The literary remains of John Stockdale Hardy

J. Tifltcheii. deljazi .

j.Jnwn. tcjesc.

lubluhedty J-ENwhoU * Son.iflSi

THE

LITERARY REMAINS

OF

JOHN STOOKDALE HARDY,

FELLOW OF THE SOCIETY OP ANTIQUARIES,

SOMETIME REGISTRAR OF THE ARCHDEACONRY COURTS OF LEICESTER.

EDITED, IN PURSUANCE OF HIS WILL,

JOHN GOUGH NICHOLS, F.S.A.

WESTMINSTER : JOHN BOWYER NICHOLS AND SON.

1852.

Ha

In the Will of John Stockdale Hardy, Esquire, dated
^4th May, 1847, is contained as follows : —

" I give and bequeath all my Literary Memoranda and Manu-
scripts to my friend John Gough Nichols, of Parliament Street,
in the City of Westminster, Esquire, with a request that he will
look them over and publish such of them as he thinks proper to
be collected, together with the pamphlets I have already published,
and collect them and the said pamphlets into a volume, such
volume to be entitled, * The Remains of John Stockdale Hardy,
F.S. A. sometime Registrar of the Archdeaconry Courts of Leices-
ter.' Of this publication I of course wish him to act as the Editor.
I particularly wish the said John Gough Nichols to attend my
funeral. And I give and bequeath to him the sum of 56150 to
defray the expense of the above-mentioned publication, and the
sum of 36200 as a personal legacy and a mark of my esteem for
him. I wish such of the articles which I communicated to the
* Gentleman's Magazine ' as he may deem fitting to be reprinted in
the aforesaid volume. I began to correspond in that publication
in the year 1809, and the first article I wrote appeared in the
Magazine for the month of August in that year."

A^>^

CONTENTS.

Introductory Memoir ...... viii

Essays relative to Ecclesiastical Law :

Letter to a Country Surrogate, containing a Summary of the

Laws relating to Marriage Licences, and Suggestions, &c. . 3

Letter to the Earl of Eldon, on the Marriage Act Amendment

Bill, 1822 ....... 24

Letter to Lord Stowell, on the Marriage Act Amendment Bill, 1823 47*
On the Proposed Removal of Diocesan Registries, 1834 . . 47

Observations on the Ecclesiastical Courts Consolidation Bill, 1836 58*
Observations on the Jurisdictions of the Vicars General, Officials
Principal, and Commissaries of Bishops, and upon those of
Archdeacons and their Officials . . . .58

Memoir on the Offices of Commissary and Official of the Arch-
deaconry of Leicester . . . . . .79

Historical Account of the Proctors of the Court of the Arch-
deaconry of Leicester . . . ' . .87

Essays and Speeches on Political Questions and Public Business :

On the Law of Libel, 1811 . . . . .107

A series of Letters addressed to a Friend upon the Roman Catholic

Question. By Britannicus. 1820 . . . .112

Letter on the Roman Catholic Marriage Bill, 1823 . .186

Speech and Petition against the Roman ^atholic Claims, 1825 . 189

1828 . 196

Essays on the Poor Laws, and the Framework-Knitters' Relief

Society. 1819 or 1820 . . . . .204

Speech on Mr. Scarlett's Poor Laws Bill, 1821 . . .214

Letter on Home Distress and on Slavery, 1826 . . .218

Letter on proposed alteration of the Poor Laws, 1834 . . 220

Letter on the Poor Laws Amendment Bill, 1849 . . . 223

VI CONTENTS.

f^ATS AND Speeches, &c. — contintied.

Speech on the plan for Watching and Lighting the town of Leicester
in 1822 . . . . . . ,233

Reports relative to the Erection of St George's Church, Leicester 237
Exposition of the motto, Libebty, Equality, Fbatebnity . 243

Biographical Essays :

Character of the Very Rev. R. B. Nickolls, LL.B. Dean of Middle-
ham, and Rector of Stoney Stanton, Leicestershire . . 255
Memoir of the Ven. Thomas Parkinson, D.D., F.R.S. Archdeacon
of Leicester ....... 268

Literary and Miscellaneous Essays:

On the Authorship of " The Beggar's Petition " . . . 283

On the Publication of Banns . . . . .293

On the Want of Parochial Chapels .... 295

On a plan for Improving the Condition of the Clergy . . 298

On the Commutation of Tithes . . . . .302

On the Marriage of Cousins ..... 306

On the legality of the Remarriage of a [Man or] Woman when

deserted for seven years . . . . .313

On the Residence of the Clergy . . . . .314

Defence of the Law as to making Wills .... 325

On the Curfew Bell . . . . . .329

On the Personification of Death ..... 332

On a Roman Pavement * found at Leicester in 1831 . . 342

Letter on Ashby de la Zouche ..... 346

An Attempt to appropriate a Monument in the Trinity Hospital at

Leicester to Mary de Bohun, Countess of Derby . . 352

Norman Piscina and Sedilia in St. Mary's Church, Leicester . 887

Statement relative to the Newarke at Leicester . . . 394

The Blue Boar Inn, Leicester . . . . .896

King Richard's Bedstead. By the Editor . . .403

Rothley and the Knights Templars .... 417

On Ancient Inventories ...... 456

Appeal for the Antiquities of Leicester, 1840 . . . 469

Letter of Dame Dorothy Hastings, of Braunston, a Recusant, in

the year 1619 .* . . . .476

♦ The Editor's note in p. 345 seems to require some apology after the com-
plete account of the various Roman Pavements found in Leicester which has
lately been compiled by Mr. James Thompson, and published in the Leicester
Chronicle. Of the more recent discoveries made in 1851 an account will be
found in the noiitlenian's Mngazinc for January, 1852, p. 77.

' CONTENTS. Vll

POEIRY :

Lines written on the Death of the Princess Charlotte of Wales, 1817 481
Epitaph on an Infant . . . . . .482

Lines addressed to an Inconstant . . " . . 482

Song for Mr. Pitt's Birth-Day . . . . . 483 .

Friendship . . . . . . .484

Lines addressed to Colonel and Mrs. H , on being restored to

each other after a long and painful separation . . .485

Lines on the Death of the Duke of York, 1827 . . . 486

Distinction and Life ...... 487

LIST OF PLATES.

Portrait of Mr. Stockdale Hardy . . . To face the Title.

Gateway of the Newarke .... Vignette at p. xxiii

Monument in the Trinity Hospital Chapel .... 369
Norman Piscina and Sedilia in St. Mary's Church, Leicester . . 389

The Blue Boar Inn, Leicester ..... 396

The Pillar or Cross at Rothley . . . . .440

INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR.

The official position which afforded Mr. Stockdale Hardy
the leisure and the information to produce the miscella-
neous writings contained in the present volume, descended
three times from uncle to nephew.

The first of these officers was Mr. James Stockdale, a
native of Cumberland. He was the rlerk of Thomas
Bennett, notary pubhc, of Nottingham, who was in 1726
appointed junior proctor in the Archdeaconry Court of
Leicester ; and he succeeded Mr. Bennett in that position
in 1730. He became the sole proctor of the court in
1731, and was appointed its deputy registrar in 17-15,
at which time he came to reside in Leicester. He con-
tinued in office until his death, in 17^7; and was then
succeeded by his nephew John Stockdale.* This gentle-

* " The trials my dearest uncle John went through were great — not of his
own seeking, but necessarily attendant on his kindness to his relatives. Having
had the privilege, when a youth, to profit by that kindness, and his good
example, I can well remember his benevolent features, his manly bearing, and
his virtuous conduct." — Written by J. S. H. in 1886.

The Editor adds another testimony, from the pen of his grandfather :

" At the moment of concluding this page [p. 1126, and last of We«t Qo«-
cote Hundred], I have to regret the loss of another of my very kind assistants
in the progress of this extensive undertaking, Mr. John Stockdale, proctor,
and nearly 40 years deputy register of the Archdeaconry Court of Leicester,
who died April 7, 1804; whose inflexible integrity, correct judgment, liberal
Hontiments, exact punctuality, and peculiar suavity of manners, rendered him
an ornament of society through life, and his death a public Iohs. It was his
greatest pleasure to do good to others ; and to the poor, in particular, he was a
steady and lil)cral friend." — History of Leicestershire, vol. iii. p. 1126.

before the HiHtory wuh tinishod, in 1811, Mr. Stockdale Hardy himself had
the gratification of assisting Mr. Nichols in several of his pedigrees.

INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR. IX

man resigned the office of deputy-registrar to his nephew,
William Harrison, who was the uncle of the subject of
the present memoir.*

Mr. Hardy's paternal ancestors were respectable free-
holders, long resident at Gaddesby, in the county of
Leicester; his father was Mr. William Hardy, a manu-
facturer in the town of Leicester, where John Stockdale
Hardy was born, on the 7th of October, 1793. His great-
uncle, John Stockdale, was his godfather, and gave him
his name. His father having met with commercial mis-
fortunes, his own prospects were not encouraging, until
he was adopted by his uncle, Mr. Harrison.

His school education was of limited extent, having been
entirely received before the age of fourteen at a day-
school in Leicester kept by Mr. Peter Marsh .f This
was at that time the best and only large school in the
town, the Grammar School being unfortunately out of
repute and not in due operation. It was situated at the
southern end of Millstone Lane, next door to the Wes-
leyan Chapel; and numbered from sixty to eighty boys,
who were taught reading, writing, arithmetic, &c. and the
rudiments of Latin. Few progressed far in the last, and
John Stockdale Hardy formed almost a class by himself.
He was a lad of quick and lively talents, and a favourite
both in and out of school of Mr. Marsh. But his studies

* See Mr. Stockdale Hardy's own statement of the succession of these
officers in pp. 95-102 of the present volume.

t Mr. Marsh was brought up in the Church of Rome, educated at St. Omer
or Douay, and entered the priesthood. He was dissatisfied and disgusted with
the lives of the priests, and seceded. Having come to Leicester, where he at
first lived incog, to his relations, he opened a school, by which he acquired,
after many years, a sufficiency, and then returned to Lancashire, where he
spent the remainder of his days. He lived in St. Mary's parish in Leicester,
was a constant attendant at Church, and a personal friend of the V icar, the
Rev. Thomas Robinson. He was a clever, though not a learned, man, and
very much respected by every one.

X INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR.

were prematurely interrupted* by the prospect opened
to him of entering his uncle's office. He went to reside
entirely with Mr. Harrison on the 23rd of July, 1807 >
and on the 2Gth of November following (that being his
uncle's wedding-day) his indenture was executed. From
that period he returned no more to his paternal roof : yet
he never failed in attention to his parents, both of whom
lived to an advanced age, and resided near hira.t After
entering on his clerkship, he continued to take occasional
lessons from masters, but the acquirements which he made
in literature were chiefly the result of voluntary study and
spontaneous mental culture, aided only by his natural
talents.

Shortly before the commencement of young Hardy's
pupilage a general election occurred, and produced a con-
test for the town of Leicester, which endured during a poll
of six days. This initiated him in politics, in which he
ever after entertained an ardent interest, though in poli-
tical as in other discussions he may sometimes have taken
part rather from a love of argument, and of personal dis-
tinction as an orator or a writer, than from very zealous
sentiments as a partisan. He prided himself on maintain-
ing a courteous demeanour towards his opponents, and was
in most cases more solicitous to be regarded as a skilful
and graceful combatant, than to accomplish very impor-
tant results. Whatever may have been the force or
depth of his religious and political convictions, they were
ever tempered by his caution as a lawyer, and by his

* In his Diary for 1807 is this entry, "June 18. Went to BirsUll. I
finished my education." One week earlier he had " first copied on parch-
ment."

f His father died in Friar Lane, Leicester, on the 23rd of March, 1839, in
his 74th year. His mother died on the 31st August following, in her 77tli
year. His aunt, Mrs. Harrison, lived till the year 1848, when she died, also
in Friar Lane, aged 82.

INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR. Xl

absolute deference to constituted authorities in Church
and State.

Some of Mr. Hardy's first attempts in literary com-
position were poetical, and during the greater part of his
life he continued occasionally to woo the muse. His
earlier productions in verse consisted chiefly of enigmas,
charades, and similar contributions to the Lady^s Diary,
&c, ; and from the whole of his occasional poems the
Editor has merely selected a few which it may be supposed
were valued by their Author, as he had himself in most
cases obtained more than one vehicle for their publication.
These are placed at the close of the present volume.

His earliest prose composition was " An Essay upon
the Obligations which Parents and Children owe to the
Dispensers of Education/^ This he transcribed several
times, and already was anxious to see himself in print :
but this wish was not gratified at the time, and, as there is
no merit in the piece beyond that of a passably good schoOl-
exercise, the Editor has not included it in this selection.

Shortly after, young Hardy engaged in a newspaper
controversy in the Leicester Journal with the Reverend
Jerome Dyke, Rector of Burbach, near Hinckley, on the
matter of the Duke of York and Colonel Wardle. He
assumed on this occasion the signature of Attalus, and
was much gratified by his opponent reprinting the corre-
spondence in a small pamphlet.

From that time Mr. Hardy was ready to exercise his
pen on almost any subject of political controversy ; and
was a frequent writer in the Leicester papers and the
metropolitan Sun, under the signatures Coriander, Bri-
tannicus, and others.

He commenced a correspondence with the Universal
Magazine in July 1807, and continued it until May 1809.
The Editor has consulted those volumes, but has not
found the articles to be of any present interest. In August

XU INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR.

1809 (p. 726), Mr. Hardy made his first coramunication
to the Gentleman's Magazine ; and, from his numerous
articles subsequently inserted in that miscellany, all the
more important are now reprinted, in compliance with their
author's desire.

In the general arrangement of the contents of this
selection, the Editor has judged it proper to give the fore-
most place to such of the Author's writings as are more
immediately connected with his professional pursuits. It
is not asserting too much to say that Mr. Hardy had
deeply studied the principles and science of his profession,
and that there were few men in the country of more
sound and accomplished erudition in that department of
jurisprudence. A few shorter articles of the same com-
plexion will be found among his literary and miscellaneous
papers.

The second division of this volume consists of a selection
of Mr. Stockdale Hardy's Essays and Speeches on politi-
cal questions and public business. The first of these, an
Essay on the Law of Libel, which was originally published
in the Leicester Joxirnal in 1811, the Editor has found (since
the sheet was printed) at somewhat greater length in the
Gentleman's Magazine for May 1812, but in substance
the same as now reprinted. The series of Letters on the
Roman Catholic Question first appeared in the Sun news-
paper, and afterwards as a pamphlet in 1820; at the close
of which, besides his Character of Dean Nickolls, and his
Letter to a Country Surrogate, Mr. Hardy also advertised,

" 3. A Letter to the Right Hon. the Earl of Liverpool, upon
the Motion of Earl Grey for a Repeal of the Declaration against
Transubstantiation . — 1 ,?.

" 4. Thoughts on Dr. Phillimore's Proposed Alterations in the
Marriage Act. — 1*."

The Editor, after inquiring in various quarters for such
pamphlets, has arrived at the conclusion that Mr. Hardy

INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR. XUl

never actually produced them. Of the former of the two
he has discovered no trace. The substance of the latter
appears to have been worked up into a " Letter to Lord
Eldon " on the same subject^ published in 1822, and
printed at p. 24 of the present volume.

With respect to the Letters on the Poor Laws, and on
the Society established at Leicester (in or about the year
1818) for the relief of the Framework Knitters, it may be
remarked, that Mr. Hardy was not contented with endea-
vouring to benefit the operative workmen of his town and
neighbourhood by the efforts of his pen. He liberally
contributed from his purse to the assistance of the poor
stockingers in the too frequently recurring periods of slack-
ness of work ; and they testified their gratitude to his long-
continued patronage by following his body to the grave in
considerable numbers.

Having acquired the character of a Protestant champion
by the letters of " Britannicus,'^ Mr. Stockdale Hardy was
regarded as one well qualified to take a prominent part in
his county in resistance to the Roman Catholic claims.*
He willingly accepted the task of drawing up petitions to
the legislature on this subject; and in 1828 his efforts
were encouraged by two very gratifying letters which he
received from Lord Kenyon and Earl Howe : —

Lord Kenyon to Mr. Stockdale Hardy.
Dear Sir, Portman Square^ Nov. 11, 1828.

I am glad to hear that the County of Leicester is inclined to
stir in support of the Protestant Cause. In Earl Howe I have
perfect reliance ; but 1 hope the thing will be done in a high style
in that county. Both Members being sound, gives the cause a
great advantage. I cannot but hope that the Duke of Wellington
is sound, and I have no fear but Peel is so. Both of them, I

* The Pitt Club for the county of Leicester was formed in 1814. With his
characteristic deliberation, Mr, Hardy did not join it until 1818.

XIV INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR.

feel persuaded, would feel advantage and support in Protestant
Declarations from respectable and large bodies of men.

Dr. Philpotts has never published any notes on the royal cor-
respondence with Mr. Pitt, other than that contained in his pam-
phlet the beginning of this year.* That is a most able work, on
the Constitution Oath especially. Mr. Pitt, as appears in the
royal correspondence and by his speeches in the House of Com-
mons, always declared securities, and among them controul over
the Roman Catholic Church, should accompany concessions. He
further declared there should be first exhibited a general (not
universal) willingness among Protestants to concede, and positively
denied that anything like a pledge was ever given to the Irish
House of Commons. See his Speech 1805, which I heard.

Any Petition touching on securities should require a nomi-
nation of the Roman Catholic Bishops to the Crown, and a
rescinding of the dethroning by other decrees. Not that any
security can ever be of use except exclusion.

Believe me, dear Sir, your obliged and faithful,

Kenyon.

The Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Aberdeen are very
intimate. The Archbishop was Tutor in Lord Abercorn's family.

./. S. Hardyt Esq. Leicester.

Earl Howe to Mr. Stockdale Hardy.

Dear Sir, Gopsall, November 14, 1828.

Far from your requiring any pardon for the letter you was
kind enough to send me the other day, I must beg you to accept
my best thanks for it. With every word in it I most cordially
agree ; and although, if certain difficulties were removed (which
I fear are insurmountable) I might be rather inclined myself to
take the feelings of our County in an open public meeting, yet as
it is, I humbly imagine it will be the duty of the Pitt Club in the
present case to put forth such a declaration as may be adopted by

* Lord Konyon stated tluB irt annwor to a queAtion put to him by Mr.
Hardy.

INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR. XV

the county in general, and form the basis of a strong but respectful

petition to Parliament. To you we look for aid in arranging the

business, as to one of our most zealous and active friends ; and I

have no doubt of finding something prepared on the 20th, which

will satisfy the anxious expectations of the Protestant population

of our County.

I am, very faithfully yours.

Howe.
J. Stockdale Hardy, Esq.

In 1818 and for some subsequent years Mr. Stockdale
Hardy was actively engaged in promoting the erection of
a new church in Leicester. After the lapse of another
quarter of a century, during which so many additional
edifices* have been supplied to the requirements of the
Established Church — though even yet they may come far
short of the actual necessities of the population — it has
become almost difficult to realise how arduous a task this
was, and how great were the obstacles in the way of early
efforts of the kind. At first, all that the friends of the
Church in Leicester proposed to effect was the erection of
a " Chapel of Ease ^^ (as was then the customary term)
in the large parish of St. Margaret, in accordance with
the provisions of an act of parliament recently passed for
the encouragement of such undertakings.! The Dissenters
had various objections to urge, which were advanced in
letters addressed to the newspapers, chiefly running on
the arguments that the existing churches were not really
filled, that another was consequently not required, and

* Two other new churches have since been erected in Leicester: viz.
Trinity, which was built and endowed entirely by Thomas Frewen, Esq., and
Christchurch, under the auspices of the Church Building Society. Another is
at the present time in progress for the district of St. George, the population
of which has now increased to 15,000.

t One of Mr. Hardy's earliest communications to the Gentleman's Magazine
was a letter written in August, 1810, " On the want of Parochial Chapels,"
which will be found reprinted at p. 294.

XVI INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR.

that the parishioners would be heavily taxed for the
advantage of "a few interested individuals/* On one
occasion a writer asserts that " the Secretary (Mr.
Hardy) and others interested in its erection, were much
alarmed by the publication of a handbill, which stated
some facts they were not then prepared to contradict, and
called upon the parishioners to defend themselves against
any further addition to their burdens." This was in the
year 1819. In June 1820 the site was finally determined
upon ;* but still the progress of the work was slow.f The
site was purchased by voluntary contributions, and the
expense of erecting the church defrayed by the Commis-
sioners for building Additional Churches in populous
places. The first stone was laid by Earl Howe on the
29th August, 1823 ; and the church was consecrated by
the Lord Bishop of Lincoln on the 2 1st August, 1827.

During the conduct of this business Mr. Stockdale
Hardy acted as Honorary Secretary of the District Board
of the Archdeaconry of Leicester, and as one of the Local
Committee for the erection of the church. At a meeting
of the District Board held on the 19th October, 1826,
its cordial and sincere thanks were voted to him " for the
able, zealous, and efficient services which he has uniformly
afforded in furtherance of the erection of the new church."

Mr. Hardy was afterwards General Secretary to the
Church Building Society for the county of Leicester. At
the second anniversary of the Clergy Orphan Society for
the Archdeaconry and County of Leicester he was ap-
pointed one of the Trustees of the invested fund of that
charity, and also one of its Auditors.

He acted for ten years as one of the Auditors of the
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and of the

* See the Report describing it, in p. 237.

t See Mr. Hardy's second Report, dated 18th January, 1821, in p. 289.

INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR. XVII

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign
Parts, in the county of Leicester.

At an early stage of the Leicester Literary and Philo-
sophical Society he was elected one of its Vice-Presidents.
.He frequently took part in its public discussions; and he
prepared for one of its meetings the memoir on Rothley,
which is printed in the present volume.

He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries
of London on the iSth of April, 1826*.

Of Mr. Hardy^s historical and antiquarian essays it
may be said that they constitute that portion of the present
volume which will be most interesting to ordinary readers,
and especially to those of the town and county of Leicester.

Two of these — his disquisition on the Monument in the
Chapel of Trinity Hospital, and his memoir on Rothley *
and the Knights Templars, were the result of much con-
sideration and persevering research. That he proved his
point in the former subject cannot be conceded. Whilst
there is nothing about the style of the lady's effigy or
tomb absolutely to negative that appropriation to the
Countess of Derby, which it was the object of Mr.
Hardy^s argument to establish, except its modest and
unpretending character, there is also no intrinsic evidence
to support it. Both tomb and effigy are altogether too
humble in style for the daughter-in-law of the magnificent
John of Ghent, the second person in the kingdom, whose
own stately tomb was once the most prominent object in

* The Editor has with much pleasure found the following acknowledgment
of the assistance Mr. Hardy received from Mr. Colin C. Macaulay, on a slip of
paper introduced into the copy of this memoir which he read at the Literary
Institution : — " I should account myself guilty of great ingratitude were I not,
with sincere thanks, to acknowledge the kindness of my friend Mr. Macaulay,
the present Steward of the Manor of Rothley, in revising the statement I had
drawn up respecting the privileges and proceedings of the Manorial Court,
&c. and in favouring me with some valuable additional particulars and docu-
ments."

b

XVlll INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR.

St. Paul's Cathedral ; or for the mother of our royal hero,
Henry the Fifth — especially as we now know (which
Mr. Hardy did not) that it was King Harry himself who
erected his mother^s tomb.*

Mr. Stockdale Hardy^s second distinct publication was
his Character of the Very Rev. R. B. Nickolls, Dean of
Middleham, and Rector of Stoney Stanton, in Leicester-
shire, which had been originally printed in the obituary
of the Gentleman's Magazine.

The Editor has met with only one other essay by Mr.
Hardy of a biographical nature, that of Archdeacon
Parkinson, which is placed after the Character of Dean
Nickolls, in the following pages.

Mr. Stockdale became the junior proctor of the Arch-
deaconry Court of Leicester on the 20th December, 1814;
his uncle, Mr. Harrison, having then succeeded as senior
proctor, on the resignation of Mr. Mott, of Lichfield.f
Mr. Harrison died on the 19th November, 1826, and Mr.
Hardy then succeeded as senior proctor of the court, and
as Registrar of the same ; as well as in his uncle's offices
of Deputy Registrar of the Court of the Commissary of
the Bishop of Lincoln, and Registrar of the Court of the
Peculiar and Exempt Jurisdiction of the Manor and Soke

* The Rev. J. Endell Tyler, in his Memoirs of Henry the Fifth, 8vo. 1888,
has recovered an entry relative to the monument of the Countess of Derby.
On the 20th May, 1413, money was paid " in advance to William Goodyere
for newly devising and making an image in likeness of the mother of the
present lord the king, ornamented with diverse arms of the kings of England,
placed over the tomb of the said king's mother, within the King's College
at Leicester, where she ia buried and entombed." (Pell Records,) The
Countess of Derby's monument in the Newarke Chapel would rather have
resembled that of King Henry IV. at Canterbury, or the once magnificent
group formed by the monuments of Catharine (Swinford) Duchess of Lancas-
ter, Joan Countess of Westmerland, and the families of Cantilupe and Burgh-
ersh, in the Minster at Lincoln,
t See his statement in p. 102.

INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR. XIX

of Rothley.* He also held the less important offices of
Registrar of the- Court of the Pecuhar of Evington, and
of the Prebendal Court of St. Margaret's in Leicester, in
both which he succeeded Beaumont Burnaby, esq. in 1839.
In the same year, in consequence of the severance of the
archdeaconry of Leicester from the see of Lincoln, his
connection with that diocese ceased,t and he became de-
pendent on the see of Peterborough.

On the 26th April, 1827, Mr. Stockdale Hardy married
Miss Eliza Leach, youngest daughter of- the late Mr.
Thomas Leach, and sister to Mr. Thomas I^each, then of
the Newarke in Leicester. This lady was three years his
senior, and had no children. She died on the 2nd July,
1838, aged 48.

The deep rehgious sentiments of Mrs. Hardy had con-
siderable influence on her husband^s character. He re-
signed for her society many of the public and convivial
engagements in which he had previously taken delight :
and warmly sympathised with her in the obligations of the
Christian life. During the years 1835 to 1837 be com-
posed prayers in commemoration of various anniversaries

* In 1835 he expressed his thankfulness that his professional success had far
exceeded his original expectations — " at first only hoping for my admission as a
proctor, and never expecting to hold even that office vi^ithout a competitor. I
never dreamed of any office beyond the deputy registrarship, and never
expected that, except as to one of the courts. What have I been allowed to
become? Registrar of one court, Deputy Registrar of another, and sole un-
molested Proctor of both ; thus enabling me, before all the offices are swept
away, to save a fortune, and retire from active life if I choose."

t On the morning of the 1st July, ] 839, previously to leaving the house of
Dr. Fancoiirt and taking his farewell of Leicester, Bishop Kaye addressed the
following note to Mr. Hardy : —

*• My dear Sir, — I send you my reply to the Address of the Clergy. Let
me at the same time express my sincere regret at the termination of my official
intercourse with you, and my best wishes for your health and happiness.

" The Newarhe, " Yours very truly,

Monday Morning. "J.Lincoln."

XX' INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR.

in the lives of himself and his predecessors, copies of
which remain in one of his manuscript volumes : in the
order of their composition, their occasions were as here
enumerated : —

My uncle Harrison's death, 1826.
My indenture executed as clerk to uncle Wil-
liam Harrison, 1807.
Aunt's birthday.

Great-uncle John's admission, 1 763.
Went to live at uncle Harrison's 1807.
My admission as Registrar, 1825.
My admission as Proctor, 1814
Great-great-uncle James's death, 1767.

admission, 1730.

Great-uncle John Stockdale's death, 1804.
My marriage to dear Elfza, 1827.
Uncle William Harrison's admission, 1786.
My birthday.
1839. July 2. Dear Ehza's death, 1838.

On the recurrence of these anniversaries it was Mr.
Hardy's custom to visit the scenes once frequented by the
party he commemorated, or his place of burial, and then
retiring into his closet to repeat the prayer he had com-
posed for the occasion. The Editor has had some hesi-
tation in determining to what extent he should reveal
these secret outpourings of Mr. Hardy's devotional hours.
He thinks it right, however, that some notice should be
taken of this remarkable trait in his character, and the
following example of tliese compositions has been selected
for publication ;—

A Prayer for the \^th November.
My Uncle Harrison's death.

Oh Lord ! on the solemn occasion of the anniversary of uiy
dear uncle Harrison's death, may the recollection of his glorious
life and quiet latter end stimulate me to pray for thy Holy Spirit

1833.

Nov. 19.

26.

1836.

April 11.

May 12.

July 23.

Oct. 28.

Dec. 20.

1837.

Jan. 6.

Feb. 25.

April 7.

26.

Oct. 5.

7.

INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR. XXI

to follow his bright example : Oh ! may I never be allowed to
forget or set at nought his solemn conversations and advice re-
peatedly given me. What repeated, prolonged, and numberless
mercies have I received from thee, thou Creator of all things !
How forbearing and considerate hast thou been to me, and how
ungrateful has been my conduct towards thee ! Oh ! for the
future, dispose and incline me to study thy Holy Word and to at-
tend to the things which belong to my everlasting peace, before
they are hidden from my eyes ! What repeated warnings have I
experienced, and yet despite them have I continued in a very
unsatisfactory course. Lord, I believe ; help thou my unbelief !
Impressed as thou knowest I am with the leading doctrines of
the everlasting Gospel, oh ! further and hasten the growth of
grace within me, that in thine own way and good time I may be
led into the path of everlasting peace, and never more deviate
therefrom. Oh ! my God, bless and protect my wife, aunt, and
parents ; may they be long preserved to me, and may I be, to com-
fort them. In directing my dear uncle Harrison to such a choice
how didst thou mercifully minister to my happiness and prospects
in life ; let my return be to minister to her comfort in her declining
years. And oh ! may we all meet in that blessed region where sin
and sorrow will be heard of no more, but all will be love, peace,

eternal praise and joy.

J. S. H.

Mr. Stockdale Hardy was of a warm-hearted and af-
fectionate disposition. An only son^ and himself unblessed
with children, he displayed this temper in a wider circle
than ordinary men — to his distant relations, to his ser-
vants and dependants, and even to his domestic animals.
He was devotedly attached to his parents, to his uncle and
aunt, and, during the short time of his married life, he
regarded his wife with the fondest and most partial esti-
mation. He was a frank and cordial friend among his
equals, and a charitable benefactor to his poorer neigh-
bours. His conversational powers were considerable, and
he had the somewhat rare tact of adapting them to familiar

XXll INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR.

intercourse with persons of every rank in life. His cheer-
ful and social manners, his inexhaustible fund of anecdote,
and his shrewd observation of passing events, made him
generally acceptable in society as an agreeable and enter-
taining companion.

Mr. Stockdale Hardy resided for many years in the
outskirts of Leicester, at a house in the London Road,
situate nearly two miles from his office in Friar Lane.
At length, in the year 1845, he became possessed of a
mansion in the Newarke, a situation whose ancient busy
recollections, and present peaceful repose, like that of a
cathedral close, had always offered a peculiar charm to
one accustomed to dwell on the traditions of the past.*
The old Register Office for Wills and other Ecclesiastical
Archives is contiguous to the south or lesser gateway of
the Newarke ; this being the entrance that communicated
with the ancient Castle, whilst the western or principal
gatehouse led to the town. From early associations, as
well as antiquarian taste, Mr. Hardy was induced to
sustain the structure of this ancient gateway at his own
expense ;t and he thus preserved to Leicester one of the
few existing memorials of its former state.

In his new residence, where he had this venerable relic
immediately in prospect, Mr. Stockdale Hardy breathed
his last on the 19th of July, J 8 19.

His body was consigned to its last resting-place in the
chancel of Saint Mary in Castro, on the 2 1th of the same
month. The pEiU was borne by the Venerable Thomas
Kaye Bonney, M.A. Archdeacon of Leicester, the Rev. R.
Burnaby, M.A. Perpetual Curate of St. George's, Leicester,

* See Mr. Hardy's rofloctions on this subject in p. 358, and again, more
fully, in p. 394.

f Part of it had been removed as dangerous, as mentioned in the note at
p. 869. It is now little more than an arch. Its former state is represented in

the opposite page.

NTRODUCTORY MEMOIR.

XXlll

the Rev. J. Davies, Roger Miles, Esq., T. Cradock, Esq.
of Loughborough, and W. Latham, Esq. of Melton.

Mr. Hardy left a consideral^le amount of real and per-
sonal property, which he distributed by his will among
his numerous collateral relations. His library was be-
queathed to Mr. Joshua Harrison Stallard. His executors
were Joseph Johnson, Esq. and Halford Adcock, Esq.

The Portrait which is prefixed to this volume is en-
graved from a miniature taken by Mr. J. T. Mitchell in
the year 1821, and which was exhibited at the Exhibition
of the Royal Academy in the following year. ,

In the Church of St. Mary de Cantro, Leicester.

Adjacent

to this Memorial

are interred

the remains of

Elizabeth

the Wife of

John Stockdale Hardy.

She was the second daughter

of Thomas Leach, of the Newarke, Gent.,

and departed this life

on the 2d July, 1838,

aged 48.

Constant and sincere in her devotion,

she " walked with God,"

and through faith in a crucified Redeemer

left this perishable world

in humble expectation
of a glorious resurrection.

Near this Place

are also interred the remains

of

John Stockdale Hardy, F.S.A.,

Registrar of the Archdeaconry of Leicester,

and Husband of the above named

Elizabeth Hardy,

who departed this life

on the Nineteenth day of July,

One thousand eight hundred and forty nine,

aged Fifty five years.

ESSAYS

RELATIVE TO

ECCLESIASTICAL LAW.

LETTER TO A COUNTRY SURROGATE,

CONTAINING

A Summary of the Laws relating to Marriage
Licences ; and Suggestions as to the hne
of conduct advisable to be pursued in granting
those Instruments.

IPublished in 1818.]

My dear Sir,

Understanding that you are on the eve of
being appointed a Surrogate, and knowing that
you have hitherto had but little experience in legal
affairs, I take the liberty of giving you a few
friendly hints as to the line of conduct which I
think it would be advisable for you to pursue in
the execution of the duties of your office, with
respect to the granting of Marriage Licences. I do
not mean to confuse you by leading you to the
consideration of difficult and abstruse points of
law ; on the contrary, 1 merely intend to direct
you in those cases which will, in all probability,
come before you in your official capacity.

As soon as you have been duly appointed to your
office by your ecclesiastical superior,''^ and have

* This appointment must be made in the presence of a notary-
public, who must attest it forthwith.

B 2

4 LETTER TO A COUNTRY SURROGATE,

complied with the requisites required by law,* you
are then legally empowered to grant licences. In
entering upon the transaction of this business, you
should always recollect the importance attached to
it, the -bad consequences which may ensue from
neglect or ignorance on your part, and the losses
which private individuals may sustain in con-
sequence thereof. A remembrance of these cir-
cumstances should excite in you a desire of ac-
quiring such a knowledge of the duties of your
station, as may prevent you from bringing your-
self, or those who may employ you, into trouble ;
and I hope that the perusal of these sheets will aid
you in the acquisition of such a knowledge, so far
as relates to their avowed subject.

Whenever a person applies to you for a marriage
licence, it is your duty, before you proceed to the
granting of it, to interrogate him respecting certain
points ; and as the hurry and confusion which
business frequently occasions may in some cases
prevent you from calling to your recollection those
questions which you ought to ask, and those points
which you ought especially to inquire into, I now
present you with a string of questions which are
applicable to almost all common cases, and to
which you may refer whenever you find yourself
at a loss. You should ask the person who applies
for the licence,

1 . What is your name ?

♦ 26 Geo. II. c. 33, s. 7.

ON MARRIAGE LICENCES. 5

2. Where do you live ?

3. What is your trade, business, or profession ?

4. How old are you ?

5. Are you a bachelor or widower ?

6. What is your intended's name ?

7. Where does she live ?

8. How old is she ?

9. Is she a spinster or a widow ?

10. Is either yourself or intended wife already
married to any person whomsoever ? ^

1 1. Are you willing to marry, or are you obliged
to do so by any species of compulsion ? ^

12. [If the man be a minor and not a widower J
Is your father, or [in case of the father s death J are
your lawful guardians, or one of them, or [in default
of them,] your mother, who is now a widow, or [in
default of such,] a guardian of your person ap-

* These two questions are only intended to be put in peculiar
cases, wherein you may have your suspicions awakened, and
wherein you must act according to circumstances. In case the
party does not answer these questions in a satisfactory manner,
I would not advise you to refuse peremptorily the granting of the
licence, as by so doing you might bring yourself into legal dif-
ficulties, in case your apprehensions should turn out to be un-
founded. The manner in which I would advise you to act,
would be, to decline the granting of the licence until you had
consulted your legal advisers, with the result of which consulta-
tion you would acquaint the applicant ; or perhaps it would be as
well to refer the applicant at once to the registrar's office. You
will probably be called upon by parish officers to grant licences
for the marriage of paupers, merely to serve the private purposes
of parishes ; it is to this description of applications that the fore-
going questions are chiefly applicable.

6 LETTER TO A COUNTRY SURROGATE,

pointed by the Court of Chancery, now present,
and doth or do he, she, or they, consent to this
marriage ?

13. [If the woman be a minor, and not a widow,
then mutatis mutandis, as above.]

14. Is there any consanguinity or affinity between
you and your intended wife, or does any other
impediment at this time subsist which is able to
prevent you and her from marrying ?

15. Where do you intend to be married ?

16. Is there a church or public chapel in which
banns have been usually published, in the place
you mention ; if there is not, mention the name of
the nearest place contiguous and adjoining to it,
which has a church or such a public chapel ?

17. Have you or your intended wife usually
lived in the parish or chapelry within the church
or chapel of which you wish the marriage to be
solemnized, for the last four weeks ?

18. Are you ready to swear to the truth of the
answers you have given to these queries ?

If the party applying for the licence answer
these questions in a clear and unequivocal manner,
and there does not appear to be any difficulty in
the case, you may proceed to fill up the licence
papers, according to the directions sent you by the
registrar of the court to which you belong.

After you have filled up the affidavit, you must
direct the party who makes it (after having read
it over, or having had it read to him,) to sign his
name, or (if he be unable to write,) to make his

ON MARRIAGE LICENCES. 7

mark at the bottom of it ; which being done^ you
must administer to him the following oath, he lay-
ing his hand on the Bible or New Testament.

'' You make oath, that all and singular the con-
tents of this your affidavit are true, to the
best of your knowledge and belief.

" So help you God."

Having administered this* oath, you must cause
him to kiss the Bible or New Testament, in tes-
timony of the truth thereof ; and then attest the
administration of the oath by your signature, as
follows : " Sworn before me, A. B. Surrogate."

After having finished the affidavit, you must
proceed to prepare the usual bond, which having
filled up, you must cause the applicant (after
having signed his name opposite the first seal of
the bond,) to execute in the following manner : —
You must first make him put a seal upon the wax
or wafer which you have previously put on the
instrument, and, after he has lifted it up from the
wax or wafer, you must deliver the bond into his
right hand, saying, " You deliver this as your act
and deed ?" to which address the applicant must
signify his assent ; and you must repeat the same
forms, with respect to his surety, after he has
signed the bond in the same manner as the appli-
cant. These forms should be gone through in the
presence of two indifferent persons, who, after they

8 LETTER TO A COUNTRY SURROGATE,

are so gone through, should attest the execution of
the bond.*

These requisites being observed, you may sup-
ply the blanks of the licence according to the cir-
cumstances ; which having done, you must sign
the same just below the court seal, and deliver the
same to the applicant, taking care to transmit the
affidavit and bond to the registry of your court.

I have now given you a very short and rapid
detail of the forms which you are to observe in
the granting of licences ; but as what I have said
only applies to cases wherein both the parties are
supposed to be of age, and wherein no species of
difficulty whatsoever is supposed to exist, I must
now descend to more minute particulars, and
endeavour to give you not only some idea of the
forms which you are to observe in the execution
of the above instruments, but also of the law
which regulates them, and of some other matters
closely connected with your office ; and I beg your
serious attention to this part of my letter, as it is
by far the most important and essential.

Before, however, I enter upon this part of my
letter, it is necessary for me to remark, that I con-

* It is a very common practice for surrogates to attest the
execution of these bonds, but this I think is improper; as quercy
if from the bonds binding the obligor to save harmless the sur-
rogates, the latter do not become interested partiesy and there-
fore incompetent of proving the execution of the bonds should
they be disputed ?

ON MARRIAGE LICENCES. 9

sider myself as addressing an officer who has to
transact business with parties coming before him,
not in a captious spirit, but seeking information
and guidance at his hands in one of the most
important actions of life. It may be a question
whether a licence can legally be withheld from a
party who chooses to make the usual affidavit ; but
as the generality of applicants seek for instruction
as well as assistance at a surrogate's hands, it
strikes me that the information which I am about
to communicate, (cursory as it is,) will not be
wholly useless to you.

I. You must take care that the parties about
to be married are authorised by law to contract
matrimony and able to do so.

The age of puberty is fixed by Justinian, in the
male dX fourteen and in the female at twelve ;* the
common law of England fixes the age of discretion
ot fourteen m hoih male and female, although it
admits of Justinian's distinction as to the age of
consent.-f"

You must recollect that if both or either of the
contracting parties, at the time of their marriage,
are or is under the age of consent^ they can, when
they arrive at that age, disagree, and declare their
marriage void, without the aid of any formal
divorce or sentence ; % and the reason of this is,
because the marriage was celebrated at a time

* Swinb. s. 9.

t Burn's Eccl. Law, tit. Wills.

X Leon. Constit. 109.

10 LETTER TO A COUNTRY SURROGATE,

when they were considered by law as incompetent
to contract ; but that if they agree to live together
after the age of consent, their former marriage
will be valid, and there will be no need of a repe-
tition of the ceremony.*

Lunatics and idiots are both prohibited from
marrying, on account of their defective intellects ;
for without a competent share of reason, no con-
tract whatsoever can be good -j- Whenever then
you perceive any marks of imbecility or derange-
ment in any parties who apply to you for a licence,
I would advise you to adopt precisely the same
line of conduct as I have directed you to pursue
in certain other particular cases. (See note at
bottom of page 5.)

Blindness, deafness, dumbness,:}: or any such
corporeal infirmity, is no impediment to the so-
lemnization of matrimony, and there are several
curious instances mentioned in ancient records, in
which we find persons who laboured under these
disabilities contracting matrimony by signs, &c.
But there are some descriptions of bodily in-
firmity which are sufficient to dissolve the vinculum
of matrimony ; however, as you at the time of
granting the license cannot with any degree of
propriety inquire into them, and as no blame can
lie at your door in case they are subsequently dis-
covered, I shall pass them over without notice.

* Co. Liu. 79.

t 1 Roll. Abr. 357, and Ch. Bl. Ist vol. 15th edition, p. 438.

J Swinb. 8. 15.

ON MARRIAGE LICENCES. 1 I

II. I must caution you against granting a licence
to any persons who are already married.

That the laws of this realm do not admit of plu-
rality of wives, is a fact of which you are of course
apprized. I should not have thought it necessary
to have troubled you with any observations on this
head, had it not been likely that you will be
requested to grant licences in cases where one of
the parties has been confessedly married before,
and there is no actual proof of the dissolution of
the former marriage by the death of the other
contracting party. You may perhaps think it im-
probable that such an application will ever be made
to you, and be at a loss to know on what grounds,
if made, it could possibly rest ; these matters I
will proceed to explain.

The statute I Jac. c. 11.''*' enacts, that "If any
person within His Majesty's dominions of England
and Wales, being married, shall marry any person,
the former husband or wife being alive, every such
offence shall be felony, and the person so offending
shall suffer death, as in cases of felony." But
this statute declares that its provisions shall not
extend "to any person whose husband or wife
shall be continually remaining beyond the seas for
seven years together, or whose husband or wife
shall absent himself or herself, the one from the
other, for seven years together, in any part within
his Majesty's dominions, the one of them not know-

* The above Act has been explained and amended by the 33th
Geo. III. c. 0,7.

12 LETTER TO A COUNTRY SURROGATE,

ing the other to be living within that time."
There are several other exceptions, but I do not
enumerate them, as there is very little probability
of their ever coming before you. You will plainly
perceive that the whole which this Act does is to
save those persons who come within its exceptions
from the 'penalties which it inflicts ; it does not in
any degree interfere with the law which existed
previous to the passing of it, and by which law
every second marriage which was celebrated during
the existence of a former marriage was merely
void ; * it leaves this law precisely as it found it ;
and therefore if a person coming within the excep-
tion of this Act marry a second time, his second
marriage will be just as void as if the Act had
never been made, provided the first marriage were
not dissolved at the time of such second marriage.
Upon consideration of all circumstances, I do not
see how you or any other surrogate can properly or
legally grant a licence to parties who have been
married, and who come within the exceptions (I
have quoted) of the above statute : the applicant
cannot safely make the necessary affidavit, and the
church cannot consistently grant an indulgence
contrary to her canons.

III. Before you proceed to supply the blanks of a
licence, you must make particular inquiries as to
the age of the parties intended to be married.

This point you must strictly interrogate the
applicant upon, as a false answer respecting it, or

* 3 Inst. 88.

ON MARRIAGE LICENCES. 13

a mistake in the construction of an answer, may
invalidate the whole of your proceedings.

Whenever the contracting parties are minors,
and have never been married before,* you must
not grant a licence without the consent of their
fathers. But you must be told, that no father can
give consent excepting "a natural and lawful
one ;"'f consequently if the minors be illegitimate,
the consent of their fathers to the marriage will be
of no avail ; and if you grant a licence under such
a consent, it will be void, and the marriage illegal ;
because, as a bastard is considered by the law as
nullius filius,X he cannot be in the possession of
any lawful parent.

When a father gives consent, he should appear
personally before you for such purpose, and if he
be unable by reason of some impediment so to do,
I would advise you to go over to him (provided
he resides within the jurisdiction of your court,)
rather than to accept any affidavit of his consent ;
as I think that by so doing you will act more con-
sonant to the meaning of the statute which regu-
lates your proceedings, (26 Geo. II. c. 33.) than by
adopting any other method. §

* If the minors have ever been married, they are regarded by
the law as of full age ; and therefore, although their parents be
averse to their second marriage, you may nevertheless grant a
licence, and the marriage will be good. (Vide 26 Geo. II. c. 33
s. U.)

-j- Vide case of Priestley v. Hughes.

:j: Bl. Com. 1st vol tit. Parent and Child.

§ Although the Act is so express in requiring the consent of

14 LETTER TO A COUNTRY SURROGATE,

After you have questioned him respecting his
consent^ and he has satisfied you on the point,
you may proceed in the business of the licence
according to the instructions received from your
registrar.

On this head, however, I must inform you, that
if the applicant be a minor, he cannot execute the
bond, as he is not empowered so to do by law ;
you must therefore, in the event of such minority,
take the bond of his father, and some other person *
of the age of twenty-one years, instead of his
own ; for if you dispense with the latter, it will
be of no effect in law.-f You must also take
care that the surety is a person of respectability
and property, J and I may as well tell you here,
as anywhere else, that any responsible person

a father, guardian, or mother, to the marriage of a minor, it
contains no provision as to the manner in which the consent
shall be ascertained. After a marriage is solemnized, the courts
will go a long way in presuming consent, and will not pronounce
a sentence of nullity without the most conclusive evidence being
adduced of dissent. As, however, I consider you as the adviser
of the parties who may appear before you, I think the method
above pointed out the best one to be pursued ; and a party who
is anxious to have no question arise as to the validity of his
marriage, will not hesitate to compensate you for the extra
trouble.

* Some courts require no surety, or at least merely a nominal
one ; but in this general letter I think it best to consider you as
belonging to a court which strictly complies with the provisions
of the canon.

f Ch. Bl. Ist vol. p. 465.

I Can. 10 Ut.

ON MARRIAGE LICENCES. 15

may be a surety, except a minor or married
woman.

If the father of the applicant (who is a minor)
be dead, the persons who are, in this case, entitled
to consent to the marriage, are the " lawful guar-
dians " of the infant.

By the term '' lawful guardian," you must un-
derstand not a person appointed by the minor
himself, to defend or shield him during his mi-
nority, but one appointed by the '' natural and
lawful father " ^ of the minor. There are several
descriptions of guardians, but no guardian can
(except in a case hereafter mentioned) give con-
sent to a marriage, except one nominated by the
minor's father -f-

I would advise you, whenever an application
for a licence is made to you, under consent of
guardians, to request the production of the instru-
ment which appoints the guardians, before you
grant the licence. The words of this appointment
you should then carefully peruse, as if they con-
not be interpreted as appointing a guardian of the
person of the minor, the person nominated as
trustee will not be able to give consent to the
marriage ; and if after an inspection of the appoint-
ment you have any doubt of its legality, or as to
its meaning, I would have you recommend the

* Who such a father is, I explained at p. 13.
t Vid. Sir A. Croke's Rep. of Horner v. Liddiard, and Christ.
Blacks. 1st vol. 15th edition, pp. 437, 438, 459.

16 LETTER TO A COUNTRY SURROGATE,

parties to consult some professional gentleman on
the subject, and not hazard a circumstance of so
much importance to their future happiness and
interests.

Before I dismiss you from the consideration of
the question under discussion, I must inform you,
that in case the guardians of a minor be non compos
mentis, or in parts beyond the seas, or unjustly
refuse their consent to a proper marriage of their
ward, equity will remedy this breach of trust on
their parts, and, on application, proceed to the
discussion of the business in a summary manner ;
and, if the proposed marriage appear proper, judi-
cially declare the same to be so by order of court ;
which order will be considered by the law as good
and effectual, to all intents and purposes, as if the
guardians of the minor had consented to the
marriage.^

If the father of the minor happen to be dead
without having appointed any guardians over his
infant children, you must not grant a licence with-
out the consent of the natural and lawful mother
of the minor.

To entitle the mother to give consent she must
be a widow. ^

You must remark, that equity will have recourse
to the same hne of proceeding, in case the mother
be non compos mentis, or beyond the seas, or un-
jjistly withhold her consent, as it will in case of

* Vid. 26 Geo. II. cap. 33, s. 12.
I 26 Geo. II. 8. II.

ON MARRIAGE LICENCES. 17

guardians under similar circumstances ; * and that
if a father die without having appointed any guar-
dians over the persons of his children, and there be
no mother living, or qualified to give consent, it is
permitted to nominate a guardian for that purpose.

And now to conclude, in cases of minority,

take this as a general rule ; — that whenever a

father is living, the consent of guardians is of no

use ; and that whenever guardians are living, the

consent of a mother is of no avail.

In case the minor has no father, guardian, or
mother (being a widow) you cannot grant the
licence except under the consent of a chancery
guardian ; and in this case it is customary to have
an official copy of his appointment exhibited and
annexed to the marriage affidavit.

IV. You must take care that the contracting
parties are not related within the prohibited

DEGREES.

The degrees of consanguinity and affinity you
are no doubt already acquainted with, as they are
generally to be found in churches and chapels ; -j-
I shall not therefore insert them here, but only
give you a little advice with respect to them.

In the computation of these degrees, you must
always remember that the law will not permit those
persons w^ho are in the direct ascending line (as
fathers, mothers, grandfathers, &c.) to marry with
those who are in the direct descending line (as
sons, daughters, grand-daughters, &c.) although

* 26 Geo. II s. 12. f Can. 99.

C

18 LETTER TO A COUNTRY SURROGATE,

they be ever so distant the one from the other.*
An husband must take his wife's relations in the
same manner as his own, without any species of
distinction ; and, therefore, the prohibition touch-
ing affinity must be carried as far as that respect-
ing consanguinity.^ You must also bear in mind,
that the ecclesiastical laws look upon the half- blood
in the same light as the whole-blood ; and, there-
fore, that it is as unlawful for a person to contract
with any of his half-blood relatives, as it would be
were he to contract with those of his whole-blood.^

You must take care, then, lest you grant a licence
to an applicant who is related to his intended
within any of the '' prohibited degrees ;" for if
you do, and the parties be joined in wedlock under
your licence, they will not only render themselves
liable to the infliction of ecclesiastical censures for
incest, but if their marriage be dissolved in the
life-time of both of them,§ their children will be
illegitimate.

V. You must be well assured before you grant the
licence, that the place in which the parties design to
be married is a church, or a public chapel in which
banns were usually published previous to the 2bth
March, 1754.

Upon this point you must be very exact : although
it is a point of the greatest moment, yet it has not

* Gibs. Cod. 498. Grey, 136.
t Gibs.412. Biirn,2d vol.p. 11.
X Gibs. Cod. 498. Grey, 136.
§ Salk. 548. Ch. Bl. Ut vol. p. 435.

ON MARRIAGE LICENCES. 19

been attended to as it ought to have been ; and I
entreat you to consider it, not as an indifferent or
trivial matter, but as the basis upon which the
vaUdity of your licence reposes.

By the 8th section of the 26th Geo. II. c. 33, it is
enacted, '' that if any person shall, from and after
the 25th day of March, 1754, solemnize matrimony
in any other place than a church or public chapel
where banns have been usually published, unless by
special hcence from the Archbishop of Canterbury,
every person knowingly and wilfully so offending,
and being lawfully convicted thereof, shall be
deemed and adjudged to be guilty of felony ; and
all marriages solemnized from and after the 25th
of March, 1754, in any other place than a church,
or such public chapel, unless by special licence as
aforesaid, shall be null and void to all intents and
purposes in law whatsoever."

It seems that the real meaning of this clause
remained in doubt for a considerable number of
years, and was not judicially ascertained until
1781, when the case of the King against the in-
habitants of Northfield ^ came on for argument in
the Court of King's Bench. The decision of the
court in this case established the position, that all
marriages were void, if celebrated in a chapel
erected since the 26th Geo. II. although such mar-
riages might have been de facto frequently cele-
brated there. In consequence of this, the act of
the 21st Geo. III. c. 53, was passed, which esta-

* Douglas's Reports, 2d vol. p. 658.

c 2

20 LETTER TO A COUNTRY SURROGATE,

blished the validity of all marriages which had been
then solemnized in any church or public chapel
erected since the 26th Geo. II. c. 33, and exempted
the clergymen who had celebrated such marriages
from the penalties of the latter statute.

Another Act to the same purport as the above *
has also legalized all marriages solemnizt-d in new
erected churches and chapels prior to 25th March,
1805 ; but you must recollect that the general law
is still the same as laid down in the 8th sec. of
26th Geo. II. and that all marriages solemnized in
such churches or chapels since 25th March, 1754,
under ordinary licences, are invalid.-}-

VI. Whenever the parties dwell in any extra-
parochial place, take care that you grant them a
licence to marry in no other church or chapel than
in that belonging to the parish or chapelry adjoining
to such extra-parochial place.

By an extra-parochial place is generally meant
a place which is situate in no particular parish,
and under the jurisdiction of no particular church,
but a spot which is exempt from ordinary parochial

♦ 44 Geo. III. cap. 77.

t This is going upon the supposition that these new churches
or chapels were not erected under Acts of Parliament giving
them the privilege of having marriages celebrated therein, or
that they were not erected on the foundation of old churches or
chapels in which banns had been usually published, prior to
26 Geo. III. An Act of the 48th of the King, cap. 127 (precisely
similar to that of the 44th of the King,) has legalised all marriages
solemnized in newly-erected churches or chapels before the
23d August, 1808.

ON MARRIAGE LICENCES. 21

rates, and is something similar to a small peculiar ;
this is the common meaning of the term : hut the
law will permit you in licence cases to deviate
from the usual interpretation, by enlarging its
limits; and you are at liberty to consider any
parish as an extra-parochial place which has no
church or chapel belonging thereto, or none
wherein divine service is usually celebrated every
Sunday.*

When the contracting parties reside in an extra-
parochial place, you are not to grant them a licence
to marry where they please, because they are
obliged by law to be married in the church or
chapel belongiijg to the parish or chapelry adjoin-
ing to the extra-parochial placCj-f and consequently
you have not the power of committing a violation
of this legal regulation by giving them permission
to marry in any other church or chapel.;}:
• VII. You must never license any parties to marry
in any other church or chapel than in that belonging
to the parish or chapelry in which both or either of
them has or have usually lived for the space of four
weeks immediately previous to the grant of the
licence.

The point of residence is one particularly re-
ferred to in the affidavit leading to the grant of the
licence, and it is your duty to make particular
inquiries respecting it.§

* 26 Geo. II. cap. 33, sec. 5. + 26 Geo. II. sec. 4.

+ Burn's Eccles. Law, tit. Marriage, sec. 10. § Ibid. sec. 4,

22 LETTER TO A COUNTRY SURROGATE

It is not necessary that the marriage should be
solemnized in a church, within the parish of which
both the contracting parties have dwelt for four
weeks immediately preceding the appHcation for
the licence ; but if the applicant prays your per-
mission to marry in the church belonging to the
place wherein either himself or his intended wife
has generally lived for the time above described,
you will act perfectly right in acceding to the re-
quest, and your licence will be quite consistent
with the rules of law.*

VIII. I must caution you against granting a
licence unless you are convinced that the court to
which you belong has jurisdiction over the church or
chapel in which the marriage is intended to be per-
formed.

This particular you must be satisfied upon before
you issue the licence ; as, if you exceed the boun-
daries of your power, by acting in places beyond
the jurisdiction of your court, your hcence will
probably be of no effect in law, and consequently
a marriage solemnized by virtue of it invalid.-f-

I have now, my dear Sir, given you the best in-

* 26 Geo. 11. cap. 33, sec. 4.

\ 26 Geo. II. cap. 33, sec. 8. I am not aware that this question
has ever been judicially argued; in a late case in the Arches,
Sir John Nicholl admitted an article in a libel pleading the non
jurisdiction of a court which granted a license, as a cause of
nullity, but the marriage in suit was avoided on another ground,
without entering into the question as to jurisdiction. The ad-
mission, however, of the article, shews that the learned judge
thought the point worthy of consideration.

ON MARRIAGE LICENCES. 23

struction I am able to do, upon those important
points to which I have directed your attention : I
have told you how to proceed in general cases,
and according to the general law, without perplex-
ing you with a description and explanation of those
exceptions which the customs and usages of par-
ticular places, and the favour which the legislature
has been pleased to shew to particular sects, have
made to that general law. I trust you will excuse
the liberties which I have taken with you in the
course of my correspondence ; I am afraid lest
you should think I have treated you as a clergy-
man less acquainted with law than the generality
of your sacred order ; but I can assure you I had
no such intention, and that I have descended into
more minute particulars than were perhaps neces-
sary, merely from an anxiety to give you as
thorough a knowledge of the subject as I could
within the limited space of my present letter. I
trust you will receive this explanation as a sufficient
apology, and indulging a hope that my corre-
spondence may be of some use to you,

I remain,

My dear Sir,

Yours very truly, &c.

A LETTER

Addressed to the Right Hon. the Earl of Eldon,
Lord High Chancellor, &c. &c. upon the
Marriage Act Amendment Bill.

[Published in 1822.]

My Lord,
As a Peer who strenuously opposed the recent
adoption of what has been called " The Marriage
Act Amendment Bill," perhaps your Lordship will
allow an humble individual to address a few re-
marks to you upon that most extraordinary mea-
sure. I beg to be understood distinctly, that, in
commenting upon the Act, any expressions which
I may feel it necessary to have recourse to must
not be considered as in the least applicable to the
dignified assemblies through which it has passed,
but as totally confined to the measure itself, as
affecting the nearest and dearest interests of all
classes of the community. With respect to a
measure of such fearful importance, it is surely
advisable that the most extended discussion
should take place, in order to produce that ulti-
mate benefit and legislation which the exigencies
of the case so loudly demand. In addressing

LETTER ON THE MARRIAGE ACT OF 1822. 25

your Lordship upon the present occasion^ I trust I
shall not be accused of presumption ; as I only
venture to address you from a desire to call the
attention of the public to a Bill which your
Lordship so firmly opposed. I should indeed be
deserving of unqualified ridicule were I capable
for one moment of harbouring the extravagant
idea that it was possible for your Lordship not to
have felt in tenfold force any valid objection that
can have occurred to a mind like mine.

My Lord, it is not one of the least remarkable
circumstances attending the Act to which I refer^
that it received the adoption of the Legislature
against the declared opinions of the greatest law-
yers the age has produced. Parliament have
usually paid that respect and deference to those
who have devoted their lives to the study of the
law — to those who have studied it to understand
and administered it to satisfy — which are certainly
due ; but in the recent instance this respect and
deference appear, from some unaccountable cause,
to have been withdrawn, and the public have wit-
nessed the novel spectacle of a Bill of the highest
possible consequence to the peer and the peasant
— to the comfort of the domestic circle and the
well-being of the community — carried through
both Houses against the decided and strongly ex-
pressed opinions of the highest legal characters
in the country, and notwithstanding the open and
fervent opposition of a Lord Chancellor, and that
Chancellor Lord Eld on ! — Doubtless, my Lord,

26 LETTER TO THE EARL OF ELDON

Parliament are not bound to be guided by legal
opinions, nor would it be right to affirm that they
did not consider them when given. In saying
what I have, I only allude to what has been the
usual practice ; and in observing upon its having
been laid aside in the late case, I do not intend to
impute to our Legislators either improper motives
or irregular conduct. Every good subject is bound
to believe that Parliament had some valid reason
for the course it thought proper to adopt ; and I
sincerely join in that belief. In a case, however,
where it is understood, on all hands, that an Act
is not a final one, but to be explained and amended
by subsequent enactments, I apprehend that no
irregularity will be committed in commenting
rather freely upon it.

The recent Act begins with repealing that part
of the statute of the 26 Geo. II. which required the
consent of parents or guardians to the marriages
of minors by licence. It is to be remarked that
this repeal extends from Mondai/ the (2 2d ult.)
on which day the Bill received the royal assent.
Now, my Lord, I should wish to be informed,
under these circumstances, what is the law at
this moment in England, with respect to the
marriages of minors by licence ? I should like to
know, my Lord, what is the law to be acted on
until the 1 st of September next ? The Act of the
26 Geo. II. is repealed — nothing, as I see, is sub-
stituted in its stead — and, unless the ancient
canon law can be again brought into operation,

ON THE MARRIAGE ACT OF 1822. 2/

there is no law whatever applicable to the case.
What ! is there no express legislative enactment
remaining on the statute book of England to meet
so important a case, and one of such frequent
occurrence ? I believe, my Lord, there is none
regulating the marriages of minors by licence,
and fortunate indeed it is for the public that the
26 Geo. II. did not expressly repeal the canon
law, or at this moment the country would pro-
bably have been left without directions on the
point. I do not beheve that the framers of the
recent Act intended to revive the canons of 1 603
— they surely could never intend to leave the
country exposed to the operation of provisions so
confused and difficult of comprehension. I ask,
too, whether it was their intention to render the
consent of both the father and mother of a minor
necessary before a licence for marriage could be
obtained ? This, however, is now the law of the
land — is at least the law obligatory on the autho-
rities who have the power of granting licences ;
and what is more, until the 1st of September next,
any departure from the forms laid down by the
canons for the granting of licences, will (as far as
the canons are concerned) render those instru-
ments void. I ask again, was this contemplated
by the Act, and is it not directly at variance with
its professed principle ? If any one, my Lord, had
affirmed, six months since, that we should have
travelled back to the age of James I. for legisla-
tion, or rather for directions, on so highly im-

28 LETTER TO THE EARL OF ELDON

portant a subject, I fancy much attention would
not have been paid to his assertion. The Act was
professedly passed to obviate litigation and pro-
mote certainty ; but there is only occasion to
refer to the second and five following clauses to
show how completely it is likely to fail in these
objects. The number of questions which may be
raised upon the second clause as to the cohabita-
tion of parties whose marriages are intended to
be validated by the Act are by no means few;
and with respect to the third section, it is involved
in considerable obscurity. It is as follows —
" Provided always, and be it enacted, that nothing
in this Act contained shall extend or be construed
to extend to render valid any marriage declared
invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction
before the passing of this Act, nor any marriage
where either of the parties shall at any time after-
wards, during the life of the other party, have
lawfullii intermarried with any other person." As
far as the clause goes to the principle of non-in-
terference with marriages which had been declared
invalid previous to the passing of it, nothing can
be said ; but the concluding part of the clause
it is not very easy to understand. The difficulty
arises upon the word " afterwards'' At first
sight it does not appear very consonant with
common sense for an Act of Parliament to declare
that it is not to " render valid " a marriage lawfully
solemnized before the passing of it. The question
naturally arises, if the marriage had been lawfully

ON THE MARRIAGE ACT OF 1822. 29

solemnized^ why need the Act have alluded to it
at all ? As I said before, the diflaculty arises
upon the word " afterwards^ If the clause is to
be understood as confined to the cases of those
whose first marriages have been declared void by
a competent court, then undoubtedly the word
" afterwards " must be taken as applying to the
period which intervened between the passing of
the sentence and the second marriage of both or
either of the parties whose prior marriage had
been declared void. The clause, however, will
bear another construction ; the word " afterwards''
may refer to any period after the solemnization
of a marriage de facto^ clearly illegal, and where
both or either of the parties marry again. The
latter part of the clause is not so excluswely con-
nected with the former part as to limit its opera-
tion to the first case I have mentioned ; and there-
fore I conceive that a wide door for litigation is
opened, in cases where parties, 'presuming on the
ipso facto illegality of a first marriage, have ven-
tured on a second connection.

I shall now proceed to make some remarks upon
the 8th section of the Bill, which provides for the
manner in which licences of marriage are to be
granted from and after the 1st September next.
It has always been held impolitic and dangerous
to throw any unnecessary obstacles in the way of
marriage, and every one is aware that the stamp
duties and expense already attendant on obtaining
a licence are so heavy as to render this description

30 LETTER TO THE EARL OF ELDON

of legal instrument not within the reach of all
classes of society. Perhaps it may be said it was
never intended that these dispensations should
extend to all. I am not prepared to combat the
question; but I will say it would be extremely
difficult and invidious to draw a proper distinction.
I beg, my Lord, to be distinctly understood as offer-
ing no opinion on the policy or impolicy of mar-
riage by licence in general ; all I wish to convey
is, that, so long as such marriage is recognised by
law, it ought to be put upon as moderate and
cheap a footing as possible with respect to the
public ; otherwise the objectionable principle will
be extended, of having one law for the rich, and
another for the poor.

It is well known that hitherto, in cases where
both parties have been alleged to have attained
twenty-one years of age, it has been sufficient for
the party seeking the hcence to make affidavit of
his own age, and his belief as to the age of his
intended partner. The new Act requires each
party to swear as to his or her age, and as to his
or her belief of the age of the other party.* In
addition to these affidavits, copies of the registers

* The Act provides, that, " if a licence shall be required for the
marriage of parties, both or either of whom shall be allied to be
of the age of twenty-one years, such parties shall respectively
make oath that they are respectivelyy and that each of them
believes the other to be, of the full age of tuenty-one years or
upwards /" Supposing only one of the parties are alleged to be
twenty-one, how can this provision be complied with ?

ON THE MARRIAGE ACT OF 1822. 31

of the baptisms of the parties are to be produced,
and their authenticity, as well as the identity of
the parties, established by the affidavit of a person
who has examined such copies with the original
registers. Now, my Lord, I cannot help thinking
that the affidavit of the lady might have been
dispensed with ; I may be wrong — probably am
— but to me there is an appearance of absolute
indelicacy in the proceeding. A young lady, on
the eve of forming the most interesting and de-
licate connexion that can be conceived, is to be
hurried into the presence of an official person, to
do what ? why finter aliaj to swear that she be-
lieves her intended husband to be of age ! The
provision was probably intended to guard against
fraud in cases of minority ; but in such cases I
fancy it will be found, on inquiry, that the female
has generally been the party injured ; it has not
very frequently happened that a man of full age
has been entrapped by a minor. Of what use, I
ask, is it for a female to be sworn as to her beHef
with respect to the age of her intended husband ?
She at best can only swear as to her belief — ac-
cording to what he has told her — and by being
dragged into publicity in the way required by the
Act, she will, in the event of any deception on the
part of her intended husband, or of any undue
ascendancy he may have gained over her mind,
only render more certain that confiscation of pro-
perty which the 1 0th section of the Bill will pro-
duce, and upon which I shall hereafter observe ;

32 LETTER TO THE EARL OF ELDON

at all events, in cases of majority, where registers
are to be consulted, this unpleasant proceeding, as
far as the female is concerned, might have been
dispensed v^rith.

With respect, my Lord, to the production of the
copies of registers at the time of granting the
licence, I am fully convinced that the absolute
impracticability of doing this in some cases, and
the great trouble and inconvenience in all, have
not been sufficiently considered. The Act pro-
vides, that no licence shall be granted (after 1 st
September next), where both or either of the
parties is or are alleged to be of age, until there
shall be produced to the person from whom the
licence shall be required, an extract or extracts
from the register of the baptism of such parties
or party so alleged to be twenty-one (if such re-
gister be in England and can be found), such ex-
tract or extracts to be proved on oath by some
other person or persons to be a true extract, &c.
Now really, my Lord, allow me to direct your at-
tention for a moment to the extreme incon-
venience, and (under some circumstances) abso-
lute impracticability, of all this. We will reduce
the Act to practice, and suppose a party applying
for a licence to a clerical surrogate in a provincial
town or village. The applicant has perhaps tra-
velled 100 or more miles to marry a person re-
sident near the town or village. The marriage
arrangements for probably the very next day are
all completed, but an insurmountable barrier is at

ON THE MARRIAGE ACT OF 1822. 33

once opposed to the grant of the licence. He
must obtain a copy of the register of his baptism
from a distance, — the affidavit of a friend to prove
it a true copy, — and that the entry relates to
himself before any further proceedings can take
place ; added to these inconvenient circumstances,
the case will not unfrequently happen that no re-
gister can be found : then, according to the Act,
a more circuitous method must be pursued ; and
in cases where parties of undoubted full age
apply for licences, but whose baptisms were de-
ferred until within the last twenty-one years (and
which fact appears from the copies of registers
produced), how are the provisions of the Act to be
satisfied ? With respect, also, my Lord, to the re-
gisters of dissenting baptisms ; whatever may be
the legal construction of the Act in consequence
of the copies of such registers not being evidence,
I fancy that some persons will feel considerable
difficulty in making oath that there are no registers,
&c. when a baptismal entry is in existence, the
original of which is evidence to a certain extent.
My Lord, the framers of the Bill appear to have
been entirely ignorant of the manner in which
licences are obtained in general. — They are usually
procured from the clergy (surrogates to the dif-
ferent ordinaries) throughout the country ; and,
in numerous instances, parties have to come many
miles to obtain them.^ As the law stood before

* For my present purpose, I consider it sufficient to treat the
above as the general practice pursued in obtaining licences, with-

D

34 LETTER TO THE EARL OF ELDON

the passing of the Act of the 22d ult. the parties
seldom went away from the surrogate without
having obtained their object — without taking
home the licence in the pocket; and it is well
known^ the application for the licence is an act
generally deferred until almost the moment of the
solemnization of the nuptials. Now, what will be
the inevitable consequences under the new system ?
The parties, when every preparation has been made
for the nuptials, will have to retire in disappoint-
ment— either the female to swear she belieVes her
intended husband to be of age — the father's and
mother s certificates of consent in cases of minority
properly sworn to — or the copies of the registers
properly authenticated, will some or other of them
not be forthcoming ; and I hesitate not to say,
that, from these causes, amongst certain classes of
society, the most deplorable and ruinous conse-
quences will ensue.

Perhaps, my Lord, it will be urged, that when
the provisions of the Act come to be known, the
greater portion of the inconveniences and mis-
chiefs which I have anticipated will not arise, and
that parties will come prepared with the necessary
documents when Ihey first apply to the surrogate.
My Lord, amongst a certain description of parties I
will undertake to say that this preparation will not
be made. — Besides, my Lord, it can never be sup-
posed, that, in the interval wliich will elapse be-
out noticing any questions of law or expediency, which have been
started with respect to it.

ON THE MARRIAGE ACT OF 1822. 35

tween this time and the next session of parliament,
the provisions of the^Act will have become gene-
rally known throughout the country, or at least
so known as to be generally understood ; and it is
not amongst the least singular provisions of the
Bill, that it is not to be publicly read in churches
and chapels until a month after it has taken complete
effect.

The 9th section of the Act now presents itself.
This declares, that, from and after the 1st Sep-
tember next, the consent of any person or persons,
whose consent shall he required by law, to the mar-
riage of any person under twenty-one, not being a
widower or widow, shall be signified in writing
signed by such person or persons ; such signature
to be attested by two or more witnesses, and shall
fully describe the person or persons giving such con-
sent, &c. &c. and that no licence shall be granted
from and after the 1 st September next, for the mar-
riage of any person under twenty-one, not being a
widower or widow, unless such consent in writing
shall be delivered to the person granting the
licence, and unless one of the witnesses attesting
the consent shall make oath that he or she saw the
party giving the consent sign his or her name
thereto, and also his or her fellow witness sign the
attestation, &c. and unless some person (not being
one of the parties applying for the licence) shall
make oath that the person or persons who have
signed the consent to the marriage is or are the
lawful parent or guardians, &c.

D 2

36 LETTER TO THE EARL OF ELDON

Under the late Act the usual method pursued
was, for the parent or guardian or guardians
giving consent, to appear personally for the pur-
pose; and surely this was more satisfactory, far
safer, than the circuitous method now rendered
necessary. The recent Act says, the consent of
certain persons " required hy law " shall be given
in a prescribed form Who are these persons?
Why, both father and mother, if living, according
to the canon law of 1 603, for all other law is re-
pealed ! — This was never contemplated by the sup-
porters of the measure, for the word '^parents'"
does not occur throughout the Bill. The pro-
visions of the Act appear to me to open a wide
door for the commission of fraud. The signatures
of the parties giving consent may be fabricated —
such fabrication was one of the great evils attend-
ing the execution of the canons of 1603 — and it
is now again possible, after a lapse of nearly 220
years, for an unhappy parent to be made the dupe
of a vile combination. The Act has rendered the
application for a licence, where both parties are
minors (having both fathers and mothers living),
no trivial affair. There will be no fewer than three
(in many cases four) affidavits and four certificates
of consent necessary ; and the attendance, either
in one stage or other of the proceeding, of not
less than nine different persons ! Where only
one of the parties is a minor, the same number
of affidavits and two certificates of consent (in
case both the parents of the minor be living) will

ON THE MARRIAGE ACT OF 1822. 37

be required, and the attendance of seven different
persons ; and even where both the parties apply-
ing for the licence are of age, and have not been
married before, the affidavits of at least three
persons must be made, and the attendance of
four persons is required !

The 10th section declares who are the persons
capable of administering the oaths required by
the Act. These are the surrogates of the arch-
bishops and bishops, or of judges holding com-
missions under them. The section also inflicts
the punishment of perjury and felony on parties
who wilfully swear falsely in order to obtain a
licence of marriage, or who are privy to the pro-
curement of any false instrument, &c. Had the
section stopped here (though it is loosely worded
and terribly severe in its operation, and though
by the sentence of transportation, which it pro-
nounces, a sufficient quantum of misery would
have been occasioned), much perhaps would not
have been said ; the concluding part of it, how-
ever, will, in my view of the subject, be produc-
tive of great mischief. It is this — "And if the
person convicted of such offence (i. e. swearing
falsely or wilfully producing a false instrument)
shall be one of the persons who shall have con-
tracted marriage by means of such licence, such
person shall forfeit and lose to the king's majesty
all estate, right, title, interest, benefit, profit, and
advantage, which such person may derive from,
or be entitled to, by virtue of such marriage ; and

38 LETTER TO THE EARL OF ELDON

such forfeiture shall and may be disposed of in
such manner as to his majesty shall seem fit."
Let only a case be put upon this clause. A
young woman of fortune (a minor) is inveigled
into a marriage with a worthless fellow, who does
not scruple to perjure himself or assist in forging
an instrument, in order to obtain a licence of
marriage. The marriage is solemnized, and by that
means the parties become indissolubh/ bound to each
other. The fortune of the lady, if it happen to be
personal estate in possession, and out of the reach of
equity, becomes absolutely forfeited to the Crown,
in case the husband be prosecuted to conviction.
The woman is left without a shilling, and obliged
to remain the wife of a felon, liable to transporta-
tion for life, without her friends being able to take
any step to relieve her ! Yes, my Lord, she will
be obliged to remain the wife of a miscreant, who
most likely married her for her money, and who,
upon finding himself stript of it by this clause,
will, in all probability, enhance the misery of the
unfortunate girl by his brutal conduct. Perhaps,
too, the parents of the female will have to be
passive spectators of the heart-rending scene,
without being able to take any steps to reheve
their ill-fated child from so wretched a thraldom !
What a picture of distress is here! It is not,
however, an imaginary picture ; the case will
occur, and occur frequently, if the Act remain as
it is — Many unfortunate women will, through its
operation, be torn from the station in society where

ON THE MARRIAGE ACT OF 1822. 39

birth and fortune had placed them, to subsist
on eleemosynary aid — will be doomed to pass
through life as the wives of convicts — and to
traverse amid thorns that path which they had
been led to suppose would have been strewn
with flowers ! — But to return. It is no argument
in favour of the clause to say, that the Crown will
not retain the fortune of the female, but apply it
for her benefit, independent of the husband.
There is no doubt this would be the case ; but
this would not obviate the unhappiness of the
parties — this would not alleviate the distress of
her, who, seeing her prospects blighted, her pa-
trimony gone, and her reputation assailed, before
she could be said to have entered upon life, must
apply to the Treasury for that sustenance, which
the exertions of her departed friends had placed
within her power, and which, when closing their
eyes in death, they had fondly hoped would have
rendered her able to meet the frowns of the
world! Surely, my Lord, placing it within due
restraints, some power of interference on the part
of parents or guardians ought, in such cases as
these, to be reserved.

I shall probably be accused of looking at the
question only in one point of view, so far as the
female is concerned. But looking at it in another
light does not improve it. However, let this
be done. I will suppose a young man of fortune
(for this was the case evidently to which the
Act was intended more particularly to apply).

40 LETTER TO THE EARL OF ELDON

I will suppose him to be entrapped into a mar-
riage with a worthless and abandoned woman, who
does not scruple to make a false affidavit, &c. —
what then ? — Her claim of dower or thirds (sup-
posing her entitled to any, but which in many in-
stances she would not be,) becomes vested in the
Crown. As to the confiscation of her individual
property, the chances are that she has none to
lose, and so she may smile at the section, except
so far as the punishment of felony is concerned.
The clause, my Lord, will most extensively affect
young women of fortune (chiefly minors) who
may be deceived into marriage by profligate and
abandoned suitors. It is here that the tear of
sorrow will trickle down the cheek where the
smile of content was wont to beam ; it is here
that misery will penetrate into that domestic
circle where happiness used to be the presiding
deity !

In cases, too, where young men of family and
title are concerned, the consequences of making
marriages indissoluble, under all circumstances,
will be truly distressing. What, my Lord, will
be the feelings of a dignified and noble-minded
father, when he reflects that the coronet which
now glitters around an equally dignified and
noble-minded consort, will, upon his death, de-
scend on an unworthy and obscure object ; on one
who found her way to the noblest assembly in the
world, through the disgraceful paths of intrigue
and perjury ?

ON THE MARRIAGE ACT OF 1822. 41

As the consequences which I have just been
deprecating will arise even more frequently in
marriages by banns than by licence^ under the
Act, I must beg the observations which I have
made to be considered as applicable to both cases.

I pass over the provisions of the Act relative to
the persons who will be officially connected with
the execution of it, although I think the provi-
sions themselves extremely and unnecessarily se-
vere, and by no means explicit as to the party or
parties upon whom the punishment inflicted by
them will fall. The comfort and safety of these
persons are of trivial consequence when put in
competition with the convenience and welfare of
the public. I can, however, conceive cases of
great individual hardship, which may and wiU
occur under the Act to these gentlemen, but shall
hasten to matters of more importance.

The Hth section provides, " that no person shall,
from and after the passing of the Act, be deemed
authorised by law to grant any licence for the
solemnization of any marriage except the Arch-
bishops of Canterbury and York, according to the
rights now vested in them respectively ; and ex-
cept the several other bishops within their respec-
tive dioceses, for the marriage of persons, one
of whom shall be resident at the time within
the diocese of the bishop in whose name such
licence shall be granted, &c." In this clause
there is much more than meets the eye, and its
operation will be attended with no minor con-

42 LETTER TO THE EARL OF ELDON

sequences. It is well known that throughout the
kingdom there are a great number of peculiar ju-
risdictions, which have, for time immemorial, pos-
sessed the power of granting licences of marriage,
and many of them are completely exempt from
the jurisdiction of the suffragan bishop in whose
diocese they are locally situate, and have their
patent officers, &c. &c. My Lord, by the clause
which I have just copied, the jurisdictions of these
peculiars to grant licences of marriage is taken
away as from Monday the 22nd ult. What notice
did the officers of these courts receive, that their
power of granting licences was annihilated from
the 22nd ult. ? None — and therefore, before an
intimation of what the Act had done could possibly
reach them, a great number of licences would
have been issued under the authority of these
courts — every marriage solemnized under which
will be in jeopardy until Parliament interfere to
render them valid! Surely, my Lord, it would
have been far better for all parts of the Bill to
have taken eflFect at one and the same time ;— as
it is, some of them take effect from the time of
its passing, while others are dormant until the 1st
of September next, and, in the instance to which
I have just referred, the inconvenience and danger
are apparent. — Who, too, I ask, is now to grant
licences of marriages in royal peculiars, or in pe-
culiars exempt from the jurisdiction of the local
bishop, and where the appeal lies to the metro-
pohtan ?

ON THE MARRIAGE ACT OF 1822. 43

The 16th section of the Act specifies the requi-
sites which are to attend publication of banns on
and after the 1 st of September next. Nothing, my
Lord, can be urged against the precautions which
the Act has attempted^ to provide in this particu-
lar ; but what can be said to the tremendous — the
sweeping confiscations of property which will at-
tend any false statements or affidavits leading to
the publication of banns ? These, I take it, will
be far more numerous than those which will be
produced by hcence ; and, as precisely the same
arguments apply to them as to those connected
with marriages by licence, I forbear to dwell
further on so painful a subject. — With respect,
however, my Lord, to this part of the Bill, I cannot
resist observing that the 19th section of the Act,
which establishes the validity of marriages by
banns, though the publication were made under
false or assumed names, appears to render the
publication perfectly useless. Correctness as to
names, both Christian and surname, has hitherto
been considered as of the " essence of public at ion ;"
and surely this is reasonable ; for, if false names
are to be adopted, how can a parent or guardian
exercise his right of forbidding the marriage at

* I say " attempted,^' because an affidavit which is only to spe-
cify how long parties have resided in a parish previous to an ap-
plication for publication of banns, and which neither states what
length of time such residence shall extend to, nor is declaratory of
any residence during the time of publication^ cannot be otherwise
than futile.

44 LETTER TO THE EARL OF ELDON

the time of the publication of the banns P What a
cruel situation will an affectionate parent or pro-
vident guardian be placed in, — to be incapable of
forbidding the banns through a want of knowledge
of the assumed names of the parties, and then,
when too late, obliged to witness his darling child
or favourite ward, the object of his most fervent
affection or most intense solicitude, dashed upon
the stones of adversity by an imprudent marriage !
Although the Act does not exactly use the term,
yet I should conceive that a " false description "
of the parties, or an erroneous place of residence
stated in the affidavit, would not, after solemni-
zation, vitiate a marriage. If this be so, and the
false description be joined to the false or assumed
names, how will it be possible in large and popu-
lous parishes (the places which will be invariably
resorted to by parties having clandestine purposes
in view,) for parents and guardians to exercise
their right of dissent ?

I now, my Lord, lay down my pen, having ven-
tured to obtrude upon your Lordship what has
occurred to me upon a perusal of the Marriage Act
Amendment Bill. Clear it is that such an Act,
without explanation or amendment, cannot long
remain upon the rolls of an English parliament.
What are the precise provisions necessary to be
introduced, and the alterations to be made, it is
not for one of my limited sphere in life to sug-
gest. It is, however, tolerably obvious, that unless

ON THE MARRIAGE ACT OF 1822. 45

parents and guardians are, in some degree, re-
stored to the situation in which they stood pre-
vious to the passing of the late Act, the conse-
quences to society will be such as can only be
contemplated to be dreaded. I have purposely
avoided remarking upon the effects attached
to the retrospective clause of the Bill, as the
protests which were entered by certain noble
lords against the passing of it so clearly illus-
trate them, and as I do not conceive myself com-
petent to trace its tendency through its various
ramifications. Now that the law upon the subject
has become a matter of deep consideration, and
the danger and inconvenience of any thing like
hasty or imperfect legislation are so apparent, a
hope may surely be indulged, that the combined
exertions of those best competent to appreciate
and understand the various conflicting and ma-
jestic interests connected with the subject, will
produce a " consummation devoutly to be wished"
in the shape of a legislative enactment, which,
while it will protect the rights of the parent and
the interests of the child, the comfort of the
ward, and the authority of the guardian — will dif-
fuse extensive benefit, give stability to property,
and satisfaction to the community at large. Fore-
most in the ranks of those to whom the English
nation will naturally look for an accomphshment
of these desirable ends your Lordship appears ;
and indulging an earnest hope that you may long

46 LETTER TO THE EARL OF ELDON.

be spared to your country as a powerful assertor
and vigilant guardian of her laws, liberties, and
religion, I have the honour to subscribe myself,

My Lord, your lordship's faithful

and obedient servant,

J. Stockdale Hardy.

Aug. 20, 1822.

LETTER TO LORD STOWELL

On the Marriage Act Amendment Bill, 1823.

Craven Hotel, Strand, 22c? Feh. 1823.

My Lord,

The very condescending and kind manner in
which your Lordship was pleased to receive a
Letter which I took the liberty of addressing to the
Earl of Eldon on the subject of the Marriage Act
passed last year, will, I humbly hope, be a suffi-
cient apology for my now venturing to submit to
your Lordship's consideration a few observations
upon the Bills in progress for an amendment of
that measure.

Most cordially do I rejoice that the House of
Lords have referred the important subject of the
Marriage Laws to a Committee, as now, from the
united exertions and deliberations of both Houses,
every hope may be cherished that such an Act
will be framed as will give satisfaction to the com-
munity at large, and place the matrimonial law of
the country upon a permanent and equitable
basis.

In venturing to make any observations to your

=»^ D 8

48* LETTER TO LORD STOWELL ON THE

Lordship on a subject with which your Lordship
is so much more deeply conversant than an ob-
scure individual like myself, I know well to what
deserved ridicule I should expose myself did I
obtrude such observations in any spirit except one
of unfeigned humility, and did I not confine them
as much as possible to points arising out of my
practice as a provincial deputy registrar. Now,
my Lord, that a statute will probably be enacted,
the execution of which will embrace a most ex-
tensive field of practice, the few remarks of which
I shall beg the favour of your Lordship's kind re-
ception will, I trust, be deemed neither imperti-
nent nor improper.

The first point to which I had intended most
respectfully to call your Lordship's attention, is
anticipated by a Bill which, from the papers of
to-day, 1 perceive has been introduced into the
Lords by his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury,
for the validation of the Marriages solemnised
under Archdeacons' and Peculiar licences, before
such authorities were aware that the late Act had
taken away their power of issuing such licences.

The second has reference to the method pursued
in granting licences by surrogates in the country.
Your Lordship is fully aware that the general
practice has been for licences to be sealed in blank
and delivered out from the different registries to
the surrogates, who then fill them up as applica-
tions arise. It seems doubtful from the case of
Mr. Herbert in Peere Williams, whether this prac-

MARRIAGE ACT AMENDMENT BILL. 49"^

tice is at present legal, although I do not see how
it could be dispensed with consonantly with any-
thing like general convenience ; the present, how-
ever, appears a fit opportunity to have the point
considered. If, suitably to general convenience,
surrogates were to fill up the bonds and affidavits,
see them executed, &c. and transmit them to the
register office before the sealed licence issued, it
might obviate some mistakes, and give the regis-
trar an opportunity of seeing that the provisions
of the Act had been complied with before the
licence issued, and at the same time of stopping
the licence from issuing in case any caveat be
entered ; but, in the case of caveats entered against
licences, it would operate favourably. Previous to
the passing of the late Act, however, the mistakes
made were few comparatively speaking, and, let
what will be determined on, I am certain your
Lordship will agree with me in thinking that the
clergy should not be deprived of any advan-
tages they have hitherto derived with respect to
licences.

With respect to Peculiars, as far as my limited
information goes, 1 believe that the chief business
in these courts is confined to the mere routine of
granting licences, &c. in common form. Suits are
very rare, and if they arise are hereabouts re-
moved by letters of request. Upon the general
question of the propriety or impropriety of the
retention of these jurisdictions, it would be pre-
sumption in me to offer an opinion ; but your

50* LETTER TO LORD STOWELL ON THE

Lordship will perhaps permit me to say that I am
a decided advocate for the restoration of episcopal
rights wherever infringed upon. So far as public
convenience is interested^ the question must be
left to Parliament ; and I think your Lordship will
acquit me of anything resembling interest upon
this point, as I am not in any manner connected
with any Peculiar jurisdiction, my practice being
confined entirely to the Court of the Commissary
of the Lord Bishop of Lincoln for the Archdeaconry
of Leicester.

The objections which I urged in my printed
Letter to the Earl of Eldon against females being
compelled to appear at the time of granting mar-
riage licences, continue unabated. I however feel
great embarrassment on the point, as I perceive
Dr. Phillimore still retains this part of the Act in
the Bill introduced by him into the Commons, and
my opinion of the talents of that learned counsel
is such that I feel a conviction he would not retain
that clause except he thought it indispensably
necessary. So far as my practical experience has
gone, the evident distress and acute feelings evinced
by females when attending to obtain licences, have
been such as could not be viewed without emotion
and pity by bystanders. With regard to the pro-
duction of the registers. Dr. Phillimore has cer-
tainly, in a great measure, removed the sting out
of this part of the Act, and probably the extracts
may be useful at some future periods as evidence
of identity. All these points, however, will, no

MARRIAGE ACT AMENDMENT BILL. 51*

doubt, receive great consideration ; as, to adopt
the words of a noble Lord, " The less unnecessary
difficulties are thrown in the way of obtaining
marriage licences, the better for morality, the
revenue, and the public." That Dr. Phillimore
wished to avoid such difficulties I firmly believe,
and the hesitation I feel in observing on the above
points arises from a conviction that the learned
gentleman had substantial and cogent reasons for
retaining what perhaps the want of a more ex-
tended sphere of action may have prevented me
from discovering.

With respect to the transmission of the copy of
the licence, &c. to the diocesan registries, I would
most humbly submit to your Lordship that this is
not necessary, and would be found inconvenient in
those dioceses which have a Commissary appointed
by the Bishop for each archdeaconry , In this ex-
tensive diocese (Lincoln) for instance, there are
substantial registry offices in each county, viz.
Lincoln, Leicester, Huntingdon, Bedford, Buck-
ingham, and part of Herts. Each county (or
rather archdeaconry) has a separate Commissary
appointed by the Bishop, and the patent held by
him is as extensive as the Chancellor s (except as
to deprivation of clerks). The diocesan registry
(Lincoln) is 120 or 130 miles distant from some
parts of the diocese, whereas the commissary
registries are pretty central in each archdeaconry.
Besides, licence papers (in the country) are less
searched for than any other species of documents.

52* LETTER TO LORD STOWELL ON THE

and your Lordship will perhaps be surprised when
I say that in this archdeaconry not more than four
searches in a year have been made for the last
fourteen years, although the Bishop's Commissary
has jurisdiction throughout the whole county,
excepting ten parishes.

With respect, my Lord, to the affidavits pre-
ceding the publication of banns, may I be allowed
to suggest that it should be deemed sufficient for
each party to make affidavit singly and before the
minister of the parish in which he or she resides ?
The greatest inconvenience has been felt when
parties have resided in different and perhaps re-
mote parishes, from each of them being obliged to
swear to the affidavit before the minister of each
church (as many would not appear before a magis-
trate for the purpose) ; and, as the amended Bill
now proposes to limit the power of swearing these
affidavits to the ministers alone, the inconvenience
I have pointed out will arise in every case where
parties reside in different parishes.

With respect to the Bill which has been intro-
duced into the House of Lords (with the best
intentions I am confident) by Lord EUenborough,
it would be ridiculous in me to attempt a comment
upon any part of it. I only beg to join with (I am
confident) the entire population of England in one
general feeling of satisfaction that the measure
(altering so materially as it purposes to do the
general marriage laws of the kingdom, and par-
ticularly that relating to marriage by banns,) will

MARRIAGE ACT AMENDMENT BILL. 53^

receive from your Lordship that due and scrutiniz-
ing attention and discussion which its magnitude
so obviously demands.

In conclusion, allow me, my Lord, to tender
once more my sincere apologies for the great
liberty I have taken in addressing your Lordship
and I have the honour, &c. &c.

At the same time Mr. Stockdale Hardy
addressed some observations on this subject to
Dr. Phillimore, in which, after reviewing the
propositions of the projected Bill in nearly the
same terms as in the preceding Letter, he intro-
duced the following statement of his own expe-
rience in the diocese of Lincoln : —

Without Commissaries, I will venture to affirm
the business of the diocese could not be transacted.
They have equal powers with the Chancellor of the
diocese, and any appeal from the decisions of their
courts lies to the Arches. I am also happy to say
the Commissaries in this diocese are well quali-
fied for their situations. Now, under these cir-
cumstances, why need the licence papers be sent
to Lincoln ? Our register offices are good — in this
archdeaconry we had one built last year perfectly
insulated and fire-proof. The inconvenience to
the country in searches would be felt very greatly
were such searches numerous ; but there has been
more said on this matter than need have been, for
in a practice of nearly twenty years I never had

54* LETTER TO LORD STOWELL, ETC.

more than six licences searched for out of between
200 and 300 granted every year. They are less
looked after than any other species of document,
and this you will find confirmed by others besides
me. If, instead of " Registrar of the Diocese,"
the word " Registrars'' \f^ substituted, it will be an
improvement, for to give a Commissary a right to
grant a licence, and then not entrust him with the
documents connected with his own act, is an in-
consistency.

SUBSTANCE OF A PAPER

Read by John Stockdale Hardy^ Registrar of
the Archdeaconry of Leicester, at a Meeting
of the Committee of Diocesan Registrars,
held at Richardson's Hotel, Covent Garden,
on Wednesday, the 26th February, 1834.

With respect to the Circular which has called
us together, I beg to say, that I am adverse to any
application to Parliament on our part at the present
time. Indeed, I do not exactly see how any
petition from us could be received in the existing
stage of the business, I never heard of such a
thing as a petition against the Report of a Com-
mittee being carried into effect ; and it is quite
clear we can introduce no Bill embracing the
principle of compensation, except with the sanction
of the Treasury. But if these obstacles did not
intervene, T should still be against any parliamen-
tary application of ours ; it is even on the cards that
no Bill — or such a Bill as we should not materially
object to—w^ill be introduced. In my view, the
disunion or dispute, or whatever it may be termed,
between the Ecclesiastical and Real Property

48 ON THE PROPOSED REMOVAL

Commissioners will be of infinite service to us.
— " It is a mighty pretty quarrel," as Sir Lucius
says, "and ought not to be spoilt." Doctors'
Commons for once has got into Chancery, and the
difference of opinion may lead to the non-intro-
duction of any very sweeping measure. My reasons
for thinking so are principally these : supposing
the recommendations of the Ecclesiastical Com-
missioners for taking away a large proportion of
the jurisdiction of the Ecclesiastical Courts be
acted upon, and an issue — a jury — and vivd voce
evidence be directed in matrimonial and testamen-
tary causes, there will be httle or no emplojnnent
for a bar in the Commons, except the administra-
tion of assets, and some other subjects, be added to
their business. The two proposed new judges
could not subsist without a bar, and business for a
bar ; after all the inferior tribunals had been
destroyed, the salaries of these judges would be
no trifle ; they would be paid out of the Con-
solidated Fund, and, in the present state of pubHc
feeling, the House of Commons would never allow
two such judicial sinecures (for they would be
nearly such) to continue long. Some active member
of the House would get up, as Mr. Hume did last
year with respect to the Court of Admiralty, and
move for a return of the number of causes en-
tered and brought to a sentence, and the number
of hours the judges had sat in court each term,
and the matter would end in an explosion.
Doctors' Commons would be annihilated, and all

OF DIOCESAN REGISTRIES. 49

the wills in the Country being then lodged there,
probably a system of mere registration would be
adopted in place of a system of probate ; for it is
impossible that the practitioners could exist with-
out a court, a bar, and business for a bar. These
are the principal reasons which induce me to
think it would be unadvisable for us to bring our
case before parliament in the first instance. Let
us see the Bill, and we shall then be better able to
decide what to do. At the same time I am quite
for keeping the subject alive in our local districts,
for the feelings generated there are the real
conduit-pipes to the House of Commons ; we must
be prepared for action, as we know not in what
hour we shall be attacked. I wish to speak, how-
ever, with every respect of the practitioners in
Doctors' Commons ; I number amongst them some
of my oldest and most valued friends, and I am
certain many of them never dreamed of such a
sweeping alteration being proposed as we have had
the misfortune to see.

The proposed " Local Courts Bill" of the Chan-
cell or is another " God-send " for us, although I
think it would not be prudent to mix up our case
with it. It has now become a Government and a
political measure, and we should endeavour to
steer as clear of politics as possible. Our principle
is, that old established and conveniently situated
local courts should not be removed. We do not
meddle with the question, whether or not new
local courts should be created. I confess I would

50 ON THE PROPOSED REMOVAL

sooner be associated with a metropolitan court
than with any new scheme of local courts ; and I
feel that, next to being allowed to remain as we
are, the most advantageous situation for us to be
placed in would be to be permitted to retain our
domiciles, and still practice in the metropolitan
court ; through our local friends we should obtain
a large proportion of the country business ; and as
attornies, although officers of a court in London,
are still not obliged to reside there, why should
we ? These remarks, however, are merely made
en passant ; and now to resume the business of the
day.

We complain of not having been sufficiently
heard ; but I take a very different view of this part
of the subject to what T dare say almost all those
who are present do. It has so happened that
upon the minutes of evidence as they now stand
almost all our important points appear ; where
they do not, the inferences are decidedly favour-
able to us ; and there is such a thing as giving too
much evidence ; a skilful counsel seldom or never
calls all the witnesses mentioned in his brief. The
all-important calculation as to searches is in evi-
dence ; the difference between the charges in the
country and in London is in evidence, both
before the commissioners and the committee ; the
returns as to the places of custody for wills
in all the courts are in evidence, and shew
that in almost all the dioceses they are consi-
dered secure. Mr. Protheroe speaks to a decided

OF DIOCESAN REGISTRIES. 51

improvement having taken place in the method
of keeping the records in the country ; Mr.
Gwynne to the superior knowledge of local practi-
tioners as to identity of parties (one of the grand
points made for the establishment of the new
scheme) ; Mr. Freshfield and Mr. Maule to the
loose manner of transacting business in the su-
perior courts, and to frauds having been the results.
Now all this is positive and decisive evidence in
our favour. With respect to inferences in our
favour, we have offered ourselves for examination
before the Committee, had they chosen to have
called us ; we have presented to them our Memorial
and offered to substantiate it by evidence, and no
evidence of frauds having been practised on the
country courts appears on either the minutes of
the Ecclesiastical Commissioners or the Committee
of the House of Commons. I candidly tell you I
am content to stand upon the evidence as it is — at
all events, if further evidence is called for, we are
not the parties to give it. We object to the evi-
dence received by the Commissioners and the
Committee, because it was given by interested
parties — would not the same objection apply to
our evidence ? I placed our Memorial ^ in the
hands of a friend of mine, a very rising man at the
Chancery Bar ; and, on my reading that part of it

* " Memorial of the Registrars of the Courts of the several
Dioceses in the Province of Canterbury, 1833," royal 8vo. pp. 34.
This Memorial, it is believed, was written chiefly by Ralph Barnes,
Esq. Deputy Registrar of the Consistory Court of Exeter.

E 2

52 ON THE PROPOSED REMOVAL

to him which complained that only two diocesan
registrars had been examined, and no question
put to them calculated to extract their opinions as
to the policy of a General Registry for Wills, he
stopped me by saying, *' No, you could not expect
such a question to be proposed to them ; you are
inconsistent in your argument there — you complain
of interested parties having been examined against
you, and still wish yourselves, who are equally in-
terested parties on the other side, to be examined ;
nothing but disinterested witnesses will serve you/'
These observations very forcibly struck me, and
led me to the conclusion that, if further evidence
was necessary, none except that of independent
parties would serve us. Now I think great good
might be done in a quiet way by this system. I
would invite the nobility, members of parliament,
and influential gentry of our respective counties, to
inspect our registries ; and I would have briefly ex-
plained to them the method pursued as to searches,
filing of wills, &c. The approaching assizes would
not be an ineligible time for the purpose. The
impression made, I am convinced, would be great ;
many of the nobility, &c. are not aware that there
are such establishments as local registries. The
plan proposed would get the subject discussed in
the country ; our friends in parliament would be
strengthened by the evidence of their own senses ;
and many who would not take the trouble of read-
ing a pamphlet would feel an interest in the case.
At the same time the local public might be kept

OF DIOCESAN REGISTRIES. 53

interested by short paragraphs in the local papers
from time to time; and, should further evidence be
called for, we should have no difficulty in procuring
some leading attornies, and men extensively en-
gaged in executorships, to speak in favour of the
local system. Another thing too I fancy would
have a striking effect ; a calculation as to the
number of wills and records of administration
which would have to be removed to London in case
the recommendations of the Ecclesiastical Com-
missioners and of the Committee be adopted ; my
calculation is^ that from my Httle archdeaconry I
should have to send up from 35 to 40,000 ; several
millions would have to be sent up from the aggre-
gate local registries. And nothing perhaps would
have a greater effect on the local public mind than
this ; they would begin to think why all these
documents should be removed, and of the " perils
and dangers " of the removal.

I now come to the consideration of a scheme as
to our jurisdictions. The more I consider this,
the more I am convinced we should take our stand
on Lord Stowell's Bill of 1812. The very name of
Lord Stowell is a " tower of strength" to us ; the
name of the man who for years gave a character
to the courts in Doctors' Commons they otherwise
would never have obtained, and whose decisions on
points of Maritime Law were, and still are, regarded
with the most profound respect by all the nations
of Europe. The question at the period to which I
refer was very fully gone into, and tlie debate in

54 ON THE PROPOSED REMOVAL

the House of Commons was a most interesting one.
Lord Folkstone (now Earl of Radnor), Sir William
Scott (now Lord Stowell), Mr. Pascoe Grenfell, the
Hon. Dr. Herbert, Sir Samuel Romilly, Mr. William
Smith, Sir John NichoU, and the then Attorney-
General Sir Vicary Gibbs, w^ere the principal
speakers ; and the debate terminated in Sir William
Scott being requested by the House to draw up a
Bill. In that Bill, as I stated yesterday, two species
of courts were retained ; one for common-form
business, another for the exercise of contentious
jurisdiction. It provided that no courts should
exercise any species of contentious jurisdiction be-
yond the reception of a libel, except they sat under
the immediate commission of an archbishop or
bishop (this you will perceive would include epis-
copal commissary courts, but not archdeacons'
courts) ; and that with respect to other courts the
simple common-form business should be preserved.
The Bill further provided, that the judges of the
episcopal courts should be either civilians or
barristers of a certain standing. Now I contend
that this scheme cannot be amended, further than
to confine all contentious jurisdiction to the epis-
copal consistorial court of each diocese. The plan
would then be, that in courts of archdeaconries,
where registries existed, the power of proving
wills, granting administrations, marriage licences,
faculties, and the progress of a cause as far as the
reception of a plea, would be reserved, and when
the matter assumed an appearance of litigation, the

OF DIOCESAN REGISTRIES. 55

assistance of the judge of the consistorial court,
the civihan, or barrister, would be called in. The
idea of the archidiaconal court proceeding as far
as the reception of a plea no doubt arose from a
wish not to put parties in trivial cases to the ex-
pense in the first instance of resorting to the epis-
copal consistorial courts. I am convinced the
scheme would work well for the public ; nearly all
the episcopal consistorial courts have jurisdiction
over probates and administrations sufficient to
sustain them : there may be some few exceptions,
and those would have to be provided for.

The great danger of abolishing all except epis-
copal consistorial courts for purposes of probate or
administration lies here : it sanctions the principle
of a general registry, and would lead in many in-
stances to grants being obtained from London
and not from the consistorial court. Take the
diocese of Lincoln : — who in Hertfordshire, Bucks,
Hunts, Beds, and even Leicestershire, would not
find it more convenient to have a grant from Doc-
tors' Commons than from Lincoln ? The distances
in many cases would not be half, or even a quarter,
and in all the method of conveyance would be more
direct. Besides, I feel convinced that such portions
of the public as have hitherto enjoyed the advan-
tages of archidiaconal registries where the cathe-
dral establishment is at a distance would not sub-
mit to be put to such inconvenience, and, if we
refer to the returns laid before parliament, we shall
find that the grants made by other courts than

56 ON THE PROPOSED REMOVAL

episcopal con sis tori al courts run the latter very
hard as to number I should say, abolish all pe-
culiars if existing in counties where cathedrals are
situate, and merge them in the consistorial courts;
if in archdeaconries where registries are provided,
and at a distance from the cathedral estabhsh-
ments, merge them in the archdeaconries. The
ecclesiastical commissioners at first never intended
to abolish any courts except those below bishops'
commissary courts ; then they decided on only re-
taining consistorial courts, and from thence they
proceeded to a system of general registry in the
metropolis, finding, no doubt, as they did in several
instances, that a general metropolitan registry
would be as convenient, or more so, than one esta-
blished at the seat of the see.

I say again, stand on Lord Sto well's Bill — what
better ? Here is a system at once sanctioned by
his high name —a system sanctioned by the House
of Commons (for the Bill passed there, and was
rejected as to the judicial qualification clause by
the Lords only by a majority of 4 :) Lords Eldon
and Redesdale, however, speaking in favour of the
Bill, and the late Lord Ellenborough, and his bro-
ther the Bishop of Chester (now Bath and Wells),
opposing the qualification clause, and by Sir John
Nicholl and the Doctors' Commons bar.

With respect to bona notahilia, no doubt it must
undergo a thorough revision, but there must be a
superior court in the metropolis. I take it to be
of the highest consequence that a civilian bar

OF DIOCESAN REGISTRIES. 5/

should be preserved, and that cannot be effected
(as I observed before) without a sufficient number
of practitioners, and business for them. The pre-
rogative court is certainly unknown to the common
law of the land, and is the creature of the canons.
It arose out of the inconvenience felt when each
bishop made a grant for effects in each diocese.
That this was the original jurisdiction there can be
no doubt ; and it would be an interesting employ-
ment for the registrarial antiquary to make a cal-
culation as to the quantum of business formerly
transacted in the consistorial courts as compared
with the present times. I once saw a document
which proved that no less than five advocates were
once resident in Lincoln. This was doubtless
when all business in that extensive diocese was
transacted at Lincoln, and all wills proved there ;
and the inconveniences experienced by this, un-
doubtedly the primary practice, led to the appoint-
ment of the archdeaconry chancellors, the officiales
foranei, or commissaries, in each archdeaconry.
The prerogative court may be assimilated to one
who, having served his apprenticeship to a wealthy
merchant who afterwards became reduced, made
his fortune principally by transactions in the pub-
lic funds, then purchased the mansion and grounds
formerly the property of his unfortunate friend,
and, it is said, is now attempting the ejectment of
the latter from a cottage and a curtilage bordering
on his own once splendid domain, and the sole
remnant of his shattered fortune. Such ingrati-

58 ON THE PROPOSED REMOVAL, ETC.

tude was certainly scarcely ever heard of, and I
trust the report will prove unfounded. But to re-
turn. I consider our " Memorial " binding upon us
— it is our only conjoint authorised publication.
It distinctly recognizes Lord StowelFs measure,
quotes it, and asserts the principle that a court
may be a good and convenient court for common
form business which would not be fit to exercise
contentious jurisdiction. As to bona notabilia,
our Memorial does not propose its abolition, but
its enlargement to suit the altered circumstances
of the times. The Memorial advocates the reten-
tion of the Prerogative Court, and I feel strongly
that, except, that court and a civilian bar be re-
tained, the system of probate must fall altogether,
and a mere country or metropolitan system of
registration be substituted. Without a competent
civilian bar, the public will not consent to pay the
expense of a system of probate — there would not
be a sufficient quid pro quo.

My idea is, we cannot act too much on the de-
fensive ; that was the line of tactics agreed on at
our first meeting in April, 1832. It is all very
well to be prepared with some scheme, but as to
anything further, I should say, wait until we are
attacked in the shape of some legislative measure,
and do not let us expend all our ammunition
before the hour of real conflict.

OBSERVATIONS

ON THE

Ecclesiastical Courts Consolidating Bill,

1836.

I. — The following is the third section of the
above Bill :

" And be it enacted, that all courts at present
exercising Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction in England
and Wales, save and except the courts of the
vicars-general of the archbishops and bishops re-
spectively, and of the master of the faculties of
the archbishop of Canterbury, shall, from and
after the be abolished, so

far as relates to any Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction,
and that the functions of the judges, registrars,
deputy-registrars, and other officers of such first-
mentioned courts, so far as they relate to Eccle-
siastical matters, shall thenceforth cease and de-
termine, and that the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction
heretofore exercised by such courts, and not by
this Act expressly abolished or transferred to his
Majesty's Court of Probate hereinafter mentioned,
shall be transferred to and exercised by the courts
of the vicars-general of the archbishops and

=^ D 6

60* ON THE ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS

bishops respectively in as full a manner as it could
heretofore have been exercised by the courts so
to be abolished as aforesaid."

Observations.

Should this be enacted, no licences for mar-
riage can in future issue, except from the Faculty
Office in Doctors' Commons, or from the courts of
the vicars-general of dioceses, which courts are
almost invariably situate at the cathedral estab-
lishments.''^ Thus, in the existing state of dioceses,
(except a party apply at the Faculty Office in
London,) a person residing at Leicester will be
able to obtain no licence for marriage except from
Lincoln, or one resident at Nottingham none
except from York. The proposed new arrange-
ment of dioceses would, in some cases, decrease
this inconvenience, but still very great incon-
venience would remain under the new arrange-
ment ; the party resident at Leicester would be
able to obtain no licence except from Peter-
borough, and the one resident at Nottingham
none except from Lincoln. It should be stated,
that, under the existing law, documents of the
description referred to can be granted both at

♦ The dioceses of Ely and St. David's, I fancy, are exceptions.
The episcopal Consistory and Vicar-general's Courts for the dio-
cese of Ely are held at Cambridge, and there are branch Con-
sistory and Vicar-general's Courts for the diocese of St. David's at
Caermarthen, Brecon, Haverfordwest, and Cardigan.

CONSOLIDATING BILL, 183G. 61*

Leicester and Nottingham, and also at various
other places in the kingdom — the seats of arch-
deaconries or diocesan commissary districts,* and
these pass under the seals of the several arch-
deacons, or of the commissaries of bishops, who
hold patents authorising them to issue such docu-
ments. In all these instances there is no occasion
for any reference to the seat of the see.

It is the practice, in many dioceses, to issue
licences in blank to surrogates, but this is illegal ;
and so strong was the opinion given upon it by
Dr. Lushington, in reply to cases stated to him,
that in several dioceses the practice has been dis -
continued. — (Vide paper annexed, No. I.) The
late Dr. Arnold, when Chancellor of the diocese of
Worcester, stopped the issuing of licences in blank
in that diocese, on the passing of the Marriage
Act of 1823, and issued a Circular (vide paper
annexed. No. 11.) explaining his reasons for so
doing ; the principal of which was, that, as the Act
gave any interested party the power of entering a
caveat in the registry, and provided that, in case
of such caveat being entered, no licence should
issue until the matter of the objection had been
examined into by the judge, it was absolutely ne-
cessary that surrogates should not hold sealed
licences in blank to be filled up and issued with-
out previous communication with the registrar.

The course pursued in those dioceses where

* Among others Bury St. Edmund's, Bedford, Huntingdon,
Aylesbury (for Bucks), &c.

^ d7

62* ON THE ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS

sealed licences are not now issued in blank, is for
the surrogate to swear the applicant to the con-
tents of the necessary affidavit, to return the affi-
davit into the registry, and then for the registrar,
in case he finds no caveat entered, and all correct
in the affidavit, and in cases of minority the proper,
consent or consents deposed to, to send the
licence properly drawn up and sealed to the sur-
rogate, to deliver to the party.*

This subject is deserving of great additional
attention, taken, as it now must be, in connection
with the Bill at present before the House of Com-
mons, intituled, "A Bill for Marriages in Eng-
land." Under this Bill licences for the celebration
of marriage, not according to the rites of the
Church of England, are to be granted by certain
officers called " Superintendent Registrars of Dis-
tricts," and at the offices of these registrars caveats
against the grants of such licences are to be
lodged in the same manner as caveats may now be
lodged at the offices of the various ordinaries,
whether vicars-general, chancellors, commissaries,
or archdeacons, and no such licences are to issue
until the matters of the caveats have been inquired
into.

* In Ireland no licences for marriage are issued in blank to
surrogates ; an official or surrogate, with an attendant registrar,
are stationed in the city of the diocese or principal town of the
archdeaconry, and by them are all licences decreed, prepared, and
completed. — Vide extract from the Rev. R. MaunseU's letter.
(No. III.)

CONSOLIDATING BILL, 1836. 63*

The above provision, if carried into eiFect, will,
in case the clause also to which I have adverted in
the Ecclesiastical Courts Consolidating Bill, be
adopted, place those who prefer being married by-
licence not according to the rites of the Church of
England in a far more advantageous position than
those who may wish to conform to such rites.
The officers — the " superintendent registrars ' —
who, in the former case, will have the power to
grant the licences, will be invariably resident
either in or at a short distance from the populous
towns of the empire ; whereas, in the latter case,
the officers — '' the registrars of the vicars-general,"
— who will have the sole power of granting the
licences, will, with the exceptions I have men-
tioned, be resident at the seats of the sees, and it
is notorious that the English cities are very fre-
quently thinly populated, and far removed from
the densely inhabited districts of the dioceses
attached to them.

With reference also to caveats against the grants
of marriage licences, it will surely be more con-
venient for parents and guardians to enter these
at the offices of the superintendent registrars than
at those of the vicars-general of the dioceses. As
to these, however, no system can be rendered com-
plete, as far as members of the Established Church
are concerned, so long as the master of the facul-
ties of the archbishop of Canterbury is allowed to
issue marriage licences for all parts of the king-
dom, upon affidavits made in the present form.

64* ON THE ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS

This is a power, as is well known, conferred on the
archbishop by the statute 25th Henry VIII. c. 21,
as having been theretofore exercised by the papal
see. It is at perfect variance with the present
marriage laws, and with the system of caveat
estabhshed by the Act 4th Geo. IV. c. 76, s. 1 1 ,
and ought either to be abrogated or placed under
regulations applicable to existing circumstances.

Supposing the third clause in the Ecclesiastical
Courts Bill to be adopted, and none except the
vicars- general of the several dioceses to have the
power of granting licences, it may be fair matter
for consideration, whether the various archidia-
conal or diocesan commissary establishments and
registries now subsisting in most dioceses, or such
of them as are conveniently situate as to counties
or districts, might not be made available for the
grant of marriage licences, under district seals
granted by the vicars-general — a system, it is
believed, now in operation in the diocese of St.
David's.

This would obviate much of the inconvenience
which would otherwise arise, and the registrars
attached to these establishments would be found
fully competent to perform the duties entrusted to
them. Surrogates within the districts would then
have to transmit the affidavits leading to the grant
of licences to these district registrars, instead of to
the seat of the see, while those resident in the
district attached to the seat of the see would have,
of course, to send them thither.

CONSOLIDATING BILL. 1836. 66*

In these district registries also, caveats might be
entered, and on their entry an instant notification
of their having been lodged ought to be made by
the district registrar to the registrar of the diocese,
and, in case the Faculty Office of the archbishop be
preserved, to the master also of that establish-
ment.

II. — The Report of the Select Committee to
which the various petitions presented against the
probate clause in the Ecclesiastical Courts Bill
were referred, proposes finter aliaj,

" That the registrar of each diocese shall be ap-
pointed by the General Court of Probate to be es-
tablished in London to act as an officer and be a
surrogate of such court ; that he shall receive all
wills brought to him for probate, and the applica-
tions for letters of administration when the per-
sonal effects are under £300 ; that such officer
shall retain all such wills for fourteen days, and
then transmit them, with all necessary papers, &c.
to the Court of Probate in London ; that, after the
probate has been prepared and sealed in London,
it shall be transmitted to such registrar for the
purpose of being delivered out to the interested
party, and that with the said probate shall be sent
an official copy of the will to be retained by the
registrar for inspection in the country at the
diocesan registry.

" For the accommodation of persons living at a
distance from the offices of the registrars in the

66* ON THE ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS

different dioceses, the Committee suggest that
surrogates should be appointed by the court in
London in such places as should be thought ad-
visable, to administer the usual oaths, and, if re-
quired by the party, to transmit to the registrars
the will and papers necessary for obtaining pro-
bate and letters of administration."

Observations.

It is to be remarked, that the recommendations
made by the Committee lose sight of all except
registrars of dioceses. The officers of district,
commissary, or archdeaconry registries within dio-
ceses (and who are as numerous as the registrars
of dioceses) are quite passed over. It is true, the
officers belonging to these latter registries might,
under the recommendation, be appointed surro-
gates of the General Court of Probate, but they
would have to transmit to the registrars of the
dioceses the wills and papers necessary for obtain-
ing probates and administrations. The report
says, this transmission is to be made if required
hy the parties ; but it does not go on to say, that
the registrars or surrogates of the districts shall be
empowered, in like manner as the registrars or
surrogates of the dioceses, to send the documents
forthwith to London in order to the completion of
the probates or administrations. From what fund
also are the registrars or surrogates of the districts
to be compensated for their trouble and responsi-

CONSOLIDATING BILL, 1836. Q7^

bility ? It would appear from the report, that the
sums of £500 per annum, allotted to each diocese,
are to be applied exclusively amongst the regis-
trars of the several dioceses, '^in proportion to the
income now arising from the performance of the
duties proposed to be abolished — such annual pay-
ments to be received by them, in diminution of
the compensation which they would otherwise be
entitled to receive."

If I am correct in my construction of the report
of the Committee, a will proved before a district
surrogate at any other place in a diocese than the
cathedral city will have to be transmitted to the
registrar of the diocese resident in the cathedral
city, before it can receive probate in London ; at
all events, the probate, when made out, will have
to be transmitted from London to the registrar
of the diocese, and the copy of the will which is to
accompany it is to remain in the registry of the
diocese. Now let attention be directed to the
practical working of such a system.

Either branch diocesan or archidiaconal regis-
tries, with proper officers attached thereto, have
for centuries existed in most of the dioceses in
England, and are placed for the most part in eligible
situations. These were no doubt founded upon
considerations of public convenience ; and, to ob-
viate the hardships which the community endured
when applications for probates and administra-
tions and for the inspection of original documents
could alone be made at the cathedral registries.

68* ON THE ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS

they would have to be sent by the registrar or
surrogate of the diocese to London ; and lastly,
the probate would have to be sent by the officer
of the Court of Probate in London to the registrar
at Lincoln, to be delivered to the interested party !
It is also clear from the report, that the copy of
the will which is to accompany the probate from
London, would have to travel to Lincoln, and be
detained in the registry there, upwards of eighty
miles from Bedford, where the executor and the
parties interested reside, and that at no other place
than Lincoln could they have access to such copy !
The proposed new arrangement of dioceses
would certainly lessen the inconvenience and in-
jury above pointed out — but still very great incon-
venience and injury would remain. Take a few
examples : The proposed diocese of Peterborough
is to consist of the counties of Northampton, Rut-
land, and Leicester. There are now three distinct
registries where wills, &c. are lodged, and probates
and administrations granted, — at Peterborough,
Northampton, and Leicester. Under the system
recommended by the Committee, a will proved at
Northampton, or Leicester, must be sent to Peter-
borough before it could officially/ reach London ;
the probate, when passed in London, would have
to travel vid Peterborough to Northampton or
Leicester, and the copy of the will must be retained
in the diocesan registry at Peterborough. Of
what service would this copy be to the inhabitants
of Northampton or Leicester ? A reference to Lon-

CONSOLIDATING BILL, 1836. 69^

don would be more convenient. The population
of the three places is about as under : —

The city of Peterborough . 5,553

The town of Northampton . 1 5,35 1
The town of Leicester . . 39,306

The proposed diocese of Lincoln is to consist of
the counties of Lincoln and Nottingham. A will
therefore proved at Nottingham would have to
travel to Lincoln, and from thence to London,
before probate could be granted — and the copy-
sent from London with the probate would have
permanently to remain at Lincoln.

Population of the city of Lincoln . 1 1 ,892
Ditto of the town of Nottingham . 50,680

In the proposed dioceses of Lichfield, LlandafF,
Worcester, &c. the effect would be equally incon-
venient.

Were district registries retained or placed in
convenient situations in the larger dioceses, and
the officers of such registries made surrogates of
the General Court of Probate, and authorised quasi
the districts to transmit at once to London the
wills and necessary papers leading to probates, to
receive the probates, &c. from the metropolitan
court, and to retain in the district registries the
copies of the wills to be transmitted with the pro-
bates, the inconveniences and anomalies above
pointed out, would be obviated.

70* ON THE ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS

The preceding Observations have been drawn
up by one who presumes to think, nay, who feels
thoroughly convinced, that no system of probate
will work well for, or be satisfactory to, the country,
which takes away the custody of the original wills
and records of administrations permitted to be
proved or granted out of the metropolis, from re-
gistries situate in the dioceses and districts.

In venturing therefore to solicit attention to the
remarks he has submitted, he would wish not to
be understood as having in the slightest degree
changed any opinion he ever held on the general
subject, and he trusts that he will not be deemed
impertinent in making this avowal ; he can truly
say, it is in the remotest degree removed from his
intention either to give offence, or to assume a
tone which might be deemed indecorous. The
spirit which has dictated the observations above
made, is one which, acting in conjunction with an
impression that Parliament may view the subject
in a far different light to what the writer does, and
may see fit to apply a metropolitan centralization
system to the cases of wills and records of admi-
nistrations, would, in case of such an event, strive
to decrease the great public inconvenience and in-
jury which he humbly conceives would be occa-
sioned.

A very few words introduced into certain clauses
of the Bill would secure all the conveniences and
advantages c( ntemplated by the writer.

CONSOLIDATING BILL, 1836. 71*

APPENDIX.

No. I.— CASE.

A CHANCELLOR of a diocese, wishing to conform as strictly
as possible to the last Marriage Act, drew up an order that
no licences in blank should be delivered out to the surro-
gates in the country, but that the affidavits in blank should
only be sent to them by the registrar, and that upon an ap-
plication being made to any of such surrogates for a licence
the surrogate should fill up the affidavit and swear the party,
and forthwith transmit the affidavit to the registrar, who,
immediately upon the receipt thereof (should there be no
caveat entered against it), should fill up the licence and
transmit it to the surrogate.

Before the above order is issued, your opinion is requested.
First, whether, in case the practice of issuing licences
in blank to surrogates were retained (it having
subsisted for nearly time immemorial in the above
diocese^, in case any error should be committed by
the surrogates in granting such marriage licence,
or in case it should turn out that a caveat had been
properly entered pursuant to 4 Geo. IV. c. 76, s. 1 1,
and the parties should marry pursuant to the h-
cence, and before the registrar could apprise the
surrogate of the caveat, any action for damages or
other proceedings would lie against the chancellor
of the diocese (supposing him to be aware that li-
cences were issued in blank), or against the regis-
trar or his deputy?

72* ON THE ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS

OPINION.

I am of opinion that the chancellor has acted perfectly
right in prohibiting the issue of licences in blank. Sir
Joseph Jekyll, a most eminent judge, declared in Herbert's
case (3 P. W. p. 118) his opinion that such licences were
void. I think, if the practice of issuing the licences in blank
continues, and any mischievous consequences arise, the
chancellor who allowed of such practice would be respon-
sible. Whether an action would lie against him depends so
entirely on the injury any party might receive in a particular
case, that I cannot answer that question generally. I am of
opinion that the chancellor might be prosecuted in the eccle-
siastical courts for breach of duty, and I am inclined to think
that, in certain cases, he might be indicted.

(Signed) Stephen Lushington.

Cromer, Oct. 17, 1825.

No. II.

Circular Letter of Dr. Arnold, Chancellor of the
Diocese of Worcester.

Doctors Commons^ 7 th Nov, 1823.
Sir,

Considering that the New Marriage Act of the 4th

Geo. IV. c. 76, s. 11, enacts, that if any caveat be entered

against the grant of any licence for a marriage, with tlie

forms there specified, no licence shall issue till reference has

been made to the judge, and a certificate obtained from liim,

or till the caveat be withdrawn ; and that such caveat can

be entered only in the registry ; and that if surrogates were

to grant licences without communication with the registry,

then, notwithstanding a caveat were entered, a licence might

CONSOLIDATING BILL, 1836. 73*

be obtained by application to a surrogate residing at a dis-
tance from the registry, he not being apprised of the caveat,
and so the effect intended by the Legislature to be given to
the caveat might be defeated ; I think that, for the future,
a surrogate, on application being made for a licence, should,
in the first instance, only take the affidavit of the party, ac-
cording to the form lately sent from the vicar-general's
office, and that the same should be transmitted to the re-
gistry ; and then, if no caveat has been entered, the licence
should issue from thence ; and I will be obliged to you to
carry this suggestion on my part into effect : and upon any
caveat being entered be pleased to follow the directions of
sec. 1 1 of the Act with respect to it.

I am, &c.

J. H. Arnold.

To the Deputy Registrar of the
Diocese of Worcester.

No. III.

Extract of a Letter addressed to J. S. Hardy, Esq. by
the Rev. Richard Maunsell, Chaplain to the Lord
Bishop of Limerick.

Castle Island, co. Kerry,

April ISth, 1836.

" The diocese of Ardfert and Aghadoe is united with that
of Limerick. The bishop resides entirely and constantly in
the city of Limerick. His lordship appoints a vicar-general
for Ardfert and Aghadoe, and if he does not reside he
appoints a surrogate. Alexander Hamilton, Esq. LL.D., a
distinguished civilian, is the present vicar-general, and re-
sides in Dublin. His surrogate, and the sole acting official
of this diocese, is a constant resident in Tralee, the county

74* ON THE ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS.

town, where he holds his court, and performs all the duties
of his office. It is not the practice in this diocese, nor I be-
lieve in any diocese in Ireland, to issue licences in blank.
Here the Hcence is prepared and filled up by the registrar,
in which are introduced the names, station, and residence of
the parties, and then brought to the surrogate, who adminis-
ters the oath, and makes every possible necessary inquiry.

(Signed) Rd. Maunsell."

OBSERVATIONS

Upon the Jurisdictions of the Vicars Gene-
ral, Officials Principal, and Commis-
saries of Bishops, and upon those of
Archdeacons and their Officials.

[Published in 1848.]

Considerable misconception having prevailed
with respect to the jurisdictions of the Vicars
General, Officials Principal, and Commissaries of
Bishops, and of those of Archdeacons and their
Officials, the following brief observations upon the
subject may possibly be of some service.

The voluntary jurisdiction of a bishop is either
exercised by himself or by his vicar- general ; a
bishop is bound to appoint an official principal for
matters of contentious jurisdiction,^ but with re-
spect to voluntary jurisdiction, it is said, he may
either retain it, or grant out such portions of it as
he thinks proper to a vicar-general ; -f universally
however, as I believe, the practice runs, to appoint
both a vicar-general and an official principal. The
jurisdiction of a bishop extends, generally speaking,
at all times, over his entire diocese, and this is

* Gibs. 986. f 1 Stillingfleet, 330.

GO ON THE JURISDICTIONS, ETC.

usually exercised by his vicar-general and official
principal. A commissary of a bishop (except in
cases of probates of wills and administrations of
the personal effects of persons dying within the
commissariate or archdeaconry, and in which cases,
should his patent be sufficiently extensive, grants
of probates or administrations are valid for any
personal property within the diocese left by de-
ceased parties,)* only exercises jurisdiction within
the limits prescribed to him ; but both the vicar-
general and official principal of the diocese, and
the commissary of the commissariate or archdea-
conry, usually (at least as far as their patents ex-
tend, or unless some special circumstances inter-
fere) possess the authority of the bishop, the former
throughout the entire diocese, the latter within the
commissariate or archdeaconry, inasmuch as they
hold commissions for the exercise of such authority
directly from the bishop. With respect to arch-
deacons, their jurisdictions appear to stand upon a
very different footing.

Sir John Nicholl, in the case of Parham v, Tem-
plar,"f' said, " that archdeacons may have * their
peculiars, and in that case are not bound by the
stat. 24 Hen. VIII. c. 12" (which regulates ap-
peals).:}: "This statute," the learned judge ob-

♦ The King v. Yonge, D.D., 5 Maule & Selwyn, 1 19.

t 3 Phill. 243.

J The object of this statute was principally the prevention of
appeals to Rome ; and under it, and the stat. '25 Hen. VIII. c. 19,
it is provided, that in all cases ecclesiastical the final decision shall

OF BISHOPS AND ARCHDEACONS. 61

served, " applies to the ordinary eases of archdea-
cons, presiding in jurisdictions where they are
subject to the superior jurisdiction of the bishop,
and not to cases of pecuHars ; '' and in the same
case of Parham v. Templar,^ the learned judge said,
" There is a third description of peculiars which
are still subject to the bishop's visitation, and, being
so, are still Uable to his superintendence and juris-
diction." Wood, in his " Institute," mentions these :
he says, " There the bishop visits at his first and
at his triennial visitations : here the appeal lies
from the peculiar to the diocesan, but the right of
appeal and the right of visitation seem almost
necessarily to go together ; and in a case that has
been quoted in argument,-}- Lord Chief Justice
Holt said, that there were three sorts of peculiars,
the first, royal peculiars, where the appeal is di-
rected to the king ; the second, peculiars having
exempt jurisdictions, such as that of a dean and
chapter ; and the third, where the jurisdiction is
not exempt, but under the control of the diocesan."
With respect to the last description of peculiars,
in the case of Beare and Biles v. Jacob,:}: in which
the question arose, whether the jurisdiction of the

be of the king's authority ; that the first appeal (if it began in his
court), in every such cause, shall lie from the sentence of the
archdeacon to his diocesan, from his diocesan to the archbishop
of the province, and from the archbishop to the king.

* PhiU. 246.

+ Johnson v. Lee, Skinner's Reports, 589.

:j: 2 Haggard, pp 262, 263.

62 ON THE JURISDICTIONS, ETC.

sub-dean of Sarum was co-ordinate with that of
the bishop of Sarum, or only subordinate. Sir John
Nicholl said, " The instrument of the appointment
of the sub-dean has been exhibited, and is merely
subordinate and archidiaconal : the bishop visits
and inhibits : during his visitation, the sub-dean's
jurisdiction is wholly suspended, and is merged in,
and exercised by, the bishop, as in ordinary arch-
deaconries."

In general, the jurisdiction of an archdeacon is
founded on immemorial custom, and is subordi-
nate to that of the bishop ; such jurisdiction vests
in the archdeacon by virtue of his collation to, and
his taking possession of, the dignity ; hence, there
is no necessity for any commission to be granted
by the bishop delegating to the archdeacon any
authority ; he becomes invested with the authority
by virtue of his office, and not by any instrument
of delegation from the bishop ; and some arch-
deacons whose archdeaconries were formerly con-
nected with bishoprics of the old foundation,
exercise a far more ancient jurisdiction than the
bishops presiding in the dioceses with which such
archdeacons are now associated. A bishop, upon
the confirmation of his election by the archbishop
of the province, and previous to his consecration,
becomes possessed of spiritual jurisdiction ;* but
the bishop receives no delegated authority from
the archbishop, and the latter does not, in obey-
ing the royal mandate for the confirmation of the

* Gibs. 114.

OF BISHOPS AND ARCHDEACONS 63

dean and chapter's election of the bishop, lose his
right of visiting the diocese — of inquiring into the
conduct of the bishop, clergy, and others resident
therein — of punishing the bishop, if guilty of
irregularities or crimes — or of exercising, by his
vicar-general, his concurrent jurisdiction of grant-
ing licences for marriage throughout the province.
The bishop also takes an oath, at his consecration,
of canonical obedience to the archbishop and the
metropolitical church of the province ;^ and
during the vacancy of a see all ecclesiastical
jurisdiction, until the confirmation of the new
bishop, generally vests in the archbishop,-}^ much
in the same manner as would the jurisdiction of
an archdeacon, acting without an official, on his
death or resignation, vest in the bishop of the
diocese, where no special commissary of the arch-
deaconry had been appointed by the diocesan.
In the case of The Churchwardens of St. John's,
Margate X (being a faculty case), against the Pa-
rishioners of the same, Sir William Scott, the then
official to the archdeacon of Canterbury, said,
that " the archdeacon of Canterbury, by ancient
composition with the archbishop, exercised his
episcopal jurisdiction in a great part of that dio-
cese ;" and so Lyndwood§ says, "but, besides these,
archdeacons have likewise their officials to exercise
their ecclesiastical jurisdiction in certain parts of

* Form of Consecration. f God, 39, 42. Ayl. Parer. 125.
I 1 Consistory Reports, 198. § Part 16.

64

the diocese, having acquired jurisdiction from
their bishops, either by an express composition or
grant, or else by prescription and length of usage,
time out of mind." In the case of Prankhard v,
Deacle,* it was urged by Dr. Lushington and Dr.
Addams, in argument, that " there are many arch-
deacons who enjoy a pecuUar jurisdiction." In
the case of Robinson v. Godsalve,-!^ upon motion
for a prohibition to stay a suit in the Bishop's
Court, upon suggestion that a party lived within a
peculiar archdeaconry, it was resolved by the
Court that, '^ where the archdeacon hath a peculiar
jurisdiction, he is totally exempt from the power
of the bishop, and the bishop cannot enter there
and hold court ; and in such case, if the party who
lives within the peculiar be sued in the Bishop's
Court, a prohibition shall be granted, for the
statute intends that no suit shall be per saltum ;
but, if the archdeacon hath not a peculiar, then
the bishop and he have concurrent jurisdiction,
and the party may commence his suit, either m
the Archdeacon's Court or the Bishop's, and he
hath election to choose which he pleaseth, and, if
he commence in the Bishop's Court, no prohibition
shall be granted ; for, if it should, it would confine
the Bishop's Court to hear nothing but appeals,
and render it incapable of having any causes
originally commenced there."

The law makes a wide distinction between

* 1 Haggard, 175. f Lord Raymond, 123.

OF BISHOPS AND ARCHDEACONS. 65

ordinary and delegated power ; ordinary power
supposeth a person to act in his own right, and
not by a deputation from another, which no chan-
cellor or official doth pretend to \^ the former
acting under a commission granted by a bishop,
the latter under one granted by an archdeacon,
for the latter can, generally speaking, delegate to
an official the jurisdiction conferred upon him by
his collation, and his taking possession of the
dignity, in the same manner as a bishop can his
episcopal jurisdiction, to a vicar-general, official
principal, or commissary ; thus an archdeacon is
an ordinary^ and is recognised as such by the
books of common law.-f- In cases where a bishop
has a concurrent jurisdiction with an archdeacon,
where he visits the archdeaconry and inhibits the
archdeacon from the exercise of jurisdiction during
his primary and triennial visitations, the appeal
from any decision of the Archdeacon's Court
would, under the statute of the 24 Hen. VIII. c. J 2,
lie to the Consistorial Court of the diocese, but
except an appeal was brought, notwithstanding the
concurrency of jurisdiction of the bishop with the
archdeacon, the official principal could not inter-
fere, unless where, in consequence of the vacancy
of an archdeaconry during the progress of a suit,
the aid of the Consistory Court of the diocese was
invoked/}! Even where a bishop has powers of
visitation and inhibition within an archdeaconry,

* Stillingfleet, 330. t Gibs. 970.

\ Prankard v. Deacle, 1 Hagg. 1 89.

F

66 ON THE JURISDICTIONS, ETC.

a question may arise, whether he could sustain a
general concurrency of jurisdiction in a case
where an ancient, special, and valid composition
or agreement to the contrary could be brought
forward, or an immemorial custom adverse to such
concurrency of jurisdiction (from which such
composition or agreement would be presumed) be
established. Dr. Swabey, in argument in the
before mentioned case of Parham v. Templar, said,
" I take the jurisdiction of the dean and chapter
to be derived from the bishop ; then, if there is no
composition or custom, the right of the bishop
remains."''*' Stillingfleet is to the same efFect.-|~
Dr. Phillimore, in the same case, said, " It is not
intended to deny that in general the appeal lies
from the archdeacon to the bishop, or that it can
only be taken from the bishop by composition or
custom ":}: In most particulars the jurisdictions
of bishops, of their vicars -general, and officials
principal, of their commissaries for commissariates
or archdeaconries, and of archdeacons and their
officials, are regulated, as to their extent and
power, according to the special usages and cus-
toms which govern the dioceses to which they are
attached. In the case of Parham v. Templar,^
Sir John NichoU, speaking of the court of a dean
and chapter, which he considered as exempt from
the jurisdiction of the bishop of the diocese, said,
" There may indeed have been specially and

♦ 3 Phill. 231. t Eccltaiastical Cases, 346.

X 3 Phill. 237. § 3 Phill. 249.

OF BISHOPS AND ARCHDEACONS. 6?

originally reserved to the bishop some particular
acts, such as granting probate to the wills of
persons of higher degree, and the granting of
licences, and certainly, as far as these exceptions
go, the peculiar does not exclude the bishop. But
if the peculiar has the hearing of causes, as well
ad instantiam partis as ex officio, and is exempted
from visitation, it should seem in common pro-
priety that the superior is not the bishop, but the
metropolitan."

With respect to probates of wills, administra-
tions of the effects of intestates, marriage licences,
&c. a bishop cannot interfere, even where there is
a concurrency of jurisdiction, if parties choose to
resort to an archdeacon authorised to issue such
documents to obtain them,^ nor can they be
granted by the official of an archdeacon in the
name of a bishop. Upon this point Dr. Lushing-
ton, in a case stated for his opinion, and which is
hereafter referred to, wrote as follows : — " The
surrogates of the officials of archdeacons do not
derive any authority from the archbishops or
bishops, and consequently cannot, in my opinion,
grant licences in the name of the bishop." Another
great distinction between a bishop and an arch-
deacon is this : the former is bound to appoint an
official principal for the exercise of contentious
jurisdiction, whereas the latter is not bound to

* Some archdeacons have not the power of granting probates,
&c. while others can grant marriage licences and not probates and
administrations, and some cannot issue any of these documents.

F 2

68 ON THE JURISDICTIONS, ETC.

appoint an official, inasmuch as he is expressly
recognised as an ecclesiastical judge by the 1 28th
canon of 1603. This canon relates to the " Quality
of Surrogates," and I give that portion of it affect-
ing the present subject : — *' No chancellor, com-
missary, archdeacon, official, or any other person
exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction, shall at any
time substitute in their absence any to keep any
Court for them, except he be a grave minister and
a graduate, or a licenced public preacher, and a
beneficed man near the place where the Courts
are kept, or a Bachelor of Law, or a Master of
Arts, at the least, who hath some skill in the civil
and ecclesiastical law," &c. Wood, too, in his
"Common Law,"* says, the judge of the Arch-
deacon's Court (where he doth not preside himself),
is called the official. In the case of Prankard v.
Deacle, quoted before, the citation is given in Dr.
Haggard's ReportSj-f- and it runs in the name of
the Archdeacon of the archdeaconry of Wells ; and
in a case from the archdeaconry of Leicester, in
the year 1812, having reference to the appoint-
ment of surrogates by the then Archdeacon of
Leicester, in which the late Lord Chief Baron
Richards and Dr Swabey were consulted, they
gave opinions in which an archdeacon was treated
as an ecclesiastical judge under the canon of 1603,
and therefore capable of appointing surrogates. I
have been rather more particular on this point

* Wood's Com. Law, b. 4, c. 1. f 1 Hagj?. 169.

OF BISHOPS AND ARCHDEACONS. 69

than 1 otherwise should have been, as I am aware
it has been contended that an archdeacon is bound
to appoint an official, and cannot personally pre-
side as a judge. A bishop, according to the
Common Law, cannot be a judge in his own con-
sistory, except in some particular cases. ^

Previous to the recent changes in dioceses, the
archdeacons of Leicester, Buckingham, Bedford,
and Huntingdon were collated to their respective
archdeaconries by the bishops of Lincoln, and
installed by the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral
Church of Lincoln; they exercised jurisdiction in
testamentary matters, in granting administrations
of the personal estates of intestates, and licences
for marriage ; they also possessed general ecclesi-
astical jurisdiction (with some few exceptions)
throughout these archdeaconries. Mr. Swan, the
Registrar of the Diocese of Lincoln, in his " Prac-
tical Treatise on the Jurisdiction of the Ecclesias-
tical Courts relating to Probates and Administra-
tions," says, " They," the archdeacons within the
diocese of Lincoln, " exercise testamentary juris-
diction, but it is not known whether they have
derived it by composition or usage only ; it is,
however, inhibited for three months once in three
years, and in the same manner as that of the com-
missaries, and is subordinate to the Bishop."-}^

That the peculiar or jurisdiction, whichever it

* Ayl. Parer. 161, and vide Dr. R. Phillimore's Burn's Ecc.
Law, vol. 1, p. 293, and the 122nd canon of 1603.
t Swan's Treatise, 71.

70 ON THE JURISDICTIONS, ETC.

may be termed, of an archdeacon, although sub-
ordinate to, is still separate from the bishop's, is
clear. The canon law makes a distinction between
an archdeacon-general who had no archdeaconry
distinctly limited to him, and him who had ; with
respect to the former, it says, " sed tanquam vicariics
fungitur vice Episcopi universaliter,'' and such arch-
deacon doth represent the bishop ;* otherwise it is
in him who hath a distinct limitation of his arch-
deaconry, for then he hath a jurisdiction separate
from the bishop, which, where it is by custom,
may be prescribed for.-f" Lord Chief Justice Hale,
too, in his " History of the Common Law," says,
" Every bishop, by his election and confirmation,
even before consecration, hath ecclesiastical juris-
diction annexed to his office, as judex ordinariiLs
within his diocese : and divers abbots anciently,
and most archdeacons at this day, by usage have
had the like jurisdiction within certain limits and
precincts.":}:

Godolphin, speaking of archdeaconries, says,
some are by prescription, some by law, and some
by covenant. § In the case of Walker v. Sir John
Lambe,|| in a matter relative to the commissary-
ship and officialty of the archdeaconry of Leices-

* Constit. Othonis de Offic. Archidiac.

t Gloss, in ver. Visitant, diet. Const. Otho, and vide Dr. R.
Phillimore's Edit. Burn's Ecclesiastical Law, vol. i. p. 96 b.
\ Hale's History of the Common Law, L. 27.
§ (Jodolphin, p. 61.
II Jones's Reports, 8 Caroli, Banco Regis, and Godolphin, p. 30.

OF BISHOPS AND ARCHDEACONS. 71

ter, temp. Charles I. it was held by the Court that
the jurisdictions of both bishops and archdeacons
were derived from the Crown by usage and pre-
scription. In the case of Woodward and Fox,^ it
was said by the justices of the Common Pleas,
" That, although it might be supposed originally
that the jurisdiction within the diocese was lodged
in the bishop, yet the Archdeacon's Court had,
time out of mind, been settled as a distinct Court,
and that the stat. 24 Hen. VIII. c. 12, takes notice
of the Consistory Court, which is the bishop's, and
of the Archdeacon's Court, from which there lies
an appeal to the bishop's."

The separate nature of an archdeacon's jurisdic-
tion from that of a bishop, although subordinate,
and where the archdeaconry was subject to the
visitation and inhibition of the bishop, was strik-
ingly exemphfied in the case of the Marriage Act
of 1822,'f when those archdeacons who had there-
tofore the power of granting licences for marriage
were most suddenly deprived of it, and all such
documents were issued in the names of the arch-
bishops or bishops, their vicars-general, or com-
missaries, until an alteration in the law took place
in the early part of the year 1823, which restored
the power of granting licences for marriage to the
archdeacons and to those ordinaries (other than
bishops) who had exercised such power previous
to the Act of 1822.:}: The clause which was con-

* 2 Ventr. p. 269. Blackstone's Com. vol. i. p. 383.

+ 3 Geo. IV. c. 75. I 4 Geo. IV. c. 17, s. 1.

72 ON THE JURISDICTIONS, ETC.

sidered as having taken away the right of arch-
deacons and ordinaries, other than the archbishops
or bishops, to issue licences, and as having con-
fined such right to the archbishops and bishops,
v^^as the 14th sec. of the Act 3 Geo. IV. c. 75, and
ran as under :

" And be it further enacted, that no person
shall, from and after the passing of this Act, be
deemed authorised by law to grant any licence for
the solemnization of any marriage, except the
Archbishops of Canterbury and York, according to
the rights now vested in them respectively, and
except the several other bishops within their re-
spective dioceses, for the marriage of persons, one
of whom shall be resident at the time within the
diocese of the bishop in whose name such licence
shall be granted, such residence to be proved in
manner hereinbefore directed ; and such arch-
bishops and bishops shall make such orders and
regulations for the observance of their respective
officers, within their respective jurisdictions, as
they shall deem necessary for the more effectual
performance of the duties of their several officers
within the true intent and meaning of this Act,
and if any such officer shall not duly observe all
such orders and regulations, such officer shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, being thereof
duly convicted, shall be subject to punishment as
guilty of a misdemeanor.'*

Now had an archdeacon been considered as an
officer of a bishop, or as exercising the same autho-

OF BISHOPS AND ARCHDEACONS. 73

rity as a bishop in granting licences for marriage,
his jurisdiction, whether only subordinate to that
of the bishop, or co-ordinate, would not have been
treated as annihilated ; in either case it was re-
garded as a completely separate jurisdiction from
that of the diocesan. The following questions were
submitted to Dr. Lushington as to the construction
to be put upon the 1 4th section of the above men-
tioned Act, and the replies stated underneath were
given : —

Question.

" Whether the surrogates appointed by the
officials of the Archdeacons of the archdeaconries
within the diocese of Lincoln (and not appointed
by the Chancellor and Vicar-general of the dio-
cese) can grant licences in the name of the Bishop,
under the new Act ? "

Answer,

'' The Act has taken away the power to grant
licences from all except the Archbishops and Bishops ;
thence, I think, it necessarily follows, both from
principle and from the terms of the Act, that no
person can act as surrogate with relation to mar-
riage licences who does not receive his appoint-
ment either immediately or mediately from the
Archbishop or Bishop. The surrogates of the offi-
cials of Archdeacons do not derive any authority
from the Archbishops or Bishops, and consequently

74 ON THE JURISDICTIONS, ETC.

cannot, in my opinion, grant licences in the name
of the Bishop.

(Signed) " Stephen Lushington.

^^ Doctors" Commons^ August 15<A, 1825."

The above opinion was given by Dr. Lushington,
he not being aware at the time, that there were
commissaries appointed by the Bishop for each
archdeaconry in the then diocese of Lincoln.

The following additional question was therefore
submitted to him, and his reply is given : —

Question.

" Whether marriage licences may run either in
the name or be under the seal of the commissary
as heretofore, and whether surrogates appointed
by the commissary, and thus receiving their ap-
pointment mediately from the Bishop, are not qua-
lified to act as surrogates under the new Act ? "

Answer.

" I am of opinion that marriage licences may be
granted under the seal of the commissary, but that
it is advisable that they should be in the name of
the Bishop. I think surrogates appointed by the
commissary are authorised to act as surrogates
under the new Act.

(Signed) " Stephen Lushington.

'♦ Doctors Commons, August 22nd^ 182*2."

OF BISHOPS AND ARCHDEACONS. 75

During the existence of the Act 3rd Geo. IV.
c. 75, (at least during the continuance of such por-
tions of it, as related to our present subject,)
licences for marriage were granted in the diocese
of Lincoln in the name of the bishop and under
the seal of his vicar-general, or commissary of an
archdeaconry, and the jurisdiction of the archdea-
cons and their officials to issue such documents
was considered as abolished. In archdeaconries in
other dioceses, and which had not commissaries of
the above description, I believe licences were
granted in the names of the bishops of such dio-
ceses, and under the seals of their vicars-general
and officials principal, the parties applying for the
licences being sworn to the affidavits leading to
the grant of them, before surrogates appointed by
such vicars-general and officials principal ; indeed,
in some archdeaconries so situated, I know this was
the practice.

An Act of last Session ( 1 1 Vict. c. 98) has made
an important alteration with reference to the au-
thorities authorised to grant marriage licences.
The fifth clause of the Act abolishes the power of
the bishop of a diocese, any portion of which had
been or might thereafter be taken away and added
to another diocese, under the provisions of the Act
7 Wm. IV. c, 77, to grant marriage licences within
such portion of his diocese so taken away ; and this
provision extends to the vicars- general and officials
principal of a diocese so situate, and to any com-
missary appointed by the bishop for an archdea-

76 ON THE JURISDICTIONS, ETC.

conry or district within the diocese which had
been or might thereafter be dissevered from it.
The other authorities, within such transferred
portion of a diocese, who exercised the power of
issuing licences for marriage previous to the Act
7 Will. IV. c. 77 , as I read the clause, till retain
their jurisdiction. The object of this part of the
clause was, to prevent the anomaly of a bishop
granting marriage licences (connected as such
documents are, in the estimation of the Church of
England, with a religious ceremony,) within the
diocese of another bishop — a power which, under
the temporary provisions of the Act 7 Will. IV,
c. 77, the first mentioned bishop could exercise.
The reservation at the end of the clause is to this
effect : '^ Provided always that nothing herein con-
tained shall be construed to interfere with the juris-
diction, or concurrent jurisdiction, as the case may
be, of the bishops of the several dioceses in Eng-
land, to grant marriage licences in and throughout
the whole of their dioceses, as such are now, or
hereafter may be, limited or constituted." This
reservation does not, as I consider, confer upon
the bishops any new jurisdiction ; it merely, in
cases where no alterations of dioceses have taken
place, confirms the power they formerly exercised
with reference to marriage licences, and extends
them, in cases of alterations of dioceses, to the
bishops of the dioceses to which any portions of
the old dioceses had been or might hereafter be
thrown, under the Act of 7 Will IV. c. 77y and by

OF BISHOPS AND ARCHDEACONS. T7

schemes and orders in council incorporated with
that Act. As I view the matter, the clause does
nothing more than substitue one class of bishops
for the other. Except an Act be passed during the
present session of parliament, the provisions con-
tained in the fifth clause of the Act 1 1 Vict, c 98,
will, with the majority of the other provisions in
that statute, expire on the 1st of August next, or
at the end of the present session of Parliament.^

The conclusions, then, to be drawn from the
preceding observations, are, that the power of an
archdeacon, whether it be co-ordinate with that of
a bishop or subordinate, is perfectly distinct from
that exercised by a bishop — that it is not a dele-
gated power in the usual acceptation of the term,
but one which becomes vested in an archdeacon
on his collation and taking possession of his dig-
nity, without any commission from a bishop, much
in the same manner as a bishop derives his spiritual
jurisdiction from the confirmation of his election
by his metropolitan ; that an archdeacon is an
ecclesiastical judge, and can hear causes which a
bishop cannot do, and that the latter cannot pre-
side in his own consistory, except in some parti-
cular cases ; that an archdeacon is not bound to
appoint an official, whereas a bishop is bound to
appoint an official principal to despatch general

* Durinpf the progress of this sheet through the press, a Bill
has been introduced into the House of Commons, by her Majesty's
ministers, to continue the temporary provisions of the above-men-
tioned Act for a limited period.

78

business of a contentious description ; that general
episcopal authority (except such portions of it as
it is requisite for a bishop personally to execute)
is usually vested by patent in a vicar-general and
official principal ; that where parties choose to re-
sort to an archidiaconal jurisdiction, subordinate
to episcopal authority, to have their grievances
redressed, the officers of a bishop cannot interfere,
except an appeal be interposed ; and that where an
archidiaconal jurisdiction is co-ordinate with that
of a bishop, any appeal from a decision of an arch-
deacon's court lies to the court of the metropoli-
tan, and, where the jurisdiction is subordinate, to
the consistorial court of the diocese.

MEMOIR

On the Offices of Commtssary and Official of
the Archdeaconry of Leicester.

It appears by numerous instances that the Arch-
deaconry of Leicester is governed by a Commis-
sary and Official. The former of these judges
exercises a concurrent jurisdiction^ with the latter
in general cases, and presides in a separate court -f-
from the official, where he not only hears those
causes which the official has a right of hearing,
but also others which the other judge cannot de-
cide, as divorces,:}: &c. &c. The commissary,
agreeably to the definition given in 4 Inst. 338, is
appointed by the Bishop of the diocese, and ex-
ercises the authority of Official Principal and Vicar-
general within the archdeaconry of Leicester. That
this is the case is clear from the circumstance of
an appeal lying from the commissary to the
Arches Court of Canterbury, and not to the Epis-
copal Consistory Court of Lincoln. § This circum-
stance shews that the jurisdiction of the commis-

* This is shewn by the bishop's inhibition.

f See the Commission Book of 1737.

:{: See some of the old Commission Books.

§ See the old books.

80 COMMISSARY AND OFFICIAL OF

sary is an episcopal jurisdiction, not subservient to
the archdeacon, but superior to him,* and that
the commissary is the representative of the bishop,
and has the same jurisdiction within the arch-
deaconry of Leicester as the chancellor of the
diocese has through the whole of the bishop's
jurisdiction pending the inhibition. A certificate
of a party's excommunication is also forwarded
directly by the commissary to his Majesty, with-
out the intermediate assistance of the bishop of
Lincoln, which is another strong proof of a com-
plete episcopal jurisdiction distinct from the
official, who has merely an ordinary archidiaconal
authority, and from whom an appeal lies not to
the Arches (as in the case of the commissary) but
to the Consistory Court of Lincoln, -f If the
office were carefully searched, T think it would be
found that in former days a very considerable
portion of the contentious jurisdiction was heard
before the commissary It seems that it was some
time about the year 1386 that patents were first
granted to the commissary to inquire of and
correct crimes, prove wills, grant administrations,
and sequester benefices ; before the above period
the commissary was called sequestrator, and the
first mention of this officer at Lincoln is said to be

* In all cases where the same person h.is been both commis-
sary and official, the name of commissary stands first, and in the
inhibition it even precedes the name of the archdeacon.

f It was the opinion of Dr. Harris that an appeal from the
official lay to the commissary and not to Lincoln.

THE ARCHDEACONRY OF LEICESTER. 81

in May 1295, when Bishop Sutton granted to the
Rev. Robert Bernard this office within the arch-
deaconries of Lincoln, Leicester, and Stow.

Until of late the offices of commissary and
official have been united in one person, but this
was merely fortuitous, as they have very fre-
quently been held by separate persons, who have
both exercised concurrent jurisdiction within the
archdeaconry. The number of wills proved and
administrations granted before these officers,
clearly shews that at some periods of time the
fees were not equally divided between them, but
that the Court belonging to each endeavoured to
execute as much business as they could acquire :
thus, in 1660, 129 wills and administrations were
despatched in the name of the commissary (Sir
Edward Lake, Baronet), while 231 were despatched
in the name of the archdeacon (Henry Ferne,^
D.D.) ; in 1661, 298 were despatched in the name
of the commissary (Sir Edward Lake), whilst only 56
were despatched in the archdeacon's name. This
clearly shews the division of the Court at the above
time ; and the Court continued so divided until the
year 1675, when William Foster, Esq. was both
commissary and official. In 1 708 the Court was
also divided, and continued so till Dr. Grey was,
in the year 1746, appointed both commissary and
official. Previous to 1660, wills, &c. were des-
patched for several years solely in the name of
the commissary (Robert King, D.LL.), and in the

G

82 COMMISSARY AND OFFICIAL OF

latter end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth it
appears from the Court books that Dr. Chippen-
dale was the commissary of the archdeaconry, and
presided in the Commissarial Court. William
Rudyard, clerk, (who was one of Dr. Chippen-
dale's surrogates,) presided in the Court in the
absence of the commissary on the 17th February,
1589. That Mr. Rudyard was surrogate to the
commissary is clear from the circumstance of his
decreeing, on the day above mentioned, a signifi-
cavit to her Majesty's Court of Chancery relative to
the contempt of one Richard Cope, who had stood
excommunicated forty days after denunciation.
In 1526 Robert Poulet, B.LL. was commissary
and official. Correction Courts were held in the
year 1523 before Richard Parker as commissary
and official. In 1516 there is a curious Act, from
which it seems probable that the Court of Lei-
cester was then only in possession of a commis-
sary and archdeacon ; the commissary's name was
John Sylvester, Bachelor of Laws, and the arch-
deacon's name was Henry Wilcock, Doctor of
Laws.

The registrar of the commissary is appointed by
the bishop. In 1747 considerable disputes arose
as to this point, and the registrars of the two
Courts agreed to act separately ; the archidiaconal
registrar (Mr. Frank) officiated in person, whilst
the commissarial registrar (Mr. Hoendorff) ap-
pointed James Stockdale, Not. Pub. (by the

THE ARCHDEACONRY OF LEICESTER. 83

direction of the then bishop of Lincoln) his
deputy. In the year 1748 the commissary and
official (Dr. Grey) required that an equal number
of instruments should pass under his two seals,
which was accordingly done.

With respect to surrogations the case is clear
from original documents now in the office. Upon
the death of official Newell (who was also Chancellor
of Lincoln) in 1741, Dr. Trimnell (the then arch-
deacon) executed a surrogation which bears date
the 19th Sept. 1741 ; this surrogation was suc-
ceeded by another executed by the new official
(Dr. Richard Grey) which is dated on the 2nd
November, 1741 ; and on this last day another
surrogation is ,filed which is signed by Frederick
Reynolds, M.A. " Commissary General and Official
Principal of the Bishop of Lincoln in and for the
county and archdeaconry of Leicester ;" this last
surrogation also bears date on the 2nd Nov. 1741.
On the 26th March, 1728, a surrogation is also
executed by Charles Reynolds, M.A. the then
commissary, Mr. Newell being the official and
having previously executed a regular surrogation.

G 2

84 COMMISSARY AND OFFICIAL OF

[The annexed paper was apparently compiled
early in the last century, and the information it
contained was partially employed by Mr. Hardy
in the preceding memoir.]

The Archdeaconry of Leicester in the Diocese of
Lincoln.

In 1564 Thomas Larke, A.M. was commissary and official.
Where the same person was commissary and official, commissary
is always first named.

In 1567 Anthony Anderson, LL.B. commissary and official.

In 1568 Thomas Mowndford commissary, and in 1569 John
Lowndes.

In 1576 and 1582 John Chippendale* commissary and official.
In 1580 and 1581 John Randolph.

In 1639 Sir John Lamb was official of the archdeaconry of
Leicester.

In 1640 Sir John Lamb, Knight and Doctor of Laws, was
commissary of the Most Reverend Father in God William Lord
Archbishop of Canterbury, within the archdeaconry of Leicester,
during the suspension of the Bishop of Lincoln.

In 1640 and 1641 Robert King, clerk, Doctor of Laws, was
commissary, and proved wills and granted administrations.

Henry Feme, clerk, D.D. was archdeacon, and proved wills and
granted administrations.

.In 1642 wills were proved and administrations granted in the
joint names of Dr. King, commissary, and Sir John Lamb,
Knight, Doctor of Laws, official.

* An old citation in the Detection and Visitation Book of 1600
shews that Dr. Chippendale held his Courts in St. Mary's
Church, probably being nearer his place of residence (the
Newarke) than St. Martin's, and he being then getting old.

The Detection Book, 1590, shews that the then registrar (Fra.
Presgrave) resided at West Cotes.

THE ARCHDEACONRY OF LEICESTER. 85

In 1643, 1644, and 1645 the business was despatched in the
joint names of the said Dr. King and Sir John Lamb.

In 1646, 1647, 1648, and 1649 the wills were proved and ad-
ministrations granted in Dr. King's name solely, as commissary.

No wills proved nor administrations granted from 1649 to
1660.

In 1660 Sir Edward Lake, Bart. Doctor of Laws, was com-
missary ; Henry Feme, clerk, D.D. was archdeacon.

From 1660 to 1665 the Court was divided.

The following is an account of the wills and administrations
despatched before the said commissary and archdeacon separately.

1660. 129 before the commissary.

— 231 before the archdeacon.

1661. 298 commissary.

— 56 archdeacon.

1662. 109 commissary.

— 77 archdeacon.

1663. 65 before the chancellor or vicar-general.

— 108 commissary.

— 59 archdeacon.

1664. 16 before the chancellor on a primary visitation.

— Ill commissary.
Archdeacon vacant.

In 1665 Clement Breton, D.D. was archdeacon.

From 1665 to 1670 the business was despatched jointly in Sir
Edward Lake's and Dr. Clement Breton's nam^s.

In 1670 William Foster, Esq. L.B. was oificial.

From 1670 to 1675 the business was despatched in the joint
names of Sir Edward Lake, commissary, and William Foster,
Esq. official.

From 1675 to 1700 the business was carried on in the name of
William Foster, Esq. L.D. commissary and official.

From 1700 to 1708 the business was despatched in the name of
George Newell, Esq. L.B. official.

From 1708 to 1715 the business was despatched in the joint
names of John Rogers, clerk, A.M. commissary, and George
Newell, Esq. L.B. official.

S6 COMMISSARY AND OFFICIAL, ETC.

From 1715 to 1727 inclusive the Court was divided, James
Johnson, Doctor of Laws was commissary ; George Newell, Esq.
L.B. was official.

The administration granted by the official, the bonds were
always, till very lately that the official agreed with the commis-
sary for his share of the fees, given to the bishop ; which shews
that, in the eye of the law, the jurisdiction continued in the bishop,
though allowed by him to be exercised by the archdeacon's official.

Administrations granted by Dr. Johnson, the commissary ; the
bonds are given to him.

L. M. bonds given sometimes to Dr. Johnson and sometimes to
Mr. Newell the official.

So that it shews that the office of commissary is an office of
power, and not merely a nominal office, as Mr. Frank called it.

Note. — A full biographical list of the Archdeacons of Leicester
will be found in Nichols's Leicestershire, vol. I. pp. 463 — 466.

HISTORICAL ACCOUNT

Of the Proctors of the Court of the Arch-
deaconry of Leicester.

1649. Previous to the tune of the Common-
wealth, the business in these courts was so consi-
derable as to employ a large body of officers ; the
judges were also usually in the habit of attending
the courts in person; they were also very fre-
quently the judges of superior courts, and were in
the practice of bringing their own officers to
transact the business at Leicester. At the time of
the death of Charles the First, Sir John Lambe,
Knight, D.LL. was the judge ; * the court appears
to have been conducted with the most rigid severity
under his auspices ; and indeed this is not to be
wondered at when we recollect that he was the
bosom friend of Archbishop Laud, and that it was
through his influence and information that the
then Bishop of Lincoln (WilKams) was brought
before the Star Chamber, and subsequently sus-
pended from his bishopric, for not quite approving
of this judge's conduct towards the Non-conform-

* Sir John Lambe began to be judge about 1628.

88

ists, and under the pretence of revealing the King's
secrets.* During the suspension of the Bishop,
Sir John was invested with the total direction of
the diocese, and is described in the books as
'' Commissary lawfully constituted of the Most
Reverend Father in God WilUam by divine Provi-
dence Archbishop of Canterbury, to whom all and
all manner of spiritual and ecclesiastical jurisdiction
in and throughout the whole diocese of Lincoln
during the suspension of the Bishop of the same of
right belongs." (Vid. Instan. 23 Sept 1639, Kip-
ling.) At this time the business was amazingly
great, and was transacted by proctors from various
quarters ; the courts were holden in the presence
of an actuary (Mich. Kipling), and were so no-
torious for their extortion and partiality that they
had become the general hatred of the country.
Thus things continued until the Commonwealth,
when Cromwell struck the blow that proved then
fatal to the ecclesiastical power ; and there are no
traces of any proceedings until the Restoration,
when these courts began to have proctors regularly
admitted of their own, and the business to be
transacted in the same manner (or nearly so) in
which it is at the present day.

As the ecclesiastical jurisdiction had fallen into
such disuse during the time of the Commonwealth,
there were not, immediately on the Restoration,

* See a tolerably full account of this extraordinary matter in
Sir R. Baker*8 " Chronicle," p. 457.

ARCHDEACONRY COURT OF LEICESTER. 89

competent persons at Leicester to supply the re-
quisite offices in the court ; and consequently we
find that what little business was done here for
several years after the Restoration, was transacted
by the officers of the consistory at Lincoln, who
came over to Leicester for that purpose. Bartho-
lomew Willocke, N.P. was deputy registrar of
Lincoln at this time, and the proctors who attended
the courts at Leicester from thence were Thomas
Levett, N.P., Thomas Saville, N.P., Edward Noell,
N.P., and John Brewin, N.P.^ The Bishop's Chan-
cellor was Sir Edward Lake, Bart., and who was
also appointed judge of the Leicester Court imme-
diately after the Restoration. The courts continued
to be holden at Leicester in the Chancellor's name
for some time, and it is not clear when they ceased
to be so ; most probably about the year 1672,^
when, for the first time, the court of Leicester be-
came possessed of a senior and junior proctor, viz.
John Birkhead, N.P. (who was the first archdea-
conry proctor that was admitted t ) admitted 6th

* This gentleman was admitted at a consistory holden at
Leicester on the 15th May, 1667.

t On the 27th March, 1672, a court was holden in the parish
church of St. Mary, Leicester, before the Rev. Thomas Stanhope,
M.A. surrogate of Sir Edward Lake, Bart. D.LL. Commissary,
and of William Foster, D.LL. Official. (Vid. Liber Instantiarum
incipiens die Mercurii, xxvii die Martii, Anno Domini 1672.)

X Mr. Birkhead did not practise for some time after his admis-
sion ; Levett and Saville (Lincoln proctors) appear to have en-
grossed the almost total practice until the year 1675, when Mr.

90 PROCTORS, ETC. OF THE

April, 1670, by the then Official (William Foster,
DLL.) and the above-mentioned Bartholomew
Willocke, N.P. who was admitted 5th June, 1672,
by the said Official. Thus the Leicester court be-
came possessed of what was then considered its
sufficient quantum of officers. Thomas Levett, N.P.
(who was never admitted in the Leicester court),
however, still continued to attend the courts, and
continued to do so till his death as after men-
tioned. This attendance was not objected to at
first, as there was no resident proctor except Mr.
Birkhead, who was a young man and one not much
used to practise, but afterwards it became the sub-
ject of much dissatisfaction to both the judges and
court.

John Birkhead,* N.P. and Bartholomew
Willocke, N.P. practised as senior and junior
proctors until the year 1 682, when the former died,-|-
and very soon afterwards the latter ceased to
practise.

Saville appears to have withdrawn from the Leicester attendance,
and Mr. Birkhead and Mr. Willocke (the two Leicester proctors)
began to practise together pretty regularly.

* Mr. Birkhead had a probate court at Harborough, which, on
the 6th May, 1679, was removed to Melton.

f See his admission, 1682, No. 17. He appears to have been
ill some time, and considerable inconvenience appears to have been
occasioned thereby, as Mr. Willocke (the junior archdeaconry
proctor) for some cause or other did not attend the courts then-
abouts; a friend of Mr. Birkhead's (John Gascoigne, N.P. of
Bedford) attended to his business for a few courts, but he was
never admitted a proctor at Leicester, nor did he succeed Mr.
Birkhead in his situation as the senior archdeaconry proctor.

ARCHDEACONRY COURT OF LEICESTER. 91

Thomas Wadland,* N.P. succeeded Mr. Birk-
head as the senior archdeaconry proctor upon the
8th March, 1682, when he was admitted by Dr.
Foster, the judge. The office of junior proctor re-
mained vacant until the 18th April, 1683, when
William Dagnall, N.P. was appointed to it by Dr.
Foster. - Mr. Dagnall only practised one or two
court days, and then retired. No other archdea-
conry proctor was appointed until the 1st March,
1687, when John Goodhall, N.P. of Bedford was
admitted senior proctor (Mr. Wadland having
either died or retired). Mr. Goodhall only practised
a few years, viz. until the 18th Dec. 1689, when
John Burdett,-!- N.P. succeeded to the situation
of senior proctor through the favour of Dr. Foster,
who shortly afterwards conferred the office of junior
proctor upon John Barker, N.P of Bedford, who
was admitted, 9th Oct. 1693, by the judge himself
sitting in court. This Mr. Barker only practised a
very few years, and on the 13th Oct. 1697, he was
succeeded in his office by John Ward, N.P. who
was resident at Leicester.

John Burdett, N.P. and John Ward,;}: N.P.
practised together as senior and junior proctors

* Wadland had a probate court at Melton. See will of T.
Stevens, of Rearsby, stated to have been proved at Mr. Wadland's
probate court at Melton.

t Burdett had his probate court at Melton, See Roll No. 4,
p. 53.

X Ward had his probate court at Melton. His uncle then kept
the White Swan at Melton.

92 PROCTORS, ETC. OF THE

until 23rd March, 1703, when Smith Newell,*
N.P. of , was appointed junior proctor.

. John Burdett, N.P. continued to practise until
the businesses in which he was employed were con-
cluded, and then retired from the courts ; the last
court he attended was one holden before Archdea-
con Rogers on the 23rd May, 1705. Smith
Newell, N.P. was appointed to the situation at the
above period on account of Mr. Burdetfs frequent
ill health, which rendered him so frequently inca-
pable of attending to business. He died almost im-
mediately after his retirement as proctor ; as we
find Thomas Lovett, N.P. alleging him to be dead
at a court holden 28th June, 1705.-1^

John Ward, N.P. and Smith NeweU, N.P.
continued to practise as senior and junior proctors
until the 26th April, 1716, when Mr. Newell
ceased to practise at Leicester, and was succeeded
by Samuel Carte, B.LL. N.P. in his attendance at
the courts — no record of whose appointment to
the situation of junior propter can, however, be
found, and who, in all probability, was never ap-
pointed, as he appears merely to have been allowed

* George Newell, B.LL. (a proctor of the consistory) attended
-a few courts about this time for the purpose of conducting an im-
portant will cause (Glover and Glover against Woodland, 1699)
and one or two others ; but he did not (like Levett) interfere with
the general practice. He lived at Lichfield, and afterwards became
Official of Leicester and Chancellor of the diocese of Lincoln.

t John Burdett, N.P. was resident ; he is described in his will
(proved 1705, No. 122) as of the Newworks in Leicester.

ARCHDEACONRY COURT OF LEICESTER. 93

to practise until the judge had filled up the office.
The business was now grown very inconsiderable,
and as Thomas Levett, N.P. (whom we have more
than once mentioned before) was now grown old
and nearly past business, Mr. Carte (who was a
particular friend of his) appears to have been re-
sorted to by him as an assistant in business, and
for the purpose of keeping his Leicestershire
clients together. The office of junior proctor re-
mained vacant until the 80th April, 1724, when it
was conferred upon Edward Turville, B.LL.
N.P.; soon after whose admission Mr. Carte with-
drew from the courts — Mr. Levett having with-
drawn several years before.

John Ward, N.P. and Edward Turville,^ B.LL.
N.P. practised together as senior and junior
proctor until the death of Mr. Levett (which
happened in 1 726 ; see his will proved in that year
before the Official). Upon this event, the judge
(Mr. Newell) appears to have laid the foundation
for what had so long been desired (and which
would have been accomplished soon after the
Restoration, or at least in 1672, had it not been
for the obstinacy of Mr. Levett in insisting upon
his privilege as a proctor of the superior court of
practising at Leicester , viz. that the senior and
junior proctor of the Leicester court should not
be disturbed in the practice of that court by any
other proctors whomsoever. This point would most

* Turville had his probate court at Hinckley.

94 PROCTORS, ETC. OF THE

undoubtedly have been gained at a very early
period, had it not been for Mr. Levett, whose
conduct lost him the good opinion of the Bishop,
and, being deprived, very soon after Mr. Newell's
possession of the cancellate seal, of his Lincoln
business, this obstinate yet intelligent proctor
was driven in his old age to Leicester for business
(of which he then could do but very little), where
he died at the time above mentioned, having lived
the greater part of his life at or near Louth, in
Lincolnshire, from whence he was in the habit of
coming to attend the Leicester court.

As the judge was Chancellor of the diocese, he
had a much better opportunity of protecting the
senior and junior proctor of his Leicester court
from the intei^ference of his Lincoln proctors
than he otherwise would have had. It had been
long wished that both the senior and junior
proctors of the Leicester court should b6 resident
at Leicester ; but as the experiment had already
been tried, and it had been found that the business
was not adequate to support a deputy registrar
and the two proctors, it was in vain to try it again,
especially at a period when the business had so
materially decreased Thus things stood at the
death of Thomas Levett, N.P. shortly after which
Edward Turville, B.LL. N.P. (the junior proctor)
retired from his office, having taken orders ; this
being the case, the Leicester Court was left in a
very forlorn condition ; the deputy registrar
(Richard Stephens, N.P.) knew nothing of a

ARCHDEACONRY COURT OF LEICESTER. 95

proctor's business, having never been brought up
to it, and, as he was growing old, it was in vain to
think of appointing him to succeed Mr. Turville ;
and John Ward, N.P. (the senior and only proctor)
was very infirm, and incapable of attending to much
business. As there was no person in Leicester who
had been regularly brought up to a proctor's
business, and as the judge would not appoint any
person to the office of junior proctor but who had,
Thomas Bennett, N.P. of Nottingham, was on
the 6th May, 1726, appointed to the situation of
junior proctor.

John Ward, N.P. and Thomas Bennett, N.P.
practised as senior and junior archdeaconry proc-
tors until the 12th Nov. 1730, (which was the
last court Mr. Ward attended previous to his
death, which happened almost immediately after-
wards,*) when Thomas Cumberland, N.P. was
appointed the junior proctor.

Thomas Bennett, N.P. and Thomas Cumber-
land, N.P. practised as senior and junior arch-
deaconry proctors until 5th February, 1730, when
Mr. Bennett retired; and his late clerk, James
Stockdale, N.P. of Nottingham, was appointed
the junior archdeaconry proctor, and exhibited his
proxy for Mr. Bennett's clients on the above day.

* See his will proved 1730, wherein he is described as a book-
seller ; the fact was, during the greater part of his time there was
another resident proctor in the Leicester court besides him, and,
as the business was not sufficient to maintain two, he was allowed
to have recourse to another business to support his family.

96

Thomas Cumberland, N.P. and James Stock-
dale,* N.P. practised as senior and junior proctors
until the 25th Nov. 1731, when the former retired
from the court.

After Mr. Cumberland's retirement, no person
was appointed to the situation of junior proctor by
the judge, as there was no young man at Leicester
who had been brought up to a proctor's business,
and, therefore, capable or eligible to succeed to
that office. The business would, therefore, have
been at a stand for want of officers, had it not
been relieved by the kind assistance of Charles
Howard, N.P. of Lichfield (who had been ad-
mitted a proctor of the diocesan court at a con-
sistory holden at Leicester by Chancellor Newell,
on the 6th May, 1726-^), and who practised with
James Stockdale, N.P. (the senior and then only

* James Stockdale had a Probate Court at Melton.

t It will, perhaps, appear strange that the Official should have
chosen to admit Mr. Howard a proctor in his Consistory Court
as Chancellor of Lincoln, and have permitted him to practise in
that capacity in his Leicester court, seeing that he was so dis-
gusted with Mr. Levett for so doing previously ; but the fact was
(as I have heard my great-uncle state it) that the OflScial wished
to keep the office of junior proctor vacant until the death of the
then Deputy Registrar (Mr. Stephens), when it was known Mr.
Stockdale was to come and reside at Leicester as senior proctor
and Deputy Registrar; and the Official would then have ap-
pointed a junior and resident proctor, and thus have accomplished
what had so long been wished; but the Official's death in 1741
deranged this scheme, as will be seen hereafter. It may be observed
that a proctor resident at Lincoln was never sufifered to practise at
Leicester after Levett's death.

ARCHDEACONRY COURT OF LEICESTER. 97

archdeaconry proctor,) until the death of Richard
Stephens, N.P. in 1745,^ which afforded an oppor-
tunity of executing the long fostered intention of
the late judge, had not an unfortunate coolness
between his successor (Richard Grey, D.D.) and
James Stockdale, N.P. (who immediately upon
Mr. Stephens's death was appointed deputy re-
gistrar,) prevented its being carried into effect.
Upon Mr. Stephens's death, Mr. Howard had
expected that any further attendance of his at the
courts would have been unnecessary ; but in this
he found himself mistaken, as it was intimated to
him by the judge, that, on account of Mr. Stock-
dale's having been appointed deputy registrar, he
(Mr. Stockdale) would not be permitted to practise
as a proctor ; and that it was the judge's intention
to appoint an archdeaconry proctor directly. Ac-
cordingly, on the 4th Oct. 1745, Philip Hackett,
N.P. was appointed archdeaconry proctor, and for
some short time Mr. Howard and Mr. Hackett
practised together, and James Stockdale, N.P.
took down the acts as deputy registrar. Early in
the year 1746, for some cause or other, Mr.
Howard withdrew from the Leicester court ; and
thus it became in want of a junior archdeaconry
proctor to Mr. Hackett ; but, as the experiment
had been more than once tried, and it had been
found that the business was never capable of
maintaining a resident deputy registrar and resi-

* See his will, proved 1745.

H

98 PROCTORS, ETC. OF THE

dent senior and junior proctors, recourse was had
to the old practice of appointing a proctor from
some other court (other than the Lincoln one) to
the situation of junior archdeaconry proctor; and,
consequently, on the 15th May 1747, Benjamin
Bloxsidge, N.P. of Nottingham, was appointed
junior archdeaconry proctor.

Philip Hackett,* N.P. and Benjamin Blox-
sidge, N.P. practised as senior and junior arch-
deaconry proctors until the 11th January, 1/49,
when the latter withdrew from the court.

The cause of Mr. Bloxsidge' s retirement was
this : the business had become very trivial, and
the judge was of opinion that, as there was no
possibility of having resident senior and junior
proctors, excepting the deputy registrar was per-
mitted to be either the one or the other, it would
be much better that he should be so permitted
than that the court should be obliged to have
recourse to a proctor from a different jurisdiction,
especially as, upon search, it was discovered that
so early as 1590 the deputy registrars had been
permitted to practise, and that the practice had
only been the contrary during the Stephens's time,
which was probably owing to their knowing nothing
of a proctor's business. Accordingly, on the 1 1 th
Jan. 1749, Mr. Stockdale resumed his duties as
the senior proctor, when the acts were taken down

* Hackett had his probate court at Melton. Bloxsidge had
his at Loughborough.

ARCHDEACONRY COURT OF LEICESTER. 99

by the registrar (Mr. Frank) who was present.
Mr. Bloxsidge continued to attend the courts until
the businesses in which he was employed previous
to Mr. Stockdale's resumption of office as the
senior proctor were disposed of ; * after which he
withdrew from the courts.

James Stockdale, N.P. and Philip Hackett,
N.P. practised together as senior and junior arch-
deaconry proctors until the beginning of the year
1767, when the said James Stockdale, N.P. died.
John Stockdale, N.P. (who was the nephew of
Mr. James Stockdale, and had also succeeded him as
deputy registrar), was then appointed junior proc-
tor, and on the 5th Feb. 1767, John Stockdale ex-
hibited his proxy in court for his late uncle's
clients, having not been permitted by the judge
(Dr. Grey) to practise in his uncle's lifetime (al-

* The last court Mr. Bloxsidge attended, was one held 29th
March, 1750 ; at this time the business had very considerably in-
creased to what it was a few years before, and Mr. Frank con-
tinued to take down the acts as registrar for a short time regularly
(viz. until 25th Oct. 1750), when he ceased to take them down
regularly^ and an actuary assumed (Val. Pyne, N.P.) took them
down until 9th Oct. 1751, when Mr. Frank began again to take
them down, until 22d Nov. 1753, when Samuel Hey rick, N P.
took them down as actuary, and so has been the invariable practice
ever since. The following is a correct list of the actuaries, with the
dates when they commenced and ceased taking down the acts. Samuel
Heyrick, N.P. 1753 to 30th June, 1764 ; John Stockdale, N.P.
30th June, 1764 to 5th Feb. 1767; Samuel Heyrick, N.P. 5th
Feb. 1767 to 9th Nov. 1774 ; John Heyrick, N.P. 9th Nov. 1774
to 20th March, 1806 ; Samuel Miles, N.P. 20th March, 1806, to
the present time.

H 2

100 PROCTORS, ETC. OF THE

though he had been admitted as a supernumerary
archdeaconry proctor upon the 12th May, 1763),
on account of the court being /w// of both a senior
and junior proctor.

Philip Hackett, N.P. and John Stockdale, N.P.
continued to practise together as senior and junior
archdeaconry proctors until the year 1770, when
the said Philip Hackett died, and the said John
Stockdale became of course the senior proctor.
Thomas Hackett, N.P. then became the junior
proctor. (This latter gentleman served his clerkship
with his father, the said Phihp Hackett, N.P. and
was admitted a supernumerary archdeaconry proc-
tor on the 6th Oct. 1 763 ; but, as there was not a
vacancy of either senior or junior proctor until the
death of the said Philip Hackett, the said Thomas
Hackett was not, by the rule of the court, allowed
to practise until then.) The said Thomas Hackett,
N.P. exhibited his proxy for his father s clients in
court, on 25th Oct. 1770.

John Stockdale, N.P. and Thomas Hackett, N.P.
continued to practise as the senior and junior
archdeaconry proctors until the year 1781, when
the said Thomas Hackett died.

Upon Mr. Hackett's death there was no person
at Leicester who had been brought up to the
business capable of succeeding Mr. Hackett in
his office ; this being the case, an attorney named *
applied to the then judge (Edward Taylor, B.LL.)

♦ No name ia mentioned in the MS. — Edit.

ARCHDEACONRY COURT OF LEICESTER. lOl

for admission as the junior proctor ; but was re-
fused on the ground that no one had ever been al-
lowed to practise in the Leicester court except a
regularly educated proctor, and one who did not
combine the business of an attorney with that of
a proctor. The judge then ordered the office to
be searched for precedents, and, having discovered
that it had been the invariable practice in cases
like the present to admit a proctor from a neigh-
bouring court to make up the quota, William
MoTT, N.P. (a proctor at Lichfield) was admitted as
the junior proctor upon the 1 1th Oct. 1781 ; and,
in order that the public might not be put to any
additional expense by reason of this admission, the
official required Mr. Mott to stipulate that he
would not make any charges to his clients for
journeys to and from the courts.^

John Stockdale, N.P. and WiUiam Mott, N.P.
continued to practise together as the senior and
junior archdeaconry proctors until some time about
the latter end of 1801, when Mr. Stockdale retired
from business as a proctor (reserving his deputy
registrarship), and Mr. Mott became of course
the senior proctor. William Harrison, N.P. who
had been admitted as a supernumerary proctor on

* Mr. Mott was appointed merely to act in the case of con-
tested suits ; and Mr. Stockdale Hardy has left a memorandum in
another paper that he was never called to Leicester from the 2nd
April, 17S9, to the 8th Oct. 1807, a period of about eighteen
years and a half, nor again from Jan. 1 808 until his resignation in
1814.— Edit.

102 PROCTORS, ETC. OF THE

the 5th Oct. 1786, but who (as the court was then
full of a senior and junior proctor) had not been
allowed to practise until a vacancy occurred, then
became the junior proctor.

William Mott, N.P. and William Harrison, N.P.
(who in 1804 was also made Deputy Registrar)
continued to practise together as the senior and
junior archdeaconry proctors until the 17th Dec.
I$i4, when the said William Mott, N.P. resigned
his office as senior proctor by a formal instrument
under his hand and seal. This resignation having
been admitted at a special court, holden on the
19th Dec. 1814, William Harrison, N;P. became,
of course, the senior proctor.

John Stockdale Hardy, N.P. was admitted
as the junior proctor upon the 20th Dec. 1814.

William Harrison, N.P. and John Stockdale
Hardy, N.P. practised together as the senior and
junior archdeaconry proctors until the 19th Nov.
1826, when the said William Harrison died, and
the said John Stockdale Hardy became senior
proctor.

John Mott, of Lichfield, N.P. was admitted as
the junior archdeaconry proctor at a special court
holden at Atherstone on the Feb. 1828.

It is hoped that the above narrative will be con-
sidered as sufficiently proving that the number of
exercent proctors in the Leicester court has been
Umited to two ever since the year 1672, when

ARCHDEACONRY COURT OF LEICESTER. 103

proctors began to be first regularly admitted there-
in ; and that no attorneys have ever been allowed
to practise as proctors, there having uniformly
been a succession of proctors who^ for the most
part, were regularly trained up to the business ;
who were not allowed to infringe upon attorneys'
practice, as the attorneys were not allowed to in-
fringe upon theirs ; further, that, whenever there
has not been two regularly educated proctors at
Leicester, recourse has been invariably had to the
assistance of one from an adjacent court to make
up the number.

ESSAYS AND SPEECHES

POLITICAL QUESTIONS

AND

PUBLIC BUSINESS.

ON THE LAW OF LIBEL.

[To the Editor of the Leicester Journal^ in 1811.]

Mr. Editor,

Some recent prosecutions for libels having ex-
cited a considerable degree of public attention, and
the grounds upon which these prosecutions were
conducted having been called into question by
some of our public writers, I have been induced to
think that a few remarks on the Law of Libel will
not be wholly unacceptable to your readers.

There are two methods of bringing a libeller
before the courts of his country ; viz. Civil Action
and Criminal Prosecution : the one punishes him
for the private injury which he has inflicted upon
the reputation of another;— the other for the
public injury which he has or might have occa-
sioned.

When the injured party prosecutes by way of
Civil Action, he gives the accused a much better
opportunity of vindicating himself than he affords
him when he institutes a Criminal Prosecution ;
as, in the former species of procedure, the libeller
is at liberty to prove the correctness of his asser-
tions— a liberty which is not allowed him in the
latter species of proceeding. The reason why this

108 ON THE LAW OF LIBEL.

immunity is tolerated in one case and not in the
other will be our next consideration ; and, in the
progress of this inquiry, the excellence — the lenity
— and the justice of our legal code will be quickly
perceived.

It must appear evident to all, that every person
who comes into a court of justice, and demands re-
dress for an alleged grievance, should be a man
who has been actually wronged, and a man whose
character has been traduced by the vile efforts and
detestable inventions of detraction ; — a man who
does not answer the description which his calum-
niator has designated, and whose reputation or
interest has been materially hurt by the slander of
which he complains. If the accuser cannot make
out his case under such circumstances as the above,
our laws have very properly refused to lend him
their assistance ; and, consequently, if the defend-
ant in a Civil Action is able to prove that the
matter contained in the libel of which the plaintiff
complains is true he will be dismissed, and his
antagonist non-suited.

If the injured party proceeds by way of Criminal
Prosecution, the law is very different from what
has been before laid down ; and, indeed, the
present is quite a different proceeding from that
which we have just been considering — the one
being an action, the other an indictment — the one
being commenced for the obtainment of private
emolument, the other for the promotion of public
good. As I before observed, a Criminal Prosecu-

ON THE LAW OF LIBEL. 109

tion is grounded upon the injury which the libeller
by his conduct either actually has or else might
have done to the commonwealth by occasioning a
breach of the public peace ; and^ in this instance,
the truth of his assertion will afford him no pro-
tection from punishment, as his offence consists
not in the propagation of a false assertion, but in
the advancement of a criminal accusation, in a
manner forbidden by the laws of the realm, and
discountenanced by the regulations of a civilised
community.

Now, upon a retrospect of the preceding brief
sketch of the law concerning the particular subject
under consideration, I would ask, is not justice
strictly alUed to every part of it ; or, is it that
cruel, illiberal, and persecuting law which some
have had the audacity to represent it ? — What !
can it be supposed for a moment that our ancient
rulers were so lost to all sense of duty and decency
as to patronise and enact a law which was likely
to be a disgrace to their native land and oppressive
to their fellow subjects ? Can any man of com-
mon sense and common reason for a moment sup-
pose it ? Most surely not ; and I am pretty con-
fident that every man who possesses that common
sense and common reason, will join me in thinking
that a man who sues for a pecuniary compensation
ought to be less favoured than he who sacrifices
his interests and personal gratification on the altar
of national advantage ; and that the man who
asperses the character of another ought to be

1 10 ON THE LAW OF LIBEL.

punished with the utmost severity when brought
to the bar of his country by a Criminal Prosecu-
tion, when it is recollected that a way was open
for him in which he might, with honour to himself
and with benefit to his native land, have exposed
and punished his accuser, if he were conscious that
he had committed any crime which might have
rendered him amenable to the laws of the realm.

It would be nothing more nor less than an abso-
lute waste of time to notice some of the objections
which have been advanced against the method of
the judicial administration of libel law at the pre-
sent day ; these objections are so truly frivolous
that they are not worthy of any notice. One ob-
jection, however, has been started, which I think
it my duty to mention, as it is closely connected
with a point of the utmost importance to the
liberty of the subject and to the welfare of the
kingdom. It has been said that the recent prose-
cutions have injured the liberty of the press ; but
the assertion has not been substantiated, and I am
inclined to be of opinion that, instead of having
injured the freedom of the press, they will ulti-
mately tend to render the press much more re-
spectable than it formerly was ; its licentiousness
had advanced to an insufferable height— a public
character was by no means secure, and a private
individual scarcely so ; to curb that licentiousness
has been the object of our present most excellent
Attorney General,* a man who is nn honour to his

♦ Sir Vicary Gibbs.

ON THE LAW OF LIBEL. 1 1 1

profession, and who has done more real good to
his country in his official capacity than any of his
predecessors — a man who has firmly maintained
his ground against the malevolence of the discon-
tented and the clamours of the factious. Let
those who have been instrumental in promoting
this objection compare the present times with
those in which no publication could be issued
without the approbation of a licenser — let them
draw a line of comparison between the privations
then in use, and the privileges which they now
enjoy, and let them say whether they have any just
reason to complain !

I remain yours very truly,

BRITANNICUS.

A SERIES OF LETTERS,

Addressed to a Friend upon the Roman Catholic
Question. By Britannicus.

[Published in 1820.]

ADVERTISEMENT.

These Letters first appeared in the Sun evening
paper, and formed part of a lengthened correspond-
ence which took place between the writer and a
friend who professed Whig principles. Hacknied
and exhausted as the Roman Catholic question is,
the writer may perhaps be thought both obtrusive
and ridiculous in giving to the public the result of
his limited observation upon it. The reasons
which induced him to do it were simply these ; he
conceived that, although so much had been said
upon the question, a summart/ of the principal
arguments was still a desideratum, and that the
subject itself had been generally treated more as a
party topic and as an annual trial of strength be-
tween two contending interests, than as one, above
all others, interwoven with our civil and ecclesias-
tical polity. He therefore respectfully solicits
those who profess to adopt the Revolution as their
political model, to give the Letters a candid peru-

ADVERTISEMENT. 113

sal. In the discussion of the important matters to
which they refer, he has endeavoured to avoid an
unchristian or an illiberal spirit; and however
defective the execution may be thought — (and
defective it must necessarily be from the writer's
confined sphere of action) — he trusts that those
with whom he conscientiously differs in opinion as
to the application of Revolution principles, will
excuse him for attempting (however feebly) to
direct their steps to the altar of Constitutional
Whiggism, and to recal them to the exercise of
those first principles of our constitution which
were indebted to the Revolution for their legitimate
line of operation, but which have been most
lamentably infringed upon by the spurious

LIBERALITY and MISTAKEN CANDOUR of morC

modern days.

The writer has only to repeat that the Letters
cannot boast of much originality, as they are little
more than a recapitulation of the observations
which have been made upon the subject by the
ablest men of both parties, whose comments have
come under his notice.

Introductory to the Letters is subjoined a brief
notice of the reign of King James IL extracted
chiefly from Smollett.

A Summary of the Principal Events which
took place during the Reign of King James
THE Second.

(Extracted chiefly from Smollett 8 History of England,)

A.D. 1685. — ^The Duke of York, who succeeded
his brother (King Charles II.) by the title of King
James the Second, had been bred a Papist by his
mother, and was strongly bigoted to his prin-
ciples.

He went openly to mass with all the ensigns of
his dignity, and even sent one Caryl as his agent
to Rome to make submissions to the Pope, and to
pave the way for the re-admission of England into
the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church.

The next step taken was, to allow a liberty of
conscience to all sectaries ; and the King was taught
to believe that the truth of the Roman Catholic
religion would then, upon a fair trial, gain the vic-
tory. He therefore issued a declaration of general
indulgence, and asserted that non-conformity to
the established religion was no longer penal.

James, knowing how popular his son-in law, the
Prince of Orange, was among the Dissenters in
England, and that the ' nation in general revered

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 115

the Princess as presumptive heir of the crown, re-
solved to procure, if possible, his concurrence in
repeaUng the penal laws, believing this would dis-
pose the Parliament to a compliance with his will
in confirming the declaration. In order to sound
the Prince, he employed one Stewart, who was ac-
quainted with Fagel the Pensionary, to assure this
counsellor in a letter, that the interest of England,
as well as of the Prince, required the abolition of
the Test and Penal Laws. As Fagel made no
reply to this address, Stewart renewed the attack in
a second and third letter ; till at length, tired by
the Pensionary's silence, he gave him to under-
stand that the King had employed him to write,
and desired to know the sentiments of the Prince
on this subject. Then Fagel, by direction of the
Prince, wrote an answer, which was published.
He said the Prince and Princess would willingly
agree to indulge the Roman Catholics with liberty
of conscience, and ardently wished the Protestant
Dissenters were allowed the free exercise of their
religion ; but they would never consent to the
abolition of the Test and Penal Laws, which were
enacted to exclude the Roman Catholics from Par-
liament and public employments, that they might
never be in a condition to overturn the Protestant
religion. Their opinion was supported by several
clear and convincing reasons, which, while they
irritated the King against his son-in-law, served to
confirm great part of the nation in the good
opinion which they formed of the latter.

i2

116 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

James, notwithstanding all discouragements, still
persisted in his favourite design of converting the
three kingdoms.

To complete his work, he publicly sent the Earl
of Castlemaine ambassador extraordinary to Rome,
in order to express his obedience to the Pope, and
to reconcile his kingdoms to the Roman Catholic
communion. Never was there so much contempt
thrown upon an embassy that was so boldly
undertaken. The court of Rome expected but
little success from measures so blindly conducted.
They were sensible that the King was openly
striking at those laws and opinions which it was
his business to undermine in silence and security.

The Jesuits soon after were permitted to erect
colleges in different parts of the kingdom ; they
exercised the Roman Catholic worship in the most
public manner; and four Roman CathoHc Bishops,
consecrated in the King's chapel, were sent through
the kingdom to exercise their episcopal functions,
under the title of Apostolic Vicars.

A.D. 1688. — A second declaration for liberty of
conscience was pubhshed, almost in the same
terms with the former; but with this peculiar
injunction, that all divines should read it after
service in their churches. The Protestant clergy
were known universally to disapprove of these
measures, and they were now resolved to disobey
an order dictated by the most bigoted motives.
They therefore determined to trust their cause to
the favour of the people. The first champions on

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 117

this service of danger were Lloyd, Bishop of St.
Asaph ; Ken, of Bath and Wells ; Turner, of Ely ;
Lake, of Chichester ; White, of Peterborough ; and
Trelawney, of Bristol ; these, together with San-
croft, the Primate, concerted an address, in the
form of a petition, to the King, which, with the
warmest expressions of zeal and submission, re-
monstrated, that they could not read his declara-
tion consistently with their consciences, or the re-
spect they owed the Protestant religion.

The King in a fury summoned the bishops
before the council, and there questioned them
whether they would acknowledge their petition.
They for some time declined giving an answer ;
but, being urged by the Chancellor, they at last
owned it. On their refusal to give bail, an order
was immediately drawn for their commitment to
the Tower, and the crown-lawyers received direc-
tions to prosecute them for a seditious libel.

The twenty-ninth day of June was fixed for
heir trial ; and their return was more splendidly
attended than their imprisonment. The cause
was looked upon as involving the fate of the nation,
and future freedom, or future slavery, awaited the
decision. The dispute was learnedly managed by
the lawyers on both sides. HoUoway and Powel,
two of the judges, declared themselves in favour
of the bishops. The jury withdrew into a chamber,
where they passed the whole night, but next
morning they returned into court, and pronounced
the bishops. Not guilty. Westminster Hall instantly

118 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

rang with loud acclamations, which were com-
municated to the whole extent of the city. They
even reached the camp at Hounslow, where the
King was at dinner, in Lord Feversham's tent.
His Majesty demanding the cause of the rejoicings,
and being informed that it was nothing but the
soldiers shouting at the dehvery of the bishops,
" Call you that nothing ? " cried he ; " but so much
the worse for them.''

It was in this posture of affairs that all people
turned their eyes upon William Prince of Orange,
who had married Mary, the eldest daughter of
King James.

Every individual, whether Whig or Tory, who
knew the value of liberty, and was attached to the
established Protestant religion, now plainly saw,
that, without an immediate and vigorous opposition
to the measures of the King, the nation would be
reduced to the most abject state of spiritual sub-
jection. The principal persons of both parties
began to reflect with remorse upon the mutual
animosity which had weakened the common in-
terest : they perceived the necessity of having re-
course to foreign aid : and they looked upon the
Prince of Orange as their natural ally and pro-
tector. As a previous step towards an appHcation
to this auxiliary, they saw it would be necessary to
compromise all their domestic disputes. Some
moderate men of each faction exerted their en-
deavours for this purpose. Their efforts were
crowned with success, and the Whigs and Tories,

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 119

for once^ united by the common ties of religion
and liberty, agreed in private to lay aside all con-
tention.

The Prince of Orange having taken leave of the
States, embarked on the 1 9th October, 1 688, with
the Earls of Shrewsbury and Macclesfield ; the
Lords Mordaunt, Wiltshire, Paulet, Elan, and Dun-
blaine ; Admiral Herbert, Mr. Sidney, Mr. Russel,
Dr. Burnet, and many other English subjects.
His fleet consisted of fifty sail of the line, twenty
frigates, as many fire-ships, and about four hundred
transports, on board of which twelve or thirteen
thousand soldiers were embarked. Admiral Her-
bert led the van ; the rear was conducted by
Evertzen, and the Prince commanded in the centre,
with a flag displaying his own arms, circumscribed
"The Protestant Religion and the Liber-
ties OF England ! "

The time when the Prince entered upon his
enterprise was just when the people were in a
flame at the recent insult offered to their bishops.
He had before this made considerable augmenta-
tions to the Dutch fleet, and the ships were then
lying ready in the harbour. Some additional
troops were also levied, and sums of money raised
for other purposes were converted to the advance-
ment of this expedition.

It was given out that this invasion was intended
for the coast of France, and many of the English,
who saw the fleet pass along their coasts, little ex-
pected to see it land on their own shores. Thus,

120 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

after a voyage of two days, the Prince landed his
army at the village of Broxholme in Torbay, on
the fifth of November, v^rhich was the anniversary
of the Gunpowder Treason.

But, though the invitation from the English was
very general, the Prince for some time had the
mortification to find himself joined by very few.
He marched first to Exeter, where the country
people had been so lately terrified with the execu-
tions which had ensued on Monmouth's rebeUion,
that they continued to observe a strict neutrahty.
He remained for ten days in expectation of being
joined by the malecontents, and at last began to
despair of success. But just when he began to
deliberate about re-embarking his forces he was
joined by several persons of consequence, and the
whole country soon after came flocking to his
standard. The nobihty, clergy, officers, and even
the King's own servants and creatures, were unani-
mous in deserting James. Lord Churchill had
been raised from the rank of a page, and had been
invested with a high command in the army, had
been created a Peer, and owed his whole fortune
to the King's bounty; even he deserted among
the rest, and carried with him the Duke of Graf-
ton, natural son to the late King, Colonel Berkeley,
and some others.

The King, alarmed every day more and more
with the prospect of a general disaffection, was
resolved to hearken to those who advised his
quitting the kingdom. To prepare for this he

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 121

first sent away the Queen, who arrived safely at
Calais, under the conduct of Count Lauzun, an old
favourite of the French King. He himself soon
after disappeared in the night time, attended only
by Sir Edward Hales, a new convert ; but was
discovered and brought back by the mob.

But shortly after being confined at Rochester,
and observing that he was entirely neglected by
his own subjects, he resolved to seek safety from
the King of France, the only friend he had still
remaining. He accordingly fled to the sea side,
attended by his natural son the Duke of Berwick,
where he embarked for the continent, and arrived
in safety at Ambleteuse in Picardy, from whence
he hastened to the court of France, where he still
enjoyed the empty title of a king, and the appella-
tion of a saintj which flattered him more.

No sooner had James left the kingdom than the
Peers, as possessed of hereditary jurisdiction, re-
solved to act as the guardians of the public. They
entreated the Prince of Orange to send orders to
all the places that were vested with the right of
electing members, to choose representatives within
ten days from the service of the notice, who might
compose a Convention, which might act as a Par-
liament in settling the nation. Before, however,
the Prince would take this step, he resolved to be
authorised by the Commons as well as by the
Peers. He accordingly published an order, re-
quiring all those who had served as members of
Parliament in the reign of Charles H. together with

122 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and fifty Common
Coun oilmen of London to meet at St. James's on
the 26th day of December, 1688, that he might
consult them on the present posture of affairs.
This Convention met at the appointed time, and,
having adopted an address beseeching the Prince
of Orange to take upon himself the charge of the
administration of affairs, they adjourned until the
22d January following, when they again met, and,
having chosen a Speaker, a letter from the Prince
to both Houses was read to this effect : That he
had complied with their desires in re-establishing
the peace and public safety of the kingdom, and
now it was their business to secure their religion,
laws, and liberties, upon a certain foundation. He
observed that the dangerous situation of the
Protestants in Ireland required immediate
relief ; and that, except a disunion amongst them-
selves, nothing could be more fatal to foreign con-
nections than a delay in their deliberations.

On the 28th January Mr. Dolben in the Lower
House undertook to prove that the, throne was
vacated by the King's desertion. After a long de-
bate, the Commons voted, by a great majority,
that " King James IL having endeavoured to sub-
vert the constitution of the kingdom by breaking
the original contract betwixt King and People,
and having by the advice of Jesuits, and other
wicked persons, violated the fundamental laws and
withdrawn himself out of the kingdom, had abdi-
cated thfj government ; that the throne was thereby

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 123

vacant, and that experience had shewn a Pro-
testant KINGDOM COULD NOT SUBSIST UNDER
THE GOVERNMENT OF A POPISH SOVEREIGN."

Great debates arose between the Upper and
Lower Houses whether a Regent or a new Sovereign
should be preferred ; and, after several very violent
discussions between the Tories and Whigs, the
Upper House concurred in the vote of the Com-
mons — " That King James had abdicated the
government, and thereby the throne was become
vacant."

It now remained for the Houses to fill the va-
cant throne, and, upon the House of Peers pro-
ceeding to deliberate upon an expedient to do this,
the Marquess of Halifax proposed that the Prince
of Orange should reign alone, and the Princesses
succeed in order, at his death. This motion gave
rise to violent debates; and the two Houses were
completely divided into parties. The Earl of
Danby sent an express to the Princess of Orange,
with an assurance that, if she chose to reign alone,
he had interest enough to carry that point in her
favour. She rephed that she was the Prince's
wife, and would never cherish a separate interest
from that of her husband, to whom she transmitted
the Earl's letter. At length, the two Houses
agreed, and each voted apart, that the Prince and
Princess of Orange should reign jointly as King and
Queen of England; and that the administration
should be in the hands of the Prince alone. Then
the Convention, after some disputes, reduced the

124 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

oath of allegiance to its original simplicity, of
being faithful to the King and Queen. On the 1 2th
day of February, the Princess of Orange arrived
in London. Next day the Members of the two
Houses went in a body to the Banqueting House,
Whitehall, where the Prince and Princess sat in
state ; and the famous Bill or Declaration of
Rights having been read, the Marquess of Halifax,
as Speaker of the Upper House, made a solemn
tender of the crown to their Highnesses, in the
names of the Peers and Commons of England.
The Prince replied in gracious terms of acknow-
ledgment ; upon that very day he and the Princess
were proclaimed by the names of William and
Mary, King and Queen of England ; and thus
the most important Revolution which ever took
place, was effected in the most peaceable and satis-
factory manner.

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 125

LETTER I.

My dear Sir,

After the correspondence which has taken
place between us upon the Roman Catholic ques-
tion, it will not perhaps be disagreeable to you if
I attempt to analyse the arguments which have
been used on both sides, and take a general review
of the reasons which have induced you, as an advo-
cate of Whig principles, to support the present
claims of the Roman Catholics. Previous to doing
these matters, it will be necessary to consider,
what are the general principles upon which we
deem this great national question as reposing, and
what the data upon which our mutual opinions are
founded.

You tell me that it is from a firm conviction of
the justice of a repeal of all civil disabilities imposed
in consequence of a difference in religious senti-
ments, that you are induced to favour the Roman
Catholic claims. — Now, I am as great an advocate
for religious liberty as you can be, and think that
its cultivation and extension in a free country
ought to be promoted by every possible means.
A direct recognition of this principle is given by
the British Constitution : that inimitable system
regards religious liberty in the light of direct
natural liberty, and most wisely draws the distinc-

126 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

tion between it and civil privilege. A certain
portion of natural liberty must be conceded by
those who enjoy and claim civil protection; and
this concession our Constitution requires of her
subjects before she extends her protection to them ;
as to religious liberty, however, that she regards as
being free as air — she therefore leaves it unfettered
— and permits all to adopt their own peculiar
modes of faith without molestation from civil
authority.

In perfect conformity with these general axioms,
the Constitution of England admits of, and identi-
fies itself with, a religious establishment ; it having
been found from the experience of ages, that
without a rallying point of this description no
system of civil government could long sustain its
authority. As a member of the Church of Eng-
land, you do not object to this establishment, but
admit its necessity; you nevertheless disapprove
of those Tests which I conceive form the necessary
bulwarks of its security, and which exclude from
civil power those who dissent from the religion of
the state. Upon this point we are at issue ; and,
as I have professed myself a warm friend to reli-
gious liberty, it is incumbent upon me to shew the
necessity of any laws which primd facie interfere

with that invaluable blessing

It is this part of the argument which connects our
subject with the Roman Catholic question, and I
trust I shall be able to convince you, that a conti-
nuance of Test Laws is necessary, to protect the

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 127

civil and religious liberties of Englishmen from
Roman Catholic attacks and foreign interference.

It would be impossible for any Protestant reli-
gious establishment to subsist without some species
of civil protection ; and this is perfectly accounted
for in the difference subsisting between Protest-
antism and the Roman Catholic religion: the
latter is a Test Act in itself, as it admits of no
toleration to conflicting opinions ; whereas the
former, by admitting of full religious toleration,
requires some civil aid to protect its ascendancy.
Without some species of Test it must follow from
the very nature of Protestantism and of mankind,
that no religious establishment founded on its
principles could long subsist; the multiplicity of
religious opinions would be so great, and the mul-
tiplicity of civil interests and influence arising from
the honest exercise of those opinions so various,
that, if engrafted into the state or admitted into
the council chamber, no definite plan of action
would ever be agreed upon ; — all would be confu-
sion and disorder ; for it must be universally
admitted, that religious opinions (if arising from
conviction and honestly entertained) will ever form
the mainsprings of action, whether in the cabinet,
the senate, or the closet. If therefore any parti-
cular system of Protestantism were to lose the
support of the civil power, the religion itself being
divided in interest, and each division struggling
for predominance in the supreme government, a
spirit of enmity, mistrust, and cabal would be ex-

128 LETTERS OF BRITANNTCUS,

cited, which would eventually destroy that zeal for
liberty of conscience which now so happily subsists
amongst us, and to which, I make no hesitation in
saying, we are indebted for the Revolution of 1688.
You however tell me " that this is strange reason-
ing^ and that every species of test is contrary to the
natural rights of man, and part of a system of per-
secution'' In opposition to this opinion, I would
refer you to the history of past experience, and an
attentive consideration of human nature. You
will not I think be disposed to say that the Revo-
lution would have been brought about had not the
executive power been bound down by Test Laws,
which prevented the sovereign from bestowing
office upon his Roman Catholic favourites. In
this memorable instance, at least, what you now
please to denominate a system of intolerance saved
for England her civil and religious liberties. King
James, when so anxious to repeal the Test Laws
adopted by his predecessors, acted from a convic-
tion that until that repeal took place, and until he
had, through its medium, been enabled to fill the
higher offices of the state with his creatures, he
should never be able to restore Popery as the es-
tablished religion of England.* Could he however
have carried the repeal which he sought, many
seasons would not have passed over this country
before his ulterior object would have been effected.
The advisers of that monarch clearly perceived

* Videp 115.

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 129

that it was the establishment of a particulm' form
of religion which was the chief obstacle to the ac-
compUshment of their designs; and that conse-
quently a virtual dissolution of that establishment,
by the taking away of those bulwarks in the shape of
Test Laws which supported it, was a necessary pre-
paratory step towards the restoration of their
domineering and oppressive system. Such a re-
peal would have produced the disunion and con-
tention to which we have before alluded ; and thus
a door would have been opened for the introduc-
tion of a religion imposing in itself — forming a
more combined system of union and energy than
any other, and supporting its own ascendancy by
its own intolerant principles.

Surely, my dear Sir, the times are not so much
altered as to justify us in beUeving that the same
consequences which were dreaded at the Revolu-
tion, and guarded against by the legislative statutes
passed at that glorious event, would not ensue,
were a deviation now to take place from the policy
then established. I, for one, can never admit that
the general principles established and acted upon
at the Revolution were mere measures of tempo-
rary policy. The very idea strips it of all its im-
portance ; it dwindles it into a mere secondary
event in history, and robs it of all claim as a prece-
dent. We may adopt in some respects, a different
application of the principles upon which the Revo-
lution proceeded. You may consider it favourable
to an elective monarchy ; I to a limited hereditary

K

130 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

one ; but I trust we do not differ in our opinions
as to the grand cause which produced it, and the
main object which it had in view. These consi-
derations I shall discuss in my next, and, as you
have kindly favoured me with the particular rea-
sons which have induced you to support the pre-
tensions now urged by the Roman Catholics, you
will, I am quite certain, allow me to comment
upon them, and explain those reasons which
induce me to consider yours as erroneous, and as
contrary to genuine Whiggism.

And I remain, dear Sir,

Yours ever sincerely, &c. &c.

LETTER II.

My dear Sir,

In my last Letter I endeavoured to shew that
some species of Test Laws was necessary, not only
for the preservation of a Protestant establishment,
but for the general security of Protestantism of all
descriptions, in a country possessing a constitution
similar to our own. I shall now proceed to discuss
the Roman Catholic question as connected with
the Revolution.

One great object the Revolution had in view was

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 131

the security of a Protestant establishment, com-
bined with a system of full religious toleration to
those who might dissent from it. Toleration can
scarcely be said to have been understood previous
to the Revolution. It is true the Protestant re-
ligion had subsisted in the empire for more than a
century antecedent, but it had subsisted rather in
in name than in fact : its energies had been almost
completely destroyed by the restless and malignant
spirits of those who still mortally hated the Refor-
mation, and who were therefore obliged to be
bound down by most severe penal laws, in order
to produce any degree of tranquillity. It may
readily be conceived, that, under such untoward
circumstances as these. Protestantism had no
opportunity of evincing its mild and beneficent
effects ; upheld as it was by the severe statutes of
Charles and Ehzabeth, it merely had an exotic
existence, and it was reserved for the Revolution
to place it upon a firm and sure basis, and to give
it an opportunity of evincing its real principles.

The constitution had been undergoing a most
serious change ever since the Reformation — a
change hostile to Popery, but favourable to liberty.
Through many trials, dangers, and impediments,
this change had been slowly making its way, and
that work (no matter from what motives) which
was begun by an Henry was completed by the
legitimate authorities of the country, aided by a
beloved sovereign. The Protestant establishment
founded at the Revolution was one raised upon the

K 2

132 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

ruins of Roman Catholic power. It had been
found that Popery on the one hand, and fanaticism
on the other, were alike inimical to English
freedom, and the establishment as then settled
was therefore esteemed the happy medium upon
which English freedom could alone repose for
security. This discovery and conviction were the
more valuable, since the Revolution might strictly
be called the act and deed of the people ; it was
not the work of any turbulent or factious dema-
gogues, who were prompted to embark in it from
a hope that they might rise into consequence
upon the ruins of fallen majesty ; on the contrary,
" it was an event brought about entirely through
the imprudence of Majesty itself, by an attempt to
abolish the Protestant religion, for which such
great calamities had been suifered." *

The circumstances attending the reign of James,
and the internal broils which had existed ever since
the Reformation, had clearly established the
position, that an union of Church and State must
take place, and that any disjunction of the one
from the other, or any control over the former by
a foreign power, was fatal to English liberty. The
character of the Revolution was therefore an
arduous and a firm struggle against a Popish
sovereign supported by Popish advisers and foreign
interference, and the triumphant result of that
struggle secured for us religious, civil, and political

* De Lolme, p. 54.

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 133

liberty conjointly ; it gave us a Protestant Church and
State and a Limited Monarchy. It is clear from
the very nature of things that these could never
have been secured for us had not the influence of
the Roman Catholics been previously bound down
and crippled by restrictive statutes ; for, with a
monarch of that persuasion, surrounded by advisers
of the same description, the standard of despotism
and persecution must have waved over that country
which is now so highly distinguished for civil and
religious liberty. The legislative records of this
distinguished period are strongly corroborative of
this opinion. The Bill of Rights sets out with
telling us, that " the late King James the Second,
by the assistance of divers evil counsellors, judges,
and ministers employed by him, did endeavour to
subvert and extirpate the Protestant religion, and
and the laws and liberties of the kingdom." Here
we have a direct and forcible recognition of the
intimate connection which was then considered
as subsisting between Protestantism and English
liberty ; and, as if to warn succeeding generations
against the adoption of any measures calculated
either to compromise or weaken the Protestant
ascendancy, this explicit declaration is contained
in the preamble (or key to explain the motives)
of the first legislative act which took place
after the Revolution. The Act of Settlement,
passed some years afterwards, adopts the same
line of recognition, and is particularly cautious in
guarding the succession against the possibility of

134 LETTERS OP BRITANNICUS,

either falling into Roman Catholic hands or being
controlled by Roman CathoUc influence.* I have
thought it right to be rather minute in noticing
these particulars, because I perceive you have
adopted an opinion that the Revolution and the
Bill of Rights are not so intimately connected with
the Protestant religion as some imagine. You tell
me that the " thirteen declarations contained in the
Bill are equally true whatever is the form of
religion, whether Protestant, Catholic, or even
Mahometan.'' Now I will admit the declarations
themselves do not directly allude to the subject,
because they are confined to a mere statement of
civil privilege ; but, taken in context with the
preamble and other preceding matter, I will boldly
defy any one to say that the establishment of Pro-
testantism was not considered as the grand basis
upon which the Revolution rested for support.

I perceive you are also one of those who give
Runnymede the credit for every atom of Enghsh
liberty. Far be it from me to slight or under-
value the glorious trophies which were then gained.
They certainly laid the foundation of what we now
enjoy ; but they did little more. English liberty,
though it dawned at Runnymede, and was fought

* By 12 and 13 Will. III. c. 2, the succession to the Crown
was settled upon the Princess Sophia (granddaughter of King
James I.) and the heirs of her body, being Pkotestants ; and
by the same statute it is enacted, that, whosoever should thence-
forth come to the possession of the Crown should join in the
communion of the Church of England as by law established.

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 135

for at Cressy, Poictiers, and Agincourt, was not
established upon a basis sufficiently strong to admit
of toleration to conflicting religious opinions until
1 688. I am not surprised at any one who professes
Whig principles, and who nevertheless supports
the Roman Catholic claims, wishing to draw a veil
over what passed in 1688, and dwelling with
rapture upon the field of Runnymede and the
exploits of Cressy. This affords him a specious
opportunity of attributing our liberties to the
exertions of Roman Catholics, and of fanning into
an enthusiastic flame the romantic ideas which are
necessarily connected with those glorious eras. It
is true that the struggles were great, the results
glorious. They however prove nothing as to our
present question ; they were indeed partly occa-
sioned by that overbearing religious power which
it was always the duty and interest of Englishmen
to resist, but which they had no means of resisting
until the Reformation — and none of effectually
doing so until the Revolution. If we look back to
the reigns preceding the Reformation, we shall
almost invariably find that, during the sway of a
valiant and politic monarch, the State has been
distracted with the cabals of the Court of Rome ;
and during that of a weak one, that the Papal See
has trampled upon the rights of both prince and
people. =^ It was the religious establishment, as

* The reigns of John and Henry 11. are remarkable instances
of this.

136 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

settled and protected at the Revolution, which
alone obviated these inconveniences, and gave to
English subjects liberty of conscience in conjunc-
tion with personal freedom.

I shall now proceed to consider how you, who
profess yourself to be a warm admirer of Revolu-
tion principles, and a Whig of 1688, can consist-
ently support the present claims of the Roman
Catholics, and in the interim remain.

Yours ever sincerely, &c.

LETTER III.

My dear Sir,

In my last Letter I endeavoured to shew the
intimate connection subsisting between the Revo-
lution of 1688 and the Roman Catholic question.
I shall now proceed to inquire, how you, who pro-
fess to be guided by the principles of that Revolu-
tion, can consistently support the present claims
of the Catholics.

What the principles were which the Roman
CathoHcs entertained at the period of the Revolu-
tion is evident ; the Bill of Rights declares them
to be inimical to the liberty of EngHsh subjects*
and destructive of the British constitution. It
therefore becomes us to inquire, whether any

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 137

change has taken place in these principles — whether
those tenets which were esteemed poHtically dan-
gerous in 1688 have become harmless in 1820.
Strictly speaking, however, the onus probafidi, in
this respect, lies upon the Roman Catholics, and
it is for them to shew, not for Protestants to point
out, why all the securities which were established
at the Revolution, to guard our liberties and re-
ligious establishments, should be swept away. In
entering upon the discussion of this part of our
subject, I have always felt considerable difficulty.
Living, as I have done, and still continue to do, in
the strictest intimacy with several members of the
Romish communion, whom I most sincerely re-
spect, it is difficult to bring forward the discussion
of a subject which cannot fail in some degree to
excite unpleasant feehngs. I hold it, however, as
an incontrovertible maxim, that English liberty
ought never to be sacrificed for private friendship.
Sincerely do I believe that amongst the Roman
Catholics there is every thing good, great, and
noble, but as sincerely do I believe that many of
them are utterly ignorant of the lengths to which
their principles would carry them, and would
shudder at the acts which they would be compelled
to perform in a case of emergency. Indeed I am
inclined to think that the Ecclesiastical subjection
under which Roman Catholics are placed is not
so much known to them as it is to Protestants ;
because the latter have been induced to make the
necessary inquiries for their own security, and be-

138 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

cause the former are not fond of recurring to a
subject which places them so completely under
sacerdotal influence.

In resuming the consideration of our subject, it
will be necessary to consider what was the situa-
tion of the Roman Catholics previous to the Revo-
lution, and what was the state of things established
at that period with respect to them. The state of
the Roman Catholics previous to the Revolution
was one of complete proscription, brought about
by their own conduct in the reigns subsequent to
the Reformation. Their properties, their religion,
their means of defence, and their rights of action,
were taken away from them ; indeed, such was the
severity of these laws, that the President Montes-
quieu has observed, " That they were so rigorous,
though not professedly of the sanguinary kind, as
to do all the hurt that could possibly be done in
cold blood." (Sp. L. 6, 19, c. 27)* These laws,

* Formerly persons professing the Roman Catholic religion
were disabled from inheriting or taking lands by descent or pur-
chase, after eighteen years of age, until they renounced their errors
— they were disabled to teach school under pain of perpetual im-
prisonment ; and, if they willingly said or heard mass, they for-
feited the one two hundred, the other one hundred marks and a
year's imprisonment. A number of other severe law8 were also
in force against them, which might be attributed to the various
attempts that had been made in different reigns to annihilate the
Protestant establishment. " The restless machinations of the
Jesuits during the reign of Elizabeth, the turbulence and uneasi-
ness of the Papists under the new religious establishment, and the
boldness of their hopes and wishes for the succession of the Queen

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 139

however, were merely enacted as emergencies
arose, and were never intended to form a permanent
system of legislation. At the Revolution the
restless conduct of the Roman Catholics rendered
it necessary that they should still be retained ;
they were accordingly so until the causes which
produced most of them had ceased to exist. Such
of them were then repealed as did not immediately
affect the constitution of the country, and all that
are now retained are those which exclude Roman
Catholics from parliament, from holding certain
civil and ecclesiastical situations, from presiding in
our courts of law or equity, and from rising to
certain rank at the bar."^ The properties, the
worship, and the civil rights of the Catholics have
now as much protection as those of the Protestants ;
and all from which they are excluded are those
situations which would give them a political in-
fluence over our Protestant constitution, and a

of Scots, obliged the Parliament of that day to counteract so
dangerous a spirit by laws of a great, and then perhaps necessary,
severity. The Powder Treason in the succeeding reign struck a
panic into James I. which operated in different ways : it occasioned
the creating of new laws against the Roman Catholics, but
deterred him from putting them into execution. The intrigues of
Queen Henrietta in the reign of Charles I., the prospect of a
Popish successor in that of Charles II., the Assassination Plot in
the reign of King William, and the avowed claim of a Popish Pre-
tender to the crown in that and subsequent reigns, will account for
the extension of the penalties at those several periods of our
history." — Blackstone.

* 18th George III. c. 60— 3 1st George III. c. 32.

140 LETTERS OF BRTTANNICUS,

legislative control over our Protestant establish-
ment.

Having thus premised, I shall proceed to con-
sider seriatim the reasons which you admit have
induced you to second the efforts of the Roman
Catholics at the present period to obtain political
power in our Protestant State. You tell me,
'^ That the present Test Laws, hy which the Roman
Catholics are excluded from power, did not originate
at the Revolution, and that they are inconsistent
ivith the toleration that was then established.'*
Now let us for a moment refer to the Act of
Toleration itself (1st W. and M. c. 18.) The Pre-
amble to that Act runs as follows : " Forasmuch
as some ease to scrupulous consciences in the exer-
cise of religion may he an effectual means to unite
their Majesties'" Protestant subjects in interest
and affection.'" Thus it appears, that it was merely
for the relief of the " scrupulous consciences of Pro-
testants in the exercise of religion,*' that this
Act was passed. The Act goes on to exempt Pro-
testant Dissenters from those severe laws which
had been passed against Non-conformists in prior
reigns, but at the same time contains two most
remarkable exceptions— exceptions which speak
volumes upon the present question, and clearly
shew that King William*s general ideas of tolera-
tion never extended to Popery. So jealous
were the Parliament that passed this Act upon
this point, and so apprehensive were they that
a Roman Catholic might take advantage of a

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 141

law which was intended exclusively for the relief
of a Protestant Dissenter, that the Act of 25 th
Charles the Second, (which was made " to pre-
vent dangers which might happen from Popish
recusants,'' J and the Act of 30th Charles the
Second {'\for the more effectually preserving the
King's person and Government, hy disabling Papists
from sitting in either House of Parliament," J were
especially excepted in the Act of Toleration ; and
no Protestant Dissenter could take the henefit
of that Act unless he took the oaths and sub-
scribed the declarations which the two excepted
Acts contained, and which were in the strongest
degree inimical to the Roman Catholic religion and
to papal encroachment. How can it therefore be
maintained, that the ideas of toleration, as enter-
tained at the Revolution, were favourable to the
claims now urged by the Roman Catholics, when
we see that it was made an especial condition with
those who availed themselves of that toleration,
that they should distinctly recognise the legislative
enactments which excluded Roman Catholics from
Parliament and from filling any civil offices in the
State ? The Revolution did indeed reconcile liberty
with a Protestant Government, but it effected this
by driving Popery and intolerance to their native
shades, and by erecting the standard of civil free-
dom upon the wreck of tyrannical usurpation.

You say, however, that " The toleration, as es-
tablished at the Revolution, was incomplete, and that
it was the commencement, not the completion, of a

142 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

system'' — I am at a loss, however, to know upon
what grounds you have been induced to form this
opinion. It has been said that, when the Act of
William was passed, a Catholic exile King was
living, who possessed the affections of a great por-
tion of his late subjects, among whom were men
of the first talents and property, and that even
many of the bench of bishops were then Jacobites ;
but what has this to do with the subject ? — Were
all that were called Jacobites favourable to the
Roman Catholic religion? Were not many of
them Jacobites from principle, and who conceived
themselves so bound, by having sworn allegiance
to James, that they could not conscientiously take
the oath to William ? What was Archbishop San-
croft, and what were Bishops Kenn, Lake, White,
and Turner ? *— Were they Roman Catholics ?
No ! Bis martyrizati ! — they were the very men
who were imprisoned for resisting the dispensing
power claimed by King James for releasing the

* Vide p. 117. After the accession of Wifliam and Mary,
Archbishop Sancroft, with Bishops Turner, Lake, and some others,
retired from Parliament, from a conscientious belief of the abso-
lute power and divine hereditary indefeasible right of sovereigns.
These prelates had taken every possible step, both before and after
their memorable trial, to induce King James to act as became an
English sovereign ; finding these efforts useless, they then joined
the association in favour of the Prince of Orange ; but neverthe-
less, when success had crowned the efforts of that association, they
refused to take the requisite oaths to William, and eventually be-
came martyrs (as to their preferments) on account of their
principles !

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 143

Catholics from the operation of the penal laws and
the Test, but who suffered themselves to be de-
prived of their sees rather than take the oath to
William. These were men who suffered for con-
science-sake ; and is it to be now contended that
they were advocates for the repeal of the Test
Laws^ who suffered imprisonment for opposing that
repeal; and that statutes, which Judge Blackstone
calls " the bulwarks of the constitution,'' ^ are to be
now abrogated because Jacobites have ceased to
exist, and because some political doctrines have
been exploded? — If any additional proof were
wanting that the present claims of the Roman
Catholics are not comprehended in the principles
of Revolution toleration, the celebrated letter which
was written in 1687 by Pensionary Fagel to Mr.
Stewart, by command of the Prince and Princess
of Orange, (afterwards King William and Queen
Mary,) as illustrative of the principles which
placed them upon the throne of England, must set
at rest the question.-f* This was a letter written
in answer to one sent by King James, requesting
their Highnesses to aid him in his attempts to
abolish the Test Laws. The following are extracts
from this memorable document : — " Their High-
nesses could by no means agree to the repeal of
the Test^ and those other penal laws that tended
to the security of the Protestant religion, since the

* Black. Com. vol. iv. p. 58.

t Kennet's History of England, vol. iii. p. 466.

14.4 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

Roman Catholics receive no other prejudices from
these than their being excluded from Parliament
and public employments; and that by them the Pro-
test ant religion was sheltered from all the designs
of the Roman Catholics against it, or against the
public safety : that neither the Test nor those
other laws could be said to carry any severity in
them against the Roman Catholics upon account
of their consciences, being only provisions qualify-
ing men to be Members of Parliament, or to be
capable of bearing office, by which they must de-
clare before God and men that they were for the
Protestant religion : so that, indeed, all this
amounted to no more than a securing the Pro^
test ant religion from any prejudice it might receive
from the Roman Catholics. Their Highnesses were
convinced in their consciences that both the Pro-
testant religion and the safety of the nation would
be exposed to most certain dangers, if either the
Tests, or those other penal laws of which he had
made frequent mention, should be repealed ; there-
fore they could not concur with his Majesty in
those matters ; for they believed they should have
much to answer to God, if the consideration of any
present advantage should induce them to consent
to things which they believed would not only be
very dangerous, but prejudicial to the Protestant
religion'' *

This memorable document clearly shews what

* Vid. p. 115.

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 145

King William's ideas of toleration were ; and shall
we, who live at so remote a period from times
when the operation of Roman Catholic principles
was manifested, adopt a different line of conduct ?
Shall we learn nothing from that experience which
was bequeathed to us by our ancestors ? Shall no
earnestness be excited in us to preserve the liber-
ties and religion which they have bequeathed to
us ? " O that I had words to represent to the
present generation the miseries which their fathers
underwent ; that I could describe their fears and
anxieties, their restless nights and uneasy days,
when every morning threatened to usher in the
last day of England's liberty. Had men such a
sense of the miseries of the time past, it would
teach them what consequences they were to expect
from any successful attempt against the present
establishment." -j-

The only true criterion which we can adopt,
whereby to form an accurate judgment of any
measures proper to be pursued under circumstances
of peculiar emergency, and with which our ances-
tors have successfully struggled, is, to observe
attentively what were the measures adopted by
them after the struggle had ended, and what were
the means devised to perpetuate the benefits
obtained by the contest. This is the standard to
which I would bring the present question ; and I
shall endeavour to show, in my next, whether

* Bp. Sherlock's Discourses.

146 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

Roman Catholic principles have so much altered as
to render any change in legislation necessary.
I trust I have shown that the toleration granted by
William was not one which opened a door to all
sects without restraint, and disregarded an esta-
blishment as necessary to the welfare of a country ;
on the contrary, that it was a toleration which was
not indifferent to a particular religion, and that it
was one which encompassed the throne with Test
Laws, and vested the civil authorities of the country
in those who professed the rehgion of the State.
These are very different principles of toleration to
those about which we hear so much at the present
day. Some of the latter, I am greatly apprehen-
sive, have originated in that disregard of all reli-
gious institutions which characterised the French
revolution. Establishments were then considered
as unnecessary ; a spurious religious liberty was
the order of the day, and everything which was
deemed sacred by our ancestors was ridiculed by
their puny descendants. Far, very far, am I from
insinuating, and as far from believing, that any
improper motives are harboured by the leading
parliamentary supporters of the Roman Catholic
claims ; many of them, however, entered into life
when the French revolution was almost the only
topic, when it was the object of panegyric, and was
holden out as an example for imitation. Its dire
effects had not then been seen ; the slavish chains
which were afterwards manufactured at the Repub-
lican forge had not then bound down the liberties of

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. ] 47

the people. May we not therefore be allowed to
suggest the propriety of an inquiry being made by
some of the present supporters of the Roman
Catholic claims, as to the period when the prin-
ciples of toleration upon which they now advocate
those claims first began to take effect upon their
minds, and whether any ideas of universal freedom
have not been mixed up, or at least confounded,
with the system of our National toleration ?

In my next letter I shall resume the subject,
and endeavour to show how far the idea of Roman
Catholic principles being changed is founded in
fact.

And I remain, dear Sir,

Yours ever sincerely, &c. &c.

LETTER IV.

My dear Sir,

Having shewn, I trust, that the toleration
which was established at the Revolution was de>
cidedly opposed to the claims now made by the
Roman Catholics, I shall proceed to consider
whether a sufficient change has been wrought in
Roman Catholic tenets since that event to justify
any deviation from the principles then established.

L 2

148 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

The advocates of the claims have very judiciously
endeavoured to treat the subject simply in a reli-
gious point of view ; and they have done this
because most of the religious prejudices entertained
by Catholics are prejudices which do not directly •
interfere with the civil government of the country.
A man may worship as many saints as he pleases,
may adore the Virgin Mary, believe in purgatory,
indulgences, and extreme unction, and yet be a
good British subject. It is not the holding of
these doctrines (however absurd) which renders
restrictive measures necessary ; but it is the holding
of other doctrines, which directly interfere with
civil government, that renders Roman Catholics
unfit subjects to be trusted with the administration
of a civil power in a Protestant State. It is a
mixture of civil and rehgious authority in the
Roman Catholic church itself, that has made an
exclusion necessary, and which still makes such
exclusion imperative. The doctrine of Infallibility ,
as maintained in that Church — the authority of
general councils, and the Foreign allegiance created
by the supposed supremacy of the Papal see, are
the dogmas which connect politics with the Roman
Catholic question, and strike at the very root of
the constitution of England as established at the
Revolution. These, then, form the kernel of this
part of our subject, and I shall therefore consider
them separately, having first established the fact
that they are still holden by the members of the
Church of Rome. In order to do this, we have

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 149

only occasion to refer to a " Pastoral Letter '* of
the present titular Archbishop of Dublin, published
in 1793.=^ Dr. Troy there tells us, that ''it is a
fundamental principle of the Roman Catholic faith,
that the Pope or Bishop of Rome is successor to
St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles ;" that " in that
see he enjoys, by divine right, a spiritual and
ecclesiastical supremacy, not only of honour and
rank, but of real jurisdiction and authority in the
universal church ;" and that " Roman Catholics
conceive this point as clearly established in the
Scriptures, and by the constant tradition of the
Fathers in every age, as it is by the express decisions
of their general councils, which they consider as
infallihle authority in points of doctrine." Here
then we have a plain authoritative recognition of
the doctrine of infalUhility, of the authority of
generalcouncils, and of the Papal supremacy. It
will now be for us to consider how far these
received opinions affect the civil and ecclesiastical
constitution of this country.

The doctrine of infalUbilltj/, as maintained in
the Romish church, has been justly considered as
" the grand pillar of Roman Catholic despotism." f^
It has been truly declared to be as incompatible
with freedom of research in religious matters, as

* Dr. Troy is one of the most celebrated Prelates resident
amongst the Irish Roman Catholics.

j Vid. " The Claims of the Roman Catholics considered, with
reference to the safety of the Established Church and the Rights
of Religious Toleration " — Cadell and Davies, 1812

150 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

with the civil and religious liberties of the English
people. It is well known how difficult it is in all
cases to draw the line between civil and religious
obligations, and this difficulty has been considerably
increased amongst the members of the Romish
church, by the extraordinary connection subsisting
between Roman Catholic tenets and the domestic
affairs of life. It has ever been the policy of that
church to insinuate itself into the private concerns
of families ; in the doctrine of auricular confession
it here finds a most powerful auxiliary, and its
priests are thereby made, in a great measure, com-
plete masters of the honour, the properties, and
the influence of their flocks. Here, then, the
dogma of infallibility most powerfully operates ;
the priests, in subordination to the bishops, are re-
garded as the local dispensing authorities of that
infallibility, and by the disclosures necessarily
made to them in confession they have a wide field
laid open for the exercise of their supposed juris-
diction. Should a doubt arise whether any cer-
tain obligation were a civil or a religious one, a
Roman Catholic would apply to his priest for a
solution of his scruple. Should the priest feel a
difficulty, he would apply to the bishop ; and the
bishop to the sovereign pontiff. Were catholics
admitted into Parliament, or into the higher offices
of the State, they would frequently have to decide
upon questions essentially connected with the Pro-
testant establishment ; and could it be endured
that, were a doubt to cross their minds whether the

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 151

point involved a civil or a religious obligation, that
an appeal should be made in the first instance to
an authority not recognized by the constitution,
and in the appointment of which the State is not
even suffered to have a negative, and in the dernier
resort to a foreign authority at direct variance
v^ith the temporal power of the Government,
whereof the Roman Catholics would then form a
part ? Would not this lead to the most dangerous,
the most frightful consequences ?

All these apprehensions would be groundless
were a Roman Catholic permitted to reason on the
justice or injustice of any particular decree of his
holy church ; but this is not likely to be the case ;
if it were so, the name of Roman Catholic would
be lost — the slavish chains with which his mental
powers are now fettered would lose their galling
influence ; he would become accustomed to think
for himself, and the splendour of that rational
" Emancipation," which would be hailed with
triumph by the true friends of civil and religious
liberty, would burst upon our view with all its at-
tendant recommendations. As, however, this can
never be, so long as the doctrine of infallibility is
maintained, we can only lament that those who
are in other respects every way calculated to assist
their country in a legislative point of view, must
necessarily be excluded from her councils, inas-
much as they maintain a doctrine which would
produce an external influence upon the discussions
of her legislature. A Roman Catholic is not

152 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

allowed to judge for himself — his priest is the
keeper of his conscience ; and he may be obliged,
under particular circumstances (however his bet-
ter judgment may incline him to the contrary),
to adhere implicitly to certain directions, and to
repose his vindication for so doing upon the in-
fallibility of his holy church ! Surely, with prin-
ciples like these, there could not possibly be a Ro-
man CathoUc legislature and a Protestant King, or
a Protestant King and a Roman Catholic keeper
of his conscience ?

With respect to general councils, their authority
is certainly still recognised by the Roman Catholic
body. The doctrine of infallibility, which we have
just been considering, rests (in some measure)
upon these ; but as to the extent of operation
which is given to them by the Roman Cathohcs of
the present day there may be considerable diffe-
rence of opinion. Most sincerely do I believe that
several of the most objectionable tenets promul-
gated by these Synods are not now holden. Every
one, however, knows, that the most horrible and
persecuting doctrines have been sent forth to the
world in their decrees, and it is clear from the
oath of supremacy that several of them were
considered to be in force at the time of the Revo-
lution ; and I could have wished that, instead of
general questions having been put to foreign uni-
versities with respect to this subject, the most ob-
jectionable declarations which remain upon record
had been expressly specified, and an express de-

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 153

claration of their being considered no longer obli-
gatory having been insisted upon being given by
an authority capable of recognition by the whole
Roman Catholic body.^

However, I am content with resting my decided
opposition to the Roman Catholic claims upon the
acknowledgment by the Catholics of a foreign
jurisdiction — upon their disinclination to allow the
English crown a veto upon the appointment of
their bishops, and upon the general hostility of
their church to civil and religious liberty. But
let me not be misunderstood ; I do not intend to
say that a time may never come when, under the
influence of an aspiring and designing pope, aided
by an intriguing clergy, an use may not be made
of the dogma of infaUibiliti/ , to recall into action
decrees at which humanity shudders, and which
are now reposing in merited oblivion. Enough is
now recognised of these decrees to shew that the
Roman Catholics, though our fellow-subjects, pro-
fess a religion hostile to our own ; and which,
consistently with its own principles, must always
labour at exclusive ascendancy. Enough remains
of them to shew that every man who professes

* In 1789, when the Roman Catholics first began to urge the
measure of general concession, Mr. Pitt submitted certain ques-
tions to the universities of Paris, Douay, Louvain, Alcala, Sala-
manca, and Valladolid, relative to the Pope's power of absolving
subjects from their allegiance, and as to Catholics keeping faith
with heretics, &c. The universities denied that these dogmas
were holden by the then Roman Catholic church.

154 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

the Roman Catholic religion must believe every
church except his own to be schismatical and
heretical : and we need not recur to ancient councils
to know that toleration is inconsistent with the
principles of the Roman Catholic religion ; since a
recent decree of the present pope has expressly
declared the fact, and held it out to be as impossi-
ble for the Roman Catholic church to ally with the
Protestant, as it would be for Christ to form an
alliance with Belial. This was contained in a de-
claration to the French Government, whereby his
holiness refused his assent to an ordinance pub-
lished by them, on the plea that in that ordinance
certain sects dissenting from the Roman Catholic
church were tolerated. Indeed any recognition of
the authority of these councils is incompatible with
English ideas of liberty. The subjects of this
realm are not bound by any laws except those made
by its Parliament or its Convocation ; the decrees
of a foreign assembly (unless they be adopted by
England as a part of her Lex non scripta) can
never be received as laws for Englishmen, and it
would be an anomaly indeed, for a judge on a bench
to recognise an authority as binding him in an
ecclesiastical point of view which did not equally
bind every subject of that country in which he
was an administrator of justice ! It has always been
holden impoUtic to lodge power in the hands of
those who are not friendly to the existing esta-
bUshments of the country in which such power is
to be exercised. This, according to Mr. Hume,

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 155

was the great fault of James II. — " He certainly
was deficient in a due regard and aifection to the
rehgion and constitution of his country." *

Mr. Fox, in his History of the Reign of James,
has also adopted this principle ; and with these
great authorities before us — the latter of which,
amongst Whigs, I should conceive would be in-
disputable ; what a singular feature would be pre-
sented to our view in a Roman Catholic judge
presiding at the trial of a tithe suit commenced at
the instance of a Protestant clergyman ? — Would
the learned judge — indeed could he — forget the
decrees of the councils of his church on such an
occasion as this ? It is true he would be compelled
to act according to the existing laws ; but would he
not be placed in a most painful situation, when
charging a jury of his country to find a verdict for
a plaintiff whom, in his conscience, he must believe
had no ecclesiastical right to the matters in litiga-
tion ? In my next letter, I shall consider the sub-
ject of foreign allegiance, as connected with the
supposed supremacy of the Pope.

And I remain, dear Sir,

* • Yours ever sincerely, &c. &c.

* " Had he been possessed of this (continues Mr. Hume) even
his middling talents, aided by many virtues, would have rendered
his reign honourable and happy. When it was wanting, every
excellency which he possessed became dangerous and pernicious
to his kingdoms." Humes Hist. vol. 8, p. 306.

156 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

LETTER V.

My dear Sir,

We come now to consider the foreign allegiance
produced by the supremacy of the Pope, and this
I have ever looked upon as a grand and abundant
source of opposition to the Roman Catholic
claims.

The supremacy of the Pope is one grounded
upon the supposed supremacy of St. Peter amongst
the Apostles ; I shall not stop to expose the fallacy
of this claim, but merely consider the eifect which
the recognition of it must necessarily have amongst
Roman Catholics who live in a Protestant coun-
try. We may, however, be allowed to remark,
that the doctrine of the Papal supremacy was not
always holden even in the church of Rome ; and
that it was never exercised or claimed until the
seventh century, when it was conceded to the then
Bishop of Rome by a tyrannical usurper. Previous
to this period, Rome was regarded by the Chris-
tian church more as an Episcopal than as a Papal
see, and had not assumed to itself the high pre-
eminence amongst the catholic churches which it
now supposes was given to St. Peter by our
Saviour, and which the Pope now conceives him-
self entitled to assume as the successor of that
apostle. In the earlier ages of the church the

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 157

priesthood were in subjection to the imperial
power ; they, indeed, exercised their Divine func-
tions under apostolic sanctions and apostolic suc-
cessors, but it is clear from the memorable letter
of Pope Gregory I. to the Emperor Mauritius that
in his day the Roman Pontiff was not considered
as the general or oecumenical bishop. That amiable
prelate (whose election to the see of Rome was
confirmed by the emperor,) upon the occasion of
the Bishop of Constantinople having assumed the
title of Universal Bishop^ in consequence of the
removal of a portion of the Roman authority to
that city, says, "It is a blasphemous title, and
none of the Roman Pontiffs have ever dared to
assume so singular an one ; "^ and in another letter,
addressed to the Bishop of Constantinople, upon
the same occasion, this amiable and learned prelate
says, "^ What wilt thou say to Christ, the head of
the universal church, in the day of judgment, who
thus endeavourest to subject his members to thyself
by this title of universal P"" It is clear that the
Papal supremacy originated in a great measure in
the removal of the seat of empire from Rome to
Constantinople : previous to that event the Bishops
of Rome certainly enjoyed a precedence amongst
the Christian bishops ; but this was merely one of
honour, not of jurisdiction, and was similar to
the precedence claimed and exercised by our
Bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester, over

* Gregr Epist. Lib. iv. Ind. 13, p. 137.

158 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

the Other English bishops. It arose from Rome
being the original seat of imperial authority. At
this period the emperor exercised the same con-
trol over the church which the British Monarch
now does over the Enghsh branch of it ; but, after
the removal of the seat of empire to Constanti-
nople, the Popes were left in the sole possession of
the ancient Roman capital, and, having no imperial
authority to control them, very soon became entire
masters of its territories.* Here then was laid the
foundation of that immense power which it is so
much the fashion at the present day to represent
as trivial and insignificant ; but which was so far
from being so at the period to which we are re-
ferring, that " it very soon compelled the emperors
to be confirmed by the Popes instead of the Popes
being confirmed (as was the custom before the
seat of empire was removed) by the Emperors.^-f-
Having thus premised, we shall proceed to the
more immediate object of this letter.

It has been laid down as a general rule by one
of the most powerful advocates for the concession

* It is very remarkable that Pepin (an usurper of the
French throne) was the first who aided the Pontiffs in their
designs upon Italy ; in return for which, he was Crowned and
anointed as King of France by a Roraish archbishop ; and
that Buonaparte (another French usurper) should have de-
prived the Pope of the Italian States, after the Pontiff had placed
the French Crown on his head I — Melancthons Third Letter^
Rot. Adv.

t MachiaveVs History of Florence, Lib.»l.

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 159

of the Roman Catholic claims,* "that all citizens
of the same State are entitled to the same privi-
leges, and that, if any exceptions are deemed requi-
site, the onus prohandi lies on those who propose
them to shew their necessity." I do not dispute
this axiom in a general point of view ; but surely,
when any particular class of persons refuse to take
the benefits of a constitution through the same
medium which others do, the onus prohandi why
such refusal is made, and what are the conscien-
tious scruples which give rise to it, lies upon
them. This is precisely the case with the Roman
Catholics of the United Kingdom ; and, whilst they
acknowledge the supremacy of a foreign see, look
up to a foreign authority for direction, and labour
under a blind submission to their priesthood, they
cannot well expect to obtain a share in the Govern-
ment of a country which possesses a constitution
similar to our own. It is well known that one es-
sential difference between the Church of England
(considered as a rehgious establishment) and the
Church of Rome, consists in the one church
declaring the King to be its head, and the other
the Pope. The right of the King of England to be
the head of the Church of England has been
secured to him by a solemn act of his legislature,
in which act it is also expressly declared that the
Bishop of Rome shall have no jurisdiction within
these realms. \^

* Mr. Canning. t Art. 37.

160 LETTERS OP BRITANNICU8,

Here then the constitution of England and the
Papal supremacy are at issue. It is observable
that the legislative statute to which I have just
referred is not content with merely declaring the
English Sovereign to be the head of the English
Church, but thinks it necessary to go further, and
to enact that " the Bishop of Rome shall have no
jurisdiction within these realms." The King of
England, supported by the legislature, is here
therefore at issue with the Pope of Rome, sup-
ported by his cardinals — the decrees of ancient
councils — and the traditions of Fathers. Matters
would never have come to this in the United
Kingdom had not the severe laws against the
Roman Catholics been repealed ; but, as such
repeal has taken place, (and I am far from ques-
tioning the propriety of it,) the Roman Catholics
have been placed in a situation to assert their
spiritual allegiance to the Romish see in the face
of an English Parliament, and at a period in which
they appear as petitioners at its bar. The only
question therefore is, which of the two parties is to
give way ? Is the King to admit the Roman
Catholics into places of trust and power without a
renunciation being made by them of their allegi-
ance to a Foreign potentate, and without taking
those oaths which other subjects are obliged to
take; or is he, by admitting them, virtually to
acknowledge their right of allegiance to the Papal
throne, and to give up a proportionate share of his
own ? To this standard I would therefore bring

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 161

the subject^ and I shall now proceed to consider the
nature of the supremacy which the Pope claims,
and its probable effect upon the Roman Cathohcs.

And I remain, dear Sir,

Yours ever sincerely, &c. &c.

LETTER VI.

My dear Sir,

It has been invariably asserted by the advocates
of the Roman Catholic claims, that the allegiance
which the doctrine of the Romish supremacy
creates is merely spiritual, and does not extend
to temporal concerns. When, how^ever, we reflect
that the influence of the Pope extends over the
most domestic and social ties, over marriages,
divorces, legitimacy, &c. and that his influence is
considered equal to any civil law on these subjects ;
that his excommunications deprive the subject
of all his civil rights, and subject him to imperative
temporal punishment ; it is impossible not to admit
that what is called a mere spiritual allegiance, is, in
point of fact, in a great degree, a temporal one
also. This was abundantly proved during the late
war, since it is notorious that the Pope gave

M

162 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

Buonaparte more trouble than any person besides,
notwithstanding the complete ascendancy which
that despot lorded over him in a personal point of
view, and the degraded situation in which his
hoUness was then placed/* The Pope, under such
untoward circumstances as these, could not possibly
have any political influence (in the general accep-
tation of the term) over the belligerent powers.
He had no boons to confer upon them, no extent
of territory to offer, no means of plunder or
aggrandisement to suggest. From what then
could the difficulties which Buonaparte experienced
arise, but from a certain '^imperium in imperio,'*
from a secret, lurking allegiance, a superstitious
veneration, which was felt for the Sovereign Pon-
tiff ? Was it not this which frequently prompted
the French General to adopt lenient where other-
wise he would have adopted the most rigorous

* It is quite clear that the Pope had great power during the
war, and gave Buonaparte infinite trouble. When General Moore
was in Spain, a Report from the Minister of Police to Buonaparte
happened to be found, and was sent over to this country. The
deliberate opinion of Fouche then was, that the French Emperor
would surmount all his great difficulties if he relaxed his severity
to the See of Rome. The advice of Fouch6 was followed, and it
produced the desired effect ; but, after his successes against Austria,
Buonaparte renewed his severities towards the Papal See. — In his
speech to the Conservative Senate, in 1809, Buonaparte made use
of the following remarkable language : — " It has been demonstrated
to me, that the spiritual influence exercised in my States by a
Foreign Sovereign is contrary to the independence of France — to
the dignity and safety of my throne.''

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 163

measures ? Buonaparte was too great a tyrant
not to have annihilated the popedom if he dared
to have done it ; he indeed did all he could towards
producing such annihilation, but he was suddenly
arrested in his efforts by a secret influence — an
invisible^ but sure and powerful influence — which
stepped between the Vatican and the projected
blow^ and proclaimed^ ^' Thus far shalt thou come,
and no further." We were indeed exultingly asked
during the war, what danger could possibly arise
from an allegiance due to a prisoner, a& the Pope
then was ? But surely those who asked such a
question had not paid much attention to the
scenes which were passing around them ; if they
had, they would have known that the Pope's im-
prisonment was indispensable to the success of
Buonaparte's plans, and that, had his holiness been
in the full exercise of all his functions, the im-
perial eagles would have moved but slowly.
Whatever arguments, however, might be drawn in
favour of the Roman Catholic claims from the
situation of the Pope during the war, they can
certainly have no weight under our present cir-
cumstances ; indeed, they now tell the contrary
way, and become reasons for rejecting, instead of
conceding, those claims. If the idea of the alle-
giance due to the Pope was ridiculed because the
Pope was a prisoner, is it equally an object of
ridicule now that he is reinstated in his dignities
— in his capital — in the exercise of his divine
functions ? It is remarkable that amongst the

M 2

164

first measures which the Pope adopted after his
reinstatement were, the restoration of the Order
of the Jesuits * — the prohibition of the Scriptures
without a comment — and a restraint upon the
liberty of the press. Now, it is but reasonable to
conclude that a mind like that of Pius VII. would
not be idle when in confinement. He, no doubt,
had there considered what would most conduce to
the benefit of his church and the re-establishment
of his authority should he ever return to Rome,
and there can be little doubt that the measures
which were decided upon at Fontainebleau were
merely carried into execution at Rome. This
certainly is but a reasonable supposition, and it is
remarkable that the measures to which I have
alluded had a more direct tendency to uphold
and extend the Papal supremacy than any others
which could have been adopted.

Nothing could so clearly prove the importance
of the allegiance which the Roman Catholics owe
to the Pope as the conduct which was evinced

* The numbers and influence of this dangerous order in Eng-
land are little known. At Stonyhurst, near Preston, in Lanca-
shire, there is a spacious college principally occupied by Jesuits.
The studies at this place are conducted upon the same system, and
to the same extent, as at the Catholic universities abroad : and
there are regular professors in divinity, mathematics, philosophy,
astronomy, &c. The college, which is a very large building, is
capable of containing at least four or five hundred pupils, inde-
pendently of professors, managers, and domestics. It is supposed
to contain at this time five hundred or more individuals of various
descriptions. — Blmr*s " Revival of Pope^'y^* p. 80.

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 165

when the memorable Veto was discussed in the
year 1808. Certain members of the legislature
had been authorised to bring forward the claims
upon the principle of conceding to the Crown a
veto upon the appointment of Roman Catholic
Bishops. This veto had been distinctly recog-
nised by some of the most respectable Catholics in
the kingdom, and was proposed in the House of
Lords by the Duke of Norfolk^ and in the House of
Commons by Mr. Grattan. The subject was de-
bated upon the principle to which I have alluded,
which was not a new one, but one which had been
recognised by almost every European State, whether
Protestant or Roman Catholic.^ The affairs of
the Roman Catholics were therefore supposed to
be going on prosperously ; and the long-wished-for
goal appeared to be in view. But mark what
followed. The Prelate (Dr. Milner) i[^ through
whose medium the proposition had been made to

* In the Austrian dominions (Hungary included) the Bishops
are appointed by the Emperor, and confirmed by the Pope. In
Portugal and the Brazils the prerogatives of the crown have
uniformly been asserted ; so in Spain, Russia, Sweden, and
Prussia. — (Vide " Report of the Committee of the House of
Commons on the Laws for regulating the Roman Catholic Subjects
of Foreign States, 1816.")

t This prelate is (what is termed) Vicar Apostolic of the
Midland district, and generally resides at or near Wolverhampton,
in Staffordshire. He stands very high in the opinion of the
Roman Catholics and is a man of great attainments. In the
matter of the veto, Dr. Milner was employed as the agent of the
Irish Catholics to conduct their concerns in England.

166 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

the Duke of Norfolk and Mr. Grattan, thought
proper to withdraw it, and to withdraw it with a
public declaration that he would shed the last
drop of his blood rather than consent that the
King should have any influence direct or indirect
in the appointment of a Roman Catholic Bishop.*
This certainly was strange conduct, and the more
so as the measure of the veto did not in the least
interfere with the rights of the Pope as to ordina-
tion, ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and other spiritual
matters, and as neither the Apostolic chain, nor
the discipline of the Roman Catholic church,
would have suffered from the adoption of it. Why
should, therefore, that privilege have been refused
to the King of England which the schismatical
Sovereign of Russia, and the heretical King of
Prussia were allowed to exercise ? Possibly we
have here the solution of the difficulty ; the pro-
posers of the veto had, perhaps, looked round to
foreign countries, and seen something of the same
kind adopted there, and had therefore thought of
applying it to the Sister Island ; but no sooner
did it occur to them that Ireland was more under
the direct influence of the Pope than any other
country, and that the spiritual allegiance which
Roman Catholics owed to him flowed directly to
the inhabitants without any intervention of the
eocisting Government^ than the cases were found to
be dissimilar. I look upon the circumstances

* " Tour in Ireland," 2d edition, p. 309.

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 167

attending the veto as vitally important to a right
understanding of this part of our subject. Sup-
posing there had been 100 Roman Catholic
Members in the House of Commons in 1808;
under Bishop Milner's sanction, they certainly
would have agreed to the veto when proposed by
Mr. Grattan ; when, however, their prelates had
declared that such a measure was impracticable
and inconsistent with the doctrines of their church,
will any one undertake to say that the Honour-
able Members would not have altered their opinions
and voted against the measure ? The probability
is, that, as true Catholics, they would have done
so, and what a scene would this have exhibited !
A portion of the English legislature would have
been thrown at the foot of a Roman Catholic
Bishop, and its votes in Parliament would have
been controlled by a secret power, grounded on a
secret allegiance, equally unknown and repugnant
to the open and defined principles of the English
Constitution ! !

As things stand, therefore, the Roman Catho-
lics require everything to be conceded to them,
without making any concessions themselves. —
Protestants are called upon to relinquish all the
safeguards which the wisdom of their ancestors
had devised to protect their estabhshments, (and
especially to protect them against the influence of
the allegiance which we have been considering,)
and yet the applicants for these great concessions
will do nothing — will not abjure the allegiance

168 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

complained of — or even allow a British Sovereign
to have a negative voice upon the appointment of
one of their bishops within his own dominions, al-
though such a voice is allowed to the Emperor of
Russia and King of Prussia ! ! Surely, if the Ro-
man Catholic claims be conceded under such cir-
cumstances as these, Roman Catholics will be
placed in a far more advantageous situation than
Protestants, inasmuch " as they will be entitled to
the same privileges without submitting to the same
conditions."

Volumes might, indeed, be written upon this
part of our subject ; but I find that I must stay my
pen, as my letter has already run to a length which
I did not intend. In my next I shall consider the
question upon the alleged ground of expediency.

And I remain, dear Sir,

Yours ever sincerely, &c. &c.

LETTER VII.

My dear Sir,

We now come to discuss the question of the
concession of the Roman Catholic claims upon the
ground of expedienci/.

The term expediency/ implies that some strong

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 169

and almost invincible necessity exists for the adop-
tion of a measure, the propriety of which would
otherwise be questionable. Hence it naturally
follows, that, previous to such adoption being
made, the utmost satisfaction should be afforded,
not only that the measure, if carried into effect,
would be attended with immediate and certain
beneficial results, but also that immediate and
certain evils would arise from its not being adopted.
How far the above reasoning is applicable to the
case before us I shall therefore proceed to con-
sider, and for that purpose shall examine some of
the principal arguments which have been adduced
in favour of the concession of the Roman Catholic
claims upon the plea of expediency.

In the course of our correspondence you have
repeatedly referred me to the situations of foreign
countries, and argued that such a reference would
clearly shew the policy of the claims being granted.
I trust however I shall be able to shew that the
instances at least to which you have referred me
do not apply to the case of the United Kingdom,
and that no measures of toleration adopted by
continental powers can be fairly cited as prece-
dents for England to follow.

The toleration of Protestants in France, and in
several other Roman Catholic countries, (particu-
larly that granted by the great princess Maria
Theresa,) have been mentioned by you as strong
grounds for the concession of the claims urged ;
and you have argued from these instances, that, by

170 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

not conceding them, we are upholding a system of
intolerance unknown even in Roman Catholic
countries. A moment's reflection will however
shew that these cases do not apply to our own
country, and that Ireland, in particular, is a com-
pletely insulated case. It is quite a different
matter to confer political privileges upon Roman
Catholics living under a Protestant Government,
and to confer the same privileges upon Protestants
living under a Roman Catholic Government. A
Protestant has only one allegiance, namely, that
due to the sovereign in whose territories he locally
resides ; whereas a Roman Catholic (as we have
seen) has a divided allegiance, a temporal one to
his temporal sovereign, and a mixed one to his
supposed ecclesiastical head. However earnest,
therefore, a Roman Catholic may be for the
welfare of the country in which he is resident, and
however great his stake may be in it, he can never
be a fit person to make laws for a Protestant State
so long as he holds certain dogmas of his church
which are irreconcileable with the civil and eccle-
siastical polity of a Protestant Government. Seve-
ral of the countries, however, which you have
quoted as precedents for England to follow in the
case under consideration are placed under circum-
stances which completely vary the question as to
the policy or propriety of the measures pursued.
With respect to Prussia and Silesia, Russia and
her Polish provinces, the relation between these
is far different to that subsisting between England

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. I7l

and Ireland. The provinces added to the crowns
of Prussia and Russia were Roman Catholic pre-
vious to the additions being made ; and^ with re-
spect to these^ the countries to w^hich they are an-
nexed have a paramount power of revision and
correction, and of preventing the adoption of any
measures which might be dangerous to their own
individual interests. The connection subsisting
between England and Ireland is far different from
this ; it is one indeed which stands almost without
a parallel, and can only be judged of or regulated
by its own peculiar circumstances. Ireland has a
Protestant establishment, with a population the
majority of which is Roman Catholic. She has
Members of Parliament who are exclusively Pro-
testant, with electors who are not so — and as her
legislature, by a solemn act of its own, united it-
self to that of England, she therefore now forms
an integral part of a nation whose civil and
religious establishments are Protestant, and the
great majority of whose inhabitants are also Pro-
testant.

The case of Holland and the Netherlands you
triumphantly quote as exhibiting an union of Pro-
testants and Roman Catholics well worthy of imi-
tation in this country. You say that in this case
there are two governments, the one Protestant and
the other Roman Catholic, which form together
one State, and in which all classes of the com-
munity (whether Protestant or Roman Catholic)

172 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

are eligible to every office.* Whatever measures,
however, may have been adopted with respect to
the union of these countries at the present day, it
is clear from history that such an union was not
always thought advisable. Bishop Burnet tells
us that King William III. rejected the idea of it
upon the very ground of a difference of opinion in
religion subsisting between the two States^ and the
causes which have probably produced the present
union may be traced to the countries in question
having been rescued from the fury of the French
Revolution, and to a system of temporary poHcy

* Although the Treaty by which the Netherlands were annexed
to Holland has been so much extolled by a distinguished Whig
leader (Earl Grey), and described "as having been framed upon
the soundest principles of policy, and as furnishing an example
worthy to be followed with respect to the Roman Catholics of the
United Kingdom," it seems that this opinion is not universal
amongst the members of the Whig party. Lord John Russell, in
his recent " Letter to Lord Holland on Foreign Politics," in speak-
ing upon this subject, observes —

" Here is an instance of two nations, possessing no attraction,
but rather a very great repulsion to each other, pounded together
in the great mortar of the chemists of Vienna. What is to result
from the mixture of two equal parts of Catholic bigotry and
Protestant freedom — of land and commerce, of French and
Dutch, of polished stupidity and vulgar ability, of natural servility
and ancient love of freedom, no man can guess. It may be sup-
posed, however, that one of the parts toillfly off as soon as it can
join any foreign matter.^'

Here certainly is a strange difference of opinion between the
noble houses of Grey and Bedford ; and, were the latter to carry
the above sentiments into Parliament, I should have no fear as to
the vote which they would give on the Roman Catholic Question.

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 173

having been mixed up with their civil legislation.
It would not, perhaps, have been wise to have in-
sisted on restraints in States the connections of
which were Roman Catholic in the highest degree,
and which had been snatched from the horrors of
republican despotism. The situation of the United
Kingdom is, therefore, very far different. It is
still in the possession of a constitution which has
stood the test of ages, and which is as insulated, as
to policy, permanence, and excellence, as England
itself. If we infringe this, we may as well set the
island afloat, and tow her into the harbour of one
of those powers which has so frequently asked her
advice as to the framing of a constitution, and im-
plored her assistance in an hour of danger ! It
ought to be recollected that England is the model
which her superiors in territory, but inferiors in
government, have ever resorted to in cases of
emergency. Shall we, therefore, give up the
honourable and well- merited pre-eminence which
has been procured for us by our ancestors, and
consent that England shall be an imitator, and not
an example ? Were our constitution proved to be
wrong, it would then be stupidity, and not a love
of country, which would prevent an alteration of
it being made ; until, however, that proof be af-
forded, we may hope that the Roman Catholic
claims will never be conceded, because a real ex-
pediency for such a concession may have existed in
countries which are placed in situations perfectly
different to our own.

174 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

You assert, as another reason why the claims
should be conceded, " that the laws sought to be
repealed were merely made for temporary/ purposes,
which have long since ceased to const, and that it is
unjust any longer to retain them''' The authority
of Judge Blackstone has been quoted for this
opinion, but a reference to the works of that
eminent lawyer will not justify the appeal. His
words, when speaking upon this subject, are the
following, and the caution displayed in them is
particularly remarkable. After having explained
the reasons which had induced the legislature to
enact several severe laws (which are now repealed)
against the Roman Catholics, the learned judge
proceeds : — '^ But if a time should ever arrive, and
perhaps it is not very distant, when all fears of a
Pretender shall have vanished, and the power and
influence of the Pope shall have become feeble,
ridiculous, and despicable, not only in England, but
in every kingdom of Europe, it probably would not
then be amiss to review and soften these rigorous
edicts ; at least till the civil principles of the Ro-
man Catholics called again upon the legislature to
renew them." * Had Judge Blackstone lived at
the present day, 1 think there can be little differ-
ence of opinion as to what his sentiments would
have been on the Roman Catholic question. It is
seen that, when the rights of Englishmen were en-
tirely denied to the Roman Catholics, when their

♦ Vide ante, p. 146.

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 175

persons, their religion, their properties, and their
means of defence were withheld from them, he
still entertained some doubts as to the policy of
repealing the existing laws, and evidently con-
sidered himself as treading on tender ground when
hinting at such a repeal being made. The wish of
the learned judge has been accomplished, as to
the revision and amelioration of the rigorous edicts
which were in force when he wrote his book ; and
none are now left, except those which, in the al-
most immediate subsequent page to that wherein
the above extract appears, he has denominated as
" bulwarks of the constitution^ * The authority
of Sir William Blackstone is therefore decidedly in
favour of the existing system ; the Penal Laws
have been reviewed — they have been mitigated —
those which were passed for temporary purposes
have been repealed — and such only are left as are
necessary for the preservation of the Protestant
constitution.

You have also attempted to connect the name
of Mr. Pitt with the Roman Catholic claims, by
representing that great statesman — that true Whig
of 1688 — as an advocate for their concession upon
the grounds we are now considering. I am aware
that some have gone so far as to assert that a dis-
tinct pledge was given to the Roman Catholics at
the time the Union was projected that their
claims should be granted ; but this assertion has

* Bl. Com. vol. IV. pp. 57, 58, 15th edit, and ditto, p. 59.

ire

been met by a direct contrary one on the part of
a noble Lord (Castlereagh), who took a very active
and leading part in that memorable question ; and
it has been clearly shewn that a pledge of mere
consideration and discussion, not of concession, was
given.* One of the great objects which Mr. Pitt
had in view when he projected the union of the
two countries was, a fair, temperate, and states-
manlike discussion of the Roman Catholic claims.-}-
His vote would have been given for their consider-
ation, but by no means for their unlimited con-
cession. That distinguished individual wished to
feel the pulse of the English people on the subject ;
and had he lived to have done so effectually, to
have seen the almost universal disinclination which
evinced itself to the measure, and the circum-
stances which attended the general election of
1 807, he never would have sanctioned a proceed-
ing to which he perceived the English nation were
so averse, and which was so Uttle likely to be at-
tended with benefit to the country. Mr. Pitt
would never have supported the measure of con-
cession without most adequate securities being
given;:}: and had he been spared to have witnessed

* Vide printed Report of Lord Castlereagh's Speech in the
House of Commons, 23th May, 1810.

t Vid. Mr. Pitt's speech in the House of Commons, Slst
January, 1799, on introducing the proposition of the Union
between Great Britain and Ireland ; and Gifford's Life of Pitt,
vol. VI. p. 545.

J Vide Mr. Tomline's speech, delivered in Trinity College
chapel, Cambridge, December 17th, 1806.

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 177

the temper and disposition which were evinced,
when securities much inferior to those which he
would have probably required were proposed by
the professed parliamentary advocate of the claims
— to have seen them represented as indispensable
within the House of Commons, and reprobated as
unnecessary, degrading, and insulting without —I
think there can be little doubt as to the vote which
the Right Honourable Gentleman would have
given. ^ His support to the measure would have

* It is well known that the Marquess Wellesley and Mr. Can-
ning are supporters of the measure of concession upon adequate
securities being given. In 1812, when a motion of the Right
Honourable Gentleman was carried in the Commons for going into
a committee on the claims by a very great majority, and a similar
one (made by the noble Marquess) was lost in the Lords by only
one vote, the following proceedings took place at a Catholic aggre-
gate meeting, which was held in Dublin immediately on the result
of the motions being known. The account given underneath is
extracted from the Dublin Evening Post, a paper much in the
confidence of the Irish Catholics : —

" Dublin, July 2. — The aggregate meeting of this day (Earl
Fingal in the chair) was more numerously attended than any pre-
ceding assemblage of the depositaries of the wealth and power of
the Catholics of Ireland. At one o'clock the Earl of Fingal took
the chair, amidst the enthusiastic applause of his countrymen.

" Mr. M'Donnell, seconded by Counsellor O'Connell, proposed
that the Petition should be read, — it was accordingly read, and it
appeared to be a transcript of the petition, mutatis mutandis, of
the Dissenters of England to Parliament for universal religious
freedom.

'< The following Resolutions were then proposed —

" Resolved — That the petition now read be recommended to the
board of the Irish Catholics, to be presented to the legislature the

N

178 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

been given under an idea of its forming a means
of strength and alliance ; to do which it must ne-
cessarily have been supported by the unanimous
assent of the nation at large. When, however,

first favourable opportunity, so that the same may be presented
before the close of the second week of the ensuing Sessions of
Parliament.

" Resolved — That the Catholics in the different counties and
towns in Ireland be again requested to use their best exertions to
procure the success of our petition.

" Chevalier McCarthy, after an introductory speech, which was
frequently interrupted by the most unequivocal marks of disap-
probation and distrust, moved the two following Resolutions, as
an Amendment to the second Resolution proposed by Mr.
M'Donnell.

" Resolved — That, with heartfelt gratification, we observe the
daily progress of liberality among our Protestant countrymen — a
liberality we consider as an earnest of the speedy fulfilment of our
hopes, and rapturously hail as the cheering dawn of speedy
Emancipation.

" Resolved — That, determined to persevere in demanding a
total repeal of the laws and disabilities by which Catholics arc
affected, we are, nevertheless, ready to listen to any conciliatory
overture which, by removing the prejudices of many and the
alarms of some, may lead to a final arrangement satisfactory to
both parties !

" The first part of the Resolutions was highly approved, but
the Chevalier McCarthy had hardly uttered the word * arrange-
ment,* when the feelings of the people were vented in marks of
the strongest disapprobation.

"Counsellors Finn and O'Gorman answered the last speaker;
but the Resolutions were not read from the chair, as out of
the 3,000 Catholics in the house a single person could not be
found to second so insidious and so fatal an Amendment."

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 179

that lamented personage had found that this was
not likely to be the case, and that it would neither
satisfy the Protestants on the one hand nor the
Roman CathoHcs on the other, he would never
have opened a source of broils and dissensions,
which would in all probability have concentrated
themselves into a focus, from which nothing but
angry passions, mutual recriminations, and harass-
ing recollections would have issued.

I have yet another view to take of this question
of expediency y which I shall defer for a concluding
letter.

And remain, dear Sir,

Yours ever sincerely, &c. &c.

LETTER VIIT.

My dear Sir,

I SHALL now resume the consideration of the
question how far the plea of expediency can be
urged in favour of the concession of the Roman
Catholic claims.

You assert, " that things cannot remain as they
are, and that the Penal Laws must either be re-
enacted or some further concessions be made,''
But this is certainly a most singular argument ;

N 2

180 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

and it surely can never be seriously urged, that,
because the legislature have chosen to make cer-
tain concessions, and thereby placed the Roman
Catholics in a more imposing attitude of solicita-
tion, that still further concessions must be granted.
If this principle were once admitted, to what a
monstrous and unreasonable length would it ex-
tend. Roman Catholics might then insist upon
a national restoration of the pomp and splendour
of their religion ; they might petition to be allowed
the payment of tithes exclusively to their own
clergy, upon the grounds of its being an hardship
and a violation of their religion to pay them to
Protestant incumbents ; and concession after con-
session might thus be made, until an English Vicar
Apostolic, or an Irish Titular Bishop, approached
the woolsack in the House of Peers ! * I look
upon this argument (if argument it can be called),
of the necessity of further concessions being made,
as mere intimidation. It may as well be said that
all the claims ought to be granted because a large
number of persons have petitioned that they should
be ; but this surely can be no reason for their
concession. Extorted privileges are merely indi-
cative of the weakness and degradation of those
who grant them, and can never be attended with
any beneficial effects. You, in conjunction with
other advocates for the claims, are too apt, when

* Vide a Pamphlet entitled " Catholic Emancipation, and the
only way in which it can be effected, pointed out." — Second Edi-
tion.

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 181

urging them upon the ground of expediency, to
forget the Protestant interest altogether. It is
held out that if they be not granted certain ruin-
ous consequences will ensue ; but has it never oc-
curred to those who so zealously urge them, that
consequences equally as ruinous may ensue should
the claims be granted ? Will the great Protest-
ant Majority of the nation be satisfied in case
they should be conceded ; and would it be wise
policy to disoblige old friends in order to purchase
the favour of new ones by a surrender of laws
which have hitherto been considered as funda-
mental parts of our constitution ? You insinuate
that if the claims be not conceded a virtual separa^
tion between this island and the sister country will
take place ; but is this likely ? The offices from
which the Roman Catholics are excluded could
only be filled by a few of them, and by a few only
of the wealthiest and most powerful, and no real
interest can therefore be felt by the great body of
the Roman Catholics of Ireland in the decision of
the question. Is there not reason to believe that
it is merely kept alive for party purposes, and to
serve as a «tepping-stone to power for disappointed
ambition ? It is a libel upon the people of Ireland
to suppose that their allegiance sits so light upon
them as has been insinuated, and that so trivial a
cause as the one imputed to them would fan the
embers of party into the flames of rebellion. I,
indeed, formed a very different estimate of Irish
loyalty. Sincere in its origin — enthusiastic in its

182

progress — and beneficial in its results, it is not to
be impeded by a mere struggle for power, which,
if granted, would confer no benefit upon the pea-
sant— no blessing upon the cottage, but would
confine its effects to the lofty dome and the
baronial domain. Ireland has evils to encounter
— she has wrongs to be redressed — but the con-
cession of the Roman Catholic claims would neither
avert the former nor obviate the latter. It would
neither increase nor cement the union which
now subsists between Protestants and Catho-
lics ; and, until certain principles are renounced,
that union will not advance in its operation ; " like
the Rhone which flows through the Lake of Geneva
without mixing its waters with those of the calm
lake," it will never so far extend its effects as to
promote a perfect reciprocity of interest between
the two parties.

The measure of concession has been urged as a
means of bringing all parties into the Temple of
Concord ; but are those who urge this as a reason
quite confident that the time is come " when the
lion and lamb may repose in peace together, and
when our swords mag be beaten into ploughshares?'''
On the contrary, is there not reason to fear that
while any disabilities remain there will still be
heartburnings and discontent amongst those who
are interested in the removal? Experience cer-
tainly speaks in favour of this opinion, and has
shewn that a partial concession of claims has had
only the effect of increasing expectations without

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 183

satisfying them, and of placing the legislature in a
situation where it is more difficult to resist addi-
tional claims than it would have been to have
absolutely rejected former ones. A stand must be
made somewhere, and where can it be made more
properly than at the doors of the legislature and
of the council chamber ? If these be thrown open
the Rubicon may well be said to be passed, and a
Constitution which Revolutions have hitherto only
served to render more perfect by their convulsions,
will be virtually annihilated !

I may possibly be mistaken in my conjectures,
but I write the sentiments which I feel, and
describe the consequences which I anticipate. I
know that many of the Roman Catholics would as
much dread and deprecate the fulfilment of my
expectations as I can do ; and it will not be owing
to them if they prove realities. If, however, they
value times of peace and personal safety they will
not endeavour, by attempting to gain ephemeral
advantages, to put in jeopardy the happy times in
which they now live. Oh ! that they would throw
off the yoke of foreign allegiance, and discard
some other dogmas of their church, and join in
one universal church for the propagation of the
Christian rehgion, and for the security of a Christian
establishment ! Possibly this time may come ; and,
should it ever, it will be a period dear to liberty
and social order. Until, however, it arrives, we
must hold to our restraints, and not suffer our
existing institutions to be injured by dangerous

184 LETTERS OF BRITANNICUS,

experiments or menacing coalitions. I repeat it,
there are many amongst the Roman Catholics
whom, as men, no one can more admire or revere
than myself; and who, as subjects, have proved
themselves entitled to every confidence. But here
I must stop, and lament that political power must
still be withheld from those who are every way
worthy of possessing it, until they can be induced
to renounce dogmas which are utterly inconsistent
with the amiable tenour of their lives, and the still
more amiable nature of their dispositions.

I shall now lay down my pen, sincerely hoping
that I have written nothing in an uncandid nor
unchristian spirit. Should I be supposed to have
done so I shall be extremely concerned, and should
it be proved that I have erred in this respect no
one will be more willing to express the most
sincere contrition for the offence. I am perfectly
aware that the question is one to be argued, not
upon abstract, but national policy. As far as my
humble abilities extend, I have endeavoured to
take a combined view of it ; and, while I wish
never to see the time when every subject of the
English empire may not be allowed to worship his
Creator in the manner which his conscience
dictates, I cannot avoid expressing an earnest
hope that the legislature will never shake those
foundations upon which our present establishments
repose for safety. I trust 1 have shewn that the
present claims of the Roman Catholics are inad-
missible as the constitution was established in

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC QUESTION. 185

1688, and that the time has not yet arrived when
it would be either safe or expedient to concede
them, I will not say that the time may never
arrive, but 1 will say that it must be brought
about by the Roman Catholics themselves. Until,
therefore, it present itself, I trust Protestants will
be found at their posts, and that those who profess
to be Whigs of 1688 will not so far forget their
principles as to be dazzled and led away by the
mistaken Uberalitt/ of 1820.

I remain, dear Sir,

Yours ever sincerely,

BRITANNICUS.

LETTER

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC MARRIAGE BILL.

[7 July 1823.]

To the Editor of the Sun,

Mr. Editor,

The Protestant cause is greatly indebted to our
venerable and venerated Lord Chancellor, for his
expressed intention of opposing the Bills which
have for their object an extension of further politi-
cal privileges to Roman Catholics.

That the loyalty, property, and respectability of
many members of the Roman Catholic communion
are deserving of unqualified eulogy I am quite
disposed to allow ; there is every thing good, great,
and noble amongst that body ; but, as their admis-
sion into an extended arena of political power would
be a recognition of a principle highly dangerous
to our constitution, I feel gratified that the mea-
sures to which I have alluded are not likely to be
adopted as mere matters of course. The proposal
of putting the English Roman Catholics upon the
same footing as the Irish is certainly very plausi-
ble; but if the parliament of one country have
passed an injudicious law, is it any reason why the

ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC MARRIAGE BILL. 187

parliament of another should follow a bad example ?
In point of fact, attempts appear to be making to
carry by particles what it is well known cannot be
effected piecemeal.

The notice^ or rather Bill, introduced by Dr.
Phillimore, for allowing Roman Catholics to be
married in their own chapels^ and by their own
priests, I look upon as of extreme importance :
should it pass, it will be the height of injustice to
deny a similar indulgence to all classes of Dissen-
ters who may think proper to come forward and
request it ; and, if this be so, in what a humiliating
situation will our venerable and peace-preserving
Church be placed. Stripped of her authority in
one of the most solemn and important engagements
of life, her tolerant altars will become the objects
of ridicule, and memorials only of that dignity and
connection with the laws which they once possessed.
If the Legislature give way to the wretched prin-
ciple of despoiling the Church of the privileges
which were gained for her by the blood of those
who opposed rebellion and popery, and whose ex-
ertions placed her lofty spires and towers as so
many beacons to warn succeeding generations
against popery on the one hand and fanaticism on
the other, \, for one, say, that the system has com-
menced which will eventually lead to a repetition
of those national misfortunes — the pressure of
which our ancestors so severely experienced.

We hear much said against Orangeism and poli-
tical associations ; but what is so likely to drive

188 ON THE ROMAN CATHOLIC MARRIAGE BILL.

the friends of the Establishment into institutions
of this description as the weakening of that con-
nection with the subjects in general of the country
which the Church of England has hitherto pos-
sessed ? Let each one choose his own creed, and
pay his worship where he pleases ; but, should he
dissent from the national religion, let him feel,
that, although he is free to dissent, it is necessary
for him once to approach the national altars and
recognize their existence. The principle contended
for in the Bill to which I have referred would, if
pursued, extend to church rates, tithes, and every
other species of church revenue. No doubt the
Roman Catholic feels a conscientious objection not
only to entering, but to contributing to the support
of (what he believes) an heretical establishment :
and Dissenters, aided by the reflection of Northern
luminaries, begin to see that they ought not to
support a Church from which they blindly conceive
they receive no benefit, but which, in point of fact,
is the keystone of the arch which upholds every
description of Protestantism in this country.

I am. Sir, your obedient servant,

BRITANNICUS.

Leicester, July 7 th, 1823.

SPEECH AKD PETITION

AGAINST THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CLAIMS.

[8 March, 1825.]

On Tuesday the 8th of March, 1825, a meeting
of certain parishioners and inhabitants of the parish
of St. Mary in Leicester was held at the vestry
room, for the purpose of taking into consideration
the propriety of promoting Petitions to both
Houses of Parliament, against any further con-
cessions being granted to the Roman Catholics of
the United Kingdom.

The Reverend the Vicar being called to the
chair, Mr. Stockdale Hardy suggested that a com-
mittee should be formed for the purpose above
stated. This line of proceeding he submitted was
more advisable than having recourse to any public
meeting, since the Roman Catholic question was one
neither to be advanced nor retarded by illegitimate
popular excitement, but by a " still, small voice "
emanating from the conscientious feelings and
convictions of the English people. No real friend
to the interests of the country would fan a spark

190 SPEECH AND PETITION AGAINST

which might lead to a repetition of the horrid and
disgraceful events of 1 780 ; and great caution was
necessary in calling public attention to the Roman
Catholic claims, lest angry feelings should usurp
the place of that constitutional expression of deli-
berative sentiment which could alone weigh with
the Legislature upon such an important subject.
For these reasons, in any opposition offered to the
claims, the more any thing approaching to unne-
cessary irritation was avoided the better, since, as
Protestants and friends to liberty of conscience,
they were bound to believe that the Roman Catho-
lics were sincere in the principles which they pro-
fessed, however erroneous they might consider
such principles to be. The next suggestion he in-
tended to make to the meeting was, that a small
fund should be raised amongst themselves sufficient
to defray the necessary expenses of any petition
which might be adopted (should such be deemed
proper), and of dispersing a copy of it as a printed
handbill throughout the parish ; thus the subject
would have " fair play," as the parishioners would
have an opportunity of perusing and considering
what they were requested to sign previous to affix-
ing their names. He should next propose that the
petition should lie at the vestry room a certain
number of days for signatures, and be then for-
warded for presentation ; and, should Parliament
consent to its appearance in the Votes of the
Houses, it would stand a chance of being read by

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CLAIMS. 191

those to whom it was addressed. For this reason,
he should submit that it would be more advisable
to embody the argument against the claims in a
petition, rather than in the transitory blandish-
ments of a speech. He deprecated any thing bor-
dering upon a perverse opposition to the declared
wishes of Parliament, and felt confident he was
addressing those who would desire to conform most
strictly to the views of the Legislature ; and there-
fore, although the " unlawful Association Act" did
not (as he believed) extend to this country, he
should not propose that the committee he had sug-
gested should be a permanent one, — it could be
revived whenever necessary. If a system of peti-
tioning by parishes were effectively established,
little apprehensions need be entertained as to the
concession of the Roman Catholic claims — so de-
cisively would the voice of the country be ex-
pressed. He hoped to see this system adopted in
country villages as well as in large towns, and the
two Houses of Parliament literally inundated with
petitions. Surely the Protestant faith was deserv-
ing of these exertions ; from '' a grain of mustard
seed" it had arisen to a magnificent tree, the
branches of which had long cast a protecting
shade over civil and religious liberty, and he
trusted that those who had so long enjoyed the
benefits of its friendly protection would, in the
mild and tolerant spirit which actuated its genial
influence, use their best efforts for its preservation.

192 PETITION AGAINST

Upon the motion of Mr. Stockdale Hardy the
following Petition was afterwards read, and unani-
mously approved.

To the Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual
and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled.

The humble Petition of the undersigned Inhabi-
tants of the Parish of St. Mary in Leicester,

Sheweth,

That your Petitioners are decidedly opposed to
any further concessions to the Roman Catholics of
the United Kingdom, those already granted having
not only failed of accomplishing their avowed
objects, but having led to periodical attacks upon
the constitution and laws of the country, prejudi-
cial to the best interests of society, and calculated
to bring the safeguards founded by the wisdom
and protected by the vigilance of our Protestant
ancestors into ridicule and contempt.

That your Petitioners have viewed with the
greatest regret the advance of a policy adverse lo
a recapitulation of the leading grounds of distinc-
tion between Protestantism and Popery. Under
the influence of this regret, and anxious, as far as
in them lies, to impede the progress of error, and

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CLAIMS. 193

advance the march of truth, your Petitioners trust
that the oath of supremac}^ and the declarations
against transubstantiation and popery, will not be
removed from the Statute Book ; inasmuch as these
tests give to conscientious and upright Protestants
an opportunity of openly declaring their sentiments
upon entering Parliament, or upon the perform-
ance of certain important offices.

Your Petitioners consider it a great mistake to
suppose that any material change has taken place
in the principles of the Roman Catholic Church.
Judging from the public declarations of her lead-
ing functionaries^ it appears that the same aver-
sion to Protestantism — the same arrogation of
exclusive faith and salvation — and the same deso-
lating system of intolerance, are still upheld at
her altars, which were so much dreaded and
guarded against by our Protestant forefathers.
Under such circumstances, may it not be reason-
ably asked, how can Roman Catholics be admitted
to legislate for a Church which they believe to be
heretical and schismatical, or for the maintenance
of that religious toleration which it is the interest,
as well as the duty, of a Protestant government to
foster and support ?

In early periods of English history, when Roman
Catholicism was the religion of the country, it
was invariably found that, during the reign of a
valiant and politic prince, the kingdom was dis-
tracted with disputes between the crown and the

o

194 PETITION AGAINST

papal see, and that, during the sway of a weak
and pusillanimous sovereign, the pope trampled
on the rights of both the crown and the people.
If, then, these were the resuhs in unenhghtened
days, and when no difference of opinion existed
as to the authenticity of the Roman Catholic
religion, your Petitioners venture to ask your
Lordships, what may be expected in these enlight-
ened times, should attempts ever again be made
to bind in the galling chains of religious slavery
this once free and happy country ? and, supposing
such attempts as unlikely to be made, or, if made,
as improbable of success, your Petitioners ven-
ture further to ask, whether it is not the bounden
duty of Parliament to render them impossible, by
maintaining inviolate the laws enacted when simi-
lar eflforts were made, aided by the intrigues of
foreign courts, and the arbitrary proceedings of
popish or popishly -inclined princes ?

Your Petitioners cannot close their petition
without imploring your Lordships to withhold your
assent from measures at variance with the con-
scientious feelings of the EngHsh people, and the
adoption of which (it is to be feared) would occasion
the very dissensions which the measures them-
selves have been represented as intended to obviate.
For the sake of speculative or ephemeral advan-
tages, your Petitioners trust that your Lordships
will not put in jeopardy the happy days which now
cast their meridian splendour around this prosper-

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CLAIMS. 195

ous country ; and, from motives by no means of
hostile aversion to Roman Catholics as fellow-men
and fellows-subjects, but of self-preservation — from
an earnest wish to protect and uphold liberty of
conscience and the sacred rights of religious tole-
ration— and from a desire to see buried in oblivion
past differences and religious feuds, your Peti-
tioners most humbly but earnestly pray, that no
further political privileges be granted to the Roman
Catholics of the United Kingdom.

And your Petitioners will ever pray, &c.

o 2

SPEECH AND PETITION

AGAINST THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CLAIMS.

[20 Nov, 1828.]

At a meeting of the Leicestershire Pitt Club,
held at the Three Crowns, Leicester, on the 20th
Nov. 1828, Mr. Stockdale Hardy, in rising to pro-
pose the adoption of a Petition against the conces-
sion of the Roman Catholic Claims, begged to con-
gratulate the meeting upon the probability of a
measure in favour of Protestant ascendancy origi-
nating from a Pitt Club ; for, notwithstanding the
sneers and cavils which had been hurled at them,
he thought they were perfectly correct in sending
forth an appeal to the Legislature on that all
important subject at the present moment. Great
misapprehension having prevailed with respect to
the opinion of Mr. Pitt on the Roman Catholic
question, and a direct charge of inconsistency
having been preferred against his admirers for
taking steps similar to what he trusted they were
about to do, he should, perhaps, be allowed to say
a few words in reply to the accusation. One of
the great objects which Mr Pitt had in view was
to maintain the effect of the Revolution which
established Uberty in this country, and to 8tay the

SPEECH AND PETITION^ ETC. 19?

ravages of the Revolution in an adjacent country,
which threatened to destroy liberty throughout
Europe : in other words, to prevent Robespierre
extinguishing in torrents of gore what glorious
William fought for and achieved at the waters of
the Boyne. To the exertions of Mr. Pitt he had
no hesitation in ascribing the preservation of their
civil and rehgious liberties ; and he denied that,
had Mr. Pitt been now living, he would have
ranged himself under the banners of modern
liberahsm. Their venerated champion never ad-
vocated the Roman Catholic claims except accom-
panied with securities and restrictions, and except
a general demonstration in their favour was ex-
hibited on the part of the English people ; this he
declared in 1805, in almost the last speech he ever
delivered. Mr. Pitt was not spared to see any
decisive expression of feeling on the part of the
English nation with respect to the question ; and,
since his lamented death, might it not fairly be
asked whether any securities had been devised
which had been found satisfactory, or any appro-
bation shewn by the English people of the measure
of concession ? He (Mr. Hardy) contended that
an answer in the negative must be given to both
these inquiries, and they would see in a moment
upon what a flimsy ground the assertion of Mr.
Pitt's general support of the CathoHc claims
rested. The royal correspondence which his late
Majesty held with Mr. Pitt, and which was pub-
lished some time since, viewed in the above Hght,

198 SPEECH AND PETITION AGAINST

explained a seeming inconsistency ; and there was
the authority of one of the ablest and most sted-
fast supporters of the Roman Catholic claims (the
late Marquess of Londonderry), for stating that no
pledge was given by Mr. Pitt to the Irish Roman
Catholics at the period of the Union that their
emancipation (as it was termed) should be granted ;
all then promised was, a full, fair, and free con-
sideration of the subject in an imperial and united
Parliament ; a consideration which had since been
repeatedly given it, and which had invariably
terminated in one result — a conscientious rejec-
tion of the claims preferred. It would, indeed,
have been passing strange if Mr. Pitt had con-
sented to an alteration of the constitution he so
much loved, to gratify a part of its subjects,
against the wishes of the great majority. It was
really ludicrous to observe with what avidity some
of the journals of the day were endeavouring to
enlist the name of Mr. Pitt in support of their
matin-song and vesper-chaunt, Catholic Emanci-
pation. It was really laughable to remark with
what earnestness those who ridiculed and con-
temned Mr. Pitt when living were striving to
bring him forward as a " tower of strength '* in
support of their Utopian schemes, now that he was
removed to another and a better world ; and he
(Mr. Hardy) conceived it was the duty of all who
venerated Mr. Pitt's memory to do their utmost
to prevent an unholy alliance of its glory with
what its kindred spirit would reject, were it j)er-

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CLAIMS. 199

mitted to visit the scenes which, when abiding in
its earthly mansion, it protected by its vigilance,
and enlivened by its intellectual splendour.

He (Mr. Hardy) was one of those who thought
that the modern Whigs had robbed the Whigs of
1688 of some of those holds upon the public mind
which fairly belonged to them. An eminent writer,
and an acute observer of passing events, once said,
" Let me compose the ballads of a nation, and I
will control the people." This was no less true in
the present day with respect to toasts and senti-
ments ; and he saw no more reason why the
modern Whigs should have the exclusive posses-
sion of some of these than did a celebrated Dis-
senter that profane places should always have the
best tunes. He congratulated them, however, that
times were changing with respect to this ; the
sentiment " May the King never forget the prin-
ciples which placed his family upon the throne of
these realms," was becoming popular amongst the
bigots ; the sentiment " Civil and religious liberty
throughout the world," was now echoed along the
halls of the Tories — and why not ? As Protestants
and supporters of the principles which placed the
House of Brunswick upon the throne, they must
of necessity be friendly to liberty and opposed to
despotism ; Protestantism was the only foundation
upon which civil and religious liberty could repose
for security, and they who admired it were,
although advocates for caution with respect to any
national interference, as much opposed in senti-

200 SPEECH AND PETITION AGAINST

ment as modem Whigs could be to the restora-
tion of a system of domination and superstition in
certain parts of Europe, in unison only with the
darkest vapours which ever cast their pestilential
influence over the human mind.

With respect to the Petition which he held in his
hand, he must leave it to speak for itself ; in it were
embodied the arguments upon which its prayer
against Catholic Emancipation rested. Before he
sat down he must be allowed to say, that he con-
ceived the country had very great confidence in
his Majesty's present administration ; for his own
part, he would almost as soon believe that the
splendour of the sun would illumine the gloom of
midnight, as believe that Wellington would tarnish
his fair fame by casting the trophies which had so
long adorned the tomb of the immortal Orange
chief into the channel of mock liberality. At the
same time he thought it was the duty of the Pro-
testants to stand forward at the present period and
declare their sentiments. If his Majesty's govern-
ment (but which he did not believe,) intended to
adopt any measures calculated either to injure or
compromise the Protestant ascendancy, the country
had a right to speak out through the constitutional
medium of petitions ; and, if ministers had dis-
covered a system of legislation which could be
adopted with respect to the Catholic question, and
which would not violate the integrity of the con-
stitution, (but which he feared experience had
shewn to be impossible,) should that legislation

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CLAIMS. 201

not be met by the Roman Catholics in a proper
spirit, it would be the duty of the Protestants to
rally round the cabinet, and, adopting as their
watchword that of the 'prentice boys of Derry,
shout, No surrender !

Mr. Hardy concluded with submitting the fol-
lowing Petition to the meeting for its adoption —

To the Right Hon. the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, &c. &c.

The humble Petition of the undersigned Free-
holders and Inhabitants of the county and town of
Leicester,

Sheweth,

That your Petitioners, in approaching your
Lordships with an earnest request that no further
political privileges may be conceded to the Roman
Catholics of the united kingdom, beg unequivocally
to disclaim any hostile feelings towards the Roman
Catholics as fellow subjects and fellow men.

That your Petitioners found their opposition
to the claims urged, upon the grounds that the
members of the Romish Church are already in the
enjoyment of the free and uninterrupted exercise
of their public worship, and are eligible to all civil
offices, except such as would give them, directly or
indirectly, a control over the Protestant institu-
tions of the country ; that, being in possession of
full religious toleration and civil privileges to the
above extent, their exclusion from political power
is justifiable, upon the principle that every state

202 SPEECH AND PETITION AGAINST

has a right to prescribe the boundaries within
which civil office shall be held by such of its sub-
jects as decline submission to certain defined con-
ditions ; and that any further concessions would
be against the feelings and wishes of the great
majority of the nation, at the same time that they
would not benefit the majority of those for whom
they would be intended.

Valuing, therefore, the peaceful days in which
their happy lot has been hitherto cast, — viewing
with great alarm the unconstitutional proceedings
of a body calUng itself the " Roman CathoUc As-
sociation,"— persuaded, too, that any further conces-
sions would be attended with imminent danger to
Protestantism in general, and would inevitably lead
to another struggle for civil and religious liberty
in this favoured land, — your Petitioners earnestly
pray that no further extension of privileges may be
granted to the members of the Church of Rome ;
but that your Lordships, acting upon those prin-
ciples which called the illustrious House of Bruns-
wick to the throne of these realms, will continue
inviolate their operation, convinced, as your Peti-
tioners are by the proceedings of the Roman
Catholic Association, that the ultimate tendency of
what they advocate is the extinction of the Pro-
testant Church in the sister country, and the de-
struction of the essential character of the British
constitution.

And your Petitioners will ever pray, &c.

Earl Howe seconded the adoption of the Peti-

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CLAIMS. 203

tion, and subsequently moved the thanks of the
meeting to Mr. Stockdale Hardy for his excellent
speech.

The Petition to the House of Lords, signed by
17,535 persons, was presented by the Duke of
Rutland; and that to the House of Commons,
which was signed by 19,203 persons, by Mr. Legh
Keck.

ESSAYS

On the Poor Laws, and the Framework
Knitters' Relief Society.

To the Editor of the Leicester Journal,
(1819 or 1820.)

Sir,
We live in times of no ordinary moment — in
times when (partly owing to a superabundance of
machinery, partly to a glutted market, and partly
to a want of confidence and union amongst our
manufacturers), the wages of the labouring poor
have been most lamentably depressed, and them-
selves and families thrown upon those laws for
support which were never intended to operate ex-
cept in cases of old age or an actual deficiency of
labour. We live. Sir, at a period in which the
state of education amongst the poor has also most
materially varied the picture. Instead of igno-
rance and rags being concomitants, as they were
once thought to be, we now see attainments (and
no inconsiderable ones too) entering confines where
formerly it was thought impossible they should
ever enter— expanding where distress reigns within

ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC. 205

and abject poverty shivers without — and control-

>^C^^^^^

^^--«'*y — »->. -9~^

€ CJL

j/TA/:::

/> *♦ r / ji^J^^ '

I

ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC. 205

and abject poverty shivers without — and control-
ling with majestic power events and circumstances
of no ordinary moment. Whatever difference of
opinion may exist as to whether this state of things
be or be not desirable, this is the state, and I, for
one, am sorry to see the bud of genius only blossom
to be blighted.

It is quite clear, from the evidence given before
the Select Committee of the House of Commons
last Session, that the distressed state of the Frame-
work Knitters was chiefly attributable to the cut-
up work ; and I never can sufficiently lament the
failure of a bill which struck at no private interests,
and violated no rules of political economy. To
that baneful system may be traced the distressed
condition of the Framework Knitters — the discredit
of the trade in the foreign markets — the disunion
amongst the masters — and last, not least, the de-
struction of that sterling principle of independence
which formerly cheered the workman while it be-
nefited the employer. But, as the legislative ap-
plication to which I have referred was unsuccess-
ful, the question naturally occurs, what is to be
done ? It is true a large proportion of masters and
men have come to an arrangement equally credit-
able to both ; but, as things stand, is there not too
much reason to suppose that, except some effort
be made — some plan adopted — things will return
into their old channel, and a repetition of that dis-
tress ensue which filled our streets with misery and
crowded our poor-houses with inhabitants ? The

206 ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC.

Framework Knitters' Relief Society appears to me
calculated to do considerable good in this respect.
I understand it originated entirely with the work-
men, and, under proper regulations and restraints,
I think that if it is efficiently supported it will con-
fer great benefit on the men, while it can inflict no
injury on the employers. In my conscience, were
I of an opinion that it would inflict any injury, it
should not even have my good wish ; but I can
conceive none. So long as the men can live by
their labour, it does not operate ; and when from
any circumstances the masters are unable or un-
willing to give them that remuneration for their
labour by which they can support themselves and
families, it steps in to aid the landed interest in the
support of those who are no longer able to support
themselves. I am quite convinced that the arti-
cles of the proposed society will bear, and must
undergo, revision ; this however must be reserved
for the gentlemen who have so kindly and nobly
expressed their willingness to act as trustees in
case a fair chance is afforded of establishing the
society upon a permanent basis. My present re-
marks are confined solely to the principle of the
measure, which is calculated to destroy the ano-
maly of a pauper in full employ, by giving the
landed interest an opportunity of assisting the men
(when unable to live by their labour) without
aiding that most destructive of all practices — the
making up any deficiency of wages from the poor
rates.

ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC. 207

In conclusion, Mr. Editor, allow me to say that,
having been touched by the distresses, the poig-
nant distresses, of so large a body of my fellow-
countrymen as the Framework Knitters — having
seen the tear of sorrow trickle down that cheek
where the smile of content used to beam — having
seen sedition and treason stalk around us, and yet
not been able to penetrate into our fortress, al-
though designing men have hovered about ready
to wave the flag of rebelUon over the couch of
misery — I, like many others, have been induced to
throw in my feeble mite for the relief of sufferers
so eminently deserving of assistance ; and I trust
that no efforts which can be legally used will be
wanting in their behalf From the altered condi-
tion and circumstances of the trade, as more par-
ticularly detailed in the evidence given before the
Commons' committee, an annual scene of distress
seems likely to take place. To meet that gloomy
period the society to which I have alluded is de-
signed ; and, should it meet with sufficient public
support to render it instrumental in doing this,
much good will have been effected.

I am, Mr. Editor,

Yours very obediently,

A CONSTANT READER.

208

To the Editor of the Leicester Journal

Sir,

The success which has attended the efforts of
those benevolent individuals who have so actively
exerted themselves on behalf of the suffering
Framework Knitters, must be highly gratifying to
every reflecting mind. While other districts are
witnessing the most heart-rending scenes of dis-
tress— are borne down by enormous contribu-
tions, and enveloped in local misery — the county
of Leicester stands nobly pre-eminent for its sup-
port of an institution which has for its objects the
comforts of the poor, and which, in extensively
diffusing those comforts, I trust will be eventually
injurious to no one.

It certainly is much to be lamented that other
districts have not more extensively co-operated
with the society in its general designs. No doubt
such a co-operation would have greatly assisted
the objects in view, and would even now be a
" consummation most devoutly to be wished." It
is equally clear that, for want of this combined
union, some temporary inconvenience may ensue ;
but I would entreat those who make this an argu-
ment for opposing the society, to look seriously
into the present situation of those districts which
have either declined or neglected to support it.

Is the state of things in those districts likely to
continue long ? Is it reasonable to suppose — is it
rational to assert— that when the poor cannot

ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC. 209

obtain wages by which they can live, these
wretched indigents, who have been thus brought
to the brink of misery, will not be led on to des-
peration ? Every writer that has yet treated upon
political economy, has invariably maintained that
all rules cease to have effect — that all theories
vanish into ^^ trifles light as air" — when wages
become so low as to be incompetent to afford a
decent maintenance to the mechanic. Let it be
recollected an English mechanic is not to be
driven into an Irish cabin, or into those wretched
habits which usage, and perhaps choice, have ren-
dered familiar to the labourers of the sister country.
An English mechanic wants no extravagances, but
he must and ought to have those comforts which
his constitution requires and his forefathers ex-
perienced.

To assert that it is in the power of any particu-
lar class of manufacturers to raise the price of
labour, or to throw the odium of a decline in
wages upon any such particular class, is as unjust
as it is to charge those who support the Frame-
work Knitters' Society with a wish to benefit one
part of the community at the expense of the other.
A permanent rate of wages can only be obtained
by an union amongst the masters in general ; and
I sincerely lament that the thoughtless and absurd
system of throwing the entire obloquy arising
from the late extreme low price of labour upon
the manufacturers, without distinction, has ex-
tended to the lengths which it has done. Many

p

210 ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC.

of them, we know, are friends to the Statement,
and would gladly support it, without discharging
a single workman, could they be upon anything
like a certainty with regard to the sale of their
goods ; but, so long as any manufacturer declines
to aid the general purposes of the Society, so long
will that uncertainty prevail, which is destructive
of confidence, and which forbids speculation.

Thus far it may be said I am arguing against
the Society of which I have professed myself so
warm an advocate. Let it be so: I have only
discharged a duty which I feel is owing to a meri-
torious body of men whose views and sentiments
have been grossly misrepresented : but, having per-
formed this act of justice, allow me to advert to
another part of the argument, drawn, indeed, from
the premises, but (as I view it) futile in origin and
erroneous in application ; this, however, I shall
reserve for another letter : — in the interim,

I am yours very truly,

A CONSTANT READER.

To the Editor of the Leicester Journal

Sir.
I CONCLUDED my letter last week upon the
important subject of the Framework Knitters'
Relief Society with an allusion to the uncertainty
which at present exists with regard to the price
of manufactured goods.

ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC. 211

We are told that one grand effect of this un-
certainty will be the transfer of a considerable
portion of the trade of this town and neighbour-
hood to an adjacent district. What district is this ?
Surely not the one which has lately, through its
Representative, laid before Parliament such an
appalling picture of distress and misery ? — Is this
the Leviathan which is to swallow up poor Leices-
ter and its trade ? What ! is a district where one
parish alone is £6,000 in arrears in its poor's
rates — where any attempt to enforce such rates
would occasion a general panic, and render sixty
warrants of distress daily necessary, — is this a
district to be holden up as one which can perma-
nently undersell the fair and liberal manufacturer
of another? It may, indeed, do so for a time
— but, even for that limited period, it is only
enabled to injure its neighbours by the ruinous
system of almost reducing to pauperism all classes
of its inhabitants, and compelling them to leave a
place endeared, perhaps, by many a tender recol-
lection, because they find themselves incapable of
meeting the heavy contributions demanded of
them. The argument, therefore, comes within a
very confined circle. To say that the Framework
Knitters' Relief Society may not produce incon-
venience would be wrong ; but to say that greater
and far more extensive inconvenience would not
arise in case it were abolished would be much
more incorrect. Were it to fall, it is my firm
conviction that our town and neighbourhood

p 2

212

would rival (if I may use the term) the most dis-
tressed district in England, in embarrassment and
misery. The suffering would then be general : —
an enlivening sympathy does now subsist between
the more opulent and their poorer neighbours —
but then how dark the picture ! Squalid distress
and radical discontent would enter the abode of
poverty, ruin would annihilate mediocrity, and
the rich would have to contemplate a picture of
devastation which their spacious mansions and ex-
tensive domains would only render more painful
to the contemplative mind by the dismal contrast.
If, therefore, the Society should ultimately fail it
will have failed in a noble effort. The poor here
will, at all events, have been convinced that the
rich have done every thing in their power to alle-
viate their distress, and that, if they have been
unable to accomplish their wishes to their utmost
extent, they at least did all which example and
interest were capable of effecting to promote the
object in view.

It would embrace too wide a field of discussion
to trace the existing distress to its various sources.
Much of it has undoubtedly arisen from a dimi-
nution of capital, but this has by no means been
the principal cause ; for, although capital may have
been withdrawn to a certain extent, there still has
been a considerable demand for labour, but such
an one as, from the limited circle of those who
made it, did not afford the usual advantage to the
men, of making any thing like terms with those

ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC. 213

who Stood in need of their assistance. Instead of
an endeavour to raise, there was a competition to
fall the price of goods, and the employers were
obliged to abridge the comforts of life to make
anything like a profit. Thus the trade, by being
driven into a corner, ceased to confer those bene-
fits upon its dependents, and the community in
general, which it once was in the habit of doing,
and, on the contrary, had to seek a species of
eleemosynary assistance from classes which had no
connection with it. Brighter days and fairer
prospects, I trust, are opening upon us, and it is
to be hoped the period is not very remote when
that good understanding will prevail between the
employers and employed which once so happily
subsisted, and produced such beneficial effects. —
While disaffection has stalked around us, ready to
invade our citadel and throw its malignant torch
amongst us, we have seen a most distressed popu-
lation endure most grievous miseries without a
murmur, and evince no feelings but those of
thankfulness and peace. We have seen an insti-
tution formed by the ingenuity, conducted by the
skill, and kept strictly within its original bounds
by the persevering industry of men who, with
scarcely bread to eat, have displayed abilities
worthy of a nobler, though not a more laudable
pursuit. Having philanthropy as its object, and
Christian benevolence as its principle, the Frame-
work Knitters' Society has pursued its course,
cheered by the smiles of conscientious approval

214 ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC.

from the rich, and bedewed with the tears of grate-
ful poverty. The storm having been weathered
thus far, let us indulge the hope that the wished
for haven may soon appear, and that, while other
and neighbouring districts are drinking deep of
the cup of sorrow, Leicestershire may eventually
reap the benefit of that noble and humane policy,
which has been so extensively adopted by her
nobility, gentry, clergy, and inhabitants in general.

I remain very truly yours,

A CONSTANT READER.

Leicester i \Qth March,

Speech on Mr. Scarlett's Poor Laws Bill.

On the 1st June, 1821, in pursuance of a requi-
sition presented to the churchwardens, a meeting
of the inhabitants of St. Mary's parish in Leicester
was held at the Vestry, to take into consideration
the propriety of presenting a Petition to Parliament
upon the subject of Mr. Scarlett's proposed bill for
an alteration of the Poor Laws. The Rev. the
Vicar having taken the chair, and the requisition
having been read —

Mr. Stockdale Hardy said that, as one of
the persons who had signed that requisition, he
begged to direct the attention of the meeting to as
important a subject as any which had occupied the

ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC. 215

attention of Parliament for many years. The bill
to which the meeting referred had for its object
the almost total annihilation of those laws which
had regulated the affairs of the poor for nearly two
centuries and a half ; and laws which had existed
so long ought neither to be trifled with nor re-
pealed without the utmost deliberation and the
most extended discussion ; since, although very
great defects might exist in them, our ancestors
ought, at all events, to have the credit of having
some substantial motives for their acts, and as the
real excellencies of our old laws had frequently not
been discovered until the inconveniences arising
from their repeal had shewn them. Mr. Hardy then
proceeded to comment, clause by clause, upon the
bill of Mr. Scarlett as amended by the Committee.
The clause as to removals was most objectionable,
since it went to do away with the liability of
parishes in which paupers were now legally settled.
As to removals themselves, he wks no friend to
them, since it was hard that when a poor man had
left his place of nativity for a number of years, and
had formed many interesting connections else-
where, that he should be transported (as it were)
to another and perhaps distant district for no other
crime than his poverty. The original place of set-
tlement must however be still made liable, or there
would be a breach of faith not easily reconciled
with the principles which had hitherto regulated
British legislation. As to the estabhshment of a
maximum as to poor rates, this seemed really a

216 ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC.

most Utopian scheme. They all knew the price of
provisions and the demand for labour always regu-
lated the poor man's stock and comforts. To say,
therefore, that under no circumstances whatever
more than a certain sum should be raised, was to
go upon the supposition that the rate of provisions
would always be the same, the demand for labour
invariable, and the state of trade not affected by
those fluctuating circumstances which it has gene-
rally been supposed and known to be. A most
striking instance of the impolicy of any such mea-
sure as this was contained in a representation
which had been lately made by the city of Norwich
in reference to the bill now before Parliament. It ap-
peared that last year (the amount of the rates raised
in which is the maximum of Mr. Scarlett) there
was about 18,000/. raised for the support of the
Norwich poor; in 1818 there required 28,000/.;
and in 1802 (the year of scarcity) there required
no less a sum 'than 4 1 ,000/ ! If Mr. Scarlett's
maximum had been then law, what must have
been done with the poor at Norwich ? The same
circumstances might again arise, and could not be
provided against ; and they only need to picture
the horrid condition in which a populous town or
city would be placed, surrounded with claimants
requiring upwards of 40,000/. to satisfy them,
having little beyond a third of the sum to give
them, and the claimants themselves increased and
hourly increasing through the emigration from the
adjacent country continually pressing upon the

217

place in consequence of the first clause of the bill
to which he had alluded. That part of the mea-
sure which denied any relief to any one marrying
after the passing of the act, except aged or im-
potent, was extraordinary, and could never be
adopted, except its supporters were prepared to
say that all could obtain employment and obtain it
upon terms by which they could live. Now what
had been the case in this district ? At one period
during the last winter 2,000 framework knitters
had been receiving relief from the Friendly Relief
Society, because they could not obtain work. What
must have been the case had the bill of Mr. Scar-
lett been in operation? It was a most singular
fact, that since the establishment of the Frame-
work Knitters' Society (a period of about twenty
months) there had been no less a sum than 17^000/.
paid from it to unemployed workmen, although
latterly only 3^. 6d. per week could be afforded to
a man and his family. It was no less singular that
9,000/. of this 17,000/. had been raised by the
workmen themselves, and wrung from their scanty
pittance. These circumstances, while they showed
the utter impracticability of the bill, yielded also a
forcible answer to those who maintained that the
poor were averse to, or careless of, providing for
contingences. At all events this stigma could not
attach to our provincial poor. The bill upon the
whole was as injurious to the landed as the com-
mercial interests of the country ; inasmuch as, if
passed, at no distant period, when the one interest

218 ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC.

was borne down, a most ruinous reaction would
necessarily take place upon the soil of the country
— its noblest boast and strongest palladium. The
Petition he was about to propose did little more
than entreat for time to weigh the provisions of the
bill. This surely was nothing but reasonable, con-
sidering the magnitude of the interests concerned.
Amendments might be made, and perhaps a bill
unobjectionable to all parties framed ; but the time
which would elapse before the close of the present
Session of Parliament was far too short to allow of
any such hope. Mr. Hardy then read a Petition to
the House of Commons, and moved its adoption by
the meeting.

To the Editor of the Leicester Journal, 1826.

*' Blessed is he that considereth the poor and the needy."

" Is Israel a servant, is he a home-born slave ?" — Jer. ii. 14.

Mr. Editor,
I DO most sincerely hope that the humane sug-
gestions thrown out by a " Constant Reader,*' in
your last Journal, will not be lost sight of in the
present season of suffering and distress. I am one
of those who attended the meeting at the Castle
the other day, and who returned home with the
impression that the eloquence and erudition there
shewn would have been far better exercised in sup-
port of our poor at home, than in travelling, as
they did, for objects of distress beyond the At-

219

lantic. Slavery, as a principle, can never find
shelter in an English bosom, but it is made too
much in the present day, and on the eve of a ge-
neral election, a mere catch-w^ord, and I am con-
vinced that there are objects of as much misery in
this town as in any colony in the West Indies.
His Majesty's Government are doing all they pos-
sibly can, consistent with vested rights and honest
policy, to ameliorate the condition of the slaves ;
and why therefore should they be goaded to do
what it will be impossible to effect, unless it can be
proved that hlack is white, or the country has made
up her mind to be divested of her colonies ? Let
us then turn our attention to our "home-born
slaves." I must however not be misunderstood ;
1 use the term in no objectionable or inflammatory
sense, but simply as connected with the subject to
which I have alluded ; for I am amongst those who
think that a large proportion of the misery now
experienced by the working classes is occasioned
by causes quite out of the control of their em-
ployers, at least of those employers who are men
of capital. I repeat it, then, let us turn our atten-
tion to our '^home-born slaves," let us put our
hands in our pockets and relieve these poor crea-
tures, instead of exciting hopes abroad which never
will be realized, and rousing (but unintentionally,
I firmly believe) the worst feelings of the Negro
population. I sincerely hope that some gentlemen
of influence in the town will take the lead in this
local cause of charity and love, and that the best

220 ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC.

means will be devised to alleviate the distresses of
our poor neighbours, and to enable us to dispense
our bounty at the thresholds of our own houses.
If the object cannot be attained without, let us
have a public meeting, at which a subscription may
be opened, and a committee appointed to regulate
the distribution of the bounty.

Yours, &c.

CORIANDER.

Leicester y January 24, 1826.

To the Editor of the Leicester Journal, 1834.

Sir,

Considering the immense importance of the
measure introduced into Parliament, by his Ma-
jesty's Ministers, for the alteration of the Poor
Laws, I cannot avoid expressing my surprise and
regret that it has hitherto attracted such little
notice in this place and neighbourhood.

The measure, as I view it, is at direct variance
with the known and recognised principles of the
British constitution, oppressive towards the poor,
and destructive of the rights of property in popu-
lous towns and villages. The powers proposed to
be bestowed upon a board of commissioners are of
the most appalling description — powers to examine
on oath or declaration — to commit for contempt —
to require the production of all parish books and

221

accounts — to issue summonses and warrants, to run
into all parishes in England and Wales — to make
rules for the management of the poor, the govern-
ment of workhouses, and the education of the chil-
dren therein — for the apprenticing poor children,
and for the guidance and control of all guardians,
visitors, and parish officers — powers to attend all
parochial meetings — to order workhouses to be en-
larged or altered — to form unions of parishes for
the common use of a workhouse — but 1 stop ; the
detail is revolting, and I boldly say such powers
were never attempted to be conferred on any body
of men since the reign of the Stuarts — since the
days of the Court of Star Chamber.

The proposal to make the place of birth in all
cases the place of settlement after the age of six-
teen must eventually have the effect of driving the
poor, when in need of relief, to populous towns and
villages, where, of course, the larger portion of
them were born. And only let us contemplate on
the one hand the immense depreciation of property
in those places which must inevitably be produced,
and on the other the injustice and cruelty of drag-
ging a fellow -creature perhaps from Truro in Corn-
wall to Leicester — from a place which for years
has enjoyed the benefit of his labour — of dragging
him, I say, from attached friends and interesting
connections to the place of his birth, when all his
early associates have probably ceased to exist, and
where every object that meets his careworn eye
only tends to produce in his mind sensations of

222 ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC.

melancholy and despair ! I firmly hope the people
of England will let their rulers know that they are
not yet prepared to be taxed without having the
control of the funds to which they contribute, nor
to see the poor of the country in their old age, or
when unable to obtain wages by which they can
live, transported, (in a sense,) when the only crime
of which they can be accused is either impotence
or misfortune.

There are other portions of the bill fully as ob-
jectionable as those I have pointed out, but I for-
bear allusion to them, as I have already trespassed
upon your columns at greater length than I had
intended. T only hope that the parish officers and
vestries of this town will give their serious atten-
tion to the subject, and not leave it to be inferred
by their silence that they either approve of or are
indiiferent to the measure. That the existing sys-
tem of poor laws stands in great need of revision
no one can deny ; I am convinced however of this,
that those who have introduced the present bill
have proceeded in total ignorance of the wants,
the feelings, aye, and the temper, of the people ;
and that, unless they retrace their steps, conse-
quences will ensue of the most disastrous descrip-
tion.

Yours, &e.

BRITANNICUS.

Leicester^ ^2nd Mai/, 1884.

essays on the poor laws, etc. 223

Poor Laws Amendment Bill, 1849.

To the Editor of the Leicester Journal,
Sir,

That odious and impolitic measure, the Poor
Laws Amendment Bill, to which I some time since
called your attention, is fast progressing into an
Act, and will, perhaps, ere these remarks meet the
public eye, have become the law of England — have
become the law of a country hitherto governed by
far different principles than those contained in
this precious receptacle — this '^pet-project," of
modern and unfeeling political economy.

The measure, as I view it, is based ^pon utterly
false assumptions. None, except a few infatuated
disciples of the Malthusian school, disapprove of
the laws already in force for the relief of the poor ;
it is the erroneous administration, not the princi-
ple of those laws, which is the theme of complaint,
and it does not appear the most eligible moment
for their virtual repeal — at all events, for the ap-
plication of an un-English and anti-social ma-
chinery to them, when it is admitted on all hands
that improvements in their administration are pro-
gressing with giant strides.

T have ever regarded the Act of the 43rd of
Elizabeth as the Magna Charta of the English
poor. It is a human provision strictly in accord-
ance with the doctrines inculcated in Holy Writ,
and dark will be the cloud which will lower upon
this country should honest poverty ever be treated

224 ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC.

as a crime, or the innocent victim of penury
branded as an outcast !

The principal objections to the Bill to which I
have referred may be stated in a few words. The
placing funds of no less an amount than between
seven and eight millions (the estimated annual
amount raised by poor rates) indirectly under the
control of the minister of the day, and directly
under the superintendence of salaried commis-
sioners, is a most fearful and unconstitutional
arrangement. Hitherto, those who raised these
funds have had the power of applying them, or of
electing those who have done so ; and by this
means, in well regulated parishes, a wholesome
check with respect to the expenditure has been
established on the one hand, while on the other
local means of information have had a most
salutary effect in dispensing the bounty. Under
the proposed law, the officers and vestries of
parishes will become the mere fantoccinis of a
board of (to adopt an expression of a man of fear-
ful importance, Mr. O'Connell,) Saxon Commis-
sioners— of individuals who, however talented and
respectable, will be unknown to the districts over
which they are to stretch forth the rod of power —
will be unacquainted with the wants, the feelings,
and the habits of the people, and with the peculiar
circumstances as to trade, &c. aflFecting the sub-
jects of their new-fangled jurisdiction. Let us
glance for a moment at some of the authorities
with which these Commissioners are to be in-

ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC. 225

vested. They are to have the power of granting
or withholding allowance to the poor — of deciding
whether to get that allowance the pauper and his
family are to go into the workhouse or not — of
regulating the mode in which the pauper is to be
fed, or in whatever other way he is to receive his
miserable pittance. " Talk of slavery in the West
Indies," exclaimed a noble and learned Lord (Wyn-
ford) the other day, in his place in Parliament, —
" talk of slavery in the West Indies, for the abo-
lition of which we are about to pay so large a sum,
I say pass this Bill, and the condition of the poor
of this country will be worse than that of the
serfs in any part of Europe — than that of the
villeins who belonged to the soil of this kingdom in
former times, or than that of any of our Negro
slaves in the colonies !" And for what are all
these evils to be encountered ? Why, for the
sake of a French-dandyfied scheme of (what is
affectedly called) centralisation — a scheme at
variance with all our venerated and long-cherished
institutions, and which proceeds on the imperti-
nent— the utterly unfounded and pragmatical as-
sumption, that " the metropolis is everything and
the provinces nothing /" Centralisation is a sys-
tem revolting to the feelings of an Englishman,
foreign to his preconceived notions and opinions,
and destructive to his independence. It may suit,
ipdeed, the atmosphere of a country like France,
where, to use the words of an able writer, '^ The
people are accustomed to look to Government for

Q

226 ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC.

everything — for their roads, their canals, their
bridges/' &c. but it is not in unison with yet
" merrie England,'* and thank God ! London is not
yet England, although Paris may be France !

The power proposed to be given the Commis-
sioners to form unions of parishes, without the
consent of vestries, is highly objectionable, if not
tyrannical. The idea of crowding the poor of
several parishes into large and perhaps distant
workhouses, is both impolitic and cruel. These
are times in which a man, able and willing to
work, cannot, in many cases, obtain wages by
which he can live ; and for this — no fault of his —
he and his family are to be sent to a workhouse,
there to be exposed to all the disgrace, demoral-
isation, and contamination consequent on such
establishments. It is said, however, that the Bill
will annihilate the allowance system, which it must
be admitted has operated most injuriously in de-
pressing the poor mans capital — his labour; it
will, however do no such thing, as the 49th clause
gives the Commissioners a discretionary power of
making up wages from poor rates.

With reference to that clause in the Bill which
casts the entire onus of maintaining an illegiti-
mate child upon the mother, leaving her seducer
and deceiver perfectly free from any consequences,
if we did not live in days when a system of cold
and calculating, but miscalled philosophy, had
steeled the human heart, and rendered it, in a
great degree, impervious to the claims of benevo-

ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC. 227

lence, we should be " planet-struck " at the rank
injustice of the proposition. But so it is! and
hear it ! members of a Christian community !
that a clause founded on the assumption — at least
so far as the lower orders are concerned — that
^'female chastity is a nonentity in England " — has
repealed the axiom, or rather the " law of nature,"
that " a child, until emancipated, depends on its
parents," and has consigned the unfortunate
female, who, in nine cases out of ten, is the
seduced party, to the horrors of a workhouse, in
case she is unable to maintain her child, while he
whose persuasions and perhaps perjuries have
caused her misfortunes, is to be allowed to stalk
abroad — deride his fallen victim — and select fresh
objects for disgraceful conquest and hard-hearted
caprice ! ! May not fears be reasonably enter-
tained, that an enactment Hke this, instead of de-
creasing, will increase incontinency, and import-
antly add infanticide to the catalogue of crime ?

We are, however, as I observed at the com-
mencement of this letter, probably entering on a
period when the Bill upon which I am comment-
ing will become the law of the land, and when, as
good subjects, we shall, so long as it remains on
the Statute Book, be bound to obey it. Deeply
do I lament that the Legislature have not con-
sented to delay its adoption until another Session,
as, in the interim, information might have been
collected, and suggestions made, which would, in
all probability, have led to the most beneficial

Q 2

228 ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC.

results. It is said that the Act is, as to the CJom-
missioners, to have only a temporary effect, and to
operate as an experiment. Experiments, however,
are always more or less dangerous, and, although
none will be more gratified than those who have
stated their sentiments in opposition to the mea-
sure, should their conjectures prove unfounded,
yet they cannot avoid entertaining a presentiment
that the enforcement of some of the provisions of
the Bill in certain districts will lead to conse-
quences of the most frightful description. Let us
hope, with the Duke of Richmond, "That both
Government and Parliament will watch over and
superintend the conduct of the Commissioners,
and take care that nothing be done hastily, or
without waiting for the results of practical ex-
perience." With these remarks I take leave of
the subject, but under the firm and settled con-
viction that extensive and important alterations
must be made in the Act before it can ever settle
down into the permanent law of a great, a glorious,
and a free country.

Yours, &c.

BRITANNICUS.

Leicester y August Athy 1834.

ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC. 229

On the Election of Poor Law Guardians,
1849.

To the Editor of the Leicester Journal
Sir,

The numerous acts of Parliament, having refer-
ence to the management and relief of the Poor,
which have passed since Her Majesty's accession
to the throne, will convince every unprejudiced
mind that the existing general Poor Law must, ere
long, undergo very considerable alteration, non-
productive as it has avowedly been of its pre-
dicted results, and based as it is on a most ob-
jectionable principle.

I cannot avoid arriving at the conclusion that
no system can be long acted upon which attempts
to provide in one building an asylum for the aged
and infirm, a nursery for the children of paupers,
and a place of refuge, or perhaps of punishment,
for those who, either from untoward circumstances,
or their own improvidence, are compelled to resort
to parochial relief. Honest poverty and indigent
old age ought never to be punished as crimes, nor
ought children to be exposed to the abominations
of a general workhouse, or be rendered liable in
future life to be taunted with the exciting assertion
that they were brought up under such circum-
stances. The three objects before mentioned can,
as I view it, alone be effected by the placing in en-

230 ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC.

tire and separate establishments the classes re-
ferred to ; and these objects — now that buildings,
and especially those of considerable extent, can be
purchased so cheaply — might be accomplished at
a comparatively trifling expense. The existing
workhouses would be amply sufficient for the re-
ception of able-bodied and adult paupers, and a
distinction would thus be made between the three
classes standing in need of parochial assistance.

With reference to a workhouse on an enlarged
scale, it would be an act verging on insanity volun-
tarily to erect such a building under the existing
circumstances of the town of Leicester. Are there
not burdens enough now pressing on the inhabi-
tants ? and, viewed in perspective with reference
to additional burdens, are not the prospects of the
place most discouraging and gloomy ? Besides, as
I previously observed, it may almost be regarded as
a certainty that the general poor law will be revised
and altered ; and the probability therefore is, that
if the building of a new workhouse be now com-
menced, it will have to be remodelled to suit any
changes in the law which may be made by the le-
gislature. Calculations, and confident ones too,
may be promulgated with reference to the expense
of the new building ; but I defy any one to say,
when the work has once commenced, what the
eventual cost will be. Almost every public build-
ing in Leicester will attest the truth of this remark ;
but in making it I am far from intending to cast
any reflection upon those who have been intrusted

ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC. 231

with the erection of our pubUc edifices, as the ad-
ditional expenses — very frequently, if not generally
— are attributable to causes over which architects
and builders have no control.

One of the principal arguments for the erection
of an enlarged workhouse in this place is, that it
will lessen the poor rates, by decreasing, if not ut-
terly abolishing, out-door relief; but in seasons of
distress and scarcity of employment this species of
relief cannot altogether be abolished in populous
places situated as Leicester is, and it surely is de-
serving inquiry whether in those towns which are
placed under similar circumstances to our own,
and where new and enlarged workhouses have been
built, under an idea that the existing poor law
could therein be carried out in all its details, the
rates have decreased ? I am informed that the
rates have increased, instead of decreased, at Not-
tingham, since the erection of a most spacious
workhouse. If this be so, what benefit has ac-
crued from the additional outlay to which that
town has been subjected? Let us therefore in
this place do all our limited means will allow to
prevent any more expense being incurred than is
absolutely requisite^ until it has been seen what
the effect arising from these new establishments
has been in other places.

As good citizens we are bonnd to obey any bill
which receives the sanction of the legislature ;
deeply however do I lament and condemn the
practice which has of late prevailed, of the legisla-

232 ESSAYS ON THE POOR LAWS, ETC

ture surrendering their powers to various classes
of commissioners, and of conferring upon the
orders and regulations of these commissioners the
authority of laws. It is almost useless to read
some modern acts of parliament, those relating to
the poor among the number, except the orders and
regulations of the commissioners appointed under
the acts are also perused ; for, without these latter
be referred to, the actual state of the law cannot
be arrived at. The modern poor law is also
founded upon a most objectionable basis — that
of metropolitan centralization. This is a most
un-English system ; it is a French-dandyfied
scheme, which makes the metropolis everything,
and the provinces nothing. Centralization is a
system at variance with the preconceived opinions
of an EngUshman, and destructive of his indepen-
dence. I am happy to observe however it is fast
on the wane, and, thank God, London is not yet
England, however Paris either is or was France.

Yours, &c.

BRITANNICUS.

Leicester y April '2ndy 1849.

SPEECH

On the Plan for Watching and Lighting the
Town of Leicester in 1822.

Mr. Stock dale Hardy said that he was de-
cidedly opposed to any legislative measure being
applied for under existing circumstances^ and
indeed under any circumstances whatever, unless
it could be carried into effect by dispensing equal
benefits to all classes of society in the place. An
application to Parliament upon any other grounds
was manifestly unjust, and he thought that, if the
scheme must be carried into effect, the rich ought
to raise the requisite funds by private subscription,
without imposing a permanent and general tax in
a case where no permanent and general benefit
could be dispensed. Insinuations had been thrown
out, accusing certain gentlemen of personal con-
siderations in the opposition which they had felt
it their duty to give to the measures in agitation.
He was confident that he spoke the sentiments of
those gentlemen when he said that a free and open
discussion of the question, and a calculation which
might be relied on as to the probable expenditure,
had been their principal object; and he begged
the meeting to look at what the exertions and

234 ON WATCHING AND LIGHTING

interference of those gentlemen had effected.
Instead of the ruinous proposal which was first
made, and which, had it been carried into effect,
would have levelled a great number of houses,
rendered several bridges necessary, and, in point
of fact, have turned the ancient and loyal town of
Leicester almost upside down — instead of this
Utopian scheme, they had now the more reason-
able proposition submitted of lighting, watching,
and cleansing the town. As, however, the egregi-
ous bantling to which he had just alluded died in
its infancy, before it was expressly filiated, he was
not quixotic enough to quarrel with its remains.

An attempt had been made to persuade the poor
that their interests were not connected with the
proposed measure. He thought they had more to
do with it than any other class, and he would ask
them whether, in case the town were borne down
by enormous rates, those charitable institutions
would be supported which in seasons of adversity
had clothed the naked, fed the hungry, and dis-
pelled the tear of sorrow from the eye of the in-
dustrious mechanic when unable to obtain wages
by which he could live ? In times, too, when an
alteration of the poor laws was thought of, and
when an Act had been proposed which, if carried
into a law, would drive the poor from residence in
villages into large towns, he would ask them
whether it was politic to cripple the means which
had hitherto rendered them assistance by a heavy
local tax, and one which might, except great

THE TOWN OF LEICESTER. 235

caution were used, render those means wholly in-
adequate to afford that assistance which hitherto
humanity had dictated and the laws enforced ? He
thought they were quite sufficient political econo-
mists to see that, under such circumstances as
these, it was bordering upon insanity to impose
voluntarily any additional burthens upon real pro-
perty in a town like Leicester. Supposing too
the Bill was to pass, what benefit would the poor
man derive from it ? If the published calculations
were to be abided by, all the gratification he would
have would be to pass the door of his more opulent
neighbour amid a glare of light, and then retire in
darkness to his humble cottage. A great deal had
been said and written of the excellence of gas as a
light. No one could say that it was not a most
excellent light ; it had illuminated this part of the
country amazingly. Things were seen necessary
now which their forefathers never thought of. It
was seen that we could not enter the town in the
same way that we used to do, and that it was
necessary to have our streets paved, lighted, and
watched, by parUamentary authority. He confessed
that he was one of those old-fashioned people
who had not been convinced of the necessity for
these matters, and, for the reasons which he had
previously stated, he decidedly opposed any appli-
cation to Parliament. He wished to speak of the
Corporation as a body with the utmost deference.
They had the highest and most sacred trusts re-
posed in them, and were entitled to the respect

236 ON LIGHTING AND WATCHING LEICESTER.

of their fellow-townsmen. As, however, upon the
present question they were almost equally divided,
he did not conceive it necessary to maintain the
same reserve whan speaking of the two contending
interests, as he should have felt it his duty to have
done in case the body had been united on the
question. He was not prepared to enter into the
weighty matters contained in the resolutions which
had been moved by the gentleman who preceded
him (Mr. Paget), but he must be allowed to say,
that he considered them in a great measure irrele-
vant to the business of the day. All he wished to
press upon the meeting was, that there was no
necessity for an Act of Parliament, and that it
would be highly impolitic, under the present cir-
cumstances of the tovn.

Mr. Hardy concluded with hoping that any tri-
vial misunderstandings which the business might
have created would be buried in oblivion, and all
recollection of them eflfaced from the minds of all
parties.

REPORTS

Relative to the Erection of St. George's
Church^ Leicester.

[The particulars of Mr. Stockdale Hardy's great exertions
in this business will be found stated in the Biographical Memoir
prefixed to this volume.]

Report of Mr. Stockdale Hardy, as Secretary of
the District Board for the Archdeaconry of Lei-
cester, to the Right Honourable the Lords
Commissioners appointed under the Acts for
Building and promoting the Building of addi-
tional Churches in populous parishes.

In making this Report to your Lordships, as to
the most eligible site for the intended New Church
at Leicester, the Secretary of the district board of
that Archdeaconry begs to state, that, in recom-
mending a spot, he has endeavoured to select a
central one, in the new part of the parish of Saint
Margaret — where the clay has not been excavated,
and in which the chancel end will be east (or nearly
so), at the same time that the church will face
some public road.

The piece of ground, to which allusion is made,
is a close situate on the eastern side of a modern

238 REPORTS ON THE ERECTION OF

street, called Rutland Street. The land belongs
to the prebendal stall of Saint Margaret, and is
now in lease. The Secretary had a legal doubt
whether this property could be alienated; but,
under the 34th and 39th clauses of the 58th of the
King, he submits to your Lordships that this can
be done. The selection of this property is strongly
supported, not only by the circumstance of its
coming within the scope of those funds which the
liberality of the county and town has raised, but
also because, in consequence of the nature of the
property itself, and of its not being capable of
being made freehold for any other purpose, nearly
double the quantity of land can be purchased
there, that can be obtained in other quarters for
the same price.

The part of the close proposed to be taken is
the south-west side, and this is recommended in
preference to the other part, not only because the
clay has not been disturbed — (which has been the
case in the other division) — but because, if the
church be erected there, a road will be given by
the proprietor of the adjoining property (Thomas
Miller, Esq.) which will enable the inhabitants of
the London Road, and the adjoining neighbour-
hood, to get to the Church by a much nearer and
more convenient access than they could do in
case the building were carried lower down. The
object in view has been to place the church mid-
way, or thereabouts, between the principal new
parts of the parish ; and it is decidedly reported

ST. George's church, Leicester. 239

to your Lordships, that in the situation described
the inhabitants of the southern outskirts of the
parish, as well as those in the new streets, will
receive more accommodation than in any other.
It may also be necessary to observe, that the
church will be at but a short distance from the
principal streets of the old town, which are, — Gal-
lowtree Gate, Humberstone Gate, and part of the
Belgrave Gate.

The close in question has been surveyed, and
regular plans, &c. are herewith transmitted to your
Lordships. It ought not, perhaps, to be disguised,
that there are other situations more elevated than
the one described ; but they are, for the most part,
far beyond the scope of the funds subscribed, and,
what is more objectionable, would, if taken, aiford
but a limited accommodation, being too near the
extreme boundaries of the parish.

J. Stockdale Hardy, Secretary.

Leicester^ November 26fh, 1819.

Report to a Meeting of the Subscribers, on
the 18th of January, 1821.

Mr. Stockdale Hardy said, it was his duty,
as Secretary of the District Board, to state to the
meeting the precise situation in which the business
stood. The funds, which had been raised by sub-

240 REPORTS ON THE ERECTION OF

scription, amounted to between I OOOL and 1 1 00/.,
and these would be sufficient to purchase a site for
the Church, and to cover all incidental expenses
up to the present period. In selecting a site, a
central situation, in the new part of the parish of
Saint Margaret, had been the chief object ; and
the one which had been chosen combined certain
requisites laid down by Government, with the ad-
ditional advantage of being prebendal property,
which would enable the District Board to purchase
a much more extensive quantity of land than could
otherwise be obtained for the same price. The
Commissioners had no power to assist in purchasing
sites, except in cases of very particular emergency,
and he felt no hesitation in stating, that the one
which had been taken was perfectly satisfactory
to their Lordships. The extent of parliamentary
assistance and a site having been decided upon,
it remained for the Commissioners to specify what
further funds they would require to be furnished
by local means ; and, to enable them to do this,
plans and estimates of the projected Church were
laid before them, and, after an inspection of these,
the business was brought to the point at which it
then stood. The Commissioners would make a
total grant for the erection of the Church ; but,
before this could be done, there would be about
1 200/. required to be furnished by additional sub-
scriptions. This sum would be wanted for the
fencing of the site — to meet certain contingent
expenses attending the progress of the building —

ST. George's church^ Leicester. 241

and several requisites which would not be included
in the grant of the Commissioners. As the meet-
ing might wish to know the circumstances under
which the church (if erected) would be placed, he
would take the liberty of briefly stating them. The
District Board decided upon a division of the
parish being made, and a church built capable of
holding two thousand persons. Of this number, it
was intended that there should be one thousand
free seats, for the exclusive use of the poor. Dur-
ing the incumbency of the present vicar, the
parish, as to ecclesiastical matters, would remain
the same, and after his death the division of the
parish would take place — but this division would
not in the least aiFect the poor's rates, which would
remain the same as if no such separation had taken
place. After the death of the present incumbent,
the two churches would become distinct vicarages.
In the interim, the new church would be served
by a curate, whose income would arise from pew-
rents, and whose appointment would lay with the
incumbent of the mother church. From this state-
ment it would appear that no additional burthens
would be cast upon the parish with respect to the
new church, and that the Legislature had taken
special care to avoid injuring the private rights of
the existing vicar. He had, however, taken the
liberty, in thus introducing the subject to the at-
tention of the meeting, to make the statement he
had done : this would have been laid before the
subscribers at a much earlier period, had not a

r

242 REPORTS ON THE ERECTION, ETC.

certain protracted parliamentary investigation pre-
vented the Commissioners from meeting, upon the
business of the new churches, until very recently,
and had it not been thought advisable to interfere
as little as possible with some local contributions,
which had, with so much justice, demanded the
attention of the public. He should leave the
business in the hands of the meeting, but was
ready to give any further explanation which might
be thought necessary. He might be allowed to
observe, that, were an additional subscription de-
cided upon, it should be commenced without
delay, as the application to the Commissioners
were very numerous, and in case the requisite
funds were not raised here the grant would pro-
bably go elsewhere. The case of St. Margaret's
was the only one in the county of Leicester, and,
he believed, in the whole extensive diocese of Lin-
coln, likely to receive the assistance of their Lord-
ships, and the subscription which had been raised
was the smallest in respect of which they had made
a total grant. The proceedings of that day would be
laid before the Commissioners at an early oppor-
tunity, but would not, of course, be submitted to
the notice of the public until their Lordships
had made their report to Parliament upon the
subject of their Commission.

EXPOSITION OF THE MOTTO
"LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY!"

BY BRITANNICUS.

IFeb. 1848.]

Behold the motto emblazoned on the tri-
coloured standard of the French Republic ! It is
doubtless the expression of a lofty and ennobling
sentiment — the response of a divine oracle. It
speaks of mysteries which lie deep in the moral
constitution of man. It mutters not an unintelli-
gible jargon from the dust, but soars on wings of
light. It is not composed of cabalistic sounds,
which convey no meaning to the ear, but speaks
the eloquence of natural chords, striking the heart.
It includes a combination of all that is grand in
the hopes and anticipations of man as a social
being, and is an enlarged, generous, and benefi-
cent exposition of all that has ever occupied the
attention of historians, philosophers, and philan-
thropists,— but it is an impossihiliti/ !

It speaks of truth, but conveys a falsehood. It
dazzles as if with heavenly light, but is the glare

R 2

244 EXPOSITION OF THE MOTTO

of an infernal fire. It is a threefold cord which
can never be united in one : it is an union of rea-
son, insanity, and imbecility ; an alliance of wis-
dom, ignorance, and folly. It proposes to exalt
man, but, in reality, casts him down — to ennoble,
but degrades him — to enrich, but impoverishes
him — it demands a liberty which is not human —
an equality which is unnatural — and a fraternity
which has no earthly habitation. It proposes a
social liberty without restraint — a social equality
without distinctions — a social fraternity without
harmony — a liberty to do what is agreeable — an
equality to share what is convenient — and a frater-
nity to dispense with what is troublesome — a
liberty to encroach on other men's rights — an
equality to share in other men's goods — and a
fraternity to despise other men's claims — a liberty
which consigns to thraldom— an equality which
dooms to servitude — and a fraternity which des-
tines to anarchy.

Behold this motto, famous at once and infamous :
a liberty to defy God— an equaUty to share His
judgments — and a fraternity to sympathise with
the apostate. It emblazons a liberty which God
hates — an equality which nature abhors — a frater-
nity which angels weep over ; a liberty which
heaven frowns upon — an equality which the earth
heaves under — and a fraternity which hell triumphs
in. It is a well- conceived motto for the banner
intended to wave over the banquet of passion, the

" LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY ! " 245

feast of the appetites, and the orgies of fanaticism.
Its enactment is a blot on the universe, for it pro-
claims a curse to society, and an opprobrium on
man : a liberty which enchains reason — an equality
which debases the understanding — and a fraternity
which violates the affections. It is, in fine, a con-
federacy against order, an association against pro-
perty, and an union against freedom. It is the
war of labour against money — trade against capital
— poverty against supply, and industry against
employment. In a word, it is the offspring of
selfishness and the plaything of infidelity, and will
find its punishment in the distractions of anarchy,
or in the chains of despotism.

THE COMMENTARY.

The accuracy of this exposition is confirmed by
the accounts which every day reach us from France.
^' Public faith," says the Times, " is tampered with.
Credit is gone. Trade is at a standstill. Every
man with a little money is trying to hide it, or to
run off with it. Every decent-looking citizen is
stopped outside his own town and searched, to
discover whether he has more than 201. about him
— if he has, the surplus is taken from him, and
applied to arming national guards, paying vaga-
bonds who refuse to work, and other such follies.
Mills are everywhere stopped, and the poor work-
people are wandering about in thousands. No
debts can be collected. Bank notes are immedi-

246 EXPOSITION OF THE MOTTO, ETC.

ately depreciated. The depositors in the savings
banks are allowed to draw out 4L in silver, but all
above that sum, whatever it is, they are paid in
comparatively worthless paper. Confiscation by
threats, insecurity, and a well-founded apprehen-
sion of evils to come, constitute the present state
of France, and come home to the door of every
artisan, farmer, and peasant."

BIOGRAPHICAL ESSAYS.

CHARACTER

OF THl

Very Reverend Robert Boucher Nickolls,
LL.B., Dean of Middleham, and Rector of
Stoney Stanton, Leicestershire.

The Very Reverend Robert Boucher Nickolls,
LL.B., died at his rectory-house, Stoney Stanton,
Leicestershire, October II, 1814, in his 72nd year,
when the following biographical notice of him was
given in the Gentleman's Magazine. This gentle-
man, a native of the West Indies, was presented,
in 1779, to the rectory of Stoney Stanton, by the
Earl of Huntingdon ; and, in 1786, to the colle-
giate deanery of Middleham in Yorkshire, by the
Duke of Northumberland, for his services as
Chaplain to the Fifth Regiment of Foot in Ame-
rica, and for his loyalty in that war. He pub-
lished, in 1782, a Discourse preached at Leicester,
May 6, at the visitation of the Archdeacon, from
1 Timothy iv. 1 5, under the title of '^ The general
Objects of Clerical Attention considered, with par-
ticular Reference to the present Times ; " in which
the pecuhar doctrines of Christianity are incul-
cated with great energy, in opposition to the
principles of Hobbism ; and he distinguished
himself honourably, in 1788, by a very humane
pamphlet on the Slave Trade, under the title of
" A Letter to the Treasurer of the Society insti-

250 CHARACTER OF R. B. NICKOLLS, LL.B.

tuted for the purpose of effecting the Abolition of
the Slave Trade.'* — In answer to a request of Mr.
Nichols, to be furnished with a list of his publi-
cations for his " History of Leicestershire," the
good Dean said, " I have done nothing of import-
ance enough to merit notice; and the things I
have published, about half a dozen sermons, and
nearly twenty anonymous tracts, I have set so
little value upon that I have not even kept copies
by me, except of a very few of the printed ones.
The MSS. were left in the hands of the different
printers, and I have not even a list of the titles.
Some of the last things, small pieces, were pub-
lished in the Anti-Jacobin ; one upon the Dissolu-
tion of Parliament — Considerations on the Rejec-
tion of the Catholic Bill, printed at Hinckley, and
inserted by the Anti-Jacobin (not by my desire)
for April, or May, or June, 1 807 ; another on the
Curates' proposed Bill, in the same Review, in one
of those months in the next year, 1 808 ; another?
on the Authenticity of St. Matthew's Gospel, in
answer to Evanson, December 1 808 ; the last,
signed Eusebius, in the same Review for May
1809, on the Growth of Schism in the Church, and
the Means of checking it."

Mr. Nichols was indebted to this gentleman for
some interesting memoirs of the Rev. John Bold,
formerly curate of Stoney Stanton (see " History
of Leicestershire," vol. iv. p. 975.) These Memoirs
have been adoi)ted by Mr. Chalmers in his " Bio-
graphical Dictionary."

DEAN OF MIDDLEHAM. 251

By the death of this worthy Divine, the cause
of true rehgion and of the Church of England
has been deprived of a most valuable friend and
advocate ; and all the poor, with whom he was in
the remotest degree connected, have sustained a
severe loss.

After the appearance of the foregoing biographi-
cal notice in the Gentleman's Magazine, Mr. Stock-
dale Hardy addressed the following letter to the
Editor, which was inserted in the number for
March 1816^ and reprinted, with some additions,
as a Pamphlet in 1819.

Leicester, Fehruary I2th, 1816.

Mr. Urban,

In fulfilment of a promise made to you when
last in town, I shall proceed to enlarge the account
which you have given in vol. lxxxiv. ii. 405, of
the late Very Rev. Robert Boucher Nickolls, LL.B.
Dean of Middleham, &c. &c.

It is much to be regretted, that sufficient mate-
rials for a regular biographic memoir of the la-
mented deceased do not appear to exist ; since,
had they so existed, the public would doubtless
have been favoured with such a memoir frpm an
abler pen than the one which now ventures to
direct the attention of your readers to the shrine
of departed worth.

It would be impossible to delineate a complete
character of the late Dean without occupying too

252 CHARACTER OF R. B. NICKOLLS, LL.B.

large a portion of your columns ; indeed, I shall
not presume to attempt what I know I am utterly
incapable of performing ; and I shall, therefore, in
the present instance, totally confine myself to that
point of view wherein he furnished us with so
striking an example of the union of the sacer-
dotal and citizen characters — an union which in
his person was of great advantage to both Church
and State, and proved him to be an orthodox di-
vine, while it shewed him to be a loyal and active
member of the community.

When that enemy of society and mankind, the
French Revolution, began to disperse its specious
but baneful principles, the Dean was among the
foremost of those truly patriotic citizens who
raised their warning voices in exposing its dan-
gerous tendency and ultimate object ; like The-
mistocles, he preferred " nipping the bud to stem-
ming the torrent," and in the prosecution of his
object he enlisted all his physical and intellectual
powers. In this revolution he read not only a
barefaced attempt upon social order and decorum,
but a direct attack upon Christianity itself. As a
citizen, he repelled the first ; and, as a presbyter,
he defended the Church against the second. The
press teemed with the labours of his pen, while
the pulpit echoed with the sound of his voice;
and when the monster dared to erect its crest
with additional boldness, like a faithful sentinel,
he grappled with it in its very den, refuted the
assertions of its friends on their own data, and en-

DEAN OF MIDDLEHAM. 253

deavoured to bring into public odium those prin-
ciples which, while they spoke "smooth things"
to the face, vere secretly aiming a fatal stab at
the dearest privileges of his country, and the
sacred institutions of his ancestors. Unlike the
general rule, the nearer the object approached
the greater were his apprehensions ; " he feared
more who feared more nearly ;" his exertions
redoubled as the crisis drew on; his "- acts " not his
" tears " spoke for him, and, bursting like a lion
from fetters which naturally bound him, his load
of exertion became light, he cheerfully bore it,
and triumphantly waved the standard of loyalty
and order over the region of disaffection and con-
fusion. Convinced that civil society was of Divine
appointment, and that its various ramifications
were necessary to its due preservation, the Dean
manfully unmasked those flattering, deceptive
insinuations which were thrown out by designing
men, and the object of which was to render the
lower classes of his countrymen discontented with
that station in life which an all-wise Providence
had assigned them.

" There must be wisdom and virtue in the
higher orders of the community," said the Dean
at this eventful period, " to connect and preserve,
to defend and direct, the several parts of the
machine of civil society ; while the patient la-
bours and endeavours of the meanest are equally
requisite, though subservient, to the prosperity
of nations; the foundation of the noblest build-

254 CHARACTER OF R. B. NICKOLLS, LL.B.

ing, though laid deep and low, and composed
of the coarsest materials, has yet the merit of
sustaining the whole work, and is no less essen-
tial to it than the stateliest and most beautiful
pillars."*

No one was better able to expose the fallacy
of the arguments used by the abettors of the
Revolution than the Dean ; " Causa latet, vis
est notissima" was the motto he culled from the
Roman poet ; he knew the texture of the curtain
which hid these pseudo- patriots and their acts
from the light of day — he suffered it to be used
for a certain period, and contented himself with
deUneating the effect of the measures adopted,
leaving their projectors under its protection ; but,
when he had traced these measures to their proper
source, he suddenly rent asunder the flimsy blind,
and obliged those with whom they originated to
stand forward in all their native deformity, as the
enemies of mankind and the abettors of murder
and sedition ; — he shewed those to be tyrants
whose pretended attribute was mercy ; and that to
be a space filled with noxious weeds which it had
been pretended was a garden enriched with fra-
grant flowers — was a second Elysium, where man
might rest free from care, stretch his weary limbs
on beds of roses, and forget, ip the enjoyment of

* See " The Duty of supporting and defending our Country
and Constitution ; a discourse preached in the Collegiate Church
of Middleham, February 10th, 1793, on the prospect of a war."

DEAN OF MIDDLEHAM. 255

present felicity, past suffering and monarchical
tyranny.

The Dean's labours in the above respects were
not in vain ; he had the gratification of knowing
that his addresses and his writings contributed in
several instances to arrest the progress of some
who were preparing to shake hands " with the
abettors of French politics and the vindicators of
French Atheism,"=^ and to recal others, who had
formed so dangerous an union, to a proper sense of
their civil and religious duties. Although his per-
sonal conferences possessed much of Xhefortiter in
re, yet they stood much in need of the suaviter in
mo do I his zeal, however, for the success of the
cause in which he had embarked, and his mani-
fest sincerity in his wishes for the welfare of those
whom he addressed, supplied, in a great measure,
this defect, and induced them to listen to advice
communicated in an earnest, though uncouth form,
but of such a nature as to furnish ample food for
the reflection of the sober hour, and to induce
them to forsake the inauspicious convoy under
which they either had sailed or were preparing
to embark ; — to those who yet retained their scru-
ples as to the propriety of a monarchical govern-
ment, he would apply the observation of Tacitus ;
and, while he told them to remember the many
blessings which they enjoyed under the happy

* See his " Essay on the Principles of French Civism," pub-
lished in 1792.

256 CHARACTER OF R. B.

government of their own country, he would re-
mind them, in the words of that historian, ^'Reipuh-
licm forma, laudare facilius quam evenire ; et si
evenit, hand diuturna esse potest,''

When the memorable question of the Abolition
of the Slave Trade was brought under the consi-
deration of a British Legislature, and before the
view of a British public — when the towering
eloquence of a Pitt supported the persuasive elo-
quence of a Wilberforce in this great cause of
humanity and justice — the Dean was not idle.
The abolition of the above traffic had been an
event which he had fondly cherished the hope of
witnessing ever since his personal observation,
when abroad,^ of the inhumanity of Guinea cap-
tains, and (generally speaking) the avaricious
temperament of West India planters, had con-
vinced him of the unhappy state in which the
African negroes were placed ;-}- torn frequently,
when adults, from their native soil, to serve the
private purposes of others — obliged to be fellow-
labourers with those who had been accustomed to

* The Dean was a native of the West Indies.

t The above is the substance of what he once mentioned to
me in conversation ; probably, however, the Dean entertained
by far too harsh an opinion of the Guinea merchants and West
India planters ; — it is well known that many of the latter were
men possessing the best notions, and of the most humane habits ;
and, with regard to the former, candour com|x;ls us to hope,
that amongst them there were many whose employment had not
so steeled the heart as to render it impervious to the calls of
humanity.

DEAN OF MIDDLEHAM. 257

the occupation from earliest infancy — he com-
miserated these wretched creatures, who were im-
pelled, contrary to nature, to follow an employ-
ment to which they felt no attachment, to the due
performance of which no moral or social ties
urged them, and in which their instructors were
the Creoles, and. their incitement to labour the
fear of chastisement : — yes ! he commiserated
these wretched creatures, who, contrary to all
laws, human or divine, were bound to the obsequi-
ous service of a superior, and not allowed to ques-
tion the justice or rectitude of that superior's
decree. Incapable of union — deprived of that
mental cultivation, as necessary to the mind as
food to the body — he pressed forward to the suc-
cour of victims, held by no human ties but those
of oppression and injustice ! As a freeman of a
nation professing to rank the highest in the scale
of nations, as the supporter of freedom and the
friend of humanity, the Dean felt it his duty to
protest against the continuance of a traffic which
was a stranger to the name of the one, and a daily
violator of the laws of the other ; and, as a pres-
byter of the Christian Church, he felt himself no
less imperiously called upon to raise his voice
against a system at direct variance with the funda-
mental doctrines which she preached — doctrines
which taught men to "love one another," and
which told them that " all things whatsoever we
would that nlen should do unto us, we should do
even so to them." Alike unmoved at the reproach

258 CHARACTER OF R. B. NICKOLLS, LL.B.

of being a religious enthusiast, which was cast
upon him at the one hand, and at the charge of
inconsistency as a favourer of repubUcan princi-
ples, which was alleged against him on the other,
the Dean steadily pursued his object ; telling the
one party, that, if a fellow-feeUng for the sufferings
of fellow-creatures, and a desire of alleviating
those sufferings, could be called religious enthu-
siasm, he acknowledged himself as labouring under
that disorder ;^ and the other, that, if the desire
of civilising a nation rendered unprincipled and
barbarous by intestine commotions, occasioned by
resistance to illegal captures, savoured of revo-
lutionary principles, he was proud in entertaining
them. The endeavours of the Dean to bring the
West India planters to a sense of their true in-
terests were tantamount to those which he used
to impede the progress of infidelity and disaffec-
tion ; reminding them of Nature's laws, of their
illegal use of power, and of their degradation in
the scale of civil society, he exhorted them to
forsake the blandishments of a situation acquired
by unnatural custom ; he exhorted them to bend

* As his reply to the above cavil, I could fancy our lamented
friend adopting the celebrated sentiment of the Roman come-
dian— " Homn surriy humani nihil a me alienum puto " — a sen-
timent which is said to have been received with reiterated plau-
dits by a Roman audience, and which has been handed down to
posterity as one " which speaks with such elegance and simplicity
the language of Nature, and supports the native independence of

DEAN OF MIDDLEHAM. 259

before reproof, to reflect, to lay their hands on
their breasts^ and to fan the embers of humanity
into the flame of African Emancipation — to fan
them into a flame which, while it reflected eternal
honour upon those who cherished it, shewed forth
in its brightest colours and proudest array the
triumph of Christian feeling over interested am-
bition! — Numerous were the journeys which he
took to forward this great cause of national justice
and retribution ; and the value of his services may
be collected from the public vote of thanks with
which he was honoured, from the society that was
formed to assist in accomplishing the great object
which Mr. Wilberforce and his parliamentary as-
sociates had in view.^ The publications on this
subject which owed their appearance to his pro-
lific pen were numerous ; and it is greatly to be
regretted, that our lamented friend never kept an
accurate account of the pamphlets and incidental
tracts which on this, as on other great questions,
he gave to the world. Happily he lived to see the
fruits of his labours in the abolition of this de-
tested traflic — an abolition, produced not by the
blaze of eloquence or the trick of declamation, but
by solid, well-founded conviction, wrought on the
minds of our legislators by a slow, yet sure pro-
gress, and which terminated, as it was certain of
doing, in their '' breaking the bonds " of Afric

* I believe the ever -to-be-remembered Granville Sharpe pre-
sided when the above vote was passed.

s 2

260 CHARACTER OF R B. NICKOLLS, LL.B.

slavery, and " throwing away " from their native
country the stigma with which she had so long
been branded. He regarded the ultimate decision
of the Legislature on this never-to-be-forgotten
question as a triumph, the splendid trophies of
which were borne by those who had been raised
from a state of servile and unlimited dependence
— from a state which threw reason into the shade,
and nipped her " earliest bud " — to one where
liberty presided, reason assisted, and humanity
protected ; — he regarded it also as the approach of
a season of happiness which he had long contem-
plated— he hugged the prosperity of his country
to his breast, and was not " afraid of foreign foes
whilst internal justice guarded her citadel !'*

When the Roman Catholics petitioned our le-
gislators for what was called Catholic Emancipation
— when they boldly asked for a repeal of those
laws which have been justly denominated "the
bulwarks of our constitution" — the Dean was
found at his post. Convinced that a compliance
with the above request would be equivalent to
the extinction of the Protestant ascendancy in
this country, and that it would give the Roman
Catholics political power, while they only pro-
fessed to seek religious freedom, he considered
himself called upon, as a presbyter and a citizen,
to stand in the breach, on behalf of the Protestant
Church and State, to which he belonged; and,
with all his ability, to protect them from the in-
fliction of so mortal a wound as a concession of

DEAN OF MIDDLEHAM. 261

Roraan Catholic Claims could not have failed of
giving them. Perhaps no one, in an historical
point of view, was more competent to argue this
great national question than the Dean ; and,
although it was to be lamented that his zeal
sometimes exceeded his prudence pending the dis-
cussion, yet his firtimess in resisting what he
thought to be wrong, and in supporting what
he conceived to be right, was deserving of uni-
versal admiration. — Believing that the Roman Ca-
thohc Question had never been sufficiently con-
sidered by many who had the Protestant cause
thoroughly at heart, he endeavoured to excite
their attention to it, as a question of the utmost
consequence, and as one upon the decision of
which depended either the maintenance or the
downfall of our civil and religious privileges.
With every respect for the Church of Rome, as a
true branch of the Catholic Church, he did not
hesitate to expose those corruptions which in the
latter periods of ecclesiastical history had crept
into her pale, and robbed her of that purity which
he believed the Church of England had retained.
While he detested the modern Pope, he venerated
the ancient Bishop of Rome, and his opposition
to the claims of the Roman CathoHcs arose from
his dread of the operation of those principles
which teach them to persecute and domineer, in-
stead of to convince and unite.'* The Dean was in

* It is unfortunate for the discussion of the Roman Catholic
Claims, that, unless great care be taken, the party opposing them

262 CHARACTER OF R. B. NICKOLLS, LL.B.

the habit of viewing the Roman Catholic Claims
as a question incapable of being discussed upon
general principles ; he considered it as one preg-
nant with the most important results, inasmuch
as he viewed the concession of the Claims urged
as the first step towards the restoration of a
sacerdotal influence, which had at all times been
inimical to the existence of a civil government —
impatient of contradiction, and indignant at re-
straint. Knowing that it was easier to deal with
a suppliant enemy than with one who had been
placed in a partial situation of defence, the Dean
opposed the concession of any claims ; and, while
he disdained to insult a fallen foe, he did not fail
to remind her of her conduct when in power : he
was aware that '' semper eadem " was still the
maxim of the Roman Catholic Clergy, and that
absolute conformity to the religious opinions of

is very frequently betrayed into the use of expressions which are
calculated to wound the feelings of most honourable and respect-
able characters. It would be absurd to deny, that amongst the
Roman Catholics there is every thing good, great, and noble ;
and this is most sincerely to be regretted, when it is considered,
that those who are otherwise every way calculated to be the or-
naments and pride of their native country, are necessarily ex-
cluded, by the fundamental laws of that country, from directing
her affairs, or assisting at her legislative councils. It would
give me great pain if, in the general observations which I have
above made, I should hurt the feelings of any member of the
Roman Catholic body ; but it would have given me far greater
pain if, to avoid hurting those feelings, I had hoodwinked the
consideration of a great national question.

DEAN OF MIDDLEHAM. 263

the ancient Catholics was their chief glory and
pride. While he sincerely respected many mem-
bers of the Romish Church, he never permitted
that respect to interfere with his duty, or to
impede his acting in opposition to them upon
points wherein he conceived they were completely
ignorant as to the extent their principles would
carry them. He was an admirer of those who
disdained to temporize on this great national
question, and was of opinion that '' the only way
of dealing with it was, to meet — resist — and set it
at defiance at once,"* instead of waiting until
repeated concessions had produced indifference to
any established form of religion, and the question
might have again been raised, whether the cross
or the crescent should be placed on the walls of
Oxford.

In that memorable year (1812), when this
country was placed in so awful and novel a situa-
tion— when the mighty legions of France were
preparing to enter the austere clime of Russia,
and, by a conquest of her vast domains, to pave
the way for a general subjugation of Europe ; then
was it that the Dean so greatly distinguished him-
self in his exertions against the claims of the
Roman Catholics. Though far beyond the me-
ridian of life, and sinking fast into the " vale of

* Vide Sir John Nicholl's speech in the House of Commons on
the 3d Feb. 1812.

264 CHARACTER OF R B. NICKOLLS, LL.B.

years," yet the urgency of the occasion, and the
pecuUarly threatening aspect of public aflfairs,
aroused his yet active spirit, and induced him
once more to enter the " tented field " on behalf of
all that he held dear and sacred upon earth — the
civil and ecclesiastical constitution of his country!
His time, at this moment, was entirely devoted to
the service of this sacred cause, and his labours to
produce a general consideration of the subject
amongst his Protestant countrymen, and to arouse
them from that fatal lethargy into which they
appeared to have fallen, were unremitting;* but
his success in these particulars was by no means
equal to his expectations ; and he was almost going
to sit down in despair— was preparing to write
" Ichabod " on the gates of that Church in which
he had delighted, when the ever memorable Charge
of the Bishop of Lincoln burst upon the 'view of
the public, and carried with it a conviction highly
favourable to the Protestant cause. Happily the
archdeaconry of Leicester was amongst those dis-
tricts which first acted upon this conviction ; and
the Dean was amongst the most active of those
clergymen who assisted in directing its energies.

* I'he tracts, &c. which the Dean wrote and dispersed upon
this, his favourite question, were (I had almost said) innumera-
ble ; at the period above referred to, a week seldom passed
without one of them making its appearance, and his sitting-room
bore a greater resemblance to a compositor's study, than the
apartment of a private clergyman.

DEAN OF MIDDLEHAM. 265

In the month of November, in the above year, a
meeting of the clergy was holden for the purpose
of petitioning the Legislature against any further
concessions being made to the Roman Catholic
body; and early in the month of December a
very spirited and able petition was presented from
them to the Lords by their esteemed diocesan ;
and to the Commons by their county representa-
tives. From this time until the great question
received its decision, the Dean remained in a state
of the most anxious suspense : but when the in-
telligence arrived, that the House of Commons
had virtually rejected the claims, he gave a vent
to his joy, and improved the subject by a very
able discourse, preached a few Sundays after-
wards.

Subsequent to this period, and during the life
of the Dean, no attempts worth noticing were
made by the Roman Catholics to obtain their fa-
vourite object ; notwithstanding this, he bore the
subject in mind ; and it was one of his latest
requests to an intimate friend, never to neglect an
opportunity of calling the public attention to the
point. In a letter written a few weeks previous
to his decease, speaking upon this topic, he re-
marks, that " it may seem improper to introduce
any subject which may have the slightest ten-
dency to provoke discussion, or revive the dis-
putes of former days, at a time when the welcome
appearance of peace has been universally hailed

266 CHARACTER OF R. B. NTCKOLLS, LL.B.

with the most fervent rejoicings by a delighted
people — when the honours of a grateful country
have been heaped upon the heads of returning
victors, and nothing has been heard but the cheer-
ful sound of congratulation ;' — [alluding to the
rejoicings occasioned by the Peace then lately
concluded] — "but," continues the Dean, "when
it is recollected, that our dearest interests may be
materially injured by our silence, and that an
interval of tranquillity may be made use of to lull
our suspicions and destroy our energies, by in-
viting our attention to the ephemeral scenes of
present gaiety, when we should be engaged in
making preparations for the repulsion of a future
attack upon our national liberties ; I hope you will
not consider my present allusion to the Roman
Catholic question as either unseasonable or im-
proper."— The Dean had his request granted, in
not living to see the constitution of his country,
in his opinion, either altered or infringed upon ;
and I am quite sure, Mr. Urban, that I am echo-
ing your sentiments, when, in allusion to that
constitution, I exclaim Esto perpetua !

Until, therefore. Sir, sufficient materials be
found to enable a more powerful pen to rescue
the memory of Dean NickoUs from the wreck of
time, by giving the world a regular memoir of his
life and writings — this sincere but feeble tribute
to that memory may serve to shew posterity
that in his person civil society has lost an able

DEAN OF MIDDLEHAM. 267

advocate, humanity a firm friend, and the consti-
tution of his country a faithful presbyter and
citizen !

The following is the inscription placed on a
monumental tablet in the church of Stoney
Stanton :

Underneath
are deposited the mortal remains of
The Very Reverend
Robert Boucher Nickolls, LL.B.
Dean of Middleham, and
Rector of this parish.
His Christian zeal and extensive learning were shown by nume-
rous publications in Defence of Religion ; and a diffusive charity,
the fruit of his faith, shone forth in his daily example. After a
long life, spent in the service of his Saviour, in whom alone
he trusted for acceptance with God, he was removed by a short
illness to eternal rest,
on the 11th day of October, 1814,
in the 75th year of his age.
This monument was erected by his afflicted surviving Brother,
James Bruce Nickolls, of Alexandria, in Virginia, in grateful
remembrance of his private virtues and public usefulness.
* The memory of the just is blessed,'

MEMOIR

Of the Ven. Thomas Parkinson, D.D., F.R.S.
Archdeacon of Leicester.

[^Published in the Gentleman s Magazine for January 1831.]

On the 13th of November 1830, died at the rec-
tory, Kegworth, Leicestershire, in the 86th year
of his age, the Venerable Thomas Parkinson, D.D.,
F.R.S. , Archdeacon of Leicester, Chancellor of the
Diocese of Chester, a Prebendary of St. PauFs, and
Rector of Kegworth.

Dr. Parkinson was born at Kirkham in the
Fylde, in Lancashire, on the 14th June. 1745. His
father being engaged in pursuits which called him
much from home, he was brought up chiefly under
the guidance of his mother, who was a most affec-
tionate parent, zealously solicitous for the best in-
terests of her family, continually watching over
them, and who ensured and enjoyed, as the reward
of her amiable exertions, the gratitude and love of
her children. Dr. Parkinson was sent at an early
age to the Free Grammar School in Kirkham, where
he received the rudiments of a classical education.
When there he was always considered a youth of
promising talent and great application. Contrary

MEMOIR OF DR. PARKINSON. 269

to the wishes of his father^ he formed an early de-
sire to obtain an university education, and the
opposition which he experienced no doubt delayed
his removal to college beyond the usual period at
which young men were then accustomed to enter
the university. The difficulties, however, which
he had to encounter in this respect were at last
obviated, and at the age of nineteen years he was
entered as a Pensioner at Christ's College, Cam*
bridge.

Mr. Parkinson had trials of no ordinary nature
to undergo when at college ; the same spirit which
opposed his entrance at the university in the first
instance, induced his father to refuse him all pecu-
niary assistance when there. An octogenarian
friend of the subject of our memoir has recently
expressed his belief, that, beyond common neces-
saries, Mr. Parkinson never occasioned his father
to expend more than 20/. in the whole course of
his hfe. He left the school at Kirkham for college
with an exhibition of 34/. per annum.

It was the denial of all pecuniary assistance on
the part of his father which probably compelled
Mr. Parkinson, after engaging closely in the rou-
tine of college studies, to spend much time in
abstruse calculations, and seldom allow himself
more than five or six hours for repose. On the
recommendation of Dr. Shepherd, Plumian Pro-
fessor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy,
(the senior tutor of Christ's College,) he was em-
ployed by the Board of Longitude in the calcula-

270 MEMOIR OF DR. PARKINSON,

tion of tables of the series of parallax and refrac-
tion. He was assisted in this labour by Mr. Lyons,
the author of a treatise on Fluxions. By their
united efforts (the greater portion of the fatigue,
however, devolving upon young Parkinson,) the
volume, a tolerably thick quarto, closely printed,
was completed in two years. At this period it was
highly creditable to the subject of our memoir,
that, although suffering under grievous disadvan-
tages, he annually remitted a sum for distribution
amongst the poor of his native town, and educated
his brother Robert at Emanuel College.

In the outset of life Mr. Parkinson's worldly dis-
appointments were great, and his prospects gloomy.
Independently of receiving no aid from his father
in his college pursuits, he had the mortification of
seeing a property which he had been always taught
to expect would have been his own bestowed else-
where. What would have operated as a severe
affliction upon some, had not that effect upon him ;
he regarded the privation as a mercy, and has been
frequently heard to remark, that, had affluence
smiled upon his early career, indolence would pro-
bably have claimed him for her own.

The time spent in the calculations above referred
to, must have materially impeded his private stu-
dies, preparatory to taking his Bachelor's degree ;
he, however, gained the first mathematical honour
of his year, and that against a competitor of great
reputation in his day as a mathematician. Mr.
Parkinson took his degree of B.A. in January in

ARCHDEACON OF LEICESTER. 2/1

1769, having commenced his residence in college
in October 1765.

On the 25th May 1769 he was ordained Deacon
by Dr. Terrick, then Bishop of London, at Fulham ;
and on the 4th February 1771, Priest, by Dr. Law,
then Bishop of Carlisle, at Cambridge. At the end
of 1773 he succeeded Dr. Law (late Bishop of El-
phin, and brother of the late Lord Chief Justice
Ellenborough,) as one of the Tutors of Christ's
College, and some years after became Senior Tutor
on the retirement of Dr. Shepherd. He officiated
as Moderator in the examination of the young men
for their degrees in the year 1774, when the late
Dr. Milner (Dean of Carhsle and Master of Queen's)
was Senior Wrangler. The other Moderator of
the year was Mr. Kipling, afterwards D D. and Dean
of Peterborough. On the 29th June 1775 he was
presented by the Dean and Chapter of Ely to the
vicarage of Meldreth, in the county of Cambridge.
He served the office of Proctor of the University
in 1786-7.

In 1789 he published a large quarto volume on
Mechanics and Hydrostatics, a branch of practical
mathematics upon which he had thought deeply.
This volume has been frequently and most exten-
sively used as a work of reference.

In the year 1790 he was instituted by Bishop
Pretyman to the rectory of Kegworth, Leicester-
shire, upon the presentation of the Master, Fellows,
and Scholars of Christ's College : and consequently
avoided Meldreth, by cession.

272 MEMOIR OF DR. PARKINSON,

On the 16th April 1794 he was collated by his
contemporary at college, Bishop Pretyman, to the
archdeaconry of Huntingdon. In 1795 he took
his Doctor's degree. For the prebend of Chiswick,
in St. Paul's Cathedral, he was indebted, in 1798,
to the late learned and respected Bishop Porteus ;
and on the 12th October, 1804, Bishop Majendie
conferred upon him the chancellorship of the dio-
cese of Chester. The selection of Dr. Parkinson
for these varied preferments, by three contempo-
rary prelates of the Established Church, was no
small tribute to the excellence of his character and
the extent of his acquirements.

In 1812 Dr. Parkinson resigned the archdea-
conry of Huntingdon, and was collated to that of
Leicester by Bishop Tomline (formerly Pretyman).
Dr. Middleton (afterwards the memorable Bishop
of Calcutta) succeeded Dr. Parkinson as Archdea-
con of Huntingdon.

On Dr. Parkinson's assumption of office as Arch-
deacon of Leicester, he, at the desire of the dio-
cesan, convened a public meeting to take into con-
sideration the best means of educating the children
of the poor, according to the plan of national edu-
cation adopted in the metropolis. A meeting of
the gentry and clergy was accordingly held in the
castle of Leicester, on Thursday the 4th of June
1812, when the subject was introduced by the
Archdeacon in a very elegant and animated ad-
dress. The result was the establishment of an ex-
tensive school in Leicester, upon the Madras sys-

ARCHDEACON OF LEICESTER. 2/3

tern, and which, according to the last printed
report of the secretary and committee under whose
direction it is managed, contained 284 boys and
102 girls, and had educated, from its commence-
ment in 1818, no less than 3,480 children.

In November ] 8 1 2 a requisition, most respect-
ably signed, was sent to the Archdeacon, soliciting
him to convene a meeting of the clergy of his
Archdeaconry, to take into consideration and to
form a petition to Parliament against the Roman
Catholic Claims. The Archdeacon complied with
the requisition, and a meeting was held, at which,
after considerable discussion, a petition drawn up
by Dr. Parkinson was adopted, which was after-
wards presented to both Houses of Parliament.
The Roman Catholic Question was one upon which
the Archdeacon had thought much, and in which
he felt deeply interested. Firmly believing that
no change had taken place in the principles of
the Roman Catholic Church, and that the same
aversion to Protestantism, the same arrogation of
exclusive faith and salvation, and the same deso-
lating system of intolerance, were still upheld at
her altars, which had in former times excited the
just dread, and produced the protecting laws of
our Protestant forefathers, he scrupled not to stand
forward in opposition to any repeal of statutes^ the
maintenance of which he conscientiously believed
to be essential to the very existence of the country
as a Protestant state. The idea of conciliating

T

274 MEMOIR OF DR. PARKINSON,

the great body of the Roman Catholics by con-
cessions he treated as utterly chimerical ; he had
narrowly watched the effects produced by former
concessions, and had found that, instead of giving
satisfaction, and leading to ultimate peace, they
had only produced fresh demands, to be repeated
till nothing was left to be conceded. The chief
ground, however, of Dr. Parkinson's opposition to
the grant of the Roman Catholic Claims was a
dread of exciting the anger of the Deity, and the
consequent outpourings of wrathful judgments
upon the country for relinquishing what he con-
ceived had been, under Divine Providence, the
only means of enabling Britain so long to protect
and cherish the Protestant faith. With respect to
the Roman Catholics as fellow-men and fellow-
subjects, the right hand of friendship was never
withholden by Dr. Parkinson. It was not against
them, but against their principles and their priest-
hood, that he warred.

In August 1813 Archdeacon Parkinson presided
at a meeting held at Leicester, when a Society was
formed for the County of Leicester in aid of the
London Society for promoting Christian Know-
ledge. He also took an active part in the esta-
blishment of Savings Banks within his jurisdiction.
He interested himself very warmly in the erection
of an episcopal chapel on the newly-inclosed forest
of Charnwood, and on Sunday the 18th June 1815
(the very day, and at the very hour, the battle of

ARCHDEACON OF LEICESTER. '275

Waterloo was raging in full fury,) a very commo-
dious chapel ^ was consecrated by Bishop Tomline,
for the use of the inhabitants of the immediate
district. A sermon was preached on the occasion
by Mr. (now Dr.) Bayley, then Sub-Dean of Lin-
coln, now Archdeacon of Stow and Prebendary of
Westminster. In 1818 a District Board was
formed for the Archdeaconry of Leicester^ at the
request of his Majesty's Commissioners for Build-
ing New Churches. The Archdeacon was ap-
pointed Chairman of the Board, and through its
agency an elegant Gothic church, capable of con-
taining 2000 persons, was erected in the parish of
St. Margaret, Leicester.-}^ Dr. Parkinson never
omitted attendance at the Board when his health
permitted, was a liberal subscriber to the fund for
purchasing and fencing the site of the church,
and, during the entire progress of the undertaking,
evinced the liveliest anxiety for the completion of
the object in view.

During Dr. Parkinson's incumbency of the Arch-
deaconry of Leicester several other petitions were
presented to Parliament from the clergy of Lei-
cestershire, against the concession of the Roman
Catholic Claims. Some of these were warmly
attacked in the House of Commons by Sir James
Mackintosh, Mr. Barham, and others. On one
occasion Mr. Legh Keck, M.P. for Leicestershire,

* See an engraving of the Chapel in the Gentleman's Maga-
zine for 1815, vol. Ixxxv. part i. p. 209.
t St. George's : see before, p. 275.

T 2

276 MEMOIR OF DR. PARKINSON,

spoke at considerable length, and with great spirit,
in defence of the course pursued by his clerical
constituents. It was in 1825 that the Archdeacon
once more furnished a petition which, with some
alterations, was adopted and presented. This peti-
tion was rather singular in point of form. One of
the reasons it assigned why the claims should not
be granted had reference to the Archdeacon's
dread of the dispensations of Divine Providence.
This part of the petition was commented upon
with great severity by Lord King in the House of
Peers. The Archdeacon was gratified at the notice
bestowed on the passage, and frequently declared
that, unless a similar view of the subject was in-
troduced into a petition having reference to the
Roman Catholic Question, and emanating from a
body of Protestant clergy, he should feel no
pleasure in affixing his signature.

Subsequently to 1825 the infirmities of age
pressed so heavily upon Dr. Parkinson that his
journeys never exceeded a few miles from home.
His intellects were, however, unimpaired, and he
was remarkably punctual in replying to any com-
munications which were addressed to him. The
loss of some early associates deeply affected him,
and he was not an inattentive observer of what
was passing in the world around him. Occur-
rences which took place there seriously agitated
him, and while as a loyal subject he bowed with
the utmost submission to the decisions arrived at
by the Legislature on some vitally important ques-

ARCHDEACON OF LEICESTER. 2/7

tions, he deeply lamented the fatal errors into
which he conceived that Legislature had fallen,
and trembled for the consequences. He had been
visibly declining for about a year previous to his
death. The natural vigour of his constitution,
hov^ever, enabled him sometimes to rally in such a
manner as to excite hopes in the breasts of his
friends that he might be spared to them for some
time longer. These hopes were completely dis-
sipated for a month or six weeks previous to his
death ; his appetite had failed him, his rest had
become disturbed, and it was clear that, without
some material change for the better, he could not
long sustain the unequal combat. The trying
scene was now rapidly approaching, and for the
last week or ten days of his life he took scarcely
any nourishment. He waited in patience the close
of his mortal career, and his ''end," like his "life,"
was marked by "peace." He merely ceased to
breathe when the body and spirit parted — not
even a sigh escaped him at the awful moment !

He was interred in the chancel of Kegworth
church, on Saturday the 20th November, 1830,
amidst the deep regrets of a numerous circle of
friends, and the heartfelt sympathies of the village
poor, who attended in great numbers on the me-
lancholy occasion.

The character of Dr. Parkinson may be com-
prised in a few words. His disposition was mild,
obliging, patient, humble, and serious ; his habits
were temperate ; benevolence was a leading feature

278 MEMOIR OF DR.

in his composition, and had manifested itself in
beautiful operation through every stage of his life.
His perception of what was agreeable and what
painful to others was remarkably acute, and (when
duty did not interfere) he was extremely cautious
of wounding the feelings of those with whom he
had to hold intercourse. Truly might it be said,
that he participated in the joys and entered into
the griefs of all around him. The attachment of
his pupils to him was strong and permanent, and
evinced itself in various instances. Indeed it was
impossible to know him thoroughly and not feel
the liveliest regard for him. The honours which
he had gained at college, and the rewards which
resulted from his literary career, enabled and
induced him to extend his sphere of usefulness to
his relatives, and to redouble his exertions on
behalf of the friends above whom success had far
placed him ; he had not so " drunk of the world"
as to be intoxicated with the alluring potion. The
contributions of the Archdeacon to charitable in-
stitutions were very large and numerous, and
splendid were his acts of private beneficence.
Although in the receipt of a large income, and
living at a moderate expense in comparison with
it, the small property he has left behind him
speaks volumes as to the extent of his liberality.
There was, undoubtedly, a great want of discrimi-
nation with respect to the objects to which his
bounty was bestowed. Distress, in whatever shape
it presented itself, was almost certain of being

ARCHDEACON OF LEICESTER. 279

relieved by him The conviction that a fellow-
creature was undone, or in want, was a sufficient
passport to his heart.

" Here did soft charity repair,
To break the bonds of grief,
To smooth the flinty couch of care,
And bring to helpless man relief !"

To his servants he was a considerate and indul-
gent master, an adviser and benefactor in seasons
of difficulty, and a protector when any attempts at
either imposition or oppression were made upon
them.

Dr. Parkinson was about the middle stature ; his
countenance bland and ingenuous ; his eye keen
and piercing, and strongly demonstrative of the
active and fertile mind which reigned within. On
a first interview, something bordering on austerity
might have occurred to a party as existing in the
Doctor's composition ; but this almost instantly
disappeared, and his natural suavity of demeanour
evinced itself. His disposition to think well of
others sometimes produced a want of firmness
when decision was desirable, and punishment
highly necessary. This failing, however, princi-
pally betrayed itself in cases attended with either
palliative or highly afflictive circumstances, which
called into exercise the amiable qualities we have
been feebly attempting to delineate.

The publications of the Archdeacon were not
numerous. In addition to those I have mentioned,
he printed " The Duties and QuaHfications of the

280 MEMOIR OF DR. PARKINSON.

Christian Minister," a sermon preached in Chester
Cathedral on the 20th Sept. 1801; "What is
Truth ?" a sermon preached in the same cathedral
on occasion of a General Ordination, 29th Sept.
1816; "A Charge delivered to the Clergy of the
Archdeaconry of Leicester, A.D. 1822. I believe
there were several other occasional Charges and
Sermons published by Dr. Parkinson, but I have
neither the titles of them, nor any means of ascer-
taining their dates.

J. S. H.

LITERARY AND MISCELLANEOUS

ESSAYS.

ON THE AUTHORSHIP OF

"THE BEGGAR'S PETITION."

To the Editor of the Gentleman! s Magazine.

Leicester^ August 3, 1 809.

Mr. Urban,

I DO not know of a piece which has met with
more popularity than the well-known and pathetic
production entitled " The Beggar's Petition ;" but
it is extremely singular that two competitors should
claim the distinction of being its author ! This is
a circumstance which has seldom occurred in the
literary world, and several gentlemen have felt
themselves quite at a loss to account for its origin ;
it has given rise to various conjectures, and some
have expressed their surprise that a poem so
familiar to every reader of taste should thus
remain apparently unappropriated.

In the " Universal Magazine " of April last, a
question was proposed relative to the subject, by a
London Correspondent, who wished to know
whether Dr. Joshua Webster was the author of
the piece to which I allude, or the Rev. Mr. Moss ;
as the former was stated to possess that honour in
a preceding number.

I happened to take up accidentally, very shortly

284 ON THE AUTHORSHIP OF

after the perusal of this query, one of your Maga-
zines for the year 1799, and I there found a
communication dated from " Chelsea,"* which
affirmed that the Doctor was actually the com-
poser of the affecting lines in question, and that
they were written at St, AlharCs in the year
1764.-^ These assertions were ably contradicted

* This was the place where the Doctor was stated to reside,
and it is rather extraordinary that the letter inserted in the
" Universal Magazine " of December 1807, should be couched
nearly in the identical words which were made use of by your
Chelsea Correspondent at this time.

t Mr. Urban, Chelsea, Oct, 24, 1799.

I DO myself a pleasure in sending you some account of a well-
known and much admired poem, entitled " The Beggar's Petition."

This very pleasing and pathetic poem is the production of Dr.
Joshua Webster, M.D., and was written at St. Alban's in the year
1764. It refers to an aged mendicant named Kinderley, or
Kinder, who had once lived on his little paternal estate near
Potter's Cross, between St. Alban's and Berkhampstead, in Hert-
fordshire, and was for many years a farmer in decent circum-
stances. His ruin was occasioned by the artifices of what Pope calls
a " vile attorney ;" yet, at the time of the above elegant compo-
sition, he had dragged on a sorrowful existence to the great age of
83, and he continued to live some years after. The ingenious
author of the stanzas is now (in 1799) resident in Chelsea, and,
like his subject, is far advanced in years ; animi autem maturtu
Alethes, crudce viridisque senectus.

Dr. Webster has a drawing of Kinderley in water-colours,
representing him as begging at the door of a cottage or farm-house,
designed by the Doctor himself, and to which he has affixed the
beautiful lines in MS.

That justly celebrated picture of " The Woodman," painted by
Gainsborough, from which an admirable print has been engraved

" THE beggar's petition." 285

by another Correspondent in your publication for
the ensuing month, who proved, beyond all possi-
bility of doubt, that the Rev. Thomas Moss, minis-
ter of Brierly Hill, and of Trentham in Stafford-
shire, was the genuine author, and described the
time when he wrote them, the person to whom he
sold the MS., together with several other important
particulars relevant to their composition.^ No

by Simon, was done from a hale woodcutter, who worked for Dr.
Webster at Chigwell Row, in the parish of Chigwell, Essex.

In early life Dr. Webster was very intimately and professionally
connected with Dr. Nathaniel Cotton, of St. Alban's, author of
*' Visions in Verse for younger Minds ;" and of a variety of other
pieces, which are highly esteemed. B^*:^.

* Mr. Urban, Jan. 12, 1800.

In vol. LXIX. p. 1014, I find it positively asserted, by an
anonymous writer, in a letter dated from Chelsea, that Dr.
Joshua Webster, M.D. is the author of the poem which has been
generally, though not at its first publication, entitled " The
Beggar s Petition,'' and so circumstantial is the account which he
gives, both in regard to time, to places, and to names, that his
opinion, as a prima facie evidence, would almost induce an unin-
formed person to believe it authentic and decisive. But, if we
examine the letter of this writer a little more minutely, it will
appear that the only reason on which he grounds his assertion is,
that Dr. Webster has in his possession a drawing, in water-colours,
of an aged mendicant, with the said poem affixed to it in manu-
script : which, it must be confessed, is a very curious reason for a
very curious assertion, because, for the very same reason, the
tendency of his letter would have been as applicable to twenty
other persons as to Dr. Webster. But the truth is, that Dr.
Webster had not the least concern in the composition of that little
poem ; and, whatever may be its merits, or whatever honour may
on that account attach to the real author of it, I can confidently

286 ON THE AUTHORSHIP OF

answer was given to these allegations by the
" Chelsea Correspondent,'* and they remained
totally unnoticed — no refutation of them

BEING ADDUCED, AS I CAN DISCOVER!!!

affirm that it is the entire production of the Rev. Thomas Moss,
minister of Brierly Hill, and of Trentham in Staffordshire ; and I
have his authority further to say, that he wrote it at about the age
of twenty-three, that he sold the manuscript of that, and of several
others, to Mr. Smart, printer, in Wolverhampton, who, from the
dread which Mr. Moss had of criticism, was to publish them on
this condition, that only twenty copies should have his name
annexed to them, that these copies should be presented to his
relations and friends, and that they may now, if thought necessary,
be seen at any time.

I think it proper, however, here to observe, that the poem, as
printed by Dr. Enfield in his Speaker, and from which most of
the copies in circulation are literally taken, is in some respects
different from the original, and I know that the author did not
think himself obliged to Dr. Enfield for the alterations he had
made in it. Thus for example : the author simply denominated
his poem The Beggar^ and not The Beggars Petition^ and he
added to it this motto.

-inopemque paterni

Et laris et fundi

Hor.

The author used the expression stream of tears, and not flood
of tears, which, in his opinion, is not only less harmonious, but
absolutely improper, because it is said before,

And many a furrow in my grief-worn cheek
Has been the channel to a stream of tears.

And it is well known that fioods do not flow in channels^ though
the same cannot be said of streams ; but, besides this, the altera-
tion of stream into flood does, as it seems to the author, entirely
destroy the beauty of the sentiment, because the word flood implies
that the beggar's grief arose merely from a sudden impulse, as a

'' THE beggar's petition." 287

Now, Mr. Urban, I wish to know, through the
medium of your respectable columns, what Dr.
Webster has to say in his own defence against the
charge of plagiarism which he has already been
accused of, on account of his remarkable behaviour
in this transaction, for the most convincing and
indisputable evidence must be brought forward
on his part before the opinion which the public
have formed of the affair will be effectually eradi-
cated. I assure you that I should peruse nothing
with more pleasure than a satisfactory vindication
of the Doctor's conduct; and I trust that this

flood arises from a sudden shower, and soon subsides; but the
word stream implies that his grief was silent and lasting. The
author wrote,

Here, craving for a morsel of their bread ;
which he thinks runs smoother than, as Dr. Enfield expresses it,
Here as I crav'd a morsel of their bread.
The author wrote,

A pamper'd menial ^brc' J me from the door;

but the word drove, as used by Dr. Enfield, is a downright vul-
garism, and carries with it the horrid idea that the beggar was .
treated with some kind of severity.
The last alteration is, instead of

Should I reveal the source of every grief,
Dr. Enfield says,

Should I reveal the sources of my grief.
But whether this is any real improvement to the line, I must leave
to those who are better judges than myself to determine. If any
further information should be thought necessary for the conviction
of your correspondent, it may be had from the Rev. Tho. Moss'
minister of Trentham. Yours, &c.

^8 ON THE AUTHORSHIP OF

address will call forth a reply from him or some of
his friends ; but if he and they are determined to
" shelter themselves in silence," his guilt will be
considered as sufficiently proved, and I shall be
prompted to entertain an unfavourable estimate of
a character which may be highly respectable.

J. S. Hardy.

In the same volume of the Gentlemairs Magazine, at p.
1187, is a letter from Mr. Joseph Smart, stating that the Rev.
Thomas Moss's poems were " printed at Wolverhampton by my
father, George Smart, in the year 1769, under the title of * Poems
on various Occasions,* but without the author's name ; having, as
publishers in London, the respectable names of Mr. T. Longman,
Paternoster-row, and Mr. R. Dodsley, Pall Mall. The latter
gentleman thought so well of the poem called The Beggar, as to
introduce it into the poetical department of the Annual Register,
published shortly after ; and from thence it was copied into most
of the periodical publications of that time : if I am not very much
mistaken, into your own, Sir, though I cannot positively assert it.*

" Mr. Dodsley's extensive knowledge of poetical composition will
not be doubted ; and his paying such honour to this piece is, in
my opinion, a convincing proof of its originality. It was after-
wards introduced in Enfield's Speaker as anonymous ; but in later
editions with the name of Moss ; and few, if any, poetical selec-
tions from the period of its publication by my father have been
without it. That it ever appeared in print before, I believe, is not
in the power of any one to prove.

" These circumstances alone are, I conceive, sufficient to entitle
the late Rev. Thomas Moss to whatever praise the poem of The
Beggar merits ; nor can I think its superiority to the others that

* It is inserted in the Gentleman's Magazine, vol. Ixi. p. 820 ;
but that was not until the year 1791. A Latin version, signed
E. T. D. is printed in the Magazine for 1798, vol. Ixviii. pp. 331,
426— Edit.

289

accompanied it any real ground for suggesting the contrary. I
believe it is generally acknowledged that Fielding never equalled
his Tom Jones, nor Smollet his Roderick Random.

I have a perfect recollection of Mr. Moss calling upon my
father with the copy of his poems, and can aver that they were all
of the same handwriting ; and that, with respect to The Beggar, a
small alteration then took place. The last line of the first verse
was written " And Heaven shall bless your store." After a short
conversation between them, shall was changed to will.

In 1824 Mr. Stockdale Hardy returned to this subject in the
following letter : —

Mr. Urban, Leicester, August 9, 1824.

It is very singular that such contradictory
statements should have been made with respect to
the author of the well-known and pathetic poem
entitled ^' The Beggar s Petition." During the last
twenty or thirty years the lines in question have
been several times attributed to a Dr. Webster of
Chelsea, while on the other hand the claim of the
Rev. Thomas Moss * to them has been repeatedly
and distinctly asserted. In 1809 I took part in a
correspondence upon the subject, which was car-
ried on through the medium of your publication,
and which it was conceived had fully settled the
point in favour of Mr. Moss ; the pretensions,
however, of Dr. Webster having been again brought
forward by a correspondent in the "Monthly
Magazine," it may perhaps assist the investigation

* Late Minister of Brierly-hill and of Trentham in Stafford-
shire, where he died in 1808.

U

290 ON THE AUTHORSHIP OF

to recapitulate what has appeared in your pages
upon the subject.

So long back as the year 1799 (during Mr.
Moss's life time) Dr. Webster was represented as
the author of " The Beggar," and it was stated in
a communication dated from " Chelsea/' and ad-
dressed to yourself, that " he wrote it at St.
Alban's in or about 1764, and that it referred to an
aged mendicant named Kinderley or Kinder, who
then resided near that place " (vide vol. Ixix. p.
1014). The Doctor's title was forcibly disputed
by a Correspondent in a subsequent Magazine
(vide vol. Ixx. pp. 40-41), who stated some very
strong facts in support of Mr. Moss's claim to the
poem. No reply to this gentleman appears to
have been made, and thus matters remained (as
far as I am aware) until December 1 807, when a
letter, couched nearly in the identical words made
use of by your Chelsea Correspondent in 1799,
appeared in the " Universal Magazine," and which
of course asserted Dr. Webster to be the author of
" The Beggar." In April 1 809, a Correspondent
in the same Magazine renewed the inquiry, and
in reply to him I addressed a letter to the editor,
inclosing copies of the two letters which had ap-
peared in your Magazine in 1 799, and these, with
my communication, were inserted in the ** Uni-
versal Magazine" for May 1809. The matter
being brought to this point, it was thought ad-
visable by some literary gentlemen that the ques-
tion should be then set at rest ; and accordingly,

291

in your Magazine for Aug. 1809 (vol. Ixxix. pp.
726-727), Dr. Webster was distinctly called on to
substantiate his pretensions. No answer to this
appeal was given either by the Doctor or his
friends, and after some further correspondence on
the subject, Mr. J. Smart, of London, addressed a
letter to you, which appeared conclusive. In this
letter (vide Suppl. vol. Ixxix. pt. ii. p. 1187j Mr.
Smart asserted the exclusive claim of Mr. Moss to
the lines in question, in the most positive manner.
He stated himself to be the son of the gentleman
who first printed the poem, and that he was
present when Mr. Moss delivered the MS. to his
father for publication, at which time a verbal
alteration was made in the last line of the first
verse. Mr. Moss had written it " And Heaven
shall bless your store ;" after a short conversation
between Mr. Moss and Mr. Smart, sen. the word
'^ shair' was changed to '^ will.''

Nothing further appears to have transpired on
the subject since 1809, until the re-assertion of Dr.
Webster's claim recently made in the " Monthly
Magazine." It is, indeed, most extraordinary that
the claim of the Doctor to the beautiful and affect-
ing lines alluded to should be thus periodically
asserted, and that the assertion should invariably
give rise to a counter-claim on the part of Mr.
Moss, which is no sooner made than tacitly ad-
mitted. This is a circumstance which has seldom
occurred in the literary world, probably never with

u 2

292 "the beggar's petition."

the peculiarities attending it in the present in-
stance.

Yours, &c. J. Stockdale Hardy.

In the Magazine for October following another writer made
these further remarks : —

Mr. Urban, Sept. 27, 1824.

That a question, supposed to be at rest, should be revived at
stated intervals, is, as your excellent Correspondent observes,
" most extraordinary." Surely there can be no need of further
witness, or myself QOuXdi testify, that upwards of thirty years ago,
and when an undergraduate of Worcester College, Mr. Moss
favoured me with a visit ; and the conversation happening to take
that turn, he distinctly avowed himself to he the author of the
lines in question (" The Beggar's Petition "), and proceeded to
rehearse them in my hearing. I think he also added, " that some
one had endeavoured to deprive him of this child, &c. tulit alter
honor em^' or something to that effect ; and that " he regretted he
had sent it forth anonymously." Of these last particulars I am
not so sure, but of the former I am positive ; and, though at this
distance of time, both his manner and remarks (for they were
somewhat peculiar) are still comparatively fresh in my recollection.

In consequence (and before I. had heard or read a syllable of
controversy on the subject), I erased the word " Anon." affixed to
this poem in my copy of " Elegant Extracts," and inserted the
name of Moss^ nor do I conceive it possible that 1 should alter it
to that of Webster; for however an author may be allowed to
demur or even to mystify an inquirer, as to the owning or denying
any anonymous production, no man, one would hope, of literary^
much less of moral character, would deliberately claim what
himself has never written. W.

293

ON THE PUBLICATION OF BANNS.
[^Published in the Gentleman^ s Magazine,^

Leicester, Feb. 11, 1810.

Mr. Urban,

A LATE assertion, relative to the Publication of
Banns, &c. having occasioned a considerable de-
gree of surprise amongst the Clergy, I trust the
subject to which it more particularly refers wiU
experience that portion of attention which its mag-
nitude imperiously demands.

The letter ^ of " Senior " afforded me no small
share of amusement ; but, as several of our most
eminent ecclesiastical lawyers have been divided
in opinion upon the point in question, I am in-
clined to think that it is of more consequence than
this respectable gentleman apprehends; and I
therefore flatter myself that your legal correspond-
ents will favour us with some remarks upon it.

The questions which naturally present them-
selves, upon a review of the matter in dispute, are
the following :

I. Whether or no, the assertion is authorised by
the Act of the 26th of Geo. XL ?

II. If it is not so authorised, whether or no it
receives the sanction of any Constitution or
Ecclesiastical Canon, which was made prior
to the above-mentioned statute, and not abi^o-
gated by it ?

* In the Gentleman's Magazine, vol, lxxix. p. 1213.

294 ON THE PUBLICATION OF BANNS.

There is an article in Archbishop Parker's
Table of Prohibited Degrees, published in the
year 1563, which favours the assertion alluded
to : but I rather think that the mandates issued
by this prelate have not the ybrc^ of a Canon : they
are described by Doctors Gibson, Grey, Bum, and
other ecclesiastical writers, as being *^ set forth by
authority," but I cannot find that they were rati-
fied by virtue of the Great Seal, or agreed upon in
Convocation. Some of your readers will perhaps
be able to satify me upon this point ; as, if they
have the force of a Canon, they are binding upon
the Clergy, although not upon the Laity ; if, on
the contrary, they do not possess such a power, I
should suppose that no Court of Judicature would
choose to pronounce a sentence which rested its
validity upon them.

Indulging the hope of seeing the preceding
queries noticed, I remain.

Yours, &c. J. S. Hardy.

ON THE WANT OF PAROCHIAL CHAPELS.

[^Published in the Gentleman s Magazine."]

Leicester i August 13, 1810.

Mr. Urban,
I PERUSED the letter * of your respectable cor-

♦ These remarks were as follow :

Mr. Urban, June 4, 1810.

Every friend to religion, and consequently to the best interests

ON THE WANT OF PAROCHIAL CHAPELS. 295

respondent S. E. with sentiments of admiration
and delight ; and I hope that, ere long, the formi-
dable evil of which he complains will be effectually

of society, cannot but observe with the deepest regret that in seve-
ral inclosures of extensive fens and commons, which have of late
taken place, the holy claims of Christianity have been swallowed
up and lost in the overwhelming flood of self-interest. A large
tract of common has been lately inclosed in the neighbourhood of
Spalding in Lincolnshire ; and I think the Commissioners richly
deserve the thanks of their country for carrying into execution a
plan of great national benefit. But it is much to be lamented
that care was not taken for the erection and endowment of Cha-
pels of Ease to Parochial Churches, which, in my humble opinion,
were requisite even before the time of the inclosure. How much
more necessary, therefore, are they now, when several thousand
acres of land, before uncultivated and bare, are brought into a
state of tillage, and already begin to be built upon and inhabited ?

What advocate in the cause of true piety and good morals can
travel from Spalding to Deeping,* a distance of nearly twelve miles,
without feeling mingled emotions of sorrow and indignation, at
not meeting with a single Church or Chapel of the Estabhsh-
ment ?

I cannot forbear adding, so extensive are some of the parishes

* This defect has now been partially remedied by the erection
of the church of St. Nicholas, Deeping Fen, which was consecrated
in 1846, (see the Gentleman's Magazine, New Series, vol. xxvi.
p. 526,) but there are still large tracts of land in the counties of
Cambridge and Huntingdon as destitute of sound religious instruc-
tion in 1850 as they were in 1810. They are penetratedonly by
itinerant preachers of the least educated class : but it is a remark-
able fact, that a neat Wesleyan chapel, which had just been erected
near the site of the new church of St. Nicholas, was relinquished
in a good spirit to form a church school. — Edit.

296 ON THE WANT OF PAROCHIAL CHAPELS.

removed. I am astonished that it has not earlier
met with the attention of the Legislature, as it is
a point of the greatest magnitude : there can be
no doubt but that the most pernicious effects have
been already produced by it ; and if we look around
us, and remark the apathy which is frequently
manifested with respect to the welfare of the Esta-
blishment, or take a view of the numerous sects of
Dissenters which have emanated amongst us, we
may, in some measure, trace the origin of these
and similar evils to the want of those chapels, the
erection of which your correspondent has shewn
to be so absolutely necessary.

Many and cogent are the reasons which might
be adduced in favour of the erection of Parochial
Chapels : they are indispensably necessary in

bordering on these newly-inclosed fens, and so scattered the habi-
tations, that even now (" tell it not in Gath I ") hundreds of the
villagers live as if they were without churches and ministers, with-
out a God to worship or a soul to save ; and scarcely ever enter
into a place of any denomination dedicated to the service of Reli-
gion from one year's end to another, except it be to attend a wed-
ding, a christening, or a funeral !

It is real cause of grief and alarm to think how much these
serious evils will be increased when the boundaries of the parishes
are so greatly enlarged. And the Legislators of this kingdom,
whose high and responsible office it is to watch over the interests
both of Church and State, are imperiously called upon by every
motive, whether drawn from a sense of religion or from policy, to
follow the bright example of Queen Anne, of pious memory, and
to take care that the erection and endowment of Churches and
Chnpels keep pace with the increasing population of the country.

S. E.

ON THE WANT OF PAROCHIAL CHAPELS. 297

large and extensive parishes, in whatever light
they are considered : the Minister derives essential
benefit from them ; as, by their assistance, he is
enabled to execute the divine offices with greater
ease to himself, and more to the satisfaction of the
parishioners ; the inhabitants participate in the
good effects which result from them, as they give
them an opportunity of attending divine service
with more convenience than they formerly could ;
the cause of religion also derives a considerable
degree of support from them, as they prevent the
parishioners from absenting themselves from pub-
lic worship, under those vague and frivolous pleas
which they frequently urge when the Church is at
a considerable distance from their houses. Various
other arguments might be brought forward in sup-
port of these chapels ; but I feel that, if I were to
make use of any more than I have already done,
I should be insulting the good sense and percep-
tion of your numerous readers — the utility of these
edifices being so palpably obvious.

I rejoice that the subject has been recently taken
up by a nobleman, than whom no one, perhaps, is
more competent to do it justice ; and I flatter my-
self that, before another session of Parliament
closes, something effectual will be done by the
Legislature.

Yours, &c. J. Stockdale Hardy.

298

ON A PLAN FOR IMPROVING THE CONDITION
OF THE CLERGY.

[^Published in the Gentleman s Magazine.']

Leicester, Oct. 5, 1810.

Mr. Urban,

I AM extremely glad that several important sub-
jects, nearly connected with the Ecclesiastical Esta-
blishment of the Country, have become the topics
of public discussion in your Miscellany, as the
communications of your correspondents may do
considerable good ; and, by reason of the extensive
circulation of your publication, be rendered emi-
nently serviceable to the projects of those noble-
men and members of the Legislature whose senti-
ments upon these important points are in unison
with those of your able contributors.

*^ A Country Rector " called the attention of
your readers to these momentous considerations ;
and I rejoice that his letter was not suffered to lie
dormant. I rejoice that the hints which he threw
out were not disregarded, and 1 think that he de-
serves the thanks of the public in general, and of
your readers in particular, for his conduct. The
reform which this Rev. Gentleman has proposed to
be made in our Ecclesiastical Government would,
if practicable, be an excellent one ; but I very much
doubt whether it could be carried into effect in all
its parts, without making too great an innovation

ON THE CONDITION OF THE CLERGY. 299

upon the present system.''^ I am not one of those
who think that^ because a certain system or plan
has been in use for time immemorial^ it should
not be changed for a better, provided such an one
could be devised ; but I am afraid lest, by disturb-
ing the old fabric, we should bring more of it
down than we intend, and that, if we begin to
make a great repair, we shall be obliged to prose-
cute it much further than we at first intended.

The first and fourth propositions of your corre-
spondent would, in my humble opinion, be very
difficult to carry into execution, and could not be
rendered of any essential use without a consider-
able alteration in our Statute Laws : these propo-
sitions are extremely good, provided their sugges-

* The Plan of " A Country Rector," published in the Gentle-
man's Magazine for July 1810, comprises the following propo-
sitions : —

1. All livings to be raised to 130^. per annum (were I to say
20 0^, it is but a bare competency for the times) by a grant from
the Crown.

2. A Resident Clergyman in every parish, with service twice on
a Sunday.

3. A further grant, or a fund established by subscription, for
the building, repairing, or purchasing houses in those parishes
which have not already a habitable residence for a clergyman.

4. Where a Curate is employed, a stipend of 100/. per annum
to be allowed him.

5. The commutation of tithes for land (the only means of
conciliating the minds of the farmers, and averting their hatred
from the clergy).

6. Care to be taken that the churches are kept in a decent and
comfortable state of reparation.

300 ON A PLAN FOR IMPROVING

tions could be adopted ; and the present Ministry
(the members of which have on several occasions
evinced a praisev^orthy regard for the welfare of
the indigent clergy,) will, most probably, do every
thing which lays in their power to introduce either
your correspondent's regulations, or else some
other of the same nature, to the notice of Parlia-
ment.

It seems to me, that the first part of the second
proposition of your correspondent is rendered un-
necessary on account of the ability of the existing
laws to remedy the evil : the Act of Sir William
Scott (43 Geo. III. c. 84) was intended to enforce
the residence mentioned by your correspondent ;
and, although it has partially failed in its design,
yet, if it were strictly enforced, it would, in all
probability, be found sufficient to answer the pur-
poses which its highly-esteemed projector intended
it should; indeed it would bear extremely hard
upon the beneficed clergy if the laws relative to
clerical residence were rigorously put into execu-
tion, or rendered more minute than they at pre-
sent are.

The third suggestion of this Rev. Gentleman has
not been overlooked by our Legislators ; the Acts
of the 17th Geo. TIL c. 5, and of the 43rd Geo. III.
c. 108, were made to assist the Clergy in the erec-
tion and reparation of parsonage- houses, &c. ; and,
by taking away some of the difficulties which the
Statute of Mortmain produced, to excite the gene-
rous to lend a heljnng hand in so laudable an un-

THE CONDITION OF THE CLERGY. 301

dertaking. But^ notwithstanding these Acts, some-
thing more is certainly required with regard
to this particular, especially when the emoluments
of benefices are trivial, and the parsonage-houses,
&c. in a bad state, or when there are none ; in
such cases as these, the proposal of your corre-
spondent might be useful ; but it must be admitted
under certain restrictions, as in cases where the
profits of benefices are sufficient to erect, repair,
or rebuild the parson age -houses, &c. which are
either gone to decay or extremely dilapidated.

In the fifth proposition of your respectable con-
tributor, I think every friend to our most excellent
Establishment will perfectly coincide ; the propriety
(nay, the almost absolute necessity) of the Com-
mutation of Tithes must be evident to every dis-
cerning man. That tithes have done immense
damage to the Church cannot be denied ; that the)^'
have rendered the exertions of clergymen nugatory,
and alienated the afi'ections of parishioners from
their ministers, is equally clear : ever since they
were invented they have been the occasion of in-
numerable evils ; they have sown the baneful seeds
of dissension in many parishes, and by so doing
brought many of the clergy into contempt ; they
have embroiled numberless incumbents in vexa-
tious and troublesome suits, occasioned much un-
easiness, and done more harm than an age will
completely repair ; the sooner, therefore, they are
destroyed, the better, and, until that destruction

302 ON COMMUTATION OF TITHES.

occurs, it is in vain to expect peace and amity to
subsist between the clergy and laity.

The sixth suggestion of *' A Country Rector'* is
very seasonable ; it is a pity that the reparation
to which he refers is not more attended to than
it is ; it is certainly a part of the minister s duty
to see that his church or chapel is kept in suffi-
cient repair; but I apprehend that the church-
wardens are the persons who ought to superintend
these repairs : and, if churchwardens did but seri-
ously consider the solemn oaths which they take
at the visitations of their Ordinaries, the import-
ance of their stations, and the heavy punishments
to which they expose themselves in case of neglect
of duty, we should not see so many of our churches
and chapels in that ruinous state in which we
have now sometimes the misfortune to find them.

Yours, &c. J. Stockdale Hardy.

ON THE COMMUTATION OF TITHES.
[^Published in the Gentleman's Magazine.^

March 5, 181 1.

Mr. Urban,
The propriety of the Commutation of Tithes
having been recently agitated in your Miscellany,
I beg leave to offer a few observations on the sub-
ject. A considerable portion of my life has been

ON COMMUTATION OF TITHES. 303

spent in the study of our municipal laws ; and,
upon a retrospect of my professional experience, I
feel no hesitation in saying, that if any one portion
of our legal code has occasioned more trouble and
vexation than another, that relating to tithes has
been the one.

I perfectly coincide with '' Clericus Surriensis "*
as to the right of the Clergy to Tithes in kind ; —
it is a right which they have possessed for ages,
and which it would be most ridiculous to call in
question — it is a right secured to them by the laws
of the land, and one which I would be the last
man in the universe to take away from them, with-
out giving them a suitable equivalent : but there
are some parts of your respectable correspondent's
letter to which I must beg leave to express my
dissent. He seems to be conscious of (nay, he
frankly confesses) the great inconvenience which
invariably attends the taking of tithes in kind ; and
indeed it would have been the height of absurdity
to have denied that inconvenience. Now, I would
ask, as this inconvenience (to call it by no harsher
an appellation) is known to exist ; as it is known
to produce the most baneful and pernicious conse-
quences ; should not some remedy be devised to
stop its progress ? — Your correspondent seems to
think that " a lasting equivalent could not be pro-
vided for an ever-varying value." — But have not
equivalents been substituted for things of as vary-

* Gentleman's Magazine, vol. lxxxi. i. 36.

304 ON COMMUTATION OF TITHES.

ing a value as tithes ? and does your correspondent
suppose that the average value of the tithes of a
parish could not be ascertained, and an equivalent
for those tithes regulated accordingly ? I am con-
vinced that by far the majority of the clergy would
gladly accept such an equivalent, rather than be
perpetually harassed by the trouble and attention
which must necessarily attend the taking of tithes
in kind.

I know several incumbents who take tithes in
specie, at the present day; and most certainly
they lead as uncomfortable lives as it is well pos-
sible to conceive. If a friend comes in to see them,
a farmer sends to say that he means to reap
in the course of the day, and would be glad if Mr.

would come or send some one to see his

tenth fairly ascertained. Another sends an angry
message, and refuses to pay his demand, and tells
him he may recover it as he can. This message
terminates in a suit, and I need not tell your
readers what a tedious species of proceeding a
tithe-cause is — I need not tell them the amazing
expenses which it occasions, and the endless anxiety
and trouble which arise from it.

Mr. Stockdale Hardy (page 301) has drawn a
very correct and affecting portrait of the evil con-
sequences resulting from tithes ; and I perfectly
coincide with this gentleman in opinion, as well as
with your other correspondents who have written
on this subject. I once knew a clergyman who
was compelled by necessity to institute a suit for

ON COMMUTATION OF TITHES. 305

tithes against several of his parishioners, which
lasted for several years, and in which suit he finally
succeeded. With the commencement of this ac-
tion the domestic happiness and comfort of this
worthy clergyman ceased, his church was neg-
lected, or, if not so, the forbidding aspect of his
congregation rendered his pulpit a place of inde -
scribable uneasiness ; he fell that his influence was
lost, his reputation diminished, and his character
as a parish priest disregarded. Every advantage
was taken of his failings, his faults were exagge-
rated ; and his parishioners, in return and revenge,
had recourse to legal remedy for every trivial
circumstance which they could possibly discover
about his conduct ; at last his situation was ren-
dered so uncomfortable, that he was obliged to
leave his preferment, and shortly afterwards died
in an obscure village perfectly insolvent. I dare
say that, if the history of tithes were to be looked
into, many such instances as the preceding might
be adduced ; but, however, the above is quite suf-
ficient to illustrate the truth of Mr. Hardy's asser-
tion, viz. " that tithes have rendered the' exertions
of clergymen nugatory, and alienated the afl^ections
of parishioners from their ministers." I am con-
fident that the farmers would sooner agree to con-
tribute towards the raising of an equivalent for the
clergy, than suffer them to take any part of the
produce of their lands or cattle ; and, if such an
equivalent were once raised, the evils resulting
from tithes in kind would cease, and the clergy

X

306 ON THE MARRIAGE OF COUSINS.

would have nothing to do but receive, at the stated
time of satisfaction, that recorapence which had
been provided for them, instead of having their
peace of mind disturbed through the whole of
the year by taking their tithes in their primitive
state.

Yours, &c. Britannicus.

ON THE MARRIAGE OF COUSINS.

[^Published in the Gentlemari's Magazine.']

Leicester y Oct. 8, 1817.

Mr. Urban,
Your Correspondent * has justly remarked that
"there is a prevailing idea that a law exists by
which second cousins are forbidden to marry, but

* N. remarks, " There is a prevailing idea that a law exists by
which second cousins are forbidden to marry, but none to prohibit
the marriage of first cousins ; and the reason given for the pro-
hibition in one case and not in the other, is, that it was not
thought needful to forbid what, on account of the nearness of kin,
no one would think of doing. We find no prohibition in the
Prayer Book to cousins of any degree ; but, as many, both first
and second cousins, marry with at least a douht upon their minds
as to the lawfulness of what they are doing ; and as others more
scrupulous refrain from what they fear may be wrong, it would
be rendering no trifling service to the community if some one of
your Correspondents conversant in the law would take the trouble
to set the matter in a clear light, both as it regards the law of God
and the law of the land." — Gentleman's Magazine, vol. Ixxxvii.
ii. 194.

ON THE MARRIAGE OF COUSINS. 307

that there is no law to prohibit the marriage of
first cousins." This notion has been prevalent for
centuries, and originated in the confusion which
necessarily arose when the rules which keep the
Canon and Civil laws distinct were not so accu-
rately understood as they now are. The Canon
law threw a great number of impediments in the
way of matrimony, in order to promote dispensa-
tions, and thus fill the coffers of the Roman Pon-
tiffs. If we refer to Ayliffe's Parergon, p. 364, we
shall find what a numerous train of particulars
were required to be observed by the Canon law in
order to render a marriage effective ; but it is
curious to observe that almost all these essential
requisites could be rendered non-essential by that
dangerous and domineering power which in those
days of monkish superstition reigned triumphant
over both prince and people.

The Civil law looked upon marriage in a very
different light from the Canon law ; the one re-
garded it as essential to the interests of the State,
the other as an instrument of emolument and
consequence to the Church. In judging, therefore,
of the degrees of consanguinity and affinity, the
law of England has very properly adopted the
computation of the Civil law ; and it is from this
circumstance that the idea as to the illegality of
the marriage of second cousins, and the legality of
that of first cousins, originated. =^ The two laws

* Gibson's Codex, pp. 498— .500.

X 2

308 ON THE MARRIAGE OF COUSINS.

compute the degrees of relationship (as to col-
laterals) differently ; the Canon law making those
to be only in the second degree of relationship
which the Civil makes in the fourth. T cannot in
the course of a letter like the present explain to
your Correspondent the minutiae of these different
computations, but he may form a very good idea
of them by referring to Wood's Civil Law, p. 116,
or to Christian's Blackstone, vol. ii. p 206.

The Statute 32 Hen. VIII. c. 38, abrogated, in a
great measure, the Canon law with respect to mar-
riages, by declaring all marriages good which were
not contrary to God's law ; this Act did away with
dispensations by rendering them unnecessary, and
placed the subject where it ever ought to stand —
on the revealed word of God. By a train of de-
cisions made subsequent to this Statute, the law of
England (following the Civil law) has fixed upon
the fourth degree of relationship amongst col-
laterals as the one in which marriage may take
place ; by the Civil law cousins-german are in the
fourth degree, and therefore allowed to marry ;*
second cousins (or, to speak more correctly,
cousins-german once removed,) are in the fifth
degree, and of course have the same privilege;
and second cousins -f- being in the sixth degree,

* « Duoniin autem fratrum vel sororum liberi, vel fratris et
sororis, conjungi possunt." — Just. Institutes, de Consobrinis, lib.
1. tit. X. s. 4

t " The children of a cousin-german are generally considered as
second cousins; but this is an error, they are cousins-german

ON THE MARRIAGE OF COUSINS. 309

and still further removed, are also permitted to
intermarry. This arises (as I observed before)
from the English law adopting the computation of
the Civil instead of the Canon law ; had it adopted
the computation of the latter, cousins-german
could not have been permitted to marry, because
they would only have been in the second degree
of relationship from each other ; and cousins-ger-
man once removed and second cousins could not,
because they would only have been in the third.
The one law fixed upon the fourth, and the other
the fifth degree (according to their several compu-
tations), as the point at which marriage might be
solemnised: and the law of England prefers the
computation of the Civil to the Canon law in
matrimonial cases, not only because it gives a
wider scope, but more particularly because it does
not interfere with the Levitical law ; for it is dif-
ficult to account for the preference in any other
way, since it rejects the Civil law computation, and
adopts that of the Canon, with regard to the
descent of real property. From what has been
observed, your Correspondent will gather that the
marriages of first and second cousins are perfectly
legal.

I cannot conclude, Mr. Urban, without express-
once removed. A cousin-german once removed is the relation of
the child of A to B, who is A's cousin. The relation of second
cousin is that of the child of A to the child of B. Cousin-german
must necessarily be sprung from the same grandfather ; second
cousins from the same great-grandfather."

310 ON THE MARRIAGE OF COUSINS.

ing the pleasure which I feel in witnessing the
change which has taken place in this kingdom
relative to the degree of esteem in which the pro-
fessors of the Civil law are holden. There was a
time when it was matter of serious regret that so
little candour existed between the professors of
the Common and Civil laws, that " what a Com-
mon lawyer vouched for the Church, and a Canon-
ist or Civilian against it, was for that very reason
of so much the greater authority;'** but this
period is now passed, and the line of distinction
between the two jurisdictions is now so fully un-
derstood and agreeably recognised that they act
in unison, and form conjointly a system of juris-
prudence which is the pride of our country and
the envy of surrounding nations — a system which
calls in the aid of a jury in those cases wherein
such assistance is requisite, but supports the
opinion of an individual in those where a popular
appeal would be improper.

J. Stockdale Hardy.

This communication was followed in the same Magazine by
these remarks from another writer :

Mr. Urban, Oct 4, 1817.

In answer to the interrogatories of your Correspondent N. re-
specting the lawfulness of the marriage of Jirst, as also of second
cousins, I submit the following remarks.

By the 32 Hen. Vlll. c. Ji8, all marriages contracted between
persons not prohibited by God's law are declared lawful.

* Preface to Dr. Burn's Ecclesiastical Law, p. 20.

ON THE MARRIAGE OF COUSINS. 311

And by the 99th Canon it is ordained, " that no person shall
marry within the degrees prohibited by the laws of God, and ex-
pressed in a table set forth by authority in the year 1563 ; and all
marriages so made and contracted shall be adjudged incestuous
and unlawful, and consequently shall be dissolved as void from the
beginning, and the parties so married shall by course of law be
separated. And the aforesaid table shall be in every church
publicly set up, at the charge of the parish." Before the said
statute of the 32 Hen. VIII. c. 38, other prohibitions than God's
law admitteth were invented by the Court of Rome, the dispen-
sation whereof they always reserved to themselves ; as, for in-
stance, in kindred and affinity between cousin-germans, and so to
the fourth degree. But now by this Act all persons are declared
to be lawful to contract matrimony that be not prohibited by God's
law to marry ; and that no reservation or prohibition (God's law
excepted) shall trouble or impeach any marriage without the Levi-
tical degrees.

By the Civil law first cousins were allowed to marry ; but by
the Canon law both first and second cousins (in order to make
dispensations more frequent and necessary) were prohibited.
Therefore when it is vulgarly said that first cousins may marry,
but second cousins cannot, probably this arose by confounding
these two laws. Wood, Civ. L. 118, 119. Ayl. Par. 364.

But now by the aforesaid statute of the 32 Hen. VIII. c. 38, it
is clear that both first and second cousins may marry.

" And what need I," says Bishop Hall, " to urge the case of
Zelophehad's five daughters, Num. xxxvi. 11, who, by God's own
approbation, were married to their father's brother's sons ; yea,
this practice was no less current among the civiller heathens of old
than amongst the Jewish people. I could tell you of Cluentia (by
Cicero's relation) married to her cousin Marcus Aurelius ; of
Marcus Antoninus, the wise and virtuous philosopher, marrying
his cousin Faustina ; and a world of others, were not this labour
saved me by the learned lawyer Hotoman, who tells us how uni-
versal this liberty was of old, as being enacted by the laws of the
Roman empire, and, descending to the laws of Justinian, confi-
dently affirms, that for five hundred years all Christian people

312 ON THE MARRIAGE OF COUSINS.

(magno consensu) allowed and followed these imperial constitu-
tions concerning matrimony." And though such marriages
were opposed and condemned by many of the Latin Fathers and
the Court of Rome, yet why? (adds Bishop Hall) "but for the
sweet and valuable gain of dispensations ? for which considerations
we have learned not to attribute too much to the judgment or
practice of the Roman courtiers on this point; and since these
marriages are allowed both by Civil laws, and by the judgment of
eminent divines, and not anywhere forbidden, either Jure Caesareo
or Apostolico, by God's law or Caesar's, let the persons therefore
80 married enjoy themselves with mutual complacency and com-
fort, not disquieting themselves with needless anxieties.** — [See
Bp. Hall's Cases of Conscience.]

Hoping that these authorities will satisfy the doubts and scruples
of your Correspondent N.

I remain,

Yours, &C. SCHOLIASTES.

The Editor also acknowledged communications from a Corre-
spondent who called himself A Bit of a Civilian, for a cita-
tion from Burn's Ecclesiastical Law, tit. Marriage ; to J. C. for
another from Dr. Grey's Ecclesiastical Law (extracted from
Gibson's Codex), p. 137 ; and to Clericus, for extracts from Mr.
Wheatley's Book on Common Prayer, and Mr. Johnston's "Cler-
gyman's Vade Mecum ;" where the subject is in like manner fiilly
and satisfactorily stated.

313

ON THE LEGALITY OF THE REMARRIAGE
OF A WOMAN WHEN DESERTED FOR
SEVEN YEARS.

\^ Published in the Gentleman s Magazine.']

Leicester, April 10, 1818.

Mr. Urban,
In reply to the question proposed by Cleri-
cus,"^ I beg to observe, that I am not aware of any
power being given to a Surrogate by the Act of
the 1st Jac. c. 1 1,'}" to grant a licence in the case
he mentions. The Act certainly excepts a person,
situated as your Correspondent has described, from
its penalties ; but does not interfere with the gene-
ral law which existed before it, and by which every
second marriage, celebrated during the existence
of a former marriage, was merely void '.% it leaves
this law precisely as it found it ; and therefore if
a party coming within the exceptions of the Act
marry a second time, his second marriage will be
just as void as if the Act had never been made,

* Clericus submits the following query : " When a man has
been absent from his wife for seven years, and never heard of dur-
ing that time, or per contra, — is a Surrogate justified in granting
the remaining party a licence to intermarry with any other person
upon the authority of the statute 1 Jac. c. 11 ? " — Gentleman's
Magazine, vol. lxxxviii. i. 194.

f This Act has been since explained and amended by the sta-
tute 35 Geo. III. c. 67.

X 3 Inst. 88.

314 ON THE RESIDENCE OF THE CLERGY.

provided the first marriage were not dissolved at
the time of such second marriage. This being
the case, I cannot see how any Surrogate can pro-
perly or legally grant a licence to an applicant
coming under the exceptions referred to. The
Church surely should not lend her authority in a
case where such an indulgence would be contrary
to her Canons ; besides, how could any applicant
of the above description make the usual affidavit ?
Could he safely swear himself to be a widower P

I am not aware that the question has been ever
regularly argued, and it is one upon which a dif-
ference of opinion may arise. Were I a Surrogate,
I should refer the applicant to the Registrar's
Office.

Yours, &c. J. Stockdale Hardy.

ON THE RESIDENCE OF THE CLERGY.

\_PuhUshed in the GentlemarCs Magazine^]

Leicester, Sept. 14, 1818.

Mr. Urban,

I HAVE read with considerable attention the
correspondence which has passed between " Pas-
quin " and " Clericus Surriensis ;" and, as the sub-
jects under discussion are of great importance, you
will probably allow the insertion of another letter
thereon in your miscellany.

Every one who venerates the Establishment, and

ON THE RESIDENCE OF THE CLERGY. 315

feels an interest in its prosperity, must wish for
clerical residence to be increased ; and that this
wish has deeply pervaded the Episcopal Bench is
evident from the pains which have been taken to
promote that most important object. It was one
of the principal designs which the late compre-
hensive and most excellent Consolidation Act had
in view ; and, from the benefits which have already
resulted from that wise and salutary measure, I
have no doubt the auspicious period is approach-
ing, " when " (to use the words imputed to the
Archbishop of Canterbury) " there will be few
parishes in England without a resident minister."

It should ever be recollected that the powers
vested in the Bishops by the late Act are powers
of no inferior magnitude — requiring due caution
in the execution of them, and an administration
accompanied by a broad view of the particular cir-
cumstances attending each individual case. It is
certainly possible, under this Act, that there may
be six contiguous parishes in which only two
curates are resident ; but it is as certain that such
a case can never occur except under very special
circumstances — under circumstances, calling not
for an arbitrary or strict administration of the law,
but for a dispensation tempered with a due regard
to domestic concerns, and, perhaps, domestic mis-
fortunes.^ I have no doubt the prelate within
whose diocese the benefices alluded to by your
Correspondent are locally situate has exercised a

* 57 Geo. III. c. 99, § 59.

316 ON THE RESIDENCE OF THE CLERGY.

wise discretion ; but that prelate is certainly not
bound, nor would he be justified in publishing the
reasons for his conduct to the world ; and it is
scarcely fair to comment on that as a neglect,
which, were the sufficient information afforded,
would probably prove to have been a wise and
moderate execution of a most important part of
episcopal jurisdiction. " Pasquin " will excuse
these remarks ; I give him the fullest credit for his
motives, but I really must enter my feeble protest
against the too prevalent practice of holding up
public men as neglectful of their duty, and of
undervaluing the efforts of those men to remedy
existing evils. A complicated machine cannot
produce all the effects for which it is intended
instantaneously : neither ought its powers to be
pushed to their utmost limits, except upon some
extraordinary and imperious emergency. For the
same reason we must not expect the great objects
which the Consolidation Act had in view to be
accomplished speedily, nor would it be advisable
for the Bishops to exert the authorities confided
in them by it to their utmost boundaries, except-
ing in cases of the most glaring and impudent
derelictions of duty. What the state of things in
*' Pasquin's " neighbourhood may be, I know not ;
I can only say that hereabouts the number of
resident Clergymen has increased, is increasing,
and is likely to continue doing so ; and I cannot
avoid hoping that the same causes will eventually
produce the same effects elsewhere.

ON THE RESIDENCE OF THE CLERGY. 317

Although, as I said before, I am ready to give
" Pasquin " the fullest credit for his motives, yet I
cannot approve of the manner in v^^hich he has
introduced the subject to the attention of your
readers. Your Correspondent has evidently chosen
to exhibit the worst state of things, and in some
instances has relied upon a matter of argument
as forcibly as if it were a matter of fact. With
the greatest possible good-humour^ and not in the
least intending either to offend or wound, I shall
take the liberty of making a few cursory remarks
upon the principal matters contained in your Cor-
respondent's two letters.

Your Correspondent wishes it to be understood,
that there are really so many loopholes for a
beneficed clergyman to creep through, when wish-
ing for a licence of non-residence, that the objects
of the law are almost entirely defeated. Now really^
Mr. Urban, let us for a moment refer to the Con-
solidation Act itself ; it would occupy too large a
portion of your columns to recite the clause re-
lating to this part of our subject ; ^ but allow me
to refer your Correspondent to Mr. Hodgson's late
most useful and valuable publication,"^- in which
he will find a complete copy of the late Act ; and
also^ at page J 1 8, a schedule of the different rea-

* 57 Geo. III. c. 99, § 15.

t " Instructions for the use of Candidates for Holy Orders,
and of the Parochial Clergy, &c. By Christopher Hodgson, Se-
cretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury." Reviewed in the
Gentleman's Magazine for January 1818, p. 46.

318 ON THE RESIDENCE OF THE CLERGY.

sons for which the Episcopal Bench are empowered
to grant licences of non-residence. I would intreat
" Pasquin " to peruse that schedule with attention ;
I am confident he will find that the number of
reasons for which licences can be granted will
fall very far short of the estimate which he has
made of them, and that he will not be inclined
to designate those as " evasions," the major part
of which are required to be verified by affidavit.
As to considering them as '' indulgences " and
" excuses, " that is out of the question ; their
Lordships the Bishops have, in these particulars,
not a judicial but a ministerial power, and cannot
grant a licence to any clerg}Tnan upon any plea,
except one contained in the 15th clause of the
Act, without the strictest proof of the peculiar
facts constituting the peculiar case — the direct
sanction of the Metropolitan — and the indirect
sanction of the Privy Council. Would " Pasquin "
call such a licence as this an " indulgence " and
" excuse ? " — Let us, however, look at the subject
in another point of view. Licences for non-resi-
dence are certainly not granted in the dark ; they
do not issue frT)m the palace of the Bishop, and
find their way into the escrutoire of the soliciting
incumbent, without the parishioners of such in-
cumbent, the neighbouring clergy, and the public
at large, being apprised of the grounds upon which
they were issued. A copy of every licence is re-
quired, by the 2 1 st section of the late Act, to be
transmitted by the spiritual person obtaining it, to

ON THE RESIDENCE OF THE CLERGY 319

the churchwardens of the parish upon which he is
excused residence, within one month after the
grant of such hcence, to be by them deposited in
the parish chest ; another copy is required to be
pubhcly read at the visitation immediately suc-
ceeding the grant ; and another is required to be
filed in the public registry of the diocese, to which
all persons may have access upon paying a mode-
rate fee. What is the reason of all these enact-
ments, if not to guard against '^ shifts " and " eva-
sions " ? Is it reasonable to suppose that " shifts "
and " evasions " could (were the Act less express
than it is) frequently occur without detection, with
all these Marplots standing in the road ? Every
one is made acquainted with the causes for which
the incumbent is excused residence ; and if no one
complains, what is the fair inference ? Why, that
the causes are just — falling within the express pro-
visions of the Act of Parliament — and that proper
arrangements have been made for the due celebra-
tion of Divine Service during the existence of the
non-resident Hcence.

Your Correspondent intimates, that he does not
perceive any progress making towards enforcing a
general Residence of the Clergy. Really, Mr.
Urban, I cannot conceive that " Pasquin " has
paid much attention to what has been going on in
the Ecclesiastical world, if this be his fixed opi-
nion. I defy your Correspondent to search the
Statute-book, and find a work of more labour,
of more extensive usefulness, and yet of more

320 ON THE RESIDENCE OF THE CLERGY.

dignified consideration, than the late Act. It is a
Statute worthy of an English Legislature ; it tem-
pers the exercise of power with the exercise of
forbearance, at the same time that it does not
suffer the latter so far to infringe upon the former,
as to render its energies ineffectual. Clergymen,
Mr. Urban, are not to be treated like beasts of
burden. As the law now stands, their superiors
have a just, sufficient, yet equitable control over
them ; and that control is not subject, as it was
formerly, to be obtruded upon by a common in-
former. Formerly, the law was in the air; a
clergyman was never secure ; now he is placed
under the jurisdiction of his Ordinary, and not ex-
posed to the malicious and mercenary vengeance
of an informer, except in a case of gross miscon-
duct or neglect. Will '^ Pasquin" say that this
is not a better state of things than existed some
years ago ? Will he say that the Consolidation
Act is incapable of producing any benefit — that
it has not produced benefit — or is not doing so ?
Let your Correspondent apply to his " authentic
sources," and I shall be mucli surprised if he does
not find that twice the activity, double the caution
and particularity, to what existed formerly, per-
vade the offices of the Bishops* secretaries; and
that a most admirable system of order is esta-
blished, or at least is estabhshing, with respect
to the local concerns and circumstances of incum-
bents and curates, in those offices. Are not these
improvements ; and are they not eminently con-

ON THE RESIDENCE OF THE CLERGY. 321

ducive to the extension of clerical residence ? Will
" Pasquin " say that curates are not far better pro-
vided for now than formerly ? — There was a time,
and that but a few years since too, when a curate
never could insure either the amount of his salary
or the recovery of it ; now, both the salary is defi-
nite and the mode of recovery certain. Is this
not an improvement, and one highly tending to
promote the regular performance of parochial
duties ? — There was a time, and that too not long
since, when the residence of the curate of a non-
resident incumbent could not be enforced in a
parish, except under very peculiar circumstances ;
— now, the Bishops have not only the power of re-
quiring such residence, but, generally speaking,
cannot dispense with it excepting under very espe-
cial circumstances, and in which even the curate
must be required to reside in some near and con-
venient place. — Until lately, their Lordships were
obliged to resort to a most circuitous, tedious, and
expensive process, in order to promote the due
performance of Divine Service in any churches or
chapels in which the resident incumbent either
neglected to perform it or was incapable of doing
so ; now, they are empowered to insist upon the
nomination of a fit and sufficient curate by such
incumbent to assist him, and in default to nomi-
nate one themselves, and enforce the due payment
of his stipend, as if such curate had been nomi-
nated by the incumbent himself. Can " Pasquin "

Y

322 ON THE RESIDENCE OF THE CLERGY.

say that these are not improvements — that their
enactment as' laws was not dictated by a fervent
desire and wish to promote the due performance
of Divine Service by a competent person, and by a
person resident on the spot where such service is
to be performed ? It would be tedious to go through
the various emendations and additions which have
been made to the laws, as applying to the question
of clerical residence, within the last few years. I
trust, however, I have instanced sufficient to shew,
that the Bishops " in their wisdom " have done
some good — that something more than ** speeches
have been made " — or " pious sentiments " uttered
by a *' Metropolitan ! ! "

We now, Mr. Urban, come to the " hovel " and
'* pigsty" part of the case; and here I must ob-
serve, that your worthy Correspondent has fixed
the almost entire blame of the dilapidations, of
which he complains, upon the Archdeacons. Now,
it is well-known that archdeaconries, generally
speaking, are amongst the worst species of Church
preferment. Their emoluments scarcely answer the
expenses of general visitations; and no archdea-
con (except he be a man of considerable private
property) can frequently undertake the personal
inspection of his jurisdiction, without subjecting
himself to an expense which would take the profits
of his office for some years to repay. I am free to
admit that this part of our Ecclesiastical polity has
not been sufficiently considered ; and I trust that,

ON THE RESIDENCE OF THE CLERGY. 323

ere long, it will attract legislative attention, if it
has not done so already.^ As far, however, as
Clerical Residence is concerned, it has not been
overlooked ; no benefieed clergyman can now ob-
tain a licence of non-residence on the ground of
a parsonage- house being unfit for his residence,
except such unfitness has not been occasioned by
his neglect ; and even should it have been owing
to the neglect of the prior incumbent, still he can-
not have his licence, except he undertake to keep
it in repair to the satisfaction of the Bishop. This
certainly will go a great way towards preventing
the dilapidation too frequently observable in par-
sonage-houses where incumbents are non-resident ;
and where they are resident, they are not allowed
to reside out of the parsonage-house, although they
may live in the parish, without properly satisfying
the Ordinary as to the repairs of such house and
premises.

The observations of " Pasquin " relative to the
erection of new churches are such as I am confi-
dent he could not, and would not, have written in
a serious moment. The obvious necessity of the
erection has been seen and acknowledged for
years, and almost centuries past. I fully accord
with the observations which *^ Clericus Surriensis"
has addressed in reply upon this part of our sub-

* There was an intention of introducing a clause to remedy the
above defect into the Bill for regulating the building of the New
Churches ; whether it was eventually introduced or not I am
not aware.

Y 2

324 ON THE RESIDENCE OF THE CLERGY.

ject ; and T have no doubt " Pasquin " felt con-
vinced by those observations, since he has very
properly not adverted to the subject in his second
letter. This I admire ; as it shews that, although
he has imbibed some different ideas on these sub-
jects to what others have, he has not suffered the
adoption of them to blind his judgment, or shut
his eyes against conviction ; and I candidly tell
him, I am not without hopes of performing a suc-
cessful operation upon him, in removing, either
entirely or partially, a certain species of cataract
which appears to have obstructed his visual
powers.

Such, Mr. Urban, are the observations which
have suggested themselves to me, upon a careful
perusal of " Pasquin's " communications. Your
Correspondent appears very anxious to be consi-
dered as a well-wisher to the Establishment, and
1 am not inclined to say he is not. I believe him
to be so ; but I believe, at the same time, that he
has been induced, from some cause or other, to
look upon the subjects which he has undertaken
to discuss with a jaundiced eye. It is impossible
to read your Correspondent's letters without com-
ing to the conclusion that he considers our Eccle-
siastical officers guilty of gross neglect, from the
metropolitical throne at Canterbury to the " gaping
churchwarden'' who attends a " Country Visita-
tion ; " and, as he professes to gather his informa-
tion from " authentic sources," I am perhaps
taking too much upon myself in making the obser-

THE LAW AS TO MAKING WILLS. 325

vations which I have done. Let " Pasquin/' how-
ever, be who or what he may, he must expect to
have his arguments and assertions commented
upon when he comes to plead in your court.
In the spirit, therefore, not of an angry disputant,
but of a fair opponent, I trust I have met him upon
the arena ; and, in the hope that he may not live
to see his apprehensions verified, and that I may
live to see my expectations on these subjects rea-
lized, I remain.

Yours, &c. J. Stockdale Hardy.

DEFENCE OF THE LAW AS TO MAKING WILLS.

[^Published in the Gentleman s Magazine."]

Leicester, Feb, 16, 1822.

Mr. Urban,
Your Correspondent "Julian," (vol. xci. i. p.
589) has commenced a letter on the importance of
accuracy in Wills with the expression of a regret
that more frequent alterations are not made in our
legislative system, and has intimated a wish that a
spirit of Justinian revision should more extensively
actuate the proceedings of an English Parliament.
So far as alterations can be made for the better, I
agree with your Correspondent ; but, fully con-
vinced as I am that there is a sufficient spirit of
innovation abroad, I cannot at all coincide in the

326 DEFENCE OF THE LAW

wish, that " less reluctance should be manifested
than at present exists in overthrowing old esta-
blished enactments, and more especially those which
in the slightest degree, or in any sense, affect or
bear upon the liberty of the subject." The value
of our old laws is very frequently not discovered
until they are tampered with ; and, when an altera-
tion has taken place, inconveniences arise which
were never thought of, and which our ancestors
guarded against when bending under the influence
of the inconveniences themselves. As to the
" liberty of the subject," I am one who would wish
it to be kept within proper bounds, and I view it
as a privilege to be restrained whenever it has
exceeded them ; but a strong and convincing case
ought to be made out before any restraint is
imposed, and upon this principle I, for one, am
well satisfied that the House of Commons has
always acted.

I shall now proceed to make a few cursory re-
marks upon the more immediate subject of your
Correspondent's letter. " Julian " * seems to an-
ticipate that there will not be " much " difference
of opinion in pronouncing the exception contained
in the Statute of the 44th Geo. III. c. 98 (allowing
others than professional men to draw Wills), as
impolitic. I am fearful he will be mistaken in
this particular. The Legislature would probuhltf
never have made the exception without due con-

* Seethe Gentleman's Magazine, 1821, vol. xci. i. 589.

AS TO MAKING WILLS. 327

sideration, and I am quite confident your Corre-
spondent will see that, without a great distinction
had been made between the formalities of convey-
ance and the loose manner in which a Will is
allowed to be drawn up, a crying injustice would
have been committed upon the community. Wills
are considered as being frequently made in ex-
tremis, and therefore the technical niceties neces-
sary to the reality of a conveyance are not re-
quired as essentials with respect to a testamentary
disposition. And let us for a moment look at
what would ensue in case the drawing up of Wills
were restricted to the profession! Many wealthy tes-
tators live in secluded villages and in lone houses,
far removed from professional assistance, who
never think of settling their worldly affairs until
death is upon them — nay, so far is this principle
carried amongst the vulgar and illiterate, that an
apprehension frequently gets abroad that the
making a Will is a species of death warrant, and
this not unfrequently operates as a reason for
postponing what ought always to be done in
health, and in the possession of full mental
energies. Where, therefore, in such cases as
these, would be the policy of your Correspond-
ent's suggestion ? I will admit that inconveni-
ences may arise from improper persons drawing
Wills, but is not your Correspondent aware that
some of the ablest lawyers have made some of the
greatest mistakes in Wills ^ It is known that in

328 THE LAW AS TO MAKING WILLS.

making their own wills some of our greatest men
have committed the greatest blunders.*

Although I am one who will ever contend that
distinctions ought to be observed, and that illite-
rate and improper persons ought to be excluded
from the profession, I never will admit that it
should be rendered indispensably requisite for
" technical niceties " to surround the couch of
dissolution, or for that just privilege to be in the
least atom infringed upon, which has hitherto
allowed the attendant friend or the sedulous
minister to put upon paper the dying instructions
of the companion of his youth, or the attentive
hearer of the precepts delivered from his pulpit.
I quite agree with your Correspondent, that a man
of property would do well, when settling his
worldly affairs, to consult those who generally
have been his legal advisers.

I am not arguing against this ; I am only
arguing against the enactment of any law which
should positively/ oblige his Will to be drawn by
those advisers. Supposing such a law were to
pass, the man of property would still not be secure ;
for your Correspondent tells us that even Wills
prepared by professional men " not unfrequently
afford evidence of a want of skill, and display
great poverty of legal intelligence, seldom failing

* Vide Sugden's Letters to a Man of Property, on the Sale
&c. of Estates, p. 105.

ON THE CURFEW BELL. 329

to escape the critical observation of those who
experience disappointment under them." I find,
Mr Urban, I have extended my letter to an un-
reasonable length ; before I conclude, however, let
your Correspondent understand that I am not
the advocate of unauthorised obtruders upon the
profession ; but that I am the advocate of that
mild construction which has hitherto been put
upon conveyance by Will — which never would have
been put had it been supposed that Professional
Men alone were to draw Wills, and which I should
be sorry to see exploded.

Yours, &c. J. Stockdale Hardy.

ON THE CURFEW BELL.

[^Published in the Gentlemaris Magazine.^

Leicester, Jan. 7, 1824.

Mr. Urban,
I FANCY your Correspondent " Viator," ^ will
find that the custom of ringing the " Curfew"
bell is more general than he imagines. In this
place it is regularly rung at eight o'clock in the
evening at the churches of St. Mary and St. Mar-
garet. The foundations .of both these churches
were deeply indebted to Norman munificence ; and
I have an idea it would turn out, were a sedulous

* In the Gentleman's Magazine, 1823, vol. xcm. ii. 506.

330 ON THE CURFEW BELL.

inquiry instituted, that, in many instances where
an immemorial custom of ringing the Curfew has
prevailed, the establishments wherein it has been
retained have been considerably indebted to the
Conqueror s influence or regard, exerted either per-
sonally or through his baronial favourites. At St.
Mary's the third bell is rung as the Curfew, and at
St. Margaret's the seventh. At the former church,
also, the fourth bell is rung at six o'clock in the
morning during the winter months, and at five
during the summer. The eighth bell is also rung
at the same time at St. Margaret's, and the day of
the month used to be tolled, as alluded to by your
Correspondent ; but this practice has been discon-
tinued for many years. The customs, &c. as to
ringing in cases of deaths and burials are much
the same here as stated by your Correspondent to
be prevalent at Dorchester.^ There is no distinc-

* " In the town of Dorchester, in the county of Dorset, the sex-
ton of St. Peter's church (I should add that there is in the tower
a fine peal of eight bells) regularly rings the seventh bell precisely
at eight o'clock in the evening, for about ten minutes, and after-
wards tolls the same bell to as many strokes as correspond with the
day of the month. Another custom, I do not know how peculiar
it may be to this town, prevails, of the sexton of this same
parish ringing the first bell regularly at six o'clock in the morn-
ing from Lady-day to Michaelmas, and at seven o'clock from the
latter to the former period, being the winter six months; and
at one o'clock at noon during the whole year, Sundays excepted ;
thus serving as a summons for the different classes of mechanics
and labourers to begin their daily work, commence after their din-
ner hour, and finally conclude at the warning sound of the Cur-
few."— Gentleman's Magazine, Dec. 1823, p. 506.

ON THE CURFEW BELL. 331

tion, however, made here between the rich and
the poor ; the largest bell belonging to the church
of the parish in which the party dies being tolled
at every funeral.

With respect to the " Curfew," I differ from
" Viator " in considering the recollection of its
origin as an unpleasing retrospect under present
circumstances. On the contrary, I view it as a
most gratifying reflection to every English mind,
that what once only proclaimed the arbitrary will
of a foreign Conqueror, is now the welcome sum-
mons for rest and enjoyment to those numerous
classes of mechanics and labourers which are their
country's boast, and no inconsiderable supporters
of her consequence and strength. Instead of this
knell being, as it once was, the dreary signal for
darkness and despair — for brooding over lost liber-
ties, and cursing the galling yoke of a foreign po-
tentate— it is now the glad signal for the husband-
man or the mechanic to " trim the cheerful
hearth," and, surrounded by those pledges of affec-
tion upon which no adequate value can be placed,
to return his thanks to heaven for the blessings he
enjoys under the mild and beneficent sway of a
thoroughly- English Monarch, giving effect to a
Constitution, the pride of the land over which it
sheds its genial influence, and the admiration of
surrounding states. A custom instituted as a badge
of subjection and slavery is now kept up for a
most useful purpose ; and a Constitution, lacerated
and disjointed by foreign pride, revenge, and in-

332 ON THE PERSONIFICATION OF DEATH.

trigue, has now, aa far as the necessary innovations
of time have rendered practicable, reassumed that
form, and the exercise of those functions, which
the wisdom of our Saxon ancestors projected and
gave effect to.

J. Stockdale Hardy.

ON THE PERSONIFICATION OF DEATH.

[^Published in the Gentleman s Magazine.']

Leicester, Dec. 5, 1825.

Mr. Urban,

It is really astonishing that nearly all the at-
tempts which have been hitherto made to personify
Death should have proceeded on the assumption
that the " potent Conqueror " is a skeleton — one
of his own victims ! An old acquaintance of mine,
Mr. Bisset of Leamington, once told me, that, when
a boy, and residing in his native country (Scot-
land), he was asked by a relation what he thought
of Death ? — and that his answer was, that if Death
were what he was represented to be in his book of
pictures, young as he then was, if he had his " golf
club," and was attacked by a score of such fellows,
he would batter their sculls to atoms, and break
every bone of their ribs I This anecdote most for-
cibly struck me, and has led me to my present
communication.

The finest ideas on record as to Death are those

ON THE PERSONIFICATION OF DEATH. 333

contained in the admirable Burial Service of our
National Church — a service principally extracted
from that fountain of light and truth, the Holy
Bible. Now what are these ideas ? Why, that
Death, so far from being a " Skeleton," is the " last
enemy to be destroyed," — one that can only be
destroyed by Him who shall "put all things under
his feet/' — when at the last day, through the Divine
Atonement, he shall, at length, to the righteous, lose
his " sting," and claim no further " victory." Can
any representation therefore be correct which de-
picts this hero as a chop-fallen andjieshless spectre
— which depicts him as a shadow, who, the Bible
tell us, is to " reign until 'flesh ' shall be no more ?"
Death rides throughout the world dispensing
happiness and misery, but he rides not as a skele-
ton, but as an illustrious conqueror ; — his steed,
though " pale," is fiery, and recognises no dis-
tinctions—with one foot on Royalty, another on
Shakspeare, a third on Pitt, and a fourth on Byron,
he '^ wings his way," while his rider flourishes a
sword above his head entrusted to him by Omnipo-
tence, and reads to alL^ho now tarry in this earthly
passage a lesson of humility and of truth, which
is too often disregarded, but which conscience and
reflection will sometimes enforce.

'• Mors ultima linea rerum est,"

was the sentiment of the ancient bard, and the idea
was perfectly correct ; and who could be more
capable of forming it than one who indulged every
sensual appetite in this world, and who would

334 ON THE PERSONIFICATION OF DEATH.

therefore be the more cautious and reserved his
allusions to a state, the anticipation of which to
him could afford no pleasure ?

I am quite aware that my ideas on the subject
are liable to criticism ; that, however, I invite, for,
although a lover of antiquity, I never can allow
that predilection to induce the advocacy of a prac-
tice which (as I view it) outrages common sense,
and, what is of far more consequence, insults the
Deity.

J. Stockdale Hardy.

This Letter produced the following Reply, which was inserted
in a subsequent Magazine : —

" Mr. Urban, Leicester, Feb. 11, 1826.

"I AM sorry I cannot coincide with your intelligent Corre-
spondent, Mr. J. Stockdale Hardy, in his thesis on the Personifi-
cation of Death. My ideas on a subject so important are decidedly
counter to his own. Now, although I do not insist either upon
his fallacy, or the cogency of my own assumptions, yet I venture
to offer, through your medium, a few suggestions why I approve
of the mode in which it is customary to personify the visible Death,
in other words, to * pin my faith on the sleeve of the whole wcrld.*
Mr. Hardy must be aware that he has arrayed against him (with
perhaps one or two eminent exceptions) the paintings, sculpture,
and poetry of all ages and nations. Indeed he seems to admit
that his position is liable to refutation. Genius, and the noblest
works of art, both ancient and modern, portray the * illustrious
Hero ' what to our very imaginations he is depicted, viz. one of his
own Victims,' potent, and invulnerable; a * King of Terrors,*
who, driving his ploughshare o'er Creation,* dispenses, not ' hap-
piness* certainly, but misery and desolation throughout the earth,
(jive to Death an arm of flesh, and, however muscular, you make
him vincible, however powerful, liable to be opposed, however illus-
trious, subject to defeat and possible annihilation.

ON THE PERSONIFICATION OF DEATH. 335

" Portray Death as one of his victims, I mean endow him with
flesh and blood, and, though you arm him with thunders, you de-
spoil him of his immortal prerogatives, his terrors, his invulnera-
bility. Depict him a living Spectre, a Skeleton, and you present
to our ideas the very thing we imagine ; an Hero, all -conquering
and all-mighty ; not to be stemmed in his strides, nor averted
in his recognitions. You invest him with a tyranny over our
minds, as well as with one over our bodies ; whence, imagination
immediately recognises in his * grim visage ' the absolute monarch
of unhmited dominion. Death is insatiable, never cloyed with his
victims, nor replenished with the hosts on whom he feeds ; all-
devouring, he is ever lean ; and, though his banquets are hourly
and momentary, and kings and statesmen his most dainty food,
still does he not fatten with satiety, nor is he appeased with the
vastness and variety of his repasts. On these grounds, then, I
take it, is Death correctly and classically presented to the eye as a
Spectre or Skeleton. I cannot think, with Mr. Hardy, there is
the least presumption in such a personification ; nor do I see
that it can possibly offend the majesty of God I ! It is an as-
sumption not warranted by the greatest theologists of the age.
I wish further elucidation of that passage. Besides, on the same
grounds might Mr. Hardy question the authority why the Devil
is painted black, or an Angel fair ; why ? but to convey to our
ideas, under these symbols, their approximation, the one to divine
perfection, the other to deformity and evil. Your Correspondent
evidently, though erroneously, grounds his thesis on the Revela-
tions of St. John. It must be admitted that West, however, is
a powerful auxiliary in his behalf. I will not now attempt to com-
bat the authority of so great a master, and am aware I have
only yet seen the * advanced guard ' of Mr. Hardy's position ; no
doubt he will defend it abstractedly; but, for these reasons, I
protest against it. Perhaps I am in an error, and only wish some
older and abler Correspondent would dissect the matter.

Yours, &c. Wm. Lievre.

After this letter Mr. Hardy returned to the subject in another
communication : —

336 ON THE PERSONIFICATION OF DEATH.

Leicester, June 8, 1826.

Mr. Urban,

I HAVE perused with attention the letter of Mr.
Lievre in reply to mine on the Personification of
Death. Your Correspondent remarks, '^ that I have
arrayed against me (with one or two eminent ex-
ceptions) the paintings, sculpture, and poetry of
all ages and nations ; '* and certainly, if this asser-
tion be correct, the maintenance of the thesis I
have ventured to introduce is rather a formidable
task. This consideration, however, will not deter
me from entering into the question, and I shall
therefore proceed to do so in as brief a manner as
it will allow me. The propriety of any efforts to
depict sacred objects, or objects the precise natures
of which are wisely concealed from the limited
scope of terrestrial vision, may indeed be disputed ;
into that inquiry, however, I do not enter, and all
I contend for is, that, if such attempts be made,
they should be in unison with the light (be it great
or small) which has been thrown upon the parti-
cular subjects by Divine Revelation.

Nothing appears to me more absurd than the
Personification of Death as a skeleton. When once
Death has struck the body his functions are at an
end, and he cannot have the slightest connexion
with what subsequently happens to the lifeless
corpse. The change of the corpse to a skeleton
is produced by natural causes alone, over which

ON THE PERSONIFICATION OF DEATH. 837

Death has no control, and which take effect long
after he has been called into action upon myriads
of the surviving inhabitants of this ever-perishing
world. To treat the question more familiarly : —
would your Correspondent, if asked to represent an
executioner^ give us the picture of a man hanging
upon a gihhet P — or, if requested to paint us a tyro
playing on the " wry- neck' d flute," feast our eyes
with the dignified importance of a drum-major,
bearing his silver-mounted staff of office, and pre-
ceding a host of trumpeters and blowers on the
bassoon ? Would not Mr. Lievre's better judgment
induce him to put upon canvas, in the first in-
stance, the representation of an executioner in the
very last act of his official duty ; and, in the second,
a youth surrounded by those sylvan beauties which
the ideas connected with his occupation would
naturally convey ? An effect can never be an ade -
quate representation of a cause, nor (as in the case
of the skeleton) can a consequence convey to us the
idea of an event necessarily precedent to, but not
immediately connected with, the consequence it-
self.

I consider the painting of " Death on the Pale
Horse," by the late celebrated and respected Pre-
sident of the Royal Academy, as one of the most
powerful efforts of the human pencil. It should,
however, be recollected, that this admirable pro-
duction of art must not be viewed as a representa-
tion of Death in general, but as a representation
of him under very especial circumstances. The

z

338 ON THE PERSONIFICATION OF DEATH.

subject of the picture is limited to a particular
description of Death in Holy Writ, as revealed to
St. John, and this revelation was confined to a
personification of the " potent conqueror'* under
remarkable dispensations of famine, battle, and
pestilence Theological historians hav,e generally
treated the prophecy as commencing with the
sway of the Emperor Maximin, and continuing to
the time of Diocletian, a period of about fifty years,
during which nothing but wars and murders, inva-
sions of foreign armies, rebellions of subjects,
famine and pestilence, extended over the greater
part of the Roman empire. To give an idea of
Death under such circumstances, Mr. West has
represented him as a " King of Terrors," but no
one can survey the picture, and not perceive that
the highly-gifted artist felt the absurdity of repre-
senting his subject as a skeleton. Out of compli-
ment (we are told) to the visionary Death of Mil-
ton, the painter has "endowed the central figure
with the appearance of superhuman strength and
energy, and depicted the King of Terrors with the
physiognomy of the dead in a charnel-house, but
animated almost to ignition with inexhaustible
rage ;" the arms, however, are muscular, and with
gigantic force are hurling darts in all directions.
It is impossible to account for what (at least at first
sight) appears a contradiction, except upon the
ground that the artist felt the impropriety of re-
presenting the annihilating thunderbolts of the
"potent conqueror" as proceeding from a lifeless

ON THE PERSONIFICATION OF DEATH. 339

and fleshless source, — alike incapable of action or
power ; and this opinion derives considerable sup-
port from the circumstances of the painter having
" clothed the figure with a spacious robe of fune-
real sable," and having given bandages to the feet.
One of the principal differences I could have
wished to have seen in the picture was, that, in-
stead of the figure bearing the physiognomy of the
dead in a charnel-house (though animated with
rage as it appears), it had been represented as an
invincible earthly assailant, executing the divine
purposes of an Almighty Director.

I confess I do not see the force of Mr. Lievre's
remark as to a skeleton or spectre conveying an
idea of insatiableness ; nor is Death insatiable, fur-
ther than the Divine Majesty ordains ; the pos-
sessor of his " keys" can limit his operations. The
personification of Death too by an object of flesh
and blood does not and cannot interfere with his
invincibleness, provided care be taken so to depict
him as to impress upon the spectator the utter
impossibility of successful conflict, in the ordinary
acceptation of the term, and with reference to the
inferior objects which ought to surround him.

Your Correspondent appears surprised at the
assertion that Death can ever dispense "happi-
ness," and certainly to only one class can he be
said to do so ; the impropriety, however, of always
representing him as an object of terror I must
assert. It is true he puts an end to mortal ex-
istence, and to earthly vision rides triumphant

z 2

340 ON THE PERSONIFICATION OF DEATH.

through the world, but surely he does not inva-
riably usher in the soul to a state of misery.
As the agent of the Almighty, and bound to obey
his commands, Death is alone the King of Terrors
to the wicked, — the righteous, God sustains
through the very portal, and delivers them from
all " fear '' of the conquering hero, by taking
from them that " guilt of sin " which alone makes
Death terrible. If the Christian in the field of
duty can meet Death with magnanimity, cannot
the Christian with such an Almighty Leader and
Guide ? The body will naturally shrink at the di-
rect approach of the victor, but the flutter is mo-
mentary to the Christian, as in the very instant
that the attack is made Elysium beams upon his
view, — the anticipation sustains his mental ener-
gies, and peace, hope, and joy shed a glorious
lustre over even his departing vision ! It is only
by taking all the allusions made in the Scriptures
to Death, and treating them as a context, that an
accurate idea of the subject can be formed. The
Atonement was made in vain if it did not, so far
as it was intended, transform Death from an object
of terror into an harbinger of joy, if it did not
enable the dying Christian to exult in the pro-
spect of Eternity, and say to his soul in the lines
of the celebrated poet : —

** Hark I they whisper, angels say,
Sister spirit, come away !
What is this absorbs me quite,
Steals my senses, shuts my sight,

ON THE PERSONIFICATION OF DEATH. 341

Drowns my spirits, draws my breath,
Tell me, my soul, can this be Death ?" .

Upon this latter part of my subject, too, I feel that
I am in some measure supported by the great artist
to whom I have before alluded. Although his in-
estimable picture, as I have observed, is confined
to a representation of Death under very appalling
circumstances of terror and bloodshed, and is not
in the least applicable to the peaceable couch of
the dying believer, he has not omitted to convey
to the " mind's eye" a glimpse of that glorious
region in which appear " the souls of them that
had been slain for the Word of God, and for the
testimony which they had held," in the awful times
of persecution to which the subject of the picture
relates ; and thus a powerful contrast is formed to
the misery and desolation which meet the eye in
every other direction.

In conclusion, I have only to observe, that, not-
withstanding the ingenuity displayed by your
Correspondent, my conviction of the impropriety
of representing Death as a skeleton remains un-
altered ; and I must also think, that, in any attempt
at a general personification of the subject, it should
not be forgotten that, although Death is an exclu-
sive and uncompromising object of terror to the
wicked, and invincible so far as respects all mor-
tal opposition on behalf of either the righteous or
the wicked, yet that he is the immediate precursor
of a crown of life to the former, who are sus-
tained even in the hour of his victory by " im-

342 ON A ROMAN PAVEMENT FOUND

mortal arms." It cannot, therefore, be correct
to represent his appearance as accompanied with
the same effect upon both the righteous and the
wicked.

I had entertained hopes that an abler pen than
mine would have undertaken the task of defending
the thesis which Mr. Lievre has attacked ; that,
however, not having been the case, I have ven-
tured to offer some of the reasons which have in-
duced me to take the view of the subject I have

adopted.

Yours, &c.

J. Stockdale Hardy.

ON A ROMAN PAVEMENT FOUND AT
LEICESTER IN SEPTEMBER, 1831.
The greatest curiosity, connected with former
ages, which has been recently discovered in this
place, is the Tessellated Pavement on premises
belonging to Mr. Rollings in Jewry-wall Street,
near St. Nicholas' church. This relic of ancient
grandeur measures twenty-one feet in length, and
seventeen in breadth ; it is composed of tesserae
of half an inch square and of a great variety
of colours. The general appearance of the Pave-
ment is that of a splendid floorcloth, exhibiting
several most beautiful patterns. " The largest
figures" have been described as " octangular, in-
closing circles of small triangles and other devices,

k

AT LEICESTER IN 1831. 343

in the centre of which are beautiful stars or knots
of various hues. Th^ interstices are suppHed with
smaller figures, which, as well as the larger ones,
are encircled with elegant wreaths ; a broad hexa-
gonal border runs round the whole, and forms ex-
ternally a square." Dr. Clarke conjectures that
pavements of the above description were first
brought from Persia, — that they succeeded the
painted floors invented by the Greeks, and were
introduced at Rome under Sylla in the l70th year
before Christ.

To form any adequate conception of this vene-
rable relic it must be seen. The mathematical
precision with which the several patterns are exe-
cuted is astonishing, and the coup-croeil is sin-
gularly novel and imposing. To avail myself of an
observation made by a most interesting authoress,
and one resident amongst us, it may with truth be
observed, with respect to the great curiosity to
which I have directed the attention of your
readers, that " the looms of modern Brussels, in
elegance and beauty of pattern, cannot fairly out-
vie the mosaic carpets of the ancient Romans."^
In viewing these mosaic works, the mind is invo-
luntarily led to contemplate the immense labour
which the Romans underwent in the progress and
completion of them. When the number of stones
and fragments of composition used in their con-
struction is considered, and that these were of

* Vide " Walk through Leicester," p. 30.

344 ON A ROMAN PAVEMENT FOUND

various sizes and shapes, and so arranged as to
give the best effects of light and shade, some
faint idea of the toil which the Roman slaves or
pavhnentarii employed in their formation under-
went may be entertained. For ages praise or
censure has been alike to them — their haughty
taskmaster has ceased to insult or betray ; and
the chieftain, who, perhaps, on this very spot was
engaged in conspiracies against English liberty,
may have left no other record of his existence than
the ingenuity of his meanest and most cruelly
oppressed vassals

The Pavement undoubtedly formed a portion of
some considerable Roman building, and boasts the
antiquity of at least 1500 years. The absence of any
.figures upon it induces me to suppose that it was
not connected with the principal apartment of a
Roman house, and it may have been a bath ; but
I cannot learn that any of the usual appendages to
Roman baths have been discovered near it. It is
situate either within, or immediately adjoining to,
the station of Ratce mentioned in the Itinerary of
Antoninus, at a short distance from that celebrated
antiquity the Jewry Wall, (by some supposed to
have been the gate of the ancient city, and by
others a place of sacrifice,) and in a neighbour-
hood where almost innumerable Roman coins have
been discovered. The river (a Roman labour
spanned by the West Bridge) Hows at a short dis-
tance below, and a little further is the Bow Bridge,
which formerly led to the ancient city, and to

AT LEICESTER IN 1831. 345

which bridge a via vicinalis from the fosse has
been supposed to have extended. This part of our
town is well worth the attention of all lovers of
antiquity — there are few spots of greater interest
— and it gives me the sincerest pleasure to learn
that, with reference to the curiosity to which
I have more particularly referred in this letter, the
proprietor of the premises upon which it was
found has taken the most effectual measures to
secure it from either injury or abuse. '^

* The Editor takes the opportunity of preserving in this place
the following memorandum with respect to another of the tessellated
pavements which adorned the Roman houses at Ratae : —

" On Monday, November 3, 1849, that most interesting relic
of Roman Leicester, the pavement supposed to represent Diana
and Actaeon, which has been kindly presented to the Museum by
Mrs. Worthington, was fixed on a frame on one of the walls of the
large room of the Institution, where it will be very conspicuous,
and attract the eye of every visitor. This pavement was discovered
in the year 1673, on the site of the premises now occupied by Mr,
Bolton, High-cross Street." — Leicester Chronicle.

ASH BY DE-LA-ZOUCHE.

To the Editor of the Leicester Journal.

Sir,

Places and scenery which would be deemed
most deserving of attention, if at a distance, are
frequently slighted or left unexplored by parties
resident in the vicinity of them. I have been in-
duced to make this remark — commonplace enough,
I admit — by a recent visit to the Ivanhoe Baths at
Ashby. Considering the literary and historical as-
sociations with which the spot is honoured — the
tournament so beautifully described by the in-
spired pen of the great Chronicler of the North —
the Baronial Castle, whose lofty and decorated
halls oft resounded, in the days of its prosperity,
with the boisterous mirth of both nobles and vas-
sals, and the hospitalities prevalent in which were
as unbounded as the political intrigues once carried
on within it — and last, not least, calling to mind
the eminent and devoted characters who were con-
nected either with the place or its neighbourhood,
I cannot avoid expressing my regret, that Ashby
has not attracted a larger share of local pubhc
attention and support.

The ruins of the Castle, " splendid in decay,"
meet with no competitor in the county ; they yet
frown with majestic grandeur upon the plains be-

ASHBY DE-LA-ZOUCHE. 347

neath^ once the possessions of the Castle's potent
Lord — William the first Baron Hastings, of Ashby
— the favourite of our fourth Edward — the pro-
tector, after that monarch's death, of the unfortu-
nate, but frail Jane Shore — and one of the earliest
victims to the regal designs of the tyrant, the
hypocrite, and the usurper, Richard III. The
ascent to the summit of the Great Tower is now
rendered quite safe and commodious — the visitor
can enjoy the extensive scenery which arrests his
attention, and is enabled with ease to trace the
extent of the once mighty pile, which eventually
fell a sacrifice to the intrepid and undeviating
loyalty of the noble descendants of the chieftain,
who might be justly designated its founder. The
ruins of the Chapel attached to the Castle are well
deserving of minute inspection, and in a Chapel
connected with the adjacent parish Church will
be found some magnificent sepulchral monuments
of the illustrious family of Hastings. The most
conspicuous of these is one erected to the memories
of Francis the second Earl of Huntingdon (who
built the chapel), and of Katharine his wife, grand-
daughter of the Prince George Plantagenet, Duke
of Clarence, brother of King Edward the Fourth.
This is a most sumptuous monument, and ranks
amongst the foremost in the kingdom for style
and architectural design ; " on the top of it are
recumbent statues of the earl and countess ; and
on the sides, in niches, are small statues of their
sons and daughters, with their names underneath.

348 ASHBY DE-LA-ZOUCHE.

according to seniority.** There is no monument
erected to the memory of the celebrated Selina
Countess of Huntingdon, but a beautiful represen-
tation of her appears on the tomb of her Lord,
Theophilus, the ninth Earl. This tomb is also en-
riched with an inscription from the masterly pen
of Lord Bolingbroke. In speaking of the dead,
too, it ought never to be forgotten that the pious
and devoted Bishop Hall drew his first breath
within the parish of Ashby : he was born July
1st, 1574; his father was an officer to Henry
Earl of Huntingdon, then President of the North,
and in the public school of this place did the
Bishop receive the rudiments of his education.
The troublous times which embittered the latter
days of the venerated prelate prevented any tomb
being raised to his memory — his works, however,
have constituted a more perennial monument than
sculpture could have effected. He died on the
8th September, 1656, and was buried iu the
churchyard of Higham, near Norwich.

The Castle of Ashby is peculiarly and affectingly
connected with the history of the royal, but ill-
starred, family of the Stuarts. Within its walls,
in 1569, was confined the beautiful — the faithful
to her creed — but infatuated Queen of Scots.
Here, for a short time, was she, by command of
Elizabeth, placed in the custody of Henry the third
Earl of Huntingdon. In this Castle, in 1603,
George the fourth Earl entertained in almost
more than regal splendour Prince Henry, the

ASHBY DE-LA-ZOUCHE. 349

grandson of the royal captive, and his mother,
Anne of Denmark, the consort of James I., on
their journey from Scotland to London —the one
to share with her husband the honours of an Eng-
lish throne, the other to gratify, by his presence,
the Court of a doating father, and a recently ele-
vated English sovereign. Here, in 1617, was King
James himself most expensively feasted by Henry
the fifth Earl of Huntingdon, during that weak
and pedantic monarch's "Progresses" — and into
this fortress did James's unfortunate son — the
honest though misguided and imprudent Charles I.
— enter, with buoyant spirits, when advancing to
the siege of Leicester in May 1645 — spirits as ele-
vated as they w^ere afterwards depressed, on his
re-entering its gates on the 25th of the subsequent
month, after the fatal conflict at Naseby. From
this friendly asylum, broken-hearted and almost
deserted, did his Majesty retire into Wales. The
Castle shared the fortunes of the unhappy monarch ;
after having been besieged by the Parliamentarian
forces for several months, it was surrendered by
Lord Loughborough (younger son of Lord Hun-
tingdon, and who, in 1643, had been called to the
peerage for his loyalty), and was dismantled, by
order of the House of Commons, in 1648, being
styled the " Maiden Garrison," from the circum-
stance of its never having been actually conquered.
'* The Ivanhoe Baths," says the Rev. Mr. Curtis,
in his very useful " Topographical History of the
County of Leicester," "are situate on the west

350 ASHBY DE-LA-ZOUCHE.

side of the town of Ashby." The building is pecu-
liarly elegant, being of Grecian architecture, in
the pure Doric order, surmounted by a dome,
which gives Hght to a very spacious pump-room,
used also as a ball-room. This room is fitted up
in the Grecian style, and accords well with the
general character of the building ; it is 52 feet in
length and 27 feet in breadth. There are twelve
baths. The waters are strongly impregnated with
active saline ingredients, and confer the acknow-
ledged benefits of sea-bathing upon a very popu-
lous midland district. At the south end of the baths
is erected the Hastings Hotel, a structure also of the
Grecian Doric order, and opening at the back-front
into the pleasure-grounds. These grounds are
very extensive, retired, and laid out and planted
with great taste. To the invalid sighing for the
restoration of health — to the man either of busi-
ness or literature, wishing to relax from the fatigues
of duty, or to pursue some important subject re-
lieved from the inconveniences of interruption, a
resort to Ashby may be safely recommended. The
immediate scenery of the Hotel is interesting, the
attentions paid highly deserving of encouragement,
and the seats of the nobility and gentry, at short
distances, well worthy of observation.

The road from Leicester to Ashby is (if I may
be allowed the expression) studded with historical
reminiscences. The traveller may so proceed as
to pass the inn where the monster Richard rested
(if rest were allowed him) on the night before

ASHBY DE-LA-ZOUCHE. 351

the battle of Bosworth Field. In his progress, he
may skirt the confines of the Abbey where the
once haughty and powerful Wolsey breathed his
last, and begged a resting-place for his bones —
a short distance onwards, he approaches, at Groby,
the mansion where once resided the beautiful Eli-
zabeth Woodville, who, after the death of her first
husband, Sir John Grey, became the Queen of
King Edward IV. and was the mother of the in-
fant princes so cruelly murdered in the Tower —
at the same moment, Bradgate, the birthplace of
the amiable and ambition -martyred Lady Jane
Grey, is descried — and at almost every point,
owing to the different impulses which dictated the
line of conduct pursued by several neighbouring
influential county families during the civil wars of
the seventeenth century, the way is associated
with events connected with those lamented strug-
gles. Thus the contemplative mind is kept in a
state of '^ sweet excitement," until the stately ruins
of the Castle of Ashby burst upon the view, and
lead to further interesting inquiries.

I remain, yours, &c. Antiquarius.

Leicester i March 31, 1834,

\

An Attempt to Appropriate a Monument
now remaining in the Chapel of the Trinity
Hospital in Leicester, to the Memory of Mary
DE BoHUN, Countess of Derby, and Mother
of King Henry the Fifth ; with some Account
of the Castle and Newarke of Leicester, and of
the Earls and Dukes of Lancaster, previous to
tfiose Titles merging in the Crown.

[Published in 8vo. 1836.]

TO THE READER.

I AM quite aware that the manner in which the
subject of this pamphlet has been treated too
nearly approaches an abstruse antiquarian disser-
tation, to be acceptable to the general reader. In
the absence, however, of inscription, shield, or
badge on the monument 1 have attempted to de-
scribe, I have been necessarily led into detail much
more than I could have desired ; but, without going
into detail, any effort at appropriation would have
utterly failed. My object was, and I am not
ashamed to avow it, to invite the attention of my
fellow-townsmen to 'the rich stores of chivalrous
recollection, and historic elucidation, which exist
in and about Leicester, to prevent any ruthless

TO THE READER. 353

desecration of interesting remains, and to instil
feelings of regard and protection towards them,
into the minds of those who may succeed us.

I should account myself guilty of gross ingrati-
tude, were I not to acknowledge, with sincere
thanks, the attentive and most valuable replies
which I received from the gentlemen whose names
I subjoin, to various communications I addressed
to them, on the subjects discussed in the following
pages : —

Rev. Bulkeley Bandinel, D.D., F.S.A., Bodleian
Library, Oxford.

George Frederick Beltz, Esq. F.S.A,, Lancaster
Herald.

Alfred John Kempe, Esq. F.S.A., New Kent Road.

Matthew Holbeche Bloxam, Esq. Rugby.

John Gough Nichols, Esq. F.S.A., ParUament
Street.

J. S. H.

Leicester, Feb. 24, 1 836.

2 A

354

ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

INTRODUCTION,

In elucidation of the subject of this pamphlet,
extracts from the pedigree of the royal and illus-
trious House of Lancaster, with some historical
notes, are here given.

King Henry III.=pEleanor, daughter of Raymond Count
of Provence.

Edmund, second son, born 1245, created Earl of=pBLANCHE, daughter of

Leicester on the death and forfeiture of Simon de
Montfort. He was also created Earl of Lancas-
ter and Derby, and High Steward of England.
He died at Bayonne 1295, and was buried in the
Abbey Church of Westminster, under a splendid
tomb on the north side of the high altar.

Thomas, second Earl of Lancaster, Lei-
cester, and Derby, and High Steward of
England. He was chief of the nobles
that combined af;;ainst Gaveston and the
Spensers, the unhappy favourites of Ed-
ward n. The Earl, with his confederates,
raised an array with which they marched
Northward ; the movement, however, was
an unsuccessful one, and they were com-
pelled to retire before the King's party,
and soon afterwards the Earl was be-
headed near Pontefract, and his estates
confiscated. He died without issue.—
N.B. It has been supposed that the vast
number of coins found in the bed of the
river at Tutbury, about four years since,
belonged to the army raised by this Earl
at the period above mentioned, and were
thrown into the river when the army was
pursued by the King.

Robert Count of Artois,
and widow of Henry de
Champa igne. King of
Navarre, and Countess
Palatine of Champaigne
and Brie.

Henry, third Earl, and=pMAUD,
High Steward of Eng- daugh-
land. In 1 Edw. III. ter of
the attainder of Thomas Sir Pa-
second Earl was re- trick
versed, and this Earl Cha-
succetded to the titles worth,
and estates of his father
and brother. This Earl
resided much at the
Castle of Leicester,
wherein he took great
delight. In 1331 he
founded the Trinity
Hospital in the New-
arke of Leicester. The
Earl died at Leicei>ter
1345, and was buried
in the Newarke there,
where a monumettt wa»
erected for hint in the
Collegiate Church.

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY.

355

I
Henry de Grismond (so called from the Castle of Gris-=
mond in Monmouthshire, the place of his birth), fourth Earl
and first Duke, and High Steward of England, K.G. He was
a renowned warrior, and one of the chief in the warlike reign
of Edward III,; served in Flanders. France, and Scotland, was
the King's Lieutenant for the North parts of England, and
General of his Army against the Scots ; served too in Gascony.
At the institution of the Order of the Garter, he stood next to
the Black Prince as a Knight Companion, In 23d Edw. III.
he was made Earl of Lincoln ; soon after which he was consti-
tuted the King's Lieutenant and Captain General in the parts
of Poitiers. In this year he marched into Gascoigne with
30,000 men, and took 42 towns and castles. Being already
Earl of Lancaster, Leicester, Derby, and Lincoln, the King
advanced him to the Dukedom of Lancaster, and made
him a Count Palatine, with a separate Chancery, &c. and
also Admiral of the King's Fleet from the Thames westward.
He retired to his castle of Leicester to spend the evening of
his days, and died of a pestilence which then prevailed on the
eve of the Annunciation of our Lady, March 24th, 35 Edw.
III. anno 1361. (Dugdale, vol. I. p. 780.) He was buried
in the Collegiate Church of the Newarke on the north side of
the High Altar.

1. Maude,
died with-
out leaving
any issue.

-1st. Ralph,
son and heir
of Ralph
Lord Staf-
ford ; and
2dly, Wil-
liam Duke of
Zealand.

— -1 ■

I
2. Blanche.

^Isabel,
daughter of
Henry
Lord Beau-
mont ; she
vms buried-
in the Col-
legiate
Church of
the New-
arke of Lei-
cester ; she
survived
her hus-
band.

■John of Ghent, Earl of
Richmond, &c. fourt^h son of
King Edward III. created after
the death of his father-in-law
Duke of Lancaster, &-c. died
at Ely House, Holborn, and
was buried in Old St. Paul's,
as was his wife Blanche, where
a splendid monument was
erected to their memories. It
is almost needless to mention
that this Duke was one of the
most celebrated men of his
time. He was a favourer of
the doctrines inculcated by
WyclifFe ; he protected that
great and good man from the
violence of his enemies, and
procured for him the Rectory
of Lutterworth.

I
Henry, surnamed of Boling-=
broke, Earl of Derby, after-
wards Earl and Duke of He-
reford, and eventually KING
HENRY IV. ; died 1413, and
was buried in the Cathedral of
Canterbury.

1. Mary de Bohun, younger daughter
and coheiress of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl
of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton, Con-
stable of England, &c. She died at Lei-
cester on the Monday next after the feast
of St. Peter and St. Paul, A.D. 1394, and
was buried in the Collegiate Church of the
Newarke.

2 A 2

356

ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

I I I
1. Henry, jThe 2. Thomas Duke of Cla-

surnamed of Prin- rence, slain at the battle

Monmouth cess of Beauj<*, A.D. 1421.

(from the Ka- 3. John, Duke of Bedford,

place of his tha- one of tlie most accom-

birth) bom rine plished princes of the age,

1388, after- of and equally experienced

wards King France, in the cabinet and in the

Henry V. the daugh- field. He was appointed

hero of Azin- ter of by Parliament, Protector

court. He pre- Charles of England, Defender of

sided at a Par- VI. the Church, and first

liamentheldat Counsellor to his nephew

LeicesterA.D. King Henry VI. during

1414,atwhich his minority. He after-

the war with wards became Regent of

France, which France. In 1425-6 he

led to the bat- was present and assisted

tie of Azin- at a Parliament held in

court, was de- the Great Hall of the

termined on, Castle of Leicester, at

under the ad- which two most celebrated

vice of Chiche- occurrences took place.

ley Archbi- The one, the accommoda-

shop of Can- tion of a Dissension v>hich

terbury, and had long subsisted between

Holland Duke Cardinal Beaufort and

of Exeter. Humphrey Duke of Glou-

This Parlia- cester ; the other, the

ment adopted knighthood by the King,

some most se- and the restoration in

vere measures blood, of Richard Earl of

against the fol- Cambridge, and his Crea-

lowers ol Wye- tion as Duke of York, — a

liffe, which restoration which enabled

were rigorous- him afterwards, as he did,

ly enforced. to put in and prosecute

King Henry his claim to the Crown,

died A.D. and which ultimately

1422, and was placed the Crown on the

buried in the head of his Son Edward

Abbey Church IV. (Nichols, I. 372.)

of Westmin- The Duke of Bedford died

ster. at Rouen, Sept. 14, A.D.
1435, and was buried in
the Cathedral of that City,
on the right hand of the
high altar.

4. Humphrey, Dake
of Gloucester, dur-
ing part of the reign
of his nephew, King
Henry VI. Regent
of England, as hi«
brother, the Duke of
Bedford, was of
France. The Duke
died, not without
great suspicion of
violence or poison,
A. D. 1446. The
brothers (the three
Dukes of Clarence,
Bedford, and Glou-
cester) all married,
but left no issue.
They form promi-
nent characters in
Shakspere's plays of
Henry V. and VI.
the Duke of Bedford
also in the play of
Henry IV.

5. Blanche, married
1st. Barbatus, Duke
of Bavaria ; 2d. The
King of Arragon ;
3d. The Duke of
Barr.

6. Philippa, mar-
ried Eric, King of
Denmark, A. D.
1405.

King Henry VI.
(sec next page, b.)

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY,

357

b
King Henry VI. in whose reign commenced the wars of the:
Houses of York and Lancaster, commonly called the Wars of the
Roses. The White Rose was the symbol of the House of York,
and the Red that of the House of Lancaster. Henry died A.D.
1471. The wars of the Roses were a succession of bloody engage-
ments, which were terminated by the battle of Bosworth, A.D. 1485.
This contest seated Henry Earl of Richmond — then the representa-
tive of the Lancaster family — on the English throne, and by his
prudent marriage with the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King
Edward IV. the legitimate representative of the House of York,
the interests of the Houses of York and Lancaster became so
blended as ever afterwards to be incapable of distinction. The
restoration in blood of Richard Earl of Cambridge, at the Parlia-
ment held at Leicester by King Henry VI. in 1426, might (by
recognising him as the heir of Lionel Duke of Clarence, who was
third son of King Edward Til. and thus enabling him to assert his
claim to the Crown in preference to the reigning Monarch, who was
the great-grandson of John of Ghent, the fourth son of the same
King,) be said to have commenced the Wars of the Roses, as the
Battle of Bosworth, fought in the County of Leicester, by uniting
the conflicting interests, as certainly terminated them.

:MaR-

GARET
OF

An-

JOU.

358 ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

AN ATTEMPT, &c.

There are no provincial sites more intimately
associated with the history and alliances of the
illustrious house of Lancaster than are the Castle
and Newarke ^ of Leicester. The former was for
many years a favourite residence of several mem-
bers of that royal line, and the scene of some of
the most interesting events of their lives; and
within the precincts of the latter are deposited the
remains of Henry the third Earl of Lancaster (the
grandson of King Henry HL) ; of his son, Henry
the first Duke of Lancaster, the father-in-law of
the renowned John of Gaunt (or Ghent in Flan-
ders, the place of his birth) ; of Constance (daugh-
ter of Peter King of Castile and Leon), the second
wife of that celebrated character; and last, not
least, of Mary de Bohun, the first wife of King
Henry IV., the mother of the hero of Azincourt,
and of the renowned princes and regents, John
Duke of Bedford, and Humphrey Duke of Glou-
cester, -f

It is true, the majestic towers of the Castle of
Leicester are levelled, and the beautiful collegiate
church of the Newarke has disappeared ; yet still,

* i. e. the new work, an addition to the ancient castle,
f Vide " Introduction."

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY. 359

to the contemplative mind, the spirit of departed
greatness " Ungers " within the district, and in-
spires a '^ most bewitching " and '' luxuriant " me-
lancholy.

The Castle and Newarke of Leicester have been
so accurately and particularly described by various
historians (especially by my late venerable friend
Mr. Nichols, in his " History of Leicestershire" ),
that I shall merely make such a reference to them
as may be necessary to elucidate my present sub-
ject. The Castle was of Saxon foundation, but
was rebuilt and remodelled at the period of the
Norman Conquest ; no remains of it exist, except
its great hall (now appropriated to the assizes, &c.)
the mound of its keep, one of its vaults, two of its
gatehouses,* and portions of its outer wall. Of the
Newarke, a very slight remain of its collegiate
church, two of its chantry houses (one occupied
by the Rev. Dr. Fancourt, the other by Mr. Pratt),
the oratory of its hospital, portions of the latter,
and of the boundary walls, are all that are left to
" tell the tale " of its ancient magnificence. The

* One of these, separating the Newarke from the Castle, be-
came so dilapidated a few years since, that it was necessary to
take down a great part of it ; in its ruinated state it is still very
interesting. The other remains ** a noble monument of the House
of Lancaster," and forms the principal entrance into the Newarke.
Portions of it, however, are in a bad state, and the whole requires
attention. I trust I shall not be deemed impertinent in thus soli-
citing towards this — decidedly one of the most richly associated
and complete feudal remains in the county — the notice of the
proper authorities.

360 ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

Castle was situate on the north side of the New-
arke ; and the latter, with its appendages, might
be considered as stately appurtenances to it. They
were raised, enlarged, and maintained by the muni-
ficence of Henry the third Earl, and of Henry and
John the first and second Dukes of Lancaster. The
hospital of the Newarke, with its oratory, were
founded by the third Earl ; whose son, the first
Duke, materially extended its sphere of usefulness,
and placed it under the superintendence of the
Dean and Canons of a collegiate establishment,
erected in the immediate vicinity, which had been
commenced by his father, and was continued and
completed under the fostering care of himself and
the successive members of his royal and noble
house. The church attached to this establishment
appears to have been a cathedral in miniature, and
to have excited the admiration of all visitors. It
has been described by an ancient tourist as ** the
most beautiful abbey in England." Here, in 1345,
was Earl Henry buried, King Edward the Third
and his Queen, with many of the Bishops, Earls,
and Barons, attending his funeral. The Earrs
son, Henry the first Duke, after the untimely end
of an only son, removed from his seat at Kemps^
ford in Gloucestershire to his Castle of Leicester,
where his study appears to have been to complete
the extensive works in and about the Castle and
Newjirke, which his father had began. He died
at the Castle in 1301, ;uh1 was buried in the colle-

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY. 361

giate church of the Newarke, to the altar of which
he had presented a most precious relic. ^

From his extensive benevolence, and his atten-
tion to the comforts and interests of the people of
Leicester, he was called the " Good Duke of Lan-
caster." John of Gaunt, " time- honoured Lancas-
ter," married for his first wife, Blanche, daughter
of this Duke, who, by the death of her sister
Maude without issue, became sole heiress to her
father ; and her husband, having been created
Duke of Lancaster, made the Castle of Leicester one
of his principal places of residence. The will of
this Duke is dated from his Castle of Leicester
(February 3rd, 1397) ; and by some he is supposed
to have died there. -f^ The better opinion, however,
is, that he died at Ely House in Holborn ; and it
is certain that he was buried at Old St. Paul's, be-
side his first wife Blanche, in compliance with a
direction contained in his will.;}: Henry of Boling-

* This Duke, in a tournament with the Duke of Brunswick, on
the latter submitting to the arbitrament of the King of France,
was desired to select what he pleased out of many precious relics.
He chose a thorn, said to have been taken from the crown of
Jesus, and brought it to Leicester, where it was placed before the
altar of the collegiate church of the Newarke. The will of the
Duke was proved at Leicester 3 kal. April, 1361, and in London
7 ides of May following.

■f Archseologia, vol. xx. p. 180.

I Vide Sir H. Nicolas's " Testamenta Vetusta," vol. i. p. 140.
There is a singular inadvertence in Dugdale with regard to this
point. In the " Baronage," (vol. ii. p. 118,) Constance, the second

362 ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

broke being the son of Duke John by his wife
Blanche, the Castle of Leicester vested in the
Crown, as parcel of the Duchy of Lancaster, on that
Prince becoming King Henry IV. This leads me
to my more immediate subject.

Leland, who visited Leicester when the collegiate
church was in its splendour, gives this description
of it. I choose to copy his quaint and antiquated
style : —

" The collegiate chirch of Newarke, and the
area of it, yoinith to another peace of the castelle
ground. The college chirch is not very great, but
it is exceding fair. There lyith on the north side
of the high altare Henry Erie of Lancaster, with-
owt a crounet, and two men-childern, under the
arche, next to his hedde. On the southe side
lyith Henry, the first Duke of Lancaster ; and yn
the next arch to his hedde lyith a lady, by hke-
lihod his wife.

"Constance, daughter to Peter King of Castelle,
and wife to John of Gaunt, liith afore the high
altare in a tumbe of marble, with an image of
[brassej like a queue, on it.

wife of John of Gaunt, is stated as having been buried at Leicester.
In the neu:t page he says the Duke was buried at St. Paul's, with
Constance his second wife. However, the List of Chantries kept at
St. Paul's, and printed in the " Appendix " to his History of that
Cathedral Church, shows that it was the Duchess Blanche, and
not Constance, who was there buried. It is singular that the
three wives of John of Gaunt should have had three different
places of sepulture ; the first at St. Paul's, the second at Leicester,
and the third (Katharine Swynford) at Lincoln,

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY. 363

" There is a tumbe of marble in the body of the
quire. They told me that a Countes of Darby lay
biried in it ; and they make her, I wot not how,
wife to John of Gaunt, or Henry the 4. Indeade,
Henry the 4, wille John of Gaunt livid, was cauUid
Erie of Darby. In the chapelle of St. Mary, on
the southe side of the quire, ly buried two of the
Shirleys, ^ knights, with their wives ; and one
Brokesby, an esquier. Under a piller yn a chapelle
of the south crosse isle, lyith the Lady Hungre-
ford,"^ and Sacheverel her seconde husbande.

'^ In the southe side of the body of the chirch
lyith one of the Bluntes,^ a knight, with his wife.

" And on the north side of the chirch ly 3
Wigestons, great benefactors to the college. One
of them was a Prebendarie there, and made the
free grammar- schole.

" The cloister on the south-weste side of the

* The families of Shirley, Hungerford, and Blunt (or Blount),
were all zealous and distinguished partisans of the house of Lan-
caster. Sir Hugh Shirley, with several of the Blounts, fell early
in the wars of the Roses. In Shakspere's " Henry the Fourth,"
the Prince of Wales is made to exclaim —

" The spirits of valiant Shirley, Staflford, Blount,
Are in my arms."
Sir Ralph Shirley (son of Sir Hugh) gloriously distinguished him-
self at the battle of Azincourt, and was buried in the Newarke
church, A.D. 1443. (Vide Nichols's Leicestershire, tit. " Staun-
ton Harold.") He married Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir John
Blount, who fell at the siege of Rouen. Walter Lord Hunger-
ford was Lord Treasurer of England temp. Henry V. : and he, as
well as Sir John Blount, were advanced to the dignity of the Gar-
ter by that monarch. Vide Godwin's Henry V. pp. 208, 347.

364 ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

chirch is large and faire, and the houses in the
cumpace of the area of the college for the Preben-
daries be al very praty.

" The waulles and gates of the college be stately.

" The riche Cardinal of Winchester * gildid al
the floures and knottes in the voulte of the chirch.

*' The large Alraose-house standith also withyn
the quadrante of the area of the College."

Leland's Itinerary, vol. i. pp. 17, 18.

That in early life Henry the Fourth was called
Earl of Derby is quite clear ^-f^ indeed it had been
a title borne by several of his ancestors. He after-
wards became Earl and then Duke of Hereford.
While Earl of Derby, he, with the consent of his
cousin King Richard II. (A.D. 1381,) married Mary
de Bohun, the younger daughter and coheiress of
Humphrey de Bohun, late Earl of Hereford, Essex,
and Northampton, and Constable of England, by
Joan daughter of Richard Earl of Arundel and
Surrey. A distant relationship previously existed
between the parties, inasmuch as the mother of
the Countess of Hereford was Alianor, daughter of
Henry the third Earl of Lancaster. J The elder
daughter and coheiress of the Earl of Hereford
(Alianor de Bohun) had been previously married

♦ Cardinal Beaufort, natural son of John of Gaunt by Katha-
rine Swynford, before his marriage with her.

t Cal. Rot Pat p 215, m. 5.

:j: Vide Sir H. Nicolas's Test. Vet. vol. i. pp. 89, 93 ; and Pedi-
j^rec of the De Bohuns, in Harding's " Antiquities of Westminster
Abbey," p. 24.

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY. 365

to Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, the
paternal uncle of the Earl of Derby. These ladies
shared between them their father s large posses-
sions, consisting of upwards of forty lordships,
and which were afterwards made the subject of
divers arrangements. '^ The Earl of Hereford died
when they were very youngj-f and they were both
early married. Alianor died a widow in 1 399, and
was buried in the chapel of St. Edmund the King,
in the abbey church of Westminster, where a large
monumental slab, placed upon a low tomb of the
altar kind, inlaid with exceeding rich brass-work,
and bearing on the ledge of the monument an ap-
propriate inscription, marks the place of her inter-

* In the Parliament prorogued from Leicester to Westminster,
temp. Henry v., A.D. 1414, it was enacted, without opposition,
that all the estates within the King's dominions which descended
to the King in right of his mother, Dame Mary, (one of the
daughters and coheirs of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford,
&c.) as son and heir of the said Dame Mary, should be dissevered
from the Crown of England, and annexed to the Duchy of Lan-
caster. (Vide Sir R. Cotton's Pari. Rolls, p. 541.) It is no less
singular than true, that the disappointment, in a subsequent reign,
of the Duke of Buckingham, in not receiving at the hands of
Richard the Third the Hereford estates, in return for the part he
had taken in elevating that usurper to the Throne, led to the first
attempt of the Earl of Richmond upon the Crown, and eventually
to that successful effort at Bosworth which placed it on his head.
(Vide Buck's Richard the Third, p. 34 ; and Hutton's Bosworth
Field, p. 13.)

t A.D. 1373 (vide Test. Vet. vol. i. p. 89). The Countess
of Hereford survived until the year 1419. (Vide Dugdale, vol. i.
p. 187.)

366 ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

merit.* Her younger sister, Mary Countess of
Derby, died at the Castle of Leicester, the resi-
dence of her father-in-law, in the year 1394, and
was buried in the collegiate church of the New-
arke, in a tomb situate, according to Leland, " in
the body of the quire." Her husband and father-
in-law were at the time both engaged in France,
negociating a treaty of peace with the Dukes of
Berri and Burgundy ; and it is a singular circum-
stance that her father-in-law should have lost his
Duchess (Constance) at the same period, she having
died at the Castle of Leicester within a day of
the Countess. She was, as before stated, interred
in the same church. -f-

The following curious particulars relative to the
marriage of the Earl of Derby with Mary de Bohua
are extracted from " Froissart's Chronicles,"
Johnes's edit A.D. 1806: they are taken from an
article headed, " Two additional Chapters, which
are only in one of my MSS. and not in any printed
copy."

" There fell out about this time in England an
event which gave great displeasure to the Earl of
Buckingham, when he heard of it. I will explain
to you what it was. Humphrey Earl of Hereford
and Northampton, and Constable of England, was

* She died in the Abbey of Barking, having, after her hus-
band's tragical death at Calais, taken the veil. (Vide a plate and
description of her tomb in Harding's " Antiquities of Westminster
Abbey," p. 20.)

t Knyghton, Coll. 274.

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY. 36?

one of the greatest lords and landholders in that
country ; for it was said, and I, the author of this
book, heard it when I resided in England, that his
revenue was valued at fifty thousand nobles a year.
From this Earl of Hereford there remained only
two daughters as his heiresses ; Blanche the eldest,
and Isabella her sister.^ The eldest was married
to Thomas of Woodstock, Earl of Buckingham.
The youngest was unmarried, and the Earl of
Buckingham would willingly have had her to
remain so, for then he would have enjoyed the
whole of the Earl of Hereford's fortune. Upon
this marriage with Alianor, he went to reside at
his handsome castle of Pleshy, in the county of
Essex, thirty miles from London, which he pos-
sessed in right of his wife. He took on himself
the tutelage of his sister in-law, and had her in-
structed in doctrine ; for it was his intention to
have her professed a nun of the order of St. Clare,
which had a very rich and large convent in Eng-
land/f- In this manner was she educated during
the time the Earl remained in England, before his
expedition into France. She was also constantly
attended by nuns from this convent, who tutored
her in matters of religion, continually blaming the
married state. The young lady seemed to incline
to their doctrine, and thought not of marriage.

* This is an obvious error ; their names were Alianor and
Mary.

t This was in London, near the Tower, at the spot now called
the Minories.

368 ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

Duke John of Lancaster, being a prudent and wise
man, foresaw the advantage of marrying his only
son Henry, by his first wife Blanche, to the Lady
Mary; he was heir to all the possessions of the
House of Lancaster in England, which were very
considerable. The Duke had for some time con-
sidered he could not choose a more desirable wife
for his son than the lady who was intended for a
nun, as her estates were very large, and her birth
suitable to any rank ; but he did not take any
steps in the matter until his brother of Bucking-
ham had set out on his expedition to France.
When he had crossed the sea, the Duke of Lancas-
ter had the young lady conducted to Arundel
Castle, for the aunt of the two ladies was the
sister* of Richard Earl of Arundel, one of the
most powerful lords in England. This lady
Arundel, out of complaisance to the Duke of Lan-
caster, and for the advancement of the young lady,
went to Pleshy, where she remained with the
Countess of Buckingham and her sister for fifteen
days. On her departure from Pleshy, she managed
so well that she carried with her the Lady Mary
to Arundel, when the marriage was instantly con-
summated between her and Henry of Lancaster.-^
During their union of twelve years, he had by her

* This should he " wife :" the Countess of Arundel was Eliza-
beth, daughter of William de liohun, Earl of Northampton, grand-
father of the heiresses. The Earl of Arundel himself stood in the
like relationship to them, being their maternal uncle.

f There is some reason to bolievo that the vounu ladv had com-

m

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY. 369

four handsome sons, Henry, Thomas, John, and
Humphrey, and two daughters, Blanche and
PhiUppa. The Earl of Buckingham had not, as I
said, any incHnation to laugh when he heard these
tidings, for it would now be necessary to divide an
inheritance which he considered wholly as his
own, excepting the Constableship, which was con-
tinued to him. When he learned that his brothers
had all been concerned in this matter, he became
melancholy, and never after loved the Duke of
Lancaster as he had hitherto done."

The Plate represents a monument now stand-
ing under the north window of the Chapel of
the Newarke Hospital, which I believe, for the
reasons hereafter assigned, to be the one described
by Leland, in his notice of the collegiate church,
as the tomb of the Countess of Derby.

It should be stated, that the Chapel of the
Trinity (or Newarke) Hospital is situate within an
hundred yards of the collegiate church, the site of
which latter is identified, not only by Leland and
other writers, but also by several arches of the
vault of the church still remaining, underneath a
mansion erected over it.^ The church was in a
great measure destroyed at the Reformation, and
with it perished all its monumental treasures,
except the one which I conjecture to have been so
singularly preserved. Leland, who visited the

menced her novitiate ; and the suddenness, as well as craft, with
which her abduction was effected, countenances the opinion.
* Now the residence of Richard Warner Wood, Esq.

2 B

370 ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

hospital as well as the collegiate church, is silent
as to any monument existing in the chapel of the
former; but Mr Wyrley, who visited the chapel
some years after the destruction of the church
(circa 1590), noticed in it " a very fayr and statlie
monument of aladie, curiosly wrought ;" he, how-
ever, appears not to have made any particular
inquiry respecting it, for he adds, "but of noe'
note or marke."* It is evident, therefore, that in
Mr. Wyrley's time this was, as at present, the only
monument in the chapel. It is time, however, to
speak of the monument itself. It is a tomb
whereon is sculptured a female figure, the appear-
ance of which denotes that its subject had not
attained the middle age,^ The female is repre-
sented in a veil and mantle, with a standing cape,
necklace, and jewel pendant, long sleeves, reaching
down to her wrists, a garment folded over her feet,
angels at her head, under which are two cushions,
the undermost tasselled. The tomb has an em-

* Vide Wyrley's MSS. now remaining amongst the archives of
the Heralds' College. Mr. Wyrley was a herald, and a native of
Nether-Seile, in Leicestershire.

t The Countess of Derby must have died very young; her
death occurred, I have before stated, in 1394. 3d Sept. 5 Rio.
II. (A.D. 1382,) John of Gaunt bsued his warrant to his Re-
ceiver in the County of Lincoln, to pay to Joan Countess of
Hereford 100 marks per annum, for the wardship and costs of hia
daughter-in-law i Mary Countess of Derhy, until she should
arrive at the age of fourteen. (Vide Nichols's Leicestershire,
vol. i. p. 247, where Regist. Johannis Ducis, &c. is referred to as
the authority.)

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY. 371

battled moulding, and four plain shields on the
south front.

It will be observed, that the costume of the
figure is in accordance with that prevalent at the
close of the fourteenth century. There are no
vestments or symbols of widowhood discernible on
the figure. There is not the slightest tradition as
to any interment of note in the chapel of the Hos-
I pital at this early period, nor, indeed, was it likely
there should, the collegiate church being then
standing, and the chapel the oratory of a " Bede-
house;" and as monumental effigies, after the
thirteenth century, were generally regarded as
containing portraits of a deceased party (Gough,
p. 97), it may be remarked that nothing can be
more in accordance with the character, as to cos-
tume, of a young married female of the fourteenth
century, than the one which this effigy presents.

The embattled moulding is also characteristic of
the period referred to. It appears very con-
spicuously in the woodwork of the roof of the
south aisle of the adjacent church of St. Mary de
Castro, which was a gift of the Duke of Lancaster,
circa 1385. An animal, in all likelihood a dog,
has lain at the foot of the figure. This was pro-
bably destroyed when the tomb was removed ; the
space, however, which it once occupied is quite
apparent. There is also great reason to believe
that the jewel pendant was first adopted in or
about the reign of Henry IV. The ef^gy of
Philippa, Queen of Edward III. (who died in

t2 B 2

372 ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

1369,) has neither collar nor necklace; and I
believe it will be found that, with the exception of
the tomb I am describing,* the earliest instance
where the collar of SS appears on the effigy of a
female, is on that of Joan of Navarre, the second
wife of the Earl of Derby (then King Henry IV.)
who died in 1437, and was buried with her hus-
band in the cathedral at Canterbury. It may, too,
be remarked that the brass- inlaid effigy in West-
minster Abbey, of the before mentioned Alianor
Duchess of Gloucester (who died in 1399), repre-
sents her habited in a very similar dress to that
appearing in the Leicester case, viz. a loose gown
or robe, mantle, and veiled bead-dress. The
duchess of Gloucester, however, having died a
widow, is represented also with the barb, which
covers the neck and chin : this, of course^ her
sister, the Countess of Derby, who died in her
husband's lifetime, would not have. (Vide en-
graving of this monument in Harding's West-
minster Abbey, p. 20.) The cape of the inner
vest, in the Leicester effigy, is slightly turned
back ; in Strutt's " Dresses," vol. ii. plate 93, is
the figure of a lady of rank of the latter part of
the fourteenth century, who is represented in a
robe with a similar cape ; and, although there is
more simplicity in the general features of the
Leicester tomb than are usually attendant on
tombs of the latter part of the fourteenth century,

* There is no collar of esses in the present case, nor is the
remark which follows correct. — Edit.

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY. 373

yet instances are not wanting of tombs of that era
being as unembellished. In the church of Me-
riden^ in Warwickshire^ there is a monument of
this period the sides of which are quite plain, with
the exception of three shields, which are similar
to those on the Leicester monument, the habili-
ments on the ef^^y of which evidently bespeak
exalted rank. A ring appears on the "fourth
finger of the left hand " of the figure on the Lei-
cester monument, w^hich, taken in conjunction
with the absence of the barb, establishes the fact
that the subject of the monument died a married
woman. The dilapidated state of the tomb,
together with the obvious abridgment of its pro-
portions to suit its present position, are strong
proofs of its removal from some other situation ;
tradition for nearly two centuries corresponds ; and
I am much inclined to think that it did not alwaj/s
occupy the situation it now does, even in the
Trinity Hospital chapel. I perfectly remember,
when quite a boy, seeing a drawing of it, (made
by Mr. Throsby when the chapel and hospital had
not been exposed to modern curtailment,) in which
the embattled moulding was shewn completely
surrounding it; an ornament now in a great
measure hidden by the wall and screen against
which it rests. During Cromv/ell's usurpation,
the chapel and hospital were for a considerable
period consigned to the " tender mercies " of
Parliamentarian Commissioners; and this cir-
cumstance, taken in conjunction with the addi-

374 ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

tional one, that about sixty years since (as just
hinted at) both the chapel and hospital underwent
very extensive alterations, render it matter of sur-
prise that so much of the tomb is left as now
exists. The tomb of Bishop Penny, in the church
of St. Margaret, is a striking instance of the " hard
fate" (if I may be allowed the expression) which
has frequently attended relics of this description.
Tradition has it, that this memorial once occupied
a central situation in the chancel of that beautiful
church ; it was then removed into what is called
the " Vicar*s Chancel,*' at the east end of the north
aisle ; an engraving of it, during its occupation of
this site, is given in Mr. Nichols's book ; and from
this it appears that six massive columns (three on
each side) were appendages to it. Some years
since an extensive reparation of the church took
place ; it was again removed ; its columns, owing
probably to serious but unintentional injuries then
sustained, have disappeared ; and its remains are
now placed against the north wall of the church,
much in the same manner as are those of the tomb
of the Countess of Derby in the Trinity Hospital
Chapel. The monument of Bishop Penny, a very
considerable benefactor to the place, of which he
was once the Abbot, now stands a melancholy
spectacle of departed si)lendour !

But to return : — The narration of Leland shews
that, if the tomb be one which once graced the
collegiate church, it imiat be that of the Countess
of Derby, for to none other will his description

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY. 375

apply : it was a tomb with neither brass nor in-
scription, standing " in the middle of the quire."
It is true there were other females besides the
Countess interred in the collegiate church, but
only two connected with the House of Lancaster ;
one Leland supposes to have been the first
Duchess, and describes her as lying on the south
side of the high altar, in the next arch to her hus-
band's head. Now, putting aside the fact that
this lady could not die very young, and was proba-
bly a widoiv,^ and that the appearance of the
figure on the tomb in Trinity Hospital could in
no way apply to her, is it at all probable that such
a divorce from the remains of her husband, as the
removal of her tomb would have been, was likely
to have been attempted ? The other female con-
nected with the Lancaster family, who was buried
in the collegiate church, was Constance, the second
wife of John of Gaunt ; her monument, however,
is out of the question, inasmuch as Leland ex-
pressly describes it as having " an image of brasse
like a queene on it." It may be observed, too,
that the tomb of the Countess of Derby was one

* The will of her husband, before mentioned, dated in the year
of his death, shews that his wife was then living ; and the expres-
sions used in it, " that he wished his wife to be invited to his
funeral," would almost sanction the belief that the husband and
wife were separated before the death of the former. At all events
she could not have been a very young woman, her husband's
« Inquisition post mortem," 35 Edw. 111. shewing that their eldest
daughter Maude was then (A.D. 1361) twenty-six years of age.

376 ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

Standing alone, and capable of easy removal.
There is only one other female connected with the
Lancaster family whose monument this might be
conjectured to be ; she is one not mentioned by
Leland. I allude to Maude, the wife of Henry the
third Earl of Lancaster, and the daughter of Sir
Patrick Chaworth. The " Inquisitiones post mor-
tem," however, shew that such an appropriation
cannot be sustained. Her father died 1 1 Edw. I.
(A.D. 1283,) and she is described as being then
above a year old. The Newarke Hospital was not
commenced until 1331, and probably not com-
pleted for several years afterwards ; so that, at its
first foundation, this lady would be about fifty
years of age, — quite out of character with the
juvenile appearance of the figure on the monu-
ment I am describing. Besides, there is no tra-
ition of this lady having ever resided with her
lord at Leicester. The estate of Kempsford, in
Gloucestershire, from whence her son Henry re-
moved to Leicester, as before mentioned, was her
inheritance. There is still another female, whose
tomb the one I am now alluding to might be sup-
posed to be ; I intend the Lady Mary Harvey, a
considerable benefactress to the Trinity Hospital
To adopt " legal phraseology," she is, however,
quite " out of court." She was an '' a»ed widow "
temp. Henry VI. (vid. Rot. Pari. 12 and 13 Edw.
IV. p. 49,) and there is every reason to believe she
was interred at her manor of Southorp, in Glou-
cestershire.

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY. 377

The collegiate church was originally evidently
set apart as a burial place for members of the Lan-
caster family/, their alliances, and distinguished
adherents, and it remained so as long as the adja-
cent Castle was in their possession ; and it is highly
probable that the Countess of Derby was the last,
directly associated with that family, who was in-
terred therein. But to return. Leland only notices
four other interments of females in the collegiate
church, and it is to be remarked that they were
all married women, and interred by the sides of their
husbands. The first of these, the lady of Sir Tho-
mas Shirley (who died circa 1362), survived him
many years, and was a grandmother at her death ;
so that the youthful appearance on the tomb I am
describing could not apply to her. The remains of
a second (the lady of Sir Ralph Shirley) were re-
moved in 1443, from the church of RatclifFe-upon-
Soar, in Nottinghamshire, to the Newarke church,
and there interred with those of her husband,
whose remains had been brought from France,
where he died. The state of monumental archi-
tecture at this period renders the tomb in question
quite out of the case, with respect to this lady.
That the Blount s were connected with the latter
Shirleys, is clear, from the intermarriage before
mentioned ; and I think, therefore, it may be
fairly inferred, that the interment of a third lady

(the lady of Sir Blount) in the Newarke

church, did not take place until about the period

378 ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

last mentioned ; indeed, the brother of this lady
(Walter Lord Mountjoy) did not die until 1476.*
With regard to the fourth lady mentioned by Ice-
land (the Lady Hungerford), she could have been
interred a very short time only previous to his
visit, as she died temp. Henry VIIL-f-

It may, I think, be gathered from Leland's de-
scription that all the monuments he mentions,
with the exception of those connected with the
Lancaster family, had inscriptions ; for, with re-
spect to the former, he was at no loss in appro-
priating them, whereas, with regard to the latter,
he was evidently obliged to have recourse to con-
jecture, or collateral information.

That tombs were preserved, amid the reckless
and sacrilegious fury which disgracefully charac-
terised the dissolution of rehgious houses, is clear.
We have several instances in this county. The
tomb of Bishop Penny was removed from Leicester
Abbey to the church of St. Margaret ; that of
Roesia de Verdun, the foundress of the nunnery at
Gracedieu, was, at the dissolution of that estabhsh-

* Vide ** Shirley Pedigree," in Nichols's Leicestershire, tit.
«' Staunton Harold."

t Vide Throsby's " Leicester," p. 221. Lady Hungerford was
daughter and heir of Sir Thomas Hungerford, son of Robert, son
of Walter Lord Hungerford, and was married to Edward Lord
Hastings, who died Nov. 8th, 22 Henry VIL leaving issue by her,
George the first Earl of Huntingdon. She married afterwards
Sir Richard Sacheverell, who died 25th Henry VHL

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY. '379

merit, removed to the neighbouring church of Bel-
ton, where it still remains.^^ It is impossible to

* Nichols's " Leicestershire," tit. " Belton." The tomb of
Roesia de Verdun is a striking instance of the correctness of the
opinion long entertained, that the descriptions of monuments
given by early tourists and annalists are not invariably to be relied
on. The tomb in question is described by Mr. Wyrley as being
composed of marble. Mr. Burton's description of it might easily
mislead : he calls it, " a very ancient monument of stone raised,
with a proportion of a woman neatly carved and painted." The
tomb is composed of alabaster. The monument erected by King
Henry the Seventh to the memory of Richard the Third in the
Grey Friars' church at Leicester, is described by Buck (who ap-
pears to have derived his information from some early author) as
having been composed of " mingled-coloured marble ; " whereas
Burton, borrowing no doubt also from some other early chro-
nicler, describes it as " an ordinary alabaster monument." The
truth is, some descriptions of alabaster, especially the white, are
so nearly assimilated to marble, that an observer en passant does
not always detect the difference, especially if the tomb be viewed
at a considerable period from its erection. Tombs, too,, of both
alabaster and marble, were formerly so bedizened with paint, as
frequently to disguise the features of the material. The tomb of
Bishop Penny at Leicester is composed of dark-brown alabaster ;
it was erected just previous to Leland's visit, who calls it " ala-
buster." In his time there was " a faire quarre of alabaster stone
about a 4 or 5 miles from Leircester, and not very far from Beu-
maner." (Itin. vol. i. f. 22.) The absence of any carved work on
the shields of the tomb I am commenting upon shews that it
was formerly painted, and it is composed of white alabaster ; it
has, however, been repeatedly described as marble, — a descrip-
tion given by Lei and.

While on this subject, I cannot avoid noticing a most singular
error of Burton. Under " Leicester," he says, speaking of St.
Margaret's church, " Upon a marble monument of John Middle-

380 ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

dive into motives; but v^^hen we recollect who
Mary de Bohun was, that she was the mother of
one of England's brightest and royal heroes, and
the wife of a Prince who completed the religious
and eleemosynary estabhshments in Leicester
which his ancestors had commenced, — that she
was frequently resident at Leicester, forming part
of the household of a Prince an avowed favourer
of LoUardism, — and that she died there, — reasons

ton, Bishop of , is graven quarterly, Fretty and a can-
ton, and three greyhounds currant." Instead of a Bishop, Mr.
Wyrley appropriates the monument to a John Middleton, who
was Mayor of Leicester A.D. 1578 ; and Mr. Wyrley was un-
doubtedly correct, the remains of no other prelate than the Bishop
of Carlisle (Penny) having ever been removed to St. Margaret's
church, nor those of any prelate having been ever interred there, as
least since Leicester ceased to be a bishopric. Mr. Wyrley says>
there " is a mural monument to the memory of John Middleton,
Mayor of Leicester in 1378, who died in 1588. Arms, quarterly,
1 and 4 . . . fretty . . . and a canton ; 2 and 3, . . . three hounds
currant in pale or." It is singular, too, that Burton should not
have noticed the then splendid tomb of Bishop Penny, and that
he should have confounded that of the Leicester Mayor with the
Bishop's, considering their extreme dissimilarity. But let me not
be misunderstood. I do not wish, by making these remarks, to
withhold that meed of grateful acknowledgment which ought ever
to be paid to the efforts and labours of our early tourists and
annalists ; and deeply should I regret were I suspected of not
cherishing towards their memories a most subdued and venerated
feeling ! Without their exertions, where would have been the
materials for any work approaching to the character of a History
of our beloved Country, — of a detail of the usages of its fonncr
inhabitants, — or of a reference to the memorials of its early
splendour ?

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY. 381

are not wanting why her monument should have
been preserved. I rest, however, my conjecture
as to the tomb in Trinity Hospital Chapel being
that of the Countess of Derby more on its own
intrinsic evidence than on any other ground,
although I trust I may be considered as having
adduced some auxiliary evidence in support of my
conclusion. The subject, I confess, is a perplexing
one, in the absence of shields or badges to aid the
inquiry, and it would be absurd to assume an air
of certainty ; whether, however, I am correct or
not in my appropriation of the tomb, an oppor-
tunity has been given my feeble pen, of rescuing
from " somewhat like oblivion," the memory of a
Lady so '^ nobly allied," but so little " chronicled."
I am aware that the subject did not escape Mr.
Nichols, and that he was of opinion that some
other appropriation of the tomb must be sought
for. This opinion, however, is only given in a
brief note ; and it is clear that my venerated
friend had not given the subject any marked atten-
tion, or considered it in detail. I am aware, also,
that it was affirmed by Weever, and repeated on
his authority by Sandford, that the Countess of
Derby was buried in the cathedral at Canterbury,
and that on that account her husband selected
Canterbury as his place of sepulture ; and that a
monument in the cathedral at Hereford has been
also assigned to her. =^ All these conjectures,

* More recent antiquaries, with greater plausibility, consider

382 ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

however, vanish before the united testimonies of
Knyghton * and Leland ; and Mr. Gough, alluding
to the subject in the 2nd vol. p. 35, of the " Sepul-
chral Antiquities of Great Britain,'' says, '* Had
Henry IV. died Earl of Derby, it is probable he
would have been buried among his ancestors in the
collegiate church of their founding at Leicester ; so
that it is no improbable conclusion that his wi/e, who
died Countess of Derby ^ was actually carried thi-
ther, to his family^ rather than to her otvn, especially
as the conjectures about her do not deposit her
among any of her very near relatione, if they ivere
at all related to her J"

As remarked by Mr. Gough, her parents and
ancestors were interred at Walden, in Essex ;
where their family monuments did not escape the
violence exercised at the dissolution of religious
houses. Her sister and mother both survived her
— the Duchess of Gloucester dying in 1 399, and
the Countess of Hereford surviving until 1419.-^-

It may be urged, as matter of surprise, that one
so nobly born and allied as Mary de Bohun was,
should have been scarcely noticed in history ; and
that Shakspere, considering the intimate relation
in which she stood to the principal characters in

this to be a " Statue of St. Ethelberta," taken from a pedestal near
the high altar. (Vide Britton's " Hereford Cathedral," p. 59.)

* Knyghton was a canon of Leicester, and was born at
Knyghton in the parish of St. Margaret, Leicester. His means
therefore, of local information were unquestionable.

t Test. Vet. vol. i. p. 147 ; and Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. p. 187.

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY. 383

his plays of Richard II., Henry IV., and Henry V.,
should have made no allusion to her.^ When,
however, the particular circumstances under which
the Countess was placed are considered, surprise
will cease. It must be recollected that she married
when very young, and died leaving her children
quite infants, and legacies to the relations of her
husband. Her eldest son, Henry V. was only born
in ISSS.-f She had five other children, and died

* Alianor, her elder sister, is referred to several times in the
play of Richard II. In Act 1, scene 3, is the interesting and
well-known dialogue between John of Gaunt and the Duchess of
Gloucester, wherein the latter urges Gaunt to avenge the murder
of her husband ; and in Act 2, scene 7, the death of the Duchess,
in 1399, is thus noticed : —

" York. — The Nobles they are fled, the Commons cold.
And will, I fear, revolt on Hereford's side.
Go thee to Plashie, to my sister Glo'ster.
Bid her send presently a thousand pound —
Hold, take my ring.
Servant. — My Lord, I had forgot

To tell to-day I came by and called there,
But I shall grieve you to repeat the rest.
ForA:.— What is 't?

Servant. — An hour before I came the Duchess died !
York. — Heav'n for his mercy ! what a tide of woes

Come rushing on this woeful land at once," &c. &c.
f Henry V. was brought up the palace of King Richard II.
(who appears to have been much attached to him,) and received
the early part of his education at Queen's College, Oxford, where
he was placed under the care of his uncle, Cardinal Beaufort. He
quitted his academical studies for a time, to join the army of
Richard II. in Ireland : he was then only in his 1 1th year, and was
thus early knighted by that monarch. He probably continued at

384 ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT

in 1394. Her short life was evidently one of care
and trouble ; and her large estates, together with
the intrigues which were set on foot to obtain
possession of them, must have occasioned her
much uneasiness. She was intended, as we have
seen, for a sacrifice on the altar of cupidity ; and,
when the selfish and unworthy design failed, the
estrangement which her marriage, under the cir-
cumstances detailed by Froissart, could not fail of
producing between herself and her only sister, —
an estrangement aggravated too, by the influence
of Katharine Swynford, coupled with the unsettled
public times in which her lot was cast, — proved,
in all probability, too much for her constitution,
and consigned her to an early grave.

In the chapel of a " Bede-house," where aged
poverty bends the knee in solemn devotion before
a common and Almighty Creator, rests, as I con-
jecture, the monumental effigy of one of England's
richest heiresses, and the mother of one of Eng-
land's most renowned sovereigns! While the re-
mains of her husband have for centuries reposed

Oxford after he became Prince of Wales, as little or no mention of
him is made until about 1402. The Commons, at the beginning
of his reign, petitioned, on account of his youth, that he might not
go out of the kingdom, and it is said he was sent for to court from
Oxford, and placed under the tuition of the veteran, Sir Thomas
Percy. After the death of his governor, against whom he fought
at Shrewsbury, he acquired much experience in arras under the
Duke of York in Wales. The Irish expedition was, however, the
first campaign in which the future conqueror of France unsheathed
his sword. — Archaeologia, vol. xx. pp. 29, 30.

OF MARY COUNTESS OF DERBY. 385

in the Cathedral of Canterbury ; and those of her
son and her sister rested in sepulchral magnifi-
cence, amid the splendour of the Abbey of West-
minster ; while the sigh of the brave has heaved
o'er the corse of the hero of Azincourt, and the
genealogist and artist, as well as the votary of
Shakspeare, have visited the tombs of her husband,
her sister, and her son ; it has been the lot, ac-
cording to my belief, of what was once " the Coun-
tess of Derby," of what was once the mother and
consort of royalty, to slumber '^ unnoticed and
unknown," beneath the humble shelter of an elee-
mosynary foundation !

Dr. Johnson has a beautiful remark, expressive
of his contempt for that man who could tread on
a spot consecrated either to religion or history,
without experiencing corresponding emotions. How
aptly does this observation apply to the Castle and
Newarke of Leicester! Whether our reflections
are directed to the noisy carousals which resounded
along the halls of the former, during the earlier
stages of the feudal system, or to the more polished
entertainments given there during the sway of the
kind and beneficent Dukes of Lancaster — whether
we ascend its ancient keep, and from thence take
a survey of the once " dark frowning " forest of
Leicester, depicturing to ourselves its vassals trem-
bling as they approached the residence of their
potent lord — whether, in '^ fancy's eye," we see
kings, bishops, and nobles, attending to that
" bourne from which no traveller returns" the

2 c

386 ON THE SUPPOSED MONUMENT, &C.

corses of those whom they respected in life and
revered in death— whether the same eye varies
the scene, and depicts the illustrious Wycliffe, the
" morning-star of the Reformation,'* protected
from the violence of his enemies by the effective
temporal shield of a Duke of Lancaster, or the
followers of that transcendently eminent man, per-
secuted " even unto martyrdom," under the au-
thority of a parliament sitting in the same spa-
cious hall where once the honest ecclesiastic re-
ceived a cordial and sincere welcome from a noble
patron — whether, after the dissolution of religious
houses, we fancy the " stillness of death " coming
over a district once teeming with the din of state
business and royal hospitality, and suppose that
" stillness " reigning, until the unhallowed cannon
of civil war obtruded upon its deep repose — who,
I ask, would wish to suppress a sigh, who would
desire to withhold a tear ? — who, but the heartless
creature, so appositely described by the immortal
Johnson, " whose patriotism would not gain force
upon the plains of Marathon, and whose piety
would not gi'ow warm among the ruins of lona ? "
In taking a survey of the Castle and Newarke of
Leicester, in their present state, the contemplative
inquirer is naturally led to exclaim — Whither has
the once imposing grandeur of this district fled ? —
Where ? " Alas ! Echo only resounds, Where ?"
How truly and beautifully did the unobtrusive,
neglected, and prospect-blighted Kirke White,
write

ST. Mary's church, Leicester. 387

" Where is Rome ?
She lives but in the tale of other times ;
Her proud pavilions are the hermit's home,
And her long colonnades, her public walks,
Now faintly echo to the pilgrim's feet,
Who comes to muse in solitude, and trace,
Through the rank moss reveal'd, her honour'd dust ! "

NORMAN PISCINA AND SEDILIA IN ST.
MARY'S CHURCH, LEICESTER.

\_Puhlished in the Gentleman's Magazine.']

Leicester, January 9, 1843.

Mr. Urban,

I SEND you drawings of a Piscina and of some
Sedilia situate in the north (or what is usually
termed the old) chancel of St. Mary's church in
this place ; they are from the talented and care-
ful pencil of Mr. T. F. Lee, a resident here, and
one of the masters attached to the Leicester
Proprietary School.

The church of St. Mary is one of no common
character or interest ; immediately adjacent to the
Castle of Leicester, it was either a partaker in the
prosperity, or a partner in the adversity, of that
renowned baronial and princely edifice. Almost
every description of architecture may be found in
and about the church; and this diversity was
doubtless chiefly occasioned by the reparations,

2 c 2

388 ST. Mary's church, Leicester.

restorations, and additions, periodically rendered
necessary by the altered circumstances of the
castle, or the pious influences which pervaded the
minds, and controlled the actions, of the royal
and noble possessors of that splendid establish-
ment.

It would seem that in the time of the Saxons
there was a church upon or near the site of that
of St. Mary ; and that, this having been destroyed,
or at least very considerably damaged, at the Nor-
man invasion, was restored about the year 1 107,
and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, by Robert de
Bellomont, Earl of Mellent and Leicester, who
placed in it a Dean and twelve secular Canons,
and endowed them with ample possessions. This
collegiate church did not however long maintain
its property and immunities : in the year 1 1 37, it
was transferred by Robert Bossu, Earl of Leices-
ter, (the son of its founder,) to the Abbey of St.
Mary de Pratis near Leicester, which he had that
year estabhshed.

Earl Bossu, however, that he might not appear
totally to destroy his father's foundation, with the
consent of Richard the first abbot of Leicester,
placed eight canons in the church of St. Mary de
Castro, one of whom was at length made dean.
These were all instituted by the Abbot, except one
that was afterwards called vicar of the parish, who
was instituted by the Bishop ; but this regulation
was changed A.D. HOC), when, with the consent
and under the advice of Bishop Beaufort, the ab-

ST. mart's church, LEICESTER. 389

bot and convent ordained, that for the future either
the dean or the sacrist should also be the vicar. ^
St. Mary's thus became both a collegiate and paro-
chial establishment; it eventually settled down
into an exclusively parochial one, and is now a
vicarage in the patronage of the Crown.

The present building may be said to consist of
two distinct churches ; the north portion of it con-
tains the remains of the church erected by the
Earl of Mellent and Leicester, the decided cha-
racteristics of which are, of course, Norman ; the
south portion exhibits some very valuable speci-
mens of the early-English and later styles of
architecture, and presents a clerestory and splen-
did wood roof, generally understood to have been
raised towards the close of the fourteenth century,
by the munificence of John of Ghent, Duke of
Lancaster, one of the lords of the castle, and a
frequent resident there. The exterior windows
and termination of the Norman church, as well as
the commencement of the early-English one, are
clearly to be traced : the Norman portion, how-
ever, has been lamentably disfigured by miserable
and tasteless encroachments, which have destroyed
many of its interesting features.

The Piscina and Sedilia shewn in the engraving
are situate in the chancel attached to the Norman
part of the church. The Norman character of the
Sedilia is obvious ; but the Piscina exhibits an ap-

t Nichols's " History of Leicestershire/' vol. i. part 2nd, p. 303

390 ST. Mary's church, Leicester.

pearance of a somewhat different description, and
has led to the conjecture that it is of a more re-
mote date than the Sediha. I am aware some have
contended for a more remote period being as-
signed to Piscinas than to Sedilia. * With refer-
ence to either, however, those of a Norman de-
scription are amongst the most ancient now exist-
ing in this country, and but few are found of an
earUer date than the thirteenth century.-}" In that
century they became very general, owing, in all
probability, to the constitution of Archbishop
Langton, promulgated in the year 1 222, by which
it was decreed, that in every church which had a
large parish there should be two or three priests,
according to the largeness of the parish and state
of the church. X This constitution, too, accounts
in a great measure for varieties in the number of
Sedilia — some churches having two— some three
(the usual number), and some four and five. In
Chalk church, Kent, there is only one seat, § and
there is a beautiful single Sedile in Fulham church,
Middlesex. ||

The Piscina in the Leicester case had been hid-
den for years by a tombstone placed in front of it,

* ArchsDoIogia, vol. xi. p. .392,

+ Glossary of Architecture, vol. i. p. 163.

J Archaeologia, vol. xi. p. 343, containing a quotation from
Johnson's " Ecclesiastical Law."

§ Vide plate in Archaeologia, vol. xi. p. 343.

II I'aulkncir's History of Fulham, p. 75, where an engraving of
the Sedile is given.

ST. mart's church, LEICESTER. 391

This Stone having been recently removed, the in-
teresting relic presented itself, denuded in a great
measure (as I conjecture) of its distinctive Norman
character, which had been destroyed in order to
permit the stone to be placed against the wall of
the chancel. My impression is, that the Piscina
was of the same date as the Sedilia ; I see no rea-
son for supposing it to have been erected at an
earlier period, nor any grounds for regarding it as
of Saxon origin. I am one of those who have
arrived at the conclusion that the remains of Saxon
architecture in this country are but few and scat-
tered, and I cannot detect in the church of St.
Mary any acknowledged indications of such re-
mains. It is indeed doubtful whether the pre-
sent church occupies the site of the Saxon church,
although, for several reasons, I am inclined to
think it does. With reference to Leicester, Le-
land says, " There was afore the Conqueste a col-
legiate chirch of prebendes intra castrum : the
landes whereof gyven by Robert Bossu, Erie of
Leircestre, to the abbey of chanons made by him
withoute the walles. A new chirch of the residew
of the old prebendes was erected without the cas-
telle, and dedicate to St. Marie, as the olde was."
From this it would almost appear that the col-
legiate church founded by the Earl of Mellent and
Leicester did not occupy the site of the Saxon
church. Reverting, however, to the Piscina and
Sedilia, and regarding them as Norman, they may

392 ST. MARY'S CHURCH, LEICESTER.

certainly be considered as among the earliest at
present existent in this country.

The screen to the right of the Sedilia now sepa-
rates a part of the Norman chancel of St. Mary's
from the more modern one, and is a beautiful and
elaborate specimen of the Perpendicular style of
architecture. Its proportions have been, in my
opinion, abridged, and some years since it extended
considerably further into the church than it now
does ; and, as its original length has been ascer-
tained, and that length precisely agrees with the
width of the south aisle, there can be little doubt
it once separated the south chancel from that
aisle.

The situation of the parish church of St. Mary
is combined with reminiscences of no ordinary de-
scription. Immediately adjacent to it, (as was
before observed,) stands " what is left" of the
once far-famed Castle of Leicester — a domain and
domicile of the turbulent, but brave — the ambi-
tious, daring, and imperious —yet highly popular,
Simon de Montfort ; and, in subsequent years, a
favourite residence of some of the most celebrated
members of the ro} al and noble house of Lancas-
ter. At the south-west termination of the paro-
chial cemetery of St. Mary, is an arch, beneath
which " what was mortal " of Henry Earl of Lan-
caster (son of Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lan-
caster, the second son of King Henry III.) ; of his
son, the warlike but politic Duke of Lancaster

ST. Mary's church, Leicester. 393

(father-in-law of John of Ghent, and grandfather
of King Henry IV.) ; of Mary de Bohun, Countess
of Derby (the mother of King Henry V.) ; and of
Constance, daughter of Peter, King of Castile and
Leon, (the second wife of John of Ghent,) were
borne in solemn funereal procession from the
Castle of Leicester to the neighbouring collegiate
church of the Newarke. At a short distance, too,
the splendid Gate House which formed the private
entrance of the Lancaster family to their princely
residence rises in baronial dignity, and, though
rapidly " verging to decay," evidences the once
magnificent character of the castellated palace to
which it was a prelude. The church of St. Mary,
with its associations, affords ample scope for the
indulgence of those luxuriant yet melancholy
flights of the imagination, which, exciting as they
may be, yield a sublime gratification, connecting,
as the sensation does, the past with the present,
portraying in vivid colours by-gone scenes of the
deepest interest, and furnishing to the contempla-
tive mind a lesson replete with instruction and
benefit.

Yours, &c.

J. Stockdale Hardy.

394

STATEMENT RELATIVE TO THE NEWARKE,
AT LEICESTER.

A Project is in contemplation to make a new
entrance into Leicester, from Hinckley and Bir-
mingham. There are three lines of approach
suggested, two of which would be almost un-
opposed ; hut the third (and which there is rea-
son to fear will be the line taken) is intended to
pass through a district in or near Leicester, called
the " Newarke," which is occupied, in a consider-
able measure, by an Hospital founded by the Earl
of Lancaster in 1331 — by Prebendal Houses, once
attached to a collegiate church which existed in
the Newarke previous to the Reformation — by
mansions erected on the sites of other prebendal
houses, and by a magnificent Gateway which
formed one of the principal approaches to the
Castle of Leicester. The Newarke adjoins the
Castle, which, in the reigns of Edward the Third
and Richard the Second, constituted one of the
chief residences of the illustrious house of Lan-
caster. The gateway is a noble specimen of the
architecture of the period in which it was erected,
and has nothing to vie with it, in its particular
line, within a circuit of many miles.

The projected road will completely traverse, the
" Newarke," entering one of the streets in Leices-
ter at the gateway abovementioned, and will either

THE NEWARKE, LEICESTER. 395

render necessary the demolition of a part of the
hospital, or that of one of the prebendal houses.
This prebendal house was legally appropriated
many years since by a benevolent individual as a
residence for the vicar of the adjacent parish of
St. Mary de Castro, to which church no parsonage-
house is attached ; the benefice of St. Mary's is
very limited as to emolument, and the house in
question is most eligibly situated with respect to the
church, and is large enough for the accommodation
of pupils — a circumstance of valuable consideration
with the clergymen who may be appointed to the
benefice. It may too be observed, that the pro-
jected road would, independent of the destruction
of the ancient close of the collegiate church, most
seriously injure a large outlay of property which
has been made in the erection of residences. It
is true this last consideration cannot be allowed
to impede the attainment of a public advantage ;.
and that it must be admitted that the present
approach to Leicester from Hinckley and Birming-
ham is both objectionable and dangerous. When,
however, there are two other lines which might
be taken to remedy the evil, and with respect to
which little difficulty would occur in obtaining
the requisite property, (inasmuch as the value of
the remaining property would be rather enhanced
than otherwise by the formation of the road,)
whereas, in the case of the " Newarke," the dis-
sents would be almost universal, and the remain-
ing property materially depreciated — when a spot,

396 THE BLUE BOAR INN, LEICESTER.

associated with so many interesting recollections
as the " Newarke " is, would, in a great measure,
be desecrated, by the progress through it of a
road connected with all description of traffic — it
is earnestly hoped that the Legislature will pause
before they sanction a line fraught with the ob-
jections stated.

THE BLUE BOAR INN, LEICESTER.
\^Puhlished in the Gentleman s Magazine.'}

Leicester, May 19, 1837.

Mr. Urban,

The house of which I forward you a drawing
has been recently taken down, and was the one
generally supposed to have been occupied by
Richard the Third and his suite, a few nights pre-
vious to the battle of Bosworth. I send also a
representation of the apartment in which the King is
said to have slept. Both drawings are from the
able and accurate pencil of Mr. Flower, an artist
resident in this place. The building, from its anti-
quity and associations connected with it, was an
object of great local interest, and its demolition is
much regretted : as remembrances of it, portions
of its timber -work and ornaments have been
eagerly sought after by the inhabitants. A range
of tenements has been erected upon its site, by
some individuals who purchased the property about
two years since.

The dilapidated state of the castle of Leicester

(?rfa.Ma^. Vo7. Vm J!Jv Z^.';'/

THE EXITE BOAR, LEICESTER

Interior of Ae IPWiwdjijal CJkaijaljiei'-.

THE BLUE BOAR INN, LEICESTER. 397

at the period of the battle of Bosworth, did not
allow Richard to be accommodated there. The
house above-mentioned was then the principal inn
in Leicester, and was known by the sign of the
White Boar ; it fronted the then principal street,
and was in the direct line of the march from Not-
tingham, through Leicester, to Bosworth.

Richard arrived in Leicester from Nottingham
on the evening of Tuesday the 1 6th of August,
1485 ; he appears to have travelled in great pomp
— the crown on his head — and his army so dis-
posed, as to show his power to the greatest advan-
tage. Hutton ^ conjectures that the forces were
arranged in so diffuse a manner as to have covered
the road for about three miles, and to have been
at least an hour in entering the town. The King
slept at Leicester, and with his troops proceeded
next morning to the village of Elmsthorpe, about
ten miles distant. Here Richard and his army re-
mained for the night, and then marched to Staple-
ton, (a place in the immediate vicinity of Bosworth
Field,) where they must have tarried several days,
as a camp was pitched in the lordship, and a con-
siderable earthwork cast up. No better situation
for observation could possibly have been selected,
as no enemy could approach unseen, -f

* History of Bosworth Field.

t See Hutton's " Bosworth Field," pp. 46 — 50. [I have
appended hereafter, p. 407, some remarks to show that all this
conjectural march of king Richard is unsupported by historical
evidence. — Edit.]

398 THE BLUE BOAR INN, LEICESTER.

Richmond slept at Atherstone on the night of
Saturday the 20th of August, in a house yet re-
maining, then and still called the " Three Tuns ;"
and in the immediate vicinity of this house the
conference which proved fatal to the cause of
Richard is generally supposed to have l)een held
between the Earl and the Stanleys.* Henry's
forces advanced from Atherstone to Bosworth
Field, and on Monday the 22nd was fought the
battle — the last of the thirteen conflicts between
the Houses of York and Lancaster — a battle
which deprived Richard of his life and ill-acquired
sovereignty, and led to the union of the Red and
the White Roses.

The body of Richard was brought to Leicester,
and buried in the chapel of the Grey Friars ; this
was situate nearly in the centre of the place, and
in the immediate vicinity of the parish church of
St. Martin. No traces of the chapel exist, and
the only parts of the monastic establishment re-
maining are slight and dispersed portions of the
boundary walls ; the chambers of a few houses in
what is still called the ** Friar Lane " now rest
upon some of these.

It has been said, that the remains of Richard
were, on their arrival at Leicester, exposed to
public view in the Town-hall; but in the Harl.

* It is conjectured that a piece of ground which for centuries
has been called " Consultation Close," and is situate at a short
distance from the " Three Tuns," is the site whereon the above-
mentioned memorable conference was held.

THE BLUE BOAR INN, LEICESTER. 399

MSS. 542, fol. 34, it is stated, that they were ex-
hibited to the populace in the Newarke of Leices-
ter. ^ However this might be, it is certain they
were interred in the Grey Friars Chapel, and that
King Henry the Seventh caused an alabaster mo-
nument to be erected near them ; this monument
was destroyed at the dissolution of religious
houses. The coffin which contained the remains
of the king was dug up, and, it has been con-
jectured, was used for a long interval as a drink-
ing trough for cattle, at an inn in the town.

On the fall of Richard, the Blue Boar was
almost universally substituted for his cognizance
— the White ; and there can be no doubt the house
in which he slept at Leicester underwent this
change in appellation, as the side street, or rather
lane, in which it partially stood, is still called
'' Blue Boar Lane." When the house ceased to
be an inn, is not precisely known.

Some circumstances connected with the bed-
stead appertaining to the bed on which Richard
slept, are interesting. According to Throsby (a
Leicester historian) the inn was kept in the reign
of Elizabeth by a person named Clarke, whose
wife hastily making the bed, and disturbing the
bedstead, a piece of gold dropt from the latter ;
this led to the discovery of a considerable quan-
tity of coin, which had been concealed in an inclo-
sure formed in the bedstead. Clarke suddenly
grew rich, and became mayor of the town ; his

* Hutton, p. 218.

400 THE BLUE BOAR INN, LEICESTER.

wife survived him, and fell a victim, in the year
1613, to a conspiracy formed amongst her ser-
vants, who robbed and murdered the defenceless
woman. The miscreants underwent the punish-
ment due to their crimes, and suffered the extreme
penalty of the law. The bedstead was afterwards
repeatedly sold, but does not appear to have been
removed from Leicester until about the year 1797,
when it was presented, as an object of great
curiosity, to Thomas Babington, Esq. of Rothley
Temple in this county, by his relative the Rev.
Matthew Drake Babington, whose property it be-
came on the death of his maternal grandfather,
Mr. Alderman Drake of this place ; it is scarcely
necessary to add, that the bedstead still remains
at Rothley Temple.

For centuries, the name of Richard the Third
was never associated except with acts of a dark
and vile description — no redeeming feature was
allowed him — while the traditions as to his person,
as well as the catalogue of his crimes, partook of
an exclusively horrid and unnatural character.
Well might our great dramatic poet describe
him —

" Seal'd in his nativity,

The slave of Nature, and the son of Hell."

No doubt can exist as to his having been an un-
principled and a cruel man : but a doubt may very
fairly exist, whether the sentence to which his
memory has been subject, considering the semi-
barbarous age in which he lived, has not been one

THE BLUE BOAR INN, LEICESTER. 401

of too unqualified a description. It should be
remembered that Richard fell when it was the
interest of the reigning family to treat his name
with every species of contumely, and to brand him
with the commission of every description of crime
— that he fell too, at a period, when the art of
printing, although in its infancy, had yet become
sufficiently prevalent to induce great neglect
among chroniclers in recording passing events.
It may be fairly doubted, whether he had any con-
cern with some of the heinous crimes laid to his
charge ; enough, however, attaches to him to load
his memory with no ordinary degree of infamy ;
but it must be confessed, that few have been
weighed in such strict scales as he has been.
Had he succeeded at Bosworth, (and but for the
most insidious treachery he would have suc-
ceeded,) his character would, in all probabihty,
have been conveyed to us as that of one of our
greatest heroes and ablest sovereigns ; his crimes
would have been in a great measure lost in the
splendour of his glories, and his admitted sound
policy and good government with relation to mat-
ters of a civil and of a municipal description would
have been held up as bright patterns for example.
He lived, as I before observed, in a semi- barbarous
age ; was surrounded by enemies who were no
strangers to violence ; and, having grasped a sceptre
to which he had no just right, he had to encoun-
ter— what had uniformly fallen to the lot of an
usurper — the deadly hostility of those whose un-

2 D

402 THE BLUE BOAR INN, LEICESTER.

principled and selfish exertions had assisted him
in attaining a '* bad eminence." I trust, however,
I shall not be misunderstood ; I should regret
being considered the apologist of a heartless
prince, who allowed nothing to impede the pro-
gress of his wicked ambition ; the sacred cause
of truth and of justice however requires, (and for
some years it has been in process of accomplish-
ment,) that more should not be laid to his charge
than is strictly due, and that the atrocities perpe-
trated by those whose names have descended to
posterity almost bereft of censure, and with the
bright concomitants of heroes and of statesmen,
should be placed by the impartial historian in the
odious light they unquestionably deserve.

Yours, &c.

J. Stockdale Hardy.

The Editor is induced to insert here some remarks of his own
with respect to the brief sojourn of King Richard the Third in
Leicester previously to the field of Bosworth, as they will supply
what he believes to be the only existing evidence on that subject,
in contradiction to the fictitious narrative composed by Hutton,
which has been implicitly followed by Mr. Stockdale Hardy in
the preceding essay, by Miss Halsted in her Life of King Richard
the Third, and to a certain extent in the valuable volume on the
historical annals of Leicester recently published by Mr. James
Thompson, 8vo. 1849.

403

" KING Richard's bedstead."
\_Puhlished in the Gentleman s Magazine^ July 1845.]

Its story, or legend, is an old one ; but it has been heightened
by successive writers, and has at last received the summit of its
romance from the pen of Miss Halsted, whose description of it I
beg in the first place to introduce :

" The most ordinary incidents in other men's lives with him
seemed fated to be alternately the subjects of romance or of tra-
gedy. Even the inn where he abode during his brief sojourn at
Leicester, even the very bed on which he there reposed, are not
exempt from the tales of horror which are associated with the me-
mory of this prince. On his departure for Bosworth it appears
from the result that he must have left many articles of value
either too cumbersome to be removed, or in themselves ill-suited
for a temporary encampment, at the house of entertainment where
he had been abiding, and which, as being the chief hostelry in
Leicester, was distinguished by the appellation of Richard's badge,
* the Silvery Boar ; ' but, on his defeat and death, and the dis-
persion of his followers, the victorious army, with the infuriated
rage which in all ages accompanies any popular excitement, com-
pelled the owner of the inn to pull down the emblem of the de-
ceased king, and to substitute the Blue for the White Boar. The
apartments which the King had occupied were pillaged and ran-
sacked, and the hangings of the richly carved bed on which he
had slept during his stay in the town were torn off, and either
carried away as booty with other portable articles, or were de-
stroyed on the spot. The bedstead, however, being large and
heavy, and apparently of no great value, was suffered to remain
undisturbed with the people of the house ; thenceforth continuing
a piece of standing furniture, and passing from tenant to tenant
with the inn ; for, King Richard and his secretary being both slain,
and all his confidential friends executed, imprisoned, or exiled, it
could not be known that the weight of the bulky wooden frame-
work left in his sleeping apartment arose from its being in reality
the military chest of the deceased monarch. It was at once hia

'4 I) 2

404 ** KING Richard's bedstead."

coffer and his couch. Many years, however, rolled on before this
singular fact became known, and then it was only accidentally dis-
covered, owing to the circumstance of a piece of gold dropping
on the floor when the wife of the proprietor was making a bed
which had been placed upon it. On closer examination a double
bottom was discovered, the intermediate space between which was
found to be filled with gold coin to a considerable amount. The
treasure thus marvellously obtained, although carefully concealed,
helped in time to elevate the humble publican, * a man of low con-
dition,' to the proud station of chief magistrate of his native town.
But at his death the vast riches that accrued to his widow excited
the cupidity of menials connected with her establishment ; and the
wilful murder of their mistress, in 1613, led to the execution of
her female servant, and of seven men concerned with her in the
ruthless deed ; thus adding another tragedy to the many of higher
import which are inseparably connected with the recollection of
this unhappy prince.

" The inn itself, rendered so remarkable as the last abiding-
place of the last monarch of the Middle Ages, * a large, hand-
some, half-timber house, with one story projecting over the other,
remained for upwards of three centuries unchanged, an interesting
relic alike of the architecture of its period as of the remarkable
epoch which it perpetuated But in the year 1836, although un-
decayed, uninjured, and defying the ravages of time, this venera-
ble fabric was razed to the ground, to the regi*et of all who hold
sacred such historical memorials, and hallow the relics which link
bygone ages with the present time. Its site, with the appellation
of an adjoining thoroughfare to which it formed an angle, and
which still retains the name of " Blue Boar Lane," together with
the description and delineation of its picturesque appearance, are
now all that connects King Richard with this interesting memorial
of his last days at Leicester.

" Not 80, however, the Bedstead. That appendage to the inn,
although three hundred and fifty years have elapsed since it was
used by the sovereign, is still in existence, and in the most perfect
state of preservation. Richly and curiously carved in oak, with
fleurs-de-lys profusely scattered over it, its panels inlaid with black,

405

brown, and white woods, the styles consisting of Saracenic figures
in high rehef, it proves, from the singularity of its construction,
the true purpose for which it was designed, every portion of it but
the body being fabricated to take to pieces and put up at will ; so
that for travelling it speedily became transformed into a huge
chest, although ingeniously framed for the two-fold purpose which
led to its preservation.

" Through the courtesy of the present owner of this valuable
relic, the Reverend Matthew Babington, the author was permitted
thoroughly to examine it, and was further favoured with many in-
teresting particulars connected with its preservation and the pecu-
liarity of its construction. It seems, that after the murder of
Mrs. Clarke, in 1613, the bedstead still remained at the Blue
Boar Inn, and continued to do so for the space of 200 years, when
it came into the possession of a person whose rooms being too low
to admit of its transit, the feet were cut off ; they were two feet
six inches long, and each six inches square. It was purchased
some years after by Mr. Drake, an alderman of Leicester, grand-
father to the present proprietor, and by him held in great esti-
mation, and very carefully preserved. Two of the richly carved
panels are said to represent the Holy Sepulchre ; the tester is
carved and inlaid with different coloured woods in various pat-
terns ; the posts are very massive in parts, and very taper in
others, and their construction is said to be most ingenious. Mo-
dern feet have been added ; but in all other respects this very
remarkable piece of antique furniture remains in its pristine state,
excepting that the rich gilding mentioned by Sir Roger Twysden was
unfortunately removed by the carelessness of the person employed
by Mr. Drake to cleanse it, after it was purchased by him."

In reviewing this statement, I must first take leave to remark
that the fact is assumed, unsupported by adequate authority, that
King Richard had been " abiding " at Leicester, whether in the
" chief hostelry " or elsewhere. He had been really abiding for
some time in the castle of Nottingham, and it was there or at
Lutterworth that his army was to muster. * From Nottingham,

* Baker, in his Chronicle, states that the Duke of Norfolk, the

406 " KING Richard's bedstead."

as all authorities agree, he marched to Leicester on hearing of the
near approach of the Earl of Richmond.

The account of the movements of the King's army which Miss
Halsted has herself adopted, makes him anything but stationary
at Leicester. She states that Richard left Nottingham on the
16th of August, and entered Leicester at sunset ; that, because
the castle of Leicester had become ruinous, he ** took up his abode
at the chief hostelry of the town ; " that on the 1 7th he marched
to Hinckley, and fixed his camp at the village of Elmsthorpe ;
and on the 18th removed to some rising ground at Stableton
[Stapelton]. We are next told that "the 1 9th and 20th appear
to have been passed by all parties in collecting their utmost
strength, in watching the movements of their opponents, and
placing their camps as desirably as circumstances admitted."

But, after all this, in the next page, Richard is still at Leices-
ter : " although he had sent away his army .... he appears to
have made Leicester his head-quarters."

The style of this authoress is best expressed by the term " dove-
tailing ; " her plan is to form a sort of " harmony " of all previ-
ous writers, both ancient and modern ; and, as was justly re-
marked by your reviewer,* the latter appear to be of equal autho-
thority to her with the former.

This modus operandi is combined in Miss Halsted with that
love of profuse ornament which appears generally characteristic
of female historians. Every incident must be romantic or melo-
dramatic, and, like the romance or melodrama, accompanied by
pageantry. King Richard leaves Nottingham " gorgeously at-
tired in the splendid armour for which the age was remarkable,"
and " riding upon a milk-white charger," and the march of the
army along the road " was so imposingly arranged" that it covered

Earls of Northumberland and Surrey, with Sir Thomas Bracken-
bury, Lieutenant of the Tower, were ordered to bring their forces
to the King at Lutterworth ; Grafton, that the Duke of Norfolk
was ordered to come to Nottingham.

* See the (lentleman's Magazine foi September 1844, p,278.

" KING Richard's bedstead/' 407

the road for three miles. On his departure from Leicester, he
rode out of the town " in the same royal state in which he had
made his entry, with his royal crown upon his helmet, and borne
on a nohle war-steed, whose costly trappings accorded with the
rich suit of polished steel armour worn by its accomplished rider
fourteen years before at the battle of Tewkesbury." (!)

All this absurdity is from no higher authority than Hutton's
*< History of Bosworth Field," published in 1788, and the same
writer is followed in the narrative of the King's movements.

Hutton states that the King " would have marched on Monday
August 15, but, that day being the Assumption of our Lady, he
deferred it to the 16th." Miss Halsted says, " it was the eve of the
Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and the superstition of the age
rendered Richard averse to marching on that day ; " an expression
at least ambiguous, if not incorrect. The assertion is founded on
a passage in a letter of the Duke of Norfolk in the Paston Letters,
" that the King would set forth as upon Monday [Aug. 15], but
only for our Lady day ; but for certain he goeth as upon Tues-
day." That letter may prove the King's intention ; but, as it was
written so far off as Suffolk or Norfolk, it cannot be received as
proof of the course subsequently taken.

For the next stage Hutton only says that the King " probably "
arrived at Leicester the same day. Miss Halsted converts the
probability into history.

Hutton afterwards states that Richard marched out of Lei-
cester on the 17th, and arrived that night at Elmsthorpe ; and
that on the 18th he turned towards the right, to Stableton, and
pitched his camp on " the Bradshaws." As it was not Hutton's
practice to append any authorities, it may be presumed that these
movements were imagined to suit the claims of certain localities,
to which some vague traditions were attached.

But 1 only find two contemporary accounts of Richard's march
from Nottingham to Bosworth Field, one of which mentions his
entrance into the town of Leicester, and the other his departure
from it ; the former of which is deficient in any date, but the lat-
ter has a very precise one.

408

The former is that of Polydore Vergil, ♦ who says, that the
King's army came into Leicester a little before the sun set, about
the same time that Henry removed from Lichfield to Tamworth.
This account is that which was copied in Hall's Chronicle, and so
in Holinshed, Stowe, and Speed. Whether Richard had been
only one day in marching from Nottingham, or on what day he
entered Leicester, is not stated ; but from the other account to
which I have alluded, and which is that of a monk of Croyland,
I should conclude that it was only two days before the battle,
viz. on Saturday, Aug. 20, that he came to Leicester.

The Croyland historian relates that, on account of the rapid
approach of the enemy, it was judged necessary that the royal
army, though not entirely assembled, should move forward from
Nottingham to Leicester. Then, after stating that a very large
army was congregated at Leicester, the writer immediately pro-
ceeds to describe the King's departure out of that town on the
Sunday, adding that he encamped at eight miles distance,f and
that the battle was commenced at a very early hour on the
following morning : —

* Polydore Vergil, in describing King Richard's departure from
Nottingham, says that he arranged his forces " agmine quadrato,"
meaning nothing more than " in marching order," or (as in the
Elizabethan version printed for the Camden Society) ** he com-
mandyd the armye to marche forward in square battayll." But,
from some misapprehension or other, this phrase was translated by
Hall, " he made his battels to set forward, five and five in a
ranke ; '* which extraordinary description of the march has been
adopted by the various retailers of the story down to the recent
historian of Leicester. — J. G. N. 1830.

t He adds, " near Mere vale Abbey ; " but, as it was customary
with monastic writers to adopt that mode of pointing out the situa-
tion of places — by naming some neighbouring house of religion,
we can only ascribe his mention of Mere vale to a compliance
with such practice ; for Merevale was beyond Atherstone, and
more than twice the distance of Bosworth Field from Leicester.

**' KING Richard's bedstead." 409

" festinantibusque inimicis, ac dirigentibus vias suas nocti

et die recte in faciem Regis, opus erat omnem exercitum, licet
nondum integre congregatum, a Nottinghamia dimittere, venireque
ad Leicestriam. Ibique compertus est numerus hopugnatorum
parte Regis, major quam antea visus est unquam in Anglia pro
una parte.

" Die autem dominico ante festum Bartholomei apostoli, Rex
maxima pompa, diadema portans in capite, cum duce Norfolchie
Jobanne de Howard, ac Henrico Percy comite Northumbriae, caBte-
risque magnificis dominis, militibus, et armigeris, populariumque
raultitudine infinita, opidum Leicestrense egressus, satis per inter -
cursores edoctus ubi hostes sequenti nocte de verisimili manere
volebant, juxta abbathiam de Mirivall castrametatus est."

Instead, therefore, of King Richard " abiding " at Leicester,
*or some time previous to his last struggle for the crown, we find
that he merely passed through it with his army, making as great
a show of his strength as possible. Leicester, I conceive, having
always been an appanage of the house of Lancaster, could not
have been politically well-afiected to Richard and his house.
This would be a reason for his being accompanied there with all
his forces, and for his not making it a place of long sojourn.

As alFecting the subject proposed for discussion, the question
for consideration now is, whether King Richard slept in Leicester
on the night of Saturday the 20th of August, 1485. And thus
we come to the traditional story from which all other statements
respecting his lodging in Leicester are derived. It appears to
have been first committed to paper by Sir Roger Twysden in the
reign of Charles the First, in the following terms : —

" When king Richard III. marched into Leicestershire against
Henry earl of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII. he lay at the
Blue Boar Inn, in the town of Leicester, where was left a large
wooden bedstead, gilded in some places, which after his defeat
and death in the battle of Bosworth, was left, either through
haste, or as a thing of little value (the bedding being all taken
from it) to the people of the house : thenceforward this old
bedstead, which was boarded at the bottom (as the manner was
in those days), became a piece of standing furniture, and passed

410

from tenant to tenant with the inn. In the reign of Queen Eliza-
beth this house was kept by one Mr. Clark, who put a bed on this
bedstead ; which his wife going to make hastily, and jumbling
the bedstead, a piece of gold dropped out. This excited the wo-
man's curiosity ; she narrowly examined this antiquated piece of
furniture, and, finding it had a double bottom, took off the upper-
most with a chisel, upon which she discovered the space between
them filled with gold, part of it coined by Richard III. and the
rest of it in earlier times. Mr. Clark (her husband) concealed
this piece of good fortune, though by degrees the eflFects of it
made it known, for he became rich from a low condition, and, in
the space of a few years mayor of the town, and then the story of
the bedstead came to be rumoured by the servants. At his death*
he left his estate to his wife, who still continued to keep the inn,
though she was known to be very rich, which put some wicked
persons upon engaging the maid servant to assist in robbing her.
These folks, to the number of seven, lodged in the house, plun-
dered it, and carried off some horse-loads of valuable things, and
yet left a considerable quantity of valuables scattered about the
floor. As for Mrs. Clark herself, who was very fat, she endea-
voured to cry out for help, upon which her maid thrust her fingers
down her throat and choaked her ; for which fact she was burnt,
and the seven men who were her accomplices were hanged at Lei-
cester, some time in the year 1613." *

That King Richard slept on the night of August 20 in the
castle of Leicester I shall not attempt to affirm, because I never
can perceive any use in conjectural statements ; but that the
castle was not, as Miss Halsted states, " too ruinous for occupa-
tion at this momentous period," may be inferred from these two
facts : first, that Edward the Fourth dated certain letters patent
" at his castle of Leicester, June 2, 1 464 ; " f and, second, that
Leland, J in the reign of Henry VIIL found " lodgings " remain-
ing there. Adjoining to the castle was another walled inclosure

* Nichols's History of Leicestershire, i. 380. Whence this
narrative of Sir Roger Twysden was derived is not stated.
t Nichols's Lcic. i. 374. J Itin. i. fol. 16.

411

called the Newarke (new work), the principal feature within which
was a magnificent collegiate church, the burial place of the house
of Lancaster. To this spot the body of the slain monarch was
brought from the field of battle.

"They brought King Richard thither [to Leicester] that
night, as naked as ever he was born, and in the Newwarke was
he laid, that many a man might see." (MS. Harl. 542, f. 34.)

The body was exposed, no doubt, in the church of the Newark^
as that of Henry the Sixth had been in St. Paul's at London ;
but Miss Halsted * is so unfortunate as to suppose that it " was
lodged at a fortified tower, entitled Newark, one of the chief
entrances of the town ;" an explanation derived, it may be pre-
sumed, from some print of the gateway now standing, (called by
a modern name, The Magazine), but which was never an entrance
to the town, but the principal entrance to the Newark, itself an
area of four acres.

Another amusing instance how Miss Halsted is determined to
combine every existing story whether right or wrong, and to in-
corporate into her narrative errors as well as facts, is her state-
ment that King Richard's body was begged by the nuns of
Leicester, and buried is their chapel there ; for which she cites
" the county historian," Nichols's Leicestershire, vol. i- p. 298.
There, it is true, the word " nuns " occurs, but in a quotation, and
immediately corrected in the very same line. In fact the writer
with whom it originated, namely Wren, in his Parentalia, does
not absolutely say nuns, but (in uncertainty) nuns or friars, and
the passage thus stands in Mr. Nichols's work ;

*< The wicked and tyrannical prince King Richard IH. being
slain at Bosworth, his body was begged by the nuns [friers] at
Leicester (aliter Grey friers), and buried in their chapel there."

It so happens that there were no nuns in Leicester.

Wren goes on to say that in the year 1612 he saw in Alderman
Robert Heyrick's garden in Leicester a handsome stone pillar,
three feet high, bearing this inscription, " Here lies the body of
Richard III. some time King of England." The supposed spot

* Vol. ii. p. 471.

412 " KING Richard's bedstead."

of the king's burial, being the " chapel " or church of the Grey
Friers, then formed part of the alderman's garden. This cir-
cumstance, it may be remarked, related on respectable testimony,
is sufficient to throw great doubt upon another story,* though a
contemporary one, that the usurper's coffin was converted into a
horse-trough.

The house in the High Street of Leicester, which recently went
by the name of the Blue Boar, whether so old as the reign of
Richard III. or not, was a fine relic of ancient timber-building ;
but when King Richard passed through the town it probably had
many equals. Leland says, " The hole toune of Leircester at
this tyme is buildid of tymbre, and so is I^ughborow after the same
rate."

Besides the two views of this building in Nichols's Leicester-
shire, (the second derived from Throsby,) there are others in the
Antiquarian Cabinet, 1811, also a large lithographic print by Mr.
Flower of this town, and a reduced copy of the same, accompanied
by an interior view of the principal room, in the Gentleman's
Magazine for July 1837. At the latter date the house had been
recently taken down. It is also shown in a vignette of Knight's
" Pictorial Shakspere."

To accommodate the presumed connection of " The Blue Boar "
with Richard III. it has been stated that the sign must have bet^n
the White Boar (his cognizance) in his time, and afterwards
changed to the Blue. It is rather an impediment to the reception
of this story, that the sign was once, not a Boar at all, but the
Blue Bell If

A list of the streets of Leicester in the reign of Richard III.
happens to be preserved, and the adjoining lane was then, not Blue
Boar Lane, but the May res-hall Lane.J

* — « The stone chest wherein his corpse lay is now made a
drinking-trough for horses, at a common inn at Leicester." —
Baker's Chronicle. In Carte's time, about 1720, a portion (only)
of such a trough remained, at the White Horse Inn ; and it
appears as if some ancient stone coffin had been really degraded to
that purpose, and the vulgar choso to call it King Richard's.

t Nichols's Leic. i. 080, note. J Nichols, i. 380, 532.

" KING Richard's bedstead/* 413

With respect to the innkeeper, Clark, who is said to have
become suddenly rich by finding King Richard's gold, it appears
that there were two if not three of that name, who were mayors
of Leicester during the reign of Elizabeth. Jacob (or James) in
1 1 Eliz. Thomas in 25 Eliz. and James, " the second time," in 27
Eliz.* The widow murdered in 1613 might possibly (though not
probably) have been wife of the latter James, mayor in 1585 ;
but it is scarcely likely that her husband was the mayor sixteen
years before that, or forty-four years before 1613. In 1587 Mr.
James Clark was chosen one of the two assessors of victuals, " for
that he is a butcher and an innkeeper. ''\ This appears to
coincide with Sir Roger Twysden's stor3\

So far, so well. No doubt tradition was right that there had
been an innkeeper named Clark, who had grown rich, and there is
no reason to object to the fact of the murder of the widow,| to
which a precise date is assigned. But, admitting this, and most
of the other particulars of the story, even that the riches of Clark
were derived from the gold accidentally found in a bed, and that
such gold was of the coinage of Richard III. and his predecessors,
that it was even his treasure-chest and his bedstead, — the story of
Sir Roger Twysden there stops short. He says nothing of " this
antiquated piece of furniture " being still preserved, either at the
Blue Boar or elsewhere.

It was reserved to Mr. Alderman Drake, who was mayor of
Leicester in 1773, and somewhat, we may presume, of a virtuoso,

* Nichols's Leicestersh. i. 398, 403, 404. f Ibid. p. 404.

:j: Since the above was written, Mr. James Thompson has dis-
covered the full particulars of the murder of Mrs. Clarke, and they
are related at length in his History of Leicester. It took place in the
year 1605, not in 1613. The robbers "opened three coffers, one
containing linens, the second being full of writings, and the third
having six or seven bags of gold and silver therein." Nothing is
said of King Richard's treasure- chest, which perhaps was not to
be expected, even if the innkeeper had become enriched by the
discovery of any such long-hidden hoard, rather than by the
ordinary profits of his business. — J. G. N. 1850.

414 *' KING Richard's bedstead/*

to make the discovery. The bedstead which is now preserved at
Rothley Temple, and is called King Richard's Bedstead, *' before
it came into the hands of Mr. Alderman Drake, had been many
years in the Redcross Street, where it had been cut to make it
fit for a low room." So says Mr. Throsby, who first published
this discovery in his " History and Antiquities of Leicester," and
he then adds, " It is not probable that the King would carry such
a bed about with him ; but it seems more Ukely that he was put
on the best bed in the house ; and that the money was secreted,
jn some convenient and obscure part of the bedstead, till his return
after the battle, or, in the hurry of the preparation next morning,
it might be forgotten."

Now we have arrived at the truth. The aldermanic virtuoso
found the bedstead in Redcross Street, and merely imagined its
connection with the old timber-house called the Blue Boar.
Hutton's assertion *' that it continued there 200 years after he
(Richard) left the place," is mere fiction.

The process therefore, of naming " King Richard's bedstead *'
was according to the approved rule with virtuosi and curiosity-
mongers. The alderman bought a bedstead ; then looked for
some historical anecdote to which to attach it ; and afterwards
proceeded to amend the anecdote, in order to suit the relic. It is
no longer the king's travelling bedstead, but the best bedstead of
the inn, before his arrival. With a romantic historian like Miss
Halsted, it becomes everything in turn, the very best bed of the
very best " hostelry," the most rich and curious work of art, and
the most ingenious piece of mechanism.

But the only true test in questions of this kind is to be derived
from comparison with other examples. From the perfection to
which chronological knowledge has arrived in architecture, ancient
buildings can generally be appropriated with confidence to within
a period of fifty years ; and we speak without doubt of the era of
churches, castles, or monuments, which, a century ago, were in
the utmost chronological confusion, because those who then ven-
tured to judge of them founded their conclusions upon some vague
tradition, or misapplied historical statements, rather than the
inherent evidence of style.

415

With a little research we may restrain other matters as well
as architecture within the like chronological limits, and Mr.
Shaw's " Specimens of Ancient Furniture," though not a very-
large collection, is one quite sufficient to test the Rothley bedstead.

In the first place let the beds of the fifteenth century in plate
XXXV. be examined. They have not four posts, and are not at all
Uke the Rothley bedstead.

Plate XXXVI. represents a four-posted bed of the time of Henry
VIII. but its carvings resemble Gothic tracery, and we still find
no resemblance.

Plate XXXVII. represents " The Great Bed of Ware " in Hert-
fordshire,* mentioned by Sir Toby Belch in Shakspere's Twelfth
Night. And now^ we arrive at several features which are identical
with the bedstead at Rothley ; and the reader may at once compare
it, as figured in the works of Throsby and Nichols. The dorser
has the same demi-savages or termini, described by Miss Halsted
as " styles consisting of Saracenic figures in high relief," and
between them are the same " richly-carved panels," said to repre-
sent the Holy Sepulchre, or any other temple you please. There
are no fleurs de lys ; but, what is very remarkable, considering
what Miss Halsted has said on that point, accompanied by half a
page of note, with which I have not troubled you, neither has the
Rothley bed any fleurs de lys (apparent in the print of it). Further,
the fashion of the posts, swelling into bulbs, " very massive in
parts, and very taper in others," is also to be seen in both beds.
The bed of Ware is pronounced by Sir Samuel R. Meyrick,
the author of the letter-press of Mr. Shaw's work, to be " a fine
specimen of a bedstead of Queen Elizabeth."

Again let the reader refer to plate xxxiv. of the same volume,
and he will find a Napkin-press at Goodricli Court, standing on
four legs of the same fashion as the bedstead at Rothley, and one
of its mouldings much resembling its cornice. This again, we are
told, " may be assigned to the latter part of Queen Elizabeth's
reign."

* Another view of the bed of Ware may be seen in Clutter-
buck's History of Hertfordshire, vol. iii. p. 285.

416 " KING Richard's BEDSTEAD."

There is also shown, in plate xxvi. an oak cabinet at Conishead
Priory, Lancashire, which has posts or balusters of the same
bulbous design, and " this article of furniture is undoubtedly of
the time of Elizabeth."

Still more, plate xx. represents a table standing on four such
legs, at Leeds Castle, Kent, and of that we are told that its
" architectural ornaments of the Grecian style, intermingled with
foliage, are distinguishing marks of the Elizabethan style."

The testimony, therefore, is conclusive, that the bedstead for-
merly belonging to Mr. Alderman Drake, and now to Mr. Babing-
ton, could not have been King Richard's, because it was not made
until the reign of Elizabeth. Nor is it very likely to have been
ever in the Blue Boar inn. No doubt its early possessors were
people of wealth ; and, if it was not brought into Leicester from
some of the country mansions in its vicinity, it may have yielded
repose to the weary limbs of some of the most eminent mayors of
the town, or it may have even belonged to the furniture of " the
Lord's Place," which was a winter residence of the Earls of
Huntingdon.

J. G. N.

417

ROTHLEY AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS.

l^JRead before the Literary and Philosophical Society of
Leicester, in 1841.]

RoTHLEY, or, as it is written in ancient docu-
ments, Roel, Rodolei, and Rotelie, is a very exten-
sive parish in this county, and includes the chapel-
ries of Gaddesby, Wykeham and Caldwell, Grim-
stone, Keyham, and Wartnaby. At the compilation
of Domesday Book the king held the manor. In the
reign of Stephen, it appears to have been granted
to Ranulph the fourth earl of Chester ; there is
every reason to believe, however, that the earls
were possessed of it at an earlier period, and that
the grant made by Stephen was merely one of con-
firmation. From the earls of Chester it passed to the
Harcourts, who were Crusaders, and it became the
property of the Knights Templars, as a community,
about the year 1230, through the gift of a John
de Harcourt, who died in the Holy Land. On the
suppression of the order of Knights Templars for
alleged enormities and peculations, it devolved
upon the Knights Hospitallers, who held it until
the dissolution of religious houses ; it then passed
to Edward Cartwright, who sold it to Humphrey
Babington. The advowson came to the Babing-
tons in the year 1 567 by purchase of Sir Ambrose
Cave, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, in the
reign of Elizabeth.

2 E

418 ROTHLEY

I am apprehensive I shall be deemed tedious ;
but my present subject is so intimately allied in all
its details as to be incapable of separation, and
hence I may be compelled to obtrude myself on
the attention of the society at a much greater
length than I could have wished.

The church at Rothley is dedicated to Saint
Mary— a favourite designation of the Templars —
and is situate in a delightful glen, which, viewed
from an adjacent summit, is boldly relieved by the
interesting scenery of the park of Bradgate, and
the romantic hills and rich geological treasures of
the forest of Charnwood. It is a vicarage in the
patronage of the Babington family, whose seat
(the Temple), formerly a preceptory belonging to
the Knights Templars, is in the immediate vicinity
of the village. There is nothing striking in the
architecture of the church, nor can it boast of any
considerable antiquity ; it was evidently erected
on the site of a former religious edifice. The
early-English and Perpendicular styles are most
prominent, and, in common with the majority of
parochial churches, it has suffered severely from
alterations and additions made at various periods
without any regard having been evinced either to
its original symmetry, or character. Most truly
has it been observed, that " this is the dragon
which Saint George has not subdued, while all
other beasts of monstrous forms have disappeared."
In the interior there are some interesting memorials
of the dead ; the most curious is one to the

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 419

memories of Bartholomew Kingston esquire and
his lady. Mr. Kingston died in 1488, and his
arras (Azure, a cross or between four leopard's
heads argent) were, in Burton's time, in a south
window in the church. What renders this tomb
an object of interesting peculiarity is, the circum-
stance of the will of the deceased appearing upon
it. The historian of Leicestershire (Mr. Nichols)
thus describes the tomb : — " In the north chapel,
adjoining the north wall of the church of Rothley,
is a very large altar-tomb about three feet high,
with the effigies of a man in armour, with long
straight hair, head on cushion, sword and dagger,
and large spur rowels, a greyhound at his feet,
looking back. His lady, who sits on a cushion, has
a veil head-dress : at her feet a dog (apparently a
spaniel), looking up ; over their heads, the arms of
Kingston, and the inscription, which on the tomb
is reversed."

The will engraved on the tomb contained special
directions for the keeping of an obit for Mr.
Kingston and his lady, his father and his mother,
on the Monday next after the feast day of Saint
Simon and Saint Jude in each year ; it designates
the especial form to be observed, and the prayers
to be used, and describes the particular lands, the
rents of which were to be applied to defray the
expenses of the officiating priests and the other
officers. The lands appear to have been situate
in the lordship of Quorndon

Sir Harris Nicolas in his valuable book, the

2 E 2

420 ROTHLEY

" Testamenta Vetusta," has noticed the above
curious tomb, and given the inscription. Among
the ancients, the wills of deceased parties were
sometimes inscribed on tombs. * The figures
of the greyhound and spaniel on the Rothley
tomb are worthy of notice ; they probably desig-
nated some leading characteristics of the deceased
parties. Among the Romans, the figures upon
tombs were sometimes arbitrary, but frequently
had reference to the habits and the predilections
or the pursuits of the deceased. Trimalchio in
Petronius desired (amongst other things) that the
likeness of his favourite dog should be formed at
the feet of his statue. Generally speaking, the dog
was a symbol of fidelity. In Egypt the dog was a
symbol of vigilance.-}- In the Rothley case, the
greyhound might denote an ardent attachment to
field-sports ; the other dog, a spaniel, might be used
as a symbol of fidelity and affection. " The figure
of a spaniel," says Mr. Fosbroke in his Encyclo-
pedia of Antiquities, '^ was by no means an un-
frequent appendage to the tomb of an English
female, assimilated as it may be to the favourite
lap-dog of the Greek and Roman ladies, the
Maltese shock ; one o f these was represented on
the tomb pf Fortunata, the wife of Trimalchio
above mentioned, and the animal was symbolical
of fidelity and steady affection. J I have been

* Fosbroke, vol. i. p. 70, where is quoted Lubin in Juvenal, 639.
t Ibid. vol. i. p. 08. J Ibid. vol. ii. pp. 720, 721.

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 421

more particular in referring to these ancient
customs than perhaps was necessary, or may prove
acceptable to my audience ; it is however always
curious, as well as instructive, to endeavour to
connect the customs and practices prevalent in
our country with those of the renowned nations
of antiquity, and it may with truth be asserted,
that many — very many — of our most frequent
customs — aye, the most trifling, and some of the
amusements resorted to by very children — origi-
nated with the Greeks and the Romans during the
most illustrious periods of their history. The
Rothley tomb is exceedingly curious, inasmuch as
it is demonstrative of the adoption of two customs
in this country connected with sepulchral matters
which were prevalent among the ancients — the
engraving of a will on the tomb of a deceased
party, and the representations of favourite and
domestic animals thereon. The latter may be
found in very many instances, but the former is
almost unique ; at all events, both the will and the
animals appearing on the same tomb, and at so
early a period as the fifteenth century, I fancy is so.
The branch of the family of Kingston which
came into Leicestershire did not long reside there.
One of the family (George Kingston), who died in
1545, and was buried in the church at Rothley^
intermarried with one of the ancient family of
Skeffington of Skefiington. The arms of Kingston
impaling those of Skeffington appear on his
monument.

422 ROTHLEY

In the reign of Henry the Eighth and Edward
the Sixth, branches of the Kingston family pos-
sessed estates in Leicestershire, Berkshire, and
Gloucestershire. Sir William Kingston, K.G.
Comptroller of the Household to King Henry the
Eighth, Constable of the Tower of London, and one
of that monarch's privy councillors, died seized
of estates in Berkshire, a.d. 1539. This sir
William was employed in several embassies and
other important services, and married Mary,
daughter and coheiress of sir Richard Scrope of
Upsall knight, younger son of Henry lord Scrope
of Bolton. This lady was the widow of sir Edward
Jerningham (ancestor of the present Lord Stafford)
and sister of Mary countess of Oxford, who by
her will, dated the 30th of May, 1537, gave to her
brother sir William Kingston her Jesus of diamonds
set in gold, and to her sister, dame Mary his wife,
a basin and ewer of silver.* Sir William King-
ston, as Lieutenant of the Tower, was charged
with the custody of the unfortunate queen Anne
Boleyne, and afterwards with that of cardinal
Wolsey.-f- The George Kingston before men-
tioned was brother of sir William Kingston, and
died seized, as before observed, of the manor of
Rothley, about the year 1545.

Sir William Kingston appears to have borne, the

* Testamenta Vetusta, pp. 674, 676, 698; vide also the Ex-
cerpta Historica, part i. p. 59.

t Sir Henry Ellis's Letters illustrative of English History,
vol. 11. p. 52.

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 423

character of a stern, unfeeling man, and the letters
illustrative of English History given in sir Henry
Ellis's valuable book are not calculated to impress
the reader with any respect for his memory. Dur-
ing the period he had Queen Anne Boleyne in
custody, it is obvious that he combined the func-
tions of a spy with those of a jailor. Every un-
guarded expression of the unhappy prisoner ap-
pears to have been noted down, and conveyed to
Secretary Cromwell. Cardinal Wolsey, too, on be-
ing delivered into sir William's power, seems to
have known his man. Upon Kingston making all
those professions of homage and respect to which
the ill-fated ecclesiastic had been accustomed in
his prosperous days, he only observed, " Mr. King-
ston, all the comfortable words you have spoken
to me, be spoken but for a purpose, to bring 7ne
into a fooVs paradise ; I know what is provided for
me ! "

The standards borne in the field temp. Hen. VHI.
by both the Kingston and Babington families are
described in the " Excerpta Historica," pp. .59,
316, 330. The motto on the standard of sir Wil-
liam Kingston was " Sans changere^'' and the one
on the standard of sir Anthony Babington, ''^Foy est
tout, " — the motto at present borne by that ancient
family. The descriptions in the compilation I
have just adverted to are copied from a MS. in
the College of Arms, compiled between the years
1510 and 1525. It appears from Lodge's '' Illus-
trations of British History," that one of the Ba-

424 ROTHLEY

bingtons was in considerable favour with Cardinal
Wolsey A.D. lolG, and was concerned in some
important negociations with that celebrated cha-
racter, in which the then Earl of Shrewsbury
(George the fourth earl) was personally interested.
This earl was Steward of the Household to King
Henry the Eighth, at the period the negociations
referred to took place. It should seem that, in
consequence of domestic troubles, the Earl felt
himself unable to attend his duties at court, and
Babington (one of his chaplains) appears to have
been commissioned, in conjunction with another
priest (sir Thomas Alom), to speak to Wolsey to
intercede with the King to excuse his lordship's
attendance. Their endeavours were successful,
at least, in procuring for the earl a respite ; but
Babington appears to have been a more skilful
negociator, and to have had a far clearer insight
into Wolsey's disposition, than the clerical knight.
A few years afterwards, the haughty, but unfortu-
nate and ill-used Cardinal, whom the earl was so
anxious to interest in his favour, became his pri-
soner for a time at the castle of Sheffield, and it is
only justice to his lordship's memory to add, that,
although he was a subscriber to the articles pre-
ferred against Wolsey in December 1529, yet all
writers agree in representing him as having treated
the cardinal, whilst in his custody, in the kindest
and most delicate manner. It was during his so-
journ at the castle of Sheffield that Wolsey was
attacked by the disease which proved fatal to him

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 495

at the abbey of Leicester. Within the walls of that
monastic edifice, did dire necessity compel him
who had controlled monarchs and reveled in more
than regal splendour to crave a final resting-place
for his bones, and it was within those precincts,
and to the sir William Kingston before mentioned,
that the fallen cardinal uttered or rather repeated
the sentiment immortalized by Shakspere —

" Had I but served my God with half the zeal
I served my King, he would not in mine age
Have left me naked to mine enemies ! "

Thus closed the life of one of the most extraordi-
nary men this country ever produced — a life a
proper study for the courtier — a beacon for the
avaricious public character — a warning to the vain
and arrogant ecclesiastic ; but an encouragement
to the ingenuous and kindly-disposed dignitary to
*' pursue the even tenor of his way," to continue
in a course free from the shoals and quicksands
which invariably beset the passage of the unprin-
cipled and ambitious, and as invariably lead to
their degradation and ruin !

The figure of a Knight Templar, which had for
many years lain in the churchyard at Rothley, ex-
posed to the vicissitudes of the weather and the
rude attacks of the villagers, was some years since
removed into the chancel of the church. The
wish of the venerable historian of Leicestershire
(Mr. Nichols), as to this particular, has been
strictly fulfilled, and the remains of a tomb of
(probably) an influential member of that com-

426 ROTHLEY

munity will now be preserved to mark a spot
where doubtless, in all the paraphernalia of office,
he frequently attracted the gaze, and received the
homage, of trembling villeins and vassals.

There are a number of remembrances of the
Babington family in the church at Rothley ; the
most remarkable is one to the memory of the lady
of Matthew Babington esquire. This monument
is placed against the south wall of the chancel, and
is a work of considerable merit and labour. Mrs.
Babington died in the year 1648, and we cannot
therefore be surprised at the monument develop-
ing, in its more prominent features, the debased
style of sepulchral architecture prevalent during
the seventeenth century.

• Members of the Babington family have at seve-
ral periods represented the county and borough
of Leicester in Parliament. Matthew Babington
esquire (whose lady's monument has been men-
tioned) was one of the Members of Parliament
for the county of Leicester at the Restoration ; his
descendant Thomas Babington was one of the
Members of Parliament for the borough of Leices-
ter at the Revolution ; and the late greatly esteemed
and venerated head of this ancient family sat in
Parliament for the borough, from January 1801
to June 1818. It is memorable in the history of
the late Mr. Babington's parliamentary life, that
he occupied the Chair of the House of Commons
at the moment the weapon of an assassin termi-
nated the existence of Mr. Perceval, the First Lord

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 427

of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
On Monday the 7th of May 1812, the Commons
had just resolved themselves into a Committee for
the day of the v^hole House (Mr. Babington in
the Chair), to continue the examination of wit-,
nesses with respect to certain Orders in Council,
which it was contended had most seriously affected
our nautical mercantile interests, when Mr. Per-
ceval fell under the murderous attack of the deter-
mined and infatuated Bellingham.

The manor and soke of Rothley have some most
singular and especial privileges appertaining to
them, and conjointly form one of the most complete
instances of exemption from general civil and
ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the kingdom. The
Saxon term, soc, or soca, signifies a peculiar
power, authority, or liberty to administer justice
and exercise laws within itself, and likewise the
circuit or territory wherein such power is exer-
cised. ^

The manor and soke extend over Rothley and
the south end of Mountsorrel, in the hundred of
West Goscote, and over the following places and
portions of places in the hundred of East Goscote,
(videlicet,) Gaddesby, Grimstone, Wykeham and
Caldwell, Wartnaby, Newbold, and parts of Baresby,
South Croxton, Keyham, Somerby, and Saxleby.
The manor is ancient demesne, and the estates
within it are freehold, but of gavel-kind tenure,

* Morant's " Essex," tit. Thorp de Soken.

428 ROTHLEY

and held of the lord by fealty and suit of court.
The oath of fealty taken to the lord is almost as
stringent as the oath of allegiance taken to the
sovereign. The sokesmen (being tenants of an-
.cient demesne lands) are entitled to pass toll-free
at all fairs and markets throughout England, on
production of a certificate from the steward of the
manor that they are tenants. The Court Baron
is held from three weeks to three weeks, and
tenants are there personally, or by attorney, ad-
mitted : this court has also power to hold pleas
in ejectment, and is a court of oyer, terminer, and
jail delivery. On the death of a tenant or sokes -
man, without will, his real estate does not descend
to his eldest son, as it would do according to the
general law of England, but to all his sons equally,
and, in default of sons, to all his daughters equally.
Previous to a recent Act of the Legislature, fines
and recoveries having reference to real estates
within the soke could alone be passed in the lord's
court — at least, if reference were had to the Court
of Common Pleas, great confusion, trouble, and
expense were occasioned. Two fines passed in
the king's court rendered the lands frank-fee, and
hence some estates, though situate in the manor
of Rothley, are not now subject to the lord's court.
One fine only suspended the lord's jurii^diction, and
he had the power of reversing it by bringing a Writ
of Deceit, and, until this was done, the title was
imperfect—the land being neither gavel-kind nor

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 420

frank- fee. I believe some doubt is entertained
whether the recent Act of Parhament annihilates
the jurisdiction of the court as to fines. If the
tenant leave a v^^idow, she is entitled to the whole
estate during her widowhood, but if she marry
again she takes according to the common law —
that is, one- third of the estate for life. If a female
tenant die leaving a husband, he is entitled to the
whole estate for his life, whether there be issue of
the marriage or not. These customs, however,
do not prevail against a devise, but the tenant
may dispose of his estate by will.

Every non-sokesman, that is to say, every one
who has not been already admitted to property
within the soke, is liable to pay, and is always
obliged to pay, a poundage of one shilling in the
pound upon his first purchase ; but if a man is
actually seized in possession of property in the
soke, by devise or by descent, and without having
been admitted to it makes a purchase, he is entitled
to be admitted first to the former description of
property, and, being then constituted a sokesman,
pays no poundage on his purchase. With regard
to a first purchase, every thing is considered a
first purchase for the purpose of poundage which
has been either bought, or contracted for, previous
to admission, and, whatever may be the number or
amount of purchases a man has made before he
has been admitted to one, he pays poundage upon
all, and on admission he takes an oath that he has

430 ROTHLEY

" not contracted or agreed for any further or
greater purchase within the manor or soke of
Rothley." This regulation was evidently adopted
to prevent the lord being surreptitiously deprived
of his poundage.

The forms of holding Courts Leet and Baron at
Rothley are as under : —

A precept is issued by the steward, to the bailiff
of the manor : this document runs in the follow-
ing form : —

« Manor of Rothley, > To the Bailiff of the Manor of
with the Members. S Rothley aforesaid, or his lawful
deputy there, greeting.

'^ These are to authorise and require you ....
immediately on sight hereof, to summon and give
notice to all resciants, suitors, and inhabitants of
and within the said manor, that they personally be
and appear at the Court Leet and Court Baron of
the Reverend John Babington, clerk, and George
Gisborne Babington, esquire, lords of the said
manor, at the Cross in Rothley aforesaid, on Friday
the day of next ensuing, by

eleven of the clock in the forenoon of the same day,
then and there to inquire between our Sovereign
Lady the Queen and the lords of the said manor
of all such matters and things as shall be then
and there given them in charge, and be you then
there in your proper person to do and perform all
such matters and things as to your office appertain
and belong. And what you shall have done in

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 431

this behalf then and there return to me, together
with this precept. Hereof fail not at your peril.

" Given under my hand and seal this
day of 1840.

" Colin C. Macaulay,

'^ Steward of the said Manor."

The court is held hi an ancient building called
the Cross, in Rothley, and the preliminaries ob-
served are very similar to those used at the open-
ing of a commission of assize by the Queen s
Justices Itinerant. It is true, unlike her Majesty's
justices — the manorial steward approaches no spot
— no castle no mound — no cathedral — no mitred
abbey — no animating site of reminiscence recorded
in English history — attended by her Majesty's
sheriff, and the emblems of royalty consequent on
opening her Majesty's commission — contiguities,
occasional visits, and circumstances, which, to the
contemplative disposition, recal in chaste but
melancholy characters a delicious " auld lang
syne," and the subdued recollections of those who
once on those very sites entered into legislative
deliberations, or on other accounts secured the
attention and esteem of their fellow-men, as mo-
narchs, or their fellow subjects, as statesmicn ;^ —
none of these advantages attend the steward of the
manor of Rothley at the opening of the court of
his lord, but he opens a court probably clothed
with as ancient, certainly a more privileged, juris-
diction than that of her Majesty's justices them-
selves.

432 ROTHLEY

The form of opening the Court Leet and Court
Baron at Rothley is as follows :

Proclamation is made as under : —

" All manner of persons that have been sum-
moned to appear or have any thing to do at this
Court Leet and Court Baron of the Reverend John
Babington, clerk, and George Gisborne Babington,
esquire, lords of the manor of Rothley, draw near
and give your attendance, for now this court will
proceed.

" Essoigns and Proffers of Suits and Pleas,

" Essoigns and Proffers of Suits and Pleas,

" Essoigns and Proffers of Suits and Pleas.

'' If any person will enter any action in any
cause whereof this court holds plea let him come
forth and tender the same, and it shall be received.

" Bailiff of this manor of Rothley, return the
precept to you directed and returnable here this
day, that the court may proceed thereon."

The steward then proceeds to call over the Suit
Roll of the inhabitants of Rothley, and, if any do
not answer, orders the bailiff at the door of the
Court House, to call out his name, which is done
as follows : —

" A. B. come into court, and do vour suit and
service, or you will be amerced." If no answer is
given, the steward proceeds to the next. If a
signing penny is paid for the absentee, the steward
records it in the Suit Roll ; but he must be careful
not to suffer a juryman summoned to essoign, lest
there should be a deficiency in that body — a list

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 433

of which the baiUff gives him. When the whole
Suit Roll has been called over, the steward orders
the bailiff to make this proclamation : —

" You good men that have made default, even
now answer to your names, and save your amer-
ciaments "

The steward then calls over the names of the
defaulters, and, if they still do riot answer or pay,
he makes a minute of the circumstance in the
Court Roll, unless a sufficient reason is given for
their non-attendance, in which case he notes down
that they are excused.

The bailiff then makes proclamation —

'^ You gO(;d men that are empanelled and re-
turned to inquire for our Sovereign Lady the
Queen, and the lords of this manor, answer to
your names, and save your amerciaments."

The steward then calls over the list of the
Rothley jury (given in by the bailiff), and notes
down those that appear : he then calls upon the
thirdboroughs of the other towns, and those they
bring with them, and records their names.

When a competent jury for Rothley has been
formed, and the foreign jury also, the following oath
is administered to the foreman of the Rothley jury :

" You, as foreman of this inquest for our Sove-
reign Lady the Queen and the lords of this manor,
shall diligently inquire, and true presentment
make, of all such matters and things as shall be
here given you in charge; the Queen's counsel,
your fellows', and your own, you shall keep secret ;

2 F

434 ROTHLEY

you shall present no one out of envy, hatred, or
malice, nor leave any one unpresented through
fear, favour, affection, gain, reward, or the hope
thereof, but in all things according to the several
articles here given you in charge you shall present
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth : So help you God."

The other Rothley jurors are then sworn as
follows : —

'' The same oath which your foreman has taken
on his part to observe you and every of you
take on your and every of your respective part and
parts to observe : So help you God."

The foreign jury are then sworn in a similar
manner, after which the steward addresses both
juries in the shape of a charge. The Court is then
adjourned by proclamation, as follows : —

*'A11 manner of persons that have anything
further to do at this Court Leet and Court Baron
may from hence depart, and give their attendance
at the house of immediately, when this

Court will further proceed.* God save the Queen,
and the lords of the manor."

Every householder in the soke is liable to do suit
and service, which he acknowledges by appearing at
the Lords' Court, and answering to his name when
called ; but a custom has prevailed immemorially
of allowing them to essoign, in lieu of appearing,

* When at the place notified, the court is again opened by
proclamation : viz. " All manner of persons adjourned over to
this time and place may give their attendance, for now this court
will further proceed."

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 435

which is done by sending a penny to be deHvered
in when the name of the party is called, and the
pence thus paid are called essoign pence. The
same principle applied to the householders in the
village of Rothley extends to the householders in
all the other parishes in the soke ; but the mode in
which it is carried out is, merely for convenience'
sake, rather different, for, instead of calling out
their names at the cross, the thirdborough of each
parish goes round a few days before the court day,
and collects the essoign penny from all who do
not mean to attend the court ; but those who have
business (an admission, for instance) which obliges
them to attend the court do not pay the penny,
as they attend in person. Each thirdborough
delivers in a suit roll, and with it the pence of
those who have not appeared. Thus it will be
seen that the penny is not a payment due to the
lord, but is a token or acknowledgment that the
party is liable to appear, and do suit and service.
In case of any of these parties being reported by
the thirdborough as refractory and refusing to
pay the penny, the steward calls their names in
open court, and, upon their not answering, returns
them to the jury as defaulters, to be fined at their
pleasure.

The form of the estreat of fines and amercia-
ments imposed is curious, shewing, as it does, the
jurisdiction of the Lords' Court :

2 F 2

436 ROTHLEY

Manor of Rothley, with |^ The Estreat of the Fines and
the Members. J Amerciaments set and im-
posed by the jury or homage of Rothley at the
Court Leet and Court Baron of the Reverend John
Babington, clerk, and George Gisborne Babington,
esquire, lords of the said manor, held the
day of 1840.

A. B. of Rothley, for not appearing at the s. d.

said Court to do his suit and service . 0 3

C. D. of Rothley, for the like ... 2 6

E. F. of Rothley, for the like ... 0 6

Manor of Rothley, with") To the bailiff of the manor of
the Members. J Rothley aforesaid, or his lawful
deputy there, greeting :

These are to authorize and require you, imme-
diately on sight hereof, to ask and demand of the
several persons above named the several sums of
money set opposite to their respective names, for
the several offences by them respectively done and
committed as above mentioned ; and if they or any
of them shall refuse to pay the same sums respect-
ively, you are hereby authorised and required
forthwith to levy the same by distress and sale of
the goods and chattels of such of the said persons
as shall so refuse, rendering the overplus (if any
there be), after deducting reasonable charges for
distraining, to the said persons respectively. And
for your so doing this shall be your sufficient
warrant. Given under my hand and seal, this
day of 1840.

Colin C. Macaulay,

Steward of the said Manor.

I

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 437

With respect to ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the
lord of the manor of Rothley, through his especial
commissary, exercises exclusive power within the
soke. Neither the bishop of the diocese, nor the
archdeacon of the archdeaconry, can (except with
reference to certain particulars conceded of late
years by the Legislature) interfere within its
boundaries ; marriage licences, probates of wills,
letters of administration, having reference to mar-
riages or effects within the manor and soke, run
in the name and under the seal of the commis-
sary, and he holds visitations of the clergy offi-
ciating within the manor and soke, in the church
at Rothley, where also the churchwardens and
chapel-wardens of Rothley and its appendant
chapels attend to be admitted into office, and to
make presentments. An impression of the seal of
this peculiar ecclesiastical jurisdiction is on the
table. ^ The Honourable and Reverend Henry
David Erskine, clerk, Master of Arts, is the present
Commissary of the Peculiar ; -{^ and the humble in-
dividual who has now the honour of addressing
this meeting is the Registrar.

The peculiar customs prevalent within this soke
demonstrate its high antiquity. Those relating to
the descent and alienation of lands, dower, courtesy^

* Engraved in Nichols's Leicestershire, vol. iii. pi. cxxx.

f Mr. Erskine is now (1850) Dean of Ripon. He still holds
the office of Commissary of Rothley Peculiar, under the present
lord of the manor, James Parker, Esq. Q.C. who married one of
the daughters of the late Mr. Babington, and purchased this
property of the Babington family, in the year 1845. — Edit.

438 ROTHLEY

subjection to the manorial lord, are most singular,
and (taken in the aggregate) are not to be met with
elsewhere in the kingdom. It is remarkable, too,
that the manor should consist of villages so dispersed
throughout the county, and at such great distances
from each other, having apparently no connection
beyond their subjection to the soke and church of
Rothley. The tenure by gavel-kind is not pre-
valent in any part of the adjacent country : this
tenure is undoubtedly of very remote origin, and
the continuance of it in such a limited district as
the manor and soke of Rothley, beyond the period
of their possession by the Crown, is an incontestable
proof of the great influence at one time possessed
by the local lords of the soil, in being enabled to
have such a privilege retained to them, which it
was one of the great objects of the Conqueror and
of his followers to destroy, as being at complete
variance with the system of primogeniture fostered,
and in a great measure established, by him, on his
assumption of the English sceptre.

Somner says, that " primogeniture came in at
the Conquest, and that William consented to the
succession of the eldest son alone, partly for his own
and the realm's better defence and strengthening,
and partly for the upholding and maintenance of
genteel families." Others, and I think with greater
reason, are of opinion, that primogeniture existed
in some degree before the Conquest. Sir Edward
Coke says, that " in King Alfred's time, knights'
fees descended to the eldest son," and assigns this

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 439

as the reason — ^' that by division of such fees
between males, the defence of the reahn might be
weakened." Socage fees were however divisible
amongst the males, and this was therefore the
general custom throughout the realm The truth
probably is contained in what is well observed by
Judge Doddridge in his " Treatise of Nobility."
(p. 119.) The judge says, "It was anciently ordained
that all knights' fees should come unto the eldest
son by succession of heritage ; whereby he, suc-
ceeding his ancestors in his whole inheritance,
might be the better enabled to maintain the wars
against the king's enemies, or his lord's, and that
the socage fees should be partible among the male
children to enable them to increase into many
families, for the better furtherance and increase of
husbandry." Let what however might be the
general tenure of lands before the Conquest, it is
quite evident that the tenure of gavel- kind was
perfectly at variance with the feudal exactions,
impositions, and system of tyranny which were
established by the subtle and arbitrary William,
and which (with a few exceptions) parcelled out
the fair fields of Britain amongst his creatures,
priests, and followers — a distribution which was
not divested of its intended and especial conse-
quences until the tenure by fee and common
socage, or by copy of court roll, according to the
custom of a manor, became general throughout
the kingdom.

It has been observed before, that the ancient

440 ROTHLEY

demesne tenants of this manor are exempted from
toll at all fairs and markets throughout England,
on production of a certificate from the steward of
the manor that they are tenants. The docu-
ment I hold in my hand is one of these certificates,
and is called a " Charter ;" it runs in the following
form :

" These are to certify all whom it may concerne, that, whereas
by the ancient common law of this realme the tenents in antient
demesne of the crown of England ought to be free and quit of all
pontage, passage, murage, tolls, and other customes whatsoever in
all fairs, markets, and places throughout the whole kingdom of
England, that the bearer hereof, Jonathan Leake, of Rodelie, in
the county of Leicester, is farmer to Thomas Babington esquire,
of certaine lands in Rodelie, which said lands are antient demesne,
and therefore the said Jonathan Leake ought to be free and quit
of all pontage, passage, murage, tolls, and other customes whatso-
ever, by whatsoever name the same are called or known, in every
market, faire, town, or city, throughout the realme of England .
all which at the request of the said Jonathan Leake I certify as
aforesaid. In witness whereof, I have hereto set my hand the
twentieth day of April in the first year of the reign of our
Soveraign Lord James the Second, by the grace of God of
England, Scotland, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the
Faith, &c. AnnoqueD'ni 1685. — (Signed,) Nathn.Wrighte,*
Steward of the Manor of Hodeley."

To return however to Rothley. — In the church-
yard stands an ancient and most curious Pillar or
Cross (see the Plate) . I am inclined to attribute far
more importance to this Cross than it has yet been
deemed worthy of, and believe it to have been

* Afterwards Sir Nathan Wrighte, Lord Keeper to Queen
Anne. — Edit.

CROSS mi IPinLLARAT ROTEDLIEX CO„I,]EI'C]ESTERo

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 441

erected in commemoration of the immunities and
privileges so profusely conceded to the manor and
soke of Rothley. It is unnoticed by Leland,
Burton, and early historians, and Mr. Nichols
merely bestows on it a passing remark. *' In the
churchyard of Rothley," he says, " is a handsome
runic cross, but there is no tradition respecting
it." The existing church at Rothley was evidently
erected considerably after this cross [the font still
remaining in the church is somewhat assimilated
in architecture to the cross] ; and, as I have just
observed, I am inclined to think that the erection
of the latter is not to be ascribed to those causes
which generally led to the placing of crosses or
pillars in churchyards— as memorials of thebenelits
vouchsafed by the cross of Christ, or as sepulchral
mementoes — but to the especial privileges conceded
or retained to the manor or soke wherein it is
situate. Our Saxon ancestors invariably con-
firmed their charters and most solemn acts by the
sign of the cross ; and crosses may be considered
and described as objects of antiquity — as relics of
peculiar customs, and as monuments of art. Some
were erected as designations of boundaries, or ob-
jects of demarcation for property, parishes, or
sanctuary ; others were sepulchral, others memo-
rials of battles, murders, or fatal events ; some
were erected to designate places of public business,
prayer, and proclamation ; while others commemo-
rated the grant of especial privileges and the
maintenance of particular customs within a district.

442 ROTHLEY

Some years since, the great majority of these
crosses were ascribed to the Saxons or Danes, and
their inscriptions and carvings almost universally
pronounced as composed of the runes connected
with those people ; the validity of this theory,
however, has been latterly doubted, and the question
is now considered an open one.

I am far from doubting the existence of Saxon,
Danish, or even pillars of an earlier date, in this
country ; and those possessed of runes almost speak
for themselves by the characters displayed on them.
I believe, however, the number of these pillars to
be very limited, and chiefly congregated in par-
ticular and remote sections of the kingdom. The
pillar at Rothley has been called runic, but, for
reasons I shall hereafter state, I am not inclined to
assign to it an earlier date than the institution of
the religious military orders ; and, mention having
been already made of one of those orders — the
Knights Templars — as the once possessors of the
manor and soke under our reviev^, perhaps an
especial allusion to them at the present stage of
the lecture will not be considered inappropriate.
It has been truly observed, they were a body once
eminent for wealth and power, but destined to be
better remembered in after times, for the lesson of
the instability of human grandeur bequeathed by
them to history, in their sudden downfall. The
order of Knights Templars was one of those gro-
tesque confederacies of military monks which grew
out of the Crusades. Its founders were nine of the

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 443

followers of Godfrey of Bouillon, who, soon after
the conquest of Jerusalem, united themselves by a
vow to defend the holy city and its devout visitors
from any outrages. It has been said they were
known to each other by certain signs and symbols —
arrangements which might become requisite in
consequence of their avocations rendering pro-
gresses necessary through various^ and at times
hostile, districts. The zeal of these pious cheva-
liers rapidly obtained imitators ; and, many of the
other Christian warriors having joined their com-
pany, King Baldwin II. at a very early period of
the twelfth century, granted the society a building
for their residence, contiguous to the Temple,
whence the name by which they were afterwards
known. They wore a white cloak, with a red cross
on the left shoulder. The defence of the Holy Land
against the infidels and the protection of pilgrims
in travelling thither, were their grand duties ; and
throughout the long and fluctuating struggle be-
tween the Cross and the Crescent, which fills the
history of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the
Templars are found amongst the foremost of the
brave wheresoever danger was to be encountered.
" Clothed in simple attire, and covered with dust,"
says the eloquent Saint Bernard, in one of those
addresses by which he so powerfully promoted the
second crusade, "they present a visage embrowned
by the heat of the sun, and a look haughty and
severe : at the approach of battle, they arm them-
selves with faith within, and with iron without :
their weapons are their only ornament, and these

444 ROTHLEY

they use with courage in the greatest perils, fearing
neither the number nor strength of the barbarians ;
all their trust is in the God of Armies ; and in
combating for his cause, they seek a sure victory,
or an holy and honourable death. Oh ! happy
mode of life ! in which death is waited for without
fear, desired with joy, and received with assurance
of salvation ! "

Many noblemen in all parts of Europe became
brethren of the order, and built temples in most
of the cities and great towns The Temple in
Fleet Street, London, was their chief house in
England ; and, after having estabhshed their order
on what they deemed a permanent basis, they, Uke
many other societies, forgot their primitive sim-
plicity, and the holy duties for the performance of
which they were instituted, and feasted monarch s
and foreign ambassadors in splendid entertain-
ments, receiving in return those favours and im-
munities from feudal exactions which were almost
invariably concomitants of their domiciles and
estates.

It is needless to enter into the justice or other-
wise of the charges brought against them, and
which led to their disgrace and destruction. Too
frequently has the page of history inculcated the
moral — sustained the appalling truth — that when
an order of men become powerful, they become
suspected, envied, and hated. That the Templars
were men possessed of both power and genius, is
evident from the edifices they reared, the immu-
nities they enjoyed, and the shelter they extended

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 445

to incipient science and literature. A time-serving
Pope, fostering the vices of an avaricious prince,
suddenly hurled them from the eminence they had
attained, and compelled them to drink to the very
dregs the contents of a cup of misery and degra-
dation. Their edifices were desecrated — their chief
officers placed in irons — and they were branded
as very monsters of iniquity, whose words were
enough to pollute the earth and infest the air.
The most agonizing tortures were resorted to, to
extort confession from them, suborned evidence
was had recourse to, and some of their leaders
perished at the stake, denying the charges alleged
against their order. The remembrance of their
once happy and prosperous state rendered exist-
ence insupportable, and their spirits, depressed by
the recollection, and wounded by injury, sank
under a load of accumulated misery and heart-
rending excitement. How truly and beautifully
did the Bard of Avon write : —

" Give sorrow words : the grief that doth not speak
Whispers the o'erfraught heart, and bids it break."
******

" When sorrows come, they come not single files.
But in battalions ! "

The Rothley pillar is composed of stone brought
from Derbyshire, called mill-stone grit, a material,
I believe, invariably found in connection with coal
measures : it is profusely carved, and its distin-
guishing features, in my view, are Norman. Roth-
ley, as we have seen, came into possession of the
Norman Earls of Chester, shortly after the est a-

446 ROTHLEY

blishment of the Knights Templars in this country,
probably about the period of the erection of their
first temple in London, which was situate in Hol-
born, near Southampton Buildings, and was erected
many years before the one in Fleet Street, which
was consecrated in the year 1185 by Heraclius,
Patriarch of Jerusalem : hence the latter edifice
was called the New Temple. The earls of Chester
were early patrons of the Crusades, contributing
to their purposes or erecting edifices in support of
them, and several of them greatly distinguished
themselves in the Holy Land. There is no precise
evidence that they were Templars, but there is
every probability some of them were so, the eccle-
siastics of the day strongly patronizing that order
as necessary to the very existence of the Crusades.
It is notorious many of the nobility were members
of the order ; but, so loosely were the records kept,
that out of the knights whose effigies now grace
the Temple church, only one, the Earl of Pem-
broke, can be precisely identified as having be-
longed to the order.

Some have attributed the erection of the Roth-
ley pillar to the Templars, after their possession, as
a body, of the manor. I cannot acquiesce in this
opinion, inasmuch as, when they became seised of
Rothley, which was not until about the year 1230,
the lancet or early-English arch had in a great
measure superseded the semi-circular, and as the
earliest portions of the existing church at Rothley
and the chapel at Rothley temple — their precep-

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 447

tory — edifices which there can be no doubt were
originally erected by them — contain not a vestige
of architecture anterior to the early-English style.
When the Templars erected round churches, they,
in general, dedicated them to the Holy Sepulchre,
hence Saint Sepulchre at Northampton, Cam-
bridge, &c. ; when their churches were built in
the ordinary form, they were dedicated to Saint
Mary. The church at Rothley, as I before observed,
is dedicated to Saint Mary. The Knights Hospi-
tallers dedicated their churches to Saint John the
Baptist, and hence arose the distinction between
the orders. My idea is, that the pillar was erected
when the soke and manor came into possession of
the Earls of Chester, and that it was commemora-
tive of the retention of the privileges associated
with them in the Saxon era. I am not inclined to
attribute to it an higher antiquity ; for, if raised to
perpetuate especial privileges, it is not probable it
would have been erected at a period when those
privileges were the common law of the land, nay,
when the common law exceeded them. After the
Norman Conquest, the contrivance of the Saxon
custom of gavel-kind amongst sons, and the other
customs I have mentioned as prevailing within
the manor — the majority in direct derogation of
the then common law — would form a valid reason
for its erection.

So long as the property remained in the Crown,
there could exist no reason for its erection ; the
Crown required no local assertor of its right ; but,

448 ROTHLEY

when the demesne was granted to a subject, such
an assertor, might, in those troublous times, be
necessary. Like many other ancient crosses, it has
been injured, mutilated, and broken; and probably,
like those at Sandbach and other places, it was
thrown down at the Reformation, being then re-
garded as having been originally erected for super-
stitious purposes, or rather as being possessed of
superstitious and objectionable emblems. I am of
opinion it did not always occupy its present situa-
tion, and that it has been removed from another
site, probably from some point of termination of
the manor, its original design being to designate
the manorial boundary, and show where the cus-
tom of the soke ended, and the Norman common
law began to prevail. It is placed in a bed of
cement, no steps leading up to it ; and some large
blocks of stone surround it, apparently as a pro-
tection.

It is generally supposed that the pillars in the
churchyards of Eyam and Bake well in Derbyshire
were demarcations of boundary, and removed to
their present situations from the neighbouring
hills, upon which some similar pillars are yet re-
maining.

The Templars' privileges in Rothley affected, as
we have seen, matters of ecclesiastical as well as
civil jurisdiction; and the exemption of this district
from the jurisdiction of the bishop of the diocese
and the archdeacon of the archdeaconry, was not
conceded until they came into 'the possession of

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 449

the Templars as a community. This is proved by
a point of ecclesiastical law. Had Rothley been
a royal peculiar, like Battle in Sussex, or Wolver-
hampton, the exemption from ecclesiastical juris-
diction would have extended to the period of the
Conquest, when the Bishop and the Earl ceased to
preside in the county court, — in other words, when
the ecclesiastical courts were separated from the
civil ; and an appeal from the court of the Commis-
sary of the Peculiar would, under the statutes
passed at the Reformation, have gone to the Crown
in Chancery, and not to the court of the Arch-
bishop of the province. Now any appeal from the
court of the Commissary of Rothley lies to the
Arches Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury,
and not to the Crown in Chancery — or rather now,
the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ; and
Laud, in his archiepiscopal visitation of the province
of Canterbury in the year 1633, visited the peculiar
of Rothley, inhibited its officers from exercising
jurisdiction during his visitation, and held correc-
tion courts in its churches and chapels. These
facts show that Rothley was not an ecclesiastical
peculiar prior to its possession by the Templars as
a community, and the pillar is therefore not inap-
propriately placed adjacent to the church erected
by them as a memorial of the retention of civil
privileges, allowed by the Crown to that religious
military order, and of the original grant of exemp-
tion from the jurisdiction of the local ecclesiastical
authorities. It is worthy too of remark, that King

2 G

450 ROTHLEY

Edward the First, in the twelfth year of his reign,
granted a fair and market at Rothley to the Tem-
plars : fairs and markets were then usually held
in churchyards, and crosses were there placed to
remind those who came to buy and sell of their
holy religion, and of the necessity of being just
and true in their worldly dealings. The pillar in
this view would answer two purposes — constitute
a memento of the especial immunities, ecclesias-
tical and civil, connected with the district, and
operate, according to the view taken in those times,
as an incitement to honesty and propriety in trans-
actions of sale and purchase. Had the pillar been
a sepulchral one, doubtless others would have
been found, as it was the usage, when pillars were
erected as memorials of the dead, to place one
at the head and the other at the feet of a de-
ceased party. " Crosses or pillars," says Hawkins,
" were especial landmarks of the Templars and
Hospitallers, and crosses were placed on their
houses as demonstrative of their especial privi-
leges." Early Norman architecture was so devoid
of ornamental decoration and sculptured mould-
ings, as to have been frequently mistaken for
Saxon, and I am not inchned to embrace the
opinion that there is much of the latter now exist-
ing in the kingdom. When the repeated ravages
of the Danes, and the deadly antipathy which the
Normans bare to the Saxons are considered, I
cannot think we have any legitimate reason for be-
lieving that many remains of Saxon architecture

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 451

would be suffered to exist after the Conquest.
Some may indeed be found in remote, isolated, or,
comparatively speaking, unfrequented districts,
but I take them to be chiefly sepulchral, and in
general of the plainest character. May it not be
fairly asked, if the aversion of the Normans to the
very appellation of Saxon or of Dane induced
them to destroy, as it is now pretty generally
allowed on all hands they did, almost all the
churches and monasteries existing in England at
the period of the Conquest, is it likely they would
have extensively spared columns, crosses, and pil-
lars, raised, not in connection with divine worship,
or for religious purposes, but to commemorate vic-
tories, grants of property, concessions of privileges,
or other exciting reminiscences having reference
to their abominated predecessors ?

Mr. Kemble, in an able paper read before the
Society of Antiquaries in the course of their last
session, has illustrated Anglo-Saxon pillars and
runes at Hartlepool, Dover, Bewcastle, Bridekirk,
and Rothwell on the Scotish border; and says
he has now examined, in detail, all the runic in-
scriptions which are clearly Anglo-Saxon, making
a very large majority, nearly all, in short, known to
exist in the kingdom. The original meaning of
the Saxon word run is, says Mr. Kemble, mysterium,
" a secret ; " and the Saxon verb rynan, which
is derived directly from it, means " to whisper,
to tell secrets " — a sense which we still retain,
under the corrupt form, to " round in one's ear.*'

2 G 2

452 ROTHLEY

So also the word runa denotes " a whisperer ; "
but in its far earlier and true use " a magician/'
" Run (substantive) is, with some little variation,"
says Dr. Bosworth, " common to all the Germanic
languages. It means, first, a letter, magical cha-
racter, mystery ; second, a council, a conference ;
hence Rune-mede.''

With resj3ect then to the idea that the Rothley
pillar bears a strong resemblance to those which
have been considered Saxon or runic, and that it
is clearly connected with some especial topic or
theory, may not the inquiry be instituted, whether,
if under Saxon sway the mysterious runic column
operated as a successor, however distant, to the
freemasonry of Egypt, the Crusades and religious
military orders might not embellish their churches
and pillars and crosses with symbols connected
with the religion they professed, or the purposes
for which they were instituted ?

The reticulated mouldings of the Norman era
have been considered by some as having been de-
rived from the mysterious vesica piscis (a figure
of Sy or a combined figure of two ss, forming the
arithmetical figure 8), the far-famed love-knot so
venerated by Egyptian architects and builders.
However this may be, the mouldings to which I
have referred are generally characteristic of build-
ings erected by the religious military orders during
the prevalence of Norman architecture ; and Mr.
Clarkson, in an essay introductory to Mr. Billings'
History of the Temple Church, says, that the

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 453

ground plan of that splendid pile forms a vesica
piscis, and that the church itself abounds with
ornamental triangles, squares, circles, angles, taus,
and oblongs or double squares.

The lands in the manor of Great Bowden in this
county are ancient demesne ; but no cross — no
pillar — no memorial — no gavel-kind exist there ;
hence, 1 think, it may be reasonably surmised that
the pillar at Rothley had reference to the reten-
tion of the manorial privileges conceded to the
Norman earls of Chester, when the estate was
granted them by the Crown, and at a later period
extended to the Templars as a community, on their
becoming possessed of it through the bounty of
John de Harcourt, who probably became entitled
to the property by the Crown sanctioning grants
of it made by the earls of Chester to brother
Templars and Crusaders. At the time of the first
crusade, circa 1 100, there can be no doubt the ex-
citement was immense ; the nobility and leading
families were compelled to sanction it by the power-
ful priesthood of the day. It is true many of
these did not visit Palestine ; but they either built
churches in honour of the Crusades, or subscribed
largely towards their general purposes — actions
which entitled them to be represented on their
monuments as if they actually had fought in Pales-
tine— as knights with their legs crossed. The
order of Templars was established about the year
1118, and settled in England about ten years later.

454 ROTHLEY

To conclude. — It has been justly observed, that
the Crusades, with reference to the especial ob
jects they had in view, must be considered by all
as exhibiting a lamentable instance of mistaken
zeal and fruitless exertion ; the energies, however,
which they called forth were decidedly advantage-
ous to architectural science and general informa-
tion ; and, although it must be lamented that so
much of the best blood of Europe should have
been poured out in vain on Asiatic ground, yet
probably at the particular period of the sacrifice a
vent was wanted for military achievement and de-
monstration, which, had the Crusades not supplied,
might have endangered the balance of European
power, and the then policy of the Roman Catholic
Church. At all events, speaking historically, and
I beg to be understood as speaking historically
only, without any reference to polemical points, in
any allusions to the Holy Wars, the utmost lati-
tude ought to be extended to the exercise of can-
dour. Those who engaged in them acted from
good, though perhaps erroneous, motives ; they
abandoned their hearths and domestic comforts,
and periled their lives and their fortunes, in ad-
vancement of a cause which they believed had the
especial approbation and support of the Almighty :

" Thrice arm'd and mounted went the Pilgrim Knight,
To meet the Saracen in Acre's field,
The Cross was on his shoulder and his shield,
And on his banner and his helmet bright :

AND THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. 455

He knew not how to truckle, or to yield,
But valiantly for his dear Lord did fight,
For on his heart was this high purpose seal'd —
To see Jerusalem ! — Oh glorious sight I
To quench his thirst at Siloa's sacred fount,
To bathe in Jordan's stream without control,
To stand on Calvary's thrice-honour'd mount,
And there the standard of the Cross unroll."

Yes ! the standard of the Cross floated in the
breeze^ and was fought under by many a brave
knight from no mercenary motive ; a religious
fervour imparted to him a super-human energy,
and he felt that if he fell he fell in the most
glorious of conflicts, and exchanged a transitory
existence for a happy immortality ! Ocean too,
was made to recognise the holy standard — not
only in the field, but on the sea was the sacred
ensign unfurled : on the stern of the vessel was
the Cross in the ascendant, and still, but for a far
diiferent purpose, is it characteristic of the ships
of Britain. At length success crowned the exer-
tions of the holy warriors ; the Saracen was ex-
pelled, and the adventurous maintainer of the
Christian faith — Godfrey of Bouillon —

" Followed with impetuous haste,

And on the wall the holy standard placed ;
The conquering banner, to the breeze unroU'd,
Redundant stream' d in many a waving fold.
The winds with awe confess'd the heavenly sign,
With purer beams the day appear'd to shine ! "

456 ON ANCIENT INVENTORIES.

ON ANCIENT INVENTORIES.

[ Prepared for the Gentleman's Magazine j hut not
communicated, ~\

Leicester, October 4th, 1836.

Mr. Urban,

I AM happy to find from your review of one
of the recent publications issued by the " Surtees
Society," that the attention of the members com-
posing that valuable institution has been drawn
to the mass of useful information to be gathered
from the Inventories filed in the Registries of the
several Ecclesiastical Courts. With reference to
these I have long entertained an opinion, that, in
the hands of those of adequate leisure and taste,
great advantages to the public might be derived
from a careful digest — a digest proceeding on the
principle of adequate intervals being allowed to
intervene between the dates of the selected docu-
ments. You justly state, that these Inventories
" carry us through every room and office of a
testator's dwelling," and give us a complete view of
the arrangements adopted by, and of the nature of
the furniture, &c. belonging to, the deceased. They
not only accomplish these useful purposes ; but
they furnish us from time to time withthe price
of every description of stock and of merchandise,
and with the nature of the stores, and almost the

* Wills and Inventories, illustrative of the History, Manners,
Language, Statistics, &c. of the Northern Counties of England ;
derived from the Registry at Durham. 1836. 8vo. Reviewed in
tlic (Gentleman's Magazine for August, 183G, ]>]> 170 — 172

ON ANCIENT INVENTORIES. 45?

method for conducting business The statistical
information to be gleaned from them is of no
ordinary value ; and I attempted some years since
to make an abstract of those lodged in the Registry
here, on the principle I have mentioned — that of
allowing an internal to elapse between the dates of
the Inventories sufficiently extensive to mark the
variance in price of the different goods, &c. in
which the testators dealt, and the alterations with
respect to domestic arrangements which might
have taken place. My avocations, however, would
not allow me to proceed with my scheme, but I
fancy the prosecution of such a design in the
various districts might be attended with consider-
able good ; it must, however, from the very nature
of it, be exercised locally, and by those fully ac-
quainted with the especial circumstances of the
districts forming the subjects of investigation.

There is another point connected with these
Inventories deserving of attention. It was the
usual practice for the effects of a deceased party
to be appraised by three or four influential and
intelligent neighbours ; the names of these persons
are generally stated in the Inventories, and thus
information most serviceable in cases of pedigree
might be frequently obtained ; besides the means
of shewing who were the parties in and about the
various towns and villages principally concerned
in matters of agriculture and commerce at the
dates of the documents.

Yours, &c. J. Stockdale Hardy.

458 ON ANCIENT INVENTORIES.

In exemplification of his ideas on this subject, Mr. Stoekdale
Hardy made extracts in an abstract form from some of the
Inventories deposited in his own Registry ; which may be here
appended, in confirmation of his remarks, and as contributing some
curious particulars towards a Chronicon Preciosum of the county
of Leicester, though not at such distinct intervals of time as Mr.
Hardy proposed.

1586. — Wm. Maubie, op Leicester, Grocer.

Description of house : — In the hall ; in the buttery ; in the
kitchen ; in the chamber over the buttery ; in the chamber over
the shop ; in a little chamber ; in another chamber ; in another
chamber ; in the parlour ; in the brewhouse ; in another chamber ;
in the closet ; in the shoppe ; plate.

In the halL — Goods to the amount of £10.

£ s. d.
3 frame tables, 2 cupboards, 3 chairs, 6 buffet

stowles, 1 form, 2 pewter basons, 2 ewers, 3 pew-
ter pots, a laver, a fireiron, a handiron, a pair of
handirons, a spatterne, 2 pair of tongs, with benches,
&c. &c. valued at . . . , . . 8 15 3

7 watching bells . . 7s. Od.

2 Bibles and a service book .12 0

A pair of tables . .26

In the buttery.

3 hundred and a half of pewter, at Qd. in the

pound 9 15 0

Brass pans, at 9c?. in the pound.
Old brass, at 7c?. in the pound.
Brass pots, at 3c?. in the pound.

In the kitchen.
A handiron, 8 spitts, 2 pair racks, 4 pair pot-
hooks, shelves and implements . . . . 0 .50 0
^ ^ead 0 118

4 bacon hooks . . . . . 0 30 0

12 0

0

0 20

0

0 21

0

ON ANCIENT INVENTORIES. 459

In the chamber over the buttery.
A bedstead, a press, and a coffer with implements 0 20 0

In a little chamber.
Bedstead with implements . . . . 0 28 0

In the chamber over the shop,

2 bedsteads with testers, 2 featherbeds, 3 cover-
ings, 2 bolsters, 9 pillows, 2 mattresses, with
2 pairs of curtains and furniture

3 chests ......

8 cushions ......

In another chamber.

A bedstead, a feather bed, a mattress, 2 bolsters,
a quilt and blanket, with furniture . . . 0 52 0
3 carpets, 2 of Turkey-work . . . .400
5 gownes (one scarlette), 2 doublets, 3 paire
of hoase, 2 jackets, with rest of apparel . . 12 0 0

In the brewhouse.

Wood and coals about the house and yard . 4 0 0
Hay 3 0 0

In the stable.
A gelding and 2 nags 9 0 0

In the parlour.

2 featherbeds, with furniture and implements . 7 0 0
Sheets, towels, and drapery . . . . 10 0 0

In another chamber.

2 bedsteads, a mattress, a featherbed with
furniture, 2 coffers with implements . . . 0 50 0
Old iron, with other implements . . ,300

460

ON ANCIENT INVENTORIES.

In another chamber.

Certain boards, &c.

£ s. d.

In the closet.
StuflFe and implements, &c.

In the shop

In grocery wares .
In linen cloth
Mercerie wares
Haberdashery wares
Hats .

Hemp, soap, packthread, honey, &c.
5 Morters, weighing 2 hundred weight and 10 lb
and brass weights 47 lbs. at Ad. in the pound
Leads and other weights

1 1 chests, shelves, and implements, in the shop
7 paire of balances ....

Item, a great iron beame and scales

Plate.

In silver plate, 64 ounces at 5s.
Parcel gilt, 46 ounces at 5j. .
Double gilt plate, 84 ounces at 6*. .
Spoons, 38 ounces at 5*. .

Grain and cattle^ 8fc.

2 quarter of pease

3 swine .....
2 kine 6 6 8

Tot. of Inventory, £359 0*. Od,
Taken by John Herrick, Robt. Herrick, Roger Corbitt, John
Norman, John Ley.

. 10 8

2

. 11 7

8

. 18 5

0

. 14 0

0

. 20 7

0

. 8 0

0

. 5 12

0

. 1 10

0

. 16 0

0

. 1 0

0

. 0 13

4

. 16 0

0

. 11 10

0

. 25 4

0

. 9 10

0

1 10

0

. 1 0

0

ON ANCIENT INVENTORIES.

461

1586 (No. 44). — Wm. Allison, of Loughborough, Glover.

Description of house : — An hall, butterye, parlor, shop, yard

and chamber ; their furniture tallying much, though in a minor

degree, with that of Maubye's (before described).

£ s.' d.
In the chamber,

i hundred lamb skins

2 dozen of cunney skins with fyrchers
7 ston of woll, valued at
i buckskine lether

3 dozen of calfes leather
2 hundred and \ of calfes leather undrest

1 hundred of sheep's leather undrest in the
lime pits ....

4 score of doe skines undrest

2 dozen of dog skins
One horse, prized at
2 pigs ....

Tot. £43 2*. Qd.
Praysed by Barth. Tyslaye, George Cawdwells, Wm. Tomlin-
son, John Wells, Thos. Smartwood, Wm. Shetton.

0 7

0

0 5

0

0 40

0

10 0

0

1 4

0

7 0

0

0 6

8

5 0

0

0 4

0

0 10

0

0 4

0

1586 (No. 138). — John Riste, of Loughborough,
Innholder.

Description of house: — Insett house, over parlour, neither
parlour, dark parlour, chamber over the inset and the over
parlour, butterie, kitchen, yard, barn, and backside.

In the insett (inter alia) .
A table, a cubboard, 2 chaires paynted, a handiron, &c.
[Equivalent, I fancy, to a hall.]

In the over parlour.
Flok bed, bedstead, coverlits, pillows, &c. &c.
The testator's anparel ....

2

2

462 ON ANCIENT INVENTORIES.

£ *. d.
Money in his purse, with the purse . . . 1 13 4

[The above being the room where he slept.]

In the nether parlour.

A carved and framed bedstead, counterpayne, a
coverlit, a feyther bed, a bolster, 2 pillowes, and
2 wyndeshetts under the feather bed . . .400

[This evidently the best bed room.]

In the darke parlour.

2 bedsteads and 2 flok beds, bolster, &c. 2 spin-
ning wheels, 3 shep skinnes, a saddle and other stuffe 2 0 0
1 barrel of tar and another of pitch . . 0 18 0

[This evidently servants' room and lumber room.]

In the chamber over the inset and the over parlour.

Bedstead, feather bed, &c 2 2 8

7 quarters of malt . . . . .600

6 strike of wheat 10 0

Tot. £7& 2*. \0d.
Praysed by Thos. Dowman, Nich^. WoUands, Glyce Shawe,
Thos. Clayesone.

1586 (No 201). — John Sarson, of Loughborough, Tanner.

Description of premises : — Hall, butterye, yoyle house, milke
house, chamber over the milke house, chamber over the hall,
servants' parlour, chamber over the great parlour, seyled parlor,
the parlor next the eutrye, the mayden's parlor, the kitchen,
the boultinge house, the tan yard, the barne yard, the stable,
debts owing him (specifying the names and places of residence of
the different debtors).

In the hall.

£ *. d.
Long table-joined stooles, one square table with
a frame, &c 2 16 7

ON ANCIENT INVENTORIES.

463

In the chamber over the milke house.
Seven quarters of rye .....
Two quarters of barley .....

In the chamber over the hall.

Two stone of wooll .....

A side saddell with the furniture

In the chamber over the great parlour.

7 quarters of malte . , . . .

His apparel.

8 shirts and 6 handkerchiefs ....

4 doubletts, 3 jerkyns, two cootts and tow gouns,
5 payer of hoase, tow hats, tow paire of boots, a
payer of spencers, one fawchen, and purse and
gyrdell, and 20*. in that, and a ringe of gould

In the tan yard.

] 2 deckers of cloute lether and a half a decker,
at £8 10*. the dicker

18 decker of lether, prized at £Q the decker in
toto ........

20 dozen of calve skinns

The barke, prized at . . .

In the barne yard.
6 oxen, valued at

5 kyne, valued at .
Towe shippe, prized at
4 geldinges and a mare
One fillye

One yearlinge coult
A swyne

£

0
12

13
0

7 0 0

2 13 4

15 0 0

106 5 0

. 7 0

0

. 4 0

0

. 21 0

0

. 7 10

0

. 0 10

0

. 8 0

0

1 6

8

1 0

0

. 1 10

0

464 ON ANCIENT INVENTORIES.

1600 (No. 49). — RicHD. Pabody, of Ashby Parva, Yeoman.

Praysed by John Thometon, Wm. Higginson, John Cuttle,

John Smithe.

£ s. d.

His apparel . .2100

11 kyne 15 10 0

2 bullocks, 2 yearlings, and 3 calves . .300
58 sheep 10 0 0

Sum total 5^109 15*.

1600 (No. 18). — Henry Hudson, of Melton, Husbandman.

Description of premises : — Hall, dry buttery, drinke buttery,
one parlour, another parlour, the kitchen, bolteing house, one
chamber in another chamber, barne, chamber over the stable,
stable, 2 hovels.

£ s. d.

Purse and apparel . . . . . .200

In the hall.

9 pewter platters, 4 candlesticks, 2 saltes and a

plate 0 15 0

The paynted clothe, a joyned chaire, and six

buffet stools 0 8 4

8 cushins and a chafing dish . . . .070

In the butterye.

5 brass pans, &c.

In the drinke butterye.

3 tubs, 14 platters, &c.

In one parlour.

10 pillows, and 12 pillow beers (no bed).

In another parlour.

A saw and other implements (no bed).

In the kitchen,

A paire of quernes, a lead, and other brewing
vessels 3 0 0

ON ANCIENT INVENTORIES.

In one chamber.

A bedstead, with bed, &c.

Another feather bed, a coverlit, and a blanket

A mattress and 4 other coverlits

In another chamber.
Six bacon fliches .....

In the chamber over the stable.

6 quarters of barley ....
2 quarters of pease . . . ,

In the stable.
15 horses and colts ....

25 sheep ......

10 swyne . . . . .

60 acres of corn .....

Sum total £314 8*. 8^.
Praysed by Wm. Trigge, Thos. Spencer, John Bealy, Hugh
Kellam, Rich. Kellam, and others.

465

£

*.

d.

2

0

0

2

6

0

1

13

4

1

10

0

6

0

0

2

0

0

38

0

0

6

0

0

3

8

4

15

0

0

2 0 0

6 10 0

6 0 0

0 13 4

1600 (No. 20). — Wm. Rawlins, of Woodhouse, Yeoman.

£ s. d.
4 yearling calves ......

4 draught cattle and a foale ....

28 sheep ........

2 swyne . . . . . . .

In the hall.
All the pewter, candlesticks, &c. &c

In the old parlour.
One fether bed, &c. .....

In the new parlour.
One fether bed, &c.

In the butterye and dairy house.
2 H

2 0 0

1 13 4

466 ON ANCIENT INVENTORIES.

In the kitchen.
A brueyng lead, a spit, a payre of cobirons,
1 dripping pan, &c

Iti the chambers.

£ s. d.
2 bedsteds, 4 coffers, 3 window sheets, I blanket,

3 tubs, 3 bacon fliches, with other rumble . .200
Sum total £87 16*. 8c?.
Praysed by Vincent Foulds, Walter Griffin, Christ. Smalley.

1600 (No. 84). — RoBT. Smalley, of Earnesby.

Description of premises : — Stable, cow house, hall, kitchen,
parlor, butterye, chamber.

In the hall.

£ s. d.
Pewter, brasse, with a table and formes, stools,
chairs, cupboard, paynted clothes, fireirons, and
cushions 0 20 0

In the kitchen.

Pots, panns, tubbes, payles, codles, hordes, bacon,
and treen ware 3 0 0

In the hutterye.
Bowls, cans, potts, with hordes and shelves . 0 10 0

In the parlor.

Bedding, bedsteds, coffers, linnens, woollens,
paynted clothes, and his apparel, and money in his
purse 4 0 0

In the chamber.

One bedsted, with mattress and other implements 0 16 0

Sum total £66 8*. Ad.
Praysed by Thos. Wyatt, John Loosbye, Chris. Wyatt, Rich.
Mannsfield.

ON ANCIENT INVENTORIES. 467

1600 (No. 80). — Thos. Johnson, of Great Peatling.

£ s. d.
15 sheep and three lambes . . . .250
Four kine and a heifer . . . . .600

Praysed by Richd. Burdett, Anth'y Gilbert, Nich. Johnson.

1600 (No. 99). — John Nicholson, of Castle Donnington.

Description of premises : — Hall, parlor, kitchen, chamber.

£ s. d.
9 acres of peese . . . . . .600

•i- an acre of oates . . . . . .034

A rood and i of barley . . . . .068

6 hands of winter come , . . .2100

9

0

0

2

5

0

2

13

0

2 quarters and ^ of malt

3 quarters and a bushell of barley •
A yoke of oxen, and a bullock of 2 year old, 4

3-year old heefers, 4 calves of a year old, and
3 young calves— 3614 ; and 5 kjne—£8 6s. 8d. 22 6 8

Total 5670 6^. 6d.
Praysed by Thos. Fox, John Twells, Thos. Oldenshawe, John
Barlowe.

Note. — The following detail of the number of Wills proved in,
and of Letters of Administration granted by, the Archdeaconry
Court of Leicester, for several years, from the commencement of
the troubles in the reign of King Charles the First until the
Restoration, was communicated to Mr. Hollings's *' History of
Leicester during the Great Civil War " by Mr. Stockdale Hardy,

2 H 2

468

WILLS PROVED AT LEICESTER.

as a statistical test of the state of public opinion with reference to
the security of property during that memorable period : —

A. D.

Wills.

Administrations.

TotaL

1639

182

83

267

1640

132

61

213

1641 Commission of Array issued

by King Charles L

139

78

217

1642 Civil Wars .

81

34

133

1643 Do. ...

34

13

47

1644 Do. ...

26

23

49

1645 Siege of Leicester .

10

20

30

1646

83

63

130

1647

84

62

146

1648-9 Execution of King Charles

48

37

83

1649

73

43

118

From 1649 to 1660, no Wills ]

proved

in, or Administrations

granted by, Diocesan or Archidiaconal Courts.

1660 The Restoration

360

203

363

1661

343

214

337

469

APPEAL FOR THE ANTIQUITIES OF
LEICESTER.

\_Addressed to the Leicester Journal, 1840.]

Sir, — It is well observed by Mr. HoUings, in his
able and interesting Lecture, '' The History of
Leicester during the Great Civil War," ^ that " it
would be little to the credit of Leicester, if, while
enriched by objects of interest to all in any de-
gree versed in the history of their country suffi-
cient to distinguish to the place from most other
towns in the empire, its inhabitants should at the
same time acquire the not very desirable distinc-
tion of being among the least able to appreciate
their possession." I fear the inquiries may be
fairly instituted — have not the inhabitants of Lei-
cester pursued a course leading to this " not very
desirable distinction ? " Have they not, in too
many instances, suffered memorials of the " olden
time " to disappear from the streets, the fields
which they traverse, without making any efforts to
save them — nay, without indulging any expressions
of regret at their destruction ? I trust, however, that
the portion which may be allotted us of the general
diffusion of science and literature — a diffusion, now

* Delivered at the Leicester Mechanics' Institute, November 4,
1839, and published in 1840, 8vo.

470 APPEAL FOR THE ANTIQUITIES

progressingwith giant strides throughout the land —
will preserve from ruthless desecration and attack
what still exist of those invaluable monuments of
antiquity with which we are surrounded; I in-
dulge the hope that it will render certain the pre-
servation of the remains of the Roman Cursus —
no further interference with the Roman Janua and
Temple — the continuance inviolate of our antique
tessellated pavements — not only the preservation,
but the effectual repair of the magnificent Gate
House at the entrance into the Newarke — the re-
tention of the walls of the Newarke— and the sus-
tenance, as works of art, and models for imitation,
independent of the special purposes for which they
were erected, of our venerable churches and public
edifices. " Where," triumphantly asks Mr. Hol-
lings, in the work to which I have adverted,
" where, throughout a land abounding in historical
associations of absorbing interest, shall we find a
region ennobled to a greater degree by recollec-
tions of the past than that which lies immediately
around us ; or to what era of our existence as a
nation can we refer which has not left its visible
traces either within our walls, or aloilg the course
of that quiet river which, as well from its unob-
trusive beauty as from the luxuriant pasturage
which it mirrors, might be termed, without any aid
from imagination to substantiate its claim to the
title, the CUtumnus of England ? In no county is
the long extinct dominion of the earliest conquer-
ors of our island recorded by more numerous or

OF LEICESTER. 47l

more legible signs. Our fields are yet furrowed
by the entrenchments of their legions ; our dwel-
lings rest upon the very same foundations which
formerly supported villas constructed with truly
Roman magnificence, and decorated with all the
refinements of Roman taste. The most consider-
able and best authenticated remnant of the civil
architecture of that once mighty race stands in
massive and mysterious stateliness in the midst of
our teeming population ; and the same path con-
tinues to thread our meadows which more than
sixteen centuries ago witnessed the imposing
march of the legate or tribune at the head of his
invincible array. The Danish standard has floated
ominously at our gates, and the loud revelry of
the Saxon thane, and the chant of the Saxon
monk, have been heard on the spots which now
return the busy sounds of an honourable industry,
the results of which are distributed to every part
of the habitable globe. And passing from the
period of barbaric power, and even from the gor-
geous visions of feudal pomp and splendour, the
name of John of Gaunt, " time-honoured Lancas-
ter," brings with it a host of recollections con-
nected with himself and his princely line," — a fre-
quent resident as he was at his castle of Leicester,
and from his chamber in which his testamentary
dispositions were made.

The above are admitted truths ; and I hope that
the production of Mr. Hollings, a stranger to the
place, will arouse the spirit of the inhabitants, in

472 APPEAL FOR THE ANTIQUITIES

defence and explanation of several local objects of
antiquity, which have been either inadequately
elucidated or altogether disregarded. Cannot we,
almost with certainty, discover the site of the
abbey church, and with it the precise spot of
Wolsey's interment ? Ought the once splendid,
and still interesting, monument of Bishop Penny —
a considerable benefactor to the place of which he
was the Abbat — to occupy its present incongruous
cell in the prebendal church of St. Margaret ? I
trust a " translation " of this latter prelate to a
more appropriate situation will soon be effected,
and feel assured that the support of the vicar and
other constituted authorities, will be cheerfully
given in aid of the design.

To recur, however, to the subject of Mr Hol-
lings's book. — 1 do not think a more instructive
study than the history of this country, during the
civil wars of the seventeenth century, can be pur-
sued. Those wars were produced, partly by a
mistaken assertion of prerogative, but principally
by the restless vigour of ardent and active minds,
impelled by the applause of a multitude fond of
change and jealous of monarchy. It has been
well observed, that had *' Elizabeth been the sove-
reign of the seventeenth century there would have
been no civil war ; the people would have found,
as their forefathers had done, that the wisdom of
the ministers guided pubUc opinion, and that the
latter was as httle disposed to dictate in civil mat-
ter to the Queen, Burghley and Walsingham, as

OF LEICESTER. 473

French Jacobinism would have been in military
affairs to Buonaparte and his marshals." For
some time previous to the civil wars, the Crown
could not be considered as possessed of any re-
sponsible advisers, and the sudden transition from
almost imperial power to plebeian dictation, pro-
duced by those wars, operated with fatal effects
upon a mind constituted as was that of Charles.
Let the character of King Charles I. be contrasted
with the characters of some of the sovereigns who
either preceded or followed him — let it be con-
trasted with the character of the cruel and dis-
gusting Henry YIII. — the weak and bigoted Mary
— the pedantic and vindictive James — the ungrate-
ful and profligate Charles II. — or with that of the
obstinate and priest-ridden monarch whose infa-
tuated conduct occasioned the glorious Revolution
— and who can avoid feeling that Charles's lot
fell in evil days — that he was the most amiable
prince of his line, and paved the way for his own
destruction, by an infirmity of purpose, chiefly ori-
ginating in a desire to prevent bloodshed —a vacil-
lation which induced him at some periods to cling
to the oak, at others, to intrust the willow — on
some occasions to command, on others to suppli-
cate— until those who were opposed to him, or
with whom he was in treaty, found his death
necessary for their own safety. While the course
taken by Charles shows that a most estimable man
and conscientious prince may err in ideas of pre-
rogative, and in the assertion of privileges which.

474 APPEAL FOR THE ANTIQUITIES

except he had determined to adopt a particular
principle, and felt convinced the people would
sanction that adoption, he ought neither to have
entertained nor insisted upon, the history of Crom-
well guards us against the shoals and quicksands of
that popularity which no sooner elevates than it
renders its possessor an object of envy and sus-
picion to the very men who have been the instru-
ments of his advancement. The tree of liberty
can alone flourish under the genial influence of a
limited monarchy ; in other soils it may appear
luxuriant, but its luxuriance is ephemeral, and the
certain precursor of its decay. Those who ought
to watch its growth and trim its branches are too
busily engaged in schemes of personal aggrandise-
ment and influence to regard it, and it eventually
falls a prey to the dominion of a faction, the mem-
bers of which are not unlikely to employ it in the
erection of a scaffold, or as an auxiliary in the con-
struction of a guillotine.

I cannot conclude without again referring to
Mr. Hollings's book : in a notice of it some weeks
since you recommended a general perusal, and I
cordially agree in that recommendation. Mr.
Hollings has evidently bestowed great pains upon
his subject, and in the application of his materials ;
an admirable impartiality, too, pervades his trea-
tise, which, considering the exciting reminiscences
of Cavaliers and Roundheads, is no trivial enhance-
ment of its merit. There are several points con-
nected with the siege of Leicester satisfactorily

OF LEICESTER. 476

elucidated which were previously enveloped in
great obscurity, and others which had escaped
the observation of all previous annalists : the pre-
cise situation of Prince Rupert's battery — the em-
brasures and sally-port in the south Newarke wall,
and the details with respect to the breaches in
that wall — the localities of the points of assault
upon the town — the establishment of the position,
that there were two distinct batteries on the south
— the circumstance that cannon and other shot
lodged in a portion of the northern wall of the
Newarke, a wall now faced and hidden from ob-
servation by the new buildings forming part of
Trinity hospital, — are among these, and may now
be considered as particulars decidedly sustained.

The Petition to the House of Commons from the
committee, gentry, and other inhabitants of the
county of Leicester, (4to, London, 1648,) furnished
by Mr. Hollings, is not to be found in the works of
our local historians ; the extracts given from the
two pamphlets in the British Museum, and the list
of the ParUamentary Committee which sat during
the actual time of the siege, are also novel infor-
mation.

Begging to apologise for so long an obtrusion
on your attention, I remain, yours, &c.

Britannicus.

Leicester, I6th June, 1840.

476

LETTER OF
DAME DOROTHY HASTINGS, OF BRAUNSTON,

A RECUSANT, IN THE YEAR 1619.
[ Communicated to the Gentleman s Magazine.']

Leicester, December 1836.

Mr. Urban,

The letter of which I send you a copy-
was written under circumstances of consider-
able interest. The writer was Dame Dorothy
Hastings, the first wife of Sir Henry Hastings, of
Braunston, near this place. Sir Henry was the
son of Major-general Walter Hastings, the sixth
son of Francis the second Earl of Huntingdon,
and the commander of the chosen Leicestershire
men who formed a part of Tilbury camp ; the
General married Joyce, the daughter of William
Roper, Esq. of Well Place, in the county of Kent.
Lady D. Hastings was the daughter of Sir Edmund
Huddlestone, of Sawston, in the county of Cam-
bridge, Knt., and she, with her mother-in-law,
were zealous Roman Catholics. Sir Henry, by his
first marriage, had six sons and six daughters. *

The letter is dated in the year 1619; a period
somewhat remote from the discovery of the horrid

* Nichols's *' History of Leicestershire, vol. iv, p. 627.

LETTER OF DAME DOROTHY HASTINGS. 477

plot against James and his Parliament, but when
the effects produced by that appalling eclaircisse-
ment had not altogether subsided, and suspicions
with respect to the existence of dark intrigues
against the state rendered it necessary that a
watchful eye should be still kept upon the conduct
and proceedings of Roman Catholics. Lady Hast-
ings, with her daughters and mother-in-law, had
been repeatedly presented to the ordinary as recu-
sants, and at length her ladyship and daughters
were cited to appear before the Ecclesiastical
Court. The following is a copy of a letter which
her ladyship wrote while the proceedings were in
progress ; it was addressed to Edward Clarke, M.A.
the Commissary of the then Bishop of Lincoln for
the archdeaconry of Leicester, and bears internal
evidence of deep and cautious consideration ; the
probability is, that it was written under legal and
(perhaps) priestly dictation : —

" Goode Sir,

'^ I ame to request at yo.* hands y* you would
please to grant mee a further time to consider
myself, and for the better preparinge my minde,
havinge all my life time bine bread in a contrarye
religion, w^'^ in soe short a time I cannot well re-
solve myselfe to alter, till further reasone be shewed,
w""^ I will in devour to lerne out and know, if I may
be afforded a time requisitt for y® alteration of a
matter soe weighty ; therefore I must crave yo*"

478 LETTER OF DAME DOROTHY HASTINGS,

lawful! favour herein, and that you would be pleased
to restore mee from ye excomunication for a time,
wherby I may in peace seeke y^ quiett of my con-
sience. I have allready taken y^ oath of aleagence,
w''^ sheweth my loyallty both to my Prince and
contrie. 1 only desire but to be settled in my
consience, and then I doubt not but to geeve good
content to yo' selfe, and all that wishes my welfare.
This lawfull request I hope you will out of good
meaninge to all Christians afford mee, for w^^,
w*^ my faithfull love, I will be requitfull, and soe
w^^ my best wishes to yo"^ selfe and wiff, I comitt
you to God.

" Yo"^ trew frend,

'^ DoROTHE Hastings.

" Branston, y^ last of
January 1619.

" Allsoe I am to intreat you in ye
behalfe of my daughters ye same
time for ther conformitye."

fEndorsed.J
" To my very lovinge frend Mr Edward Clarke,
at y® Castill in Leicester, these."

It does not appear what became of the proceed-
ings ; but Lady Hastings, with her daughters, con-
tinued to be presented as recusants for several
years after the date of the letter. Her husband

OF BRAUNSTON, A RECUSANT. 479

had early distinguished himself as a firm supporter
of the reigning monarch, and had received the
honour of knighthood from King James very
shortly after his accession to the throne. ^ After
the fall of the unfortunate Charles, Sir Henry was
severely punished for his attachment to the royal
cause, having to pay no less a sum than 2,072/. for
the redemption of his estates from the " tender
mercies " of the Parliamentarians.

Yours, &c.

J. Stockdale Hardy.

* Sir Henry was knighted at Belvoir Castle on Saturday the
23rd April 1603. (See Nichols's " Progresses of King James I."
vol. i. p. 91, note 5.)

481

P 0 ET R Y

LINES WRITTEN ON THE

DEATH OF THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE OF WALES.

A. D. 1817.

Ah ! so it is I thou lovely fair !
That solemn knell proclaims thy doom,
Britannia mourns her fav'rite child,
A people's grief adorns thy tomb !

That heart which Pity claim'd as hers,
That eye which wept for others' woe,
That hand, which kindly lent its aid,
Have ceas'd to shed their gifts below !

The cypress claims the myrtle's place.
The heartfelt sigh supplants the smile ;
The mother droops — th« infant dies,
The hope and pride of Britain's Isle !

The sire will weep — the hero pause.
When memory points to Charlotte's bier.
And children, yet unborn, confess —
That England's hopes were buried there.

Yes ! thou art gone, benignant soul !
Thy spirit seeks its kindred skies,
And seraphs, as they guide its way.
Proclaim its triumph as they rise !

J. S. H,

2 1

-i

482 POETRY.

EPITAPH ON AN INFANT.

Translated from the Latin of Mr. Macaulay, 1821.

Adieu ! sweet babe ! thy sleep enjoy,
While zephyrs round thee gently play ;
Completely free from earth's alloy,
Thy heavenly soul was call'd away.

Aurora's car shall bear it on
To scenes of bliss above the skies,
And seraphs, as they taste the morn,
Shall chant its triumph as they rise I

LINES ADDRESSED TO AN INCONSTANT.

And is it so ? and does thy heart still rove ?

And are thy passions still in no one's power ?
Hast thou ne'er felt the force of constant love.

But chang'd thy fancy with each fleeting hour ?

Ah ! truly so ! — that eye, though heavenly bright,

Lacks all its lustre in its varying gaze ;
And palls upon, not gratifies the sight, —

When all can boast the splendour of its rays !

Oh I what is beauty but an empty name,

A bud that blossoms but to droop and die —

And what the conquests which extend its fame,
If only made to torture and destroy ?

Adieu ! sweet maid, another path pursue,

Nor flatter hopes that ne'er were meant should last ;
Go — shed the tear to fond Afl«ction due.

And change thy course and deprecate the past !
London^ June 1, 1820. Britannicus.

POETRY. 483

A SONG,

WRITTEN FOR THE CELEBRATION OF

MR. PITT'S BIRTH DAY,

And sung at the City of London Tavern, on the 2&th May 1822*
The Music by Mr. ClTftori.

For Pitt ! the patriot dear,

Once more a grateful lay
Commemorates the year

Which hail'd his natal day —
And as we chant the song

May spirits hov'ring round
Convey the strains along,

And upwards bear the sound.

Chorus. — Illustrious name ! enroU'd on high !
Thy Country still will pay
A tribute to thy raem'ry
On this, thy natal day !

For Pitt ! his Country's pride,

His Country's saviour too —
To each endearing thought allied —

To ev'ry friendship true ! —
A garland now we'll wreathe.

Though cypress strews the way,
And o'er his tomb we'll breathe

Once more a grateful lay.

Illustrious name, &c.

For Pitt ! his Country's friend,

And guardian of her name,
Britannia long will send

A tribute to his fame ;
And bending o'er his grave

As Britain's Genius mourns,
The stanza we will have

Whene'er this day returns.

Illustrious name, &c.

484 POETRY.

To Pitt ! Rebellion's foe,

And Order's stedfast friend,
Who laid the standard low

Which menac'd England's land !
We'll dedicate this hour,

When Albign's sons combine !
And grateful incense pour

Around the Patriot's shrine.

Illustrious name, &c.

FRIENDSHIP.
\_Puhlished in 1823.]

Friendship I why, what is a friend?
One who soothes another's woe ;
And strives to cheer
The desert drear
Which once in beauty smil'd,
And many an hour beguil'd,

When blest with those we lov'd below 1

Friendship I can'st thou e'er be cold ?
Can'st thou lose thy genial heat ?
Can'st thou ever
From thee sever
Those who, bent with cares and grief,
Stand in need of thy relief.

And ask assistance at thy feet ?

Friendship ! can the widow's tears,
Can the infant's lisping pray'r,
Unheeded be
By one like thee.
Where once Affection's smile
Cheer'd a faithful husband's toil,
And dwelt with pleasure there ?

POETRY. 485

Oh, no ! in gloomy times like these,

Thy social influence thou wilt spread ;
The tortur'd mind thou'lt strive to ease,

The widow cheer — the infant lead.
'Tis now, as Mem'ry calls thee back

To scenes once blooming — now forlorn,
Thou'lt scorn engagements to forsake,

Which on thy altar once were sworn.

LINES
ADDRESSED TO COLONEL AND MRS. H *****,

ON BEING RESTORED TO EACH OTHER AFTER A LONG
AND PAINFUL SEPARATION.

Well may ye mourn the cruel fate

Which disunites each social tie,
Attends the poor unfortunate.

And seals his wretched destiny !
For such indeed hath hover'd round

The dreary vale where ye have been.
And though ye were in spirit bound.

The jealous Hydra stepp'd between !

But, faithful pair I the clouds are fled

Which held such dark dominion.
The scene is bright'ning over head.

And borne on Love's swift pinion —
Again shall kindred souls unite.

And now be sever'd never.
The green-ey'd elf has lost his right,

And clos'd his reign for ever !

As sorrows past do joys increase.

So floods of tears shall heighten yours ;
Thrice blest with happiness and peace.

Your future path is strew'd with flow'rs !
The eye so long suflfus'd with woe,

At length shall beam with sacred joy,
And Charles and Anna now shall know

Domestic life without alloy !
Leicester y August 9, 1824.

486 POETRY.

LINES ON THE DEATH OF
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF YORK

Alas, Britannia ! one more wreath is lost

Which once inclos'd thy silken hair,

The chaplet fled— its precious cost

Thy scatter'd locks too plain declare ! •

Yes — nurs'd in Freedom's purest soil,
A foe to Superstition's reign,
A friend to England's laws and isle,
Thy Frederick did his rank maintain.

Thrice Royal Name ! to mem'ry dear !
While passing to the silent tomb,
A Nation's grief adorns thy bier.
As incense wafts a sweet perfume.

And as Britannia mourns thy fate,
And veils herself in deepest woe.
Her banners hang disconsolate
Oe'r ONE who once ador'd them so !

Bright Star of Brunswick's Royal Line,
Firm Champion of a people's rights.
Long shall thy proud exemplar shine.
From Scotia's isles to Dover's heights !

Illustrious Prince I enjoy repose !
Thy mantle is o'er Albion spread,
For as thy lofty spirit rose,
And left the chambers of the dead —

Down on the land it lov'd so true
A glance of stedfast hope it shot —
A glance which Royal Frederick knew,
Would never, never be forgot !

Leicester i Jan, 10, 1827.

POETRY. 487

DISTINCTION AND LIFE.

What is Distinction but a toy
For ever tost by envious spleen,
Alike unknown to peace and joy,
And soon as if it ne'er had been ? —

The summit gain'd — a frightful waste
Is all that meets the weary eye.
Nor can the bravest chief at last
Behold the wreck without a sigh !

And what is Life? — a " boisterous sea,"

Capricious as its varying wave,

An " ocean " full of misery.

Which bears us to a " common grave ? "

Should stedfast Hope the prospect cheer,
And point to realms of endless day,
'Tis true, indeed, that Friendship here
Will sooth the dark and dreary way !

Leicester y June 7, 1828.

JOHN BOWYER NICHOLS AND SON,
25, PARLIAMENT STRKKT, WFSTMINSTER.

L