"ot admit;a at other times they inflicted punishments, where the party was not, by law, liable to any punishment;b and in other cases, they inflicted greater punishment, than the law annexed to the offence.c The ground for the exercise of such legislative power was this, that the safety of the kingdom depended on the death, or other punishment, of the offender: as if traitors, when discovered, coul" . . . .