Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/283

 Ch. 7. ciples of ociety, is lodged in the ociety at large: but as it would be impracticable to render complete jutice to every individual, by the people in their collective capacity, therefore every nation has committed that power to certain elect magitrates, who with more eae and expedition can hear and determine complaints; and in England this authority has immemorially been exercied by the king or his ubtitutes. He therefore has alone the right of erecting courts of judicature: for, though the contitution of the kingdom hath entruted him with the whole executive power of the laws, it is impoible, as well as improper, that he hould peronally carry into execution this great and extenive trut: it is conequently neceary, that courts hould be ercted, to ait him in executing this power; and equally neceary, that, if erected, they hould be erected by his authority. And hence it is, that all juridictions of courts are either mediately or immediately derived from the crown, their proceedings run generally in the king's name, they pas under his eal, and are executed by his officers.

is probable, and almot certain, that in very early times, before our contitution arrived at it's full perfection, our kings in peron often heard and determined caues between party and party. But at preent, by the long and uniform uage of many ages, our kings have delegated their whole judicial power to the judges of their everal courts; which are the grand depoitary of the fundamental laws of the kingdom, and have gained a known and tated juridiction, regulated by certain and etablihed rules, which the crown itelf cannot now alter but by act of parliament. And, in order to maintain both the dignity and independence of the judges in the uperior courts, it is enacted by the tatute 13 W. III. c. 2. that their commiions hall be made (not, as formerly, durante bene placito, but) quamdiu bene e geerint, and their alaries acertained and etablihed; but that it may be lawful to remove them on the addres of both houes of parliament. And now, by the noble improvements of that law in the Rh