Page:The Irish Parliament; what it was, and what it did.djvu/37

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31

CHAPTER III.


THE RELATION OF THE CROWN OF IRELAND TO THE CROWN OF ENGLAND.


Having described the constitution of the Irish Houses of Parliament, the Crown of Ireland next demands our notice.

The various relations between England and Ireland have been, with one exception, matters of controversy. The nature of the connection of the English and Irish Crowns has never been disputed. "It has ever been acknowledged," says Molyneux, "that the kingdom of Ireland is inseparably annexed to the Imperial Crown of England."[1] By the provisions of a statute passed in the 33rd year of Henry VIII.'s reign, the king of England is ipso facto king of Ireland.[2] The various statutes altering the succession of the Crown in England at and after the Revolution were not re-enacted in Ireland. When the English Parliament disposed of the English Crown they disposed likewise of the Irish Crown, The Irish Parliament, by the Act of Recognition, practically acknowledged England's right in this respect.[3]

  1. "Case of Ireland," p. 86.
  2. By this statute Ireland is converted from a "lordship" into a "kingdom." The kings of England, who were previously "lords" of Ireland, are henceforth "kings " of the Kingdom of Ireland, as united and knit to the Crown of England."—33 Hen. VIII., Ir. c. I.
  3. 4 Wm. and Mary, Ir. c. i.