The  privilege  of  freedom  from  arrest  during  a  session  of
Parliament,  and  for  a  certain  time  before  and  after,  in  all
cases  except  treason,  felony  and  surety  for  the  peace,
belonged  equally  to  both  houses.  In  the  case  of  the  Lords,
if  precedent  were  required,  the  privilege  may  be  regarded  as
established  by  the  release  of  Lord  Cromwell  (p.  126),  on
Avhich  occasion  the  Upper  House  placed  on  record  a  formal
statement  of  their  right.  In  the  case  of  the  Commons  the
privilege  was  confirmed  not  only  by  several  early  prece-
dents, but  by  the  statute  of  1433  (11  Hen.  VI.  11).  The
case  of  Speaker  Thorpe  in  1453  could  hardly  create  a  prece-
dent to  the  contrary,  for  on  that  occasion  the  judges  declared
in  favour  of  the  privilege.  Ferrer's  case,  in  1543,  is  remark-
able as  being  the  first  in  which  the  House  of  Commons  took
the  law  into  its  own  hands.  They  refused  the  intervention
of  the  chancellor,  and  released  their  member  by  means  of
a  direct  demand.  This  was  an  important  step  in  the  direction
of  independence,  but  the  precedent  was  not  immediately
followed.  So  late  as  the  year  1556  the  House  applied  to  the
Chanceiy  for  a  writ  in  favour  of  a  burgess  named  Gardiner.
