[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.