away immediately, unlefs, out of confideration to him, Ann. C. the House were difpofed to find a way for continuing them 1698-9. longer in his fervice, which his Majefty would take very kindly.

But, inftead of complying with that requeft, the Commons represent in an addrefs to the King, that they could not confent with what he propofed, with due regard to the conftitution.

24.

The fame day the Royal affent is given to an act to enlarge the trade to Ruffia, and to another act for prevent- 1699. ing irregular proceedings of Sheriffs and other officers, in making the returns of Members chofen to serve in Parliament, &c.

Dr. Edward Stillingfleet, Bishop of Worcester, dies; and was fucceeded, the 22d of January following, by Dr. William Lloyd, tranflated from Lichfield and Coventry,

Edward Earl of Warwick is tried by his Peers, for the murder of Captain Richard Coote, in a duel, where three fought of a fide, half drunk, and in the dark; and is found guilty of man-flaughter.

27.

28.

Charles Lord Mohun is tried for the fame murder, and 29. acquitted.

The Commons prefent an addrefs to the King, con- April 3. cerning the mifmanagement of the Navy; which being levelled againft Edward Earl of Orford, he refigns his places. The Scots fettle a colony on the Ifthmus of Darien in America, which occafions afterwards great difputes. May 3.

The Spanish Ambaffador prefents a memorial against it. His Majefty gives the Royal affent to the following acts: 1. For granting to his Majefty the fum of 1,484,015. 01 s. 11 d. for difbanding the army, providing for the navy, and other occafions: 2. For laying further duties upon fweets, and for leffening the duties upon vinegar, low wines, whale-fins, and brandy imported,

3. For the more full and effectual charging the duties upon rock-falt: 4. To encourage the trade to Newfoundland: 5. To prevent the exportation of wool out of Ireland and England into foreign parts, and for the encouragement of the woollen manufactures of the Kingdom of England: 6. For making Billingsgate a free market for fale of fish, &c.

4.

Then the Parliament is prorogued to the firft of June. Edward Earl of Jerfey is conftituted one of the Principal 14. -Secretaries of State, in the Duke of Shrewsbury's room,

who

Ann. C. who refigned, and fucceeded as Ambassador at Paris by 1699. Charles Earl of Manchester.

18.

20.

31.

June 2.

Auguft.

Sept. 4.

Oa. 16.

25.

Nov. 16.

Thomas Earl of Pembroke is declared Prefident of the Council; and John Viscount Lonfdale Lord Privy-Seal in

his room.

Chriftopher Codrington, Efq; is made Captain-General and Governor of the Caribbee-Islands, in the room of his father Colonel Codrington deceased.

Lords Juftices are nominated to govern the Kingdom during the King's abfence..

His Majefty embarks at Margate, and lands the next day in Holland.

Mr. Hill is fent Envoy Extraordinary to the Duke of Savoy, to congratulate him upon the birth of the Prince of Piedmont.

King William puts in his claim to the Principality of Neufchatel, bordering upon, and allied to, the Switzers; upon the Prince of Conti's procuring a decree of the Parliament of Paris in his favour.

The Duke of Zell comes and vifits King William at Loo.

Chriftian V, King of Denmark, dies, and is fucceeded by his fon Frederic IV.

King William embarks for England, and lands the next day at Margate.

Charles Mountague, Efq; refigns his place of Chancellor of the Exchequer (wherein he is fucceeded by John Smith, Efq;) with a view of being made one of the Auditors of the Exchequer.

Charles, Duke of Shrewsbury, is made Lord-Chamberlain of the Houfhold.

The Parliament meets, it being the second feffion of the fourth Parliament of King William. In his fpeech, he recommends to them, to make farther provifion for the fafety of the Kingdom, by fea and land; to take care of the repairs of the fhips, and of the fortifications; to make good the deficiencies of the funds, and pay the public debts, particularly a debt owing to the Prince of Denmark; to prepare a bill for preventing and punishing unlawful and clandeftine trading; to make further provifion for the poor, &c. and concludes, with defiring them to act with confidence in one another.

Though there was no vifible caufe, yet, it feems, this fpeech highly offended the Commons; whereupon, they Dec. 4. prefented an addrefs or remonftrance to his Majefty, in

which they faid, That they efteemed it their greatef mif- Ann. C. fortune, after having fo amply provided for him by fea and 1699. land, any jealoufy or diftruit had been raifed of their duty and affections; and defired him, to fhew marks of his high displeasure towards all, who had or fhould mifreprefent their proceedings to him.

In his answer to this remonftrance, the King affures them, That no perfons had ever yet dared to mifreprefent to him the proceedings of either Houfe: Had he found any fuch, they would have immediately felt the highest marks of his difpleafure.

The perfons in the oppofition endeavour to force a new Miniftry upon the King; and endeavour to take occafion for it from the letters patents granted to the Earl of Bellamont, and others, of pirates goods; which they vote to be difhonourable to the King, against the law of Nations, &c.

The report of the feven Commiffioners, appointed for taking an account of the forfeited eftates in Ireland, is made to the Houfe; by which it appears, That the perfons outlawed in England, fince the 13th of February, 1688, on account of the late rebellion there, amounted in number to 57, and, in Ireland, to 3921. Out of the eftates of which latter, there had been 76 grants made; particularly to the Lord Romney, three grants of 49,517 acres; to the Earl of Albemarle, two grants of 108,633 acres; to the Earl of Portland, 135,820 acres; to the Earl of Athlone, 26,480; to the Earl of Galway, 36,148; to the Earl of Rochford, two grants of 30,512 acres: Befides a grant of 95,649 acres, worth 25,995 . 18 s. per ann. to Mrs. Elizabeth Villiers, afterwards Countefs of Orkney; being all the private estates of the late King James.

Upon examining this report, the Commons refolve, That a bill be brought in, to apply all the forfeited eftates and interefts in Ireland, and all grants thereof, &c. fince the 13th of February, 1688, to the ufe of the public: Which made the King very uneafy.

6.

15.

Moreover, they refolve, That the advifing, procuring, 1699. and paffing the faid grants of the forfeited, and other eftates 1700. in Ireland, had been the occafion of contracting great debts upon the Nation, and levying heavy taxes, and was highly Jan. 13. reflecting on the King's honour.

They vote but 7000 men for the fea-fervice, for the year 1700: And allow 18,000l. for bounty-money, to the officers of the fleet; 90,000l. for the extraordinary of the VOL. III.

E

navy a

Ann. C. navy; 300,000 /. for maintaining guards and garrifons; 1699. and 25,000 l. for the Office of Ordnance.

1700.

A proclamation is published, for banishing all Popish Febr. 8. Pricfts and Jefuits; and another, for putting the laws in execution against Papifts, and other difaffected perfons.

9.

II.

IZ.

A bill is fet on foot for qualifying Juftices of the Peace; and a Committee appointed to infpect the Commiffions of the Peace, and Commiffions for Deputy-Lieutenants as they then stood, and as they were for feven years laft paft.

This Committee having made report to the House, that not only many Diffenters, but men of fmall fortunes, were put into those places; the Commons addrefs the King, that Gentlemen of quality and good eftates be put into the Commiffions of the Peace and Lieutenancy.

A proclamation is iffued out, requiring all perfons in Popish Seminaries to return home.

The House of Lords addreffes the King against the reReg. 12. establishment of the Scots Colony at Darien: In answer to which his Majefty declares, That he was fenfibly touched with the lofs his fubjects of Scotland had sustained by their unhappy expedition, in order to a fettlement at Darien : And, as difficulties might too often arife with respect to the different intereft of trade between the two Kingdoms, he recommends an union of England and Scotland.

21.

26.

March.

1700.

25.

The Commons wait on the King with an addrefs in relation to the Irish forfeitures: In anfwer to which, he faid, He was not only led by inclination, but thought himself obliged in juftice, to reward thofe who had ferved well, and particularly in the reduction of Ireland, out of the eftates forfeited to him there: And that taking just and effectual ways for leffening the national debt, and fupporting public credit, was what would beft contribute to the honour, fafety, and intereft of the Kingdom.

Nettled at this anfwer, the Commons refolve, That whofoever advised it, had ufed his utmost endeavour to create a misunderstanding and jealoufy between the King and his people.

The second treaty of Partition between England, France, and Holland is concluded; occafioned by the death of the Electoral Prince of Bavaria.

The Scots prefent a national addrefs, defiring the King, to order a Parliament to meet in Scotland; that their India Company might be enabled to profecute their undertaking with better fuccefs than they could hitherto do, under the many ftops and difficulties they had met with from time to

time: His Majefty answers, That their Parliament fhould Ann. C. fit the 14th of May enfuing.

1700.

The Commons order the report of the Commiffioners April 8. for Irish forfeitures to be printed; and refolve, That the procuring or paffing exorbitant grants, by any Member of the then, or any former Privy-Council, to his ufe or benefit, was a high crime and mifdemeanor.

They having tacked the Land-tax-bill and the refumption of the Irish forfeitures together, and the Lords making several amendments to the latter, that occafions several conferences between the two Houses, and the Commons grow at length very choleric; but, after all, the Lords pafs the bill without any amendments, by his Majefty's direc

tion.

But notwithstanding this condefcenfion, the Commons refolve to address his Majefty, That no perfon who was not a native of his Dominions, except Prince George of Denmark, be admitted to his Majesty's Councils in England or Ireland. To prevent the prefenting of which addrefs, the King goes to the Houfe, and orders the Parliament to be prorogued to the 23d of May:

II.

After having given his affent to these acts: 1. For granting an aid to his Majefty by fale of the forfeited and other eftates and interests in Ireland; and by a land-tax in England, for the feveral purposes therein mentioned: 2. For laying further duties upon wrought filks, muflins, and fome other commodities of the East-Indies, and for enlarging the time for purchafing certain reverfionary annuities therein mentioned: 3. For the more effectual employing the poor, by encouraging the manufactures of this Kingdom: 4. For the further preventing the growth of Popery: 5. For the more effectual punishment of vagrants, and fending them whither by law they ought to be fent: 6. To diffolve the Duke of Norfolk's marriage with the Lady Mary Mordaunt, and to enable him to marry again. And to many others, A motion having been made in the Houfe of Commons, for addreffing his Majefty to remove John Lord Somers, Lord-Chancellor, from his prefence and councils for ever; and the Tories infifting on his being removed, the King May 21, takes the Great Seal from him, and gives it to Sir Nathan Wright, who was conftituted Lord Keeper.

The Parliament of Scotland meets; and a motion is made, That the Parliament should refolve, That the Colony of Caledonia in Darien was a legal and rightful setdement, in the terms of the Act of Parliament 1695; and

E &

that

17.