All legislation is to some extent the product of circumstance, and none more so than the numerous Acts which have from time to time augmented or reduced the law governing high treason. The basis of that law has been since 1352 the famous Act of 25 Edward III, stat. 5, c. 2, and this Act itself was moulded by the circumstances under which it was passed. Edward III was at the height of his power and popularity, so that in defining treason it was only necessary to include offences likely to be committed against a popular king reigning by an undisputed title. This accounts both for what the Act contains and what it omits, and is the reason for that sufficiency in quiet times which has preserved it for over five centuries. It accounts also for its inadequacy in crises and disturbances, and the need to supplement it under such kings as Richard II and Henry VIII. New treasons are thus emergency measures to enable the Government to cope with particular situations; when the troublous times are over, they and the offences with which they deal disappear naturally with the circumstances which provoked them, and the Act of 1352 once more reigns supreme. When considering the causes of its long life, it must be remembered that Treason Acts fall into two classes: those augmenting and those diminishing the scope of the offence. The Act of 1352 belongs to the latter class. It was passed to bridle the judges in the creation of constructive treasons—a process which had alarmed Parliament—and, unlike all other Acts of its class, it did not follow a revolution or period of crisis, as the Act of I Henry IV, c. 10, followed the reign of Richard II; 1 Edward VI, c. 12, that of Henry VIII; and 1 Mary, c. I, that of Edward VI.