Life of Lord Chancellor Thomas Jones.

Chapter XXII.

Life Of Thomas Jones, Archbishop Of Dublin And Lord Chancellor Of Ireland. **

**

This eminent individual was a native of Lancashire, younger son of Henry Jones, Esq., of Middleton, in that county, whose elder son, Sir Roger [There seems some doubt as to the name. Lodge’s ‘Peerages of Ireland’ states it Roger, and so do other works, but I think Sir Bernard Burke gives the correct one.] Jones, Alderman of London, was knighted at Whitehall. Thomas, whose career I am about to trace, was born about the year 1550. He received an excellent education, which was completed at Christchurch College, Cambridge, where he graduated as Master of Arts. He was destined for the Church; and, when be received holy orders, he made his way to Ireland, where he married Margaret, daughter of Adam Purdon, Esq., of Lurgan Race, in the county of Louth, widow of John Douglas. This was a judicious choice, for Mrs. Jones was sister to the wife of Archbishop Loftus, and that dispenser of patronage soon held forth no empty hand to his sister-in-law’s husband.

The first preferment of the Rev. Thomas Jones was the Chancellorship of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. He subsequently was elected Dean in 1581, and combined with his chapter to make some of those disgraceful demises of the property of the Church (as of the Manor of Coolmine for eighty-one years to Mr. Allen, of Allenscourt), which Dean Swift has so severely censured. [The endorsement on the original lease by Dean Swift is as follows:- ‘A lease of Colemine made by that rascal Dean Jones, and the knaves or fools of his Chapter, to one John Allen, for eighty-one years, to commence at the expiration of a lease for eighty-one years, made in 1585; so that there was a lease for 161 years of 253 acres, within three miles of Dublin, for 2l. per annum, now worth, 150l.’ Vide also D’Alton’s Lives of the Archbishops of Dublin, p. 251.]

The merits of Dean Jones for a mitre were soon made apparent to Queen Elizabeth. He was recommended as a person well qualified for a bishopric by his learning, wisdom, and other virtuous qualities. This led to his appointment to the See of Meath in 1584, when the Queen wrote from Westminster to the Lords Justices to make out such writings for his election and consecration; also for the restitution of the temporalities of Meath Diocese as were necessary.

On May 12, in that year, he was consecrated in St. Patrick’s Church, and, shortly after, called to be of the Privy Council. This was done by Sir John Perrot, Lord Deputy, at the special instance of the Queen.

When the venerable Archbishop Loftus departed this life in 1605, King James I. of England pronounced emphatically in favour of Doctor Jones for the vacant mitre of the Metropolitan: ‘Whereas, since the death of the late Archbishop, we have given an order for the supply of that See, because of same being a place so eminent within that kingdom; we took time to advise of a meet person for it; we have since, upon conference with divers of our Council, found none more fit for the present time than the Bishop of Meath, in regard of his long experience in that kingdom, both in the ecclesiastical state as Bishop, and in the civil affairs as a Chancellor, [As I find no patent for his appointment before 1605, I presume the King here refers to his experience as a Commissioner in Chancery and Keeper of the Great Seal, which had been made to him and others on the death of Lord Chancellor Loftus.] wherefore we have made choice of him, and we are further pleased that he shall hold in commendam a prebend, which now he hath in possession, which he will nominate unto you.’ He accordingly held the prebendary of Castleknock, and the rectory of Trim, in conjunction with the Archdiocese of Dublin. In the same year, 1605, he was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland.

At this period King James I. was endeavouring to bring Ireland into complete subjection by his favourite scheme, the Plantation of Ulster. He also did a great deal to forward the then rising University of Dublin, and was solicitous to allow Irish law-students the great advantages of legal education in Ireland.

In 1611 Jones, with the other Archbishops and Bishops of the Protestant Church, held a Council in Dublin for the regulation of their dioceses, ‘to prevent sectarianism and to extirpate Popery.’ The following year he attended the opening of Parliament, which assembled in great state, there. Then was the Lord Deputy with his Peers and magnates in their robes - the Prelates in their lawn, Barry Viscount Buttevant bearing the Sword of State - and the Earl of Thomond, with the Cap of Maintenance. The Lord Deputy on horseback, in a rich robe of purple velvet, a present from the King, and the cortege attended by guards, and trumpeters, proceeded in state from the Castle of Dublin to the Cathedral of St. Patrick’s, where divine service was celebrated, and a sermon preached by the Right Rev. Christopher Hampton, D.D., Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland.

Such of the Peers as adhered to the Catholic faith, although they paid the Lord Deputy the compliment of attending him to the church door, remained outside during the service, and, on the Lord Deputy and the other state officials reappearing, took their places in the procession and returned to the Castle. On arriving at the Castle they all assembled in the Parliament House, where the Viceroy presided in a chair of state. The Lord Chancellor and other Peers, spiritual and temporal, having taken their seats, according to their degree, the Lord Chancellor made a grave and worthy speech concerning many great and important causes of estate there to be debated upon for the good of the kingdom and for the commonworth thereof. [The ceremony of opening Parliament in Dublin was a very imposing one. Soldiers lined the streets, an escort of cavalry attended the Viceregal cortege bands played, and trumpets sounded. On reaching the Parliament House the Viceroy repaired to his robing-room, put on royal robes, and, attended by two Earls, one bearing the sword of state, the other the cap of maintenance, and three noblemen’s sons acting as train-bearers, he proceeded to the House of Lords, when, after a bow to the vacant throne, he took his seat in a chair of state beneath the canopy. Until the Viceroy was seated, the peers, spiritual and temporal, stood in their robes uncovered; on his being seated, they also took their seats.

The mode of giving the Royal Assent to Bills was thus:- The Lord Chancellor, kneeling, conferred with the Viceroy, and then, standing on the right of the chair of state, commanded the Usher of the Black Rod to acquaint the House of Commons it was His Excellency’s pleasure they should attend him immediately in the House of Lords. The Commons, headed by their Speaker, having obeyed the summons, were conducted to the Bar, when the Speaker, after a speech, read the titles of the Bills ready for the Royal Assent. The Bills were then delivered, at the Bar, by the Speaker to the Clerk of the Parliament, who brought them to the table, when the Clerk of the Crown, having read the titles, the Clerk of the Parliaments pronounced the Royal Assent severally in these words:- In case of supplies or other Bills concerning revenue - ‘Le Roy remercie ses bons sujets, accepte leur benevolence et ainsi le veut.’ When the Bills were not money Bills, the words of assent were: ‘Le Roy le veut,’ or, ‘Soit fait comme il est desirè.’ His Excellency then withdrew in the same state as he proceeded thither, and the Commons, having returned to their House, the Lords unrobed, after which they adjourned.

Meetings between the Houses of Lords and Commons were thus arranged:- When the Commons sought a conference, they sent their Usher to inform the Lords, who, after finishing any business on which they were occupied, sent for the Commons, who, on entering the House of Lords, stood at the lower end of the chamber. The Lord Chancellor, with any other Peers who pleased, then rose and went to the middle of the Bar, where the leader of the committee, and his fellow members stood. Having bowed thrice, he delivered his message to the Chancellor, who, thereon, returned to his place, and the Commons having retired, he stated what the message was for their Lordships’ consideration. The matter being discussed and decision arrived at, the Lords sent for the Commons, who, on re-entering, made their obeisances to the Peers, and the answer of the Lords was given by the Lord Chancellor from his seat on the Woolsack. The Usher of the Black Rod waited outside the Bar, and spoke there when occasion required him. The Serjeant-at-Arms was also outside the Bar, in an adjoining apartment, and entered only when summoned. None were allowed to be present at debates in the House of Lords but sons of Peers, and persons required to be in attendance under very severe penalties. At conferences with the Commons, none but members of the committee were allowed to speak, and when any matter that had been committed was reported, the Lords of the Committee stood uncovered. Great care was taken to keep the streets as free as possible from noise or obstruction during the sessions. The constables and messengers of Parliament were ordered to prohibit hackney-coachmen from coming to the door of the House; and the Lord Mayor, by proclamation, forbade all drivers of carts, cars, and drays to pass, repass, or go through the streets in front of the Houses from 11 AM. to 5 P.M., during the sitting of Parliament, in order to prevent stoppages and obstructions to people resorting thither*.[* Desid. Curios. Hib. vol. i. p. 166.]]

The Parliamentary history of Ireland may be said to date from the time of Lord Chancellor Jones, in the reign of James I. The Journals of the House of Commons commence May 18, 1613. At that period a very violent contest took place for the Speakership, the Catholic party supported Sir John Everard with 101 votes; the Protestants, Sir John Davies, Attorney-General, with 125 votes. There was a scuffle as to which was elected, and, it is said, one honourable member sat upon the other in the chair. Sir John Davies succeeded in retaining the seat. He read a long speech to the Lord Deputy, and referred to the Acts of former Irish Parliaments. He was supported with all the Chancellor’s influence. No Parliament had been held for twenty seven-years before the 5th James I. A number of old Statutes offensive to the Irish people were repealed on this intelligible ground, ‘That all the natives and inhabitants of this kingdom, without difference and distinction, were taken with his Majesty’s gracious protection, and do now live under one law, as dutiful subjects of our Sovereign Lord the King, by reason whereof; a perfect agreement is and ought to be settled between all his Majesty’s subjects in this realm.’

The King had that watchful regard to the interests of his own countrymen which, I think, forms one of the best traits of Scottish character. I wish the Irish would imitate them. An Act was repealed against bringing over Scots, retaining them, and marrying with them. In Lord Coke’s Reports we find, in reference to Parliaments of Ireland, the following resolution:- ‘That the causes and Acts transmitted hither, under the Great Seal of Ireland, ought to be kept here in the Chancery of England, and not to be remanded. Second, if they be affirmed, they ought to be transcribed under the Great Seal, and returned into Ireland; and all that which passes the Great Seal ought to be enrolled here in Chancery. Third, if the Acts sent over be in any part altered or changed here, the Acts so altered or changed ought forthwith to be returned under the Great Seal of England; but the transcripts under the Great Seal of Ireland, which remain in the Chancery here, shall not be amended, but the amendment shall be under the Great Seal of England, so as returned into Ireland without any signification or certification of their allowance by that in Ireland; so that the amendments and alterations made here in England, and all the Acts which are affirmed or altered, are returned under the Great Seal of England. [This shows the shamrock was then the national emblem.]

While the Great Lord Chief Justice of England was mindful of Ireland, his greater contemporary, Lord Chancellor Lord Bacon, was also considering how the position of the fertile yet impoverished land could be improved. On New Year’s day, 1606, Bacon presented to King James I. ‘A discourse touching the Plantation of ireland,’ saying, ‘I assure myself that England, Scotland, and Ireland, well united, is such a trefoil’ as no Prince, except yourself, who are the worthiest, weareth in his crown.’ He recommends liberality and kindness, and speaks with just appreciation of the natural gifts of the soil and of the people:- ‘This desolate and neglected country is blessed with almost all the dowries of nature - with rivers, havens, woods, quarries, good soil, temperate climate, and a race and generation of men, valiant, bard, and active, as it is not easy to find such confluence of commodities - if the hand of man did join with the hand of nature; but they are severed.’ The conclusion is no less true than sad: ‘the harp of Ireland is not strung or attuned to concord.’

The wise and liberal sentiments of the Lord Chancellor of England were unhappily not shared by the Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Time obstinacy with which the natives clung to the faith of their forefathers made the Chancellor regard them with rooted aversion. Unfortunately I have many more proofs of this than of his conduct as an Equity Judge.

His remarks on the condition of the Deaneries of Omurrough and Wicklow, in 1614, show the small progress of the Reformation in Ireland. ‘I confess there is but a slender account yielded of these two last deaneries, which lie in places remote. I humbly pray my true excuse may be considered, which is, that I cannot possibly get curates to supply the service of these churches; the rectories are inappropriate, and the farmers cannot be drawn to yield any competent means to a minister for serving the cure; besides, if we could get means, we cannot possibly get ministers, for the natives of this kingdom being generally addicted to Popery, do train up their children in superstition and idolatry; so soon as they come of age they send them beyond the seas, from whence they return either priests, Jesuits, or seminaries, enemies to the religion established, and pernicious members to the State. Such English ministers and preachers, as come hither out of England, we do take them upon credit, and many times they prove of a dissolute life, which doth much hurt. I do humbly desire a small supply of ministers, and I will have an especial care of their placing in the best manner I can.’ [D’Alton’s Archbishops of Dublin, p. 256.]

This is but sorry tribute to the clergy of the Reformed Church. While the Archbishop was thus bewailing the state of his diocese he was treating with unrelenting vigour such members of the Roman Catholic Church as fell beneath his authority. He excommunicated eight members of that persuasion for recusancy, and they were imprisoned. They were released by the indulgence of Parliament, but not with the consent of the Archbishop, for he thundered anew his excommunication, and sent them again back to prison. [Curry, Hist. Rev. Dub. Ed. p. 86.] The Lord Chancellor was able to push into notice those who had claims upon his care. He had an only son named Roger. This son acquired high rank; first knighthood, then a peerage, as Baron Jones of Navan, and Viscount Ranelagh. He married first Frances, daughter of Garret Moore, Viscount Drogheda, and secondly Catherine, daughter of Sir Edward Longueville, Bart. [The present Viscount Ranelagh is his descendant.]

In 1617, the Corporation of Dublin procured an order from the Privy Council against certain inhabitants of the liberties of St. Patrick’s, who sold goods without license from the Mayor and Commons. This order was passed in the absence of Archbishop Jones, who, on his return, had it suspended, on showing it was a direct encroachment on the privileges of the Dean and Chapter of St. Patrick’s, and the Mayor and Commons concealed this fact from the Members of the Council. We are able to ascertain the expense of supporting a student in Trinity College, Dublin, at this period, when the Archbishop had a grant from the Crown of the wardship of Patrick, son and heir of William Bermingham, then late of Corballis, at a certain annual rent, retaining thereout 7l. 9s. 6d. for his maintenance and education in religion and habits in Trinity College, Dublin, from the, twelfth to the eighteenth year of his age.

The duties of the Lord Chancellor were not very onerous at this period. The practice of the Court was settled by his predecessor, the rules generally known and observed, and such orders as he made, steadily adhered to. The decisions of the time have, from the want of contemporary reporters, unfortunately not reached us, but the high reputation which the Chancellor bore in his Court for wisdom and good sense make me disposed to regard him as a Judge whose decrees gave satisfaction to the Bar and the public.

The cathedral of Christchurch had been greatly in need of repairs, and Archbishop Jones caused them to be made. He also restored the steeple, and placed three weather-cocks thereon. By the preservation of the venerable Black Book of Christchurch, we learn this church was originally built by Anliff, the Danish Prince of Dublin, about the year 1308. King Henry II. made many grants to this church, and Richard Earl Strongbow was, interred here. Several relics, including a staff covered with gold and precious stones, called the Staff of Jesus, which it was alleged had belonged to St. Patrick, were preserved here. In 1559, a Parliament began to be held in this church in a room called the Common House, probably the House of Commons. On April 2, 1562, the roof and part of the body of the church fell to the ground, whereby the ancient monument of Earl Strongbow was broken. The fracture is visible.

The Chancellor’s health very suddenly gave way; he died at the Palace of St. Sepulchres, on April 1, 1619, having governed the See of Dublin for thirteen years, and presided in the Court of Chancery for the same period. He was interred beside the remains of his wife in St. Patrick’s Church, near the Communion-table, where a handsome monument was erected to his memory. It bears this inscription:-

Thomas Jones, Archiepiscopus Dublin.

Primes et Metropolitanus Hiberniae,

Ejusdem Cancellarius, necnon bis e Justitiariis unus.

Obiit Decimo Aprilis, anno reperate salutis humanae

In noticing the progress of the legal profession in the various reigns, we must not omit the name of one eminent lawyer, though not among the Irish Lord Chancellors, Sir John Davies. It is related of him that having been guilty of assault and battery on a fellow student of law, in the Middle Temple, in 1598, he was expelled from that society. He then sought to earn a reputation in literature, and published a very able poem, in 1599, entitled ‘Nosce teipsum.’ He also wrote ‘Orchestra, a poem on the Art of Dancing,’ an accomplishment held in great favour among the lawyers of that time:-

When grave Lord Keepers led the brawls,

And Seals and Maces danced before them.

Having the success of Sir Christopher Hatton [Lord Chancellor of England in 1587.] before his eyes, Davies probably hoped to reach the same rank by the same means. He also sought to recommend himself to Queen Elizabeth by fulsome flattery, which, I suspect, was common enough in her reign, judging from the poems of Spenser - the effusions of Raleigh - Shakspeare - and others less celebrated authors. He addressed twenty-six acrostics to her Majesty’s name, Elizabetha Regina, and these tender lines are said to have been graciously received. Through the influence of the English Chancellor, Lord Ellesmere, Mr. Davies was admitted to the Bar, and elected Member of Parliament in 1601. [He represented Corfe Castle.] On the accession of James I. he was noted for Government employment, for, whatever may have been the faults and follies of the Scottish King, he had the redeeming virtue of rewarding talent. ‘Nosce Teipsum’ so pleased him, he appointed the author Solicitor-General for Ireland in 1603. Davies received the honour of knighthood, and became Attorney-General in 1606.

Sir John Davies may fairly be regarded as the earlist legal writer in Ireland. His treatise ‘A Discoverie of the True Causes why Ireland was never entirely Subdued, nor brought under obedience of the Crown of England, untill the beginning of His Majestie’s happie Raigne,’ was published in a.d. 1612. It displays considerable knowledge of the ancient laws of the Irish, which show the industry and habits of observation of the writer, He also compiled and printed, in 115, Reports of Cases adjudged in the King’s Courts in Ireland. [English translation published in Dublin, 1762.] The cases reported peculiar to Ireland are - the case of Mixed Money; the case of Tanistry, decided in the King’s Bench; of the County Palatine of Wexford, in the Exchequer; the cases of Profits; of Customs payable for Merchandises; of the Dean and Chapter of Ferns; of Legitimation, and Bastardy, in the Court of Castle Chamber; of a Commenda, in the Common Pleas, and a Premunire. They contain many curious points of interest relative to the laws, history, and antiquities of Ireland.

While in Dublin Sir John Davies resided in the Wood Quay, a favourite locality for members of the legal profession. Here, also, lived Sir Jerome Alexander, one of the Judges of the Common Pleas; James Donnellan, also Judge of the same Court; Sir Adam Loftus, Lord Chancellor; Sir Faithful Fortescue and William Samback, King’s Serjeant. Davies heft Ireland for his native country in the year 1616. After his return to England he discharged the duties of Justice of Assize, and sat in the English House of Commons as Member for Newcastle-under-Lyne in the Parliament of 121. He was actually nominated Lord Chief Justice of England, and had purchased his Judge’s robes, when he died quite suddenly on December 7, 1626. [Imp. Dict. Univ. Biog. vol. ii. p. 37.]

During the Michaelmas Terms of 1605, and two ensuing terms, the Courts of Law were held in a large building erected in a garden in the east suburbs of Dublin, by Sir George Carew, President of Munster, and Lord Treasurer of Ireland. It was designed for an hospital, and is described as a large mansion, with a gate-house, a garden, and plantation, and was first called Carew or Carye’s Hospital; but, becoming the property of Sir Arthur Chichester, acquired the name of Chichester House, by which it was best known. [Gilbert’s History of Dublin, vol. iii. p. 60.]

This removal to Chichester House was absolutely necessary, for at this period the King’s Inns of Dublin were sadly out of repair, so much so that, in 1585, Sir John Perrot proposed to make a granary of them, and remove the Law Courts to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. [Harris’s Ware, vol. ii. p. 13.] At the King’s Inns the Court of Chancery was held in the Friar’s Hall, the Exchequer in the Dormitory, the Common Pleas in time north end of the Dormitory, and the King’s Bench in Sir Robert Dillon’s Chamber. On June 24, 1607, the Society of King’s Inns ordered ‘that, forasmuch as the present restauration of the Society of the King’s Inns ‘doth require an admission of the practisers, officers, attorneys, and others of the several Courts, whose auncientye is not yet sufficiently known, it is therefore this day ordered that the admittances shall be received and entered in the book of admittances, as they shall appear and desire the same.’

Mr. Litthedale in his pamphlet on the ‘King’s Inns’ [Littledale, on the King’s Inns anbd Legal Education in Ireland.] remarks:- ‘This order was an attempt to obtain, by means of the Lord Deputy, what the King had refused, viz., the organisation of an independent Inn of Court. The Judges, who were the lessees of the Inns, had full power to make the officers and attorneys do as they chose, and the admission of the Lord Deputy to Membership was a bait thrown out to barristers, who were already members of an Inn of Court, to enrol themselves in an Inn of Chancery.’

The attention of the Attorney-General, Sir John Davies, who was a member of the King’s Inns, was directed to the want of a proper building for the purpose of legal education in Ireland, and the result of his activity was to grant to the Judges the Dominican Abbey to hold to them ‘that the justices and professors of the Common Law in the said Kingdom of Ireland shall have and may possess all and singular the premises for a common hall for ever.’

The taste for dancing already noticed was regarded a necessary accomplishment for a lawyer in those days. The King ordered that none but gentlemen of descent should be admitted to the Inns of Court, and, in the seventh year of his reign, under barristers of Lincoln’s Inn were, by decimation, put out of Commons, because they refused to dance before the Judges on Candlemas-day, and were told if they repeated this offence, they would be fined or disbarred.

In reference to barristers dancing, I give the following from the Memoranda Roll of 9 Henry VIII., which describes the studies and habits of Irish law students in the reign of Edward IV. ‘I, Thomas Netterville, the Kynge’s attorne, was with Sir Willym Darcy, of Plattone, on Monday next before the feast of the Nativity (9 Henry VIII. 1517), and ther, among othyr cowyunts, inquired of him whether he knew John Bermingham and Nicholas Tryers or not, and what age or stature the said Nicholas was of; the which Sir William shewed me, that he and his cosyn, Sir Thomas Kent, being lurning their tenours and Natura Brevium [Littleton’s Tenures, and Fitz Herbert’s Natura Brevium, were the class-books of law students in former days.] with Mr. Street at Dovelyng (Dublin), was tabelyd at Hugh Talbots, the said Hugh then dwelling where John Dillon now dwellyth, and that Ffyllip Bermingham, then Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, att that time dwelled there, as Ann White dwelleth now, having one John Harper in his service, unto which said John Harper the said Sir William and Sir Thomas, with other their companyons, on holydays resorted to learne to harpe and to daunce, at the said Justice’s place, where was there John Bermingham; and Sir William and Sir Thomas so being there in dwelling, was sent for to the marriage of Nicholas and Luttrel’s doghter to Luttrel’s town, where they accompanied by divers of Dublin went, at which tyme Nicholas was as tall a man as ever he was, and the best and strongest archer then at that marriage, and at the least, so the said Sir Willyum remembrans, there was forty good bowes there; and after Sir Willym, his father fell sicke, and sent for him home; but here he raght (ere he rode) home his father died, the Newyere’s Day next before the death of Edward IV.’ [Morrin’s Calendar Pat and Close Rolls Chancery, Ireland. Preface, xxviii.]

For a considerable period the right of calling gentlemen to the Bar did not exist in Ireland, but English barristers were obliged to become members of the King’s Inn before they could practise in Ireland. The earliest instance I find of a gentleman called to the Irish Bar was a King’s Inn student, who was called to the Irish Bar in 11 James I., but it was not in the usual way, by the Lord Chancellor, but by Royal letter. This was William Hilton, of Dublin. [He was Treasurer of the King’s Inn in 1640, and afterwards in 1644, Baron of the Exchequer, and Justice of the Common Pleas.]

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