Magna Carta consists of thirty-seven chapters. At the beginning is the clause which guarantees the liberty of the Church. The other clauses may be divided into four classes: 1. The clauses dealing with what may be called feudal grievances. 2. The clauses relating to trade, and, 3. Central gov ernment. 4. The clauses which place limitations upon Arbitrary power.
C. 1 provides that the Anglican church shall be free and possess its rights inviolable, probably re ferring chiefly to immunity from papal jurisdiction. C. 2 fixes relief which shall be paid by king's ten ants, of full age. C. 3 relates to heirs and their be ing in ward. C. 4: guardians of wards within age are by this chapter restrained from waste of ward's lands, "vasto hominum et rerum," waste of men and of things. C'. 5 relates to the land and other proper• ty of heirs, and the delivering them up when the heirs are of age. C. 6: the marriage of heirs. C. 7 provides that a widow shall have quarantine of forty days in her husband's chief house, and shall have her dower set out to her at once, without paying anything for it, and in meanwhile to have reason able estovers; the dower to be one-third of lands of the husband, unless the wife was endowed of less at the churchdoor ; widow not to be compelled to mar ry, but to find surety that she will not marry with out consent of the lord of whom she holds.
C. 8: the goods and chattels of crown-debtor to be exhausted before his rents and lands are dis trained ; the surety not to be called upon if the principal can pay ; if sureties pay the debt, they to have the rents and lands of debtor till the debt is satisfied. C. 9 secures to London and other cities, boroughs, towns, and the Barons of the Five Ports and all other ports, their liberties and free cus toms. C. 10 prohibits excessive distress for more service or rent than was due. C. 11 provides that the of common pleas should not follow the court of the king, but should be held in a certain place. They were, accordingly, located at West minster. C. 12 declares the manner of taking as sizes of novel desseisin and Mortdancester. These were actions to recover lost seisin (q. v.), now abol ished. C. 13 relates to assizes of darrein present ment brought by ecclesiastics to try right to present to ecclesiastical benefices. Abolished. C. 14 pro
vides that amercement of a freeman for a fault shall be proportionate to his crime, and not exces sive, and that the villein of any other than the king shall be amerced in the same manner, his farm, utensils, etc., being preserved to him. (For other wise he could not cultivate the lord's land.) Amerce ment shall be only by the oath of honest and law ful men of the vicinage ; and earls and barons by their peers. C. 15 and c. 16 relate to making of bridges and keeping in repair of sewers and sea walls. This is now regulated by local parochial law.
C. 17 forbids sheriffs and coroners to hold pleas of the crown. Pleas of the crown are criminal cases which it is desirable should not be tried by an in ferior and perhaps ignorant magistrate. C. 18 pro vides that if any one holding a lay fee from the crown die, the king's bailiff, on showing letters patent of summons for debt from the king, may at tach all his goods and chattels, so that nothing be moved away till the debt to the crown be paid off clearly, the residue to go to the executors to per form the testament of the dead ; and if there be no debt owing to the crown, all the chattels of the de ceased to go to the use of the dead, saving to the wife and children their reasonable parts. C. 19 relates to purveyance of the king's house; C. 20, to the castle-ward ; C. 21, to taking horses, carts, and wood for use of royal castles. The last three chapters are now obsolete. C. 22 provides that the lands of felons shall go to the king for a year and a day, afterwards to the lord of the fee. The day is added to prevent dispute as to whether the year is exclusive or inclusive of its last day. C. 23 provides that the wears shall be pulled down in the Thames and Medway, and throughout England, except on the sea-coast. These wears destroyed fish, and in terrupted the floating of wood and the like down stream. C. 24 relates to the writ of prwoipe in capita for lords against their tenants offering wrong, etc. Now abolished. C. 25 provides a uniform measure and weights. C. 26 relates to inquisitions of life and member, which are to be granted free ly. Now abolished. C. 27 relates to knight-service and other ancient tenures, now abolished.