168. imply, that it was their Lordships Opinion, That the Throne was vacant, and to fignify fo much to the People of this Kingdom. And 30ly, That it is from those who are upon the Throne of England (when there are any fuch) from whom the People of England ought to receive Protection, and to whom, for that Caufe, they owe the Allegiance of Subjects; but there being none now from whom they expected Regal Protection, and to whom, for that Caufe, they owed the Allegiance of Subjects, the Commons conceiv'd, the Throne was vacant. Thereupon it was refolv'd that the Earl of Wiltshire fhould defire a Conference with the Lords, upon the Subject Matter of the Amendments, which their Lordfhips having readily confented to, the Commons appointed the fame Committee that had prepar'd the foregoing Reafons, to be the Managers of the faid Conference.

Febr. 5.

The next day Mr. Hamden reported from the Reafons of Conference with the Lords, that the Earl of Notthe Lords tingham fpoke to this effect: "That the Lords for infifting had defir'd this Conference, that they might be on their A as happily united to the Commons in Opinion, mendments. as they were infeparable in their Intereft; and

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"that they were at this time uneafy, that they could "not concur with the Commons in every thing, be"caufe it was of fo great a Concern to the Nation, "and from fo great and wife a Body. That the "Lords did infift upon the firft Amendment, be"caufe they did not find that the Word Abdicated "was a Word known to the Common Law of Eng"land; and because in the most common Accepta"tion of the Civil Law, Abdicated was a voluntary "exprefs Act of Renunciation, which was not in "this cafe, and did not follow from the Premifes, "That King James II. by having withdrawn himself, after having endeavour'd to fubvert the Conftitution of the Government, by breaking the Original Con"tract between King and People, might be more properly faid to have Abdicated than Deferted. That "the Lords alfo infifted on the fecond Amendment, "for altho' their Lordships had agreed, that the King had deferted the Government, and therefore had made Application to the Prince of Orange

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to take upon him the Administration of the Govern- 1683. 66 ment, yet there could be no other Inference "drawn from hence, but only that the Exercise of "the Government by King James the Second was "feiz'd; fo as the Lords were willing to fecure "the Nation against the Return of the faid King "into this Kingdom; but not that here was either fuch an Abdication by him, or fuch a Vacancy in "the Throne, as that the Crown was therefore become Elective, which they could not agree to. "Ift. Because, by the Conftitution of the Government, the "Monarchy is Hereditary, and not Elective. 2dly, "Because no Act of the King can Bar, or deftroy "the Right of his Heirs to the Crown; and therefore, in Answer to the third Reafon alledg'd by "the Houfe of Commons, if the Throne be vacant of King James II. Allegiance was due to fuch Perfon, as the Right of Succeffion did belong to.

tween the

the Throne.

Mr. Hamden having made his Report of the late The memo Conference, the Question was put, Whether the Com-rable Demons fhould concur with the Lords? As to the first bate beAmendment, the Negative carried it with great Lords and Unanimity; but the 2d. occafion'd a long and warm the ComDebate, till, upon Divifion, 151 only were found mons, rela for the Affirmative, against 282 who were for the ting to the Negative. Thereupon Dr. Dolbin was Order'd to Word Abdefire a free Conference with the Lords, and the dicated, following 24 Perfons were Nominated to manage and the Vafor the Commons, viz. Sir Robert Howard, Mr. Po-Cancy of lexfen, Mr. Paul Foley, Serjeant Maynard, Serjeant Febr. 6. Holt, Lord Faukland, Sir George Treby, Mr. Sommers, Mr. Garraway, Mr. Bofcawen, Sir Thomas Littleton, Mr. Palmer, Mr. Hamden, Sir Henry Capel, Sir Thomas Lee, Mr. Secheveril, Major Wildman, Colonel Birch, Mr. Ayres, Sir Richard Temple, Sir Henry Goodrick, Mr. Waller, and Sir John Guyes; all Men of known Parts and Abilities. The Lords agreed to the Conference, and Appointed for their chief Managers the Earls of Nottingham, Clarendon, Rochester, Pembroke, the Bishop of Ely, and fome others.

The Managers of both Houfes being Met in the Painted Chamber, Mr. Hamden open'd the Confe- Mr. Ham

rence,

den.

1683

mers.

rence, by Saying, "That the Commons had de"fir'd it, that they might make it appear, that they "had fufficient Reafon to maintain their own "Vote: That it was a Matter of the greatest Con

cernment to the Kingdom, and the Proteftant "Intereft, that there be a good Iffue of the Bufinefs "now in Debate between both Houfes. That the

prefent Difference was only about a few Words, "but that the Commons thought their Words fo "fignificant, and fo proper to the Cafe to which they were apply'd, that in fo weighty a Mat

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ter, as that now in Debate, they were by no "means to be parted with: That the Word Ab"dicated was of larger fignification than the Word "Deferted, but not too large to be apply'd to all "the Recitals in the Beginning of the Commons "Vote; and that it ought not to be reftrain'd to "a voluntary exprefs Refignation, only in Word or Writing, there being overt-Acts that would be "fignificant enough to amount to it. That if the "Common Law of England be not acquainted with "the Word, 'twas from the Modesty of our Law, "that is not willing to fuppofe there fhould be a"ny unfortunate Occafion of making ufe of it. "That as to the fecond Amendment, the Commons conceiv'd, That the Throne is vacant, was

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no new Phrafe, neither did they think it charge"able with the Confequences that their Lordfhips "drew from it, That it would make the Crown of Eng"land become Elective. That if the Throne had "been full, the Lords would have affign'd that as "a Reafon of the Difagreement, by telling the "Commons who fill'd it. That it would be known "by fome publick Royal Act, which might notify

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to the People in whom the Kingly Government "refided: Neither of which had been done, and yet "their Lordships would not allow the Throne to be Mr. Som- " vacant. Mr. Sommers fpoke next, and maintain'd with a great deal of Skill and Erudition; that "if it was an Objection against the Word Abdicated, its not having a known Senfe in the Common Law of England, there was the fame Obje ❝tion against the Word Deferted, fince there could

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be

દ

66

be no Authority, or Book of Law produc'd, 1683. "wherein any determin'd Senfe was given to the "Word Deferted; fo that their Lordships firft Reafon had the fame Force against their own Amendment, as it had against the Term us'd by the Commons. He urg'd, that the Words were both Latin, and us'd in the beft Authors, and both of a known fignification, tho' their meaning be not "the fame. That the word Abdicate did naturally "and properly fignify, Entirely to renounce, throw off, difown, relinquifh any Thing or Perfon, fo as to have "no further to do with it, and that, whether it be "done by exprefs Words, or in Writing, (which was "the Sence the Lords had put upon it, and which was properly call'd, Refignation or Ceafion) or, by doing fuch Acts as are inconfiftent with the holding or 66 retaining of the Thing, which the Commons took ' to be the prefent Cafe, and therefore made choice "of the Word Abdicate, as that which they thought

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tr

De Verbo

did, above all others, most properly exprefs* De Jure "that meaning. That in this latter fence it was Belli & Pa "taken by others, and that it was the true fignifi- cis 1.2.c 4. "cation of the Word, he fhew'd it out of * Grotius, §. 4. and 1. Calvin, Brifonius, † Budeus, and * Praleius. I.C.4.§.9. "As to the word Deferted he faid; That it had Lexicon "not only a very doubtful Signification, but in the Juridicum. "common Acceptance, both of the Civil and Ca- rum fignifi "non-Law, it did fignify only a bare Withdrawing, catione. "a temporary Quitting of a Thing, and neglect only,† Comment. "which leaves the Party at liberty of returning to it ad legem again; and made it appear out of Spigelius in his 2m.de ori* Lexicon, and Bartolus, That that is call'd De-gine Juris. Sertion, which is temporary and relievable, and that Lexicon Dereliction, where there is no Power or Right to reFurther, he faid, that the word Defert is 8th.Law of ❝us'd in the Civil Law for Soldiers leaving their the 58th. "Colours; and that in the Cannon-Law, to Defert a Title of "Benefice, fignified no more than to be Non-refident, the 11th. "that in both Cafes the Party had not only a Right Book of the of Returning, but is bound to return again; which, Code.

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turn.

66 as the Commons did not take to be the prefent es Cafe, fo they could not think that their Lordships did, because it was exprefly faid in one of their

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Reafons,

*

Juris.

† On the

168. "Reafons, given in Defence of the laft Amendment, "That the Lords had been, and were willing, to fecure

Serjeant Holt.

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the Nation against the Return of King James, which "their Lordships could not, in Jultice, do, if they "did look upon it no more than a negligent Withdrawing, which leaves a liberty to the Party to 66 return. That for thefe Reafons the Commons "could not agree to the firft Amendment, becaufe "the word Deferted did not, in any fort, come up "to their fence of the Thing, neither did it reach "their Lordships meaning, as it was exprefs'd in "their Reafons: Whereas the word Abdicated did "exprefs properly what was to be inferr'd from "that part of the Vote to which their Lordships "had agreed, That King James II. by going about to "Subvert the Conftitution, &c. had thereby renounc'd "to be a King, according to the Constitution, "by avowing to Govern by a Defpotick Power, "unknown to the Conftitution, and inconfiftent "with it. That he had renounc'd to be a King "according to Law, fuch a King as he Swore to be

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at his Coronation, fuch a King to whom the Alle"giance of an English-man is due, and had fet up ano"ther kind of Dominion, which was to all intents an Abdication, or Abandoning his Legal Title, as fully as "if it had been done by exprefs Words. Mr.Serj.Holt "back'd what had already been alledg'd,adding, That "the Lords Objection, that the Word Abdicated

was not known to the Common Law of England, "could be of no Force, fince we have very few "Words in our Tongue that are of equal Antiquity "with the Common-Law. And that the English 66 Language was so much alter'd in the feveral Suc"ceflions of Time, and the intermixture of other "Nations, that if they fhould be oblig'd to make "ufe only of Words then known and in ufe, what "they fhould deliver in fuck a Dialect would be "very difficult to be understood. As for the Lords "fecond Reafon for their firft Amendment, viz. "That in the most common Acceptation of the Civil "Law, Abdication is a voluntary exprefs Act of Re"nuntiation. He own'd that to be the general Ap"ceptation of the Word, and that he thought the "Commons