He was told that the court sat by the
authority of the House of
[Footnote 1: The commissioners according to the act (for bills passed by
the Commons alone were now denominated acts), were in number 133, chosen
out of the lower house, the inns of court, the city, and the army. In one
of their first meetings they chose Bradshaw for their president. He was a
native of Cheshire, bred to the bar, had long practised in the Guildhall,
and had lately before been made serjeant. In the first list of
commissioners his name did not occur; but on the rejection of the ordinance
by the upper house, the names of six lords were erased, and his name with
those of five others was substituted. He obtained for the reward of his
services the estate of Lord Cottington, the chancellorship of the duchy of
Lancaster, and the office of president of the council.]
Commons. But where, he asked, were the Lords? Were the Commons the whole
legislature? Were they free? Were they a court of judicature? Could they
confer on others a jurisdiction which they did not possess themselves? He
would never acknowledge an usurped authority. It was a duty imposed upon
him by the Almighty to disown every lawless power, that invaded either the
rights of the crown or the liberties of the subject.
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