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Treafon to deny the king's pre

rogative.

The abfolute honour of the king is the relative honour

of the people.

him; and there is a respect, which it would be criminal to withold from him."

Since it would be treafonable for any British subject openly to maintain, that the conftitution of this kingdom does not veft the fupreme executive power in the fingle perfon, who by the fixed rule of hereditary defcent, fhall have fucceeded to the throne; it is equally true and certain, that the conftitution has affixed a certain limitation of prerogative or power to this perfon fo in poffeffion of the throne, which it would also be treafonable in any fubject or member of the community to question or deny. I do not think it very material to canvafs the motives, which draw from fubjects that respect and reverence to the king's majefty, which Dr. Price fays it would be criminal to withhold, Thofe, who derive the king's fovereignty immediately from Almighty God, can scarcely be conceived limited in their reverence and homage to his vicegerent upon earth; thofe, who trace it from the immediate appointment of the community, undervalue and contemn the people, in proportion as they fubftract from the majefty of their appointee; for the refufal of the abfolute honours to the prince, is the difavcwal of the relative honour to the people.. I fhall, therefore, here

after

after confider the fubmiffion and respect due from the fubject to the fovereign, as a civil duty and obligation, which every member of the community is indifpenfably obliged to perform, under the penalties, which the state has annexed to the crime of high treafon.

The most vehement opponents of kingly power admit, after Milton, * that "there is no power but of God; that is, no form, no lawful constitution of any government". For Almighty God" is equally the original of it, whether he firft lodged it more in common, and left the communication of it to particular perfons, to be the refult of reafon and deliberation, or himself immediately gave it to those particular perfons." And thus clearly are to be understood those words of our bleffed Redeemer to Pilate, not have any power over me, given thee from above;" unless it be contended that Pontius Pilate, or Tiberius Cæfar, whofe lieutenant he was, had like Joshua, Saul, or David received an immediate appointment or commiffion from God, to rule over the people of Ifrael. I have cited this

Milton's Defence, p. 64.

"Thou wouldst

unless it were

Hoadley's Defence of Mr. Hooker's Judgment, P. 199.

Joan. c. xix. 2. 11.

All power from mediately or

God, whether

immediately.

one

rendered pliant to the fenfe of every interpreter.

one quotation from fcripture, that both parties may draw from it the fatisfactory inference, that the fubmiffive deference of any fubject to an acknowledged fovereign will ever be regarded as a moral duty to Almighty God. Little will it avail me to atThe fcriptures tempt to prove or confirm my reasoning by the application of paffages from the holy writ, where moft men interpret it by their own private judgment; and in this very controverfy, I firmly believe, that there is not a paffage relating to kingly or magiftratical power, from the beginning of Genefis to the end of the Revelations, which has not been tortured by the fupporters of the oppofite parties into contrary meanings.

So are many political writers.

The liberty, with which the ecclefiaftical and theological writers upon this controverfy have accommodated the authority of the fcriptures to their refpective doctrines, has been closely followed by most historical, political, and legal writers; for we find, through their writings, the very fame texts quoted from the old approved authors, Bracton, Briton, Fleta, Fortefcue, and others, to prove and fupport their oppofite doctrines. It is neither incumbent upon me, nor is it competent for me to difcufs the propriety of accommodating the fenfe of the holy fcrip

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tures to oppofite purposes; but I feel it an indifpenfible duty to endeavour to affix a determined meaning to thofe civil authorities, which affect the question under our confideration.

confidered as ei

tural or in his

The king (or queen) of this realm, in The king to be whom the conftitution places the fupreme ther in his naexecutive power, is to be confidered either political capain the natural capacity of a human indivi- cty dual, or in his political capacity as an integral component part of the legislature. Some things are faid of the king, which are true only as applicable to his natural capacity, and falfe, if pretended to be applied to his political capacity; and fo vice versa. It will be my endeavour to keep my readers attention to the difference. His natural capacity he receives immediately from Almighty God; his political capacity immediately from the people or community; but not without the permiffion of Almighty God, from whom the people receive immediately their power and right to confer it: thus are reconciled the words of St. Peter, calling kings a human ordinance, or human appointment, with the words of St. Paul, ftyling magiftrates the ordinance of God.

Whenever I shall in future fpeak generally of the king, I beg alfo to be underfood of a queen regnant, fuch as were Mary, Elizabeth, and Anne.

The

The king is a corporation in his political capacity.

* cc

The king, in his political capacity, is a corporation fole: now corporations fole confift of one perfon only and his fucceffors in fome particular ftation, who are incorporated by law, in order to give them fome legal capacities and advantages, particularly that of perpetuity, which in their natural perfons they could not have had. But as all perfonal rights die with the person, and as the neceffary forms of invefting a series of individuals, one after another, with the fame identical rights, would be very inconvenient, if not impracticable, it has been found neceffary, when it is for the advantage of the public to have any particular rights kept on foot and continued, to conftitute artificial perfons, who may maintain a perpetual fucceffion, and enjoy a kind of legal immortality." So in this fenfe is it faid, that the king never dies and thofe, who are his heirs in his natural capacity, are called his fucceffors in his political capacity; for a corpcration can have no heirs, as nemo eft beres viventis, and a corporation never dies.

*Blak. Com. b. i. c. xviii.

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