Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	law_n	parliament_n	prerogative_n	2,334	5	9.9399	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A93441	The antiquity & original of the Court of Chancery and authority of the lord chancellor of England being a branch of Serjeant Snagg's reading, upon the 28 chapter of Magna Charta, at the Middle Temple, in Lent, 13 Eliz. : with his congratulatory epistle, (by way of preface) to the Lord Chancellor Hatton, in 29 Eliz.	Snagg, Robert.	1654 (1654)	Wing S4381A; ESTC R42651	18,654	95

of the chief of the Nobility were Partners therin which were never fully appeased until the Parliament was holden at Marlebridge about the 52 year of his Reign when and where that Charter was enacted in that Parliament and thereby the antient Laws and Liberties revived and restored which Charter so enacted sithence hath been by all Kings Queens solemnly sworn at their Coronations to be kept and so hath been sacredly Observed to this day unless some Forgetfulness in some Kings and Ignorance in some Officers hath infringed the same But now by Gods blessing plentifully powred upon us it is in sull Use to the great Comfort of all good Subjects and immortal fame of her most Excellent Majesty And in the 28 Chapter of that Charter and Act of Parliament I find it set down in Latine in excellent and significant brief words to this effect That no Freeman shall be dealt with either in Life Liberty Lands Liberties Body or Goods nor that the King would send for any nor proceed against any Nisi per legale judiciū parium suorum aut per legem terrae And that the King would not defer deny nor sell Justice or Right to any which is as it were the sum of all the Charter Act and the whole mark that was shot at to revive the antient Laws and restore the antient Liberty and Liberties to the Subjects Wherein I noted That both how far the Prerogative should go and what is Right and Justice common to all is referred to be decided per legem terrae what therefore that Lex terrae was which was so carefully sought dearly bought with so much Noble blood which was then thereby revived I thought if I could find I had that I sought for And therfore I thought it best to begin with such Reporters or Writers of our Law as writ nearest the time of that Charter and looked into Mr. Bracton that wrote about 9 H. 3. the very time of the first granting of the Charter who was one of the chief that were appointed as it is delivered by Traditiō to find out again the antient Laws of the Land when the King was pleased to put thē again into the force that they had lost by the Conquest And in his Book in print I find it thus written Cum autem ferè in omnibus Regionibus utatur legibus jure scripto sola Anglia usa est in suis fmibus jure non scripto consuetudine in ea quidem ex non scripto jus venit quod usus comprobavit And after that he saith in the next Chapter these words Leges Anglicanae fuerunt approbatae consensu utentium Sacramento Regum confirmatae And Cap. 3. Consuetudo more utentium approbata vicem Legis obtinet consuetudinis non vilis est authoritas And he saith further Lib. 1. Cap. 8. treating of that Law which he calleth the Custom of the Land Lex autem facit Regem attribuat igitur Rex Legi quod Lex attribuit ei id est dominationem potestatem nam ubi dominatur voluntas non Lex ibi non est Rex Whereof may be aptly collected that before this Law was there was no King here in this Land for if the Law of the Land made the King there was none before it But Kings we find by all Stories to be of a great antiquity here in this Land and so by consequence the Law must And then looking for that matter in the Reports of the Law I found a Book Case in 2 H. 4. fol. 18. That it was agreed by the Judges that the Common Custom of the Realm was the Law of the Land And in that point looking further I found all Books of Law agree which Judgement of the Judges from time after the Enacting of that Charter and the judgement of Mr. Bracton before at the time of the penning of the Charter concurring in one satisfied me That Lex terrae which is there set down and thereby revived and now holden by the great Charter whereto every King and Queen is sworn at the Coronation was the antient Custom of the Land that all People of several Nations that at several times inhabited here liked best of as fittest for this place whereby the Kings lived in greatest Honor and Ease and the People in greatest Quietnes and Freedom wherfore thereto the Kings were content to bind themselves and the Subjects could abide no other And so I drew that travel to this conclusion That our Law is the antient Custom of the Country or Land and of that Antiquity that there is no Record nor Matter that can shew the Commencement thereof nor any man can tell it but it was before all memory of Man that remaineth in the world consisting of Maxims General Grounds Rules received approved allowed as just good necessary for the Governmēt of this Land begun when this Land first became a Common-wealth under a King and ever sithence used approved and allowed from time to time time out of mind of Man and by experience found in all Ages to be fittest for the place and to be necessary honest and profitable both for the Prince and People and being so found fit and continued it became a Custom to be observed of all that should inhabit or remain here and when it was lost by the Conquest it was again restored by Common consent of Parliament as was necessary it should be for that the force it had by Custom and Usage was interrupted by the Conquest So as the Custom of the Realm revived by Parliament is the Law of the Land which is the Genus to all And the Parliament and the Acts thereof and the Prerogative of the Prince and the particular Customs of several Counties Cities Boroughs Manors be all but Species of it For that General Custom of the Realm which is the Law of the Land authorizeth the Parliament limiteth the Prerogative alloweth and disalloweth of Private Customs and whatsoever in England is to be allowed and not to be allowed as they are consonant or dissonant to the reason thereof But when I had found out this by Reading then looking into the course of Practice I found the Lord Chancellor fitting highest in Westminster-Hall and had most to do bare the greatest rule and yet gave his judgement as it seem'd to me as it pleased himself whatsoever the Law of the Land required in the case And seeing Men of great Honor Learning Integrity sit in that place and so judge I was in a maze not finding at the first how it could stand with the Great Charter that referred all judgement ad Legem terrae and how any thing different from that Law could be allowable in the Land sith the Kings were all sworn to maintain the Charter that restored the Law and his Lordship and all the Judges were placed by the King But when I looked further and perused it well I found that the Custom of the

But therein there is no certain Rule but his Lordships own Wisdom and Opinion to discern whether the Law can relieve it or not or that there be any defect or not so as if his Lordship think there is cause to retain it he may or dismiss it if it please him according to his own Conscience which is in that behalf to direct him as God shall direct it 8. And some cases there be that seem unconscionable and yet the Law alloweth them for good and necessary and never Lord Chancellor thought good to deal in them As for example That the Warranty of a Collateral Ancestor that never had any thing in the Land descended upon one that had right should barr the right Owner from his Inheritance for that he is Heir to him that made the Warranty though he hath nothing for it Or that a supposed Recovery in value in a Common Recovery against a Cryer of the Court of Common Pleas that is not worth a Groat nor like ever to be able to make Recompence in value should stand for a Recompence and be a barr of a mans lawfull Inheritance and to barr him that he can never demand it seemeth in every Mans particular Conscience to be unconscionable And yet the Law hath allowed of them upon this General Rule of Law Better to suffer a Mischif than an Inconvenience and upon the regard that the Law hath to settle Possessions of Inheritace in certainty by such Instruments and Policies as the Law hath allowed to assure them by of which kind these be wherefore the Law hath not suffered them either by Law or in Conscience at any time to be violated or infringed for any respect or in any case 9. And it was said That wheresoever an Act of Parlament hath made any provision for any unconscionable thing that was not to be relieved by the Common Law if the Lord Chancellor think in his Conscience that the Parlament hath not sufficiently relieved the party yet his Lordship is not to relieve him further than the Parlament hath done as before the Act he might have done for that so much is provided for as the whole Three Estates thought meet to whose judgement his Lordship is to yeeld But if any go about to defraud any Act of Parlament or not able to seek relief as the Statute appointeth Then as aforesaid according to Conscience his Lordship is to deal therein when and where as God and his Conscience is to direct and no other nor other rule there can be for his direction in that behalf Hereupon was it also concluded That his Lordships Authorities Judicial both by Ordinary power and by Absolute power are limited by the Law of the Land For in the Ordinary he is tyed to the strict course of the Law as other Judges be and in the Absolute power though not tyed to the course of the Law yet he is to deal per Regulatam Conscientiam and according to the course of the Court and in such Cases as in cases of Conscience and Equity likewise hath been relieved before-time but not in any Case that Law hath allowed of for good and necessary nor in any that any Parlament hath made provision for unless for some circumstances the party can not have that which the true intent of the Law or the Parlament allowed him but by means of that Court And many things that a good Conscience would will a man to doe in Charity to his Neighbour his Lordship by his Conscience cannot compell him to do by the course of that Court. 10. But in all that Discourse none could find how farr his Lordships Absolute power went nor within what limits certain it could be contained nor by what means he might find out the truth But that is without limitation referred to his own Gifts and the Grace of God that giveth Wisdom to find out the Truth and Conscience to judge accordingly sometime to find it out by the Law of Nature as Solomon did when no Testimony could be found in the world yet he found by her bowels of compassion the true mother of the Child And sometime it is found out by one mean and sometime by another But God never faileth to give wisdom and means to perform those Offices and Callings that his Majesty placeth men in so as they serve him in Fear and walk before him with a good Conscience and seek it in Humility and with prayer at his hands whose Will which is Infinite is the Rule of the Lord Chancellors Conscience and therefore his Authority in that respect is infinite and not limited in certainty 11. Upon all these Notes the Reader concluded with this Note That it is certain that his Lordships Office and Authority is by the Law of the Land and not derogatory thereto but was constituted by the Law-makers to supply those things that the Judges that be bound to the general Rules could not relieve but in nothing to proceed to the prejudice of the Law And to that end his Lordship was made a Judge of the Law in some Cases and also a Judge by Conscience besides the general Rule of Law in some other Cases for that being a Judge of the Law as well as others his Lordship is with others to uphold the credit of the Law and that most of all others for that she gave him greater Authority than any other and trusted him above all the rest in that she tyed all the rest to follow strict Rules and left him to rule by the Grace of God and his own Conscience and to observe only the Equity and not the strict Rules thereof Wherefore no man ought once to controll his Lordships judgement in any cause that he proceedeth in by his Absolute power but is with reverence to yeeld unto it for as much as every one by the Rule of Charity and of the estimation that we ought to have of them that God hath substituted over us is to judge the best that is that his Lordship hath proceeded in singleness of heart according to his Conscience and the Director of a good Mans Conscience is the will of God which is the perfect rule of Righteousnesse howsoever it seemeth to Man in his Wit or Judgement Wherefore when his Lordship hath set down his judgement as God hath guided his Conscience in any case where he is Judge by Conscience though it differ from some other judgement given either by himself or any other good Man that sat in his Seat all men are bound to think that the case differed in some circumstance that they cannot see or hath not understood it Or that God in this case according to his good Will which is subject to no Rule but it self hath ordered this thus and that so and each being according to Gods good VVill though different in our Understanding the one from the other both to be Righteous and Just Judgements and are not to be disliked or disobeyed of any 12. But then was it