The English ConstitutionA classic study of the British constitution, paying special attention to how Parliament and the monarchy work. The author frequently draws comparisons with the American Constitution, being generally critical of the American system of government. |
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Page l
When the first edition of this book was published I had great difficulty in
persuading many people that it was possible for a non - monarchical state , for
the real chief of the practical Executive - the Premier as we should call him — to
be ...
When the first edition of this book was published I had great difficulty in
persuading many people that it was possible for a non - monarchical state , for
the real chief of the practical Executive - the Premier as we should call him — to
be ...
Page li
No one can any longer doubt the possibility of a republic in which the Executive
and the Legislative authorities were united and fixed ; no one can assert such
union to be the incommunicable attribute of a Constitutional Monarchy .
No one can any longer doubt the possibility of a republic in which the Executive
and the Legislative authorities were united and fixed ; no one can assert such
union to be the incommunicable attribute of a Constitutional Monarchy .
Page liii
The experiment of a strictly Parliamentary Republic - of a Republic where the
Parliament appoints the Executive - is being tried in France at an extreme
disadvantage , because in France a Parliament is unusually likely to be bad , and
...
The experiment of a strictly Parliamentary Republic - of a Republic where the
Parliament appoints the Executive - is being tried in France at an extreme
disadvantage , because in France a Parliament is unusually likely to be bad , and
...
Page lvi
My great object was to contrast the office of President as an executive officer and
to compare it with that of a Prime Minister ; and I devoted much space to showing
that in one principal respect the English system is by far the best . The English ...
My great object was to contrast the office of President as an executive officer and
to compare it with that of a Prime Minister ; and I devoted much space to showing
that in one principal respect the English system is by far the best . The English ...
Page lvii
Nothing could be so conclusive against the American Constitution , as a
Constitution , as that incident . A hostile legislature and a hostile executive were
so tied together , that the legislature tried INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND
EDITION . lvii.
Nothing could be so conclusive against the American Constitution , as a
Constitution , as that incident . A hostile legislature and a hostile executive were
so tied together , that the legislature tried INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND
EDITION . lvii.
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - patito-de-hule - LibraryThingWalter Bagehot was editor of the Economist and his name is still on the weekly page about England. This book describes the English Constitution and compares it favorably with the United States Constitution. Read full review
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Common terms and phrases
able action administration American arguments assembly authority believe better body cabinet cabinet government chamber choose constitution course critical Crown defect difficulty discussion educated effect election England English equal executive existence experience fact feeling force foreign function George give greatest head House of Commons House of Lords ideas important influence interest keep king leader least legislation legislature less live look majority matter means ment mind minister ministry monarch nation nature never object once opinion opposition Parliament parliamentary government party peers perhaps persons political popular possible present President principle probably Queen questions reason representatives respect result rule society sort sovereign speak statesmen sure theory things thought tion true vote whole wish
Popular passages
Page 72 - Having once given her sanction to a measure, that it be not arbitrarily altered or modified by the Minister; such an act she must consider as failing in sincerity towards the Crown, and justly to be visited by the exercise of her Constitutional right of dismissing that Minister.
Page 73 - To state the matter shortly, the sovereign has, under a constitutional monarchy such as ours, three rights — the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, the right to warn. And a king of great sense and sagacity would want no others.
Page 14 - hyphen which joins, a buckle which fastens the legislative part of the State to the executive part".
Page 291 - CHANGE OF AIR AND SCENE. A Physician's Hints about Doctors, Patients, Hygiene, and Society ; with Notes of Excursions for health in the Pyrenees, and amongst the Watering-places of France (Inland and Seaward), Switzerland, Corsica, and the Mediterranean. By Dr.
Page 10 - The efficient secret of the English Constitution may be described as the close union, the nearly complete fusion, of the executive and legislative powers.
Page 293 - FIRST BOOK OF BOTANY. Designed to Cultivate the Observing Powers of Children. With 300 Engravings, New and Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo.
Page 293 - YOUMANS (Eliza A.). An Essay on the Culture of the Observing Powers of Children, especially in connection with the Study of Botany. Edited, with Notes and a Supplement, by Joseph Payne, FCP, Author of " Lectures on the Science and Art of Education,
Page 292 - BRIEFS AND PAPERS. Being Sketches of the Bar and the Press. By Two Idle Apprentices. Crown 8vo. 7^. 6d. " Written with spirit and knowledge, and give some curious glimpses into what the majority will regard as strange and unknown territories." — Daily News. " This is one of the best books to while away an hour and cause a generous laugh that we have come across for a long time.
Bibliographic information
| Title | The English Constitution The Making of the Modern Law |
| Author | Walter Bagehot |
| Edition | 2, reprint |
| Publisher | H. S. King & Company, 1872 |
| Original from | Harvard University |
| Digitized | 13 Mar 2008 |
| Length | 291 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |