Part 10

And be it enacted That ... no person ... shall be indicted, tried, or attainted of High Treason ... but by and upon the oaths and testimony of two lawful witnesses, either both of them to the same overt act, or one of them to one and another of them to another overt act of the same Treason, unless the party indicted ... shall willingly, without violence and in open Court, confess the same, or shall stand mute, or refuse to plead.

And be it further enacted That if two or more distinct Treasons of diverse heads or kinds shall be alleged in one bill of indictment, one witness produced to prove one of the said Treasons, and another witness produced to prove another of the said Treasons, shall not be deemed or taken to be two witnesses to the same Treason.

And ... be it further enacted ... That ... no person or persons whatsoever shall be indicted, tried, or prosecuted for ... Treason ... unless the same indictment be found by a Grand Jury within three years next after the Treason or offence was done and committed.

And ... all and every person or persons who shall be accused, indicted or tried for Treason ... shall have copies of the panel of jurors who are to try them duly ... delivered unto them ... two days at the least before he or they shall be tried; and all persons so accused and indicted for Treason ... shall have the like Process of the Court, where they shall be tried, to compel their witnesses to appear for them at any such Trial or Trials.

And be it further enacted. That no evidence shall be admitted or given of any overt act that is not expressly laid in the indictment against any person.

And be it further enacted That upon the Trial of any Peer or Peeress either for Treason or Misprision all the Peers who have a right to sit and vote in Parliament shall be duly summoned twenty days at the least before every such Trial; and that every Peer so summoned and appearing at such Trial shall vote in the Trial.

THE COLONIAL POST (1699).

+Source.+--_Calendar of Treasury Papers_, 1697-1701-02, pp. 289-290.

Report of Sir R. Cotton, Knt., and Sir Tho. Frankland, postmasters, addressed to the Lords of the Treasury, on the memorials of Thomas Neale and Andrew Hamilton, Esqrs., stating that the latter had established a regular post to pass weekly from Boston to "New York in New England," and from New York to Newcastle in Pennsylvania, that the profits had every year increased so as to defray all charges except his salary; that the Attorney and Solicitor-General were of opinion the King could settle the rates for letters carried beyond sea &c.; advising the appointment of an officer to take charge of all the letters directed to the plantations, and send them in sealed bags, to be delivered to the deputy-postmaster in the first port where the ship should arrive, the master receiving a penny for each letter under his care, and upon such officers being established, a public notice should be given that no other person presume to make any collection of letters for those parts; they were of opinion that the rate for inland letters proposed by Mr. Hamilton was too high, "it having been found by experience in the office here, that the easy and cheap corresponding doth encourage people to write letters, and that this revenue was but little in proportion to what it now is till the postage of letters was reduced from six pence to three pence;" it would require £1,200 further charge than that already expended, to enlarge the post through Virginia and Maryland, etc. Dated 27 April, 1699.

Accompanied by:--

"A calculation what charge will carry the post from Newcastle in Pennsylvania to James' City in Virginia about 400 miles."

The memorial of Thomas Neale, Esq.:

Also another memorial from him, showing that he had deputed Andrew Hamilton, Esq., to erect post offices, who had at the said Thomas Neale's charge, settled them 700 miles in length on the continent of America, the accounts for which were then laid before their Lordships; also that the deputy-post-master had come over to afford information, and proposed the method contained in the enclosed memorial to support the post.

The said memorial of Andrew Hamilton, setting out the good effects of the Post Office, and suggesting various improvements:

He states:--"The method at present used to get letters transported to America is this: the masters bound thither, put up bags in coffee houses, wherein the letters are put, and for which one penny per letter is usually paid, and two pence if it exceed a single letter. This is liable to several abuses. First, any one under pretence that he wants to have his letters up again, may come to those bags and take out other men's letters, and thereby discover the secrets of the merchants; and 'tis in their power entirely to withdraw 'em. 2^ndly Several masters, upon their arrival, often keep up letters till they have disposed of their loading and are ready to sail again, and then drop them to the great hurt of those concerned, which inconveniences would be prevented, if letters were delivered from the Post Office in mails, and likewise delivered by them in mails into the Post Office where they arrive," etc.

ACT OF SETTLEMENT (1701).

+Source.+--_Statutes of the Realm._ Vol. vii., pp. 636-638.

After reciting the Bill of Rights and declaring the succession vested in the most Excellent Princess Sophia, and the heirs of her body, being Protestants (in case of default of heirs to Anne), the Act of Settlement lays down:--

I. That whosoever shall hereafter come to the possession of this Crown shall join in communion with the Church of England, as by law established.

II. That in case the Crown and imperial dignity of this realm shall hereafter come to any person, not being a native of this kingdom of England, this nation be not obliged to engage in any war for the defence of any dominions or territories which do not belong to the Crown of England, without the consent of Parliament.

III. That no person who shall hereafter come to the possession of this Crown shall go out of the dominions of England, Scotland, or Ireland, without consent of Parliament.

IV. That ... all matters and things relating to the well-governing of this kingdom, which are properly cognizable in the Privy Council by the Laws and Customs of this realm, shall be transacted there, and all resolutions taken thereupon shall be signed by such of the Privy Council as shall advise and consent to the same.

V. That ... no person born out of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, or Ireland, or the dominions thereunto belonging (although he be naturalized or made a denizen, except such as are born of English parents) shall be capable to be of the Privy Council, or a member of either House of Parliament, or to enjoy any office or place of trust, either civil or military, or to have any grant of lands, tenements, or hereditaments from the Crown, to himself or any other or others in trust for him.

VI. That no person who has an office or place of profit under the King, or receives a pension from the Crown, shall be capable of serving as a member of the House of Commons.

VII. That ... Judges' Commissions be made _Quamdiu se bene gesserint_, and their salaries ascertained and established; but upon the Address of both Houses of Parliament it may be lawful to remove them.

VIII. That no pardon under the Great Seal of England be pleadable to an impeachment by the Commons in Parliament.

MARLBOROUGH'S LETTERS RELATING TO BLENHEIM (1704).

+Source.+--Coxe's _Life of Marlborough_, vol. i., pp. 206, 213-215. Bohn edition.

A. _The Note to his Wife from the Blenheim Battlefield._

_August 13, 1704._--I have not time to say more but to beg you will give my duty to the queen, and let her know her army has had a glorious victory. M. Tallard and two other generals are in my coach, and I am following the rest. The bearer, my aide-de-camp, Colonel Parke will give her an account of what has passed....--MARLBOROUGH.

B. _To his Wife._

_August 14._--Before the battle was quite done yesterday, I writ to my dearest soul to let her know that I was well, and that God had blessed her majesty's arms with as great a victory as has ever been known; for prisoners I have the Marshal de Tallard, and the greatest part of his general officers, above 8,000 men, and near 1,500 officers. In short, the army of M. de Tallard, which was that which I fought with, is quite ruined; that of the elector of Bavaria and the Marshal de Marsin, which Prince Eugene fought against, I am afraid, has not had much loss, for I cannot find that he has many prisoners. As soon as the elector knew that Monsieur de Tallard was like to be beaten, he marched off, so that I came only time enough to see him retire. As all these prisoners are taken by the troops I command, it is in my power to send as many of them to England as her majesty shall think for her honour and service. My own opinion in this matter is, that the Marshal de Tallard, and the general officers, should be sent or brought to her majesty when I come to England; but should all the officers be brought, it would be a very great expense, and I think the honour is in having the marshal and such other officers as her majesty pleases. But I shall do in this, as in all things, that which shall be most agreeable to her. I am so very much out of order with having been seventeen hours on horseback yesterday, and not having been able to sleep above three hours last night, that I can write to none of my friends.... Had the success of Prince Eugene been equal to his merit, we should in that day's action have made an end of the war.

C. _To his Wife._

_August 18._--I have been so very much out of order for these four or five days that I have been obliged this morning to be let blood, which I hope will set me right; for I should be very much troubled not to be able to follow the blow we have given, which appears greater every day than another, for we have now above 11,000 prisoners. I have also this day a deputation from the town of Augsburg, to let me know the French were marched out of it yesterday morning, by which they have abandoned the country of Bavaria, so that the orders are already given for the putting a garrison into it. If we can be so lucky as to force them from Ulm, where they are now altogether, we shall certainly then drive them to the other side of the Rhine.... Never was victory so complete, notwithstanding they were stronger than we, and very advantageously posted. But believe me, my dear soul, there was an absolute necessity for the good of the common cause to make this venture, which God has so blessed. I am told the elector has sent for his wife and children to come to Ulm. If it be true, he will not then quit the French interest, which I had much rather he should do, if it might be upon reasonable terms; but the Imperialists are for his entire ruin....

D. _To Lord Godolphin._

_August 28._--The troops under my command are advanced three days on their march towards the Rhine, but I have been obliged to stay here[28] to finish, if possible, the treaty with the electoress.... By the letters we have intercepted of the enemy's, going to Paris from their camp at Dublingen, they all own to have lost 40,000 men.

[28] At Sefelingen.

ACT FOR THE UNION OF THE TWO KINGDOMS OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND (1707).

+Source.+--_Statutes of the Realm._ Vol. viii., pp. 566-577.

The Act recites:--

I. That the two kingdoms of England and Scotland shall, upon the first day of May, which shall be in the year one thousand seven hundred and seven, and for ever after, be united into one Kingdom by the name of Great Britain; and, that the ensigns armorial of the said United Kingdom be such as her Majesty shall appoint, and the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew be conjoined in such manner as her Majesty shall think fit, and used in all flags, banners, standards, and ensigns, both at sea and land.

II. That the succession of the monarchy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and of the dominions thereunto belonging, after her most sacred Majesty, be, remain, and continue to the most excellent Princess Sophia, Electoress and Duchess Dowager of Hanover, and the heirs of her body being protestants.

III. That the United Kingdom of Great Britain be represented by one and the same Parliament, to be styled, The Parliament of Great Britain.

IV. That all the subjects of the United Kingdom of Great Britain shall, from and after the union, have full freedom and intercourse of trade and navigation to and from any port or place within the said United Kingdom, and the dominions and plantations thereunto belonging; and that there be a communication of all other rights, privileges, and advantages, which do or may belong to the subjects of either kingdom; except where it is otherwise expressly agreed.

V.-XV. (These articles deal with Trade chiefly.)

XVI. That from and after the union, the coin shall be of the same standard and value throughout the United Kingdom; as now in England, and a mint shall be continued in Scotland, under the same rules as the mint in England, and the present officers of the mint continued, subject to such regulations and alterations as her Majesty, her heirs or successors, or the Parliament of Great Britain shall think fit.

XVII. That from and after the union, the same weights and measures shall be used throughout the United Kingdom, as are now established in England, and standards of weights and measures shall be kept by those burghs in Scotland to whom the keeping the standards of weights and measures, now in use there, does of special right belong: All which standards shall be sent down to such respective burghs, from the standards kept in the Exchequer at Westminster, subject nevertheless to such regulations as the Parliament of Great Britain shall think fit.

XVIII. That the laws concerning regulation of trade, customs, and such excises to which Scotland is, by virtue of this treaty, to be liable, be the same in Scotland, from and after the union, as in England; and that all other laws in use within the kingdom of Scotland, do after the union, and notwithstanding thereof, remain in the same force as before (except such as are contrary to, or inconsistent with, this treaty), but alterable by the Parliament of Great Britain; with this difference between the laws concerning public right, policy, and civil government, and those which concern private right, that the laws which concern public right, policy, and civil government may be the same throughout the whole United Kingdom; but that no alteration be made in laws which concern private right, except for evident utility of the subjects within Scotland.

XIX. (Scottish Courts of Law to remain as before, the right, however, of the United Parliament to make regulations and alterations being recognised.)[29]

XX.-XXI. (Concern Heritable Offices and the rights of Royal Burghs.)

XXII. That, by virtue of this treaty, of the peers of Scotland, at the time of the Union, sixteen shall be the number to sit and vote in the House of Lords, and forty-five the number of representatives of Scotland in the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain; and that when her Majesty, her heirs or successors, shall declare her or their pleasure for holding the first, or any other subsequent, Parliament of Great Britain, until the Parliament of Great Britain shall make further provision therein, a writ do issue under the great seal of the United Kingdom, directed to the Privy Council of Scotland, commanding them to cause sixteen peers, who are to sit in the House of Lords, to be summoned to Parliament, and forty-five members to be elected to sit in the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain.

XXIII. That the aforesaid sixteen peers of Scotland mentioned in the last preceding article, to sit in the House of Lords of the Parliament of Great Britain, shall have all privileges of Parliament, which the peers of England now have, and which they, or any peers of Great Britain shall have after the union.... And in case that any trials of peers shall hereafter happen, when there is no Parliament in being, the sixteen peers of Scotland who sat in the last preceding Parliament, shall be summoned in the same manner and have the same powers and privileges at such trials, as any other peers of Great Britain; and that all peers of Scotland, and their successors to their honours and dignities shall, from and after the union, be peers of Great Britain, and have rank and precedency next and immediately after the peers of the like order and degrees in England at the time of the union.

XXIV. (Deals with the Seals.)

XXV. (Scots to retain the Presbyterian system of Church Government and English to retain the Episcopalian.)

[29] No provision is made by the Act for the House of Lords to exercise final Appellate Jurisdiction.

PROCEEDINGS ON THE IMPEACHMENT OF DR. SACHEVERELL (1710).

+Source.+--_The Parliamentary History of England from the Earliest Period to the Year 1803._ Vol. vi., pp. 806, 809. London, 1810.

P. 806. _Complaint in the Commons of Dr. Sacheverell's Sermons._ Dec. 13. A complaint being made to the House of Commons, of two printed Books; the one intituled, "The Communication of Sin; a Sermon, preached at the Assizes, held at Derby, August 15, 1709, by Dr. Henry Sacheverell;" and the other intituled, "The Perils of false Brethren, both in Church and State; set forth in a Sermon preached before the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of London, at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, on the 5th of November, 1709;" preached also by the said Dr. Henry Sacheverell; and both printed for Henry Clements, which Books were delivered in at the clerk's table; where several paragraphs in the epistle dedicatory, preceding the first-mentioned Book, and also several paragraphs in the latter Book, were read:

_Resolution thereon._] Sir Peter King and others having made speeches against the audaciousness of the Doctor, who had advanced positions directly opposite to Revolution principles, to the present government, and to the Protestant Succession, and consequently tending to cherish factions, and stir up rebellion: those, who favoured the Doctor's cause, were surprised at this sudden attack, and, no member offering to speak in his defence, it was resolved, "That the two Sermons were malicious, scandalous, and seditious libels, highly reflecting on the queen, the late Revolution, and the Protestant Succession, tending to alienate the affections of her majesty's subjects, and to create jealousies and divisions among them."

The Doctor was ordered to attend at the bar of the House the next day, and, being examined, owned the two Sermons. He likewise told them, what encouragement he had from the lord-mayor to print "The Perils of False Brethren." Sir Samuel Garrard, being a member of the House, was asked, whether the Sermon was printed at his desire or order? if he had owned it, he would have been expelled the House: but he denied, that he ever desired, or ordered, or encouraged, the printing thereof. Though the Doctor offered to prove it, and brought witnesses for that purpose, yet the House would not enter upon that examination, but it was thought more decent to seem to give credit to their own member, though few indeed believed him.

The Doctor standing to what he had said, without expressing the least consciousness of having done amiss, he was directed to withdraw; and it was resolved, "That he should be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanours, and Mr. Dolben was ordered to do it at the bar of the House of Lords, in the name of all the Commons of Great Britain." At the same time a Committee was appointed to draw up the Articles against him, and the Doctor was taken into custody of the Serjeant at Arms.

[The Charge against Sacheverell.]

P. 809. I. "He, the said Henry Sacheverell, in his said Sermon preached at St. Paul's, doth suggest and maintain, 'That the necessary means used to bring about the said happy Revolution, were odious and unjustifiable; that his late majesty, in his Declaration, disclaimed the least imputation of resistance; and that to impute resistance to the said Revolution, is to cast black and odious colours upon his late majesty and the said Revolution.'

II. "He, the said Henry Sacheverell, in his said Sermon preached at St. Paul's, doth suggest and maintain, 'That the aforesaid toleration granted by law is unreasonable, and the allowance of it unwarrantable;' and asserts that he is a false brother, with relation to God, religion or the church, who defends toleration and liberty of conscience; that queen Elizabeth was deluded by archbishop Grindall,' whom he scurrilously calls a false son of the church and a perfidious prelate, 'to the toleration of the Genevan discipline; and that it is the duty of superior pastors, to thunder out their ecclesiastical anathemas against persons entitled to the benefit of the said Toleration;' and insolently dares or defies any power on earth to reverse such sentences.

III. "He, the said Henry Sacheverell, in his said Sermon preached at St. Paul's, doth falsely and seditiously suggest and assert, 'that the church of England is in a condition of great peril and adversity under her majesty's administration;' and, in order to arraign and blacken the said Vote or Resolution of both Houses of Parliament, approved by her majesty as aforesaid, he, in opposition thereto, doth suggest the church to be in danger; and, as a parallel, mentions a Vote, that the person of king Charles the 1st was voted to be out of danger, at the same time that his murderers were conspiring his death; thereby wickedly and maliciously insinuating, that the members of both Houses, who passed the said vote, were then conspiring the ruin of the Church.

IV. "He, the said Henry Sacheverell, in his said Sermons and Books, doth falsely and maliciously suggest, 'that her majesty's administration both in ecclesiastical and civil affairs, tends to the destruction of the constitution; and that there are men of characters and stations, in church and state, who are false brethren, and do themselves weaken, undermine, and betray, and do encourage, and put it in the power of others, who are professed enemies, to overturn and destroy the constitution and establishment;' and chargeth her majesty, and those in authority under her, both in church and state, with a general maladministration: and, as a public incendiary, he persuades her majesty's subjects to keep up a distinction of faction and parties, instils groundless jealousies, foments destructive divisions among them, and excites and stirs them up to arms and violence. And, that his said malicious and seditious suggestions may make the stronger impressions upon the minds of her majesty's subjects, he, the said Henry Sacheverell, doth wickedly wrest and pervert divers texts and passages of holy scripture."

MARLBOROUGH'S REPLY TO THE CHARGE OF PECULATION (1712).

+Source.+--_The Case of his Grace the D---- of M., to be Represented by him to the Honourable House of Commons, in Vindication of Himself from the Charge of the Commissioners of Accounts in Relation to the Two and Half per Cent. Bread and Bread Waggons_ (published 1712). Acton Library Pamphlets, No. d. 25, 1001^12.

[The following extract deals with Marlborough's "commissions" on the bread supplied to the Army on the Continent. The Tories alleged that he had defrauded the Exchequer by taking his 2-1/2 per cent. commission.]