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passed, Feb. 1. William sends a message to the Commons, March 18, expressing his wish to retain his Dutch guards. The Commons refuse, and advise him to "trust to his people," March 24.

The old East India Company petition against the charter recently granted to their rivals.

Admiral Benbow is sent to the West Indies. He obtains from the Spaniards restitution of several English vessels seized by them in retaliation for the settlement of Darien.

The Commons vote that the forfeited estates in Ireland ought to be applied to the use of the public. They also complain of lavish grants made of them, which William defends.

The forfeited estates in Ireland ordered to be sold, [11 Gul. III. c. 2].

with extraordinary powers, which Kidd abuses.

The Scottish parliament meets July 19, under the presidency of the earl of Marchmont (Patrick Home). The Indian and African Company complains of injuries received from the English government and merchants, and the parliament espouses its cause. William returns to England, Oct. 18. The parliament meets Nov. 16, and sits till April 11, 1700.

The Peers present an address (in which the Commons refuse to join) against the Scottish settlement of Darien, as "inconsistent with the good of the kingdom." William advises them to abandon their jealousies, and recommends union with Scotland.

A.D. 1700.

A commission of six prelates appointed by William to advise him as An act passed "for further prevent-to the bestowal of the Church patroning the growth of Popery," [c. 4]. By age of the Crown. this act Romanists refusing the prescribed oaths were disabled from any office, and their lands forfeited during their lives to their Protestant next of kin. £100 reward was offered for the apprehension of Romanist priests, and they, for either saying mass or keeping school, were rendered liable to perpetual imprisonment.

An act passed for the suppression of piracy, [c.7]. This statute was directed against the buccaneers, whose depredations were very formidable, and it enacted that such offenders might be tried abroad 9.

William goes to Holland, May 31. He engages in secret schemes for the partition of the Spanish monarchy.

William Kidd, an officer of the navy, is sent to act against the pirates in the East Indies. The chancellor (Lord Somers) grants him a commission

• The Commons' Report, dated Dec. 15, 1699, | enumerates no less than 76 such grants after the battle of the Boyne. Eight of these grants amounted to 522,630 acres (about the area of the county of Nottingham), and seven of them were made to William's foreign favourites; the other (of 95,649, acres) was to his mistress, Elizabeth Villiers, who was created countess of Orkney.

They were valued at £1,699,343 145. All the grants that had been made were declared void, but those who had received them were allowed to keep all they had drawn from them in the way of rent or by the sale of timber and minerals.

By the law as then existing, based on the statutes 27 Hen. VIII. c. 4, and 28 Hen. VIII. c. 15 (see A.D. 1536), persons committing offences on the high seas were to be brought to England for trial, the expense and difficulty of which prevented any

A clergyman, (William Stephens, rector of Sutton, Surrey,) who in his sermon on the 30th January recommends the abandonment of that commemoration', is censured by the House of Commons.

A proclamation is issued by the government in Scotland, (March 25,) strongly condemning the "disorderly petitioning" concerning the Darien settlement.

An address against Lord-chancellor Somers is proposed, but negatived; another address praying for the removal of foreign councillors (except Prince George of Denmark) is carried, April 10. The parliament is adjourned the next day, to hinder its presentation, but Somers is dismissed from office", April 17.

effectual check being imposed on them.

The chancellor gave £500 towards fitting out Kidd, as did several other great men; and it was said that they expected to share in his prizes. Kidd turned pirate himself, and thus brought much odium on his patrons.

These were Archbishops Tenison and Sharp, and Bishops Burnet, Lloyd, Patrick, and Stillingfleet.

The special services for January 30, May 29, and Nov. 5 remained in use until 1858; in consequence of a Parliamentary address, they were ordered to be discontinued, by royal warrant, dated Jan. 17, 1859.

"His opponents retaliated on him his partisan conduct to the magistrates who did not sign the Association (see A.D. 1696), and struck his name out of the commission of the peace, even for his native county (Worcester), where he had large estates.

Sir Nathan Wright, a lawyer of little eminence, is appointed lord-keeper, May 21.

The Scottish parliament meets, May 21, when the treatment of the Darien company is again brought forward.

William goes to Holland in July. He returns in October.

The duke of Gloucester (the heirpresumptive, according to the parliamentary settlement) dies, July 30, when new measures become necessary for securing the Protestant succession, but are not immediately taken.

Sir George Rooke is sent to the Baltic, where he bombards Copenhagen, and compels the Danes to make peace with Charles XII. of Sweden.

Two treaties are signed (one in March, the other in October,) between England, France, the Empire, Holland, and smaller states, to settle the Spanish succession. Louis, though affecting to acquiesce, prevails on the king of Spain to set the arrangement aside, and prepares to seize on the whole inheritance.

Charles II. of Spain dies, Oct. 21, having shortly before by will nominated Philip, duke of Anjou (the grandson of Louis XIV.) his successor.

The earl of Rochester and others of the Tory party become ministers,

Dec. 12.

These treaties were concluded in a hasty, irregular way, and William's ministers were in the next year impeached for their share in the business.

y The French, under the name of auxiliaries of the Spaniards, had got possession of the strong towns in the Spanish Netherlands, which had been fortified as a barrier for the States.

He belonged to an old Herefordshire family, but was born in London, in 1661. With his father, Sir Edward Harley, a vehement opponent of the court, and who had been imprisoned on suspicion of favouring Monmouth's rebellion, he raised a body of horse, and took possession of Worcester for the Prince of Orange at the commencement of the re

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Arms of Harley, earl of Oxford.

volution. He became a member of parliament, and shewed much bitterness against the Tories, but

A.D. 1701.

The emperor (Leopold I.) takes up arms against the French in Italy, and the War of the Spanish Succession begins. The Dutch claim assistance from England, according to the treaty of peace of 1678.

The parliament meets Feb. 6, and sits till June 24. Robert Harley is chosen Speaker.

An act passed to preserve the library of Sir Robert Cotton for the use of the public, [12 & 13 Gul. III. c. 7].

Fierce debates occur on the Protestant succession. The Partition Treaties are censured as "prejudicial to the interests of the Protestant religion;" inquiry is made into the circumstances of their conclusion, and the Commons resolve to impeach their advisers.

The earl of Portland and Lord Somers are accordingly impeached, April 1. The Lords present an address to William in their favour.

The Commons are highly displeased, and resolve to impeach the earl of Orford and the earl of Halifax".

Portland, Somers, Orford and Halifax were all accused of taking illegal steps to forward the Partition Treaties, and heavy accusations were also brought forward against them individually, regarding other matters. Somers was charged with passing unreason

| afterwards joined their party. He was one of the commissioners of public accounts (see p. 503), and he held the post of Speaker for several years, as well as being appointed secretary of state, and one of the commissioners for the union with Scotland. When the Whig ministry were displaced, in 1710, Harley was made a commissioner of the treasury, and in the next year he was created a peer, as earl of Oxford; he was also appointed lord treasurer, and he held the post, though not without many contentions with his rival, Bolingbroke, until a few days before the queen's death. In 1715 he was impeached for his share in negotiating the peace of Utrecht, being denounced with especial vehemence and personal hate by his old opponent, Coningsby. After a two years' imprisonment, he was brought to trial at his own urgent request, when he was acquitted. He died in 1724. The introduction of lotteries as a source of revenue is ascribed to him. His son Edward, who succeeded him, was the collector of the invaluable stores of MSS. now deposited in the British Museum, and known as the Harleian Collection.

a

George Savile, marquis of Halifax, died in 1695, and his son William in 1700. In the latter year the title of earl of Halifax was given to Charles Montagu, a kinsman of the earl of Manchester, who was a commissioner of the treasury, and had displayed much skill in devising the ways and means for William's wars. He was a man of great talent, but little integrity, and now retired. into private life. He died in 1715.

able grants, particularly of the Irish forfeited estates, and with taking such himself; making illegal orders, and causing ruinous delays in Chancery; and granting the commission to William Kidd, a person of evil fame and reputation." Portland was accused of receiving extravagant grants; as was Halifax, who was also charged with being in debt to the Irish exchequer, dilapidating the royal forests, and procuring his brother (Christopher Montagu) to be appointed auditor, who had passed his fraudulent accounts. Orford was accused of encouraging Kidd, the pirate, and as guilty of breach of trust and gross corruption in his office. From what we now know of these men, it is probable that there was much truth in all this, but the quarrels of the two Houses prevented anything like a complete examination of the

matter.

A petition is presented to the Commons, imploring them "to drop their disputes, have regard to the voice of the people, and change their loyal addresses into bills of supply," May 8.

This, well known as the Kentish Petition, had been agreed to at the assizes at Maidstone, April 29; it was signed by a great body of freeholders, the grand jury, twenty magistrates, and many deputy lieutenants. The House, however, refused to listen to its prayer, and committed William Colepeper and four other gentlemen, who presented it, to prison.

to kings. Our name is Legion, and we are many." The Commons vote this "scandalous, insolent, and seditious," and complain of "the attempts of ill-disposed persons to raise tumults and seditions."

Kidd, the pirate, and three of his companions, are hanged, May 23. Marlborough is appointed commander-in-chief in Holland, June 1.

Act passed to settle the Protestant Succession, [12 & 13 Gul. III. c. 2]. The Princess Anne was to succeed William, and if she should die without heirs, the heirs of William were to succeed; on failure of these, the Electress Sophia, duchess dowager of Hanover, was to be called to the throne; it being an indispensable condition in each case that the party should be a Protestant.

Quarrels ensue between the two Houses as to the time and mode of trial of Lord Somers. The Commons refuse to appear at the day appointed, June 17, and Somers is consequently acquitted.

The Commons draw up a protest (June 20), asserting that there has been a denial of justice in the " pretended trial of John Lord Somers," and that the conduct of the Peers in regard thereto is "an attempt to overturn the right of impeachments lodged in the House of Commons by the ancient constitution of the kingdom.”

The earl of Orford is also acquitted, June 23. To prevent a threatened remonstrance, the parliament is dissolved next day.

Benbow is employed to blockade Dunkirk, a war with France and Spain being expected.

William goes to Holland, June 31. He visits the frontier garrisons, and forms fresh alliances against France.

This stretch of power was resented by the appearance of a memorial, which denied the right of the Commons to override the law of the land, charged them, under fifteen distinct heads, with tyranny and oppression, and asserted, "Whatever power is above law is burdensome and tyrannical, and may be reduced by extra-judicial methods." It concluded: "Thus, gentlemen, you have your duty laid before you, which 'tis hoped you will think of; but if you continue to neglect it, you may expect to be treated according to the resentments of an King James dies, Sept. 6. His son injured nation; for Englishmen are no James Edward is acknowledged as more to be slaves to parliaments thanking by Louis XIV., on which the

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Benbow sails with a squadron to the West Indies, to induce the Spanish governors to disown King Philip. The French send three stronger fleets against him, and he is obliged to retire to Jamaica.

d They were convicted of piracy and murder committed on the coast of Malabar.

She was a grand-daughter of James I. by his daughter Elizabeth, queen of Bohemia, and was now in her 72nd year.

English ambassador (Charles Montagu, earl of Manchester) is recalled. William returns to England, in ill health, in November.

A new parliament is summoned, which meets Dec. 30, and sits till May 25, 1702. Robert Harley is again chosen Speaker.

A.D. 1702.

Addresses are presented from the city of London and other places, urging further provision for the Protestant succession, and war with France.

The Commons resolve that no peace shall be made with France until reparation be given for the acknowledgement of James Edward.

The pretended prince of Wales" is attainted of high treason, [13 & 14 Gul. III. c.3].

William falls from his horse, and breaks his collar-bone, Feb. 21.

The Commons again commit Colepeper, and pass resolutions in answer to the Kentish Petition and Legion, Feb. 26.

Act passed "for securing the succession to the crown in the Protestant line" [13 & 14 Gul. III. c.6]. All peers, members of parliament and officeholders to take an oath to support the Protestant succession, as settled in 1701; the penalty of neglect or refusal, forfeiture of any office, and a fine of £500.

William grants a commission to assent to certain bills, but has a stamp for his name, by which he himself gives the assent to the bill for the Protestant succession.

William dies at Kensington, March 8. He is buried at Westminster, April 12.

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ANNE, the second daughter of James, | tian V., by whom she became the moduke of York, by his wife Anne Hyde, ther of several children, but left no was born at St. James's Feb. 6, 1665. surviving issue. Her education was entrusted to Dr. Henry Compton, (subsequently bishop of Oxford and of London), and she was by him so firmly grounded in the principles of Protestantism, that all attempts were vain to induce her to follow the unhappy course of her parents, in conforming to Romanism. Whilst still very young her hand was sought by George Louis, electoral prince of Hanover (ultimately her successor on the English throne as George I.), but she married (July 28, 1683) Prince George of Denmark, brother of Chris

• Sarah Jennings, born in 1660, the daughter of a Hertfordshire gentleman. In 1681 she married Colonel Churchill, and she was a most efficient assistant to him in his rise to rank and power. Hence she has by many writers to whom he is obnoxious been stigmatized in coarse terms, and this is especially the case in Lord Macaulay's History of England, where the worst possible interpretation is uniformly put upon every action of their lives, and

Anne, when a mere child, formed a vehement attachment to one of her attendants, a young girl', whose proud, impetuous temper was altogether different from her own, and this circumstance in a great measure determined the events of her after life. The servant became in reality the mistress, and marrying a man as ambitious and unscrupulous as herself, the pair induced the princess to forsake her father in his distress, and thus, as far as she had the power, to precipitate the Revolution. The Marlboroughs, how

language is held respecting both, which is not warranted by the facts. It must be confessed that they pursued their own ends with too great earnestness, but the historian is lost in the partisan, when Marlborough is described as "a murderer," and his wife said to be "such a liar, that she is only to be believed when she testifies something to her own discredit."

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