On the record
They do not hold the authority they exercise under any constitutional law of the state.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “They do not hold the authority they exercise under any constitutional law of the state.”
Editor's note · Context
Burke argues that the Assembly does not derive its authority from any constitutional law, challenging its legitimacy.
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More from Edmund Burke
Jan 1, 1790
No experience has taught us that in any other course or method than that of an hereditary crown our liberties can be regularly perpetuated and preserved sacred as our hereditary right.
Jan 1, 1790
Their trust for the future preservation of the Constitution was not in future revolutions.
Jan 1, 1790
They have little regard to the obvious consequences of their doctrine, though they may see that it leaves positive authority in very few of the positive institutions of this country.
Jan 1, 1790
The engagement and pact of society, which generally goes by the name of the Constitution, forbids such invasion and such surrender.
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