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He was not one of the members originally returned to the House of Commons on this occasion; and when the session began, as King's Sergeants had been accustomed to have a summons to the House of Lords, he took his place on the woolsack, from which the Judges were banished, and guided their Lordships in the forms to be observed in reconstructing the constitution.' But it was thought that his presence in the Lower House might be more advantageous; and Sergeant Maynard, who had been returned both for Plymouth and Beeralston, having elected to serve for the former borough, Sergeant Holt was chosen by the latter,-which was represented for a great many years by such a succession of patriotic lawyers, that we might almost be reconciled to close boroughs if the scandal caused by them could be forgot

ten.

On taking his seat, he found the controversy raging between the two Houses respecting the terms in which King James's flight should be described; the Commons having proposed the expression that "he had abdicated the throne," and the Lords insisting on the word "deserted." This was by no means a foolish fight, about equipollent language, as it is generally described; for "abdication" was to lead to the appointment of a new occupier of a vacant throne, and "desertion" to the appointment of a regency to govern for the lineal heir. Holt was deemed a great acquisition by the "abdicationists," and he was immediately added to the committee. of managers intrusted with the duty of debating the question in open conferences with the opposing managers. of the Lords. His speech in the Painted Chamber (almost the only specimen of his parliamentary powers) is preserved to us. He followed immediately after Mr. Somers, who had treated the subject very learnedly, and thus he proceeded :—

"My Lords, I am commanded by the Commons to assist in the management of this conference. As to the first of your Lordships' reasons for your amendment (with submission to your Lordships), I do conceive it not sufficient to alter the minds of the Commons, or to induce them to change the word 'abdicated' for your

'Lords' Journals, 5 Parl. Hist. 32.

Lordships' word 'deserted.' Your Lordships fist say that 'abdicate' is a word not known to the common law of England. But, my Lords, the question is not so much whether it be a word as ancient as the common law, for the Commons would be justified in using it if it be a word of known and certain signification. It is derived from dico, an ancient Latin word, and it is frequently used by Cicero and the best Roman writers. But that it is a known English word, and of a known and certain signification with us, I will prove to you by the dictionary of our countryman Minshew. He has 'abdicate,' as an English word, and says that it signifies to renounce,' which is the signification which the Commons would put upon it. So that I hope your Lordships will not find fault with their using a word so ancient in itself, and with such a certain signification in the vernacular tongue.. Then, my Lords, your objection that it is not a word known to the common law of England, surely cannot prevail, for your Lordships very well know we have very few words in our tongue that are of equal antiquity with the common law; your Lordships know the language of England is altered greatly in the succession of ages and the intermixture of other nations; and if we were obliged to make use only of words current when the common law took its origin, what we should deliver in such a dialect would be very difficult to be understood. Then your Lordships tell us that 'abdication' by the civil law is a voluntary express act of renunciation.' I do not know if your Lordships mean a renunciation by formal deed. If you do, I confess, I know of none executed by King James before he withdrew from the realm. But, my Lords, both by the civil law, and by the common law, and by common sense, there are express acts of renunciation which are not by deed; for, if your Lordships please to observe, government is under a trust, and a deliberate violation of that trust is an express renunciation of it, although not by formal deed. How can a man in reason or sense more strongly express a renunciation of a trust than by subverting it, his actions declaring more strongly than any words spoken or written could do that he utterly renounces it? Therefore, my Lords, I can only repeat in

conclusion, that the doing an act inconsistent with the being and end of a thing shall be construed a renunciation or abdication of that thing."

The Lords, probably, were not much convinced by such reasoning; but, finding public opinion strongly against them, and alarmed by William's threat that, if a regency should be longer struggled for, he would return. to Holland, they yielded,the throne was formally declared to be vacant, and a joint address of the two Houses was presented to the Prince and Princess of Orange, requesting them to take possession of it as King and Queen.

No sooner were they proclaimed than a patent was made out for Sir John Holt as their Prime Sergeant, and he took the oaths of allegiance to them. After the "Convention" had been turned into a "Parliament," he spoke only in one debate during the short time he remained a member of the House of Commons. This was on the difficult question, "What was to become of the taxes which had been voted during the life of James II.?" Sergeant Holt contended that they were still payable, as James II., though he had ceased to reign, was still alive, and that they passed with the Crown to King William and Queen Mary. He urged, with much sublety, that the grant had been made to the Crown of England during the life of an individual, and, therefore, while this individual survived, those wearing the crown were entitled to the benefit of it. The more prudent course, however, was adopted of making a fresh grant of the taxes to the new sovereigns.

Holt does not appear to have taken any part in framing the "Declaration of Rights" or the "Bill of Rights." I do not think that he ever would have been a great debater, or would have acquired much reputation as a statesman. The felicity of his lot proved to be, that he was placed in the situation of all others the best adapted to his natural abilities, to his acquirements, and to his character.

William and his ministers were laudably anxious to elevate to the bench the most learned and upright men that could be found in the profession of the law, the cor15 Parl. Hist. 7c. 25 Parl. Hist. 140, 174.

ruption and incompetency of the Judges having been one of the chief grounds on which the nation had resolved upon a change of dynasty. Great deliberation. was necessary for this purpose, and fortunately there was time to devote to it. Judicial business had been entirely suspended since the late King's flight; and during Hilary Term, which ended on the 12th of February, all the courts in Westminster Hall had been closed. After many consultations,-to avoid all favoritism, the following plan was adopted that every privy councilor should bring a list of the twelve persons whom he deemed the fittest to be the twelve Judges; and that the individuals who had the greatest number of suffrages should be appointed. It is a curious fact, that, howsoever the lists of the different privy councilors varied, they all agreed in first presenting the name of Sir John Holt; such was his reputation for law,-such satisfaction had he given in dispensing justice when Recorder of London, and in such respect was he held for his consistent career in public life. The King willingly ratified this choice, and when the appointment was announced in the London Gazette it was hailed with joy by the whole nation. The new Chief Justice was sworn in before the Commissioners of the Great Seal on the 19th of April, and took his seat in the Court of King's Bench on the first day of Easter Term following."

According to the ancient traditions of Westminster Hall, the anticipation of high judicial qualities has been often disappointed. The celebrated advocate, when placed on the bench, embraces the side of the plaintiff or of the defendant with all his former zeal, and-unconscious of partiality or injustice-in his eagerness for victory becomes unfit fairly to appreciate conflicting evidence, arguments, and authorities. The man of a naturally morose or impatient temper, who had been restrained while at the bar by respect for the ermine, or by the dread of offending attorneys, or by the peril of being called to a personal account by his antagonist for

' Own Times, iii. 6. At the same time he was elected a Governor of the Charter-House in the room of Lord Chancellor Jeffreys.—Corresp. of E. of Clar. ii. 276.

"He was sworn a member of the Privy Council, August 25, 1689.

impertinence,-when he is constituted a living oracle of the law,-puffed up by self-importance, and revenging himself for past subserviency, is insolent to his old competitors, bullies the witnesses, and tries to dictate to the jury. The sordid and selfish practitioner, who, while struggling to advance himself, was industrious and energetic, having gained the object of his ambition, proves listless and torpid, and is quite contented if he can shuffle through his work without committing gross blunders or getting into scrapes. Another, having been more laborious than discriminating, when made a judge, hunts after small or irrelevant points, and obstructs the business of his court by a morbid desire to investigate fully and to decide conscientiously. The recalcitrant barrister, who constantly complained of the interruptions of the court, when raised to the bench forgets that it is his duty to listen and be instructed, and himself becomes a by-word for impatience and loquacity. He who retains the high-mindedness and noble aspirations which distinguished his early career may, with the best intentions, be led astray into dangerous courses, and may bring about a collision between different authorities in the state which had long moved harmoniously, by indiscreetly attempting new modes of redressing grievances, and for an uncalled-for display of heroism.

None of these errors could be imputed to Holt. From his start as a magistrate he exceeded the high expectations which had been formed of him, and during the long period of twenty-two years he constantly rose in the admiration and esteem of his countrymen. To unsullied integrity and lofty independence he added a rare combination of deep professional knowledge with exquisite common sense. According to a homely but expressive phrase, "there was no rubbish in his mind." Familiar with the practice of the court as any clerk,acquainted with the rules of special pleading as if he had spent all his days and nights in drawing declarations and demurrers,-versed in the subtleties of the law of real property as if he had confined his attention to conveyancing, and as a commercial lawyer much in advance of any of his contemporaries,-he ever reasoned logically, appearing at the same time instinctively a

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