Prospect of the Extent of his Lordships Jurisdiction and Power and the Rules he ought to judge by Although the Power and Authority of the Lord High-Steward hath been since the Reign of King H. 4. but hac vice yet is the hac Vice limited and appointed as when a lord of Parliament is Indicted of Treason or Felony then the Grant of this Office under the Great Seal of England is to a Lord of Parliament reciting the Indictment Nos considerantes quod Justitia est virtus Excellens Altissimo complacens eaque prae omnibus uti volentes ac pro eo quod Officium Seneschalli Angliae cujus praesentia pro administratione Justitiae Executione ejusdem in hac parte faciend Requiritur ut accepimus jam valeat de fidelitate Strenuitate provida Circumspectione Industria Vestris plurimum confidentes Odinavimus Constituimus Vos ex hac causa causis Seneschallum Nostrum Angliae ad Officium illud cum omnibus eidem Officio in hac parte debitis pertinentibus hac vice gerend accipiend exercend Dante 's concedentes vobis te nore praesentium plenam sufficientem Potestatem Authoritatem ac Mandatum speciale Indictamentum praedict c. So that this Great Officer is wholly restrained to proceed only upon the recited Indictment At every Coronation he hath a Commission under the Great Seal hac Vice Cok's Litt. 79. a. b. 4 Inst 59. to hear and determine the Claims for Grand Serjeanties and other Honourable Services to be done at the Coronation for the solemnizing thereof for which purpose he holds his Court some convenient time before the Coronation The first Person that was created hac Vice for solemnizing the Coronation of H. 4. was Thomas his second Son and upon th eArraignment of Thomas Holland Earl of Huntingdon the first that was created Steward of England hac Vice was Edward Earl of Devon Lastly The Order and manner of Arraigning a Peer of the Realm before this Creat Officer is to be consider'd As the Peers of the Realm who are Tryers are not sworn so the Lord High-Steward being Judge is not sworn likewise yet ought he to proceed according to his Letters-Patents Secundum Legem consuetuainem Angliae Co. Litt. 142. a. 4 Inst f. 60. for all Commissions and Charters for Execution of Justice are facturi quod ad Justitiam pertinet secundum Legem consuctudinem Angliae But admit the Commission should be Secundum sanas Discretiones vestras How then I answer Discretio est discernere per Legem quid sit Justum that is to discern by the right Line or Law and not the warpt measure of private Opinion Si a Jure discedas vagus eris erunt omnia incerta 'T is certain he that out-runs the Law hastens to his own destruction Commissions then that Authorise proceeding secundum sanas discretiones c. in sense are secundum Legem c. The Earl of Hantingdon was Indicted of High-Treason in London 1 H. 4. f. 1. a. by a Commission before the Mayor and Justices for that he with other persons agreed to go a Mumming which the French call Ma querade on the Night of Epiphany in which they intended to kill the King then at Windser And after the King granted a Commission to the Earl of Derby reciting That whereas George E of H. was Indicted of High-Treason and that he would that right should be done and because the Office of the Steward of England is now void he grants it to the said E. of Derby to do Justice to the said E. of Huntingdon commanding by the same Commission all the Lords to be attendant upon him and Precept was likewise given by the same to the Constable of the Tower to be attendant on him and to bring the Prisoner viz. the E. of H. before the said E. of D. on the day appointed whereupon the E. of D. the same day sat in Westminster-Hall under a Cloth of Estate by himself and the E. of Westmerland and other Earls and Barons sat at a considerable distance and all the Justices and Barons of the Exchequer sat round a Table and after three O Yes's made and the Commission read the Justices deliver'd the Indictment to the Lord Steward which was deliver'd to the Clerk of the Crown who read it to the said E. of H. which he confessed whereupon Hill the King's Serjeant prayed Judgment which the Lord Steward after he had rehearsed the whole matter pronounced in this manner That the E. of H. should be taken back to the Tower of London and from thence be drawn to the Gallows and there hanged and being yet alive cut down and his Entrails drawn out of his body and burnt and that he should be beheaded and quartered Et sic Deus propitiatur Animae suae The Justices then said that if the E. of H. had deny'd the Treason the Lord Steward should have demanded of every Lord in open Court what they thought in their Consciences beginning with the Pulisny Lord and if the greater number said Guilty then the Judgment to be given as above I refer your Lordships to Cambden's Annals of Q. Eliz for the manner of the Tryal of Tho. Howard Duke of Norfolk before George Talbot E. of Shrewsbury Lord High-Steward upon that occasion Sir Ed. Coke describes the manner how a Peer is to be tryed in case of Treason c. before the Lord High-Seward of England He Must be Indicted before Commissioners of Oyer and Terminer or in the King's Bench if the Treason or misprision Felony or misprision of Felony be committed in that County where the King 's Bench sit when he is Indicted then the King by his Commission under the Great Seal of England constitutes some Peer of the Realm to be hac Vice Steward of England who is Judg in this case The Commission recites the Judgment generally as 't is found and Power given to the Lord Steward to receive the Indictment c. and to proceed secundum Legem consuetudinem Angliae A Commandment is also given by the same to the Peers of the Realm to be attendant and obedient unto him as also to the Lieutenant of the Tower to bring the Prisoner before his Lordship Then a Certiorari is awarded out of Chancery to remove the Indictment it self before the Lord Steward which may either bear date the same day of the Stewards Commission or any day after The Lord Steward directs his Precept under his Seal to the Commissioners to certifie the Indictment such a day and place He also makes two other Precepts one to the Constable or Lieutenant of the Tower to bring the Body of the Prisoner before him at such a day and place as also to a Serjeant at Arms to summon Tot tales Dominos Magnates Proceres hujus Regni Angliae praedicti R. Comitis E. Pares per quos rei veritas melius sciri poterit quod ipsi
and ought to give Example to the Inferiour Magis Exemplis quam praeceptis ducimur QUERY XIV Whether a Subject of one Kingdom guilty of Treason flying into another Kingdom ought to be remitted to his own Soveraign SOL. It is holden and so it hath been resolved that divided Kingdoms under several Kings in League one with another are Sanctuaries for Servants or Subjects flying for safety and upon demand are not by the Laws and Liberties of Kingdoms to be delivered And this Opinion seems grounded upon the Law in Deut. c. 23. v. 15. Thou shalt not deliver unto his Master the Servant which is escaped from his Master unto thee When the Lord Paget and Arundel came into France Sir Edward Stafford Queen Eliz. Ambassadour there Camb. El. 1584. diligently observed them yet could by no means discover what they attempted he desir'd nevertheless of the French King that they with Morgan and other English who were practising against their Prince and Country might be removed out of France To which he received this answer That if they attempted any thing in Frence the King would punish them according to Law That all Kingdoms were free for Fugitives and that it was the great concernment of Kings to maintain every one the Priviledges of his own Kingdom That Queen Eliz had not long since received into her Kingdom Montgomery the Prince of Conde and others of the French Nation and that Sagury the King of Navarr's Embassadour was in England at this very time practising to move new troubles against the French King King H. 8. in the 28th year of his Reign being in League with the French King and in Enmity with the Pope who was in League likewise with France and had sent Cardinal Poole Embassadour to the French King of whom K. H. 8. demanded the said Cardinal being his Subject and Attainted of Treason and to that end caused a Treatise to be publisht that it ought to be done Jure Gentium sed non praevaluit Ferdinando King of Spain upon request made by H. 7. to have Edmond de la Poole Earl of Suffolk Attainted of High-Treason by Parliament A. 19. H. 7. at first intending to observe the Priviledge and Liberty of Kings in protecting such as came to him for succour and protection delivered him not yet in the end upon the earnest request of the King and his promise not to put him to death he caused the said Earl to be delivered up to the King who kept him in Prison and construing his promise to be but personal commanded his Son Henry after his death to execute him which he caused to be done in the fifth year of his Reign I shall add one more Example of a Remission out of Zouch Cum quidam Stywardus Scotus Treat de Judicio inter Gentes qui Mariam Scotorum Reginam vneno tollere conatus est in Anglia deprehenderetur Ed. Sextus Rex Angliae eum in manus Regis Galliae tradidit ut debito supplicio Remitteretur quod Nonnullis displicuit quia etsi ratio suadeat ut qui in Patria deliquit in Patria Puniatur aliter tamen de consuetudine quod Remissionem usurpatum est Having now run thorough the several Query's which your Lordships have thought fit to propose I Shall venture to set one step further and start Another of my Own with some Offers toward the Solution of which I will make an end Viz. QUERY XV. Whether in any Case it be Lawful for Subjects to Oppose their Prince SOL. It must be resolv'd in the Negative And that in any Case or upon any Pretence whatsoever it is utterly unlawful for Subjects joyntly or singly collectively or representatively to make any violent Opposition against their Soveraign or to Resist him either in an Offensive or a defensive way This Assertion you will find to be a Truth that is Consonant to Holy Writ Reverend Antiquity Sound Reason and to the Municipal Laws of the Land all the Sophistries and Argumentations that Seditious and corrupted men are able to produce to the contrary notwithstanding I. To begin with Holy Scripture It is clear from Deut. c. 17. v. 12. which commands the Israelites to put away evil from amongst them by bringing to Publique Justice all such Mutinous and Presumptious persons as refus'd to Obey the High Priest and the Judge that God imposed an Obligation even upon his own People not to Resist the Supreme Magistrate And v. 13. makes the Reason of this Severity to be to preserve the People from being Poyson'd in their Allegiance by the Malignity of such Examples That all the People under what Notion or Qualification soever may hear and fear and do no more presumptuously The same express Warrant of the Word and to the self-same purpose there is in Joshua C. 1. v. 18. Whosoever he be says the Almighty speaking to him that doth rebel against thy Commandment and will not harken to thy words in all that thou commandest him he shall be put to death Saul is generally condemned for persecuting David and attempting upon his Life And yet though David had him twice at his mercy he was not to be prevail'd upon to do him any Harm 1 Sam c. 24. v. 6. and C. 26. v. 11. For who says he can lay his hand upon who can touch who can stretch forth his hand against the Lords Anointed and be Guiltless Now the Signification of the Scripture-phrase Touch or stretch forth the hand against the Lords Anointed is of a Large Extent And the Guilt of this Horrid Crime may be incurr'd either by lifting up our heels in scorn against our King Psal 41. v 9. By taking up Arms in our own defence for whosoever Resisteth the Power Resisteth the Ordinance of God Rom. 13. By not bringing to light such Traiterous Conspiracies as we know to be forming against him Lev. 5. By not endeavouring to defend him when we see him in danger for Qui non vetat peccare cum possit jubet By striking at his Crown usurping upon his Prerogative or depriving him of his Revenue Jer. 18. v. 18 By Speaking or even Thinking evil of him for as the Tongue can strike without a Hand so the Heart can curse without a Tongue Or in a Word by any sort of indignity or out-rage offer'd either to his Authority or Person But to proceed Doth not Saint Paul enjoyn that every Soul be Subject to the Higher Powers for there is no Power but of God and they that Resist shall receive to themselves Damnation Nay and doth not Saint Peter also inculcate a Patient Toleration of injuries and recommend unto our imitation the Example of our Blessed Saviour who when he was reviled reviled not again 1 Pet. 2. v. 19.20 21 22. when he suffered he threaten'd not but referr'd the Vengeance to him that judgeth Righteously If ever man had just Cause to Resist then had he yet would he not do it but check'd Saint
personaliter compare ant coram praedict Seneschallo apud Westm tali die hora ad faciend ea quae ex parte Domini Regis forent facienda c. In this Summons four things are observable 1. That all these Precepts most commonly bear date in one day 2. That no number of Peers are named in the Precept and yet there must be twelve or above 3. That the Precept is awarded for the return of the Peers before any Arraignment or Plea pleaded by the Prisoner 4. that the Lords are not de Vicineto and therefore the sitting and Tryal may be in any County of England At the day the Lord High-Steward with six Serjeants at Arms before him takes his place under a Cloth of Estate and then the Clerk of the Crown delivers to him his Commission who re-delivers it After three O Yes's by a Serjeant at Arms and Commandment given in the Name of the Lord High-Steward of England to keep silence the Commission is read then the Usher delivers to the Steward a white Rod who re-delivers the same which he holds before the Lord High-Steward It was deliver'd upon the like occasion to the Earl of Shrews bury by Garter King at Arms. O Yes being again made Commandment is given in the Name of the H. Steward to all Justices and Commissioners to certifie all Indictments and Records which being deliver'd into Court the Clerk of the Crown reads the Return and the Serjeant at Arms is commanded to return his Precept with the names of the E. and Barons by him summoned and the Return of that is also read then are the Peers summoned to answer to their Names which are recorded When they have taken their places and the Prisoner set to the Bar then the Lord High-Steward delcares unto them the cause of their Assembly and perswades the Prisoner to Answer without fear assuring him that he shall be heard with patience and that Justice shall be done to him After this the Clerk of the Crown reads the Indictment and proceeds to the Arraignment of the Prisoner and if he plead Not Guilty the Entry is Et de hoc de bono malo ponit se super Pares suos c. After which the Lord High-Steward gives a Charge to the Peers exhorting them to try the Prisoner indifferently according to their Evidence which is opened by the King 's Learned Counsel who produce their Proofs for the King against the Prisoner Soe or all of the Judges are ever attendant upon the Lord High-Seward and take their places at the feet of the Peers After the Evidence is given for the King and the Prisoners Defence made he is withdrawn from the Bar under the custody of the Lieutenant whilst the Tryers go to some place to consider of their Evidence upon debate of which if they doubt of any matter they cannot send to the High-Steward to ask the Judges any Questions of Law but in the hearing of the Prisoner that he may know whether the case be rightly put for de facto jus Oritur neither can they send for the Judges to know their Opinion but the H. Steward ought to demand it in Court in the presence of the Prisoner When the Lords are agreed they return into Court and the Lord H. S. publickly in open Court beginning with the Puisny Lod says unto him My Lord A. is W. v. S. guilty of the Treasons whereof he hath been iNdicted and Arraigned or any of them And the Lord standing up says Guilty or Not Guilty and so upward of the rest serialim The Peers having given their Verdict in the absence of the Prisoner the Prisoner is brought to the Bar whom the Lord High-Steward acquaints with the Verdict of his Peers and gives Judgment accordingly either of Condemnation or Acquittal After the Service is performed and O Yes made for dissolving the Commission the white Rod is taken by the Lord High-Steward in both his hands and broken in pieces Thus have I presented to your Lordships a Scheme of that solemn order and manner how a Peer of the Realm is Arraigned before the Lord High Steward of England I might amass several Presidents of like nature wherein the Axe of Death is born before the Prisoner with the Edge from him and after being found Guilty with the Edge to him I wish your Lordships may never know more of this Point by a fatal experience Now it remains that I give Solutions to those Queries your Lordships were pleas'd to put concerning Tryals Treasons c. by which I wish you may arrive at some reasonable satisfaction QUERY I. How Antient this Tryal by Peers may be SOL. Without doubt 't is Coetaneous with the Office of the Lord High-Steward and how old that is hath been already shewn however I shall present one Authority which proves that Tryal by the Peerage was in use in the Reign of William the Conquerour who in the beginning of his Reign created William Fitz Osborne Earl of Betrevil in Normandy Earl of Hereford His Son Roger succeeded him and was E. of Hereford who under colour of his Sisters Marriage near New-Market in Camb. Shire where many of the Nobility were assembled conspir'd with them to receive the Danes into England and depose William the Conquerour who was then in Normandy from his Kingdom of England to effect which he with others rose This Treason was reveal'd by Walter E. of Huntingdon who was one of the Conspirators and Son to the Great Syward Earl of Northumberland for which Treason Roger E. of Hereford was apprehended by Urse Tiptof then Sheriff of Worcestershire A. 8. W. 1. and after tryed by his Peers and found guilty of the Treason per Judicium Parium suorum But he ended his days in Prison QUERY II. Whether a Peer can wave his Tryal by Peers SOL. He cannot wave his Peers and put himself upon the Tryal of Twelve Free-holders for the Stat. of Mao Shart is 26 H. 8. that he must be ryed by his Peers and so it was resolved in the Lord Dacre's Case QUERY III. What Lords shall be tryed by Peers in cases of Treason c SOL. Every Lord of Parliament that hath Voice therein and called thereto by the King 's Writ shall not be tryed by Peers but only such as sit Patrone Nobilitatis as Dukes Marquesses Earls Viscounts and Barons and not such as are Lords of Parliament by reason of their Baronies which they hold in right of the Church as Arch-Bishops and Bishops of this Realm for though they be Lords of Parliament yet upon an Impeachment either of Treason or Felony they shall not be tryed by the Peers of the Realm but by a Jury of Knights and other substantial persons pon their Oaths and one reason alledged by some how truly let others judge is forasmuch as Archbishops and Bishops cannot pass in like cases upon the tryal of any other of the Peers their Lordships being prohibited by the Common and Ecclesiastical Laws to be Judges