To prevent this bill from passing into law, Charles had dissolved parliament in July 1679, and in the following October had prorogued its successor without allowing it to meet.
He was voted guilty by the Commons; but while the Lords were disputing whether the accused peer should have bail, and whether the charges amounted to more than a misdemeanour, parliament was prorogued on the 30th of December and dissolved three weeks later.
The result was a deadlock; and, even before the promulgation of the Carlsbad decrees in October 1819 the grand-duke had prorogued the chambers, after three months of sterile debate.
The diet thus prorogued never met again.
He now prorogued parliament, adopted stringent measures against the Liberals, and retired to Gaeta, the haven of refuge for deposed despots.
