This sacred trophy he took to Westminster Abbey in 1297 and caused the coronation chair to be constructed with the stone beneath the seat. The stone is twenty-six inches long, sixteen inches wide, and eleven inches thick, and is plainly visible from the front of the chair. The Scotch have made numerous efforts to regain their national trophy, but always. without success. It has been taken from the Abbey only once since it was placed there in 1297, that occasion being the installation of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector. Visitors to the Abbey now view this ancient chair and study its history with absorbing interest. That contempt for ancient historical relics has now, fortunately, passed away which was expressed by Goldsmith's “Citizen of the World," who "saw no curiosity either in the oak chair or the stone; could I indeed behold one of the old kings of England seated in this, and Jacob's head laid upon the other, there might be something curious in the sight." Tradition tells us that this ancient stone is the identical one upon which Jacob laid his head at Bethel; that it was taken into Egypt by the sons of Jacob; that the son of Cecrops, the founder of Athens, conveyed it from Egypt into Spain; that at about 700 B. C. it was taken from Spain to Ireland by an invading army and placed upon the sacred hill of Tara and called the "Stone of Destiny" or the "Stone of Fate " because it sent forth loud groans when the rightful king of Ireland was being crowned upon it, but maintained an ominous silence in the presence of a pretender; that in 330 B. C. it was taken to Scotland, and in 850 A. D. was deposited by King Kenneth in the Abbey of Scone from which it was taken by King Edward I. of England. All this, tradition tells us; but the unromantic geologist rather effectually punctures a pretty myth by telling us that the stone is a piece of Scotch sandstone, and not of oriental origin. Yet the fact remains that it is now an object of veneration in England as it was for centuries in Scotland. A second coronation chair of less historic interest was constructed in 1689, when the coronation of William and Mary as joint Sovereigns made two chairs necessary. The coronation of Queen Victoria took place "amid prodigious aemonstrations of joy," on June 28, 1838, a little more than a year after her accession. During this interval, however, she was the reigning monarch of England, and had, on the 20th of November of the preceding year, taken the required declaration against the doctrine of transubstantiation in the presence of the two Houses of Parliament. CHAPTER III THE ROYAL PREROGATIVE REFERENCES: Todd's Parliamentary Government in England, i. 76–218; Anson's Law and Custom of the Constitution, ii. 1-56 and 303-354; Bagehot's English Constitution, 101-156; Courtney's Working Constitution of the United Kingdom, 123-135; Traill's Central Government, 1-11; TaswellLangmead's English Constitutional History, 716-741; Fonblanque's How We Are Governed, 18-25; Ewald's Crown and its Advisers, The Lecture on the Crown. PREROGATIVE," says Professor Dicey, "is the discretionary authority of the executive." Adopting this concise statement as a satisfactory working definition, it will be our purpose to determine the extent, in theory and practice, of this "discretionary authority" in so far as we may be able to do so within the limits of a brief discussion. We are sometimes inclined to think that the power of an hereditary monarch must of necessity be very extensive; as a matter of fact, however, the actual participation of the King in the government of England is comparatively slight, — almost insignificant. Neither has the power of the Crown remained the same at all times in the history of England; on the contrary, it has been a very changeable quantity. A consideration of the sources and history of the royal prerogative. will not, however, constitute any considerable part of our discussion. Our present concern is with the authority of the Crown as it now exists. |