Download or read book The Excellencie of a Free-state written by Marchamont Nedham and published by Thomas Hollis Library. This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1656, and compiled from previously written editorials in the parliamentarian news book Mercurius Politicus, "The Excellencie of a Free State" addressed a dilemma in English politics, namely, what kind of government should the Commonwealth adopt? One possibility was to revert to the ancient constitution and create a Cromwellian monarchy. The alternative was the creation of parliamentary sovereignty, in which there would be a "due and orderly succession of supreme authority in the hands of the people's representatives". Nedham was convinced that only the latter would "best secure the liberties and freedoms of the people from the encroachments and usurpations of tyranny."