The National Register.
London, England, 1818-06-15 00:00:00

cpt 41,

No. 540.—V0t. XI.

ON ANNUAL PARLIAMENTS.

The following article is extracted from " The Voter's
Vademeeann," and as it is a subject which more par-
ticularly engages the attention at this time, it may nut
be iniaeeeptable to our readers
" Oa the important subject of Annual Parliaments,
which .‘leGranville Sharp affirms, are the ancient, in-
dirpensable, and most salutary rights of the Commons
of Great Britain, and which, he asserts, are necessary as
well for the security of the people, as the dignity and
safety of the Crown ; and without which, he adds,
pea,:e and good government cannot be maintained ; I
shall, Gentlemen, introduce to your observation an ex-
tract (which, though long, I ant sure, that on account
of its solid reasoning and conclusive deductions, not one
of you will deem misplaced), from that true patriot's
declaration of the people's natural rights to a share in
the legislature.'
" Sir Edward Coke.' observes this excellent man,
e in his 4th Institute, p. 9, speaking of the matters of
Parliament, says : Forasmuch us divers laws and sta-
tutes have been enacted and provided, that divers mis-
chiefs in particular, and divers grievances in general,
concerning the honour and safety of the King, the State,
and defence of the Kingdoine, and of the Church of
England, night be prevented, an excellent law was
made Anno Sd Ediv 111. c. to, which, being applied
to the saideWrits of Parliament, loth, in a lbw and
effectual words, set down the subject of a Parliament in
these words:
" For the maintenance of the said articles, and
statutes, and redress of di.- ers mischiefs and grievances,
which daily happen, a Pareiament shalt be holden every
year, as another time was ordained by a statute.
Which statute, here referred to, was made in the 4th
year of the same reign, cap. 14. Item,-it is accorded,
that a Parliament shall be holden every year once, and
more often, if need be: But Sir William Blactstone
supposes, that the King never was obliged, by these
statutes, to call a new Parliament every year; but only
to permit a Parliament to sit annually for the redress
of grievances, and dispatch of business, if need be
(I Com. c. 2, p. 153.)
" It is too true, indeed, that our kings. in general,
did not think themselves obliged, by these statutes,
(as they ought in conscience to have been, for the safety
of their souls), to call a new Parliament every year:'
ray, it is .:ortain, that many of them would never have
called a Parliament at all, had they not been obliged,
fat necessity anti the circumstances of the times. By
what authority could a representative in one Partiament
take his seat in the next annual Pariiament, without
re-eleetion, before any laws were made for lengthen-
ing the duration of Parliaments? And besides, if the
icing only permit a Parliament to sit annually,'
Ike. by what authority could the Parliament be con-
vened at all, under such a circumstance, seeing that a
mere perinisition to sit excludes the idea of a prorogation
from year to year ? However, the learned commentator
himself very justly observes, in a preceding page (150),
concerning the manner and tune of assembling, that
the Parliament is regularly to be summoned by the
King's Writ, or Letter, issued out of Chancery.' And
it is well ktiewth that these Writs are not addressed to
the knights, citizens, and burgesses, elected for any
s'ermer Parliament, but to the Sheriffs alone, to cause
Knights, Citizens, &c. to be elected ; for .vnen the said
Acts were made, such an absurdity in polities had never
been conceived in Et:gland, as that of trusting the
representation of the people, for a term of years, (as
at present), to the pets ins elected ! On the contrary,
when the business of eaeh Session was finished, the
l'atliament of course was at an end ; and therefore
Lord Coke did not peek in vain, when he mentioned
' the excellent law (viz. the Act for annual Parlia-
ments) being applied to the said Writs of Parliament,'
Lac. before recited.
" 4 A man of firl ranch good sense, learning, and
sidgment, as Sir William Blackston is master of, must
Le wall aware of the pernicious eflecis of mussing
representatives of the people with a legislative power,
beyond the constitutional tern of a single Session,
avitlinut re-elect:3n ; and therefore I cannot but be sur-
prised at the unguarded manner in which he has ex-
pressed himself in his comment on the two excellent
Statutes of Edward 111. for annual Parliaments ; viz.
that the King is not or ever was, obliged by these
statutes to call a new Parliament every year, &c.' He
has caused the word new to be printed in Italics, as if
te meant thereby to insinuate, that the :eels:attires cf