53 j> 
L I B 
conftitution is an utter ftranger to any arbitrary power of 
killing or maiming the fubjeft without the exprefs war¬ 
rant of law. The words of the Great Charter are, Nultus 
liber homo capiatur, imprifonetur , vel all quo modo dcjlruatur, 
iiifi per legale judicium parium fuorum, aut per legem terra;. 
“ No freeman (hall be taken, imprifoned, or any way de- 
Ilroyed, unlefs by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by 
the law of the land.” Which words, aliquo modo dejlrualur. 
Recording to Coke, include a prohibition not only of 
killing or maiming, but alio of torturing, (to which our laws 
eire ltrangers,) and of every oppreflion by colour of an il¬ 
legal authority. And it is enaded by flat. 5 Ed. III. c. 9, 
that no man (hall be attached by any accufation, nor fore¬ 
judged of life or limb, nor lhall his lands or goods be 
■ieized into the king’s hands, contrary to the Great Charter 
and the law of the land. And again, by 28 Ed. III. c. 3, 
that no man (hall be put to death without being brought 
to anfwer by due procefs of law. 1 Comm. 133. 
The right of perfonal liberty confiltsin the power of loco¬ 
motion, of changing fituation, or moving one’s perlbn to 
vvhatfoever place one’s own inclination may diredt 3 with¬ 
out imprifonment or reftraint, unlefs by due courfe of law. 
On this right there is at preient no occafion to enlarge. 
For the proviiions made by the laws of England to fecure 
it, fee the articles Habeas Corpus, False Imprison¬ 
ment, See. See. 
The abfolute right of property, inherent in every Eng- 
Jifhman, con (ills in the free ufe, enjoyment, and difpolal, 
of all his acquifitions, without any controul or diminu¬ 
tion, lave only the laws of the land. The Great Charter 
has declared, that no freeman (hall be diffeized ordivefted 
of his freehold, or of his liberties or free cuftoms, (or be 
outlawed, banilhed, or otherwife deftroyed, nor tliall the 
king pals or lend upon him,) but by the judgment of his 
peers, or by the law of the land. And by a variety of 
ancient ftatutes.it is enafled, that no man’s lands or goods 
fhall be feized into the king's hands, againlt the Great 
■Charter and the law of the land ; and that no man lhall 
be dilinherited, nor put out of his franchifes or freehold, 
unlefs he be duly brought to anfwer and be forejudged by 
courfe of law j and, if any thing he done to the contrary, 
it lhall be redrtfled, and holden for none. See ftats. 
5 Edw. III. c. 9. 25 Edw. III. ft. 5. c. 4. 28 Edw. III. c. 3. 
Go great moreover is the regard of the law for private pro¬ 
perty, that it iviil not authorile the lealt violation of it 3 
no not even for the general good of the whole commu¬ 
nity. In inftances where the property of an individual 
is necefi'ary to be obtained for the accommodation of the 
public, as in the cafe of enlarging or turning highways, 
all that the legillature does, is to oblige the owner to ali¬ 
enate his poifefnons for a reafonable price; and even this 
is an exertion cf power indulged wirii caution, and which 
none but the legillature, or thefe afting under their im¬ 
mediate diredion, can perform. See ltat. 13 Geo. III. 
c. 78. Another efFed of this right of private property is, 
that no fubjed of England can be couftrained to pay any 
aids or taxes, even for the defence of the realm, or the fup- 
port of the government, but fuch as are impofed by his 
own confent or that of his reprefentatives in parliament. 
By flat. 25 Edw. I. c. 5, 6 , it is provided, that Lite king 
lhall not take any aids, or tajks, but by the common af- 
fent of the realm. And what the common aflent is, is 
more fully explained by the inftrument ufually called the 
Statute de Tallagio non concedendo, ufually clalfed as flat. 
34. Ed. I. ft. 4. c. 1. which enads that no talliage or aid 
ihall be taken, without the aflent of the archbilhops, bi- 
fhops, earls, barons, knights, burgefies, and other freemen 
of the land ; and again, by 14 Ed. III. ft. 2. c. 1, the pre¬ 
lates, earls, barons, and commons, citizens, burgefles, and 
merchants, lhall not be charged to make any aid, if it be 
not by the common aflent of the great men and commons 
in parliament. And, as this fundamental law had been 
lhamefully evaded, under many preceding princes, by 
compulflve loans and benevolences, extorted without a 
real and voluntary confent, it was made an article in the 
Vox.. XII. No. 834. 
l R T Y. 
Petition of Right, 3 Car. I. that no man (hall be compelled 
to yield any gift, loan, or benevolence, tax, or fuch-like 
charge, without common confent by ad of parliament. 
And, laftly, by the Bill of Rights, ftat. 1 W. & M. ft. 2. 
c. 2, it is declared, that levying money for or to the ufe of 
the crown by pretence of prerogative, without grant of 
parliament, or for longer time or in other manner than 
the fame is or lhall be granted, is illegal. 1 Comm. 140. 
In vain, however, would thefe rights be declared, af- 
certained, and protected by the dead letter of the laws, if 
the conftitution had provided rio other method to fecure 
their adual enjoyment. It has therefore eftablifned cer¬ 
tain other auxiliary fubordinate rights of the fubjed, 
which ferve principally as barriers to protect and main¬ 
tain inviolate the three great and primary rights, of per¬ 
fonal fecurity, perfonal liberty, and private property. 
Thefe are, 
1. The conftitution, powers, and privileges of parlia¬ 
ment ; for which fee the article Parliament. 
2. The limitation of the king's prerogative, by bounds fo 
certain and notorious, that it is impoflible he (hould ex¬ 
ceed them without the conlent of the people ; as to which, 
fee the article King, vol. xi. p. 731. The former of 
thefe keeps the legiflative power in due health and vigour, 
fo as to make it improbable that laws lliould be enaded 
deftrudive of general liberty; the latter is a guard upon 
the executive power, by reftraining it from ading either 
beyond or in contradiction to the laws that are framed 
and eftablilhed by the other. 
3. A third fubordinate right of every Briton is that of 
applying to the courts of juftice for redrefs of injuries. 
Since the law is, in this realm, the lupreme arbiter of 
every man’s life, liberty, and property, courts of juftice 
mult at all times be open to the fubjed, and the law be 
duly adminiltered therein. The emphatical words of 
Magna Charta, fpoken in the perfon of the king, who in 
judgment of law (lays fir Edward Coke) is ever prefent 
and repeating them in all his courts, are thefe : Nulli ven- 
demus, nulli negabimus, aut dijferemus, redluni vel jujlitiam ; 
“and therefore every fubjecl (continues the fame learned 
author), for injury done to him in bonis, in terris, vel per- 
fona, by any other fubjecl, be he ecclefialti'cal or temporal, 
without any exception, may take his remedy by the courfe 
of the law, and have juftice and right for the injury done 
to him, freely without fale, fully without any denial, and 
fpeedily without delay.” It were endlels to enumerate all 
the afirmative acts of parliament, wherein juftice is direct¬ 
ed to be done according to the law of the land ; and what 
that law is, every fubjecl knows, or may know if he pieafes ; 
for it depends not upon the arbitrary will of any judge; 
but is permanent, fixed, and unchangeable, unlefs by au¬ 
thority of parliament. We (hall however juft mention a 
few negative ftatutes, whereby abules, perverlions, or de¬ 
lays of juftice, efpecially by the prerogative, are reltrained. 
It is ordained by Magna Charta, that no freeman lhall be 
outlawed, that is, put out of the protedion and benefit of 
the laws, but according to the law of the land. By 
a Edw. III. c. 8. and 11 Ric. II. c. 10. it is enaded, that 
no commands or letters lhall be fent under the great feal, 
or the little feal, the fignet or privy feal, in difturbance of 
the law, or todifturbor delay common right ; and, though 
fuch commandments lliould come, the judges (hall not 
ceafe to do right; which is all'o made a part of their oatli 
by Itatute 18 Edw. III. ftat. 4. And by 1 W. and M. It. 2. 
c. 2. it is declared, that the pretended power of iul- 
pending or difpenfing with laws, or the execution of laws, 
by regal authority without confent of parliament, is ille¬ 
gal. Not only the 1 'ubllantial part, or judicial decifions, 
of the law, but alio the formal part, or method of pro¬ 
ceeding, cannot be altered but by parliament; for, if once 
thofe outworks were demoliihed, there would be an inlet 
to all manner of innovation in the body of the law itfelf. 
The king, it is true, may ered new courts of juftice; but 
then they mult proceed according to the old eftablilhed 
forms of the common law. For which., realoait is de- 
y K dared 
