n the face of all the authority, dignity, and wisdom of the
realm. It is true they lost as a party, on account of the bigotry of
the times; but they furnished another pillar to uphold the
constitution, and adduced new and powerful arguments in support of
constitutional liberty. The country gained, if they, as a party, lost;
and though Sacheverell was lauded by his church, his conviction was a
triumph to the friends of freedom. Good resulted in many other ways.
Political leaders learned moral wisdom; they saw the folly of
persecuting men for libels, when such men had the sympathy of the
people; that such persecutions were undignified, and that, while they
gained their end, they lost more by victory than by defeat. The trial
of Sacheverell, while it brought to view more clearly some great
constitutional truths, also more effectually advanced the liberty of
the press; for, surely, restriction on the press is a worse evil, than
the violence and vituperation of occasional libels.

[Sidenote: Union of Scotland and England.]

The great domestic event of this reign was doubtless the union of
Scotland and England; a consummation of lasting peace between the two
countries, which William III. had proposed. Nothing could be more
beneficent for both the countries; and the only wonder is, that it was
not done before, when James II. ascended the English throne; and
nothing then, perhaps, prevented it, but the bitter jealousy which had
so long existed between these countries; a jealousy, dislike, and
prejudice which have hardly yet passed away.

Scotland, until the reign of James II., was theoretically and
practically independent of England, but was not so fortunately placed,
as the latter country, for the development of energies. The country
was smaller, more barren, and less cultivated. The people were less
civilized; and had less influence on the political welfare of the
state. The aristocracy were more powerful, and were more jealous of
royal authority. There were constant feuds and jealousies between
dominant classes, which checked the growth in political importance,
wealth, and civilization. But the people were more generally imbued
with the ultra principles of the Reformation, were more religious, and
cherished a peculiar attachment to the Presbyterian form of church
government, and a peculiar hatred of every thing which resembled Roman
Catholicism. They were, moreover, distinguished for patriotism, and
had great jealousy of