amended by Parliament, but in the meantime term it not a grievance; for to be grieved with the law is to be grieved with the king, who is sworn to be the patron and maintainer thereof. But as all men are flesh and may err in the execution of laws, so may ye justly make a grievance of any abuse of the law, distinguishing wisely between the faults of the person and the thing itself. As for example, complaints may be made unto you of the High Commissioners: if so be, try the abuse and spare not to complain upon it, but say not there shall be no Commission, for that were to abridge the power that is in me ... Works of James I, ed. 1616, pp. 529-537.

6. Memorial concerning the Great Contract with his Majesty touching tenures, with the dependants, purveyance, &c. delivered by the Committees of the Commons House unto the Lords [26 March, 16101].

Demands in matters of tenures, &c.-The desire, in general, is to have all Knight-service turned into free and common Soccage.

In particular some tenures more properly concern the person, some the possession.

Grand Serjeanty: wherein though the tenure be taken away, yet the service of honour to be saved, and the tenure per baroniam, as it may concern bishops or barons or men in Parliament to be considered. Petty Serjeanty, escuage certain and uncertain, to be taken away. Castle Guard: that Castle Guard which rests in rent to be saved. All Knight-Services generally both of king and common person, to be taken away: the rents and annual services to be saved. Homage ancestral and ordinary, with the respite of them: both these to be taken away; only the coronation-homage to be saved, not in respect. of tenure but of honour. Fealty: the form of doing fealty not yet resolved of. Wardship of body, marriage of the heir, of the widow these to be taken away. Respite of fealty to be taken away.

1 The Lords' Journals (II. p. 573) say that, for the reforms proposed in this memorial, they [the Commons] offer to the King £100,000 yearly.' The compensation was afterwards raised: cp. Gardiner, Engl. Hist. ii. 63.

Wardship and custody of lands likewise to be taken away. Premier Seisin to cease. Livery, oustre le main, to be taken away, so far as they concern tenures or seizure by reason of tenures, other than for escheats. Licence of alienation upon fines, feoffments, leases for life, and other conveyances: pardon of alienation, pleading diem clausit extremum, mandamus, quae plura devenerunt, offices post mortem, inquisitions ex officio, except for escheats: also all concealed wards de futuro, all intrusions, all alienations past, all bonds and covenants for performance of what tends to Knight-Service-all these to be determined. All wards now in being, or found by office, or which shall be found by office before the conclusion of this contract, and whose ancestors died within three years before: those to be saved. Relief upon Knight-Service to cease. Patentees that pay a sum in gross or pay tenths, or fee-farmers: these not to double their rent upon a relief to be paid. Escheats, heriots, suit of court, rents, workdays and such services: these all to remain. Aid to the king to remain, but limited in certain to £25,000, cum acciderit. Aids to common persons to

cease.

Lords' Journals, II. p. 660.

7. Petition of the House of Commons, 23 May, 16101.

To the King's most excellent Majesty.

Most gracious Sovereign, whereas your Majesty's most humble subjects, the Commons assembled in Parliament, have received, first by message and since by speech, from your Majesty a commandment of restraint from debating in Parliament your Majesty's right of imposing upon your subjects' goods exported or imported out of or into this realm, yet allowing us to examine the grievance of those impositions in regard of quantity, time and other circumstances of disproportion thereto incident; we your said humble subjects, nothing doubting but that your Majesty had no intent by that commandment to

1 Presented to the King on May 25 (C. J. I. p. 432).

2 The message, which was to command the House not to dispute of the King's power and prerogative in imposing upon merchandises exported or imported,' was delivered by the Speaker on May 11. The speech, containing a similar prohibition, was made at Whitehall on May 21 (Parl. Debates, Camd. Soc. pp. 32-36).

infringe the ancient and fundamental right of the liberty of the Parliament, in point of exact discussing of all matters concerning them and their possessions, goods and rights whatsoever (which yet we cannot but conceive to be done in effect by this commandment), do with all humble duty make this remonstrance to your Majesty.

First, we hold it an ancient, general and undoubted right of Parliament to debate freely all matters which do properly concern the subject and his right or state; which freedom of debate being once foreclosed, the essence of the liberty of Parliament is withal dissolved.

And whereas, in this case, the subject's right on the one side and your Majesty's prerogative on the other cannot possibly be severed in debate of either, we allege that your Majesty's prerogatives of that kind, concerning directly the subject's right and interest, are daily handled and discussed in all courts at Westminster, and have been ever freely debated, upon all fit occasions, both in this and all former Parliaments, without restraint; which being forbidden, it is impossible for the subject either to know or to maintain his right and propriety to his own lands and goods, though never so just and manifest.

It may further please your most excellent Majesty to understand that we have no mind to impugn, but a desire to inform ourselves of your Highness' prerogative in that point, which, if ever, is now most necessary to be known; and though it were to no other purpose, yet to satisfy the generality of your Majesty's subjects, who, finding themselves much grieved by these new impositions, do languish in much sorrow and discomfort.

These reasons, dread Sovereign, being the proper reasons of Parliament, do plead for the upholding of this our ancient right and liberty. Howbeit, seeing it hath pleased your Majesty to insist upon that judgment in the Exchequer, as being direction. sufficient for us without further examination, upon great desire of leaving your Majesty unsatisfied in no one point of our intents and proceedings, we profess, touching that judgment, that we neither do nor will take upon us to reverse it; but our desire is to know the reasons whereupon the same was grounded 1 In Bates' case: see below, p. 340.

and the rather, for that a general conceit is had that the reasons of that judgment may be extended much farther, even to the utter ruin of the ancient liberty of this kingdom, and of your subjects' right of propriety of their lands and goods.

Then for the judgment itself, being the first and last that was ever given in that kind, for ought appearing unto us, and being only in one case and against one man, it can bind in law no other but that person, and is also reversible by writ of error, granted heretofore by Act of Parliament, and neither he nor any subject is debarred by it from trying his right, in the same or like case, in any of your Majesty's Courts of Record at Westminster

...

We therefore, your Highness' loyal and dutiful Commons, not swerving from the approved steps of our ancestors, most humbly and instantly beseech your gracious Majesty that without offence to the same we may, according to the undoubted right and liberty of Parliament, proceed in our intended course of a full examination of these new impositions; that so we may cheerfully pass on to your Majesty's business, from which this stop hath by diversion so long withheld us. . . .

Commons' Journals, I. p. 431.

8. Propositions touching Purveyance1.

Die Martis 26 Junii, 1610....

VI. All purveyance and takings for his Majesty, the Queen, the Prince, and all other the king's children, and for all offices. officers, courts, councils and societies whatsoever, to be utterly taken away, as well purveyance and takings for household, stable, navy, servants, labourers, and all other provisions, as also for carts, horses and carriages, both by land and water; and generally all purveyances and takings, for whomsoever or whatsoever, of what name or nature soever, to be for ever extinguished. The composition for the same to be all dissolved and released. The clerk of the market and all other to be disabled for setting any prices. The power and prerogative of

1 'Seven propositions of ease,' of which this is No. 6, were discussed in connexion with the Great Contract on June 22 and 25, passed on June 26, and presented to the King on June 27 (C. J. I. pp. 443-444).

pre-emption to be determined, not intending hereby the preemption of tin. What regard shall be had of the merchantstranger in this point, to be left to further consideration.

Lords' Journals, II. p. 660.

9. Memorial concerning the Great Contract with his Majesty touching tenures, with the dependents, purveyance, &c. conceived by direction of the Lords of the Higher House of Parliament. [21 July, 1610.]

Whereas the knights, citizens and burgesses of the Lower House of Parliament have this day, by their committees, delivered unto the Lords Committees of this House a Memorial by them conceived and put in writing, containing certain articles concerning the Great Contract with his Majesty, which during this session hath long and often been in speech and debate between their lordships and them, as well on his Majesty's behalf as for the interest of their lordships and of the said knights, citizens and burgesses; by which Contract they are tied to assure unto his Majesty, his heirs and successors, the sum of £200,000 sterling in yearly revenue, in satisfaction of the great yearly profits which his Majesty hath or may make, as well in respect of the wardships of the bodies and lands of his subjects and all other incidents to tenures, as of the benefits arising by post-fines, defective titles, assarts and many other immunities and privileges, together with the extinguishing of purveyance, (all tending to the profit and ease of his Majesty's subjects): ... and forasmuch as the knights and burgesses of the Lower House have also acknowledged (and that most truly) that they did always understand themselves bound to limit themselves so carefully in all things which they have sought for or shall do, not being particularly expressed at the time that they did accept of the price, as not to demand or expect any condition whereby his Majesty should lose either honour or profit as aforesaid: the Lords also, who are likewise in their own particular estates and possessions (beside the care of the public good) no less interested in the said Great Contract than they, and by their eminent places and degrees are more strictly bound to take care of those things which do particularly