Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/184

168 monpleas, and uch of the barons of the exchequer as are of the degree of the coif, or have been made erjeants at law; as likewie by the maters of the court of chancery; for their advice in point of law, and for the greater dignity of their proceedings. The ecretaries of tate, the attorney and olicitor general, and the ret of the king’s learned counel being erjeants, were alo ued to attend the houe of peers, and have to this day their regular writs of ummons iued out at the beginning of every parliament : but, as many of them have of late years been members of the houe of commons, their attendance is fallen into diue.

privilege is, that every peer, by licence obtained from the king, may make another lord of parliament his proxy, to vote for him in his abence. A privilege which a member of the other houe can by no means have, as he is himelf but a proxy for a multitude of other people.

peer has alo a right, by leave of the houe, when a vote paes contrary to his entiments, to enter his dient on the journals of the houe, with the reaons for uch dient; which is uually tiled his protet.

bills likewie, that may in their conequences any way affect the rights of the peerage, are by the cutom of parliament to have their firt rie and beginning in the houe of peers, and to uffer no changes or amendments in the houe of commons.

is alo one tatute peculiarly relative to the houe of lords; 6 Ann. c. 23. which regulates the election of the ixteen repreentative peers of North Britain, in conequence of the twenty econd and twenty third articles of the union: and for that purpoe precribes the oaths, &c, to be taken by the electors; directs the mode of balloting; prohibits the peers electing from being