Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/350

 334 crown is impoverihed and tripped of all it's antient revenues, o that it greatly depends on the liberality of parliament for it's neceary upport and maintenance, we may perhaps be led to think, that the ballance is inclined pretty trongly to the popular cale, and that the executive magitrate has neither independence nor power enough left, to form that check upon the lords and commons, which the founders of our contitution intended.

, on the other hand, it is to be conidered, that every prince, in the firt parliament after his acceion, has by long uage a truly royal addition to his hereditary revenue ettled upon him for his life; and has never any occaion to apply to parliament for upplies, but upon ome public neceity of the whole realm. This retores to him that contitutional independence, which at his firt acceion eems, it mut be owned, to be wanting. And then, with regard to power, we may find perhaps that the hands of government are at leat ufficiently trengthened; and that an Englih monarch is now in no danger of being overborne by either the nobility or the people. The intruments of power are not perhaps o open and avowed as they formerly were, and therefore are the les liable to jealous and invidious reflections; but they are not the weaker upon that account. In hort, our national debt and taxes (beides the inconveniences before-mentioned) have alo in their natural conequences thrown uch a weight of power into the executive cale of government, as we cannot think was intended by our patriot ancetors; who gloriouly truggled for the abolition of the then formidable parts of the prerogative, and by an unaccountable want of foreight etablihed this ytem in their tead. The entire collection and management of o vat a revenue, being placed in the hands of the crown, have given rie to uch a multitude of new officers, created by and removeable at the royal pleaure, that they have extended the influence of government to every corner of the nation. Witnes the commiioners, and the multitude of dependents on the cutoms, in every Rh