People Of Sherwood America ~ Communist From Montana Senator
(sic) John Tester: Introduces Bill For Obama To Confiscate Land In The Name Of
NAZI Paradigm EPA aka; Agenda 21.
Posted
on November 15, 2012
1
Senate to vote on the Federal Land Seizure Act on Thursday
Federal Land Seizure Act of 2012.
Senator
Jon Tester (D-MT) — who is “F” rated by Gun Owners of
America — is pushing a “hunting” bill that authorizes the Obama administration
almost unlimited power to seize private lands for “environmental” purposes.
Reid
Clinton
Anti-gun Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled Tester’s bill for a
vote, and it will probably take place on Thursday.
Maybe Now The Middle Class Unemployed Will Rid The
Senate Of Harry Reid & His Henchmen: Rothschild Controlled Senate Just
Voted To Increase Taxes On Small Businesses & Flush 700,000 more
American Jobs. Shovel Ready?
Hey How About That Harry Reid Congress? Approval
Rating Is At An Awesome 6%: Rasmussen Reports.
Reid Democrats Sucking The Life Blood From America:
Harry Reid’s A Liar: Senate Democrats Never Balanced Budget, Won’t Do So
In The Future!
Satan To Distance Self From Rothschild, Soros,
McCain, Bloomberg, Lieberman, Reid, Rockefeller, & Maurice Strong!
OBAMA & REID’S ACORN, MILKING MONEY OUT OF
CALIFORNIA AS ACCE: ALLIANCE of CALIFORNIANS for CLANDESTINE ENTERPRISES.
ACTION: It is imperative that gun owners contact their Senators
and ask them to OPPOSE S. 3525. Tell them that the modest conservation gains
allowed in the bill are totally offset by giving unelected bureaucrats the
authority to steal land from hunters and private property
owners.
(Rudyard
Kipling 1865-1936)
King John (Lackland) was a bad king. At least, that’s how history remembers
him.
According to legend, he gave Robin Hood (also called Robin Longstride and Robin
of Locksley) – the heroic archer of Sherwood Forest who died a treacherous
death – a terrible time.
He tried to steal the throne from his brother, Richard the Lionheart, while
Richard was out of the country fighting Muslims who overtook Jerusalem.
He was a lousy son to his mother, the famous Eleanor of Aquitaine (once
portrayed by Katherine Hepburn).Yet, King John gave his barons (and ultimately
the world) the Magna Carta, one of the greatest legal documents ever written
and a cornerstone of modern national constitutions.
ROBIN HOOD’S MAGNA CARTA
BACKGROUND
(1) When the “wetlands” provisions of the Clean Water Act were
originally enacted, no one could have foreseen that a landowner would go to
prison for applying clean dirt to a junkyard adjacent to a sewer, which was
determined to be “wetlands.” But environmentalists have been brilliant in
taking seemingly innocuous programs and massively expanding them through
fraudulent interpretations or tiny loopholes.
(2) S. 3525 has “sweeteners.” It allows archery bows to be transported through
national parks under very limited circumstances, although Obama could do this
by administrative fiat. It also allows, but does not mandate, Pittman-Robertson
funds to be used for target ranges. But none of these small discretionary
provisions offset the potential damage this does to the rights of individual
landowners.
(3) THE ISSUE OF LOST OPPORTUNITY: If this is the Democrats’ sop to gun owners,
it may make it a lot more difficult to secure national concealed carry
reciprocity or to stop anti-gun measures and treaties.
Taking
America’s Land And Giving It To Centralized Federal Government – Agenda 21
1.
Victories
Over Agenda 21: The Seditious, Treasonist, & Surreptitious U.N. Attempt To
Destroy The U.S. Constitution!
THE CENTRAL PROBLEM WITH S. 3525
The central problem with the bill is
that it allows seizure of private lands for “aquatic habitats” [Sections 201(8)
and 204 (d) (2)]. The definition of this term is limitless and includes seizure
of lands in order to “protec[t] the quality and quantity of water sources” and
to “serv[e] as a buffer protecting the aquatic environment.” [Section 201 (2)]
U.S. Federal Judge: Federal Scientists Committed
Perjury ~ ‘False Testimony’ That Was ‘Arbitrary, Capricious, And
Unlawful’.
Thus, a factory that “pollutes” can
be seized to protect an “aquatic habitat.” The only real limit on seizure in
Section 204 is the requirement that the government manage the seized property
“in accordance with the purposes of this subtitle.”
WHO ARE THE DECISION MAKERS?
The National Fish Habitat Board
consists of 27 members. The initial members (Obama appointees) select the
remaining members. Thus while the “commercial fishing industry” supposedly has
a representative, you can bet that that fisherman is an Obama-supporter and
will support his agenda.
The board then enters into “partnerships” with, inter alia, outside groups. And
you can bet that every liberal environmental organization in the country will
now be feeding at this pig sty. The outside groups recommend fish habitat
programs and plans for seizing private lands.
Bottom line: This will give immense powers to unelected bureaucrats — a clear
violation of the Separation
of Powers which our Founders implemented as a way of protecting our
rights.
WHAT ABOUT SECTION 211 (e) (2)?
The Sneaky Loophole
Obama Signs His 86th. Executive Order #13575 Agenda
21: Ron Paul ~ Executive Orders Being Taken Too Far!
This supposedly requires the consent
of landowners prior to having their lands seized. But, note the sneaky
loophole: Section 211 (e) (2) applies only to property that is being seized
with federal funds and, under Section 204 (e), half the funds need to come from
non-federal sources.
So while this section is put forward as a “protection,” it actually doesn’t
provide total immunity because the government can take a land owner’s property using non-federal funds
— and there is no protection in the bill against that.
CapWiz
Obama’s
Nuremberg
Italy To Help American Citizens: President Of
Italy’s Supreme Court Sends U.S. 9/11 Crimes To International Criminal
Tribunal!
Magna
Carta forbade arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, established the rights to a
fair trial and to security of property, and guaranteed that the nation’s
government was itself subject to the same laws as its subjects.
The Magna Carta display in the Crypt
of the United States Capitol features a replica of the English document whose
principles underlie much of the Constitution of the United States.
Freedom’s Magna Carta
Runnymede
Meadows, where the Magna Carta was signed in 1215
Meeting at
Runnymede
The Story of King John and Magna Carta
(Rudyard Kipling 1865-1936)
King John (Lackland) was a bad king. At least,
that’s how history remembers him.
According to legend, he gave Robin
Hood (also called Robin Longstride and Robin of Locksley) –
the heroic archer of Sherwood
Forest who died a treacherous death - a terrible time.
He tried to steal the throne from his brother, Richard the Lionheart, while Richard was out of the
country fighting Muslims who overtook Jerusalem.
He was a lousy son to his mother,
the famous Eleanor of Aquitaine (once portrayed by Katherine Hepburn).Yet, King John gave his
barons (and ultimately the world) the Magna Carta,
one of the greatest legal documents ever written and a cornerstone of modern
national constitutions.
Roman
Catholic King Richard I The Lionheart (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was
King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death 1199.
Myth and history are intertwined in
the England of 800 years ago. We all remember the OUTLAW, Robin Hood. From his
hideout in Sherwood Forest, he and his band of Merry Men preyed on the rich and gave to the
poor. Their archenemy was the Sheriff of Nottingham, who took his orders from
the sinister Prince
John.
King John
Declares Robin Of Locksley An Outlaw!
King John was the central character in a real life drama that led to a
milestone in human liberty: Magna Carta. Prince
John’s older brother, Richard, became king of England when their father, Henry
II, died in 1189. King Richard I (also called Richard the
Lionhearted) spent almost the entire 10 years of his reign away from
England. He fought in tournaments, led The Catholic Crusades against Islam to
free The Christians In Jerusalem, and waged several wars on the continent of
Europe.
Since Richard needed revenue to pay for his adventures, he taxed his subjects
heavily. At one point Richard was captured by his enemies in Austria and held
for ransom (a common practice in feudal Europe). Richard’s tax collectors in
England had to raise an enormous sum of money to free him. Despite Richard’s
demands, the people back home in England loved him as a conquering hero.
When Richard died in 1199, John became King. Unlike his brother, John tended to
stay at home and run his kingdom on a day to day basis. John, however,
continued his brother’s harsh tax policy. Because John lacked Richard’s heroic
image and charisma, his subjects began to hate him for his constant demands for
more tax money.
King
John 1166 A.D. – 1216 A.D.
King John vs. the Church
King John made more enemies when he
refused to accept the appointment of Stephen Langton
as Archbishop
of Canterbury, the most important position in the English Catholic Church.
By so doing, John challenged the authority of Pope Innocent III
in Rome, who punished John by excommunication.
John retaliated by taxing the Church in England, confiscating its lands and
forcing many priests to leave their parishes.
While King John carried on his dispute with the Pope, powerful English
landowners called barons conspired against him. Fuming over John’s heavy taxes
and other abuses of power, the barons plotted rebellion. To head them off, King
John made an unexpected move.
In 1212, King John agreed to have Stephen Langton become Archbishop of
Canterbury. John also promised to compensate the Church for its money and
lands. John even went so far as to make England a fief of the Pope. King John
still ruled England, but, as John’s liege lord, the Pope gained tremendous
prestige throughout Europe. Pope Innocent was delighted and in 1213 ended
John’s excommunication. With John now under the protection of the Church, the
resentful barons retreated—at least for a while.
King John vs. the Barons
Convinced that his throne was again
safe, King John returned to one of his favorite projects. For years he had
dreamed to retake possession of lands in France that had once belonged to his
ancestors. Once before, John had led a military expedition to France. Although
he won a number of battles, John failed to decisively defeat the French king.
Now, in 1213, John planned another campaign.
An invasion of France required many soldiers and more money. Under feudal law,
a liege lord had the right to call upon his vassals to provide knights or money
during times of war. From the English barons, all vassals of King John, he
demanded men-at-arms or gold to support his new French war. Many of the barons
refused, having little interest in John’s quarrel with the French king.
Enraged, King John set out to punish them by attacking their castles.
Early in 1214, he abandoned his domestic quarrels and left with a force of
loyal barons and mercenaries (paid soldiers) for France. History repeated
itself. John succeeded in winning some battles, but failed to gain control of
the disputed lands.
Another
Communist Sleeper Cell ~ Chris Christy!
The Road to
Runnymede
Soon after returning to English soil
in October 1214, King John resumed his demand for money from the rebellious
barons. His demands fell on deaf ears. Sensing John’s weakness after his failure
in France, the barons began to make their own demands. In January 1215, a group
of them appeared before King John asking for a written charter from him
confirming ancient liberties granted by earlier kings of England. Evidence
suggests that the newly appointed Archbishop Stephen Langton may have
encouraged these demands.
John decided to stall for time; he would give the barons an answer later in the
spring. In the meantime, John sent letters to enlist the support of Pope
Innocent III, and also began to assemble a mercenary army.
In April, the barons presented John with more specific demands. John flatly
rejected them. He remarked: “Why do not the barons, with these unjust
exactions, ask my kingdom?”
In response, the barons withdrew their allegiance to King John, and started to
form their own rebel army. At the head of the rebel forces was Robert FitzWalter,
who called himself “Marshal of the army of God and Holy Church.” In an effort
to cool things off, John proposed that the Pope settle their differences. With
the Pope openly siding with King John, the barons refused. John ordered his
sheriffs to crush the rebel barons and they retaliated by occupying London.
A stalemate ensued. The 40 or so rebel barons and their forces held London as
well as their own fortified castles throughout England. King John commanded a
slightly smaller force of loyalist barons and mercenaries. Unaligned were about
100 barons plus a group of church leaders headed by the ever-present Archbishop
Stephen Langton. Langton (who was sympathetic to the rebels if not one himself)
began to work for a negotiated settlement to prevent all-out civil war and
arranged a meeting to be held at Runnymede, a meadow on the Thames west of
London.
Meeting at Runnymede
King John and his supporters, the
rebel barons, the neutrals, church leaders and Archbishop Langton all met at
Runnymede on June 15, 1215. Significantly, while most of King John’s fighting
men were scattered throughout his kingdom, the rebels appeared at full military
strength.
Little is known about the details of this historic meeting. We do know that
King John placed his seal of approval on a document called the “Articles of the
Barons.” Over the next few days these articles were rewritten, expanded, and put
into the legal language of a royal charter.
At some point, probably on June 19, King John put his seal on the final draft
of what we call today “Magna Carta” or “The Great Charter.” In
exchange, the rebellious barons renewed their oath of allegiance to King John,
thus ending the immediate threat of civil war.
In its original form Magna Carta consisted of 63
articles or chapters. Many concerned matters of feudal law that were
important to the rebel barons, but are of little relevance to us today. Other
parts of Magna Carta corrected King John’s abuses of power against the barons,
Church officials, merchants and other “free men” who together made up about 25%
of England’s population. Magna Carta virtually ignored the remaining 75% of the
population.
For people today the most significant part of Magna Carta is Chapter 39:
No free man shall be arrested or imprisoned or disseised [property taken] or
outlawed or exiled or in any way victimized, neither will we attack him or send
anyone to attack him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law
of the land.
Some have interpreted this provision to mean that Magna Carta guaranteed to
free men the right to a trial by jury. However, the idea of a jury trial as we
would recognize it today had not yet developed by 1215.
The purpose of this chapter was to prevent King John from personally ordering
the arrest and punishment of a free man without lawful judgment. According to
Magna Carta, “lawful judgment” could only be made by judges ruled by “the law
of the land,” or by one’s peers in a trial by combat.
Magna Carta of 1215 was not really intended to be a list of rights for
Englishmen or even the barons themselves. It was more like a contract in which
John bound himself to abide by its provisions. The barons only wanted King John
to satisfy their complaints against his abusive rule, not overthrow the
monarchy. The real significance of this document lies in the basic idea that a
ruler, just like everyone else, is subject to the rule of law. When King John
agreed to Magna Carta, he admitted that the law was above the king’s will, a
revolutionary idea in 1215.
Aftermath
King John surrendered significant
power when he agreed to Magna Carta. It is doubtful that he really ever
intended to live up to all his promises. While John did satisfy some of the
barons’ personal grievances, he secretly wrote the Pope asking him to cancel
Magna Carta on the grounds that he signed it against his will. At the same time
he continued to build up his mercenary army. Not trusting John’s intentions,
the rebel barons held on to London and maintained their own army.
Pope Innocent III replied favorably to King John’s appeal. He condemned Magna
Carta and declared it null and void. By September 1215, King John and his army
were roving the countryside attacking the castles of individual barons, but he
avoided the rebel stronghold of London. The barons charged that King John had
defaulted on his agreement with them and they were justified in removing him
from the throne. They offered the throne to the son of the French king, if he
would aid their rebellion.
A long and bloody civil war loomed across England, when suddenly, King John
died. A round of heavy eating and drinking apparently led to a case of
dysentery causing his death on October 18, 1216. Ten days later John’s
nine-year-old son, Henry, was crowned as the new king of England. With John out
of the way, the conflict gradually ceased. Less than a month after Henry was
crowned, his supporters confirmed Magna Carta in his name. This time it
received the approval of the Pope.
Magna Carta, carrying with it the idea of “the rule of law,” was reconfirmed a
number of times over the next 80 years, becoming a foundation of English law.
Eventually, Magna Carta would become the source of important legal concepts
found in our American Constitution and Bill of Rights. Among these are the
principle of no taxation without representation and the right to a fair trial
under law. These foundations of our own constitutional system had their
beginnings in a meadow beside a river almost 800 years ago.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Magna Carta Text
Magna
Carta Runnymede,
England
June 15, 1215JOHN, by the grace of God King of England,
Lord of Ireland, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and Count of Anjou, to his
archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justices, foresters, sheriffs, stewards,
servants, and to all his officials and loyal subjects, Greeting.KNOW THAT BEFORE GOD, for the health of our soul and those
of our ancestors and heirs, to the honour of God, the exaltation of the holy
Church, and the better ordering of our kingdom, at the advice of our reverend
fathers Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England, and
cardinal of the holy Roman Church, Henry archbishop of Dublin, William bishop
of London, Peter bishop of Winchester, Jocelin bishop of Bath and Glastonbury,
Hugh bishop of Lincoln, Walter Bishop of Worcester, William bishop of
Coventry, Benedict bishop of Rochester, Master Pandulf subdeacon and member
of the papal household, Brother Aymeric master of the knighthood of the
Temple in England, William Marshal earl of Pembroke, William earl of
Salisbury, William earl of Warren, William earl of Arundel, Alan de Galloway
constable of Scotland, Warin Fitz Gerald, Peter Fitz Herbert, Hubert de Burgh
seneschal of Poitou, Hugh de Neville, Matthew Fitz Herbert, Thomas Basset,
Alan Basset, Philip Daubeny, Robert de Roppeley, John Marshal, John Fitz
Hugh, and other loyal subjects:(1) FIRST, THAT WE HAVE
GRANTED TO GOD, and by this present charter have confirmed for us and our
heirs in perpetuity, that the English Church shall be free, and shall have
its rights undiminished, and its liberties unimpaired. That we wish this so
to be observed, appears from the fact that of our own free will, before the
outbreak of the present dispute between us and our barons, we granted and confirmed
by charter the freedom of the Church’s elections – a right reckoned to be of
the greatest necessity and importance to it – and caused this to be confirmed
by Pope Innocent III. This freedom we shall observe ourselves, and desire to
be observed in good faith by our heirs in perpetuity.TO ALL FREE MEN OF OUR
KINGDOM we have also granted, for us and our heirs for ever, all the
liberties written out below, to have and to keep for them and their heirs, of
us and our heirs:(2) If any earl, baron, or other
person that holds lands directly of the Crown, for military service, shall
die, and at his death his heir shall be of full age and owe a `relief’, the
heir shall have his inheritance on payment of the ancient scale of `relief’.
That is to say, the heir or heirs of an earl shall pay £100 for the entire
earl’s barony, the heir or heirs of a knight l00s. at most for the entire
knight’s `fee’, and any man that owes less shall pay less, in accordance with
the ancient usage of `fees’(3) But if the heir of such a person is under age
and a ward, when he comes of age he shall have his inheritance without
`relief’ or fine.(4) The guardian of the land of an heir who is under age
shall take from it only reasonable revenues, customary dues, and feudal
services. He shall do this without destruction or damage to men or property.
If we have given the guardianship of the land to a sheriff, or to any person
answerable to us for the revenues, and he commits destruction or damage, we
will exact compensation from him, and the land shall be entrusted to two
worthy and prudent men of the same `fee’, who shall be answerable to us for
the revenues, or to the person to whom we have assigned them. If we have
given or sold to anyone the guardianship of such land, and he causes destruction
or damage, he shall lose the guardianship of it, and it shall be handed over
to two worthy and prudent men of the same `fee’, who shall be similarly
answerable to us.(5) For so long as a guardian has guardianship of such land,
he shall maintain the houses, parks, fish preserves, ponds, mills, and
everything else pertaining to it, from the revenues of the land itself. When
the heir comes of age, he shall restore the whole land to him, stocked with
plough teams and such implements of husbandry as the season demands and the
revenues from the land can reasonably bear.
(6) Heirs may be given in marriage, but not to someone of lower social
standing. Before a marriage takes place, it shall be’ made known to the
heir’s next-of-kin.
(7) At her husband’s death, a widow may have her marriage portion and
inheritance at once and without trouble. She shall pay nothing for her dower,
marriage portion, or any inheritance that she and her husband held jointly on
the day of his death. She may remain in her husband’s house for forty days
after his death, and within this period her dower shall be assigned to her.
(8) No widow shall be compelled to marry, so long as she wishes to remain
without a husband. But she must give security that she will not marry without
royal consent, if she holds her lands of the Crown, or without the consent of
whatever other lord she may hold them of.
(9) Neither we nor our officials will seize any land or rent in payment of a
debt, so long as the debtor has movable goods sufficient to discharge the
debt. A debtor’s sureties shall not be distrained upon so long as the debtor
himself can discharge his debt. If, for lack of means, the debtor is unable
to discharge his debt, his sureties shall be answerable for it. If they so
desire, they may have the debtor’s lands and rents until they have received
satisfaction for the debt that they paid for him, unless the debtor can show
that he has settled his obligations to them.
(10) If anyone who has borrowed a sum of money from Jews dies before the debt
has been repaid, his heir shall pay no interest on the debt for so long as he
remains under age, irrespective of whom he holds his lands. If such a debt
falls into the hands of the Crown, it will take nothing except the principal
sum specified in the bond.
(11) If a man dies owing money to Jews, his wife may have her dower and pay
nothing towards the debt from it. If he leaves children that are under age,
their needs may also be provided for on a scale appropriate to the size of
his holding of lands. The debt is to be paid out of the residue, reserving
the service due to his feudal lords. Debts owed to persons other than Jews
are to be dealt with similarly.
(12) No `scutage’ or `aid’ may be levied in our kingdom without its general
consent, unless it is for the ransom of our person, to make our eldest son a
knight, and (once) to marry our eldest daughter. For these purposes ouly a
reasonable `aid’ may be levied. `Aids’ from the city of London are to be
treated similarly.
(13) The city of London shall enjoy all its ancient liberties and free
customs, both by land and by water. We also will and grant that all other
cities, boroughs, towns, and ports shall enjoy all their liberties and free
customs.
(14) To obtain the general consent of the realm for the assessment of an
`aid’ – except in the three cases specified above – or a `scutage’, we will
cause the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons to be
summoned individually by letter. To those who hold lands directly of us we
will cause a general summons to be issued, through the sheriffs and other
officials, to come together on a fixed day (of which at least forty days
notice shall be given) and at a fixed place. In all letters of summons, the
cause of the summons will be stated. When a summons has been issued, the
business appointed for the day shall go forward in accordance with the
resolution of those present, even if not all those who were summoned have
appeared.
(15) In future we will allow no one to levy an `aid’ from his free men,
except to ransom his person, to make his eldest son a knight, and (once) to
marry his eldest daughter. For these purposes only a reasonable `aid’ may be
levied.
(16) No man shall be forced to perform more service for a knight’s `fee’, or
other free holding of land, than is due from it.
(17) Ordinary lawsuits shall not follow the royal court around, but shall be
held in a fixed place.
(18) Inquests of novel disseisin, mort d’ancestor, and darrein presentment
shall be taken only in their proper county court. We ourselves, or in our
absence abroad our chief justice, will send two justices to each county four
times a year, and these justices, with four knights of the county elected by
the county itself, shall hold the assizes in the county court, on the day and
in the place where the court meets.
(19) If any assizes cannot be taken on the day of the county court, as many
knights and freeholders shall afterwards remain behind, of those who have
attended the court, as will suffice for the administration of justice, having
regard to the volume of business to be done.
(20) For a trivial offence, a free man shall be fined only in proportion to
the degree of his offence, and for a serious offence correspondingly, but not
so heavily as to deprive him of his livelihood. In the same way, a merchant
shall be spared his merchandise, and a husbandman the implements of his
husbandry, if they fall upon the mercy of a royal court. None of these fines
shall be imposed except by the assessment on oath of reputable men of the
neighbourhood.
(21) Earls and barons shall be fined only by their equals, and in proportion
to the gravity of their offence.
(22) A fine imposed upon the lay property of a clerk in holy orders shall be
assessed upon the same principles, without reference to the value of his
ecclesiastical benefice.
(23) No town or person shall be forced to build bridges over rivers except
those with an ancient obligation to do so.
(24) No sheriff, constable, coroners, or other royal officials are to hold
lawsuits that should be held by the royal justices.
(25) Every county, hundred, wapentake, and tithing shall remain at its
ancient rent, without increase, except the royal demesne manors.
(26) If at the death of a man who holds a lay `fee’ of the Crown, a sheriff
or royal official produces royal letters patent of summons for a debt due to
the Crown, it shall be lawful for them to seize and list movable goods found
in the lay `fee’ of the dead man to the value of the debt, as assessed by
worthy men. Nothing shall be removed until the whole debt is paid, when the
residue shall be given over to the executors to carry out the dead man s
will. If no debt is due to the Crown, all the movable goods shall be regarded
as the property of the dead man, except the reasonable shares of his wife and
children.
(27) If a free man dies intestate, his movable goods are to be distributed by
his next-of-kin and friends, under the supervision of the Church. The rights
of his debtors are to be preserved.
(28) No constable or other royal official shall take corn or other movable
goods from any man without immediate payment, unless the seller voluntarily
offers postponement of this.
(29) No constable may compel a knight to pay money for castle-guard if the
knight is willing to undertake the guard in person, or with reasonable excuse
to supply some other fit man to do it. A knight taken or sent on military
service shall be excused from castle-guard for the period of this servlce.
(30) No sheriff, royal official, or other person shall take horses or carts
for transport from any free man, without his consent.
(31) Neither we nor any royal official will take wood for our castle, or for
any other purpose, without the consent of the owner.
(32) We will not keep the lands of people convicted of felony in our hand for
longer than a year and a day, after which they shall be returned to the lords
of the `fees’ concerned.
(33) All fish-weirs shall be removed from the Thames, the Medway, and
throughout the whole of England, except on the sea coast.
(34) The writ called precipe shall not in future be issued to anyone in
respect of any holding of land, if a free man could thereby be deprived of
the right of trial in his own lord’s court.
(35) There shall be standard measures of wine, ale, and corn (the London
quarter), throughout the kingdom. There shall also be a standard width of
dyed cloth, russett, and haberject, namely two ells within the selvedges.
Weights are to be standardised similarly.
(36) In future nothing shall be paid or accepted for the issue of a writ of
inquisition of life or limbs. It shall be given gratis, and not refused.
(37) If a man holds land of the Crown by `fee-farm’, `socage’, or `burgage’,
and also holds land of someone else for knight’s service, we will not have
guardianship of his heir, nor of the land that belongs to the other person’s
`fee’, by virtue of the `fee-farm’, `socage’, or `burgage’, unless the
`fee-farm’ owes knight’s service. We will not have the guardianship of a
man’s heir, or of land that he holds of someone else, by reason of any small
property that he may hold of the Crown for a service of knives, arrows, or
the like.
(38) In future no official shall place a man on trial upon his own
unsupported statement, without producing credible witnesses to the truth of
it.
(39) No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or
stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of
his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or
send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the
law of the land.
(40) To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.
(41) All merchants may enter or leave England unharmed and without fear, and
may stay or travel within it, by land or water, for purposes of trade, free
from all illegal exactions, in accordance with ancient and lawful customs.
This, however, does not apply in time of war to merchants from a country that
is at war with us. Any such merchants found in our country at the outbreak of
war shall be detained without injury to their persons or property, until we
or our chief justice have discovered how our own merchants are being treated
in the country at war with us. If our own merchants are safe they shall be
safe too.
(42) In future it shall be lawful for any man to leave and return to our
kingdom unharmed and without fear, by land or water, preserving his
allegiance to us, except in time of war, for some short period, for the
common benefit of the realm. People that have been imprisoned or outlawed in
accordance with the law of the land, people from a country that is at war
with us, and merchants – who shall be dealt with as stated above – are
excepted from this provision.
(43) If a man holds lands of any `escheat’ such as the `honour’ of
Wallingford, Nottingham, Boulogne, Lancaster, or of other `escheats’ in our
hand that are baronies, at his death his heir shall give us only the `relief’
and service that he would have made to the baron, had the barony been in the
baron’s hand. We will hold the `escheat’ in the same manner as the baron held
it.
(44) People who live outside the forest need not in future appear before the
royal justices of the forest in answer to general summonses, unless they are
actually involved in proceedings or are sureties for someone who has been
seized for a forest offence.
(45) We will appoint as justices, constables, sheriffs, or other officials,
only men that know the law of the realm and are minded to keep it well.
(46) All barons who have founded abbeys, and have charters of English kings
or ancient tenure as evidence of this, may have guardianship of them when
there is no abbot, as is their due.
(47) All forests that have been created in our reign shall at once be
disafforested. River-banks that have been enclosed in our reign shall be
treated similarly.
(48) All evil customs relating to forests and warrens, foresters, warreners,
sheriffs and their servants, or river-banks and their wardens, are at once to
be investigated in every county by twelve sworn knights of the county, and
within forty days of their enquiry the evil customs are to be abolished
completely and irrevocably. But we, or our chief justice if we are not in
England, are first to be informed.
(49) We will at once return all hostages and charters delivered up to us by
Englishmen as security for peace or for loyal service.
(50) We will remove completely from their offices the kinsmen of Gerard de
Athée, and in future they shall hold no offices in England. The people in
question are Engelard de Cigogné’, Peter, Guy, and Andrew de Chanceaux, Guy
de Cigogné, Geoffrey de Martigny and his brothers, Philip Marc and his
brothers, with Geoffrey his nephew, and all their followers.
(51) As soon as peace is restored, we will remove from the kingdom all the
foreign knights, bowmen, their attendants, and the mercenaries that have come
to it, to its harm, with horses and arms.
(52) To any man whom we have deprived or dispossessed of lands, castles,
liberties, or rights, without the lawful judgement of his equals, we will at
once restore these. In cases of dispute the matter shall be resolved by the
judgement of the twenty-five barons referred to below in the clause for
securing the peace (§ 61). In cases, however, where a man was deprived or
dispossessed of something without the lawful judgement of his equals by our father
King Henry or our brother King Richard, and it remains in our hands or is
held by others under our warranty, we shall have respite for the period
commonly allowed to Crusaders, unless a lawsuit had been begun, or an enquiry
had been made at our order, before we took the Cross as a Crusader. On our
return from the Crusade, or if we abandon it, we will at once render justice
in full.
(53) We shall have similar respite in rendering justice in connexion with
forests that are to be disafforested, or to remain forests, when these were
first a-orested by our father Henry or our brother Richard; with the
guardianship of lands in another person’s `fee’, when we have hitherto had
this by virtue of a `fee’ held of us for knight’s service by a third party;
and with abbeys founded in another person’s `fee’, in which the lord of the
`fee’ claims to own a right. On our return from the Crusade, or if we abandon
it, we will at once do full justice to complaints about these matters.
(54) No one shall be arrested or imprisoned on the appeal of a woman for the
death of any person except her husband.
(55) All fines that have been given to us unjustiy and against the law of the
land, and all fines that we have exacted unjustly, shall be entirely remitted
or the matter decided by a majority judgement of the twenty-five barons
referred to below in the clause for securing the peace (§ 61) together with
Stephen, archbishop of Canterbury, if he can be present, and such others as
he wishes to bring with him. If the archbishop cannot be present, proceedings
shall continue without him, provided that if any of the twenty-five barons
has been involved in a similar suit himself, his judgement shall be set
aside, and someone else chosen and sworn in his place, as a substitute for
the single occasion, by the rest of the twenty-five.
(56) If we have deprived or dispossessed any Welshmen of lands, liberties, or
anything else in England or in Wales, without the lawful judgement of their
equals, these are at once to be returned to them. A dispute on this point
shall be determined in the Marches by the judgement of equals. English law
shall apply to holdings of land in England, Welsh law to those in Wales, and
the law of the Marches to those in the Marches. The Welsh shall treat us and
ours in the same way.
(57) In cases where a Welshman was deprived or dispossessed of anything,
without the lawful judgement of his equals, by our father King Henry or our
brother King Richard, and it remains in our hands or is held by others under
our warranty, we shall have respite for the period commonly allowed to
Crusaders, unless a lawsuit had been begun, or an enquiry had been made at
our order, before we took the Cross as a Crusader. But on our return from the
Crusade, or if we abandon it, we will at once do full justice according to
the laws of Wales and the said regions.
(58) We will at once return the son of Llywelyn, all Welsh hostages, and the
charters delivered to us as security for the peace.
(59) With regard to the return of the sisters and hostages of Alexander, king
of Scotland, his liberties and his rights, we will treat him in the same way
as our other barons of England, unless it appears from the charters that we
hold from his father William, formerly king of Scotland, that he should be
treated otherwise. This matter shall be resolved by the judgement of his
equals in our court.
(60) All these customs and liberties that we have granted shall be observed
in our kingdom in so far as concerns our own relations with our subjects. Let
all men of our kingdom, whether clergy or laymen, observe them similarly in
their relations with their own men.
(61) SINCE WE HAVE GRANTED ALL THESE THINGS for God, for the better ordering
of our kingdom, and to allay the discord that has arisen between us and our
barons, and since we desire that they shall be enjoyed in their entirety,