Add MS 41661

ENGLISH LEGAL TREATISES of the I7th century, viz.:-

(1) 'An abstracte of severall extents, Inquisicions, Lettres patents, Charters, Acts of parliamente and other wrytings touchinge ye Pryncipallytie of Wales Dukedome of Cornwall & Earldome of Chester. A° Dm: 1616' (so the title, f. 2). A collection of abstracts, in English, of documents, temp. Edw. I-temp. Hen. VIII, arranged chronologically, setting forth the revenue and legal rights of the Princes of Wales, presumably prepared in connection with the proclamation of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales on 3 Nov. 1616. Possibly compiled by Richard Connock, Auditor to the Duchy of Cornwall (cf. S.P. Dom., 1603-1610, p. 635, and 1611-1618, pp. 160, 440). Preceded (ff. 3-7 b) by a calendar of the contents. The work has been revised throughout by an annotator who has made numerous marginal and interlinear additions, and has added at the end (ff. 66 b-73 b) some lengthy passages which were 'too compendiously abstracted' (cf. notes on f. 10 b, etc.) in the opening pages of the treatise. ff. 2-73.

(2) Treatises relating to the Court of Star Chamber, viz.:-(a) 'The groundes Rules & Proceedinges of the Honorable Courte of Starr-chamber with the Course and manner of Prosecution of causes from the Originall subpena to the ende of the Cause out of XXX, yeares Experience': an unpublished work by Isaac Cotton, Clerk in the Star Chamber, entitled in Stowe MS. 418 'The Methodicall Prosecution of causes in the high Court of Star Chamber'. The present MS. is in general agreement with three other MSS. of the work in the Museum (Stowe MS. 4I8, f. 1, Lansdowne MS. 639, f. 1, and Add. MS. 26647, f. 151). Text beg. 'The Oath of a Defendant. You shall sweare that so much of th's Answeare'. The present MS. opens (f. 76) with the dedicatory letter [20 Sept. 1622, but here undated] to Sir Humphrey May, Clerk of the Court of Star Chamber, and Thomas May, his brother, Deputyclerk, which is missing from Add. 26647, but does not contain the additional notes of a case dated Trinity Term, 4 Car. I [I628], which are found in Stowe 418, f.28, and Lansdowne 639, f.4.ff-75-98b;-(b)'Matters touchinge the Causes and Procedings in the high Court of Starchamber with the Fees vsed there at this Day'; with sub-title 'The Ordinary Course of proceedinge in the most honorable Court of Starr Chamber'. A slightly corrupt copy of the anonymous unpublished treatise, written temp. Eliz. I (cf. Hargrave MS.

216, f. 130) and generally referred to as 'the Ordinary Course'; in general agreement with the version found in Add. MS. 4521, f. 1. Other copies in the Museum are Hargrave MS. 216, f. 130, which is slightly shorter (cf. Cora L. Scofield, A Study of the Court of Star Chamber, Chicago, 1900, p. xix), Hargrave MS. 482, ff. 2-5, and Add. MS. 48025, ff. 79-84. Text beg. 'First the plaintiff preferreth his mattere of Complaint'. ff. 99-102b;-(c) 'Annotationes nonnullas Regulas et froda camera stellata concernentes, frenissima collecta' [sic, for Annotationes nonnullas regulas et feoda Camerae Stellatae concernentes brevissime collectae], in the hand of the preceding section. These notes, evidently compiled whilst William Mill was Clerk of the Court (157-1608, cf. f. 103b), also occur in Add. MS. 4521, f. 10b, immediately after 'The Ordinary Course', but are not found in Hargrave MS. 482 nor in Add. MS. 48025, while in Hargrave MS. 216, f. 187b, and Harley MS. 305, f.41, they appear separated from 'The Ordinary Course'.Beg.'Plaintiff hath 4 dayes after his Returne to enter his apparance'. ff. 102b-1066b;-(d) 'Affidavitts of severall sorts used in the service and proceedings of the Court of Starr Chamber.' Another copy occurs in Add. MS. 4521, f. 19b, immediately following art. (c) above, but in Hargrave MS. 216, f. 182b, it occurs as a separate tract. Between ff. 107 and 108 there are three blank pages and a change of hand. ff. 106b-109;-(e) 'The usuall course of Orders graunted to ordinary mocions in this honorable Court.' Another copy is Add. MS. 4521, f. 24b, where, as in the present MS., it follows art. (d) without a break, but in Hargrave MS. 216, f. 135b, Hargrave MS. 482, f. 5, and Add. MS. 48025, f. 84b, this section immediately follows art. (b). ff. 109-109b;-(f) 'In Camera Stellata xij die Maij Anno xxxviijth Eliz. Regine [I596].' An imperf. copy of an order of the Court conceming 'frivolous suites' issued by Sir Thomas Egerton as Lord Keeper. A complete copy of this order (but dated 22 May) occurs in Add. MS. 4521 at f. 27, where it follows art. (e) above; others are in Lansdowne MS. 639, f. 17b (dated 22 May), Hargrave MS. 237, f. 35b (dated'Termino Trinitat."), and Harley MS. 2310, f. 2 (dated 25 May). ff. 109b- 110;-(g) 'Orders for reformacion of dilatorie proceedings...in her Majesty's... Court of Starr Chamber.' Other copies of these orders are in Add. MS. 4521, f. 30, Stowe MS. 145, f. 108, Harley MS. 444, f. 203, Harley MS. 2310, f. 11, Lansdowne MS. 639, f. 18, and Add. MS. 26647, f. 216 (the last three copies dated 22 Dec., 40 Eliz. I [I597]). ff. 110-111b;-

(h) 'A Discourse concerninge the Antiquitie of the high Court of Starr Chamber occasioned by Certeine Articles made by the Attorneys against ye Court & Clarke of the same Ao Dni 159° & 32° Eliz.' This unpublished treatise on the Star Chamber was written in defence of his own position and addressed to the members of the Court by William Mill, Clerk of the Star Chamber I57.2/3-I608. According to Scofield, op. cit., p. xix, this discourse is only the latter part of Mill's treatise, the full text of which occurs in Hargrave MS.

216, f. 100; but in Add. MS. 4521, f. 64 and Add. MS. 26647, f. 204, the treatise consists of no more than appears in the present copy. Beg. 'The Articles of the Attumeies. Challenges made and used by ye Clarke of the Court to your Lordships proceedings'; ends 'the present practice of our tyme'. ff. 111b-125b.

(3) Collections relating to the Court of Chancery, viz.:-(a) 'Ordinances made by the right ho^ble Thomas Lord Coventry [Thomas Coventry, ist Baron Coventry] Lord Keeper ... for the redres of sundry errors and abuses in ye high Court of Chancery'. Printed from the Registers' Books, and dated 17 Nov. 1635, in G. W. Sanders, Orders of the High Court of Chancery, 1845, vol. i, part i, pp. 176-184. ff. 126-129b;-(b) 'Some Collections of the Course of Proceedings in English suites in Chancerie.' A treatise written after 22 Dec. 1629 (Cf. f. 152b), and published anonymously in London in 1652 as The Practice of the High Court of Chancery Unfolded (cf. Sir William Holdsworth, A History of English Law, 2nd ed., v, pp. 274, 277). The present MS. omits a note dated 1644, found on p. 49 of the printed edition, and ends at p. 52, l. 2, of the edition, after which follows a note dated :2 Chas. [I]. ff. 130-152b;-(c) 'Fees due to the six Clerkes'. Printed in G. W. Sanders, op. cit., i, part ii, pp. 1047-1050, from the original MS. draft, dated 12 June 1635, now in the Public Record Office. The present copy, which is in the same hand as art. 3 (a) above, and on paper with the same watermark, ends imperf. 'For euery Recognisance or bond made to the Courte 2s.', thus omitting the final section. ff. 153-154.

(4) Treatises by, or ascribed to, Sir Matthew Hale, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, viz.:-(a) 'Concerning ye Court of the Marches'; an argument against the claim of the Court of the President and Council of the Marches of Wales to jurisdiction in cos. Glouc., Heref., Salop. and Worc., probably prepared by Hale, in his capacity as M.P. for co. Glouc., in 1660, during the discussions which preceded the re-establishment of the Court after the Restoration (cf. C. A. J. Skeel, The Council in the Marches of Wales, 1904, pp. 166-171). Another copy of this treatise was apparently included in the collections of John Smyth of Nibley (cf. Hist. MSS. Comm., 5th Report, App., p. 338) but is not amongst the Smyth collections subsequently acquired by the Museum (Add. MSS. 33588, 33589); a corrected draft of the final section of this treatise, however, generally similar in treatment and containing several identical phrases, occurs in Add. MS. 33589, ff. 81-82. Beg. 'This dispute hath fallen into two questions'. ff. 156-192;-(b) 'A short Treatise touching Sheriffes' Accounts'. Written whilst Hale was Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer (1660-1671), and printed, with slight differences and additions, in 1683 as A short treatise touching Sheriffs Accompts, Written by the Honourable Sir Matthew Hale, Kt. ff. 192b-216;-(c) 'My Lord Chiefe Baron Hales his Argument under his owne hand in the Case of Collingwood and Pace in the Exchequer Chamber'[Easter Term, 16 Chas.II, I664]. Printed in The Reports of Sir Peyton Ventris, Kt., Part 1, 1696, pp. 413-429. ff. 216-227;-(d) 'Enrolment of Deeds.' Written circ. 1668 (cf. the reference to 20 Chas. II on f. 230) and published anonymously in 1694 as A Treatise, Shewing How Usefull... the Inrolling & Registring of all Conveyances of Lands, may be to the Inhabitants of this Kingdom; in the later editions this tract was ascribed to Sir Matthew Hale. ff. 227-235 b. Paper; ff. iv + 235. Folio. XVII cent. Belonged, early 19th cent., to Daniel Jones, attorney, off Fakenham, co. Norf. (cf. Add. MS. 37908, f. 175), whose note of ownership, with a brief list of the contents, occurs on f. 1. The volume is made up of three distinct MSS., viz. ff. 2-74 (watermark, fleur-de-lys on shield), ff. 75-154 (watermark, pot with letters VA or [ff. 126-129, 153-154] pot with letters AB), and ff. 155-235 (watermark, post-horn on shield). Each section has its own separate original foliation. Apparently bound up together early in the 19th cent., as the original boards were covered with marbled paper consisting of discarded sheets from the List of Officers of H.M. Fleet for 1806 (now ff. i-iv). Presented by Sir Lawrence John Jones, 4th Bart., of Cranmer Hall, co. Norf. 8-2