An Essay On The Trial By Jury by Lysander Spooner (best free novels .TXT) 📕

Their Thrones Only On The Condition Of Their Renewed And Solemn

Promises Of Observance. And It Was Not Until 1429,  (As Will Be

More Fully Shown Hereafter,) When A Truce Between Themselves,

And

A Formal Combination Against The Mass Of The People,  Had Been

Entered Into,  By The King,  The Nobility,  And The "Forty Shilling

Freeholders," (A Class Whom Mackintosh Designates As "A Few

Freeholders Then Accounted Wealthy," [1]) By The Exclusion Of All

Others Than Such Freeholders From All Voice In The Election Of

Knights To Represent The Counties In The House Of Commons,  That A

Repetition Of These Confirmations Of Magna Carta Ceased To Be

Demanded. And Obtained. [2]

The Terms And The Formalities Of Some Of These "Confirmations"

Make Them Worthy Of Insertion At Length.

Hume Thus Describes One Which Took Place In The 38th Year Of

Henry Iii. (1253):

" But As They (The Barons) Had Experienced His (The King's)

Frequent Breach Of Promise,  They Required That He Should Ratify

The Great Charter In A Manner Still More Authentic And Solemn

Than Any Which He Had Hitherto Employed. All The Prelates And

Abbots Were Assembled. They Held Burning Tapers In Their Hands.

The Great Charter Was Read Before Them. They Denounced The

Sentence Of Excommunication Against Every One Who Should

Thenceforth Violate That Fundamental Law. They Threw Their Tapers

On The Ground,  And Exclaimed,  May The Soul Of Every One Who

Incurs This Sentence So Stink And Corrupt In Hell! The King Bore

A Part In This Ceremony,  And Subjoined,  ' So Help Me God! I Will

Keep All These Articles Inviolate,  As I Am A Man,  As I Am A

Christian,  As I Am A Knight,  And As I Am A King Crowned And

Anointed.' "   Hume,  Ch. 12. See Also Blackstone's Introd. To The

Charters. Black. Law Tracts,  Oxford Ed.,  P. 332. Makintosh's

Hist. Of Eng.,  Ch. 3. Lardner's Cab. Cyc.,  Vol. 45,  P. 233   4. 

The Following Is The Form Of "The Sentence Of Excommunication"

Referred To By Hume:

"The Sentence Of Curse,  Given By The Bishops,  Against The

Breakers Of The Charters.

"The Year Of Our Lord A Thousand Two Hundred And Fifty-Three,  The

Third Day Of May,  In The Great Hall Of The King At Westminster,

In The Presence,  And By The Assent,  Of The Lord Henry,  By The

Grace 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

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

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.