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lords Spiritual, whose dignities are not hereditary, can have no temptation nor inducement to opprefs, vilify, or injure that estate, of which their own family is and muft for ever remain a part. The temporal lords, who in the ordinary courfe of nature have generally spent the most active, fpirited, and ambitious part of their lives as commoners, and most frequently as members of the house of commons, and who at most times have more than one of their family in the house of commons, whilft they enjoy their hereditary feats in the house of peers, are for thefe, as well as the more generous and elevated motives of patriotifm, fo congenial with their noble breasts, emphatically withholden from attempting any encroachments or oppreffions, or even feeling a fenfe of contempt, and much lefs of oppreffive infolence, towards the third and moft numerous eftate of the community.

CHAP.

CHAP. XIV.

OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.

*TH

t

HE third eftate, of which we fhall herein principally treat, is on all hands confeffed to confift of the knights, citizens, and burgeffes, with the barons of the cinque-ports; all which being at this day elected by the free votes of the freemen of Great-Britain, are properly esteemed the reprefentative body of the people, and conftitute that part of the parliament, ufually called the house of commons. (N.B.) The ancient modus tenendi parl. reckons up fix degrees or orders of parliament, but that divifion cannot be denominated fix eftates."

"The numbers of the commons I find to have been formerly variant, according as the

fheriffs of counties (from what motive is uncertain) were pleased to direct their precepts to the feveral cities or boroughs within their respective counties, or as the fame sheriffs made their returns thereupon; but indeed another cause of this variation was, that it was usual for the prince, on his acceffion to

Lex Parliamentaria, p. 4, 5, 6, 7.

the

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Kings formerly the throne, to grant charters to ancient de

at their accef

fion granted charters to

towns to fend representatives

mefne vills, and other popular towns, thereby erecting them into free boroughs, and this to parliament. confequently gave them a right to be represented in parliament; and by this artifice, among others, the crown advanced its interefts in the house of commons.

By whom the

elections were

formerly made.

"For it must be confeffed, that by the ancient conftitution, there were no reprefentatives of the commons, as commons in parliament, befides the knights for the fhires, the barons for the cinque-ports, the citizens for the cities, and the burgeffes for the ancient boroughs only; and that the elections for all those were to be made by such persons only, as were poffeffed of lands or tenements, held by them as freeholds or free burgage tenures, which confequently excluded all villeins and copyholders †, as alfo tenants in ancient demefne (which were but the king's villeins) and the tenants and dependants of other lords, from being either the electors, or elected of the houfe of commons. Indeed, the practice of encreafing the number of the representatives

C. II.

Crompt of Courts, f. 2, 3, &c. Stat. 23 H. VI.

+ Stat. 12 R. II. c. 12. Dem. 431.

Crom. 2, 3, 4, 5. Bro. Ant.

Parl. 96. Reg. 261. Nat. Bre. 14.

of

King John

ters for money.

of the commons, began very early, viz. temp. Johan. (if not before) for I find it a practice granted charof that prince* to grant, ufually in confideration of money, &c. charters to ancient demefne towns (as generally all fea port towns were) thereby erecting them into free boroughs †, and hence it was, as I conceive, that Bridport, Dorchester, Harwich, Helftone, Kingston upon Hull, and divers other ancient demesne towns came to be erected into free boroughs, which originally had no right of being represented in parliament.

But whatever methods were then taken to increase the number of the house of commons, I find their number to be much the fame from the end of Henry the Sixth's reign, to the beginning of that of Henry the Eighth, viz. about three hundred.

"That H. VIII. added to their
number

The former and prefent numbers of reprefentatives.

Queen Mary,

38

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Queen Elizabeth,

King James I.

See Bohun's Col. per. tot.

+ The Representative of London and Westminster,

p. 14 to p. 21. Spelm. in voce Major.

Fortescue, p. 40.

1 Mmft. penes Auctorem.

Dd

"And

charters declared void.

"And king Charles I. about ten or twelve; fo that at the time of the restoration of king Charles II. I find their numbers to have been about five hundred. But the commons about that time reftrained this mifchievous

King Charles's practice for the future, fo that they declared the elections made by virtue of that prince's charters void; and as Chefter had been enabled to fend two members for the county, and two for the city, by virtue of a * ftat. 34, 35 H. VIII. fo an act paffed in the 25 Car. II. enabling Durham to fend four members in like manner, and thus the number of the houfe of commons ftood at five hundred and thirteen, till the union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland, when by virtue of the union att forty-five Scottish members Prefent number were added, which made the whole number of that houfe to be five hundred and fiftyeight, as it now ftands."

five hundred

and fifty-eight.

Origin and progrefs of the power of the

commons under Edward I.

Mr. De Lolme has collected a very just and impartial hiftorical account of the origin, gradual increase, and establishment of the influence and power of the house of commons."Edward I. continually engaged in

+

St. 34, 35. H. VIII. c. xiii. St. 25. c. ii. c. ix.

St.

5 An. c. viii.

On the conflitution of England, c. ii. p. 32. & feq.

wars

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