with the Whigs in supporting the War of the Spanish Succession, but as the war advanced, they gradually disapproved of it, not only because it was a great "Whig war," but because the successes which Marlborough gained, gave strength to the Whig party.

(3) In religion. The Tories were staunch supporters of the Established Church, and charged the Whigs with doing their utmost to destroy it. Their cry was that "the Church was in danger." The Whigs, though Churchmen, leaned somewhat towards the Nonconformists, and favoured Religious Toleration. Their counter-charge against the Tories was, that they wished to set aside the Act of Settlement, and restore the Stuart dynasty. Their cry was that "the Protestant Succession was in danger."

NOTE. Both Whigs and Tories were to be found in every class of society, but as a rule, the clergy and county gentlemen were zealous Tories, and the trading classes Whigs.

THE HOUSE OF HANOVER OR BRUNSWICK

GEORGE I., 1714-1727 (13 years).

Title: Son of Sophia, grand-daughter of James I.
Married, Sophia of Brunswick.

SUMMARY OF reign.

SECTION I.-EARLY MEASURES.

Accession. Character of George I. Important Constitutional changes in the Reign. The King's Ministers. Prosecution of the late Tory leaders. The Riot Act is passed..

50-52

SECTION II.—THE REBELLION OF FIFTEEN.

Causes. Events in the Rebellion :—(1) In Scotland; (2) In England; Punishment of the Rebels. The Septennial Act is passed. The Whig Schism.

SECTION III.-FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

52-54

The Triple Alliance. Rise of Alberoni. Battle of Passaro. Alberoni is dismissed..

SECTION IV.-IMPORTANT EVENTS.

54-56

The Peerage Bill is rejected by the House of Commons. Repeal of the Occasional Conformity and Schism Acts. The South Sea Scheme or Bubble, and Overthrow of the StanhopeSunderland Ministry

SECTION V.-RISE OF WALPOLE.

56-59

His character; his peace policy. Bishop Atterbury's Plot. Quarrel between Walpole and Carteret. Wood's halfpence. Last days of George I. Death of the King.

60-62

NAMES OF NOTE.

(a) Statesmen :-Sir Robert Walpole, Bolingbroke, Pulteney, Carteret, Thomas Pelham (Duke of Newcastle), Henry Pelham, Henry Fox, William Pitt (afterwards Earl of Chatham), Cardinal Alberoni.

(6) Military and Naval Commanders :-William, Duke of Cumberland; Cope, Hawley, Admiral Byng.

1. Accession. In virtue of the Act of Settlement, George Louis, Elector of Hanover, ascended the English throne, and, contrary to the general expectation, his accession met with no opposition.

2. Character of George I. George was a plain, unostentatious man, of diligent and business-like habits, but coarse, heavy, and undignified in his manner and address, and with few personal qualifications to recommend him to his new English subjects. He cared more for Hanover than England, but this was only natural, when we consider he was fifty-four years of age, when he was called upon to take the English throne. Although he was possessed of no very marked ability, yet he kept clear of party strife, and left his throne a safe possession to his family. He would have been a worse sovereign" had he been an "abler man." He was not deficient in military skill or personal courage, and had fought bravely at Landen and Steinkirk. He always considered his accession to the English throne as a mere experiment, and himself as a mere stranger in England, liable at any moment to be compelled to return to his native home in Hanover.

3. Important Constitutional changes in the Reign.

1. Owing to George's profound ignorance of the social and political state of the country, which he was called upon to govern, he was compelled to trust implicitly to his ministers.

2. As he could not speak a word of English, he absented himself from all Cabinet meetings. This practice has been followed by all our subsequent sovereigns. The immediate result was, that the Cabinet became more than ever independent of the King.

3. The system of "party government," which had been. begun during the reigns of William III. and Anne, was now fully developed, and was a "recognized principle of the English Constitution." The Executive Power was practically put into the hands of the Cabinet, i. e. " a small body of men agreeing on all the main points of the day, and commanding the confidence of the House of Commons."

4. The Prime Minister and the Government now became "the ruling power" in the place of the King. "No Hanoverian monarch has ever refused to give his consent to a law, passed by the Lords and Commons."

4. The King's Ministers. Townshend became Prime Minister; his colleagues were General Stanhope and Sir Robert Walpole. Sunderland was made Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, and Marlborough was appointed Commander-in-Chief and Master of the Ordnance, but all his power and influence were gone.

5. Prosecution of the late Tory Leaders. The new Parliament of 1713 was pre-eminently Whig, and the Ministry, feeling itself firmly established in power, determined to make its position permanently secure, by removing the leaders of the Tory party from the political field altogether. They therefore proceeded to impeach Ormond, Bolingbroke and Orford. The charges brought against them were :—

(1) That they had carried on secret correspondence with France while negotiating the Treaty of Utrecht;

(2) That they had sacrificed English interests in bringing about the same Treaty;

(3) That they had intrigued to restore the Pretender. Bolingbroke and Ormond fled to France. Orford, who was not so easily frightened, remained to face the storm. All were impeached, and Bills of Attainder passed against Bolingbroke

and Ormond. Orford was sent to the Tower, and after ten years' imprisonment, tried for misdemeanour and acquitted. 6. The Riot Act is passed, 1715. The violent persecutions of the Tory leaders led to serious riots in Manchester and the Midland counties. The rioters pulled down the meeting-houses of the Nonconformists with shouts of "High Church and Ormond for ever." To strengthen the hands of the local authorities in such cases, Parliament passed the Riot Act, which is still in force. It states, "that if any twelve or more persons are unlawfully assembled to disturb the peace, and if any one justice shall by proclamation order them to disperse, it shall be considered felony if they remain together for one hour afterwards."

SECTION II. THE JACOBITE REBELLION OF

FIFTEEN.

1. Immediate Causes. In Scotland the dislike for the “Union," and the restless spirit of the Highland clans encouraged the Jacobites to attempt a rebellion in favour of James Francis Edward, the "Old Pretender." In England, Jacobite feeling was also roused by the high-handed proceedings of the Whigs, and the unpopularity of the new king, George I. Accordingly it was arranged that a simultaneous rising should take place in both countries.

2. Events in connection with the Rebellion, 1715.

(1) In Scotland. Under pretence of gathering a large hunting party, John Erskine, Earl of Mar raised the standard of rebellion at Braemar, and soon found himself at the head of a Highland army of 6000 men. He secured Aberdeen, Dundee, and Perth, but lost his chance by remaining inactive north of the Tay, instead of pushing southwards and capturing Edinburgh. The Duke of Argyle, a distinguished soldier, was sent against him with a small body of 3000 men, and took up his position at Stirling, so as to prevent a junction of the English and Scotch insurgents. Meanwhile Mar's army had swelled to the number of 10,000 men, and summoning up his courage, he advanced to meet Argyle. A battle ensued at Sheriffmuir, where, owing to Mar's bad generalship, and the petty quarrels between the Scottish clans, the Jacobite leader was compelled to fall back on Perth, and Argyle secured all the advantages of a victory. Just when the Jacobite cause was