The Scottish Militia Bill 1708 (known formerly as the Scotch Militia Bill) was a bill that was passed by the

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and

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of the

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in early 1708. However, on 11 March 1708, Queen Anne withheld

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

on the advice of her ministers for fear that the proposed

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

would be disloyal. This was due to the sudden appearance of a Franco-Jacobite invasion fleet en route to Scotland which gave ministers second thoughts, at the last minute, about allowing it to reach the statute books. , it is the last occasion on which the royal veto has been used in Great Britain or the United Kingdom.Queen Anne's veto is recorded as "La Reine s'avisera" ("The Queen will consider it") in 18 H.L. Jour. 506 (1707).

Content

The bill's long title was "A Bill for settling the Militia of that Part of Great Britain called Scotland". Its object was to arm the Scottish militia, which had not been recreated at the Restoration. This happened as the unification between Scotland and England under the

Acts of Union 1707 The Acts of Union refer to two acts of Parliament, one by the Parliament of Scotland in March 1707, followed shortly thereafter by an equivalent act of the Parliament of England. They put into effect the international Treaty of Union agree ...

had been passed. On the day the bill was meant to be signed, news came that the French were sailing toward Scotland for the planned invasion of 1708 and there was suspicion that the Scots might be disloyal. Therefore, support for a

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

was strong and the Queen refused her royal assent to the bill.

Significance

The Scottish Militia Bill 1708 is the last bill to have been refused royal assent. Before this, King William III had vetoed bills passed by Parliament six times. Royal assent to bills generally came to be viewed as a mere formality once both Houses of Parliament had successfully read a bill three times, or a general election had taken place. No royal veto has taken place for legislation since. In the British colonies, the denial of royal assent (exercised on the advice of ministers) had continued past 1708, and was one of the primary complaints of the

United States Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...

in 1776: that the King "has refused his Assent to Laws, most wholesome and necessary for the public Good" and "He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing Importance". Similar provisions existed elsewhere in the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

, most notably disallowance and reservation in Canada, which fell into disuse in the 20th century.

Notes

References

{{reflist 1707 in British law 1707 in Great Britain Military of Scotland Veto 1707 in Scotland Proposed laws of the United Kingdom Political history of Scotland Proposed laws of Scotland Anne, Queen of Great Britain Royal prerogative