"A king of Great Britain," as Bolingbroke observes, "is a member, but the supreme member, or the head, of a political body. Part of one individual, specific whole, in every respect; distinct from it, or independent of it, in none; he cannot move in another orbit from his people, and, like some superior planet, attract, repel, influence, and direct their motions by his own. He and they are parts of the same system, intimately joined and co-operating together, acting and acted upon, limiting and limited, controlling and controlled by one another; and when he ceases to stand in this relation to them, he ceases to to stand in any." JAMES II. 1685-1689. Roman Catholic sistent with the British Consti tution. It is clear, that the tenets of the Romish church were Tenets of the inconsistent with the British Constitution, because they church incon recognised the pope as superior to all law, who, by the plenitude of his power, was entitled to make right wrong, and wrong rights; to make virtue vice, and vice virtue; to dispense with all laws human and divine; and to do all things above law, without law, and against law: principles subversive of any system of government like ours, and accordingly we see this imperium in imperio caused the most dreadful contests in the early periods of our history. It was, however, impossible for James II. to have pursued Canons of the any other course, than that of attempting, as he did, to destroy the English Constitution, for the Canons of the Roman Catholic church, and his duties to that church, required him, as a divine obligation, not only to oppose the progress, but to prohibit and suppress the profession of every religion but his own, for toleration was inconsistent with the canonical laws, which have rejected schism and heresy from the bosom of the church, and the Christian emperors always thought it incumbent upon them, to maintain those laws, and secure their execution. James II., therefore, was religiously bound to disobey the fundamental laws of this country, when they protected the public profession and spreading of doctrines, which were incompatible with the creed of the Roman Catholic church. In fact, wherever the constitution of a state gave equal favour and protection to all religions, such a constitution was at 3 Bozius, cited by Foulis, 98. 6 Barrow, 5, 6, 9, 11. 2 South's Sermons, 115. 6 Barrow, 230. Decreta, Par. I, Dis. 96, ff. 107. Paris. 1518. Southey's Book of the Church, 189—191. Romish church suppress the pro fession of every religion but their own. Equal favour and protection to all consistent with religions, is in the Roman Ca tholic doctrines. JAMES II. 1685-1689. Attachment of the House of Brunswick to constitutional liberty. direct variance with the laws of the infallible Romish church. If such a constitution prevailed, the discipline and existence of the Roman Catholic church were compromised, and she held her disciples to be justified in renouncing their allegiance; if the church prevailed, it was lawful to exterminate all those who were schismatics or heretics. It must, however, be a source of the purest pleasure, and of future confidence to the present generation, that those illegal and infamous proceedings which characterized the reign of the second James, have been finally baffled by the accession of the House of Brunswick to the British throne, who upon no one occasion have betrayed their sacred trusts, or deviated from an inviolable attachment to the joint cause of the English Catholic Church" and "Civil Liberty." 66 WILLIAM III. 1689-1702. First proclamation of William III. SECTION V. WILLIAM III., February 13, A. D. 1689,-March 8, A. D. 1702. 1. The Executive Power intrusted to the Prince of Orange. 2. Declaration, and Bill of Rights. 4. Municipal Institutions. 5. Act of Toleration. 6. Settlement of the Revenue. 7. Triennial Bill. 8. The Basis of the English Constitution. 1. The Executive Power intrusted to the Prince of Orange. The Prince of Orange, previous to his landing, published a proclamation, wherein, after referring to the surrenders and new grants, and other acts of tyranny, he stated, "therefore it is that we have thought fit to go over to England, and we now think fit to declare, that this our expedition is intended for no other design but to have a free and lawful parliament assembled as soon as possible: and that in order to this, all the late charters, by which the election of burgesses is limited contrary to the ancient custom, shall be considered null, and of no force. And likewise all magistrates who have been unjustly turned out, shall forthwith resume their former employments; as well as all the burgesses of England shall return again to their ancient prescriptions and charters." The lords spiritual and temporal, to the number of about ninety, and an assembly of all who had sitten in any of King 1689-1702. 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. Parliament. The Convention Parliament, when assembled, requested The Convention the Prince of Orange to retain the executive authority; and 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 throne. III. ascended the 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 stand 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 ing army with kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with the consent of parliament, is against law. out consent of parliament. Election of mem bers of parlia ment. Freedom of speech. Excessive punishments. Impanelling of jurors. 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. 13 Hallam's Const. Hist. 135. 1 Trevor's Hist. William III. 346–377. 1689-1702. That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of par- WILLIAM III. ticular persons, before conviction, are illegal and void. And that, for redress of all grievances, and for the amending, strengthening, and preserving of the laws, parliaments ought to be held frequently. Forfeitures beillegal. fore conviction, 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 allegi ance 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 Dispensation by 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. "non-obstante," The people's choice, the pri The settlement of the crown at the Revolution extended only to the descendants of William and Anne. Upon the mary foundation 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: 11 William and Mary, sess. 2, c. 2. 1 Stat. 12 & 13 William III. c. 2. |