State Trials, Political and Social. Volume 2 (of 2)
History
State Trials, Political and Social. Volume 2 (of 2)
Trials -- Great Britain
Lord Russell's attainder was reversed by a private Act of 1 Will. and
Mary on the ground that the jury were not properly returned, that his
lawful challenges to them for want of freehold were refused, and that he
was convicted 'by partial and unjust constructions of the law.'
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Sir Francis Pemberton was born 1625, entered Emmanuel College 1640,
entered the Inner Temple 1645, was called 1654, was made a bencher 1671,
a serjeant 1675, and was imprisoned by the House of Commons for an
alleged breach of privilege in the same year. He was made a Judge of the
King's Bench in 1679, and took part as such in several trials connected
with the Popish Plot; he was discharged in 1680, returned to the bar,
and replaced Scroggs as Chief-Justice of the King's Bench in 1681. He
was moved to the Common Pleas in 1683, to allow Sir Edmund Saunders, who
had advised in the proceedings against the City of London, to act as
judge in the case. He was dismissed from his office of judge in the same
year, about five weeks after Lord Russell's trial. Returning to the bar,
he helped to defend the Seven Bishops, but was imprisoned by the
Convention Parliament for a judgment he had given six years before
against Topham, the serjeant-at-arms, who had claimed to be without his
jurisdiction. He bore on the whole a high character for independence and
honesty; and it is curious to learn that he lived to advise the Earl of
Bedford whether Lord Russell's attainder would prevent his son
succeeding to the earldom.
[2] Sir Robert Sawyer was born in 1633, entered Magdalene College,
Cambridge, in 1648, where he was chamber-fellow with Pepys, joined the
Inner Temple and went the Oxford circuit. He was elected to the House of
Commons for Chipping Wycombe in 1673, and assisted in drafting the
Exclusion Bill. He appeared for the Crown in most of the State Trials of
this period. He afterwards led in the defence of the Seven Bishops, took
part in the Convention Parliament, and was expelled from the House on
account of his conduct in Armstrong's case. He was re-elected and became
Chief-Justice of the King's Bench in 1691, and died in 1692.
[3] Heneage Finch, first Earl of Aylesford, was born about 1647: he was
educated at Westminster and Christ Church. He entered the Inner Temple,
became Solicitor-General in 1679, being elected to the House of Commons
for the University of Oxford in the same year. He was deprived of office
in 1686, and defended the Seven Bishops. He sat in the House of Commons
in 1685, in all Parliaments from the Convention Parliament (1689) till
he became a peer in 1703, under the title of Baron Guernsey. He was made
Earl of Aylesford on the accession of George I. (1714), and died in
1719.
[4] See vol. i. p. 240.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account