The Online Library of Liberty A Project Of Liberty Fund, Inc. Jean Louis De Lolme, The Constitution of England; Or, an Account of the English Government [1784] The Online Library Of Liberty This E-Book (PDF format) is published by Liberty Fund, Inc., a private, non-profit, educational foundation established in 1960 to encourage study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. 2010 was the 50th anniversary year of the founding of Liberty Fund. It is part of the Online Library of Liberty web site http://oll.libertyfund.org, which was established in 2004 in order to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. To find out more about the author or title, to use the site's powerful search engine, to see other titles in other formats (HTML, facsimile PDF), or to make use of the hundreds of essays, educational aids, and study guides, please visit the OLL web site. 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Author: Jean Louis De Lolme Introduction: David Lieberman About This Title: The Constitution of England is one of the most distinguished eighteenth-century treatises on English political liberty. In the vein of Charles Louis Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws (1748) and William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–1769), De Lolme’s account of the English system of government exercised an extensive influence on political debate in Britain, on constitutional design in the United States during the Founding era, and on the growth of liberal political thought throughout the nineteenth century. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 2 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/2089 Online Library of Liberty: The Constitution of England; Or, an Account of the English Government About Liberty Fund: Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. Copyright Information: The copyright to this edition, in both print and electronic forms, is held by Liberty Fund, Inc. Fair Use Statement: This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 3 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/2089 Online Library of Liberty: The Constitution of England; Or, an Account of the English Government Table Of Contents Introduction De Lolme’s Life and Early Writings The Constitution of England Later Writings Editions of the Constitution of England A Note On the Text Acknowledgments The Constitution of England To the King. Book I Chapter I: Causes of the Liberty of the English Nation.—reasons of the Difference Between the Government of England, and That of France.—in England, the Great Power of the Crown, Under the Norman Kings, Created an Union Between the Nobility and the People Chapter II: A Second Advantage England Had Over France:—it Formed One Undivided State. Chapter III: The Subject Continued. Chapter IV: Of the Legislative Power. Chapter V: Of the Executive Power. Chapter VI: The Boundaries Which the Constitution Has Set to the Royal Prerogative. Chapter VII: The Same Subject Continued. Chapter VIII: New Restrictions. Chapter IX: Of Private Liberty, Or the Liberty of Individuals. Chapter X 1: On the Law In Regard to Civil Matters, That Is Observed In England. Chapter Xi 1: The Subject Continued. the Courts of Equity. Chapter XII: Of Criminal Justice. Chapter XIII: The Subject Continued. Chapter XIV: The Subject Concluded.—laws Relative to Imprisonment. Book Ii Chapter I: Some Advantages Peculiar to the English Constitution. 1. The Unity of the Executive Power. Chapter II: The Subject Concluded.—the Executive Power Is More Easily Confined When It Is One. Chapter III: A Second Peculiarity.—the Division of the Legislative Power. Chapter IV: A Third Advantage Peculiar to the English Government. the Business of Proposing Laws, Lodged In the Hands of the People. Chapter V: In Which an Inquiry Is Made, Whether It Would Be an Advantage to Public Liberty, That the Laws Should Be Enacted By the Votes of the People At Large. Chapter VI: Advantages That Accrue to the People From Appointing Representatives. PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 4 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/2089 Online Library of Liberty: The Constitution of England; Or, an Account of the English Government Chapter VII: The Subject Continued—the Advantages That Accrue to the People From Their Appointing Representatives, Are Very Inconsiderable, Unless They Also Entirely Trust Their Legislative Authority to Them. Chapter VIII: The Subject Concluded.—effects That Have Resulted, In the English Government, From the People’s Power Being Completely Delegated to Their Representatives. Chapter IX: A Farther Disadvantage of Republican Governments.—the People Are Necessarily Betrayed By Those In Whom They Trust. Chapter X: Fundamental Difference Between the English Government, and the Governments Just Described.—in England All Executive Authority Is Placed Out of the Hands of Those In Whom the People Trust. Usefulness of the Power of the Crown. Chapter XI: The Powers Which the People Themselves Exercise.—the Election of Members of Parliament. Chapter XII: The Subject Continued.—liberty of the Press. Chapter XIII: The Subject Continued. Chapter XIV: Right of Resistance. Chapter Xv 1: Proofs Drawn From Facts, of the Truth of the Principles Laid Down In the Present Work.—1. the Peculiar Manner In Which Revolutions Have Always Been Concluded In England. Chapter Xvi 1: Second Difference—the Manner After Which the Laws For the Liberty of the Subject Are Executed In England. Chapter Xvii 1: A More Inward View of the English Government Than Has Hitherto Been Offered to the Reader In the Course of This Work.—very Essential Differences Between the English Monarchy, As a Monarchy, and All Those With Which We Are Acquainted. Chapter XVIII: How Far the Examples of Nations Who Have Lost Their Liberty, Are Applicable to England. Chapter Xix 1: A Few Additional Thoughts On the Attempts That At Particular Times May Be Made to Abridge the Power of the Crown, and On Some of the Dangers By Which Such Attempts May Be Attended. Chapter Xx 1: A Few Additional Observations On the Right of Taxation Which Is Lodged In the Hands of the Representatives of the People. What Kind of Danger This Right May Be Exposed To. Chapter XXI: Conclusion.—a Few Words On the Nature of the Divisions That Take Place In England. Guide to Further Reading Bibliography De Lolme’s Principal Publications Works Cited By De Lolme Classical Sources Modern Sources natural law and enlightenment classics Knud Haakonssen General Editor PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 5 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/2089 Online Library of Liberty: The Constitution of England; Or, an Account of the English Government lfDeLolme_figure_001 Jean Louis De Lolme PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 6 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/2089 Online Library of Liberty: The Constitution of England; Or, an Account of the English Government [Back to Table of Contents] INTRODUCTION Jean Louis De Lolme’s The Constitution of England, which first appeared in French in 1771, was a major contribution to eighteenth-century constitutional theory and enjoyed wide currency in and beyond the eras of the American and French Revolutions. Its authority and judgment were invoked in parliamentary debate and in partisan political polemic. John Adams, the American revolutionary leader, constitutional advocate, and later president, praised the work as “the best defence of the political balance of three powers that ever was written.”1 Even De Lolme’s contemporary critics were forced to acknowledge “a work which has been honored with the public approbation and which certainly possesses great merit.”2 Notwithstanding the reputation and influence that The Constitution of England earned its author, the details of De Lolme’s life remain poorly documented. We rely chiefly on the scanty biographical information provided in his publications and the anecdotal and variable reminiscences assembled by others in the years following his death in 1806.3 PLL v6.0 (generated September, 2011) 7 http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/2089 Online Library of Liberty: The Constitution of England; Or, an Account of the English Government [Back to Table of Contents] De Lolme’S Life And Early Writings De Lolme was born in Geneva in 1741. The title page of the 1784 edition of The Constitution of England distinguished him as a “Member of the Council of the Two Hundred in the Republic of Geneva.” Service on this political body placed De Lolme within the ranks of Geneva’s most prominent families. By reputation a brilliant student, he followed family tradition and was trained in the law, beginning his professional career in the 1760s, first as a notary and later as an advocate.