The Constitutional History of England

46 Constitutions Z HistoryPERIODthe more ancient courts of the shire and the hundred. Alsowe must note that even when a hundred court had fallen intoprivate hands, the king's officer, the sheriff, had at leastgenerally the right to hold it twice a year for criminal cases.Twice a year it was the sheriff's turn to hold these courts,and a court so holden by him came to be known as thesheriff's tourn. When such courts as these were in privatehands, they were generally called courts leet. The court baronand the customary court of the manor are the outcome oftenure ; a court leet on the other hand has a certain criminaljurisdiction, jurisdiction in cases of petty offences, and it isnot the outcome of tenure-it must have its origin in a royalgrant, real or supposed ; this doctrine Edward has succeededin enforcing by means of his quo warranto inquiry1.In the general administration of the law, the hundred isan important unit. In particular it is important in the systemof trial by jury introduced by Henry 11. Each hundred isbound to present its malefactors ; this is done by means of ajury of twelve. It is a responsible unit in the police system ;from an early time, the hundred is bound to pursue criminals.Under the law of the Conqueror, if a man be found slain andthe slayer be not produced, the hundred is fined, unless it canprove that the slain man was an Englishman ; in other words,it pays a murdrum or murder fine unless there is a presentmentof Englishry. So again in Edward's day, the hundredshave lately been put under constables bound to see that themen of the hundred have proper armour for the pursuit ofmalefactors and the repelling of enemies. In very early timeswe hear a little of a hundred's ealdor, and it is possible thathe was an elected president of the county; but after theConquest, and probably before the Conquest, he has disappeared; the sheriff appoints a serjeant or bailiff (serviens,ballivus) for each hundred, who presides over the court, unlessthat court be in private hands, and is bound to look after allthe king's business within the hundred, the collection of taxes,fines, forfeitures and the like.1 For the whole subject of seigniorial jurisdiction, see History of English Law,vol. I, pp. 571-94.The Tow~ship(iii) The lowest unit in the governmental system is thetownship or vill ; the Latin word used to describe the geographicaldistrict is viZZa, while viZZata describes the peopleof the villa regarded as a collective whole. The township assuch has no court of its own, but it has many police dutiesto perform. It has duties in the apprehension of criminals,and can be fined for the neglect of them. When the king'sjustices visit the county, every township has to come beforethem. For this purpose, the township is represented byits reeve (praepositus) and four best men (quatuor melioreshomines), and its opinion is constantly taken as to theguilt or innocence of accused persons. We constantly readthat the township of (let us say) Trumpington (villata deTrumpington) says that A is guilty of the death of B, or thelike ;-if it says what is untrue, it is liable to be amerced.The representation of the townships in the local courts wecan trace back to the time of Henry I ; but in all probabilityit is of much higher antiquityl.Here it becomes necessary to take account of a principlethat we largely noticed when speaking of feudal tenure. Thejurisdictional constitution of England would have been amuch simpler matter to describe had there not grown upby the side of the ancient courts of the shire and the hundreda newer set of courts expressive of a newer principle-feudalcourts expressive of the principle that every lord has a rightto hold a court of and for his tenants. The obligation ofattending the lord's court, the obligation of doing suit of court,is one of the incidents of feudal tenure. This principle hasbeen slowly growing up : but seems an admitted truth in thetwelfth and thirteenth centuries.We find that very generally these feudal courts are courtsof manors; indeed the legal theory of later times asserts,though as I think without warrant, that only as part of amanor could such a court exist. Of the manor then we arecompelled to say a few words. We find (I am speaking ofl It would appear from a note in the MS that Maitland went on to speak of theTownship as a fiscal unit. What he may have said on this point may be gatheredfrom Domesday Book and Beyond, p. 147; and the Hislory of Ejzglish Law, I,PP- 560-7.