jesties and their successors according to the same in all times

to come.

VII. And the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, seriously considering how it hath pleased Almighty God, in his marvellous providence, and merciful goodness to this nation, to provide and preserve their said Majesties' royal persons most happily to reign over us upon the throne of their ancestors, for which they render unto Him from the bottom of their hearts their humblest thanks and praises, do truly, firmly, assuredly, and in the sincerity of their hearts, think, and do hereby recognize, acknowledge, and declare, that King James II. having abdicated the government, and their Majesties having accepted the Crown and royal dignity aforesaid, their said Majesties did become, were, are, and of right ought to be, by the laws of this realm, our sovereign liege Lord and Lady, King and Queen of England, France, and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, in and to whose princely persons the royal State, Crown, and dignity of the same realms, with all honours, styles, titles, regalities, prerogatives, powers, jurisdictions and authorities to the same belonging and appertaining, are most fully, rightfully, and entirely invested and incorporated, united and annexed.

VIII. And for preventing all questions and divisions in this realm, by reason of any pretended titles to the Crown, and for preserving a certainty in the succession thereof, in and upon which the unity, peace, tranquillity, and safety of this nation doth, under God, wholly consist and depend, the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, do beseech their Majesties that it may be enacted, established, and declared, that the Crown and regal government of the said kingdoms and dominions, with all and singular the premises thereunto belonging and appertaining, shall be and continue to their said Majesties, and the survivor of them, during their lives, and the life of the survivor of them. And that the entire, perfect, and full exercise of the regal power and government be only in, and executed by, his Majesty, in the names of both their Majesties during their joint lives; and after their deceases the said Crown and premises shall be and remain to the heirs of the body of her Majesty: and for default of such issue, to her Royal Highness the Princess Anne of Denmark, and the heirs of her body; and for default of such issue, to the heirs of the body of his said Majesty: and thereunto the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and

Commons, do, in the name of all the people aforesaid, most humbly and faithfully submit themselves, their heirs and posterities, for ever: and do faithfully promise, That they will stand to, maintain, and defend their said Majesties, and also the limitation and succession of the Crown herein specified and contained, to the utmost of their powers, with their lives and estates, against all persons whatsoever that shall attempt anything to the contrary.

IX. And whereas it hath been found by experience, that it is inconsistent with the safety and welfare of this Protestant kingdom, to be governd by a Popish prince, or by any king or queen marrying a Papist, the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, do further pray that it may be enacted, That all and every person and persons that is, are, or shall be reconciled to, or shall hold communion with, the See or Church of Rome, or shall profess the Popish religion, or shall marry a Papist, shall be excluded, and be for ever incapable to inherit, possess, or enjoy the Crown and government of this realm, and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, or any part of the same, or to have, use, or exercise any regal power, authority, or jurisdiction within the same; and in all and every such case or cases the people of these realms shall be and are hereby absolved of their allegiance; and the said Crown and Government shall from time to time descend to, and be enjoyed by, such person or persons, being Protestants, as should have inherited and enjoyed the same, in case the said person or persons so reconciled, holding communion, or professing, or marrying as aforesaid, were naturally dead.

X. And that every king and queen of this realm, who at any time hereafter shall come to succeed in the Imperial Crown of this kingdom, shall, on the first day of the meeting of the first parliament, next after his or her coming to the Crown, sitting in his or her throne in the House of Peers, in the presence of the Lords and Commons therein assembled, or at his or her coronation, before such person or persons who shall administer the coronation oath to him or her, at the time of his or her taking the said oath (which shall first happen), make, subscribe, and audibly repeat the declaration mentioned in the statute made in the thirteenth year of the reign of King Charles II., intituled 'An Act for the more effectual preserving the King's person and government, by disabling Papists from sitting in either House of Parliament.' But if it shall happen, that such king or queen, upon his or

her succession to the Crown of this realm, shall be under the age of twelve years, then every such king or queen shall make, subscribe, and audibly repeat the said declaration at his or her coronation, or the first day of meeting of the first parliament as aforesaid, which shall first happen after such king or queen shall have attained the said age of twelve years.

XI. All which their Majesties are contented and pleased shall be declared, enacted, and established by authority of this present parliament, and shall stand, remain, and be the law of this realm for ever; and the same are by their said Majesties, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, declared, enacted, or established accordingly.

XII. And be it further declared and enacted by the authority aforesaid, That from and after this present session of parliament, no dispensation by non obstante of or to any statute, or any part thereof, shall be allowed, but that the same shall be held void and of no effect, except a dispensation be allowed of in such statute, and except in such cases as shall be specially provided for by one or more bill or bills to be passed during this present session of parliament.

XIII. Provided that no charter, or grant, or pardon granted before the three-and-twentieth day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand six hundred eighty-nine, shall be any ways impeached or invalidated by this act, but that the same shall be and remain of the same force and effect in law, and no other, than as if this act had never been made.

(Statutes of the Realm, VI, 142-145.)

190. The Act of Settlement

(12 & 13 WILL. III, 1700)

Statutes of the Realm

The Act of Settlement, or Act of Succession, became a law on June 12, 1701. HALLAM says of this important statute that it is "the seal of our constitutional laws, the complement of the Revolution itself and the Bill of Rights, and the last great statute which restrains the power of the Crown."

AN ACT FOR THE FURTHER LIMITATION OF THE CROWN, AND BETTER SECURING THE RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES OF THE SUBJECT

Whereas in the first year of the reign of your Majesty, and of our late most Gracious Sovereign Lady Queen Mary (of

blessed memory) an Act of Parliament was made, intituled "An Act for declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject, and for settling the Succession of the Crown," wherein it was (amongst other things) enacted, established and declared, That the Crown and Regal Government of the kingdoms of England, France and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, should be and continue to your Majesty and the said late Queen, during the joint-lives of your Majesty and the said Queen, and to the survivor: And that after the decease of your Majesty and of the said Queen, the said Crown and Regal Government should be and remain to the heirs of the body of the said late Queen: And for default of such issue, to her Royal Highness the Princess Anne of Denmark, and the heirs of her body: And for default of such issue, to the heirs of the body of your Majesty. And it was thereby further enacted, That all and every person and persons that then were, or afterwards should be reconciled to, or should hold communion with the See or Church of Rome, or should profess the Popish religion, or marry a Papist, should be excluded, and are by that act made for ever uncapable to inherit, possess, or enjoy the Crown and Government of this realm and Ireland, and the dominions thereunto belonging, or any part of the same, or to have, use, or exercise any regal power, authority, or jurisdiction within the same: and in all and every such case and cases the people of these realms shall be and are thereby absolved of their allegiance: And that the said Crown and Government shall from time to time descend to and be enjoyed by such person or persons, being Protestants, as should have inherited and enjoyed the same, in case the said person or persons, so reconciled, holding communion, professing, or marrying as aforesaid, were naturally dead. After the making of which statute, and the settlement therein contained, your Majesty's good subjects, who were restored to the full and free possession and enjoyment of their religion, rights, and liberties, by the providence of God giving success to your Majesty's just undertakings and unwearied endeavours for that purpose, had no greater temporal felicity to hope or wish for, than to see a royal progeny descending from your Majesty, to whom (under God) they owe their tranquillity, and whose ancestors have for many years been principal assertors of the reformed religion and the liberties of Europe, and from our said most Gracious Sovereign Lady, whose memory will always be precious to the subjects of

these realms: And it having since pleased Almighty God to take away our said Sovereign Lady, and also the most hopeful Prince William Duke of Gloucester (the only surviving issue of her Royal Highness the Princess Anne of Denmark) to the unspeakable grief and sorrow of your Majesty and your said good subjects, who under such losses being sensibly put in mind, that it standeth wholly in the pleasure of Almighty God to prolong the lives of your Majesty and of her Royal Highness, and to grant to your Majesty, or to her Royal Highness, such issue as may be inheritable to the Crown and regal Government aforesaid, by the respective limitations in the said recited Act contained, do constantly implore the Divine Mercy for those blessings: and your Majesty's said subjects having daily experience of your royal care and concern for the present and future welfare of these kingdoms, and particularly recommending from your Throne a further provision to be made for the succession of the Crown in the Protestant line, for the happiness of the nation, and the security of our religion; and it being absolutely necessary for the safety, peace and quiet of this realm, to obviate all doubts and contentions in the same, by reason of any pretended title to the Crown, and to maintain a certainty in the succession thereof, to which your subjects may safely have recourse for their protection, in case the limitations in the Isaid recited Act should determine: Therefore for a further provision of the succession of the Crown in the Protestant line, we your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, do beseech your Majesty that it may be enacted and declared, and be it enactel and declared by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, That the most Excellent Princess Sophia, Electress and Duchess Dowager of Hanover, daughter of the most Excellent Princess Elizabeth, late Queen of Bohemia, daughter of our late Sovereign Lord King James I, of happy memory, be and is hereby declared to be the next in succession, in the Protestant line, to the Imperial Crown and dignity of the said realms of England, France and Ireland, with the dominions and territories thereunto belonging, after his Majesty, and the Princess Anne of Denmark, and in default of issue of the said Princess Anne, and of his Majesty respectively: And that from and after the deceases of his