HIGH COMMISSION COURT.

1 ELIZABETH, CAP. 1, SEC. 18.-An act to restore to the crown the ancient jurisdiction over the estate ecclesiastical and spiritual, and abolishing all foreign powers repugnant to the same.-See Title"APPEALS TO THE SEE OF ROME," vol. i. p. 147.

16 CHARLES 1, CAP. 11.-A repeal of the branch of a statute primo Elizabethæ, concerning commissioners for causes ecclesiastical.— Whereas in the parliament holden in the first year of the reign of the 1 Eliz. c. 1, late queen Elizabeth late queen of England, there was an act made s. 18. and established, intituled, an act restoring to the crown the ancient jurisdiction over the state ecclesiastical and spiritual, and abolishing all foreign power repugnant to the same; in which act amongst other things, there is contained one clause, branch, article or sentence, whereby it was enacted to this effect; namely, that the said late queen's highness, her heirs and successors, kings or queens of this realm, should have full power and authority by virtue of that act, by letters patents under the great seal of England, to assign, name and authorize, when and as often as her highness, her heirs or successors, should think meet and convenient, and for such and so long time as should please her highness, her heirs or successors, such person or persons being natural born subjects to her highness, her heirs or successors, as her majesty, her heirs or successors, should think meet to exercise, use, occupy and execute under her highness, her heirs and successors, all manner of jurisdictions, privileges and preeminence, in anywise touching or concerning any spiritual or ecclesiastical jurisdiction within these her realms of England, and Ireland, or any other her highness' dominions and countries, and to visit, reform, redress, order, correct and amend all such errors, heresies, schisms, abuses, offences, contempts and enormities whatsoever, which by any manner of spiritual or ecclesiastical power, authority or jurisdiction, can or may lawfully be reformed, ordered, redressed, corrected, restrained or amended, to the pleasure of Almighty God, the increase of virtue, and the conservation of the peace and unity of this realm: and that such person or persons so to be named, assigned, authorized and appointed by her highness, her heirs or successors, after the said letters patents to him or them made and delivered as aforesaid, should have full power and authority, by virtue of that act, and of the said letters patents, under her highness, her heirs or successors, to exercise, use and execute all the premises, according to the tenor and effect of the said letters patents; any matter or cause to the contrary in anywise notwithstanding.

commission court.

II. And whereas by color of some words in the aforesaid branch of High the said act, whereby commissioners are authorized to execute their commission according to the tenor and effect of the king's letters patents, and by letters patents grounded thereupon, the said commissioners have, to the great and insufferable wrong and oppression

The said branch of the

1 Eliz c. 1, repealed.

Power taken away from

bishops and other ecclesiastical

persons and courts.

of the king's subjects, used to fine and imprison them, and to exercise other authority not belonging to ecclesiastical jurisdiction restored by that act, and divers other great mischiefs, and inconveniencies have also ensued to the king's subjects, by occasion of the said branch and commissions issued thereupon, and the executions thereof: therefore for the repressing and preventing of the foresaid abuses, mischiefs and inconveniences in time to come;

III. Be it enacted by the king's most excellent majesty, and the lords and commons in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that the foresaid branch, clause, article or sentence, contained in the said act, and every word, matter and thing contained in that branch, clause, article or sentence, shall from henceforth be repealed, annulled, revoked, annihilated and utterly made void for ever; any thing in the said act to the contrary in anywise notwithstanding.

IV. And be it also enacted by the authority aforesaid, that no archbishops, archbishop, bishop nor vicar-general, nor any chancellor, official nor commissary of any archbishop, bishop or vicar-general, nor any ordinary whatsoever, nor any other spiritual or ecclesiastical judge, officer or minister of justice, nor any other person or persons whatsoever, exercising spiritual or ecclesiastical power, authority or jurisdiction, by any grant, licence or commission of the king's majesty, his heirs or successors, or by any power or authority derived from the king, his heirs or successors or otherwise, shall from and after the first day of August, which shall be in the year of our Lord God one thousand six hundred forty and one, award, impose or inflict any pain, penalty, fine, amerciament, imprisonment or other corporal punishment upon any of the king's subjects, for any contempt, misdemeanor, crime, offence, matter or thing whatsoever, belonging to spiritual or ecclesiastical cognizance or jurisdiction, or shall ex officio, or at the instance or promotion of any other person whatsoever, urge, enforce, tender, give or minister unto any churchwarden, sideman or other person whatsoever, any corporal oath, whereby he or she shall or may be charged or obliged to make any presentment of any crime, or offence, or to confess or to accuse himself or herself of any crime, offence, delinquency or misdemeanor, or any neglect, matter or thing, whereby or by reason whereof he or she shall or may be liable or exposed to any censure, pain, penalty or punishment whatsoever; Penalty, tre- upon pain and penalty that every person who shall offend contrary and one hun to this statute, shall forfeit and pay treble damages to every person dred pounds. thereby grieved, and the sum of one hundred pounds to him or them

3 Cr. 262.

ble damages,

Offenders convicted, disabled

who shall first demand and sue for the same; which said treble damages and sum of one hundred pounds, shall and may be demanded and recovered by action of debt, bill or plaint, in any court of record, wherein no privilege, essoin, protection or wager of law shall be admitted or allowed to the defendant. And be it further enacted, that every person who shall be once convicted of any act or offence prohibited by this statute, shall for such act or offence be ployment by from and after such conviction, utterly disabled to be or continue in any office or employment in any court of justice whatsoever, or to exercise or execute any power, authority or jurisdiction by force of any commission or letters patents of the king, his heirs or successors.

from any

office or em

the king's

letters pa

tents.

to be erected

V. And be it further enacted, that from and after the said first No new court day of August, no new court shall be erected, ordained or appointed with the like within this realm of England or dominion of Wales, which shall or power. may have the like power, jurisdiction or authority, as the said high commission court now hath or pretendeth to have; but that all and every such letters patents, commissions and grants, made or to be made by his majesty, his heirs or successors, and all powers and authorities granted, or pretended or mentioned to be granted thereby, and all acts, sentences and decrees to be made by virtue or colour thereof, shall be utterly void and of none effect. [Repealed by 13 Car. 2, stat. 1, cap. 12, sec. 2, except as to the high commission court, &c.]

13 CHARLES 2, STAT. 1, CAP. 12.-An act for explanation of a clause contained in an act of parliament made in the seventeenth year of the late king Charles, intituled, an act for repeal of a branch of a statute primo Elizabethæ, concerning commissioners for causes ecclesiastical. Whereas in an act of parliament made in the seventeenth 16 Car. 1, year of the late king Charles, intituled, an act for repeal of a branch c. 11. of a statute primo Elizabethæ, concerning commissioners for causes ecclesiastical, it is (amongst other things) enacted, that no archbishop, bishop nor vicar-general, nor any chancellor nor commissary of any archbishop, bishop or vicar-general, nor any ordinary whatsoever, nor any other spiritual or ecclesiastical judge, officer or minister of justice, nor any other person or persons whatsoever, exercising spiritual or ecclesiastical power, authority or jurisdiction, by any grant, licence or commission of the king's majesty, his heirs or successors, or by any power or authority derived from the king, his heirs or successors, or otherwise, shall (from and after the first day of August, which then should be in the year of our Lord God one thousand six hundred forty-one) award, impose or inflict any pain, penalty, fine, amerciament, imprisonment, or other corporal punishment upon any of the king's subjects, for any contempt, misdemeanor, crime, offence, matter or thing whatsoever, belonging to spiritual or ecclesiastical cognizance or jurisdiction; whereupon some doubt hath been made, that all ordinary power of coercion and proceedings in causes ecclesiastical were taken away, whereby the ordinary course of justice in causes ecclesiastical hath been obstructed: be it therefore declared and enacted by the king's most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords and commons in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority thereof, that neither the The ordinary said act, nor any thing therein contained, doth or shall take away archbishops, any ordinary power or authority from any of the said archbishops, &c. not taken bishops, or any other person or persons named as aforesaid, but that they and every of them exercising ecclesiastical jurisdiction, may proceed, determine, sentence, execute and exercise all manner of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and all censures and coercions appertaining and belonging to the same before the making of the act before recited, in all causes and matters belonging to ecclesiastical May use jurisdiction, according to the king's majesty's ecclesiastical laws jurisdiction. used and practised in this realm, in as ample manner and form, as they did and might lawfully have done before the making of the

said act.

power of

away.

ecclesiastical

The statute

16 Car. 1,

c. 11, repeal

except what concerns

II. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the afore recited act of decimo septimo Caroli, and all the matters ed as to all, and clauses therein contained (excepting what concerns the high commission court, or the new erection of some such like court by commission) shall be and is hereby repealed, to all intents and purposes whatsoever; any thing, clause or sentence in the said act contained to the contrary notwithstanding.

the high commission

court.

Proviso.

III. Provided always, and it is hereby enacted, that neither this act, nor any thing herein contained, shall extend or be construed to revive or give force to the said branch of the said statute made in the said first year of the reign of the said late queen Elizabeth, mentioned in the said act of parliament made in the said seventeenth year of the reign of the said king Charles, but that the said branch 1 Eliz. c. 1, of the said statute made in the said first year of the reign of the said late queen Elizabeth, shall stand and be unrepealed in such sort as if this act had never been made.

s. 18.

Proviso touching

the oath ex

officio,

1 Mod. 185. 12 Rep. 26.

Proviso not

to give any

other juris

diction to

any archbishop, &c. than they

had by law

IV. Provided also, and it is hereby further enacted, that it shall not be lawful for any archbishop, bishop, vicar-general, chancellor, commissary, or any other spiritual or ecclesiastical judge, officer or minister, or any other person having or exercising spiritual or ecclesiastical jurisdiction, to tender or administer unto any person whatsoever, the oath usually called the oath ex officio, or any other oath whereby such person to whom the same is tendered or administered may be charged or compelled to confess or accuse, or to purge him or herself of any criminal matter or thing, whereby he or she may be liable to any censure or punishment; any thing in this statute, or any other law, custom or usage heretofore to the contrary hereof in anywise notwithstanding.

V. Provided always, that this act, or any thing therein contained, shall not extend or be construed to extend to give unto any archbishop, bishop, or any other spiritual or ecclesiastical judge, officer or other person or persons aforesaid, any power or authority to exercise, execute, inflict or determine any ecclesiastical jurisdiction, censure or coercion, which they might not by law have done before the year The king's of our Lord one thousand six hundred thirty-nine; nor to abridge supremacy in or diminish the king's majesty's supremacy in ecclesiastical matters matters. and affairs, nor to confirm the canons made in the year one thousand Canons ec- six hundred forty, nor any of them, nor any other ecclesiastical laws

before the year 1639.

ecclesiastical

clesiastical.

or canons not formerly confirmed, allowed or enacted by parliament, or by the established laws of the land, as they stood in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred thirty-nine.

WILLIAM & MARY, SESS. 2, CAP. 2.-An act declaring the rights and liberties of the subject, and settling the succession of the crown.— See Title-"BILL OF RIGHTS," vol. i. p. 281.

SPACE LEFT,

FOR REFERENCE, IF NECESSARY.

TO ACTS OF PARLIAMENT PASSED SUBSEQUENT TO A. D. 1844.

HOLY ORDERS.

13 ELIZABETH, CAP. 12, Sec. 5.—An act for the ministers of the church to be of sound religion.-See Title-" ARTICLES OF RELIGION," vol. i. p. 181.

31 ELIZABETH, CAP. 6, SEC. 10.-An act against abuses in election of scholars, and presentation to benefices.-See Title—“ UniverSITIES."

16 CHARLES 1, CAP. 27.—An act for disenabling all persons in holy orders to exercise any temporal jurisdiction or authority.-See Title"CHURCH, HER RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES," vol. i. p. 532.

13 CHARLES 2, CAP. 2.-An act for repeal of an act of parliament, intituled, an act for disenabling all persons in holy orders to exercise any temporal jurisdiction or authority.-See Title-CHURCH, HER RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES,” vol. i. p. 540.

13 & 14 CHARLES 2, CAP. 4, SECS. 13 & 14.-An act for the uniformity of public prayers, and administration of sacraments, and other rites and ceremonies: and for establishing the form of making, ordaining and consecrating bishops, priests and deacons in the church of England. See Title-" UNIFORMITY.”

24 GEORGE 3, SESS. 2, CAP. 35.-An act to empower the bishop of London for the time being, or any other bishop to be by him appointed, to admit to the order of deacon or priest, persons being subjects or citizens of countries out of his majesty's dominions, without requiring them to take the oath of allegiance as appointed by law.-Whereas, by the Preamble. laws of this realm, every person who shall be admitted to holy orders is to take the oath of allegiance in manner thereby provided: and whereas there are divers persons, subjects or citizens of countries out of his majesty's dominions, inhabiting and residing within the said countries, who profess the public worship of Almighty God according to the liturgy of the church of England, and are desirous that the word of God, and the sacraments, should continue to be administered unto them according to the said liturgy, by subjects or citizens of the said countries, ordained according to the form of ordination in the church of England: be it enacted by the king's The bishop most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the or any other lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present parliament bishop by assembled, and by the authority of the same, that, from and after ed, may adthe passing of this act, it shall and may be lawful to and for the mit aliens to bishop of London for the time being, or any other bishop by him to deacon or be appointed, to admit to the order of deacon or priest, for the priest, withpurposes aforesaid, persons being subjects or citizens of countries taking the out of his majesty's dominions, without requiring them to take the giance. oath of allegiance.

of London,

him appoint

the order of

out their

oath of alle

ordained, not

II. Provided always, and be it hereby declared, that no person, Persons co ordained in the manner herein before provided only, shall be thereby to exercise enabled to exercise the office of deacon or priest within his majesty's their office in dominions.

his majesty's dominions.