Part 6 (1/2)
”Did he, (the king,) at any time, relax his activity and martial ardor, did he employ his abilities to the prejudice of his nation, or fancy he was superior to the laws; the same power which raised him to honor, humbled and degraded him. The customs and councils of his country pointed out to him his duty; and if he infringed on the former, or disobeyed the latter, a fierce people set aside his authority. * *
”His long hair was the only ornament he affected, and to be foremost to attack an enemy was his chief distinction. Engaged in every hazardous expedition, he was a stranger to repose; and, rivalled by half the heroes of his tribe, he could obtain little power. Anxious and watchful for the public interest, he felt every moment his dependence, and gave proofs of his submission.
”He attended the general a.s.sembly of his nation, and was allowed the privilege to harangue it first; but the arts of persuasion, though known and respected by a rude people, were unequally opposed to the prejudices and pa.s.sions of men.”--_Ditto_, p. 135-6.
”_The authority of a Saxon monarch was not more considerable. The Saxons submitted not to the arbitrary rule of princes. They administered an oath to their sovereigns, which bound them to acknowledge the laws, and to defend the rights of the church and people; and if they forgot this obligation, they forfeited their office._ In both countries, a price was affixed on kings, a fine expiated their murder, as well as that of the meanest citizen; and the smallest violation of ancient usage, or the least step towards tyranny, was always dangerous, and often fatal to them.”--_Ditto_, p.
139-40.
”They were not allowed to impose taxes on the kingdom.”--_Ditto_, p.
146.
”Like the German monarchs, they deliberated in the general a.s.sembly of the nation; _but their legislative authority was not much respected_; and their a.s.sent was considered in no better light than as a form. This, however, was their chief prerogative; and they employed it to acquire an ascendant in the state. To art and insinuation they turned, as their only resource, and flattered a people whom they could not awe; but address, and the abilities to persuade, were a weak compensation for the absence of real power.
”They declared war, it is said, and made peace. In both cases, however, they acted as the instruments of the state, and put in execution the resolutions which its councils had decreed. If, indeed, an enemy had invaded the kingdom, and its glory and its safety were concerned, the great lords took the field at the call of their sovereign. But had a sovereign declared war against a neighboring state, without requiring their advice, or if he meant to revenge by arms an insult offered to him by a subject, a haughty and independent n.o.bility refused their a.s.sistance. These they considered as the quarrels of the king, and not of the nation; and in all such emergencies he could only be a.s.sisted by his retainers and dependents.”--_Ditto_, p. 147-8.
”Nor must we imagine that the Saxon, any more than the German monarchs, succeeded each other in a lineal descent,[35] or that they disposed of the crown at their pleasure. In both countries, the free election of the people filled the throne; and their choice was the only rule by which princes reigned. The succession, accordingly, of their kings was often broken and interrupted, and their depositions were frequent and groundless. The will of a prince whom they had long respected, and the favor they naturally transferred to his descendant, made them often advance him to the royal dignity; but the crown of his ancestor he considered as the gift of the people, and neither expected nor claimed it as a right.”--_Ditto_, p. 151-3.
In Germany ”It was the business of the great to command in war, and in peace they distributed justice. * *
”The _princes_ in Germany were _earls_ in England. The great contended in both countries in the number of their retainers, and in that splendor and magnificence which are so alluring to a rude people; and though they joined to set bounds to regal power, they were often animated against each other with the fiercest hatred. To a proud and impatient n.o.bility it seemed little and unsuiting to give or accept compositions for the injuries they committed or received; and their va.s.sals adopting their resentment and pa.s.sions, war and bloodshed alone could terminate their quarrels. What necessarily resulted from their situation in society, was continued as a _privilege_; and the great, in both countries, made war, of their private authority, on their enemies. The Saxon earls even carried their arms against their sovereigns; and, surrounded with retainers, or secure in fortresses and castles, they despised their resentment, and defied their power.
”The judges of the people, they presided in both countries in courts of law.[36] The particular districts over which they exerted their authority were marked out in Germany by the council of the state; and in England their jurisdiction extended over the fiefs and other territories they possessed. All causes, both civil and criminal, were tried before them; and they judged, except in cases of the utmost importance, without appeal. They were even allowed to grant pardon to criminals, and to correct by their clemency the rigors of justice.
Nor did the sovereign exercise any authority in their lands. In these his officers formed no courts, and his _writ_ was disregarded. * *
”They had officers, as well as the king, who collected their revenues, and added to their greatness; and the inhabitants of their lands they distinguished by the name of _subjects_.
”But to attend the general a.s.sembly of their nation was the chief prerogative of the German and Saxon princes; and as they consulted the interest of their country, and deliberated concerning matters of state, so in the _king's court_, of which also they were members, they a.s.sisted to p.r.o.nounce judgment in the complaints and appeals which were lodged in it.”--_Ditto_, p. 158 to 165.
Henry says:
”Nothing can be more evident than this important truth; that our Anglo-Saxon kings were not absolute monarchs; but that their powers and prerogatives were limited by the laws and customs of the country.
Our Saxon ancestors had been governed by limited monarchs in their native seats on the continent; and there is not the least appearance or probability that they relinquished their liberties, and submitted to absolute government in their new settlements in this island. It is not to be imagined that men, whose reigning pa.s.sion was the love of liberty, would willingly resign it; and their new sovereigns, who had been their fellow-soldiers, had certainly no power to compel them to such a resignation.”--_3 Henry's History of Great Britain_, 358.
Mackintosh says: ”The Saxon chiefs, who were called kings, originally acquired power by the same natural causes which have gradually, and everywhere, raised a few men above their fellows. They were, doubtless, more experienced, more skilful, more brave, or more beautiful, than those who followed them. * * A king was powerful in war by the l.u.s.tre of his arms, and the obvious necessity of obedience. His influence in peace fluctuated with his personal character. In the progress of usage his power became more fixed and more limited. * * It would be very unreasonable to suppose that the northern Germans who had conquered England, had so far changed their characteristic habits from the age of Tacitus, that the victors became slaves, and that their generals were converted into tyrants.”--_Mackintosh's Hist. of England, Ch. 2._ _45 Lardner's Cab.
Cyc._, 73-4.
Rapin, in his discourse on the ”Origin and Nature of the English Const.i.tution,” says:
”There are but two things the Saxons did not think proper to trust their kings with; for being of like pa.s.sions with other men, they might very possibly abuse them; namely, the power of changing the laws enacted by consent of king and people; and the power of raising taxes at pleasure. From these two articles sprung numberless branches concerning the liberty and property of the subject, which the king cannot touch, without breaking the const.i.tution, and they are the distinguis.h.i.+ng character of the English monarchy. The prerogatives of the crown, and the rights and privileges of the people, flowing from the two fore-mentioned articles, are the ground of all the laws that from time to time have been made by unanimous consent of king and people. The English government consists in the strict union of the king's prerogatives with the people's liberties. * * But when kings arose, as some there were, that aimed at absolute power, by changing the old, and making new laws, at pleasure; by imposing illegal taxes on the people; this excellent government being, in a manner, dissolved by these destructive measures, confusion and civil wars ensued, which some very wrongfully ascribe to the fickle and restless temper of the English.”--_Rapin's Preface to his History of England._
Hallam says that among the Saxons, ”the royal authority was weak.”--_2 Middle Ages_, 403.
But although the king himself had so little authority, that it cannot be supposed for a moment that his laws were regarded as imperative by the people, it has nevertheless been claimed, in modern times, by some who seem determined to find or make a precedent for the present legislative authority of parliament, that his laws were authoritative, _when a.s.sented to_ by the _Witena-gemote_, or a.s.sembly of wise men--that is, the bishops and barons. But this a.s.sembly evidently had no legislative power whatever. The king would occasionally invite the bishops and barons to meet him for consultation on public affairs, _simply as a council_, and not as a legislative body. Such as saw fit to attend, did so. If they were agreed upon what ought to be done, the king would pa.s.s a law accordingly, and the barons and bishops would then return and inform the people orally what laws had been pa.s.sed, and use their influence with them to induce them to conform to the law of the king, and the recommendation of the council. And the people no doubt were much more likely to accept a law of the king, if it had been approved by this council, than if it had not. But it was still only a law of the king, which they obeyed or disregarded according to their own notions of expediency. The numbers who usually attended this council were too small to admit of the supposition that they had any legislative authority whatever, to impose laws upon the people against their will.
Lingard says:
”It was necessary that the king should obtain the a.s.sent of these (the members of the Witena-gemotes) to all legislative enactments; _because, without their acquiescence and support, it was impossible to carry them into execution_. To many charters (laws) we have the signatures of the Witan. _They seldom exceed thirty in number; they never amount to sixty._”--_1 Lingard_, 486.