■WILLIAM AND MALT.

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happily, more than a hundred years later, a scruple, which ciiap.those statesmen thought too absurd to be seriously entertained —by any human being, found its way into a mind, honest, indeed,and religious, but narrow and obstinate by nature, and at oncedebilitated and excited by disease. Seldom, indeed, have theambition and perfidy of tyrants produced evils greater thanthose w'hich w'ere brought on our country by that fatal con-scientiousness. A conjuncture singularly auspicious, a con-juncture at which wisdom and justice might perhaps have re-conciled races and sects long hostile, and might have made theBritish islands one truly United Kingdom, was suffered to passaway. The opportunity, once lost, returned no more. Twogenerations of public men have since laboured with imperfectsuccess to repair the error which was then committed; nor is itimprobable that some of the penalties of that error may con-tinue to afflict a remote posterity.

. The Bill by which the oath was settled passed the Upper The c°-

" aaa ronaliou.

House without amendment. All the preparations were com-plete ; and, on the eleventh of April, the coronation took place.

In some things it differed from ordinary coronations. The re-presentatives of the people attended the ceremony in a body,and were sumptuously feasted in the Exchequer Chamber.

Mary, being not merely Queen Consort, but also Queen Reg-nant, was inaugurated in all things like a King, was girt withthe sword, lifted up into the throne, and presented with theBible, the spurs, and the orb. Of the temporal grandees of

the scruple, and gives the occasion for it.” Sawyer said, “This is the firstproviso of this nature that ever was in any bill. It seems to strike at thelegislative power." Sir Robert Cotton said, “Though the proviso lookswell and healing, yet it seems to imply a defect. Not able to alter laws asoccasion requires! This, instead of one scruple, raises more, as if youwere so bound up to the ecclesiastical government that you cannot makeany new laws without such a proviso.” Sir Thomas Lee said, “It will,

I fear, creep in that other laws cannot be made without such a proviso:therefore I would lay it aside.”