The Statutes of the Realm/Volume 1/Introduction/Chapter 5/Section 1

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3908886The Statutes of the Realm, Volume I, Introduction, Chapter V
— Introduction, Chapter V, Section I1810the Record Commission

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Sect. I.

Of the Collections of the Statutes of Scotland and Ireland, heretofore published by Royal or Parliamentary Authority.

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.

In Scotland, by Royal Commission from Queen Mary, dated 1 May 1566, directed to The Chancellor, Principal Officers of State, and other Persons therein named, it was ordained that all the Laws of that Realm should be inspected, and corrected, so that no other but those, should be printed by Royal Privilege, or have Place, Faith, or Authority in Courts of Justice: and by the same Commission it was provided that the Proceedings under it should be ratified in the next Parliament. From the Difficulties of the Undertaking, the Compilation of the Laws prior to James I, was postponed; and the only part of the Work executed was a Collection of Acts from the Return of James I, in 1424, to the last Parliament of Queen Mary in 1564. This Collection was first published in the Year 1566. It comprehended a Publication of certain Statutes of James V. printed in 1541, and of Queen Mary printed in 1565, to each of which the Lord Clerk Register, at the Time, had subjoined his Certificate vouching for the truth of the Copies extracted from the Books of Parliament. These Certificates were retained in this Edition of 1566, and to the other Parts of it similar Certificates were subjoined.[1]

Other Publications were afterwards made by Authority; such were those of James VI. 1568 and 1579, and several others prior in Date to 1597; but they related only to particular Parliaments or particular sorts of Acts; and with these concludes that series of Printed Scottish Acts, which from their Typographical Character have in late Times been usually denominated The Black Acts.

In 1592 A Parliamentary Commission was issued “For vistting and caussing of the Lawes and Actis of Parliament to be prented,”[2] which appears to have led in the first instance to the Republication of the Scottish Statutes from the Æra of James I. to 1597, in the Volumes which usually bear the name of Skene’s Edition, Sir John Skene being at that Time Lord Clerk Register. But under the same Commission, Sir John Skene appears also to have proceeded to the more arduous taſk of collecting the antient Laws of Scotland prior to James I.: and in 1607 he had advanced so far in this Undertaking as to exhibit to the Legislature a Copy of the Manuscripts which he had prepared for Publication, and for his encouragement therein a Special Act was passed.[3] The Work, usually known by the Title of Regiam Majestatem, was at length published, in the Original Latin, in 1609; and was followed soon after by a Version in the Scottish Language.

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Other Commissions for “Surveying the Lawes” were issued at subsequent Periods. The Commission of 1628 after several Renewals was ratified by Parliament in 1633; and in 1681 another was issued which was again renewed in 1695. But the purpose intended was never accomplished.

Upon all these Editions from the earliest downwards, it is to be observed that they contain only a Selection from the Records of Parliament, of such Acts as were supposed by the Editors to be of greater and more permanent Utility; omitting such as were either temporary, or merely of a private and personal Nature[4].

The Statutes of Ireland from 10 Hen. VI. to 14 Eliz. were collected under the Authority of Sir Henry Sidney, Lord Deputy of that Kingdom in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth;[5] and being examined by the Justices of both the Benches, with The Chief Baron of the Exchequer and Master of the Rolls, and delivered by them to the Lord Deputy with their Hands subscribed thereto, they were afterwards, by the Advice of Lord Burleigh, then Lord High Treasurer of England, printed in the Year 1572.[6]

At a subsequent Period, namely in 1621, another Collection of the Statutes of Ireland from 3 Edw. II. to 13 Jac. I. was abstracted from the Parliament Rolls of that Kingdom by Sir Richard Bolton, Recorder of Dublin; afterwards Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and in 1639 Lord Chancellor of Ireland; and by Direction of Sir Oliver St. John, then Lord Deputy, that Collection was perused by the Chief Judges and the Master of the Rolls, and by them allowed and thought fit to be printed, together with so many of the Statutes formerly printed, as were not by express Words repealed. And it is deserving of Observation that they thought those Statutes formerly printed and not expressly repealed, should be printed again, for Two Reasons, as therein is stated; “the one, lest peradventure any should unadvisedly tax the Editor of Partiality, that Matters of great Moment were omitted, and Matters of less Consequence published; and the other was, that although those Statutes might be out of Use or determined at that Day, yet the same might well serve for an Historical Use, whereby might be discerned both the State of the Church and Commonwealth in those Times.”[7]

In 1678 the Edition of 1621 was reprinted by the King’s Printer, with the addition of the subsequent Acts, to the end of the Session 17 and 18 Car. II; and this Volume was reprinted in 1723 without any Additions.

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.

In these Volumes, which in the Title Page are stated to be “Published by Authority,” the Statutes to 17 & 18 Car. II. were reprinted from the Editions of 1621, 1678, and 1723; the Edition of 1572 not being noticed or referred to. For the period subsequent to 17 and 18 Car. II. recourse was had to the Sessional Publications printed by the King’s Printers. The whole Work was compiled from these Sources without Variation; except that in some instances Errors of the Press were occasionally corrected by the Record; and that some Public Acts, of which the Titles only were specified in the former Printed Editions, were inserted at large from the Records.[9] Some Acts inserted in the Edition of 1572 are omitted from this Collection.

Additional Volumes, containing the Acts of subsequent Parliaments, were from time to time published, in consequence of occasional Addresses of the House of Lords for that Purpose: and in 1786 a Re-publication of all the former Volumes took place, with additional Volumes to 26 Geo. III. These were continued by subsequent Volumes, to the end of 40 Geo. III. A.D. 1800, when the Union took place between Great Britain and Ireland.[10]

In 1799 a Volume was published containing the Titles of the Statutes and of the Private Acts, and Indexes, to the end of the Session 38 Geo. III. 1798.

  1. ↑ For the Title of this Work, the Privilege, Royal Commission, Preface, and Certificates of Authenticity, See Appendix G: I. 1.
  2. ↑ See a Copy of this Commission in Appendix G: I. 2.
  3. ↑ See the Act in Appendix G: I. 3.
  4. ↑ From the Period of Skene’s Publication in 1597 down to the Union, the Acts of each Parliament and Session were regularly printed and published under the Authority of the Clerk Register; and under that Authority, but without any special Sanction by Parliament, Sir Thomas Murray published his Edition of the Statutes in 1681, annexing to it his Official Certificate of Authority; but his Text appears to be taken only from the Edition by Skene and the subsequent Sessional Publications.
  5. ↑ See Sir James Ware’s Account of the Writers of Ireland, as translated and enlarged by Harris, Book II. Chapter 5. See also Zouch’s Life of Sir Philip Sidney; chapter 1.
  6. ↑ For the Title and Extract from the Preface to this Edition, See Appendix G: II. 1.
  7. ↑ See Appendix G: II. 2.
  8. ↑ See the Extract from the Lords Journals in Appendix G: II. 3.
  9. ↑ See Preface to this Edition in Appendix G: II. 4.
  10. ↑ See Journals of the House of Lords in Ireland 20 February 1768; vol. iv. pa. 450: 15 February 1780; v. 156: 14 May 1784; v. 531: 1 February 1786; v. 668: 25 May 1789; vi. 313: 26 March 1792; vii. 67: 25 March 1794; vii. 253: 15 April 1796; vii. 465: 17 Sept. 1798; viii. 181: 22 July 1800; viii. 535.—See also as to printing, in Ireland, the English and British Statutes in force there, the same Journals 10 April 1786; v. 748.
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