CHAPTER XXII.

POLITICAL PARTIES.

The Tenth Session of Charles' Second Parliament opened on the 4th of February, 1673. His Majesty's Speech glanced at the Indulgence, as having produced a good effect by producing peace at home when there was war abroad; and as not intended to favour the Papists, inasmuch as they had freedom of religion only "in their own houses, without any concourse of others." The oration of Shaftesbury, the Lord Chancellor, in like manner touched upon the same points, and he endeavoured to vindicate the measure from misconstruction, and asserted the success with which it had been attended.[584] But the well-known character of the Cabal, and the now equally well-known character of the King, whose leaning towards Popery had become apparent, inspired the Commons with sentiments which set them in opposition to the Royal policy. As Tory and Whig, Conservative and Radical are terms now indicating parties in the State divided upon great questions, so the Court party and the Country party were corresponding appellations at the period under review. But as it is now, so it was then—parties, at times, erratically burst into circles not coincident with their professed principles; and thus a door was opened for bandying to and fro violent recriminations, on the score of inconsistency. The Court party, led by the Cabal, through introducing and supporting a Grant of Indulgence, seemed to be favouring the very Nonconformity which, in 1662 and in subsequent years, they had sedulously endeavoured to crush out of existence; and the Country party, through resistance of an usurped prerogative, came to look like enemies of that very religious freedom, whose last hopes had once been thought to lie within their bosoms. But in fact the inconsistency on both sides is more apparent than real—for still the one party aimed at the establishment of despotism, and the other aimed at the advancement of liberty. The ends of the two parties were still the same as they had ever been; they had only changed their means. The Court had carried all before it at the time of the Restoration. It then appeared as the upholder of the Throne, of the Church, of the Prayer Book, of old English institutions and customs. In the fervour of reborn loyalty, amidst a flush of feudal enthusiasm, on the return of an exiled chief, and completely borne away with the joy attendant on the revival of ancient and endeared customs, the people had rallied around the King's party, applauding it to the echo. Now a change came. Admiration of Charles II. had begun to subside; his character was seen through; his profligacy was notorious; his irreligion excited the displeasure of the sober-minded; his profusion touched the pockets of the economical; and his dependence upon France quickened the jealousy of all true patriots. The Cabal and the Court were found to be in league with the Crown for purposes inimical to the Commonwealth; therefore the nation expressed its deep uneasiness; and the result being, that as seats in Parliament, now in its twelfth year, fell vacant through the death of members, the candidates elected to fill the vacancies were such as stood pledged to the Country party. That party in the House of Commons thus by degrees became predominant; and the King and Court received unpleasant proofs that they could no longer carry things as they had done, with a high hand in their own way.

1673.
POLITICAL PARTIES.

Under these circumstances, at an early sitting (the 8th of February), a debate arose upon the subject of the Declaration. Sir Thomas Lee, Mr. Garroway, and Sir Thomas Meres,—the bellwethers of the Country party, as they were called, supported by Colonel Birch, the Commonwealth's-man, and others,[585]—attacked the Royal proceeding, which was vindicated by members on the other side. The Country party (on the 10th) argued that the Declaration was unconstitutional;—that, according to this method, the King might claim the power of changing the religion of the country; that toleration ought to be granted, but only by Act of Parliament; and that the document just issued, in the name of the Monarch, would upset forty Acts of Parliament no way constitutionally repealable, except by the authority which had created them. In the course of the debate a member, addressing a conspicuous Nonconformist in the House, remarked, "Why, Mr. Love, you are a Dissenter yourself; it is very ungrateful that you who receive the benefit should object against the manner." "I am a Dissenter," he replied, "and thereby unhappily obnoxious to the law; and if you catch me in the corn you may put me in the pound. The law against the Dissenters I should be glad to see repealed by the same authority that made it; but while it is a law, the King cannot repeal it by proclamation: and I had much rather see the Dissenters suffer by the rigour of the law, though I suffer with them, than see all the laws of England trampled under the foot of the prerogative as in this example."[586] The Court faction stood on its defence. Secretary Coventry maintained that the King did not intend to violate the laws; that exceptional circumstances required exceptional proceedings; that the master of a ship has power in a storm to throw goods overboard, though no such power belongs to him when the waters are calm. Finch, the Attorney-General, asserted the dangerous doctrine, that, as the King was Head of the Church, and as it was the interest of the nation to have a temporal and not a spiritual Pope, His Majesty might dispense with the laws for the preservation of the realm; this legal functionary dared to say, that the King, by his supremacy, might discharge any cause in the Ecclesiastical Courts, as those Courts were his.[587]

1673.

The subdued tone of expostulation which prevailed on the side of the Country party is very remarkable, and a disinclination to come into collision with the Throne was expressed by several of the members; yet they pursued a decided course, and passed this resolution:—"That penal statutes, in matters ecclesiastical, cannot be suspended, but by Act of Parliament,"[588]—a resolution which they carried by 168 against 116. The House afterwards considered an address to the King, embodying the resolution.

The debate, to which the resolution and the address founded upon it gave rise, on the 14th of February, exemplified the same spirit of moderation as had prevailed before. Sir Thomas Meres advocated "ease fit for tender consciences"—in the words of the Breda Declaration—"for union of the Protestant subjects;" and others supported the plan of bringing in a Bill for the purpose. The exact purpose of such a Bill did not distinctly appear, since some members were for a wide comprehension, embracing within the Church all Dissenters, and leaving no liberty for any who would not enter; whilst others, again, contended for a liberal toleration to those who remained outside of the established pale. This diversity of opinion and this indistinctness of view gave considerable advantage to Secretary Coventry, who retorted upon his opponents the differences which they manifested, and the indecision which they betrayed. At length, however, the address was carried without a dissentient voice.[589] It was couched in terms so contrived as to tide over all difficulty.

MEASURES OF RELIEF.
1673.