Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/179

Ch. 2. : as every court of jutice hath laws and cutoms for it’s direction, ome the civil and canon, ome the common law, others their own peculiar laws and cutoms, o the high court of parliament hath alo it’s own peculiar law, called the '; a law which ir Edward Coke oberves, is “'” It will not therefore be expected that we hould enter into the examination of this law, with any degree of minutenes; ince, as the ame learned author aures us, it is much better to be learned out of the rolls of parliament, and other records, and by precedents, and continual experience, than can be expreed by any one man. It will be ufficient to oberve, that the whole of the law and cutom of parliament has it’s original from this one maxim; “that whatever matter aries concerning either houe of parliament, ought to be examined, dicued, and adjudged in that houe to which it relates, and not elewhere.” Hence, for intance, the lords will not uffer the commons to interfere in ettling the election of a peer of Scotland; the commons will not allow the lords to judge of the election of a burges; nor will either houe permit the courts of law to examine the merits of either cae. But the maxims upon which they proceed, together with their method of proceeding, ret entirely in the breat of the parliament itelf; and are not defined and acertained by any particular tated laws.

privileges of parliament are likewie very large and indefinite; which has occaioned an obervation, that the principal privilege of parliament conited in this, that it’s privileges were not certainly known to any but the parliament itelf. And therefore when in 31 Hen. VI the houe of lords propounded a quetion to the judges touching the privilege of parliament, the chief jutice, in the name of his brethren, declared, “that they ought not to make anwer to that quetion; for it hath not been ued aforetime that the jutices hould in any wie determine the Rh