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Hale (SIR MATTHEW Lord Chiefjustice)

SIR MATTHEW, Lord Chiefjustice of England; born in Alderly, Gloucestershire, England, Nov. 1, 1609.

Intended for the Church, he was sent to Oxford University in his 16th year. But suddenly he he abandoned his studious habits, and joined a company of strolling players. He was on the point of becoming a soldier when induced to adopt the legal profession. Accordingly, in 1629, Hale entered the Society of Lincoln's Inn, and was called to the bar in 1637. In the quarrel between king and Parliament he refrained from identifying himself with either side. When, however, Parliament got the upper hand, he signed the Solemn League and Covenant, sat in the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, tried to bring about a settlement between the king and Parliament, and ultimately taking his engagement to the Commonwealth, was made judge under Cromwell in 1653. He acted as a puisne judge of the Common pleas till Cromwell's death, but refused to have his commission renewed by Richard Cromwell. After the Restoration he was made Chief-Baron of the Court of Exchequer, and 11 years later was transferred to the Chief-justiceship of the Court of King's Bench. He wrote: "History of the Pleas of the Crown" (1736); "History of the Common Law of England" (1713); ; "Moral and Religious Works," etc. He resigned his office in February, 1676, and died Dec. 25 of the same year.