PAR 
people look up as the fountain merely of bounty and 
grace; and thefe repeated afts of goodnefs, proceeding 
immediately from himfelf, endear the fovereign to his 
fubjefts, and contribute more than any thing to root in 
their hearts that filial afteftion and perfonal loyalty, 
which are thefure eftablifhment of a prince. In the exer- 
cife of this prerogative, however, the fovereign fliould be 
direfted by a found difcretion and impartial judgment, 
and alfo by wife and upright counfellors; and the occa- 
fions for the exercife of it Ihould be rendered as few and 
unfrequent as pofiible, by mitigating the feverity of our 
criminal laws, and leffening their number, and making 
the penalties annexed to the violation of them more de¬ 
finite and certain. 
A pardon may be pleaded in arreft of judgment; in 
which cafe it has the fame advantage as when pleaded 
upon arraignment; viz. the faving the attainder, and of 
courfe the corruption of blood, which nothing can reftore 
but parliament, when a pardon is not pleaded till after 
fentence. And certainly, on all accounts, when a man 
hath obtained a pardon, he is in the right to plead it as 
foon as pofiible. 
The king may pardon all offences merely again!! the 
crown, or the public ; excepting, i. That, to preferve the 
liberty of the lubjeft, the committing any man to prifon 
out of the realm is, by the habeas.corpus aft, made a 
praemunire, unpardonable even by the king. Nor, 2. 
Can the king pardon, where private juftice is principally 
concerned in the profecution of offenders : Non potejt rex 
gratiam facere cum injuria et danino atiorum. Therefore, 
in appeals of all kinds (which are the fuit, not of the king, 
but of the party injured), the profecutor mayreleafe; 
but the king cannot pardon. Neither can he pardon a 
common nuifance while it remains unredreffed, or fo as 
to prevent an abatement of it; though afterwards he may 
remit the fine: becaufe, though the profecution is veiled 
in the king to avoid the multiplicity of fuits, yet (during 
its continuance) this offence favours more of the nature 
of a private injury to each individual in the neighbour¬ 
hood, than of a public wrong. Neither, laffly, can the 
king pardon an offence again!! a popular or penal ftatute, 
after information brought: for thereby the informer hath 
acquired a private property in his part of the penalty. 
3. There is alfo a rellriftion of a peculiar nature, that 
aft'efts the prerogative of pardoning, in the cafe of parlia¬ 
mentary impeachments, viz. that the king’s pardon can¬ 
not be pleaded to any fuch impeachnient, fo as to impede 
the inquiry, ^nd flop the profecution of great and notorious 
offenders. Therefore, when, in the reign of Charles II. 
the earl of Danby was impeached by the houfe of com¬ 
mons of high-treafon , and other mifdemeanors, and 
pleaded the king’s pardon in bar of the fame, the com¬ 
mons alleged, “That there was no precedent that ever 
any pardon was granted to any perfon impeached by the 
commons of high-treafon, or other high crimes, depend¬ 
ing the impeachment;” and thereupon refolved, “ That 
the pardon fo pleaded was illegal and void, and ought not 
to be allowed in bar of the impeachment of the commons 
of Englandfor which refolution they affigned this 
reafon to the houfe of lords, “ That the fetting up a par¬ 
don to be a bar of an impeachment defeats the whole ufe 
and effeft of impeachments : for, (hould this point be ad¬ 
mitted, or Hand doubted, it would totally difcourage the 
exhibiting any for the future ; whereby the chief inftitu- 
tion for the prefervation of the government would be de- 
ftroyed.” Soon after the Revolution, the commons re¬ 
newed the fame claim, and voted, “ That a pardon is not 
pleadable in bar of an impeachment.” And at length, 
it w as enafted by the aft of fettlement, 12 and 13 W. III. 
c. 2. “That no pardon under the great feal of England 
ihall be pleadable to an impeachment by the commons in 
parliament.” But, after the impeachment has been 
folemnly heard and determined, it is not underftood that 
the king’s royal grace is farther reftrained or abridged : 
for, after the impeachment and attainder of the fix rebel 
Vol. XVIII. No. 1254.. 
\ 
DON. 425 
lords, 1715, three of them were from time to time reprieved 
by the crown, and at length received the benefit of the 
king’s mod gracious pardon. The effeft of fuch pardon 
by the king, is to make the offender a new man ; to acquit 
him of all corporal penalties and forfeitures annexed t6 
that offence for which he obtains his pardon ; and not fo 
much to reftore his former, as to give him a new credit 
and capacity. But nothing can reftore or purify the 
blood when once corrupted, if the pardon be not allow-ed 
till after attainder, but the high and tranfcendant power 
of parliament. Yet, if a perfon attainted receive the 
king’s pardon, and afterwards hath a fon, that fon may 
be heir to his father ; becaufe the father, being made a 
new man, might tranfmit new inheritable blood ; though, 
had he been born before the pardon, he could never have 
inherited at all. 
As to the manner of pardoning, it muft be under the 
great feal ; and it is a general rule, that, wherever it may¬ 
be reafonably prefumed the king is deceived, the pardon 
is void ; fo that any fupprefiion of truth, or fuggeftion of 
falfehood, in a charter of pardon, will vitiate the whole ; 
for the king was mifinformed. 3 Injl. 238. Generally, 
words have alfo a very imperfeft effeft in pardons. A 
pardon of all felonies will not pardon a conviftion or at¬ 
tainder of felony, but thefe muft be particularly men¬ 
tioned. 2 Hawk. P. C. 383. Nor will a pardon of felo¬ 
nies include piracy, which is not punilhable at the com¬ 
mon law r . 1 Hawk. P. C. 94. It is alfo enafted by 13 
Ric. II. ft. 2. c. 1. that no pardon for treafon, murder, 
or rape, fnall be allowed, unlefs the offence be particu¬ 
larly fpecified; and in murder it Ihall be expreffed, whe¬ 
ther it was committed by lying in wait, affault, or malice 
prepenfe. Upon which Coke obferves, that it was not 
the intention of the parliament that the king fliould ever 
pardon murder under thefe aggravations; and therefore 
they prudently laid the pardon under thefe reftriftions, 
becaufe they did not conceive it pofiible that the king 
would ever excufe an offence by name, which was at¬ 
tended with fuch high aggravations. 3 Injl. 236. And 
it is remarkable enough, that there is no precedent of a 
pardon in the regifter for any other homicide than that 
which happens J'e defendendo, or per infortunium ; to which 
tw'o fpecies the king’s pardon was exprefsly confined by 
the ftats. 2 Ed. III. c. 2. and 14 Ed. III. c. 15. w'hich 
declare that no pardon of homicide Ihall be granted, but 
only where the king may do it by the oath of his crown ; that 
is to fay, wdiere a man flayeth another in his own defence, 
or by misfortune. But the flat. 13 Ric. II. ft. 2. c. 1. 
enlarges by implication the royal power ; provided the 
king is not deceived in the intended objeft of his mercy. 
The fees, paid upon each pardon granted under the 
great feal, amount, according to a return made to par¬ 
liament in the year 1818, tonolefsafum than 50I. 17s. 8d. 
A pardon may be conditional; that is, the king may 
extend his mercy upon what terms he pleafes; and may 
annex to his bounty a condition either precedent orfub- 
fequent, on the performance whereof the validity of the 
pardon will depend ; and this by the common law. 2 
Hawk. P. C. c. 37. Which prerogative is daily exerted 
in the pardon of felons, on condition of being confined 
to hard labour for a ftated time ; or of tranfportation to 
forne foreign country for life, or for a term of years. We 
ffiall conclude this article by inferting the form of one of 
thefe conditional pardons. 
L. S. George P. R. 
In the name and on the behalf of his Majefty. 
Whereas William Mann and John Newman were, at a 
Seflion holden at the Old Bailey in Oftoberiaft, tried and 
convifted, the faid William Mann of houfe-breaking, and 
the faid John Newman of the like offence, and had len- 
tence of death parted upon them for the fame; We, in con- 
lideration of fome favourable circumftances humbly re- 
prefented unto us in their behalf, are gracioufly pleafed 
to extend our grace and mercy unto them, and to grant 
them our pardon for their faid crimes, on condition of 
5 Q their 
