the Dukes Marquesses and Earls according to their Creations Upon the first Form across the House below the Woolsacks sit the Viscounts and upon the next Forms the Barons all in Order The Lord Chancellor or Keeper if the King be present stands behind the Cloth of Estate otherwise sits on the first Woolsack thwart the Chair of State his Great Seal and Mace by him he is Lord Speaker of the Lords House Upon other Woolsacks sit the Judges the Privy Counsellors and Secretaris of State the King's Council at Law the Masters of Chancery who being not Barons have no suffrage by Voâ—ce in Parliament but only sit as was said to give Advice when required The Reason of their sitting upon Woolsacks is thought to be to put them in mind of the Great Importance of our Woollen Manufactories which is the Grand Staple Commodity of England and so not to be by any means neglected On the Lowermost Woolsack are placed the Clerk of the Crown and Clerk of the Parliament whereof the former is concern'd in all Writs of Parliament and Pardons in Parliament The other Recordeth all things done in Parliament and keepeth the Records of the same This Clerk hath also two Clerks under him who kneel behind the same Woolsack and write thereon Without the Bar of the Lords House sits the King 's first Gentleman Usher called the Black-Rod from a Black-staff he carries in his hand under whom is a Yeoman Usher that waits at the Door within a Cryer without and a Serjeant at Mace always attending the Lord Chancellor When the King is present with His Crown on his Head none of the Lords are covered The Judges stand till the King gives them leave to sit When the King is absent the Lords at their entrance do Reverence to the Chair of State as is or should be done by all that enter into the King's Presence Chamber The Judges then may sit but may not be covered till the Chancellor or Keeper signifies unto them the leave of the Lords The King's Council and Masters of Chancery sit also but may not be covered at all The Commons in their House sit Promiscuously only the Speaker hath a Chair placed in the middle and the Clerk of that House near him at the Table They never had any Robes as the Lords ever had but wear every one what he fancyeth most The time of Sitting in Parliament is on any day in the Morning or before Dinner When the day prefixt by the King in His Writs of Summons is come the KING usually in his Royal Robes with His Crown on His Head declares the cause of their being Assembled in a short Speech leaving the rest to the Lord Chancellor who then stands behind His MAJESTY the Commons in the mean time standing bare at the Bar of the Lords House who are Commanded to chuse then a Speaker which without the KING's Command they may not do whereupon they Return to their own House and choose one of their own Members whom they present on another Day to the KING and being approved of by His MAJESTY sitting in His Chair and all the Lords in their Scarlet Robes he makes a modest refusal which not allowed he Petitioneth His Majesty That the Commons may have during their Sitting 1. A free Access to His Majesty 2. A freedom of Speech in their own House 3. Freedom from Arrests Which the King Grants Before they enter upon Affairs all the Members of the House of Commons take the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy in the presence of an Officer appointed by the KING And since the Papists have been found by the Wisdom of the KING and Parliament to be Plotting and Contriving to introduce the pretended Supremacy of their Pope and inslave the Nation to their Tyrannical Anti-spiritual Jurisdiction by Horrid Projections Plots Intrigues c. to prevent any such from Voting in either House it was thought meet though no Oaths can bind such who profess the Impious Doctrine of Equivocation that all are to declare their Opinion against the Doctrines of Transubstantiation Invocation and Adoration of Saints the Sacrifice of the Mass which Test the Lords also are Obliged to take in their House before they can Sit and Debate upon any Affair The Lords House hath a power not only in Making and Repealing Laws but also in tractando Consilium impendendo that is in Treating and Counselling c. as the words of the Writ are also in Judging of Controversies Judging in the Arraignment of any Peer of the Realm putting Men to their Oaths especially in matters of Importance as the Corruption of Judges and Magistrates in Illegal proceeding in other Courts in Appeals from Decrees in Chancery No Papist is to Sit or have Suffrage in the Lords House The Lords in case of necessary or unavoidable absence may make their Proxies to Vote in their place after License obtained under the KING's Signet The Commons as was said have a power in Making and Repealing Laws they have a Negative Voice as the KING and Lords have for nothing can pass into a Law without the joint concurrence of the King and both Houses Bills for Levying of Mony upon the Subject begin in the House of Commons because the greater part of the same arises from them The Commons have a power to Supplicate and propose Laws and as before to Impeach publick Delinquents of the Highest Quality that are Subjects for they are the Grand Inquest of the Nation and are to present Publick Grievances to be Redressed and Delinquents to be punished To this end the Lords sit in their Robes on the Bench covered they Swear and Examine Witnesses and at last pass Sentence the Members of the House of Commons stand bare at the Bar of the Lords House produce Witnesses manage Evidences c. Though every Member of the House of Commons is chosen to Serve for one particular County City or Borough yet he Serves for the whole Kingdom and his Voice is equal to any other his power is absolute to consent or dissent They are to make it their special care to promote the good of that County City or Borough for which they Serve so as that no particular benefit may interfere with or be prejudicial to the Good of the whole Kingdom The Lords are to bear their own Charges because they Represent only themselves The Commons usually had their Reasonable expences In the 17 of Ed. II. they had Ten Groats for Knights and Five Groats for Burgesses a day and not long after Four s. a day for Dubbed Knights and Two s. for all others which in those days as appears by the Prices of all things was a considerable Sum above Twenty times more than it is now So that some decayed Boroughs finding the expence heavy Petitioned that they might not be obliged to send Burgesses to Parliament and so were Vnburgessed c. It is the Practice of each House to debate all publick Affairs relating to the general or
particular Welfare of the Kingdom or Subject And every Parliament may get a Bill drawn and give it to the Speaker or Clerk of the Parliament to be presented in convenient time Whatsoever is proposed for a Law is first put in Writing and called a Bill which being read in a full Assembly it is either unanimously rejected or else allowed to be Debated and then it is Committed to a certain Number of the House presently Nominated and called a Committee After it hath been Amended and twice Read two several Days in the House it is Ingrossed that is Written Fair in a Parchment and Read the Third time another day and then if in the Lords House the Chancellor or if in the House of Commons the Speaker demands if they will have it put to the question whether a Law or no Law If the Major part be for it there is Written on the Bill by the Clerk of the Lords House Soit baille aux Seigneurs or of the House of Commons Soit baille aux Communes retaining the Antient Custom which was to speak in French When the Speaker finds divers Bills prepared to be put to the Question he gives Notice the day beâ— before that to morrow he intends to put such Bills to the passing or third Reading and desires the special attendance of all the Members If a Bill be rejected it cannot be any more proposed during that Session All Bills sent by the Commons to the Lords House are usually attended to shew their respect with several of their Members and as they come up to the Lords Bar the Member that 's to present the Bill maketh three profound Reverences and delivers it to the Lord Chancellor who comes down to the Bar to receive it A Bill sent by the Lords to the Commons is usually by some of the Masters of Chancery or some other whose seat is on the Wool-sacks and by none of the Members who coming up to the Speaker bow thrice and deliver it to him after one of them hath read the Title and desired it might be taken into Consideration If it pass that House then is Written on it Les Communes ont assentez When any Member of the House of Commons speaks to a Bill he stands up uncovered and directs his Speech only to the Speaker then if what he Delivers be confuted by another yet he is not allowed to Answer again the same day lest the whole time should be spent in a Dispute between two talkative persons Also if a Bill be debating in the House no man may speak to it in one day above once If any one speak words of offence which the House takes cognizance of as such he is called to the Bar and sometimes sent to the Tower The Speaker is not allowed to persuade or dissuade in passing of a Bill but only to make a short and plain Narrative nor to Vote except the House be equally Divided In Committees though of the whole House it is allowed to Speak and Reply as often as they please In the House of Lords they give their Suffrages or Votes beginning at the lowest Baron and so to the highest Peer in order every one Answering apart Content or Not content In the House of Commons they Vote by Yea's and No's and if it be doubtful which is the greater Number then the Yea's are to go forth and the No's sit still because these are content with their present condition without any addition or alteration of Laws as the other desire and then some are appointed to Number them But at a Committee though it be of the whole House as it is sometimes the Yea's go on one side and the No's on the other whereby they may be discerned If a Bill pass in one House and being sent to the other House they of the other House Demur upon it then a Conference is demanded in the Painted Chamber where certain deputed Members of each House Meet the Lords sitting covered at a Table and the Commons standing bare the business is then debated If they agree not it is Nulled if they do agree it Passes When Bills have past both Houses they are presented to his Majesty for his Royal assent who comes in his Robes with the Crown on his Head and being Seated in his Chair of State the Lords being all in their Robes the Clerk of the Crown reads the Tiâ—tle of each Bill and as he reads the Clerk of the Parliament according to his Instructions from the King who before hath maturely considered each Bill pronounceth the Royal assent If it be a Publick Bill the Answer is Le Roy le veut and then that Bill becomes a Law If a Private Bill the Answer is Soit fait comms el est desire If it be a Pubblick Bill which the King likes not then the Answer is Le Roy s'avisera which is taken for an absolute Denial in a more Civil way and that Bill wholly nulled So that nothing but what the King confirms by his Royal Assent hath the force of a Law The King can by Commission granted to some of His Nobles give His Royal Assent to any Bill that requires haste If it be a Bill for Monies given to His Majesty then the Answer is Le Roy remercie ses Loyaux Sujets accepte leur Benevolence aussi le veut which is an ancient Ceremony of Thanking the Subjects for parting with their Money The Bill for the King 's General Pardon hath but one Reading in either House because they must take it as the King will please to give it so the Bill of Subsidies granted by the Clergy Assembled in Convocation for the same Reason When the Bill for the General Pardon is passed by the King the Answer is thus Les Prelates Seigneurs Communes en ce Parliament Assemblez au nom de tous vos autre Sujects remercient tres humblement votre Majeste prient Dieu vous donner en sante bonne vie Congue All Acts of Parliament before the Reign of Henry 7. were Passed and Enrolled in French now in English The stile runs thus Be it Enacted by the King 's most Excellent Majesty by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons c. When it pleases the King the Parliament is Adjourned Prorogued or Dissolved thus Adjournments are usually made in the Lords House by the Lord Chancellor in the King's name to what other day and place the King pleases and then all things already Debated and Read in one or both Houses may be resumed because they continue in the same State they were in before to the next Meeting When the Parliament is Prorogued there is a Session and then all Bills and Debates must begin anew at the re-assembling of the Parliament The Speaker of the House of Commons upon notice given that it is the King's pleasure that that House shall also Adjourn doth say with the Assent of the House This House is Adjourned
in the Chapter of Government that Treats of Courts And as for the Publick-Halls of Companies the Reader is also Referred to the Third Section of the 5 th Chap. that Treats of the Respective Corporations SECT 6. Of Colleges and Inns of Courts THis RENOWNED CITY may not unfitly be stiled an Vniversity for all Liberal Arts and Sciences are here Taught and Profest Here is Divinity Law and Physick Read the Municipal or Common-Laws of the Nation Taught and Degrees taken therein which can be said in no other Nation Here a man may Learn all â—orts of Languages all the Branches and Parts of the Mathematicks and the Military Art whatsoever is necessary to make an ingenious Nobleman or Gentleman throughly accomplished in Geography Cosmography Chronology History Hydrography Navigation Arithmetick of all sorts Vulgar Instrumental Decimal Algebraical or Geometry Astronomy WHITE HALL THE TEMPLE PHISITIANS COLLEDGE LORD SHAFTSBVRY HOVSE Fortification Gunnery Gaging c. Brachygraphy or Short-hand the Arts of Riding Fencing Dancing all sorts of Musick Vocal and Instrumental Fire-works of all kinds Limning Painting Enamelling Sculpture or Ingraving Heraldry Architecture Grammar Rhetorick Poetry and indeed any thing that may be nam'd of European Art whether Liberal or Mechanick may be here Learnt with most exquisite Curiosity But that which is to be most commended as the chief Blessing is that this Famous City excells all other in this World for number of Pious and Godly Protestant Christians of Reverend Godly and Learned Divines and Ministers who Preach the Gospel in order to its propagation in the Power and Truth thereof Men eminent for ability in all sorts of Learning and for Piety and Holiness in their Lives and Conversations such Examples as very well second their Preaching Which is spoke not to boast of any humane perfection as meritorious nor to magnifie any without cause nor including universals because some that take that Sacred Function upon them prove otherwise but is represented as a motive to provoke the Inhabitants to thankfulness for so great a Mercy and to make a seasonable and profitable Improvement of the Blessing lest their Candle be removed In a few words it may be said of this City in allusion to what is spoken Rev. 22. 11. He which is filthy let him be filthy still and he that is holy let him be holy still That whosoever has a mind to Associate himself with sincere pious Christians may have the opportunity to do so as much as can be desired and such as are driven by the impetuosity of irregular and too much prevailing evils may find which ought to be lamented and if it may be restrain'd Companions in all sorts of wickedness which is not mentioned by way of disparagement to any individual much less to the City which is certainly better Govern'd than any in the World and more free from those vile Debaucheries so extraordinarily frequent in other great Cities but as a check to those licentious persons that when they would act the parts of ill persons Resort to the Suburbs without the Jurisdiction of the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor It is indeed admirable to see what Order is kept and with that Harmony so that upon any extraordinary occasion a civil man may walk any hour in the night giving good words and a good account to the well order'd and regular Watches c. But of this more in the Chapter of Government Of Gresham-College The same Noble Merchant and Citizen of London Sir Thomas Gresham of whom we spoke before that gave the Royal Exchange and Built Alms-houses in Broadstreet that gave considerable sums of Money to be distributed quarterly for ever to five Prisons and four Hospitals in and about this City Built Gresham-College and endowed it with the Revenue of the Royal Exchange of which he gave one Moity to the Lord Mayor and Commonalty and their Successors and the other Moity to the Right Worshipful Company of Mercers in trust that the Lord Mayor and Aldermen should find in all time to come four able Persons to Read Divinity Geometry Astronomy and Musick and to allow each of them besides fair Lodgings 50 l. a Year And that the Company of Mercers should find three more able men to Read Civil-Law Physick and Rhetorick each of which to have also besides fair Lodgings 50 l. a Year which Lectures are to be Read every Day in the Week except the Lords Day in Term-time in the Morning in Latine and in the Afternoon the same in English except the Musick Lecture which is to be read only in English There was also within these few Years a Mechanick Lecture for Natural Philosophy instituted by a worthy Gentleman Sir John Cutler with a Salary for the Reader of 50 l. per annum to be read at the time and place where the Royal Society shall meet Of the Charter-House called Sutton's Hospital where are 80 decay'd Gentlemen Soldiers and Merchants with a Governor and Chaplain 44 Scholars with a Master and Usher plentifully maintained in Diet Lodging Cloaths Physick c. living in a Collegiate manner with much neatness and handsomness the 44 Scholars when fit for the Universities being to receive an Allowance of 20 l. a Year for eight Years after their Reception there out of the Revenue of this Colledge And such as are fit for Trades a considerable Sum to bind them Apprentices where there are also all meet Officers as a Physician Apothecary Steward Cooks Butlers c. with competent Salaries we have spoke largely already in the Section of Hospitals to which we refer Of Sion Colledge This Colledge stands not far from Cripplegate in Cripplegate-Ward where there was in ancient Times a House of Nuns This being in great decay William Elsing Mercer anno 1329. 3 E. 3. began in the place thereof the Foundation of an Hospital for one hundred blind men to which he gave two Houses of a considerable value But 't was anno 1332. made a Priory for Canons Regular and in the same place there was at last a Colledge erected by Thomas White Doctor in Divinity for the use of the Clergy of London and the Liberties thereof and a part thereof to be for 20 poor People 10. Men and 10 Women To perform all this besides several Sums of money and considerable yearly Revenues given by the said Doctor White to pious and charitable Uses in divers places he gave 3000 l. to purchase and build this Colledge and for the maintenance of those Poor he setled 120 l. a year for ever and 40 l. a year for four plentiful Dinners for the Clergy that shall meet there who are to have four Latin Sermons one at the beginning of every quarter In this Colledge is a fair spacious Library built by John Sympson Rector of St. Olaves Hart-street London and one of the said Doctor White 's Executors who fitted it with Wainscot Stalls Desks Seats and other necessary and useful Ornaments befitting the place at his own charge This Library is