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And now gentlemen, do you so preach to your hearers as they may be good christians, and then I do not question but they will be good subjects.

AN ESSAY ON THE ENGLISH CONSTITUTION UNDER THE SAXON

GOVERNMENT.

The first principles of a government, that is founded upon the natural rights of mankind, is the principle of annual election. Liberty and election, in this case, are synonymous terms; for, where there is no election, there can be no liberty, and therefore the preservation of this elective power, in its full extent, is the preservation of liberty in its full extent; and, where that is restrained, in any degree, liberty is restrained, just in proportion; and where that is destroyed, by any power in a state whether military or civil, liberty is also destroyed by that power, whether it be lodged in the hands of one man, one hundred, or one thousand.

There is a natural difficulty in placing manking in such a situation that they may delegate their power to others, without confusion or inconvenience to themselves. It is in this point, that we are so much in debted to our Saxon forefathers, for their plan of government; by which the people of England are so situated as to be able to elect, or delegate their power, with the greatest facility; and to a degree beyond the conception of all nations before them. It is reported, by historians, that our Saxon forefathers had no kings in their own country, but lived in tribes, or small communities, governed by laws of their own making, and magistrates of their own electing; and further, that a number of these communities were united together for their mutual defence and protection. But, by what particu

lar bond of union they were thus united, I know of no historian that hath given us any information. There were seven tribes of Saxons, that arrived, in Britain, about the same time under so many different leaders; but, as they had all the same intentions, so far as to establish the same form of government, I shall consider them, in this respect, indiscriminately.

They first divided the land into small parts, and that divided the inhabitants, upon that land; and made them a distinct, and separate people, from any other. This division they called a tithing. Here they established a government, which was, no doubt, the same as that under which they lived, in their mother-country; and, with as little doubt, we may say, it was the same which is used, in our corporations, at this day; as will, hereafter, more fully appear. They had two sorts of tithings, one called a town tithing, and the other a rural tithing. These were governed upon the same prin ciples, only thus distinguished; as one is expressive of a town, having such a number of inhabitants, as to make a tithing of itself; and the other of a tithing situated in the ru ral part of the kingdom. Thus they went on, as they conquered the country, to divide the land, till they had cut out the whole kingdom into tithings; and established the same form of government in each.

In this manner they provided for the internal police of the whole country, which they vested in the inhabitants of the respective tithings; who annually elected the magistrates that were to administer justice to them, agreeable to the laws, and customs, they had brought with them, from their mother-country. And this internal police was so excellent, in its nature, that it hath had the encomiums of most authors of our history; who observe, that, in the reign of Alfred, it was in so

great perfection, that, if a golden bracelet had been exposed upon the high road, no man durst have touched it!

The principal officer of a tithing was vested with the executive authority of the tithing. They had likewise a legislative authority, in every tithing, which made laws, and regulations, for the good government of the tithings. Besides these, they had a court of law, whose jurisdiction was confined within the same limits. All which were created by the elective power of the people, who were resident inhabitants of the tithing; and the right of election was placed, in every man that paid his shot, and bore his lot. From hence we may easily perceive, that, under the establishment of these tithings, by reason of their smallness, the natural, rights of mankind might very well be preserved in the fullest extent; as they could delegate their power by election, without any confusion, or inconvenience to the inhabitants.

Having advanced thus far, we shall make one observation; which is, that all elective power in the people at large, after it had established the executive, and legislative authority, in the tithing, for one year, and duly vested the officers in the respective departments, then stopped; and proceeded no farther than the tithings. But the principal officer, of each tithing (whom for distinction's sake we shall call mayor) had, afterwards, the whole care of the interest of the people of the tithing, vested in himself alone, in every matter that respected their connection with the higher orders of the state. For these tithings were the root from whence all authority, in the higher orders of the state, sprung. The first connexion the tithings had with one another was to form an establishment for the military defence of the country. For this end, a number of these tithings were united togeth, so far as related to

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their military concerns. This union necessarily created a larger division of the land, equal to the number of tithings that were thus united; and this they called a wapentake, or wea pontake. Here likewise they established a court of council, and a court of law, which last was called a wapentake-court. In the court of council, the chief magistrates, of every tithing, assembled, to elect the officers of the militia, to their respective command, and regulate all matters relating to the militia; in which every individual tithing was concerned. The court of law was to inforce these regulations, within that jurisdiction.

Let us now consider the third, and last division, which they made in the land. This was composed of a certain number of wapentakes, united together; which they called a shire, or one complete share, or part, into which they divided the land. This division completed their system of internal police; by uniting all the tithings, within the shire, into one body, subject to such laws and regulations as should be made in their shire-gemots, or shire-parliaments.; for the benefit and good government of the shire.

The members that composed the shiregemot were still the chief offi cers of the tithings; who always represented the tithings in every thing, in which they were concerned. It was in this shire-gemot, where the great officers of the shire, were elected to their office; who consequently were elected, by the immediate representatives of the people, but not by the people at large. This seems to evince what historians observe, that the great officers, of the shires were elected by their peers. What I understand by this is, that they were elected by men, who were members of the wittena-gemot, or parliament; and consequently peers, or equals, at that day, to any men in England. There were many ti

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tles, that seem to have belonged to their superior orders of men; but they were only titles of office, and not personal titles of honour. When the office, by which they held their titles, was abolished, from that time the title vanished with it.

As this division comprehended many tithings, and many people, so it had the greatest court of council in England, except the high-court of parliament; and the chief officer was vested with as high a jurisdiction, in the shire, as the King in the kingdom. He was vested with the executive authority, and was commander in chief of all the militia; in short, he was the same, in the shire, as the king was in the kingdom. They had likewise a courtof law, called the shire-court; to which, I make no doubt, every man might appeal, who thought himself injured by the inferior courts, in the shire. These divisions in the land were the skeleton of the constitution; which was animated, and put in motion, by all these establishments.

We may consider each shire, as a complete government; furnished with both a civil, and a military power, within its own jurisdiction. The expence, attending each government of a shire, was merely local, and confined to the shire; which was supported by taxes charged upon the people, by the shire-gemot, with the assistance of certain lands, appropriated to that purpose; which was a clear and distinct thing from a na-, tional expence, and never brought, to the national account, at all. And, indeed, it is the same at this day, though conducted in a different manner; for the internal government of this kingdom is no expence to the state, and is founded upon this equitable principle, that whatever expence concerns only a part, ought to be paid by that part only; but what concerns the whole community, ought to be paid by the whole community. We would here just

beg leave to observe, that the government, established for the internal police of our American provinces, is founded upon the same principles, as that which our Saxon forefathers established, for the government of a shire. And their connection with and duty to the legislative authority, of the whole united kingdom is, constitutionally considered, the same in each.

We have already remarked, that seven tribes of these Saxons arrived, in Britain, about the same time. The leaders of these tribes, after they had conquered a small part of the country, upon which they settled their immediate followers, then took upon themselves the title of King; and named the land they conquered a kingdom. We shall say nothing with regard to the particular geographical dimensions of these kingdoms; it being sufficient, for our present purpose, to observe, that each of these kingdoms did contain a certain number of shires, formed and regulated as we have stated above. Let us now see by what mode of union these shires became united together into a kingdom. And it will be found, that they pursued the same principles, which they had used in every other establishment. That is to say, wherever a combined interest was concerned, and the ple at large were affected by it, the immediate deputies of the people, who were always the chief officers of the tithings for the time being, met together to attend to the respective interests of their constituents; and a majority of voices always bound the whole, and deter, mined for any measure, that was supposed to operate for the good of the whole combined body. This meeting of the deputies of the people was called, by the Saxons, the wittena-gemot, or an assembly of the wise men of the nation; which composed their national council and legislative authority.

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Let us suppose, for instance, that one of these small kingdoms was composed of five shires; then a deputy from every tithing, within the five shires, meeting together, would compose the constituent parts of the parliament, of the little kingdom to which they belonged. This agrees with what St. Ammon says, in his essay on the legislative authority of England, that the judges, or chief officers of the tithings, represented the tithings, in the Saxon wittenagemot, or parliament.

We know very well what towntithings or boroughs are, because they are now in use, in some respects, for the same purpose as formerly; but we are not so well acquainted with the dimensions of the rural tithings, according to their ancient establishment. But it is very probable, that the division in the land, which we now call the high constable's division, was the bounds of the ancient rural tithings. And what makes this the more probable is, that the high constable, in his division, is a man of a very high au thority even at this day; and as ancient a peace officer as any in the kingdom. However, be that as it will, from what has been said we may conclude, that the constituent parts of the legislative authority, during the heptarchy, consisted of two bodies of men, which were both elective; and respectively represented the inhabitants of the towns, and the inhabitants of the rural parts of the kingdom.

But as a considerable alteration was made, in this respect, at the union of the seven kingdoms into one, by Alfred the Great, it will be

proper here to remark the constituent parts of the parliaments, and the rights of election of the people, during the heptarchy. First, the representatives of the town-tithings, or boroughs, were always their chief magistrates for the time being, by virtue of their office; to which they were annually elected, by every man that was a resident inhabitant of the town, and that paid his shot and bore his lot.

Secondly, the representatives of the rural tithings were likewise their chief magistrates, for the time being, by virtue of their office; to which they were annually elected, by every man that was a resident inhabitant of a rural tithing, and that paid his shot and bore his lot.

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Hence it is evident, that the people never delegated their power, to their members of parliament, for a longer time than one year. Because the powers, vested in them, must of course expire with their office; they being mayors, or chief magistrates, in their respective divisions. before such a member was out of his office, as mayor, he was obliged hy law (ex officio) to assemble the people of the town, for the election of officers, to serve for the ensuing year; the principal of whom was their mayor elect, who, consequently, was their member elect. And, for the same reason, it was not in the power of the King to continue the same parliament longer than one year. Thus we see that the constitution doubly armed itself, against long parliaments; by confining the power of the members, within the duty of an annual office.

MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES.

SPEECH OF BONAPARTE TO THE

LEGISLATIVE BODY.
Paris, June 16.
This day, the 16th, the Emperor

VOL. IX.

proceeded from the palace of the Thuilleries in great state, to the palace of the legislative body. Dis. charges of artillery announced his

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departure from the Thuilleries, and his arrival at the palace of the legislative body.

The Empress, Queen Hortense, Princess Pauline, the Grand Duke of Wurtzburg, and the Grand Duke of Frankfort, were in one tribune; the corps deplomatique in another tribune; the bishops convoked for the council, and the mayors and deputies of the good cities, summoned to be present at the baptism of the King of Rome, were on benches.

His Majesty placed himself on his throne. The King of Westphalia, the princes, grand dignitaries, grand eagles of the legion of honour, occupied their accustomed places about his Majesty: Prince Jerome Napoleon on his right.

After the new members had been presented, and taken the oaths, the Eemperor made the following speech. "Gentlemen Deputies of Depart

ments to the Legislative Body, "The peace concluded with the Emperor of Austria has been since cemented by the happy alliance I have contracted the birth of the King of Rome has fulfilled my wishes, and satisfies my people with respect to the future.

"The affairs of religion have been too often mixed in and sacrificed to the interests of a state of the third order. If half Europe have separated from the church of Rome, we may attribute it specially to the contradiction which has never ceased to exist between the truths and the principals of religion which belong to the whole universe, and the pretensions and interests which regarded only a very small corner of Italy. I have put an end to this scandal for ever. I have united Rome to the empire-I have given palaces to the popes at Rome and at Paris; if they have at heart the interest of religion, they will often sojourn in the centre of the affairs of christianity. It was thus that St. Peter preferred Rome to an abode even in the Holy Land.

"Holland has been united to the empire; she is but an emanation of it-without her, the empire would not be complete.

"The principles adopted by the English government, not to recognize the neutrality of any flag, have obliged me to possess myself of the mouths of the Ems, the Weser, and the Elbe, and have rendered an interior communication with the Baltic indispensible to me. It is not my territory that I wished to increase, but my maritime means.

"America is making efforts to cause the freedom of her flag to be recognized-I will second her.

"I have nothing but praises to give to the Sovereigns of the Confederation of the Rhine.

"The union of the Valais had been foreseen ever since the act of mediation, and considered as necessary to conciliate the interests of Switzerland with the interests of France and Italy,

"The English bring all the passions into play. One time they suppose France to have all the designs that could alarm other powers-designs which she could have put in execution if they had entered into her policy. At another time they make an appeal to the pride of nations in order to excite their jealousy. They lay hold of all circumstances which arise out of the unexpected events of the times in which we are--It is war over every part of the Continent that can alone ensure their prosperity. I wish for nothing that is not in the treaties I have concluded. I will never sacrifice the blood of my people to interests that are not immediately the interests of my Empire--I flatter myself that the peace of the Continent will not be disturbed.

"The King of Spain has come to assist at this last solemnity-I have given him all that was necessary and proper to unite the interests and hearts of the different people of his

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