Thus was the first general opposition successfully made against arbitrary power; and those rights were vindicated, which the ancient inhabitants of the island had enjoyed. As Magna Charta was granted under circumstances of great solemnity, and afterwards rati fied at the beginning of every subsequent reign, it was a sacred hostage deposited in the hands of the people, for the equitable government of their kings. Unlike the traditional maxims of tyrannical power, to which any colour of interpretation could be given, which might suit the caprice, the folly, or the necessity of absolute monarchs, this celebrated Charter was a public and conspicuous stipulation, to which immediate appeal might be made to determine the right of the commoners to a redress of grievances, and the free administration of justice. It was the root, from which salutary laws gradually branched out, as the state of society became more civilised and enlightened, for the protection and security not only of the proprietors of land and of merchants, who it is to be remarked, were its sole objects, but of persons of every rank and degree in the kingdom.

In the reign of Henry the third, which although it was of longer continuance than that of any other monarch, who has ever swayed the English sceptre, and was remarkable for vexatious conflicts between the haughty barons and a capricious king, we may dis

"This article is so important, that it may be said to comprehend the whole end and design of political societies; and from that moment the English would have been a free people, if there were not an immense difference between the making of laws, and the observing of them." De Lolme on the Constitution, p. 28.

cover some of the earliest traces of a representative legislature. The captive monarch, intimidated by the sword of the imperious Simon Montford, Earl of Leicester, issued orders for every county to depute persons to assist him and his nobles in their deliberations on state affairs. Thus to the distractions and troubles of these disastrous times, England is indebted for the representatives of the people being first called to parliament.

"There are still preserved in the tower of London some writs issued, during this reign, for the choice of two knights in each shire, to represent their county in parliament; but this representation was not yet grown to a settled custom: and though there are no summons to either lords or commons, nor any rolls of this particular parliament as yet discovered in any of our repositories of records; yet by other accounts given thereof, these lesser barons, knights, and military tenants holding immediately of the crown, seem to have been summoned, according to John's magna charta, by a general proclamation, to appear not by any representation, but in their own persons.”

The more regular establishment of the house of commons may, however, be referred to the succeeding reign of EDWARD THE FIRST. A. D. 1265. Anno 18. Edw I. See Brady's Introduction for a copy of one of the writs, p. 149. Carte, vol. ii, p. 151. Strongly actuated by the martial spirit of his age, he engaged in long and expensive wars against Wales and Scotland, in consequence of which his treasury was exhausted, and his only resource for regular supplies was found in the contributions of his subjects. But as the mode pursued by his predecessors of filling their coffers had been both odious, and in a great de

gree inefficient, he devised a method of obtaining by their own consent what had formerly been wrested by the arbitrary mandate of the king. With this view, the sheriffs of the different counties were commanded to invite the towns and boroughs to send deputies to parliament, to provide for his pecuniary wants, and to ratify the resolutions made by himself and the house of lords. He likewise annexed an important article to magna charta, by which he bound himself and his successors not to raise any subsidies whatever, without the approbation of both lords and commons. Several excellent laws for the ease and benefit of all ranks of his subjects were passed in this "general parliament," which gave infinite satisfaction to the whole body of the nation, and gained Edward the entire affections of his people. A. D. 1275. Carte, vol. ii, p. 182.

From the praise which many writers give to this great monarch, some share must be deducted on account of the necessities, to which he exposed himself by his frequent wars. The provisions of magna charta had doubtless been very conducive to the extent of freedom: but we find, that with whatever veneration the people might regard them, they had been constantly violated, whenever the immediate predecessors of Edward the first were powerful enough to break their promises. A house composed of the representatives of the people was the only bulwark of sufficient strength to check the torrent of despotism : and the importunity of the commons for more liberty, and of the king for pecuniary aid, failed not to produce such gradual concessions from both parties, as contributed to fix in succeeding times an equal balance of

power.

The character of Edward the first was marked not only by the bravery of a warrior, but the more useful and profound talents of a legislator. He ratified both the charters, and observed their conditions with a scrupulous exactness, which formed the distinguished glory of his reign. He afforded a free and extensive scope to the exercise of the statutes of the realm, surrendered a part of his right of sending mandates to arrest the progress of justice; and, as a decisive proof of his respect for the laws, and his alacrity to promote their impartial administration, he caused his son, the prince of Wales, to be publicly apprehended and imprisoned, for breaking down the fences and killing the deer of Walter de Langton, bishop of Litchfield and Coventry. A.D. 1305. Rapin, vol. i, p. 383. fol.

It is natural enough to conclude, that as at this period the members of both houses of parliament held their deliberations under the authority of a wise and moderate sovereign, they would make the greatest interest of the nation at large the subjects of their debates, and thus improve the science of legislation. Accordingly we find that they gave their attention to many plans of great public utility; they passed laws for establishing manufactures in various parts of England, for supporting the parochial clergy by the endowment of vicarages, and for restraining the encroachments and the rapacity of the see of Rome. Every succeeding generation has expressed its applause of this illustrious reign, and felt the benefits of its wise and salutary institutions. By Edward the first the laws were carried so far towards perfection, that he has been styled the English Justinian. Sir Matthew Hale did not scruple to affirm, that more was done in the first thirteen years of his government, to settle and

establish the distributive justice of the kingdom, than in all the ages down to his own time. Blackstone's Comment. vol. iv, p. 424.

To trace the progress of the increasing privileges of the house of commons, we must have recourse to particular facts. In a tone of bold and just complaint the two houses of parliament called upon the weak and unfortunate Edward the second to banish Gaveston, his insinuating but licentious favourite, from his court. This was the first exercise of that important privilege, which consisted in the impeachment of the suspected ministers of the crown. By the petition annexed to their bills for granting subsidies to Edward the third and Henry the fourth, the house of commons claimed a proportionable share of the legislation with the king and the house of lords, by making bills for pecuniary supplies originate with themselves.

In the martial reign of EDWARD THE THIRD, the parliament is supposed to have assumed its present form by a separation of the commons from the lords. The celebrated statute for defining treasons was one of the first productions of this newly modelled assembly. Many laws were passed for depressing the civil power of the pope, the security of personal property, and the interests of trade and commerce. During this reign magna charta was ten times confirmed; and this repeated ratification conferred more glory upon the king, than all his victories obtained in France or Wales.

The glorious victories of CRESSY, POICTIERS, and AGINCOURT, cannot fail to engage our attention, and fill the mind of an Englishman with the highest and most favourable opinion of the valour of his ancestors.