The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-17
i. We hear of members elected bu, refusing

TO serve descending and pursued with hue ana
for their services in those days, whereas, at the
present time they are glad to pay dearly lor beng
siderable intervals between nH Sessions, with no
political press TO I'LL the gap. Nor were the mem
bers rnlned Parliamentary hands though tbh t
would be trained in some measure Tor punilc ne
by local legislation and the administrator OF
local Justice Government was still in The Srown;
and In the Crown there was need that II should
remain when the representatives Of Ne nation
were so uniniormed, and SO little capable 81 TAX
fixed, nor wero principles defined. as they are az
the present day Much was still in state ot
iluN, and varied with the shifting forces OF the
hour
Let us look now at the situation Of Parliament
after 1t had been subjected TO Tudor dictatorship
for century Some light is thrown on this matter
by our author in passage which depicts the state
OF things at the accession Of James |. The hour
has come OF decisive struggle between tho
Crown and the House Of Commons for the sovereign
I power. which must rest somewhere, and. how
ever IL may DO self reg ulated and sef-conirolled
In its action, cannot really be divided In theory,
the Crown is sovereign This the Commons.
! in language always fcrvently loyal admit and
! tho kings when they insist ON their sovcrci gnty.
arc entitled TO the benefit uf tho admission. II
| was the leader Of the Opposition who said that
! Parliament was the body, the King the spirit.
the breath OF their nostrilS and the bond by which
| they were tied together. Practically. however,
the House Of Commons is laying its hands upon
supreme power. Its engine is command Of tho
! supplies, without which, the domains of the Crown
! and its sources Of revenue, other than parlia-
/ mcntary taxation, having been reduced. while
| the expenditure has been greatly increased gov
eminent cannot be carried on" Mr.. Goodwin
! Smith proceeds 10 show that tho House Of Com
none has, by this time 1.-THE accc Ision Of James l.
thoroughly awakened from its Tudor trance. II rep.
rescnts landed proprietary. REINFORCED by pur-
chasors Of the dsbursed Church estates and nclud-
lhR large number Of freehold ycomCn. together
with the chief burghers Of the towns, In whose
hands the borough elections mainly are. Tho
laborng masses are unrcprcscnted. but the
House roughly represents tho cnfranch sed
aod political nation. II local magnates
exert commanding influence In cleo
tons, even for boroughS they must In somo
measure, consult tho wishes Of Constituencies
so sturdy and strong. Tho House has studied
ts own archives, and learned what It's powers and
privileges had been rnder Larcastrlnn kings
Among Its members lawyers not a few repre-.
scntauvss Of a powerful profession, experts in
constitutional, as well as in general law. Already
In Ehzaheth's reign, IL had asserted, and partly
made good. In spite Of the Queen jealousy and
rebukos, its right Of dealing with tho highest
questions, both Of State and church The Quron
who would gladly have ruled without H. and
strove by parsimony TO keep herself Independent
Of ts grants, was compelled by her penis 10 lean
upon II and 10 fence with its growing prctcn.
sions, rather than 70 put them down. IL has
acquired a certain degree Of corporate conscious
ness and persistency Of aim. II is finding regu-
lar leaders devoted 10 parliamentary life and
qualified 70 wrcsue with the Ministers 81 tho
Crown 10 whom hitherto s'a,csmanship has
been confined Influence in tho eoctions TO II
haa
Crown. some q whose Minister'S Bacon among
the number. take seats in the Commons as man.
ayers for the Court The petty loroughs which
are created as seats for court nOn!nces and ot
which. In Cornwall. there was a large group.
were IN become the parliamentary nuisance and
scandal " sfter times"
We should next mark the outcome Of the frst
stage Of the contest between King and Parlia.
mcni which ended with the death OF James l.
II viii he found set forth conciscy In the follow
Ing paragraph, reproduced from llallam by our
author; The Commons have now been engaged
for more than twenty years, in struggle to ro-
store and to fortfy their own and their follow
subjects liberty They had obtained in this
period but ono legislative measure Of importance
the drrlnratory act against monopolista But
they had rescued from disuse their ancient right
Of impeachment They had placed on record
appreciation Of their claim 10 debate all matters
against the uSurped p-"roGauycS ui binding
We sub ect by proclamation and If lcyyinr Gus
toms at the ou'pprtS They hrd occurred beyond
controversy their exclusive privilege Of deter
mining contested election 81 their members They
had maintained and carried indeed 10 nm I'M.
whrfHntahlc extent their power 81 Judging and
lniucting nuntsl ment, even for offences not com.
mit'rd against tlclr liouSr" Nr Goodwin Smith
points out that N6!am might have hdGed 10 the
gains Of the tomrors during this reign tho Ap-
pr"prinion OF supplies seeing that the last
Parliament Of James lad appropriated n supply
distinctly to four objects connected with the war
against France. a considerable stride hsd
thus been made toward the conversion Of the
Tudor drSp1t into y Duke Of Venice" At all
events the day Of Tudor DICTATORSHIP was over. .
bu'th" ncN stuart was not sensible ~ The change
nor ,Nlnng To resign power To- Parliament and .
hatd' In consequence was 10 be his fate. |
VII.
with tho possible exception Of Mr. Gardiner,
there is no ono who has made more carcful study
OF the period OF the civil war than has Mr. Gold q
win Smith. In the chapters which treat O.
Charles J., the Commonwealth and tho protcc-
tora'c, he Is reraversing ground which he maGo
his own many years ago, when, nj nm unusually
early age, he was appointed Rcgius Professor
Of Modern History in the University Of Oxford.
Nowhere has 'he process Of luminous cordensn-
sI fprt her tbsp In,