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 xl
No other select committee has any comparable power ; and considering how
carefully we have fettered and limited the powers of all other subordinate
authorities , our allowing so much discretionary power on matters peculiarly
dangerous and ...
No other select committee has any comparable power ; and considering how
carefully we have fettered and limited the powers of all other subordinate
authorities , our allowing so much discretionary power on matters peculiarly
dangerous and ...
Page xlviii
... sense and practicality too . The House of Lords must deal with the assent to
treaties as they do with the assent to laws ; they must defer to the e voice of the
country and the authority of the xlviii INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND
EDITION .
... sense and practicality too . The House of Lords must deal with the assent to
treaties as they do with the assent to laws ; they must defer to the e voice of the
country and the authority of the xlviii INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND
EDITION .
Page xlix
e voice of the country and the authority of the Commons even in cases where
their own judgment might guide them otherwise . In very vital treaties probably ,
being Englishmen , they would be of the same mind as the rest of Englishmen .
e voice of the country and the authority of the Commons even in cases where
their own judgment might guide them otherwise . In very vital treaties probably ,
being Englishmen , they would be of the same mind as the rest of Englishmen .
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
Now that the suffrage is universal , the average intellect and the average culture
of the constituent bodies are excessively low ; and even such mind and culture as
there is has long been enslaved to authority : the French peasant cares more ...
Now that the suffrage is universal , the average intellect and the average culture
of the constituent bodies are excessively low ; and even such mind and culture as
there is has long been enslaved to authority : the French peasant cares more ...
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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 elected 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.
Bibliographic information
| Title | The English Constitution Issue 22 of Classics of English legal history in the modern era Dolphin book Social studies The Making of the Modern Law The Nelson library of notable books |
| 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 |