obeyed not those general designes Before the Romans arrived in this Island Causibulan who before Communi Consilio Chieftain of the Britaines forces Summa enim imperii Bellique Administrandi Communi Consilio permissa est Causibulano The Ancient Laws of the Britaines which to the honor of our common Laws have their use to this day were composed in their common Counsels the multitude at that time as possessed of nothing had neither voice nor place Usury Tribute and greatness having made them servile to their betters And thus stood the State till by conquest it was made a Province So before our Britaines learned the Laws of their Victours they held their common Counsels Tacitus seemeth to ascribe much to the prosperous proceedings of the Romans against the Britaines quod non in Communi Consuluerunt After the entry of the Romans who with their people brought their Laws their Counsels were Comitia as Parliaments compounded of the three degrees Senatores Equestres Plebei and termed either Curiata Centuriata or Tributa so called for that the people were divided per Curias in which Assembly Populus Suffragia tenebat distinguished by Seats summoned by the Lictour held in the City had power to consult of Peace and War and to dispose of lesser publique Offices Romulus was founder hereof and called it lex Curiata and Centuriata for the nobler people were divided per Centurias for this the Counsel fore-sent by Edict Quis Dies Comitiis Centuriatis futurus est summoned per Corniciem Assembled in Campo Martio because all in Armes In this were disposed the greater Magistracies and affairs of that Hostilius was the institutor Tully gloried in that he was called lege Centuriata Tributa For in this the people Assembled by their Tribunes much ageeing with that of Curiata And the leges peculiares were general Jussu populi regnante Magistratu but not in force as Laws until their Promulgation for which cause the Country-Tribunes repaired to certain Faires where Proclamation was made of their new Laws and holding it aequum ut quisquam non obligaretur ad id quod sine culpa sua ignorat But these freedoms of the people expited and vanished as the Empire grew obsolete And when the State declined we as other enfranchised Countries began to give Laws unto our selves Therefore the Britains told Augustine Se non posse absque suorum Consensu licentia priscis abdicare moribus And thus it stood in Britaine until the coming in of the Saxons Now that substance and forme of Parliamentary Assemblies went all along the Saxon age held during the Incursion of the Danes and was continued by the Conquerour in part and when the Assembly of the three Estates formed the Parliament as now we keep it it shall by clear proof and presidents appear The story of the Saxons and their Laws do shew that they were of the same minde transplanted hither as Tacitus saith the Germanes were Nec Regibus infinita potestas de Minoribus Rebus principes consultant de majoribus omnes Rex Edwinus saith Beda lib. 2. cap. 13. quod antequam fidem susciperit dixit secum amicis principibus Consiliariis suis collaturum In a Charter of king Etheldred it appeareth Hist Esiensis Lib. 2. quod ad synodale Consilium apud Cirenchester universi Optimates simul convenerunt Affricum Majestatem rerum affectantem de hac patria profugum expulerunt Bertulphius held a Councel at Knisbury pro Regni Negotiis Congregat ' to the which the west-Saxon King and people sent their Legat. Ingulphus hath many places of clear proof but I will move but one In festo nativitatis beatae Mariae cum universi Magnates Regni per Regium edictum summoniti tam Archiepiscopi Episcopi Abbates Clerici quam totius Regni Proceres Optimates London convenerunt ad tractandum de negotiis publicis totius Regni consummatis omnibus Rex Eldredus coram Universis Domino Turketillo Abbati Monachisque suis Accersitis dedit Monasterium de Crowland c. Here you may see the sampler of our Parliament But to come nearer when King Jua establish'd his Lawes he saith I Jua King of the West-Saxons have called all my Fatherhood Aldermen and my wisest Commons with the godly men of my Kingdom to consult of great and weighty Matters Here is represented in King Jua the Kings Royal person The Fatherhood in those ancient dayes were those whom we call Bishops and therefore were termed Reverend Fathers By Aldermen the Nobility is meant so honorable was the word Alderman of old times that onely Noble Men were called Aldermen By the Wisest Commons is signified the Knights and Burgesses and so is the Kings Writ at this day De discretioribus majus sufficientibus By godly Men is meant the Convocation-house for that it onely eonsisteth of Religious men To consult of great and weighty Matters so is the Kings Writ at this day Pro quibusdam arduis urgentibus negotiis nos Statum defensionem Regni nostri Angliae Ecclesiae Anglicanae Concernentibus The like was in King Alphreds dayes where the King sancta Episcopi sapientes laici Statuerunt leges Calling the Statute-books libri synodales All their Lawes going by way of Suffrage general according to the Right of our Parliament Wherefore King Offa having gathered Consilia sapientum and viewing the best Lawes of Jua Alured and Etheldred would not publish them until such time as the Text saith ostendenda haec omnibus sapientibus nostris dixerunt omnes placet Custodire ea But howsoever the government was by sundry Kings and they continually attent to warre The Saxon time held hardly one Forme of this great Assembly or Councel yet in Canutus his dayes he having Conquered all and reduced that Heptarchie into a Monarchie so that he could say Sub Uno Rege sub Unae lege Universum Angliae Regnum regeretur It is plain that he held a Parliament though not then so stiled yet truly so to be accompted and since that it hath all parts of our Parliament we might rightly call it so In the Preamble to his Lawes thus he saith Convocato Itaque Communi procerum comitatu Episcoporum Abbatum ceterorum Nobilium Nec non ceterae Nobilitatis sapientiaeque totius Angliae concilio satagebat communia decreta ut in quantum humana ratio Voluit stabiliret After this Pious King Edward the Confessor in a Charter made to Westminster Abbey sealed and signed the same at a Parliament for thus he saith Hanc Igitur Chartam Donationis libertatis in Dedicatione predictae Ecclesiae recitare jussi Coram Episcopis Abbatibus Comitibus omnibus Optimatibus Angliae omnique populo audiente vidente But now to come to the Normans time after the Conquest The two first Kings the Conquerour and his son William Rufus reigned with their swords in their hands absolutely of themselves not
admitting the former general Assemblies of the States but permitting onely Provincial-Synods of the Clergy for compounding of the Ecclesiastical causes where nevertheless they sate as Presidents and the Conquerour himself did not challenge to himself so absolute a conquest but the Laws that he made have this Title Hic Intimatur quod Gulielmus Rex cum principibus suit Constitutam And in giving Laws to this Nation fecit summoniri per universos Consultatus Angliae Anglos nobiles sapientes sua lege eruditos ut eorum jura Consuetudines ab ipsis Archiepiscopis Episcopis audiret And often doth he and his Son William call together Archiepiscopos Episcopos Abbates Comites Barones Vicecomites cum suis Militibus ad Consulendum And likewise oftentimes afterwards until the time of Henry first we find that there was Conventus Episcoporum Abbatum Procerum Regni Londini in Palatio Regis VVherefore Polydore Virgil and Paladine are much deceived if they thought that Henry the first held the first Parliament within this Realm Neither do they seem to be of that Opinion their words being that Regis ante tempora Henrici primi non Consue verunt populi conventum Consultandi causa nisi pro raro facere Therefore they might hold some though not so often as did their successors or agreeing with the Manuscript of Canterbury that the first Parliament wherein the Commons were called aswel as the Peeres and Nobles was 16 H. 1. For it is true that after the Conquest until this time the Commons were not called and so at this time they will have it first called by the name of a Parliament Indeed if the policy of the time be noted that may yeeld some difference The Conqueror and his Son William being strangers had no way to make permanent their victory but by adding other Laws and plucking up the old Roots of Families they found and to plant them in themselves as in new grounds So for that age it was their Wisdome to Rule and not to advise with the people But Henry the first a new bud of the old stock being a natural Englishman himself born at Selly in Lincolnshire in love of the English Nation by whom he sought his strength The Normans at that time standing at terms of revolt from him in savour of his Brother Robert Duke of Normandy he well understanding the love of his people called them to those great Counsels and setling the Authority of his Court of Parliament so established his Throne that neither Britaine Dane nor Saxon could ever after till this day disturbe either him or his posterity from the possession of this Land The making of his Laws were by Act of Parliament The Marriage of his Daughter Mawde and the entayling of the Crown to her were done by Act of Parliament The accord between Stephen and him was made by Parliament And consequently all the succeeding Kings since have ever concluded grandia Regni onely in the Parliament Yet all the times since have not kept the said Form of the Assembling of the three Estates for sometimes the Principal of the Nobility were onely called and they at the end of the Parliament were to impart to the other Barons and their Country what was done in the Parliament Afterwards King John ordained that all the Barons of England should come in their proper persons to the Parliament being Summoned 20 Knights Fees after 20 l. a Fee going to the value of an entire County 15 Knights Fees making an entire Baron by which they sate But King H. 3. after that he had smarted by the tumultuation of the Barons their multitudes bringing confusion ordained that those Earles and Barons onely to whom he directed his Writs should come unto the Parliament and none else And this which Hen. 3. began his son Edw. 1. the Founder of our civil estate calling the Barons and appointing the Knights and Burgesses to be elected and of the Barons selected the wisest and such as pleased him and did omit them and their children which did not equal them and their parents in wisdom and vertue so held it on until the time of Edward the Third there being a Writ then in use de Admittendo fide dignas ad Colloquium Some also at that time being called as William Earl of Nottingham to attend upon the King with one hundred and twenty men at armes Lawrence de Hastings Earl of Pembrook with fifty men at armes and William Clinton Earl of Huntington with sixty men at armes and so divers others The calling was with distinction The Bishops and Barons de Negotiis tractaturum Consilium impensuri The Knights and Burgesses ad faciendum Consentiendum Those times had certain Ordinances besides Estatutes for whatsoever the Lords and Commons agreed upon was presently an Ordinance and whatsoever the King gave his Royal Assent unto it then became an Estatute But if after the Parliament the King did Assent unto any Ordinance it then became an Estatute for the Kings answer is no more but le Roy le veult ou le Roy se avisera And before the Printing of Acts was used they were always engrossed and sealed with the great Seal of England and proclaimed in every Shire which use was continued from the time of H. 3. until H. 7. his days and the form was thus The King by the advice of his Lords Spiritual and Temporal at the special instance of the Commons Assembled in Parliament hath made and established these Ordinances and Statutes to the honor of God the good of the King and Realm In which words you may observe a summary of this great Counsel First the Persons the three Estates Secondly the Ends for which the Parliament was called viz. for the honour of God c. Thirdly the Means by Counsel and consent Each duty of the three degrees is insinuated in these three things viz. Request of the Commons Advise of the Lords and Establishment of the King The first expressing the suitours for the Royal Assent is never prayed by the Lords but by the Speaker the Mouth of the Commons The second distinguishing the house The King hearing the causes debated onely by the Lords The third intimating that no Bill receiveth life until the Royal Assent be given So by looking back it is easie to see the great Antiquity of this high Court delivered as you see from before the Romans but never so dignified as since Queen Elizabeths time Now for the Nature of a Parliament it is Consilium and it is Curia the power of it in matters hereditary and personal the proceedings of it in causes criminal and civil the priviledges of it sedentibus servientibus The Offices Officers and Order we leave to a further discourse thus much onely touching the Antiquity of Parliaments in England Temps Edw. le Confessor le sommons doit estre 40. Jours devant le session THe Summons of the Clergy Arch-Bishops Bishops Abbots and Priours that hold
Prelates Nobles and Commons to consult for the publick Weale and as he thinketh before that day the King never called the people to consult and make Laws and he deriveth the name from the French word Parler There is an ancient Roll in some mens hands which describeth the whole State and order of the Parliament and the Title of it is De modo tenendi Parliamentum And it is further described Parliamentum Regis Angliae Angles summoneri tenebatur temporibus Regis Edwardi filii Ethelredi qui modus Recitatus fuit Coram Willielmo Duce Normaniae Conquestore Rege Angliae per ipsum approbatum By this it should seem that Parliaments as they are described in that Roll were held in the time of Edward the holy for he was the Son of Etheldred for Edward the elder was the Son of Alphred and this Edward the holy lived about the year 1043. And by this it should also seem that the Conqueror held a Parliament In this it is first set down what Clergy-men were called which were not onely Bishops but Abbots and Priors that held per Baroniam by which I gather that they came not to that place as they were spiritual men but by reason of the temporal honours they enjoy in the Commonwealth for they have a place in the convocation-house in respect of their spiritual function and in that also they are a part in the Court of Parliament We read of a Parliament in 35 E. 1. in which were sixteen Abbots and eight Priors but how many of those were of the higher house I dare not define or rather were of the house ingeneral for I know it is not clear that there was not then a distinction of houses The first Title is De Clericis the second De Laicis the third de Militibus the fourth De Civibus the fifth De Burgensibus all other circumstances of place times orders and such like are recited which I omit to remember particularly because I know it is a thing well know to all and that it differeth from the order of that Court now used The Court of Parliament hath a double power the one to consult by way of deliberation for the good Government of the Common-wealth and so it is Consilium non Curia another power it hath as a Court in Administration of Justice The principal purpose of that Assembly seemeth to be for Consultation for the Writs are ad Consultandum deliberandum but being Assembled they may hold Plea of causes But this difference I find that in criminal causes both the upper house and lower house intermedleth therewith as in Attainders onely and the spiritual Lords do all go out of the house and give their assents by Proxie 10 E. 4.6 But in civil causes as in VVrits of Error sued there out of the Kings Bench the upper house onely medleth as is well described in the case 1 Hen. 7.19 20. in a VVrit of Error sued by one Flowerdue on a Replevin wherein Judgment was given against him in the Kings Bench. But we have an express Authority in the 4 H. 7.18 That in a criminal cause the Commons must assent for there the King and Lords did attaint one and nothing was said of the Commons therefore by the Opinion of the Justices the Act was held void and the party restored The Peeres of Scotland were wont to come to our Parliament for in 39 E. 3.35 in a VVrit of ravishment de Garde against Gilbert Umfrevil he demanded Judgment of the VVrit because he was Earle of Anguish and not so named in the VVrit Anguish saith the Plaintiff is out of the Realm I but said the Defendant I am summoned to Parliament by that name and the VVrit was abated this proveth that the Peeres of Scotland came to our Parliament for Justice but Littleton saith 20 E. 4.6 that we shall implead an Earle or Duke of France by the name of Knight onely I need not dilate of the nature of the Parliament that it is a body politique or of what parts and members it consisteth for that is very well understood of all learned men neither of the order of it at this day for most know that of their own experience the priviledges of it are great and may more safely be discussed what they are without the house in regard of others then what they are in the house for their liberties there Of the Antiquity of Parliament THat which we in English call Parliament I suppose and know to have taken the name from the French or Norman tongue sounding upon the word Parle or Parler to speak or discourse In Latine I find that it was called before the Conquest by two names the one called Synodus taken from the Greek which is used most for the Assembly of spiritual men to treat of Divine causes and so was practised when Augustine came to Canterbury where the King of Kent called Ethelbert gathered his Nobles and people to understand the message and preaching of Augustine and again it is termed Consiliatio as hereafter I shall set down and hereafter in that sence in Anno Dom. 833. Withlasias Dux Wiviorum a great Lord or Peer amongst those of the Frennes called Girrii or Girrogii in his Chapter for the foundation of the Abbey of Ramsey in which he termeth Egberte King and Ahelwolf his son to be Dominos suos he dateth his said Charter thus Datum apud Londini Civitatem ubi omnes Congregati sumus pro Consilio Capiendo Contra Danicos piratos littora Angliae assidue infestantes This mentioneth Ingulphus so as it appeareth when any imminent peril drew neer for the hurt of the Commonwealth that then there were called the Nobility and wisemen called in the History of Eli Duces Principes Satrapae Rhetores Causidici also Convenerunt Agelinum Aldermanum Episcopos Oswynum omnes meliores Concionatores de Com. c. And the same Author sheweth that Brithmothus a most Noble Duke of Northumberland was called Alderman idest senior vel Dux qui synodo magna Constantia restituit Regem Edgarem alios Monachos dicens nequaquam se ferre posse ut Monachi ejicerentur de Regno qui omnem Religionem tenuerunt coluerunt in Regno King Offa in his Charter granted to the Abbey of Chertsey hath these words Hanc libertatem omnia praedicta praefatum Monasterium pertinentia in synodali conventu in loco qui nominatur Aeccleate testes consistentes concensi subscripsi c. in historia Chertsey penes me remanen Canutus the Dane beginning his Laws sheweth plain that he made the same by the Advice and Councel of a Parliament and beginning thus Haec est Consiliatio quam Canutus Rex meditatione vel decreto suarum sapientum consiliatus est cum suis sapientibus apud Wintoniam c. When I observe an old written Copie with a Comment thereupon they are expounded thus Consiliatio id est Institutio multorum facta Consilio
Parliament then if the Parliament be dissolved the party is at large and the other without remedy If the King upon such Petition do appoint Commissioners for the determining of the Errors and upon the Scire facias the parties do appear 22 E. 3.3 if the Parliament be dissolved before the cause determined the Commissioners after the Parliament is ended cannot proceed to the determination of the matter or do any thing therein but they must expect a new Session of Parliament If judgment be given in Parliament and that also happen to be erronious there is no Court that can redress this Error but the Parliament it self for as much as it is the highest Court of the land and there is no higher Court in which he may have remedy 7 H. 6.29 a. As touching the Courts whose judgments are to be rereversed in Parliament First it is to be noted That all erronious judgments given in the Kings Bench touching matter and substance of Law or matter in fact were by the course of the common Law to be reversed in Parliament 7 H. 6.28 because it was before the King himself and therefore it was ordained by several Statutes made to avoid delay of suits 36 E. 3. cap. 10. 50 E. 3. 1 R. 2. 2 R. 2. that once every year a Parliament should be holden But now by a Statute made in the twenty seveth year of Queen Elizabeth it is ordained in the eighth Chapter that all erronious judgments in matters in Law shall be considered and reversed by the Iustices of the Common Place 27 Eliz cap. 8. and the Barons of the Exchequer or by six of them but if the error in the Kings Bench be in matter of Process or proceeding 7 H. 6.28 2 R. 3.22 27 H. 8.16 3 Eliz. Dyer 19 b. p. 93 the same might alwayes have been reversed in the said Court of the Kings Bench although if judgment be there given upon a plea which is before discontinued the same cannot be reversed but by Parliament In all cases in the Chancery wherein the Lord Chancellor is to adjudge according to the common Law 16 E. 3. fitz tit brief 651. Com. 393. 18 E. 3.25 17 Ass p. 24. 42 Ass p. 22. 27 H. 8.16 b. as in the repeal of Patents actions against priviledged persons Audita Querela upon Statutes c. There if erronious judgments be given the same is to be reversed in the Kings Bench 14 Eliz. Dyer 315. P. 100. although some opinions in other Books have been to the contrary 37 H. 6.14 a. but in matter of conscience their decrees are reversible by themselves Thus have I briefly touched upon several things which upon some other occasion I shall inlarge Touching such matters as are proper for the Parliament you shall see in an Excellent Book lately printed being an exact Abridgement of the Records in the Tower of London from the Reign of King Edward the second unto King Richard the third of all the Parliaments holden in each Kings Reign and the several Acts in every Parliament Collected by the learned payns of Sir Robert Cotton and revised and published by the unwearied labors of VVilliam Prynne of Lincolns-Inne Esquire a Book worthy of the Study of all the learned Gentlemen of this Nation I conclude with my humble prayer that the all-wise God would grant to this Nation a setled Government and a quiet State that our English Parliaments may recover and enjoy their ancient honour and lustre John Doddridge From my Chamber in the middle Temple the third of Dec. 1657. The several Opinions of sundry Antiquaries touching the Antiquity Power Order State Manner Persons and proceedings of the high Court of Parliament in England THere is no king in the world nor any subjects of any king that have a greater and more binding and yet a more free Council then this in our Parliament in England whose general Acts since all men must take knowledge of it may be profitable to every man to understand the Dignity Order and Antiquity thereof Soveraignty the highest degree of Honour is imported in the very Summons For the king himself jure Regio as a Flower of the Crown hath the absolute power of calling and dissolving it Order it self stands represented when the Court is sitting such is the Majestie of the Prince the Gravity of the persons their State in proceeding But this being often seen and so best known and the other unknown to many that sit and often see the order of this Court therefore we will treat principally of the Antiquity Nature Power and Jurisdiction of this high Court of Parliament And first of the Appellation the word Parliament Some derive it from Peers à potiore parte quasi parium Conventum or as others say quasi parium lament ' others more probably from the French word parler or that of the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to treat and confer freely The French Histories say that this Name in this sense began at the Assembly of the Peers of France anno Dom. 1200. but it appeareth to be more ancient with us then of that time for Ingulphus who died 1009. saith In publico nostro Parliamento c. taking it there for a Meeting or Chapter of the Abbot Ingelo King of Polonia in the Polish State calleth the Assembly Generale Parliamentum This may raise a doubt of the former etymologie of it from the French word parler But no doubt the word was brought into the Realm by the French Monks and after applied by the Statists in the time of H. 1. to the General Council of the Kingdom But the like Assemblies as Parliaments are being much more ancient then the Parliament underwent these names of old times The Britains called them Kyfrithin because Laws were therein made by the English Saxons in their English Graduisis a Council sometimes Wittena Mota a Meeting of wise men Sometimes of the Greek word Synodos The Latine Authors of that Age call it Consilium Magnatum Curiae altissima praesentia Regis Prelatorum Procerumque Collectorum as appeareth by the Charter of Withlasias anno 833. and of King Edgar anno 966. And now to step a Nomine ad Rem before the time of Soveraignty Natures law directed men to the love of Society and care to preserve it and gained free consent even of lawless men to admit of certain Customs as Laws from hence framing matter of Form for a Commonwealth But new springing mischiefs standing remediless by the elder Customs caused for remedy thereof the calling of yearly Councils the original no doubt of our after-Parliaments And it shall appear that our Kingdome from as grounded Authority as any other Nation can prove of old the practise of these great Assemblies then called Counsels now Parliaments Those Sages the Druides most proper to this Isle had yearly Conventions of their noblest and best people in a middle consecrated Plot of this Kingdome punishing with proscription from their Sacrifices whoso
by a County or a Barony are summoned by Writ to come to the Parliament and the King bears their expences of their remaining and aboad and all the other Deanes Arch-Deacons and Persons are summoned to appear by two sufficient Proctors which come with a duplicate of their Procurations whereof one part remaineth with the Clerk of the Parliament and the other with the Proctors 2. The summons of the Laity as Earls Barons and their Peers which hold Lands and rents to the value of a County or of a Barony viz. 20. Knights Fees every Fee being accompted at 20. l. per annum which make 400. l. or 23. Knights Fees and a half which makes 400. Marks per annum and none of the Laity of lesser condition are namely and particularly called by Writ except their presence be necessary for some special and extraordionary cause 3. Next the King sends his VVrits to the Cinque Ports to chuse Barons to answer alleadge and do for their Baronies as if all were present a VVrit under the great Seal for the VVarden for their expences 20. s. 4. Next the King sendeth his VVrits to the Sheriff of every Shire to chuse two Knights of every Shire a Mark for their expences 5. Then the King sends his VVrits to the Cities of London and Yorke or other Cities that are Counties to chuse two grave Citizens and they must also have a Mark for their expences 6. And then the Kings VVrit goeth to the Bailiffs of Boroughs to chuse two Burgesses There must be two principal Clerks of the Parliament and they must sit in the midst of the Justices to enrole all the Pleas and businesses of the Parliament not being Clerks to the Justices for there is no Justice in England hath any power or Jurisdiction in the Parliament but that the King calleth them thither to assist the Lords and to hear and determine petitions for the two Clerks are immediately subject to the King except the King assigne some of the Justices to examine their Rolls These Clerks enrole all the Judgments given in the Parliament and before the end of the Parliament they deliver them over to the Treasurer keeping a Transcript or Counter-roll to themselves their wages a Mark a day Other Clerks were assigned by the King to the Bishops and others to the Proctours of the Clergy another to the Earls and Barons another to the Knights another also to the Citizens and Burgesses these set down all doubts and answers and are present in their Counsels and being at leisure they assist the two principal Clerks to enrole the Acts of Parliament If a matter of difficulty either concerning Peace or War be moved in Parliament the King wil enjoyn all the several degrees or tribes of the Parliament the Bishops the Proctours the Barons c. to go apart into several places and the case is to be delivered to their several Clerks whereupon they are to debate amongst themselves and to advise and if all or the greatest part do not agree then the Lord Steward the Lord Constable and the Lord Marshal are to chuse thirty five out of the number two Bishops three Proctors two Earls three Barons five Knights five Citizens and five Burgesses and these thirty five men may chuse twelve and these may descend to six these six to three and these three to two and these two to one and so one person may determine a cause except the King gainsay it which he may do during the Parliament otherwise nor There be three Degrees of businesses in the Parliament 1. Wars or matters touching the Kings person the Queen and the Kings children 2. The publick businesses of the Commonwealth 3. The private and particular matters yet these are to be handled as the Bills come in by priority The principal Cryer of the Parliament the Chancellour Treasurer and Barons of the Exchequer shall record the defaults of all those that are summoned A Sermon before the Parliament must be provided by the Arch-Bishop in whose diocess it is holden Proclamation must be made in the Hall or Monastery where it is holden and in the City or Town that all men by a certain day bring in their petitions c. The Chancellor or the chief Justice of England is to declare the cause of the Summons of the Parliament The King in state ever to be present in the Parliament if he be not sick if he be sick to send for twelve persons of the house to see his person and to satisfie the house of the cause of his absence For the session the King sits alone The Arch-Bishop of Canterbury on his right hand Yorke on his left hand and so every man in his degree and the Lord Steward is to see that every man sit amongst his Peers The Ushers of the Parliament stand within the door of the house and the Cryer stands without the door and the Kings guard stands a good way without the door to keep tumults and crowds of people from about the door All sit except he that speaks who must stand to speak that all may hear None is to go in or out of the house but at one door onely The King never requires aide but for war or to make his Son a Knight or to marry his Daughter and that in full Parliament Two Knights of the Shire are greater then any one Earle or Baron and two Proctours then any one Arch-Bishop or Bishop and the King can hold his Parliament without any Arch-Bishop Bishop Earle or Baron with the Commons alone for there was a Parliament before there was any Barons but if the Commons do not appear there can be no Parliament though all the great Peeres of the Realm were present with the King for the Proctours Knights Citizens and Burgesses of the Realm do represent the whole Commons of the Realm but the great Peers of the Realm are present onely for themselves and for no others The Parliament ought not to be dissolved as long as any Bill remaines undiscussed if it be the King is perjured and publick Proclamation is to be made in the Parliament and in the Palace that if any have any petition he ought to come in and if no answer be made it is to be intended that all men are satisfied Any man that will may have a Transcript or Copie of the Acts before they be printed paying for the same 10. l. 5. s. or 10 l. 08 s. 01 d. And the Parliament may be holden in any place where it shall please the King viz. at Oxford at Kennelworth at Marlborough at Gloucester at Acton-Burnel at Leicester at the Blackfryers c. 14 H. 8. DODDRIDGE Of the Antiquity of the Parliament of England THe Ancient and first Parliament that I have read of is that in Polydore Virgil in the reign of H. 1. in the 16 year which was about the year of our Lord 1116. And this was held at Salisbury as he saith where were assembled with the King all the
Idem Constitutionem pro Institutione ponit ut inuit haec non instituta fuisse suo proprio Arbitrio sed multorum Consilio And the said King Canutus in the Preamble of his said Laws sheweth that he decreed his said Laws in this manner Convocato itaque Comitum Procerumque Conventu ut Episcoporum Abbatum caeterorum Nobilium nec non caeteris nobilitatis sapientiaeque totius Angliae Consilio satagebat communi decreto ut in quantum humana ratio valuit ea quae justa fuerant stabiliret c. And in the said Preamble is set down that before his time Synodes or Assemblies for the Commonwealth were very rare saving Ecclesiasticae institutiones synodorumque conventus apud Anglos Inusitati adhuc fuerunt And the reason I suppose was that before Canutus the Realm was governed by sundry Kings but he having conquered them all and reduced them into one Monarchie alleadgeth in his Preamble Sicut sub uno Rege ita una lege Universum Angliae Regnum regeretur so as I conclude in this point that before Canutus there were no Parliaments in England the reason I have shewed before which was the diversity and continual interwar between the Heptarchy by him reduced to a Monarchy Since his time I find that Edward the Confessor in his Charter made to Westminster-Abbey did seal and signe the same at a Parliament for thus he saith Hant Igitur donationis libertatis chartam in Die dedicationis praedictae Ecclesiae recitari jussi Coram Episcopis Abbatibus Comitibus omnibus optimatibus Angliae omni populo audiente vidente where note these words Omnibus optimatibus Angliae and omni populi audiente vidente which cannot be but in a general Assembly by Summons and that is proved by the number and diversity of the witnesses being Bishops Abbots Knights Chancellors Kings Chaplains Dukes Earles Ministri Milites c. And William the Conqueror in his Charter of the Ratification of the liberties of that Church after he hath subscribed the cross with his name and besides him a great number of others of the Clergy and Nobility in stead of Cummultis aliis hath these words Multis praeterea illustrissimis virorum personis Regum principibus diversi ordinis omissis qui similiter huic Confirmationi piissimo affectuâ— testes fautores fuerunt Hii etiam illo tempore a Regia potestate e diversis provinciis urbibus ad Universalem Synodum pro causis Cujuslibet Sanctae Ecclesiae audiendis tractandis ad praescriptum celiberrimum Caenobium quod Westmonasterium dicitur Convocati c. And in another Charter of his to the said Abbey are these words Anno Incarnationis Dom. 1081. regni etiam praenonominati gloriosi Regis Willielmi iv Convenientibus in unum cunctis primis primatibus in nativitate D.N. I. C. I read not in Rufus time of any Parliament But it appeareth in the Red Book of the Exchequet that H. 1. before the Constitution or making of his Laws setteth down Quae Communi Consilio assensu Baronum Regni Angliae c. And then proceedeth Omnes malas consuetudines quibus Regnum Angliae opprimebatur inde aufero quas ex parte suppono Testibus Archiepiscopis Episcopis Baronibus Comitibus Vicecomitibus optimatibus Regni Angliae apud Westimonaster ' quando Coronatus fui The marriage of his daugter Mawde and the entayling of the Crown to her and her heirs was done by Parliament the Accord also between him and Stephen was done by Parliament and so consequently all matters of Importance were done and concluded in Parliament and of such force is an Act of Parliament here in the governance of the State of the Realm as it is deemed as an Oracle from Heaven and resteth onely in the Kings and Queens power to qualifie and mitigate the severity thereof And thus much of the Antiquity I leave to others to discourse of the manner how they that are to treat therein are to be called and of their priviledges and so I end AGAR Of the Antiquity of Parliaments THe diligent observers of the Antiquities of this Realm do very well know that Acts of Parliament are of so high a nature that they do not onely tie the Inheritance of every man but what is there ordained every subject of the Land is bound to take notice of at his peril and because no man that should desire to inform himself therein should be ignorant what was done in Parliament as now we use printing of the Acts so before printing all the Ordinances affirmed by royal assent were recorded and then published under the great Seal of England with a general preface and proclaimed in every Shire this you may see continued from the time of H. 3. till about H. 7. his days and ordinarily the form was thus The King such a day and such a place as at Westminster the 20 day of April in the second year of the raign of King H. 6. by the advice of his Lords spiritual and temporal and at the special instance and request of the Commons Assembled in Parliament hath made and established these Ordinances Acts and Statutes to the honour of God the good of the King and Realm in form following and then sets forth every Act in particular Chapters Here you may see the persons assembled the end of their meeting and the means to make it effectual the persons which meet at the Parliament are the three Estates of the Realm first the King Secondly the Nobles spiritual and temporal Thirdly the Commons of the Land The end of the meeting is to do something to Gods glory the Kings good and the benefit of the whole Land and the means to effect the same is by consultation and consent The particular duty of each of these three seems to be insinuated in these words first the request of Commons secondly the advice of the Lords thirdly the establishment of the King the Commons being most in number and such as live in all the parts and places of the Land are like to have most and best notice of such things as are most likely and meet to be provided for and being weak in power and most subject to feel such inconveniences as greatness may lay upon them and therefore are fittest either first to lay open their griefs and pray Reformation or though they be not able at the first with Judgment to foresee ensuing dangers yet the same being once proposed and instantly apprehended they may with instance importune allowance of such Laws as may turn to their good and our own experience teacheth us that the Royal Assent is never prayed by the Lords but by the Speaker who is the mouth of the Commons In the presence of a prince a common person will scarce have the audacity to speak but when necessity maketh him crave help and therefore 't is properly said That the King advised with the Lords because he heareth the
causes debated with them only the Commons being separated from consultation what were fit to propose in some other place Whatsoever the Lords and the Commons agree upon is an Ordinance presently though it be never engrossed and sealed with the great Seal and proclaimed in the counties as the common course was but it took not effect as a Statute till the King declared his Royal Assent which he might very well do by Writ after the Parliament aswel as during the Parliament per. 29. E. 3. f. 4. b. 39 E. 3 f. 7. For the Kings answer is no more but that he will be advised whether he will assent or no and if he assent not till after it is some doubt whether it be an Act of Parliament from the first day of the Parliament or but from the time of the Royal Assent given The general Assent of the Realm to make Ordinances and Laws the ancient writers called Consilium Commune Consilium Magnum Consilium Placitumgenerale Curia altissima Parliamentum generale seu altissimum The Saxons called it Genote Pirena cor Pirena Gemore Ealpa Zemots Synodus I find not the word Parliament before the beginning of E. 1. fully in use amongst us But the Assembly of the three Estates to consult for the affairs of the Commonwealth is as ancient as the Britains and continued here in the time of the Saxons Danes and Normans I ground my opinion for the Britains from no express authority but by inference out of divers 1 E. 1. Caes Com. lib. 5. cap. 5. saith Summa Imperii Bellique administrandi Communi Consilio Comissa est Cassibulano So that here we have the name and if you think that the Commons were not called to this consultation hear what Sothilius saith of the Britains Apud hos Populus Magna ex parte primatum tenet exclude them of these general counsels and you deprive them of this right Vitus in histororum Britanorum lib. 8. fol. 11. saith that Arthurus victor cum Regio splendore Londinum ingreditur eaque urbe Convocatis Clericis Principibusque suae quidem potestatis omnibus Consilium quid optime factu opus sit capit Beda lib. 2. cap. 2. saith the Britains told Augustine se non posse absque suorum Concensu licentia priscis abdicare Moribus Beda lib. 2. cap. 13. Rex Edwinus antequam fidem Christianum susciperit dixit se cum amicis Principibus Consiliariis suis Collaturum habito cum sapientibuâ— Consilio c. The story of the Saxons and their Laws make evident proof that they were still of the same mind transplanted hither as Tacitus saith the Germans were Nec Regibus infinita potestas De Minoribus Rebus Principes Consultant de Majoribus vero omnes Historia Eliensis lib. 2. de Dunelme mortuo Rege Edgaro Lessius vel lepsius a Deo ac sancto Petro abstulit cum Rapina Burch vendales Cateringas postea antea Elicibatur generale placitum apud Londinum ad quod dum Duces Principes Satrapae Rectores Causidici ex omni parte confluxerunt beatus Ethelwaldus Lessium in Jus protraxit coram cunctis Injuriam patefecit bene aperta discussa ea omnes Ethelwaldo per Judicium rediderunt Burch vendales Katheringas Abendon Lanboke fol. 91. in Charta Regis Etheldredi Affricum cognomento puer Pronbroche Willemetrantum Syrene a quadam vidua Eadfield appellata violenter abstraxit quia cum Ducatusico contra Regem Etheldredum reus extitit omnes possessiones ejus Regis dictioni subastae sunt quod ad Synodale consilium ad Cirencester universi Optimates mei simul in unum convenerint ad eundem Affricum Majestatis reum de hac patria profugum expulerunt Ingulphus hath many places to the like purpose but I will use but one Infesto Nativitatis beatae Mariae cum universi Magnates Regni per Regium edictum summoniti tam Archiepiscopi Episcopi Abbates quam caeteri totius Regni proceres optimates Londini Convenerunt ad tractandum de Negotiis publicis totius Regni Consummatis omnibus coram universis Domino Turketillo Abbati Monacisque suis accersitis Rex Eldredus dedit Monasterium de Croyland c. Polydore Virgil and Paladine are therefore much deceived if they thought that H. 1. was the first that held any Parliament within this Realm neither do they seem to be of that Opinion their words are these Regis ante tempora H. 1. non Consueverunt Populi Conventum consultandi causa nisi pro raro facere Yet I think their successors held Parliaments oftner then they did yet nevertheless they held some and William the Conqueror chalenged not so absolute a Conquest of this Land but the Laws he made have this Title Hic intimatur quid Gulielmus Rex cum principibus suis constituit c. And I think all Kings may yeeld to consult with their people for that reason which Alphred used in the preface to his Laws Temeritatis videatur ex suis ipsius decretis quanquam plura literarum Monamenta consignari cum in certum sit qualem habet apud posteros vel habitura sint fidem quae nos Magni facimus I have not seen Arthur Halls Book whereby he disalloweth the Commons to have any voice in Parliament and for which he is disabled to be of the same house for ever but I think he mistaketh some writers meaning which spake onely of Barons or Magnates but words are not much to be regarded insomuch as whatsoever the Parliament alloweth it bindeth as a Law though it be set forth onely in the Kings name as the Statute of Glouc ' and Magna Charta or in the name of the Commons onely In the Kings Oath the word Populus extendeth to the greatest subjects and so doth it also in the Recognizance of the peace or good behaviour quod bene se gerat erga Populum cunctum If therefore he strike or misdemean himself towards a Baron the Recognizance is forfeited There is an express Authority that proveth that the word Magnates comprehendeth the people Hoveden saith Anno 1170. Rex celebrabat Magnum Consilium Londini cum Principibus Magnatibus terrae de Coronatione A. filii sui D. in sequent ' Clerico populis Consentientibus fecit ipse filium suum coronari FRANCIS TATE Of the Antiquity of Parliaments THat there were such like Assemblies as Parliaments now are before the Romans arrival here some gather by the words of Caesar lib. 5. de Bello Gallico summa imperii Bellique administrandi communi Consilio permissae est Cassibulano And for not such due holding of such common Counsels Tacitus seemeth to refer the the happy proceedings of the Romans against the Britains Quod in Communi non Consuluerunt These two Parliament-like Assemblies the Britains do call Kifrithin because Laws therein were enacted The English Saxons as soon as they had setled themselves held also the like Assemblies