The Lord High Steward of England, before whom and the House of Lords the trial of Lord de Clifford on a charge of manslaughter will take place, is the frst of the great oticers of State, though appointments to this office are made on rare occasions any, such og coronations and trials such as the one pending. At one time the Lord High Steward merely summoned a number of peers to attend the trial; they were generally carefully selected with the result that It was sometimes easy {o secure convictions which ought not to have been recorded. This was partially abrogated by the Treason Act of William IIT which provided that, in all eases of treason and misprision of treason, all peers of Parliament shall be summoned. Prior {o that, however, it was ruled by Lord Chancellor Jeffreys, as steward at the trial of 'Lord Delamere, that in trials of peers which take place during parliament ary recess the steward is the judge of the court; the court is held by him, his warrant convenes the prisoner to the bar, his summons convenes the peers for' the trial and he is empowered {o determine by his sole authority all "questions. of Jaw that arise in the trial. He cannot, however, give any vote on the subject
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.