Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/358

 342 this unanimous reolution of all the judges of England, thus entered in the council book, and the tatute 34 & 35 Hen. VIII. c. 26. §. 61. which exprely recognizes this to be the law of the land, ome of our writers have affirmed, that the king, by his prerogative, may name whom he pleaes to be heriff, whether choen by the judges or no. This is grounded on a very particular cae in the fifth year of queen Elizabeth, when, by reaon of the plague, there was no Michaelmas term kept at Wetminter; o that the judges could not meet there in cratino animarwn to nominate the heriffs: whereupon the queen named them herelf, without uch previous aembly, appointing for the mot part one of the two remaining in the lat year's lit. And this cae, thus circumtanced, is the only authority in our books for the making thee extraordinary heriffs. It is true, the reporter adds, that it was held that the queen by her prerogative might make a heriff without the election of the judges, non obtante aliquo tatuto in contrarium: but the doctrine of non obtante's, which ets the prerogative above the laws, was effectually demolihed by the bill of rights at the revolution, and abdicated Wetminter-hall when king James abdicated the kingdom. However, it mut be acknowleged, that the practice of occaionally naming what are called pocket-heriffs, by the ole authority of the crown, hath been uniformly continued to this day.

, by virtue of everal old tatutes, are to continue in their office no longer than one year; and yet it hath been aid that a heriff may be appointed durante bene placito, or during the king's pleaure; and o is the form of the royal writ. Therefore, till a new heriff be named, his office cannot be determined, unles by his own death, or the demie of the king; in which lat cae it was uual for the ucceor to end a new writ to the old heriff : but now by tatute 1 Ann. t. 1. c. 8. all officers appointed by the preceding king may hold their offices for ix Rh