Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/165

Ch. 2. tatutes or deciions are put in a manifet contraditinction to cutoms, or the common law. And in Edward the third’s time an act of parliament, made in the reign of William the conqueror, was pleaded in the cae of the abbey of St Edmund’s-bury, and judicially allowed by the court. it indiputably appears, that parliaments, or general councils, are coeval with the kingdom itelf. How thoe parliaments were contituted and compoed, is another quetion, which has been matter of great dipute among our learned antiquarians; and, particularly, whether the commons were ummoned at all; or, if ummoned, at what period they began to form a ditinct aembly. But it is not my intention here to enter into controveries of this ort. I hold it ufficient that it is generally agreed, that in the main the contitution of parliament, as it now tands, was marked out o long ago as the eventeenth year of king John, A. D. 1215, in the great charter granted by that prince; wherein he promies to ummon all arch-bihops, bihops, abbots, earls, and greater barons, peronally; and all other tenants in chief under the crown, by the heriff and bailiffs; to meet at a certain place, with forty days notice, to aes aids and cutages when neceary. And this contitution has ubited in fact at leat from the year 1266, 49 Hen. III: there being till extant writs of that date, to ummon knights, citizens, and burgees to parliament. I proceed therefore to enquire wherein conits this contitution of parliament, as it now tands, and has tood for the pace of at leat five hundred years. And in the proecution of this enquiry, I hall conider, firt, the manner and time of it’s aembling: econdly, it’s contituent parts: thirdly, the laws and cutoms relating to parliament, conidered as one aggregate body: fourthly and fifthly, the laws and cutoms relating to each houe, eparately and ditinctly taken: ixthly, the methods of proceeding, and of making tatutes, in both houes: and latly, the manner of the parliament’s adjournment, prorogation, and diolution.