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A81194 A compendium of the laws and government ecclesiastical, civil and military, of England, Scotland & Ireland and dominions, plantations and territories thereunto belonging, with the maritime power thereof, and jurisdiction of courts therein. Methodically digested under their proper heads. By H.C. sometime of the Inner Temple. Curson, H. (Henry) 1699 (1699) Wing C7686A; ESTC R231895 237,927 672

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know as in himself but the Blessed alone But God of his Goodness revealeth it to all in as much as is necessary for them otherwise he should bind his Creatures to impossible things which to be in God is most wicked to think And God reveals this Law Eternal or the Divine Will to the Rational Creature Three manner of ways that is First by the Light of Natural Understanding and then it is called The Law of Reason Secondly by Divine Revelation and then it is called The Divine Law Thirdly by Reason in the Prince or any other Secondary Pe son Governing who hath power to Impose a Law upon this Subjects and then it is called Humane Law altho' it be Originally instituted from God And because whatsoever the Second Cause doth the First doth also by a more Noble manner therefore the aforesaid Three Laws are called in God One Law Eternal and this is that Law of which it is written Prov. 8. Per●me Reges regnant Et legum conditores justa discernunt The Law of Reason LEx Rationis which amongst Doctors is also called The Law of Nature or Jus Gentium The Law of Nations may be doubly considered that is either as it respects all Creatures even Irrationals for all Irrational Creatures not hindred do live and subsist under certain Rules to them set by Nature they also conserve their kind and by Instinct of Nature nourish their Young and things by Nature contrary to them they fear and especially when alone it respects the Rational Humane Creature created to the Image of God And it is called The Law of Nations for that it ought to be kept by all Nations as well among the Jews and Gentiles as Christians And thus The Law of Reason is a participation of The Law Enternal From whence it is said in the Psalms Signatum est super nos Lumen vultus tui Domine scilicet Lumen Veritatis Divine Law LEx Divina is a true Sign reveal'd to the Rational Creature of the Divine Reason Willing the Rational Creature to be held or bound to do something or not do it for obtaining Eternal Felicity as are the Laws of the Old Testament which are called Morals and the Evangelical Law and sometimes it is called Law instituted by Man but improperly nevertheless when the Law is for obtaining Eternal Felicity Moreover besides The Law of Reason and Humane Law it was necessary for the Direction of Humane Life to have the Divine Law for Four Reasons First Whereas Man was created to enjoy Eternal Beatitude it was necessary that besides the Law of Reason and Humane Law he should be Directed to his End by a Law Divinely instituted Secondly For the incertainty of Humane Judgment that he should be directed by a Law given by Divine Inspiration from which it appeared that he might by no means deviate Thirdly Because the Judgment of Man may not be of Interior Acts therefore it was necessary to have a Law Divine which should rectifie the Interiors as well as the Exteriors of Men Fourthly Because Human Law cannot punish every evil Act it was necessary to have a Divine Law which should let no Evil go unpunished and these four Reasons are touched in this Verse Lex Domini immaculata convertens animas Testimonium Domini Fidelis sapientiam praestants Parvulis Humane Law LEx Humana sive Positiva is a Law Deduced by Reason from the Law of Reason and the Divine Law and therefore in every Positive Law well Instituted there is somewhat of the Law of Reason and the Divine Law And Humane Law is a true sign by Humane Tradition and Authority immediately Constituted And that Human Law be Just Two things are required That is Prudence and Authority because it is called Lex à ligando but every Sentence of a Prudent Man doth not bind the Community or any of them if he do not preside over them And in the Law of Men these Proprieties are required viz. That they be Honest Just Possible according to the Custom of the Country and convenient to the place and time Necessary Profitable Manifest also that they be Ordained for no Private end but for the Common good and Humane Laws not contrary to the Divine Law ought to be kept also in Conscience Et qui eas spernit Deo resistit From what hath been said it appears That the Divine Law respects the Spiritual end The Law of Reason the Natural end and that Human Law may direct to both And the Law of Reason takes of Nature of the thing for a Foundation but Human Law the publick Expedience or Good Now of these Four Laws all Laws in general consist and be sounded if they are good And that we may shew particularly and more especially from whence arise The Fundamentals of the Law of England WE must know that the Law of England or Humane Law in England takes its Fundamentals from Six chief Principles First The Law of Reason Secondly Divine Law Thirdly Divers Customs of the Kingdom Fourthly Divers Principles called Maxims Fifthly Particular Customs in certain places Sixthly From divers Statutes of the Common Council of the Kingdom in Parliament of which we shall speak something in order And first The Law of Reason is held in this as in all other Kingdoms and the Learned in the Laws of England make two Degrees of the Law of Reason scilicet Lex Rationis Primariae Lex Rationis secundariae Ex Primaria From the first are forbidden Murder Manslaughter Oppression of the Innocent Perjuries Deceits and many such like But the manner of punishing these sorts of Offences is according to divers Principles and Maxims or Statutes to this end especially ordained and it is called the Law of Reason primary For that those things which are Commanded or Forbidden by that Law are grounded upon Reason also without any other Law joyned or opposed to it The Law of Reason secundary is likewise divided in two parts That is General and Particular The Law of Reason secundary General is derived from that Law of Propriety General which is held throughout the World From this are prohibited Thefts Disseisins and many other And it is called the Law of Reason Secundary for that it is founded not upon Reason alone but from the Law of Propriety and the Reason derived from that Law for because the Law of property saith Such a thing is the proper Goods of such a Man Therefore saith Reason grounded upon that Law that thing is not to be taken from him unjustly against his Will And the Law of Reason Secundary Particular is that which is Founded upon divers General and Particular Customs and divers Maxims and Statutes only had and ordained in the Kingdom of England As if a Distress dye it shall not be imputed to him who distrained but to him who hath the Propriety because the Defect is to be assigned in him for that he did not pay the Rent And Reason is founded upon the Custom aforesaid so
the Kingdom and not by the Country And these Maxims are not alone taken for Law but also all other like cases and all things necessarily following upon them are to be placed in like Law and they are in the same force and strength in Law as Statutes and althô all these Maxims might conveniently be numbred amongst the aforesaid General Customs since Ancient Custom is the sole Authority as well of these as those yet because those General Customs are diffused and known they may easily and without study in the Laws be known but these Maxims are only known in the Kings Courts or by those who are Learned in the Law and now for example sake we will mention a few of them since to declare them fully great Volumes would not suffice And first there is a certain Maxim in the Laws of England that no Prescription in Lands maketh a Right also that Prescription in Rents and Profits to be taken in the Lands of another maketh a Right also that the limitation of Prescription is generally taken à tempore cujus centrarij Memoria hominum non existit c. And further there are many other Maxims as in certain Actions The Process is by Summons Attachment and Distress Infinite and in some by Capias Infinite c. and that there should be these divers Processes in divers Actions may seem expedient and reasonable but that there should be these divers Processes had in the Law of England and none other cannot be proved by Reason therefore they must necessarily have their force from the Maxims aforesaid or the Ancient Custom of the Kingdom And some Maxims seem to be founded upon Reason Secundary and therefore some may think they may be put unto the first Fundamental of other Laws of England as if any command a Trespass he is a Trespassor c. And there are other Maxims and Customs which are not so manifestly known but may be known by the Law of Reason partly by Books of the Law of England which are called Year Terms partly by Records in the Kings Treasury and remaining in the Kings Courts and by a Book called the Register and by divers Statutes in which such Customs and Maxims are often recited Vide Doctor Student The Fifth Fundamental of the Law of England consists of Divers particular Customs used in divers Countries Towns Lordships or Mannors and Cities of the Kingdom which said particular Customs because they are not against Reason nor the Law of God altho' they are contrary to the aforesaid General Customs and Maxims of Law yet they retain the force of Laws And they ought not always to be determined by the Judges whether there be such a Custom or not unless in a few particular Customs sufficiently known and approved in the Kings Courts but ought to be tryed by the Country And of these particular Customs I shall put a few for Example As there is a Custom called Gavelkind in Kent where all the Brothers shall Inherit as the Sisters do at Common Law By Burrough English in the Town of Nottingham the younger Son shall Inherit In some Countries the Wife shall have all the Inheritance of her Husband in Name of Dower so long as she continues a Widow And in some Countries the Man shall have half the Inheritance of the Wife during his Life although he hath no Issue by her In some Countries the Infant may make a Feoffment at his Age of Fifteen years And in some Countries when he can Measure an Ell of Cloth yet such Infant may not make Warranty for if he do it is void in Law neither may he in such case make a Release Thus are held many other particular Customs The Sixth Fundamental consists of Divers Statutes Ordained in Parliament when other Fundamentals of the Law of England are not sufficient for it is to be known that altho' the Law of Reason may be assigned to be the first and principal Fundamental of the Law of England yet the Law of Reason is not of so great force and efficacy in the Laws of England that it alone being known all the Law of England is known For besides the Law of Reason he who desires to know the Laws of England ought to know the Custom of the Kingdom as well General a Particular and the Maxims and Statutes of Law or otherwise altho' h● were the wisest of Men he will understand but few things of the Truth o● the Law of England From these things before contain'd it may be deduced which often fall out That in one and the same case two or three Fundamentals of Law ought to concur together before the Plaintiff may obtain his Right as by Example may appear As if any afte● Entry by him made into any Land with a strong hand make a Feoffmen● for Maintenance to defraud the Possessor of his Action then the Demandant by the Statute of 8 Hen. 6. cap. 9. shall recover his treble Damages according to what Damages shall be assessed by the Jury In which case it appeareth that such Entry is prohibited by the Law of Reason Secundary but that the Demandant shall Recover his treble Damages is by the aforesaid Statute And that the Damages shall be Assessed by the Jury is by the Custom of the Kingdom And thus Three Fundamentals of Law concur in this case And it is to be noted that there are many Customs as well General as Particular and also Divers Laws called Maxims which take not their force from strong Reason but from the Custom of the Kingdom For by Statutes they may be changed into the contrary and what can be changed can never be affirmed to be the Law of Reason Primary As for Example How doth it stand with Reason or Conscience That if one bound in an Obligation to pay Money pay part of the Money but takes no Acquittance or lose it by the Laws of England he shall be compell'd to pay that Money again because of the General Maxim That in an Action of Debt upon Bond the Defendant may not plead Nihil debet or Quod poecuniam solvit nor otherwise discharge himself unless by Acquittance or other sufficient Writing amounting to a Discharge in Law and this to avoid the great Inconvenience which would follow if every one by word alone might avoid an Obligation And thus having briefly set forth the Fundamentals of the Law of England we shall proceed to the Government and the Legislative and Executive Power of the Laws of England The Government of England THe Government of England is 〈◊〉 the first and best kind viz. Monarchical Political Government The King BEing Supream Governour in 〈◊〉 Causes and over all Persons fro● Him is derived all Authority and Jur●diction He being Quasi Intellectus Age●● Forma formarum c. And from th● King with the Advice of His Majesties Privy Council THat most Honourable Assemb●● in the Kings Court or Palace a● others receive their Motion It is calle● Concilium Secretum Privatum
Communibus tenendis The Proceedings of this Court remain in Filacijs in the Office of the Petty Bagg Divers Acts of Parliament give Authority to the Lord Chancellor to determine divers Offences and Causes in the Court of Chancery which is ever intended in this Court proceeding in Latin secundum Legem Consu●tudinem Angliae and the Defendant shall not be Sworn to his Answer nor Examined upon Interrogatories but upon Issue joyned it shall be tried in the Kings Bench ut in similibus Casibus solet And thus having spoken somewhat of the Ordinary Jurisdiction of this Court we now come to treat of The Court of Extraordinary Jurisdiction PRoceeding according to the Rule of Equity Secundum Aequum Bonum But before we set forth the Jurisdiction and manner of proceeding therein it may not be thought improper to set forth and describe what this Equity is and that it may the better be understood let us consider what leadeth thereunto which is first Synderesis That is a Natural power of the Soul fixed in the higher part thereof moving to good and abhorring evil and the Divine Wisdom joyneth the beginning of Secondary things to the latter end of the first things as an Angel is Intellectual by Nature and not made rational by Discourse and to this nature Man by Synderesis approacheth and is joyned Secondly Reason For when Man was Created he received from God a double Eye the exteriour of the Flesh whereby he might see the visible things and the Interiour of Reason whereby he might know the invisible to the end that by that of the Flesh he might behold know and avoid his visible Enemies and by that of Reason be enabled to overcome his Spiritual Enemies who war against his Soul And moreover Reason according to the Learned is that power of the Rational Soul which discerneth between good and evil the better by compa●●ng the one with the other which also chooseth virtue and loveth God And Reason is divided into two parts the Superiour and the Inferiour for the superiour part of Reason tendeth only to Divine Eternal things and endeavoureth and reasoneth that this is to be done or not to be done because God hath commanded or prohibited it The inferiour part of Reason is declined or bent to the Government of temporal things and endeavoureth or reasoneth to prove by Humane Laws that this is to be done o● not to be done or that it is honest o● dishonest or that it is expedient o● not expedient for the Common-wealth And in the next place we come to consider and speak of Conscience Which is a word compounded of Cum Scientia and is as much as to say Knowledge of one thing with another and is thus said to consi●● in two things Knowledg by himself and Knowledge with another In the first Conscience importeth a certain natural Act not of knowing only but moving also and also inclineth the Soul to prosecute good and to avoid evil and in this manner it is accompted the same as above in Reason and is also conjoyned to the superiour light of Reason which is called Synderesis Therefore St. Jerom and others call Conscience it self Synderesis and then Conscience it self is always right In the second place Conscience importeth more properly Knowledg with another thing still with some particular Act and thus Conscience properly speaking is no other thing than the applying of a certain Knowledg to some particular Act from whence it may be deduced that from the most perfect knowledg of some Law or Science and the right application of that knowledg to some particular Act followeth the most pure perfect and best Conscience and if there be a defect in knowledg of the truth of that Law or in the application of the same to some Act there followeth thereof an Error or defect of Conscience And as Synderesis delivereth a universal Maxim or Principle in which it cannot Err scilicet That an unlawful thing is not to be done now it may be assumed that an Oath is unlawful it being said Math. 5. Ego autem di●●vobis non jurare omnino But if any wi●● hold from these words that an Oath is lawful in no case he erreth in Conscience because he hath not full knowledg of the truth of the said Gospel nor doth confer that place of Scripture with others in which an Oath is allowed to be lawful And the reason why Conscience may Err in the aforesaid Assumption and the like is because Conscience is formed from the Assumption of some particular Proposition or Question under universa● Rules of things to be done and as the light of a Candle is put in a House that they may see what things are i● the House so God hath placed Conscience in the middle of the Rational Soul as a Light whereby it may discern what is to be done or not to be done and now let us proceed to describe Equity Which is Justice weighing all circumstances tempered with the sweetness of Mercy which ought to be kept in every Law and this he well understood who said Ipsae eteni● Leges cupiunt ut Jure regantur and the Wiseman saith Noli esse justus multu●● otherwise Summa justitia summa inj●stitia fit But that we may more clearly declare what Equity is It is to be known that because it is impossible to institute any General Rule of Law which will in no case be defective therefore Legislators attend to that which happeneth in many things and not to particular cases nor indeed can they since to observe the Sentence of Law in some Cases is both against the Equality of Justice and Common Good so that in some Cases it is good yea absolutely necessary praetermitting the words of the Law to follow that which reason of Justice requireth And to this end Equity is ordained which is also called Epicaya scilicet to moderate the Rigour of the Law and it taketh not away the very Right but that which seemeth to be Right by general determination of Law And cases may happen in which the Law of God and the Law of Reason would be violated by the observance of them as in the Law of England there is a general Prohibition that it shall not be lawful for any Man to enter into the Ground of another without Authority of the Owner or of the Law yet it is excepted That if Beasts by the High-way escape into another Man's Corn he that driveth them may justifie the Entry to fetch them out and many other such like And thus it appears That Equity rather attends the intention than the words of Law And thus having briefly set forth what Equity is we are next to know that this Court of Extraordinary Jurisdiction grounded thereupon relieveth none but such who are without remedy in other Courts For nunquam decurriter ad extraordinarium sed ubi defecit Ordinarium This Court is Superiour to the other Tribunals that so the rigour of the Law in them