thought fit to remember thefe. An Act declaring KingHenry VI. in what Cafes a Man may difpofe all his Lands by his laft Will in Writing; and in what, but Part thereof. And in what Cafes the King, and other Lords fhall have their Wardships.

• That no Perfon fhould fell or buy any Right or Title, or maintain it, or procure Maintenance in any Suit.

The Punishment alfo by Death of Priests married or unmarried; and of Women offending with them by Incontinency, was repealed. For as the Clergy of thofe Times thought it, though one of the fix Articles, too fevere; the Punishment, upon their Remonftrance, was laid on their Goods, Chattles, and spiritual Promotions; and this alfo better pleased the King.

Sanctuaries alfo, and priviledged Places were reduced to a few; and certain Rules prefcribed to them.

That Horfes feeding on Commons, not being of a lawful Height, (that is to fay, not being fifteen Hands high, at two Years old) fhould be feized on by any Man for his own Use.

That Forefts, Heaths, Commons, &c. fhould be driven once in the Year, and unlikely Tits in them to be killed. Nevertheless, that Horfes of fmall Height might be put where Mares were not kept.

The Statutes alfo, of 5. Rich. 2. c.3. 6. Rich. z. c. 8. 4.Hen. 7. c. 1o. and 23. Hen. 8. c. 7. touching freighting in English Ships, were only rehearsed and confirmed, and a Rate fet down what should be paid for the Freight, or Portage of the feveral Sorts of Merchandizes from the Port of London to other Places, and from thence to London.

6

That no Alien nor D.nizen fhall fet up any Trade in the King's Dominions; and they who are Denizens fhould be bound by and unto all the Law's and Statutes of this Realm, particularly thofe of 14. Hen. 8 and 21. Hen. 8. above mentioned.

That Trinity Term, in regard of Impediment of Harveft and Danger of Infection, should be abbre

viated.

KingHenry VIII. viated. Certain Priviledges alfo were granted to Phyficians in London, as that they fhould not keep Watch and Ward, nor be Constables; and that they might practife Chirurgery: Barbers and Chirurgeons were also made one Company, and certain Privileges given them; as not to bear Armour, or to be put in any Watches or Inquefts.

The Speaker's Speech at the

End of this Seffion.

Á Court alfo of the Firft-Fruits and Tenths, granted to the King, was erected.

The Court of the King's Wards alfo, and the Names and several Duties, and Offices thereof, was erected.

Lastly, a general and free Pardon was granted of all Herefies, Treafons, Felonies, and Offences, fome particular Perfons and Matters only excepted.'

The Journals inform us, That, on the 24th Day of July, when the King came to the House of Lords, with the ufual Ceremony, in order to pafs the Bills, and to put an End to the Parliament; Sir Nicholas Hare Knight, Speaker of the Hcufe of Commons, addrefled himself to the King, on his Throne, to this Purport:

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The great World, fays he, contains these feveral Divifions, the Divine World, the Celestial and the Terreftial Worlds. By the Similitude of 6 which, Man is faid to be a Microcofm, that is, a little World, and hath, alfo, three Parts, viz. a Head, a Breaft and inferior Members. And, in Likeness of these he afferted that the whole English Government was conftituted; in which, the King was the Head, the Peers the Body, and the Commons the rest of the Machine. In all which, as there ought to be a ftrict Concord betwixt the Head and the other Parts of a human • Body, fo fhould there be the fame Uniformity between the King, the Peers and the People. The King, adds he, is by Name acknowledged to be the Head of all; and fuch a Head as moft happily directs and governs the whole English Conftitution; by, gracioufly, giving up much of his own Right for the Sake of the Inferior Members. Inftances of which are, the prefent Act of Grace and

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'Par

Pardon; the Statute for freely devifing two Thirds KingHenry VII of each Man's Eftate, &c. which all, openly, tef⚫tified that both Court and Country muft flourish • and be happy under fuch a Ruler; and for which they ought all there prefent to render him their moft hearty Thanks.'

At which Words every Man ftood up and bowed themselves to the Throne, and the King returned the Complement by a gracious Nod from it. After this the Speaker went on, and faid, That the whole 'People of England, in order to fhew fome Grati⚫tude to his Majefty, to whom they thought themfelves fo much obliged, that they could never pay ' him according to his Merit; had, left they should feem unmindfull of fuch Benefits, joined in granting a Subfidy, by the Confent of both Houses, which they freely. offered to him. And, laftly, begged his Majefty would condefcend to give the Royal Affent to the reft of the Bills made ready for that Purpose.'

;

Our Journalist is very prolix and circumftantial in giving the complementing Speeches and Ceremonies, which paffed in the laft Day of the Seffion which the Reader, perhaps, may have feen more than enough of in this Abridgement. We fhall conclude with obferving, that there were no less than feventy Acts paffed at this Time, tho' the StatuteBooks only mention fifty; but fince all the moft material Acts, or the Titles of them, are given before, they are no farther neceffary here. When they had all paffed the Royal Affent, (except one, relating to the Merchants Adventurers, which the King gave the ufual anfwer to, Le Roy S'avifera) the Lord Chancellor, by his Majefty's Command, diffolved the Parliament.

To these Proceedings the Clerk hath added the The remarkable Note following, which fhews a very uncommon Unanimity of Unanimity in the Peers at that Time:

Hoc animadverfum eft, quod in hac Seffione, cum Proceres darent Suffragia et dicerent Sententias fuper Altulus prædictis, ea erat Concordia et Sententiarum

Con

this Parliament.

KingHenry VIII. Conformitas, ut finguli eis et eorum fingulis affenferunt, Nemine difcrepante (y).

prefs'd.

THOMAS DE SOULEMONT,

Clericus Parliamentorum.

A

Affairs being now, again, fettled according to Henry's Mind, both in his own Family and in Parliament; and he once more bleffed with a young, and, what he hoped for, a fruitful Wife, had a fair Profpect of ending his Days in Eafe and Quietnefs. But, a very little Time after prefented him with a new Scene of Trouble, more unexpected than any before it. A fmall Rebellion happening in Yorkshire fup- Yorkshire, under the Conduct of Sir John Nevile, the King took Care to have it fuppreffed betimes; and the Leader of it was executed at York. This gave Occafion for the, Execution, alfo, of the old Countess of Salisbury, who had then been a Prifoner two Years, in the Manner before recited. Jealoufy that this Infurrection was fet on Foot by her own, or her Son Cardinal Pool's Inftigation, occafioned it. Not long after which, Henry refolved to make a Progrefs, in Perfon, into Yorkshire; not fo much, fays the noble Hiftorian, to extinguish the Relicks of the laft Commotion, as thofe of Superftition, Miracles and Pilgrimages. For tho' the King continued his Rigour againft thofe that difputed either his Authority or the Six Articles, and facrificed many on that Score; infomuch that, (as both the Reformers, and thofe that were Maintainers of the Pope's Supremacy, fuffered equally) his Enemies faid, That, while he admitted neither Side, he seemed to be of no Religion at all. Yet, fays Lord Herbert, this was but Čalumny, for he ftood firmly to his great Work of Reformation; as the abovementioned Defign, in the Northern Progrefs, is a particular Inftance.

Henry met with fome Vexation in the Midft of this Expedition. HisNephew James, King of Scots, had promifed to meet him at York; but, when every Thing

y) This is a full Confirmation of what Rapin hath advanced.in the foregoing Pages.

Thing was got ready there for the Royal Interview, KingHenry VIII. James fent him Word he could not come. This Slight was highly refented; but, he met with a much greater Trouble on his Return to London. For, he was no fooner arrived, than he was credibly informed that his new Queen Katharine, who had Q. Katharine acbeen with him all his Progrefs, had been guilty of cufed of Inconti Incontinency before he married her. The Proof nency. against this unhappy Lady was fomewhat stronger than against any of his former Wives, as may be feen in Lord Herbert; who feems to fupprefs a good deal, in regard to the noble Family from whence the fprung. But, notwithstanding this, Henry was fomewhat puzzled how to get rid of her; and was obliged to have Recourfe to his old Method of referring his Difficulties to a Parliament.

1542.

Accordingly, a new one was called to meet at Westminster on the 16th of January, in the 33d Year of his Reign (z). Where being all affembled, and the initial Ceremonies difpatch'd, Thomas Lord Audley, ftill Lord Chancellor, opened the Caufe of the Sum- Anno Regni 33. monsin a grave and eloquent Speech,fay the Journals, but of fo uncommon and immoderate a Length, that At Westminster. the Clerks, being bufy on different Affairs, could not attend to take, even, the Heads of the whole Speech; which, they add, would take three Hours to write down, and one to read. What they could collect, under the Title of Compendium Orationis, is to this Effect:

The Lord Chan

In the first Place, the Chancellor declared in what Manner David began his Reign over the Peo- cellor's Speeck ple of God, the Ifraelites; he did not pray that Ho- at opening the nours and Riches might be heaped upon him, but Segion.

· only that his Understanding and Wisdom might be ' enlarged. Give me Underflanding, that I may fearch

"thy

(2) The Summons to this Parliament directed firft to Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury, in the ufual Form, the rest of the Bishops and to all the Peers, the Judges, fome Sergeants at Law, the King's Attorney and Solicitor-General, with the Mafter of the Rolls, all ty Name : As, alfo, to the Sheriffs, Mayors, Bailiffs, &c. for electing the Commons, are extant in RYMER'S Foed. Ang. Tom. XIV. Pag. 737, &c.