In speaking of parlement lawe, I haue in the chapiter precedent said
somewhat of this high and most honorable court. Wherefore it shall not
néed to remember ought héere that is there touched: I will onelie
speake of other things therefore concerning the estate of assemblie,
whereby the magnificence thereof shall be in some part better knowne
vnto such as shall come after vs. This house hath the most high and
absolute power of the realme, for thereby kings and mightie princes
haue from time to time béene deposed from their thrones, lawes either
enacted or abrogated, offendors of all sorts punished, and corrupted
religion either dissanulled or reformed, which commonlie is diuided
[Sidenote: The parlement house diuideth the estate of the
realme into nobilitie and the commons.]
into two houses or parts, the higher or vpper house consisting of the
nobilitie, including all euen vnto the baron and bishop: the lower
called the nether house of knights, squires, gentlemen, and burgesses
of the commons, with whome also the inferior members of the cleargie
are ioined, albeit they sit in diuerse places, and these haue to deale
onelie in matters of religion, till it come that they ioine with the
rest in confirmation of all such acts as are to passe in the same. For
without the consent of the thrée estates, that is, of the nobilitie,
cleargie, and laietie, sildome anie thing is said to be concluded
vpon, and brought vnto the prince for his consent and allowance. To be
short, whatsoeuer the people of Rome did in their Centuriatis or
Tribunitijs comitijs, the same is and may be doone by authoritie of
our parlement house, which is the head and bodie of all the realme,
and the place wherein euerie particular person is intended to be
present, if not by himselfe, yet by his aduocate or atturneie. For
this cause also any thing ther enacted is not to be misliked, but
[Sidenote: Time of summons.]
obeied of all men without contradiction or grudge. By the space of
fortie dais, before this assemblie be begun, the prince sendeth his
writs vnto all his nobilitie particularlie, summoning them to appeare
at the said court. The like he doth to the shiriffe of euerie countie;
with commandement to choose two knights within ech of their counties,
to giue their aduise in the name of the shire, likewise to euerie
citie and towne, that they may choose their burgesses, which commonlie
are men best skilled in the state of their citie or towne, either for
the declaration of such benefits as they want, or to shew which waie
to reforme such enormities as thorough the practises of ill members
are practised and crept in among them: the first being chosen by the
gentlemen of the shire, the other by the citizens and burgesses of
euerie citie and towne, whereby that court is furnished. The first
[Sidenote: Of the vpper house.]
daie of the parlement being come, the lords of the vpper house, as
well ecclesiasticall as temporall, doo attend vpon the prince, who
rideth thither in person, as it were to open the doore of their
authoritie; and being come into the place, after praiers made, and
causes shewed, wherefore some not present are inforced to be absent,
each man taketh his place according to his degrée. The house it selfe
is curiouslie furnished with tapisterie, and the king being set in his
throne, the spirituall lords take vp the side of the house which is on
[Sidenote: Places of the peeres.]
the right hand of the prince, and the temporall lords the left, I
meane, so well dukes and earles, as viscounts and barons, as I before
remembred. In the middest and a pretie distance from the prince, lie
certeine sackes stuffed with wooll or haire, wheron the iudges of the
realme, the master of the rols, and secretaries of estate doo sit.
Howbeit these iudges haue no voice in the house, but onelie shew what
their opinion is of such & such matters as come in question among the
lords, if they be commanded so to doo: as the secretaries are to
answer such letters or things passed in the councell, whereof they
haue the custodie & knowledge. Finallie, the consent of this house is
giuen by each man seuerallie, first for himselfe being present, then
seuerallie for so manie as he hath letters & proxies directed vnto
him, saieng onelie; Content or Not content, without any further
debating. Of the number assembled in the lower house, I haue alreadie
made a generall report in the chapter precedent, and their particulars
shall follow here at hand. These therefore being called ouer by name
[Sidenote: Of the lower house.]
[Sidenote: Speaker.]
do choose a speaker, who is as it were their mouth, and him they
present vnto the prince, in whom it is either to refuse or admit him
by the lord chancellor, who in the princes name dooth answer vnto his
oration, made at his first entrance & presentation into the house,
wherein he declareth the good liking that the king hath conceiued of
[Sidenote: Petitions of the speaker.]
his choise vnto that office & function. Being admitted, he maketh fiue
requests vnto that honorable assemblie, first that the house may (as
in times past) inioy hir former liberties and priuileges: secondlie,
that the congregates may frankelie shew their minds vpon such matters
as are to come in question: thirdlie, that if anie of the lower house
doo giue anie cause of offense during the continuance of this
assemblie, that the same may inflict such punishment vpon the partie
culpable, as to the said assemblie shall be thought conuenient:
fourthlie, if anie doubt should arise among them of the lower house,
that he in their name might haue frée accesse and recourse vnto his
maiestie & lords of the higher house, to be further instructed and
resolued in the same: fiftlie and last, he craueth pardon for
himselfe, if in his going to and fro betweene the houses, he forget or
mistake anie thing, requiring that he may returne and be better
informed in such things as he did faile in without offense: vnto which
petitions the lord chancellor dooth answer as apperteineth, and this
is doone on the first daie, or peraduenture the second, if it could
not be conuenientlie performed in the first.
[Sidenote: Clerke of the parlement.]
Beside the lord chancellor there is another in the vpper house called
the clerke of the parlement, whose office is to read the billes. For
euerie thing that commeth in consultation in either house, is first
put in writing in paper, which being read, he that listeth riseth vp
and speaketh either with it or against it, and so one after another so
long as they shall thinke good; that doone they go to another, and so
to the third, &c: the instrument still wholie or in part raced or
reformed, as cause moueth for the amendment of the same if the
substance be reputed necessarie. In the vpper house the lord
chancellor demandeth if they will haue it ingrossed, that is to saie,
put in parchment, which doone, it is read the third time, & after
debating of the matter to and fro if the more part doo conclude
withall, vpon the vtterance of these words, "Are ye contented that it
be enacted or no?" the clerke writeth vnderneath "Soit baille aux
commons," and so when they sée time they send such billes approued to
the commons by some of them that sit on the wooll sackes, who comming
into the house, & demanding licence to speake, doo vse this kind of
words or the like to the speaker, as sir Thomas Smith dooth deliuer
and set them downe, whose onelie direction I vse, and almost word for
word in this chapter, requiting him with the like borowage as he hath
vsed toward me in his discourse of the sundrie degrées of estates in
the common-wealth of England, which (as I hope) shall be no discredit
to his trauell. "Master speaker, my lords of the vpper house haue
passed amongst them, and thinke good that there should be enacted by
parlement such an act, and such an act (reading their titles in such
sort as he receiued them) they praie you therefore to consider & shew
your aduise vpon them." Which doone they go their waie, and the doore
being shut after them, the speaker declareth what message was sent
vnto them, and if they be then void of consultation vpon anie other
bill, he presentlie demandeth what their pleasures are, first of one,
then of another, &c: which are solemnelie read, or their contents
bréeflie shewed and then debated vpon among them.
[Sidenote: Of the nether house.]
The speaker sitteth in a chaire erected somewhat higher than the rest,
that he may sée and be séene of all men, and before him on a lower
seat sitteth his clerke, who readeth such bils as be first propounded
in the lower house, or sent downe from the lords: for in that point
each house hath equall authoritie to propound what they thinke méet,
either for the abrogation of old or making of new lawes. All bils be
thrise and on diuerse daies read and disputed vpon before they come to
the question, which is, whether they shall be enacted or not; and in
discourse vpon them, verie good order is vsed in the lower house,
wherein he that will speake giueth notice thereof by standing vp bare
headed. If manie stand vp at once (as now & then it happeneth) he
speaketh first that was first seene to moue out of his place, and
telleth his tale vnto the speaker, without rehersall of his name whose
speches he meaneth to confute, so that with a perpetuall oration & not
with altercation these discourses are continued. But as the partie
confuted may not replie on that daie, so one man can not speake twise
to one bill in one daie though he would change his opinion, but on the
next he may speake againe, & yet but once as afore. No vile,
seditious, vnreuerent or biting words are vsed in this assemblie, yet
if anie happen to escape and be vttered, the partie is punished
according to the censure of the assemblie and custome in that behalfe.
In the afternoone they sit not except vpon some vrgent occasion,
neither hath the speaker anie voice in that house, wherewith to moue
or dissuade the furtherance or staie of anie bill, but his office is
vpon the reading thereof breeflie to declare the contents. If anie
bill passe, which commeth vnto them from the lords, it is thus
subscribed, "Les commons ont assentus:" so if the lords agree vpon
anie bill sent vnto them from the commons, it is subscribed after this
maner, "Les seigniours ont assentus." If it be not agreed on after
thrise reading, there is conference required and had betwéene the
vpper and nether houses, by certeine appointed for that purpose vpon
the points in question, wherevpon if no finall agréement by the more
part can be obteined, the bill is dashed and reiected, or (as the
saieng is) cleane cast out of the doores. None of the nether house can
giue his voice by proxie but in his owne person, and after the bill
twise read, then ingrossed and the third time read againe & discoursed
vpon, the speaker asketh if they will go to the question, whervnto if
they agree he holdeth vp the bill & saith; "So manie as will haue this
bill go forward saie Yea:" hervpon so manie as allow of the thing crie
Yea, the other No, & as the crie is more or lesse on either side, so
is the bill to staie or else go forward. If the number of negatiue and
affirmatiue voices seeme to be equall, so manie as allow of the bill
go downe withall, the rest sit still, and being told by the poll the
greater part doo carrie away the matter. If something be allowed and
in some part reiected, the bill is put to certeine committées to be
amended, & then being brought in againe, it is read and passeth or
staieth as the voices yéeld therto. This is the order of the passage
of our lawes, which are not ratified till both houses haue agréed vnto
them, and yet not holden for law till the prince haue giuen his
assent. Vpon the last daie therfore of the parlement or session, the
prince commeth in person againe into the house, in his robes as at the
first. Where after thanks giuen to the prince, first in the name of
the lords by the lord chancellor, then in the name of the commons by
the speaker for his great care of the welfare of his realme, &c: the
lord chancellor in the princes name giueth thanks to the lords &
commons likewise for their paines, with promise of recompense as
opportunitie & occasion shall serue therefore. This doone one readeth
the title of euerie act passed in that session, and then it is noted
vpon them what the prince doth allow of with these words, "Le roy
veult." If the prince like not of them, it is written vpon them "Le
roy aduisera." And so those acts are dashed, as the other from
thencefoorth are taken and holden for law, and all imprinted except
such as concerne some priuat persons, which are onelie exemplified
vnder the seale of the parlement, as priuileges to his vse. And this
is the summe of the maner after which our parlements in England are
holden, without which no forfaiture of life, member or lands of anie
Englishman, where no law is ordeined for the same before hand, is
auailable or can take place amongst vs. And so much in maner out of
the third chapiter of the second booke of the common-wealth of England
written by sir Thomas Smith: whervnto I will annex a table of the
counties, cities, boroughs and ports, which send knights, burgesses,
and barons to the parlement house, and dooth insue as followeth.
THE NAMES OF COUNTIES, CITIES, BOROUGHS, AND PORTS, SENDING KNIGHTS,
CITIZENS, BURGESSES, AND BARONS TO THE PARLEMENT OF ENGLAND.
_Bedford._
Knights. 2
The borough of Bedford. 2
_Buckingham._
Knights. 2
The borough of Buckingham. 2
The borough of Wickombe. 2
The borough of Ailesburie. 2
_Barckeshire._
Knights. 2
The borough of New Windsore. 2
The borough of Reading. 2
The borough of Wallingford. 2
The borough of Abington. 2
_Cornewall._
Knights. 2
The borough of Launceston aliàs Newport. 2
The borough of Leskerd. 2
The borough of Lostwithiell. 2
The borough of Dunheuet. 2
The borough of Truro. 2
The borough of Bodmin. 2
The borough of Helston. 2
The borough of Saltash. 2
The borough of Camelford. 2
The borough of Portighsam aliàs Portlow. 2
The borough of Graunpount.
The borough of Eastlow. 2
The borough of Prurie. 2
The borough of Tregonie. 2
The borough of Trebenna aliàs Bossinnie. 2
The borough of S. Ies. 2
The borough of Fowaie. 2
The borough of Germine. 2
The borough of Michell. 2
The borough of saint Maries. 2
_Cumberland._
Knights. 2
The citie of Caerleill. 2
_Cambridge._
Knights. 2
The borough of Cambridge. 2
_Chester._
Knights. 2
The citie of Chester. 2
_Darbie._
Knights. 2
The borough of Darbie. 2
_Deuon._
Knights. 2
The citie of Excester. 2
The borough of Totnes. 2
The borough of Plimmouth. 2
The borough of Bardnestable. 2
The borough of Plimton. 2
The borough of Tauestocke. 2
The borough of Dartmouth, Clifton, and Herdines. 2
_Dorsetshire._
Knights. 2
The borough of Poole. 2
The borough of Dorchester. 2
The borough of Linne. 2
The borough of Melcombe. 2
The borough of Waiemouth. 2
The borough of Bureport. 2
The borough of Shaftesburie. 2
The borough of Warham. 2
_Essex._
Knights. 2
The borough of Colchester. 2
The borough of Malden. 2
_Yorkeshire._
Knights. 2
The citie of Yorke. 2
The borough of Kingston vpon Hull. 2
The borough of Knaresborough. 2
The borough of Skardborough. 2
The borough of Rippon. 2
The borough of Hudon. 2
The borough of Boroughbridge. 2
The borough of Thuske. 2
The borough of Aldebrough. 2
The borough of Beuerleie. 2
_Glocestershire._
Knights. 2
The citie of Glocester. 2
The borough of Cirencester. 2
_Huntingtonshire._
Knights. 2
The borough of Huntingdon. 2
_Hertfordshire._
Knights. 2
The borough of saint Albons. 2
_Herefordshire._
Knights. 2
The citie of Hereford. 2
The borough of Lempster. 2
_Kent._
Knights. 2
The citie of Canturburie. 2
The citie of Rochester. 2
The borough of Maidstone. 2
The borough of Quinborough. 2
_Lincolne._
Knights. 2
The citie of Lincolne. 2
The borough of Bostone. 2
The borough of great Grinesbie. 2
The borough of Stamford. 2
The borough of Grantham. 2
_Leicestershire._
Knights. 2
The borough of Leicester. 2
_Lancastershire._
Knights. 2
The borough of Lancaster. 2
The borough of Preston in Andernes. 2
The borough of Liuerpoole. 2
The borough of Newton. 2
The borough of Wigan. 2
The borough of Clithero. 2
_Middlesex._
Knights. 2
The citie of London. 4
The citie of Westminster. 2
_Monmouth._
Knights. 2
The borough of Monmouth. 1
_Northhampton._
Knights. 2
The citie of Peterborough. 2
The borough of Northhampton. 2
The borough of Barkleie. 2
The borough of Higham Ferres. 1
_Notingham._
Knights. 2
The borough of Notingham. 2
The borough of Estreatford. 2
_Norffolke._
Knights. 2
The citie of Norwich. 2
The borough of Linne. 2
The borough of great Iernemouth. 2
The borough of Thetford. 2
The borough of castell Rising. 2
_Northumberland._
Knights. 2
The borough of New castell vpon Tine. 2
The borough of Morpeth. 2
The borough of Barwike. 2
_Oxford._
Knights. 2
The citie of Oxford. 2
The borough of Bamburie. 2
The borough of Woodstocke. 2
_Rutland._