An Essay On The Trial By Jury by Lysander Spooner (free novel reading sites TXT) 📖

Of God King of England,  And The Lords Richard,  Earl Of

Cornwall,  His Brother,  Roger (Bigot) Earl Of Norfolk And

Suffolk;,  Marshal Of England,  Humphrey,  Earl Of Hereford,  Henry,

Earl Of Oxford,  John,  Earl Of Warwick,  And Other Estates Of The

Realm Of England: We,  Boniface,  By The Mercy Of God Archbishop

Of

Canterbury,  Primate Of All England,  F. Of London,  H. Of Ely,  S.

Of Worcester,  F. Of Lincoln,  W. Of Norwich,  P. Of Hereford,  W. Of

Salisbury,  W. Of Durham,  R. Of Exeter,  M. Of Carlisle,  W. Of

Bath,  E. Of Rochester,  T. Of Saint David'S,  Bishops,  Appareled in

Pontificals,  With Tapers Burning,  Against The Breakers Of The

Church'S Liberties,  And Of The Liberties Or Free Customs Of The

Realm Of England,  And Especially Of Those Which Are Contained in

The Charter Of The Common Liberties Of The Realm,  And The

Charter

Of The Forest,  Have Solemnly Denounced the Sentence Of

Excommunication In this Form. By The Authority Of Almighty God,

The Father,  The Son,  And The Holy Ghost,  And Of The Glorious

Mother Of God,  And Perpetual Virgin Mary,  Of The Blessed apostles

Peter And Paul,  And Of All Apostles,  Of The Blessed thomas,

Archbishop And Martyr,  And Of All Martyrs,  Of Blessed edward Of

England,  And Of All Confessors And Virgins,  And Of All The Saints

Of Heaven: We Excommunicate,  Accurse,  And From The Thresholds

(Liminibus) Of Our Holy Mother The Church,  We Sequester,  All

Those That Hereafter Willingly And Maliciously Deprive Or Spoil

The Church Of Her Right: And All Those That By Any Craft Or

Wiliness Do Violate,  Break,  Diminish,  Or Change The Church'S

Liberties,  Or The Ancient Approved customs Of The Realm,  And

Especially The Liberties And Free Customs Contained in the

Charters Of The Common Liberties,  And Of The Forest,  Conceded by

Our Lord The King,  To Archbishops,  Bishops,  And Other Prelates Of

England And Likewise To The Earls,  Barons,  Knights,  And Other

Freeholders Of The Realm: And All That Secretly,  Or Openly,  By

Deed,  Word,  Or Counsel,  Do Make Statutes,  Or Observe Them Being

Made,  And That Bring in customs,  Or Keep Them When They Be

Brought In,  Against The Said Liberties,  Or Any Of Them,  The

Writers And Counselors Of Said Statutes,  And The Executors Of

Them,  And A11 Those That Shall Presume To Judge According to

Them. All And Every Which Persons Before Mentioned,  That

Wittingly Shall Commit Anything of The Premises,  Let Them Well

Know That They Incur The Aforesaid Sentence,  Ipso Facto,  (I. E..

Upon The Deed being done.) And Those That Ignorantly Do So,  And

Be Admonished,  Except They Reform Themselves Within Fifteen Days

After The Time Of The Admonition,  And Make Full Satisfaction For

That They Have Done,  At The Will Of The Ordinary,  Shall Be From

That Time Forth Included in the Same Sentence. And With The Same

Sentence We Burden All Those That Presume To Perturb The Peace Of

Chapter 11 (Authority Of Magna Carta) Pg 189

Our Sovereign Lord The King,  And Of The Realm. To The Perpetual

Memory Of Which Thing,  We,  The Aforesaid Prelates,  Have Put Our

Seals To These Presents."   Statutes Of The Realm,  Vol. 1,  P. 6.

Ruffhead'S Statutes,  Vol. 1,  P. 20.

 

One Of The Confirmations Of The Charters,  By Edward I.,  Was By

Statute,  In the 25Th Year Of His Reign,  (1297,) In the Following

Terms. The Statute Is Usually Entitled. "Confirmatio

Cartarum,"(Confirmation Of The Charters.)

 

Ch. 1.  "Edward,  By The Grace Of God,  King of England,  Lord Of

Ireland,  And Duke Of Guyan,  To All Those That These Presents

Shall Hear Or See,  Greeting. Know Ye,  That We,  To The Honor Of

Cod,  And Of Holy Church,  And To The Profit Of Our Realm,  Have

Granted,  For Us And Our Heirs,  That The Charter Of Liberties,  And

The Charter Of The Forest,  Which Were Made By Common Assent Of

All The Realm,  In the Time Of King henry Our Father,  Shall Be

Kept In every Point Without Breach. And We Will That The Same

Charters Shall Be Sent Under Our Seal,  As Well To Our Justices Of

The Forest,  As To Others,  And To All Sheriff'S Of Shires,  And To

All Our Other Officers,  And To All Our Cities Throughout The

Realm,  Together With Our Writs,  In the Which It Shall He

Contained,  That They Cause The Aforesaid Charters To Be

Published,  And To Declare To The People That We Have Confirmed

Them At All Points; And To Our Justices,  Sheriffs,  Mayors,  And

Other Ministers,  Which Under Us Have The Laws Of Our Land To

Guide,  That They Allow The Same Charters,  In all Their Points,  In

Pleas Before Them,  And In judgment; That Is,  To Wit,  The Great

Charter As The Common Law,  And The Charter Of The Forest For The

Wealth Of Our Realm.

 

Ch. 2. "And We Will That If Any Judgment Be Given From Henceforth

Contrary To The Points Of The Charters Aforesaid By The Justices,

Or By Any Others Our Ministers That Hold Plea Before Them,

Against The Points Of The Charters,  It Shall Be Undone And Holden

For Naught.

 

Ch. 3. "And We Will,  That The Same Charters Shall Be Sent,  Under

Our Seal,  To Cathedral Churches Throughout Our Realms There To

Remain,  And Shall Be Read Before The People Two Times In the

Year.

 

Ch. 4. "And That All Archbishops And Bishops Shall Pronounce The

Sentence Of Excommunication Against All Those That By Word,  Deed,

Or Counsel,  Do Contrary To The Foresaid Charters,  Or That In any

Point Break Or Undo Them. And That The Said Curses Be Twice A

Year Denounced and Published by The Prelates Aforesaid. And If

The Same Prelates,  Or Any Of Them,  Be Remiss In the Denunciation

Of The Said Sentences,  The Archbishops Of Canterbury And York-,

For The Time Being,  Shall Compel And Distrain Them To Make The

Denunciation In the Form Aforesaid."   St. 25 Edward I.,  (1297.).

Statutes Of The Realm,  Vol. L,  P. 123.

 

It Is Unnecessary To Repeat The Terms Of The Various

Chapter 11 (Authority Of Magna Carta) Pg 190

Confirmations,  Most Of Which Were Less Formal Than Those That

Have Been Given,  Though Of Course Equally Authoritative. Most Of

Them Are Brief,  And In the Form Of A Simple Statute,  Or Promise,

To The Effect That "The Great Charter,  And The Charter Of The

Forest,  Shall Be Firmly Kept And Maintained in all Points." They

Are To Be Found Printed with The Other Statutes Of The Realm. One

Of Them,  After Having "Again Granted,  Renewed and Confirmed" The

Charters,  Requires As Follows:

 

"That The Charters Be Delivered to Every Sheriff Of England Under

The King'S Seal,  To Be Read Four Times In the Year Before The

People In the Full County," (That Is,  At The County Court,) "That

Is,  To Wit,  The Next County (Court) After The Feast Of Saint

Michael,  And The Next County (Court) After Christmas,  And At The

Next County (Court) After Easter,  And At The Next County (Court)

After The Feast Of Saint John "  28 Edward I.,  Ch. 1,  (1300.) V

 

Lingard Says,  "The Charter Was Ratified four Times By Henry Iii.,

Twice By Edward I.,  Fifteen Times By Edward Iii.,  Seven Times By

Richard Ii.,  Six Times By Henry Iv.,  And Once By Henry V.;"

Making thirty-Five Times In all.   3 Lingard,  50,  Note,  Philad.

Ed.

 

Coke Says Magna Carta Was Confirmed thirty-Two Times.   Preface

To 2 Inst.,  P. 6.

 

Lingard Calls These "Thirty-Five Successive Ratifications" Of The

Charter,  "A Sufficient Proof How Much Its Provisions Were

Abhorred by The Sovereign,  And How Highly They Were Prized by The

Nation."   3 Lingard,  50.

 

 

 

 

 

Mackintosh Says,  "For Almost Five Centuries (That Is,  Until 1688)

It (Magna Carta) Was Appealed to As The Decisive Authority On

Behalf Of The People,  Though Commonly So Far Only As The

Necessities Of Each Case Demanded."   Mackintosh'S Hist. Of Eng.

Ch. 3. 45 Lardner'S Cab. Cyc.,  221.

 

Coke,  Who Has Labored so Hard To Overthrow The Most Vital

Principles Of Magna Carta,  And Who,  Therefore,  Ought To Be

Considered good Authority When He Speaks In its Favor,  [3] Says:

 

"It Is Called magna Carta,  Not That It Is Great In quantity,  For

There Be Many Voluminous Charters Commonly Passed,  Specially In

These Later Times,  Longer Than This Is; Nor Comparatively In

Respect That It Is Greater Than Charta De Foresta,  But In respect

Of The Great Importance And Weightiness Of The Matter,  As

Hereafter Shall Appear; And Likewise For The Same Cause Charta De

Foresta; And Both Of Them Are Called magnae Char- Tae Libertatum

Angliae,  (The Great Charters Of The Liberties Of England.)

 

Chapter 11 (Authority Of Magna Carta) Pg 191

"And It Is Also Called charta Libertatum Regni,  (Charter Of The

Liberties Of The Kingdom;) And Upon Great Reason It Is So Called

Of The Effect,  Quia Liberos Facit,  (Because It Makes Men Free.)

Sometime For The Same Cause (It Is Called) Communis Libertas,

(Common Liberty,) And Le Chartre Des Franchises,  (The Charter Of

Franchises.)

 

"It Was For The Most Part Declaratory Of The Principal Grounds Of

The Fundamental Laws Of England,  And For The Residue It Is

Additional To Supply Some Defects Of The Common Law.

 

"Also,  By The Said Act Of 25 Edward I.,  (Called confirmatio

Chartarum,) It Is Adjudged in parliament That The Great Charter

And The Charter Of The Forest Shall Be Taken As The Common Law.

 

"They (Magna Carta And Carta De Foresta) Were,  For The Most Part,

But Declarations Of The Ancient Common Laws Of England,  To The

Observation And Keeping whereof,  The King was Bound And Sworn.

 

"After The Making of Magna Charta,  And Charta De Foresta,  Divers

Learned men In the Laws,  That I May Use The Words Of The Record,

Kept Schools Of The Law In the City Of London,  And Taught Such As

Resorted to Them The Laws Of The Realm,  Taking their Foundation

Of Magna Charta And Charta De Foresta.

 

"And The Said Two Charters Have Been Confirmed,  Established,  And

Commanded to Be Put In execution By Thirty-Two Several Acts Of

Parliament In all.

 

"This Appeareth Partly By That Which Hath Been Said,  For That It

Hath So Often Been Confirmed by The Wise Providence Of So Many

Acts Of Parliament.

 

"And Albeit Judgments In the King'S Courts Are Of High Regard In

Law,  And Judicia (Judgments) Are Accounted as Jurisdicta,  (The

Speech Of The Law Itself,) Yet It Is Provided by Act Of

Parliament,  That If Any Judgment Be Given Contrary To Any Of The

Points Of The Great Charter And Charta De Foresta,  By The

Justices,  Or By Any Other Of The King'S Ministers,  &C;.,  It Shall

Be Undone,  And Holden For Naught.

 

"And That Both The Said Charters Shall Be Sent Under The Great

Seal To All Cathedral Churches Throughout