74 ON THE PROBABLE ORIGIN 
the crown lawyers subsequently improved into 
the doctrine, that it belonged to the king alone 
to establish a commune, which, like most of the 
abstract doctrines of prerogative, was a gross 
historical falsehood. 
It is a remarkable feature in the history of 
England, we speak exclusively of the southern 
part of the island, that both our personal and 
our constitutional liberties have been at once 
more durable than those of the continental 
nations, and have been gained with far less of 
violence and bloodshed. Our municipal insti- 
tutions were not gained in a single instance by 
those violent collisions between the cities and 
their feudal lords on the one hand, and the 
different orders of citizens on the other, which 
were so common abroad. This difference has 
arisen from a variety of causes. ‘The cities of 
England, with the exception of London and one 
or two others, were of small population com- 
pared with those of Lombardy, of Provence and 
Flanders, and the attempt to render themselves 
independent would have been equally absurd 
and fruitless. Before the Conquest the yoke of 
feudal oppression had been much lighter in 
England than on the Continent; and though 
baronial power was greatly increased by that 
