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Show 68o England's 'Prefettt Interefl Confider' I. VoL. I. 167). reduc'd to a Ranfom, according to the Nature of the Fault; b?t it mull be ~ Alreft in the Prefence of the jucfge, and by the Tuelve, that ~s; the Jury Chap. I. of Frilingi, or Freemen. . . . Hitherto Stories tell us of Trtnls by ]ur1ts, and thofe to have confifted, in General Terms, of Frumen : But Per Par~s, or by E~a/J, came after, occafion'd by the confiderable Saxons, negleamg th:u .ServJc~, and_ leaving it ro the inferiour People, who loit the Bench, The1r Jbw.ent R1ghr, becaufe they were not thought Company fot a Judge or S!renlf: And alfo from the Growing Pride Of the f?ane.r, who .Oighted fuch a Ru~al ]Jid~ctJ· ture, and defpifed the Fello~nnp of .r~e me~n S,u~on Frumtn m pubhck Service. The Wife Saxon Kmg perceLVlng this, and the dangerous Confe-queoce of fubmitting the Lives and Liberties of the lnferiour (but not lefs ufeful People) to the Diflater of any fucb HttJighty H11mo11r; and on the o~ ther Hand, of fubjelting the No~ler ~orr to the Suffrag~ of the ln[~rio11r Rank, did, with the Advice of hts Wutnngttnore, or Parhame'!t, prov1de a third Way, more Equal and Grateful, and by Ag!ee~ent wnh Gumhurn the Dane fettled the Law of Peers, or Equals; Whtch IS the .Envy of 1\'a .. rions bu~ the FamorH PrivileJge .of our Englifh .People : One of thofe Three PiUa;s the Fa brick of this Anci'ent and Fru Government ftands upon. This Benefit gets Strength by Time, and is receiv'd by the 1\'ormaJt•Dii/\.e and hisSucceffors; and not only confirm'd in the Lump of other ,Privi· ledges, but in one Notable Cafe, for a1l, which might be broughtto prove, that the F~tndamental Privi!tdger, mentioned in the Gnat Charter, 9 of Hen. 3· were Be/ore it. The Story is more at large rleliver'd by our Learned s . n Selden : But thus, TViUiam having given his Half Brother Odp_, a large ffet· [liC:l eg. 197• ritqry in Kent, with the Earldo~, and he taking Advantage at t~e Kmg'& 6eing di/Nenfed rvitb the Archbijhop of Canterbury, to pofl'efs h1mfelf of fame or the Lands of that See, Landfrank, that fucceeded the Archbilbop, inform'd hereof, petition~d the King for J uftice, fecundum legem urre, ac· cording to the Law of the Land : Upon which the King fummon"d a COIIIItyCo~ trt, where d.:e Debate lafted three Days, before the Freemtm af Kent, in the Prefence of Lord& and Bijhops, and others Skilful in the Law, and the Judgment pafl'ed for the Archbifhop, Upon the Votes of the W'reemen. By all which it is (I hope) fufficiently and inoffenflveLy manifefted, that thefe three Principles, viz. . . . 1. That Englifh Men have· the alone Rrgbt of PojJe!fion and Difpojjnon of t»bat ir theirs. 2. That tlte are Parties to the Laws of thtir Country, for tbt ldaiJ~te· nance tbereo . 3· That t ey have an lnjluenee upon, and ~ real Sbarr in tbe ]11'Jict~tory Power, that applys thofe Law.r, have been the Ancient .Rights of the King· dom and common Baji.r of the Government : 'J'hat which Kings, under all Revolutions have fworn to maintain, and Hiftory affords us fo many Prefidents to confirm. So that the Great Charter made in the 9th of .Henry . the Illd. was not the Nativity, but Refloration of Ancient ~rivileJges from Abufes. No Grant of J\'ew Rights, but a New Grant, or Conjirm11tion ra~ . ther, of .Ancient Laws and Liberties, viobted by King John, and reftoted by his Succe£ror, at the Expence of a long ::J:llod bloody War; which fl~ew ·ed them ,as refolute to keep, as their Anceitors had been care{ul to make thofe excellent Laws. And fo I am come to the GFelll Charter, which is comprehenfive of w~at I have already been difcourfing, and which I fhall briefty touch upon, wnb thofe fucceffive St..rtutes that have been made in Honour and Prcferva-tiol ~N·rehearfe fo much of it aS falls within the Co_nfideration of the foregoing Matter (which is a great deal in a litde) with iOmething of the Formality of Gram and Curfe; that this Age may fee, with what R~e'"' renee and Cir"ll1fe0ion our ilt~ceflQN governed themf~Lves in confirmmg and preferving o it. 1/art VoL. I. England's 'Prrfent Int,re{l Cqllfidtr'd. 681 ' Henry by the Gruu of Gof[ Kin~ if England &c 11 n · ' Earlst Baro!16, SheriflS Prorofis Officer · l nt' ll B. Tffi a ~chbl(h~p.s, J675· '/lll Subjects, who jhaU /u Ibis p;efcnr ch;r;er 0 Gree~:; \t" OJir f,wb- ~'-..I ' we, unto rhe Honour of Almighty God and' {! h 'CS 1 no~ ya, that Chap. I. ; ~duls of our Progenitors, and our Succdrors, K~~g~ ~f £,~~~~~;~ ~f t~e 9 Hen, 3· , Vincement of Holy Church, and Amcndmenc of our Realm' 0 [ . 1 e c j}eF, and free w,~/ have given and granted ro all Archbifhop,s fJ'/ ~ dour , a d krcem~n of .thiS our kealm, rhetC Liberties underwrit~cn · ~0 b; ,h.~Jd!~ . ao , ept tn th1s our Realm of E.ngland for evermore ' · J'ho ~n .Honour' !O the King) it is faid to be ou t ~f his mcer a~d free w,n! as ~f lt were hts meer Favour, yet the Qpalificarion of the Perfon~ hf ps fat~. to gr~nc the enfuing Libenies to) thews, thar they are Terrrl; o o};rna ay, b't To a.{! Freemen of tbiJ Realm. Which fuppofes there were rttmen e ore th1s Grant; and that ChJraCI:er alro im lies rhe m~fi have had Laws and Libe~tier: Confequcncly, this was not~n Infr:uf-bch~ fing ofTthheWm, but a confirmmg to Freemen their jufi Privileges they had e1ore. e ords of the. Charter are thefe · , ~A F,rern:ran fha.Jl not be Am,erced for a 'rmall F:tult, but after the Cap. 14; , f; ~~ntuy 0Jh~hc f.ault, and for a great Fault, after the Manner therad ' ~'}tfe to lffi his Contentments or Fruho/J: And a Mcrchmt llkcwif~ , a amerced, faving_to him his Merchandize; and non~ of the hid • ofAmehrceV~e.nts fhaH be affeffed, but by the 0Jth of good and hondt Men t e tctnage. , ~ Jjo Ft:r:an. fhal1 be taken or imprifon'd, nor he di!Jeizcd of bir Free- Cap. 29, W 0d ft er~1u, or free Cufi:oms, or be outlaw'd or ·exil d, or anv other , ays e roy d; nor we fhall not pafs upon him nor condemn hiffi but , ~)1 /au{~tl ]11dgmcnt of hi.r Peers, or by the L'lw' of the Land. We '!ball , Ri ;~ no Man, we fhall deny or defer to no Man. eithCr J ufiice or ~ i~and amazed, how any Man c:tn haye the Confidence to fa Thefe 1!nvzle£es w_ere ext~rud by the Barons Wars, when the King decla!e~, thal: what he d1d herem, was done freely: Or that rhey were new PrivilegeS w~en ~be very Tenour of the Word proves the contrary : For Fruholl -J...rbtrtJes, or Free C11/1oms, are by the C,harrer it felf fuppofed to be i; the Poffeffion of the treemen at the makmg and publHhing thereof. Fo o~ferve, .No .Frre_man jhal1 be taken or imprifon'd: Then he lV:JS free ." Thi: Lrberty I_S h1~ R1ghr. Again, J\'o Freeman jJMU be diffeljrd uf bH. Freebold, Ltberucs, or free Cufl.oms. Then ;ertainly lie w3s in Poffeffion of the.m: !tnd that great Doft:or in the Laws of England, Chief Juit ice Cool\., In hiS . Pro~m to the 2d Part of his Injlirures, ~ells us, that rbc/e L_atJu and LJbertJ~s uere garbered and ohferved, amcngfl others, in an inttre Vol~tme, by Ki".g Edward rbe Confeffor.; confirmed by IViUinm, firnamed the Ccnqueror; whrch were afterwards ra t1fy'd by Henry tbe llrfl· enlarged by Henry the Second, in his Conftitutions at Clarendo~ i ~nd after rnuc~ Conteft, and Blood fpilt, between King Jobn :1nd the Barons concermng them, were f?lemnly eftablifhed :It Running· Mea:! by Srnncs : And laftl,J, .brou.ght to theu former Station, and P'Jblilh'd b'y this King lfenry the ThJrd, m th~ 9th Year of his Reign. · . And though evil Counfellors would have provok'd him to \'Oid JJis f~· ~her's A8: and his own, as if the firfi: had been the Effe8: of Force the othe~ ?f Non-.Ag_c; yet it fo pleafed Almighty God, who barb ever' been prop.mous to this U11grateful Ifl7nd, that in the 2oth Year of his Reign, he d~d confirm and compleat t~lS Charter, for a perpetual Eftablifbment ?f Lrberty to all Pree·born Englijhnm1, Jnd rheir Heirs for ever: Ordaiu~ Ing, ~~od comrave~ientt.r per domin-ullt RPgem, cum conviOi fuerint, gravi~ er pun~ant-ur, t. e. .T~at whofocver fhould afi :1ny thing contrary to thefe !--aws, up~n Convu~JOn, ihou]d be grievoufly punifhed by our Lord the Kmg. Andm the 22d Year of his Reign, it was confirmed by the Srature of lflarlfb, Chap.;. And fo venerable an Efteem have our Ancefi:ors had for this Grear Charter, and fo indifpe-nfihly ncce!f:uy have they thou~ht it Sfff w |
