Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/349

 Ch. 8. what it was worth in the lat century, we mut acknowlege thee complaints to be void of any rational foundation; and that it is impoible to upport that dignity, which a king of Great Britain hould maintain, with an income in any degree les than what is now etablihed by parliament.

finihes our enquiries into the fical prerogatives of the king; or his revenue, both ordinary and extraordinary. We have therefore now chalked out all the principal outlines of this vail title of the law, the upreme executive magistrate, or the king's majety, conidered in his everal capacities and points of view. But, before we intirely dimis this ubject, it may not be improper to take a hort comparative review of the power of the executive magitrate, or prerogative of the crown, as it tood in former days, and as it tands at preent. And we cannot but oberve, that mot of the laws for acertaining, limiting, and retraining this prerogative have been made within the compas of little more than a century pat; from the petition of right in 3 Car. I. to the preent time. So that the powers of the crown are now to all appearance greatly curtailed and diminihed ince the reign of king James the firt: particularly, by the abolition of the tar chamber and high commiion courts in the reign of Charles the firt, and by the diclaiming of martial law, and the power of levying taxes on the ubject, by the ame prince: by the diue of foret laws for a century pat: and by the many excellent proviions enacted under Charles the econd; epecially, the abolition of military tenures, purveyance, and pre-emption; the habeas corpus act; and the act to prevent the dicontinuance of parliaments for above three years: and, ince the revolution, by the trong and emphatical words in which our liberties are aerted in the bill of rights, and act of ettlement; by the act for triennial, ince turned into eptennial, elections; by the excluion of certain officers from the houe of commons; by rendering the eats of the judges permanent, and their alaries independent; and by retraining the king's pardon from being pleaded to parliamentary impeachments. Beides all this, if we conider how the Rh