Chiltern Hundreds
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary · Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
A range of hills in England, formerly much infested by robbers. To exterminate the robbers, a steward of the chiltern hundreds was appointed. The office long since became a sinecure, and is now used to enable a member -of parliament to resign, which he can do only by the ac-, ceptance of some office within the gift of the chancellor.
2 Steph. Comm. 403; Wharton.