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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could not therefore be legally exacted by the
new sovereign. Some weeks must elapse before a House of Commons
could be chosen. If, in the meantime, the duties were suspended,
the revenue would suffer; the regular course of trade would be
interrupted; the consumer would derive no benefit, and the only
gainers would be those fortunate speculators whose cargoes might
happen to arrive during the interval between the demise of the
crown and the meeting of the Parliament. The Treasury was
besieged by merchants whose warehouses were filled with goods on
which duty had been paid, and who were in grievous apprehension
of being undersold and ruined. Impartial men must admit that this
was one of those cases in which a government may be justified in
deviating from the strictly constitutional course. But when it is
necessary to deviate from the strictly constitutional course, the
deviation clearly ought to be no greater than the necessity
requires. Guildford felt this, and gave advice which did him
honour. He proposed that the duties should be levied, but should
be kept in the Exchequer apart from other sums till the
Parliament should meet. In this way the King, while violating the
letter of the laws, would show that he wished to conform to their
spirit, Jeffreys gave very different counsel. He advised James to
put forth an edict declaring it to be His Majesty's will and
pleasure that the customs should continue to be paid. This advice
was well suited to the King's temper. The judicious proposition
of the Lord Keeper was rejected as worthy only of a Whig, or of
what was still worse, a Trimmer. A proclamation, such as the
Chief Justice had suggested, appeared. Some people had expected
that a violent outbreak of public indignation would be the
consequence; but they were deceived. The spirit of opposition had
not yet revived; and the court might safely venture to take steps
which, five years before, would have produced a rebellion. In the
City of London, lately so turbulent, scarcely a murmur was
heard.234
The proclamation, which announced that the customs would still be
levied, announced also that a Parliament would shortly meet. It
was not without many misgivings that James had determined to call
the Estates of his realm together. The moment was, indeed. most
auspicious for a general election. Never since the accession of
the House of Stuart had the constituent bodies been so favourably
disposed towards the Court. But the new sovereign's mind was
haunted by an apprehension not to be mentioned even at this
distance of time, without shame and indignation. He was afraid
that by summoning his Parliament he might incur the displeasure
of the King of France.
To the King of France it mattered little which of the two English
factions triumphed at the elections: for all the Parliaments
which had met since the Restoration, whatever might have been
their temper as to domestic politics, had been jealous of the
growing power of the House of Bourbon. On this subject there was
little difference between the Whigs and the sturdy country
gentlemen who formed the main strength of the Tory party. Lewis
had therefore spared neither bribes nor menaces to prevent
Charles from convoking the Houses; and James, who had from the
first been in the secret of his brother's foreign politics, had,
in becoming King of England, become also a hireling and vassal of
France.
Rochester, Godolphin, and Sunderland, who now formed the interior
cabinet, were perfectly aware that their late master had been in
the habit of receiving money from the court of Versailles. They
were consulted by James as to the expediency of convoking the
legislature. They acknowledged the importance of keeping Lewis in
good humour: but it seemed to them that the calling of a
Parliament was not a matter of choice. Patient as the nation
appeared to be, there were limits to its patience. The principle,
that the money of the subject could not be lawfully taken by the
King without the assent of the Commons, was firmly rooted in the
public mind; and though, on all extraordinary emergency even
Whigs might be willing to pay, during a few weeks, duties not
imposed by statute, it was certain that even Tories would become
refractory if such irregular taxation should continue longer than
the special circumstances which alone justified it. The Houses
then must meet; and since it was so, the sooner they were
summoned the better. Even the short delay which would be
occasioned by a reference to Versailles might produce irreparable
mischief. Discontent and suspicion would spread fast through
society. Halifax would complain that the fundamental principles
of the constitution were violated. The Lord Keeper, like a
cowardly pedantic special pleader as he was, would take the same
side. What might have been done with a good grace would at last
be done with a bad grace. Those very ministers whom His Majesty
most wished to lower in the public estimation would gain
popularity at his expense. The ill temper of the nation might
seriously affect the result of the elections. These arguments
were unanswerable. The King therefore notified to the country his
intention of holding a Parliament. But he was painfully anxious
to exculpate himself from the guilt of having acted undutifully
and disrespectfully towards France. He led Barillon into a
private room, and there apologised for having dared to take so
important a step without the previous sanction of Lewis. "Assure
your master," said James, "of my gratitude and attachment. I know
that without his protection I can do nothing. I know what
troubles my brother brought on himself by not adhering steadily
to France. I will take good care not to let the Houses meddle
with foreign affairs. If I see in them any disposition to make
mischief, I will send them about their business. Explain this to
my good brother. I hope that he will not take it amiss that I
have acted without consulting him. He has a right to be
consulted; and it is my wish to consult him about everything. But
in this case the delay even of a week might have produced serious
consequences."
These ignominious excuses were, on the following morning,
repeated by Rochester. Barillon received them civilly. Rochester,
grown bolder, proceeded to ask for money. "It will be well laid
out," he said: "your master cannot employ his revenues better.
Represent to him strongly how important it is that the King of
England should be dependent, not on his own people, but on the
friendship of France alone."235
Barillon hastened to communicate to Lewis the wishes of the
English government; but Lewis had already anticipated them. His
first act, after he was apprised of the death of Charles, was to
collect bills of exchange on England to the amount of five
hundred thousand livres, a sum equivalent to about thirty-seven
thousand five hundred pounds sterling Such bills were not then to
be easily procured in Paris at day's notice. In a few hours,
however, the purchase was effected, and a courier started for
London.236 As soon as Barillon received the remittance, he flew
to Whitehall, and communicated the welcome news. James was not
ashamed to shed, or pretend to shed, tears of delight and
gratitude. "Nobody but your King," he said, "does such kind, such
noble things. I never can be grateful enough. Assure him that my
attachment will last to the end of my days." Rochester,
Sunderland, and Godolphin came, one after another, to embrace the
ambassador, and to whisper to him that he had given new life to
their royal master.237
But though James and his three advisers were pleased with the
promptitude which Lewis had shown, they were by no means
satisfied with the amount of the donation. As they were afraid,
however, that they might give offence by importunate mendicancy,
they merely hinted their wishes. They declared that they had no
intention of haggling with so generous a benefactor as the French
King, and that they were willing to trust entirely to his
munificence. They, at the same time, attempted to propitiate him
by a large sacrifice of national honour. It was well known that
one chief end of his politics was to add the Belgian provinces to
his dominions. England was bound by a treaty which had been
concluded with Spain when Danby was Lord Treasurer, to resist any
attempt which France might make on those provinces. The three
ministers informed Barillon that their master considered that
treaty as no longer obligatory. It had been made, they said, by
Charles: it might, perhaps, have been binding on him; but his
brother did not think himself bound by it. The most Christian
King might, therefore, without any fear of opposition from
England, proceed to annex Brabant and Hainault to his empire.238
It was at the same time resolved that an extraordinary embassy
should be sent to assure Lewis of the gratitude and affection of
James. For this mission was selected a man who did not as yet
occupy a very eminent position, but whose renown, strangely made
up of infamy and glory, filled at a later period the whole
civilized world.
Soon after the Restoration, in the gay and dissolute times which
have been celebrated by the lively pen of Hamilton, James, young
and ardent in the pursuit of pleasure, had been attracted to
Arabella Churchill, one of the maids of honour who waited on his
first wife. The young lady was plain: but the taste of James was
not nice: and she became his avowed mistress. She was the
daughter of a poor Cavalier knight who haunted Whitehall, and
made himself ridiculous by publishing a dull and affected folio,
long forgotten, in praise of monarchy and monarchs. The
necessities of the Churchills were pressing: their loyalty was
ardent: and their only feeling about Arabella's seduction seems
to have been joyful surprise that so homely a girl should have
attained such high preferment.
Her interest was indeed of great use to her relations: but none
of them was so fortunate as her eldest brother John, a fine
youth, who carried a pair of colours in the foot guards. He rose
fast in the court and in the army, and was early distinguished as
a man of fashion and of pleasure. His stature was commanding, his
face handsome, his address singularly winning, yet of such
dignity that the most impertinent fops never ventured to take any
liberty with him; his temper, even in the most vexatious and
irritating circumstances, always under perfect command. His
education had been so much neglected that he could not spell the
most common words of his own language: but his acute and vigorous
understanding amply supplied the place of book learning. He was
not talkative: but when he was forced to speak in public, his
natural eloquence moved
new sovereign. Some weeks must elapse before a House of Commons
could be chosen. If, in the meantime, the duties were suspended,
the revenue would suffer; the regular course of trade would be
interrupted; the consumer would derive no benefit, and the only
gainers would be those fortunate speculators whose cargoes might
happen to arrive during the interval between the demise of the
crown and the meeting of the Parliament. The Treasury was
besieged by merchants whose warehouses were filled with goods on
which duty had been paid, and who were in grievous apprehension
of being undersold and ruined. Impartial men must admit that this
was one of those cases in which a government may be justified in
deviating from the strictly constitutional course. But when it is
necessary to deviate from the strictly constitutional course, the
deviation clearly ought to be no greater than the necessity
requires. Guildford felt this, and gave advice which did him
honour. He proposed that the duties should be levied, but should
be kept in the Exchequer apart from other sums till the
Parliament should meet. In this way the King, while violating the
letter of the laws, would show that he wished to conform to their
spirit, Jeffreys gave very different counsel. He advised James to
put forth an edict declaring it to be His Majesty's will and
pleasure that the customs should continue to be paid. This advice
was well suited to the King's temper. The judicious proposition
of the Lord Keeper was rejected as worthy only of a Whig, or of
what was still worse, a Trimmer. A proclamation, such as the
Chief Justice had suggested, appeared. Some people had expected
that a violent outbreak of public indignation would be the
consequence; but they were deceived. The spirit of opposition had
not yet revived; and the court might safely venture to take steps
which, five years before, would have produced a rebellion. In the
City of London, lately so turbulent, scarcely a murmur was
heard.234
The proclamation, which announced that the customs would still be
levied, announced also that a Parliament would shortly meet. It
was not without many misgivings that James had determined to call
the Estates of his realm together. The moment was, indeed. most
auspicious for a general election. Never since the accession of
the House of Stuart had the constituent bodies been so favourably
disposed towards the Court. But the new sovereign's mind was
haunted by an apprehension not to be mentioned even at this
distance of time, without shame and indignation. He was afraid
that by summoning his Parliament he might incur the displeasure
of the King of France.
To the King of France it mattered little which of the two English
factions triumphed at the elections: for all the Parliaments
which had met since the Restoration, whatever might have been
their temper as to domestic politics, had been jealous of the
growing power of the House of Bourbon. On this subject there was
little difference between the Whigs and the sturdy country
gentlemen who formed the main strength of the Tory party. Lewis
had therefore spared neither bribes nor menaces to prevent
Charles from convoking the Houses; and James, who had from the
first been in the secret of his brother's foreign politics, had,
in becoming King of England, become also a hireling and vassal of
France.
Rochester, Godolphin, and Sunderland, who now formed the interior
cabinet, were perfectly aware that their late master had been in
the habit of receiving money from the court of Versailles. They
were consulted by James as to the expediency of convoking the
legislature. They acknowledged the importance of keeping Lewis in
good humour: but it seemed to them that the calling of a
Parliament was not a matter of choice. Patient as the nation
appeared to be, there were limits to its patience. The principle,
that the money of the subject could not be lawfully taken by the
King without the assent of the Commons, was firmly rooted in the
public mind; and though, on all extraordinary emergency even
Whigs might be willing to pay, during a few weeks, duties not
imposed by statute, it was certain that even Tories would become
refractory if such irregular taxation should continue longer than
the special circumstances which alone justified it. The Houses
then must meet; and since it was so, the sooner they were
summoned the better. Even the short delay which would be
occasioned by a reference to Versailles might produce irreparable
mischief. Discontent and suspicion would spread fast through
society. Halifax would complain that the fundamental principles
of the constitution were violated. The Lord Keeper, like a
cowardly pedantic special pleader as he was, would take the same
side. What might have been done with a good grace would at last
be done with a bad grace. Those very ministers whom His Majesty
most wished to lower in the public estimation would gain
popularity at his expense. The ill temper of the nation might
seriously affect the result of the elections. These arguments
were unanswerable. The King therefore notified to the country his
intention of holding a Parliament. But he was painfully anxious
to exculpate himself from the guilt of having acted undutifully
and disrespectfully towards France. He led Barillon into a
private room, and there apologised for having dared to take so
important a step without the previous sanction of Lewis. "Assure
your master," said James, "of my gratitude and attachment. I know
that without his protection I can do nothing. I know what
troubles my brother brought on himself by not adhering steadily
to France. I will take good care not to let the Houses meddle
with foreign affairs. If I see in them any disposition to make
mischief, I will send them about their business. Explain this to
my good brother. I hope that he will not take it amiss that I
have acted without consulting him. He has a right to be
consulted; and it is my wish to consult him about everything. But
in this case the delay even of a week might have produced serious
consequences."
These ignominious excuses were, on the following morning,
repeated by Rochester. Barillon received them civilly. Rochester,
grown bolder, proceeded to ask for money. "It will be well laid
out," he said: "your master cannot employ his revenues better.
Represent to him strongly how important it is that the King of
England should be dependent, not on his own people, but on the
friendship of France alone."235
Barillon hastened to communicate to Lewis the wishes of the
English government; but Lewis had already anticipated them. His
first act, after he was apprised of the death of Charles, was to
collect bills of exchange on England to the amount of five
hundred thousand livres, a sum equivalent to about thirty-seven
thousand five hundred pounds sterling Such bills were not then to
be easily procured in Paris at day's notice. In a few hours,
however, the purchase was effected, and a courier started for
London.236 As soon as Barillon received the remittance, he flew
to Whitehall, and communicated the welcome news. James was not
ashamed to shed, or pretend to shed, tears of delight and
gratitude. "Nobody but your King," he said, "does such kind, such
noble things. I never can be grateful enough. Assure him that my
attachment will last to the end of my days." Rochester,
Sunderland, and Godolphin came, one after another, to embrace the
ambassador, and to whisper to him that he had given new life to
their royal master.237
But though James and his three advisers were pleased with the
promptitude which Lewis had shown, they were by no means
satisfied with the amount of the donation. As they were afraid,
however, that they might give offence by importunate mendicancy,
they merely hinted their wishes. They declared that they had no
intention of haggling with so generous a benefactor as the French
King, and that they were willing to trust entirely to his
munificence. They, at the same time, attempted to propitiate him
by a large sacrifice of national honour. It was well known that
one chief end of his politics was to add the Belgian provinces to
his dominions. England was bound by a treaty which had been
concluded with Spain when Danby was Lord Treasurer, to resist any
attempt which France might make on those provinces. The three
ministers informed Barillon that their master considered that
treaty as no longer obligatory. It had been made, they said, by
Charles: it might, perhaps, have been binding on him; but his
brother did not think himself bound by it. The most Christian
King might, therefore, without any fear of opposition from
England, proceed to annex Brabant and Hainault to his empire.238
It was at the same time resolved that an extraordinary embassy
should be sent to assure Lewis of the gratitude and affection of
James. For this mission was selected a man who did not as yet
occupy a very eminent position, but whose renown, strangely made
up of infamy and glory, filled at a later period the whole
civilized world.
Soon after the Restoration, in the gay and dissolute times which
have been celebrated by the lively pen of Hamilton, James, young
and ardent in the pursuit of pleasure, had been attracted to
Arabella Churchill, one of the maids of honour who waited on his
first wife. The young lady was plain: but the taste of James was
not nice: and she became his avowed mistress. She was the
daughter of a poor Cavalier knight who haunted Whitehall, and
made himself ridiculous by publishing a dull and affected folio,
long forgotten, in praise of monarchy and monarchs. The
necessities of the Churchills were pressing: their loyalty was
ardent: and their only feeling about Arabella's seduction seems
to have been joyful surprise that so homely a girl should have
attained such high preferment.
Her interest was indeed of great use to her relations: but none
of them was so fortunate as her eldest brother John, a fine
youth, who carried a pair of colours in the foot guards. He rose
fast in the court and in the army, and was early distinguished as
a man of fashion and of pleasure. His stature was commanding, his
face handsome, his address singularly winning, yet of such
dignity that the most impertinent fops never ventured to take any
liberty with him; his temper, even in the most vexatious and
irritating circumstances, always under perfect command. His
education had been so much neglected that he could not spell the
most common words of his own language: but his acute and vigorous
understanding amply supplied the place of book learning. He was
not talkative: but when he was forced to speak in public, his
natural eloquence moved
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