William III and the Legalist Revolution
20 Pages Posted: 3 Nov 2011 Last revised: 3 Feb 2013
Date Written: November 3, 2000
Abstract
The new king recoiled from suggestions that he declare himself a conqueror, and his regime deviated from such legal protection as habeas corpus with the greatest reluctance. William was not content with the assent of the Lords to the calling of a convention. But with the reopening of the courts, it was to be expected that writs of habeas corpus would be sued out again. A bill was quickly proposed to allow the king to commit for two or three months such persons as he shall suspect to be obnoxious without the benefit of habeas corpus. The suspension of habeas corpus was, no doubt, a bitter remedy. The Whig and former Lord Mayor, Sir Robert Clayton, who supported it, noted that [h]ad it not been for the Habeas Corpus Act, there had not been many of us here now; we had been dead and rotten in prison. Clarges advised rather that great security should be demanded for the prisoners' appearance than that Bill [the Habeas Corpus Act] should be entrenched upon; a thing so sacred.
Keywords: Revolution
JEL Classification: K40
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation