Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 19.djvu/677

Rh P P R M 653 intendence of the streets, markets, and public buildings. He was further entrusted by Augustus with a summary criminal jurisdiction over slaves and rioters, which was, however, gradually extended till in the time of Severus or even earlier it embraced all offences by whomsoever com mitted. Further, he had the power of dealing with civil cases where his interference seemed requisite in the inter ests of the public safety, but such occasions were naturally few. By the beginning of the 3d century, and perhaps earlier, appeals to the emperor in civil cases were handed over by him to be dealt with by the prsef ect. Except where special restrictions interfered, an appeal lay from the prae- fect to the emperor. Though not a military officer, the prefect commanded the city cohorts (cohortes urbanas), which formed part of the garrison of Rome and ranked above the line regiments, though below the guards (see PR.ETORIANS). The military power thus placed in the hands of the chief of the police was one of the most sorely-felt innovations of the empire. The constitutional changes of Diocletian and Constantine extended still farther the power of the praefect, in whom, after the disbanding of the guards and the removal from Rome of the highest officials, the whole military, administrative, and judicial powers were centred. 2. Under the republic judicial proefects (praefecti juri dicundo) were sent annually from Rome as deputies of the praetors to administer justice in certain towns of the Italian allies. These towns were called &quot;prefectures&quot; ^irsefecturee). After the Social War (90-89 B.C.), when all Italy had re ceived the Roman franchise, such prefectures ceased to exist in fact, though the name was sometimes retained. 3. Under the empire the praetorians or imperial guards were commanded by one, two, or even three praafects (prse- fecti f&amp;gt;rsetorio who were chosen by the emperor from among the knights and held office at his pleasure. From the time of Alexander Severus the post was open to senators also, and if a knight was appointed he was at the same time raised to the senate. The position was one of great influ ence and importance ; the praetorian praefect stood under the immediate orders of the emperor, of whom he was the natural representative and sometimes the rival. Down to the time of Constantine, who deprived the .office of its military character, the prefecture of the guards was regu larly held by tried soldiers, often by men who had fought their way up from the ranks. In course of time the com mand seems to have been enlarged so as to include all the troops in Italy except the corps commanded by the city prefect (cohortes ^lrbans^}. Further, the praetorian praafect acquired, in addition to his military functions, a criminal jurisdiction, which he exercised not as the delegate but as the representative of the emperor, and hence it was decreed by Constantine (331) that from the sentence of the prae torian praafect there should be no appeal. A similar juris diction in civil cases was acquired by him not later than the time of Severus. Hence a knowledge of law became a qualification for the post, which under Marcus Antoninus and Commodus, but especially from the time of Severus, was held by the first jurists of the age (e.g., Papinian, Ulpian, and Paullus), while the military qualification fell more and more into the background. Under Constantine the institution of the magistri militum deprived the prae torian prefecture altogether of its military character, but left it the highest civil office of the empire. The title of &quot;prefect&quot; was borne by various other Roman officials, of whom we may mention the following. 4. Prsefectus Sodium (sociorum). Under the republic the con tingents furnished to the Roman armies by the Italian allies were commanded by Roman officers called pr&fecti socium (sociorum), who were nominated by the consuls and corresponded to the tribunes in the legions. 5. Prsef cctus Classium. Down to near the close of the republic a naval command was never held independently but only in connexion with the command of an army, and, when the general appointed an officer to command the fleet in his room, this lieutenant was styled &quot;prsefectof the fleet&quot; (prasfcctus clossium). When in 311 D.C. the people took the appointment of these lieutenants into their own hands the title was changed from &quot; prefects &quot; to duo viri navalcs, or &quot; two naval men &quot; ; but under the empire the admirals went by their old name of prefects. 6. Prasfcctus Fobrum. The colonel of the engineer and artillery corps (fabri) in a Roman army was called a praefect ; he did not belong to the legion, but was directly subordinate to the general in command. 7. Prsefcctus Annonae. The important duty of provisioning Rome was committed by Augustus (between 8 and 1 4 A. i&amp;gt;. ) to a praefect, who was appointed by the emperor from among the knights and held office at the imperial pleasure. 8. Priefcdus dSgypti (afterwards Prasfcctus Augustalis). Under the empire the government of Egypt was entrusted to a viceroy with the title of &quot; pnefect, &quot; who was selected from the knights, and was surrounded by royal pomp instead of the usual insignia of a Roman magistrate. He stood under the immediate orders of the emperor. The exceptional position thus accorded to Egypt was due to a regard on the part of the emperors to the peculiar character of the population, the strategic strength of the country, and its political importance as the granary of Rome. (J. G. FR.) PRJEMONSTEATENSIANS. See ABBEY, vol. i. p. 20, and MONACHISM, vol. xvi. p. 709. PRAEMUNIRE, the name given to a writ originating in the 14th century in the attempt to put restraint on the action of the papal authority in regard to the disposal of ecclesiastical benefices in England before the same became vacant, and subsequently, to the prejudice of the rightful patron, and also in the encouragement of resort to the Roman curia rather than to the courts of the country, in disregard of the authority of the crown, leading thereby to the creation of an imp&rium, in imperio and the paying that obedience to papal process which constitutionally belonged to the king alone. The word &quot; praemunire &quot; 1 is applied also to the offence for which the writ is granted, and furthermore to the penalty it incurs. The range and description of offences made liable to the penalties of praamunire became greatly widened subsequently to the Reformation, so that acts of a very miscellaneous character were from time to time brought within the scope of enactments passed for a very different purpose. The offence is of a nature highly criminal, though not capital, and more immediately affects the crown and Government. The statute 16 Rich. II. c. 5 (1392) is usually designated the Statute of Praemunire ; it is, however, but one only of numerous stringent measures (many of which are still unrepealed) resulting from the enactment of the Statute of Provisors (35 Edw. I. c. 1), passed in a previous reign, which according to Coke (Instit.) was the foundation of all the subsequent statutes of praemunire. Cowel (Law Diet.} describes a provisor as one who sued to the court of Rome for a provision which was called gratia expectiva. The penalties of praamunire involved the loss of all civil rights, forfeiture of lands, goods, and chattels, and im prisonment during the royal pleasure. In the Habeas Corpus Act (31 Car. II. c. 2, 1679) the committing of any man to prison out of the realm was made praemunire unpardonable even by the king. It thus appears that, whilst the crown by its prerogative might at any time remit the whole or any part of the punishment incurred by a praamunire, an exception was made in transgressions of the Statute of Habeas Corpus. The Royal Marriage Act (12 Geo. III. c. 11) of 1772 is the last statute which sub jects any one to the penalties of a praamunire as ordained by 16 Rich. II. It cannot be doubted that the legislation exemplified in the Statutes of Praamunire and Provisors was felt by the 1 Prtenuinire is a corruption of the Latin prasmonere, to pre-admonish or forewarn, and is taken from the words of the writ itself, which runs &quot;Pnemunire facias&quot; A. B., &c., i.e., cause A. B. to be forewarned that he appear to answer the contempt wherewith he stands charged.