tent
of time that the same parliament was allowed to sit, by the statute 6
W. & M. c. 2. was _three_ years; after the expiration of which,
reckoning from the return of the first summons, the parliament was to
have no longer continuance. But by the statute 1 Geo. I. st. 2. c. 38.
(in order, professedly, to prevent the great and continued expenses of
frequent elections, and the violent heats and animosities consequent
thereupon, and for the peace and security of the government then just
recovering from the late rebellion) this term was prolonged to _seven_
years; and, what alone is an instance of the vast authority of
parliament, the very same house, that was chosen for three years,
enacted it's own continuance for seven. So that, as our constitution
now stands, the parliament must expire, or die a natural death, at the
end of every seventh year; if not sooner dissolved by the royal
prerogative.

CHAPTER THE THIRD.

OF THE KING, AND HIS TITLE.

THE supreme executive power of these kingdoms is vested by our laws in
a single person, the king or queen: for it matters not to which sex
the crown descends; but the person entitled to it, whether male or
female, is immediately invested with all the ensigns, rights, and
prerogatives of sovereign power; as is declared by statute 1 Mar. st.
3. c. 1.

IN discoursing of the royal rights and authority, I shall consider the
king under six distinct views: 1. With regard to his title. 2. His
royal family. 3. His councils. 4. His duties. 5. His prerogative. 6.
His revenue. And, first, with regard to his title.

THE executive power of the English nation being vested in a single
person, by the general consent of the people, the evidence of which
general consent is long and immemorial usage, it became necessary to
the freedom and peace of the state, that a rule should be laid down,
uniform, universal, and permanent; in order to mark out with
precision, _who_ is that single person, to whom are committed (in
subservience to the law of the land) the care and protection of the
community; and to whom, in return, the duty and allegiance of every
individual are due. It is of the highest importance to the public
tranquillity, and to the consciences of private men, that this rule
should be clear and indisputable: and our constitution has not left us
in the dark upon this material occasion. It will therefore be the
endeavour of this chapter to trace out the constitutional doctrine of
th