Page:A History and Defence of Magna Charta.djvu/167

Rh every body who has read his reign, may ſee how truly and faithfully he kept it. “That he would deſtroy the bad laws, and eſtabliſh good ones in their room, and adminiſter right juſtice in the realm of England.” His not keeping the oath to deſtroy perverſe laws, and ſubſtitute good, was the preſent controverſy and quarrel which his barons had with him. For the whole meaning of the charter was to aboliſh all the ill depraved laws and cuſtoms that had been introduced, and to reſtore the good; antient and approved laws of the kingdom inſtead of them. But the pope, amongſt other propoſals he made, would fain have prevented and baffled the charter by this expedient, “That King ſhould be mound to revoke all abuſes introduced in his time.” This was a lame buſineſs indeed, when the oppreſſed barons wanted to be relieved from the tyrannous uſages introduced in former reigns, and from a ſucceſſion of evils. King by his coronation-oath was bound to deſtroy and aboliſh all the bad laws that were before him, and ſo are our Kings to this day, and not to make a former tyrannous reign a pattern. The barons might indeed