put in motion by one, it only remains to know which power in the Constitution has the most weight, for that will govern ; and though the others, or a part of them, may clog, or, as the phrase is, check the rapidity of its motion, yet so long as they cannot stop it, their endeavours will be ineffectual. The first moving power will at last have its way; and what it wants in speed, is supplied by time.-Idem.

The nearer any Government approaches to a republic, the less business there is for a king. It is somewhat difficult to find a proper name for the Government of England. Sir William Meredith calls it a republic; but in its present state it is unworthy of the name, because the corrupt influence of the Crown, by having all the places in its disposal, hath so effectually swallowed up the power, and eaten out the virtue, of the House of Commons (the republican part of the Constitution), that the Government of England is nearly as monarchical as that of France or Spain. Men fall out with names, without understanding them for it is the republican, and not the monarchical part of the Constitution of England, which Englishmen glory in viz. the liberty of choosing a House of Commons from out of their own body; and it is easy to see, that when republican virtue fails, slavery ensues. Why is the Constitution of England sickly, but because monarchy hath poisoned the republic, the Crown hath engrossed the Commons ?-Idem.

I hold it to be essentially necessary to the preservation of the constitution, that the privileges of Parliament should be strictly ascertained, and confined within the narrowest bounds the nature of their institution will admit of. Upon the same principle on which I would have resisted prerogative in the last century, I now resist privilege. It is indifferent to me, whether the Crown, by its own immediate act, imposes new, and dispenses with old laws, or whether the same arbitrary power produces the same effects through the medium of the House of Commons.-Junius.

The Aristocracy,* whether ennobled or untitled, whether in the upper or the lower House, are not to be intrusted with the guardianship of the public purse. The provision of the Constitution which so jealously excludes the interference of the Peers in all money bills, becomes altogether

*Or, large land proprietors.

nullified when the representatives of the Peers are allowed to vote away the money of the people. And it is obvious that the same objection lies against the preponderance of the landed interest in the House of Commons. The Peerage either is, or represents that interest-the territorial Aristocracy. The House of Commons consists, according to the theory of the Constitution, of the representatives of an interest, not opposite, indeed, but distinct; that of the towns and boroughs, and ports and colonies, and corporations and professions, the monied, industrious, mercantile, and manufacturing classes;-the staple material of England's moral and political greatness. Now, it was never intended that the business of legislation should be monopolized by this class; but the business of taxation is their's exclusively. The House of Lords is a high court of judicature: the House of Commons is only a house of business. Such, at least, is their respective character. But, amid the rage for legislation which has been growing upon the tripartite assembly in St. Stephen's Chapel, the people's business has been grossly neglected or mismanaged. In all that concerns the permanent interests of the country, the landed aristocracy and hereditary Peerage ought, obviously, to have more than an equal voice, because they have the largest stake. At all events, the British Constitution recognises them as having a power adequate to balance the Crown and the people. But in all that concerns the ways and means of raising the public revenue, the aristocracy are not to be trusted; the less influence they have, the more perfectly the spirit of the Constitution is preserved. Sir Francis Burdett is no more to be trusted on a question of taxation, than the Duke of Devonshire. The keeping of the public purse belongs to the Commons, to the people, to the tax-payers. To suppose that the landed Aristocracy of a country would tax themselves, is to ascribe to them a chivalrous eccentricity of generosity which has no parallel except in romance.— -Eclectic Review.

111

SECTION II.

THE EXECUTIVE POWER.

FIRST, the law ascribes to the King the attribute of sovereignty, or pre-eminence. Rex est vicarius, says Bracton, et minister Dei in terra: omnis quidem sub eo est, et ipse sub nullo, nisi tantum sub Deo...... Hence it is, that no suit or action can be brought against the King, even in civil matters, because no court can have jurisdiction over him. For all jurisdiction implies superiority of power: authority to try would be vain and idle, without an authority to redress; and the sentence of a court would be contemptible, unless that court had the power to command the execution of it: but who, says Finch, shall command the King? Hence it is, likewise, that by law the person of the King is sacred, even though the measures pursued in his reign be completely arbitrary and tyrannical; for no jurisdiction upon earth has power to try him in a criminal way; much less to condemn him to punishment.-Black

stone.

Besides the attribute of sovereignty, the law also ascribes to the King, in his political capacity, absolute perfection. The King can do no wrong: which ancient and fundamental maxim is not to be understood as if everthing transacted by the government was of course just and lawful; but means only, first, that whatever is exceptionable in the conduct of public affairs, is not to be imputed to the King, nor is he answerable for it personally to his people, which would destroy the constitutional independence of the Crown: and, secondly, that the prerogative of the Crown extends not to do any injury: it is created for the benefit of the people, and therefore cannot be exerted for their prejudice.

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Neither can the King in judgment of law, as King, ever be a minor or under age; and, therefore, his royal grants and assents to acts of Parliament are good, though he has not in his natural capacity attained the legal age of twenty-one.

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A third attribute of the King's Majesty is his perpetuity.

The law ascribes to him, in his political capacity, an absolute immortality. The King never dies. Henry, Edward, or George may die; but the King survives them all. For immediately upon the decease of the reigning prince in his natural capacity, his Kingship or imperial dignity, by act of law, without any interregnum or interval, is vested at once in his heir; who is, eo instanti, King to all intents and purposes.

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We are next to consider those branches of the royal prerogative, which invest this our sovereign lord, thus allperfect and immortal in his kingly capacity, with a number of authorities and powers, in the exertion whereof consists the executive part of government. This is wisely placed in single hand by the British Constitution, for the sake of unanimity, strength, and dispatch.* Were it placed in many hands, it would be subject to many wills: many wills, if disunited and drawing different ways, create weakness in a government; and to unite those several wills, and reduce them to one, is a work of more time and delay than the exigencies of the state will afford. The King of England is therefore not only the chief, but, properly, the sole magistrate of the nation; all others acting by commission from, and in due subordination to him: in like manner as, upon the great revolution in the Roman state, all the powers of the ancient magistracy of the commonwealth were concentred in the new emperor.

With regard to foreign concerns, the King is the delegate or representative of his people; and what is done by the royal authority, with regard to foreign powers, is the act of the whole nation. In this capacity, the King has the sole power of sending ambassadors to foreign states, and receiving ambassadors at home; of making treaties, leagues, and alliances with foreign states and princes; of making war and peace; and of granting safe-conducts or passports to foreigners within the realm.

In domestic affairs, the King is considered in a great variety of characters, and from thence there arises an abundant number of other prerogatives. First, he is a constituent part of the supreme legislative power; and as such, has

* What follows is abridged from Blackstone.

the prerogative of rejecting such provisions in parliament as he judges improper to be passed. In the next place, he is considered as the generalissimo, or the first in military command within the kingdom; and as such, has the sole power of raising and regulating fleets and armies; and erecting, manning, and governing forts and other places of strength. He has also the power of prohibiting the exportation of arms and ammunition, and of confining his subjects to stay within the realm. The King is also the fountain of justice, and general conservator of the peace; and in this capacity has the sole power of erecting courts of judicature, appointing judges, issuing proclamations, and pardoning of offences. He is likewise the fountain of honour, of office, and of privilege, and therefore all degrees of nobility and honour are received by immediate grant from the crown. As the arbiter of commerce, the King establishes public marts, regulates weights and measures, and gives authority and currency to the coin.

The King is, lastly, considered by the laws of England as the head and supreme governor of the established church. In this capacity he convenes, prorogues, restrains, regulates, and dissolves all ecclesiastical synods or convocations; nominates to vacant bishoprics, and certain other ecclesiastical preferments; and is the dernier resort in all ecclesiastical causes.-Blackstone.

In order to assist the King in the discharge of his duties, the maintenance of his dignity, and the exertion of his prerogative, the law hath assigned him a diversity of councils to advise with. (1.) The first of these is the high court of parliament. (2.) The second are the Peers of the realm, who are, by their birth, hereditary counsellors of the crown. (3.) The third, the Judges of the courts of law, for law matters; and (4.) the fourth, the Privy Council.

The duties of the King are to govern his people according to law, to execute judgment in mercy, and to maintain the established religion. And as the King cannot misuse his power, without the advice of evil counsellors, and the assistance of wicked ministers, these men may be examined and punished. The constitution has provided, by means of indictments and parliamentary impeachments, that no man shall dare to assist the crown in contradiction to the laws of the land.-Idem.