vic英美概况第二章

2021年1月21日发(作者：compositions)
British Political System

The British political system of government is based

on the theory of triumvirate,according to which the

state power is divided into three
：
the legislation, the

administration and the jurisdiction. Actually,in Great

Britain,the legislation and the administration are

jammed together and the organ of state power is in

Cabinet, whose head
（
the Prime Minister) and

members must be Parliament Members. For many

centuries, Britain has kept its old-fashioned

government, which is shared by three supreme

authorities
：
the Monarch
（
the King or Queen
）
, the

Lords (the hereditary nobility), and the Commons
（
the ordinary people
）
.

The Constitutional Monarchy
The
United
Kingdom
is
a
constitutional
monarchy,
meaning
that
the
power
of
the
monarch
is
limited by the country’s constitution. The head of state is a king or queen, whose power has been
greatly reduced since the Glorious Revolution of 1688. In practice, the Sovereign reigns, but does
not rule. The U.K. is governed by His or Her Majesty’s
Government
—
a body of Ministers who
are the leading members of the political party that wins the general election.
The British Monarchy with hereditary tradition stands for

the continuity of British history dating back to Anglo-Saxon

times. The monarchy is the oldest institution of government.

The Constitutional Monarchy started at the end of the 17th

century. Succession is founded on the hereditary principle.

Sons of the Sovereign have precedence over daughters in

succeeding to the throne. The order of succession can be

altered only by common consent given by the countries of the

Commonwealth. The direct line of succession, which

guaranteed the continuity of the monarchy, has been lasting

for about 1000 years, with only one break between 1649 and

1660 when a republic was established under Oliver Cromwell

and his son.


The Queen
—
Elizabeth II

The present Sovereign, Queen

Elizabeth II was born in London

on April 21,1926
，
and came to

the throne on February 6, 1952,

and was crowned on June 2,

1953.. Her full name is ELIZABETH

ALEXANDRA MARY
. She married

Prince Philip, the Duke of

Edinburgh,on November 20, 1947,

and a year later gave birth to a son,

Charles.


The Queen
Her
title
in
the
United
Kingdom
is
“Elizabeth
the
Second,
by
the
Grace
of

God
of
the
United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her Other Realms and Territories, Queen,
Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.”


Powers of the Queen
The
Queen
is
the
head
of
state.
the

government
is
called

Her
Majesty's
Government

and

even

the

government's envelops are marked with
The

Queen
is
the

Commander-in-Chief

of

the

armed

forces.
She
concludes
treaties

and

declares

war.
She is Supreme Governor of the Church of

England.
She appoints ministers and important

officials and officers.
The powers of the Queen are nowhere exactly defined. Theoretically every act of the state is done
in her name and she enjoys enormous powers.

But, in reality, except for her act in appointing a new Prime Minister, everything she does is done
“on the advice of her ministers”, everything has been decided in advance by the Parliament or the
Prime
Minister
together
with
his
Cabinet.
The
Monarch
has
no
alternative
but
to
agree
automatically. The real work of the Monarchy consists largely of signing papers. Today the British
Monarchy serves as a figurehead for the state.


British Constitution

A constitution is a body of rules or laws that

governs the affairs of a state.
British constitution is not a written constitution :

it is not a systematic written statement of law,

but consists of a body of statutory law,

customs, and judicial interpretations.

Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy with an unwritten constitution consisting of

1
）
historic documents
；

2
）
statute laws, that is, laws passed by Parliament
；

3
）
the common laws
（
judicial precedents
）
, which are laws which have been established through
common practice in the courts
；

4
）
custom
and
conventions,

which
are
rules
and
practices
which
do
not
exist
legally,
but
are
nevertheless regarded as vital to the workings of government;

5
）
authoritative opinion.


Great Charter

Great Charter was signed by King John in 1215.

It consists of sixty-three clauses. Important provisions :

(1)no tax should be made without the approval of the Grand Council;

(2) no freemen should be arrested, imprisoned or deprived of their property;

(3) the Church should possess all its rights, together with freedom of elections;

(4) London and other towns should retain their traditional rights and privileges;
(5) there should be the same weights and measures throughout the country.(
全国要使用统一的重
量和长度度量衡
.)

The Magna Carta
（
the Great Charter) was the constitutional document that took away some of the
sovereign
’
s power. This Charter limited the monarchical power and put it under the control of the
feudalist law, thus laying a foundation for later parliament.
The Great Charter was essentially a feudal

document. It was made in the interests of the feudal

lords, but it granted to the townspeople freedom of

trade and self- government. The merchants and

craftsmen in England appeared for the first time as

new political force.


The Chartist Movement (1836-1848)
Reasons for parliamentary reforms.
(1)Power was monopolized by the

aristocrats.
(2) Representation of town and country,

and North and South was unfair.
(3) There were also various so-called

rotten or pocket boroughs.(
还有各种称之为

衰败或口袋选区的选区。
)


The Chartist Movement(Three Reform Bills)
Between 1832 and 1884 three Reform Bills were passed.
a) The Reform Act of 1832 (also called the “Greater Charter of 1832)

abolished “rotten boroughs”, and r
edistributed parliamentary seats more

fairly among the growing towns. It also gave the vote to many householders

and tenant
’
s, based on the value of their property.

b) The New Poor Law(
新贫困法
) of 1834 forced the poor people into work houses

instead of giving them sufficient money to survive in their own homes.
3
．
A People
’
s Charter
There was widespread dissatisfaction with the Reform Act of 1832 and

the New Poor Law. In 1836, a group of skilled workers and small shopkeepers

formed the London Working Men’
s Association. They drew up a charter of political

demands (a People’s Charter) in 1838, with the intention of presenting it to

Parliament. It had six points: (1)the vote for all adult males; (2)voting by secret

ballot; (3)equal electoral districts; (4)abolition of property qualifications for members

of Parliament; (5)payment of members of Parliament; (6)annual Parliaments, with a

General Election every June.

Results of the Chartist Movement