English liberties, or, The free-born subject's inheritance containing, I. Magna Charta, the petition of right, the Habeas Corpus Act ... II. The proceedings in appeals of murther, the work and power of Parliament, the qualifications necessary for such ... III. All the laws against conventicles and Protestant dissenters with notes, and directions both to constables and others ..., and an abstract of all the laws against papists.

MAGNA CHARTA, or the Great Charter made in the ninth Year of King Henry the Third, and confirmed by King Edward the First, in the eight and twentieth Year of his Reign.

EDward, By the Grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Guyan:

To all Arch-Bishops, Bishops, &c.

We have seen the great Charter of the Lord Henry, sometimes King of England, our Fa∣ther, of the Liberties of England, in these Words.

HEnry, By the Grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Guyan, and Earl of Anjou; To all Arch-Bishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls, Barons, Sheriffs, Provosts, Officers, and to all Baysliffs, and other our Faithful Subjects, which shall see this present Charter, Greet∣ing. Know you, that We unto the Honour of Almighty God, and for the Salvation of the Souls of our Progeni∣tors and Successors, Kings of England, to the Advance∣ment of Holy Church, and Amendment of our Realm, of our meer and free Will, have Given and Granted to all Arch-Bishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls, Ba∣rons, and to all Free-men of this our Realm, these Liberties following, to be kept in our Kingdom of England for ever.

CHAP. I.

A Confirmation of Liberties.

FIrst, We have granted to God, and by this our present Charter have confirm'd for Us & our Heirs for ever; That the Church of England shall be free,

and shall have all her whole Rights and Liberties Inviolable. (2) We have granted also, and given to all the Free-men of our Realm, for Us and our Heirs for ever, these Liberties under-written, to have and to hold to them and their Heirs for ever.

CHAP. II.

The Relief of the Kings Tenant of full Age.

IF any of our Earls or Barons, or any other which Hold of Us in Chief by Knights Service, dye, and at the time of his Death, his Heir be of full Age, and oweth to us Relief, he shall have his Inheritance by the old Relief, that is to say, the Heir or Heirs of an Earl, for a whole Earldom, by one hundred pound: the Heir or Heirs of a Baron for an whole Barony, by one hundred marks: the Heir or Heirs of a Knight, for one whole Knights Fee, one hundred shillings at the most. And he that hath less shall give less, according to the old Custom of the Fees.

CHAP. III.

The Wardship of an Heir within Age; The Heir a Knight.

BUt if the Heir of any such be within Age, his Lord shall not have the Ward of him, nor of his Land, before that he hath taken of him Ho∣mage. (2.) And after that such an Heir hath been in Ward (when he is come to full Age) that is to say, to the Age of one and twenty Years, he shall have his Inheritance without Relief, and without time; so that if such an Heir being within Age be made Knight, yet nevertheless his Land shall re∣main in the keeping of his Lord unto the Term aforesaid.

CHAP. IV.

No wast shall be made by a Guardian in Wards Lands.

THE Keeper of the Land of such an Heir be∣ing within Age, shall not take of the Lands of the Heir but reasonable Issues, reasonable Customs,

and Reasonable Services, and that without destru∣ction, and waste of his Men and his Goods. (2.) And if we commit the Custody of any such Land to the Sheriff, or to any other, which is an∣swerable unto us for the Issues of the same Land, and he make destruction or waste of those things that he hath in Custody, we will take of him amends and recompence therefore. (3.) And the Land shall be committed to two lawful and discreet men of that Fee, which shall answer unto Us for the Is∣sues of the same Land, or unto him whom we will Assign. (4.) And if we give or sell to any man the Custody of any such Land, and he therein do make destruction or waste, he shall lose the same Custody. And it shall be Assigned to two lawful and discreet men of that Fee, which also in like manner shall be answerable to Us, as afore is said.

CHAP. V.

Guardians shall maintain the Inheritance of their Wards: And of Bishopricks.

THe Keeper, so long as he hath the Custody of the Land of such an Heir shall keep up the Houses, Parks, Warrens, Ponds, Mills, and o∣ther things pertaining to the same Land, with the Issues of the said Land: And he shall deliver to the Heir, when he cometh to his full Age, all his Land, stored with Ploughs and all other things, at the least as he receiv'd it. All these things shall be observed in the Custody of Arch-Bishopricks, Bishopricks, Ab∣beys, Priories, Churches and Dignities vacant, which appertain to Us: Except this, that such Cu∣stody shall not be sold.

CHAP. VI.

Heirs shall be Married without Disparagement.

HEirs shall be Married without Disparage∣ment.

CHAP. VII.

A Widow shall have her Marriage, Inheritance, and Quarentine. The Kings Widow.

A Widow after the Death of her Husband, In∣continent and without any difficulty, shall have her Marriage, and her Inheritance. (2.) And shall give nothing for her Dower, her Marriage, or her Inheritance, which her Husband and She held the day of the Death of her Husband. (3.) And She shall tarry in the chief House of her Husband, by forty days after the Death of her Husband, with∣in which days her Dower shall be Assigned her, (if it were not Assigned her before) or that the House be a Castle. (4.) And if she depart from the Castle, then a competent House shall be forthwith provided for her, in the which She may honestly dwell, until her Dower be to her Assigned, as it is aforesaid; And She shall have in the mean-time her reasonable Estovers of the Common. (5.) And for her Dower shall be Assigned unto her the third part of all the Lands of her Husband, which were his during Co∣verture, except She were endowed of less at the Church door. (6.) No Widow shall be distrain∣ed to Marry her self: Nevertheless She shall find surety, that She shall not Marry without our License and Assent (if She hold of Us) nor without the As∣sent of the Lord, if She hold of another.

CHAP. VIII.

How Sureties shall be charged to the King.

WE or our Bailiffs, shall not seize any Land or Rent for any Debt, as long as the present Goods and Chattels of the Debtor do suf∣fice to pay the Debt, and the Debtor himself be ready to satisfie therefore. (2.) Neither shall the Pledges of the Debtor be distrained, as long as the principal Debtor is sufficient for the payment of the Debt. (3.) And if the principal Debtor fail in the payment of the Debt, having nothing wherewith to

Pay, or will not pay where he is able, the pledges shall answer for the Debt. (4.) And if they will, they shall have the Lands and Rents of the Debtor untill they be satisfied of that which they before payed for him, except that the Debtor can shew himself to be acquitted against the said Sureties.

CHAP. IX.

The Liberties of London, and other Cities and Towns Confirmed.

THe City of London shall have all the old Li∣berties and Customs which it hath been used to have. Moreover, we Will and Grant, that all other Cities and Borroughs, Towns, and the Ba∣rons of the five Ports, and all other Ports, shall have all their Liberties and free Customs.

CHAP. X.

None shall distrain for more Service than is due.

NO man shall be distrained to do more Ser∣vice for a Knights Fee, nor for any Freeholder, than therefore is due.

CHAP. XI.

Common-Pleas, shall not follow the Kings Court.

COmmon-Pleas shall not follow our Court, but shall be holden in some place certain.

CHAP. XII.

Where, and before whom Assizes shall be taken. Adjournment for Difficulty.

ASsizes of Novel Diss••isin and of Mortdancester, shall not be taken but in the Shires, and af∣ter this manner: If we be out of this Realm, our Chief Justicers shall send our Justicers through eve∣ry County once in the Year; Which, with the Knights of the Shire, shall take the said Assizes in those Counties. (2.) And those things that at the coming of our foresaid Justicers, being sent to take those Assizes in the Counties, cannot be determi∣ned, shall be ended by them in some other place in their Circuit. (3.) And those things which for dif∣ficulty

of some Articles cannot be determined by them, shall be referred to our Justicers of the Bench, and there shall be ended.

CHAP. XIII.

Assizes of Darrein Presentment.

ASsizes of Darrein Presentment, shall be always taken before our Justicers of the Bench, and there shall be determined.

CHAP. XIV.

How men of all sorts shall be amerced, and by whom.

A Free-man shall not be amerced for a small fault, but after the manner of the fault. And for a great fault after the greatness thereof, saving to him his contenement. (2.) And a Merchant like∣wise, saving to him his Merchandize. (3.) And any others Villain than ours shall be likewise amerced, saving his Wainage, if he fall into our mercy. (4.) And none of the said amerciaments shall be Assessed, but by the Oath of honest and lawful men of the Vicinage. (5.) Earls and Barons, shall not be amerced, but by their Peers, and after the man∣ner of their offence. (6.) No man of the Church shall be 〈…〉〈…〉 after the quantity of his Spiritual Benefice, but after his Lay-tenement, and after the quantity of his offence.

CHAP. XV.

Making of Bridges and Banks.

NO Town nor Freeman shall be distrained to make Bridges nor Banks, but such as of old time, and of right have been accustomed to make them in the time of King Henry our Grandfa∣ther.

CHAP. XVI.

Defending of Banks.

NO Banks shall be defended from henceforth, but such as were in defence in the time of King Henry our Grandfather, by the same places, and the same bounds as they were wont to be in his time.

CHAP. XVII.

Holding Pleas of the Crown.

NO Sheriff, Constable, Escheator, Coroner, nor any other our Bayliffs, shall hold Pleas of our Crown.

CHAP. XVIII.

The Kings Debtor dying, the King shall be first paid.

IF any that holdeth of Us Lay-fee do dye, and our Sheriff or Bayliff do shew our Letters Patents of our Summons for Debt, which the Dead man did owe to us: It shall be lawful to our She∣riff or Bayliff, to Attach and Inroll all the Goods and Chattels of the Dead, being found in the said Fee, to the value of the same Debt, by the sight and testimony of lawful men; So that nothing there∣of be taken away, until we be clearly paid off the Debt. (2.) And the residue shall remain to the Executors, to perform the Testament of the Dead. (3.) And if nothing be owing to Us, all the Chat∣tels shall goe to the use of the Dead (saying to his Wise and Children the Reasonable parts.)

CHAP. XIX.

Purveyance for a Castle.

NO Constable, nor his Bayliff shall take Corn or other Chattels of any man, if the man be not of the Town where the Castle is, but he shall forth∣with pay for the same, unless that the Will of the Seller was to respite the payment. (2.) And if he be of the same Town, the price shall be paid unto him within forty days.

CHAP. XX.

Doing of Castle Ward.

NO Constable shall distrain any Knight for to give money for keeping of his Castle, if he himself will do it in his proper person, or cause it to be done by another sufficient man, if he may not do it himself for a reasonable cause. (2.) And if we do lead or send him in an Arms, he shall

be free from Castle-ward for the time that he shall be with Us in Fee in our Host, for the which he hath done Service in our Wars.

CHAP. XXI.

Taking of Horses, Carts, and Woods.

NO Sheriff nor Bayliff of ours, nor any other, shall take the Horses or Carts of any man to make Carriage, except he pay the old price limit∣ed, that is to say, for Carriage with two Horse, 10 d. a day, for three Horse 14 d. a day. (2.) No demesne Cart of any spiritual Person or Knight, or any Lord, shall be taken by our Bayliffs. (3.) Nor we, nor our Bailiffs, nor any other shall take any mans Wood for our Castles, or other our Necessaries to be done, but by the License of him whose the Wood is.

CHAP. XXII.

How long Felons Lands shall be holden by the King.

WE will not hold the Lands of them that be be Convict of Felony but one Year and one day, and then those Lands shall be delivered to the Lords of the Fee.

CHAP. XXIII.

In what place Wears shall be put down.

ALL Wears from henceforth shall be utterly put down by Thames and Medway, and through all England, but only by the Sea-Co••ts.

CHAP. XXIV.

In what Case a Praecipe in Capite, is not grantable.

THe Writ that is called Praecipe in Capite, shall be from henceforth granted to no Person of any Free-hold, whereby any Free-man may lose his Court.

CHAP. XXV.

There shall be but one Measure throughout the Realm.

ONe Measure of Wine shall be through our Realm, and one Measure of Ale, and Mea∣sure of Corn, that is to say, the Quarter of London.

(2.) And one breadth of died Cloath, Russets, and Haberjects, that is to say, two yards within the Lists. (3.) And it shall be of Weights as it is of Measures.

CHAP. XXVI.

Inquisition of Life and Member.

NOthing from henceforth shall be given for a Writ of Inquisition, nor taken of him that prayeth Inquisition of Life or of Member, but it shall be granted freely, and not denyed.

CHAP. XXVII.

Tenure of the King, in Socage, and of another by Knights Service. Petit Serjeantry.

IF any do hold of Us by Fee-farm, or by Socage, or Burgage, & he holdeth Lands of another by Knights Service, we will not have the Custody of his Heir, nor of his Land, which is holden of the Fee of another, by reason of that Fee-farm, Socage or Burgage. (2.) Neither will we have the Custody of such Fee-farm, or Socage or Burgage, except Knights Ser∣vice be due unto Us out of the same Fee-farm. (4.) We will not have the Custody of the Heir, or of any Land, by occasion of any Petit Serjeantry that any man holdeth of Us by Service, to pay a Knife, an Arrow, or the like.

CHAP. XXVIII.

Wager of Law shall not be without Witness.

NO Bayliff from henceforth, shall put any man to his open Law, nor to an Oath, upon his own bare saying, without faithful Witnesses brought in for the same.

CHAP. XXIX.

None shall be Condemned without Tryal. Justice shall not be sold or deferred.

NO Freeman shall be taken, or Imprisoned, or be disseised of his Free-hold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be Outlawed or Exiled, or any otherwise destroyed, nor we will not pass upon him,

nor condemn him, but by lawful Judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the Land. (2.) We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right.

CHAP. XXX.

Merchants, Strangers, coming into this Realm, shall be well used.

ALL Merchants (if they were not openly pro∣hibited before) shall have their safe and sure Conduct to depart out of England, to come into England, to tarry in and go through England, as well by Land as by Sea, to buy and sell without any manner of Evil Tools, by the old and rightful Cu∣stoms, except in time of War. (2) And if they be of a Land making War against Us, and be found in our Realm at the beginning of the Wars, they shall be Attached without harm of Body and Goods, until it be known unto us, or our Chief Justice, how our Merchants be intreated there in the Land ma∣king War against Us. (3.) And if our Merchants be well intreated there, theirs shall be likewise with Us.

CHAP. XXXI.

Tenure of a Barony, coming into the Kings Hand by Eschete.

IF any man hold of any Eschete, as of the Ho∣nour of Wallingford, Nottingham, Boloin, or of any other Eschetes which be in our hand, and are Baronies, and dye, his Heir shall give none other Relief, nor do none other Service to Us than he should to the Baron, if it were in the Barons hand. (2.) And we in the same wise should hold it as the Baron held it, neither shall we have by occasion of any Baron or Eschete, any Eschete or Keeping of any of our men, unless he that held the Barrony or Escehte, otherwise held of us in Chief.

CHAP. XXXII.

Lands shall not be aliened to the prejudice of the Lords Service.

NO Freeman, from henceforth shall give or sell any more of his Land, but so that of the Residue of the Lands, the Lord of the Fee may have the Services due to him, which belongeth to the Fee.

CHAP. XXXIII.

Patrons of Abbies, shall have the Custody of them in the time of Vacation.

ALL Patrons of Abbies, which have the Kings Charter of England, of Advowson, or have old tenure or possession in the same, shall have the Custody of them when they fall void, as it hath been accustomed, and as it is afore declared.

CHAP. XXXIV.

In what only Case a Woman shall have an Appeal of Death.

NO man shall be taken or Imprisoned upon the Appeal of a Woman, for the Death of any other than of her Husband.

CHAP. XXXV.

At what time shall be kept a Countrey Court, Sheriffs turn, and a Leet.

NO Countrey from henceforth shall be holden, but from month to month; and where great∣er time hath been used, there shall be greater. (2.) Nor any Sheriff or his Bayliff shall keep his Turn in the Hundred, but twice in the Year: and no where but in due place and accustomed, that is to say, once after Easter, and again after the Feast of Saint Michael. (3.) And the view of Frank-pledge shall be likewise at the Feast of Saint Micha∣el without occasion. So that every man have his Liberties which he had, or used to have in the time of King Henry our Grandfather, or which he hath purchased since. (4.) The view of Frank-pledge shall be so done, that our peace may be kept. (5.) And

that the Tything be wholly kept as it hath been acustomed. (6.) And that the Sheriff seek no oc∣casions, and that he be content with so much as the Sheriff was wont to have for his view-making in the time of King Henry our Grandfather.

CHAP. XXXVI.

No Land shall be given in Mortmain.

IT shall not be lawful from henceforth to any one to give his Lands to any Religious House, and to take the same Land again to hold of the same House. Nor shall it be lawful to any House of Religion to take the Lands of any, and to Lease the same to him of whom he received it: If any from henceforth give his Lands to any Religious House, and thereupon be Convict, the Gift shall be utterly void, and the Land shall Accrue to the Lord of the Fee.

CHAP. XXXVII.

A Subsidy in respect of this Charter, and the Char∣ter of the Forrest, granted to the King.

ESeuage from henceforth shall be taken, like as it was wont to be in the time of King Henry our Grandfather, reserving to all Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Templers, Hospitallers, Earls, Ba∣rons, and all persons as well Spiritual as Temporal, all their free Liberties and free Customs which they have had in time passed; (2.) And all these Cu∣stoms and Liberties aforesaid, which we have grant∣ed to be holden within this our Realm, as much as appertaineth to us and our Heirs, we shall observe. (3.) And all men of this our Realm, as well Spi∣ritual as Temporal (as much as in them is) shall ob∣serve the same against all persons in likewise. (4.) And for this our Gift and Grant of these Liberties, and of other contained in our Charter of liberties of our Forest, the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Pri∣ors, Earls, Barons, Knights, Freeholders, and other our Subjects, have given unto us the fifteenth part

of all their movables. (5.) And we have granted unto them on the other part, that neither we nor our Heirs shall procure or do any thing, whereby the Liberties in this Charter contained, shall be In∣fringed or Broken. (6.) And if any thing be pro∣cured, by any Person, contrary to the premisses, it shall be had of no force nor effect. These being Witnesses, Lord B. Arch-bishop of Canterbury, E. Bishop of London, &c.

We, Ratifying and approving these Gifts and Grants aforesaid, confirm and make strong all the same for Us and our Heirs perpetually; And by the Tenour of these presents, do renew the same, Wil∣ling and granting for Us and our Heirs, that this Charter, and all and singular his Articles for ever, shall be stedfastly, Firmly, and Inviolably observed. And if any Article in the same Charter contained, yet hitherto peradventure hath not been kept, We will, and by Authority Royal Command from hence∣forth firmly they be observed. In Witness whereof we have caused these our Letters Patents to be made. T. Edward our Son at Westminster, the twen∣ty eighth day of March, in the twenty eighth year of our Reign.

Notes on Magna Charta.

THis Excellent Law holds the first place in our Statute Books, for though there were no doubt many Acts of Parliament long before this, yet they are not now Extant: 'tis called Magna Charta, or the Great Charter, not in Respect of its Bulk, but in Re∣gard of the great Importance and weight of the matters therein contained; it is also styled Charta Li∣bertatum Regni, the Charter of the Liberties of the Kingdom, and upon great reason (saith Cook in his Proem) is it so called from the effect, Quia liberos facit, because it makes and preserves the people free.

Though it run in the stile of the King as a Charter, yet (as my Lord Cook well observes on the 38 Chap∣ter) it appears to have passed in Parliament, for there was then a Fifteenth granted to the King, by the Bi∣shops, Earls, Barons, Free-tenants and people, which could not be but in Parliament, nor was it unusual in those times to have Acts of Parliament, in a Form of a Charter: as you may read in the Princes case, Co. Rep. L. 8.

Likewise though it be said here, that the King hath given and granted these Liberties, yet they must not be understood as meer Emanations of Royal Fa∣vour, or new Bounties granted, which the people could not justly challenge, or had not a Right unto before; For the Lord Cook at divers places asserts, and all Lawyers know, that this Charter is for the most part only Declaratory of the principal grounds of the Fundamental Laws and Liberties of England, no new freedom is hereby granted, but a Restituti∣on of such as lawfully they had before, and to free them of what had been usurped and encroached up∣on them by any power whatsoever; and therefore you

may see this Charter often mentions Sua Jura, their Rights, and Liberat••s suas, their Liberties, which shews they had them before, and that the same now were Confirmed.

As to the occasion of this Charter, it must be no∣ted, that our Ancestors the Saxons had with a most equal poize and temperament, very wisely contriv'd their Government, and made excellent provisions for their Liberties, and to preserve the People from op∣pression, and when William the Norman made him∣self Master of the Land, though he be commonly called the Conquerour, yet in truth he was not so, and I have known several Judges that would Re∣prehend any Gentleman at the Bar that casually gave him that Title; For though he killed Harold the Usurper, and Routed his Army, yet he pretended a right to the Kingdom, and was admitted by Com∣pact, and did take an Oath to observe the Laws and Customs.

But the truth is, he did not perform that Oath so as he ought to have done; and his Successors Wil∣liam Rufus, King Stephen, Henry the First, and Rich∣ard likewise, made frequent Encroachments upon the Liberties of their People, but especially King John made use of so many Illegal Devices to drain them of Money, that wearied with intollerable op∣pressions they resolved to oblige the King to grant them their Liberties, and to promise the same should be observed, which King John did in Running-mead between Stains and Windsor, by two Charters, one called Charta Libertatum, The Charter of Liberties (the Form of which you may read in Math. Paris, Fol. 246. and is in effect the same with this here re∣cited) the other the Charter of the Forrest, Copies of which he sent into every County, and commanded the Sheriffs, &c. to see them fulfilled.

But by ill Council he quickly after began to violate them as much as ever, whereupon Disturbances and

great miseries arose both to himself and the Realm.

The Son and Successor of this King John was Henry the Third, who in the 19th Year of his Reign, Renewed and Confirmed the said Charters, but with∣in two Years after Cancelled them by the pernicious advice of his Favourites, and particularly Hubert de Burgh whom he had made Lord Chief Justice; one that in former times had been a great Lover of his Countrey, and a well deserving Patriot, as well as lear∣ned in the Laws, but now to make this a step to his Ambition (which ever Rideth without Reins) per∣swaded and humored the King that he might avoid the Charters of his Father King John by Duresse, and his own Great Charter, and Charta de Foresta also, for that he was within Age when he granted the same; whereupon the King in the eleventh Year of his Reign, being then of full Age, got one of the great Charters, and of the Forrest, into his Hands, and by the Council principally of this Hubert his Chief Justice, at a Council holden at Oxford, unjustly Cancelled both the said Charters, (notwithstanding the said Hubert de Burgh was the primier Witness of all the Temporal Lords to both the said Charters) whereupon he became in high Favour with the King, insomuch that he was soon after (viz. the 10th of December in the 13th Year of that King) Created (to the highest Dignity that in those times a Subject had) to be an Earl, viz. of Kent. But soon after (for Flatterers and Humorists have no sure Foundation) he fell into the Kings heavy Indigna∣tion, and after many fearful and miserable Troubles, he was justly, and according to Law Sentenced by his Peers in an open Parliament, and justly Degraded of that Dignity which he unjustly had obtained by his Council for Cancelling of Magna Charta, and Charta de Foresta.

In the 9th. Chap. of this great Charter, all the Ancient Liberties and Customs of London, are Con∣firmed

and preserved, which is likewise done by di∣vers other Statutes, as 14 Edw. 3. Cap. 2. &c.

The 29 Chapt. NO FREE-MAN SHALL BE TAKEN, &c. Deserves to be written in Letters of Gold, and I have often wondered the words thereof are not Inscribed in Capitals on all our Courts of Judicature, Town-Halls, and most publick Edifices; they are the Elixir of our English Freedoms, the Storehouse of all our Liberties. And because my Lord Cook in the second part of his Institutes, has many excellent Observations, I shall here Recite his very words. This Chapter containeth nine several Bran∣ches:

1. That no man be taken or Imprisoned, but per Legem terrae, that is, by the Common Law, Statute-Law, or Custome of England: For these words, per Legem terrae, being towards the end of this Chapter, do Refer to all the precedent matters in this Chap∣ter; and this hath the first place, because the Li∣berty of a mans person is more pretious to him than all the rest that follow, and therefore it is great rea∣son that he should by Law be Relieved therein, if he be wronged, as hereafter shall be shewed.

2. No man shall be Disseised, that is, put out of Seisin, or dispossessed of his Free-hold, that is, Lands or Live∣lyhood, or of his Liberties or free Customs, that is, of such Franchises and Freedoms, and free Customs as belong to him, by his Free Birth-Right, unless it be by the lawful Judgment, that is, Verdict of his equals, (that is, of men of his own Condition) or by the Law of the Land, that is, (to speak it once for all) by the due Course and process of Law.

3. No man shall be Outlawed, made an Exlex, put out of the Law, that is, deprived of the Bene∣fit of the Law, unless he be Outlawed according to the Law of the Land.

4. No man shall be Exiled or Banished out of his Countrey, that is, Nemo perdet patriam, no man

shall lose his Countrey, unless he be Exiled according to the Law of the Land.

5. No man shall in any sort be destroyed (Destru∣ere id est quod prius structum & factum fuit, penitus Evertere & Diruere,) unless it be by the Verdict of his Equals, or according to the Law of the Land.

6. No man shall be Condemned at the Kings Suit, either before the King in his Bench, where the Pleas are Coram Rege (and so are the words, Nec su∣per eum ibimus to be understood;) nor before any o∣ther Commissioner or Judge whatsoever, and so are the words, Nec super eum mittimus, to be under∣stood, but by the Judgment of his Peers, that is, E∣quals, or according to the Law of the Land.

7. We shall sell to no man Justice or Right.

8. We shall deny to no man Justice or Right.

9. We shall defer to no man Justice or Right.

Each of these we shall briefly explain.

1. No man shall be taken, (that is) Restrained of Liberty by Petition or Suggestion to the King or his Council, unless it be by Indictment or Pre∣sentment of good and lawful men, where such deeds be done. This Branch and divers other parts of this Act have been notably explained and Con∣strued by divers Acts of Parliament, several of which you will find Recited hereafter in this Book.

2. No man shall be Disseised, &c. Hereby is in∣tended that Lands, Tenements, Goods and Chattels, shall not be seised into the Kings Hands contrary to this great Charter, and the Law of the Land, nor any man shall be disseised of his Lands or Tenements, or dispossessed of his Goods or Chattels contrary to the Law of the Land.

A Custom was alleadged in the Town of C. that if the Tenant cease by two years, that the Lord should enter into the Freehold of the Tenant, and hold the same until he were satisfied of the Arrear∣ages: it was adjudged a Custom against the Law of

the Land, to enter into a Mans Freehold in that case, without Action or Answer.

King Henry 6. Granted to the Corporation of Diers within London, power to search, &c. And if they found any Cloath died with Log-Wood, that the Cloath should be Forfeit: And it was adjuged, that this Charter concerning the Forfeiture was against the Law of the Land, and this Statute; For no For∣feiture can grow by Letters Patents.

No Man ought to be put from his Livelihood without Answer.

3. No Man Outlawed] That is, barred to have the benefit of the Law. And note, to this word Outlawed, these words, Ʋnless by the Law of the Land, do Re∣ferr. [Of his Liberties] This word hath three Significa∣tions:

1. As it hath been said, it signifieth the Laws of the Realm, in which respect this Charter is called Charta Libertatum, as aforesaid.

2. It signifieth the Freedom the Subjects of Eng∣land have: for example, the Company of Merchant-Taylors of England, having power by their Charter to make Ordinances, made an Ordinance that every Brother of the same Society should put the one half of his Cloaths to be dressed by some Cloath-Workers Free of the same Company, upon pain to Forfeit 10 s. &c. And it was adjuged that this Or∣dinance was against Law, because it was against the Liberty of the Subject, for every Subject hath free∣dom to put his Cloaths to be dressed by whom he will, & sic de similibus. And so it is, if such or the like grant had been made by his Letters Pa∣tents.

3. Liberties signifie the Franchises and Priviled∣ges which the Subjects have of the gift of the King, as the Goods and Chattels of Felons, Out-laws and the like; or which the Subject claims by Prescrip∣tion, as wreck, waife, straie, and the like.

So likewise and for the same reason, if a Grant be made to any Man to have the Sole making of Cards, or the Sole dealing with any other Trade, that Grant is against the Liberty and Freedom of the Sub∣ject, that before did or lawfully might have used that Trade, and consequently against this great Char∣ter.

Generally all Monopolies are against this great Charter, because they are against the Liberty and Freedom of the Subject, and against the Law of the Land.

4. No Man Exiled, that is Banisht, or forced to de∣part or stay out of England without his Consent. By the Law of the Land, no Man can be Exiled or Banished out of his Native Country, but either by Authority of Parliament, or in Case of Abjuration for Felony by the Common Law; and so when our Books, or any Record, speak of Exile, or Banish∣ment, other than in case of Abjuration, it is to be in∣tended to be done by Authority of Parliament, as Belknap and other Judges, &c. Banished into Ireland, in the Reign of Rich. the Second.

This is a Beneficial Law, and is Construed benign∣ly; And therefore the King cannot send any Sub∣ject of England against his will to serve him out of this Realm, for that should be an Exile, and he should perdere Patriam: No, he cannot be sent against his will into Ireland, to serve the King or his Depu∣ty there, because it is out of the Realm of England: For if the King might send him out of this Realm to any place, then under pretence of Service, as Am∣bassador or the like, he might send him into the fur∣thest part of the World, which being an Exile, is prohibited by this Act.

5. No Man destroyed—That is, forejudged of Life or Limb, or put to Torture or Death, every oppression against Law by colour of any usurped Au∣thority is a kind of destruction. And the words Ali∣quo

modo (any otherwise) are added to this Verb de∣stroyed, and to no other Verb in this Chapter, and therefore all things by any manner of means tending to destruction are prohibited; as if a Man be ac∣cused or Indicted of Treason or Felony, his Lands or Goods cannot be granted to any, no not so much as by promise, nor any of his Lands or Goods sei∣zed into the Kings hands before he is Attainted; For when a Subject obtaineth a promise of the for∣feiture, many times undue means and more violent prosecution is used for private Lucre, tending to de∣struction, than the quiet and just proceeding of the Law would permit, and the party ought to live of his own until Attainder.

6. By Lawful Judgment of his Peers,] That is by his Equals, Men of his own Rank and Condition. The general division of Persons by the Law of Eng∣land, is, either one that is Noble, and in respect of his Nobility of the Lords House of Parliament, or one of the Commons, and in respect thereof, of the House of Commons in Parliament. And as there be divers degrees of Nobility, as Dukes, Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts, and Barons, and yet all of them are comprehended under this word Peers, and are Peers of the Realm; so of the Commons, there be Knights, Esquires, Gentlemen, Citizens, and Yeo∣men, and yet all of them of the Commons of the Realm. And as every of the Nobles is one a Peer to another, though he be of a several degree, so it is of the Commons; and as it hath been said of Men, so doth it hold of Noble Women, either by Birth or Marriage.

And forasmuch, as this Judgment by Peers is cal∣led Lawful, it shews the Antiquity of this manner of Trial: It was, the ancient, accustomed, Legal Course long before this Charter.

Or by the Law of the Land.] That is, by due pro∣cess of Law, for so the words are expresly expound∣ed

by the Stat. of 37 Edw. 3. chap. 8. And these words are specially to be referred to those foregoing, to whom they relate. As none shall be condemn'd without a lawful Trial by his Peers, so none shall be taken, Imprison'd, or put out of his Free-hold, with∣out due process of the Law, that is by the Indict∣ment or Presentment of good and lawful Men of the place, in due manner, or by Writ Original of the Common-Law.

Now, seeing that no Man can be Taken, Arrest∣ed, Attached, or Imprisoned, but by due process of Law, and according to the Law of the Land, these conclusions hereupon do follow.

1. That the Person or Persons which commit any, must have lawful Authority.

2. It is necessary that the Warrant or Mittimus be lawful, and that must be in Writing under his Hand and Seal.

3. The Cause must be contained in the Warrant, as for Treason, Felony, &c. Suspicion of Treason, or Felony, or the like particular Crime; For if it do not thus specifie the Cause, if the Prisoner bring his Habeas Corpus, he must be discharged, because no Crime appears on the Return; Nor is it in such Case any offence at all, if the Prisoner make his escape; whereas if the Mittimus contain the Cause, the escape would respectively be Treason or Felony, though in Truth he were not Guilty of the first offence. And this mentioning the Cause, is agreea∣ble to Scripture, Acts 5.

4. The Warrant or Mittimus containing a lawful Cause, ought to have a lawful conclusion, &c. And him safely to keep until he be delivered by Law, &c. and not until the party committing shall further Order.

If any Man by colour of any Authority, where he hath not any in that particular Case, shall pre∣sume to Arrest or Imprison any Man, or cause him

to be Arrested or Imprisoned, this is against this Act, and it is most hateful, when it is done by Countenance of Justice. King Edw. the 6th. did In∣corporate the Town of Saint Albans, and granted to them to make Ordinances, &c. They made a by-Law upon pain of Imprisonment, and it was ad∣judged to be against this Statute of Magna Charta; so it had been, if such an Ordinance had been con∣tained in the Patent it self.

We will sell to no Man, deny to no Man, &c. This is spoken in the Person of the King, who in Judg∣ment of Law in all his Courts of Justice is present; And therefore every Subject of this Realm, for in∣jury done to him, in Bonis, Terris, vel Persona, in Per∣son, Lands, or Goods, by any other Subject, Eccle∣siastical or Temporal, whatever he be without ex∣ception, may take his Remedy by the course of the Law, and have Justice and Right for the Injury done him, Freely without sale, Fully without any de∣nial, and Speedily without delay; For Justice must have three Qualities, it must be Libera, Free, for nothing is more odious than Justice set to sale; Plena, Full, for Justice ought not to limp, or be granted Piece-meal, and Celeris, speedy: Quia Dilatio est quaedam negatio, Delay is a kind of denial; And when all these meet, it is both Justice and Right.

We will not deny nor delay any Man, &c.) These words have been excellently expounded by latter Acts of Parliament, that by no means common right or common law should be disturbed or delay∣ed; no, though it be commanded under the Great Seal, or Privy Seal, Order, Writ, Letters, Message, or Commandment whatsoever, either from the King or any other; and that the Justices shall proceed, as if no such Writs, Letters, Order, Message, or other Commandment were come to them: all our Judges swear to this; for 'tis part of their Oaths, so that if any shall be found wresting the Law to serve a Court

Turn, they are perjur'd as well as unjust. The Common-laws of the Realm should by no means be delayed, for the Law is the surest Sanctuary that a Man can take, and the strongest Fortress to pro∣tect the weakest of all; Lex est tutissima Cassis, the Law is a most safe Head-piece, and sub Clipeo legis nemo decipitur, no man is deceived whilst the Law is his Buckler: but the King may stay his own suit, as a Capias pro fine, for the King may Respit his Fine, and the like.

All Protections that are not Legal, which appear not in the Register, nor warranted by our Books, are expresly against this Branch, nulli diff••remus, we will not delay any Man: As a Protection under the Great Seal granted to any Man, directed to the Sheriffs, &c. and commanding them that they shall not Arrest him during a certain time at any other Mans suit, which hath words in it, Per Prerogativ••m nostram quam nolumus esse Arguendam; By our Prerogative, which we will not have disputed; Yet such Protections have been argued by the Judges, according to their Oath and Duty, and adjuged to be void. As Mich. 11 H. 7. Rot. 124. a Protection granted to Holmes a Vintrier of London, his Factors, Servants and Deputies, &c. Resolved to be against Law. Pasch. 7. H. 8. Rot. 66. such a Protection disallowed, and the Sheriff amerced for not execu∣ting the Writ, Mich. 13. and 14 Eiiz. in Hitchcocks Case, and many other of latter time: And there is a notable Record of Ancient time in 22 E. 1. John de Mershals Case; Non pertinct ad vicecomitem de protectione Regis Judicare, imo ad Curiam.

Justice or Right] We shall not sell, deny or delay Justice and Right, neither the End, which is Justice▪ nor the Mean whereby we may attain to the End, and that is the Law: Right, is taken here for Law, in the same sence that Justice often is so called. 1. Because it is the Right Line, whereby Justice

distributive is Guided and Directed; and therefore all the Commissioners of Oier and Terminer, of Gaol-delivery, of the Peace, &c. have this Clause, Facturi quod ad Justititiam pertinet, secundum Legem & Consuetudinem Angliae; that is, to do Justice and Right, according to the Rule of the Law and Cu∣stom of England: and that which is called Com∣mon Right in 2 E. 3. is called Common-Law in 14 E. 3. &c. and in this sence it is taken, where it is said, Ita quod stat Rectus in Curia, id est Legi in Curia.

2. The Law is called Rectum, because it disco∣vereth that which is Tort, Crooked or Wrong; for as Right signifieth Law, so Tort, Crooked or Wrong, signifieth Injuries, and Injuria est contra Jus, Injury is against Right. Recta Linea est index sui & ob∣liqui, a right line is both declaratory of it self and the oblique. Hereby the Crooked Cord of that which is called Discretion appeareth to be unlawful, unless you take it as it ought to be, discretio est dis∣cernere per Legem, quid sit Justum, discretion is to discern by the Law what is Just.

3. It is called Right, because it is the best Birth-right the Subject hath, for thereby his Goods, Lands, Wife and Children, his Body, Life, Ho∣nour and Estimation are protected from Injury and Wrong: Major Haereditas venit unicun{que} no∣strum a Jure & Legibus, quam a Parentibus; A greater Inheritance descends to us from the Laws, than from our Progenitors.

Thus far the very words of that Oracle of our Law, the Sage and Learned Coke; which so fully and excellently explain this incomparable Law, that it will be superfluous to add any thing further there∣unto.