Wood — The Court of Castle Chamber or Star Chamber of Ireland. 169 



a kind of Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (Burleigh called it a 

 session of the Council), but considerably strengthened by outside assistance, 

 for the Court had extensive powers of calling to its aid any Judges and 

 members of the House of Lords whom it should deem necessary. The 

 necessity for such a Court lay in the fact that such offences as riot, con- 

 spiracy, maintenance, &c, either could not be tried by the King's Courts, 

 or that the procedure in such courts was not sufficiently effective. As 

 we have seen, the Act of 10 Car. I made maintenance, embracery, 

 champerty, &c, statutory offences. If it be asked why the Government 

 could not have given in the reign of Elizabeth power to the ordinary Courts 

 to deal with these cases instead of setting up a new Court, it must be 

 remembered that, during the reign of the Tudors in Ireland, very few 

 Parliaments were held, and the power was concentrated in the Privy 

 Council; and it was to relieve the Privy Council of the labour of dealing 

 with such cases that the special committee or sessions of that body was 

 formed. Under the circumstances, the use of the King's prerogative does 

 not appear objectionable ; but it was the misuse of that prerogative in the 

 issuing of mandates to enforce attendance at public worship, in the reign of 

 James I, that calls for our condemnation, as the King's Bench was already 

 authorized by statute to deal with these cases ; and the trial of people for a 

 breach of the statute before the Court of Castle Chamber was distinctly 

 unconstitutional. 



In writing this paper I have been much indebted to the first volume of 

 the Egmont Papers published by the Historical MSS. Commission, and 

 edited by Mrs. S. C. Lomas, as it contains a calendar of an entry-book of 

 orders or decrees of the Court. This volume was apparently carried away 

 from Ireland by one of the Percivals, who were Registrars of the Court of 

 Wards in the time of James I and Charles I, and were ancestors of the 

 Egmont family. This volume contains entries from c. 1573 to 1620. That 

 there was a second volume in existence is proved by the volume in Trinity 

 College Library (G-. 3. 1), entitled " Star Chamber Tryalls," in which have been 

 transcribed full entries of many of the decrees of the Court, probably as 

 precedents ; but whilst containing many of the decrees to be found in the 

 volume in the Egmont collection, it also comprises other decrees up to the 

 year 1630. 



