1690.] JEALOUSY IN SETTLING THE REVENUE, 103 would serve the king with more zeal if he left his post." William, continues Burnet, "loved the earl of Shrewsbury." The man represented as so sullen and so cold, pressed his favourite Secretary, again and again, to hold the seals. Shrewsbury steadily refused; and his "agitation of mind threw him into a fever that nearly cost him his life." It has been proved, beyond doubt, that this friend of William resigned the seals by the command of king James, to whom he had tendered his services. James, in a paper submitted to the French government in 1692, said, "There is the earl of Shrewsbury, who, being Secretary of State to the prince of Orange, surrendered his charge by my order." Shrewsbury, from weakness of character, was faithless to the master whom he admired; and his alienation was very temporary. Others were treacherous through the baseness of their natures; and, in betraying the prince whom they had contributed to raise, did not hesitate to betray their country. Whatever may have been the amount of individual baseness, and of party violence, amongst the legislators of this period-however unpleasant their jealousy of arbitrary power might have been to a king who truly desired to rule over a free people-the spirit of the Long Parliament had not departed from the second Parliament of the Revolution. However desirous Whig or Tory might be to gain favour with the sovereign, they agreed in refusing to grant the duties of Customs to the crown for life, as they had been granted to William's two predecessors. "Why should they entertain a jealousy of me," the king said to Burnet, "who came to save their religion and liberties, when they trusted king James so much, who intended to destroy them?" Wisely and boldly did the bishop answer him: "King James would never have run into those counsels that ruined him, if he had obtained the revenue only for a short term." On a previous occasion, when this question of the settlement of the revenue was raised, William said to Burnet, "he understood the good of a commonwealth as well as of a kingly government; and it was not easy to determine which was best: but he was sure the worst of all governments was that of a king without treasure and without power." ‡ We may well believe that William had no desire to use treasure or power for despotic purposes; and yet we may rejoice that the Commons of England stoutly resolved to prevent the possibility of the Crown becoming dangerous by being too independent. For out of the practical working of the Constitution, through many a struggle, it has come to be understood that the sovereign can have no interest separate from the public advantage; and that the representatives of the people would grossly err in any attempt to lower the personal dignity of the sovereign. The real relations of the executive and the legislative power have practically changed, without any change in the constitutional theory of their rights. Under the well understood principle that the advisers of the Crown cannot exist with a minority in the House of Commons, the dignity of the Crown is in no degree lessened by any opposition which may enforce a change of the servants of the Crown. It was otherwise when the sovereign was in a considerable degree his own minister; and when his servants did not act under a joint Macaulay, vol. iii. p. 596, note. + "Own Time," vol. iv. p. 75. + Ibid. p. 60. 104 ACT OF RECOGNITION.-ACT OF GRACE. [1690. responsibility. William drew a distinction between the good of a commonwealth and the good of a kingly government. Practically, the distinction has almost ceased to exist in our times. But we venture to think that our constitutional historian scarcely makes allowance for the remaining influence of the traditions of the monarchy when he says of William, "he could expect to reign on no other terms than as the chief of a commonwealth.' ”崇 The Statute-book contains an Act of a dozen lines, which passed with little effectual opposition, although well calculated to produce a trial of strength between the two great parties. It is the Act whereby the Lords and Commons recognise and acknowledge that William and Mary" were, are, and of right ought to be, by the laws of this realm, our sovereign liege lord and lady, king and queen." This Act also declares that all the Acts made in the Parliament assembled on the 13th of February, 1688, are laws and statutes of this kingdom. Upon this point the Lords debated long and warmly. In the Commons, the question was settled in two days; for Somers put the House in a dilemma. This parliament, he said, depends entirely on the foundation of the last. "If that were not a legal parliament, they who were then met, and had taken the oaths enacted by that parliament, were guilty of high treason: the laws repealed by it were still in force, so they must presently return to king James." The Whigs had their triumph in so easily carrying this Bill. It was a triumph of common sense. They were justly defeated upon an attempt to impose a new test upon the people. A Bill was introduced in the House of Commons, requiring every person holding office to abjure king James. To make the proposed measure still more odious, any justice of the peace was empowered to tender the oath of abjuration at his pleasure, and to commit to prison whoever refused to take it. The Bill was rejected by a small majority. The measure, with some modifications, was then tried anew in the House of Peers. "I have taken so many oaths in my time," said lord Wharton, who looked back to the days of the Long Parliament, "that I hope God will forgive me if I have not kept them all. I should be very unwilling to charge myself with more at the end of my days." The old Puritan interpreted the real feelings of every honest man about the multiplication of political oaths. It was well known that William had no desire for such a measure as this oath; and thus, after many angry words and insinuations, the abjuration of king James was abandoned. King William strengthened his throne far more effectually than by a test arbitrarily administered, by authorising Carmarthen to present to the Peers an Act of Grace for political offences. Bitter memories of the past had prevented the passing of Indemnity Bills. William resolved that the cause of the Revolution should not be disgraced with forfeitures and bloodshed, as was that of the Restoration. The exceptions to the Act of Grace were the surviving regicides-who had been excepted under the Act of Charles II. These were far out of the reach of such a visitation for the crime of forty years standing. Thirty of the evil instruments of James were excepted by name; and, last of all," George, lord Jeffreys, deceased." Hallam, "Constitutional History," chap. xv. +2 Gul. & Mar. c. 1. Burnet, vol. iv. p. 73. 1690.] WILLIAM GOES TO IRELAND. 105 This "Act for the King and Queen's most gracious general and free pardon," was passed by both Houses without debate. It was one of the most effectual means to prevent a recurrence of "the long and great troubles and discords that have been within this kingdom." Yet the clemency of William was sneered at by those who received its benefits, and condemned by those who were baulked of their revenges. The king closed the Session on the 20th of May; and an Act having been passed to give the queen power to administer the government in his absence, he prepared to take the conduct of the war in Ireland. William left London on the 4th of June. He had selected nine privycouncillors to advise the queen in the conduct of affairs. It was difficult wholly to rely upon the honesty of this Council, in which there was a mixture of the leading men of the opposite factions. It was a time of great anxiety. Plots were in course of detection; invasion might be expected. The king determined to go where the necessity was most pressing. "He seemed to have a great weight upon his spirits, from the state of his affairs, which was then very cloudy. He said, for his own part, he trusted in God, and would either go through with his business, or perish in it. He only pitied the poor queen, repeating that twice with great tenderness; and wished that those who loved him would wait much on her, and assist her." William had done everything in his power to ensure success in his great enterprise. Schomberg had been largely reinforced. His army had grievously suffered from sickness and neglect. The pestilence which had thinned its ranks was deemed by the court of king James, "a visible mark of God's judgment upon that wicked and rebellious generation." + William, "a fatalist in religion" according to Smollett, had a rational confidence that God might manifest His judgments through the industry and zeal of His creatures; and he had set about to repair all that had been amiss in the previous organisation of the Irish army. He had now in Ireland thirty-six thousand troops, well fed, properly clothed, not wanting in the munitions of war, prepared by his own vigilant superintendence to take the field with those advantages without which the skill of a general, and the bravery of his men, may be thrown away. The English knew how carefully it had been endeavoured to repair the evils of the last autumn and winter. Still the people were anxious and doubtful. There is a curious instance of the uncertainty attached by public opinion to the determination of the king to attempt the reduction of Ireland,—an instance also of the gambling spirit of that age. Rowland Davies, Dean of Ross, who had been ejected from his benefices, is going with the army of William as a Chaplain. He and four of his friends desire to raise money; and they borrow four hundred pounds under a bond, signed and sealed at Jonathan's Coffeehouse, the great resort of stock-jobbers, "for the payment of six hundred pounds within a month after king William and queen Mary are in actual possession of Dublin and Cork." Of the condition and prospects of king James, a lamentable account is given by his official biographer. The duke of Berwick had been beaten at Belturbet; Charlemont had surrendered; but these misfortunes "were nothing in comparison of the disappointments the king met 106 LANDING AND MARCH OF WILLIAM. [1690. with from the court of France." Louis would not consent to make England the seat of war instead of Ireland. He would not believe that the friends of James in England, at the head of an Irish and French army, would soon "make the English weary of resisting God and their duty." Louis would only consent to send six thousand men into Ireland. The English were masters of Ulster. The Catholics who quitted it upon Schomberg's landing brought such prodigious flocks of cattle with them, as ate up the greatest part of the grass and corn of other counties, according to the lugubrious memoir writer. The Rapparees destroyed on all sides; there was no corn nor meal to feed the army; no cloth, no leather; "and the brass money put an absolute stop to importation."-We cannot have a more striking picture of the effects of an improvident and iniquitous administration of public affairs. Ulster, at the beginning of June, was big with expectation of the arrival of king William. Absurd reports preceded him. An officer came from London to Belfast, and reported that the parliament was adjourned; that the king was speedily to set out, "and will bring with him four hundred thousand men." On the 7th, the busy chaplain, preaching one day, dining jovially in the English quarters on another, saw many troops landing at Carrickfergus, and the train of artillery in the harbour. On the 10th, in the evening, on a false report that the king was landed, "all the country flamed with bonfires." On the 14th, over a bowl of punch, " we received the news of the king's landing, and being at Belfast, and spent the night jollily." On the 15th, the officers of the various regiments crowded round William, and were presented to him. Troops continued to arrive," insomuch that there was not less than five hundred sail of ships together in the Lough." William reviewed the troops on the 17th and on the 19th, and then gave orders that they should march after him. The army was composed not only of English and Englishers. There were Brandenburgers, Dutch, Danes, and French Huguenots. The spirit of the king triumphed over his feeble body. He was all animation. His eye sparkled with the exultation of hope. "I will not let the grass grow under my feet," he exclaimed. James appeared equally alert at the call of danger. He left Dublin on the 16th of June. William's army was at Loughbrickland on the 26th of June, consisting of thirty-six thousand men. The troops had manifested a very different conduct from those of James, who had ravaged the country in the preceding year; for William had issued an order that they "do so carry themselves both in garrison, quarters, and wheresoever they shall march, as persons ought to do who are under military discipline;" that they should not presume to rob or spoil, to do violence or extort, "but that they duly pay such reasonable rates for their provisions," as shall be ordered and appointed.§ The captains of king William's forces paid in a better coin than the brass money of king James. It was expected that the Irish army would have disputed the passage of William at the pass near Moyra Castle, now known as Ravensdale; but they left it open; and on the 27th the English army was at Dundalk, forming "a camp at least three miles in length, in two lines." || King James still retired as William advanced; * "Life of James II." vol. i. p. 336. Ibid. p. 119. Rowland Davies, p. 117. § Harris, "Life of William," Appendix, xl. Rowland Davies, p. 121. 1690.] THE BOYNE-WILLIAM WOUNDED. 107 but at length, on the 30th, as the English army approached Drogheda, the enemy was seen encamped on the opposite south bank of the Boyne. The army of James was in a strong defensive position. The stream which divided the counties of Louth and Meath was between him and his rival. "The river was deep, and rose very high every tide; and after these difficulties were surmounted, there was a morass to be passed, and behind it a miry ground." The camp of James on the Meath side was defended by intrenchments and batteries. The fortress of Drogheda, on the Louth side, was held by the Irish, and displayed the ensigns of James and of Louis. The numbers of his enemy were variously reported to William. He had received tolerably accurate information from a man who knew how to deal with exaggerations. An officer who had deserted from James's army greatly magnified their real amount. Mr. Cox, a civilian with sir Robert Southwell, bade the officer look upon the English camp and say what their numbers were. "He confidently affirmed them to be more than double their real number; whence his majesty perceived he was a conceited ill-guesser." William, surrounded by his generals, rode along the bank of the river on the morning of the 30th to inspect the position of the enemy. "We shall soon be better acquainted with their numbers," he observed. He alighted from his horse near the village of Old Bridge. It was a rising ground, within musket-shot of the river. His breakfast was spread on the grass, and he rested for an hour. On the opposite bank there were watchful eyes directed towards the group which surrounded William; and it was soon perceived that no common enemy was within the reach of cannon. Two field pieces were quickly brought down from the hill, and planted in a ploughed field screened by a hedge. The king had remounted. One piece is fired, and the horse of prince George of Hesse is hit. Another shot, and William himself is struck. The ball has rent his buff-coat, and grazed his right shoulder. His officers crowd. around, for the king stooped upon his horse's neck. He alights, and the slight wound is dressed. A shout went through the camp of James; and the tale passed from mouth to mouth that the prince of Orange was killed. The rumour soon crossed the sea. On the 2nd of August feux-de-joie were fired in Paris, to proclaim the great triumph. The next day had its own tale, of which James himself was the bearer. William was soon riding through every part of his army; and when the sun of that last of June was set, he was still in the saddle, making arrangements by torchlight for the coming struggle. He had resolved to pass the river the next morning. The enterprise was thought by Schomberg too dangerous. William felt that there was greater danger in delaying a decisive action. The event proved that the daring of the comparatively inexperienced prince was a better policy than the caution of the old hero of many a well foughten field. The right wing of William's army was the earliest in its movements after day-break on that first of July. It was led by the son of marshal Schomberg, accompanied by the earl of Portland. There were twenty-four squadrons of horse and dragoons, and six regiments of foot under the command of Meinhart Schomberg, the marshal's brave son. Every man had a green bough in his hat, according to an order issued by the king on the previous night. This right Harris, p. 266. + Ibid., p. 267. + Ibid. |