Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/218

204 Rooke; and the commons, to whose party Rooke, an old tory, belonged, exalted his exploits to an equality with those of Marlborough. In fact, the conquest of Gibraltar was a far more substantial victory to England than that of Blenheim. Notwithstanding the queen's promise of being kind and indulgent to all her subjects, there was a strenuous attempt again to carry the occasional conformity bill. At the suggestion of Mr. William Bromley it was tacked to the land-tax bill, and was so sent up to the peers. The queen went to the house of lords to hear the debate, where she heard Tenison, the archbishop of Canterbury, honestly and boldly denounce the illiberal and persecuting spirit which had suggested such a bill.



"The employing of persons," he said, "of a religion different from that established in civil services had been practised in all countries where liberty of conscience had been allowed. We have already gone further in excluding dissenters than any country has done. Whatever reasons there were to apprehend our religion in danger from papists when the Test Act was passed cannot be applicable to the dissenters at present. On the contrary, manifest inconveniences result from this exclusion." This praiseworthy language was strongly echoed out of doors by De Foe, whose pen was never idle on such occasions, and the court now seemed to be convinced that it had gone too far. Godolphin, who had on former occasions voted for it, now opposed it, and the lords threw it out by a majority of one-and-twenty votes.

The conduct of the late Scottish session next came under discussion. The weakness of ministers in allowing them to pass the insolent security bill was commented on in no measured terms. They were taunted with having been afraid of rebellion, and, by encouraging the license of the Scots, in allowing them to pass such a bill, having made a rebellion all the more probable. Lord Wharton boasted openly that he had Godolphin's head in a bag ever since he allowed them to pass that traitorous act; and lord Haversham moved a vote of censure on the ministers in the peers, and was vehemently seconded by the earls of Rochester and Nottingham. Nothing but the favour of Marlborough, who was now all-powerful, bore up Godolphin. He and the rest of the ministers were obliged to join in a set of resolutions by the lords, praying the queen to fortify Newcastle, Tynemouth, Carlisle, and Hull, as if the Scots were really intending an invasion; to call out the militia in the northern counties; to send regular troops thither, and to allow the protestant freeholders to arm themselves. They also prayed the queen would nominate commissioners to carry out the union betwixt the two kingdoms; that the natives of Scotland should not enjoy the privileges of Englishmen until a union was effected, or the succession settled as in England; that the bringing of cattle from Scotland to England should be stopped; that the lord high admiral should be ordered to capture all such Scottish vessels as should be found trading to the ports of France or any other of her majesty's enemies;