The Excellent privilege of LIBERTY& PROPERTY BEING THE BIRTH-RIGHT Of the Free-born Subjects of England.  
CONTAINING  
I. Magna Charta, with a learned Comment upon it.  
II. The Confirmation of the Charters of the Liberties of England and of the forest, made in the 35th year of Edward the First.  
III. A Statute made the 34 Edw. 1. commonly called De Tallageo non Concedendo; wherein all Fundamental Laws, Liberties and Customs are confirmed. With a Comment upon it.  
IV. An abstract of the patent granted by the King to William pen and his Heirs and Assigns for the Province of Pennsilvania.  
V. And Lastly, The Charter of Liberties granted by the said William pen to the Free-men and Inhabitants of the Province of Pennsilvania and Territories thereunto annexed, in America.  mayor Haereditas venit unicunque nostrum a Jure& Legibus, quam a Parentibus.  

To the Reader.  
IT may reasonably be supposed that we shall find in this part of the world, many men, both old and young, that are strangers, in a great measure, to the true understanding of that inestimable Inheritance that every Free-born Subject of England is Heir unto by Birth-right, I mean that unparalelled privilege of Liberty and Property, beyond all the Nations in the world beside; and it is to wished that all men did rightly understand their own happiness therein; in pursuance of which I do here present thee with that ancient Garland, the Fundamental Laws of England, bedecked with many precious privileges of Liberty and Property, by which every man that is a Subject to the Crown of England, may understand what is his Right, and how to preserve it from unjust and unreasonable men: whereby appears the eminent Care, Wisdom and Industry of our Progenitors in providing for themselves and Posterity so good a Fortress that is able to repel the Lust, Pride and Power of the Noble, as well as Ignorance o● the Ignoble; it being that excellent and discreet balance that gives every man his even proportion, which cannot be taken from him, nor be dispossessed of his Life, Liberty or Estate, but by the trial and judgement o● Twelve of his Equals, or Law of the Land, upon the penalty of the bitter Curses of the whole People; so great was the zeal of our Predecessors for the preservation of these Fundamental Liberties( contamed in these Charters) from encroachment, that they employed all their Policy and Religious Obligations to secure them entire and inviolable, albeit the contrary hath often been endeavoured, yet providence hitherto hath preserved them as a Blessing to the English Subjects.  
The chief end of the Publication hereof is for the information and understanding( what is their native Right and Inheritance) of such who may not have leizure from their Plantations to red large volumes; And beside, I know this Country is not furnished with Law-Books,& this being the Root from whence all our wholesome English Laws spring, and indeed the Line by which they must be squared, I have ventured to make it public, hoping it may be of use and service to many Free-men, Planters and Inhabitants in this Country, to whom it is sent and recommended, wishing it may raise up Noble Resolutions in all the Freeholders in these new Colonies, not to give away any thing of Liberty and Property that at present they do,( or of right as Loyal English Subjects, ought to) enjoy, but take up the good Example of our Ancestors, and understand, that it is easy to part with or give away great privileges, but hard to be gained, if once lost. And therefore all depends upon our prudent Care and Actings to preserve and lay sure Foundations for ourselves and the Posterity of our loins.  
Philopolites.   

INTRODUCTION.  
IN France, and other Nations, the mere Will of the Prince is Law, his Word takes off any mans Head, imposeth Taxes, or seizes any mans Estate, when, how and as often as he lists; and if one be accused, or but so much as suspected of any Crime, he may either presently Execute him, or Banish, or Imprison him at pleasure; or if he will be so gracious as to proceed by form of their Laws, if any two villains will but swear against the poor Party, his Life is gone; nay, if there be no witness, yet he may be put on the Rack, the Tortures whereof make many an innocent Person confess himself guilty, and then with seeming Justice is executed. But,  
In England the Law is both the measure and the bound of every Subjects Duty and Allegiance, each man having a fixed Fundamental-Right born with him, as to Freedom of his Person and Property in his Estate, which he cannot be deprived of, but either by his Consent, or some Crime, for which the Law has imposed such a penalty or forfeiture. For all our Kings take a solmn Oath( 1.) At their Coronation, To observe& cause the Laws to be kept:( 2.) All our Judges take an Oath, wherein among other points they swear, To do equal Law and Right to all the Kings Subjects, Rich and Poor, and not to delay any person of common Right for the Letters of the King, or of any other Person, or for any other cause: Therefore saith Fortescue,( who was first chief Justice, and afterwards L. Chancellor to K. Henry 6.) in his Book de Laudibus Legum Angliae, cap. 9. Non potest Rex Angliae, &c. The King of England cannot alter nor change the Laws of his Realm at his pleasure; For why, he governeth his people by Power not only Royal, but also politic: If his Power over them were only Regal, then he might change the Laws of his Realm, and charge his Subjects with Tallage and other burdens, without their onsent; but from this much differeth the Power of a King whose Government is politic; for he can neither change Laws without the consent of his Subjects, nor yet charge them with Impositions against their wills. With which accords Bracton, a learned Judge& Law-Author, in the Reign of K. Henry the 3d, saying, Rex in Regno sue superiores habet Deum& Legem; i.e. The King in his Realm hath two superiors, God and the Law; for he is under the Directive, the not Co-ercive Power of the Law.  
'tis true, the Law itself affirms, The King can do no wrong, which proceeds not only from a presumption, that so excellent a Person will do none, but also because he acts nothing but by M●nisters, which( from the lowest to the highest) are answerable for their doings; so that if a K. in passion should command A. to kill B. without process of Law, A. may yet be prosecuted by Indictment or upon an Appeal( where no Royal Pardon is allowable) and must for the same be executed, such Command notwithstanding.  
This original happy Frame of Government is truly and properly called an English mans Liberty, a privilege not exempt from the Law, but to be freed in Person& Estate from Arbitrary Violence and Oppression. A greater Inheritance( saith judge Cook) is derived to every one of us from our Laws than from our Parents; For without the former, what would the latter signify? And this Birthright of English-men shines most conspicuously in two things:  

1. PARLIAMENTS.  
2. JURIES.   
By the First the Subject has a share by his chosen Representatives in the Legislative( or Lawmaking) Power; for no new Laws bind the People of England, but such as are by common consent agreed on in that great Council.  
By the Second, he has a share in the Executive part of the Law, no Causes being tried, nor any man adjudged to loose Life, Member or Estate, but upon the Verdict of his Peers or Equals his Neighbours, and of his own Condition: These two grand Pillars of English Liberty, are the Fundamental vital privileges, whereby we have been, and are preserved more free and happy than any other ●eo●le in the World, and( we trust) shall ever continue so: For whoever shall design to impair, pervert or undermine either of the●●, do strike at the very Constitution of our Government, and ought to b● prosecuted and punished with the utmost Zeal and Rigour. To cut down the Banks and let in the Sea, or to poison all the Springs and Rivers in the Kingdom, could not be a greater Mischief; for this would only affect the present Age, but the other will Ruin and enslave all our Posterity.  
But beside these Paramount privileges which the English are estated in by the Original Constitution of their Government, there are others more particularly declared and expressed in divers Acts of Parliament too large to be inserted in this place.   

Magna Charta OR The Great Charter made in the 9th year of King Henry the 3d , and confirmed by King Edward the 1st in the 28th Year of his Reign.  
Edward, by the Grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of guian, to all Arch-Bishops, &c.  
WEe have seen the Great Charter of the Lord Henry, sometime King of England, our Father, of the Liberties of England, in these Words:  
Henry, by the Grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Normandy and guian, and Earl of Anjoy; To all Arch-Bishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls, barons, Sheriffs, Provists, Officers, and to all bailiffs, and other our faithful Subjects, which shall see this present Charter, greeting; Know ye, that we, unto the Honour of Almighty God, and for the Salvation of the Souls of our Progenitors and Successors, Kings of England, to the Advancement of holy Church, and Amendment of our Realm, of our mere and Free-will, have Given and Granted to all Arch-Bishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls, barons, and to all Free-men of this our Realm, these Liberties following, to be kept in our Kingdom of England forever.  

CHAP. I.  
A Confirmation of Liberties.  
1st, WE have granted to God, and by this our present Charter, have Confirmed for us, and our Heirs forever, That the Church of England shall be free, and shall have all her whole Rights and Liberties inviolably.( 2.) We have granted also, and Given to all the Free-men of our Realm, for us, and our Heirs forever, these Liberties underwritten, to Have, and to Hold to them and their Heirs forever.   

CHAP. II.  
The Relief of the King's Tenant of full Age.  
IF any of our Earls or barons, or any other which hold of us in chief, by Knights Service, die, and at the time of his Death, his Heir be of full age, and oweth his Relief, he shall have his Inheritance by the old Relief, that is to say, The Heir, or Heirs of an Earl, for a whole Earldom, one hundred Pounds; the Heir, or Heirs of a baron, for a whole barony, by one hundred Marks; the Heir, or Heirs of a Knight, for one whole Knights Fee, one hundred Shillings at the most; and he that hath less, shall give less, according to the old Custom of the Fees.   

CHAP. III.  
The Wardship of an Heir within Age, the Heir a Knight.  
BUt if the Heir of any such be within Age, his Lord shall not have the Ward of him, nor of his Land, before that he hath taken of him Homage.( 2.) And after that such an Heir hath been in Ward( when he is come to full Age) that is to say, to the Age of one and twenty years, he shall have his Inheritance without Relief, and without time, so that if such an Heir being within Age, be made Knight, yet nevertheless, his Land shall remain in the keeping of his Lord, unto the term aforesaid.   

CHAP. IV.  
No waste shall be made by a Guardian in Wards Lands.  
THe keeper of the Land, of such an Heir being within Age, shall not take of the Lands of the Heir but Reasonable Issues, Reasonable Customs, and Reasonable Services, and that without destruction and waste of his Men and his Goods.( 2.) And if we commit the Custody of any such Land to the Sheriff, or any other which is answerable to us for the Issues of the same Lands, and he make destruction or waste of those things that he hath in Custody, we will take of him Amends and recompense therefore.( 3.) And the Lands shall be committed to two lawful and discreet men of that Fee, which shall answer unto us for the Issues of the same Land, or unto him whom we will Assign.( 4.) And if we give or sell to any man the Custody of any such Land, and he there do make destruction or waste, he shall lose the same Custody, and it shall be assigned to two lawful and discreet men of that Fee; which also in like manner shall be answerable to us, as afore is said.   

CHAP. V.  
Guardians shall maintain the Inheritance of their Wards, and of bishoprics.  
THe Keeper, so long as he hath the Custody of the Land of such Heir, shall keep up the Houses, Parks, Warrens, pounds, Mills, and other things pertaining to the same Land, with the Issues of the said Land: and he shall deliver to the Heir▪ when he cometh to full Age, all his Land, stored with Ploughs, and all other things, at the least as he received it; all these things shall be observed in the Custody of archbishoprics, bishoprics, abbeys, Priors, Churches, and Dignities vacant, which appertain to us; except this, that such Custody shall not be sold.   

CHAP. VI.  
Heirs shall be Married without Disparagement.  
    

CHAP. VII.  
A widow shall have her Marriage Inheritance, and Quarentine: the King's widow.  
A widow, after the death of her Husband, incontinent, and without any difficulty, shall have her Marriage, and her Inheritance.( ●.) And shall give nothing for her Dower, her Marriage, or her Inheritance, which her Husband and she held the day of the Death of her Husband.( 3.) And she shall tarry in the Chief House of her Husband by forty dayes after the Death of her Husband, within which dayes her Dower shall be Assigned her( if it were not assigned her before) or that the House be a Castle.( 4.) And if she depart from the Castle, then a Competent House shall be forth-with provided for her, in the which she may honestly dwell, until her Dower be to her assigned, as it is aforesaid; and she shall have in the mean time her reasonable Estovers of the Common.( 5.) And for her Dower, shall be assigned unto her the third part of all the Lands of her Husband, which were his during Coverture, except she were endowed of less at the Church-Door.( 6.) No widow shall be distrained to mary her self; nevertheless she shall find surety that she shall not mary without our licence and assent( if she hold of us) nor without the assent of the Lord, if she hold of another.   

CHAP. VIII.  
How Sureties shall be charged to the King.  
WE or our Bailiffs, shall not seize any Lands or Rents for any Debt, as long as present Goods and Chattels of the Debtor do suffice to pay the Debt, and the Debtor himself be ready to satisfy therefore.( 2.) Neither shall the Pledges of the Debtor be distrained, as long as the Debt.( 3.) And if the principal Debtor fail in the payment of the Debt, having nothing wherewith to pay, or will not pay when he is able, the Pledges shall answer the Debt.( 4) And if they will, they shall have the Lands and Rent of the Debtor, until they be satisfied of that which they before paid for him, except that the Debtor can show himself to be acquitted against the said Sureties.   

CHAP. IX.  
The Liberties of London, and other Cities and Towns confirmed.  
THe City of London shall have all the old Liberties& Customs which it hath been used to have: moreover, we Will and Grant, that all other Cities, and Burroughs, Towns, and the barons of the five Ports, and all other Ports, shall have all their Liberties and free Customs.   

CHAP. X.  
None shall distrain for more Service than is due.  
NO man shall be distrained to do more Service then is due for a Knights Fee, nor for any Free-holder than therefore is due.   

CHAP. XI.  
Common-Pleas shall not follow the King's Court.  
COmmon-Pleas shall not follow our Court, but shall be holden in some place certain.   

CHAP. XII.  
Where, and before whom Assizes shall be taken, Adjornments for difficulty.  
ASsizes of Novel Disseisin, and of Martdancesters, shall not be taken, but in the Shires, and after this manner, if we be out of this Realm, our Chief Justices shall sand our Justices through every County once in the Year, which with the Knights of the Shire, shall take the said Assizes in those Counties( 2.) And those things that at the coming of our afore-said Justices, being sent to take those Assizes in the Counties, cannot be determined, shall be ended by them in some other place in their Circuit.( 3.) And those things which for difficulty of some Articles, cannot be determined by them, shall be referred to our Justices of the Bench, and there shall be ended.   

CHAP. XIII.  
Assizes of Darreign Presentments.  
ASsizes of Darreign Presentments, shall be always taken before our Justices of the Bench, and there shall be determined.   

CHAP. XIV.  
How men of all sorts shall be amerced, and by whom.  
A Free-man shall not be amerced for a small Fault, but after the manner of the Fault; and for a great Fault, after the greatness thereof, saving to him his Contenements.( 2.) And a Merchant likewise, saving to him his merchandise, and any other Alien than ours shall be likewise amerced, saving his Wainage, if he fall into our mercy.( 4.) And none of the said Amercements shall be assessed, but by the Oath of honest and lawful men of the Vicinage.( 5) Earls and barons shall not be Amerced, but by their Peers, and after the manner of their Offence.( 6.) No man of the Church shall be amerced after the quantity of his Spiritual bnfice, but after his Lay Tenements, and after the quantity of his Offence.   

CHAP. XV.  
Making of Bridges and Banks.  
NO Town, nor Free-man shall be distrained to make Bridges nor Banks, but such as of old time, and of Right have been accustomend to make them in the time of King Henry our Grand-Father.   

CHAP. XVI.  
Defending of Banks.  
NO Banks shall be defended from henceforth, but such as were in Defence in the time of King Henry our Grand-Father, by the same Places, and the same Bounds as they were wont to be in his time.   

CHAP. XVII.  
Holding Pleas of the Crown.  
NO Sheriff, Constable, Escheator, Corroner, nor any other our bailiffs, shall hold Pleas of our Crown.   

CHAP. XVIII.  
The Kings Debtor dying, the King shall be first paid.  
IF any that holdeth of us Lay-fee, do die, and our Sheriff or Bailiff do show our Letters patents of our Summons for Debt, which the dead man did owe to us; It shall be lawful to our Sheriff or bailiff, to Attach and behoveful all the Goods and Chattels of the Dead, being found in the said Fee, to the value of the same Debt, by the sight and Testimony of Lawful men, so that nothing thereof be taken away, until we be clearly paid off the Debt.( 2.) And the residue shall remain to the Executors, to perform the Testament of the Dead.( 3.) And if nothing be owing to us, all the Chattels shall go to the use of the Dead( saving to his Wife and Children the reasonable parts.)   

CHAP. XIX.  
Purveyance for a Castle.  
NO Constable, nor his bailiff, shall take Corn, or other Chattels, of any man, if the man be not of the Town where the Castle is, but he shall forth-with pay for the same, unless that the Will of the Seller was to respite the Payment.( 2.) And if he be of the same Town, the Price shall be paid unto him within the forty dayes.   

CHAP. XX.  
Doing of Castle-Ward.  
NO Constable shall distrain any Knight for to give Money for keeping his Castle, if he himself will do it in his proper Person, or cause it to be done by another sufficient man, if he may not do it himself, for a reasonable cause.( 2) And if we do led or sand him in an Army, he shall be free from Castle-Ward, for the time that he shall be with us in Fee in our Host, for the which he hath done Service in our Wars.   

CHAP. XXI.  
Taking of Horses, Carts, and Woods.  
NO Sheriff nor bailiff of ours, nor any other, shall take the Horses or Carts of any man to make Carriage, except he pay the old Price hinted, that is to say, for Carriage with two Horses, 10 d. a day, for three Horses 14 d. a day.( 2.) No Demesne Court of any spiritual Person or Knight, or any Lord, shall be taken by our bailiffs.( 3.) Nor we, nor our bailiffs, nor any other, shall take any mans Woods for our Castles, or other our Necessaries, to be done by Licence of him whose the Wood is.   

CHAP. XXII.  
How long felons Lands shall be holden by the King.  
WE will not hold the Lands of them that are convict of felony, but one Year and one Day, and then those Lands shall be delivered to the Lords of the Fee.   

CHAP. XXIII.  
In what place Wears shall be put down.  
ALl Wears from henceforth shall be utterly put down by Thames and Midway, and through all England, but only the Sea-Coast.   

CHAP. XXIV.  
In what Case a praecipe in Capite is not grantable.  
THe Writ that is called praecipe in Capite is not grantable from henceforth to no Person of any Free-hold, whereby any Free-man may lose his Court.   

CHAP. XXV.  
There shall be but one Measure throughout the Realm  
ONe Measure of Wine shall be through our Realm, and one Measure of Ale, and Measure of Corn, that is to say, the Quarter of London.( 2.) And one Breadth of dyed Cloth, Russets, and Habersects, that is to say, two Yards within the Lists.( 3.) And it shall be of Weights as it is of Measures.   

CHAP. XXVI.  
Inquisition of Life and Member.  
NOthing henceforth shall be given for a Writ of Inquisition, nor taken of him that prayeth Inquisition of Life, or of Member, but it shall be granted freely, and not denied.   

CHAP. XXVII.  
tenor of the King in Socage, and of another by Knights Service, petty Serjeantry.  
IF any do hold of us by free Farm, or by Socage or Bargage, and he-holdeth Lands of another by Knights Service, we will not have the Custody of his Heir, nor of his Land, which is holden of the Fee of another, by reason of that free Farm, Socage or Bargage.( 2.) Neither will we have the Custody of such Fee, Farm or Socage, or Bargage, except Knights Service be due unto us out of the same-free Farm.( 4.) We will not have the Custody of the Heir, or of any Land by occasion of any petty Serjeantry, that any man holdeth of us by Service, to pay a Knife, Arrow or the like.   

CHAP. XXVIII.  
Wager of Law shall not be without Witness.  
NO bailiff from henceforth shall put any man to his open Law, nor to an Oath, upon his own bare saying, without faithful Witnesses brought in for the same.   

CHAP. XXIX.  
None shall be condemned without trial: Justice shall not be sold or desered.  
NO Free-man shall be taken or imprisoned, or be dizseized of his Free-hold, or Liberties, or free Customs, or be outlawed or exiled, or any otherwise destroyed; nor we will not pass upon him, nor condemn him, but by lawful judgement of his Peers, or by Law of the Land.( 2.) We will sell to no man, we will not deny or defer to any man either Justice or Right.   

CHAP. XXX.  
Merchant strangers, coming into this Realm, shall be well used.  
ALL Merchants,( if they were not openly prohibited before) shall have their safe and sure Conduct to depart out of England, as to come into England, to tarry in and go through England, as well by Land as by Sea, to buy and sell without any manner of evil Tools, by the old and rightful Customs, except in time of War.( 2.) And if they be of a Land making war against us, and be found in our Realm at the beginning of the Wars, they shall be attached, without harm of Body and Goods, until all be known unto us, or our chief Justice, how our Merchants be entreated there in the Land making war against us.( 3.) And if our Merchants be well entreated there, theirs shall be likewise with us.   

CHAP. XXXI.  
tenor of a barony coming into the Kings hand by Escheat.  
IF any man hold of any Escheats, as of the honour of Wallingford, Nottingham, Boloin, or of any other Escheats, which be in our hand and our Barronys, and die, his Heir shall give none other Relief, nor do none other Service to Us, than he should have done to the baron, if it had been in the barons hands.( 2.) And we in the same wise should hold it as the baron held it, neither shall we have the occasion of any baron of or Escheat, any Escheat, or keeping of any of our men, unless he that held the barony or Escheat, otherwise held of us in Chief.   

CHAP. XXXII.  
Lands shall not be aliened to the Prejudice of the Lords Service.  
NO Free-man from henceforth shall give or sell any more of his Land, but so, that the residue of the Lands the Lord of the Fee may have the service due to him, which belongeth to the Fee.   

CHAP. XXXIII.  
Patrons of abbeys shall have the Custody of them in time of Vocation.  
ALl Patrons of abbeys which have the Kings Charter of England, of Advowson, or have old tenor or Possession of the same, shall have the Custody of them when they fall voided, as it hath been accustomend, and as it is afore declared.   

CHAP. XXXIV.  
In what only case a Woman shall have an Appeal of Death.  
NO man shall be taken or imprisoned upon the appeal of a Woman, for the death of any other than her Husband.   

CHAP. XXXV.  
At what time shall be kept a County Court, Sheriffs Turn and Leet.  
NO Country from henceforth shall be holden but from month to month; and where greater time hath been used, there shall be greater( 2.) Nor any Sheriff or his bailiff shall keep his Turn in the Hundred but twice in the year, and no where but in due place, and accustomend, that is to say, once after Easter, and again after the Feast of St. Michael, without occasion. So that every man hath his Liberties which he had, or used to have in the time of King Henry, our Grandfather, or which he purchased since.( 4.) The view of Frank-pledge shall be so done, that so our Peace may be kept.( 5.) And that the tithing be wholly kept, as it hath been accustomend.( 6) And that the Sheriff seek no occasions, and that he be content with so much as the Sheriff was wont to have for his Viewmaking in the time of King Henry our Grandfather.   

CHAP. XXXVI.  
No Land shall be given in Mortmane.  
IT shall not be lawful from henceforth, to any, to give his Lands to any Religious House, and to take the same Land again to hold of the same House; nor shall it be lawful to any House of Religion to take the Lands of any, and to lease the same to him of whom he received it: If any from henceforth give his Lands to any Religious House, and thereupon be convict, the gift shall be utterly voided, and the Land shall accrue to the Lord of the Fee.   

CHAP. XXXVII.  
● Subsidy in respect of this Charter, and the Charter of the forest, granted to the King.  
EScuage from henceforth shall be taken, like as it was wont to be in the time of King Henry, our Grand-father, reserving to all Arch-Bishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, rollers, Hospitalers, Earls, barons, and all Persons, as well Spiritual as Temporal, all their free Liberties and free Customs, which they have had in times past.( 2.) And all these Customs and Liberties aforesaid, which we have granted to be holden within this our Realm, as well spiritual as Temporal, to Us and our Heirs, We shall observe.( 3.) And all men of this our Realm, as well Spiritual as Temporal,( as much as in them is) shall observe the same, against all Persons in likewise. ( 4.) And for this our Gift and Grant of these Liberties, and of others contained in our Charter of Liberties of Our forest, the Arch-Bishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls, barons, Knights, Free-holders, and other our Subjects, have given unto us the fifteenth part of all their movables.( 5.) And neither We nor Our Heirs shall procure or do any thing whereby the Liberties, in this Charter contained, shall be infringed or broken.( 6.) And if any thing be procured by any Person, contrary to the Premises, it shall be had of no force nor effect, those being Witnesses, Lord B. Arch-Bishop of Canterbury, E. Bishop of London, &c. We ratifying and approving these Gifts and Gra●●● aforesaid, Confirm and make strong all the sam● for Us and Our Heirs perpetually. And by th● tenor of these presents do renew the same, willing and granting for us and our Heirs, that thi● Charter, and all and singular his Articles, forever shall be steadfastly, firmly and inviolably observed. In Witness whereof we have caused these our Letters patents to be made, T. Edward, our Son at Westminster the twenty eighth day of March, in the twenty eighth year of our Reign.   

The COMMENT on Magna CHARTA.  
THis excellent Law holds the first place in our Statute Books, for though there were, no doubt, many Acts of Parliament long before this, yet they are not now extant; 'tis called Magna Charta, or the great Charter, not in respect of its bulk, but in regard of the great importance and weight of the matters therein contained; it is also styled, Charta Libertatum Regni, The Charter of the Liberties of the Kingdom; And upon great Reason( saith Cook in his Proem) is so called, from the effect, quia Liberus facit, because it makes and preserves the People free. Though it run in the style of the King, as a Charter, yet( as my L. Cook well observes on the 38 chap.) it appears to have passed in Parliament; for there was then a fifteenth granted to the King by the Bishops, Earls, barons, free Tenants and People, which could not be, but in Parliament, nor was it unusual in those times to have Acts of Parliament in a form of a Charter, as you may red in the Princes Case, Coo. Rep. l. 8.  
Likewise, though it be said here, That the King hath given and granted these Liberties, yet they must not be understood as mere Emanations of Royal favour, or new Bounties granted, which the People could not justly challange, or had not a right unto before; for the Lord Cook in divers places asserts, and all Lawyers know, that this Charter is for the most part only Declaratory of the principal ground of the Fundamental Laws and Liberties of England; No new Freedom is hereby granted, but a Restitution of such as lawfully they had before, and to free them of what had been usurped and encroached upon them by any Power whatsoever; and therefore you may see this Charter often mentions sua jura, their Rights and Liberties, which shows they had them before, and that the same now were confirmed.  
As to the occasion of this Charter, it must be noted, that our Ancestors, the Saxons, had with a most equal poise and Temperament, very wisely contrived their Government, and made excellent Provisions for their Liberties, and to preserve the People from Oppression; and when William, the Norman, made himself Master of the Land, though he be commonly called the Conqueror, yet in truth he was not so, and I have known several Judges that would reprehend any Gentleman at the Bar that casually gave him that Title; for though he killed Harreld the Usurper, and routed his Army, yet he pretended a right to the Kingdom, and was admitted by compact, and did take an Oath to observe the Laws and Customs.  
But the truth is, he did not perform that Oath so as he ought to have done,& his Successor William Rufus, King Stephen, Henry the 1st& Richard likewise made frequent encroachments upon the Liberties of their People; but especially King John made use of so many illegal devices to drain them of Money, that wearied with intolerable Oppressions, they resolved to oblige the King to grant them their Liberties, and promise the same should be observed, which King John did in Running-Mead between Saints and Windsor, by two Charters, one called, Charta Libertatum, The Charter of Liberties( the form of which you may red in Matthew Paris, fol. 246. and is in effect the same with this here recited) the other, The Charter of the forest, Copies of which he sent into every County, and commandeth the Sheriff, &c. to see them fulfilled.  
But by ill Council he quickly after began to violate them as much as ever, whereupon Disturbances and great Miseries arose, both to himself and the Realm. The Son and Successor of this King John, was Henry the third, who in the 19th Year of his Reign, renewed and confirmed the said Charters; but within two Years after canceled them by the pernicious Advice of his Favourites, particularly Hubert de Burgh, whom he had made Lord chief Justice; one that in former times had been a great lover of his Country, and a well-deserving Patriat, as well as learned in the Laws, but now to make this a step to his Ambition( which ever Rideth without Reins) persuaded and humoured the King, that he might avoid the Charters of his Father King John, by duresse, and his own Great Chatrer, and Charta de Foresta also, for that he was within Age, when he granted the same; whereupon the King in the eleventh Year of his Reign, being then of full Age, got one of the Great Charters, and of the forest into his Hands, and by the Counsel principally of this Hubert his Chief Justice, at a Council holden at Oxford, unjustly canceled both the said Charters, notwithstanding the said Hubert de Burgh was the Primary Witness of all Temporal Lords to both the said Charters) whereupon he became in high favour with the King, insomuch that he was soon after ( viz. the 10th of December, in the 13th ●ear of that King) created( to the highest Dignity that in those times a Subject had) to be an Earl, viz. of Kent: But soon after( for Flatterers& Humorists have no sure foundation) he fell into the King's heavy Indignation, and after many fearful and miserable Troubles, he was justly, and according to Law, sentenced by his Peers in an open Parliament, and justly degraded of that Dignity, which he unjustly had obtained by his Counsel, for canceling of Magna Charta, and Charta de Foresta.  
In the 9th Chapter of this Great Charter, all the Ancient Liberties and Customs of London are confirmed and preserved, which is likewise done by divers other Statutes, as 14 Edw. 3. Chap. 2. &c.  
The 29th Chapter, NO FREE-MAN SHALL BE TAKEN, &c. Deserves to be written in Letters of Gold; and I have often wondered the Words thereof are not Inscribed in Capitals on all our Courts of Judicature, Town-Halls, and most public Edifices; they are the elixir of our English Freedoms, the Store-house of all our Liberties. And because my Lord Cook in the second part of his Institutes, hath many excellent Observations, his very Words I shall here Recite.  
This Chapter containeth Nine several Branches.  
First. That No man be taken or imprisoned, but per legem terrae; that is, by the Common-Law, Statute-Law, or Custom of England; for these words, per legem terrae, being towards the end of this Chapter, do refer to all the precedent matters in this Chapter; and this hath the first place, because the Liberty of a man's Person is more precions to him, than all the rest that follow, and therefore it is great Reason that he should by Law be relieved therein, if he be wronged, as hereafter shall be shewed.  
2dly. No man shall be desseised; that is, put out of Seisin, or dispossessed of his Free-hold, that is, Lands or Livelihood, or of his Liberties, or free Customs, that is, of such Franchises and Freedoms, and free Customs as belong to him, by his free Birth-right, unless it be by the the lawful judgement, that is, Verdict of his Equals( that is, of men of his own Condition) or by the Law of the Land, that is( to speak it once for all) by the due Course and Process of Law.  
3dly. No man shall be Out-lawed, made an Ex ●ex, put out of the Law, that is, deprived of the Benefit of the Law, unless he be Out-lawed according to the Law of the Land.  
4thly. No man shall be Exiled or Banished out of his Country, that is, nemo pr●●it patriam, no man shall lose his Country, unless he be Exiled according to the Law of the Land.  
5thly. No man shall in any sort be destroyed,( Destruere id est quod prius structum& factum fuit penitus Evertere Ex diruere) unless it be by the Verdict of his Equals, or according to the Law of the Land.  
6thly. No man shall be condemned at the King's Suite, either before the King in his Bench, where the Pleas are Coram Rege( and so are the words, nec supper eum ibimus, to be understood) nor before any other Commissioner or Judge whatsoever; and so are the words, nec supper eum Mitimus, to be understood, but by the judgement of his Peers, that is, equals, or according to the Law of the Land.  
7thly. We shall sell to no man Justice or Right.  
8thly. We shall deny to no man Justice or Right.  
9thly. We shall defer to no man Justice or Right.  
Each of these we shall briefly explain:  
1st; No man shall be taken,( that is) restrained of Liberty by Petition, or suggestion to the King or his Council, unless it be by Indictment or Presentment of good and lawful-men, where such Deeds be done. This Branch, and divers other parts of this Act, have been notably Explained and Construed by divers Acts of Parliament.  
2dly; No man shall be Disseised, &c. Hereby is intended that Lands, Tenements, Goods and Chattels, shall not be seized into the King's hands contrary to this Great Charter, and the Law of the Land; nor any man shall be disseised of his Lands or Tenements, or dispossessed of his Goods or Chattels, contrary to the Law of the Land.  
A Custom was alleged in the Town of C. that if the Tenant cease by two Years, that the Lord should enter into the Freehold of the Tenant, and hold the same until he were satisfied of the Arrearages. It was adjudged a Custom against the Law of the Land, to enter into a mans Freehold in that case, without Action or Answer.  
King Henry the 6th, granted to the Corporation of Dyers within London, Power to search, &c. And if they found any Cloth dyed with Log-Wood, that the Cloth should be forseit. And it was adjudged, that this Charter concerning the Forfeiture, was against the Law of the Land, and this Statute; for no Forfeiture can grow by Letters patents.  
No man ought to be put from his Livelihood, without Answer.  
3dly, [ No man Out-lawed] that is, barred to have the benefit of the Law. And note, to this word Out-lawed, these words, unless by the Law of the Land, do refer [ of his Liberties:] This word hath three Significations.  
1st, As it hath been said, it signifieth the Laws of the Realm, in which respect this Charter is called Charta Libertatum, as afore-said.  
2dly, It signifieth The Freedom the Subjects of England have: for example, the company of Merchant-Taylors of England, having power by their Charter to make Ordinances, made an Ordinance, That every Brother of the same Society should put the one half of his clothes to be dressed by some Cloath-worker free of the same Company, upon pain to forfeit ten Shillings, &c. And it was adjudged that this Ordinance was against Law, because it was against the Liberty of the Subject, for every Subject hath freedom to put his clothes to be dressed by whom he will, &c. sic de similibus. And so it is, if such, or the like Grant had been made by the Letters patents.  
3dly, Liberties signify the Franchizes& privileges, which the Subjects have of the Gift of the King, as the Goods& Chattels of felons, Out-laws, and the like, or which the Subject claims by Prescription, as Wrack, Waif, Stray, and the like.  
So likewise, and for the same Reason, if a Grant be made to any man, to have the sole making of Cards, or the sole dealing with any other Trade, that Grant is against the Liberty and Freedom of the Subject, that before did, or lawfully might have used that Trade, and consequently against this Great Charter.  
Generally all Monopolies are against this great Charter, because they are against the Liberty and Freedom of the Subject, and against the Law of the Land.  
4thly,[ No man Exiled] that is, banished, or forced to depart, or stay out of England, without his consent, or by the Law of the Land: No man can be exiled, or banished out of his Native Country, but either by Authority of Parliament, or in case of Abjuration for felony, by the Common-Law: And so when our Books, or any Records, speak of Exile or Banishment, other than in case of Abjuration, it is to be intended to be done by Authority of Parliament, as Belknap and other Judges, &c. banished into Ireland in the Reign of Richard the second.  
This is a beneficial Law, and is construed benignly; And therefore the King cannot sand any Subject of England against his Will to serve him out of the Realm, for that should be an Exile; and he should perdere patriam: No, he cannot be sent against his Will into Ireland, to serve the King or his Deputy there, because it is out of the Realm of England; for if the King might sand him out of his Realm to any place, then under pretence of Service, as Ambassador, or the like, he might sand him into the furthest parts of the World, whom being an Exile, is prohibited by this Act.  
5thly,[ No man destroyed] that is, Fore-judged of Life or Limbs, or put to torture or death; every Oppression against Law, by colour of any usurped Authority, is a kind of Destruction, and the words aliquo modo, any otherwise, are added to the verb destroyed, and to no other Verb. in this Chapter; and therefore all things, by any manner of means, tending to Destruction, are prohibited: As if a man be accused or indicted of Treason or felony, his Lands or Goods cannot be granted to any, no, not so much as by promise, nor any of his Lands or Goods seized into the Kings hand, before he is attained; for when a Subject obtaineth a promise of the forfeiture, many times undue means, and more violent Prosecution is used for private Lucre, tending to destruction, than the quiet and just proceeding of the Law would permit; and the party ought to live of his own until Attainder.  
6thly, [ By lawful judgement of his Peers] that is, by his equals, men of his own Rank and Condition. The general division of Persons, by the Law of England, is, either one that is Noble, and in respect of his Nobility, of the Lords House of Parliament, or one of the Commons, and in respect thereof, of the House of Commons in Parliament. And as there be divers degrees of Nobility, as Dukes, Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts and barons, and yet all of them are comprehended under this word Peers, and are Peers of the Realm; so of the Commons, they be Knights, Esquires, Gentlemen, Citizens and Yeomen, and yet all of them of the Commons of the Realm. And as every of the Nobles one is a Peer to another, though he be of a several degree, so it is of the Commons: and as it hath been said of Men, so doth it hold of Noble Women, either by Birth or Marriage.  
And forasmuch as this judgement by Peers is called lawful, it shows the Antiquity of this manner of trial: it was the ancient accustomend legal course long before this Charter.  
7thly, [ Or by the Law of the Land] that is, by due Process of Law, for so the Words are expressly expounded by the Statute of 37 Edw. 3. Chap. 8. and these Words are especially to be referred to those fore-going, to whom they relate; As, none shall be Condemned without a lawful trial by his Peers, so none shall be Taken, or Imprisoned, or put out of his Freehold, without due Process of the Law; that is, by the Indictment or Presentment of good and lawful men of the place, in due manner, or by Writ original of the Common-Law.  
Now, seeing that no man can be Taken, Arrested, Attached, or Imprisoned, but by due Process of Law, and according to the Law of the Land, these Conclusions hereupon do follow:  
1. That the Person or Persons which commit any, must have Lawful Authority.  
2. It is necessary that the Warrant or Mittimus be Lawful, and that must be in Writing under his Hand and Seal.  
3. The Cause must be contained in the Warrant, as for Treason, felony, &c. suspicion of Treason or felony, or the like particular Crime: for if it do not thus specify the Cause, if the Prisoner bring his Habeas Corpus, he must be discharged, because no Crime appears on the return; nor is it in such case any Offence at all, if the Prisoner make his escape, whereas if the Mittimus contain the Cause; the escape would respectively be Treason or felony, though in truth he were not Guilty of the first Offence, and this mentioning the Cause, is agreeable to Scripture, Acts 5.  
4. The Warrant or Mittimus, containing a lawful Cause, ought to have a lawful Conclusion, viz. And him safely to keep until he be delivered by Law, &c. and not until the party committing shall further order.  
If a man by colour of any Authority, where he hath not any in that particular case, shall presume to Arrest or Imprison any man, or cause him to be arrested or imprisoned, this is against this Act, and it is most hateful, when it is done by Countenance of Justice. King Edward the sixth did Incorporate the Town of St. Albans, and granted to them to make Ordinance, &c. they made a by-Law upon pain of Imprisonment, and it was adjudged to be against this Statute of Magna Charta; so it had been, if such an Ordinance had been contained in the patent itself.  
[ We will sell to no man, deny to no man, &c.] This is spoken in the Person of the King, who in judgement of Law in all Courts of Justice is present; and therefore every Subject of this Realm, for Injury done to him in Bonis, Terris, vel Persona, in Person, Lands or Goods, by any other Subject, Ecclesiastical or Temporal whatever he be, without exception, may take his Remedy by the Course of the Law, and have Justice and Right for the Injury done him, freely without Sale, fully without any denial, and speedily without delay; for Justice must have three Qualities, it must be Libera, free; for nothing is more odious then Justice set to sale; plena, full, for Justice ought not to limp, or be granted piecemeal and Celeris, speedily: quia Dilatio est quaedam negatio, Delay is a kind of denial: And when all these meet, it is both JUSTICE and RIGHT.  
[ We will not deny or delay any man, &c.] These Words have been excellently expounded by latter Acts of Parliament, that by no means Common-Right or Common-Law should be disturbed or delayed; no, though it be commanded under the Great Seal, or Privy Seal, Order, Writ, Letters, Message, or Commandment whatsoever, either from the King, or any other; and that the Justices shall proceed, as if no such Writs, Letters, Order, Message, or other Commandment were come to them; All our Judges swear to this: for 'tis part of their Oaths, so that if any shall be found wresting the Law to serve a Courts turn, they are Perjured, as well as Unjust; the common Laws of the Realm should by no means be delayed, for the Law is the surest Sanctuary that a man can take, and the strongest Fortress to protect the weakest of all; Lex est tutissima Cassis, the Law is a most safe Head-piece: And sub Ciypeo legis nemo decipitur, no man is deceived whilst the Law is his Buckler; but the King may stay his own svit; as a Capias pro fine, for he may respite his Fine, and the like.  
All Protections that are not Legal, which appear not in the Register, nor warranted by our Books, are expressly against this Branch, nulli differemus, we will not delay any man, as a protection under the Great Seal granted to any man directly to the Sheriff, &c. and commanding them, that they shall not Arrest him, during a certain time, at any other man's svit; which hath Words in it, Per praerogativam nostram quant nolumus esse Arguendam, by our Prerogative, which we will not have disputed; yet such Protections have been argued by the Judges, according to their Oath and Duty, and adjudged to be voided; as Mich. 11 H. 7. Rot. 124. a Protection granted to Holmes a Vintner of London, his Factors, Servants and Deputies, &c. resolved to be against Law, Pas. 7 H. 8. Rot. 66. such a Protection disallowed, and the Sheriff amerced for not Executing the Writ, Mich. 13. and 14 Eliz. in Hitchcock Case, and many other of latter time: And there is a notable Record of ancient time in 22 E. 1. John de marshals case; Non pertinet ad viceco●●●em de protectione Regis Judicare, imo ad Curiam.  
Justice or right] We shall not sell, deny or delay Justice and Right, neither the end, which is Justice; nor the mean whereby we may attain to the end, and that is the Law: Right is taken here for Law, in the same sense that Justice often is so called, 1. Because it is the right Line, whereby Justice distributive, is guided and directed; and therefore all the Commissioners of Oyer and Terminer, of Goal-delivery, of the Peace, &c. have this clause, Facturi quod Justitiam pertinet, secundum legem& consuetudinem Angliae, i.e. to do Justice and Right, according to the Rule of the Law& Custom of England;& that which is called common Right in 2 E. 3. is called common Law in 14 E. 3. &c. and in this sense it is taken, where it is said, Ita quod stat Rectus in Curia, id est Legi in Curia.  
2. The Law is called Rectum, because it discovereth that which is tort, crooked or wrong; for as Right signifieth Law, so tort, crooked or wrong signifieth Injuries, and Injuria est contra Jus, Injury is against Right. Recta linea est index sui& obliqui, a right line is both declaratory of itself and the obliqne. Hereby the crooked Cord of that which is called discretion appeareth to be unlawful, unless you take it, as it ought to be, discretio est discernere per Legem, quid sit Justum, discretion is to discern by the Law what is just.  
It is called Right, because it is the best Birthright the Subject hath, for thereby his Goods, Lands, Wife& Children, his Body, Life, Honour& Estimation are protected from Injury& wrong. mayor Haereditas venit unicunque nostrum a Jure& Legibus, quam a Parentibus; A greater Inheritance descends to us from the Laws, than from our Progenitors.  
Thus far the very words of that Oracle of our Law, the sage and learned Cook; which so fully and excellently explains this incomparable Law, that it will be superfluous to add any thing further thereunto.   

A Confirmation of the Charters of the Liberties of England, and of the forest, made in the 35th Year of Edward the first.  
EDward, by the Grace of God, K. of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of guian, to all those these present Letters shall hear or see, greeting.  
Know ye, that we to the honour of God, and of holy Church, and to the profit of our Realm, have granted for us and our Heirs, that the Charter of Liberties, and the Charter of the forest; which were by common consent of all the Realm, in the time of K. Henry our Father, shall be kept in every point without breach. And we will that the same Charter shall be sent under our Seal, as well to our Justices of the forest, as to others, and to all Sheriffs of Shires, and to all our other Officers, and to all our Cities throughout the Realm, together with our Writs, in which it shall be contained, that they cause the aforesaid Charters to be published, and to declare to the People, that we have confirmed them in all points. And that our Justicers, Sheriffs and Mayors, and other Ministers, which under us have the Laws of our Land to guide, shall allow the same Charters pleaded before them in judgement in all their points, that is to say, the great Charter as the common Law, and the Charter of the forest for the Wealth of our Realm.  
Chap. 2. And we will, that if any judgement be given from henceforth contrary to the points of the Charters aforesaid, by the Justicers, or any other our Ministers that hold plea before them, against the points of the Charters, it shall be undone and holden for nought.  
Cap. 3. And we will, that the same Charters shall be sent under our Seal, to Cathedral Churches throughout our Realm, there to remain, and shall be red before the People two times by the year.  
Cap. 4. And that all Arch-Bishops& Bishops shall pronounce the sentence of Excommunication against all those that by word, dead or council, do contrary to the aforesaid Charters, or that in any point break or undo them. And that the said Curses betwice a year denounced and published by the Prelates aforesaid. And if the same Prelates, or any of them, be remiss in the denunciation of the said Sentences, the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury and York for the time being, shall compel and distrain them to the Execution of their Duties in form aforesaid.  
Cap. 5. And for so much as divers People of our Realm are in fear, that the Aids and Tasks which they have given to us before time, towards our Wars, and other business, of their own grant, or good will( however they were made) might turn to a bondage to them and their Heirs, because they might be at another time found in the Rolls, and likewise for the prizes taken throughout the Realm by our Ministers, We have granted for us and our Heirs, that we shall draw no such Aids, Tasks nor Prizes into a Custom, for any that hath been done heretofore, be it by Roll or any other President that may be found.  
Cap. 6. Moreover, we have granted for us and our Heirs, as well to Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, and other folk of holy Church, as also to Earls, Barons, and to all the Commonality of the Land, that for no business hence-forth, we shall take such manner of Aids, Tasks or Prizes, but by the common assent of the Realm, and for the common profit thereof; saving the ancient Aids and Prizes due and accustomend.  
Cap. 7. And for so much as the more part of the Commanality of the Realm find themselves fore grieved with the Maletot of Wools, that is to wit, a Toll of 40 s. for every Sack of Wool, and have made Petition to us for to release the same: We at their Request have clearly released it, and have granted for us and our Heirs, that we shall not take such things, without their common consent and good will, saving to us and our heirs the Custom of Wools, Skins and Leather, granted before by the Commonality ●foresaid.  
In Witness of which things we have caused our Letters to be patent, Witness Edward our Son, at London the 10th of October; and the twenty fifth year of our Reign.   

The Sentence of the Clergy against the breakers of the Articles above written.  
IN the Name of the Father, the Son and the holy Ghost, Amen. Whereas our sovereign Lord the King, to the honour of God and of holy Church, and for the common profit of the Realm, hath granted for him& his Heirs ●orever, these Articles above written; Robert, Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of all England, admonisheth all his Province once, twice and thrice; Because that shortness will not suffer so much delay, as to give knowledge to all the People of England of these presents in writing. We therefore enjoin all pers●ns, of what Estate soever they be, that they and every of them, as much as in them is, shall uphold& maintain these Articles granted by our Sov. Ld. the K. in all points. And all those that in any point do resist or break, or in any manner hereafter procure, counsel, or any ways assent to resist or break those Ordinances, or go about it, by word or dead, openly or privily, by any manner of pretence or colour: We the foresaid Arch-bishop, by our Authority in this writing expressed, do excommunicate& accurse, and from the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and from all the Company of Heaven, and from all the Sacraments of holy Church, do sequester and exclude.  
NB. It may be observed that this Curse is left out of our late printed Statute-Books, tho' inserted at large in that printed in 3 Vol. in Q. Eliz. days, anno 1557. There is likewise another like dreadful, but more full and express Curse, solemnly pronounced before in the time of K. Henry 3. which also being omitted in our modern Statute-Book, I shall here add.   

The Sentence or Curse given by the Bishops against the Breakers of the great Charter.  
IN the Year of our Lord 1253. the 3d day of May, in the great Hall of the K. at Westminster, in the presence and by the assent of the Lord Henry, by the Grace of God K. of England,& the Ld Richard Earl of Cornwall his Brother, Roger Bigot Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk, Marshal of England, humphrey Earl of Hereford, Henry Earl of Oxford, John Earl Warren, and other Estates of the Realm of England: W. Boniface, by the mercy of God Arch-bishop of Canterbury, Primate of all England, F. of London, H. of Ely, S. of Worcester, E. of Lincoln, W. of Norwich, G. of Hereford, W. of Salisbury, W. of Durham, R. of Exeter, M. of carlisle, W. of Bath, E. of Rochester, T. of St. Davids: Bishops apparelled in Pontificials, with Tapers burning, against the breakers of the Churches Liberties, and of the Liberties or other Customs of the Realm of England, and namely those which are contained in the Charter of the common Liberties of England, and Charter of the forest, have denounced the sentence of Excommunication in this form. By the Authority of Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the holy Ghost, and of the glorious Mother of God, and perpetual Virgin Mary, of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and of all Apostles, and of all Martyrs, and of blessed Edward, K. of England, and of all the Sts of Heaven, we Excommunicate, accurse,& from the benefits of our holy Mother the Church, we sequester all those that hereafter willingly& maliciously deprive or spoil the Church of her Right; and all those that by any craft or wiliness do violate, break, diminish or change the Churches Liberties, and free Customs contained in the Charters of the common Liberties,& of the forest, granted by our L. the King, to Arch-bps, Bps, and other Prelates of England, and likewise to the Earls, Barons, Knights, and other Free-holders of the Realm: And all that secretly or openly, by dead word or council, do make Statutes, or observe them being made, and that bring in Customs, or keep them when they be brought in, against the said Liberties or any of them; and all those that shall presume to judge against them. All and every which persons beforementioned, that witting shall commit any of the Premises, let them know, that they incur the foresaid Sentence, ipso facto.  
So zealous were our Ancestors to preserve their Liberties from encroachments, that they employed all the strength of human Policy and religious Obligations to secure them entire and inviolate. And I declare ingenuously, I would not for the world incur this Curse, as every man deservedly doth, that offers violence to the fundamental Freedoms thereby repeated and confirmed.    

A Statute made Anno 34 Edw. 1. commonly called de Tallegeo non Concendendo.  
Cap. 1. NO Tallage or Aid shall be taken or levied by us or our Heirs in our Realm, without the good will and assent of Arch-Bishops, Bishops, Earls, Barons, Knights, Burgesses,& other Free men of the Land.  
Cap. 2. No Officer of ours, or of our Heirs, shall take Corn, Leather, Cattle, or any other Goods of any manner of Person, without the good will and assent of the party to whom the goods belonged.  
Cap. 3. Nothing from henceforth shall be taken of Sacks of Wool, by colour or occasion of maletot.  
Cap. 4. We will grant for us and our Heirs, That all Clerks and Lay-men of our Land, shall have their Laws, Liberties and free Customs as largely and wholly as they have used to have the same at any time when they had them best.( 2.) And if any Statutes have been made by us& our Ancestors, or any Customs brought in contrary to them, or any manner of Article contained in this present Charter: We will and grant that such manner of Statutes and Customs shall be voided and frustrate for evermore.  
Cap. 5. Moreover, we have pardoned humphrey Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex, Constable of England, Roger Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk, Marshal of England, and other Earls, Barons, Knights, Esquires, and namely John de Ferrariis, with other being of their fellowship, confederacy and bond, and also of other that hold 20 l. Land in our Realm, whether they hold of us in chief or of others, that were appointed at a day certain to pass over with us into Flanders, the rancour and evil will born against us, and all other Offences, [ if any they have committed] against us, unto the making of this present Charter.  
Cap. 6. And for the more assurance of this thing, we will and grant that all Arch-Bps and Bps forever, shall red this present Charter in Cathedral Churches twice in the year, and upon the reading thereof in every of their Parish Churches shall openly denounce accursed all those that willingly do procure to be done any thing contrary to the tenor, force and effect of this present Charter in any point. In witness of which thing, we have set our Seal to this present Charter, together with the Seals of the Arch-Bps, Bps, which voluntarily have sworn, that as much as in them is, they shall observe the tenor of this present Charter.  

The Comment.  
THe word Tallage is derived from the French word Tailler, to share or cut out a part,& is metaphorically used for any Charge, when the King or any other does cut out or take away any part or share out of a mans Estate;& being a general word, it includes all Subsidies, Taxes, Tenths, Aids, Impositions, or other Charges whatsoever.  
The word Maletot signifies an Evil( i.e. unjust) Toll, Custom, Imposition, or Sum of Money.  
The occasion of making this Statute, was this, K. Edward being injured by the French King, resolves to make War against him, and in order thereunto requires of humphrey le Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex, and Constable of England, and of Roger Bigot, Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk, and Marshal of England, and of all the Earls, Barons, Knights, Esquires, and Freeholders of 20 l. Land, whether they held of him in Capite, to contribute towards such his expedition, that is, to go in person, or find sufficient men in their places, in his Army; which the Constable and Marshal, and many of the Knights and Esquires, and especially this John Ferrers taking part with them and a●● the Free-men, stoutly denied, unless it were so ordained and determined by common consent in Parliament, according to Law. And it seems the Contest grew so hot, that Bakers Chronicle, fol. 99. relates a strange Dialogue that passed-between them, viz. That when the Earl Marshal  told the King, That if his Majesty pleased to go in Person, he would then go with him,& march before him in the Van-Guard, as by right of Inheritance he ought to do; but otherwise he would not stir. The King  told him plainly, He should go with any other, tho' he went not in Person. I am not so bound( saith the Earl) neither will I take that Journey without you. The King swore, By God, Sir Earl, you shall either go or Hang. And I swear by the same Oath( said the Earl) I will neither go nor hang. And so the King was forced to dispatch his Expedition without them. And yet( saith my L. Cook) altho' the K. had conceived a deep displeasure against the Constable, Marshal, and others of the Nobility, Gentry and Commons of the Realm, for denying that which he so much desired, yet, for that they stood in defence of their Laws, Liberties and free Customs, the said K. Edw. 1st. who( as Sir Will. Herle chief Justice of the Common Pleas, who lived in his time,& served him, said in the time of K. Edw. 3.) was the wisest King that ever was; did after his return from beyond the Seas, not only consent to this Statute, whereby all such Tallages and Impositions are forbidden for the future, but also passes a Pardon to the said Nobles, &c. of all Rancour, Ill will& Transgressions,[ if any they have committed] which last words were added, lest by acceptance of a Pardon of Transgression, they should implicitly confess that they had transgressed. So careful were the Lords and Commons in former times to preserve the ancient Laws, Liberties and free Customs of their Country.    

●● abstract of the patent granted by the King to William pen, and his Heirs and Assigns.  
WE do give and grant( upon divers considerations) to William pen his Heirs& Assigns forever all that tract of Land in America with all Islands thereunto belonging That is to say from the beginning of the fortieth degree of North Latitude unto the forty third degree of North Latitude whose Eastern bounds from twelve English Miles above New-Castle( alias Delaware Town) runs all along upon the side of Delaware-River.  
2. Free and undisturbed use and passage into& out of all Harbours Bays Waters Rivers Isles and Inlets belonging to or leading to the same Together with the soil Fields Woods Underwoods Mountains Hills fens Isles Lakes Rivers Waters Rivulets Bays and Inlets situate in or belonging unto the limits and bounds aforesaid Together with all sorts of Fish Mines Mettles, &c. To have& to hold to the only behoof of the said William pen his Heirs and Assigns forever To be holden of us as of our Castle of Windsor in free and common soccage paying only 2 Beaver skins yearly.  
3. And of our further Grace we have thought sit to erect and we do hereby erect the aforesaid Country and Islands into a Province& signory and do call it Pennsilvania and so from henceforth we will have it called.  
4. That reposing special confidence in the wisdom and justice of the said W. pen we do grant to him and his Heirs and their Deputies for the good and happy Government thereof to ordain and enact and under his and their Seals to publish any Laws whatever for the public uses of the said Province by and with the advice and approbation of the Free holders of the said Country or their delegates so as they be not repugnant to the Law of this Realm& to the Faith& allegiance due unto us by the legal Government thereof.  
5. Full power to the said W. pen, &c. to appoint Judges Leiutenants Justices Magistrates and Officers for what causes soever& with what Power and in such Form as to him seems convenient also to be able to pardon& abolish Crimes and Offences and to do all and every other thing that to the complete establishment of Justice unto Courts and Tribunals forms of Judicature and manner of Proceedings do belong And our pleasure is& so we enjoin& require that such Laws and Proceedings shall be most absolute and available in Law and that all the liege People of us our Heirs and Successors inviolably keep the same in those parts saving to us final Appeals.  
6. That the Laws for regulating Property as well for the discent of Lands as enjoyment of Goods and Chattels and likewise as to Felonies shall be the same there as here in England until they shall be altered by the said W. pen his Heirs or Assigns and by the Free-men of the said Province or their delegates or deputies or the greater part of them.  
7. Furthermore that this new Colony may the more happily increase by the multitude of People resorting thither therefore we for us our Heirs and Successors do hereby grant licence to all the liege People present& future of us, &c.( excepting such as shall be specially forbidden) to transport themselves and Families into the said Country there to inhabit& plant for the public and private good.  
8. Liberty to transport what goods or commodities are not forbidden paying here the legal Customs due to us, &c.  
9. Power to divide the Country into Counties Hundreds and Towns to incorporate Towns into Burroughs and Burroughs into Cities to make Fairs and Markets with convenient privileges according to the merit of the Inhabitants or the fitness of the place And to do all other thing or things touching the Premises which to the said W. pen his Heirs or Assigns shall seem meet and requisite albeit they be such as of their own nature might otherwise require a more special comandment& warrant than in these presents is expressed.  
10. Liberty to import the growth or Manufactures of that Province into England paying here the legal Duty.  
11. Power to erect Harbours Creeks Havens keys and other places of merchandises with such Jurisdiction and privileges as to the said W. pen, &c. shall seem expedient.  
12. Not to break the Acts of Navigation neither governor nor Inhabitants upon the penalties contained in the said Acts.  
13. Not to be in League with any Prince or Country that is in War against us our Heirs and Successors.  
14. Power of safety and defence in such way and manner as to the said W. pen, &c. seems meet.  
15. Full power to assign alien grant demise or enfeoff of the Premises so many and such parts and parcels to those that are willing to purchase the same as the said William pen thinks fit to have and to hold to them the said Persons their Heirs or Successors in fee simplo or fee Tail or for term of Life or Lives or years to be held of the said Will. pen, &c. as of the said signory of Windsor by such Services Customs and Rents as shall seem fit to the said W. P. his Heirs& Assigns and not immediately of us our Heirs or Successors and that the said Persons may take the Premises or any parcel thereof of the said W. pen, &c. and the same hold to themselves their Heirs and Assigns the Statute Quia emptoroes Terrarum in any wise notwithstanding.  
16. We give& grant licence to any of those Persons to whom the said W. P. &c. has granted any Estate of Inheritance as aforesaid with the consent of the said W. P. to erect any parcel of Lands within the said Province into manors to hold Courts baron& view of Frank-pledge, &c. by themselves or Stewards.  
17. Power to those Persons to grant to others the same tenors in fee simplo or otherwise to be held of the said manors respectively and upon all further Alienations the Land to be held of the Mannor that it held of before the Alienation.  
18. We do covenant& grant to and with the said W. P. his Heirs and Assigns that we will not set or make any Custom or other Taxation upon the Inhabitants of the said Province upon Lands Houses Goods Chattels or merchandises except with the consent of the Inhabitants& Governor.  
19. A charge that no Officers nor Ministers of us our Heirs& Successors do presume at any time attempt any thing to the contrary of the Premifes or in any sort withstand the same but that they be at all times aiding to the said W. P. and his Heirs and to the Inhabitants and Merchants their Factors and Assigns in the full use and benefit of this our Charter.  
20. And if any doubts or questions shall hereafter arise about the true sense or meaning of any word clause or sentence contained in this our Charter we will ordain and command that at all times and in all things such Interpretation be made thereof and allowed in any of our Courts whatsoever as shall be adjudged most advantageous and favourable to the said W. P. his Heirs and Assigns so as it be not against the Faith and Allegiance due to us our Heirs and Successors. In Witness whereof we have caused our Letters to be made patents. Witness ourself at Westminster the fourth day of March, Anno Dom. 1681.   

The Frame of the Government of the Province of Pennsilvania and Territories thereunto annexed, in America.  
To all Persons to whom these presents may come;  
WHereas King Charles the second by his Letters patents under the great Seal of England, bearing date the fourth day of March, in the thirty third year of the KING, for divers Considerations therein mentioned, hath been graciously pleased to give and grant unto me William pen, by the name of William pen, Esquire, Son and Heir of Sir William pen deceased, and to my Heirs and Assigns forever, all that tract of Land or Province called Pennsilvania in America, with divers great Powers, Pre-eminences, Royalties, Jurisdictions and Authorities, necessary for the well-being and good Government thereof. And whereas the Kings dearest Brother James Duke of York and Albany, &c. by his Deeds of Feoffment under his hand and seal, duly perfected, bearing date the 24th of August, 1682. he hath granted unto me the said William pen my Heirs and Assigns all that Tract of Land, lying and being from twelve miles northward of New-Castle upon Delaware River, in America, to scape Henlopen upon the said River and Bay of Delaware, southward, together with all Royalties, Franchises, Duties, Jurisdictions, Liberties and privileges thereunto belonging.  
Now know ye, That for the well-being and good Government of the said Province and Territories thereunto annexed, and for the Encouragement of all the Free-men and Planters that may be therein concerned, in pursuance of the Rights and Powers afore-mentioned, I the said William pen have declared, granted and confirmed, and by these presents for me, my Heirs and Assigns, do declare, grant and confirm unto all the Free-men, Planters, and Adventurers of, in and to the said Province and Territories thereof, these Liberties, Franchises and Properties, so far as in me Iyeth, to be held, enjoyed and kept by the Free-men, Planters and Adventurers of and in the said Province of Pennsilvania and Territories thereunto annexed, forever.  
Imprimis, That the Government of this Province and Territories thereof, shall from time to time( according to the Powers of the patent, and Deeds of Feoffment aforesaid) consist of the Proprietary and governor, and the Free-men of the said Province and Territories thereof in the form of a Provincial Council and Assembly, which ●rovincial Council shall consist of eighteen Persons, being three out of each County, and which Assembly shall consist of thirty six Persons, being six out of each County, men of most note, for Virtue, Wisdom, and Ability, by whom all Laws shall be made, Officers chosen and public Affairs transacted, as is hereafter limited and declared.  
2dly. There being three Persons already chosen for every respective County of this Province, and Territories therof, to serve in Provincial Council, one of them for three Years, one for two Years, and one for one Year, and one of them being to go off Yearly in every County. That on the tenth Day of the first month yearly forever after, the Free-men of the said Province and Territories thereof, shall meet together in the most convenient place in every County of this Province, and Territories thereof, then and there choose one Person, qualified as aforesaid, in every County, being one third of the number to s●●ve in Provincial Council for three Years, it being intended that one third of the whole Provincial Council consisting, and to consist of eighteen Persons falling off yearly, it shall be yearly supplied by such new yearly Elections, as aforesaid, and that one Person shall not continue longer than three Years; and in case any Member shall decease before the last Election, during his time, that then at the next Election ensuing his decease, another shall be chosen to supply his place for the remaining time he was to have served, and no longer.  
3dly. That after the first seven Years, every one of the said third parts that goeth yearly off, shall be incapable of being chosen again for one whole Year following, that so all that are capable and qualified, as aforesaid, may be fitted for Government, and have a share of the care and burden of it.  
4thly. That the Provincial Council in all cases and matters of moment, as their arguing upon Bills to be past into Laws, or proceedings about erecting of Courts of Justice, sitting in judgement upon Criminals impeached, and choice of Officers in such manner as is herein after expressed, not less than two thirds of the whole, shall make a Quorum, and that the consent and approbation of two thirds of that Quorum shall be had in all such Cases or Matters of Moment. And that in all cases and matters of lesser moment, one third of the whole shall make a Quorum, the Majority of which shall and may always determine in such Cases and Causes of lesser moment.  
5thly. That the governor and Provincial Council shall have the Power of preparing and proposing to the Assembly hereafter mentioned, all Bills which they shall see needful, and that shall at any time be past into Laws within the said Province and Territories thereof, which Bills shall be published, and affixed to the most noted place in every County of this Province and Territories thereof twenty days before the meeting of the Assembly, in order to passing them into Laws.  
6thly. That the governor and Provincial Council shall take care that all Laws, Statutes and Ordinances which shall at any time be made within the said Province and Territories, be duly and diligently executed.  
7thly. That the governor and Provincial Council shall at all times have the care of the Peace and Safety of this Province, and Territories thereof; and that nothing be by any Person attempted to the Subversion of this frame of Government.  
8thly. That the governor and Provincial Council shall at all times fettle and order the situation of all Cities and Market-Towns in every County, modeling therein all public Buildings, Streets, and Market-places, and shall appoint all necessary Roads and High-ways in this Province and Territories thereof.  
9thly. That the governor and Provincial Council shall at all times have power to inspect the management of the public Treasury, and punish those who shall convert any part thereof to any other use, than what hath been agreed upon by the governor, Provincial Council and Assembly.  
10thly. That the governor and Provincial Council shall erect and order all public Schools, and encourage and reward the Authors of useful Sciences, and laudable Inventions in the said Province and Territories thereof.  
Council residing with the governor, shall with the governor from time to time have the care of the management of all public Affairs, relating to the Peace, Justice, Treasury, Trade& Improvement of the Province and Territories, and to the good Education of Youth, and Sobriety of the Manners of the Inhabitants therein, as aforesaid.  
12thly. That the governor or his Deputy shall always preside in the Provincial Council, and that he shall at no time therein perform any public Act of State whatsoever, that shall or may relate unto the Justice, Trade, Treasury or Safety of the Province, and Territories as aforesaid, but by and with the Advice and Consent of the Provincial Council thereof.  
13thly. And to the end that all Bills prepared and agreed by the governor and Provincial Council, as aforesaid, may yet have the more full concurrence of the Free-men of the Province and Territories thereof, It is declared, granted and confirmed, that at the time and place in every County, for the choice of one Person to serve in Provincial Council, as aforesaid, the respective Members thereof at their said Meeting, shall yearly choose out of themselves six Persons of note, for their Virtue, Wisdom and Ability, to serve in Assembly, as their Representatives, who shall yearly meet on the Tenth day of the third month, in the Capital Town or City of the said Province, unless the governor and Provincial Council shall think fit to appoint another place to meet in, where during eight days, the several Members may freely confer with one another, and if any of them see meet with a Committee of the Provincial Council, which shall be at that time purposely appointed to receive from any of them, Proposals for the alteration or amendment of any of the said proposed and promulgated Bills,& on the ninth day from their so meeting, the said Assembly, after their reading over of the proposed Bills by the Clerk of the Provincial Council, and the occasions and motives for them being opened by the Goververnour, or his Deputy, shall upon the Question by him put, give their Affirmative or Negative, which to them seemeth best, in such manner as is hereafter expressed, but not less than two thirds shall make a Q●orum in the passing of all Bills into Laws, and choice of such Officers as are by them to be chosen.  
14. That the Laws so prepared and proposed, as aforesaid, that are assented to by the Assembly, shall be enrolled as Laws of this Province and Territories thereof, with this style, By the governor, with the Assent and Approbation of the Free-men in Provincial Council and Assembly met. And from henceforth the Meeting, Sessions, Acts and Proceedings of the governor, Provincial Council and Assembly shall be styled and called, The Meeting, Sessions, Acts and Proceedings of the General Assembly of the Province of Pennsilvania, and the Territories thereunto belonging.  
15. And that the Representatives of the People in Provincial Council and Assembly, may in after Ages bear some proportion with the increase and multiplying of the People, the Numbers of such Representatives of the People may be from time to time increased and enlarged, so as at no time the number exceed seventy two for the Provincial Council, and two hundred for the Assembly; the appointment and proportion of which Number, as also the laying and methodizing of the choice of such Representatives in future time, most equally to the division of the Country, or number of the Inhabitants, is left to the governor and Provincial Council to propose, and the Assembly to resolve, so that the order of rotation be strictly observed, both in the choice of the Council, and the respective Committees thereof, viz. one third to go off, and come in yearly.  
16. That from, and after the Death of this Present governor, the Provincial Council shall together with the succeeding governor, erect from time to time standing Courts of Justice, in such Places and Number as they shall judge convenient for the good Government of the said Province and Territories thereof; and that the Provincial Council shall on the thirteenth day of the second month, then next ensuing, elect and present to the governor, or his Deputy, a double number of Persons, to serve for Judges, Treasurers, and Masters of the Rolls within the said Province and Territories, to contiue so long as they shall well behave themselves in those Capacities respectively, and the Free-men of the said Province in Assembly met, shall on the thirteenth day of the third month, yearly, elect, and then Present to the governor or his Deputy a double number of Persons to serve for Sheriffs, Justices of the Peace, and Coroners for the Year next ensuing, out of which respective Elections and Presentments the governor or his Deputy shall nominate and commissionate the proper number for each Office, the third day after the said respective Presentments, or else the first name in such Presentment for each Office, as aforesaid, shall stand and serve in that Office the time before respectively limited; and in case of Death or Default, such vacancy shall be supplied by the governor and Provincial Council in manner aforesaid.  
17. That the Assembly shall continue so long as may be needful to impeach Criminals fit to be there impeached, to pass such Bills into Laws as are proposed to them, which they shall think fit to pass into Laws, and till such time as the Governor and Provincial Council shall declare, That they have nothing further to propose unto them for their Assent and Approbation; and that declaration shall be a Dismiss to the Assembly for that time, which Assembly shall be notwithstanding capable of assembling together upon the summons of the governor and Provincial Council at any time during that year, if the Governor and Provincial Council shall see occasion for their so assembling.  
18. That all the Elections of Members or Representatives of the People, to serve in Provincial Council and Assembly, and all Questions to be determined by both or either of them, that relate to the choice of Officers,& all or any other Personal matters, shall be resolved and determined by the Ballot▪ and all things relating to the preparing and passing of Bills into Laws, shall be openly declared and resolved by the Vote.  
19. That at all times when the Proprietary and governor shall happen to be an Infant, and under the Age of one and twenty Years, and no Guardian or Commissioners are appointed in writing by the Father of the said Infant, or that such Guardian shall be deceased, that during such Minority, the Provincial Council shall from time to time, as they shall see meet, constitute and appoint Guardians and Commissioners, not exceeding three, one of which shall preside as Deputy and chief Guardian, during such Minority, and shall have and execute, with the consent of one of the other two, all the Power of a Governor in all public Affairs and Concerns of the said Province and Territories thereof, according to Charter; which said Guardian so appointed, 〈…〉 have the care and over-sight of the Estate of the said Minor, and be yearly accountable and responsible for the same to the Proyincial Council, and the Provincial Council to the Minor when of Age, or to the next Heir in case of the said Minor's death, for the Trust before expressed.  
20. That as often as any days of the Month mentioned in any Article of this Charter shall fall upon the First day of the Week, commonly called the Lords day, the business appointed for that day shall be deferred till the next day, unless in cases of Emergency.  
21. And for the Satisfaction and Encouragement of all Aliens, I do give and grant, that if any Alien, who is or shall be a purchaser, or who doth or shall inhabit in this Province or Territories thereof, shall decease at any time before he can well be naturalised, his Right and Interest therein shall notwithstanding descend to his Wife and Children, or other his Relations, be he Testate or Intestate, according to the Laws of this Province and Territories thereof, in such cases provided, in as free and ample manner, to all intents and purposes, as if the said Alien had been naturalised.  
22. And that the Inhabitants of this Province and Territories thereof may be accommodated with such Food and Sustenance as God in his Providence hath freely afforded, I do also further grant to the Inhabitants of this Province and Territories thereof, liberty to fowl and hunt upon the Lands they hold, or all other Lands therein, not enclosed, and to fish in all Waters in the said Lands, and in all Rivers and Rivulets in and belonging to this Province and Territories thereof, with liberty to draw his or their Fish to shore on any mans Lands, so as it be not to the detriment or annoyance of the Owner thereof, except such Lands as do lye upon Inland Rivulets that are not boatable, or which are or may be hereafter erected into manors.  
23. And that all the Inhabitants of this Province and Territories thereof, whether purchaser or others, may have the last worldly Pledge of my good and kind Intentions to them and theirs, I do give, grant and confirm to all and every one of them full and quiet Enjoyment of their respective Lands to which they have any lawful or equitable Claim, saving only such Rents and Services for the same as are or customarily ought to be reserved to Me, my Heirs and Assigns.  
24. That no Act, Law or Ordinance whatsoever shall at any time hereafter be made or done by the Proprietary and governor of this Province and Territories thereunto belonging, his Heirs, and Assigns, or by the Free-men in Provincial Council or Assembly, to alter, change or diminish the form or effect of this Charter, or any part or clause thereof, contrary to the true intent and meaning thereof, without the consent of the Proprietary and governor, his Heirs or Assigns, and Six parts of Seven of the said Free-men in Provincial Council and Assembly met.  
25. And Lastly, I the said. William pen, Proprietary and governor of the Province of Pennsilvania& Territories thereunto belonging, for myself, my Heirs and Assigns, have solemnly declared, granted and confirmed, and do hereby solemnly declare, grant and confirm, that neither I, my Heirs or Assigns shall procure or do any thing or things whereby the Liberties in this Charter contained and expressed shall be infringed or broken: And if any thing be procured by any Person or Persons contrary to these Promises, it shall be held of no force or effect. In Witness whereof, I the said William pen at Philadelphia in Pennsilvania, have unto this present Charter of Liberties set my Hand and broad Seal this second day of the second month, in the Year of our Lord 1683. being the thirty fifth year of the King, and the third year of my Government.  
William pen.   

endorsed.  
THis within Charter which we have distinctly heard red, and thankfully received, shall be by us inviolably kept at Philadelphia, the 2d of the 2d month, 1683.  
The Members of the Provincial Council present. William Markham, Will. Clayton, James-Harrison, John Moll, Francis Whitwell, John Hillyard, Christop. tailor, Will. clerk, Phil. Lehmane, Sec. Will. Haige, Thomas holm, John Richardson, John Simcock, William Biles, Richard Ingelo, Cl. Concilij. The Members of the Assembly present; Casparus Harman, William Futcher, Robert Lucas, John. derby, John Kipshaven, James Williams, Benjamin Williams, Alexander Molestone, John Blunstone, William Guest, Robert Bra●y, John Songhurst, Valentine Hollinsworth, Tho. Bracy, John Hill, James Boyden, Will Yardly, Nichol●● Walln, Benony Biship, John H●stings, Tho. Fitzwater, John Bezor, Robert Wade, John Clows, John Harding, Fr. Hassold, Luke Watson, Andrew Brinkstone, John Hart, Joseph Phips, Simon Irons, Robert Hall, Dennis Rotchford, Jo. Wood, Robert Bedwell, John Brinklair, John Curtis, William Simsmore, Henry Bo 〈…〉, Daniel Brown, Sam. Dark, Cornelius Verhoof. John So●t●worth, Cl. Synod. Some of the Inhabitants of Philadelphia then present, William howel, Edward Warner, Henry Lewis, samuel Miles,   
FINIS.