Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/117

Rh from hereditary right was formally abolihed, and the abolute freedom of election etablihed upon a permanent bais: a charter of immunities was drawn up at a general diet, a ratification of which it was determined to exact of the new overeign, prior to his election. This charter, called pacta conventa, contained the whole body of privileges obtained from Louis, and his ucceors, with the following additions: 1. That the king hould be elective, and that his ucceor hould never be appointed during his life. 2. That the diets, the holding of which depended olely upon the will of the kings, hould be aembled every two years. 3. That every nobleman or gentleman in the realm hould have a vote in the diet of election. 4. That in cae the king hould infringe the laws and privileges of the nation, his ubjects hould be abolved from their oaths of allegiance. From this period the pacta conventa, occaionally enlarged, have been confirmed by every overeign at his coronation.

Henry of Valois, brother of Charles the ninth of France, who acended the throne after the contitution was thus new modelled, ecured his election by private bribes to the nobles, and by tipulating an annual penion to the republic from the revenues of France. His example has been followed by every ucceeding king, who, beides an unconditional ratification of the pacta conventa, has always been contrained to purchae the crown by a public larges, and private corruption. Such is Polih liberty, and uch the bleings of a monarchy elective by a body of nobles.

Under Stephen Bathori, the royal authority, or rather the royal dignity, was farther abridged, by the appointment of ixteen enators, choen at each diet, to attend the king, and to give their opinion