The affair of the partition was now refumed with great violence by the house of commons; and the papers which related to the negotiations at Loo were scrutinifed with all the keenness of wit sharpened by malice. Of the debates which enfued it is needless to speak; the fubftance of them has been abundantly anticipated. As the ultimate refult of the whole, it was refolved by the house, "that the earls of Portland and Orford, and the lords Somers and Halifax, be IMPEACHED at the bar of the house of lords of HIGH CRIMES and MISDEMEANORS." The refolution against the earl of Portland was carried without a divifion: against lord Orford the numbers were 193 to 148; lord Somers, 198 to 188; lord Halifax, 186 to 163: thus with grofs partiality paffing over the earl of Jersey, fecretary of state; and fir Jofeph Williamson, refident at the Hague-who were privy to the whole transaction, and involved in the fame community of guilt.

Pending the debates, and previous to paffing the vote of impeachment, lord Somers defired to be heard in his own. defence and a chair being placed for him within the bar, he firft fat down covered, according to the ceremonial used on fuch occafions; and afterwards rifing and remaining uncovered, he entered into fo masterly and eloquent a vindication of his conduct, that, had the question been immediately put, it was believed he would have been acquitted by a great majority. He admitted « that the king had afked' the advice of his confidential fervants upon, this occafion; and that his majefty had even informed him, that if he and his other minifters thought that a treaty ought not to be made upon fuch a project, then the whole matter must be let fall, for he could not bring the French to better terms. His lordship pleaded, that it would have been taking too much upon himself if he should have put a ftop to a treaty of such confequence-Had the king of Spain died before it was finished, and the blame been caft upon him for not fending the neceffary powers, he could

not

not have justified himself, fince the king's letter was a warrant. At the fame time he wrote his own opinion very fully to his majesty, objecting to many particulars, and propofing feveral things for the advantage and intereft of England. Soon after the powers were tranfmitted by him, the treaty was concluded, to which he affixed the great feal, as he thought himself bound to do-Thus as a privy-counsellor he offered to the king his beft advice, and as chancellor, he had discharged his acknowledged and official duty. The king's letter was not indeed a formal, though a real warrant-but he did not think it became him to endanger the public by laying any stress on a point of form, at so critical a time, and when the greatest dispatch was requifite."---After all, a certain degree of blame must attach itself to this great man for his conduct in this business; and the ultimate decifion being left to him, he could not avoid contracting a heavy refponfibility. Knowing or believing the treaty to be fraught with ruinous confequences, it was his duty at all hazards to resist; and the commands of the king can never be conftitutionally pleaded in vindication or even palliation of the flighteft dereliction of duty.

Immediately confequent to the votes of impeachment a motion was made, to which all the previous proceedings had reference, and for which alone they were probably instituted, "to prefent an addrefs to his majefty to remove the lords Somers, Orford, Portland, and Halifax, from his prefence and councils for ever." The question being first put relative to lord Somers, it was carried in the affirmative by 162 to 107 voices: the reft without a division.

The houfe of lords, who too late faw their error, were now roused to fome exertion, and voted in their turn an addrefs to the king, praying, "that the lords impeached at the bar of their house may not have any cenfure passed upon them until they are tried upon the faid impeachments, and judgment be given according to the ufage of parliament

and

and the law of the land." This address the king received in profound filence; not willing to fay what might be difpleafing to the lords on the one hand, or, which was much more anxiously to be guarded against, to do what might irritate the commons on the other. And as the great council of the nation, it seemed clearly within the province of the representatives of the people to pronounce upon the competency of the lords impeached to be hereafter employed in the public fervice, whether their offences came within the letter of the criminal code of parliament The address of the commons was received by the king, who still paid vain court to the tories, with apparent complacency; and he affured them "he would employ none in his service but fuch as shall be thought most likely to improve mutual trust and confidence, which was fo neceffary in the prefent juncture."

or not.

The house of commons, having now obtained the real purpose for which the impeachments were brought forward, appeared in no hafte to proceed with the trials, but applied their attention to the providing fupplies, which were granted with great liberality, and to the other neceffary bufinefs of the feffion.

The house, in a grand committee, taking into confideration the state of the civil lift, and the favings made by the non-payment of the 50,000l. per annum allotted as a dower to James's queen; of 30,000l. per annum fallen in by the decease of Catherine queen dowager, and of 20,000l. per annum by the death of the duke of Glocefter, came to a refolution to apply 100,000l. per annum of the royal revenue to the current fervice. On the report, this refolution was combated by the whole ftrength of the whig party; but it was at length, to the great chagrin of the court, carried by 214 to 169 voices.

In confequence of the claufe in the king's fpeech recommending a farther provifion for the fucceflion of the crown in the proteftant line, the house, to the confufion of the

jacobites,

jacobites, with great unanimity refolved: « 1ft, That it is abfolutely neceffary a farther declaration and limitation be made of the fucceffion to the crown. 2dly, That farther provision be first made for the fecurity of the rights and liberties of the people-and LASTLY, That the princess Sophia, duchefs dowager of Hanover, be declared the next in fucceffion to the crown of England." A bill was immediately introduced in conformity to these refolutions; and a great variety of conftitutional limitations and restrictions impofed upon the future inheritors of the crown : of which the chief were, "that no foreigner, although he be naturalized or made denizen, fhall be capable of enjoying any office or truft civil or military; or of holding any grant of lands from the crown; that the nation be not obliged to engage in any war for the defence of any dominions or territories not belonging to the crown of England; that no person hereafter poffeffing the crown of England shall go out of the realm without consent of parliament; that no person holding an office under the king, or receiving a penfion from the crown, shall be capable of fitting in the house of commons; that all future poffeffors of the crown shall join in communion with the church of England; that no pardon be pleadable in bar of an impeachment; and that the judges' commiffions be made quamdiu fe bene gefferint." These limitations do honor to the tories, whofe intereft it was at this time to keep on fair terms with the court, and who could not but be sensible that some of them must appear to reflect on the conduct of the reigning fovereign.

Having gone so far-perhaps in fome points farther than a pure patriotism would have dictated-they still stopped fhort of the goal of political rectitude. For the intereft of the nation evidently required, that a foreign prince inheriting the crown of England should at the moment of his acceffion relinquish his foreign territories-or, if the facrifice were deemed too great, the crown thus declined ought to devolve to the next in fucceffion. The famous Toland, in a political treatise published at the commencement of this feffion,

feffion, contends for the reasonableness of establishing at this critical juncture whatever terms the interest of the nation demanded. "Being," as he says, " to elect a fucceffor, the nation might be allowed the fame liberty which the Spaniards took in bestowing their crown; to choose out of the house of Hanover, or that of Brandenburg, which of the fons they pleased-and recommends it to be well weighed, whether we ought to make any of those princes kings of England, without obliging them at the fame time to renounce their foreign dominions."-" For," fays he, “if our crown should fall upon either of those families, they will fall under mighty temptations to enlarge their dominions beyond fea, in order to make the communication betwixt their old and new dominions more speedy and easy. This the family of Hanover may attempt, by falling down upon the Elbe and Wefer, and fwallowing up Hamburg, BREMEN, VERDEN, &c.---All these things, how remote and chimerical foever they may feem at prefent, ought to be confidered.---If the prince upon whom we devolve our crown does not think it worth his while to grant us fuch fecurity, I am of opinion that it will not be worth our while to court such a governor."

'The Act of Settlement, with its attendant limitations, paffed with national applause. It had nevertheless to encounter an oppofition of a fingular nature, originating in a very remote quarter. ANNE of ORLEANS, duchefs of Savoy, of the blood-royal of England by Henrietta her mother, youngest daughter of Charles I. was beyond all queftion, according to the law of hereditary fucceffion, heiress of the crown of England, on the exclufion of James and his immediate defcendants. The ambaffador of Savoy, by order of this princefs, delivered a paper to the Speaker of the house of commons, in which fhe declares, “that fhe gladly embraces the occafion which offers, to display to the people of England the pride fhe takes in the right she derives from her descent to that auguft throne."After stating her incontestable pretenfions, the concludes

with