abfurdity of refifting or punishing the partifans of A. c. 1689. a man, whom they acknowledged to be their lawful fovereign, in cafe he should attempt to difturb the peace of the kingdom, and grant commiffions to his adherents. They enumerated other inconveniences that would arife from a regency. They obferved, that unless they elected a new fovereign, they must acknowledge the fucceffion of a child of a doubtful birth, who would be educated in principles destructive of the religion and liberty of the kingdom, and perpetuate thofe maxims in his family and defcendants.

vote of the commons.

After a long debate, a new fovereign was pre- They conferred to a regent, by a majority of two voices, car with the Of all the prelates, the bishops of London and Bristol only efpoused this fide of the queftion. The archbishop of Canterbury, who was a timorous man, abfented himself from the house, that he might not be obliged to give his opinion on the fubject. Next day the lords debated the queftion, Whether there was actually an original contract between the king and people? And it was carried in the affirmative by a majority of feven voices. Then they difputed upon the grammatical fignification of the word "Abdicated," and agreed that "Deferted" fhould be used in its place. The next word they examined was the term "Vacant;" and this question was propofed,

Whether, fuppofing king James had violated the "original contract between him and his people, "and abandoned the government, the throne "was thereby become vacant?" The tories maintained, that by the laws of England, the king could never die of confequence the throne could not be vacant; and it passed in the negative by a majority of eleven: forty peers, however, enter. ed a proteft against this decifion. Some of the

T 4

whig

A. C. 1689. whig party moved that, fuppofing king James virtually dead, they should acknowledge the prince and princess of Orange king and queen of England but this propofal was rejected by a small majority. On the second day of February, the lords fent down the vote of the commons, with their amendments, which were not approved by the lower house. A conference was held, without producing an accommodation: then the commons appointed four and twenty members, to maintain the opinions of their house, in a new conference ; and the peers nominated the earls of Nottingham, Clarendon, Rochester, and Pembroke, the bishop of Ely, and fome others, to fupport their fentiments in favour of the amendments they had propofed. This conference was managed with great ability on the part of the commons, by Hambden, Somers, Holt, Maynard, Treby, Sacheverel, Pollexfen, Sir Robert Howard, Sir Richard Temple, Foley, and Ayres: yet, rather than fhock the tories by attacking their favourite doctrines, they chose to wave fome ftrong arguments they might have deduced from the neceffity of the cafe, the firft principles of the conftitution, and the natural right that, in fuch emergencies, the people certainly had to provide extraordinary remedies for the prefervation of the community. The report of this conference, made to the houfe of peers, produced warm debates: but at length the majority agreed to defift from their amendments; and the houfe concurred with the vote of the commons, "That king James had abdicated the government, and thereby the throne was become

Private de

"vacant.

During thefe difputes the prince of Orange reclaration of mained at St. James's, without making the leaft of Orange. effort to increase the number of his partifans.

the prince

Though

Though naturally dry and phlegmatic, he was now A. C, 1689. more referved than ever; and the members of both houses were furprised, that no application was made to them in his behalf. At length fending for the marquis of Hallifax, the earls of Danby, Shrewsbury, and fome other noblemen, he told them he had hitherto kept filence, that he might not feem to interfere with the freedom of their deliberations. He faid he knew fome perfons were inclined to a regency, to which he had no objection; but, for his own part, he would not undertake the office. Others, he observed, were defirous of raising the princess to the throne; and that he fhould reign by her courtesy. He declared his profound efteem for the princess, but he was not of a humour to hold a crown dependent upon any woman on earth; nor would he have any fhare in the government, unless invested with it for life: nevertheless, if they thought proper to act in another manner, he would give them no oppofition, but return to Holland, without meddling further in their affairs; but in cafe they fhould inveft him with the royalty for life, he would agree that the pofterity of the princefs Anne fhould be preferred to that which he might have by a second marriage.

claimed king

When the house of peers proceeded to deliberate william and upon an expedient to fill the vacant throne, Halli- Mary profax propofed that the prince of Orange fhould and queen of reign alone, and the princeffes fucceed in order, at England. his death. This motion gave rife to violent debates; and the two houses began to be divided into parties. The earl of Danby lent an exprefs to the princefs of Orange, with an affurance that if she chofe to reign alone, he had intereft enough to carry that point in her favour: fhe replied that the was the prince's wife, and would never cherifh a

separate

4.C. 1689. feparate intereft from that of her husband, to whom

the tranfmitted the earl's letter. At laft the two houfes agreed, and each voted apart, that the prince and princess of Orange should reign jointly as king and queen of England; and that the adminiftration fhould be in the hands of the prince alone. This vote, however, paffed by a very small majority in the upper houfe, and not without a formal proteft by the oppofite party. Then the convention, after fome difputes, reduced the oath of allegiance to its original fimplicity, of being faithful to the king and queen. On the twelfth day of February the princess of Orange arrived in LonDvaux. don. Next day the members of the two houses went in a body to the Banquetting houfe, where the prince and princefs fat in ftate; and the De-claration of Rights being read, the marquis of Hallifax,

Burnet,

Rapin. Fchard

Ralph.

*

Whereas the late king James the second, by the affiftance of divers evil counsellors, judges, and minifters employed by him, did endeavour to fubvert and extirpate the proteftant religion, and the laws and liberties of this kingdom; by affuming and exercifing a power of difpenfing with, and fufpending of laws, without confent of parliament by committing and profecuting divers worthy prelates, for humbly petitioning to be excufed from concurring to the faid affumed power: by ifiuing and caufing to be executed, a commiffion under the great feal, for erecting a court called, The court of commiffioners for ecclefiaftical caufes: by levying money for and to the ufe of the crown, by pretence of prero

gative, for other time, and in other manner, than the same was granted by parliament: By raifing and keeping a ftanding-army within this kingdom in time of peace, without confent of parliament; and quartering fuldiers contrary to law: By caufing divers good fubjects, being proteftants, to be difarmed, at the fame time when papifts were both armed and employed contrary to law: By violating the freedom of election of members to ferve in parliament: By profecutions in the court of king's bench for matters and caufes cognizable only in parliament and by divers other arbitrary and illegal courfes. And whereas of late years, partial, corrupt, and unqualified perfons have been returned and

Hallifax, as fpeaker of the upper house, made a A. C. 1689. folemn tender of the crown to their highneffes, in