Record Commission

“ VI. “At the End of every Session of Parliament, all the Public Acts are ingrossed into one great Roll by Bowyer, as Clerk of the Parliament; and the same Roll, being by him subscribed, he delivereth into the Chapel of the Rolls; which is thereupon there received, and placed among the Records of the Chancery, being the highest Record of the Kingdom, without any other Warrant than his Hand: Which Acts or Statutes so by him transcribed, do bind his Majesty’s Subjects of all Degrees for ever. ”

“ In Scotland it was the exclusive Privilege and official Duty of the Lord Clerk Register to enter the Acts of Parliament in the proper Record, and to give authentic Copies of them to the Sheriffs, Magistrates of Boroughs, and such as might demand them. A Precept is extant for proclaiming and publishing the Statutes of Robert I. in the Year 1318; and there exists also a Parliamentary Ordinance made in the Reign of David II. 1366, by which the Acts of that Parliament are directed to be sent under Royal Seal to each Sheriff to be by him publickly proclaimed. ”

“ With respect to Entries of Record, in these Periods, That has been judged to be the most authentic Evidence of a Statute, which has been preserved as a Record or authentic Copy from antient Times, in the Custody of the highest Courts authorized for that Purpose. Such are Copies or Extracts of particular Statutes found in the Close, Patent, Fine, and Charter Rolls, being Records of Chancery. Such also are the Red Books of the Exchequer of Westminster, and Dublin. ”

“ The Practice of certifying Private Acts into Chancery has not of late Years been uniformly observed, Copies being obtained from the Original Act in the Parliament Office: The Inconvenience attending this Irregularity has been partly remedied by the Introduction of a Clause at the end of some of the Local and Personal Acts, that the Act shall be printed by the King’s Printer, and that a Copy thereof so printed shall be Evidence; but many Local and Personal Acts are passed without this Clause. ”

“ Although no General Collection of the Statutes of England, or of Great Britain, has been hitherto published by Authority of the Crown or of the Parliament, it appears that Measures were carefully taken in former Times for collecting and authenticating the Legislative Acts, both of the Scottish and Irish Parliaments. ”

“ Thirdly, By noting the Omission, in other Copies, of a Word or Sentence inserted in the Text: In this Case the Word or Sentence in the Text is included between Crotchets with a Reference, and in the Note the Copies which omit such Word or Sentence are particularized.
The Entries on the Statute Rolls and Records of Chancery are very seldom broken into separate Paragraphs; though other Manuscripts are more frequently so divided. In all Cases where there is any Division of Paragraphs in the Record or Manuscript, the like Division has been made in the Transcript. ”

“ All the Statutes therefore which have been hitherto translated can be found only by uniting Pulton 1618 and Rastall 1618, together with Rastall’s English Collection, and the English Editions by Berthelet, Middleton, and Barker. Many Errors and Inconsistencies occur in all the Translations, resulting either from Misinterpretation, or from improper Omissions or Insertions; and there are many antient Statutes of which no Translation has ever yet been printed. ”

“ A Bill respecting Hunting, with “Le Roy s’avisera” indorsed, is contained in the Bundle of this First Year at the Parliament Office, as also a Recognizance, on Paper, from the Bishop of Coventry and Litchfield. In the same Bundle are also contained two Sets of Provisoes, but to what Acts they belong does not appear, nor are they contained in any Act of 1 Hen. VIII. on the Roll in Chancery.—There is also a separate single general Proviso in Favour of the Hanse Merchants, exempting them from the Operation of any Acts of that Session, which does not appear on the Roll in Chancery. ”

“ In 1762 an Address was presented by the House of Lords in Ireland to the Lord Lieutenant, requesting that the Statutes at Large of that Kingdom should be printed and published, under the Inspection of the Lord Chancellor and the Judges. [8] They were accordingly published in the year 1765, in Seven Volumes Folio, comprehending the Statutes from 3 Edw. II. to 1 George III.: with an Eighth Volume containing Tables of the Titles of the Statutes in the several Volumes, and of the Private Acts from 1 Henry VIII. to 1 George III. and an Alphabetical Index to the Statutes. ”

“ The Term “Old Translations” is applied to all published previous to the Year 1618; in which Year the Editions distinguished as Rastall’s and Pulton’s Statutes were both published: The Edition called Rastall’s, however, having followed the Current of several former Editions of the Statutes, is included in the Term “Old” Translations; and Pulton’s Translation being in many Parts new, and having been generally adopted by Cay and subsequent Editors, is therefore included in the Term “Modern.” ”

“ I. in the Town Clerk’s Office, London.—Thirdly, In inserting the Stops or Points which Blackstone omitted, but which are justified by the Originals, and which are material to the Sense; and in avoiding many Errors, which had crept into all prior Editions, even that of Blackstone himself, in consequence of the Transcripts and Examinations being intrusted, at different Places, to different Persons not all equally competent to the Task, and from the Collation of unauthenticated Manuscript Copies supposed to be of a Date much more antient than in Truth they are. ”

“ Pulton’s Plan
The earliest Instance of the Exertions of any Individual, without the Sanction of Parliamentary Authority, towards making a Collection of Statutes from authentic Sources, appears to have been afforded by Pulton.—He was a learned Barrister, of great Age and Experience, and was employed for several Years in the Consideration of the Statute Law. He published two useful Books upon that Subject: first, an Abridgement of the Penal Statutes;Catalogue A. No. 38, 44, 45. and afterwards a Calendar or Abstract of all the Statutes in use, chronologically arranged ”

“ King James the First, upon his Accession to the Throne of England, 1603-4, and in subsequent Periods of his Reign, recommended also to Parliament a Reform of all the Statute Law, and of the Penal Laws in particular. ”

“ In the British Museum is preserved a Manuscript Volume [10] containing the Plan of an elaborate Report, particularising the several Statutes, from the Statute of Westminster the First, 3 Ed. I. to 7 Jac. I. 1609, then actually repealed or expired, and also the Statutes thought fit either to be absolutely repealed, or to be repealed and new Laws to be made in their Place. Possibly this may be the very Work spoken of by Sir Francis Bacon. [11] It is drawn up as by Authority, with detailed Reasons for every proposed Measure ”

“ It is vouched throughout by reference to original Petitions and Rolls of Parliament, from 4 Edward III. the earliest known to the Writer to exist, to 27 Hen. VI. In this Treatise, the Form and Validity of Ordinances, as distinguished from Statutes, are stated much at length; and amongst other Things it is asserted that an Ordinance cannot make New or Permanent Law, nor repeal any Statute, but that temporary Provisions, consistent with the Law in force, may be made by way of Ordinance; and that an Ordinance may be repealed by a subsequent Ordinance without Statute. See Rot. Parl. ”

“ A compleat Enumeration of all Matters included in this Collection, whether as Text or in the Notes, is exhibited in a general Chronological Table of Contents prefixed to the Body of the Statutes; specifying the Source or Authority, from whence the Text, Notes, and Various Readings are respectively taken.
2. Other Matters of a Parliamentary Form and Character have been recognized at different Periods of our History, as appearing to have Legislative Authority. It has been observed by Lord Coke, that “Acts of Parliament are many times in form of Charters or Letters Patent;” ”

“ That it is highly expedient that all Original Acts, of which Transcripts have been duly certified into the Court of Chancery, should be lodged with the Clerk of the Parliaments: That a Writ of Certiorari should be immediately issued requiring the said Clerk to return the Tenor of all Acts, passed in this Kingdom since the Year 1711, into His Majesty’s Court of Chancery ”

“ Books and Manuscripts not of Record, containing Entries or Copies of Statutes, are very numerous. In the Court of Exchequer at Westminster are Three Books, marked IX. X. XI. Book X. contains many of the earlier Statutes previous to Edw. III: Books IX. XI. contain the Statutes from 1 Edw. III. to 7 Hen. VIII.
In the Town Clerk’s Office, at the Guildhall of the City of London, are several Manuscript Volumes ”

“ The like Observations apply to Pickering’s Edition; respecting which, however, it is material to notice, that of many of the obsolete, expired, or repealed Statutes or Parts of Statutes, a Translation only is given by Pickering, from the Edition by Pulton and that called Rastall’s 1618, with some Amendments; while the Latin or French Text, or an Abridgement in English, is given in the Editions by Hawkins, Cay, and Rufhead. ”

“ III.—Magna Carta and Carta de Foresta 9 Hen. III. The Carta de Foresta 2 Hen. III. is the earliest Charter of the Forest; the Original and all Authentic Records of which were supposed by Blackstone to be lost [4] . It is remarkable that in this Original is inserted a Clause which occurs in an Entry of this Charter on a Roll, formerly belonging to the Abbey of Hales Owen in Shropshire, communicated to Blackstone by Lord Lyttelton [5] ; and which is not inserted in the Carta de Foresta 9 Hen. III.
A Charter of the Date of 12 Nov. ”

“ That the Parliament Office is the proper Repository for the Original Acts passed in this Realm; and that Transcripts of the said Acts, certified in due Form, ought to be in the Rolls Office, there to remain of Record. ”

“ In 1531 Berthelet printed an Edition of the Antiqua Statuta, similar to the Editions by Pynson, with some Additions. In 1532 Berthelet also printed a Collection of Statutes previous to 1 Edw. III. not included in the the Antiqua Statuta. This Collection he entitled “Secunda Pars Veterum Statutorum,” and it is always so distinguished: It was frequently reprinted. The Statutes contained in it are in French and Latin respectively. ”

“ We being willing for certain reasons to be certified about the Tenour of a certain Act made and ordained in our Parliament at Westminster in the Fortieth Year of our Reign intituled “An Act for the Union of Great Britain and Ireland,” Command You, that the Tenor of the aforesaid Act with all things relating thereunto under Your Seal distinctly and openly without Delay You send to Us in our Chancery and this Writ. ”

“ One Judge, &c. and Three Counsel forming a Committee, to each of which it was proposed that a Title or Division of the Statute Law should be referred.
The Subject was afterwards taken into Consideration, so far as related to the Penal Laws, at subsequent Periods in the Reign of the same Queen, viz. Anno 27, A.D.1585. [2] —Anno 35, A.D. 1593. [3] —Anno 39 & 40, A.D. 1597. [4] —Anno 43, A.D. 1601. [5] —In the Proceedings in 1593 and 1597 Sir Francis BaconJac. I. Sir F. Bacon. took Part, and upon them he appears to have founded his Sketch, or Plan of a General Revisal of the Statute Law. ”