The 5th Parliament of William III was summoned by

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...

on 26 December 1700 and assembled on 6 February 1701. The party political constitution of the new

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

was 249 Tories, 219 Whigs and 45 others, representing a significant swing in favour of the Tories. Robert Harley, the Tory member for Radnor, who had declined a post in William III's new ministry, was elected

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

. The two main issues facing the new Parliament were clear. One was the issue of the succession, following the death of Princess Anne's only surviving child during the Summer and the other was the threat of war with France. A ‘bill of settlement’, which would invite the Protestant

House of Hanover The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...

to accept the English throne was piloted through both Houses, albeit on terms which would further restrict royal prerogative, by 22 May 1701. Initially Parliament was of one accord as far as the ratification of the second Partition Treaty, which was an agreement between Britain and other powers to decide the division of the Spanish kingdom and Empire upon the death on 1 November 1700 of the imbecilic King Carlos II without heirs. When Parliament discovered that the King's emissary Lord Portland had already concluded the treaty without their knowledge or approval he was impeached, followed by Junto members Charles Montagu, the

Earl of Orford Earl of Orford is a title that has been created three times. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1697 when the naval commander Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell was made Earl of Orford, in the County of Suffolk. He was cre ...

and John Somers. All, however, escaped punishment. Outspoken Tory reluctance to finance another war with Spain had mellowed by the end of the Parliament. The Whigs were very much in favour of war and persuaded the King of the need for another election that year. Parliament was thus dissolved on 11 November 1701 and another Parliament summoned later that month.

Notable acts passed in the parliament

Act of Settlement 1701 The Act of Settlement ( 12 & 13 Will. 3. c. 2) is an act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catho ...

British Museum Act 1700 The Cotton or Cottonian library is a collection of manuscripts that came into the hands of the antiquarian and bibliophile Sir Robert Bruce Cotton MP (1571–1631). The collection of books and materials Sir Robert held was one of the three "found ...

Plate Assay Act 1700 The Plate Assay Act 1700 ( 12 & 13 Will. 3. c. 4) was an Act of the Parliament of England. The Plate Assay Act 1700 was repealed by section 4(2)(b) of the Assay Offices Act 1962 ( 10 & 11 Eliz. 2. c. xvii). References *Halsbury's Statutes ...

References

* - ''Note: 5th Parliament considered to be the 4th by History of Parliament'' 1701 establishments in England 1701 in politics The Restoration William III of England {{England-hist-stub

Notable acts passed in the parliament

See also

References