Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/203

Ch. 2. only for a day or two : after which all buines then depending in the houes was to be begun again. Which cutom obtained o trongly, that it once became a quetion, whether giving the royal aent to a ingle bill did not of coure put an end to the eion. And, though it was then reolved in the negative, yet the notion was o deeply rooted, that the tatute 1 Car. I. c. 7. was paed to declare, that the king’s aent to that and ome other acts hould not put an end to the eion; and, even o late as the retoration of Charles II, we find a provio tacked to the firt bill then enacted, that his majety’s aent thereto hould not determine the eion of parliament. But it now eems to be allowed, that a prorogation mut be exprely made, in order to determine the eion. And, if at the time of an actual rebellion, or imminent danger of invaion, the parliament hall be eparated by adjournment or prorogation, the king is empowered to call them together by proclamation, with fourteen days notice of the time appointed for their reaembling.

is the civil death of the parliament; and this may be effected three ways: 1.&ensp;By the king’s will, expreed either in peron or by repreentation. For, as the king has the ole right of convening the parliament, o alo it is a branch of the royal prerogative, that he may (whenever he pleaes) prorogue the parliament for a time, or put a final period to it’s exitence. If nothing had a right to prorogue or diolve a parliament but itelf, it might happen to become perpetual. And this would be extremely dangerous, if at any time it hould attempt to encroach upon the executive power: as was fatally experienced by the unfortunate king Charles the firt; who, having unadviedly paed an act to continue the parliament then in being till uch time as it hould pleae to diolve itelf, at lat fell a acrifice to that inordinate power, which he himelf had conented to give them. It is therefore extremely neceary that the crown hould be empowered to regulate the duration of thee aemblies, Rh