But to see the Serjeant-at-Arms in all his glory one must have the good fortune to be present on one of those rare occasions when some outside violator of the privileges of the House is brought to the Bar for judgment. Parliament can itself redress its wrongs and vindicate its privileges. It acknowledges no higher authority. It has the power summarily to punish disobedience of its orders and mandates, indignities offered to its proceedings, assaults upon the persons or reflections upon the characters of its Members, or interference with its officers in the discharge of their duties. The Serjeant-at-Arms can arrest, under the warrant of the Speaker issued by order of the House, any person anywhere within the limits of the kingdom. In the execution of the warrant he can call on the aid of the civil power. If he thinks it necessary, he can even summon the military to his assistance. He can break into a private residence between sunrise and sunset, if he has reason to suspect that the person he is in search of is inside. The most famous case of house-breaking in execution of a warrant of the Commons was the forcible entrance into the residence of Sir Francis Burdett, in Piccadilly, by the Serjeant-at-Arms, supported by police and military, and the arrest of the Radical Member for Westminster and his commitment to the Tower. Burdett was pronounced guilty of a breach of privilege in April 1810 by declaring in a letter to his constituents that the Commons had exceeded their powers in sending to prison John Gale Jones, the revolutionary orator, and an order for his commitment to the Tower was carried by a Majority of 38—190 against 152. Burdett barricaded his house against the Serjeant-at-Arms. An entrance was effected by climbing the area railings and breaking open the area door. The Serjeant-at-Arms found Burdett in the drawing-room upstairs. “Sir,” said Burdett, “do you demand me in the name of the King? In that case I am prepared to obey.” “No, sir,” replied the Serjeant-at-Arms, “I demand you in the name and by the authority of the Commons of England.” Burdett protested that the law of the land was being violated, but he was carried off and lodged in the Tower. An action which he afterwards brought against the Speaker for false imprisonment failed on the ground that the Commons are the supreme guardian of its own privileges and upholder of its authority. Neither does any suit lie against the Serjeant-at-Arms. Arising out of proceedings brought in 1884 by Charles Bradlaugh for assault against the Serjeant-at-Arms in having him removed by force from the House of Commons, Lord Chief Justice Coleridge laid it down that the Serjeant-at-Arms was not liable for damages in the execution of his duty, and that the court had no jurisdiction over him. 3