BOOK III PART II
that time, and had his son, by any accident,
been conveyed beyond seas, there is no doubt
but a regency would have been appointed till
he should come to age, and coued be restored
to his dominions. As the slightest properties
of the imagination have an effect on the judg-
ments of the people, it shews the wisdom of the
laws and of the parliament to take advantage of
such properties, and to chuse the magistrates
either in or out of a line, according as the vul-
gar will most naturally attribute authority and
right to them.
Secondly, Though the accession of the Prince
of Orange to the throne might at first give oc-
casion to many disputes, and his title be con-
tested, it ought not now to appear doubtful,
but must have acquired a sufficient author-
ity from those three princes, who have suc-