£84 LIBERTY, 
and their fundamental articles have been from time to 
time aflerted in parliament, as often as they were thought 
to be in danger: 
Firtt, By the Great Charter of liberties, which was ob¬ 
tained, fword in hand, from king John, and afterwards, 
with fome alterations, confirmed in parliament by Hen¬ 
ry III. his fon. Which charter contained very few new 
grants; but, as fir Edward Coke obferves, was for the 
moil part declaratory of the principal grounds of the fun¬ 
damental laws of England. Afterwards, by the ftatute, 
called Confirmatto Cartarum, whereby the Great Charter is 
dire died to be allowed as the common-law ; all judgments 
Contrary to it are declared void ; copies of it are ordered 
to be lent to all cathedral-churches, and read twice a-year 
to the people; and fentence of excommunication is di- 
refted to be as constantly denounced againft all thofe that 
by word, deed, or counfel, aft contrary thereto, or in any 
degree infringe it. Next, by a multitude of fubfequent 
corroborating ftatutes (fir Edward Coke reckons 32), from 
the firlt Edward to Henry IV. of which the following are 
the molt forcible. 2 $.Edo). lll.jl. 5. c. 4. None fhall be 
taken by petition or fuggeftion made to the king or his 
council, unlefs it be by indictment of lawful people of 
the neighbourhood, or by procefs'made by writ original at 
the common-law. And none lliall be put out of bis fran- 
chifes or freehold, unlefs he be duly brought to anfwer, 
and forejudged by courfe of law ; and, if any thing be 
done to the contrary, it fhall be redreficd, and holden for 
none. 42 Echo. III. c. 3. No man fhall be put to anfwer 
without prefentment before juftices, or matter of record 
of due procefs, or writ original, according to the ancient 
law of the land. And, if any thing be done to the con¬ 
trary, it (hall he void in law, and held for error. 
After a long interval, thefe liberties were frill further 
confirmed byrthe Petition of Right; which was a parlia¬ 
mentary declaration of the liberties of the people, affented 
to by Charles I. in the beginning of his reign; and is 
clafled among our ftatutes as 3 Car. I. c. 1. By this it 
was provided, that no one (liould be compelled to make, 
or yield, any gift, loan, benevolence, tax, or fuch-like 
charge, without content by aft of parliament. This Pe¬ 
tition of Right was clofely followed by the ltill-more am¬ 
ple concefiions made by that unhappy prince to his par¬ 
liament (particularly the drffolution of the Star-chamber, 
by 16 Car. I. c. no.) before the fatal rupture between 
them ; and by the many falutary laws, particularly the 
Habeas Corpus Aft, palled under Charles II. 
To thefe l'ucceeded the Bill of Rights, or declaration 
delivered by the lords and commons to the prince and 
princefs of Orange, February 13, 16SS ; and afterwards 
enacted in parliament, when they became king and queen ; 
which is as follows : 1 W.B M.Jf. 2. c. 2. § 1. Whereas the 
lords fpiritual and temporal, and commons, affetnbled at 
Weftminfter, repretenting all the eftates of the people of 
this realm, did upon the 13th of February, 1688, prefent 
unto their majefties, then prince and princefs of Orange, 
a declaration containing that, The laid lords fpiritual and 
-temporal, and commons, being affembled in a full and 
free reprefentative of this nation, for vindicating their 
.ancient rights and liberties, declare, That the pretended 
power of fufpending of laws, or the execution of laws, by 
regal authority, without confent of parliament, is illegal. 
That the pretended power of difpenfing with laws, or 
the execution of laws, by regal authority, as it hath been 
affutned and exercifed of late, is illegal. That the com- 
.miffon for erefting the late court of commiffioners for ec- 
eiefiaftical caufes, and all other cominilfions and courts of 
like nature, are illegal and pernicious. That levying 
money for or to the ufe of the crown, by pretence of 
prerogative, without grant of parliament, for longer time 
or in other manner than the fame is or fhall be granted, is 
illegal. That it is the right of the fubjefts to petition the 
king; and all commitments and profecutions for fuch pe¬ 
titioning are illegal. That the raifing or keeping a Hand¬ 
ing army within the kingdom in the time of peace, unlefs 
it be with confent of parliament, is again ft law. That 
the fubjefts which are proteftants may have arms for their 
defence fuitable to their conditions, and as allowed by 
law. That eleftions of members of parliament ought to 
be free. That the freedom of fpeech, and debates or pro¬ 
ceedings in parliament, ought not to be impeached or 
queftionetf in any court or place out of parliament. That 
excefiive bail ought not to be required, norexceflive fines 
impofed, nor cruel and unufual punifhments inflifted. 
That jurors ought to be duly impanelled and returned, 
and jurors which pafs upon men in trials for high treafon 
ought to be freeholders. That all grants and promites of 
fines and forfeitures of particular perfons before convic¬ 
tion, are illegal and void. And for redrefs of all griev¬ 
ances, and for the amending, ftrengthening, and preferv- 
ing, of the laws, parliaments ought to be held frequently. 
And they do claim, demand, and infift upon, all and lin¬ 
gular the premifes, as their undoubted rights and liber¬ 
ties ; and that no declarations, judgments, doings, or pro¬ 
ceedings, to the prejudice of the people in any of the fa id 
premifes, gught in any wife to be drawn hereafter into 
confeqtience or example. 
§ 6. All and Angular the rights and liberties aflerted 
and claimed in the faid declaration are the true, ancient, 
and indubitable, rights and liberties of the people of this 
kingdom, and lo fhall be efteemed, allowed, adjudged, and 
taken to be; and all the particulars aforefaid fnall be firmly 
holden as they are ex prefled in the faid declaration ; and 
all officers fhall ferve their majefties according to the fame 
in ail times to come. § 12. No difpenfation by non obftante 
of any ftatute fhall be allowed, except a difpenfation be 
allowed of in fuch ftatute; and except in fuch cafes as 
fnall be fpecially provided for during this fefiion of par¬ 
liament. § 13. No charter granted before the 23d of Oc¬ 
tober, 1689, fhall be invalidated by this aft, but fhall re¬ 
main of the fame force as if this aft had never been made. 
Laftly, Thefe liberties were again aflerted at the com¬ 
mencement of the laft century, in the Aft of Settlement, 
12 & 13 Will. III. c. 2. whereby the crown was limited' 
to his prefent majefty’s illuftrious houfe; and fome new 
provifions were added at the fame fortunate sera, for bet¬ 
ter fecuring our religion, laws, and liberties, which the 
ftatute declares to be “the birth-right of the people of 
England 5” according to the ancient doftrine of the com¬ 
mon law. 
Thus much for the declaration of our rights and liber¬ 
ties. The rights themfelves thus defined by thefe feveral 
ftatutes, confilt in a number of private immunities; which 
will appear, from what has been premifed, to be indeed no 
other than either that refiduum of natural liberty which 
is not required by the laws of fociety to be facrificed to 
public convenience ; or elfe thofe civil privileges which 
iociety hath engaged to provide in lieu of the natural li¬ 
berties fo given up by individuals. Thefe, therefore, 
were formerly, either by inheritance or purcliafe, the rights 
of all mankind ; but in molt other countries of the world, 
being now more or lefs debated or deftroyed, they at pra- 
fent may be laid to remain, in a peculiar and einpbatical 
manner, the rights of the people of England. 
Thefe rights may be reduced to three principal or pri¬ 
mary articles: The right of perfonal fecurity. The right 
of perfonal liberty. The right of private property. 
The right of perfonal fecurity coniifts in a perlon’s le¬ 
gal and uninterrupted enjoyment of his life, his limbs, 
his body, his health, and his reputation. The enjoyment 
of this right is fecured to every fubjeft by the various 
laws made for the punifhment of thofe injuries, by which 
it is any way violated ; for a particular detail of which, 
fee the articles Assault, Homicide, Libel, &c. * 
Life, however, may, by the divine permiffion, be fre¬ 
quently forfeited for the breach of thofe laws of fociety 
which are enforced bvthefanftion of capital punifhments. 
The ftatute law of England does very feldom, and the 
common law does never, inflict punifhment extending to 
Ufe or limb, unlefs upon the higheft neceffity; and the 
conftitutioa 
