Page:American Historical Review, Volume 12.djvu/139

 Terry: The Scottish Parliament 129 The Scottish Parliainent: its Constitution and Procedure, 1603- 1/0/ ; li'ith an Appendix of Documents. By Charles Sanford Terry, M.A., Burnett-Fletcher Professor of History in the Uni- versity of Aberdeen. (Glasgow: James MacLehose and Sons. 1905. Pp. X, 228.) Six years ago Mr. Rait in The Scottish Parliament before the Union of the Crowns drew needed attention to the neglected condition of Scot- tish constitutional history. His essay has since been supplemented by the informing chapters on Scotland in Air. Porritt's Unrcformed House of Commons. Now comes a valuable monograph from Professor Terry. The book contains nineteen chapters (which should have been numbered for convenient reference) and, as an appendix, fifty-six pages of well- chosen documents — all but one from The Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland. Here appears the evidence for a surprisingly large portion of the text. Seven chapters describe the constituent elements of Parliament, espe- cially the representatives of the shires and burghs. Qualifications, dis- tribution, the narrow electorate, the tardy approach of Parliament toward the character of a national representative assembly, to which it never really attained, the influence of the different classes and of the Crown, are all admirably expounded. Concerning shire representation, however, the addition to what Rait and Porritt have said is not exten- sive. We learn something about electoral methods, proxies, payment of members, etc. ; but occasionally, as concerning the acts extending the franchise of 1661 and 1681, the account is clearly inferior to Mr. Porritt's. These and certain other acts should at least have explanatory notes in the appendix. The nature of wadsetters and the exceptional conditions in Sutherlandshire should have been set forth. Of burgh representation the account is on many points, for example on the rela- tions between trade privileges and representation, a distinct improve- ment upon anything we have heretofore had. There is, however, no map of parliamentary representation. 'aluable chapters follow on the house (here one misses a diagram), officials, ceremonial, and discipline of Parliament. The last subject is well cleared up. New light — still more is needed — is shed upon the " Speaker ". On these matters, as well as on the whole subject of parliamentary procedure. Professor Terry far surpasses Mr. Porritt, who uses much of the same material, but with less grasp upon its relations and significance. In fact, beginning with the chapter on the Lords of the Articles come Professor Terry's best results. After cautiously presenting a new and plausible theory concerning the rise of the great committee's power, he shows how heavy its tyranny really was, how the Parliament did not adopt, much less reject, its pro- posals, but simply observed their transformation into law by touch of the sceptre. On this point Porritt and even Gardiner go wrong, though AM. HIST. REV., VOL. XU. — 9.