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Show 6y6 England;s 'Prefetlf lnterejl Co'!ljj~er'4,. , Vtn~Jv 167). Laws, Thirdly, That the Law wa~}Jmpire between Kingond People; ""'li· ~ rher of them ougltt to infringe:_ Tlus, lnll, tbe_G!elt Saxf"f'1(i~g, cbnfir'his. C~ap. 1. 1bert i.r no Great .tl1an, faith he, :f10r any other 111 the whole 'Ifmgtlom, tbpt_ IJ.~.l..am.b. moy aholi/h W1·itttn Laws. ~~was alfo a greatl?t:trt of theSox.on O~thr ~.d- , minifired to the ltil)gs, at thetr Enuanc~ upo~ the Govermpen~ to lillrp' Mirror., c, 1' taitz and Rsde according to tbe _Lrws. 4 t!ie 1\ottfllt. . _ 1 S· 1• Their Parliament they called Jliu.kkmote, or TVlltangemou. It fOOfified of King, Lords, and People, before the C/er~y l~rerw?ve the~mfelv~s with the C";ivi/Govtrnmenr. 1\nd ,d,rdreto J!orn, 11~ hts tHtrror .of Jufiue, tells Ibid. c. •.s.2. us Tbar rhc GrnntL Ajfemb!y of rqe KmgJom tn ~be .Saxon T,me, was ro-um- 3· Juft. c. 4• fe; of rbeGovtrnnr'tnt of GOd's Ptople, b~w they mtgbr be kept from Sin, in §.u. Q.pier; 011d.?ave Right done t~em1 accardtng f.otP~ .Cuflom'$111td f..Azw.r. 1 Nor did this Law end with the Saxon Race: TViUt.lfll the Ccmqueror, ;ts he is utually called, quitting all Claim by ConQNtjl, gladly !looped to the ~aws obferyed by the Saxon Kings, an~ f? became a. Kmg by Lea\'e ' valut_ng a Tide by Eltf1ion, before that wh1cb IS founded m ~ow~r Qnly. He therefore, M. Paris itt at his Coronation, made a So/~mn Covenant, to ~~mtarn t~e Good, -1rprowd, •it, Gulielm. and Ancient Law1 of -zbit Kingdom, and to lnhtbtt all Spozl aml.tfn;ujt ]NJ,£ ... meA~d this, Henrj the Firft, his Thir~ Son,, among ot~er his Titles, me~lJ· tioned in his C-harter to make Elj a B1fhopnck, calls htmfclf, Son 'Of W·il"':i Spiclleg. liJm the Great wh~ by Hereditary Right, (noc C011quej1) filcceeded King Edw11rd (cJI!ed ;be ConjeJ[or) in this Kingdom. . An Ancient Chronicle of Litchfield, fpeaks of a Counc1l of Lords that advifed WiUiam of ]\'ormandl, To caD togttber aU I~ Noblet and Wif~ Me~J tbrougbouttbeir Countie.r oj England, thfll they nugbt J~t do"!n tlmr ~rex Lnws andCufioms; which was about the Fourth Year o~ ~ts Retgn: .W~1ch implies that they had Fundamental Laws, and that he mtended theu Con~ firA~di~~~~ of the firft Laws made by this King, which, ~s a Not:1ble A~~ thor fa~th, may be caUtd the Firfl_Jdt~gna Cbartil in rbe N~rma.n Times {by which he referved ro himfelf nothmg of the Freemen of tb1s Kmgdorn, but Ll.Guliel.H• their Free~Service) in the Conclufion of it, faith! That t~e Lands of tbeJn~ habitants of this Ki.~gdom toe>·e gront!'d.to tbrftt tn l.nhentonct of the Kmg, and by the Common C011ncil of r!!t whole Kmgdoht; Which Law do~h alfo pr~~ vide, That they jbaO hold tbetr ~mls and T_enev:cntt weD 'r qtuetly, ~nd m Pence, from an unjufi Tax and Ttlloge: \Vh1ch .ts farther expounded 111 t~e Laws of Henry the Fi1ft, Chap. 4· That, no !rtbute or Tax fh~uld be to~rn, b11t abtU WIU due in Edward the ConfeJ!or s Ttme. So that the J\onnan Kmgs claim no other Right in the Lands an_d Polfeffions of any of their SubjeE't~ than according to Englijh Law and Right. And fo tender were they ~f Property in t~ofe Times,. that ~hen Juflice it felf became Jmporrunate m a Caf~, no Diflrefs could iffue Withoyt pub-lick Warrant obt:~ined: Nor that netther, but upon Three Compl3mts firtt rm.de. Nay, when Rape and Plunder were Rife, and M~n f7em'd to have no more Right to their own, th::~:n they had Power to m::nnt:ll.n, even. then was this Law a fuffi.cient SanfluJry to the Oppreffed, by be10g pubhckly pleaded at the Bar againft all Ufurpation; though ic were un~er the Pre~ tence of their Conquer01's Right it felf; as by the Cafe of Edwm of Sh4rn~ bourn in Camde11's Britannia, pbinly Jppears. . The like Obligation to maintain this Fundament3l .L~w of Property, wah the appendent Rights of the People, ~ovas taken b~ W1U1am Rufrn, Henry the Firft, Stephen, Henry the Second, Rttbard the Fnft, John, Jnd .11cnry the Third: Which brin,.gs me to that Famous Law, called, .A-1ngntl Charta, or The Great Charter oj England, of which more anon; it being my Defign to {hew, That nothing of t~e Effcn~inl Rights of Eng_lifb!!t~n W:l.S thereby, De J..iovo, gramed, as in Civilay to Kmg JJenry the Thtrd It IS terrQed; but that they were therein only Repeared and Confirm~d: W~erefore I fhal! return to Antecedent Times, co fetcll down the remammg R1ghts, The VdL. i. E~?gland's Prefettt Inter eft Con/idrr'd. , The fecond Part of thi; full Fundamental is Libert .r R ·' Saxons were fo tender i'n the Point of ln'lprifo;m.ent ~ 01 h '~.'J 1111• .The t ~~ • 9r no uli: made of it: Nor would they fo Punifit thei'r B atd~ ere WJ~ lmle ~ v .,., foercere rar11m e{l. on men, vmu;!;,s Chap. J. In cafe of _De fa or Daltlage, the Recovery theceof w:ts eirher b a Deli t. yery of the Juft Value t~ ~oodsl O(, cpon the Spen:ffs Sale of lh~ Goods- t. Edw. m Morrer ~ and 1f that 1atisfied nor, the Land was extended: Ahd when li w~s gon.t, they werefJ:ccqtlomcd to make their laft Stezure upon the P:r~ tys forms, a~d then Jte was reputed an Undon.e Man, and call: u on Chatlty of hiS frten~s for Subfifience. But his Perfon was neve! 1 th.c fon'd for the Debt. No, not In the K!n~'s C.tfe. And to the Hono~~~f K1ng .dlfred be It fpoken, He rmprifond one of bn Judger [or Jmprifi Ll Alf<,C..p. a .hlonmtPat C4'e . onmg 1 ,~ 3 l, 'V~. find ~mong his L.a~s this Paffag~, !!_lli ilnmerenum Pagllllum vincu/H ton/ln~xeru, decem f~hdH noxam fare Ito: ' That if a Man {} · ld I · : ron hiS Valfal or Bondman Unjuft1y, his J?u~gation of that olfc~ce llio~~d no~ be lefs than the Payment of Ten ShJihogt,; A Sum very confider-able trl r~ofe Days, more than Ten. Pounds now. Nor d1d the RevohHiQ.n f.rom . Saxon to Nori/Ja'l drop this Priviledge ~ For befidcs the gene~aL Confirmation of former Rights by William firnam- i.LGII1ielDTJ ed t~e C:Onq~ter~r; hiS S·on lienry t~e ~irft, particularly took fucb C:rre of cap.42:4:l• eonrmumg Thn. Par,r of Propert,, .tnv1olable, that, in his Time, no Perfon ~~· was to be Im~nfond for com'"?mmg pf Mortal Crime it fe1f, Onlefs he g· ~~·L were firfi: attamted b~ !he Verd18: of Twelve Men; that is 3 jury which p ~ was to be 9f rhe 'Netgh bou~hood, ' ' Thus much for r~e fir!\9f my Three Fundamentals, Right 0f Ejlnre and · LP,bffierty of Perfon: Tha~ is to fay, I am no M:~n's Bond·man and w'h:n 1 o efs H Abfo!ute!y Mine Own. ' 11 • .A Vuting of roer_7 Law that Is made, whmlry that Ownerjbip or Property mfZ) be maintained. This fecond Fu~damental CJf our E11g!i}h Government, was no Incrooch.; mem upon the K1ng~ of mor.e modern Ages, but extant' long before rhe Great Cbarrer mJde ~.the R~ign of Hen. ll.J. E\•en as early as rlre Britain's themfelves 1 and that tt comtnued to the T1me of lien. ~· is evident from feveral Infta,nces. ~far, .i~ his Commen~:irles, tells us, That it WJS the Cuftom of the i.ib. f· &. Br~tijh C.mes to ele8: ~hetr Ge~eral, or Commander in Chief, in Cafe of W.ar? Dton affures us, tn the.Ltfe of Severtn the Emperor, That in Bri~ tam the People ~eld ~Share m Power and Governmem; which is the mo .. deftefi: Conftrud:1on hts '.Vords will bear. And Tacitus in the Life of Agrip· Cap.r2.' pa, fays, They had a Common Council, :md that one great Reafon of their Overr~row by the Rom.an.r, was, their not CoitJulrint with, and Relying up~ on tbetr Com'!lo'! ~o11nctl. Again, Both Bed a and Mr1t. Weflminfltr tell us, That the .Bntnms fummone~ a Synod, chafe their. Moderator, and expeJl'd :~ec;d~~gN~t~r::f·A'if:l:s~htch fappofes Popular .Affemblies, with Power An.d indeed, the [,.earned Author of the: Britijh Council5 gives tOme Hints;~~~. lS Purpofe, That they had :t Common Council, and call'd it K;fr·r T~e Saxons ~e~e not inferiout to t1ie Brirnin's in this Poinr, and Srory furmfhe.th us wnh more and plai~er Proofs. They bronghr thi• Libercy 3-1 lo11g wnh !hem, and !twas not likely they fhould tofe it, by rranfporring thtmretves mto a Country where tbey alfo found Jt. Tt~cittH reports ic to have been generally the Gtrmon-libeny1· like unto theConcio of the Athtni• 6ns and Loadttmonit~ns. · They called their Free·m·en P~ilinji, and Thefe h.1d Votes in the Mak· lng 3ild Executing, tbe General Laws of tbe Kingdoll!. Ill ' |
