Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (1st ed, 1768, vol III).djvu/59

Ch. 4. uch other public intruments of the crown, as were authenticated in the mot olemn manner; and therefore, when eals came in ue, he had always the cutody of the king's great eal. So that the office of chancellor, or lord keeper, (whoe authority by tatute 5 Eliz. c. 18. is declared to be exactly the ame) is with us at this day created by the mere delivery of the king's great eal into his cutody : whereby he becomes, without writ or patent, an officer of the greatet weight and power of any now ubiting in the kingdom; and uperior in point of precedency to every temporal lord. He is a privy councellor by his office, and, according to lord chancellor Ellemere, prolocutor of the houe of lords by precription. To him belongs the appointment of all jutices of the peace throughout the kingdom. Being formerly uually an eccleiatic, (for none ele were then capable of an office o converant in writings) and preiding over the royal chapel, he became keeper of the king's concience; viitor, in right of the king, of all hopitals and colleges of the king's foundation; and patron of all the king's livings under the value of 20 l. per annum in the king's books. He is the general guardian of all infants, idiots, and lunatics; and has the general uperintendence of all charitable ues in the kingdom. And all this, over and above the vat and extenive juridiction which he exercies in his judicial capacity in the court of chancery: wherein, as in the exchequer, there are two ditinct tribunals; the one ordinary, being a court of common law; the other extraordinary, being a court of equity. ordinary legal court is much more antient than the court of equity. It's juridiction is to hold plea upon a cire facias to repeal and cancel the king's letters patent, when made againt law, or upon untrue uggetions; and to hold plea of petitions, montrans de droit, traveres of offices, and the like; when the king hath been advied to do any act, or is put in poeion of Rh