pended, and a toleration published by the king, with the fole Hitherto, it may be faid, there had been but one party in the parliament; the majority of both houfes, full of zeal for the prerogative, and of refentment against the maxims, which in their opinion, had caused the late civil wars, feemed to have made it their whole care to exalt the crown above any future attempts, by fencing it with unlimited obedience, and by excluding from offices of truft, all perfons of contrary principles, by fubfcriptions and oaths. No other party dared to appear in the nation, and all oppofition to the court vanifhed. But when the king's defigns begun to be fufpected, when the constitution was thought to be in danger, the fcene was immediately changed, and the old English spirit of liberty rouzed itself. The very parliament by which the doctrine of non-refiftance had been in appearance fo firmly established, refifted to the utmost in a parliamentary way, and, very probably, would have proceeded to a refiftance of another kind, had not the king given up his minifters, departed from his claims, and in great measure complied with Feb. 4. their demands. At their meeting, after a long interval, they refolve, in the first place, to crufh the defign for popery. They begin with the king's declaration for liberty of consci 66 "pear firm to the triple league; in all their ports upon the (n) it must be obferved, that the opportunity at the reftoration, of closing the divifion in the church, was loft, and instead 1672-3. ence, as knowing it was intended in favour of the catholics, and after fome ftruggles oblige the king to recal it, as illegal, though he told them in his fpeech, he had resolved to tick to it. Then, as an effectual means to remove all papifts from places and pofts, the teft-act is paffed, in confequence of which the duke of York himfelf, high-admiral of England, with the lord-treasurer Clifford, refigned their commiffions (o). Whereupon the cabal is broke, and three of the members called to an account (p). Moreover, the parliament force the king, notwithstanding his reluctance and (o) The teft-act runs : "For preventing dangers which may "happen from popifh recufants, "and quieting the minds of his "majefty's good fubjects, all "and every perfon or perfons, "that fhall bear office civil or military, or shall receive any "pay, falary, fee or wages, by reafon of any patent or grant from his majefty, or fhall have command, or place of trust under his majefty, or by au"thority derived from him. "fhall receive the facrament of "the Lord's fupper, according to the ufage of the church of England, within three months "after his or their admittance "in or receiving their faid authority or employment; and 66 every of the faid perfons, in "the refpective court where he "takes the oaths, fhall deliver 66 66 ter the confecration thereof "by any person whatsoever." This teft, tho' designed against the papifts, as appears from the tenor of it, and the difpofition of the parliament at the time of enacting, affected the proteftant diffenters, and therefore a vote paffed to bring in a bill in their favour, which was prevented from being finished by a prorogation. By which it was eyident, the king in his declaration for liberty of conscience, did not intend the cafe of the proteftant non-conformists. Of this the diffenters were fo well fatisfied, that Love, a city-member, and a differter, fpcke against the king's declaration. It is farther obfervable, that notwithstanding the fevere laws against the dif fenters, they remained unmolefted, during the continuance of this and the three following parliaments. The reason was, becaufe the defigns of the court were now fully difcovered. (p) Ashley, made earl of Shaftsbury, turned against the court, and Clifford was lately dead. private private engagements with France, to put an end to the Dutch war, and conclude a league with the ftates. The zeal against popery is inflamed, as well in the nation as the parliament, upon the discovery of the popifh plot. A bill is immediately paffed for difabling papifts to fit in parliament, or come near the king, with an exception, however, for the duke of York. Another bill is prepared for raifing part of the militia for a time, to which indeed the king denied his affent. It was alfo voted, that no more money fhould be granted, till fatisfaction was given in matters of religion. Not fatisfied with all this, the commons, after having endeavoured, but in vain, to prevent the duke of York's marriage with a papist, project his exclufion from the crown, in defiance of the doctrine of the divine right of lineal fucceffion. In a word, their refiftance reaches even the king himfelf, in the impeachment of the earl of Danby. Neither his majesty's declaration that the earl had done nothing but by his order, nor a pardon under the great-feal could fcreen him from their profecution (q). To put a stop to these pro- Jan. 4ceedings, the parliament, after a continuance of above feven1678-9. teen years, is at laft diffolved. From the latter years of this parliament may be dated the Beginning. beginnings of the tory and whig parties, though they were of the not yet diftinguished by these names. That party which in whig and the parliament and nation had appeared on the fide of the tory parcourt, acquired the appellation of tories, and was formed ties. upon principles grounded on a literal interpretation of the acts established foon after the reftoration, in favour of the crown. They profeffed to believe all refiftance unlawful, and lineal fucceffion unalterable; and therefore confidered those who differed from them in these points, as enemies of the monarchy and church. The other party which had oppofed the defigns of the court, received the name of whigs, and was formed upon a limited interpretation of the non-refiftance acts, which they understood with fuch restrictions, (q) Though it appeared to the commons, by the letters produced by Montague, that in the private negociations with France, particularly concerning the penfion of fix million of livers for three years to the king, the earl of Danby had acted entirely by his majesty's direction, they would not defift, but were re folved to lay open, if poffible, the as March 6. as rendered them, in their opinion, confiftent with the ancient conftitution (r). These parties were now chiefly diftinguished by their adherence or oppofition to the exclufion of a popish fucceffor. The tories, pursuant to their notion of hereditary right, efpoufed the duke of York's cause; whilst the whigs, in confequence of their principles, were for altering the fucceffion. The tories, in this refpect, were the majority in the house of peers, and the whigs, in the house of commons. The nation having been alarmed with apprehenfions of 1678-9. popery, the elections for a new parliament ran in favour of the country party or whigs. Accordingly the impeachment of the lord Danby is immediately refumed, and a bill for the exclufion of the duke of York brought in by the commons. In vain did the king offer limitations on a popifh fucceffor, they were not received, and therefore this parliament was alfo diffolved. July 10. 1679. Oct. 17. 1679, But fuch was the temper of the people in the prefent state of jealoufies and fears, that the next parliament was not () Though this long parlia ment feemed at fift to be entire ly tory, and to be wholly engroffed with the thoughts of guarding the crown and the church with non-refiftance acts and penal laws, yet a whig or Country party may be traced from the moment the ill effects of these things began to be perceived. Hence the commons, upon any remarkable occafion, took care to explain their own acts, by afferting, "That they never defigned to make any real alteration in the English *conflitution, or any direct in"croachment upon the ancient "liberties of the people, fe"cured to them by Magnacharta, and many fubfequent acts." But the first noted inftance of the whig or country party in the houfe of peers, was in the feventeen days debate in the year 1675, when the oath and declaration of non-resistance 66 on any pretence was attempted to be impofed on privy-counfel lors and members of parliament. In the debate on the words, againft thofe commiffioned by him, it was faid, "That fuch "words, without diftinctions "and limitations, would effec"tually change a civil and regu "lated government into one "military and arbitrary, fo that "there could be no difference "between the English and the "Turkish government." Echard's review, p. 19. To the former oath it was now added: "And I fwear that I will not at more favourable to the court. The king, in a dread of their treading in the fteps of the former parliament, deferred their first feffion above a year after their fummons. In this interval petitions were prefented to him for the fitting of the new parliament, the promoters of which were termed petitioners. Thefe were followed by counter-petitions, wherein the fubscribers expreffed an abhorrence of dictating to the king the time of a parliament's meeting, and from thence were called abhorrers. But these party-names were foon loft, in the more general diftinctions of tory and whig (s). The parliament was no fooner affembled, but the com- Oct. 21, mons warmly refamed the affair of exclufion, and a bill to 1680. difable the duke of York to inherit the crown paffed by a great majority, though, during the debate, the king fent and offered them any other fecurity. Upon the bill's being thrown out by the peers, the commons voted all other means not only infufficient but dangerous. As nothing less than a total exclufion would fatisfy the commons, and as the king was determined not to confent to it, this parliament was Jan. 18. likewife diffolved. 1680-1. The next parliament fummoned to meet at Oxford, was March 21. opened by the king with declaring his refolution not to alter 1680-1. (s) Burnet obferves, there were not fuch numbers that joined in the petitions for the parliament as had been expect ed: fo this fhowed rather the, weakness than the ftrength of the party and many well-meaning men began to diflike thofe practices, and to apprehend that a change of government was defigned, p. 487. As this, very probably, with the factions which now arofe in the council and parliament, concerning the manner of the exclufion, confirmed the king in his refolution to adhere to his brother and lineal fucceffion, in the profpect of dividing the nation: fo it fhould have warned the country party or whigs of the danger of pufhing things too far, and induced them," when they faw the king utterly averfe to the exclufion, to con tent themselves with the most ¢་ 66 the |