The chief duty of the coroner is that which is described by Lord Chancellor Campbell when he says: "The coroner, next to the sheriff, is the most important civil officer in the county, and he performs the duty of the sheritl' when the sheritY is disabled from doing so; and there are peculiar duties prescribed to him, more particu- larly to inquire into the manner in which per- sons have come to their deaths where there is any reason to suppose that it may not have been by natural means; and, on the inquirj-, the jury being sworn, the jury have all the rights of a grand jury to find a verdict of murder, and on that finding the accused may be tried and may be sentenced to death." The coroner's duties in respect to this inquiry as to suspicious deaths has hardly varied at all from the fourteenth century to the present time, except as regards the methods of procedure, such as summoning jurors, witnesses, etc. Besides his duty to inquire into causes of sus- picious deaths, his other peculiar duties in- cluded that of inquiring concerning treasure trove — who were the finders, and where the treasure is, or whether any one be suspected of having found it and concealed it — and. formerly, the duty of inquiring concerning shipwrecks, and certifying whether it was a wreck or not (see Wreck); of holding inquests on royal fish; in- quiring into the goods of felons; and the holding of inquests on certain felonies, such as the breaking of a house and the sudden injury of a person under suspicious circumstances. Until 1888, in England, the coroners were chosen by the freeholders at a county court held for the jiurpose, but by the Local Government Act the county council were made the electors. The coroner is also ex officio a conservator of the King's peace (see Con.servator of the Peace), and in this capacity may act as a magistrate ; his ministerial office is exercised only when he acts in place of the sheriff. In the L^nited States and in some of the colo- nies of Great Britain, the duties and powers of coroners have been enlarged, or restricted, and in some cases the office has been entirely abol- ished. The coroner is vested by statute in some jurisdictions with the power and duty to investi- gate into the causes and origins of fires which appear to be of incendiaiy origin or of such a nature as to require investigation ; but ex officio the coroner has no authority to inquire into the cause or origin of a fire except when death has resulted from it. For a fuller description of the manner of choosing coroners and of their duties and powers, the statutes of the jurisdiction must be consulted. Consult : Eiiri/clopccdia of the Laws of Eng- land, vol. iii. (London, 1897); Binmore, In- structions for Sheriffs, Coroners, and Constahlm (2d ed.. Chicago, 1894) ; Bordern D. Smith, Powers. Duties, and Liabilities of Sheriffs. Coro- ners, and Constables ('2d ed., Albany. 1897) ; Jarvis. Olfiee and Duties of Coroners, with Forms and Precedents (5th ed., London. 1888) : Ste- phen, History of the Criminal Law (London, 1883) ; Pollock and Maitland, nislory of Eng- lish Law (2d ed., London and Boston. 189'J) ; Boys, Treatise on Coroners (Toronto, 1893). CORONET. A special crown worn by princes and nobles on state occasions, and always repre- sented aliove their coats of arms. Coronets were apparently intended originally as fillets to con- fine the hair, and during the reign of Edward III., when they were not yet used as distinctions of rank, were ornamented with leaves. Later they came to be recognized as distinctions of nobility, but were assumed arbitrarilj' without royal war- rant or restriction as to use. In more modern times they have been strictly regulated, especially in England. The following rules apply to that country: The coronet of the Prince of Wales differs from the crown of England only bj' having a single instead of a double arch ; a duke's coro- net has on the rim eight strawberrx'-leaves of equal height; that of a marquis four strawberry- leaves and four pearls or balls of silver, alter- nately; that of an earl, eight pearls set on lofty spikes, alternating with strawberrj'-leaves set lower; that of a viscount has fourteen or sixteen pearls close together ; that of a baron, six pearls. The privilege of wearing coronets was first grant- ed to viscounts by James I., and to barons by Charles II. The French rules are substantially the same. OORONINI - CRONBERG, ko'rone'ne-kron' beriv. Franz. Count von (183.'? — ). An Austrian statesman, son of the following, and one of the early companions and schoolmates of Emperor Francis Joseph. After studying philosophy and law, he served in the campaigns of 1859. 1864, and 1806, and was promoted to the rank of colonel in recognition of his distinguished ser- vices at the battle of Kiiniggratz. He was presi- dent of the Chamber of Deputies from 1879 to 1881, and in 1882 founded the Coronini Club. He became a member of the Upper House in 1897. CORONINI-CRONBERG, .Tohann Baptist Alexius, Count von (1794-1880). An Austrian general, father of the fojegoing, born at Gorz. He entered the army in 1813, and partici- pated in the campaigns of 1813 and 1814. After serving for several years in Italy, he was in 1836 appointed chamberlain of the Archduke Fi-ancis Charles, in which capacity he became preceptor of the Emperor Francis .toseph. As major-gen- eral he defended the passes of the Tyrol against the Italians in 1848. and by reason of the energy and skill displayed on that occasion he was selected for a somewhat similar task during the Crimean War (1854), being intrusted Avith the chief command of the army of occupation in Wallachia. B e was commanding general in Upper and Lower Austria, Salzbiirg and Styria in 1860, and in 1861 was appointed to the same position in Hun- gary- COROT, ko'ro', Jean B.vptiste Camille (17961875). A French landscape painter, born in Paris, July 29, 1796. His father was a hair- dresser who married a milliner, and by shrewd management of her business gained a compe- tence. Camille was educated in the college in Rouen, his father's home, and on his return to Paris he was apprenticed to a draper, in accord- ance with his father's wishes. But trade had no ch.arms for him, and in the meanwhile he had acquired a taste for painting. After seven years of apprenticeship with the draper, he
