The Savannah morning news., 1902-05-23
The Loss of the Great Seal


was a serious affair of state, for with
| out 1t the business of the kingdom
could not be conducted. There Is we'll
known instance of James II throwing
| the Great Seal into the Thames on
the eventful night of Dec. 10, 1888, when
he fled from Westminster on his way
to France. 1t was shortly afterwards
| recovered in the net of a fisherman
| near Lambeth, and the lucky finder
was handsomely rewarded. After the
battle of Worcester in 1851 the Great
Seal of Charles ii was lost; probably
1t was thrown into the Severn; at
any rate it was never seen again.
This did not dislocate the national bus
mess, because some years before the
Long Parliament had ordered a new
Great Seal to/be prepared to take the
place of the one which had been car
ried away by Charles l to Oxford.
The custody of this new seal was en-
trusted to six commissioners. There
was much discussion and considerable
opposition before this vital step was
taken. No precedent was to be found
for making a new Great Seal when
the original seal was within the king
dom and still retaining it's potential
ity. In support of the resolution of
the Commons the learned Prynne wrote
an elaborate treaties of justification,
setting forth reasons why the action
of Parliament was necessary and law
full.
Common Error.
1t Is a common error to imagine that
the seal is never in the custody of the
monarch. No doubt it was properly
meant to be in the custody of a sub
ject for the better protection of the
rights of the subjects, but when the
King went abroad. he not infrequently
took the seal with him. During the
absence of the Great Seal a lesser seal
was made and used, which itself was
always placed in a purse with much
solcmnity and kept under several other
seals, only to be taken out and used
for great matters of state.
Holding the Seal.
The Plantagenet Kings were won't to
hold the Great Seal in their own hands
for days together, much to the dis
satisfaction of the barons. Thus we
read that Edward ii sent the Bishop of
Winchester to the Lord Chancellor.
then in London, commanding the latter
to hand over the seal, whereupon it
was carried by Adam de Osgodby to
the King at Windsor, where Edward
was hunting, and was kept there for
five days. Nor was this the only oc-
casion when Adam de Osgodby carried
TIE OISdI Cedl 10 anu IIOHl Ine hlHB
and the Chancellor for Edward would
often send for il to seal some charter
or gift on the intercession of one of
his favorites. In these days, the seal
goes with the chancellor wherever he
goes, but this is modern growth in
practice. The customs of the holders
of the seal varied greatly
Carefully Safegnarded.
When the Chancellor of Henry III
went to France he surrendered the
Great Seal into the custody of the
keeper of the wardrobe, to be retained
during his absence. 1t was carefully
placed in bag or purse, to which were
affixed three several seals. Whenever
the seal was required each of the three
great officers whose seals were thus
used had to attend on the seals being
broken, and the Great Seal taken out;
then they all carefully resealed the |
purse when the seal had been replaced |
in it, Again, at another period, we
find that if the Lord Chancellor went |
on a journey to a distant part of the |
kingdom he usually entrusted the seal |
during his absence to two clerks of |
the King. Very minute and elaborate |
are the recorded precautions to safe |
guard its existence and sanctity In !
early days, of course, few could sign |
their own names. 1t was the common /
custom of every man to signify his 1
consent to a document by his seal |
alone. and TO this rule the monarch was |
no exception. When he signed in his l
private capacity he had his signet for |
ordinary matters, such as correspond /
ence; other affairs which In some meas
ure touched the public interest were