Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol I).djvu/385

 Ch. 10. from every ubject to his overeign, antecedently to any expres promie; and although the ubject never wore any faith or allegiance in form. For as the king, by the very decent of the crown, is fully inverted with all the rights and bound to all the duties of overeignty, before his coronation; o the ubject is bound to his prince by an intrinic allegiance, before the uper-induction of thoe outward bonds of oath, homage, and fealty; which were only intituted to remind the ubject of this his previous duty, and for the better ecuring it's performance. The formal profeion therefore, or oath of ubjection, is nothing more than a declaration in words of what was before implied in law. Which occaions ir Edward Coke very jutly to oberve, that "all ubjects are equally bounden to their allegiance, as if they had taken the oath; becaue it is written by the finger of the law in their hearts, and the taking of the corporal oath is but an outward declaration of the ame." The anction of an oath, it is true, in cae of violation of duty, makes the guilt till more accumulated, by uperadding perjury to treaon; but it does not encreae the civil obligation to loyalty; it only trengthens the ocial tie by uniting it with that of religion.

, both expres and implied, is however ditinguihed by the law into two orts or pecies, the one natural, the other local; the former being alo perpetual, the latter temporary. Natural allegiance is uch as is due from all men born within the king's dominions immediately upon their birth. For, immediately upon their birth, they are under the king's protection; at a time too, when (during their infancy) they are incapable of protecting themelves. Natural allegiance is therefore a debt of gratitude; which cannot be forfeited, cancelled, or altered, by any change of time, place, or circumtance, nor by any thing but the united concurrence of the legilature. An Englihman who removes to France, or to China, owes the ame allegiance to the king of England there as at home, and twenty years Rh