SIR, to give you as short an account of your desires as I can, I must crave leave to lay you as a ground, the frame or first modell of this state.

When after the period of the Saxon time, Harold had lif­ted himselfe into the Royall Seat; the Great men to whom but lately he was no more then equall either in fortune or power, disdaining this Act, of arrogancy, called in William then Duke of Normandy, a Prince more active then any in these Westerne parts, and renowned for many victories he had fortunately atchieved against the Franch King, then the most potent Monarch in Europe.

This Duke led along with him to this worke of glory, many of the yonger sons of the best families of Normandy, Picardy, and Flanders, who as undertakers, accompanied the undertaking of this fortunate man.

The Usurper slaine, and the Crowne by warre gained, to secure certaine to his posterity, what hee had so suddenly gotten, he shared out his purchasse retaining in each County a portion to support the dignity Soveraigne, which was sti­led [...] [...]; now the antient Demeanes and assiguing to others his adventurers such portions as suited to their quality and expence, retaining to himselfe dependancy of their personall service, except such Lands as in free Almes were the portion of the Church, these were stifed Barones [Page 2] Regis, the Kings immediate Freeholders, for the word Baro imported then no more.

As the King to these, so these to their followers, subdivi­ded part of their shares into Knights sees, and their Ten­nants were called Barones Comites, or the like; for we finde, as in the Kings Writ in their Writs Baronilus suis & Fran­cois & Anglois, the soveraigne gifts, for the most part excen­ding to whole Counties or Hundreds, an Earle being Lord of the one, and a Baron of the inferiour donations to Lords of Towne-ships or Mannors.

As thus the Land, so was all course of Judicature divided even from the meanest to the highst, portion each severall had his Court of Law, preserving still the Mannor of our An­cestors the Saxons, who jura per pag [...]s reddebant; and these are still tearmed Court-Barons, or the Freeholders Court, twelve usually in number, who with the Thame or chiefe Lord were Judges.

The hundred was next, where the Hundrus or Aldermanus Lord of the Hundred, with the chiefe Lord of each Towne-ship within their limits judged; Gods people observed this forme in the publike Centureonis & decam Iudieabant plebem omni tempore.

The County or Generale placitum was the next, this was so to supply the defect, or remedy the corruption of the infe­rior, Vbi Curiae Dominorum probantur desecisse, pertinet ad vice-co­mitem Provinciarum; the Judges here were Comites, Vice-comi­tes & Barones Comitatus qui liberas in [...] terr [...] [...]a [...]eant.

The last and supreme, and proper to our question, was ge­nerale placitum apud London universalis Synodus in Charters of the Conquerour, Capitalis curia by Glanvile, Magnum & Com­mune consilium coram Rege & magnatibus suis.

In the Rolles of Henry the 3. It is not stative, but summo­ned by Proclamation, Edicitur generale placitum apud London, saith the Booke of Abingdon, whether Epium Duces Principes, Satrap [...] Rectores, & Causidi [...]i ex omni parte confluxerunt ad istam curiam, saith Glanvile: Causes were referred, Propter aliquam dubitationem que Emergit in comitatu, tum Comitatus nescit diju­dicare. Thus did Ethelweld Bishop of Winchester tranferre his [Page 5] suit against Leostine from the County ad generale placitum, in the time of King Etheldred. Queene Edgine against God [...], from the County appealed to King Etheldred at London. Congregatis Principibus & sapientibus Anglia, a suit between the Bishops of Winchester and Durham in the time of Saint Edward. Coram Episcopis & principibus Regni in presentia Regis ventilate & finita. In the tenth yeere of the Conquerour, Episcopi Comites & Ba­rones Regni potestate adversis provinciis ad universalem Synodum pro causis audiendis Convocati, saith the Booke of VVestminster. And this continued all along in the succeeding Kings raign, untill towards the end of Henry the third.

AS this great Court or Counsell consisting of the King and Barons, ruled the great affaires of State and con­trolled all inferiour Courts, so were there certaine officers, whose transcendent power seemed to bee set to bound in the execution of Princes wills, as the Steward, Constable, and Marshall fixed upon Families in fee for many ages: They as Tribunes of the people, or ex plori among the Athenians, growne by unmanly courage, fearefull to Monarchy, fell at the feet and mercy of the King, when the daring Earle of Leicester, was slaine at Evesham.

This chance and the dear experience Henry the 3. himselfe had made at the Parliament at Oxford, in the 40. yeare of his raigne, and the memory of the many straights his Father was driven unto, especially at Rumny-mead neare Staines, brought this King wisely to beginne what his successour fortunately finished, in lessening the strength and power of his great Lords; and this was wrought by searching into the Regality they had usurped over their peculiar Sove­raignes, whereby they were (as the Booke of Saint Albans termeth them.) [...].

And by the [...] that hand of power which they carried in the Parliaments by commanding the service of many Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses to that great Coun­sell.

[Page 4] Now began the frequent sending of Writs to the Com­mons, their assent not onely used in money, charge, and making Lawes, for before all ordinances passed by the King and Peers, but their consent in judgements of all natures, whether civill or criminall: In proofe whereof, I will pro­duce some few succeeding Presidents out of Record.

When Adam [...] that proud Prelate of Winchester, the Kings [...] halfe brother had grieved the State by his daring power, he was exiled by joynt sentence of the King, the Lords and Commons, and this appeareth expressely by the Letters sent to Pope Alexander the fourth, expostulating a revocation of him from banishment, because he was a Church-man, and so not subject to any censure, in this the answer is, Si Dominus Rex & Regni majores hoc vellent, meaning his revocation, Communitas tamen ipsius ingressum in Angli [...]m jam nullat [...]us sustineret. The Peeres subsigne this answer, with their names and Petrus de Mountsord vice totius Communitatis, as speaker or proctor of the Commons.

For by that stile Sir Iohn [...], Prolocutor, affirmeth [...] under his Armes the deed of Intaile of the Crowne by King Henry the 4. in the 8. yeare of his raigne for all the Com­mons.

The banishment of the two Spencers, in the 15. of Edward the second, Prelate C [...]mites & Barones et les autres Peeres de la [...] & Commun [...]s de Roialme, give consent and sentence to the revocation & [...]eversement of the former sentence the Lords and Commons accords and so it is expressed in the Roll.

In the first of Edward the 3. when Elixabeth the Widdow [...] of Sir Iohn de Burgo, complained in Parliament, that Hugh Spencer the younger, Robert Bold [...]k and William Cliffe his in­struments had by duresse forced her to make a Writing to the King, whereby she was despoyled of all her inheri­tance sentence is given for her in these words, [...] [...] avis est al [...] Counts & Barones & autres grand [...]s & a tout C [...]m­min [...] de la terre, que le dit escrip [...] est fait contre [...] & [...] per agard de [...] Parliam [...]dam sue elloques al livre a la di [...] [...].

In An. 4. Edward 3. it appeareth by a Letter to the Pope, [Page 5] that to the sentence given against the Earle of Kent, the [...] Commons were parties, as well as the Lords and Peeres, for the King directed their proceedings in these words, Comi­tibus, Magnatibus, Baronibus, & aliis de Communitate, dicti Reg­ni ad Parliamentum, illud congregatis injunximus ut super [...]is dis­cernerent & judicarent, quod rati [...]ni et justitiae, conventret, habe­re prae [...], solum Deum qui cum concordi unanimi sententia tan­quam r [...]rum crimmis [...] majestatis m [...]rti adjudicarent ejus senten­tia, &c.

When in the 50. years of Edward 3. the Lords had pro­nounced Parl. Ann. 5. E. 3. the sentence against Richard Lyons, otherwise then the C [...]mmons agreed they appealed to the King, and had [...] and the sentence [...]tred to their desires.

When in the first yeare of Richard the second, William Par. Ann. 1. Richa. 2. 11. 3. 8. and 3, 5. West [...]n, and Iohn [...]ennings, were arraigned in Parliament, for surrendring certaine [...]ores of the Kings, the Commons were parties to the sentence against them given, as appea­reth by a Memorandum annexed to that Record. In the first of Henry the 4. although the Commo [...]s referre by protesta­tion, the pronouncing of the sentence of deposition against King Richard the second u [...]to the Lords, yet are they equal­ly interessed in it, as it appeareth by the Record, for there are made Proctors or Commissioners for the whole Parlia­ment, one B. one Abbot one [...] Baron, and 2. Knights, & G [...]y & Erpingham for the Commons, and to in [...]er that because the Lords pronounceth the sentence, the point of judgement should be onely theirs, were as absurd as to conclude, that no authority was best in any other Commissioner of Oyer and Terminer. then in the person of that man solely that spea­keth the sentence.

In 2. Henry 5. the Petition of the Commons importeth no Rot. Parl. An. 2. H. 6. [...]sse, then a right they had to act and assent to all things in Parliament, and so it is answered by the King; and had not the adjournall Roll of the higher house beene left to the sole [...] of the Clarke of the upper House, who [...] out of the neglect to observe due forme, or out [Page 6] of purpose to obscure the Commons right and to flat­ter the power of those he immediately served, there would have beene frequent examples of all times to cleere this doubt, and to preserve a just interest to the Common-wealth, and how conveniently it suites with Monarchy to maintaine this forme, lest others of that well framed body knit under one head, should swell too great and monstruous. It may be easily thought for; Monarchy againe may sooner groane under the weight of Aristocracie as it once did, then under Democracie which it never yet either felt or fear'd.