{"id":217,"date":"2021-04-04T10:47:37","date_gmt":"2021-04-04T10:47:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/legalblog.ie\/?p=217"},"modified":"2022-11-06T23:19:01","modified_gmt":"2022-11-06T23:19:01","slug":"constitutional-position","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/constitutional-position\/","title":{"rendered":"Constitution to 1782"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/constitutional-position\/#End_of_Crown_Government\" title=\"End of Crown Government\">End of Crown Government<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/constitutional-position\/#Constitutional_Relationship_with_Britain\" title=\"Constitutional Relationship with Britain\">Constitutional Relationship with Britain<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/constitutional-position\/#Poynings_Law\" title=\"Poyning&#8217;s Law\">Poyning&#8217;s Law<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/constitutional-position\/#The_Irish_Parliament\" title=\"The Irish Parliament\">The Irish Parliament<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/constitutional-position\/#Irish_Parliamentary_Reform\" title=\"Irish Parliamentary Reform\">Irish Parliamentary Reform<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/constitutional-position\/#Relationship_with_British_Government\" title=\"Relationship with British Government\">Relationship with British Government<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"End_of_Crown_Government\"><\/span>End of Crown Government<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Queen Mary died in 1694 and King William III, who reigned until 1702, had external commitments. Queen Anne, sister of Queen Mary and daughter of King James II who succeeds him was in poor health, dying without an heir in1714.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately George I, II, III and IV of the House of Hanover who succeeded her under the Act of Settlement 1701 (which excluded Catholic heirs) played little direct role in government.\u00a0 The King chose Ministers in Parliament and the policies as agreed by them was submitted to the House of Parliament for approval.<\/p>\n<p>From the mid to the late 17<sup>th<\/sup> century following the Civil War and \u00a0later the so-called glorious Revolution of 1688, the personal rule of the monarch declined and gave way to parliamentary government.<\/p>\n<p>The British Constitution evolved in the 18<sup>th<\/sup> century. Modern politics had not emerged, and party politics were unheard of.\u00a0 Elections did not make any significant difference to the position.\u00a0 \u00a0In effect, government began to \u00a0take shape \u00a0under a Prime Minister specifically or implicitly acknowledged.<\/p>\n<p>An alternative view, which was eventually eclipsed was that the government was by departments separately with separate responsibility to the monarch.\u00a0 This latter alternative carried greater weight in the House of Lords and many ministers were members, seeing themselves as the King&#8217;s Councillors.\u00a0 The King chose the Lord Lieutenant from this group as his personal representative in Ireland.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Constitutional_Relationship_with_Britain\"><\/span>Constitutional Relationship with Britain<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In the late 17<sup>th <\/sup>and \u00a0early 18<sup>th<\/sup> century there was conflict in\u00a0 constitutional issues between the British and Irish Parliaments.\u00a0 It was unclear to what extent the British Parliament could initiate money bills for Ireland.\u00a0 There was also conflict in relation to whether matter of to the final appeal in judicial matters, was to judicial division of the Irish or English and later British House of Lords.<\/p>\n<p>From the beginning of the 17<sup>th<\/sup> century, with the personal unity of the Crowns of England and Scotland, there were two co-equal Crowns and one dependent Crown, namely Ireland.\u00a0 The status of Ireland was confirmed as such in 1692.Ireland&#8217;s claim as to be a separate possession of the Crown became less significant in practice.\u00a0 In effect the dominant faction in the English Parliament directed the monarch in exercising his prerogative powers.<\/p>\n<p>The Bill of Right 1688 did not apply to Ireland, other than the parts relating to the title and succession to the Crown.\u00a0 The elements of the Constitutional Revolution effected between 1689 and 1714 passed by the English Parliament did not apply to Ireland. lied to the succession of the throne.\u00a0 In Ireland, judges did not have security of tenure.\u00a0 Parliament was still in the theory subject to the Crown&#8217;s pleasure.<\/p>\n<p>In Ireland, the King&#8217;s authority was exercised through the Lord Lieutenant\/Lord Deputy.\u00a0 After 1692, the Lord Lieutenant was appointed with the consent of King and the cabinet .From time to time, the same Lord Lieutenant was a member of the Cabinet.\u00a0 The executive power of the King passed was exercised with the British Parliament in the King&#8217;s name.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Poynings_Law\"><\/span>Poyning&#8217;s Law<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Ponying\u2019s law had been passed in the aftermath of alleged complicity of the Irish nobility into rebellions against Henry VII.\u00a0 The claims were disputed, and Henry VII arranged for his Lord Deputy Sir Edward Ponyings to pass the famous Poynings law at a Parliament in Drogheda in December 1494.<\/p>\n<p>Poynings law\u00a0 provided that no Irish Parliament could be held without the King&#8217;s consent, certified by the King&#8217;s Lieutenant and Council.\u00a0 They were to certify all acts that might pass in the Parliament.\u00a0 The King in Council (the English Privy Council) had to approve the agenda under the Great Seal.<\/p>\n<p>During the 17<sup>th<\/sup> century, a practice emerged of submitting heads of bills.\u00a0 This was facilitated by an Act in the 1550s permitting Acts to be transferred by a similar process after Parliament had met.\u00a0 \u00a0Other than under this procedure, legislation passed both\u00a0 houses and if the monarch consensus, it became an Act.\u00a0 The legislation was accordingly a request for enactment.<\/p>\n<p>The heads were sent to the Irish Privy Council and then submitted to the Privy Council in London.\u00a0 It was then returned with the Great Seal of England (later Great Britain) \u00a0if approved.\u00a0 If approved, it went to the House of origin and then the other House in Ireland.\u00a0 Once approved by the King, and Privy Council the Irish Parliament could only accept or reject the Act in whole.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Irish_Parliament\"><\/span>The Irish Parliament<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The Irish Parliament modelled itself on the British Parliament.\u00a0 Parliament sat at College Green.\u00a0 Parliament House was opened in the 1730s.\u00a0 The Commons Chamber and the House of Lords sat within the new chamber.\u00a0 The English Triennial Act (1694), did not apply to Ireland.\u00a0 However, in practice it did apply in effect during the reign of William III and Anne, with \u00a0parliaments at least every three years. After George I ascended to the throne, Parliament was given a seven-year duration.\u00a0 Once again, the legislation did not apply to Ireland.<\/p>\n<p>The reigns of George I and George II saw parliaments for the life of each.\u00a0 Only two general elections took place in the period, 1715 to 1760, with Parliament being dissolved on the \u00a0death of the Monarch.\u00a0 This contrasted with the seven-year term \u00a0provisions in Great Britain. 514 public and private bills became law between 1715 and 1760 from the 929 bills and heads of bills coming from the Irish Parliament.<\/p>\n<p>Ireland&#8217;s status as a kingdom was the basis on which the claims of Westminster Parliament to authority was resisted. However, although Ireland was a separate kingdom, it was effectively subordinate to Great Britain. This was particularly reflected in Poynings law.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Irish_Parliamentary_Reform\"><\/span>Irish Parliamentary Reform<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Parliament worked through a number of Committees.\u00a0 There were four Grand Committees.\u00a0 The principal Committees were Privileges and Elections, Supply, and Ways and Means.\u00a0 They will simply became Committees of the whole House. In theory, the Committee members were experts in particular areas.\u00a0 Other interested parties could attend and could vote.\u00a0 Most Select Committees were relatively small.<\/p>\n<p>The passage of bills through the Irish parliament was extremely torturous. Bills might originate\u00a0 from a petition from outside or by a motion by an MP.\u00a0 If a petition was approved, it was assigned a sponsor who introduced it as his motion and bring it to a reading. \u00a0It might \u00a0go to a select committee for\u00a0 a report. The House could accept, reject or amend the report once submitted.\u00a0 If it was amended, the Committee might look at the matter further and accept the amendments or report further.<\/p>\n<p>The second reading was chaired by the Member of Parliament who introduced the report.\u00a0 The third reading was usually formal.\u00a0 After the Houses approved it, it was requested that the matter be taken to Lord Lieutenant for transmission to the English Privy Council.<\/p>\n<p>The Privy Council itself had a committee \u00a0appointed for each session of the Irish Parliament.\u00a0 The committee varied in size.\u00a0 The decision was conveyed to the Lord Lieutenant who might be present.\u00a0A report might be made by the British Attorney General and Solicitor General.<\/p>\n<p>By the middle of the 18<sup>th<\/sup> century, Britain had developed into being a leading Imperial power in Europe.\u00a0 It was about to become the leading industrial power in the world by the late 1770s.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Relationship_with_British_Government\"><\/span>Relationship with British Government<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>After 1689, the Head of the Irish Executive was Lord Lieutenant which was chosen by the English Ministry and exercised Ministry&#8217;s policies.\u00a0 Many other significant civil, ecclesiastical and military positions were held by Englishmen.\u00a0 The approval of the English Privy Council effectively came to mean approval by the English Ministry rather than the monarch personally.<\/p>\n<p>In effect, the English Westminster Parliament acted as judge in its own case in disputes on the constitutional relationships of the Parliaments in the early 18<sup>th<\/sup> century. In 1720 the Declaratory Act confirmed a series of legal precedents and asserted the rights of the English Parliament as final court of appeal in Irish cases and claimed the power to make legislation binding on Ireland.I<\/p>\n<p>In the latter half of the 17<sup>th<\/sup> century, there had been several instances where the interest of Ireland were subordinated to those of England.\u00a0 This was \u00a0particularly manifest in relation to trade, such as with \u00a0the Cattle Acts 1663 and 1667 and legislation on colonial trade.<\/p>\n<p>A number of restrictions on economic affairs dated back to the 1660 restoration. The Cattle Act 1663 and 1667 excluded livestock from England and Scotland in order to protect English farmers.\u00a0 The Navigations Act 1663 and 1671 excluded Irish ships from \u00a0direct trade with the colonies.\u00a0 The Wool Act, 1699 prohibited export of wool or woollen cloth from Ireland other than directly to England. Later English statutes encroached further on economic affairs.<\/p>\n<p>In 1722 to 1725 opposition to a patent granted to an English ironmaster to mint copper coin was upheld politically and forced the government into retreat.\u00a0 This marked a significant turning point and a new system of government was introduced through undertakers.\u00a0 Undertakers were local politicians who in return for a patronage and input into policy undertook to manage the House of Commons on the half of the government.<\/p>\n<p>Particularly after the 1720s, the degree of Irish home government became more significant.\u00a0 Although the nominal head of government was the Lord Lieutenant representing the cabinet, the day to day management of government lay with local politicians. After the above affair, there were no further cases of provocative attempts to use power on the part of the English government. Proposals for legislation were treated with more respect and the power of veto was used less often.<\/p>\n<p>The governmental need for financing increased the practical power of the Irish Parliament over affairs.\u00a0 In theory, the Declaratory Act allowed the English Parliament to pass whatever legislation it wished including money bills in Westminster.\u00a0 In practice, it required the cooperation of the governing middle and upper classes in Ireland so that an Irish Act was in effect necessary.<\/p>\n<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-217\" data-postid=\"217\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-217 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    <\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>End of Crown Government Queen Mary died in 1694 and King William III, who reigned until 1702, had external commitments. Queen Anne, sister of Queen Mary and daughter of King James II who succeeds him was in poor health, dying without an heir in1714. Ultimately George I, II, III and IV of the House of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20120,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217\/revisions\/20120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}