Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1176
"His Majesty the King is here!"

Another protagonist of this tax resistance event - Charles I came to the Financial Appeal Court in person!
The judges, jury, and jury present all stood up to pay tribute to Charles I, even the defendant Hampton was no exception.

"It is unimaginable that a king would sue his own people himself."

"Probably he wants to legalize the ship tax through this trial. If the court makes a judgment in favor of the king, then no one will dare to object to paying the ship tax in the future."

Li Jinde and other businessmen from the highly centralized Eastern Empire felt inconceivable about such a lawsuit. The emperor of the Eastern Empire was hardly so aggrieved.

Charles I, Hampton, and 12 judges were present, and the trial of Hampton's tax resistance case began in full view.

The justice first asked the defendant Hampton: "The royal power of the country belongs to His Majesty the King. Therefore, His Majesty the King ordered the collection of ship taxes, and the subjects of the whole country should obey his decrees. Do you have any doubts about this question?"

"Dear Justice, please allow my defense lawyer to answer your questions on my behalf." The squire Hampton, who graduated from Oxford University, was not intimidated by the justice's first attack, but hired him from the corner of his eye. Attorney St. John motioned.

"Your Honor, the highest power, that is, the king's power, naturally belongs to His Majesty the King. We have no doubts about this issue. But I question the latter statement. His Majesty the King has the highest power, but it must be exercised through the correct medium or method. .”

"What is the king's royal power? One is natural power, that is, the king is the source of justice. But if there is only a source without a definite river, then this source can only stay at the source forever and cannot benefit the people. Therefore, the king must It is necessary to transform natural power into external power, that is, the second power, the power of law."

"It is true that death sentences, fines, appeals, and taxes ultimately come from the crown, but the judgments on these are under the jurisdiction of different courts. The king cannot make correct judgments without the help of court judges. And in our British tradition Among them, parliament is the court of royal power, royal power is the source of parliament, and parliament is the channel for the operation of royal power. If there is no river channel, that is, the legislation of parliament, then the exercise of royal power will inevitably be capricious and willful.”

Attorney St. John stood up to defend Hampton and refuted the judge's point of view.

The jury and the jury were all sweating profusely, pinching a cold sweat for St. John.

The judge took the lead in placing Hampton in a situation of violating the royal power. If Hampton and others did not believe that the royal power is the highest power, they could be charged with violating tradition, rebellion, and treason.

Unexpectedly, St. John directly recognized the supremacy of the king's power, but pointed the finger at the British parliamentary tradition-the king wants to use the king's power?Only through the reasonable use of power through the parliament can it be able to "benefit the people" and have legitimacy. Otherwise, the king's power is supreme.

"What a powerful lawyer. It seems that Hampton hired an expert." After being taught by Sarina and staying in London for a period of time, Li Jinde has been able to understand the two sides' arguments.

The court seems to have a question and an answer, but it is actually extremely dangerous. If St. John finds the wrong breakthrough point, it is likely to lead to Hampton's loss.

The king is in the council, the king is under the law!Many of the jurors and nobles who had served as members of parliament at the scene were deeply impressed by the traditions formed by the Tudor dynasty, and they couldn't help but secretly nodded.

The face of the judge who asked the question changed slightly, and he didn't expect the defense lawyer St. John's counterattack to be so fast.

And St. John's defense doesn't end there: "The purpose of tax legislation is to make subjects fully aware of their duty to pay taxes. They know what kind of tax they need to pay and why. Yes, for subjects, paying taxes It means the loss of wealth, but paying the ship tax is as claimed by His Majesty the King, it is to add more warships to our British navy, and it is for the survival of the entire country! Therefore, paying the ship tax is fair and can realize personal interests balance with the public interest!"

What? !All the people present were shocked when they heard the words.

Hampton refused to pay the ship tax. The situation had improved for him, but his defense lawyer even took the initiative to think that paying the ship tax was a "fair" thing!Isn't this a contradiction? !

When everyone was puzzled, St. John continued: "Generally speaking, taxation affects the property rights of subjects, and it must be touched in the form of law. This is a daily situation. Your Majesty the King should use the normal way. Convene a parliament, and the parliament will make a comprehensive judgment on the source of danger and the amount of property of the subjects, and determine the collection and management of the ship tax in the form of law..."

When St. John said this, some smart gentry and nobles in the court suddenly burst into applause, and even wanted to shoot the case!

They have already understood why St. John supports the ship tax—since it is a "fair tax", please ask the king to convene a parliament in accordance with the past legislative practice of confirming daily laws, so that the traditional legislative power can be determined. How to collect the boat tax.

This is equivalent to blackmailing Charles I to reconvene Parliament.If Charles I did not reconvene Parliament to establish the ship tax, it would be tantamount to denying that the ship tax was a fair tax.

The twelve lawyers sitting above looked at each other, and they glanced at Charles I's seat from time to time, and found that His Majesty's face became less good-looking.

Charles I had finally dissolved the parliament, and he had gotten used to making decisions without the parliament's hands. At this time, let him reopen the parliament?

A judge bit the bullet and defended Charles I: "The ship tax is a tax under special circumstances, and it may not be approved by Parliament."

However, as soon as he put forward his defense, St. John hit it head-on: "When encountering an emergency like war, the usual laws are not enough, and the existence of an emergency can be allowed as an exception. But this exception should limit its scope. It should not be the norm, and the ship tax has become the norm. Even if it is to protect the safety of the kingdom, it still needs the consent of the parliament. Unless the parliament can not solve the problem, the king's decree can be used. But the problem now is that the king did not first Call the parliament to use this normal way to collect ship tax privately, and expand and normalize the ship tax! ”

The judges who defended Charles I were speechless for a while, and the twelve judges were defeated by the defense lawyers!

"What a wonderful debate, this trip is really worthwhile." Li Jinde watched the confrontation between the two sides in the hearing booth, and felt a little irritated by St. John's direct criticism of the judge and the king.

(End of this chapter)