ruptcy; and that commiffions of bankrupt may be iffued against such privileged traders in like manner, as against any other. How procefs to members of civil cafes. be had against parliament in "The only way, by which courts of justice could antiently take cognizance of privilege of parliament was by writ of privilege, in the nature of a fuperfedeas, to deliver the party out of cuftody, when arrefted in a civil fuit. For when a letter was written by the fpeaker to the judges, to stay proceedings against a privileged perfon, they rejected it, as contrary to their oath of office. But fince the statute 12 W. III. c. 3. which enacts, that no privileged person shall be subject to arrest or imprisonment, it hath been held, that fuch arreft is irregular ab initio, and that the party may be discharged upon motion. It is to be observed, that there is no precedent of any fuch writ of privilege, but only in civil fuits; and that the ftatute of 1 Jac. I. c. 13. and that of king William, (which remedy fome inconveniences arifing from privilege of parliament) fpeak only of civil actions. And therefore the claim of privilege hath been usually guarded with an exception, as to the cafe of indictable crimes; or, as it How in crimihath been frequently expreffed, of treafon, felony, and breach (or furety) of the peace. Whereby it seems to be understood, that no privilege nal cafes. lers not now privileged. privilege was allowable to the members, their families, or fervants in any crime whatsoever; for all crimes are treated by the law as being. contra pacem domini regis. And instances have not been wanting, wherein privileged perfons have been convicted of mifdemeanors, and committed, or profecuted to outlawry, even in the middle of a feffion; which proceeding has afterwards received the fanction and apSeditious libel- probation of parliament. To which may be added, that a few years ago, the cafe of writing and publishing feditious libels was refolved by both houfes not to be intitled to privilege; and that the reasons, upon which that cafe proceeded, extended equally to every indictable offence. So that the chief, if not the only, privilege of parliament in fuch cases, seems to be the right of receiving immediate information of the imprisonment or detention of any member with the reason, for which he is detained; a practice, that is daily ufed upon the flightest military accufations, preparatory to a trial by a court martial; and which is recognized by the feveral temporary statutes for fufpending the babeas corpus act, whereby it is provided, that no member to the houfe of of either house shall be detained, till the matter, of which he ftands fufpected, be first communicated to the houfe, of which he is a Communica tion to be made the detention of its member. member, member, and the confent of the faid house obtained for his commitment or detaining. But yet the usage has uniformly been ever fince the revolution, that the communication has been subsequent to the arrest.” When an act of parliament is once completed, it is the exercise of the highest authority, that this kingdom acknowledges parliament. upon earth. It hath power to bind every Sovereignty of fubject in the land, and the dominions thereunto belonging t; nay, even the king himfelf, if particularly named therein. And it cannot be altered, amended, dispensed with, fufpended, or repealed, but in the fame forms, and by the fame authority of parliament: for it is a maxim in law, that it requires the fame strength to diffolve, as to create an obligation." Every natural born fubject, as a member of this community, has a personal intereft in the enjoyment and preservation of the before mentioned rights, liberties, and prerogatives, by his representatives in parliament; for the maintenance and prefervation of them will alone maintain and preferve facred and in * Blak. ubi fupra, p. 185. + Since this was written by Judge Blakistone, by the 23 Geo. III. c. 28. a separate and independent legislature has been allowed to the kingdom of Ireland. Our intereft to rights and pri liament. preferve the vileges of par of the people of England. violate, the rights and liberties of all Britons, which are common both to the reprefentatives and represented. I have already endeavoured to fhew the general rights, which every man is entitled tó, by becoming a member of civil fociety; thofe, to which he is entitled as a member of this community, may be called, *«in a peculiar and emphatical manner, the rights General rights of the people of England. And these may be reduced to three principal or primary articles; the right of perfonal fecurity, the right of personal liberty, and the right of private property; because as there is no other known method of compulfion, or of abridging man's natural free will, but by an infringement or diminution of one or other of these important rights, the prefervation of these inviolate may juftly be faid to include the preservation of our civil immunities, in their largest and most extensive sense. The right of perfonal fecurity. Of perfonal li. berty. "I. The right of perfonal fecurity, conLifts in a perfon's legal and uninterrupted enjoyment of his life, his limbs, his body, his health, and his reputation. "II. Next to perfonal property, the law of England regards, afferts, and preferves *Blak. Com. b. i. c. i. p. 129. Blak. ibidem. the This the perfonal liberty of individuals. property. *«III. The third abfolute right inhe- of perfonal rent in every Englishman, is that of property; which consists in the free use, enjoyment, and disposal of all his acquifitions, without any control or diminution." It would exceed my purpose to enumerate in detail all the particular laws, by which thefe rights and liberties are preferved and protected. Some are by common law, others by statute law: every subject may know, if he please, in what they confift; for they depend not upon the arbitrary will of a judge, but are permanent, fixed, and unchangeable, unless by act of parliament. The conftitu- Certainty of our tution, powers, and privileges of parliament, and the limitation of the king's prerogative to certain bounds are the general and fundamental grounds for protecting and maintaining inviolate, our three great and primary rights of perfonal fecurity, perfonal liberty, Blak. Com. b. i. c. i. p. 129. and rights. |