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Results of the Revolution of 1688

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the representative of the nation; and government by prerogative gave way to the rule of law. The work was well done; arbitrary taxation and arbitrary legislation could never again be attempted. Little, in fact, was left for the next century to accomplish except to adjust the machinery of government to the new controlling principles. Thorough as was the Revolution, it was, nevertheless, essentially conservative and practical. The extravagances of the Rebellion had made men cautious. All unnecessary change was deprecated. Nothing was attacked that could safely. be retained, and there was no theorizing. In sharp contrast with the earlier movement was the peaceful character of this deposition. For the moment James had no party. With unparalleled stupidity he had united all parties. against himself, and their force was so overwhelming that he did not dare make a stand. Without bloodshed, with but little excitement, a king was deposed, and another ruler set in his place, and the whole conception of the government changed.

The Revolution was accomplished in the space of a few weeks. To carry into effect what had been gained was the work of the eighteenth century. The natural consequence of the supremacy of Parliament was parliamentary control of the executive, the transformation of the ministers of the king into national ministers, responsible to the people, not to the sovereign, and all-powerful if secure of popular support. This was not at first realized. Still less was the means of bringing the will of the people to bear upon the government understood. More than a century of blind, tumbling experiment was necessary to work out and estabIsh in completeness Cabinet government; that is, govern- Cabinet ment by a council of ministers holding the same political government. opinions, acting as a unit, in harmony with the dominant party in the House of Commons, standing or falling, not at the pleasure of the king, but in accordance with the will of the nation as expressed through its representa

tives.

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Parties and the Revolution. Although James II was overthrown by a combination of Whigs and Tories, the Revolution was essentially a Whig movement. The coöperation of the Tories was accidental and temporary. Out of loyalty to one principle they did violence to another. They resisted the king to save the Anglican Church, but that did not mean that they had abandoned the doctrine of indefeasible hereditary right. For a generation to come the Tory party remained Jacobite, that is to say Stuart, in ten- Jacobitism. dency. Just so long as there was a Catholic pretender in the background the contradiction between the Tory principles would divide and weaken the party. The position of the Whigs, on the other hand, was simple. In their hands, resistance to James had been made to mean constitutional liberty and religious toleration, the cardinal points of the Whig doctrine. Accordingly their work was simply the

maintenance of the Revolution settlement.

In fighting strength the two parties were not unequal. On the side of the Tories were the country gentry and the Church, never since the Reformation so powerful as now. The strength of the Whigs lay in the great nobles, the Dissenters, and the commercial classes. The Tories were more numerous, but the Whigs were strong through good leadership, fine organization, and the high intelligence of the mass of the party.

Green,

pp. 688-691.

William III (1689–1702) and the Revolution Settlement. Bright, III, The establishment of the new government was attended 807, 811. with many difficulties. The unanimity of the nation in support of the Revolution soon came to an end. James's repeated assaults upon the Church had led the clergy to disregard, for a moment, the doctrine of passive obedience, which, for a generation, they had vigorously preached; but the overthrow of the house of Stuart was quickly followed by a reaction in its favor among churchmen. The requirement that all of the clergy should take the oath of allegiance forced the growing disaffection to the Revolution into open hostility. Between three hundred and four hundred of the

Bright, III, 808-810.

The Bill of
Rights,
Old South
Leaflets,

No. 19.
Toleration
Act, 1689.

Bright, II, 772-774; III, 812-817, 826-830. Green,

pp. 686-688, 692-694.

clergy, including the primate and six of the bishops, refused to take the oath and were deprived of their preferments. These Nonjurors, as they were called, were now to be counted as enemies to the new order.

To overturn the despotism of James, Whigs and Tories had joined hands, but success at once brought out the old differences of opinion. Gratitude and self-interest bound William to the Whigs, to whose efforts he chiefly owed his crown, but he was unwilling to be a mere party leader. Moreover, although resolved to rule constitutionally, he had no mind to become simply a figure-head, and he naturally inclined to the Tory party with its higher views of the royal prerogative. He attempted, therefore, to rule by the support of both parties, and included in his ministry. both Whigs and Tories. The impracticability of this method was not at first realized, but the friction it caused soon became apparent.

Parliament proceeded to pass some important measures. The Declaration of Rights was reissued as the Bill of Rights. In spite of the protest of the Church, the Dissenters were rewarded for their support of the Revolution with the Toleration Act, which gave liberty of worship to all except Unitarians and Roman Catholics. It was not a generous measure; toleration, not equality, was granted, and much of the penal legislation of Charles II remained in force. In this and the following Parliament the public revenue was settled. Certain taxes were granted to the king for life for the support of the crown,' others for the maintenance of the government were granted for a limited time only. The separation of the grants for the royal expenditure from the appropriations for carrying on the government was of great constitutional importance.

Ireland and the Revolution.

When the Revolution broke

out, Ireland, as was natural, espoused the cause of James. The restoration of Charles II had brought some relief to the Irish Catholics. It is true that the Act of Settlement

1 This grant formed the origin of the Civil List.

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(1661) had confirmed most of the land grants made under Cromwell. As a result, the Protestants were left in possession of almost three-fourths of the good lands in Ireland, while before 1641 about two-thirds of such lands were still in the hands of the Catholics. Nevertheless, the years that followed the return of the Stuarts were, on the whole, prosperous. There was religious toleration, and the measures of the government were mild. During his short reign, James had done much to restore the ascendency of the Papists. Tyrconnel, a Romanist, was at the head of the government, the municipal charters were remodelled in the interest of the Catholic party, and an Irish Catholic army was organized.

When William landed in England, the Irish at once rose in support of James. Many of the English fled from the country, those remaining threw themselves into the few strong places like Londonderry and Enniskillen. Tyrconnel and his army swept over the land, destroying the property of the Protestants. Except for Londonderry and Enniskillen, now closely invested, all Ireland was in revolt against the English government. James took courage. Accompanied by a few French officers he crossed over from France, and a Parliament was summoned in Dublin, which, Parliament as was to be expected, contained few but Catholics. It proceeded at once to repeal the Act of Settlement and to pass an Act of Attainder including between two thousand and three thousand of the leading Englishmen in the country. On the other hand, it established perfect religious liberty.

at Dublin.

At first William III showed little energy in attempting to assert his authority in Ireland. Londonderry and Enniskillen still held out, but in Londonderry the population was reduced to the last straits. Finally in July, 1689, an English fleet succeeded in forcing its way up the river Foyle Relief of and Londonderry was saved, after a siege of one hundred Londonand five days. Early in 1690 the king, glad to turn his back on the faction struggles of the Whigs and Tories, crossed to Ireland. In July he fought the battle of the

derry.

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