fhall be there refolved. 6. To withstand all persons who would attempt the contrary. And, lastly, in general, 7. To obferve, keep and do all that a good and true counsellor ought to do to his fovereign lord.

THE power of the privy council is to inquire into all offences against the government, and to commit the offenders to fafe cuftody, in order to take their trial in fome of the courts of law. But their jurifdiction herein is only to inquire, and not to punish: and the perfons committed by them are intitled to their habeas corpus by statute 16 Car. I. c. 10. as much as if committed by an ordinary juftice of the peace. And, by the fame ftatute, the court of ftarchamber, and the court of requests, both of which confifted of privy counfellors, were diffolved; and it was declared illegal for them to take cognizance of any matter of property, belonging to the subjects of this kingdom. But, in plantation or admiralty causes, which arife out of the jurifdiction of this kingdom; and in matters of lunacy or idiocy", being a special flower of the prerogative; with regard to these, although they may eventually involve questions of extenfive property, the privy council continues to have cognizance, being the court of appeal in such cases: or, rather, the appeal lies to the king's majefty himself in council. Whenever alfo a question arises between two provinces in America or elfewhere, as concerning the extent of their charters and the like, the king in his council exercifes original jurisdiction therein, upon the principles of feodal fovereignty. And fo likewife when any person claims an island or a province, in the nature of a feodal principality, by grant from the king or his ancestors, the determination of that right belongs to his majesty in council: as was the cafe of the earl of Derby with regard to the ifle of Man in the reign of queen Elizabeth, and the earl of Cardigan and others, as representatives of the duke of Montague, with relation to the island of St. Vincent in 1764. But from all the dominions of the crown, excepting Great Britain and Ireland, an appellate jurisdiction

n3 P. Wms, 108.

(in the last refort) is vefted in the fame tribunal; which ufually exercises it's judicial authority in a committee of the whole 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 privileges of privy counsellors, as fuch, (abftra&ted from their honorary precedence °) confift principally in the fecurity which the law has given them against attempts and confpiracies to deftroy their lives.. For, by flatute 3 Hen. VII. c. 14. if any of the king's fervants, of his houfhold, confpire or imagine to take away the life of a privy counsellor, it is felony, though nothing be done upon it. The reafon of making this ftatute, fir Edward Coke P tells us, was because fuch a confpiracy was, just before this parliament, made by fome of king Henry the feventh's houfhold fervants, and great mifchief was like to have eufued thereupon. This extends only to the king's menial fervants. But the ftatute 9 Ann. c. 16. goes farther, and enacts, that any perfon that shall unlawfully attempt to kill, or fhall unlawfully affault, and ftrike, or wound, any privy counsellor in the execution of his office, fhall be a felon without benefit of clergy. This ftatute was made upon the daring attempt of the fieur Guifcard, who ftabbed Mr. Harley, afterwards earl of Oxford, with a penknife, when under examination for high crimes in a committee of the privy council.

THE diffolution of the privy council depends upon the king's pleafure; and he may, whenever he thinks proper, discharge any particular member, or the whole of it, and appoint another. By the common law alfo it was diffolved ipfo facto by the king's demife; as deriving all it's authority from him. But now, to prevent the inconveniences of having no council in being at the acceffion of a new prince, it is enacted by statute 6 Ann. c. 7. that the privy council fhall continue for fix months after the demife of the crown, unless fooner determined by the fucceffor.

CHAPTER THE SIXTH,

OF THE KING's DUTIES.

I

PROCEED next to the duties, incumbent on the king

by our conftitution; in confideration of which duties his dignity and prerogative are cftablished by the laws of the land: it being a maxim in the law, that protection and fubjection are reciprocal. And these reciprocal duties are what, I apprehend, were meant by the convention in 1688, when they declared that king James had broken the original contract between king and people. But however, as the terms of that original contract were in fome measure difputed, being alleged to exist principally in theory, and to be only deducible by reason and the rules of natural law; in which deduction different understandings might very confiderably differ; it was, after the revolution, judged proper to declare thefe duties exprefsly, and to reduce that contract to a plain certainty. So that, whatever doubts might be formerly raised by weak and fcrupulous minds about the existence of fuch an original contract, they must now entirely cease; especially with regard to every prince, who hath reigned fince the year 1688.

THE principal duty of the king is, to govern his people according to law. Nec regibus infinita aut libera poteftas, was the conftitution of our German ancestors on the continent b. And this is not only confonant to the principles of nature, of liberty, of reason, and of fociety, but has always been esteemed an express part of the common law of England, even when prerogative was at the highest. "The king," faith Bracton, who wrote under Henry III, "ought not to be

"fubject to man, but to God, and to the law; for the law "maketh the king. Let the king therefore render to the law, "what the law has invested in him with regard to others; "dominion and power: for he is not truly king, where "will and pleasure rules, and not the law." And again; "the king alfo hath a fuperior, namely God, and also the law, by which he was made a king." Thus Bracton: and Fortefcue alfo, having first well distinguished between a monarchy abfolutely and defpotically regal, which is introduced by conqueft and violence, and a political or civil monarchy, which arises from mutual confent; (of which last fpecies he afferts the government of England to be) immediately lays it down as a principle, that "the king of England "muft rule his people according to the decrees of the laws "thereof: infomuch that he is bound by an oath at his co❝ronation to the observance and keeping of his own laws.” But, to obviate all doubts and difficulties concerning this matter, it is exprefsly declared by ftatute 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 "fhall afcend the throne of this realm ought to administer "the government of the fame according to the faid laws; "and all their officers and minifters ought to ferve them re"spectively according to the fame : and therefore all the laws "and ftatutes of this realm, for securing the established re

ligion, and the rights and liberties of the people thereof, "and all other laws and ftatutes of the fame now in force, "are ratified and confirmed accordingly."

AND, as to the terms of the original contract between king and people, these I apprehend to be now couched in the coronation oath, which by the ftatute 1 W. & M. ft. 1. c. 6, is to be administered to every king and queen, who shall fucceed to the imperial crown of thefe realms, by one of the archbishops or bishops of the realm, in the prefence 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:

d l. 2. c. 16. §. 3•

• c. 9. & 34•

"The

235 "The archbishop or bishop fhall fay, Will you folemnly pro"mife and fwear 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 fame ?-The king or queen fball fay, I fo"lemnly promise fo to do. -Archbishop or bishop. Will you "to your power caufe law and justice, in mercy, to be exe"cuted 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 profeffion of the "gofpel, and the proteftant reformed religion established by "the law? And will you preferve unto the bishops and "clergy of this realm, and to the churches committed to "their charge, all fuch rights and privileges as by law do or "fhall appertain unto them, or any of them?-King or 66 queen. All this I promife to do.After this the king or queen, laying his or her hand upon the holy gospels, fhall fay, "The things which I have here before promised I will per"form and keep: fo help me God: and then fhall kifs the book."

THIS is the form of the coronation oath, as it is now prefcribed by our laws; the principal articles of which appear to be at least as antient as the mirror of juftices f, and even as the time of Bracton : but the wording of it was changed at the revolution, because (as the ftatute alleges) the oath itself had been framed in doubtful words and expreffions, with relation to antient laws and conftitutions at this time unknown h.

f

cap. I. §. 2.

g l. 3. tr. 1. c. 9.

h In the old folio abridgment of the ftatutes, printed by Lettou and Machlinia in the reign of Edward IV, (penes me) there is preferved a copy of the old coronation oath; which, as the book is extremely fcarce, I will here tranfcribe. Ceo eft le ferement que le roy jurre a foun coronement: que il gardera et meintenera lez droitez et lez franchisez de feynt esglise grauntex aunciement dez droitez roys chriftiens dEngletere, et quil gardera toutez Sex terrez honoures et dignites droiturelx et franks del coron du roialme dEngletere en tout maner dentier te fanz null maner damenufement, et lex droitez difpergez dilapidez ou perdux de la corone a foun poiair reap

I

peller en launcien eftate, et quil gardera le peas de feynt efglife et al clergie et al people de bon accorde, et quil face faire en toutez fez jugementez owel et droit justice cue difcretion et mifericorde, et quil grauntera a tenure lex leyes et cuftumez du roialme, et a foun polar lez face garder et affumer que lez gentez du people avont faitez et efliex, et les malveys leyz et cuftumes de tout cuftera, et ferme peas et establie al people de foun roialme en ceo garde efgardera a foun poiair: come Dieu luy aide. (Tit. facramentum regis. fol. m. ij) Prynne has alfo given us a copy of the coronation. oaths of Richard 11, (Signal Loyalty. II. 246.) Edward VI, (ibid. 251.) James I, and Charles I. (ibid. 269.)

However,