The Growth of British Policy Author:John Robert Seeley Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Meanwhile it was also natural that the new constitution in England should need a certain amount of reconstruction. Imperialism belongs naturally to the governmen... more »ts which have a monarchical form. As an army has a commander-in-chief, so government by the army is naturally administered by the Commander-in- chief. In 1654 all this important business which necessarily followed in the train of the Military Revolution had been successfully dealt with. A settlement had been made with Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands. The Lord General Cromwell had dismissed the Parliament which, since its mutilation by Pride's Purge, had only served to conceal the supremacy of the army. The edifice was henceforth complete. Accordingly the year 1653 marks a turning-point, the close of the Revolution, the opening of a definitive state of things. Great Britain and Ireland, for international purposes more fully united than ever, now compose a powerful military state, and their resources are in the hand of a great statesman and soldier. This military state proceeds to declare war with the Spanish Monarchy. Thus from about 1653 to Oliver's death in 1658 we have a system of government in effective operation. As after 1658 this system is in dissolution, so before 1653 it is but in growth and preparation. There is in the whole of English history nothing more profoundly interesting than the attempt made between 1648 and 1654 to reconstruct the state from the foundation, and in particular to unite the three kingdoms into a single commonwealth. But this Essay is not concerned with constitutional changes, however interesting, nor can we even dwell upon the internal disturbances and wars chapter{Section 4which accompanied the reunion of the three kingdoms. The fact of that reunion is indeed most impo...« less