Circuits, districts outside of London into which England is divided for judicial purposes, for the trial of civil as well as criminal cases connected with them; are seven in number—the Midland, the Oxford, the North-Eastern, the South-Eastern, the Northern, the Western, and North Wales and South Wales; the courts are presided over by a judge sent from London, or by two, and are held twice a year, or oftener if the number of cases require it.