Justices Of The Peace And Local Governance In Early Modern England,C. 1560-1660

Commission of the peace is an institution which contemporaries regarded as peculiarly English and therefore representative of English "rule of law".Members of the commission were justices of the peace(JPs).Justices of the peace were major power in both local and state governance.Unpaid justices of the peace originated from 14th century,and their power increased rapidly during Tudor and Stuart England.Meantime,the power of Sheriff diminished,and Lord Lieutenant's power increased gradually.Therefore,Justices of the peace,Lord Lieutenants and Sheriffs comprised the power center of local government.Justices of the peace usually served as local governors of counties,linking central and local authorities.Their duties covered administrative and judicial fields.In order to enforce their duties,justices of the peace took full advantage of courts,including Quarter Sessions,Petty Sessions and Assizes.Quarter Sessions were the meeting place of all of justices of the peace in a county.Petty Sessions were the place where county affairs were dealt by two or more justices of the peace.Justices of the peace attended Quarter Sessions regularly from 15th century,and Petty Sessions were established countrywide till 1631.The Assize judges,appointed by the central government,had the authority to supervise justices of the peace.Generally,all justices of the peace in the county had to attend Assizes,and cooperate with the Assize judges.The appointment and purge of justices of the peace were influenced by many factors,such as kinship,marriage and political patronage.The phenomenon that local gentry pursued to be justices of the peace was partly due to the tradition of participation in public service,and partly resulted from their desire to obtain both authority and honor.As local governors and leaders,justices of the peace governed the local society to perform their responsibility.Their duties involved judicial,economic,social and religious functions,among which punishment of crimes,poor relief and reformation of manners were most important.Exploring these three aspects,we can know not only the judicial and social functions of justices of the peace,but also how justices of the peace govern local society.Justices of the peace enforced social policies by courts,which is the most fundamental character of their working mechanism.As crimes,poverty and moral degeneration had become serious social problems,England adopted a stream of laws.Justices of the peace used courts to make laws into practice.As for punishment of crimes,justices of the peace applied mediation,arbitration,bind over or prison,etc.,to regulate conflicts and maintain the social order.From prosecution to sentence,the judicial practices of justices of the peace were limited by multilateral pressures.In addition,they gave impetus to poor relief,which set the foundation of social policies of early modern England and contributed to the birth of modern welfare state.Lastly but not the least,justices of peace also play an important role in reformation of manners in early modern England.Justices of the peace focused on two kinds of moral manners,which were drunk and illegal sex.Religion and economy were main factors promoting reformation of manners.In a word,justices of the peace enforced state laws generally,maintained the law and order,and governed the local society effectively.Justices of the peace are both judicial and administrative governors,and they applied judicial institutions and personal authority to maintain the social order,which to a great extent relied on positive activities and good governance of justices of the peace.They drafted the policy of local society,based on local situations and state policies and laws.Furthermore,they had the responsibility to enforce social policy.Justices of the peace bridged the King and Privy Council with parish officials and common people.The King and Privy Council hoped justices of the peace would devote themselves to enforce state policies and laws.However,justices of the peace are unpaid local gentries,which made them relatively independent of the central control.This character was also the foundation of local self-government.The King and Privy Council tried their best to control justices of the peace,but made little achievements.Justices of the peace depended on the cooperation of parish offices and common people to govern local society.Even though justices of the peace had rights to appoint and supervise parish officials,the latter's cooperation determined the success of justices' activities.The "Middling Sort" took part in local governance by means of serving as parish offices and jurymen,which reflected the practice of"self-government at the king's command".This phenomenon also illustrated the mode of England state governance which was characterized by participation and share.From the King to the "Middling Sort",they all participated in the state governance and shared the state power.The balance and mutual restraint between the power of King,Privy Council,Justices of the Peace and Parish officials became the fundamental feature of local governance in early modern England.