This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. Searching, reading, printing, or downloading EEBO-TCP texts is reserved for the authorized users of these project partner institutions. Permission must be granted for subsequent distribution, in print or electronically, of this text, in whole or in part. Please contact project staff at eebotcp-info@umich.edu for further information or permissions.
WHen the Act of 31. H. 8. was made,* 1.1 the State Officers (though now but 9 in use, were then 12. a Number (as I shall shew) agreeable to the 12 Judges, 12 Masters of Chancery, 12 Con∣stituting a Jury, and much more of the efficacy of that number, (cited by the Learned Institutor and Petrus Bongus de Sa∣cris Numeris) and this number is thus used by us, as tis thought, in veneration, either
to the 12 Tribes of the Jews, or 12 Ta∣bles Sacred among the Old Romans, or to to the 12 Apostles of the Christian Religi∣on, or 12 Signs in the Zodiack reverenct in Astrology
2. That if the Writs to any of these Officers, be to any of the Lords Spiritual, or such Officers as have usually consisted of the Clergy, as the Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper, the Lord Treasurer, Lord Privy Seal, then the Writs were like the Assistants Writs to the Judges, (of which I shall speak in order) but if any of these Offices be executed by any of the Temporal Lords, then the Writ is the same as to that noble Person to whom the Office is anext, or if any be Summon'd meerly virtute Officij without annexation, to the Degree of some Lord Spiritual or Temporal Lord, then the Writ is only as an Assistant Writ, and they sit in the Lords House but as Assistants without Vote, &c. as will be shewn.
3. Sir Edward Nicholas Knight was summon'd by Writ dat. 18. Feb. 1661. Vid. Cap. 2. and now I proceed to the fixt Nobility, call'd Lords Temporal.
Obs. I.