Wood — The Court of Castle Chamber or Star Chamber of Ireland. 157 



of any of the offences or misdemeanours mentioned in this Act, according 

 to their discretions." 



By another chapter (cap. 17) in the proceedings of the same session of 

 Parliament, statutory force was given to the Court to do that which it had 

 formerly done by the King's prerogative, viz., punish the deflowering of 

 maidens that were inheritors under sixteen years, or the marrying them 

 without consent of parents. Indeed the intention of all these Acts was 

 apparently to give statutory validity to proceedings such as had formerly 

 depended on the King's prerogative alone, without depriving the Court of the 

 power of trying such cases if it so desired. 



By a letter of the '29th November, 1639, the King ordered the renewal of 

 the Commission, and directed that the Lord Chancellor, the Chancellor of the 

 Irish Exchequer, and the Master of the Court of Wards should be of the 

 " quorum " ; but I have been unable to find any enrolment of such a 

 Commission. 



In 1641 the Court was unable to sit for some time on account of the 

 absence of some of the Judges, who were being impeached. 



In this year the Court of Star Chamber in England was abolished by the 

 Long Parliament, which justified its action on the ground that the Court had 

 exceeded the powers conferred upon it by the Act of 1487. But the Court 

 of Castle Chamber was not touched, as we find that it continued to exist till 

 1649, when Bobert Shee preferred his Bill in that Court against Thos. Butler 

 for champerty, maintenance, and other offences. During the Common- 

 wealth its powers were in abeyance ; but with the accession of Charles II an 

 attempt was made by the Crown to renew so useful a Court. On the 

 26th February, 1665, a Bill was read for the first time in the Irish House 

 of Commons " for punishing several offences in His Majesty's Court of 

 Castle Chamber." It was adjourned for the assistance of the law officers ; 

 but on the 5th March, after very careful consideration, the second reading 

 was refused. The Government, not to be baulked, transmitted another Bill 

 out of England of a similar nature ; but the House threw it out on the ground 

 that it agreed verbatim with the Bill they had already rejected. The Lord 

 Lieutenant ruefully wrote to Secretary Arlington that " The House of 

 Commons here do not suffer bills that concern the King's revenue and his 

 prerogative to pass with that readiness they were wont. That concerning 

 the Castle Chamber they have thrown out." 



Although there is no evidence of the Court having sat after 1649, we find 

 that in 1666 both a new clerk and marshal were appointed, and continued 

 to receive their salaries till 1672, after which time no payments to officials 

 of the Court of Castle Chamber are to be found in the Treasury Ledgers. 



