HISTORY OF KING HENRY VII. 225 



From the general peace of the country the king s 

 care went on to the peace of the king s house, and 

 the security of his great officers and counsellors. 

 But this law was somewhat of a strange composition 

 and temper. That if any of the king s servants 

 under the degree of a lord, do conspire the death of 

 any of the king s council or lord of the realm, it is 

 made capital. This law was thought to be procured 

 by the Lord Chancellor, who being a stern and 

 haughty man, and finding he had some mortal ene 

 mies in court, provided for his own safety ; drowning 

 the envy of it in a general law, by communicating 

 the privilege with all other counsellors and peers, 

 and yet not daring to extend it further than to the 

 king s servants in check-roll, lest it should have been 

 too harsh to the gentlemen and other commons of 

 the kingdom, who might have thought their ancient 

 liberty, and the clemency of the laws of England 

 invaded, if the will in any case of felony should be 

 made the deed. And yet the reason which the act 

 yieldeth, that is to say, that he that conspireth the 

 death of counsellors may be thought indirectly, and 

 by a mean, to conspire the death of the king himself, 

 is indifferent to all subjects, as well as to servants in 

 court. But it seemeth this sufficed to serve the 

 Lord Chancellor s turn at this time. But yet he 

 lived to need a general law, for that he grew after 

 wards as odious to the country as he was then to the 

 court. 



From the peace of the king s house, the king s 

 care extended to the peace of private houses and 



