thus: "I do promife to be true and faithful to the King and his heirs, and truth and faith to bear, of life, and limb, and terrene honour; and not to know or hear of any ill or damage intended him, without defending him therefrom:" and was altered at the Revolution to the prefent form. So that the present oath is a relaxation of the old one. And as the oath was intended to afcertain, not so much the extent of the fubject's obedience, as the perfon to whom it was due, the legislature feems to have wrapped up its meaning upon the former point, in a word purposely made choice of for its general and indeterminate fignification.

It will be moft convenient to confider, firft, what the oath excludes, as inconfiftent with it: fecondly, what it permits.

1. The oath excludes all intention to fupport the claim or pretenfions of any other perfon or perfons, to the crown and government, than the reigning fovereign. A Jacobite, who is perfuaded of the Pretender's right to the crown, and who moreover defigns to join with the adherents of that caufe, to affert this right, whenever a proper opportunity, with a reasonable profpect of fuccefs, prefents itself, connot take the oath of allegiance; or, if he could, the oath of abjuration follows, which contains an exprefs renunciation of all opinions in favour of the claim of the exiled family.

2. The oath excludes all defign at the time, of attempting to depofe the reigning prince, for any reafon whatever. Let the juftice of the Revolution be what it would, no honeft man could have taken even the present oath of allegiance to James the Second, who entertained at the time of taking it, a defign of joining in the measures which were entered into to dethrone him.

3. The oath forbids the taking up of arms against the reigning prince, with views of private advancement, or from motives of perfonal refentment or diflike. It is poffible to happen in this, what frequent

ly happens in defpotic governments, that an ambitious general, at the head of the military force of the nation, might, by a conjuncture of fortunate circumftances, and a great afcendency over the minds of the foldiery, depofe the prince upon the throne, and make way to it for himself, or for fome creature of his own. A perfon in this fituation would be withheld from fuch an attempt by the oath of allegiance, if he paid regard to it. If there were any who engaged in the rebellion of the year forty-five, with the expectation of titles, eftates, or preferment; or because they were difappointed, and thought themfelves neglected and ill ufed at court; or because they entertained a family animofity, or perfonal refentment against the king, the favourite, or the minister; if any were induced to take up arms by these motives, they added to the many crimes of an unprovoked rebellion, that of wilful and corrupt perjury. If, in the late American war, the fame motives determined others to connect themselves with that oppofition, their part in it was chargeable with perfidy and falfehood to their oath, whatever was the juftice of the oppofition itself, or however well founded their own complaints might be of private injury.

We are next to confider, what the oath of allegiance permits, or does not require.

1. It permits refiftance to the king, when his ill behaviour, or imbecility is fuch, as to make refiftance beneficial to the community. It may fairly be prefumed, that the convention parliament, which introduced the oath in its present form, did not intend, by impofing it, to exclude all refiftance; fince the members of that legiflature had many of them recently taken up arms against James the Second: and the very authority by which they fat together, was itself the effect of a fuccefsful oppofition to an acknowledged fovereign. Some refiftance, therefore, was meant to be allowed; and, if any, it must be that which has the public interest for its object.

2. The oath does not require obedience to fuch commands of the king, as are unauthorized by law. No fuch obedience is implied by the terms of the oath the fidelity there promised, is intended of fidelity in oppofition to his enemies, and not in oppofition to law; and allegiance, at the utmoft, can only fignify obedience to lawful commands. Therefore, if the king should iffue a proclamation, levying money, or impofing any fervice or reftraint upon the subject, beyond what the crown is impowered by law to enjoin, there would exift no fort of obligation to obey fuch a proclamation, in confequence of having taken the oath of allegiance.

3. The oath does not require that we fhould continue our allegiance to the king, after he is actually and abfolutely depofed, driven into exile, carried away captive, or otherwife rendered incapable of exercifing the regal office, whether by his fault or without it. The promife of allegiance implies, and is understood by all parties to fuppofe, that the person to whom the promife is made continues king; continues, that is, to exercife the power and afford the protection, which belongs to the office of king: for it is the poffeffion of this power, which makes fuch a particular perfon the object of the oath; without it, why, fhould I fwear allegiance to this man, rather than to any man in the kingdom? Befide which, the contrary doctrine is burthened with this confequence, that every conqueft, revolution of government, or difafter which befals the perfon of the prince, must be followed by perpetual and irremediable anarchy.

Chapter XIX,

OATH AGAINST BRIBERY IN THE ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT.

"I DO fwear I have not received, or had, by myself, or any perfon whatfoever, in truft for me,

or for my use and benefit, directly or indirectly, any fum or fums of money, office, place, or employment, gift, or reward, or any promise or fecurity for any money, office, employment, or gift, in order to give my vote at this election."

The feveral contrivances to evade this oath, fuch as the electors accepting money under colour of borrowing it, and giving a promifory note, or other fecurity for it, which is cancelled after the election; receiving money from a ftranger, or a perfon in difguife, or out of a drawer, or purse, left open for the purpose; or promises of money to be paid after the election; or ftipulating for a place, living, or other private advantage of any kind; if they escape the legal penalties of perjury, incur the moral guilt: for they are manifeftly within the mifchief and defign of the ftatute which impofes the oath; and within the terms, indeed, of the oath itfelf; for the word "indirectly" is inferted on purpose to comprehend fuch cafes as these.

Chapter XX.

OATH AGAINST SIMONY.

FROM an imaginary refemblance between the parchafe of a benefice and Simon Magus' attempt to purchase the gift of the Holy Ghoft, Acts viii. 19. the obtaining of ecclefiaftical preferment by pecuniary confiderations has been called Simony.

The fale of advowfons is infeparable from the allowance of private patronage; as patronage would otherwife devolve to the most indigent, and, for that reason, the most improper hands it could be placed in. Nor did the law ever intend to prohibit the paffing of advowsons from one patron to another; but to reftrain the patron, who poffeffes the right of prefenting at the vacancy, from being influenced, in the choice of his prefentee, by a bribe, or benefit to him

felf. It is the fame diftinction with that which obtains in a freeholder's vote for his reprefentative in parliament. The right of voting, that is the freehold, to which the right pertains, may be bought and fold, as freely as any other property; but the exercife of that right, the vote itself, may not be purchafed, or influenced by money.

For this purpose, the law impofes upon the presentee, who is generally concerned in the fimony, if there be any, the following oath: "I do fwear, that I have made no fimoniacal payment, contract, or promife, directly or indirectly, by myfelf, or by any other to my knowledge, or with my confent, to any perfon or perfons whatfoever, for, or concerning the procure. ing and obtaining of this ecclefiaftical place, &c. nor will, at any time hereafter, perform or fatisfy, any fuch kind of payment, contract or promise, made by any other without my knowledge or confent: So help me God, through Jefus Chrift."

It is extraordinary, that Bishop Gibson should have thought this oath to be against all promifes whatfoever, when the terms of the oath exprefsly reftrain it to fimoniacal promises; and the law alone muft pronounce what promifes, as well as what payments, and contracts, are fimoniacal, and confequently, come within the oath; and what do not so.

Now the law adjudges to be fimony,

1. All payments, contracts, or promises, made by any perfon, for a benefice already vacant. The advowfon of a void turn, by law cannot be transferred from one patron to another: therefore, if the void turn be procured by money, it muft be pecuniary influence upon the then fubfifting patron in the choice of his prefentee; which is the 'very practice the law condemns.

2. A clergyman's purchafing of the next turn of a benefice for himself, "directly or indirectly," that is, by himself, or by another perfon with his money. It does not appear, that the law prohibits a clergy