SUCCESSION TO THE CROWN. See HEREDITARY RIGHT.—From the days of Egbert, the first sole monarch of England, even to the present, the four cardinal maxims mentioned in that article have ever been held constitutional canons of succession. It is true, as Sir William Blackstone observes, this succession, through fraud or force, or sometimes through necessity, when in hostile times the crown descended on a minor or the like, has been very frequently suspended; but has generally at last returned back into the old hereditary channel, though sometimes a very considerable period has intervened. And even in those instances where this succession has been violated, the crown has ever been looked upon as hereditary in the wearer of it. Of which the usurpers themselves were so sensible, that they for the most part endeavoured to vamp up some feeble show of a title by descent, in order to amuse the people, while they gained the possession of the kingdom. And, when possession was once gained, they considered it as the purchase or acquisition of a new estate of inheritance, and transmitted, or endeavoured to transmit it, to their own posterity by a kind of hereditary right of usurpation. (See Black. Com. v. i. 197—217.) From the historical view there given, it appears, that the title to the crown is at present hereditary, though not quite so absolutely hereditary as formerly: and the common stock, or ancestor, from whom the descent must be derived, is also different. Formerly, the common stock was King Egbert; then William the Conqueror; afterwards, in James I.'s time, the two common stocks united; and so continued till the vacancy of the throne in 1688: now it is the Princess Sophia, in whom the inheritance was vested by the new king and parliament. Formerly, the descent was absolute, and the crown went to the next heir without any restriction: but now, upon the new settlement, the inheritance is conditional; being limited to such heirs only, of the body of the Princess Sophia, as are Protestant members of the church of England, and are married to none but Protestants.
And in this due medium consists the true constitutional notion of the right of succession to the imperial crown of these kingdoms. The extremes between which it steers are each of them equally destructive of those ends for which societies were formed and are kept on foot. Where the magistrate, upon every succession, is elected by the people, and may
Succesſion may by the express provision of the laws be deposed (if not punished) by his subjects, this may found like the perfection of liberty, and look well enough when delineated on paper; but in practice will be ever productive of tumult, contention, and anarchy. And, on the other hand, divine indefeasible hereditary right, when coupled with the doctrine of unlimited passive obedience, is surely of all constitutions the most thoroughly slavish and dreadful. But when such an hereditary right as our laws have created and vested in the royal stock, is closely interwoven with those liberties which are equally the inheritance of the subject; this union will form a constitution, in theory the most beautiful of any, in practice the most approved, and, we trust, in duration the most permanent.
In France the succession to the monarchy was limited to heirs male (see SALIC); but in Navarre the crown was inherited by the heir of line, whether male or female. The case stands thus: Philip the Fourth, king of France, furnished the Fair, in the year 1285 espoused Jane queen of Navarre in her own right; and as king consort of this latter kingdom added the title of Navarre to his former one of France. Louis X. son and heir of Philip and Jane (surnamed Hutin, or the Boisierous), succeeded to both crowns. By Margaret his first wife, who had been crowned queen of Navarre, he left one daughter Joan or Jane. His second wife Clementia was pregnant at the time of his decease, and was delivered of a posthumous son, whom most of the French annalists recognize as John I. of France, though he lived no longer than three weeks. On his death the kingdom of France passed to Philip V. (surnamed the Long), and that of Navarre (to which the Salic law could by no construction extend) to Joanna, the only child and heir of Louis and Margaret. From Joanna, in lineal succession, the kingdom of Navarre passed to Jane d'Albret, mother of Henry IV. of France, and wife of Anthony of Vendôme, who as king consort wore the crown of Navarre. On the accession of Henry to the kingdom of France, the two monarchies were united, and the four succeeding princes assumed the joint titles. But if ever the monarchy be restored in France, Mary, princess royal and daughter of Louis XVI. will have the same right to the throne of Navarre that her uncle has to the throne of France; for she is the undoubted heir of line of the great and illustrious Henry IV.
Succinic Acid, an acid extracted from amber by sublimation in a gentle heat, and rises in a concrete form into the neck of the subliming vessel. The operation must not be pushed too far, or by too strong a fire, otherwise the oil of the amber rises along with the acid. The salt is dried upon blotting paper, and purified by repeated solution and crystallization.
The acid is soluble in 24 times its weight of cold water, and in a much smaller quantity of hot water. It possesses the qualities of an acid in a very small degree, and only affects the blue vegetable colours very lightly. The affinities of this acid with the salifiable bases were determined by Mr de Morveau, who is the first chemist that has endeavoured to ascertain them.
Succinum, Amber, in mineralogy, a species of bitumen classed under the inflammable substances. As a full account of this mineral was given under the word AMBER, nothing remains but to mention a few things which recent experiments enable us to add. According to Dr Kirwan, 100 grains of amber afford about 72 of petroleum, 4.5 of succinic acid, and a residue of fixed matter and water. Mr Scheele says, that, when distilled, it yields an aqueous acid resembling vinegar in its qualities. This would induce us to believe it to be of vegetable origin. But its origin is a
point not yet ascertained. Its specific gravity is from 1.065 to 1.100, and melts at 550° of Fahrenheit. Wallerius affirms, that mirrors, prisms, &c. may be made of amber.