wondered very much, how the Scots came to accept of fuch Anno 5 Annæ, unreafonable Conditions; or how their Lordships could en tertain the Thoughts of permitting fuch Peers by Election to fit among them.' 1706. The Lords Nottingham, North and Grey, &c. very much Lords Nottingenforced this Topic, adding, That as one might very well ham, North and fuppofe, that thofe Scots Peers would be fuch as were addic- Grey. ted Kirk, it might prove of a dangerous Confequence to the Church of England. The Earl of Wharton replied, That tho' they were all Earl of Whar never fo much of the Kirk Party, yet there was no Reason ton. to fear, but they would alfo be very well difpofed for the Church of England, and stand up in its Defence on all Occafions; fince there were even fome fitting amonft their Lordfhips who would venture their Lives for the Church of England, and yet openly declared themfelves to be at the fame time Occafional Conformifts.' The Lord Haversham, rightly judging he was hinted at Lord Haversham, by that noble Peer, ftood up to inform the House, what he understood by an Occafional Conformist; (in which Explanation he appeared fomewhat gravelled :) For after having made a long Encomium on the Epifcopal Order, which he took to be the best and moft conformable to primitive Chriftianity, he gave no lefs Commendation to all the Proteffant Churches Abroad, and to the Kirk of Scotland itself, in particular; which, he faid, was a true Proteftant Church. The Bishop of Bath and Wells, after begging Pardon for Bishop of Bat troubling their Lordships on this Account, and faying that and Wells.. if he spoke any thing out of the way, he was under their Correction; That, for his Part, he was altogether against the Union, which he could wish with all his Heart had been compleated an hundred Years ago; because, faid he, all the Ferment and Difcord which were likely to enfue upon it, would by this time have bad their Courfe: That he could no better compare it, than to the mixing together ftrong Liquors, of a contrary Nature, in one and the fame Veffel, which would go nigh to be burft afunder by their furious Fermentation: That as their Bench was always rec. koned the dead Weight of the House, so those fixteen Peers being admitted to fit therein, would more effectually make it fo, especially in any future Debates relating to the Church, towards which they could no ways be fuppofed to be well affected; and therefore he was humbly of Opinion, that fome Provifion might be made for debarring them of their Vote in any Church Matter that fhould hereafter come in Agitation.' The Lords Somers, Hallifax, and others, made very per- Lords Somers tinent Answers to thofe Objections, after which the Debate and Hallifax. ended Anno 5 Annæ, ended in a general Divifion of the Houfe, there being feventy 1706. one Contents for the twenty fecond Article, against twenty two Not contents. Earl of Arran. Earl of Nottingham. The Treaty of After the reading the laft Article, the Earl of Arran moved that the Judges Opinion might be afked, what Laws would be repealed by this Union, and what would remain in Force, but that Motion was rejected: Upon which the Earl of Nottingham food up and begged their Lordships Pardon for having troubled them almolt to every Article, urging there were fuch material Objections occurring to his Thoughts, as in Confcience he thought himfelf obliged to lay before the House That as Sir John Maynard made this Compliment to the late King, at the Revolution, that having buried, upon account of his great Age, all his Cotemporaries in Weftminster-Hall, he was afraid, if his Majefty had not come in that very Juncture of Time, he might have likewise outlived the very Laws themselves; fo, if this Union did pass, as he had no Reason to doubt but it would moft certainly, he might with as much Reason, and as jully affirm, he had out-lived all the Laws and the very Conftitution of England; concluding with a Prayer to God, to avert the dire Effects which might probably enfue from fuch an incorporating Union. Three Days after, the Bishop of Sarum reported to the Union approved Houfe of Lords, the Refolutions of their grand Committee, by the Lords. for approving the Articles of Union, which were agreed to by a great Majority; but feveral Peers made and entered the following Proteft. Proteft thereon. Diffentient We diffent to every one of the twenty five Resolutions. I diffent to the four laft Refolutions, having not been prefent at the paffing the others. Geo. Bath and Well. I diffent to every one of the twenty five Refolutions, except the fecond. Beaufort. I diffent to the firft, fourth, fifth, fixth, ninth, fifteenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, twenty firft, twenty fecond, and twenty fifth Relolutions. Diffentient To the Ninth Refolution. Abingdon. Because we humbly conceive the Sum of 48000l. to be charged on the Kingdom of Scotland, as the Quota of Scotland, for a Land-Tax, is not proportionable to the 4 s. Aid, granted 1706. granted by the Parliament of England; but if, by Reafon of Anno 5 Anna, the prefent Circumftances of the Kingdom, it might have been thought it was not able to bear a greater Proportion, at this time, yet we cannot but think it unequal to this Kingdom, that it fhould be agreed, that whenever the 45. Aid shall be enacted by the Parliament of Great-Britain, to be raised on Land in England, that 48,000l. now raised on Scotland, fhall never be increased in Time to come, tho' the Trade of that Kingdom fhould be extremely improved, and confequently the Value of their Land proportionably raised, which in all probability it must do, when this Union fhall have taken Effect. North and Grey, Rochefter, Howard, Leigh, Guilford. Diffentient. To the 15th Refolution. Because we humbly conceive nothing could have been more equal on this Head of the Treaty, than that neither of the Kingdoms fhould have been burdened with the Debts of the other, contracted before the Union; and if that Propofal which we find once made in the Minutes of the Treaty, had taken Place, there would have been an Occafion to have employed the Revenues of the Kingdom of Scotland towards the Payment of the Debts of England, thofe Revenues might have been strictly appropriated to the Debts of the Kingdom, and to any other Ufes within themselves as fhould have been judged requifite, and there would have been no need of an Equivalent of very near 400,000l. to be raised on England, within this Year, for the Purchase of thofe Revenues in Scotland, which, however it may prove to be but a reasonable Bargain, upon a ftrict Calculation, there does not feem to have been a Neceffity just now to have raised fo great a Sum, when this Kingdom is already burdened with so vaft ones, for neceffary Charges of the War. Rachefter, North and Grey, Guilford, Leigh. Diffentient. To the 22d Refolution. Because we humbly conceive, in the first place, that the Number of fixteen Peers of Scotland, is too great a Propor tion to be added to the Peers of England, who very rarely confift in more than an hundred attending Lords, in any one Seffion of Parliament, and for that Reafon we humbly apprehend, fuch a Number as fixteen may have a very great Sway in the Refolutions of this Houfe, of which the Confequence cannot now be forefeen. In the fecond place, we conceive the Lords of Scotland, who by virtue of this Treaty are to fit in this Houte, being not qualified as the Peers of England are, muft fuffer a Diminution of their Dignity to fit here on fo different Founda1706. A a tions; Anno 5 Annæ, tions; their Right of fitting here, depending entirely on an 1706. ,Election, and that from time to time, during the Continuance of one Parliament only; and at the fame time, we are humbly of Opinion, that the Peers of England, who fit here by Creation from the Crown, and have a Right of fo doing. in themselves or their Heirs, by that Creation for ever, may find it an Alteration in their Constitution, to have Lords added to their Number, to fit and vote in all Matters brought before a Parliament, who have not the fame (Right) of their Seats in Parliament, as the Peers of England have. A Rider offered to the Bill of Union by the Grey. Buckingham, North and Grey, Leigh, Rochester, Guilford. We diffent to the Refolution of paffing the laft Article, because there being no Enumeration of what Laws are to be repealed, it is conceived, too great a Latitude of Conftruction thereupon is left to the Judges. Rochefer, Leigh, North and Grey, Guilford. March the 1ft, The Common's fent up a Eill for uniting the two Kingdoms, by Mr. Compton, to the House of Lords, Lord North and who gave it a quick Difpatch; but, upon reading it the third time, the Lord North and Grey offered the following Rider to be added to it, viz. Provided always that nothing in this Ratification contained, fhall be conftrued to extend to an Approbation or Acknowledgment of the Truth of the Prefbyterian Way of Worship, or allowing the Religion of the Church of Scotland, to be what it is filed, the true Proteftant Religion.' Proteft thereon. Protest against But, after a Debate, the Queftion being put, Whether the faid Rider fhould be read a fecond time? It was carried in the Negative, by a Majority of fifty-five Voices against nineteen. Diffentient' Then the Queftion was put, Whether this Bill should the Ratification pafs? Which was refolved in the Affirmative, by a great Majority. The Peers who entered their Diffent were thefe that follow: of the Union, Diffentient Nottingham, Anglefea, Thanet, Winchelsea, Northampton, Because the Conftitution of this Kingdom has been fo very excellent, and therefore juftly applauded by all our Neighbours for fo many Ages, that we cannot conceive it prudent 1707. prudent now to change it, and to venture at all thofe Altera- Anno 6 Annæ, tions made by this Bill, fome of them, especially, being of fuch a Nature, that, as the Inconvenience and Danger of them (in our humble Opinion) is already but too obvious, fome think it more proper and decent to avoid entering further into the particular Apprehenfion we have from the paffing of this Law. Beaufort, Buckingham, Stawell, Guilford, Granville. This important Bill received the Royal Affent March the 6th, at which Time her Majefly made a Speech to both Houfes, and they prefented a joint Addrefs in return; both of which are to be found in CHANDLER's Hift. Anno 6 Annæ, 1706, Page 59, as is likewife the Queen's Speech at the Clofe of the Seffion, Page 69. With regard to our Foreign Affairs, tho' the Elector of Affairs Abroad. Bavaria had, in a Letter to the Duke of Marlborough, propofed, in the Name of the moft Chriftian King, to treat of a Peace, no fuch Thing enfued: And tho' the War was still carried on, the two grand Armies in Flanders faced one another the whole Summer, and at last broke up without performing any thing worth Notice. An Attempt was befides made on Toulon, which did not fucceed. The French carried all before them on the Rhine: And in Spain, by the Battle of Almanza, King Charles was reduced to the fingle Pro vince of Catalonia. April th 29th, Her Majefty had iffued out her Royal Proclamation, containing her Declaration, that the Parliament of England then in being, and the fixteen Peers and forty five Commons chosen by the last Parliament of Scotland, fhould conftitute the firft Parliament of Great Britain, which by another Proclamation iffued out not long after, was to meet at Westminster on the 23d of October following.. Accordingly on that Day The First Parliament of GREAT BRITAIN M ET at Westminster, and thirteen of the Scotch Peers were admitted to their Places, being introduced each of them by two English Peers of the fame Rank, and Nov. the 6th her Majesty made a Speech to both Houses, which fee in CHANDLER's Hift. Anno 6 Annæ, 1707, Page 70. It was expected, according to Cuftom, that the Lords Debate on the would have begun with an Addrefs of Thanks, to the Queen; Addrefs of but when her Majefty's Speech came firft to be confider'd, Thanks. the Earl of Wharton made an elaborate Harangue, wherein, Earl of Whar among other things, he took notice of the great Decay of .ton. Trade, and Scarcity of Money. He was feconded by the Lord Somerz |