and advancement of men to place, be no council-table matters, but belong to his majesty's princely will and secret judgment; yet his majesty will do his council this honour, that in his resolutions of that kind, his council shall know them first before others, and shall know them, accompanied by their causes, making as it were a private manifesto, or revealing of himself to them without parables.

Then to have the report of the lords touching the business of the lord Coke, and the last order of the council read.

That done, his majesty farther to declare, that he might, upon the same three grounds in the order mentioned, of deceit, contempt, and slander of his government, very justly have proceeded then, not only to have put him from his place of chief justice, but to have brought him in question in the starchamber, which would have been his utter overthrow; but then his majesty was pleased for that time only to put him off from the council-table, and from the public exercise of his place of chief justice, and to take farther time to deliberate.

That in his majesty's deliberation, besides the present occasion, he had in some things looked back to the lord Coke's former carriage, and in some things looked forward, to make some farther trial of him.

That for things passed, his majesty had noted in him a perpetual turbulent carriage, first towards the liberties of his church and estate ecclesiastical; towards his prerogative royal, and the branches thereof; and likewise towards all the settled juris

dictions of all his other courts, the high commission, the star-chamber, the chancery, the provincial councils, the admiralty, the duchy, the court of requests, the commission of inquiries, the new boroughs of Ireland; in all which he had raised troubles and new questions; and lastly, in that, which might concern the safety of his royal person, by his exposition of the laws in cases of high treason.

That, besides the actions themselves, his majesty in his princely wisdom hath made two special observations of him; the one, that he having in his nature not one part of those things, which are popular in men, being neither civil, nor affable, nor magnificent, he hath made himself popular by design only, in pulling down government. The other, that whereas his majesty might have expected a change in him, when he made him his own, by taking him to be of his council, it made no change at all, but to the worse, he holding on all his former channel, and running separate courses from the rest of his council; and rather busying himself in casting fears before his council, concerning what they could not do, than joining his advice what they should do.

That his majesty, desirous yet to make a farther trial of him, had given him the summer's vacation to reform his "Reports," wherein there be many dangerous conceits of his own uttered for law, to the prejudice of his crown, parliament, and subjects; and to see, whether by this he would in any part redeem his fault. But that his majesty hath failed of the redemption he desired, but hath met with

another kind of redemption from him, which he little expected. For as to the " Reports," after three months time and consideration, he had offered his majesty only five animadversions, being rather a scorn, than a satisfaction to his majesty; whereof one was that in the prince's case he had found out the French statute, which was "filz aisné," whereas the Latin was "primogenitus ;" and so the prince is duke of Cornwall in French, and not duke of Cornwall in Latin. And another was, that he had set Montagu to be chief justice in Henry VIII's time, when it should have been in Edward VI's, and such other stuff; not falling upon any of those things, which he could not but know were offensive.

That hereupon his majesty thought good to refresh his memory, and out of many cases, which his majesty caused to be collated, to require his answer to five, being all such, as were but expatiations of his own, and no judgments; whereunto he returned such an answer, as did either justify himself, or elude the matter, so as his majesty seeth plainly antiquum obtinet."

TO THE KING.

MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENT MAJESTY,

I send your majesty a form of discharge for my lord Coke from his place of chief justice of your bench*.

Sir Edward Coke was removed from that post on the 15th November, 1616.

I send also a warrant to the lord chancellor, for making forth a writ for a new chief justice, leaving a blank for the name to be supplied by your majesty's presence; for I never received your majesty's express pleasure in it.

If your majesty resolve of Montagu* as I conceive and wish, it is very material, as these times are, that your majesty have some care, that the recorder succeeding be a temperate and discreet man, and assured to your majesty's service. If your majesty, without too much harshness, can continue the place within your own servants, it is best: if not, the man, upon whom the choice is like to fall, which is Coventry, I hold doubtful for your service; not but that he is a well learned, and an honest man; but he hath been, as it were, bred by lord Coke, and seasoned in his ways.

God preserve your majesty.

Your Majesty's most humble

and bounden servant,

FR. BACON.

I send not these things, which concern my lord Coke, by my lord Villiers, for such reasons as your majesty may conceive.

November 13, at noon [1616.]

*

Sir Henry Montagu, recorder of London, who was made lord chief justice of the King's Bench, November 16, 1616. He was afterwards made lord treasurer, and created earl of Manchester.

+ Thomas Coventry, Esq.; afterwards lord keeper of the great seal.

VOL. VII.

A A

TO THE KING.

IT MAY PLEASE YOUR MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY,

I SEND your majesty, according to your commandment, the warrant for the review of Sir Edward Coke's "Reports." I had prepared it before I received your majesty's pleasure: but I was glad to see it was in your mind, as well as in my hands. In the nomination, which your majesty made of the judges, to whom it should be directed, your majesty could not name the lord chief justice, that now is,* because he was not then declared: but you could not leave him out now, without discountenance.

I send your majesty the state of lord Darcy's cause in the star-chamber, set down by Mr. Soli

Sir Henry Montagu.

This is just mentioned in a letter of Sir Francis Bacon to the lord viscount Villiers, printed in his works; but is more particularly stated in the "Reports" of Sir Henry Hobart, lord chief justice of the Common Pleas, p. 120, 121. Edit. London, 1658, fol. as follows. The lord Darcy of the North sued Gervase Markham, Esq.; in the Star-Chamber, in 1616, on this occasion. They had hunted together, and the defendant and a servant of the plaintiff, one Beckwith, fell together by the ears in the field; and Beckwith threw him down, and was upon him cuffing him, when the lord Darcy took his servant off, and reproved him. However, Mr. Markham expressing some anger against his lordship, and charging him with maintaining his man, lord Darcy answered, that he had used Mr. Markham kindly; for if he had not rescued him from his man, the latter would have beaten him to rags. Mr. Markham, upon this,