STATUTE. Bills which have passed through the houses of Lords and Commons and received the royal assent become acts of parliament, and are sometimes spoken of collectively as forming the body of " statutes of the realm." In a more restricted application of the word, private acts are excluded, and even public acts, when their purpose is temporary. The meaning of the word is even more restricted when the measures of the early parliaments are in question, for many acts received the royal assent, and are found on the Rolls of Parliament, which are not accounted statutes.
The Statutes of the realm, properly so called, were at a very remote period written in books apart from the other constitutions and charters of the monarchy, and received by the courts as of equal authority with the ancient customs of the realm.
Three volumes, in the custody of the Master of the Rolls, contain the body of those enactments which are called " statutes." One con tains those passed before the beginning of the reign of Edward III.; and the other two, those from 1 Edward III. to 7 Henry VIII., all very fairly written. These books are not considered in the light of authorised enrolments of the statutes. For the authentic and authori tative copies, if any question arise, recourse must be had (1) to what are called the Statute Rolls, which are six rolls containing the statutes from 6 Edward I. to 8 Edward IV., except from 8 to 25 Henry VI. ; (2) to the enrolments of acts of parliaments which are preserved in tho Rolls chapel from 1 Richard III.; (3) to exemplifications and tran scripts with write annexed, signifying that they were transmitted by authority to certain courts or other parties, who were required to take notice of them ; (41 in those since 12 Henry VII., to the original acts in the parliament office ; (5) the rolls and journals of parliament; (6) the close, patent, fine, and charter rolls ; on which statutes are some times found.
With the parliament of the reign of Richard III. began the practice of printing, and in that manner publishing, the acts passed in each session. This followed very soon on the introduction of printing into
England. Before that time it had been a frequent practice to transmit copies of the acts as passed to the sheriffs of the different shrievalties to be by them promulgated. The practice of printing the statutes has continued to the present time.
Before the first of Richard III., the aid of the press had been called in to give extended circulation to the older statutes. Before 1431 it is believed that an abridgment of the statutes was printed by Lefton and Machlinia, which contains none later than 33 Henry VI., 1455. To the next year is assigned a collection, not abridged, from 1 Edward iIi. to 22 Edward IV. Next to these in point of antiquity is to be placed a collection printed by Prison about 1497, who also, in 1503, printed what he entitled Antigua Statute,' containing 31agna Charts, Charts de Forests, the Statutes of Merton, Marlbridge, and Westminster primum and aecundum. This was the first publication of those very early statutes.
In the reign of Henry VIII. the first English abridgment of the statutes was printed by Rastall ; and during that reign and in the suc ceeding half century there were numerous impressions published of the old and recent statutes in the original Latin and French, or in English translations. Barker, about 1587, first used the title ' Statutes at Largo.' In 1613 two largo collections of statutes ending in 7 James I., were published, called Rastall's and Pulton's. Pultou's collection was several times reprinted with additions.
In the 18th century an addition, in six folio volumes, was published by Mr. Serjeant Hawking in 1735, containing the statutes to 7 George Cay's edition, in 1753, in the same number of volumes, contains the statutes to 30 George II. Continuations of these works were published as fresh statutes were passed ; and another work in 4to , of the same kind, was begun in 1762, well known by the designation of Ruffhead's ' Statutes at Large.' Pickering's edition is in 8vo., and ends with 1 George III.