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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: RON-SAC |
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SACHEVERELL, WILLIAM (1638-1691) , English statesman, son of Henry Sacheverell, a country gentleman , was born in 1638. His family had held a good position in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
interest
secret treaty with France became known, thus confirming Sacheverell's insight, the latter called for the disbandment of the forces and advocated the refusal of further supplies for military purposes; and in June 1678 he resolutely opposed Lord Danby's proposal to grant 300,000 per annum to Charles II. for life. Barillon mentions Sacheverell among the Whig leaders who accepted bribes from Louis XIV., but the evidence against him is not conclusive.When Titus Oates began his pretended revelations in 167.8 Sacheverell was among those who most firmly believed in the existence of a Popish plot. He was one of the most active investigators of the affair, and one of the managers of the impeachment of the five Catholic peers. He also acted for a time as chairman of the secret committee of the Commons, and drew up the report on the examination of the Jesuit Coleman, secretary to the duchess of York
York
scheme (1679) for limiting the powers of a Catholic sovereign, Sacheverell made a great speech in which he pointed out theinsufficiency of the king's terms for securing the object desired by the Whigs. In the conflict between the Petitioners and the Abhorrers he supported the former, and on the 27th of October 168o brought forward a motion asserting the right of petitioning the king to summon parliament, and proposed the impeachment of Chief
West-minster Hall
Chief
At the general election following the death of Charles II. in 1685 Sacheverell lost his seat, and for the next four years he lived in retirement on his estates. In the convention parliament summoned by the prince of Orange, in which he sat for Heytes bury, he spoke in favour of a radical resettlement of the constitution, and served on a committee, of which Somers was chairman, for drawing up a new constitution in the form of the Declaration of Right; and he was one of the representatives of' the Commons In their conference with fhe peers on the question of declaring the throne vacant. William III. appointed Sacheverell a lord of the admiralty, but he resigned the office after a few months. He procured the omission of Lord Jeffreys's name, from the Act of Indemnity. In 1690 he moved a famous amendment to the Corporation Bill, proposing the addition of a clause-the purport of which was misrepresented by Macaulayfor disqualifying for office for seven years municipal functionaries who in 'defiance of the majority of their colleagues had surrendered their charters to the Crown. A celebrated debate on this question took place in the House of Commons in January 169o; but the evident intention of the Whigs to perpetuate their own ascendancy by tampering with the franchise contributed largely to the Tory reaction which resulted in the defeat of the Whigs in the elections. of that year. Sacheverell was elected member for Nottingham-shire; but he died on the 9th of October 1691, before taking his seat. In the judgment of Speaker Onslow, Sacheverell was the "ablest parliament man " of the reign of Charles II. He was one of the earliest of English parliamentary orators; his speeches greatly impressed his contemporaries, and in a later generation, as Macaulay observes, they were " a favourite theme of old men who lived to see the conflicts of- Walpole and Pulteney." Though his fame has become dimmed in comparison with that of Shaftesbury, Russell and Sidney, he was not less conspicuous in the parliamentary proceedings of Charles II.'s reign, and he left a more permanent mark than any of them on the constitutional changes of the period.Sacheverell was twice .married. His first wife was Mary, daughter of William Staunton of Staunton; and his 'second was Jane, daughter of Sir John Newton. His eldest son Robert represented the borough of Nottingham in six parliaments and died in 1714. The family became extinct in 1724. End of Article: SACHEVERELL, WILLIAM (1638-1691) If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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