CHAPTER IV.

John Colton, Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1379. He was born in Torrington, Norfolk, and educated for the Church. When ordained, he became Chaplain to William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich, and his attainments were such, that in 148 he became first Master of Gonville Hall (now Caius College), Cambridge. In 1348, Colton took his degree of Doctor of Canon Law. Having remained for some years in Cambridge University, he obtained preferment, and was Prebendary of Bugthorp, in the Archdiocese of York. In 1373, he accepted the onerous office of Treasurer of Ireland and Dean of St. Patrick's, as successor to Dean Bromley. The Great Seal of Ireland was intrusted to his custody in 1379, and his duties appear as much military as civil or ecclesiastical. On the Viceroy, Earl of March, undertaking a progress to Munster in 1380, he was attended by the Lord Chancellor, who had for his guard, besides his personal attendants and clerks, four men-at-arms armed at all points, and eight archers on horseback, for whom he received an allowance of twelve pence a day for each man-at-arms, and sixpence for each archer. This journey was a melancholy one. The Lord Lieutenant died on December 2th, at the house of the Dominicans, at Cork. Next morning, the feast of St. John, the Chancellor and John Keppok, Justice of the King's Bench, sent letters to the Bishop of Ossory, Treasurer of Ireland, to James le Boteller, Earl of Ormond, and Gerald Fitz Morice, Earl of Desmond, to signify the death of the Lord Lieutenant, and requiring their presence to elect a Lord Justice in his place. On the assembling of the Peers and others of the Council, this office was offered to the Earls of Ormond and Desmond, but declined by those noblemen, who assigned as their reason, 'that they had sufficient occupation in defending their territories.' It was then offered to the Chancellor, who at first refused the honour, but at length accepted it, on condition that the Earls Of Ormond and Desmond and the other Peers and Prelates then present assisted him in the discharge of his duty, and that in the next Parliament he might be exonerated from the charge. He was sworn into office, and letters patent passed the Great Seal on January 20th following constituting him Lord Justice, with a salary of 500l. per annum. [Memorandum on Roll 5th Ric. II.] This salary was increased in a very complimentary manner by the King, who ordered him ten shillings a day in addition, in consequence of his singular virtues and great hospitality. I mention this for the especial attention of Chancellors, and I hope the hint will not be lost.

The patent to Dean Colton being revoked, William Tany, Prior of St. John, was again sworn in Lord Chancellor. On February 1, 1382, John Orrewell, the King's Serjeant-at-law, came to Kilkenny, and in the chamber and presence of Alexander, Bishop of Ossory, Treasurer of Ireland, and other persons, produced letters patent under the Great Seal of England to Friar William Tany, constituting him Chancellor of Ireland, who gratefully accepted the same, and was sworn in by the Bishop of Ossory. [Smyth's Law Officers of Ireland, p. 6.]

William Tany having relinquished the Great Seal, it was given to Alexander de Balscot, Bishop of Ossory, in 1385, who continued Lord Chancellor for three years. This eminent ecclesiastical Chancellor's real name was Petit, but he is called De Balscot from the place of his birth in Oxford, as was usual at this period. He was a Canon of the Cathedral of Kilkenny, and held in such repute for his great learning and wisdom that he was elected to succeed John of Tatenale as Bishop of Ossory in 1371, which was confirmed by Pope Gregory XI. The state of affairs in England at this period was critical, and the clouds lowering in the horizon soon extended over Ireland. All the glories of Edward's long reign were speedily obliterated by the faults and follies of his successor, and it was with sad forebodings Bishop de Balscot cast the weight of his character and talents into the scale of the State officials in Ireland. He was too able a man not to hold a high office under the Crown, and accordingly was selected in 1376 for the responsible office of Treasurer of Ireland. As this post required much precaution for the safety of the treasure, a guard of six men-at-arms and twelve archers, paid out of the Exchequer, were assigned to Bishop de Balscot while he continued Treasurer. This shows the insecurity of the country at this period when the property or persons of the King's officers were not safe without a military guard. In the reign of King Richard II. he was also continued Lord High Treasurer, and appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland. [In 1377-1385 and 1394; also temp. Hen. IV. in 1400.] The jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery was then very extensive. When any injury resulted to a subject by the act of the King or his officers, a petition of right was allowed by the Lord Chancellor. Relief was also had against judgments of the Courts of Law, and in cases of fraud, accident, or breach of trust. [Lord Campbell's Lives of the Lord Chancellors of England, vol. i. p. 271.]

It was a time of extreme peril; the duration of English rule in Ireland was threatened by internal dissensions and external foes. The rival houses of Ormond and Desmond were at war within, while Spanish and Scotch pirates plundered from without. In this emergency a Council was assembled at Kilkenny, where it was resolved, 'That the Archbishop of Dublin and the Chancellor should hasten to Richard II., and assure him of the danger then existing. They were directed to impress upon the King the urgent necessity of his visiting Ireland in person. Should they be unable to induce the King to cross over to Ireland, they were instructed to implore his Majesty to send one of his most powerful nobles to protect his Irish dominions from impending ruin.' The King was reluctant to leave England, which had manifested a disposition to rebellion the previous year; but he nominated to the Viceroyalty his favourite, Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford; and the English Parliament, being anxious to get rid of him, voted him a liberal sum, viz, thirty thousand marks, with two years' pay for five hundred men-at-arms, and a thousand archers, on condition of his proceeding at once. He was invested with almost regal authority over Ireland; empowered to issue writs in his own name, to appoint or displace the Chancellor, [The Viceroys usually had power to appoint to all offices except those of 'Chancellor, Master of the Rolls, Treasurer-at-War, Mar. shall, Treasurer, Jus. tices of either Bench, and Master of the Ordnance.] Treasurer, Privy Council, and officials; to nominate his own Deputy, and pardon treason and felonies. He was created Marquis of Dublin - a higher title than previously existed in Ireland, and unknown in England; - authorised to coin gold and silver, to use his Great Seal instead of the King's; and, in place of the English banner, to substitute his own - displaying three golden crowns on an azure ground, with a silver border. From April 19, 1386, when he was granted the land and dominion of Ireland, all letters patent, and public documents connected with State affairs, were executed in the name of Robert, Marquis of Dublin, Earl of Oxford, and Chamberlain of England.

He did not repair to Ireland as quickly as had been expected, but sent thither, as his Deputy, Sir John de Stanley, who landed at Dalkey, on August. 30, 1386. His appointment by letters patent under De Vere's Great Seal, was read in the Great Hall of Dublin Castle, in the presence of the Chancellor, the Earl of Kildare, and Royal officers. He was empowered to pardon treasons and felonies as representative of the Marquis of Dublin, in whose name, conjointly with that of the King, the legal business was transacted. Recognizances were taken, admitting persons to the peace of the King and the Marquis of Dublin. [Gilbert's Viceroy's, p. 254.]

In October, 1386, De Vere, with the consent of the Parliament of England, was advanced to the rank of Duke of Ireland, and received a new patent, conferring upon him additional powers - relieving him from any rent until he had conquered Ireland, and authorising him to hold all Crown estates which he might recover by the sword. It is believed that the weak and infatuated Richard intended to make his favourite King of Ireland, and applied for the Pope's sanction. The King and De Vere went to Wales in 1387, when the English Lords resolved to humble the pride of the favourite, and demanded his removal from the Council. Discontent had reached such a height that several of the English nobility were in revolt. The King, to gain time, deferred his reply until the meeting of Parliament; and De Vere, having, by virtue of Royal Commission, raised an army in Wales, marched to support the King against the combined Peers, but was defeated by the Earl of Derby, near Oxford, and with difficulty escaped by plunging into the Isis. [Be Vere, Duke of Ireland, died in poverty and exile at Louvain,. having been gored by a wild boar, while hunting in the forest of Ardennes. - Gilbert's Viceroys, p. 256.]

Ireland was selected as the place of exile for the five Judicial personages, who, in the Council at Nottingham, had certified that the King was above the laws, comild eject Commissioners appointed by Parliament, and annul Acts which he considered prejudicial to himself. They were banished in 1388, to the following cities, - Sir Robert Belknap, Chief Justice of the King's Bench in England, was sent to Drogheda; Sir Roger Fulthorpe and William Burgh, Justices of the King's Bench, to Dublin; Sir John Carey, Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and John Sokton, the King's Sergeant, to Waterford; the King's Confessor, Dr. Rushok, Bishop of Salisbury, who was accused of having urged the Judges to this course, was banished to Cork. There was abundant provision made for the support of the exiles. Annual pensions ranging from forty to twenty pounds, were allocated - these were considerable sums in those days. Each was allowed two English servants, but none were privileged to roam above three leagues outside the places assigned for their residence. [After a lapse of nine years they were allowed to return and practise without remark.]

The Bishop had costly episcopal attire, one of his forfeited mitres produced 333l. [Gilbert's Viceroys, p. 258.] As the blame fell chiefly upon him, he seems to have been treated with more harshness than the others. He was only allowed to bear into exile forty marks, his bed, raiment, a prayer-book, and two servants. He was limited to a radius of two leagues outside the City of Cork, and denied a pension, but was permitted to accept alms from anyone generous enough to give. Even this was not to exceed forty marks annually for his support. He died in exile, and was buried in Cork. Prior John Gray provided a marble coffin for the remains of the King's Confessor. He was reimbursed by King Richard; also for the money he kindly expended in supporting the servants of the banished Bishop.

From 1387 to 1388, the Government of Ireland was chiefly administered by the Lord Chancellor. De Balscot, wishing to please the King, and thinking he had his warrant, used the Seal of De Vere; and, when he took the field, unfurled the standard of that once powerful favourite. He little foresaw the consequences of doing so.

On May 4, 1388, King Richard II. wrote a very severe letter to this Prelate, for thus acting.

[Rym. tom. vii. p. 577. De Sigillando cain Sigillo Regis in Terra Hiberniae:

'Rex, Venerabili in Christo Patri, Episcopo Middensi, in Terra Nostra Hiberniae, Salutem.

'Quia datum est Nobis intelligi quod vos Sigillo Roberto de Veer (nuper Ducis Hiberniae) sub nomine Marchionis Dubliniae, cui nuper Dominium et Regimen Terae predictae concessimus:

'Qui omnia Dominia, Maneria, Terras, Tenementa, Bona, et Catella sua in presenti Parliamento nostro, ratione Judicii versus eundem Robertum ibidem redditi, erga Nos forisfecit postquam vobis notoriè, ut dicitur, innotescebat:

'In consignatione quam plurium Cartarum, Literarum Patentium et Brevium, Statuur et Regimen ejusdem Terrae concernentium, erronicè usi fuistis:

'Ac Vexilla et Penuncillos ejusdem Roberti, contra aggressus et invasiones hostium et rebellium nostrorum Hibernicorum, similiter erigi, levari, et displicami fecistis in nostri dedecus et vituperium manifesta:

Nos,

'Nolentes talia incommoda, in nostri et Regiae Dignitatis nostrae derogationem palam et expressè redundantia, ulterius tollerare:

'Vobis, sub sacramento fidelitatis vestrae, nobis praestito, Injungimus et Mandamus quòd, Sigillo, Vexillis et Penuncillis praefati Roberti, in dicta terra habitis, et pro tempore usitatis sine dilatione ammotis peflitus et deletis, omnia et singula, commodum nostrum et rempablicam in terra predicta concernentia; at pro sano regimine ejusdern terrae necessaria et oportuna, Sigillo nostro, quo per antea inibi utebamur, quod in Thesauraria nostra ibidem existit, quotiens necesse fuerit, et Vobis videbitur expedire, justè et debitè de caetero consignari, Nostraque Vexilla et Penuncellos, contra hujusmodi hostes et rebelles nostros, in defensione terrae illius, similiter emigi et displicari faciatis in forma predicta, quousque aliud a Nobis habueritis in Mandatis; et hoc nullatenus omittatis.

'Teste Rege, apud Westmonasterium, quarto die Aprilis.

Per Concilium.'].

The misconduct of De Baiscot was visited with the loss of the Great Seal, which was intrusted in 1388 to a very eminent man, Richard Plunkett, Lord Chancellor of Ireland.

Few names hold more prominent place in Irish legal annals than Plunkett. We shall find many opportunities of mentioning it in the progress of these Lives. It is said to have Danish origin, but was familiar in Ireland at a very remote period, when the family mansion was at Beaulieu, 'the handsome place' now called Bewley, in the County of Meath. It has high rank in the Peerage of Ireland - honoured with the titles of Fingal, Louth Dunsany, and Plunket.

Richard Plunkett was born about the year 1350. He was destined for the legal profession, in which he obtained great distinction, and had summons to Parliament by writ in 1374. Having distinguished himself in the senate and at the Bar, he was elevated to the high rank of Chief Justice of the King's Bench. This was not his highest appointment, for I find that in 1388, 12th Richard II., he was appointed Lord Chancellor. He continued in office until succeeded by Archbishop Northalis.

On October 12, 1394, King Richard II. landed at Waterford, accompanied by Thomas de Arundel, Lord Chancellor of England, [Lord Campbell's Lives of the Lord Chancellors of England, vol. i. p. 297.] the Duke of Gloucester, the Earls of March, Nottingham, and Rutland, with four thousand squires and thirty thousand archers. Richard was then twenty-eight years old, of middle height, with hair of a light yellowish colour, a rosy, round face, and presence indicating neither strength nor dignity. He usually was splendidly attired, as was the custom of the day; one of his coats so ornamented with precious stones as to be estimated at 30,000 marks. With this large army he expected to conquer Ireland, and subdue the dissensions which prevailed in that country; but, from the nature of the land and the mode of warfare of its inhabitants, he failed to effect his purpose. After two months of toil, and ineffectual efforts to engage the Irish troops, who dissolved like mist, and lurked like wild foxes among mountains, woods, and bogs, Richard drew his forces towards Dublin, where he passed the Christmas of 1394.

[There were several gradations in Irish troops, which are set forth by an historian (Stanyhurst) whose account must be taken with considerable qualification:-

'The Irish observe divers degrees, accordiug to which each man is regarded: the basest sort among then are little young wags, called Daltins; these are lackeys, and are serviceable to the grooms or horseboys, who are a degree above the Daltins. Of the third degree is the Kern, who is an ordinary soldier, using for weapon his sword and target, and sometimes his piece, being commonly so good marksman, as they will come within a score yards of a great castle. Kern signifyeth, as noblemen of great judgment informed me, a spawn of hell, because they are taken for no better than rakehells, or the devil's blackguards. The fourth degree is the Gallooghglass, using a kind of pollard for his weapon. These men are commonly wayward rather by profession than by nature, grim of countenance, tall of stature, big of limb, burley of body, well and strongly timbered, chiefly feeding on beef, pork, and butter. The fifth degree is to be an horseman, which is the chiefest next the Lord and Captain; these horsemen, when they have no stay of their own, go and range from house to house, like errant Knights of the Round Table, and they never dismount until they ride into the hall, and as far as the table.']

At this period Richard Northalis, Archbishop of Dublin, filled the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He had received the Great Seal during the preceding year, 1393, and appears to have been well suited to his exalted position. The career of this Prelate was very varied. He was a citizen of famous London town, son of an opulent merchant, who had been Lord Mayor. It was, no doubt, a great change from the life within sound of Bow bells, and the rich banquets of the Alderman of London town, to the matin's chime and strict discipline of a Carmelite convent; but the call to a religious life, which has induced so many to exchange ease and opulence for fasting and prayer, caused Richard Northalis to forego the steaming turtle and savoury haunch for the spare diet of the Carmelite friars. His career in the convent was marked by rigid observance of the rules of his Order; and soon his reputation for learning, preaching, and sanctity extended beyond the precincts of his abode. The state of religion in Ireland, and the propriety of strengthening the English rule in that country, caused King Richard II. to exert himself for the preferment of the Rev. Richard Northalis in that realm; and, in 1386, he was appointed Bishop of Ossory.

A very eminent Prelate then held the Great Seal of England, William of Wickham. In his time occurred the first instance of a Parliamentary impeachment. It was also about this period the arduous and delicate duty of appointing Justices of the Peace devolved on the Lord Chancellors. A class of officials exercising the most important functions in their locality, yet, in Ireland, in former days, too often the instruments of party or sectarian feeling. Happily the more kindly spirit of toleration which now prevails, and the wholesome censorship of a vigilant and honest press, renders the painful task of removing or reproving an unpaid official of high station a matter of rare occurrence to a Lord Chancellor; and, it only occurs when the offender endangers the due administration of justice, which knows no party, and respects all creeds.

About the year 1390 the misgovernment of Ireland. reached such a height, that a Commission was appointed by the King to enquire into the corruptions and frauds of the officers there; to examine into and report all losses and abuses in the government of the kingdom, with power to examine all Peers, Prelates, and such persons as could give information in the premises; and, in particular, to report how, and on what security, Nigel O'Neill was enlarged; to enquire also into the numbers at which Sir John Stanley, Lord Deputy, had kept his retinue at his last arrival in Ireland; whether he had performed the covenants in his indentures of government, and how many archers and men-at-arms he transported with him into England. The Commissioners were also to ascertain the value of the revenues of Ireland while the said justice administered the government there, and how much thereof he applied to his own use. The best proof of the estimate King Richard II. entertained of the trustworthiness and ability of the Bishop of Ossory, was appointing him the Commissioner for this searching enquiry. He was likewise directed to supervise and examine into the Rolls and Records of the Exchequer, and other Courts of Dublin, and to report the behaviour of the officers. [The Patent Rolls in Chancery, Ireland, commence in the reign of Edward I. and are continued to the present time. They are called patent from being open to the inspection of all. They contain enrolments of grants in fee, or perpetuity, for lives and years, of Crown lands, abbey lands, and escheated lands; patents of creations, of honour; grants of charters of incorporation and liberties; grants of offices, denization, ferries, and fisheries; patents for inventions and specifications; licenses and pardons of alienation; presentations; promotions to bishoprics and deaneries; special licenses; grants of wardships; Commissions; inquisitions post mortem and on attainder; orders of Council; depositions of witnesses in perpetuam rei memoriam; deeds; conveyances; grants in custodiam; grants of manors and all their appurtenances, and of fairs and markets; surrenders of lands and offices to the Crown; summonses to Parliament; bonds; obligations; replevins; pardons; letters of attorney; licenses for officers to treat with the Irish; treaties; Papal Bulls; proclamations; letters of protection; writs of amoveas manus of possessions taken by the Crown; writs of ouster le main; King's letters; wills; commissions for the survey, appointment and erection of counties; for remedy of defective titles; for the appointment of Justices and Commissioners, as well civil as military; for the conversion of lands held by the Irish custom of Tanistry into the English custom of tenure, &c.

The Close Rolls, so called because they contained writs sealed and directed to the officer by whom alone they were opened. The oldest is of the 20th Edward II., but they are not carried down regularly. The Statute Rolls comprise public and private Statutes passed in the Irish Parliament. They include the reigns of Henry VI., Edward IV., Richard III., Henry VII., Henry VIII., Philip and Mary, Elizabeth, and James I. From thence to 1715, public and private Acts were promiscuously enrolled on the same series of Rolls, and an imperfect Calendar was at times made of both Acts, but from 1715 to 1800, when the Irish Parliament ceased, the private Acts were enrolled separately, and a regular index made excluding the public Acts. The Statute Rolls prior to 10th Henry VII., are in Norman-French, then the language of the Court; but from the time of Edward III., the vivâ voce proceedings in Parliament were in the English tongue.] All Prelates, Peers, and other subjects, were commanded to aid and assist the King's Commissioner, who, it must be allowed, stood in need of much help while discharging this multifarious amid difficult task. The King was so satisfied with the manner in which Bishop Northalis executed this Commission, that he appointed him Ambassador to Boniface IX. in 1391.

The appointment of Bishop Northalis as Ambassador to the Pope was peculiarly gratifying to one of his disposition and piety. He delighted in Rome, the capital of the Catholic world, wherein he found congregated not only all that is most valued in the eyes of the pious pilgrim, but all that can most interest the lover of classical literature, antiquities, and the Fine Arts.

He passed many happy days in the Eternal City, inspecting with the eyes of faith and true devotion its countless wonders, or in the subterranean vaults, where rest the bodies of the Holy Apostles; in devout visits to the relics, the Holy Cross, the Scala Sancta, the pillar where our Lord was scourged, the Colosseum, the Catacombs, the churches of saints and martyrs who loved God more than they feared man. He thought often to how much of Rome might these words be applicable, 'Nullam esse ibi vel minimam soli partem quae sacro martyrem sanguine non esset imbuta et consecrata.'

Having returned to Britain, Bishop Northalis, in 1393, received the Seals as Lord Chancellor of Ireland. [Pat. May 29, 1393. B. I., 17 Ric. II., f. No. 54.] In that year the Viceroyalty was intrusted to the King's uncle, Thomas Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester; but the King, having suspected him of designs to subvert his authority, speedily revoked this appointment, and announced his intention to visit this part of his dominions in person. Great preparations were accordingly made, but the intended visit had to be postponed in consequence of the death of Queen Anne, in June, 1394. It was only postponed a short time, for on the 2nd of October his Majesty landed at Waterford, accompanied by many nobles.

On the 1st of February, 1395, the King wrote to his uncle, the Duke of York, whom he left Regent in England, informing him he had issued writs, summoning a parliament in Dublin after the following Easter. That King Richard had tolerably accurate notions of the state of Ireland may be surmised from this letter, wherein he states, 'In our land of Ireland there are three kinds of people - wild Irish, our enemies; Irish rebels; and obedient English. To us, and to our Council here, it appears that the Irish rebels have rebelled in consequence of the injustice and grievances practised towards them, for which they have been afforded no redress; and that if not wisely treated, and given hope of grace, they will most likely ally themselves with our enemies.' [This letter shows how the root of Irish discontent, from the first, lay in 'injustice practised and redress withheld,' and bears out the assertion of Junius several centuries later: 'Uniformly have the people of Ireland been plundered and oppressed.' Happily, we live in better days, when Ireland and the Irish are treated with the same justice as the other subjects and dominions of our Sovereign Lady the Queen.]

Finding the task of reducing Ireland by force impossible, Richard tried what could be done by policy, and, laying aside the hostile banner of England, quartered with leopards and fleurs-de-lis, he displayed a flag with a golden cross on an azure ground, surrounded by five silver birds, said to have been the cognizance of his patron saint, Edward the Confessor. This Saxon King had married Edith, sister to Driella, wife of Donogh O'Brien, King of Munster; and his memory was held in reverence by the Irish, so they were pleased with this demonstration of respect paid by the King to one whom they looked on kindly.

The result of negotiations (in which Henry Crystède, already named, was of great use as an interpreter was, that O'Neill, O'Connor, McMurrough, and O'Brien, styled the Four Kings of Ireland, were induced to receive knighthood at the hands of King Richard, who, after the ceremony, feasted them at his own table. The Privy Council of England were not pleased at Richard having admitted these powerful chiefs to grace without payment of fines, which would, they contended, have helped to defray the expense of the expedition, and the government of Ireland, which was felt very burthensome by the English rate-payers. This was a narrow view of a great question, and the general feeling was in favour of the wise policy of the King, who was considered, in bringing the Irish princes to become his subjects, to have conquered the greater part of the kingdom.

Richard, having succeeded in effecting by peaceful means what he failed to achieve by sterner methods, when returning to England intrusted the Irish Government to his cousin Roger de Mortimer, who was next in succession to the English throne. He also represented the great houses of Marechal, De Lasci, De Braose, and De Joinville, who acquired immense territories in Ireland, with the titles of Earl of Ulster, Lord of Connaught, Trim, Leix, and Ossory. Roger, the Viceroy, possessed personal qualities very fitting for a Commander-in-Chief, at a time when sharp swords were often found more convincing arguments than words. He was good at both - an accomplished knight at tournament or in battle-field, a ready and eloquent speaker, of a handsome presence and affable demeanour.

He had a mild and pleasant look,
A cheerful smile and aspect bland;
His very voice and manner spoke
The generous heart and open hand.

Although De Mortimer stood so near the King by blood and rank, he was not left sole charge of the kingdom. A very Thtinguished nobleman, who stood high in Richard's esteem, shared the responsibility. This was Sir William le Scroop, or Scrope, the Royal Chamberlain, who was nominated Justiciary for Leinster, Munster, and Uriel or Louth. [] He had risen to very high rank, and filled several important offices in a most able and satisfactory manner.

[While Roger de Mortimer was Viceroy for Ulster, Connaught, and Meath William le Scrope, the Royal Chamberlain, was nominated Justiciary for Leinster, Munster, and Uriel or Louth. The enrolment on the Patent Roll of England, 20 Richard II., pt. i. m. 16, is as follows:- 'De Locum-tenente terre Regis Hibernie constituto. - Rex omnibus at quos, &c. salutem: Licet per literas nostras constituerimus delectum ac fidelem consanguineum nostrum Rogeruin de Mortuo Mari, comitem Marchie et Ultonie, Locum nostrum tenentem in partibus Ultonie, Connacie et Midie, in terra nostra Hibernie, usque ad festum Pasche proximum futurum; et per alias literas nostras patentes constituerimus dilectum at fidelem nostrum Willielmum Lescrop, Camerarium nostrum Hibernie, Justiciarium nostrum in partibus Lagenre, Momonie et Urielis, similiter usque at terminum predictum, prout in literis nostris predictis plenius continetur. Volumus tamen, et intencionis nostrae existit, quod omnia et singula carte, litere patentes et brevia nostra, cujuscunque nature existant, qua nomine et stilo nostris sub magno sigillo nostro terre nostre predicte, in absencia nostra, durante termino predicto, transire coatigenit, sub solo testimonio predicti comitis ut Locum nostrum tenentis, in terra nostra Hibernie, sub istis verbis: Teste Rogero de Mortuo Mari, Comite Marchie et Ultonie, Locum nostrum tenente in terra nostra Hibernie, de tempore in tempus sigillentur et consignentur, ac si et adeo plene sicut temporibus Loca-tenentium tocius terre predicta ante hec tempora fieri consuevit; solida potestate eidem Willielmo ut Justiciario nostro in dictis partibus Lagenie, Momonie et Urielis, per nos attributa non obstante. Et hoc omuibus quorum interest innotescimus per presentes. In cujus, &c. Taste Rage, apud Westmonasterium, xxvj. die Septembris. Per ipsum Regem.'

On the Patent Roll of Ireland, 18 Rich. II. m. 25 is an order bearing date November 18, 1395, for the payment of Sir William Le Scrope as Constable of Dublin Oastle. [Gilbert's Viceroy's of Dublin, p. 559.]

The Earldom of Wilts was conferred on Sir William le Scrope by Letters Patent in 1397. The limitation was to him and to his heirs male. The patent was attested by the Dukes of Lancaster and York, Princes of the blood, and by the Earl of Northumberland, one of the most powerful nobles of England. La Scrope was recognised as Earl of Wiltshire. Rot. Pan. iii. and in Statute Book, 21 Rich. II.

When Simon Thomas Scrope, Esq., of Danby, Bedale, Yorkshire, in 1866, claimed the title, he showed clearly he was heir male of William Earl of Wilts, and claimed the peerage. His claim was referred to a Parliamentary Committee of the Lords; but, unfortunately, only one Law Lord lived through the time the case was pending, and though the case seemed free from any difficulty as to the descent of the claimant, the claim was resisted on two grounds: 1st, that the patent was invalid; 2nd, attainder might be inferred. A very able article in the Law Mag. and Review, No. liv. pp. 228 to 264, discusses the grounds on which the claim was for the present rejected, and concludes: 'The adverse opinion proceeded upon most manifest errors of law and fact, and it is a relief to know that it is not final, and must be reversed.']

Le Scrope had been Governor of Cherbourg, Seneschal of Aquitaine, Justice of North Wales, and one of the Ambassadors who had arranged the contract of marriage between Richard of England with Isabel of France. His conduct, at first; in Ireland appears to have been harsh and oppressive towards the English under his control. Probably he discovered they, in their turn, were too exacting and extortionate towards the native Irish, and wished them to feel the severity of their practices, At the earnest entreaty of his wife [William le Scrope married a daughter of Sir Maurice Russell. After the death of the Earl, his widow married, 1st, Thomas de la Rennie; 2nd, Stephen Hoghfeld, Esq.] he changed the objectionable practices, accomplished her wishes, recovered the good opinion he was in danger of losing, and the result was, he 'enriched the country, continued a plentiful house, granted so charitably and discreetly remission of fines, remedies for persons endangered to the King, pardons of lands and lives, that his name was never uttered among them without many blessings and prayers.'

Having been for nine years Bishop of Ossory, on the death of Archbishop Waldby, in 17, Dr. Northalis was promoted to the Archdiocese of Dublin. While in this high station he obtained for himself and his successor the more high-sounding than important privilege of the Admiralty of Dalkey.

[D'Alton's History of the Conty of Dublin, p. 129. Dalkey is a little island, chiefly rocks, forming the southern point of the Bay of Dublin, and nearly opposite the promontory of Howth. The harbour was formerly used on state occasions for landing Viceroys. The island is only five hundred yards long by three hundred broad, so its extent is not very considerable. Great amusement was formerly taken by the citizens of Dublin in the coronation of the king of Dalkey, a mock monarch annually appointed by the mirth-loving citizens, when the royal barge received a salute of twenty-one guns, and a band played 'God save the King,' who, usually a merry monarch, was surrounded with his courtiers decked out in stars and orders. The monarch's style runs thus: - ' His facetious Majesty Stephen the First, King of Dalkey, Emperor of the Muglins, Defender of his own Faith, and respector of all others, Sovereign of the Illustrious Order of the Lobster and Pemniwinkle.' I hope the Chancellor's revenues from the Admiralty was more profitable than those of one of the courtiers of the King, who bore the euphonious title of Duke of Muglins, Chief Commissioner of the Revenue. His perquisite was permission to import ten thousand hogsheads duty free - of salt water.]

Lord Chancelor Northalis died in Dublin, on the 20th July, 1397, and was buried in the Cathedral.

At this time the invention of the writ of subpoena brought about a great change in Courts of Equity. The addition to the old clause Quibusdam artis de causis, was, Et hoc sub poena centum librarum nullatenus omittas. [Rot. Pat. 8 Edw. III., Pt. i. rn. 15.] But the penalty was never sought for. If the party neglected to appear, he was guilty of contempt of court, and compulsory proceedings instituted against him.

[By the recent Chancery (Ireland) Act, 187, which establishes to a great extent uniformity of practice and procedure in the 'Chancery Courts of England and Ireland, the writ of subpena to appear to and answer bills of complaint is abolished. Service on the defendant of the printed Bill and endorsement has henceforth the same effect as the old writ of subpoena, and, in case of default of appearance, entitles the plaintiff to the like remedies as hitherto in case of service of the subpeana.]