THE CORONATION OATH.

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people of this kingdom of England, and the dominions thereto belonging, according to the statutes in Parliament agreed on, and the laws and customs of the same?' The Queen: 'I solemnly promise so to do.' Archbishop: Will you to the utmost of your power cause law and justice, in mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?' Queen: 'I will.' Archbishop: Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel, and the Protestant reformed religion established by the law? And will you preserve unto the bishops and clergy of this realm, and to the churches committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertain unto them, or any of them?' Queen: All this I promise to do.' After this, the Queen, laying her hand upon the Holy Gospels, said: "The things which I have here before promised I will perform and keep So help me God:' and then her Majesty kissed the book."

But an English Sovereign is not only infallible but immortal. Now, perhaps, you will think that this is downright nonsense, because you know that our Sovereigns are just as likely to die as the poorest peasant in the land. And if they do not die, what have become of our Norman, Planta

genet, Lancastrian, Yorkist, Tudor, Stuart, and Hanoverian kings? No, say you, we cannot quite swallow that, though we do belong to the "stupid party." But you see, when I told you that the Queen was infallible, I meant only politically; and so when I say that an English Sovereign is immortal, I mean only in a political and not in a natural sense. You have often read of the phrase, the King never dies; and it means simply this, that immediately upon the decease of the reigning prince in his natural capacity, his kingly office is vested at once in his heir, who is from that very moment King to all intents and purposes. So you see that it is not the king personally who never dies, but his title and office. When we talk of the demise of the crown, we only mean that in consequence of the disunion of the King's natural body from his body politic, the kingdom is demised or transferred to his successor, and hence the royal dignity remains perpetual.

In addition to the Queen being politically infallible and immortal, her Majesty is also legally omnipresent; for as she is considered the fountain of justice and general conservator of the peace of the kingdom, she is, in the eyes of the law, supposed always to be present in her various courts of jus

HER LEGAL OMNIPRESENCE.

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tice. So that when you enter a law court and take your hat off, it is not merely out of respect to the judge or magistrate on the bench, but to the imagined presence of the Queen. Should you or I ever have the misfortune to be committed for contempt of court, we should be punished, not only because we treated with contempt the judge or magistrate, but the Queen, whose representative such judge or magistrate is. The original power of judicature is lodged in society at large, but as justice could not be very well rendered to every one by the people collectively, every nation commits that power to certain select magistrates. In England this authority has immemorially been exercised by the Sovereign, or his or her substitutes, the judges. Our monarchs have, however, delegated for many ages their judicial power to the judges, who, in their several courts, are the depositaries of the fundamental laws of the kingdom, and have a stated jurisdiction regulated by certain and established rules which the Crown itself cannot now alter but by Act of Parliament. And here you must remember that though the Queen is supposed to be present in all her courts of justice, her Majesty cannot personally assume to decide any case, civil or criminal, but

must leave such decision to her judges. And when any judicial act is referred to the Queen by any Act of Parliament, it is understood to be done in some court of justice according to the law. So you see that the Queen is not the author of justice, but only the distributor, being, as it were, the steward of the public to dispense it to whom it is due: in fact, her Majesty is not the spring but the reservoir whence right and equity are conducted by a thousand channels to every individual.

You have often seen in the daily papers, among the law intelligence, the Queen versus, and then the name of the person prosecuted. Perhaps this has puzzled you, and you cannot make out why her Majesty should appear in the capacity of prosecutor. Well, it is very simple. All offences are deemed to be theoretically against either the peace, crown, or dignity of the Queen. And though these offences seem to be rather against the kingdom than the Crown, yet as the public has delegated all its powers with regard to the execution of the laws to one visible magistrate, all affronts to those powers are offences against her Majesty, to whom they are so delegated. Hence the Queen is the proper person to prosecute for all public offences, as she is the one injured in the eye of the law. And for this

THE FOUNTAIN OF HONOUR.

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reason her Majesty has the power to pardon; for it is only fair that the one who is injured should have the power of forgiving.

As her Majesty is what is termed the fountain of justice, so also is she the fountain of honour. The Queen of these realms can alone create a peer; baronet, or knight, or confer privileges upon private persons. It is also in the power only of her Majesty to erect corporations, whereby a number of private persons are united together, and enjoy many powers and immunities in their political capacity which otherwise they could not possess. No charter, however, conferring political power or franchise in Great Britain or her colonies, can be granted by the Crown without the concurrence of Parliament.

The Queen is the head of the army and navy, and in this capacity has the sole power of raising and regulating fleets and armies; but since 1688 this prerogative has been subjected to such constitutional restraints that it is impossible it can be exercised to the detriment of English liberty.

As her Majesty is head of the army, so is she head of the Church established in England. She convenes and dissolves all ecclesiastical synods or convocations, and nominates to vacant bishoprics and certain other ecclesiastical preferments. All