Our Legal Heritage Part 110

The High Commission court was not restored, but church courts were, but with depleted powers. They accepted subordination to the common law courts. Because the church's administration was inefficient and corrupt and its punishments inadequate, they gradually lost their power to the common law justices and Justices of the Peace. They had virtually no authority over laymen. They could still punish heresy, but lost jurisdiction over the law of libel and slander, which then were transformed by the civil courts, and over prost.i.tution and scandalous lewdness. Local ordinances for suppression of brothels, which were run by madams, were founded on breach of the peace. In 1678, the death sentence was taken away from the church courts. In 1697, church sanctuary was abolished.

The county courts faded into insignificance, as the Justices of the Peace took on more jurisdiction.

In 1668, new justices were issued patents with "at pleasure" instead of "during good behavior" describing their tenure. Charles II and James II frequently dismissed justices not favorably disposed to the Crown. In 1697, they were to have fixed salaries instead of the profits of justice. By statute of 1701, justices' commissions were to be made with an established salary determined by Parliament and a tenure to last during good behavior. They could be removed only by the address of both Houses of Parliament. This gave them independence from the king. Their tenure lasted for the life of the monarch.

The chief justice could empower persons by commission to take affidavits from people in the country for court proceedings in Westminster.

Judgments were docketed so they could easily be found e.g. by heirs, executors, administrators, purchasers, and mortgagees.

Court judgments and fines could be challenged for error only within twenty years.

Court decisions were still appealable to the House of Lords. In 1668, Skinner v. East India Company held that the House of Lords could not exercise original jurisdiction in civil cases between commoners as it had claimed, but retained its appellate jurisdiction. In 1675, the House of Lords acquired the new judicial function of hearing appeals from the Chancery Court by virtue of the case of s.h.i.+rley vs. f.a.gg.

Any gaol keeper allowing a prisoner to escape in return for money lost his office forever and had to forfeit 500 pounds.

The last burning of a woman as a penalty for an offense, which had been only occasional, was in 1688.

The last bill of attainder, which condemned a person to death, occurred in 1697.

The pillory was still in use.

Benefit of clergy was taken away from those who stole cloth or woolen manufactures from their drying racks or who embezzled military stores or ammunition worth at least 20s, or stole goods of over 5s. value from a dwelling house with a person therein put in fear, a dwelling house in daytime with a person therein, or by day or night a shop or warehouse.

A statute of 1661 gave jurisdiction to naval courts-martial to decide cases at sea, e.g. insubordination; failure to fight the enemy, a pirate, or rebels; not a.s.sisting a friend, mutiny, drunkenness, creating a disturbance to protest the quality of the food, quarreling, sleeping on watch, sodomy, murder, robbery, theft, and misdemeanors. Usually the penalty was to be determined by the courts-martial, but sometimes death was decreed.

In the American colonies, judges were still appointed by the royal governors and paid by the local legislatures. They still served at the pleasure of the king.

- - - Chapter 18 - - -

- Times: 1702-1776 -

Dress was plainer than before. Gentlemen wore white linen s.h.i.+rts; waistcoats fitted at the waist and covering the trunk at least; long lawn ties wound around the throat and tied in front with the tails tucked in, knee-length coats that were wide in the skirts and in the sleeve cuffs and having large gold, silver, or bronze b.u.t.tons which didn't reach to the b.u.t.tonholes on the other side of the coat; knee breeches of cloth, knitted wool, thread, and silk; and silk stockings rolled up at the knee. Some shoes had metal buckles. Gold fobs with watches or seals hung from the breeches pocket. The clothes were made of silk, satin, or velvet and often in colors such as yellow, orange, scarlet, blue, violet, pink, and dull slate, and decorated with gold and silver tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs. A slender sword was worn on the side. Short wigs, often powdered with heavily scented white or gray wheat flour, with rolls over the ears and hair tied at the back, were worn for formal occasions. Wigs were made of human, horse, goat, or cow hair, or mohair, worsted, silk, or wire. Sometimes feathers and cork were also used.

There were new colors and cuts of dress for every season. By 1750, wearing a sword was just a symbol of gentility. Gentlemen often had valets to help them dress. Ladies wore fitted full-length dresses held out by hoops with shoulders hidden, sometimes with a laced bodice with stays, and lace at the neck. The waistline fas.h.i.+on fluctuated between high and low and in tightness. The dress could be brocade, satin, velvet, silk, etc. Some put jewels in their hair and had high elaborate hats with wide brims tilted forward. Hair was in ringlets at the side or dressed close to the head with a small top knot covered with a laced cap. They also wore wigs when dressing up, decorated with ribbons and artificial flowers. Hooded cloaks were used outdoors and hoods were used for sun or wind. They carried leather purses with gloves at elbow length. Both gentlemen and ladies wore cosmetics and face patches and used tooth powders, breath sweeteners, lip salves, and choice perfume.

Some had false teeth of bone or ivory wired into place. Both gentlemen and ladies had accessories such as fans, handkerchiefs, head scratchers, and elaborately designed snuff boxes, patch boxes, and perfume containers. Both sniffed tobacco snuff but only men smoked it. They walked with tall, elegant canes, and women also carried parasols. Hats were made of wool and hair of beaver, rabbit, or camel. A popular hat was three-cornered, and usually of beaver or dark felt. There was often a rosette or such to show one's political opinion. Straw hats were worn in the summer. There were ready-made clothes and shoes, especially for children. Night gowns and night caps were worn to bed. About 1714, umbrellas for rain were introduced. They were made of waxed silk or taffeta. All but the poorest wore silk and lace. A prosperous countryman wore riding clothes consisting of breeches and boots, cut-away coat, and low top hat.

The highest cla.s.s were the peers and peeresses of the House of Lords and their spouses and families. They were the n.o.bility and held the high political offices, the high ranks in the army and navy, and owned large estates, usually scattered over the country. Some were lawyers or merchants. There was much intermarriage among these families. Indeed, many a n.o.ble family had salvaged its fortunes by marriage to a London merchant. The richest people in London were international merchants.

These high cla.s.s families lived in mansions with four or five living rooms, two to five acre gardens, and stables.

The next cla.s.s were the gentry. Their family heads had land and were often Justices of the Peace. They were sometimes members of the House of Commons. The oldest son took over from his father, while the others had to find a living such as in the church, law, medicine, or trade. The gentry usually lived in mansions.

The old yeoman cla.s.s was disappearing due to their selling their land to larger landowners. Farming on a large scale was more productive.

The next cla.s.s were the "middling sort". In this cla.s.s were merchants, lawyers, substantial tenant farmers, smaller freeholders, millers, innkeepers, in town traders, middlemen, clothiers, ironmongers, goldsmiths, grocers, linen drapers, apothecaries, school masters, clerks and civil servants, customs and excise men, and .shopkeepers, who now kept their wares inside and lived on the second floor. The town people lived in town houses of two stories plus an attic.

The next cla.s.s were the manual workers. These were wage earners or independent craftsmen, farriers, rural smiths (who shod horses and made stair rails, window-bars, torch extinguishers, lamp irons, bells, bolts, hinges, locks, and fire-grates), sawyers, carpenters, joiners, wheelwrights, nail makers, brick makers, plumbers (made lead cisterns, kitchen sinks, rainwater heads, drain pipes and lead flats for houses and ornaments), thatchers, spinners (silk, flax, hemp, wool, hair), dyers, wool combers, weavers, shoemakers, hat makers, belt and buckle makers, dressmakers, milliners (hats, caps, bonnets, cloaks, hoods, m.u.f.fs), feather workers, b.u.t.ton makers, lace makers, steel pin makers, brewers, cutlery makers, soap makers, candle makers (made from beeswax, tallow, mutton-fat, or beef-drippings), comb makers, barber/hairdressers (shaved, cut hair, made wigs and braids, and let blood), curriers, leather workers, carpet weavers, paper makers, tin-plate makers, printers, enamel workers, braziers and coppersmiths (made kettles, saucepans, canisters, milk pails, lanterns, candle boxes, candle sticks, and lamp lighters), basket makers, jewelers (made rings, perfumes, match boxes, buckles, and tops of canes), watch and clock makers, type founders, letter cutters, trunk and chest makers, cabinet makers, saddlers, coach body builders, coach carriage makers, s.h.i.+pwrights, rope makers, and sail makers. These workers typically worked in their stone or brick houses in a rural setting, with gardens, a cow, a horse, pigs, and poultry around them on 2-6 acres. They now ate white or wheaten bread instead of rye bread, much meat and cheese, and drank tea. Working men could now afford leather shoes. These people also worked in the harvesting of grain. Some consolidation of work was starting. For instance, the weaver, who had furnished himself with warp and weft, worked it up, and brought it to market himself was being displaced by weavers who worked under supervision for one merchant in a town on looms the merchant had acquired. Many women and children were so employed. It was not unusual for a man to work 13 hours a day for 6 days a week. The wage earners were well above the subsistence level as long as trade was good. Real wages were higher than at any time since the mid-1400s. But eventually, as the employer came to realize how dependent the weaver had become on him, wages tended to fall. In 1757 a Gloucester weaver, with his wife to help him, could earn, when work was good, from 13s. to 18s.

a week. A few years later, he could only earn about 11s. A woman spinner earned 10-15d. a day in 1764, but 3-5d. in 1780. In the same period, men's wages fell from 17d. to 10d. a day. Only certain workers, whose special occupation needed greater skill, e.g. the wool-combers, whose wool was longer and of better quality than carded wool, and shearers, were better paid. In 1770, wool combers made 13s. a week; their wage was about the same all over the country because they traveled form town to town in search of work and always supported each other. Also in 1770, Newcastle miners earned 15s. a week, Sheffield cutlers 13s.6d. a week, a Rotherham blacksmith 13s. a week, a furnace keeper at Horsehay about 12s. a week, a Staffords.h.i.+re potter from 8-12s., a Witney blanket weaver or a Wilton carpet weaver 11s. or more a week, a Manchester cotton weaver from 7-10s. a week, and a Leeds cloth weaver about 8s. In this cla.s.s also were ploughmen, cowmen, dairymaids of the bigger farms. They had cottages of wood, clay, and straw, with clay floors and low ceilings, and a divided ground floor. A few had homes built of stone, covered with slate or thatch.

Wages of industry were higher than those of agriculture. In 1770, a day laborer earned 5-6s. a week in winter and 7-9s. in summer, without board or lodging. In the short harvest time, he could earn 12s. a week.