LIBERTY. 
neighbourhood, or by process made by 
writ original at the common law. And 
none shall be put out of his franchises or 
freehold, unless he be duly brought to 
answer, and fore judged by course of law; 
and if any thing be done to the contrary, 
it shall be redressed and holden for none. 
Statute 42 Edward III. c. 3. No man 
shall be put to answer without presentment 
before justices, or matter of record of due 
process, or writ original, according to the 
ancient law of the land. And if any thing 
be done to the contrary, it shall be void 
in law, and held for error. After a long 
interval tliese liberties were still further 
confirmed by the petition of right ; which 
was a parliamentary declaration of the 
liberties of the people, assented to by King 
Charles I. in the beginning of his reign. 
This was closely followed by the still more 
ample concessions made by that unhappy 
Prince to his parliament ; (particularly the 
dissolution of the Star Chamber, by statute 
16 Charles I. c. 10) ; before the fatal rup- 
ture between them; and by the many salu- 
tary laws, particularly the Habeas Corpus 
Act, passed under King Charles II. 
To these succeeded the Bill of Rights, or 
declaration delivered by the Lords and 
Commons to the Prince and Princess of 
Orange, February 13, 1688; and afterwards 
enacted in parliament, when they became 
King and Queen; which, as peculiarly in- 
teresting, is here inserted at length. 
Statute 1 William and Mary, statute 2, 
c. 2, § 1. Whereas the Lords Spiritual and 
Temporal, and Commons, assembled at 
Westminster, representing ail the estates 
of the people of this realm, did upon the 
13th of February 1688, present unto their 
Majesties, then Prince and Princess of 
Orange, a declaration containing that, the 
said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and 
Commons, being assembled in a full and 
free representative of this nation, for the 
vindicating their ancient rights and liber- 
ties; declare, that the pretended power of 
suspending of laws, or the execution of 
laws, by legal authority, without-consent 
of parliament, is illegal ; that the pretend- 
ed powe* of dispensing with laws, or the 
execution of laws, by regal authority, as it 
hath been assumed and exercised of late, 
is illegal ; that the commission for erecting 
the late court of commissioners for eccle- 
siastical causes, and all other commissions 
and courts of lilce nature, are illegal and 
pernicious. 
That levying money for, or to the use 
of the crown, by pretence of prerogative, 
without grant of parliament, for longer 
time, or in other manner than the same is 
or shall be granted, is illegal ; that it is the 
right of the subjects to petition the King, 
and all commitments and prosecutions for 
such petitioning, are illegal ; that the rais- 
ing or keeping a standing army within the 
kingdom in time of peace, unless it be 
with consent of parliament, is against law ; 
that the subjects which are protestants may 
have arms for their defence, suitable to 
their conditions, and as allowed by law; 
that election of members of parliament 
ought to be free; that the freedom of 
speech, and debates or proceedings in par- 
liament ought not to be impeached or 
questioned in any court or place out of 
parliament; that excessive bail ought not 
to be required, nor excessive lines imposed, 
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted ; 
that jurors ought to be duly impannelled and 
returned, and jurors which pass upon men 
in trials for high treason, ought to be free- 
holders; that all grants and promises of 
fines and forfeitures of particular persons 
before conviction, are illegal and void ; and 
for redress of all grievances, and for the 
amending, strengthening, and preserving of 
the laws, parliaments ought to be held 
frequently; and they do claim, demand, 
and insist upon all and singular the premises, 
as their undoubted rights and liberties ; and 
that no declarations, judgments, doings, or 
proceedings, to the prejudice of the people 
in any of the said premises, ought ii; any- 
wise to be drawn hereafter into conse- 
quence or example ; Sect. 6. All and sin- 
gular the rights and liberties asserted and 
claimed in the said declaration are the true, 
ancient, and indubitable rights and liberties 
of the people of this kingdom, and so shall 
be esteemed, allowed, adjudged, and taken 
to be; and all the particulars aforesaid 
shall be firmly holden as they are expressed 
in the said declaration; and all officers 
shall serve their majesties according to the 
same in all times to come. Sect. 13. No 
dispensation by non obstante of any statute 
shall be allowed, except a dispensation be 
allowed of in such statute ; and except in 
such cases as shall be especially provided 
for during session of parliament. Sect. 
13. No charter granted before the, 23d of 
October, 1689, shall be invalidated by this 
act, but shall remain of the same force as 
if this act had never been made. Lastly, 
these liberties were again asserted at the 
commencement of the present century, in 
