Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/246

230 dipatch; and therefore king Charles the econd in 1679 limited it to thirty: whereof fifteen were to be the principal officers of tate, and thoe to be counellors, ; and the other fifteen were compoed of ten lords and five commoners of the king’s chooing. But ince that time the number has been much augmented, and now continues indefinite. At the ame time alo, the antient office of lord preident of the council was revived in the peron of Anthony earl of Shaftsbury; an officer, that by the tatute of 31 Hen. VIII. c. 10. has precedence next after the lord chancellor and lord treaurer.

counellors are made by the king’s nomination, without either patent or grant; and, on taking the neceary oaths, they become immediately privy counellors during the life of the king that chooes them, but ubject to removal at his dicretion. duty of a privy counellor appears from the oath of office, which conits of even articles: 1.&ensp;To advie the king according to the bet of his cunning and dicretion. 2.&ensp;To advie for the king’s honour and good of the public, without partiality through affection, love, meed, doubt, or dread. 3.&ensp;To keep the king’s counel ecret. 4.&ensp;To avoid corruption. 5.&ensp;To help and trengthen the execution of what hall be there reolved. 6.&ensp;To withtand all perons who would attempt the contrary. And, latly, in general, 7.&ensp;To oberve, keep, and do all that a good and true counellor ought to do to his overeign lord. power of the privy council is to enquire into all offences againt the government, and to commit the offenders to afe cutody, in order to take their trial in ome of the courts of law. But their juridiction herein is only to enquire, and not to punih: and the perons committed by them are entitled to their  by tatute 16 Car. I. c. 10. as much as if committed by an ordinary jutice of the peace. And, by the ame tatute, the court of tarchamber, and the court of requets, both of which con- ited