Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- BOOK XVI THE LATER YEARS OF CHARLES II, 1675—1685 WHIGS AND TORIES
- INTRODUCTION
- CHAP. I Parliament in 1675. Formation of new parties
- CHAP. II The fourteen months' prorogation. Parliamentary Session of 1677
- CHAP. III Dynastic and political alliance of Charles II with the Prince of Orange
- CHAP. IV Complications at the conclusion of the Peace of Nimuegen. Alliance of Louis XIV with the Parliamentary opposition in England
- CHAP. V Denunciation of a Jesuit conspiracy. Last Session of the Parliament of the Restoration
- CHAP. VI Parliament of 1679
- CHAP. VII Parliamentary interim, 1679, 1680
- CHAP. VIII The Parliamentary Session of 1680
- CHAP. IX Parliament at Oxford, March 1680, 1681
- CHAP. X Antagonism of the Prince of Orange and the Duke of York
- CHAP. XI Reaction against the Whigs. Rye-House Plot. Execution of Lord William Russell
- CHAP. XII End of Charles II's Government
- BOOK XVII REIGN OF JAMES II, FEBRUARY 1685 TO SEPTEMBER 1688
- BOOK XVIII THE FALL OF JAMES II IN ITS CONNEXION WITH THE EUROPEAN CONFLICTS WHICH MARKED THE CLOSE OF 1688
- BOOK XIX COMPLETION OF THE REVOLUTION IN THE THREE KINGDOMS, 1688—1691
CHAP. VI - Parliament of 1679
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- BOOK XVI THE LATER YEARS OF CHARLES II, 1675—1685 WHIGS AND TORIES
- INTRODUCTION
- CHAP. I Parliament in 1675. Formation of new parties
- CHAP. II The fourteen months' prorogation. Parliamentary Session of 1677
- CHAP. III Dynastic and political alliance of Charles II with the Prince of Orange
- CHAP. IV Complications at the conclusion of the Peace of Nimuegen. Alliance of Louis XIV with the Parliamentary opposition in England
- CHAP. V Denunciation of a Jesuit conspiracy. Last Session of the Parliament of the Restoration
- CHAP. VI Parliament of 1679
- CHAP. VII Parliamentary interim, 1679, 1680
- CHAP. VIII The Parliamentary Session of 1680
- CHAP. IX Parliament at Oxford, March 1680, 1681
- CHAP. X Antagonism of the Prince of Orange and the Duke of York
- CHAP. XI Reaction against the Whigs. Rye-House Plot. Execution of Lord William Russell
- CHAP. XII End of Charles II's Government
- BOOK XVII REIGN OF JAMES II, FEBRUARY 1685 TO SEPTEMBER 1688
- BOOK XVIII THE FALL OF JAMES II IN ITS CONNEXION WITH THE EUROPEAN CONFLICTS WHICH MARKED THE CLOSE OF 1688
- BOOK XIX COMPLETION OF THE REVOLUTION IN THE THREE KINGDOMS, 1688—1691
Summary
For eighteen years there had been no general election in England. All the greater was the excitement and the tumult with which the new writs filled the kingdom. Everywhere in the towns and boroughs those who possessed votes met together, eating and drinking, talking and smoking at the fireside: conscious of their importance, they enjoyed themselves together for some days; they were in no hurry, for the candidate had to pay for everything. Foreigners are astonished at the sum to which the costs of an election amounted.
When the King determined on a dissolution, which he did most reluctantly, and which without doubt he ought to have done much sooner, he still did not mean to go over from one party to another. He wished, as it were, to punish the encroachments of the existing members of Parliament, who, under the influence of one another's society, ever lost more and more of their old submissiveness, so that he could no longer produce any impression on them. He hoped to procure from the same stratum of the population, the gentry, more trust-worthy adherents, for in the country there were many faithful men devoted to the monarchy, who were not affected by the intrigues at court and the animosity against the ministers; these might be won by marks of favour and would hesitate before causing another dissolution, which would render useless all the expenses they had incurred.
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- A History of EnglandPrincipally in the Seventeenth Century, pp. 72 - 86Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1875