and had a seat in parliament.

To the passing of a bill, the assent of the knights, citizens, and
burgesses must be in person; but the lords may give their votes by
proxy; and the reason is, that the barons always sat in parliament in
their own right, as part of the _pares curtis_ of the king; and
therefore, as they were allowed to serve by proxy in the wars, so had
they leave to make proxies in parliament; but the commons coming only
as representing the barones minores, and the soccage tenants in the
country, and as representing the men of the cities, &c., they could not
constitute proxies as representatives of others.

When it is the pleasure of the Crown to dissolve a parliament, it is
the constant practice immediately to summon another, and to make the
dissolution of the old and the calling of the new simultaneous acts.
By the Act of 7 and 8 of William III., c. xxv. s. I, forty days
should intervene between the teste and return of the writs for a new
parliament; but a longer time is necessary, and fifty days now
intervene.

Parliaments became triennial from the reigns of Edward III., but not
until 1694 had any act passed to make such duration legal. In 1716 this
was repealed, and the present act passed, making them septennial.

W.G.C.

* * * * *


SIMPLE AMBITION.