The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-10-28 00:00:00

REVIVAL OF ALFRRD'S INSTITUTION IN TILE
MANOR OF GLAYTONBURY.

On Wednesday one of the moat extraordinary scenes the inhabi-
tants of the county of Somerset ever beheld took place at Glaston-
bury, where Henry Hunt, Esq., as Lord of the Manor, which
comprehends a district of upward of 100 miles, summoned the
principal farmers to attend him, for the purpose of appointing Jti.
rim, according to the feudal system, and receiving directions upon
the subject to ,hose long-neglected institutions,,shich constitute the
great b 'ant of Brit left antiquity.
At two o'clock the great room of the White Hart Inn, where the
Court was appointed to sit, was crowded by the fainters of the ma.
nor and Minden' of Minton Twelve Hide., to the number of about
2110. %event' gentlemen who wished to witness the form of the os.
remonials observed by the Lords of the Manor, in the Courts [met
of dam long peat, and who knew that the remarkable person 1101 V
exercising she power would not tread in the beaten path, were also
present. The greater interest was excited by the expectation that
Mr. 'Hum intended. from the regard he bears to the population of
his manor, as well as from the abhorrence in which he holds the
practice of the low attorneys with which the county Ovum* to
give notice of the revival of the Court Baron, as established by Al-
fred the Great, to determine injuries, trespasses, debts, and other
actions that are under 40s.
The Bailiff having commanded silence, and put le nomination
twelve men from each hundred or hide of Glaston, and the Lord
having tendered the usual oaths, which required that the juries
should present nothing from malice, our conceal any thing from
fear or sifection, or reward, ate.—
Mr. II u *yr addressed them in the following hernia, having
shown, however, dial he would dispense with those Revere (Assert.
armee upon the part of the assembly which were required in the
days of " Lord and Vassal :"
" Gentlemen.-1 perceive that then is not so large an attend-
ance of jurors as I expected to meet 'loon this occaatnti t bet as I
understand that the fault was my Other's, and not yens, avid the
this, being the day appointed for holding (Veils fair, was a day on
which It was inconvenient foe you to attend. I shall not consider
tits venial diaregsed Moms' to wt siseutemeinin may Win light
than as arising from the necessity of the ease. I regret, indeed, to
find, that the market from which many of you have just come has
turned out so miserably ; but it is one of the inevitable consequences
of the system; and, until that system ends, we must be content to
feel those consequence,' in all their severity. It is necessary !or me
to state to you. that in another year., acting as I do. in the name of
the King, I shall enforce the regulations of this Court in such a
manner as to make them worthy of the great authority of Alfred,
and to ga n for von and me the approbation of all good men. I
shall in future enforce all the fines of this court-leer ; but I shall
exercise no arbitrary control, although my power is fixed upon an
immoveable basis; for you must all he aware, that the authority of
a manorial lord formerly extended so far over his vassals, th it he
could call theni out in armour to fight fur him at a moment's no.
rice." (A laugh.)
Here 'he farmers stared at each other.
Mr. Hirer —The law of Alfred, upon which the inetitutinn of
juries is founded, is a fine instance of the spirit of liberty which eta
toed in rite breast of that King. It was made not to protect the
barons against the vassals, but to protect the weak against the
strong, to make the great respontrible for what was done in the dia.
tricts over which they presided, by the infliction of capital punish.
ment upon the aggressors of the poor and defenceless. I have no
power, as lord of the manor, to inflict any fine or other penalty, ex.
eept I can prove it to be consonant with the law of the land ; and I
lament it—l lenient it, standing here, as I do, the representative of
the King, that the beautiful institutions of courte-leet and courts.
baron htrefallen into disrepute, in consequence of the careless,
slovenly, and often arbitrary manner, in which the duties have, for
• series of yenta. been performed. It is your duty to inquire Into
and present offences from felony down to the most trifling crime.
It is also ainengst your duties to appoint constables, whose prin.
cipal business it will be to collect the county stook, and hand It
I over to the treasurer; and I would have you to be caution. what
men you appoint, for if they run away with the money, the county
must be paid by you. (A laugh.)
Several farmers (evidently in a fright)—Oh, Lord, that's too
bard.
Mr. Rowe-11y nn means. Yon appoint the men yourselves,
and if you do it carelessly, you must take the consequences. If I
were to appoint the constables myself, and such an event an I have
euppnsrd were to take place, then. indeed, it would be a hardship
upon you to charge you with the responsibility ; but the power of
election is yours, no, mine.
A Former—But if we appoint a respectable man, he instantly
refuses to act.
Mr. lILTNT—He can't refuse. Appoint those men whom you
conceive to be most trustworthy, and I shall, acting for the King,
make them act. You have also to appoint tithingmen, an impor-
tant trust, for they have to a certain degree a control over the safety,
nay, the life of society.
A Farmer—ls it the fact, my Lord, that what we do will be cared
about ?
Mr. 111/NT—W/10 i. the person that will dispute it
Another Farmer—Why. one of the constables here thinks nothing
of going Into a rattle-house drunk, at eight or now o'clock at
night, and ordering it to be shut up, and thee he'll turn all the
people out, because he has a pique against the landlord, and strip of
his coat to fight.
Mr. Huey—l have heard of abuses of this kind, and I shall
therefore act more resolutely ; and I trust that you will present
thin and all other cases of such a nature.
A Farmer—Lord bless you, Sir, the corporation laugh at us, and
say titer don't care a fig for us. There is not a man amongst them
that would not strip off his coat to fight, if we disputed his power.
Ale. HUNT —Very well. If ever you see any of them commit a
breach of the peace, put him in the stocks. Look at this regula-
tion. It is here said, there ought to be a pair of stocks kept In
good repair in each tithing ; for it is the tithing-man's prison, and
a thing very useful as the world goes." (Laughter.) If you see
the corporation breaking the peace, cam theta into the stocks upon
my responsibi:ity.
Farmers—We will; we'll do any thing you desire us to do;
hat what will the Mayor and Squire Dickenson (the Recorder)say?
Mr. HUNT—Let them may what they choose; hut if the Mayor
and my friend (Dr. Dickenson) follow the example of the Corpo.
ration, why clap them in the stocks too. (Loud laughter.) It is
also in your power, in case of necessity, to try before the Lord
Steward any offences short of felony, and that without the presence
of a single shark. You need not have any of the gentlemen of the
law to main or humbug you. (A laugh.) It is my intention to
revive the Court of Baron in the King's name, a Court in which
all actions and !WWI under 40s. shall be decided. From the re-
vival of this Court, I expect the greatest benefit to the county.
You all know that costs linen been charged in a 3.45. case, to the
amount of 701. or 801. by those gentlemen of the law.
The Fat men—We do indeed. We have seen enough of that
sort of misery.
Mr. Hirst —When I was in Ilchester gaol, for saying and do-
ing what is at this day said and done by every body, 'ay, in ten
times a stronger manner, I found that four-fifths of the debtors
were imprisoned by theirattnrnies. I asked one what brought him
there, and he said, " Why, I was defendant in a case where four
or five shillings were demanded of me unjustly. I defended It, and
succeeded, but my attorney sent me in a bill which I was unable to
discharge, and he then sent me here." (A laugh.) In another
case a fellow-prieoner accounted to me for hie retirement, by saying,
" Why, I was plaintiff (loud laughter) in a case in which I was
entitled to Ms. or 375. To be sure I gained my suit ; but then my
attorney brought me in a charge for fifty times the amount of the
verdict, and, as I was not able to pay the demand, he locked me
up here." So much for the establishment of the County Courts,
where, the moment you enter, you have a devil at each aide of
you. How the devil, then, can you expect to escape? (A laugh,
and cries of " Never, never.") It is infinitely better to go before
the Judges, expensive as that sort of proceeding is, than to appeal
to such Courts. It is therefore my determination, under good ad.
vice, to appoint the revival of the Court of Baron, the summonses
to attend which will cost but Id. and all the expenses attending
which will not amount, under any circumstances, to more than 4s.
or Os. at the utmost ; anti I think that this manor will be more
benefitted by the revival than it has been benefitted by any thing
that has befallen it within the memory of man.
A Farmer here expressed his astonishment at the assurance that
the power of the Corporation was not sufficient to overwhelm Juries,
and Constables, and all, and he asked whether the Corporation
could not make laws strong enough to render those of Alfred un.
available?
Mr. OLIVER HAYWARD, who, it will be recollected, seconded
the nomiuntioe of Mr. Hunt at Bridgewater, and had a sharp bout
M llchester with Sir Thomas Lethbridge, said that the question of
Ilse Juryman was certainly a very natural one. The Corporation,
be believed, thought they were omnipotent, and he thought that
they were supported in that opinion by those who presided at the
Quarter Sessions. " Why 1 (said he) was present when it was de-
cided that a woman ought to be compelled to serve as constable."—
(A laugh.)
Mr. II usrv.—Very well ; it was quite natural for the Quarter
Sessions to decide upon that point. How would you haves set of
old women decide, in the name of God ?—(Loud laughter.) Now,
Gentlemen, there cannot be a more beautiful system of law than
that under which you are now acting. There is here a perfect se-
curity to the life of the subject. It is here said, " You are also to
inquire of bloodshed.. If any persons within the precincts of this
legit bath wilfully or maliciously drawn blood from the person of
another, it is here punishable." You see how careful this most ad.
mirable of Kings was of his subjects. This authority still exists in
the institution of his appointment, and yet it is so neglected, that a
ruffian is allowed to go mto a public-house, to turn every one out,
and to strip and provoke peaceable persons to fight. lam unable,
so judiciously limited is the authority of the Lord of the Manor,
although the offspring of feudal days, to punish a fellow of this de.
acriptiun without your concurrence.
Several Farmers.—The fellows do what thgaireleaste They
punish every one they dislike, and pass by that are in
their favour.
Air. Hurry—l hope that you wM not cheese any such warlike
officer from amongst you, and 1 trust that this time twdvemonth
I shall see you all here, after hiving loyally performed your
duties.
An old Farmer.—Ay_,
.weW.llwoeerfloovrole
youourbedtutettresthasloYanweyjoby)sy:y.
but to nobody elle, my LO
one else.
Mr. NTs-14'a all IMICrIse to talk about loyalty to me. I
lon mean to me, because I am representative of the King
suppose 7 alk of loyalty either tome or tea Klieg
Isere ; but it is nonsense
for Whan I maytotalloy man is • man who Mends up to
MICKI lags • by doing so, he of course supports good Kings,
epubuyPti:nhil:
0"--obbugetligaLaionielossuuppppoorr:atoody
sort
tdollta doss not IletwngocessaiwayUlappolko.