The Law is to have a Soul in it, or it is a dead thing. The King is by his Sovereign Power to add Warmth and Vigour to the meaning of the Law. We are by no means to imagine there is such an Antipathy between them, that the Prerogative, like a Basilisk, is to kill the Law, whenever it looks upon it.
The Prince hath very rarely use of his Prerogative, but hath constantly a great Advantage by the Laws.
They attribute to the Pope indeed, that all the Laws of the Church are in his Breast; but then he hath the Holy Ghost for his learned Counsel, &c.
The People’s Obedience must be plain, and without Evasions. The Prince’s Prerogative should be so too.
King Charles the First made this Answer to the Petition of Right, (to the Observation whereof he held himself obliged in Conscience, as well as of his Prerogative.) “That the People’s Liberties strengthen the King’s Prerogative, and the King’s Prerogative is to defend the People’s Liberties.”
That Prince’s Declarations allow the Original of Government to come from the People. Prerogative never yet pretended to repealing.
The first ground of Prerogative was to enable the Prince to do good, not to do every thing.
If the ground of a King’s desire of Power be his assurance of himself that he will do no hurt by it; is it not an Argument for Subjects to desire to keep that which they will never abuse?
It must not be such a Prerogative as giveth the Government the Rickets; all the Nourishment to go to the upper part, and the lower starved.
As a Prince is in danger who calleth a stronger than himself to his Assistance; so when Prerogative useth Necessity for an Argument, it calleth in a stronger thing than itself. The same Reason may overturn it. Necessity too is so plain a thing, that every body sees it, so that the Magistrate hath no great privilege in being the Judge of it. Necessity therefore is a dangerous Argument for Princes, since (wherever it is real) it constitutes every Man a Magistrate, and gives as great a Power of dispensing to every private Man, as a Prince can claim.