for the fame right the prefent king hath to the poffeffion, the next of blood hath to the fucceffion. Nay, I very much doubt if a king has a right or power to diveft himself of the government, and confer it upon his apparent fucceffor, while he lives and has power to discharge' his truft; for a king is appointed by God, not for himself, but for the good of the people; he is God's vicegerent, his visible representative here on earth, and has a charge and trust committed to him by God, for which he is accountable, neither can he diveft himself of it, till he who gave it discharges him of it.

Again, it is undeniable, in the opinion of all lawyers, that a king cannot in law alienate his crown, but that the deed is void; nor can he in law confent to an act of parliament, declaring that he should be the laft heir. He cannot legitimate a bastard in prejudice of former children, VOL. II. though

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though they have only but a hope of fucceffion; much lefs can he baftardize or difinherit the right heir, who is made by God, and honoured from him with that character. If then kings, how abfolute foever, cannot de jure invert the natural order of fucceffion, there is no reason that the estates of parliament should have fuch a power. For, by the known laws, they have no legislative power, otherwife than by affenting to what the king does; and all that their affent could do, would be no more than that they and their fucceffors fhould not oppose his administration, because of their confent; but that can never amount to a power of transferring. For, if the ftates of parliament had this power originally in themfelves to beftow, why might they not referve it for themselves, and fo perpetuate the government in their own hands? So judge Jenkin afferts, that, according to law,

law, no king can be named, or in any time made in this kingdom by the people, kings being before there were parliaments; for there is no good reason for their having a power to make kings, for then the monarchy fhould not be hereditary, but elective: The very effence of hereditary monarchy confifts in the right of fucceffion, whereas, if the parliament can prefer the next heir fave one, they may prefer the laft of all the line; and the fame reason by which they can chufe a fucceffor, (which can only be when they have power above him) should likewise justify their depofing of kings; as we saw in the last age, that fuch reafons as have been urged to incapacitate the children of King Charles from the fucceffion, viz. popery and arbitrary government, did embolden men to dethrone and murder the father, who was actually king. For if it were once yielded, that the houfes

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houses had a right alone in themselves to take care of the falus populi, that none but fuch princes fhould fucceed, who were approved of by the prevailing faction in their body, nothing but confufion would follow, one party having their votes feconded by force one time, and a quite contrary another, and yet all pretending the public weal; and fo a large breach fhould be made by pretending to ftop one dangerous fucceffor, to the inflowing of fucceffive ufurpers, and thereby the crown should not only be ambulatory, but unstable upon every head that wore it, and always in danger of a bloody furprise; till at laft the regalia being fecured from the expectant heir, the factious would find a way to pillage them from the present fovereign, and convert them into a mace for the house of commons.

A grave and learned author obferves, that no parliament can, by a compleat act, legally

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alter the fucceffion in an hereditary monarchy; but, if he had lived at this time, he must have said, what we now fay, Except for the heinous offence of Popery: His reasons are,

Ift, Because all kings and parliaments are fubordinate to the laws of God, the laws of nature, and the laws of nations; fo that unless we give the inferior power and ju rifdiction over the fuperior, no act of parliament can be binding to overturn what thofe laws have established. It is the voice of God and nature, That he who is next in blood to the deceased, has a right to his inheritance. This is allowed to flow from the laws of Nature, which every man finds. grafted in his own heart, and which is obeyed without any other law, and for which men neither fee nor can give any other diftinct reafon; all which holds in this cafe, for who doubts, when he hears of