Selected quad for the lemma: opinion_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A29926
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A brief vindication of Mr. Percivall Brunskell's case with an account of twenty one years most remarkable passages.
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Brunskell, Percivall, 17th cent.
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1695
(1695)
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Wing B5234A; ESTC R38644
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20,566
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27
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paying what the Sheriff is really Damnified and the Plaintiffs full Costs may be admitted to give Bail to the Original Action and Try it Abuse 6 That the King's Duty upon Original Writs by the Contrivance of Ac Etiam Bill in the Common Pleas is not paid as it ought to be And Litigious Plaintiffs lay their Demands as high as they please to hold Defendants to unreasonable Bail and some that live remote from the Courts at Westminster being unable to give special Bail before a Judge are forced to comply with Plaintiffs unreasonable Demands or suffer long Imprisonment Remedy That the Duty be paid upon Original Writs as it ought to be and that Plantiffs find Sureties that their Demands exceed not their real Cause of Action as Anciently they did to Answer the Amerciament pro falso Clamore Abuse 7 That Sheriffs Dispence with the Statute 13 Edw. 1. Cap. 39. and Wrong the King of Fines and Forfeitures by Returning Debtors to be in Liberties and Franchises which be not and Charging the King with Wages for such Justices of Peace and their Men as did not attend at Assizes and Sessions Remedy That the Boundaries or Extent of all Liberties and Franchises as well as a Particular of all Royalties Claimed therein may be Recorded in the Exchequer in distinct Rolls for every County And that Bailiffs make Oath before some Magistrate That their Returns and Accompts of Fines Forfeitures Issues and Amerciaments are true and deliver the same so Attested to the Sheriffs And that the Sheriffs produce the same to Accompt by in the Exchequer and make Oath That they are the same unaltered Also that Wages are not Charged for any Justice of Peace or his Men but such as Actually Attended at Assizes and Sessions Abuse 8 That Officers for Bribes Discharge Criminals of Recognizances Forfeited to avoid Tryal and Wrong the King by making easie Compositions upon wrong Suggestions or drain the King's Debtors with false Returns and Respites until they be Insolvent whereby they their Wives and Children become Burthensome to the Parishes they live in or make many of them so Poor That the King gets not above 5 s. of a Real Debt of 40 l. Remedy That all Recognizances Forfeitures Issues Fines and Amerciaments may be duly Certified into the Exchequer And that the Suggestions or Grounds of every Composition be duly Recorded Abuse 9 That the King's Duty of Prae Fine is certain viz. 10 l. for every 100 l. per Annum contained in Writs of Covenant and Entry And the Commissioners make Rent Charges and Annuities though but Estates for Life pay full Duty yet Abate of Estates in Fee 7 8 or 9 l. in every Duty of 10 l. more or less by Certifying the Annual Values to be as they please and shewing more Favour to one than to another so that the Persons most favoured may attribute it to the Commissioners Kindness but cannot ascribe it to the Bounty or Goodness of the King Remedy That the Commissioners may administer Oaths as they ought to do for the Ascertaining the Annual Value of every Estate in Fee contained in every Writ and may be Impowered to Abate one half or any other certain part of the Real Duty and be enjoined to distribute His Majesty's Bounty equally and impartially by Rating all Subjects accordingly And may also Certifie the same so done by the King 's special Grace and Bounty then the King will have the Grateful Acknowledgments of his Subjects for what 's Abated Abuse 10 That many Thousand Families have been undone by Officers and Attorneys Exactions Remedy That an Exact Table of Fees be hung up in every Court and Office Abuse 11 That Offices are Bought and Sold under the Umbrage of the Proviso in the Statute 5 and 6 Edw. 6. Cap. 16. which Proviso is Misconstrued For the Reservation is but for the Chief Justices to do as they might have done formerly 18 and 20 Ed. 3. 12 Rich. 2. cap. 2. and by former Laws not Repealed they are Prohibited expresly to Sell Offices But the King may make a Revenue thereof yet doth not That the Statute 12 Rich. 2. Cap. 2. be observed and that the King take a full Years Profits payable in Two Years time as the First-fruits of Spiritual Livings are paid Attorney General North 's Reports Oct. 1674. Attorney General North's Report Oct. 1674. That the Small Fines and Amerciaments in all Courts are wholly neglected which if Carefully looked after will be of a Considerable Value and the said Brunskell deserves an Imployment therein for so useful a Discovery Francis North. His Opinion Afterward That he was glad of the Opportunity so to Report because he had often moved the Judges to take Care of Fines and Amerciaments And it was needful to Appoint a fit Person to Controul the Officers who Pocket His Majesty's Profits North being made Chief Justice of the Common Pleas Retracted his Reports because his Officers Claimed part of the Fines as their Perquisites That all the Fines and Amerciaments of Right belong to the King Sir Ch. Harboard's Report upon a full Hearing Ch. Harboard Then the Revenue arising by Fines Forfeitures Issues and Amerciaments being Represented to be of Small Yearly Value Certificate from the Pipe-Office and not worth the King's Care the said Brunskell prevailed with the Honourable Sir Francis Compton to get a Certificate from the Pipe-Office of the Value of the Green-Wax Fines brought to Accompt whereby it appeared That of 57000 l. Yearly Estreated and Returned into the Exchequer so many were Nichelled that the King got not above 500 l. per Annum Attorney General Jones Report upon the State of Abuses and Remedies That many of the Abuses are true and fit to be Redressed and all Sir VVilliam Jones Report or the greatest part may be Remedied by the Judges Orders and the Discoverer deserveth the Assurance of a Liberal Reward for the Service he hath done and may for the future do in discovering these and the like Abuses William Jones Sir William Jones being Removed the same State of Abuses and Remedies were Referred to Sir Robert Sawyer Attorney General who Reported That Great Abuses are Practised and it 's fit such Rules be made Sir Robert Sawyer's Attorney General 's Report that the King may not be injured And the Orders Proposed seem reasonable in the main to Remedy them Robert Sawyer Upon the aforesaid Reports Opinions and Certificates the Late King Charles the Second was Inclined to Grant to the said Brunskell the Office of Surveyor of the Green-Wax Fines But the Form of the Grant of the Green-Wax Fines could not of a long while be settled until Mr. Saunders afterward Lord Chief Justice Mr. Serjeant Raymond afterward a Judge and Serjeant Sympson made and certified the Draught of a Grant as followeth That a Grant Saunder's Raymond and Sympson's Opinions pursuant to this Draught is Legal in Regard all the Money is Actually brought in by the
22. 1 Jac. 2. 2 Will. Maâ—iâ—â— And if those Laws were duly observed moderately computing what peaceable Subjects will save thereby in Suits and His Majesty get and save when such as disturb His Majesty or His People are Condignly Punished The Benefit and Advantage to His Majesty and His People together with what His Majesty may make of Offices will far exceed the Yearly Profit and Advantages Proposed to His Majesty After the said Brunskell had made out his Proposals as aforesaid and made their Lordships sensible of his great Sufferings for his Faithful Discharge of Oath and Duty their Lordships caused him to be minuted in the Treasury-book to be put into the Alienation-Office for his present Subsistence and directed him to make his Application to Parliament upon his Proposals The said Brunskell as directed made diligent Application to the House of Commons and was Referred to a Committee who came to several Resolutions which they Reported and are as follow Vpon Consideration of Mr. Percivall Brunskell 's Petition to us Referred Resolutions of Committee of the House of Commons Reported Dec. 10â— It is the Opinion of this Committee That the Laws against Buying and Selling Offices are deficient Resolved That the House be moved for leave to bring in a Bill against Buying and Selling Offices Resolved That the House be moved for leave to bring in a Bill to Ascertain the Fees of Officers Attorneys Clerks and Solicitors Resolved Also that the House be moved for leave to bring in a Bill That His Majesty as Offices become Void may have the First Years Profits payable in Two Years time That the said Brunskell 's Case be laid before the House whereby it appeared That he had lost his Practice which Loss upward of Twenty One Years at 300 l. per Annum doth amount to 6300 l. And as he was in a Hopeful Way of Increasing in his Business the Loss may be computed to be mach greater Also that he had Expended his own Estate 1500 l. which with Simple Interesst or 14 Years amounted to 2760 l. and his Debts Contracted now exceed 3000 l. by Reason they Increase 80 l. per Annum for want of something to pay off either Principal or Interest so that his Real Loss and Damage exceeds 12060 l. And it also appeared how narrowly he escaped being Murdered and other Hardships as therein set out for no Cause at all but for making Discoveries of undue Practices in Discharge of Oaths by Law Established which admit of no Construction Geruine Sense or Meaning but what he put upon them Whereupon the House of Commons Agreed with the Committee to the First and Second Resolutions with some Amendments and some Debate arising upon the Third Resolution preceeding his Case It was Adjourned and before the Day to which the same was Adjourned the House broke up As soon as the Session was ended the said Brunskell humbly Petitioned for the Offices he had formerly or an Equivolent and his Petition was Referred to the Consideration of the said Late Lord Chief Baron Sir Robert Atkins who Reported as he had done before That the said Brunskell was Well experienced Lord Chief Barons Second Report and every way Well-qualified for the said Offices and deserved a Reward for Discovering such Abuses as will greatly Increase His Majesty's Glory to Redress and that His Majesty hath Ways and Means enough to Reward the said Brunskell without disobliging any Upon this Report His Majesty Graciously signified His Pleasure by the Right Honourable the Earl of Rumney to the then Lords Commissioners of His Treasury to Consider of the said Petition and Report and to Report their Lordships Opinion thereon to His Majesty what was fit to be done for the Petitioners Gratification But their Lordships made not any Report to His Majesty And although the said Brunskell Petitioned several times after for Offices of Profit as they became Void wherein he might have been Serviceable to His Majesty and Pay his Debts without being Burthensome to His Majesty or disobliging any And altho' His Majesty most Graciously lodged all his Petitions with His Majesty's Proper Ministers yet while he lay Crippled at the Pool others stept in The several Lawe made after the said Brunskell's Case was upon the Report of the Committee laid before the House of Commons which visibly Redress Abuses therein set forth are as follows An Act to take Special Bail in the Country An Act to prevent Malicious Informations An Act for delivering Declarations to Prisoners An Act for Reviving several Laws among the rest the Law for the better Recovery of Fines Forfeitures Issues and Amerciaments An Act for Rectifying Proceedings in the Crown-Office and Reversing Outlawries by Attorney in the King 's Bench. An Act for the better Discovery of Judgments An Act to Rectifie Proceedings at Quarter Sessions of the Peace An Act to Take away Process of Capiatus which expresly provides That His Majesty's Duty called Capias pro Fine shall be paid as the said Brunskell Proposed The said Laws plainly shew That the Government hath made use of the said Brunskell's Discoveries and may at leisure make use of the rest as hath been done for good things proposed seldom are forgotten The said Brunskell together with one Fabian Phillips Esq Further Services did formerly propose a Paper Tax which was a Shoeing-horn to the Act lately made for laying a Duty upon Vellom and Parchment as well as Paper For that reason the said Brunskell was an Early Petitioner for a Commissioners Place but obtained nothing save an Imployment to Inspect His Majesty's Upper Bench and Offices to see His Duties Answered with no more Fee Profit or Perquisite than 20 l. per Annum which will but barely pay for his own and Families Sleeping-rooms And an Ungrateful Office and Small Salary suites ill with all Persons under the said Brunskell's Circumstances by reason the generality of Mankind desires to be freed from Duties and few Honest Men love to be inspected and Ill Men cannot endure it The said Brunskell was also Instrumental to promote the Late Act for laying a Duty upon Births Burials and Marriages Further Services as the Right Honourable Mr. Mountague and several Worthy Members may remember on whom the said Brunskell waited with Proposals And the said Brunskell is so far from obtaining a Reward that the great Losses he hath sustained upon Account of his Services are in no measure Compensated or Repaired whereupon the said Brunskell betook himself to Practice for Subsistance and was fallen a little into Business Yet he had no sooner obtained the said Poor Office of Inspection but some out of Malice told his Creditors That the Employment was better than 500 l. per Annum to him and that he was in a Condition to pay them whereupon some Creditors Arrested him and had not a Merchant and Client given Security for the Debt being near a 100 l. he had Starved in Goal now he is out he is forced to