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HTSTORY OF MALTA.

master unless he had been received as knight of justice, wasarrived at the age of eighteen years, had resided three years inthe convent, made three caravans, and was not indebted morethan ten crowns to the common treasury. Though the brotherchaplains (provided they were priests), and the serving brothersof arms, were permitted to give their votes in the differentlanguages into which they had been received, this circumstancedid not entitle them in future to the smallest share in the go-vernment; but the Maltese who, in virtue of a particular dis-pensation from the pope, had been received into any of thelanguages, were not allowed to vote on this occasion, and stillless to be candidates for such dignity. This general exclusionwas probably intended to prevent the ill consequences of havinga Maltese grard-master, who would most likely have beentempted to make every effort to place the sovereignty of theisland permanently in the hands of his countrymen.

The third day after the grand-master’s decease was alwaysfixed upon for proceeding to the election of his successor; andthis important affair was never delayed for a greater length oftime, to prevent all canvassing and caballing, and also to avoidsome certain pretensions of the court of Rome, where it wasan established maxim, that whilst this post remained vacantthe pope had a right to prevent the nomination of any par-ticular grand-master: it was therefore on the third day that,after the celebration of a solemn mass of the Holy Ghost in thechurch of St. John, the whole convent assembled in that place.