trying the Lady Ivy's Case, 582. Jeffreys in the Court of Chancery, 582. His Equity Decisions, 584. Sir Joseph Jekyl's Testimony in his favour, 585. Roger North's Testimony against him, 585. His Rudeness to the Bar, 586. Commitment of an Attorney for having said that he had made Jeffreys Lord Chancellor, 586. His Attack on the Independence of the Judges, 587. freys in favour of allowing Prisoners the Benefit of Counsel, 588. Jeffreys in domestic Life, 589. Scandal respecting his second Wife, 589. Agreeable Manners of Jeffreys, 589. He keeps a Person to mimic the Judges, 590. His Frolic in the City while Chancellor, 590. Fond of Flattery, 591. Skilled in Music, 591. He gives Judgment on the Organ in the Temple Church, 591. His Conduct at a contested Election, 591. His Father declines a Visit from him, 592. About to be made Earl of Flint, 593. His Son, 593. His Person, 594. His Portrait at the Revolution discarded by the Inner Temple, 594. Print of Jeffreys disguised as a Sailor, 594. Legislation in the Reign of James II., 595. Judge-made Law and Judges, 595. Contrast between Chancellors under LIVES OF THE LORD CHANCELLORS OF ENGLAND. CHAPTER LXVIII. LORD KEEPERS OF THE PARLIAMENTARY GREAT SEAL DURING THE LXVIII. Parliament WHEN Lord Keeper Littleton fled to York in May, 1642, CHAP. the parliamentary leaders were thrown into great perplexity. Knowing the importance of the Great Seal, they had culti- Consternavated him very assiduously, and from his vote upon the tion of the militia ordinance, they believed he had so completely com- when the mitted himself against the Court, that he must remain entirely Great Seal under their control. After that occurrence, the precaution to the they had contemplated of ordering the Great Seal to be kept in some secure place, appeared unnecessary. They were thus quite unprepared for the misfortune of this machine of government being transferred from them to the King. While he now had the advantage of duly issuing whatever grants, commissions, or proclamations he might think proper, they foresaw that the administration of justice would be materially impeded in the metropolis,- that they could not even have new elections to fill up vacancies in the House of Commons,—and that they could not do any act of state to which the Great Seal was necessary. Having assumed the exercise of supreme power, their policy was to carry on the govern was carried King. CHAP. LXVIII. They send sealed by Littleton. ment in the King's name, according to the forms of the constitution. Encouraged by Littleton's submissive petition to the House writs to be of Lords, they thought it possible that he might be playing a double part; and, by way of experiment, they sent some "proclamation writs" to Nottingham, where he then was with the King, about the time when the royal standard was first raised there, and he was required to seal them according to the duty of his office. Littleton's equivocal answer, Aug. 30. 1642. - Littleton, even now not disposed to come to an open rupture with the parliament, as an equivocating excuse wrote the following letter to the clerk of the Crown in Chancery: -"Sir, I could not seal the proclamation writs you sent unto me from the Lords, for that I never could have the Seal sithence the receipt of them until this hour." ProceedAfter several conferences between the two Houses, who ings in Parliament wished to throw all the odium upon the King, it was resolved respecting to set forth "a declaration, showing to the people the great obGreat Seal. struction of justice by the taking and detaining the Great Seal out of the custody of the Lord Keeper." Committees were likewise appointed to consider "how these and the like inconveniences may be remedied and prevented for the future;" and that of the Commons was particularly to report upon a method "how the House may be replenished of their members, notwithstanding writs for a new election instead of those cast out of the House cannot be sealed as is usual.” The declaration accordingly came out, heavily complaining of the infraction of the clause in Magna Charta — “Nulli negabimus, nulli deferemus justitiam vel rectum;" but a long time elapsed before any measure to meet the evil could be agreed upon. It was vain to expect that proceedings which had immemorially been under the Great Seal could take place without its authority, and many lawyers were startled by the express enactment in the statute 25 Edw. III., that "to counterfeit the King's Great Seal shall be high treason"--an enactment which might have been very inconveniently put in force against all those who voted for a new Great Seal, should the royal party * Lord Journ. v 343. Com. Journ. ii. 771. LXVIII. Ordinance against use of Great prevail. They therefore contented themselves for the present CHAP. with passing an ordinance to make void all patents and grants under the King's Great Seal since the time it ceased to attend the parliament, and forbidding obedience to any proclamation for removing the Courts of Justice from Westminster. * The inconvenience, however, was more and more severely felt, particularly by the professors of the law. Says Whitelock, "The courts of justice were not yet open, and there was no practice for lawyers."† About this time, there came out a pamphlet which caused a considerable sensation, entitled "St. Hilary's Tears shed upon all Professors of the Law, from the Judge to the Pettifogger, for Want of a stirring Term, written by one of his Secretaries that hath nothing else to do." + At last, in May, 1643, Oliver St. John, still called "Solicitor General,” and Serjeant Wilde, the two boldest lawyers on the popular side, resolved upon a strenuous effort to have a new Great Seal, and they induced the Commons, without a division, to agree to the following resolutions. 1. "That the Great Seal of England ought, by the laws of the land, to attend the parliament." 2. "That the Great Seal of England doth not attend the parliament as it ought to do." 3. "That by reason thereof, the commonwealth hath suffered many grievous mischiefs, tending to the destruction of the King, parliament, and kingdom." 4. "That it is the duty of both Houses to provide a speedy remedy for these mischiefs." Then came the fifth and startling resolution, "THAT A GREAT SEAL OF ENGLAND SHALL BE FORTHWITH MADE TO ATTEND THE PARLIAMENT, FOR THE DESPATCH OF THE AFFAIRS OF THE PARLIAMENT AND THE KINGDOM." the lawyers. Plan for new Great Seal to it. But a strong opposition sprung up to this proceeding, the Opposition more cautious members suggesting that it would be a direct renunciation of all allegiance to the Crown,- that they still Jan. 21. 1643. † Whit. Mem. 71. Thus it began: "A term so like a vacation; the prime court, the Chancery (wherein the clerks had wont to dash their clients out of countenance with long dashes); the examiners to take the depositions in hyperboles, and roundabout Robinhood circumstances with saids and aforesaids, to enlarge the number of sheets; "— alluding to the abuse which it has never yet been found possible to correct, of allowing costs according to the number of written words, by so much a folio. |