The History of England, from the Accession of James the Second - Volume 1 by Thomas Babington Macaulay (diy ebook reader .txt) π
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the guests and drawers. to kill the heretical tyrant. Oates, that
he might not be eclipsed by his imitators, soon added a large
supplement to his original narrative. He had the portentous
impudence to affirm, among other things, that he had once stood
behind a door which was ajar, and had there overheard the Queen
declare that she had resolved to give her consent to the
assassination of her husband. The vulgar believed, and the
highest magistrates pretended to believe, even such fictions as
these. The chief judges of the realm were corrupt, cruel, and
timid. The leaders of the Country Party encouraged the prevailing
delusion. The most respectable among them, indeed, were
themselves so far deluded as to believe the greater part of the
evidence of the plot to be true. Such men as Shaftesbury and
Buckingham doubtless perceived that the whole was a romance. But
it was a romance which served their turn; and to their seared
consciences the death of an innocent man gave no more uneasiness
than the death of a partridge. The juries partook of the feelings
then common throughout the nation, and were encouraged by the
bench to indulge those feelings without restraint. The multitude
applauded Oates and his confederates, hooted and pelted the
witnesses who appeared on behalf of the accused, and shouted with
joy when the verdict of Guilty was pronounced. It was in vain
that the sufferers appealed to the respectability of their past
lives: for the public mind was possessed with a belief that the
more conscientious a Papist was, the more likely he must be to
plot against a Protestant government. It was in vain that, just
before the cart passed from under their feet, they resolutely
affirmed their innocence: for the general opinion was that a good
Papist considered all lies which were serviceable to his Church
as not only excusable but meritorious.
While innocent blood was shedding under the forms of justice, the
new Parliament met; and such was the violence of the predominant
party that even men whose youth had been passed amidst
revolutions men who remembered the attainder of Strafford, the
attempt on the five members, the abolition of the House of Lords,
the execution of the King, stood aghast at the aspect of public
affairs. The impeachment of Danby was resumed. He pleaded the
royal pardon. But the Commons treated the plea with contempt, and
insisted that the trial should proceed. Danby, however, was not
their chief object. They were convinced that the only effectual
way of securing the liberties and religion of the nation was to
exclude the Duke of York from the throne.
The King was in great perplexity. He had insisted that his
brother, the sight of whom inflamed the populace to madness,
should retire for a time to Brussels: but this concession did not
seem to have produced any favourable effect. The Roundhead party
was now decidedly preponderant. Towards that party leaned
millions who had, at the time of the Restoration, leaned towards
the side of prerogative. Of the old Cavaliers many participated
in the prevailing fear of Popery, and many, bitterly resenting
the ingratitude of the prince for whom they had sacrificed so
much, looked on his distress as carelessly as he had looked on
theirs. Even the Anglican clergy, mortified and alarmed by the
apostasy of the Duke of York, so far countenanced the opposition
as to join cordially in the outcry against the Roman Catholics.
The King in this extremity had recourse to Sir William Temple. Of
all the official men of that age Temple had preserved the fairest
character. The Triple Alliance had been his work. He had refused
to take any part in the politics of the Cabal, and had, while
that administration directed affairs, lived in strict privacy. He
had quitted his retreat at the call of Danby, had made peace
between England and Holland, and had borne a chief part in
bringing about the marriage of the Lady Mary to her cousin the
Prince of Orange. Thus he had the credit of every one of the few
good things which had been done by the government since the
Restoration. Of the numerous crimes and blunders of the last
eighteen years none could be imputed to him. His private life,
though not austere, was decorous: his manners were popular; and
he was not to be corrupted either by titles or by money.
Something, however, was wanting to the character of this
respectable statesman. The temperature of his patriotism was
lukewarm. He prized his ease and his personal dignity too much,
and shrank from responsibility with a pusillanimous fear. Nor
indeed had his habits fitted him to bear a part in the conflicts
of our domestic factions. He had reached his fiftieth year
without having sate in the English Parliament; and his official
experience had been almost entirely acquired at foreign courts.
He was justly esteemed one of the first diplomatists in Europe:
but the talents and accomplishments of a diplomatist are widely
different from those which qualify a politician to lead the House
of Commons in agitated times.
The scheme which he proposed showed considerable ingenuity.
Though not a profound philosopher, he had thought more than most
busy men of the world on the general principles of government;
and his mind had been enlarged by historical studies and foreign
travel. He seems to have discerned more clearly than most of his
contemporaries one cause of the difficulties by which the
government was beset. The character of the English polity was
gradually changing. The Parliament was slowly, but constantly,
gaining ground on the prerogative. The line between the
legislative and executive powers was in theory as strongly marked
as ever, but in practice was daily becoming fainter and fainter.
The theory of the constitution was that the King might name his
own ministers. But the House of Commons had driven Clarendon, the
Cabal, and Danby successively from the direction of affairs. The
theory of the constitution was that the King alone had the power
of making peace and war. But the House of Commons had forced him
to make peace with Holland, and had all but forced him to make
war with France. The theory of the constitution was that the King
was the sole judge of the cases in which it might be proper to
pardon offenders. Yet he was so much in dread of the House of
Commons that, at that moment, he could not venture to rescue from
the gallows men whom he well knew to be the innocent victims of
perjury.
Temple, it should seem, was desirous to secure to the legislature
its undoubted constitutional powers, and yet to prevent it, if
possible, from encroaching further on the province of the
executive administration. With this view he determined to
interpose between the sovereign and the Parliament a body which
might break the shock of their collision. There was a body
ancient, highly honourable, and recognised by the law, which, he
thought, might be so remodelled as to serve this purpose. He
determined to give to the Privy Council a new character and
office in the government. The number of Councillors he fixed at
thirty. Fifteen of them were to be the chief ministers of state,
of law, and of religion. The other fifteen were to be unplaced
noblemen and gentlemen of ample fortune and high character. There
was to be no interior cabinet. All the thirty were to be
entrusted with every political secret, and summoned to every
meeting; and the King was to declare that he would, on every
occasion, be guided by their advice.
Temple seems to have thought that, by this contrivance, he could
at once secure the nation against the tyranny of the Crown, and
the Crown against the encroachments of the Parliament. It was, on
one hand, highly improbable that schemes such as had been formed
by the Cabal would be even propounded for discussion in an
assembly consisting of thirty eminent men, fifteen of whom were
bound by no tie of interest to the court. On the other hand, it
might be hoped that the Commons, content with the guarantee
against misgovernment which such a Privy Council furnished, would
confine themselves more than they had of late done to their
strictly legislative functions, and would no longer think it
necessary to pry into every part of the executive administration.
This plan, though in some respects not unworthy of the abilities
of its author, was in principle vicious. The new board was half a
cabinet and half a Parliament, and, like almost every other
contrivance, whether mechanical or political, which is meant to
serve two purposes altogether different, failed of accomplishing
either. It was too large and too divided to be a good
administrative body. It was too closely connected with the Crown
to be a good checking body. It contained just enough of popular
ingredients to make it a bad council of state, unfit for the
keeping of secrets, for the conducting of delicate negotiations,
and for the administration of war. Yet were these popular
ingredients by no means sufficient to secure the nation against
misgovernment. The plan, therefore, even if it had been fairly
tried, could scarcely have succeeded; and it was not fairly
tried. The King was fickle and perfidious: the Parliament was
excited and unreasonable; and the materials out of which the new
Council was made, though perhaps the best which that age
afforded, were still bad.
The commencement of the new system was, however, hailed with
general delight; for the people were in a temper to think any
change an improvement. They were also pleased by some of the new
nominations. Shaftesbury, now their favourite, was appointed Lord
President. Russell and some other distinguished members of the
Country Party were sworn of the Council. But a few days later all
was again in confusion. The inconveniences of having so numerous
a cabinet were such that Temple himself consented to infringe one
of the fundamental rules which he had laid down, and to become
one of a small knot which really directed everything. With him
were joined three other ministers, Arthur Capel, Earl of Essex,
George Savile, Viscount Halifax, and Robert Spencer, Earl of
Sunderland.
Of the Earl of Essex, then First Commissioner of the Treasury, it
is sufficient to say that he was a man of solid, though not
brilliant parts, and of grave and melancholy character, that he
had been connected with the Country Party, and that he was at
this time honestly desirous to effect, on terms beneficial to the
state, a reconciliation between that party and the throne.
Among the statesmen of those times Halifax was, in genius, the
first. His intellect was fertile, subtle, and capacious. His
polished, luminous, and animated eloquence, set off by the silver
tones of his voice, was the
the guests and drawers. to kill the heretical tyrant. Oates, that
he might not be eclipsed by his imitators, soon added a large
supplement to his original narrative. He had the portentous
impudence to affirm, among other things, that he had once stood
behind a door which was ajar, and had there overheard the Queen
declare that she had resolved to give her consent to the
assassination of her husband. The vulgar believed, and the
highest magistrates pretended to believe, even such fictions as
these. The chief judges of the realm were corrupt, cruel, and
timid. The leaders of the Country Party encouraged the prevailing
delusion. The most respectable among them, indeed, were
themselves so far deluded as to believe the greater part of the
evidence of the plot to be true. Such men as Shaftesbury and
Buckingham doubtless perceived that the whole was a romance. But
it was a romance which served their turn; and to their seared
consciences the death of an innocent man gave no more uneasiness
than the death of a partridge. The juries partook of the feelings
then common throughout the nation, and were encouraged by the
bench to indulge those feelings without restraint. The multitude
applauded Oates and his confederates, hooted and pelted the
witnesses who appeared on behalf of the accused, and shouted with
joy when the verdict of Guilty was pronounced. It was in vain
that the sufferers appealed to the respectability of their past
lives: for the public mind was possessed with a belief that the
more conscientious a Papist was, the more likely he must be to
plot against a Protestant government. It was in vain that, just
before the cart passed from under their feet, they resolutely
affirmed their innocence: for the general opinion was that a good
Papist considered all lies which were serviceable to his Church
as not only excusable but meritorious.
While innocent blood was shedding under the forms of justice, the
new Parliament met; and such was the violence of the predominant
party that even men whose youth had been passed amidst
revolutions men who remembered the attainder of Strafford, the
attempt on the five members, the abolition of the House of Lords,
the execution of the King, stood aghast at the aspect of public
affairs. The impeachment of Danby was resumed. He pleaded the
royal pardon. But the Commons treated the plea with contempt, and
insisted that the trial should proceed. Danby, however, was not
their chief object. They were convinced that the only effectual
way of securing the liberties and religion of the nation was to
exclude the Duke of York from the throne.
The King was in great perplexity. He had insisted that his
brother, the sight of whom inflamed the populace to madness,
should retire for a time to Brussels: but this concession did not
seem to have produced any favourable effect. The Roundhead party
was now decidedly preponderant. Towards that party leaned
millions who had, at the time of the Restoration, leaned towards
the side of prerogative. Of the old Cavaliers many participated
in the prevailing fear of Popery, and many, bitterly resenting
the ingratitude of the prince for whom they had sacrificed so
much, looked on his distress as carelessly as he had looked on
theirs. Even the Anglican clergy, mortified and alarmed by the
apostasy of the Duke of York, so far countenanced the opposition
as to join cordially in the outcry against the Roman Catholics.
The King in this extremity had recourse to Sir William Temple. Of
all the official men of that age Temple had preserved the fairest
character. The Triple Alliance had been his work. He had refused
to take any part in the politics of the Cabal, and had, while
that administration directed affairs, lived in strict privacy. He
had quitted his retreat at the call of Danby, had made peace
between England and Holland, and had borne a chief part in
bringing about the marriage of the Lady Mary to her cousin the
Prince of Orange. Thus he had the credit of every one of the few
good things which had been done by the government since the
Restoration. Of the numerous crimes and blunders of the last
eighteen years none could be imputed to him. His private life,
though not austere, was decorous: his manners were popular; and
he was not to be corrupted either by titles or by money.
Something, however, was wanting to the character of this
respectable statesman. The temperature of his patriotism was
lukewarm. He prized his ease and his personal dignity too much,
and shrank from responsibility with a pusillanimous fear. Nor
indeed had his habits fitted him to bear a part in the conflicts
of our domestic factions. He had reached his fiftieth year
without having sate in the English Parliament; and his official
experience had been almost entirely acquired at foreign courts.
He was justly esteemed one of the first diplomatists in Europe:
but the talents and accomplishments of a diplomatist are widely
different from those which qualify a politician to lead the House
of Commons in agitated times.
The scheme which he proposed showed considerable ingenuity.
Though not a profound philosopher, he had thought more than most
busy men of the world on the general principles of government;
and his mind had been enlarged by historical studies and foreign
travel. He seems to have discerned more clearly than most of his
contemporaries one cause of the difficulties by which the
government was beset. The character of the English polity was
gradually changing. The Parliament was slowly, but constantly,
gaining ground on the prerogative. The line between the
legislative and executive powers was in theory as strongly marked
as ever, but in practice was daily becoming fainter and fainter.
The theory of the constitution was that the King might name his
own ministers. But the House of Commons had driven Clarendon, the
Cabal, and Danby successively from the direction of affairs. The
theory of the constitution was that the King alone had the power
of making peace and war. But the House of Commons had forced him
to make peace with Holland, and had all but forced him to make
war with France. The theory of the constitution was that the King
was the sole judge of the cases in which it might be proper to
pardon offenders. Yet he was so much in dread of the House of
Commons that, at that moment, he could not venture to rescue from
the gallows men whom he well knew to be the innocent victims of
perjury.
Temple, it should seem, was desirous to secure to the legislature
its undoubted constitutional powers, and yet to prevent it, if
possible, from encroaching further on the province of the
executive administration. With this view he determined to
interpose between the sovereign and the Parliament a body which
might break the shock of their collision. There was a body
ancient, highly honourable, and recognised by the law, which, he
thought, might be so remodelled as to serve this purpose. He
determined to give to the Privy Council a new character and
office in the government. The number of Councillors he fixed at
thirty. Fifteen of them were to be the chief ministers of state,
of law, and of religion. The other fifteen were to be unplaced
noblemen and gentlemen of ample fortune and high character. There
was to be no interior cabinet. All the thirty were to be
entrusted with every political secret, and summoned to every
meeting; and the King was to declare that he would, on every
occasion, be guided by their advice.
Temple seems to have thought that, by this contrivance, he could
at once secure the nation against the tyranny of the Crown, and
the Crown against the encroachments of the Parliament. It was, on
one hand, highly improbable that schemes such as had been formed
by the Cabal would be even propounded for discussion in an
assembly consisting of thirty eminent men, fifteen of whom were
bound by no tie of interest to the court. On the other hand, it
might be hoped that the Commons, content with the guarantee
against misgovernment which such a Privy Council furnished, would
confine themselves more than they had of late done to their
strictly legislative functions, and would no longer think it
necessary to pry into every part of the executive administration.
This plan, though in some respects not unworthy of the abilities
of its author, was in principle vicious. The new board was half a
cabinet and half a Parliament, and, like almost every other
contrivance, whether mechanical or political, which is meant to
serve two purposes altogether different, failed of accomplishing
either. It was too large and too divided to be a good
administrative body. It was too closely connected with the Crown
to be a good checking body. It contained just enough of popular
ingredients to make it a bad council of state, unfit for the
keeping of secrets, for the conducting of delicate negotiations,
and for the administration of war. Yet were these popular
ingredients by no means sufficient to secure the nation against
misgovernment. The plan, therefore, even if it had been fairly
tried, could scarcely have succeeded; and it was not fairly
tried. The King was fickle and perfidious: the Parliament was
excited and unreasonable; and the materials out of which the new
Council was made, though perhaps the best which that age
afforded, were still bad.
The commencement of the new system was, however, hailed with
general delight; for the people were in a temper to think any
change an improvement. They were also pleased by some of the new
nominations. Shaftesbury, now their favourite, was appointed Lord
President. Russell and some other distinguished members of the
Country Party were sworn of the Council. But a few days later all
was again in confusion. The inconveniences of having so numerous
a cabinet were such that Temple himself consented to infringe one
of the fundamental rules which he had laid down, and to become
one of a small knot which really directed everything. With him
were joined three other ministers, Arthur Capel, Earl of Essex,
George Savile, Viscount Halifax, and Robert Spencer, Earl of
Sunderland.
Of the Earl of Essex, then First Commissioner of the Treasury, it
is sufficient to say that he was a man of solid, though not
brilliant parts, and of grave and melancholy character, that he
had been connected with the Country Party, and that he was at
this time honestly desirous to effect, on terms beneficial to the
state, a reconciliation between that party and the throne.
Among the statesmen of those times Halifax was, in genius, the
first. His intellect was fertile, subtle, and capacious. His
polished, luminous, and animated eloquence, set off by the silver
tones of his voice, was the
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