what it was worth in the laſt century, we muſt acknowlege theſe complaints to be void of any rational foundation; and that it is impoſſible to ſupport that dignity, which a king of Great Britain ſhould maintain, with an income in any degree leſs than what is now eſtabliſhed by parliament.
This finiſhes our enquiries into the fiſcal prerogatives of the king; or his revenue, both ordinary and extraordinary. We have therefore now chalked out all the principal outlines of this vail title of the law, the ſupreme executive magistrate, or the king's majeſty, conſidered in his ſeveral capacities and points of view. But, before we intirely diſmiſs this ſubject, it may not be improper to take a ſhort comparative review of the power of the executive magiſtrate, or prerogative of the crown, as it ſtood in former days, and as it ſtands at preſent. And we cannot but obſerve, that moſt of the laws for aſcertaining, limiting, and reſtraining this prerogative have been made within the compaſs of little more than a century paſt; from the petition of right in 3 Car. I. to the preſent time. So that the powers of the crown are now to all appearance greatly curtailed and diminiſhed ſince the reign of king James the firſt: particularly, by the abolition of the ſtar chamber and high commiſſion courts in the reign of Charles the firſt, and by the diſclaiming of martial law, and the power of levying taxes on the ſubject, by the ſame prince: by the diſuſe of foreſt laws for a century paſt: and by the many excellent proviſions enacted under Charles the ſecond; eſpecially, the abolition of military tenures, purveyance, and pre-emption; the habeas corpus act; and the act to prevent the diſcontinuance of parliaments for above three years: and, ſince the revolution, by the ſtrong and emphatical words in which our liberties are aſſerted in the bill of rights, and act of ſettlement; by the act for triennial, ſince turned into ſeptennial, elections; by the excluſion of certain officers from the houſe of commons; by rendering the ſeats of the judges permanent, and their ſalaries independent; and by reſtraining the king's pardon from being pleaded to parliamentary impeachments. Beſides all this, if we conſider how the
