A
LETTER
TO
A
Person
of
Quality
.
SIR
,
I
AM
the
less
backward
in
obeying
your
Commands
,
to
write
my
Thoughts
of
the
Bishop
of
St.
David's
Case
;
out
of
a
persuasion
that
the
best
of
men
are
not
to
be
trusted
with
any
greater
Power
,
Civil
or
Ecclesiastical
,
than
our
Constitution
warrants
.
The
chief
imputation
within
Ecclesiastical
Cognizance
which
he
labors
under
,
is
said
to
be
Symony
:
for
this
,
if
clearly
proved
,
without
presumptions
and
strain'd
Inferences
,
that
a
Bishop
is
deprivable
,
I
shall
not
deny
;
but
the
Question
is
,
Whether
a
Bishop
of
this
Kingdom
is
,
by
the
sole
Authority
of
his
Metropolitan
,
deprivable
for
Symony
?
Till
better
inform'd
,
I
cannot
but
hold
the
Negative
,
with
all
imaginable
deference
to
the
proper
Judges
;
and
yet
shall
shew
that
our
Law
is
not
defective
herein
,
but
has
appointed
a
proper
Court
for
enquiring
into
,
and
punishing
all
such
Enormities
:
nor
is
there
any
necessity
of
recourse
to
the
Legislature
.
It
cannot
be
denied
,
that
before
the
coming
of
the
Normans
,
the
Bishops
sat
in
the
same
Court
with
the
Civil
Judges
;
but
then
if
they
had
any
judicial
Power
,
Vid
.
Leges
Edgari
c
.
5.
de
Comitiis
.
Cui
quidem
illius
diacesis
Episcopus
&
Senator
intersunto
,
quorum
alter
jura
divina
alter
humana
populum
edoceto
.
't
was
only
in
matters
concerning
the
Divine
Law
:
and
it
seems
that
they
were
to
inform
the
People
,
who
determined
thereupon
as
they
thought
fit
.
Thus
it
continued
till
the
year
1085.
But
by
a
Law
then
made
,
Ecclesiastical
Courts
were
set
up
separate
from
the
Civil
;
and
matters
which
concern'd
Spelm
.
Concil
.
2
Vol.
f
.
14.
ib
.
Nec
causam
quae
ad
regimen
animarum
pertinet
,
ad
judicium
secularium
hominum
adducant
.
the
regiment
of
Souls
,
were
appropriated
to
the
Ecclesiastical
:
by
this
means
,
by
degrees
some
Causes
which
affected
Civil
Rights
,
were
in
ordine
ad
.
spiritualia
,
lest
to
their
Jurisdiction
.
But
as
they
often
encroach'd
upon
the
King's
Courts
of
Law
,
they
with
great
struggle
kept
the
Power
of
restraining
them
,
especially
where
the
matter
concern'd
the
King
or
any
of
his
Peers
:
and
therefore
thô
Excommunication
was
accounted
purely
Spiritual
,
by
the
Constitution
Chron
.
Gerv
.
Dorob
.
Col.
1386.
Mat
.
Paris
.
Const
.
Cap.
7.
Nullus
qui
de
Rege
teneat
in
Capite
,
&c.
of
Clarendon
,
10
H.
2.
in
affirmance
of
the
antient
Law
of
the
Kingdom
,
no
Tenant
in
Capite
is
to
be
excommunicated
,
unless
the
King
,
if
within
the
Kingdom
,
if
not
his
Chief
Justice
,
were
first
made
acquainted
with
the
Cause
;
nor
were
their
Lands
to
be
interdicted
.
Tho
the
Chief
Justice
in
those
times
had
greater
Authority
,
than
the
Chief
Justice
of
the
King's
Bench
at
this
day
;
yet
a
Power
has
resided
in
that
Court
,
to
restrain
and
punish
the
encroachments
of
Persons
exercising
Ecclesiastical
Jurisdiction
;
a
remarkable
instance
of
which
is
given
in
Spelm
.
Reliq
.
Icenia
,
f
.
160.
Anno
25.
H.
8.
Sir
H.
Spelman's
Remains
.
In
relation
to
the
present
Question
,
I
think
these
particulars
may
appear
with
great
clearness
.
1.
That
all
Deprivations
of
Bishops
or
other
Prelates
,
us'd
,
by
the
course
of
the
Common
Law
,
to
be
in
Councils
.
2.
Tho
the
Councils
were
call'd
Ecclesiastical
,
when
the
Summons
was
only
or
chiefly
for
Spiritual
matters
,
or
regarding
the
Canon
Law
;
the
Layty
were
by
the
Constitution
of
the
Kingdom
to
be
parties
and
privies
to
all
the
Canons
which
pass'd
,
and
Judgments
in
pursuance
of
those
or
other
Canons
;
and
thus
the
practice
continued
till
the
time
of
Archbishop
Becket
.
3.
Whatever
judicial
Power
was
exercis'd
in
Ecclesiastical
or
Civil
Councils
of
the
Nation
,
devolv'd
upon
the
House
of
Lords
.
4.
No
Statute
has
taken
away
the
Jurisdiction
in
these
matters
,
which
has
been
vested
in
the
House
of
Lords
.
5.
Whatever
the
ordinary
Jurisdiction
of
an
Archbishop
may
be
,
and
how
much
soever
preserv'd
,
it
cannot
extend
to
the
depriving
of
a
Bishop
.
1st
.
By
what
has
been
observ'd
of
the
first
Institution
of
Ecclesiastical
Courts
here
in
England
it
appears
,
that
we
have
no
occasion
of
enquiring
into
proceedings
in
such
Causes
before
the
time
of
W.
I.
after
whose
Accession
to
the
Throne
,
till
the
4th
of
his
reign
,
no
Prelate
had
been
depriv'd
:
and
then
Archbishop
Stigand
led
the
way
.
Malmsb
.
De
Gestis
Pontif
.
f
.
116.
Malmsbury
,
tho
a
Bigot
for
the
Court
of
Rome
,
owns
that
he
was
Deposed
or
Deprived
,
coacto
concilio
,
"
A
Council
being
assembled
.
Hoveden
Hoveden
f
.
259.
Eodem
Anno
concilium
m●gnum
in
octabis
Pas
.
Wintoniae
celebratum
est
,
jubente
&
praesente
Rege
W.
dom
.
Alex
.
Papa
consentionte
.
calls
this
a
Great
Council
celebrated
at
the
command
,
and
in
the
presence
of
King
William
,
and
with
the
consent
of
the
Pope
,
in
which
Council
he
says
Stigand
is
degraded
.
Hoveden
speaks
of
the
Deprivations
in
that
Council
,
of
Stigand's
Brother
Agelmare
Bishop
of
the
East
.
Angles
,
and
of
some
Abbots
:
which
however
he
supposes
to
have
been
by
an
Hoveden
sup
.
Ques
nulla
evidenti
causa
nec
concilia
nec
leges
saeculi
damnabant
.
abuse
or
straining
,
both
of
the
Canons
and
the
Law
of
the
Land
.
At
the
Council
at
Westminster
,
2
H.
1.
where
as
Hoveden
expresses
Ib.
f
.
269.
Ann.
1102.
2
H.
1.
Principes
regni
omnes
tam
Ecclesiastici
quam
sacularis
ordinis
.
it
,
all
the
Princes
or
Great
men
of
the
Kingdom
,
both
Ecclesiastical
and
Secular
,
were
present
;
several
Abbots
of
Foreign
and
English
Birth
Plures
Francigenae
Abbates
&
Angli
sunt
depositi
,
&
honoribus
privati
,
quos
injuste
adqui
sierunt
aut
in
eis
inhoneste
.
vixerunt
.
were
depos'd
,
and
depriv'd
of
the
Honours
which
they
had
acquired
unjustly
,
or
lived
in
dishonestly
.
Eadmerus
says
Eadm
.
Hist
.
f
.
67.
From
the
Authority
of
the
Holy
Fathers
,
the
surreption
of
the
Symoniacal
Heresy
was
condemn'd
in
that
Council
;
and
names
several
Abbots
who
were
then
depos'd
Eadm
.
sup
.
In
qua
culpa
inventi
depositi
sunt
Guido
Abbas
de
Perscore
,
&c.
for
Symony
,
in
which
he
is
follow'd
by
Malmsb
.
de
Gestis
Poutif
.
f
.
129.
b
.
Malmsbury
.
2dly
.
That
the
Laity
were
of
right
Members
of
those
Ecclesiastical
Councils
,
and
so
admitted
to
be
till
within
the
time
of
H.
2.
is
very
evident
.
Lanfranc
Archbishop
of
Canterbury
in
the
time
of
W.
I.
having
enquired
what
was
the
antient
Modus
tenendi
Synodos
apud
Anglos
.
manner
of
holding
Synods
among
the
English
;
after
mention
of
the
order
in
which
the
Prelates
are
to
sit
,
't
is
told
him
;
Then
Exinde
introducantur
Laici
bonae
conversationis
,
vel
qui
Electione
conjugali
interesse
meruerint
.
Bib
.
Cot
.
sub
effigie
Cleopatrae
,
C.
8.
f
.
35.
&
Spelm
.
Concil
.
2
vol.
f
.
1.
let
the
Laity
of
good
Conversation
be
introduced
,
or
they
who
should
deserve
or
obtain
to
be
there
by
a
joint
Election
.
That
the
Laity
were
at
the
Council
of
Winchester
above
mention'd
is
pass'd
Dispute
;
and
so
they
were
at
the
Council
at
Westminster
,
2
H.
I.
Maud
,
H.
1st's
intended
Queen
,
having
been
enter'd
into
a
Nunnery
,
Malmsbury
says
the
matter
came
to
a
Disceptation
,
and
informs
us
,
that
Archbishop
Anselm
could
not
be
induc'd
to
consent
to
the
Marriage
till
Malmsb
.
f
.
93.
Res
in
disceptationem
venit
.
't
was
sworn
by
lawful
witnesses
,
that
Sine
professione
causa
procorum
velum
gessisse
.
she
wore
a
Veil
only
to
avoid
the
importunity
of
Suitors
,
but
was
never
profess'd
.
This
Disceptation
and
Consent
of
the
Archbishop
,
was
in
a
Council
;
where
,
as
Eadmerus
who
was
present
informs
us
,
she
offer'd
her self
to
be
tried
by
the
Offert
se
judicio
totius
eccles
.
Anglorum
,
&c.
judgment
of
the
whole
Church
of
England
.
That
this
was
an
Ecclesiastical
Cause
is
pass'd
Dispute
;
yet
for
the
Decision
of
it
there
convened
the
Bishops
,
Abbots
,
all
the
Nobles
and
Clergy
Nobiles
quique
ac
religiosi
ordinis
viri
.
.
Anselm
stated
her
case
before
all
the
Nobility
Tota
regni
nobilitas
populusque
minor
.
and
Commons
of
the
Realm
;
upon
this
judgment
was
given
,
that
they
might
marry
according
to
the
Secundum
legem
Christianam
.
Christian
Law
;
and
then
all
crying
together
that
the
matter
was
justly
Decreed
,
they
were
lawfully
join'd
together
.
In
the
8th
of
H.
1.
an
Ecclesiastical
Council
was
held
,
wherein
the
Clergy
were
restrain'd
from
marrying
;
the
very
Act
or
Canons
of
which
Council
Hoveden
f
.
270.
Hoveden
gives
us
at
large
:
They
are
there
said
to
be
statuted
or
enacted
,
by
the
Archbishops
and
Bishops
,
in
the
presence
of
the
King
,
with
the
Assent
of
his
Earls
and
Barons
.
This
being
for
Ecclesiastical
matters
,
the
Bishops
are
mention'd
as
having
the
chief
Authority
;
yet
the
Act
or
Canons
pass'd
with
the
Assent
of
the
Laity
.
Thus
in
Contin
.
ad
Flor
.
Wigorn
.
f
.
1127.
the
27th
of
that
King
,
William
Archbishop
of
Canterbury
is
said
to
have
assembled
a
General
Council
of
all
the
Bishops
,
Abbots
,
and
religious
Persons
;
but
then
there
resorted
thither
Confluxerant
quoque
illuc
magnae
multitudines
Clericor
.
Laicor
.
tam
divitum
quam
medioerium
.
great
multitudes
of
Clergy
and
Laity
,
both
rich
and
mean
:
where
the
croud
Quaedam
propter
nimium
aestuantis
turbae
tumultum
ab
audientia
judicantium
profligata
.
and
noise
was
so
great
,
that
't
was
difficult
to
judg
which
way
the
Majority
determin'd
.
King
Stephen
being
taken
Prisoner
in
the
6th
of
his
Reign
Hunting
.
f
.
223
,
224.
&
Malms
.
f
.
106.
,
his
Brother
the
Pope's
Legat
,
Bishop
of
Winchester
,
held
an
Ecclesiastical
Council
:
that
the
Laity
both
Lords
and
Commons
were
there
is
pass'd
Dispute
,
the
Council
having
been
adjourn'd
in
expectation
of
the
Representatives
of
the
City
of
London
,
who
soon
after
came
,
and
declar'd
themselves
sent
a
Communione
Londoniarum
,
from
the
Community
of
London
.
And
as
late
as
11
H.
2.
a
Council
being
held
by
Richard
Archbishop
of
Canterbury
,
then
the
Pope's
Legate
,
the
Canons
were
promulged
with
the
Assent
of
the
King
,
and
all
the
Nobility
of
the
Kingdom
Chron
.
Gerv
.
Dorob
.
f
.
1429.
Assensu
Regis
&
primorum
omnium
regni
haec
subscripta
promulgata
sunt
capitula
,
&c.
.
3d
.
That
whatever
judicial
Power
was
exercis'd
in
any
of
these
Councils
belongs
now
to
the
Lords
in
Parliament
,
cannot
be
denied
,
without
questioning
their
Jurisdiction
in
general
.
't
is
observable
that
in
the
Council
,
27
H
1.
there
were
particular
Persons
Judicantes
,
judging
,
tho
there
was
the
Consent
of
more
:
who
the
Persons
that
judged
were
,
appears
by
the
Constitution
of
Clarendon
,
Quadril
.
lib
.
5.
in
Princip
.
Gerv
.
Dorob
.
Col.
1586.
Seldeni
Janus
Anglor
.
p.
108.
Habent
possuas
de
Rege
sicut
Baroniam
.
10
H.
2.
in
affirmance
of
the
Common
Law
,
which
says
,
The
Archbishops
,
Bishops
,
and
all
Persons
of
the
Kingdom
,
who
hold
of
the
King
in
chief
,
have
their
Possessions
of
the
King
as
a
Barony
,
and
from
thence
answer
to
the
Justices
,
and
the
King's
Officers
,
perform
all
Rights
and
regal
Customs
,
and
as
the
other
Barons
ought
to
be
at
the
Judgments
of
the
King's
Court
,
&c.
In
the
Case
of
Roger
Mortimer
,
impeach'd
by
the
Commons
in
Parliament
of
High-Treason
,
Rot
.
Parl
.
4.
E.
3.
n
.
1.
Les
dits
Counts
,
Barons
,
&
Piers
,
come
Juges
au
Parliament
,
per
assent
du
Roy
en
la
Parl
.
agarderent
&
ajugerent
,
&c.
And
in
the
case
of
the
Earl
of
Middlesex
Impeach'd
by
the
Commons
,
Journal
Dom
.
Proc
.
Ann.
21.
&
22.
J.
1.
the
Lord-Keeper
delivering
the
Judgment
of
the
Lords
,
says
,
The
High-Court
of
Parliament
doth
adjudg
,
&c.
4th
.
It
appearing
that
Deprivations
were
judicial
Acts
of
Councils
,
and
the
Judgments
there
were
the
judgments
of
the
Lords
;
at
least
that
Authority
has
been
since
vested
in
them
;
Let
's
see
whether
this
was
ever
taken
away
.
The
Statute
24
H.
8.
24
H.
8.
c
.
12.
for
the
restraint
of
Appeals
provides
,
that
some
particular
Spiritual
Causes
there
mention'd
,
shall
be
finally
adjudged
and
determin'd
within
the
King's
Jurisdiction
and
Authority
,
in
such
Courts
Spiritual
and
Temporal
,
as
the
nature
of
the
matter
shall
require
,
without
Appeal
to
any
forein
Power
.
Then
it
provides
,
that
Appeals
shall
be
made
in
Manner
and
Form
as
there
follows
,
and
not
otherwise
:
from
the
Bishop
to
the
Archbishop
,
to
be
definitively
decreed
without
Appeal
to
any
other
Person
or
Court
;
This
Statute
relates
not
to
the
Case
where
a
Jurisdiction
is
exercis'd
contrary
to
Law
.
if
before
the
Archdeacon
of
any
Archbishop
,
or
his
Commissary
,
to
the
Arches
;
from
thence
to
the
Archbishop
,
without
further
Appeal
:
if
begun
with
the
Archbishop
,
to
be
finally
determin'd
as
that
Act
has
appointed
;
which
seems
to
be
by
the
Archbishop
alone
,
no
Appeal
being
provided
for
from
him
,
except
where
the
matter
concerns
the
King
,
and
then
the
Appeal
is
to
be
to
the
Convocation
.
The
Statute
25
H.
8.
is
more
general
,
25
H.
8.
c
.
19.
taking
in
all
Spiritual
Causes
,
and
provides
,
that
Appeals
shall
be
prosecuted
as
was
appointed
by
the
former
Statute
in
the
Cases
there
express'd
;
then
it
adds
an
Appeal
from
the
Archbishop
to
the
Delegates
,
and
provides
that
no
further
Appeal
be
had
or
made
from
the
said
Commissioners
.
Notwithstanding
this
it
has
been
resolv'd
that
there
may
be
a
Commission
of
Review
to
other
Commissioners
,
and
so
the
Law
is
taken
at
this
day
:
and
the
reason
for
it
is
,
that
the
Prerogative
lodged
in
the
Crown
shall
not
be
taken
away
by
general
words
:
but
the
Prerogative
of
the
Crown
is
to
judg
in
the
proper
Courts
;
which
as
to
the
Deprivation
of
Bishops
,
as
I
have
shewn
,
is
the
House
of
Lords
in
Parliament
.
Besides
,
the
Statute
25
H.
8.
provides
,
that
the
Causes
not
named
in
the
24th
shall
be
tried
,
as
others
are
appointed
by
the
24th
;
and
by
that
an
Appeal
in
a
Spiritual
Cause
concerning
the
King
,
as
the
Deprivation
of
a
Bishop
is
,
was
to
be
determined
in
Convocation
.
't
is
further
observable
,
that
neither
of
those
Statutes
gave
a
Jurisdiction
to
the
Spiritual
Courts
of
Archbishops
or
others
,
where
they
had
none
before
,
only
provides
for
Appeals
in
Causes
within
their
Jurisdiction
:
therefore
matter
of
Deprivation
,
which
was
never
within
their
Jurisdiction
,
is
casus
omissus
out
of
those
Statutes
;
and
by
consequence
't
is
proper
to
petition
the
Lords
upon
their
assuming
such
a
Jurisdiction
.
Tho
the
Statute
24
H.
8.
gives
no
Authority
to
the
Convocation
to
judg
originally
in
Causes
concerning
the
King
;
yet
in
times
of
Popery
they
supposing
that
the
supream
Authority
in
such
Causes
was
in
the
Clergy
,
35
H.
8.
N.
25.
both
Lords
and
Commons
petitioned
the
King
to
grant
a
Commission
to
his
Clergy
in
Convocation
to
judg
of
the
validity
of
his
Marriage
with
Ann
of
Cleve
:
yet
this
was
not
thought
sufficient
without
the
Assent
of
the
King
,
Lords
and
Commons
in
Parliament
,
by
which
that
Marriage
was
declared
void
.
The
legality
of
the
Commission
35
H.
8.
they
might
suppose
founded
upon
the
Statute
which
takes
from
the
Pope
that
Headship
he
had
assumed
,
26
H.
8.
c
.
1.
and
by
consequence
the
necessity
of
his
Consent
by
his
Legate
or
otherwise
to
the
Acts
of
Ecclesiastical
Councils
;
and
further
annexes
and
unites
this
Authority
to
the
Crown
,
and
provides
that
the
King
,
his
Heirs
and
Successors
,
shall
have
full
Power
and
Authority
to
visit
,
repress
,
redress
,
reform
,
and
order
all
Errors
,
&c.
which
might
be
by
any
manner
of
Spiritual
Authority
or
Jurisdiction
.
This
seeming
only
to
leave
the
Causes
to
the
proper
Courts
;
1
Eliz
.
c
.
1.
the
Statute
1
Eliz
.
not
only
annexes
all
Spiritual
Jurisdiction
to
the
Imperial
Crown
of
this
Realm
,
but
particularly
impowers
the
Queen
,
her
Heirs
and
Successors
,
to
grant
Ecclesiastical
Commissions
.
Afterwards
the
Act
16
Car
.
1.
repeals
that
Clause
in
the
Statute
1
Eliz
.
and
enacts
that
no
new
Court
shall
be
erected
with
like
Power
.
16
C.
1.
c
.
11.
Still
those
parts
of
the
Statutes
26
H.
8.
and
1
Eliz
.
which
unite
Spiritual
Jurisdiction
to
the
Crown
,
remain
untouch'd
;
't
is
agreed
that
these
are
but
declaratory
of
the
Common
Law
,
upon
which
the
Jurisdiction
exercis'd
by
Popes
,
was
an
Usurpation
.
Nothing
therefore
is
more
plain
,
than
that
as
antiently
,
while
the
Nation
was
under
this
Usurpation
,
matters
of
Deprivation
were
judg'd
of
in
the
Great
Council
of
the
Nation
,
with
the
Assent
of
the
Pope
;
now
they
are
to
be
judg'd
and
determined
by
the
Lords
Spiritual
and
Temporal
in
Parliament
,
without
any
interposition
of
the
Pope
:
and
all
Judgments
elsewhere
are
violations
of
the
right
of
the
Lords
,
who
have
this
Jurisdiction
properly
,
and
originally
.
5th
.
Since
this
Power
never
belong'd
to
Archbishops
,
but
with
others
,
as
Members
of
the
Great
Council
;
there
's
no
colour
to
imagine
that
't
is
saved
by
the
Clause
in
the
Act
13
Car
.
2.
which
provides
,
13
Car
.
2.
c
.
12.
that
the
Statute
16
Car
.
1.
shall
not
take
away
any
ordinary
Power
or
Authority
from
the
Archbishops
,
or
Bishops
.
Besides
the
Evidence
above
,
that
matter
of
Deprivation
it
not
within
their
ordinary
Power
;
we
have
the
Authority
of
very
learned
Judges
,
Dyer
,
f
.
209.
Justice
Brown
and
Justice
Weston
,
who
in
the
3d
and
4th
of
Eliz
.
refused
to
act
as
Delegates
upon
an
Appeal
from
a
Sentence
of
Deprivation
by
the
Bishop
of
Winchester
,
as
Visitor
of
a
College
;
because
the
Deprivation
was
merely
Temporal
,
and
by
a
Lay
Patron
:
where
the
only
reason
was
not
that
the
Bishop
acted
as
a
Lay
Patron
,
but
as
well
that
the
Deprivation
was
of
a
Temporal
Interest
:
and
therefore
the
Judges
held
the
Party
might
have
his
Remedy
by
Action
at
Common
Law
.
And
fully
to
come
up
to
this
Case
,
the
Barony
annexed
to
the
Bishoprick
,
is
to
many
purposes
a
Lay-Fee
:
according
to
the
Constitution
of
Clarendon
,
ties
the
Bishops
to
Lay
Services
;
and
upon
Contempts
or
the
like
,
Rex
capit
se
ad
Baroniam
:
but
this
Sentence
would
deprive
the
King
of
that
Remedy
.
Whether
it
naturally
follows
from
the
Premises
,
that
the
Lords
in
Parliament
are
the
proper
and
only
Judges
in
the
Case
in
Question
;
is
submitted
to
your
Consideration
by
SIR
,
Your
very
humble
Servant
.