224 HISTORY OF KING HENRY VII. 



First, the authority of the star-chamber, which 

 before subsisted by the ancient common laws of the 

 realm, was confirmed in certain cases by act of par 

 liament. This court is one of the sagest and noblest 

 institutions of this kingdom. For in the distribution 

 of courts of ordinary justice, besides the high court 

 of parliament, in which distribution the king s bench 

 holdeth the pleas of the crown, the common-place 

 pleas civil, the exchequer pleas concerning the king s 

 revenue, and the chancery the pretorian power for 

 mitigating the rigour of law, in case of extremity, 

 by the conscience of a good man ; there was never 

 theless always reserved a high and pre-eminent 

 power to the king s council in causes that might in 

 example or consequence concern the state of the 

 commonwealth ; which if they were criminal, the 

 council used to sit in the chamber called the star 

 chamber ; if civil, in the white chamber or white 

 hall. And as the chancery had the pretorian 

 power for equity, so the star chamber had the cen- 

 sorian power for offences under the degree of 

 capital. This court of star chamber is compounded 

 of good elements, for it consisteth of four kinds of 

 persons, counsellors, peers, prelates, and chief judges. 

 It discerneth also principally of four kinds of causes, 

 forces,- frauds, crimes various of stellionate, and the 

 inchoations or middle acts towards crimes capital or 

 heinous, not actually committed or perpetrated. 

 But that which was principally aimed at by this act 

 was force, and the two chief supports of force, com 

 bination of multitudes, and maintenance or headship 

 of great persons. 



