Court of High Commission

They remove most of the non-parliamentary financial measures that Charles had relied upon during the personal rule, so things like ship money go are declared illegal.

They also remove most of the key prerogative courts, the king's courts that he'd used to push through his government in the 1630s, things like the Court of High Commission, the Court of Star Chamber.

The people that met did not think that there was going to be a revolution.

What they wanted was reform.

The first produced the Court of Star Chamber.

The second produced the Court of High Commission.

The Court of Star Chamber was in Elizabeth's time composed of the whole of the Privy Council together with the two chief justices.

Its right to judge was founded partly on old claims of the Privy Council, partly on an act of Parliament made in the beginning of the reign of Henry VII.

It may fairly be said to have served a useful purpose as long as the crown and the nation walked in harmony.

But if the crown were to go one way and the nation to go another, a court completely under the influence of the crown might easily be used against the nation which it was intended to serve.

The Court of High Commission was a kind of ecclesiastical star chamber.

It was founded by Elizabeth, partly on the strength of an act of Parliament empowering her to correct abuses in the Church, partly on the strength of her claim to have reasserted for the royal authority the supreme governorship over the Church.

For both the watchword was thorough.

Laud used the star chamber and high commission court to force Englishmen into a groove.

He spared neither rank nor creed.

He wished to punish the immorality of the rich, the nonconformity of the Puritan, and the recusancy of the Roman Catholic.

This meant doing away with Strafford's influence and Laud's power.

Accordingly, they were both impeached, together with others who were responsible for arbitrary acts.

This challenge to the power above the law was marked by the release of Prynne and others imprisoned by the Star Chamber and High Commission Court.

The Triennial Act, providing that a parliament should meet even without a royal summons after three years had elapsed since it last sat, was then passed.

He asserted that by virtue of his dispensing power, he might admit Roman Catholics to all offices.

He presented them, even to ecclesiastical benefices, and set up again the old Court of High Commission by which he hoped to force resisting churchmen to submission.

Those of his ministers who objected to his measures and showed themselves unwilling to attack the rights of the Church of England were one by one dismissed from their offices and their places filled by Catholics.

At last, on April 4, 1687, he published a declaration of a general indulgence, which annulled all penal laws and all religious tests.

Meanwhile, James II had at last been roused to a sense of his danger and was trying by every possible means to win back the favour of his people.

He promised at once to summon a Parliament.

He abolished the Court of High Commission and conferred with those bishops who were in London as to the means he had best take.

But the people were not in a mood to value highly concessions which they saw had only been wrung from him by fear.

The first produced the Court of Star Chamber.

The second produced the Court of High Commission.

The Court of Star Chamber was in Elizabeth's time composed of the whole of the Privy Council together with the two chief justices.

Its right to judge was founded partly on old claims of the Privy Council, partly on an act of Parliament made in the beginning of the reign of Henry VII.

It may fairly be said to have served a useful purpose as long as the crown and the nation walked in harmony.

But if the crown were to go one way and the nation to go another, a court completely under the influence of the crown might easily be used against the nation which it was intended to serve.

The Court of High Commission was a kind of ecclesiastical star chamber.

It was founded by Elizabeth, partly on the strength of an act of Parliament empowering her to correct abuses in the Church, partly on the strength of her claim to have reasserted for the royal authority the supreme governorship over the Church.

The violation of the test laws by the appointment of papists to offices, particularly judicial and military offices and the administration of Ireland, and generally the arbitrary and illegal measures resorted to by James for the propagation of the Catholic religion 4.

The establishment and action of the Court of High Commission 5.

The infringement of some municipal charters and the procuring of the surrender of others 6.

Interference with elections by turning out of all employment such as refused to vote as they were required and 7.

The punishment of subjects, as in the Seven Bishops case, for petitioning the Crown.

3.

The establishment of the illegal Court of High Commission for ecclesiastical affairs.

4.

For both, the watchword was thorough.

Laud used the star chamber and high commission court to force Englishmen into a groove.

He spared neither rank nor creed.

He wished to punish the immorality of the rich, the nonconformity of the Puritan, and the recusancy of the Roman Catholic.

This meant doing away with Stratford's influence and Laud's power.

Accordingly, they were both impeached, together with others who were responsible for arbitrary acts.

This challenge to the power above the law was marked by the release of Prynne and others imprisoned by the Star Chamber and High Commission Court.

the triennial act providing that a parliament should meet even without a royal summons after three years had elapsed since it last sat was then passed the trial of strafford was delayed till march of sixteen forty one he was accused of an intention to upset the rule of law and replace it by arbitrary government besides many acts and sayings in ireland and in his northern presidency alleged against him to prove this there was his speech in the privy council in which he was accused of telling the king to govern as he thought best there being an army in ireland which could be used against this kingdom now this kingdom might mean scotland which was then in rebellion but it might also mean england and the commons felt sure it did it was difficult to prove that the acts of which he was accused were treasonable for they were not in any way directed against the king and the law knew nothing of any other treason the expression of an opinion might as strafford urged make a heretic but not a traitor and the two witnesses required by law to depose their knowledge to treasonable acts were not forthcoming unless indeed a surreptitious copy made by the younger vein of the notes taken by his father a member of the privy council at the fatal sitting could be reckoned a sufficient second witness the commons began to fear that the lords would not condemn strafford and therefore substituted a bill of attainder footnote an impeachment is a trial before the lords in which the accused has his chance of defending himself an attainder is a mere declaratory bill stating that the accused has committed treason and shall be punished for it and footnote this only required a majority of opinion that stratford was a traitor and thus shifted the question from a legal to a political one the commons held a noble theory of treason treason which is against the kingdom is more against the king than that which is against his person but this was not law some of them claimed to be above the law in such a crisis they were beginning to learn that the theory of divine right was double-edged and might be claimed by parliaments no less than by kings the bill was passed and the lords were induced to accept it by various rumours not without foundation that the king's party was tampering with the army in the north charles signed it it was the meanest moment in his life and gave away the life of his faithful servant though he had pledged his word to strafford for his safety but charles was influenced by mobs without and by casuistry within the former threatened the lives of those he held dearest while the latter taught him to regard his duty as a king as unconnected with his promise as a man strafford died on tower hill may twelfth sixteen forty one at the same time a bill was passed that this parliament should not be dissolved without its own consent this exceptional guarantee for its political stability was necessary if parliament was to regain its position after eleven years of non-existence The ground for a reformed system of law and government was further cleared by the abolition of the Star Chamber, the High Commission Court, and other extra-legal courts in Wales and the North.

In this case— They're still coming out of a response to the trials, the religious and civil trials upon which many people were placed.

There was the Court of High Commission, which was the religious court.

And then there was the Star Chamber, which was the civil court.

And people were forced to come into these courts.