King James, was next in succession to King William, according to the settlement made at the Revolution: but the death of her son, the Duke of Gloucester, in the year 1700, filled the nation with alarm, and pointed out the necessity of taking some further step, in this very important matter, especially as there was no prospect of other issue from the Princess. To cut off the hopes, therefore, of the Jacobites, a new settlement was made. Besides James's son, respecting whose legitimacy there was no reason whatever to doubt, there were, first, the Duchess of Savoy, the daughter of Henrietta, the sister of Charles II., and secondly, several of the Palatine Family. But all these were Roman Catholics; and though some of them might have embraced Protestantism, in the hope of ascending the English throne, yet the Parliament were resolved not to offer them such a temptation. It was determined that all Roman Catholics should be excluded: and, therefore, the Princess Sophia of Brunswick, the grandaughter of James I. and the next Protestant heir, was made the source of the new line.
In this settlement, all parties acted with much craft and dissimulation, except the Nonjurors, who remained true to their principles, even though they might be erroneous. The question of the settlement was accomplished chiefly by the Tories, under the guidance of Harley.[1] The Princess Anne, it was thought, would favour her brother's cause: so that the Jacobites and the Nonjurors looked forward, with satisfaction, to her accession. "For six years she had maintained a fair correspondence with her Father, full of assurances of duty and expressions of repent-
- ↑ Hallam, Hi. 246, Macpherson, ii. 187.
