Parliament, having undertaken to be something more than
a mere advisory body to the King, made the best of its
opportunities. The old Petition of Rights of the year 1628 was
fished out of a forgotten nook of the archives. A second and
more drastic Bill of Rights demanded that the sovereign of
England should belong to the Anglican church. Furthermore
it stated that the king had no right to suspend the laws or
permit certain privileged citizens to disobey certain laws. It
stipulated that ``without consent of Parliament no taxes could
be levied and no army could be maintained.'' Thus in the year
1689 did England acquire an amount of liberty unknown in
any other country of Europe.
But it is not only on account of this great liberal measure
that the rule of William in England is still remembered. During
his lifetime, government by a ``responsible'' ministry first
developed. No king of course can rule alone. He needs a few
trusted advisors. The Tudors had their Great Council which
was composed of Nobles and Clergy. This body grew too
large. It was restricted to the small ``Privy Council.'' In the
course of time it became the custom of these councillors to meet
the king in a cabinet in the palace. Hence they were called
the ``Cabinet Council.'' After a short while they were known
as the ``Cabinet.''
William, like most English sovereigns before him, had
chosen his advisors from among all parties.
Pages:
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320