nounces the gratitude of the subject: “les prelats, seigneurs, et commons, en ce present parliament assemblees, au nom de touts vous autres subjects, *remercient tres humblement votre majeste, et prient a Dieu vous [*1851 donner en sante bone vie et longue; the prelates, lords, and commons, in this present parliament assembled, in the name of all your other subjects, most humbly thank your majesty, and pray to God to grant you in health and wealth long to live" (). 2. By the statute 33 Hen. VIII. c. 21, the king may give his assent by letters patent under his great seal, signed with his hand, and notified in his absence, to both houses assembled together in the High house. And, when the bill has received the royal assent in either of these ways, it is then, and not before, a statute or act of parlia ment (77).

This statute or act is placed among the records of the kingdom; there needing no formal promulgation to give it the force of a law, as was necessary by the civil law with regard to the emperor's edicts; because every man in England is, in judgment of law, party to the making of an act of parliament, being present thereat by his representatives.) However, a copy thereof is usually printed at the king's press, for the information of the whole land. And formerly, before the invention of printing, it was used to be published by the sheriff of every county; the king's writ being sent to him at the end of every session, together with a transcript of all the acts made at that session, commanding him "ut statuta illa, et omnes articulos, in eisdem contentos, in singulis locis ubi expedire viderit, publice proclamari, et firmiter teneri et observari faciat.” And the usage was to proclaim them at his county court, and there to keep them, that whoever would might read or take copies thereof; which custom continued till the reign of Henry the Seventh (m), (78).

(2) D'Ewes' Journ. 35.

(77) The 33 Geo. III. c. 13. directs the clerk of parliament to endorse on every act the time it receives the royal assent, from which day it becomes operative, if no other is specified. And by 48 Geo. III. c. 106. when a bill for continuing expiring acts shall not have passed before such acts expire, the bill, when passed into a law, shall have effect from the date of the expiration of the act intended to be continued.

(78) See Com. Dig. Parliament, G. 22, 23. On 3d June, 1801, an address was agreed to by both houses, and presented with a series of resolutions to his majesty, respecting the promulgation of the statutes; and on the 19th of the same month his majesty's answer was reported, that he would give directions accordingly. The resolutions were in substance as follows:

1. That it is expedient for the more speedy and general promulgation of the laws of the united kingdom, that his majesty's printer should be authorized and directed to print not less than 5500 copies of every public general statute, and 300 of every public, local, and pertonal statute.

2. That he be authorized to deliver or transnit, by post or otherwise, immediately after ach bill has received the royal assent, the Aresaid number of 5500 copies of each gerra' public statute.

3. The like with respect to the 300 copies

(m) 3 Inst. 41. 4 Inst. 26.

of each public, local, and personal statute.

4. That every chief magistrate and head officer of any city, borough, or town corporate in England and Ireland, and of every royal burgh in Scotland, and every clerk of the peace and town-clerk receiving the same, shall preserve them for the public use, and transmit them to his successor in office.

5. That for the purpose of effectuating the promulgation of private statutes (if the parties interested therein shall think proper), and also for making compensation to the clerk of the parliaments and officers of the house of lords (in lieu of their annual average emolu. ments arising from the office copies of such statutes), without bringing any new charge upon the public, the parties interested in eve ry such statute shall make good such expense and compensation; and that thereupon such printed copies of every such statute shall be made judicially admissible in evidence, by adding thereto a clause declaring the same to be a public act.

6. That his majesty's printer shall also be authorized and directed to class the general statutes and the public, local, and personal sta tutes of each session in separate volumes, and to number the chapters of each class separately, and also to print one general title to each volume, together with a general table of all the acts passed in that session.

An act of parliament, thus made, is the exercise of the highest authority that this kingdom acknowledges upon earth. It hath power to bind every subject in the land, and the dominions thereunto belonging; nay, even the

king himself, if particularly named therein. And it cannot be [186] altered, *amended, dispensed with, suspended, or repealed, but in the same forms, and by the same authority of parliament: for it is a maxim in law, that it requires the same strength to dissolve, as to create, an obligation. It is true it was formerly held, that the king might, in many cases, dispense with penal statutes (n): but now, by statute I W. and M. st. 2, c. 2, it is declared that the suspending or dispensing with laws by regal authority, without consent of parliament, is illegal.

}

VII. There remains only, in the seventh and last place, to add a word or two concerning the manner in which parliaments may be adjourned, prorogued, or dissolved.

An adjournment is no more than a continuance of the session from one day to another, as the word itself signifies: and this is done by the authority of each house separately every day;) and sometimes for a fortnight or a month together, as at Christmas or Easter, or upon other particular occasions. But the adjournment of one house is no adjournment of the other (o). It hath also been usual, when his majesty hath signified his pleasure that both or either of the houses should adjourn themselves to a certain day, to obey the king's pleasure so signified, and to adjourn accordingly (p). Otherwise, besides the indecorum of a refusal, a prorogation would assuredly follow; which would often be very inconvenient to both public and private business: for prorogation puts an end to the session; and then such bills as are only begun and not perfected, must be resumed de novo (if at all) in a subsequent session: whereas, after an adjournment, all things continue in the same state as at the time of the adjournment made, and may be proceeded on without any fresh commencement (79).

A prorogation is the continuance of the parliament from one [187] session to another, as an adjournment is a continuation of the session from day to day.) This is done by the royal authority, expres ed either by the lord chancellor in his majesty's presence, or by commission from the crown, or frequently by proclamation (80). Both houses are necessarily prorogued at the same time; it not being a prorogation of the

(n) Finch. L. 81, 234. Bacon. Elem. c. 19. (0) 4 Inst. 28.

(p) Com. Journ. passim; e. g. 11 June, 1572; 5 Apr. 1604; 4 June, 14 Nov. 18 Dec. 1621; 11 Jul.

(79) Orders of parliament also determine by prorogation, consequently all persons taken into custody under such orders may, after prorogation of parliament as well as after dissolution, be discharged on a habeas corpus; generally, however, that form is not observed, as the power of either house to hold in imprisonment expires, and the party may at once walk forth on the prorogation or dissolution of the parliament. Com. Dig. Parliament, O. 1. The state of an impeachment is not affected by the Bession terminating either one way or the other (Raym. 120. 1 Lev. 384.), and appeals and writs of error remain, and are to be proceeded in, as they stood at the last session. 2 Lev. 93. Com. Dig. Parliament, O. 1.

(80) At the beginning of a new parliament, when it is not intended that the parliament

1625; 13 Sept. 1660; 25 Jul. 1667; 4 Aug. 1685; 24 Feb. 1691; 21 June, 1712; 16 Apr. 1717; 3 Feb. 1741; 10 Dec. 1745; 21 May, 1768.

should meet at the return of the writ of summons for the dispatch of business, the practice is to prorogue it by a writ of prorogation, as the parliament in 1790 was prorogued twice by writ: Com. Journ. 26th Nov. 1790: and the first parliament in this reign was prorogued by four writs. Ib. 3 Nov. 1761. On the day upon which the writ of summons is returnable, the members of the house of commons who attend do not enter their own house, or wait for a message from the lords, but go immediately up to the house of lords, where the chancellor reads the writ of prorogation. Ib. And when it is intended that they should meet upon the day to which the parliament is prorogued for dispatch of business, notice is given by a pro claination.

house of lords. or commons, but of the parliament. The session is ever understood to be at an end until a prorogation; though, unless some act be passed or some judgment given in parliament, it is in truth no session at all (q). And, formerly, the usage was for the king to give the royal assent to all such bills as he approved, at the end of every session, and then to prorogue the parliament; though sometimes only for a day or two (r); after which all business then depending in the houses was to be begun again which custom obtained so strongly, that it once became a question (s), whether giving the royal assent to a single bill did not of course put an end to the session. And, though it was then resolved in the negative, yet the notion was so deeply rooted, that the statute 1 Car. I. c. 7, was passed to declare, that the king's assent to that and some other acts should not put an end to the session; and, even so late as the reign of Charles II. we find a proviso frequently tacked to a bill (1), that his majesty's assent thereto should not determine the session of parliament. But it now seems to be allowed, that a prorogation must be expressly made, in order to determine the session. And, if at the time of an actual rebellion, or imminent danger of invasion, the parliament shall be separated by adjournment or prorogation, the king is empowered (u) to call them together by proclamation, with fourteen days' notice of the time appointed for their reassembling (81).

A dissolution is the civil death of the parliament; and this may be effect. ed three ways: 1. By the king's will, expressed either in person or by representation; for, as the king has the sole right of convening the parliament, so also it is a branch of the royal prerogative, that [188] he may (whenever he pleases) prorogue the parliament for a

time, or put a final period to its existence. If nothing had a right to prorogue or dissolve a parliament but itself, it might happen to become perpetual. And this would be extremely dangerous, if at any time it should attempt to encroach upon the executive power: as was fatally experienced by the unfortunate king Charles the First, who having unadvisedly passed an act to continue the parliament then in being till such time as it should please to dissolve itself, at last fell a sacrifice to that inordinate power, which he himself had consented to give them. It is therefore extremely necessary that the crown should be empowered to regulate the duration of these assemblies, under the limitations which the English constitution has prescribed so that, on the one hand, they may frequently and regularly come together, for the dispatch of business, and redress of grievances; and may not, on the other, even with the consent of the crown, be continued to an inconvenient or unconstitutional length.

2. A parliament may be dissolved by the demise of the crown.) This dissolution formerly happened immediately upon the death of the reigning Sovereign: for he being considered in law as the head of the parliament, (capul principium, et finis,) that failing, the whole body was held to be extinct. But, the calling a new parliament immediately on the inauguration of the successor being found inconvenient, and dangers being apprehended

(9) 4 Inst. 28. Hale of Parl. 38. Hut. 61.
(r) Com. Journ. 21 Oct. 1553.
(3) Ibid. 21 Nov. 1554.

(81) By statutes 37 G. III. c. 127, and 39, 40, G. III. c. 14, the king may at any time, by proclamation, appoint parliament to meet at the expiration of fourteen days from the date

(t) Stat. 12 Car. II. c. 1. 22 and 23 Car. II. c. 1. (u) Stat. 30 Geo. II. c. 25.

of the proclamation; and this without regard to the period to which parliament may stand prorogued or adjourned.

from having to parliament in being in case of a disputed succession, it was enacted by the statutes 7 and 8 W. III. c. 15, and 6 Ann. c. 7, that the parliament in being shall continue for six months after the death of any king or queen, unless sooner prorogued or dissolved by the successor that, if the parliament be, at the time of the king's death, separated by adjourn ment or prorogation, it shall, notwithstanding, assemble immediately; and that, if no parliament is then in being, the members of the last parliament shall assemble, and be again a parliament (82),.

[189]*3. Lastly, a parliament may be dissolved or expire by length of time. For, if either the legislative body were perpetual, or might last for the life of the prince who convened them, as formerly; and were so to be supplied, by occasionally filling the vacancies with new representatives; in these cases, if it were once corrupted, the evil would be past all remedy: but when different bodies succeed each other, if the people see cause to disapprove of the present, they may rectify its faults in the next. A legislative assembly also, which is sure to be separated again, (whereby its members will themselves become private men, and subject to the full extent of the laws which they have enacted for others,) will think themselves bound, in interest as well as duty, to make only such laws as are good. The utmost extent of time that the same parliament was allowed to sit, by the statute 6 W. and M. c. 2, was three years; after the expiration of which, reckoning from the return of the first summons, the parliament was to have no longer continuance. But, by the statute 1 Geo. I., st. 2, c. 38, (in order, professedly, to prevent the great and continued expences of frequent elections, and the violent heats and animosities consequent there. upon, and for the peace and security of the government, then just recovering from the late rebellion,) this term was prolonged to seven years: and, what alone is an instance of the vast authority of parliament, the very same house, that was chosen for three years, enacted its own continuance for seven (83). So that, as our constitution now stands, the parliament) must expire, or die a natural death, at the end of every seventh year, if not sooner dissolved by the royal prerogative.

CHAPTER III.

OF THE KING, AND HIS TITLE.

THE supreme executive power of these kingdoms is vested by our laws in a single person, the king or queen: for it matters not to which sex the crown descends; but the person entitled to it, whether male or female, is immediately invested with all the ensigns, rights, and prerogatives of sovereign power; as is declared by statute 1 Mar. st. 3. c. 1.

In discoursing of the royal rights and authority, I shall consider the king under six distinct views; 1. With regard to his title. 2. His roya. family. 3. His councils.. 4. His duties. 5. His prerogative. 6. His revenue. And, first, with regard to his title.

The executive power of the English nation being vested in a single person, by the general consent of the people, the evidence of which general consent is long and immemorial usage, it became necessary to the freedom and peace of the state, that a rule should be laid down, uniform, universal, and permanent; in order to mark out with precision, who is that single person, to whom are committed (in subservience to the law of the land) the care and protection of the community; and to whom, in return, the duty and allegiance of every individual are due. It is of the highest importance to the public tranquillity, and to the consciences *of private men, that this rule should be clear and indisputable: [*191] and our constitution has not left us in the dark upon this material occasion. It will therefore be the endeavour of this chapter to trace out the constitutional doctrine of the royal succession, with that freedom, and regard to truth, yet mixed with that reverence and respect, which the principles of liberty and the dignity of the subject require.

The grand fundamental maxim upon which the jus corona, or right of succession to the throne of these kingdoms, depends, I take to be this: "that the crown is, by common law and constitutional custom, hereditary; and this in a manuer peculiar to itself: but that the right of inheritance may from time to time be changed or limited by act of parliament; under which limitations the crown still continues hereditary." And this proposition it will be the business of this chapter to prove, in all its branches; first, that the crown is hereditary; secondly, that it is hereditary in a manner peculiar to itself; thirdly, that this inheritance is subject to limitation by parliament; lastly, that when it is so limited, it is hereditary in the new proprietor.

1. First, it is in general hereditary, or descendible to the next heir, on the death or demise of the last proprietor. All regal governments must be either hereditary or elective: and, as I believe there is no instance wherein the crown of England has ever been asserted to be elective, except by the regicides at the infamous and unparalleled trial of King Charles I., it must of consequence be hereditary. Yet, while I assert an hereditary, I by no means intend a jure divino, title to the throne. Such a title may be allowed to have subsisted under the theocratic establishments of the children of Israel in Palestine: but it never yet subsisted in any other country; save only so far as kingdoms, like other human fabrics, are subject to the general and ordinary dispensations of providence. Nor indeed have a jure divino and an hereditary right any necessary connexion with each other; as some have very weakly imagined. The titles of David and Jehu were "equally jure divinu, as those [*19( of either Solomon or Ahab; and yet David slew the sons of his predecessor, and Jehu his predecessor himself. And when our kings have the same warrant as they had, whether it be to sit upon the throne of their fathers, or to destroy the house of the preceding sovereign, they will then, and not before, possess the crown of England by a right like theirs, immediately derived from heaven. The hereditary right which the laws of England acknowledge, owes its origin to the founders of our constitution and to them only. It has no relation to, nor depends upon, the civil laws