Wood— 7%e Office of Chief Governor of Ireland, 1172-1509. 215 



Court was established here. When, soon after, in England the Court of 

 Exchequer was cut off from the Curia, it is probable that the same course 

 was followed in this country. By the Great Charter of Henry III the Court 

 of Common Pleas was settled in Dublin, and thus the only portion of the 

 Curia still remaining in Ireland was the King's Court. Here the Chief 

 Governor, as the King's Deputy, presided ; and he and his Court, as in 

 England, perambulated the country to give decisions in criminal matters and 

 pleas of the Crown. These pleas consisted of pleas of high treason, petty 

 treason, felony, &c. The Court also had cognizance of criminal matters, and 

 of pleas relating to franchises and liberties. Writs of novel disseizin, mort 

 d'ancestor, writs of right, writs of natives and fugitives, also came before his 

 Court, which alone had the power to declare a man an outlaw. It also had 

 jurisdiction in civil cases which were breaches of the peace, and therefore 

 called trespasses. Appeals on writs of error from other Courts were heard 

 before the Governor, and on his rolls alone could recognizances be entered. 

 Even when the King granted away to a feudal lord the right of trying pleas 

 of the Crown, the four pleas of forestalling, rape, arson, and treasure-trove 

 were reserved to his Court. It will thus be seen what a power was given to 

 the Governor in travelling through the country to administer justice. How- 

 ever, as he was more of a soldier than a lawyer, he was given a legal assessor 

 in the time of Edward I, who was called Justiciarius assignatus ad placita 

 nostriim Justiciarium Iliberniae sequentia tenenda, and a second Justice was 

 subsequently added. It is interesting to call up in imagination the spectacle 

 of the Chief Governor passing through the country in his judicial capacity. 

 The Chancellor probably preceded him to have the writs made out for the 

 cases to be tried. (He was not, however, allowed to issue writs to the 

 sheriffs of the Liberties, but only to the seneschals, who issued the writs to 

 their sheriffs. As, however, the seneschals sometimes made default, a law was 

 passed in 26 Ed. 1 ^ appointing King's sheriffs in the Ijiberties to whom the 

 writs should be directed in case the seneschals or their sheriffs made default.) 

 In case the Chancellor was unavoidably absent, licence was granted to the 

 Chief Justice or other legal officer to issue the writs.- The purveyor also 

 went before to make preparations for the lodging and feeding of the Governor. 

 With the latter came the clerks of the Court with their EoUs, the law officers 

 and pleaders, and sometimes the members of the Council and their suite, 

 together with a military force, an array sufficiently imposing to strike terror 

 into the hardiest offender. An appeal from the Governor's judgment lay to 

 the King; but, in one instance, contrary to custom, the King empowered 



1 Liber Niger, Christ Church. =Cal. Irish Pat. Rolls, 49 Ed. Ill, No. 154. 



