these lands were held; and, occafionally, of the inftitution of the two houses of Parliament; the foundation of the privilege of the trial per pares: and the manner of fummoning Lords to Parliament.

Towards the latter end of the Norman period,' fays our Author, when any barony efcheated, they were wont to break fuch baronies into feveral leffer tenures in capite; because they found the Barons, by their great poffeffions, were able to give the crown great difturbance; and it was impoffible that thefe, growing fo numerous as to be at one time three thousand, should be all fummoned at a time; and therefore the King felected from that number as many as he thought proper. This created great variety in the fummons to Parliament, and first gave ground to that opinion of the lawyers, fince much difputed, that it was the fummons to Parliament that created the Baron; and it has generally been agreed to be right, that the fummons and fitting in Parliament makes the Baron; becaufe, when the charters of William the First were loft, and deftroyed by time, the feudal baronies had no evidence of their Baronage, but their doing fuit and service as Barons at the King's court: as, where the charter of feoffment of the tenant is loft, the tenant has no better evidence of his holding of the manor, than that he and his ancestors have done fuit at the Lord's court time immemorial, and proving this by the roll of the manor.

But when the King had broke the greater Baronies into leffer, the great Barons compofed a houfe by themfelves, and did not fit with the Barones minores; and then the Barones majores made an Ariftocratic body by themfelves: and the Barones minores, together with those that held of the King to pay fuit to the county court, fent reprefentatives to Parliament that fat with the reprefentatives of the boroughs, who now, having got their tenures under certain rents, concurred in all extraordinary aids to the King. And the tenants in the county being fuch as held immediately from the King, either to do fuit at the King's court, or at the Sheriff's court in the county, their reprefentatives were to be Knights; whereas the reprefentatives of the cities and boroughs were to be Burgeffes and Citizens of each particular town.'

The learned Writer then proceeds to give an account of the revenue arifing from the tenures of the Barons, or tenants in capite, which arofe by means of efcuage, which was in the nature of an affeffment of money upon every defaulter who did not attend the King to the wars, in fuch manner as they were bound to do according to their patents. He then fhews how the reveDue arofe from the other tenures.

The tenants in antient demefne,' fays he, found provifion for the King, and the tenants by burgage tenure found cloth and other merchandize for him; and thefe provifions being valued at a certain rate, were afterwards, in fome cafes, turned into rents, and in fome received in fpecie: but upon particular occafions of wars, the juftices itinerant were wont to go within thofe liberties, and after a folemn declaration of the King's neceffities, they used to afk a free gift in that place, as an aid towards the King's wars and fuch tenants and burgeffes were ufed to vote in the firft place, that the King fhould be supplied; -in the next place the quantum of the fupply;-and then they appointed their own affeffors, which were generally two, who rated every perfon towards that quantum: and then the King's collectors entered into fuch liberty, and collected it, according o the rate thus impofed.

If fuch burrough would either not fupply the King, or not fupply him in proportion to his wants, the King could not tax them by his own power; because they were free, and not villains: for none but villains could be taxed haut en bas, or at the meer pleasure of their fuperiors: but where they would not grant a fupply, it was ufual for the juftices in cyre to enquire into their proceedings, and if there was any abufe of their liberties, quo warrantos were fent down, in order to feize the franchifes.'

Here it will not be improper to obferve, that this arbitrary and oppreffive measure was pursued in the reign of Charles the Second, who, by his Attorney-general, iffued out a quo warranto against the city of London, upon the moft frivolous of all pretences. Nevertheless, frivolous as they were, it being determined by the pliant judges at that time, that the liberties of the city were forfeited, their charter was taken away and in confequence of this unjust determination, which was made in contradiction to an exprefs law, moft other corporations were, either by force or perfuafion, deprived of their charters.

we reflect on thefe violent and illegal practices, we may think ourfelves happy, that our Sovereign has no difpofition to invade our rights, and that the great officers of the crown fhew no inelination to pay unduecompliments to prerogative.

Our Author, in the next place, very accurately affigns the reafon of the inequality of the number of representatives in the feveral counties.

There were,' fays he,' only two reprefentatives in a county, and the reft were according to the number of friburghs that were in that county; and therefore, when any manor of antient demefne was to changed, that the provisions they were wont to

anfwer

anfwer to the crown in fpecie were turned into a rent, they erected it into a friburgh; and there were words in the charter to give them a liberty difcharged from all payments: these were not taxed, but by a free gift, which was managed as is herein before mentioned. But thofe antient demeine lands that fent their provifion in fpecie, and had not changed them into rents, were not tallaged; becaufe after the provifions rendered to the crown, there was but a fmall livelihood remaining to themselves for their labour and pains, and therefore they would afford no tallage.

Hence it is, that in the time of Edward the First, some manors of antient demefne fent members to Parliament, and not others; becaufe fuch were then friburghs fubject to tallage.

In Cornwall they fent forty-two members to Parliament, because there were twenty friburghs in that county; and that came to pass, because that was an earldom, and afterwards a dukedom, apart, and generally poffeffed by fome of the royal family; and it being a place abounding in tin, they erected as many free ports as they could, for the exporting of that manufacture, and fome of them were, under exprefs confiderations mentioned in their charters, that they fhould not be taxed but when the reft of the King's fubjects were.'

The Writer then traces the policy of Edward the First, in forming the model of the lower Houfe of Parliament, and he fpecifies the reafon why taxes begin with the Commons.

"When the Barones majores,' fays he, were broke into many Barones minores, thefe likewife had the right of affeffing the efcuage, and therefore they were called with the rest of the greater Barons to the affeffment of the efcuage; but not being able to come in perfon, they fent their reprefentatives (as has been already mentioned) to fit with the burgageholders; and from thence forward, by the policy of Edward the Firft, they were blended in one houfe; and therefore, as the burgageholders and citizens joined in the affeffments of the efcuage, fo the knights joined in the affefliments of the aids of the burgageholders and citizens: by thefe means they vied with each other, who fhould give moft to the crown in their feveral ways; and thus, Edward I. by calling the knights, citizens, and burghers to fuch affeffments, contented them, and ferved his own purpofe; because nothing was done but by their own confent in the affeffment of efcuage or aids: and from the time of his grandfon Edward III. the military tenures declined, mercenaries were ufed, and they made ufe of another manner of taxing.

But this is to be noted, that when the burghers had afcertained their rents, and were fent for, as by the King, to give hi n further aids, they had inftructions from their principals how much they should give; hence the tax began with them, and not from the Barones majores, because they could not agree with their propofals, if they exceeded the commiffion they had from their principals.'

Our limits will not allow us to extend our extracts, but this whole chapter is well worthy the perufal of thofe who would be acquainted with the foundation of our conftitution.

The next chapter treats of the revenues arifing from the church-lands and fpiritual tenures: giving an hiftorical account of fynods and convocations; and the manner of holding them in England and Ireland. William the Conqueror,' fays our Author, turned the frankalmoigne tenures of the bishops, and fome of the great abbots into baronies; and from thence forward they were obliged to fend perfons to the wars, or were asfeffed to the efcuage, and were obliged to attend in Parliament. Then their attendance was complained of as a burden, which occafioned the grand quarrel in Henry the Second's time, between the King and Thomas Becket. Heu! quantum tempora mutantur!

< But the inferior clergy which held by frankalmoigne, were not comprehended within any of the taxes and tallages which were affeft on the King's antient demefne and burgage tenants; nor in the efcuage which was affeft on the King's tenants per baroniam, and the other tenants by Knights fervice. But 18 Edw. 1. the King being under great difficulties through his wars in Scotland, and the kingdom being exhausted by the Barons civil wars, projected the prefent conftitution, viz. That the Earls and Barons fhould be called as formerly, and embodied in one house and that the tenants in burgage fhould fend their reprefentatives; and that the tenants by Knights fervice, and other focage tenants in the counties, fhould alfo fend their reprefentatives to Parliament; and these were embodied in the other houfe. He defigned to have the clergy as a third eftate; and as the Bishops were to fit per baroniam in the temporal Parliament, fo they were to fit with the inferior clergy in convocation: and the project and defign of the King was, that as the two temporal eftates charged the temporalities, and made laws to bind all temporal things within this realm; fo this other body should

Frankalmoigne is a French compound word, which fignifies free alms; and it was a fpiritual tenure in the fuperftitious times, by which the ecclefiaftical tenants, in confideration of the lands they held, were bound to fay prayers, or pray for the foul of the donor.

have given taxes to charge the fpiritual poffeffions, and have made canons to bind the ecclefiaftical body.'

For this purpose a fummons was framed, and the claufe by which the clergy were warned to attend, was called the Pramunientes claufe.

But the clergy foreseeing they were likely to be taxed, pretended they could not meet under a temporal authority to make any laws or canons to govern the church; because their canons were made under the infpiration of Heaven, and not by any authority derived from temporal powers: and this difpute was maintained by the Archbishops, who were very loath the clergy fhould be taxed, or fhould have any intereft in making ecclefiaftical canons, which formerly were made by their fole authority; for though thofe canons had been made at Rome, yet, if they were not made in a general council, they did not think them binding here, unless they were received by fome provincial conftitution of the Bishops: and though the inferior clergy by this new scheme of Edward the Firft, were let into the power of making canons, yet they forefaw they were to be taxed, and therefore joined with the Bifhops in oppofing what they thought an innovation. This they did under pretence that their power was totally derived from Heaven, and therefore they paid no obedience to the pramunientes claufe; but the Archbishops and Bishops threatened to excommunicate the King. He and the temporal eftate took it fo ill, that they would not bear any part of the public charge, that they were beforehand with them, and they were all outlawed, and their poffeffions feized into the hands of the King. This fo humbled the clergy, that they at last confented to meet; and to take away all pretence, there was a fummons, belides the pramunientes claufe, to the Archbishop, that he fhould fummon the Bishops, Deans, Archdeacons, Colleges, and whole Clergy of his province: from hence therefore the Bishops, Deans, Archdeacons, Colleges, and Clergy met by virtue of the Archbishops fummons; which being an ecclefiaftical authority, they could not object to: and fo the suffra-, gan Bishops came to convocation, by virtue of the Archbishop's fummons, the clergy efteeming it to be in his power whether he would obey the King's writ or not: but when he had iffued his fummons, they could not pretend it was not their duty to come. But the pramunientes writ was not ditufed, because it directed the manner in which the clergy were to attend, viz. The Deans. and Archdeacons in perfon, the Chapter by one, and the Clergy by two proctors: but however they held, no convocation could meet without the King's writ to the Archbishop, because on that writ his fummons went out; and it was on the foot of the Archbishop's fummons they fat as a provincial fynod. And the King,

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