94 



PETITION OF RIGHT 



PETRARCH 



in the yearn 1873-81, 123,870. In one year (1875 

 there were a* many ax 20,610, ni^ned by 3,088,970 

 perton*. On the oilier hand, the year* 1889 pro- 

 duced only 8317 |etitiotis. 



In tin- fniied Sut the ri^'lit >( the IK-.,),!,- to 

 petition government is ejcprely secured by tin 

 Firat Amendment of tin- Constitution, and is 

 thoroughly interwoven with the ideas ami usage* 

 of the nation although, .luring tin- conllict* on 

 slavery, it was resolved that |H-titi<ms relating t< 

 Javerv or the altolition thereof should U> laiil on 

 the table without being |>ritito<l or read, anil tiimlly 

 that such |-titions should not lie received at all. 



Prtllion of Right, a declaration of .iiain 



li-ht.. ami privilege* of the subject obtained from 

 King Charles 1. in hi* third parliament tin- In-t 

 statutory restriction of the (lowers of the crown 

 since the accession of tin- Tudor dynasty. It was 

 ao called bocanw the Commons stated their -ii.-v- 

 ance* in tin- form of a |>ctitioii, refusing to accord 

 the supplies till its pmyer wan granted. The 

 petition pr.if.-sse* to be a mere corrolionttion and 



! illation of the ancient constitution of the 

 kingdom; and after reciting various statutes that 

 recognise the rights contended for, prays 'that 

 i ..... >an be coni|>cll.-d to make or yield any gift, 



i. licm-volem -e, tax, or Mich like charge, without 

 coiiiinoii consent by net of parliament ; that none 

 lie calli-d II|HIM to make answer for refusal do to 

 do; that freemen lie impii>on.-d or detained only 

 l>y the law of the land, or by due process of law, 

 and not by the king's s|>ecial command, without 

 any charge: that persons lie not compiled to 

 receive soldiers and mariners into their houses 

 against the lawn and customs of the realm ; that 

 > >MII mission* for proceeding )>v martial law lie re- 

 voked.' The king at first eluded the petition, 

 expremiing in general terms his wish that right 

 should be done accordin;; to the laws, and that his 

 mibjects should have no reason In complain of 

 wrongs or opprMaioMl but at length, on l>oth 

 House* of Parliament insisting on a fuller answer, 

 hegave an un<|iialilied assent on the 20th of June 

 1098. The text of tin; petition will U- fouinl most 

 conveniently in (Jardiner's r;,.v/,/,^,,,,,,, 



'nil/, II, II,.'- ' ' I IXV.I). 



KeealMihin History <,f Kiiylo ml, \\. -J74 :>9. 



I'll i I in Prinrlpli ( ' a l-win of t he principle 

 or qaeKtion ') U the name jjivi-n in l.ocic to that 

 upeeim of \ii-ioim reawiiiiiiK in which the proposi- 

 tion to 1- proved is itself a.umed in the p remises 



if the 



IN'lofl. SvMKilt. Hungar 



'lo. SvMKilt. Hungarian poi-t, was lioin on 

 lt January Isi'l the s,,n ol a l.ntclicr. at Ki^ K,.... . 

 in the iiiiinty of P.-sth. and after school days .MS 

 lively actor, soldier, and liteniry hark". Mis 

 firt IHH-III, pnl.lishe.1 in 1S4-J, was fc'.lloweil bv a 

 volume in |H|| which s.^-iiri-<l his fame as a |MM>(. 

 lli-.lili^enil\ *tadied Cierman, Krench. iiml Knulish, 

 "<1 SliakeHjM'are's I'urnil, mni. I. in in IMS 

 i.iniM-lf heartily into the revolutionary cause, 

 writing numerous tmpiihir war WIIK.-H. He fell in th,. 

 Utllral Schabni K (Sitr.*viiri, 31st July 1H49; but 

 it wa long Micved by the llnnfaiians that be hail 



r-^til. nn.l woiil,! reapiH-ar. His lyri.-nl | MH Mrv 

 brrak* eimilrtoly with tf,,. ,,|,l ' 



plrtoly with tf,,. ,,|,l ^liu'itic style till 

 I" I. warm with human and national 



tf, liojfnn KMWMOefa in Iliiiiu-ariaii literature. 

 The lirntttdleclml i-<liti ...... I Ins IHH-IIIH M|. ]..-., i. . I in 



?4 i Mlirtion* hme IH-.-II translated into Kn^lish 



V-S** 11 "/, 1 "" 1 " ll " lp< Tll<%r<> " r " lives bv flpitz 

 (ItMB)MKl Kichrrll 



Prlra [tkc ' :r.^k ,nivRlpnt of thn Heb. SKI.A, 

 both namra rignifying K.ick '), anciently tho 

 tmngholc) and t mourn city of the NabatMUM 

 n Mtuatol in th- .l.^-rt of K-lon, ' in 

 ArabU, new the point- of intersection 



of great caravan routes from Palmyra, Gaza, Kfiypt, 

 and the Persian (inlf, four davs' journey from the 

 Miiliterranean and live from the Red Sea. It wa.i 

 approached by a chasm or ravine, which in some 

 placet) is only 12 feet wide, while the rocky walls 

 of red sandstone tower more than 100 feet above. 

 Along this ravine are the most famous ruin of 

 Petra, the Khusna or 'treasury of Pharaoh.' and a 

 theatre, both shaped out of the solid walls. All 

 alon^ the face of the rocks that overlook the 

 valley are rows of cave dwelling's hewn out of the 

 solid stone, and ornamented with facades. The 



Bock Temple at Petra : 



floor of the valley, aliout two miles across, in 



strewn with ruins. The earliest name was prob- 

 ably Kekem ; hence Petra ha- Keen identified with 

 Ka.lesh Itarnea, ami as the place win-re \|,,...-, 

 stnick the nick so that water t!owc,l out. The 

 lillle stream that descends the ravine, llowini; 

 eastwards, has its origin in a spring railed at the 

 present day the Fountain of Sloses. Petra WHS 

 raptured by the Itonmiis in Kl.'i A.n., ami thereafter 



ra\ecl. JN iilacc a- a commercial centre beiny 



ken by Palmyra (q.v.). Newitheless it con 

 tinned to exist as a town; most of the ruined 

 i-.lilic.-s belling probably to the first century of its 

 decay. -It is from Petra. and not from the Greek 

 word /.itm, that Arabia Petnea gets its name. 



See Do Luynen, Voyage d" Ksjjoration (1875) ; Laborde 

 nd Dmant, Arabie PcMe (1R') :<4); Palmer, Dan: 

 thr Ks,ln, ( 1M71 ) ; Stanley, .S'moi mid Palttine (1C6) ; 

 r work* cited at KlxiM. 



l*'lrnrrh. Francesco Petrarca, one of the 

 arliest and greatest of m.Hlern lyric poets, was the 

 son of a Florentine notary, PetraoCO (diminutive 

 if PatOT) di Messer Parenzo, the name of l-'iaiicesco 

 I'etrarra by which the |K>et is known lieinj,' the 

 l.atinis.-d form of Franceoco <li Petracco vi.'. 

 rranrjs ,,f Peter. Petrarch's father was exiled 

 rom norenee{ 1302) along with Dante during the 



-ngriw between the two factions of the liianrlii 

 and Neri. when the latter party obtained the upper- 

 ian.1. He took rcfnge With his familv in Arezxo, 

 where, on the 20th July 13(M, l->anceco was lionj. 



