Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 2.djvu/584

570 his reason for establishing this court to be, that he may reach and punish such persons as by one means or another escaped sentence in the ordinary courts through the bribery or "remissness" of juries. That is, that where juries were too independent to condemn the innocent at the Royal pleasure, the Royal pleasure could remedy that defect, and bring the offender into this safe tribunal, where it reigned paramount. Once established, there was no waiting for any other court, but all such persons as the king or Council thought fit, were at once summoned by writ or privy seal, and dealt with and punished as, says the Act, "they ought to be if they were convicted by the order of the law."

Tomb of Queen Elizabeth in Westminster Abbey.

This convenient creed being established had but one inconvenience; it necessitated the bringing of offenders to the capital. To obviate this, and extend the Star Chamber over the whole kingdom, in the 2 Henry VII. a statute was obtained, empowering all justices of assize and of the peace to hear and determine without a jury all offences, except treason, murder, and felony, which were perpetrated against any statute unrepealed. The object of this was to subject every one who was possessed of property to the arbitrary demands of the Crown. Informers overran the country, and few who had wealth escaped being charged with the violation of some obsolete statute. It was this Act which enabled Dudley and Empson to prosecute their horrible exactions, to the signal enrichment of the Crown and of themselves, till their oppressions rendered the people clamorous in their outcries, and compelled Henry VIII. to repeal the Act, and hang the two vile tools of his father's cupidity.

In the reign of Henry VII. the privilege of benefit of clergy was greatly modified. This privilege, which originally exempted all clergymen from the authority of lay tribunals, had become extended to all such laymen as could read, and were, therefore, capable of becoming "clerks." To restrict this abuse, Henry VII., in the fourth year of his reign, enacted that such privilege should be allowed to laymen only once; and afterwards, when a man had murdered his master, a statute was passed to deprive all murderers of their lords and masters of benefit