Legislation
The Act of Recognition was the first act of Parliament. It recognised James's right to the Imperial Crown of Ireland. It compared the usurpation by the Prince of Orange to the murder of his father King Charles I, emphasized indefeasible hereditary rights, and that the monarchy was founded on the Divine right of kings, and was not the result of any supposed contract between a king and his subjects.
The Declaratory Act affirmed that the Kingdom of Ireland had always been "distinct" from that of England, and that no Act of the English Parliament was binding on Ireland unless passed by the Irish Parliament Poynings' Law however, remained as statute law.
Parliament also passed legislation or resolutions to effect:
- Liberty of Conscience: full freedom of worship and civic and political equality for Roman Catholics and Protestant Dissenters and the repeal of the Oath of Supremacy, but with the retention of the Act of Uniformity. James sought the abolition of penalties against liberty of conscience but did not seek to remove himself as head of the Church of Ireland.
- Repeal of the 1652 Cromwellian land settlement, and the Act of Settlement 1662, and therefore a return of all lands forfeited in 1652 to the descendants of the former owners at the time of the 1641 rebellion.
- a Bill of attainder, "An Act for the Attainder of Divers Rebels, and for the Preserving the Interest of Loyal Subjects", named 2,000 treasonous Williamites, being opponents of James II, who were to lose their property and their lives.
Firth says that King James was opposed to the last two measures, but was "overborne by Tyrconnell and the Irish nationalists".
Read more about this topic: Patriot Parliament
Famous quotes containing the word legislation:
“Strictly speaking, one cannot legislate love, but what one can do is legislate fairness and justice. If legislation does not prohibit our living side by side, sooner or later your child will fall on the pavement and I’ll be the one to pick her up. Or one of my children will not be able to get into the house and you’ll have to say, “Stop here until your mom comes here.” Legislation affords us the chance to see if we might love each other.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)
“The wise know that foolish legislation is a rope of sand, which perishes in the twisting.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Coming out, all the way out, is offered more and more as the political solution to our oppression. The argument goes that, if people could see just how many of us there are, some in very important places, the negative stereotype would vanish overnight. ...It is far more realistic to suppose that, if the tenth of the population that is gay became visible tomorrow, the panic of the majority of people would inspire repressive legislation of a sort that would shock even the pessimists among us.”
—Jane Rule (b. 1931)