Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAP. XXXVIII. WILLIAM III. TH E conftitution, upon theacc.effion of William to the crown, took a different form from what it had before. As his right to the crown was wholly from the choice of the people, they chofe to load the benefit with whatever fti- pulations they thought requiiite for their own fe- curity. His power, therefore, was limited on every fide; and the jealoufy which his new fub- jects entertained of foreigners ftill farther obflruct- ed the exercife of his authority. The power of the crown was acknowledged to flow from no other fountain than that of a contradl with the people. The reprefentatives of the nation made a regular claim of rights in K-half of their confti- tuents, which, previous to his coronation, William was obliged to confirm. This declaration of rights maintained, that the fjfpending and difpenfmg poweis, asex-rcifed by king James, were unconftituiional; that all courts of ecclefiaftical corr.miffion, the lev)ing money, or maintaining a flanding army in times of peace, without confent of parlian em; that grants of fines and forfeitures before conviction, and juries of perfons not qualified, or not fairly chofen; and, in trials for treafon, who were not freeholders, were all unlawful. It aflerted the freedom of election to parliament, the freedom of fpeech in parliament, and the right of the fubject. to bear arms, and to petition his fovereign. It provided, that exceffive bail fhould not be required, nor excef- five fines be impofed, nor cruel and unufual pu- nifhmentsbe infliited; and it concluded with an injunction that parliaments fhould be frequently ailcmbkd aflembled. Such was the bill of rights calculated to fecure the liberties of the people; but having been drawn up in a ferment, it bears all the marks of hafte, infufficic...