The sun., 1918-07-18

Magma Charta, is not confined "a ~.
nobility; in every class Of society sr
accused man Is punished in accortanc.
with the verdict Of his peers. a,
equals"
Quite enough, we might well thin,
to make the Charter something n.E
rosanct," especially in view OF the an.
of its adoption.
But Mr.. Hollands paramount ofYenc.
is in the statement that the pro,,.
sions protecting the villeins do ~
because they are property"
There is in the Charter. from BARN.
ming to end. no one word dealing with
or pointing to the villeins as propsr-,
(which. as above remarked, they WOW.
In a qualified sense only, and n.
only direct reference to them /, /,
Article 20. revision and expan.,or
Of Article 8 of those submitted by IN,
Barons, and which is as follows.
"A freeman shall only be arnercu
for a small offence after the mannsro a.
the offence, for a great crime accord.
ing to the Nervousness OF 1t. saving
to him his confinement; and after the
same manner, merchant saving Nj,
merchandise, and ,Illein Saving NJ,
raindoe; the amercements IN al cas,,
to be assessed by the odths Of Moment
men of the neiOhbourhood'
Now, Confinement" means s.hr
which is connected with a tenement
or thing holden, as a certain portion
Of land adjacent to a dwelling nec...
sary to its reputable enjoyment tina,
Is, necessary to enable freeman IN
maintain his station in life, and "ya,n.
age" means "the team and implement,
necessary for the cultivation OF land"
that Is, necessary to enable the villeln
to render the service which is the con.
sideration for his maintenance on tire
land Of his master, in other words, NJ,
livelihood. Wherefore. unhes,,a
tingly rate this Article 20 as clearly
one of the precious enunciatlons'
characterized by Stubs: for although
dealing in terms with the levyinr o,
fines. the article is plainly the direc,
II remote, ancestor OF the Homestead
and other exemptions now universal
among all peoples having the English
ldW as n heritage.
And surely II is not a reproach I.
the Barons of the thirteenth century
that the Charter establishes none c,
the conceptions OF the twentieth.
Consider for moment our own
Declaration of Independence and Con.
stitution, each. in the opinion OF al
surely something sacrosanct" Doe
cause, while stating that all men are
born free and equal" it did not mean
that slaves were so? And Is the Con.
stitution any the less venerable BE-.
cause 1t not only did not deal with
slaves as on a footing with the tree
but also went further in that 1) I.
forhad the prohibition OF their m!gra.
ton or importation for twenty years
and (2) 1t provided that, although
recognized property, they should Re
included, in a ratio of three flfths q,
their number, in the basis Of represen.
tation In The popular branch Of Con.
gress, and this together with all linden.
tured servants? c'tf1ose bound to ser.
vice for term of years''). Are our
Colonial Fathers" to be excused r..
cause they did not previse the con.
ceptions OF later generation" an
the Barons OF Runnymede 20 Re
damned for the same reason?
Buckle. the English historian avs
of the Declaration OF Indepeniencs
q Hist Civ. in Eng. 4l6l. that e.
ought to he hung up in the nurse ,
Of every king, and blazoned on the
porch of every royal palace"
And surely it may be permitted a..
other English historian (S.uhhs
Const Hist. of Eng. 543). to say u
Magma Charta: THE Great Char ?
Is then the act Of the united na'.o.
the church. the harons and the c'' g..
mons, for the first time thorough. .
one. 1t is in form only the act o, "a
King: in substance and in historlr
position 1t is the first effort O. a On ..
porate life that has reached fun COZ.
seriousness. resolved to act FOR Use Z
and able to carry out the resolution
AS such Is II not worthy OF Venor..
ton as truly something sacrosa0.' .
and Is not lfallam justified in dessr..
ing it as still the keystone OF Fms.
fish liberty" and saying that II" "ur.
grateful suspicious" OF the motives :
the Barons who wrung II from a 9.
rannical king, when brought To ~
test. prove destitute of all rcasonaNa
foundations HENRY f DAVIS
WASHINGTON. d. c., July Il