Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/183

Ch. 2. proceeded, extended equally to every indictable offence. So that the chief, if not the only, privilege of parliament, in uch caes, eems to be the right of receiving immediate information of the imprionment or detention of any member, with the reaon for which he is detained: a practice that is daily ued upon the lightet military accuations, preparatory to a trial by a court martial ; and which is recognized by the everal temporary tatutes for upending the habeas corpus act, whereby it is provided, that no member of either houe hall be detained, till the matter of which he tands upected, be firt communicated to the houe of which he is a member, and the conent of the aid houe obtained for his commitment or detaining. But yet the uage has uniformly been, ever ince the revolution, that the communication has been ubequent to the arret.

are the general heads of the laws and cutoms relating to parliament, conidered as one aggregate body. We will next proceed to

IV.&ensp; laws and cutoms relating to the houe of lords in particular. Thee, if we exclude their judicial capacity, which will be more properly treated of in the third and fourth books of thee commentaries, will take up but little of our time.

very antient privilege is that declared by the charter of the foret, confirmed in parliament 9 Hen. III; viz. that every lord piritual or temporal ummoned to parliament, and paing through the king’s forets, may, both in going and returning, kill one or two of the king’s deer without warrant; in view of the foreter, if he be preent; or on blowing a horn if he be abent, that he may not eem to take the king’s venion by tealth.

the next place they have a right to be attended, and contantly are, by the judges of the court of king’s bench and com- monpleas,