Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/180

164 privileges of the high court of parliament; for it is o high and mighty in his nature, that it may make law; and that which is law, it may make no law; and the determination and knowlege of that privilege belongs to the lords of parliament, and not to the jutices .” Privilege of parliament was principally etablihed, in order to protect it’s members not only from being moleted by their fellow-ubjects, but alo more epecially from being oppreed by the power of the crown. If therefore all the privileges of parliament were once to be et down and acertained, and no privilege to be allowed but what was o defined and determined, it were eay for the executive power to devie ome new cae, not within the line of privilege, and under pretence thereof to haras any refractory member and violate the freedom of parliament. The dignity and independence of the two houes are therefore in great meaure preerved by keeping their privileges indefinite. Some however of the more notorious privileges of the members of either houe are, privilege of peech, of peron, of their dometics, and of their lands and goods. As to the firt, privilege of peech, it is declared by the tatute 1 W. & M. t. 2. c. 2. as one of the liberties of the people, “that the freedom of peech, and debates, and proceedings in parliament, ought not to be impeached or quetioned in any court or place out of parliament.” And this freedom of peech is particularly demanded of the king in peron, by the peaker of the houe of commons, at the opening of every new parliament. So likewie are the other privileges, of peron, ervants, lands and goods; which are immunities as antient as Edward the confeor, in whoe laws we find this precept, “” and o too, in the old Gothic contitutions, “ .” This includes not only privilege from illegal violence, but alo from legal arrets, and eiures by proces from the courts of law. To aault by violence a member of either houe,