years 800,000 ducats had been fent to Rome for firft-fruits only. And, as the clergy expreffed this willingness to con tribute fo much of their income to the head of the church, it was thought proper (when in the fame reign the papal power was abolished, and the king was declared the head of the church of England) to annex this revenue to the crown; which was done by ftatute 26 Hen. VIII. c. 3. (confirmed by ftatute 1 Eliz. c. 4.) and a new valor beneficiorum was then made, by which the clergy are at prefent rated.

By these laft mentioned ftatutes all vicarages under ten pounds a year, and all rectories under ten marks, are difcharged from the payment of firft-fruits: and if, in fuch livings as continue chargeable with this payment, the incumbent lives but half a year, he shall pay only one quarter of his first-fruits; if but one whole year, then half of them; if a year and a half, three quarters; and if two years, then the whole; and not otherwife. Likewise by the ftatute 27 Hen. VIII. c. 8. no tenths are to be paid for the first year, for then the first-fruits are due: and by other ftatutes of queen Anne, in the fifth and fixth years of her reign, if a benefice be under fifty pounds per annum clear yearly value, it shall be difcharged of the payment of first-fruits and tenths.

THUS the richer clergy, being, by the criminal bigotry of their popish predeceffors, subjected at first to a foreign exaction, were afterwards, when that yoke was fhaken off, liable to a like mifapplication of their revenues, through the rapacious difpofition of the then reigning monarch: till at length the piety of queen Anne restored to the church what had been thus indirectly taken from it. This she did, not by remitting the tenths and first-fruits entirely; but, in a spirit of the trueft equity, by applying these fuperfluities of the larger benefices to make up the deficiencies of the fmaller. And to this end fhe granted her royal charter, which was confirmed. by the statute 2 Ann. c. 11. whereby all the revenue of firstfruits and tenths is vefted in trustees for ever, to form a perpetual fund for the augmentation of poor livings. This is ufually called queen Anne's bounty; which has been still farther regulated by fubfequent ftatutes. · 5 Ann. c. 24. 6 Ann. c. 27.

1 Ceo. I. ft. 2. c. 12. 3 Geo. I. c. 10. V. THE

V. THE next branch of the king's ordinary revenue (which, as well as the fubfequent branches, is of a lay or temporal nature) confifts in the rents and profits of the demefne lands of the crown. These demefne lands, terrae dominicales regis, being either the share referved to the crown at the original distribution of landed property, or fuch as came to it afterwards by forfeitures or other means, were antiently very large and extensive; comprizing divers manors, honors, and lordships; the tenants of which had very peculiar privileges, as will be fhewn in the second book of thefe commentaries, when we fpeak of the tenure in ancient demefne. At prefent they are contracted within a very narrow compafs, having been almost entirely granted away to private fubjects. This has occafioned the parliament frequently to interpose ; and, particularly, after king William III had greatly impoverished the crown, an act paffed P, whereby all future grants or leafes from the crown for any longer term than thirty-one years or three lives are declared to be void; except with regard to houfes, which may be granted for fifty years. And no reverfionary lease can be made, fo as to exceed, together with the estate in being, the fame term of three lives or thirtyone years: that is where there is a fubfifting leafe, of which there are twenty years ftill to come, the king cannot grant a future intereft, to commence after the expiration of the former, for any longer term than eleven years. The tenant muft alfo be made liable to be punished for committing wafte; and the ufual rent must be referved, or, where there has ufually been no rent, one third of the clear yearly value. The misfortune is, that this act was made too late, after almost every valuable poffeffion of the crown had been granted away for ever, or elfe upon very long leafes; but may be of fome benefit to pofterity, when thofe leafes come to expire (g).

PI Ann ft. 1. c. 7.

q In like manner by the civil law, the inheritances or fundi patrimoniales of

the imperial crown could not be alienated, but only let to farm. Cod. 1. 11. t. 61.

(g) [By the ftatute 26 Geo. III. c. 87. commiffioners are appointed for examining and enquiring into the ftate, produce, and expenditure of the rents of the lands, and fines for leafes of the fame, and into the ftate, produce, management, extent and value of all the honors, caftles, lordships, forefts, chafes, demefne and

other

VI. HITHER might have been referred the advantages which used to arife to the king from the profits of his military tenures, to which moft lands in the kingdom were fubject, till the ftatute 12 Car. II. c. 24. which in great measure abolished them all: the explication of the nature of which tenures must be postponed to the second book of thefe commentaries. Hither alfo might have been referred the profitable prerogative of purveyance and pre-emption: which was a right enjoyed by the crown of buying up provifions and other neceffaries, by the intervention of the king's purveyors, for the use of his royal houshold, at an appraised valuation, in preference to all others, and even without confent of the owner and alfo of forcibly impreffing the carriages and horses of the fubject, to do the king's business on the public roads, in the conveyance of timber, baggage, and the like, however inconvenient to the proprietor, upon paying him a fettled price. A prerogative, which prevailed

other lands, derelict and waste lands within the furvey of his majefty's exchequer, and appertaining to the crown of Great Britain in England and Wales, and into all fuch fubfifting leases, patents and other grants of the faid honors and premifes refpectively, as contain any exprefs faving to the crown of any rights or interefts in poffeffion, reverfion, or contingency, and into all and all manner of rights and privileges claimed or exercifed within, over and upon his majesty's faid forefts, chafes, parks, derelict and waste lands refpectively; and into all the fubfifling offices eftablished for the management of the faid forests and other premifes refpectively, and the annual expence of the fame and the faid commiffioners are, within fourteen days after the commencement of every feffion of parliament, and from time to time, when and fo often as they conveniently can or may, certify and report in writing, under their hands and feals, unto the king and both houfes of parliament, what progrefs they fhall have made in the execution of the trufts and powers of the faid act, together with fuch obfervations as fhall occur to them, and fuggeft fuch plans for the difpofal and alienation, or for the future management and improvement of the faid landed eftates and poffeffions, and for the protection and fupply of timber for the ufe of the royal navy, or for redreffing any abuses in the management of the landed eftates, and the collection of the revenues of the fame, as the faid commiflioners fhall think beft calculated for rendering the faid eftates and poffeffions of the crown, and the revenues arifing therefrom, moit productive and advantageous to his majetty and the public.]

VOL. I.

T

pretty

pretty generally throughout Europe, during the scarcity of gold and filver, and the high valuation of money confequential thereupon. In those early times the king's houshold (as well as thofe of inferior lords) were fupported by specific renders of corn, and other victuals, from the tenants of the respective demefnes; and there was also a continual market kept at the palace gate to furnish viands for the royal use. And this anfwered all purposes, in thofe ages of fimplicity, fo long as the king's court continued in any certain place. But when it removed from one part of the kingdom to another (as was formerly very frequently done) it was found neceffary to fend purveyors beforehand to get together a fufficient quantity of provifions and other neceffaries for the houfhold: and, left the unufual demand fhould raise them to an exorbitant price, the powers before mentioned were vested in these purveyors: who in process of time very greatly abused their authority, and became a great oppression to the subject, though of little advantage to the crown; ready money in open market (when the royal refidence was more permanent, and fpecie began to be plenty) being found upon experience to be the best proveditor of any. Wherefore by degrees the powers of purveyance have declined, in foreign countries as well as our own and particularly were abolished in Sweden by Gufta vus Adolphus, towards the beginning of the last century'. And, with us in England, having fallen into difufe during the fufpenfion of monarchy, king Charles at his restoration confented, by the fame ftatute, to refign entirely thefe branches of his revenue and power: and the parliament, in part of recompenfe, fettled on him, his heirs, and fucceffors, for ever, the hereditary excife of fifteen pence per barrel on all beer and ale fold in the kingdom, and a proportionable fum for certain other liquors. So that this hereditary excise, the nature of which thall be farther explained in the fubfequent part of this chapter, now forms the fixth branch of his majefty's ordinary revenue.

Inf. 273.

Mod. Un. Hil. xxx. 220.

VII. A SEVENTH branch might alfo be computed to have arifen from wine licenses; or the rents payable to the crown by fuch perfons as are licensed to fell wine by retale throughout England, except in a few privileged places. These were first fettled on the crown by the ftatute 12 Car. II. c. 25. and, together with the hereditary excife, made up the equivalent in value for the lofs fuftained by the prerogative in the abolition of the military tenures, and the right of preemption and purveyance: but this revenue was abolished by the ftatute 30 Geo II. c. 19. and an annual sum of upwards of 7000l. per annum, iffuing out of the new ftamp duties impofed on wine licenfes, was fettled on the crown in it's ftead.

VIII. AN eighth branch of the king's ordinary revenue is ufually reckoned to confift in the profits arifing from his forefts. Forefts are wafte grounds belonging to the king, replenished with all manner of beafts of chafe or venary; which are under the king's protection, for the fake of his royal recreation and delight: and, to that end, and for prefervation of the king's game, there are particular laws, privileges, courts and officers belonging to the king's forests; all which will be, in their turns, explained in the fubfequent books of thefe commentaries. What we are now to confider are only the profits arifing to the king from hence, which confift principally in amercements or fines levied for offences against the foreft-laws. But as few, if any, courts of this kind for levying amercements have been held fince 1632, 8 Car. I. and as, from the accounts given of the proceedings in that court by our histories and law books', no body would now wish to see them again revived, it is needless (at least in this place) to pursue this inquiry any farther.

IX. THE profits arifing from the king's ordinary courts of justice make a ninth branch of his revenue. And these confift not only in fines impofed upon offenders, forfeitures