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Home Domestic Affairs, 1689-1714 England; Part 8 |
England; Part 8The Tory ministers proceeded to secure the objects which their supporters had most at heart. They tried to strengthen the Church and to weaken the Nonconformists by passing the Occasional Conformity (1711) and the Schism Acts (1714). The first Act was directed against the habit of the Nonconformists of qualifying for office by taking the Communion every now and again in an Anglican Church, and thus evading the Test and Corporation Acts; the second Act tried to deprive the Nonconformists of their hold upon education by forbidding anyone to teach without a licence from a bishop. To make the war unpopular Swift's genius was employed in the composition of pamphlets such as ''The Conduct of the Allies", and Marlborough himself was dismissed from his employments, accused of peculation, and attacked with such violence that he left the country. The war, conducted half-heartedly for a year or two, was terminated in 1713 by the Treaty of Utrecht.Then came the question of the Succession to the throne. The peaceful succession of the House of Hanover has been called the "greatest miracle in our history"; if it was not that, it was undoubtedly at one time unÂlikely. The mass of the country was probably Tory in sentiment, and would have preferred a Stuart, especially as the Electress Sophia of Hanover and her son George, if not unpopular, were completely unknown in England (Of course by the Act of Settlement the Princess Sophia was the successor to the throne, but Queen Anne, beyond inserting her name in the Liturgy, did nothing to recognize her claim, and never invited the princess to England or gave her a title), Men known to be supporters of the Stuart succession were put into positions of trust by the ministry, the Earl of Mar, for instance, being given control of Scotland, and the Duke of Ormonde being made Warden of the Cinque Ports. Two things, however, prevented the continuance of the House of Stuart on the throne of England. In tne first place, the Old Pretender-and it was greatly to his credit-refused either to change or to dissemble his Roman Catholic religion ("Plain dealing", he wrote, "is best in all things and especially in matters of religion, and as I am resolved never to dissemble in religion, so I shall never tempt others to do it, an as well as I am satisfied of the truth of my own religion, yet I shall never look worse upon any persons, because in this they chance to differ from me"). Consequently in England the Tories found themselves torn between their affection for the Anglican Church and their allegiance to the Stuart dynasty, and Scotsmen between their romantic loyalty to that dynasty and their devotion to the Protestant religion. In the second place, Anne died too soon. There were dissensions between the Tory leaders, but Bolingbroke managed to get rid of Harley, who was dismissed from the ministry. It is uncertain what Bolingbroke really intended, but it is probable that he was working for the succession of the Old Pretender. Events, however, moved too quickly for him. Two days after Hadey's dismissal Anne fell very seriously ill. A council meeting was summoned to discuss the situation. Two Whig dukes who were Privy Councillors suddenly entered the meeting and, as they were legally entitled to do, took part in the discussion. As a result, it was resolved that the Treasurer's staff-the symbol of authority-should be given to Shrewsbury, a moderate Whig, and Anne, on her deathbed, gave it to him. On Anne's death, whilst the plans of Bolingbroke were still undeveloped, George I, through Shrewsbury's influence, was proclaimed king (the Electress Sophia being dead). " The Earl of Oxford was removed on Tuesday, the Queen died on Sunday", wrote Bolingbroke. "What a world is this, and how does Fortune banter us!" Had the queen lived six months, or even six weeks, longer, our history might have been very different. |
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