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A59082 An historical and political discourse of the laws & government of England from the first times to the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth : with a vindication of the ancient way of parliaments in England : collected from some manuscript notes of John Selden, Esq. / by Nathaniel Bacon ..., Esquire. Bacon, Nathaniel, 1593-1660.; Selden, John, 1584-1654. 1689 (1689) Wing S2428; ESTC R16514 502,501 422

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A brief censure of the Saxon Prelatical Church-Government 27 XVI Of the Saxons Commonwealth and the Government thereof and first of the King. 29 XVII Of the Saxon Nobility 33 XVIII Of the Freemen amongst the Saxons 34 XIX Of the Villains amongst the Saxons 35 XX. Of the grand Council amongst the Saxons called the Micklemote 36 XXI Of the Council of Lords 38 XXII Of the manner of the Saxon Government in the time of War. 39 XXIII Of the Government of the Saxon Kingdom in the times of peace and first of the division of the Kingdom into Shires and their Officers 40 XXIV Of the County-court and Sheriffs Torn 41 XXV Of the division of the County into Hundreds and the Officers and Court thereunto belonging 42 XXVI Of the division of the Hundreds into Decennaries 43 XXVII Of Franchises and first of the Church-franchise 44 XXVIII Of the second Franchise called the Marches 45 XXIX Of County Palatines ibid. XXX Of Franchises of the person 46 XXXI Of Mannors ibid. XXXII Of Courts incident and united unto Mannors 48 XXXIII Of Townships and their Markets 49 XXXIV Of the Forests 51 XXXV Concerning Judges in Courts of Justice 52 XXXVI Of the proceedings in Judicature by Indictment Appeal Presentment and Action 53 XXXVII Of the several manners of extraordinary trial by Torture Ordeal Compurgators and Battle 55 XXXVIII Of the ordinary manner of Trial amongst the Saxons by Inquest 56 XXXIX Of passing Judgement and Execution 59 XL. Of the penal Laws amongst the Saxons 60 XLI Of the Laws of property of Lands and Goods and the manner of their Conveyance 64 XLII Of the times of Law and vacancy 68 XLIII An Epilogue to the Saxons Government 69 XLIV OF the Norman entrance 70 XLV Of the Title of the Norman Kings to the English Crown that it was by Election 72 XLVI That the Government of the Normans proceeded upon the Saxon principles and first of Parliaments 75 XLVII Of the Franchise of the Church in the Norman times 77 XLVIII Of the several subservient Jurisdictions by Marches Counties Hundreds Burroughs Lordships and Decennaries 82 XLIX Of the Immunities of the Saxon Freemen under the Norman Government 84 L. Recollection of certain Norman Laws concerning the Crown in relation to those of the Saxons formerly mentioned 86 LI. Of the like Laws that concern common Interest of Goods 89 LII Of Laws that concern common Interest of Lands 90 LIII Of divers Laws made concerning the execution of Justice 94 LIV. Of the Militia during the Normans time 65 LV. That the entry of the Normans into this Government could not be by Conquest 97 LVI A brief Survey of the sense of Writers concerning the point of Conquest 99 LVII OF the Government during the Reigns of Stephen Henry the Second Richard the First and John and first of their Titles to the Crown and disposition in Government 103 LVIII Of the state of the Nobility of England from the Conquest and during the Reign of these several Kings 107 LIX Of the state of the Clergie and their power in this Kingdom from the Norman time 109 LX. Of the English Commonalty since the Norman time 117 LXI Of Judicature the Courts and their Judges 118 LXII Of the certain Laws of Judicature in the time of Henry the 2. 120 LXIII Of the Militia of this Kingdom during the Reign of these Kings 125 LXIV OF the Government of Henry the Third Edward the First and Edward the Second Kings of England And first a general view of the disposition of their Government 129 LXV Of the condition of the Nobility of England till the time of Edward the Third 137 LXVI Of the state of the English Clergie until the time of Edward the Third and herein concerning the Statutes of Circumspecte agatis Articuli Cleri and of General Councils and National Synods 140 LXVII Of the condition of the Freemen of England and the Grand Charter and several Statutes concerning the same during the Reign of these Kings 158 LXVIII Of Courts and their Proceedings 177 LXIX Of Coroners Sheriffs and Crown-Pleas 179 LXX Of the Militia during these Kings Reigns 184 LXXI Of the Peace 188. THE PREFACE THe policy of the English Government so far as is praise-worthy is all one with Divine Providence wrapped up in a Vail of Kings and Wise men and thus implicitely hath been delivered to the World by Historians who for the most part read Men and wear their Pens in decyphering their Persons and Conditions Some of whom having met with ingenious Writers survive themselves possibly more famous after death than before Others after a miserable life wasted are yet more miserable in being little better than Tables to set forth the Painters Workmanship and to let the World know that their Historians are more witty than they of whom they wrote were either wise or good And thus History that should be a witness of Truth and Time becomes little better than a Parable or rather than a Nonsence in a fair Character whose best commendation is that it is well written Doubtless Histories of Persons or Lives of Men have their excellency in Fruit for imitation and continuance of Fame as a reward of Vertue yet will not the coacervation of these together declare the nature of a Commonwealth better than the beauty of a Body dismembered is revived by thrusting together the Members which cannot be without deformity Nor will it be denied but many wise and good Kings and Queens of this Realm may justly challenge the honour of passing many excellent Laws albeit it is the proper work of the Representative Body to form them yet to no one nor all of them can we attribute the honour of that Wisdom and Goodness that constituted this blessed Frame of Government For seldom is it seen that one Prince buildeth upon the foundation of his Predecessor or pursueth his ends or aims because as several men they have several Judgements and Desires and are subject to a Royal kind of self-love that inciteth them either to exceed former Precedents or at least to differ from them that they may not seem to rule by Copy as insufficient of themselves which is a kind of disparagement to such as are above Add hereunto that it is not to be conceited that the wisest of our Ancestors saw the Idea of this Government nor was it any where in precedent but in him that determined the same from Eternity For as no Nation can shew more variety and inconstancy in the Government of Princes than this especially for three hundred years next insuing the Normans So reason cannot move imagination that these Wheels by divers if not contrary motions could ever conspire into this temperature of policy were there not some primum mobile that hath ever kept one constant motion in all My aim therefore shall be to lay aside the consideration of Man as much as may be and to extract a summary view of the cardinal passes of the Government of this Kingdom and
tanning of Leather imbasing of Silver selling of Waxen Images and Pictures c. For the superstition of these times was such as these petty Gods were not set at so high a price by the Seller but a higher price by the Buyer The Parliament therefore set a true value of them viz. For the Wax so much as the Wax is worth by weight and but four pence for the godhead So as it seems the Parliament was not very superstitious in their House whatever they were at Church Furthermore the Justices of the Peace had power to punish deceit in Measures Weights Forcible Entries and Detainers In many of which cases the penalty being Fine and Imprisonment became a snare to many of the Justices especially such as were of the greater and higher rank who having Castles of their own under colour of Justice imprisoned Delinquents in their own Castles and ransomed them at their own pleasure which proved a great oppression to the people and occasioned a Law that no Justice should commit any Delinquent to other than the County-Gaol saving Franchises to the Lords Those times are happy when Justice waits not altogether at Court but grows up in the Fields and Justices of Peace as the Kings Arms upon the Royal Mace are terrible onely to the bad and not as they are pictured before an Ale-house-door to invite men to transgress The Laws for the preservation of the peace concern either punishment of Crimes committed or prevention of them from being committed There is a succession of crimes as of Men and Ages because the Scripture tells us that the hearts of all are fashioned alike yet it is with generations as with men some incline to some crimes more than other and that is the reason that the title Treason sometimes is set forth in Folio sometimes in a lesser Volume It is evident is Story that the violent times of Richard the Second had raised the value of that amongst other offences above measure not long before his time his Father had reduced that wild notion of Treason to a certain rule that formerly wandred in a Wilderness of opinions But Henry the Fourth either to save his own stake or to take the people or both reduced it again to the Statute-rule of Edward the Third and made void that Statute of his Predecessors which had made a former Act of Parliament and all the service thereby done Treason The Dimensions of Treason thus clearly limned and declared taught ill-disposed minds to keep out of the Letter and yet to be bold with the Scene Counterfeit Money they durst not yet to diminish the same they thought came not within the Circle and so it became a common grievance till a Law was made That all purposed impairing of Money should be Treason And so the Parliament held forth to all men that they had a power to declare Treason without the bounds of the Statute of Edward the Third The like power it held forth in the time of Henry the Sixth for men knew that Burglary and Robbery were mortal crimes they would no more of that now they devise a way to spoil and prey for themselves and yet neither to rob nor break House To this end they would scatter little Scrolls in writing requiring the party that they intended to prey upon to leave so much money upon such a day at such a place and this was Sub poena of burning the parties House and Goods which many times did ensue upon default made This practice was at once made Treason to prevent the growth of such an evil And the like was done with Robberies and Manslaughters contrary to the Kings Truce and safe-conduct As many or more new Felonies were also now created One was the cutting out of mens Tongues and plucking out of Eyes a strange cruelty And that shewed the extream savageness of those times so much the more intolerable by how much the poor tortured creature could hardly be either Eye or Ear-Witness of the truth of his own wrong A second Felony was the customary of carrying of Wool or Wool-fells out of the Realm to other places except Calis Another Felony concerneth Souldiers which I refer over to the next Chapter The last was Servants plundering their Masters Goods and absenting themselves if upon Proclamation made they appear not this was also made Felony In the next place as touching Forcible Entries and Riots the remedies so often inculcated and new dressed shew plainly the nature of the times These kind of crimes commonly are as the light Skirmishes in the beginning of a War and follow in the Conclusion also as the faintings of a Battle fought till both sides be weary I shall not enter into each particular Statute divers of them being little other than as asseverations annexed to a Sentence to add credit and stir up minding in men that otherwise would soon forget what is said or done The remedies formerly propounded are now resined and made more effectual First In regard of speed which is as necessary in these forces as the stopping of the breaches of Waters in the first act and therefore one Justice of the Peace may proceed upon a holder by force or breaker of the Peace with a Continuando but Riots are looked upon as more dangerous and the first opposition had need be more stiff lest being uneffectual it aggravate the violence and therefore it is required that two Justices and the Sheriff should joyn in the work to carry on the work with more Authority and Power And what they cannot do in the punitive part they must certifie to the King and his Council or to the Kings Bench if Traverse be made So as though the power of the County be annexed to the Sheriff Jure ordinario to maintain the Peace yet the Parliament did delegate the same upon Justices as it thought most expedient To maintain and recover the Peace when it is broken shews more Power but to prevent the breach shews more Wisdom and therefore to all the rest the Wisdom of these Times provideth carefully First For Guards and Watches according to the Statute at Wint. and committed the care thereof to the Justices of the Peace And Secondly Against the gendring of parties for it is commonly seen that such as the admired for excellencies of person are so far idolized of some as that their Gestures Actions and Opinions are observed Tokens of favour though never so small are desired from such and the Idol likes it well gives Points Ribbons it may be Hats and with these men are soon gained to be Servants in the fashion and not long after to be Servants in Action be it War or Treason or any other way This manner of cheat the former times had been too well acquainted with Knights and Esquires are not to be feared in times where the word Lord carries the wonderment away their offences against the Statutes of