24. Prince John was now made king of England, but he had no lawful right to the throne, as prince Arthur, the orphan son of an elder brother, was living, and was the true heir, according to the rules of succession. 25. But this unfortunate prince was made prisoner, in Normandy, by his wicked uncle, and most people believe he met with a violent death. 26. It was a very serious misfortune for the country when the king happened to be a bad man, because the government was, at that time, despotic; that is, the king made the laws himself, and had the power of doing whatever he pleased; whereas, now, the laws are made by the parliament; so that, before any new act can be passed, a great many good and clever men must agree to it, which is a great protection to the people. 27. However, king John was compelled much against his will, to make some very good laws, and the reason of this was, that his tyranny was felt by the nobles even more than the common people, for their estates were often unjustly seized, and they were obliged to give him large sums of money to get them back again; then he would not let them marry unless they paid him for leave to do so; and if any person wanted to go out of the country, they were obliged to buy his permission. In short, no one was free to do any thing till the consent of the king was obtained by a handsome present. 28. At length, his tyranny was carried to such a height that the chief nobles resolved to make him act more justly, or dethrone him; so they wrote down, on parchment, all the things they wished to have done, or altered, and agreed with each other that, if he refused to sign it, they would go to war with him, and they took care to have all their vassals armed, and in readiness. 29. John was very much frightened when he found the barons were in earnest, and agreed to meet them at a place called Runnymede, between Staines and Windsor, where, after a great deal of disputing, he was obliged to sign his name to what they had written, which thus became the law of the land. An ancient copy of this parchment is now in the British Museum. 30. It is called Magna Charta, which is the Latin name for ‘the Great Charter;’ and it was framed with a view to take from the king the power of doing unjust things, and to make him govern according to the laws, and not to be able to make new laws, or impose new taxes, at his pleasure. 31. This famous act is generally regarded as the beginning of the liberty which all Englishmen are so justly proud of; but the laws it contained were, in many respects often broken by the sovereigns of England, for a very long period.