Martin, whose carriage in this business they conceived to be unbefitting the place of judicature which his Majesty had conferred upon him by his gracious commission. On being asked "how that article of gaming and playing was put in, he utterly denied that he knew it, until the bishop charged him to his face that himself had caused it to be put out upon the Saturday after the Table was informed of it; then he confessed he had done it." Being further asked "by what authority he could put out articles after they were records, when himself had said he had no authority to admit or take in articles before they were records," he gave no satisfactory answer; "yet to palliate the offence, the next day at the high commission he and the advocate made a motion that the court would vacate the article of gaming which was put in against the bishop;" but none of the commissioners would assent to the motion after they had been informed by the bishop that he had already answered it, and that Sir Henry Martin had so illegally proceeded in it, and that the council table had taken notice of it, and lastly when he had reminded them what a protestation Sir Henry had made in that court that there was no such matter in the articles.[1] Such unusual conduct in an English judge[2] gives rise to a suspicion that the judge may have been in some way related to James Martin (late vicar of Preston), the chief informer and promoter of all these vexatious proceedings.
The bishop had apparently intended to complain to the King of the conduct of Sir Thomas Canon, whom he conceived to
- ↑ Family Evidences.
- ↑ Sir Henry Martin (or Marten) was a lawyer and a judge of great ability and learning. Having been admitted fellow of New College, Oxford, in 1582, he took his degree of D.C.L. in 1592, being at that time an eminent advocate at Doctor's Commons, as he afterwards was at the High Commission Court. He left his college in 1595, and was made Judge of the Admiralty (Wood's Athenæ). In 1624 he became Dean of the Arches and Judge of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury; and in the parliament of 1628 he 'represented the University of Oxford. He died in 1641, at the age of 81, having amassed a considerable property, which was squandered by his son Henry, "an unprincipled Parliamentarian who was imprisoned for his concern in the death of Charles " (Hayden's Dignities).
