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relation to the island of St. Vincent, in 1764. And from all the dominions of the crown, excepting Great Britain and Ireland, an appellate jurisdiction, in the last resort, is vested in the same tribunal; which usually exercises its judicial authority in a committee of the privy council*, who hear the allegations and proofs, and make their report to his majesty in council, by whom the judgment is finally given.

The dissolution of the privy council depends upon the king's pleasure; and he may, whenever he thinks proper, discharge any particular member, or the whole of it, and appoint another. By the common law also it was dissolved ipso facto by the king's demise; as deriving all its authority from him. But now, to prevent the inconveniences of having no council in being at the accession of a new prince, it is enacted, by statute 6 Ann, c. 7, that the privy council shall continue for six months after the demise of the crown, unless sooner determined by the successor.

*This judicial authority is now exercised by the "Judicial Committee of the Privy Council," the constitution and functions of which are defined by st. 3 & 4 W. 4. c. 41.

QUESTIONS.

What are the functions of the Peers of the Realm ?

What was a " Convention of Peers," and when adopted?

What privilege have the Peers personally with reference to the King?

What is the Privy Council?

How is a Privy Counsellor appointed?

What are the qualifications of a Privy Counsellor ?

What are his duties?

What kind of a jurisdiction is that of the Privy Council?

How is the Privy Council dissolved?

What becomes of it, on a demise of the Crown?

THE KING'S DUTIES.

IN consideration of the duties incumbent on the king by our constitution, his dignity and prerogative are established by the law of the land: it being a maxim in the law, that protection and subjection are reciprocal. And these reciprocal duties are what, I apprehend, were meant by the convention in 1688, when they declared king James had broken the original contract between king and people. Whatever doubts might be formerly raised by weak and scrupulous minds about the existence of such an original contract, they must now entirely cease; especially with regard to every prince who hath reigned since the year 1688-for to obviate all doubts and difficulties concerning this matter, it is expressly declared by statute 12 and 13 W. III. c. 2, " that the laws of England are the birthright of the people thereof; and all the kings and queens who shall ascend the throne of this realm ought to administer the government of the same according to the said laws: and all their officers and ministers ought to serve them respectively according to the same: and therefore all the laws and statutes of this realm, for securing the established religion, and the rights and liberties of the people thereof, and all other laws and statutes of the same now in force, are ratified and confirmed accordingly."

The terms of the original contract between king and people, I apprehend to be now couched in the Coronation Oath, which by the statute 1 W. & M. stat. 1. c. 6. is to be administered to every king and queen, who shall succeed to the imperial crown of these realms, by one of the archbishops or bishops of the realm, in the presence of all the people; who on their parts do reciprocally take the oath of allegiance to the crown. This coronation oath is conceived in the following terms:

"The archbishop or bishop shall say, Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the 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 king or queen shall say, I solemnly promise so to do.-Archbishop or bishop. Will you to your power cause law and justice, in mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?-King or queen. I will. -Archbishop or bishop. 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 ?-King or queen. All this I promise to do.-After this the king or queen, laying his or her hand upon the holy gospels, shall say, The things which I have here before promised I will per form and keep: so help me God: and then shall kiss the book."

QUESTIONS.

What are the reciprocal duties of the King and the People?

What is the original contract between them, and how was it defined after the Revolution, in the reign of William III.?

What is the Coronation Oath?

H

THE KING'S PREROGATIVE.

ONE of the principal bulwarks of civil liberty, or, in other words, of the British constitution, is the limitation of the king's prerogative by bounds so certain and notorious, that it is impossible he should ever exceed them without the consent of the people, on the one hand; or without, on the other, a violation of that original contract, which in all states impliedly, and in ours most expressly, subsists between the prince and the subject.

By the word prerogative we usually understand that special pre-eminence, which the king hath, over and above all other persons, and out of the ordinary course of the common law, in right of his regal dignity.

The enormous weight of prerogative, if left to itself, as in arbitrary governments it is, spreads havoc and destruction among all the inferior movements; but, when balanced and regulated, as with us, by its proper counterpoise, timely and judiciously applied, its operations are then equable and certain; it invigorates the whole machine, and enables every part to answer the end of its construction.

Under every monarchical government, it is necessary to distinguish the prince from his subjects, not only by the outward pomp and decorations of majesty, but also by ascribing to him certain qualities, as inherent in his royal capacity, distinct from, and superior to, those of any other individual in the nation. For, though a philosophical mind will consider the royal person merely as one man appointed by mutual consent to preside over many others, and will pay him that reverence and duty which the principles of society demand; yet the mass of mankind will be apt to grow insolent and refractory, if taught to consider their prince as a man of no greater perfection than themselves. The law therefore ascribes to the king, in his high political character, not only large powers and emoluments, which form his prerogative and revenue, but likewise certain

attributes of a great and transcendent nature; by which the people are led to consider him in the light of a superior being, and to pay him that awful respect, which may enable him with greater ease to carry on the business of government. This is what I understand by the royal dignity, the several branches of which we shall now proceed to examine.

I. And, first, the law ascribes to the king the attribute of sovereignty, or pre-eminence. His realm is declared to be an empire, and his crown to be imperial, by many acts of parliament, particularly the statutes 24 Hen. VIII. c. 12, and 25 Hen. VIII. c. 28; which at the same time declare the king to be the supreme head of the realm in matters both civil and ecclesiastical, and, of consequence, inferior to no man upon earth, dependent on no man, accountable to no man. 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 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 tyrannical and arbitrary: for no jurisdiction upon earth has power to try him in a criminal way; much less to condemn him to punishment. If any foreign jurisdiction had this power, as was formerly claimed by the pope, the independence of the kingdom would be no more; and, if such a power were vested in any domestic tribunal, there would soon be an end of the constitution, by destroying the free agency of one of the constituent parts of the sovereign legislative power.

Are then, it may be asked, the subjects of England totally destitute of remedy, in case the crown should invade their rights, either by private injuries or public oppressions? To this we may answer, that the law has provided a remedy in both cases.

And, first, as to private injuries: if any person has, in point of property, a just demand upon the king, he must petition him in his court of chancery, where his chancellor will administer right, as a matter of grace, though not upon compulsion. And this is entirely consonant to what is laid

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