et this
danger that Charles resolved to offer William the hand of the Duke's
daughter, Mary. Such a marriage secured James against the one formidable
rival to his claims, while it opened to William a far safer chance of
mounting the throne at his father-in-law's death in right of his wife.
The prospect too of such a Protestant succession might well allay much
of the panic which was spreading through the country as men looked
forward to the accession of a Catholic king.

[Sidenote: Danby and the Commons.]

The secret negotiations for this marriage which began at the close of
1674 were accompanied by conferences between Danby and the bishops which
restored the union between the Church and the Crown. The first fruits of
this agreement were seen in the rigorous enforcement of the law against
conventicles and the exclusion of all Catholics from Court; while the
Parliament which reassembled in 1675 was assured that the Test Act
should be rigorously enforced. The change in the royal policy came not a
moment too soon. As it was the aid of the Cavalier party which rallied
round Danby hardly saved the king from the humiliation of being forced
to recall the troops he still maintained in the French service. To gain
a majority on this point Danby was forced to avail himself of a resource
which from this time played for nearly a hundred years an important part
in English politics. Every hour showed more clearly how fatal to its
healthy working was the abandonment of the reforms which the Long
Parliament and Cromwell had introduced into the composition of the House
of Commons. The influence of that House was growing greater and greater
on public affairs. In spite of the king's vigorous resistance it was
reviewing expenditure, dictating its own policy in Church and State,
checking the royal action even in foreign affairs, denouncing ministers
and driving them from office, meddling now even with the succession to
the Crown. It did this as representing the people, and yet the people
could hardly be said to be represented. The counties alone really
returned their own members, and in the counties the franchise was
limited to freeholders. In all but the larger towns the nomination of
members lay in the hands of close corporations. A large number of
so-called boroughs had ceased to have any real existence at all. Their
representatives were simply nominees of the Crown or of neighbouring
landowners.

[Sidenote: Policy of corruption and per