DEATH OF WILLIAM III.

193

A. D.

the supply for the public service was placed at the disposal of Ch.17 the sovereign; but after that event the definite sum of seven hundred thousand pounds, yearly, was placed at the disposal 1690 of the Crown, to defray the expense of the civil list, while to other expenses of Government, including those for the support 1702. of the army and navy, were annually appropriated by the Commons.

Act of

The most important legislative act of this reign was the Act Final of Settlement, passed March 12, 1701, which provided that SettleEngland should be free from the obligation of engaging in any ment. war for the defence of the foreign dominions of the King; that all succeeding monarchs should be of the communion of the Church of England; that they should not go out of the British dominions without consent of Parliament; that no pensioner, or person in office, should be a member of the Commons; that the religious liberties of the people should be secured; that the judges should hold office during good behaviour, and have fixed salaries; and that the succession to the throne should be confined to Protestant princes. This act supplied deficiencies in the former settlement, as it included some matters of great importance which had been omitted, and applied remedies for abuses which had sprung up, during the twelve years that had elapsed since the passing of the Bill of Rights.

William reigned thirteen years, with much ability, sagacity, Death and prudence. He died on the 8th of March, 1702, and was buried in the sepulchre of the Kings of England.

of William.

Notwithstanding the animosity of different parties, public opinion now generally awards to him a high place among monarchs. He had many enemies and many defects. He was cold, reserved, and unyielding. He distrusted human nature, and disdained human sympathy. That he was, however, capable of friendship, is attested by his long and devoted attachment to Bentinck, whom he created Earl of Portland, and splendidly rewarded with rich and extensive manors. His His chareserve and coldness may in part be traced to his profound

racter.

194

GREAT MEN OF THE AGE.

A. D.

Ch. 17 knowledge of mankind, whom he feared to trust. But if he was not beloved by the nation, he secured their lasting respect 1702. by being the first to solve the problem of constitutional monarchy, and by successfully ruling, at a very critical period, the Dutch, the English, the Scotch, and the Irish, who had all separate interests and jealousies. He died serenely, but hiding from his attendants, as he did all his days, the deep impressions which agitated his earnest and heroic soul.

Great men of

the

age.

Acces

sion of Anne,

and

events

of her

Among the great men whom he encouraged and rewarded, be mentioned the historian Burnet, whom he made Bishop may of Salisbury, and Tillotson and Tennison, whom he elevated to archiepiscopal thrones. Dr. South and Dr. Bentley also adorned this age. Robert Boyle distinguished himself by experiments in natural science, and zeal for Christian knowledge; and Christopher Wren by his genius in architectural art. But the two great lights of the reign were, doubtless, Sir Isaac Newton and John Locke. The discoveries of Newton are almost without a parallel. To him the world is indebted for the binomial theorem, discovered at the age of twenty-two; for the invention of fluxions; for the demonstration of the law of gravitation; and for the discovery of the different refrangibility of rays of light; while his treatise on Optics, and his Principia, in which he brought to light the new theory of the universe, place him at the head of modern philosophers.

On the death of William, the Princess Anne, daughter of James II., peaceably ascended the throne. She was then thirty-seven years of age.

The memorable events connected with her reign of twelve reign. years are, the war of the Spanish succession, in which Marlborough humbled the pride of Louis XIV.; the struggles of the Whigs and Tories; the union of Scotland with England; the discussion and settlement of great questions pertaining to the constitution, and to the security of the Protestant religion; and the impulse which literature received from the constellation of learned men who were patronized by the Government, and who filled an unusual place in public estimation.

REIGN OF ANNE.

195

In a political point of view, this reign is but the continua- Ch.17 tion of that of William, since the same objects were pursued,

A. D.

the same policy adopted, and the same great characters in- 1702 trusted with power. The animating object of William's life to was the suppression of the power of Louis XIV.; and this end 1714. was never lost sight of by the English Government under the reign of Anne.

with

It will ever remain an open question whether or not it was wise in the English nation to continue the struggle with Louis XIV. so long. In a financial and material point of view, the Wars war proved disastrous. But it is difficult to measure the real Louis greatness of a country, and its solid and enduring blessings, by XIV. any pecuniary standard. All such calculations, however statistically startling, are erroneous and deceptive. The real strength of nations consists in loyalty, patriotism, and public spirit; and no sacrifices can be too great to attain such blessings. If the victories of Marlborough secured these, if they gave dignity to the British name, and an honorable and lofty self-respect to the English people, they were not dearly purchased.

Marlbo

rough.

As to the remarkable genius of the great general by whom Duke of those victories were gained, there can be no question. Marlborough, in spite of his many faults, his selfishness and parsimony, his ambition and duplicity, will always stand high in the catalogue of Fame. He never made any serious mistake; he never lost the soundness of his judgment. No success unduly elated him, and no reverses discouraged him. He never forgot the interests of the nation in his own personal annoyances or enmities. The glory of his country was the prevailing desire of his soul. His sagacity was only equalled by his prudence and patience; and these contributed, as well as his personal bravery, to those splendid successes, which secured for him such magnificent rewards.

Godol

Scarcely less distinguished than he, was Lord Godolphin, Lord the able prime minister of Anne, with whom Marlborough was united by family ties, by friendship, by official relations, and

phin.

196

to

WHIGS AND TORIES.

Ch. 17 by interest. He was a Tory by profession, but a Whig in A. D. policy. He rose with Marlborough, and fell with him, being 1702 an unflinching advocate for the prosecution of the war to the utmost limits. His life was not stainless; but, in an age of 1714. corruption, he ably administered the treasury department, and had the control of unbounded wealth, without becoming rich. It was mainly through the co-operation of this sagacious and far-sighted statesman that Marlborough was enabled to prosecute his brilliant military career.

During his administration, party animosity was at its height, and the great struggle which has been going on, in England, for nearly two hundred years, between the Whigs and Tories, The raged with unusual fierceness. These names originated in the Whigs reign of Charles II., and were terms of reproach. The court Tories. party reproached their antagonists with their affinity to the

and

fanatical conventiclers in Scotland, who were known by the name of the Whigs; and the country party pretended to find a resemblance between the courtiers and the popish banditti of Ireland, to whom the appellation of Tory was affixed. Charles and James sympathized with the Tories; but William III. was supported by the Whigs, who had the ascendency in his reign. Queen Anne was a Tory, as was to be expected from a princess of the house of Stuart; but, in the early part of her reign, she was obliged to yield to the supremacy of the Whigs. Their The advocates of war were Whigs, and those who desired principles. peace were Tories. The Whigs looked to the future glory of the country; the Tories, to the expenses which war created. The Tories, at last, got the ascendency, and expelled Godolphin, Marlborough, and Sunderland, from power.

Of the Tory leaders, Harley (Earl of Oxford), St. John (Lord Bolingbroke), the Duke of Buckingham, and the Duke of Ormond, the Earl of Rochester, and Lord Dartmouth, were the most prominent; but this Tory party was itself divided, in consequence of jealousies between the chiefs, the intrigues of Harley, and the measureless ambition of Bolingbroke. Under the ascendency of the Tories the treaty of

DR. HENRY SACHEVERELL.

197

Utrecht was made, now generally condemned by historians of Ch. 17 both Whig and Tory politics. It was disproportioned to the A. D. success of the war, although it secured the ends of the alliance. 1702 One of the causes which led to the overthrow of the Whigs to 1714. was the impeachment and trial of Dr. Henry Sacheverell, an event which excited intense interest at the time, and, though insignificant in itself, touched some vital principles of the constitution.

Dr. Sa

cheve

This divine, who was rector of St. Saviour's, Southwark, was a man of mean capacity, and of little reputation either for learning or virtue. He had been, during the reign of William, an outrageous Whig; but, finding his services disregarded, he became a violent Tory. The audacity of his railings against Trial of the late King and the revolution, at last attracted the notice of Government; and for two sermons, in which he inculcated, rell. without measure, the doctrine of passive obedience, and repudiated religious toleration, he was in the year 1710 formally impeached. All England was excited by the trial. The Queen herself privately attended, to encourage a man who was persecuted for his loyalty. The first orators and lawyers of the day put forth all their energies on his behalf. Bishop Atterbury wrote the defence, which was endorsed by a conclave of High Church divines. The result of the trial was the condemnation of the doctor, but with it the fall of his adversaries. He was suspended for three years. The trial, while it brought out some great constitutional truths, also more effectually advanced the liberty of the press; it taught men the folly of attaching too much importance to the violence and vituperation of unprincipled libellers.

land.

The great event of this reign was unquestionably the union Union of Engof Scotland and England, which took place May 1, 1707. land and Nothing could be more beneficial for both countries; and Scotthe only wonder is, that it was not accomplished long before. It was agreed, by the act of Union, that the two kingdoms of England and Scotland should, henceforth, be united into one, under the name of Great Britain;