The National Register. — London, England, 1818-06-15 00:00:00

cpt 41, No. 540.—V0t. XI. ON ANNUAL PARLIAMENTS. The following article is extracted from " The Voter's Vademeeann," and as it is a subject which more par ticularly engages the attention at this time, it may nut be iniaeeeptable to our readers " Oa the important subject of Annual Parliaments, which .‘leGranville Sharp affirms, are the ancient, in dirpensable, and most salutary rights of the Commons of Great Britain, and which, he asserts, are necessary as well for the security of the people, as the dignity and safety of the Crown ; and without which, he adds, pea,:e and good government cannot be maintained ; I shall, Gentlemen, introduce to your observation an ex tract (which, though long, I ant sure, that on account of its solid reasoning and conclusive deductions, not one of you will deem misplaced), from that true patriot's declaration of the people's natural rights to a share in the legislature.' " Sir Edward Coke.' observes this excellent man, e in his 4th Institute, p. 9, speaking of the matters of Parliament, says : Forasmuch us divers laws and sta tutes have been enacted and provided, that divers mis chiefs in particular, and divers grievances in general, concerning the honour and safety of the King, the State, and defence of the Kingdoine, and of the Church of England, night be prevented, an excellent law was made Anno Sd Ediv 111. c. to, which, being applied to the said e Writs of Parliament, loth, in a lbw and effectual words, set down the subject of a Parliament in these words: " For the maintenance of the said articles, and statutes, and redress of di.- ers mischiefs and grievances, which daily happen, a Pareiament shalt be holden every year, as another time was ordained by a statute. Which statute, here referred to, was made in the 4th year of the same reign, cap. 14. Item,-it is accorded, that a Parliament shall be holden every year once, and more often, if need be: But Sir William Blactstone supposes, that the King never was obliged, by these statutes, to call a new Parliament every year; but only to permit a Parliament to sit annually for the redress of grievances, and dispatch of business, if need be (I Com. c. 2, p. 153.) " It is too true, indeed, that our kings. in general, did not think themselves obliged, by these statutes, (as they ought in conscience to have been, for the safety of their souls), to call a new Parliament every year:' ray, it is .:ortain, that many of them would never have called a Parliament at all, had they not been obliged, fat necessity anti the circumstances of the times. By what authority could a representative in one Partiament take his seat in the next annual Pariiament, without re-eleetion, before any laws were made for lengthen ing the duration of Parliaments? And besides, if the icing only permit a Parliament to sit annually,' Ike. by what authority could the Parliament be con vened at all, under such a circumstance, seeing that a mere perinisition to sit excludes the idea of a prorogation from year to year ? However, the learned commentator himself very justly observes, in a preceding page (150), concerning the manner and tune of assembling, that the Parliament is regularly to be summoned by the King's Writ, or Letter, issued out of Chancery.' And it is well ktiewth that these Writs are not addressed to the knights, citizens, and burgesses, elected for any s'ermer Parliament, but to the Sheriffs alone, to cause Knights, Citizens, &c. to be elected ; for .vnen the said Acts were made, such an absurdity in polities had never been conceived in Et:gland, as that of trusting the representation of the people, for a term of years, (as at present), to the pets ins elected ! On the contrary, when the business of eaeh Session was finished, the l'atliament of course was at an end ; and therefore Lord Coke did not peek in vain, when he mentioned ' the excellent law (viz. the Act for annual Parlia ments) being applied to the said Writs of Parliament,' Lac. before recited. " 4 A man of firl ranch good sense, learning, and sidgment, as Sir William Blackston is master of, must Le wall aware of the pernicious eflecis of mussin g representatives of the people with a legislative power, beyond the constitutional tern of a single Session, avitlinut re-elect:3n ; and therefore I cannot but be sur prised at the unguarded manner in which he has ex pressed himself in his comment on the two excellent Statutes of Edward 111. for annual Parliaments ; viz. that the King is not or ever was, obliged by these statutes to call a new Parliament every year, &c.' He has caused the word new to be printed in Italics, as if te meant thereby to insinuate, that the :eels:attires cf ationat Mt t tOttr+ Our fling, Con6titution an ati36. MONDAY, JUNE 15, 1818. thous early times were not acquainted with our modern idea of conferring on the popular representation a kind of continued senatorial dignity, without re-election, for several years together ; whereas he certainly must have known, that this corrupt modern practice has produced a new order of men amongst us, a most. dangerous in. crease of aristocratical power, which was entirely un known to our ancestors in the glorious reign of Edw. 111. If he could show that there ever was a Parlia ment in those times, that was not a new Parliament, his comment might he justified. But it is notorious that writs were issued to the SheritTs for new elections, al most every year during that whole reign. The writs, for the most part, are still preserved with the returns upon them. In the catalogue of election writs, which Prynne has given in his Breuia Parliarnentaria Itedivia, p. 4 to 6, there is an account of Writs issued for new elections in every year of that King's reign, between his 34th (when the last Act for annual Parliaments was made), and his 50th year, except 9, viz. the 40th, 41st, and 58th years ; in which years the records of Summons to the Prelates and Lords of Parliament are also wanting, as appears Ly Sir William Dugdale's Perfect Copy of Summons to Parliament, of the Nobility,' &e. ‘• And yet this affords no absolute proof that Par liaments were not held in those very years for which the writs arc wanting ; because the bundles of writs for the said years have been lost or mislaid. The only wonder is, that more have not been lost, when we consider the very little care that had been taker. e them ; for Prynne found many of these writs dispersed amongst a vast miscellaneous heap of other records on various subjects (as he himself relates in his '..pistlesDe dicatory to King Charles 1 1. of his Brevia Parliamenta ria Rediviva). calling the said heap a confused Chaos, under corroding petrifying cobwebs, dust, and filth, in • the darkest corner of Climes Chapel in the White Tower, as mere useless Relique.s not worthy to be ca. letrired," &e. And, in p 103 of that same work, he speaks of I t 7 bundles of writs, whereof 97 had only been then lately discovered. filed and bundled by him ' self; But many . of the - se 117 bnndlcs," (say: he), ' are not compleat, about half or three parts of the writs being either rotted, consumed, maimed, torn, or utterly lost, through carelessness.wet, cankers, or other casual ties ; and some of them have not above two, titre or four writs, and one or two but one writ and return re _ _ " But that there were really writs for Parliaments, even in those three years, which appeAr to be wanting, at least in two of them, is very certain ; because it was in the 40th year of his reign, as Sir Edward Coke in forms us, (4 Inst. p. 13), that the Pope demanded ho. mage for the kingdoms of England and Ireland, and the arrears of revenue granted by King John to Pope Innocent 111 whemtpon the King, in the same year, calleth his Court of Parliament,' &c. as Sir Richard Coke proves from the Parliament-rolls of that year, No. 8, remarking. at the same time, that the Act then made was never yet printed.' See the margin, hth Inst. 13. •° And it appears that a Parliament was held also in the 48th year of this reign, because supplies were in that year granted to the King by Parliament, as related by Sir Richard Baker in his Chronicle, p. 173, viz. in his eight and fortieth year, in a Parliament, is granted him a 10th of the Clergy, and a 15th of the Laity.' So that there is but one year, out of so many, in which we cannot trace the meeting of the annual Parliaments. And annual writs fur new elections were regularly issued for the first 18 years of the following reign (as appears by Prynn's 2d part or a brief Regis ter and Sarvcy of the several kinds and forms of Par liamentary Writs,' pages 116 and 117), till Richard 11. (that wretched perjured monarch), had rendered him self absolute. " After considering these unquestionable evidences of the issuing writs am:wally for new elections, it will be difficult to comprehend thr meaning of Sir William Blackstone's Comment an the ...lid twi) Acts for annual Parliaments. Not that he (the King) is, or ever was, obliged by these statutes to cail a new Parliament every year ; but only to permit a Parliament to sit annually for the redress of grievances and dispatch of basiness,lf need be. These last words' (says he) 'are so loose and vague, that such of our monarchs as were inclined to govern without Parliaments, neglected the convoking them, sometimes for a considerable period, under pretence that there was no need of them,' &c. " But thcsc last words' art not so loose and rai,;t.: PRICE 90. as either to justify his own explanation of the raid statutes, (viz, not to call a new Parliament every year, but only to permit a Parliament to sit,' &c.) er to excuse. in the least degree, the criminal neglects of thane depraved monarchs who were inclined to govern without them ; fur the words, if need be,' cannel, according to the most obvious sense of the Act wherein they are found, he applied to the main purpor.e of the Act. (the helding annual Parliaments), but merely to the remaining part of the sentence, viz. and m.si•f; often ;' that is, and more often, it' need be.' The order, that a Parliament shall be holden every year once,' is absolute, and the discretionary power, expressed in the words ' limed Le,' relates apparently to the cal. ling Parliaments ' more often;' for, it' the said discre tionary words, if need be,' could, with any propriety, be applied to the whole sentence, the Act itself' would have been nue atory ; which could never have Leen the intention of the legislature: but the true meaning and sense of the legislature is very clearly proved by the histories of those times; for it is manifest, nut only that New Representatives were elected every year (with only one exception), fin a considerable number of years after the la .it of the said Acts was made, (which con firms the main purpose of the Acts, viz. the halding annual Parliaments), but is also manifest, that Parila meats were frequently held ' more often' than once a year, which amply confirms also what I have before said, concerning the meaning of the discretionary power, expregcd in tile said Act, by the words ' if need be.' " These very frequent elections (sometimes two, three, and four times in one year), sufficientlytairove that the power, delegated by the people to their repre sentatives, continued no longer in force than during the session of the particular parliament to which they were summoned ; which being once determined,' (ices Prynne. Ist part of Brief Register, &e. of Pail. Writs, p. 334), they presently ceased to be Knights, Citizens, burgesses, Barons, in any stieceeling Parliaments ye Councils, unless newly elected, and returned to serve in them by the King's New Writs, as our Law Books),' referring to 4 Edw. IV. f. 44. Brook, Officer, 23, 34 Hen. VIII. c. 24.) and experience resolve,' &e. And therefore Judge Blackstone's insinuation, against the calling of a new Parliament, has no real founda tion: for, if it was the intention of the Legislature, in tae two Acts above-mentioned, that the King should ever summon any Parliament at all, they must necessa rily be understood to mean a new Parliament on LI occasions ; i. c. not only that the regular Parliaments, which they ordained to be holden every year once,' should be new Parliaments, but also those that should be summoned upon any extraordinary unforeseen occa sions; which is sufficiently expressed in the Ist of the said acts, by the words, and more often if need be.' The meaning of the act is unquestionably proved by the actual issuing of writs, to the Sherifli, for electing knights, citizens, &c. for two, three, and sometim e s four new Parliaments, in one year, as mentioned above. And if any person should object, that such very fre quent Elections must be attended with insuperuble difficulties and inconvenienc es , we may quote the ex perience of all ancient times, as &Winding ample and sufficient proofs to the contrary; there being not above two or three cases of Elections questioned, or complained of, from 49 Hen. 111. till 22 Ed. IV ; (that is, more than 200 yeers,) thr ought that typeei by the retornes or Parliament-rolls, and not so mile!iss ONE double retorne or indenture wherewithal all tie late bundles, or writs, are stored, and the House of Commons, and late Committees of Privileges pesterea, perplexed, to the great retarding of the more weighty public affairs of the King and Ks ti , ; . :l(nn.' Prenue, Brevis furl. Ilediv. p. I'i7. This enormous evil, Ole . retardment of business, by undue returns, will not tl may venture, without the spirit of prophecy, to assert), be remedied by the new regulation lin- that purese. The Commons were never (iu ancient times of freedom) esteemed the proper judges of their own elections, but the King alone, that is, in his limited judicial capacity, by his Justices amid his sworn Juries, in the Ctearts of Common Law. If my countrymen will seriously con sider ail these points, they must be convinced, that the only true method ulhealing the alarming distempers of our political Constitution is to restore to the people their ancient and just right to elect a new Parliament, every year once, and more often, it' sited be.'" The Que-n rides out daily in her garden, and con tilnlCS to 111Cild. 4 1 4. .