A.D. 1015.] MAGNA CIIAKTA. l'or a knight's fee, or for any other free tenement than he ought to do for it. The common pleas shall not accompany our court, hut shall he held in some fixed place. Recognizances for new disseising, and the death of an ancestor, shall only he taken in their own counties and in this manner. We, or if we are out of the kingdom, our chief justiciary, will send our justiciaries through each county once a year, who will, with the knights of the counties hold the before-mentioned assize in each county; and those things, which at their arrival in the counties could not be determined by tin; aforesaid messengers at the aforesaid assizes, shall be determined elsewhere by the same messengers on their journey ; and those things which could not, on account of some dillieulty in the points in question, be determined by the said messengers, shall be referred to our justiciaries of the- bench and there determined. The assizes concerning the last presentation to the churches shall always be held before the justiciaries of the bench, and there determined. Λ freeman shall be fined for a small offence only according to the degree of his fault, and for a great offence according to the greatness of his offence, saving his tenements ; and, in the same way, a merchant, saving his merchandize; and a villain of any other person except ourselves shall be amerced in the same manner, saving his wannage,* if he throws biniseli' on our mercy. And none of the aforesaid allowances shall be made, unless on the oath of tried and lawful men of the neighbourhood in the county. Karls and barons shall only be lined by their peers, and then only according to the degree of their offence. No ecclesiastic shall be lined according to the degree of his ecclesiastical benefice, but according to bis lay possessions, and the degree of his oll'ence. No town or person shall be bound to make bridges over rivers, unless bound in duty to do so by old custom and by right. No river shall be embanked anew, unless those which were embanked at the time of king Henry our grandfather. No sheriff, constable, or coroner, or other bailiffs of ours shall hold pleas of our crown.')' If any one holding lay fees from " Kiirming-stock. + Paris mills:—*' All countries, hundreds, wapentakes, nml lUhings, shall be sot ut their ancient tannage without any increase, except the uianur» uf our donmin."