House of Commons Journal Volume 1: 14 February 1581

Martis, 14o Februarii

Hide's, &c. Award.

2. The Bill for Ratification of an Award made between William Hide Esquire, and William Darrell Esquire. - The second Reading; and committed unto Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Serjeant Flowredewe, Mr. Crumwell, Mr. Boyes, and Mr. Norton. - Delivered to Mr. Norton

Cryngleforde.

3. The Bill for the Re-edifying of the Town of Cryngleforde, near unto the City of Norwich. - The third Reading. - Jud'm.

Statute of Limitation.

The Bill for Explanation of the Statute of 32o of H. VIII. for Limitation of Prescription. - The second Reading; and committed unto Mr. Serjeant Fenner, Mr. Serjeant Flowredewe, and Mr. Crumwell. - Delivered to Mr. Crumwell.

Privilege - Libellous publication by Mr. Halle a Member.

Mr. Vicechamberlain, for himself, and the Residue of the Committees appointed to examine Mr. Hall, the Printer, the Scriviner, and all other Persons privy to the Setting forth and Publishing of the Book, declared. That they had charged the said Mr. Halle with Contempt against this House, the last Session ; in that, being enjoined by this House to appear, he departed out of Town, in Contempt of the Court; and afterwards testified the same his wilful Contempt, by an unseemly Letter, addressed by him to this House. And charged him further with divers Articles of great Importance, selected by the said Committees, out of the said Book : As, first, with publishing the Conferences of this House abroad in Print, and That, in a Libel, with a counterfeit Name of the Author, and no Name of the Printer; and containing Matter of Infamy of sundry good particular Members of the House, and of the whole State of the House in general; and also of the Power and Authority of this ; House ; affirming, that he knew, of his own Knowlege, that this House had, de facto, judged and proceeded untruly. And was further charged, that he had injuriously impeached the Memory of the late Speaker, deceased; and had impugned the Authority of this House, in appointing Committees without his Consent; and that, in defacing the Credit of the Body and Members of this House, he practised to deface the Authority of the Laws, and Proceedings in the Parliament; and so to impair the antient Orders touching the Government of the Realm, and Rights of the House, and the Form of making Laws, whereby the Subjects of the Realm are governed. And further was charged, that since his being before the Lords of the Council, for his said Offence, and after he had received Rebuke of them for the same, and had offered some Form of a Submission, he had eftsoons again published the said Book: And that, upon his Examination in the House, he had denied the having any more than One of the said Books, it was yet proved he had Twelve or Thirteen; and Six of them since the Time he was called before the said Lords of the Council. Unto all which Things, as the said Mr. Halle could make no reasonable Answer or Denial, so the said Mr. Vicechamberlain, very excellently setting forth the Natures and Qualities of the said Offences in their several Degrees, moveth, in the End, that Mr. Hall, being then without, at the Door, might be called in, to answer unto those Points, before the whole House; and so thereupon to proceed to some End; and therewithal, persuading a due Consideration of spending the Time, as much as might be, in Matters of greatest Moment; wherein much less hath been done this Session, than in any other, these many Years, in like Quantity of Time. And thereupon, after divers other Motions and Speeches had in the said Matter, the Printer was brought to the Bar; and, being examined, avowed, that Mr. Halle, after that he had been before the Lords of the Council, came to him, and told him, that he had answered the Matter, for the Books, before the Council; and that therefore the said Printer might deliver the said Books abroad : And also, where the said Printer wished, unto the said Mr. Halle, since his last committing, that all the said Books had been burned, before he meddled with them ; Mr. Hall should say to him again, he would not so for a hundred Pounds. And then, being sequestered, Mr. Halle was brought to the Bar; where, after some Reverence done by him, though not yet in such humble and lowly wise, as the State of One in that Place to be charged and accused requireth; whereof being admonished by Mr. Speaker; and further by him charged with sundry of the said Parts collected out of the said Book; he submitted himself to the House ; refusing to make any Answer or Defence at all in the Matter; but, acknowleging his Error, prayed Pardon of the whole House, with all his Heart. And That done, was sequestered. After which, upon sundry Motions and Arguments had, touching the Quality and Nature of his Faults, and of some proportionable Forms of Punishment for the same, as. Imprisonment; Fine ; Banishment from the Fellowship of this House; and an utter Condemnation and Retractation of the said Book; it was, upon the Question, Resolved, by the whole House, without any One Negative Voice, that he should be committed to Prison. And, upon another Question, likewise Resolved, That he should be committed to the Prison of the Tower, as the Prison proper to this House.

And, upon another Question, it was in like manner Resolved, That he should remain in the said Prison of the Tower, by the Space of Six Months; and so much longer, as until himself should willingly make a Retractation of the said Book, to the Satisfaction of this House; or of such Order as this House shall take for the same during the Continuance of this present Session of Parliament.

And, upon another Question, it was also, in like manner, Resolved, That a Fine should be assessed, by this House, to the Queen's Majesty's Use, upon the said Mr. Halle, for his said Offence.

And, upon another Question also, it was Resolved, in like manner. That the same Fine should be Five hundred Marks.

And, upon another Question also, it was likewise Resolved, That the said Mr. Hall should presently be severed and cut off from being a Member of this House any more, during the Continuance of this present Parliament; and that Mr. Speaker, by Authority of this House, should direct a Warrant, from this House to the Clerk of the Crown-office, in the Chancery, for Awarding of the Queen's Majesty's Writ to the Sheriff of the said County of Lyncoln, for a new Burgess to be returned into this present Parliament for the said Borough of Grantham, in the lieu and stead of the said Arthur Halle, so as before disabled any longer to be a Member of this House.

And, upon another Question, it was also, in like manner Resolved, That the said Book, and slanderous Libel, should and shall be holden, deemed, taken and adjudged to be utterly false and erroneous; and that the same shall be publickly testified, affirmed, and set forth, to be false, seditious, and erroneous, in such Sort, Order and Degree, as by this House shall be, during this Session of Parliament, further determined in that Behalf.

Which done, the said Mr. Halle was brought in again to the Bar : Unto whom, Mr. Speaker, in the Name of the whole House, pronounced the said Judgment in Form aforesaid. And so the Serjeant commanded to take Charge of him and convey him to the said Prison of the Tower; and to deliver him to Mr. Lieutenant of the Tower, by Warrant from this House, to be directed and signed by Mr. Speaker, for that Purpose. Which done, and the said Mr. Hall being had away by the Serjeant, it was agreed, upon a Motion made by Mr. Speaker, that the whole Course and Form of the said Proceedings and Judgment of this House, against the said Mr. Halle, should be afterwards orderly digested and set down in due Form, to be first read in this House, and then so entered by the Clerk, as the Residue of the Orders and Proceedings of this House, in other Cases, are used to be done: And so was it afterwards drawn into Form ; read unto the House; and entered by the Clerk accordingly, in haec verba ; viz.

Where it was informed unto this House, upon Saturday, being the fourth Day of this present February, that Arthur Halle, of Grantham in the County of Lyncoln, Esquire, had, sithence the last Session of this Parliament, made, set forth in Print, and published, a Book dedicated unto Sir Henry Knyvett Knight, a good Member of this House, without his Privity, Liking or Allowance ; in part greatly tending to the Slander and Reproach, not only of Sir Robert Bell, Knight, deceased, late Speaker of this Parliament, and of sundry the particular Members of this House, but also of the Proceedings of this House, in the same last Session of Parliament, in a Cause that concerned the said Arthur Halle, and one Smalley his Man: And that there was also contained a long Discourse, tending to the Diminishment of the antient Authority of this House : And that thereupon, by Order of this House, the said Arthur Halle was sent for by the Serjeant of this House, to appear on Monday following: Which he did accordingly : Whereupon, being called to the Bar, and charged, by the Speaker, with the Information given against him, he confessed the Making and Setting forth thereof: Whereupon the said Arthur Hale being sequestered; the House did presently appoint divers Committees to make a more particular Examination of the said Cause, and of all such as had been Doers therein: Which Examination being finished by the said Committees, they informed this House, that they had charged the said Arthur Halle with Contempt against this House, the said last Session, in that, being enjoined by this House to appear there, at a time by this House prefixed, he departed out of the Town, in Contempt of the Court; and afterwards testified and enforced the same his wilful Contempt, by an unseemly Letter, addressed by him to this House. And charged him also with publishing the Conferences of this House abroad, out of the House ; and That also in Print, in manner of a Libel, with a counterfeit Name of the Author, and without any Name of the Printer; in which Book or Libel, was contained Matter of Reproach and Infamy to sundry good Members of the House in particular, and of the whole State of the House in general; reproaching and imbasing, what in him lay, the Power and Authority of this House; and untruly reporting the Orders of this House; affirming, (amongst other great Reproaches) that he knew, of his own Knowledge, that this House had judged and proceeded untruly. And further charged him, that he had therein also injuriously impeached the Memory of the said late Speaker, deceased ; affirming, that the Orders of this House were not, by him, truly delivered, or set down; but altered and changed : And, not herewith satisfied, hath, in some Part thereof contained, a false and slanderous Discourse, against the Antiquity and Authority of the Common House, or third Estate of the Parliament: Wherein he hath falsely sought, as much as in him is, to impugn, deface, blemish and diminish the Power, Antiquity and Authority, of this House, and the Interest, that it hath always, and in all Ages had ; to the great Impeachment of the antient Order and Government of this Realm, the Rights of this House, and the Form of making Laws. And that since his being before the Lords of the Council, for his said Offence, and after he had received Rebuke of them for the same, and had offered some Form of Submission in that Behalf, he had eftsoons again published the said Book : And that, upon his Examination in this House, he had denied the Having of any more than One of the said Books; it was yet proved he had Twelve or Thirteen of them; and Six of them sithence the Time he was called before the Lords of the Council: And that he had, by his Letters, given Order to have Eighty of those Books printed, which was done accordingly, with more : And that he had caused One of the same Books, sithence this Session of Parliament, to be sent to Sir Rondel Brewerton Knight. Unto all which, as the said Arthur Halle could make no Denial, or sufficient Answer, so the said Committees, setting forth the Natures and Qualities of the said Offences, in their several Degrees, move in the End, that the said Arthur Halle might be called into the House, to answer unto those Points before the whole House; and so thereupon to proceed to some speedy End; persuading therewithal a due Consideration to be had, of spending the Time, as much as might be, in such Matters of the Realm, for which this Parliament was chiefly called. Whereupon, after divers other Motions and Speeches had in the said Matter, the said Printer was brought to the Bar; and, being examined, avowed, that Arthur Halle, after he had been before the Lords of the Council, came to him, and told him, that he had answered the Matter, for the said Books, before the Council; and that therefore the said Printer might deliver the said Books abroad: Affirming also, where the said Henry Bynneman, the Printer, sithence this Session of Parliament, and since his last Committing, wished unto the said Arthur Halle, that all the said Books had been burned, before he meddled with them; that Arthur Halle should say to him again, he would not so for a hundred Pounds. And then, he being sequestred, Arthur Halle was brought to the Bar; where, after some mean Reverence by him done, though not in such humble and lowly wise, as the State of One in that Place to be charged and accused required; whereof being admonished by the Speaker ; and further by him charged, as well with the said Parts collected out of the said Book, as with other his Misdemeanors and Contempts aforesaid; he, in some Sort, submitted himself to the House; acknowleging, in part, the Matters wherewith he was charged ; and in some other Parts denied the same ; but not making any Defence in the Matter, but acknowleging, in part, his Error; imputing it, for the most part, to his Misprision ; and that, in other Parts, the Matters were gathered otherwise than he meant: And thereupon prayed Pardon of the House. And That done, was sequestered. After which, upon sundry Motions and Arguments had, touching the Quality and Nature of his Faults, and of some proportionable Forms of Punishment for such grievous Offences; it was, upon the Question, Resolved, and Ordered, by the whole House, without any One Negative Voice, that he should be committed to Prison.

Mr. Halle committed to the Tower;

And, upon another Question, likewise Resolved, and Ordered, That he should be committed to the Prison of the Tower; as the Prison usual for Offenders to be committed unto by this House.

And, upon another Question, it was, in like manner, Resolved, and Ordered, That he should remain in the said Prison of the Tower, by the Space of Six Months ; and so much longer, as until himself should willingly make a particular Revocation, or Retractation, under his Hand, in Writing, of the said Errors and Slanders contained in the said Book, to the Satisfaction of this House; or of such Order as this House shall take for the same, during the Continuance of this present Session of Parliament.

and fined;

And, upon another Question, it was also, in like manner. Resolved, and Ordered, That a Fine should be assessed, by this House, to the Queen's Majesty's Use, upon the said Arthur Halle, for his said Offence.

And, upon another Question, it was Resolved, and Ordered, in like manner. That the same Fine should be Five hundred Marks.

Expelled.

And, upon another like Question, it was likewise Resolved, and Ordered, That the said Arthur Halle should presently be removed, severed, and cut off, from being any longer a Member of this House, during the Continuance of this present Parliament; and that the Speaker, by Authority from this House, should direct a Warrant from this House, to the Clerk of the Crown-office, in the Chancery, for Awarding of the Queen's Majesty's Writ to the Sheriff of the said County of Lyncoln, for a new Burgess to be returned into this present Parliament for the said Borough of Grantham, in the lieu and stead of the said Arthur Halle, so as before disabled any longer to be a Member of this House.

And, upon another Question, it was also, in like manner, Resolved, and Ordered, That the said Book or Libel was and should be holden, deemed, taken and adjudged to be, for so much as doth concern the Errors aforesaid, condemned. Which done, the said Arthur Halle was brought in again to the Bar: Unto whom the Speaker, in the Name of the whole House, pronounced the said Judgment, in Form aforesaid. And so the Serjeant commanded to take Charge of him, and convey him to the said Prison of the Tower, and to deliver him to the Lieutenant of the Tower, by Warrant from this House, to be directed and signed by the said Speaker for that Purpose.