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THE ENGLISH CONSTITUTION - by The Magna Carta Society IN THE ANGLO SAXON WORLD WE HAVE FOR CENTURIES FOUGHT HARD TO PROTECT THE FREEDOMS THAT ARE NECESSARY TO AFFORD OUR PEOPLES THAT FEELING OF SECURITY AND CONTENTMENT THAT ALLOWS A STATE OF HAPPINESS TO EXIST. WE ARE REMINDED OF THE MAGNA CARTA, THE BILL OF RIGHTS OF 1688, AND THE AMERICAN DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE FROM WHICH CAME THOSE WELL KNOWN WORDS ‘LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS’. IN OUR DEFENCE AGAINST OUR PRESENT ENEMIES, WHO WOULD FOR PERSONAL ADVANTAGE DESTROY THE HAPPINESS AND WELLBEING OF MANY, WE MUST USE THOSE LAWS WHICH OUR FOREBEARS SO WISELY INSTITUTED FOR OUR PROTECTION. If a nation is not sovereign, the people are slaves. Throughout history there has never been a nation state which has not, first and foremost, been concerned with preserving autonomy. However, England is the only country with sufficient political and legislative maturity to have discovered that the sovereignty of the individual is the core of national independence. The imposition of foreign rule ensures slavery; the removal of individual freedoms ensures dominance by an over mighty and ultimately self-justifying government, which need no longer pay lip service to democracy. In itself, the latter is a form of rule foreign to the English people. The English way of freedom began with the customs of Anglo-Saxon common law, these being accepted in principle and given specific recognition by The Magna Carta of 1215. So said Blackstone (1723 – 1780) in his commentaries on the laws of England: “The rights or…liberties of Englishmen…consist primarily in the free enjoyment of personal security, of personal liberty and of private property…To vindicate these rights, when actually violated or attacked, the subjects of England are entitled, in the first place, to the regular administration and free course of justice in the courts of law; next, to the right of petitioning the King and parliament for redress of grievances; and lastly, to the right of having and using arms for self-preservation and defence”. “And all these rights and liberties it is our birthright to enjoy entire; unless where the laws of our country have laid them under necessary restraints…so gentle and moderate…that no man of sense or probity would wish to see them slackened”. The Magna Carta protected ordinary people: “And the city of London shall have all its ancient liberties and free customs… furthermore, we decree and grant that all other cities, boroughs, towns and ports shall have all their liberties and free customs”. “If anyone has been dispossessed or removed by us, without the legal judgment of his peers, from his lands, castles, franchises, or from his right, we will immediately restore them to him; and if a dispute arise over this, then let it be decided by the five and twenty barons of whom mention is made below in the clause for securing peace”. Edward I confirmed the Great Charter in 1297, as had Henry III before him: “…it shall be lawful for everyone in our realm to rise against us and use all the ways and means they can to hinder us…that each and every one shall be bound by our command…so that they shall in no way give attention to us but that they shall do everything that aims at our injury and shall in no way be bound to us until that in which we have transgressed and offenced shall have been by a fitting satisfaction brought again in due state…this having been done let them be obedient to us as they were before.” About Sovereignty As the sovereignty of the individual is protected by the sovereignty of the state the endurance of that freedom can be seen through the ages. In the time of Elizabeth I, the 37th of the 39 Articles of Religion made the point: “The Queen’s Majesty…is not, and ought not to be, subject to any foreign jurisdiction”. The Act of Supremacy of 1559 specifically protected the English from foreign dictatorship: “…all usurped and foreign power and authority…may forever be clearly extinguished, and never used or obeyed in this realm. …no foreign prince, person, prelate, state or potentate…shall at any time after the last day of this session of Parliament, use, enjoy or exercise any manner of power, jurisdiction, superiority, authority, preeminence or privilege…within this realm, but that henceforth the same shall be clearly abolished out of this realm for ever.” The Declaration of Rights of 1688 repeated and reinforced the Act of Supremacy and, like The Magna Carta, was a treaty between the Monarch and the People and therefore beyond the power of parliament to amend or repeal. It is still in force. The Bill of Rights of 1689 yet further strengthened the Declaration of Rights – and specifically pointed out that Parliament was responsible to the people. Sir Robert Howard, who helped to draft the Bill of Rights and was a member of the Convention Parliament, was very specific: “The people have always had the same title to their liberties and properties that England’s kings have had unto their crowns. The several charters of the people’s rights, most particularly The Magna Carta were not grants from the King, but recognitions by the King of rights that have been reserved or that appertained unto us by common law and immemorial custom”. The Bill of Rights ensured that such common law and immemorial custom were to be honoured… “in all time to come.” What is more, the English people have an obligation to preserve their rights, both at a personal level and with regard to society in general. To allow any abrogation of those rights at any time will deny those same rights to generations of Englishmen as yet unborn. There is a constitutional right to self-defence. As John Locke said: “The right of self-defence is the first law of nature... When the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any colour or pretext whatsoever prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of extinction”. Locke’s point is a good example of political philosophy facing reality. To be free the individual has to be able to exercise, and in fact, demonstrate his freedom as a reminder to those who run the machinery of state. As a result, in England the state serves the people, whereas the European tradition is for the people to remain the vassals of the state. In other words, to appreciate the fresh air of freedom the individual has to be aware of the opportunities that are his right. It is our duty to spread that awareness. Adapted from the work of the Magna Carta Society |
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