Bacon describes the Star Chamber as "one of the sagest and noblest institutions of this kingdom." Coke says: "It is the most honorable court (our Parliament excepted) that is in the Christian world, both in respect of the judges of the court, and of their honorable proceeding according to their just jurisdiction, and the ancient and just orders of the court. . . This court, the right institu tions and ancient orders thereof being ob served, doth keep all England in quiet." The principal share in the earlier stages of the enlargement of the doctrine of crim inal conspiracy must be ascribed to the Star Chamber. The modern law of conspiracy has grown out of the application to cases of conspiracy, properly so called, and as defined by the 33 Edw. I., of the early doctrine that since the gist of crime was in the intent, a crim inal intent manifested by any act done in furtherance of it might be punishable, al though the act did not amount in law to an actual attempt. In accordance with this view the Star Chamber on the authority of Anon. 27, ass. p. 138, b. vl. 44 (1354) finally settled in the Poulterer's case, 9 Rep. 55, Moore, 814, human learning." After giving an account of the chan cellor as Chief-Judge of the court he says : " As concerning the great and eminent officers of the kingdom, the Lord Treasurer, Privy Seal, and President of the Council, their places or voices in this court when the superior sittetji are of no more weight than any other of the table; so that the displeasure of a great officer cannot much amaze any suitor, knowing it is but one opinion, and the court is not alone replenished with nobles, dukes, marquises, earls and barons, which hereby ought to be frequented with great presence of them, but also with reverend and bishops and prelates, grave counsellors of state, just and learned judges, with a composition for justice, mercy, religion, policy and government, that it may be well and truly said that Mercy and Truth are met together, Righteousness and Peace have kissed each other."
that although the crime of conspiracy, prop erly so called, was not complete unless in a case of conspiracy for maintenance some suit had been actually maintained, or in a case of conspiracy for false and malicious indictment the party against whom the con spiracy was directed had been actually in dicted and acquitted, yet the agreement for such a conspiracy was indictable as a sub stantive offense, since there was a criminal intent manifested by an act done in further ance of it, viz., by the agreement: and from this time by an easy transition the agree ment or confederacy itself for the commis sion of what had been previously called in law conspiracy, came to be regarded as a complete act of conspiracy, although traces of the original distinction between a com pleted conspiracy, and a mere agreement or confederacy to commit it, long continue to be found. Not only the Poulterers' case, which is the source of all the modern law of con spiracy, but all the other reported cases of conspiracy decided before the abolition of the Star Chamber were in that court. Undoubtedly the decisions of the Star Chamber were often influenced by consider ations that have no place in a judicial tribu nal, and its sentences, especially during the reigns of James I. and Charles I., were cruelly harsh and unjustifiable. But there is one consideration that must not be overlooked, one that unhappily cannot be applied to many if any of our modern tribunals, — and I doubt if the pages of history furnish a parallel, — namely, that throughout its ex istence, so far as the records show, its deter mination upon questions of law were, with out a single exception, founded upon sound reason and the principles of absolute justice, and were legally unassailable.
