bill great opposition was offered, the king at one time resolved to dare all the consequences of rejecting it. As his mind cooled, he saw the extreme danger of resistance, and the bill was therefore passed. Somers the chancellor was ill during the debates on this bill, and all the opposition made in the Lords was charged to his account, he was shortly after dismissed. On this matter Hallam observes; "The prodigality of William in grants to his favorites was an undeniable reproach to his reign", but adds that acts of resumption "shake the general stability of possession, and destroy that confidence in which the practical sense of freedom consists. They are also accompanied, for the most part, as appears to have been the case in this instance of the Irish forfeitures, with partiality and misrepresentation as well as violence".

3. Impeachment of Portland and others for being parties to the Partition Treaties. 1701. After the dismissal of Somers, the government was in the hands of Tories, who seemed resolved to vent their wrath upon the late Whig ministers. Occasion was found in connexion with the Partition Treaties, the particulars of which are given in that part of this reign which refers to foreign affairs. The principal ground taken by the committee of the peers was, "that the treaty had been transacted, signed, and the great seal affixed to it in secrecy, and during the sitting of parliament". In truth William himself had managed these negotiations, without the cognizance of any of his English ministers, except Lord Jersey. Somers the chancellor had committed himself by putting the great seal to blank powers, and had afterwards sealed the ratification of the treaty, though not consulted upon it. Hallam says, "that it is more easy to vindicate the partition treaties themselves, than to reconcile the conduct of the king and some others with the principles established in our constitution". By the Commons, it was voted : "That William, Earl of Portland, by negotiating and concluding the Treaty of Partition, which was destructive to the trade of this kingdom and dangerous to the peace of Europe, was guilty of a high crime and misdemeanour". Similar votes passed for the impeachment of Somers, Oxford, aud Halifax. The quarrels between the Houses led to the acquittal of the four lords; indeed, "the impeachments were in most respects so ill substantiated by proof, that they have generally been reckoned a disgraceful instance of party spirit".

4. The Kentish Petition and "Legion Memorial." 1701. During the heats generated between the Houses, in connexion with the impeachment of the Whig lords, the famous Kentish petition was presented. It had been agreed to at the Maidstone assizes, and signed by the magistrates, grand jury, and

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a great number of freeholders, and set forth that " from the experience of all ages, it is manifest that no nation can be great or happy without union. We most humbly implore this honorable House to have regard to the voice of the people, that our religion and safety may be effectually provided for, and that your addresses may be turned into bills of supply". The Commons in an angry mood, resolved that the petition was "scandalous, insolent, and seditious", and that the gentlemen presenting it be sent to the Gate-house; their imprisonment continued till the prorogation. This stretch of power on the part of the Commons gave rise to a Memorial, signed Legion, which led to its being entitled the "Legion Memorial". It charged the House with illegal and unwarrantable practices, and demanded that it should act with honesty and truth, "for Englishmen are no more to be slaves to parliaments than to kings". From internal evidence this paper is attributed to Defoe. The House was in a perfect fury, all the members were summoned to instant attendance, and tumults and seditions were talked about; the panic however gradually subsided, and the proper business of the House was resumed.

5. The Second Act of Settlement. 1701. The death in 1700, of the Duke of Gloucester, only surviving child of Anne, made a new settlement of the crown necessary. Proceeding after the method adopted by the Convention Parliament, further secu rities were taken for the liberties of the people, before a settlement was made of the crown. When this had been done, it was resolved; "That the princess Sophia, Duchess Dowager of Hanover, be declared next in succession to the crown of England, &c". At the period of the Revolution, William, in order to secure the accession of the Elector of Hanover to the alliance, made some effort to obtain for Sophia and her heirs the reversion of the crown, and a provision to this effect was inserted by the Lords in the Bill of Rights, but the Commons rejected the amendment. This settlement set aside the claims of the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Savoy (daughter of Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans), and several of the Palatine family, who had abjured the reformed faith.

The Second Act of Settlement is entitled "An Act for the further limitation of the crown, and better securing the rights and liberties of the subject". By the 1st section, it is enacted; "That the most excellent Princess Sophia, Electress and Duchess-dowager of Hanover, daughter of the most excellent Princess Elizabeth, late Queen of Bohemia, daughter of our late sovereign lord King James the First, of happy memory, be and is hereby declared to be the next in succession in the Protestant line, to the imperial crown and dignity of the said realms of England, France, and Ireland, with the dominions and territories thereto belonging, &c".

By the 2nd section, it is provided; "That all and every person and persons who shall or may take or inherit the said crown, by virtue of the limitation of this present act, and is, or shall be reconciled to, or shall hold communion with the see or church of Rome, or shall profess the popish religion, or shall marry a papist, shall be subject to such incapacities, as in such case or cases are by the said recited act, provided, enacted, and established ; &c."

By the 3rd section, with a view to the further securing "our religion, laws, and liberties" it is enacted :-1. "That whosoever shall hereafter come to the possession of this crown shall join in communion with the church of England, as by law established. 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 which do not belong to the crown of England, without the consent of parliament. 3. That no person who shall hereafter come to the possession of this crown shall go out of the dominions of England, Scotland, or Ireland, without consent of parliament. [repealed by 1. Geo. I. 4. That from and after the time that the further limitation of 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 take, advise, and consent to the same. [repealed 4. Anne.]. 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 naturalised 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 him. 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. [repealed by 4. Anne] 7. That after the said limitation shall take effect as aforesaid, 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. 8. That no pardon under the great seal be pleadable to an impeachment by the commons in parliament."

By the 4th section, "all the laws and statutes of this realm for securing the established religion, and the rights and liberties of the people thereof, and all other laws and statutes of the same now in force", are ratified and confirmed.

Smyth says of this act; "On the whole it does honor to the Tories who were then in power, for provisions were made against the consequences of a foreigner coming to the throne, though they were not afterwards found to be complete. The laws of England are pronounced to be the birthright of the people thereof. The kings and queens it is declared, ought to administer the government according to these laws."

SECTION VIII. WILLIAM'S FIFTH PARLIAMENT.

1701-1702.

Attainder of the Prince of Wales. 1702. The new parliament which met in December showed some reaction, for the Whigs carried the vote in favor of Mr. Harley as Speaker. Two months previously, James II. died at St. Germains, and Louis proclaimed his son, the Prince of Wales, king of England, though this act was contrary to one of the articles of the treaty of Ryswick. When William met his parliament, he enlarged upon the wrong done him by the French monarch, and urged the necessity of increasing both land and sea forces. "If you do," said the king, "in good earnest desire to see England hold the balance of Europe, and to be indeed at the head of the protestant interest, it will appear by your right improving the present opportunity". The king was assured by the parliament of their determination to assist him to their utmost power against the pretended Prince of Wales. Indeed, the Houses seemed to vie with each other in their zeal for the government, large supplies were granted, a bill passed for attainting the pretended prince, and another for abjuring the same person. It was just at this juncture of affairs that William died, his last public act being to stamp his name on a commission for giving the royal assent to certain bills, of which the abjuration bill was one.

SECTION IX. AFFAIRS OF SCOTLAND.

1. The Scotch parliament passes the Darien Bill. 1695. The Scottish parliament, in 1693, passed an act for the encouragement of commerce, which included the establishment of new settlements, or a new trade. A shrewd Scot named Paterson, the same who originated the Bank of England, proposed a scheme to the Scotch merchants, which was to enrich the nation. The proposer had passed many years of his life in different parts of the New World, among the bucaneers some said, while others maintained he had been a missionary. His proposal was, to settle two colonies on the Isthmus of Darien, one on the Atlantic, and the other on the Pacific, and through them to conduct a trade with the two Indies. Paterson sent out a most glowing description of this enchanted land". "There crystal rivers sparkle over sands of gold; there the traveller may wander for days under a vast canopy formed by the fruit-laden branches of trees, whose wood is of inestimable value. The very waters abound in wealth; innumerable shoals of fish disport themselves among coral rocks, and the bottom of the sea is strewn with pearls. From the first dawn of creation this enchanted land has lain secluded from mor

tal eyes; to the present generation, to Scottish enterprise it is now revealed; let us enter and take possession of the promised land."

To secure these advantages, and thus put Scotland in a more favored position with respect to commerce, an act was passed, giving the undertakers most extensive privileges, with a limitation however that they should not interfere with the trade of England. Of the stock, it was proposed to raise in Scotland £400,000, in England £300,000, and £200,000 in Holland and Hamburg. So great was the enthusiasm in connexion with this speculation, that although the entire circulating medium in Scotland was at that time only £800,000, the half of that amount was invested in the Darien stock. Sir Walter Scott says: "many subscribed their all; maidens threw in their portions, and widows whatever sums they could raise upon their dower, to be repaid a hundred-fold by the golden shower which was to descend upon the subscribers".

2. The English parliament presents a remonstrance against the Darien Company, 1696. The ground taken by the two Houses was,-that mischief would follow to the king's English subjects, by exempting the Scots from restraints, customs, taxes, &c.; that the stock and shipping of England would be carried to Scotland; that the commodities imported by the Scotch would be smuggled into this country; and that the Scotch would supplant the English in the American plantations, and not only the traffic thereto be lost to this pation, but our exportations would yearly decrease. To this remonstrance William replied, "that he had been ill-served in Scotland; but that he hoped remedies might be found to prevent the inconveniences which might arise from the Scotch Act". It appears that the king had in some measure been imposed upon, for shortly after Tweedale, the lord high commissioner, and the two secretaries of Scotland, were dismissed. Both the East India Company and the Dutch merchants petitioned against the scheme, and the House resolved that the Directors of the Scotch Company were guilty of a high crime and misdemeanour. William now disowned the Company, but the Scotch resolved to proceed nevertheless.

3. Paterson sails with twelve hundred men from Leith, 1698. Of the twelve hundred men in this expedition, one-fourth were of gentle birth; there were besides many women and children. Having reached the "promised land", the colonists established them on a narrow neck of land, still marked on the maps as Punta Escoces, about twenty miles north-west of Cape Tiburon, and midway between Portobello and Carthagena. Here their stores were landed, and a fort erected, which they called