P.S.--Since writing the above I have lighted upon the following
authorities, confirming the position that the Spiritual Estate is
represented in Parliament by the Bishops, and also that it is ranked as
the "_First_ Estate of the Realm." Can MR. FRASER adduce _any authority
whatever_ for applying that designation to the Clergy in Convocation?
I. In _An Account of the Ceremonies observed at the Coronation of George
III._ (London, Kearsley, 1791, 4to.), I read that immediately after the
enthronement--
"The bishops performed their homage, and _then_ the temporal
lords, first H. R. H. the Duke of York, and H. R. H. the Duke of
Cumberland, each for himself;"--
the Prelates thus taking precedence even of the blood royal. The same
fact is distinctly stated in the accounts appended of the coronations of
James II., William and Mary (when the Bishops did homage before Prince
George); and I presume that this is the regular order in which the
Estates of the Realm do homage to the Sovereign upon that most solemn
occasion.
II. When the royal assent is given to any act of grace (which emanates
from the Crown in the first instance), the form is for the clerk of
parliament to acknowledge the royal favour in these words:
III. "_Les prélats, seigneurs, et commons_, en ce present
parliament assemblés au nom de tout vous autre subjects remercient
très humblement votre Majesté, et prient à Dieu vous donner en
santé bonne vie et longue."
"Strictly speaking, the 'Three Estates of the Realm' consist of,
1st, the Lords Spiritual; 2nd, the Lords Temporal; 3rd, the
Commons. Parliament fully assembled consists of the King, with the
two estates of the Peerage sitting in one house, and the Commons
by their representatives standing below the bar."--Dodd's _Manual
of Dignities, &c._, tit. "Parliament," p. 266.