SECT. VII.

Concerning the census regalis; or, the king's royal revenue (c).

I COME now to speak of the CENSUS REGALIS, or the king's royal revenue; and here 1 shall not say much of his houses, manors, lands, fee-farms, or free rents, because these are common to him with other persons; but I shall only speak of his royal revenue, or CENSUALES PRÆROGATIVE, and that CENSUS REGALIS, of which the law takes notice as of common right belonging to him,

AS HE IS KING.

And the kinds of those revenues are two, viz.

Ecclesiastical.

Temporal.

His ecclesiastical revenues are of two kinds :
Extraordinary.

Ordinary.

His extraordinary revenues ECCLESIASTICAL are those subsidies and tenths, and other ecclesiastical supplies granted occasionally by the clergy in their several convocations. Note, In those OCCASIONAL supplies the law takes notice, that the king has an inheritance, though depending upon the bounty of his subjects, and therefore he may grant an exemption from them: as likewise he may do to particular persons from temporal subsidies, hereafter mentioned, for the same

reason.

His ordinary revenues ECCLESIASTICAL are likewise of two kinds :

Constant, or annual.

Contingent, or casual.

The constant or annual revenue ecclesiastical is his tenths of ecclesiastical benefices, extra-parochial tithes, and some other things of ecclesiastical nature, that possibly might come to him by the dissolution of monasteries.

(c) As to the royal revenue, upon the footing on which it AT PRESENT stands, see the eighth chapter of the first book of Blackstone's Commentaries.

Hither may be referred proxies, (procurations,) pensions, tithes, appropriations, &c.'

The casual, or uncertain, ecclesiastical revenues are,

His first-fruits of all the ecclesiastical benefices; settled in him by stat. 26 Hen. VIII.

The temporalties of bishops; which though they are in the crown by reason of the king's right of patronage, yet I may call them SPIRITUAL, because they are part of the revenues of an ecclesiastical corporation: and on the same reason, Corrodies also; as being the foundation of ecclesiastical corporations.

And also lapse itself; which though it be not reckoned a revenue, because not to be sold, yet it is EQUIVALENT to a revenue for it yields a preferment for his clerk.

SECT. VIII.

Of the king's temporal revenue.

I COME now to that part of the king's census regalis which I call TEMPORAL: and this is likewise of two kinds;

The ancient temporal extraordinary revenues are, of

Rushw.col. kinds, as,

Vol. I. p. 481. Hidage, cornage, scutage.

Aids: ad corpus redimendum, ad filium, primogenitum militem faciendum, ad filiam primogenitam maritandam. The modern are the subsidies and supplies granted by parlia

ments.

[B]

The ordinary census regalis TEMPORALIS is also of two kinds, viz.

Common.
Special.

The COMMON census regalis temporalis is either, certain, or casual.

Certain; as his rents and demesnes; which are either,

Newly acquired by dissolution, surrender, exchange: or,
Ancient; as, antiqua dominia corona, i. e. ancient demesnes.
Here insert what they were, what the tenants privileges
were, &c.

The CASUAL ordinary temporary revenues; as, profits of
his tenures, and the like.

The SPECIAL ORDINARY census regalis in its original was annexed to the crown for the support of the kingly state and dignity; this is of several kinds, viz.

Purveyance, or buying at the king's price; which is since taken away (d).

Prisage, i. e. one tun of wine for every ten tuns laden in every ship; and from aliens, in lieu thereof, two shillings for every

tun.

Here add who are exempted from prisage, &c.
Customs, great and small, magna & antiqua custuma.
Bona vacantia, as waifs, strays, wreccum maris.
Royal fish, as whale and sturgeon.

Bona forisfacta, vel confiscata; as,

Bona felonum, vel felonum de se.

Bonu fugitivorum.

Bona utlagatorum, & in exigendis positorum.

Royal escheat: as

Terra Normanorum.

Terræ Alienigenorum.

Terra Proditorum.

Royal mines.

Maritime increase, by reason of illuvio maris.

Profits of his courts; as,

His fees of the seal.

Fines upon original writs.

(d) Vide 19 Car. II. c. 24.

Post-fines, or fines pro licentiâ concordandi.

Fines for misdemeanors, and those are either common or

royal.

Common fines on vills, townships, or hundreds, for the escape

of murderers, felons, and the like.

Vide§ 1. Amerciaments.

Custody of ideots and lunaticks lands:

The latter upon account, not so the

former.

Profits of his forests.

Treasure trove.

SECT. IX.

Of the relative prerogatives of the crown.

THUS far I have gone with the direct or substantive prerogatives of the crown; now I come to those that are dependant and relative which are of several kinds, viz.

The prerogatives,

Of his PRESENCE, in relation to breach of the peace, seizure of villeins, arrests, &c.

Of his POSSESSIONS;—that no man can enter upon him, but is driven to his suit by petition. And here of traverse, monstrans de droit, amoveas manus, &c. when, in what cases, and how to be brought.

Of his DEMESNES; and the exemptions of ancient demesne rights. Vide supra, s. 8.

Of his grants, how to be expounded.

Or his suits; as,

In what courts, and election of courts.

In what writs.

In his process.
In his pleadings.

In his judgments.

In his executions.

Of his DEBTORS AND ACCOUNTANTS, in their debts and ac

counts.

In relation to his TREASURE, and of his officers employed therein.

In relation to persons RELATED to him; as, his queen consort; and here of her separate capacity, her revenue, aurum regina.

His children; his eldest son, eldest daughter, &c....

His ministers attending his person, or his courts, or his public service.

And herein,

Of privilege.

Of protection.

And thus I have gone through the analysis, or scheme of the king's prerogative; by which, though it be but hastily and imperfectly done, may be seen, of what vast dimension this one, though GREAT title of the law is, and what a vast number of great and considerable titles fall into it; insomuch that if I should pursue any one of these subordinate titles, though it might seem but narrow, and here expressed but by a word or two, as wreck, waif, toll, custom, &c. there is not one of these, but in the bare analysis of it, and of the several incidents and rivulets that would be found to fall into it, would grow as large as the brief abstract of this great head has done, and it may be much larger; as the capillary veins and arteries in the body take up more room and extension than the great trunks, out of which their small ramifications are drawn.