The Realm and People of England fhall not be fubject to the King or Kingdom of France. T 14 Edw. III. Stat. v. A. D. 1340. HE conquefts of Edward had not only thrown the kingdom of France into a general confternation, but had given a most prudent and politic alarm to the English, left they should become dependent by an union with the conquered country-This supposed statute is in reality only a strong declaration from the king, that this apprehended confequence shall not enfue from his victories. It begins, "Le roi à touts ceux as queux ceftes prefentes lettres vendront faluts," and concludes by " en tesmoignance de quel chofe nous avons mis noftre feal."-This declaration is dated in the fourteenth year of his reign (in England) and the firft of his reign in France [p]. I have before faid that this was a prudent and wife apprehenfion in the English, but it does not neceffarily follow, that a leffer kingdom, by conquering a greater extent of territory, fhould in time become a province to the new-acquired territory, or that the feat of the empire fhould be fixed there, on account of its being more the centre of dominion; especially if the conquering country be an ifland, which will ever be a more fecure place of refidence for the king, than the strongest fortifications on the continent-For this reason, the king of Denmark refides at Copenhagen, because it is fituated in the island of Zeeland, which hath not many other inducements to fix the royal refidence-It was fome centuries before the emperors of Rome changed that capital for Conftantinople, and that rather from a whim or difguft of Conftantine, than becaufe Conftantinople was more central. These inftances are mentioned to prove, that the confequence does not follow of neceffity: it was moft certainly wife in our ancestors, however, to make the earlieft proteftations and provifions, against so alarming, and probable an event [9]. It is infifted at the end of this declaration, that no argument or conftruction fhall be drawn from the king's having altered the feal or arms [p] The old French Hiftorians and Chroniclers allow, that Edward the Third's title to the kingdom of France was a good one, nor do they feem to feel much from the change of kings. [9] Instances indeed do not very frequently occur in hiftory of the leffer territory, or kingdom conquering the greater.-It must be admitted that Alexander does not seem to have had any thoughts of returning to Macedonia, and his directions to his fucceffors on his death bed seem chiefly to have related to the fecuring his new conqueft of Perfia.—It must likewife Le admitted, that the Tatars (though couquerors) have established the feat of their empire, in the capital of China. of of England-This was occafioned by Edward's having very imprudently put the Flower de luces [p] (or the French arms) in the first quarter (as the blazoners term it), which is taken notice of by one of the antient Chroniclers as having deservedly given great offence. [p] It seems to be generally agreed by the French antiquaries, that these Flower de luces were originally meant to reprefent the heads of fpears.-Such a change is not unufual in antient blazonry, from the painter's imperfect reprefentation of the thing intended-The lions in the arms of England were originally leopards.. A Confirmation of the Great Charter and other Statutes. T 14 Edw. III. A. D. 1341. HIS confirmation of the Charters contains fome very particular and extraordinary additions, befides the general confirmation, of which there have been two or three other preceding inftances; and as this statute hath never been tranflated, it hath not been fufficiently attended to. I have before obferved, in the Comment on Magna Charta, that, in the early part of the English history (though long after Magna Charta was in force), the peers were often condemned and executed without the form of a trial by their peers, or indeed any trial whatsoever-The 2d chapter of this ftatute recites this, and exprefly enacts, that, for the future, they shall be tried only by their peers [9]; and that, if a peer chose to submit to any other method of trial, it should not prejudice the rights of the peerageThe 3d chapter recites, that the commonalty of the realm had been profecuted and imprisoned without indi&ment, contrary to Magna Charta; and therefore directs, that the chancellor, treasurer, barons, and chancellor of the Exchequer, judges of both benches, steward and chamberlain of the houshold, keeper of the privy seal, treasurer of the wardrobe [r], comptroller of the houshold, and the preceptor [s] and chief officers of the duke of Cornwall, fhall take an oath, upon entering into their office, to observe the Great Charters in every article-This oath (though it is most strictly injoined by this ftatute to be taken by these great officers) makes no part of the oath, which is printed in a collection of the old forms of oaths, in 1649; and that the law continues unrepealed, I fhall have occafion to obferve in my remarks upon the ftatute which follows. The 5th chapter enacts, that the king should remove [] the great [9] There is an exception, if a peer is prosecuted as the king's farmer; which exception feems to imply that it was at this time understood, that a lord of parliament had a right to be tried by his peers for a misdemeanor. [r] The treasurer of the wardrobe I conceive to be the fame officer which is now styled the master of the wardrobe, at whose office some payments ftill continue to be made-It appears by Fleta and others, that treaties and acts of ftate were frequently depofited in the Wardrobe, which then contained a large diftrict, in which the king's artifans lived; and there is a parish in the city ftill called St. Anne's Wardrobe from this circumftance -This range of buildings was burnt in the fire of London, and it hath fince been found better œconomy to purchase what is wanted from common tradefmen-It is probable, that many valuable records were deftroyed in this office by the fire of London. [] Ceux que font chiefs deputez a demorer prez du fils le roy, duc de Cornouaille. There is an exception of the Judges and Barons of the Exchequer. officers -- officers (beforementioned) five or fix days before every feffions of parliament, in order that thofe who had complaints to make might not be deterred by dread of their power and influence; and that the king might with confent (des grantz), which should be most near to him, fubftitute others in their places-This was indeed a most extraordinary regulation, and, I should think, was the chief pretence for the proclamation which enfues. This most conftitutional ftatute (at least the four first chapters of it) had scarcely paffed when Edward, by the advice of his privy council, iffued a proclamation, which contains the following moft hypocritical and illegal reasons for not allowing it to be a binding and obligatory law"Et quia editioni predicti ftatuti pretenfi nunquam confenfimus, fed premiffis proteftationibus de revocando dictum statutum fi de facto pro"cederet ad evitandum pericula quæ ex ipfius denegatione tunc timebantur pro"venire, cum dictum parliamentum aliàs fuiffet diffolutum, cum magnâ "negotiorum noftrorum ruinâ: diffimulavimus (ficut oportuit) et dictum "pretenfum ftatutum figillari permifimus hac vice: videbatur dicto con"cilio noftro, quod ex quo dictum ftatutum ex voluntate gratuitâ nostrâ non proceffit, et quod nomen et vim ftatuti habere non deberet"Ideo &c. ' I should imagine that no one can read these paffages of the proclamation without feeling indignation; and thinking that its being published in the Statute-book as an act of parliament is a conftitutional and national difgrace-Under pretence of the fame prudent diffimulation [u], the most important and facred acts of parliament might for ever be evaded I have before, in the character of Henry the Third, had occafion to observe, that fome of our kings, moft celebrated for their conquefts, had attempted to make the greatest infringements upon the conftitution-The prefent proclamation furnishes a moft ftriking proof of this, and it is dated in the first year in which Edward the Third affumed the title of King of France. [] This proclamation is in Latin, and all the statutes which precede and follow are in English I have before observed, that most of the statutes which are in the Latin language relates to the interests of the clergy; and it is not impoffible, that this jefuitical casuistry and prudent diffimus lation might have been the advice of a prelate. ( 18 Edw. III. Stat. ii. A. D. 1344. HIS ftatute confifts of feven chapters; and the preamble and first TH are-There is a moft fingular recital in this French preamble, viz. that the French king, "s'afforce tant come il poet à deftruir notre dit feigneur le "roi, fes alliez [x], et fubgitz, terres et liens, et [y] la langue d'Angle“terre.”—The complaining that the king of France intends to destroy the English language, in the preamble to an English act of parliament Speaking in the French language, feems to be one of the moft extraordihary allegations which were ever thrown into the preamble [z] of a ftatute-The law then expreffes the intention to fupport the king in the strongest manner in his war against France, as they clearly foresee [a] the deftruction of England, if Edward does not immediately pass the fea; and they exhort him fteadily to purfue, and never to drop, this great and important purpose, neither for letters, words, nor fair promiffes, from which it fhould feem that the English already began to diftruft themselves as negotiators [b]-The parliament not only gives this exhortation, but likewife grants taxes, in which it is obfervable, that the lords and prelates join with the commons; though afterwards mention is made of two fifteenths granted by the com monalty of the realm, and two tenths by the cities and boroughs - From this particular it should feem, that the knights of fhires, and the reprefentatives of cities and boroughs, were confidered in a diftinct light; and that the commonalty was only bound by the affent of the knights of the fhires, and the inhabitants of cities and boroughs by their own representativesThe clergy and lay-peers might poffibly at this time likewife make two diftinct independent bodies in the house of lords-And the preamble of a [x] This is the first mention of the word ally, which unfortunately we hear too much of in the more modern part of the English History. [y] In my manufcript (beforementioned) it runs, terres et lieus de la langue d'Angleterre, which is perfectly intelligible, and the fense reconcileable to the context. [x] The ftatute of Elizabeth, for tranflating the Bible and Service of Common-prayer into Welth, recites, that it is with intention to make the Welsh learn English the more readily; which is likewife a very fingular recital, and would not escape notice in an Irish statute. [a] The word yvant should be read ayant ; a word vitiously fpelt for voiant, or feeing. [6] It is admitted, that we do not hear of any complaint of the infufficiency of English negotiators, till the pamphlets which fwarmed after the peace of Utrecht, and during Sir Robert Walpole's adminiftration, when his brother, Mr. Horace Walpole, was embassador in FranceOne need fay no more of thefe than that they were party pamphlets-The Abbé Mongon hath done justice to the memory of Lord Walpole, and fays, that Cardinal Fleury was throughout his dupe, which is highly probable, as he was above fourfcore years old. modern |