Page:Select Essays in Anglo-American Legal History, Volume 1.djvu/172

 158 //. FROM THE llOO'S TO THE 1800'S mons to the shire and borough members, as settled by iEdward's ministers, and consecrated by six hundred years of practice, invites them " to do " what shall be ordained in the premises. There can be no doubt, in the circumstances of the case, that the phrase " to do " {ad faciendum) was merely a polite form of the cruder expression " to grant money," and equally little doubt that, however long the phrase has been a mere fiction, it originally expressed a genuine truth. The clearest proof of this lies in the fact, that when the King really did desire the counsel of humble persons, he knew how to ask for it, as when he summoned an assembly of citizens in 1296 to advise him on the settlement of the borough of Berwick-on-Tweed. Not for nearly four hundred years did the elected members of Parliament make good their claim, except in times of revolution, to criticise the royal adminis- tration, or to cause the removal of the King's ministers. As a matter of fact, the elected members were far more anxious to establish another right, and their anxiety was wise. In all probability they had not the knowledge necessary to make them useful critics of the royal administration. But I they were an admirable machinery for the collection of pop«-| ular grievances. The right of presenting petitions to a- monarch is so useful to the ruler himself, that it is very rarely denied, even by Oriental despots. Nothing is so dangerous to the security of a throne as the existence of secret discontent, which the sufferers despair of being able to bring to the royal ear. Long before Parliament came into existence, the English kings received petitions from their subjects. But the fate of the petitions was precarious. First the king had to be found; and only students of history can realise the activity and elusiveness of a medieval king. When found, the king had to be approached, often through a crowd of courtiers and officials, who were none too anxious to help the suppliant. Then there was the weary waiting for a reply. All these difficulties disappeared, as by magic, with the institution of Parliament. The Parhament was summoned to meet the king. Its presence could not be ignored. The distant petitioner could entrust his plaint to the hands of his elected knight or burgess. The wages of the knight or bur-