There is, however, a more radical objection. A treaty is a public act between two contracting powers, who must, to meet the requirements of modern jurisprudence, be independent States or their accredited agents; while John and his opponents were merely fragments of one nation or State, torn asunder by mutual fears and jealousies. Some authorities discard alike the theory of legislation and the treaty theory to make way for a third, namely, that Magna Carta is merely a contract, pact, or private agreement. M. Emile Boutmy is of this opinion. "Le caractère de cet acte est aisé à définir.[186] Ce n’est pas précisément un traité, puisqu’il n’y a pas ici deux souverainetés légitimes ni deux nations en présence; ce n’est pas non plus une loi; elle serait entachée d’irrégularité et de violence; c’est un compromis ou un pacte."[187] ----- Footnote 186: Here we differ from him. Footnote 187: _Études de droit constitutionnel_, 41. ----- Thus considered, the proudest act of the national drama would take its place in the comparatively humble legal category which includes such transactions as the hire of a waggon or the sale of a load of corn. There are, however, fatal objections to this theory also. It is difficult to see how the plea of “force,” if sufficient (as M. Boutmy urges) to render null the enactment of a public law, would not be even more effective in reducing a private agreement. If Magna Carta has no other basis than the declared consent of the contracting parties, it seems safer to describe it as a public treaty than as a private or civil pact devoid of political significance. Other theories also are possible; as, for example, that the Great Charter is of the nature of a Declaration of Rights, such as have played so prominent a part in the political history of France and of the United States; while a recent American writer on English constitutional development seems almost to regard it as a code, creating a formal constitution for England—in a rude and embryonic form, it is true. “If a constitution has for its chief object the prevention of encroachments and the harmonizing of governmental institutions, Magna Carta answers to that description, at least in part.”[188] ----- Footnote 188: Prof. Jesse Macy, _English Constitution_, 162. ----- It would be easy to find examples of attempts to compromise between these competing theories, by combining two or more of them. Thus, a high English authority declares that “the Great Charter is partly a declaration of rights, partly a treaty between Crown and people.”[189] ----- Footnote 189: Sir William R. Anson, _Law of the Constitution_, I. 14. -----