Charles's parliaments, with the lord mayor, aldermen, and WILLIAM III. fifty of the common council of London, solicited the Prince of Orange to take the administration of affairs, and to issue writs for a Convention Parliament in the usual manner. 1689-1702. The Convention Parliament, when assembled, requested The Convention the Prince of Orange to retain the executive authority; and Parliament. then proceeded to discuss the disposition of the crown. The commons resolved,―That King James II. having endeavoured to subvert the constitution of the kingdom, by breaking the original contract betwixt king and people; and, by the advice of jesuits, and other wicked persons, having violated the fundamental laws, and withdrawn himself out of the kingdom, has abdicated the government, and the throne is thereby vacant. Hobbes has justly observed, that "if any interest or passion were concerned in disputing the theorems of geometry, different opinions would be maintained concerning them;" it therefore cannot excite surprise that the political parties entered upon a lengthened debate, in which constitutional principles and common sense were discarded, as to the words abdicated" and "deserted." But it was ultimately resolved, Settlement of the that William and Mary, Prince and Princess of Orange, be, crown. and be declared King and Queen of England, France, and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, to hold the crown and dignity of the said kingdoms and dominions, to them the said prince and princess, during their lives, and the life of the survivor of them; and that the sole and full exercise of the regal power be only in, and executed by, the said Prince of Orange, in the names of the said prince and princess, during their joint lives; and after their decease, the said crown and regal dignity of the said kingdoms and dominions to be to the heirs of the body of the said princess; for default of such issue, to the Princess Anne of Denmark, and the heirs of her body; and for the default of such issue, to the heirs of the body of the said Prince of Orange. Such was the proper termination of that contest, which the House of Stuart had obstinately maintained against the liberties, and, of late, against the religion of England; or rather, of that far more ancient controversy between the crown and the people, which had never been wholly at rest since the reign of John; William III. being raised to the throne for Principles under which William III. ascended the throne. WILLIAM III. the sake of those liberties, by violating which his predecessor 1689-1702. Suspension of laws. Royal dispensation. Court of high commission. Imposition of taxes. Right to petition the king. Keeping a standing army with out consent of parliament. Election of mem bers of parlia ment. Freedom of speech. Excessive punishments. Impanelling of jurors. had forfeited it'. 2. Declaration of Rights. The motive and the condition of the Act of Settlement. was the recognition by William of the "Declaration of Rights," which was presented to him before the two Houses of Parliament, in which it was declared, That the pretended power of suspending laws, and the execution of laws, by regal authority, without consent of parliament, is illegal. That the pretended power of dispensing with laws by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, is illegal. That the commission for erecting the late court of commissioners for ecclesiastical causes, and all other commissions and courts of the like nature, are illegal and pernicious. That levying money for, or to the use of, the crown, by pretence of prerogative, without grant of parliament, for longer time, or in any other manner, than the same is, or shall be, granted, is illegal. That it is the right of the subjects to petition the king, and that all commitments or prosecutions for such petitions are illegal. That the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with the consent of parliament, is against law. That the subjects which are Protestants, may have arms for their defence, suitable to their conditions, and as allowed by law. That election of members of parliament ought to be free. That the freedom of speech, and debates or proceedings in parliament, ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of parliament. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. That jurors ought to be duly impanelled and returned, and jurors which pass upon men in trials for high treason ought to be freeholders. 1 3 Hallam's Const. Hist. 135. 1 Trevor's Hist. William III. 346–377. That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of par- WILLIAM III. ticular persons, before conviction, are illegal and void. 1689-1702. fore conviction, And that, for redress of all grievances, and for the amending, Forfeitures bestrengthening, and preserving of the laws, parliaments ought illegal. to be held frequently. Frequency of parliaments. This declaration, with the settlement of the crown, were afterwards incorporated in a statute', known as the "Bill of Bill of Rights. Rights," but amended by two important provisions,— Subject absolved from his allegiance to a Roman Catholic sove reign. It being enacted, that all persons who shall hold communion with the Church of Rome, or shall marry a papist, shall be excluded, and for ever incapable to possess, inherit, or enjoy, the crown and government of this realm; and in all such cases, the people of these realms shall be absolved from their allegiance, and the crown shall descend to the next heir. Instead of the indefinite language that had been used in the Declaration of Rights relative to the powers of dispensation, illegal. it was enacted, that no dispensation by "non-obstante" to any statute should be allowed, without which our liberties would have rested upon a very insecure basis. 3. Acts of Settlement. Dispensation by "non-obstante," The people's choice, the pri mary foundation The settlement of the crown at the Revolution extended only to the descendants of William and Anne. Upon the death of the Duke of Gloucester, in 1700, it was determined, of magistracy. in order to destroy the hopes of the Jacobites, to make a new settlement of the crown on a Protestant line of princes. By the Act of Settlement', that is by the sovereign will of parliament, all prior claims of inheritance to the throne of these realms, save that of the issue of King William and the Princess Anne, were annulled, and given to the Princess Sophia, and the heirs of her body, being Protestants: thus destroying all notions of hereditary or imprescriptable right to the British crown, and making the people's choice the primary foundation of magistracy. Bill of Rights rectified. The Bill of Rights had omitted some important matters, Omissions in the and new abuses had called for new remedies. Eight articles were therefore inserted in the Act of Settlement, to take effect only from the commencement of the new limitation to the House of Hanover, and which were as follow: 1 1 William and Mary, sess. 2, c. 2. 1 Stat. 12 & 13 William III. c. 2. : WILLIAM III. 1. That whosoever shall hereafter come to the possession 1689-1702. of this crown, shall join in communion with the Church of England as by law established. The king must conform to the established religion. The nation not obliged to go to war for domi 2. That in case the crown and imperial dignity of this realm shall hereafter come to any person not being a native of this kingdom of England, this nation be not obliged to engage in any war for the defence of any dominions or territories not belong to the which do not belong to the crown of England, without the consent of parliament. nions which do crown. Duties of the privy council. Qualifications for a privy councillor. Holding an office of profit a disqua lification from being a member of the commons. Judges' commis 3. That no person who shall hereafter come to the possession of this crown, shall go out of the dominions of England, Sotland, or Ireland, without consent of parliament *. 4. That from and after the time that the further limitation by this act shall take effect, all matters and things relating to the well governing of this kingdom, which are properly cognizable in the privy council by the laws and customs of this realm, shall be transacted there, and all resolutions taken thereupon shall be signed by such of the privy council as shall advise and consent to the same. 5. That, after the said limitation shall take effect as aforesaid, no person born out of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, or Ireland, or the dominions thereunto belonging (although he be naturalized, or made a denizen,-except such as are born of English parents), shall be capable to be of the privy council, or a member of either House of Parliament, or to enjoy any office or place of trust, either civil or military, or to have any grant of lands, tenements, or hereditaments, from the crown to himself, or to any other or others in trust for him3. 6. That no person who has an office or place of profit under the king, or receives a pension from the crown, shall be capable of serving as a member of the House of Commons. 7. That after the said limitation shall take effect as aforesions to be made said, judges' commissions be made quamdiu se bene gesserint, and their salaries ascertained and established; but, upon the address of both Houses of Parliament, it may be lawful to remove them. "quamdiu se bene gesserint." 2 This was repealed by Stat. 1 George I. c. 51. 3 The Stat. 1 George I. Stat. 2, c. 4, enacts that no bill of naturalization shall be received without a clause disqualifying the party from sitting in parliament, "for the better preserving the said clause in the said Act entire and inviolate." 8. That no pardon under the great seal of England be pleadable to an impeachment by the commons in parliament. The first three articles, and the fifth, originated in the mistrust which was entertained against the House of Hanover, and the employment of foreigners. Origin of the first articles. The fourth With respect to the fourth article, it should be observed three and fifth that, according to the original constitution of our monarchy, the king had his privy council composed of the great officers article. of state, and of such others as he should summon to it, bound by an oath of fidelity and secrecy, by whom all affairs of weight, whether as to domestic or exterior policy, were debated for the most part in his presence, and determined, agreeably to his pleasure, by the vote of the major part. As early as the reign of Charles I. the privy council, even as it was then constituted, was too numerous for the practical administration of supreme power, and a select portion of that body, were, under the name of "cabinet council," selected as more confidential advisers of the crown, and were previously consulted as to the policy to be pursued respecting such measures as were to come under discussion. During the reign of William, this distinction of the cabinet from the privy council, and the exclusion of the latter from all business of state became more fully established. "The method is this," says a member in debate: "things are concerted in the cabinet, and then brought to the council; such a thing is resolved in the cabinet, and brought and put on them for their assent, without showing any of the reasons. This has not been the method of England. If this method be, you will never know who gives advice." It was endeavoured to restore the ancient principle by the fourth provision in the Act of Settlement, that, after the accession of the House of Hanover, all resolutions as to government should be debated in the privy council, and signed by those present. But, from some unknown motives, this clause never came into operation, being repealed by the Stat. 4 Anne, c. 8; 6 Anne, c. 7. Distinction of the cabinet from the privy coun cil. The plans of government are now discussed and determined No bill of imin a "cabinet council," formed from the privy council; but be framed against the "cabinet” itself has no legal existence, and if a "cabinet a "cabinet minister" were to give improper councils to his sovereign, 4 5 Parl. Hist. 731. 3 Hallam's Const. Hist. 249. councillor." |