law. Confident
that from this quarter, a quarter once the darkest and most stormy in
the whole political horizon, nothing but sunshine and calm was now to
be expected, William set out cheerfully on his expedition to his native
country.

CHAPTER XXIV

Altered Position of the Ministry--The Elections--First Partition
Treaty--Domestic Discontent--Littleton chosen Speaker--King's Speech;
Proceedings relating to the Amount of the Land Force--Unpopularity of
Montague--Bill for Disbanding the Army--The King's Speech--Death of
the Electoral Prince of Bavaria.--Renewed Discussion of the
Army Question--Naval Administration--Commission on Irish
Forfeitures.--Prorogation of Parliament--Changes in the Ministry and
Household--Spanish Succession--Darien

THE Gazette which informed the public that the King had set out for
Holland announced also the names of the first members returned, in
obedience to his writ, by the constituent bodies of the Realm. The
history of those times has been so little studied that few persons are
aware how remarkable an epoch the general election of 1698 is in the
history of the English Constitution.

We have seen that the extreme inconvenience which had resulted from the
capricious and headstrong conduct of the House of Commons during the
years immediately following the Revolution had forced William to resort
to a political machinery which had been unknown to his predecessors, and
of which the nature and operation were but very imperfectly understood
by himself or by his ablest advisers. For the first time the
administration was confided to a small body of statesmen, who, on
all grave and pressing questions, agreed with each other and with the
majority of the representatives of the people. The direction of war and
of diplomacy the King reserved to himself; and his servants, conscious
that they were less versed than he in military affairs and in foreign
affairs, were content to leave to him the command of the army, and to
know only what he thought fit to communicate about the instructions
which he gave to his own ambassadors and about the conferences which he
held with the ambassadors of other princes. But, with these important
exceptions, the government was entrusted to what then began to be called
the Ministry.

The first English ministry was gradually formed; nor is it possible to
say quite precisely when it began to exist. But, on the whole, the date
from which the era of ministries m