Regale necessarium, or, The legality, reason, and necessity of the rights and priviledges justly claimed by the Kings servants and which ought to be allowed unto them / by Fabian Philipps. Philipps, Fabian, 1601-1690. This text is an enriched version of the TCP digital transcription A54693 of text R26879 in the English Short Title Catalog (Wing P2016). Textual changes and metadata enrichments aim at making the text more computationally tractable, easier to read, and suitable for network-based collaborative curation by amateur and professional end users from many walks of life. The text has been tokenized and linguistically annotated with MorphAdorner. The annotation includes standard spellings that support the display of a text in a standardized format that preserves archaic forms ('loveth', 'seekest'). Textual changes aim at restoring the text the author or stationer meant to publish. This text has not been fully proofread Approx. 1128 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 336 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. EarlyPrint Project Evanston,IL, Notre Dame, IN, St. Louis, MO 2018 A54693 Wing P2016 ESTC R26879 09570812 ocm 09570812 43669 2264201836

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Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A54693) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 43669) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1337:35) Regale necessarium, or, The legality, reason, and necessity of the rights and priviledges justly claimed by the Kings servants and which ought to be allowed unto them / by Fabian Philipps. Philipps, Fabian, 1601-1690. [30], 634 p. Printed for Christopher Wilkinson, London : 1671. Reproduction of original in the Union Theological Seminary Library, New York. eng Civil rights -- England. Political rights -- England. eebo Regale necessarium: or The legality, reason and necessity of the rights and priviledges justly claimed by the Kings servants, and which ought to be al Philipps, Fabian, 1671 672 198890 539 0 0 0 4 0 29.11 C The rate of 29.11 defects per 10,000 words puts this text in the C category of texts with between 10 and 35 defects per 10,000 words. 2004-07 Assigned for keying and markup 2004-09 Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2004-10 Sampled and proofread 2004-10 Text and markup reviewed and edited 2005-01 Batch review (QC) and XML conversion

Regale Necessarium : OR The Legality , Reason and Necessity OF THE Rights and Priviledges Justly Claimed by the Kings Servants , And which ought to be allowed unto them .

By Fabian Philipps .

Seneca in Traged . Octavia , Act 2. Collecta vitia per tot Aetates diu In nos redundant , Seculo premimur gravi . Lucanus de Bello Civili , lib. 9. — Squalent Serpentibus Arva Durum iter ad Leges patriaeque ruentis amorem .

LONDON , Printed for Christopher Wilkinson , and are to be sold at his Shop at the Sign of the Black-Boy in Fleet-street , over against St. Dunstans Church . 1671.

To the Illustrious and Right Honourable James , Duke , Marquess , and Earl of Ormond , one of the Lords of his Majesties most Honourable Privy Councel , Lord Steward of his Majesties most Honourable Houshold , and Knight of the most Noble Order of the Garter . And unto the Right Honourable Edward Earl of Manchester , one of the Lords of his Majesties most Honourable Privy Councel , Lord Chamberlain of his Majesties most Honourable Houshold , and Knight of the most Noble Order of the Garter . My Lords ,

WEre it not that these unhappy times have brought forth a sort of reasonless men , whose humors and Phancies led by an ignorance or Interest makes them unwilling to submit to Laws , and the necessary and just means and Rules of Government , unless their understanding which in those quarrelling and contentious Sceptickes is little enough , may be convinced and satisfied with the Reason thereof ; these my Labours might have seemed to be as needless as Physick for those which are in Health , and to be little more than a quarrel with my own Shadow : But they that hear the dayly complaints now more than ever made against the Legal and just Priviledges of the Kings Servants , the affronts offered to the Majesty and Supreme Authority of the King by Arresting and Imprisoning them without leave first obteyned of the Lord Chamberlain of his most Honourable Houshold , or those other great Officers therein to whom it appertayneth , and by bringing of Writs of Habeas Corpus by those which have been taken and Arrested by the Kings Messengers for their contempts therein , to be delivered by the subordinate Courts of Justice against the mind and Authority of the King that Commissionated them and those many disparaging contests which do arise thereupon , with the unwarrantable Opinions now put to Nurse , that the King cannot in such a case protect his Servants , without a great delay or hindrance of the Execution of Justice , that they being Outlawed may be Arrested , whether he will or no ; And that he hath so conveyed his Justice to his Courts of Justice , as he is not in the case of his Servants to intermeddle therein : may I hope Apologize for my undertaking and endeavors to perswade them out of those and some other their great mistakings and Errors , which may produce a neglect and slighting of Authority , and many an unforeseen evil consequence .

In the management whereof , I can call my most reserved and private thoughts to witness , and they will therein ( I am confident ) acquit me that I have not built an Altar to flattery , or made any design or hopes of preferment to be my guide or incitement thereunto , but have done what I now present unto you , only to maintain the Honour and respect which is due to our Soveraign Lord the King and his Servants , casta mente & manu accompanied with a principle and opinion that he deserves to be accompted the greatest of villaines , that would make it his design to lessen or detract from any of the Kings Rights , Prerogative and just means of Government , and to be ever infamous , that for any ends whatsoever , would endeavor to diminish or take away any of the peoples Legal Rights , Liberties and Priviledges ; And in that middle way and path of Truth and doing Right to all Parties , have no intention to give any assistance for the defrauding , or too much delaying of Creditors just debts , or stopping the course of Justice in any the peoples Actions or Prosecutions of their rights , or for remedies against Wrongs or Injuries done unto them by any indirect course or shelter for such as shall only pretend themselves to be the Kings Servants , when they are not truly or really thereunto entituled .

In which my Labours , if any shall undervalue the Authorities which I have brought from the Laws of Nations , Customs or usage of all or the most of our Kings and Princes , and the Civil Law that great repository of Reason and Prudence to fortifie my assertion of the Priviledges of the Kings Servants ; they may please to understand that they are principally derived from the Laws of Nations , Civil Law and universal right Reason , consonant and agreeable to our common Laws , which have instructed and guided themselves by many a maxime and piece of right Reason which they have received from them .

Or shall say that the Records of this Kingdom which have been cited in Conformity thereunto , are only fit to make a history , but do serve for no proof , as some of those of the long robe have with much Injury unto them and themselves , and the Truth not long ago been pleased to say , or that the old things are passed away : those Antiquities are obsolete and little to be regarded ; Wee are now upon a new way , the Law hath been much altered and changed , and those evidences and venerable Monuments of Time , being the vestigia and footsteps of antient Laws and Customs are not to be much respected .

And will adventure to vent such Doctrines or Opinions , and make themselves , as Gutherius a learned French Advocate complaineth , a a Gutherius de Offic. domus August . lib. 1. ca. 1 , guilty of the neglects of those very necessary and usefull parts of Learning and Knowledge , which are to be found in the Treasuries of Time and Antiquities , may upon better consideration , find cause to believe that the Reason of Laws doth never Expire , that the unerring Wisdom of the Almighty that Writ some Laws with his own Finger , and commanded his beloved people of Israel to repeat them b b Deut 4.32 . to their Children and after Generations , to ask of the days that were past , and which were before them since the day that God Created man upon the Earth , and that Bild●d the S●uhite one of Jobs Friends , c c Job 8. v. 8 , & 9. gave him no ill Counsel , when he advised him to enquire of the former Age , and prepare himself to the search of his fathers , and enforceth it by a Reason , that we are but of yesterday , and know nothing , because our days upon earth are a Shadow ; d d Jer. 6. v. 16. and the giver of all Wisdom did long after by his holy Spirit ( in the Prophet Jeremy ) enjoyn them to stand in the ways , and see and ask for the old Paths , that in the making of new Laws , and the amending or correcting of the old : The knowledge of those which have been altered , repealed or laid aside , is not a little necessary , to the end , that by the old , we may see the necessity and perfection of the new , and by the old , how to avoid the failings which might happen in the Interpretation or Execution of the new , that the Graecians had their Nomophilaces ad quos rerum gestarum consignatio pertinebat , e e Craigius de repub . Lacedaemon . lib. 2. ca. 2. utextarent Monumenta Publica , ad quae recurrere liceret quum aliqua in re majorum exemplum requireretur , and that the Romans so greatly valued ▪ their old Records , as they gave great Preferments and Honours to Flavius a Scribe or Notary : f f Livius lib. 9.349 , & 350. And the Priviledge of a Curule Chaire , for publishing and bringing some of them to light , that all other Civilized Nations , and even those of China and Japan have highly esteemed their Records and Memorials , that in our Parliaments , Courts of Justice and Chancery , Records and precedents in any Matters or Cases of Difficulty , are not seldome enquired after , and directed to be searched , that the Dates , Clauses or Words of some Acts of Parliament , and the Reports of Cases adjudged have been found to have been mistaken , and rectified after by the Records ; That it is Felony to imbezill or corrupt a Record , that Courts of Records are more Honoured and esteemed than those which are not , and that the Law will not permit a Record to be averred against , or much gainsaid .

And that such a care was taken of our Records by our Ancestors , as the Commons of England did 〈…〉 Cause in their Petition of Parliament , in the 46th year of the Reign of King Edward the 3d g g Petit. Parl. 46 E. 3. stile them the peoples Evidence , and pray to have upon their occasions a free and uninterrupted access unto them . Our Kings have in several of their Reigns , made allowances of Money , and Expences for the Calendring and well ordering of them , and caused them to be kept and preserved in places of strength and safety , whereby to secure them from the fury of Wars or Fire , or other destroying Casualties .

That if the Reports of cases adjudged upon Demurrers or special Verdicts , and the responsa prudentum , and carefull and well Studied Arguments of the Judges , such as the Learned , Mr. Plowdens Commentaries , and the Reports of Dier , Anderson , Coke , Crooke , Hobart , and other the Labours and Memorials of the venerable and learned sages of our Laws ( the Errors too often attending the Works and Labours of all Mankind only excepted ) do deserve their ●ust esteem and value , and are a light and guide to the Reason and Judgement of Posterity and after Ages ▪ and the more when they have the assistance of the Records to back and Warrant them , and that even Histories are the better when they keep in the sight and Company of Records , and enjoy their Assistance .

And if in their Truth and Evidence they conduce much to that verity and certainty which ought to be in Histories , our Records certainly cannot by any Reason or Rules of Prudence be believed or understood to be useless or unnecessary for the Study or asserting of the Truth ▪ and Rationality of our Laws , and the Rules and Method thereof .

Nor are those Jewels of Time to be ranked with Romances , or such Triviall things as may claim no more than a Cursory and careless reading , when if carefully , as they ought to be entred , and kept they do give us the Certainty and Truth of matters of fact , and do not seldome intimate or Illustrate the Causes and Reason thereof .

And may well deserve a better Credit than any Reports of cases adjudged or responsa prudentum , some of which are but Opinions and Answers not seldom suddainly and unpremeditately given to the many times ill or untruly put State of the case or question by the Advocates and Lawyers at the Barr , or than any of the most severe and impartial Histories , which although they have been by the Wisest & Major part of all Nations for many Ages past , believed to be great and excellent Luminaries in their several Spheres , and should be Testes veritatis , yet if the Records of every Nation , who have the happiness to have them , being Tabulae & Monumenta Publica the faithfull Registers of past Actions are allowed to be good to make Histories , which are greater Strangers unto them than they should be , and are too often written without any acquaintance with them ) that surely which crediteth and maketh them the better to believed , is not less but more to be valued , for a sad experience hath told us , that the destroying of the Books of the old Philosophers by Aristotle , and the former Books of the Civil Law , by Justinian when he compiled his Code and Institutes , and of our English Books and Manuscripts , when Polidore Virgil and his History would not willingly suffer any other to be his Competitors , did much obscure and hinder the Knowledge and light , which is now more dark and hidden than otherwise it would have been ; And we may believe , that if Records , and faithfull , and Antient Memorials had ever deserved , as they never did , to be slighted , they might now be spared and admitted into their former reputation , and not be made to truckle under Reports of Cases adjudged , when our last twenty years Confusion , have by the Knavery and Imposture of too many of the Stationers , furnished out abundance of certain fragments of Laws , and untrue and mistaken Reports , and too many Histories of the World have suffered in the want of the most necessary Aid of Records , when so great a part of the Knowledge of the first Ages of the World was washed away by the Deluge , and the learning and Experience of many Ages after , lost by the want of Letters , which the Wars , and the rude and unruly Behaviour of those early Generations would not admit , and that to despise Records and Antiquities , is to proclaim us , as Tully the most excellent Roman Orator long ago said , to be willing to be Children as of yesterday , and to have no retrospect into the Wisdom of the Antients , and experiences of past Ages , teaching us wherein some have succeeded and others miscarryed , is to put our selves into as short a Memory as that of the Thracians , some of whom were Reported not to be able to number or reckon any further than four years , or to make light incertain or loose traditions , the most we can reach or attain unto , and refuse the ante Acta vitae , which were wont to be the faithfull guides and Conductors of our Actions to come , and may render those who despise the old , and only delight in new things , to be in no better a Condition than some of the worthy and learned Assembly of the Royal Society of Gresham Colledge , who by not heedfully considering old things have unhappily been drawn into the field , and enforced to encounter with Mr. Henry Stubs his Animadversions , wherein he undertakes to prove that some things which they thought to be new , have been of a much more Early date .

So as whether Reports of Cases adjudged in Law , be old or new , well or ill taken , both they and Histories are to acknowledge the Records to be their Superiours , and that they are in all things the better for their acquaintance .

And those great Obligations must neither be denied or forgotten , which our Laws do owe unto the Records of of this Kingdom , and our great Seldens Intimacy and familiarity with them , by whose learned Labours and Observations , we have had the benefit of the disdiscovery and dispelling of many an Error , and of the Illustration of many difficult and dark Notions and places in our Laws , by which his great insights and inquiries into the English Records and Antiquities , and the Seuerest part of the Learning of our Common Laws and the Civil Law , and Laws of many Nations , he became enabled , and was as a learned Forreigner , hath justly stiled him a Dictator or mighty man of Learning , to giving aid and assistance tanquam de Throno sapientiae to the republick and Posterity of good Letters and Learning , his Knowledge therein being so singularly exquisite , Surmounting and Supereminent , as he was not unfitly said to be decus & gloria gentis Anglorum , and if Nature could have so long have kept him from the fate of Mortality , ought to have survived many Centuries more , and have continued his admired Course in Learning , untill the period and end of the World , for that as Sir John Vaughan Knight , now Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas , his contemporary and most intimate associate in those more severe Recherces and choice pieces of Learning and Antiquities hath since his death , bemoaning the loss and want of such a Treasury of Learning , not long since well expressed it . Debuit cum mundo mori it was too great a loss to the World and after Generations , that he should dye before it , for although the neglect of Records and Antiquities which might have a greater veneration than this Age is willing to bestow upon it , have of late been so much undervalued as to be termed rusty and motheaten , and those which do give them their true esteem and value , superstitious Porers and Doters upon them ; So as the laborious Learned and well deserving Antiquarie Mr. William Dugdale was not without Premisses to Warrant his Conclusion , when with some regret mixt with facetiousness he said that for any man in these Times , to busie himself in the old Records , or to spend his Time & Candle in the search & sifting of Antiquity , it would by the little incouragements which have been given unto it , amount unto as small a Profit or Purpose , as to set up and keep a shop to sell old fashon'd Hose , Trunk-Breeches , and long wasted Dublets , and expect to gain by it . To so great a mispris and scorn are those usefull inquiries and Lamps of Learning fallen into , when as they do draw out of the pit and devouring Jawes of Time , many a pretious and hidden Truth , and are not seldome the only rescuers of it , and was better respected when old Marculfus Wrote his Formulae's Pancirollus his deperdita , and when Brissonius and Pasquier , Camden , Selden , Linden brogius , our Learned Sir Henry Spelman , and Mr. Dugdale , and many other Worthies not here ennumerated , made it their Business to discover them , and the very Learned Sir Robert Cotton was at so great an Expence of Money and Time to Redeem so many as he did from the Captivity of an everlasting Oblivion , which hath taken away and concealed many a Truth from the former Generations , this present Age which are to come , and to dig in those hidden Mines of incomparable Treasure ; But when the scorners of this Age shall have surfeited with the villifying of the Wisdom of the former , and the Experiences of men and times past , which Solomon , in the high and not to be valued Price , which he did put upon Wisdom , and the Incouragement which he gave to the Study and search after the Riches and Treasures thereof , would never have advised them unto : They or some other after them may learn to forsake that grand piece of resolved folly , by what this Nation and the Kingdoms of Ireland and Scotland have so greatly suffered in the late time of Rebellion and Confusion , by some of our Lawyers and too many of our Nation , not understanding the Rights and Prerogative of the King , which the old Records of the Kingdom did , and will always abundantly witness , and by too many of the Inferior Clergies Ignorance of the Ecclesiastical Histories and Primitive times which did not a little contribute unto it , and believe that the greatest disservice which can be done to Princes to endeavour to advance their Prerogative beyond the Laws of the Land , right Reason , and the necessary and just means of Government , and that on the other side they are small Friends or rather great Enemies to the Publick , that will go about to perswade the People or entitle them to more Liberties than the Laws well interpreted will allow them , that there is a Justice to be done to the King in giving unto him that which belongeth unto him , and in not denying his just and Legal Rights , as well as a Justice to be done by him , in what shall concern his people and their Liberties ; That there is a Majesty due to Kings , and that the Rights of their Courts , Palaces and Servants , are neither to be neglected or continued .

And therefore if the Romans those great Champions and Patrons of Libertie , were so Jealous and Watchfull in the Preservation of the Honours and respects due unto Magistracy and Superiority , as their Consul Fabius would rather for the time forget the Honour due and payable from a Son to his Father ( of which that Nation were great observers ) than relinquish any thing of it , and commanded by a Lictor or Officer his Aged Father Fabius ( the Renowned preserver of Rome ) in a Publick assembly , to alight from his Horse and do him the Honour due unto his present Magistracy , which the good old man , although many of the People did at the present dislike , did so much approve as he alighted from his Horse , and embracing his Son , said● , Euge fili sapis qui intelligis , quibus imperes , & quam magnam Magistratum imperes , I may give my self an Assurance that your Lordships will with greater reason make it your endeavours , not only to preserve the Rights of Majesty , but the Rights and Priviledges of those great and Honourable Offices and places , which you hold under the King our Soveraign , and be as willing as your great and Honourable Predecessors in those Offices , were to transmit them to their Successors , in no worse condition than they found them .

Which that it may equally be done in that particular of the Kings Servants just Rights and Priviledges is the only design of the ensuing vindication of them , and the Honour and respect due unto our Soveraign , and submitted to you Lordships Judgment and Consideration , humbly intreating your Lordships to pardon any the Errors or failings therein , which in the haste of the Press my desire to keep pace with it , when I was crebris intermissionibus & aliorum negotiorum incursionibus frequenter interpellatus might easily happen , and more especially in an undertaking of that Nature nullius ante trita pede , being a Path never before ( as I could perceive ) trodden by any but

Your Lordships most Humble Servant Fabian Philipps .
THE TABLE OR Contents of the Chapters . THat there is a greater Honour due unto the Palace and House of the King , Then unto any of the houses of his Subjects . Chap. I. 4 . That the Business and Affairs of the King , about which any of his Servants or Subjects are imployed , are more considerable and to be regarded , then the Business and Affairs of any of the People . Chap. II. 29 . That the Kings Servants in ordinary , are not to be denied a more than ordinary Priviledge or respect , nor are to be compelled to appear by Arrest or otherwise in any Courts of Justice out of the Kings House without leave or Licence of the Lord Chamberlain , or other the Officers of the Kings Houshold to whom it appertaineth , first had and obteyned . Chap. III. 38 . That the Priviledges and Protections of the Kings Servants in ordinary , by reason of his Service , is and ought to be extended unto the Priviledged Parties Estate both real and Personal , as well as unto their Persons . Chap. IV. 244 . That the Kings Servants whilst they are in his Service , ought not to be Utlawed or Prosecuted in Order thereunto , without leave or Licence first obteyned of the King , or the great Officers of his most Honourable Houshold , under whose several Jurisdictions they do Officiate . Chap. V. 250 . That the Kings established and delegated Courts of Justice , to Administer Justice to his People , are not to be any Bar or hindrance to his Servants in ordinary , in their aforesaid Antient , Just , and Legal Rights and Priviledges . Chap. VI. 289 . That the King or the great Officers of his Houshold , may punish those who do infringe his Servants Priviledges , and that any of the Kings Servants in ordinary , being Arrested without leave , are not so in the Custody of the Law , as they ought not to be released untill they do appear or give Bayl to appear and Answer the Action , Chap. VII . 310 . That the aforesaid Priviledge of the Kings Servants in ordinary , hath been legally imparted to such as were not the Kings Servants in ordinary , but were imployed upon some Temporary and Casual Affairs abroad , and out of the Kings House . Chap. VIII . 318 . That the Kings granting Protections under the Great Seal of England to such as are his Servants in ordinary , for their Persons , Lands and Estates , when especially imployed by him into the parts beyond the Seas , or in England , or any other of his Dominions , out of his Palace or Virge thereof , or unto such as are not his Domesticks or Servants in ordinary or extraordinary , when they are sent or imployed upon some of his Negotiations , Business or Affairs , neither is , or can be any Evidence or good Argument , that such only , and not the Kings Servants in ordinary , who have no Protections under the Great Seal of England , are to be Protected or Priviledged whilst they are busied in his Palace , or about his Person . Chap. IX . 343 . That our Kings ( some of which had more than his n●w Majesty hath ) have or had no greater number of Servants in Ordinary , than is or hath been necessary for their Occasions , Safety , well being , State , Honour , Magnificence and Majesty ; And that their Servants waiting in their Turns or Courses , are not without leave or Licence as aforesaid , to be Arrested in the Intervals of their waiting or Attendance . Cap. X. 355 . That the King being not to be limited to a number of his Servants in Ordinary , is not in so great a variety of Affairs and contingencies , wherein the publick may be concerned , to be restrained to any certain number of such as he shall admit to be his Servants extraordinary . Chap. XI . 365 . That the Subjects of England had heretofore such a regard of the King and his Servants , as not to bring or commence their Actions where the Law allowed them , against such of his Servants , which had grieved or Injured them , with ut a remedie first Petitioned for in Parliament . Chap. XII . 375 . That the Clergy of England in the height of their Priviledges , Encouragement and Protection by the Papall overgrown Authority , did in many cases , lay aside their Thunderbolts and Power of Excommunications , appeals to the Pope , and obtaining his Interdictions of Kingdoms , Churches and Parishes , and take the milder , modest , and more reverential way of Petitioning our Kings in Parliaments ; rather than turn the rigors of their Canon , or Ecclesiastical Laws , or of the Laws of England , against any of the Kings Officers or Servants . Chap. XIII . 389 . That the Judges in former times did in their Courts and Proceedings of Law and Justice , manifest their unwillingness to give or permit any obstruction to the Service of the King and Weal Publick . Chap. XIV . 392 . That the Dukes , Marquesses , Count Palatines , Earls , Viscounts and Barons of England , and the Bishops , as Barons have and do enjoy their Priviledges , and freedom from Arrests or Imprisonment of their Bodies in Civil and Personal Actions ; As Servants extraordinary and attendants upon the Person , State and Majesty of the King , in Order to his Government , Weal Publick , and safety of him and his People ; And not only as Peers abstracted from other of the Kings Ministers or Servants in Ordinary . Chap. XV. 413 . That many the like Priviledges and Praeheminences , are and have been antiently by the Civil and Caesarean Laws , and the Municipal Laws and Customs of many other Nations , granted and allowed to the Nobility thereof . Chap. XVI . 445 . That the Immunities and Priviledges granted and permitted by our Kings of England unto many of their People and Subjects , who were not their Servants in Ordinary , do amount unto as much , and in some , more than what our Kings Servants in Ordinary did or do now desire to enjoy . Chap. XVII . 466 . That many of the People of England , by the Grace and Favour of our Kings and Princes , or along permission , us●ge or prescription ; do enjoy and make use of very many Immunities , Exemptions and Priviledges , which have not had so great a Cause or Foundation as those which are now claimed by the Kings Servanes . Chap. XVIII . 489 . That those many other Immunities and Priviledges have neither been abolished , or so much as murmured at , by those that have yeilded an Assent and Obedience thereunto , although they have at some times , and upon some Occasions , received some Loss , Damage or Inconveniences thereby . Chap. XIX . 494 . That the Power and care of Justice , and the distribution thereof , is and hath been so Essential and Radical to Monarchy and the constitution of this Kingdom , as our Kings of England have as well before as since the Conquest , taken into their Cognisance divers Causes , which their established Courts of Justice either could not remedie , or wanted Power to determine , have removed them from other Courts to their own Tribunals , and propria authoritate caused Offenders for Treason or Felony to be Arrested , and may upon Just and Legal Occasions , respite or delay Justice . Chap. XX. 503 . That a care of the Honour and Reverence due unto the King , hath been accompted , and is , and ought to be the Interest of all the People of England , and that the Servants and retinue of a Soveraign Prince , who hath given and permitted to his Subjects , so many large Liberties , Immunities , Exemptions , Customs and Priviledges , should not want those Exemptions , Immunities , Customs and Priviledges , which are so Justly claimed by them : Chap. XXI . 587 .
Errors of the Printer .

PAge 22. line 2. dele now & intersere after , p. 34. l. 25. dele to , p. 43. l. 4. dele and & intersere by , p. 52. l. 22 dele feirce and incult & intersere rude and uncivill , p. 61. l. 25. intersere always , p. 62. l. 2. intersere in , p. 88. l. 26. dele not , p. 111. l. 28. dele yet . p. 137. l. 23. dele not , p. 159. interscribe Baile , p. 166. l. 4. dele as , p. 197. l. penult . dele or interscribe as p. 217. l. 28. dele the Corsaires , p. 219. l. 22. dele not , p. 241. l. 6. dele unto , p. 265. l. 10. dele during the , and interline in a more ●itting place , p. 416. l. 13. r. Aevo , p. 423. l. 17. r. Conquestorem , 549. in margin , r. Cromwell , p. 453. l. 2. intersere pleg . & l. 4. r. distringas , l. 14. intersere them , p. 460. in margin , r. Valentinus , & l. 16. r. nobiles , p. 461. in margin , r. Cassanaeus , l. 10. r. noblemen , p 475 l. 2. r. Commons , p. 527. l. 19. intersere of Westminster , p. 552. from thence to page 555. mispaged in p. 543. l. 4. intersere it , p. 596. l. 27. interline of p. 614. l. 20. dele an Asilum , or & intersere a ; which with some other literal faults , redundancies , omissions of particles , and Errors of the Press , are desired to be amended and excused .

The Reasons aswell as Law of the Priviledges and Freedom of the Kings Servants in Ordinary , from Arrests and Troubles , of and in their Persons and Estates , before Leave or Licence obtained of the King their Royal Master and Soveraign .

IF the Rights of Soveraignty and Majesty and it's Legal , Rational , and necessary Protection and Preservation of the People , in their several Interests and Priviledges ; That due care which they ought to take of him and the means wherewith he should do it , the Honour of the King , and the support and maintainance of it , the Reverence and Respect which they should upon all occasions manifest to their Prince and Common Parent , and the influence which all or most of his affairs have or may have in their successes and consequences Good or Evil , upon all or the greatest part of the Affairs of the People , were not enough , as it is , abundantly sufficient to perswade them to an abstaining or abhorrency from the Incivility of late practiced to Arrest or Trouble the Persons or Estates of the Kings Servants in Ordinary , before Leave or Licence obtained of the King their Royal Master , and the Soveraign aswel of the one as the other .

For he that hath not been a very great stranger to reason , and the Customes and Laws of this Nation , aswell as others , may without any suspicion of Error acknowledge that it is and will be a due to Majesty and the Servants of it .

Yet the Civility long ago in Fashion , and not yet abolished in the Neighbourhood and Custom of Mankinde one towards the other might invite them unto it .

When it hath been heretofore a part of the Law of Nations , Nature , Christianity , Neighbourhood , Civility , and the Practice thereof ( which no Law or Good Custome hath , yet repealed ) not to Arrest or bring into question at Law a Neighbours Servant for a Debt due , or Injuries received , without an Intimation or Notice first given , or a kind of Licence obtained , to or from that Servants Master , to the end that the Love and Respect which ought to be betwixt them might not be dislocated or disturbed , and the offending Servants Masters attendance Business or Affairs prejudiced .

And being constantly held and observed betwixt Friends , Relations , Kinred , Neighbours and even Strangers , where any Respect was thought fit to be tendered , did probably give a Rise or beginning to that long and experimented Adage or Proverb , Love me and Love my Dog ; Insomuch as a Neighbours Dog causing some mischief or Inconveniences by killing of Sheep , or biting such as he supposed were not well willers to the Family and came to his Masters house is not troubled or put into any danger of Beating or Hanging , without a Complaint first made to his Master thereof , for where the Master hath any respect , his Servants and all that do belong to his Family do not seldom partake of it .

From all which or some of those Causes or Grounds , Rights of Soveraignty and duty of the People tacito rerum & antiquitatis consensu by a long usage and consent of time and Antiquity came that hitherto uncontroul'd usage and Custom allowed , and Countenanced by our Common Laws , and reasonable Customs not contradicted or abrogated by any Act of Parliament or Statute Laws ; That the Kings Maenial Servants and Officers in Ordinary should not be Taken , Imprisoned , Arrested or Compelled to appear in any Courts of Justice , in Civil Actions or Causes , without a Petition , for Leave or Licence obtained , First delivered unto the Lord Chamberlain of the Kings Houshold or other great Officer of the Kings under whose more Immediate Jurisdiction such servant or Officer is , whereupon after a Citation of the party , and if for debt , or otherwise , a short and reasonable time as six moneths or something less ( which in the Ordinary course of Process and Proceedings at Law and the vacations and absence of the Terms is not seldom as soon as they could by Arrest , or Compulsion arrive or come unto their Ends ) and many times a moneth or a Fortnights time prefixed for satisfaction is as easily procured as asked .

SECT. I.

That there is a Greater Honour due unto the Palace and House of the King , then unto any of the Houses of his Subjects .

FOr we may well believe that our Laws , Reasonable Customs , and the Practice of our Forefathers were not out of the way or mistaken in their Respects to the Servants of their Prince when his Aula , House or Court , wherein he and they Inhabited as a place separate from Common uses or Addresses tanquam Sacra , had a Majestatem quandam , certain awe or Majesty belonging to it which was as Ancient as the days of King Ahasuerus that great Monarch of Persia and a a Esther c. 4. ver. 11. Media who Raigned from India unto Ethiopia , over an hundred and twenty seven Provinces , when b b Esther c. 4 ver. 2. Esther , as we are informed by Sacred Writ , could alleage that all the Kings Servants and the People of the Kings Provinces , did know , that whosoever , whether man or woman , should come unto the King into the Inner Court , who is not called , there is one Law of his to put him to death , Except such to whom the King shall hold out the Golden Scepter that he may live . And none might enter into the Kings Gate clothed with sackcloth .

Tiridates the great King of Armenia coming to Rome to see the Emperor Nero was c c Xiphilinus in Nerone & Gr●gor . Tholosan in Syntagmate Juris . 378. Commanded to lay by his Sword , which he refusing as supposing it to be dishonourable to himself , was rather contented to have it as it was nailed in the Scabbard , it being a Custome at Rome , Nè quis in domo se● Palatio principis arma deferret sine ejusdem permissione , that no man in the Palace of the Prince was without his Licence to Wear a Sword , although in other Places it was dishonourable for a Souldier not to Wear a Sword .

By a d d Cujacius Comment. ad lib. 11. Cod. Justin , tit. 77. Constitution or Law of the Emperors Theodosius and Valentinianus , the one of the West and the other of the East , made about the year of Christ 385. Consecratae sibi aedes , id est , Inclita palatia ab omnium privatorum usu & communi habitatione exceptae fuerunt , The consecrated Houses set apart for the Emperors , that is to say , their Illustrious Palaces were not to be made use of by any private person , or to be inhabited by them .

And many Ages after Theodoricus King of the Gothes and Romans , though descended from a Rude and Barbarous Nation , who were more used to Cottages then Courts , Stiles his Palace e e Goldastus Constit. Imperialibus . T●m . 3. & 4 . 8● . ●ect . 166 tit . de Cura Pal●tu. 15. Potentiae Imperii decora facies , the Representation or Beauty of the Power of his Empire , Cum Legatis sub admiratione , the wonder of Forraign Embassadors , Et prima fronte talis Dominus esse Creditur quale ejus habitaculum comprobatur , and the Master of the House , and his Honour and Reputation is measured by his House .

By the old Almaine Laws made in the Raign of Clotharius King of France , In the year of our Lord 560. f f L. L. Alamannorum in Lindenbrogio . tit. 29. Si quis in Curte Ducis hominem occiderit ●ut illic ambulantem aut inde revertentem triplici were gildo eum solvat , If any should slay a man in the Dukes Court in his going or coming thither or his return from thence , he was to forfeit as much as the were gild or mulct for the amends should amount unto .

By the Laws of the old Baivarians or Bavarians confirmed by Dagobert King of France , g g L. L. Bai variorum in Lindenbrogio . tit. 11. In the year of our Lord 633. Si quis in Curte Ducis scandalum commiserit ut ibi pugna fiat per superbiam suam vel ebrietatem , quidquid ibi factum fuerit omnia secundum legem component & propter stultitiam suam in publico componat quadraginta solidos , si servus est alicujus qui haec commisit manus perdat , nullus unquam in Curte Ducis presumat scandalum committere . If any shall do or Commit in the Dukes Court any thing which is scandalous , and shall make any quarrel by his Pride or Drunkenness , he shall according to the Law compound for it , and pay forty shillings for his folly , and if he be a Servant which did it , shall loose his hand ; For no man is to presume to do any thing scandalous in the Dukes Court.

By the Laws of the Longobards , Written or compiled about the year of our Redeemer 637. h h L. L. Longobard . in Lindenbrogio lib. 1. tit. 2. de Sc●ndalis . Si quis in Consilio vel in quolibet conventu scandalum commiserit noningentis solidis sit culpabilis Regi , si quis intra palatium ubi Rex praeest scandalum perpetrare praesumpserit animae suae incurrat periculum aut animam suam redimat si obtinere potuerit à Rege , If any shall do any Scandalous Act in the Council or Assembly he shall be fined nine hundred shillings to the King , If in the Kings Court or Palace his life shall be in danger to be lost , Unless he can obtain the Kings pardon , a less fine if it be in the City where the King is not Resident , and more in a City where he is .

And so much honour was not only in the Civil Law and Rescripts of the Emperors , but of the Gothish and other Northern Nations attributed to the house of the Emperors or Kings as it was frequently stiled Divina Domus which wi●hout any suspicion of Idolatry might well be afforded unto the House or Residence of God's Vicegerents when holy Writ sticks not to say they are tanquam Dii as Gods .

Which occasioned Witlafe or Witlase King of the Mercians being some of the Provinces in England now known by the name of Gloucestershire , Worcestershire , Oxfordshire , Staffordshire , and many other of the Neighbour Counties , when about the year of our Lord 825. he made a Confirmation to the Abby of Croyland in Lincolneshire , where he had hid and saved himself , when he fled from his Enemies , of all their Land● and granted them many Priviledges ratified by a Concilium Pan Anglicum , or Parliament holden at London the 26 day of May , Anno Dom. 833. By Egbert i i Charta C●nfi●m●ti●nis Regis Witlaf●● Mon●sterii de Croyland . Dugdale Monas●icon Anglicanum ●65 & 166. Spelman Concilia , Decret●●leges Ecclesiastic. 337. King of the West Saxons , and Witlase King of the Mercians , to give them a Priviledge that Quicunque in Regno suo pro quocunque delicto reus vel legibus obnoxius , Whosoever in his Kingdom guilty of any o●fence or obnoxious to the Laws , should fly to the Abby or Island of Croyland he should be there free from any Arrest or pursuit , sicut in Asylo vel in Camera Regis propria , as in a Sanctuary or in the Kings own Chamber , then understood not to be likely to be molested with any Arrest or Imprisonment of any that were attending in it .

And put our wise and prudent King k k L. L. Aluredi . cap. 31. Alfred ( who sate in the Royal Throne of our Brittaine about the year of our Lord 877. In the more incult and fierce behaviour of our English and Saxon Ancestors who thought his House deserved a Priviledge not allowed to Ordinary or Subjects houses ) in minde to make a Law as Mr. Lambard in his Latine Version of our Saxon Laws reciteth it , Sapientum adhibito Consilio by the advice of his wise men much like a Parliament ; qui in Regia Aula dimicarit , ferrumvè distrinxerit , Capitor & Regem penes arbitrium vitae necisque ejus esto , That he that should fight or draw his Sword in the Kings Palace or Court should be taken or punished with death or otherwise as the King pleased .

Which if the Annals of Winchester l l Annales Wintoniensis Ecclesiae M.S. in Biblotheca Cottoniana sub Effigie Domitiani in A. 13. Et vide Asser Menevensis . may as they ought to be credited , were but the Laws of the Brittons translated into ●he Saxon Language by the assistance probably of Asser Menevensis or of S. David's a Britton who was invited to his Court by that worthy Prince , and made as it were one of his Domesticks or Maenials .

The Courts and Palaces of our Ancient Kings being likewise such Asylums or Priviledged places as by a Law made by m m L.L. Edmondi ▪ cap. 75 & 76. King Edmond who Raigned in the year of our blessed Lord 940. Si qui● ad Templum Oppidumvè Regium confugerit , eumque alius oppugnarit damnovè affecerit , he which should hurt or molest any that fled to the Temple or the Kings House should be punished ; but withal enacted that , non fore ei qui sanguinem humanum effuderit suffugio domum meam ni prius Deo ac Caesi cognatis cumulatè satiffecerit & praeterea impleverit quodcunque ei ab Episcopo ( in cujus Dioecesi acciderit ) imperatum , the Kings House should not be a refuge for any man that had committed Manslaughter , unless he had first made satisfaction to God Almighty and abundantly recompenced the kinred of the slain and performed whatever was enjoyned him by the Bishop in whose Diocess it happened .

By the Laws of n n Leges Ecclesiast. Hoell Dha in Spelmanni Decret. & Constitut. Ecclesi . 409. Hoell Dha or the good King Hoell of Wales made and ordained in or about the same year , If any man made an affray or did strike in his Court he was to pay a double Dirvy or Mulct and the like for doing it in the Church ( whereas in other places it was but a single Dirvy or fine ) o o Leges Ecclesiast. Hoel● Dha Regis Walliae in Spelmanni Decret. leg . Ecclesiastic . 408 , & 412. Ex quo disteni praefectus sive Oeconomus in Aula steterit post prandium in tribus festis Principalibus ponens in ea pacem Dei & Regis , Reginae & optimatum Curiae pacem illa● transgredienti nusquam erit refugium & Navt t' u ' omnium refugium , after that the Steward of the Kings House shall appear in the Hall in the three principal Feasts of the year , and causeth the Peace of God , and the King , Queen , and Lords of the Court , to be published , he that breaks it shall be allowed no place of Refuge or Sanctuary , nor shall any receive him ; si quis ergo refugium Regis & omnium violaverit nec usquam nec ab unius refugio vel à reliquiis sanctorum defendi potest nisi ab Ecclesia , If any therefore shall violate that Sanctuary or place of Refuge of the King he shall be no where , or by any one Protected or by any Reliques of the Saints , unless the Church shall Protect and defend him .

And say the same Laws , Tria sunt sine quibus Rex esse non potest , scilicet sacerdos ad missam celebrandam & ad escas Regis & potus benedicend . & Judex Curiae ad Causas discernendas & ad danda consilia & familia quoque ad negotia Regis parata , Three things are so necessary for a King as he cannot be without them , that is to say , a Priest or Chaplain , a Judge to hear Causes and give him Counsel and Servants to do the business of his family , Et ubicumque sacerdos familiae & Disteni & Judex Curiae insimul fuerint , ibi erit dignitas Curiae brevit llys Aula Regia licet Rex absens est , and wheresoever the Chaplain of the Family , and the Steward and Judge of the Court or Palace shall reside and be altogether , there , the Honour and Dignity of the Court shall be , and it shall be esteemed and taken to be as the Kings Court although he be absent .

And so well did King Canutus p p L.L. Ca●uti , cap. 56. the Dane who Raigned here about one hundred and twenty years after , approve and allow of the before-mentioned Law made by King Alfred , as he made another much to the like effect , si quis in Regia dimicarit , Capitale esset nisi quidem Rex hoc illi condonarit , That it should be capital or death unto any that should fight in the Kings Palace unless the King should be pleased to pardon him , Et nullae Citatio●●● vel summonitiones liceant fieri cuicunque infra palatium Regis Westminster .

King q q Charta Henrici primi Monasterio de Hide . Dugdales Monasticon Anglicanum 211 , & 212. Henry the first about 275 years after the Raign of the before-mentioned Witlafe or Witlase King of the Mercians in his Charter or Grant to the Abbey of Winchester , doth amongst other Priviledges free them de Placitis & de omnibus quaerelis sicut terra illa ubi Domus mea sedet in Winton fuit unquam melius quieta , from all Plaints and Actions Issuing out of other Courts as much as the Land where his own House or Palace stood in Winchester ever enjoyed ; which was then understood not to have been disturbed by them the said Charter being by Inspeximus afterwards in the 16th year of the Raign of King Edward the fourth , allowed and confirmed and in regard of the Honour due unto the Kings Houses or Palaces more then the Houses of any Subject or Private person they r r L.L. Henrici primi per Cl. Seldenum in Lucem emiss . cap. 16. Fleta lib. 2. cap. 2. & Cokes 10. relat. en le case de'l Marchalsea . are by Law and Ancient Custom allowed a Circuit or compass of 12 miles round every way within the Virge whereof in matters appertaining to the Royall Houshold or Servants for Contracts made one with another in the same House , and of Trespasses done within the Virge , the Steward and Marshal of the Kings House , and no Inferior or Commissionated , Jurisdiction were to intermeddle , Et nullae Citationes aut summonitiones liceant fieri cuicunque infra Palatium Regis Westminster , No Citations or Summons are to be made in the Kings Palace at Westminster which ( until it was disused by the accession of Whitehall unto the Crown in the Reign of King Henry the eighth ; and after that appropriated to the Courts of Chancery , Law , Exchequer , Dutchy of Lancaster , Star-Chamber , Court of Requests , House of Commons in Parliament , who do now sit in that part of it heretofore called S. Stephen's Chappel and the House of Peers in another part of that Ancient House or Palace of our Kings of England ) was their only House or Residence neer London and retains to this day so much of it's Ancient Priviledge of Freedom from Arrests , as any man Arrested there , in any Civil Action , before or in the Virge of any of the said Courts then sitting , although it be by Process Issuing out of any of the said Courts , and he had no business before depending in any of them , is propter reverentiam loci for Reverence to the Place to be presently without Bail or answering , discharged , and the Officer Arresting him , Imprisoned or otherwise punished .

Insomuch as Edmond Earl of Cornwall coming to London to the Parliament holden in the 18th year of King Edward the first and per medium majoris Aulae Westminster versus consilium domini Regis transisset passing through the great Hall at Westminster towards the Parliament ubi quilibet de regno & pace domini Regis , as the Parliament Roll mentioneth ( not only Peers or Parliament men ) licite & pacifice venire & negotia sua prosequi debet , where every man of the Kingdom and in the Peace of the King may Lawfully and peaceably come and follow their business , absque hoc quod aliquas citationes vel summonitiones ibidem admittat , without being troubled with any Citations or summons complained of the Prior of the Holy-trinity London and Bogo de Clare , who thereupon were attached to answer the King , and s s Placit . Parliamenti 18. E 1. n. 4. Ryleyes pl●c . Parl. 6.7 . & Pryns Aurum Reginae , 28. Peter de Chanet Steward of the King Walter de Fanecurt Mareschal of the King ( whose Jurisdiction was thereby infringed ) the said Earl of Cornwall , and the Abbot of Westminster , for that the said Prior by the procurement of the said Bogo de Clare had cited the said Earl in the Hall aforesaid to appear before the Archbishop of Canterbury at a certain day and place to answer such things as should be objected against him , to the manifest Contempt and Dishonour of the King and His damage 10000 l. prejudice of the Abbot of Westminsters Liberty and his Damage 1000 l. & in prejudicium Officii predict . senescalli & marescalli manifestum & dampnum non modicum , and manifest prejudice of the Office of the aforesaid Steward and Mareschall and no small damage ad quorum officium & non ad alium Summonitiones & attachiamenta infra Palatium domini Regis pertineat faciend , When as it belongeth to their Office or Places , and not unto any other to make or cause summons or attachments within the Kings House or Palace & etiam ad dampnum predict . Comitis quinque mille librarum , and likewise to the damage of the said Earl 5000 l. Whereupon the said Prior and Bogo confessing the Citation but pleading that they were ignorant that the place aforesaid was exempt , and that they did not understand that any contempt was Committed against the King , or any prejudice done to his Officers by the Citation aforesaid , and in all things submitting unto the Kings grace , good will and pleasure , were Committed Prisoners to the Tower of London , there to remain during the Kings Pleasure ; and being afterwards Bailed , the said Bogo paid to the King a fine of 2000 marks and gave security to the Earl for 1000 l. which by the intercession of the Bishop of Durham and others of the Kings Counsel , was afterwards remitted unto 100 l , and the Prior was left to the Judgement or Proces of the Exchequer .

And t t Cokes 3. part . Institut. tit. misprision , 141. Placita coram D●mino Rege in Parl. apud Westm' in praesentia Regis , Anno 21. E. 1. upon a Citation served in the Kings Palace at Westminster in the 21th year of the Raign of King Edward the first upon Joane Countess of Warren then attending the Queen upon a Libel of Divorce at the Suite of Matilda de Nyctford , it was upon full examination of the Cause in Parliament adjudged ( the King being present ) in these words Quod praedictum Palatium Domini Regis est locus exemptus ab omni Jurisdictione ordinaria tam Regiae dignitatis & Coronae suae quàm libertatis Ecclesiae Westmonaster . & maximè in praesentia ipsius Domini Regis tempore Parliamenti sui ibidem , Ita quod Nullus summonitiones seu Citationes ibidem faciat & praecipuè illis qui sunt de sanguine Domini Regis quibus major reverentia quam aliis fieri debet , Consideratum est quod Officiar' Committatur Turri London & ibidem custodiatur ad voluntatem Domini Regis , that the said Palace of the King is a place freed from all ordinary Jurisdiction aswel by reason of the Kings Crown and Dignity Royal , as the Liberty of the Church of Westminster , but more especially of the Kings presence in the time of Parliament , so as none may presume to make summons or Citations there , and especially to or upon those which are of the blood Royal , to whom a greater Reverence then to others is due . The Kings Palace at Westminster u u Pascha 8 E. 2. coram Rege rot . 28. Norff. having as Sir Edward Coke saith , the Liberty and Priviledge , that no Citations or Summons are to be made with in it , and that Royal Priviledge is , saith he , not only appropriated to the Kings Palace at Westminster , but to all his Palaces where his Royal Person resides w w Cokes 3 par. Institut. 141. and such a Priviledge as to be exempted from all Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction , Regiae dignitatis & Coronae suae ratione , by reason of His Crown and Kingly Dignity .

The Circuit of our Brittish Ocean the Promontories with the adjacent Isles or parts encompassing our Britain from the North of England by the East , and South to the West , vindicated by our great and eminently Learned x x Selden mare clausum , cap. 22 & 26. Selden being called the Kings Chambers , do justly claim and are not to be denied Dimissionem velorum , a striking or louring of Sail by the Ships of other Nations in their passage by any of our Admirals or Ships of War heretofore submitted unto , and acknowledged by our late causelesly contending Neighbours the Dutch and French , and was not only done by those Nations , and all other strangers Ships , in their passage by and through our Seas , but by them , and our own Ships in their sailing upon the River of Thames , by the Kings Palace or House at Greenwich though he be not present , by striking their Topsail , and Discharge of a Cannon or Gun , seldom also omitted in other Countries , by Ships that pass by any Royal-forts or Castles of Kings in Amity with them as at Croninbergh and Elsenor , in or near the Baltick Sea .

And no small Civility or Respect was even in a Forreign Countrey or Kingdom , believed to be belonging , and appropriate to the Residence in and Palace of a King of England , and was not denyed to our King Edward the first in the 14th year y y Fleta lib. 2. cap. 3. of His Raign , when he was as Fleta tells us at Paris in France in alieno territorio , in the King of France his Dominions where one Ingelram de Nogent being taken in the King of England's House , or where he was lodged at Paris with some Plate or Silver-dishes which he had stollen , about him , Rege Franciae tunc presente , the King of France being then in the House , the Court of the Castellan of the King of France claiming the Cognizance or Trial of that Thief , after a great debate thereof had before the King of France and his Council it was Resolved , Quod Rex Angliae illa Regia Praerogativa & hospitii sui privilegio uteretur & gauderet , that the King of England should enjoy his Kingly Prerogative and the Priviledge of his House , and that Thief being accordingly tried before Sir Robert Fitz John Knight Steward of the King of England's House , was for that offence , afterwards hanged at St. German lez Prees .

The Bedel z z Mich. 12 ▪ E. 3. Coram Rege Rot. 101 Cant. of the University of Cambridge was though he asked pardon for it , committed to the Gaol for Citing one William de Wivelingham at Westminster Hall door , and Henry de Harwood at whose Suit it was prosecuted , committed to the Marshal and paid 40 s. Fine .

Which necessary and due Reverence to the Kings Courts or Palaces being never denied ( unless it were by Wat Tyler or Jack Cade , and the pretended Holy-rout of the Oliver Piggs ) bred that laudable custome of the best Subjects of England , and all other mens going or standing uncovered in the Kings Chamber of presence ( even in those houses where he is not Resident ) Privy-chamber , Bed-chamber and Galleries , the being uncovered or bare-headed when the Scepter and Globe Imperial have been amongst the Kings Jewels and Plate kept in the Tower of London being accompted one of the Kings Palaces shewed unto any which have desired to see them which the Prince of Denmark as also the Embassador of the King of Sweden have not lately denied , and allows not the Ladies Wives or Daughters of Subjects ( the Daughters of the King and the Wife of the Prince or Heir apparent only excepted ) to have their trains carried up in the aforesaid separate rooms of State , nor a Lord of a Mannor to Arrest or Sieze his Villaine a a 27 ▪ Assis. pl. 49. in the Kings presence , forbids the Coaches of any but the Kings or the Queens or Heir apparents Wife or their Children , or of Embassadors introduced in the Kings Coach from Kings or a Republique such as Venice who in regard of the Kingdoms of Cyprus and Candie now under their Subjection are said to have Testé Couronné to come into the Court-yards with their Coaches , which the little Republique of Genoa in Italy hath notwithstanding their contest for it been lately refused both in France and Spain ; in the latter whereof a Monarchy and Kingdom much inferior to England it is a great Honour amongst the Domesticks and Servants of that Court to be a Gentleman de la Boca for that such may attend the King at Dinner or Supper , and have at other times a priviledge to come into the Rooms of the Palace as far as a certain Hall beyond which no man is to pass although there should be no Guards or Ushers to hinder it .

And no longer ago then in the month of December 1666 the Lady or wife of the Spanish Embassador in the Court of the Emperor of Germany at Vienna complaining of the Emperors High Chamberlain that she was denied by the guards to enter into the Anti-chamber of the Empress in her Chair or Sedan , she was answered by him and informed also by a message from the Emperor that it was the custom of that Court not to permit the Empress her self that Liberty , which very necessary regard and respects always had to the Courts or Houses of Soveraign Kings or Princes , might besides their safeties which have not seldom been endangered by Brawls and Tumults swelled up into a multitude , be the reason that in imitation or reviving of those old Laws of King Alfred and Canutus , the Act of Parliament b b 33 H. 8. ca. 12. In the 33th year of the Raign of King Henry the eight , did ordain the loss of the Right hand of any striking or making blood-shed within any of the Kings Houses or Palaces or the virge thereof , ( Noblemen or others striking only their Servants with a small stick or Wand for Correction or with any Tipstaff at a Triumph or in doing Service by the Kings Commandment or of any of his Graces Privy Council or head Officers excepted ) and that any such offences or Murders Manslaughters or malicious strikings should be tryed by a Jury of twelve of the Yeomen Officers of the Kings Houshold before the Lord Steward or in his absence before the Treasurer and Comptroller of the Kings Houshold and Steward of the Marshalsea for the time being .

And so tender have our Kings and Princes been of the Honour of their Princely Palaces and Seats and habitations of Majesty as they would not permit their Mercy to have any thing to do with their Justice or to intercede for any mitigation of their just indignation against such as would but in the least let loose their passions , or Indiscretion to violate it , witness the case ( communicated unto me by my worthy friend Sir William Sanderson one of the Gentlemen of His Majesties Privy Chamber in Ordinary ) of Mr. Mallet in the Raign of Queen Mary , who being a Gentleman Usher , Quarter Waiter of the Presence-Chamber , and having rebuked one Mr. Pierce a Messenger of the Chamber for some Negligence in the Queens Service , and being rudely answered to avoid the punishment for striking him , if he should draw or inforce blood , did spit in his face , upon knowledge whereof the Lord Chamberlain of the Kings Houshold , without any complaint of Mr. Pierce committed Mr. Mallet to the Marshal , and after some time punished him in this manner the Lord Chamberlain standing under the Cloth of State uncovered in the presence Chamber with the Officers of the Houshold , and others about him , Mr. Mallet kneeled down at the lowest step , and his offence in Order to his sentence being read unto him , by a Gentleman Vsher of the Presence with this Praeamble , viz. For excercising that Jewish Inhumane Act of Spitting upon Master Pierce , your fellow Servant in Court in the sight and presence of the Cloth of Estate , against the Dignity of our Soveraign Lady the Queens Grace , the Honour of the Court , and the Authority and Power of the Lord Chamberlain ; To which Mr. Mallet being still upon his knees answered with an Humiliation sorrow and Submission , and craved Pardon of the Queens Grace for his fault ; Whereupon the Lord Chamberlain lightly Rapping Mr. Mallet upon the Pate with his white Staff , who craved pardon for offending the Authority and Power of the Court Represented by the Lord Chamberlain , Mr. Pierce was appointed to wave a Cudgel over Mr. Mallets head , in sign of satisfaction for the wrong received of him . And that being done Mr. Mallet was fined in a summe of money to the Queen , and after a day or two released ; After all which the Chaplains and Clergy complaining that the holy Church was scandalized for that Jewish Action , Mr. Mallet was ordered to do Penance in the Chappel Royal , in a White-sheet holding a Wax Taper burning , during the Office of Divine Service ; and after those punishments Executed upon him , permitted to complain against Mr. Pierce for neglecting the Queens Service , and Mr. Pierce was for answering Mr. Mallet rudely turned out of his Waiting or place , and came not in again until Mr. Mallet was pleased to make it his Sollicitation and Request ; And so great a Respect was always given to the c c Rotul . parl. 21 Jac. & Cokes 3 part . institut. 148. Kings Palace or Court as it was holden to be a punishment and note of Infamy to be Prohibited it ; and was in the 18th or 21th year of the Raign of King James a part of the Sentence given in Parliament against Lionel Earl of Middlesex Lord Treasurer of England for Briberies and Extortions , that he should never come within the Verge of the Kings Court.

And that blessed Martyr King Charles , was in the midst of His over-great Lenity or Meekness so careful to preserve the Honours and due Respects to His Palace and Court , as when Doctor Craig one of His Physicians had in the Kings Chamber given Mr. Kirk one of the Grooms of His Bed-chamber , some offensive words , and Mr. Kirk meeting him the same day in some of the Court-lodgings had struck him with a blow of his Fist , and Doctor Craig complaining of it unto the King , and the King referring it unto the Lord Chamberlain of His Houshold who after Examination of the Fact Remitted the Punishment of the Offence to the King , He did in much Indignation Banish Mr. Kirk from the Court , into which he was more then a year , before he could by the Intercession of the Duke of Buckingham , then the Great and Principal Favourite , be re-admitted ; And that Pious and Excellent Prince was so apprehensive of any disrespects to His House and Palace , as meeting one day or night the Earl of Denbigh then Lord Fielding in his Masking Suit , as he was passing through the Privy Galleries towards the Banquetting House , stayed him , and turned him back to go a more Common-way .

And was no less watchful to prevent any thing which might be prejudicial or derogatory to the honour of the Garter , whereof he was Soveraign in the Palace or House where his Honour dwelt , As when at another time finding the Lord Percy now Earl of Northumberland , Mr. Jermyn now Earl of S. Albans , and Mr. Henry Piercy in the Privy Gallery or Lodgings with blew Ribbons tyed or hanging about the upper part of their Legs or Boots , he was so displeased therewith as he would not be pacified until he had called for a pair of Scissers and had with his own hands cut or clipped them off .

And well might it be observed in England when the Vltima Thule and our less Civilized Neighbours of Scotland , Infected with the Careless and over-bold behaviour of some of their late Presbyterian Clergy , towards Royal Majesty , are not without those dutyful respects of being bare and uncovered in the Presence Chamber or Chief Rooms of their Kings Palaces although they be absent , and out of the Kingdom ; and when any Acts of Parliament are agreed upon the Kings high Commissioner Presiding in Parliament in his absence , bringeth the Acts of Parliament to the Kings Chair of Estate , upon which , and a Velvet Cushion , the Royal Scepter being laid , the Lord Commissioner kneeling before it , and touching it with the Scepter gives a Sanction and Authority unto those or any other Acts of Parliament , in that Submiss and dutyful manner touched therewith , and makes them to be of as great Validity as if they had been Ratified by the Royal Signature .

And with more or a greater Reason , might Kings and Free-Princes claim a Veneration to their Palaces or Houses , when Bishops Antiently had their Episcopia d d Concil. Meldense . ca. 26. & Spelman . Glossar . in voce Epis. copium . or Houses so Respected as a Synod or Council thought fit to Order it , a too much or more then ordinary respect when they Decreed , Suggerendum est , & ex Divino mandato intimandum Regiae Majestati ut Episcopium quod domus Episcopi appellatur , Venerabiliter & reverenter introeat , &c. It is to be declared and intimated to the Kings Majesty that he enter the Episcopium , which is the House of the Bishop Reverently .

And not very long ago in the Raign of that Vertuous King Charles the first , an Action of Battery being brought by Sir Francis Wortley Knight and Baronet , against Sir Thomas Savile Knight , afterwards Lord Savile and Earl of Sussex , for assaulting and wounding him at Westminster Hall door , one or both of them being then Parliament men , the Jury gave a Verdict for Sir Francis Wortley with three thousand pounds Damages , the Offence being aggravated to that height , in regard that it was done so near or in the Face of the Court of Common Pleas , the Judges then sitting , which could have no greater or better reason for heigthning that offence , then that it was done in that Ancient Palace of our Kings , and the Place where the King Administred Justice to His People by His Judges , who Represented His Authority in that their limitted Jurisdiction .

And but lately when sitting the Parliament in the moneth of December 1666 , the Lord Saint John of Basing Eldest Son of the Marquess of Winchester being a Member of the House of Commons in Parliament , had in Westminster Hall ( no Court of Justice then and there sitting ) pulled Sir Andrew Henly Knight by the Nose , whereby he according to the opinion of e e Cokes 3 parte institut. tit. misprision . Sir Edward Coke had forfeited his Lands , Goods and Chattels ( although his reason offered for it , that the offence was so punishable , because it might tend ad impedimentum Justiciae , to the hinderance of Justice was not alone sufficient for that , it may more truly be understood to be propter venerationem loci for the Reverence and Respect due to the Kings House or Palace ) was so affrighted with the Penalty and consequence of that Offence , as he procured the House of Commons ( who could not tell how to believe the unhappy heretofore unadvised and never to be proved Doctrine of the pretended Soveraignty of that House ) to go with their Speaker unto the King at Whitehall and intercede for his Pardon .

And shortly after at a Conference in the Painted Chamber , betwixt the Lords and Commons in Parliament , some hot words happening betwixt the Marquess of Dorchester and the Duke of Buckingham , who upon the lye given him by the Marquess of Dorchester had pulled him by the Nose or plucked off his Peruque , they were both Committed Prisoners to the Tower of London , and within two days after upon their submission to the House of Peers Released ; but the Duke of Buckingham coming after to the Kings Court at Whitehall before he had asked leave of Him or His Pardon , the King did forbid him the Court , alleadging that howsoever the House of Peers in Parliament had pardoned him for the Offence Committed against them , yet he had not forgiven him the Offence which he had Committed against him .

And in support of those Observations and honors so justly due unto the Place of His Royal Residences , the Lord Chamberlain , did lately cause a Constable to be Imprisoned for an Ignorant and Indiscreet pursuit of a French Lacquaie , who had slain an Irish Foot-boy , into Whitehal , and as far as the Royal Lodgings of the Queen , where he took him : and shortly after deservedly Imprisoned one Mr. White a Merchant , for bringing two of the Kings Marshals-men into the Privy-galleries , and neer the Council-chamber-door , the King sitting in Council , bade them Arrest an Agent or Envoy of the Duke of Curlands , and he would Indempnifie them ; Who were notwithstanding severely punished .

Which just and fitting observations due unto the Mansions of Kings and Princes ; Cromwel that Leader and Conductor of the Rable , and Scumme of a Rebellious part of the people , and grand contemner of all Authority but what himself had usurped , and of all Ancient Orders , Rites , Customs and Usages , did not think to be unbecoming that Eagles nest into which He and His devouring Harpyes had crept , and the House wherein the Kings Honour lately dwelt , when he Committed Sir Richard Ingoldsby then one of his Colonels , but afterwards a Penitent and Loyal Subject of His Majesty that now is , Prisoner to the Tower of London , for striking one in the Stone-gallery at Whitehall .

And so unquestionable was a more then Common or Ordinary Honour and Respect to be given to the Houses and Courts of our Kings , as some of our Ancient Nobility have by that honour which our Kings did Originally confer upon their Persons , in the Grant of Earldoms and Honours gained , by an Usage of Time and Custom , some more then Common Priviledges to their Chief Houses , Castles and Lands , anciently belonging to their Earldoms ; So as their Lands belonging to their Earldoms have been exempted from the Contribution of the Wages of Knights of the Shire elected to be Parliament men , and their Houses from any Search by any Constable or Ordinary Officer , and in all or many of the Records or Memorials of the Kingdom have been frequently called or termed Honours , as the Honours of Oxford , Arundel Lincoln , Leicester , &c. for the Lands belonging to those Earldoms ; and there is to this day a Custome at Arundel Castle that none but the Earl thereof ( the Soveraign and Heir apparent exempted ) have been permitted or are to Ride or come into the Castle Gate with his Hat on or covered .

Those vast Empires of the Ottoman or Turk , Persians , Mogor , and King or Emperour of Japan , are not without thos● or the like Reverences , not only by their profound silences and observations more then ordinary in their Apartments and Retirements , but by other Demonstrations of Honour and acknowledgements of Respect to their Soveraign Princes Houses or Palaces .

Nor are such or the like Reverences or Respects due to the Houses or Courts of kings , unknown or disused even amongst the more Heathen and Barbarians who although they are too much conversant with Ignorance , Rudeness and Incivilities are notwithstanding by the Principles Law and light of Nature , guided and directed unto it .

In the City and Countrey which was the Queen of f f Purchas Pligrimage 2 part & voyage of Francis Alvareza Portugal . 1053. Ibid. 1071 & 1083. Ibid. 1107. Sheba's , the people do use such Reverence to the Kings Houses or Palaces , as although the Gates do stand open , no man dares presume to enter or to touch them .

Before any do come to the Court or Tent of Prete John ▪ Emperour or King of Ethiopia or the Abassines , they do alight of their Horses and begin to do their accustomed Reverences , stooping down with their right hand unto the ground , and betwixt the Prete or Kings Tent , and the Tent of the Judges , no man passeth on Horse-back in Reverence to the King and his Justice , but all do alight and go on foot .

When any do come to the first Hall of the King of the Maldives g g Voyage Francis Pyzard de la val . 2 part Purchas Pilgrimage , 1648 , 1663 , 1664. Palace ( who is King of thirteen Provinces , and One thousand Isles ) where His guard are , No Lord or Plebeian , man , woman or child dare go further except the Domestical Officers of the King and Queens , and their Slaves and Servitors .

At the King of h h Mr. John Davis relation of his voyage to the East Indies 1 par. of Purchas Pilgrimage , 132. Achens Court in the East Indies , before any man can come into the Kings Presence , he must put of his Hose and Shooes , hold the Palms of his hands together , lift them above his head and bow with his body .

Amongst the rude and fierce i i Paulus Venetus in 3 p●rt of Purchas Pilgrimage , 66. Tartars he that hath been present with one that died , was not to come into the house of the Mangu Chan within a year after .

The Barons and people who do come unto his Court , do within half a Mile where the great Chan Resides make and continue a great silence ( a sign or token in the Eastern Countries of great Reverence ) every Baron carrying a little fair vessel to Spit in , and after Covers it ( none daring to spit in the Hall ) into which k k 3 parl Purchas Pilgrimage , 88. before they do enter , they put off their Buskins , and put on Furre Buskins of white Leather , giving the other to their Servants .

In the City of l l Relation of Galeota Perera in 3 part of Purchas Pilgrimage , 2●5 . Nanquim is a Table of Gold wherein is written the Kings name in Memory of his Residence there , which stands in the Palace Covered ; and being to be seen upon some of their Festival days covered , all the Nobility of the City do go to do it Reverence .

In China m m Ricius & Trigantius in 3 part of Purchase Pilgrimage 392 & 353. and at Pequin they which are to pass by the Kings Palaces do descend and alight from their Horses and go on foot until they be passed ; Yea , although the King doth not there reside , and they do at other times make their Reverences unto the Kings Empty Throne .

And so much by the light of nature and the dusky and obscure glimmerings of it , were the Palaces and Residences of their Kings and Princes Reverenced by the n n 3 part Purchas Pilgrimage , 1139. Mexicans a Populous Nation in the West Indies as all that were to come or appear before Montezuma their King or Emperour , were except some Princes , his kinsmen to come bare-foot .

Such therefore and so great Honours being so deservedly due to the Houses and Habitations of Kings and Princes , the Affairs or business of the Soveraign , Acted either within or without it , are not certainly like Esau to be deprived of it's Blessing or what is appropriate or belonging to it , but it ought as a very great truth to be subscribed unto , by every one that will not abjure his own Reason , the Laws and Reasonable Customes of England , Prudence and Practice of all other Nations of Christendom , and where ever the Light of Reason and Divine Wisdom have imparted their Glories , that the business and affairs of the Kings-Servants in Ordinary are to be preferred and Take Place of the Affairs of any Subject or Private Person .

SECT. II.

That the Business and Affair● of the King , about which any of His Servants or Subjects are Imployed , are more considerable , and to be Regarded then the Business and Affairs of any of His People .

WHen the General and Universal consisting of all the parts of a Body Politick , and the Safety , Care and Concernment of the whole ; must needs surmount any one or two , or any Particulars , or some Private mens necessities or occasions . o o Genes. 13. v. 7 & 8. The brawls and controversies betwixt the Herdsmen of Lot and the Righteous Abraham , for Pasture for their Flocks and Cattel , were understood in that Particular to be no less then their Masters own Concernments ; p p Exod. 20. And the Servants of every Master , and consequently their business are by God himself , and his never Erring Wisdom justly reckoned in the Tenth Commandment or Decalogue , as a part of the Masters goods and Estate .

The Civil Law allows us to conclude , that , q q Gadd us in Comment. ad l. 19 , 5. nu. 2. & 4. & ad Sect ▪ 4. de verborum significatione & L. Aedi les , 25. Servi rerum appellatione comprehenduntur , Servants are accounted to be a part of the Masters Estate & familiae significatione Servi includuntur , and in a family Servants are included , Familia continentur liberi homines bona fide servientes in a family are contained and intended Freemen ( aswel as Villains or Bond-men ) which serve therein , r r Sect. 2.3.6 . Institut. de Injur . Besoldus in Dissert. Juri . Politic. 48. Et familia unum quoddam Corpus constituit ; inde patimur Injuriam etiam per liberos , uxorem , servos , & etiam mercenarios nostros , for a Family makes and constitutes a certain body , and thereupon the Master of it may be said to be wronged in his Wife , Children and Servants , and sometimes in those which are hirelings .

And it was neither forbidden or disallowed by the Civil Law in Ancient times before better and more convenient Securities by Pactions and Obligations were found out , Servos & Ancillas tanquam bona & Catalla oppignorare to Pawn or Deliver in Pledge their men Servants or maid Servants .

Our Saxon s s L.L. Inae cap. 18. & L. L. Aethelstani . 60 ▪ Laws intended no less , when they did Ordain that every Lord or Master should be obliged to bring his Servant to Justice .

Our liber Censualis or Doomesday Book , made about the 16th year of the Raign of William the Conquerour as an Inquisition or extent of every mans Estate in the Kingdom , both Real and Personal doth therein Reckon , Servos , Ancillas & villanos , as well Men-servants , and Maid-servants as Villains or Bond-men .

And our Laws do allow an Action in the Masters name , for the beating or wounding of a Servant , per quod servitium servientis sui amisit , whereby he lost the use or service of his Servant .

By the Laws of the Old Almains u u L.L. Alemanorum in Lindenbrogio Tit. 29. uniusquisque pacem habere debet ad ducem veniendo & de illo revertendo . Et nullus praesumat hominem de duce venientem aut ad illum ambulantem in Itinere inquietare quamvis culpabilis sit , no man ought to be molested in his journey or going to or from the Dukes Court , although there might be any Action or Cause to trouble him .

By the Laws of the Lombards w w L.L. Longobard ▪ in Lindenbrogio lib. 2. Tit. 4. or Longobards , si quis ex Baronibus nostris ad nos venire voluerit securus veniat , & illaesus ad suos revertatur , & nullus de Adversariis illi aliquam Injuriam in itinere aut molestiam facere praesumat , If any of our Barons have an intent to come unto us he is safely to go and come , and none of his adversaries are to do him in his Journey any wrong or Injury .

By some Laws made in the Raigns of the Emperors x x Lindenbrogius ▪ lib. 4. inter Capi●l . Caroli . Charlemaigne and Lewis his Son , nullus ad palatium vel in hostem pergens vel de Palatio vel de hoste rediens tributum quod transituras vocant solvere Cogatur , That no man coming to his Palace or going against the Enemy or returning should be compelled to pay the Tribute called Passage-money .

The Tractatoria & Evectiones y y Cujacius Comment. ad lib. 12. Cod. Justiniani 1635 & Marculfi formulae . allowed by the Western and Eastern Emperors , that Stables and Provisions of Horse-meat , and mans meat should be provided sumptu publico at the Peoples charge , for such as Ride post , Travailed or were sent upon the Emperors Affairs , may inform us , how great the difference is and ought to be betwixt the Kings Affairs and those of the Common People .

The Laws of the Wisigoths z z L , L. Wisigoth . in Lindenbrogio , lib. 2. Tit. 4. a People not then much acquainted with Civilities compiled about the year or Aera of our Lord 504 may teach us the value of Princes cares of their own , and the Publick Affairs managed by their Servants or whosoever shall be imployed therein , Quod antea ordinare oportuit negotia Principum & postea populorum , when they declared that the Affairs or concerment of the Prince , ought to take place of those of the People , Quia si salutare Caput extiterit , rationem colligit qualiter Curare cetera membra possit , because if it be well with the head , it will be the better able to take care of the rest of the Members , Et ordinanda primo negotia Principum , tutanda salus , defendenda vita , sicquè in statu & negotiis plebium ordinatio dirigenda , ut eum salus componens prospicitur Regum fida valentibus teneatur salvatia populorum , That in the first place the business of the Prince , the safety of his life , and the defence of his Person are to be heeded , and the Affairs of the People so Ordered , as whilst a sufficient provision is made for the safety of the Prince the good of the People may be established .

Of which our English Laws , have such a regard as they would ( some few Cases only excepted ) dispence with any mans not appearing or coming to Justice , If he though not the Kings servant in Ordinary sent by His Attourney the Kings Writ of Protection a a Vide Register of Writs Tit. Protect . signifying that he was sent or Imployed in the Kings Service .

That if any Archbishop , Bishop , b b 9 H. 3. c. 11 Earl or Baron do come to the King by His Commandment , passing by any of His Forrests , he might notwithstanding the great severity of the Forrest Laws against such as did Steal or Kill any of the Kings Deer or Venison take or kill one or two in their going and return .

The Register of Writs doth c c Register of Writs . 19. Tit. Warrantia di●i . bear Record that where one of the Kings Servants hath been returned of a Jury or Summoned probably to be a witness or upon some other occasion , to attend some Inquisition or Inquest to be made in any other place then the Kings House or before any other Judges or Magistrates , a Writ hath been sent under the Great Seal of England to excuse his absence , because he was the same day to attend the Steward and Marshal of the Kings House about some affairs of the Houshold which may shew that the King had a mind aswel as reason not to permit the necessary attendance of His own Servants in or upon His Houshold occasions to be omitted to wait upon strangers or other mens busines in Courts or matters of Justice .

And the Law doth so much prefer the Kings business above the Common Peoples as that all Honor and Reverence is to be given to the Kings Privy Council .

For that as Sir Edward Coke d d Coke 4. Instit. 53. Lib. 5. D. de offic. ad sess. Spartianus in Hadrian . & Gutherius de offic. Domus August . lib. 1 cap. 17. saith they are partes Corporis Regis , incorporated , as it were with him , are profitable Instruments of the State bear part of his cares , and which is no more then what the Civil Law allows them , when it terms them , Administri , Adjutores , Adsessores , helpers and Adsessors , & qui arcanis Principis interesse meruerunt in Contubernium Imperatoriae Majestatis adsciti , and which deserve an Interess in the Princes secrets and affairs of State , and are as Spartianus saith , admitted as it were into the Society of Royal Majesty .

Where the body of a Debtor before the Statute of 25 of King Edward e e Coke 3. Rep. Sir William Herberts Case . the third have by some been believed , not to have been liable to Execution for debt at the Suit of a Common Person ; yet it was adjuged to otherwise in the Kings Case , for that Thesaurus Regis est pacis vinculum & Bellorum nervi , for otherwise the King might want His Money or Treasure which is the Bond of Peace and Sinews of War .

Protections under the Great Seal of f f Register of Writs , 281. England have not only been granted by our Kings but allowed by their Judges to secure some Merchants , Strangers , from Arrests or Trouble in Corporibus , rebus & bonis , in their Persons , goods or Estates , until the Debts and Money which they did owe the King should be satisfied , and to suspend any Judgements or Executions had against them , for other mens Debts until the King should be satisfied the monys due unto him . And in the mean time taking them and their estate , in their Royal Protection , did prohibit any Process against them to be made in any of their Courts of Justice , or that they should be Arrested or distrained for any debts or accompts , the Kings debts not being satisfied .

And although by an Act of Parliament or Statute made in the 25th year of the Raign of King Edward the third g g 25 E. 3. cap. 19. cap. 19. Their other Creditors might notwithstanding bring their Actions ▪ and Prosecute thereupon ; yet they were not by that Statute to have Execution upon any Judgements gained for their Debts , unless they would undertake to pay the Debts due unto the King : and then he should be authorized to sue for , recover and take the Kings Debt , and have Execution also for his own Debt , the Preamble of that Statute mentioning that during such Protection no man had used or durst to implead such Debtors .

In the 8th year of the Raign of King Henry the 6th it was agreed in Parliament that all matters that touch the King should be preferred before all other as well in Parliament as in Council . Rot. Par. 8 H. 6. m. 10.

And no longer ago then in the h h 34 & 35. C. H. 8. c. 13. 34th and 35th years of the Raign of King Henry the Eight , cap. 13. It was upon Complaint made in Parliament that it was usual in the County Palatine of Chester , that upon the suggestion of any Person that was Indebted to any other Person or Persons , coming to the Exchequer within the said County Palatine ( to pay the Kings Rents and Monies ) and there taking a Corporal Oath that he or they shall pay his or their Creditors , at such time as he or they should be able thereunto , the Officers of the said Exchequer , have used without Warrant to grant out of the said Exchequer , a Writ in Nature of a Protection whereby the Creditors were greatly delaid , and in manner defrauded to their great Impoverishment ; It was Enacted that the said Writ of Course without the Warrant of the King His Heirs or Successors containing any such Protection be no more granted , any Vsage or Priviledge to the Contrary notwithstanding , which gives an Allowance to any that in such a Case shall be granted by the King Warrant .

By the Reformation of the Ecclesiastical Laws intended to be made by King Edward i i Reformatio legum Ecclesiasticarum Impress. 1571. the sixth by His Commission directed unto thirty two Commissioners as well Lay-men and Doctors of the Civil Law , as Bishops and Divines Issued by Direction of an Act of Parliament made in the third year of His Raign , Divine Offices may be celebrated in familiis Nobilium quibusque non licet occupatione publica distractis in Communibus Ecclesis versari , in the Houses or Families of the Nobility , who by Reason of the Kings and Publick Affairs could not so conveniently come unto their Parish Churches .

And it was not wont to be denied either to be Law or Reason in England , that such as Rid post upon the Kings business , might if his Horse were tired or for the greater speed in the Kings Affairs Exchange or take any mans Horse whom he met upon the way .

And therefore when the Houses of Kings and Princes , as to their bare Walls and Rooms abstractly considered , are so greatly to be honoured , respected and distinguished in their Rights and Priviledges , from those of the Nobility and Common People , and every thing done within that Precinct or Virge , being in the Placita Aulae Records or Rolls of the Marshal of the King in the Raigns of King Edward the first , and King Edward the third , k k Placita Aulae . 33. E. 1. & 20. E. 3. In Trespass and other Actions , depending betwixt the Kings Servants or such as might sue there alleaged to be in Presentia Regis in the Kings Presence .

And the affairs or business of the King whether domestick or Publick being of so great a Concernment to the People , and so much to be preferred before any others or that of the Private , the Servants certainly who do attend their Soveraign therein may challenge some more then ordinary Priveledges and Respects then others of His Subjects , which are not His Servants in Ordinary .

SECT. III.

That the Kings Servants in Ordinary , are not to be denied a more then Ordinary Priviledge or Respect , nor are to be compelled to appear by Arrest or otherwise , in any Courts of Justice out of the Kings House , without Leave or License of the Lord Chamberlain or other the Officers of the Kings Houshold to whom it appertaineth , first had and obtained .

WHich Prudent Antiquity , and more respectfull Ages could never tell how to deny ; for if we will look into the Records of time which by shewing us the Errors and Successes of former ages and experiments , and teaching us how to Judge of the New by the Old , are and will be found to be the best Instructors if we believe as we ought the Divine Inspiration and Counsel of the Prophet Jeremy d d Jer. 6 v. 16 and do but observe the old ways and paths of a better world , there will be enough found to justifie it .

For the book of God will evidence the great Honour and preferments given in the morning of the world unto Joseph , that great Pattern of Fidelity and preferment for it by Pharaoh King of Egypt , when he set him over his house , made him Steward thereof , took his Ring off his hand , and put upon his , Arrayed him in vestures of fine Linnen , put a Gold Cha●● about his neck , made him to Ride e e Gen. 41. v. 40 , 41 , 4● . in the second Chariot with a cry before him , Bow the Knee .

And by the Custom of the Nation or Children of Israel ( from whom the Egyptians are believed to have borrowed some of theirs ) where the Beams of the Divine Wisdom enlightened their Laws and Customs , the Servants of the King or Prince were carefully chosen and merited a more then Ordinary regard which the well meaning Vriah well understood , and had no mean opinion of when he ranked David's Servants amongst the no small concernments of that Nation in refusing to go down unto his own house and refresh himself , because the Ark of God and Israel and Judah f f 2 Sam. 11. vers. 11. did abide in Tents , his Lord Joab ( the Kings Lieutenant General ) and the Servants of the King were encamped in open field .

And we find David so careful of the honor of his Servants or Embassadors , as he made the misusage of them by the King and Children of Ammon to be a cause of his War against them and their destruction , and was so unwilling till necessity enforced it , that his own Subjects should know of the scorns and reproach cast upon them , by cutting their Vests or Garments so short as their naked Buttocks might be seen , and the shaving off only the half of their beards , 2 Sam. 10. vers. 2 , 4 , 5. as he gave them Order to tarry at Jericho until their Beards were grown out .

When the King of Syria sent his Letters of recommendation by Naaman the Captain of his host , 2 Reg. cap. 5. v. 13.6 & 7. and a great man with his Master , to recover him of his Leprosie the King despairing to get it effected , and not believing that the Prophet Elisha could do it , and fearing least the King of Syria might take the not recovering of his Servant , as a disrespect unto himself rent his clothes and said ( unto his Council or those which were neer unto him ) Consider I pray you and see how he ( the King of Syria ) seeketh a quarrel against me .

All which with the Excellent Order of David's Servants , the Magnificence of Solomon's house ( which was in building thirteen years by some thousands of workmen ) with his Servants various Offices and Honourable Imployments therein , did not a little contribute to their respect , The Princes or heads of the Tribes attending upon the King , and the Honourable women upon the Queen , mentioned in the 45th Psalm of David . And the Honourable opinion which Solomon the wisest of men had of the Service of a King , when he said ( which is Registered amongst his wise sayings or Proverbs ) That a man diligent in his business g g Prov. 22. vers. 29. should stand before Princes , he shall not stand before mean men .

The Princes that were in the House of Jehoiakim king of Judah recorded in the 36th Chapter of of the Prophet Jeremiah h h Jer. 38. cap. 41. and of Zedekiah King of Judah , in the 38th and 41th Chapter of that Prophet , and Benaiah one of David's mighty men , Captain of his Guard , and others frequently found to be Attendants or Resident in the Houses or Palaces of Kings thorough the Current of Holy Writ ; And the Requisites belonging unto those which Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon required in the captive Children whom he intended to breed up in his Court that they should be well favoured , skilful in all wisdom , and cunning in knowledge and understanding and such as had ability in them to stand in the Kings Palace , may give us to understand how much Kings and Princes were concerned in the Honour or dishonour done unto their Servants , and how greatly they were esteemed in former ages ; and that the Jews were not in an Errour when they and some of their Rabbins i i Besoldus in opere Politico . cap. 3. did ascribe so much Honour to the Servants and Service of the King or Soveraign as they conceived it to be de honore Regum ut tales ministri qui Aulae semel initiati sunt aliis vilioribus officiis extraneis postea nunquam contaminentur ut nemo utitur servis Ancillis vel ministris ejus nisi alius Rex ejus successor , for the Kings Honour that those that had once served him should never be imployed in meaner business or afterwards serve any other then his Successor : which may be the reason that their names were so punctually entered into the Register of the Kings Servants as Nehemiah k k Nehem. 7. vers. 57. could long after the many Captivities , Tosses and Troubles of that Nation , by the Divine Judgement and Indignation find in an old Register the Names and Genealogies of Solomon's Servants .

That mighty King Ahasuerus did but exercise his just Power of giving Honours and Rewards to his Servants , when he advanced Haman , and set his Seat above all the Princes which were with him , and Commanded all His Servants which were in the Gate to Bow and do him Reverence ; And Haman being afterwards demanded by the King what should be done to the man whom the King delighteth to Honour ( little thinking that Mordecai whom he hated and was one of the meaner sort of the Kings Servants , or any other then himself should be the better for it ) readily and without any doubt or scruple answered and said for the man whom the King delighteth to Honour , l l Es●her c. 1. v. 1. c 6 ▪ v. 6 , 7 , 8 9. &c. 7. v. 15. Let the Royal Apparel be brought , which the King useth to wear and the horse that the King rideth upon and the Crown Royal which is set upon his head ; And let the Apparel and Horse be delivered to the hand of one of the Kings most Noble Princes that they may Array the man withal whom the King delighteth to Honour , and bring him on Horseback through the Street of the City and Proclaim before him , Thus shall be done to the man whom the King delighteth to Honour , with which the City of Shushan were so well contented as it is said , that they rejoyced and were glad .

The next m m Esther c. 1. v. 14. Ezr● c. 7. vers. 15. unto the King was Carshena , Shethar , Admatha , Tarshish , Meres , Marsena and Memucan , the seven Princes of Persia and Media , being his seven Counsellors , which saw the Kings face , and which sate the first of his Kingdom .

Those that served Kings and Princes were allowed Ornaments and Apparel which the Common and Ordinary sort of People could neither claim nor merit ; and therefore that greatest Lord of the Earth , and Master of Humility made an honourable mention of them when he concluded that they who were n n Matt. 11 ▪ vers. 8. molliter vestiti and did wear soft Cloathing were in Kings Houses , and the Emperour o o Edict . Theodosii . l. 4. Cod. Theodosius above 300 and 30 years after our Saviour Chirst had left the earth and in an Edict or Proclamation forbidding the use of Silk Raiments to all people of what kind or profession whatsoever , excepts himself and his Servants , and saith solo Principi ejusque Domui dedicatur , that the wearing of such apparel belonged only unto the Prince , and those which attends him in his House .

By the Lex Julia a Law made by Julius Caesar , tenetur tanquam reus laesae Majestatis , qui Legatos , Oratores p p Vlpian . 1. leg . Julia 7. ad leg . Jul. de vi pub . & l. 46. P●tit . 6. Comitesque eorum ( all of them being but the several degrees of the Servants of Majesty ) pulsaverit , ( which in the Language of those Laws and times and some after-ages signified an Arrest or Compulsion as well as an Assault or beating ) vel Injuria affecerit , he should be guilty of high Treason , which should Arrest , Beat or wrong any Embassadors or Agents , or any of the Soveraigns Attendants or Assistants .

The divers great and Honorable Offices and Imployments in the Houses of the Western and Eastern Emperors , as the q q Pancirollus in Notitia utriusque Imper. Comites sacri Palatii , Comites sacrorum largitionum , Magister Officiorum cum multis aliis , &c. Earls of the Sacred Palace , Earls or great Officers of the Privy Purse , Lord Steward of the Houshold , Lord Chamberlain , &c. May perswade us to more then an opinion of the necessary Respects and Honours due unto them in the Exercise of their Offices and Places about their Soveraign .

The Guards of the Royal Palace of the Emperours of the West and East , Privilegium retinebant , r r Pancirollus in Notitia utriusq ▪ Imper. cap. 51. had a Priviledge not to be Cited or Convened before any but their own Captains and Commanders .

The Fabricences s s Ibid. ca. 66. or such as furnished the Magazines with armour nulli oneri Civitatis erant obnoxii were freed from publike Offices .

The Comes t t Ibid. ca. 89. Domesticorum Equitum & Peditum , Earl or Commander of the Horse and Foot-Guard was the Protector Domesticorum , Defender of the houshold Servants , defunctorum quoque Parentum Domesticorum filii locum subibant ; etsi ob teneram aetatem armis apti non erant , nihilominus Protectorum matriculis inscripti quaternas Annonas id est victum quatuor hominum accipiebant , and the Sons of those Domestick Guards were to enjoy their places after their Fathers decease , And if they were so young as not to be fit for it , were notwithstanding to be entered into the Protectors Books or Registers , and to have a proportion of diet or allowance fit for to feed them .

Claudius Augustus Caesar u u Dion . l. 60. punished a Tribune of the people ( then ( though not so much as formerly ) a mighty Officer , Darling and Favourite of them ) for beating of one of his Servants .

The w w Pancirol . in Notitia utriusque Imperii , c. 90 ▪ Primicerius or Chief of the Emperours Bed-chamber , and all other of the Bed-chamber were Exempted from the Tax of finding Horse or Souldiers or of giving Bail in any Action or Suite before the Magister Officiorum or Principal Officer in the Court , so styled not unlike saith the Learned x x Cujacius Comment. ad l. 10. Cod. Justiniani , 1425. Cujacius to the Prevost de l' Hostell in France , Et qui absunt Reipublicae causâ vacationem habent , such as are Imployed about the Publike are to be Priviledged .

To the Praefecto Praetorii y y Pancirol . in Notitia utriusque Imperii . cap. 7 . 5● . Orientis , who was as it were the Captain of the Emperours Guard there were saith Pancirollus in His Court or Tribunal one hundred Advocates allowed qui Clarissimi & spectabilis titulo gaudebant , who enjoyed the Title of Noble and Illustrious , and had great Immunities as from Publike works , &c.

The Emperours Gratian , z z Cuj●cius Comment. ad l. 10. Cod. Justin. 1425. Valentinian and Theodosius about the year of Christ 380 Ordained that the Earls and Masters of Requests should be exempted from all other Publike charges a a Cujacius Comment. & expositio ad Novel tit . 63 and upon Complaints , that in their Progress , their Servants received or took too much of the People , did Ordain that when the Emperours went in Progress & sacros vultus inhiantibus fortè populis inferentes , should bless the people with their Presence , their Servants and Attendants , nè quid accipiant Immodicum , should not be unreasonable or Immoderate in it , the right use of which Ancient Custome or manner of the Oblations or gratifications of Subjects Inhabiting in any great Town or City , when our Kings of England passed by or thorough them , being probably derived or come unto us from this or the like Laudable Observances of Rights and Dues to Majesty , in return of Gratitudes to their Prince , His Followers or Attendants for procuring or putting him in minde to come that way , and give them the well-come opportunity of receiving new Graces or Favours or making acknowledgements for many formerly bestowed upon them by him or his Progenitors .

By a Rescript or Constitution of the Emperours c c Cujacius ad l 12. Cod. Justin. tit. 5. Theodosius and Valentinianus about the year of our Lord 386 aeternâ lege , as they there term it , by a Law for ever or unalterable Omnes cubicularii , All the Chamberlains or Bed-chamber-men , Except some of greater Eminencie therein mentioned , were to be freed from Pourveyance and Cart-taking & à sordidis muneribus from all Publike and Inferior Offices not concerning the Immediate Service of the Prince and their Houses in the City from the Harbingers , upon great Penalties unto such as should molest them therein ; and the reason thereof is therein given nè sordidis astricti muneribus decus ministerii quòd militando videbantur adepti otii tempore & quietis amittant , to the end that the Dignity and quality of their Places which they obtained by their Services should not be lost in the times of rest and quiet , and , d d Lib. 1. C. Praeb . Tyr. & l. 3. inf . de Castrens . Inter Cubiculares amongst those which attended the Royal-chambers , sunt qui sacrae vesti deputati sunt those which belong to the Royal Robes & primicerii sacri Cubiculi id est qui primum locum gradumque obtinent inter Cubicularios and the Primicerii or Chief of the Bed-chamber , ( probably the Gentlemen of the Bed-chamber ) were comprehended amongst them .

The Emperour Leo e e Cujacius in Comment. ad l. 12. Cod. Justin. 155● . about the year of our Lord 460 in a Rescript Johanni Comiti & Magistro Officiorum the Great Master of His Houshold , ordained that Cubicularios tam sacri Cubiculi sui quam venerabilis Augustae quos utrosque certum est obsequiis occupatos & Aulae penetraliis inhaerentes diversa Judicia obire non posse ab observatione aliorum Tribunalium liberati essent , their Chamberlains or Bed-chamber-men , as also those of the Empress or Imployed in any of their Services and the affairs of the Court who could not attend divers Tribunals should be exempted from the Obedience of them ut in sublimitatis solummodò tuae Judicio propositas adversus se excipiunt actiones to the end that they might upon occasion be only summoned to his Honourable Tribunal ; and the like Priviledge saith Cuiacius was thereby also allowed unto those , qui sacrae vesti deputati fuerunt , which belonged to the Royal Wardrobe .

The Emperour Zeno f f Cujacius Comment ad l. 10. Cod. Justin. 1545. about the year of our Lord 480 Decreed that the Senatours or other Honourable Persons should not be obliged to give Bail to any Action , and illustre habent privilegium ut de eorum Criminibus nemo cognoscat inconsulto Principe . That the Nobility should not be tryed in any Actions Criminal without the Licence of the Prince first obtained ( as is now done in England by the Kings especial Commission granted to a Lord or one of the Nobility to be as a Lord High-steward for such a Tryal or Purpose . )

And a Servant to another once entertained in the Emperours Service , being otherwise restrained became instantly a Freeman and might make his last Will and Testament , and the reason given h h Cujac●us in Comment. ad lib. 12. Cod. Justin. tit. 5. quod hoc privilegium videatur principale esse proprium Majestatis ut non Famulorum sicut privatae Conditionis homines sed liberorum honestis utatur obsequiis periniquum est eos duntaxat pati fortunae deterioris incommoda , that it was a Principle or Property of Majesty , that the Emperours Servants should be in a better Condition then the Servants of Private-men , and it would be unjust that his Servants should be in as bad a Condition as those of the Common-people .

The Servants of the Emperours i i L. fin . c. ●bi Senat. vel Clariss ▪ Matheas de Judiciis disput. 4 ▪ num. 36. & Vizzanius de mandatis ▪ Principum cap. 5.162 . & 163. house did enjoy a Priviledge , ut à solo principe vel ab eo cui is per sacros Apices injunxisset judicabantur , that they should be Judged by the Prince himself or one Authorized by His Commission .

By a Law or Rescript of the aforesaid Emperour k k Cujacius Comment. ad lib. 12. God . Justin. Tom. 3. tit. 16. Zeno it was Ordained that nè ad diversa tracti viri devoti silentiarii judicia , sacris abstrahi videantur obsequiis eos qui quemlibet devotissimorum silentiariorum Scholae ( Company or Regiment ) Civilitèr vel etiam Criminalitèr pulsare maluerint , minimè eum ex cujuslibet alterius judicio nisi ex judicio tantummodo viri Excellentissimi Magistri Officiorum conveniri , to the end none of the Emperours guards in the Palace and at the Court Gates ( then called Silentiarii probably from their care and watchfulness ) should be drawn or hindred from their Duty and Services , that those which had any Action or Cause of Complaint against them either Civilly or Criminally should not compel them to come before any Judge whatsoever , but the Lord Steward , or Chamberlain of the Emperor's Houshold .

By the Salicque Laws , or of the Francks the Ancestors of our Neighbors the French , who then ( though now they find it not to be so ) thought themselves to l l Constitutiones Pharamu●di in Goldastus tit. 1 de maniere Tom. 3. et ultimo , Et Lind●nbrogi●● in Lege Salica tit 1. Constitutiones ab Imp. Frederic. 1 & 2. Et Lindenbrogius in Prolegomen . be as free as their name signified made by Pharamond their first King toto caetu populi , by the good liking of all that people assembled at Saltzburgh in Franconia in Germany in the year of our Redeemer 424. Qui in Jussione Regis fuerit occupatus , he which was in the Kings Service by his Command ( and so are all the Kings Servants rationally intended to be ) manniri non potest , was not to be cited or summoned to appear in any Court of Justice , which other men were not to disobey under very great pecuniary Mulcts , and was a Constitution so acceptable to the people as Charlemain long after in his Confirmation of that , and the Laws of the Ribuarians and some other Nations declares them to be non ex sua adinventione sed Communi Consilio et prout cunctis placuit prudentioribus Regni , not of his own Invention or framing but by Common assent or good liking of the most prudent and wise men of his Kingdome .

By the Laws of the Wisigoths , ( from whence the Spaniards do so boast to have been descended , as when they would signifie one most nobly descended , they do usually say he is Ne de los Godos , he is the Son of a Goth ) where it was expresly provided that the Testimony m m L. L. Wisigoth . lib. 20. tit de testibus et testimoniis 4. Spelman . glossa . in voce Palatina et Con. to . 2. 1045. Roderic Santius part . 1. Hist. Hispa . Casp. Ba●● . tr . de inop . deb . cap. 16. n. 44. of Servants should not be allowed in Criminal Matters there was an exception for the better sort of the Kings Servants .

King Ina who Raigned here over the West Saxons about the year of our Redeemer 712 amongst his Laws Suasu Heddae et Erkinwaldi Episcoporum suorum , omnium Senatorum et natu majorum , Sapientum populi sui in magna servorum dei frequentia , by the advice of Hedda and Erkenwald his Bishops , all his Senators , Elders , and wise men of his people and Commonalty attended by many of the Clergy , did ordain several degrees of Mulct or punishment , for breach of peace in Towns according to the qualities of the owners or Lords thereof , videlicet in oppido Regis vel Episcopi pacis violatae paena 120 solidorum , in n n L. L. Inae cap. 46. oppido Senatoris seu Ealdormannes ruptae pacis 80 solidorum in oppido Cyninges Thegnes seu ministri Regis 60 solidorum , et in oppido custodis pagant cujuscunque predia possidentis pacis tributae multa 35 solidorum censeatur , that is to say , In every Town of the King or a Bishop for breach of the peace 120 shillings , in the Town of a Senator or Alderman 80 shillings , in a Town of a Servant of the Kings 60 shillings , and in the Town of the Bayliffe or Reeve of any other man having Lands 35 shillings .

Charles the great , or Charlemain Emperor of the West , and King of France , who began his raign in the year 768 and after him the Emperor Lodovicus , by his goodness and Piety sirnamed Pius , or the Godly , o o Johannis Tilii Cem. de rebus Gallicis lib. 2.183 . tit. de Officiis domesticis Regum . considering that in viros animosos plus honoris posse quam opum remunerationem , that to men of Courage and Spirit , Honor was more in esteem then Riches , edicto mandaverunt ut ipsis in tota ditione sua honor haberetur , did by their Edicts which in those more obedient times when Subjects were not so Critical ( as too many of us now are ) in their Princes Commands , by a Torture of farre fetched or Irrational Interpretations put upon their ( just Authority in order to the Weal-Publick ) provide that in all their Dominions an Honour and respect should be given to their Domesticks or Servants .

And therefore Antiquity and the Learned Bignonius were not guilty of any Error when they adjudged that Dignitas Domestici , the Dignity of the Kings Houshold Servants , fuit non contemne●da was not to be contemned , but was greatly honoured under the Raigns of the first and second Kings of France , and about the Raign of Clodoveus or Lodovicus the 12th . King of the first Race of the Kings of France , who Raigned about the year of p p Bignonii notae ad veter formul 514. et L L. Ripuar tit. 90. our Lord and Saviour 648. Inter praecipuos Regni ministros saepe enumerantur Comites Consiliarii Domestici et Majores Domûs &c. Amongst the principal of whom were reckoned the Lord Steward , Earls , Counsellors of Estate , Chancellor , and Chamberlane , the most Honourable and great men of the Kingdome , who did sometimes in the Court attend the King , in the hearing and determining of Causes , and were with those great Officers of the Houshold accounted to be de Honestate palatii seu specialiter ornamento q q Hinckmarus Ep. 3. cap. 22. Biggonii notae ad lib. 1. Marcu●fi formul . Regali , a part of the Honor of the Kings Palace or Court , and an Ornament to the Royal Dignity , and the Domesticks , and Servants of that great and vertuous Charlemain had that respect given unto them which a just consideration of the Honor of their Soveraign , and concernment of the Weal-publique in his business or affairs had procured for them as Solebant subditi r r Bignonii notae ●n Marculfum 446. non modo re●ipere missos et legatos Principis Comites Duces et etiam ministros verum et viaticum eis pro unius cujusque dignitate praestare , the people did use not only to receive the Kings , or Princes , Earls , Dukes , and their Attendants but to give them Entertainment according to their several degrees or qualities , it having been ordained s s Capit. Car. ma● . 1. in li. 3. cap. 39. by him ut de missis suis vel de caeteris propter utilitatem suam Iter agentibus nullus mansionem eis contradicere praesumat , that no man should presume to deny lodging and entertainment unto any imployed in his service .

King Alfred or Alured t t Foedus Aluredi et Guthr●n in Lamberts Saxon Laws ca. 36. who began his Raign here about the year of our Lord 870 and had resident in his house the Sonns of many of his Nobility which did attend him , did in that time of the more incult and fierce behaviour of the old English and Saxons and their Neighborhood with their Enemies , the usurping Danes take care in the League or peace which he was constrained to make with King Guthrun the Dane , to provide that in case of a Minister Regis incusatus as the Version or Translation renders it , any Servant of the Kings accused for Homicide , Et id Juris in omni lite , and the same Law to be in every other Action or Suit , there should be a Jury of 12 of the Kings Servants ; or if the party grieved should be the Servant of another King , non nihil inferior , not much inferior to the Kings , probably intended of King Guthruns , it should be tryed by undecim sui equales unumque Ministrum Regium by eleven of his Peers or Equals , and one of the Kings Servants added unto them .

And it was then accompted such an honor to serve the King as our Learned Selden u u Selden tit . Honor. 621. informs us , he that that had a House with a Bell , a Porters Lodge , and was fit to be sent on his Princes Message , or had a distinct Office in the Kings Court , was accompted ( in those early daies ) as a Thainus or Nobilis , a person or Honor.

King Edward w w L. L. Edwardi Confessoris ca. 21. the Confessor whose Laws the vanquished English after the Conquest took to be so much a blessing as they hid them for preservation under the high Altar at Westminster , and by the importunity of their prayers and tears , procured King William the Conqueror to confirm and restore them , did ordain that the Earls and Barons , Et omnes qui habuerint sacham et socam , Theam et Infangthiefe etiam milites suos et proprios servientes scilicet dapiferos pincernas Camerarios pistores et Cocos sub suo friburgo habeant , et si cui foris facerent et Clamor vicinorum de eis assurgeret ipsi tenerent eos rectitudini in Curia sua , And all those who had Courts Leete , or Baron amongst their Tenants , a priviledge granted by the King to have a Jurisdiction over their Tenants , and to fine or Amerce such as failed to make good their Actions , try and punish Theeves , taken in their Mannors , or Liberties , to have Villains and Bond-men and a propriety in their Villains , Lands , or Goods , and to have subject to their Mannors those that held of them by Knight-Service , or were to attend them in the Warrs , and their Domestique Servants , as Sewers , Butlers , Chamberlains , Bakers , and Cooks should upon any wrong done to their Neighbors , or Complaint made of them , see right to be done unto them in their Courts , and certainly he that gave them those Liberties to hear and determine Complaints against any of their Menials , and Servants cannot rationally be supposed to be willing or intend to abridge himself of the like .

William the Conqueror in his Law , entituled de hominum Regis privilegio of the x x L. L Gulielmi Conquest . ca. 2. priviledge belonging to his Tenants , ordained , That si qui male fecerint hominibus illius Ballivae et de hoc sit attinctus per Justitiam Regis ( which for a great part thereof was then administred in his House or Palace ) foris factura sit dupla illius quam alius quispiam foris fecerit . That if any one should do wrong unto them and be thereof Convict by the Kings Justice , the forfeiture of the Offender should be double to what should be paid upon the like offence unto any other , who being afterwards known by the name of Tenants in antient Demeasne were so exempt from being retorned as Jury men either at Assizes or Sessions , y y Mich. 26. E. 1. in Banco Ebor. Rot. 268. as where they were so retorned in the 26 year of the Raign of King Edward the first , they did recover every man forty shillings damage against the Bayliffe that retorned them .

Et Domus z z L. L. Henrici primi ca. 80. Et in libro rigro de necesar●is observantiis Scaccarii in Thesauro recepte Scaccarii fol. 27. cap. 25 et Sir Henry Spelman glossar in voce Barones Sc●ccarii . Regis , and the House of the King saith King Henry the first in his Laws , is where he is Resident Cujuscunque feudum vel Mansio sit , whose ever the Land or the House be , and that wise King who for his wisdome had the Character or name of Beauclerk as an Affix to his Royal Title , did not then take it to be derogatory to the beloved Laws of Edward the Confessor or his grand design of pleasing a lately discontended and subdued people or setling the English Crown unjustly detained from his elder Brother Robert upon himself and his posterity , to allow the Exchequer Priviledges quód de Scaccario residentes , Clerici et omnes alii ministri ibidem ministrantes sive enim de Clero sint sive Regia Curia assident ex mandato ad alias quaslibet causas extra scaccarium sub quibuscunque Judicibus non evocenter . That the Officers of the Exchequer ( which was then kept in the Kings House or Palace , and many of them and the Clerks thereof as Sir Henry Spelman saith his menial and domestick Servants ) Clerks and all other the Ministers there whether belonging to the Clergy or the Kings Court , or which do sit there by his Command , shall not be cited or compelled to appear for any causes whatsoever out of the Exchequer , or before any Judges or Judge , Etquod iidem de Communibus Assises sect . Comitat. hundred . et Cur. quibuscunque tam de et pro dominiis suis , quam de et pro feodis suis Ac etiam de Murdris scutagiis vigiliis et Danegeld .

And that they should be freed and exempted from common Assizes , suit of County Courts , hundred Courts , or any Courts whatsoever as well for or concerning their Demesn Lands , as for their Fees , or Lands which they held of others , ( which would otherwise after two years have made a forfeiture , and could not have been dispensed withal ) Murders , Escuage , Watch and ward , and Danegeld ( publique Taxes which were not but by special favour to have been acquitted ) Et quod Barones et qui ad Scaccarium resident de quibuscunque provision . seu provisoribus et aliis solutionibus nomine consuetudinis pro quibuscunque victual . suae domus in quibuscunque urbibus Castellis et locis Maritimis empt . Ac de solutione Theoloniae sive Toluet liberi et quieti esse debent , and that the Barons and those which reside in the Exchequer should not be charged with the payment of Toll in any City or place , Et quod non debent implacitari alibi quam in Scaccario quamdiu idem Scaccarium fuerit apertum , and that they should not be impleaded any where but in the Exchequer , when it shall be open ( which is not only all the Term times , but eight daies before every Term. )

Si vero judex sub quo litigant sine sit Ecclesiasticus sive forensis legis hujus ignarus ab jam dicta die convocationis ad Scaccarium citaverit quemlibet eorum et absentem forte per sententiam possessione sua vel quonius Jure spolaverit authoritate principis et ratione sessionis revocabitur in eum statum causa ipsius in quo erat ante citationem . But if the Judge whether Ecclesiastical or of the Common Law being ignorant of the opening of the Exchequer should cite any of them , and in their absence give sentence against him and take away from any of them any of their Rights or Possessions , by vertue of the Kings Authority and their sitting the Cause ( or sentence ) shall be forthwith revoked and reduced into the State it was before the Citation . And were so greatly favoured and taken care of as si quilibet etiam magnus in regno in consulto animi calore conviciis lascesserit , If any great man of the Kingdome should rashly or in anger revile any of them , he was to pay a fine for it ; or if any other should reproach or doe them any wrong they should be punished , and when that King had been ill advised and perswaded to charge the Lands of the Barons of the Exchequer with the payment of Taxes in regard that they , as was by some envious persons then alleag'd , did receive Salaries and Wages or Liveries or diet at the Court for their sitting , and that some of them , pro officio suo fundos habent et fructus eorum hinc ergo gravis jactura fisco provenit , having Lands and Revenues given them also for it which was a great loss to the Kings Treasury or Exchequer , But the King afterward experimenting that evil Counsel , and growing weary of it , et nil ducens Jacturam modici aeris respectu magni honoris , and not valuing the loss of a little mony , so much as the loss of a great Honour , ordained that Jure perpetuo , by a constant Law and decree they should as formerly be free from Taxes and in his Laws for the good of the Kingdome declaring his Kingly Rights and Prerogative , which he solus et super omnes homines , habet in terra sua as King of England had and was to enjoy and above all men in his Kingdome commodo pacis et securitatis institutione retenta , reserving a fit provision for the publique peace and security did amongst many of his Royal Prerogatives mention de famulis suis ubicunque occisis vel Injuriatis the punishment of such as any where should slay or injure any of his Houshold Servants in any place whatsoever : a a L L. Henrici primi ●a . 10. Et qui in Domo vel familia regis pugnabit , such as should fight in the Kings House .

And limiting the extent of the Jurisdiction of the Marshall of his Houshold , declared it in these words , nam longe debet esse pax Regis a porta sua ubi residens erit , the peace of the King ought to extend a great way from the gate ( of his House ) where he shall be resident ( not much unlike that of the 12 miles circuit of the Verge now and for many ages past allowed ) and gave the reason of it , multis sane b b L L. Henrici primi ca. 16. respectus esse debet ac multa diligentia ne quis pacem Regis infringat maxime in ejus vicinia , for that there ought to be a more than ordinary respect had thereunto , and much diligence used that none should break the Kings peace , more especially so near his House , which must of necessity and by all the rules of Reason and Interpretation of Laws , and the meaning of the Law-giver be only understood to referre unto the peace and quiet of his own House and Servants , and not unto the Kings care of the publique and universal peace of the Kingdome which was not be streightned or pend up in so narrow a room or compass , when as many of his other Laws did at the same time provide for the universal peace and this only aimed at the particular peace and tranquillity of himself and his Family .

Nor can it appear to have been any intention of that foresighted and considerate Prince , that any Sheriffes or Bayliffs should upon all occasions , false or malitious or trivial suggestions presume to Arrest and hale from his Palace or Service any of the necessary Attendants upon his Person Majesty and Honour , or be the sawcy and irreverent Infringers of their peace which by that Law Intituled , De pace Curiae Regis , the peace of the Kings Court or Palace he took so great a care to preserve .

At the Parliament of Clarindon holden by King Henry the Second in Anno Dom. 1164. When that Prince's troublesome Raign was afflicted with the Rebellion of his Sons , and Domineering of a Powerful Clergy , backt by the Papal power and Insolency , it was not thought to be either unreasonable , or illegal , when Excommunications which the lofty Clergy of those times were not willing to have clipped or limited , and the Thunderbolts fear or fury thereof , did farre exceed any effect or consequence of an utlary , to ordain That , c c Chronic Gervasii D●robernensis . 1386 et 1387. Nec aliquis Dominicorum Ministrorum Regis excommunicetur , nec terrae alicujus eorum sub Interdicto ponantur nisi prius Dominus Rex , si in terra fuerit , Conveniatur , That none of the Kings Servants or Officers be excommunicated , or their Lands interdicted , untill the King if he be in the Kingdome be first Attended . And the reason of this Law , was saith Sir Edward Cook for that the Tenures by grand Serjeanty , and Knights d d Sir Edward Coke 2 part institutes 6●1 . service in Capite were for the Honour and defence of the Realm ; and concerning those that served the King in his Houshold , their continual Service and attendance of the King was necessary .

And Glanvil who was Lord Chief Justice of England , and wrote in the Raign of King Henry the second , or of King Richard the first , of the antient Laws and Customs of England , if that Book as some have thought were not written rather in his name then by him , howsoever it is ancient and allowed both here and in Scotland to be very Authentick , saith e e Glanvil lib. 1. c. 27. that Per servitium Domini Regis ration●biliter essoniare potest , et cum in Curia probatur hoc essonium et admittitur , remanebit loquela sine die donec constiterit ●um ab illo servitio domini Regis rediisse .

Vnde hi qui assidue sunt in servitio f f Spelman Glossar . in voce Essoin . Domini Regis , Cui necessitates omnes forenses cedunt , ( to which all other businesses or occasions saith the Learned Spelman in his gloss upon Essoines are to give place ) ut Servientes ipsius hoc Essonio non gaudebunt .

Ergo circa eorum personas observabitur solitus cursus Curiae et Juris ordo . That a Defendant or Tenant being in the service of the King may rationally be essoyned or for that time be excused , and when the Essoyne or excuse is proved in Court and admitted , the Action or plea shall be without day , and suspended untill it shall happen that he be retorned out of the Kings Service , but those that be in the Kings daily Service as his ordinary Servants are not to be allowed such an Essoyne or excuse , therefore as to their persons the accustomed course of the Court and order of Law is to be observed , but doth not declare what that solitus Curfus Curiae et juris ordo , that accustomed course and order of Law in case of the Kings Servants in ordinary then was . Or whether their priviledge was not so great and notorious as not to need any Essoine .

Yet as the Law then was , saith , that where sometimes both the Plaintiffe and the Defendant did not appear , but made default , g g Ibidem ca. 33. tunc in Domini Regis voluntate vel ejus Justitiariorum , erit si voluerint , versus utrumque contemptum Curiae vel falsum clamorem prosequi , then it shall be in the good pleasure of the King or his Judges if they will prosecute either against the Defendant for his Contempt , or against the Plantiffe for his not Prosecution .

By which again the King was at his liberty to protect or priviledge his Servant in ordinary if the Law had not allowed them any such priviledge , as well as to grant his Writ directed to the Judges ad h h Ibid cap 8. warrantizandum to allow or receive an Essoine for one that was in servitio Regis in his Service , recited by Glanvil with an Ideo vobis mando quod pro absentia sua illius diei non ponatis in defaltam , nec in aliquo sit perdens , therefore I command ( our Kings not then in their mandates , writs , or Patents speaking in the plural number , as we and us &c. ) You that you enter not a default against the Defendant or Tenant for his absence , or not appearing at the day appointed , and that he be not damnified thereby .

And in that Kings Raign and the beginning of the Raign of King Richard the first , whilst Chief Justice Glanvil attending his Court and Justice his Warrs in the Holy Land , died at Acon , and in all those foregoing times and ages it was not probable that any Inroads should be made upon that antient just and rational priviledge of the Kings Domestiques or other Servants in ordinary , for that some of the Stewards and great Officers of the Kings most honourable Houshold , who had under their several Kings the protection as well as Government of the Servants in ordinary of the Royal Family , as Prince Henry the eldest Son of King Henry the second and William Longchampe in the first year of the Raign of King Richard the first , Lord Chancellour of England , were whilst they held their several other places in the Kings Courts , successively Lord Chief Justices of England , and attended in the Kings Court.

And it i i Glanvil . l. 10. cap. 1 et 16. appeareth by Glanvil , that Actions or Summons , or Attachments of Debt , and other process were then not infrequently directed to the Sheriffe of the County where the Defendant dwelt , made retornable , coram me , i.e. Domino Rege vel Justitiis meis , i.e. Justitiis suis before the King or his Justices , in the abstract k k Idem lib. 6. cap. 8. apud Westmonasterium at Westminster , i.e. The Kings House or Palace , the Court of Justice therein kept being called Capitalis Curia Domini Regis , l l Idem lib. 2. ca. 2.14 . et 18. the Kings chief Court where those Justices or Judges then sate , and where the great Assize or Writs of Assize in pleas of Land happily succeeding in the place of the turbulent fierce and over-powring way of duels , or waging of battels for the determination of pretended Rights were tryed , Juries impanelled , and a Fine passed and Recorded before the Bishops of Ely and Norwich , and m m Idem lib. 8. cap. 3 et 5. Ralph de Glanvile our Learned Author , Justitiis Domini Regis et aliis fidelibus et familiaribus Domini Regis ibi tunc presentibus , the Kings Justices and other of his Subjects and Houshold , Idem lib 12. cap. 22. lib. 13. cap. 33. Assizes of novel desseisin and prohibitions to Ecclesiastical Courts awarded .

And was so unlikely to permit any Breach of his Servants just priviledges as he did about the 24th . year of his Raign , not only confirm all his Exchequer Servants , Dignities and priviledges used and allowed in the Raign of King Henry the first his Grandfather , but although Warrs and many great troubles assaulted him , did when he laid an Escuage of a Mark upon every Knights Fee whereby to pay his hired Soldiers not at all charge his Exchequer Servants , for that as the black Book of Exchequer that antient Remembrancer of the Exchequer priviledges , informs us Mavult enim n n In libro Nigro Scaccarii cap. 25. Princeps stipendiarios quam Domesticos Bellicis apponere casibus , for the King had rather expose his hired men of Warre to the inconveniences thereof , then his Domestique or Houshold Servants , and being as willing as his Grandfather to free them from being cited or troubled before his delegated or Commissionated Courts of Justice or Tribunals , would in all probability be more unwilling that those which more neerly and constantly attended upon his person , health or safety should by any suits of Law be as to their persons or estates molested or diverted from it , nor could there be howsoever any danger of arresting the Kings Servants in ordinary without leave or Licence first obtained in the after-Raigns of King Richard the first and King John when Hubert Walter Archbishop of o o Dugdales origines Ju●id . Canterbury and Chancellor of England in the 6th . year of the Raign of King John was likewise Lord Chief Justice of England .

And the now chief Courts of the Kingdome as the Chancery , Kings-Bench , Common-Pleas , and Exchequer , were radically and essentially in the King ; and in the distribution of Justice of the said Kings and their Royal Predecessors resided in their Council and great Officers in their Courts attending upon their Persons .

For many of the Suits and Actions at the Common Law , and even those of the Court of Common p p Magn. Ch. 9. H. 3. ca. 11 Pleas untill the ninth year of the Reign of King Henry the third when it was by Act of Parliament forbidden to follow the Kings Court , but to be held in loco certo a place certain , in regard that the King and his Court were unwilling any more to be troubled with the Common Pleas , or Actions betwixt private persons which were not the Kings Servants were there prosecuted .

And untill those times it cannot be less then a great probability that all the Trades-mens debts which were demanded of Courtiers and the Kings Servants were without Arrests or Imprisonments to be prosecuted and determined in the Court before the Steward and the Chamberlain of the Kings House ; and that the King who was so willing was so willing to ease his Subjects in their Common Pleas , or Actions , by freeing them from so chargeable an attendance which the prosecution of them would commonly if not necessarily require , did not thereby intend that they should have a Liberty without leave , or Licence first obtained to molest any of his Servants in ordinary in their Duty or Attendance upon his Royal person and Affairs by prosecuting , Arresting , imprisoning , or compelling to appear before other Judges , or Tribunals , any of his Servants in ordinary .

Who in those times may well be thought to enjoy a freedom from Arrests or Imprisonment of their Bodies , untill leave or Licence first obtained ▪ when Hugo de Patishul Treasurer unto King Henry the third in the nineteenth year of his Raign , Philip Lovel in the 34th . g g Sir Henry Spelman Catalogo Capital Justic. Angliae 835. year of the Raign of that King , and John Mansel Keeper of the great Seal of England , in the 40th . year of that Kings Raign were , whilst they held their several other places , successively Lord Chief Justices of England .

When the Court of Chancery being in the absence of Parliaments next under our Kings the Supreme Court for the order and distribution of Justice , the Court of the Kings Bench appointed to hear and determine Criminal matters , Actions of Trespass and Pleas of the Crown , and the Court of Exchequer , matters and Causes touching the King's Revenue , were so much after the 9th . year of the Raign of King Henry the third , and the dispensing with the Court of Common Pleas from following the person of our Kings to their several Houses or Palaces , or as their Affairs invited them ; to be sometimes Itinerant , or resident in several other parts of the Kingdom did follow the King and were kept in their Houses , or Palaces , notwithstanding that when like the Sun in his Circuit distributing their Rayes and Comforts to all the parts of the Kingdome by turns , they were according to their occasion of busines sometimes at York or Carlile , in the North ; and at other times for their pleasures or divertisements kept their Courts or festivals at Glocester or Nottingham , and their Parliaments sometimes at Marlebridge in Wiltshire , or Ruthland in Wales , or at Glocester or Lincoln .

For it may be evidenced by the Retorn or days given in Writs , and antient Fines levied before the Justices of the h h Dugdales origines Juridiciales ca. 33.93 . Court of Common Pleas at Westminster after the allowance or favour given to that Court not to be ambulatory , and to the people not to be at so great trouble or charges , as would be required to follow the King and his Court in a throng of Followers and other business , for the obtaining of Justice in their suits or Actions as well small or often emerging , as great and seldome happening , ( the days of old also affirming it ) that the Kings Palace at Westminster in the great Hall , where the Court of Common Pleas hath ever since dwelt , some places thereunto adjoyning ; retaining at this day the Name of the Old Palace , did not cease to be the Palace or Mansion House of our Kings i i Stows Survey of Lond. and Westm. 840 , 887 & 888. of England , untill that King Henry the 8th . by the fall of the pompous Cardinal Woolsey , the building of St. Jame's House , and inclosing the now Park thereof with a brick wall , made White-Hall to be his House , or Palace , but kept the name as well as business of the Palace or Mansion House of our Kings of England ; And the Courts of Chancery , King's Bench and Exchequer did after the fixation of the Common Pleas or Actions of the people to a certain place in the Kings Palace at Westminster , being then his more settled and constant habitation and Residence for his not a few Servants and Followers , so much follow the King and his Court and were kept in the Kings House or palace as in old time King Solomon in his Stately Porch of k k 1 Reg. 7.7 . Judgment built in his House did judge and hear Causes , and as the Kings of l l Johannes Tilius Comment. de rebus Gall. France did long ago in their Palaces , and as long before the Romans had their Senate or Parliament House , their Forum or place for their Courts of Justice near adjoyning to their Kings Palaces . m m Alexander ab Alexandro Geni●l dierum lib. 1. cap. 16.

As our Bracton in the latter n n Cokes 4th . part Insti●tutes 71. end of the Raign of King Henry the third , called the Court of King's Bench , as Sir Edward Coke saith Aulam Regiam the Kings Hall , because the Judges of that Court did sit in the Kings Hall , and the Placita Aulae Actions or Pleas of the Kings House or Hall were determined before the Steward of the Kings House .

And that King , who began his Raign in the year 1216 , labouring under great difficulties , the power of many of his unruly Barons and very great necessities as well of mony as friends had ( notwithstanding the many Diminutions endeavoured of his Prerogative and regality ) no assault or incursions upon the Rights and Legal Priviledges of his Domestiques or House-hold Servants ; but had allowed him that Reverence and respect which by the Civil Law ) that universal Guide or Director of Reason and Justice and ( next to the Laws Eternal , and its Deputy or Law of nature written in the heart of Mankind ) the Mother , Nurse or Parent , of a great part of that which is called our Common Law ) is and ought to be due and payable to the persons and Courts of Princes , but enjoyed so much of it as o o Lord Chancellor El'esmeer in his Speech or argument concerning the post● nati Bracton , who was a Learned Lawyer and afterwards a Judge , and as some have believed a Chief Justice in the latter end of that Kings Raign , or the beginning of the Raign of King Edward the first , his Son in his Book De legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae , of the Laws and Customs of England , whilst he disputes where a Defendant excuseth his not appearing to an Action , when he is in Servitio Regis in the Kings Service , and whether being summoned before he was in the Kings Service and might send or p p Bracton l● . 5 de Essoniis cap. 2.337 . de Exceptienibus 439. cap. 31. et 444 ca. 33. make his Attorney , should be excused , is willing to conclude in the negative , yet forbeares to do it with a sed ita esset but so it would be , si quis posset factum Domini Regis Judicare et in omnibus istis casibus magis erit spectanda voluntas Domini Regis quam jus strictum cum servitium Domini Regis nulli debeat esse damnosum , et sicut non debet esse tenenti ( when it seems the Action spoken of concerned plea of Land ) Damnosum , ita non debet esse Petenti injuriosum , if any were to be Judg of the Kings Actions , and that in all those Cases the will of the King was more to be regarded than the strictness of the Law when as the service of the King ought not to be grievous unto any : And as it ought not to be a grievance unto the Tenant , so ought not the Plaintiffe to take it to be a wrong done unto him : And was of opinion that the solemnity and course of process may be sometimes shortned propter reverentiam personae vel privilegium contra quem illata fuit injuria vel contra nobiles personas , ut si Injuriatum sit Domino regi vel reginae vel eorum liberis fratribus sororibus , &c. For reverence or respect to the person or in regard of the priviledge due unto him unto whom the wrong is done as if it were done to noble Persons or some wrong done unto the King , the Queen , or their Children , Brothers , Sisters , &c.

And when he would not allow the priviledge or Essoine of being in the Kings Service unto a Sheriffe or Constable who were the Kings Officers during the time of their imployments , was content to do it , ubi aligua causa emergat necessaria ex inopinato ubi praesentia talis debet esse necessaria sicut iter Justitiariorum vel incursus hostium vel hujusmodi , quae guidem Causae sufficientes sunt ad excusationem de servitio domini regis , where there was any emergent and expected Cause where their presence was necessary as to attend in the Iter or Circuit of the Judges or upon an Invasion of Enemies or the like : which were causes sufficient of excuse by reason of the Kings Service , dum tamen ad quemlibet diem datum per Essoniatorem de servitio Domini regis habeat Essoniatus warrantum suum per breve Domini Regis , so as at the day of Essoin that he or they were in the Kings Service the Kings writ ( or protection ) be produced to prove q q Bracton tract. 2 lib. 5. de Essoniis ca. 2. it . Item excusatur quis si implacitatus fuerit in Curia Domini Regis vel vocatus ad Curiam Regis ob aliquam Causam in aliquibus Curiis inferioribus , likewise any one impleaded in the Kings Court , or called or summoned to the Kings Court upon any Cause or occasion shall be excused in inferior Courts . Sed quid but what saith that Learned Judge dicendum erit de Curia Christianitatis cum magis obediendum sit Deo quam hominibus ? Hoc dico quod ad hunc differendum erit , et quod dominus Rex warrantizare poterit ob reverentiam quae principi debetur , shall be said if the Cause be depending in the Court Christian when God is more to be obeyed than men ? I say that in such a Case it is to be left unto God , and the King may warrant his so doing in respect of the Reverence which is due to the Prince .

Being not much different from the Cares which some Forraign Princes did about that time hold fit to be taken of their Domestique Honors and Servants .

For by the Laws of the Sicilians r r Constit. Siculorum in Lindenbrogio tit. 37. lib. 1. and Neapolitans made or confirmed by Frederick the Emperor about the year 1221 the Magister Justiciarius magnae Curiae , Chief Justice of the King's House or Court had the Cognizance or hearing of Causes , de questionibus nostrorum Curialium qui immediatè nobis assistunt de speciali conscientia nostra in curia commorantium , qui de Curia nostra sine speciali mandato nostro non possunt recedere , or questions concerning any of the Kings Courts who do immediately attend us , and by our privity are residing in Court and cannot depart without our special Licence .

Et observent s s Constit. Siculorum in Lindenbrogio lib 3. tit. 33. diligentissime Judices ut in occasione injuriarum Curialium personarum dignitatem considerent , et juxta personarum qualitatem eorum quibus fuerit facta injuria ; ipsis autem facta injuria non ipsis duntaxat , sed etiam ad Regiae dignitatis spectat offensam , The Judges are to take an especial care that in all accusations concerning any of the Kings Servants or Courtiers they take into consideration their worth , dignity , and quality , seeing that a wrong done unto them is an injury or wrong done unto the Dignity of the Prince .

And when our t t Bracton tr. 2 lib. 5. de Essoniis ca. 2. Bracton will not allow the priviledge where it is ex voluntaria causa when the party that would excuse his absence was voluntarily absent and not in the Kings service , or will of his own accord without the Kings command go along with his Army ; yet he cannot but say that talibus non subvenit dominus nisi de gratia unto such the King would not be aiding unless he should be otherwise gratiously pleased to do it .

By an Act of Parliament made u u Cook 4th . part institut . in the 52 year of the Raign of our King Henry the third , all Archbishops , Bishops , Abbots , Priors , Earls , Barons and religious men and women ( except that their appearance be specially required for some other Causes ) are excused from appearing at the Sheriffs Turn , ( Sir Edward Cook w w cap. 53.260 . et cap. 54.261.262 . extending it to the Courts Leete and view of Franck-pledge ) which with the Sheriffs Turns were instituted for the Conservation of the Kings peace , punishment of Nusances , and where all men within the Jurisdiction of it might be summoned to take the Oath of Allegiance .

By an Act of Parliament made x x 3 Ed. 1. ca. 24. in the third year of the Raign of King Edward the first providing a remedy where an Officer of the Kings ( which by common intendment were then understood to be the Sheriffs Escheators or Bayliffs of the King , not his menial Servants ) doth disseise any , It is in that only case left to the Election of the Disseisee , or party disseised whether that the King by office shall cause it to be amended ( which the parties grieved were more likely to choose when besides their just satisfaction they might be a means to punish or affright the Kings Officers so offending with the losse of their gainful , as well as not smally reputed Offices or places ) at his complaint , or that he will sue at the Common Law by writ of novel disseisin .

And by another act of parliament made in the same year , enjoyning severe penalties against the Kings Purveyors not paying for what they take ; and of such as take part of the Kings debts , or other rewards of the Kings Creditors to make payment of the same debts ; and of such as take Horses and Carts more than need ( a trick wherein Tacitus , saith y y Tacitus in vita Agricolae . the Roman Cart-takers whilst the Romans governed here were wont to abuse the old Britains ) and take rewards to dismisse them : it was provided that if any of Court so do , he shall be grievously punished by the z z 3 E. 1. cap. 31. Marshalls , and if it be done out of the Court , or by one that is not of the Court , and be thereof attainted , he shall pay treble damages , and shall remain in the Kings prison forty dayes : by which it is evident that the intention of that Act of Parliament was not to deliver any of the Purveyors , the Kings Servants in ordinary , to any other Tribunals than that of the Marshals or other the Officers of his Houshold .

Britton who like the Emperor Justinians Tribonianus in compiling or putting together the pieces of the Civil Laws , did by Command of that wise and Valiant Prince King Edward the first in the fifth year of his Raign , write his book in the name of that King concerning divers Pleas , Process , and proceedings in the Kings Courts , saith in the Person of that King and French of those times , Countes et Barons Dedans nostre verge ( the Kings Palace , or 12 miles round about ) trovesnequedent estre destreint , that Earls Barons found within the virge should not be attached or distrained , as ordinary men which were Debtors , a a Britton tit . dette . 69. sect ▪ 241. Et nos Serjeans ( or Servants ) de nostre hostel soient avant summons pour dette que destreyntz et attaches par leur cors les uns pour reverence de lour persones et les Autres pour reverence de nostre service , of our House shall be summoned for debt before they be destreyned , or Attached by their bodies , the one in reverence and respect to their persons , and the other in reverence to our Service .

By an Act of Parliament made by that prudent Prince about that time entituled , Prohibitio formata de Statuto Articuli Cleri , where b b Prohibiti● formata de Statut. Artic Cleri v●t . Mag. Charta Coke 2. part institutes of the Laws of England 600 Register 36. Bri●ton 356. a prohibition was framed against certain matters which concerned the Clergy and the limitting of their Jurisdiction . It was declared , tha● , Proceres et magnates et alii de eodem regno temporibus Regis predecessor●m Regum Angliae seu Regis Authoritate alicujus non consueuerunt contra consuetudinem illam super hujusmodi rebus ( i. e. ) matters Civil or Temporal , ( except matters of Testaments or Matrimony , ) in causa trahi vel compelli ad comparendum coram quocunquè Judice Ecclesiastico , the Noble men and others of the Kingdome , in the times of the Kings Predecessors , or by Authority of any of the Kings , did not use contrary to the said custome in such cases to be compelled to appear before any Ecclesiastical Judg whatsoever .

In the 18th . year of his Raign , c c Mich. 18. E. 1. Norf. Rot. 46. in an Action brought at the Kings Suit , in Banco Regis , in the Kings Bench against Robert the Son of William de Glanville and Reginald the Clark of the said William de Glanville for delivering at Norwich a panel and certain of the Kings Writs , which the Kings Coroner ought to have Brought , the said Reginald demurring for that Dominus Rex motu proprio de hujusmodi Imiuriis privatis personis illatis sectam habere non debet , ex quo aliena actio sibi competere non potest : unde petit Judicium . et si hoc non sufficiat , dicet aliud ; et si actio in hujusmodi caesu Domino Regi posset competere , dicit quod hoc deberet esse per breve originale et non de judicio , unde petit Judicium , the King was not to bring an Action for injuries done to private persons , and is not concerned in another mans suit , and demanded the judgment of the Court. And if that Plea will not be sufficient will plead somewhat else , And if such an Action did belong to the King it ought to have been by Writ Original , and not by a Writ Judicial , whereof he pray'd the Judgment of the Court ▪ but Johannes de Bosco who followed for the King , dicit quod quelibet injuria ministris Regiis licet minimis , illata vertitur in dedecus ipsius Regis ; Et licèt hujusmodi minister Justitiam assequi de injur . sibi illat . contempsit , tamen cum hujusmodi Injuria ministris Regis illata ipsi Regi fuit ostensa competit sibi actio ad amend . consequend . de contemptu pleaded that every wrong or injury done to the Kings Servants ▪ though it be unto the least , is a disparagement to the King . And if such a Servant will not take care to prosecute such an injury , yet when the King shall be informed thereof , he is concerned to punish the Contempt , and vouched a late President for it in a Case betwixt Robert of Benhale and Robert Baygnar and others in a Writ of wast , and prayed Judgment for the King .

In the same year John de Waleis d d Ryleys pla. Parliament . 18. E. 1.22 . sect. 15. complaining against Bogo de Clare for that some of his Servants , when he came to the House of the said Bogo in London , and serued him with a Citation in the name of the Archbishop of Canterbury , enforced him to eat the Seal and Citation , and the said Bogo de Clare pleading that he ought not to answer , because it was not alledged that he was the doer thereof , nor that his Servants did it by his Command , nor were they named , it was in that Record and pleading adjudged , that although the Fact was committed by the Servants of the said Bogo , yet quia Dominus Rex pred . Transgressionem sic enormiter factam , ut dicitur , tum propter contemptum Sanctae ecclesie tum propter contemptum ipsi domino Regi in presentia sua , videlicet infra virgam et in Parliamento suo factum , propter malum exemplum temporibus futuris tum propter audaciam delinquendi sic de cetero aliis reprimendam permittere non vult impunitam , in regard that the King would not suffer so foul an offence not only in contempt of the Church and of the King in his presence , that is to say , within the virge and in time of Parliament , but for the boldness of the offence and the evil example in time to come to pass unpunished , the said Bogo de Clare should answer the Fact at the Kings suit for that the offence was committed infra portam suam et per manupastos et familiares suos , within , the house of the said Bogo and by his Houshold Servants , some of whom being named the said Bogo was commanded to bring them before the King and his Councel , to abide by what should be ordered and decreed against them .

By the Statute or Act e e 28. E. 1. ● . ● . of Parlimaent made in the 28th . year of that Kings Raign , the King and Parliament may be understood not to intend that the Kings Purveyors or Servants of that nature should be tryed or punished for divers offences therein mentioned before other Tribunals than that of the great Officers of his Houshold , and therefore ordained that for those Offences they should only be tryed and punished by the Steward and Treasurer of the Kings Houshold , nor when by an Act of Parliament , made in the same year and Parliament , of what matters the Steward and Marshall of the Kings Houshold should hold Plea , 28 E. ca. 3. their Jurisdictions were confined to Trespasses only done within the Kings House , and of other Trespasses done within the Virge , and of Contracts and Covenants made by one of the House with another of the same House and in the same House , and none other where . And whereas before that time the Coroners of the Counties were not authorized to inquire of Felonies done within the Virge , but the Coroners of the Kings House which never continueth in one place , whereby the Felonies could not be put in exigent , nor Tryal had in due manner . It was ordained that in case of the death of men , it should be commanded to the Coroner of the County that he with the Coroners of the Kings House should do , as belongeth to his Office , and enroll it ; and that the things which cannot be determined before the Steward of the Kings House , where the Felons cannot be Attached , or for other like cause should be remitted to the Common Law , the King and Parliament can be rightly supposed thereby to intend that the Kings Domestiques or Houshold Servants should for Controversies amongst themselves of the nature before recited be compelled to attend or be subject to any other Jurisdiction , when a Coroner of the Kings House was long before appointed to prevent it : and it appeareth by that Act of Parliament it self , that the matters therein mentioned were not to be remitted to the Common Law , but where they could not be determined before the Steward of the Kings House . The care and provision of which Act of Parliament to keep the cognisance of the Causes and Actions therein mentioned within the Jurisdiction of the Steward and Treasurer of the Kings House , did neither abrogate any of the former Rights and Liberties of the King or his Servants , nor by any reasonable construction or interpretation can be understood either to abolish and take them away , or to intend to give a liberty to Arrest without licence any of the Kiags Servants in ordinary .

And f f 28. E. 1. c. 4. an Act of Parliament being made in the same year , that Common Pleas or Actions should not be holden in the Exchequer ( which was then kept in his Palace ) did by a Writ under the great seal of England directed unto the Treasurer and Barons of the Exchequer , reciting that secundùm legem et consuetudines Regni , according to the Law and customes of the Kingdom , Common Pleas ought not there to be g g Register 187. B. pleaded , doth specially except nisi placita illa nos vel aliquem ministrorum nostrorum scaccarii specialiter tangant , such Actions as did not especially concern him or any of his Ministers or Servants belonging unto his Exchequer , and commanded an Action of debt for five pounds brought against one of thc Exchequer to be superseded and no further prosecuted , and that the said Treasurer and Barons should on the Kings behalf declare to the Plaintiffe , quod breve nostrum de debito sibi impetret , si sibi viderit expedire , that he should if he thought it expedient sue forth the Kings writ for the debt aforesaid , which can import no less then a license preceding the obtaining of it , and untill such Actions were to the large and very great benefit of the Subjects in a cheap and ordinary course to be obtained which in the morning and infancy of our common and municipal Laws were wont to be petitioned for , and be not a little costly dilatory and troublesome , as they which have made use of a friend to the King or a Master of Requests , or Secretary of State may easily be perswaded to believe , amounted to a greater trouble , delay , and expense of the Plaintiffs , than now they are put unto , to get leave of the Lord Chamberlain of the Kings House to Arrest any of the Kings Servants : and that prudent Prince did certainly by that Act of Parliament touching the Exchequer not holding Common Pleas as little intend , as did his Father King Henry the third , by that Act that Common Pleas should not follow his Court , that his Servants in ordinary should without leave or licence first obteyned be constreyned to neglect their Service and attendance , and appear before other Tribunals .

For there is an antient Writ saith Sir Edward Coke , to be found in the Register of Writs called de non residentia Clerici Regis , of the non-residence of the Kings Clerk or Chaplain , or attending in some Office in the Chancery directed to h h Cokes 2 par. institut. 624. Artic. Cleri . ca. 8. Register . 58.6 . F. N. B. 44. G. the Bishop of the Diocess in these words , Cum Clerici nostri ad faciend ▪ in beneficiis suis residentiam personalem ( which was for the cure of Souls being the highest concernment , and greater then that of appearing to an Action of debt or other Action ) dum in nostris immorantur obsequii● compelli aut aliàs super hoc molestari seu inquietari non debeant , nosque ac progenitores nostri quondam Reges Angliae hujusmodi libertate et privilegio pro Clericis nostris a tempore quo non extat memoria semper hactenus usi sumus , vobis mandamus quod dilectum Clericum nostrum A parsonam Ecclesiae de B. vestrae dioces . qui in Caencellaria nostra nostris jugiter intendit obsequiis , ad personalem residentiam in beneficio suo predicto faciendam , dum in obsequiis nostris Immoretur nullatenus compellatis , et sequestrum ( a penalty upon non residents too much disused or neglected ) si quod in fructibus aut aliis bonis Ecclesiae suae predictae ea occasione per vos aut vestrum fuerit appositum , sine dilatione relaxari faciatis , whereas our Clerks ought not to be compelled to a personal residence in their benifices nor molested therein , whilst they are implyed in our Affairs or attendance , and that we and our progenitors Kings of England from the time to which the memory of man doth not extend , have alwaies hitherto used and enjoyed that liberty and priviledge , we command you that you do no waies enforce A our well beloved Clark Parson of the Church of B. in your Diocess to a personal residence therein , whilst he is imployed in our affairs in our Chancery . And that , if by reason thereof you have sequestred any of the profits or goods of his said Church , you doe without delay discharge or release the same .

In the 33th . and 34th . Mich. 33. et 34. E. 1. cor●m . Rege . ro. 71. year of the aforesaid Kings Raign William de Brewse a great and powerful Baron of England being indicted in the Kings Bench for using contumelious and reproachful words to Roger de Hengham one of the Judges ( who are but as the Kings Ministers or special Servants in his dispensation and Administration of Justice ) for giving Judgment against him and he pleading to the k k Coke 2 part institutes . ca. 208 230. said Indictment quòd non intellexit in hoc Domino Regi aut Curiae suae se aliquem Contemptum fecisse , that he did not understand that it was any contempt or Jnjury done by him to the King or Court , sed si videatur Domino Regi et ejus Consilio quòd ipse in hoc in aliquo deliquit , ipse se inde totaliter submittit voluntati Domini Regis , &c. But if it should appear that he had therein offended he did wholly submit himself to the Kings good pleasure quibus praemiss●s postea coram domino Rege & ejus consilio visis et diligenter examinatis et plenarie intellectis , all which matters and premises being afterwards considered , diligently examined , and fully understood , Quia manifestè patet tam pro hoc quòd praefatus Gulielmus post redditionem Judicii praedicti contemptibiliter Barram ascendit & prefatum Rogerum Justic. Domini Regis de Judicio per ipsum pronunciat . reprehendit , et postea eidem Roger. eunti , &c. Verbis acerbioribus et grossioribus insultavit ; for that it plainly appeared that the said William after the said Judgment given by the said Roger , contemptuously came to the Bar , and did reprehend the said Justice for the Judgment aforesaid pronounced against him , and afterwards followed the said Roger as he was going from the said Court , and reviled him with grosse and bitter words . Quae expressè redundabant tam in dedecus praedicti Justic. quám in Contempt . Cur. Dom. Regis et inobedientiam ; Quae quidem , viz. Contemptus et inobedientia tam ministris ipsius Domini Regis quám sibi ipsi aut Cur. suae facta ipsi Regi valde sunt odiosa , which did expresly redound as well to the reproach of the said Judge , as a disobedience to the King and a Contempt of his Court : which contempt and disobedience as well to the Ministers of the King as to himself or his Court are greatly displeasing . Et hoc expresse apparuit .

Cum idem Dominus Rex filium suum primogenitum et Charissimum Edwardum Principem Walliae pro eo quòd quaedam verba grossa et acerba cuidam ministro suo dixerat ab hospitio suo ferè per dimidium Anni amovit , nec ipsum filium suum in conspectu suo venire permisit quousquè dicto ministro de predictâ transgressione satisfecerat . And this saith the Record expresly appeared , when the King did for almost half a year banish from his Court , and presence his dearly beloved Son , Edward Prince of Wales , for that he had given some foul words to one of his Ministers or Servants that attended him , which as Sir Edward Coke saith l l Cokes third parts institutes 142. tit . misprision . was the Treasurer of England who was so much misused by the instigation of Pierce Gaveston , and would not suffer him to come in his sight untill he had given his said servant or minister satisfaction . Et quia sicut honor et reverentia , quae ministris ipsius Regis ratione Officii sui fiant , ipsi Regi attribuuntur , sic dedecus ministris suis factum eidem domino Regi infertur , And in regard that any honor or reverence done to the Kings Ministers or Servants , are attributed or taken as done to the King , so any reproach done unto his Servants or Ministers , are such as done to the King himself . Et videatur quòd praedictus Gulielmus in praemissis tam ipsi Domino Regi et Curiae suae quàm praefat. Justic. suo contempt . fecit , Et dedecus manifestum . And that it was evident that the said William had behaved himself contemptuously as well towards the King and his said Court as to the said Judge , Concordatum est et consideratum per ipsum Dominum Regem et consilium suum , it was by the King and his Councel ( which by the Tenour and Title of the Records of the Court of Kings Bench , in the Reigns of King Edward the first Edward the second and Edward the third , Videlicet Placita coram Rege & Consilio suo , Were the Judges of the Kings Bench , and are not as some have mistaken it , to be at all understood to signifie the Parliament the Kings Greater Councel and Court ) ordained and ordered , that the said William de Brewse should without his Sword goe bareheaded , a Banco ipsius Domini Regis ubi placita tenentur in Aulà Westmonaster . per medium Aulae praedictae cum Curia plena fuerit usque ad Scaccarium et ibidem veniam petat a prefat. Rogero et gratum sibi faciat de dedecore et transgressione sibi fact . Et postea pro contemptu facto Domino Regi et Curiae suae Committatur Turri ibid. moraturus ad voluntatem Domini Regis , from the Kings Bench in Westminster Hall through the middle of the Hall aforesaid , when the Court was full unto the Exchequer , and there aske pardon of the said Roger of the wrong and injury done unto him , and after for the contempt done to the King and his Court be committed to the Tower , there to remain during the Kings pleasure .

And about that time limited the vast and heretofore more extensive power of the chief Justice of England then so stiled to the placita only coram Domino Rege tenenda assignata ( as the Letters Patents or Commissions of the other Judges of the Court of Kings Bench are to this day ) to such matters as properly concerned Criminal matters , the Crown and Dignity thereof and the peace of the Kingdome the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster being the only true and proper Jurisdiction Commissionated to hear the Common-Pleas and Actions for Lands , and reall and personal Estate or Civill matters concerning and between Subjects one with another , where the contracts , or matters complained , were not made or done in the Kings House or Palace , or Virge thereof , by the Kings Servants within the same House to be heard and determined coram Rege ubicunque fuerit in Angliâ , before the King wheresoever he should be in England .

And there was so much care taken by King Edward the second , and his Councill of such as were in his Service , or imployed in his Affairs as when in the ninth year of his Raign , It was enquired or debated in Parliament in what case the Kings Letters should be sent to discharge an Excommunicate person , the King decreed , as the words of that Law or Act of Parliament do witnesse , that , hereafter no such Letters should be suffered to go forth but in case where it is found that the Kings Liberty is prejudiced by the Excommunications ( which in those times were the fulmina or most terrilbe Thunderbolts and Terrors of the English Clergy . )

And it being in the same Parliament m m 9 E. 2. ca. 8. complained of that the Barons of the Exchequer claiming by their priviledge that they ought to make answer unto no Complaynant out of the same place did extend their priviledge unto Clerks abiding there called unto orders or unto residence and inhibit ordinaries that by no means or for any cause so long as they be in the Exchequer or in the Kings Service they should not call them to accompt , the answer was made by the King , it pleaseth our Lord the King that such Clerks as attend in his Service if they offend shall be correct by their Ordinaries ( which was a protection and priviledge as greatly contenting them as the Kings protection or any priviledge of that nature ) Like as other , but so long as they are occupied about the Exchequer they shall not be bound to keep residence in their Churches .

With this Addition ( saith the transcriber of that Act of Parliament ) of new by the Kings Councill ( which if understood of the Kings Privy Councill was without doubt ratified and approved by the Parliament that greater Council ) viz. The King and his Ancestors time out of mind have used that Clerks imployed in his service during such time as they are in service shall not be compelled to keep residence in their Benefices .

And such things as be thought necessary for the King and the Common-wealth ought not to be prejudicial to the liberty of the Church , where we have in and by a Parliament which was alwaies intended as it ought to be a collected wisdome and care of the Nation , a clear exposition of those words of Bracton , quòd servitium domini Regis nulli debet esse damnosum nec debet esse tenenti and of Fleta nulli debet esse damnosum nec injuriosum ; the service of the King or any thing done in consequence thereof ought not to be esteemed a wrong or Injury to the Subjects .

The like priviledge ( for many Nations doe in their Laws and Constitutions not seldome follow the light of reason in the observation of Neighbours good Examples ) n n Tilli Comment de rebus Gallicis lib. 2. cap. de . Officiis Domesticis Regum . having not above six years before been allowed by Philip surnamed the fair King of France to the Chaplains and Clerks of the Kings and Queens of France .

o o Selden dissertatione ad Fletam 454. Fleta , who as our great and excellently learned Selden saith was an Anonymus or Author without a name but a Lawyer and as is by some supposed to have been at the time of the writing of his book a Prisoner in the Fleet , and therefore gave it the name of Fleta by the mention of certain Statutes made in the 13th . year of the Raign of King Edward the first as also of the Statutes made at Winchester and Westminster , and a record in the 17th . year of the Raign of that King , is beleeved to have written his book in the latter end of the Raign of King Edward the second or the beginning of the Raign of King Edward the third , saith that by a Statute made at Glocester in the sixth year of the Raign of King Edward the first , if a Defendant were essoyned of the Kings p p 6 E. 1. Stat. Glou. ca. 8. service and do not bring his warrant at the day given him by his Essoyne he shall recompence the Plaintiffe for his Journy 20 s. or more after the discretion of the Justices and shall be grievously amerced to the King , which alloweth that if the Kings warrant be brought that the Defendant is in the Kings Service ( that Statute not mentioning whether in ordinary q q Fleta lib. 2. cap. 1. or Domestique Service or extraordinary , ) such a Warrant should be received and held good , the rule of Law being that , exceptio firmat regulam in casibus non exceptis , Cases not excepted are alwaies within the protection and meaning of that Law which doth not except them , and declares it to be then the Law , that a man may be excused r r Fleta lib. 6. cap. 54. in a Court of Justice , quod Clameum non apposuerit per servitium Regis quod nulli debet esse damnosum dum tamen docuerit quod venire non potuit , ut si occupatus fuit per Custodiam Castri vel alio modo in servitio suo detentus et impeditus ; that he did not enter his Claim to land within a year and a day , by reason of the Kings service , which ought not to be prejudicial to any body , so as he doe make it appear that he could not come , as if he were imployed in the Custody of a Castle or any other way hindered by the Kings Service .

In the Chapter or discourse de Exceptionibus coram senescallo & Marescallo Regis of the Exceptions of a Defendant to be used or taken in an Action brought or commenced before the Steward or Marshall of the King hath these words , Item dicere s s Fleta lib. 2. cap. 61. poterit quod non est obligatus ad districtionem senescalli , likewise he may say that he is not obliged or bound to obey the process or command of the Steward in the Bond taken for the payment of the money by a Clause inserted ( which was then not unusual as it appears by his next precedent Chapter ) that the Debtor should be obliged upon non-payment to appear or have the Action or matter determined before the Kings Steward or Marshall , and etsi non obligetur ad districtionem senescalli , hoc sibi prodesse non debet , though he be not obliged specially in the Bond or obligation to the process or power of the Steward , that will not availe the Defendant eò quod est de hospitio Regis et in servitio suo continuo et quo casu respondebit vel indefensus remanebit et pro convicto habebitur quia per servitium Regis essoniari poterit alibi ubique in infinitum , for that he is of the Kings Houshold and continually in his service , and in that case must answer , or not defending himself will be convicted , when as he might otherwise in any other Court or Place have Essoined or excused himself as often as he pleased , et servitium Regis nulli debet esse damnosum nec t t Fleta lib. 6 ca 7. injuriosum ( being the very words of Bracton beforementioned ) and the Kings Service ought not to be a wrong or damage unto any .

And is notwithstanding of opinion that a defendant may be by his Essoin excused , ex causâ necessariâ et utili aut causâ reipublicae , for a necessary cause or occasion , and where the good of the Commonwealth is concerned ( as surely it must be understood not to be in the safety , well being , and daily attendance upon the Person of the King as much or very neer the instance or case by him there put ) Si eat cum Rege in exercitu , if he go in the Army with the King ( as all King Davids Servants did when he marched against his rebellious Son Absolom , and as most or very many of the Servants of Kings and Princes do use to be ) ad patriae defensionem cùm ad hoc teneatur vel per praeceptum Regis , when he goeth with the King to War for the defence of his Countrey being obleiged thereunto by the Tenure of his Lands , or the Kings Commandement .

And having said , that Pleas of Debt do belong unto the Court of Common Pleas ; concludes , Sunt tamen t t Fleta . lib. 2 ca. 61. causae speciales quae alibi terminantur ex permissione Principis per querelam coram senescallo Aulae & ut in Scaccario cum causa fuerit Regi necessaria , videlicet , ne Ministri sui de Scaccario ab obsequio suo continuo quicquam impediantur ; There are notwithstanding some Causes , which by the leave or good pleasure of the Prince are by Plaint to be determined before the Steward of the Houshold , as also in the Exchequer , when it shall concern the King , that his Officers or Servants be not in their Business hindred .

So as then , and for some time after , it was not likely that any Inroads should be made upon that just and rational Priviledge of the Kings Servants : For , howsoever that even in those more frugal and thrifty days , some of the Kings Menial and Houshold Servants might not then be so beforehand , as it is now termed , or so far from being indebted , but that some Moneys or Debts might be demanded of them , or there might be some occasion of Complaints or Actions to be brought against them .

Yet there appears not any probability or foundation for it , that the Liberties and Priviledges of the Kings Servants were for many years after the twenty eighth year of the Reign of King Edward the First , which limited all Actions before the Steward and Marshal of the Kings House , to such Contracts and Actions only as were or should be made betwixt one of the Kings Servants , with any other of his Servants , disturbed or unsecured , or that the Kings Servants were for many years after molested or troubled with the severe and disgraceful way of Imprisonments now used , when the Chancellors and the Justices of the Kings Bench were by an Act of Parliament in the same year enjoyned (u) (u) Articuli super Chartas , c. 5. Spel. Gloss. to attend the King and his Court , and to be there à latere tanquam famulantes , always neer him , and as Domestiques , saith the Learned Sir Henry Spelman ; so that as the words of that Statute are , the King might have at all times neer unto him some that be learned in the Laws , which be able duely to order all such matters as shall come unto the Court , at all times when need shall require : Which the Chancellor , and in all l●kelihood the Chief Justice did not neglect ; for , saith Sir Henry Spelman , Such Causes as nulli constitutorum Tribunalium rite competerent ad Palatium seu oraculum Regni , were not limited to the determination or judgment of other Tribunals , came to the Kings Palace , as to the Oracle of the Kingdom ; and yet then the King was not without his more than one Attorneys or Procurators , who were men learned in the Law .

And King Edward the third was so unwilling that his Servants should be drawn before other Tribunals , as by a Statute made in the fifth year of his Reign , where it was ordained , (w) (w) 5 E. 3. ca. 2. That in Inquests to be taken in the Kings House , before the Steward and Marshal , that they should be taken by men of the County thereabouts ( to avoid , it may be , partiality ) and not by men of the Kings House , there is an Exception of Contracts , Covenants , and Trespasses made by men of the Kings House of the one part and the other , and that in the same House .

And the Chancellors of England were in former times so , or for the most part Resident in the Kings Court , and accounted as a part of his Family , as until the making of the Act of Parliament in the 36 year of the Reign of King Edward the Third , which did restrain the Pourveyance to the Kings and Queens Houses only , and did forbid it to be made (x) (x) 36 E. 3. c. 2.7 . 7 E. 3. Rot. Parl. 1 part . m. 1● . & 2 part. 7 E. 3. m. 4. Ordin . Cancellar. 12 R. 2. for other Lords and Ladies of the Realm , the King did use to send his Writs to the Sheriffs of the Counties where they had occasion to make any Pourveyance for the Chancellor , his Officers and Clerks , some whereof , as their Clerici de primâ formâ , now called the Masters of Cbancery , were ad Robas , had and yet have an yearly allowance for their Robes or Liveries , commanding them to be assistant to their Pourveyors , the Chancery Clerks being in the 18th year of that Kings Reign so accompted to be a part of his Servants and Family , as a (y) (y) Rot. Parl. 18 E. 3. m. 41. Complaint or Petition being exhibited in Parliament by all the Clerks of the Chancery , That whereas the Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of England ought to have cognisance of all Pleas and Trespasses done unto or by any of the Clerks of the Chancery , Thomas de Kislingbury Draper of London had forged ( the best word they would then bestow upon a Writ or Action not commenced as it ought to be by Original Writ issuing out of the Chancery ) a Bill of Trespass against Gilbert de Chishull one of the Clerks of the Chancery , whereby to take away from the King and his Chancellor the Cognisance of the said Action , which belonged unto them , contre Common Ley de la Terre , against the Common Law of the Land , did by a Serjeant of the Mace in London arrest and imprison him in the House of John de Aylesham one of the Sheriffs of London ; and although the King sent a Supersedeas , commanding the Plaintiff to surcease his prosecution there , and that he prosecute the said Gilbert de Chyshull in Chancery , if he have any cause of Action against him ; the Sheriffs of London , contrary to the Common Law of the Land , and in despite of the King , refused to obey it .

The Parliament acknowledging the aforesaid Rights and Customs of the said Clerks of the Chancery , and the contempt of the King , did ordain , Que breif soit mandez a Maior de Londres , de attacher les divz Viscontes , & autres quont este parties & maintenours de la guerele dont ceste bille fait mention per le Corps destre devant le Roy en sa dite Chancellerie a certein jour , a respondre aussibien du contempt fait a nostre Seigneur le Roy & ses mandements , & prejudice de son Chanceller come al dit Clerk des damages & trespas faites a lui ; That a Writ should be awarded and directed to the Mayor of London , to arrest by their Bodies the said Sheriffs of London , and others which were parties and maintainers of the said evil action , to answer before the King in his Chancery at a certain day , as well for the contempt done to the King and his Commands , and prejudice of his Chancellor , as also to the said Clerk for his damages and wrong sustained .

And that King , by a Statute made in the 36 year of his Reign , forbidding under severe penalties any (z) (z) 36 E. 3. c. 3. Pourveyance to be made but for the King and Queen and their Houses , and to take any such Pourveyance without ready Money , there is a pain or penalty to be imposed ( as Sir Edward Coke upon view of the Record thereof hath observed ) upon the Steward , Treasurer , and Controller , Cokes 3 part institut . and other Officers of the Kings Houshold , for not executing that Statute ; which need not to have been , if the cognisance of the Offences therein mentioned had not by that Act been thought fit to have been left unto them .

And was so far from being perswaded to release the constant Attendance of the Justices of the Kings Bench , as when the Commons in Parliament in the 38th year of his Reign Petitioned him , That the Kings Bench might remain in some certain Place , and not be (a) (a) Rot. Parl. 38 E. 3. m. 12. removed , he answered in the negative , That he would not do so .

And where the Court Marshal was so anciently constituted for the Placita Aulae sive Regis Palatii , for Pleas , Actions , and Controversies concerning the Servants of the Royal Family , when any should happen to arise amongst them , and retained in the Kings House and Attendance , and the Court of Common Pleas was designed and delegated to do Justice unto all the Common People , in Real and Civil Actions , in certo loco , a certain place assigned in the Kings House or Palace ( for then , and long after , until our Kings of England made Whitehall their Palace or Residence , it is probable that the Bars , Benches , and Tribunals of the Courts of Chancery , Kings Bench , Common Pleas , Exchequer , and other Courts since inhabiting that great and magnificent Hall of Westminster , were movable , and not so fixt as they now are ) and allowed not to travel with the King and his Court , or to follow it , and the Court of Exchequer to take care of the Royal Revenue in its Income , Receipts , and Disbursments ; It cannot without some affront or violence done to Reason be imagined , that our Kings , who would have that Court of the Marshal to be neerer their Persons than any other of their Courts of Justice always attending and resident for the concernment properly of their Houshold and Servants , and because they should not be inforced from their daily Service to pursue their Rights , or seek for Justice before other Tribunals , should ever intend or be willing that their Servants and necessary Attendants , should as Defendants , and at the suit of Strangers , and such as are not the Kings Servants , be haled to Prison , diverted from their Service , or obstructed in it , when as Justice in the old , more dutiful , and respectful way , might as cheap , and with lesser trouble , be had against them at the Fountain or Spring of Justice , by the King himself , the Alpha or beginning of it , and Omega the Dernier Resort or last Appeal , where his ordinary Courts of Justice fail and cannot do ir . And where some of our late Kings and Queens of England , not to be wanting unto the Cries and Complaints of their People for want of Justice , did afterwards appoint and allow another Court in the Reigns of King Henry the seventh , Henry the eighth , Edward the sixth , Queen Mary , Queen Elizabeth , called and known by the name of Curia Supplicatio●um & Libellorum , the Court of Petitions and Requests , where those that were honoured with the Title and Offices of Judges , and as Commissioners and Masters of Requests , for those particular Causes and Cases , were Bishops or Barons , Lords Stewards of his Houshold , and other Great Officers thereof , Deans of the Chappel , and Doctors of Law and Divinity , were stiled or called Concilium Regis , that Stile or Title , and Masters of Requests , as Synonyma's then signifying one and the same thing : And a Mastership of Requests was so highly esteemed in the seventh year of the Reign of Q. Elizabeth , as there was besides Walter Haddon Doctor of the Laws , and Thomas Seckford Esq a Common Lawyer , the Bishop of Rochester a Master of Requests ; and in the 22. (b) (b) Inter Rec. & Registr. Cur. Requisitionum . 22 Eliz. f. 318. year of her Reign , Sir William Gerrard Knight , Lord Chancellor of Ireland , was , during the time of his being in England , made a Master of Requests Extra-ordinary , and by the Queens Letter of Recommendation to the other Masters of Requests , ordeined to sit amongst them ; and their Decrees were sometimes signed by the King himself , with his Sign Manual : and in the tenth year of King Henry the eighth , divers Bills were exhibited unto Thomas Wolsey Archbishop of York , Chancellor of England , and Cardinal , and Legate a Latere , to granr Process for the Defendents appearance , to answer before his Grace , and others of the Kings most Honourable Council in Whitehall ( but at other times before and since were constrained to appear before that Council by Writ or Process of Privy Seal , or a Messenger of the Kings ) that Court , as it may be observed by the Registers and Records thereof , coming to be called the Court of Requests only about the beginning of the Reign of King Edward the sixth . And such care was taken by King Henry the seventh , to hear and redress the Grievances and Laments of his (b) (b) Inter Record & Registr. Cur. Requisition . & 9 H. 7. Orders and Decrees m●de by King H. 7. People , as in the ninth year of his Reign he assigned and enjoyned them certain months and times diligently to attend unto that business , the greatest Earls and Barons having in those times been made Defendants to several Bills and Petitions , many of the Learned Serjeants of the Law there pleading for their Clients ; and Sir Humphrey Brown Kt. one of the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas , in the sixth year of the Reign of King Edward the sixth , being made a Defendant in this Court , where the Plaintiff after 12 years delays in Chancery , and an Appeal from that Court unto this , obtained a Decree against him , and yet no Pleas and Demurrers are found to be put in against the Legality of this Court in the Reigns of King Henry the seventh , Henry the eighth , Edward the sixth , Queen Mary , and Queen Elizabeth , or since , although Sir Edward Coke (c) (c) Cokes 4. part institut . 97. & 98. being unwilling to allow it to be a Court legally constituted , as not founded by any Prescription or Act of Parliament , hath thrown it under some scruples or objections , with which the former Ages and Wisemen of this Nation thought not fit to trouble their Times and Studies , that Court being not only sometimes imployed in the determining of Cases and Controversies irremedial in the delegated Courts of Justice , out of the Palace Royal , or by the Privy Council ; but concerning the Kings Domesticks or Servants in Ordinary , as may be seen in the 33 year of the Reign of K. Henry the eighth , in the Case of David (d) (d) Inter Record . & Decret. Cur. Supplicat . 33 H. 8.109 Sissel of Witham in the County of Lincoln Plaintiff , against Richard Sissel his Brother Yeoman of the Kings Robes , for certain Lands lying in Stamford in the said County of Lincoln , formerly dismissed by the Kings most Honourable Privy Council , wherein the said David Sissel was enjoyned upon pain of Imprisonment to forbear any clamour further to be made to the Kings Grace touching the Premises . In the second and third years of King Philip and Queen (e) (e) 2 & 3 P. & M. 16. Mary , Sir John Browne Knight , one of the two Principal Secretaries to the King and Queens Majesties , was a Plaintiff in that Court ; and in the thirteenth year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth , Sir James (f) (f) 13 Eliz. 188. Crofts Knight , Comptroller of the Queens Majesties Houshold , against Alexander Scoffeild , for Writings and Evidences in the Defendants Custody . And those great assistants , Lords and Bishops , Commissionated by the King as his Council or Commissioners , did sometimes in that Court , as in the thirtieth year of the Reign of King Henry the eighth , superintend some Causes appealed aswell from the Lord Privy Seal , as the Common Law ; and Sir John Russel Knight , Lord Russel , the same man (g) (g) 13 E. 4. Ret. Parl. or his Father being in an Act of Parliament in the thirteenth year of the Reign of King Edward the Fourth , wherein he , with the Archbishop of Canterbury , and others , were made Feoffees of certain Lands to the use and for performance of the Kings last Will and Testament , stiled Master John Russel his Majesties Keeper of the Privy Seal , was in that Court made a Defendant in (h) (h) Inter Record . & Decret. Cur. Requisition . 30 H. 8. fo. 126. the first year of the Reign of King Edward the sixth , to a Suit , (i) (i) 1 E. 6. fo. 298. Petition , or Bill there depending against him , although he was at that time also that Great and Ancient Officer of State called the Lord Privy Seal ( there having been a Custos Privati Sigilli , a Keeper of the Privy Seal , as early as the later end of King (k) (k) Fleta , li. 2. ca. 13. Edward the first , or King Edward the second , or the beginning of the Reign of King Edward the third , about which time Fleta wrote , nor was it then mentioned as any Novelty or new Office ) the Lord Privy Seal , or Keepers of the Kings Privy Seal having ever since the eighteenth year of the Reign of King Henry the seventh , if not long before , until that fatal Rebellion in the later end of the Reign of that incomparable and pious Prince King Charles the Martyr , successively presided (l) (l) Coke 2. part Institut. 554. and been Chief Judges in that Court , which was not understood to be illegal in the twentieth year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth , when in a Case wherein George Ashby Esq was Complainant , against William Rolfe Defendant , an Injunction being awarded (m) (m) Inter Record . & Decret. ejus●dem temp●ris in Cur. Requisit . 85. against the Defendant , not to prosecute or proceed any further at the Common Law , and disobeyed by the procurement of the said William Rolfe , it was ordered , That Francis Whitney Esq Serjeant at Arms , should apprehend and arrest all and every person which should be found to prosecute the said Defendant contrary to the said Injunction , and commit them to the safe custody of the Warden of the Fleet , there to remain until order be taken for their delivery by her Majesties Council of that Court ; by Authority whereof the said William Rolfe was apprehended , and committed to the Fleet for his Contempts ; but afterwards in further contempt the said William Rolfe's Attorney at the Common Law , prosecuting a Nisi prius before Sir Christopher Wray then Lord Chief Justice of the Queens Bench , against the Complainant in Guildhall London , the said Attorney was then und there presently taken out of the said Court by the said Serjeant at Arms , and committed to the Fleet.

Nor by Sir Henry Mountàgue Knight , Earl of Manchester , who being the Son of a Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench , was in Legibus Angliae enutritus & in praxi legum versatissimus , a great and well-experienced Lawyer , and from his Labour and Care therein ascended to the Honour and Degree of Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench , from thence to that of Lord Treasurer of England , thence to be Lord President of the Kings most Honourable Privy Council , and from thence to be Lord Privy Seal , and for many years after sitting as Supreme Judge and Director of the Court of Requests , in the Reign of King James and King Charles the Martyr , together with the four Masters of Requests , his Assessors and Assistants in that Honourable and necessary Court .

Which Office or Place à Libellis Principis , of Master of Requests , having been long ago in use in the Roman Empire , and those that were honoured therewith with maximorum culmine dignitatum (n) (n) Lib. 1. C. T. de Magist. Scriniorum & lib. 1. C. T. de Comi●ibus Consistor . digni : men accounted worthy of the most honourable nnd eminent Imployments ; and that Office or Place so highly esteemed , as that great and ever famous Lawyer Papinian , who was stiled Juris (o) (o) Vincent . Lupan●s , l. 2. tit . Magistr. Requestarum Asylum , the Sanctuary or Refuge of the Law , did under the Emperor Severus enjoy the said Office , to whom his Scholar or Disciple Vlpian afterwards succeeded , and with our Neighbours the French summo in honore sunt , are very greatly honoured , quibus ab Aulâ Principis abesse non licet , and so necessary , as not at any time to be absent from the Court or Palace of the Prince . The Masters of Requests are and have been with us so much regarded and honoured , as in all Assemblies and Places they precede the Kings Learned Council at Law , and take place of them ; and amongst other Immunities and Priviledges due unto them , and to the Kings Servants , are not to be enforced to undergo or take upon them any other inferior Offices or Places in the Commonwealth .

There being certainly as much , if not a greater Reason , that the King should have a Court of Requests , or Equity and Conscience , where any of his Servants or Petitioners are concerned , as the Lord Mayor of London ( who is but the Kings Subordinate Governour of that City for a year ) should have a Court of Conscience or Requests in the City of London , for his Servants or the Freemen and Citizens thereof .

The Rights and Conveniences of our Kings of England doing Justice to their Domestick or Houshold Servants , within their Royal Palaces or Houses , or the virge thereof , and not remitting them to other Judicatures , together with the Duty and Respects never to be denied to Superiority , in order more especially to Government , being as well to be allowed unto our Kings and Princes , and consistent with right Reason , as it was in the more ancient times of the Empire or Rome , when the Magister (p) (p) Guther . de Offic. Domùs Augustae l. 2. c. 20. & l. 3. c. 28. Officiorum , or Steward of the Emperors House or Palace , cui totius Palatii cura pertinuit , to whom the whole care of their Houshold did appertain , & apud quem tam in Civilibus quàm Criminalibus causis respondere tenentur , and before whom all the Servants of the Houshold were obliged to answer , as well in Causes Civil as Criminal , could do no less then incite and advise them so watchfully to guard the necessary and allowed Priveledges of their Servants , warranted by the dictates of right Reason , and our own Laws , as well as the Laws and Customs of many of our neighbour Nations .

And therefore by an Act of Parliament in the second year of the Reign of King Richard the second , confirmed by another in the twelfth , it was (q) (q) 2 R. 2. c. 5. 12 R. 2. c. 11. ordained , That those that raised horrible and false lies against the Prelates , Dukes , Earls , Barons , great Nobility , and great Men of the Realm , as also of the Chancellor , Treasurer , Clerks of the Privy Seal , Stewards of the Kings House ( being the more special and eminent part of his Domestick Servants , and those that did attend him , and in ancient and more respectful Times and Ages to the Servants and Honour of Princes , did wear no less a Title than Proceres Palatii , Lords or Men of great eminency in the Palaces of Kings and Emperors ) Justices of the one Bench or the other , and other great Officers of the Realm , whereby debates and discords might arise betwixt the said Lords , or the Lords and Commons , should be taken and imprisoned , until they had found him that first moved it ; and if they could not , should be punished by the advice of the Kings Council .

And in the ninth year of his Reign John de Leicester (r) (r) Rot. Claus. 9. R. 2. parte . unicâ m. 35. one of the Clerks of the Chancery being sued in the Court of Common Pleas by the name of John de Sleford of the County of Leicester , for a Debt of 24 l. 16 s. and after his Writ of Priviledge out of the Chancery , which commanded the Justices of the said Court of Common Pleas to surcease any further proceeding in that Action , being constrained to bring his Writ of Error to reverse a Judgment thereupon notwithstanding had against him ; the King , pro eo quòd principale placitum loquelae praedictae ad cognitionem Cancellarii nostri , & nullius alterius , juxta consuetudinem Cancellariae merè pertinet , & ex consequenti ejus accessarium ad eundem Cancellarium pertinere debet , volentes Jurisdictionem , Privilegium , & Consuetudinem hujusmodi , à tam longo tempore obtenta & approbata , Illaesa firmiter observare , in regard that the principal Plea or Suit aforesaid belonged only to the cognisance of his Chancellor , and none other , according to the custom of the Chancery , and that by consequence the cognisance of the Accessary , or any thing concerning the said principal Plea or Suit belonged to the Chancellors determination ; and was willing to preserve the said Jurisdiction , Custom , and Priviledge , for so long a time continued and approved , commanded the Record and Process aforesaid , with all which thereunto appertained , to be sent and certified into the Chancery , that he might do thereupon as to Justice appertaineth .

In the 35 year of the Reign of King Henry the sixth , the Abbot of Westminster having an Action depending in the Court of Common Pleas against one of the Yeomen of the Kings Buttery , and an Essoin being cast and allowed that he was in the Kings Service , (s) (s) 35 H. 6. rot. 503. the King at the day appointed and given by the Essoin , sent his Writ of Privy Seal to the Justices of that Court , to signifie that the Defendant was in his Service before the day given by the Essoin , and at the same day , and every time sithence .

By a Statute made in the third year of the Reign of King (t) (t) 3 H. 7. ca. 4. Henry the seventh , it was declared to be Felony for making Confederacies ( though not brought to effect ) or not so far as to an overt act , our Laws declaring that affectus non punitur ( thoughts and intentions only are not to be punished ) to imagine the death of the King , or of any Lord of this Realm , or any other person sworn to the Kings Council , Steward , Treasurer , or Comptroller of the Kings House , by any of the Kings Houshold Servants ; and ordained , That such Offences should be inquired by 12 sad men of the Cheque Roll of the Kings Houshold , and determined before the Steward , Treasurer , and Comptroller , or any two of them .

Which may evidence the intention of that King , and his greater Council the Parliament , to submit as little as might be such Offences of his Menial Servants unto the Judgment and Determinations of his Court of Kings Bench , which otherwise was , the most proper Court and means for the Trial thereof .

In the Reign of King Henry the eighth , George Ferrers Gentleman , his Servant , and a Member of the House of Commons in Parliament , being arrested and taken in Execution , and Sir Thomas Moyle Knight , then Speaker of the House of Commons , and the Knights and Burgesses in Parliament assembled , sending the Serjeant at Arms attending upon them to the Compter in Breadstreet in London , where the said George Ferrers was detained a Prisoner , to demand him , the Officers of the City and others assaulted and grievously misused him ; of which a Complaint being made to the King , he called before him all the Judges of the Kingdom , declared unto them , That he being Head of the Parliament , and attending in his own Person upon the business thereof , ought in reason to have Priviledge for him and all his Servants attending there upon him ; so as if Mr. Ferrers (u) (u) Cromptons Jurisdiction of Courts , tit . Parliament , 72. had been no Burgess or Member of Parliament , but only his Servant , that in respect thereof he was to have a Priviledge as well as any other . To which all the Judges declaring their assent by Sir Edward Mountague Knight , Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Kings Bench , the Grandfather of the now Earl of Manchester Lord Chamberlain of the Kings Houshold , an Order was made to fine the Sheriffs of London , punish the Riotors , and deliver Mr. Ferrers out of Prison ; but in compassion of the Creditor , an Order was made that he should not lose his Money for which he had taken him in Execution .

And so great a regard was in that Kings Reign had of the Gentlemen of his Privy Chamber , as that great and imperious Favorite Cardinal Wolsey Archbishop of (w) (w) Negotia●ions , or Life of Cardinal Wolsey , written by one of his own Servants , 100 & 101. York , being at Cawood Castle in Yorkshire arrested by the Kings command , by the Earl of Northumberland , attended by Mr. Welch one of the Gentlemen of the Kings Privy Chamber , of High Treason ; and being unwilling to obey the Earls Authority , unless he would shew the Kings Commission for it , which the Earl refused to do , the Contest at the last ended in the Cardinals turning to Mr. Welch , and saying , Well , there is no more to do , I trow you are one of the Kings Privy Chamber , your Name is Mr. Welch ; I am contented to yield unto you , but not unto the Earl without I see his Commission ; for you are a sufficient Commissioner in this behalf , being one of the Kings Privy Chamber .

And in the 21 year of the Reign of that King , such a care was taken to keep not only the Chaplains of the King , Queen , Prince , and Princess , or any of the Kings or Queens Children (x) (x) 21 H. 8. ca. 20. or Sisters ; but of the Lord Chancellor , Lord Treasurer , Chamberlain , Steward , Treasurer , and Comptroller of the Kings Houshold , from any prejudice whilst they attended in their Honourable ▪ Housholds , and exempt them from the Penalty of Ten Pounds a Month whilst they should not be resident at their Benefices , as they did by an especial Exception provide for their Indempnity therein .

And in the same year and Parliament the Chancellor , Treasurer of England , and the Lord President of (y) (y) 21 H. 8. ca. 10. the Kings Council , are said to be attendant upon the Kings most Honourable Person .

And in the 24 year of his Reign , some of his Servants having been impannelled and retorned upon Juries , he signified his dislike of the same unto the Justices of the Courts of Kings Bench and Common Pleas , in these words .

Trusty and Right-well-beloved , We greet you well . Whereas we understand that all manner of your Officers and Clerks of both our Benches be in such wise priviledged by an ancient Custom , that they be always excepted out of all manner of Impannels : We considering that the Hedd Officers and Clerks of our Houshold , by reason of the daily Business in our Service , have been semblably excepted in time passed , unto now of late , that some of them have been retorned in Impannels , otherwise then heretofore hath been accustomed ; We will and command you , That in case any Hedd Officer or Clerk of our Houshold shall hereafter fortune to be put in any Impannel , either by the Sheriff of our Còunty of Kent , or by any Sheriff of any County within this our Realm , for to be retorned before you , without our special Commandment in that behalf , ye upon knowledge thereof cause him or them so impannelled to be discharged out of the said Impannel , and other sufficient Persons to be admitted in their place ; and that you fail not this to do from time to time , as often as the case shall require , as ye tender our pleasure . Yeoven under our Signet at our Manor of Richmont , the fourth day of October in the twenty fourth year of our Reign .

To our Trusty and Well-beloved the Chief Justices of both our Benches , and to all other their fellows Justices of the same .

In the Act of Parliament made in the twenty fifth year of his Reign against excess of Apparel , there was a Proviso , That all Officers and Servants waiting and attending upon the King , Queen , or Princess , daily , yearly , or quarterly , in their Housholds , or being in their Checque Roll , may by the Licence of the King use or wear Apparel on their Bodies , Horses , Mules , &c. according to such Licence .

And not only King Henry the Eighth , but his three Estates the Lords Spiritual and Temporal , and Commons assembled in Parliament , in the 31 year of his Reign , did so (z) (z) 31 H. 8. ca. 19. much attribute to the Kings Servants in Ordinary , and the Honour of their Imployments , as to grant by Act of Parliament , That the Lord Chancellor , or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , Lord President of the Kings Council , Lord Privy Seal , the Great Chamberlain , Constable , Marshal , and Admiral of England , Grand Master or Steward of the Kings most Honourable Houshold , and Chamberlain , should in Parliament , Star-Chamber , and all other Assemblies ( which was in no Kings Reign before allowed ) sit and be pláced above all Dukes , except such as should happen to be the Kings Sons , Brothers , Vncles , Nephews , or Brothers or Sisters Sons ; That the Lord Privy Seal should sit atd be placed above the Great Chamberlain , Constable , Marshal , and Lord Admiral of England , Grand Master or Lord Steward , and the Kings Chamberlain ; and that the Kings Chief Secretary , if he be of the Degree of a Baron , should in Parliament , and all other Assemblies , sit and be placed before and above all other Barons ; and if he be a Bishop , above all other Bishops not having any of the Offices above-mentioned . Precedency amongst the English Nobility being heretofore so highly valued and esteemed , as it was not seldom very much insisted upon ; And so , as in the Reign of King Henry the sixth it was (a) (a) 3 H. 6. Rot. Parl. m. 4 ▪ artic. 13. earnestly claimed and controverted betwixt John Duke of Norfolk , and Richard Beauchamp Earl of Warwick , and in divers other Kings Reigns greatly contended for , and stickled betwixt some of the Great Nobility .

The Lord Chancellor or Keeper of the Great Seal of England , and the Chamberlain of the Kings House , and the Steward thereof , as appeareth by their Subscriptions as Witnesses unto sundry Charters of our former and ancient Kings , not having been before allowed so great a Precedency as that Act of Parliament gave them , or as that high Place , Trust , and Office of Lord Chancellor , or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , according to the Custom and Usage of former Ages in all or the most of the neighbour Kingdoms and Monarchies , have justly merited , who in the times of the ancient Emperors of Rome were , as (b) (b) Guther . de Offic. Domûs Augustae l. 2. c. 18. & Novel . 53. & 114. Novel . Valentin . de Homicid . Casu fact . Gutherius noteth , stiled the Quaestores Palatii , and had in Vlpian's time , who flourished in the Reign of Alexander Severus the Emperor , antiquissimam originem an honourable and long-before original ; and so necessary in the then Administration of Justice , as the Emperor Justinian , that great Legislator and Compiler of Laws , ordained , That Divinae Jussiones Subscriptionem haberent gloriosissimi Quaestoris nec emissae aliter a Judicibus reciperentur quàm si subnotatae fuerint à Quaestore Palatii , That the Imperial Mandates should be subscribed by the Chancellor ( who was sometimes stiled Justitiae Custos , & vox Legum , Concilii Regalis particeps , the Keeper or Repository of Justice , the voice or mouth of the Laws , and one of the Privy Council ) and those Mandates being sent ( not much unlike the Original Writs issuing out of our High Court of Chancery , with were then also called Breves ) were not to be received by the Judges , unless they were signed by the Quaestor Palatii , or Chancellor ; but subscribed their Names as Witnesses to Charters after Bishops , Abbots , and Barons , as amongst many other instances may be given in that of Robert Parning Chancellor , and of Randolf de (c) (c) Carta H. 1. Coenobio N●rwicensi in 1 parte Dugdales Monasticon , 410. Cart. 17 E. 3. m. ●7 . Stafford Steward of the Houshold , in the seventeenth year of the Reign of King Edward the third .

By a Statute made in the (d) (d) 32 H. 8. ca. 8. thirty second of the Reign of King Henry the eighth , the Parliament did not think it unreasonable that there should be a Great Master of the Kings House , and have all the Authority that the Lord Steward had .

By a Statute made in the thirty third year of his (e) (e) 33 H. 8. ca. 12. Reign , for the punishment of such as committed Murder or Man-slaughter in the Kings Court , or did strike any man there , whereby Bloodshed ensued , the Trial of such Offenders was not thought fit to be within the Cognisance or Jurisdiction of any of the Courts of Westminster-hall , or of any Court inferior unto them ; but ordained to be by a Jury of 12 of the Yeomen Officers of the Kings Houshold , before the Lord Steward , or in his absence , before the Treasurer and Comptroller of the Kings Houshold .

And the Parliament in the first year of the Reign of Queen Mary , repealing the aforesaid Act of the 32 year of the Reign of King Henry the Eighth , did , touching the Great Master of the (f) (f) 1 P. & M. ca. 4. Kings House , notwithstanding understand it to be reasonable , that the Name , Office , and Authority of the Lord Steward should be again established .

And so little the Priviledge of the Kings Servants in Ordinary seemed to be a Grievance , or illegal to be first complained of to the Lord Chamberlain of the Kings Houshold ( which Honourable Office and Place about the King appears to have been before that Great Office of Chamberlain of England , by the mention of Hugoline Chamberlain to King Edward the Confessor , and the Subscription of Ralph Fitz Stephen , as a Witness to a Charter of King Henry the Second , (g) (g) Carta H. 2. Coenobio de Shirburn in 1 parte Dugdales Monastic. 424. granted unto the Abby of Shirburn ) before they were to be subjected to Arrests or Imprisonments for Debt , and other Personal Actions , before Execution or Judgment had against them upon their appearance , and not claiming or pleading their Priviledge ( for then or in such a case they have not sometimes been priviledged , although the cause and reason of their Priviledge was as much after Judgement and Execution , as before ; which a submission to the Jurisdiction of another Court , and not claiming their Priviledge , should not prejudice or take away , no more than it doth in the Case of Members of the House of Commons in Parliament , and their Servants , who by their Priviledge of Parliament are not to be disturbed with Executions , or any manner of Process before and after Judgment ) as Queen (h) (h) Dier Mich. 4 & 5 Ph. & M. 9.17 . Mary did in a Case depending in the Court of Common Pleas , betwixt Huggard Plaintiff and Sir Thomas Knivet Defendant , direct her Writ to the Justices of that Court ( which was but as one of the old and legal Writs of Protection , or something more especial ) certifying them , That the said Sir Thomas Knivet was by her command in her Service beyond the Seas , and had been Essoined ; and therefore commanded them , That at the time appointed by the said Essoin , and day given for his appearance , he should not have any default entred against him , or be in any thing prejudiced ; which the Judges were so far from disallowing , as having before searched , and finding but few , and that before-mentioned Privy Seal , in the 35 year of the Reign of King Henry the Sixth , in the Case of the Kings Yeoman of the Buttery , being held by them to be insufficient ( but declared not whether in substance or Form , howsoever there may be some probability that it was allowed , by the entring of it upon Record ) they did , as the Lord Chief Justice Dier hath reported it , advise and assist in the penning and framing of the Writ for Sir Thomas Knivet , whereby to make it the more legal .

Queen Elizabeth , who was as tender of her Peoples Liberties as of her own , yet was upon some occasion heard to say , That he that abused her Porter at the Gate of her House or Palace , abused her , did cause a Messenger ( of her Chamber ) to be sent unto a Defendant in the Court of Requests , commanding him in her Name not to vex , sue , or trouble the Complainant , but suffer him to come and go freely unto that Court , until such time as other Order be by the Council of the said Court taken therein : And in the second year of her Reign an Injunction was awarded to the Defendant , (i) (i) Inter Record . Cur. Supplic. 1 El. fo. 131. Ibid. 2 Eliz. fo. 221. commanding him to permit the Complainant to follow his Suit in that Court , without Arrest , upon pain of one hundred pounds . In the same year Sir Nicholas Bacon , that great and well-experienced Lawyer and Statesman , Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , and a man highly and deservedly valued both of Prince and People , did , in the Case between Philip Manwaring Complainant , Henry Smallwood and others Defendants , so well understand the aforesaid Priviledges of the (k) (k) Cases in Chancery , collected by Mr. Geo. Cary a Master of Chancery . Kings Servants to be just and legal , as upon a Bill exhibited in Chancery by the Plaintiff to stay a Suit in the Marches of Wales , he ordered , That if the Complainant should not by a day limited bring a Certificate from the Officets of the Queens House , or otherwise , ( whereby the Court might credibly understand , that his Attendance in the Queens Service was necessary ) that Cause should be determined in the Marches of Wales .

In the eighth year of her Reign Thomas Thurland Clerk of the Queens Closet (l) (l) Inter Record . & D●cret . Cu● . Petition . & Supplicat . 8 Eliz. fo. 600. being Plaintiff in the Court of Requests , against William Whiteacres and Ralf Dey Defendants , an Order was made , That whereas the Complainant was committed to the Fleet by the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas , upon an Execution of 600 l. the Debt being only 300 l. it hath been given this Curt to understand by divers of the Queens Highness most Honourable Privy Council , that Her Majesties pleasure is to have and use the present and speedy Travel of the said Thomas Thurland in and about divers of Her Highness weighty affairs in sundry places of England and Wales , for and about the Mineral Causes there , to the very likely Commodity and benefit of Her Majesty and all her Subjects : It is therefore Ordered and Decreed by Her Majesties Council of this Court , that the said Thomas Thurland shall and may with his Keeper appointed by the Warden of the Fleet Travel into any part of the said Realm , about the affairs aforesaid , without the disturbance , Let or Interruption of the said Defendants ; And to that purpose an Injunction is granted against the said Defendants , their Attornies and Solicitors , upon pain of one Thousand pounds , and commanded that neither they nor any of them shall vex , sue , trouble , molest or implead the said Complainant , or Richard Tirrel Esq Warden of the Fleet , or any other person whatsoever for the Travelling or departing of the said Thomas Thurland from the said Prison of the Fleete with his Keeper appointed as aforesaid , from the day of the making of this Decree until the feast of all Saints next ensuing , if the said Complainant so long shall have cause to attend about the said affairs .

And many Cases might be instanced where that great Supporter of Monarchy , Regality , and Honour , in Her best of Governments would not suffer the Just Priviledges of Her Court and Servants to be violated but would be sure severely to punish the Contradictors and Infringers of them .

About the eighteenth year of her Raign , the Earl of Leicester Master of the Horse unto that Excellent Queen and great preserver of Her Peoples Liberties , did commit to Prison one that had Arrested one of Her Servants without leave , and the Creditor being shortly after upon his Petition released by the said Earl , who blaming him for his contempt and misdemeanor therein , and being answered by the Creditor that if he had known so much before hand , he would have prevented it , for that he would never have trusted any of the Queens Servants , was so just as to inforce that Servant of the Queens to pay him presently or in a short time after the said debt , And told him that if he did not thereafter take a better care to pay his Debts he would undo all the other of the Queens Servants , for that no man would trust them , but they would be constrained to pay ready money for every thing which they should have occasion to buy .

In the six and twentieth year of Her Reign , Henry Se●kford Esq one of the Grooms of Her Majesties Privy Chamber , being Complainant against William Cowper Defendant : the Defendant was in open Court upon his Allegiance enjoyned to attend the said Court from day to day until he be otherwise Licenced , and to stay and m m Inter rec . & d●cret . Cur. Supplic . & Libell . 26 Eliz. fol. 96. Surcease and no further prosecute or proceed against the Complainant in any Action , at , and by the Order of the Common Law .

And about the Seven and twentieth year of Her Reign some controversies arising betwixt the Lord Mayor and Citizens of London , and Sir Owen Hopton Knight Lieutenant of the Tower of London , concerning some Liberties and Priviledges claimed by the Lieutenant and his refusal of Writs of Habeas Corpora , and that , and other matters in difference betwixt them , being by Sir Thomas Bromley Knight Lord Chancellor of England n n Stows Survey of London . 245. the Earl of Leicester , and other , the Lords of the Council , referred unto the consideration of Sir Christopher Wray Lord Chief Justice of the Queens Bench , Sir Edmond Anderson Knight Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas , and Sir Gilbert Gerrard Knight Master of the Rolls , they did upon hearing of both parties , and their allegations , Certifie under their hands , that as concerning such Liberties which the Lieutenant of the Tower claimeth to have been used for the Officers and Attendants in the Tower , ( some of them being of the Queens Yeomen of the Guard and wearing Her Livery Coates and Badges as they do now the Kings ) as not to be Arrested by any Action in the City of London , and Protections to be granted unto them by the Lieutenant , and his not obeying of Writs of Habeas Corpus , They were of opinion that such Persons as are dayly Attendant in the Tower of London , Serving Her Majesty there , are to be Priviledged , and not to be Arrested upon any plaint in London , But for Writs of Execution or Capias Vtlagatum's ( which the Law did not permit without leave first asked the latter of which by the Writ it self brings an Authority in the Tenor and purport of it to enter into any Liberties but not specifying whether they intended any more than Capias Vtlegátum , when it was only after judgement , ) or such like they did think , they ought to have no priviledge which the Lords of the Council did by an Order under their hands as rules and determinations to be at all Times after observed Ratifie and Confirm .

And our Learned King James o o Rot. Par. 10. Jac. Part. 10. m. 8. well understanding how much the Weal Publick did Consist in the good Rules of Policy and Government , and the support not only of His own Honor and just Authority but of the respects due unto his great Officers of State and such as were by him imployed therein did for the quieting of certain controversies concerning Precedence betwixt the younger Sons of Viscounts and Barons and the Baronets and others , by an Ordinance or Declaration under the Great Seal of England , In the tenth year of His Reign Decree and Ordain ; That the Knights of the Most Noble Order of the Garter , the Privy Councellors of His Majestie His Heires and Successors , the Master of the Court of Wards and Liveries , the Chancellor and under Treasurer of the Exchequer , Chancellor of the Dutchy of Lancaster , the Chief Justice of the Court commonly called the Kings Bench , the Master of the Rolls , the Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas , the Chief Baron of the Exchequer , and all other the Judges and Barons of the degree of the Coife of the said Courts , Now and for the Time being shall , by reason of such their Honourable Order and Imployment , have Place and Precedence in all Places and upon all occasions , before the younger Sons of Viscounts and Barons , and before all Baronets , any Custom , Vse , Ordinance , or other thing to the Contrary , Notwithstanding .

In the four and thirtieth year of Her Reign Sir Christopher Wray Knight Lord Chief Justice of Her Court of Queens Bench , Sir Edmond Anderson Knight Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas , and the rest of the Judges of the aforesaid Courts seeming to be greatly troubled that divers Persons having been at several Times committed without good cause shewed , and that such Persons having been by the Courts of Queens Bench , and Common Pleas discharged of their Imprisonments , a Commandment was by certain great Men and Lords procured from the Queen to the Judges that they should not do the like thereafter , all the said Judges , together with the Barons of the Exchequer did under their hands Exhibit unto the Lord Chancellor , and the Lord Burghley Lord Treasurer of England their Complaint or Remonstrance in these words , viz. We Her Majesties Justices of both Benches , and Barons of the Exchequer , desire your Lordships , that by some good means some Order may be taken that her Highness Subjects may not be Committed or detained in Prison by Commandment of any Noble Man or Counsellor , against the Laws of the Realm , either else to help us to have access unto her Majesty to the end to become Suitors unto Her p p Andersons Reports , Sect. 305. & . Rushworths Hist. Collect. 507 & 508. for the same . For divers have been imprisoned for Suing Ordinary Actions and Suits at the Common Law until they have been constrained to leave the same against their Wills , and put the same to Order , albeit Judgement and Execution have been had therein , to their great losses and griefs . For the aid of which persons her Majesties Writs have sundry Times been directed to sundry Persons having the custody of such Persons unlawfully Imprisoned , upon which Writs no good or Lawful cause of Imprisonment hath been returned or Certified ; Whereupon according to the Laws they have been discharged of their Imprisonment : some of which Persons so delivered have been again Committed to Prison in secret places , and not to any Common or Ordinary Prison or Lawful Officer or Sheriff , or other Lawfully Authorised to have or keep a Goal ; So that upon Complaint made for their delivery , The Queens Courts cannot tell to whom to Direct Her Majesties Writs ; And by this means Justice cannot be done . And moreover divers Officers and Serjeants of London have been many Times Committed to Prison for Lawful Executing of Her Majesties Writs , Sued forth of Her Majesties Courts at Westminster ; and thereby Her Majesties Subjects and Officers so terrified , that they dare not Sue , or Execute Her Majesties Lawes , Her Writs , and Commandments : Divers others have been sent for by Pursevants , and brought to London from their dwellings ; and by unlawful Imprisonments have been constrained , not only to withdraw their Lawful Suites , but have been also compelled to pay the Pursevants so bringing such Persons great summes of money . All which upon Camplaint the Judges are bound by Office and Oath to relieve and help , By and according to Her Majesties Laws . And where it pleaseth your Lordships to will divers of us to set down , in what cases a Prisoner , sent to Custody by Her Majesty or her Council , is to be detained in Prison , and not to be delivered by Her Majesties Court or Judges ; we think that if any Person be committed by Her Majesties Command from Her Person ( which may be understood to be so when it is by the Lord Chamberlain , of the Kings house or other great Off●cers of the Houshold , who are commonly Privy Councellors , and do it by their Princes Authority ) or by Order from the Council Board : And if any one or two of the Council Commit one for High Treason , such Persons , so in the Cases before Committed , may not be delivered by any of Her Courts without due tryal by the Law , and Judgement of acquittal had . Nevertheless the Judges may award the Queens Writ to bring the Bodies of such Prisoners before them ; and if upon return thereof the causes of their Commitment be certified to the Judges , as it ought to be , then the Judges in the cases before ought not to deliver him , but to remand the Prisoner to the place from whence he came ; which cannot conveniently be done unless notice of the cause in general or else in special be given to the Keeper or Goaler that shall have the custody of such a Prisoner .

In which Remonstrance or Address it doth not appear that any Commitments ▪ therein complained of , were for Arresting any of the Queens Servants without leave first demanded , or that any of the matters , therein suggested , were for that only cause or before Judgements or Execution obtained some of them being expresly mentioned to have been after Judgements , and no certain evidence more than for what came directly unto those Learned Judges by the before mentioned Mandate of the Queen for the supposed grievances therein , which ( though much be attributed to the well weighed wisdom of those grave Judges , and that their Information had as much of Truth as without a hearing of all parties and legal Examination of Witnesses could be found in it ) cannot be presumed to be had in a judiciall way after Trials or Convictions , but received and taken in from the murmur and Complaints of some Attorneys or Parties only concerned , without hearing of the other side or parties ; or that it was so prevalent with the Queen as to make any Order or restraint or cause any Act of Parliament to be made for that purpose . For it will not come within the Compass or Confines of any probability or reasonable construction that those Reverend and Learned Judges Sir Christopher Wray and Sir Edmond Anderson , who together with Sir Gilbert Gerard Master of the Rolls had in the case betwixt the Lord Mayor and Citizens of London and q q Stows Survey of London . 245. Sir Owen Hopton Knight Lieutenant of the Tower of London , In the seven and twentieth year of Her Raign , which was but seven years before Certified under their hands unto Sir Thomas Bromley Knight Lord Chancellor , and others of Her Privy Council , that such persons as are daily attendant in the Tower serving Her Majesty the ( which was more remote from Her Person and Presence of Her Royal Residence or Palace at White-hall ) Were to be Priviledged , and not to be Arrested upon any plaint in London , but for Writs of Execution or Capias Utlagatum or such like , they did think they ought to have no Priviledge . And that Master Lieutenant ought to return every Habeas Corpus out of any Court at Westminster : So as the Justices before whom it shall be returned , as the cause shall require , may either remand it with the body , or retain the matter before them and deliver the body , as Justice shall require ; would complain of Commitments of such as Arrested any of Her Servants without leave , when it might be so easily had : and the Lord Chamberlain of that time was likely to be as little guilty of enforcing Creditors to withdraw their Suits , or loose their debts , as the Lord Chamberlain and other great Officers of the Royal Houshold have been since or are now . Nor do the words of that Information import or point at the Marshalsea of the Queens Court , or Her Messengers ; to whom as the Kings Officers or Ministers of Justice the Queens Writ might have been brought or directed , the sending of Pursevants there remonstrated being more likely to have been for some other Concernments , and not for Arresting without leave which for ought that appears was never yet in foro Contradictorio , upon any Cause or Action argued solemnly at the Bar and Bench , adjudged to be a breach of any of the Laws of England or Liberties of the Subjects , or not to be any good Cause of Arresting or Imprisoning such ▪ as in despite of Majesty would in ConContempt thereof make it their business , especially when they needed not to do it , to violate and infringe the Royal Jurisdictions and reasonable Customs of their Sovereign and Protector , and the long ago and for many ages allowed Priviledges of their Servants .

And therefore William Earl of Pembroke , L. Chamberlain of the Kings House , a man very zealous for the Peoples Rights and Liberties , may be believed not to have transgressed therein , when he did about the latter end of the Reign of King James give His Warrant to one of the Kings Messengers of the Chamber ▪ to take into His Custody and bring before him one Mr. Sanderson , for causing Sir Edward Gorge one of the Gentlemen of the Kings Privy Chamber to be Arrested , without Licence first obtained ; and , being in the beginning of the Reign of King Charles the Martyr Lord Steward of the Kings most Honourable Houshold , did commit a Clerk or Servant to a Serjeant at Law to the Prison of the Marshalsea , for Arresting one of the Kings Servants without Licence ; and , when he was bailed by the Judges upon a Writ of Habeas Corpus , committed him again ; and being let at Liberty the second time upon a Writ of Habeas Corpus , was again Committed by him , and could not be Released , until he had set at Liberty the Kings Servant .

And Philip Earl of Montgomery Lord Chamberlain of the King in His Most Honourable Houshold , 1626. when he did the first day of November 1626. direct his Warrant to all Mayors Sheriffs Bayliffs and Constables , &c. to permit Mr. Thomas Musgrave of Idnel in the County of Cumberland , His Majesties Muster Master for the County of Westmerland to come to London about His Majesties special Service , and that being performed to return without any their let molestation or Impediment .

The eighteenth of November 1626 in the case of Robert With and Susan His Wife , who had Petitioned him for leave to take the benefit of His Majesties Laws against one Mr: Burton , and obteined his Lordships Order for their Relief therein , if he gave them not satisfaction within three moneths after the sight thereof ; yet being after given to understand that the said Mr. Burton , who was but a Surety , and in that respect deserved some Commiseration , had offered them very reasonable satisfaction : which was refused , his Lordship being desirous to understand the Nature of the debt with the qualities and reasons of Master Burtons offers , and their refusal ; did refer the Examination thereof unto Sir Robert Rich and Sir Charles Caesar Knights , two of the Masters of the Chancery , to mediate an Accord betwixt them , or otherwise to Certifie and Report the true state of the business betwixt them ; and in the mean time required them as they would answer the contrary at their peril , that they forbear to make use of his former Order , or any other whatsoever , the which for that purpose he did utterly revoke and annihilate .

The three and twentieth of November 1626 being the second year of the Reign of that pious King Charles the Martyr , John Durat , and William Garnat were by the said Lord Chamberlains , warrant apprehended by a Messenger of the Kings , upon the complaint of Thomas Wadlow .

The sixth day of December , in the same year the said Lord Chamberlain granted his Warrant , for the apprehension of Henry Cartar , Bayard a Serjeant , and John Wright his Yeoman , upon the complaint of Mr. Simpson the Queens Jeweller .

The ninteenth day of January in the same year Thomas Marten Haberdasher of London was by the like Authority apprehended , at the Complaint of Captain Fortescue .

1627. The eighth of May 1627 in the third year of His said Majesties Reign James Palmer of Leicester was by a like Warrant apprehended , upon the complaint of Henry Stanford a Yeoman of the Guard .

The sixteenth of July 1627 a Warrant was granted by the said Lord Chamberlain to apprehend Francis Hawker a Cook , and William Fulk Servant to Mr. Howard , upon the Complaint of Joane Hewet , whose husband being Servant to Mr. Boreman His Majesties Locksmith , and employed by him in His Majesties Service , was by them hurt and wounded .

The seventeenth of July 1627 the said Lord Chamberlain sent his Letter unto Mr. Atkinson , for the respiting of an Order ( probably for a Licence to take his course at Law against one Mr. Thomas Wood ) until the end of Michaelmas Term 1627 withal advising him to forbear all further Prosecution against the said Master Wood , or that he should hear further from his Lordship .

The fifteenth of September 1627 a Warrant signed by the said Lord Chamberlain was directed unto all Mayors , Sheriffs , Bayliffs , &c. not to hinder or molest Dixi Hickman , Esq Gentleman Usher to the Queen of Bohemia , whilst he was here Imployed about Her Service .

The thirtieth of September 1627 a Warrant was granted by him for the apprehension of William Wiltshire Under Sheriff of Hampshire , and Robert Prime aliâs Island a Bayliff , upon the complaint of Sir George Hastings ; and being the tenth of November following thereupon committed to the Marshalseys , and endeavouring to procure his release by an Habeas Corpus , the said Lord Chamberlain Issued out another Warrant bearing Date the nine and twentieth of that November , to detein him , with Certificate that his first Commitment , and that warrant for his Commitment , was by his Majesties Special Commandment .

The twelfth day of October in the aforesaid year granted his Warrant for the apprehension of one Andrews a Constable of Petty France upon the complaint of one Ward Yeoman of the Guard .

The two and twentieth of January next following , for the apprehension of Francis Foster and divers others for Arresting of John Smith His Majesties Girdler .

The tenth of March next following , wrote his letter to the Lord Mayor , Sheriffs and Recorder of York , in the behalf of Robert Metham a sworn Messenger in Ordinary appointed to attend upon the Receiver of Yorkshire upon his Complaint for being there Arrested without leave .

1628. In the year of our Lord 1628 granted his Warrant for the apprehension of Richard Harris , Thomas Rosse of Leaden-hall-street London Merchants John Offley of Hampshire and a Servant to the Clerk of the Peace for Middlesex upon the Complaint of Francis de Champer .

Did write his letter to the Lord Mayor of London , acquainting him with the Arrests and Imprisonments of Mr. George Morgan and others of his Majesties Servants and desired his Lordship to give notice to the Sheriffes of London , and other Officers in London that they forbear to Arrest or Imprison His Majesties Servants without acquainting his Lordship therewith , who promised upon such occasions to do Justice .

Grant a Warrant for the apprehension of Robert Armstrong for the Arresting of the Post Master of Saint Albans .

And the like to apprehend William Martin of Itham in the County of Kent upon the Complaint of Anthony Hobbes one of the Yeomen of the Guard for an Attachment of his Horse , and a Warrant or Letter to discharge the Apprentices of the King and Queens Watermen from being Imprest for Sea Service in these words , viz. Whereas I understand that some of the Apprentices and Servants of the King and Queens Water-men have lately been Imprest for His Majesties Service at Sea ; These are to require you Immediately upon the sight hereof to cause them to be released and discharged ; And that hereafter you forbear to Imprest them , the said Water-men or their Servants , they being Obliged unto a daily Attendance upon His Majesties Person and the Queens . And for so doing this shall be your Warrant .

And the sixteenth day of February in the same year ( after His Majesties assent by Act of Parliament unto the Petition of Right , which was the six and twentieth day of June in the year aforesaid ) upon an abuse committed upon the Persons of Mr. Nicholas Laneir and other His Majesties Servants in Ordinary by haling them to Prison in an unwarrantable and barbarous manner the Lords of His Majesties Privy Council , amongst which was the Lord Keeper Coventrey , did by their Letter to Sir Richard Deane then Lord Mayor of London greatly blame him for the permitting of the same in the words following , viz.

AFter our Hearty Commendations to your Lordship , Whereas it is come to the knowledge of His Majesty and this Board that upon a light Affray or Breach of Peace fallen out in the Exchange , wherein Master Nicholas Laneir and other His Majesties Servants in Ordinary mentioned in the Peti●ion , which we send you inclosed , happened to be interessed ; That the Constables and other Officers who came under pretense of Keeping the Peace did by colour of their Office ( notwithstanding they knew them to be His Majesties Servants ) in an unwarrantable and barbarous manner carry and hale them along the streets to Prison ( being at noon day ) refusing to carry them first before a Magistrate as they ought to have done , and as was by the said Gentlemen demanded : however vpon calling some of the said parties complained of before us and entring into examination of the business we found in general , that the carriage of the said Officers and their assistants had been such as was informed , yet because the more particular inquiry thereof was a work not so fit to trouble the Board withal , we have thought good therefore to refer the due examination thereof to your Lordship letting you to know that if ( as is conceived ) you understood of the miscarriage of the said Officers and past it over without reproof , that you have wilfully failed , both in discretion and duty for that you cannot be ignorant that the proper and usual way of proceeding in a case of this nature against his Majesties Servants had been not by committing them to Prisons but by an address or appeal to the Lord Chamberlain of His Majesties Houshold , or in his absence to such other Principal Officers unto whom it appertains to give redress ; and therefore as the more we consider of it the more we marvel at the insolent carriage of your Officers and the Connivency of your Lordship and other the Chief Magistrates of the City . So you are to know that His Majesty and this Board expects not only a good accompt from you in the examination and proceedings of the said Officers and others their assistants in this particular , but that His Majestie expects and requires at your hands not as a Respect only but as a Duty , that hereafter upon any the like occasions happening within the City concerning His Servants the proceedings against them be by Appeal and Information , first to the Lord Chamberlain or in his absence to such other Principal Officers to whom it properly appertaineth , and not by Commitments to Goals and Prisons at your pleasure ; And so we bid your Lordship very heartily Farewell ,

From Whitehall the sixteenth of February 1628. Lord Keeper . Lord Treasurer . Lord President . Lord High Chamberlain . Earl Marshal . Lord Steward . Earl of Holland . Earl of Danby . Chancellor of Scotland . Lord Viscount Dorchester . Lord Viscount Wilmot . Lord Newburgh . To Sir Richard Deane Lord Mayor of London .

And in the year 1629 granted a warrant for the apprehension of Humphrey Worrall for the Arresting of one of His Majesties Pensioners . 1629.

In the year 1630 the like against Maurice Evans for serving a Subpoena in the Court against John Durson . 1630.

The like for the apprehension of Edward Clark and Samuel Farrier of Canterbury upon the complaint of Thomas Potter for abusing him being imployed in the Execution of a Warrant .

A Warrant for the Commitment of William Acheson to the Gatehouse for transgressing his Order in arresting Master Shaw and giving his Lordship no notice .

A Warrant for the apprehension of Tirrell and David Edwards upon the complaint of Richard Eyre for detaining his Horse .

A Warrant dated the two and twentieth day of November in the year aforesaid for the apprehension of Master Morgan Goodwin , Master William Small Under Sheriff of Middlesex and Thomas Brook a Bayliff upon the complaint of Doctor Robotham for an arrest ; Whereupon they being apprehended did the five and twentieth day of that November procure an Habeas Corpora to be brought to Carter the Messenger to whose custody they were Committed , and were thereupon Released ; but presently by another Warrant his Lordship committed them to the charge of William Wattes .

The Second of February in the same year the said Lord Chamberlain sent his letter unto the Sheriff of Middlesex in these words . Sir I understand that Sir John Wentworth is arrested upon an Execution at the suite of one Beeston , and now remaining in your Custody , and that some others have Petitioned me , wherein when I have found cause I have given way under my hand : if any other which have not leave shall offer to bring any Actions against him , I do expect and require that you forbear to receive or entertain them , unless you see my hand for your Warrant ; As you will answer the contrary .

The twelfth of February 1630 granted a Warrant for the Commitment of Symon Hayton and William Taylor , for charging the said Sir John Wentworth in Execution , being under arrest upon leave granted .

In the year 1631 a Warrant for the apprehension of Richard Graunt , Fowler , 1631. and John Havit upon the complaint of William Burton a messenger of the Court of Wards .

The like for the apprehension of Samuel Twynne and Stephen Symons , for the Arrest of Ralph Short a post Master .

A Warrant to apprehend Master Roger Vrmiseon ( an Attorney of the Court of Common Pleas ) upon the complaint of Mr. Edward Crofts for an arrest without leave .

A Warrant for the apprehension of Masier upon the complaint of Nicholas Sherman for distreyning of his goods for his not appearance at the Marsh Court at Greenwich .

A Warrant for the Commitment of Peter Price to the Marshalsea for serving a Subpoena upon Master George Ravenscroft in the Council Chamber at Whitehall .

A Warrant for the apprehension of Robert Champion a Serjeant in the Poultry Compter for taking a Prisoner from the Kings Messenger by a Writ ( probably an Habeas Corpus ) out of the Kings Bench.

1632. In the year 1632 a warrant for the apprehension of John Perkins a Constable for serving the Lord Chief Justice's Warrant upon John Beard in Saint James's Park .

A Warrant for the Commitment of Leonard Ward ( a Clark of the Court of Common Pleas ) and Potters a Bayliff to the Marshalseas for arresting of Edward Pigot a Groom extraordinary without leave .

A Warrant for the apprehension of John Bishop one of the Lord Mayors Officers .

1633. In the year 1633 a warrant for the apprehension of Anthony Tompson Clark , John Richardson , and others for the arrest of George Nicholson a Yeoman of the Guard .

The like to apprehend Griffin Jones upon the complaint of John Heydon one of His Majesties Musicians for abusive Language given him , as fidling Rogue , &c.

1634. The like to apprehend Arthur Toogood and Morgan Castle Butchers , for assaulting Mr. Pitcarnes ( the Master of the Hawkes ) man .

The like for the apprehension of Geoffrey Brittingham , Anthony Carnaby and William Marbury , upon the Complaint of Robert Wood for Actions laid upon him without leave .

A Warrant to the Bayliff of Westminster to forbear to admit any Writs or Actions against Sir Henry Wotton Knight His Majesties Servant ( sworn in the year 1627 one of the Gentlemen of His Majesties Privy Chamber Extraordinary ) in the name of any Person or Persons whatsoever , but such as shall have leave Granted unto them under the Lord Chamberlains hand .

In the year 1635 a Warrant for the apprehension of one Master Atkinson and divers others , 1635. for the arresting of the Lord Rich ( being not long before sworn a Gentleman of the Kings Privy Chamber Extraordinary . )

In the year 1636 a certificate for Sir Gilbert Houghton Knight one of the Kings Servants enumerating Particular Priviledges for every of the Kings Servants , viz. 1636. Not to be arrested without leave first obtained , not to be warned or summoned to attend at Assizes or Sessions , not to be impannelled upon enquests or juries , not to serve in the Train bands , nor to be chosen in Offices , &c.

In the year 1637 a warrant for the apprehension of Francis Grove of Southwark Grocer , 1637. upon the complaint of the Earl of Morton Captain of the Guard for sending his warrant ( being in Commission for the New Corporation ) for certain Yeomen of the Guard in Ordinary to compell them to serve in Person with their Arms.

The like for the apprehension of Isaac Walter in Kent , upon the complaint of Henry Hodsal a Yeoman of the guard , for undue molestation of him , by suing of him to the Utlary , and seeking satisfaction in extremity upon his Goods and Chattels without detaining his person .

The like against Ezechiel Johnson Clerk , and John Wilcox an Officer of the Lord Mayor of London for an Arrest of Master Grimsdich of the Great Wardrobe without leave .

A warrant for the apprehension of Alderman Andrews and of Kenelme Smith and John Wright Officers of the Sheriffs of London , for the arresting of Mr. Laurence Hilliard ; Smith and Wright being thereupon Committed to the Marshalsea .

And in the same year a Petition of one James Goodland against John All of Wapping concerning a Debt of 400 l. pretended to be owing to him by the said John All was answered by the said Lord Chamberlain in these words , I desire Mr. Reeve to call John All before him , and to enjoyn him to take some speedy course for the satisfaction of this debt : for which if he cannot prevail with him he is to let me understand so much , whereupon I will take further Order .

1638. In the year 1638 a Warrant was granted by the said Lord Chamberlain for the apprehension of Thomas Tyrrill , Gent. William Wrynne his servant , Thomas Parker a Constable , Thomas Drew a Bricklayer , and Edward Spooner all of the Town of Newington , upon the complaint of Tucker one of the Yeomen of the Guard for being by them set in the Stocks .

Granted a warrant for the apprehension of Marriot Hewes and Carter Marshall's men for the arresting of one Mr. Beiston His Majesties Servant without leave .

And the like for the apprehension of Robert Howse and Christopher Bagehot Constables in Ware , Thomas Swinsteed Post Master , and George his Brother for setting Robert Redbury Harbinger , for the Huntsmen of the Buck-hounds in the Stocks , who appearing were committed and afterwards Released .

In the year 1639 a warrant was granted by the said Lord Chamberlain for the apprehension of William Barker and other Bayliffs , 1639. for the arresting of Robert Vnderwood a Warder of the Tower of London , and Ordered to pay him charges which they consented unto .

The like against Ralph Atkinson of Brainford and Edward Rabone a Marshals man for arresting of Mr. Thomas Lisle the Princes Barbor Extraordinary .

And the like against Edmond Griffin of Cheapside and Richard Stersaker for arresting of Mr. William Harbert .

In the year 1640 a warrant was granted by the said Lord Chamberlain for the apprehension of Jeoffrey Sharpe , 1640. Hugh Osborne and William Sympson upon the complaint of Mr. Man one of the Kings Chaplains for an arrest .

The like to apprehend Humphrey Lea , Ralph Reason and Henry Wickliffe , for arresting and taking in Execution the goods of David Porrel without leave .

And the like for the apprehension of Charles Steward and William Wyamford upon the complaint of William Lenet a Yeoman of the Guard for an abuse and affront in the Streets .

That Excellent Prince , under whose authority he acted , being not only careful to maintain His Servants just Priviledges , but to avoid any ill consequences which might happen by any abuse thereof being in the year of our Lord 1631 informed that one Thomas Barnes having been sworn one of the Grooms of His Majesties Chamber in Ordinary upon a pretence that he was one of the Company of Players , who had a licence to Practice under the name of the Queen of Bohemia's Players ; whereas in truth the said Barnes was by Profession a Carpenter , nor did profess the quality of a Stage Player , but was dishonestly and sinisterly obtruded upon the said Lord Chamberlain by the false and fraudulent Suggestion of one Joseph Moore , that followed business in the name of the said Company , out of a corrupt end to derive unto himself a benefit by entitling the said Barnes unto the Priviledge and Protection of His Majesties Service , and did most Injuriously seek to defraud men of their just debts , had drawn men to be bound with him for great summes of money and exposed them to the danger of Imprisonment ; to the end therefore that His Majesties Service might be purged from the stain of so dishonest and foul proceedings , the said Lord Chamberlain was commanded by His Majesty to call the said Barnes , and discharge and dismiss him , and cause his name to be blotted and razed out of the list of His Majesties Servants .

All or many of which , upon due consideration had , may shew the necessity aswell as legality of the cares of the said Chamberlain by and under His late Majesties Authority Anciently and by a long prescription of many ages vested in his and other the Honourable Offices of the Kings most Honourable Houshold .

And might more fully have been manifested if many of the Books of State , Court Memorials and Records had not in the latter end of the Raign of King James been lost by the fire , which at that time burnt the Signet-Office , and other buildings , and Repositories thereof at Whitehall and by other Books of that most Honourable House ; If those Sons of Spoil , Plunder and Rapine the godless party of pretending holiness in the late confusions and Rebellion , when the Frogs not by the hardening of our late blessed Kings heart but his too much trust and condescentions and the Almighties permission did go up and come into that r r Exod. c. 8. vers. 3. house and into ( our Kings ) Bedchamber and into the houses of his servants and upon his people .

When our England was a valley of slaughter all the beauty of the Daughter of our Zion was departed , the grievous revolters and those which walked with slanders , and our adversaries were the chief in that desolate and by them misused s s Jer. c 6. ver. 25.28 . and Lamentations of Jer. palace had not left any more then three little Books of the Lord Chamberlains Registry against their wills conceal'd and rescued from the year 1625 being the first year of the Raign of His late Majesty of blessed Memory until the year of our Lord 1641. When our miseries and troubles began to craul and ingender .

In which small remains those most just and necessary priviledges of the Kings Servants contained ( which reason of State & the Soveraignty of Princes can neither want nor suffer to be disused , ) do amongst other things appear to have been so moderately and prudently used and with so much reason Justice and Equity , as those books will testifie that very few of such Creditours or others which Arrested any of the Kings Servants without a licence or leave first had , being brought by the Messengers before the Lord Chamberlain , or other Great Officers of the Court unto whose jurisdiction it appertained , were unless in case of their great obstinacy and contempt committed to Prison , but with a necessary and fitting reprehension dismissed ; or if upon refusal to obey that Authority so fortified and strengthned by Lawes , Ancient , Customs , and reason , they were Imprisoned or committed , they were upon their first Petition and Submission as easily released and discharged from it as it would have been easie for them not to have done it or disobeyed Kingly and just Authority , or to have used but common Civility due to a neighbour much more to their Prince and Protector of all their own Liberties and Priviledges : and that the Warrants for such offendors apprehension being so few and seldom were rather occasioned or happened to be no more by a greater Civility and respect formerly used towards the King and His Servants , than is now in the unruly and unmannerly fancies and sauciness of such as would level all the Rights of Government , and superiority to their own vain and groundless imaginations , attended by a wilful and peevish pride and ignorance or the patience or ability of those that would rather endure such affronts , and pay what was demanded , than complain of the wrong done to Royal Majesty in the needless violation of His Servants Rights or Priviledges . For the Number of them in that compass of Time doth not appear to be any more than 27 in Anno 1626 — 53. In Anno 1627 — 15 — in Anno 1628 — 25 — in Anno 1629-21-in Anno 1630 — 25 — in Anno 1631-26-in Anno 1632-10-in Anno 1633-18-in Anno 1634-13-in Anno 1635-6-in Anno 1636-16-in Anno 1637-14-in Anno 1638-27-in Anno 1639-19-in Anno 1640. which in so great a number with their Servants and Retinues amounting to a far greater number than 1000 or 1500 of His Servants which are in the Checque Roll or pay of the Greencloth or Treasurer of the Chamber , besides not a few extraordinaries and such as have no pay or quarter , as they Terme it , attending upon the King and His Officers in His House or Palace should not be enough to stir up any envious or causeless complaints against that part of their Priviledges , not to be Arrested or Imprisoned without leave first granted .

Which can be accompted no less than necessary , when the leave demanded to prosecute or bring Actions at Law may be to Arrest or Prosecute levi malitiosâ vel injustâ de causâ , upon some trivial or unjust pretences ; and their desires not fit to be assented unto ; when it may be for some little stroke push or Blow given by the Kings Porters , Servants , Marshals or Marshals-men , or other His Attendants to Repel or Keep Back a Crowding or unruly multitude of the vulgar from disturbing some great Solemnities or Assemblies at the Kings Court or Palace ( which is so often done as by a Statute made in the 33 year of the Raign of King Henry (t) (t) 33 H. 8 cap. 12. the eight , which ordained rhe loss of the right hand of any striking or making bloodshed within any of the Kings Houses or Palaces or the Virge thereof ( there is an Exception to the like purpose ) or for the Heralds or Kings at Arms legally throwing down or breaking the usurped Hatchments or Coats of Arms of those who should not have been so proud or impudent as to have been guilty of it , or for Monies already satisfied , and the Bonds or Bills not taken up or Cancelled or Shopbooks not crossed , and the Money paid not entred , or for Taylors , Exchangemen or other Trades mens stretched and over multiplied reckonings beyond either Justice or Truth , ( who are many Times the more willing to Trust whereby to gain the opportunity of reckoning as they please , ) or for a Licence to enter upon , and bring an Action of Ejectment to recover the possession of some Lands Mortgaged for security of pretended and false reckoned Debts and Forfeitures , and extremities beyond right reason and equity endeavoured to be put upon them by some small conscienced men abundantly versed in oppression , or by some naughty and greedy Trades-men ( for all are not to be ranked with them ) who can fawn and creep and make friends to the prejudice of other Shop-keepers and break the tenth Commandment in the Decalogue , to gain their Worships Custome , and when they have well wrapt them in their largely reckoned Items , make it their humble suit to have some bond or security by some friends to be bound with them , or a Mortgage or Recognisance in the nature of a Statute Staple ; but when they have it by a late trick or cunning , now much practised , assign as soon as they can those Bonds or Securities , if they be not originally taken in some of their friends or acquaintance names , unto some who shall abundantly and with all the Rigors of the Law prosecute them , and their Estates , and will then notwithstanding alleage they cannot help it , they were forced , if any can be so far fallen out with their understandings , as to believe them to borrow Money or satisfie others upon that Security , or be undone or go to Prison , and hope notwithstanding they will continue their custome , and take such commodities as they need of them , and being by themselves or Counterfeit Assigns become Masters of their advantages , and swelled in their own conceipts to an Empire or Command over a turmoiled impoverished , and over burdened Debtor , will not only catch all opportunities of keeping their extended Lands at an usual undervalued rate , but if not restrained , be more merciless than some ship-racking Rock , and more fierce and Cruel than some hunger bitten Banditties assisted by the encouragement of some desolate or unfrequented places , or then some destroying Herecano in the Indies or America , and Rail and Clamor if they may not tear them and their Estates in pieces to satisfie their impatient and unjust designs and demands ; and where they have taken or seised any of their goods Chattels or Housesholdstuff , upon Executions taken out upon two or three , or as many more Judgments with great penalties as they can intangle them by lending a little more Money , or upon an account or new made reckoning insnare or seduce them into , can cause them not only to be sold and bought again , by some of their Vulture acquaintance at far undervalued Rates , but reckon charges never laid out or disbursed , or blown up by the wasting and Lavish expences of Bayliffs and Catchpolls amounting to as much Ravage and spoil as a Kennel of Hounds would make in a Pantry , or the incursions of the rude Tartars , and Savage Cossacks do not seldom bring upon their more Civilized and unfortunate Neighbours .

So as a Lord Steward , Lord Chamberlain , o● other great Officer of the Kings houshold cannot be rationally adjudged to have done amiss , when in Compassion or Justice in the case of the Kings Servants he shall moderate the furies and unjust pretences of unrighteous and unreasonable Creditors or Complaynants ; and according to the Laws and reasonable Customs of England , and the Kings most Honourable Houshold give them and the Kings Servants a just and fitting protection respite or time of Respiration , the rather if he find that some of their wants and distresses either would not or could not so quickly or heavily have fallen upon them , if the publique necessities and occasions had not for the Protection and safeguard of those very Creditors or Complainants ( comprehended in the universality of the people ) drawn away from the King the Money which might have enabled him to a more Regular and Ordinary way of paying them their Wages , Salaries or Pensions .

And should if right be done unto it , give a less cause of disturbance to the Will or Fansies of those who would have it otherwise , than the course generally well approved , and now holden in the City of London , in the Lord Mayors Court , called the Court of Requests , or Conscience , Indulged at the first by no greater Authority then an Act of Common Council , made by the Lord Mayor , Aldermen and Common Council of that City , about the ninth year of the Raign of King Henry the eight , continued by some other Acts of their Common Council , and strengthned by some Subsequent Acts of Parliament , where upon any Action Commenced in the Sheriffs Courts of Guildhall London , whereby any debt under forty shillings is demanded of any Freeman of that City , the Defendant may before or after Verdict mark it , as it is there Termed in a Clarks book attending for that purpose the Lord Mayor in his house , and by that manner of transferring the Actions or proceedings before his Lordship in his Court of Conscience , procure as much of it as he shall be able to obtein with an Order in case of Poverty or weakness of estate to pay it by Six pence or twelve pence a Week or some other small manner of payment , the Plaintiff being to be Arrested or Attached , if he shall disobey or transgress his Lordships moderation therein . And such or the like Moderations may Aswell be allowed to the Lord Chamberlain and other great Officers of the Kings most Honorable Houshold , in the case of the Kings Servants , as it is , and hath been to the Judges of the Courts at Westminster , in the case of all the Subjects of England , where in Order to the Salvo Contenemento the saving the Reputation , and support of failing or fainting Debtors or Defendants , and the Moderata Misericordia , Moderation in punishments , which in the reconciling of Justice and Compassion is not only Injoyned and Pattern'd by our many Excellent Laws and reasonable Customes since the Norman Conquest , but ordained u u LL. Canu . cap. 2. by a Law of King Canutus many years before in his direction to his Judges , Vt in mulctà Irrogandâ w w Glanvile l. 9. c. 11. Coke 2 part Institutes Commen● . in Magna Charta . c. 8.14 & 29. adhibeatur moderatio , ut ad divinam Clementiam temperata hominibus tolerabilis esse videatur , that in Punishments or Penalties there be such a moderation as may resemble the Divine Clemency or compassion , and be the more Tolerable for men to bear it : from whence or the like Dictates of Right Reason have Issued , and been warranted , the Authority of those Sage Expounders of our Laws , and distributers of Justice in their Remission of Penalties of Bonds and Obligations , Moderation of Costs and Mitigation of Penalties , stay of Posteas Verdicts and Executions , Arrests of Judgments granting Imperlances , Lessening of Fines incertain in Copyhold estates , and giving them a reasonable Time of payment , disappointing of Rigors , Extremities and Oppression , by the relieving of the Oppressed ; wherein the wisdom of our Laws and the discretion and Office of Judges and Courts do very often in some or other of those and very many other the like well regulated ▪ Acts of their prudence care and authority , which might be here instanced , bless and make happy this Nation .

Such or the like Princely Cares of our Kings and Princes for their Domestiques or Servants faithfully serving and attending upon their Soveraign , giving us the reason , why , above three hundred and forty years ago u u Fleta lib. 2. cap. 3. when Fleta wrote his Book ; It was the Custom of the Aula Regis , the Kings Palace si de aliquo familiari ( i. e. ) famulari Regis fiat querimonia , if a Complaint should be made of any of the Kings Servants or Houshold , he should be summoned to answer , and if he came not at the day prefixed , he should be Attached ( which is by sureties or pledges , or some of his Goods or Chattels taken , whereby to compel him to appear ) and another day prefixed , and if he did not then appear , his body should be taken , if he were personally summoned within the Virge , and should be brought before the Steward ; and the Marshal , having him in his custody videlicet sub tali loco partito secundùm Legem & consuetudinem Hospitii in a place to that purpose according to the Law and Custom of the Kings Houshold appointed , was to be answerable for him ; quòd nisi de corpore respondeat de petitione satisfacere tenebitur supposito quòd de corpore fuit seisitus ; but if the Marshal did not keep him in Custody whereby he might have his body forth coming , he should if he was ever seised of his body make satisfaction to the party complainant : But where any person who is not of the Kings Servants or House should desire to sue or prosecute a Debtor in the Court of the Kings Palace before the Steward thereof , Fleta lib. 2. cap. 60. he was to produce the Bond wherein the Debtor obliged himself ro their Jurisdiction ; and in that case the Debtor was to be destrayned until he found pledges to answer the Action , Et si Pleg . invenerit & quinquagesimum diem litis receperit & illo die non comparuerit , and if he should find pledges and not appear within fifty days after ( for so many days it seems was then allowed unto him , he was to be Arrested and detained until he gave Bail , it being also as reasonable that a like or a greater time should be given to one of the Kings Servants complained of before the Lord Steward or Lord Chamberlain or other great Officers of the Kings Houshold , to whose Jurisdiction it belongeth ) for in those more Reverential Times and acknowledgments of Superiority ; It was a Rule as well as an Ancient Custom that mitiùs agendum cum familiaribus & servientibus Regis dum tamen Domestici sint Regis & Collaterales , the Kings Servants in Ordinary and Domestiques were to be more gently and respectfully dealt with then strangers , Fleta lib. 2. cap. 3. & quòd primò debent per Mariscallum summoniri quam si supersederint tum primò Distringantur & tertiò si necesse fuerit Attachientur ; and ought first to be summoned by the Marshal , and if then they did not appear they were to be Distreined , and at or after the third distress if need were should be Attached , Et hinc est quòd vulgaritèr dicitur quòd servientes Regis sunt Pares comitibus , and from hence it is saith Fleta , that it is Commonly said that the Kings Servants are in that Respect Peers of the Earls , and are upon Actions or Complaints of Debt or other personal Actions y y Fleta . l. 2. c. 3. in the awarding of process in the Court appropriate to the Kings House or Palace to enjoy the like Summons or respectful Usage .

But if there had been no such Custom or Priviledge in the former ages , there is now and hath been for some years last past a greater necessity , and reason for it then ever ; when any of the Kings Servants being made a Defendant , by feigned and fictitious Actions or Writs called Bills of Middlesex or Latitats Issuing out of the Court of Kings Bench , in placito transgressionis upon a supposed Action of Trespass as great as the Plaintiffs malice or designed oppression to ruine , and lay unjust Actions upon him can invent , and a late imaginary supposed custom with an ac etiam or supposition of an Action of One thousand , or ten , or twenty thousand pounds added in the same Writ or Action to be afterwards ( viz. when the Plaintiff pleaseth ) exhibited against him may be cast into Prison and overwhelmed with such Complainants pretended Actions , his friends so affrightned as they dare not bail him , if they were able , his service lost , and his livelihood under his Sovereign and gracious Master taken away from him , and our Kings of England by such Plaintiffs and their untruly suggested Actions reduced to as manifest dangers by Arresting or taking away their Guards , or Attendants from them , when he shall go or ride abroad , or be recreating himself , in hunting , or other disports ; as King James was by the wicked Earl Gowries Trayterous purposes to Murder Him , by sending His Servanrs the wrong way , and telling them that the King was gone before another way : and when such Illegal and unwarrantable Writs may have neither cause or evidence , or may be for an inconsiderable or small summe of Money , or perhaps none at all due unto them ; And have been of late such Midwives to wicked Designs and Contrivances as a Married Woman hath been by the confederacy of her Husband , and the Arresting and Imprisoning her Servants by such Counterfeit Actions , enforced to leavy a fine , whereby to pass away the Inheritance of her Lands of a great yearly value , which was after Reversed by Act of Parliament ; and a Gentlewomans house in S. Martins Lane in the fields neer London Robbed by Arresting of the Mistress of the House , and those that were in it by such Bills of Middlesex : for which the Cheater that contrived it was not long after deservedly hanged .

And surely such a priviledge , claimed by the Kings Servants in Ordinary , needs not be so quarrelled at , when in the great Case which happened in Anno Dom. 1627 being the third year of the Reign of King Charles the Martyr upon Habeas Corpora's brought by four or five Gentlemen , who were Imprisoned per speciale mandatum Domini Regis by the Kings Special Command signified under the hands of eighteen Privy Councellors , for not lending money to the Publique necessities ( when they were very able to do it ) concerning the Arrest or Imprisonment of any of the Freeborn People of England by the Kings Warrant or Command without a cause Expressed ; Whereby the Judges upon a Habeas Corpus might enquire and Judge of the cause of such Imprisonment , and give any of his Subjects their Libertys upon Bail to Answer the Action where the Law allowed it ; the many and elaborate Arguments made on those Gentlemens behalf , in the Court of Kings Bench by several able Lawyers , amongst which was that skilful Diver into our Common Laws , Antiquities , Records and Presidents , the Eminently Learned Mr. Noy , who except the Great and Learned Selden brought as Great an Ingeny and Intellect to the study of them , and a more solid and Penetrating wit and Judgment , then any or many an age hath yet produced , could not keep the said Gentlemen from being remanded back to the Prisons from whence they came , or hinder the opinion of the Judges of that Court ; amongst which was the Right Learned Justice Doddridge , upon view of the President in the case of Edward Page in the seventh year of King Henry the eighth , committed to the Marshalsea by the Lord Steward of the Kings House , who being afterwards upon an Habeas Corpus brought before the Justices of the Kings Bench was remanded ; and the like in the Case of James Desmeisters committed to the Marshalsea of the Kings Houshold per concilium Domini Regis by the Kings Privy Council , that those Gentlemen could not be Bailed and that by some Pesidents in many Cases , where men have been Committed by the Kings Command , when they have been discharged by that Court , it hath been upon the Kings pleasure signified by His Attorney General , or otherwise , that which Sir Robert Heath Knight the Kings Attorney General then alleaged for the King in his Argument , in that Case , not being denied to be Law , or presidented , either by the Judges or the Council on the other side that multitudes of Presidents might be shewen z z M. S. Of the Arguments in the Case of the Habeas Corpora . wherein men Imprisoned for contempts of Decrees in the Courts of Chancery or Requests , Courts of Exchequer and High Commission , or by the Corporations or Companies of Trade in their Domineering By-laws or Ordinances were not bailed upon their Habeas Corpora's , and that in the Case betwixt the Bakers of London , where they Fined , and Committed men to Prison for not paying of it , ( and the like not seldom done by the Corporations and Companies of Trades in London , and the lesser sort of them as of the Waterm●n , &c. ) Thomas Hennings and Litle Page being Imprisoned in 11 Jacobi Regis , when they brought their Habeas Corpora ; and the cause being shewen to be by reason of an Ordinance or Constitution of the Lord Mayor of London , the Prisoners were sent back to abide his Order : in which grand Case of the Habeas Corpora that Pious and just King did not , as Oliver that Canker of our English Laws and Liberties did in the Case of Mr. Cony the Merchant , Imprison or Terrifie the Lawyers which argued for them , but in the Expectation and hopes of a better effect then afterwards hapned upon it gave them as much Time and Liberty of Search and Arguments against His Royal Prerogative in that particular as they could desire : and those very Justices of the Kings Bench , being in the next year after called before a Committee of Lords and Commons in Parliament , to declare their opinions concerning those proceedings ; And asserting their opinions , Justice Whitlocke being one of the said Judges , denied that there was any Judgment therein given , whereby either the Kings Prerogative might be enlarged or the right of the Subject Trenched upon , that if they had delivered a a Rushwort●s Hist. Collect ▪ 505 , 506 , 507. them presently it must have been because the King did not shew cause , wherein they should have judged the King had done wrong , and this was beyond their knowledge , for the King might have committed them for other matters then they could have imagined ; and if they had bailed them , it must have reflected upon the King , that he had unjustly Imprisoned them , and that the differences made in the Arguments of that Case betwixt remittitur and rimittitur quousque remitted or remitted how far or unto what Time he confest he could find no more in it ; but that they were new inventions to trouble old Records , and Judge Doddridge said , that for the difference betwixt remittitur and remittitur quousque he could never find any : he had sate in the Court fifteen years , and should know something surely , if he had gone in a mill so long ( some ) dust would cleave to his Clothes .

And in the Petition of Right granted in the next ensuing year , in the framing and procuring whereof Sir Edward Cook that Venerandus senex & investigator legum Angliae very Reverend and great Lawyer ( whose Learned labors after his discontent for the loss of his place of Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Kings Bench , and the former favors of King James tended as much as he could for the finding out and publishing of every thing that might advance the Peoples liberties , but as little as might be for the Kings Just Rights and Prerogative ) assisted by that great Monarch of Letters and Learning Mr. Selden , the Excellently Learned Sir Edwyn Sandys , Sir Robert Philips , Sir Dudly Digges , Knights , and other great Patriots , and well wishers to the Peoples Liberties , there was nothing omitted of their care and industry in the search and scrutiny of all that could be found of Law , Learning , Reason or Precedents to support the Subjects claims therein or effect their desires ; There is no restraint of that just Legal and very Antient Priviledge of the King and Queens Servants not to be Arrested or Imprisoned without Licence or leave first obtained of the Lord Steward , Lord Chamberlain b b Vide Petition of right assented unto and granted by the K●ng 26 June 1628. of the Kings Houshold , or those other great Officers of His House or Court to whom it appertained ; nor any thing directly or consultò urged against that necessary part of the Duty of Subjects to their Sovereign or Respects to Him in His Servants .

Nor in that fatal Remonstrance made by the House of Commons in the after long and over lengthened Parliament the fifteenth day of December 1641. wherein every thing that could be imagined or had but a face of a grievance in the government c c Vide Collection of Declarations in Parliament . was too industriously amassed or mustered up , was there any complaint of the Protections granted by the King or Priviledge of the Kings Servants in Ordinary from being arrested without Licence first had .

Neither in those high and mighty undutiful and unchristian like nineteen Propositions sent to His late Majesty in June 1642. whereby they denyed him the care and education of His Children , office of a Common Parent to His People , and a natural Father to His Children , and would have gained to themselves or taken from him His Kingly Authority , is there any thing in that particular complained of , or desired in remedy of that since supposed evil : But that assembly then called a Parliament , were so far from hindring it , as when they were afterwards Petitioned by divers Creditors against their own Priviledges , and the Protections of themselves and their Servants , they were pleased to answer that they would take it into their Consideration ▪ but in many years after were so busie in the Ruine of the Kingdom and a Purveyan●e of Places of honor and profit for themselves as the People had then , and may yet have , reason to believe they never intended to do it .

And were so unwilling to have some Prisoners Committed by them to be discharged by Bail upon Writs of Habeas Corpora as they bespoke it for their Priviledge to Commit Matthew Wren the late Bishop of Ely , and let him continue 16 or 17 years a Prisoner in the Tower of London without shewing any Cause or making any Charge against him under a Colour and Pretense ( never to be justified ) that the Legislative Power and Soveraignty was Inhaerent and Radically in the People , who had delegated and entrusted it unto them , as the Aenigmatical and unknown Keepers of their Liberties , whereby as they imagined their Commitees and Sub-commitees might take as Extravagant Liberties as themselves : insomuch as when Mr. Edward Trussel a Loyal Citizen of London about the year 1643 brought his Habeas Corpus to be bailed upon that Parliaments Commitment for not payment of the twentieth part of his Computed Estate , Serjeant John Wilde and Mr. Hill two Members of the House of Commons , of the then miscalled Parliament , came publickly to the Judge sitting in the Kings Bench , and took such a course by Whispering , and delivering Messages to him , as the trembling Judge calling God to witness how willing he would be to do right and be afraid of no body , declared it for a kinde of Law that he could not Bail any man where the Commitment was by such a Soveraign Court as the House of Commons in Parliament .

Who believed it to be so great an Incident and necessary requisite to their usurped Government as they did about the year 1645 Imprison a Citizen of London for Arresting a Nobleman of Germany for some Wares Trusted , when he was but in the Company of some of the Parliament so called Members as they were going unto or coming from one of their Sumptuous or Thanksgiving Feasts or Dinners , for success in their evil Actions .

And Oliver Cromwell their man of sin , great Captain and Master of as much Perjury as he could himself Commit , or drive others unto , found it to be so necessary for the maintenance of His pretended State and unjust Authority enforced from the True Proprietor , as he was pleased so to Indulge and Protect His Menial Servants with the like Priviledges ; as one Mewes who attended him could not be Indicted for perjury without Licence first obtained , and one Captain William Sadlington having taken from a Dutch Merchant , Residing in London , Goods or Merchandise at Sea to the value of six or seven thousand pound , or endamaged him as much , and coming afterwards into England , and for some special service done to that Protector of Mischief and Evil Designs , being made one of his Domestiques or Servants in Ordinary , the Dutch Merchant Commenceing an Action at Law against him for what he had lost and was damaged , and causing him to be Arrested , was not only with the Bailiffs that Arrested him Imprisoned , but enforced before he could have his Liberty to discharge the said William Sadlington , and Release his Action . And some of his Major Gerals can , if they please , bear witness how much their Oliver and themselves protected his and their Menial Servants , and extended the freedom from Arrest until leave or licence obteined as far as their Common Red-coated Souldiers ; and how much those Major Generals in their several Provinces did in other things all they could to Stifle the Law and Domineer over it's proceedings , one of them Threatning to Hang up the Lawyers Gowns in Westminster-Hall as the Colours and Ensigns of their once dearly beloved Covenanting , but afterwards ill requited and beaten , Scots brethren had been used .

For to Ask or Petition for a Licence or Leave of the Lord Steward , Lord Chamberlain or other Great Officers of our Kings Houses or Palaces , to whose Jurisdiction it doth belong , before any Arrest or Prosecution at Law can be had against any of the Kings Servants , is no more then our Laws well Interpreted do order and enjoyn to be done in all Actions , Civil , Real or Personal , against Private and Common Persons , or such as are not the Kings Servants ; for if the Action be laid or entred in the Court of Kings Bench , it is to be made Returnable , Coram Domino Rege , before the King himself , who by the Justices of that Court Assigned to hold such Pleas as the King in the Constitution and fixing of the Court of Common Pleas reserved to be heard by himself or those assistant Judges is supposed to Hear and Determine such causes as are proper for that Cour● ; or if the Action be desired to be Tryed in the Court of Common Pleas , upon the Kings Original Writ which may , as it was by the Franks , not unfitly be called Indiculus d d Bignonii notae adi librum Maroulfi de formulis . 517. commonitorius , A Monitory Letter or Writ of the Kings Issuing out of the High Court of Chancery under the Teste me ipso or witness of the King himself , and is to be sued out giving the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas , which is the Legal and Proper Court Ordained for such matters , a Warrant , Power or Commission to hold Plea therein ; for otherwise saith Fleta , nec Warrantum nec Jurisdictionem nequè cohertionem habent supposeth a Petition of the Plaintiff to the King as the Supreme Magistrate for a Debt e e Fleta , lib. 2. cap. 34. or Summe of Mony unjustly deteined from him , or some Trespass or Damage done unto him , for which he cannot Sue or Prosecute without a Writ Remedial or Original , granted by the Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , Commanding the Sheriff of the County or Place , where the Plaintiff layeth or desireth to try his Action , if it be in Debt , to take security of the Complainant for the proof or making good of his Action , and to Command the Defendant or Party Complained of to pay the mony demanded ; and that if the Defendant do not pay the Mony upon the Sheriffs or his Officers or Bailiffs coming to him , then they are to Summon him to appear before the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster , at a Return or Certain time prefixed , which at the least is to be fifteen days after the Teste or Date of the Original , and many Times with a Longer Return , and as many more days given if the Original be sued out but fifteen days before the Terms of S. Michael and Hillary , Easter or Trinity Terms ; but of it be procured or sued out in the later end of a Michaelmas Term , and returnable Octabis Hillarii , will have more then fifty days betwixt the Teste and Return ; and if sued out in the end of an Hillary Term , returnable the first Return of an Easter Term following will have no less then 60 days betwixt the Teste or Date and the Return ; or if it Issue out in the end of a Trinity Term returnable the first return of a Michaelmas Term following , will have no less then one hundred days betwixt the Teste or date thereof and the Return , and more if it be in any of the later Returns of any of the said Terms , in all which if the summons had but fifteen days betwixt the date of the Original Writ and the time prefixt , the Defendant hath by intendment of Law so much Time or Respite for the payment of the mony in the shortest prefixion ; but a great deal more in those which are longer , which by the reason and equity of our Laws is not to be understood to be easie or probably upon the Instant of the Sheriff or his Officers Commanding the Debtor to pay it , but upon a reasonable and possible Time betwixt the Teste and return allowed for the payment thereof , very Rich and sufficient able men not having always so much mony at hand to pay at an instant , and the monyes demanded do many times in the end of the suit although it be not upon a bond or bill with a penalty or doubling of the summe appear not at all to be due or for some or a great part thereof to be unjustly required ; and if upon a Bond or Bill with a forfeiture doubling the principal Money , or in an Action of Covenant , Detinue , Annuity or Accompt , cannot think it just or reasonable presently to pay as much Mony as an unjust Complainant will not seldom , if he may be his own Carver , exact of him : and in all Actions Personal whether it be for Debt or Damage some part of the time between the obteining the Kings Licence or leave to Sue in the Case of those which are not his Houshold Servants , is between the Teste and Return of the Original , necessary to be imployed for the Plaintiffs giving to make good his Action ; for more , but never less our Ancient Records do often mention , until some of our later ages , and the Judges thereof since the Raign of King Edward the fourth in favour of the Disabilities and Inconveniencies which might happen in the Cases of many of the Common or Impoverished sort of people , who otherwise would be debarred from the Justice which our Laws intended them , were content to dispense with it by reteining only the reason of the Law and allow of the Sheriffs Indorsing and Returning upon the Writ the feigned names of John Doe and Richard Roe for the Sureties put in by the Complainants to make good their Complaints or Actions ; who being before hand not a little furnished with their weapons of offense may without any difficulty not seldom suddenly surprise the altogether unprepared Defendants ; our Laws not without cause believing it to be possible that Rich men might oppress the poor , and that it is many times , easier to offend then to defend : and therefore that way of Inforcing the Plaintiffs to give Sureties or Pledges to prosecute their Actions was heretofore so strictly observed , as if no Sureties or Pledges to Prosecute were put in by the Plaintiff , he could not prosecute the Defendant at Law ; and if he made not his Action or Complaint appear to be just , had in those more Legally Thrifty Times for the Kings Rights and benefit a fine set or Imposed upon him by the Judges pro falso clamore for his causeless accusation , which doth frequently occur in the fine or Iter Rolls of the Judges of Assise in the Raign of King Edward the first and was Estreated and Returned into the Exchequer to be leavied upon his Lands Goods or Estate . And all that or some of that which was complained of , being not always likely to be true , would not think it just to give them leave to Arrest or Hurry the Defendants to Prison , as their Pride , Malice , Cruelty or oppressing Designs should incite them , without some pause or Interval which many times cooleth the fury of mens rage and Impetuosities in the pursuit of their causeless anger or malice , or by some other way or means lays aside their intended Law Sute , our Laws in the favour shewed to Defendants imitating therein the Civil Law ( from whose Excellent and largly streaming fountain much of their reasons and Maxims are borrowed and derived ) which in it's Practice and Tenets is favorabilior reo quam Actori , respects more the Defendant than the Plaintiff ; Actor quippe potuit omnia negotia ex consilio componere antequam reum vocaret , for that the Plaintiff hath commonly made all his matters readie , before he complains of the Defendant , or cites him to appear to his Action , reus vero quadam necessitate comparendi sibi imposita , ita facile saepe non potest sibi consulere , ut pro voluntate quae vult exequatur ; but the Defendant having a necessity put upon him d d Greg. Tholos . Syntagmate Juris , lib. 48. cap. 2. Sect. 18. to appear when he is summoned , cannot in that time so well provide for his defence , as to do , or perform , what he otherwise would do , which may be the cause , that apud Romanos Lege cautum ut Accusatori ( which was then in Civil , as well as in Criminal Cases ) in foro e e Plin. secundus lib. 4. Epist. urso suo . horae sex ad dicendum reo vero novem ad defendendum darentur , a Law was made by the Romans , that the Accuser should be allowed six hours at the Barr● or in a Court of Justice , to charge the Defendant ; but the Defendant was for his defence to have nine , that apportionment of time being afterwards contracted and abridged by Cn. Pompey , unto two for the Plaintiff , and three for the Defendant ; and long before that , amongst the Athenians and Lacedemonians , fuit constitutum , ut aequalibus votis super vindicando facinore f f Alexander ab Alexnndro Gemal dierum , lib. 3.25 . b. in diversa trahentibus pro reo judicium staret quod videbatur aequissimum , it was their Law or Custom , that where in a Case betwixt the Accuser or Plaintiff , and the Defendant , the Votes of the one side , and the other , sell to be equal , they held it most just or equitable to absolve or free the Defendant , and for that , or the like reason , it was , that Judge Hengham said in the Reign of King Edward the first , g g Hengham magna , cap. 6. quod Curia Domini Regis neminem decipere vult , that the Kings Court of Justice would not have any Defendant to be surprized or deceived , that by the Statute of the 51. of King Henry the third , the dayes or Retourns in the Court of Common Pleas in Real Actions for Lands , had so long a time allowed , as from the Octaves , or eight dayes after Michaelmas , which as to the day of appearance , is about the 9 th . day of October unto the Octaves or eight dayes of St. Hillary , which is as to the day of appearance , the 23. day of January next following , and of five Retourns in Dower which concerned only an Estate for life , from the Octaves or eight dayes of St. Hillary , which is the 23. day of January , unto quindena Paschae , or fifteen daies after Easter , which in most years doth happen about the middle of April next following , and by the Statute of 32 H. 8. cap. 2. daies were given in real Actions retornable in Octabis Sancti Hillarii , unto Crastino Sanctae Trinitatis , which is more than four months . And that there are and have been , to the intent that according to our Magna Charta the Defendant as well as the Plaintiff should be heard before Sentence or Judgement given , those Indulgencies of Essoins de malo vemendi , that a Defendant could not coveniently come , or of malo lecti , that he was sick , &c.

Such Licences or kind of leave , before Actions begun or prosecuted , being so essential to a right distribution of Justice , as antiently the parties could not compound or agree an Action or Suit depending , without a Licence from the King to ag●ee , as it is yet in praxi , in the course or manner of leavying Fines upon Writs of Covenant for a certain sum of money called by the name of the Kings Silver , paid to the King upon the prae-fine , and another sum of monie also upon the Post-fine , and sometimes , though now altogether dis-used , upon an Action of Debt , for no greater a sum of monie than 11 l. and some odd monie ; nor could the Plaintiff upon any mistake in his Action , amend the matter , or bring another Writ , without a Petition or Request ut recedat a brevi , that he might forsake that Writ or Action to purchase a better , all the pleadings at Law where the obtaining of a Writ is mentioned , alledging that the Plaintiff impetravit breve , did Petition for that Writ , and the special awarding of very many of the Writs and Process of Law being in the word petit breve de inquirendo de dampnis , &c. that the Plaintiff prayeth that he may have a Writ to inquire of Damages , &c.

And was not without the pattern of ancient daies , and the reasons that guided or conducted them unto it , when in King Davids time , as we may read in the Conspiracy and Rebellion of his Son Absolom , the people were coming to David with h h 2 Reg. cap. 15. Et Sigonius de Repub. Hebr. lib. 7. cap. 3. & cap. 7. with their Petions for Justice , and there were amongst the Hebrews , or people of Israel ( God in his most righteous Laws to that Nation which Moses afterwards told them farr i i Deut. 4. v. 8. & 25. v. 1 , & 2. surpassed the Laws of other Nations , ordaining ut ex praescripto res Judicarent , that matters of Controversie should be judged according to certain praescript forms and rules ) a certain sort of Magistrates , called Grammatoisogogei , which prefided over the Judges , qui causas quae ad se deferrentur , who received Petitions for Justice , recipere vel rejicere possent , & quas recepissent ad Judices introducerent , and having authority to receive or reject them , did deliver to the Judges those which they approved , to which custom or course , that speech of our Saviour Christ in the 12 th . Chapter of St. Luke alludeth , Cum vadis cum k k Luke 12. v , 38. Adversario tuo ad Principem in via da operam liberari ne forte trahat te ad Judicem , when thou goest with thine Adversary to the Prince , ( or Magistrate , ) as thou art in the way , give diligence , that thou may'st be delivered from him , lest he hale thee to the Judge . And the Athenians having afterwards used the like , the Romans , their wise Imitators , considering that hominem homini Lupum esse verissime dici solet , men are too often Wolves to one another , & cum vita nostra ob corruptam naturam sine litibus transigi non posset melius erat Judiciorum formulas introducere , quibus Judice cognitore homines disceptarent quam ferre quod quotidianis dissidiis ad arma & rixas prosilirent ; and the life of mankind by their corrupt nature , could not be without some Suits or Controversies , it would be better to introduce certain forms of Laws in the proceedings thereof , by which by the Judges appointment men might manage and frame their actions and fuits , than to suffer men to fight and brawl one with another , did ordain that , nemini liceret in judicio experiri nisi impetrata prius agendi formula a Collegio Pontificum , No man was permitted to prosecute another at Law , until he had obtained a form or direction for his Action from the College of Priests , who were then as the Priests amongst the Hebrews , the most learned and experienced ; afterwards the Praetor or Lord Chief Justice , or Juris Civilis Custos Guardian or Keeper of the Law in the time of their republique had authority actionem dare , to allow of the action , or negare to disallow it , and prohibited any Action to be prosecuted against a Parent or Children , or against a Patron , or the Parents Oldendorpius de Action . Solemnitatibus , aequissimum in permiss . de usu fruct. of a Patron , sine permissu suo , without his license : But afterwards when that imperious mistress of the world was married to the Caesars or Roman Monarchy , their Emperors , as Dioclesian and m m Alexand. ah Alexandro Ge●nal dierum , lib. 1. cap. 15 Maximian , Gordian , Valerian , and Galienus , and their successors , did by their Rescripts , of which infinite examples saith Brissonius n n Brissonius de formulis lib. 3.280 , 281 , 282 , 283 ▪ 288. might be instanced , allow of their Petitions for Debts , Trespass , or other matters before they were remitted to the Judges appointed , and thinks that the original of that Custom came ab ultima antiquitate , had a long before and very antient foundation , Et apud o o Bignonii notae ad librum 1. Marculfi formul. 520. & in lib. 1. Marculfi formul . cap. 37. & passim in eodem libro . Francos , amongst the old French there appears to have been antiently the like address to their Kings for Justice before they were recommended to the Judges .

And howsoever by the favour of some of our later Kings , and their Subordinate Courts of Justice for the ease and expedition of the Subjects in their suits and actions , as they can now of course , ( as it was acknowledged to be in the Reign of King Edward the ● ▪ ex gratia cursoria , by an indulged course , as they call it , out of the Courts to whose Jurisdiction it belongeth ) take out writs and process to arrest and prosecute as they shall have occasion , without the observance of those good and wholsome former rules and directions of our Laws , yet there is no record or proof to be found that any of our Kings have so far indulged those courses , as to release in that particular the rights and privileges of themselves and their servants in that necessary and well-becoming enforcing of leave or license first to be had , before any action or suite commenced against any of their servants , which the Laws and reasonable Customs of England derived from the rational Laws and Customs of so many wise and prudent Nations standing yet in force and unrepealed , or unabrogated , did and do yet intend and direct to be used in the case of all other men that were not the Kings Servants .

And the Civil Law having taught our Common Law that excellent use and policy of Tenures in Capite , and by Knight-service , the rules whereof they ought to observe in those services obliging a gratitude as long as they hold those lands in so beneficiary a manner ▪ which do tanquam ossibus haerere , fix and become inherent , and as it were connatural to the Lands , would if our Common Law should be silent , and there were no Antient Customs or usages to direct it , injoyn an observance and respect towards their fellow servants , as much as is now claimed in that particular by the Kings servants , not to be arrested , imprisoned or molested in their Persons or Estates without leave or licence first obtained of their Sovereign ; for if any sought to disturb their service or quiet , before that late unhappy conversion of those Tenures into free and common socage , which our seri nepotes and posterity will , as may justly be feared , rather lament with the weeping Prophet Jeremy , than have any the least cause or occasion of rejoycing or taking any comfort in that their supposed freedome or acquest , they would not only have been deservedly branded with that most infamous , and in it self a worse than Pilloried note of Ingratitude , but where the Civil Law and the reason of it could reach them , be lyable to the forfeiture or loss of the Fee or Land holden ; and therefore it was that those feudatary Laws , which have gained so great a reputation and entertainment throughout all Europe , the most civilized and well-governed quarter or fourth part of the world , and extended it self into some considerable parts of the other three , as far almost as the habitations of the wild and savage part of them , did adjudge Vasallum ob feudarii juris inficiationem proprietate feudi mulctari , That a Vassal or Tenant by Knight-service , may , if he deny the rights and observances due to the Lord of the Fee , be deprived or punished by the loss of it , Et contumacia p p Choppinus de de domanio Franciae , lib. 3. tit. 2.523 , & 524. quodamodo inficiationi feudi aequiparatur ex qua ingratus cliens ipsa etiam mulctaretur fundi proprietate Clientelaris , and a contumacy or contempt of the Lord , of whom the Client or Tenant holdeth his Land , is somewhat like to the denyal of the Lord Rights , whence it is , that an ingrateful Client or Tenant may be punished by the loss of the Land , for Reverentiam & honorem debet vasallus Patrono , nec Tit. in feud . de Vassal . qui contra const. Lothar . regis benif . aliea l. generaliter 13. D. L. venia 2. C. H. eum offendere debet , the Vassal or Tenant oweth reverence and honour to his Patron or Lord of his Land , ubi àutem debetur reverentia , vel ubi honor naturaliter est praestandus ibi est necessaria veniae impetratio , for where Reverence is due , or honour by the Laws of nature is to be performed , there or in such cases the asking of leave or licence will be necessary , from which our Common Law doth not much dissent ; when by King Henry r r L. L. Henrici primi cap. 43. & 83. the first his Laws , Qui facit advocatum contra Dominum suum per superbiam , perdat quod de eo tenet , he which proudly and presumptuously retaineth an advocate against his Lord , was to forfeit the Lands which he held of him , and where leave is given , unicuique se defendere in quolibet negotio , to every one to defend himself upon all occasions , there is an exception that it must not be contra Dominum quem tolerandum , against the Lord , whom he is to forbear ; and the words of the Tenant by Knights-service doing his homage , wherein he doth say , Jeo deueigne vostre home foyal & loyal , I become or acknowledge my self to be your man faithful and loyal , carries with it an obligation of fidelity , de vita & membris suis & terreno honore & observatione consilii sui per honestum & utile , of life and members , and of all earthly honor and observance , and keeping his Counsel in all things honest and profitable , saith the authentique or Red book of the Exchequer , and the Tenants holding of his hands betwixt the Lords in the doing of his homage , signifieth saith our Bracton Fleta and Coke reverentiam s s Cokes 1 part Comment upon Littleton , lib. 2. cap. 1. & lib. Rub. cap. 55. & subjectionem , Reverence and subjection , and being then unarmed , and his sword ungirt , denoteth that he is never to be armed against , or opposite to his Lord ( which by prosecuting or arresting any of his servants without leave , he may well be deemed to do ) and in that faedere perpetuo , as to them , eternal league betwixt him and his Lord , is not saith Bracton propter obligationem homagii , by the obligation of his homage , to do any thing , quod vertatur domino ad exhaeredationem vel aliam atrocem injuriam , which may turn to the disheriting of his Lord , or other great injury , ( which a sawcy and unmannerly arrest and haling of his servants to prison without licence first obtained , hindring thereby his dayly and special service , wherein his health , safety and honor , may be more than a little concerned , endangered , or prejudiced , must needs by understood to be ) which if he shall do , justum erit judicium quod amittat t t Bracton 80. Britton . 174. & Coke Comment. super Littleton lib 1. tit . homag . tenementum , it will be just that he should lose his Land , and our Writ of Cessavit per 〈◊〉 , by which the Tenant , if he perform not his services to his Lord within two years , shall have his Land recovered against him , redeemable only by paying the arrears of rents , if any , and undertaking to perform his services better for the future , bespeaks the same punishment , & a certain conclusion will therfore follow upon these premisses , that all such as did before the conversion of Tenures in socage , hold the King their Lands immediately , in Capite , and by Knights service , ought not to sue or molest any of his servants without license ; and although that inseparable Incident of the Crown , and most Antient and noble Tenure of Chivalry and military service is now as much as an Act of Parliament can do it , turned to the Plow , or socage Tenure , yet the fealty , which is , saith u u Coke Comment. super Littleton tit . homag . Sir Edward Coke , included in every doing of homage , which being done to a mesne Lord , is always to have a Salva fide , saving of the Tenants faith and duty to the King his heirs and Successors , doth or should put all that are now so willing to hold by that tenure , and to leave their Children and Estates to the greedy and uncharitable designs of Father-in-Laws under the conditions , and obligations of fealty , in mind or remembrance that by the fealty which they do or should swear unto the King , and the oath of Allegiance , which containeth all the Essential parts of homage and fealty , which are not abrogated by that Act of Parliament for alteration of the Tenures in Capite , and by Knights service into free & common socage , and the Oath of Supremacy , to maintain and defend the Kings Rights , Praeheminences , and Jurisdictions , cannot allow them that undutifull and unmannerly way of Arresting , Molesting , or Imprisoning any of the Kings Servants , without leave or licence first had , and that a Copyholder in Socage , forfeits his Lands if he speak unreverent words of his Lord in the Court holden for the Mannor , or goeth to any other Court wherely to intitle the Lord thereof to his Copyhold , or doth replevin his Goods or Cattel upon a Distress taken by the w w Vide compleat Copy-holder said to be Written by Sir Edw. Coke . Lord for his Rent or Service , or refuse to be sworn of the Homage which in Copyhold Estates is not taken away by the Act of Parliament of 12 Car. Regis Secundi , for the taking away of Homage upon Tenures in Capite , and by Knights Service . And where a Copyhold Tenant , against whom a Recovery is bad , cannot have a Writ of false Judgement , he hath no other remedy but to petition the Lord to Reverse the Judgement , nor can have an Assise against his Lord , but may be amerced if he use contemptible words in the Court of the Mannor to a Jury , or without just cause refuse to be of x x Cokes 4. relat. tit. Copyhold 146. idem 1. part . comment upon Littleton , lib. 2. cap. 1. it , that all the Lands of England are held immediately or mediately of the King , that every Freeman of London , besides the Oaths of Allegi●nce and Supremacy , takes a particular Oath when he is made Free to be good , true , and obeysant to the King , his Heirs , and Successors , and doth enjoy all the Liberties and Freedome of the City , Trade , and Companies , by and under them . And that they , and all other Subjects his astricti Legibus , which are under such Obligations , cannot by their Homage , Fealty , Tenure of their Lands , natural Ligiance under which they were born , and Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy , without violation of them , and the hazard of their dreadfull consequences , incroach upon those just and rational Rights and Priviledges of the Kings Servants , confirmed by as many Acts of Parliament , as our excellent Magna Charta of England hath been at several times after the making thereof , at the granting of which , King Henry the 3 d. took such care of his own Rights and Priviledges , as by his Writ of Proclamation to the Sheriff of York , wherein mention being made that he had granted to the people the Liberties mentioned in the Magna Charta , which y y Claus. 9. H. 3. m. 9. he would have to be observed , he commanded him nevertheless , that all his own Liberties and priviledges which were not specially mentioned and granted away in that Charter , should be specially observed as they were used and accustomed in the times of his Auncestors , and especially in the Raign of his Father King John .

For our allegiance due to the King being vincul●m ar●tius , a more strict tye betwixt the King and his Subjects , ingaging the Soveraign to the Protection and just Government of his people , and they unto a due Obedience and Subjection unto him ; by which saith the Custumary of Normandie , ●i tenentur contra omnes homines qui mori possunt , & vivere proprii corporis praebere consilium , & adjuvamentum , & ei se in omnibus Innocuos exhibere , nec ei adversantium partem in aliquo fovere , to give him councel and aid against all men living , and dying , to behave themselves well towards him , nor to take any ones part against him , z z Spelmans Glossar . in voce ligeantia et Custumar . vet. Norman . cap. 43. will leave such infringers of his Royal Rights and Piviledges inexcusable for the dishonour done unto him by Arresting , Molesting , or Imprisoning his Servants upon any Actions or Suit without leave or licence , and at the same time when many of them do enjoy the Priviledges of HAMSOCNE ( a word and priviledge in use and practice amongst our Auncestors the Saxons ) or questioning and punishing of any that shall come into their House , Jurisdiction , or Territotory , by the a a Spelman Glossar . in voce Hamsocne . gifts , grants , or permission of the King , or some of his Royal Progenitors , deny or endeavour all they can to enervate the Rights and Liberties of him and his Servants , when they may know that he and his Predecessors , Kings and Queens of England , have , and ought to have an Hamsocne , Ham in the Saxon Language signifying domus vel habitatio , an house or habitation , and Socne , libertas , vel immunitas , a liberty , immunity , or freedom , to question and punish any that shall invade the Liberties and Priviledges belonging to his House , Palace , and Servants , vel aliquid aliud faciendum contra voluntatem b b Vetus M. S. Monaster . de Coxford . illius qui debet domum vel curiam , or by doing any thing , saith an old Manuscript of Coxford Abby or Monastery , which is against the will of the owner of the House or Court , which King Henry the first in his Laws de Jure Regis , concerning some particulars of his Prerogative and Regality , did number amongst the rest , and accompt to belong unto him and his Successors , and in the perclose of that Law , which in some Copies is mentioned to be made assensu Baronum Regni Angliae , by the consent of the Barons of England , it is said haec sunt Dominica placita Regis , nec pertinent vicecomitibus apparitoribus vel ministris c c LL. Henrici primi . cap. 10. ejus sine diffinitis praelocutionibus in forma sua , these are the Rights and Jurisdictions belonging to the King in his Demesne , and do not belong to any Sheriffs Apparitors or their Bayliffs , unless especially granted unto them .

By which , and the HVSFASTENE , an old course and custom amongst the Saxons , which ordained that every house with their FOLGHERES , Followers , or Servants , should be in Franco Plegio , in some Franke pleg . or Liberty , where by the Courts held in those places , or Justice there to be had , any controversies betwixt them and others , or wrongs done by or unto them , might be determined the rule of the Civil Law , which in many of the Customs or Municipal Laws of this and other Nations , was the guide or Pole star which conducted them , being that actio sequitur forum rei , the Action to which our Common Laws have ever since in their Real and other actions much agreed , is to be tryed in the Court where the person or lands of the party defendant are , & that before recited law of K. Edw. the Confessor , which amongst other his highly valued Laws , Enacted , that Arch-bishops , Bishops , Earls , Barons , and all that had Soc a liberty of distributive Justice in their Lands or Territories , and Sac d d L L. Edwardi Confessoris , 21 , 22 , 23. a power to fine or punish such as were found guilty , either by complaining without a cause , or proved to have done wrong to another ( which gave or confirmed many a liberty , or set the example of the succeeding Kings , gratifying many of their Subjects with the like , in making them tanquam Reguli , little Princes within their own Estates or Dominions ) should have suas Curias & Consuetudines , their Courts and liberties in their view of Frank Pleg . Court Leets , and Court Barons , and should have under their Jurisdiction , etiam milites suos & proprios servientes , such as served them in wars , or held of them by the service thereof , or were their domestick or houshold servants , Item e e Bracton , lib. 3. c. 10. & isti suos Armigeros & alios sibi servientes , and the Esquires and servants likewise of their servants , saith Bracton , expounding that Law of King Edward the Confessor , the King certainly should not be denied his own Franchise view of Frank-Pleg or jurisdiction to do Justice where either his service or servants were concerned , or at least to be complained unto before any violent course of Law should be taken in other Courts against them , for otherwise if the King should not have always had such a franchise view of his Frank Pleg . or Laws or Customs Hospitii sui , as Fleta terms them , of his Royal House or Palace , there would have been some vestigia foot steps or track to be found either in the Antient Monuments and Memorials of our Laws , or of those of later ages , or of some other time , That the King had been an immediate or single Complainant by way of Action for any abuses only offered to his servants , or contempts to his person or Royal Authority , which by a long most just and necessary prescription , as far as time with his Iron teeth hath left us any remembrances was always left and reserved to the authority and Jurisdiction of the Lord Chamberberlain of the Kings House , and the Kings other great Officers , who by the Messengers of the Kings Chamber , who in such particulars have been as the Lictores , Sergeants or Bayliffs pro ista vice , upon such occasions to arrest and bring them to the Justice of the King in his Royal Court or Palace , and must needs be as lawful , or a great deal more in his own particular & immediate concernment , as it is for the Lord Keeper of the great seal of England , or Lord Chancellor to direct the Kings Serjeant at Arms allowed to attend that great and illustrious Officer and Superintendent of the Chancery by himself , or his Deputy to arrest and take into his chargeable custody the person of any that shall have committed any grand or reiterated contempt against the process orders or decrees of that honourable Court , or for that or the Court of Common-pleas , to make the Warden of the Fleets men or the Virgers or Tipstaves attending upon the said Courts , or for the Courts of Kings Bench or Exchequer to make the Marshals or Tipstaves thereof to be the Lictores or Messengers of their punishments and displeasure , or as the house of Peers in Parliament do make use of the Kings Usher of the black rod , and the house of Commons in Parliament of the Kings Serjeant at Arms ; nor could it have been likely that the Lord Chamberlain of the Kings house , who in the Reigns of our Kings Edward the first , second , or third , and probably by foregoing and elder constitutions , did in the absence of the Lord Chief Justice of England , vicem gerere , execute in the Kings Court , as Fleta tells us , the Office or place of the said Lord Chief Justice should not retain in the Government of the Kings Servants and Houshold , so much power as might protect them from injuries or their Royal Master from contempts or neglects of Duties , or respects to his person Palace or servants , for who that hath not bid defiance to his own Intellect , as well as the wisdom of former ages can pretend any shew or colour of Reason , that the King should want the power or authority to do as the late blessed Martyr King Charles the first did in the apprehension of certain Watermen in the year 1632. and committing them to Bridewell for refusing to carry the French Ambassador by Water , upon the complaint of the Kings Master of the Barge in the year 1634. for the apprehension of William Hockley a Hackney-Coachman for refusing to wait upon the French Embassador , or of John Philpots Post-master of Rochester for dis-respects to Monsieur St. German the French Embassador , or in the year 1636. for the arrest of John Clifford of Chelsey , upon the Complaint of the Spanish Embassador , or to cause one Robert Armstrong to be taken into custody by one of his Messengers in the year 1639. for arresting the Post-Master of St. Albans , who it may be , for ought the offender then knew , was bringing some Packet or Letters to the King or his Lords of the Councel , for the discovery of some impending dangers , which would need as sudden a prevention , as the Gunpowder once intended , and near atchieved Treason , or to cause in the same year Richard Horne of Watton in the County of Oxford to be arrested and taken into custody upon the complaint of Mr. Hiorne Deputy Steward of Woodstock , for not only refusing to furnish horses to carry the Kings Venison to Court , he being Constable , and required , and of duty ought to do it , but for reproachful and ill language ; or as was done not long before or after in his Reign , by a Warrant under the hand of the L. Chamberlain , for the apprehension of one that had spoiled or killed a Mastiff of the Kings , when as our Laws have not yet had any prescript , form , or writs remedial for any of those or the like accidents at the Kings suit only , for it would be no small disparagement to the Majesty of a King , and supreme of such an antient Empire , not to have power enough to redress complaints of that nature , or to be enforced to put Embassadors to be Petitioners to his inferiour and delegated Courts , of Justice , which no Monarchy , Kingdom , or Republique in Christendom was ever observed to suffer to be done for that which their Superiors , according to the Law of Nations ever had , and should have power to grant without them ; for when our Laws , which do not permit the King as a Defendant , to be commanded in his own name , under his own Seal , and by his own writs , or as a Plaintiff to supplicate those whom he commissionated to do Justice in his name , and by his authority to all & the meanest of his Subjects , to do a parcel of Justice to himself when he wanted no remedies , by his own Messengers or Servants to imprison any that should offend against his dignity and authority , and in matters of his Revenue , or for contempt of his Royal authority can by seisures or distress , office or inquisitions & process of his Courts of Exchequer , Chancery , Kings Bench , Common-Pleas , and Dutchy of Lancaster , &c. give himself a remedy , & is not to prosecute in any Actions at Law , as common persons are enforced to do , for our Kings should not certainly be denied their so just and legal rights , when by their Office and dignity Royal they are the principal Conservators of the Peace within their own Dominions , and by their Subordinate authority the Judges of their Courts of Record at Westminster , and the Justices of Assize can and do legally punish and command men by word of mouth to be Imprisoned or taken into Custody by their Tipstaves , Virgers , Marshals , or by the Warden of the Fleet , or his men attending them , when the Lord Steward of the Kings Houshold , Earl , Marshal , and Constables of England , are by their Offices Conservators and Justices of the Peace in all places of the Realm , and the Steward of the Marshalsea within the virge by that derived authority can do the like , and all the Justices of Peace in England were and are authorised by him who hath , or should have certainly a greater power than any Justice of Peace who may by Law award a man to prison which breaketh the peace in his presence , or appoint his servant to serve f f Lambards Eirenarch . 1 lib. c. 12 & 13. lib. 2. c. 2.88 , 89. 8 E. 4.14 . 20 H. 7.13 . 14 H. 8.18 . & lib. 1. ca. 3.14 & 15. Lamberds Eirena●ch . lib. 2.84 , 85. & 9 E. 4.3 . & Lamberts Eirenarchi● lib. 1.26.60 & 61. lib. 1. cap. 12. & 13. or execute his Warrant , or cause by word of mouth to be arrested or imprisoned , the person offending for contempts , or an offender being in his presence , to find security for the Peace , and by the Common Law cause Offenders against the Peace to be punished by corporal punishments , not capital , as whipping , &c. when a Sheriff of a County , and the Majors and head Officers of Cities and Towns Corporate do the like , under and by the power given them , by grants of the King and his Progenitors , when the Steward of the Sheriffs Turn , or a Leet , or of a Court of Piepowder , may commit any to ward which shall make any affray in the presence of any of them , when the Lord Mayor of London , whose Chamberlain of that City hath a power appropriate to his Office g g Stowes Survey of London . of Chamberlain , to send or commit any Apprentices of London upon complaint of their Masters , or otherwise to the Prison of the Compters , or to punish and reform such disobedient Servants ( though the younger Sons of Baronets , Knights , Esquires , of Gentlemen , and sometimes the elder Sons of decayed or impoverished Esquires or Gentlemen , who should have a greater respect given unto them then those of Trades men , Yeomandry , or lower Extractions by cutting and clipping their hair , if too long and proudly worn , or cause them to be put into a place well known in Guildhall London , Called Little Ease , where to a great Torment of their bodies they cannot with any ease sit , lie , or stand , or by sometimes committing them to Bridewell , or some other place , there to be scourged and whipt by a Bedel , or some persons disguised , for no man can tell where to find or discern any reason that the King should not , upon extraordinary occasions have so much power and coertion in his high and weighty affairs of government , protection of his people , and procuring and conserving their peace , welfare and happiness , as a St●ward of a Court Leet , or the Lord thereof in their far less affairs of Jurisdictions , by punishing of Bakers and Brewers , by that very ignominio●s and now much wanted use of the Pill●ry and Tumbrel , in the later whereof the Offender was to be put in a Cathedra or ducking stool placed over some stinking and muddy pool or pond , and several times immerged in it , or that by any law or reasonable custom our Kings of England are to have a more limited power in matters of punishment & government , or a less power than the Masters & Wardens of that petty and lower most ( the late erected Company or Corporation of the Midlers only excepted ) Company or Corporatio● of the Watermen who , acting under the Kings authority , can fine the Master Watermen for offences committed against by-laws of their own making , and imprison them without Bail or Mainprize for not paying of it , and cause their Servants for offences against their Masters , to be whipt and punished at their Hall by some vizarded and invisible Tormentors , or less than the power and authority of a Parish , and most commonly illiterate and little to be trusted Constable , who may upon any affray or breach of the Peace in his presence , or but threatning to break the peace , put the party offending in the h h Lambards Eirenarch , lib. 2. cap. 3.133 & 134. & tract . de office Constabl . 16 , 17. stocks , or keep him at his own house until he find sureties of the peace , or less than those necessary military powers and authorities exercised in Armies , Garrisons , or Guards , by inflicting upon offenders that deserve it , the punishment of running the Gantlet , riding the wooden horse , &c. or in maritime affairs , by beating with a Ropes end , ducking under the main yard , &c. when as the Powers given by God Almighty to his Vicegerent the King and Supreme Magistrate , and the subordinate and derivative power concredited by him to his delegated and commissionated inferiour Magistrates , are not debarred that universal and well-grounded maxim of Law and Right Reason , Quando Lex aliquid concedit concedere videtur & id sine quo res esse non potest , when the Law granteth any thing it granteth , the means without which the matter or thing could not be , which the now Lord Mayor or London , or some of the Sheriffs or Aldermen of that City thought to be Warrant sufficient for imprisoning ( if report be not mistaken ) a poor Cobler living in or near Fleet street , for stumbling upon a piece of a Jest or Drollery , and saying , he thanked God he had dined as well as the Lord Mayor , when his Lordships coming or being invited to dinner with the Reader and Society of the Inner Temple , in or about the latter end of the Moneth of March 1668. had upon his claiming a liberty to have the Sword of the City born before him within the Liberties of the Temple , caused some Tumult or Ryot , begun as the Gentlemen of that Society alleaged , by his own party , the harmless Coblers curiosity had only perswaded him to leave his small subterranean Tenement , shaded with his usual frontelet of a few old shooes , to be amongst many other of the Neighbourhood a Spectator of that contention betwixt the Lord Mayor and that Inne of Court concerning its Privileges , the one endeavouring to infringe , and the other to defend the Temples very antient & clearly to be evidenced privileges : And many Justices of the Peace would be unwilling that their punishments by committing of men to prison for ill words , mis-behaviours , or sometimes by a but supposed affront , given or used unto some of them for a Tobaccoe-pipe casually thrown out of the window of an Alehouse into a neighbor Justice of the Peace his Garden , when unperceived by the Thrower he was walking therein , should be adjudged to be without the bounds or limits of their Commissionated Authority , nor should they or any other of the Kings Subjects refuse to subscribe to that well-known ▪ Axiom conse●ted unto by our Laws , as well as the Law of Nations ▪ that derivativa potestas non potest esse major primitiva , that a derivative power (i) (i) 2 Ass pl. 4. or authority cannot be greater than the power and authority which gave it .

And therfore it should neither be taken to be any over bold assertion , vain imagination , or inference weakly built , conjecture or conclusion without premises , that the servants of the Kings of England in ordinary ought not to be bereaved of their aforesaid Privileges , and that all the Subjects of England are more then a little obliged to take a care that they should enjoy them , when as every Male of England and Wales , above the age of 12 years , are to take and swear the Oath of Allegiance , which was a law so long agoe instituted and ordained , saith Sir Edw. Coke before k k Calvins Case , Coke 7 Report . & LL. Edwardi Confessor . 3.35 . the Conquest as King Arthur , is by good Warrant believed to be the Author of it , and all the People of England , who since his Majesties happy restoration have sworn it , and by that great tie and obligation did undertake to bear truth and faith unto him and his Successors of life and member , and terrene honour , and that they should neither hear or know of any damage intended unto him which they should not defend , & all which do take degrees of learning & faculties in our Universities , all Judges , Serjeants at Law , Justices of Peace , Baristers at Law , Mayors , Sheriffs and Magistrates whatsoever , under Sheriffs and their Deputies , and all Bayliffs Officers and Clerks entrusted in any Court of Justice do not only take and swear the Oath of Allegiance , but the Oath of Supremacy , which is to defend the jurisdictions and privileges , preheminencies and authorities of the King his Heirs and Successors annexed to their imperial Crown and dignity , and by all those very binding , and soul as well as body engaging obligations should in no case endeavour to impugne or obstruct ( which the arresting of his Servants in ordinary , or his necessary attendants without leave or license first obtained doth assuredly do ) his so antient , so legal , and so long accustomed just Rights (l) (l) 26 H 8. cap. 1.1 . Eliz. cap. 1. & 5 Eliz. cap. 1. Jurisdictions , Privileges and authorities inseparably incident and appurtenant to his Royal government , it having been in the Reign of King Henry the 8 th . one of the Articles against Cardinal Wolsey , subscribed by the Lord Chancellor , the Dukes of (m) (m) Lord Herberts History of King Henry the 8 th . Norfolk and Suffolk , diverse Earls , Barons , and some of the Kings Privy Councel , that where it had been accustomed within the Realm , that when Noblemen do swear their Houshold Servants , the first part of their Oath hath been , that they should be true Leigemen to the King and his Heirs , Kings of England , the same Lord Cardinal had omitted to do it .

Nor have those rational , legal , necessary and well grounded privileges of Kings or Princes Servants , decursu Temporis , by any change or long course of time been so discontinued , antiquated or altered upon any pretence of grievance or inconveniencies whatsoever , as not now to be extant and found in our Neighbour Nations , and most other of the civilized parts of the world , not only where the fear of God or honour of Princes have any thing to do , but even amongst those which having not had light enough to know the true God , have in their ignorance fancied and made to themselves Deities of their own imaginations .

When our Neighbours of France , who were heretofore better acquainted with their Liberties than since they are , or are likely to be , did not think it to be a thing unreasonable that the King of France his servants in ordinary should enjoy those or the like immunities and privileges , when non nisi n n Vincentius Lupanus , lib. 1. tit . Magistr. hospitii . venia prius impetrata , without leave first obtained ab Architriclino sive Oeconomo hospitii regis , from the Master of the Kings houshold , ( as with us the Lord Steward or Lord Chamberlain ) neminem licet per Francorum leges in jus vocare in Palatio , It was not lawful by the Laws of France to sue or arrest any in the Palace , or belonging to the Kings houshold , Pares Franciae praetoribus Regiis non subjiciantur , The Peers of France o o Jo. Tilii Comment. de rebus Gallicis ▪ lib. 2.141.150 . & tit . de paribus Galliae . are not to be tryed by the Kings ordinary Courts of Justice , Et non ferebat nobilitas de feudis ab ignobili ullo judicari , the Nobility of France will not endure that any thing concerning their Fieffs or Lands should be tryed and adjudged by any which were not of the Nobility .

In the year 1288. which was about the 24 th . year of the Reign of our King Edward p p Tilii Commentar. de rebus Gallicis lib. 2.183.186 . the first in the case of John Pompline it was in the Parliament of Paris adjudged that he being the Kings servant in ordinary ought not to pay any Assessment .

And the like in the year 1311. in the Raign of King Philip the fair of France , which was q q Johannis Tilii Commentar. de rebus Gallicis lib. 2.183 . & 186. Tit de officiis domesticis Regum & Reginarum . Vincentius Lupanus lib. 1. tit . Magistr. hospitii ▪ about the 4 th . year of the Raign of our King Edward the second , in the case of Baldwin and Proger , Et Philippi pulchri constitutione ad Architriclinum sive Oeconomum actionalium personalium jurisdictio pertinebat quae a ministris Regiis omniumque criminum cognitionem sibi vendicabat quae in Comitatu Regis admittebantur , and by an Ordinance made by the said King the cognisance of all personal actions commenced by any of the Kings Servants did appertain to the said Master of the houshold , who claimed likewise the Trial of all Criminal matters committed in the Kings House .

Philip King of France called the Long , in the year 1317. which was about the 10 th . year of the r r Jo. Tilii Commentar de rebus Gallicis lib 2 ▪ 183 , 186 ▪ Raign of our King Edward the second did command that Taxes or Assessments taken from three of his servants should be restored unto them , which was consented unto by his Parliament , and by a decree in Parliament the next year after it was ordained that , Omnes Domestici Regis administri pronunciantur immunes ab omni commeatuum vectigalibus quos ad necessitatem & usum suum apportari curant , all the Kings houshold servants should not pay any Taxes for the provisions which they bought or provided for their necessary uses or occasions .

In a Decree of that Parliament made in the Raign of their King Charles the 5 th . called Charls the wise , in the cause of Silvester Cornelius the Kings Almoner , in the year 1367. which was about the 41 th . year of the Raign of our King Edward the 3. it was adjudged , that , Domestici officiarii immunitate gauderent a vectigalibus , the Kings houshold servants should be freed from Taxes .

By an Edict made by K. Charles the 6. of France ▪ & ratified by Parliament in the year 1408. which was about the 5. year of the Raign of our K. Henry the 5 th . It was ordained , Vt qui ministri Regis viginti Annos aut amplius ministraverint vacantes a ministerio stipendia tamen habeant , that those which had served the King 20 years or more , should , though they left their service , have their wages continued .

Immunitas ab indictionibus subsidiariis omnibus attributa domesticis Regum officiis de praediorum suorum fructibus cum approbatione Parliamenti , a privilege & freedom was granted by the aforesaid King Charls the 6. from all subsidies to be charg'd upon any of the Kings houshold Servants , by allowance of Parliament in the year 1411. which was in or about the 8 th . year of our King Henry the 5 th .

By a Letter of Lewis the 11 th . who raigned in France in the time of our King Edward the 4 th . sent to the Parliament and Registred therein , that King required , ut primo loco suorum officialium causas judicet nisi contendentium sit ipsius aut Reginae domesticus in quo casu se moveri jubet ut exponat de eo voluntatem suam , that in the first place they should hear and determine the causes of their own Officers , unless one of the parties should be the King or Queens servant in ordinary , and in such a Case commands that he be first moved , and his pleasure thereupon declared .

Francis the first , King of France in Anno 1525. which was about the 16 th . year of our King Henry the 8 th . sent his Declaration to that Parliament , wherein he ordained that his Mothers houshold servants should enjoy the like privileges as his Officers and servants did , and another Declaration to that Parliament in the year 154● . quod officiales domesticos & commensales suos ab omnibus tributis Indictionibus pensitationibus etiamque Canone in quinquaginta peditum millia praestando Immunes erunt , that all his Domestick Officers & Houshold servants should not be charged with any Taxes or Tributes , or with Assessments towards the payment of 50000 foot men , and a like Declaration in the year following de simili immunitate officiis Reginae domesticis & commensalibus attributa , of the like privileges to the Officers and Houshold servants of the Queen , seconded by a Declaration of Henry the second King of France Registred in Parliament in the year 1548. which was about the second year of our King Edward the 6 th . of the Privileges of the Kings Domestick and Houshold servants , and the like to the Domesticks and servants of Elianor the Widow (s) (s) Lovet Recueil d' Aucuns notables Arrests donnez ▪ en la Cour ▪ de Parlement de Paris ▪ cap. 31 ▪ Queen .

In which Kingdom also notwithstanding an ordinance made at Moulins about the year of our Lord 1566. which was about the 8 th . year of the Raign of our Queen Elizabeth , the Masters of Requests are not to be arrested or imprisoned for debt , until four months expired after legal notice .

In the year 1626. the King of France sending the Marshal de Bassompierre his extraordinary Embassador into England , to reconcile some differences betwixt our late Royal Martyr King Charles the first and his Royal Consort the Queen , concerning the discharge and sending away most of her servants of the French Nation attending upon her , contrary as was pretended to the Marriage Contract ▪ for some insolences and misdemeanors not to be tolerated , and that great Embassador bringing in his Retinue , Father Sancy a Popish Priest , whom our King had no respect for , in regard of some ill offices supposed to be done betwixt him and his Royal Consort the Queen , was no sooner come to Gravesend , but he had an express Order from our King to send back the Father Sancy , who was in his ill opinion , and could not be endured , to which the Embassador returning an Answer , that he was one of his Domesticks , and humbly intreating his Majesty not to intermeddle therein , said , that the example alleged of Mr. Walter Mountague , who being in the Retinue of our Embassador , Sir Dudley Carleton in France , was upon the command of the French King in like manner dismissed , was not to be any rule or reason in his case , and that howsoever our English Ambassador Carleton permitted it , he would t t Negotiation du Marescal . de Bassompiere en Angleter . en l' An. 1626. p. 91 , 92.153 rather lose his life than suffer such an affront to be done unto him ; whereupon the Lord Conway , principal Secretary of State after his coming to the Court , bringing him a message from the King , that he would not give him audience , although he had promised it , unless he would first send Father Sancy back into France , the Embassador replyed , that it would be in vain that his Majesty should desire any such thing of him , parce que absolument il ne le feroit ponit & que si il ne vouloit plus donner audience il retourneroit vers son roy , for that he was absolutely resolved not to do it , and if he might not have his Audience , he would return home without it , and notwithstanding that he was extremely pressed by some of our Ministers of State , who alleaged that the Kings honor & reputation was engaged therein , continued his Refusal , for that the Father Sancy came along with him by order of his King and the Queen Mother , whereupon the Embassador having certified his King of France of the proceedings therein did not long after by a Letter under his own hand receive his approbation for what he had done .

In the Empire of Germany the Domestique servants of the Emperor are not bereaved of the Privileges of servant● attending upon the u u Severinus de Monzombono de statu Imperii Germanici cap. 5 , 6 , 9.14 . & 21. person as well as the publick cares of their Soveraigns , when the Familiae Regiae cum inter se tum vel adversus alios controversiae in Consilio Procerum & Populi disceptantur , the controversies of suits ( which is to be understood where the Judicium or Tribunal in Aula Caesarea in the Emperors Court cannot compose them ) of the Emperors family brought eith●r by or against them , are to be heard or decided in the Diets of other publike meetings of the States of the Empire .

At Florence , Siena , and Pisa in Italy no man may arrest or x x Dalingtons Survey of the great Duke of Tuscanies Estate in the year 1596. commence a suit against a Courtier , Souldier , or Estranger without a special Licence from an Officer of the great Dukes Court thereunto appointed .

In the very large Dominions of the Ottoman Empire , such as receive any wages , or pay coming from the Exchequer , or have any Office depending on the Crown , are commonly free from the least y y Paul Ricault state of the Ottoman Empire , c. 3. Injury to be offered unto them , when such as offend therein are sure to be severely punished .

Those sons of Winter & rudeness the Russians or Moscovites can in their small commerce with Latine or other learning , and the better manners of their neighbour and other Nations so well understand the Privileges or respect of Kings and Princes Embassadors , who are therein but as their especial Servants or Messengers , as when in the Earl of Carliles Embassy from our Soveraign King Charles the second thither to the Tzar or Emperor of Moscovy in the year 1664. a Gentleman of Plescoe having seized or distreyned two Horses belonging to the Embassadors Train , which he had found in the night to have broken into his Pastures , the Governor or Plescoe was z z Relation of 3 Embassies of the Earl of Carlile into Moscovy , written by G. magie one of his attendants 322. & 366 no sooner enformed thereof , but he apprehended the Gentleman , and sent him bound to the Embassador to beg his life , which upon his acknowledgement of the indiscretion of the fact was easily pardoned by the Embassador , the King of Sweden not denying those respects which are due ro Embassadors , when in an Embassy into Sweden in the same year , he did at the Embassadors request release out of prison one of the Embassadors servants that had in a Duel slain a German Colonel of the Embassadors retinue .

The People of Holland and their confederate Provinces who do so fondly dream of their freedoms , do not think their so hardly gained liberties lost or retrenched , when for the military part of their Illustrious Princes of Orange or Stadtholders , Domestiques , or any of those they call the States general servants , being the greatest part of their Menials , they cannot Arrest and prosecute any of them at Law , before leave petitioned for , and obtained ; and as for any other of their servants not imployed in the War , or any of those many several sorts of Officers and Offices appurtaining thereunto , there are enough of that Nation can tell that their Greffiers or Process makers can , although they are to make out their Mandates and Process ordinarily , and in common forms , without a special order of the Judge or Recht Heer so easily find the way to a Biass , or partiality as to deny it , in the case of any of their Superiors Domestiques , until they have a special order for it , which after a tedious attendance is not to be gained until the matter or debt complained of be referred and put to certain vreede mackers Peace-makers , or Arbitrators , who can toss the Case in a Blanket , and make the Plaintiff a Labyrinth of delays , which at long treading shall only bring him to a Mandate , and a tyring , chargeable and tedious prosecution at their Law against such a p●otected seemingly unprotected servant .

Nor is it rationally to be believed that the servants attending upon the person , or in the a a Samedo relat. del China parte 1.20 . Court of the Emperor of China , whose Dominions are , as Samedo saith , as big as Spain , France , Italy , Germany , the Belgicque Provinces , and Great Brittain , where the Mandarines his great Officers of State , Lord Lieutenants or Governors of Provinces , are by the common people so highly reverenced , Hornii orbis Politic. parte 4.71 . S●medo part 1. cap. 22.115 . as they are as they pass almost ador'd in all places , the people passing in the Streets alighting off their horses , or coming out of their Chairs or Sedans , when they meet them do not enjoy as great a Privilege as the Servants in ordinary of our English Kings do claim to be free from Arrests or suits in Law , before leave or licence first obtained of some of the superiour Officers of his Court or Houshold , wherein there are nine Tribunals called Kicu Kim , particularly appointed for matters of controversies which concern the Servants .

In those largely extended Empires of Japan , Persia , Industan , and all the African and Asiatique b b Varenius de regno Japan . cap. 7. Kingdoms and Dominions , where the power and will of the Princes are their Laws , the fear and obedience of their Subjects are so very great , and their reverence so extraordinary , as they do honour and esteem them as Demi-Gods , and have so great a respect of their Chancellors , Privy Councellors , great Officers of State and servants implyed by them , no man can so much mis-use his reason or understanding , as to harbor any thought or imagination that the servants of those Emperors or Princes are at any time without leave or license arrested or prosecuted at Law .

And well might our Kings and Princes , and all other Soveraign Kings and Princes understand the mis-usage and disgrace of their servants to be Crimen immunitae Majestatis , no small crime or lessning of Majesty , and an abuse and disparagement to themselves , when the Romans , with whom their neighbours the Sabines scorned to Ally or marry , in regard of their then ignoble race and originals , could in the height and grandeur of their all-conquering Republique , after so many liberties obtained by taking them from others , creat and constitute Majestatem populi Romani , a Majesty so called of their faction breeding , inconstant and popular government , and accuse Rabirius Posthumus of Crimen laesae Majestatis , high Treason , for that being a Citizen of Rome , he had contra morem majorum , the usage and custom of the Romans , made himself a Servant or Lacquey to Ptolomy King of Aegypt at Alexandria , whereby to procure c c Suetonius in Claudio , & Budaeus Annotat. in Pandect 45. ex libro 47. digest . some money to be paid which was there owing unto him .

Neither are those that stand before our Kings and Princes , or attend upon their persons , or near concernments of their Royal Houshold , as Servants in ordinary to be ranked amongst the multitude , or put under an ordinary Character , when reason of State , reputation of Princes , and the usage and custom of Nations have always allowed distinctions and respects proper and peculiar unto them .

For so much difference was alwayes betwixt the servants of the Kings of England , who by the irradiation of Majesty , and Regal Resplendency are not without some participation or illustration of it , as they were always allowed a precedency before the greatest part of their Subjects , not of the Nobility and Clergy , for the Grooms of the Kings Bed-chamber doe take place of any Knight , whether he be the Kings servant or not ; and a Knight being the Kings Servant , is to take place of any Knight which is not the Kings servant in ordinary , the Kings Attorney , and Sollicitor general , and Serjeants at Law , except the two Puisneys of the Kings Serjeants at Law have not only precedency before other Lawyers and men of the long Robe , not Judges or Mas●ers of Requests d d Cassan●●s ● parte Catalog . gloriae mundi . ●6 consid. & per Text ad literam in ●uth ▪ ●t ordinariae praesentur . the later of which if but extraordinary , and Advocates or Lawyers debet alios Advocatos precedere ) but with the Kings other Councel of Law extraordinary , and the Queens and Princes or heir apparants Attorney and Sollicitor general , are in their Pleadings allowed to sit within the Bars of the Chancery & Courts of Justice beneath the L. Chancellor , L. Keeper or Judges , and are to have a prae-audience before any other Lawyers , by the custome of England drawn and derived from that of the Civil Law , the superintending reason of many of our Neighbour Nations , which ordaineth , e e Budaeus Annotat. in Pandect. titulo de officio quaestoris . that Advocatus Fisci the Kings Attorney general being first instituted by the Emperor Adrian , prae●dit quoscunque advocatos etiam eo antiquiores , quoniam major est autoritate , is to precede and take place of all other Advocates , although they be his Antients , for that he is greater in authority , & post advocatum fisci sedere debet in foro procurator Fisci , f f gl . est notab . in verbo restituuntur , Sect. fi F. de Jure Fisci & de Procuratoribus . etiam ante omnes alios advocatos simplices non habentes aliam dignitatem cum Procurator Fisci etiam advocatus dici potest , and next to him in the Court ought the Kings Solicitor general to sit before any other Advocates having no other dignity , when as the Kings Solicitor general may in some sort be said to be the Kings Attorney general , and the kings Attorneys and Sollicitors general are stiled Spectabiles , a title betwixt that of Illustris antiently given to Emperors , Kings , and Princes , and that of Clarissimus given to Senators , & tale officium confert dignitatem & est nobile ossicium , and such an Office conferreth or makes a dignity , and is a noble Office , g g Jason in A Rub. text in l. in sacris 3 Sect. modum . Selden 2 part Titles of Honour c. 16. Sect. 2. and many of the Kings Maenial or Domestick Servants which are under the ranks and titles of Nobility , and were not theeldest Sons of Knights , are as our learned & judicious Sir Henry Spelman hath observed , meerly , and only by their serving the King , said to be Esquires or Gentlemen and Trades-men serving their Prince , h h Spelman Glossar . in voce Armiger 42.43 . or the kings Sadler , the kings Grocer , and the kings Haberdasher , the kings Lock-smith , &c. may by their offices or places stile themselves i i Ant. Faber defin. 18 ▪ num 4. & defin . num. 8. Gentlemen , for although by the Civil Law , vaenalitia seu usus vilis artificii ipso facto nobilitatem amittat , a Trade consisting of buying and selling or handicra● , doth in the very act not allow them to be Gentlemen , yet Principum artifices nobiles sunt , the Workmen of Princes are ( as it were ) Nobles , the comprehensive term of Gentry , quia k k Flamin de rubes cons. 22. n. 20. Nolden de statu nobil . cap. 22. Sect. 1. & Cassanaeus catalogo gloriae mundi 8 parte consid. 11. omnes in dignitate positi , for they have a kind of dignity belonging officiariis principum , to the servants or Officers of Princes .

It being adjudged in the Court of Common Pleas in the 14 th . year of the Raign of King Henry the 6 ▪ that the Serjeant of the l l 14 H. 6. tit . debte 71. Kings Kitchin , or any other servant of the King in any other Office in his house is a Gentleman , and it was then said by Juin the Chief Justice , that those of the Kings house would be grieved if they shoul be otherwise named , and it was by Newton one of the Judges of that Court then declared , that Gentleman or Esquire is a name of worship , that of Esquire being as antient in the Courts of our kings as the time of king Alfred , who by his last will and testament , recorded by Asser Menevenses m m Asser Menevensis . gave Legacies Armigeris suis to his Esquires , that Title being formerly so uncommunicable to the Vulgar , as the eldest sons of Dukes and Barons have not believed themselves to be disgraced by it , and in France n n Tilius Comment. de rebus Gallicis lib. 2.173 . as late as the raign of their King Francis the first , who was contemporary with our king Henry the 8 th . a valet de Chambre , to the king was appellatio honorifica an honourable title , and the French kings Karvers were no longer agoe than in the reign of our Queen Elizabeth stiled Armigeri , Esquires ; and was not heretofore so apt to be mis-used as it is now , when too many of our Barristers , or Apprentices at Law , do so much mistake themselves as to dream that a Tayler , Tanner , Butcher , Victualler , or Yeomans Son , though nothing of kin to a Gentleman , is ipso facto an Esquire when he is called to the Bar in an Inns of Court , or being an Officer in a Court of Justice , and admitted into an Inns of Court , heretofore only destinate and appropriate to the Sons of Nobility , or real , not self made or created Gentry , as the learned Sir John Fortescue o o Fortescue de laudibus legum Angl. Chief Justice , and believed to be afterwards Chancellor of England under our King Henry the 6 th . hath rightly observed , with whom Sir John Ferne a learned Antiquary and Lawyer , who lived in the later end of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth , and was so great an honourer of the Profession p p Fernes glory of Generosity , 9. ● ▪ and Professors of the Civil and Common Laws , , as he saith they do deserve honour and reverence of all men , and referring us to Ludovicus Bolognius of the 130 Privileges due to a Doctor of the Laws , declareth that they ought to be honoured in the Courts of Princes , according to that saying , Doctores Legum q q Ang●l lib. 2. cap. de Officiis . sunt honorandi ab omnibus , Doctors of Law are to be honoured of all men , and under that notion comprehendeth Serjeants at Law , and other the Legists and Professors of the Common Law doth not disagree when he giveth us not only the evidence that none but Gentlemen r r Fernes glory of Generosity , 37 , 43.58 . were admitted into the Inns of Court , but the reason thereof , for that Nobleness of Blood joyned with Virtue maketh a man fit and most meet to the enterprizing of any publick service ; and for that cause it was not for nought that our antient Governors in this Land did with a special foresight and wisdom provid● that none should be admitted into the houses of Court being Seminaries , sending forth men apt for the Government of Justice , except he were a Gentleman of blood : And that this may seem a truth , I my self , saith he , have seen a Kalender of all those which were together in the society of one of the same houses , about the last year of King Henry the 5th . s s Fernes glory of Generosity , 24. with the Arms of their Houses and Family marshalled by their names , when Gentry was in that Kings Reign so rightly esteemed and valued , as he being to raise an Army to go with him into France did in that warlike age by his Edict or Proclamation prohibit any to go with him but such as had Tunicas Armorum , did bear Coats of Arms , or were gently born or discended , except such as had served in the Battle of Agen-Court .

And the strict observance of admitting none into the Inns of Court but such as were born Gentlemen , was so lately used in some if not all of the Inns of Court , as Sir John Archer Knight , now one of the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster , did in his valedictory oration or speech made to the Society of Grays-Inne , whereof he was a member , at his departure from thence , when he was made a Serjeant at Law , mention it to have been a custome in that House at his first coming thereinto , to admit none but such as were Gentlemen born . And Sir John Ferne was so far from allowing the degree or title of Barrester , to make one ignobly born to be thereby ipso facto in truth a Gentleman , as he was of opinion that if such a Barrester were not before a Gentleman born , it only gave him as it did to Doctors of Law , Divinity , Physick , Prothonotaries , and other Learned men , a capacity to demand or have a Coat of Armes given him , and to be then stiled a Gentleman ; otherwise he might only write himself A. B. Gentleman of Lincolns or Grayes-Inne , but not A. B. of Lincolns or Grayes-Inne Gentleman , and was no longer such a reputed Gentleman , than he continued in that Society into which he was admitted ; and wished that Supreme Authority would renew the first institution of those Assemblies , and that by Visitation all such might be weeded out that cannot shew the badge of a Gentleman : For notwithstanding that the famous Lawyer Vlpian t t Cassanaeus 8 parte Catalog . gloriae mundi , consid. 10. was sometimes stiled Nobilis , and at other times Clarissimus , yet if he were not born a Gentleman , it was propter Sapientiam vel Nobilitatem animi , in regard of his Wisdom and Nobility of mind , improprie dictum , and improperly so called .

For the title of Gentleman well understood , hath more of a Worshipfull signification , than the name or title of Esquire u u Budaeus in suis Annotationibus in Pandect. in l. fi. in fi. ff. de origine Juris , & Cassanaeus in 8 parte Catalog . gloriae mundi , 3 consid. , which in its primitive use or acception was but a Scutifer , or Armiger , a Shield or Armour-bearer , as was that of Jonathans Servant to a Horseman or Gentleman ; 1 Sam. ca. 14.3 . for such were they most commonly called or allowed to be , who held their Lands of the King in Capite , or by Knight-service ; and at the old Rome it was a credit or mark of esteem , to be said and believed to be a Gentleman de gente Julia , Octaviana , vel Claudia , of such or such a Kinred , Off-spring , or Race , as the Children of Israel were long before known and distinguished by their Tribes or Genealogies .

And that eminently learned Antiquary Sir Henry Spelman , inveighing against such an abuse of the title of Esquire , wonders that the Benchers of the Innes of Court would suffer it , and saith , that not long before this present Century or age wherein we now live , x x Spelmans Glossar . in voce Armiger . 43. Nominatissimus in patria Jurisconsultus aetate provectior etiam munere gaudens , publico & praediis amplissimis generosi titulo bene se habuit , the worthiest antient Lawyer , and most eminent in his Countrey , of great Estate , and in a publick Office , did well content himself with the title of a Gentleman ; sic alii nuper viri splendidi , sic quidem hodie celeberrimus Serviens ad Legem , so other eminent men y y Spelmans Glossar . in voce Armiger . 43. , and so a famous Serjeant at Law , forte guod togatae genti magis tunc conveniret Civilis illa Appellatio quam Castrensis altera , probably because that Civil Appellation or Title , did more agree with the Gown , or men of the Long Robe , than that of Esquire , which was derived from War , or antiently used but as an attendant upon it .

And in that did not much dissent from the learned Sir Robert Cotton , who believed , that the bearing of Armes was not before the time of Bartolus that great Civil Lawyer , who lived about the year of our Lord 1356. in the Reign of Charles the 4th . Emperor , permitted to Gown-men , Lawyers or Advocates , or as the French do z z Sir Robert Cotton in tractat . variorum de Officio Constabularii Angliae . term them , Men of the Long Robe , ( and under that name , saith he , are Learned men , Clergy , and Scholars comprehended ) or else why should that great Lawyer Bartolus argue the matter , whether it were convenient that he should take or bear the Armes which that Emperor offered to give him , being a peculiar Reward and Honour in Military Service in antient time , or whether he should refuse it at the Emperors hands ; for if it had been then usual for the Long Robe to have enjoyed the honour of bearing of Armes , Bartolus would never have doubted thereof : But since it was not then accustomed , he made it a question whether he should take those Armes or no ; but in the end concluded , that the Fact of his Prince was neither to be disputed or rejected , and therefore was willing to assume the Armes which the Emperor had given him .

And in England without the Authority of their King & Soveraign , amongst other the affairs and businesses of Genealogies bearing , allowing or granting of Coats of Armes , & usage of titles and distinctions of Degrees , delegated to the principal Heralds and Kings of Armes in their several Provinces , will as little become those which are not of Gentle extraction , in their unduly assumed title of Esquire , as it would do an High Sheriff , Justice of Peace , or Escheator , being no Esquires , and sometimes no Gentlemen , to imagine themselves to be Esquires , or any more than quasi Esquires , or Esquires improperly so called , because they themselves gave the Clerk or writer of their Patents or Commission , a direction so to stile them ; or the Clerk or writers pen , following the mode of the like mistakings , did with as little authority as reason so create them ; which supercilious self-conceited Errors the Kings Great Seal of England , and the great Honour and Authority which doth legally and justly appertain unto it , cannot support or make to be no Errors ; when as it is male recitando , ( although the Kings giving by an actual Ceremony the Honour of Knighthood , to one that is not a Gentleman born , doth ipso facto in the opinion of our learned Selden , a a Selden 549 §. 24. make such a Knight to be a Gentleman ) and will be as much without the reach of a Non-obstante or dispensation , as where Lands are said to be one mans , when they are anothers ; a Town named a City , when it is not ; a Church said t● be in one Diocess or County , when it is in another ; or when a man disenabled , or ungentleman'd by reason of his Fathers attainder of Treason , and corruption of blood , shall without restoration or reversal of that Attainder , be mentioned or recited in the Kings Letters Patents as an Esquire or Gentleman .

Or that an High Constables Wife should swell her self into an opinion , that her Husband is as much an Esquire as the best , because the Sheriff , Under-Sheriff , or Under-Sheriffs Deputy ▪ or Clerk of the County where he dwelleth , when he was retorned to be a Jury-man , foolishly and carelesly stiled him in his Pannel by the name and title of Esquire .

But would be as great an affront to truth , and contradiction to reason , as some Citizens of London late invented piece of proud non-sense , or ungrounded phansie , to stile a wealthy Citizen an Alderman , or dream that he is one , when he is none at all , and paid a great Fine that he might be none , and is not so much as entitled to wear an Aldermans Gown , but is no more than a Gownless mis-called Alderman ; and can have no more of truth or reason in it , than for a Chambermaid to a Lady , dressed up in her Ladies old Clothes , to believe her self to be a Lady , because some overcomplementing small piece of wit hath mistakenly called her so ; or for a man of 20 l. per annum Free Land , to believe himself to be a Knight , and his Wife a Lady , because when according to the Statute made in the first year of the Reign of King Edward the Second , he was summoned to take the Order of Knighthood upon him , he compounded and paid a Fine to escape that dignity , which was too big for his quality or estate ; and as great a madness and ridiculous , as that of Don Quixot , or our late Countryman Parsons the Taylor , fancying himself to be the Romance Knight of the Sun ; or for a Bum Bayliff , or Countrey Catchpole , to imagine himself to be a Knight , or his Wife a Lady , because in imitation or observance of some antient courses or usages in our Laws , he was upon a Writ of View , in a Writ of Right or Entry , Dower or Formedon , retorned by the Sheriff to have been present at the View , by the title or addition of a Knight ; and as little consonant to reason and truth , as for a Sheriff or Justice of Peace to think himself to be an Esquire , because the King by his Commission for that particular time or purpose , was pleased to stile him so ; or if it did conferre such a Title or Dignity , yet it ought not to remain either to a Sheriff or Justice of Peace , when they are exuti dignitate , out of those temporary Offices , by the Office of Sheriff being determined , or the turning the Justice of Peace out of Commission , which our reason as well as the Civil Law will not permit ; when by the summoning of a Great man of England to assist in the House of Peers in Parliament , or to attend therein , he is not thereby to be accompted a Baron by Writ , or to have Fee therein to him and his Heirs , unless he have been thrice summoned and obeyed those Writs .

And the Civil Law will tell us , that Si ratione alicujus officii debeantur aliqua signa seu insignia , if any Armes be given ( the like being to be said of Titles ) by reason of any place or office , they are but b b Cassanaeus catalog . gloriae mundi , parte 1. concl. 52. durante officio , & finito illo transeunt ad successores officiarios , during the continuance of that Office , which being determined it goeth unto those which do succeed in that Office .

And that and the Law of Nations will give us the reason of a greater respect to be given unto the Kings Servants , rather than unto any other mens Servants , when the Emperors of the West and East were so carefull that their Domestick Servants and Guards should have a more than ordinary regard wheresoever they came , or had any occasion of business , though in any part of their large Dominions far or remote from their Imperial Courts , as in a Rescript of the Emperors Valentinianus , Theodosius , and Arcadius , order was taken and a command given , ut Domestici ac Protectores osculandi cum salutaverint Vicarium , Praefecti , Praetorii , habeant potestatem poena enim Sacrilegii similis erit si his honorificentia non deferatur qui contingere purpuram Imperatoris digni sint aestimati ; that the Domesticks or Houshold Servants ( of note ) of the Emperors , and the Guards attending the Court , who were thought worthy to be about their persons , when they came to salute the Deputy or Lieutenant c c Cuiacius ad Comment. lib. 12. Cod. Justiniani tit. 17. in l. 1. C de Domesticis & Protect . l. 12. & Salmuthius Commentar. in Panciroll . tit. 46. of the Major Domo , Lord Steward of the Emperors Houshold , and General or Chief Captain of the Guards , or the Governours of some Provinces or part of the Empire in the later Emperors times , should be allowed to kiss him ; which the very learned Salmuthius in his Comment upon Guido Pancirollo , interprets to be commonly a kissing of the hand , as well as the sometimes receiving of a salute or kiss of the mouth ; which summi honoris loco tribuitur , saith Cuiacius , was esteemed to be the greatest honour , for they deserved as much as the punishment usually inflicted upon those who committed Sacriledge , which gave not due honour or respect unto those which were thought worthy to be near their persons .

And were so unwilling that any of their Servants , which were imployed in any eminent places about their persons or affairs , should when they had quitted their Offices or places , be reckoned amongst the Vulgar , as the Emperors Valentinianus and Theodosius did by their Rescript ordain , that qui suae quodammodo adsidere Majestati videntur , which had the honour to be near their persons , should post depositum officium d d Cuiacius Commentar. lib. 12. Cod. Justiniani tit. 9. ab omni Indictionis onere seu Civilium seu Militarium judicum prorsus immunes , after they had left their places , be altogether free from all Taxes Civil or Military ; for si quis lateri Principis ipsius permissu adhaereat nobilis efficitur , e e Aug. in l. omnium col . 1. & Tiraquel . de nobilitate ca. 6.48 . such of the Kings Servants as are attendant and near unto his person , are reputed Noble and Honourable , and their Virtue conjoyned with Riches , and their imployment about the Fountain of Honour may well deserve a preheminence above other mens Servants ; when as the Service of such as received their honour from the f f Plinius ad Spurinam Epist. 5. Prince , was as the younger Pliny said in his time , pronum ad honoris iter , a ready way to honour and gentleness , or the bearing of Armes , saith Sir John Ferne , may be obtained by the service of the Soveraign , according to the Rule of the Civil Law , with which that learned Civil as well as Common Lawyer was not meanly or little acquainted ; adhaerentes lateri Principis , & eidem in officio quocunque g g Sir John Fernes glory of Generosity 60. minimo ministrantes nobilitantur , those which are in the Service of the King , and near unto his Person , or imployed by him in the meanest Service , are in some sort so enobled as to claim the bearing of Armes , or Badges of Gentility ; and Ideo & Coquum Principis in dignitatem haberi & h h Cassanaeus in Catalog . gloriae mundi 1 parte consid . 48. & Bartolus in l. 1. C. de dignitat . lib. 12. nobilem esse oportet , & omnes famulantes Principi sunt in dignitate , therefore a Kings Cook ought to be so much respected , as not to be denyed the like Priviledge , and all the Kings Servants have a certain Dignity to them appertaining ; and some of our English Nobility have granted , as an Earl of Stafford did to Mackworth one of his Servants , Insignia Nobilium , Coats of Armes to their Servants and Followers . And the French , Burgundians and Millanois , as well as many of our antient English Nobility , have heretofore permitted their Clients , and such as held their Lands of them i i Cassanaeus in Catalog . gloriae mundi 1 parte concl. 48. , to take and use some part or resemblance of the Armes of their Lords or Seignors . Wherefore the excellently learned Cassanaeus , having travelled through the vast Volumes of the Civil and Caesarean Laws , and wrote his Book entituled Catalogus gloriae mundi , in the beginning of the Reign of our King Henry the 8th . did not certainly stray or wander out of the paths of right reason , when he understands the Honour acquired by being the Servant of a Soveraign Prince , to be as well the cause of their Priviledges and Immunities , which he positively affirms to be ratione dignitatis Officii , by reason of the dignity of their Offices and Places , as the import and necessary use of their Offices and Places about the Person , health and safety of the Prince , in which the well-being of the Universality of the people and Body Politick are concentred : And that they are called k k Cassanaeus in 6 parte Catalog . gloriae mundi , consid. 33 , 38.19 . l. 4. C. de dignitatibus l. 12. Tex . in l. cum dilectus & ibi gl . fi. Curiales , Courtiers , ex quo cum Cura esse debent , in respect of the Cares which they take in the service of their Prince ; & mitius agendum Curialibus & Aulicis quam aliis , & parcendum honori & verecundiae domus Regiae , & his qui pro domo & parentibus Regiis laborarunt , & the Servants of the King are to be more favoured than the Servants of other men , and a special regard ought to be had unto the honour of the House or Palace of the King , and those which do labour and take pains for the good thereof , and the Kings Family ; that amongst the Domesticks or Servants of the King or Soveraign Prince , omnis ordo recipit splendorem a Principe , every degree or rank hath in some sort the resplendency and reflection of their Soveraigns imparted or communicated unto them . Et cum Senatores excusantur a fortiori Curiales & l l Cassanaeus in 6 parte Catalog . gloriae mundi , 29 consid. Familiares Principum , nec ex eo eorum conditio deterior fieri debet cum circa Principem se obsequiales exhibent universis , and when Senators ( or Parliament-men ) are priviledged , by a greater reason ought the Princes Servants to be priviledged ; neither should their condition be made to be worse than theirs , seeing that when they do Officiate about the Prince , they do at the same time serve the People and Weal-publick ; and recounting some of the Priviledges of the Court Officers and Servants , doth amongst others agree , that Curiales in hoc privilegiantur quod praedia eorum non possunt alienari sine solemnitate , that their Lands and real Estates cannot as other mens be aliened in a common and ordinary manner , but by special words and expressions of the certainty of the cause , and money given for it . Et istud est in favore ipsorum Curialium , ut Respublica habeat divites Curiales , & in tantum in hoc privilegiatur res Decurionum seu Curialum quantum res m m Curialium de praediis in l. f. C. Cassanaeus in 6 parte Catalog . gloriae mundi , 25 consid. minorum & Ecclesiae & in hoc pari passu ambulant ; And that in favour of the Courtiers or Kings Servants , to the end that the Commonwealth may be the better served by the Kings Servants being rich , and that their Lands and real Estate are in that as much priviledged , as the Lands and real Estate of Infants and the Church , ( which was not a little ) and as to that have equal Priviledges .

And further assures us , that in France the Kings Servants have a Priviledge , quod non n n Cassanaeus in Catalog . gloriae mundi 6 parte consid. 30. possunt conveniri coram Judice Ordinario loci ubi habent Domicilium , they are not to be cited or prosecuted before the Ordinary Judge , or Court where they inhabit , ( which all other persons not priviledged are only to be ) sed debent conveniri in Curia , & ibi causae eorum tractari debent maxime pro negotiis Curialibus coram Magistro Officiorum , aut magno Praeposito domus Principis , but ought to be cited or compelled to appear in the Court , and there the cause ought to be tryed , especially if it concern any affairs of the Court , before the Lord Steward , or the Lord Chamberlain of the Kings Houshold ; in aliis vero causis non concernentibus eorum statum Curialem , sed negotia privata seu particularia & suarum rerum , but in other causes not concerning the business of the Court , but for any of the Kings Servants private or particular business , there was at Paris in France in the Kings Palace a particular Chamber or Court called the Court of Requests , wherein by the Kings Letters called Commitimus , the causes of any of his Servants were to be decided and determined . Which honours and respects due and given unto Kings and Princes Servants in so many Neighbour Nations , may be enough to assure us , that that which our English Laws and Customes have afforded those that serve our Princes , ought not to have such outcries or complaints against them .

And that Sir Hugh Hamersley Knight , Lord Mayor of London in the Reign of King James , was not much if at all mistaken , when he stood so much upon his priviledge of the Kings special Servant or Lieutenant in the City of London , o o Sir John Finets Philoxenis , or Treatise of Ambassadors 2●6 , 237. in the time or year of his Mayoralty , as he resolved not to give place unto the King of Denmarks Ambassador , who intended to come and dine with him , but to insist upon the honour and priviledge of his Place in that particular ; which the Ambassador understanding by Sir John Finet then Master of the Ceremonies , who was to attend him thither , thought it better to forbear , as he did , that designed visit .

For a common and innate civility and respect , which should be used amongst Servants and all others , could never yet think it consonant to reason , that a Butchers Apprentice , or the Foreman of a trim Citizens Wives shop , should take place of the Servant of any of our Princes of the Blood , Nobility , or other Persons of Honour , much less of our Kings ; there being degrees and precedencies of Servants amongst all people any thing acquainted with good manners and civility , proportioned and laid out according to the ranks or qualities of their Masters ; and in that also a consideration to be had of the nature of their Imployments , taught us by the difference betwixt a Footman or Coachman , and a Gentleman , wherein our gracious Soveraign did but preserve the Majesty due unto his Soveraignty , when ( if report be true ) he did in the later end of the year 1666. prohibit the Duke of Newcastles Footmen the wearing of black Velvet Caps , ( which the Kings Footmen usually do ) whilst they attend his Caroch .

And if Histories , the monuments of Time and former Ages , were as they are not in that particular silent , a common and frequent , and almost every years experience will evidence how much the Honour of Princes are concerned in the respects or not respects of their Servants , by the care and circumspection those resemblances of their Masters greatness do take and use to preserve , and not diminish the least Iota or tittle of the Honour due unto those that sent them ; the strict and piercing inspections of Princes into the qualities , greater or lesser , of those that are sent , and all and every the circumstances and ceremonies of their Receptions and Entertainments , Punctilioes , niceties and formalities insisted upon by Ambassadors ; complaints of the least omissions or preteritions , exact and curious measures in the giving or not giving them respects to the full or height , with their strivings for place or precedency , even to bloody Combats betwixt the Ambassadors of emulating Princes , as betwixt the French and Spanish Ambassadors not long ago in Holland , and a little after in England ; the cares which Princes to whom they are sent have taken to give them satisfaction , or to prevent their jealousies or discontents ; their gifts and presents unto them , their Secretaries , and principal of their Servants , personal and peculiar honours and favours to Ambassadors , distinct from a greater to their Soveraign ; and their sometimes bold and resolute refusals where they found any diminution or neglects , of which Bodin Besolus , our learned Doctor Zouch , and Sir John Finet , in their learned Books de Marsellaer Albericus Gentilis Legatis & Legationibus , concerning Embassies , and the Relation of the Earl of Carlisle's stout and prudent management of his Embassies into Muscovy , will afford plenty of instances and examples .

With the more than ordinary civilities and respects used by divers Princes , Cities & Common-wealths , to Ambassadors of Princes and States in League or Friendship with them , in their passage to the Princes to whom they are sent , or return from their Embassies , when the character or representation of their Prince being laid by , they are but little more than what they were in their former degrees or qualities , as our Sir Daniel Harvey sent to Constantinople , and the Earl of Winchelsea in his coming home from the like Imployment , can testifie .

And the great care which hath been taken by the Law of Nations , and all civilized Kingdoms , States and Commonwealths of Christendom , of the Priviledges of Ambassadors , which at the highest esteem that can be given them are no other than Extraordinary Servants , which for their great abilities in Learning , State affairs , or Foreign Languages , were made choice of by their Soveraign , sometimes out of the Subjects and Nobility , not immediate Servants , and at other times some of the Servants and Officers in Ordinary , as of the Privy-Chamber , and Bed-Chamber , held by the Custome of the wiser and more prudent part of Nations to be so sacred and inviolable , as the Emperor Augustus made the putting to death of his Ambassadors and Heralds Titurius and p p Suetonius in vita Augusti . Arunculeius by the Germans , to be the cause of a War made against them , and swore never to cut the hair of his head and beard untill he had punished them for that misdemeanor : And the Greeks and Romans , those great Masters of wisdom , prudence and civilities , and the Persians and many other Nations , made it to be some of their greatest concernments to vindicate any the least indignities or injuries offered or done unto their Messengers or Ambassadors ; And our Laws have informed us , that in the 22 th . year of the Reign of King Edward the 3 d. one John at Hill was q q 22 Ass. 49.1 . condemned for High Treason , for the Murder of A. de Walton Nuncium Domini Regis , missum ad mandatum Regis exequendum , the Kings Ambassador , for which he was drawn , hanged and beheaded ; for , saith Sir Edward Coke , r r Cokes 3 parte Institute , ca. 1.8 . Legatus ejus vice fungitur a quo destinatur , & honorandus est sicut ille cujus Vicem gerit & Legatos violare contra jus gentium est , and Ambassador represents him that sent him , and is to be honoured accordingly ; for it is against the Law of Nations to violate or wrong an Ambassador . Et honor Legati honor mittentis est , & Proregis dedecus redundat in Regem , the honour of an Ambassador is the honour of him that sends him , and any dishonour done unto him , redounds unto his Prince or Superiour . For it was in the Reign of King Richard the second , adjudged in Parliament to be High Treason to kill or violate an Ambassador of any Prince or Commonwealth , in the Case of John Imperiall s s Rot. Parl. 3 R. 2. m. 18 an Envoy or Ambassador from Genoa , slain by the malice of some of his Adversaries , and declared in Parliament , que le case eslant examine & dispute inter les Seigniors & Commons , & puis monstre al Roy en pleine Parliament estoit illonques nostre Seignior le Roy declares , determinus & assentus que tiel fait & coupe est Treason , & crime de Royall Majesty blemye en quel case il ne doit allower a nullui priviledge del Clergie , that the Case being examined and debated betwixt the Lords and Commons , and afterwards shewed to the King in full Parliament , it was then before the King determined and agreed , that the act was Treason , and a crime in derogation of Royal Majesty , in which no Priviledge of Clergy was to be allowed .

The great Gustavus Adolphus not long ago victorious King of Sweden , made the neglect and slighting of his Ambassadors by Ferdinand the second Emperor of Germany , a Justification or Proem of his after most famous and notable exploits against him in Germany , and his Ambassadors to be had in such regard , as they could safely travel through Fields of his subdued Enemies blood , conquered Towns , Cities sacked , and Armies ready marshalled to act and execute the direfull Tragedies of Battel and Bellona , and to be every where protected , and not injured .

And within a few years last past , Don Mario the then Popes Brother being guilty only of an affront given at Rome to the Duke de Crequy , the French Kings Ambassador , by the Corsairs the Popes Guards , the Popes Nuntio was in great displeasure sent away from the Court of France , and a War so threatned , as that imagined Spiritual Father of the Popish part of Christendom , was with great loss of reputation enforced to submit to such Conditions as the King of France , claiming to be the eldest Son of the Church , would ( besides the punishment of the Delinquents ) impose upon him , and suffer a Pillar to be erected in Rome , to testifie the outrage and the severe punishment inflicted for it , to the wonder of many Nations and people coming thither , that he who sold so many Millions of Pardons to the living and dead , should not be able to obtain of the Most Christian King a pardon and forbearance of that Pillar of Ignominy , which continuing some years , was lately as a signal favour to the See of Rome permitted to be taken down , and no more to be remembred .

And it was not without cause that our Royal Soveraign did in October 1666. by his t t Lettre du Roy a Messieurs les Estates en le description de tout ce qui se est passe dans le guerres entre Angleterre & les Estates , &c. de l' An. 1664. jusques l' conclusion de pais , p. 189. Letter to the Estates of Holland , and the United Provinces , justly charge upon them amongst other the causes of his War with them , injuries done unto him and his Subjects , by the imprisoning of the Domestick Servants of his Envoy , and likewise of his Secretary , and putting a Guard upon his House . And was so necessary an observance amongst Princes and Republiques , as howsoever they then faltred and misused their Wisdoms therein , that Nation and their Union of Boores , Mariners , Artificers , and others , although many of them could hardly find the way to put off their hats , or use civilities unto their great and Princely Protectors the Illustrious Princes of Orange , have deemed it to be a part of the Subsistence and Policy of that now flourishing Republique , to be strict observers of all manner of civilities and respects to the Ambassadors of Princes . And the Swisses , and Mountainous petty Cantons or Republiques , who not long ago having massacred all their Nobility , and eternally as they hope prohibited the race of them from enjoying any Offices or Imployments in their Armies or Republiques , and can boastingly answer inquisitive strangers or passengers , Ambassade du Mareschal de Bassompierre en Suisse l' An. 1625. with nos non habemus Nobiles , we have no Nobility , can notwithstanding all their Military Barbarities , pay those fitting and well-becoming civilities , and due regards , to the Ambassadors of Foreign or Neighbour Potentates .

And may give us to understand , that the honours given to Ambassadors do not conclude that there are no respects due to the Servants in ordinary of the Kings and Princes which sent them : But that the honour and respect of the Kings , manifested in the respect to their Servants , is not the cause and foundation of that which is so punctually required and given to Ambassadors .

When it is as certain , that great and often discontents and quarrels have been raised and kindled in the affairs and businesses not only of Nobility , and men of great Estates and Eminency , but of the vulgar and meaner sort of people , for injuries done to their Servants , who have been very unwilling to bear or put it up .

Which the Civil Law , and the Custom of many Nations , believed to be warranted by that Axiom u u l. eum qui 18. v. 1. de injur . P. L. it●m apud Lambeonem 15. §. Et interdum eod . or Rule , that Domini pati dicuntur injurias qui suis fiunt servis , Masters do partake and suffer in the injuries done to their Servants . And amongst the Jews , as their Rabbins expound their x x L. Empereur de Legibus Ebraeorum forensibus Annotat. Cod. cap. 9. § ▪ 2. Laws , were for the time they dwelt with them ●undi instar , as setled a Propriety as the Lands which they enjoyed . From which our Laws of England y y Fleta lib. 2. cap. 1. do not dissent , when they adjudged , that injuriam patitur quis per alios quos habet in familia sua , sicut per servientes & servos in contumeliam suam fuerint verberati , vulnerati , vel imprisonati , quatenus sua interfuerit operibus eorum non caruisse ; that a man may have wrong done him in those of his Family , as in the reproach done unto him by the beating , wounding , or imprisoning of his Servants , whereby he loseth their service .

A due consideration whereof , and that the honour and respect of Kings is and ought to be manifested in the respect to their Servants , probably was the cause which made William Walworth , that valiant and brave Lord Mayor of London in the Reign of King Richard the second , not able to withhold his loyal passion and indignation from knocking down with his Mace Wat Tyler the Rebel , in the head of a mighty and unruly Army of Clowns , for abusing and making Sir John Newton Knight , z z Stows Survey of London , and the History of Wat Tyler . one of the Kings Servants sent on a Message to him , to stand bare before him on foot , whilst he sate on horseback .

So as the people of England may in a less light than the New Lanthorn or Light men do now pretend unto , discern a reason for a greater respect to be given unto the Kings Servants in Ordinary , than of late they have given , when it is to no other , or no less than the Servants of Gods Vicegerent , some of which enobled by their Birth or Creation , others by their Offices Enobleissantaes , enobling them , as the Treasurer , or Comptroller of the Kings most Honourable Houshold , who when they do happen , as many times not , to be of the Nobility , are ipso facto at the instant of the conferring those Offices upon them , or shortly after , made to be of the Kings Privy Councel ; and with the Lord Chancellor , or the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , President of the Kings Councel , Lord Privy Seal , Great Chamberlain , Constable , Marshal , and Admiral of England , Great Master , or Steward , and Chamberlain of the Kings most Honourable Houshold , have in this Kingdom , as hath been used in other Nations , been stiled the Officers of the Crown .

And our King Henry the 7th . taking a care that his Servants should be as well born , as virtuously educated , did call and elect to the service and attendance of his Privy Chamber , the Sons of his Nobility , and Gentlemen of the best houses and alliance in most of the Shires of England and Wales . And King Henry the 8th . his Son , did by his Ordinances for Regulation of his Houshold , called the Statutes of Eltham , made by the advice of his Privy Councel a a Statutes or Orders of Eltham , made An. 17 & 33 H. 8. in the 17th . year of his Reign , command , That no Servant be kept by any Officers within the Court under the degree of a Gentleman , and that none be admitted into his Majesties service , but sueh as be likely persons , and fit for promotion ; and that it should be lawfull to all the Kings Counsellors , the King and Queens Chamberlains , Vice-Chamberlains , and Captain of the Guard , the Master of the Horse and Henchmen , and the six Gentlemen of the Kings Privy Chamber , to keep every of them one Page to attend upon him in the Court , so alwayes that he be a Gentleman born , well apparelled and conditioned . That the six Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber should be well languaged , expert in outward parts , and meet and able to be sent on familïar Messages , or otherwise to outward Princes , as the case shall require ; and charged the Great Officers of his Houshold in their several Offices and Places , that none should be admitted into any Place within his House , and especially those which beginning in low rooms and places , and are accustomed by course to ascend into higher , but such as be of good towardness , likelihood , behaviour , demeanour and conversation , and as nigh as they could should have respect that they be Personages of good gesture , countenance , fashion and stature ; so as the Kings House , which is requisite to be the mirrour and example of all other within his Realm , may be furnished of Ministers elect , tryed , and picked for the Kings Honour , as to good reason and congruence doth appertain .

And by other Orders made in the 33th . year of his Reign , That no Officer of the Houshold should keep any Servant within the House under the degree of a Gentleman , and such as should be honest and of good behaviour . And by his Proclamation commanded , That no Vagabonds , Masterless Rascals , or other Idle persons , should come and harbour in the Court. And as he had a great respect for his Great Officers of State , so he had no small one for his more inferiour Servants , when in the Orders appointed for his Tables at meat in his Royal House he did ordain , that the Lord Great Chamberlain at his three Messes of meat , should have sitting with him the Vice-Chamberlain , Captain of the Guard , Cup-bearers , Karvers , Sewers to the King , Esquires of the Body , Gentlemen Huissers , and Sewers of the Chamber .

The Master of the Horse to have the Equirries and Avenors to sit with him , and Gentlemen Pensioners as many as can sit .

And Queen Elizabeth in the first and third year of her Reign , intending ( as the Preamble thereof declared ) to follow the Godly and Honourable Statutes of Houshold of her Noble Progenitors , did by her Proclamation streightly charge and command ▪ That no Vagabonds , Masterless men , Boyes , or Idle persons , be suffered to harbour in her Court .

Wherfore the Servants attending therein should not now be so much in the ill opinion , & causeless contempt of the Mechanick and vulgar part of the people , ( for those which are ex meliore luto , better born and more civilly educated , cannot certainly so lose their way to a gratefull acknowledgement of their Princes daily protection and needed favours , as to villifie or slight his Servants , by imitating the sordid examples of a less understanding part of the people ; ) or want their due respects , if it shall be rightly considered , that our Ancestors and a long succession of former ages , were not so niggard or sparing of their well-deserved respects : When our Kings and Princes , and the wiser part of their people supposed to be in Parliament , did attribute so much unto them , and so very much trust and confide in them , as they did from time to time put no small power into their hands , and leave no small concernments of themselves and the Kingdom to their prudence , fidelity and discretion .

When the Lord Chancellor , or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , who administreth the Oathes usually taken by the Lord Privy Seal , Lord Treasurer of England , Lords of the Kings most Honourable Privy Councel , Chancellor of the Exchequer , Master of the Rolls , Chancellor of the Dutchy of Lancaster , Justices of the Courts of Kings Bench and Common Pleas , Barons of the Exchequer , Kings Attorney and Sollicitor General , Serjeants at Law , Masters of Requests and Chancery , upon and before their admission into their several Places and Offices , nominates and appoints the b b 3 & 4 E. 6 ca. 1. Custos Rotulorum , and Justices of the Peace in every County of England & Wales , some few Franchises and Liberties excepted ; and by his largely extended Jurisdiction committed unto his trust , doth by the Writs remedial of his Soveraign guide and superintend the Cisterns and Streams of our Laws , those living waters which do chear and refresh our Vallies , and make them to be as a watered Garden . And with the two Lord Chief Justices , Master of the Rolls , the other Reverend c c Vide Oath of the Judges in 18 E. 3. Judges , and the Masters of Chancery , appointed to distribute the Kings Justice according to the laws and reasonable customs of the Kingdome , have their Robes and Salaries allowed , and are ( as Justice Croke acknowledged in his argument d d M. S. of his argument against the Ship-money . against the Ship-money ) as the Kings Councel at Law , the chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas , being as is mentioned in a Manuscrip of Henry Earl of Arundel , copyed out of a book of George Earl of Shrowsbury , Lord Steward of the e e M. S. of Henry Earl of Arundel . houshold unto King Henry the seventh , and King Henry the eighth , ( communicated unto me by my worthy friend Mr. Ralph Jackson , one of his Majesties Servants in ordinary ) a great Member of the Kings house , for whose favour , counsel , and assistance in the Law , to be shewed to the houshold matters and servants , he taketh an yearly Fee by the B●tler of England of two Tuns of Wine , at two Terms of the year , which is allowed in the Court of houshold .

When the Justices of Peace in every City and County are , or should be the under Wheels in that excellently curiously framed Watch of the English Government ( as the late blessed Martyr King Charles the first , when he so sadly forwarned the pulling of it in pieces by a mistaken Parliament , and the Rebellious consequences of it , not unfitly called it ) are at their quarter Sessions under his pay and allowance , when the Assize of the bread to be sold in England , was in the fourth year of the Reign of King John , being thirteen years before his granting f f Mat. Paris , 208. of Magna Charta , ordained by the King , by his Edict , or Proclamation , to be strictly observed under the pain of standing upon the Pillory , and the rates set , and an Assise approved by the Baker of Jeoffry Fitz-Peter chief Justice of England , the nas one of the Kings more especial Servants as to matters of justice resident and attendant in the Kings House or Palace , and by the Baker of R. of Thurnam , that Constitution and Assise being not at all contradicted by his Magna Charta , or that of his Sons King Henry the 3 d.

Which Assise of bread , contained in a writing of the Marshalsea of the Kings house , being by the consent of the whole Realm exemplified by the Letters Patents of King Henry the 3 d. g g Assisa Panis & Cervitiae , 51 H. 3. in the 51 th . year of his Raign , was confirmed and said to be proved by the Kings Baker .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 9 th . year of the Reign of that h h 9 H. 3. cap. 12. King , if the King be out of the Realm , the chief Justices , one of which , if not both , were then residing and attending in the Kings Court , were once in the year through every County , with the Knights of the Shires , to take Assises of Novel Disseisin , and Mortdancester , in which , if there be any difficulty , it was to be referred unto his Justices of the Bench , there to be ended .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 6th . year of the Reign of K. Edward the first , i i 6 E. 1. ca. 15 ▪ Wine sold against the Assise , was to be by the Mayor and Bayliffs of London presented before the Treasurer and Barons of the Exchequer ; who then resided in the Court or Palace of the King .

The Statute of k k 13 E. 1. ca. 42. Westminster the 2. made in the 13th . year of the said Kings Reign , mentioneth , That the Kings Marshal is to appoint the Marshal of the Kings Bench and Exchequer , the Criers and Virgers of that and the Court of Common Pleas , which at this day is done by and under the Authority of the Earl Marshal of England , who by his Certificate made by his l l Cokes 1 parte Institutes , § 102. Roll of a personal service in a Voyage Royal performed by those that held Lands or Offices in Capite , and by Knight Service , he discharged an Assessement of Esonage by Parliament , superintendeth the cognisance and bearing of Armes of the Nobility and Gentry , and the duty of the Heralds and Officers attending thereupon . And with the Lord Great Chamberlain , before the unhappy change of the Tenures in Capite , and by Knight Service , into Free and Common Socage , introduce and bring unto the King such as were to do m m Lib. Rub. in Scac. f. 30 Spelmanni Glossar . in voce Marescalli , Fleta lib. 2 cap. 7. Homage unto him for their Baronies or Lands . By an Act of Parliament made in the 14th . year of the Reign of King Edward the third , and by the Kings Authority , the Sheriffs of every County in England and Wales , who are for the most part under the King the only Executioners of Justice in the Kingdom , are three out of six for every County presented by the Judges of every Circuit , the morrow after the Feast of All-Souls in every year , to the Lord Chancellor , or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , Lord Privy Seal , Lord Treasurer , Lord Steward , ( the later of which at the beginning and opening of Parliaments , is by his n n Elsings Modus tenendi Parliamentum . 24. Office to administer the Oathes of Allegiance and Supremacy to every Member of the House of Commons in Parliament ) the Master of the Horse , Lord Chamberlain , Treasurer and Comptroller of the Kings most Honourable Houshold , Chancellor of the Exchequer , with other of the Kings Privy Councel , who together with the Justices of both Benches , and Barons of the Exchequer , do out of the six for every County , make choice of three , who are in a written Bill by the o o Statute of Lincoln , 9 E. 2. & 14 E. 3. ca. 7.34 H. 8 ca. 26. Lord Chancellor , or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , shortly after presented to the King , who appointeth as he pleaseth one of every three presented unto him as aforesaid for every County , to be Sheriff , by his Letters Patents under the Great Seal , for the year next following .

And by Authority of the King and his Laws , the Lord Chancellor , p p Cromptons Jurisdiction of Courts , tit . Chancery Elsings Modus tenendi Pa●liamentum . or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , appointeth the Judges in every year their several Circuits , maketh and dischargeth all Justices of the Peace . And such Petitions as could not be dispatched before the end of Parliaments , were frequently adjourned to be heard and determined by the Chancellor ; and presenteth to all Parsonages or Spiritual Benefices in the Kings right or gift , which are under the value of 20 l. per annum , according to the antient valuation .

All the Records in the Courts of Chancery , Kings Bench , and Common Pleas , Justices of Assise and Goal delivery , are to be safely kept by the Treasurer and Chamberlains of the Exchequer ; which the Commons of England in Parliament , in the 46th . year of the Reign of King Edward the third , did in their Petition to the King call q q 46 E. 3. n. 43. the Peoples perpetual evidence ; and our Kings of England have therefore in several of their Reigns , sent their Writs and Mandates to the Chief Justices of both the Benches , to cause their Records for some times therein limited , to be brought into his Treasury , and entrusted with the Treasurer and Chamberlains thereof , in whose custody the r r 9 H. 6. ca. 6. Standard for all the Weights and Measures of England is likewise kept .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 14th . year of the Reign of King Edward the third , Sheriffs abiding above one year in their Offices , may be removed , and new ones put in their place , by the Chancellor , Treasurer , and Chief s s 14 E. 3. ca. 7. Baron of the Exchequer , taking unto them the Chief Justices of the one Beneh or the other , if they be present .

Escheators who were and should be of very great trust and concernment in the Kingdom , betwixt the King and his t t 14. E. 3. ca. 5. people , were to be chosen by the Chancellor , Treasurer , and Chief Baron of the Exchequer , taking into them the Chief Justices of the one Bench or the other , if they be present ; ( but are since only made by the Lord Treasurer . )

By a Statute made in the 14th . year of the Reign of King Edward the 3d. the Lord Privy Seal , 14 E. 3. and other great Lords of the Kings Councel , are appointed to redress in Parliament delayes and errours in Judgement in other Courts .

20 E. 3. ca. 6. By an Act of Parliament made in the 20th . year of the Reign of the aforesaid King , the Chancellor and Treasurer were authorized to hear complaints , and ordain remedies concerning gifts and rewards unjustly taken by Sheriffs , Bayliffs of Franchises , and their Vnder Ministers ; and also concerning mainteiners and embracers of Juries , taking unto them the Justices and other Sage persons , such as to them seemeth meet .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 31th . year of the Reign of that King , u u 31 E. 3. ca. 3● the Lord Chancellor and Treasurer shall examine erronious Judgements given in the Exchequer Chamber .

And the Chancellor and Treasurer , taking to them Justices and other of the Kings Councel , as to them seemeth , shall take order and make Ordinances touching the buying and selling of Fish .

By several Acts of Parliament made in the 37th . and 38th . year of his Reign , Suggestions made by any to the King , shall be sent with the party making them unto the Chancellor , x x 37 E. 3. ca. 18. & 38 E. 3. ca. 9. there to be heard and determined , and the Prosecutor was to be punished if he prove them not . And that upon untrue suggestions , the Chancellor should award damages according to his discretion .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 11th . year of the Reign of King Richard the second , the keeping of Assises in good Towns are at the request of the Commons in y y 11 R. 2. ca. 11. Parliament , referred to the Chancellor , with the advice of the Judges .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 13th . year of his Reign , in every pardon for Felony , Murder , or Treason , the z z 13 R. 2. ca. 1. Chamberlain or Vnder Chamberlain was to endorse upon the Bill the Name of him which sued for the same .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 20th . year of his Reign , no man shall go or ride armed , except the Kings Officers or Ministers a a 20 R. 2 ▪ ca. 1. in doing their Office .

By an Act of Parliament made in the first and second year of the Reign of K. Henry the 4th . no Lord is to give any Sign or b b 1 & 2 H. 4. ca. 21. Livery to any Knight , Esquire , or Yeoman , but the King may give his honourable Livery to his menial Knights and Esquires , and also to his Knights and Esquires of his Retinue , who are not to use it in their Counties , but in the Kings presence . The Constable and Marshall of England for the time being , and their Retinue of Knights and Esquires , may wear the Livery of the King upon the Borders and Marches of the Realm in time of War ; the Knights and Esquires of every Duke , Earl , Baron , or Baneret , may wear their Liveries in going from the Kings House , and returning unto it ; and that the King may give his honourable Livery to the Lords Temporal whom pleaseth him . And that the Prince and his menials may use and give his honourable Livery to the Lords and his menial Gentlemen .

By an Act of Parliament made in the first year of the Reign of King Henry the 6th . the Lords of the Councel may assign money to be coyned in as many places as they c c 1 H. 6. ca. 1. will . A Letter of request may be granted by the Keeper of the Privy Seal , to any of the Kings Subjects , from whom Goods be taken by the King of Denmark , or any of his Subjects .

By an Act of Parliament made in the tenth year of his Reign , the Mayor of London shall take his Oath before the d d 10 H. 6. ca. 3. Treasurer of England , and Barons of the Kings Exchequer , wherein he shall be charged and sworn to observe all the Statutes touching Weights and Measures .

By an Act of Parliament made in the eleventh year of his Reign , Fees , Wages , e e 11 H. 6. ca. 8. and Rewards due to the Kings Officers , were not to be comprized within the Statute of Resumption , made in the 28 th . year of the Reign of the King .

By an Act of Parliament made in the third year of the Reign of King Henry the 7th . for punishments of Maintenance , Embracery , Perjuries , Riots , and unlawfull demeanors of Sheriffs , and unlawfull Assemblies , it was f f 3 H. 7. ca. 1. ordained , That the Chancellor and Treasurer of England for the time being , Keeper of the Kings Privy Seal , or two of them , calling unto them a Bishop and a Temporal Lord of the Kings most Honourable Councel , and the two Chief Justices of the Kings Bench and Common Pleas for the time being , or other two Justices in their absence , may upon Bill or Information put to the said Chancellor for the King , or any other , have authority to call before them by Writ or Privy Seal the said misdoers .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 12th . year of his Reign , g g 11 H. 7. ca. 25. Perjury committed by unlawfull maintenance , embracing , or corruption of Officers , in the Chancery , or before the Kings Councel , shall be punished by the discretion of the Lord Chancellor , Treasurer , both the Chief Justices , and the Clerk of the Rolls ; and if the Complainant prove not , or pursue not his Bill , he shall yield to the party wronged his costs and damages .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 19th . year of his Reign , h h 19 ▪ H. 7. ca. 6. Ordinances made by Fellowships of Crafts , are to be approved by the Chancellor , Treasurer of England , Chief Justice of either Benches , or three of them , or both the Justices of Assise in their Circuits , where such Ordinances shall be made .

By an Act of Parliament made in the first year of the Reign of King Henry the 8th . the Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper , i i 1 H. 8. c. 9. may appoint two , three , or four persons , to receive Toll or Custome , and to imploy the same upon the repair of the Bridge of Stanes , in the County of Middlesex , and to yield accompt thereof .

By an Exception in an Act of Parliament made in the 14th . and 15th . year of his Reign , touching k k 14 & 15 H. 8. c. 2. Aliens , and their taking of Apprentices , any Lord of the Parliament may take and retain Estrangers Joyners and Glasiers in their service .

In the Act of Parliament made in the 21th . year of his Reign , prohibiting Plurality of Benefices , and the taking of Farms , under great penalties , there are Exceptions , for the l l 21 H. 8. ca. 13. Kings Chaplains not sworn of his Councel , and of the Queen , Prince , or Princess , and the Kings Children , Brothers , Sisters , Vnkles or Aunts , the eight Chaplains of every Archbishop , six of every Duke , five of every Marquess and Earl , four of every Viscount and other Bishop , the Chancellor , and every Baron of England , three of every Dutchess , Marquioness , Countess and Baroness being Widdows . And that the Treasurer and Comptroller of the Kings House , the Kings Secretary , Dean of his Chappel , the Kings Almoner , and Master of the Rolls , may have every one of them two Chaplains , the Chief Justice of the Kings Bench one Chaplain , the Warden of the Cinqueports for the time being , the Brethren and Sons of all Temporal Lords , may keep as many Benefices with Cure , as the Chaplains of a Duke or Archbishop ; and the Brethren and Sons of every Knight , may keep two Parsonages or Benefices with Cure of Souls . And that the Widdows of every Duke , Marquess , Earl or Baron , which shall take to Husband any man under the degree of a Baron , may take such number of Chaplains as they might when they were Widdows , and every such Chaplain have the priviledge aforesaid .

By an Act of Parliament made in the same year and Parliament , a Commission was granted to m m Cap. 16. Cutbert Bishop of London , Sir Richard Brooke Knight , Chief Baron of the Exchequer , John More one of the Justices of the Kings Bench , &c. to assign how many Servants every Stranger shall keep within St. Martins le Grand London .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 23th . year of his Reign , n n 23 H. 8. ca. 5. Commissioners of Sewers to survey Streams , Gutters , Letts , and Annoyances , are to be named by the Lord Chancellor , Lord Treasurer , and two Chief Justices , or any three of them , and their Decree to bind the Kings and all mens Lands .

By an Act of Parliament made in the same year and Parliament , o o Cap. 7. the prices of the Tun , Butt , Pipe , and Hogshead of French Wines , Sack , & Malmsey , shall be assessed by the Kings Great Officers .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 25th . year of his Reign , p p 25 H. 8. ca. 2. Butter , Cheese , Capons , Hens , Chickens , and other Victuals necessary for mens sustenance , are upon complaint of enhancing , to be assessed by the Lord Chancellor of England , Lord Treasurer , the Lord President of the Kings most Honourable Privy Councel , the Lord Privy Seal , the Lord Steward , the Lord Chamberlain , and all other Lords of the Kings Councel , the Treasurer and the Comptroller of the Kings most Honourable House , the Chancellor of the Dutchy of Lancaster , the Kings Justices of either Bench , the Chancellor , Chamberlains , Vnder-Treasurer , and the Barons of the Kings Exchequer , or seven of them at the least , whereof the Lord Chancellor , the Lord Treasurer , Lord President of the Kings Councel , or the Lord Privy Seal to be one .

By another Act of Parliament made in the same year and Parliament , q q 25 H. 8. ca. 15. the prices of Books upon complaint made unto the King , are to be reformed by the Lord Chancellor , Lord Treasurer , or any of the Chief Justices of the one Bench or the other , by a Jury or otherwise .

By another Act of Parliament made in the same year and Parliament , r r Cap. 16. every Judge of the Courts of Kings Bench and Common Pleas , the Chancellor and Chief Baron of the Exchequer , the Kings Attorney and Sollicitor for the time being , may have one Chaplain , who may be absent from his Benefice , and not resident .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 28th . year of the Reign , s s 28 H. 8. ca. 14. the Lord Chancellor , Lord Treasurer , Lord President of the Kings most Honourable Councel , Lord Privy Seal , and the two Chief Justices of either Bench , or any four or three of them , are impowered by their discretions to set the prices of all Wines by the Butt , Tun , Pipe , Hogshead , Puncheon , Tearce , Barrel or Rundlet , ( the pint of French Wine being then set at 1 d. per pinte . )

By an Act of Parliament made in the 33th . year of his Reign , t t 33 H. 8. ca. 28. the Chancellor of the Dutchy of Lancaster , Courts of Augmentations and First-Fruits , Master of the Wards and Liveries , Treasurer of the Kings Chamber , and Treasurer of the Court of Augmentation , and Groom of the Stool , may each of them retain one Chaplain , who may be absent from their Benefices , provided they be twice a year at their Benefices with Cure of Souls , by the space of eight dayes at a time .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 34th . and 35th . year of his Reign , u u 34 & 35 H. 8. ca. 7. the Lords authorized by the Statute of 28 H. 8. cap. 14. to set the prices of Wines in gross , may mitigate and enhance the prices of Wines to be sold by retail .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 37th . year of his Reign , for x x 37 H. 8. ca. 12. the settlement of Tithes betwixt the Parsons , Vicars and Curates of London , and the Inhabitants thereof , the Archbishop of Canterbury , Lord Chancellor , Lord Treasurer , Lord President of the Councel , Lord Privy Seal , Lord Great Chamberlain of England , with some of the Judges , were chosen Arbitrators to make a final conclusion betwixt them , which shall be binding by their Order under any six of their hands .

By an Act of Parliament made in the same year , y y Cap. 23. the Lord Chancellor , Lord Treasurer , Lord President of the Kings Councel , Lord Privy Seal , and the two Chief Justices , or three , four , or five of them , are yearly to set the prices of Wines ; And upon refusal to sell after those rates , the Mayor , Recorder , and two antient Aldermen of the City of London , not being Vintners , shall enter into their Houses , and sell their Wines according to those rates .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 7th . year of the Reign of King Edward the 6th . z z 7 E. 6. ca. 5. no person having not Lands or Tenements , or which cannot dispend above 100 Marks per annum , or is not worth 1000 Marks in Goods or Chattels , not being the Son of a Duke , Marquess , Earl , Viscount , or Baron , shall keep in his house any greater quantities of French Wines then 10. Gallons .

By an Act of Parliament made in the same year , a a Cap. 7. the offenders in the Assise of Wood and Fuell , if they be poor and not able to pay the Forfeiture , may be by a Justice of Peace , or any other of the Kings Officers , put on the Pillory .

By an Act of Parliament made in the first year of the Reign of Queen Mary , b b 1 Mar. ca. 5. if the Justices of Peace do not put the Act of Parliament in execution , touching the repair of the Causway betwixt Sherborn and Shaftsbury , in the Counties of Dorset and Somerset , the Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper shall upon request grant Commissions to certain discreet persons to do it .

And by an Act of Parliament made in the 43th . year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth , c c 43 Eliz. ca. 4. the mis-imployment of Lands , Goods , Chattels , or Money , given to Hospitals and Charitable uses , are to be reformed by the Lord Chancellor , or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , and the Chancellor of the Dutchy of Lancaster for the time being , in their several Jurisdictions .

Which amongst many other , may be some of the causes or reasons that the People of England , and Commons in Parliament , giving in former times as they ought to do , those grand and more then ordinary respects , and many more not here repeated , unto the Great Officers of the Crown , Royal Houshold , and other the Servants of our Kings and Princes , and lodging so many of their grand concernments in their care and trust , did not trouble themselves , or any of our Parliaments , with any Petitions ( there being none to be found amongst the Records thereof ) against those antient , rational , just and legal Priviledges of the Kings Servants in Ordinary , nor any Lord Steward , Lord Chamberlain , or other Officers of the Kings most Honourable House , for allowing or maintaining it , ( although there were some against Protections , granted to some that were not the Kings Servants in Ordinary ) nor hath there been any Statute or Act of Parliament made , to take away , or so much as abridge those well deserved Priviledges which have in all ages , and by so good warrant of right reason , Laws of Nations , and the Laws and reasonable Customes of this Kingdom , appeared to be so much conducing to the Weal publique , and the affairs and business of the Head or Soveraign : For surely if there had been but the least suspicion of any Grievance in them meriting a remedy , there would not have been such a silence of the peoples Petitioning , or Complaints against it , either by themselves , or their vigilant and carefull Representatives in the Commons House in Parliament , which heretofore seldom or never omitted the eager pursuit , and Hue and Cry after any thing of Grievance which molested them . And if there had been any such Petitions and Complaints in Parliament , that Great and Honourable Court not giving any order , or procuring any Act of Parliament against the Priviledges of the Kings Servants , is and may be a convincing argument , that such Complaints or pretended Grievances were causeless , unfitting or not deserving the remedies required ; and will be no more an evidence or proof against what is here endeavoured to be asserted , then the Petition of the Commons in Parliament in the 21th . year of the Reign of King Edward the 3d. against the payment of 6 d. for the seal of every Original Writ in Chancery , and 7 d. for the sealing of the Writs of the Courts of Kings Bench and Common Pleas , which hath ever since been adjudged reasonable and fitting to be paid ; then the many Petitions against the antient legal and rational payment of Fines upon Original Writs in Chancery , then the Petitions of Non-conforming Ministers , then the many designed and desired Acts of Parliament not found to be reasonable or convenient , and therefore laid by and miscarried in the Embrios ; or multitudes of other Petitions in our Parliaments , or then the many late Petitions for an imaginary liberty of Conscience , can or will be for what was desired , and not thought fit at those or any other times to be granted .

Which antient Priviledge of the Kings Servants , not to be Arrested without leave , was not so limited to their Persons , but that their Lands , Estates , and Goods , participated also of that Privilege , not to be molested by any Process or Suit of Law , without Licence first obtained of the Lord Chamberlain of the Kings most honourable Houshold , or unto such other great Officers therein , to whose Jurisdiction it belonged .

CAP. IV.

That the Priviledges and Protections of the Kings Servants in Ordinary , by reason of his Service , is , and ought to be extended unto the Priviledged parties Estate both Real and Personal , as well as unto their persons .

FOr if we may , as we ought , believe antiquity , and its many unquestionable authorities , and our Records , which as to matters of fact , judgements , pleas , writs , therein allowed , Records of Parliament , and the Grants of our Kings by their Letters Patents under the Great Seal of England , being the Publique Faith of the Kingdome , from and under which , most of the peoples Real Estates and Priviledges , have had their originals and establishments ( not the falsely called Publique Faith , which afterwards proved to be Bankrupt , and was until then the Medea or Witch of the late incomparably wicked Rebellion ) were alwayes so impartial and credited , as not to have their truth so much as suspected . That Priviledge was not only indulged and allowed to their Persons , but to their Lands and Estate also , as will plainly appear by the course and Custome of the Law in former ages , and amongst many others not here enumerated , was not understood to have been either unusual or illegal in that which was granted to Sir John Staunton Knight .

By King Edward the 3 d. in the 29th . year of his Raign , in these words , Omnibus ad quos , &c. Salutem d d Rot. Pat. 29 E. 3. m. 27. considerantes grata & laudabilia obsequia tam nobis quam Isabellae Reginae Angliae Matris nostrae charissimae , per dilectum & fidelem nostrum Johannem-de Staunton , impensa & proinde . Volentes personam ipsius Johannis ( suis condignis meritis exigentibus ) honorare ipsum Johannem ▪ Camerae nostrae militem & familiarem quoad vixerit tam tempore quo extra curiam nostram absens quam tempore , quo ibidem presens fuerit duximus retinendum . Ac de gratia nostra speciali ipsum Johannem , Terras , Tenementa , Bona , & Catalla sua , quaecunque ac universos legales tenentes suos omnium & singulorum maneriorum suorum in protectionem & defensionem nostram suscepimus specialem . The King to all unto whom these presents shall come sendeth greeting , We considering the well accepted and laudable Services , done as well unto us , as our dear Mother Isabel Queen of England , by our trusty John de Staunton , and being therefore willing to honour him according to his deserts , have made the said John a Knight of our Chamber , and one of our Servants in Ordinary whilst he lives , as well when he shall be absent as present . And of our especial grace , have taken into our special protection the said John de Staunton , and all his Lands , Tenements , Goods , and Chatels , and likewise all his Tenants of his Manors ; Omnibus & singulis nostris fidelibus tenore presentium firmiter inhibentes ne eisdem Johanni , Terris , Tenementis , Bonis , seu Catallis suis , aut legalibus tenentibus maneriorum praedictorum malum molestiam prisas , aut aliud impedimentum inferunt vel faciunt indebite vel injuste , & si quis eis injuriatum vel forissactum fuerit , id eis debite reformari & corrigi faciunt ; Streightly charging and prohibiting all our good Subjects , that they do not unduly or unjustly endamage or molest the said John de Staunton , his Lands , Tenements , Goods , Chatels , or his said Tenants , and if any shall injure or wrong them therein , that you do duly cause it to be reformed and amended .

And the Writs of Protection which our Kings of England have sometimes granted unto some which were imployed in their Service upon some special motives and reasons , and were not his maenial or domestick Servants , having been very often , if not alwayes , made and granted not only to protect the persons of such e e Register of Writs , tit . Protection 22.23.26 . as were not the Kings Servants in Ordinary , but specially imployed upon extraordinary occasions , but de non molestando res terras tenementa homines ( which in the legal acceptation , antiently signified their Tenants , as well as their Maenial or Houshold Servants , especially when instead of Rents , or for some abatements made of them , they Plowed and Sowed their Landlords Land , Reaped their Corn , and did many other Services belonging to Husbandry ) bona Catalla & possessiones suas , not to molest , trouble , or permit them to be troubled in their Estates Real and Personal , Lands , Tenements , Servants , Tenants , Goods , Chatels , and Possessions , and do agree with those priviledges which our Neighbour Princes of Europe , and many other Nations , have allowed their Servants .

And such or the like Protections , are , and have been , an antient allowed priviledge , not only to Foreign Embassadors , but their Assistants , Servants , Goods , and Chatels , in the Dominions and Territories of Kings and Princes to whom they are sent , and where they are resident . Et sane quae potest tanta vis esse privilegii personae Legatorum , si privilegium & istis accessionibus non conceditur , saith Albericus Gentilis ; And truly to what purpose will the priviledge of f f Albericus Gentilis de legationibus , lib. 2. ca. 15. of the Kings Servants . Embassadors be or enure , if the Protection of their Estates , as well as their persons , should not attend their employments ; for where their persons may not be summoned , cited , or inforced to lay by , or forsake his Service in the attendance upon the process of any of his Subordinate Courts of Justice , & there cannot by the rules of Common Justice , and our Magna Charta , that great piece of right reason and Justice , be any Judgement had or obtained without appearane against them , or any Execution thereupon against their Goods or Estate . And it being so just and necessary for the Plaintiffs to demand Leave or Licence for the compelling of them to appear to their actions , it will be as necessary & becoming certainly to demand a second Leave or Licence to take out process of Execution upon any judgement obtained , when as in the ordinaay course of our Laws , and the intendment thereof , every Plaintiff , as the Records of our Courts of Justice will abundantly testifie , is ( as it were by Petition ) to pray and ask leave to take out his Writ of Execution ; for that as the Judges may in their inferior Orbes sometimes find cause to Arrest or stay for a time some Judgements and Executions , so certainly , and much more in the Superior , may the urgency of some present and necessary Service of the King , and the Weal Publique ( the Kings Service and the publique being as inseparable as his Person and Authority , Body Politique and Corporal ) require some pause , or a Licence first to be demanded .

Such requisites and privileges drawn from the same Fountain of priviledges and reason , being no otherwise in their effects then as to the joynt priviledges of Persons and Estates , then the priviledges of Parliament , and the Protections allowed g g Elsing in his book of the antient and present manner of holding Parliaments . unto the Peerage and Members of the House of Commons , and their Maenial Servants , in order to that publick affair and service of the King , who doth not limit those favours only to their Persons , and the personal service of their Servants attending upon them , but do for that time comprehend and secure their Estates both Real and Personal , and will not willingly permit so much as the minds of any of the Members of h h Broke 6.24.29 . Fitz-Herbert N. B. 42. Cromptons Jurisdiction of Courts . Dyer 287.42 . Coke 4 th . part Institutes 227. Parliament to be vexed by any disturbance of process , or legal proceedings , whilst they are employed and intended by Law to be only busied in those weighty occasions , which they would be , if the Real and Personal Estates of themselves , or Servants which attended upon them , were molested and troubled ; and therefore King Henry the 8th . in his Speech to the Judges in the Case of his Servant Ferrers , and a Member of the House of Commons in Parliament in the 33th . year of his Raign said , that his Learned Councel at Law had inform'd him , that all Acts and Process coming out of any Inferiour Courts , must for the time cease and give place to the Parliament as the highest of Courts , and that whatsoever Offence or Injury is in Parliament time offered to the meanest Member of the House of Commons , is to be adjudged as done both against the King and the whole Court of Parliament ; which was then assented unto by all the Judges of England then present , saith i i Crompton Jurisdiction of Courts , tit . Parl. Mr. Crompton , and confirmed by divers reasons .

And well may it be so , when it is and hath been not unusual for the Judges of the Court of Kings Bench or Common Pleas ( which do stand upon a less but legal Foundation ) to free or unattach Goods attached in the City of Lond. by their course or custom of Process of a man that had occasion to attend either of those Courts k k Rastals vet. lib. intruc . tit. cerciorar . sur . brev. de priviledge , 8. concerning some Suit or Suits there depending , as to procure a Capias utlegatum against one , &c. and declare it to be a priviledge or liberty belonging unto those Courts in their several Jurisdictions to protect such persons in veniendo versus eandem Curiam ibidem morando , & inde ad propria redeundo absque arrestatione Corporum , Equorum , Bonorum , seu Catallorum , in comming to the said Court or Courts there abiding ▪ or returning homewards without any Arrest of their Bodies , Horses , Goods , and Chatels by any process out of any Inferiour Court ; Et habere debeant salvum & securum conductum sub protectione & defensione l l Ibidem tit . Privil. 9.440 . Regis & Progenitorum suorum ; and in that respect were to have asafe conduct of the King & his Progenitors , and to be in their Protection ; and it was in former and less factious times , not unusual to have such or the like Protections of our Kings for the Lands and Goods of the persons protected , as well as for their persons , to be allowed in our Courts of Justice witness the Writ to be found in the Register , before or much about the 11th . year of the Raign of King Edward the 3 d. entituled a Writ of Trespass , contra protectionem Regis , for molesting or troubling a man protected by the King , directed to a Sheriff to attach the Defendant , in these words of the commanding or mandatory part thereof , Ostensur quare cum suscepimus in protectionem & defensionem nostram praedictum A. homines terras m m Register of Writs 121. tit . de inquirend . de transgressione . res reditus , & omnes possessiones suas , omnibus & singulis inhibentes , ne quis eis injuriam , molestiam , damnum inferret , aut gravame● idem B. Bona & Catalla praedicti A. dum sub protectione nostra , sic fuit ad valentiam centum Solidorum apud H. inventa vi & armis cepit & asportavit , & in homines & servientes suos insultum fecit , &c. per quod servitia sua amisit , & alia enormia , &c. ad grave dampnum , &c. & contra protectionem nostram praedictam , & contra pacem nostram , & habeas ibi nota plegiorum , &c. To shew cause , whereas when we took into our Protection the aforesaid A. his Lands , Goods , Tenants , and all that he possessed , prohibiting all and singular whatsoever , that no man do or cause to be done unto him any injury , damage , or trouble , the said B· the Goods and Chatels of the said A. whilst he was under our Protection , to the value of five pounds at H. by force and arms did take , and carry away , and made an assault upon his Tenants and Servants , &c. whereby he lost their Services , &c. and did other injuries unto him , &c. to his great damage , against our Protection and Peace ; and have you there ( at Westminster ) the names of his pledges or sureties , &c.

With good reason therefore , and much more in the case of the Kings Servants , when it would be of a small avail for any man to be Priviledged or Protected in his person whilst he is employed in the Kings Sercice , when all his Lands shall be seized or extended , his Goods and Personal Estate taken away , his Wife Children and Family starved , undone , or ruined , and like Job stripped of all he had , may be at liberty to complain of his misery and calamity , and hear an impatient Wife n n Job 9. v. 1. blame him for being so careful to serve a King that would not or could not protect him ; And as little it would be for the good or dispatch of the Kings affairs , when it cannot be so well done as otherwise it would , by a man whose soul is grieved , the faculties of his mind and understanding weakned and astonish'd , his thoughts racked or tormented with cares and apprehensions of damage , losses , dangers , or disgraces , and cannot rest or follow his business as otherwise he would do , but be looking homeward , either to provide some remedy or comfort , as well as he can , for his sorrowfull Wife and Children , to which many times his presence is so requisite , as nothing can help or relieve them or himself without it ; and that surely which serves for a Reason or Justice in the case of a person not the Kings Servant in ordinary , where he is specially imployed in his service , should be as necessary or reasonable , or rather more , in the case of his Servant in ordinary , who in such a trouble and sadness as appeared in the face of the good Nehemiah , the o o Nehemiah c. 1. v. 2. & 3. c. 2. v. 2. & 6. Cup-bearer of King Artaxerxes , when he heard of the great affliction and reproach of his Brethren at the distressed Jerusalem , must when he shall he asked as Nehemiah was , Why is thy countenance sad , seeing thou art not sick , it is nothing else but sorrow of heart , be inforced to declare his sorrows to his Soveraign , who when he shall be informed of the cause of it , must be constrained to do as that tender-hearted King did , to give such a troubled Servant leave to depart to his distracted Estate , and in the mean time want his service .

CAP. V.

That the Kings Servants whilst they are in his service , ought not to be Vtlawed or prosecuted in order thereunto , without leave or license first obtained of the King , or the Great Officers of his most H●nourable Housh●ld , under whose several Jurisdictions they do officiate .

ANd to as little or no purpose would that antient and just Priviledge of the Kings Servants in ordinary , not to be arrested , troubled or imprisoned without leave first obtained , profit them , if whilst they shall be busied in attending the person of the King , or some other of his affairs , they may be sued to an Utlary , and forfeiture of all their Goods and Personal Estate , put out of the protection of the King and his Laws , and thrust under the many damages , inconveniences and incapacities which do way-lay and fall upon Utlawed persons , and will be hugely contradictory to the right reason and intention of our Laws ; neither can any Sheriff retorn upon an Original Writ , retornable in the Court of Common Pleas , to which and no other Court ( except in the Court of Kings Bench , in Actions of Trespass , or upon the Case importing a breach of the Peace ) in all Civil Actions , the prosecution of Writs to the Utlary doth only and properly appertain ; or upon a Bill of Middlesex , a great encroacher upon the Rights and Jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas , and a greater upon the Rights and Liberties of the people ; or an Action entred in the Sheriffs Courts in the City of London , or of any other City or Corporation , that any of the Kings Servants who were not wont to be either Beggars or Runagates , nichil habet , nec est inventus , ( the later of which however now disused , was antiently never omitted , but as a companion in separable upon such Retorns of Writs , went together with the former ) when as the Offices and Places in the Kings Court , were not usually so poor or unprofitable , as that they should be worth nothing , or those that enjoyed them so willing to leave them , as to run away from them .

And then certainly if by Law any such Retorns cannot in the case of the Kings Servants in ordinary , be justly or legally made , nor any Process of Capias , or to arrest , executed against them , without a leave or license first obtained ; nor any Utlary without a Capias , after that an alias Capias , and afterwards a pluries Capias , being all three of them with fifteen dayes betwixt the Testes and Retorns first and successively to be retorned , as now the manner of retorning them of course is usually , before any Exigent can be awarded in order to an Utlary , if the Defendant do not appear before unto the Action , whether Civil or Criminal , to prevent it ; which so often repeated process and warnings the Law doth so strictly enjoyn , as in the Reigns of King Henry the 4th . and King Henry the 6th . p p Brook tit . Vtlary 62. & 3 H. 4.10 . Utlaries have been reversed , for that the Exigent was awarded to Utlaw the Defendants upon the second Capia● .

There cannot be any just or legal possibility of Utlawing of them , although they be neither Great Officers of State , nor of the Kings Privy Councel , or of the Baronage , who by reason of their eminencies , high degrees , and qualities , are alwayes to be excepted from those ordinary kinds of Process .

For if any of the Kings Servants in ordinary should be wronged by any such false Retorns , which must necessarily fore-run and open the doors of the Process of Exigent , the Prologue or Ushers to an Utlawry , they are and ought to be as justly entituled , as any of the common people of England are to an Action of the Case , against the Sheriff or any other who shall make or cause to be made any false Retorn , quod nichil habet , that he had nothing , ( when as many of them have good , or great , or some Estates in Lands and Freehold in the County or place where the Action is laid ) or , quod non est inventus , was not to be found in his Balywick ; the later of which was in former ages used to be so ill resented , as in the Reign of King Edward the 3d. an Action was brought against one for retorning upon a Writ , quod non est inventus , that he was not to be found , whereby a Capias or Writ to arrest him was awarded against him .

And as much against the mind of the Law it would be , and a very great distance from truth and reason , that the King in the usual process and proceedings unto or towards an Utlary , should cause an Original Writ to be directed unto the Sheriff of Middlesex , who is by Law to execute no Writ in his Court or Palace , to command one of the Kings Servants to pay a Debt demanded by the Plaintiff ; or if he did not , to summon him to appear before his Justices of the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster , to shew cause why he did not , when his own Officers of his most Honourable Houshold , upon leave obtained to prosecute the Debtor in the Court of Common Pleas , were more properly to have made that summons , should upon a nichil habet nec est inventus , that he hath nothing , or is not to be found retorned upon such an Original Writ by Clerks or Attorneys of course , without the warrant or privity of the Sheriff in whose name it is retorned , and to whom it is directed , suffer a Capias in his Name , and under his Seal , to arrest or take his body , to be issued out against his Yeoman of the Robes , or his Physicians in ordinary , or some other of his Servants in ordinary necessarily attending him , not by courses , ( as many other are by the indulgence of his Royal Majesty , for the ease of his Servants , permitting them to officiate by turns , which within a few weeks or months brings them again into their duty and places of attendance ) but constantly every day and night in the year .

And should upon a non est inventus , retorned of course as aforesaid , when the time or day prefixed in that Writ of Capias is expired , suffer in his Name and under his Seal another Writ of alias Capias to be made to the said Sheriff , commanding him to arrest or take the said Yeoman of his Robes , or any other of his Servants in ordinary , whom he knows not to be absent from his service or affairs ; and upon a like feigned and false retorn of course upon that Writ , when the time prefixed for to arrest him is expired , cause or command a Writ of pluries Capias to be made or issued out against him ; and upon the like feigned and false retorn , made upon the said Writ of pluries Capias , when the time prefixed to arrest him is expired , cause a Writ of Exigent to be issued out , commanding the Sheriff in five several County Court dayes , to call the said Yeoman of the Robes , or such other his Servant in ordinary , and if he appear , to take him , if not , to retorn him Utlawed ; and should likewise at the same time , issue out at the request of the party Plaintiff , his Writ of Proclamation , directed to the Sheriff of the County where his Family resided , to be proclaimed at two several County Court dayes , and a third time at the Parish Church door upon a Sunday , immediately after Divine Service ended , commanding the said Yeoman of the Robes , or such other his Servant , to appear and render himself to the Sheriff , otherwise to be Utlawed , when he knows he was at that instant of time , and would be at other times prefixed , busie and imployed in a near attendance upon his Person ; or that the Ye●man of his Robes , or such other Servant in ordinary , should be Utlawed upon an intendment or supposition in Law , that after so many iterated contempts of the King , and his Process or Writs , being twelve in number , that is to say , a contempt upon not appearing upon the Original Writ , three several contempts upon the Capias , Alias , and Pluries , five other contempts in not appearing at the five Husting dayes , if the Action had been laid in London , or five County Court dayes , if the Action were laid in any County , and three several contempts in not appearing upon the Proclamation , when he either knew not of the Process , as it very often happens , or if he did take notice of them , refused to appear to the said Action , because his business about the Kings own person and affairs would not permit him .

And should thereby subject him to all the mischiefs and inconveniences of an Utlawed person , and that fierce Process of Utlary called a Capias Vtlegatum , and command a Sheriff to enter into any Liberties , as if he intended such Servants might be taken in his Bed-Chamber , or his Court , which no Law or Custom hath hitherto permitted , or held fitting or reasonable ; and seize his Person , Lands and Goods , and Lease and Demise away his Lands to the Plaintiff , untill he shall appear and answer the Action , and the King for the Contempts in not appearing thereunto ; when as it was the Kings own necessary affairs and business that hindred him , and he was at that instant of time busied in his duty and attendance upon his person ; and cannot be restored unto the benefit of the Laws , and the Birth-right of a Subject , untill he shall have reversed the Utlary by Plea , or Error , or as the usage of the Law was in the time of King Henry the 4th . and long after , that the Utlawed person could not be restored , till he had been by the Court committed to the Prison of the Fleet for his contempts , purchased and pleaded his Charter of Pardon from the King , under the Great Seal of England , and appeared to the Action , when the King and his service and attendance , was the only cause that he did not or could not attend or appear thereunto , or put in Bayl to answer it , when there was no danger of his absence , or flying away from the Kings Service , which is or ought to be not a little advantageous or beneficial unto him .

And when the Plaintiff , at whose instance such a prosecution was made , might with as much ease , and as little charge , and a far less expence of time , have petitioned the Lord Chamberlain of the Kings Houshold , and obtained a license to have taken his course at Law against him : And if the Lord Chamberlain had given the Defendant a reasonable time or prefixion for the Plaintiffs satisfaction , as his Lordship usually doth , it would probably not have exceeded the time of six months , which is by our Laws the shortest time wherein a Defendant can be Utlawed , which as Bracton saith , ought not to be suddenly done , but to have five months warning or time given in regard of the severity thereof , when a man is Utlawed and is thereby to forfeit bona & catalla , patriam & amicos , his Goods , Chattels , q q Bracton lib. ● . ca. 11.125 . & Stamford Plees del Corone , lib. 3. ca. 35. Countrey , and profits of his Lands , to be as an exile or banish'd man , was not to be received or entertained by his Friends , could not bring an Action for any thing due unto him , untill the Utlary be reversed , but was as antient as the Saxon times accounted to be a Friendless and Lawless man .

And it would be a great piece of incivility , to prosecute such a Servant of the Kings in ordinary , so busied and imployed about his person , and not first of all to Petition for his license , when in an ordinary way and with no great charge , and a great deal sooner than the Defendants appearance to his Action can be enforced by an Utlary , it might have been so easily procured ; and possibly the Kings great occasions and expence of money for the Publick and their defence and protection , wherein the good and safety of that Plaintiff was amongst the rest included , might be the cause that he could not pay such Servant in ordinary his wages , and that such Servant could not so soon as he otherwise would have satisfied the party prosecuting , there being no reason to be assigned by any whose exuberant phancies have not altogether divorced them from it , that one that is but imployed upon a seldom and temporary imployment of the Kings , and is not his Servant in ordinary , nor the business he is imployed in so continually near and relating to his person , should during that his temporary imployment , and of a far less concernment as to go on a Message for him , or in company of some Ambassador , be priviledged during his absence in his Person , Goods and Estate , and a Servant in ordinary continually attending his Sacred Person , should be only protected in his Person , but not in his Estate ; or that the priviledges and immunities so antiently due and appropriate to his Servants in ordinary , and near his person , should be curtailed , and have less allowed them than Strangers , and such as are only imployed for some small time or occasion .

Or that the Utlawing of any of his Servants in ordinary , should forfeit their so just Rights and Priviledges , when as by the Law and reasonable Customs of the Kingdom , they are not to be Utlawed , or put in Process of Utlary , without license or leave first asked ; and no man should be Utlawed or punished for a default of not appearing , or have any Process of arrest or contempt awarded against him , where he had a reasonable excuse or impediment , or cause of Essoyne , as by Inundation of Waters , being sick , or in the parts beyond the Seas , or so great a one as the Service of the King ; for if Utlaries in such a case unduly obtained , should cause a forfeiture of just and legal Customs and Priviledges , any that had a mind to do a mischief to a supposed adversary , might as well contrary to the Priviledges of Parliament , in the time of Parliament , find or make a pretence to Utlaw any of the Members of either of the Houses of Parliament , and make that to be as it were a forfeiture of their Priviledges , and a justification ( which they can never make out ) of the infringing of them , and the Parliament-men of the House of Commons might be Utlawed persons , which the Law forbids , and by tacite and many times undiscerned Utlaries , might lose and be deprived of their Priviledges .

And the parties offending or endeavouring such breaches of Priviledge , should not take advantage de son tort , of their own wrongs or tortious doings , which our Common Law maxime doth abhorr , and the Civil Law doth as little like or allow , when its Rule is , that Nemo r r Peregrini Janninii de Citatione reali , lib. 2. commodum consequi debet ex suo delicto , no man is to take profit by his offence against the Law .

For in vain should the Kings Servants be by the Constitution of Clarendon in the Reign of King Henry the second , freed from Excommunications , or the Ministers or Priests be by the Act of Parliament in the 50th . year of the Reign of King s s 50 E. 3. c. 5. 1 R. 2. c. 15. Edward the third , and the first year of the Reign of King Richard the second , exempted from being arrested in the Church or Church-yard , if an Utlary , which being very antiently used in Criminal matters , but not in Civil in Bractons time in the Reign of King Henry the 3d. taught the way and manner of it in Civil , should be able to forfeit it , or take them away ; for in and before that Kings Reign , Bracton saith , t t Bracton lib. 3. c. 12.8 . Videtur nulla esse Vtlagaria si factum pro quo quis Interrogatus est Civile sit & non Criminale , pro quo quis vitam amittere non deberet vel membra , it seemeth there ought to be no Utlary , where the Defendant or party is prosecuted for any Civil matter , not Criminal , wherein he was not to lose either life or members .

And very unbecoming the Majesty and Honour of a King it would needs be , to have any of his Servants Utlawed , and pursued with Process of Utlary , whilst they are attending upon him , and made to be as the out-cast and reproach of the people , and not be able to protect them in their just Rights and Liberties ; or that any of our Kings Servants should Lupina capita gerere , be as men wearing Wolves heads , which was the antient mark or note of infamy of such as were Utlawed in Criminal matters , instead of honourable Liveries , or marks of the Kings Servants in ordinary .

When in the 6th . year of the Reign of King Henry the 4th . Roger Oliver the Son of John Oliver , being in obsequio Regis in u u Norff. Termino Paschae An. 6 H. 4. Rot. 34. coram Rege . Comitiva Johannis Lardner , Capitanei Castri de Oye in partibus Piccardiae , pro munitione Castri praedicti , in the Kings Service in fortifying the Castle of Oye in Picardy , under the command of John Lardner Captain of the Castle aforesaid , was Utlawed by Process out of the Court of Common Pleas , at the Suit of John Paxman , in an Action of Debt for Forty pounds , when as die promulgationis Vtlagarie , & diu antea & postea fuit in obsequio Domini Regis , at the time of his being Utlawed , and long before and after , he was in the Kings Service as aforesaid , and brought his Writ of Error in the Kings Bench to reverse it , prayed a Writ to the Captain aforesaid , to certifie whether he was then in obsequio Regis , in the Kings Service ; per quod mandatum fuit praedicto Capitaneo , whereupon it was commanded to the aforesaid Captain , to certifie quo die & anno , what year and day the said Roger was imployed as aforesaid , & per quantum tempus ibidem remansit in obsequio Regis in Comitiva sua continue , & quo die & anno recessit , and how long he there served without intermission , and what day and year he departed ; whereupon he giving Bayl by four Sureties , to appear ad praefatum terminum , & sic de die in diem quousque , &c. at the term or time appointed , and so from day to day untill he should be discharged . And the Captain certifying the day when the said Roger came into the Kings Service , and when he departed , the said Roger prayed a Writ of Scire facias , to warn or summon the said John Paxman to appear and hear the Error alledged ; and the Sheriff not having executed the first Scire facias , and a second being awarded , executed and retorned , and the said John Paxman not appearing , the said Roger assigned for Error , that he was in obsequio Regis , in the Kings Service as aforesaid , and prayed that the Utlary might be reversed for the Error aforesaid ; & quod Curia ad examinationem recordi & processus ex officio procedat , and that the Court would as they ought proceed to examine the Record and Process aforesaid ; which being considered and examined , the Court ob Errorem illum , & alios in recordo & processu compertos , for that and other Errors appearing in the Record and Process aforesaid , did reverse and annull the said Utlary .

And in the 9th . year of the Reign of the said King , a man being Utlawed for Felony , ( which is of a worse nature and consequence then in an Action of Debt ) did reverse that Utlary upon a Certificate that he was in the Kings Service at w w Brooke Tit. Vtlary 10. & 9 H. 4.3 . Burdeaux in France , at the time of the Utlary pronounced ; and in the second year of the Reign of King Edward the 4th . a man taken upon a Capias Vtlagatum for Felony , pleaded that at the time of the Utlary pronounced , he was in the Kings Service at x x Brooke ibidem 47. & 2 E. 4.1 . Calais , under the Governour or Captain thereof , which being certified was allowed ; when in all cases of Vtlary , the Judges of Courts , and the Kings Serjeants , or Councel at Law , were alwayes not a little watchfull to preserve all the Kings Rights and advantages .

For if upon a command of the King by his Letters Patents , to do any of his commands or affairs , ( which kind of Authority certainly the Kings Servants in ordinary y y Brooke Tit. Vtlary 79. & 11 H. 7.5 . neither need or ever demanded ) or the party impleaded alleaging that he served at Calais under such a Captain , shall be sufficient Pleas to avoid Vtlaries , the one ( as was adjudged and holden for Law in the 11th . year of the Reign of King Henry the 7th . in the Kings Bench ) being to be tryed by the Certificate of the Captain , and the other by the Kings Letters Patents .

And the party Vtlawed shall have a Writ of Scire facias , without shewing the Kings Letters Patents , unless the Plaintiff do traverse it , as well as in the other Case he shall be discharged of the Vtlary by the Certificate of the Captain ; the Certificate certainly in the Case of an Houshold Servant of the Kings , of the Lord Chamberlain , or other Great Officer of the Houshold to whom it appertaineth , may deserve to be as available .

And yet in all the aforesaid Cases of Protection or Priviledge , they that were abiding within the Realm , might ever since the making of the Statute in the 20th . year of the Reign of King z z 20 H. 3. ca. 10.13 E. 1. ca. 10. Henry the third , and of the Statute made in the 13th . year of the Reign of King Edward the first , and such as departed the Realm by the Kings license , by an Act of Parliament or Statute made in the 7th . year of the Reign of King a a 7 R. 2. ca. 14. Richard the second , make their Attorneys to answer for them in any Actions to be brought against them . And if in case of less consequence , or upon a smaller ground of Law or Reason , the Law hath so much favoured a privare person , as to permit him to reverse an Vtlary , because he was itae languidus b b Brooke Tit. Vtlary 75. Fitzherberts Abridgement Tit. Challenge 153. tempore promulgationis Vtlagarie , so sick at the time of the pronouncing or adjudging him to be Vtlawed , that he could not propter periculum mortis , appear without danger of death , ( when as he might have made or sent his Attorney ) as it was adjudged and admitted in the 4th . year of the Reign of King Henry the 5th . the Kings c c 4 H. 5. Servants should in matters so very much concerning his Person , and the Weal publick , not be debarred of their plea of a greater impediment , by their necessary attendance upon the person of their Soveraign .

All which may certainly give us to understand , and perswade every one that wilfully gives not way to his fancies and misapprehensions , to over-run and trample upon his reason , that the Priviledge of the Kings Servants in ordinary , had its beginning and continuance as well from the necessity of their attendance upon his person and affairs , as from the respect and honour which was and should be alwayes due unto the King their Master .

And that therefore if the Laws and reasonable Customs of England , do as they have ever done , and by a right interpretation of them are alwayes to be understood , will not permit that the Kings Servants in ordinary may be arrested in any Civil Action , without the leave or license of the King or the great Officers of his most honourable Houshold , under whose jurisdiction they do officiate first obtained , nor suffer any Member of the House of Commons in Parliament in the time of Parliament , whilst he is in the service of their King and Country to be outlawed , because he cannot be Utlawed without Process of three Capiasses of Writs to arrest & an Exigent & Proclamation first awarded & returned against him , & such Writs or Process could not be awarded , during the against him continuance or adjournment of Parliament .

It may justly , rationally and legally be concluded , that they cannot be Utlawed .

Until there can be an Utlary without a Capias or Process of Arrest & a Capias without leave or licence first obtained of the great Officer of the Kings most honourable Houshold to whom it appertaineth , and an alias and pluries Capias also to arrest , returned with a non est inventus , that such of the Kings Servants being sought to be arrested , is not to be found , and until there can be a contempt where there is none , a consequent without an antecedent , and an effect without a cause .

Howsoever if any of the Kings Servants should at any time be so indirectly and unduly outlawed he may by the favour of their Royal Master be inlawed and restored to the benefit and protection of Him and his Laws , as was some hundred of years ago , held to be Law and right reason by Bracton , who left it as a Rule to posterity , that Rex poterit utlagatum de gratia ●ua per literas suas Patentes inlegare & recipere eum ad pacem suam , & reponere eum in legem , extra quam prius positus fuit , The King may of his Grace by His Letters Patents pardon the Utlary , and (d) (d) Bracton lib. 3. ca. 14.1 . restore him to the benefit of his Laws , but if he were outlawed contra legem terrae debet eam pronunciare esse nullam & utlagati secundum legem terrae facilius recipiuntur ad pacem secundum quod ibi fuerit causa , vera vel nulla , vel minus sufficiens , contrary to the Law of the Land the Utlary ought to be annulled , and the Defendant more easily received into the protection of the King and his Laws , where there was a just cause for to reverse it , or where the cause of the Outlawry appeared to be none or insufficient , with whom concurred Fleta (e) (e) Fleta lib. 1. ca. 28 who likewise said , quod utlagati extra legem positi ad legem gratia Principis concomitante restitui possunt & inlagari dum tamen causa utlagariae nulla fuerit vel nimis mature , That men outlawed or bereaved of the benefit of the Laws may by the favour of the Prince be restored , when the cause of the Vtlary was none , or it was sooner promulged or adjudged then it ought , and may well be understood to be no otherwise .

When our very learned Bracton did long agoe rightly define an outlawed person to be qui principi non obediat nec Legi , which obeyed not the King nor the Law , and the cause of an Outlawry (f) (f) Bracton lib. 3. de Corona , ca. 11. to be contumacia & inobedientia , contempt of the King and disobedience unto him and his Laws , such Servant of the King which obeyeth the King his Soveraign and Royal Master in the duty of his place , necessary attendance , and service cannot be adjudged to disobey the King at the same time when he doth more especially obey him : And if not guilty of any disobedience contumacy or contempt to the King cannot be understood to be so unto his Laws or established Courts of Justice , which do act and do justice and punish in his name only and by his authority , for where there cannot be a contumacy or cause of it according to the priviledge of the Kings Servants in the first Process or Summons in Order to the intended Vtlary nulla sequi deberet captio & cum g g Bracton Tract. 2. lib. 5. de Essoniis cap. 1. captio nulla saith g g Bracton Tract. 2. lib. 5. de Essoniis cap. 1. Bracton , nec ea quae sequntur locum habere debeant , no Capias or Writ to arrest ought to issue , and when there is no Capias or Writ to arrest , the Vtlary which shall be endeavoured to be the consequence of it is not to be at all quia ubi primum & principale quod est summonitio non subsistit , for that the principal which was the Summons was not duly awarded .

But if any shall think it to be a contempt of the Kings Process or Courts of Justice although it be none against the K. himself , such a contra-distinction will prove to be as invalid , illegal and irreligious as that abominable one in the late Times of Confusion of distinguishing betwixt the person of the King & his Authority , and his natural and politique capacity , which our Laws do declare to be so united as though most of the Regal Priviledges are adjudged to appertain to the Sacred Persons of our Kings for the Kings Prerogative , as Justice Brown alledged in the argument of Willon and Berkleys Case , en respect de son person & vaont a son person , is in respect of his Person (h) (h) Plowdens Commentaries in Willon and the Lord Berklyes case , 238. b. & 248. a. and do attend it , and howsoever there are some that do only and properly belong to his Politique capacity , yet his natural and politique capacities are neither to be confounded or so separated , as one to be against or contrary to the other .

And they which are so willing to entertain or harbour any such opinions may do themselves more right to believe that which a more serious consideration may inform them , That the Civil Law defining representation doth make it to be no more then locum (i) (i) Vlpian . l. 1. & 1. Si is qui testam . l. 1 ● ubi causa Stat. & novell . alterius obtinere vel tantundem valere to be in the place of another or to avail as much as if he were present , and preses Provinciae dicitur in provinciis representare qui in eadem judicis & juris vicem tenet , the President of a Province is said to represent , & is as a substitute of the Judge & the Law and Acts there in the place of them , which to all that are but smally acquainted with those excellent Laws cannot seem to be abs●lute , when they may every where find the Praetors or Proconsuls of Provinces , advising ( as the younger Pliny sometimes did with Trajan the Emperor ) in their Letters to the Emperors upon all emergencies and cases in Law , and directing and steering their Judgments and sentences according to their rescripts and answers retorned unto them , and our common-Laws of England , where they do sometimes seem to say that the King is virtually present in his Courts of Justice , do it but as authorative , with a quoad , quatenus and quodam modo , as unto such or such things and particulars , in a certain manner , as far as the reach and compass of the Delegated power committed unto their care and trust will extend , for the King is not in such a manner represented by or in his Courts of Justice by his authority granted unto them as to be no where else in his natural or personal Capacity or Commands , for then he must be Apotheosed or more then mortality or mankind will permit , and so omnipresent and every where , as to be at one and the same morning , hour and instant of Time in the Terms or Law dayes in the Court of Common-Pleas , Exchequer , Kings-Bench and Chancery , out of the later whereof he could not issue out in the same day and moment of Time , his Writs Original and remedial under his Teste meipso , witness our self in the Chancery authorizing the Justices of the Court of Common-Pleas to hold Plea in most of the Actions which they have cognisance of and are impowred to hear or determine , and be at the same time truly and properly believed to be in the Court of Common-Pleas , nor could cause any of their Records to be transmitted coram nobis , unto himself in his Court of Kings-Bench to correct the Errors committed in some Action by the Judges of the Court of Common-Pleas , nor by a Writ of Pone upon a Certi●rari out of the Chancery under his Teste meipso , as ●f he were there present to direct it to be tryed in the Court of Kings-Bench coram nobis , by a supposition , that it should be there determined before himself , neither did some of our Kings need to have holden Parliaments by their Substitutes or Commission , as King Edward the third did in his absence to his Son Edward Duke of Cornwal , and at another time unto Lionell Duke of Clarence another of his Sons , if he could by any just or legal intendment , have been supposed to have been there alwayes absolutely , and to all purposes virtually present .

But if there should be a refusal by any of the Kings Servants in Ordinary , to appear upon any Writs or Process issuing out of any of his Courts of Justice , whilst they are in the Service of the King their Master , yet when the King shall have discharged that refusal or contempt ( if it should be so called ) by a greater and more necessary command in the case of any of his Servants attending upon Him , that contempt is no more to be insisted upon , for if in such a case of his moeniall Servants , his command in the necessary attendance upon his person or affairs in one place shall not amount to a Supersedeas or discharge of any supposed contempt of his Writs and Process and delegated Mandates in another . And his commissionated Courts of Justice , should adjudge his Servants to be guilty of a contumacy or contempt against his Courts of Justice , in not obeying of his Process , whilst they do attend upon his person in the safety and well being of Him and all his Subjects , and of the Courts of Justice themselves , they must separate themselves from themselves , and themselves from the King which intrusted them with that authority , & by too much supposing his authority to be in themselves , mistake & fancy that authority in them to be Superiour to him that gave it , erect to themselves a kind of Superiority over him which gave them that authority , by and under which they do act and are impowred , the bounds and limits whereof they should not go beyond or exceed .

For although there may be a contempt charged upon some one or more of the Kings many Servants , attending in his Court or Pallace , for disobeying or not performing some of his personal commands , and upon the same party much about the same Time for a contempt for not obeying or performing the Precept or Process of his subordinate Judges , by not appearing to some Action prosecuted before them , and so a double contempt or contumacy against the King , yet the contempt to the Kings personal command is and must needs be greater then that which is to his Justices or Courts of Justice , and is more immediate then that which is but mediate , & concerns but some one particular Plaintiff , & not seldom in a malicious or unjust cause of Action , or if just , for some trivial hot headed uncharitable and unneighborly cause of Action , as for Trespass of a Horse or Cow broken into his Pasture , by the default or occasion of his own ill Fence or Hedges when the Beast knew as little of reason or property , as the Plaintiff did of Religion or the rules of Christianity , when that which is more immediately to the King , may not a little , but greatly concern the well or ill being of the whole Nation ▪ or of multitudes , and in that general and universal concernment of the angry prosecutor himself , when that which is but mediate , and a lesser contempt to some one of the Kings Courts of Justice in not appearing to some of their Writs or Process made out in the Kings name , and by his authority , concerneth only a few particular persons .

And the●efore we should too much thwart those common principles of reason and understanding , to deny the greater command , its power and efficacy before the lesser , and that of the King , before that of his Justices or to punish and arrest any of the Kings Servants , if they were not so justly entituled to the Priviledges aforesaid ( for all or the most part of Arrests by order or course of any Courts of Justice in civil Actions before appearance , are grounded either upon contempts or propter suspitionem sugae , to prevent running away ) for disobeying the lesser authority , and a private and particular concernment , to obey the greater , or the commands of the King in just and lawful things as a Servant in matters relating to his service and in that to the weal publique , or greatest concernment , and may well be excused for failing in the lesser or private , when he is by his Oath usually administred unto the Kings Servants , truly and diligently to attend and wait , and not to depart out of the Kings Court , without licence had or obtained of the Lord Chamberlain , or other the Officers of the Kings most honourable Houshold , unto whom it appertaineth k k Vide the Oaths of the Kings Servants in the Raign of Henry the 8 th in a Book entituled the Book of Oaths . and to obey all and singular commandments given in charge on the behalf of the King , and is not by his Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy to lessen or abrid●e any of the Kings Royal Jurisdictions , Preheminences and Priviledges , from and under which are legally derived the aforesaid Rights and Priviledges of his Servants , who if they were not priviledged , are not in the contrariety and conflict of superior and inferior commands , to neglect those of the Superior , where he is so bound and ingaged by the duty of a Subject and Servant , and so many obligeing Oaths to obey the Writs or Precepts of an Inferior , to whom they are under no Obligation of Oaths , nor are to be compelled to break those Oaths and Obligations , or to do impossible things when as id possumus quod de Jure possimus , things unlawful should be ranked amongst the impossibles & our Laws do assure us that Lex non cogit impossibilia , that the Law doth neither ordain nor compel impossible things to be done or doth punish for the not doing of them .

But if a restless Spirit of opposition to the Kings Rights or Regalities shall not permit an acquiescence unto that which hath been already said in defence of that part of it which concerns the Priviledges of his Servants , but that an objection must be picked up to support their factious incivilities , that the King ought not to punish or imprison any for the breach of his Servants Priviledges , in the causing of any of them to be Arrested or Outlawed without leave or licence first procured when the Writs and Process , tending thereunto are made in his own Name , and under his smal or lesser Seals , as to Writs and Process issuing out of the Courts of Kings-Bench and Common-Pleas delegated and entrusted by him unto the two Lord Chief Justices thereof , l l Hill. 14 H. 6. Rot. 1. the answer will have no difficulty , if it shal be as it ought to be acknowledged , that those Writs & Process seldome expressing that the Defend . is the K. Servant , are of course made out and Sealed by Officers and Clerks of the Court whence they issued without the privity or knowledge of the King or his Lord Chancellour or Keeper of the Great Seal of England , or the Judges of the Court of Common-Pleas , and that if those Writs which now and for many yeers past , to the great ease of the people have been made in an ordinary way and course at smal rates and charges as anciently , as the Raign of King John and King Henry the third m m Bracton lib. 5. de Exceptionibus , ca. 17. Tract. 5. should have been made by the privity of the Chancellour , or Chief-Justice , or of the King himself , or granted upon Motion or Petition , and read , and recited in the Kings presence , or in Court by or before the Chancellor or Chief-Justice , when such Actions , Writs or Complaints were few and seldome , yet when afterwards they should appear to be mistaken , too sodainly or erroniously granted , or that the King or the Court have ( as in humane affairs it may often happen ) been misinformed or deceived therein , such Writs or Process , surprize or mistake may be revoked and rectified , and the Writs and proceedings thereupon contradicted by the King or his Authority , as hath been done in the Writs of Supersedeas to the Barons of the Exchequer to stay their proceedings in Common-Pleas , or to n n Register of Writs 185 191. the Marshalsea , of matters wherein they have no Jurisdiction , that known Rule of Law declaring the Kings Letters Patents of the Grant of Lands to a man in Fee or Fee Tayl to be void , where the King is deceived in his Grant , or as King Henry the 3d. superseded his Writ de o o Rot. Clausis , 7 H. 3. m. 6. Excommunicato capiendo to Arrest , or take an excommunicated person , because he was circumvented in the granting of the Writ , or made void his Conge d' p p Rot. Vascon. 36 37 38 & 39 H. 3. in Mr. Prynnes Annotations and amendments of and apon the 4 th . part of Sir Edward Cokes Institutes 320 & 321. Eslire , to the Priory of Carlisle , & confirmed an election upon a former Conge or licence , or as is often done by that common & usual way of Supersedeas p p Rot. Vascon. 36 37 38 & 39 H. 3. in Mr. Prynnes Annotations and amendments of and apon the 4 th . part of Sir Edward Cokes Institutes 320 & 321. made by the King upon matters ex post facto , or better information , or by his Justices and Courts of Justice by Writs of Supersedeas quia improvide or Erronice or datum est nobis intelligi , in regard of misinformation , Error , or better information , or in the vacating of Recoveries & Judgments , & discharging Actions , for abuse of the Courts , or ill obteining of them , q q Wasthulls case in Banco Regis Sharingtons in Hill. 23 Eliz. Allensons case 3 Car. 1. Comes Oxon. contra Johannem Harbert in An. 1657 or their Writs & Process , & freeing of prisoners taken & Arrested by Writs or Process not duly warranted .

And that such an indirect and feigned prosecution of the Kings Servants to the Utlary , designed only to abridge the King of his regal Rights , forfeit and annul the Priviledges of his Servants , and obstruct and hinder his service and attendance aswell deserves a punishment , as that which was usual in our Laws in the Reigns of King Henry the 3d. and King Edward the 1. for indirect recoveries , or Judgments obtained by a malitious surprize , falshood or non-Summons , as the ensuing Writ will evidence .

Rex vic. Salutem praecipimus tibi quod habeas coram Justitiariis nostris , &c , talem petentem , r r Bracton lib. 5.135 . scilicet ad audiend . Judicium suum & considerationem . Curiae nostre de hoc quod ipse per malitiam & manifestam falsitatem fecit disseysiri talem de tanta Terra cum pertinentiis , &c. Et unde cum ipse B nullam haberet summonitionem optulit se idem A , versus eum itaqd . terra capta fuit in manum nostram semel & secundo & per quani defalt idem A terram illam recuperavit desicut illa defalta nulla fuit ut dic . catalla ipsius B in eadem terra tunc inventa & ei occasione praed●cta ablata eidem sine dilatione reddi facias & restitui Praecipimus etiam tihi qd. habeas coram , &c. ad eundem Terminum A & B per quos summonitio prima facta fuit & in Curia nostra Testata & praeterea quatuor illos per quorum visum terra illa capta fuit in manum nostram & per quos captio illa testificata fuit in Curia nostra , &c. & etiam illos per quos secunda summonitio facta fuit & testata ad certificandum Justitiarios nostros de praedictis Summonitionibus & Captionibus . Et habeas ibi hoc breve Teste , &c.

The King to the Sheriff ( talis loci ) County or place sendeth greeting , We command you , That you have before our Justices , &c. such a Demandant , that is to say , to hear the Judgement & Order of our Court , in regard that he by malice and manifest fraud caused such a one ( the Tenant to be disseised of so much Land with the appurtenances &c. whereupon when the said E the Tenant or Defendant ) had no Summons the said A ( the Plaintiff or Demandant ) did so prosecute that Action , that the Land was taken into our hands , a first and second time , by which default the said A recovered the Land , whereas there was no default as was alledged , and took the Goods and Chattels of the said B then found upon the Land , and taken from him by that means , We command you that without delay you cause the same to be rendred and restored unto him , that you also have before our Justices at the same time A and B , by whom the first Summons was made and certified into our Court , &c. and likewise those by whom the second Summons was made , whereby our said Justices may of the aforesaid Summons and Captions be certified , and have you there this Writ , Witnesse , &c. Or that which King Richard the Second did in Parliament , in the fifteenth yeer of his Raign , inflict upon Sir s s Rot. Par. 15. R. 2. m. 18. William Bryan , for procuring a Bull of the Pope to be directed unto the Archbishops of Canterbury and York , to excommunicate some that had broken his house and carried away his Writings by committing him prisoner to the Tower of London , that fact and doing of his , being by the Lords in Parliament , adjudged to be prejudicial to the King , and in Derogation of his Laws , such and the like artifices and devices , being so much disliked by the Commons in Parliament , in the 39th . yeer of the Raign of King Henry the sixth , as they complained by their Petition to the King & Lords , that t t Petitiones Parl. 39 H. 6. n. 9. Walter Clerke one of their Members , a Burges for the Town of Chippenham in the County of Wilts , had been outlawed and put in Prison , and prayed that by the assent of the King and Lords he might be released , and their Member set at Liberty .

Or that which King Henry the eighth did in the Case of Trewynnard ▪ a Burgess of Parliament u u Dier . Pasch. 28 & 29 H. 8. Sect. 18 ▪ imprisoned upon an Utlary after Judgment , in delivering him by his Writ of Priviledge , which upon an Action afterwards brought against the Executors of the Sheriff , and a Demurrer was resolved by the Judges to be legal .

And therefore Philip late Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery , Lord Chamberlain of his late Majesties Houshold should not be blamed , for causing in the yeer of our Lord one thousand six hundred thirty and seaven , one Isaac Walter to be taken into custody , as hath been before mentioned for a contrivance not to trouble himself to ask leave to arrest Henry Hodsell one of the Kings Servants , by suing him to the Utlary , & endeavouring by that artifice & way of rigor & extremity to do what he pleased with his Goods & Estate , without arresting his person , or infringing of that part of his Priviledg , which being a Correlate to the King becomes to be his concernment as wel as a concernment of any of his Servants which shal be arrested or imprisoned without leave or licence first , as aforesaid to be demanded , for it is the K. Priviledge , and a part of his Regality & Honour , that his Servants should not be arrested or taken from his Service without a licence first procured : And it was therefore no indigested or unwarranted opinion of Bracton , when putting the Case where a Laick hath consented to a Tryal before a Judge Ecclesiastical , or in foro vetito in a Court , where he should not , of matters quae pertinent ad w w Bracton , lib. 5. de Exceptionibus Tract. 5. ca. 2. & 7. ca. 2. & 16. Sect. 2. Coronam & dignitatem Regiam , which appertained to the Kings Crown and Dignity , he concludeth , That poterit enim quis renuntiare iis quae pro se introducta sunt sed tamen non in praejudicium aliorum sicut in praejudicium Regiae Dignitatis quia injuste non trahitur ad alienum forum ex quo renuntiando privilegio suo hoc voluit injuste tamen propter privilegium Regis , That any man may renounce those things which were granted in his favour , but not to the prejudice of another , because he cannot be said to have been unjustly drawn to appear in another Court or Jurisdiction , when he did waive or forsake his own priviledge , yet he did it unjustly in regard of the Kings Priviledge , Et imponi non potest necessitas Regi quod suam Jurisdictionem amittet , and the King is not to be necessitated or imposed upon to loose his Jurisdiction , which will appear to be consonant to the wisdome of many other Nations , the rule of the Civil Law being , that a Priviledge cannot be renounced or disclaimed in praejudicium reservantis sibi Jus in Privilegio , to the prejudice of him that reserved a right in that priviledge , videtur enim inter partes ultro x x Ex Doctr. Barchol . in l. 1. super de judict . Bald. in l. si convenerit 2. lect. de Juredict . cum Jud. l sicut 〈◊〉 de act. & oblig . Citroque obligatio contracta quo fit ut unus consensu tantum distrahi non potest , for there is such an Obligation or contract betwixt the parties on both sides , as with the consent only of one of the parties it cannot be discharged suc● deceitful Contrivances to defeat the King of his Regalities and Priviledges , and bereave him of the attendance of his Servants , by arresting and imprisoning them , whether he will or no , and if they cannot do it one way , to compasse and do it by another , upon an impulse only of some over fierce , malitious or uncivil Creditors or Complanants will or haughty humor , to prejudice or abstruct their Soveraigns affairs or service , when they knew a more easie and mannerly way to compasse their pretended rights by petitioning for a leav or licence to take their course at Law against them , if in the mean time they were not satisfied , and do by so do●ng , make themselves guilty of a greater contempt and more immediately to the King , then any pretended contempts of the Kings Servants in not appearing , whilst they are busied in his service to the Writs or Process of his Courts of Justice for which they would arrest or Outlaw them , may very well require the care which King Edward the third did take to secure his Servants from damage by their not appearing to any Process or Summons in his Courts of Justice , Register of Writs 19. a. whilst they were in his Service , by his Writ under his Great-Seal of England , in these words , Rex Justitiariis suis de Banco Salutem . Sciatis quod A fuit in Servitio nostro per praeceptum nostrum die Lunae in Crastino Quindenae Paschae prox praeterito . Ita quod eo die interesse non potuit loquelae quae est coram vobis per breve nostrum inter B , petentem & praedictum A , tenentem de uno Messuagio cum pertinentiis in N , unde idem A ( versus praedictum B inde vocavit ad warrantum , &c. ut dicitur & ideo vobis mandamus quod praedictus A , propter absentiam suam ad diem illum non ponatur in defaltam nec aliquo sit perdens , quia idem il●um quoad hoc Warrantizamus , &c. The King to h●s Justices of the Bench or Common-Pleas , sendeth greeting , Know yee that A was in our service by Our Command , upon Munday being the morrow after Quindena Paschae ( or fifteen dayes after Easter ) last past ; So that he could not that day appear in the Action , which was depending before you by Our Writ , betwixt B Demandant against the aforesaid being Tenant of one Messuage , with the appurtenances in N , wherein the said A vouched C ( to warranty against B as is said , and therefore we command you , that no default be entred against the said A in regard of his absence , that day , and that he receive no damage therein , because we do , as to that , warrant him which seems to be no Novel Writ , or but once or seldome made , when the Rule of the Register , is , that the like Writ may be sent to the Maior and Sheriffs of London , the Bishop of Durham within his Liberty of Durham , the Justices of Assise , or to a Sheriff , &c. in these words , Sciatis quod A fuit in servitio nostro per praeceptum nostrum die Jovis in Octabis Sancti Hillarii & die Lunae in Crastino Animarum proximis praeteritis , which may seem to be upon some Kings-Bench Writ or Process , where they do now use to make them retornable upon certain dayes of a retorn of Writs , or if they were upon Writs or Process of the Court of Common-Pleas , where the retorns are commonly not upon a certain day of a week , these dayes appointed , and past , might probably be some Courts or Husting dayes upon an Exigent in order to an Vtlary , or if not out of either of those Courts upon some day of appearance before some Judges of Assise , but out of what Court soever , the Writs or Process were issued , it appears there were some defaults recorded or entred and were notwithstanding to be superseded , or not to be to the prejudice of the Kings Servant or service ; there being likewise subjoyned a Rule in the Register quod breve de Warrantia de servitio Domini Regis potest fieri pro petente sicut pro tenente & factum fuit Anno quarto decimo Edwardi Regis Tertii , that such a Writ of Warranty by reason of the Kings service , may be made aswell for the Demandant as the Tenant , and that the like was done in the fourteenth year of the raign of that King .

So as such or the like proceedings against any of the Kings Servants , whereby to bereave them of their just Priviledges , may deserve the Cheque and Comptrol of the Protector of our Liberties , and his care and vigilance to vindicate the just Rights and priviledges of himself and his Servants , which being to be as dear unto him , and of a greater concernment , then the Priviledges of the University of Oxford , which were granted and confirmed by divers of his Royal Progenitors b b Rot. Pat. 18 E. 3. Part. 2 m. 31. Intus & Predecessors , Kings and Queens of England , may perswade those Invaders of his Royal Rights in the Priviledges of his Servants , to esteem it no severity or injustice in our Gracious Soveraign , to say and resolve as King Edward the third , did in the Case of the Priviledges of the University of Oxford endeavoured to be undermined and subverted , that he would have them to be inviolably observed and that he would impugnatores eorundem debite , cohercerc , the violators thereof duly restraine and punish , and in another Case concerning Suits or Actions unduly brought in the Courts Ecclesiastical , declare , as that King did in these words , ad jura nostra ne depereant seu per aliquorum usurpationes indebitas , aliqualiter subtrah●ntur c c Rot. Pat. 26 E. 3. m. in Dorso . quatenus juste poterimus manutenendo subtractaque & occupata si quae fuerunt ad Statum debitum revocand . nec non ad impugnatores eorund . Jurium refrenand , & pro ut convenit juxta eorum demerita puniend . eo Studiosius nos decet operam adhibere & solicitius extendere manum nostram quo ad hoc Juramenti vinculo teneri dinoscimur & astringi pluresque conspicimus Indies Jura illa pro viribus impugnare , least that our Rights may not be lost or diminished , or by any undue usurpations in any wise substracted , and to the end we may revoke or resume them , and likewise punish the impugners thereof , as it behoveth us according to their demerits , and are the more carefully to use our endeavours therein , to which we are by the Bond of our Oath obliged , in regard we understand those our Rights , to be more and more opposed , notwithstanding that which to those , who will look no further into it , may seem but not prove to be an Objection , that an Exigent being awarded in the Court of Common-Pleas against one R. C. in Easter Term , in the seventh year of the Raign of King Henry the 8th . in the County of Surrey , the said R C , as it is mentioned in Rastalls Book of Entries , did the 13th . d d In veteri libro Intrat . tit. Exigent 216 Sect. 8. day of June then next following , being the first County Court day , appear and deliver to the Sheriff the Kings Protection under the Great Seal of England , wherein he stiled him his Servant , and one of the Grooms of his outward Chamber , took him and his Estate into his Salva guardia , safeguard & protection for one year next ensuing the 16th day of September then last past , and prohibited the outlawing or molesting of him , whereupon the Sheriff forbearing to proceed ; and at the retorn of the Exigent , which was A die Sancti Michael is in unum mensem . a moneth after Michaelmas , retorning and reciting the Tenor of the Protection , and concluding , Ideo ad ulterius Executionem ejusdem brevis de Exigi fac nihil Actum est , that therefore nothing more was done in the execution of the Writ of Exigent the Court , Quia praedictus Vicecomes executionem dicti brevis de Exigend . non fecit sed de executione ejusdem pretextu brevis alterius supersederit prout per retornum ejusdem vicecomitis constat , in regard that the Sheriff did by colour or pretext of the said other Writ ( the Kings Protection ) supersede the said Writ of Exigent , as appeared by the retorn of the said Sheriff , amerced the Sheriff in forty shillings , and ordered that a new Exigent ( the retorn of the former being expired ) should be awarded against him retornable , e e Pascha , 7 H. 8. rot. 66. A die Paschae in unum mensem , a moneth after Easter , for upon view of the Record , it appeareth , that the date of the Kings Protection was the sixth day of February in the sixth year of the Reign of that King , and to endure for a year from the 16th . day of September next before the date thereof , and that the said R. C. being in the Exigent , whereunto he appeared , and the Writs of Capias alias and Pluries leading thereunto , named Richard Camden of the Town of Westminster in the County of Midlesex , Fishmonger , otherwise called Richard Camden of the Town of Westminster Fishmonger , the Action being an Action of Debt for 6 l. 13 s. 4 d. at the Suit of William Isack , Alderman , and Draper of London , the King also mentioning him immediately after the Title of his Servant , and one of the Grooms of his Chamber , to be otherwise called Richard Camden late of London Fishmonger : It is very probable , that he had been only sworn one of the Grooms of the Kings Chamber Extraordinary , and evident enough , That the Sheriff was justly amerced for taking upon him to supersede the said Exigent , as if he had been a Judge , when he was but a ministerial Officer , and was to have attended the Judges allowance or disallowance thereof , who might well afterwards award an Exigent de novo to be made against him , when the Protection was expired , and if it had not been expired were not to take notice of it from the Sheriff , but from the Writ of Protection it self , when it should have been brought and delivered unto them ; as it was adjudged in the 38th year of the Reign of King Henry the 6th where f f 38 H. 6.23 . Rolls Reports tit . Protection . a Sheriff was fined for delivering a prisoner out of his Custody by the Kings Writ of Protection which should first have been brought to the Judges , and allowed by them .

And might besides have been well disallowed , by the Sages of the Law in the said 7th year of the Reign of King Henry the 8th for variance betwixt the Addition of the Defendant , in the Exigent and Writ of Protection , as the like had been g g 19 H. 6.48 . Et Rolls Reports tit . Protection . done in the 19th year of the Reign of King Henry the 6th .

And if he had been the Kings Servant in Ordinary might have been as legally granted unto him , to revoke & supersede an Utlary unduly h h Br. tit . Priviledge 10 E. 4 ▪ 4. prosecuted , as the Judges of the Court of Kings-Bench , or Common-Pleas , Br. tit . Vtlary 4 H. 4. & 4 H. 5.75 & 77.1 H. 7.68 Br. 5 E. 4. tit . offic. del . Court have reversed or stayed Utlaries by reason of the Defendants imprisonment , sickness of malady , hindering an appearance to an Exigent , or as the Judges of the Court of Kings-Bench , in the 5th year of the Reign of King Edward the 4th did resolve , that they themselves might ex officio by Office of Court do it , in case wherein an Indictment was insufficient or an Exigent was awarded , where it ought not , or as the Judges did in the 10th i i 10 E 4.4 . Brook tit . priviledg. 40. year of the Reign of that King , in allowing upon a Traverse and Issue joyned upon an Exigent in an Action of Trespas , the priviledge of a Filacers Horsekeeper , travailing with his Master to London , and bringing back his Horses , or as the Judges of the Court of Common-Pleas , in the 5th year of the Reign of King Henry the 8th , k k In veteri libro intras tit . Error & Trin. 5 H. 8. rot. 3. did by his authority supersede an Exigent by a Protection allowed , by reason of serivce in War or as the Court of Chancery did in the 8th year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth , by her Writ , supersede & stay 2 Writs of Exigent in the Court of Common-Pleas at the Suit of two several persons against Robert Webb , one of the Cursitors of the Court of Chancery by reason of his Office & Attendance in that Court , which Writ of Priviledge and Supersedeas was allowed by the Judges of that Court , and an entry made upon the Roll , where the Plea of his Priviledge was entred in these words , Ideo consideratum est quod praedictus Robertus libertatibus & privilegis praedictis gaudeat . Ac separalia brevia praedicta ei conceduntur , therefore it is l l Innovo libro Intras tit . Error . ordered , that the said Robert Webbe shall enjoy his Liberties and Priviledges , and that several Writs , as a foresaid be granted unto him , probably Writs of Supersedeas to the Sheriffs of London , unto whom the Writs of Exigent had been before sent and directed ; or as the Court of Chancery hath done , in the ninth year of the Reign of King James , m m Moyles entries 83. Mich. 9 Jac. Regis rot. 705. in the Case of Valentine Saunders Esquire , one of the Six Clarkes of that Court , require by the Kings Writs the Justices of the Court of Common-Pleas , to surcease the prosecution of the said Valentine Saunders to the Utlary ; or might aswell defend their Regal Rights in the case of their Servants in Ordinary by a Writ de Rege inconsulto , n n Register of Writs , 220. commanding , as in some other cases of their concernments , not to proceed against them , until their pleasure be further signified , or assert and command the Liberties & Priviledges of their Servants , o o Ibid. 262. by Writs de libertate allocanda , aswell as for Liberties to be allowed unto Citizens or Burgers , which contrary to their Liberties were impleaded .

But too many of the Kings Servants Creditors ( for all are not so uncivil ) who would be glad to find a way , or some colour , or pretence of Law rudely to treat the Rights of the King ▪ and his Servants , would willingly underprop that their humour and design with an objection , that our Kings have conveyed their Justice unto their established Courts of Justice at Westminster , and are not to contradict alter or suspend any thing , which they do in his name therein .

And that if any of the Kings Servants in Ordinary , be arrested without leave , the King or the great Officers of his Houshold , may not punish those that do offend therein , and that being so Arrested they are so in the Custody of the Law as they ought not to be released , until they do appear . or give Bayl to appear and answer the Action .

CAP. VI.

That the Kings established and delegated Courts of Justice , to administer Justice to his People , are not to be any bar or hinderance to his Servants in Ordinary , in their aforesaid antient , just and legal Priviledges and Rights , or that the Messengers of his Majesties Chamber , may not be sent to summon or detein in custody the Offenders therein , or that any of his servants being arrested without licence , are so in the custody of the Law , as they cannot before apparance or bayl to the Action be delivered .

WHich will not at all advantage their hopes or purposes , if they shall besides , what hath been already proved aswell , as alledged , give Admittance unto a more weighed consideration , p p Bart. l. cum furiosus F. de Jud. that delegatio ad causas non intelligitur ad futuras , a Commission or Authority entrusted for some special , or determinate matters , is not to be understood to extend unto all that in the administration of Justice may afterwards happen , that in the Court of Exchequer , the Barons are and should be the special Ministers , and Supervisors of the Kings Revenue , subject to his Legal Mandates and disposing power , that the Court of Common-Pleas , being a Court erected , and continued by our Kings for the dispatch of Justice , and ease of their Subjects and People in Common-Pleas or Actions , wherein the King his Crown and Dignity are not immediately concerned , do only hold Pleas and have Jurisdiction and Cognisance , ratione Mandati by reason of the Kings Original Writs , Command or Commission , issuing almost in every Action from himself out of his High Court of Chancery , that the Justices of the Kings-Bench , are , ad placita coram Rege tenenda assignati , assigned as coadjutors to the King , to hear & determine Pleas supposed by Law to be heard before himself in that Court , and by the ancient stile & title of their Records , said to be , de consilio Regis , of the Kings Councel , & that in the High Court of Chancery , the King , by the Lord Chancellor , or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , as his Substitute or Deputy , as some of our Judges in the 9th year of the Reign of King James , d d Coke 9. relat. Sir George Reynells Case . Vide Book of Oathes . have believed them to be in that supereminent and superintendant Court of and over all his other Courts of Justice , commands his Sheriffs ( who are sworn to execute his Writs , and not to prejudice his Rights ) to execute their Writs directed unto them in his Name and under his Seal , doth provide and give remedies in all emergencies of Law and Justice , where the Supreme and Legal Authority , is implored or prayed in ayd or assistance . And that where a Delegated Power or Jurisdiction is granted by the King ( as not only the Lawes of many other Nations , but our Bracton and Fleta , men not meanly learned in the antient Laws and Customes of England , as well as in the civil Laws have adjudged ) he doth not exuere sede potestate , so grant away that Jurisdiction as to exclude himself from all power , and not be able upon just and legal Occasions to resume it , or intermeddle in some part thereof , when a Lord of a Mannor , though he hath by a Patent or Commission granted to his Steward for life , the power or jurisdictions of keeping his Courts , assessing of Fines and the like matters appurtenant thereunto is not debarr'd , when a just occasion shal either necessitate , or invite him thereunto from his personal assessing of Fines , or other Acts belonging unto the Court , or that power & authority , which he should have over his Tenants , & that where the Liberty of a Court Baron appurtenant to the Grant of a Mannor with the jurisdiction of Sake or Soke , holding of Pleas , and punishment of Offenders is granted by the King , or allowed to any man and his heirs by Custome or Prescription , the King is not debarred upon any grievance or complaint of any Tenant of the Manor , to command Justice to be done unto him , by his Writs of Right , Close or Patent , and where a Leet being a more large or greater Jurisdiction hath been granted to a man and his heirs to seize and grant it to another for not rightly observing the order of Law therein , as for not erecting a Pillory , making of a Clerk of the Market , and the like or altogether disusing of it , and where liberties of retorna Brevum , executing & returning Writs in a certain Precinct or Liberty , have been granted to a man & his Heirs , common practice and course of Law & its Process may inform us , that the King hath notwithstanding such a power & superintendency of Justice inherent in him , over all the Courts of Justice , high or low in the Kingdome , as upon the Sheriffs retorn quod mandavit Ballivo libertatis , that he made his Warrant to the Bayliff of such a Liberty to arrest such a Defendant , and that the Bayliff nullam sibi dedit responsionem , had made him no retorn nor answer , he may thereupon by his Justices , cause a Writ to be made to the Sheriff , commanding him , quod non omittat propter aliquam libertatem Ballivi libertatis , &c. quin capiat , that he do not omit to enter into the said Bayliffs liberty , and arrest the Defendant , and may also when a Defendant is outlawed , cause at the instance of the Plaintiff , a Capias Vtlegat . Writ to be made to take & arrest the utlawed person , with a non omittas propter aliquam libertatem , power and authority to enter into any Liberty under the name of his Attorney General as an Officer intrusted with the making of the said Writs of Capias Vtlegatum , and that Offices either granted by the King for term of Life , or in Fee or Fee-Tayle are forfeitable by a Misuser or non user , by not executing that part of the Kings Justice committed to the care and trust of the Officers thereof .

r r Mich. 34 E. 1. incipien . rot. 1●3 coram Rege & Consilio videlicet in Banco Regis . And so necessary was the Kings Supreme Authority heretofore esteemed to be in the execution and administration of Justice as in the Case between the Prior of Durham and the Bishop of Durham , in the 34th year of the Reign of King Edward the first , where amongst other things an information was brought in the Kings-Bench , against the Bishop , for that he had imprisoned the Kings Officers or Messengers ; for bringing Writs into his Liberty , to the prejudice as he thought thereof , and that the Bishop had said that nullam deliberationem de eisdem faceret , sed dixit quod ceteros per ipsos castigaret ne de cetero literas Domini Regis infra Episcopatum suum portarent in Lesionem Episc●patus ejusdem , he would not release them but would chastise them or any other , which hereafter should bring any of the Kings Letters ( or Writs within his Bishoprick , to the prejudice of the Liberties thereof . And in the entring up and giving the Judgment upon that Information and Plea , saith the Record , Quia idem Episcopus cum libertatem praedictam a Corona exeuntem & Dependentem habeat per factum Regis in hoc minister Domini Regis est ad ea quae ad Regale pertinent infra eandem libertatem loco ipsius Regis modo debito conservanda & exequenda . Ita quod omnibus & singulis ibidem justitiam exhibere , & ipsi Regi ut Domino suo & mandatis parere debeat prout tenetur licet proficua & expletia inde provenientia ad usum proprium per factum praedictum percipiatur , in regard that when the Bishop had the liberty aforesaid by the Kings Grant or Charter from the Crown and depending thereupon , he is in that as a Servant or Minister of the Kings , concerning those things which do belong unto the Kings Regality , within the Liberty aforesaid , to execute and preserve it in a due manner for , and on the behalf of the King ; so as there he is bound to do Justice to all men , and to obey the King and his Commands , as his Lord and Soveraign , although he do by the Kings Grant or Charter , take and receive the profit arising and coming thereby .

Wherein the Judges and Sages of the Law , as in those Ancient Times they did not unfrequently in matters of great concernment , have given us the reason of their Judgment in these words , Cum potestas Regia per totum Regnum tam infra libertates praedictas quam extra se extendant videtur Curiae , & toti Consilio Domini Regis quod hujusmodi imprisonamenta facta de hiis qui capti fuerunt occasione quod brevia Domini Regis infra libertatem praedictam tulerint simul cum advocatione & acceptatione facti . Et etiam dictis quae idem Episcopus dixit de Castigatione illorum qui brevia Regis extunc infra libertatem suam port●rent manifeste perpetrata fuerunt , when as the power and authority of the King , doth extend it self through all the Kingdome , as well within Liberties as without , it seemed to the Court and all the Kings Counsel , that such imprisonments made of those which brought the Kings Writs within the Liberty aforesaid , the Bishops justifying and avowing of the Fact and the Words which the Bishop said , That he would punish all such as should bring any Writs to be executed in his Liberty , were plainly proved , Et propterea ad inobedientiam & exhaereditationem Coronae & ad diminutionem Dominii & potestatis Regalis , Ideo consideratum est quod idem Episcopus libertatem praedictam cujus occasione temerariam sibi assumpsit audacim praedicta gravamina injurias & excessus praedictos perpetrandi & dicendi toto tempore suo amittat Cum in eo quo quis deliquit sit de Jure puniendus . Et eadem libertas Capiatur in manus Domini Regis Et Nih●lominus corpus praedicti Episcopi capiatur , Wherefore , because it tended to disobedience and a disherison of the Crown and diminution of the Kings Power and Authority , It was adjudged , that the Bishop for his rash presumption and boldness , and for committing the aforesaid wrongs and injuries , should forfeit his Liberty aforesaid , for that every man is to be punished according to the nature of his offence : And it was ordered , That the Liberty should be seized and taken into the Kings hands , and that the Body of the Bishop notwithstanding should be taken into Custody .

For the Kings Justice , to which his Coronation Oath is annexed , is inseparable from his Person , & so fixed to his Diadem and Regal Authority , as it is not to be absolutely or any more then conditionally deputed and intrusted to any other , or otherwise then with a reserve of the last Appeal , and his Superiority , and therefore King Edward the first , in some of his Writs , Commissions or Precepts , saith , that he ( but not his Judges ) was De●itor Justitiae , so a Debtor to Justice , s s Register of Writs 7 , 15 , 23 , 34 ▪ b. & 36. b. 37 & 39 b. as not to deny it to any of his People complaining of the want of it , and ad nos pertinet , the care thereof belongeth to the King , and to that end appointed his high Court of Chancery , and his Chancellor , or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , and required all the Officers & Clerks of that Court , to take care that pro defectu Justitiae nullus recedat a Cancellaria sine Remedio , t t 13 E. 1. ea ▪ 24. no man for want of Justice do go away from the Chancery destitute of remedy ; from whence also lyes an Appeal to the King himself in Parliament : and in the Case of Sir William Thorpe Chief Justice of England , in the 24th year of the Reign of King Edward● the third , being put out of his place for Bribery and Extortion , it was in the Sentence or Judgment given against him , said that Sacramentum Domini Regis quod erga Populum habuit custodiendum ●regit maliciose , u u Coke 3 parte Institutes 223 & ro . Pat. 24 E. 3. part. 3. m. 24. in Dorso . false & Rebelliter quantum , in ipso fuit , he had falsly , malitiously and traiterously , as much as in him lay broke or violated the Kings Coronation Oath , which demonstrates , that although he had at the same time violated his own Oath made unto the King , when he was admitted into his Office or Place , yet his fault was the greater in breaking the Kings Oath , and that part of his Justice with which he was trusted .

For the Grants of the Judges Places by the King durante bene placito , or quamdiu se bene gesserint , during the Kings pleasure , or as long as they do wel behave themselves , the Kings Commissions of Oyer & Terminer . Et Gaola deliberanda , of Gaol Delivery , and to hear and determine Causes in their Circuits , their Oathes , ( besides their Oathes of Allegiance and Supremacy , taken at their admittance into their Places ) prescribed and directed in the 18th year of the reign of King Edward the third , and administred by the Lord Chancellor , or Lord Keepers of the Great Seal of England , for the time being , x x 18 E. y. 20 E. 3 ▪ ca. 1. That they the King and his People in the Office of Justice , shall not counsel or assent to any thing that may turn unto his damage , shall take no Fee or Robes of any but the King himself , nor execute any Letters from him contrary to the Law , but certifie him and his Councel thereof , and shal procure the profit of the King and his Crown in all things , that they may reasonably do the same , & in an Act of Parliament , made in the 20th year of the Reign of that King , they are expresly mentioned to be , y y 20 E. ca. 1. Deputed by the King to do Law and Right according to the usage of the Realm , the Kings Writs directed unto them , stiling them no otherwise then Justitiariis suis , and those Courts the Kings Courts , the acknowledgment of the Judges themselves , in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth , z z Andersons Reports sect. 201. in Cavendishes case , Cokes 3 parte ▪ Inst●stutes ca. 54. tit . Praemisnire . and their readiness to obey all her lawful commands , in the Case of Cavendish , and that of Sir Edward Coke , that the Judges are of the Kings Councel for proceedings in course of Justice their assisting the Lord Chancellor , or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , upon request or sending for some of them out of their own Courts into the Chancery , a a 3 & 4 Eliz. 22. their attending upon the King in his House of Peers in Parliament , to assist and advise in matters of Law there debated , when required , but not with any power of Vote or decisive Judgment , their often meetings out of their Courts & altogether , upon any b b Dier Mich. 34 Eliz. 25 Jenkins Reports of Cases referred to all the Judges Ayres contoa Allanson in 3 Car. 1. & ubique inter legum Authores . of the Kings commands , or references in causes difficult by Petition or Appeal to the King , and their Opinions humbly certified thereupon , and attending upon the King and his Councel upon matters doubtful , wherein the ayde and advice of the Regal Authority was required , and whether their Patents or Commissions be durante bene placito , or quam diu se bene gesserint , during the Kings pleasure , or as long as they shall well behave themselves , are void , per demise le Roy , by the death of the King that granted their Patents or Commissions , and to be renewed at the pleasure of his Successor , may abundantly evidence that they may not claim or justly be beleived to be independant Soveraign , absolute or without an Appeal to their King and Soveraign who granteth amongst many other Offices in the said Courts , the Office and Place of Warden of the Fleet by the Name of the Keeper of the Kings Pallace at Westminster , aad the Office thereby to attend by him or his Deputy , the Courts of Chancery , Common-Pleas and Exchequer , and keep in safe Custody the Prisoners committed by them , when all the Writs and Process of those Courts , are issued under his Name and Seal , and all but the Chancery , ( which are honoured by his own Teste ) are under the several Testes or Subscriptions , as the Law intendeth of the Chief Justices or Judges thereof together with the Exemplifications of Fines , Recoveries , Verdicts and other Records in the Court of Common-Pleas , and the Court of Kings-Bench , and in their several and distinct Jurisdictions , are subjected unto and dependant upon the Regal Authority , Crown and Dignity .

And cannot be otherwise understood to be , when our Kings have sometimes fined Judges for Extortion or Bribery as King Edward the first , did Sir Ralph de Hengham , and diverse other Judges in the 16th year of his Reign , & when Samuel Daniel History of England . the Judges in the ●aid Courts , cannot ex officio , pardon or discharge , a fine or punishment imposed or inflicted by them upon Offenders , nor without his Writ of Error , amend or correct Errors , committed by themselves after the Term ended , wherein they were committed , & are if they exceed their bounds subject by his Writ & punishment of Praemunire to a forfeiture of all their Lands , Goods & Estate , & of their Lands in Fee-Simple or for Life , & to have their Bodies imprisoned at the will of the King & to be out of his Protection , and when he as he pleaseth commandeth the Rolls and Records of the Courts of Chancery , Kings-Bench and Common-Pleas , to be brought into his Treasury , or the Tower of London for safety , adjourneth those Courts , upon occasion of Pestilence or other reason of State , or Warre , as King Edward the first , did to York , where they continued for some years after , & that the Judges are by Office of Court to stay & surcease in many things , where they do perceive the King to be concerned either in point of profit or other c c Brook tit . Offiice del . Court 25 H. 25 , 28. concernment , untill they have advised with the Kings Serjeants , or Councel learned in the Law : : when the Writs of Prohibition frequently granted by the Court of Common-Pleas or Kings-Bench in his name , do signifie , that he hath haute Justice , power and authority over those , and the inferior Courts of Justice , and by his Supreme Authority , doth by his Legal Rescripts and Mandates issuing out of his High Court of Chancery upon any defects in his Subordinate Courts , for want of power and authority consonant or agreeable to the rules of right reason and equity , moderate the rigors of his Laws , correct Errors , and provide fitting remedies for all manner of Contingencies or Disorders , happening in the course execution or manage of his Laws or Justice , testified by his Injunctions out of the Chancery , to stay the rigors and proceedings in the Courts of Common-Law , Commissions of Trail Baston more rightly ottroy le Baston , granted by King Edward the first , to inquire of and punish misdemeanours , riots , extortions , &c. which the Courts of Justice , then in being , had cognisance of , & might have upon complaint punished & redressed , & many other Commissions of that kind , made out by that & other of our Kings , with Commissions of Assise & Association , cum multis aliis , or the like , the Writs of Rege in consulto not to proceed in matters concerning his own particular , without his being first consulted ▪ de Attornato d d Register of Writs 8 220 Ibidem 170 172. Register of Writs 217 b. 229 b. languidi recipiendo , to admit an Attorney for one that is sick , Writs of A●●aint , against Jurors falsly swearing in their Verdicts , Writs de A●sisa continuanda ▪ to continue the pr●●●●dings upon an Assise , Audita querela , to relieve one that is oppressed by some Judgment , Statute or Recognisance , e e Register of Writs 169 170. Writs de Certiora●i de ten●re Indictamenti ▪ to be certified of the Tenor of an Indictment , & de Vtlagaria of an Utlary , f f Ibidem 4. de tenore pedis Finis , of the Tenor of the Foot of a Fine , mittendo tenorem g g Register of Writs 221 b. Assise in Ev●●entiam , to send the Tenor of a Writ of Assise into the Chancery to be from thence transmitted by a Copy for Evidence into the Court of Exchequer , Writs quod Justitiarii procedant ad captionem Assise , impowring the Justices of Assise to procede in the taking of an Assise and his Commissions frequently granted in some special cases , as Dedimus potestatem , impowring the Judges or others to take the acknowledgements of Fines , with many other kinds of Commissions , a posse Comitatus ad vim Laicam amovendam , to remove a force , where a Parson or Minister is to be inducted into a Church or Benefice , & Commissions granted ob lites dirimendas , to compose contentious suites of Law , where the poverty of one of the parties is not able to endure them ; and the granting of a priviledge by some of our antient Kings to the Bishop and Citizens of new Sarum or Salisbury , that the Iudges of Assize or Itinerants should in their circuits hold the Pleas of the Crown at that Town or City which King Edward the first did h h 9 E. 1 placit de Jur. & Assise coram Solamone de Roff. & sociis suis Justic. Itinerant . rot ; 15 by his Writ or Mandates allow or cause to be observed ; and many more which might be here instanced , which with the Laws and practice thereof , and the reasonable customes of England do every where and abundantly evidence , that the King doth not intrust his Courts of Justice , or the Judges thereof with all his Regal power , and all that with which he is himself invested in his politique capacity , or hath so totally conveyed it unto them , as to make i i Register of ●ri●s 59. them thereby the only dispensers of his justice , but that the appeal or dernier ressort from all his Courts of Iustice , is and resides in the King , being the ultimate supreme Magistrate , as from the inferiour Courts of Iustice in the Counties or Cities , to the Superiour Courts of Iustice at Westminster-hall , from the Court of Common-Pleas by Writ of Error to the Court (k) (k) Cromptous Jurisdiction of Courts . 12 Dyer 315. called the Kings-Bench , from that Court to the Parliament : And as to some matters of Law fit to be tryed by action at Law , from the Chancery unto the Kings-Bench or Courts of Common-Pleas , or Exchequer , reserving the equity when what was done there shall be returned and certified , and even from the Parliament it self , when Petitions there nepending could not , in regard of their important affairs , be dispatched to the high Court of Chancery , l l Elsings modus tenendi Parlamentum . and that appeals are made to the King in his high Court of Chancery from the Admiralty Court , when as the process and proceedings are in the Name and under the Seal of the Lord Admiral , and from the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury for proving of Wills , and granting of Administration when the Process and proceedings are not in the Kings name , but in the name and under the Seal of that Arch-bishop .

So as the Gentlemen of the long Robe , who in the Reign of King Charles the Martyr argued against the Kings Prerogative for the just liberties of the people of England , in the case of the Habeas Corpora's , when they affirmed the meaning of the Statute made in the third year of the Reign of King m m 3 E. 1. cap. 15. Edward the first , where there was an Exception of such not to be Baylable as were committed by the command of the King , or of his Justices , to be , that the Kings command was to be understood of his commands by his Writs or Courts of justice , might have remembred , that in former times his Authority by word of mouth , or in things done in his presence ( in matters just and legal , not contradicting the established rules , customes and courses of his Courts of Justice , and the power and authority wherewith our Kings have intrusted them ) was accompted to be as valid , if not more than any thing done in his Courts of Justice , witness that notable record and pleading aforesaid betwixt the Prior and Bishop of Durham in the 34 th . year of the Reign of that , by his own and his Fathers troubles , largely experienced King Edward the first ( which was not long after the making of that Statute , concerning such as were to be bayled or not to be bayled ) where it was said , and not denyed to be Law , quod Ordinatio , ( meaning an award or something acknowledged in the presence of the King ) in praesentia Regis facta & per ipsum n n Mich. 33 & 34 E. 1. rot. 103. in Banco Regis . Regem affirmata majorem vini habere debet quam finis in Curia sua coram justitiariis suis levatus , that any Ordinance or acknowledgment made in the Kings presence , and by him affirmed , was to be more credited , and to have a greater force then a Fine levied before his Justices in his Courts of Justice , which may be a good Foundation and Warrant , for several agreements and Covenants made betwixt private persons , and ratified by the King under his Great Seal of England by inspeximus and confirmations by his allowance and being witness thereunto as that of Rorger Mortimer Lord of Wigmore , with Robert de Vere Earl of Oxford , for the Honor and Earldome of Oxf●rd , and the great Estate and Revenue●belonging thereunto , forfeited by the said Earl in taking part with the Barons against King Henry the third , and many others which might be instanced , and are plentifully to be found in many Agreements and Covenants made betwixt Abbots and Priors and their Covents , and divers of the English Nobility and great men mentioned in Master Dugdales first and second Tomes or Parts of his Monasticon Anglicanum . o o Dugdales 1 & 2 parte Monasticon Anglicanum For it was resolved in Easter Term in the fourth year of the raign of Queen Elizabeth , by the then Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common-Pleas , the Lord Chief Baron and Whiddon Browne and Corbet Justices Carus , the Queens Serjeant , and Gerrard her Attorney General , upon a question put unto them , by the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , that in case of Piracy or other the like crimes , the Queen might in the intervals or vacancy of a Lord Keeper of the p p Dier 4 Eliz. 33. Great Seal of England , by a necessity of doing Justice without a Commission granted unto others to do it , punish such offenders , although the Statute made in the 28th year of the raign of q q 28 H. 8. ca. 15. King Henry the 8th Ca. 15th doth direct Piracy to be tryed by Commission . And it was allowed to be Law , in a Case put by King James , r r Sir Isaack Wake in his Rex Platonicus . that where an Affray or Assault was made by any in the Kings presence , the King himself might commit or command the party offending to prison , which may surely upon some emergent or particular occasions admit him to a just intermedling therein , for it cannot be denied , but King Henry the 3 d. hath sometimes sate amongst his Judges or Barons in the Court of Exchequer , r r Gregorius Tholos . Syntagm . Juris lib. 47. ca 21. sec. 23 and we may believe those dictates of reason which are to be found in the Civil Law when it saith that , Jus superioritatis jurisdictionis Regis , Cum non liceat cum ex Officii de praescript comperit d● praescript . 30. vel 40. Anno. non potest ab inferioribus dominis jurisdictionem habentes contra Principem , praescribi quia quae sunt in subjectionis data impraescriptibilia . The right of Superiority of Jurisdiction cannot by any inferior Jurisdictions be prescribed against the Prince , for that those things which were granted or given in signe of subjection are impraescriptible , Posset enim si hoc fieret paulatim , collabi Imperium & redderentur subditi Acephali , for if that should be suffered , the Dominion or Empire of Kings and Princes , would by little and little so moulder and wast away , as the Subjects would be more then Subjects and as men without a head . Et cum omnes jurisdictiones habeant vim a Regia permissione tanquam radij a Sole fieri non potest ut remanente jurisdictione non agnoscatur Sol unde dependet . s s Bal. in autho actiones de sacr. Eccles. & in proaem . fec . fac . null r●tione 93. distinct . And when all Jurisdictions doe receive their force and vigour from the Kings permission , as the Beams or Rayes doe their Lustre from the Sun ; it cannot be but that as long as the Jurisdiction remaineth , the Sun on which it dependeth should be acknowledged . Quomodo etiam poterit quis dicere praevalere jurisdicttiones concessas a principe , contra anthoritatem principis cum haec potestas annexa Regio diademati est & innata ei videtur : For how can a-any one affirme that any Jurisdiction granted by the Prince can be used or prevaile against his authority , t t Greg. Tholosanus Syntagin . Juris lib. 47. ca. 21.24 . when he may at his pleasure for just and legall Causes alter , diminish , or revoke them ; it being a power innate and annexed to his Royal Diademe ▪ Saith that Civilis prudentia , those excellent rules of government which are ro be found in the Cesarean or Civill Law . And there can be no power saith a late learned Author where there is not a power to exercise it , for in France saith the learned Charles , Loyseau le dernier ressort de Justice , est tellement un droict de Soverainete que mesme en Commun language est appelle Soverainete , traicte des Seigneuries ca. 3.58 . the last resort or appeal for Justice is so much esteemed to be a right of Soveraignty , x x Cod. lib. 8. Tit. 14. as in common or vulgar speech it is called Soveraignty . And where the King is by our Lawes not denied to be the Lex viva & Lex loquens , the living and speaking Law , the Civill Law saith , Rex solus judicat de causa a jure non diffinita , the King is the only Judge in such Causes where the Law hath not already defined or determined them : x x Brodon lib. 2. de acquire Domino ca. 16.3 . And Bracton hath these words , in dubiis & obscuris , vel si aliqua dictio duos contineat intellectus Domini Regis erit expectanda Interpretatio & voluntas cum eius sit Interpretare cujus est condere , in matters doubtfull and obscure , or if any word shall contein or seem to beare a double signification , the Kings will and Interpretation is to be attended when as he that makes a Law is and ought to be the fittest Interpreter , and Britton saith , y y Britton 1. that the Kings Jurisdiction is superior to all the Jurisdictions of the Realm , and according to Bracton is Autor juris unde jura nascuntur , the Author of the Law , z z Bracton lib. 2. and from him all Laws are derived , Omnes sub eo & ipse , sub nullo nisi tantum sub Deo parem autem non habet in Regno suo , quia sic amitteret praeceptum , a a idem lib. 1. ca. 8.5 . all his people are subject unto him , and he under none but God only , hath none equall unto him in his Kingdom , for if he had ; he would loose his power of Command or Authority : and in another plaee of his book , b b ca. 8.9 . repeating that Opinion & well founded Doctrine saith . Parem autem habere non debet , nec multo fortius superiorem maxime in justitia exhibenda , that he ought not to have an equall , nor which is more any superior , especially in the Administration of Justice , which made the Judges in the 13 th year of the Reign of King James , rightly stile him the fountain of Justice . c c Magdalen Coliedge Case en Cokes 1 Reports 74.

And this dernier ressort or appeal hath been so necessary an Assistant to our Laws and Courts of Justices , as the reverend Judges thereof have not seldome been constrained to pray in ayd of it , and therefore a Marginall (d) Note in an old Stathanis Abridgment , hath this remarque that in Hillary Term in the 13th yeer of King Henry the 7th , Cheeseman being under Sheriff of Middlesex , and having arrested un Cutpurse en le Sale de Westminister , a Cutpurse in Westminister-Hall , hastement veign un Fog & fut Serjeant Porter , le Roy A donques le Roy eant e e Hill. 13 H. 7. en le margent d' un-Stathanis abridgement . a Westminister & prist le dit Cutpurse del vic en le Sale Sur que le vic lui complaint al Fineux Chief Justice & mand un des Marschalls ovesque le mace pour le dit Porter qui don respons quil ne voil vener al request dast des Tipstaves Sur que le Chief Justice alast al Chanc & monstra le matter & le Chanc mand soon Serjeant d' Armes pour liu & il respond a liu quil conust lui pour Sergeant nostre Seigneur le Roy & quil voil aler ouesque lui & donques il veign & le Cheife Justice command le vic de liu arrest quant il vei & issint il fit & il a lui fit rescous surque le dit Justice alast al Roy & monstre le matter & le Roy command le dit Fog d' obier le Justice & de vener a le Court de lui submitter a le ley issint il fit & fut mis a son fine & troue pleg de fine faciend , whereupon one Fog Serjeant Porter of the King , the King being then in his House or Pallace of Westminister , came hastily and took away from the Sheriff , being then in the Hall the said Cutpurse , whereof the Sheriff complaining to Fineux Chief Justice of the Court of Kings-B●nch , he sent one of the Marshalls with his Tipstaffe for the said Porter , who answered , that he would not come at the request of any of the Tipstaves , whereupon the Chief Justice went unto the Chancellor and shewed him the matter , and the Chancellor sending his Serjeant at Armes , for him , he answered him , that he knew him to be the Kings Serjeant at Armes , and that he would goe with him , and being come , the Chief Justice commanded the Sheriff to arrest him when he saw him , who did arrest him , but he rescued himself , and thereupon the Chief Justice went unto the King and shewed him the matter and the King commanded the said Fog to obey the said Justice and to go unto the Court , and submit himself unto the Law , which he did , and was put to his fine gave sureties to pay it .

Which proofs and arguments , touching the subordination of the Judges or their Courts of Justice , are not nor ever were intended for the reverend Judges and Sages of the Law , or the Students , Professors and Practisers thereof , whose learning and Judgments neither scrupled or needed it , but unto those vulgar and mechanick busie headed and unquiet part of the People , qui nesciunt se ignorare , will not own any ignorance , when they are most ignorant , but will be sure to dislike every thing which they do not understand , because they take their measures by the shortlines of their vulgar take and incomprehensive capacities , which makes them to be so restless and unsatisfied in their mistakings , and so lincked and wedded unto them , & I had not been so large in clearing that particular ( which unto some may seem more then requisite ) but that it may justly be feared that those opinions , or impressions if not dis●odged and fully convinced , may as those long agoe condemned Heresies and Errors in the Church , did in our late distractions and distempers rise up again under the pretence of new notions and gain , a kind of Succession too like a perpetuity .

And therefore every man may without any the Incumbrances of doubts or controversies , be assured .

CHAP. VII .

That the King or the great Officers of his Houshold may punish those that doe infringe his servants priviledges , and that any of the Kings Servants in Ordinary being arrested without leave , are not so in the custody of the Law , as they ought not to be released untill they do appear or give Bayl to Appear and Answer the Action .

37. E. 3. ca. 18. & 38. E. 3.9 . WHen it must or should be acknowledged , that notwithstanding that by the Statutes made in the 37th and 38th years of the Reign of King Edward the third , untrue Suggestions made to the King and his Councell were prohibited and to be punished , and that by a Statute made in the 42 d. year of the Reign of that King no man was to be brought to answer any accusation to the King without praesentment before Justices or matter of Record , yet matters extraordinary , or suggestions which had truth or evidence to accompany them , were not by any of those Acts of Parliament forbidden , and howsoever that by a Statute or Act of Parliament made in the 17 th year of the Reign of King Charls the Martyr , the Kings Privy Councel were restrained from intermedling in matters concerning Freeholds , and the Properties of the Subject which comprehends many of the matters which may concern any man brought before them , or accused , yet there is no restraint of Arrests or sending for Delinquents by the Kings Messengers , or prohibition against the right use of them , or the high and super eminent authority of the King and the Lords of his Honourable Privy Councel in cases to prevent Duells , and make abortive dangers and inconvenient to the publique , punish Riots , unlawfull Assemblies and misdemeanors , beyond the reach and Authority of Justices of the Peace , & many other emergencies , who may certainly as legally make use of Messengers or Serjeants at Arms to compell disobedient and refractory persons to appear before them , as the Lord Chancellor , or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , by or under the Kings authority , doth now and hath long agoe used to do , in cases of contempt of the Processe of that Court after an Attachment with Proclamation and Commission of Rebellion , or as the Lord Privy Seal , did usually in the Court of Requests , after the like Processe could not apprehend or take the person contemning his authority , or not appearing before him , for unto what purpose shall that honourable and venerable Assembly who Sir Edward Coke g g Cokes 4 Part of the Institutes , ca ▪ 2.53 . saith , are Profitable instruments of the State , and do bear part of the Soveraign● cares , and imploy their time and endeavors in the Execution of the Duty of their Oathes and Places , and that great trust incumbent upon them , if they may not enjoy a coercive Power , which the Judices paedanei , petty Judicatures , and even the Pye-Powder Courts of the Kingdome do enjoy , or should make it their business to baffle their own authority , and only send for People to come unto them when they please , or when they are come before them do what they please , but should within their Conusance and Jurisdiction , according to a Maxime and Rule of the Civil Law well allowed and entertained by our Common-Law , Cum aliquid conceditur id quoque concedi videtur sine quo id efficere non potest , when any Jurisdiction or authority , is granted , that also which should support and attend it , seemeth to be granted with it , have as great a power of coercion to attend their authority as the Parliament , the greater and more extraordinary Councel under the King and Head thereof , is allowed and all other Councels in all the Kingdomes and Republiques of Christendome , and are not therefore to be denied a just and competent Power to attend them in the administration of the affairs or business of the King intrusted unto them , or to be debarred their inspection into all the affairs of the Kingdom , concerning the good & welfare of the King & his People , upon casualties , accidents , and cases extraordinary , reformations of abuses by the Kings Edicts or Proclamations , and in the deficiency of Laws , in matters or things not foreseen or provided for by Laws , 39 E. 3.4 & 35. Mich. 40 E. 3.4.34 . Lord Chancellor Ellesmere in his arguusent upon the post nati . which cannot be either so prophetick or comprehensive , as to supply or give a Remedy to all things , but must leave many things to ragione di Stato , reason of State , and the cares of our Pater Patriae , Father of his Countrey and Kingdome to provide against necessities , otherwise irresistable , which can neither at all times tarry for the calling of a Parliament , or the suffrages of it , or be communicated unto the vulgar , especially in unquiet or cloudy times , when our Peace , the blessing of our Nation , cannot either enjoy her self , or impart her comforts to the People , without the more then ordinary vigilance of the King and his Privy Councell , where the King himself is very often present , especially in the absence of that , as ancient as the Raign of King Edward the third , then and many ages after well regulated Court of Star-Chamber , many of whose Judges were the Kings Privy Councell , the King himself being there rarely or seldome present , and of that necessary Court of the High Commission , preventing and watching over such abuses or misdemeanors , as might either scandalize or disturbe the peace and good order of holy Church , and such as served at the Altar .

And certainly that formerly great power and authority which resided in the Steward or Major-domo of the Kings Houshold , who as Fleta hath recorded it , enjoyed in the Reign of King Edward the first such an extraordinary power , as he did vicem gerere , exercise as it were the Office of Deputy to the Lord Chief Justice of England , whose Office and place untill it was by that prudent Prince restrained and limited to the Authority and Jurisdiction which it now enjoys , was much more large and extensive than now it is ; and that of the Lord Chamberlain of the Kings House , whose power and priviledge over that part of the Kings Servants which are under his Authority , h h Fleta lib. 2. ca. 3. & 6. being exempt from that of the Lord Steward , having been not by any Act of Parliament prohibited , may not be thought to exceed the power and au●hority inherent in their Offices and places , when they shall punish or commit to prison any who shall attempt to violate or infringe the honour and priviledges of the Kings House or Servants , derived unto them from his Supreme Authority , who having i i Bracton lib. 5. De Exceptionibus , ca. 15. Ordinariam Jurisdictionem in regno suo , & pares non habet neque superiores , an Ordinary and Supreme Jurisdiction , and hath neither Peer nor Superior , may as well protect his Servants in his affairs and business in his House , or about his Person , and punish any that shall hinder them therein , as the Judges in his Courts of Justice , who neither have or can claim any other power or authority , than what he delegates or entrusteth them withall , do upon all occasions in the Case of their Officers , Clerks , or menial Servants .

They therefore who shall so much suffer their reason and understanding to wander and be mislead , as to deny the Kings most Honourable Privy Councell , or any other Court within their Cognisance , Power and Authority , tueri Jurisdictionem , such a coercive power as may support their Jurisdiction , may think but never find ; they have any ground or cause for it ; and if they please to tarry for a conviction , untill the never failing unhappy consequences , shall bring them too late to acknowledge that which in viridi observantia , by late abundant sad experiments is more then a little visible in the disorders of the present Church Government , occasioned by the reverend Governors want of power , who having their hands as it were tyed behind them , are made to be as good old Ely admonishing and reproving to no purpose , and how little the directive or commanding Power of Laws will signifie , where the coercive shall be absent , may bitterly repent it .

And will meet with as little reason to second or assist their opinion that a priviledged person imprisoned contrary to his priviledge , is so in the custody of the Law , as not to be able to claim or make use of his priviledge to release or discharge , him , when the frequent use of discharging men out of prison by Habeas Corpus , Supersedeas or Writs of Priviledge , and their Bayles or Sureties given for their appearances discharged : And in matters of Parliament Priviledge can teach and prove the contrary , for in the Case of Trewynniard , a Burgess of Parliament in the Court of Kings-Bench in Easter and Trinity Term in the 38th year of the k k Dyer Pasc ▪ & Trin. 38 H. 8. Raign of K. Henry the 8th . the said Trewynniard was discharged by his Priviledge although he was arrested upon an Utlary after Judgement , and the Judges of the Court of Kings Bench , did adjudge and declare , That every Priviledge is by prescription , and every praescription which soundeth for the Common-weal is good although it be a prejudice to any private person ; And that such a priviledge hath been alwayes granted by the King to his Commoners at the request of their Speaker the first day of the sitting of Parliament : And it is common reason that forasmuch as the King and all the Realm hath an interest in the Body of every of its Members , it seemeth that the private commodity of any particular man ought not to be regarded , for it is a maxime , That magis dignum trahit ad se minus dignum , the more worthy is to be preferred before the lesse , and concluded , That the Parliament is the most High Court , and hath more Priviledges then any Court of the Realm , and that in such a Case every Burgess is to be priviledged where the Action is but at the Suit of a Subject , and that by such a temporary discharge the Execution is not discharged , but remaineth .

When as men protected , that were not the Kings Houshold Servants , had their l l Brooke Tit. Protection 51. Protections allowed a●ter the commencement of the Action , sometimes after Issue joyned , at other times of the nisi prius , or Triall at other times after the Verdict given , and sometimes at the dayes in Banck , and where any Defendant neither protected or priviledged was imprisoned , he was not so believed to be in the Custody of the Law , but that the Judges , or any one Judge of the Court out of which the Process or Writ issued , might not as well out of the Term as in the Term , grant in their Subordinate Jurisdiction , a Supersedeas , quia improviàe or erronice emanavit , because there was some Error or mistaking in the awarding or granting of the Writ by which he was taken : And those Authentique Books of the Register of Writs , old and new Book of Entries , and the presidents therein contained , will sufficiently testifie that arrests of m m Register of Writs , old and new Book of Entries , Tit. Priviledge and Protection . priviledged persons , and the goods or persons of priviledged persons , have been and ought to be discharged from Attachments , Arrests and Imprisonments , and that which they would call the Custody of the Law , by Habeas Corpus , Supersedeas , or Writs of priviledge , and their Bayles or Sureties given for their Appearances , discharged .

But however the pride and disrespectfull and disobedient humors of too many of our Nation be now so much in fashion , as to quarrell with every thing of Authority , and the Regalities of their Soveraign , the dayes of old , and Ages past will evidence , that the before mentioned Priviledges of the Kings Servants in Ordinary , were for ought appears to the contrary believed to be so legall and reasonable .

CHAP. VIII .

That the aforesaid Priviledge of the Kings Servants in Ordinary , hath been legally imparted to such as were not the Kings Servants in Ordinary , but imployed upon some temporary and casuall affairs abroad , and out of the Kings House .

AS it was desired and thought fit , and necessary to be communicated to such as were not the Kings Servants in Ordinary or his Domesticks , but only imployed as extraordinaries upon some of his special affairs or occasions , which were but Temporary , and to that end it was requisite that some signification or notice should be given that they were so imployed , and that they should not be arrested , imprisoned or disturbed in it , but be protected from it , the like being also done when any of the Kings Servants in Ordinary where imployed out of the Kings House or Pallace by their Writs of Protection under the great Seal of England , for otherwise probably it would not have been known , that they were his Servants either ordinary or extraordinary , or what was their business .

And therefore in the Register of Writs , a Book in the Statute of Westminster the second , made in the 13th year of the Reign of n n 13 E. 1. ca. 24. K. Edward the first in the year of our Lord 1285 , called the Register of the Chancery , and of great antiquity and authority in our Laws , and very well deserving the respect is paid unto it , being but a Collection of Writs out of the publick Records made and granted under the Kings Great Seal , warranted either by the Common-Law , or grounded upon some Acts of Parliament , o o Register of Writs , 22 , 23. Protections have been granted under the Great Seal of England , with a Supersedeas of all Actions and Suits against them , in the mean time , unto some that were sent into Forraign Parts , or but into the Marches of Scotland , or Wales , or in Comitativa , retinue of some Lord or Person of Honor employed thither in the Kings Service , or unto such probably as were none of the Kings Servants in Ordinary or Domestick , but as more fit persons were only sent as appeareth by the Writs , upon some special and not like to be long lasting occasions , with an exception only of certain Actions and Cases , as in Writs of Dower ( for which Sir p p Coke First ▪ part Instit. 131. Edward Coke giveth us the Reason ) because the Demandant may have nothing else to live upon , in Quare Impedits , Quaere non Admisits , or Assizes of Darrein Presentment , for the danger of a lapse for not presenting within six months , in Assizes of Novel Disseisin , to restore the Demandant to his Freehold wrongfully entred upon , and not seldom gave their Protections quia moraturus , unto some Workmen , Engineers , or others imployed in the Fortification of some Castles or Fortress , sometimes but as far as the Marches of Wales , with a command that if they were incarcerati , or imprisoned , they should be forthwith released ; and at other times upon his Protections granted quia profecturus , revoked his Protections because the party desiring to be protected , did not go as he pretended upon the Kings message or business , or having finished the Kings business , q q Vide Register of Writs 23 , 24. imployed himself upon his own , and upon better information that he did continue his imployment in his service , revive it again ; sometimes sent his Writ to the Justices not to allow his Protection , because the party protected did not go about the business upon which he was imployed ; and at other times sent his Writ to the Sheriffs of London , to certifie him whether the party protected for a year did go in obsequium suum versus partes transmarinas in Comitativa , &c. upon the Kings business in the company and attendance of A. B. ( possibly some Envoy ) ( which makes it probable that the party protected was rather some Stranger , than any of the Kings Servants ) and more likely to be in the cognisance of the Sheriffs of London , than of the King , or any of the Officers of his honourable Houshold , as may appear by the subsequent words of the Writ , which were , r r Register of Writs , 24. an in Civitate nostra London moretur propriis negotiis suis intendendo , whether he remain in the City and followeth his own business : And not only granted such Protections , but as was in those times held also to be necessary and convenient , added a clause de non mole●tando , of not troubling the party whilst he was thus imployed in his service , homines , terras , &c. his Lands , Servants , &c. except or in regard of any of the aforesaid Pleas which were usually mentioned in the said Writ of Protection .

And if it were directed to the Sheriffs of London , a clause by a rule of the Register was to be inserted , dum tamen idem , Register of Writs , 24. so as the protected person ( probably imployed in the victualing of a Town or Fort ) do satisfie his Creditors for Victuals bought of them . And where the Protections appeared to be granted after the commencement of the Action , did sometimes revoke them ; but if it were for any that went in a Voyage that the King himself did , or other Voyages Royal , or on the Kings Messages for the business of the Realm , it was to be allowed and not revoked ; and the Kings Protections in that or any other nature , had the favour and allowance of divers Acts of Parliament , either in the case of such as were not their Servants , or otherwise , and had such respect given unto them by the Law , and the Reverend Judges in Bractons time , as he saith , Cum s s Bracton lib. 5. De Essoniis , ca. 2. & 3. sect. 3. breve Domini Regis non in se contineat veritatem , in hoc sibi caveat Cancellarius , if the matter be not true , the Chancellor , or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England is to answer for it ; and quando quis Essoniaverit de malo veniendi , quia in servitio Domini Regis admitti debet , Essonium & allocari & dies dari dum tamen warrantum ad manum habet , cum de voluntate Domini Regis non sit disputandum .

And King Edward the third did in the 33th . year of his Reign , by an Act of Parliament de Protectionibus , concerning the repealing of Protections t t Statute de Protectionibus 33 E. 3. An. Dom. 1304 ▪ unduly granted , by his Writ directed to all his true and faithfull Subjects , now printed amongst the Statutes and Acts of Parliament , and allowed the force and effect of an Act of Parliament , as many other of the Kings Mandates , Precepts or Writs antiently were , declare , that for as much as many did purchase his Protections falsly , affirming that they were out of the Realm , or within the four Seas in his service , did provide , That if their Adversaries would except or averre that they were within the four Seas , and out of the Kings service , in a place certain , so that they might have well come , and if it be proved against the Def●ndant , it should be a default ; and if such Protection be on the Plaintiffs behalf , he should lose his Writ and be amerced unto the King ; ( which can signifie no less then that a Protection granted where the party is really and truly in the Kings service , should not be disallowed or refused ) which the Commons of England were used so little to disgust , as that in the 47th . year of the Reign of that King , they did in u u 47 E. 3. r●t . Parl. m. 28. Parliament only Petition , that any having a Protection for serving in the Wars , and do thereof fail by one month , to the deceipt of the Kings people , such Protection to be void . To which the King only answered , Let the party grieved come into the Chancery and he shall have remedy . The Act of Parliament made in the first year of the w w 1 R. 2. ca. 8. Reign of King Richard the second , ordained , that no Protection with a clause of Volumus , our will and pleasure is that he be not disturbed with any Pleas or Process , except Pleas of Dower , Quare Impedit , Assise of Novel Disseisin , last Presentation , and Attaint , and Pleas or Actions brought before the Justices Itinerant , shall be allowed where the Action is for Victuals taken or bought upon the Voyage or Service whereof the Protection maketh mention , nor also in Pleas of Trespass , or of other Contract made before the date of the said Protection . The Statute of the 13th . year of the Reign of the aforesaid King , which was made for that many people , as well such as be not able to be retained in War , ( for in those dayes x x 13 R. 2. ca. 16. divers of the Nobility and Gentry and their Servants , were accustomed to be retained by the King to serve in his Wars ) as others , by the testimonial of the Governors of the Marches , Captains of Garrisons , Admirals , and others , did purcbase Protections with a clause of Volumus ▪ or Quia profecturus , because he was going in the Kings service , after a Plea was commenced against them , whereby to delay the said Plea , and after do not go into the said service ; ordained , That no Protection with a clause Quia profecturus , be allowed after the Suit commenced before the date of the Protection , if it be not in a Voyage that the King himself goeth , or other Voyages Royal , or in his Messages for the business of the Realm .

But saith that Act of Parliament , it is not the intention of this Statute but that the Protection with the clause Quia moraturus , because the party protected abideth in the Kings service , be allowed in all cases as it was before that time . And if any tarry in the Country without going to the service for which he was retained , over a convenient time after that he hath any Protection , or return from the same service , if the Chancellor be thereof duly informed , he shall repeal such Protection as it hath been used before that time . In the 9th . year of the Reign of King Henry the 5th . Protections were granted to them that were in the Kings service in y y 9 H. 5. ca. 3. Normandy and France , or which should pass with him into France .

By an Act of Parliament made in the 14th . and 15th . years of the Reign of z z 14 E. 4. ca. 2. King Edward the 4th . it was ordained ▪ that the like Protections as were granted by an Act of Parliament made in the 9th . year of the Reign of King Henry the 5th . cap. 3. to such as were then in the Kings service in Normandy or France , or would pass with that warlike King Henry the 5th . into France , should be observed and avail for all such as should pass over with him . By a Statute made in the 6th . year of the a a 6 H. 6. ca. 2. Reign of King Henry the 6th . there was a rehearsal and confirmation made of the aforesaid Statute in the 9th . year of King Henry the 5th . touching Protections granted to those who were in Wars in Normandy or France , which extended it further then the preciser time of their present service . And by an Act of Parliament made in the 8th . year of the b b 8 H. 6. ca. 13. Reign of that King , there was only to be excepted in all the Protections of such as should go with the King into France , Writs of Assise of Novel Disseisin . King Henry the 7th . in the 4th . year of his Reign , did by an Act of Parliament grant Protections c c 4 H. 7. ca. 3. unto all which then were or after should be in the Kings service in Britany , together with certain Immunities granted to the Feoffees , Executors and Heirs of them which should dye in the service , ( which was more than a personal protection : ) And by another Act of Parliament made in the 7th . year of his Reign did ordain , That every person that should be in the Kings wages beyond the Sea , or on the Sea , should have a Protection . By an Act of Parliament made in the 11th . year of the d d 11 H. 7. ca. 18. Reign of the said King Henry the 7th . mentioning in the Preamble , That it is not reasonable , but against all Laws , reason and good conscience , that the Kings Subjects going with their Soveraign Lord in Wars , attending upon him in his person , or being in other places by his commandment within or without his Land , ( as some of his menial Servants may possibly ) whilst he is absent from his Palace either in the Kingdom or without , any thing should lose or forfeit for doing their true duty and service of Allegiance ; it was enacted , That no manner of person or persons whatsoever he or they be , that attend upon the King and Soveraign Lord of this Land for the time being in his person , and do him true and faithfull Allegiance in the same , ( which certainly his Houshold and menial Servants are understood to do ) or be in other places by his commandment in his Wars within this Land or without , be convict or attainted of High Treason , nor of other offences for that cause by Act of Parliament , or otherwise by any Process of Law , whereby to lose or forfeit life , lands , possessions , or rents , goods , chattels , or any other things , but be for that deed utterly discharged of any vexation , trouble , or loss ; and any Act or Process of Law contrary thereunto to be void . And King Henry the 8th . did likewise by an Act of Parliament enact , That e e 3 H. 8. ca. 4. they which were or should be in the Kings Wars beyond the Seas , or upon the Sea , should have a Protection of Quia profecturus , or moraturus , cum clausula volumus , as aforesaid .

Such or the like Protections being held to be so necessary in the former ages , when the people of England not enjoying under the Papal Tyranny so great an happiness and liberties as they have done since the Reformation , were so little of kin to the murmuring Israelites , as they troubled not the ears of their Kings or their Courts of Justice with complaints against Protections , when there was no deceit in the obtaining of them , or abuse in the use of them , when in the third year of the Reign of King John , a Protection was granted by him unto one f f Rot. Pat. 3. Johannis parte unica . Peter Barton the son of Peter Barton , then living or residing in Poictou , parcel of his French Dominions , for his Goods and Estate as well as for his person , as his Father had the day that he died ; and commanded all his Bayliffs and Officers in that Country , to protect and defend th●m sicut servientem suum quousque sibi servierit , as his Servant for so long time as he should serve him . Robert de Ver , qui de licentia Regis peregre profecturus est in terram Hierusalem , habuit liter as patentes de pr●tectione sine clausula , duraturas per trienninm , had the Kings Protection for three years , without any clause or exception ; and g g Rot. Claus. 32 H. 3. Gerard de Rodes travelling to the same place , had a Protection with a clause , quod quietus esset de secta Comitatuum & Hundredorum , & de omnibus placitis & quaerelis , exceptis placitis de Dote unde nihil habet , assisa Novae Disseisinae & Vltimae praesentationis Ecclesiarum , duraturas quamdiu idem Gerardus fuerit in peregrinatione praedicta , that he should not be molested with any Suits in the County Courts and Hundreds , and with any other Pleas and Actions , except Actions or Pleas of Dower , Assises of Novel Disseisin , and the last presentation unto Churches , to remain in force as long as the said Gerard should continue in his travels ( or Pilgrimage ) as aforesaid ; and a Protection granted by King Edward the first , in the first year of his Reign , to Robert de Plessetis , sine clausula , without any clause or condition , to endure untill Easter then next following ; and the like unto Hugh de Weston , who had the Kings license to travel to h h 1 E. 1. Rot. Pat ▪ m. 3. Rome , to endure untill Michaelmass then next following ; and King Edward the 4th . by vertue of his Kingly Prerogative , as the Writ and the Record declared , granted his Protection unto John Namby Gentleman , Executor of William White alias Namby , for i i 22 E. 4. m. 17. himself and his Servants , and their Lands and Estates , to endure for three years : very many of the Subjects of England in those dayes , and the Reigns of our former Kings , travelling on Pilgrimage for devotion or penance to Jerusalem , or St. James of Compostella , or which were Cruzadoed or voluntarily went unto the Holy Land so called for recovery of it , in such numbers as about the year of our Lord 1204. being in the k k 2 part of Purchas Pilgrimage , 1225. latter end of the Reign of King John , sixty thousand English took the Cross for the Holy Land : whose Protections , saith Fleta , were not in those dayes disallowed in the Courts of Justice , because it was then l l Fleta lib. 6. ca. 7. understood to be in causa Dei , the cause of God , or for some which were sent on the Kings messages or affairs to Rome , Normandy , or Gascoigny in France , or other parts beyond the Seas , or in those many our English Warlike Expeditions and Armies sent to Jerusalem , France , Spain , and Scotland , or the Borders thereof , in the Reigns of many or most of our Kings and Princes , from William the Conquerors entring into England and the subduing of it , untill the Reign of King James , and into Wales or the Borders thereof , untill the Reign of King Edward the third , when the Nobility and principal part of the Gentry were even in those times more likely then the Commonalty or vulgar to be in debt , and wanted not upon occasions the credit and good will of the Common people to trust them , and freedom from Actions at Law and troubles in the mean time ; and the many thousands of our Tenants in Capite , who by the Tenure of their Lands , as well as by the bond and obligation of their Loyalty to their Kings and Princes , were to attend them in the service of War not only upon their Summons and Commands in their Foreign Expeditions , but at home in their defence against Rebellions , and sudden Insurrections , and had in the mean time no doubt Protections , and freedom from Suits and Arrests , whose Court Barons and Leets more then now orderly kept , permitted not their Tenants disobedience unto them or their Jurisdictions , or an enhance of the price of their Commodities ; and their Lands so entayled , as they could not if they would either borrow or owe much money : When the Nobility and Gentry , like the Stars in our Hemisphere , kept their courses , and great Hospitalities , addicted themselves to actions of greatness , goodness , charity and munificence , and their numerous Tenants depending upon them , returned them submissive and humble obedience , a reverential awe and gratitude , and held much of their Lands upon trust of performance of their Services , and many Husbandry works , instead of Rents , and in that were more endebted to their Landlords , and entrusted by them , then their Landlords were unto them ; who did not , as now they do , with their Wives and Daughters resort to London , to learn vice and vanities , and run into Debt more than they should do ; nor make themselves at costly rates so great and o●ten purchasers of Transmarine Wares and Commodities , which the small Income of the Customs in the beginning of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth , when our Clothing and Exportation far exceeded our Importation , will witness , when the profit of her Customs in both was at first let to Farm but at 13000 l. per annum , and afterwards at no more then 50000 l. per annum ; when there was not so great and consuming expences in Coaches , Wine , and other Foreign Toyes and Trifles ; when by reason of 600 Monasteries and Religious Houses , and the great Retinues and number of Servants kept by them , and the Nobility , Bishops and Gentry , and depending upon them , the younger Children of the Nation were so largely provided for , as there were not so many Trades or Apprentices in London as there have been of latter times , so many Taverns , Cooks , or Trades of pride and luxury , to entice the Nobility and Gentry into debts and expences ; when the rates and prices of their Wares and Commodities , honester made , and of Victuals and Houshold provisions , were limited and bounded by our then better than now executed Laws , and Trade was not let loose to all manner of fraud and unlawfull gains , and the Companies or Corporations of Trades were not so many Combinations , to adulterate and abuse the Trade of the Kingdom , as now they do ; when there was not so frequent trusting by Trades-men , as now of late , only to encrease their gain , double and raise their prices , and make a more then ordinary usury upon the kindness they pretend to do their Customers by trusting of them ; when Trade and the furnishing of vice and excess , had not made the Gentry so endebted to the City , who are not in their Countreys or Neighbourhood so much under the lash of their complaints or prosecution ; when the Church-men , by reason that some contracts were upon distrust of performance sworn and bound up by Oath , would ratione s●andali sometimes take occasion to draw into their Courts the cognisance of Debts , and Excommunicate them , untill they were about the Reign of King Edward the first prohibited by the King and his Courts of Justice . And Usury was as well before as long after accounted such a mortal sin , as Christian Burial , and the power of making last Wills and Testaments was denyed unto them , the personal Estates of the Usurers confiscated , the dying in debt reckoned a sin punishable in the next World ; all or some of which might give us the reason why there was in former times but very little complaint against Protections , ( for most of that little which appears of the use or pleading of Protections in our Law-books or Records , through so many past ages , were in Pleas or Actions concerning Lands , or Replevins , &c. but few in personal Actions , or Actions of Debt ) and those which do in every Kings Reign appear in our Records to have been granted in respect of the many occasions and importunities which might otherwise have induced the granting of them , to have been but a few in respect of many more which might have been granted , if the prudence and care of our Kings had not restrained or limited their own power and authority therein ; for that there were then either few , or out-lying , over-grown , or long-forborn Debts , or the reason of the parties protected being imployed in the Kings Service , ( which was and ever is to be accounted the interest of every man , and a concernment of the Publique ) was enough to pacifie them ; and the care and reverence of the King and his business , taught the people to obey rather then dispute that necessary part of his Prerogative , which deserves our imitation , when conform to the Laws of Nations . Queen Elizabeth by the advice of as wise and carefull a Councel as any Prince of the World was ever blessed with , did in the 17th . year of her Reign , by her Writ under the Great Seal of England , directed to that m m Rot. Pat. 17 Eliz. learned and judicious Lawyer Sir Nicholas Bacon Knight , Lord Keeper of it , ( who allowed and sealed it ) and the Lord Treasurer of England , and her Justices , Barons of the Exchequer , Sheriffs , Mayors , Bayliffs , &c. signifie , that she had taken into her Protection for three years Martin Frobisher Gent. ( probably the eminent Sea-Captain ) and his ordinary Servants , whom she had imployed in her affairs beyond the Seas , and therefore by vertue of her Royal Prerogative , which she would not have disputed , commanded every of them , that during the saie Martin Frobishers absence , and before his departure , and after his return , during the said three years , they should not suffer him or his Servants in ordinary to be arrested , attached or outlawed , or to be molested or disquieted in their Persons , Goods , Chattels , Lands or Estates ; and that the Justices in their several Courts should supersede and discharge all Actions , Plaints and Suits tending thereunto , and not proceed thereupon ; and may give us to understand , that howsoever in Warhams Case in the 20th . year of her Reign , before her Judges of her Bench , her Protection signifying that she would not have her Prerogative disputed , n n Moors Reports Warhams Case , 239. was without debating as the Writ commanded not allowed , but silently laid by , possibly by reason of variance or incertainty of time , or upon some defect of form or words in the Writ , or in regard that it mentioned not whether the party desiring to be protected was o o Cokes 1 part Instit. ca. 11.130 . b. profecturus , or moraturus , to go or abide in the Queens service , or because the Writ of Protection came too late , or the nature of the Action , or some matter in the Pleading or the Issue , which was omitted by the Reporter , would not admit it ; yet the disallowance of one Protection , is no argument or enough to conclude that no Protection was or ought to be allowed , when so many do appear in the Records and Year-Books of our Laws to have been allowed : For certainly if that great Queen had the year before 1588. and that almost unavoidable ruining storm of the Spanish Armado , which threatned the destruction of her and this Nation , given her Protection Royal to Sir Thomas Gresham Knight , that Prince of Merchants , for the securing of his person and Estate from arrest or troubles , when for her service and the safeguard and defence of the Nation , he had stretched that grand and all the Credit which he had in Foreign parts , to dreyn the Banks thereof , and to borrow and take up at Interest so great a part of the moneys thereof , as he prevented the King of Spain therein , and so disappointed him of money , as he could no sooner send that formidable Navy against England , which he designed to have sent the year before , whereby she was not suddenly attaqued , but had time to provide a gallant resistance ; and whether the clause of commanding her Prerogative therein not to be disputed , had been inserted or not , ( which in such a secret and important affair ought not to have been made publick , either in such a Writ or in a Court of Justice ) every man that had not sued a Bill of Divorce against his reason , common sense and understanding , might have believed such a Protection in such an exigent to have been as legal as it would have been for publique good and necessary .

And although the Reverend Judge Fitzherbert was of opinion , that a Protection of the King p p Fitzherbert Tit. Par. 99. & 101. quia in servitio Regis , because the party to whom it was granted was in the service of the King , or the like , is not to be allowed for a longer time than a year and a day , being supposed to be a competent time for the dispatch of such an emergent or extraordinary imployment of the Kings as was pretended , ( which no Act of Parliament hath yet limited , there being a possibility of a longer time of the imployment , either as profecturus or moraturus , in the going or tarrying , when the time of the dispatch of business cannot be circumscribed , especially in Foreign parts , whither and whence in longer or shorter Voyages the winds as well as other occasions and accidents are to be a●●ended ) and that in the 39th . year of the Reign of King Henry the 6th . a Protection was not allowed , because the Defendant having obtained it in regard that he was in servitio Regis , and sent to Rome ; Pleas of Dower and Quare Impedit were not as they used to be , and ought by Law to be excepted in the Writ of Protection , yet Mayle one of the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas then said , that in a q q Brooks Abridgement Tit. Protection , 67. Voyage Royal , or in business concerning the Realm , or in an Embassage or the like , a man should be protected ; and a Voyage Royal , saith Fitzherbert , is where the r r Fitzherbert Nat. Br●v . Tit. Protection , F. & H. King goeth to War , or his Lieutenant or Deputy Lieutenant ; and that a man is to be protected when he is in the Kings service for guard of the West Marches of England towards Scotland ; and in the 21th . year of the Reign of King Henry the 6th . a Protection was allowed after the Nisi prius , or Issue tryed ; and s s Brooke Tit. Protection , 51. sometimes for the Plaintiff , as well as the Tenant or Defendant , as in the 14th . year of the Reign of King Edward the 4th . Essoines of the Kings service being likewise ordinarily allowed by the Judges , upon allegation or proof of the Kings service at the time of casting or praying for them , there being an ordinary course of Essoining allowed communi jure , of common right , to such as are not in servitio Regis , or the Kings Servants , as de malo lecti , for sickness , &c. and are now in many Actions allowed of course , without any proof or question made thereof : And those kind of Protections were so effectual and respected in the 21th . year of the Reign of King Edward the 3d. as in an Action where the Queen ( who was to enjoy some greater Priviledges then others of the Subjects ) was Plaintiff , such a t t Brooks Abridgement Tit. Protection , 44. Protection was allowed ; and it is not without some warrant or reason of Law observable , that the Protections and Essoines which were quia in servitio Regis , in regard that the person to be protected was in the Kings service , were most commonly quia profecturus , because he was to go or abide upon some imployment for the King , do mention per praeceptum , or in obsequio Domini Regis , that they were sent by the Kings command , or upon his service ; which in case of ordinary or domestick service , needs not to be so much mentioned by the words per praeceptum , or in obsequio Regis , the word obsequium being by the Civil Law only understood to be reverentia & honoris exhibitio erga parentes & patronos , an honour and reverence of Freemen to their Parents and Patrons , contradistinct to the duty of work or labour in Servants ; that such men were commonly Strangers , and none of the Kings Houshold Servants ; and that in those early dayes and times of Popery , when there was such an entercourse betwixt England and Rome , and our Kings had so much ado to guard the Rights and Priviledges of themselves and their people , from the Papal attempts and usurpations , and many of our Kings had in their possession Normandy , Aquitain , and in other Provinces of France divers Forts and Castles , they might well have occasions of sending many that were not of the Houshold , which were better to be spared then those of whom they had daily use of occasion of service ; and that where the Protections were quia moraturus , it was not seldom mentioned to be about fortifying a Castle or Town , or providing Victuals for them or an Army , and may rather be deemed to be none of the Houshold , for that in the Register of Writs some Protections are revoked by the King , because they pretended to go when they were commanded , but did not , or followed their own occasions and affairs , not the Kings ; which cannot be easily understood of the Kings Servants in ordinary , who in those dayes would not be willing to absent themselves from such profitable and eminent services and imployments .

And u u Cokes Institutes , or Comment. upon Littleton , 130. b. & 131. a. Sir Edward Coke in his greatest aversion to the just Rights and Regalities of the Crown , is positive , that besides the Kings general Protection of his loyal Subjects , there is a particular Protection of two sorts , the one to give a man an Immunity and freedom from all Actions or Suits , the second for the safety of his person , Servants and Goods , Lands and Tenements , whereof he is lawfully possessed , from violence , unlawfull molestation or wrong ; the first is of right , and by Law , and the second sort are all of Grace , saving one ; and that the Kings Protection so as it be under the Great Seal of England , as well moraturus as profecturus , upon any mans going or abiding in the Kings service , must be regularly to some place out of the Realm of England , and that in some Actions , as in a Scire facias , upon Recoveries , Fines , Judgements , &c. In a Writ upon the Statute of Labourers , ( although by the Statute made in the second year of the w w 2 E. 6. ca. 15. 5 Eliz. ca. 4. Reign of King Edward the 6th . cap. 15. and the Statute made in the 5th . year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth , cap. 4. no Protection is to be allowed ) and in a Writ of Deceit , ( notwithstanding the rule of Law is , that fraudi aut dolo Lex non patrocinatur , Deceit is not to be favoured ) a Protection doth lye : And that the Kings Protections are to be brought to the Courts of Justice where the Action is laid , be they Courts of Record or not of Record , and not to the Sheriff , or any other Officer or Minister ; and are allowable not only unto men of full age , but within age , and for Countesses and women , as nutrix , lotrix , or obstetrix , Nurses of the Kings Children , the Midwife to the Queen , or Laundresses of the King or Queen . Protections do lye and have been allowed , where Essoines do not ; and denyeth not but a man having a Protection Quia moraturus , and returning from beyond Sea only to provide Ammunition , Habiliments of War , Victuals , or other necessaries for the Kings service , and be arrested or imprisoned , he shall enjoy the benefit of his Protection ; and denyeth not but that some Protections Quia nolumus , because we will not that he should be molested , may be granted by the King of grace , and gives his opinion that where it is pro negotiis regni , for the concern or business of the Kingdom , jura publica ante ferenda privatis , private mens actions are to give way or yield to the publick ; and private mens Actions and Suits must be suspended for a convenient time , where it is pro bono publico , the Weal-publick , as certainly the necessary attendance of his Servants in ordinary , either for his honour , conveniency , health or safety , do relate unto and concern the peoples good and safety , the protection of their lives and estates , and the well being of themselves and their posterity , and all that can be dear or near unto them .

And such kind of Protections of Servants in ordinary or extraordinary , may be as consistent with Law or Reason , as a Writ of Rege incon●ulto , commanding a forbearance of proceedings in the case of one of the Kings Servants , arrested or prosecuted at Law without leave first obtained , should not be awarded , as the Law and practice thereof is well contented to do it , where the King is in Reversion , or hath any Title to the thing or matter in demand , which may be done at the prayer or request of the party concerned , or of the Kings Councel , or ex officio Curiae , by the Court it self ; and as well as the Justices allowed a Supersede as to stay an Assise , where the Defendant was in the service of the King in his Wars beyond the Seas ; or to stay Suits against divers Tenants in Northumberland , upon Writs of Cessavit , to forfeit their Lands for non-payment of their Rents , and performing their services to their Lords , in regard of the then Wars with the x x 22 Ass. P● . 9. & 25. Nat. Brev. 19 , 25. Scots , untill the War should be ended ; or to save a default of the Tenant or Defendant , and to adjourn the Suit or Action to another day ; or where one is convict of redisseisin , and y y 2 E. 4.16 . taken or arrested by a Capias , the King commanded by his Privy Seal that no Process should issue , and if any should issue , that they z z 4 E. 4.19 . should surcease , and the Writ was thereupon staid .

For surely had not such or the like Protections been heretofore accounted to have been as legal as they were warrantable and usual , there would not have been an Act of Parliament made in the 5th . year of the a a 5 E. 3. ca. 6. Reign of King Edward the 3d. to forbid the allowance of them in Writs of Attaint against Jurors , or in Writs of Novel Disseisin , and is the first Act of Parliament which did in any case absolutely deny the allowance of the Kings Protection ; imitated and followed by the Act of Parliament made in the 13th . year of the b b 13 R. 2. ca. 17. Reign of King Richard the 2d . to prohibit Protections in the case where upon a default of the particular Tenant in a real Action , he in the reversion is to be received to plead in a Suit commenced against him ; and the Act of Parliament and Penal Law made in the 23th . year of the c c 23 H. 6. ca. 2. Reign of King Henry the 6th . against such of the Kings Purveyors as did take Provisions from the people without paying for them , and many an Act of Parliament and Penal Law from thence unto this present .

Which Protections or Tabulae ●utelares , have been by Law , and may be granted for a reasonable time unto any of the Kings Debtors , untill the Kings Debt be paid , with liberty given to their Creditors to proceed in the mean time , but not to take out any Writs of Execution ; or to some that in unruly and troublesome times obtained their salva Guardia , or Protection , propter quosdam Aemulos , where force or d d Register of Writs , 281 , 282 , 283. incivilities were feared , or where upon sudden and unexpected Embargoes laid by a Foreign Prince , some English Merchants Estate had been destroyed , or had their Ships or Goods taken at Sea by the Subjects of another Prince , and only desired a Protection from the many times Unchristian-like fury of their Creditors , untill by Letters of Reprisal or otherwise , they might enable themselves to make them a just satisfaction ; and did but in the mean time , like the innocent Doves , fly to the shelter of the Rock of their Soveraign , from the cruelty of the pursuing Hawk ; or when any imployed in the service of the King , or for the good of the Nation , although he be at the present neither protected or priviledged , was by feigned or malicious Actions sought to be hindred or endamaged upon some reason or necessity ; and in all or either of those kinds , have also been sparingly granted by King James , and King Charles the Martyr , unto some few particular men , as to Philip Burlamachi , and Pompeio Calandrini , Natives and Merchants of Italy , denizen'd and resident in England , who had imployed in their services not only at home , but in the parts beyond the Seas , in the important affairs of ayding the Kings Allyes , all the Estate and Credit which they had or could procure ; some if not many of which sort of Protections , have not been nor are unusual in our Neighbour Countreys , and in Brabant , adversus Creditorum multi juges , vexationes & assultus , to protect a Debtor against the cruelties , assaults and vexations of some unmercifull Creditors , quoties vel inclementia maris vel infortunio graviori demersi ad certum tempus solvere non possunt , when by some great misfortunes by Sea or at Land , they are not at the present able to pay ; whereof Hubert de Loyens in his Treatise e e Hubert de Loyens tractat . de Curia Brabantiae & munere Cancellarii ejusdem , 273 , 303 & 304. Curia Brabantiae & munere Cancellarii ejusdem , of the Court of Brabant , and the Office of the Chancellor of that Province , gives the reason , quoniam Reipublica interest subditos non depauperari , sicut nec Principem , cujus cum illis annexa causa est , because it concerns the Weal-publick not to suffer the people , nor likewise the Prince , whose good or ill is annexed to theirs , to be impoverished ; by which the poor Debtor obtains some respite , and time either to pay or pacifie their enraged Creditors : a custom and usage conveyed to them by Antiquity , and deduced from the wisdom of the Grecians and Romans , in their well ordered Governments and Commonwealths .

But those who might rest well satisfied with the wisdom as well as practice of our Laws , are so unwilling to be undeceived , and to quit their stubborn ignorance and affected errors , as they will like some Garrison willing to maintain a Fort , and hold out as long as they can , when they can no longer defend it , seek and hope to march out with better advantages in relinquishing or parting with it , then they could by keeping of it , and therefore will be willing to allow unto Strangers , or those which the King imployeth upon Foreign or Extraordinary occasions , and are not his Menial or Domestick Servants , the Priviledges aforesaid , so as they may exclude those that are immediately attending upon his service , or the greater concernments of his person .

CHAP. IX .

That the Kings granting Protections under the Great Seal of England , to such as are his Servants in ordinary , for their Persons , Lands and Estate , when especially imployed by him into the parts beyond the Seas , or in England , or any other of his Dominions , out of his Palace or Virge thereof , or unto such as are not his Domesticks , or Servants in ordinary or extraordinary , when they are sent or imployed upon some of his negotiations , business or affairs , neither is or can be any evidence or good argument that such only , and not the Kings Servants in ordinary , who had no Protections under the Great Seal of England , are to be protected or priviledged whilst they are busied in his Palace , or about his Person .

WHich the men of Israel could so highly value , as they disswaded King David from going in person with the Army against Absalom , saying , f f 2 Sam. 18 v. 3. thou shalt not go forth , for if we flee away they will not care for us , neither if half of us dye will they care for us , but now thou art worth ten thousand of us ; or as they shortly after said in their loyal contest with the men of Judah , g g 2 Sam. 19. v. 43. we have ten parts ( meaning the ten Tribes ) in the King : which just esteem caused Davids three mighty men or Worthies think they had cause enough to adventure their lives to break through the Host of the Philistines , and draw water out of the Well of h h 2 Sam. 23. v. 15. & 16. Bethelem , to bring it to David to satisfie but his thirst or longing to asswage it .

For if reason may be the guide , or hold the Ballance , and the cause be any thing of kin to the effect , the more worthy and the greater is to be more respected than the less , and the more necessary than that which is not so much necessary ; the heart and nobler parts , more than the inferior ; and the person , health and welfare of the King , more than any Foreign Message or Imployment , or any private mans concerns in any particular affair ; and that which is to be every day and night , and continually more to be taken care of , than that which is but accidental or temporary , or upon seldom occasions , for the salus populi cannot be suprema Lex , nor the good and safety of the people be maintained or provided for , if the King who is the Law-giver , and by his Ministers and subordinate Magistrates the Laws executer , and the Laws and peoples protector and defender , be not so attended as he which is the H●ad and better part of the Body Politick may be kept and preserved in safety ; and if Lex be summa ratio , the quintessence or chief of reason , and semper intendit rationem , alwayes intends that which is reason , we may not think it to be a paradox , or any stranger to reason , that the Persons and Estates of the Master of the Robes , the Gentlemen and Grooms of his Majesties Bed-Chamber , Gentlemen of his Privy Chamber , Esquires of the Body , Physicians in ordinary , Gentlemen Vshers , Gentlemen Pensioners , Yeoman of the Robes , Gentlemen and Yeomen of his Guards , and those many other sorts of Servants and Attendants , which are as the learned Causabon terms them , servi ad manum , or de interioribus Aulicis , necessary Servants unto his person , and often and daily attendants upon him , or are otherwise necessary and becoming the Majesty of a King , as the Great Officers of State , Lord Chancellor , or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , Lord Privy Seal , Lord Treasurer , Lord Chamberlains , the Lords of his most Honourable Privy Councel , Secretaries of Estate , Masters of Request , &c. being as Pasquier a learned i i Pasquier Recherches , liure second , chapitre 10. French Advocate saith , a la suitte le Roy & joignantes a la personne de Prince , attending the person of the King , and should neither be absent or receive any impediment in their service , should be as much or more protected and secured from the trouble of Law-Suits , or disgracefull Arrests , whilst they are busied about the King , or in his ordinary service , then those which are not his Servants in ordinary , but as Envoyes , Messengers or otherwise , shall be imployed upon seldom or emergent affairs .

When Nehemiah's k k Nehem. 2. Commission to rebuild Jerusalem , and the Royal Protection of King Artaxerxes by his Letters Patents under his Great Seal , whilst he was busied therein , cannot conclude that in those Eastern Countries where Artaxerxes had such an Imperium despoticum , a large and absolute authority , and a people so reverential and obedient , that Nehemiah did not before his Journey , or after his return , enjoy the priviledge and freedom of one of the Kings Cup-bearers , and a daily and constant attendant upon his person ; for it would be as illogical and unconcludent , as to argue or believe that a Kings Servant known to be one of his Servants in ordinary , without a Pass or Protection , is not to enjoy as much priviledge as when he hath a Pass or Protection , which can signifie no more then that he is a Servant , or imployed as a Servant upon the Kings affairs , especially when the only ground and reason of his Protection , and upon which it is built or founded , was the Kings service ; and it is not so much because it concerns the Weal-publick , which the words in the Kings Protection do not bear or intimate , but only in relation to the King and his service , and that the protected party is imployed or sent per praeceptum Regis , or in obsequio Regis , by the Kings command , or upon his business ; for otherwise the subordinate business of the Offices of a Sheriff , or a Clerk to a Justice of Peace , being something appurtenant to the common good , might ( which they never yet did ) claim or demand a cessation from Law-Suits , or a respite , as the Protections for men imployed in the Kings Service have done ; there being as great a distance betwixt the reason and cause of the priviledge of the Kings Servants in ordinary , and their attendance upon his person and affairs relating thereunto , and that which is not immediately but remote , as betwixt immediate and mediate , proximate and remote ; nor can it be either truth or reason , that if the Abbot of l l Dugdales Monastico● Tom. 1.275 . Burton upon Trent in the County of Stafford , had been imployed by the King beyond the Seas , and being as he was none of the Kings Houshold Servants , such a Protection granted unto him whilst he was in the Kings service , could have bereaved him of the priviledge which King Edward the 4th . did grant unto him , his Covent , and Tenants , which were many , to be free ab omni vexatione Vicecomitis Staffordiae , sive eorum Satellitum in perpetuum , from all vexation and trouble of the Sheriff of the County of Stafford , or his Bayliffs or Catchpoles ; or that if the Abbot of m m Dugdales Monasticon Tom. 1.219 . Tavestoke in the County of Devon , had been sent as many Abbots in those times used to be , upon any of the Kings affairs into Foreign parts , and obtained the Kings Protection under the Great Seal of England , that he and his Servants or Tenants should not be molested or troubled during his absence , such an exemption for that small part of time , ought to have abridged him of that priviledge which King Henry the second granted to his Predecessors Abbots of Tavestoke , and his Successors , that he or any of his Monks should not be impleaded or sued at Law , nisi coram Domino Rege , nisi Dominus Rex nominatim praeceperit , but before the King himself , unless the King should otherwise especially command or appoint it ; or should not at his return have enjoyed the priviledge of a Baron , if he had held his Land by Barony , to have been only summoned and liable to the Process at Law usually granted against Barons ; or that if the n n D●gdales Monasticon Tom. 1.130 . & Spelmans Glossary in voce Abbas . Prior of Spalding in the County of Lincoln , had been commanded to go into Scotland or Wales upon any of the Kings necessary occasions , and had been allowed a Protection under the Great Seal of England , to respite any Actions or Suits at Law in the mean time to be commenced or brought against himself , his Servants or Tenants , that could after that business ended have debarred him of the priviledge of a Baron , or of one holding his Land per Baroniam , by Barony , to have been only summoned and distrained according to the Process of the Law usually granted against Barons ; or of that priviledge which K. Richard the first and K. John granted unto the Abbot of Spalding and his Successors , that none should implead them , their Servants or Tenants , de aliquo Tenemento suo , for any of their Lands or Tenements , nisi coram Rege , vel coram Capitali Justiciario suo , vel per speciale mandatum Domini Regis , unless it should be before the King , or his Chief Justice , ( who then resided in the Kings Court ) or by the Kings special mandate ; and amounted to no less then the priviledge as aforesaid claimed by the Kings Servants in ordinary , not to be arrested without license or leave first given by the King , or those Officers of his Houshold to whom it belongeth .

Nor can it be any thing but a paradox , and a very great enemy to reason , that obsequium & praeceptum Regis , the Kings affairs and command , imploying Strangers and none of his Houshold Servants , as questionless the o o Register of Writs , 18. Abbot of Miravall was not , who as appears by the Register of Writs , had a Protection granted unto him whilst he was imployed in the Kings service in the parts beyond the Seas , should be allowed for a ground and foundation of a Protection , and available in the case of one that was not at all busied in a continual attendance upon his Person , or Houshold affairs , and be denyed his Servants in ordinary , who were a latere , alwayes imployed about him , or his more necessary , constant or durable affairs ; and that it should be a causa causati , cause of the effect or thing caused , in the protection of a Stranger imployed for some few dayes or weeks in the Kings affairs , and not for those which were more near unto him , and daily conversant in his immediate and Domestick affairs , in whose care and fidelity his Sacred Person and the light and welfare of our Israel is entrusted ; and that those that were not his Servants , should be in a better condition when they are imployed by him , and his menial and ordinary Servants in a worse ; and the same cause not operate at all in the case of his Servants in ordinary , who have more need of it , and be so vigorous and effective for those that are Strangers , and have less need of it as to their persons , who being beyond the Seas , were out of the reach of any arrest or imprisonment , and as to their Lands and other Estates , might if they had not had the Kings Protection under the Great Seal of England , have defended any Actions by their Attorneys , or have been Essoined , or reversed any Utlary quia ultra mare , because they were then beyond the Seas ; or that if the King had sent beyond the Seas any of his Privy-Chamber , or Bed-Chamber , as hath been not seldom done by-divers of our Kings and Princes , to some Foreign Prince or Potentate , for the greater credit of their Messages , as p p Numb. 22. v. 15. Balak King of Moab did , long before the World was gray , or hoary headed , when after he had sent Messengers unto the Prophet Balaam , and he refused to come unto him , he sent yet again Princes more Honourable then they ; not thinking it fit or honourable to imploy any below stairs , or the inferior sort of their Houshold Servants , or their Barber , ( as Lewis the 11th . of France did in his unfortunate Espargne or saving of charges , when he sent him as an Agent or Envoy to the great Inheretrix of Burgundy , and the 17. Netherland Provinces , which brought him a reproach and loss of those grand expectations , which he might otherwise probably have compassed , and saved millions of money , some hundred thousand mens lives , and the trouble and disquiet of the greatest part of Christendom , in the since seeking in vain to obtain those rich Countries by Conquest , which that Marriage and a more solemn Embassy might have more easily gained ) such Bed-Chamber man , or Gentleman of the Kings Privy-Chamber , should have the immunity or freedom not to be arrested or molested by reason of any Actions or Suits at Law whilst he was thus imployed , because it was per praeceptum Regis , by the Kings command , & fuit in obsequio Regis , and was in his service , and yet when he was come and returned to his place and attendance in the Kings Bed-Chamber or Privy-Chamber , where he did before daily officiate , and was in obsequio Regis , & per praeceptum Regis , in the Kings service , ( unless it could be then understood to be any either reason or sence to believe , that he was not in the service of the King , or by his appointment , when if truth and reason might as they ought to do consort together , it was evident he was ) must be arrested or imprisoned without the Kings leave or license , as if he were not of the Kings Bed-Chamber or Privy-Chamber , or any of the Kings Servants ; or if the granting of a Protection by the King to an Earl , or any other of the Nobility , whilst he was imployed in his Wars or affairs , as many have been , in Foreign parts , should at his return into England be debarred of his priviledge not to be Utlawed or Arrested by Process or Writ of Capias ; or that Ambassadors sent from hence unto Foreign Kings or Princes , without any Writ of Protection , which hath ever been though● needless to be granted unto them , should not when they come home enjoy those Immunities and Priviledges were before their going or after their return appropriate and justly due unto them .

Or that the King may not with as great or greater reason , or cause of kindness unto himself and his Servants , as well grant his Writs of Protection unto his Servants in ordinary , as he hath done unto some Strangers , or Foreign Merchants , or unto the q q Register of Writs , Tit. Protection , 281 , 283. Prior of an Hospital , or some other person , with a nolumus or command not to molest or permit to be troubled their persons , lands , goods or possessions , and a suscepimus in protectionem & defensionem , taking them into his defence or protection ; or that the service or attendance of his Domesticks , or Servants in ordinary , either in relation to his person , or his affairs subservient thereunto which do concern him , and in him the Publick safety and welfare , should not claim a greater regard then other more remote .

And should heretofore be a Supersedeas to some of his Servants elected to serve for the people of their Country in Parliament , which with the House of Peers , and presence and authority of the King , makes it to be the Highest Court of Justice in the Kingdom , and next unto the King , who is the head , life , and being of it , their greatest and most darling concernment , far exceeding any or the most part of Imployments in the Kings extraordinary occasions either at home or abroad , which hath been the usual subject matters of the King● Protections under the Great Seal of England , and not now be able or allowed to receive a just and fitting respect and priviledge in his more subordinate and ordinary Courts of Justice .

When as in the 7th . year of the Reign of King Richard the second , r r Rot. Claus. 7 R. 2. & Elsyngs antient & present manner of holding Parliaments . James Barners being elected a Member of Parliament , was discharged by the Kings Writ , and a new Writ caused to be made for another election , quia est de retinentia Regis , & familiaris , & unus Militum Camerae Regis , because he was of the Kings Retinue , one of his Houshold Servants , and one of the Knights of his Chamber , attending in or near unto it ; and in the same year Thomas Morvile was discharged of his election into the House of Commons in Parliament , which was superseded quia est de retinentia charissimae Dominae & Matris nostrae Johannae Principissae Walliae , for that he was in the service or retinue of his Mother the Princess of Wales .

But that and all which hath been said and evidenced , will it seems not yet be enough to remove the pride of heart of such as take a delight to arrest and imprison the Kings Servants and Attendants , without license or leave first granted , for Debts or other Actions to which they are entituled , or perswade them to abandon that unmannerliness , and an Objection which they have lately found out ( as they think ) to support it , That if the number of the Kings Servants were less , there would not be so many to demand their Priviledges , or cause their Creditors to complain against them ; and that if any of the Kings Servants in ordinary be so without leave or license arrested or imprisoned , whereby the King should or might lose their service , he was to provide others in their places .

And that any of the Kings Servants in ordinary , waiting upon him by turns or courses , ( for some of them do not ) may without leave or license be arrested in the intervals of their waiting or attendance ; which undutifull and uncivilized opinions , too near of kin to the Principles of Wat Tyler and Jack Cade , and their Clownish Associates , might have been laid upon the Levelling Dunghill , and ought to be buried with their illiterate and ungodly Levelling Principles , which hath so long afflicted this Nation , and so greatly helped to ruine and undo the peace and happiness of it , the Adjutants or Authors whereof may upon a more sober and modest enquiry easily find .

CHAP. X.

That our Kings ( some of which had more then his Majesty now hath ) have or had no greater number of Servants in ordinary , then is or hath been necessary for their occasions , safety , well-being , state , honour , magnificence and Majesty ; and that their Servants waiting in their turns or courses , are not without leave or license as aforesaid to be arrested in the intervals of their waiting or attendance .

ANd submit themselves and those their innovated formerly unheard of cavils and pretences , to the power of truth , and a conviction of those their great mistakings , if they shall but examine the necessity as well as the reason of it ; for to a Soveraign Prince whose cares are to reach as far as his Monarchy , there cannot be in respect of the multitude and various sorts of his daily and ever importuning affairs , in the behalf of himself and the Weal-publick , a few or small number to be imployed therein , if there were neither Honour nor Majesty to be heeded or supported , both which by an universal consent , Law , Custom , and usage of Nations , approved and subscribed unto by a general consent of the intellect and rational faculties of Mankind , should be not only the desire and joy of the people which are to be ruled and governed by them , but is a ready means , help and stay unto their welfare , peace and happiness , of which the examples are as many , as the ages past and the people and Kingdoms of it : When Abraham although sometimes stiled a Prince , ( but was no Soveraign ( Prince ) but a Sojourner in the Plain of s s Gen. 12.13 , 14 , 15. Mamre ) had 318. Servants to go to Battel with him against his five Neighbour Kings , who had taken and spoiled his Brother Lot . David had together with the Princes and Rulers of the Tribes , great numbers of Officers , and Men of War , Officers of his Houshold , and t t 1 Chron. 26.27 , 28. Servants therein and over his Estate , besides the twelve Captains which as his Guards did in every month of the year by turns and courses attend him , and the safety of his person , with four and twenty thousand fighting men . Solomon his Son had twelve great Officers in their severally appointed Provinces , to provide Victuals for the King and his Houshold by courses , each man for his month , and made the Children of Israel to be his men of War , and his Servants , and his u u 1 Reg. 4. Princes , and his Captains , and Rulers of his Chariots and his Horsemen , had a thousand and four hundred Chariots , and twelve thousand Horsemen ; which declared the number of his Servants not to be small , petit , or inconsiderable : and were so well ordered , as the Queen of Sheba with a great train coming from far to w w 1 Reg. 9.22 . see his Glory and his Court , when she did behold the meat of his Table , the standing of his Servants , as the Margin notes it , the attendance of his Ministers , and their Apparel , and his Cup-bearers , suffered under a Deliquium and failing of her spirit ; when he had such a state and magnificence to accompany his Regal power , and so great a number of Servants to furnish out the glory and honour of his house and person . x x 1 Reg. 10. v. 4 , & 5.16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20. Ahasuerus had seven Chamberlains , as Solomon had more then one Cup-bearer , and Esther had seven y y Esther 1. v. 10. & ca. 2. Maidens allowed to her . The Western and Eastern divided Empires of Romes vastly extended Conquests , glorying in their magnificence , had to adorn the honour and state of their Emperors , in their Houses and Palaces busied with multitudes of Civil affairs , their Scholaes and Offices daily and hourly conversant in the attendance of their Persons , Houshold or Civil imployments ; in every one of which , although Alexander Severus the Emperor did lessen and z z Lampridius in vita Alexandri Severi . contract them ▪ and ordained , ut essent t●t homines in singulis , Officiis ▪ quot necessitas postularet , that there might be in every Office or imployment , so many Servants as necessity required ; there wree of one and the same sort several ranks and orders , amounting to as great a number as the Imperial port , state and imployments might require , and could not be small , when they kept as we say open houses to ●eed or refresh those great numbers which came either to honour or petition their Princes , had so many several Governours , Procurators and Servants , and so many several Houses and Palaces in their many Kingdoms and Provinces ▪ and sometimes made and set out so many Epulae and publick Feasts , and many thousand Tables of them at one time to entertain , comfort or please the people ; and to any that shall read the elaborate and learned Comment of a a Cuiacius Comment. lib. 10 , 11 , 12. Cod. Justiniani Pancirollus notitia utriusque Imperii , Gutherius de Offic. domus Augustae . Cuiacius upon the 10th . 11th . and 12th . Codes or Books of Justinian Pancirollus notitia utriusque Imperii , and the laborious and learned Book of Jacobus Gutherius , of the various Offices and kinds of Services as well private as publick , in the Houses and Palaces of the antient Emperors , will not appear to be much if at all supernumerary .

Charlemaigne the Great King of France and Emperor of Rome , as Hinckmarus Archbishop of Remes writeth , who in the latter end of his Reign b b Hinckmarus Tomo posteriori , Epist. 14 , 17 , 24 , & 25. lived and was bred up in his Court , had his several Servants , and took a more then ordinary care pro honestate Palatii & Rega●i Ornamento , for the honour of his House or Palace , and his Royal Ornaments , singulis quibusque quotidianis necessitatibus occurrentibus , every one in their station performing their several Offices ; and the Constitution of his house so laudable , as multitudo congrua sine qu● rationabiliter & honeste esse non possit , such a competent number or multitude was necessary , in regard that otherwise the business of the Houshold or Palace could not be rationally or honourably done ; and care was to be taken , ut semper esset ornatum Palatium & Consiliariis condignis nunquam destitutum esset , that the honour of the Kings house might be preserved , and never want the advice and help of worthy Assistants ; and where he speaks of the number of Huntsmen and Falconers , and their constant attendance within or without the Court , saith , Sensus in his omnibus talis erat ut nunquam Palatio tales vel tanti deessent ministri , that the meaning was , that there should never want such or the like Servants : And imparts to us a further reason of such a number of Servants attending the Courts of Princes in those heroick times , ut ex quacunque parte totius regni quicunque desolatus , orbatus , alieno aere oppressus injusta calumnia cujusque suffocatus , seu caetera his similia , maxime tamen de Viduis & Orphanis unuscujusque secundum suam indigentiam vel qualitatem ; Dominorum vero misericordiam & pietatem semper ad manum haberet , per quem singuli ad pias aures Principis perferre potuissent , that from all parts of the Kingdom whoever was distressed , afflicted , endebted , or unjustly accused , or the like , especially Widdows and Orphans , might according to their several necessities and qualities have some at hand to procure the mercy and piety of their Lords or Masters , whereby every ones Petition or Complaint might come unto the gracious ears of the Prince .

King Aelfred or Alured who reigned here in the year of Christ 856. had in his Court a great and Princely attendance of Bishops , Earls and Nobility , Knights and Esquires , and three c c Asser Menevensis de gestis Aelfredi , 20. Troops of Souldiers for the Guards of his Palace , ( as if he had an intention somewhat to imitate David the King of Israel and Juda ) tanquam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 seu exemplar , as a great and antient example worthy to be imitated , whereof one waiting by the space of a month , menseque finito & adveniente alia prima domum redibat , which being ended that returning home , another succeeded the other two , propriis quivis necessitatibus studentes commorabantur , being busied about their own affairs , tarried in the mean·time at home ; secunda itaque cohors mense peracto adveniente tertia domum redibat , and the second Troop having served their month , the third came into their places ; and the thirds course or time alotted being ended , the first returned to his former attendance : Et hoc ordine omnibus vitae praesentis temporibus talium vicissitudinum in Regali Curto rotatur administratio , and in this manner all the life time of the said King , and by such changes or courses was the service in his Royal Court administred . And certainly no small number of Officers and Servants were heretofore thought to be sufficient in England to attend on our Kings and Princes , when Hardi-Canutus King of England furnished Tables of meat for his Servants and all comers four times a day ; when Thomas Earl of Lancaster , who was an Attendant himself upon the King , had in the Reign of King Edward the second , a Bishop and Barons officiating in his house , 100 Knights and as many Esquires , besides Officers and common Servants ; Bishops , Earls and Lords in after ages rode and travelled with great Trains and Retinues ; Nicholas West Bishop of Ely in the Reign of King Henry the 8th . had d d Stows Survey of London , 134 , 135 , 138 , 139. continually in his house 200 Servants ; Edward Earl of Darby 200 men in Checque-Roll , in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth ; and John Earl of Oxford , although a well-deserving Ancestor of his that led the Vantguard of King Henry the 7th . at the Battel of Bosworth-field , was in that Kings after Halcyon dayes fined in a then great sum of money for attending him at his house with a very great Retinue , did usually ride from his house in Essex to his house at London-Stone in London , with 80 Gentlemen in Livery of Red or Tawny , with Chains of Gold about their necks , and 100 tall Yeomen in the like Livery to follow him without Chains , but all wearing his Crest of the blew Boar embroydered on their left armes , or shoulders ; so as in the difference betwixt the Majesty of a great and Soveraign Prince , being as the Sun in our Firmament , and the grandeur which his Nobility as the Stars in their lesser lights derived from it , either did or should endeavour to support the measure or rule of proportion , may evidence how necessary it is for a King to have an honourable and competent number of Servants , when those that were so much inferior to the Majesty , Power and Soveraignty of a free Prince , could in their lesser Orbs not want a fitting number to attend upon the Honours which he or some of his Ancestors gave them ; when as by an Order of his late Majesty in the year of our Lord 1626. 40 Messengers of his Chambers were at all times to be ready to do his Majesty service ; and at all entertainments and receptions of Ambassadors , many of the Gentlemen of the Kings Privy Chamber are commanded to attend such of the Nobility as are appointed by the King to receive and conduct the Ambassadors unto him , in so much as in the year 1636. eight Gentlemen of the Kings Privy Chamber were appointed to attend the Earl of Lindsey , to bring the King of Polands Ambassador to Hampton-Court ; and such multitudes and variety of cares and business which do attend a King , and the consequences and grand concernments thereof , so hugely different from any of their Nobility or Subjects may perswade us to allow our e e 1 Sam. ca. 10. Saul to be as well in the number of their Houshold Servants , as in all other things , higher from the shoulders upwards than all or any of th●m ; and will better become him , than those many which our murmurers were so well content to afford their Oliver the Protector of their intended sl●very , when by his Instrument so called of his Usurped Government , he was to have two hundred thousand pounds per annum , for defraying the necessary charges of the administration of Justice , and other expences of the Government , besides all the Kings Revenue which was left unfold , being a considerable part thereof , with the Fines , Amerciaments , and casual profits of the basely misused and despoiled Crown of England , and a pay and constant yearly maintenance of Ten Thousand Horse and Dragoons , and Twenty Thousand Foot in England , Scotland and Ireland , with a setled yearly Revenue for the maintenance of a convenient number of Ships for guarding of the Seas , allowed unto him ; had his Chamberlain , Treasurer , and Comptroller of a better house than the Brew-house which he could not thrive in at Huntington , his mis●called Lords of his Privy Counsel , Commissioners of his Great Seal , Secretary of State , his Turn-coat Heralds , Serjeants at f f Oliver Cromwells Instrument of Government made 16 th . of Decemb. 1653. Armes , Messengers of his Chamber , Ushers , and many other Servants and Officers belonging to his Counterfeit Highness , and his Envoys and Ambassadors , one of which could not be dressed out or sent with a lesser state and magnificence than 200 Attendants .

And the Lord Mayor of London , being but a temporary and yearly Governour of that City , and one of the lesser rayes of the Majesty of our Kings , communicated to that annual Magistracy under them , can be allowed for his state a Recorder , Common Serjeant , Chamberlain , Town●Clerk , Coroner , Sword-Bearer , Marshall , Common Hunt , Common Cryer , Water-Bayliff , and Under-Chamberlain , four Clerks of his Mayors Court , three Serjeant Carvers , as many Serjeants of the Chamber , a Serjeant and Yeoman of the Channel , four Yeomen of the Water-side , an Under Water-Bayliff , two Yeomen of the Chamber , three Meal-Weighers , two Yeomen of the Wood-Wharfs , the Sword-Bearers man , the Common Hunts two men , the Common Cryers man , the Water-Bayliffs two men , and the Carvers man , some of which several Officers or Attendants do wait by turns or courses ; and hath one of the Kings Maces or Serjeant at Armes at some certain times of Solempnity attending upon him , a resemblance of a House of Peers in his Court of Aldermen , where the Recorder is the Prolocutor , and a House of Commons in his Common Counsel , both which upon occasions he calls and adjourns at his pleasure , hath his Court of Conscience like a Chancery for equity , and several Courts of Justice ; and when he goeth with above 60 Companies of all Trades , in a kind of triumph of their Trade and Mysteries , to take his Oath before the Barons of the Exchequer , hath all the worship and attendance which his Towns-men or Citizens can help him unto , every one of which Companies of Trade having some 20 , some 45 , some 120 Livery men , some in their Gowns of Budge , and others with Foines , who at 20 or 28 l. a piece are willing to purchase a share of preheminence in the rule and ill ordering ( instead of better ) of their several Fraternities of Deceipts , together with their Whiflers , Marshals-men , Beadels , and many other Attendants upon that and all other times of Solempnity , to furnish out the magnificence of the City .

Nor should the number of the Kings Servants , which the 19. undutifull Propositions , and all other the unreasonable restrictions and conditions endeavoured by the late Rebellion to be imposed upon our late blessed King and Martyr , did not seek to restrain or limit , be thought to be too many by the addition of some extraordinaries .

CHAP. XI .

That the King being not to be limited to a number of his Servants in Ordinary , is not in so great a variety of affairs and contingencies wherein the publick may be concerned , to be restrained to any certain number of such as he shall admit to be his Servants Extraordinary .

WHen as there are many times as great a necessity of them , as of those in Ordinary , either as to service or state , the honouring of persons well accomplish'd for services formerly done , or likely to deserve it , or the retaining of them near unto the King in a dependency upon him , or as it were allecti or proximi , as many of the Roman Emperors Servants Extraordinary were , in reversion for special uses or service , when time or occasion should call for it ; and the Grecian and Roman Western and Eastern Emperors , in imitation probably of those customs and usages of the Hebrews , who were more participant of the light and emanations of the Divine Wisdom , did so separate those which had once been imployed in their service , from their other Subjects , as they would not dismiss them where age or other impediments , not their own default or offences , did occasion it , without some mark of honour , dependency , or retaining of them , but did ordain an Ordo Dignitatum , several degrees or respects to be given unto them , with a sitque plane Sacrilegii reus qui divina praecepta neglexerit , a penalty that they that offended therein should be accompted guilty of Sacriledge : The first degree being , 1. For those which were in Ordinary . 2. For Extraordinaries , or such as deserved to be honoured . 3. g g Cuiacius ad lib. 12. Cod. Justiniani tit. 8. For such as did not wait , but were absent . 4. For such as had those titles or honour given them by certain Letters Patents or Codicils , and were therefore called Honorarii ; it being not unusual in those antient Registers of reason the Books or Volumes of the Civil Law , to find the Curiales , Courtiers or Servants of the Prince , stiled Milites Palatini , and the Doctors and Advocates Milites literati , contradistinct unto the Milites Armati , a more proper kind of Souldiers or men at Armes guarding or attending upon the person of the Prince ; and the Supernumerarii , Proximi vacantes , ( a title borrowed from the customs of warfare ) and Honorarii , being as it were Extraordinaries , as they are at this day in the Empire of Germany , France , and other Countries and places , and have been allowed the same priviledges with the Princes Servants in actu or agentes , in ordinary , as to be free from Purveyance , lodging of Strangers , all Parish and Country Offices , & ab omnibus sordidis h h Idem ibid. tit. 9.1 . tit 29.2 . & tit. 49.2 . muneribus , all imployments in the Commonwealth , not becoming the honour of the service of the Prince ; & ut lege vetustissima subjaceant Jurisdictioni Magistri Officiorum , they should be under the Jurisdiction of the Lord Steward of the Houshold , and not be enforced to appear in the subordinate Courts of Justice ; and those priviledges were retained post depositam administrationem , after the quitting of their services , offices or places ; and the reason given , ne sordidis astricti muneribus decus ministerii quod militando videbantur adepti otii tempore & quietis amittant , lest that being afterwards put upon inferiour offices and imployments , they should lose the honour they had gained in the service of their Prince : From which the laudable care of our King Henry the 8th . did not deviate , when in the 17th . year of his i i Statutes & Orders made at Eltham , An. 17 H. 8. Reign he did by advice of his Privy Counsel ordain , That such of his Servants as should be found to be impotent , sickly , unable or unmeet to occupy their places , the King of his gracious disposition , being not willing that any of his old Servants should be rejected & left without some competent being , unless their demerits should so require , did order that some convenient entertainment should be assigned for every one of them towards their being , and to be discharged from attendance in his Houshold , and other able , meet , honest and sufficient persons put in their places , which entertainments upon the death of every or any the persons discharged , shall cease .

And for such of the Yeomen of the Guard which shall be discharged , the Kings Grace is contented to make them Yeomen of the Crown , and in consideration of their service , that such of them as have none Offices of his Grace to the value of two pence by the day , shall have the wages of six pence by the day uncheque . So as the reason being the same , and since by a common and customary usage in the Courts of Princes arrived to a jus gentium , or Law of Nations , it may from thence and the Civil Law with warrant and authority sufficient be truly affirmed , that much of our method and courses of Parliaments , Feudal Laws , Tenures , Great Offices of the Crown , Grand Serjeanties , Priviledges of the Kings Servants , Honours and respects due to Majesty , rules of Honour , Precedency and Dignities , as well within our Kings and Princes Courts as without , our Military and Civil Orders and Government , and many of the proceedings in our Courts of Justice , and the k k Vizz . anius l. 1. de mandatis Principum , l. 1. sect. sed etsi 7. C. de vet. Jur. emol . l. 1. ff. de constitut. Princip. Latine part and superintendency of our High Court of Chancery , in granting of our Kings Rescripts and Writs remedial to prevent a failer of Justice , have had their patterns and originals , well approved by right reason and our Common Laws and reasonable Customs .

By directions of which Law of Nations , and the Civil Law , ( from whence our Common Laws have borrowed many a maxim , and much of their excellency and reason ) our late blessed Martyr King Charles the First , as many of his Royal Progenitors and Predecessors had done before him , did sometimes as his occasions or affairs perswaded him , admit some to be sworn his Chaplains extraordinary , where the worth or budding eminency of some Divines or Students in Theology attracted his eye or intentions to preferre or take them nearer to himself , to be his Chaplains in ordinary upon the next avoidance or vacancy , or otherwise to preferre them in some Church , Office or Dignity , as in the year 1628. Doctor Miclethwaite Master of the Temple , and an eminent Preacher ; Doctor Samuel Ward , a man more then he should have been averse to the Discipline of the Church of England ; Peter Heylin a well deserving Divine , and dutifull Son of the Church ; in the year 1632. the learned Robert Saunderson Batchelor of Divinity , afterwards Bishop of Lincoln , and a great light of the Church ; Ralph Brownrigge Doctor of Divinity , afterwards Bishop of Exeter , sworn in the year 1638. one of his Majesties Chaplains Extraordinary ; and in Anno 1630. Herbert Croft Batchelor of Divinity , now Bishop of Hereford ; and did not refuse divers of the Sons of the Nobility , who sought to partake of the honour of access unto his Majesty , and the more select rooms of State in his Court , ( which in that of the Kings of Spain is not thought fit to be communicated but to some of their especial Attendants ) to be sworn Gentlemen Extraordinary of his Privy-Chamber , as in the year 1631. the Lord Matravers eldest Son to Thomas Earl of Arundel and Surrey , and Sir William Howard Knight of the Bath , now Viscount Stafford , his Brother ; and in the year 1638. the Earl of Kildare the first Earl of Ireland , who could not be blamed for their inclinations or tendency to the center of Honour , when as long before the Conquest or fatal period of our Saxon Ancestors , King Alfred had many of the l l Asser Menevensi● de rebus gestis Alfredi . Sons of the Nobility educated and brought up in his Court ; and that noble and well becoming custom received and met with in many ages after so great an encouragement , as the young Lords or Nobility had a constant Table or dyet in the Court , untill in the Reign of King Edward the 6th . the perswasions of a needless and unhappy parsimony did put an end to that part of the Royal munificence , which King Henry the 3d. in some hundred years before would not in his greatest wants of daily necessaries , occasioned by some of his unruly Barons , when he took such relief as some Abbeys would afford him , quit that part of the honour of his Court or Houshold ; nor did our late King of blessed memory , deny the like honour of his Privy-Chamber to divers Gentlemen of note or great esteem in their Countries , as Sir Arthur Capel Knight , a●terwards Lord Capel , that heroick and loyal Martyr for his King , and the Fifth Commandment of his Heavenly King , charged upon all Mankind in the Decalogue , Sir Thomas Richardson Knight , Son of Sir Thomas Richardson Knight , Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Kings-Bench , or Sir Thomas Roe Knight , a learned and well experienced Embassador to the Mogor or Mogull , that great Prince in the East-Indies , and to several States and Kingdoms in Christendom ; Sir Fulk Hunkes Knight , and Sir Ferdinando Knightley Knight , two well experienced Commanders in the English Regiments in the Netherlands or United Provinces , Sir Edward Dearing Knight , one of the Members of the House of Commons in Parliament in the year 1641. and unto Sir William Waller Knight , who afterwards bitterly repented the vain-glory of being a Conqueror of some of his Soveraigns Forces , endeavouring to defend him and their Laws and Liberties in the late Rebellion , and to some others who could afterwards stain their formerly more loyal Families in that horrid Rebellion , and imploy their time and Estates against their King which had ●o much honoured them ; or to admit into his service as a Servant Extraordinary Edmond Cooper a Drummer , John Houghton a Chirurgeon , or some excellent Picture-drawer , as the famous Sir Anthony van Dike , or some Foreign curious Engineer , Gunsmith , or other excelling Artificers , who without some such encouragements would not have benefited our Nation with their skill and residence ; and was in that Prince of blessed memory , and will be in our gracious Soveraign no less allowable than i● was in King David , to take into his Family as an Extraordinary , when his affection and gratitude prompted him unto it , m m 2 Sam. 19. v. 37 , 38. Chimham the son of the good old Barzillai , when many of the Yeomanry of England have besides their Servants in ordinary , some that are as extraordinary , and work a great part of the year with them .

And the Nobility and Gentry of England ( sinc● their restraint of giving Liveries by several Acts of Parliament , to prevent the too freequent use of that in making of parties and factions , in one of which , viz. that of the first and second year of the Reign of King Henry the 4th . cap. 21. it is provided , as hath been mentioned , That the King may give his Honourable Livery to his menial Knights and Esquires , and also to his Knights and Esquires of his retinue , who are not to use it in their Counties , but in the Kings presence , and the Prince and the Nobility coming unto the Court and returning from thence , were specially excepted ) are not at this day debarred the moderate use of Liveries , or some as extraordinary Servants to be imployed upon several occasions , to retain unto them ; as the Lord Mayor of London is not without the attendance of Livery-men of the Companies or Fraternities of Trade , or such as he shall select out of them , in some grand Solemnities , as the meeting or welcoming of the King to his City or Chamber of London , at his return from a Progress , or from Scotland , to conduct into the City a Russian or Persian Embassador , and it hath been ever accounted to be a Royal or honourable way of Espargne to have some to be extraordinary Servants , without the charge of Bouche of Court , or annual salaries , to be alwayes in readiness at grand festivals or occasions ; and those Citizens of London , and men of the Mysteries of gain and Trade , who have aggrandized their Credits and Estates by the Sun-shine and warmth of the residence of the King and his Courts of Justice , can when a little before they could busie themselves in needless murmurs and complaints against the Priviledges of the Kings Servants in ordinary and extraordinary , think themselves to be no mean men in their Parishes and Companies , if they can procure the favour to be admitted the Kings Servants extraordinary , as he shall have occasion to be cozened in such Manufactures or Wares as their Trades afford , in so much as it is become the preferment and ambition of one of every Trade , great or little , ( some few only excepted ) in the City of London , to be entituled to be the Kings Servant , as the Kings Grocer , Brewer , Apothecary , Mercer , Draper , Silk-man , Taylor , Printer , Stationer , Bookseller , Girdler , ( a Trade now altogether disused ) Shoomaker , Spurrier , &c. and are well contented to enjoy all the Priviledges appertaining to the Kings Servants , as not to bear Offices in their Parishes or Custard-cram'd Companies , and not to be arrested without licence . And their Wives swelling into a tympany of Pride , will be apt enough to think their former place and reputation too far beneath them , and not let their Husbands purse have any rest or quiet untill they can be fine enough to go to the Court , and see the Lords and Ladies their Husbands fellow Servants : And they which cannot attain to that honour to be such a Servant of the Kings extraordinary , for they cannot be truly said to be any thing more than the Kings Servants extraordinary , when as he as to many of them hath no daily , or but a seldom and occasional use of them , and where he hath most it is not constantly or often , do think it to be worth the utmost of their endeavours to obtain the honour and priviledge of being the Queens Tradesmen or Servants extraordinary : And therefore the King having fewer Servants or Officers in ordinary , than the Kings of France his Neighbours used to have , who besides their numerous Guard ▪ have four Kings at Armes , eight Masters of Request , deux Maistres d'Hostel , two Masters of the Houshold , thirteen Pages of Honour , and two hundred Gentlemen Pensioners , &c. and a far lesser number than many of his Royal Progenitors , should not now be thought to have too many because he hath some extraordinary .

And although it is not hard or difficult to believe , but that heretofore the Common people of England were sometimes troubled at the unruliness and misdoings of the Purveyors , ( which were afterwards well prevented in the Reign of Q. Elizabeth , by a Composition made with the several Counties , what proportions of Provisions the City of London and every County should by equal charge and collection pay and deliver towards the support and maintenance of the Provision for the Kings Houshold ) yet notwithstanding they did in their duty and reverence unto the King , and respect unto his Servants , not think it reasonable or comely to arrest or trouble his Purveyors or Servants by any Arrest or Actions , without asking his leave or licence .

But where they had any grievance by his Officers and Servants , and the Laws in force would have given them their Actions and remedies , were so unwilling to make use of those ordinary helps which the Laws were at all times ready to afford them , as they would rather trouble the Commons in Parliament to petition in their behalf for a redress therein , who could not but understand that where an Act of Parliament gives remedies either against the Kings Servants , Barons , Bishops , or others , it is to be more aut cursu solito , in such wayes and manner , if no other in particular be prescribed , as the Laws and reasonable Customs of England will allow , and not otherwise . A prospect whereof , and of our Kings of Englands care to protect their Servants in their Liberties and Priviledges , as well as to do Justice unto the rest of their Subjects complaining of them in Parliament , needs not be far to seek to those that will but retrospect and enquire into the ages past .

CHAP. XII .

That the Subjects of England had heretofore such a regard of the King and his Servants , as not to bring or commence their Actions where the Law allowed them , against such of his Servants which had grieved or injured them , without a remedy first petitioned for in Parliament .

WHen in the 13th . year of the n n 13 E. 3. Rot. Parl m. 14 , & 15. Reign of King Edward the third , the Commons petitioning the King in Parliament , ( which they needed not to have done , when the Law would have given them remedy without the trouble of petitioning the King in Parliament , and they might by the Statute made in the 28th . year of o o 28 E. 1 ▪ ca 2. King Edward the first , have pursued them as Felons ) That all Purveyors as well with Commission as without , might be arrested if they make not present pay . All that was answered unto it , ( as if there were altogether an unwillingness to expose them to Arrests , and with which the Commons seemed to be satisfied ) was , That the Commissioners of Sir William Healingford and all other Commissioners for Purveyance for the King be utterly void .

In the 20th . year of that p p 20 E. 3. Rot. Parl. m. 19. Kings Reign , the Commons in Parliament petitioning , That payment be made for the last taking of Victuals : The Kings answer was , That order should be taken therein . In the q q Ibid. m. 23. same year the Commons in Parliament petitioning the King , That Purveyors not taking the Constables with them , according to the Statutes of Westminster , might be taken as Thieves , and that the Judges of Assise or Justices of the Peace might enquire of the same : The King only answered , That the Statutes made should be observed

In the 21th . year of the said r r 21 E. 3. Rot. Parl. m. 22. Kings Reign , the Commons in Parliament not thinking it fitting that the Purveyors who did them wrong should be instantly laid hold of , or troubled with Suits or Actions , or the King and Queens Horses impounded , which would be a less affront to Majesty than the arresting of his Servants , did only petition , That whereas the King and Queens Horses being carried from place to place in some Counties , had Purveyance of Hay and Oats , &c. made for them ; That the said Horses might abide in some certain place of the Country , and provision made for them there in convenient times of the year by agreement with the Owners of those Goods , and that inquiry might be made of the ill behaviour of those Takers before that time , and that by Commissions the Plaintiff or party grieved in that kind , as well of wrongs heretofore done or hereafter to be done , might have redress therein .

To which the King answered , That he was well pleased that the Ordinances already made should be kept , and Purveyance made for his best profit , and ease of his people .

And in the same year the Commons having complained , That whereas the King and his Councell had assented , that Men and Horses of the Kings Houshold should not be Harbinged but by Bill of the Marshal of the House delivered to the Constable , who should cause them to have good sustenance for themselves and their Horses as should be meet , and before their departures should pay the parties of whom the Victuals were taken , and if they did not , their Horses should be arrested , and that contrary thereunto they departed without payment : ( when it seems they used so much civility to the Horses as not to arrest them ) did only pray , that in every Bill mention be made of the number of Horses , that no more but one Garson be allowed , and that payment according to the Statute might be made from day to day . Whereunto the King answered , That that Article should be kept in all points according to the form of the Statute .

In the 28th . year of the s s Rot. Parl. 28 E. 3. m. 34. Reign of that King , by an Act of Parliament not printed , when it was enacted , That no Purveyor arrested for any misdemeanor should have any Privy Seal to cause such as arrested him to come before the Councell to answer to the King , ( when it seems the King and his Councell were unwilling to put the Kings Servants under the command of every mans pretended Action ) but the party grieved might have his remedy by the Common Law ; the utmost extent of that Statute did not include any other of the Kings Servants then his Purveyors .

And did so little disrelish t t Rot. Parl. 45 E. 3. m. 44. Protections , and the just grounds and reason thereof , as in the 45th . year of the Reign of King Edward the third , the Commons in Parliament petitioned the King , That such as remained upon the Sea-Coasts by the Kings commandment , might have protection with the Clausa volumus ; which the King supposing to be too general , or at that time unnecessary , answered , That the same would be to the apparent loss of the Commons .

In the 46th . year of the u u 46 E. 3. Rot. Parl. m. 25. Reign of that King , the Commons petitioning the King in Parliament , That whereas it was granted that no Purveyance be but where payment is made at the taking , that it would please him that that Ordinance be holden as it was granted .

The King doth not in express terms answer , that the party should take his course at Law , but only , That it pleaseth the King that he that findeth himself grieved shall pursue it , and right shall be done unto him .

In the 47th . year of the w w Rot. Parl. 47 E. 3. m. 23. Reign of King Edward the third , the Commons did in Parliament ( although the Statute made not long before in the 36th . year of his Reign , cap. 2. gave them sufficient remedy and power to resist ) petition the King , That the Statute made whereby buyers for the Kings Houshold should pay readily should stand , and that no man be impeached for r●sisting them therein .

To which the King answered , The Statute therefore provided shall be kept , and who will complain shall be heard .

In the 50th . year of the x x 〈◊〉 . P●rl ▪ 5●● ▪ 3. m ▪ 77. Reign of the said King Edward the third , the Commons in Parliament did petition the King , That the Clarks of the Market for the Kings Houshold ( when as the Common Law , and the Statutes of 9 H. 3. cap. 26 ▪ and 14 E. 3. cap. 12. had before given them sufficient remedy against Clarks of the Market ) should not by extortion take Fines in gross or certain of any Towns , but that there might be appointed a certain●y of weights and measures according to the Standard and Statutes thereof made : The King answered , That he would be thereof advised .

In the same y y Parliament the Commons ( although the Common Law and the Statutes made in the 28th . year of the Reign of King Edward the first , and the 5th . and 10th . years of the Reign of King Edward the third , had provided sufficient remedies ) did complain against the Court of th● Marshalsea ; to which the King answered ▪ ●he would charge the Steward and Officers to make redress .

And in the z z Parliament aforesaid petitioning the King , That by Protections cum ●lausa Volumu● many men were undone , and praying that one made to Jacob Jacomino , a Lombard , might be repealed , and no such hereafter granted : The King answered , That upon examination of such had by the Councell , it should if need be repealed . And in the year next following , petitioning the King in Parment , That a a Rot. Parl. 51 E. 3. m. 49. the Protections of such as did lye at Calais , or about Picardy , only to delay such as did sue them , might be repealed , and no such from thence granted : The King answered , That if his Councell should be informed of such covin , it should be redressed .

And the Commons in Parliament in the same year of the b b 51 E. 3. Rot. Parl. m. 42. 3 E. 1. c. 28. 28 E. 1. c. 11. 1 E. 3. c. 14. 4 E. 3. c. 11. 20 E. 3. c. 4. Reign of that King , though by a Statute made in the third year of the Reign of King Edward the first , cap. 28. a Statute made in the 28th . year of the said King , cap. 11. a Statute made in the first year of the Reign of King Edward the third , cap. 14. another in the 4th . year of the Reign of the aforesaid King , cap. 11. a Statute made in the 20th . year of the said King , cap. 4. remedies were for the same provided , and there were divers Writs framed in the Register and to be thereupon had of course , petitioning the King , That none of his Officers be maintainers of any quarrels ( which the said Statutes did severely prohibit ) in the Countries , on pain to lose their Offices , and to answer double to the party grieved : The King answered , That he had forbidden his Officers so to do , and if any be grieved he should be heard .

And in the same year , when they had remedy given them by the Law against any the unjust dealing of Purveyors , did petition the King , That the Statutes made be not repealed but by assent of Parliament , and that the Statute of Purveyance might be executed : To which the King answered , they cannot ; and that for the Purveyors the Law made should stand .

In the first year of the c c 1 R. 2. Rot. Parl. m. 64. Reign of King Richard the second , the Commons ( when there were Laws in force which might have saved them that trouble ) did petition the King in Parliament , That no Officers of the Exchequer , or of the Kings Houshold , do maintain any quarrels in their Countries , and that the priviledge of the Exchequer might be declared . To which the King answered , touching maintenance , order is before taken ; and for further declaration it hath been used , that all Officers of the Exchequer and Servants with them abiding , should in all personal Actions be sued and sue in the Exchequer , and not elsewhere .

In the same d d 1 R. 2. Rot. Parl. m. 65. Parliament the Commons petitioning the King , That the Jurisdiction of the Marshalsea ( which is a Court greatly concerning the Kings Houshold ) might be limited , and that all men might have their Liberties allowed as well within the Virge as without ; and that no Court of Antient Demesne be thereby disturbed : The King answered , The Marshalsea shall have such Jurisdiction as heretofore , and who will complain shall be heard .

And petitioning also the King in Parliament , That every man might upon the Kings Protections averre that the party was not in the Kings service according to the 〈◊〉 of his Protection ; The King answered , Tha● 〈◊〉 Averment lay not in such cases .

In the same Parliament the Citizens of London thinking to 〈◊〉 e e R●t . Parl ● R ● . m. 97. unto their hea●s of Liberties more then 〈◊〉 fitting , or right reason could grant them , did with much partiality petition the King , That no Protection Royal might be allowed in Debt , Accompt , or Trespass , wherein a Freeman of London should be Plaintiff . Unto which as to f f Rot. Parl. 1 R. 2. m. ●33 ▪ Victuals bought after the voyage or service whereof the Protection mentioneth , or for Debt or Contract after the date of such Protection purchased , the King granted and it was enacted accordingly .

In the third year of the Reign of that King , ( when but the year before the hindring and delaying of men in the pursuit and recovery of their just Debts , was in the Parliament of the second year of that King , in the case of Robert de Hawley , pursued upon an arrest in an Action of Debt , and slain at the High Altar in Westminster Abbey , being then a Sanctuary to which he fled , declared before the King in Parliament to be a grievous sin , the Judges and g g Rot. Parl. 2 R. 2. part● prima . Lawyers of the Land , and the Doctors of Divinity , Canon and Civil Law assenting thereunto : And the Doctors of Divinity , Canon and Civil Law , upon grave and well advised deliberation , delivering upon Oath their opinions , That in case of Debt , Accompt , or Trespass , where life or member was not in question , no Sanctuary or Immunity of Holy Church ought to be allowed ; and in high expressions further said , que Dieu salvez sa perfection , ne le Pape salvez sa sanctitee , ne nul Roy ou Prince purroit granter tiel privilege , that God saving his perfection , nor the Pope saving his holiness , nor any King or Prince could grant such a priviledge : Et si aucun Prince vorroit tiel privilege granter , and if any Prince should grant any such priviledge , the Church whose actions should be according to vertue , was not to accept of any priviledge whereby such a grievous sin might arise , to delay or hinder any man voluntarily of his just Debt . ) h h Rot. Parl. 3 R. 2. m. 2● . William of Mountacute Earl of Salisbury , having a great Plea of Land long depending for the Honour and Castle of Denbigh in Wales , against the Earl of March in Parliament upon a Writ of Error , Sir John Bishopson Clerk and Servant to the said Earl of March , in the absence of the said Earl then being in Wales preparing himself to go into Ireland , where he was appointed to be the Kings Lieutenant , shewed the Kings Protection made to the said Earl for one half year , which being read was allowed .

In the 6th . year of the said i i 6 R. 2. Rot. Parl. m. 1● . Kings Reign , the Commons in Parliament not desirous as it may seem to take their course in Law , which several Acts of Parliament had allowed them , did pray , That the Statutes of Purveyors be observed , and that ready payment may be made . To which the King answered , That the Statutes therefore made should be observed .

In the 7th . year of the Reign of the aforesaid k k 7 R. 2. Ro● ▪ Parl. m. 58 ▪ King , the Commons in Parliament petitioning the King , That remedy might be had against Protections : The King answered , That the Chancellor upon cause should redress the same .

In the 8th . year of that King , the l l Rot. Parl. 8 R. 2. m. 29. Commons in Parliament did pray the King , That remedy might be had against the Clerks of the Exchequer , ( whose business under the Treasurer being to collect and gather in the mone●s and profits of his Revenue , might in some sort be taken to be a Latere , and as his Servants ) who would not allow the pardons of King Edward the third without great charge to the parties . Unto which the King answered , That he who hath cause to complain may do so and be heard .

In the 9th . year of his Reign , the m m Rot. Parl. 9 R 2. m. 31. Citizens of London did in Parliament petition the King , That the Patent lately made to the Constable of the Tower of London , who by colour thereof took Custom of Wines , Oysters , and other Victuals coming by water to London , ( wherein their Charter and the Common Law would have relieved them ) might be revoked ; which was granted .

In the 10th . year of the said n n Rot. Parl. 10 R. 2. m. 26. Kings Reign , the Commons in Parliament petitioning the King , That no Protection to delay any man be granted : The King answered , That who should especially complain may find remedy at the Chancellors hands . And in the same year and Parliament , praying That no Protection be granted from thenceforth in Assise or Novel Disseisin , or other plea of Land : The King answered , If the same be demanded he will be advised before the grant .

And in those and other Parliaments , where within the virge and compass of loyalty and modesty , they were by the favour , indulgence , and allowance of our Kings , permitted by their Petitions , Procurators , or Representatives , to speak more plainly than at other times , or in other places in the representing of any grievances , did it with such an awful regard and tenderness :

As conceiving themselves to be grieved by a more than ordinary number of the Kings Serjeants at Arms bearing the Royal Masses or Maces , they did in the aforesaid Parliament of the 10 th . year of the Reign of the aforesaid King Richard the second , Petition the King , That there might be no more Serjeants at Arms than had been heretofore ; and that for doing otherwise than they should , they might be expelled .

And were in the 20th . year of his o o Rot. Parl. 20 R. 2. m. 36. Reign so carefull of his Officers , as they did in Parliament complain , That they were excommunicated for making Arrests or Attachments in the Church-yards ; and prayed remedy : To which the King answered , Right shall be done to such as be especially grieved .

In the second year of the p p Rot. Parl. 2 H. 4. m. 58. Reign of King Henry the 4th . petitioning the King in Parliament , That no Protection be granted to any person Religious : The King answered , That the Protections with the clause Volumus granted to them , shall be revoked , and they shall have such Protections granted unto them .

In the same Parliament the q q 2 H. 4. Rot. Parl. m. 64. Commons did pray , That no man be kept from Justice by any Writ , or other means obtained from the King by sundry suggestions , on pain of twenty pounds to the obtainer of the same : whereunto the King answered , The Statute there appointed shall be kept , and who doth the contrary , shall incurr the pain aforesaid .

In the fifth year of that Kings Reign , they petitioned in r r 5 H. 4. Rot. Parl. m. 73. Parliament , That no Supersedeas ( which may be understood of Protections ) be granted to hinder any man of his Action : whereunto the King answered , The Statute therefore made , shall be observed .

In the 7th . and 8th . year of his Reign , the s s Rot. Parl. 7 & 8 H. 4. m. 69 , 70 , & 82. Commons in Parliament ( although there were then divers Laws and Statutes in force to quiet their sears , or relieve their grievances , ) did petition the King , That none about his Person do pursue any suit or quarrel by any other means , than by the order of the Common Law ; and that none of the Officers of the Marshalsea of the Kings house do hold Plea , other than they did in the time of King Edward the first .

By an Act of Parliament made in the t t 7 H. 4. cap. 4. 7th . year of the Reign of that King , grounded upon some Petition to that purpose , No Protection was to be allowed unto Gaolers of the Marshalsea , Kings-Bench , Fleet , &c. that do let Prisoners for debt go at large , and afterward purchase Protections ; which admitteth such Prison-keepers capable of Protections where they were not guilty , or to be sheltered from the punishment of such offences .

In the 7th . and 8th . year of the u u 7 & 8 H· . 4. Rot. Parl. m. 38. & 2 H. 4. cap. 14 ▪ Reign of that King , the Commons in Parliament ( although by an Act of Parliament made in the second year of the Reign of that King , Every Purveyor that did not make ready payment for all that he took , was to forfeit his Office , and pay as much to the party grieved ; ) Petitioning the King , That payment might be made for Victuals taken by the Kings Purveyors from the time of his Coronation : The King answered , He is willing to do ▪ the same , and that all Statutes of Purveyors be observed .

And in the 11th . year of his w w 11 H. 4. Rot. Parl. m. 16. Reign petitihning him , That payment might be made for Victuals taken by his Purveyors ; he promised convenient payment .

In the third year of the Reign of King Henry the fifth , the x x 3 H. 5. Rot ▪ Parl. m. 38. Commons in Parliament ( although they had before sufficient remedies by Law , did Petition the King , That the Purveyors may take no provisions in the Market , without the good will of the party , and ready money : To which the King answered , That the Statute therefore should be observed .

In the Parliament holden in the 4th . year of the y y 4 H. 5. Rot. Parl m 28. Reign of King Henry the fifth , the Commons did Petition the King , That none of his Subjects be fore-barred of their due debts or suits for the same , by colour of protections granted to any Prior Alien , but during such time as they should serve the King beyond the Seas : unto which he answered , The Prerogative and Common Law shall be maintained .

In the 20th . year of the Reign of King Henry the sixth , the Commons in z z 20 H. 6. Rot. Parl. 12. Parliament were so unwilling that their own concernments should hinder any of the Kings affairs , as they did petition him , That John Lord Talbot purposing to serve the King in his Warrs in France , a Protection with the Clausa volumus might be granted unto him for a year , and that by Parliament it might be ordained that it it be without the exception of Novel disseisin , and to be put under the Great Seal of England with other Immunities , whilst he be so in the Kings service ; which the King granted , Provided that the said John Lord Talbot , and Margaret his Wife , Edward Earl of Dorset , and others named , should not enter upon any Lands whereof James Lord Barkly , and Sir William Barkley his son were seised the first day of that Parliament , or bring any Action concerning the same .

And so little desired the heretofore too powerfull Clergie of England to extend their power where they legally and inoffensively might do it .

CHAP. XIII .

That the Clergy of England in the height of their Pride and Superlative Priviledges , Encouragements , and Protection by the Papal over-grown Authority , did in many cases lay aside their Thunderbolts and power of Excommunications , appeals to the Pope , and obtaining his Interdictions of Kingdomes , Churches , and Parishes , and take the milder , modest , and more reverential way of petitioning our Kings in Parliaments , rather than turn the rigors of their Canon or Ecclesiastical Laws , or of the Laws of England , against any of the Kings Officers or Servants .

AS they did in the 14th . year of the Reign of King Edward the third ( although by the Statute made in the 28th . year of the Reign of King Edward the first , making some Actions and Injuries which they then complained of to be Felony , they might without their petitioning in Parliament have had ample and easie remedies ) petition the King in a a 14 E. 3. & Rot. Parl. 14 E. 3. m ▪ 12. Parliament against some grievances and oppressions done by some of the Kings Servants to people of holy Church by his Purveyors and Servants , amongst which , were the abuses done by his Purveyors , in taking the Corn , Hay , Beasts , Carriage , and other goods of the Arch-bishops , Bishops , Parsons and Vicars , without the agreement and good will of the Owners , and did thereupon obtain the Kings Letters Patents under the Great Seal of England , which in the Parliament Roll is called a Statute , and is as an Act of Parliament printed among the Acts of Parliament ; did declare , That he took them and their possessions into the especial Protection of him , and his Heirs , and Successors , and that they should not be any more so charged , nor to receive into their houses Guests nor Sojourners of Scotland , nor of other Countreys , nor the Horses , nor Dogs , Faulcons , nor other Hawks of the Kings or others against their will , saving to the King the services due of right from them , which owe to the King the same services to sustain and receive Dogs , Horses , or Hawks .

In a Parliamant in the first year of the Reign of King 1 R 2. Rot. Parl. m. 115. Richard the second , although divers Laws in force had provided them remedies of course which needed no petitioning , they did petition the King , That they were upon every temporal suggestion arrest●d into the Marshalsea , and paid for their discharge 6 s. 8 d. where a Layman payeth only 4 s. unto which the King did answer , Let the party grieved complain to the Steward of the household , and they shall have remedy .

And did in that but follow the patterns of Loyalty , Prudence , and self preservation , cut out and left unto all true hearted Englishmen by their worthy and pious Ancestors and Predecessors , who when the Tenures in Capite and by Knight Service which obliged all the Nobility , and many thousands of the best part of the Gentry , to follow their Prince to his Warrs abroad , or defend him and his honour at home , did in their duty to him , and the care of their own estates and concernments , with their numerous well-wishing and dutifull Tenants attending them , follow him into the Warrs and Voyages Royal , and remained there by the space of forty dayes at their own charges , and afterwards as long as they lasted at the the Kings , which must needs be a great obstruction to many mens Action , or the recovery of their Debts or Rights , and much better understand that universal Axiom and Rule of the Laws of Nature , Necessity , and Nations , then the late ill advised Lord Mayor , and some Citizens of London did , who in the late dreadfull fire in the year of our Lord 1666. did , to save the pulling down of a few houses to prevent the fury of a most dire and dismal fire , and not a seventh part of their goods , did see but too late the necessity of pulling down some houses , and when they might have endeavoured it , would allow it to be warrantable by the Lord Mayors order , but not the Kings , and in that fond dispute and his Timidity , most imprudently suffer and give way to the burning down of many thousand houses , and converting into ashes almost all that once great and flourishing City , that privata cedere debent publicis , every mans private affairs were to be laid aside , and give place to the publick being , the best way of self preservation : And did not as they would do now , rush upon , Arrest , or Imprison either the Kings Servants , or such as were imployed by him , or unto whom he had granted his Writs of Protection , without asking leave of him ; but with a modesty and reverence becoming Subjects , plicate him for a Revocation : or if they did not or could not purchase it that way , did sometimes become Petitioners in Parliament for some regulations in Protections granted upon some special and temporary imployments to such as were not his Servants in ordinary , not for a total abolition , or to take away that part of the Kings Prerogative in order to the Government and their own well being ; the answers whereunto shewed as much care in the King and his Councel , as might be to give them content and satisfaction , and at the same time not to depart from or lessen the Rights of the Crown more than was meerly necessary or in grace or savour for that particular time , occasion , or grievance , to be granted or remitted unto them .

And no less carefull were the Judges in former ages in their delegated Courts , and proceedings in Justice , to pay their respects to the service of the King , and likewise to his Servants , or any other imployed therein .

CHAP. XIV .

That the Judges in former times did in their Courts , and proceedings of Law and Justice , manifest their unwillingness to give or permit any obstruction to the service of the King , and Weal Publique .

WHen Bracton declares the Laws and Usage of the Kingdome to be in the Reign of King Henry the third , and King Edward the first , that Warrantizatur Essonium multipliciter quandoque per breve Domini c c Bracton lib. 5. de Essoniis cap. 2. Regis , ubi non est necessitas jurare cum Dominus Rex hoc testatur per literas suas quod sic detentus est in servitio suo ; & videndum est utrum quis teneatur de necessitat● ad tale servit●um , vel si fuerit cum aliquo qui tenetur sicut Miles vel Serviens de familia omnibus istis debet subveniri : An Essoin is warranted many wayes by the Kings Writ , where the Tenant or Defendant needs not to swear when the King witnesseth by his Letters that he is deteined in his service ; wherein it is to be observed , whether he be necessitated to such a service , or if he be with another who as a Knight is obliged thereunto , or as a Servant in the Kings Family , in all which he is to be holpen and such an Essoin allowed .

In causa dotis & ultimae praesentationis d d Ibidem ca. 3. §. 4. propter necessitatem lapsu temporis inductam warrantia vero de servitio Domini Regis , non est concedenda in omnibus nec sine rationabili causa . Et cum aliquando de voluntate Domini Regis concedatur , non erit omnino per justic . quassanda , sed voluntas Regis expressa inde erat expectanda : In a case of doner and last presentation , the warranty of the King that the Tenant is in his service is not to be granted , in regard of lapse of time which may cause a prejudice to the Demandant , nor is not to be granted in all cases , nor without a reasonable cause . And when it is sometimes granted at the pleasure and will of the King , it is not at all to be quashed or rejected , but the Kings express will and pleasure is to be expected .

Where a man is Essoined in servitio Domini Regis ultra Mare vel citra , differri poterit loquela quamdiu Essoniatus fuerit in servitio Domini Regis , dum tamen e e Idem ibidem ca. 5. habet ad manum quolibet die warrantum suum breve Domini Regis , in regard that he is in the service of the King either beyond or on this side of the Sea , the suit is to be deferred as long as he shall be in the service of the King , so as he doe every day produce the Kings Writ to testifie it ; after a defalt entred , capiatur dies amoris per officium Judicis , vel ex voluntvtate Regis , vel ex necessitate aliqua , the Judge may in favour ( or discretion ) grant f f Bracton lib. 5. de defaltis , §. 4. another day , or at the Kings command , or upon some other necessity .

Where the King is vouched to warranty , it is cum quandum curialitate , in a certain g g Idem lib. 5. de warrantia , §. 9. observance of duty or respect unto him to be only entred , because he may not be summoned & sine Rege respondere non potest , that he cannot answer without the King .

Ralph de Hengham a Chief Justice of England under King Edward the first , about the 16th . year of his Reign , saith that Essonium de servitio Domini Regis semper admittitur , & locum tenet h h Hengham magna . ca 4. ad alium diem dummodo porrigatur breve Domini Regis de warranto Essonii praedicti , an Essoin of the service of the King is alwayes to be admitted , and gives a respite to another day , so as a Writ of the Kings be brought to warrant the Essoin , Quando Dominus Rex est in exercitu Reo secum existente , when the King is in the Army , and the Tenant or Defendant with him , and it be made to appear in the Chancery there shall be the like warranty ; but if the King be not in the Army himself , but sends one into it in his service , and it is not found in the Rolls of Chancery a Writ of Protection shall be granted , Si aliquis Miles Compatriota ipsius sacramento testificetur ipsum esse tali die in servitio Domini Regis , if any Knight ( or Souldier ) shall upon his Oath testifie that he was such a day in the Kings service .

After a Writ of View , and a Petit Cape , & aliis diebus praeteritis & futuris , absentia Rei salvari potest per Essonium & Warrantum de servitio Regis , and other dayes past and to come , the absence of the Tenant may be saved by an Essoin and Warrant of the Kings service , at which time also , if default be made , de plano constat possit i i Idem ibidem ca. 11. prorogari hujusmodi loquela de uno termino in alium , it cannot be denyed but the Action may be prorogued from one Term to another , although the death of the Demandant , loss of rents and profits may happen in the mean time , and saith Hengham , frequenter fit talis dilatio ex lege & principis benificio , frequently such delays may happen by the Law and the Princes favour .

In Trinity Term , k k Trin. 17 E. 3.21 . in the 17th . year of the Reign of King Edward the third , a common Essoin was cast for the Defendant , and also an Essoin of the service of the King .

In Hillary Term , l l Hill. 17 E. 3.7 . in the same year , a Protection of a later date than the quarto die post was allowed in a Plea of land , eo quod in servitio Regis .

In Easter Term , in the 18th . year of his Reign , in a Writ of disceit brought by Gilbert Colley Plaintiff against m m Pascha 18 E. 3.6 . William de Milborne Chivaler , for that after a Venire facias sued in a Writ of Formedon a Protection was brought by the Tenant which did put the Action without day , supposing by the Protection that he was in the Kings service beyond the Seas , where before and after he was continually in England in such a County and place in despite of the King against the Law and Custom of the Realm , disceit of the Kings Court , and disseisin and damage of the Plaintiff or Demandant , the Defendant pleaded , that as he was going beyond the Seas , he fell sick at such a place , and could neither go nor ride ; before which time the Protection was allowed , whereupon Issue was joyned .

In Trinity Term , in the 19th . year n n Trin. 19 E. 3.1 . of the Reign of King Edward the third , the Avowant being Essoined de service le Roy , and at the day not bringing his Warrant , the Plaintiff prayed damages and the 20 s. allowed by the Statute , which the Court granted , but not the damages .

In Trinity Term , in the 21th . year o o Trin. 21 E. 3.18 . of the Reign of King Edward the third , a Writ of Error being brought in the Kings Bench by an Infant to reverse a fine levyed in the Court of Common Pleas , after Errors assigned , and a Scire facias retorned , the Tenant of the Cognisee brought a Protection , whereupon the Judges to avoid the mischief which might happen to the Infant if he should not be inspected during his Nonage , and understanding the Kings will that he had taken the Tenant into his Protection , did examine and inspect the Infant , and respited the reversal by giving a new day for him that had brought the Protection to alledge what he could against the reversal .

In Mich. Term in the same year p p Mich 21 E. 3. an Essoin de Service le Roy was challenged , for that the Essoiner was under age , but it was not allowed , and in an Action of debt brought against the Countess of Kent as an Executrix , after Issue joyned and a Venire facias , she did cast a common Essoin , and at another day was Essoined de Service del Roy , and had another q q Eodem Termino 32. & 9. day given by the like Essoin , but not bringing her Warrant , the Court would not turn it to a default , but in regard of great delay and damage alledged , taxed the 20 s. allowed by the Statute to 40 s. and the Nisi prius was granted .

In the 22th . year of his r r 22 Assise P. 9. Reign in an Assise , the King by his Writ reciting that it was ordained by him and the great men of the Land , that an Assise brought by any which was in the service of the King , should from thenceforth be continued , testifyed that the Defendant was in the Kings service at Calais , and commanded the Judges to continue the Assise , and the Writ was , that although that the name of the said Defendant was afterwards inserted in the Writ Original , the Assise should continue as long as the Defendant remained in that imployment , or that the King should otherwise command , whereupon the Assise was continued until the next Assise , notwithstanding the Statute which commands the Court not to surcease by any command of the great or lesser Seal .

In Michaelmas Term , in the 22th . year s s Mich 22 E. 3.3 . of the said Kings Reign , a Woman was Essoined de Service le Roy , quia Nutrix Isabellae filiae Regis . Et allocatur .

In Trinity Term , in the 28th . year t t Trin. 28 E. 3. ●2 . of that Kings Reign , in an Action of debt the Defendant after he had been attached by his body gave bayl , and was therefore adjudged to be in Custody ; but because the Protection was quia profecturus , and the Judges at all times have used to allow such Protection , it was allowed .

In Michaelmas Term , in the same year , u u Mic● ▪ 2● E. ● . 10 . a Woman was Essoined de Service del Roy , quia Nutrix Domine Elizabethae filae Regis Angliae , and the Demandant alledging that she to whom she was Nurse , was of full age , and so is not to be understood to have a Nurse , and prayed that the Essoin might be quashed , it was answered by the Court , she could not be a party to that averrment , whereupon the Essoin was adjudged and adjourned .

In Trinity Term , in the 29th . year w w Trin ▪ 29 E. 3. of the aforesaid Kings Reign , Essoin de Service del Roy being mistaken , was amended .

Upon a Protection quia profecturus , the King signifying by his Writ that the party was maymed and could not go in his service , commanded the Justices to proceed in the Action .

In the same Term , in an Action of debt brought against John Clinton Executor of William Clinton Earl of Huntington , a Protection being brought for John Clinton , the word Executor being interlined ; the Court notwithstanding the Allegations made against it , allowed it .

A Protection quia profecturus was brought after an emparlance when the Defendant was come to an answer , and was of an elder date than the appearance , yet notwithstanding was allowed .

In Hillary Term , in the said x x Hill. 29 E. 3. tit . disceit . year , a day was given upon a Protection after a grand distress , and in the said Term Thomas Dallirine brought a Writ of disceit against one , and counted that having brought a Writ of Formedon against him , and day was given untill the Octaves of St. Michael , the Tenant brought a Writ of Protection to endure for a year , suggesting that he ought to remain at York , whereas he remained at the time when he should have appeared in Court at Compton in the aforesaid County , and continued there by the space of a Month , and traversed that he was not in the service of the King to his damage of forty pounds , to which the Defendant pleaded , that he was in the service of the King according to the purport of the Protection , and traversed that he was not continually at Compton aforesaid ; and the truth being that he went to York and remained there one week in every month , the Court left it to a Quaere what was to be done therein , and what kind of Plea he might have in such a matter .

In Trinity Term , in the same y y Trin. 39 E. 3. year , in a Writ of ravishment de gard against divers , a Protection was brought for one which discharged and put without day all the others .

In the 43th . year z z 43 E 3.33 . of that King , a Protection was allowed for the Husband and Wife .

Where a man was a a Mich. 6 H. 4. Essoined , and afterwards brought a Protection quia en Service le Roy , Thirning Justice said , that the Essoin was for the service of the King , and the Protection proveth that he is in the service of the King , and the one is dependant upon the other , and therefore awarded that the Protection should be allowed .

In Easter Term , in the 7th . year of the b b Pasch. 7 H. 4. Reign of King Henry the fourth , a Protection being cast in a Writ of Formedon , quia moraturus in partibus Walliae , the Justices were in doubt whether it were to be allowed , for that Wales was within the Realm , and took time to advise . And in the mean time , although the time of the Protection was expired , would not suffer the Action to pass by default , but awarded a Resummons .

In Michaelmas Term , in the 11th . year c c Mich. 11 H. 4. of the Reign of that King , it was adjudged , that if a Purveyor took Victuals for the Kings Houshold , and be afterwards sued , he shall have ayd of the King .

In Easter Term , in the same d d Pasch. ●1 H. 4. year , it was allowed by the Court to be Law , that if a man give bayl upon a Capias , and after bringeth a Protection , he and his Bayl are excused .

In Trinity Term in the 12th . year e e Trin. 12 H. 4. of the said Kings Reign , it was adjudged that in whatsoever Plea an Essoin doth lye , there also lyeth an Essoin pour service le Roy , and two Essoins of the service of the King do not lye but one after the other .

In Hillary Term , in the same f f Hill. 12 H. 4. year , it was agreed that an Essoin pour service le Roy , may be ●u●t upon a Petit Cape ; and if he which doth cast the Essoin doth not make it good , or bring his Warranty , a Capias was to be awarded against him to answer the disceit .

And it is to be observed , that antiently before it was taken away by an Act of Parliament , the Essoiner in a common Essoin was to make Oath .

In Easter Term , in the third g g Pasch. 3 H. 6.3 . year of the Reign of King Henry the 6th . a Protection being cast at the Nisi prius , and it being for one year , and the party coming again within the year , a repeal was obtained , and two precedents shewed , that in the like case Protections were repealed ; whereupon by advice of the Judges a resummons was granted , and it was alleadged that the Plaintiff was at no mischief , because he may have his writ of disceit .

In Trinity Term , in the same h h Trin. 3 H. 6. year , at an Alias nisi prius , the Defendant being Essoined quia in servitio Regis , it was denyed because there was a great difference betwixt an Essoin and a Protection of the King , for that by the Kings protection the King taketh the party into his protection which is of record under his Seal .

In Easter Term , in the fourth i i Pasch. 4 H. 6.4 . year of that King , in an Action of Trespass after a distress awarded against the Jurors , and the Array challenged , a Protoction was after a grand debate allowed , Martin one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas going to the Justices of the Kings Bench to ask their advice , and from thence into the Exchequer Chamber to Juni Chief Baron .

In Michaelmas Term , in the 19th . k k Mich. 19 H 6.8 . tit. Protection . year of the Reign of that King , a man being taken by a Capias , had a Protection allowed quia moraturus , for the victualling of a Fort in Scotland , upon a probability that he came to London to buy victuals , and that issue might be taken thereupon , and a repeal obtained .

In Hillary Term , in the same year , Newton Justice said , that if the Demandant cast a protection it lyeth not , yet an Essoin of the Service of the King doth ; And where the King commandeth an Attorney l l Hill. 19 H. 6. tit . Formedon . to do him service , whereby he appeared not , and the Client loseth in the mean time his land , and he brings a Writ of disceit against him , then it would be against reason that the King should compell him to do him service , and that he should not be Essoined for that service ; but in such a case it seems to be usual to record the Kings service , and in that case the Essoiner shall be sworn that he was in the Kings service .

And that a woman may be in the Kings service , for that she is Nurse or Landress ; and a man , as his Carver .

In Michaelmas Term , in the 22th . m m Mich 22 H. 6. year of the Reign of that King , in an Action inter Brookesby and Everard Digby , al jour de nisi prius a Protection was brought , and although Paston was of opinion it was not allowable because it did not agree with the Record , yet Ascue was of opinion , that if the Protection said suscepimus in Protectionem , it was to be allowed .

In Michaelmas Term , in the 27th . n n Mich. 27 H. 6.5 . year of the aforesaid King , an Essoin cast for one who was gone into the Holy-land was refused , because six months were passed , and the Defendant should be allowed a year and a day , and it was said by the Judges that it was the like where the party was in service del Roy ; yet it was allowed to be good in a common Essoin , and a common Essoin was cast accordingly .

And in an Action brought in the Exchequer by a Denizen against two Aliens , and the Jury adjourned , a Protection was brought by the one , bearing date the first day of the Nisi prius , and by the second , bearing date the second day , and both allowed as it was in a like case , and as it was held by the Judges of the one Bench , and the other in the case of the Lord Hungerford .

In Michaelmas Term , in the 8th . o o Mich. 28 H. 6.3 . year of that Kings Reign , Danby Justice said , in the case of Sir Robert Hungerford , that in one and the same day the Defendant may cast many Protections ; and it was said that no Protection quia profecturus purchased pending the plea is allowable , if it be not in a Voyage Royal , or with the King himself , or for great business of the Realm , as appeareth by the Statute made in the 13th . year of the Reign of King Richard the 2d . cap. 16. and Prisot chief Justice did bid the Defendant sue to the Privy Seal , and bring a Certificate that his Captain by Indenture was to serve the King in his warrs , which being shewed , and it appearing that he was to go into Norusandie to serve under such as the King should appoint , but because it appeared not by the Indenture nor the Protection that it was in the case of the Statute , the Protection was not allowed .

In the same Term Richard Vere bringing a Protection quia moraturus super vitulationem ville Calesie , and the Plaintiff averring that he was within the four Seas and not in the Kings service , the Plaintiff was ordered upon a resummons to prove his averment .

In Easter Term , in the 30th . p p Pasch. 30 H. 6.2 . year of that Kings Reign , after an Imparlance the Defendant bringing his Protection quia moraturu , super salva custodia Castri Domini Regis de B. in partibus transmarinis , that he was imployed in the safe custody of the Castle of B , in the parts beyond the Seas , and was afterwards seen in Court ; it was said , that if a man protected be afterwards seen in England , the Plaintiff may sue forth the Kings Innotescimus to repeal the Kings Letters Patents for the Protection .

And that if a man bringing his Protection at the Nisi prius , if betwixt that and the day in bank the Protection be repealed , there shall be a resummons sued ; and Danby said , that the Protection until the repeal was alwayes allowable .

In Easter Term , in the 35th . q q Pasch ▪ 35 H. 6.3 . year of the Reign of that King , it was agreed to be law , that where Justices of Nisi prius have no power to allow or disallow a Protection , they ought to surcease .

In Hillary Term , in the 38th . r r Hillar. 38 H. 6.5 . year of the Reign of the said King , a Protection being cast for one that was committed to the Fleet , and had a Cepi corpus retorned against him ; Moyle Justice alledged that he might notwithstanding be in the Service of the King , whereupon the next day after he was mainprised , and the Protection was allowed until the Court should further consider of it .

In Hillary Term , in the 39th . s s Hill. 39 H. 6. tit . quar● impedit . year of the Reign of the said King , a Protection being disputed because it wanted the usual form , it was alledged , that there needed no special Protection to go to Rome , for that the Embassadors or Procurators of the King who go and remain there for the profit of the King and his Realm , have never used to have such Protections ; and if they had , it would have been seen before that time , and that the King by his Prerogative may take a man into his protection , where another is not to be disherited ; and Moyle one of the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas then said , that the King might grant a Protection for a year , and that being elapsed , might grant another for the like Term , &c. but not at the first , and that a Protection quia profecturus doth not lye pendente placito , depending the Plea , if it be not in a Voyage Royal , or business of the Realm .

In Michaelmas Term , in the second t t Mich. 2 E. 4.9 . year of King Edward the fourth , at the return of a Petit cape against the Husband and Wife ( which is a Judgement by defalt ) the Husband did cast an Essoin of the Service of the King which was allowed ; and it was in that case said by Moyle , that a Protection of the King differed from an Essoin of his Service , for that the intent and effect of the Protection is , that the King is the parties Protector , and hath taken him into his protection and defence .

In Hillary Term ▪ in the 7th . u u year of the Reign of that King , the Judges were of opinion , that a Protection cast quia moraturus that he remained with the Earl of Worcester , who was Deputy to the Duke of Clarence , was to be allowed ; for if the Duke by his Commission had power to make a Deputy , it is reason that he which was with the Deputy in Service , should be excused by the Protection .

In Trinity Term , in the 11th . w w Trin. 11 E. 4.12 . year of that King , where one of the Vouchees made a defalt , & the other had a Petit Capias awarded against him , at the day of the retorn of the Petit Capias , he that made the defalt brought a Protection , which was adjudged to enure to them both .

In Hillary Term , in the 21th . x x Hill. 21 E. 4.26 . year of the Reign of that King , a Protection being granted to T. Rokes , a Certiorari was directed to the Sheriffs of London to enquire if he attended in the Service of the King according to the tenor of the Protection , or followed his own business ; and the Sheriffs of London certified that he did not attend the Service of the King , but remained at London attending his own business ; whereupon the Plaintiff had an Innotescimus directed to the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas to repeal the said Protection , and he shewed the Writ to the Court , and prayed a resummons against the Defendant and had it .

In Hillary Term , in the 21th . y y Hill 21 E. 4 35. year of the said Kings Reign , after issue joyned upon a Writ of Entry and the Jury had appeared , the Counsel for the Defendant prayed the Court to grant an Habeas Corpus for him : and rhe Justices demanded of the Plaintiff and the Jury , if they would agree unto it , who consenting thereunto , the Habeas Corpus was granted , and the morrow after when the Jury appeared , a Protection quia moraturus that the Defendant was in the Kings Service at Calais was brought , to which being excepted that he was under age , and that it appeared by his own sheweing that he was in prison , it was answered , that the Protection was of Record , and to be believed before any such allegation : and afterwards the Justices demanded several times of the Defendants Counsel , if they would agree that th● Demandant and the Jury should be adjourned until the next day , to the intent as was believed that the Demandant might in the mean time procure a repeal of the Protection which they supposed to be false , and the Counsel for the Plaintiff praying time till the morrow to be advised touching the Protection which the Justices granted , the Justices perusing again the Protection , found that there was no default therein , and said , they ought to allow it ; which was done accordingly , and the Jury was discharged .

And in the same z z Pasch. 21 E. 4 6. year , it was adjudged and declared to be Law , that where a Tenant in a Precipe quod reddat , had unduly purchased a Protection of the King , whereby the Plaintiff was put without day and prejudiced , that in that case he might have a Writ of disceit .

In Michaelmas Term , in the fourth and fifth year of the Reign of King Philip and Queen Mary , in a Writ of Entry in Le per brought by one Huggard against Knevet , an Essoin was cast by one Anthony Knevet for a a 〈…〉 5. P. & M. Tho. Knevet , that he was in the service of the King in the parts beyond the Seas , and day thereupon given , and some doubt arising amongst the Judges about the warranty of the Essoin and the form thereof , and amongst the precedents which could be found , that in the 35th . year of the Reign of King Henry the sixth , wherein the Abbot of Westminster was Plaintiff against W. Yeoman of the Kings Buttery under the Kings Privy Seal , not pleasing them , but being adjudged insufficient , the Judges were so unwilling to disappoint the purpose and expectation of the Supreme Authority , as they themselves framed and devised a Writ to excuse the absence of the said T. Knivet .

And although in Trinity Term , in the same year , the Queen who began her Reign the 26th . day of July 1553. did by her Attorney General by advice of the Lords of her Privy Councel , demand the opinion of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas , if a b b Dyer Trin. 4 & 5 P. & M. prisoner in the Fleet upon an Execution , who might be very useful in her wars , might be licenced by the Queen with his Keeper to go unto Barwick for the defence thereof , it was resolved by all the Judges of both the Benches , that he could not be dismissed by her Protection , for that he was there to be kept in safe custody .

Yet in the fourth year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth , she did by her Letter under her Signe Manual and Signet directed unto Tirrel Warden of the Fleet , cause c c Dyer ibidem . Thurland who was in Execution for debt , to go with his Keeper , as hath been before mentioned , about some affairs of hers and the publique .

So tender were the Judges in the antient and past ages of the Supreme Authority they sate under , and the honor of their Princes , which imparted unto them so much of the honor and dignity they enjoyed ; and so careful of the safety and concernment of the publique , which was , or should be the greatest care and interest of every man , and had such an awe and veneration of Majesty in which the Supreme Authority and governing power resides , as where they perceived any Essoin of the service of the King unduly cast , or Protection not legally granted , as by mis-information , or necessity of preserving the publique peace and tranquility , or upon reason of State they might sometimes happen , they did not presently reject the Writs of Protections of our Kings , but remit those that excepted against them to petition for their repeal by Innotescimus , and where Essoins of some imployed in their service were cast , did admit them , & put the cause without day , and order the Essoiners in the mean time to bring their Warrants , which if they failed , a resummons of them was awarded , and the fine of twenty shillings penalty imposed by an Act of Parliament , sometimes paid , and at other times pardoned ; and as careful of the high Authority of his Soveraign was Sir Orlando Bridgeman late Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas , when he refused to bayl upon a Habeas Corpus one that was committed by the Lord Chamberlain of the Kings Houshold for Arresting one of the Kings Servants in ordinary without licence , and advised him to submit himself to the Lord Chamberlain ; that humour and fashion of kicking against the Supreme Authority , and wrastling with the Lords Anointed , in seeking to be bayled upon Writs of Habeas Corpus , granted by the inferiour and delegated powers , for commitments upon contempts by the Superiour , being so novel and unusual , as the Books and Records of the Law , or our Courts of Justice have afforded us no mention at all , or very little of them , until the Reign of King James , or the beginning of the Reign of King Charles the Martyr , when by the unhappy arguments upon the case of the Habeas Corpora in the beginning of the Reign of King Charles the Martyr , the drawing aside of the curtain of State , and the dispute of the Kings power of committing any one for contempts against him or his Authority ( which every Justice of Peace , and Master of a Company of Trade in London , can be allowed to do ) & by the peoples misunderstanding of the Arcana Imperii , secrets of State , and necessary rules of government , an unhappy fancy and spirit of opposition so intoxicated many of them , as they have believed it to be law and right reason , that if the King will not , so soon as they would have him , give leave to Arrest any of his Servants , the Law and his Courts of Justice are to do it , that if the King should by such a way of prosecution be inconvenienced by the want of their service , it is by his own default in making so ill a choice of men indebted to attend him , or if they being so Arrested cannot perform their duty , he is to provide such as may better do it , and if the King should cause any to be committed that had Arrested any of his Servants without licence , they were upon his Hab●as Corpus to be bayled by the Judges of some of the Courts of Law at Westminster , and left at liberty to go to Law with him if they could tell how , or to incourage as many as would follow that evil example to misuse his Royal Prerogative , which without any stretching or dilating of it to the very confines or u●most bounds of its regal Jurisdiction , is legally warranted by the design and reason of publique good , the preservation of every mans estate and property , and the good at one time , or in something or other of him that thinks himself the most delayed or injured in his humour or expectation ; for it ought to be every where reason , and so acknowledged , that as long as there is a King and Supreme Governour who is to take care of the universality of the people subjected , born , or protected under his government , he is not to want the means wherewith to do it , and that in order thereunto his service must needs be acknowledged to be for publique good , and the exemptions and privileges belonging thereunto no less than a Salus populi , the great concernment of the peoples peace , protection , welfare and happiness , and should be the Suprema Lex , that great Law in and by which the means of gove●nment , and the Royal Prerogative , was and is founded and established ; and that such a cause built and sustained by the rules of right reason and justice , ought to be every where reason , and justly entituled to that Axiom , manente causa non tollitur effectus , the cause alwayes remaining constant and unalterable , the effects and operation naturally from thence arising are necessarily to follow and be allowed , and that the cause of priviledge claimed by our Kings , the cause and fountain of all exemptions and priviledges so largely given to many of their people , should not in the case of their own Servants have its course or passage stopt or diverted .

When from that Spring , and those causes which have fertilized and gladded the Vallies of our Israel , have sprung and arisen those necessary priviledges which the Nobility , Peers , and Baronage of England have antiently enjoyed in their personal freedome from Arrests , or Imprisonment of their bodies in Civil Actions , Pleas or Controversies , and from Common Process , or any Utlaryes which might trouble them or their high Estates , not only for the reason given in the 11th . year of the Reign of King Henry the fourth by Hull or Hulls , that d d 11 H. 4.15 . in Actions of Debt or Trespass , a Capias will not lye against an Earl or any of like Estate , because it is to be intended that they have Assets , and a great Estate in Lands , whereby they may be summoned and brought to answer , or as many misled by that opinion do and would yet understand it . But principally ,

CHAP. XV.

That the Dukes , Marquesses , Count Palatines , Earls , Viscounts , and Barons of England , and the Bishops as Barons have and do enjoy their privileges and freedome from Arrests , or imprisonment of their bodies in Civil and Personal Actions , as Servants extraordinary , and Attendants upon the Person , State , and Majesty of the King , in order to his Government , Weal Publick , and Safety of him and his people , and not only as Peers abstracted from other of the Kings Ministers or Servants in Ordinary .

IN regard of their service to their Prince , and a not seldome personal attendance upon him , and the honour and dignities thereunto allowed , and appertaining to those Illustrious and high born Dukes , Marquesses , Earls , Peers , and Nobility , who are accounted to be as extraordinary Servants , ( not as the word Extraordinary hath been of late times misused by applying it unto those who were but quasi Servi , scarcely Servants , or but listed and put into the Rolls of the Kings Servants , when they are neither known to him , or ever were or intended to be in his actual Service ) and honourable Attendants of their Prince , as well in times of Peace , as emergencies of War , and as Generals or Commanders of their Armies in times of War , Cuiacius ad lib. 10 & 12. Justiniani Commentar. & Gutherius de offic. domus Augustae ▪ lib. 2. cap. 19. and therefore the Emperour Justinian in his Letter or Epistle to Narses a great General or Commander of his Army , mentions Aulus Anduatius , & C. Tubero , to be sub Narsetis Ducatu , as Souldiers under the conduct of Narses , making the word Ducatus which in after ages only signifyed and was applyed to a Dukedom , then to denotate no more than an Army or Command only of it .

The Dukes : And the Latine word Dux since used for Duke , was as e e Spelmans Glossa● . in voce Dux . Sir Henry Spelman well observeth , antiently nomen officiale , a name of Office , or Dux delegatus vel praefectus exercitus postea feudale , by reason of the Lands which were f f Selden tit . honor . cap. 4. §. 2. annexed to its honour by reason of that service afterwards honorarium , meerly Titular or honoured with that Title , in being heretofore his Chieftaine or Leader of an Army .

And so were the Marquesses g g Scholi● Jacobi Sp●egel in lib. 2. Ligurini Guntheri Poetae 301 , 302. in those antient times who were as Capitanei , Generals or great Commanders in the Empire or kingdome , and were as to that by reason of their honorary possessions , partakers in some sort of the Royal Dignity .

Whereby to defend the Frontiers , Marquesses . the Title and Military Office thereof , being about the year 1008. after the Incarnation of our blessed Saviour , by the Emperour Henry sirnamed Auceps of the house of Saxony , instituted to defend some of the Frontiers of Germany against the Incursions of the Hungarians , was so little known or respected in England about the Reign of King Richard the second , as he having created Robert de Vere Earl of Oxford , Marquess of Dublin in Ireland , and afterwards in the 21th . year of his h h Hornius in orbe Politis , 3 part. 81. Reign John Beaufort Earl of Somerset , Marquess of Dorset , which dignity being afterwards taken from him by the tempest and change of those times in the beginning of the Reign of King Henry the fourth ; and the i i Selden tit . honor . cap. 1. §. 47. Rot. Parl. 4 H 4. m. ●8 . Commons in Parliament in the fourth year of that Kings Reign , petitioning that he might be restored to that dignity , he humbly upon his knees besought the King that he might not be restored to that which was so novel and strange .

The Earls or Counts of England antiently , Earls . and before those dignities came to be granted for life or hereditary , were as to matters of justice and government of Provinces as the Dukes Officiary , and before the Norman k k Selden 2. part . tit. honor . cap. 3. §. 5. & cap. 5. §. 3. Conquest , were as our learned Selden observed , sometimes Synonimously entituled Dux or Dukes , as the Dukes were sometimes styled only Comites or Earls , and signifyed men of Officiary dignities , or Councellors of State about their Prince and Soveraign , and were called Comites , quia a Comitatu vel Familia Principis l l Spelman Gloss●r ▪ in Diatrib●●● Comit●bus . erant , in regard of their dayly or often attendance upon the King , or relating to his House or Family , & quasi in laborum principalium curarumque consortium assumpti a principibus m m Vizz●●ius de 〈◊〉 Princi●um , l ●● . 24. qui per eos maxima quaeque & gravissima negotia expedire consueverant , and as more especially imployed to assist their Kings and Princes in their publique cares and labours , and the dispatch of their most weighty affairs , that custom or usage being Aeno Taciti , when Tacitus wrote his Book or Annals , and Agricola his Son-in-law wrote his book de moribus Germanorum , of the Customs & Manners of the Germans , amongst the Germans , about the Reign of the Emperour Domitian , where the Comites Earls n n 〈◊〉 in Gloss●r . Salis v●●um 〈◊〉 vo●e Centenarius . or Graven , were Regum suorum Comites , atque Adsessores sacra vice Judicantes , & Jura per pagos vicosque reddiderint , were Attendants upon their Kings , sate in the Courts of Justice as Assistants unto them , & did as their Delegates distribute Justice not only there , but in all the Towns and Villages : Et ex more antiquis Germanis passim usitato , o o Cluverius de Germ ▪ lib. 1. cap. 15. ex precipua Nobilitate illos sumebant qui provinciis & munitioribus locis imperitarent ; and it was a custom amongst the old Germans every where used , to choose out of the chief Nobility such as might govern the Provinces and places of most concernment ; p p Choppinus de domanio Franciae , lib. 1.44 . Et Verus Imperator confecto Bello Parthico Provincias Comitatibus suis regendas dedit ; and Verus the Emperour , after his warr ended with the Parthians , made certain of his great men or followers his Comites , governours of his Provinces , ( & who might also without an overstreining , conjecture which is not here endeavoured to be asserted , but is only left to the further enquiry and disquisition of the learned , be called Comites , in imitation probably or resemblance of the fidus Achates and Comites , faithfull Attendants of the warlike and afflicted Eneas , from whence the Romans , we , and many other Nations , have believed their discen●s and originals q q Alexander ab Alexand. Genial dierum lib. 9. cap. 9. not a little honoured , and in the darkness and obscurity of former times and ages , was the Gades ne plus ultra , and farthest reach of many of the Europaean , Brittish , and Western Nations Genealogies ; ) were tanquam administri adjutores & Consilii ac rerum participes & r r Gutherius del officiis domus Augustae lib. 1. cap. 17. & lib. 2 cap. 21. proceres Palatii habentur , as Ministers of State , coadjutors , and partakers of their Princes , Coun●el , and Affairs , and the most noble of the Empire attending upon the Emperors .

So as Marcellinus s s Idem lib. 2. cap. 19. was said to be Comes Justiniani , a near attendant upon the person and affairs of the Emperour Justinian , who Reigned about the year of Christ 520. and were so entituled saith Loyseau a learned and considerable French Author , pour ce que les Empereurs esloyent contrainctes faire plusieurs voyages pour t t Charles Loyseau traite des Seigneuries , cap. 5.27.102 . mainteni● ceste grande estendue de leur Empire appelloient Comites leurs Compagnons ceux qui les accompanoient & suivoyent , for that the Emperors being constrained to make many voyages to maintain and keep in order that great extent of their Empire , termed those which accompanyed and followed them Comites , or their u u Besoldus in dissertatione de Comitibus Imperii 99. Companions ( as Julius Caesar was before contented to call his Souldiers Commilitones : or fellow Souldiers ) de sorte que Comitat●s & Comites estoient a Eux proprement ce que nous disons icy la Court & les Courtisons , and Comitatus antiently signified ipsam Aulam & familiam Principis , the Palace or Court of the Prince and Earldome and Counts or Comites properly signified that which we call the Court or Courtiers , saith L' Oysean , nom qui en ●in soulz w w L'Oysean traite des Seigneuries ibidem . Constantin fut un titre de haute dignite attribue particulierement aux principaux Officers de l' Empire , a name which at length under Constantine came to be a Title of great dignity , particularly attributed to the principal Officers of the Empire .

As the Comites Praetorii sacri Patrimonii Consistorii Domesticorum Peditum & Equitum rei privatae largitionum portus Riparum , x x Pancirollus in notitia utriusque Imperii , Spelman● Glossar . in voce Comitis & Selden tit . honor 2. part . cap. 1. §. 8. Earls of the Sacred Palace , or Steward or Master of the household , or Court of the casual Revenue ( as a Lord Treasurer ) of the Privy Councel , of the Guards of Horse and Foot , of the private expences , or privy purse , the tributes , rewards , or bounties , of the Aquaeducts , Havens , Lymits , or Borders of Rivers , Comes Stabuli , Constable or Earl Marshall , Comes Castrensis sacri Palatii , Captain of the guards , Comes Africae , Comes Britanniae , Comes litto●is Saxonici per Brittanniam , Earl of Africk , Earl of Brittain , and Earl of the Saxon Shores in or by Brittain , Comes limitum Italiae , Earl of the Borders of Italy , Comes Illirici , Hispaniarum , Orientis , Earl of Illiria , or Sclavony , and the East .

And unto them , and other Earls , gave many great and noble Privileges and Immunities , and were accompted by the Civil Law to be as the Emperors more especial Servants or Domesticks ; Et inter Cubicularios y y Cuiacius Commentar. ad lib. 12. Cod. tit . 5. Justiniani . recensetur Comes Domorum , and the Earl or Master of the Houshold , though imployed in Cappadocia farr from the Imperial Coure , was reckoned as of the Emperors Bed-chamber , as was likewise the Comes Sacrae Vestis , Earl or Master of the Wardrobe had their Legions , Palatine , and Comitacenses , Regiments or Brigades under the Ensigns of the Counts Palatine , and unto them and other Earls , gave many great and noble Privileges and Immunities , entertaining them in some honourable Offices in their Courts and Palaces , and afterwards upon their merit and diligence therein , did assign them as there was occasion to the Government of Provinces , wherein they , as the Dukes , Marquesses , and Earls , had at the first but a grant or estate durante bene placito , at the pleasure of the Prince , or for a certain number of years , afterwards for life , and after that , in the declension of the Empire or the Soveraign Authority ; sometimes by Usurpation or Custom , and very often per sacros Codicillos , by Grants or Letters Patents enlarged to an Estate in Tayl or Fief Masculine , or of Inheritanc● to them and their Heirs , who being by those Titles of Honor , and Military and Civil Offices and charges dayly or frequently conversant about the safety of the Soveraign and his people , were justly accompted to be in all or most of the ages and civilized Nations Decus & Gloria Imperii , the Splendor and Glory of Majesty and Empire , signified by the Emblems or Figures of the Lyons guarding or supporting of Solomons Throne and astonishing Royalty .

Which most laudable custom was not only observed in the time of the Western and Eastern Emperors , Chiffletius ad vindicias Hispanicas lumina prerogat . lumin● 3 §. 5. but of the Franks , Goths , Longobards , and other Northern Nations who imitated them . And from such honourable services and employments about Emperors , Kings and Princes , likewise were derived Count Palatines , whom they found a kind of necessity to institute when they understood their other Subjects to be troubled , that none but Romans had those honours and dignities conferred upon them , and their Courts and Palaces z z Huberti Leodii Commentar. de Palatinorum origine . appeared to be solitary and unfrequented ; and therefore opened the doors of honour to their Subjects of other Nations and Provinces , as appears by the after usage of the Roman and Grecian Emperors , and made and ordained Comites sacri Falatii , Count Palatines , which the Title of Count Palatine given by Charlemaine to Antholinus will further evidence ; and the Count Palatines of the Empire of Germany , as Pasquier that learned Advocate of a a Egnihartus de vita & gest . Caroli Magni . France hath remarked , had their names from their Offices , Superintendencies , and Places which they antiently held b b Pasquier des Recherches de la France lib. 2. cap. 12. au tour des Empereurs de Rome & de la Suitte des Empereurs , and in their service and attendance as Crmites Palatii , were in Comitativa Principis , in the Retinue of the Emperors , which in the elder times were so reverenced and respected , as it was not unfrequently in many Laws and good Authors stiled Sacra , as meriting a veneration due unto Gods Vicegerents : Et ipsa Principis Aula & residentia ; and the Court and Palace of the Prince was , saith Marquardus Freherus , sometimes known by the name of Comitatus c c Freherus originum Palatinorum comment . cap. 1. & sacer comitatus , a place of reverence more especially appropriate to honor and men deserving it , and the French Kings Court is by the modern French at this day tearmed Comitatus ; and in the time of Charlemaine and his Son Hludowick Kings of d d Paulus de Fage● in vita Petri de Marca Padriensis Archiepiscopi . France , the Earls were tanquam Judices , Judges in their several Earldomes or Provinces , qui post Regem populum regere debent , who next under the King ( as the Dukes did in their several Dukedoms ) were to govern the people , & necesse est ut tales instituantur qui sine periculo ejus qui ●os constituit , quos sub se babent cum justitia & aequitate gubernare , & e e Hinckmarus cap. 14. & 15. Epist. 4. & Choppinus de domanio Franciae lib. 1.45 ▪ officium adimplere procurent , there being a necessity that such should be appointed , who without danger of those who constituted or deputed them , may have under them such as may govern them with Justice and Equity , and do what belongeth to them .

And our Earls and English Nobility were of the like Character , Esteem , and Subserviency to our Kings and Princes , when in the time of Bertulphus King of the Mercians , who Reigned f f Spelmans consil. 347. in England in the year of our Lord 851. such of them as had not , as Sir Henry Spelman saith , constant Offices or places in the Kings Court , tenebantur ex more & obsequii vinculo antiquissimo ( as also were the other Baronage ) in tribus maximis festivitatibuus Christi scilicet natalitiis Sancti Paschatis & Pentecostes Regi Annuatim adesse cum ad curiam & personam ipsius exornandum tum ad consulendum de negotiis regni statuendum que prout fuerat necessarium , were by most antient custome and tye of obedience at three of the greatest Feasts in every year , that is to say at Christmass , Easter , and Whitsontide , to attend at the Kings Court , as well for the honour of his Person and Court , as to advise and councel him as there should be occasion in the weighty affairs of the Kingdom , Spelmans co●sil . ●47 . which ( saith that great light and restorer of our English Antiquities ) gave at the first an original and beginning to our great Councels , afterwards g g Seldens titles of honour cap. 5. § 15. & Spelman Gloss●r . in voce Comitis . and now called Parliaments ; and Johannes Saresburiensis stiled all the great Officers of the English Court Comites Palatini , Earls or Lords of the Palace Royal , at least such as being Earls were also honoured with the greater Court Dignities , and had relation to the Dignities and Privileges of our English Nobility : Such service and attendance of the Nobility upon the person and affairs of their Soveraign being not unusual in the dayes of h h Jer. 36. ●ers . 12. Jehoiakim King of Judah , when Michaiah the son of Gemariah found all the Princes sitting in the Kings house in the Scribes chamber , and standing besides the King when the Roll of Baruch was read .

When the great King Ahasuerus made a Feast unto all his Princes and his servants , the i i Esther cap. 1. vers 3 , 4 , 13 , & 14. power of Persia and Media , the Nobles and Princes of the Provinces being before him , and he shewed the honour of his Excellent Majesty , he advised concerning the misbehaviour of his Queen Vaschi with the wise men which knew the times ( for so was the Kings manner towards all that knew law and judgement ) and with the seven Princes of Persia and Media , which saw the Kings face , and sate the first in the Kingdome .

And those Officiary Dignities , Honors , and Privileges of the English Nobility , were so consonant to the Law of Nations , and the usage and customs of the Empire ; as in Anglia tam ante quam post Conquestore k k Besoldus in dissertatione de Comitibus Rom. Imperii . Selden in Jano Anglorum & ejusdem tit . hon. 2. part . cap. 5 § 3 ▪ Wilhelmum Normannum Comites seu Graviones Justitiarii hisque cum ad privata quam publica judicia suis fuere in comitatibus , and not only before , but for sometimes after the Norman Invasion , did under their Kings preside and govern the Justice of that County or Territory of which they were Earls , and had allowed unto them the Tertium denarium , Third penny , or part of the fines and amerciaments , and the customs , and some other casual profits belonging to the Crown in their several Counties , as our Selden a l l Selden 2. part . tit. hon. 651 lib Rub. in Scacc. f. 26. inter l●ges H. ● . most universally learned and judious Lawyer hath in the Earldoms of Chester and Oxford observed , and for some of the Ages succeeding the Norman atchievment have been Chief m m Spelman Glossar . in Catalog . cap●tal . Justitiar Angl. Justices of Englund , as in the Reign of King Stephen , Awbrey de Vere Earl of Guisnes Father of Awbrey de Vere the first Earl of Oxford , Robert de Bellomont or Beaumont Earl of Leicester in the Reign of King Henry the 2d . and Geoffrey Fitz-Peter Earl of Essex in the Reigns of King Richard the first and King John , our Bracton acknowledging that our Earls and Nobility were upon occasions to n n Selden tit . hon. 2. part . §. 8. attend upon the person of their Sovereign Prince , calleth our Earls Comites a Comitando sive a Socie●ate , from or by reason of their accompanying or attendance upon the person of the Prince , Bracton lib. 1. cap ▪ 8. saith , dici possunt Consules Reges enim tales sibi associant ad consulendum ; and our Nation was not without its Local Count Palatines , who had greater authorities and profits in their Counties and Jurisdictions than other Earls , as those of Chester , Lancaster , Pembroke , and the Palatineships belonging to the Bishopicks of Durham and Ely .

And Hoveden our old Annals , and Selden that Monarch of Letters , do tell us , that King John , die Coronationis suae accinxit Willielmuw Marescallum gladio Comitatus de Striguil , & Galfridum filium Petri gladio o o Hoveden & Selden 2. part . tit hon. cap. 5 ▪ § 13. Comitatus Essex ) qui licet antea vocati essent Comites , & administrationem suarum Comitatuum habuissent tamen non erant accincti gladio Comitatus , & ipsa illa die servierunt ad mensam Regis accincti gladiis , did upon the day of his Coronation gird William Marshal with the Sword of the Earldome of Striguil , ( or Pembroke ) and Jeffery Fitz-Peter , with the Sword of the Earldome of Essex , who although they were before called Earls , and had the government of their Earldomes , yet until then were not invested or girt with the Sword of their Earldomes , and the same day they waited upon the King as he sate at meat with their Swords girt about them ; and the service of our Earls and Nobility were held to be so necessary about their Soveraign in the Reign of King Edward the second , as John de Warrenna Earl of Surrey had in the 14th . year of that King a dispensation not to appear before the Justices Itinerant , before whom in certain of his affairs he had a concernment in these words , viz. Edwardus dei gratia Rex Angliae &c. Justitiariis notris Itineratur in Com. Norff. Quia dilectum & fidelem nostrum Johannem de Warrenna Comitem Surrey , quibusdam de causiis juxta latus nostrum retinemus hiis diebus per quod coram vobis in Itinere vestro in Com. praedicto personaliter comparere non potest ad loquelas ipsum in eodem Itinere tangentes prosequendi & defendendi nos ex causa praedicta Indempnitati praefati Comitis provideri , cupientes in hac parte vobis mandamus p p Placita de Jur. & assis . coram Solomone de Roffe & al. Justic. domini Regis Itin. apud Norwicum in Com. Norff anno 14. Regis Edw. 2. rot. 2. quod omnes praedictas loquelas de die in diem coram vobis continuetis usque ad Octabas Paschae prox . futur . Ita quod extunc citra finem Itineris vestri praedicti loquelae illae andiantur & terminantur prout de jure & secundum legem & consuetudines regni nostri fuerit faciend. Edward by the grace of God King of England , &c. to his Justices about to go the Circuit in our County of Norfolk , sendeth greeting , In regard that for certain causes we have commanded the attendance of John of Warren Earl of Surrey upon our person , so as he canno● personally appear before you in your Circuit to prosecute and defend certain actions or matters wherein he is concerned , we desiring to indempnifie the said Earl therein for the cause aforesaid , do command you that you do from day to day adjorn the said Pleas and Actions until eight dayes after Easter next ; so as you may according to the laws and custome of our Kingdome , before the end of your said Circuit , hear and determine the said matters or actions .

In which Writ , the said Earl being descended from William de Warrenna who marryed a daughter of King William Rufus , was not stiled the Kings Cousin , as all the Earls of England have for some ages past been honored either by the stile of Chancery , or the Secretaries of State in a Curiality , with which the more antient and less Frenchified times were unacquainted ; for notwithstanding an opinion fathered upon our learned Selden , that in regard the antient Earls of England being the Cousins , or of the consanguinity or affinity of William the Conqueror , or many of the succeeding Kings , those Earls that were afterwards created did enjoy that honourable Title of the Kings Cousin ; it will by our Records and such Memorials as time hath left us , be evidenced and clearly proved , that all the Earls which William the Conqueror and his Successors have created , were not of their Kindred or Alliance , and those that were of the consanguinity of our Kings and Princes , as Awbrey de Vere the first Earl of Oxford , whose Father Awbrey de Vere marryed the Sister by the half blood of William the Conquerour , was neither in the grants of the Earldome of Oxford , and office of Great Chamberlain of England , by Maud the Empress or King q q Selden 2. part . tit. hon. cap. 5. §. 10. Henry the second her Son , stiled their Cousin , nor William de Albiney formerly Earl of Sussex , who marryed Adeliza Widdow of King Henry the first , Daughter of Godfrey Duke of Lorrain in the grant of the Earldome Castle and Honour of Arundel by King Henry the second , was termed that Kings Cousin , neither in the recital in other grants wherein the great Earls of Leicester and Chester are mentioned , is there any such intimation ; for in the first year of the Reign of King John , William Marshall Earl of Pembroke , William Earl of Salsbury , and Ranulph Earl of Chester and Lincoln , in the second year of King Henry the third had it not , r r Rot. Parl. Johan . part. 1. m. 4. Rot. Parl. 2 H. 3. m. 3. Rot. Claus ▪ & Fines 5 E. 3. and in the Summons of Parliament , Diem clausit extremum , and other grants or writs of divers of the succeeding Kings in the former ages , until about the Reign of King Edward the fourth , where mention was made of some of those and other great Earls of this Kingdom , there were none of those honorary Titles , and it is not at this day in the ordinary Writs and Process where they are named either as Plaintiffs or Defendants , and in France where those graces are in the Royal Letters and Missives , frequently allowed to the greater sort of the Nobility , howsoever the Queen Mother and Regent of France was about the year 1625. pleased in a Letter to the late s s Embassades de Marescal de Bassompierre . George Duke of Buckingham to give him the honour to be called her Cousin , very often omitted .

And those honours of attending their Kings , and being near his person , or being imployed in his Royal commands , were so desirable by as many as could by their virtue ( antiently the Seminary and cause of all honour ) obtain it , as they thought the service of their Prince not happiness enough , unless their Heirs and after Generations as well as themselves might partake of the honour to do service unto him ; and therefore could be well content to have some of their Lands which some of our Kings of England gave them , which they hoped to hold unaliened to them and their Heirs in Fee or in Tayl , astrictae , obliged and tyed also as their persons to those no inglorious services , as the Earls of Oxford holding the Castle of Hedingham in the County of Essex , and the Manor of Castle Campes in the Counties of Cambridge and Essex , to them and their Heirs in Tayl , by the Tenor and Service of being great Chamberlain of England , and the Manors of Fingrith in the County of Essex , and Hormead or Hornemead in the County of Hertford , descended unto them by the Marriage of a Daughter and Heir of the Lord Sanford , by the Service and Tenure of being Chamberlain to the Queens of England , die Coronationis suae , upon the dayes of their Coronation , that of great Chamberlain of England being an Office distinct and separate from that of Chamberlain of the Kings House , which was as appeareth by many Charters of our antient Kings and their Chamberlains Subscriptions thereunto , as witnesses long before the grant of great Chamberlain of England , and as then are now only holden at the good will and pleasure of our Kings and Princes .

And Time in his long Travels hath not yet so let fall and left behind him those reverential duties and personal services of our Dukes , Earls , and Baronage , as to invite a disuse or discontinuance of them , when they have of late time not only when Summoned , perform'd several Ministerial Offices , as at the Coronation of our Kings , but at other great Solemnities and Festivals , as at the Feast of Saint George .

Where in the year 1627. being the third year of the Reign of King Charles the Martyr , the Lord Percy afterwards Earl of Northumberland , carryed the Sword before the King , the Lord Cavendish and Wentworth bearing up his Trayn , the great Basin was holden by the Earls of Suffolk , Devonshire , Manchester and Lindsey , the Earl of Devonshire the same day serving as Cupbearer , the Earl of Cleveland as Carver , the Lord Savage as Sewer , none of the Knights of the Garter that day officiating .

In the year of our Lord 1638. the Earls of Kent , Hartford , Essex , Northampton , Clare , Carlisle , Warwick , Dover , St. Albans , and the Viscount Rochford , were summoned by the Lord Chamberlain of the Kings houshold to attend at the instalment of the Prince Knight of the Garter ; and in the year 1640. amongst other young Noblemen appointed to attend the King at his going to the Parliament , the Duke of Buckingham , Earl of Oxford , and Lord Buckhurst , did bear up his Trayn .

The Earls of Leicester had the Office of Steward of England distinguished from , and not so antient as the Steward of the Houshold who injoyed but an incertain estate of during pleasure , annexed to the Earldom of Leicester , and accounted as parcel of it , William t t Selde●● 2. p●rt tit . ●on . cap. 5. §. 10. Marshal Earl of Pembroke to be Earl Marshal of England , Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex to be Constable of England , and to hold some principal part of their Lands and Estates by Inheritance , in Fee or in Tayl by the Tenure of those very honourable Offices and Services , as the Manor of Haresfield in the County of Gloucester , per servitium essendi Constabular Angliae , by u u Spelman ●loss●r . in vocibus Constabular ▪ & Marescal . 14● , 147 . 399.4●1.402.403 . 46 E. 3. Esc●●t . the Service of being Constable of England ; and the Offices of Earl Marshal and Constable were distinct , and antiently exercised in the Kings Court as Marescalcia Curiae , & Constabularia Curiae , were afterwards , as the Learned Sir Henry Spelman conceived , by some extent and enlargement gained of their Jurisdictions ( or rather by the Tenure of some of their Lands ) separately stiled Constable and Earl Marshals of England , leaving the Office or Title of Sub-Marshal or Knight-Marshal , to exercise some part of the Office of the Earl-Marshals Jurisdictions , as more appropriate to the Kings House or Courts of Justice ; some antient Charters of our Kings of England before the Reign of King Henyy the second , and some in his Reign , after his grant of the Constableship of England , was made by him to Miles of Gloucester , informing us by the Subscriptions of Witnesses that there was a Constable during the Kings pleasure , and w w D●gdales 1. part . Monasticon Anglicanum . sometimes two , besides the Constable of England , who claimed and enjoyed that Office by Inheritance .

The Custody of the Castle of Dover , and the keeping x x Rot. Parl. 33 H. 6. of the Cinque-Ports , were granted by King Henry the sixth to Humphrey Duke of Buckingham , and the Heirs Males of his body .

The Earls of Oxford for several Ages , and the now Earl of Lindsey descending from them y y Rot ▪ Cla●s. 3 E. ● . 10 . as Heir General , now being Stewards , Keepers , or Wardens of the Forest of Essex , and Keepers of King Edward the Confessors antient Palace of Havering at the Bower in the said County , to him and his Heirs claimed and enjoyed from a Daughter and Heir of the Lord Badlesmere , and he from a Daughter and Coheir of Thomas de Clare .

And some of our Nobility believed it to be no abasement of their high birth and qualities , to be imployed in some other Offices or Imployments near the person , or but sometimes residence of the King , as to be Constable of his Castle or Palace of Windsor , as the late Duke of Buckingham was in the Reign of King Charles the Martyr , and Prince Rupert that now is , or Keeper of the Kings house or Palace of Woodstock , and Lieutenent of Woodstock Park , as the late Earl of Lindsey was for the term of each of their natural lives . And some illustrious and worthy Families , as that of the Marshals , Earls of Pembroke , Butler now Duke of Ormond , the Chamberlains antiently descended from the Earl of Tancarvil in Normandy , who was hereditary Chamberlain of Normandy to our King Henry the first ; and our Barons Dispencers have made their Sirnames , and those of their after Generations , the grateful Remembrancers of their very honourable Offices and Places under their Soveraign , it being accounted to be no small part of happiness to have lands given them , to hold by grand Serjeanty some honourable Office or attendance upon our Kings at their Coronation , as to carry one of the Swords before him , or to present him with a Glove for his right hand , or to support his right hand whilst he held the Virge Royal , claymed by the Lord Furnivall , or to carry the great Spurrs of Gold before him , claymed by John Hastings the Son and Heir of John Hastings Earl of Pembroke , or to be the Kings Cupbearer , claymed by Sir John de Argentine Chivaler , And some meaner yet worthy Families have been well content to have Lands given unto them and their Heirs to hold by the Tenures of doing some personal Service to the Kings and Queens of England at their Coronations , the Service of the King or Prince being in those more virtuous times so welcome to all men , and such a path leading to preferment , as it grew into a Proverb amongst us not yet forgotten , No Fishing to the Sea , no Service to the King .

And was and is so much a Custome of Nations , as in the German Empire long before the Aurea Bulla , the Golden Bull or Charter of Charles the 4th . Emperour was made in the year 1356. being about the middle of the z z Marquardus Freherus de Orig ▪ Palatin . & de Aurea Bulla ca. 25. ex Archivit Illustrissimi Principis Electoris Palatini . Selden tit . hon. 2. part . cap. 1. §. 54. Reign of our King Edward the third , and not a new Institution as many have mistaken it , as is evident by the preamble and other parts of that Golden Bull which was only made to preserve an Unity amongst the seven Electors , and better methodize their business and Elections .

The Princes Electors were by the Tenure of their Lands and Dominions to perform several services to the Emperor and his Successors ; As the Prince Elector or Count Palatine of the Rhine was to do the service of Arch Sewer of the Empire at the Coronation of the Emperour , or other great Assemblies ; the Duke of Saxony , Stall Master or Master of ths Horse , the Marquess of Brandenburgh Chamberlain , the King of Bohemia Cup-bearer , and in Polonia at this day Sebradousky the now Palatine of Cracow claimeth and enjoyeth by Inheritance the Office or Place of Sword-bearer to the Crown or King of Poland .

And so highly and rightly valued were those Imployments and Offices , as they that did but Officiate under them as their Deputies , believed their Heirs and Lands to be blessed in the continuance and enjoyments of such Offices as might but sometimes bring them into the notice and affairs of the Prince and Emperours , as the Baron of Papenheim in Germany , and his Heirs , to be Sub-Marshall to the Duke and Elector of Saxony , the Baron of Limpurgh Vice-Butler a a Actus Electionis & Coronationis Mathiae Imperatoris an. 1612. Hornii orbis politic . in 8 ▪ part. 2.23 ▪ to the King of Bohemia , and the Baron of Falkenstem Vice-Chamberlain to the Elector of Brandenburgh , who hath also an hereditary Marshall , and the Electors of Mentz , Colen and Triers the like , and Christophorus Leisserus a Baron , was Culinae Magister at the Coronation of the Emperour Mathias , in Anno Domini 1612.

Viscounts . The Viscounts , a Title no longer ago than the Reign of King Henry b b Selden tit . hon. 2. part . cap. 3. § 19. & 20. 1 Part Dugdales Monasticon Anglican . 380. & ibid. Carta H. 3.382 . Abbati & Monachis de Salopesbury the sixth , as our great Selden saith , turned into a Dignity , Titular or Peerage , being formerly and long after the Conquest , but the Deputies of the Earls in their several Counties for the Administration of Justice with which the c c Carta Gulielmi Rufi in Dugdales Monasticon . Rot. Pat. 18 H. 6. part 2. m. 21. Earls were entrusted , since c●ntra distincts to the Title or Honour of Viscount , and but a Sheriff or Officer of the Kings for the execution of Justice , and so well liked of before that new Title of Viscounts was brought in betwixt the Earls and Barons of England , as Hubert de Burgo , afterwards Earl of Kent , was in the Reign of King John d d Spelmans Gloss●r . in Catalog . Capital . Justic. Angl. 340. not only Chamberlain to the King , but at one and the same time Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk , and the noble and antient Family of Cliffords accompted it as a favour of the Crown to be hereditary Sheriffs or Ministers of Justice in the County of Westmerland , where they had Lands , Baronies , and honourable Possessions , and having afterwards a greater honour by the Earldome of Cumberland conferred upon them , disdained not to let the one accompany the other in the service of their Prince .

Barons Temporal . The Barons , whether as the Judicious and Learned Sir Henry Spelman e e Spelman Glossar . in voce Baro. informs us they be feudall as gaining their honours by their Lands and Baronies given them to that purpose , which in our Records and antient Charters are not seldome mentioned by the name of Honours , as the Honours of Abergavenny Dudley , &c. or by Writs summoned to Parliament , or by Patents created only into that Titular Honour , either of which made a Tenure in Capite ( for otherwise they could not sit and enjoy their Peerage in Parliament , the Kings greatest Councel ) are and antiently were accompted to be in their several Orbes Robur Belli , the f f Bracton lib. 1. ca. 8. & Selden 2. part . tit. hon. cap. 5. § 15. strength and power of Warr , and as Barones or Vassalli Capitales , men of greater estate or note than ordinary , and were as the old Barones 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Barangi , wbo did with their Battel-Axes attend the Emperours of the East in their Courts or Palaces as their Guard , sometimes on Foot , and at othertimes on Horse-back , and were as Codinus saith , reckoned inter Honoratiores Officiales , the most honourable Offices of g g Spelman Glossar . in voce Baro. the Court attending near the Emperours either at their Meat or Chappel , or publick Addresses , and in the Kingdome of Bohemia , which is now no more than elective , and where there are neither Dukes nor Marquesses , and but few Earls ; the Title of Baron is of so high an esteem , and the Barons of that Kingdome so jealous of any thing which might diminish it , as when a Duke h h Relation de la conspiration de valstein . who is a Stranger comes to be there naturalized , they do first oblige him to quit or renounce the using of his Title of Duke there , and to content himself only with the Title of a Baron of Bohemia , and saith Sir Henry Spelman , sub Baronis appellatione recte veniunt , our Dukes , Marquesses , Earls and Viscounts , are comprehended under the name of Baron , Cum vel maximus ( as the experience and practice of our Laws and Kingdome will evidence ) principis sit Vassallus , when the greatest of them is but a Liege-man and Vass●l of the King , eique tenentur homagii vinculo seu potius Baronagii hoc est de agendo vel essendo Barone suo quod hominem seu Clientem praestantiorem significat , and is by the Bond of his homage or Baronage to do all things as his Baron , which signifieth to be his Liege-man , and more extraordinary Subject , holding his Lands of him upon those beneficiary gainful & honourable conditions , and depending upon him and his Patronage , it being to be remembred that those honorary possessions and the owners thereof , did by that dependency well deserve that encomium and observation which John Gower i i Joh. Gower confessio Amantis , & Selden tit . hon. 2. part . ca. 5. § 16. made of them about the Reign of King Richard the second , that The Privilege of ●egalie was safe , and all the Barony worshipt was in his Estate .

And it is well known that our antient Kings in all their Rescripts , Grants or Charters unto Abbyes , or any other of their people , directed them Archiepiscopis , Episcopis , Comitibus , Justiciariis , Baronibus , k k Dugdales 1. part . Monastic . Anglic. 384. Vicecomitibus & Ministris suis , to their Arch-bishops , Bishops , Earls , Barons , Justices and Sheriffs , and other their Ministers ; the word Ministris being in the language of the times , not only since but before the Conquest , not infrequently l l Mich. 18 E. 1. in Ba●co Regis Norff. Rot. 46. & Mich. 33 , & 34 Et ▪ coram Rege Rot. 75. appropriate to the Kings houshold Servants , as the Charters and Subscriptions of witnesses of many of our elder Kings will abundantly evidence , and the Barones Majores stiled by our Kings not unfrequently in many of their Charters Barones suos , Barones nostros , & Barones Regios , their Barons , and the Kings Barons , as William de Percy , and many other have been called , though by such Charters they could be no more concerned in it than to be Assistant in the performance and obedience of the Royal Mandates , and in many Acts of Parliament have been stiled the Kings Nobles or Nobility ; the De●ne● Thanes or Nobility , saith the eminently and universally learned Selden , m m Selden tit . hon. 2. part . cap. ● . § 2. & 4. denoting a Servant or Minister , was as well before , as sometimes since the Norman Conquest , Officiary , Personal and Honorary , and the Possessions of the Thanes from whence our Barons and Baronies were derived , were held by the Service of Personal Attendance : Et certissimum est , saith that great and eminent Antiquary Sir Henry Spelman , n n Spelman Glossar . in voce Baro. that Barones Majores , the greater Barons which hold of the King in Capiti Judiciis praefuere Aulae Regiae , did usually sit and determine causes or controversies in o o Selden tit . hon. 689.2 . part . cap. 5. Sect. 16. the Kings Court or Palace ( as the Barons of the Coife in the Exchequer who were heretofore Earls and Barons of England do at this day in Westminster Hall judge and determine of matters concerning the Kings Revenues ) And as the Lords of Mannors in their Court Barons do admit none to be Judges in those little Courts but their Tenants ( who are Freeholders , and which do immediately hold of them , are stiled and said to be of the Homage ) and do subserviently manage and order their Affairs therein , as very antiently they did consilio prudentum p p Spelman Glossar . in voce Baro. hominum & militum suorum , by their presentments and judgements so ( not much differing from the Laws and Customs of the Germans ; where by the Court of Peers are understood causarum Feudalium Judices a q q Scholia Jacobi Spiegel in lib. 2. Ligurini Guntheri , 301 , 302. Caesare constituti qui sine provocatione cognoscebant , the Judges appointed by the Emperour to hear and determine without appeal matters concerning their Lands and Territories ) in the House of Peers in Parliament , being the highest Court of the Kingdome of England , none were there admitted , or did administer Justice , nisi qui proximi essent a Rege ipsique arctioris fidei & homagii vinculo conjuncti , but such as were near unto the King , held of him in Capite , and were therefore called Capitanei Regni , as Sir Henry Spelman saith , Captains of the Kingdome and Peers being obliged and bound unto him by Homage r r Spelman Glossar ▪ in voce Baro , & in vocibus Pares & Parliament . and Fealty , that highest and most honourable Court of the Kingdome wherein the Judicative Power of Parliament under the King their Head and Chief resides ( for the lower house or Representative of the Commons are but as a Court of grand Enquest to exhibit the grievances of the Nation and the People , who did choose them to represent them as their Procurators give their consent to the raising of moneys for publick occasions and benefit , and the making of good Laws , intended to be obeyed by them ) being constituted by the King their Head and Soveraign , the Prince or Heir apparent , Dukes , Marquesses , Earls , Viscounts , Barons , Arch-bishops , Bishops , ( and some of the greater Abbots and Pryors holding their Lands and Possessions of the King in Capite until they were dissolved ) the Lord Chancellor or Keeper of the great Seal of England , Lord President of the Kings Councel , Lord Treasurer , Lord Privy Seal , Lord Admiral , Lord Chamberlain of England , and of the Houshold , Grand Master or Steward of the Kings house , and the Kings Chief Secretary s s 31 H. 8. cap. 10. though no Barons assisted by the Learned and Reverend Judges of the Law and Courts of Justice at Westminster Hall who have no vote , Masters of Chancery , Clark of the Crown , and Clark of that more Eminent part of the Parliament sitting in their several and distinct places according to their qualities and degrees upon benches or woolsacks covered with red cloth before the Kings Throne or Chair of Estate , attended by the Kings Senior Gentleman Usher of the Presence Chamber called the black Rod , to whom for or by reason of his attendance upon that honourable Assembly , is , and hath been antiently allowed & annexed for his better support the little Park of Windsor , with an house or lodge thereunto belonging , of a good yearly value ) Serjeants at Arms , & Clarks of that higher house of Parliament , as the members reverencing & taking care for their Head and Soveraign , the Only under God , Protector of themselves and all their worldly concernments , laws and liberties , in which high and honourable Assembly the Archbishops and Bishops do enjoy the priviledge and t t Spelman Glossar in voce Baro. Barons Spiritual . honour of being present by reason of their Baronies , which howsoever given in Frank Almoigne and as Elemosinary are holden in capite & debent interesse judiciis curiae regis cum Baronibus , are not to be absent saith the constitution or Act of Parliament made at Clarendon by K. Henry the second and that honourable Tenure being Servitium Militare , a tye of duty and service to them as well as to the other Baronage , any neglect therein was so penal unto them as the Lords in Parliament saith u u Selden tit . honor 795. pa●t 2. cap. 5. Sect. ●0 . William Fitz Stephen cited by the learned Selden , did in the Reign of King Henry the Second , notwithstanding that Arch-bishops plea and defence , wherefore he did not come to that great Councel or Parliament when he was commanded , condemn the Ruffling and domineering Arch-bishop Tho. Becket in a great sum of money , the forfeiture of all his moveable goods , and to be at the Kings mercy , & guilty of high Treason for not coming to that high Court when he was cited , and the reason given of that judgement , for that ex reverentia Regiae Majestatis , & ex astrictione ligii homagii quod Domino Regi fecerat , & ex fidelitate & observantia terreni honoris quemei Juraverat , for that in the reverence and respect which he ought to have shewed to the Majesty of the King , and by his homage made unto him , and his Oath of Fealty sworn to observe and defend his Honour , he ought to have come but did not ; and a Fine was afterwards likewise obout the Reign of King Edward the second imposed upon the Lord Bello-monte or Beaumont for not attending when he was summoned ad Consulendum Regi to give the King his Advice or Councel .

And certainly those great and many singular privileges and immunities given by our Kings the Fountains and Establishers of honours , and the Offices and Imployments about their Sacred Persons appurtenant unto that noble and very Antient Degree and Titles of Episcopacy , may easily invite the order of Bishops not to think it to be a disparagement to their Hierarchy , when the dignity Royal of our Kings do as the Roman Emperours since the time of Constantine the Great , necessarily require by turns or sometimes in every year the attendance of the Bishops in their Courts or Palaces , and they are to be a la w w Traitte du politicque de France par Mon●sieur P. H. Marquis de C. in fine . Suite du Roy pour honorer sa Majeste , to be near the King for the honour of his Majesty , when the King is the Guardian and Head of the Church , and the Arch-bishop of Canterbury his Apocrisiarius ( which was an antient Office and Title of the Bishops , afterwards appropriate to the Arch-bishop or x x Spelman Glossar . in voce Apocrisiarius & in voce Comes Palatinus . Metropolitan ) who was in Palatio pro Ecclesiasticis negotiis excubare , to oversee and take care of the Affairs of the Church in the Kings Court or Palace , & Capellanus Regis dictus omnibus praefuit negotiis & ministris ecclesiae , was stiled the Kings Chaplain , presided and was ( under the King ) superintendent as to Ecclesiastical Affairs over all the business and Ministers of the Church and Chappel , and in those things quae ad divinum Cultum in principi● aula pertinent precipua semper fuit cura atque sollicitudo Archiepiscopi , which appertained to Gods worship in the Kings Palace the chief care and business thereof in the duties of Religion and holy Rites belongeth unto him , and is in that particular but as the Kings special Chaplain ; not as Mathew Parker , a learned and worthy Archbishop y y Mat. Parker antiquit●tes Eccles●● 〈…〉 28. of that See in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth , when the Papal inflations were out of fashion , would make the reason of those privileges to be because the Kings and Queens of Enggland were ejus speciales atque domesticos Parochianos , his more especial Parishioners , and the whole Kingdome howsoever divided into distinct Diocesses was but as one Parish , though he could not be ignorant that the Arch-bishop of York , and his Suffragan Bishops in one and the same Kingdome were none of his Parish , nor was as Doctor Peter Heylin a right learned and dutiful Son of the Church of England by antient privilege of the See of Canterbury , supposeth him to be Ordinary of the Court of his Majesties houshold , being reckoned to be his Parishioners , z z History of the life of Will . La●d Arch-bish●p of Canterbury . 2●9 . or of his Peculiar wheresoever the same shall be , the Chancellor or the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England being by special privilege Visitor of all the Kings Chappels .

For the Kings Chappel and the Prelate of the Honourable Order of the Garter , Dean and Sub-dean of the Chappel , and all other Officers of that religious and excellently ordered Oratory being as a part of the Kings most Honorable Household , when the extravagant and superaboundant power of the English Clergy by the Papal influency ▪ which had almost overspread and covered the Kingdome , assisted many times by the Popes Italian or English Legates a latere , such as were Ottobon , and some Arch-bishops of Canterbury was in its Zenith , or at the highest ; and sate as Jupiter the false God of the Heathens with his Tri●●lce or Thunder-bolts were not , nor are at this day although the Doctrine and Rights therein are of no small importance to the Religion and Exercises thereof in the Kingdome subjected to the Visitation of any Bishops or Arch-bishops but of the King , who as Sir Edward Coke also acknowledgeth is their only Ordinary ; And were heretofore so exempt from either the Popes or any Ecclesiastick Jurisdiction ; as King Joh● did in the first year of his Raigne grant to Walter Bi●starr for his service done , Serjeantiam in Capella sua scilicet ill●m quam Martinus de Capella a a Ro. cart. 1 Johannis in 29. tenuit tempere Henrici Regis patris sui & praeterea medietatem Caparum Episcopalium Habendum & tenendum de se & Heredibus suis cum omnibus ad predictam Serjeantiam pertin : the Serjeanty in his Chappel , which Martin de Capella held in the time of his Father King Henry : And also the Moiety of the Bishops Capes or Copes ( used therein ) to have and to hold together with the said Serjeanty of him and his Heirs .

And when all the Bishops of England which have been Chancellors or Keepers of the great Seal , Chief Justices of England or Treasurer , as some of them have been , might understand that their more immediate service of the King , brought them an accession of honour and were then in a threefold capacity . First as the Servants and Ministers of the King , Secondly , as Bishops and Barons , the duty whereof King Henry the 3 d. did so well understand , as in the 48 th year of his Raigne travelling by Herefordshire into Wales and finding the Bishop of Hereford absent , and many of that Clergy not resident , he sent his Writ unto him ; commanding him to take more care of his Clergies residence , and threatned otherwise to seize and take into his hands his Temporalties , Et omnia quae ad Baroniam b b Cokes 2. part Institutes 625. ipsius Ecclesiae pertinent , and all other things which to the Barony of his Church or Bishoprick belonged .

And Thirdly , as great Officers of Trust and State under him the later being so esteemed to be the worthiest as the Act of Parliament made in the 31 th year of the Raign of King Henry the 8 th , how Lords in the Parliament should be placed did especially ordain that if a Bishop hapned to be the Kings Cheif Secretary he should sit and be placed above all other Bishops not having any the great Offices of State and Trust under the King in the said Act of Parliament mentioned , and if the chief Secretary of the King were above the degree of a Baron , he should sit and be placed above all other Barons being then and there present . The Puisney Bishop attending in that high and honourable Court , being by antient usage of that Court to pray every morning before the rest of that assembly during the Session of Parliament , before they do proceed to any Consultations or business , the other Bishops and the Arch-bishop of York , who once contended with the Arch-bishop of Canterbury for the primacy taking it to be an honour to Officiate before the King or to be near him , so as Edward Arch-bishop of York , and Cuthbert Tunstall Bishop of Duresme being sent by King Henry the eight to signifie unto Queen Catherine c c Lord Herberts History of King Henry the 8th . 376. the sentence of his divorce and they shortly after giving an accompt of her answer , did in a joint Letter subscribe themselves , Your Highnesses Obedient Subjects , Servants and Chaplains , and the Arch-bishop of Canterbury for the time being was by the Statutes or Orders of King Henry the eighth d d Statutes or Orders made at Eltham Anno 17. H. 8. made at Eltham in the 17 th year of his Raigne , ordered to be always or very often at Court ; and all the other Bishops aswell as the Arch-bishop , believing themselves to be by sundry Obligations bound unto it , are not seldome employed by our Kings in their several Diocesses and Jurisdictions , as the Bishop of Durham and the Bishop of Ely and their Successors in their County Palatines , 33 H. 8 ca● . 10. and with the Arch-bishops and other Bishops , are by the Kings appointment and Election , to preach in his Chappel at Court , in times of Solemn Festivals and Lent , and in the Lord Chamberlaines Letter or Summons , thereunto , are required to be ready at the several times appointed to perform their service therein , one of that antient and necessery order or Hirarchy being the Kings Almoner another the De●n of his Chappel to govern and see good orders obs●rved therein , the later whereof hath his lodgings in the Kings Courts or Pallace , and untill the unhappy remitting of the Royal Pourveyance , had his Be●che at Court , or diet ; the Bishop of ●●●chester and his Successors to be Prelates of the 〈◊〉 , another Clark of his Closset , as the Bishop 〈◊〉 Oxford lately was to attend upon the King in the place where he sits in his Chappel or Oratory , the presence of the Prince , and an opportunity f f 〈…〉 in 4. 〈…〉 ad lib. 12 God . Justinian 1 〈◊〉 . 11. Se●●ion 1. p. tit . 〈◊〉 ca. 3. Sect. ● . & in 〈◊〉 . a●●rare ejus purpuram to be often in their sight , not by any Idolatreus worship , but as the civil Law and usage of the Antients have interpreted it by an extraordinary reverence done to him by kneeling and touching the Hem , or lower part of his purple or outward Garment ; and immediately after kissing his hand , which was accounted , saith Cui●●ius , to be no small favour which the people and all the great men of the Eastern and Western Empires under their Emperors , deemed to be a happiness as well as an honour , as do the German Bishops Electors in their larger and more Princely Jurisdictions ; the Arch-bishop of Mente being Chanceller to the Empire for Germany , and to have a priviledge to assist at the Coronation of the Emperors by puting the Crown upon his head ; the Arch-bishop of Cologne for Italy , g g 〈…〉 Imperii 〈…〉 . 14.84 and the Arch-bishop of Tryers for France , or rather for the Kingdome of Arles or Burgundy , as well as to be Electors of the Emperors and their Successors .

So as our Laws , which if a Bishop be riding upon his way , will not enforce him to tarry and examine the ability of a Clark presented unto him though it may require hast and prevent a lapse or other inconvenience , but his convenient leisure ought to be attended , will allow an Earl● in respect of his dignity and the necessity of his attendance upon the King and the Weal Publick , to make a Deputy h h 〈…〉 Cokes ● Rep ▪ Steward and gives our Nobility many great and high priviledges as not to be examined in an action of debt upon account , but their Attorneys are permitted to be examined upon Oath for them , not to be amerced or taxed , but by their Peers , & secundum modum delicti , i i according to the nature of their offence , Et hoc per Barones de Scaccario vel coram ipso Rege , and in such cases before only the Barons of the Exchequer or before the King himself ; if a Parkership be granted to an Earl without words to make a deputy , he may do it by his Servants ; if a Duke , Earle , or any other of the Baronage do chase or hunt in any of the Kings Parkes , the law for conveniency , and in respect of his dignity , will permit him so many attendants as shall be requisite to the dignity of his estate , are not to be summoned to a Court k k Statute of 〈…〉 or 〈…〉 ●● . H. 3. c. 10. Leet or Shire Reeves Turn or take their Oathes of Allegiance as all other Males above the age of 12 , are to do neither they nor their Wives are where they cast an Esseine to make Oath as those which are under the degree of Barons ought to do of the truth of the cause alledged for their Essoine , but are only to find pledges , and if upon that l l Flet ▪ lib. 6. ca. 9. Essoine allowed a default be made at the day appointed , amertiandi sunt Plegii , the pledges ( but not the Earles or Barons ) are to be amerced , are exempted by the Seatute of the 5 th of m m Eliz. c. 1. Eliz. cap. 1. from taking the Oath of Supremacy , for that the Queen ; as that Statute saith , was well assured of the Faith of the Temporal Lords , shall have the benefit of their Clergy in all cases , but Murder and n n 1 E●iz . c. 2. Poysoning are not to be put to the Rack or tortured , nor to suffer death even in cases of Treason , by the shamefull death of Hanging , Drawing and affixing their Heads and Quarters in some publick places , ( or as at Naples , o o Memoires du duc du Guise . they execute common persons for such most execrable offences , by beheading them , and putting their Heads upon the Market-place , and hanging afterwards the naked Corps in some pubblick place by one of their Toes ) but are by the favour and warrant of the King only beheaded , and their bodies with their heads laid by , permitted to be decently buried : Shall not be tryed by any Ecclesiastical Courts , but per Pares , by their Peers , for Non-conformity to Common-Prayer shall have Chaplains according to their several degrees p p 21. H. 8. ca 13. and limitations of number , who may hold two Benefices with cure ; When the Sheriff of a County is commanded to raise the posse comitatus , the power of a County , he is not to command the personal service of the Baronage q q Coke 3. part of the Institutes . ca ▪ 56. tit . approver . or Nobility , a Baron or a Noble man is not to pray that a Coroner may receive his accusation or to prove and approve his accusation or appeal in every point or to be disabled for want thereof , When the King by Writ of Summons to Parliament , Scire Facias or his Letters missive shall send for any of the Arch-bishops , Bishops , Earls or Barons to appear before him or give their attendance , they may in their going or returning r r 9 H. 3 ▪ ca. 11. Hil. 20. E. 1 coram Rege Wallia Rot. 37. kill a Deer or two in any of his Forrests , Chases and Parkes , and carry them away , a Capias ad satisfaciend . lieth not against a Peer or Baron of England , a Baron shall not be impannelled of a common Jury although it be for the service of the Country , no Attachment for a contempt in not appearing s s 14. Eliz. Gromwell's case Dyer . 316. or answering in Chancery lyeth against them , their Lands , parcel of their Earldoms , Baronies or Honors , being not to be contributary to the wages of Knights of the Shire t t Magna Charta 29. 20 H 6 ▪ c. 9. 10 E. 4 ▪ 6. 20 H. 6. c. 9. or County wherein those Lands do lie , are in cases of Felony or Treason ; to be tryed only by their Peers , and their Wives are by a Statute made in the 20 th year of King Henry the 6 th , to enjoy the like priviledge ; upon the Surety of the Peace prayed against a Baron , he is not to be arrested by warrant from a Justice , and upon a Supplicavit out of the Chancery , shall give u u Lambard Eirenarch . 81. no surety but promise only upon his Honor ; A Defendant shall not have a day of Grace w w 27 E. 3. 27 H. 8.27 . given him against a Lord of Parliament , because he is supposed to attend the affairs of the publick : a Baron shall not answer upon Oath to a Bill in Chancery or Equity but upon protestation of Honor , nor in a verdict upon a Tryal by Peers , for saith Crompton , the Law makes so much account of the word of a Peer of the Realm x x Crompton Jurisdiction of Courts . 1 H. 4.1 . & Stamford . 152. when he speaks upon his honor , though it be in Case , or upon Tryal for life as it shall be believed , a Baron shall not have a writ of Subpaena directed unto him , but a Letter under the Hand and Seal of the Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper of the great Seal of England ; is not to be arrested or outlawed for Debt y y 21 E. 3 39. 43 E. 3.33 ▪ 8 R. 2. 7 H. 4. 11 H. 4.15 . 1 H. 5.14 . 14 H. 6.2 . 22 H. 6.226 . 27 H. 8.27 . Countee de Salops case . Cokes 9. Report 49. or any other personal action not criminal , there being two Reasons , saith our Law , why the person of a Lord should not be arrested or outlawed for Debt or Trespass ; the one in respect of his dignity , and the other in respect that the law presumes that they have z z Countess of Rutlands case . Cokes 6 Reports 52. & 53. & 3. H. 6 48. sufficient lands and tenements by which they may be distreined , in the Long Writ called the Prerogative Writ issuing out of the Exchequer to distreine the lands and goods of the Kings debtors , or in default thereof to attach their bodies ; there is an express exception of Magnatum dominorum a a Vernons considerations for regulating of the court of Exchequer . 18. & dominarum of the Nobility and their Ladies ; and the Office of Count or Earl was of great trust and confidence for two purposes , the first , ad consulendum Regi b b Nevills case Cokes 7. Rep. 34. Dier 20 Eliz 360 Coke 2 part Instit. cap 2. tempore pacis , to councel , assist and advise the King for the Weale publick in time of peace ; and the second ad defendendum Regem & patriam tempore belli , to defend their King and Country in time of War , and by their power , prowess and valour , guard the Realm ; both which are the proper business of the Barons and the other Nobility as well as the Earls , and in action of Debt , Detinue or Trespass , or in any other action reall or personal brought or commenced for or against c c 13 E. 3. Dier 107 & Crompton Jurisdiction des courts . any of the Nobility , two Knights shall be impannelled on the Jury with other men of worth , and by a late necessary and honorable care of the late Lord Chancellor and Master of the Rolls ; no Original Writ against any of the Nobility in a subsequent Term is permitted to be antedated or to take benefit of a precedent as is now commonly used against such as are not of the Peerage or Nobility : Mr. Selden giving us the Rule , that tenere de Rege in Capite & per Baroniam to hold of the King in Capite d d Selden tit . honor. 704. 2 part ca. 5. § 20. Coke comment . super Littleton 58. and to have lands holden by Barony , and to be a Baron , are one and the same thing , and Synonymies , and not a few of our antient Writers and Memorialls have understood the word Baronia to signifie an Earldom , or the lands appertaining thereunto , which may make it to be more then conjectural that it is their dignity , service e e Dugdale 1 part Monasticon Anglic and attendance upon the King and Weal publick , more then any supposition of their great Estates sufficient to be distreined , which hath founded and continued those just and warrantable liberties and priviledges unto them tam tacito omnium consensu usuque longaevo derived and come down unto us aswell from antiquity the law of Nations , and the civil and Imperial laws , which were no strangers unto us above 400 years after the comeing of our blessed Saviour Christ Jesus into the flesh , or when Papinian the great civil Lawyer f f Seldeni dissertatio ad Fletam ca. 4. § 3. & ca. 5. § 1. & 3. sate upon the Tribunal at York seven years together , whilst the Emperor Severus kept his Court , and was there Resident , wherein are only to be found the Original (g) of many honorable rational and laudable customes of honour and Majesty , used not only in England , but all the Christian Kingdomes and Provinces of Europe ; quam Regni Angliae Institutis latisque quae in Juris necessitatemque vigorem jam diu transiit , as our common and Municipal laws and Reasonable customes of England necessarily to be observed , for if it could be otherwise , or grounded only upon their sufficiencies of Estate whereby to be distreined , every Rich Man or good Freeholder which differ as much from our Nobility , as the Hombre's Rico's , rich men without priviledges do in Spain from the Rico's Hombre's h h Selden tit . h●nor 573. part. 2. ca. 4. Sect. 4 dignified , and rich men might challenge as great a freedom from arrests ; especially when our laws do allow an action upon the case against a Sheriff , or other which shall make a false Retorne , that a Freeholder hath nothing to be distreined when he hath estate sufficient , whereby to be summoned or distreined , but it neither is nor can be so in the case of our Nobility and Baronage who are in times of Parliament to be protected by their Dignities , and the high concernments of Parliamentary affairs from any mol●station or disturbance by any Writs or Processe either in their Persons or Estates , and are by some condiscention and custome in favour to such as may have cause of action against them in the vacancy of Parliaments and when their priviledge of Parliament ceaseth , become liable to the Kings Writs or Processe , yet not by any Processe of arrest or imprisoning of their persons , but by Writs of Summons , Pone per vades & salvos , taking some Pledge or Cattle , that they shall appear , and Distringes to distrein them by their Lands , Tenements , Goods and Chattels , untill they do appear and answer to the action , that which is retorned or levied thereupon being not retorned into the Exchequer or forfeit to the King if they do appear in any reasonable time unto which priviledge of Process the Bishops of England and Wales holding by Barony , may justly claim or deserve to be admitted , when as the Metropolitans having an Estate for life in their Bishopricks and Baronies , ought not to have a Nihil habet retorned against in their several Provinces , nor the Suffragan Bishops in their Diocesses nor have their dignities subjected to the violence of Arrests or sordid usage of prisons ; hindering the execution of their sacred Offices in the Government and daily occasions of the Church of God : neither are any of the Baronage or Bishops of England to be i i Register of Writs 100. b. distreined in their Journeys , per equitaturam , by their Horses or Equipage , for any Debt , or upon any other personal action whilst they have any other Goods or Chattels whereby to be distreined .

So as if any of the Temporal Baronage of England holding their Earldomes or Baronies in Fee or Fee Tail or for Life should by the prodigality of themselves or their Ancestors or by misfortunes , troubles or vicissitudes of times as too many have been since their honors have not been ( as if rightly understood they ought to be ) accounted feudall , and the Lands thereunto belonging as the lands of the Bishops and spiritual Barons unalienable be reduced to a weak or small Estate in lands , or should have none , as John afterwards King of England , a younger son of King Henry the Second was : who untill his father had conferred some honors and lands upon him was called Jean sans terre , John without land , yet they having a Freehold in their honors and dignities , and the Dukes , Marquesses , Earles and Viscounts of England having at their Creations some support of honor , by way of Pension or Annuity , yearly paid unto them by the King and his Heirs and Successors annexed thereunto , and not to be severed from it ; The antient Earles having the third peny , or part of the Fines and Amercements due to the King out of the Counties , of which they were Earles afterwards about the Raigne of King John reduced k k Selden 2 part . tit. honor 637. ca 5. §. 7. ro . liberat . 2. Regis Johanis in 3. to 20 Ma●kes per annum , as all the later Earles and Viscounts now have , and the Dukes and Marquesses a greater yearly , annuity or Creation mony , as 40 Marks or 40 l. per an . And all the Nobility and Baronage of England having besides a Freehold in their honors and dignities and their houses nobly furnished , some of them having above 20 thousand pounds per an . lands of Inheritance many above 10 , others 7 , 6 , 5 , 4. or 3 , thousand pounds per annum lands of Inheritance in Taile , or for Life , and none unless it be one or two whose misfortunes have brought their Estates for Life or Inheritance something under one thousand pound per annum . There can be neither ground or reason for any Sheriff upon any the aforesaid Writs awarded or made against any of them to retorne , Quod nihil habet per quod summoniri possiit , that he had nothing whereby to be summoned attached or distreined , and if that could as it cannot rationally be truly or legally done , yet the Judges sworn unto the observance of the laws , and to do Justice unto all sorts of people cannot in any of their Courts award or cause Writs or Process of Capias against them to arrest or imprison their bodies upon any action of debt or other personal actions not criminal which makes an impossibility for any of them in civil actions to be outlawed .

And if they had neither Creation , mony nor Lands , Goods or Chattels , which is neither rationally or probably to be either imagined or beleived , yet they are not to be denied those honorable priviledge so antiently and by the laws of nations belonging to their high calling and dignities , when as the antient Charters or Creations of Earls ( those later of some of our Dukes , Marquesses , Viscounts and Barons having words and clauses amounting to as much ) do grant them as in that antient one by King Henry the second to Earle A●berick or Albercius de tere of the Earldome of Oxenfordscyre their honors ita libere quiete & l l Selden tit . honor 651 , 652. 2 part ca. 5. Sect. 10. honorifice sicut aliquis comitum Angliae liberius quetius & honorificieutius habet as freely and honorably as any Earl of England held his Earldome as that grant of the same King to William d'Abbiney of the Earldome of Arundell , cum omnibus libertatibus & liberis consuetudinibus predicto honori pertinentibus , with all the liberties and free customes to the said honour appertaining that of later m m Pat. 5. E. 6 in 4. Selden tit honor 664. 2 part . ea 5 Sect 10 granted to the Earl of Pembroke by King Edward the 6 th of the Earldome of Pembroke , cum omnibus & singulis praeheminentiis honori Comitis pertinentibus , with all preheminencies and honors belonging to the honour and dignity of an Earl , Et habere sedem locum & vocem ( as all the grants and Creations of the later Earles do now allow and import ) in Parliamentis publicis Comitiis & Consiliis nostrorum haeredum & successorum infra regnum Angliis inter alios Comites , and to have place vote or suffrage in the Parliaments or Councells of the King his heirs or successors amongst the Earles within the Kingdome of England , nec non uti & gandere omnibus & singulis Juribus privilegiis praeheminentiis & immunitatibus statui comitis in omnibus rite & de I're pertinentibus quibus caeteri comites Regni Angliae ante haec tempora melius honorificentius quietius & liberius usi & gravisi sunt , as likewise to use and enjoy all and singular rights , priviledges , immunities and preheminencies to the degree and state of an Earl in every thing rightly and by law appertaining as other Earles of the Kingdome of England , best most honourably and freely have used and enjoyed , all who the aforesaid antient honorable priviledges , preheminencies , and immunities granted and allowed the Nobility and Baronage of England those Sons and Generations of merit adorned by their ancestors vertue aswell as their own and the honors which their Soveraigns have imparted unto them have been ratified by our Magna Charta so very often confirmed by several Acts of Parliament , and the Petition of Right ( in and by which the properties and liberties of all the people of England are upheld and supported ) and therefore the honors and dignities being personal Officiary , or relating to their service and attendance upon the throne and Majesty Royal , and conducing to the Honor , Welfare and safety of the King and his people ; King Henry the 6 th may be thought to have been of the same opinion when the Commons in Parliament having in the 29 th year of his n n Rot. Part hincu . 29. H 6. raign , Petitioned him that the Duke of Sommerset , Dutchess of Suffolk and others may be put from about his person , he consented that all should depart unless they be Lords whom he could not spare from his person .

And in Askes Rebellion in Yorkshire , in the latter end of the o o Lord Herberts History of King Henry the eighth . 418. raigne of King Henry the 8 th , the Commons complained that the King was not ( although he had many about him of great Nobility ) served or attended with Noble or worthy men , And also the Lords Spiritual assembled in Parliament in the second year of the raigne of King Charles the Martyr , when they Petitioned the King against the Inconveniences of some English mens being created Earles , Viscounts and Barons of Scotland or Ireland that had neither residence nor estates in those Kingdomes did amongst other things alledge that it was a Shame to nobility that such persons dignified with the titles of Barons Viscounts , &c ▪ should be exposed and obnoxious to arrests , they being in the view of the law no more p p Rushworths Historical Collections . 237. then meer Plebejans , and prayed that his Majesty would take some Course to prevent the prejudice and disparagement of the Peers and Nobility of this Kingdome who being more peculiarly under the protection of their Soveraigne in the enjoyment of their priviledges have upon any invasion thereof a more special addresse unto him for the Conservation thereof , as in the case of the Earl of Northampton , the twentieth day of June in the 13 th year of the Raign of King Charles the Martyr against Edmond Cooper a Serjeant at Mace in London and William Elliot for arresting of him they were by the Lord Chamberlains warrant apprehended and committed to the Marshall and not discharged but by warrant of the Lord Chamberlain bearing date the third day of July next following , and needs not seem unusual strange or irrational , unto any who shall but observe and consult the liberties priviledges immunities and praeheminencies granted and permitted unto the Nobility of many other Nations and Countries aswell now as very antiently by their Municipal and reasonable customes and the civil or Caesarean laws .

CHAP. XVI .

That many the like priviledges and praeheminences are and have been antiently by the Civil and Caesarian laws and the Municipall Laws and reasonable Customes of many other Nations granted and allowed to the nobility thereof ▪

WHen as the Hebrews who thought themselves the most antient wise and priviledged of the Sonnes of men a a Sigonius de repub . Hebraeorum ca. 5. & 6. Menochius de repub . Hebraeorum lib. 1. ca. 6. Sect. 8. Jos. 29.51 2 Sam. 23.23 . 1. Reg. 8.1.3 . 2 Reg. c. 2. 2 Reg. 1.5.9.11 . 1 Paralip . ca. had their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tribuum principes & Capita qui cum Rege sedentes partim consilia mibant partim ▪ Jus reddebant , Princes of the Tribes under the King were the chief Magistrates and heads of the people attended the King , sate with him as his Councel and assisted him in the making of laws , of which the book of God giveth plentiful evidences , Solomon had b b 1 Reg. 4.2 . his Princes , some of whom were set over his household Ahab had Princes of his Provinces , Jehoram King of Israel leaned upon the hand c c 2 Reg. 7. v. 2. & 17. of a Lord that belonged unto him , And our Saviour Christ alludeth to the Princes of Israel the Elders and Judges of the people when he d d Mat. 19.28 saith his twelve Apostles should after the Consummation of the world , sit and Judge the twelve Tribes of Israel , amongst e e Sigonius de repub . Atheniensium . lib. 1. ca. 2. & 4. l. 2. c. 5. the Graecians the nobility derived their honors from their Kings and Princes and by the lawes of Solon and the ten Tables were alwaies distinguished from the Common people and had the greatest honours and authorities , and in all other Nations , who live under Monarchs have been favoured and endowed therewith , the old Roman Nobility refused to marry with the Ignoble ( as those of Denmark and Germany do now which our English descended from the later , did so much approve of as they accompted it to be a disparagement to all the rest of the Family and Kindred to marry with Citizens or people of f f Coke 1. part Institutes . vel comment sup. Littleton tit . Knight service Sect. 107. & 108 mean Extractions ) Julius Caesar when he feasted the Patricii or Nobility and the common people entertained the Nobility in one part of his Palace , and the Common people in another , ( and not denied some part of it even in the Venetian and Dutch Republick ) as amongst many other not here ennumerated , Nobilis g g Valentius Fostevus in Hist. Juris Civilis Rom. lib. 3. ca. 12.480 . minus su●t puniendi quam ignobilis , Noble men are not to be so severely punished as ignoble , Nobiles propter debitum Civile vel ex causa aeris alieni non debent realiter citari vel in Carcerem duci , are not for debts or moneys owing to be arrested or imprisoned propter furtum vel aliud crimen suspendio dignum laquei supplicio non sunt plectendi , are not for Theft or any other Crime to be hanged , and that priviledge so much allowed and insisted upon in the Republick or Commommon wealth of Genoar in the height of their envy or dislike of their h h Nolden de S●atu nobilium civili . ca. 15 Sect. 5. & 7. Cuiacius com●ment . ad lib. 12. Cod , Justiniani tit. 1. d. l. 2. Cod. & nemo privatus . Nobility , as they did about the year of our Saviour 1220 displace the learned Jacobus Baldwinus a Doctor of the Civil Law , and removed him from his place of Praetor or Lord Chief Justice into which they had elected him for that he had caused a Noble man to be hanged when as ●atrio Statuto strangulationis ignominia eximuntur nobiles , a Noble man was by their Laws not to be put to death in so ignominious a manner and thereupon enacted by a Law , that from thenceforth no Doctor of Law should be admitted into the Office or place of Praetor , Hispanus nobilis jure Regio Hispaniarum ex Nobilitatis privilegio in Carcerem mitti non potest nec in ipsius i i Nolden de Statu nobilium Civili Synopsis Bract. ca. 1● Sect. 2.3.5 . armis & equo recte fit executio , A Spanish Noblemen is not by the Kingly law and Prerogative of the King of Spain and tbe priviledge of his nobility to be imprisoned or his Arms or Horse taken in Execution ; by the Laws of Poland and of Flanders a Noble man is not to be imprisoned but taken into custody by the Magistrate or Judge in their houses , or confined to some City or place , until the debt demanded or Action be satisfied , or by plea discharged in depositionibus attestationibus & testimoniis ferendis magis creditur Nobilibus quam Ignobilibus , in attestations or testimonies , Noble men are more to be credited then ignoble , ac etiam cum de illorum re agitur , even when it is in their answers or own concernments , ad officia secularia magis quam plebei assumuntur are sooner to be preferred to secular Offices and imployments then such as are ignoble , reverenter sunt salutandi are to be reverently saluted ad omnem occursum illis assurgendum caput revelandum de k k Gratian tom. 2 discept . for . ca. 284. Cassaenaeus in Catalog gloriae mundi Fr. Marci . deors Delph 806. n 11. tom. 1. via decedendum &c. men are to rise unto them at their coming towards them : uncover their heads , or give them way or place , for in doing them honour the Prince or King that gave them the honour is honoured , Si in judiciis comparent Index l l Bonfin lib. 7 Chronic. Hungar. 4 Schrader cons. 3. n 197. vol. 1. ( qui in Hungaria in causis nobilium non nisi nobilis ) eos salutare & ad sedendum : aliquo humiliori loco iuvitari debet , if he appear in any Court of Justice the Judge ( who in Hungary in the causes of any of the Nobility is likewise to be a Noble man ) is to salute them and invite them to sit in some place beneath the Tribunal , Non verbo sed in scriptis sunt citandi are m m Nolden de Statu Nobilium Civili ca. 13.297 . not to be cited by word of mouth , but by writing , de calumnia personaliter jurare non tenentur , are not to take in any action , the Oath de Calumnia , that the action is not meerly brought in n n Nolden Synoptis tractat . de Statu nobilium civili ca. 13. Sect. 6. idem 304. Sect 11. ca. 15. Sect. 2. malice or for contention , injuria nobilibus illata longe aliter aestimatur quam ea quae ignobili infertur an injury done unto them is more then to one which is ignoble , torqueri non debent , ought not to be put upon the Rack , or tortured , Offendens Consiliarium principis incurrit crimen Majestatis quando offenderetur in odium & contemptum siu p p Nolden de Statu nobilium Civili ca 5. Sect. 1. principis , he which hurteth or offendeth a Councellor of the Prince ( our Temporal Baronage being so in Parliament by Inheritance ) committeth Treason if it be done in hatred or contempt to the Prince . o o Cuiacius comment ad lib. 12. Cod. justinian . tit. 1. And the reason given for the high esteem of Nobility , and those more then ordinary favours and priviledges granted and imparted unto them and the Baronage of the Empires of Rome , Germany , and many Neighbour Kingdomes are that they are de familia Principis , q q Alberis Ruland de Commissor part 1. l. 5. ca. 6 n. 15. Menoch . cons. 902. n. 30. Nolden de statu . Nobil . civili . ca. 5.79 . accompted as a part of the Families of the Emperors and Kings , unum cum ipso faciant corpus unum Consistorium , are as one body and incorporate inhaerere principi dicuntur sicut stellae firmamento soli are said to attend the Prince , as the Stars in the firmament do the Sun , & radii solares solem , and as the Rayes or Beams of the Sun do accompany it . The Emperours Honorius Theodosius r r Cujacius ad l. 12. Cod. Justiniani tit . 18. Petrus Granetius de stylo regie Gallorum Juridict . olim . Salucianis prescripto 321. Sect. 365. & 366. declaring that immunitate digni sunt quos sui lateris comitatus illustrat , that they which had the honour to attend and be near their persons deserved to be priviledged .

Poloni Nobiles cum de illorum vita & honore agitur non ab alio quam ipsom & Rege Judicari possint & non nisi consulto principe sunt puniendi , the Nobility of Poland in any matter concerning their life and honour , are only to be tryed by the King , and are not to be punished unless the Prince be first consulted and do approve thereof . Et Barones apud Gallos non aliorum Judicio subsisti poterant in prima instancia quam Nobilium & Seneschallorum ad quos Idcirco illorum causae maxime feudales remissae fuisse leguntur apud Jo. Tilleum recollectorum Franciae regum . And the French Baronage are in the first instance to to subject to no other Court or Judgement , then that of the Nobility and Stewards ( appointed by the King ) and therefore their causes especially such as concerned their feudal estates or honorary possessions were as appeareth by John Tilly thither remitted , Et ab omni aevo Nobilium Galliae fuit spec●ale privilegium ut omnes eorum cause semper essent reservatae singulari Regis Supremi eorum principis salvo guardia protectioni & jurisdictioni . And it was in all ages a special priviledge of the French Nobility to be under the Guard , Protection and Jurisdiction of their Soveraigne , Atque hinc Ballivorum antiqua Institutio quod illi essent & esse deberent tanquam custodes & conservatores omnium jurium & privilegiorum nobilibus s s Petrus Granetius de stilo rigio Gallorum 359. §. 440. & 441. competentium , and from thence came that antient institution of Bailiffs ( Judges or officers specially appointed ) who were & ought and were to be as Guardians and conservators of all the rights and priviledges appertaining to the Nobility , Et nobiles non minus privilegiati & favorabiles quam t t Ibid. 338. sect. 437. familiares & domestici principum vel Officialium , And the Nobility are there to be no less priviledged and savoured then the Servants and domestiques of the King or any of his Officers , the distinction betwixt the Nobility and common people of all the Kingdoms and Nations of the Earth being so universal : As in China , u u 3 part Purchas Pilgrimage . 185 , 187. the Mandarines being the Nobility and Governors of Provinces cannot be imprisoned but for heinous faults , have two Maces of Silver carried before them in the streets , and none are to cross the streets whilst they pass along and all men are to give way unto them ; Montezeuma Emperor of Mexico in the West-Indies ordained that the Noblest men of his Empire should live in his Palace , would have none of the Plebeyans but Knights in any office in his Court , who had priviledge to carry Gold and w w 3 part Purchas Pilgrimage 1019.1663 . Silver , wear rich Cotton and use painted and gilt vessels which the common people might not . And even the most wild and barbarous of mankind inhabiting the Earth in those Countries and places where the glimmerings of nature and civility could give any admission , have so every where acknowledged an honor due to their nobility , as upon the Coasts of Guinee in Africa , a Country x x Le Sieur Villault Voyage to Guinee in Annis 1666 & 1667.251 252. not at all acquainted with learning or the more civilized Customes of Africa , Europe or Asia : those that they take for their Nobility , have a liberty which the vulgar have not , to trade in every place as they please , sell and buy slaves have their Drums and Trumpets play as they think good before them , and those who are advanced for any Noble Atcheivement have always the principal charges in the Army .

Nor should our Nobility or the Kings servants be debarred of any of their just rights or privileges , when as per reductionem ad principia , by a view and reflection upon the Original and causes of all those many priviledges and immunities granted or permitted by our Kings of England unto others of his Subjects and people it will appear that his own servants in Ordinary should not be grudged that which by so many grounds of law and right reason , and the antient and reasonable Customes of England may be believed to belong unto them .

CHAP. XVII .

That the Immunities and Priviledges granted and permitted by our Kings of England unto many of their People and Subjects who were not their Servants in Ordinary do amount unto asmuch and in some more then what our Kings Servants in Ornary did or do now desire to enjoy .

FOr ab hac solis luoe from those or the like rays and beams of Majesty and emanations of right , reason and necessity of the Kings affairs ( which notwithstanding the late groundless , mad and fond rebellious principle of seperating the Kings person from his Authority , and a pretended supremacy in the Parliament , or at the least a co-ordination , should not be disturbed ) came , and was derived that grand priviledg of the Nobility and Baronage of England , many of whom are not his Domesticks , not to be molested in time of Parliament or forty days before the beginning of it in their coming unto it upon the Kings Summons , and as many days after the end of a Parliament in their retorn to their Habitations , ( though there is no direct way or Journey from their habitations to any place in England where the Parliament is to be kept or holden , which can require so much expence of time as twenty days in travelling unto it , or twenty days in retorning home ) by any Process , Writs or Summons , out of any the ordinary or extraordinary Courts of Justice law or equity , the Baronage of England enjoying those priviledges in the 18 th year of the Raign of King Edward the first which were then not newly granted or permitted , but were antient and justly and legally to be insisted upon , as the punishment of the Prior of the holy Trinity in London , not meanly fortified with his own priviledges , and the power and protection of the Church , and that also of Bogo de Clare , who was imprisoned and fined two thousand Marks to the King , at that time a very great sum of mony , pro transgressione sibi facta for the trespass committed against the King for citing Edmond Earl of Cornwal in Westminster Hall , in the time of Parliament , to appear before the Arch-bishop of Canterbury , whose spiritual Court and Power was then very predominant , as hath been before mentioned and it appeareth in the Records of that Kings Raign ; that he refused to give leave to the Master of the Temple to distrein the Bishop of St. Davids in Parliament time , for the Rent of an house held of him in London , and answered , quod non videtur honestum quod Rex concedat tempore y y El●ings antient & present manner of holding Parliaments England . Parliamenti sed alio tempore distringat , that it would not be just or fitting for the King to grant such a Licence in time of Parliament , but at another time he might distrein , and by a very antient right are to be exempted from arrest and the Ordinary Course of Process when there were no Parliaments .

The Writ of Summons directed to the Sheriffs for the Election of two Knights , the wisest and most discreet of every Shire and County of England ( the County Palatine of Chester then only excepted ) and for two Burgesses to be sent unto Parliament out of the Cities and certain Boroughs of England the King in the Parliament , being without suspition of any unwarrantable conjecture , to be rationally believed to have been first framed and sent out in K. Henry the thirds name , in the 49 th year of his Raigne , by the Earls of Leicester and Gloucester , after the Battle of Lewis in Sussex wherein he and his Son Prince Edward , afterwards King Edward the first , were taken Prisoners by them and other the Rebellious Barons who had taken armes against him as my learned and worthy friend Mr. William Dugdale , Norroy King at z z Dugdales Origines Juridicial .13 . & 18. Armes , by comparing the date of those Writs , the one bearing date the 14 th day of December at Worcester in the 49 th year of the Raign of that King , and the other at Woodstock the 24 th of December in the same year , to meet at London on the Octaves of St. Hi●lary then next ensuing , with the day or time of that Battle , and that Kings imprisonment hath after it had for so many Ages past , escaped the Industry , Inquiries , Observations and Pens of all other our English Writers , Annalists , Chronicles & Antiquaries , very judiciously and ingeniously observed , which Summons of the Commons to Parliament doth not , saith a a Vid. Prynns Register of Parliament Writs . Mr. William Prynn , appear to have been put in Execution , untill about the 23th . year of the Raign of King Edward the b b Vide Prynns Register of Parliament Writs . first , whence by Regal Indulgencies and no Innate or Inherent right of their own , but ab hoc fonte , from the same spring and fountain of the attendance and affairs of the King , proceeded the priviledges of Parliament for the Members of the house of Commons in Parliament , to be free from actions at Law or Pleas in time of Parliament , as Early as the raign of King Edward the second , when he sent his Writ or c c Rot. claus. 8 E. 2 m 22. & 33. in dorso . Proclamation to the Justices of Assize in all the Counties of England to supersede all actions against the Barons and others summoned to Parliament .

In the 11 th year of the raign of King Richard the second , upon a riot and trespass committed upon the Lands , Goods , Servants , and Tenants of Sir John Derwintwater chosen to d d Prynns Animadversions upon Cokes 4 part of the Institutes and additional Appendix . 332. be a Member of Parliament for the County of Cumberland , a Commission was granted by that King under the great Seal of England to Henry de Percy Earl of Northumberland to inquire by a Jury of the County of Westmerland concerning the same , and to cause to be arrested and taken , all that should be found guilty thereof , and to appear before the King and his Councell wheresoever he should be 15 days after the Michaelmass then next ensuing .

In the fifth year of the Raign of King Henry the fourth , the Commons in e e Rot. Parl. 5 H. 4. m. 7. Parliament alledging that whereas according to to the Custome of the Realm , the Lords , Knights , Citizens and Burgesses coming to Parliament at his Command , and there staying and in retorning to their Countrys , ought With their men and their servants with them to be under his special protection and defencc and ought not for any debt trespass or other contract whatsoever to be arrested , or any way imprisoned in the mean time ; And that many such men comming to Parliament with their men and Servants , have been during the time of Parliament arrested by them who had full knowledge that they so arrested by them were of the Parliament in contempt of his Majesty , great dammage of the party and delay of the business of the Parliament , did Petition the King to establish that if any hereafter do arrest any such man comming to the Parliament , as aforesaid , or any of their men or servants or any thing attempt , contrary to the said Custome , he should make fine and ransome to the King , and render treble dammages to the party grieved .

Which was no more than what the Aurea Bulla , or f f Aurea Bulla in Archiv . Electoris Palatini edit , per Marquardum Freherum : ca. 1. & 12. Golden Bull , confirmed by Charles the 4 th Emperor of Germany in his Edict touching the seven Electors of the Empire , and the manner of their election of the Emperors bearing date in January 1256 did ordain that the said Electors or their deputies or Embassadors in their going to Frankfort upon the Main , tarrying and retorne from thence should with 200 Horse attending each Elector , be freed from all injuries , molestations , process or arrests , and in their going and retorn have the like , and a safe conduct with the like freedome and priviledge as they passed through each of the other Electors Territories and the like in their meetings or assemblies at the Comitia , Diets or Parliaments of the Empire and should have their provisions and necessaries at reasonable rates , and that those that should molest them in their persons or Estates , should be pr●scribed and banished and forfeit their lands and estates , And it appeared to be so reasonable to the French , as before the Ordinance of Moulins , which was made and verified by themselves in Parliament , which provided that the Counsellors , Judges or Senators , in the Courts of Parliament might be arrested for debt after four moneths legal notice or Summon did ad adjudge that it belonged not to a Subalterne or inferiour Judge , ordonner contre la personne d' un Senateur personne privilegie que les Senateurs partem corporis principis , faciebant , to award process against a Senator being a person priviledged , that the Senators were a part of the body ( politique ) of the Prince Qu'il estoit honteux voir en prison ceux qui en un momeat , se pouvoyent seoir au senat , that it would be a shame to see a Senator in Prison which might shortly after sit in the Senate , that as their wages were priviledged from being arrested for a Debt , so where their persons Que g g Love● recueil d' Aucums notable arrests en le Parlement de Paris ca. 31. les Rayons , de ceste Souverainete ( du Roy ) ne se ponvoient separer d'avec eux , that the Rayes of the Kings Soveraignty could not be separated from them .

Those or the like Protections , privileges & immunities being in England accompted & beleived to be so necessary to the service and affairs of the King and the weal publick , as in the same year and Parliament , the Commons did Petition the King , that whereas All the Lords Knights , Citizens and Burgesses and their h h 5 H. 4 ▪ rot. Parl m 78. servants coming to Pariiament by the Kings Writ are in comming staying and retorning under his protection R●yal , and that many mischiefs and impeachments do often happen unto the said Lords Knights Citizens and Burgesses , and their maenial servants at those times as by Murther , Maims , and Batteries by people lying in wait or otherwise , for which due remedy is not yet provided , and that namely and particularly in this Parliament an horrible Battery and Mischeif was committed upon Richard Chedder Esq who came to the Parliament with Sr. Thomas Brook , Knight , one of the Knights for the County of Somerset , and Maenial with him by John Sallage , otherwise called John Savage , whereby the said Richard Chedder was imblemished and maimed to the peril of death , that he would please to ordain upon that matter sufficient remedy , and for other such causes semblable , so as the punishment of him might give example and terror unto others not to commit the like mischeifs in time to come , that is to say , If any man shall kill or murther any that is come under the Kings Protection to Parliament that it be adjudged Treason , and if any do maim or disfigure any such coming under the Kings Protection , that he lose his hand , and if any do assault or beat any suoh so come , that he be imprisoned for a year , and make fine and Ransome to the King , and that it would please the King of his special grace hereafter to abstain from Chartere of pardon , in such cases , unless that the parties be fully agreed ,

Upon which they obtained an Act of Parliament , and a Proclamation , that the said John Savage should appear , and render himself into the Kings Bench within a i i El●ings antient and modern holding of Parliaments 150 quarter of a year after , and if he did not he should pay to the party endamaged double dammages to be taxed by the discretion of the Judges of the said Bench , for the time being or by Inquest if need be , and make fine and ransom at the Kings will , and that it should be so done in time to come in like cases .

Whereupon the said John Savage not appearing upon the said Proclamation , and being prosecuted in the Court of Kings Bench , by the said Richard Chedder , and convicted , and the Justices giving no full judgment therein , but sending a writ of inquiry of damages several times to the k k Trin. 7. H. 4. coram Rege rot. 69. Sheriffs of London , who did nothing , thereupon did at length upon view of his wounds and maim , not think it necessary to proceed by a Jury upon a writ of inquiry of damage , but according to their discretion did adjudge that the said Richard Chedder should recover against the said John Savage his damages , which were taxed at one hundred marks , and likewise taxed him to pay the double thereof being another hundred markes .

Our Statutes and acts of Parliament being then as in former times , and all along until these later times usually or most commonly ushered in and introduced by Petitions to the King in Parliament , as the Parliament Rolls and Journalls , compared with the printed Statutes or acts of Parliament will abundantly testifie .

And such a care was taken of the conservation of those priviledges .

As in the 8 th year of the Raigne of King Henry the 6 th at the request of the Commons in Parliament l l 8. H. 6. rot. parl . m. 57. one William Larke servant to William Mildred a Burgesse in Parliament for London being committed to the Fleet upon an Execution for debt was delivered by the priviledge of the Commons House , and authority given by the King to the Chancellor , to appoint certain by Commission to apprehend him after the Parliament ended to satisfie the said Debt and Execution .

In the same year and Parliament , for that the prelatee and Clergy m m 8 H. 6. ca. 1. of the Realm of England called to the Convocation , and their servants and families that come with them to sach Convocation often times , and commonly be arrested molested and inquieted , the King willing gratiously in that behalf to provide for the security and quie●ness of the said Prelates and Clergy , at the supplication of the said Prelates and Clergie and by the assent of the great men and Commons in Parllament assembled , did ordain and establish , that all the Clergy hereafter to be called to the Convocation by the Kings writ and their servants and familiars should for ever hereafter fully use and enjoy such liberty or defenee in coming tarrying and retorning as the great men , and commonly of the Realm of England , called or to be called to the Kings Parliament , did enjoy or were wont to enjoy , or in time to come ought to enjoy .

In the 23. and 24 th year of the Raigne of that King the Commons in Parliament n n Rot. parl. 23 & 24. H. 6. m. 40. did pray the King that every person being of the Lords or Commons House , having any assault or fray made upon him being at the parliament , or coming or going from thence might have the like remedy , therefore as Sir Thomas Parre Knight had ( which shews that in those days they did not endeavour to punish any breach of their priviledges by their own authority , but made their addresse by their petitions unto the King as their Soveraigne and Supreme for his Justice therein ) To which the King answered the Statutes therefore made should be observed .

In the 28 th year of the said Kings Raigne , It was at the request of the Commons in o o Rot. parl . 28. H. 6. m. 56. parliament , for that William Taylebois of South Lime , in the County of Lincoln Esq would in the Parliament time have slain Ralph Lord Cromwell , one of the Kings Councel in the Pallace of Westminster ; Enacted that the said William Taylebois should therefore be committed to the Tower of London , there to remain one year without bayle baston or Mainprize , and that before his delivery he should answer unto the same .

In the 14 th and 15 th year of the Raign of King Edward the 4 th , William Hide a Burgess of Parliament for the Town of Chippenham in Wiltshire being a p p Rot. parl . 14. & 15. E. 4. m. 54. Prisoner upon a Writ of Capias ad satisfaciendum obtained a Writ out of the Chancery to be delivered with a saving of the right of other men to have Execution after the Parliament ended , ( notwithstanding the P●ecedent of Sir William Thorpe Knight , Speaker of the house of Commons in the 18 th year of the Raigne of the Raigne of King Henry the 6 th taken in Execution for a debt of 1000 l. at the suit of Richard Duke of York betwixt the adjournment and recess of that Parliament and could not be released , so as a new Speaker was chosen in his place , which may well be conjectered to have been so carried by the then overbearing power and influence of that Duke and his party great alliance and pretences to the Crown , which that meek and pious King was not able to resist .

For in the 17 th year of the raigne of King Edward the 4 th at the petition of the Commons in Parliament the q q Rot. parl . 17. E. 4. m. 35. King with the assent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal granted that John Atwill a Burgess of the City of Exeter condemned in the Exchequer during the Parliament , upon eight several informations at the suit of John Taylor of the same Town should have as many Writs of Supersedeas as he would untill his coming home after the Parliament .

In the 35 th year of the Raigne of King Henry the 8 th . Trewyniard a Burgess of Parliament being imprisoned upon an Utlary in an action of debt upon a Capias ad satisfaciendum was delivered by priviledge of Parliament , allowed to be legal by the opinion of the Judges before whom that case of his imprisonment and release was afterwards debated and their reasons as hath been before remembred given for the same with which agreeth the precedent in the case of Edward Smalley a servant of Mr. Hales a member of Parliament taken in Execution in the 18 th year of the Raigne of Queen Elizabeth in the Report whereof made by the Committee of Parliament for his delivery , it is said that the said Committee found no precedent for the setting at large any person in arrest but only by writ and that by diverse precedents on r r Elsings antient and present manner of holding of Parliaments in England 199 , 200. & 201. Record and perused by the said Committee , it appeared that every Knight Citizen and Burgesse of the house of Commons in Parliament , which doth require priviledge hath used in that case to take a corporal oath before the Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper of the great Seal of England for the time being that the party for whom such writ is prayed came with him to the Parliament , was his servant at the the time of the arrest made , whereupon Mr , Hale was directed by the house of Commons to make an oath before the Lord Keeper as aforesaid , and to procure a warrant for a Writ of priviledge for his said servant , howbeit the Lords in Parliament did in the Raigne of Queen Elizabeth usually of their own authority deliver their Servants out of Execution , if arrested in Parliament time .

In the 27 th year of her Raigne , a Member of the house of Commons having been served with a Writ of Subpaena issuing out of the Chancery , and the house signifying to the Lord Keeper that it was against their priviledge s s Journal of the House of Commons in Parliament . 27. Eliz. he retorned answer , that he could not submit to any opinion of the house concerning their priviledges , except those priviledges were allowed in Chancery and would not recall the Subpaena .

With which accordeth Mr. William Pryn too violent an undertaker in the late times of usurpation , to assert their phantosme or feigned soveraignty whereof he was then and since his Majesties happy restoration untill his death , a member who having by the keeping of the Records in the Tower of London , found the way to a better weighed and more sober consideration and cause enough , if he would have well inspected himself and what he had formerly written to retract those many errors which an overhasty reading and writing had hurried him into , hath in his animadversions t t Pryns Animadversions upon Cokes 4 th part Institutes . upon Sir Edward Cokes 4 th part of his Institutes declared , that the house of Commons in Parliament had untill the later end of the last Century assumed no Jurisdiction to themselves or their Committee of priviledges to punish breaches of priviledges but onely complained thereof to the King or the Lords in Parliament .

And therefore King James in an answer to a Petition of the House of Commons in Parliament in Anno Dom. 1622 , was not in an error , when he said , that although we cannot allow of the stile calling your priviledges your antient and undoubted rights and inheriiance , but could rather have wished that you had said that your priviledges were derived from the grace or permission of our Ancestors and us , for most of them were from precedents , which shews rather a tolleration then inheritance , yet we are pleased to give you our royal assurance , that as long as you contain your selves u u Rushworths Historical Collections . 52 ▪ within the limits of our duty we will be as careful to maintain and preserve your lawful liberties and priviledges as ever any of our predecessors were , nay as to preserve our own Royal Prerogative .

Et ab hac radice Regalitatis & rectae Rationis , And from that root of Regality and right reason , only Foundation and Original , though Sir Edward Coke is willing to mistake it when he would have it to flow from a respect only due to Justice and the Courts thereof have proceeded the great reverence and awe due unto the Superior Courts of Justice at Westminster Hall , ( for lesser or inferiour Courts do neither deserve nor claim it ) when the Judges do sit there in their several Superior Courts under the Shadow and protection of the Royal Oak .

Whence also came that very necessary custom and usage , to be bare , uncovered , and respectful in their words and behaviour to one another in the Judges presence , as well as unto the Judges themselves , and from whence , and the reflex of Supreme authority , have the Judges power to fine or imprison such as mis-behave themselves therein as in the case of William Botesford , fined to pay two Marks , by the Justices of the Court of Kings Bench , for threatning to kill one Hawis Gaygold , for prosecuting him in an action of trespass w w Pasch. 10. E. 3. Lincoln . Rot. 59. and using those Menaces in aula placitorum in presentia Justic. ipsius Regis & Curiae suae contemptum in Westminster Hall , in the presence of the Kings Justices , and in contempt of the Court , and was committed to the Marshall , and that at an Assize holden at Northampton x x North. assize . 3. E 3 Rot. 7. in the third year of the Raign of King Edward the third , John Blundell was attached , ad Respondend tam domino Regi quam Willielmo de Towcester Attorn: Thomae Comitis Mariscalli Angliae de placito quare insultum fecit super ipsum in domini Regis & curia contemptum , & per verba contumeliosa ipsum vili pendebat in retardationem prosecutiones negotiorum praedict. comitis & aliorum , to answer aswell unto the King as William of Towcester Attorny for the Earle Marshall of England wherefore he made an assault upon him in contempt of the King and his Court , and did with many scandalous words revile him to the disturbance of the business of the said Earle and others . Super quo Juratores de consensu partium praedict. instanti die transgressionis impanellat whereupon a Jury being the same day of the trespass and offence by the consent of both parties impannelled , the Jury found that the said John Blundell was guilty , and he was committed to prison , & fecit finem domino Regi per dimid. Marcae per pleg' &c. qui manuceper . quod bene se gereret & pacifice versus predictum Willielm . & alios quoscunque , and was fined to pay half a Mark to the King , and gave bayl for his good behaviour towards the said William and all others .

And whence all the Judges are impowred to free such as are arrested in the face or sight of the Court , though it be upon process granted by themselves or any other Court in the Kings name , or upon the most just and legal action , as likewise to aggravate or make the punishment greater for offences done in the face or contempt of the Court , and that all such misdemeanors are in Indictments or Writs , brought or commenced upon them said to be in contemptum domini Regis & curia suae , in contempt of the King and his Court , from which or the like ground or reason came also that great honor , respect and care of Judges in the superiour Courts , by the Statute of the 25 th year of the Raigne of King Edward the third , which makes it to be high Treason to kill any of them , with a forfeiture of all their lands and estates y y 25 E. 3. ca. 2. as in case of Treason committed against the King , and no less then misprision of Treason for any to draw a Weapon upon any Judge or Justice sitting in the Courts of Chancery , Exchequer , Kings Bench , Common Pleas , or upon Justices of Assize or Justice of Oyer and Terminer , although the party offending do not strike , for which he shall lose his right hand , all his goods , suffer imprisonment and forfeit his Lands during his life ; and no less a punishment for rescuing a prisoner in or before any of the Courts , committed by any of the Judges , or arrested by any of their Writs Mandates or Process , the no small punishments inflicted for abusing of Jurors , or for beating z z Pasch. 10. E. 3. coram Rege . Trin. 19. E. 3. & Hill. 20. E. 3. coram Rege . Rot. 160. a Clerk in vemendo versus curiam , in his way to one of those Superior Courts where he was imployed , or for threatning a Counceller at law for acting or pleading for his Client , the priviledge of the Barons Officers and Clerks of the Exchequer ▪ granted or allowed by King Henry the First , and to this day not to be denied them , not to pay Toll or Custome for any thing they shall buy for there necessary uses or occasions , nor to be compelled to appear at Hundred Courts , Assizes or Sessions ( which the Officers , Clerks and Ministers of the other Superior Courts are likewise indulged ) nor to bear Offices in the parish wherein they live , as Constable Church-Warden , &c. either in the Vacations or Term Times , and that the Barons of the Exchequer , Et omnes alii ministri ibidem ministrantes sive de clero sint sive Regiae Cur. qui assident , as the words of their Writs of priviledge are ▪ ( which exempts such of the Clergy from the dominering power in those dayes of the Ecclesiastical Court ) ex mandato ad alias quaslibet a a Forma brevis de privileg . officiar' et clericorum Scaccarii domini Regis nunc usitat' sub magno Sigillo Scaccaria vide librum ingrum dicti . Scaccarii . causas extra Scaccarium sub quibusounque Judicibus & vero Judice sub quo lis mota fuerit sive sit Ecclesiastious sive Secularis non evocentur , & si forte vocati fuerunt ratione regiae potestatis publica authoritate tam ex dignitate Regia quam consuetudine antiqua excusantur , and all the Officers Clerks and Ministers sitting in that Court , or attending therein by the Kings command , shall not be constrained to appear or attend upon any causes , actions or suits against them before any Judges whatsoever , whether Ecclesiastical or Secular , and if they be cited or called before such Judges by reason of any of the Kings Writs or Process , are aswell in respect of the Kings Royal Dignity , as also by antient custome to be excused the Writs of priviledge granted unto them where they are prosecuted in any other Court , Pleas , or actions concerning freehold appeal , or felony only excepted , mentioning as they do in case of priviledge of the Courts of Chancery , Kings Bench and Common Pleas , that if the Plaintiffs have any cause of action except as is before excepted , they may if they please prosecute or bring their actions or complaints against such priviledge person in the Court where he is attendant .

From which Royal Fountain and Original , and the care of publick preservation flowed or was necessitated that priviledge now and heretofore allowed to the Kings Guards , both Horse and Foot , Garrisons and Commanders of Castles , Towns or Forts , and was believed to be nec●ssary in the time of Justinian the Emperor , Qui statuit milites conveniri tam in causis Civilibus quam Criminaelibus coram ducibus suis & quod miles nisi a suo judice coerceri non possit , that Soldiers should be cited and tryed aswell in causes civil as criminal before their Captains or b b In l fin . cum suis de re milit. l. b. 12. C. tit . 36. Gregorius Tholosanus lib. 17. ca. 13.1 . & 2. Commanders . And that a Soldier should not be compelled to appear before any other , which was not in that time any new Edict or Ordinance , but a Declaration of an antient law and custome in use amongst the Romans in the Infancy of their mighty Monarchy some hundred of years before the birth of our Redeemer as may be evidenced by Juvenal , and what was in use and practise and accompted to be of antient institution in his time , which was not long after the birth of our Saviour , when he saith , Legibus antiquis Cas●●erum & more Camilli Servato miles c c Juvenal Satir. 16. ne vallum litiget extra Et procul a Signis , justissima Centuriorum Cognitio est igitur de milite , By antient laws and customes sacred held By great Camillus , Soldiers were not to be compel'd To appear in Courts of Justice , but in the Campe to abide , And by their own Commanders to be try'd .

And from the like causes and considerations of the Kings service and safety of the Kingdome are allowed by our reasonable laws and customes , the priviledges and franchises of the Cinque Ports , that the Inhabitants within the liberties thereof do sue , Cinque Ports and are only to be sued in the courts thereof , and the Kings ordinary Writs and Process do not run or are of any 〈◊〉 therein , and such as are in certain special cases are only to be directed to the Constable of the Castle of Dover and the Warden of the Cinque Ports and those franchises were so allowable by law , d d Coke 4. part of the Institutes ca. 42. as the Abbot of Feversham in his time a man of great power and authority , and armed with many and great priviledges of his own , both Spiritual and Temporal , being imprisoned by the Warden of the Cinque Ports for an offence committed therein , for which the Arch-bishop of Canterbury citing the Kings Officers there into his Ecclesiastical Court , the Record saith , Quia secundum consuetudinem regni approbatam & ratione juris Regii ministeri Regis pro aliquibus quae fecerunt ratione officii trahi non debeant e e Hill. 18. E. 1. Rex prohibuit Archiepiscopo Cantuar. ne volestari faciat ministros suos Dover de eo quod Abbatem de Feversham pro delicto suo incarcerassent per considerationem Curiae quinque portuum de Shepway , in regard that by the custome of the Kingdome approved , and the right and prerogative of the King , the Kings Officers are not to be compelled to appear ( in other Courts , ) the King prohibited the Arch-bishop of Canterbury that he should not molest or trouble his Officers ( or servants ) at Dover , for that by a judgement of the Court of the Cinque Ports holden at Shepwey , they had imprisoned the Abbot of Feversham , for an offence by him committed .

From the like causes and considerations of the Kings service and good of his household and servants , the multitude of tenants heretofore of the Antient Demesnes of the Crown , which were in the hands of King Edward the confessor or William the Conqueror , Antient Demesne ▪ for that as Sir Edward Coke saith , they plowed the Kings Demesnes of his Maners , sowed the same , mowed his Hey , and did other services of Husbandry for the sustenance of the King and his f f Cokes 4 th part Institutes . ca. 58. honorable household to the end that they might the better apply themselves to their labors for the profit of the King , had the priviledge that they should not be impleaded in any other of the Kings Courts for any their lands or in actions of accompt , Replevin ejectione firmae Writs of Mesne and the like , where by common intendment the realty or title of lands may come in question , are to be free and quit from all manner of Tolls in Fairs and Markets for all things concerning their husbandry and sustenance , of Taxes and Tallages by Parliaments , unless the Tenants in Antient Demesnc be specially named ; of contributions to the expences of the Knights of the Shire for the Parliament , and if they be severally distreined for other services , they may all for saving of charges joyne in a Writ of Monstraverunt , albeit they be several Tenants , and where they recover in any action , g g LL Guliel . Conquestor . are by the Laws of William the Conqueror , to have double costs and damages .

From which Spring and fountain of priviledges in relation only to and for the concern of the Prince , and Son and Heir apperant of the King of England and his revenue hath been derived those of the Court of Stanneries , or jurisdiction over the Tyn Mines , where by the opinion of Sir William Cordell Knight , Master of the Rolls , Sir James Dier Knight , Cheif Justice of the Court of Common Pleas , and Justice Weston , no Writ of Error lyeth upon any judgment in that Court , and by an act of Parliament made in the 50 th year of the raigne h h Cokes 4 th part Institutes ca. 45. of King Edward the third , and the grant of that King , all Workmen in the Stanneries are not to be constrained to appear before any Justice or other Officers of the King his Heirs or Successors in any plea or action arising within the Stanneries , unless it be before che Warden of the Stanneries for the time being , Pleas of land , life or member only excepted , nec non recedant ab operibus suis per summonitionem aliquorum ministrorum seu heredum nostrorum nisi per summonitionem dicti custodis , and should not depart from their said works or labors by reason of any Summons of the Officers of the King or his Heirs , unless it be by the Summons of the aforesaid Warden , were to be free as to their own goods from all Tolls , Stallage , Aides and Customes whatsoever in any i i Selden 2. part tit . honor . ca. 5. §. 37. Towns , Havens , Fairs and Markets , within the County of Devon ; and that the Warden aforesaid should should have full power and authority to administer Justice to all that do or should work in the Stannaries or any forreigners in and concerning any plaints trespasses contracts or actions except as is before excepted arising or happening within the Stannaries and that if any of the workmen be to be imprisoned they shall be arrested by the said Warden , and kept in the prison of Lydeford , and not else where , untill according to the Law and custome of England they shall be delivered .

All which before mentioned Exemptions and Priviledges , as effects flowing and proceeding from their true and proper causes may justifie those more immediate and proximate of the Kings Servants in Relation to his person , and a greater concernment more especially when so many of the people of England can be well contented to enjoy not a few other immunities exemptions and priviledges which have had no other cause or foundation then the indulgence and favour of our Kings and Princes .

CHAP XVIII .

That many of the People of England , by the grace and favour of our Kings and Princes , or a long permission , usage or prescription , do enjoy and make use of very many immunities , exemptions and priviledges , which have not had so great a cause or foundation , as those which are now claimed by the Kings Servants .

ANd do and may more inconvenience such part of the People which have them not , than the little trouble of asking leave , or licence to sue or prosecute at Law any of the Kings Servants , as the freedom of Copy-hold Estates not long ago , three parts in four of all the Lands in England ▪ but now by the making and enfranchising of too many Freeholders , reduced to less than a fourth part from extents , or the incumbrances of Judgments , Statutes , or Recognizances .

Not to permit upon any one Creditors Judgment , any more than the Moiety of Free-hold Lands to be extended , that old part of our English mercy to Men impoverished or indebted ; which to this day and many hundred years before , hath been constantly observed , nor to seize , or take in Execution , unless for want of other Goods and Chattels , the Beasts and Cattel of their Ploughs and Carts , derived unto us from the law of Nature or Nations , or the providence and compassion of Nebuzar-adan , the chief Marshal , or Captain of the Army k k Jer. ca. 5● . v. 15. & 16. of Nebuchadrezzar King of Babylon , who when he had taken and destroyed Jerusalem , and carried away captive to Babylon many of the people of Judah and Jerusalem , left certain of the poor of the Land for Vinedressers and for Husbandmen ; and from the reason , equity and moderation of the Civil Law .

Or when l l Renatus Choppinus de privilegiis Rusticorum lib 1. ca. 7. the Laws or reasonable Customs of England will not permit a Horse to be destrained when a Man or Woman is riding upon him ; an Ax in a Mans hand cutting of Wood , the Materials in a Weavers Shop , Garments or Cloth in a m m Coke sur Littleton Sect. 281. Taylors Shop , Stock of Corn or Meal in a Mill or Market , or Books of a Schollar ; the many and great Franchises , Liberties , Exemptions and Priviledges , some whereof have been already mentioned , of about six hundred Abbies and Priories , the many Liberties and Franchises in every County and Shire of England and Wales , which if no more than five in every County one with another , would make a total of more than two hundred and fifty ; and if ten amount to the number of five hundred , besides those of above six hundred Cities and Corporations , which are not without great Priviledges , Immunities , Exemptions and Liberties , which do occasion more trouble and loss of time by sueing out of Writs of Non omsttas propter aliquam libertatem , to give power to the Sheriffs to Arrest within those Liberties , than the attendance upon a a Lord Chamberlain , or other great Officer of the Kings Houshold , to obtain leave to Arrest any of the Kings Servants would bring upon them , those many thousand Mannors , to which are granted Court-Leets and Court-Barons , with their many other Liberties and Franchises , little Judicatories , Sace and Soke authority , and a Coercive power over their Tenants , Free and Copy-hold , and Free Warren , granted to many of those Lords of Mannors , whose Hunting and Hawking brings many times no small prejudice to their Neighbors or Tenants ; the Franchises , Liberties and priviledges of the City of London , given or permitted by our Kings , that no Citizen shall be compelled to Plead , or be Sued or Prosecuted at Law , out of the Walls of their City , and their Prohibitions n n Charta H. 1 ▪ Bracton l. 5. de Exceptionibus ca. 14. & vide more at large the Liberties of London , & Rot. Pat. 1 E ▪ 3. & Trin ▪ 3 E. 3. coram Rege Rot. 113. by Acts of Common Council , which do prohibit Freemen upon great Penalties , which have been severely inflicted , to Sue one another out of the City , when they may have their recovery in their own Courts ; and every Freeman bound thereunto by Oath at their admission to their Freedom : their priviledge of Lestage ▪ to be Toll-free ; of all which they buy or sell in any Market or Fair of the Kingdom : are not to be constrained to go to War out of the City , or farther than from whence they may return at Night , that none but such as are free of the City shall Work or Trade within it , or the large extended Liberties within the circumference thereof : That of the City of Norwich to have the like Liberties as London ; the Liberties of the City of Canterbury , o o Bracton lib. 5. de Exceptionibus ca. 14. Pasch. 18 E. 2. coram Rege Rot. 88. City of Winchester , and Towns of Southampton and Derby , not to be impleaded out of their Cities or Corporations : That of the Hospitallers and Knight-Templers ( and many others , saith Bracton ) not to be impleadid but before the King or his Chief Justice : That of the University of Oxford , That no Schollar , Servant , or Officer to any Colledge or Hall in the Vniversity , or to the said Vniversity belonging , shall be Arrested within the City , or the Verge or Circumference thereof , extending from the said University and Town of Oxford , Ab orientali parte ejusdem Villae usque ad Hospitalem sancti Bartholomei , juxta Oxon , & ab occidentali parte ejusdem Villae usque Trin. 2 H. 4. coram Rege Rot. 13. & Sr. Isaac Wakes Rex ▪ ●latonicus . ad Villam de Botelye , & a parte Boreali ejusdem Villae usque ad pontem vocat Godstow Bridge , & ab australi parte ejusdem Ville usque ad quendam Bosc●m vocat Bagley , & sic in circuitu per Loca praedicta & quemlibet locum eorundem in perpetuum , From the East part of the said Town unto the Hospital of St. Bartholomew near Oxford , and from the West part of the said Town to the Village of Botely , and from the North part of the said Town of Oxford to Godstow Bridge , and from the South part of the said Town of Oxford to a certain Wood called Bagley , and in the circumference of the said City and University , extending unto all the Places aforesaid , and every of the said Places for ever , but by Process or Mandate of the Chancellor of the University of Oxford , or if prosecuted or impleaded in the High Court of Chancery , or in the Court of Kings-Bench ( where the Party prosecuting hath been a Sub-Marshal of the said Court , and a Commissary of the Chancellor of that University ) hath been Indicted forbeating of him , or in any of the other Courts of Justice at Westminster , or any other Court of the Kingdom , do by their Certificate under their half Seal , as it is called , that the Defendant is a Schollar , or belonging to the Vniversity , or some Hall or Colledge therein , demand and obtain Cognizance of the Action : which with other of that famous Universities Priviledges were in the thirteenth Year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth , confirmed q q 13 Eliz. by Act of Parliament , that of the University of Cambridge , r r Rot ▪ Parl. 5 R. 2. M. 51 , 58 , 59. & 8 R. ● . M. 11. being not without those , or the like franchises , priviledges , and immunities , against which , or many more of the like nature , which might be here recited , there ought not to be any murmure or repining , as there never was , or but seldom or very little , by alledging any prejudice , loss , or inconveniences , which some have sustained thereby , or may happen to particular Men by any of those or the like Franchises , Immunities , or Priviledges , which are not to stand in the way , or obstruct the Rights or those to whom they were indulged or granted .

CHAP. XIX .

That those many other Immunities and Priviledge● have neither been abolished , or so much as murmured at by those that have yielded an assent and obedience thereunto , although they have at some times , and upon some occasions received some loss damage or inconveniences thereby .

FOr the Law which hath allowed them to be good and warrantable , could not but apprehend , that a possibility of loss and prejudice would come to others by them , and our Kings and Princes did by their Laws bear a greater respect , and took a greater care of the whole than of the less , or of any parts of the greater , s s Coke Comment upon Littleton , lib. 3. cap. 12. Sect. 281. and had a greater regard to the general and more universal than particulars , where the latter as less considerable , were to give way to the former , as of the greater concernment and tendency to the weal of the Publick ; when as the Sun and the Moon by their happy influences , in doing good to the universality of Mankind , do sometimes , we know , occasion much evil and damage unto many men in particular , one mans gain is anothers loss ; the benefit , comfort , and joy of one , hapneth to be the grief and disappointment of another ; and the aggrandizing of some , the lessening of others : Lex ad particularia se non resert , sed ad t t L. Suus quoque puto F. de haer. instit . L. si ma●or de legit . generalia , The Law doth not intend to provide for particulars , but generals ; Legis ratio non fit raro accidentibus , Laws are not usually made for things which do seldom happen ; Et citius tolerare volunt privatum damnum quam publicum malum , Will sooner tolerate a private and particular damage , than a publick evil or grievance ; for the Priviledges granted to the City of London to be Toll-free in all Markets , Fairs , and Places of the Kingdom , which makes them able u u 2 E. 3. coram Rege Rot. 220. to under-sell all others , and to be Masters ( as now they are ) of all the Commerce and Trade of the Nation : Their custom , That no Attaint shall be v v 2. E. 3. coram Rege Rot. 120. brought of a Jury impannelled in London , to enforce a Gentleman or Foreigner , not Free of the City , Arrested , to give Bail or Surety by Freemen or Citizens : That every Citizen or Freeman may devise Lands or Tenements in Mortmain ; w w Crokes 1. part Reports Hilar. 9. Car. primi . or that any Man to whom Money is owing , may Arrest any Man for Money upon a Bond or Bill before the Money be due or payable , or Attach Moneys in another Mans hand within the City , of one which oweth Money to the Debtor : The forbidding Foreigners , and Men not Free of the City , to Work , or keep Shop within the City or Liberties thereof : That if any Freeman , sufficient and x x Customs and Usages of the City of London . able , shall be summoned by a Serjeant of the Sheriff of the City , to appear at Guildhall , to answer a Plaint , and make Default , he shall be Amerced , the grand Distress presently awarded , and his Doors fastned and Sealed , untill he shall come to answer ; and if it be testified that he hath broken the Sequestration , shall be Arrested by his Body ; or if otherwise he is like to escape away , or is not sufficient , a Writ of Capias shall be awarded to take his Body , or a Writ to Arrest and take his Goods : That in a Writ of Dower , the Tenant shall be three times summoned : That a Citizens Wife can have no Estate in Lands devised unto her , further than during her life : The ancient and just Priviledges of the Clergy not to be tried before a Secular y y Stamfords Pleas of the Crown lib. 2. cap. 41. Judge for any criminal Matter , nor be compelled to abjure , if having committed Felony he flie to a Church ; z z Cokes 1. Part Instit. cap. 15.633 . and albeit he hath had his Clergy for Felony , may have it again , and shall not be Burned in the Hand , nor have his Tythes or Horse distrain'd as he traveleth , in any Civil action or matter , whilst he hath other Goods ; not to have his Goods and Chattels to be distrained in his Fee or Estate of the Church for purveyance , when it was required ; and is to be free from bearing any temporul Office ; Register of Writs 100 b. & 147 b. and their Bodies not to be arrested or imprisoned upon a Statute Mechant , although an Act of Parliament doth without exception of any Persons , severely enjoyn it : That Priviledge allowed to Knights by the ancient Laws of England , which ( saith our Selden ) was that their Equitatura , or Horse and Armor were priviledged from Executions a a Gervasius Tilburien . M S. in recept . Senecar . & Selden 2. Part Titles of Honor , cap. 5. Sir William Herberts Case , Cokes third Reports . of Fieri , or Levari facias , although they were to Levy the Kings Debts , which the Law did so geratly favor , as it is to be preferred before all other Mens , and if he should dishonourably absent himself from the Kings Service when his aid was required , and that all that he had was subject to an Execution , yet one Horse was to be left him , Propter dignitatem militiae , in regard of the honour of Knighthood ; and such other of his Horses as were for his ordinary use , were to be spared : The exemption of divers Abbeys and b b Dugdales 1 & 2 Tom. Monasticon Anglie . Monasteries , from the Jurisdictions and Visitations of their Diocesan , or Metropolitan Bishops : The Priviledges and Jurisdictions granted by King Edward the third , in the 27th Year of his Reign , to York , Lincoln , c c 27 E. 3. cap. 188. & 16. Norwich , Canterbury , Westminster , and divers other Staple Towns , to be free from purveyance and Cart-taking , giving them liberty to hold Pleas by the Law-Merchant , and not by the common Law of the Land ; That they should not implead , or be impleaded before the Justices of the said Places in plea of De●● , Covenant , or Trespass , concerning the Staple : And that the Houses shall be let for reasonable Rents , to be imposed by the Mayor of the Staple : The Modus decimandi , abatement , or manner of Tythes , being at the first a temporary favour or kindness , continued and crept into a Custom , and thence into a Law and Priviledge , which hath carried away , or choked a great part of the Clergies Tythes and Maintenance : The abundance of Rights and Priviledges of Common , of vicinage , or appendant , or of some stinted or not limited sorts , in the Ground and Soyl , of the Propritors throughout the Kingdom , of Common of Estovers in some of their Woods , the throwing of many Meadows open , to have Common in some Woods for their Cattel after seven years , growth and to Common upon the first day of every d d Hil ▪ 1 E. 1. coram Rege . August , the Custom of the Town of Wycombe in the County of Buckingham , that any under the age of thirteen years , might give or devise Lands , and that no Tythes should be paid for any e e 6 Jac. in Com. Banco . Wood in the Wild of Kent .

Together with the many Freedoms , Franchises and Priviledges , to be quit f f Dugdales 1 & 2 Tom. Monasticon Anglie . & in 2 Tom. Sect. 12. ab omni secta Shirarum & Hundredorum , all Suit , Scot and Lot , &c. and Service to Sheriffs Courts and Hundreds , which with very many others not here recited , do necessarily appear to be as prejudicial to some part of the People ( who in the Weal-publick , or some of their Posterities afterwards , partaking or enjoying of the like Priviledges , do or may find themselves abundantly recompenced ) may be as prejudicial to some as they are beneficial to many , who may at the same time consider the damage which our Kings have suffered by their Grants to divers Abbeys , as amongst others , unto the Abbey of St. Edmonds-Bury in Suffolk , which in a Plea betwixt that Abbot and the Bishop of Ely and his Steward , in the sixth Year of the Reign of King Richard the First , appeared by the Charters of King Edward the Confessor , William the Conqueror , and King Henry the First : to be in general words , all the Liberties which any King of England might grant , the very large Priviledges of Common , of Pasture , and Estovers ; the later of which hath spoiled much of the Timber of the Kingdom in many vast Forrests and Chases , their many deafforrestations , and that of three Hundreds at once in the County of Essex , at the Request and Petition of an Earl of Oxford , their taking their Customs and Duties upon Merchandize Exported or Imported at small and priviledged Rates , and manner of payment of Tonnage and Poundage , and by the granting away of so many Franchises , Exemptions , Priviledges , view of Frank Pleg . and Liberties , which the Commons in Parliament in the one and twentieth Year g g Ro. Parl. 21 E. 3. m 17. & 36. of the Reign of King Edward the Third , thought to be so over-largely granted , as they complained , That almost all the Land was Enfranchised ; and Petitioned , That no Franchise-Royal , Land , Fee , or Advowson , which belong , or are annexed to the Crown , be given or severed from it : And so very many more Immunities , Franchises , and Priviledges , which since have been indulged and granted to very many of the People , which like the dew of the heavenly Manna , which so plentifully covered the Camp of the h h Exodus ca. 16. v. 13 , 14. Children of Israel , and lay round about them , have blessed many of the English Nation , and their after Generations , as the dew of Hermon , and that which descended upon the Mountains of Zion .

And so many were those exemptions , customs prescriptions and immunities , Quae longi temporis usu recepta quaeque ratio vel necessitas suaserit introducenda rata & stabilita fuerin● quasi tanto tempore principis consensu Jud●cioque probata , Which by a long accustomed use , introduced by reason or necessity , as the Learned Baldus saith i i Baldus ad l. Human. & de legibus D. D. concerning those which by the Civil Law , and the Law of Nations have , as approved by the consent and Judgment of the Prince , been ratified and permitted , as they would if faithfully and diligently collected ( as my worthy Friend Mr. Tho. Blount hath done very many of them , in his Learned and laborious k k Blount's Nomo Lexicon . Nomo Lexicon , not onely put Posterity in mind how very many , and almost innumerable they are , and how much they ought to be thankful for them , but that their Forefathers did without any the least doubt or scruple believe , that the Kings and Princes which granted them , had power enough to do it .

And ought not to have their ways or passages stopped or blocked up by those Opinions of Sir Edward Coke , and the rest of the Judges , in contradiction of the late Learned Doctor Bancroft , Arch-bishop of Canterbury , in the case of Prohibitions , argued and debated before King James and his Privy Council , and Council Learned in the Law , in Michaelmas Term , in the fifth Year of his Reign , that Rex non Judicat in Camera sed in Curia l l Coke's 12 Reports . Mich. 5 Jacobi . the King is to decide and determine the Causes and Controversies of his Subjects , in his assigned and Commissionated Courts of Justice , but not out of them , or in his Palace , Court , or Chamber , nor take any Cause out of his Courts and give Judgment upon it , and that no King after the Conqu●st ever assumed to himself to give Judgment in any Cause whatsoever , which concerned the administration of Justice within the Realm , and that the King cannot delay Justice , or Arrest any Man , neither Arrest any Man for suspicion of Treason or Felony , as other of His Lieges may .

Wherein the Men of new Notions , who in the Itch and Hope of Gain , or the good will and applause of a Factious Party , can , like the after hated Ephori of Sparta , upon all occasions oppose the Kings legal Rights and Prerogatives , and thinking to satisfie others as well as themselves , in making ill-warranted matters of Fact the Directors or Comptrollers of the Law , may suspend their adoration of those Errors in that ( so called ) twelfth Report of Sir Edward Coke , which being published since his Death , have not that candor , or fair dealing of Plowden's Commentaries , or the Reports of the Lord Dyer , or many other of his own Reports ; but concealing the Arguments and Reasons urged by the Opponents , doth onely give us a Summary of his own and the other Judges Opinions , which we hope may vanish into a mistake , and meet with no better entertainment from those Reverend Judges and Sages of the Law , if they were now in the Land of the Living , to revise and examine those Opinions so Dogmatically delivered , then a Retractation , or Wish , that they had never seen the Light , or walked in the view of the Vulgar , and advise those who would gladly make them the Patroni of so many ill Consequences , as either have , or may follow upon such Doctrines , to build upon better Foundations , and not to adhere so much unto them , or any others , though they should be willing to seem to be as wise therein as Socrates or Plato , but rather subscribe to the Truth .

CHAP. XX.

That the power and care of Justice , and ihe distribution thereof , is and hath been so essential and radical to Monarchy , and the Constitution of this Kingdom , as our Kings of England have as well before as since the Conquest , taken into their Cognizance divers Causes , which their established Courts either could not remedy , or wanted power to determine , have remoued them from other Courts to their own Tribunals , and propria authoritate , caused Offenders for Treason or Felony to be Arrested , and may upon just and legal occasions respite or delay Justice .

WHen the King is Author omnis Jurisdictionis , the Author of all Jurisdiction , which is the specifica forma m m A. Blackvodaeus in Dialogo adversus Geo. Buchanan 281 & 283. & virtus essentialis Regis qua se nequit abdicare quamdiu Rex est neque vis illa summae ditionis & potestatis Regiae dignitate citra perniti●m ejus & interitum separari distrahique potest , Speci●ick form and essence of Kingly Majesty , which the King cannot alienate or depart from , as long as he is King , nor may that Jurisdiction or supream Power be severed from the Regal Dignity without the ruine or destruction of the King , as Mr. Adam Blackwood a Scotchman hath very well declared , in his Book against Buchanan , his Learned more than Loyal Countrey-man , concerning the Magistracy , Lords of Sessions , and Judges in Scotland , That all Judges and Magistrates Ne in Civilibus quidem causis nullam nisi munere beneficioque Regis sententiae dicendae & nullam Juris & judiciorum potestatem habent , derived even in Civil Causes , all their power and authority from the Kings Authority , and without it had no power to give a Sentence or Judgment , quicquid enim n n Ibid. 286 & 287. Magistratuum est quicquid judicium Regibus obnoxium , for what ever any Magistrates or Judges do , is subject to his controll or superintendency : Quicquid pot●statis ditionis imp●rii nacti sunt id receptum benignitati Regum praestare tenentur in quorum praesentia non s●cus evaneseit quam in meridiano sole stellarum fulgor quae coruscant in tenebris & lucidissimis radiis mirum in modum scintillantes apparent , Whatever Power or Jurisdiction they had was to be attributed to the Grant and Favor of the King , in whose Presence it doth vanish and disappear , as the brightness of the o o Ibid. 282. Stars which shine in the dark , do at the shining or glory of the Sun : Quemadmodum enim illae praesenti quicqued habent luminis soli foenerantur , Ita Magistratuum potestas omnis vis & imperium ubi praesto Rex est ad eum redit aquo profectum est , for as they do borrow their light from the Sun , so all the Power , Force and Rule which the Magistrates have , when the King comes or acts in his own Person , do return to him from whom they received it : and that if Kings do abstinere non tantum a sententiae dictione sed a foro ne Regiae dignitatis splendore judicum oculi perstringantur , forbear from intermedling in their Courts of Justice , it is that by the lustre of their Presence the Business of the Judges may not be hindred or disturbed , Non igitur abs re tribunalia creatis a se Magistratibus relinqunt idque solemne Reges habent ut nunquam in orchestra conspiciuntur nisi quid momenti gravioris inciderit quod ipsorum authoritate & absoluta summaque ditione potestate & numine decidatur ; Wherefore it was not without cause that they did leave their Tribunals to Judges or Magistrates , made or created by them , and made it to be as a Custom duly to be observed , not to appear themselves in their Courts of Justice , unless some great matter of weight or moment hapned , which required the aid or assistance of their supream and absolute Authority , and that notwithstanding that James the o o Ibid. 28● ▪ fourth King of Scotland did in imitation of what he had learnt in France , Institute a kind of supream Court , and call'd it The Court of Sessions for determination of Causes , like that of the Parliament of Paris ; and in Criminal matters made it to be without Appeal , Quaedam vero quae majoris Exempli sunt regis cognitionem desideran● quae Scotorum Jurisperitorum vulgus puncta vocat sive Capita Coronae reservata cujusmodi sunt Majestatis , raptu● , incendii & id genus aliorum . But yet there were certain matters or things which the ordinary sort of Lawyers amongst the Scots , called Points , or Pleas of the Crown , especially reserved to the Determination and Judgment of the King himself , such as Treason , Rape , burning of Houses , or the like ; which being in the Year of our Lord 1581 , when Mr. Ad. Blackwood wrote that Loyal and Learned Treatise , not denied to be good Law and right Reason in Scotland , and of as long a Date or Original , as about 300 years before the Incarnation of Jesus Christ was , ( although it hath since the time that Mr. Blackwood wrote strangely deviated , into the sullen surly and unwarrantable Doctrines and Practice of a factious and domineering Presbytery , and other the heretofore Corahs , Dathans , and Abirams of Scotland ) Omnium regnorum perpetua lege more & consuetudine receptum , A received and well approved Law and Custom amongst all Nations , and may seem to have been derived from the Council which Jethro ( many Generations after that an inundation of Sin had in the grand and most p p Genes. 7. v. 13. universal punishment of the Deluge washed away all Mankind but Noah and his Sons and Daughters , in all but eight Persons , and left them to tremble and stand amazed at his Justice , and adore his Mercy ) gave to Moses his Son-in-law , to ease himself of his continual toil and tiring labors , From the Morning untill the Even in determining the Controversies q q Exod. 18. v. 14 , 15 , 21 , 22. Num. c. 36. of the People , by constituting Judges over them , and reserve to his own Decision and Judgment every great Matter ; Wherein it can not well accord with the rectified Reason of Mankind , that Jethro had in that his Council any the least design to diminish the Superiority , Right , or Authority of Moses , or that Moses by hearkning unto it , did intend thereby to bereave himself of the dernier ressort , ultimate Appeal and Authority with which God had entrusted him . And those not to be contradicted sacred Records of the Almighty can assure us , that not onely King David , who is therein said to have been a Man after Gods own heart , Solomon , the wisest of Kings , and the succeeding r r 1 & 2 li. Reg. & Paralipom . Ezra ca. 9. & 10. Nehem. cap. 5. & 13. v. 25. Kings of Israel and Judah , but Ezra and Nehemiah , who were but as Governors , or Stadtholders under Artaxerxes over the remnant of the Captivity of the Jews , did come close up to that advice of Jethro , and adhere to those eternal Laws of right Reason , Superiority , and Rules of Government , ever since observed in all , or the greatest part of the Kingdoms of the habitable Earth , amongst which our Kingdom of England , and her early as well as later Inhabitants , alterius orbis , of this our other World , for the Reasons and Authorities herein before declared , and that which shall be added hereafter in confirmation thereof , and the excellent and incomparable constitution and method of her Monarchy and Government , which will manifest it self , and be plainly evidenced to any , who shall rightly inspect it , is to be ranked and reckoned .

And may reduce to a better understanding all those who have taken up those Opinions on trust , or a sleight or no examination , that such a pattern of the Divine wisdom in his Theocraty and Monarchical Government of the promised Seed of Abraham , is no way repugnant to those Rules of Government which have been not onely approved and practised by our British , Saxon , and Danish Kings , before the Norman Success and Victory , but continued by their Successors .

When King Canutus , taught by the no seldom Petitions , Appeals and Complaints of the People , was about the Year 1016. enforced to make a Law , That Nemo injuriis alterius Regi s s LL. Canuti ca. 16. quaeratur nisi quidem in Centuria Justitiam consequi & impetrare non potuit , no Man should complain to the King of any wrong or injury done unto him , unless he could not in the Century , or Hundred-Cou●t obtain any Remedy .

In that great and remarkable Pleading for three days together in the Reign of William the Conqueror , at Pinnendene in Kent , in the grand Controversie betwixt Lanfrank , Arch-bishop of Canterbury , and Odo , Bishop of Bayeux , the Kings half Brother , for divers Mannors , Lands and Liberties of that Arch-bishoprick , of which the Bishop of Bayeux had disseised him ( although that King did upon special occasions sometimes hold t t LL. Gulielmi Conquest . ca. 5● & Seldem Spic●lleg . ad Eadmeri Hist. his Commune Concilium , or Parliament ) the King Pr●cepit Comitatum totum absque mor● considere & homines comitatus omnes Francigenas & praecipue Anglos in Antiquis legibus & c●nsuetudinibus peritos in unum convenire , Commanded the whole County without any delay to assemble together , as well French as English , and more especially such of the English as were skilful in the ancient Laws and Customs of England , ubi Goisfredus , Bishop of Constance u u Eadmeri Hist. lib. 9. & Seldeni ad Eadmerum notae & Spicilegium 198 & 199 in loco Regis , saith the Leiger Book of Rochester ; vel vice Regis , saith Eadmerus ; fuit & Justiciam illam tenuit , ●at Judge for , or in the place or stead of the King , as his Commissioner , Hujus placiti multis testibus multisque rationibus determinatum finem postquam Rex audivit laudavit laudans cum consensu omnium principum suorum ( which could not be the Commons in Parliament , as it is now formed , or the then Commune Concilium , the Parliament , consisting of his Nobility , Bishops , and Peers , who could not all of them be stiled Princes , but were rather such of his greater sort of Nobility as were then attending upon him in his Court , assembled and met together by his Command in that great and more than ordinary County-Court ) confirmavit & ut deinceps incorruptus persev●raret ●irmiter praecepit ; the end of which Trial made by many Witnesses and Reasons , being certified to the King , he greatly approved it , and by the consent of all his Princ●s confirmed , and strictly commanded it to be inviolably observed .

In the Reign of William Rufus his Son , the Delegated Justice of the King in his Courts was so little believed not to be the Kings , or the Judgments thereby or therein given , not owned or understood to be given by the King , as it was the Opinion as well as Complaint of Anselme , Arch-bishop of Canterbury ( how justly or unjustly the Men of that Age , when the Church-men were unruly , and did not seldom forget themselves and their Benefactors , did best know ) quod cuncta Regalis w w Eadmeri Hist. lib. 2.37 . Curia pendebant ad nutum Regis nilque in ipsis nisi solum velle illius considerari , That all matters in the Kings Court depended upon his Will , and his onely Will was the Director thereof ; and whether the particular Interest of that stout and pious Prelate had therein misled his Judgment or no , they must be too much unacquainted with our Laws , reasonable Customs , Annals , Memorials , Records and Accompts of Time , and Transactions bigane and past , as well as those of other Nations , and the right origination or signification of the word Curia , or Court , and the no infrequent usage or acceptation thereof , if they do not acknowledge that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nuncupatur potestas & Dominium 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 qui potestate fretus est judiciumque exercet & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quasi habitacula Domini , That Curia signifieth Power and Dominion , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he that exerciseth that Power , in giving Judgment therein , and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Habitation , or Place of Residence of the Lord or Superior , dicebatur autem Curia , saith the judicious Sr. Henry Spelman , primo de Regia seu palatio x x Spelman . Glossar . in vocibus Curia & Curtis . Principis inde de familia , & Judiciis in ea habitis ritu veterrimo , it being at the first , or more especially called Curia , or the Court , and took its Denomination by a most antient Usage or Custom from the Kings House or Palace , and afterwards from their Houshold or Family , and the Place where Kings did administer Justice .

And so untill Courts for the distribution of Justice were allow'd for the ease of Princes , and better accommodation of their People , out of their Houses or Palaces , it will not be easie or possible to espy any essential difference , as to the Place of doing Justice , betwixt Curia Regis and Camera Regis , the Court or Chamber of the King ; for after that some of our Courts of Justice in England , by the indulgence of their Soveraigns , ceased either to be ambulatory , or resident in their Palaces , those that have not bid a defiance to that universally allowed and entertained Maxim , by all or most part of Mankind , Qui facit per alium facit per se , He that doth by another , is truly and rightly said to have done it himself , and are not resolved to encounter , or be adversaries to all the right Reason which they can meet with , or to pick up such weak and incogent Arguments , as may make a shadow rather than substance of Truth or right Reason , ought to confess , that there is no real difference between the Kings doing of Justice in his own Person , and cau●ing it to be done by others , or betwixt the hearing of Causes or doing of Justice in the Hall or his Privy Chamber , or any other Room of his House or Palace ; and that before and from the Conquest , untill after the thirty eighth Year of the Reign of King Edward the Third , whilst the Chief Justice of the Court of Kings Bench attended our Kings as well in their Courts as Progress , to assist him in matters of Law , and the Decision of Pleas of the Crown , and such matters of Law as were not appropriate to the Decision of the Court of Common Pleas , as it was then and hath been since constituted , which y y Claus. 20 H. 3. in dorso m. 14. did not leave the Kings Court or Palace , untill King Henry the Third commanded it in the twentieth Year of his Reign to abide at Westminster .

Our Kings of England have in their own Persons heard some or many Causes , and given divers Judgments in Aula , in their Court or Palace , in some Causes wherein they had the assistance of the Lord Chief Justice of the Kings-Bench ; and when they did not do it personally , by reason of their frequent Divertisements , Addresses of Ambassadors from Foreign Princes , or in respect of the many great Affairs and Cares of State and Government , which could not afford them the time or leisure to do it , did cause it to be done by their Authority , and by their constituted Justices , who Vicaria Potestate , by , as it were , a Deputation , Lieutenancy , or Assignation , to those onely purposes represented them , and were impowered to do it ; the Courts of Justice in William the Conquerors time z z LL. Guli●lm Conquestoris apud Seldenum in Spicileg . ad Eadmerum Sect. 20. being called Justicia Regis , the Justice of the King ; and the Judges or Justices in the Reign a a Glanvile de legibus Angliae . of King Henry the Second , Justiciae Regis in the abstract , the Kings Judges or Justices .

For the Kings Justice or Superiority was never yet by any Law or Reason absolutely or altogether con●ined to his delegated Courts , or authorized Judges or Justices , or to any certain or determinate Place , as that froward and powerful enough Anselme Archbishop of Canterbury , could not but acknowledge , when in a Parliament or Great Council holden in the Kings Court at Winchester , by the Command of King William the Second , or William Rufus , in the Contest betwixt him and that King a a Eadmer Hist. lib. 2 ▪ 38 , 39 ▪ & 40. concerning that Archbishops resolution o● going to Rome , and the Kings refusing to give him Licence , divers of the Lords and Bishops passed in and out betwixt them , and at last the Archbishop himself went in unto him to expostulate and debate the Matter with him .

And in the making of the Constitutions of Clarendon , in the Reign of King Henry the Second , when Thomas Becket the stubborn Archbishop of Canterbury , having Judgement ready to be given against him by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in that Parliament or Great Council , upon the Complaint of John Marshal , for Injustice done unto him by the said Archbishop , and his Defence heard . Rex exigit Judicium . The King demanded Judgement to be given against him : But the Earls , Barons , and Bishops delaying of it , and contending who ( as it hath been said in other cases ) should hang the Bell about the Cats Neck , and begin the Vote or Sentence ; Rex hac audita de pronunciando b b Selden 2 Part Titles of Honor , cap. 5. sect. 20. Controversia motus est , the King hearing the Controversie who should begin the Vote , was displeased ; whereupon Henry de Blois Bishop of Winchester , impositus d●cere tandem & invitus pronunciavit , being put to it to give his Vote , did at length begin it .

In the second year of the Reign of King John , that great Suit touching a Barony which William of Mowbray claimed against William of Stutuile , which had depended from the Reign of King Henry the Second , is said to have bin ended Consilio c c Selden 2 part Titles of Honor , cap. 5. sect. 20. Hoveden de Anno 1204. Regni & voluntate Regis , by the Kings Will , and Advice of Parliament .

In the One and twentieth year of the Reign of King Henry the Third , a Complaint being made to the King d d Stowe's Survey of London in 4 to 35. tit . Prescription that Jordan Coventry , one of the Sheriffs of London , having by the Order of the Mayor and Aldermen of London , arrested and taken divers persons that were offenders in Annoying the River of Thames with Kiddels , upon Complaint made to the King , he sent for the Mayor and Citizens , and upon hearing of the Matter , confirmed the Cities Jurisdiction , convicted the Complainants , Amerced every of them at Ten Pounds , and adjudged the Amerciaments to the City .

In the Thirty eighth year of that Kings Reign , upon a Quarrel betwixt some young e e Ibidem 145. men of that City , and some of the Kings Servants , the Londoners being despitefully used by them , fell upon them , and did beat them shrewdly , who thereupon complaining to the King , he Fined the Citizens to pay One thousand Marks .

In the one and fortieth year of his Reign , being in the year 1256. he sate in the Court of Exchequer in Westminster Hall , where he did make Orders for the Appearance of the Sheriffs , and bringing in of their Accompts , and Fined the Mayor , Aldermen , and Sheriffs of f f Ibid. 885. Tit. City of Westminster ▪ London , for Oppression and Wrongs done by them , who submitted themselves in that place to the King .

And if so , and the Records and Memorials , as well of the Court of Exchequer , as of that City do speak it , there can be nothing within the pale or verge of Reason , or the fancy or imagination of any whose Intellectuals are not in a Lethargy , to make it either possible or rational , that the King himself had not then and there the Preheminence or Courtesie afforded him to give or pronounce the Order or Judgments ; or that the Soveraignty ( as the Law in more inferior matters betwixt party and party amongst private persons , doth sometimes adjudge it should be at that instant or part of time in abeiance or suspence , and operate nothing , ) or that the Barons of the Exchequer could at that Time by intendment of Law be supposed to represent the King when he was personally present ▪ it being by the Law of Nations a constant usage and custom settled and approved in the most parts of Christendom , that the Governors of Cities and Forts do at the coming and personal Presence of their Soveraign , deliver unto him upon their knees the Keys thereof , and in all obedienee and humility receive them and their Authority again upon their departure and re-delivery . And it is not yet gone out of the memory of man , that Sir William Cokain Knight , Lord Mayor of London , when King James in a Great Solemnity came to St. Pauls Church , did at Temple-Bar deliver upon his knees unto him the Keyes and Sword of the City , and carried a Mace before him .

Or that it would not be Contrarium in objecto , a Parcel of Contradictions , that Esse at one and the same instant of Time can be a non esse , idem non idem , & ibi non ibi , the King should be understood not to be there , when he was there , and to be there onely virtually and in power , and not present when he was there in his Person as well as in his Power ; Or that He should sit and be there onely as an Auditor or Spectator ; Or as Sir Edward g g Cokes 12 Reports Mich. 5 Ja. Coke said concerning King James his personally sitting in the Court of Star-Chamber to consult , but not in Judicio , in Judgement , when the Law and the Reason of the Law , and the Fact , and the Records and Memorials thereof do give so full an evidence against that Pseudo Doctrine and ill-grounded Opinion , which the Learned Lawyers and Judges in the Reign of King Henry the Third , did so little believe .

As Bracton discoursing where Actions Criminal by the Laws and Customs , as well h h Bracton lib. 3 de Actionibus . cap. 5. before his Time , as in the Reign of King Henry the Third , were to be heard and adjudged expresly , concludeth with a Sciendum est quod in Curia Domini Regis debent terminari cum sit ibi poena corporalis infligenda , & hoc coram ipso rege si tangat personam suam sicut Crimen laesae Majestatis , vel coram Justiciariis ad hoc specialiter assignatis si tangat personas privatas . It is to be known or certain , that Actions Criminal ought to be tryed in the Kings Court , and that before the King himself ; if , as in cases of Treason , they concern the Person of the King , because there is a corporal punishment to be inflicted ; or before Justices specially thereunto assigned , if they concern private persons . And gives the reason , vita vero & membrum hominum sunt in manu Domini Regis , vel ad tuitionem vel ad paenam cum deliquerint ; for the lives and members of all the Kings Subjects are in the hand of the King , either to defend or punish .

Habet enim plures Curias in quibus diversae actiones terminantur & illarum i i Ibidem cap. 7. Curiarum habet unam propriam sicut Aulam Regiam & Justiciarios Capitales qui proprias causas Regis terminant & aliorum omnium per quaerelam vel per privilegium sive libertatem : ut si sit aliquis qui implacitari non debeat nisi coram ipso Domino Rege ; for he hath many Courts in which divers Actions are to be tryed . And of those Courts hath one of his own , as that of the Kings Palace , and hath Chief Justices who are to hear and determine the proper Causes of the King , and of all others upon complaint , or by reason of priviledge or liberty , as where a man sued or prosecuted ought not to be impleaded but before the King . For in vain were many since the Conquest exempted by Priviledge not to be tryed before any but the King himself : if our Kings did never use , nor could in person hear and determine such Causes ( as all the Kings and Princes of the civilized Part of the World have used to do . ) And of small or no force or avail would be that Clause in our Magna Charta so hardly obtained by our Fore-fathers , that the King Nulli negaret Justitiam vel Rectum , should not deny Justice or Right unto any who demanded it , and little deserving to be called or thought a Liberty , if it were not within the reach of his Power , and it would be a kind of Injustice to oblige or require him to do that which he could not .

Which the Reverend Judges and Sages of the Law in the eighteenth year of the Reign of King Edward the First , were so unwilling to interpret to be out of his Power .

As when John Bishop of Winchester k k 18 E. 1. having granted unto him free Chace in all the Demesn Lands and Woods of the Prior and Covent of St. Swithen in Winchester , and their Successors , and being in the Kings Service in the Parts beyond the Seas , and having his Protection for all his Lands , Goods and Estate , brought his Action , wherein he did set forth the Kings Protection , and his being as aforesaid in his Service , against Henry Huse , Constable of the Kings Castle at Portcester , for that he had hunted in his aforesaid Chace and Liberty in contempt of the King , and contrary to his aforesaid Protection whilest he was in his Service as aforesaid . To which the said Henry Huse pleading that what he had done was lawful for him to do , by reason of a Privilege belonging unto his said Place or Office of Constable of the Castle aforesaid ; and Issue being joyned thereupon , the Court stayed it , and delivered their Opinion ▪ That no Jury ought to be impannelled , nor any Inquisition taken thereupon , in regard that Inquisitio ista Domino Rege inconsulto tam propter Cartam ipsius Domini Regis porrectam quam nemo per inquisitionem patrie vel alio modo judicare debet nisi solus Dominus Rex quam ratione Ballivae predict' que est ipsius Domini Regis & ad quam predictus H●nricus dicit libertatem predictam pertinere , that such an Issue or Inquiry ought not to be , the King not consulted or made acquainted therewith , as well in respect of his Charter produced , which none but the King by any Jury or Trial ought to Judge , as in regard of the Liberty alledged by the said Henry to be belonging to the King . Et dictum est partibus quod sequantur versus Dominum Regem quod precipiat procedere ad predict' inquisitionem capiend' si voluerit vel quod alio modo faciat voluntatem suam in loquela predict . And the Parties were therefore ordered to attend , and petition the King to command the Judges , if he please , that they proceed in the said Action , or by some other way declare his Will and Pleasure concerning the said Action ( and is a good direction for Subjects to ask leave of the King before they Arrest , or any way endeavor to infringe the Priviledge of his Servants . )

In the twentieth year of the Reign of that King , in a Case in l l 20 E. 1. the Court of Common-Pleas , where William de Everois being Demandant , had complained to the King that the Judges of that Court did delay to give Judgement , and the Judges acknowledging that he had been long delay'd , in regard that the said William required Seisin to be delivered unto him by a Contract made in the time of War , which he denied : Dictum est prefatis Justic' quod ad judicium procedant prout facere consueverunt . Et faciend' est de seisina & contractibus factis & in tempore & partes Guerre ; the King ordered the Judges that they should proceed to Judgement , as they used to do , and make an Order concerning the Seisin and Contracts had between the parties thereunto in the time of the War .

In the same year a Complaint being made to the King , that Sir John Lovel Knight , being Plaintiff , before the Justices of the Court of Common-Pleas , in a Writ which had long depended , and was made in an unusual Form of the Chancery , and the Defendant in the beginning of the Plea before Thomas of Weyland , and his Associates the Justices of the said Court , had put in his Plea of Abatement and Exceptions to the said Writ , and prayed that it might be Entred upon the Rolls and Recorded , which afterwards could not be found ; but in regard that Elias de Beckingham one of the Judges remembred the said Plea , to whose onely memory a greater Credit is to be given , than to the Rolls of the said Thomas of Weyland , who with the rest of his Fellow Judges , except the said Elias of Beckingham , were formerly Fined and punished for other Misdemeanors : Et idem Elias semper fideli● extiterit , & in servicio Regis fideliter se gesserit ; and the said Elias was always faithful , and in the Service of the King did well behave himself ; And all the then Judges did agree , that if a Writ of that Form should be brought unto them and pleaded in Abatement , they would immediately quash it ; And for that non est Juri consonum quod per maliciam predict . Thome & sociorum suorum sibi adherentium qui Exceptiones Tenentis admittere noluerunt , & cum ipsum proposuerit tempore Competenti non allocaverunt per prout prefatum Eliam recordatum est . It is not agreeable to Law , that by the malice of the aforesaid Thomas and his Fellow Judges confederating with him , who would not admit or allow of the Tenants Exceptions , when it was in due time pleaded , as by the said Elias was witnessed ; Dictum est Justic' quod procedant ad Judicium super exceptione Tenentis prout fuerit faciend' & ac si in Recordo inveniretur ; The Judges were ordered to proceed to Judgment upon the Tenants Exception , as it ought to be done if it had been recorded .

In the year next following , William de Mere Sub-Escheator of the King in the County of Stafford , and Reginaldus de Legh , m m 21 E. 1. coram Rege . who was one of the sworn Justices of the King , having an Information brought against them before the King and his Council , ( the Justices of the Court of Kings-Bench ) for that after the death of Jeffery de How●l , who held Lands of Ralph Basset by Knight-service , and the death of the said Ralph , who had seized all the Lands of the said Jeffery , and had in his life time the custody and marriage of William the son of Jeffery , and dying seized of Lands holden of the King in Capite , and of the custody of the said William , and the Heir of the said Ralph being likewise under age , and with the Lands of the said Ralph seized by the said Sub-Escheator , he suffered the Heir of the said Jeffery without the Kings Writ , to enter upon the Lands of the said Jeffery . And the said Reginald de Legh by fraud and collusion betwixt him and the said Sub-Escheator , took away the Heir of the said Jeffery ▪ and married him ▪ To which Information the Sub-Escheator pleading that he did not seize the Lands ; which he that followed the Suit for the King proved that he did : and Reginald de Legh pleading that the said Ralph before his death , upon view of the said Wards Writings and Evidences , finding that he had no Right thereto , did acquit and release it ; and that the like appearing to the said Reginald by the sight of the said Writings , he did satisfie and agree with the Friends of the said Ward for the said Marriage ; but confessed that he did take notice that the Sub-Escheator had seized the said Lands : but the said Sub-Escheator perceiving that the King had no Right thereunto , did relinquish it to the Friends of the said Heir . And as well the said Reginald as the said Sub-Escheator petunt & dicunt quod si videatur consilio Domini Regis quod in aliquo deliquerunt quod Dominus Rex suam inde faciat voluntatem , did petition and pray , that if it should appear to the Court that they had offended in any thing , the King might do his Will and Pleasure therein ( a Modesty and Submission too little used now of later Times ) whereupon the Court declaring Quod potius pertineat Ministris Domini Regis , & maxime Justiciariis suis Statum Domini Regis & jura Haeredis in custodia ipsius Regis Existentium manu tenere quam in aliquo infringere ; That it belong'd rather to the Ministers and Officers of the King , & more especially his Justices , to maintain his Estate and the Rights of the Heir within his custody , than in any thing to infringe them , did adjudg that the said Reginald and Sub-Escheator should be sent prisoners to the Tower , there to remain during the Kings pleasure ; and that the said Reginald should satisfie the King for the Marriage of the said Heir , and the said Lands should remain in the Kings hands with a Salvo Jure , saving of the Right of all Pretenders thereunto .

In the three and thirtieth n n 33 E. 1. Ryleys placit Parliamentorum . year of the Reign of the aforesaid King , upon the Petition in Parliament of Ranulph the Son of Hugh le Mareshal , that whereas he was Demandant by a Writ of Entry against the Rector of Ashrugg , for a Messuage and divers Lands , and he alledged that he could not answer without the King . It was answered , Rex vult quod respondeatur quod Justiciarii procedant , sed certificent Regem super hoc ante redditionem Judicii , &c. The King willeth that the Tenant do answer the Demandant , and that the Justices do proceed , but certifie the King thereof before they give Judgement .

And if then , and ever since our Kings have had a Super-intending decision and confirming Power of Judgement in matters of Justice , and that without it nothing can by our Laws and reasonable Customs be done in Parliament , the highest of all their Courts , where the King is as it were the Ens Potentiale , and is no less than the Constituent Principle and Soul that animates all their Sanctions , where the Laws and Judgements receiving life and vigor from Him , and have their Energy , do not seldom appear to have been made with Rex voluit , the King willeth ; 3 E 1. cap. 45. 10 E. 1 Statute of the Exchequer . 13 E. 1 Statute of Acton , Burnel . 13 E. 1. 25 E. 1. cap. 2. 28. E 1. & eodem Anno cap. 5. 1 E. 1.3 . & eodem Anno cap. 5.9.14 . & 17. 2 E. 3. 25 E 3. 28 E. 3. 2 R. 2. 9 R. 2. 10. R. 2. 5 H. 4. Rot. Parl. in 62. 4 H. 5. 10 H. 6. cap. 4. Rex providit , the King provideth ; Rex mandavit , the King commandeth ; Rex statuit , the King appointeth ; Rex ordinavit , the King ordaineth , &c. all the Courts of Justice and Equity in Westminster Hall , and all the Inferior Courts of Justice will not be able to produce ( if Prescriptions could avail against the Kings Rights and Means of Government , ) any Prescription , or any Law , Custom , or Allowance to exempt them from the Kings Supream Jurisdiction , whose Royal Ancestors and Predecessors did heretofore upon all extraordinary occasions so much praeside and intermeddle in their Courts of Justice ; as Fleta an Author of good account , o o Fleta lib. . 2. ca. 3. sect 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8. who as hath been before mentioned , did about the later end of the Reign of King Edward the Second , or the beginning of the Reign of King Edward the Third , write his Book of the Laws of England , and Customs of Courts at that time used , doth declare the usage then to be , That when the King in his Progress or Removal from his Palace at Westminster , to any other County or Place to reside for a time , as our Kings did heretofore often use to do , and was in any other County , the Steward of his Houshold , as Deputy to the Chief Justice , issued forth his Writ to the Sheriff of the Place or County where the King was to reside , to cause to come before him at a certain day wheresoever the King should be in his Bailywick , all Assizes of Novel Disseisin , Mort d'Auncester , last Presentations , Grand Assizes , all Juries , Inquisitions , and Attaints , Pleas of Dower , and which were summoned to be determined before the Kings Justices at the first Assizes when they should come into those Parts ; And all Pleas , Juries , Inquisitions and Attaints assigned to be heard before the said Justices , but were not determined , giving the parties a day to prosecute , if they pleased ; and likewise to come before them at a day prefixed ; And to cause to be brought before them all Prisoners , Bails , and all Attachments which appertain to the Goal-Delivery , quod quidem mandatum frequentur retro . trahitur per ejusdem Senescalli mandatum ; Which Tryals might notwithstanding , saith Fleta , be recalled by the Stewards Mandate , which would necessarily produce some delay of Justice , or disturbance of the Peoples affairs or expectations , Eo quod Rex forte novis emersis propositum suum mutaverat , in regard that the King upon some new Emergencies had altered his minde or purpose ; But if the King did not decline or forbear his intended Progress , then was holden the Goal-Delivery by the Steward ; And all Duels or Tryals by Battels , Appeals , and all criminal Matters were determined by him , with what conveniency he might ; and afterwards all Causes concerning Trespasses done within the Verge , and after that the Assizes and Juries Obligations and Contracts , wherein the Debtors had of their own accord bound themselves to be tryed before the Steward and Marshall of the Kings House , placita autem quae ibidem terminari non poterint de Comitatu in Comitatum & die & in diem poterit adjornare , Ibidem Sect. 8. & 9. vel in Banco vel ad primas Assisas , vel alibi secundum quod fuerit faciend' donec fuerunt omnia terminata ; but those Pleas which could not be there determined , were to be adjourned from day to day , or County to County , or to the Common-Bench , or unto the first Assizes , or elsewhere , as it should be thought meet , until all were rightly determined . Et haec omnia ex Officio suo licite poterit facere non obstante alicujus libertate ; And all this he might by his Office lawfully do , notwithstanding any mans liberty .

And surely such a Super-intendency of the Soveraign was as much allowed to be Law as Reason , in the nineteenth year of the Reign of King Henry the Sixth , when upon an Affray in London for rescuing a Soldier a Prisoner in Newgate , as he was leading by an Officer towards Guyhald , by five persons , and carrying him by force into the Sanctuary , or Priviledge-place of St. Martins le Grand , the Kings Free-Chappel , being a Liberty of the Dean and Chapter ; and the Sheriffs of London having the same day p p Rot. pat ▪ 19. H. 6. parte 3 m. 3 m. dorso . taken out of the same Church of St. Martins the five men who rescued him , and led them fettered to the Compter , and thence chained by the Neck to Newgate ; complaint thereof being made to the King by the said Dean and Chapter , for the violation of their Priviledges , he sent his Writ to the Mayor and Sheriffs , reciting that from a long time beyond the memory of man , fugientes ad Capellam predictam pro immunitate ejusdem habend' seu in eadem ex quocunque causa existentes & residentes quieti fuerint , & Immunes & sic esse debuerint , & debent ab omni Jurisdictione , Arrestatione Impedimento , sive Attachamento Majoris & Vicecomitum Civitatis praedicta , aut Officiariorum seu Ministrorum suorum quorumcunque pro tempore existentium ; those that fled to the Chappel aforesaid to enjoy the Priviledge thereof , or being therein resident upon any cause or occasion whatsoever , have used , and ought to be quiet and free from the Jurisdiction , Arrests , Impediments , or Attachments of the Mayor and Sheriffs of the City aforesaid , or any their Officers or Ministers whatsoever for the time being ; and that notwithstanding the said Sheriffs had to the prejudice and detriment of the Churches Liberties , and derogation of His Crown and Royal Dignity , violently taken from thence John Knight , John Reede , Thomas Blackbourn , William Janiver , and Richard Moreys , and committed them to Prison , wherefore the King , to preserve inviolably the said Rights , Customs , Immunities , Liberties and Priviledges prout vinculo Juramenti in Coronatione astringitur , as he is thereunto bound by his Coronation Oath , enjoyned them that immediately after the Receipt of that Writ , they should restore and deliver to the said Dean and Chapter , or their Commissary , the said Prisoners , tam corpore quam bonis sicut eos prefati Vice-comites a Capella predicta abstraxerunt , in their bodies and goods , as the said Sheriffs took them from the said Chappel as aforesaid , so as the said Dean and Chapter in eorum culpam seu defectum causam non habent sibi iterum conquerendi ; Et hoc sub Fide & Ligeancia quibus teneantur nullatenus omittant , by their default or neglect may have no more cause to complain again to the King ; And this under the Faith and Allegiance which they did owe unto him , they were not to fail to perform : Which Writ being by the Kings Command sent and delivered by John Earl of Huntington , the said Sheriffs yet notwithstanding detained them in prison ; of which the King being informed ore tenus precepit , he did by word of mouth command John Bishop of Bath his Chancellor , and Ralph Lord Cromwel his Treasurer , that they should go to the said St. Martins , and upon Examination of the Parties , hearing of Councel on both sides , and due consideration of their several Charters , Customs , and Evidences , certifie him what by Law was to be done therein ; who thereupon taking unto them John Hody and Richard Newton , Chief Justices of both the Benches , called before them the said Dean and Chapter , Mayor , and Sheriffs , and heard both sides , who gave to them in writing , as well what could be alledged for the said Priviledges , as against it ; which being duly understood by the said Chancellor , Treasurer , and Justices , it was adjudged by the said Chancellor and Treasurer , by the advice of the said Justices , Quod personae predictae a Capella praedicta violenter abstractae , restitui debeant ad ●andem tanquam ad locum plenaria libertate tam de Jure quam consuetudine gaudere debentem , & non de Civitate praedicta , nec Majoris , Vicecomitum , Aldermannorum , au● Officiariorum ejusdem Jurisdictioni , seu districtioni Subject' , sed eisdem Immunitatibus , Privilegiis & Libertatibus quae Westmonasterium , Beverly , aut alius lo●us privilegiatus in Anglia meliores ●abet , tam de Jure quam consuetudine pro se & precinctu ejusdem ad tuend' quascunque personas pro quibuscunque causis Criminalibus sive Civilibus illuc confugientes gaudere debentem ; That the persons aforesaid violently drawn out of the Chappel aforesaid , ought to be restored to the same place which of right and custom ought to enjoy their full Liberty , and not to be subject to the Jurisdiction or Distrsss of the City aforesaid , or the Mayor , Sheriffs , Aldermen , or Officers of the same , but to enjoy the said Immunities , Priviledges and Liberties , as Westminster , Bev●rley , or any other priviledged Place in England , of right and custom ought to enjoy , for them and their Precincts most largely had , to protect and defend any persons flying thither , for any causes Criminal or Civil : And thereupon the King being informed of their Proceedings , and what they found therein , commanded his Chancellor that by his Writ directed to the Sheriffs of London , that they should bring before him in his Chancery the Bodies of the said Prisoners taken out of the Chappel as aforesaid , with the cause of their taking and detention ; who being brought by the Kings Command into his Chancery by the said Sheriffs , they did there by the advice and consent of the Duke of Gloucester , and of others of the Kings Council , and by Order of the said Court discharge the said Prisoners , who were there in the presence of the Sheriffs , Recorder , and Council of the said City ; ad hoc evocatorum Thome Collegge servienti Domini Regis ad arma personaliter liberati ibidem ad effectum quod idem serviens dictos Prisonarios & eorum quemlibe●●usque dictam Capellam & Sanctuarium salvo & secure adduceret , & eos ibidem de mandato Regio praefato Decano sive ejus Deputatis liberaret & ibidem juxta libertates , privilegi● , & immunitates predicta in Sanctuario predicto quam diu eis placeret moraturos , thereunto especially called personally deliver'd unto Thomas Collegge the Kings Serjeant at Arms , to the end that he might safely and securely bring the Prisoners to the said Chappel and Sanctuary , and there by the Kings Command deliver them to the said Dean or their Deputies , there to remain as long as they pleased , according to the Liberties , Priviledges and Immunities aforesaid ; which was done by the said Serjeant at Arms , and a Certificate made by him to the said Chancellor , Treasurer , and Court of Chancery accordingly .

And he must be altogether composed of , or addicted to Scruples and Doubts , wherein he never desires to be satisfied , and fit to sayl to Anticyra in pursuit of Hellebore , who shall against so clear a Light and Evidence , bestow his time and labours to vindicate and under-prop so manifest and notorious Errors , or that shall deny the King a Judicial Power in His Courts of Justice , and High Court of Chancery , whence do almost daily issue his Writs remediall under His Seal , and Teste Me Ipso , directed to all His Courts of Justice . And are , as Bracton r r Bracton lib. 5 fol. 413. & Cokes preface to his 8 Reports . saith , Formata ad similitudinem Regulae Juris , framed by and according to the Rules of Law , whi●h warranting many of the Proceeding thereof are in the Assize betwixt Wimbish and the Lord Willoughby in Trinity Term , in the sixth year of the Reign of King Edward the Sixth said , and not denyed to be Law , and s s Plowdens Comment . ●6 ● . the Act of the King , but not of the Chancellor .

So as they who shall endeavour to impose upon other men , that the King is not by Law presumed to be present in his Court of Kings Bench , where the Records do mention the Judgements given therein to be coram Rege , before the King , as if he were personally present with the Judges of that Court , who are assigned to assist Him , may , as to the Kings Power in matters of Justice , and over the Judges and Courts delegated by Him , do well to seek a reason , which is justly to be feared will never be found , why it should be Law or Reason for King Alfred in the t t Asser Menenensis de rebus gestis Alfredi & Selden . 2 part . ●it . of Honor , ca. 5. sect. 5. discords or ignorance of his Subordinate Judges in the distribution of Justice , to hear and determine the Causes Himself : or for King Canutus long after to judge the Causes of such as complained unto him , when our Bracton doth not at all doubt of it , when he saith , u u Bracton lib. 3. de Actionibus , cap. 12. fol. 108. that the Judges nullam habent Authoritatem sed ab alio , i. e. Rege sibi Commissam cum ipse qui delegat non sufficiat per se omnes Causas sive Jurisdictiones terminare , they have no Authority but what they are intrusted with by the King who granted it , when as he who delegated them is not able or sufficient by himself to hear aad determine all Causes in every Jurisdiction ; unto which our Register of Writs that Pharmacopeia , Director , and Magazine of Medicines and Remedies for many a Disease in the Estates and Affairs of the People , which Justice Fitz Herbert in his w w Coke Preface to his 8 Reports . Preface to his Book De Natura Brevium , of the Nature of Writs , calleth The Principles of the Law , and the Foundation whereupon it dependeth ; and in Plowdens Commentaries is as to many things truly said to be the Foundation of our Laws , and so Authentique , as Brown Justice in the Case betwixt Willon and the Lord Barkley , in the third year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth x x Plowdens Commentari●s. 228. declared , that all Writs were to pursue the Forms in the Register , and it was enough to alledge , so is the Register , will easily assent ; and all our Books of the Law , all the Practice and Usage of our Courts of Justice , all our Records , Close , and Patent Rolls , and our Kings hearing and determining of Differences betwixt the Common Law and Ecclesiastical Courts and Jurisdictions , and their making of Orders to reconcile the Proceedings of the severall Judges thereof ; and the like betwixt the Admiralty Court and the Courts of Common Law , ordered , decided , and agreed before King Charles the First and His Privy Council , in the ninth year of His Reign , the Judges in criminal Matters not seldom attending the King for a Declaration of His Will and Pleasure , where a Reprieve , Pardon , or Stay of Execution shall be necessary , will be as so many almost innumerable , powerful , and cogent Arguments to justifie it ; And a common and dayly Experience , and the Testimony of so many Centuries and Ages past , and the Forme used in our Writs of Scire Facias y y 13 E. 1. cap. 45. to revive Judgements after a year and a day , according to the Statute of Westminster the 2. with the words Et quia volumus ea que in Curia nostra rite acta sunt debite executioni demandari , because we would that those things which are rightly done in our Courts should be put in execution , &c. may bear witness of that Sandy Foundation Sir Edward Coke hath built those his great mistakings upon ; and those also that the King cannot , propria Authoritate , Arrest any man upon suspition of Treason or Felony , when the Statute made in the third year of the Reign of King Edward the First expresly acknowledgeth , that the King may Arrest , or cause men to be Arrested , as well as His Chief Justice without distinction , in ordinary and civil , or criminal matters , and when by the beforemention'd Opinions of Sir Christopher Wray Lord Chief Justice of the Queens Bench , Sir Edmond Anderson Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common-Pleas , and of all the Judges of England , delivered under their hands in the Four and thirtieth year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth , it was acknowledged that She , or the Lords of Her Privy Council might do it ; And in the before recited great Case of the Habeas Corpora in the Reign of King Charles the Martyr , there was no question made , but that the King might lawfully do it , with a cause expressed in the Warrant ; And many a Nobleman and others hath in several of our Kings Reigns ▪ either upon suspition of Treason , or Flagranti Crimine , in or very near the acting of it , or upon great Misdemeanors , been Arrested by our Kings and Princes onely Command , and sent Prisoners to the Tower of London ; As the Great Mortimer Earl of March , by King Edward the Third ; the Pompous Cardinal Wolsey , and Queen Ann of Bulloin by King Henry the Eighth ▪ the Duke of Northumberland by Queen Mary ; the Duke of Norfolk and Earl of Essex by Queen Elizabeth , for Treason ; Robert Earl of Somerset and his Lady committed for Felony ; Sir Tho. Overbury for refusing to go Ambassador when he was sent by King James ; Henry Earl of Oxford , for striking up a Great Lords heels in a Solemnity of a great Feast , when the French Ambassador was entertained in Westminster Hall , for presuming to offer to wash his hands after the King had washed in the Basin , which as Lord Great Chamberlain of England , he had holden to the King ; Thomas Earl of Arundel , for marrying the Lord Matravers his Son to the Sister of the Duke of Lenox and Richmond , without his Licence ; and Philip Earl of Pembroke , and the said Lord Matravers , for striking and scuffling with one another in the House of Peers in Parliament , and some others by King Charles the First ; and some by His now Majesty and our Parliaments have many times in some Charges brought against offenders of the Weal Publique , petitioned our Kings and Princes to do it ; and many others have been so committed in the Reigns almost of all our Kings and Princes , of which every Age and History of this our Kingdom can give plentiful Examples , which we may believe to have been done by good and legal Warrant , when in all our many Parliaments and Complaints of the People therein , such Arrests and Imprisonments have not been in the number of any of their complained Grievances ; for otherwise what Power , Writ , Authority , or Warrant of a Judge , or Justice of Peace could have seiz'd upon that Powerful Mortimer , and taken him in Notingham Castle , out of the amorous Embraces of Queen Isabel , the then Kings Mother ? Or the popular & greatly belov'd Duke of Norfolk , out of the County of Norfolk ? And Sir Edward Coke that great Lawyer , so deservedly call'd , might , if he were now again in his house of clay , and that Earthly Honor which his great Acquests in the Study and Practice of the Law had gained him , do well to inform us , that the Report of Husseys the Chief Justice , 1 H. 7.5 . who is by him mistaken and called the Attorney-General to King Henry the Seventh , was any more than an Hear-say , and nothing of kin to the Case put by the King , whereupon they were commanded to assemble in the Exchequer Chamber , whether those that had in those tossing and troublesom times been Attainted , might sit in Parliament whilst their Attainders were reversing ; And the Case concerning the King himself , whether an Attainder against himself was not void or purged by his taking upon him the Crown of England ; or that which in that Conference was brought in to that Report impertinently and improperly , to what preceded or followed by the Reporter of that Conference was not at the most , but some by discourse and not so faithfully related , as to mention how farre it was approved , or wherein it was gain-sayed by all or any ▪ or how many of the Judges , it being altogether unlikely that if Hussey had been then the Kings Attorney-General , he would have cast in amongst those Reverend Judges such an illegal and unwarrantable Hear-say of an opinion of the Lord Chief Justice Markham in the Reign of King Edward the Fourth ( whom that King as our Annalist Stow recordeth , displaced for condemning Sir Thomas Cooke an Alderman of London for Treason , when it was but Misprision ) said unto that King , That the King cannot Arrest a man upon suspition of Treason or Felony , because if he should do wrong , the Party cannot have an Action against the King , without a bestowing some Confutation , Reason , or Arguments against it , which the Reporter was pleased to silence ; And was so weak , and little to be believ'd an Opinion , as the practice of all the Ages since , have as well as the Times preceding , disallowed and contradicted it ; and whether such an Opinion can be warranted by any Law or Act of Parliament ; And whether the King may not take any Cause or Action out of any of His Courts of Justice or Equity , and give Judgment thereupon ; and upon what Law , Reason , or Ground it is not to be done .

For if the Answer which Sir Edward Coke made to what the King alledged , That the Law was grounded upon Reason , and that he and others had reason as well as others ; That true it was , God had endued His Majesty with excellent science , but His Majesty was not learned in the Laws of England , and Causes which concern the Life and Inheritance , or Goods of his Subjects , which are not to be decided by natural Reason and Judgment of Law , which Judgment requires long study and experience . And when the King was therewith greatly offended , and replyed , That he should then be under the Law which was Treason to be said ▪ Cokes 12. Report . answered , that Bracton saith , That Rex non debet esse sub homine , sed sub Deo & Lege ; That a King ought not to be under man , but God and the Law , shall be compared with the Opinion of Dy●r , Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common-Pleas , and the Judges of that Court in the Case betwixt Gre●don and the Bishop of Lincoln , and the Dean and Chapter of Worcester , upon a Demurrer in a Quare Impedit , in the eighteenth and nineteenth year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth reported by Mr. Edmond Plowden , as great and learned a Lawyer as that Age afforded , and one whom Sir Edward Coke doth acknowledge to be no less , did allow , and were of opinion , That the King cannot be z z Plowdens Comment. 502 a. & b. held to be ignorant of the Law , because He is the Head of the Law , and ignorance of the Law cannot be allowed in the King , there will be as little cause as reason to dote upon such Conclusions , especially when the erronious Mis-application and evil Interpretation of that alledged out of Bracton will be obvious to any that shall examine the very place cited , that his meaning was , that where he said that the King was sub Deo & Lege , under God and the Law , it was , that he was onely non uti potentia sed judicio & a a Bract. lib. 1. de rerum div●sione . c. 8 & lib. 3 de Actionibus cap 9. Lib. 2. de Acquirend . Dominium cap. 24. ratione ; And in other places of his Book speaking who primo & principaliter possit & debeat judicare , who first and principally shall and may judge , saith , Et sciendum quod ipse Rex , & non alius si solus ad hoc sufficere possit , cum ad hoc per virtutem Sacramenti teneatur astrictus . And it is to be understood , that the King Himself , and none other ▪ if he alone can be able , is to do it , seeing He is thereunto obliged by His Oath ; Ea vero quae Jurisdic●ionis sunt & Pacis , & ea quae sunt Justiciae & Paci annexa ad nullum pertinent , nisi ad Coronam & Dignitatem Regiam , nec a Corona seperari poterint , cum faciant ipsam Coronam ; for that which belongeth to his Jurisdiction , and that which belongeth to Justice and the Peace of the Kingdom , doth belong to none but the Crown and Dignity of the King , nor can be separated from the Crown when it makes the Crown , so as those who should acknowledge the strength and clearness of a Confutation , in that which hath been already , and may be said against those Doctrines of Sir Edward Coke , may do well to give no entertainment unto those his Opinions , which nulla ratione , nulla authoritate , vel ullo solido fundamento , by no reason , authority , or foundation can be maintained , but to endeavor rather to satisfie the world , and men , of law and reason , whether a Soveraign Prince , who as Bracton saith , habet omnia Jura sua in manu su● quae pertinent ad Regni gubernaculum habet , etiam Justiciam & Judiciam quae sunt Jurisdictiones ut ex Jurisdictione sua sicut Dei Minister & Vicarius , hath all the Rights in his hand which appertaineth to the Government of the Kingdom , which are Jurisdictions ; and as His Jurisdiction belongeth unto Him as He is Gods Vicar and Minister , is in case of Suspition of Treason or Felony , where His ever-waking Intelligence and careful Circumspections to keep Himself and People in safety , shall give Him an Alarm of some Sedition , Rebellion , or Insurrection , and put on His Care and Diligence to a timely Endeavor to crush or spoil some Cockatrice Eggs busily hatching , to send to His Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Kings Bench , or in his absence out of the Term , some Justice of Peace , for a Warrant to Arrest or Apprehend the party offending or suspected ; which our Laws and reasonable Customs of England did never yet see or approve , and when such offenders are to be seized as secretly as suddenly ▪ Or what Law , History , or Record did ever make mention of so unusual , undecent , and unfitting a course or method of Government ? For can any man that is Master of the least grain of Reason or Prudence , think it safe for a Kingdom so to restrain , if it could be , a Soveraign Prince , when a person in time of Pestilence , or otherwise , shall with a Plague-Sore running upon him , come into the presence of the King , who in case of Leprosie , when it was more frequent than now it is , can for the preservation of His People from the infection thereof ▪ make His Writ de Leproso amovendo , command b b Register of Writs 267. the Leper to be removed to some other place , that He should have no power to bid any of His Servants to cause him to be taken away , or put in prison ; Or that King James , when his Life was assaulted by the Assassinate which Earl Gowrey had appointed to murther him , did transgress any Law of Scotland , Nature , or Nations , when he did arrest and struggle with him , until the loyal Sir John Ramsey came to his Rescue ; Or that that prudent Prince after his coming into England , did break any Law of England , Nature , or Nations , or not perform the Office of a King , when by his own Authority he did , without sending to the Lord Chief Justice of the Kings Bench , or a Justice of Peace for his Warrant , cause Sir Thomas Knivet and others , to apprehend Guydo Faux but some minutes before the Match should have been secretly and undiscovered laid in order to the firing of the Gunpowder and other Matterials , which were shortly after to take fire for the accomplishment of the intended treason of him and his wicked Complices , to destroy the King , Prince , Nobility , and the Chiefest of his People assembled in Parliament , and all that were in , or near the Cities of London and Westminster , by the Gunpowder Plot of blowing up the Houses of Parliament ? And whether a King may not in the like case of Contempt or Danger , as well do it , as he may do where a Souldier prest in the Kings Service , upon a Certificate by the Captain into the Chancery , being the Watch-Tower or Treasury of the Kings Justice , that he absented himself , send his Writ or Mandate to one of his Serjeants at Arms to take him ; which Sir Edward Coke saith may be done per Legem terrae , by the Law c c Coke 2 Part Institutes . of the Land ; and may upon a Certificate of an Abbot or Prior into the Chancery do the like by his Writ to the Sheriff , to take a man professed in Religion that is Vagrant , and alloweth it to be Lex Terrae , a Legal Process so to do in honorem Religionis , in honour and respect to Religion ; d d Br. 14. H. 9.8 . or may not as wel imprison a man for a Contempt , as Discharge him ? Or why He may not Arrest , or cause any man to be Arrested for Felony or Treason , or but suspition thereof ? when Sir Edward Coke e e Coke ● Par. Institu●es . cap. 29. p. 52 is of opinion any man may do in the Kings Name upon a common Fame , or Voice ; or Arrest a man by warranty of Law and of his own Authority , which woundeth another dangerously , or keepeth company with a notorious Thief , whereby he is suspected ; or if the King shall not upon necessity , or extraordinary occasions , be enabled to do it for that supposed , rather than any reason at all , that he ought not so to do , in regard that no man can have an Action against Him for any wrong or injury done unto him by the King ? How have our Lawes and reasonable Customes for many Centuries and Ages past submitted unto , and not at all complained of the Kings Seizure of Lands , but suspected to be forfeited ; or of Lands aliened without Licence , or pardon of Alienation , and the like ? Or why should not our Kings have as much liberty as the holy King Edward the Confessour might have had , if he would , to have commanded a Thief to be apprehended for stealing in the Royal Lodgings , when he bad him onely be gone , lest Hugeline his Chamberlain should come in and take him ? Or as legally as King Edward the Third , and his Council , did commit one that was found arm'd in his Palace , to the Marshalsea , whence f f Br. Tit. Contempt . 6. & 24. E. 3. he could not be bayl'd or deliver'd , until the Kings Will and Pleasure should be known ? Or as it was adjudged in the thirty nineth year of the Reign of King Henry the Sixth , when in an Action of Trespass , the Defendant justified the doing thereof by the Command of the King , when he was neither Bayliff nor Officer of the Kings , and it was adjudged by the Judges that he might so do without any Deed or g g 39 H. 6.17 & Br. Tit. Monstrans de faits Tit. 79. Writing shewed for it ? or if they should mistake in their Arrests or Imprisonments of suspected Traytors or Felons , should not have as much liberty as a Justice of Peace hath in criminal matters ? or as the Judges have in his Courts of Justice in civil Actions , where the parties that mistake , or bring their Actions where they should not , or Arrest one man in stead of another , are onely punished with Costs of Suit , or Actions of False Imprisonment , but not the Judges or Justices of Peace ; for howsoever some Flatterers , when King Richard the Third having murthered his Nephews , and usurped the Crown , and sate one day in the High Court of Chancery , had in some of the Pleadings or Causes heard before him , alledged that the King could do no wrong ; and some of our Lawyers have since so much believed it , as they have reduced it into a kind of Maxime , and given it a place in some of their Arguments & Reports ; Yet Bracton in h h Bract. l. 3. Tit. contra quem competit Assisa . & Stamfords exposition of the Kings Prerogative , cap. 15. & Tit. Petition cap. 22. the Reign of King Henry the Third , and Justice Stamford in the Reign of Queen Mary , did believe the King might unwillingly by Himself , or His Officers or Ministers , do wrong , and declared the Law to be both in Bractons and Stamfords time , that in such Cases the Subjects where they have any matter of Complaint or Grievance , need not want their legal Remedies by Traverse , Monstrans de Droit , or Petition ; the reason of the latter being , as Stamford saith , because the Subject hath no other Remedy against the King , but to supplicate him by Petition , for the Dignity sake of the Person . And a late Experience hath told us , how a Dispute betwixt our two Houses of Parliament , whether a Great Person accused of Delinquency might be Arrested and put under Custody , before his Charge or Accusation could be made ready , gave the Party opportunity to escape into the Parts beyond the Seas , and the Disputants leisure and time enough to agree of the matter ; And it should be remote enough from any the suspition of Errour or over-credulity , for any man to think an Arrest or Imprisonment , by the immediate Command of the King in the case of Treason or Felony , or but suspition of either of them , not to be as legal as that of a Justice of Peace , made by a Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , in his Name , and by his Authority derived under him . And those who will take out Sir Edward Coke's before mentioned Lessons , and enter themselves into that School , and be ready to make Affidavit of those his pretended Axioms , may do well before they do too greedily imbibe them , to remember that Maxime in our Law , as well as the Caesarean , that Nem● plus Juris in alium transferre potest quam ipse habet , No man can give unto another a greater Power and Authority than he hath himself ▪ and that Sir Edw. Coke himself hath acknowledged , that a Derivative cannot be greater than the Power and i i Br. lib. 3. cap. 12. sect. 1. & ● . Authority from whence it was deriv'd ; And to give themselves and others the reason why the Kings of England should have a Comptroll and rectifying Super-intendency by the Common Law , Judges own confessions over his Admiralty and Ecclesiastical Courts , and not of his Common Law Courts , and other Judicatories , or may not send his Prohibitions to Superior Courts where they intermeddle beyond their Cognizance , as he doth in the Admiralty and Ecclesiastical Courts , and as he may do in all inferior Courts ; and by what Rule , Act of Parliament , or positive Law they are to do it in the one , and are restrained in the other ; or left at liberty in the one , and not in the other ; And whether he may not in Civil Actions , for some reasons of State , Justice , or Equity do it , as well as in the Reign of King Henry the Third , after the making of Magna Charta it was done , when Bracton takes it for a Rule , that in adven●u Justitiariorum ad omnia placita ex Jurisdictione sibi delegata pertinent ad eos audire querelas singulorum & Petitiones ut unicuique Justicia ●iat , that in the Circuit of the Judges it belongeth unto them by their Jurisdiction delegated , to hear all men and their Complaints and Petitions , that Justice may be done to every man ; yet if any prosecuted or complained of without the Kings Writ or Precept , injuste arctatus fuerit , shall be unjustly forced to answer Subvenitur ei per ta●e brev. Domini k k Br. lib 3. Tract . de Corona . cap. 14 sect. 4. Regis Rex Vicecom. salutem precipimus tibi quod non implacites , nec implacitari permittas talem de libero tenemento suo in tali villa , sine speciali Precepto nostro , vel Capitalis Justiciarii nostri ; The King may relieve him by such a Writ , viz. that is to say , The King sendeth greeting to the Sheriff , We command you , that you do not implead , or suffer to be impleaded such a one of his Free-hold , in such a Town , without Our Writ , Precept , or Command , or of Our Chief Justice .

Or as that King did , where an Appeal was brought in the County of York for a Robbery , and remov'd per Preceptum nostrum , by the Kings command before his Justices at Westminster , which Sr Ed. Coke says is always to be understood to be of the Court of Common-Pleas , and being heard , the Party appealed was acquitted ; and having been appealed for the same Fact in the County of Essex , and after that Acquittal aforesaid outlawed in Essex ▪ the King quoniam Error prejudicare non debet veritati , to the end that Error might not prejudice Truth , did , Consilio Magnatum , by the advice of his Great Men , pronounce that Outlawry to be null and void .

And in another Case where the Justices Itinerant upon an Appeal brought for the death of a mans brother , and he that was appealed being a timorous man , had fled thereupon , so as by the command of the said Justices , he was afterwards outlawed , and the man that was said to have been killed , was found to be alive and in health ; the King seeing that there was no just cause of the Utlary , did pardon it and the flight , and commanded that in a full County-Court where he was outlawed , the man said to be killed should be produced , and that then eum inlagari faciat , & ad pacem Regis recipi , the Sheriff should in-law the Defendant , and receive him to the Kings peace , and publiquely proclaim that he was received into the Kings grace and favor .

And if they will read Bracton quite through , and diligently observe and compare one place with another , and that wherein he is positive and concludent , they need not go far to seek how easie it is to mistake Reason , and over●run and reject Truths , as the Rabbies and Proselites of the Rebellious Assembly , call'd The Long Parliament , did not long ago do , by suffering their prejudice , fancy , or sinister ends , to rove and catch a piece of that Ancient , Loyal , and Learned Author , to furnish out their disloyal Arguments and Purposes , without any further reading or enquiry into him , where they may see the contrary asserted , and abundance of Confutation of those , and many other Errors they were so much in love with , and are so willing to espouse .

The Authorities offered to prove the Opinion of Sir Edward Coke and the Judges in that Case of Prohibitions in Michaelmas Term , in the fifteenth year of the Reign of King James , before-mentioned , yielding , if well examined , no support to that debile fundamentum , weak and insufficient Thesis , or intended Foundation ; and will as unsafely be relyed upon as those many Conclusions which he hath as to many things drawn from the counterfeit Modus tenendi Parlementum , ( abundantly l l Seld. Tittles of Honor Mr. Pryns Animadversions upon Sir Edward Cokes 4 th part of the Institutes . p. 1.11 . & 249. prov'd to be so both by Mr. Selden and Mr. Pryn ) about the latter end of King Henry the Sixth , and from his over much admired , and too often cited , but suspected , the so called Mirror of Justice , written by Andrew Horne many hundred years after the Reign of King Alfred , of much of the matters wherin Asser Meneuensis , who lived in his Court , and wrote of his Actions ; Brompton and many of our old English Writers are altogether silent , and as little satisfactory as the Resolution of himself in Trinity Term , in the fifth year of the Reign of King James , concerning a Commission to inquire of Depopulations , to be amongst other defects suppos'd to be therein , that the said Commission was against Law ; 1. because m m Cokes 12 Reports . Tri. 5 Jacobi . it was in English , 2. because the Offences inquirable were not mentioned in the Commission , but in a Schedule annexed , the reason and authority whereof lies as hidden and difficult , as the most dark and envelopped Riddles and Aenigma's of Sphinx , and as unintelligible , as the most mystical Caballa of the opinionated Rabbins , and as unlikely to be assisted by any , either Law , or right Reason , as another Opinion or Hypothesis of Sir Edward Cokes , and others , That the King cannot create a Manor ; when those many thousand Manors in England have not with their large Liberties and Priviledges , been granted by Act of Parliament , but by the Favor and Indulgence of our Kings , or by their tacite Permissions , where any of those Manors have , as parcel of some others , or otherwise been onely upheld by Custom or Prescription .

All which , with many other of his Doctrines and Opinions , would not have been welcomed or caressed by the former Ages , who well unstood the difference betwixt the Edicta and Rescripta Principum , the Edicts and Legal Mandates of Sovereign Princes , with the high esteem , respects and obedience is due unto them , and the Responsa prudentum of their Commissionated Justices , and the Reasonings and Dictates of those Disciples of refined Reason ; and how wide also is the difference betwixt Deliberation and things spoken of a sudden , betwixt Arguments solemnly made both at the Bar and at the Bench , and that which passeth from them obiter or in transitu , hastily , and without any premeditation , or in passage , or as circumstantial to some other matter , or when it was not subjectum Argumenti , the subject or material part of the Argument , but came in as foreign , or was not the principal Design thereof ; or was but as some of the Law Reports do mention other things to have been spoken onely ad mensam , as they sate at Dinner or Supper ; or in their private Conferences , or per Auditum , by Hear-say or Report of another coming in from a Court , or Business at Law , where they that made the Report were not present ; neither were those Sons of Wisdom ignorant , that Laws were to be so subservient to Government , as not to incumber the just means thereof , and the Power and Authority which should protect and take care of it .

For although Kings and Princes ought in performance of their Oaths taken at their Coronation , to make the Methods and Rules of their Governments , where Justice and Reason shall perswade it to come up as near as they can Legum suarum praescripto , to the minde and direction of their established and allowed Laws , and reasonable Customs of the Kingdom , and moderate and guide their Power , as Bracton saith , to the right end for which it was ordained , yet the Suprema Lex & Salus Populi , ne quid detrimenti Respublica capiat , the Supream Law to heed above all things , next to the will and commands of the Almighty King of Kings , the safety of the People , and Weal Publique , committed to their charge , wherein their own is not a little concern'd , being not to be neglected , enjoyns the care and observation of that great Principle in the Eternal Laws of Nature and right Reason , that there ought to be in all Kings , Princes and Governors such a Power and Means extraordinary , as may answer the purpose of Government , procure Justice , relieve Necessities , and repel any the Incursions of Dangers , which present Laws , or the greatest fore-cast could never provide , or before-hand arm against , when Time , Necessities , or Hazards imminent , cannot tarry for the popular or long deliberations or assent of a Multitude , who can sooner bring upon themselves a ruining and fatal Discord , than procure any help at present , and that to oblige Government to a close and pertinacious adhering to Laws or Rules already established , which can yield them no relief , or at the most none at present , may be as inconvenient and destructive , as to limit a Captain , Master , or Pilot of a Ship going to Sea , what Orders and no other he must observe , when Pirates or Enemies assaults unlooked for ; the Furies of the merciless Windes and Seas ; or those many other Misfortunes of which the Seas do produce as great a plenty as they do variety , shall rush or break in upon him , and must of necessity require other helps or directions , and cannot always sayl by Card or Compass , or in sight of a conducting Pole-Star , but most sometimes for the preservation of himself , the Ship , and Passengers , lowr his Sayls , cut his Cables , or Main-mast , or throw Goods over-board , to be recompensed by those whose good and safety was procured by it .

Or might be as fatal as it would be to an Army , when a General or Commander of it , shall be pinnion'd and fetter'd with Instructions or Authorities ill calculated , and must not go beyond them , when their Cares , Arts , and Stratagems , are not to be before-hand prescribed by Laws , Instructions , or Rules of War , but are to be used and practised as Occasions , Opportunities , Advantages , or Disadvantages , Successes , Dangers , or Misfortunes shall advise .

And therefore if we look down from the hills of Time , into the valleys of the Ages past , and take a view of the Laws and Constitutions of our Princes , the Records and Monuments of their Justice , distributed by themselves , or the Judges their Substitutes , the weight of the Reasons of their Judgements therein , and the Obedience which the People have from Age to Age readily paid unto them , they that will not wilfully sacrifice to a peevish Obstinacy , may see cause enough for our Kings as well to make use of extraordinary Helps and Remedies in order to Justice and the Weal Publique , as their delegated Judges have done , by that which they call Office and Discretion , or course of Court , and Equity , of Statutes , in many Causes , too many to be here instanced , when the Laws would too much streighten them , or not permit them to do that which Justice would require or expect at their hands , & to believe that the no unfaithful or unlearned Judges in the former Ages did not incroach upon the Liberties of the People , or wanted a Warrant of right Reason , when they had such a veneration and respect to the Prudence of divers of our Princes , their Reason and Necessities of State , and the preservation of the People , and in doing of Justice ; as in the sixth year of the Reign of King n n 6 R. 1. Rot. 6 in recept Scaccarii . Richard the First , Adam of Benningfield and Gundreda his Wife , having brought a Writ of Dower against Robert Mallivell and Pavie his Wife , for seven Carves of Land in Raveneston , with the Appurtenances , in the County of Nottingham , of which the said Gundreda had a Fine levied unto her in the Court of King Henry by Robert Mallivell , Father of the said Robert Mallivell , and thereof produced the Chirograph , and alledged that the said Robert the Son had disseized them in the War or Rebellion of Earl John , the Kings Brother , and was with him in the War against the King at Kingeshage , and that by reason of the Seisin of the said Robert by the said Earl John , the Land was taken into the Kings hands , as Hugh Bardo witnessed ; but the said Robert pleaded that he paid a Fine to the King for it , and for that Land to have his Lands again ; and for that produced the Kings Letters to the Sheriff of Nottinghamshire , who attested the truth thereof ; Et Dominus Cancellarius dicit quod ipse accepit ab ore Domini Regis quod ipse redderet Seisinam terrarum omnibus illis qui disseisiti fuerunt , per Comitem Johannem , & dicit quod ratum habe●ur , quod ipsi disseisiti fuerunt per Comitem Johannem , & inde consideratum est quod magis ratum habetur quod Dominus Rex ore precipit quam quod per literas mandavit & quod Adam & Gundreda habeant Seisinam suam ; and the Lord Chancellor witnessed that he was commanded by the King by word of mouth , that he should make Livery of their Lands to all which were disseized by the said Earl John , ( which would have required a good Warrant in a matter concerning so many , ) and said that it was proved that they were disseized by the said Earl John ; and thereupon the Court delivered their Opinion , that what the King had done by word of mouth was more to be approved & credited , than what he had commanded by his Letters . And our Bracton , who ad vetera Judieia o o Bract. in Proemio de Legibus & consuetudinibus , Angliae , & l. 1. c. 8. sect. 5. perscrutanda , as he saith , had used great diligence in the search and perusing of the Old Records of the Kingdom , declareth the Law to be in his time , That non debet esse Major in Regno suo , there ought not to be any Superiour unto him in his Kingdom ; si autem ab eo petatur ●um breve non ●urrat ( contra ipsum ) locus erit supplicationi quod factum suum corrigat & emendet ; but if he do not Justice when as no Writ can be had against him , he is to be petitioned to do it ; quod quidem si non fecerit satis sufficit ei ad poenam quod Dominum expectet ultorem nemo quidem de factis suis praesumet disputare , multo fortius contra factum suum venire ; which if he shall not do , it will be enough to leave him to God for a punishment ; for no man is to presume to question or dispute his Actions , much more to contradict any thing which he doth .

And since the Granting of the Great Charter of the Liberties of the People , & those Bounds which Regal Majesty hath been pleased to put to the Royal Prerogative , it appeareth , That in the first p p 1 E. 1. coram Rege Trin. 5. year of the Reign of King Edward the First , it was adjudged and declared in the Court of Kings Bench , Quod non est voluntas Regis quod Cartae su● concessae scilicet de Pardonatione Vitae tempore praetirito per ministros ipsius Regis disallocentur in prejudicium illorum quibus conceduntur ; that it is not the Kings pleasure that his Charters of Pardon for the time past , shall be disallow'd to the prejudice of those to whom they q q Hill. 3. E. 1. Rot. 1. & Trin. 19. E. 1. coram Rege . are granted .

In the third , and nineteenth year of that Kings Reign , it was declared and allowed to be Law , That Justiciarius non habet Jurisdictionem cognoscendi in aliqua loquela , nec capiend' aliquam Assisam , nisi per Dominum Regem , & ad ipsius voluntatem , & si secus fecerit videtur Curiae quod de jure non fecerit ; That a Justice or Judge hath no Jurisdiction in any Plea or Action , nor to try or take any Assise , unless it be allowed or permitted by the King , or by his Will and Pleasure ; and if the Justice or Judge shall do otherwise , the Court was of opinion that by Law he could not do it .

In the nineth year of the Reign of that King , it was adjudged , That neque Barones quinque Portuum , neque aliqui alii in Regno possunt clamare talem Libertatem quod non respondeant Domino Regi de contemptu sibi facto , ubi Dominus Rex eos adjudicare r r Pas. 9 E. 1. coram Rege Kan● Rot. ●6 . voluerit ; Neither the Barons of the Cinque ports , nor any other in the Kingdom can clame a Liberty not to be answerable to the King for any contempt where he will Call them to accompt for it .

In the eighteenth year of his Reign in the Case betwixt the Bishop of Carlisle and Isabell de Clifford , and Idonea s s 18. E. 1. coram Rege . de Leybourne her Sister concerning the Advowson of a Church which he Claimed by a Feoffment thereof made by King Richard the First , it was alleaged to be Law , That nemini liceat Cartas Regias , indicare nisi Regibus , That no man ought to judge the Kings Charters but themselves .

In Hillary Term in the twentieth year of the Reign of that King , in the great Case and Pleadingi betwixt the King and Gilbert de Clare Earl t t Hillary 20 E. 1. coram Rege wallia Rot. 37. of Gloucester and Hertford , and Humphrey de Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex , for that the said Earls had upon a Controversie betwixt them for Certain Lands in Brecknock , and in the Marches of Wales armed their Tenants , and with Banners displayed , invaded each others Lands after the Kings prohibition , when by a Commission granted to William Bishop of Ely , William de Valence and others , the King therein declared , that although the said Earls should in the meane time agree , yet if any thing should be attempted in prejudicium seu Contemptum vel etiam laesionem Coronae suae & Dignitatis Regiae , vel contra pacem , &c. post inhibitionem suam praedicto Com. Glou● pro statu et Jure Regis per predict Episcopum et sotios suos inde rei veritas inquireretur , to the prejudice , or in Contempt or hurt of his Crowne or Kingly Dignity , or against the Peace , after the Inhibition made to the Earl of Gloucester as aforesaid , it should for the State and Right of the King be inquired by the Bishop and the rest of the Commissioners , to the end the truth thereof might be found out ; it was in that Plea or Proceedings declared for Law and not at that time denyed , Quod pro communi u●ilitate per Prerogativam suam in multis Casibus Rex est supra omnes leges & consuetudines in Regno suo usitatas , that the King is by his Prerogative in many Cases for common and publick good above the Law or any Customs used in the Realm ; and when exception was taken by the Earl of Gloucester to the Writ of Scire Facias , which he alleaged , ought to be a judicial Writ issuing out of a Process before had , and not out of the Chancery as an original Writ Videtur , it seemed saith the Record consilio Domini Regis to the Kings Councel ( which in that Case were the Judges of the Court of Kings Bench ) quod ex quo incumbit Domino Regi specialiter pro conservatione pacis suae et salvatione populi sibi Commissi , quam cito rumor de tam enormi transgressione contra inhibitionem suam facta ad ipsum pervenerit in continenter , debetur super hoc veritas inquiri per omnes vias , quibus citius sine Juris offensa , & per breve illud propter exhibitionem celeris Justitiae unicuique indigenti praestando festimus patet remedium , quam per aliquod aliud breve adhuc in casu isto provisum sive formatum ad intollerabilia mala evitand . & impediend . veluti homicidia , sacrilegia , incendia depraedationes , et alia enormia que preter mala prius illata emersisse potuerunt a casu , nisi celerius remedium apponeretur in facto predicto : That forasmuch as it specially concerneth the King for the keeping of the Peace and weal of his People committed to his charge , as soon as ever he shall be informed of so great an offence against , or contrary to his prohibition , the truth thereof ought to be enquired by all the ways and meanes , by which without contradiction or disturbance of the Law , it may soonest be done ; and that by that Writ for the more speedy doing of Justice to every on that needed it , there was a more speedy remedy afforded than by any other in that Case already formed or provided , to prevent and hinder such intollerable mischiefes , as Manslaughter , Sacriledge , burning of Houses , Spoils , Depredations , or Plunder , and other enormities ; which besides the evils before Committed , might happen or ensue , if a sudden remedy in such a case should not be applyed : Et etiam quod Dominus Rex qui est omnibus et Singulis de Regno suo Justitiae debitor non potuit in hoc casu nisi Injuriam Coronae sue intulisset dissimulasse quin concessisset breve per quod citius et celerius pervenire posset ad cognitionem veritatis rei pred . ●um petitum ●uerit ; And likewise that the King , who to all and every of the people of his Kingdom is a debtor of Justice , and ought to do it , could not in this case unless he should do an injury to his Crown , dissemble or forbear the Punishment thereof , or abstain from the granting of a Writ when it was required , whereby he might the sooner come to the knowledge of the matter aforesaid ; and it was by the aforesaid Judges of the Kings Bench adjudged Quod breve predictum in casu isto & in casibus consimilibus est necessarium et rationabile , that the Writ aforesaid was in that Case and the like necessary and reasonable : And as to what the Earl of Gloucester had alleaged that it ought to have been a Judicial Writ , videtur consilio Domini Regis ; it seemed to the Judges that Dominus Rex a quo omnes ministri sibi subjecti recordum habent est superlativum et magis arduum recordum et supra omnes ministros su●s et processus et record . rotulorum praecellens ; the King under whom all his ministers do derive their Authority to make their Records , hath a more high and superlative Record excelling that of all his Ministers ( his Justices being by Sir . Edward Cook u u Cook 2 par. Institutes . so stiled , ) Et etiam antequam Dominus Rex inhibet circumspicit et considerat Judicio interiori propter utilitatem communem ut evitetur deterius quod oriri possit et subsequi ex malo incepto nisi inhibitio interveniret , et sic procedit inhibitio ex praemeditato Judicio conscientiae Domini Regis propter bonum pacis : And also that the King doth before he maketh his inhibition forecast and consider within himself what may be done for the Weal publick , to the end that he may prevent a worser evil or mischief which might arise , or be the consequence of an evil beginning , if he should not have made such an inhibition ; And therefore that Inhibition did proceed out of the Judgement and dictates of the Conscience of the King for the Peace and welfare of his Kingdom , Contra quod Judicium si quis praesumpserit attemptare quanto citius et debitus possit habere processus ut super hoc convincatur veritas super delinquentem in hoc casu tanto honorabilius est Regi Majestati et regno et populo utilius et magis necessarium ; which Judgement , if any shall resist , or contradict , by how much speedier a due Process may be had for the Conviction of the Offender , by so much the more Honorable it is for the Kings Majesty , and the more profitable and necessary for the People and Kingdom : Per quod videtur in hac parte quod Inhibitio , procedit proprie et Judicio aquo predictum breve quod vocatur . Scire facias debite sumi potest maxime , cum res supradict● specialius in hoc casu tangat Dominum Regem Coronam et Dignitatem quam aliam tertiam personam ; By which in this Cause it appeared to the Judges , that the Inhibition was duely and well granted , and had its Original from the Judgement ( of the King ) from which the aforesaid Writ , which is called a Scire Facias , was deduced , especially when the matters aforesaid , did more concern the King , his Crown , and Dignity , than any third Person .

And it was the Opinion of the Judges of the Court of Kings-Bench , in that before mentioned judgment , in the three & thirtith & four & thirtieth year of the Reign of that King , in the Case betwixt the Prior and w w Mich. 3. & 34. E ▪ 13 in Banco Regis Rot. 103. Bishop of Durham , that any ordinance , award , or acknowledgement made in the Kings presence , and by him affirmed , was to be more believed ; and to have a greater force , than a Fine levied before his Justices , conformable to the Civil Law : which saith that Principis dicto fides adhibenda plenissima si Officii x x Farinacius d quaest· 63. cap. 3. n 80 98 & 139. ratione aliquis a se vel coram se actum vel gestum , esse verbo vel literis attestatur ; An unquestionable Faith , is to be given to what in the Office , or Affairs of the King , shall be done by , or before Him , attested by his Word or Letters .

In Trinity Term , in the nineteenth year of the Reign of King Edward the second , in a Writ of y y Trin. 19 E. 2. coram Rege Glouc. Rot. 174. Novel Disseisin , brought by Isabella , the wife of Peter Crok , after the Kings Writ of Prohibition to proceed ; Rege inconsulto , obtained by the Bishop , for that he pretended it to have been forfeited to the King , and granted unto him , saving the Reversion , and She replying , and issue being joyned , and two hundred forty pound Damages given : and the King having afterwards sent his Writ to Proceed ; and the Bishop bringing his Writ of Error , and Errors being assigned ▪ amongst which one was that the King understanding that the Judges had taken the Assise , and given Judgement , had sent another Writ to Richard de la Rivere , one of the Justices in the Commission , commanding him that Si ita esset , that if it were so , he should send the Record and Process to the King ; and that the said Justices ▪ post receptionem brevis predict nullam potestatem in hac parte habentes ad predictum breve Regium nihil considerantes Erronice , et minus rite processerunt ad Judicium predict reddend . &c. After the Receipt of the Writ aforesaid , had no Power in that behalf , but had erred , in not regarding the Kings Writ , and proceeded illegally ; unto which the said Isabella replying , that after the taking of the Assise the King had sent his Writ ; which was inrolled in the Record that the Justices should Proceed , Cum omni celeritate qua de Jure et secundum legem et consuetudinem Regni Angliae ; with as much speed , as by the Law and Customs of England , they might ; Quibus recitatis et plenius intellectis Record et brevibus predictis videtur Curiae quod ex quo pretextu illius brevis eis directi de procedendo ad Judicium , &c. Quod est de posteriori dato quam predictum breve de venire faciend. Recordum et Processus , &c. Per quod breve de venire faciend. &c. Potestas Justic. eis extitit ablata nec in eadem brevi de procedendo ulla mentio fuit de allegatione ipsius Episcopi predicta nec de eo quod Dominus Rex , alias eis mandavit quod post Captionem Assise , predict ad Judicium inde reddend . inconsulto Rege minime procederent ad Judicium predict reddend . erronice et sine warranto processerunt ; Upon view , and due consideration of which Record , and Writs aforesaid , it appeared to the Court , that the aforesaid Justices had by colour of the Writ of Procedendo , which was of a later Date than the Writ of Venire Facias ; to cause the Record and Proceedings to be brought before the King , and that by that Writ of Venire Facias , the Power of Proceeding was taken from the aforesaid Justices , nor in the said Writ of Procedendo , was any mention made of the Bishops aforesaid Allegation , nor of the Kings former Command , that after the taking of the Assise they should not without Advising with the King , Proceed to Judgement ; and that by such a giving of Judgement , they had Proceeded Erroniously and without Warrant ; whereupon and other the Errors alledged , the Judgement was Reversed , and the Seisin of the Land adjudged to the Bishop .

In the third year of the Reign of King Edward the third , the Bishop of Winchester being Attached to z z Trin 3. E. 3. coram Rege . Suth . Rot. 9. Answer the King ; Quare decessit a Parlemento tent' apud novam Sarum absque licencia Regis , & contra inhibitionem Regis , et in Regis contemptum : Wherefore he departed from the Parliament Holden at New Salsbury without Licence of the King , contrary to the Kings Inhibition , and in Contempt of the King .

Episcopus dicit , quod ipse est unus de Paribus Regni , et Praelatis Regni , et eis inest venire ad Parlementum Domini Regis summonit . Et pro voluntate Domini Regis cum ipse placuerit ; Et dicit , quod siquis eorum deliquerit , erga Dominum Regem in parte aliqua in aliquo Parlemento debet corrigi & emendari , & non alibi in minor Cur' quam in Parlemento per quod non intendit quod Dominus Rex velit in Cur' hic de hujusmodi transgressione & contempt' fact . in Parlemento responderi , &c. To which the Bishop pleaded that he was one of the Peers and Prelates of the Kingdom , and that they are to come to the Parliament of the King when they are summoned , when he pleaseth , and that if any of them should offend the King in any thing , the King ought to correct or call them to accompt for it in Parliament , and not elsewhere in any lesser Court. Wherefore he hoped that the King will for any such offence or contempt cause him to answer in Parliament : To which the King's Attorney replyed . Quod licet Regi de hujusmodi transgressione sectam facere vel delinquentem punire in quacunque Curia sibi placuerit , &c. Et Episcopus e contra ut prius ideo datus est dies . That by Law the King may prosecute against a Delinquent in whatsoever Court he pleaseth ; which the Bishop denied as aforesaid , and therefore further day was given , &c.

King Edward the second , having by his Letters Patents granted to Maurice Brownesword a a Mich. 5 E. 3. coram Rege . Officium Custod . Vlnagij in Anglia & postea ipsum inde amovit et con●ulit dictum Officium Nicholao Sherlock , unde Mauricius per petitionem Regi porrectam , & in Bancum Regis missam petit , quod dictum Officium ei restituatur . The Office of the Aulnage in England , and afterwards displaced him , and granted the said Office to Nicholas Sherlock , and Maurice Brownsword having thereupon exhibited his Petition to the King , which prayed that the said Office might be restored unto him , and the King having sent it to the Judges , King Edward the third his Son notwithstanding in the fifth year of his raign , misit breve suum Justic quod non vult ea irritari , quae Pater suus in hoc fecit & praecepit quod supersedeant quousque aliud inde ordinaverit , &c. sent his Writ to the Justices , declaring that he would not have that to be made void which his Father had done , and commanded them to proceed no farther therein untill his further order .

In a Judgment given in the Court of Kings Bench in Easter Term , in the tenth year b b Pas. 10 E. 3 ●oram Rege . of the Raign of the aforesaid King , upon a Taxation or Assesment upon the County of Hertford , for the wages of Hoblers and Footmen ; It was declared , Quod nihil renovandum seu emendand quod factum fuit per Regem , that nothing was to be revoked or amended which was done by the King , and in the same Term and year , c c Pas. 10 E. 3. coram Rege . Wilts. Rot. 50. Super prolationem . Recordorum & Rotulorum Curiae , & al. Dominus Rex misit breve suum Justic mandando quod nihil agerent in prejudicium s●u ex hereditationem Domini Regis , sed quod supersederent in negotio praedicto nihil inde faciendo inconsulto Rege , upon producing of the Records and Rolls of the Court , the King sent his Writ to the Justices , commanding them that they should do nothing in his prejudice or disherison , and that they should stay and proceed no further without advising with him .

In Easter Term in the forty sixth year of the Raign of King Edward the third , d d Pas. 46. E. 3. Glouc. Rot. 33. coram Rege . Thomas Bishop of Durham was attached ad respondend . tam Domino Regi quam Gulielmo sil . Henr' de Aslokey , quare i● placito . erroris in utlagaria ad sectam tam Katerine quae fuit Vxor Willi' de Kilkenny quam ad ●ectam D●i● Ept' infra libertatem Episcopat ' Dunelm non misit Recordum ex Mandato Regis in Bancum Regis , to answer the King as William the Son of Henry of Aslokey ; wherefore upon a Writ of Error brought to reverse an outlawry as well at the Suit of Katherine which was the Wife of William of Kilkenny , as at the Suit of the Bishop within the liberty of the Bishoprick of Durham , he had not sent the Records as the King had commanded , into the Court of Kings Bench , and upon a second Writ commanding him to do it or to shew cause , which was delivered at his Castle of Auckland ; and a third Writ of the like Tenor delivered to the Bishop himself at Waltham Cross , spretis mandatis record . & processus non misit , nec causam significavit quare id facere noluit , but disobeying the Kings commands had neither sent the Records and Process , nor shewed any cause why he did it not . Episcopus dicit quod nulla brevia ei liberavit apud Dunelm' & quod ad illud apud Waltham retornavit quod ipse est Comes Palatinus & Dominus regalis cujusdam terrae vocat le Bishoprick de Durham , & habet omnia Jura regalia quae ad Comitem Palatinum & Dominium regalem pertinent per se Justic' & Ministros suos ibidem excercenda ac Justic' suos proprios , viz. Coronatorem & Cancellar & Cancellariam & brevia sua propria ibid● de Cancellaria sua emanantia & quod ministri Domini Regis ad aliqua officia sua exercenda ibidem in aliquo ad omnia Com' placita se non intromittant realia et personalia quae ad comitem Palatinum pertinent infra terram praed' & quod habet Justic. suos ibidem et ad assignand' Justic' per Commissionem et ad Error' corrigend . per ipsum Episco pum vel alios Justiciar suos tam ad sectam Domini Episcopi quam aliorum , & praedi●tus Willielmus replicavit quod non esset consonum rationi se ipsum de facto & prosecutione proprijs fore Judicem cum proprie ad Regiam Majestatem in omnibus Causis ortis inter subditos Jurisdictio pertinet dinoscere , et licet ad aliquam Personam per privilegium speciale de causa cognoscere indultum fuit si substitutus in exhibitione Justitiae defecerit Errorem per superiorem , et non per substitut' corrigi debet et super hoc dati sunt dies de termino in terminum .

To which he pleaded that no Writs were delivered to him at Durham , and to that which was delivered unto him at Waltham , he had returned that he is Count Palatine and Lord of the Royalty of the Lands called the Bishoprick of Durham , and hath all the Rights and Regalities which do belong unto a Count Palatine , and that Royalty there to be exercised by him and his Ministers and Justices , that is to say , hath a Coroner Chancellor and Court of Chancery , and that the Kings Officers do not in any thing intermeddle therein , and that the said Bishop as Count Palatine hath there likewise his Court and Justices of Common-Pleas , as well real as personal , and power to assign by Commission , Justices to correct and reverse Errors committed by him or any of his Justices , as well at his own Suit as others .

Unto which the said William replyed , That it was not reason that he should be Judge of his own Actions , when as properly it belonged to the Majesty of a King to determine of all Causes betwixt his Subjects ; And although he in favour granted to some Person a special priviledge to hear and determine Causes , yet if any substituted by him do fail in the distribution of Justice , the Errors shall be corrected by the Superior , and not by the Substitutes ; whereupon further days were given from Term , to Term.

Nor was the Duties of Subjects so worn out , but that so much respect was in those better Times given to our Kings Royal Protections , granted to such as were not employed by them , as the Laws and reasonable Customs o● England did allow the protected Persons in their Lands and Estates , to bring their Actions against the Infringers or Disturbers thereof , as in the Case of Roger de Limecote against e e 6 R. 1. Rot. 1. in dorso . the Sheriff of Liecester , in the first year of the Reign of King Richard the First , for disseising him of two Knights Fees ; Nicholas Talbot against William Prior of Dunstar , in the eight and thirtieth year of the Reign of King Edward f f Hil. 38. E. 3. coram Rege Somer . rot 37. & ibid. Wilts. in dorso . the Third ; of Walter Warr against Gervase Wretchey , and John Parkey in the same year , and of many others in the said Kings Reign ; and no Pleas in Bar , or alledging Illegality put into the same , but in others some collateral Pleas and Defences made by Releases , or the like .

For those Lovers of their Countrey , and honor of their Kings , did not think , as some would fondly and untruly assert , that all the Royal Protections granted by them , had at the first no better an Original or Foundation , than an Imitation of the many Protections and Priviledges granted by our Kings and Princes , to Bishops , Monasteries , and Religious Houses , did not believe that our Kings could not respite for a while the payment of moneys due unto any of their Subjects , or do as much as amounted to it , when King Edward the Third in his Wars with France , and great want of Moneys , did about g g Et Rot. Pat & Rot. claus. 13. E. 3. m. 21. the thirteenth year of his Reign , revoke divers Assignations for the payment of Moneys due unto private and particular persons , until he should be better enabled to pay them . And it was about the twelfth Year of the Reign of King James , in the Grand Case of Boltons Complaint against the Lord Chancellor Ellesmeere adjudged in Parliament , That upon a Bill , called A Bill of Conformity , exhibited in Chancery by a Debtor against his Creditors , for not accepting of his Offer of as much satisfaction as he was able to give them ; and for refusing thereupon to permit him to enjoy his liberty , the Lord Chancellor , or the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England , might by Injunctions prohibit and stay all Suits at the Common Law , commenced by him or any such refractory Creditors .

For our Courts of Chancery , Kings-Bench , Common-Pleas , and Exchequer , have in their several subordinate Authorities , not seldom mitigated and reduced the high and unreasonable Fines incertain , demanded by divers Lords of Manors of their Copy-hold Tenants for their Admissions , unto a more reasonable Rate of two years improved Value , and enforced them to accept it . And Sir Edward Coke in his Comment upon Magna Charta , would not bring into the meaning of the Clause of Nulli negabimus , vel differemus Justiciam , That the h h Cokes Comment upon Magna Charta . cap. 29. King would not deny , or delay Justice such Protections as do appear in the Register , and are warranted by the Books of Law . And although in the eighth year of the Reign of King Henry the Sixth , it was in transitu , and by i i 8 H 6.19 . a. & b. the way said by Cottesmore , a Judge in the Case concerning the Priviledges of the University of Oxford , That the King cannot grant that a man shall not Implead , or have any Action against another ; Yet it was at the same time declared to be Law and right Reason by Babington a Judge , That to a Lord of a Manor , Conusance of all Trespasses done within his Lordship , may be granted by the King , and that a Plaintiff shall be bound to bring his Action accordingly ; and that in that Case the King hath not fore-closed him of his Action ; so as our Novelists , and such as invent all the Oppositions they can against the just and legal Authority of their Sovereigns , may do better to acknowledge , that howsoever it was the opinion of some of the Judges in the Reign of King Henry the Sixth , That if any should Arrest a man by the Kings Command , ( when all men Arrested are so by the Authority of the King and his Writs , or Process ) an Action of False Imprisonment might be brought against him that k k 16 H. 4. Fitzherbert Tit. Monstrans des Fai●z . obeyed the Kings Command , although it was done in the presence of the King ; Yet the whole Tenor and Meaning of that Case , and that sudden Opinion arguendo , or by way of instance deliver'd thereupon , was no more , but that such a Command ought to be attended with some Specialty , or cause shewed .

And so little did the Judges of the Court of Kings-Bench in Trinity Term , in the ninth year of the Reign of King Henry the Fifth , intend or think it fit to subject to the humor of any froward or undutiful person , the important Affairs and Service of the King ; As William Reedhead and Nicholas Hobbesson l l Trin. 9 H. 5. Rot. 89. Purveyors for the King , having taken forty Quarters of Malt for the Kings use , for the Victualling of the Town of Harfleet in France , from William Atkin ; he brought his Action of Trespass against them for the taking away of fifty quarters of Malt from him ; Unto which , as touching the supposed Trespass , and ten quarters of Malt , they pleaded Not Guilty , and took Issue thereupon : And as to the forty quarters of Malt residue , pleaded and produced the Kings Letters Patents , dated the twentieth of January , in the third year of his Reign , and that he thereby did Assign them joyntly or severally , to take a thousand quarters of Malt for the Victualling of the said Town of Harfleet , where-ever it might be found , as well within Liberties as without , ( the Lands of the Church onely excepted ) upon reasonable payment by the King for the same ; and to provide sufficient Carriage by Land or Water to the City of London : And in regard that they had notice , that the said William Atkin might well bear and afford the same beyond his necessary Occasions , and did sell divers quantities of Malt in the Markets : The said William Reedhead and Nicholas at the time of the pretended Trespass , did to the use of the King , as aforesaid , take the said forty quarters of Malt , & charged the said William Atkin on the Kings behalf , by vertue of the Kings said Letters Patents , that he should carry the same to London , and deliver it to Robert Barbet , who should pay him as well for the said forty quarters of Malt , as for the carriage thereof ; which Robert Barbet was assigned by the Kings Letters Patents to receive it for the use of the King , and transport it to Harfleet , and to make full payment for the said Victualling of the Town aforesaid ; and that the said William Atkin did carry the said Malt to the said Robert , and received of him full payment for twenty quarters of the said Malt , and the carriage thereof ▪ and that the said Robert Barbet assigned the said William Atkin within six moneths after to be paid for the said other twenty quarters at London ; which forty quarters of Malt so taken as aforesaid for the Kings use , came to his use at Harfleet aforesaid , unde non intendunt quod Cur. hic in loquela predicta ad prosecutionem predicti Will. ulterius versus eos procedere velit , ipso Domino Rege inconsul●o , & petunt auxilum de ipso Rege quod eis per Cur Concessum est . Wherefore they hope that the Court will no farther proceed in that Action until the Kings pleasure shall be known , and do pray the Aid of the King therein , which by the Court was granted unto them . Et super hoc dies dat. est partibus predictis coram Domino Rege in statu quo usque , xv . scil. Michaelis ubicunque , &c. Et dictum est prefato Willielmo quod interim sequatur penes Dominum Regem de licentia habend. ad procedend . ulterius in loquela predicta si , &c. Et dies dat. ut supra usque Oct. Hillarii , & inde per seperales dies & Terminos usque Octab. scil. Michaelis . Whereupon Day was given unto the parties aforesaid , in the state or manner as now it is , until fifteen days after Michaelmas ; And the said William Atkin was commanded , that in the mean time he should petition the King for leave or licence to proceed , if he would , in the Action ; At which day , time was further given to the parties aforesaid , in manner as aforesaid , until eight days after St ▪ Hillary ; and the said Wil. Atkin was commanded that he should petition the King , if he would , for leave , as aforesaid ; At which day and time , day was given to the parties in manner as aforesaid , until Easter Term then next following ; and the said William Atkin commanded if he would , to petition the King as aforesaid ; At which time further day was given to the parties aforesaid , until Trinity Term next following ; and the said William Atkin commanded to petition the King , as aforesaid ; At which time further day was given to the parties aforesaid , until eight days after Michaelmas ; and the said William Atkin was commanded to petition the King , as aforesaid ; And no further Proceedings were had thereupon , as appeareth by the Roll , where otherwise it would have been entred .

Neither could our less contentious & turbulent Fore-fathers , probably be willing to give lodging or entertainment to any such vain and unwarrantable conceits , as do now too frequently attempt an invasion upon the Lex Regia of their Soveraign , or necessary and legal Rules or Methods of Government , or the very Attendance upon the Person of the King , and his many times indispensable Affairs , in order to the good and safety of his People , or that upon Licence demanded to prosecute any Action at Law against any of his Servants , it should be any such delay of Justice , as to furnish out their supposed matters of Grievance or Complaint , that a little time or respite should be given to any of the Kings Servants , either to give satisfaction or answer the Action : When Bracton in the Reign of our King Henry the Third , declared it to be no new or evil Law or Custom of the Kingdom , that in the Kings Commissions to the Justices Itinerant , or Assizes , there m m Bract. lib. 3. de Actionibus , cap. 11 ▪ sect. 9. was an Exception of Causes , wherein qui profecti sunt in servitio nostro , those which were gone , or sent in the Kings service were concerned , or that such a reasonable part of time or respite given , should nurse up or encourage any disccontent ; when the Judges in an Action depending in the Court of Common-Pleas , against one that was none of the Kings servants , or employed by him , were in the Cases of an Essoyn , de male lecti , of sickness , to cause a View to be had of the sick Person ; and if really sick , to assign him a reasonable time to arise and appear before them ; or if he had been viewed , and had malum transiens , an intermitting Disease ; or if a Languor , or Languishing were testified , and such an Essoin were cast before the Justices Itinerant in their Circuits , where they had no power to receive any such Essoin , mittere possint ad ipsum ut faciat Attornatum , they might send to him , which could not be done suddenly , to make an Attorney to answer for him .

Or that our Kings should be able to Protect and Priviledge such of the Clergy as in former times were , as Clerks or Officers in Chancery employed in his Service , as to send , notwithstanding the then great power of the Bishops , their Diocesans , his Writs De non Residentia , of dispensing with their Non-residence upon their Benefices , and command them , as hath been before remembred , not to be sequestred for their Absence whilest they were employed in their Service ; or if sequestred , to unsequester them ; or if Fined by any Ecclesiastical or Church Censures , that such Fines should not belevied ; which was in those times not n n Register of Writs , 58 b. & 59 a. believed either by the Layety or the Clergy themselves to be illegal ; And in the later of the said Writs , that such a sequestration was in juris Coronae & libertatis & privilegij praedictorum laesionem manifestam , to the prejudice of the rights of the Crown , and violation of the liberty and priviledge aforesaid , & hujusmodi vijs & modis , quibus poterint praecanere & libertatem , & privilegia sua praedicta manu tenere cupientes . And that they were desirous by all the ways and means they could , to hinder such doings so prejudicial unto them , and were resolved to maintain the Liberties and Priviledges of the Crown .

And not be able to protect his Houshold and domestick Servants , in whose daily service and continual attendance , both our Kings and their Subjects were more concerned than they could be by any the service or attendance of the Officers or Clerks in the Court of Chancery .

Which the Lords in Parliament did so well understand to be a Right inherent and due unto Royal Majesty , as in the three and fortieth year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth , they did in the Case of William Huggen one of the Queens Servants arrested upon an Execution , send the Gentleman-Usher attending upon their House to the Prison of the Fleet , to bring him before them , and upon view of Precedents of some of their own Servants delivered p p 43. Eliz. though none of any the Kings or Queens did in conformity to the reason thereof , cause the Plaintiff upon the Defendants promise to pay him , to release him , and the Under-Sheriff being committed to the Fleet , was three days after upon his Petition discharged .

And in the first year of the Reign of King James , The q q 1 ▪ Jac. Earl of Suffolk Lord Chamberlain of the Kings House , did procure Nicholas Reading , one of his Majesties Servants arrested by an Execution , at the Suit of Sir Edward Hales , to be brought before the Lords in Parliament by a Writ of Habeas Corpus , and so by the Plaintiffs consent released , the Order mentioning that such an Arrest was contrary to the honor and priviledge of that Court.

Or that not only the Judges of the superior Courts & the Justices of Peace can as they have done it antiently and commonly , imprison men for Contempts of them or their written Orders or verbal Commands , without which they power could not Tueri Jurisdictionem , uphold that Authority which the King had given them ; but the Constables of every Parish in London , whose Offices and Authority at the first were ( saith the judicious and learned Lambard ) but as the fingers to the hands , or body r r Lambard ●irenarch . et tract . de officio Constabularij ▪ of the Constable of England , a great Officer of the King and his Crown , can in their Night-watches command better men than themselves to the Compters or London Prisons , there to lodge the remainder of the night among the debauched or unruly sort of people , calld Rats , or Night-walkers but for angring his worship , or not believing that he is a Prince of the Night , the Kings Image , and none of the smaller parcels of mortality , and shall have so much connivence at his no seldom committed Follies , as no other Habeas Corpus shall be granted to the injured person , thn a submissive paying of his Fees of imprisonment , and procuring himself as well as he can to be discharged by the greater discretion of the Lord Mayor , or an Alderman , before whom he is the next morning to be brought , with his , not to be discerned Fault or offences , and if he should seek afterwards to be recompenced for such an affront , is to expect as little favour as may be for himself , and as much as may be for his adversary .

And that the King under whose Power and Authority they acted , should not be able by his own immediate command or the Warrant of some of the great Officers of his Crown or Houshold , to punish by imprisonment , any contempts committed against himself and his soveraign power , by the arresting of his domestick and houshold Servants without Licence , who are neare unto his person , and imployed in his hourly or daily service or attendance or that his power and Authority should not be efficacious or valid in his own case or immediate concernment , and should be valid and sufficient to punish such as either contemned or abused his Justices and Servants extraordinary ( who are more remote from his person ) in the administration of his Justice .

As when Eustace de Parles and his s s 21 E. 1 brother were by King Edward the first , in the one and twentieth year of his Reign , committed to the Tower of London , for abusing and striking in Westminster Hall William de Bereford , one of his Justices of his Court of Common-Pleas . And King Edward the third by his Justices and Authority , 21. E. 1. punished the Bayliffs of Ipswich by the Forfeiture and Loss of their places , seised the Liberties of the Town , and delivered the Custody thereof to another , t t Mich. 18. E. 3. coram Rege . Rot. 162. during the Kings pleasure ▪ and made the Bayliffs of the Town to deliver in Court their Staves of Office , for that they had suffered an unruly multitude to feast and revel with certain Malefactors , condemned by the Justices of Assize , and after their departure made a Mock game of them in sitting upon the Tribunal , and Fining them and their Clerks .

Or that any should think it reasonable , or no disservice of the King , or his not to be incumbred Affairs , to arrest any of his Houshold Servants without a Licence first obtained .

And shall at the same time decry or declaim against the Arresting of a Judge sitting in his delegated Court of Justice , or travelling in the Circuit , by and under the Kings Commission , at the Suit of any private person ; or the Arresting and Imprisonment of an Admiral or Vice-Admiral going to Sea , or a Commander or Governor of a Castle , Fort , or Garison , upon the like occasion , and think it reasonable that the King in reference to the Weal-publique , in those his affairs and concernments should by priviledge protect , and shelter them .

A right understanding whereof , and of that which hath been before alleaged , and the reasons supporting those Judgments of the not ignorant or unworthy , but very learned , grave , and upright Judges , in those former Ages and Times , and of the Duties , Honor , and Respects , which were and ought to be paid to the Soveraignty , just and necessary means of Government assented unto by our Lawes , and reasonable Customs of England , and in praxi & observantia junioris Aevi , in the practise and course of Law in the succeeding Ages , not denied by any positive or well interpreted Law , may grant a Proeibition , and give a Checque or Restraint to those opinions so of late hatch'd ▪ and hug'd against too many of the Actions of Authority , in order to Government , and the Weal-publique ; the necessity of preventing Evils before they happen , or diverting , abating , or lessening them after they are happened , and invite them to forsake their overmuch adoration of Sir Edware Cokes aforesaid Errors , and believe Sir Thomas Ridley a Doctor of the civil Lawes , and no stranger to our Common-Lawes , who no longer ago than the beginning of the Reign of King James , in his Book intituled A view of the Civil Eccl●siastical , and Temporal Laws of this Land , said , that it was an ordinary Complaint as well in the Temporal , as the Civil and Ecclesiastical Courts , that our Lawes u u Sir Thom. Ridleys view of the civil & Ecclesiastical Lawes . 210 ▪ 211. were far otherwise interpreted than they were in former Ages , and declared that the King by communicating his Authority to his Judges to expound his Lawes , doth not thereby abdicate the same from himself , but may assume it again unto himself , when and as often as he pleaseth .

And was long before that so believed to be consistent with our Magna Charta , the doing of Justice to his people , and the dernier resort or ultimate Appeal ( as Saint Paul did unto Caesar ) and so desirable by those that could have remedy no where else , as Reginald Basset having great Suites with William de Harecourt , Thomas de Astley , and other Knights that held of the Honor of Leicester , w w Rot. pat. 11 , & 12. Johannis . did in the eleventh year of the Reign of King John give as an oblation , two Palfreys to the King , that the Cause might be heard before him , wherein he got the better , as appeareth by a Fine of 200 Marks the next year after paid into the Exchequer by the said Thomas de Astley pro falso clamore , for not proceeding in his Suit or Claim against him .

For certainly in that great and most prudent Judgment and Justice of Solomon , in the Case of the true and false Mother claiming the child , when al Israel x x Reg. cap. v. 27 , & 28 3. heard of the judgment which the King had judged , and they feared the King , for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do Judgement : that so justly admired piece of Justice was as well and legally done in his House , or Chamber , as if it had been done by him in the Sanhedrim , or any of his Courts of Justice

In the evidencing whereof , although the Arguments by me used , and the Authorities cited may to the more learned , and lesser part of the people seem to be too many , needless , or superfluous , yet they may to others appear to be as profitable as necessary to undeceive or antidote all such who having a Magna Charta of their Fancies , do metamorphose all they can our better Magna Charta , and make their disobedience conveniences or interest , the Standard and Rule of their obedience , and may be more and more mislead or infected by the Errors of the opinions delivered for Law in the Case before recited of the Prohibitions , and to wean them from those dangerous Antimonarchical Doctrines , which they had suck'd in the late times of confusion , when our Lawes and right Reason attending them , and even Truth it self were by an usurped power , false authority , and ● mechanick and ignorant part of the people , lead by a rebellious party , persecuted , banished , or affrighted .

Wherefore they who do delight to oppose , and cavil Regal Authority , by gleaning all the objections which they can either frame or hear of , and put the Law upon a Rack or Torture , to wring and wrest out of it any thing that may help to accommodate their distempered and unruly Fancyes , may think they are in the Road , and High-way of Wisdom , and Applause ; but will in the end whilst they forget the duty of Subjects to their King , and the Commands of God , to honour and obey him , find themselves to be more than a little deceived , and to be far enough out of it , and might do better to hasten out of the sinful ways they walked in , and the unsafety of the Paths they have trod and travelled in , and help to still and put to silence , rather than increase and foment those causeless complaints wherewith too many of our Nation surfetting upon happiness , do too much affright and afflict themselves and others , in their opposing the just priviledges and protection of the Kings Servants .

And remember that although there are few evils , or not to be justified matters of Fact , as well as those which have been good and vertuous , which have not left some Vestigia records or precedents to after Ages ; and it hath not been unfitly said , that Exempla illustra●t non probant , that Examples may illustrate but not prove ; yet the precedents and examples which are founded and built upon Law , Right , Reason , and Truth ( as these by us alleaged on the part of the Kings Servants have been ) are to be heeded and harkened unto , and the contrary rejected .

That the instances and examples brought by me out of the Civil and Cesarean Laws , ought to oblige as they do with many other Nations , propter aequitatem , in regard of the Equity and reasonableness thereof , and more especially , when ex jure gentium & naturali ratione , by the Law of Nations and Nature they are in the particulars by me endeavoured here to be asserted , not only by them but our Common Laws and reasonable Customs of England to be justified and maintained .

And that it is and should be the Interest of all the good people of England , to preserve the Honor of the King , and that the Bonds of gratitude in a return of what they have in their Liberties and Priviledges received of him , and his Royal Progenitors , should perswade them not to deny unto him those just Rights which by Law do belong unto Him and his Servants .

CHAP. XXI .

That a care of the Honor and Reverence due unto the King , hath been accompted and is and ought to be the Interest of all the People of England , and that the Servants and retinue of a Soveraign Prinee , who hath given and permitted to his Subjects so many large Liberties , Immunities , Exemptions and Priviledges , should not want those Exemptions , Immunities , Customs and Priviledges which are so justly claimed by them .

FOR every man who hath not bound himself more than as an Apprentice to a Spirit or Custom of contradiction of Authority , and made himself a slave to wickedness and a Companion of those that speak evil of Dignities , may confess that it is and should be every mans Interest to observe the fifth Commandement of God , in that Sacred and dreadfully pronounced Decalogue , to Honor and reverence the King and common Parent , and that St. Peter hath so conjoyned the Fear of God and Honor of the King , as that the one cannot be without the other , and it is obvious to every mans understanding , that where there is Honor there seldome wants obedience , and where there is an obedience , Honor most commonly doth bear it Company , so that if the Law of God , Nature and Nations , and the municipal Laws and Customs of all the Countreys , Kingdoms and Common-Wealths of the World , where Reason hath got any admittance , have submitted unto and acknowledged a Majesty , and more especial Honor to be due unto their Supreme and Soveraign ▪ & si Majestas quasi major status dicitur quis non fatebitur majorem x x Johannes Redin de Majestate principis 25. statum esse Regis in suo regno , and if Majesty is so called in regard of a greater State and Degree , who will not acknowledge that a King is greater than any in his Kingdome ? & certae sunt saith Besoldus affectiones quae superioritatem concomitantur sine quibus neque regnum salvum & y y Besoldus de jure Majestatis ca. 1. § 2 ▪ incolume neque regia vis & dignitas elucescere possit , there being certain properties or qualities requisite to a Superiority without which neither a Kingdome can be in any safety , nor the Kingly Honour and Dignity can manifest or shew it self .

And if Judges and Magistrates have a kind of participation thereof , imparted unto them by their Soveraign , majore ratione regum eos constituentium hisque fascibus ●tque Majestate z z Johannes Redin de Majestate principis . § 26. decorantium Regia Majestas nuncupabitur with greater reason Kings who adorned them with those Ensigns or resemblances as it were of Regality and bestowed it upon them , are not to want or be without it , the Majesty of Kings being so much appointed and approved by God himself , as he made Corah , Dathan and Abiram , and their Children and favorers , a a Num c. 16. the dire examples of his wrath and punishment , but for murmuring against Moses and Aaron and saying they took too much upon them , and so imprinted a reverence and esteem of Kings in the hearts and minds of mankind as Joab , King Davids general of his Army having fought against Raab of the Children of Ammon , b b 2 Sam. 12. v. 27 , & 28. would not when he was ready to do it , until he had invited David to come and have the Honor of taking it least that City should be afterwards called by the name of Joab that took it ; And Nebucadrezzar King of Babilon during the Captivity of Jehoiakim King of Judah , could attribute so much to the Rights of Majesty in Kings , as he spake kindly unto him and set his Throne above the Thrones of the Kings c c Jer. 52. v. 31 , 32. who were with him in Babilon .

Wherein certainly the sad hearted people of Israel in Captivity with him did take it to be their Duty as well as their Interest , to rejoyce in that parcell of Humanity and Honor which was done unto him , when as long before the Palatia or Curiae Palaces of their Kings were so highly Honored by them , as the 122 Psalm of the Kingly Prophet David , exhorted that people to Pray that Peace might be within the Walls and Prosperity within her Palaces : The Glory and Honor of Solomon , was accompted to be no less than the Interest , Delight and Joy of the people of Israel when after his Feast , upon the Dedication of the Temple and his Sacrifice of e e 1 Reg ca. 8. v. 66. the Peace offerings , they Blessed the King and went unto their Tents , joyfull and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lo●d had done for David his Servant , and for Israel his people .

The Romans so experimented the Honor of their Emperors living or dead , to be the great Interest of their people , as they that fled to their Statues , were protected f f Salmutius Comment. in Pancirollum . from their Pursuers , whether it were in Civil matters or criminal .

The Germans , their Successors in that Empire , took it ill in the Reign of their Charles the fifth Emperour , who was likewise King of Spaine , that the Spanish Grandees or other of that Nobility , did give so much Honor as they usually did to their Princes and Emperors ( cases of Treason only excepted . )

And it was beleived to be so much an Interest of our English true hearted Ancestors to be as carefull as they were Jealous of the Honor of their Kings .

As when Anselme Archbishop of Canterbury would in the Reign of King William Rufus , g g Eadmer . Hist. lib. 1. p. 26.27 , & 28. Et Selden m. praefat. ad ●undem librum . peevishly hold on his resolution of disparaging of it in going to Rome to the Pope , for his Pall and confirmation ; the great men and almost all the Nobility of the Kingdom and the other Bishops Assembled in Parliament at Rockingham Castle , concerning that obstinacy of Anselme ; the Bishops and and many of the Nobility declared unto that Archbishop then present that the whole Kingdom did complain of him that he sought to take away the Honor of the King , his Crown and Dignity , and delivered their opinions that Quicunque Regiae dignitatis consuetudines tollit , coronam simul & regnum tollit unum quippe sine alio decenter haberi non posse , whosoever took away any thing from the Kings Regality and Dignity , took away at the same time both his Crown and Kingdom , for the one could not Honorably subsist without the other .

King Edward the 3d by the advice of the Lords and Commons in Parliament , in the 13th year of his Reign did Ordain , 13 E. 3. ca. 43. that in case the Keepers of the Priviledges of the Hospitlers should incroach upon the Kings Jurisdictions , and offend the Kings Dignity , they should beware from thenceforth that they usurpe not any Jurisdiction in prejudice of the King and his Crown , and if they did , their Superiors should be charged for their fact , as much as if they had been convict upon their proper Act.

In a Parliament holden in the two and fortieth year of the aforesaid Kings Reign , it was declared by the Lords and Commons therein Assembled , that they could not assent to any thing i i rot. Parl. 42 E. 3. which tended to the disher●son of the King and his Crown , to which they were sworn .

The Lords and Commons in Parliament in the 14th year of the Reign of King Richard the second , did pray the King that the prerogative of him and his Crown may be kept , and that all things k k Petit Parl. 14 R. 2. done or attempted to the con●rary , might be redressed , and that he might be as free as any of his Progenitors ever were , and in the 15th year of his Reign did in Parliament again require , that he would as lawfully as any of his Progenitors enjoy his Prerogative .

Richard Earl of Arundell in the 17 year of the Reign of the l l rot. Parl. 17 R. 2. m. 11 & 12. aforesaid unfortunate Prince , did complain that John of Gaunt Duke of Lancaster , who was then moulding the Sesign which his Son afterwards accomplished by usurpation of the Throne , did go Arm in Arm with the King , and that it beseemed not the Dukes men to wear the same Color of Livery that the Kings did .

By an Act of Parliament made in the third year of the Reign of King Henry the 7th the Officers or Tenants of the King m m 7 H , 7. were not to be retained by Liveries with others .

And divers of the great Nobility did in the Reign of King Henry the Eight , make it one of their n n Articles against Cardinal Wolsey in Bakers Chronicle & Cokes 4 th part of the Institutes . Articles of high Treason , and great misdemeanors against Cardinal Wolsey the great ingrosser of that Kings favor , and manager of his Authority , for that he being suspected to have the French Pox , had stood and talked so near the King , as to breath in his face ,

The extent and verge of whose Royal house or Palace at Whitehall , and the Liberties and Priviledges thereof , were so little desired to be lessened or diminished , as the Parliament did in the 28th year of his Reign , o o 28 H. 8. ca. 11. Ordain that the Park of St. James , and the street leading from Charing-cross to the Sanctuary-gate at Westminster , and all the Houses , Buildings , Lands and Tenements , on both sides of the same street , or way from the said Crosse unto Westminster-hall , scituate lying and being betwixt the water of the Thames on the East part , and the said Park-wall on the West part , and so forth thorough all the s●ile , precincts and limits of the Kings old Palace of Westminster , should be annexed and added to the said Palace of Whitehall , and that the said Palace of Whitehall should have and enjoy within the limits and precincts aforesaid , all such and like Prerogatives , Priviledges , Liberties , Praeheminencies and Jurisdictions , as to the Kings antient Palace within the Realm , have at any time heretofore belong'd or of right appertaineth , and that the said old Palace of Westminster , shall be reputed and taken as part and parcel of the said Palace of Whitehall .

The Honor whereof and the rights and Priviledges of those that serve and attend him , whom every good Subject of England is bound to honor therein , might deterre and diswade those incivilities which are too often put upon them , and if the Law , Religion , right reason , the custom of Nations and rights of Majesty and Superiority did not forbid that golden Rule , mete-wand of Justice taught and given to Mankind by the Blessed Redeemer of it , not to do that unto others which which We would not hove done unto us , might put that rude and uncivil as well as undutifull part of the Nation in remembrance , to do otherwise than they have done .

When they that could be glad by the favor and indulgence of their Soveraigns , to get and obtain Exemptions , free Customs , Priviledges , Franchises and Immunities , some of which were very unusuall and extraordinary , p p Blunts Nomo lexicon Carta Aethelstani Regis penes Carolum Fairfax Arungerum . as that of King Aethelstane , granted to the men of Rippon in Yorkshire quod homines Ripponenses sint credendi per suum yea & suum nay in omnibus querelis & Curiis licet tangen . frod & freed mortel , the men of Rippon were to be beleived by their Yea and Nay in all Actions and Courts , although it should concern breach of the Peace as far as a wound mortall , ( being a Priviledge probably granted for some signal Service or fidelity ) or that Immunity which was granted by King John to Robert de Ros of Hamlake , q q rot. pat . 11. Johannis . that he and all his Demesn Lands ( which were then a little Territory or very great ) should be free from any Service to the County or Hundred Court .

And did so highly value and esteem them , and were so carefull to preserve them , as betwixt the 9th year of the Reign of King Henry the third , when the Blessing of our magna Charta was procured , and the third year of the Reign of King Henry the 6th there were no less in several Kings Reigns , many in one and the same Kings Reign , and some with no more Intervals than one year succeeding the other , r r 4 H. 4. ca. 1. then 37 Grants or Confirmations of our Kings unto them of those their Liberties and Franchises by their Acts of Pariament , in which that of the 4th year of the Reign of King Henry the 4th granted that all corporations and persons should enjoy their Liberties and Franchises , s s 3 H. 5 ca. 1. and that of the third year of the Reign of King Henry the 5th that all Pcrsons , Cities and Boroughs should not be disturbed in their Liberties and Immunities , and from thence untill the Petition of Right , granted and assented unto by his late Mjesty King Charles the Martyr in the third year of his Reign , either in regard of the bloody Troubles and discords betwixt the Royal and Contending houses of Lancaster and York , change of the line of Lancaster into that of York , uniting of them both in King Henry the seventh , dissolution and confiscation of the Abbies , Monasteries and Religious houses , and alteration of Religion by King Henry the Eight , tosses and reverse of that in the Reign of Queen Mary , Troubles and Care of Queen Elizabeth in the restoring of the Protestant Religion , incertainty of her Successor , the comfort and content in the Peace , Plenty and Tranquility which her Subjects lived in under her Government ; and the uniting of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland by King James her right Heir and Successor .

Or in respect of the abundance of Security which the people of England believed they had by those very many Grants and Confirmations by Acts of Parliament , and very many more by the Grants and Confirmations of our Kings without Acts of Parliament , with their prescriptions , Customs , and long uninterrupted usages , did not Trouble themselves or the Supreme Authority for a Corroboration of that which they had so long enjoy'd , and had reason to believe that there could be very little added unto it .

Would now think they should have a great deal of wrong if upon a Quo Warranto brought against them to know by what Warrant they do Claim or use them , they might not be permitted to justifie or have them allowed ; when some of their Ancestors in the 52 year of the Reign of King Henry the third t t 52 H. 3. ●a . 14. being exempted from impanelling in Assises , Juries and Enquests , stood so much upon it as they refused to be Sworn in great Assises , Perambulations , Attaints , or as Witnesses to Deeds , Writings or Covenants , untill an Act of Parliament in that year was made by that King , which he willed to be held of all his Subjects as well high as low , that where their Oaths be so requisite that without them Justice could not be Ministred , as in great Assises , Attaints or Perambulations ; or where they be named as Witnesses , they should be Sworn with a saving to them at another time their foresaid Liberties and Exemptions .

And should not be so ingratefull and unreasonable to deny that unto the King , which they would not be willing should be denied unto themselves , in those multitudes of Priviledges and Exemptions , which he and his Royal Progenitors and Predecessors have so liberally granted or indulgently permitted unto them .

Nor should the men of London envy or repine at those just Priviledges of the Kings Servants , under which many a Shopkeeper and Tradesman , who in their former prosperity , lustily barked against it , have been glad afterwards in their adversity a procured title of being the Kings Servant , to shelter themselves untill they could weather out their Troubles , and pacifie the too often uncompassionate assaults of their Creditors , and if they could not get into that Asilum or place of more mercy , would make themselves the supposed maenial Servants of some of the Members of Parliament , whose Priviledges are but built upon the Kings service in his , and the Weal Publicks , great concerns , and affairs .

And of that King who hath so lately restored and granted unto the Metropolis of London , ( too many of whose Citizens can be so undutifully fool●sh as to Imagine that they are yet sitting by the waters of B●bylon , and cannot sing the Songs of Sion , unless they may have a liberty to Arrest or Imprison his Servants , when , where and as often as they please without a Complaint first made , and licence obtained for it , ) and unto all the Cities , Burroughs , Corporations , Societies , Guilds and Fraternities , and all the people of England that were against him and his Royal Father in the late horrid Rebellion , all their Priviledges and Franchises which were thereby lost and forfeited and devolved again into the Crown , from whence they had their first Original and Being , and might by their every years Forfeitures since of too many of them , by misusers or non-users , take the advantage thereof .

And those of the better sort which have received the Honor of Knighthood , and do enjoy the Dignity and respects thereof , and in their Title of Knight or Cniht , according to the Saxon and High and Low Dutch Languages , u u Spelman glossar in voce Thanus . do bear the signification of a Servant or attendant in Military affairs , and so Uriah in the preface to the seven Paenitential Psalmes in King Henry the 8ths Primer is called King Davids Knight and Servant and our Knights , were as Sir Henry Spelman w w Saxon breve Selden Titles of Honor 2 part ca 5. § 33. hath informed us , antiently reckoned amongst the Famulos Thanos & Ministr●s Regis amongst the Kings special and more remarkable Servants , and do or should enjoy the Priviledges , not to be Decenners or Tithing men x x Kitchin 33. that they and their eldest sons should be exempted from being cited to appear in the Court Leets or Hundreds , are as saith Camden called Equites aurati , because antiently it was lawfull only for them to Guild and beautifie their Armor and Caparisons for their Horses with Gold , and by the Statute made in the 8th year of the Reign of King Henry the 5th y y 8 H. 5. concerning only what things may be Guilded , and what laid on with Silver , Knights Spurs , and all the Apparel which pertaineth to a Baron , and above that Estate are allowed unto that noble Order , when all others under the Penalty of 10 times the value are prohibited .

Were not saith the Lord Chancellor Egerton by the course of the Court of Star-Chamber , z z Hudsons Treatise of the Court of Star-Chamber Ms. 188. to be examined upon any Interrogatories which might disparage them ; those that are to be chosen for every County , which should be the Worthiest and Wisest men to be in the House of Commons in Parliament are to be milites gladiis cincti , Knights in Assises of a a 13 E. 1. ca. 30. novel disseisin mort d'ancester attaint grand assise or in Writs of right , two of the discreetest Knights of the Shire , where the Justices shall come shall be associated unto them three are to be in Commissions of Oyer and Terminer , to hear and determine forcible Entries rnd Outrages done in their County , no man but a Knight was capable to be a Coroner , antiently an eminent Officer of the Crown and Realm of England , a plaint from a base and inferior Court , could not be removed but by the Testimony of four Knights ; an Infant holding Lands by Knight Service made a Knight , was antiently as to his person out of wardship or pupillage , a Knight inhabitant or resorting to any City or Town Corporate , wherein is Conusance of criminal Pleas is not to be impannel'd in any Jury , for the Triall of any Capitall crime , when the Sheriff had received Tallies of the Kings Debtors , although he was an Officer of Trust , and whose Retorne or Answer was much credited , yet was not his Certificate into the Kings Exchequer of that Faith or Credit in the case aforesaid , b b New Statute of the Exchequer or Statute of Ruithland 10 E. 1. Countee de Salops case , Cokes Reports & 7 E. 3.29 . Vide a Writ sent by the King to the Justices of both Benches called the Statute of Carlile 15 E. 2. except the same were Fortified with one part of a Chirograph or Indenture Sealed , and the hands of two Knights Testifying the same , no Constable or Castelaine was to distraine a Knight for Castle-guard , or to Execute that Service in his own Person , because he is Priviledged to do it by the body of another , and the like in Service of War , in regard of the Dignity of Knighthood , in every Commission to take the acknowledgment of a Fine to be levied of Lands , a Knight ought to be one of the Commissioners in grand Assise and Writs de fa●so judicio four Knights are to be Impannelled , and not a less number in a Writ de perambulatione facienda , and are so much valued and Intrusted above others , as in Tryalls and Issues at Law where any of the Nobility or any Bishop is a party , one Knight is to be of the Jury , and are so more than many others Priviledged as their Armor and Horses , as hath been before remembred are not to be taken in Execution , there being so great an Honor appropriate and fixed to the degree of Knighthood , as by the Law of Nations , where their Knights are not also without many and great Priviledges , an English Knight is not to be denyed that Honor , Place and Reverence in all Forrein Kingdoms and Places , where they shall have occasion to reside and Travell , and are by other Nations as well as ours so much esteemed as they are not whilst they are Knights , not to suffer any ignominous punishment , c c Selden tit . honor . ca. 5. § 48. and therefore S. Giles Mompesson , and Sir Francis Michell Knights , in the later end of the Reign of King James , were degraded before they under went the Infamy inflicted upon them .

And so much were our Knights respected by our Laws , as Hakelinus filius Joscii Quatribusches was in the time of King Henry the 2d fined 100 l. then a great Sum of Money for striking a Knight , and Moyses de Cantebridgia 40 Marks , because he was present when the Knight was compelled to Swear that he would not complain of the Injury done unto him ; d d Selden tit . honor 783 , & 784.833 . ca. 5. § 37. Sir Francis Tyas a Knight , in the Reign of King Edward the first recovered five pounds Damages in Wakefeild Court in Yorkshire a-against one German Mercer , for Arresting the Horse of one William Lepton that was his Esquire , and causing him to be unattended , the Court Roll mentioning it to be ad d●decus & dampnum praedicti Francisci quia fuit sine Armigero to the disgrace and damage of the said Sir Francis , because he wanted the Service of his Esquire , and a Ribauld or Clown that should without cause strike a Knight , was as Britton saith , e e Britton ca. de Appell de Maihem . to be punish●d by the loss of his hand that did it , & every man should owe so much to their benefactors as not to deny the King those regards and respects which are due unto him , when the contempt or misusage of them cannot have any better effect than a dishonor of the King himself , or be without a Reflection upon their Master , and a disparagement to his Regal Authority , which all the Histories and f f Bodin de repub . lib. 6. Monuments of former times , have loudly Proclaimed to be dangerous both to King and people , and do not seldome happen when Majesty is either contemned or neglected .

They who have no other to flye unto for help in in case of a denyall of their own Priviledges , and can by his Favor and Justice procure a Writ of secta ad Curiam when a man refuseth to perform his Suit either to the County or Court Baron , g g F.N. B. 158. or de secta ad molendinum against one that refuseth to Grind his Corn at the Lords Mill , quare obstruxit against one who having a liberty to pass through his Neighbours ground , cannot do it by the owners threatning to hinder it , h h Register of Writs 153. essendi quietum de thelonio , in the case of Citizens and Burgesses of any City or Town , who have a Charter or prescription to exempt them from Toll through the whole Realm , i i Fleta lib. 4. ca 26. a Writ de fine Annullando to annull a Fine levied of Lands in antient Demesn , to the prejudice of the Lord , k k Fitz. Herberts nat. Bre. 226. and for those that are Summoned to the Sheriffs , turn out of their own Hundred l l Register of Writs 15. b. a Writ de libertate allocanda , m m Ibid. 174. for a Citizen or Burgesse , to have his Priviledge allowed when he is impleaded contrary thereunto , n n Ibid. 262. and a Writ de Consu●tudinibus & servitiis , o o F. N. B. 151. & Register of Writs 159. a Writ of right close against a Tenant which deforceth his Lord of the Services due unto him , and a Writ to exempt a man from the view of Frank pledge when he is not there resident , although all men are obliged thereunto by reason of their Lands , not their habitation , p p Register of Writs 147. Bracton lib. 2. ca. 26. § 8. and as Bracton saith , a view of Frank pledg is res quasi Sacra quia solam personam Regis respicit & introducta sit pro pace & utilitate Regis , as it were a Sacred matter or thing in regard it taketh care of the Kings person , and was introduced for his Peace and Profit , should by the rule of gratitude if there were nothing of right or duty to perswade it , not tell how to obstruct that so antient Claim of Priviledge of the Kings Servants , when it will ever be as Consonant to Law and right Reason for the Kings Servants not to be disturbed or prejudiced in their duties and attendance upon the King , as it is for any others .

Of his people and Subjects being not his Servants , when by a Statute made at Gloucester in the 30th year of the Reign of King Edward the first , q q Statute of Gloucester , 30 E· 1. the King himself as that Act of Parliament mentioneth , providing for the Wealth of the Realm , and the more full Administration of Justice , as to the Office of a King belongeth the discreet men of the Realm , as well of high as low degree being called thither , it was provided and ordained , that when men were to claim or shew their Liberties within a time of 40 days prefixed , and were before the King ( that is to say in his Court of Kings-Bench , where himself is by Law supposed to sit ) they should not be in default before any Justices in the Circuits , for the King of his especial grace hath granted , that he will save that party harmless , and if the same party be impleaded upon such manner of Liberties before one or two of the aforesaid Justices , the same Justices before whom the Party is impleaded , shall save him harmless before the other Justices , and so shall the King also before him , when it shall appear by the Justices , that so it was in Plea before them , and if the aforesaid Party be afore the King , so that he cannot the same day be before the said Justices in their Circuits , the King shall save that party harmless before the aforesaid Justices in their Circuits , for the day whereas he was before the King .

And not at all agreeable to reason that the Franchises and Liberties granted by our Kings to the Counties Palatine of Chester , Lancaster , Durham , the Cinque ports , the City of Gloucester , with the Barton or little Territory so called , annexed unto it , the large extent of the Liberty of the Bishop of Ely , that of ten Hundreds to the Bishop of Winchester in or near Somersetshire , Seven Hundreds in or near Gloucestershire Claimed by Sir Robert Atkins Knight of the Bath , the large extents and compass of the Liberties and Soke of D●ncaster in the County of York , and of Sheffeild , Rotherham and Hallomshire in the same County , Grantham and its large Soke and Liberties , in the County of Lincoln , Tindall in Hexamshire in the County of Northumberland , and many an hundred more of Liberties and Franchises not here specified , exclusive to all others intermedling therein , should by the power of the Kings Grants or Allowance , and a just reverence and respect of their Neighbours and Tenants , have and enjoy a Priviledge and Civility , not to have their Servants Arrested or Imprisoned without complaint first made to their Lords or Masters , or leave asked , upon any of the Writs , Process , or Warrants of their own Liberties or Courts , before they suffer their Bailiffs or Officers to Arrest any of their Servants , or upon the Warrants or Process of any other the Kings Courts , untill a Writ of non omittas propter aliquam libertatem , claimed by them shall be after a not Execution of the first be awarded , either or both , of which may give a sufficient or large respite for the parties Prosecuted to satisfie , pacifie , or prolong the patience of an eager or furious Creditor , and that the King who gave and indulged those Liberties , should not be able to deserve or command a like Licence in the Case of any of his own Servants to be demanded of him , either upon a Process made out by the owner , or his Substitutes of the same Liberties , or any other Warrant or Process directed to the Owner or his Subordinates of that Liberty .

Or should not have as much Priviledge for his Servants r r Blunts Nomo Lexicon & Cokes institution of Courts . as the Miners in the Peak-hills in Derbyshire , or those of the Stanneries in Devonshire and Cornwall , not to be Sued or Prosecuted out of their Berghmote or Court of Stanneries , or disturbed in their Works or business .

Or that his Servants should not as well deserve their Priviledges to be continued unto them , as the Kings Tenants in antient Demesn , who upon the only reason and accompt that they were once the Kings Tenants , and did Plow and Sow his Lands , for the maintenance and Provision of his Houshold and Family , are not yet by the Tenure of those Lands of which there are very many Mannors and great quantities in England , s s Trin. 9 H. 6. rot. 20. Ousted of those their Immunities or denyed them , but the very Tenants at Will , who are as they say here to day and gone to morrow , do claim them and are not in any of the Kings Courts of Justice debarred of those exemptions , although those Mannors and Lands are very well known to have been long ago Granted away and Aliened by the King or his Royal Progenitors , & since passed from one Owner to another for many Generations , the effect by an Indulgence , Permission or Custom contrary to the general and every where approved Rule or Maxime , that cessante causa tollitur effc●tus the cause or reason of the thing ceasing , the effect should cease continuing after the Cause ceased , in so much as many do now enjoy those Priviledges , who are no Tenants of the King , neither have any thing to do with his most Honourable Houshold , or have any Relation thereunto .

For if all the depths of Reason and Humane Understanding were Sounded , Searched and dived into by the Sons of men , all the Ingenuity of Mankind will never be able to find or assign a Cause or Reason why the House of Commons in Parliament have heretofore Petitioned our Kings for a Freedom from Arrests or Imprisonment , or to Punish any the Offenders therein , t t Elsings modus tenendi Parlementum . 144 , 145 , 146 & Mr. Pryns Animadver●ions upon Cokes 4th part of the Institutes if they had any doubt of his want of a legal Power and Authority therein , to grant it or why the business or Service of the King concerning himself or the Weal Publick , should so operate or deserve to be a Cause to Priviledge themselves , their Estates , or Maenial Servants from Arrest or disturbance , and such a Priviledge in Parliament in the time of an Adjournment , which hath sometimes continued for several Months , should be allowed and thought reasonable when their business which was the cause of it , was all that time in suspence or abayance , and that the King who granted and allowed those Priviledges , should not enjoy the like for his own Servants , who are dayly busied in the Safety , Honour and attendance of his Person , and the great Affairs of the Kingdom , and that such a Cause should produce that effect for them and their Servants , and the King who desireth but the like effect or production from one and the same Cause , should not enjoy it for his own Servants , and that ●adem ratio should not in the Kings Case as well as in the Case of any of his Subjects , produce and be a Cause of the like Law or Liberty , who doth not claim the Hearing of those causes where the Plaintiffs are not his Servants , as the King of France , who by his Commissions of Commitimus , Impowers a Court , to hear and determine Causes and concernments of his Servants , but only that they should ask leave before they proceed against them in any of his Courts of Justice which the Plaintiffs shall make choice of .

Shall the Generall or Commander of the Armies or Guards , Forts or Garrisons of the King , and the Admirall of a Navy or Ships , have a power not to permit any of their Officers or Souldiers to be Arrested or Imprisoned , without Licence first obtained , and shall the Servants of the King in the att●ndance upon his Sacred Person in the Watch and Care of them and the Publick Welfare , as well in the time of War and Peace , which not seldome disapoints the horrid effects of a people-tormenting War not have a like Priviledge .

Are the superiour Courts of Justice not blamed when the Judges thereof by the Kings Authority , u u Mich. 38 H. 6.12 . & Pass 38 H. 6. can supersede Actions in Inferiour Courts many times , but upon the pretence of Actions depending in their Superiour Courts , as to reverse an Utlary or the like in eundo & redeundo , w w Trin. 25 E. 1. coram Rege Oxon 22.9 . H 6.11 E. 4 6 E. 6. Dier 71. when it is not every day , or all days , or but some hours business , or can the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas , Priviledge the Serjeants at Law , and forbid that they should be Sued in any other Court , when they do plead at other Courts as well as in the Court of Common Pleas , and are so numerous as if one by an Arrest or Impriment , should not be able to move or plead his Clients business ; the Client having all the Writings in his own or his Attorneys custody , may have and retain another Serjeant at Law , who can as well understand his business to look unto it , and not only protect them , but the Clerks of the Serjeants at Law ; x x Mich. 3. Car. prim . Crok● 1. part 84 , & 85 ▪ and in the Vacation , and at their Chambers ( far distant from Westminster Hall ) when the business of the Law , and Courts of Justice are laid to sleep , and take their rest , and that the Justices of that and other the Superiour Courts can by the Kings and not their own immediate Authority , Priviledge , y y In veter . & novo libr. intration . tit. Privileg . & Brook tit . Priviledg. 40. Prothonotaries , and all other Officers and Clerks of their several Courts , and their Clerks , when they have or may have other Clerks to do their business .

And the Warden of the Fleet , Cryers and Tipstaves , in times of Vacation , and as there shall be occasion , Unattach Goods , and discharge Bonds and Sureties given for Appearance , when there cannot be any just cause or necessity untill the Term ensuing for their attendance and Priviledges , and keep from Arrest by the Inferiour Courts their Attorneys , who are no Members of their Superiour Courts , and even the Attorneys Clarks , And not only allow that Priviledge to the immediate Officers of their Courts , but extend it unto their Clarks that are subservient unto them , and not deny it , as hath been before remembred unto a Filacers horskeeper .

Their Writs of Priviledge in the Kings name , declaring and publishing that such breaches of Priviledge are in nostri ●ontemptum & curiae nostrae , in Contempt of the King and his Court , that such Priviledged person eundo & redeundo in going and coming to his Courts o● Justice , is and ought to be sub protectione nostra under the Kings protection , & tam ex Regia dignitate quam ex antiqua consuetudine as well in regard of his Dignity , vet. lib. intration . tit. Priviledge . as by antient Custom is to be Ptiviledged .

Did Justice Vernon one of the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas in the time of Vacation , when a man indebted , having to an Action given special Bail before him , at his Chamber in Serjeants-Inne in Chancery-lane , and coming out of the Gate , was Way-laid and Arrested by some Serjeants at Mace , or Catchpoles of London , and Arrested upon some other mans Action , lay down , made an Out-cry , and refused to be their Prisoner , of which the Judge being informed , commanded the Catchpoles and Prisoner to be brought to his Chamber , where they being something Surly , and refusing to deliver him , he threw of his Gown , and taking one of them by the shoulder , ( whereof I was an eye Witness ) did so shake him , and threaten to commit him and his fellow Catchpoles , as he enforced them to release the Prisoner , and suffer him to escape ; And shall not the King who is the Constituent Principle , and primum incipiens ; the only cause , suppo●t and maintenance , as well as giver of all Immunities , Exemptions , Franchises and Priviledges of the Kingdom : Not be able to do as much as those unto whom he hath granted and permitted it , and protect and Priviledge his Domestick Servants or men imployed by him , but like an old Isaac over liberal to a Craving Jacob : have nothing in reserve of Priviledges or Favors for his Servants , who have attended our David when he was in all his Troubles , and deserved better than many a participation of his Blessings , or shall his Subjects like the Sullen and Selfish Nabal , have so little regard of him or his Servants that do help to guard their flocks , as to receive his Benefits , and make notwithstanding their grumbling Ingratitude and refractory Humours , the only Retorn or acknowledgment of them .

Hath he and his Royal Progenitors and Predecessors , as the Grecian Monarchs and Common-Wealths antiently used to do ( from whence the Romans after they had shut their Temple of Janus , z z Kippingus de antiquitatibus Roman lib. 2. ca. 4 , and made their Military Glories impart some of their Honour to the more Civil Imployments , and gown also learned it ) taken such a care to protect , Honour , and Priviledge his Ministers of Justice and their subordinate Officers in the Courts thereof , whilst they officiate in his Service therein

Did the Wisdom of our King and Parliament in the 32d year of the Reign of King Henry the 8th a a 32 H. 8. ca. 40. think it no inconvenience , but a benefit to the people , that the greater and more necessary concerns , should give may to the lesser , when they Ordained ( which hath been ever since duly observed ) that the Phisitians in London should have a Priviledge not to keep Watch or Ward , nor to be chosen or bear the Office of Constable , or to bear any Office in the City of London or Suburbs , and any such Election to be void , in all which the Weal Publick was not a little concerned : b b 32 H. 8. ca. 42. And the Barber Chirurgions are likewise by an Act of Parliament made in the same Parliament , exempt from bearing of Armour , or to be put in any Watches or Enquests , which the Weal Publick , without that Priviledge could not otherwise have dispensed with .

Could Cromwell , that accomplishment of wickedness and Hypocrisie , and Mr. Shepheard whom he had hired c c Shepheards Office of a Justice of Peace , Constable , &c. to clip and misuse our Laws upon a pretence of reformation of them , allow in their modell thereof , that the Servants of his miscalled Protectorship should not be compelled to serve upon Juries at Assises or Sessions , or to bear the Office of a Constable or Church Warden ; And shall the Kings Servants that are continually imployed in the Attendance , Preservation , Safe●y and well being of his Person and people , being matters of the greatest concernment ; be excluded , or thought not worthy of the like .

Could the Archbishoprick and many of the Successive Archbishops of York , enjoy a liberty of Fridstoll & Frithstow Frid in the Saxon , signifying Peace , and stol sedes Cathedrae and Stow locus d d Blounts Nomo Lexicon Cathedra quietudinis & pacis , a Seat , Chair , or place of Peace , which had this Inscription , Haec sedes lapidea Freedstoll dicitur pacis Cathedra ad quam reus fugiendo perveniens omnimodam habet securitatem , this Seat or Chair of Stone , is called Freedstoll or the Chair of Peace , to which any Offender flying , is to have all manner of Refuge and Security , an Immunity granted unto the Church of St. Peters in York , and confirmed by King Henry the 7th in the fifth year of his Reign .

And there is in Glossopdale in the County of Darby a place upon a Hill or large Heath , some distance from the Town , yet known by the name of the Abbots Chair , which probably might have been endowed with the like Immunity .

Or shall a Priest or person propter Privilegium Clericale in regard of his being in holy Orders , not be distreined when he hath no lay Fee , or upon an Attachment , refuseth to find Pledges , because he hath no lay Fee , or hath one in the Prebend , and the Ordinary , nor the Sheriff , although he hath a Warrant ; to enter the Liberty without the ordinary or Bishop , and the Bishop himself cannot do it sine speciali praecepto Regis cum Canonicus adeo libere teneat prebendam suam de Ecclesia sicut ipse Episcopus Baroniam & canon●ci sunt , quasi unum corpus per se in Ecclesia without a special Precept or Warrant from the King , for that a Canon or Prebend doth as freely hold his prebendary of the Church as the Bishop doth his Barony , and the Canons are , and do make a Body or Corporation by themselves in the Church .

Doth the King grant and allow Cognisance of Pleas or Causes to so many of his Subjects within their Franchises and Liberties , with Fossis and furcis , power to punish or hang in Crim●nal matters , and shall he not have so much Cognisance of the matters and concernments of his houshold and maenial Servants , as to have leave asked before they be Arrested or disturbed in his Service which is the only cause of the Priviledge which he grants and allows to his Courts of Justice , and the Officers and Servants thereof .

Or can any man think it reasonable that the Bishop of E●y e e Hillar. 47 E. 3. coram Rege Cant. rot 39. should have Cognisance of Pleas arising in his Bishoprick , and the Territories thereof , or the Magistrates of the City of Salisbury f f Hillar. 38 E. 3. coram . Rege rot. 22 Wilts in Dors. to have the like , and supersede Actions and Pleas depending in the Court of Kings-Bench , or the Lord Maior of London , have and enjoy the priviledge of not having any Attachment awarded against him out of the high Court of Chancery ; as in the case of Sr. John Robinson Knight , whilst he was Lord Mayor of London , and exercised that Annual office as the Kings Lieutenant or special Servant ; or that Mr. John Abdy an Alderman of London in Anno Dom. 1640 being the 16th year of the Reign of King Charles the Martyr , should by the Judges of the Court of Kings-Bench be allowed a Priviledg not to bear the Office of a Constable in Essex (g) (g) Crokes Reports 16. Car. 585. Alderman Abdye● Case . where he was many times resident at his Country-house within the Leet or mannor of Sir William Hicks Knight , where by the Custome of that place every inhabitant or resiant was from house to house yearly by turnes to execute that office , and upon a writ granted him directed to the Lord of the Mannor or his Steward , to discharge him because he being an Alderman of London , ought to be there resident the greatest part of the year , and if absent may be fined , all the Justices of that Court delivered their opinion that he ought to be discharged b● his priviledge , as Attorneys attending in Courts of Justice , are of such offices of Constabl●s and other offices in the parish . And although it was said that the Alderman might execute the office of Constable by deputy , and his personal Attendance was not requisite by the Custome of the Mannor , yet that exception was not allowed .

Or that Mr. Bacon A Barrester at Law of Grayes-Inn , should in Trinity Term in Anno 1655. (h) by aforesaid Court upon view of the presidents in Francklin ; (h) (h) Banco Regisinter Bacon & Ramsey in Termino Trin. 1665 460. and Sir William Butlers Case and Bere and Jones his Case of the Midle-Temple , have a priviledge allowed unto him , in respect of his Barrestership and necessary attendance upon the Courts of Justice in Westminster-Hall , to lay a transitory , Action at Law in Middlesex , when it was before laid in Northumberland , and that it should not be reasonable for the King to allow his servants their aforesaid priviledges ; much more necessary and conducing to the weal publique .

May not the King as well Claim and enjoy a priviledge for his servants and their freedom , from arrest without first obtaining his licence , or within his virge of twelve miles compass or circumference of his Court ( which certainly was at the first intended by Law for more purposes then for the Jurisdiction of the Marshals or Marshalsea Court ; and may probably be believed to have been antiently used for an Asylum , or place of peace or freedom from such kind of violences as arresting the Kings houshold servants without the Kings licence )

As the Universitie of Oxford doth by the grants of our Kings and their several acts of parliament in its large boundaries or precincts ; and the University of Cambridge , the like within their Colledges , Halls and Precincts , for the better observation whereof in Oxford , every Sheriff of the County of Oxford at his admission into his office , is to take an oath (i) (i) Vide Book of Oathes 227 Printed in Anno 1649. that the Masters of the said Universites and their servants from Jnjuries and violences ; he shall keep and defend by all his Strength and power ; and the peace in the said University as much as in him is . And give Councell and help to the Chancellor ond Schollars of the same University , to punish the disturbers and breakers of the peace there , after the priviledges and Statutes of the University at all times when it shall be needful ; and put his help with all his Strength to defend the priviledges liberties and Customs of the said University ; and give the like oath unto his Undersheriffes and other his ministers when he shall come to the Town and Castle of Oxford , in the presence of any who shall be deputed by the said University ; unto the which things the King will that his said Ministers shall be arcted and compelled : The like Oath being to be taken by the Sheriffs of Cambridge and Huntington for the conversation of the rights and priviledges of the University of Cambridge .

Do the Jnns of Court or houses of law , which for some Ages or Centuries past were appropriate and set apart for the Study of the Common lawes of England , and other necessary parts of learning and endowments , proper and fit to bear the sons of our Nobility and Gentry company , Besoldus de Jure Academiarum . within their houses and precincts claim and enjoy as they ought to do according to the law of Nations , and the priviledges of all the Universities and places of Study in the Christian world . A just and legal priviledge of a freedom from any Arrest or disturbance , by the officers of any Subordinate Magistrate in matters not Capital or more then ordinary criminal ; And the Inner and Middle-Temples , and Lincolns-Jnn being besides entituled to the like Exemption & priviledge by a particular Immunity and Exemption , l l rot. pat . 49. & 53 H. 3. 22 E. 1. War . & Mid. in quo Warr an● . & Assis. rot. 16. in dors. inter placita Coronae Assis. & quo Warrant 14 E. 2. rot. 91. tres Pasch. & rot. claus. ejusdem Annim . 3. granted anciently by some of our Kings of England , long before they were Societies of law to the Owners and Proprietors of the Mannor of the New Temple then so called ( the old one being before scituate in or near Holborn , and as well as the new one sometimes part of the possessions of the Knights Templers ) now containing the Inner and most part of the Middle-Temple , and likewise the outer Temple without Temple-Bar , extending it self as far as to part of Essex house garden , and into New-street , now called Chancery-Lane , and Ficket or Fickelscroft now Lincolns-Inn fields upon part whereof Lincolns-Inn was built .

To be held sub eadem forma in the same manner as the honor or Earldom of Leicester and the Lands thereunto belonging , were antiently holden with an Exemption or priviledge : that no Justices , Escheators , Bayliffs , or other Ministers or Officers of the King should enter or intermeddle therein ; of which the Successors and Owners and those as honourable , as useful Collegiate nurseries of law and learning ; although they do not as our Universities and those which are in the parts beyond the Seas , claim a conusance in causes and controversies at law , wherein their Schollars , Students and officers are concerned , have been so careful to preserve those their Antient and necessary priviledges , as they have upon any the least violation or attempt ; to bereave them thereof , sallied out like so many young Lions , and appeared to be the stout Propugnators and defenders thereof , rescued such as have been Arrested within their Liberties , whether any or none of the Society beaten , and pumped the Catchpoles , Serjeants at Mace , or Bailiffs , ignominiously shaved their heads and beards , Anointed them with the costly Oyl or Syrrup of their houses of Offices or Jakes , and at the Temple for a farewell , thrown them into the Thames .

Do all men that have Liberties and Priviledges appertaining to their Estates or Persons , or any Offices or Places which they hold ? Summon the best of their Cares and Industry to maintain them , and shall it be a crime or disgrace to the Kings Servants , either to be entituled unto , or endeavor to Assert them .

Shall it be deemed just Legal and Rational that the City of London should be so carefull of their Customs and Liberties , granted , not only by King Hen●y the first , but confirmed by divers Kings and Queens of England , and many of their Acts of Parliament , as no longer ago m m Vide The Act of Common Councel and the Oath of a Freeman● of London . than in the year of our Lord 1669. to Claim in their Act or common Councel , that no Citizen is to be compelled to plead without the Walls of their City , and their Freemen are bound by Oath as well as by many Acts of Common Councel of that City , not to Sue one another out of the City where they may have remedie in their own Courts , and to maintain the Franchises and Liberties thereof , and that the Warrant of leuetur quaerela for the removing of any Action or Plaint , depending in any of the Sheriffs Courts of that City , into the Mayors Court , brought by a Serjeant at Mace and Ministers of the Mayors Court , shall not be refused , or shall it be taken or beleeved to be inconvenient for that City or their Freemen to be drawn or enforced to Plead , or be Prosecuted out of their own Courts .

And shall it not be as reasonable for the King in the case of his own Houshold and Domestick Servants , to protect them from being disturbed in his Service by any Arrests , without his Licence .

Doth every Sheriff of England and Wales at his admission into his Office , swear that as far as h● can or may , he shall truly keep the Kings Rights , and all that belongeth unto the Crown , and shall not assent to decrease , lessen , diminish or conceal any of the Kings Rights or his Franchises , and whensoever he shall have knowledge that the Kings Rights , or the Rights of his Crown be withdrawn , be it in Land Rent , Franchises or Suits , or any other thing , he shall do his power to make them to be restored to the King again , and if he may not do it , shall certifie the King or some of his Councel thereof , and can any Sheriff of England and Wales , without the acknowledgment of a gross ignorance , with any safety of their Oaths or Consciences , knowingly Arrest or cause to be Arrested any of the Kings Servants , against the Will of his or their Sovereign .

Doth a Custom or civility so far prevail with the Sheriffs of London and their Clarks , as when any Action is entred against any Alderman of the City , or the Sword-bearer or other Officer of the Lord Mayor , they will not Arrest an Alderman , man , or take away the Lord Mayors Sword-Bearer from before him , untill they have given them a civil and private notice thereof ; whereby to prevent the disgrace , or give them time to provide against it , or procure a Truce or quiet . And shall the Servants of their Masters Master ( if they were not more justly than they entituled to their Antient and Legal Priviledges ) not be so much respected , which his late Majesty thought to be as undecent as Inconvenient , when upon some disrespects shewed by some of that City in their endeavors to inforce upon some of his Servants the Office of Constable or Church-warden , he demanding of the Lord Mayor of London , whom he had caused to Attend him upon that Complaint and Occasion ; what was the Reason the Lord Mayors Officers were not to be put upon such Offices ? and was answered with a Reason given , because they were to attend him : Replied ; do not you think that to be a Reason as much or more in my case as your own ?

Must Westminster , the Abby or Church whereof was first founded by King Lucius a Brittish King , upon a piece of Land so incult , as it was called Thorney or the Island of Thornes , n n Dugdales Monasticon . 1. Tome 55. then accompted to be two miles distant from London ( measured it may be unto Ludgate ) and after the better building and enlarging thereof by King Edward the Confessor honoured , as it hath been ever since Regum nostrorum sepultura & Regalium repositorium , with the usual and designed place of the Buriall of our Kings , and the Custody and keeping of the Royal Vestments and Ornaments used at their Coronations : an Honourable Office and Trust now Claimed and enjoyed by the Dean of that Collegiate Church , confess and acknowledge that by the happy Neighbourhood of our Kings Royal Palace near adjoyning , together with their High Court of Chancery , Courts of Justice and Exchequer , the receipt of their once great and largely extended revenue attending therein , help and succour of the Royal Houshold and Hospitality , and those Crums of Comfort Meat and Drink , and Provisions not used , fragments , broken meat , offall , and wast of the Wine and Food , which dayly came from the many plentifully furnish'd Tables , and expence of Victuals of the Kings house Servants and retinue : Fed and Nourrished many of her Families , by which and many Priviledges granted unto her by our Kings , is now from a shrub , come to be as one of the Cedars of our Lebanon , and augmented and encreased from a few scattered Cottages , Sheds , Booths , and Tents about the Abby , and the Kings house and Palace to a Village , from a Village to a Town , and from a Town to a City with a Pomerium Fauzburgs or Suburbs so large , as it stretcheth it self from Tutlefields in a continued Building and Streets to Temple-Barre and the Inns of Court , and in many other places is so contiguously joyned to London , as it makes her self to be as it were her younger sister ; And must she not blush at the same time that any of her Inhabitants should Exercise or be guilty of so foul an Ingratitude , as to Arrest without Licence any of the Servants of the King , whose Royal Progenitors and Predecessors have nursed and brought her to that perfection .

And hath London like the Members of the body natural , found herself as to her retayling Trade to be the better when it was nearer to the head and heart , and did therefore so follow the warmth and hopes of Gain and increase of Trade and Imployment thereby , as she hath swelled her Suburbs bigger than her self ; As although her Forreign Trade is brought unto her from the Sea and Eastward ; yet she hath immensly built her self ( as the ingenious Mr. Grant one of her Citizens hath of late observed ) Westwards , to be as near as she could unto her Kings Palace , and his Courts of Justice , which not only daily receiveth the feet of many of the people of the Nation , but of Strangers coming as far as ever the Sheban Queen did to Solomon .

Can any of her Citizens be so stupid or ingratefully ignorant , as not to understand that that great City and the Commerce and Gain thereof which is now so highly valued by them , is and hath been by the Neighbour residence of our Kings and Princes and their Courts of Justice , so greatly as it appears to be enlarged and multiplied in their Inhabitants , Riches , variety and Excellency of her Artificers , Magnificence , State and Beauty of her Churches and Buildings ; And hath so much extended her Trade and Merchandise both by Land and Sea through all the Circuite and Travails of the Sun , and to the utmost parts of the Earth , as her multitude of Ships at Sea , and a floating Forrest ( as it were ) of them daily or weekly going out and returning home upon the River of Thames , hath made her one of the greatest Emporiums in the World , and Glorious in the midst of many Waters , in so much as she hath by her strength and Honour at Sea and her Might and Interest at Land , Hang'd the Shield and Helmet in her ; set forth her Comelines , and made her self not only the Mistress of the Trade of our Isles at home , but of our many growing rich Plantations in America .

And can that City of London , the magazine of Mechanick Arts and multitudes of People as it is at this day , and taketh her self to be not a little honoured by being called the Emperial Chamber of our Kings of England : Have so little acquaintance with the Dictates of reason and gratitude or a care of their own Interest , as to forget the Founders and Cause of that their Plenty and Happiness , and upon every little occasion of a Debt or money owing them , to Worry , take by the Throte , Arrest and Imprison any of the Kings Servants with the Pay me what thou owest me when more than half of it ( and much of it unjustly ) was gained of the Debtor , and at the same time refuse to pay unto the King , the Master of that Servant the debt of Gratitude , Duty , Honour , Reverence , good Manners and Civility which they owed unto him , either of which would have shewed them the way to complain unto him of such and indebted or ill dealing Servant , and Petition for his leave or Licence to Arrest or out-law him before they do it .

When they that do so much and undutifully undervalue his Courts , Servants and Royal residence and Neighbourhood , may be assured by the Annalls and Histories of England , that their Predecessors in the Reign of King Richard the 2d when their Forreign and home Trade was not the Tenth of what it is now , as the small Revenue of the Customs in the latter end of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth will manifest , when the highest improvement of her Care and Carmardens discovery , could bring her Customs and Profits by Merchandise but to 50000 l. per annum , were so sensible of that Kings removal of his Court from London , displeasure and Indignation , heightned by a Riot committed upon the Servants and house of the Bishop of Salisbury Lord Treasurer , for that one of the Bishops Servants had taken a horse loafe , out of a Bakers Basket as he passed along the Streets , o o Sir Richard Bakers Chronicle . 159. for which notwithstanding the Mayor and Aldermen had appeased the Tumult , the Liberties of the City were seised into the Kings hands , the Mayor Committed to the Castle of Windsor , and the Aldermen and some other substantial Citizens , to other Castles , a Warden appointed to Governe the City , as they deemed themselves in a lost and ruining Condition , untill by the special Suit of the Duke of Gloucester , they had procured the King upon the Payment of Ten thousand pounds , and many rich gifts presented to him and the Queen to return to London , where with great joy they received him with four hundred men on Horsback clad all in one Livery .

And by a sad experience if they have a mind to taste it , and the King should not continue and make it to be as his Chamber , Court or Palace , but remove his Courts , his Servants , and Courts of Justice , as King Edward the first did to York for Seven years together , during his Wars with Scotland ; would too late repent the misusage of the Founders and cause of their happiness , and acknowledge the Night and Shades to be long and cold , when their Sun should remove his Walk or Tropick to enlighten and refresh another part of the World .

And would find themselves to be mistaken in their Accompt as well as Opinion , if they should fancy that nothing can hurt their Trade , unless the River of Thames should be carried away from them , and may in time be so well Acquainted with the Error of those conceipts , as to confess that they were built upon a very Tottering and failing Condition , when they shall , like men either of any retrospect to the Ages or Times past , or prospect of what is coming or may surely happen , but consider that in all the Reigns of our Brittish , Saxon or Danish Kings , or of those of the Norman Race untill the Reign of King Edward the third , the Neighbourhood of their Thames brought them so little advantage , as it was rather an Embrio than an Emporium or noted Town of Trade , that from thence to the Erecting and Incouragement of the Staple , Towns and Cities of Trade , whereof Westminster was one : By King Edward the third for the Advance of our Clothing and Wollen Manufacture , which in a short time after by the Wars of Fran●e or some other intervenient obstruction , dwindled into a desuetude , and London and her Blackwell-hall made to be the Mistress of that once flowrishing Trade , the quieting of Wales and the Commerce with it , after the Reign of King Henry the 4th , the uniting of the Houses of York and Lancaster , by King Henry the 7th , the opening of the Passages to the East and West Indies Grants of many Fairs and Markets , which have been since made , the Trade of London , which was not before much more than in its Bloom and Blossom , is by the Power , Alliance , Leagues and Interest of our Kings and Forreign Princes , and the many Immunities and Priviledges procured by them for our Merchants , with Franc● , Spain , Portugal , Burgundie , and the Netherlands , the Russia , or Moscovie Hause or Hamburgh , East and West-India Trade , with those of the English Colonies ; as Virginia , Bermudus , Barbados , St. Christophers , New-England , Maryland , Mevis and Siranam , since arrived to that height or perfecton , which hath like Tirus ; Enlarged Her Borders , and made her the Merchant of many Isles , and to be as the Ocean , into which al the Rivers of the Land do run , and hasten to pay their Tribute ; And in the greatest of her Pride and Glory , should not be to learn that the Scheld could not after that the Heiresse of Burgundie had transferred her Court and residence into Spain . That great and Famous Town of Trade was made a place of desolation and a wonder of what she was , and that the residence and Court of the French Kings , hath made Paris , though an Inland City , far di-distant from the Sea , and washed only by the River Seyne , not much acquainted with Ships or Navigation , to be called domicilium Regis & caput regni , the Head and Chief of all the Towns and Cities of France , le Roy ayant son domicile & ou les Princes & Pairs de France & autres officiers de la Couronne doivent estre a la su●te du Roy p p Levet recu●il d' Aucuns notables arrests en le Parlement de Paris ca. 17. the King having there his House or Palace , and the Princes and Peers of France and other Officers of the Crown , who ought to attend the Court of the King .

Do the Merchants of London who Trade into Spain , Russia , and many other parts of the World , by the Care , Power , and Protection of our Kings and Princes , and their chargeable Embassies to Forreign Princes and States , enjoy a Priviledge and Freedom q q Vid. Priviledges Granted by Philip the 4th King of Spain in Anno 1645. from Arrests of their Persons or Estates , without a Complaint first made to their Consuls , or Remedie endeavoured to be obtained by Application unto them , and to have their Causes and Actions tryed before a Judge , Conservator of their own Priviledges .

Do our Kings allow and cause those Consuls to Solicite and take a care to maintain and defend those Priviledges , and Authorize their Embassadors , residing in the Courts of any Kings , Princes or Republicks to make it to be a part of their business to be assistant unto them .

Have the Magistrates of the City of London , for more than 500 years together at their coming to the Cathedral Church of St. Paul , at some of their greatest Festivals and Solemnities in every year untill our late times of Confusion , in a gratefull remembrance of his Favours , walk round about and visit the Grave-Stone or Burial place of William Bishop of London , who procured some Liberties to be Granted by William the Conqueror , to their City , being not the half of those of a greater Consequence and Profit , which have been since Granted unto them by King Henry the first , King Richard the first , King John , King Henry the third , King Edward the third , King Richard the second , King Edward the 6th , and divers others of our Kings and Princes , who gave unto them many more and greater Favours and Priviledges , as the Shrevalty of Middlesex , Liberty to choose every year their Mayor , free Warren , in a great Circuit about the City , that every Sheriff should have two Clarks and two Serjeants , and the City have a Common Seal , that the Mayor should be Escheator and Justice of Gaol Delivery at Newgate ; that the Serjeants of the Mayor and Sheriffs should bear Maces of Silver and Guilt , with the Kings Arms Engraven upon them , the Aldermen should continue during their lives , and not be removed without special Cause , with the grant of the Borough of Southwark , and Conservation of the River of Thames , cum multis aliis , &c. and many more , some of which were before recited .

Will not all those Benefits , their Being , their Happiness , and the continuance of those blessings with their Trades at home and abroad , be enough to put them in mind to shew a kindness , respects and Civility due unto the Kings Servants , and not to drown those many Favours , Honours and Priviledges received from him and his Royal Progenitors and Predecessors in the dead Sea , of a base and unworthy Ingratitude , or imitate Jesurun , who like an Heyser waxing fat , kickt against the cause of it ?

Or can they upon any Foundation or ground of Reason or probability , think that if our Kings should not continue and make London to be as his Chamber , Court or Palace , but remove himself , his Court and Servants to York , Hull , Oxford or Bristoll , the Inhabitants thereof would not gladly pay him a greater Tribute of Duty and Thankfulnes than the not Arresting his Servanrs without licence first obtained , and would be no loosers but greater Gainers by it .

Do the Might and greatness of Princes , and their power to give aids and Assistance , where Alliance , Interest or Leagues do require it , or to retalliate Wrongs or Injuries done and received , perswade a Priviledge and Civility to the Persons and Goods of the Embassadors and their Servants , and retinue of one another , although not bound thereunto by any Laws or Rules of Subjection or Allegiance .

And shall not a just fear , Duty and Reverence of Subjects to their Kings and Princes , Civility , good Manners , Gratitude , Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy , Fear and Command of God , and a dayly protection by the Kings Power , Laws and Justice of themselves and their Estates , Honour , Reputation , and all that can be of value unto them from Forreign and Domestick dangers , wrongs or oppressions , invite them to a forbearance of that Barbarous and undutifull way of Arresting any of his Servants without a complaint first made or licence procured to do it ?

Or how can such a one or any of his Children , without shame or confusion of Face , beg , or hope for Mercy or Pardon from the King for man-slaughter , or some other offence , mischance or forfeiture , when but a week or a little before they have had so small a care of their Duty , and respect unto him , or their many Obligations , as to disturb his Service and necessary Affairs , and disparage his Servants , and do all they can to ruine and undo them by an Arrest or Imprisonment without licence ?

When at the same time they would readily subscribe to the reasonableness of the Kings delivering and freeing from Arrest the Lord Mayor of London , & punishing those that should do it ; If for permitting in the Strand or any other place out of his Liberty that the Cities Sword the Ensign or Mark of Honour given unto it within its proper Jurisdiction to be carri'd up , he should be Arrested , or if he or any of the Sheriffs or Aldermen should in their Passage to Whitehall to attend the King when he commanded them , be Arrested upon any other Action .

Will not a Tenant to a Lord of a Mannor who receives not so great a protection from him ▪ nor hath so great a need of him , as every Subject hath of the Kings Grace and Favour , be thought by all his Neighbours to be more than a little out of his Wits that should adventure his displeasure by Arresting the Steward of his Court , Valet de Chambre , Coachman , Butler , Brewer , Hors-keeper or any of his Servants without leave or licence , or denial of Justice upon his Complaint first had ?

And will they not be deemed to be more Mad , that shall so far forget themselves and their duty to the King , as to Arrest without licence any of the Servants of their Soveraign , which is the only Rock of defence and Succour which they have to flee unto in all their distresses , or for Mercy , which is not seldome needed upon any Offences , or transgressions against him or his Laws . May not the King punish Contempts and breaches of Priviledges , as well as those that do subordinately Act by the Authority of Him and His Laws , or not cause as much to be done in Order to the pro●ervation of their Authority and Jurisdictions , as they usually do unto any that should disturb the necessity and duty of their places : Or may not the King as supreme Magistrate , cause any that shall transgress the limits of their obedience in Arresting his Servants without licence to be Arrested or Imprisoned , for such an affront or contempt of Majesty and the Supreme Power , when it hath been ordinarily done and justified by some Lords of Mannors and Liberties , in the Case of Sheriffs and Bailiffs , presuming to Arrest any man within their Liberty without a Writ of non Omittas propter aliquam libertatem , or special Warrant where the Lord of the Mannor hath neglected to do it ? Or must the King when any wrong or injury shall be done to his Servants , suffer such contempt to be remedyless , and only say , why do you do so ? who when he doth cause the undutifulness and unmannerliness of such Offenders to be punished by a few days gentle restraint , cannot with any truth or Reason be said to have given away their Debts , when at the most it is but a small delay , and doth many times occasion them to be sooner and less chargeably paid , than it would be with an Action or Suit , and the many Animosities , Vexations and Heats which do usually attend Actions or Suits at Law ?

Did our Magna Charta prohibit or give away any of the Liberties and Priviledges of the King and his Servan●s , which are necessary for the Support and just means of Government , and that high Authority with which God and the Law have intrusted him ?

Can the King by his Writ cause a man or his Cattel or Goods to be Arrested and taken in Withernam untill the person of a man or his Cattel or goods wrongfully Arrested , be delivered or freed from restraint ? r r Rot. claus H. 3. & 11 H. 4 15. Mich 8 H. 5 , in Banco Regis rot. 15. and shall it not be as lawfull for the King , by Arresting or Imprisoning the Party that did or procured it , to enforce the delivery of a Servant wrongfully or unduly Arrested without his leave or licence first obtained .

Is the Kings Service the only cause of the Priviledge of Parliament , so operative and powerfull in its effects , as a Member of the house of Commons newly elected , is so entituled to his Priviledge , s s Cokes 4th part of the Institutes & M. S. penes virum Cl. Johannem Berkenhead Equitem Aurat . as before his admission or Oath taken , the Infringers thereof have been severely punished , as it was upon great debate and Examination , adjudged in Parliament in the Case of William Johnson a Burgesse of Parliament , in the first year of the Reign of Queen Mary , and the like for Arresting upon an Execution , Sir Richard Fitzherbert Knight a Member of Parliament in the 34th year of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth ; and that kind of Priviledge so Watched and Guarded , and in all its parts and circumstances so taken care of , and inviolably kept : As it may not be renounced or quitted by any one Member without a breach of Priviledge to all the rest ; nor is any leave to be given upon Petition , or any the most urgent necessities of a Plaintiff or Creditor to molest or Imprison any of them or their Servants during the Session of Parliament , and the time of Priviledge allowed them before and after them .

And cannot the people of England be well content and think themselves to be in a better Condition , when in the Case of the Priviledge of the Kings Servants , they may in the time of Parliament or without , have licence upon a reasonable time prefixed for satisfaction , to take their course and proceed at Law against them .

Shall the Vallies rejoyce in their Springs and pleasant Fountains , and the Spring or Fountain it self that distributeth those living and refreshing Waters have no part thereof ? Hath the Chamberlain of the Lord Mayor or City of London , Power to commit a Freeman of that City to Ward ; So that he do Immediately send word to the Lord Mayor thereof , and the cause why he is so punished ; t t Stows Survey of London tit . antient Laws and Customs of the City of London . from which the Lord Mayor may not release him but by the Chamberlains assent . And shall it not be lawfull for the Lord Chamberlain of the Kings most Honourable Houshold by and under the Kings Supreme Authority , to Imprison or punish any who in Contempt of Soveraignty and Majesty , shall without licence first procured , Arrest any of his Servants ?

For certainly it is and should be the Interest of the people of England , not to deny so great a principle of Nature , and so clear a part of the Reason of all Mankind , or to give unto Caesar that which so justly belongeth unto him , by the Laws of God , Nature , Nations , Laws of England , Custom and prescription , Right of Superiority , Oaths of Allegiance and supremacy , Et quod ubique , quod semper , & ad omnibus , and which , every where , always , and of all men ( except by our late rude and levelling part of the people ) have neither been repined at or maligned : And it will not be for the Interest of the people of England to oppose their Prejudices , Fancies , Humours and Opiniastretés , to the Rights of the King and his Servants , but it is , and will be the Interest of the King to preserve the Rights of Majesty , Superiority and just means of Government , and to punish the violaters and Contemners thereof , and the Interest of all his good people to wish and desire it .

FINIS .
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