concerns the king and a common person, as here it did, this arrest being made at the king's suit. And to this opinion the court seemed to incline, and that there was just cause for a prohibition."

of Commons.

No person, who has been ordained to the office of priest Ecclesiastical or deacon, nor any minister of the Church of Scotland, is persous cannot capable of being elected to serve in parliament as a member sit in the House of the House of Commons; and if any person so ordained shall at any time be elected, such election is void. And if any person, being a member of the House, shall be so ordained, or become a minister of the Church of Scotland, his seat becomes instantly ipso facto void. And if, in either of such cases, he presumes to sit or vote as a member of the House of Commons, he is liable to forfeit the sum of 500l. to the party suing, for every day in which he has so sat or voted. And he is, moreover, thenceforth incapable of taking, holding or enjoying, any benefice, living, or promotion ecclesiastical whatsoever, or any office of honour or profit under the crown."

ing.

By a statute passed at the time of the Reformation, and Restricted as to by another in the latter part of the reign of George III., trading or farmecclesiastical persons were restrained from trading, and from taking farms of more than a certain value; but these statutes have been now repealed; and by a recent acti those restrictions, and the penalties for disobeying them, are fixed as follows::

No spiritual person, holding any cathedral preferment Not to take or benefice, or any curacy or lectureship, or who shall be farms of above licensed or otherwise allowed to perform the duties of any without consent eighty acres, ecclesiastical office whatever, may take to farm, for occu- of the bishop. pation by himself, by lease, grant, words, or otherwise, for term of life or of years, or at will, any lands exceeding eighty acres in the whole, for the purpose of cultivating the same, without the permission in writing of the bishop of the diocese, specially given for that purpose, under his hand, and every such permission to any spiritual person to take to farm, for the purpose aforesaid, any greater quantity of land than eighty acres, shall specify the number of years, not exceeding seven, for which such permission is given; and every such spiritual person, who, without such permission, shall take to farm any greater quantity of land than eighty acres, shall forfeit for every acre of land above eighty acres forty shillings for each year during which he shall occupy the same.*

And no such spiritual person as before mentioned, by

Not to engage in trade, &c.

himself, or by any other for him, may engage in or carry on any trade or dealing for gain or profit, or deal in any goods, wares or merchandise, unless it shall be on behalf of any number of partners exceeding six, or in a case where any such trade or dealing shall have devolved upon any spiritual person, or upon any person for his use, by virtue of any devise, bequest, inheritance, intestacy, settlement, marriage, bankruptcy or insolvency.'

In none of which excepted cases, however, is it lawful for such spiritual person to act as director or managing partner, or to carry on the business in person.'

These restrictions, however, do not extend to the case of spiritual persons engaged in keeping schools, or in any manner employed in giving instruction or education, so as to prevent them from buying or selling, or doing any other thing in the course of such management or employment; nor to selling any thing bought bonâ fide for the use of the family; nor to selling any books to a bookseller or publisher; nor to being managers or directors in any benefit, fire or life insurance company; or to buying or selling cattle for the use of their own lands; but so, nevertheless, that no such spiritual person shall buy or sell any cattle or corn, or other articles as aforesaid, in person, in any market, fair, or place of public sale.m place of public sale. And all spiritual persons so trading illegally may be suspended for the first offence for any time not exceeding one year; for the second offence, may be suspended for such time as the judge shall think fit; and for the third offence, shall be deprived ab officio et beneficio."

» Sect. 31. See Chapter on Suspension and Deprivation, &c.

CHAPTER VII.

OF THE RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES AND DUTIES, OF

ECCLESIASTICAL PERSONS SEPARATELY.

a

We now come to speak of the several ranks and degrees England how in the frame and constitution of our ecclesiastical polity. divided for ecclesiastical purFor as this country is divided into various ecclesiastical poses. districts, of which each minor division is a part of and included in a larger, so over each of these districts there presides some spiritual governor, who, in each minor district, is subordinate in a corresponding manner to the president of the larger division. Thus England is ecclesiastically divided into provinces-each province into dioceses -each diocese into archdeaconries-each archdeaconry into deaneries-and each deanery into parishes, towns and hamlets, or district parishes. Of these several divisions, the respective governors are the king, archbishops, bishops, archdeacons, rural deans, rectors, vicars or perpetual curates, and stipendiary curates; but, besides these, there are some other ranks and offices which will be also mentioned in their order. Of the king, and of his supremacy over the whole ecclesiastical body, we have already spoken of the rest, we shall here mention the manner of their appointment, the rights, privileges and duties incident to their office, and the manner in which that office may determine.

SECTION I.

Of Archbishops and Bishops.

The word bishop, in the Saxon biscop, is the Greek ×оños, overseer or superintendent, so called, it has been said, from that watchfulness, charge, care and faithfulness, which by his place and dignity he hath and oweth to the Church.

The bishops and all the inferior clergy in each province Archbishoprics. are subject to an archbishop, who, next and immediately under the king, has supreme jurisdiction and authority in all causes and things ecclesiastical. Of these provinces, there are two in England and Wales, which, for ecclesiastical purposes therefore, is thus divided: such are those of Canterbury and York; and formerly there existed a third, that of Caerleon, in South Wales; but, in the time of Henry I., both that see, and all Wales, became subject * See post, Book III. Chap. I. b Godolph, 22.

Dioceses of each to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Each archbishop hath province. within his province bishops of several dioceses. The Archbishop of Canterbury hath under him within his province, of ancient foundations, Rochester, London, Winchester, Norwich, Lincoln, Ely, Chichester, Salisbury, Exeter, Bath and Wells, Worcester, Coventry and Lichfield, Hereford, Llandaff, St. David, Bangor, and St. Asaph; and three founded by King Henry VIII., erected out of the ruins of dissolved monasteries, viz. Gloucester and Bristol, which were formerly distinct dioceses; Peterborough, and Oxford. The Archbishop of York hath under him five, viz. Chester, erected by King Henry VIII., and annexed by him to the Archbishopric of York, Durham, Carlisle; the Isle of Man, annexed to the Province of York, by King Henry VIII.; and the newly erected diocese of Ripon; the Province of York also occasionally claimed and had a metropolitan jurisdiction over all the bishops of Scotland, until about the year 1466, when those bishops withdrew themselves from obedience to him, and, in the year 1470, the Bishop of St. Andrews was, by the pope, created archbishop and metropolitan of all Scotland.d

Archbishop, election of.

Of Canterbury, how styled, &c.

His prerogatives and dignity.

The election of an archbishop does not differ from that of the election of bishops, which we shall afterwards have to notice. But the election must be signified to the other archbishop, and to two bishops; or if not to the archbishop, then to four bishops, requiring them to confirm, elect and consecrate him, which they are bound to perform immediately, without any application to the see of Rome; the last application of that nature having been made by Henry VIII. on behalf of Archbishop Cranmer.

f

The Archbishop of Canterbury is styled metropolitan or primate; and, when he is vested in the archbishopric, is said to be enthroned; he writes himself by Divine Providence; and has also the title of Grace, and Most Reverend Father in God; and he may retain and qualify eight chaplains.g

As archbishop, he, upon receipt of the king's writ, calls the bishops and clergy of his province to meet in convocation, but without the king's writ he cannot assemble them. To him all appeals are made from inferior jurisdictions within his province; and as an appeal lies from

e Rogers's E. L. 105.

d Co. Litt. 94 a.; 1 Burn's E. L. 195; st. 33 Hen. 8, c. 31; 6 & 7 Will. 4, c. 77. e 1 Black. 378. f Hallam's Const. Hist.

Godolph. 21; 1 Burn's E. L. 198.

each bishop of his province in person to him in person, so it also lies from the Consistory Courts of each diocese to his Archiepiscopal Court. During the vacancy of any see in his province, he is guardian of the spiritualties thereof, as the king is of the temporalties, and he executes all ecclesiastical jurisdiction therein.h

The Archbishop of Canterbury is, for some purposes, superior to the other archbishop. He is styled Primate and Metropolitan of all England, notwithstanding there is in England another archiepiscopal province; and for this, among other reasons, that he has by stat. 25 Henry VIII. c. 21, the power of granting dispensations in any case not contrary to the Holy Scriptures and the law of God, where the pope used formerly to grant them in both provinces alike; and this too is the foundation of his granting special licenses to marry at any place or time; to hold two livings and the like; and on this also is founded the right he exercises of conferring degrees in prejudice of the two Universities.'

Among the privileges of this archbishop may be considered that, by custom, of crowning the sovereign of this kingdom, whether kings or queens, and that of having prelates to be his officers. Thus the Bishop of London is his provincial dean; the Bishop of Winchester his chancellor; the Bishop of Lincoln anciently was his vice-chancellor; the Bishop of Salisbury his precentor; the Bishop of Worcester his chaplain; and the Bishop of Rochester, in former times, carried the cross before him. He is the first peer of the realm, and hath precedency not only before all the other clergy, but next and immediately after the blood royal, before all the nobility of the realm, and before all the great officers of state. And by statute 31 Henry VIII. c. 10, the Archbishop of Canterbury is directed to sit in parliament, on the right side of the parliament chamber, first before the Archbishop of York and all the other bishops.k

The Archbishop of York has, by custom, the privilege Of York. to crown the queen consort, and to be her perpetual chaplain; and he has precedency before all dukes, not being of the blood royal, and of all the great officers of state, except the lord chancellor. And by the statute 31 Henry VIII., c. 10, before mentioned, he is directed to sit in parliament next to the Archbishop of Canterbury.1

The archbishop is superintendent throughout his whole Archbishops

generally.