The Grand Question Concerning the Judicature of the House of Peers...
The House of Lords vs. The House of Commons [Holles, Denzil Holles, Baron (1599-1680)]. The Grand Question Concerning the Judicature of the House of Peers, Stated and Argued. And the Case of Thomas Skinner Merchant, Complaining of the East India Company, With the Proceedings Thereupon, Which Gave Occasion to that Question, Faithfully Related. By a True Well-Wisher to the Peace and Good Government of the Kingdom, And to the Dignity and Authority of Parliaments. London: Printed for Richard Chiswel, 1669. [iv], 219, [1] pp. Octavo (6-1/4" x 3-1/4"). Contemporary sheep, blind fillets to spine, edges of text block speckled. A few small scuffs, nicks and faint stains to boards, moderate rubbing to extremities, light wear to foot of spine and corners, which are bumped, pastedowns loose, recent bookplate (of Geoffrey Hand [1931-2016]) to inner front board. Moderate toning to interior, tiny stains to edges of a few leaves, ink underlining in several places. $750. * Only edition. After the East India Company seized the ships, cargoes and trading post of Thomas Skinner, a London merchant trading in India, Skinner presented a petition to Charles II seeking redress for his losses. The king referred the case to the House of Lords, which ruled in his favor and awarded him ?5,000 in damages. The Company complained to the House of Commons, which ruled that the Lords' proceedings were illegal. This set off a constitutional squabble between the House of Lords and the House of Commons over original jurisdiction in civil suits. The stand-off was only resolved by the king's intervention in 1669, who ordered the two Houses to end proceedings and erase all mention of the case from their records. Afterwards, it was tacitly understood that the House of Lords did not have any claims of original jurisdiction in civil suits. The former owner of this copy, Professor Hand was regarded as a leading scholar in the field of medieval and early modern legal history, with particular focus on the advent of English law in Ireland and Irish ecclesiastical history. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Irish Legal History Society in 2010. Holles, an English statesman and writer, had a long and varied career that spanned the Civil War, Commonwealth and Restoration period.
Price: $750.00
Book number 81896