England in some difficult cases were not wont to give Judgment until they had first consulted the King or his Privy Council Moreover the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament have oft-times transmitted matters of high moment to the King and his Privy Council as by long experience and wisdom better able to judge of and by secrecy and expedition better able to transact some State Affairs then all the Lords and Commons together At present the King and his Privy Council take Cognisance of few matters that may well be determined by the known Laws and ordinary Courts of Justice but onely as aforesaid consult for the Publick Good Honour Defence Safety and Benefit of the Realm not medling with matters that concern Freeholds but matters of Appeal and sudden Emergencies The Lords of the Privy Council are as it were a part of the King incorporate with him and his Cares bearing upon their Shoulders that great weight that otherwise would lye wholly upon His Majesty wherefore of such high value and esteem they have always been that if a man did but strike in the House of a Privy Counsellor or elsewhere in his presence he was grievously Fined for the same and to conspire the death of any of them was made Felony in any of the Kings servants within the Check Roll and to kill one of them was High Treason A Privy Councellor though but a Gentleman shall have precedence of all Knights Baronets and younger Sons of all Barons and Viscounts The Substance of their Oath is That they shall according to their power and discretion Truly Justly and Evenly Counsel and Advise the King in all matters to be Treated in His Majesties Council that they shall keep secret the Kings Counsel c. By Force of this Oath and the Custom of the Kingdom of England a Privy Counsellor is made without any Patent or Grant and to continue onely during the Life of the King that makes him nor so long unless the King pleaseth Heretofore there hath been usually a Lord President of the Kings Privy Council a Dignity of so high Repute that by a Statute of Henry the Eight he is to take place in publick next to the Lord High Treasurer of England His Office was to speak first to business to report to His Majesty the Passages and State of businesses transacted at Council Table The last Lord President was the Earl of Manchester Father of the present Lord Chamberlaine To his Privy Councellors the King of England may declare or conceal from them whatsoever he alone judgeth fit and expedient qua in re saith the Excellent Sir Tho. Smith absolutissimum est hoc Regnum Angliae prae Venetorum Ducatu aut Lacedaemoniorum Principatu The King with the advice of his Privy Council doth publish Proclamations binding to the Subject provided that they are not contrary to Statute or Common Law In cases where the publick peace honour or profit of the Kingdom may be endangered for want of speedy redress there the King with his Privy Council usually make use of an absolute power if need be The Members of this most Honorable Council are such as his own free Will and meer Motion shall please to choose and are commonly men of the highest rank eminent for Estates Wisdom Courage Integrity c. And because there are few cases of moment so temporal but that they may some way relate to spiritual affairs therefore according to the general Rules of Policy and Government which God himself ordained amongst his chosen people the Jews the Privy Council as well as the great Council of Parliament is composed of Spiritual as well as Temporal persons some of the principal Bishops of England have in all times been chosen by His Majesty to be of his Privy Council The Lords of His Majesties Privy Council are at present these that follow His Royal Highness the Duke of York His Highness Prince Rupert Gilbert Lord-Archbishop of Canterbury Sir Orlando Bridgman Knight and Baronet Lord Keeper of the Great Seal John Lord Roberts Lord Privy Seal George Duke of Buckingham Mr. of the Horse to His Majesty James Duke of Monmouth James Duke of Ormond Lord Great Steward of His Majesties Houshold Henry Marquis of Dorchester Henry Earl of Ogle Thomas Earl of Ossory Robert Earl of Lindsey Lord Great Chamberlain of England Edward Earl of Manchester Lord Chamberlain of His Majesties Houshold· Awbrey Earl of Oxford John Earl of Bridgwater Robert Earl of Leceister Henry Earl of S. Albans Edward Earl of Sandwich Arthur Earl of Anglesey John Earl of Bath Groom of the Stole to His Majesty Charles Earl of Carlisle William Earl of Craven John Earl of Rothes His Majesties Commissioner in Scotland John Earl of Lotherdale Secretary of State in Scotland John Earl of Tweedale John Earl of Middleton Richard Earl of Carbury Lord President of Wales Roger Earl of Orrery Humphrey Lord Bishop of London Henry Lord Arlington one of His Majesties Principal Secretaries of State Francis Lord Newport Comptroler of His Majesties Houshold John Lord Berkley Lieutenant of Ireland Densel Lord Holles Anthony Lord Ashley Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir Thomas Clifford Knight Treasurer of His Majesties Houshold Sir George Carteret Knight Vice-Chamberlain to His Majesty Sir John Trevor Knight one of His Majesties Principal Secretaries of State Sir Thomas Ingram Knight Chancellor of the Dutchy Sir William Morice Knight Sir John Duncom Knight Sir Thomas Chicheley Knight Master of the Ordnance These are all to wait on his Majesty and at Council Board sit in their Order bare-headed when His Majesty presides At all Debates the lowest delivers his opinion first that so he may be the more free and the King last of all declares his Judgment and thereby determines the mater in Debate The Time and Place of holding this Council is wholly at the Kings pleasure but it is most commonly held in the morning on Wednesday and Friday out of Parliament time and Term time and in the Afternoon in time of Parliament and Term. A Council is seldom or never held without the Presence of one of the Secretaries of State of whose Office and Dignity much more considerable in England than in other Nations take here this brief Account The Kings of England had antiently but one Secretary of State until about the end of Henry the Eight his Reign it was thought fit that weighty and important Office should be discharged by two Persons both of equal authority and both stiled Principal Secretaries of State In those days and some while after they sate not at Council Board but having prepared their business in a Room adjoyning to the Council-Chamber they came in and stood on either hand of the King and nothing was debated at the Table until the Secretaries had gone through with their Proposals But Queen Elizabeth seldom coming to Council that Method was altered and the two Secretaries took their places as Privy Counsellors which Dignity they have retained and enjoyed ever since and a
Nations and excelled all Nations in making of good Lawes yet for their Sea-affairs referred all Debates and Controversies to the Judgement of these Rhodian Lawes Oleron is an Island antiently belonging to the Crown of England seated in the Bay of Aquitane not far from the Mouth of the Garonne where our famous Warriour King Richard the First caused to be compiled such excellent Laws for Sea matters that in the Ocean Sea Westward they had almost as much repute as the Rhodian Laws in the Mediterranean and these Lawes were called La Rool d' Oleron King Edward the Third who first erected this Court of Admiralty as some hold made at Quinborough 1375. very excellent Constitutions concerning Maritime affairs and many Statutes and Ordinances have been made by other Princes and People as at Rome Pisa Genoa Marseilles Barcelona and Messina yet that fragment of the Rhodian Law still extant with the Comments thereon by the old Jurisconsults inserted in the Pandects and the Constitutions made by the Roman Emperors contained in the Code and in the Novelles still holds the Preeminence The Customes and former Decrees of the English Court of Admiralty are there of force for deciding of Controversies Under this Court there is also a Court of Equity for determining differences between Merchants In Criminal affairs which is commonly about Piracy the proceeding in this Court was by Accusation and Information according to the Civil Law by a mans own confession or eye-witnesses found gulty before he could be condemned but that being found inconvenient there were two Statutes made by H. VIII that Criminal affairs should be tried by Witnesses and a Jury and this by special Commission of the King to the Lord Admiral wherein some of the Judges of the Realm are ever Commissioners and the Tryal according to the Laws of England directed by those Statutes Between the Common Law of England and the Admiralty there seems to be Divisum Imperium for in the Sea so far as the Low-water Mark is observed that is counted Infra Corpus Comitatus adjacentis and Causes thence arising are determinable by the Common-Law yet when the Sea is full the Admiral hath Jurisdiction there also so long as the Sea flows over matters done between the Low-water Mark and the Land as appears in Sir Henry Constables Case 5 Report Coke p. 107. For regulating and ordering His Majesties Navies Ships of War and Forces by Sea See those excellent Articles and Orders in Stat. 13 Car. 2. c. 9. Of the Navy Office where the whole business concerning the Kings Vessels of War is managed FIrst There is the Treasurer of the Navy the Earl of Anglesy whose Office is to receive out of the Exchequer by Warrant from the Lord Treasurer of England and to pay all charges of the Navy by Warrant from the principal Officers of the Navy for which he hath salary 220 l. 13 s. 4 d. besides 3 d. in the pound of all moneys paid by him This Office is executed pro tempore by Sir Thomas Osburn and Sir Thomas Littleton for which there are allowed to each fifteen hundred pounds per annum Next the Controller of the Navy Sir John Mennes whose Office is to attend and controll all payments of wages to know the Market rates of all stores belonging to shipping to examine and audit Treasurers Victuallers and Store-keepers Accounts c. his Salary is 500 l. yearly This Office is executed at present by the Lord Vicount Brounker the forementioned Sir John Mennes and Sir Jeremy Smith together Surveyor of the Navy Collonel Thomas Middleton whose Office is generally to know the state of all stores and see the wants supplyed to find the Hulls Masts Yards and estimate the value of repairs by Indentures to charge all Boatswains and Carpenters of His Majesties Navy with what stores they receive and at the end of each voyage to state and audit their Accounts his Salary is 490 l. Clerk of the Acts Samuel Pepys Esquire whose Office is to record all Orders Contracts Bills Warrants and other businesses transacted by the Principal Officers and Commissioners of the Navy c. Next the Commissioners of the Navy viz. the forementioned Lord Brounker and Sir Jeremy Smith whose Office is as above specified and Salary to each 500 l. yearly Two other Commissioners John Tippets And John Cox Esquires whose particular work is to be at Portsmouth and Chatham alwayes in readiness to give Orders for the better management of His Majesties affairs in his Yards or Store-Houses there Salary to each is 350 l. yearly Each of these Officers above named have two Clerks and some of them more all payd by the Treasurer of the Navy all hold their Places by Patent from the King and the most of them during Pleasure The King hath for his Navy Royal and Stores 4 great Yards or Store-houses viz. at Chatham Deptford Woollwich and Portsmouth where his ships are built repaired and laid up after their voyages In which Yards are employed divers Officers whereof there are six Principal whose Office Names and Salaries follow  Chat. Dep. Wool Port. Clerk of the Check 181 108 98 126 Store-keeper 236 164 128 119 Master attendant 2 at Chatham 200 100 100 108 Master ship-wright 103 113  130 Clerk of the Controll 100 120 80 80 Clerk of the Survey 140 102  84 Note that the charges of their Clerks and Instruments are included in the aforementioned Salaries Besides these four Yards His Majesty hath divers Rope Yards as at Chatham Woolwich and Portsmouth where are made all His Cables and Cordage for His Navy Also in time of a Sea-war the King hath another Yard at Harwich where there is out of War time continued an Officer at the charges of 100 l. yearly Yearly Pensions allowed by the King to to his Flag-Officers whilst they are at Land of Employment Two Admirals  salaries  l. Sir George Askew 250 Sir Thomas Allen 245 Three Vice-Admirals Sir Joseph Jordan 200 Sir Edward Sprag 250 Sir John Herman 200 Three Rere-Admirals  l. Riches Uâ—bert 150 Sir John Kempthorn 150 John Hubbert 150 All the Fore-mentioned Officers and the whole Navy Office are governed by the Lord High Admiral of England whose Lieâ—tenant Admiral is the Earl of Sandwich Salary 20 s. per diem and 10 s. per mens for each servant whereof he is allowed 16. Lord Adm. Secretary is Matthew Wren Esquire his Salary from the King is 500 l. yearly All the other under Officers as well those in the several Yards as those belonging to any of His Majesties ships hold their places by Warrant from the Lord High Admiral durante bene placito The ordinary yearly Charge of His Majesties Navy in times of Peace continuing in Harbour is so well regulated that it amounts to scarce 70000 l. besides all charges of building of ships c. or setting forth any Fleets which some years even in peaceable times amounts to 12 or 1300000 l. more as may easily be
Delinquent is to stand in the Church Porch upon some Sunday bare head and feet in a white Sheet and a white Rod in his Hand there bewailing himself and beging every one that passes by to pray for him then to enter the Church falling down and kissing the ground then in the middle of the Church placed in a higher place in the sight of all the People and over against the Minister who declares the foulness of his crime odious to God and scandalous to the Congregation that God can no way be satisfied but by applying Christs sufferings nor the Congregation but by an humble acknowledging of his sin and testifying his sincere repentance and sorrow not in words only but with tears and promising there in the sight of God and his Holy Angels that by Gods assistance and by Prayer Meditation and daily works of Piety he will endeavor hereafter more carefully to watch against the temptations of the world the allurements of the flesh and the snares of the Devil which being done and the Priest in Christs name pronouncing the remission of sins the penitent humbly beseeches the Congregation to pardon him that great scandal against them and receive him into their holy Communion and to account him again a Member of their Church and in testimony hereof out of their Christian Charity to vouchsafe to say with him aloud the Lords Prayer And this way of the Church of England appears by divers Writers to be the antient way used by the Primitive Churches Note that it is ordained by the Canons of the Church of England that in case the crime be not notorious and publick the forenamed penance may at the parties request be commuted into a pecuniary Mulct for the poor of the Parish or some Pious uses provided that for the Reformation of the Delinquent that way appear to be the more probable way for some men will be thereby reclaimed who by publication of their offence would become more impudent and hardned when they perceive their reputation to be lost There remains one more punishment or Ecclesiastical censure which toucheth the body and that is denyal of Christian burial which is inflicted not in poenam mortuorum but in terrorem viventium who naturally desire that after their death their bodies may be decently interred And Christian burial is wont to be denyed by the Church of England to persons dying excommunicate to perjured persons to such as are hanged for Felony or that wilfully kill themselves and to Apostates Hereticks and Extortioners To these forenamed Censures and Punishments both Laity and Clergy are subject but besides these there are punishments whereunto the Clergy only are lyable as first Suspensio ab Officio when a Minister for a time is declared unfit to execute the Office of a Minister Then Suspensio a Beneficio when a Minister for a time is deprived of the profits of his Benefice and these two Censures are wont to be for smaller crimes Thirdly Deprivatio a Beneficio when for a greater crime a Minister is wholly and for ever deprived of his Living And fourthly Deprivatio ab Officio when a Minister is wholly and for ever deprived of his Orders and this is called Depositio or Degradatio and is commonly for some heynous crime meriting death and is performed by the Bishop in a solemn manner pulling off from the Criminal his Vestments and other Ensignes of his Order and this in the presence of the Civil Magistrate to whom he is then delivered to be punished as a Lay man for the like offence And herein Bishops are to take special care to behave themselves 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not as lording over Gods Heritage not as absolute Masters over Servants to gain by their punishments but as Fathers over Children for their amendment and as being Ministers in Spiritual affairs to use their power for the good of Christians and to conduct that power by moderation Of the Parliament of England and therein of the Person summoning the manner of the summons the persons summoned their priviledges the place and manner of Sitting the passing of Bills in either House the passing of Acts of Parliament of Adjourning Proroguing and Dissolving of Parliaments A Brief Account of the Ecclesiastical Government having been given next follows the Civil Government towards which the first great wheel that moves is the Parliament of England Before the Conquest the Great Council of the King consisting only of the Great men of the Kingdom was called Magnatum Conventus or else Praelatorum Procerumque Concilium and by the Saxons in their own Tongue Micel Gemot the Great Assembly after the Conquest it was called by the French word Parlementum from Parler to talk together still consisting only of the Great men of the Nation until the Reign of H. 3. The Commons also were called to sit in Parliament for the first Writs sent forth to summon them bears date 49. H. 3. about 400 years agoe None but the King hath authority to summon a Parliament In the Kings absence out of the Realm the Custos Regni in the Kings name doth summon a Parliament and during the Kings minority within the Realm the Protector Regni doth the same No Parliament can begin without the Kings Presence either in Person or by Representation by Commissioners When the King of England is with his Parliament in time of peace he is then said to be in the height of his Royal Dignity as well as when he is at the head of his Army in time of War There is then scarce any thing that the King cannot do his power cannot be confined for Causes or Persons within any bounds He can with the concurrence of his Lords and Commons legitimate one that is born illegitimate bastardize one that is born legitimate that is to say one begotten in Adultery the Husband being then within the four Seas He can make an Infant of full age make an Alien or Forreigner an Englishman can attaint a man of Treason when he is dead when he is no more a man c. A Parliament is summoned in manner following About 40 days before the Parliament doth assemble the King issues out his Writ cum Advisamento Concilii sui and the Warrant is per ipsum Regem Concilium The Kings Writ which is a short Letter or Epistle is directed and sent to every particular person of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal commanding the Lords Spiritual in Fide Dilectione and the Lords Temporal per Fidem Allegiantiam to appear at a certain time and place to Treat and give their Advice in some certain important affairs concerning the Church and State c. Other Writs are sent to the High Sheriff of each County to summon the people to elect two Knights for each County two Citizens for each City and one or two Burgesses for each Burrough according to Statute Charter or Customs In these Elections antiently all the people had their Votes and most Votes carried it
but for avoiding of tumults and trouble it was enacted by H. VI. that none should have any suffrage in the election of Knights of the Shire but such as were Freeholders did reside in the County and had yearly Revenue 40 s. which till the discovery of the Gold and Silver in America was as much as 30 or 40 l. now whence it came to pass that the Lay-Commons were then elected as the Clergy-Commons the Procuratores Cleri were and ever have been viz. sine Prece sine Pretio sine Poculo c. The persons elected for each County are to be Milites Notabiles or at least Esquires or Gentlemen fit to be made Knights as it is in the Statutes of H. VI. They ought to be de discretioribus Militibus ad laborandum potentioribus as the words in some Writs have been they ought not to be of younger years for then it would be Juvenaâ—us si sic loqui liceat potiús quam Senatus not lazy Epicures but men of years vigorous active and abstemious men that will be content to give their constant attendance in Parliament or else to enjoy neither Priviledge nor Expences allowed to every Member of the Commons House They ought to be native English men or at least such as have been Naturalized by Act of of Parliament No Alien or Denizon none of the Twelve Judges no Sheriff of a County no Ecclesiastical person that hath cure of souls may be chosen a Parliament man to serve for any County City or Burrough Two things are said to be requisite to the legality of sitting in Parliament first that a man should be of full age that is 21 years old at the least for if no man under that age can dispose of his Estate nor make one legal Act to that purpose then much less may he bear any part in the supreme power of the Nation to Judge Vote or Dispose of the Estate of the whole Realm yet the practice in the House of Commons though never in the House of Lords hath sometimes been otherwise All Members of Parliament both Lords and Commons that they may attend the publick Service of their Countrey are priviledged with their menial Servants attending on their persons together with all their necessary Goods brought along with them from all Attachments and Imprisonments for Debts Trespasses Account or Covenant all the time that they are on the way to the place of Parliament all the time they are at Parliament and all the time they are on the way home again Eundo Morando ad propria redeundo for so were the old words but they are not priviledged from Arrests for Treason Felony or breach of the peace The place of meeting for the High and Honourable Assembly is in whatsoever City Town or House the King pleaseth but of latter times it hath been usually held at the Kings antient Palace and usual Residence at Westminster all the Lords in a fair Room by themselves and the Commons not far from them in another fair Room which was heretofore the antient free Chappel of S. Stephen The manner of sitting in the Lords House is thus The King as oft as he comes which hath usually been only at the opening of Parliaments or at the passing of Bills or at some solemn debates as the present King hath frequently done is placed at the upper end of the room in a Chair of State under a Cloth of State under which on either hand none but the Kings Children On the Kings right hand is a seat antiently for the King of Scotland when he was summoned to Parliament as he sometimes was in side legiantia but now it is for the Prince of Wales On the Kings left hand is a Seat for the Duke of York On the Kings right hand and next the wall are placed on a Form the two Archbishops next below on another Form the Bishops of London Durham and Winchester all the rest of the Bishops sit according to the priority of their Consecration On the Kings left hand upon Forms are placed the Lords Chancellor Treasurer President of the Kings Council and Lord Privy Seal if they are Barons above all Dukes except those of the Royal Family if they are not Barons then they sit uppermost on the Woolsacks On the same side sit the Dukes Marquisses and Earls according to their Creations Upon the first Form a cross 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 Secretaries of State the Kings Council at Law the Masters of Chancery Thâ—se being not Barons have no suffrage in Parliament onely sit to give their advice when it is required The reason why these Sages are placed upon Woolsacks may probably be to mind them of the great importance of Wooll and Sheep to the Nation that it-never be neglected On the lowermost Woolsack are placed the Clerk of the Crown now Henry Barker Esquire and Clerk of the Parliament at present John Brown Esquire whereof the former is concerned 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 Kings first Gentleman Usher called the Black Rod from a black sttaff he carries in his hand under whom is a Yeoman Usher that waits at the door within a Cryer without and a Sergeant at Mace always attending the Lord Keeper 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 Kings Presence-Chamber The Judges then may sit but may not be covered till the Chancellor or Keeper signify unto them the leave of the Lords The Kings Council and Masters of Chancery sit also but may not be covered at all The Commons in their House sit promiscuously onely 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 fancieth most which to strangers seems very unbecoming the Gravity and Authority of the Great Council of England and that during their attendance on Parliament a Robe or grave vestment would as well become the Honourable Members of the House of Commons as it doth all the Noble Venetians both young and old who have right to sit in the Great Council
be spared because it intimates a distinct interest between the King and His Subjects which is not onely false but very dangerous to be allowed of The King is Pater patriae the Money given to him is for our use and benefit if we are niggardly to him we injure ourselves c. The Bill for the Kings general Pardon hath but one reading in either House for this reason 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 Prelats Signeurs communes en ce Parlament assemblez au nom de tous vos autres sujets remercient tres humblement vostre Majeste prient Dieu vous donner en sante bonne vie longue All Acts of Parliament before the Reign of Henry 7. were passed and enrolled in French now in Engliâ—h Most of our antient Acts of Parliament run in this stile The King at the humble request of the Commons with the assent of the Prelates Dukes Earles and Barons hath ordained or enacted After it was thus The King by the Advice and Assent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and with the Assent of the Commons doth enact of later times it hath been thus Be it enacted by the Kings most excellent Majesty by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and of the Commons although the words of the Writ for summoning the Commons which ought to be the main rule is onely ad Consentiendum and not ad Consilium impendendum as it is in the Writ to the Lords and it is evident that the Commons in the late long Parliament made that an advantage for justifying their usurpations against the King in that point and so in another Parliament the Commons endeavoured to maintain that the Concurrence of the Lords was not always necessary in an Act of Parliament because 1 Edward 6. cap. 5. in passing that Act against transportation of Horses the Lords were casually omitted yet by the Register of the Lords House it appears that that Bill began first in the Lords House and there passed before the Commons took it in debate and therefore the Kings Council at Law is very curious in wording rightly all Acts before they are brought to the King and the Clerks of the Parliament as carefull in transcribing and registring them However it is to be wished that to prevent future mischief to this Nation some clauses in the late Act of Oblivion and Indemnity might be amended or at least explained and more especially about the beginning of that Act these words That all manner of Treasons c. since January 1637. and before June 1660. by vertue of any Authority from His late Majesty King Charles or His Majesty that now is be pardoned c. which words might possibly be foisted in designedly to insinuate as if according to that most absurd and Traiterous position of some of the Rebellious Members of the Long Parliament the Kings person or any commissionated by him could be guilty of Treason against the Kings Authority or against His two Houses of Parliament by pursuing of Rebels to bring them to Justice according to the Laws of the Land It were also to be desired that to prevent the great dishonour of making additional and explanatory Acts of Parliament so frequently as hath of late been done all considerable Bills of Publick concernment once read in either House of Parliament may before they be passed be exposed to the view of all comers as antiently among the Romans was usual to the end that any other person besides those of the two Houses may within the space of certain days freely propose in Writing or otherwise his exceptions additions alterations or amendments Sed haec obiter When those things for which the Parliament was summoned have been sufficiently treated and brought to a conclusion then the King doth usually adjourn prorogue or dissolve the Parliament in maner following The adjournments are usually made in the Lords House by the Lord Keeper in the Kings Name to what other day the King pleaseth and also to what other place if he think fit to remove them as sometimes hath been done and then all things already debated and read in one or both Houses continue to the next meeting in the same state they were in before the adjournment and so may be resumed In the like maner the Parliament is Prorogued but by a Prorogation there is a Session and then the Bills that were almost ready in both Houses for the Royal Assent not having it must at the reassembling of the Parliament begin anew The Speaker of the House of Commons upon notice given that it is the Kings pleasure that House shall also adjourn doth say with the assent of the House This House is adjourned When the Kings pleasure is to prorogue or dissolve the Parliament His Majesty commonly cometh in person with His Crown on his Head sendeth for all the House of Commons to come to the Bar of the Lords House and after the Kings answer to each Bill signified as aforementioned His Majesty usually makes a Solemn Speech the Lord Keeper another and the Speaker of the House of Commons a third then the Lord Keeper by the special command of the King doth pronounce the Parliament prorogued or dissolved Note That the King being head of the Parliament if his death doth happen during the sitting of the Parliament it is ipso facto dissolved Antiently after every Session of Parliament the King commanded every Sheriff to proclaim the several Acts and to cause them to be duly observed yet without that Proclamation the Law intended that every one hath notice by his representative of what is transacted in Parliament of later times since Printing became common that Custom hath been laid aside The Number of Persons that have have Place and Suffrage in both Houses To the Lords House belong 3 Dukes of the Royal Blood though one be infra aetatem 7 other Dukes 3 Marquises 56 Earls 9 Vicounts and 67 Barons in all 154. Then there are two Archbishops and 24 Bishops so that the Total is 180. But many being under age some sick and infirm others abroad in the Kings Service the ordinary number is about 100. To the House of Commons belong first for the 40 Shires of England two for each in all 80 Knights then one for each of the twelve Counties of Wales 12 Knights For 25 Cities in England two to each and London four in all 52 Citizens For the Cinque Ports 16 Barons for the two Universities two Burgesses for each For 168 Burroughs there are about 330 Burgesses for some few of those Burroughs send but one Burgess apiece Lastly in each of the 12 Counties of Wales there is one Burrough that sends only one Burgess so the total Number of the House of
concerning the Kings Revenue either certain or casual All Securities either by Bond or Recognizances to the Kings Majesty for any of his Debts are taken here All Proceedings upon any Statute by Information for Custom Excises or any other penal Law All proceedings upon the said Bonds or Recognizances or any other Bonds taken in the Kings name by Officers appointed thereunto under the Great Seal of England and transmitted into this Office for recovery thereof From hence issue forth Process to cause all Accountants to come in and account In the Court of Exchequer there being a Court of Equity all proceedings touching the same are in this Office with many other things concerning the Kings Revenue This Office is in the Kings Gift Next is the Lord Treasurers Remembrancer John Osburn Esquire whose Office is to make Process against all Sheriffs Receivers Bailiffs c for their Accounts and many other things of moment as Estreat-Rules all Charters and Letters Patents whereupon any Rents are reserved to the King In this Office there were heretofore twelve sworn Clerks whereof the two first were called Secondaries but since the Tenures were taken away the said Office is declined and the number of Clerks diminished This Office also is in the Kings Gift Clerk of the Pipe is Sir Robert Crook Knight who hath all the Accounts and Debts due to the King drawn down out of the Remembrancers Office and chargeth them down in the Great Roll or Pipe and therefore probably was it called the Pipe Office He hath under him eight sworn Clerks William Burnet Esquire chief Secondary Nicholas Highmore Wil. Satterthwayte Burnet Junior Caryl c. Here also Accountants have their Quietus est and here are made Leases of extended Lands Comptroller of the Pipe Brewster Esquire who writeth out Summons twice every year to the High Sheriffs to levy the Farms and Debts of the Pipe he also keepeth a controlment of the Pipe that is keepeth a Roll of the Pipe Office Accounts whereby to discover any thing that shall be amiss Clerk of the Pleas is Richard Beresford Esquire in whose Office all the Officers of the Exchequer and other Priviledged persons as Debtors to the King c. are to have their Priviledge to plead and be impleaded as to all matters at the Common Law And the proceedings are accordingly by Declarations Pleas and Tryals as at the Common Law because they should not be drawn out of their own Court where their attendance is required Forrein Opposer is Charles Whittaker Esquire whose Office is whereunto all Sheriffs repair to be by him opposed of their Green Wax and from thence is drawn down a Charge upon the Sheriff to the Clerk of the Pipe this Office is kept in Greys-Inn Clerk of the Estreats Williams Esquire whose Office is to receive every Term the Estreats or Extracts out of the Office of the Remembrancer of the Lord Treasurer and to write them out to be levied for the King also to make Schedules for such Summs as are to be discharged Auditors of the Imprest Bartholemew Beal and Robert Wylde Esquires who audit the great accounts of the Kings Customs Wardrobe Mint First Fruits and Tenths Naval and Military Expences Moneys imprested c. Auditors of the Revenue there are seven Sir Edmond Sawyer Kt. John Philips Esq Sir Joseph Seymour Kt. Aldworth Parsons Morice Esquires and Sir William Godolphin Kt. These audiâ— all the accounts of the Kings other Revenue that ariseth by Aydes granted in Parliament Remembrancer of First Fruits and Tenths James Roger Esq whose Deputyes George Farrington and William Prettyman take all Compositions for First Fruits and Tenths and make process against such as pay not the same this Office is kept in Hatton Garden There are also two other considerable Officers called Deputy Chamberlains Mr. Vines and Mr Lawrence in whose Office at Westminster are preserved all the Counterfoyles of the Talleys whereof more anon so exactly ranged by Months and years that they may presently be found out to be joyned with their respective Stock or Tally when thereunto required which being done and proving true they deliver the same attested for a lawful Tally to the Clerk of the Pipe for to be allowed in the Great Roll but in case any corruption hath been used the same is easily and soon discovered and the Offender severely punished by Fine and imprisonment There are also divers other Officers as Clerk of the Parcels Clerk of the Nichils Marshals Usher of the Exchequer whose Office is executed by a Deputy also 4 under Ushers Of the other part of the Exchequer called by some the Lower Exchequer where the Kings Revenue is received and disbursed with admirable Order and Frugality THe Principal Officer is the Lord Treasurer of whom see the First Part of the Pres State of England Since the Death of the Earl of Southampton 1667. This great Office hath been in the hands of five Commissioners Now there are but three Commissioners the Lord Ashley Sir Thomas Clifford and Sir John Duncomb who execute the same at Whitehall They have each one a considerable Salary from the King There is one Secretary Sir George Downing Knight and Baronet Next is the Chancellour of the Exchequer who is also an Officer of great Account and Authority he hath a principal power not onely in the Exchequer Court but also here in the managing and disposing of the Kings Revenue he hath also the Custody of the Exchequer Seal This Office is injoyed by the forementioned Lord Ashley Then there are two Chamberlaines of the Exchequer Sir Nicholas Steward and Mr. Hyldiard in whose Custody are all Antient Records Leagues and Treaties with forreign Princes the Standards of Moneys Weights and Measures those antient famous Books called Doomes-day and the Black book of the Exchequer whereof the former is Liber Censualis totius Angliae the Tax Book of England made by William the Conqueror wherein is described all the Lands of England with the true value and their Owners name it was six years in making viz. from the 14th to the 20th year of that King and called at first Rotulus Wintoniae but since named Doomes-day Book because therein was set down an exact Account not onely of all the Cities Towns and Villages of England but the number of Families of Men Souldiers Husbandmen Bondmen Servants Cattle how much mony what Rent how much Meadow Pasture Woods Tillage Common Marsh Heath every one possessed and when any one cited or any difference arose about those things or Taxes c. there was no place for denying or deceiving the King whereof many men ever made little Conscience though all good Christians ever counted it a grievous and hainous sin when this Book was opened like as it will be at the opening of the Book at the great day of doom or general Judgment of the World This Book is kept under three Locks and Keys not to be lookt into under 6s 8d and for every line transcribed is to be paid 4d
Arches founded in a deep broad River and some say on a soft ozy Ground is Eight hundred Foot in length Sixty high and Thirty broad hath a Draw bridge almost in the middle and Twenty Foot between each Arch it was built Anno 1209. in the Reign of King John The first Stone-bridge in England having been built above One hundred years before by Queen Maud Wife to Henry the First at Stratford on the River Lee Three miles from London so called from the Highway there passing over a Ford and since called Stratford Bow from the Arched Bridge a piece of Architecture then new to the English Nation The building of this Bridge of London was an exceeding difficult and costly piece of Work and to those that consider the constant great Flux and Reflux at that place it seems almost impossible to be done again The charges of keeping it in repair is so great that it hath been thought fit by our Ancestors to have a large House a vast Revenue in Lands and Houses divers considerable Officers c. to be set apart for the constant care and repair thereof Concerning this Bridge and the stupendious site and structure thereof take here the fancy of an ingenious Person deceased WHen Neptune from his Billows London spi'd Brought proudly thither by a High Spring-Tide As through a Floating Wood he steer'd along And moving Castles cluster'd in a throng When he beheld a mighty Bridge give law Unto his Surges and their fury aw When such a Shelf of Cataracts did roar As if the Thames with Nile had chang'd her shoar When he such Massie Walls such Towers did eye Such Posts such Irons upon his back to â—ie When such vast Arches he observ'd that might Nineteen Rialto's make for depth and height When the Cerulean god these things survey'd He shook his Trident and astonish'd said Let the whole Earth now all Her Wonders count This Bridge of Wonders is the Paramount Not far below this famous Bridge is placed the Custome House where is received and managed all the Impositions laid on Merchandise Imported or Exported from this City which are so considerable that of all the Customs of England divided into three parts the Port of London pays Two thirds that is above 330000 l. yearly In this Office there are employed many persons of great ability and worth Collectors Customers Comptrollers Surveyors Registers whereof some have Salaries of 500 l. yearly besides many perquisites The House where this great Office was kept being destroyed by the late Fire is now rebuilt in a very much more magnificent uniform and commodious manner by the King and will cost His Majesty 10000 l. the building There are at present within this City of London divers other very considerable Offices whereof take the account following Of the Office of Post-Master General THe Profits of the said Office are setled by Act of Parliament on his Royal Highness the Duke of York but His Majesty doth constitute His Post-Master General by Letters Patents under the Great Seal of England and accordingly hath conferred that Office upon the Right Honorable Henry Lord Arlington His Principal Secretary of State The present Post-Master General keepeth one Grand or General Office in the City of London from whence Letters and Pacquets are dispatched Every Monday to France Italy Spain Flanders Germany Sweden Danemark c and to Kent Every Tuesday to the United Netherlands Germany c. And to all parts of England Scotland and Ireland Every Wednesday to Kent onely and the Downs Every Thursday to France Spain Italy and all parts of England and Scotland Every Friday to the Spanish and United Netherlands Germany Sweden Danemark and to Kent Every Saturday to all parts of England Scotland and Ireland And the Answers of the said Letters and Pacquets are received in the said Office in due Course And from thence dispersed and delivered according to their respective directions with all expedition The said Office is managed by a Deputy and other Officers to the number of Seventy seven Persons who give their actual attendance respectively in the dispatch of the business Upon this Grand Office depends One hundred eighty two Deputy Post-Masters in England and Scotland most of which keep Regular Offices in their Stages and Sub Post-Masters in their Branches and also in Ireland another General Office for that Kingdom which is kept in Dublin consisting of Eighteen like Officers and Forty five Deputy Post-Masters The present Post-Master General keeps constantly for the transport of the said Letters and Pacquets Between England and France Two Pacquet-Boats Flanders Two Pacquet-Boats Holland Three Pacquet-Boats Ireland Three Pacquet-Boats And at Deal Two Pacquet-Boats for the Downs All which Officers Post-Masters Pacquet-Boats are maintained at his own proper charge And as the Master piece of all those good regulations established by the present Post-master General for the better government of the said office he hath annexed and apropriated the Market Towns of England so well to the respective Post-stages that there is no considerable Market-Town but hath an easy and certain Conveyance for the Letters thereof to and from the said grand office in the due Course of the Mailes every Post Note also that all Letters are conveyed with more expedition and less charges then in any forreign Country A Letter containing a whole sheet of Paper is conveyed 80 miles for 2 d. 2 sheets 4 d. and an ounce of Letters but 8 d. and that in so short a time by night as well as by day that every 24 hours the Post goes 120 miles and in 5 dayes an answer of a Letter may be had from a place 300 miles distant from the Writer Moreover if any Gentleman desires to ride Post to any principal Town of England Post-Horses are alwayes in readiness taking no Horse without the consent of his owner which in other Kings reigns was not duly observed and only 3 d. is demanded for every English mile and for every Stage to the Post boy 4 d. for conducting Besides this excellent convenience of conveying Letters and Men on Horseback there is of late such an admirable commodiousness both for Men and Women of better rank to travel from London to almost any great Town of England and to almost all the Villages near this great City that the like hath not been known in the World and that is by Stage Coaches wherein one may be transported to any place sheltred from foul weather and foul ways free from endamaging ones health or body by hard jogging or over violent motion and this not onely at a low price as about a shilling for every 5 miles but with such velocity and speed as that the Posts in some forreign Countryes make not more miles in a day for the Stage Coaches called flying Coaches make Forty or Fifty miles in a day as from London to Oxford or Cambridge and that in the space of Twelve hours not counting the time for Dining setting forth not too early and
to behave themselves in that Port Gravity and Authority as if they were so in the Kings House that so hereafter they may know the better to behave themselves in case they should be promoted to that Honour for these Gentlemen are usually of such quality as come not hither with intent to profess the Law but to learn so much Law as may be necessary to preserve their Estates and to make themselves accomplisht in other qualities necessary for Gentlemen At such time they have here divers divertisements as Feasting every day singing dancing Musick which last is allowed there to all Comers and is so excessive that what the Dicers allow out of each winning to the Butlers box usually amounts to above 50 l. a day and night wherewith and a small contribution from each Student are the great charges of the whole Christmas defrayed Sometimes when their publick Treasury is great they create a Prince among themselves with such Title as they please to give him and he hath all his Officers and a Court sutable to a great Prince and many of the prime Nobility and great Officers of State are feasted and entertained by him with Enterludes c. From All Saints day to Candlemas each House usually hath Revels on Holy-dayes that is Musick and Dancing and for this is chosen some young Student to be Master of the Revels Note that the manner of their Parlament is briefly thus Every Quarter commonly the Benchers cause one of the standing Officers of the House to summon a Parlament which is onely an Assembly and Conference of Benchers and Utter-Baristers which are called the Sage Company and meet in a place called the Parlament Chamber and there Treat of such matters as shall seem expedient for the good ordering of the House and the Reformation of such things as they shall judge meet to be Reformed Here are the Readers for Lent and Summer vacation elected also the Treasurer is here chosen and the Auditors appointed to take the Accounts of the old Treasurer c. Here offences committed by any of the Society are punished c. These Innes of Court are most wisely situated by our Ancestors between the Kings Courts of Judicature and the most opulent City of London In the Four Innes of Court are reckoned about 800 Students Lastly there are two more Colledges called Sergeants Inne where the Common-Law Student when he is arrived to the highest degree hath his Lodging and Dyet These are called Servientes ad Legem Sergeants at Law and are as Doctors in the Civil Law only these have heretofore been reputed more Noble and Honourable Doctoris enim appellatio est Magisterii Servientis vero Ministerii and therefore Doctors of Law are allowed to sit within the Bar in Chairs and covered whilst Sergeants stand without the Bar bareheaded only with Coiffs or Caps on To arrive to this high Degree take this brief account The young Student in the Common Law being born of a Gentile Stock and bred two or three years in the University and there chiefly versed in Logick and Rhetorick both expedient for a Lawyer and gotten some insight into the Civil Law and some skill in the French Tongue as well as Latin he is admitted to be one of the Four Innes of Court where he is first called a Moot man and after about Seven years study is chosen an Utter Barister and having then spent Twelve years more and performed the Exercises before mentioned he is chosen a Bencher and some time after a Reader during the Reading which heretofore was Three weeks and Three days the Reader keeps a constant and sumptuous Feasting inviting the chief Nobles Judges Bishops great Officers of the Kingdom and sometimes the King himself as that most accomplished Lawyer the present Atturney General did that it costs them sometimes 800 or 1000 l. Afterward he wears a long Robe different from other Baristers and is then in a capacity to be made a Sergeant at Law when His Majesty shall please to call him which is in this manner When the number of Sergeants is small the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas by the advice and consent of the other Judges make choice of Six or Eight more or less of the most Grave and Learned of the Innes of Court and presents their Names to the Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper who sends by the Kings Writ to each of them to appear on such a day before the King to receive the State and Degree of Sergeant at Law at the appointed time they being habited in Robes of two colours viz. Brown and Blew come accompanyed with the Students of the Innes of Court and attended by a train of Servants and Retainers in certain peculiar cloth Liveries to Westminster-Hall there in publick take a solemn Oath and are clothed with certain Robes and Coyfs without which they may no more be seen in publick after this they feast the great persons of the Nation in a very magnificent and Princely manner give Gold Rings to the Princes of the Blood Archbishops Chancellor and Treasurer to the value of Forty shillings each Ring to Earles Bishops Rings of Twenty shillings to other great Officers to Barons great Prelates c. Rings of less value Out of these are chosen all the Judges of the Kings Bench and Common Pleas wherefore all those Judges do alwayes wear the white Linnen Coyfe which is the Principal Badge of a Sergeant and which he had ever the Priviledge to wear at all times even in the Kings presence and whilst he spake to the King though antiently it was not permitted to any Subject to be so much as capped in the Presence of the King of England as at present it is not allowed in the presence of the Pope or of the Emperour When any of the aforementioned Judges are wanting the King by advice of His Council makes choice of one of these Sergeants at Law to supply his place and constitutes him by Letters Patents Sealed by the Chancellor who sitting in the middle of the rest of the Judges in open Court by a set Speech declares to the Sergeant that upon this occasion is brought in the Kings pleasure and to the people the Kings goodness in providing the Bench with such able honest men as that Justice may be done expeditely and impartially to all His Subjects and then causes the said Letters Patents to be read and being departed the Chief Justice places the said Sergeant on the Bench junior of all the rest and having taken his Oath well and truly to serve the King and His people in the Office of Justice to take no reward to do equal and speedy Justice to all c. he sits himself to the Execution of his Charge The Sergeant being thus advanced to be a Judge hath thereby great Honour and a very considerable Salary besides certain perquisits for each one hath at least One thousand pound a year from the King and now in some things his former habit
now corruptly the Charter house it being heretofore a Covent of Carthusian Monks called in French des Chartreux This Colledge called also Suttons Hospital consists of a Master or Governor at present Sir Ralph Sidenham a Chaplain Doctor Thriscross a Master and Usher to instruct 44 Scholars besides fourscore decayed Gentlemen Souldiers and Merchants who have all a plentiful maintenance of Dyet Lodging Clothes and Physick c. and live altogether in a Collegiate manner with much cleanliness and neatness and the four and fourty Scholars have not onely all necessaries whilst they are here taught but if they become fit for the Universities there is allowed unto each one out of the yearly Revenues of this Colledge 20 l. yearly and duly paid for 8 years after they come to the University and to others fitter for Trades there is allowed a considerable Sum of money to bind them Apprentices There are moreover all sorts of officers expedient for such a Society as Physitian Apothecary Steward Cooks Butlers c. who have all competent Salaries This vast Revenue and Princely Foundation was the sole Gift of an ordinary Gentleman Mr. Thomas Sutton born in Lincoln-shire and 't was of such high Account as it was thought fit that by the Kings Letters Patents under the Great Seal divers persons of the highest Dignity and Quality in Church and State should alwayes be the Overseers and Regulators of this Society as the Archbishop of Canterbury the Lord Keeper Lord Treasurer and 13 others Besides there are in London divers endowed Schools which in France would be stiled Colledges as Paul's School foundded 1512. by John Collet Doctor of Divinity and Dean of Pauls for 153 Children to be taught there gratis for which purpose he appointed a Master a Sub-master or Usher and a Chaplain with large stipends for ever committing the oversight thereof to the Masters Wardens and Assistants of the Mercers in London for his father Henry Collet sometime Lord Mayor of London was of the Mercers Company This famous School was also lately burnt down and now is reedified in a far more magnificent commodious and beautiful manner the worthy Master thereof is Mr. Samuel Crumholm alias Cromlum There are in London divers other endowed Schools as Merchant-Taylors Mercers-Chappel c. a particular Account whereof the designed Brevity of this Treatise will not admit It would also make this Book too much swell to give an Account of the many richly endowed Hospitals Almes-houses Work-houses or Houses of Correction the many stately built Taverns Inns and Coffee Houses some whereof surpass all others in foreign parts and are worthy to be viewed by curious Travellers who may also find it worthy their pains to remarque the several spatious well-built Theaters which for variety of Scenes excellent Actors Language Designs Musick c. are hardly to be equalled Moreover they may observe the many well furnisht Markets the weekly Horse-fairs the great commodiousness of Hackney-Coaches of Sedans of Boats c. belonging to this famous City also to consider the City of Westminster and the Burrough of Southwark both which now seem to be swallowed up in London Within the Precincts of Westminster are many Magnalia several things are as remarkable as any aforementioned the antient stately Abby Church founded before the Norman Conquest by the Pious King Edward the Confessor and most richly endowed afterwards rebuilt from the ground by Henry the III. with that rare Architecture now seen wherein are the most magnificent Tombs and Monuments of our Kings and Queens and greatest Nobles of England To the East end of which is added a Chappel of King Henry the VII which for the most admirable artificial work without and within for a Monument of massy Brass most curiously wrought is scarce to be paralleld in the World This huge Fabrick stands where first was the Temple of Apollo and afterwards King Sebert the East Saxon King that first built St. Pauls aforementioned built here a Church to St. Peter Queen Elizabeth converted this Abbey into a Collegiate Church and therein placed a Dean 12 Secular Canons or Prebendaries Petty Canons and others of the Quire to the number of 30 ten Officers belonging to the Church as many servants belonging to the Collegiate Dyet two Schoolmasters 40 Scholars 12 Almes-men with plentiful maintenance for all besides Stewards Receivers Registers Collectors and other Officers the principal whereof is the high Steward of Westminster who is usually one of the prime Nobility and is at present the Lord Chamberlain The Dean is entrusted with the custody of the Regalia at the Coronation honored with a place of necessary service at all Coronations and a Commission of Peace within the City and Liberties of Westminster the Dean and Chapter invested with all manner of Jurisdiction both Ecclesiastical and Civil not onely within the City and Liberties of Westminster but within the Precincts of St. Martin le grand within the Walls of London and in some Towns of Essex exempted in the one from the Jurisdiction of the Bishop of London and in the other from that of the Archbishop of Canterbury For Ecclesiastical Causes and probate of Wills it hath a Royal Jurisdiction Dr. Richard Lloyd is Commissary from whom Appeal must be onely to the King in his High Court of Chancery who thereupon issueth out a Commission of Delegates under the Great Seal of England When the Convocation is adjourned from St. Pauls for the conveniency of being nearer to the Parliament to Westminster the Bishops first declare upon a Protestation made by the Dean there that they intend not thereby to violate that high Priviledge viz. That no Bishop or Archbishop may come there without leave of the Dean first obtained There is also a fair Publick Library free for all strangers to study both morning and afternoon alwayes in Term time Next this Church stood the Royal Palace and usual place of Residence for the Kings of England who ordinarily held their Parliaments and all their Courts of Judicature in their dwelling Houses as is done at this day at Madrid by the King of Spain and many times sate themselves in the said Courts of Judicature as they do still in their Court of Parliament A great part of this huge Palace was in the time of Henry the VIII destroyed by fire what remained hath still been employed for the use of the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament and for the chief Courts of Judicature The great Hall where these are kept some say was built by King William Rufus others by King Richard the II. about 300 years agoe and for all dimensions is not to be equalled by any Hall in Christendom Moreover Strangers and Foreigners may take notice of the extraordinary commodiousness conveniency and situation of the present Royal Palace and usual place of Residence called Whitehall belonging heretofore to Cardinal Woolsey seated between a noble navigable River and a most delectable Park of the great Chamber there called the Banquetting-House