Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/263

Ch. 7. till, notwithtanding this peronal perfection, which the law attributes to the overeign, the contitution has allowed a latitude of uppoing the contrary, in repect to both houes of parliament; each of which, in it’s turn, hath exerted the right of remontrating and complaining to the king even of thoe acts of royalty, which are mot properly and peronally his own; uch as meages igned by himelf, and peeches delivered from the throne. And yet, uch is the reverence which is paid to the royal peron, that though the two houes have an undoubted right to conider thee acts of tate in any light whatever, and accordingly treat them in their addrees as peronally proceeding from the prince, yet, among themelves, (to preerve the more perfect decency, and for the greater freedom of debate) they uually uppoe them to flow from the advice of the adminitration. But the privilege of canvaing thus freely the peronal acts of the overeign (either directly, or even through the medium of his reputed adviers) belongs to no individual, but is confined to thoe augut aemblies: and there too the objections mut be propoed with the utmot repect and deference. One member was ent to the tower, for uggeting that his majety’s anwer to the addres of the commons contained "high words, to fright the members out of their duty;" and another , for aying that a part of the king’s peech "eemed rather to be calculated for the meridian of Germany than Great Britain, and that the king was a tranger to our language and contitution."

farther puruance of this principle, the law alo determines that in the king can be no negligence, or laches, and therefore no delay will bar his right.  is the tanding maxim upon all occaions: for the law intends that the king is always buied for the public good, and therefore has not leiure to aert his right within the times limited to ubjects. In the king alo can be no tain or corruption of blood: for if the heir to the