Morley, co. Derby, dated 15 July, 1472, and proved on the fifth of August in the same year in the prerogative court Canterbury.

Squier of the West Country by the hands of Page in the last Parleament. I did nothing there and if I did,

it is against my conscience for so moche as I was one of the Parleament and should be indifferent in every matter of the Parleament, I will he have it ageyne."

OXFORD, 1886.

A SHORT HISTORY OF PARLIAMENT.

CHAPTER I.

FORMATION OF PARLIAMENT.

SECTION 1.-Folk-moots and Witena-gemóts.

HE earliest form of National Assembly known to English

modern Talking Machine which fills so many columns of the daily papers with its proceedings. Yet the connection between the Parliament and the Anglo-Saxon tribal meetings of freeholders (Folk-moot) is so intimate that the historian is justified in declaring that the former is but the latter transfigured and glorified almost beyond all recognition. Generations of different architects have built, restored, improved on the original design with untiring perseverance and zeal, have reared a huge square keep in the centre, have girdled it with successive circles of ramparts, bastions, and towers, have faced it with vast earthworks of the most approved modern construction, and dug deep ditches to bar the onset of the rude invader. Yet, though lost to sight, almost to memory, buried deeply amid the medley of later forms and styles, there lies somewhere in the centre the solid Saxon masonry of the original foundation from which the completed structure has really sprung.

The history of the British Parliament is in fact a record of continual growth, of wise and judicious pruning and training, of constantly increasing energy and strength at each successive development.

B

It possesses therefore a curious interest, not merely for those who desire to study the most important and most interesting branch of the history of their country, but also for the intelligent historical student of every age and race. For it is unique in the annals of the nations. Diets and Dietines, Things, States-General, Estates of every kind and tongue, which may be regarded as foreign equivalents for some form of a Parliament, have existed at different times in most of the European countries, and, springing from the same origin as the Saxon Folk-moot, were gradually dwarfed by the growth and stifled by the baleful shadow of despotic monarchies or aristocracies, till they drooped and died prematurely, or survived ingloriously to draw on a wasted, shrunken existence in an unhealthy atmosphere that was fatal to wholesome life. The present century, it is true, has witnessed a great outburst or renaissance of constitutional forms and representative assemblies on the Continent; but they have sprung full-grown from the heads of their creators, they are in no sense the result of natural development, and in most cases they were directly borrowed, with suitable or unsuitable modifications, from the English Parliament itself. The modern form of the English Parliament is, however, essentially the result of growth, and of growth in a favourable atmosphere under natural conditions. Its history therefore possesses the unique attraction and advantage, that it retraces its way step by step, without a single stop or break, right back to the very origin of the English nation, and far beyond, till it fades faintly away in the dim mists of prehistoric time. It will be enough, however, for the purpose at present in view if we content ourselves with a very brief sketch of the earlier assemblies, as a slight introduction to the more important chapters of parliamentary history which follow.

The Anglo-Saxon Witena-gemót, or Meeting of the Wise Men, in its historical form, was an assembly of the important officials of the kingdom, summoned by special invitation from the king to meet at the place where he might happen to be staying. Their business was to advise him with regard to the government of the kingdom; and they probably expressed their opinions pretty freely on all subjects, though it by no means follows that it produced much effect. It was an understood rule, that no new laws, and

nothing affecting a man's life or property, should be imposed without the consent of the people, which was obtained in later days by consulting a fairly large assembly of the freeholders; but, as a rule, the king's opinion had very considerable weight in the more ordinary administrative business, as perhaps was natural. Of course, all this must have varied considerably with the character and personal authority of individual kings; in the weak reign of Edward the Confessor, for instance, the king's opinion was not by any means so much thought of as that of powerful and popular nobles like Godwine, Leofric, and Siward. There was one right, however, which the Witan were always particular about the appointment of the heir to the Crown. Sometimes this was done during the king's lifetime, at his special request; but the usual thing was to wait till his death, and then elect his eldest son, if of age and capable, or, if not, some one else from the royal family-generally the late king's younger

brother.

The rights of the Witan tended to become pure formalism after the Conquest, for the Norman kings were practically absolute, and they legislated, taxed, and ruled at pleasure, unchecked by anything save the fear of rebellion. The forms of the Saxon Constitution were preserved, it is true, and during the Conqueror's reign the Witan met about three times a year. But they did not do much; they were far more like a court or levée, for purposes of display than a business-like affair, though they undoubtedly did transact business now and then.

The actual government of the country, however, was carried on by a much smaller body, which consisted roughly of the principal barons and bishops and some professional assistants, and was known by various names, such as the Ordinary Council, or the King's Court. But it is important to remember that under every form and title it was regarded simply as representing the Witan; the rights which it exercised were the rights of the Witan, its members were all members of the Witena-gemót as well, and its powers and existence merged wholly in those of the Witan when the latter assembled. The fiction, in short, was, that the Witan governed the country; the fact was, that this permanent commission did. The importance of this fiction was, however, unusually

great, for it enabled the National Council to preserve powers which it must otherwise have infallibly lost, and to reassert its authority later without any difficulty when it became stronger.

After the death of the Conqueror, the regular yearly meetings of the Witan appear to have been dropped; but we really know very little on the subject till the reign of Henry II., when there was a great advance.

The Witan were frequently summoned, and were consulted on business of every kind; for Henry, conscious of his real power, and fully realizing the advantage he derived from the advice of practical men, never hesitated to ask for counsel when he required it. Their legislative powers, however, were still very shadowy; and the legal regulations or ordinances of Henry II. (Assizes) were as much due to the absolute will of the monarch solely, as the charters of the Norman kings were. The most decided advance is on the question of taxation, and this takes the form of an, as yet, extremely misty theory, that a man should not be taxed without his own consent. It is true that the king still initiates all fresh taxation; that there is no record of a debate on finance till the reign of Richard I., and that individual opposition was no doubt, as a rule, overcome by force. But there are a few cases of distinct and successful refusal to contribute their share on the part of men high in office-such refusals being based simply on disapproval of the nature or objects of the tax; but it seems probable that in such cases the only result of individual action was the exemption of the individual from the operation of the tax in question.

At the end of the twelfth century, therefore, the English Government was still practically a despotism, though its despotic character was considerably veiled by the constant use of constitutional forms. The natural consequence, however, of the overwhelming strength of the Government, was the growth of a spirit of opposition, which as yet only manifested itself occa sionally in isolated instances; but might, under unusual pressure, develop into a powerful constitutional force. The misgovernment of John supplied the necessary pressure, and united the whole nation in a stern determination to place some restrictions on the power which had been so grossly abused. John was