The History of England from the Accession of James II, vol 3 | Page 8

their enthusiasm would cool fast
if he should refuse to be the mere leader of their party, and should
attempt to be King of the whole nation. What they expected from him
in return for their devotion to his cause was that he should be one of
themselves, a stanch and ardent Whig; that he should show favour to
none but Whigs; that he should make all the old grudges of the Whigs
his own; and there was but too much reason to apprehend that, if he
disappointed this expectation, the only section of the community which
was zealous in his cause would be estranged from him.10
Such were the difficulties by which, at the moment of his elevation, he
found himself beset. Where there was a good path he had seldom failed
to choose it. But now he had only a choice among paths every one of
which seemed likely to lead to destruction. From one faction he could
hope for no cordial support. The cordial support of the other faction he
could retain only by becoming himself the most factious man in his
kingdom, a Shaftesbury on the throne. If he persecuted the Tories, their
sulkiness would infallibly be turned into fury. If he showed favour to
the Tories, it was by no means certain that he would gain their goodwill;
and it was but too probable that he might lose his hold on the hearts of
the Whigs. Something however he must do: something he must risk: a
Privy Council must be sworn in: all the great offices, political and
judicial, must be filled. It was impossible to make an arrangement that
would please every body, and difficult to make an arrangement that
would please any body; but an arrangement must be made.
What is now called a ministry he did not think of forming. Indeed what

is now called a ministry was never known in England till he had been
some years on the throne. Under the Plantagenets, the Tudors, and the
Stuarts, there had been ministers; but there had been no ministry. The
servants of the Crown were not, as now, bound in frankpledge for each
other. They were not expected to be of the same opinion even on
questions of the gravest importance. Often they were politically and
personally hostile to each other, and made no secret of their hostility. It
was not yet felt to be inconvenient or unseemly that they should accuse
each other of high crimes, and demand each other's heads. No man had
been more active in the impeachment of the Lord Chancellor Clarendon
than Coventry, who was a Commissioner of the Treasury. No man had
been more active in the impeachment of the Lord Treasurer Danby than
Winnington, who was Solicitor General. Among the members of the
Government there was only one point of union, their common head, the
Sovereign. The nation considered him as the proper chief of the
administration, and blamed him severely if he delegated his high
functions to any subject. Clarendon has told us that nothing was so
hateful to the Englishmen of his time as a Prime Minister. They would
rather, he said, be subject to an usurper like Oliver, who was first
magistrate in fact as well as in name, than to a legitimate King who
referred them to a Grand Vizier. One of the chief accusations which the
country party had brought against Charles the Second was that he was
too indolent and too fond of pleasure to examine with care the balance
sheets of public accountants and the inventories of military stores.
James, when he came to the crown, had determined to appoint no Lord
High Admiral or Board of Admiralty, and to keep the entire direction
of maritime affairs in his own hands; and this arrangement, which
would now be thought by men of all parties unconstitutional and
pernicious in the highest degree, was then generally applauded even by
people who were not inclined to see his conduct in a favourable light.
How completely the relation in which the King stood to his Parliament
and to his ministers had been altered by the Revolution was not at first
understood even by the most enlightened statesmen. It was universally
supposed that the government would, as in time past, be conducted by
functionaries independent of each other, and that William would
exercise a general superintendence over them all. It was also fully
expected that a prince of William's capacity and experience would

transact much important business without having recourse to any
adviser.
There were therefore no complaints when it was understood that he had
reserved to himself the direction of foreign affairs. This was indeed
scarcely matter of choice: for, with the single exception of Sir William
Temple, whom nothing would induce to quit