Petition of Right

Petition of Right, a declaration of certain rights and privileges of the subject obtained from King Charles I. in his third parliament—the first statutory restriction of the powers of the crown since the accession of the Tudor dynasty. It was so called because the Commons stated their grievances in the form of a petition, refusing to accord the supplies till its prayer was granted. The petition professes to be a mere corroboration and explanation of the ancient constitution of the kingdom; and after reciting various statutes that recognise the rights contended for, prays 'that no man be compelled to make or yield any gift, loan, benevolence, tax, or such like charge, without common consent by act of parliament; that none be called upon to make answer for refusal so to do; that freemen be imprisoned or detained only by the law of the land, or by due process of law, and not by the king's special command, without any charge; that persons be not compelled to receive soldiers and mariners into their houses against the laws and customs of the realm; that commissions for proceeding by martial law be revoked.' The king at first eluded the petition, expressing in general terms his wish that right should be done according to the laws, and that his subjects should have no reason to complain of wrongs or oppressions; but at length, on both Houses of Parliament insisting on a fuller answer, he gave an unqualified assent on the 26th of June 1628. The text of the Petition will be found most conveniently in Gardiner's Constitutional Documents of the Puritan Revolution, 1628-60 (1889). See also his History of England, vi. 274-309.