without creating difficulties which the next ten years were spent
in removing, without pulling down institutions which it soon
became necessary to reconstruct, and setting up others which
almost every man was soon impatient to destroy. It was necessary
to strike the House of Lords out of the constitution, to exclude
members of the House of Commons by force, to make a new crime, a
new tribunal, a new mode of procedure. The whole legislative and
judicial systems were trampled down for the purpose of taking a
single head. Not only those parts of the constitution which the
republicans were desirous to destroy, but those which they wished
to retain and exalt, were deeply injured by these transactions.
High Courts of justice began to usurp the functions of juries.
The remaining delegates of the people were soon driven from their
seats by the same military violence which had enabled them to
exclude their colleagues.

If Charles had been the last of his line, there would have been
an intelligible reason for putting him to death. But the blow
which terminated his life at once transferred the allegiance of
every Royalist to an heir, and an heir who was at liberty. To
kill the individual was, under such circumstances, not to
destroy, but to release the King.

We detest the character of Charles; but a man ought not to be
removed by a law ex post facto, even constitutionally procured,
merely because he is detestable. He must also be very dangerous.
We can scarcely conceive that any danger which a state can
apprehend from any individual could justify the violent, measures
which were necessary to procure a sentence against Charles. But
in fact the danger amounted to nothing. There was indeed, danger