es, and, after
the surrender of Limerick, one million more of acres, were
confiscated. During the reign of William and Mary, the Catholic Irish
were treated with extreme rigor, and Ireland became a field for
place-hunters. All important or lucrative offices in the church, the
state, and the army, were filled with the needy dependants of the
great Whig families. Injustice to the nation was constantly exercised,
and penal laws were imposed by the English parliament, and in
reference to matters which before came under the jurisdiction of the
Irish parliament. But, with all these rigorous measures, Ireland was
still ruled with more mildness than at any previous period in its
history, and no great disturbance again occurred until the reign of
George III.

But the reign of William III., however beneficial to the liberties of
England and of Europe, was far from peaceful. Apart from his great
struggle with the French king, his comfort and his composure of mind
were continually disturbed by domestic embarrassments, arising from
the jealousies between the Whigs and Tories, the intrigues of
statesmen with the exiled family, and discussions in parliament in
reference to those great questions which attended the settlement of
the constitution. A bill was passed, called the _Place Bill_,
excluding all officers of the crown from the House of Commons, which
showed the jealousy of the people respecting royal encroachments. A
law also was passed, called the _Triennial Bill_, which limited the
duration of parliament to three years, but which, in a subsequent
reign, was repealed, and one substituted which extended the duration
of a parliament to seven years. An important bill was also passed
which regulated trials in case of treason, in which the prisoner was
furnished with a copy of the indictment, with the names and residences
of jurors, with the privilege of peremptory challenge, and with full
defence of counsel. This bill guaranteed new privileges and rights to
prisoners.

[Sidenote: Freedom of the Press.]

The great question pertaining to the Liberty of the Press was
discussed at this time--one of the most vital questions which affect
the stability of government on the one side, and the liberties of the
people on the other. So desirable have all governments deemed the
control of the press by themselves, that parliament, when it abolished
the Star Chamber, in the reign of Charles I., still assumed its powers
respecting the licensin