Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/271

Ch. 7. ilent upon it, previous to the reign of queen Anne; when an embaador from Peter the great, czar of Mucovy, was actually arreted and taken out of his coach in London, for a debt of fifty pounds, which he had there contracted. Intead of applying to be dicharged upon his privilege, he gave bail to the action, and the next day complained to the queen. The perons who were concerned in the arret were examined before the privy council (of which the lord chief jutice Holt was at the ame time worn a member ) and eventeen were committed to prion : mot of whom were proecuted by information in the court of queen’s bench, at the uit of the attorney general, and at their trial before the lord chief jutice were convicted of the facts by the jury ; reerving the quetion of law, how far thoe facts were criminal, to be afterwards argued before the judges; which quetion was never determined. In the mean time the czar reented this affront very highly, and demanded that the heriff of Middleex and all others concerned in the arret hould be punihed with intant death. But the queen (to the amazement of that depotic court) directed her ecretary to inform him, “that he could inflict no punihment upon any, the meanet, of her ubjects unles warranted by the law of the land, and therefore was peruaded that he would not init upon impoibilities .” To atisfy however the clamours of the foreign miniters (who made it a common caue) as well as to appeae the wrath of Peter, a bill was brought into parliament, and afterwards paed into a law , to prevent and to punih uch outrageous inolence for the future. And with a copy of this act, elegantly engroed and illuminated, accompanied by a letter from the queen, an embaador extraordinary was commiioned to appear at Mocow, who declared, “that though her majety could not in- “flict