Proclaim

1. In affairs of state, to proclaim is to give official public notice, emanating from the sovereign power, of any of its doings or edicts, or of the occurrence of any fact important to be promulgated. Proclamation: the act of giving such a notice; also, the document by which it is given. In England, proclamations have been long and frequently used by the successive sovereigns. In ecclesiastical matt-ers, they had the force of law, by Stat. 31 Hen. VIII. eh. 8; and, independent of statute, they were operative as far as they were an exercise of legitimate royaj prerogative; and, in proportion as the prerogative was in earlier times more extensive and potent, proclamations were of greater legal force. It seems to have been the view of Lord Coke that proclamations, when grounded on the laws of the realm, were of great force; and of Blackstone, that proclamations were binding on the subject when they did not contradict the laws of the land, or tend to establish new ones; and they appear, in fact, to be a proper mode, if not of signifying, at any rate of enforcing, the law, and, as such, to be a necessary part of the executive, in proper cases. See Brown. In the United States, proclamations have been frequently made by the successive presidents to give solemn, public notice of any appropriate fact or occurrence. They do not operate in themselves as laws; for the president, alone, has no law-making power. But when an act of congress is passed to take effect upon the executive ascertaining and making known some matter of fact, the proclamation gives the law validity, and sets it in operation. Thus an act declaring that the subjects of any foreign nation shall have in this country reciprocal privileges to those accorded to our citizens abi'oad, would naturally contemplate and depend upon a proclamation from the executive, declaring what notice by proclamation requiring insurgents to lay down arms in a limited time, or be dispersed; and other notices of intended executive action have been given in the same manner. Advisory communications from the executive to the people are thus made; such as a recommendation to observe a day of fasting or of thanksgiving. Governors of the states may, and customarily do, issue proclamations; and, the same is true of mayors of cities; and these proclamations have, within the officer's sphere of authority as chief executive magistrate, like nature and efiect with those emanating from the president in matters of national concern. 2. In practice of courts, these words — particularly proclamation — are used of the announcement or outcry made by the crier or ministerial officer designated therefor, in the beginning or calling of a court, and at the discharge or adjourning thereof, for the attendance of persons and despatch of business. Proclamation is made in courts-baron for persons to come in and claim vacant copyholds of which the tenants died seised since the last courts. Tomlins, Proclamation of an exigent. In the old practice of outlawry, on awarding an exigent in order to outlawiy, a writ of proclamation issued to the sheriff of the county where the party resided, requiring that officer to make three proclamations for the defendant to yield himself, or be outlawed. See Jacob. Proclamation of a fine. The proclamation of a fine was a notice, openly and solemnly given at all the assises held in the county where the lands lay. It was made within one year after engrossing the fine; and anciently consisted in the fine as engrossed being openly read in court sixteen times, — four times in the term in which it was made, and four times in each of the three succeeding terms. This, however, was afterwards reduced to one reading in each term. These proclamations were upon transcripts of the fine, sent by the justices of the common pleas to the justices of assise and the justices Proclamation of rebellion. According to Cowel and Jacob, this term was applied to a public notice formerly incident to a suit in chancery, declaring that a man not appearing upon a subpoena or an attachment in chancery should be reputed a rebel, unless he would render himself up by a day assigned in the writ. This is to be distinguished from any political proclamation from the sovereign power, declaring existence of a rebellion, and commanding rebels to disperse. It was a step in judicial practice only. No such proceeding is now in use. The spirit of modern equity practice is to give defendant personal service of notice of commencement of suit, and, if he will not appear, simply to proceed against him as in default; instead of resorting to all the compulsory measures to force a technical appearance, formerly deemed important. Proclamation of recusants. A proclamation whereby recusants were formerly convicted, on non-appearance at the assises. Jacob.