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only necessary for that purpose, that the different ranks of the landed proprietors in the three united kingdoms should be invested with the same power in the government of the country, and in the administration of the laws which they enjoyed under that divine system of government which the Almighty established in England, during the reign of Alfred the Great.

It will be seen in Henry's History of Britain,* that under that divine system of government, there were a regular chain of governing powers established in every member of the state, advancing gradually in power and dignity, from the father of a family, to the king upon the throne; and that these natural governing powers, or magistrates, were those landed proprietors who possessed the chief power or influence in that particular member of the state which was placed under his authority.

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It appears that each of these magistrates had his own court of justice in which he presided for the administration of justice within his own district; and that the constituent members of these courts of justice, or the jury, by whose ver dict every question that came before the court was determined, were that particular class of

*See Volume 3d, Book 2. Chap. 3. § 2.

landed proprietors whose natural power and influence in the state corresponded to the power and dignity of the court which they composed,

So many families being united together, and formed into what may be termed, one complete whole, by the influence of its own natural head or tithing-man, constituted what was called the tithing-court. This was the lowest court of justice in the kingdom. In this court, all the petty questions which arose between the different members of the tithing, were determined. A certain number of these tithings being again united together, and formed into a greater whole, under its own natural head, or hundredary, formed that district, or division of a shire or county, which was called a hundred. As the hundredary was a magistrate superior in dignity to the tithing-man, the hundred court in which he presided was also invested with a superior degree of power over all the members of the hundred. To this court, those who were dissatisfied with the judgments pronounced in the tithing-courts might appeal; and it appears that this court was invested with power to take cognizance of all questions, both civil and criminal, that occurred within the hundred; except these atrocious crimes which inferred death or slavery.

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A certain number of these hundreds being again united together and formed into a still greater whole, under the authority of a still more powerful head, constituted a shire, or county. This was one of the greatest members in the state. The magistrate who presided in the county court, was termed the alderman of the shire, now the lord lieutenant. This magistrate was always a person of the highest dignity and power in the county over which he presided; and as his duty as a commander in the army, and his necessary attendance upon the court, rendered it impossible for him to be always present in the court in which he was appointed to preside, he was permitted to appoint a deputy, called the shire grieve, now the vice lieutenant, who presided in the court in his absence, and became his assessor when present. As this was the supreme court of justice in the county it was invested with power, not only to give judgment in all appeals from the inferior courts, but also in all cases both civil and criminal, that occurred within the county. As each of these shires or counties, with the alderman or lord lieutenant at its head, formed the different great members of the state, co-equal in dignity and power; these being again united together, and

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formed into one complete whole, by the supreme influence of the sovereign, the supreme magistrate in the society; this great whole, constituted that great member of the general society of mankind, which is termed a kingdom or empire.

By this union of the great members of the state into one complete whole, or unit, a supreme court of justice was formed for the whole kingdom, which was called the king's court, now the House of Peers. In this supreme court the king presided, either personally, or by his deputy, who was called the alderman of all England, now the lord chancellor; to this supreme court, all those who deemed themselves injured by the judgment pronounced in the different county courts might appeal.

The witenagemot, or great national council, which was composed of all the landed proprietors of the kingdom, possessed of the necessary qualifications, seems to have been convened by the king occasionally, for legislative purposes only.

This is the constitution of that government which the Almighty established in England during the reign of Alfred the Great. In the proposed Inquiry into the Origin of Government and Law, it will be clearly shown, that the plan

which this divine system of government upon is formed, is precisely the same as that upon which all nature is built; and that it is also a perfect copy of that system which the Creator himself established at the very creation of the world, for the government of all his works.

But although the ancient history of England gives us this clear view of the constitution of that government which was established there, by Alfred the Great, it is so much blended with the corruptions that were afterwards gradually, and, perhaps, imperceptibly introduced, that we have at this time no clear knowledge of the particular qualifications that were necessary to qualify the different ranks of men to sit as the constituent members or jurymen in these different courts of justice. We have, however, good reason to believe, that the rank and dignity of the constituent members of these different courts of justice, was always conformable to the power and authority of that particular court which they composed; and as this is a perfect copy of the constitution of the government of nature itself, it will be found from the proposed Inquiry before alluded to, that it must of neces sity have been so.

That these natural courts of justice, as estab

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