Albuquerque evening citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1907-03-07
Two Hundred Years Ago This Day, Eng
land and Scotland We're Wedded--
Both are Celebrating the
AuSpiCiOuS Event.
THE UNION HAS BEEN PROLIFIC OF BLESSINGS. TO BOTH
Brought About Only BY Wise Craftsmanship and MWud
Sacrifices and Concessions in Days of
Good Queen Anne

to the danger. and convinced of the
necessity of a closer union between
the kingdoms; and King William In
particular devoted all the closi 1g
years of his life to accomplishing this
end, opposed in the matter at every
step by France, which knew by her
experience of the past that with Scot
land as an enemy threatening the
northern frontier of England, much
of the latter's Importance as a foe
would vanish. English manufactur-
ers and merchants were intensely
jealous of their Scottish rivals and
bitterly opposed to the removal of the
restrictions placed upon them. The
idea of granting their Scotch COM
petitors the same advantages which
they themselves enjoyed was abhor-
rent to them, and all their influence
was employed to prevent anything of
the kind taking place. The Scotch,
on the other hand, did not relish the
idea of the loss of their national
ceT ind rdlu iloardlu iouuao iuoa
individuality by merging their history
in that of England. They felt that
1t would involve the increase of tax
alton and a share in the responsible
ity of England's national debt. Scot
land feared for the existence of her
national church and of her time-hon-
ored institutions; and then, too, there
widespread feeling of loyalty to the
eXiled Stuart princes. who were awsre
that the true source of their Strength
lay in Scotland.
1t was good Queen Anne who fin
ally brought about the union of Scot
land and England, which was render
ed possible only by sacrifices and for
bearance on both sides, the agree
ment, while accompanied by many
regrets and reservations, being never
theless regarded both in Edinburgh
and in London as on the whole as
fair to one side as to the other.
The commissioners appointed to
elaborate the act of union began by
eliminating two rocks upon which
previous attempts of the same kind
had been wrecked, namely, by agree
ing to leave to each country its own
church and its own code of laws.
These two sources of difficulty being
removed. the remainder of the agree
ment narrowed down to four main
points, namely, the succession to tho
crown, trade, taxation and the COM
position of the future parliament.
The Scotch commissioners agreed to
the demands of the English that the
latter's act of succession settling the
crown upon the descendants of Queen
Anne, and, failing, then upon the
Protestant house of Hanover, should
be extended to Scotland. The Scotch
house of parliament and the Scotch
privy council were abolished and
Scotland received forty-five seats In
the English house of commons and
sixteen seats in the house of lords, to
which her representatives were to be
elected at the beginning of each par
Lament by the Scotch peer assembled
for the purpose at Hollywood palace,
in obedience to a summons from the
crown. The national debt and taxa
ton were adjusted by the imposition
in Scotland of n moderate share Of
the land tax. by the extension of Scot