intelligent men, whatever veneration they may feel for the memory
of William, must find it impossible to deny that, in his
eagerness to enrich and aggrandise his personal friends, he too
often forgot what was due to his own reputation and to the public
interest. It is true that in giving away the old domains of the
Crown he did only what he had a right to do, and what all his
predecessors had done; nor could the most factious opposition
insist on resuming his grants of those domains without resuming
at the same time the grants of his uncles. But between those
domains and the estates recently forfeited in Ireland there was a
distinction, which would not indeed have been recognised by the
judges, but which to a popular assembly might well seem to be of
grave importance. In the year 1690 a Bill had been brought in for
applying the Irish forfeitures to the public service. That Bill
passed the Commons, and would probably, with large amendments,
have passed the Lords, had not the King, who was under the
necessity of attending the Congress at the Hague, put an end to
the session. In bidding the Houses farewell on that occasion, he
assured them that he should not dispose of the property about
which they had been deliberating, till they should have had
another opportunity of settling that matter. He had, as he
thought, strictly kept his word; for he had not disposed of this
property till the Houses had repeatedly met and separated without
presenting to him any bill on the subject. They had had the
opportunity which he had assured them that they should have. They
had had more than one such opportunity. The pledge which he had
given had therefore been amply redeemed; and he did not conceive
that he was bound to abstain longer from exercising his undoubted
prerogative. But, though it could hardly be denied that he had
literally fulfilled his promise, the general opinion was that