One example is the Act of Union between England and Scotland, which requires all succeeding sovereigns of the United Kingdom to take an oath to maintain the Church of Scotland and the Church of England. If future generations feel themselves bound by such provisions, they are, Bentham thinks, enslaved by long-dead tyrants.
边沁对“天然权利”的反对常常被人引用。较少得到讨论的是他所谓的“子孙锁链”（Posterity-chainer’s device）。一个例子是英格兰和苏格兰的《联合法案》（Act of Union），该法案要求联合王国的所有后续君主宣誓维持苏格兰教会和英格兰教会。如果未来子孙后代感到自己受此条款束缚，那么，边沁认为，他们便沦为了早已去世的暴君的奴隶。