. A short history of England and the British Empire. s reign; for no matter what happened, the second Charles wasCharles II. ri .. „ _, determined not to resume his travels. But England soon learned that good government was not to be expected from a manlike Charles II: thedark, handsome manwho landed in thespring of 1660 was ableand intelligent; but hewas also lazy, extrava-gant, and pleasure-lov-ing. To a large sectionof the English peoplethe new king was a bit-ter disappointment. 350. first confiden-tial minister was Claren-don, his lord chancellor,who for seven years di-re
. A short history of England and the British Empire. s reign; for no matter what happened, the second Charles wasCharles II. ri .. „ _, determined not to resume his travels. But England soon learned that good government was not to be expected from a manlike Charles II: thedark, handsome manwho landed in thespring of 1660 was ableand intelligent; but hewas also lazy, extrava-gant, and pleasure-lov-ing. To a large sectionof the English peoplethe new king was a bit-ter disappointment. 350. first confiden-tial minister was Claren-don, his lord chancellor,who for seven years di-rected the policiesof England. EdwardHyde, created earl ofClarendon not long afterthe restoration, was a lawyer of considerable abilities, and aEdward Hyde man °^ sterling He was devoted toCharles, whom he had followed into exile. Buthe possessed no real genius for statesmanship; nomarked originality appears in his policies. His purpose was torestore not only the dynasty but the entire historic constitution 1 Review sees. 316, Charles IIAfter a portrait by Sir Peter Lely. earl ofClarendon THE RESTORATION SETTLEMENT 377 including the church. As the innovations of Charles I andLaud were not parts of the traditional scheme of government,they were given no consideration. LTnfortunately, Clarendonwas unable to realize thevast changes that had comeover England during thegeneration that had justpassed. In his devotion tothe past he was also blindto the value of some ofCromwells constitutionalchanges, such as the unionof the islands into onestate, the reform of thefranchise, and the improve-ments in parliamentary rep-resentation: Clarendonwanted everything to bejust as it had been beforethe civil war. 351. The RestorationSettlement. Meanwhile,the Convention proceededto carry out the provisions of Charles Declaration. It was a moderate body, largelycomposed of Presbyterians, and in many respects it legislatedwisely. The army, with the exception of two regiments, waspa
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