The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1907-03-08
ENGLAND AND
SCOTLAND UNITED
TWO CENTURIES
Continued From First Page,

place. The Scotch, on the other hand,
did not relish the idea Of the loss of
their national individuality by merg-
ing their history in that of England.
They felt that it would involve the
increase of taxation and share in
the responsibility of England's ma
tional debt. Scotland feared for the
existence of her national church and
of her time honored Institutions; and
then, too, there was to the north of
the Tweed a widespread feeling OF
loyalty TO the exiled Stuart princes,
who knew that the true source of
their strength lay in Scotland
Queen Anne Successful.
It was good Queen Anne who final
ly brought about the union OF Scot
land and England, which was rem
dered possible only by sacrifices and
forbearance 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 laws. These two
sources of difficulty being removed,
the remainder of the agreement mar
rowed down 70 four main points,
namely, the succession to the crown
trade, taxation and the composition
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 them upon the Protestant
House of Hanover, should be extend
ed to Scotland. The scotch house Of
parliament and the Scotch privy
council were abolished and Scotland
received forty-five seats in the Eng
lish house OF commons and sixteen
seats in the house of lords, to which
her representatives were to be elected
at the beginning of each parliament
by the Scotch peers assembled for the
purpose at Hollywood Palace in ODE
dience to a summons from the crown.
The national debt and taxation were
adjusted by the imposition in Scot
land of moderate share of the land
tax, by the extension to Scotland of
part of the responsibility for the
national debt of England, which in
those days amounted to $4,000. 900
and by the adoption of a uniform
rate of customs and excise duties for
both kingdoms But the principal
point was the removal of all trade
restrictions between the two king
doms, the establishment of free COM
mercial intercourse between Scot
land and country such as England
in which wealth was much more
widely spread and the admission of
Scotland to the same advantages and
privileges as those enjoyed by Eng
land in trade with foreign countries.
Treaty Ratified.
After an agreement based on these
lines had been reached by the COM
missioners, the convention was sub
mitted to the Scotch and English par
liaments. In Scotland the majority
in favor was IL, the votes being Ito
for and So against the ratification OF
the treaty. At Westminster the op-
position was considerably smaller,
and on March 6, 1707, the act of
union between Scotland and England
received the royal sanction and the
signature of Queen Anne. Slice then
the representation of Scotland II the
house of commons has been gradual.
~ increased from forty-five to seven
ty-two members Scotland, as l men,
toned above, was left at the union
in the enjoyment of her separate sys-
tenn of laws and legal administration.
But the laws of England and Scot
land have been In many respects as
simulated, the criminal law of the
two countries being almost identical,
although the methods of procedure
are in many respects different The
court of session, as the supreme court
in civil cases is called in Scotland,
dates from 1882. and was formed on
the model of the Parchment at Paris,
and is held at Edinburgh II consists
of thirteen judges, acting as an Inner
and an Outer House. The Inner
House has two divisions, with four
judges each, the first being presided
over by the lord president of the
whole court and the second by the
lord justice clerk In the outer house
five judges, called lords ordinary, sit
in separate courts. Appeals may be
made from the lords ordinary to
either of the divisions of the inner
house, and, if the occasion demands,
the opinion of all the judges of the
court of session to the house of lords
at Westminster The lord justice
general Qord president) the lord
justice clerk and five other judges
from the high court Of justiciary, in
stituted in 1872 for criminal cases,
which sits at Edinburgh for the trial
of cases referred to it from the cir.
cult courts. The members of the bar
who practice in these courts are de-