Chapter XII. has been the subject of more discussion perhaps than any

other. McKechnie, the most recent commentator on Magna Charta, says of it: [Footnote 29]

[Footnote 29: Magna Carta, a Commentary on the Great Charter of King John, with an Historical Introduction by William Sharp McKechnie, M.D., LL.B., D. Phil. Glasgow, James Maclehose and Sons, Publishers to the University, 1905.]

"This is a famous clause, greatly valued at the time it was framed because of its precise terms and narrow scope (which made evasion difficult), and even more highly valued in after days for exactly opposite reasons. It came indeed to be interpreted in a broad general sense by enthusiasts who, with the fully-developed British constitution before them, read the clause as enunciating the modern doctrine that the Crown can impose no financial burden whatsoever on the people without consent of Parliament."

Readers may judge for themselves from the tenor of the {356} chapter, how wide a latitude in interpretation it not only permits, but invites.