Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/91

CASTILE. deputation of the commons was sometimes added.^^ This body, together with the king, had cognizance of the most important public transactions, whether of a civil, military, or diplomatic nature. It was established by positive enactment, that the prince, without its consent, had no right to alienate the royal demesne, to confer pensions beyond a very limited amount, or to nominate to vacant bene- fices.^^ His legislative powers were to be exer- cised in concurrence with the cortes ; ^^ and, in the SECTIOX I. 83 The earliest example of this permanent committee of the com- mons, residing at court, and enter- ing into the king's council, was in the minority of Ferdinand IV., in 1295. The subject is involved in some obscurity, which Marina has not succeeded in dispelling He considers the deputation to have formed a necessary and constituent part of the council, from the time of its first appointment. (Teoria, torn. ii. cap. 27, 28.) Scmpere, on the other hand, discerns no warrant for this, after its introduc- tion, till the time of the Austrian dynasty. ( Histoire des Cortes, chap. 29.) Marina, who too often mistakes anomaly for practice, is certainly not justified, even by his own showing, in the sweeping con- clusions to which he arrives. But, if his prejudices lead him to see more than has happened, on the one hand, those of Sempere, on the other, make him sometimes high gravel blind. ^ The important functions and history of this body are investi- gated by Marina. (Teoria, part. 2, cap. 27, 28, 29.) See also Sempere, (Histoire des Cortes, cap. 16.) and the Informe de Don Agustin Riol, (apud Semanario Erudito, tom. iii. pp. 113 et seq.) where, however, its subsequent condition is chiefly considered. VOL. I. i 85 Not so exclusively, however, by any means, as Marina pretends. (Teoria, part. 2, cap. 17, 18.) He borrows a pertinent illustration from the famous code of Alfonso X., which was not received as law of the land till it had been formal- ly published in cortes, in 1348, more than seventy years after its original compilation. In his zeal for popular rights, he omits to no- tice, however, the power, so fre- quently assumed by the sovereign, of granting fueros, or municipal charters ; a right, indeed, which the great lords, spiritual and tem- poral, exercised in common with him, subject to his sanction. See a multitude of these seignorial codes, enumerated by Asso and Manuel. (Instituciones, Introd., pp. 31 et seq. ) The monarch claimed, moreover, though not, by any means, so freely as in later times, the privilege of issuing pragindticas, ordinances of an ex- ecutive character, or for the re- dress of grievances submitted to him by the national legislature. Within certain limits, this was un- doubtedly a constitutional preroga- tive. But the history of Castile, like that of most other countries in Europe, shows how easily it was abused in the hands of an arbitrary prince.