参考答案：

Great Charter was signed by King John in 1215 under the press of the barons. It consists of sixty-three clauses. Its important provisions are as follows:

(1) no tax should be made without the approval of the Grand Council;

(2) no freemen should be arrested, imprisoned or deprived of their property;

(3) the Church should possess all its rights, together with freedom of elections;

(4) London and other towns should retain their traditional rights and privileges, and

(5) there should be the same weights and measures throughout the country.

    Although The Great Charter has long been popularly regarded as the foundation of English liberties, it was a statement of the feudal and legal relationships between the Crown and the barons, a guarantee of the freedom of the Church and a limitation of the powers of the king. The spirit of the Great Charter was the limitation of the powers of the king, keeping them within the bounds of the feudal law of the land.