“48 
of Welsh blood, and by the laws’ and 
customs peculiar to that country; but 
being now réduced under the English 
yoke, king Edward divided it into shires. 
Some of the old Welsh laws he retained,. 
others he altered, and some he entirely 
rejected. He alo instituted courts of 
judicature, similar to those of England. 
The principality was thus voverned : 
the prince held a court of chancery and 
exchequer in the castle of Caernarvon, 
for North Wales, and had a judge, or 
“justice there, who adminstered justice to 
the whole of the inhabitants of this divi- 
sion. A similar court was holden in the 
- 
castle of Caermarthen, for South Walesgujthr 
which had likewise its justice. “The 
courts holden by these justices, in their 
respective provinces, were called the 
Courts of great sessions. Here’ causes of 
every description, within the respective 
provinces, were heard and determined. 
On the creation of every new prince, 
there were granted by the people of the 
province, to the prinee, in acknowledg- 
ment of his inveotinaee Mfehtain sums of 
money, called by them the Myses. 
These were also considered as paid to the 
prince for his allowance of former cus- 
toms, and as procuring pardon for of- 
fences previously committed. Thesum 
ot the Adyses, for the county of Caermar- 
then, was about eight hundred mark3; 
aud for the county of Cardigan, about 
six hundred marks.-—Besides the great 
courts, there were also holden mferior 
courts, or tourrs, asin England, called, 
by some, courts of petty sessions. There 
were also in the several courts, unfe- | 
rior to these. Incase of error in judg- 
ment of any of these courts, redress 
was always to be had by a writ of false 
judgment, in the superior court. And 
in erroneous judgment, in these superior 
courts, redress was had either from the 
judgment of what was called a special 
justice of itinerance, or from the parlia- 
ment of England, but never in the Eng- ; 
} sh courts of justice at Westminster. 
The Government of the Marches of Wales. 
Tt appears from various ancient docu- 
Ments, that after the conquest of Eng- 
land by the Normans, King William 
placed several of his Norman nobility on 
the confines of Wales, and gave power to 
them to make such conquests in Wales 
as they were able. Leaving them by this 
means to provide territory for themselves, 
_and thus also endeavouring, in part,to re- 
duce the Welsh into his sutjection. The 
lands thus seized by his- followers were 
to be holden of the crown ‘of England, 
Cod nent oF the Marches of W. ales. 
~ council. 
time, Dr. Smith, afterwards Bishop of: 
the president.. 
in capite. This also induced several of _ ; 
the English nobility, who held lands on 
the borders of Wales, to make incursions 
jAug. ds 
into the principality. Many of the au-. 
joiming parts of Wales became thus 
wrested from the Welsh, and were call- 
ed Baronies Marches. By this means, 
Robert Fitzhamond acquired the whole ; 
county of Glamorgan. Barnard New- | 
marsh’ obtained the county of Breck- _ 
nock, and established his conquest by 
marriage with a Welsh woman. ‘These 
were all holden in capite of the crown of — 
England; but that the conquerors, or 
their posterity, should not be deprived of 
ém, the lands thus obtained were cre- 
ated Baronies Marches, and had a kind 
of Palatine jurisdiction erected mieach of 
them, which had power, to administer 
Justice to their tenants in ‘the respective 
territories. The king being _ their 
supreme lord, where their own jurisdice 
tion failed, they sought redress in the Eng- 
lish courts of law. This was the state of 
the government ofthe Marches 
ull after the conquest of the) 
try by Edward I. 
The first council that was R Pipiistied 
in the Marches of Wales, appears to 
have been about the 17th of Edward 
IV. when the Prince of Wales. was 
sent to the Marches under the care of 
his wncle Lord Rivers. At this time. 
also, John, Lord Bishop of Worcester, 
was appointed lord president of the 
Prince Arthur, the son of Hebiuk 
Vil. in the seventeenth year of his fa- 
Ather’s reign, went into Wales. At oe 
Lincoln, the founder of Brasen Nosed 
College, Oxford, was president of the 
council, This person continued presi 
dent till the fourth year of the reign of ~ 
Henry the VIII. when Geoffry Blyth, ~ 
the Bishop of Litchfield and Coventry, 
“succeeded him. 
Mary, the eldest Jaycee of ilenry the 
VIII. bore the title of Princess of Wales, 
although no patent of her creation is now 
to be found. Under her, John Voysye, 
L.L.D. afterwards bishop of Exeter, was 
To him succeeded Row- 
land, the Bishop opt ircheels and Coven- 
tr Dig 
This was the state eof the government of 
the Marches tili the twenty- “seventh year 
of Henry VIII. 
By a statute made in this year, the 
principality and dominion of Wales be- 
came afinexed to the realm of England; 
and the same jurisdiction and govern. % 
> ae 
~ 
