legislation, of Parliaments and Statutes, which was soon to come. The Church had shown its power of self-defence in the struggle over the interdict, and the clause which recognized its rights alone retained the older and general form. But all vagueness ceases when the Charter passes on to deal with the rights of Englishmen at large, their right to justice, to security of person and property, to good government. "No freeman,' ran the memorable article that lies at the base of our whole judicial system, "shall be seized or imprisoned, or dispossessed, or outlawed, or in any way brought to ruin: we will not go against any man nor send against him, save by legal judgment of his peers or by the law of the land." "To no man will we sell," runs another, "or deny, or delay, right or justice." The great reforms of the past reigns were now formally recognized; judges of assize were to hold their circuits four times in the year, and the King's Court was no longer to follow the King in his wanderings over the realm, but to sit in a fixed place. But the denial of justice under John was a small danger compared with the lawless exactions both of himself and his predecessor. Richard had increased the amount of the scutage which Henry II. had introduced, and applied it to raise funds for his ransom. He had restored the Danegeld, or land tax, so often abolished, under the new name of "carucage," had seized the wool of the Cistercians and the plate of the churches, and rated moveables as well as land. John had again raised the rate of scutage, and imposed aids, fines, and ransoms at his pleasure without counsel of the baronage. The Great Charter met this abuse by the provision on which our constitutional system rests. With the exception of the three customary feudal aids which still remained to the Crown, "no scutage or aid shall be imposed in our realm save by the Common Council of the realm;" and to this Great Council it was provided that prelates and the greater barons should be summoned by special writ, and all tenants in chief through the sheriffs and bailiffs, at least forty days before. . . . But it was less easy to provide means for the control of a King whom no man could trust, and a council of twenty-five barons was chosen from the general body of their order to enforce on John the observance of the Charter, with the right of declaring war on the King should its

provisions be infringed. Finally, the Charter was published throughout the whole country, and sworn to at every hundredmote and town-mote by order from the King.

J. R. GREEN, Short History of the English People. 128-130.

BAGEHOT (1872)

Many most important enactments of that period (and the fact is most characteristic) are declaratory acts. They do not profess to enjoin by inherent authority what the law shall in future be, but to state and mark what the law is; they are declarations of immemorial custom, not precepts of new duties. Even in the "Great Charter" the notion of new enactments was secondary, it was a great mixture of old and new; it was a sort of compact defining what was doubtful in floating custom. WALTER BAGEHOT, English Constitution. 280.

TASWELL-LANGMEAD (1879)

Three great political documents, in the nature of fundamental compacts between the Crown and the Nation, stand out as prominent landmarks in English Constitutional history. Magna Charta, the Petition of Right, and the Bill of Rights constitute, in the words of Lord Chatham, "the Bible of the English Constitution." In each of these documents whether it be of the 13th or of the 17th century is observable the common characteristic of professing to introduce nothing new. Each professed to assert rights and liberties which were already old, and sought to redress grievances which were for the most part themselves innovations upon the ancient liberties of the people. In its practical combination of conservative instincts with liberal aspirations, in its power of progressive development and self-adaptation to the changing political and social wants of each successive generation, have always lain the peculiar excellence and at the same time the surest safeguard, of our Constitution.

The Great Charter of Liberties was the outcome of a movement of all the freemen of the realm, led by their natural leaders, the barons. Far from being a Far from being a 'mere piece of class legislation,' extorted by the barons alone for their own special interests, it

is in itself a noble and remarkable proof of the sympathy and union then existing between the aristocracy and all classes of the commonalty.

J. P. TASWELL-LANGMEAD, English Constitutional History. 85.

RUDOLF VON GNEIST (1889)

This charter of liberties differed from those prevalent on the continent, especially in the fact that the Prelates and vassals do not think of themselves alone, but also extend the necessary securities to the classes below them. . . . Magna Charta was a pledge of reconciliation between all classes. Its existence and ratification maintained, for centuries, the notion of fundamental rights as applicable to all classes, in the consciousness that no liberties could be upheld by the superior classes for any length of time, without guarantees of personal liberty for the humbler also.

RUDOLF VON GNEIST, History of the English Parliament, translated by A. H. Keane. 29-103.

POLLOCK AND MAITLAND (1895)

Every one of its brief sentences is aimed at some different object and is full of future law.

POLLOCK AND MAITLAND, History of English Law. I. 150.

GARDINER (1895)

So

to

It was a good security if it could be maintained. little was John trusted that it was thought necessary establish a body of twenty-five, twenty-four barons and the Mayor of London, which was to guard against any attempt his word. . . . In other words, there was to be a permanent organization for making war upon the king. GARDINER, Student's History of England. 183.

of the king to break

RANSOME (1895)

One of the best features of the charter was the way in which every right granted to a baron was carefully extended to include the case of the simple freeman. . . . These provisions and many

...

others which concerned every class of the population form the substance of the Great Charter, which has ever since been regarded by Englishmen as the foundation of their liberties. In later times it took the position in popular esteem which had hitherto been held by the "laws of Henry I.," or the "laws of King Edward," and has been confirmed over and over again.

CYRIL RANSOME, Advanced History of England. 176-177.

CHAPTER III

THE SUMMONS TO PARLIAMENT (1295)

SUGGESTIONS

THE importance of the "Summons" is chiefly prospective. It takes a place among documents more famous because it is typical of a large class of constitutional services.

This summons, together with similar writs, was issued by order of the Crown. The king had found himself early in 1295 in very difficult circumstances. In June he issued writs of summons to the members of Parliament to meet at Westminster in August; this meeting lasted but two days, and as no representative of the Commons was summoned to this assembly, it is more properly styled a session of a Great Council. No attempt was made in it to raise money, but it was probably arranged that a grant should be asked for in the next session. With this in view, writs were issued on the 30th of September to the Ecclesiastical representatives. On the 1st of October, the writs were issued to the baronage. On the 3rd of October the writs to the sheriffs are dated; and by these each sheriff is directed to return two knights elected by the counties, and two citizens or burghers for each city or borough within his shire.

By such writs of summons a perfect representation of the three estates was secured, and a parliament constituted, on the model of which every succeeding assembly bearing that name was formed.

One may well pause at this point to look back upon the Witenagemot of the Teutonic system of government and look forward to the assembly body of the Congress of the United States.

For Outlines and Material, see Appendix A.

Report on the Dignity of a Peer,

DOCUMENT

Summons to Parliament (Oct. 3rd, 1295)

The King to the Sheriff of Northamptonshire : Whereas, in order to make provision of remedies App. i., p. 66, against the dangers which at this time menace the translated realm, we desire to take counsel with the earls,