course, all the tenants were not summoned; and, doubtless, more than four abbesses held in chief of the Crown. Only the principal tenants, therefore, as by long established practice, were summoned, who represented and made the bargain for the whole. It is observable that all the writs admit of attendance by attornies sufficiently authorized, instead of personal attendance. Other similar instances occur in this and the succeeding reigns of Edward II. and III. The proprietors, male and female, of ecclesiastical property, appear to have been treated with peculiar respect: the grants and subsidies by the lay peers and commons, were, by several special writs, referred to provincial conventions in Canterbury and York, for the approval and ratification of the clergy of the respective provinces: that is to say, so far as respected their own contribution. See a Writ, 27th Nov. 16 Ed. II. (Fad. N. E. T. ii. 500).

We cannot discover that any ladies actually took their seats, by virtue of these summonses, in parliament. We are sorry that the investigation of the feminine rights has been altogether passed over by the learned editors of the recent Reports of the lords' committees respecting the peerage, and who had such an ample field for inquiry in all the great national repositories of public records; but we hope that the omission will be supplied in the forthcoming volumes of Rymer's Fadera and Prynne's Writs.

We can, however, in some measure, console our female friends by an extract we have made from the Dugdale MS. in the Ashmole Museum, at Oxford, of A Catalogue of such Noble Persons as have had Summons to Parliament, and there sate in right of their Wives-(MSS. 6517. T. p. 45.) as follows:

"Robert Hungerford, Esq. having married Alianor, daughter and heir to William Lord Moline, was summoned to parliament by the title of Lord Molins, in 23 Hen. VI. 27, 28, 29, et 31 Hen. VI.

"Sir Henry Percie, Knt. having married Alianor, cousin and next heir of Robert Lord Poynings, in 27 Hen. VI. by the title of Lord Poynings. So likewise in 28, 29, 31, et 33 Hen. VI.

"William Bourchier, third son to William Bourchier, Earl of Ewe, having married Thomasine, the daughter and heir of Sir Richard Hankford, Knt. by Elizabeth his wife, sister and heir to Fouke Fitzwarine; as also sister and heir to Elizabeth, the other sister of the said Sir Richard, by the title of Lord Fitzwarine, in 27 Hen. VI. 28, 29, 31, 33 Hen. VI. Et 1, 2, 6, 9, 12 Ed. IV.

"Sir Richard Welles, Knt. having married Joane, daughter and heir to William Lord Willoughby, by the title of Lord Willoughby, in 33 Hen. VI. 38 Hen. VI. Et 1, 2, et 6 Ed. IV.

"Sir John Bourchier, Knt. of the Garter, fourth son to William Earl of Ewe, having married Margery, the daughter and heir to Rich

ard Lord Berners, by the title of Lord Berners, in 33 Hen. VI. 38. Hen. VI. Et 1, 2, 6, 9, 12 Ed. IV. Et 11, 12 Hen. VII.

"Humphrey Bourchier, third son to Henry Bourchier, the first Earl of Essex of that family, having married Joan, the daughter and heir of Richard Stanhope, niece and coheir to Raphe Lord Cromwell, of Tatshall, by the title of Lord Cromwell, in 1 Ed. IV. 2, 6, 9 Ed. IV.

"Anthony Widirle, son and heir to Richard Earl of Rivers, having married Elizabeth, daughter and heir to Thomas Lord Scales of Nucells, was thereupon declared Lord Scales; and afterwards had summons to parliament by the title of Lord Scales, in 2 Ed. IV. et 6 Ed. IV.

"Richard Hastings having married Joan, the daughter and heir to Robert Lord Welles, by the title of Lord Welles, in 22 Ed. IV. et 1 Rich. III.

Edward, son and heir to William Lord Hastings, (Lord Chamberlain to King Edward IV.) having married Mary, the sole daughter and heir of Thomas Lord Hungerford, by the title of Lord Hungerford, in 22 Ed. IV. 1 Rich. III. 3, 7, 11, 12 Hen. VII.

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George, son and heir to Thomas Stanley, Earl of Derby, having married Joane, the daughter and heir to John Lord Strange, of Knokyn, by the title of Lord Strange, in 22 Ed. IV. 1 Rich. III. 3 Hen. VII. 11, 12 Hen. VII.

"Charles Somerset, natura! son to Henry Duke of Somerset, having married Elizabeth, the sole daughter and heir to William Herbert, Earl of Huntingdon, by the title of Lord Herbert, in 1 Hen. VIII. 3 Hen. VIII.

"Hugh Stafford, a younger son to Hugh Earl of Stafford, having married Elizabeth, daughter and heir to Bartholomew Lord Bourchier, by the title of Lord Bourchier, in 12 et 14 Hen. IV. and 1 Hen. V.

"Sir Roger de Fenys, Knt. having married Joane, sole daughter and heir to Thomas Lord Dacre, was, by letters patent, dated 7th November, 37 Hen. VI. accepted and declared Lord Dacre, and to be a baron of this realm; and summoned to parliament by that title in 38 Hen. VI. Et 1, 2, 6, 9, 12, et 22 Ed. IV.

"Walter Devereux having married Anne, sole daughter and heir to William Lord Ferrers, of Chartley, was created Lord Ferrers, of Chartley, and had summons to parliament by the title of Lord Ferrers, of Chartley, in 2 Ed. IV. 6, 9, 12, 22 Ed. IV. et 1 Rich. III.

"Edward Gray, having married Elizabeth, the sister and heir to Thomas Talbot Viscount L'isle, in 15 Ed. IV. was created Viscount L'isle."

To these instances may be added the following additional ones from Dugdale's printed collection-(Summons, 1685, p. 576.)

"Sir Lewes Robsart, Knight, having also married the aforesaid Elizabeth, daughter of Lord Bourchier, (widow of Sir Hugh Stafford, Knight) had summons to parliament by the title of Lord Bourchier,

in 3, 4, 5, 7 Hen. VI. Thus this lady introduced two husbands to the House of Peers in virtue of her baronial rights.

“William Nevill married the grand-daughter and heiress of Lord Fauconberge, and was summoned by that title, in 33 and 38 Henry VI. and I Edw. IV.

"William Lovel, the like, having married Alianore, daughter and heiress of Lord Morley, in the parliaments of the 9 Edw. IV. and 49 Hen. VI.

"Edward Grey, having married Elizabeth, the sister and heir to Thomas Lord L'isle, was summoned by that title, in 22 Edw. IV. and 1 Ric. III. and in 3, 7 Hen. VII."

We shall close this Catalogue with a still more decided instance in Ralphe de Montheriner, who, having married Joan of Acres, (daughter of King Edward I. and widow of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, possessing lands of great extent in her own right, which belonged to those earldoms,) had summons to parliament from the 28th to the 35th of Edward I. by the title of Earl of Gloucester and Hertford. But after her death, (an. 1 Edw. II.) he never had those titles, but was summoned as a baron only.

In Dugdale, also, will be found the names of many noble persons, whose titles of honour were either the names of such heirs female from whom they were descended, or the names of such places whence those heirs female assumed their titles of dignity; and of whose summons to parliament by those titles, the general index will shew the respective times. They amount in number to twenty-eight instances.

So much for the representation of ladies in the House of Lords. The fact of their having formerly the right of being present at debates in the upper house, is evident from a speech (another proof also of their "virtual influence,") made by Lord Shaftesbury, in 1675, upon the dispute between the two houses, in the case of Shirley and Fagg-(Lords' Debates, vol. i. p. 165.) His lordship, arguing in favour of the lords' judicature, says,

"I have heard of twenty foolish models and expedients to secure the justice of the nation, and yet to take this right from your lordships. I must deal freely with your lordships: these thoughts could never have arisen in men's minds, but that there has been some kind of provocation that has given rise to it. Pray, my lords, forgive me, if, on this occasion, I put you in mind of committee dinners, and the scandal of it; those droves of ladies that attended all causes: it was come to that pass, that men even hired, or borrowed of their friends, handsome sisters or daughters to deliver their petitions."

Ladies, it is well known, have still the entrée on the opening, prorogation, or dissolution of parliament by the monarch or his commissioners. And we have often noticed them of late

years, during ordinary debates, gratifying both their curiosity and their pride in listening to their noble relatives, at the foot of the throne and area in front of it.

We now come to their rights as commoners, and members of the third estate: and, however singular it may appear, we shall, nevertheless, prove by incontestable documents, that they have possessed an actual right of representation in the Commons, and, in several instances, have exercised their franchise.

The origin of the representation of the counties, by two knights, (and, in some instances, three and four were directed in the precept to be chosen), is involved in great obscurity; and from some circumstances would appear of more recent date than the representation of some of the cities and boroughs; and also, more immediately originating in the representation of the landed estates, and yeoman tenants, in capite,—or that by corruption it became so. In the second part of Prynne's Writs that indefatigable antiquary makes the following curious mention of female representation.

"The first indentures and returns of knights for the county of York, are very remarkable, different from any I have seen in other shires of England, the attorneys of the archbishop of York, and of sundry earls, lords, nobles, and some ladies, who were annual suitors to the county court of Yorkshire, being the sole electors of the knights, and sealing their indentures: witness this first indenture yet extant, for this county." Anno 13 Hen. IV., upon the writ of 12 Hen. IV. apud West.

He then quotes the indenture with several female signatures by attorney. Brevia Parliamentaria Rediviva, p. 152. We have put the word ladies in italics in this quotation. It does not appear that it was the singularity of their execution of the indenture, that struck Prynne as so peculiar, but rather the nature of the return signed by attorney: for, in the following page he says, without reference to the signature of the females,

"The like indentures upon writs for elections of knights, issued to the sheriffs of Yorkshire, I find, in Anno 8 Hen. V. Anno. 1, 2, 3, 5, & 7 Hen. VI., in all which, the attornies only of nobles, barons, lords, ladies, and knights, who were suitors, made the election of the knights of Yorkshire, in the county court, and sealed the indentures. But in an. 25 Hen. VI. this ancient form and manner of elections and of indentures was changed, and varied from these fore-cited, being made and sealed by the freeholders of the county, not by noblemen's, ladies', and other's attorneys." (Ib. p. 153.)

We are much surprised, considering the minutiae of his remarks, that this exercise of feminine power did not elicit some observation. We are almost inclined to suspect that the female

franchise was not so uncommon (in virtue of manorial right and freeholds) as to call forth any commentary. We have in vain searched the journals and records of petitions for traces of any popular protests against the exercise of female franchise but can discover no allusion to it. The corrupted representation, however, of the counties before this period was often the subject of bold complaint by petition. In the parliament of the 50th Edward III., the commons prayed that the knights of counties should be elected by common election " de les meilleurs gentz," of the same counties, and not certified by the sheriff alone, (Rot. Parl. Edward III. 355. No. 186.) The answer was, that the king willed, that they should be chosen by common consent of all the county. In a parliament previous to that of the indentures above referred to by Prynne, the 7th and 8th Henry IV., the due election of the knights of the shire was provided for by a statute for the free publication of the writ to the sheriff and election by all the freeholders annexing their seals to the indenture of return. Subsequently, also, to the parliament, 13 Henry IV., namely in the first and second years of Henry V., the commons enacted statutes for the more popular election of the knights, providing, that they should be elected by common consent and not by the vote, assent, or commission (mandement) of those absent. This we presume put an end to the aforesaid returns by attorneys on behalf of lords, ladies, &c. We cannot discover whether any women afterwards voted in person, but we are not aware of any law that would prevent them; nor of any act at the present time that would exclude them. It is stated in the Percy Anecdotes, that in an action at law, it has been determined that an unmarried woman having a freehold might vote for members of parliament: we are not aware of any such fact. But, in the reign of Elizabeth, when ladies wore much higher heeled shoes, a most remarkable return is met with among a bundle of returns to parliamentary writs in the chapel of the rolls, (15 Elizabeth, A. D. 1572.) The return is of two members for the borough of Aylesbury, by Lady Packington, as follows:

"To all Christian people to whom this present writing shall come. I, Dame Dorothy Packington, widow, late wife of Sir John Packington, knight, lord and owner of the town of Aylesbury, send greeting. Know ye, me, the said Dame Dorothy Packington, to have chosen, named, and appointed my trusty and well-beloved Thomas Lichfeld, and George Burden, esquires, to be my burgesses of my said town of Aylesbury. And whatsoever the said Thomas and George, burgesses, shall do in the service of the queen's highness in that present parliament to be holden at Westminster, the 8th day of May next ensuing the date hereof, I, the same Dorothy Packington, do ratify and approve to be my own act, as fully and wholly as if I were or might be present there.