A history and defence of magna charta. [electronic resource] : Shewing the manner of its being obtained from King John, with its preservation and final establishment in the succeeding reigns; with an introductory discourse, containing a short account of the rise and progress of national freedom, from the invasion of C©Œsar to the present times. Also the liberties which are confirmed by the bill of rights, &c. To which is added, an essay on parliaments, describing their origin in England, and the extraordinary means by which they have been lengthened from half yearly to septennial ones. By Samuel Johnson, A.M.