CHAPTER XXXIX
DANBY'S ADMINISTRATION AND THE THREE SHORT PARLIAMENTS. 1675-1681
LEADING DATES
Reign of Charles II., 1660-1685
- Rejection of the Non-Resistance Bill 1675
- Marriage of William and Mary Nov. 15, 1677
- The Peace of Nymwegen July 31, 1678
- The Popish Plot 1678
- Dissolution of the Cavalier Parliament Jan. 24, 1679
- The First Short Parliament March 6—May 27, 1679
- The Second Short Parliament Oct. 21, 1680—Jan. 18, 1681
- The Third Short Parliament March 21—March 28, 1681
1. Growing Influence of Danby. 1675.—Charles's effort to govern in his own way having ended in failure, and, in what he thought to be of more consequence, discomfort to himself, he discovered that he would lead an easier life if he were on good terms with his Parliament than if he quarrelled with it. Being now disposed to throw over whatever troublesome convictions he had imagined himself to have, he gave his confidence to Osborne (see p. [607]), whom he had recently created Earl of Danby. Danby revived the domestic policy of Clarendon by maintaining, in accordance with the majority of the Cavalier Parliament, the supremacy of the Church of England over Catholics and Dissenters, and, equally in accordance with the majority of that Parliament, opposed Louis abroad.
2. Parliamentary Parties. 1675.—The decision of Charles to support Danby in carrying out a definite policy completed the formation of separate Parliamentary parties. These had, indeed, existed in the Long Parliament under various names, and had reappeared after the Restoration; but in the Cavalier Parliament the minority in favour of toleration had, at first, been exceedingly small, and, though it had grown larger in the days of the Cabal, it had been distracted by distrust of Charles when he appeared as a patron of toleration. The situation was now clear and the leaders distinctly known. On the one side was Danby and 'No toleration,' on the other side was Shaftesbury and 'Toleration for Dissenters only.' Neither side shrank from base means of acquiring strength. The ministers who formed the Cabal are said to have been the first who bribed members of the House of Commons, but it was Danby who reduced bribery to a system which was afterwards extended by his successors. Shaftesbury's followers, on the other hand, were quite ready to enter into the pay of Louis, if he would help them to overthrow Danby and would strengthen them against the king.
