Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/357

 Ch. 9. ince the time of Fortecue, who was chief jutice and chancellor to Henry the ixth) that all the judges, together with the other great officers, meet in the exchequer chamber on the morrow of All Souls yearly, (which day is now altered to the morrow of St. Martin by the lat act for abbreviating Michaelmas term) and then and there propoe three perons to the king, who afterwards appoints one of them to be heriff. This cutom, of the twelve judges propoing three perons, eems borrowed from the Gothic contitution before-mentioned; with this difference, that among the Goths the twelve nominors were firt elected by the people themelves. And this uage of ours at it's firt introduction, I am apt to believe, was founded upon ome tatute, though not now to be found among our printed laws: firt, becaue it is materially different from the directions of all the tatutes before-mentioned; which it is hard to conceive that the judges would have countenanced by their concurrence, or that Fortecue would have inerted in his book, unles by the authority of ome tatute: and alo, becaue a tatute is expreiy referred to in the record, which ir Edward Coke tells us he trancribed from the council book of 3 Mar. 34 Hen. VI. and which is in ubtance as follows. The king had of his own authority appointed a man heriff of Lincolnhire, which office he refued to take upon him: whereupon the opinions of the judges were taken, what hould be done in this behalf. And the two chief jutices, ir John Fortecue and ir John Priot, delivered the unanimous opinion of them all; "that the king did an error when he made a peron heriff, that was not choen and preented to him according to the tatute; that the peron refuing was liable to no fine for diobedience, as if he had been one of the three perons choen according to the tenor of the tatute; that they would advie the king to have recoure to the three perons that were choen according to the tatute, or that ome other thrity man be intreated to occupy the office for this year; and that, the next year, to echew uch inconveniences, the order of the tatute in this behalf may be oberved." But, notwithtanding Rh