The 3rd Parliament of Great Britain was summoned by Queen Anne on 27 September 1710 and assembled on the 25 November 1710. Under the

Triennial Act The Triennial Act 1641 (16 Cha. I c. 1), also known as the Dissolution Act, was an Act passed on 15 February 1641,House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

comprised 346 Tories, 196 Whigs and 14 others, which represented a Tory landslide. This was largely due to anti-Government feelings caused by the trial of

Henry Sacheverell Henry Sacheverell (; 8 February 1674 – 5 June 1724) was an English high church Anglican clergyman who achieved nationwide fame in 1709 after preaching an incendiary 5 November sermon. He was subsequently impeached by the House of Commons and ...

for verbally attacking dissenters and a growing anti-war sentiment. William Bromley, Member of Parliament for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, was installed as Speaker of the House of Commons. Initially Robert Harley as

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

and head of the Queen's Ministry had problems in controlling the High Church Tories who were now dominant but a failed attempt by

Antoine de Guiscard Antoine de Guiscard (1658 – 17 March 1711), also known as the Marquis de Guiscard or the Abbé de la Bourlie, was a French refugee, spy and double agent who attempted to assassinate Robert Harley, a leading British statesman, on 8 March 1711 by s ...

to assassinate him increased his popularity. However whilst he was recovering the Tories pushed through a bill to build 50 new churches in London (the

New Churches in London and Westminster Act 1710 The New Churches in London and Westminster Act 1710 is an Act of Parliament in England in 1710, which set up the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches, with the purpose of building fifty new churches for the rapidly growing population of Lo ...

). On his return Harley demonstrated his political and financial ability when he successfully obtained Parliamentary approval to establish the

South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...

as a means of raising some £9 million to pay off Government debt. Shortly before the first session ended the Queen elevated Harley to the peerage as

Earl of Oxford Earl of Oxford is a dormant title in the Peerage of England, first created for Aubrey de Vere by the Empress Matilda in 1141. His family was to hold the title for more than five and a half centuries, until the death of the 20th Earl in 1703. ...

and promoted him to

Lord Treasurer The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in ...

. At the start of the second session the terms of a peace deal with France were defeated by the Whigs. Harley created 12 new Peers in the House of Lords, nicknamed "

Harley's Dozen {{short description, Event in British politics Harley's Dozen were twelve new peerages created in December 1711 by the British Tory government of Robert Harley which was struggling to gain a majority in the Whig-dominated House of Lords. This cam ...

", to forestall a similar problem there. In the new year (1712) Parliament was busy on dealing with proceedings against the

Duke of Marlborough General (United Kingdom), General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an Engl ...

, which led to his dismissal from his position as Captain-General, and against

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

on trumped up charges of embezzling public funds. Walpole was expelled from the Commons and committed briefly to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

. Harley then adroitly engineered condemnation of Britain's allies in the peace talks and by the end of the second session had got decisive backing for his policy of acting alone. Completing the terms of the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne o ...

delayed the third session until April 1713. When it did reconvene there were open splits in the Tory party on a number of issues.

Viscount Bolingbroke Viscount Bolingbroke is a current title in the Peerage of Great Britain created in 1712 for Henry St John. He was simultaneously made Baron St John, of Lydiard Tregoze in the County of Wilts. Since 1751, the titles are merged with the titles of ...

, a Secretary of State, took the opportunity to seek the leadership of the Party. The Parliament was dissolved on 8 August 1713.

Notable Acts passed in the Parliament

Gaming Act 1710 The Gaming Act 1710 (9 Ann c 19) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. The Gaming Act 1710 was largely superseded by the Gaming Act 1968. The whole Act was repealed bsections 356(3)(a) and (4)of, anSchedule 17to, the Gambling Act 2005 ...

Lease of Exeter Castle Act 1710 A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

Municipal Offices Act 1710 The Municipal Offices Act 1710 (9 Ann. c. 25) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. This Act was partly repealed by section 1 of 3 & 4 Vict. c. 47.The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 3 & 4 Vict, 1840. Pri ...

Toleration Act 1711 The Occasional Conformity Act (10 Anne c. 6), also known as the Occasional Conformity Act 1711 or the Toleration Act 1711, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which passed on 20 December 1711. Previous Occasional Conformity bills h ...

(aka Occasional Conformity Act) * Princess Sophia's Precedence Act 1711 *

Scottish Episcopalians Act 1711 The Scottish Episcopalians Act 1711 (10 Ann c 10) is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. Its purpose was "to prevent the disturbing those of the Episcopal Communion in Scotland in the Exercise of their Religious Worship and in the Use o ...

* Naturalization Act 1711 *

Church Patronage (Scotland) Act 1711 The Church Patronage (Scotland) Act 1711 or Patronage Act is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (10 Ann. C A P. XII). The long title of the act is ''An Act to restore the Patrons to their ancient Rights of presenting Ministers to the Chur ...

* Churches in London and Westminster Act 1711 * East India Company Act 1711 * Pleading Act 1711 *

West Riding Inclosures. Act 1712 The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

* Moss Troopers Act 1712 * Mortuaries (Bangor, &c.) Abolition Act 1713 * Established Church Act 1713 (aka Schism Act) * Simony Act 1713 * Presentation of Benefices Act 1713 * Discovery of Longitude at Sea Act 1713 * Repair of Breach in Thames Bank at Dagenham: Coal Duties Act 1713

Sources

External links

* {{s-end Parliament of Great Britain 1710 establishments in Great Britain 1713 disestablishments in Great Britain

Notable Acts passed in the Parliament

See also

Sources

External links