Palatine

or CounT PALATINE, a title anciently given to all persons who had any office or employment in the prince’s palace: but afterwards conferred on those delezated by princes to hold courts of justice in the provinees; and on such among the lords as had a palace, that is, a court of justice, in their own houses. PavatrNne (Counties) in England, Chester, Durham, and Lancaster, are called counties-palatine. ‘The two former are such by rescript i on, or immemorial custom; or, at least as old as the Norman conquest: the latter was created by king Edward ITI. in favour of Henry Plantage net, first earl and then duke ef Lancaster # whose heire being married to John of Gaunt, the king’s son, the franchise was greatly enlarged and confirmed in parliament, to honour John of Gaunt himself, whom, on the death of his father-in-law, the king had also created duke of Lancaster. Counties-palatine are so called a palatio; because the - owners thereof, the earl of Chester, the bishop of Durham, and the duke of Lancaster, had in those counties jura regalia, as fully as the king hath in his palace; regalem potestatem in omnibus, as Bracton expre es it. They might pardon treasons, murders, and felonies; they appointed all judges and justices of the peace; all writs and indictments ran in their names, as in other counties in the king’s; and all offences were said to be done against their peace, and not, as in other places, conéra pacem domint reg is. And indeed by the ancient law, in all peculiar jurisdictions, offences were said to be done against his peace in whose court they were tried; in the court-leet, contra pacem domini; in the court of a corporation, contra pacem ballivorum; in the sheriff's court or tourn, contra pacem vice com it is. These palatine privileges (so similar to the regal independent jurisdictions usurped by the great barons on the continent during the weak and infant state of the first feudal kingdoms in Europe) were in all probability originally granted to the counties of Chester and Dur- - ham, because they bordered upon enemies’ countries, Wales and Scotland: in order that the owners, being encouraged by so large an authority, might be the more watchful in its defence; and that the inhabitants, having justice administered at home, might not be obliged to go out of the county, and leave it open to the enemy’s incursions. And upon this account also there were formerly two other counties-palatine, Pembrokes hire and Hex hams hire, the latter now united with North umber land; but these were abolished by parliament, the former in 27 Hen. VIII. the latter in 14 Eliz, And in 27 Hen. VIII. likewise, the powers before mentioned of owners of counties-palatine were abridged; the reason for their continuance in a manner ceasing: though still all writs are witne ed in their names, and all forfeitures for treason by the common law accrue to them. Of these three, the county of Durham is now the only one remaining in the hands of a subject. The Isle of Ely is sometimes called a county-palatine; but that is erroneous: that is only a royal franchise, the bishop exercising jurisdiction by grant of king Henry I. 40