idered merely by itself, without reference to any other extrinsic
circumstance; as, the right of sending embassadors, of creating peers,
and of making war or peace. But such prerogatives as are _incidental_
bear always a relation to something else, distinct from the king's
person; and are indeed only exceptions, in favour of the crown, to
those general rules that are established for the rest of the
community: such as, that no costs shall be recovered against the king;
that the king can never be a joint-tenant; and that his debt shall be
preferred before a debt to any of his subjects. These, and an infinite
number of other instances, will better be understood, when we come
regularly to consider the rules themselves, to which these incidental
prerogatives are exceptions. And therefore we will at present only
dwell upon the king's substantive or direct prerogatives.

THESE substantive or direct prerogatives may again be divided into
three kinds: being such as regard, first, the king's royal
_character_; secondly, his royal _authority_; and, lastly, his royal
_income_. These are necessary, to secure reverence to his person,
obedience to his commands, and an affluent supply for the ordinary
expenses of government; without all of which it is impossible to
maintain the executive power in due independence and vigour. Yet, in
every branch of this large and extensive dominion, our free
constitution has interposed such seasonable checks and restrictions,
as may curb it from trampling on those liberties, which it was meant
to secure and establish. The enormous weight of prerogative (if left
to itself, as in arbitrary government it is) spreads havoc and
destruction among all the inferior movements: but, when balanced and
bridled (as with us) by it's proper counterpoise, timely and
judiciously applied, it's operations are then equable and regular, it
invigorates the whole machine, and enables every part to answer the
end of it's construction.

IN the present chapter we shall only consider the two first of these
divisions, which relate to the king's political _character_ and
_authority_; or, in other words, his _dignity_ and regal _power_; to
which last the name of prerogative is frequently narrowed and
confined. The other division, which forms the royal _revenue_, will
require a distinct examination; according to the known distribution of
the feodal writers, who distinguish the royal prerogatives into the
_majora_ and _minora regal