date

[…?] June 1811 H Abdication
[…?] June 1811 H

Abdication

Remedy

52

H. of I.[?] not an ordinary Corporation. J.B. advises[?] in Procedure on B.R. that every man has a remedy: this […?] not being the remedy we must look out for some other .

{Now then, too, as to the great /capital/ trust in question whether it be or be not in this sense abdicated by a large majority of the whole body, and therefore by the whole body itself, habitually and constantly abdicated}

Such being the disorder /state/, now, Sir, as to the remedy.

Speaking of a corporation, the disorder consisting as above is this that[?] viz. that “the condition upon which it” (the ‘body politic’) “was incorporated has been ‘broken’”, “and thereupon the incorporation is” (i.e. has become) ‘void’ - “the regular course” (says Blackstone) “is to bring an information in the nature of a Writ of Quo Warranto, to inquire by what warrant the Members now exercise their corporate power, having forfeited it by such and such proceedings.”
Similar Items
  • Title: [[part in copyist’s hand] 18 June 1811]
    Description: [part in copyist’s hand]

    18 June 1811

    Parl. Reform

    Fallacies[?]

    Abdication

    […?] no viz[?] […?]

    What I do not mean is by any of these cases[?] has now a perfection[?] to call upon L d Ellenborough be a Quo Warranto to imply be of […?].

    Blackstone’s Commentaries Book I, Ch.18. Of Persons, p.473.

    “A Corporation may be dissolved .... 3. By surrender of the franchises into the hands of the King, which is a kind of suicide; 4. By forfeiture of its Charter, through negligence or abuse of its franchises; in which case the law judges that the body politic has broken, the condition upon which it were incorporated, and thereupon the incorporation is void. And the regular course is to bring anent[?] information in the nature of a writ of Quo Warranto to enquire by what warrant the Members now exercise their corporate power, having forfeited it by such and such proceedings.”

    Blackstone’s Commentaries Book II, Ch. 10.

    Estates upon Condition.

    “Estates upon condition imputed in law, are where a grant of an estate has a condition annexed to it inseparably, from its essence and constitution, although no condition be expressed in words. As if a grant be made to a man of an office, generally without adding other words; the law tacitly annexes hereto a secret condition, that the grantee shall duly execute his office (b), on breach of which condition it is lawful for the grantor or his heirs, to oust him, and grant it to another person c. For an Office, either public or private, may be forfeited by mis-user or non-user; both of which are breaches of this implied condition. 1. By mis-user, or abuse; as if a judge takes a bribe, or a park-keeper kills deer without authority; 2. By non-user or neglect; which in public offices, that concern the administration of justice or the commonwealth, is of itself a direct and immediate cause of forfeiture: but non-user of a private office is no cause of forfeiture, unless some special damage is proved to be occasioned thereby. d

    For in the one /that/ case delay must necessarily be occasioned in the affairs of the public, which require a constant attention, but private office not requiring so regular and unremitted a service, the temporary neglect of them is not necessarily productive of mischief; upon which account some special loss must be proved, in order to vacate these.”

    (b) Lett §.378

    c Lett. §.379

    d Co. Lett. 233

    [Marginal entries:]

    Words of the Scotch Convention as per Hume VIII 309

    That King James, by his mal-administration and his abuse of power had forfeited all title to the Crown “... they” accordingly “made a tender of the royal dignity to the Power of Kings[?]”

    Words of the Two English Houses of Parliament p310.

    That King James 2. having endeavoured to controul[?] the constitution of the kingdom, by breaking the original contract between King and People; and having, by the advice of Jesuits and other wicked persons, violated the fundamental laws, and withdrawn himself out of the Kingdom, has abdicated the Government, and that the throne is thereby vacant.

    Amendment given up by the Lords For abdicated - deserted.
  • Title: [19 June 1811 Abdication Blackstone]
    Description: 19 June 1811

    Abdication

    Blackstone

    5

    9

    35

    The doctrine thus delivered is as from so pure and unexceptionable a source, let us apply it to the case of the Honourable House.

    No office consists in a share of the supreme power in the state, and forasmuch as among the duties of it is that of superintending the conduct of the holder of that other branch of the supreme power which in one /some/ points of view may be said to be the highest, it is not without its pretensions to the character /stile and title/ of the highest also.

    Now, Sir in relation to this office of supreme controul, the position /positions/ I have to maintain is /are/ that by the present holders of it, it has been forfeited, forfeited both /not only/ by misuser and non-user: forfeited and not only forfeited but moreover abdicated: by misuser /non-user/ as well as by non-user /mis-user/ forfeited, by non-user not only forfeited but abdicated beyond all descent: forfeited and abdicated, not to speak of that other mode of {dereliction} which to some eyes might seem applicable to the purpose and which consists in the “surrender of its franchises into the hands of the King, which,” according to our Commentator “is a kind of suicide”.
  • Title: [20 June 1811 A.2. Abdication]
    Description: 20 June 1811 A.2.

    Abdication

    Positives[?]

    1

    3

    3

    So much for the misguided King.

    In regard to the Honourable House, the proposition /propositions/ which on the present occasion I have to submitt to the consideration of the people, is - 1 that, as to their /its/ /the exercise of its/ share of the supreme power, the Honourable House has not only forfeited but abdicated it: 2 and that for the filling up of the gap thus made, it is high time for the people, in conjunction with the two other branches of the supreme power, for the people acting by and for this purpose, making use of the Honourable House in its present form, for the people, following the example /proceeding upon the pattern/, set as will be seen by the Honourable House itself, to organize /provide /take measures/ for the organizing/ upon constitutional grounds, a succedaneum to the Honourable House - a new House so composed as to preserve it from that line /course/ of conduct by which the pernicious effects /results/ indicated as above by the terms forfeited and abdicated have been /were/ brought about.

    By an habitually efficient majority - I speak of the habitually dependent and consequently /thence habitually/ corrupt part this trust the highest of trusts has, I say, taking even Blackstone for Judge become forfeited: - by the non-attendant part constituting almost always a vast majority, it is I say taking the decision from the same Judge abdicated - repeatedly and almost constantly abdicated /-dicated - for and during this last half-century - it being needless to go any higher repeatedly and by one continued and continued and habitual act carried on without abdication, abdicated./