ESQUIRES and gentlemen are confounded together by fir Edward Coke, who obferves, that every efquire is a gentle • Lord chancellor or keeper, if a baron. * Bishops. * Archbishop of York. * Lord treaturer. Secretary of state, if a baron. *Barons. Lord prefidentofthe council. if barons.+ Speaker of the house of commons. caftle, they decided in favour of the archbishop of Canterbury. 'Godw. Comm. de Praful. 665. But the archbishops of York long afterwards refused to acquiefce in this decifion, for bifhop Godwin relates a curious and ludicrous ftruggle, which took place in the reign of Hen. II. above one hundred years afterwards, between Roger archbishop of York, and Richard archbishop of Canterbury, for the chair on the right hand of the pope's legate. Ib. 79. Perhaps to this decifion, and their former equality, we may refer the prefent diftinction between them; viz. that the archbishop of Canterbury is primate of all England, and the archbishop of York is primate of England. VOL. I. Оо man, man, and a gentleman is defined to be one qui arma gerit, who bears coat armour, the grant of which adds gentility to a man's family in like manner as civil nobility, among the Romans, was founded in the jus imaginum, or having the image of one ance ftor at leaft, who had borne fome curule office. It is indeed a matter fomewhat unfettled, what conftitutes the diftinction, or who is a real efquire; for it is not an estate, however large, that confers this rank upon it's owner. Camden, who was himself a herald, distinguishes them the most accurately; and he reckons up four forts of them: 1. The eldeft fons of knights, and their eldest fons in perpetual fucceffion". 2. The eldest fons of younger fons of peers, and their eldest fons in like perpetual fucceffion: both which species of efquires fir Henry Spelman entitles armigeri natalitii". 3. Efquires created by the king's letters patent, or other inveftiture (13); and their eldest fons. 4. Ef (18) This creation has long been difufed. Efquires thus created were invefted calcaribus argentatis, to diftinguish them from the equites aurati. In the life of Chaucer, we are told that he was created fcutifer to Edward III. Scutifer is the fame as armiger; and our word efquire is derived from fcutum, or the French escu a fhield. In the two last heraldic proceffions at the funerals of lord Nelfon and Mr. Pitt, mafters in chancery and ferjeants at law had precedence before knights, bachelors and mafters in chancery had the place inferior to ferjeants at law. The quires by virtue of their offices: as juftices of the peace, and others who bear any office of truft under the crown (19). To thefe may be added the efquires of knights of the bath, each of whom conftitutes three at his inftallation: and all foreign, nay, Irish peers; for not only thefe, but the eldest fons of peers of Great Britain, though frequently titular lords, are only efquires in the law, and must be fo named in all legal proceedings * (20). As for gentlemen, fays fir Thomas Smith, they be made good cheap in this kingdom: for whosoever studieth the laws of the realm, who studieth in the universities, who profeffeth the liberal sciences, and (to be fhort) who can live idly, and without manual labour, and will bear the port, charge, and countenance of a gentleman, he shall be called mafter, and fhall be taken for a x 3 Inft. 30. 2 Inft. 667. y Commonw. of Eng. b. I. c. 20. The heralds fay, that admirals and captains in the navy, and generals, colonels, and officers in the army, have no rank or place afligned them in a proceffion. (19) I cannot but think that this is too extenfive a defcription of an efquire, for it would bestow that honour upon every excifeman and custom-house officer; it probably ought to be limited to thofe only who bear an office of truft under the crown, and who are filed efquires by the king in their commiffions and appointments; and all I conceive who are once honoured by the king with the title of efquire, have a right to that distinction for life. (20) It is rather remarkable that the learned Judge should have forgotten to mention another clafs of efquires, viz. barristers. Sir Henry Spelman is of opinion that their claim to this title is founded in ufurpation, for with fome spleen he informs us, certè altero hinc faculo nominatiffimus in patriâ jurifconfultus, atate provectior, etiam munere gaudens publico et prædiis ampliffimis, generofi titulo bene fe habuit; fortè, quod togata genti magis tunc conveniret civilis illa appellatio quam caftrenfis altera. Gloff. voc. Arm. But this length of enjoyment has established such a right to this distinction, that the court of common pleas refused to hear an affidavit read, be. cause a barrister named in it was not called an efquire. 1 Wilf. 244. 002 gentle gentleman (21). A yeoman is he that hath free land of forty fhillings by the year; who was antiently thereby qua [407]lified to ferve on juries, vote for knights of the fhire, and do any other act, where the law requires one that is prebus et legalis homo. THE reft of the commonalty are tradesmen, artificers, and labourers; who (as well as all others) muft in pursuance of the ftatute I Hen. V. c. 5. be stiled by the name and addition of their eftate, degree, or mystery, and the place to which they belong, or where they have been converfant, in all original writs of actions perfonal, appeals, and indictments, upon which procefs of outlawry may be awarded (22); in order, as it should seem, to prevent any clandeftine or mistaken outlawry, by reducing to a specific certainty the person who is the object of its process (23). 2 2 Inft. 668. (21) The eldest fon has no prior claim to the degree of gentleman; for it is the text of Littleton, that " every fon is as great a gentleman as the eldest.” Sect. 210. 66 (22) Informations in the nature of quo warranto, are not within the ftatute of additions. I Wilf. 244. (23) These are the ranks and degrees into which the people of England are divided, and which were created, and are preferved, for the reciprocal protection and support of each other. But to excite difcontent, and to ftir up rebellion against all good order and peaceful government, a propofition has lately been induftrioufly propagated, viz. that all men are by nature equal. If this fubject is confidered even for a moment, the very reverse will appear to be the truth, and that all men are by nature unequal. For though children come into the world equally helplefs, yet in a few years, as foon as their bodies acquire vigour, and their minds and paffions are expanded and developed, we perceive an infinite difference in their natural powers, capacities, and propenfities; and this inequality is ftill further increafed by the inftruction which they happen to receive. Independent of any pofitive regulations, the unequal induftry and virtues of men muft neceffarily create unequal rights. But it is faid that all men are equal because they have an equal right to justice, or to the poffeffion of their rights. This is a felf-evident truth, which no one ever denied, and it amounts to nothing more than to the identical propofition, that all men have equal rights to their rights; for when different men have perfect and abfolute rights to unequal things, they are certainly equal with regard to the perfection of their rights, or the justice that is due to their respective claims. This is the only fense in which equality can be applied to mankind. In the most perfect republic that can be conceived in theory, the propofition is falfe and mifchievous; the father and child, the mafter and fervant, the judge and prifoner, the general and common foldier, the reprefentative and conftituent, muft be eternally unequal, and have unequal rights. And where every office is elective, the most virtuous and the beft qualified to discharge the duties of any office, have rights and claims fuperior to others. One celebrated philofopher has endeavoured to prove the natural equality of mankind, by obferving, "that the weakest has "ftrength enough to kill the ftrongeft, either by fecret machina❝tions, or by confederacy with others, that are in the fame danwith himself." Hobbes's Lev. c. xiii. ger From fuch a doctrine, fupported by such reafons, we cannot be furprised at the confequences, when an attempt is made to reduce it to practice. Subordination in every fociety is the bond of it's existence; the highest and the loweft individuals derive their strength and security from their mutual affistance and dependence; as in the natural body, the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again, the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Milton was fo convinced of the neceffity of fubordination and degrees, that he makes Satan, even when warring against the king of heaven, addrefs his legions thus: If not equal all, yet free, B. 5. 1.790. And this is alfo beautifully defcribed by Shakespeare, who every where makes his best characters utter the most just and correct fentiments refpecting justice, liberty, and good govern ment. 003 Tak |