Railways. The Great Western Railway enters Berkshire at Maidenhead, and runs by way of Reading to near Goring, where it crosses the Thames into Oxfordshire, returning into Berkshire near Moulsford. It then passes by way of Didcot into Wiltshire, which county is entered a little before the line reaches Swindon. An important branch of the Great Western runs from Didcot to Oxford, and another branch of the same railway from Reading to Newbury, Hungerford, etc. Express trains to the west of England pass over both the Didcot and the Newbury line, and in these days they are frequently run from Paddington to far beyond the Berkshire border without a stop. The Great Western has branch lines to Windsor, to Cookham for High Wycombe, to Henley, to Wallingford, to Abingdon, and to Faringdon, and also a rather important line from Reading to Basingstoke, giving a communication from Oxford to the south coast. There is also a light railway with auto-cars running between Newbury and Lambourn which belongs to the Great Western. The Didcot, Newbury, and Southampton Railway runs from the first-named place in a southerly direction, crossing the Reading and Newbury line at right angles. The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Company have a branch line running to Reading. It enters Berkshire near the village of Sandhurst. The London and South Western Railway have branches to Windsor and to Wokingham, and from the latter place run trains over the South Eastern line to Reading. 22. ADMINISTRATION AND DIVISIONS--ANCIENT AND MODERN. The division of the county into Hundreds dates from Saxon times. Each Hundred was governed by a High Constable, or Bailiff, and formerly there was a Court of Justice, called the Hundred Court, which was held regularly for the trial of causes, but this court fell into disuse. By various Acts of Parliament the Hundred is made liable for damage caused to persons by riots. In early days most of Berkshire was divided amongst different manors, and each manor had a Manorial Court or Court Baron. It has been already explained in Chapter 3 that the present administrative county differs somewhat from the geographical county, and as the town of Reading with a tract around it has been formed into the "County Borough of Reading" it is not for most administrative purposes a part of the county of Berks. The chief officials of Berkshire, under His Majesty the King, are the Lord Lieutenant, the Custos Rotulorum, and the Sheriff. The first two of these offices are usually held by the same person.