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diff --git a/42179.txt b/42179.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ad935a2..0000000 --- a/42179.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,21427 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, Constitutional History of England, Henry VII -to George II, Volume II, by Henry Hallam - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: Constitutional History of England, Henry VII to George II, Volume II - - -Author: Henry Hallam - - - -Release Date: February 23, 2013 [eBook #42179] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND, -HENRY VII TO GEORGE II, VOLUME II*** - - -E-text prepared by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (http://archive.org) - - - -Note: Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - http://archive.org/details/constitutionalh02hall - - -Transcriber's note: - - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). - - Text enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). - - The book uses both Richelieu and Richlieu. - - On Page 47, the phrase "any their progenitors" possibly should - be "any of their progenitors". - - Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document - have been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been - corrected. - - - - - -Everyman's Library -Edited by Ernest Rhys - -History - -HALLAM'S -CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY -WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY -PROFESSOR J. H. MORGAN - - * * * * * * - -THE PUBLISHERS OF _EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY_ WILL BE PLEASED TO SEND -FREELY TO ALL APPLICANTS A LIST OF THE PUBLISHED AND PROJECTED -VOLUMES TO BE COMPRISED UNDER THE FOLLOWING THIRTEEN HEADINGS: - -TRAVEL . SCIENCE . FICTION -THEOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY -HISTORY . CLASSICAL -FOR YOUNG PEOPLE -ESSAYS . ORATORY -POETRY & DRAMA -BIOGRAPHY -REFERENCE -ROMANCE - -IN FOUR STYLES OF BINDING: CLOTH, FLAT BACK, COLOURED TOP; -LEATHER, ROUND CORNERS, GILT TOP; LIBRARY BINDING IN CLOTH, & -QUARTER PIGSKIN - -LONDON: J. M. DENT & SONS, LTD. - -NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO. - - * * * * * * - - "CONSIDER - HISTORY - WITH THE - BEGINNINGS OF - IT STRETCHING - DIMLY INTO THE - REMOTE TIME; EMERGING - DARKLY - OUT OF THE - MYSTERIOUS - ETERNITY: - THE TRUE EPIC - POEM AND UNIVERSAL - DIVINE - SCRIPTURE...." - - CARLYLE - - * * * * * * - - -CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY of ENGLAND -HENRY VII TO GEORGE II. - -by - -HENRY HALLAM - -VOL 2 - - - - - - - -London: Published -by J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd -and in New York -by E. P. Dutton & Co - - - - -CONTENTS - - CHAPTER VIII - - FROM THE DISSOLUTION OF CHARLES'S THIRD PARLIAMENT TO THE - MEETING OF THE LONG PARLIAMENT - - Declaration of the King after the Dissolution -- Prosecutions - of Eliot and others for Conduct in Parliament -- Of Chambers - for refusing to pay Customs -- Commendable Behaviour of Judges - in some Instances -- Means adopted to raise the Revenue -- - Compositions for Knighthood -- Forest Laws -- Monopolies -- - Ship-Money -- Extension of it to inland Places -- Hampden's - Refusal to pay -- Arguments on the Case -- Proclamations -- - Various arbitrary Proceedings -- Star-Chamber Jurisdiction -- - Punishments inflicted by it -- Cases of Bishop Williams, - Prynne, etc. -- Laud, his Character -- Lord Strafford -- - Correspondence between these two -- Conduct of Laud in the - Church -- Prosecution of Puritans -- Favour shown to Catholics - -- Tendency to their Religion -- Expectations entertained by - them -- Mission of Panzani -- Intrigue of Bishop Montagu with - him -- Chillingworth -- Hales -- Character of Clarendon's - Writings -- Animadversions on his Account of this Period -- - Scots Troubles, and Distress of the Government -- Parliament of - April 1640 -- Council of York -- Convocation of Long - Parliament Page 1 - - - CHAPTER IX - - FROM THE MEETING OF THE LONG PARLIAMENT TO THE BEGINNING OF THE - CIVIL WAR - - Character of Long Parliament -- Its salutary Measures -- - Triennial Bill -- Other beneficial Laws -- Observations -- - Impeachment of Strafford -- Discussion of its Justice -- Act - against Dissolution of Parliament without its Consent -- - Innovations meditated in the Church -- Schism in the - Constitutional Party -- Remonstrance of November 1641 -- - Suspicions of the King's Sincerity -- Question of the Militia - -- Historical Sketch of Military Force in England -- - Incroachments of the Parliament -- Nineteen Propositions -- - Discussion of the respective Claims of the two Parties to - Support -- Faults of both Page 85 - - - CHAPTER X - - FROM THE BREAKING OF THE CIVIL WAR TO THE RESTORATION - - PART I - - Success of the King in the first Part of the War -- Efforts by - the moderate Party for Peace -- Affair at Brentford -- Treaty - of Oxford -- Impeachment of the Queen -- Waller's Plot -- - Secession of some Peers to the King's Quarters -- Their - Treatment there impolitic -- The anti-pacific Party gain the - Ascendant at Westminster -- The Parliament makes a new Great - Seal -- And takes the Covenant -- Persecution of the Clergy who - refuse it -- Impeachment and Execution of Laud -- Decline of - the King's Affairs in 1644 -- Factions at Oxford -- Royalist - Lords and Commoners summoned to that City -- Treaty of Uxbridge - -- Impossibility of Agreement -- The Parliament insist on - unreasonable Terms -- Miseries of the War -- Essex and - Manchester suspected of Lukewarmness -- Self-denying Ordinance - -- Battle of Naseby -- Desperate Condition of the King's - Affairs -- He throws himself into the Hands of the Scots -- His - Struggles to preserve Episcopacy, against the Advice of the - Queen and others -- Bad Conduct of the Queen -- Publication of - Letters taken at Naseby -- Discovery of Glamorgan's Treaty -- - King delivered up by the Scots -- Growth of the Independents - and Republicans -- Opposition to the Presbyterian Government -- - Toleration -- Intrigues of the Army with the King -- His Person - seized -- The Parliament yield to the Army -- Mysterious - Conduct of Cromwell -- Imprudent Hopes of the King -- He - rejects the Proposals of the Army -- His Flight from Hampton - Court -- Alarming Votes against him -- Scots' Invasion -- The - Presbyterians regain the Ascendant -- Treaty of Newport -- - Gradual Progress of a Republican Party -- Scheme among the - Officers of bringing Charles to Trial -- This is finally - determined -- Seclusion of Presbyterian Members -- Motives of - some of the King's Judges -- Question of his Execution - discussed -- His Character -- Icon Basilike Page 138 - - PART II - - Abolition of the Monarchy -- and of the House of Lords -- - Commonwealth -- Schemes of Cromwell -- His Conversations with - Whitelock -- Unpopularity of the Parliament -- Their Fall -- - Little Parliament -- Instrument of Government -- Parliament - called by Cromwell -- Dissolved by him -- Intrigues of the King - and his Party -- Insurrectionary Movements in 1655 -- Rigorous - Measures of Cromwell -- His arbitrary Government -- He summons - another Parliament -- Designs to take the Crown -- the Project - fails -- But his Authority as Protector is augmented -- He aims - at forming a new House of Lords -- His Death -- and Character - -- Richard his Son succeeds him -- Is supported by some prudent - Men -- But opposed by a Coalition -- Calls a Parliament -- The - Army overthrow both -- Long Parliament restored -- Expelled - again -- and again restored -- Impossibility of establishing a - Republic -- Intrigues of the Royalists -- They unite with the - Presbyterians -- Conspiracy of 1659 -- Interference of Monk -- - His Dissimulation -- Secluded Members return to their Seats -- - Difficulties about the Restoration -- New Parliament -- King - restored -- Whether previous Conditions required -- Plan of - reviving the Treaty of Newport inexpedient -- Difficulty of - framing Conditions -- Conduct of the Convention about this not - blameable -- Except in respect of the Militia -- Conduct of - Monk Page 212 - - - CHAPTER XI - - FROM THE RESTORATION OF CHARLES II. TO THE FALL OF THE CABAL - ADMINISTRATION - - Popular Joy at the Restoration -- Proceedings of the Convention - Parliament -- Act of Indemnity -- Exclusion of the Regicides - and others -- Discussions between the Houses on it -- Execution - of Regicides -- Restitution of Crown and Church Lands -- - Discontent of the Royalists -- Settlement of the Revenue -- - Abolition of Military Tenures -- Excise granted instead -- Army - disbanded -- Clergy restored to their Benefices -- Hopes of the - Presbyterians from the King -- Projects for a Compromise -- - King's Declaration in Favour of it -- Convention Parliament - dissolved -- Different Complexion of the next -- Condemnation - of Vane -- Its Injustice -- Acts replacing the Crown in its - Prerogatives -- Corporation Act -- Repeal of Triennial Act -- - Star-chamber not restored -- Presbyterians deceived by the King - -- Savoy Conference -- Act of Uniformity -- Ejection of - Nonconformist Clergy -- Hopes of the Catholics -- Bias of the - King towards them -- Resisted by Clarendon and the Parliament - -- Declaration for Indulgence -- Objected to by the Commons -- - Act against Conventicles -- Another of the same Kind -- Remarks - on them -- Dissatisfaction increases -- Private Life of the - King -- Opposition in Parliament -- Appropriation of Supplies - -- Commission of public Accounts -- Decline of Clarendon's - Power -- Loss of the King's Favour -- Coalition against him -- - His Impeachment -- Some Articles of it not unfounded -- Illegal - Imprisonments -- Sale of Dunkirk -- Solicitation of French - Money -- His Faults as a Minister -- His pusillanimous Flight - -- and consequent Banishment -- Cabal Ministry -- Scheme of - Comprehension and Indulgence -- Triple Alliance -- Intrigue - with France -- King's Desire to be absolute -- Secret Treaty of - 1670 -- Its Objects -- Differences between Charles and Louis as - to the Mode of its Execution -- Fresh Severities against - Dissenters -- Dutch War -- Declaration of Indulgence -- Opposed - by Parliament -- and withdrawn -- Test Act -- Fall of - Shaftesbury and his Colleagues Page 278 - - - CHAPTER XII - - EARL OF DANBY'S ADMINISTRATION -- DEATH OF CHARLES II. - - Earl of Danby's Administration -- Opposition in the Commons -- - Frequently corrupt -- Character of Lord Danby -- Connection of - the popular Party with France -- Its Motives on both Sides -- - Doubt as to their Acceptance of Money -- Secret Treaties of the - King with France -- Fall of Danby -- His Impeachment -- - Questions arising on it -- His Commitment to the Tower -- - Pardon pleaded in Bar -- Votes of Bishops -- Abatement of - Impeachments by Dissolution -- Popish Plot -- Coleman's Letters - -- Godfrey's Death -- Injustice of Judges on the Trials -- - Parliament dissolved -- Exclusion of Duke of York proposed -- - Schemes of Shaftesbury and Monmouth -- Unsteadiness of the - King -- Expedients to avoid the Exclusion -- Names of Whig and - Tory -- New Council formed by Sir William Temple -- Long - Prorogation of Parliament -- Petitions and Addresses -- - Violence of the Commons -- Oxford Parliament -- Impeachment of - Commoners for Treason constitutional -- Fitzharris impeached -- - Proceedings against Shaftesbury and his Colleagues -- Triumph - of the Court -- Forfeiture of Charter of London -- And of other - Places -- Projects of Lord Russell and Sidney -- Their Trials - -- High Tory Principles of the Clergy -- Passive Obedience -- - Some contend for absolute Power -- Filmer -- Sir George - Mackenzie -- Decree of University of Oxford -- Connection with - Louis broken off -- King's Death Page 361 - - - - -CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND - -FROM HENRY VII. TO GEORGE II. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -FROM THE DISSOLUTION OF CHARLES'S THIRD PARLIAMENT TO THE MEETING OF -THE LONG PARLIAMENT - - -The dissolution of a parliament was always to the prerogative what the -dispersion of clouds is to the sun. As if in mockery of the transient -obstruction, it shone forth as splendid and scorching as before. Even -after the exertions of the most popular and intrepid House of Commons -that had ever met, and after the most important statute that had been -passed for some hundred years, Charles found himself in an instant -unshackled by his law or his word; once more that absolute king, for -whom his sycophants had preached and pleaded, as if awakened from a -fearful dream of sounds and sights that such monarchs hate to endure, -to the full enjoyment of an unrestrained prerogative. He announced his -intentions of government for the future in a long declaration of the -causes of the late dissolution of parliament, which, though not -without the usual promises to maintain the laws and liberties of the -people, gave evident hints that his own interpretation of them must be -humbly acquiesced in.[1] This was followed up by a proclamation that -he "should account it presumption for any to prescribe a time to him -for parliament, the calling, continuing, or dissolving of which was -always in his own power; and he should be more inclinable to meet -parliament again, when his people should see more clearly into his -intents and actions, when such as have bred this interruption shall -have received their condign punishment." He afterwards declares that -he should "not overcharge his subjects by any more burthens, but -satisfy himself with those duties that were received by his father, -which he neither could nor would dispense with; but should esteem them -unworthy of his protection who should deny them."[2] - -_Prosecutions of Eliot and others for conduct in parliament._--The -king next turned his mind, according to his own and his father's -practice, to take vengeance on those who had been most active in their -opposition to him. A few days after the dissolution, Sir John Eliot, -Holles, Selden, Long, Strode, and other eminent members of the -Commons, were committed, some to the Tower, some to the King's Bench, -and their papers seized. Upon suing for their habeas corpus, a return -was made that they were detained for notable contempts, and for -stirring up sedition, alleged in a warrant under the king's sign -manual. Their counsel argued against the sufficiency of this return, -as well on the principles and precedents employed in the former case -of Sir Thomas Darnel and his colleagues, as on the late explicit -confirmation of them in the Petition of Right. The king's counsel -endeavoured, by evading the authority of that enactment, to set up -anew that alarming pretence to a power of arbitrary imprisonment, -which the late parliament had meant to silence for ever. "A petition -in parliament," said the attorney-general Heath, "is no law, yet it is -for the honour and dignity of the king to observe it faithfully; but -it is the duty of the people not to stretch it beyond the words and -intention of the king. And no other construction can be made of the -petition, than that it is a confirmation of the ancient liberties and -rights of the subjects. So that now the case remains in the same -quality and degree as it was before the petition." Thus, by dint of a -sophism which turned into ridicule the whole proceedings of the late -parliament, he pretended to recite afresh the authorities on which he -had formerly relied, in order to prove that one committed by the -command of the king or privy council is not bailable. The judges, -timid and servile, yet desirous to keep some measures with their own -consciences, or looking forward to the wrath of future parliaments, -wrote what Whitelock calls "a humble and stout letter" to the king, -that they were bound to bail the prisoners; but requested that he -would send his direction to do so.[3] The gentlemen in custody were, -on this intimation, removed to the Tower; and the king, in a letter to -the court, refused permission for them to appear on the day when -judgment was to be given. Their restraint was thus protracted through -the long vacation; towards the close of which, Charles, sending for -two of the judges told them he was content the prisoners should be -bailed, notwithstanding their obstinacy in refusing to present a -petition, declaring their sorrow for having offended him. In the -ensuing Michaelmas term accordingly they were brought before the -court, and ordered not only to find bail for the present charge, but -sureties for their good behaviour. On refusing to comply with this -requisition, they were remanded to custody. - -The attorney-general, dropping the charge against the rest, exhibited -an information against Sir John Eliot for words uttered in the house; -namely, That the council and judges had conspired to trample under -foot the liberties of the subject; and against Mr. Denzil Holles and -Mr. Valentine for a tumult on the last day of the session; when the -speaker having attempted to adjourn the house by the king's command, -had been forcibly held down in the chair by some of the members, while -a remonstrance was voted. They pleaded to the court's jurisdiction, -because their offences were supposed to be committed in parliament, -and consequently not punishable in any other place. This brought -forward the great question of privilege, on the determination of which -the power of the House of Commons, and consequently the character of -the English constitution, seemed evidently to depend. - -Freedom of speech, being implied in the nature of a representative -assembly called to present grievances and suggest remedies, could not -stand in need of any special law or privilege to support it. But it -was also sanctioned by positive authority. The speaker demands it at -the beginning of every parliament among the standing privileges of the -house; and it had received a sort of confirmation from the legislature -by an act passed in the fourth year of Henry VIII., on occasion of one -Strode, who had been prosecuted and imprisoned in the Stannary court, -for proposing in parliament some regulations for the tinners in -Cornwall; which annuls all that had been done, or might hereafter be -done, towards Strode, for any matter relating to the parliament, in -words so strong as to form, in the opinion of many lawyers, a general -enactment. The judges however held, on the question being privately -sent to them by the king, that the statute concerning Strode was a -particular act of parliament extending only to him and those who had -joined with him to prefer a bill to the Commons concerning tinners; -but that, although the act were private and extended to them alone, -yet it was no more than all other parliament men, by privilege of the -house, ought to have; namely, freedom of speech concerning matters -there debated.[4] - -It appeared by a constant series of precedents, the counsel for Eliot -and his friends argued, that the liberties and privileges of -parliament could only be determined therein, and not by any inferior -court; that the judges had often declined to give their opinions on -such subjects, alleging that they were beyond their jurisdiction; that -the words imputed to Eliot were in the nature of an accusation of -persons in power which the Commons had an undoubted right to prefer; -that no one would venture to complain of grievances in parliament, if -he should be subjected to punishment at the discretion of an inferior -tribunal; that whatever instances had occurred of punishing the -alleged offences of members after a dissolution, were but acts of -power, which no attempt had hitherto been made to sanction; finally, -that the offences imputed might be punished in a future parliament. - -The attorney-general replied to the last point, that the king was not -bound to wait for another parliament; and moreover, that the House of -Commons was not a court of justice, nor had any power to proceed -criminally, except by imprisoning its own members. He admitted that -the judges had sometimes declined to give their judgment upon matters -of privilege; but contended that such cases had happened during the -session of parliament, and that it did not follow, but that an offence -committed in the house might be questioned after a dissolution. He set -aside the application of Strode's case, as a special act of -parliament; and dwelt on the precedent of an information preferred in -the reign of Mary against certain members for absenting themselves -from their duty in parliament, which, though it never came to a -conclusion, was not disputed on the ground of right. - -The court were unanimous in holding that they had jurisdiction, though -the alleged offences were committed in parliament, and that the -defendants were bound to answer. The privileges of parliament did not -extend, one of them said, to breaches of the peace, which was the -present case; and all offences against the crown, said another, were -punishable in the court of King's Bench. On the parties refusing to -put in any other plea, judgment was given that they should be -imprisoned during the king's pleasure, and not released without giving -surety for good behaviour, and making submission; that Eliot, as the -greatest offender and ringleader, should be fined in L2000, Holles and -Valentine to a smaller amount.[5] - -Eliot, the most distinguished leader of the popular party, died in the -tower without yielding to the submission required. In the long -parliament, the commons came to several votes on the illegality of all -these proceedings, both as to the delay in granting their habeas -corpus, and the overruling their plea to the jurisdiction of the -King's Bench. But the subject was revived again in a more distant and -more tranquil period. In the year 1667, the Commons resolved that the -act of 4 H. VIII. concerning Strode was a general law, "extending to -indemnify all and every the members of both houses of parliament, in -all parliaments, for and touching any bills, speaking, reasoning or -declaring of any matter or matters, in and concerning the parliament -to be communed and treated of, and is a declaratory law of the ancient -and necessary rights and privileges of parliament." They resolved also -that the judgment given 5 Car. I. against Sir John Eliot, Denzil -Holles, and Benjamin Valentine, is an illegal judgment, and against -the freedom and privilege of parliament. To these resolutions the -Lords gave their concurrence. And Holles, then become a peer, having -brought the record of the King's Bench by writ of error before them, -they solemnly reversed the judgment.[6] An important decision with -respect to our constitutional law, which has established beyond -controversy the great privilege of unlimited freedom of speech in -parliament; unlimited, I mean, by any authority except that by which -the house itself ought always to restrain indecent and disorderly -language in its members. It does not, however, appear to be a -necessary consequence from the reversal of this judgment, that no -actions committed in the house by any of its members are punishable in -a court of law. The argument in behalf of Holles and Valentine goes -indeed to this length; but it was admitted in the debate on the -subject in 1667, that their plea to the jurisdiction of the King's -Bench could not have been supported as to the imputed riot in -detaining the speaker in the chair, though the judgment was erroneous -in extending to words spoken in parliament. And it is obvious that the -house could inflict no adequate punishment in the possible case of -treason or felony committed within its walls; nor, if its power of -imprisonment be limited to the session, in that of many smaller -offences. - -_Prosecution of Chambers for refusing to pay customs._--The customs on -imported merchandises were now rigorously enforced.[7] But the late -discussions in parliament, and the growing disposition to probe the -legality of all acts of the Crown, rendered the merchants more -discontented than ever. Richard Chambers, having refused to pay any -further duty for a bale of silks than might be required by law, was -summoned before the privy-council. In the presence of that board he -was provoked to exclaim that in no part of the world, not even in -Turkey, were the merchants so screwed and wrung as in England. For -these hasty words an information was preferred against him in the -star-chamber; and the court, being of opinion that the words were -intended to make the people believe that his majesty's happy -government might be termed Turkish tyranny, manifested their laudable -abhorrence of such tyranny by sentencing him to pay a fine of L2000, -and to make a humble submission. Chambers, a sturdy puritan, -absolutely refused to subscribe the form of submission tendered to -him, and was of course committed to prison. But the court of King's -Bench admitted him to bail on a habeas corpus; for which, as Whitelock -tells us, they were reprimanded by the council.[8] - -_Commendable behaviour of judges in some instances._--There were -several instances, besides this just mentioned, wherein the judges -manifested a more courageous spirit than they were able constantly to -preserve; and the odium under which their memory labours for a servile -compliance with the court, especially in the case of ship-money, -renders it but an act of justice to record those testimonies they -occasionally gave of a nobler sense of duty. They unanimously -declared, when Charles expressed a desire that Felton, the assassin of -the Duke of Buckingham, might be put to the rack in order to make him -discover his accomplices, that the law of England did not allow the -use of torture. This is a remarkable proof that, amidst all the -arbitrary principles and arbitrary measures of the time, a truer sense -of the inviolability of law had begun to prevail, and that the free -constitution of England was working off the impurities with which -violence had stained it. For, though it be most certain that the law -never recognised the use of torture, there had been many instances of -its employment, and even within a few years.[9] In this public -assertion of its illegality, the judges conferred an eminent service -on their country, and doubtless saved the king and his council much -additional guilt and infamy which they would have incurred in the -course of their career. They declared, about the same time, on a -reference to them concerning certain disrespectful words alleged to -have been spoken by one Pine against the king, that no words can of -themselves amount to treason within the statute of Edward III.[10] -They resolved, some years after, that Prynne's, Burton's, and -Bastwick's libels against the bishops were no treason.[11] In their -old controversy with the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, they were -inflexibly tenacious. An action having been brought against some -members of the high-commission court for false imprisonment, the king, -on Laud's remonstrance, sent a message to desire that the suit might -not proceed till he should have conversed with the judges. The -chief-justice made answer that they were bound by their oaths not to -delay the course of justice; and after a contention before the -privy-council, the commissioners were compelled to plead.[12] - -Such instances of firmness serve to extenuate those unhappy -deficiencies which are more notorious in history. Had the judges been -as numerous and independent as those of the parliament of Paris, they -would not probably have been wanting in equal vigour. But holding -their offices at the king's will, and exposed to the displeasure of -his council whenever they opposed any check to the prerogative, they -held a vacillating course, which made them obnoxious to those who -sought for despotic power, while it forfeited the esteem of the -nation. - -_Means adopted to raise the revenue. Compositions for knighthood._--In -pursuance of the system adopted by Charles's ministers, they had -recourse to exactions, some odious and obsolete, some of very -questionable legality, and others clearly against law. Of the former -class may be reckoned the compositions for not taking the order of -knighthood. The early kings of England, Henry III. and Edward I., very -little in the spirit of chivalry, had introduced the practice of -summoning their military tenants, holding L20 per annum, to receive -knighthood at their hands. Those who declined this honour were -permitted to redeem their absence by a moderate fine.[13] Elizabeth, -once in her reign, and James, had availed themselves of this ancient -right. But the change in the value of money rendered it far more -oppressive than formerly, though limited to the holders of L40 per -annum in military tenure. Commissioners were now appointed to compound -with those who had neglected some years before to obey the -proclamation, summoning them to receive knighthood at the king's -coronation.[14] In particular instances, very severe fines are -recorded to have been imposed upon defaulters, probably from some -political resentment.[15] - -_Forest laws._--Still greater dissatisfaction attended the king's -attempt to revive the ancient laws of the forests,--those laws, of -which, in elder times, so many complaints had been heard, exacting -money by means of pretensions which long disuse had rendered dubious, -and showing himself to those who lived on the borders of those domains -in the hateful light of a litigious and encroaching neighbour. The -Earl of Holland held a court almost every year, as chief-justice in -eyre, for the recovery of the king's forestal rights, which made great -havoc with private property. No prescription could be pleaded against -the king's title, which was to be found, indeed, by the inquest of a -jury, but under the direction of a very partial tribunal. The royal -forests in Essex were so enlarged, that they were hyperbolically said -to include the whole county.[16] The Earl of Southampton was nearly -ruined by a decision that stripped him of his estate near the New -Forest.[17] The boundaries of Rockingham forest were increased from -six miles to sixty, and enormous fines imposed on the trespassers; -Lord Salisbury being amerced in L20,000, Lord Westmoreland in L19,000, -Sir Christopher Hatton in L12,000.[18] It is probable that much of -these was remitted. - -_Monopolies._--A greater profit was derived from a still more -pernicious and indefensible measure, the establishment of a chartered -company, with exclusive privileges of making soap. The recent statute -against monopolies seemed to secure the public against this species of -grievance. Noy, however, the attorney-general, a lawyer of uncommon -eminence, and lately a strenuous asserter of popular rights in the -House of Commons, devised this project, by which he probably meant to -evade the letter of the law, since every manufacturer was permitted to -become a member of the company. They agreed to pay eight pounds for -every ton of soap made, as well as L10,000 for their charter. For this -they were empowered to appoint searchers, and exercise a sort of -inquisition over the trade. Those dealers who resisted their -interference were severely fined, on informations in the star-chamber. -Some years afterwards, however, the king received money from a new -corporation of soap-makers, and revoked the patent of the former.[19] - -This precedent was followed in the erection of a similar company of -starch-makers, and in a great variety of other grants, which may be -found in Rymer's _Foedera_, and in the proceedings of the long -parliament; till monopolies, in transgression or evasion of the late -statute, became as common as they had been under James or Elizabeth. -The king, by a proclamation at York in 1639, beginning to feel the -necessity of diminishing the public odium, revoked all those -grants.[20] He annulled at the same time a number of commissions that -had been issued in order to obtain money by compounding with offenders -against penal statutes. The catalogue of these, as well as of the -monopolies, is very curious. The former were, in truth, rather -vexatious than illegal, and sustained by precedents in what were -called the golden ages of Elizabeth and James, though at all times the -source of great and just discontent. - -The name of Noy has acquired an unhappy celebrity by a far more famous -invention, which promised to realise the most sanguine hopes that -could have been formed of carrying on the government for an indefinite -length of time without the assistance of parliament. Shaking off the -dust of ages from parchments in the Tower, this man of venal diligence -and prostituted learning discovered that the sea-ports and even -maritime counties had in early times been sometimes called upon to -furnish ships for the public service; nay, there were instances of a -similar demand upon some inland places. Noy himself died almost -immediately afterwards. Notwithstanding his apostasy from the public -cause, it is just to remark that we have no right to impute to him the -more extensive and more unprecedented scheme of ship-money as a -general tax, which was afterwards carried into execution. But it -sprang by natural consequence from the former measure, according to -the invariable course of encroachment, which those who have once bent -the laws to their will ever continue to pursue. The first writ issued -from the council in October 1634. It was directed to the magistrates -of London and other sea-port towns. Reciting the depredations lately -committed by pirates, and slightly adverting to the dangers imminent -in a season of general war on the continent, it enjoins them to -provide a certain number of ships of war of a prescribed tonnage and -equipage; empowering them also to assess all the inhabitants for a -contribution towards this armament according to their substance. The -citizens of London humbly remonstrated that they conceived themselves -exempt, by sundry charters and acts of parliament, from bearing such a -charge. But the council peremptorily compelled their submission; and -the murmurs of inferior towns were still more easily suppressed. This -is said to have cost the city of London L35,000.[21] - -There wanted not reasons in the cabinet of Charles for placing the -navy at this time on a respectable footing. Algerine pirates had -become bold enough to infest the Channel; and what was of more serious -importance, the Dutch were rapidly acquiring a maritime preponderance, -which excited a natural jealousy, both for our commerce, and the -honour of our flag. This commercial rivalry conspired with a far more -powerful motive at court, an abhorrence of everything republican or -Calvinistic, to make our course of policy towards Holland not only -unfriendly, but insidious and inimical in the highest degree. A secret -treaty is extant, signed in 1631, by which Charles engaged to assist -the King of Spain in the conquest of that great protestant -commonwealth, retaining the isles of Zealand as the price of his -co-operation.[22] - -Yet, with preposterous inconsistency as well as ill-faith, the two -characteristics of all this unhappy prince's foreign policy, we find -him in the next year carrying on a negotiation with a disaffected -party in the Netherlands, in some strange expectation of obtaining the -sovereignty on their separation from Spain. Lord Cottington betrayed -this intrigue (of which one whom we should little expect to find in -these paths of conspiracy, Peter Paul Rubens, was the negotiator) to -the court of Madrid.[23] It was in fact an unpardonable and unprovoked -breach of faith, and accounts for the indifference, to say no more, -which that government always showed to his misfortunes. Charles, whose -domestic position rendered a pacific system absolutely necessary, -busied himself, far more than common history has recorded, with the -affairs of Europe. He was engaged in a tedious and unavailing -negotiation with both branches of the house of Austria, especially -with the court of Madrid, for the restitution of the Palatinate. He -took a much greater interest than his father had done in the fortunes -of his sister and her family; but, like his father, he fell into the -delusion that the cabinet of Madrid, for whom he could effect but -little, or that of Vienna, to whom he could offer nothing, would so -far realise the cheap professions of friendship they were always -making, as to sacrifice a conquest wherein the preponderance of the -house of Austria and the catholic religion in Germany was so deeply -concerned. They drew him on accordingly through the labyrinths of -diplomacy; assisted, no doubt, by that party in his councils, composed -at this time of Lord Cottington, Secretary Windebank, and some others, -who had always favoured Spanish connections.[24] It appears that the -fleet raised in 1634 was intended, according to an agreement entered -into with Spain, to restrain the Dutch from fishing in the English -seas, nay even, as opportunities should arise, to co-operate hostilely -with that of Spain.[25] After above two years spent in these -negotiations, Charles discovered that the house of Austria were -deceiving him; and, still keeping in view the restoration of his -nephew to the electoral dignity and territories, entered into stricter -relations with France; a policy which might be deemed congenial to the -queen's inclinations, and recommended by her party in his council, the -Earl of Holland, Sir Henry Vane, and perhaps by the Earls of -Northumberland and Arundel. In the first impulse of indignation at the -duplicity of Spain, the king yielded so far to their counsels as to -meditate a declaration of war against that power.[26] But his own -cooler judgment, or the strong dissuasions of Strafford, who saw that -external peace was an indispensable condition for the security of -despotism,[27] put an end to so imprudent a project; though he -preserved, to the very meeting of the long parliament, an intimate -connection with France, and even continued to carry on negotiations, -tedious and insincere, for an offensive alliance.[28] Yet he still -made, from time to time, similar overtures to Spain;[29] and this -unsteadiness, or rather duplicity, which could not easily be concealed -from two cabinets eminent for their secret intelligence, rendered both -of them his enemies, and the instruments, as there is much reason to -believe, of some of his greatest calamities. It is well known that the -Scots covenanters were in close connection with Richlieu; and many -circumstances render it probable, that the Irish rebellion was -countenanced and instigated both by him and by Spain. - -_Extension of writs for ship-money to inland places._--This desire of -being at least prepared for war, as well as the general system of -stretching the prerogative beyond all limits, suggested an extension -of the former writs from the sea-ports to the whole kingdom. Finch, -chief justice of the common pleas, has the honour of this improvement -on Noy's scheme. He was a man of little learning or respectability, a -servile tool of the despotic cabal; who, as speaker of the last -parliament, had, in obedience to a command from the king to adjourn, -refused to put the question upon a remonstrance moved in the house. By -the new writs for ship-money, properly so denominated, since the -former had only demanded the actual equipment of vessels, for which -inland counties were of course obliged to compound, the sheriffs were -directed to assess every landholder and other inhabitant according to -their judgment of his means, and to enforce the payment by -distress.[30] - -This extraordinary demand startled even those who had hitherto sided -with the court. Some symptoms of opposition were shown in different -places, and actions brought against those who had collected the money. -But the greater part yielding to an overbearing power, exercised with -such rigour that no one in this king's reign who had ventured on the -humblest remonstrance against any illegal act had escaped without -punishment. Indolent and improvident men satisfied themselves that the -imposition was not very heavy, and might not be repeated. Some were -content to hope that their contribution, however unduly exacted, would -be faithfully applied to public ends. Others were overborne by the -authority of pretended precedents, and could not yet believe that the -sworn judges of the law would pervert it to its own destruction. The -ministers prudently resolved to secure, not the law, but its -interpreters, on their side. The judges of assize were directed to -inculcate on their circuits the necessary obligation of forwarding the -king's service by complying with his writ. But, as the measure grew -more obnoxious, and strong doubts of its legality came more to -prevail, it was thought expedient to publish an extra-judicial opinion -of the twelve judges, taken at the king's special command, according -to the pernicious custom of that age. They gave it as their unanimous -opinion that, when the good and safety of the kingdom in general is -concerned and the whole kingdom in danger, his majesty might, by writ -under the great seal, command all his subjects, at their charge, to -provide and furnish such number of ships, with men, munition, and -victuals, and for such time as he should think fit, for the defence -and safeguard of the kingdom; and that by law he might compel the -doing thereof, in case of refusal or refractoriness; and that he was -the sole judge both of the danger, and when and how the same was to be -prevented and avoided. - -This premature declaration of the judges, which was publicly read by -the lord-keeper Coventry in the star-chamber, did not prevent a few -intrepid persons from bringing the question solemnly before them, that -the liberties of their country might at least not perish silently, nor -those who had betrayed them avoid the responsibility of a public -avowal of their shame. The first that resisted was the gallant Richard -Chambers, who brought an action against the lord-mayor for imprisoning -him on account of his refusal to pay his assessment on the former -writ. The magistrate pleaded the writ as a special justification; when -Berkley, one of the judges of the king's bench, declared that there -was a rule of law and a rule of government, that many things which -could not be done by the first rule might be done by the other, and -would not suffer counsel to argue against the lawfulness of -ship-money.[31] The next were Lord Say and Mr. Hampden, both of whom -appealed to the justice of their country; but the famous decision -which has made the latter so illustrious, put an end to all attempts -at obtaining redress by course of law. - -_Hampden's refusal to pay._--Hampden, it seems hardly necessary to -mention, was a gentleman of good estate in Buckinghamshire, whose -assessment to the contribution for ship-money demanded from his county -amounted only to twenty shillings.[32] The cause, though properly -belonging to the court of exchequer, was heard, on account of its -magnitude, before all the judges in the exchequer-chamber.[33] The -precise question, so far as related to Mr. Hampden, was, Whether the -king had a right, on his own allegation of public danger, to require -an inland county to furnish ships, or a prescribed sum of money by way -of commutation, for the defence of the kingdom? It was argued by St. -John and Holborne in behalf of Hampden; by the solicitor-general -Littleton and the attorney-general Banks, for the crown.[34] - -_Arguments on the case._--The law and constitution of England, the -former maintained, had provided in various ways for the public safety -and protection against enemies. First, there were the military -tenures, which bound great part of the kingdom to a stipulated service -at the charge of the possessors. The cinque ports also, and several -other towns, some of them not maritime, held by a tenure analogous to -this; and were bound to furnish a quota of ships or men, as the -condition of their possessions and privileges. These for the most part -are recorded in Domesday-book, though now in general grown obsolete. -Next to this specific service, our constitution had bestowed on the -sovereign his certain revenues, the fruits of tenure, the profits of -his various minor prerogatives; whatever, in short, he held in right -of his crown, was applicable, so far as it could be extended, to the -public use. It bestowed on him, moreover, and perhaps with more -special application to maritime purposes, the customs on importation -of merchandise. These indeed had been recently augmented far beyond -ancient usage. "For these modern impositions," says St. John, "of the -legality thereof I intend not to speak: for in case his majesty may -impose upon merchandise what himself pleaseth, there will be less -cause to tax the inland counties; and in case he cannot do it, it will -be strongly presumed that he can much less tax them." - -But as the ordinary revenues might prove quite unequal to great -exigencies, the constitution has provided another means, as ample and -sufficient as it is lawful and regular, parliamentary supply. To this -the kings of England have in all times had recourse; yet princes are -not apt to ask as a concession what they might demand of right. The -frequent loans and benevolences which they have required, though not -always defensible by law, are additional proofs that they possessed no -general right of taxation. To borrow on promise of repayment, to -solicit, as it were, alms from their subjects, is not the practice of -sovereigns whose prerogatives entitle them to exact money. Those loans -had sometimes been repaid, expressly to discharge the king's -conscience. And a very arbitrary prince, Henry VIII., had obtained -acts of parliament to release him from the obligation of repayment. - -These merely probable reasonings prepare the way for that conclusive -and irresistible argument that was founded on statute law. Passing -slightly over the charter of the Conqueror, that his subjects shall -hold their lands free from all unjust tallage, and the clause in -John's Magna Charta, that no aid or scutage should be assessed but by -consent of the great council (a provision not repeated in that of -Henry III.), the advocates of Hampden relied on the 25 E. I., commonly -called the Confirmatio Chartarum, which for ever abrogated all -taxation without consent of parliament; and this statute itself, they -endeavoured to prove, was grounded on requisitions very like the -present, for the custody of the sea, which Edward had issued the year -before. Hence it was evident that the saving contained in that act for -the accustomed aids and prises could not possibly be intended, as the -opposite counsel would suggest, to preserve such exactions as -ship-money; but related to the established feudal aids, and to the -ancient customs on merchandise. They dwelt less however (probably -through fear of having this exception turned against them) on this -important statute than on one of more celebrity, but of very equivocal -genuineness, denominated, De Tallagio non Concedendo; which is nearly -in the same words as the Confirmatio Chartarum, with the omission of -the above-mentioned saving. More than one law, enacted under Edward -III., re-asserts the necessity of parliamentary consent to taxation. -It was indeed the subject of frequent remonstrance in that reign, and -the king often infringed this right. But the perseverance of the -Commons was successful, and ultimately rendered the practice -conformable to the law. In the second year of Richard II., the realm -being in imminent danger of invasion, the privy council convoked an -assembly of peers and other great men, probably with a view to avoid -the summoning of a parliament. This assembly lent their own money, but -declared that they could not provide a remedy without charging the -Commons, which could not be done out of parliament, advising that one -should be speedily summoned. This precedent was the more important, as -it tended to obviate that argument from peril and necessity, on which -the defenders of ship-money were wont to rely. But they met that -specious plea more directly. They admitted that a paramount overruling -necessity silences the voice of law; that in actual invasion, or its -immediate prospect, the rights of private men must yield to the safety -of the whole; that not only the sovereign, but each man in respect of -his neighbour might do many things, absolutely illegal at other -seasons; and this served to distinguish the present case from some -strong acts of prerogative exerted by Elizabeth in 1588, when the -liberties and religion of the people were in the most apparent -jeopardy. But here there was no overwhelming danger; the nation was at -peace with all the world: could the piracies of Turkish corsairs, or -even the insolence of rival neighbours, be reckoned among those -instant perils, for which a parliament would provide too late? - -To the precedents alleged on the other side, it was replied, that no -one of them met the case of an inland county; that such as were before -the 25 E. I. were sufficiently repelled by that statute, such as -occurred under Edward III. by the later statutes, and by the -remonstrances of parliament during his reign; and there were but very -few afterwards. But that, in a matter of statute law, they ought not -to be governed by precedents, even if such could be adduced. Before -the latter end of Edward I.'s reign, St. John observes, "all things -concerning the king's prerogative and the subject's liberties were -upon uncertainties." "The government," says Holborne truly, "was more -of force than law." And this is unquestionably applicable, in a lesser -degree, to many later ages. - -Lastly, the petition of right, that noble legacy of a slandered -parliament, reciting and confirming the ancient statutes, had -established that no man thereafter be compelled to make or yield any -gift, loan, benevolence, tax, or such-like charge, without common -consent by act of parliament. This latest and most complete -recognition must sweep away all contrary precedent, and could not, -without a glaring violation of its obvious meaning, be stretched into -an admission of ship-money. - -The king's counsel, in answer to these arguments, appealed to that -series of records which the diligence of Noy had collected. By far the -greater part of these were commissions of array. But several, even of -those addressed to inland towns (and, if there were no service by -tenure in the case, it does not seem easy to distinguish these in -principle from counties), bore a very strong analogy to the present. -They were, however, in early times. No sufficient answer could be -offered to the statutes that had prohibited unparliamentary taxation. -The attempts made to elude their force were utterly ineffectual, as -those who are acquainted with their emphatic language may well -conceive. But the council of Charles the First, and the hirelings who -ate their bread, disdained to rest their claim of ship-money (big as -it was with other and still more novel schemes) on obscure records, or -on cavils about the meaning of statutes. They resorted rather to the -favourite topic of the times, the intrinsic, absolute authority of the -king. This the attorney-general Banks placed in the very front of his -argument. "This power," says he, "is innate in the person of an -absolute king, and in the persons of the kings of England. All -magistracy it is of nature, and obedience and subjection it is of -nature. This power is not any ways derived from the people, but -reserved unto the king when positive laws first began. For the king of -England, he is an absolute monarch; nothing can be given to an -absolute prince but what is inherent in his person. He can do no -wrong. He is the sole judge, and we ought not to question him. Where -the law trusts, we ought not to distrust. The acts of parliament," he -observed, "contained no express words to take away so high a -prerogative; and the king's prerogative, even in lesser matters, is -always saved, wherever express words do not restrain it." - -But this last argument appearing too modest for some of the judges who -pronounced sentence in this cause, they denied the power of parliament -to limit the high prerogatives of the Crown. "This imposition without -parliament," says Justice Crawley, "appertains to the king originally, -and to the successor _ipso facto_, if he be a sovereign in right of -his sovereignty from the Crown. You cannot have a king without these -royal rights, no, not by act of parliament." "Where Mr. Holborne," -says Justice Berkley, "supposed a fundamental policy in the creation -of the frame of this kingdom, that in case the monarch of England -should be inclined to exact from his subjects at his pleasure, he -should be restrained, for that he could have nothing from them, but -upon a common consent in parliament; he is utterly mistaken herein. -The law knows no such king-yoking policy. The law is itself an old and -trusty servant of the king's; it is his instrument or means which he -useth to govern his people by: I never read nor heard that _lex_ was -_rex_; but it is common and most true, that _rex_ is _lex_." Vernon, -another judge, gave his opinion in few words: "That the king, _pro -bono publico_, may charge his subjects for the safety and defence of -the kingdom, notwithstanding any act of parliament, and that a statute -derogatory from the prerogative doth not bind the king; and the king -may dispense with any law in cases of necessity." Finch, the adviser -of the ship-money, was not backward to employ the same argument in -its behalf. "No act of parliament," he told them, "could bar a king of -his regality, as that no land should hold of him, or bar him of the -allegiance of his subjects or the relative on his part, as trust and -power to defend his people; therefore acts of parliament to take away -his royal power in the defence of his kingdom are void; they are void -acts of parliament to bind the king not to command the subjects, their -persons, and goods, and I say, their money too; for no acts of -parliament make any difference." - -Seven of the twelve judges, namely, Finch, chief justice of the common -pleas, Jones, Berkley, Vernon, Crawley, Trevor, and Weston, gave -judgment for the Crown. Brampston, chief justice of the king's bench, -and Davenport, chief baron of the exchequer, pronounced for Hampden, -but on technical reasons, and adhering to the majority on the -principal question. Denham, another judge of the same court, being -extremely ill, gave a short written judgment in favour of Hampden. But -Justices Croke and Hutton, men of considerable reputation and -experience, displayed a most praiseworthy intrepidity in denying, -without the smallest qualification, the alleged prerogative of the -Crown and the lawfulness of the writ for ship-money. They had -unfortunately signed, along with the other judges, the above-mentioned -opinion in favour of the right. For this they made the best apology -they could, that their voice was concluded by the majority. But in -truth it was the ultimate success that sometimes attends a struggle -between conscience and self-interest or timidity.[35] - -The length to which this important cause was protracted, six months -having elapsed from the opening speech of Mr. Hampden's counsel to the -final judgment, was of infinite disservice to the Crown. During this -long period, every man's attention was directed to the exchequer-chamber. -The convincing arguments of St. John and Holborne, but still more the -division on the bench, increased their natural repugnance to so -unusual and dangerous a prerogative.[36] Those who had trusted to the -faith of the judges were undeceived by the honest repentance of some, -and looked with indignation on so prostituted a crew. That respect for -courts of justice, which the happy structure of our judicial -administration has in general kept inviolate, was exchanged for -distrust, contempt, and desire of vengeance. They heard the speeches -of some of the judges with more displeasure than even their final -decision. Ship-money was held lawful by Finch and several other -judges, not on the authority of precedents, which must in their nature -have some bounds, but on principles subversive of any property or -privilege in the subject. Those paramount rights of monarchy, to which -they appealed to-day in justification of ship-money, might to-morrow -serve to supersede other laws, and maintain new exertions of despotic -power. It was manifest, by the whole strain of the court lawyers, that -no limitations on the king's authority could exist but by the king's -sufferance. This alarming tenet, long bruited among the churchmen and -courtiers, now resounded in the halls of justice. But ship-money, in -consequence, was paid with far less regularity and more reluctance -than before.[37] The discontent that had been tolerably smothered was -now displayed in every county; and though the council did not flinch -in the least from exacting payment, nor willingly remit any part of -its rigour towards the uncomplying, it was impossible either to punish -the great body of the country gentlemen and citizens, or to restrain -their murmurs by a few examples. Whether in consequence of this -unwillingness or for other reasons, the revenue levied in different -years under the head of ship-money is more fluctuating than we should -expect from a fixed assessment; but may be reckoned at an average sum -of L200,000.[38] - -_Proclamations._--It would doubtless be unfair to pass a severe -censure on the government of Charles the First for transgressions of -law, which a long course of precedents might render dubious, or at -least extenuate. But this common apology for his administration, on -which the artful defence of Hume is almost entirely grounded, must be -admitted cautiously, and not until we have well considered how far -such precedents could be brought to support it. This is particularly -applicable to his proclamations. I have already pointed out the -comparative novelty of these unconstitutional ordinances, and their -great increase under James. They had not been fully acquiesced in; the -Commons had remonstrated against their abuse; and Coke, with other -judges, had endeavoured to fix limits to their authority, very far -within that which they arrogated. It can hardly, therefore, be said -that Charles's council were ignorant of their illegality; nor is the -case at all parallel to that of general warrants, or any similar -irregularity into which an honest government may inadvertently be led. -They serve at least to display the practical state of the -constitution, and the necessity of an entire reform in its spirit. - -_Various arbitrary proceedings._--The proclamations of Charles's reign -are far more numerous than those of his father. They imply a -prerogative of intermeddling with all matters of trade, prohibiting or -putting under restraint the importation of various articles, and the -home growth of others, or establishing regulations for manufactures.[39] -Prices of several minor articles were fixed by proclamation, and in -one instance this was extended to poultry, butter, and coals.[40] The -king declares by a proclamation that he had incorporated all tradesmen -and artificers within London and three miles round; so that no person -might set up any trade without having served a seven years' -apprenticeship, and without admission into such corporation.[41] He -prohibits in like manner any one from using the trade of a maltster or -that of a brewer, without admission into the corporations of maltsters -or brewers erected for every county.[42] I know not whether these -projects were in any degree founded on the alleged pretext of -correcting abuses, or were solely designed to raise money by means of -these corporations. We find, however, a revocation of the restraint on -malting and brewing soon after. The illegality of these proclamations -is most unquestionable. - -The rapid increase of London continued to disquiet the court. It was -the stronghold of political and religious disaffection. Hence the -prohibitions of erecting new houses, which had begun under Elizabeth, -were continually repeated.[43] They had indeed some laudable objects -in view; to render the city more healthy, cleanly, and magnificent, -and by prescribing the general use of brick instead of wood, as well -as by improving the width and regularity of the streets, to afford the -best security against fires, and against those epidemical diseases -which visited the metropolis with unusual severity in the early years -of this reign. The most jealous censor of royal encroachments will -hardly object to the proclamations enforcing certain regulations of -police in some of those alarming seasons. - -It is probable, from the increase which we know to have taken place in -London during this reign, that licences for building were easily -obtained. The same supposition is applicable to another class of -proclamation, enjoining all persons who had residences in the country -to quit the capital and repair to them.[44] Yet, that these were not -always a dead letter, appears from an information exhibited in the -star-chamber against seven lords, sixty knights, and one hundred -esquires, besides many ladies, for disobeying the king's proclamation, -either by continuing in London, or returning to it after a short -absence.[45] The result of this prosecution, which was probably only -intended to keep them in check, does not appear. No proclamation could -stand in need of support from law, while this arbitrary tribunal -assumed a right of punishing misdemeanours. It would have been a -dangerous aggravation of any delinquent's offence to have questioned -the authority of a proclamation, or the jurisdiction of the council. - -The security of freehold rights had been the peculiar boast of the -English law. The very statute of Henry VIII., which has been held up -to so much infamy, while it gave the force of law to his -proclamations, interposed its barrier in defence of the subject's -property. The name of freeholder, handed down with religious honour -from an age when it conveyed distinct privileges, and as it were a -sort of popular nobility, protected the poorest man against the -Crown's and the lord's rapacity. He at least was recognised as the -_liber homo_ of Magna Charta, who could not be disseised of his -tenements and franchises. His house was his castle, which the law -respected, and which the king dared not enter. Even the public good -must give way to his obstinacy; nor had the legislature itself as yet -compelled any man to part with his lands for a compensation which he -was loath to accept. The council and star-chamber had very rarely -presumed to meddle with his right; never perhaps where it was -acknowledged and ancient. But now this reverence of the common law for -the sacredness of real property was derided by those who revered -nothing as sacred but the interests of the Church and Crown. The privy -council, on a suggestion that the demolition of some houses and shops -in the vicinity of St. Paul's would show the cathedral to more -advantage, directed that the owners should receive such satisfaction -as should seem reasonable; or on their refusal the sheriff was -required to see the buildings pulled down, "it not being thought fit -the obstinacy of those persons should hinder so considerable a -work."[46] By another order of council, scarcely less oppressive and -illegal, all shops in Cheapside and Lombard Street, except those of -goldsmiths, were directed to be shut up, that the avenue to St. Paul's -might appear more splendid; and the mayor and aldermen were repeatedly -threatened for remissness in executing this mandate of tyranny.[47] - -In the great plantation of Ulster by James, the city of London had -received a grant of extensive lands in the county of Derry, on certain -conditions prescribed in their charter. The settlement became -flourishing, and enriched the city. But the wealth of London was -always invidious to the Crown, as well as to the needy courtiers. On -an information filed in the star-chamber for certain alleged breaches -of their charter, it was not only adjudged to be forfeited to the -king, but a fine of L70,000 was imposed on the city. They paid this -enormous mulct; but were kept out of their lands till restored by the -long parliament.[48] In this proceeding Charles forgot his duty -enough to take a very active share, personally exciting the court to -give sentence for himself.[49] Is it then to be a matter of surprise -or reproach, that the citizens of London refused him assistance in the -Scottish war, and through the ensuing times of confusion, harboured an -implacable resentment against a sovereign who had so deeply injured -them? - -We may advert in this place to some other stretches of power, which no -one can pretend to justify, though in general they seem to have -escaped notice amidst the enormous mass of national grievances. A -commission was issued in 1635, to the recorder of London and others, -to examine all persons going beyond seas, and tender to them an oath -of the most inquisitorial nature.[50] Certain privy-councillors were -empowered to enter the house of Sir Robert Cotton, and search his -books, records, and papers, setting down such as ought to belong to -the Crown.[51] This renders probable what we find in a writer who had -the best means of information, that Secretary Windebank, by virtue of -an order of council, entered Sir Edward Coke's house while he lay on -his death-bed, took away his manuscripts, together with his last will, -which was never returned to his family.[52] The high commission court -were enabled, by the king's "supreme power ecclesiastical," to examine -such as were charged with offences cognisable by them on oath, which -many had declined to take, according to the known maxims of English -law.[53] - -It would be improper to notice as illegal or irregular the practice of -granting dispensations in particular instances, either from general -acts of parliament or the local statutes of colleges. Such a -prerogative, at least in the former case, was founded on long usage -and judicial recognition. Charles, however, transgressed its admitted -boundaries, when he empowered others to dispense with them as there -might be occasion. Thus, in a commission to the president and council -of the North, directing them to compound with recusants, he in effect -suspends the statute which provides that no recusant shall have a -lease of that portion of his lands which the law sequestered to the -king's use during his recusancy; a clause in this patent enabling the -commissioners to grant such leases notwithstanding any law or statute -to the contrary. This seems to go beyond the admitted limits of the -dispensing prerogative.[54] - -The levies of tonnage and poundage without authority of parliament, -the exaction of monopolies, the extension of the forests, the -arbitrary restraints of proclamations, above all, the general exaction -of ship-money, form the principal articles of charge against the -government of Charles, so far as relates to its inroads on the -subject's property. These were maintained by a vigilant and unsparing -exercise of jurisdiction in the court of star-chamber. I have, in -another chapter, traced the revival of this great tribunal, probably -under Henry VIII., in at least as formidable a shape as before the -now-neglected statutes of Edward III. and Richard II., which had -placed barriers in its way. It was the great weapon of executive power -under Elizabeth and James; nor can we reproach the present reign with -innovation in this respect, though in no former period had the -proceedings of this court been accompanied with so much violence and -tyranny. But this will require some fuller explication. - -_Star-chamber jurisdiction._--I hardly need remind the reader that the -jurisdiction of the ancient Concilium regis ordinarium, or court of -star-chamber, continued to be exercised, more or less frequently, -notwithstanding the various statutes enacted to repress it; and that -it neither was supported by the act erecting a new court in the third -of Henry VII., nor originated at that time. The records show the -star-chamber to have taken cognisance both of civil suits and of -offences throughout the time of the Tudors. But precedents of usurped -power cannot establish a legal authority in defiance of the -acknowledged law. It appears that the lawyers did not admit any -jurisdiction in the council, except so far as the statute of Henry -VII. was supposed to have given it. "The famous Plowden put his hand -to a demurrer to a bill," says Hudson, "because the matter was not -within the statute; and, although it was then over-ruled, yet Mr. -Serjeant Richardson, thirty years after, fell again upon the same -rock, and was sharply rebuked for it."[55] The chancellor, who was -the standing president of the court of star-chamber, would always find -pretences to elude the existing statutes, and justify the usurpation -of this tribunal. - -The civil jurisdiction claimed and exerted by the star-chamber was -only in particular cases, as disputes between alien merchants and -Englishmen, questions of prize or unlawful detention of ships, and in -general such as now belong to the court of admiralty; some -testamentary matters, in order to prevent appeals to Rome, which might -have been brought from the ecclesiastical courts; suits between -corporations, "of which," says Hudson, "I dare undertake to show above -a hundred in the reigns of Henry VII. and Henry VIII., or sometimes -between men of great power and interest, which could not be tried with -fairness by the common law."[56] For the corruption of sheriffs and -juries furnished an apology for the irregular, but necessary, -interference of a controlling authority. The ancient remedy, by means -of attaint, which renders a jury responsible for an unjust verdict, -was almost gone into disuse, and, depending on the integrity of a -second jury, not always easy to be obtained; so that in many parts of -the kingdom, and especially in Wales, it was impossible to find a jury -who would return a verdict against a man of good family, either in a -civil or criminal proceeding. - -The statutes, however, restraining the council's jurisdiction, and the -strong prepossession of the people as to the sacredness of freehold -rights, made the star-chamber cautious of determining questions of -inheritance, which they commonly remitted to the judges; and from the -early part of Elizabeth's reign, they took a direct cognisance of any -civil suits less frequently than before; partly, I suppose, from the -increased business of the court of chancery, and the admiralty court, -which took away much wherein they had been wont to meddle; partly from -their own occupation as a court of criminal judicature, which became -more conspicuous as the other went into disuse.[57] This criminal -jurisdiction is that which rendered the star-chamber so potent and so -odious an auxiliary of a despotic administration. - -The offences principally cognisable in this court were forgery, -perjury, riot, maintenance, fraud, libel, and conspiracy.[58] But -besides these, every misdemeanour came within the proper scope of its -enquiry; those especially of public importance, and for which the law, -as then understood, had provided no sufficient punishment. For the -judges interpreted the law in early times with too great narrowness -and timidity; defects which, on the one hand, raised up the -over-ruling authority of the court of chancery, as the necessary means -of redress to the civil suitor who found the gates of justice barred -against him by technical pedantry; and on the other, brought this -usurpation and tyranny of the star-chamber upon the kingdom by an -absurd scrupulosity about punishing manifest offences against the -public good. Thus corruption, breach of trust, and malfeasance in -public affairs, or attempts to commit felony, seem to have been -reckoned not indictable at common law, and came in consequence under -the cognisance of the star-chamber.[59] In other cases its -jurisdiction was merely concurrent; but the greater certainty of -conviction, and the greater severity of punishment, rendered it -incomparably more formidable than the ordinary benches of justice. The -law of libel grew up in this unwholesome atmosphere, and was moulded -by the plastic hands of successive judges and attorneys-general. -Prosecutions of this kind, according to Hudson, began to be more -frequent from the last years of Elizabeth, when Coke was -attorney-general; and it is easy to conjecture what kind of -interpretation they received. To hear a libel sung or read, says that -writer, and to laugh at it, and make merriment with it, has ever been -held a publication in law. The gross error that it is not a libel if -it be true, has long since, he adds, been exploded out of this -court.[60] - -Among the exertions of authority practised in the star-chamber which -no positive law could be brought to warrant, he enumerates -"punishments of breach of proclamations before they have the strength -of an act of parliament; which this court hath stretched as far as -ever any act of parliament did. As in the 41st of Elizabeth, builders -of houses in London were sentenced, and their houses ordered to be -pulled down, and the materials to be distributed to the benefit of the -parish where the building was; which disposition of the goods soundeth -as a great extremity, and beyond the warrant of our laws; and yet, -surely, very necessary, if anything would deter men from that horrible -mischief of increasing that head which is swoln to a great hugeness -already."[61] - -The mode of process was sometimes of a summary nature; the accused -person being privately examined, and his examination read in the -court, if he was thought to have confessed sufficient to deserve -sentence, it was immediately awarded without any formal trial or -written process. But the more regular course was by information filed -at the suit of the attorney-general, or in certain cases, of a private -relator. The party was brought before the court by writ of subpoena; -and having given bond with sureties not to depart without leave, was -to put in his answer upon oath, as well to the matters contained in -the information, as to special interrogatories. Witnesses were -examined upon interrogatories, and their dispositions read in court. -The course of proceeding on the whole seems to have nearly resembled -that of the chancery.[62] - -_Punishments inflicted by the star-chamber._--It was held competent -for the court to adjudge any punishment short of death. Fine and -imprisonment were of course the most usual. The pillory, whipping, -branding, and cutting off the ears, grew into use by degrees. In the -reign of Henry VII. and Henry VIII., we are told by Hudson, the fines -were not so ruinous as they have been since, which he ascribes to the -number of bishops who sat in the court, and inclined to mercy; "and I -can well remember," he says, "that the most reverend Archbishop -Whitgift did ever constantly maintain the liberty of the free charter, -that men ought to be fined, _salvo contenemento_. But they have been -of late imposed according to the nature of the offence, and not the -estate of the person. The slavish punishment of whipping," he proceeds -to observe, "was not introduced till a great man of the common law, -and otherwise a worthy justice, forgot his place of session, and -brought it in this place too much in use."[63] It would be difficult -to find precedents for the aggravated cruelties inflicted on Leighton, -Lilburne, and others; but instances of cutting off the ears may be -found under Elizabeth.[64] - -The reproach, therefore, of arbitrary and illegal jurisdiction does -not wholly fall on the government of Charles. They found themselves in -possession of this almost unlimited authority. But doubtless, as far -as the history of proceedings in the star-chamber are recorded, they -seem much more numerous and violent in the present reign than in the -two preceding. Rushworth has preserved a copious selection of cases -determined before this tribunal. They consist principally of -misdemeanours, rather of an aggravated nature; such as disturbances of -the public peace, assaults accompanied with a good deal of violence, -conspiracies, and libels. The necessity, however, for such a paramount -court to restrain the excesses of powerful men no longer existed, -since it can hardly be doubted that the common administration of the -law was sufficient to give redress in the time of Charles the First; -though we certainly do find several instances of violence and outrage -by men of a superior station in life, which speak unfavourably for the -state of manners in the kingdom. But the object of drawing so large a -number of criminal cases into the star-chamber seems to have been -twofold: first, to inure men's minds to an authority more immediately -connected with the Crown than the ordinary courts of law, and less -tied down to any rules of pleading or evidence; secondly, to eke out a -scanty revenue by penalties and forfeitures. Absolutely regardless of -the provision of the Great Charter, that no man shall be amerced even -to the full extent of his means, the councillors of the star-chamber -inflicted such fines as no court of justice, in the present reduced -value of money, would think of imposing. Little objection indeed seems -to lie, in a free country, and with a well-regulated administration of -justice, against the imposition of weighty pecuniary penalties, due -consideration being had of the offence and the criminal. But, adjudged -by such a tribunal as the star-chamber, where those who inflicted the -punishment reaped the gain, and sat, like famished birds of prey, with -keen eyes and bended talons, eager to supply for a moment, by some -wretch's ruin, the craving emptiness of the exchequer, this scheme of -enormous penalties became more dangerous and subversive of justice, -though not more odious, than corporal punishment. A gentleman of the -name of Allington was fined L12,000 for marrying his niece. One who -had sent a challenge to the Earl of Northumberland was fined L5000; -another for saying the Earl of Suffolk was a base lord, L4000 to him, -and a like sum to the king. Sir David Forbes, for opprobrious words -against Lord Wentworth, incurred L5000 to the king, and L3000 to the -party. On some soap-boilers, who had not complied with the -requisitions of the newly incorporated company, mulcts were imposed of -L1500 and L1000. One man was fined and set in the pillory for -engrossing corn, though he only kept what grew on his own land, asking -more in a season of dearth than the overseers of the poor thought -proper to give.[65] Some arbitrary regulations with respect to prices -may be excused by a well-intentioned, though mistaken, policy. The -charges of inns and taverns were fixed by the judges. But, even in -those, a corrupt motive was sometimes blended. The company of -vintners, or victuallers, having refused to pay a demand of the lord -treasurer, one penny a quart for all wine drank in their houses, the -star-chamber, without information filed or defence made, interdicted -them from selling or dressing victuals till they submitted to pay -forty shillings for each tun of wine to the king.[66] It is evident -that the strong interest of the court in these fines must not only -have had a tendency to aggravate the punishment, but to induce -sentences of condemnation on inadequate proof. From all that remains -of proceedings in the star-chamber, they seem to have been very -frequently as iniquitous as they were severe. In many celebrated -instances, the accused party suffered less on the score of any imputed -offence than for having provoked the malice of a powerful adversary, -or for notorious dissatisfaction with the existing government. Thus -Williams, Bishop of Lincoln, once lord-keeper, the favourite of King -James, the possessor for a season of the power that was turned against -him, experienced the rancorous and ungrateful malignity of Laud; who, -having been brought forward by Williams into the favour of the court, -not only supplanted by his intrigues, and incensed the king's mind -against his benefactor, but harassed his retirement by repeated -persecutions.[67] It will sufficiently illustrate the spirit of these -times to mention that the sole offence imputed to the Bishop of -Lincoln in the last information against him in the star-chamber was, -that he had received certain letters from one Osbaldiston, master of -Westminster School, wherein some contemptuous nickname was used to -denote Laud.[68] It did not appear that Williams had ever divulged -these letters. But it was held that the concealment of a libellous -letter was a high misdemeanour. Williams was therefore adjudged to pay -L5000 to the king, and L3000 to the archbishop, to be imprisoned -during pleasure, and to make a submission; Osbaldiston to pay a still -heavier fine, to be deprived of all his benefices, to be imprisoned -and make submission; and moreover to stand in the pillory before his -school in Dean's-yard, with his ears nailed to it. This man had the -good fortune to conceal himself, but the Bishop of Lincoln, refusing -to make the required apology, lay above three years in the Tower, -till released at the beginning of the long parliament. - -It might detain me too long to dwell particularly on the punishments -inflicted by the court of star-chamber in this reign. Such historians -as have not written in order to palliate the tyranny of Charles, and -especially Rushworth, will furnish abundant details, with all those -circumstances that portray the barbarous and tyrannical spirit of -those who composed that tribunal. Two or three instances are so -celebrated that I cannot pass them over. Leighton, a Scots divine, -having published an angry libel against the hierarchy, was sentenced -to be publicly whipped at Westminster and set in the pillory, to have -one side of his nose slit, one ear cut off, and one side of his cheek -branded with a hot iron, to have the whole of this repeated the next -week at Cheapside, and to suffer perpetual imprisonment in the -Fleet.[69] Lilburne, for dispersing pamphlets against the bishops, was -whipped from the Fleet prison to Westminster, there set in the -pillory, and treated afterwards with great cruelty.[70] Prynne, a -lawyer of uncommon erudition and a zealous puritan, had printed a -bulky volume, called _Histriomastix_, full of invectives against the -theatre, which he sustained by a profusion of learning. In the course -of this, he adverted to the appearance of courtesans on the Roman -stage, and by a satirical reference in his index seemed to range all -female actors in the class.[71] The queen, unfortunately, six weeks -after the publication of Prynne's book, had performed a part in a mask -at court. This passage was accordingly dragged to light by the malice -of Peter Heylin, a chaplain of Laud, on whom the archbishop devolved -the burthen of reading this heavy volume in order to detect its -offences. Heylin, a bigoted enemy of everything puritanical, and not -scrupulous as to veracity, may be suspected of having aggravated, if -not misrepresented, the tendency of a book much more tiresome than -seditious. Prynne, however, was already obnoxious, and the -star-chamber adjudged him to stand twice in the pillory, to be branded -in the forehead, to lose both his ears, to pay a fine of L5000, and to -suffer perpetual imprisonment. The dogged puritan employed the leisure -of a gaol in writing a fresh libel against the hierarchy. For this, -with two other delinquents of the same class, Burton a divine, and -Bastwick a physician, he stood again at the bar of that terrible -tribunal. Their demeanour was what the court deemed intolerably -contumacious, arising in fact from the despair of men who knew that no -humiliation would procure them mercy.[72] Prynne lost the remainder of -his ears in the pillory; and the punishment was inflicted on them all -with extreme and designed cruelty, which they endured, as martyrs -always endure suffering, so heroically as to excite a deep impression -of sympathy and resentment in the assembled multitude.[73] They were -sentenced to perpetual confinement in distant prisons. But their -departure from London, and their reception on the road, were marked by -signal expressions of popular regard; and their friends resorting to -them even in Launceston, Chester, and Carnarvon castles, whither they -were sent, an order of council was made to transport them to the isles -of the Channel. It was the very first act of the long parliament to -restore these victims of tyranny to their families. Punishments by -mutilation, though not quite unknown to the English law, had been of -rare occurrence; and thus inflicted on men whose station appeared to -render the ignominy of whipping and branding more intolerable, they -produced much the same effect as the still greater cruelties of Mary's -reign, in exciting a detestation for that ecclesiastical dominion -which protected itself by means so atrocious. - -_Character of Laud._--The person on whom public hatred chiefly fell, -and who proved in a far more eminent degree than any other individual -the evil genius of this unhappy sovereign, was Laud. His talents, -though enabling him to acquire a large portion of theological -learning, seem to have been by no means considerable. There cannot be -a more contemptible work than his Diary; and his letters to Strafford -display some smartness, but no great capacity. He managed indeed his -own defence, when impeached, with some ability; but on such occasions, -ordinary men are apt to put forth a remarkable readiness and energy. -Laud's inherent ambition had impelled him to court the favour of -Buckingham, of Williams, and of both the kings under whom he lived, -till he rose to the see of Canterbury on Abbot's death, in 1633. No -one can deny that he was a generous patron of letters, and as warm in -friendship as in enmity. But he had placed before his eyes the -aggrandisement, first of the church, and next of the royal -prerogative, as his end and aim in every action. Though not literally -destitute of religion, it was so subordinate to worldly interest, and -so blended in his mind with the impure alloy of temporal pride, that -he became an intolerant persecutor of the puritan clergy, not from -bigotry, which in its usual sense he never displayed, but systematic -policy. And being subject, as his friends call it, to some infirmities -of temper, that is, choleric, vindictive, harsh, and even cruel to a -great degree, he not only took a prominent share in the severities of -the star-chamber, but, as his correspondence shows, perpetually -lamented that he was restrained from going further lengths.[74] - -Laud's extraordinary favour with the king, through which he became a -prime adviser in matters of state, rendered him secretly obnoxious to -most of the council, jealous, as ministers must always be, of a -churchman's overweening ascendancy. His faults, and even his virtues, -contributed to this odium. For being exempt from the thirst of lucre, -and, though in the less mature state of his fortunes a subtle -intriguer, having become frank through heat of temper and -self-confidence, he discountenanced all schemes to serve the private -interest of courtiers at the expense of his master's exhausted -treasury, and went right onward to his object, the exaltation of the -Church and Crown. He aggravated the invidiousness of his own -situation, and gave an astonishing proof of his influence, by placing -Juxon, Bishop of London, a creature of his own, in the greatest of all -posts, that of lord high-treasurer. Though Williams had lately been -lord-keeper of the seal, it seemed more preposterous to place the -treasurer's staff in the hands of a churchman, and of one so little -distinguished even in his own profession, that the archbishop -displayed his contempt of the rest of the council, especially -Cottington, who aspired to it, by such a recommendation.[75] He had -previously procured the office of secretary of state for Windebank. -But, though overawed by the king's infatuated partiality, the faction -adverse to Laud were sometimes able to gratify their dislike, or to -manifest their greater discretion, by opposing obstacles to his -impetuous spirit. - -_Lord Strafford._--Of these impediments, which a rash and ardent man -calls lukewarmness, indolence, and timidity, he frequently complains -in his correspondence with the lord-deputy of Ireland--that Lord -Wentworth, so much better known by the title of Earl of Strafford, -which he only obtained the year before his death, that we may give it -him by anticipation, whose doubtful fame and memorable end have made -him nearly the most conspicuous character of a reign so fertile in -recollections. Strafford had in his early years sought those local -dignities to which his ambition probably was at that time limited, the -representation of the county of York and the post of _custos -rotulorum_, through the usual channel of court favour. Slighted by the -Duke of Buckingham, and mortified at the preference shown to the head -of a rival family, Sir John Saville, he began to quit the cautious and -middle course he had pursued in parliament, and was reckoned among the -opposers of the administration after the accession of Charles.[76] He -was one of those who were made sheriffs of their counties, in order to -exclude them from the parliament of 1626. This inspired so much -resentment, that he signalised himself as a refuser of the arbitrary -loan exacted the next year, and was committed in consequence to -prison. He came to the third parliament with a determination to make -the court sensible of his power, and possibly with some real zeal for -the liberties of his country. But patriotism unhappily, in his -self-interested and ambitious mind, was the seed sown among thorns. He -had never lost sight of his hopes from the court; even a temporary -reconciliation with Buckingham had been effected in 1627, which the -favourite's levity soon broke; and he kept up a close connection with -the treasurer Weston. Always jealous of a rival, he contracted a -dislike for Sir John Eliot, and might suspect that he was likely to be -anticipated by that more distinguished patriot in royal favours.[77] -The hour of Wentworth's glory was when Charles assented to the -petition of right, in obtaining which, and in overcoming the king's -chicane and the hesitation of the Lords, he had been pre-eminently -conspicuous. From this moment he started aside from the path of true -honour; and being suddenly elevated to the peerage and a great post, -the presidency of the council of the North, commenced a splendid but -baleful career, that terminated at the scaffold.[78] After this fatal -apostasy he not only lost all solicitude about those liberties which -the petition of right had been designed to secure, but became their -deadliest and most shameless enemy. - -The council of the North was erected by Henry VIII. after the -suppression of the great insurrection of 1536. It had a criminal -jurisdiction in Yorkshire and the four more northern counties, as to -riots, conspiracies, and acts of violence. It had also, by its -original commission, a jurisdiction in civil suits, where either of -the parties were too poor to bear the expenses of a process at common -law; in which case the council might determine, as it seems, in a -summary manner, and according to equity. But this latter authority had -been held illegal by the judges under Elizabeth.[79] In fact, the -lawfulness of this tribunal in any respect was, to say the least, -highly problematical. It was regulated by instructions issued from -time to time under the great seal. Wentworth spared no pains to -enlarge the jurisdiction of his court. A commission issued in 1632, -empowering the council of the North to hear and determine all -offences, misdemeanours, suits, debates, controversies, demands, -causes, things, and matters whatsoever therein contained, within -certain precincts, namely, from the Humber to the Scots frontier. -They were specially appointed to hear and determine divers offences, -according to the course of the star-chamber, whether provided for by -act of parliament or not; to hear complaints according to the rules of -the court of chancery, and stay proceedings at common law by -injunction; to attach persons by their serjeant in any part of the -realm.[80] - -These inordinate powers, the soliciting and procuring of which, -especially by a person so well versed in the laws and constitution, -appears to be of itself a sufficient ground for impeachment, were -abused by Strafford to gratify his own pride, as well as to intimidate -the opposers of arbitrary measures. Proofs of this occur in the -prosecution of Sir David Foulis, in that of Mr. Bellasis, in that of -Mr. Maleverer, for the circumstances of which I refer the reader to -more detailed history.[81] - -Without resigning his presidency of the northern council, Wentworth -was transplanted in 1633 to a still more extensive sphere, as -lord-deputy of Ireland. This was the great scene on which he played -his part; it was here that he found abundant scope for his commanding -energy and imperious passions. The Richelieu of that island, he made -it wealthier in the midst of exactions, and, one might almost say, -happier in the midst of oppressions. He curbed subordinate tyranny; -but his own left a sting behind it that soon spread a deadly poison -over Ireland. But of his merits and his injustice towards that nation -I shall find a better occasion to speak. Two well-known instances of -his despotic conduct in respect to single persons may just be -mentioned; the deprivation and imprisonment of the lord chancellor -Loftus for not obeying an order of the privy council to make such a -settlement as they prescribed on his son's marriage--a stretch of -interference with private concerns which was aggravated by the -suspected familiarity of the lord-deputy with the lady who was to reap -advantage from it;[82] and, secondly, the sentence of death passed by -a council of war on Lord Mountnorris, in Strafford's presence, and -evidently at his instigation, on account of some very slight -expressions which he had used in private society. Though it was never -the deputy's intention to execute this judgment of his slaves, but to -humiliate and trample upon Mountnorris, the violence and indecency of -his conduct in it, his long persecution of the unfortunate prisoner -after the sentence, and his glorying in the act at all times, and even -on his own trial, are irrefragable proofs of such vindictive -bitterness as ought, if there were nothing else, to prevent any good -man from honouring his memory.[83] - -_Correspondence between Laud and Strafford._--The haughty and -impetuous primate found a congenial spirit in the lord-deputy. They -unbosom to each other, in their private letters, their ardent thirst -to promote the king's service by measures of more energy than they -were permitted to exercise. Do we think the administration of Charles -during the interval of parliaments rash and violent? They tell us it -was over-cautious and slow. Do we revolt from the severities of the -star-chamber? To Laud and Strafford they seemed the feebleness of -excessive lenity. Do we cast on the Crown lawyers the reproach of -having betrayed their country's liberties? We may find that, with -their utmost servility, they fell far behind the expectations of the -court, and their scruples were reckoned the chief shackles on the -half-emancipated prerogative. - -The system which Laud was longing to pursue in England, and which -Strafford approved, is frequently hinted at by the word Thorough. "For -the state," says he, "indeed, my lord, I am for Thorough; but I see -that both thick and thin stays somebody, where I conceive it should -not, and it is impossible to go thorough alone."[84] "I am very glad" -(in another letter) "to read your lordship so resolute, and more to -hear you affirm that the footing of them that go thorough for our -master's service is not upon fee, as it hath been. But you are withal -upon so many Ifs, that by their help you may preserve any man upon -ice, be it never so slippery. As first, if the common lawyers may be -contained within their ancient and sober bounds; if the word Thorough -be not left out, as I am certain it is; if we grow not faint; if we -ourselves be not in fault; if we come not to a _peccatum ex te_ -Israel; if others will do their parts as thoroughly as you promise for -yourself, and justly conceive of me. Now I pray, with so many and such -Ifs as these, what may not be done, and in a brave and noble way? But -can you tell when these Ifs will meet, or be brought together? -Howsoever, I am resolved to go on steadily in the way which you have -formerly seen me go; so that (to put in one _if_ too) if anything fail -of my hearty desires for the king and the church's service, the fault -shall not be mine."[85] "As for my marginal note" (he writes in -another place), "I see you deciphered it well" (they frequently -corresponded in cipher), "and I see you make use of it too; do so -still, thorough and thorough. Oh that I were where I might go so too! -but I am shackled between delays and uncertainties! you have a great -deal of honour for your proceedings; go on a God's name." "I have -done," he says some years afterwards, "with expecting of Thorough on -this side."[86] - -It is evident that the remissness of those with whom he was joined in -the administration, in not adopting or enforcing sufficiently -energetic measures, is the subject of the archbishop's complaint. -Neither he nor Strafford loved the treasurer Weston, nor Lord -Cottington, both of whom had a considerable weight in the council. But -it is more difficult to perceive in what respects the Thorough system -was disregarded. He cannot allude to the church, which he absolutely -governed through the high-commission court. The inadequate -punishments, as he thought them, imposed on the refractory, formed a -part, but not the whole, of his grievance. It appears to me that the -great aim of these two persons was to effect the subjugation of the -common lawyers. Some sort of tenderness for those constitutional -privileges, so indissolubly interwoven with the laws they -administered, adhered to the judges, even while they made great -sacrifices of their integrity at the instigation of the Crown. In the -case of habeas corpus, in that of ship-money, we find many of them -display a kind of half-compliance, a reservation, a distinction, an -anxiety to rest on precedents, which, though it did not save their -credit with the public, impaired it at court. On some more fortunate -occasions, as we have seen, they even manifested a good deal of -firmness in resisting what was urged on them. Chiefly, however, in -matter of prohibitions issuing from the ecclesiastical courts, they -were uniformly tenacious of their jurisdiction. Nothing could expose -them more to Laud's ill-will. I should not deem it improbable that he -had formed, or rather adopted from the canonists, a plan, not only of -rendering the spiritual jurisdiction independent, but of extending it -to all civil causes, unless perhaps in questions of freehold.[87] - -The presumption of common lawyers, and the difficulties they threw in -the way of the church and Crown, are frequent themes with the two -correspondents. "The church," says Laud, "is so bound up in the forms -of the common law, that it is not possible for me or for any man to do -that good which he would, or is bound to do. For your lordship sees, -no man clearer, that they which have gotten so much power in and over -the church will not let go their hold; they have indeed fangs with a -witness, whatsoever I was once said in passion to have."[88] Strafford -replies: "I know no reason but you may as well rule the common lawyers -in England as I, poor beagle, do here; and yet that I do, and will do, -in all that concerns my master, at the peril of my head. I am -confident that the king, being pleased to set himself in the business, -is able, by his wisdom and ministers, to carry any just and honourable -action through all imaginary opposition, for real there can be none; -that to start aside for such panic fears, fantastic apparitions as a -Prynne or an Eliot shall set up, were the meanest folly in the whole -world; that the debts of the Crown being taken off, you may govern as -you please; and most resolute I am that work may be done without -borrowing any help forth of the king's lodgings, and that it is as -downright a _peccatum ex te_ Israel as ever was, if all this be not -affected with speed and ease."[89]--Strafford's indignation at the -lawyers breaks out on other occasions. In writing to Lord Cottington, -he complains of a judge of assize who had refused to receive the -king's instructions to the council of the North in evidence, and -beseeches that he may be charged with this great misdemeanour before -the council-board. "I confess," he says, "I disdain to see the gownmen -in this sort hang their noses over the flowers of the crown."[90] It -was his endeavour in Ireland, as well as in Yorkshire, to obtain the -right of determining civil suits. "I find," he says, "that my Lord -Falkland was restrained by proclamation not to meddle in any cause -between party and party, which did certainly lessen his power -extremely: I know very well the common lawyers will be passionately -against it, who are wont to put such a prejudice upon all other -professions, as if none were to be trusted or capable to administer -justice but themselves; yet how well this suits with monarchy, when -they monopolise all to be governed by their year-books, you in England -have a costly experience; and I am sure his majesty's absolute power -is not weaker in this kingdom, where hitherto the deputy and -council-board have had a stroke with them."[91] The king indulged him -in this, with a restriction as to matters of inheritance. - -The cruelties exercised on Prynne and his associates have generally -been reckoned among the great reproaches of the primate. It has -sometimes been insinuated that they were rather the act of other -counsellors than his own. But his letters, as too often occurs, belie -this charitable excuse. He expresses in them no sort of humane -sentiment towards these unfortunate men, but the utmost indignation at -the oscitancy of those in power, which connived at the public -demonstrations of sympathy. "A little more quickness," he says, "in -the government would cure this itch of libelling. But what can you -think of Thorough when there shall be such slips in business of -consequence? What say you to it, that Prynne and his fellows should be -suffered to talk what they pleased while they stood in the pillory, -and win acclamations from the people? etc. By that which I have above -written, your lordship will see that the Triumviri will be far enough -from being kept dark. It is true that, when this business is spoken -of, some men speak as your lordship writes, that it concerns the king -and government more than me. But when anything comes to be acted -against them, be it but the execution of a sentence, in which lies the -honour and safety of all justice, yet there is little or nothing done, -nor shall I ever live to see it otherwise."[92] - -The lord deputy fully concurred in this theory of vigorous government. -They reasoned on such subjects as Cardinal Granville and the Duke of -Alva had reasoned before them. "A prince," he says in answer, "that -loseth the force and example of his punishments, loseth withal the -greatest part of his dominion. If the eyes of the Triumviri be not -sealed so close as they ought, they may perchance spy us out a shrewd -turn, when we least expect it. I fear we are hugely mistaken, and -misapply our charity thus pitying of them, where we should indeed much -rather pity ourselves. It is strange indeed," he observes in another -place, "to see the frenzy which possesseth the vulgar now-a-days, and -that the just displeasure and chastisement of a state should produce -greater estimation, nay reverence, to persons of no consideration -either for life or learning, than the greatest and highest trust and -employments shall be able to procure for others of unspotted -conversation, of most eminent virtues and deepest knowledge: a -grievous and overspreading leprosy! but where you mention a remedy, -sure it is not fitted for the hand of every physician; the cure under -God must be wrought by one Aesculapius alone, and that in my weak -judgment to be effected rather by corrosives than lenitives: less than -Thorough will not overcome it; there is a cancerous malignity in it, -which must be cut forth, which long since rejected all other means, -and therefore to God and him I leave it."[93] - -The honourable reputation that Strafford had earned before his -apostasy stood principally on two grounds; his refusal to comply with -a requisition of money without consent of parliament, and his -exertions in the petition of right which declared every such exaction -to be contrary to law. If any therefore be inclined to palliate his -arbitrary proceedings and principles in the executive administration, -his virtue will be brought to a test in the business of ship-money. If -he shall be found to have given countenance and support to that -measure, there must be an end of all pretence to integrity or -patriotism. But of this there are decisive proofs. He not only made -every exertion to enforce its payment in Yorkshire during the years -1639 and 1640, for which the peculiar dangers of that time might -furnish some apology, but long before, in his correspondence with -Laud, speaks thus of Mr. Hampden, deploring, it seems, the supineness -that had permitted him to dispute the Crown's claim with impunity. -"Mr. Hampden is a great brother [i.e. a puritan], and the very genius -of that people leads them always to oppose, as well civilly as -ecclesiastically, all that ever authority ordains for them; but in -good faith, were they right served, they should be whipt home into -their right wits, and much beholden they should be to any one that -would thoroughly take pains with them in that kind."[94] "In truth I -still wish, and take it also to be a very charitable one, Mr. H. and -others to his likeness were well whipt into their right senses; if -that the rod be so used as that it smarts not, I am the more -sorry."[95] - -Hutton, one of the judges who had been against the Crown in this case, -having some small favour to ask of Strafford, takes occasion in his -letter to enter on the subject of ship-money, mentioning his own -opinion in such a manner as to give the least possible offence, and -with all qualifications in favour of the Crown; commending even Lord -Finch's argument on the other side.[96] The lord deputy, answering his -letter after much delay, says, "I must confess, in a business of so -mighty importance, I shall the less regard the forms of pleading, and -do conceive, as it seems my Lord Finch pressed that the power of -levies of forces at sea and land for the very, not feigned, relief and -safety of the public, is a property of sovereignty, as, were the Crown -willing, it could not divest it thereof: Salus populi suprema lex; -nay, in cases of extremity even above acts of parliament," etc. - -It cannot be forgotten that the loan of 1626, for refusing which -Wentworth had suffered imprisonment, had been demanded in a season of -incomparably greater difficulty than that when ship-money was levied: -at the one time war had been declared against both France and Spain, -at the other the public tranquillity was hardly interrupted by some -bickerings with Holland. In avowing therefore the king's right to levy -money in cases of exigency, and to be the sole judge of that exigency, -he uttered a shameless condemnation of his former virtues. But lest -any doubt should remain of his perfect alienation from all principles -of limited monarchy, I shall produce still more conclusive proofs. He -was strongly and wisely against the war with Spain, into which -Charles's resentment at finding himself the dupe of that power in the -business of the Palatinate nearly hurried him in 1637. At this time -Strafford laid before the king a paper of considerations dissuading -him from this course, and pointing out particularly his want of -regular troops.[97] "It is plain indeed," he says, "that the opinion -delivered by the judges, declaring the lawfulness of the assessment -for the shipping, is the greatest service that profession hath done -the Crown in my time. But unless his majesty hath the like power -declared to raise a land army upon the same exigent of state, the -Crown seems to me to stand but upon one leg at home, to be -considerable but by halves to foreign powers. Yet this sure methinks -convinces a power for the sovereign to raise payments for land forces, -and consequently submits to his wisdom and ordinance the transporting -of the money or men into foreign states. Seeing then that this piece -well fortified for ever vindicates the royalty at home from under the -conditions and restraints of subjects, renders us also abroad even to -the greatest kings the most considerable monarchy in Christendom; -seeing again, this is a business to be attempted and won from the -subject in time of peace only, and the people first accustomed to -these levies, when they may be called upon, as by way of prevention -for our future safety, and keep his majesty thereby also moderator of -the peace of Christendom, rather than upon the bleeding evil of an -instant and active war; I beseech you, what piety to alliances is -there, that should divert a great and wise king forth of a path, which -leads so manifestly, so directly, to the establishing his own throne, -and the secure and independent seating of himself and posterity in -wealth, strength, and glory, far above any their progenitors, verily -in such a condition as there were no more hereafter to be wished them -in this world but that they would be very exact in their care for the -just and moderate government of their people, which might minister -back to them again the plenties and comforts of life, that they would -be most searching and severe in punishing the oppressions and wrongs -of their subjects, as well in the case of the public magistrate as of -private persons, and lastly to be utterly resolved to exercise this -power only for public and necessary uses; to spare them as much and -often as were possible; and that they never be wantonly vitiated or -misapplied to any private pleasure or person whatsoever? This being -indeed the very only means to preserve, as may be said, the chastity -of these levies, and to recommend their beauty so far forth to the -subject, as being thus disposed, it is to be justly hoped, they will -never grudge the parting with their monies.... - -"Perhaps it may be asked, where shall so great a sum be had? My answer -is, procure it from the subjects of England, and profitably for them -too. By this means preventing the raising upon them a land army for -defence of the kingdom, which would be by many degrees more -chargeable; and hereby also insensibly gain a precedent, and settle an -authority and right in the Crown to levies of that nature, which -thread draws after it many huge and great advantages, more proper to -be thought on at some other seasons than now." - -It is however remarkable that, with all Strafford's endeavours to -render the king absolute, he did not intend to abolish the use of -parliaments. This was apparently the aim of Charles; but, whether from -remains of attachment to the ancient forms of liberty surviving amidst -his hatred of the real essence, or from the knowledge that a -well-governed parliament is the best engine for extracting money from -the people, this able minister entertained very different views. He -urged accordingly the convocation of one in Ireland, pledging himself -for the experiment's success. And in a letter to a friend, after -praising all that had been done in it, "Happy it were," he proceeds, -"if we might live to see the like in England, everything in its -season; but in some cases it is as necessary there be a time to -forget, as in others to learn; and howbeit the peccant (if I may -without offence so term it) humour be not yet wholly purged forth, yet -do I conceive it in the way, and that once rightly corrected and -prepared, we may hope for a parliament of a sound constitution indeed; -but this must be the work of time, and of his majesty's excellent -wisdom; and this time it becomes us all to pray for and wait for, and -when God sends it, to make the right use of it."[98] - -These sentiments appear honourable and constitutional. But let it not -be hastily conceived that Strafford was a friend to the necessary and -ancient privileges of those assemblies to which he owed his rise. A -parliament was looked upon by him as a mere instrument of the -prerogative. Hence he was strongly against permitting any mutual -understanding among its members, by which they might form themselves -into parties, and acquire strength and confidence by previous concert. -"As for restraining any private meetings either before or during -parliament, saving only publicly in the house, I fully rest in the -same opinion, and shall be very watchful and attentive therein, as a -means which may rid us of a great trouble, and prevent many stones of -offence, which otherwise might by malignant spirits be cast in among -us."[99] And acting on this principle, he kept a watch on the Irish -parliament, to prevent those intrigues which his experience in England -had taught him to be the indispensable means of obtaining a control -over the Crown. Thus fettered and kept in awe, no one presuming to -take a lead in debate from uncertainty of support, parliaments would -have become such mockeries of their venerable name as the joint -contempt of the court and nation must soon have annihilated. Yet so -difficult is it to preserve this dominion over any representative -body, that the king judged far more discreetly than Strafford in -desiring to dispense entirely with their attendance. - -The passages which I have thus largely quoted will, I trust, leave -no doubt in any reader's mind that the Earl of Strafford was party -in a conspiracy to subvert the fundamental laws and liberties of -his country. For here are not, as on his trial, accusations of -words spoken in heat, uncertain as to proof, and of ambiguous -interpretation; nor of actions variously reported, and capable of some -explanation; but the sincere unbosoming of the heart in letters never -designed to come to light. And if we reflect upon this man's -cool-blooded apostasy on the first lure to his ambition, and on his -splendid abilities, which enhanced the guilt of that desertion, we -must feel some indignation at those who have palliated all his -iniquities, and even ennobled his memory with the attributes of -patriot heroism. Great he surely was, since that epithet can never be -denied without paradox to so much comprehension of mind, such ardour -and energy, such courage and eloquence; those commanding qualities of -soul, which, impressed upon his dark and stern countenance, struck his -contemporaries with mingled awe and hate, and still live in the -unfading colours of Vandyke.[100] But it may be reckoned as a -sufficient ground for distrusting any one's attachment to the English -constitution, that he reveres the name of the Earl of Strafford. - -_Conduct of Laud in the church prosecution of puritans._--It was -perfectly consonant to Laud's temper and principles of government to -extirpate, as far as in him lay, the lurking seeds of disaffection to -the Anglican church. But the course he followed could in nature have -no other tendency than to give them nourishment. His predecessor Abbot -had perhaps connived to a limited extent at some irregularities of -discipline in the puritanical clergy, judging not absurdly that their -scruples at a few ceremonies, which had been aggravated by a vexatious -rigour, would die away by degrees, and yield to that centripetal -force, that moral attraction towards uniformity and obedience to -custom, which Providence has rendered one of the great preservatives -of political society. His hatred to popery and zeal for Calvinism, -which undoubtedly were narrow and intolerant, as well as his avowed -disapprobation of those churchmen who preached up arbitrary power, -gained for this prelate the favour of the party denominated puritan. -In all these respects, no man could be more opposed to Abbot than his -successor. Besides reviving the prosecutions for nonconformity in -their utmost strictness, wherein many of the other bishops vied with -their primate, he most injudiciously, not to say wickedly endeavoured, -by innovations of his own, and by exciting alarms in the susceptible -consciences of pious men, to raise up new victims whom he might -oppress. Those who made any difficulty about his novel ceremonies, or -even who preached on the Calvinistic side, were harassed by the high -commission court as if they had been actual schismatics.[101] The most -obnoxious, if not the most indefensible, of these prosecutions were -for refusing to read what was called the Book of Sports; namely, a -proclamation, or rather a renewal of that issued in the late reign, -that certain feasts or wakes might be kept, and a great variety of -pastimes used on Sundays after evening service.[102] This was -reckoned, as I have already observed, one of the tests of puritanism. -But whatever superstition there might be in that party's judaical -observance of the day they called the sabbath, it was in itself -preposterous, and tyrannical in its intention, to enforce the reading -in churches of this licence or rather recommendation of festivity. The -precise clergy refused in general to comply with the requisition, and -were suspended or deprived in consequence. Thirty of them were -excommunicated in the single diocese of Norwich; but as that part of -England was rather conspicuously puritanical, and the bishop, one -Wren, was the worst on the bench, it is highly probable that the -general average fell short of this.[103] - -Besides the advantage of detecting a latent bias in the clergy, it is -probable that the high church prelates had a politic end in the Book -of Sports. The morose gloomy spirit of puritanism was naturally odious -to the young and to men of joyous tempers. The comedies of that age -are full of sneers at their formality. It was natural to think that, -by enlisting the common propensities of mankind to amusement on the -side of the established church, they might raise a diversion against -that fanatical spirit which can hardly long continue to be the -prevailing temperament of a nation. The church of Rome, from which no -ecclesiastical statesman would disdain to take a lesson, had for many -ages perceived, and acted upon the principle, that it is the policy of -governments to encourage a love of pastime and recreation in the -people; both because it keeps them from speculating on religious and -political matters, and because it renders them more cheerful, and less -sensible to the evils of their condition; and it may be remarked by -the way, that the opposite system, so long pursued in this country, -whether from a puritanical spirit, or from the wantonness of petty -authority, has no such grounds of policy to recommend it. Thus much at -least is certain, that when the puritan party employed their authority -in proscribing all diversions, in enforcing all the Jewish rigour -about the sabbath, and gave that repulsive air of austerity to the -face of England of which so many singular illustrations are recorded, -they rendered their own yoke intolerable to the youthful and gay; nor -did any other cause perhaps so materially contribute to bring about -the Restoration. But mankind love sport as little as prayer by -compulsion; and the immediate effect of the king's declaration was to -produce a far more scrupulous abstinence from diversions on Sundays -than had been practised before. - -The resolution so evidently taken by the court, to admit of no half -conformity in religion, especially after Laud had obtained an -unlimited sway over the king's mind, convinced the puritans that -England could no longer afford them an asylum. The state of Europe was -not such as to encourage their emigration, though many were well -received in Holland. But, turning their eyes to the newly-discovered -regions beyond the Atlantic Ocean, they saw a secure place of refuge -from present tyranny, and a boundless prospect for future hope. They -obtained from the Crown the charter of Massachusetts Bay in 1629. -About three hundred and fifty persons, chiefly or wholly of the -independent sect, sailed with the first fleet. So many followed in the -subsequent years, that these New England settlements have been -supposed to have drawn near half a million of money from the mother -country before the civil wars.[104] Men of a higher rank than the -first colonists, and now become hopeless alike of the civil and -religious liberties of England, men of capacious and commanding minds, -formed to be the legislators and generals of an infant republic, the -wise and cautious Lord Say, the acknowledged chief of the independent -sect, the brave, open, and enthusiastic Lord Brook, Sir Arthur -Haslerig, Hampden, ashamed of a country for whose rights he had fought -alone, Cromwell, panting with energies that he could neither control -nor explain, and whose unconquerable fire was still wrapt in smoke to -every eye but that of his kinsman Hampden, were preparing to embark -for America, when Laud, for his own and his master's curse, produced -an order of council to stop their departure.[105] Besides the -reflections which such an instance of destructive infatuation must -suggest, there are two things not unworthy to be remarked: first, that -these chiefs of the puritan sect, far from entertaining those schemes -of overturning the government at home that have been imputed to them, -looked only in 1638 to escape from imminent tyranny; and, secondly, -that the views of the archbishop were not so much to render the Church -and Crown secure from the attempts of disaffected men, as to gratify a -malignant humour by persecuting them. - -_Favour shown to catholics--Tendency to their religion._--These severe -proceedings of the court and hierarchy became more odious on account -of their suspected leaning, or at least notorious indulgence, towards -popery. With some fluctuations, according to circumstances or changes -of influence in the council, the policy of Charles was to wink at the -domestic exercise of the catholic religion, and to admit its -professors to pay compositions for recusancy which were not regularly -enforced.[106] The catholics willingly submitted to this mitigated -rigour, in the sanguine expectation of far more prosperous days. I -shall, of course, not censure this part of his administration. Nor can -we say that the connivance at the resort of catholics to the queen's -chapel in Somerset House, though they used it with much ostentation, -and so as to give excessive scandal, was any more than a just sense of -toleration would have dictated.[107] Unfortunately, the prosecution of -other sectaries renders it difficult to ascribe such a liberal -principle to the council of Charles the First. It was evidently true, -what the nation saw with alarm, that a proneness to favour the -professors of this religion, and to a considerable degree the religion -itself, was at the bottom of a conduct so inconsistent with their -system of government. The king had been persuaded, in 1635, through -the influence of the queen, and probably of Laud,[108] to receive -privately, as an accredited agent from the court of Rome, a secular -priest, named Panzani, whose ostensible instructions were to effect a -reconciliation of some violent differences that had long subsisted -between the secular and regular clergy of his communion. The chief -motive however of Charles was, as I believe, so far to conciliate the -pope as to induce him to withdraw his opposition to the oath of -allegiance, which had long placed the catholic laity in a very -invidious condition, and widened a breach which his majesty had some -hopes of closing. For this purpose he offered any reasonable -explanation which might leave the oath free from the slightest -appearance of infringing the papal supremacy. But it was not the -policy of Rome to make any concession, or even enter into any treaty, -that might tend to impair her temporal authority. It was better for -her pride and ambition that the English catholics should continue to -hew wood and draw water, their bodies the law's slaves, and their -souls her own, than, by becoming the willing subjects of a protestant -sovereign, that they should lose that sense of dependency and habitual -deference to her commands in all worldly matters, which states wherein -their faith stood established had ceased to display. She gave -therefore no encouragement to the proposed explanations of the oath of -allegiance, and even instructed her nuncio Con, who succeeded Panzani, -to check the precipitance of the English catholics in contributing men -and money towards the army raised against Scotland, in 1639.[109] -There might indeed be some reasonable suspicion that the court did not -play quite fairly with this body, and was more eager to extort what it -could from their hopes than to make any substantial return. - -The favour of the administration, as well as the antipathy that every -parliament had displayed towards them, not unnaturally rendered the -catholics, for the most part, asserters of the king's arbitrary -power.[110] This again increased the popular prejudice. But nothing -excited so much alarm as the perpetual conversions to their faith. -These had not been quite unusual in any age since the Reformation, -though the balance had been very much inclined to the opposite side. -They became however under Charles the news of every day; protestant -clergymen in several instances, but especially women of rank, becoming -proselytes to a religion so seductive to the timid reason and sensible -imagination of that sex. They whose minds have never strayed into the -wilderness of doubt, vainly deride such as sought out the beaten path -their fathers had trodden in old times; they whose temperament gives -little play to the fancy and sentiment, want power to comprehend the -charm of superstitious illusions, the satisfaction of the conscience -in the performance of positive rites, especially with privation or -suffering, the victorious self-gratulation of faith in its triumph -over reason, the romantic tenderness that loves to rely on female -protection, the graceful associations of devotion with all that the -sense or the imagination can require--the splendid vestment, the -fragrant censer, the sweet sounds of choral harmony, and the -sculptured form that an intense piety half endows with life. These -springs were touched, as the variety of human character might require, -by the skilful hands of Romish priests, chiefly jesuits, whose numbers -in England were about 250,[111] concealed under a lay garb, and -combining the courteous manners of gentlemen with a refined experience -of mankind, and a logic in whose labyrinths the most practical -reasoner was perplexed. Against these fascinating wiles the puritans -opposed other weapons from the same armoury of human nature; they -awakened the pride of reason, the stern obstinacy of dispute, the -names, so soothing to the ear, of free enquiry and private judgment. -They inspired an abhorrence of the adverse party that served as a -barrier against insidious approaches. But far different principles -actuated the prevailing party in the church of England. A change had -for some years been wrought in its tenets, and still more in its -sentiments, which, while it brought the whole body into a sort of -approximation to Rome, made many individuals shoot as it were from -their own sphere, on coming within the stronger attraction of another. - -The charge of inclining towards popery, brought by one of our -religious parties against Laud and his colleagues with invidious -exaggeration, has been too indignantly denied by another. Much indeed -will depend on the definition of that obnoxious word; which one may -restrain to an acknowledgment of the supremacy in faith and discipline -of the Roman see; while another comprehends in it all those tenets -which were rejected as corruptions of Christianity at the Reformation; -and a third may extend it to the ceremonies and ecclesiastical -observances which were set aside at the same time. In this last and -most enlarged sense, which the vulgar naturally adopted, it is -notorious that all the innovations of the school of Laud were so many -approaches, in the exterior worship of the church, to the Roman model. -Pictures were set up or repaired; the communion-table took the name of -an altar; it was sometimes made of stone; obeisances were made to it; -the crucifix was sometimes placed upon it; the dress of the -officiating priests became more gaudy; churches were consecrated with -strange and mystical pageantry.[112] These petty superstitions, which -would of themselves have disgusted a nation accustomed to despise as -well as abhor the pompous rites of the catholics, became more alarming -from the evident bias of some leading churchmen to parts of the Romish -theology. The doctrine of a real presence, distinguishable only by -vagueness of definition from that of the church of Rome, was generally -held.[113] Montagu, Bishop of Chichester, already so conspicuous, and -justly reckoned the chief of the Romanising faction, went a -considerable length towards admitting the invocation of saints; -prayers for the dead, which lead at once to the tenet of purgatory, -were vindicated by many; in fact, there was hardly any distinctive -opinion of the church of Rome, which had not its abettors among the -bishops, or those who wrote under their patronage. The practice of -auricular confession, which an aspiring clergy must so deeply regret, -was frequently inculcated as a duty. And Laud gave just offence by a -public declaration, that in the disposal of benefices he should, in -equal degrees of merit, prefer single before married priests.[114] -They incurred scarcely less odium by their dislike of the Calvinistic -system, and by what ardent men construed into a dereliction of the -protestant cause, a more reasonable and less dangerous theory on the -nature and reward of human virtue, than that which the fanatical and -presumptuous spirit of Luther had held forth as the most fundamental -principle of his Reformation. - -It must be confessed that these English theologians were less -favourable to the papal supremacy than to most other distinguishing -tenets of the catholic church. Yet even this they were inclined to -admit in a considerable degree, as a matter of positive, though not -divine institution; content to make the doctrine and discipline of the -fifth century the rule of their bastard reform. An extreme reverence -for what they called the primitive church had been the source of their -errors. The first reformers had paid little regard to that authority. -But as learning, by which was then meant an acquaintance with -ecclesiastical antiquity, grew more general in the church, it -gradually inspired more respect for itself; and men's judgment in -matters of religion came to be measured by the quantity of their -erudition.[115] The sentence of the early writers, including the fifth -and perhaps sixth centuries, if it did not pass for infallible, was of -prodigious weight in controversy. No one in the English church seems -to have contributed so much towards this relapse into superstition as -Andrews, Bishop of Winchester, a man of eminent learning in this kind, -who may be reckoned the founder of the school wherein Laud was the -most prominent disciple.[116] - -A characteristic tenet of this party was, as I have already observed, -that episcopal government was indispensably requisite to a Christian -church.[117] Hence they treated the presbyterians with insolence -abroad, and severity at home. A brief to be read in churches for the -sufferers in the Palatinate having been prepared, wherein they were -said to profess the same religion as ourselves, Laud insisted on this -being struck out.[118] The Dutch and Walloon churches in England, -which had subsisted since the Reformation, and which various motives -of policy had led Elizabeth to protect, were harassed by the primate -and other bishops for their want of conformity to the Anglican -ritual.[119] The English ambassador, instead of frequenting the -Hugonot church at Charenton, as had been the former practice, was -instructed to disclaim all fraternity with their sect, and set up in -his own chapel the obnoxious altar and the other innovations of the -hierarchy.[120] These impolitic and insolent proceedings gave the -foreign protestants a hatred of Charles, which they retained through -all his misfortunes. - -This alienation from the foreign churches of the reformed persuasion -had scarcely so important an effect in begetting a predilection for -that of Rome, as the language frequently held about the Anglican -separation. It became usual for our churchmen to lament the -precipitancy with which the Reformation had been conducted, and to -inveigh against its principal instruments. The catholic writers had -long descanted on the lust and violence of Henry, the pretended -licentiousness of Anne Boleyn, the rapacity of Cromwell, the pliancy -of Cranmer; sometimes with great truth, but with much of invidious -misrepresentation. These topics, which have no kind of operation on -men accustomed to sound reasoning, produce an unfailing effect on -ordinary minds. Nothing incurred more censure than the dissolution of -the monastic orders, or at least the alienation of their endowments; -acts accompanied, as we must all admit, with great rapacity and -injustice, but which the new school branded with the name of -sacrilege. Spelman, an antiquary of eminent learning, was led by -bigotry or subserviency to compose a wretched tract called the -"History of Sacrilege," with a view to confirm the vulgar superstition -that the possession of estates alienated from the church entailed a -sure curse on the usurper's posterity. There is some reason to suspect -that the king entertained a project of restoring all impropriated -hereditaments to the church. - -It is alleged by one who had much access to Laud, that his object in -these accommodations was to draw over the more moderate catholics to -the English church, by extenuating the differences of her faith, and -rendering her worship more palatable to their prejudices.[121] There -was, however, good reason to suspect, from the same writer's account, -that some leading ecclesiastics entertained schemes of a complete -re-union;[122] and later discoveries have abundantly confirmed this -suspicion. Such schemes have doubtless been in the minds of men not -inclined to offer every sacrifice; and during this very period Grotius -was exerting his talents (whether judiciously or otherwise we need not -enquire) to make some sort of reconciliation and compromise appear -practicable. But we now know that the views of a party in the English -church were much more extensive, and went almost to an entire -dereliction of the protestant doctrine. - -The catholics did not fail to anticipate the most favourable -consequences from this turn in the church. The _Clarendon State -Papers_, and many other documents, contain remarkable proofs of their -sanguine and not unreasonable hopes. Weston, the lord treasurer, and -Cottington, were already in secret of their persuasion; though the -former did not take much pains to promote their interests. No one, -however, showed them such decided favour as Secretary Windebank, -through whose hands a correspondence was carried on with the court of -Rome by some of its agents.[123] They exult in the peaceful and -flourishing state of their religion in England as compared with former -times. The recusants, they write, were not molested; and if their -compositions were enforced, it was rather from the king's want of -money than any desire to injure their religion. Their rites were -freely exercised in the queen's chapel and those of ambassadors, and, -more privately, in the houses of the rich. The church of England was -no longer exasperated against them; if there was ever any prosecution, -it was to screen the king from the reproach of the puritans. They drew -a flattering picture of the resipiscence of the Anglican party; who -are come to acknowledge the truth in some articles, and differ in -others rather verbally than in substance, or in points not -fundamental; who hold all other protestants to be schismatical, and -confess the primacy of the holy see, regretting the separation already -made, and wishing for re-union; who profess to pay implicit respect -to the fathers, and can best be assailed on that side.[124] - -These letters contain, no doubt, a partial representation; that is, -they impute to the Anglican clergy in general, what was only true of a -certain number. Their aim was to inspire the court of Rome with more -favourable views of that of England, and thus to pave the way for a -permission of the oath of allegiance, at least with some modification -of its terms. Such flattering tales naturally excited the hopes of the -Vatican, and contributed to the mission of Panzani, who was instructed -to feel the pulse of the nation, and communicate more unbiassed -information to his court than could be expected from the English -priests. He confirmed, by his letters, the general truth of the former -statements, as to the tendency of the Anglican church, and the -favourable dispositions of the court. The king received him secretly, -but with much courtesy; the queen and the catholic ministers, -Cottington and Windebank, with unreserved confidence. It required all -the adroitness of an Italian emissary from the subtlest of courts to -meet their demonstrations of friendship without too much committing -his employers. Nor did Panzani altogether satisfy the pope, or at -least his minister, Cardinal Barberini, in this respect.[125] - -During the residence of Panzani in England, an extraordinary -negotiation was commenced for the reconciliation of the church of -England with that of Rome; and, as this fact, though unquestionable, -is very little known, I may not be thought to digress in taking -particular notice of it. Windebank and Lord Cottington were the first -movers in that business; both calling themselves to Panzani catholics, -as in fact they were, but claiming all those concessions from the see -of Rome which had been sometimes held out in the preceding century. -Bishop Montagu soon made himself a party, and had several interviews -with Panzani. He professed the strongest desire for a union, and added -that he was satisfied both the archbishops, the Bishop of London, and -several others of that order, besides many of the inferior clergy, -were prepared to acknowledge the spiritual supremacy of the holy see; -there being no method of ending controversies but by recurring to some -centre of ecclesiastical unity. For himself, he knew no tenet of the -Roman church to which he would not subscribe, unless it were that of -transubstantiation, though he had some scruples as to communion in one -kind. But a congress of moderate and learned men, chosen on each side, -might reduce the disputed points into small compass, and confer upon -them. - -This overture being communicated to Rome by its agent, was of course, -too tempting to be disregarded, though too ambiguous to be snatched -at. The re-union of England to the catholic church, in itself a most -important advantage, might, at that particular juncture, during the -dubious struggle of the protestant religion in Germany, and its still -more precarious condition in France, very probably reduce its -adherents throughout Europe to a proscribed and persecuted sect. -Panzani was therefore instructed to flatter Montagu's vanity, to -manifest a great desire for reconciliation, but not to favour any -discussion of controverted points, which had always proved fruitless, -and which could not be admitted till the supreme authority of the holy -see was recognised. As to all usages founded on positive law, which -might be disagreeable to the English nation, they should receive as -much mitigation as the case would bear. This, of course, alluded to -the three great points of discipline, or ecclesiastical -institution--the celibacy of the clergy, the exclusion of the laity -from the eucharistical cup, and the Latin liturgy. - -In the course of the bishop's subsequent interviews, he again -mentioned his willingness to acknowledge the pope's supremacy; and -assured Panzani that the archbishop was entirely of his mind, but with -a great mixture of fear and caution.[126] Three bishops only, Morton, -Hall, and Davenant, were obstinately bent against the church of Rome; -the rest might be counted moderate.[127] The agent, however, took care -to obtain from another quarter a more particular account of each -bishop's disposition, and transmitted to Rome a report, which does not -appear. Montagu displayed a most unguarded warmth in all this treaty; -notwithstanding which, Panzani suspected him of still entertaining -some notions incompatible with the catholic doctrine. He behaved with -much greater discretion than the bishop; justly, I suppose, -distrusting the influence of a man who showed so little capacity for a -business of the utmost delicacy. It appears almost certain that -Montagu made too free with the name of the archbishop, and probably of -many others; and it is well worthy of remark, that the popish party -did not entertain any sanguine hopes of the king's conversion. They -expected doubtless that, by gaining over the hierarchy, they should -induce him to follow; but he had evidently given no reason to imagine -that he would precede. A few casual words, not perhaps exactly -reported, might sometimes elate their hopes, but cannot excite in us, -who are better able to judge than his contemporaries, any reasonable -suspicion of his constancy. Yet it is not impossible that he might at -one time conceive a union to be more practicable than it really -was.[128] - -The court of Rome omitted no token of civility or good will to -conciliate our king's favour. Besides expressions of paternal kindness -which Urban lavished on him, Cardinal Barberini gratified his -well-known taste by a present of pictures. Charles showed a due sense -of these courtesies. The prosecutions of recusants were absolutely -stopped, by cashiering the pursuivants who had been employed in the -odious office of detecting them. It was arranged that reciprocal -diplomatic relations should be established, and consequently that an -English agent should constantly reside at the court of Rome, by the -nominal appointment of the queen, but empowered to conduct the various -negotiations in hand. Through the first person who held this station, -a gentleman of the name of Hamilton, the king made an overture on a -matter very near to his heart, the restitution of the Palatinate. I -have no doubt that the whole of his imprudent tampering with Rome had -been considerably influenced by this chimerical hope. But it was -apparent to every man of less unsound judgment than Charles, that -except the young elector would renounce the protestant faith, he could -expect nothing from the intercession of the pope. - -After the first preliminaries, which she could not refuse to enter -upon, the court of Rome displayed no eagerness for a treaty which it -found, on more exact information, to be embarrassed with greater -difficulties than its new allies had confessed.[129] Whether this -subject continued to be discussed during the mission of Con, who -succeeded Panzani, is hard to determine; because the latter's memoirs, -our unquestionable authority for what has been above related, cease to -afford us light. But as Con was a very active intriguer for his court, -it is by no means unlikely that he proceeded in the same kind of -parley with Montagu and Windebank. Yet whatever might pass between -them was intended rather with a view to the general interests of the -Roman church, than to promote a reconciliation with that of England, -as a separate contracting party. The former has displayed so -systematic a policy to make no concession to the reformers, either in -matters of belief, wherein, since the council of Trent, she could in -fact do nothing, or even, as far as possible, in points of discipline, -as to which she judged, perhaps rightly, that her authority would be -impaired by the precedent of concession without any proportionate -advantage: so unvarying in all cases has been her determination to -yield nothing except through absolute force, and to elude force itself -by every subtlety that it is astonishing how honest men on the -opposite side (men, that is, who seriously intended to preserve any -portion of their avowed tenets, not such as Montagu or Heylin,) could -ever contemplate the possibility of reconciliation. Upon the present -occasion, she manifested some alarm at the boasted approximation of -the Anglicans. The attraction of bodies is reciprocal; and the English -catholics might, with so much temporal interest in the scale, be -impelled more rapidly towards the established church than that church -towards them. "Advise the clergy," say the instructions to the nuncio -in 1639, "to desist from that foolish, nay rather illiterate and -childish, custom of distinction in the protestant and puritan -doctrine; and especially this error is so much the greater, when they -undertake to prove that protestantism is a degree nearer to the -catholic faith than the other. For since both of them be without the -verge of the church, it is needless hypocrisy to speak of it, yea, it -begets more malice than it is worth."[130] - -This exceeding boldness of the catholic party, and their success in -conversions, which were, in fact, less remarkable for their number -than for the condition of the persons, roused the primate himself to -some apprehension. He preferred a formal complaint to the king in -council against the resort of papists to the queen's chapel, and the -insolence of some active zealots about the court.[131] Henrietta, who -had courted his friendship, and probably relied on his connivance, if -not support, seems never to have forgiven this unexpected attack. Laud -gave another testimony of his unabated hostility to popery by -republishing with additions his celebrated conference with the jesuit -Fisher, a work reckoned the great monument of his learning and -controversial acumen. This conference had taken place many years -before, at the desire and in the presence of the Countess of -Buckingham, the duke's mother. Those who are conversant with literary -and ecclesiastical anecdote must be aware that nothing was more usual -in the seventeenth century than such single combats under the eye of -some fair lady whose religious faith was to depend upon the victory. -The wily and polished jesuits had great advantages in these duels, -which almost always, I believe, ended in their favour. After fatiguing -their gentle arbitress for a time with the tedious fencing of text and -citation, till she felt her own inability to award the palm, they came -with their prejudices already engaged, to the necessity of an -infallible judge; and as their adversaries of the English church had -generally left themselves vulnerable on this side, there was little -difficulty in obtaining success. Like Hector in the spoils of -Patroclus, our clergy had assumed to themselves the celestial armour -of authority; but found that, however it might intimidate the -multitude, it fitted them too ill to repel the spear that had been -wrought in the same furnace. A writer of this school in the age of -Charles the First, and incomparably superior to any of the churchmen -belonging to it, in the brightness and originality of his genius, Sir -Thomas Brown, whose varied talents wanted nothing but the controlling -supremacy of good sense to place him in the highest rank of our -literature, will furnish a better instance of the prevailing bias than -merely theological writings. He united a most acute and sceptical -understanding with strong devotional sensibility, the temperament so -conspicuous in Pascal and Johnson, and which has a peculiar tendency -to seek the repose of implicit faith. "Where the Scripture is silent," -says Brown in his _Religio Medici_, "the church is my text; where it -speaks, 'tis but my comment." That jesuit must have been a disgrace to -his order, who would have asked more than such a concession to secure -a proselyte--the right of interpreting whatever was written, and of -supplying whatever was not. - -_Chillingworth._--At this time, however, appeared one man in the field -of religious debate, who struck out from that insidious tract, of -which his own experience had shown him the perils. Chillingworth, on -whom nature had bestowed something like the same constitutional -temperament as that to which I have just adverted, except that the -reasoning power having a greater mastery, his religious sensibility -rather gave earnestness to his love of truth than tenacity to his -prejudices, had been induced, like so many others, to pass over to the -Roman church. The act of transition, it may be observed, from a system -of tenets wherein men had been educated, was in itself a vigorous -exercise of free speculation, and might be termed the suicide of -private judgment. But in Chillingworth's restless mind there was an -inextinguishable scepticism that no opiates could subdue; yet a -scepticism of that species which belongs to a vigorous, not that which -denotes a feeble understanding. Dissatisfied with his new opinions, of -which he had never been really convinced, he panted to breathe the -freer air of protestantism, and after a long and anxious investigation -returned to the English church. He well redeemed any censure that -might have been thrown on him, by his great work in answer to the -jesuit Knott, entitled _The Religion of Protestants a Safe Way to -Salvation_. In the course of his reflections he had perceived the -insecurity of resting the reformation on any but its original basis, -the independency of private opinion. This, too, he asserted with a -fearlessness and consistency hitherto little known, even within the -protestant pale; combining it with another principle, which the zeal -of the early reformers had rendered them unable to perceive, and for -want of which the adversary had perpetually discomfited them, namely, -that the errors of conscientious men do not forfeit the favour of God. -This endeavour to mitigate the dread of forming mistaken judgments in -religion runs through the whole work of Chillingworth, and marks him -as the founder, in this country, of what has been called the -latitudinarian school of theology. In this view, which has practically -been the most important one of the controversy, it may pass for an -anticipated reply to the most brilliant performance on the opposite -side, _The History of the Variations of Protestant Churches_; and -those who, from a delight in the display of human intellect, or from -more serious motives of inquiry, are led to these two master-pieces, -will have seen, perhaps, the utmost strength that either party, in the -great schism of Christendom, has been able to put forth. - -This celebrated work, which gained its author the epithet of immortal, -is now, I suspect little studied even by the clergy. It is, no doubt, -somewhat tedious, when read continuously, from the frequent recurrence -of the same strain of reasoning, and from his method of following, -sentence by sentence, the steps of his opponent; a method which, while -it presents an immediate advantage to controversial writers, as it -heightens their reputation at the expense of their adversary, is apt -to render them very tiresome to posterity. But the closeness and -precision of his logic, which this mode of incessant grappling with -his antagonist served to display, are so admirable, perhaps, indeed, -hardly rivalled in any book beyond the limits of strict science, that -the study of Chillingworth might tend to chastise the verbose and -indefinite declamation so characteristic of the present day. His -style, though by no means elegant or imaginative, has much of a -nervous energy that rises into eloquence. He is chiefly, however, -valuable for a true liberality and tolerance; far removed from -indifference, as may well be thought of one whose life was consumed in -searching for truth, but diametrically adverse to those pretensions -which seem of late years to have been regaining ground among the -Anglican divines. - -_Hales._--The latitudinarian principles of Chillingworth appear to -have been confirmed by his intercourse with a man, of whose capacity -his contemporaries entertained so high an admiration, that he acquired -the distinctive appellation of the ever-memorable John Hales. This -testimony of so many enlightened men is not to be disregarded, even if -we should be of opinion that the writings of Hales, though abounding -with marks of an unshackled mind, do not quite come up to the promise -of his name. He had, as well as Chillingworth, borrowed from Leyden, -perhaps a little from Racow, a tone of thinking upon some doctrinal -points as yet nearly unknown, and therefore highly obnoxious in -England. More hardy than his friend, he wrote a short treatise on -schism, which tended, in pretty blunt and unlimited language, to -overthrow the scheme of authoritative decisions in any church, -pointing at the imposition of unnecessary ceremonies and articles of -faith, as at once the cause and the apology of separation. This having -been circulated in manuscript, came to the knowledge of Laud, who sent -for Hales to Lambeth, and questioned him as to his opinions on that -matter. Hales, though willing to promise that he would not publish the -tract, receded not a jot from his free notions of ecclesiastical -power; which he again advisedly maintained in a letter to the -archbishop, now printed among his works. The result was equally -honourable to both parties; Laud bestowing a canonry of Windsor on -Hales, which, after so bold an avowal of his opinion, he might accept -without the slightest reproach. A behaviour so liberal forms a -singular contrast to the rest of this prelate's history. It is a -proof, no doubt, that he knew how to set such a value on great -abilities and learning, as to forgive much that wounded his pride. But -besides that Hales had not made public this treatise on schism, for -which I think he could not have escaped the high commission court, he -was known by Laud to stand far aloof from the Calvinistic sectaries, -having long since embraced in their full extent the principles of -Episcopius, and to mix no alloy of political faction with the -philosophical hardiness of his speculations.[132] - -These two remarkable ornaments of the English church, who dwelt apart -like stars, to use the fine expression of a living poet, from the -vulgar bigots of both her factions, were accustomed to meet, in the -society of some other eminent persons, at the house of Lord Falkland -near Burford. One of those, who, then in a ripe and learned youth, -became afterwards so conspicuous a name in our annals and our -literature, Mr. Hyde, the chosen bosom-friend of his host, has dwelt -with affectionate remembrance on the conversations of that mansion. -His marvellous talent of delineating character, a talent, I think, -unrivalled by any writer (since, combining the bold outline of the -ancient historians with the analytical minuteness of De Retz and St. -Simon, it produces a higher effect than either), is never more -beautifully displayed than in that part of the memoirs of his life, -where Falkland, Hales, Chillingworth, and the rest of his early -friends, pass over the scene. - -For almost thirty ensuing years, Hyde himself becomes the companion of -our historical reading. Seven folio volumes contain his _History of -the Rebellion_, his _Life_, and the _Letters_, of which a large -portion are his own. We contract an intimacy with an author who has -poured out to us so much of his heart. Though Lord Clarendon's chief -work seems to me not quite accurately styled a history, belonging -rather to the class of memoirs,[133] yet the very reasons of this -distinction, the long circumstantial narrative of events wherein he -was engaged, and the slight notice of those which he only learned from -others, render it more interesting, if not more authentic. Conformably -to human feelings, though against the rules of historical composition, -it bears the continual impress of an intense concern about what he -relates. This depth of personal interest, united frequently with an -eloquence of the heart and imagination that struggles through an -involved, incorrect, and artificial diction, makes it, one would -imagine, hardly possible for those most alien from his sentiments to -read his writings without some portion of sympathy. But they are on -this account not a little dangerous to the soundness of our historical -conclusions; the prejudices of Clarendon, and his negligence as to -truth, being full as striking as his excellencies, and leading him not -only into many erroneous judgments, but into frequent inconsistencies. - -_Animadversions on Clarendon's account of this period._--These -inconsistencies are nowhere so apparent as in the first or -introductory book of his history, which professes to give a general -view of the state of affairs before the meeting of the long -parliament. It is certainly the most defective part of his work. A -strange mixture of honesty and disingenuousness pervades all he has -written of the early years of the king's reign; retracting, at least -in spirit, in almost every page what has been said in the last, from a -constant fear that he may have admitted so much against the government -as to make his readers impute too little blame to those who opposed -it. Thus, after freely censuring the exactions of the Crown, whether -on the score of obsolete prerogative or without any just pretext at -all, especially that of ship-money, and confessing that "those -foundations of right, by which men valued their security, were never, -to the apprehension and understanding of wise men, in more danger of -being destroyed," he turns to dwell on the prosperous state of the -kingdom during this period, "enjoying the greatest calm and the -fullest measure of felicity that any people in any age for so long -time together have been blessed with," till he works himself up to a -strange paradox, that "many wise men thought it a time wherein those -two adjuncts, which Nerva was edified for uniting, Imperium et -Libertas, were as well reconciled as is possible." - -Such wisdom was not, it seems, the attribute of the nation. "These -blessings," he says, "could but enable, not compel, us to be happy; we -wanted that sense, acknowledgement, and value of our own happiness -which all but we had, and took pains to make, when we could not find, -ourselves miserable. There was, in truth, a strange absence of -understanding in most, and a strange perverseness of understanding in -the rest; the court full of excess, idleness, and luxury; the country -full of pride, mutiny, and discontent; every man more troubled and -perplexed at that they called the violation of the law, than delighted -or pleased with the observation of all the rest of the charter; never -imputing the increase of their receipts, revenue, and plenty, to the -wisdom, virtue, and merit of the Crown, but objecting every small -imposition to the exorbitancy and tyranny of the government."[134] - -This strange passage is as inconsistent with other parts of the same -chapter, and with Hyde's own conduct at the beginning of the -parliament, as it is with all reasonable notions of government.[135] -For if kings and ministers may plead in excuse for violating one law, -that they have not transgressed the rest (though it would be difficult -to name any violation of law that Charles had not committed); if this -were enough to reconcile their subjects, and to make dissatisfaction -pass for a want or perversion of understanding, they must be in a very -different predicament from all others who live within the pale of -civil society, whose obligation to obey its discipline is held to be -entire and universal. By this great writer's own admissions, the -decision in the case of ship-money had shaken every man's security for -the enjoyment of his private inheritance. Though as yet not weighty -enough to be actually very oppressive, it might, and, according to the -experience of Europe, undoubtedly would, become such by length of time -and peaceable submission. - -We may acknowledge without hesitation, that the kingdom had grown -during this period into remarkable prosperity and affluence. The rents -of land were very considerably increased, and large tracts reduced -into cultivation. The manufacturing towns, the sea-ports, became more -populous and flourishing. The metropolis increased in size with a -rapidity that repeated proclamations against new buildings could not -restrain. The country houses of the superior gentry throughout England -were built on a scale which their descendants, even in days of more -redundant affluence, have seldom ventured to emulate. The kingdom was -indebted for this prosperity to the spirit and industry of the people, -to the laws which secure the Commons from oppression, and which, as -between man and man, were still fairly administered, to the opening of -fresh channels of trade in the eastern and western worlds (rivulets, -indeed, as they seem to us, who float in the full tide of modern -commerce, yet at that time no slight contributions to the stream of -public wealth); but above all, to the long tranquillity of the -kingdom, ignorant of the sufferings of domestic, and seldom much -affected by the privations of foreign, war. It was the natural course -of things, that wealth should be progressive in such a land. Extreme -tyranny, such as that of Spain in the Netherlands, might, no doubt, -have turned back the current. A less violent, but long-continued -despotism, such as has existed in several European monarchies, would, -by the corruption and incapacity which absolute governments engender, -have retarded its advance. The administration of Charles was certainly -not of the former description. Yet it would have been an excess of -loyal stupidity in the nation to have attributed their riches to the -wisdom or virtue of the court, which had injured the freedom of trade -by monopolies and arbitrary proclamations, and driven away industrious -manufacturers by persecution. - -If we were to draw our knowledge from no other book than Lord -Clarendon's _History_, it would still be impossible to avoid the -inference, that misconduct on the part of the Crown, and more -especially of the church, was the chief, if not the sole, cause of -these prevailing discontents. At the time when Laud unhappily became -Archbishop of Canterbury, "the general temper and humour of the -kingdom," he tells us, "was little inclined to the papist, and less to -the puritan. There were some late taxes and impositions introduced, -which rather angered than grieved the people, who were more than -repaired by the quiet peace and prosperity they enjoyed; and the -murmurs and discontent that was, appeared to be against the excess of -power exercised by the Crown, and supported by the judges in -Westminster Hall. The church was not repined at, nor the least -inclination to alter the government and discipline thereof, or to -change the doctrine. Nor was there at that time any considerable -number of persons of any valuable condition throughout the kingdom, -who did wish either; and the cause of so prodigious a change in so few -years after was too visible from the effects." This cause, he is -compelled to admit, in a passage too diffuse to be extracted, was the -passionate and imprudent behaviour of the primate. Can there be a -stronger proof of the personal prepossessions, which for ever distort -the judgment of this author, than that he should blame the remissness -of Abbot, who left things in so happy a condition; and assert that -Laud executed the trust of solely managing ecclesiastical affairs, -"infinitely to the service and benefit" of that church which he -brought to destruction? Were it altogether true, what is doubtless -much exaggerated, that in 1633 very little discontent at the measures -of the court had begun to prevail, it would be utterly inconsistent -with experience and observation of mankind to ascribe the almost -universal murmurs of 1639 to any other cause than bad government. But -Hyde, attached to Laud and devoted to the king, shrunk from the -conclusion that his own language would afford; and his piety made him -seek in some mysterious influences of Heaven, and in a judicial -infatuation of the people, for the causes of those troubles which the -fixed and uniform dispensations of Providence were sufficient to -explain.[136] - -_Scots troubles, and distress of the government._--It is difficult to -pronounce how much longer the nation's signal forbearance would have -held out, if the Scots had not precipitated themselves into rebellion. -There was still a confident hope that parliament must soon or late be -assembled; and it seemed equally impolitic and unconstitutional to -seek redress by any violent means. The patriots, too, had just cause -to lament the ambition of some whom the court's favour subdued, and -the levity of many more whom its vanities allured. But the unexpected -success of the tumultuous rising at Edinburgh against the service-book -revealed the impotence of the English government. Destitute of money, -and neither daring to ask it from a parliament nor to extort it by any -fresh demand from the people, they hesitated whether to employ force -or to submit to the insurgents. In the exchequer, as Lord -Northumberland wrote to Strafford, there was but the sum of L200; with -all the means that could be devised, not above L110,000 could be -raised; the magazines were all unfurnished, and the people were so -discontented by reason of the multitude of projects daily imposed upon -them, that he saw reason to fear a great part of them would be readier -to join with the Scots than to draw their swords in the king's -service.[137] "The discontents at home," he observes some months -afterwards, "do rather increase than lessen, there being no course -taken to give any kind of satisfaction. The king's coffers were never -emptier than at this time; and to us that have the honour to be near -about him, no way is yet known how he will find means either to -maintain or begin a war without the help of his people."[138] -Strafford himself dissuaded a war in such circumstances, though hardly -knowing what other course to advise.[139] He had now awaked from the -dreams of infatuated arrogance, to stand appalled at the perils of his -sovereign, and his own. In the letters that passed between him and -Laud after the Scots troubles had broken out, we read their hardly -concealed dismay, and glimpses of "the two-handed engine at the door." -Yet pride forbade them to perceive or confess the real causes of this -portentous state of affairs. They fondly laid the miscarriage of the -business of Scotland on failure in the execution, and an "over-great -desire to do all quietly."[140] - -In this imminent necessity, the king had recourse to those who had -least cause to repine at his administration. The catholic gentry, at -the powerful interference of their queen, made large contributions -towards the campaign of 1639. Many of them volunteered their personal -service. There was, indeed, a further project, so secret that it is -not mentioned, I believe, till very lately, by any historical writer. -This was to procure 10,000 regular troops from Flanders, in exchange -for so many recruits to be levied for Spain in England and Ireland. -These troops were to be for six months in the king's pay. Colonel -Gage, a catholic, and the negotiator of this treaty, hints that the -pope would probably contribute money, if he had hopes of seeing the -penal laws repealed; and observes, that with such an army the king -might both subdue the Scots, and at the same time keep his parliament -in check, so as to make them come to his conditions.[141] The treaty, -however, was never concluded. Spain was far more inclined to revenge -herself for the bad faith she imputed to Charles, than to lend him any -assistance. Hence, when, in the next year, he offered to declare war -against Holland, as soon as he should have subdued the Scots, for a -loan of 1,200,000 crowns, the Spanish ambassador haughtily rejected -the proposition.[142] - -The pacification, as it was termed, of Berwick in the summer of 1639 -has been represented by several historians as a measure equally -ruinous and unaccountable. That it was so far ruinous, as it formed -one link in the chain that dragged the king to destruction, is most -evident; but it was both inevitable and easy of explanation. The -treasury, whatever Clarendon and Hume may have said, was perfectly -bankrupt.[143] The citizens of London, on being urged by the council -for a loan, had used as much evasion as they dared.[144] The writs for -ship-money were executed with greater difficulty, several sheriffs -willingly acquiescing in the excuses made by their counties.[145] Sir -Francis Seymour, brother to the Earl of Hertford, and a man, like his -brother, of very moderate principles, absolutely refused to pay it, -though warned by the council to beware how he disputed its -legality.[146] Many of the Yorkshire gentry, headed by Sir Marmaduke -Langdale, combined to refuse its payment.[147] It was impossible to -rely again on catholic subscriptions, which the court of Rome, as I -have mentioned above, instigated perhaps by that of Madrid, had -already tried to restrain. The Scots were enthusiastic, nearly -unanimous, and entire masters of their country. The English nobility, -in general, detested the archbishop, to whose passion they ascribed -the whole mischief, and feared to see the king become despotic in -Scotland. If the terms of Charles's treaty with his revolted subjects -were unsatisfactory and indefinite, enormous in concession, and yet -affording a pretext for new encroachments, this is no more than the -common lot of the weaker side. - -There was one possible, though not under all the circumstances very -likely, method of obtaining the sinews of war; the convocation of -parliament. This many, at least, of the king's advisers appear to have -long desired, could they but have vanquished his obstinate reluctance. -This is an important observation: Charles, and he perhaps alone, -unless we reckon the queen, seems to have taken a resolution of -superseding absolutely and for ever the legal constitution of England. -The judges, the peers, Lord Strafford, nay, if we believe his dying -speech, the primate himself, retained enough of respect for the -ancient laws, to desire that parliaments should be summoned, whenever -they might be expected to second the views of the monarch. They felt -that the new scheme of governing by proclamations and writs of -ship-money could not, and ought not to be permanent in England. The -king reasoned more royally, and indeed much better. He well perceived -that it was vain to hope for another parliament so constituted as -those under the Tudors. He was ashamed (and that pernicious woman at -his side would not fail to encourage the sentiment) that his brothers -of France and Spain should have achieved a work, which the sovereign -of England, though called an absolute king by his courtiers, had -scarcely begun. All mention therefore of calling parliament grated on -his ear. The declaration published at the dissolution of the last, -that he should account it presumption for any to prescribe a time to -him for calling parliaments, was meant to extend even to his own -counsellors. He rated severely Lord-Keeper Coventry for a suggestion -of this kind.[148] He came with much reluctance into Wentworth's -proposal of summoning one in Ireland, though the superior control of -the Crown over parliaments in that kingdom was pointed out to him. -"The king," says Cottington, "at the end of 1638, will not hear of a -parliament; and he is told by a committee of learned men, that there -is no other way."[149] This repugnance to meet his people, and his -inability to carry on the war by any other methods, produced the -ignominious pacification at Berwick. But, as the Scots, grown bolder -by success, had after this treaty almost thrown off all subjection, -and the renewal of the war, or loss of the sovereignty over that -kingdom, appeared necessary alternatives, overpowered by the -concurrent advice of his council, and especially of Strafford, he -issued writs for that which met in April 1640.[150] They told him -that, making trial once more of the ancient and ordinary way, he would -leave his people without excuse, if that should fail; and have -wherewithal to justify himself to God and the world, if he should be -forced contrary to his inclinations to use extraordinary means, rather -than through the peevishness of some factious spirits to suffer his -state and government to be lost.[151] - -_Parliament of April 1640._--It has been universally admitted that the -parliament which met on the 13th of April 1640 was as favourably -disposed towards the king's service, and as little influenced by their -many wrongs, as any man of ordinary judgment could expect.[152] But -though cautiously abstaining from any intemperance, so much as to -reprove a member for calling ship-money an abomination (no very -outrageous expression), they sufficiently manifested a determination -not to leave their grievances unredressed. Petitions against the -manifold abuses in church and state covered their table; Pym, Rudyard, -Waller, Lord Digby, and others more conspicuous afterwards, excited -them by vigorous speeches; they appointed a committee to confer with -the Lords, according to some precedents of the last reign, on a long -list of grievances, divided into ecclesiastical innovations, -infringements of the propriety of goods, and breaches of the -privilege of parliament. They voted a request of the peers, who, -Clarendon says, were more entirely at the king's disposal, that they -would begin with the business of supply, and not proceed to debate on -grievances till afterwards, to be a high breach of privilege.[153] -There is not the smallest reason to doubt that they would have -insisted on redress in all those particulars, with at least as much -zeal as any former parliament, and that the king, after obtaining his -subsidies, would have put an end to their remonstrances, as he had -done before.[154] In order to obtain the supply he demanded, namely, -twelve subsidies to be paid in three years, which, though unusual, was -certainly not beyond his exigencies, he offered to release his claim -to ship-money, in any manner they should point out. But this the -Commons indignantly repelled. They deemed ship-money the great crime -of his administration, and the judgment against Mr. Hampden, the -infamy of those who pronounced it. Till that judgment should be -annulled, and those judges punished, the national liberties must be as -precarious as ever. Even if they could hear of a compromise with so -flagrant a breach of the constitution, and of purchasing their -undoubted rights, the doctrine asserted in Mr. Hampden's case by the -Crown lawyers, and adopted by some of the judges, rendered all -stipulations nugatory. The right of taxation had been claimed as an -absolute prerogative so inherent in the Crown, that no act of -parliament could take it away. All former statutes, down to the -petition of right, had been prostrated at the foot of the throne; by -what new compact were the present parliament to give a sanctity more -inviolable to their own?[155] - -It will be in the recollection of my readers, that while the Commons -were deliberating whether to promise any supply before the redress of -grievances, and in what measure, Sir Henry Vane, the secretary, told -them that the king would accept nothing less than the twelve subsidies -he had required; in consequence of which the parliament was dissolved -next day. Clarendon, followed by several others, has imputed treachery -in this to Vane, and told us that the king regretted so much what he -had done, that he wished, had it been practicable, to recall the -parliament after its dissolution. This is confirmed, as to Vane, by -the queen herself, in that interesting narrative which she -communicated to Madame de Motteville.[156] Were it not for such -authorities, seemingly independent of each other, yet entirely -tallying, I should have deemed it more probable that Vane, with whom -the solicitor-general Herbert had concurred, acted solely by the -king's command. Charles, who feared and hated all parliaments, had not -acquiesced in the scheme of calling the present, till there was no -other alternative; an insufficient supply would have left him in a -more difficult situation than before, as to the use of those -extraordinary means, as they were called, which his disposition led -him to prefer: the intention to assail parts of his administration -more dear to him than ship-money, and especially the ecclesiastical -novelties, was apparent. Nor can we easily give him credit for this -alleged regret at the step he had taken, when we read the declaration -he put forth, charging the Commons with entering on examination of his -government in an insolent and audacious manner, traducing his -administration of justice, rendering odious his officers and ministers -of state, and introducing a way of bargaining and contracting with the -king, as if nothing ought to be given him by them, but what he should -purchase either by quitting somewhat of his royal prerogative, or by -diminishing and lessening his revenue.[157] The unconstitutional -practice of committing to prison some of the most prominent members, -and searching their houses for papers, was renewed. And having broken -loose again from the restraints of law, the king's sanguine temper -looked to such a triumph over the Scots in the coming campaign, as no -prudent man could think probable. - -This dissolution of parliament in May 1640 appears to have been a very -fatal crisis for the king's popularity. Those who, with the loyalty -natural to Englishmen, had willingly ascribed his previous -misgovernment to evil counsels, could not any longer avoid perceiving -his mortal antipathy to any parliament that should not be as -subservient as the cortes of Castile. The necessity of some great -change became the common theme. "It is impossible," says Lord -Northumberland, at that time a courtier, "that things can long -continue in the condition they are now in; so general a defection in -this kingdom hath not been known in the memory of any!"[158] Several -of those who thought most deeply on public affairs now entered into a -private communication with the Scots insurgents. It seems probable -from the well-known story of Lord Saville's forged letter, that there -had been very little connection of this kind until the present -summer.[159] And we may conjecture that during this ominous interval, -those great projects, which were displayed in the next session, -acquired consistence and ripeness by secret discussions in the houses -of the Earl of Bedford and Lord Say. The king meanwhile experienced -aggravated misfortune and ignominy in his military operations. -Ship-money indeed was enforced with greater rigour than before, -several sheriffs and the lord mayor of London being prosecuted in the -star-chamber for neglecting to levy it. Some citizens were imprisoned -for refusing a loan. A new imposition was laid on the counties, under -the name of coat-and-conduct-money, for clothing and defraying the -travelling charges of the new levies.[160] A state of actual invasion, -the Scots having passed the Tweed, might excuse some of these -irregularities, if it could have been forgotten that the war itself -was produced by the king's impolicy, and if the nation had not been -prone to see friends and deliverers rather than enemies in the -Scottish army. They were, at the best indeed, troublesome and -expensive guests to the northern counties which they occupied; but -the cost of their visit was justly laid at the king's door. Various -arbitrary resources having been suggested in the council, and -abandoned as inefficient and impracticable, such as the seizing the -merchants' bullion in the mint, or issuing a debased coin; the unhappy -king adopted the hopeless scheme of convening a great council of all -the peers at York, as the only alternative of a parliament.[161] It -was foreseen that this assembly would only advise the king to meet his -people in a legal way. The public voice could no longer be suppressed. -The citizens of London presented a petition to the king, complaining -of grievances, and asking for a parliament. This was speedily followed -by one signed by twelve peers of popular character.[162] The lords -assembled at York almost unanimously concurred in the same advice, to -which the king, after some hesitation, gave his assent. They had more -difficulty in bringing about a settlement with the Scots; the English -army, disaffected and undisciplined, had already made an inglorious -retreat; and even Strafford, though passionately against a treaty, did -not venture to advise an engagement.[163] The majority of the peers -however over-ruled all opposition; and in the alarming posture of his -affairs, Charles had no resource but the dishonourable pacification of -Rippon. Anticipating the desertion of some who had partaken in his -counsels, and conscious that others would more stand in need of his -support than be capable of affording any, he awaited in fearful -suspense the meeting of parliament. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] "It hath so happened," he says, "by the disobedient and seditious -carriage of those said ill-affected persons of the House of Commons, -that we and our regal authority and commandment have been so highly -contemned as our kingly office cannot bear, nor any former age can -parallel." Rymer, xix. 30. - -[2] Rymer, xix. 62. - -[3] Whitelock's _Memorials_, p. 14. Whitelock's father was one of the -judges of the king's bench; his son takes pains to exculpate him from -the charge of too much compliance, and succeeded so well with the long -parliament that when they voted Chief-Justice Hyde and Justice Jones -guilty of delay in not bailing these gentlemen, they voted also that -Croke and Whitelock were not guilty of it. The proceedings, as we now -read them, hardly warrant this favourable distinction. _Parl. Hist._ -ii. 869, 876. - -[4] Strode's act is printed in Hatsell's _Precedents_, vol. i. p. 80, -and in several other books, as well as in the great edition of -_Statutes of the Realm_. It is worded, like many of our ancient laws, -so confusedly, as to make its application uncertain; but it rather -appears to me not to have been intended as a public act. - -[5] _State Trials_, vol. iii. from Rushworth. - -[6] Hatsell, pp. 212, 242. - -[7] Rushworth. - -[8] Rushworth; _State Trials_, iii. 373; Whitelock, p. 12. Chambers -applied several times for redress to the long parliament on account of -this and subsequent injuries, but seems to have been cruelly -neglected, while they were voting large sums to those who had suffered -much less, and died in poverty. - -[9] I have remarked in former passages that the rack was much -employed, especially against Roman catholics, under Elizabeth. Those -accused of the gunpowder conspiracy were also severely tortured; and -others in the reign of James. Coke, in the Countess of Shrewsbury's -case, 1612 (_State Trials_, ii. 773), mentions it as a privilege of -the nobility, that "their bodies are not subject to torture in causa -criminis laesae majestatis." Yet, in his third Institute, p. 35, he -says, the rack in the Tower was brought in by the Duke of Exeter, -under Henry VI., and is, therefore, familiarly called the Duke of -Exeter's daughter; and after quoting Fortescue to prove the practice -illegal, concludes--"There is no law to warrant tortures in this land, -nor can they be justified by any prescription, being so lately brought -in." Bacon observes, in a tract written in 1603: "In the highest cases -of treason, torture is used for discovery, and not for evidence."--i. -393. See also Miss Aikin's _Memoirs of James I._ ii. 158. - -[10] _State Trials_, iii. 359. This was a very important -determination, and put an end to such tyrannical persecution of Roman -catholics for bare expressions of opinion as had been used under -Elizabeth and James. - -[11] Rushworth (Abridged), ii. 253; Strafford's _Letters_, ii. 74. - -[12] Whitelock, 16; Kennet, 63. We find in Rymer, xix. 279, a -commission, dated May 6, 1631, enabling the privy-council at all times -to come, "to hear and examine all differences which shall arise -betwixt any of our courts of justice, especially between the civil and -ecclesiastical jurisdictions," etc. This was in all probability -contrived by Laud, or some of those who did not favour the common law. -But I do not find that anything was done under this commission, which, -I need hardly say, was as illegal as most of the king's other -proceedings. - -[13] 2 Inst. 593. The regulations contained in the statute de -militibus, 1 Ed. II., though apparently a temporary law, seem to have -been considered by Coke as permanently binding. Yet in this statute -the estate requiring knighthood, or a composition for it, is fixed at -L20 per annum. - -[14] According to a speech of Mr. Hyde in the long parliament, not -only military tenants, but all others, and even lessees and merchants, -were summoned before the council on this account. _Parl. Hist._ ii. -948. This was evidently illegal; especially if the Statutum de -militibus was in force, which by express words exempts them. See Mr. -Brodie's _Hist. of British Empire_, ii. 282. There is still some -difficulty about this, which I cannot clear up, nor comprehend why the -title, if it could be had for asking, was so continually declined; -unless it were, as Mr. B. hints, that the fees of knighthood greatly -exceeded the composition. Perhaps none who could not prove their -gentility were admitted to the honour, though the fine was extorted -from them. It is said that the king got L100,000 by this resource. -Macauley, ii. 107. - -[15] Rushworth Abr. ii. 102. - -[16] Strafford's _Letters_, i. 335. - -[17] _Id._ pp. 463, 467. - -[18] _Id._ ii. 117. It is well known that Charles made Richmond Park -by means of depriving many proprietors not only of common rights, but -of their freehold lands. Clarendon, i. 176. It is not clear that they -were ever compensated; but I think this probable, as the matter -excited no great clamour in the long parliament. And there is in -Rymer, xx. 585, a commission to Cottington and others, directing them -to compound with the owners of lands within the intended enclosures. -Dec. 12, 1634. - -[19] Kennet, 64; Rushworth's Abridg. ii. 132; Strafford's _Letters_, -i. 446; Rymer, xix. 323; Laud's _Diary_, 51. - -[20] Rymer, xx. 340. - -[21] Kennet, 74, 75. _Strafford Letters_, i. 358. Some petty sea-ports -in Sussex refused to pay ship-money; but finding that the sheriff had -authority to distrain on them, submitted. The deputy-lieutenants of -Devonshire wrote to the council in behalf of some towns a few miles -distant from the sea, that they might be spared from this tax, saying -it was a novelty. But they were summoned to London for this, and -received a reprimand for their interference. _Id._ 372. - -[22] _Clarendon State Papers_, i. 49, and ii. Append. p. xxvi. - -[23] This curious intrigue, before unknown, I believe, to history, was -brought to light by Lord Hardwicke. _State Papers_, ii. 54. - -[24] See _Clarendon State Papers_, i. 490, for a proof of the manner -in which, through the Hispano-popish party in the cabinet, the house -of Austria hoped to dupe and dishonour Charles. - -[25] _Clarendon State Papers_, i. 109, _et post_. Five English ships -out of twenty were to be at the charge of the King of Spain. Besides -this agreement, according to which the English were only bound to -protect the ships of Spain within their own seas, or the limits -claimed as such, there were certain secret articles, signed Dec. 16, -1634; by one of which Charles bound himself, in case the Dutch should -not make restitution of some Spanish vessels taken by them within the -English seas, to satisfy the court of Spain himself out of ships and -goods belonging to the Dutch; and by the second, to give secret -instructions to the commanders of his ships, that when those of Spain -and Flanders should encounter their enemies at open sea, far from his -coasts and limits, they should assist them if over-matched, and should -give the like help to the prizes which they should meet, taken by the -Dutch, that they might be freed and set at liberty; taking some -convenient pretext to justify it, that the Hollanders might not hold -it an act of hostility. But no part of this treaty was to take effect -till the Imperial ban upon the Elector Palatine should be removed. -_Id._ 215. - -[26] _Clarendon State Papers_, i. 721, 761. - -[27] _Strafford Papers_, ii. 52, 53, 60, 66. Richlieu sent d'Estrades -to London, in 1637, according to Pere Orleans, to secure the -neutrality of England in case of his attacking the maritime towns of -Flanders conjointly with the Dutch. But the ambassador was received -haughtily, and the neutrality refused; which put an end to the scheme, -and so irritated Richlieu, that he sent a priest named Chamberlain to -Edinburgh the same year, in order to foment troubles in Scotland. -_Revol. d'Anglet._ iii. 42. This is confirmed by d'Estrades himself. -See note in _Sidney Papers_, ii. 447, and Harris's _Life of Charles_, -189; also Lingard, x. 69. The connection of the Scotch leaders with -Richlieu in 1639 is matter of notorious history. It has lately been -confirmed and illustrated by an important note in Mazure, _Hist. de la -Revolution en 1688_, ii. 402. It appears by the above-mentioned note -of M. Mazure, that the celebrated letter of the Scots lords, addressed -"Au Roy," was really sent, and is extant. There seems reason to think -that Henrietta joined the Austrian faction about 1639; her mother -being then in England, and very hostile to Richlieu. This is in some -degree corroborated by a passage in a letter of Lady Carlisle. _Sidney -Papers_, ii. 614. - -[28] _Sidney Papers_, ii. 613. - -[29] _Clarendon State Papers_, ii. 16. - -[30] See the instructions in Rushworth, ii. 214. - -[31] Rushworth, 253. The same judge declared afterwards, in a charge -to the grand jury of York, that ship-money was an inseparable flower -of the Crown, glancing at Hutton and Croke for their opposition to it. -_Id._ 267. - -[32] As it is impossible to reconcile the trifling amount of this -demand with Hampden's known estate, the tax being probably not much -less than sixpence in the pound, it has been conjectured that his -property was purposely rated low. But it is hard to perceive any -motive for this indulgence; and it seems more likely that a nominal -sum was fixed upon in order to try the question; or that it was only -assessed on a part of his estate. - -[33] There seems to have been something unusual, if not irregular, in -this part of the proceeding. The barons of the exchequer called in the -other judges, not only by way of advice but direction, as the chief -baron declares. _State Trials_, 1203. And a proof of this is, that the -court of exchequer being equally divided, no judgment could have been -given by the barons alone. - -[34] _State Trials_, iii. 826-1252. - -[35] Croke, whose conduct on the bench in other political questions -was not without blemish, had resolved to give judgment for the king, -but was withheld by his wife, who implored him not to sacrifice his -conscience for fear of any danger or prejudice to his family, being -content to suffer any misery with him, rather than to be an occasion -for him to violate his integrity. Whitelock, p. 25. Of such -high-minded and inflexible women our British history produces many -examples. - -[36] Laud writes to Lord Wentworth, that Croke and Hutton had both -gone against the king very sourly. "The accidents which have followed -upon it already are these: First, the faction are grown very bold. -Secondly, the king's monies come in a great deal more slowly than they -did in former years, and that to a very considerable sum. Thirdly, it -puts thoughts into wise and moderate men's heads, which were better -out; for they think if the judges, which are behind, do not their -parts both exceeding well and thoroughly, it may much distemper this -extraordinary and great service." _Strafford Letters_, ii. 170. - -[37] It is notoriously known that pressure was borne with much more -cheerfulness before the judgment for the king, than ever it was -before. Clarendon, p. 122. - -[38] Rushworth Abr. ii. 341; _Clarendon State Papers_, i. 600. It is -said by Heylin that the clergy were much spared in the assessment of -ship-money. _Life of Laud_, 302. - -[39] Rymer, _passim_. - -[40] _Id._ xix. 512. It may be curious to mention some of these. The -best turkey was to be sold at 4_s._ 6_d._; the best goose at 2_s._ -4_d._; the best pullet, 1_s._ 8_d._; three eggs for a penny; fresh -butter at 5_d._ in summer, at 6_d._ in winter. This was in 1634. - -[41] _Id._ xx. 113. - -[42] _Id._ 157. - -[43] Rymer, xviii. 33, _et alibi_. A commission was granted to the -Earl of Arundel and others, May 30, 1625, to enquire what houses, -shops, etc., had been built for ten years past, especially since the -last proclamation, and to commit the offenders. It recites the care of -Elizabeth and James to have the city built in an uniform manner with -brick, and also to clear it from under-tenants and base people who -live by begging and stealing. _Id._ xviii. 97. - -[44] Rymer, xix. 375. - -[45] Rushworth Abr. ii. 232. - -[46] Rushworth, ii. 79. - -[47] _Id._ p. 313. - -[48] Rushworth Abr. iii. 123; Whitelock, p. 35; _Strafford Letters_, -i. 374, _et alibi_. See what Clarendon says, p. 293 (ii. 151, edit. -1826). The second of these tells us, that the city offered to build -for the king a palace in St. James's park by way of composition, which -was refused. If this be true, it must allude to the palace already -projected by him, the magnificent designs for which by Inigo Jones are -well known. Had they been executed, the metropolis would have -possessed a splendid monument of Palladian architecture; and the -reproach sometimes thrown on England, of wanting a fit mansion for its -monarchs, would have been prevented. But the exchequer of Charles the -First had never been in such a state as to render it at all probable -that he could undertake so costly a work. - -[49] _Strafford Letters_, i. 340. - -[50] Rymer, xix. 699. - -[51] _Id._ 198. - -[52] Roger Coke's _Detection of the Court of England_, i. 309. He was -Sir Edward's grandson. - -[53] Rymer, xx. 190. - -[54] _Id._ xix. 740. See also 82. - -[55] Hudson's "Treatise of the Court of Star-chamber," p. 51. This -valuable work, written about the end of James's reign, is published in -_Collectanea Juridica_, vol. ii. There is more than one manuscript of -it in the British Museum. - -In another treatise, written by a clerk of the council about 1590 -(Hargrave MSS. ccxvi. 195), the author says: "There was a time when -there grew a controversy between the star-chamber and the King's Bench -for their jurisdiction in a cause of perjury concerning tithes, Sir -Nicholas Bacon, that most grave and worthy counsellor, then being -lord-keeper of the great seal, and Sir Robert Catlyn, knight, then -lord chief justice of the bench. To the deciding thereof were called -by the plaintiff and defendant a great number of the learned -counsellors of the law: they were called into the inner star-chamber -after dinner, where before the lords of the council they argued the -cause on both sides, but could not find the court of greater antiquity -by all their books than Henry VII. and Richard III. On this I fell in -cogitation how to find some further knowledge thereof." He proceeds to -inform us, that by search into records he traced its jurisdiction much -higher. This shows, however, the doubts entertained of its -jurisdiction in the queen's time. This writer, extolling the court -highly, admits that "some of late have deemed it to be new, and put -the same in print, to the blemish of its beautiful antiquity." He then -discusses the question (for such it seems it was), whether any peer, -though not of the council, might sit in the star-chamber; and decides -in the negative. "Ao. 5to. of her majesty," he says, in the case -of the Earl of Hertford, "there were assembled a great number of the -noble barons of this realm, not being of the council, who offered -there to sit; but at that time it was declared unto them by the -lord-keeper that they were to give place; and so they did, and divers -of them tarried the hearing of the cause at the bar." - -This note ought to have been inserted in Chapter I., where the -antiquity of the star-chamber is mentioned, but was accidentally -overlooked. - -[56] P. 56. - -[57] P. 62. Lord Bacon observes, that the council in his time did not -meddle with _meum_ and _tuum_ as formerly; and that such causes ought -not to be entertained. Vol. i. 720; vol. ii. 208. "The king," he says, -"should be sometimes present, yet not too often." James was too often -present, and took one well-known criminal proceeding, that against Sir -Thomas Lake and his family, entirely into his own hands. - -[58] P. 82. - -[59] P. 108. - -[60] Pp. 100, 102. - -[61] P. 107. The following case in the queen's reign goes a great way: -An information was preferred in the star-chamber against Griffin and -another for erecting a tenement in Hog-lane, which he divided into -several rooms, wherein were inhabiting two poor tenants, that only -lived and were maintained by the relief of their neighbours, etc. The -attorney-general, and also the lord mayor and aldermen, prayed some -condign punishment on Griffin and the other, and that the court would -be pleased to set down and decree some general order in this and other -like cases of new building and division of tenements. Whereupon the -court, generally considering the great growing evils and -inconveniences that continually breed and happen by this new erected -building and divisions made and divided contrary to her majesty's said -proclamation, commit the offenders to the Fleet, and fine them L20 -each; but considering that if the houses be pulled down, other -habitations must be found, did not, as requested, order this to be -done for the present, but that the tenants should continue for their -lives without payment of rent, and the landlord is directed not to -molest them, and after the death or departure of the tenants the -houses to be pulled down. Harl. MSS. N. 299, fol. 7. - -[62] Harl. MSS. p. 142, etc. It appears that the court of star-chamber -could not sentence to punishment on the deposition of an eye-witness -(Rushw. Abr. ii. 114): a rule which did not prevent their receiving -the most imperfect and inconclusive testimony. - -[63] P. 36, 224. Instead of "the slavish punishment of whipping," the -printed book has "the slavish speech of whispering," which of course -entirely alters the sense, or rather makes nonsense. I have followed a -MS. in the Museum (Hargrave, N. 250), which agrees with the abstract -of this treatise by Rushworth, ii. 348. - -[64] Vallenger, author of seditious libels, was sentenced in the -queen's reign to stand twice in the pillory, and lose both his ears. -Harl. MSS. 6265, fol. 373. So also the conspirators who accused -Archbishop Sandys of adultery. _Id._ 376. And Mr. Pound, a Roman -catholic gentleman, who had suffered much before for his religion, was -sentenced by that court, in 1603, to lose both his ears, to be fined -L1000, and imprisoned for life, unless he declared who instigated him -to charge Serjeant Philips with injustice in condemning a neighbour of -his to death. Winwood, ii. 36. - -[65] The scarcity must have been very great this season (1631), for he -refused L2 18_s._ for the quarter of rye. Rushworth, ii. 110. - -[66] Rushworth, 340. Garrard, the correspondent of Wentworth, who sent -him all London news, writes about this: "The attorney-general hath -sent to all taverns to prohibit them to dress meat; somewhat was -required of them, a halfpenny a quart for French wine, and a penny for -sack and other richer wines, for the king: the gentlemen vintners grew -sullen, and would not give it, so they are all well enough served." -_Strafford Letters_, i. 507. - -[67] Hacket's _Life of Williams_; Rushworth Abr. ii. 315, _et post_; -Brodie ii. 363. - -[68] Osbaldiston swore that he did not mean Laud; an undoubted -perjury. - -[69] Mr. Brodie (_Hist. of Brit. Emp._ vol. ii. p. 309) observes, that -he cannot find in Leighton's book (which I have never seen) the -passage constantly brought forward by Laud's apologists, wherein he is -supposed to have recommended the assassination of the bishops. He -admits, indeed, as does Harris, that the book was violent; but what -can be said of the punishment? - -[70] Rushworth; _State Trials_. - -[71] _Id._ Whitelock, p. 18; Harris's _Life of Charles_, p. 262. The -unfortunate words in the index, "Women actors notorious whores," cost -Prynne half his ears; the remainder he saved by the hangman's mercy -for a second harvest. When he was brought again before the -star-chamber, some of the lords turned up his hair, and expressed -great indignation that his ears had not been better cropped. _State -Trials_, 717. The most brutal and servile of these courtiers seems to -have been the Earl of Dorset, though Clarendon speaks well of him. He -was also impudently corrupt, declaring that he thought it no crime for -a courtier that lives at great expense in his attendance, to receive a -reward to get a business done by a great man in favour. Rush. Abr. ii. -246. It is to be observed that the star-chamber tribunal was almost as -infamous for its partiality and corruption as its cruelty. See proofs -of this in the same work. P. 241. - -[72] The intimidation was so great, that no counsel dared to sign -Prynne's plea; yet the court refused to receive it without such -signature. Rushworth, ii. 277; _Strafford Letters_, ii. 74. - -[73] _Id._ 85; Rushw. 295; _State Trials_. Clarendon, who speaks in a -very unbecoming manner of this sentence, admits that it excited -general disapprobation. P. 73. - -[74] Laud's character is justly and fairly drawn by May, neither in -the coarse caricature style of Prynne, nor with the absurdly -flattering pencil of Clarendon. "The Archbishop of Canterbury was a -main agent in this fatal work; a man vigilant enough, of an active or -rather of a restless mind; more ambitious to undertake than politic to -carry on; of a disposition too fierce and cruel for his coat; which -notwithstanding he was so far from concealing in a subtle way, that he -increased the envy of it by insolence. He had few vulgar and private -vices, as being neither taxed of covetousness, intemperance, or -incontinence; and in a word a man not altogether so bad in his -personal character, as unfit for the state of England." _Hist. of -Parliament_, 19. - -[75] The following entry appears in Laud's Diary (March 6, 1636): -"Sunday, William Juxon, lord bishop of London, made lord -high-treasurer of England: no churchman had it since Hen. VII.'s time. -I pray God bless him to carry it so that the church may have honour, -and the king and the state service and contentment by it. And now, if -the church will not hold themselves up under God, I can do no more." - -Those who were far from puritanism could not digest this strange -elevation. James Howell writes to Wentworth: "The news that keeps -greatest noise here at this present, is that there is a new -lord-treasurer; and it is news indeed, it being now twice time out of -mind since the white robe and the white staff marched together; we -begin to live here in the church triumphant; and there wants but one -more to keep the king's conscience, which is more proper for a -churchman than his coin, to make it triumvirate." _Straff. Letters_, -i. 522. Garrard, another correspondent expresses his surprise, and -thinks Strafford himself, or Cottington, would have done better. P. -523. And afterwards (vol. ii. p. 2), "The clergy are so high here -since the joining of the white sleeves with the white staff, that -there is much talk of having as secretary a bishop, Dr. Wren, Bishop -of Norwich, and as chancellor of the exchequer, Dr. Bancroft, Bishop -of Oxford; but this comes only from the young fry of the clergy; -little credit is given to it, but it is observed, they swarm mightily -about the court." The tone of these letters shows that the writer -suspected that Wentworth would not be well pleased at seeing a -churchman set over his head. But in several of his own letters he -positively declares his aversion to the office, and perhaps with -sincerity. Ambition was less predominant in his mind than pride, and -impatience of opposition. He knew, that as lord-treasurer he would be -perpetually thwarted and undermined by Cottington and others of the -council. They, on the other hand, must have dreaded that such a -colleague might become their master. Laud himself, in his -correspondence with Strafford, never throws out the least hint of a -wish that he should succeed Weston, which would have interfered with -his own views. - -It must be added that Juxon redeemed the scandal of his appointment by -an unblemished probity, and gave so little offence in this invidious -greatness, that the long parliament never attacked him, and he -remained in his palace at Fulham without molestation till 1647. - -[76] _Strafford's Letters_, i. 33, etc. The letters of Wentworth in -this period of his life show a good deal of ambition and resentment, -but no great portion of public spirit. This collection of the -Strafford letters forms a very important portion of our historical -documents. Hume had looked at them very superficially, and quotes them -but twice. They furnished materials to Harris and Macaulay; but the -first is little read at present, and the second not at all. In a -recent and deservedly popular publication, Macdiarmid's _Lives of -British Statesmen_, the work of a young man of letters, who did not -live to struggle through the distresses of that profession, the -character of Strafford is drawn from the best authorities, and with -abundant, perhaps excessive candour. Mr. Brodie has well pointed out -that he has obtained more credit for the early period of his -parliamentary life than he deserves, by being confounded with Mr. -Wentworth, member for Oxford. Vol. ii. p. 249. Rushworth has even -ascribed to Sir Thomas Wentworth the speeches of this Mr. Wentworth in -the second parliament of Charles, from which it is notorious that the -former had been excluded. - -[77] Hacket tells us, in his elegant style, that "Sir John Eliot of -the west, and Sir Thomas Wentworth of the north, both in the prime of -their age and wits, both conspicuous for able speakers, clashed so -often in the house, and cudgelled one another with such strong -contradictions, that it grew from an emulation between them to an -enmity. The lord-treasurer Weston picked out the northern cock, Sir -Thomas, to make him the king's creature, and set him upon the first -step of his rising; which was wormwood in the taste of Eliot, who -revenged himself upon the king in the Bill of Tonnage, and then fell -upon the treasurer, and declaimed against him, that he was the author -of all the evils under which the kingdom was oppressed." He proceeds -to inform us, that Bishop Williams offered to bring Eliot over, for -which Wentworth never forgave him. _Life of Williams_, p. 82. The -magnanimous fortitude of Eliot forbids us to give credit to any -surmise unfavourable to his glory, upon such indifferent authority; -but several passages in Wentworth's letters to Laud show his malice -towards one who had perished in the great cause which he had so basely -forsaken. - -[78] Wentworth was brought over before the assassination of -Buckingham. His patent in Rymer bears date 22nd July 1628, a month -previous to that event. - -[79] Fourth Inst. c. 49. See also 13 Reports, 31. - -[80] Rymer, xix. 9; Rushworth, ii. 127. - -[81] Rushworth; Strafford's Trial, etc.; Brodie, ii. 319; _Straff. -Letters_, i. 145. In a letter to Lord Doncaster, pressing for a severe -sentence on Foulis, who had been guilty of some disrespect to himself -as president of the North, Wentworth shows his abhorrence of liberty -with all the bitterness of a renegado; and urges the "seasonable -correcting an humour and liberty I find reign in these parts, of -observing a superior command no farther than they like themselves, and -of questioning any profit of the Crown, called upon by his majesty's -ministers, which might enable it to subsist of itself, without being -necessitated to accept of such conditions, as others might easily -think to impose upon it." Sept. 1632. _Somers Tracts_, iv. 198. - -[82] Rushworth Abr. iii. 85; Clarendon, i. 390 (1826). The original -editors left out some words which brought this home to Strafford. And -if the case was as there seems every reason to believe, I would ask -those who talk of this man's innocence, whether in any civilised -country, a more outrageous piece of tyranny has been committed by a -governor than to compel a nobleman of the highest station to change -the disposition of his private estate, because that governor carried -on an adulterous intercourse with the daughter-in-law of the person -whom he treated thus imperiously? - -[83] _Clarendon Papers_, i. 449, 543, 594; Rushworth Abridg. iii. 43; -_Clar. Hist._ i. 386 (1826); _Strafford Letters_, i. 497, _et post_. -This proceeding against Lord Mountnorris excited much dissatisfaction -in England; those of the council who disliked Strafford making it a -pretext to inveigh against his arrogance. But the king, invariably on -the severe and arbitrary side, justified the measure, which silenced -the courtiers. P. 512. Be it added, that the virtuous Charles took a -bribe of L6000 for bestowing Mountnorris's office on Sir Adam Loftus, -not out of distress through the parsimony of parliament, but to -purchase an estate in Scotland. _Id._ 511. - -Hume, in extenuating the conduct of Strafford as to Mountnorris's -trial, says, that, "_sensible of the iniquity of the sentence_, he -procured his majesty's free pardon to Mountnorris." There is not the -slightest evidence to warrant the words in italics; on the contrary, -he always justified the sentence, and had most manifestly procured it. -The king, in return to a moving petition of Lady Mountnorris, -permitted his release from confinement, "on making such a submission -as my lord-deputy shall approve." - -[84] _Strafford Letters_, i. 111. - -[85] P. 155. - -[86] _Strafford Letters_, p. 329. In other letters they complain of -what they call the Lady Mora, which seems to be a cant word for the -inefficient system of the rest of the council, unless it is a personal -nickname for Weston. - -[87] The bishops, before the Reformation, issued process from their -courts in their own names. By the statute of 1 Edw. VI. c. 2, all -ecclesiastical jurisdiction is declared to be immediately from the -Crown; and it is directed that persons exercising it shall use the -king's arms in their seal, and no other. This was repealed under Mary; -but her act is itself repealed by 1 Jac. I. c. 25, Sec. 48. This seems -to revive the act of Edward. The spiritual courts, however, continued -to issue process in the bishop's name, and with his seal. On some -difficulty being made concerning this, it was referred by the -star-chamber to the twelve judges, who gave it under their hands that -the statute of Edward was repealed, and that the practice of the -ecclesiastical courts in this respect was agreeable to law. Neal, 589; -Kennet, 92; Rushw. Abr. iii. 340. Whitelock says (p. 22), that the -bishops all denied that they held their jurisdiction from the king, -for which they were liable to heavy penalties. This question is of -little consequence; for it is still true that ecclesiastical -jurisdiction, according to the law, emanates from the Crown; nor does -anything turn on the issuing of process in the bishop's name, any more -than on the holding courts-baron in the name of the lord. In Ireland, -unless I am mistaken, the king's name is used in ecclesiastical -proceedings. Laud, in his famous speech in the star-chamber, 1637, and -again on his trial, asserts episcopal jurisdiction (except what is -called in foro contentioso) to be of divine right; a doctrine not -easily reconcilable with the Crown's supremacy over _all_ causes under -the statute of Elizabeth; since any spiritual censure may be annulled -by a lay tribunal, the commission of delegates; and how this can be -compatible with a divine authority in the bishop to pronounce it, -seems not easy to prove. Laud, I have no doubt, would have put an end -to this badge of subordination to the Crown. The judges in Cawdrey's -Case (5 Reports) held a very different language; nor would Elizabeth -have borne this assumption of the prelates as tamely as Charles, in -his poor-spirited bigotry, seems to have done. Stillingfleet, though -he disputes at great length the doctrine of Lord Coke, in his fifth -Report, as to the extent of the royal supremacy before the first of -Elizabeth, fully admits that since the statute of that year, the -authority for keeping courts, in whose name soever they may be held, -is derived from the king. Vol. iii. 768, 778. - -This arrogant contempt of the lawyers manifested by Laud and his -faction of priests led to the ruin of the great churchmen and of the -church itself--by the hands, chiefly, of that powerful body they had -insulted, as Clarendon has justly remarked. - -[88] P. 111. - -[89] P. 173. - -[90] P. 129. - -[91] P. 201. See also p. 223. - -[92] Vol. ii. p. 100. - -[93] _Id._ ii. 136. - -[94] P. 138. - -[95] P. 158. - -[96] P. 178. - -[97] P. 60. - -[98] Vol. i. p. 420. - -[99] P. 246; see also p. 370. - -[100] The unfavourable physiognomy of Strafford is noticed by writers -of that time. _Somers Tracts_, iv. 231. It did not prevent him from -being admired by the fair sex, especially at his trial, where, May -says, they were all on his side. The portraits by Vandyke at Wentworth -and Petworth are well known; the latter appears eminently -characteristic. - -[101] See the cases of Workman, Peter Smart, etc., in the common -histories: Rushworth, Rapin, Neal, Macauley, Brodie, and even Hume, on -one side; and for what can be said on the other, Collier, and Laud's -own defence on his trial. A number of persons, doubtless inclining to -the puritan side, had raised a sum of money to buy up impropriations, -which they vested in trustees for the purpose of supporting lecturers; -a class of ministers to whom Laud was very averse. He caused the -parties to be summoned before the star-chamber, where their -association was dissolved, and the impropriations already purchased -were confiscated to the Crown. Rushworth Abr. ii. 17; Neal, i. 556. - -[102] This originated in an order made at the Somerset assizes by -Chief Justice Richardson, at the request of the justices of peace, for -suppressing these feasts, which had led to much disorder and -profaneness. Laud made the privy council reprove the judge, and direct -him to revoke the order. Kennet, p. 71; Rushw. Abr. ii. 166. Heylin -says, the gentlemen of the county were against Richardson's order, -which is one of his habitual falsehoods. See Rushw. Abr. ii. 167. I -must add, however, that the proclamation was perfectly legal, and -according to the spirit of the late act (1 Car. I. c. 1) for the -observance of the Lord's day. It has been rather misrepresented by -those who have not attended to its limitations, as Neal and Mr. -Brodie. Dr. Lingard, ix. 422, has stated the matter rightly. - -[103] Neal, 569; Rushworth Abr. ii. 166; Collier, 758; Heylin's _Life -of Laud_, 241, 290. The last writer extenuates the persecution by -Wren; but it is evident by his own account that no suspension or -censure was taken off till the party conformed and read the -declaration. - -[104] Neal, p. 546. I do not know how he makes his computation. - -[105] A proclamation, dated May 1, 1638, reciting that the king was -informed that many persons went yearly to New England in order to be -out of the reach of ecclesiastical authority, commands that no one -shall pass without a licence, and a testimonial of conformity from the -minister of his parish. Rymer, xx. 223. Laud, in a letter to Strafford -(ii. 169), complains of men running to New England, when there was a -want of them in Ireland. And why did they so, but that any trackless -wilderness seemed better than his own or his friend's tyranny? In this -letter he laments that he is left alone in the envious and thorny part -of the work, and has no encouragement. - -[106] In thirteen years, ending with 1640, but L4080 was levied on -recusants by process from the exchequer, according to Commons' -Journals, 1 Dec. 1640. But it cannot be denied that they paid -considerable sums by way of composition, though less probably than in -former times. Lingard, ix. 424, etc., note G. Weston is said by -Clarendon to have offended the catholics by enforcing penalties to -raise the revenue. One priest only was executed for religion, before -the meeting of the long parliament. Butler, iv. 97. And though, for -the sake of appearance, proclamations for arresting priests and -recusants sometimes came forth, they were always discharged in a short -time. The number pardoned in the first sixteen years of the king is -said to have amounted, in twenty-nine counties only, to 11,970. Neal, -604. Clarendon, i. 261, confirms the systematic indulgence shown to -catholics, which Dr. Lingard seems, reluctantly and by silence, to -admit. - -[107] Strafford Letters, i. 505, 524; ii. 2, 57. - -[108] Heylin, 286. The very day of Abbot's death, an offer of a -cardinal's hat was made to Laud, as he tell us in his Diary, "by one -that avowed ability to perform it." This was repeated some days -afterwards (Aug. 4th and 17th, 1633). It seems very questionable -whether this came from authority. The new primate made a strange -answer to the first application, which might well encourage a second; -certainly not what might have been expected from a steady protestant. -If we did not read this in his own Diary, we should not believe it. -The offer at least proves that he was supposed capable of acceding to -it. - -[109] _Clarendon State Papers_, ii. 44. It is always important to -distinguish dates. By the year 1639, the court of Rome had seen the -fallacy of those hopes she had previously been led to entertain, that -the king and church of England would return to her fold. This might -exasperate her against him, as it certainly did against Laud; besides -which, I should suspect the influence of Spain in the conclave. - -[110] Proofs of this abound in the first volume of the collection just -quoted, as well as in other books. The catholics were not indeed -unanimous in the view they took of the king's prerogative, which -became of importance in the controversy as to the oath of allegiance; -one party maintaining that the king had a right to put his own -explanation on that oath, which was more to be regarded than the sense -of parliament; while another denied that they could conscientiously -admit the king's interpretation against what they knew to have been -the intention of the legislature who imposed it. A Mr. Courtney, who -had written on the latter side, was imprisoned in the Tower, on -pretext of recusancy, but really for having promulgated so obnoxious -an opinion. P. 258, _et alibi_; _Memoirs of Panzani_, p. 140. The -jesuits were much against the oath, and, from whatever cause, threw -all the obstacles they could in the way of a good understanding -between the king and the pope. One reason was their apprehension that -an article of the treaty would be the appointment of a catholic bishop -in England; a matter about which the members of that church have been -quarrelling ever since the reign of Elizabeth, but too trifling for -our notice in this place. More than half Panzani's _Memoirs_ relate to -it. - -[111] _Id._ p. 207. This is a statement by Father Leander; in another -place (p. 140), they are reckoned at 360. There were about 180 other -regulars, and five or six hundred secular priests. - -[112] Kennet, 73; Harris's _Life of Charles_, 220; Collier, 772; -Brodie, ii. 224 note; Neal, p. 572, etc. Laud, in his defence at his -trial, denies or extenuates some of the charges. There is, however, -full proof of all that I have said in my text. The famous consecration -of St. Catharine's Creed church in 1631 is mentioned by Rushworth, -Welwood, and others. Laud said in his defence, that he borrowed the -ceremonies from Andrews, who had found them in some old liturgy. - -[113] In Bishop Andrews's answer to Bellarmine, he says: Praesentiam -credimus non minus quam vos veram; de modo praesentiae nil temere -definimus. And soon afterwards: Nobis vobiscum de objecto convenit, de -modo lis omnis est. De hoc est, fide firma tenemus quod sit, de hoc -modo est, ut sit Per, sive In, sive Cum, sive Sub, sive Trans, nullum -inibi verbum est. I quote from Casaubon's _Epistles_, p. 393. This is, -reduced to plain terms: We fully agree with you that Christ's body is -actually present in the sacramental elements, in the same sense as you -use the word; but we see no cause for determining the precise mode, -whether by transubstantiation or otherwise. - -The doctrine of the church of England, as evidenced by its leading -ecclesiastics, underwent a change in the reign of James through -Andrews, Casaubon, and others, who deferred wholly to antiquity. In -fact, as I have elsewhere observed, there can be but two opinions, -neglecting subordinate differences, on this famous controversy. It is -clear to those who have attended to the subject, that the Anglican -reformers did not hold a local presence of Christ's human body in the -consecrated bread itself, independent of the communicant, or, as the -technical phrase was, extra usum: and it is also clear, that the -divines of the latter school did so. This question is rendered -intricate at first sight, partly by the strong figurative language -which the early reformers employed in order to avoid shocking the -prejudices of the people; and partly by the incautious and even absurd -use of the word _real presence_ to mean _real absence_; which is -common with modern theologians. - -[114] Heylin's _Life of Laud_, p. 212. He probably imbibed this, like -many other of his prejudices, from Bishop Andrews, whose epitaph in -the church of St. Saviour's in Southwark speaks of him as having -received a superior reward in heaven on account of his celibacy; -coelebs migravit ad aureolam coelestem. _Biog. Britannica._ -Aureola, a word of no classical authority, means, in the style of -popish divinity, which the author of this epitaph thought fit to -employ, the crown of virginity. See Du Cange _in voc._ - -[115] See "Life of Hammond," in Wordsworth's _Eccles. Biography_, vol. -v. 343. It had been usual to study divinity in compendiums, chiefly -drawn up in the sixteenth century. King James was a great favourer of -antiquity, and prescribed the study of the fathers in his Instructions -to the Universities in 1616. - -[116] Andrews gave scandal in the queen's reign by preaching at court, -"that contrition, without confession and absolution and deeds worthy -of repentance, was not sufficient; that the ministers had the two keys -of power and knowledge delivered unto them; that whose sins soever -they remitted upon earth, should be remitted in heaven.--The court is -full of it, for such doctrine was not usually taught there." _Sidney -Letters_, ii. 185. Harrington also censures him for an attempt to -bring in auricular confession. _Nugae Antiquae_, ii. 192. In his own -writings against Perron, he throws away a great part of what have -always been considered the protestant doctrines. - -[117] Hall, Bishop of Exeter, a very considerable person, wrote a -treatise on the _Divine Institution of Episcopacy_, which, according -to an analysis given by Heylin and others of its leading positions, is -so much in the teeth of Hooker's _Ecclesiastical Polity_, that it -might pass for an answer to it. Yet it did not quite come up to the -primate's standard, who made him alter some passages which looked too -like concessions. Heylin's _Life of Laud_, 374; Collier, 789. One of -his offences was the asserting the pope to be Antichrist, which -displeased the king as well as primate, though it had been orthodox -under James. - -[118] Collier, 764; Neal, 582; Heylin, 288. - -[119] Collier, 753; Heylin, 260. - -[120] Clarendon, iii. 366; _State Papers_, i. 338. "Lord Scudamore, -the English ambassador, set up an altar, etc., in the Laudean style. -His successor, Lord Leicester, spoke to the archbishop about going to -Charenton; and telling him Lord Scudamore did never go thither, Laud -answered, 'He is the wiser.' Leicester requested his advice what he -should do, in order to sift his disposition, being himself resolved -how to behave in that matter. But the other would only say that he -left it to his discretion. Leicester says, he had many reasons to -think that for his going to Charenton the archbishop did him all the -ill offices he could to the king, representing him as a puritan, and -consequently in his method an enemy to monarchical government, though -he had not been very kind before. The said archbishop, he adds, would -not countenance Blondel's book against the usurped power of the pope." -Blencowe's _Sydney Papers_, 261. - -"To think well of the reformed religion," says Northumberland, in -1640, "is enough to make the archbishop an enemy; and though he cannot -for shame do it in public, yet in private he will do Leicester all the -mischief he can." Collins's _Sydney Papers_, ii. 623. - -Such was the opinion entertained of Laud, by those who could not -reasonably be called puritans, except by such as made that word a -synonym for protestant. It would be easy to add other proofs. The -prosecution in the star-chamber against Sherfield, recorder of -Salisbury, for destroying some superstitious pictures in a church, led -to a display of the aversion many of the council entertained for -popery, and their jealousy of the archbishop's bias. They were with -difficulty brought to condemn Sherfield, and passed a sentence at last -very unlike those to which they were accustomed. Rushworth; _State -Trials_. Hume misrepresents the case. - -[121] Heylin's _Life of Laud_, 390. - -[122] Heylin's _Life of Laud_, 388. The passage is very remarkable, -but too long to be extracted in a work not directly ecclesiastical. It -is rather ambiguous; but the _Memoirs_ of Panzani afford the key. - -[123] The Spanish ambassador applies to Windebank, 1633, to have a -case of books restored, that had been carried from the custom-house to -Archbishop Abbot.--"Now he is dead, I make this demand upon his -effects and library, that they may be restored to me; as his majesty's -order at that time was ineffectual, as well as its appearing that -there was nothing contraband or prohibited." A list of these books -follows, and is curious. They consisted of English popish tracts by -wholesale, intended, of course, for circulation. _Clar. State Papers_, -66. - -[124] _Id._ 197, etc. - -[125] _Clarendon State Papers_, 249. The _Memoirs of Panzani_, after -furnishing some materials to Dodd's _Church History_, were published -by Mr. Berington, in 1794. They are, however, become scarce, and have -not been much quoted. It is plain that they were not his own work, but -written by some dependant, or person in his confidence. Their truth, -as well as authenticity, appears to me quite beyond controversy; they -coincide, in a remarkable manner, with all our other information; the -names and local details are particularly accurate for the work of a -foreigner; in short, they contain no one fact of any consequence which -there is reason to distrust. Some account of them may be found in -Butler's _Engl. Cath._ vol. iv. - -A small tract, entitled "The Pope's Nuncio," printed in 1643, and said -to be founded on the information of the Venetian ambassador, is, as I -conceive, derived in some direct or indirect manner from these -_Memoirs_. It is republished in the _Somers Tracts_, vol. iv. - -Mr. Butler has published, for the first time, a long and important -extract from Panzani's own reports to the pope concerning the state of -the catholic religion in England. _Mem. of Catholics_, iv. 55. He -reckons them at 150,000; many of them, however, continuing so -outwardly to live as not to be known for such, among whom are many of -the first nobility. From them the neighbouring catholics have no means -of hearing mass or going to the sacraments. Others, more bold, give -opportunity, more or less, to their poorer neighbours to practise -their duty. Besides these, there are others, who, apprehensive of -losing their property or places, live in appearance as protestants, -take the oaths of supremacy and allegiance, frequent the churches, and -speak occasionally against catholics; yet in their hearts are such, -and sometimes keep priests in their houses, that they may not be -without help, if necessary. Among them he includes some of the first -nobility, secular and ecclesiastical, and many of every rank. While he -was in London, almost all the nobility who died, though reputed -protestants, died catholics. The bishops are protestants, except four, -Durham, Salisbury, Rochester, and Oxford, who are puritans. The latter -are most numerous among the people, and are more hated by moderate -protestants than are the catholics. A great change is apparent in -books and sermons, compared with former times; auricular confession -praised, images well spoken of, and altars. The pope is owned as -patriarch of the West; and wishes are expressed for re-union. The -queen has a public chapel besides her private one, where service is -celebrated with much pomp; also the ambassadors; and there are others -in London. The laws against recusants are much relaxed; though -sometimes the king, being in want of money, takes one-third of their -incomes by way of composition. The catholics are yet molested by the -pursuivants, who enter their houses in search of priests, or sacred -vessels; and though this evil was not much felt while he was in -London, they might be set at work at any time. He determined, -therefore, to obtain, if possible, a general order from the king to -restrain the pursuivants; and the business was put into the hands of -some counsellors, but not settled at his departure. The oath of -allegiance divided the ecclesiastics, the major part refusing to take -it. After a good deal about the appointment of a catholic bishop in -England, he mentions Father Davenport or Sancta Clara's book, entitled -_Deus, Natura, Gratia_, with which the king, he says, had been -pleased, and was therefore disappointed at finding it put in the Index -Expurgatorius at Rome.--This book, which made much noise at the time, -was an attempt to show the compatibility of the Anglican doctrines -with those of the catholic church; the usual trick of popish -intriguers. See an abstract of it in Stillingfleet's Works, vol. v. p. -176. - -[126] If we may believe Heylin, the queen prevailed on Laud to use his -influence with the king that Panzani might come to London, promising -to be his friend. _Life of Laud_, 286. - -[127] P. 246. It may seem extraordinary that he did not mention -Williams; but I presume he took that political bishop's zeal to be -insincere. Williams had been, while in power, a great favourer of the -toleration of papists. If, indeed, a story told of him, on Endymion -Porter's authority, in a late work, be true, he was at that time -sufficiently inclined to have accepted a cardinal's hat, and made -interest for it. Blencowe's _Sydney Papers_, p. 262. One bishop, -Goodman of Gloucester, was undoubtedly a Roman catholic, and died in -that communion. He refused, for a long time, to subscribe the canons -of 1640, on account of one that contained a renunciation of popery; -but yielded at length for fear of suspension, and charged Montagu with -having instigated his refusal, though he subscribed himself. Nalson, -i. 371; Rushw. Abr. iii. 168; Collier, 793; Laud's defence on his -trial. - -[128] Henrietta Maria, in her communication to Madame de Motteville, -has the following passage, which is not undeserving of notice, though -she may have been deceived: "Le Roi Jacques ... composa deux livres -pour la defense de la fausse religion d'Angleterre, et fit reponse a -ceux que le Cardinal du Perron ecrivit contre lui. En defendant le -mensonge, il concut de l'amour pour la verite, et souhaita de se -retirer de l'erreur. Ce fut en voulant accorder les deux religions, la -notre et la sienne; mais il mourut avant que d'executer ce louable -dessein. Le Roi Charles Stuard, son fils, quand il vint a la couronne, -se trouva presque dans les memes sentimens. Il avoit aupres de lui -l'archeveque de Cantorberi, qui, dans son coeur etant tres-bon -catholique, inspira au roi son maitre un grand desir de retablir la -liturgie, croyant que s'il pouvoit arriver a ce point, il y auroit si -peu de difference de la foi orthodoxe a la leur, qu'il seroit aise peu -a peu d'y conduire le roi. Pour travailler a ce grand ouvrage, que ne -paroissoit au roi d'Angleterre que le retablissement parfait de la -liturgie, et qui est le seul dessein qui ait ete dans le coeur de ce -prince, l'archeveque de Cantorberi lui conseilla de commencer par -l'Ecosse, comme plus eloignee du coeur du royaume; lui disant, que -leur remuement seroit moins a craindre. Le roi, avant que de partir, -voulant envoyer cette liturgie en Ecosse, l'apporta un soir dans la -chambre de la reine, et la pria de lire ce livre, lui disant, qu'il -seroit bien aise qu'elle le vit, afin qu'elle sut combien ils -approchoient de creance." _Mem. de Motteville_, i. 242. A -well-informed writer, however, says Charles was a protestant, and -never liked the catholic religion. P. Orleans, _Revolut. d'Anglet._ -iii. 35. He says the same of Laud, but refers to Vittorio Siri for an -opposite story. - -[129] Cardinal Barberini wrote word to Panzani, that the proposal of -Windebank, that the church of Rome should sacrifice communion in one -kind, the celibacy of the clergy, etc., would never please; that the -English ought to look back on the breach they had made, and their -motives for it, and that the whole world was against them on the -first-mentioned points. P. 173. This is exactly what any one might -predict, who knew the long discussions on the subject with Austria and -France at the time of the council of Trent. - -[130] "Begets more malice" is obscure--perhaps it means "irritates the -puritans more." _Clar. Papers_, ii. 44. - -[131] Heylin, p. 338; Laud's Diary, Oct. 1637; _Strafford Letters_, i. -426. Garrard, a dependent friend whom Strafford retained, as was usual -with great men, to communicate the news of the court, frequently -descants on the excessive boldness of the papists. "Laud," he says -(vol. ii. p. 74), "does all he can to beat down the general fear -conceived of bringing on popery." So in p. 165 and many other places. - -It is manifest, by a letter of Laud to Strafford in 1638, that he was -not satisfied with the systematic connivance at recusancy. _Id._ 171. -The explanation of the archbishop's conduct with respect to the Roman -catholics seems to be, that, with a view of gaining them over to his -own half-way protestantism, and also ingratiating himself with the -queen, he had for a time gone along with the tide, till he found there -was a real danger of being carried farther than he intended. This -accounts for the well-known story told by Evelyn, that the jesuits at -Rome spoke of him as their bitterest enemy. He is reported to have -said, that they and the puritans were the chief obstacles to a -re-union of the churches. There is an obscure story of a plot carried -on by the pope's legate Con and the English jesuits against Laud, and -detected in 1640 by one Andrew Habernfield, which some have treated as -a mere fiction. Rushworth, iii. 232. - -[132] Heylin, in his _Life of Laud_, p. 340, tells this story, as if -Hales had recanted his opinions, and owned Laud's superiority over him -in argument. This is ludicrous, considering the relative abilities of -the two men. And Hales's letter to the archbishop, which is full as -bold as his treatise on schism, proves that Heylin's narrative is one -of his many wilful falsehoods; for, by making himself a witness to the -pretended circumstances, he has precluded the excuse of error. - -[133] It appears by the late edition at Oxford (1826) that Lord -Clarendon twice altered his intention as to the nature of his work, -having originally designed to write the history of his time, which he -changed to memorials of his own life, and again returned to his first -plan. The consequence has been, that there are two manuscripts of the -_History_ and of the _Life_, which in a great degree are transcripts -one from the other, or contain the same general fact with variations. -That part of the _Life_, previous to 1660, which is not inserted in -the _History of the Rebellion_, is by no means extensive. - -The genuine text of the _History_ has only been published in 1826. A -story, as is well known, obtained circulation within thirty years -after its first appearance, that the manuscript had been materially -altered or interpolated. This was positively denied, and supposed to -be wholly disproved. It turns out, however, that, like many other -anecdotes, it had a considerable basis of truth, though with various -erroneous additions, and probably wilful misrepresentations. It is -nevertheless surprising that the worthy editor of the original -manuscript should say, "that the genuineness of the work has rashly, -and for party purposes, been called in question;" when no one, I -believe, has ever disputed its genuineness; and the anecdote to which -I have alluded, and to which, no doubt, he alludes, has been by his -own industry (and many thanks we owe him for it) perfectly confirmed -in substance. For though he endeavours, not quite necessarily, to -excuse or justify the original editors (who seem to have been Sprat -and Aldrich, with the sanction probably of Lords Clarendon and -Rochester, the historian's sons), for what they did, and even -singularly asserts, that "the present collation satisfactorily proves -that they have in no one instance added, suppressed, or altered any -historical fact" (Advert. to edit. 1826, p.v.); yet it is certain -that, besides the perpetual impertinence of mending the style, there -are several hundred variations which affect the sense, introduced from -one motive or another, and directly contrary to the laws of literary -integrity. The long passages inserted in the appendixes to several -volumes of this edition contain surely historical facts that had been -suppressed. And, even with respect to subordinate alterations, made -for the purpose of softening traits of the author's angry temper, or -correcting his mistakes, the general effect of taking such liberties -with a work is to give it an undue credit in the eyes of the public, -and to induce men to believe matters upon the writer's testimony, -which they would not have done so readily, if his errors had been -fairly laid before them. Clarendon indeed is so strangely loose in -expression as well as incorrect in statement, that it would have been -impossible to remove his faults of this kind without writing again -half the history; but it is certain that great trouble was very unduly -taken to lighten their impression upon the world. - -[134] _Id. ibid._ - -[135] May thus answers, by a sort of prophetic anticipation, this -passage of Clarendon: "Another sort of men," he says, "and especially -lords and gentlemen, by whom the pressures of the government were not -much felt, who enjoyed their own plentiful fortunes, with little or -insensible detriment, looking no farther than their present safety and -prosperity, and the yet undisturbed peace of the nation, whilst other -kingdoms were embroiled in calamities, and Germany sadly wasted by a -sharp war, did nothing but applaud the happiness of England, and -called those ungrateful factious spirits, who complained of the breach -of laws and liberties; that the kingdom abounded with wealth, plenty, -and all kinds of elegancies more than ever; that it was for the honour -of a people, that the monarch should live splendidly, and not be -curbed at all in his prerogative, which would bring him into greater -esteems with other princes, and more enable him to prevail in -treaties; that what they suffered by monopolies was insensible and not -grievous, if compared with other states; that the Duke of Tuscany sat -heavier upon his people in that very kind; that the French king had -made himself an absolute lord, and quite depressed the power of -parliaments, which had been there as great as in any kingdom, and yet -that France flourished, and the gentry lived well; that the Austrian -princes, especially in Spain, laid heavy burdens upon their subjects. -Thus did many of the English gentry, by way of comparison, in ordinary -discourse, plead for their own servitude. - -"The courtiers would begin to dispute against parliaments, in their -ordinary discourse, that they were cruel to those whom the king -favoured, and too injurious to his prerogative; that the late -parliament stood upon too high terms with the king, and that they -hoped the king should never need any more parliaments. Some of the -greatest statesmen and privy-counsellors would ordinarily laugh at the -ancient language of England, when the word liberty of the subject was -named. But these gentlemen, who seemed so forward in taking up their -own yoke, were but a small part of the nation (though a number -considerable enough to make a reformation hard) compared with those -gentlemen who were sensible of their birth-rights and the true -interest of the kingdom; on which side the common people in the -generality, and the country freeholders stood, who would rationally -argue of their own rights, and those oppressions that were laid upon -them." _Hist. of Parliament_, p. 12 (edit. 1812). - -[136] It is curious to contrast the inconsistent and feeble apologies -for the prerogative we read in Clarendon's _History_, with his speech -before the Lords, on impeaching the judges for their decision in the -case of ship-money. In this he speaks very strongly as to the -illegality of the proceedings of the judges in Rolls and Vassal's -cases, though in his _History_ he endeavours to insinuate that the -king had a right to tonnage and poundage; he inveighs also against the -decision in Bates's case, which he vindicates in his _History_. -_Somers Tracts_, iv. 302. Indeed the whole speech is irreconcilable -with the picture he afterwards drew of the prosperity of England, and -of the unreasonableness of discontent. - -The fact is, that when he sat down in Jersey to begin his _History_, -irritated, disappointed, afflicted at all that had passed in the last -five years, he could not bring his mind back to the state in which it -had been at the meeting of the long parliament; and believed himself -to have partaken far less in the sense of abuses and desire to redress -than he had really done. There may, however, be reason to suspect that -he had, in some respects, gone farther in the first draught of his -_History_ than appears at present; that is, I conceive, that he erased -himself some passages or phrases unfavourable to the court. Let the -reader judge from the following sentence in a letter to Nicholas -relating to his work, dated Feb. 12, 1647: "I will offer no excuse for -the entertaining of Con, who came after Panzani, and was succeeded by -Rosetti; which was a business of so much folly, or worse, that I have -mentioned it in my prolegomena (of those distempers and exorbitances -in government which prepared the people to submit to the fury of this -parliament), as an offence and scandal to religion, in the same degree -that ship-money was to liberty and property." _State Papers_, ii. 336. -But when we turn to the passage in the _History of the Rebellion_, p. -268, where this is mentioned, we do not find a single expression -reflecting on the court, though the catholics themselves are censured -for imprudence. This may serve to account for several of Clarendon's -inconsistencies; for nothing renders an author so inconsistent with -himself, as corrections made in a different temper of mind from that -which actuated him in the first composition. - -[137] _Strafford Letters_, ii. 186. - -[138] _Id._ 267. - -[139] _Id._ 191. - -[140] _Id._ ii. 250. "It was ever clear in my judgment," says -Strafford, "that the business of Scotland, so well laid, so pleasing -to God and man, had it been effected, was miserably lost in the -execution; yet it could never have so fatally miscarried, if there had -not been a failure likewise in this direction, occasioned either by -over-great desires to do all quietly without noise, by the state of -the business misrepresented, by opportunities and seasons slipped, or -by some such like." Laud answers in the same strain: "Indeed, my lord, -the business of Scotland, I can be bold to say without vanity, was -well laid, and was a great service to the crown as well as to God -himself. And that it should so fatally fail in the execution is a -great blow as well to the power as honour of the king," etc. He lays -the blame in a great degree on Lord Traquair. P. 264. - -[141] _Clarendon State Papers_, ii. 19. - -[142] _Id._ ii. 84, and Appendix xxvi. - -[143] Hume says that Charles had an accumulated treasure of L200,000 -at this time. I know not his authority for the particular sum: but -Clarendon pretends that "the revenue had been so well improved, and so -wisely managed, that there was money in the exchequer proportionable -for the undertaking any noble enterprise." This is, at the best, -strangely hyperbolical; but, in fact, there was an absolute want of -everything. Ship-money would have been a still more crying sin than it -was, if the produce had gone beyond the demands of the state; nor was -this ever imputed to the court. This is one of Lord Clarendon's -capital mistakes; for it leads him to speak of the treaty of Berwick -as a measure that might have been avoided, and even, in one place, to -ascribe it to the king's excessive lenity and aversion to shedding -blood; wherein a herd of superficial writers have followed him. - -[144] _Clarendon State Papers_, ii. 46, 54. Lest it should seem -extraordinary that I sometimes contradict Lord Clarendon on the -authority of his own collection of papers, it may be necessary to -apprise the reader, that none of these, anterior to the civil war, had -come in his possession till he had written this part of his _History_. - -[145] The grand jury of Northampton presented ship-money as a -grievance. But the privy-council wrote to the sheriff, that they would -not admit his affected excuses; and if he neglected to execute the -writ, a quick and exemplary reparation would be required of him. -Rushw. Abr. iii. 93. - -[146] _Id._ 47. The king writes in the margin of Windebank's letter, -informing him of Seymour's refusal: "You must needs make him an -example, not only by distress, but, if it be possible, an information -in some court, as Mr. Attorney shall advise." - -[147] _Strafford Letters_, ii. 308. - -[148] "The king hath so rattled my lord-keeper, that he is now the -most pliable man in England, and all thoughts of parliaments are quite -out of his pate." Cottington to Strafford, 29th Oct. 1633, vol. i. p. -141. - -[149] Vol. ii. p. 246. "So by this time," says a powerful writer, "all -thoughts of ever having a parliament again was quite banished; so many -oppressions had been set on foot, so many illegal actions done, that -the only way to justify the mischiefs already done was to do that one -greater; to take away the means which were ordained to redress them, -the lawful government of England by parliaments." May, _History of -Parliaments_, p. 11. - -[150] _Sidney Papers_, ii. 623; _Clarendon Papers_, ii. 81. - -[151] _Id. Ibid._ The attentive reader will not fail to observe, -that this is the identical language of the famous advice imputed to -Strafford, though used on another occasion. - -[152] May; Clarendon. The latter says, upon the dissolution of this -parliament: "It could never be hoped that so many sober and -dispassionate men would ever meet again in that place, or fewer who -brought ill purposes with them." This, like so many other passages in -the noble historian, is calculated rather to mislead the reader. All -the principal men who headed the popular party in the long parliament -were members of this; and the whole body, so far as their subsequent -conduct shows, was not at all constituted of different elements from -the rest: for I find, by comparison of the list of this parliament, in -Nalson's Collections, with that of the long parliament, in the -_Parliamentary History_, that eighty, at most, who had not sat in the -former, took the covenant; and that seventy-three, in the same -circumstances, sat in the king's convention at Oxford. The difference, -therefore, was not so much in the men, as in the times; the bad -administration and bad success of 1640, as well as the dissolution of -the short parliament, having greatly aggravated the public -discontents. - -The court had never augured well of this parliament. "The elections," -as Lord Northumberland writes to Lord Leicester at Paris (_Sidney -Papers_, ii. 641), "that are generally made of knights and burgesses -in this kingdom, give us cause to fear that the parliament will not -sit long; for such as have dependence upon the court are in divers -places refused, and the most refractory persons chosen." - -There are some strange things said by Clarendon of the ignorance of -the Commons as to the value of twelve subsidies, which Hume, who loves -to depreciate the knowledge of former times, implicitly copies. But -they cannot be true of that enlightened body, whatever blunders one or -two individuals might commit. The rate at which every man's estate was -assessed to a subsidy was perfectly notorious; and the burden of -twelve subsidies to be paid in three years, was more than the charge -of ship-money they had been enduring. - -[153] Journals; _Parl. Hist._; Nalson; Clarendon. - -[154] The king had long before said that "parliaments are like cats; -they grow curst with age." - -[155] See Mr. Waller's speech on Crawley's impeachment. Nalson, ii. -358. - -[156] _Mem. de Motteville_, i. 238-278; P. Orleans, _Rev. de -l'Angleterre_, tome iii., says the same of Vane; but his testimony may -resolve itself into the former. It is to be observed, that ship-money -which the king offered to relinquish, brought in L200,000 a year, and -that the proposed twelve subsidies would have amounted, at most, to -L840,000, to be paid in three years. Is it surprising that, when the -house displayed an intention not to grant the whole of this, as -appears by Clarendon's own story, the king and his advisers should -have thought it better to break off altogether? I see no reason for -imputing treachery to Vane, even if he did not act merely by the -king's direction. Clarendon says he and Herbert persuaded the king -that the house "would pass such a vote against ship-money as would -blast that revenue and other branches of the receipt; which others -believed they would not have the confidence to have attempted, and -very few that they would have had the credit to have compassed." P. -245. The word _they_ is as inaccurate, as is commonly the case with -this writer's language. But does he mean that the house would not have -passed a vote against ship-money? They had already entered on the -subject, and sent for records; and he admits himself, that they were -resolute against granting subsidies as a consideration for the -abandonment of that grievance. Besides, Hyde himself not only inveighs -most severely in his _History_ against ship-money, but was himself one -of the managers of the impeachment against six judges for their -conduct in regard to it; and his speech before the House of Lords on -that occasion is extant. Rushw. Abr. ii. 477. But this is merely one -instance of his eternal inconsistency. - -[157] _Parl. Hist._; Rushworth; Nalson. - -[158] June 4, 1640. _Sidney Papers_, ii. 654. - -[159] A late writer has spoken of this celebrated letter, as resting -on very questionable authority. Lingard, x. 43. It is, however, -mentioned as a known fact by several contemporary writers, and -particularly by the Earl of Manchester, in his unpublished Memorials, -from which Nalson has made extracts; and who could neither be -mistaken, nor have any apparent motive, in this private narrative, to -deceive. Nalson, ii. 427. - -[160] Rymer, xx. 432; Rushworth Abr. iii. 163, etc.; Nalson, i. 389, -etc. - -[161] Lord Clarendon seems not to have well understood the secret of -this Great Council, and supposes it to have been suggested by those -who wished for a parliament; whereas the _Hardwicke Papers_ show the -contrary. P. 116 and 118. His notions about the facility of composing -the public discontent are strangely mistaken: "Without doubt," he -says, "that fire at that time, which did shortly after burn the whole -kingdom, might have been covered under a bushel." But the whole of -this introductory book of his _History_ abounds with proofs that he -had partly forgotten, partly never known, the state of England before -the opening of the long parliament. In fact, the disaffection, or at -least discontent, had proceeded so far in 1640, that no human skill -could have averted a great part of the consequences. But Clarendon's -partiality to the king, and to some of his advisers, leads him to see -in every event particular causes, or an overruling destiny, rather -than the sure operation of impolicy and misgovernment. - -[162] These were Hertford, Bedford, Essex, Warwick, Paget, Wharton, -Say, Brook, Kimbolton, Saville, Mulgrave, Bolingbroke. Nalson, 436, -437. - -[163] This appears from the minutes of the council (_Hardwicke -Papers_), and contradicts the common opinion. Lord Conway's disaster -at Newburn was by no means surprising; the English troops, who had -been lately pressed into service, were perfectly mutinous; some -regiments had risen and even murdered their officers on the road. -Rymer, 414, 425. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -FROM THE MEETING OF THE LONG PARLIAMENT TO THE BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL -WAR - - -_Character of the long parliament._--We are now arrived at that -momentous period in our history, which no Englishman ever regards -without interest, and few without prejudice; the period from which the -factions of modern times trace their divergence; which, after the -lapse of almost two centuries, still calls forth the warm emotions of -party-spirit, and affords a test of political principles; at that -famous parliament, the theme of so much eulogy and of so much -reproach; that synod of inflexible patriots with some, that conclave -of traitorous rebels with others; that assembly, we may more truly -say, of unequal virtue and chequered fame, which, after having -acquired a higher claim to our gratitude, and effected more for our -liberties, than any that had gone before or that has followed, ended -by subverting the constitution it had strengthened, and by sinking in -its decrepitude, and amidst public contempt, beneath a usurper it had -blindly elevated to power. It seems agreeable to our plan, first to -bring together those admirable provisions by which this parliament -restored and consolidated the shattered fabric of our constitution, -before we advert to its measures of more equivocal benefit, or its -fatal errors; an arrangement not very remote from that of mere -chronology, since the former were chiefly completed within the first -nine months of its session, before the king's journey to Scotland in -the summer of 1641. - -It must, I think, be admitted by every one who concurs in the -representation given in this work, and especially in the last chapter, -of the practical state of our government, that some new securities of -a more powerful efficacy than any which the existing laws held forth -were absolutely indispensable for the preservation of English -liberties and privileges. These, however sacred in name, however -venerable by prescription, had been so repeatedly transgressed, that -to obtain their confirmation, as had been done in the petition of -right, and that as the price of large subsidies, would but expose the -Commons to the secret derision of the court. The king, by levying -ship-money in contravention of his assent to that petition, and by -other marks of insincerity, had given too just cause for suspicion -that, though very conscientious in his way, he had a fund of casuistry -at command that would always release him from any obligation to -respect the laws. Again, to punish delinquent ministers was a -necessary piece of justice; but who could expect that any such -retribution would deter ambitious and intrepid men from the splendid -lures of power? Whoever, therefore, came to the parliament of November -1640 with serious and steady purposes for the public weal, and most, I -believe, except mere courtiers, entertained such purposes according to -the measure of their capacities and energies, must have looked to some -essential change in the balance of government, some important -limitations of royal authority, as the primary object of his -attendance. - -Nothing could be more obvious than that the excesses of the late -unhappy times had chiefly originated in the long intermission of -parliaments. No lawyer would have dared to suggest ship-money with the -terrors of a House of Commons before his eyes. But the king's known -resolution to govern without parliaments gave bad men more confidence -of impunity. This resolution was not likely to be shaken by the -unpalatable chastisement of his servants and redress of abuses, on -which the present parliament was about to enter. A statute as old as -the reign of Edward III. had already provided that parliaments should -be held "every year, or oftener, if need be."[164] But this enactment -had in no age been respected. It was certain that in the present -temper of the administration, a law simply enacting that the interval -between parliaments should never exceed three years, would prove -wholly ineffectual. In the famous act therefore for triennial -parliaments, the first fruits of the Commons' laudable zeal for -reformation, such provisions were introduced as grated harshly on the -ears of those who valued the royal prerogative above the liberties of -the subject, but without which the act itself might have been -dispensed with. Every parliament was to be _ipso facto_ dissolved at -the expiration of three years from the first day of its session, -unless actually sitting at the time, and, in that case, at its first -adjournment or prorogation. The chancellor or keeper of the great seal -to be sworn to issue writs for a new parliament within three years -from the dissolution of the last, under pain of disability to hold his -office, and further punishment; in case of his failure to comply with -this provision, the peers were enabled and enjoined to meet at -Westminster, and to issue writs to the sheriffs; the sheriffs -themselves, should the peers not fulfil this duty, were to cause -elections to be duly made; and, in their default, at a prescribed time -the electors themselves were to proceed to choose their -representatives. No future parliament was to be dissolved or adjourned -without its own consent, in less than fifty days from the opening of -its session. It is more reasonable to doubt whether even these -provisions would have afforded an adequate security for the periodical -assembling of parliament, whether the supine and courtier-like -character of the peers, the want of concert and energy in the electors -themselves, would not have enabled the government to set the statute -at nought, than to censure them as derogatory to the reasonable -prerogative and dignity of the Crown. To this important bill the king, -with some apparent unwillingness, gave his assent.[165] It effected, -indeed, a strange revolution in the system of his government. The -nation set a due value on this admirable statute, the passing of which -they welcomed with bonfires and every mark of joy. - -After laying this solid foundation for the maintenance of such laws as -they might deem necessary, the house of commons proceeded to cut away -the more flagrant and recent usurpations of the Crown. They passed a -bill declaring ship-money illegal, and annulling the judgment of the -exchequer chamber against Mr. Hampden.[166] They put an end to another -contested prerogative, which, though incapable of vindication on any -legal authority, had more support from a usage of fourscore years, the -levying of customs on merchandise. In an act granting the king tonnage -and poundage, it is declared and enacted that it is, and hath been, -the ancient right of the subjects of this realm, that no subsidy, -custom, impost, or other charge whatsoever, ought or may be laid or -imposed upon any merchandise exported or imported by subjects, -denizens or aliens, without common consent in parliament.[167] This is -the last statute that has been found necessary to restrain the Crown -from arbitrary taxation, and may be deemed the complement of those -numerous provisions which the virtue of ancient times had extorted -from the first and third Edwards. - -Yet these acts were hardly so indispensable, nor wrought so essential -a change in the character of our monarchy, as that which abolished the -star-chamber. Though it was evident how little the statute of Henry -VII. could bear out that overweening power it had since arrogated, -though the statute-book and parliamentary records of the best ages -were irrefragable testimonies against its usurpations; yet the course -of precedents under the Tudor and Stuart families were so invariable -that nothing more was at first intended than a bill to regulate that -tribunal. A suggestion, thrown out, as Clarendon informs us, by one -not at all connected with the more ardent reformers, led to the -substitution of a bill for taking it altogether away.[168] This -abrogates all exercise of jurisdiction, properly so called, whether of -a civil or criminal nature, by the privy-council, as well as the -star-chamber. The power of examining and committing persons charged -with offences is by no means taken away; but, with a retrospect to the -language held by the judges and Crown lawyers in some cases that have -been mentioned, it is enacted that every person committed by the -council or any of them, or by the king's special command, may have his -writ of habeas corpus; in the return to which, the officer in whose -custody he is shall certify the true cause of his commitment, which -the court, from whence the writ has issued, shall within three days -examine, in order to see whether the cause thus certified appear to be -just and legal or not, and do justice accordingly by delivering, -bailing, or remanding the party. Thus fell the great court of -star-chamber; and with it the whole irregular and arbitrary practice -of government, that had for several centuries so thwarted the -operation and obscured the light of our free constitution, that many -have been prone to deny the existence of those liberties which they -found so often infringed, and to mistake the violations of law for its -standard. - -With the court of star-chamber perished that of the high-commission, a -younger birth of tyranny, but perhaps even more hateful, from the -peculiar irritation of the times. It had stretched its authority -beyond the tenor of the act of Elizabeth, whereby it had been created, -and which limits its competence to the correction of ecclesiastical -offences according to the known boundaries of ecclesiastical -jurisdiction, assuming a right, not only to imprison, but to fine the -laity, which was generally reckoned illegal.[169] The statute -repealing that of Elizabeth, under which the high-commission existed, -proceeds to take away from the ecclesiastical courts all power of -inflicting temporal penalties, in terms so large, and doubtless not -inadvertently employed, as to render their jurisdiction nugatory. This -part of the act was repealed after the restoration; and like the other -measures of that time, with little care to prevent the recurrence of -those abuses which had provoked its enactments.[170] - -A single clause in the act that abolished the star-chamber was -sufficient to annihilate the arbitrary jurisdiction of several other -irregular tribunals, grown out of the despotic temper of the Tudor -dynasty:--the court of the president and council of the North, long -obnoxious to the common lawyers, and lately the sphere of Strafford's -tyrannical arrogance;[171] the court of the president and council of -Wales and the Welsh marches, which had pretended, as before mentioned, -to a jurisdiction over the adjacent counties of Salop, Worcester, -Hereford, and Gloucester; with those of the duchy of Lancaster and -county palatine of Chester. These, under various pretexts, had usurped -so extensive a cognisance as to deprive one-third of England of the -privileges of the common law. The jurisdiction, however, of the two -latter courts in matters touching the king's private estate has not -been taken away by the statute. Another act afforded remedy for some -abuses in the stannary-courts of Cornwall and Devon.[172] Others -retrenched the vexatious prerogative of purveyance, and took away that -of compulsory knighthood.[173] And one of greater importance put an -end to a fruitful source of oppression and complaint, by determining -for ever the extent of royal forests, according to their boundaries in -the twentieth year of James, annulling all the preambulations and -inquests by which they had subsequently been enlarged.[174] - -I must here reckon, among the beneficial acts of this parliament, one -that passed some months afterwards, after the king's return from -Scotland, and perhaps the only measure of that second period on which -we can bestow unmixed commendation. The delays and uncertainties of -raising troops by voluntary enlistment, to which the temper of the -English nation, pacific though intrepid, and impatient of the strict -control of martial law, gave small encouragement, had led to the usage -of pressing soldiers for service, whether in Ireland, or on foreign -expeditions. This prerogative seeming dangerous and oppressive, as -well as of dubious legality, it is recited in the preamble of an act -empowering the king to levy troops by this compulsory method for the -special exigency of the Irish rebellion, that "by the laws of this -realm, none of his majesty's subjects ought to be impressed or -compelled to go out of his country to serve as a soldier in the wars, -except in case of necessity of the sudden coming in of strange enemies -into the kingdom, or except they be otherwise bound by the tenure of -their lands or possessions."[175] The king, in a speech from the -throne, adverted to this bill while passing through the houses, as an -invasion of his prerogative. This notice of a parliamentary proceeding -the Commons resented as a breach of their privilege; and having -obtained the consent of the Lords to a joint remonstrance, the king, -who was in no state to maintain his objection, gave his assent to the -bill. In the reigns of Elizabeth and James, we have seen frequent -instances of the Crown's interference as to matters debated in -parliament. But from the time of the long parliament, the law of -privilege, in this respect, has stood on an unshaken basis.[176] - -These are the principal statutes which we owe to this parliament. They -give occasion to two remarks of no slight importance. In the first -place, it will appear, on comparing them with our ancient laws and -history, that they made scarce any material change in our constitution -such as it had been established and recognised under the house of -Plantagenet: the law for triennial parliaments even receded from those -unrepealed provisions of the reign of Edward III., that they should be -assembled annually. The court of star-chamber, if it could be said to -have a legal jurisdiction, traced it only to the Tudor period; its -recent excesses were diametrically opposed to the existing laws, and -the protestations of ancient parliaments. The court of ecclesiastical -commission was an offset of the royal supremacy, established at the -Reformation. The impositions on merchandise were both plainly illegal, -and of no long usage. That of ship-money was flagrantly, and by -universal confession, a strain of arbitrary power without pretext of -right. Thus, in by far the greater part of the enactments of 1641, the -monarchy lost nothing that it had anciently possessed; and the balance -of our constitution might seem rather to have been restored to its -former equipoise, than to have undergone any fresh change. - -But those common liberties of England which our forefathers had, with -such commendable perseverance, extorted from the grasp of power, -though by no means so merely theoretical and nugatory in effect as -some would insinuate, were yet very precarious in the best periods, -neither well defined, nor exempt from anomalous exceptions, or from -occasional infringement. Some of them, such as the statute for annual -sessions of parliament, had gone into disuse. Those that were most -evident, could not be enforced; and the new tribunals that, whether by -law or usurpation, had reared their heads over the people, had made -almost all public and personal rights dependent on their arbitrary -will. It was necessary, therefore, to infuse new blood into the -languid frame, and so to renovate our ancient constitution that the -present aera should seem almost a new birth of liberty. Such was the -aim, especially, of those provisions which placed the return of -parliaments at fixed intervals beyond the power of the Crown to elude. -It was hoped that by their means, so long as a sense of public spirit -should exist in the nation (and beyond that time it is vain to think -of liberty), no prince, however able and ambitious, could be free from -restraint for more than three years; an interval too short for the -completion of arbitrary projects, and which few ministers would -venture to employ in such a manner as might expose them to the wrath -of parliament. - -It is to be observed, in the second place, that by these salutary -restrictions, and some new retrenchments of pernicious or abused -prerogative, the long parliament formed our constitution such nearly -as it now exists. Laws of great importance were doubtless enacted in -subsequent times, particularly at the Revolution; but none of them, -perhaps, were strictly necessary for the preservation of our civil and -political privileges; and it is rather from 1641 than any other epoch, -that we may date their full legal establishment. That single statute -which abolished the star-chamber, gave every man a security which no -other enactments could have afforded, and which no government could -essentially impair. Though the reigns of the two latter Stuarts, -accordingly, are justly obnoxious, and were marked by several illegal -measures, yet, whether we consider the number and magnitude of their -transgressions of law, or the practical oppression of their -government, these princes fell very short of the despotism that had -been exercised, either under the Tudors, or the two first of their own -family. - -From this survey of the good works of the long parliament, we must -turn our eyes with equal indifference to the opposite picture of its -errors and offences; faults which, though the mischiefs they produced -were chiefly temporary, have yet served to obliterate from the -recollection of too many the permanent blessings we have inherited -through its exertions. In reflecting on the events which so soon -clouded a scene of glory, we ought to learn the dangers that attend -all revolutionary crises, however justifiable or necessary; and that, -even when posterity may have cause to rejoice in the ultimate result, -the existing generation are seldom compensated for their present loss -of tranquillity. The very enemies of this parliament confess that they -met in November 1640 with almost unmingled zeal for the public good, -and with loyal attachment to the Crown. They were the chosen -representatives of the commons of England, in an age more eminent for -steady and scrupulous conscientiousness in private life, than any, -perhaps, that had gone before or has followed; not the demagogues or -adventurers of transient popularity, but men well-born and wealthy, -than whom there could perhaps never be assembled five hundred more -adequate to redress the grievances, or to fix the laws of a great -nation. But they were misled by the excess of two passions, both just -and natural in the circumstances wherein they found themselves, -resentment and distrust; passions eminently contagious, and -irresistible when they seize on the zeal and credulity of a popular -assembly. The one betrayed them into a measure certainly severe and -sanguinary, and in the eyes of posterity exposed to greater reproach -than it deserved, the attainder of Lord Strafford, and some other -proceedings of too much violence; the other gave a colour to all their -resolutions, and aggravated their differences with the king till there -remained no other arbitrator but the sword. - -_Impeachment of Strafford._--Those who know the conduct and character -of the Earl of Strafford, his abuse of power in the north, his far -more outrageous transgressions in Ireland, his dangerous influence -over the king's counsels, cannot hesitate to admit, if indeed they -profess any regard to the constitution of this kingdom, that to bring -so great a delinquent to justice according to the known process of law -was among the primary duties of the new parliament. It was that which -all, with scarce an exception but among his own creatures (for most of -the court were openly or in secret his enemies),[177] ardently -desired; yet which the king's favour and his own commanding genius -must have rendered a doubtful enterprise. He came to London, not -unconscious of the danger, by his master's direct injunctions. The -first days of the session were critical; and any vacillation or delay -in the Commons might probably have given time for some strong exertion -of power to frustrate their designs. We must therefore consider the -bold suggestion of Pym, to carry up to the Lords an impeachment for -high treason against Strafford, not only as a master-stroke of that -policy which is fittest for revolutions, but as justifiable by the -circumstances wherein they stood. Nothing short of a commitment to the -Tower would have broken the spell that so many years of arbitrary -dominion had been working. It was dissipated in the instant that the -people saw him in the hands of the usher of the black rod; and with -his power fell also that of his master; so that Charles, from the very -hour of Strafford's impeachment, never once ventured to resume the -high tone of command congenial to his disposition, or to speak to the -Commons but as one complaining of a superior force.[178] - -_Discussion of its justice._--The articles of Strafford's impeachment -relate principally to his conduct in Ireland. For though he had begun -to act with violence in the court of York, as lord-president of the -North, and was charged with having procured a commission investing him -with exorbitant power, yet he had too soon left that sphere of -dominion for the lieutenancy of Ireland, to give any wide scope for -prosecution, but in Ireland it was sufficiently proved that he had -arrogated an authority beyond what the Crown had ever lawfully -enjoyed, and even beyond the example of former viceroys of that -island, where the disordered state of society, the frequency of -rebellions, and the distance from all control, had given rise to such -a series of arbitrary precedents, as would have almost excused any -ordinary stretch of power.[179] Notwithstanding this, however, when -the managers came to state and substantiate their articles of -accusation, though some were satisfied that there was enough to -warrant the severest judgment, yet it appeared to many dispassionate -men that, even supposing the evidence as to all of them to be legally -convincing, they could not, except through a dangerous latitude of -construction, be aggravated into treason. The law of England is silent -as to conspiracies against itself. St. John and Maynard struggled in -vain to prove that a scheme to overturn the fundamental laws and to -govern by a standing army, though as infamous as any treason, could be -brought within the words of the statute of Edward III., as a -compassing of the king's death. Nor, in fact, was there any conclusive -evidence against Strafford of such a design. The famous words imputed -to him by Sir Henry Vane, though there can be little reason to -question that some such were spoken, seem too imperfectly -reported,[180] as well as uttered too much in the heat of passion, to -furnish a substantive accusation; and I should rather found my -conviction of Strafford's systematic hostility to our fundamental laws -on his correspondence since brought to light, as well as on his -general conduct in administration, than on any overt acts proved on -his impeachment. The presumption of history, to whose mirror the -scattered rays of moral evidence converge, may be irresistible, when -the legal inference from insulated actions is not only technically, -but substantially, inconclusive. Yet we are not to suppose that the -charges against this minister appeared so evidently to fall short of -high treason, according to the apprehension of that age, as in later -times has usually been taken for granted. Accustomed to the unjust -verdicts obtained in cases of treason by the court, the statute of -Edward having been perpetually stretched by constructive -interpretations, neither the people nor the lawyers annexed a definite -sense to that crime. The judges themselves, on a solemn reference by -the House of Lords for their opinion, whether some of the articles -charged against Strafford amounted to treason, answered unanimously, -that upon all which their lordships had voted to be proved, it was -their opinion the Earl of Strafford did deserve to undergo the pains -and penalties of high treason by law.[181] And, as an apology, at -least, for this judicial opinion, it may be remarked that the -fifteenth article of the impeachment, charging him with raising money -by his own authority, and quartering troops on the people of Ireland, -in order to compel their obedience to his unlawful requisitions (upon -which, and one other article, not on the whole matter, the peers voted -him guilty), does in fact approach very nearly, if we may not say -more, to a substantive treason within the statute of Edward III., as -a levying war against the king, even without reference to some Irish -acts of parliament upon which the managers of the impeachment relied. -It cannot be extravagant to assert that if the colonel of a regiment -were to issue an order commanding the inhabitants of the district -where it is quartered to contribute certain sums of money, and were to -compel the payment by quartering troops on the houses of those who -refused, in a general and systematic manner, he would, according to a -warrantable construction of the statutes, be guilty of the treason -called levying war on the king; and that, if we could imagine him to -do this by an order from the privy council or the war office, the case -would not be at all altered. On the other hand, a single act of which -violence might be (in technical language) trespass, misdemeanour, or -felony, according to circumstances; but would want the generality, -which, as the statute has been construed, determines its character to -be treason. It is however manifest that Strafford's actual enforcement -of his order, by quartering soldiers, was not by any means proved to -be so frequently done as to bring it within the line of treason; and -the evidence is also open to every sort of legal objection. But in -that age, the rules of evidence, so scrupulously defined since, were -either very imperfectly recognised, or continually transgressed. If -then Strafford could be brought within the letter of the law, and was -also deserving of death for his misdeeds towards the commonwealth, it -might be thought enough to justify his condemnation, although he had -not offended against what seemed to be the spirit and intention of the -statute. This should, at least, restrain us from passing an -unqualified censure on those who voted against him, comprehending -undoubtedly the far more respectable portion of the Commons, though -only twenty-six peers against nineteen formed the feeble majority on -the bill of attainder.[182] It may be observed that the House of -Commons acted in one respect with a generosity which the Crown had -never shown in any case of treason, by immediately passing a bill to -relieve his children from the penalties of forfeiture and corruption -of blood. - -It is undoubtedly a very important problem in political ethics, -whether great offences against the commonwealth may not justly incur -the penalty of death by a retrospective act of the legislature, which -a tribunal restrained by known laws is not competent to inflict. Bills -of attainder had been by no means uncommon in England, especially -under Henry VIII.; but generally when the crime charged might have -been equally punished by law. They are less dangerous than to stretch -the boundaries of a statute by arbitrary construction. Nor do they -seem to differ at all in principle from those bills of pains and -penalties, which, in times of comparative moderation and tranquillity, -have sometimes been thought necessary to visit some unforeseen and -anomalous transgression beyond the reach of our penal code. There are -many, indeed, whose system absolutely rejects all such retrospective -punishment, either from the danger of giving too much scope to -vindictive passion, or on some more abstract principle of justice. -Those who may incline to admit that the moral competence of the -sovereign power to secure itself by the punishment of a heinous -offender, even without the previous warning of law, is not to be -denied, except by reasoning, which would shake the foundation of his -right to inflict punishment in ordinary cases, will still be sensible -of the mischief which any departure from stable rules, under the -influence of the most public-spirited zeal, is likely to produce. The -attainder of Strafford could not be justifiable, unless it were -necessary; nor necessary, if a lighter penalty would have been -sufficient for the public security. - -This therefore becomes a preliminary question, upon which the whole -mainly turns. It is one which does not seem to admit of a -demonstrative answer; but with which we can perhaps deal better than -those who lived at that time. Their distrust of the king, their -apprehension that nothing less than the delinquent minister's death -could ensure them from his return to power, rendered the leaders of -parliament obstinate against any proposition of a mitigated penalty. -Nor can it be denied that there are several instances in history, -where the favourites of monarchs, after a transient exile or -imprisonment, have returned, on some fresh wave of fortune, to mock or -avenge themselves upon their adversaries. Yet the prosperous condition -of the popular party, which nothing but intemperate passion was likely -to impair, rendered this contingency by no means probable; and it is -against probable dangers that nations should take precautions, without -aiming at more complete security than the baffling uncertainties of -events will permit. Such was Strafford's unpopularity, that he could -never have gained any sympathy, but by the harshness of his -condemnation and the magnanimity it enabled him to display. These have -half redeemed his forfeit fame, and misled a generous posterity. It -was agreed on all hands that any punishment which the law could award -to the highest misdemeanours, duly proved on impeachment, must be -justly inflicted. "I am still the same," said Lord Digby, in his -famous speech against the bill of attainder, "in my opinions and -affections, as unto the Earl of Strafford; I confidently believe him -to be the most dangerous minister, the most insupportable of free -subjects, that can be charactered. I believe him to be still that -grand apostate to the commonwealth, who must not expect to be pardoned -in this world till he be despatched to the other. And yet, let me tell -you, Mr. Speaker, my hand must not be to that despatch."[183] These -sentiments, whatever we may think of the sincerity of him who uttered -them, were common to many of those who desired most ardently to see -that uniform course of known law, which neither the court's lust of -power nor the clamorous indignation of a popular assembly might turn -aside. The king, whose conscience was so deeply wounded by his -acquiescence in this minister's death, would gladly have assented to -a bill inflicting the penalty of perpetual banishment; and this, -accompanied, as it ought to have been, by degradation from the rank -for which he had sold his integrity, would surely have exhibited to -Europe an example sufficiently conspicuous of just retribution. Though -nothing perhaps could have restored a tolerable degree of confidence -between Charles and the parliament, it is certain that his resentment -and aversion were much aggravated by the painful compulsion they had -put on him, and that the schism among the constitutional party began -from this, among other causes, to grow more sensible, till it -terminated in civil war.[184] - -But, if we pay such regard to the principles of clemency and -moderation, and of adherence to the fixed rules of law, as to pass -some censure on this deviation from them in the attainder of Lord -Strafford, we must not yield to the clamorous invectives of his -admirers, or treat the prosecution as a scandalous and flagitious -excess of party vengeance. Look round the nations of the globe, and -say in what age or country would such a man have fallen into the hands -of his enemies, without paying the forfeit of his offences against the -commonwealth with his life. They who grasp at arbitrary power, they -who make their fellow-citizens tremble before them, they who gratify a -selfish pride by the humiliation and servitude of mankind, have always -played a deep stake; and the more invidious and intolerable has been -their pre-eminence, their fall has been more destructive, and their -punishment more exemplary. Something beyond the retirement or the -dismissal of such ministers has seemed necessary to "absolve the -gods," and furnish history with an awful lesson of retribution. The -spontaneous instinct of nature has called for the axe and the gibbet -against such capital delinquents. If then we blame, in some measure, -the sentence against Strafford, it is not for his sake, but for that -of the laws on which he trampled, and of the liberty which he -betrayed. He died justly before God and man, though we may deem the -precedent dangerous, and the better course of a magnanimous lenity -unwisely rejected; and in condemning the bill of attainder, we cannot -look upon it as a crime. - -_Act against dissolution of parliament without its consent._--The same -distrustful temper, blamable in nothing but its excess, drew the House -of Commons into a measure more unconstitutional than the attainder of -Strafford, the bill enacting that they should not be dissolved without -their own consent. Whether or not this had been previously meditated -by the leaders is uncertain; but the circumstances under which it was -adopted display all the blind precipitancy of fear. A scheme for -bringing up the army from the north of England to overawe parliament -had been discoursed of, or rather in a great measure concerted, by -some young courtiers and military men. The imperfection and -indefiniteness of the evidence obtained respecting this plot -increased, as often happens, the apprehensions of the Commons. Yet, -difficult as it might be to fix its proper character between a loose -project and a deliberate conspiracy, this at least was hardly to be -denied, that the king had listened to and approved a proposal of -appealing from the representatives of his people to a military -force.[185] Their greatest danger was a sudden dissolution. The -triennial bill afforded indeed a valuable security for the future. Yet -if the present parliament had been broken with any circumstances of -violence, it might justly seem very hazardous to confide in the right -of spontaneous election reserved to the people by that statute, which -the Crown would have three years to defeat. A rapid impulse, rather -than any concerted resolution, appears to have dictated this hardy -encroachment on the prerogative. The bill against the dissolution of -the present parliament without its own consent was resolved in a -committee on the fifth of May, brought in the next day, and sent to -the Lords on the seventh. The upper house, in a conference the same -day, urged a very wise and constitutional amendment, limiting its -duration to the term of two years. But the Commons adhering to their -original provisions, the bill was passed by both houses on the -eighth.[186] Thus, in the space of three days from the first -suggestion, an alteration was made in the frame of our polity, which -rendered the House of Commons equally independent of their sovereign -and their constituents; and, if it could be supposed capable of being -maintained in more tranquil times, would, in the theory at least of -speculative politics, have gradually converted the government into -something like a Dutch aristocracy. The ostensible pretext was, that -money could not be borrowed on the authority of resolutions of -parliament, until some security was furnished to the creditors, that -those whom they were to trust should have a permanent existence. This -argument would have gone a great way, and was capable of an answer; -since the money might have been borrowed on the authority of the whole -legislature. But the chief motive, unquestionably, was a just -apprehension of the king's intention to overthrow the parliament, and -of personal danger to those who had stood most forward from his -resentment after a dissolution. His ready acquiescence in this bill, -far more dangerous than any of those at which he demurred, can only be -ascribed to his own shame and the queen's consternation at the -discovery of the late plot; and thus we trace again the calamities of -Charles to their two great sources; his want of judgment in affairs, -and of good faith towards his people. - -_Innovations meditated in the church._--The parliament had met with as -ardent and just an indignation against ecclesiastical as temporal -grievances. The tyranny, the folly, and rashness of Charles's bishops -were still greater than his own. It was evidently an indispensable -duty to reduce the overbearing ascendancy of that order, which had -rendered the nation, in regard to spiritual dominion, a great loser by -the Reformation. They had been so blindly infatuated, as even in the -year 1640, amidst all the perils of the times, to fill up the measure -of public wrath by enacting a series of canons in convocation. These -enjoined, or at least recommended, some of the modern innovations, -which, though many excellent men had been persecuted for want of -compliance with them, had not got the sanction of authority. They -imposed an oath on the clergy, commonly called the _et caetera_ oath, -binding them to attempt no alteration in the government of the church -by bishops, deans, archdeacons, etc. This oath was by the same -authority enjoined to such of the laity as held ecclesiastical -offices.[187] The king, however, on the petition of the council of -peers at York, directed it not to be taken. The House of Commons -rescinded these canons with some degree of excess on the other side; -not only denying the right of convocation to bind the clergy, which -had certainly been exercised in all periods, but actually impeaching -the bishops for a high misdemeanour on that account.[188] The Lords, -in the month of March, appointed a committee of ten earls, ten -bishops, and ten barons, to report upon the innovations lately brought -into the church. Of this committee Williams was chairman. But the -spirit which now possessed the Commons was not to be exorcised by the -sacrifice of Laud and Wren, or even by such inconsiderable alterations -as the moderate bishops were ready to suggest.[189] - -There had always existed a party, though by no means co-extensive with -that bearing the general name of puritan, who retained an insuperable -aversion to the whole scheme of episcopal discipline, as inconsistent -with the ecclesiastical parity they believed to be enjoined by the -apostles. It is not easy to determine what proportion these bore to -the community. They were certainly at the opening of the parliament by -far the less numerous, though an active and increasing party. Few of -the House of Commons, according to Clarendon and the best contemporary -writers, looked to a destruction of the existing hierarchy.[190] The -more plausible scheme was one which had the sanction of Usher's -learned judgment, and which Williams was said to favour, for what was -called a moderate episcopacy; wherein the bishop, reduced to a sort of -president of his college of presbyters, and differing from them only -in rank, not in species (_gradu, non ordine_), should act, whether in -ordination or jurisdiction, by their concurrence.[191] This -intermediate form of church-government would probably have contented -the popular leaders of the Commons, except two or three, and have -proved acceptable to the nation. But it was hardly less offensive to -the Scottish presbyterians, intolerant of the smallest deviation from -their own model, than to the high-church episcopalians; and the -necessity of humouring that proud and prejudiced race of people, who -began already to show that an alteration in the church of England -would be their stipulated condition for any assistance they might -afford to the popular party, led the majority of the House of Commons -to give more countenance than they sincerely intended to a bill, -preferred by what was then called the root and branch party, for the -entire abolition of episcopacy. This party, composed chiefly of -presbyterians, but with no small admixture of other sectaries, -predominated in the city of London. At the instigation of the Scots -commissioners, a petition against episcopal government with 15,000 -signatures was presented early in the session (Dec. 11, 1640), and -received so favourably as to startle those who bore a good affection -to the church.[192] This gave rise to the first difference that was -expressed in parliament: Digby speaking warmly against the reference -of this petition to a committee, and Falkland, though strenuous for -reducing the prelates' authority, showing much reluctance to abolish -their order.[193] A bill was however brought in by Sir Edward Dering, -an honest but not very enlightened or consistent man, for the utter -extirpation of episcopacy, and its second reading carried on a -division by 139 to 108.[194] This, no doubt, seems to show the -anti-episcopal party to have been stronger than Clarendon admits. Yet -I suspect that the greater part of those who voted for it did not -intend more than to intimidate the bishops. Petitions very numerously -signed, for the maintenance of episcopal government, were presented -from several counties;[195] nor is it, I think, possible to doubt -that the nation sought only the abridgment of that coercive -jurisdiction and temporal power, by which the bishops had forfeited -the reverence due to their function, as well as that absolute -authority over presbyters, which could not be reconciled to the -customs of the primitive church.[196] This was the object both of the -act abolishing the high commission, which, by the largeness of its -expressions, seemed to take away all coercive jurisdiction from the -ecclesiastical courts, and of that for depriving the bishops of their -suffrages among the peers; which, after being once rejected by a large -majority of the Lords in June 1641, passed into a law in the month of -February following, and was the latest concession that the king made -before his final appeal to arms.[197] - -This was hardly perhaps a greater alteration of the established -constitution than had resulted from the suppression of the monasteries -under Henry; when, by the fall of the mitred abbots, the secular peers -acquired a preponderance in number over the spiritual which they had -not previously enjoyed. It was supported by several persons, -especially Lord Falkland, by no means inclined to subvert the -episcopal discipline; whether from a hope to compromise better with -the opposite party by this concession, or from a sincere belief that -the bishops might be kept better to the duties of their function by -excluding them from civil power. Considered generally, it may be -reckoned a doubtful question in the theory of our government, whether -the mixture of this ecclesiastical aristocracy with the House of Lords -is advantageous or otherwise to the public interests, or to those of -religion. Their great revenues, and the precedence allotted them, seem -naturally to place them on this level; and the general property of the -clergy, less protected than that of other classes against the cupidity -of an administration or a faction, may perhaps require this peculiar -security. In fact, the disposition of the English to honour the -ministers of the church, as well as to respect the ancient -institutions of their country, has usually been so powerful, that the -question would hardly have been esteemed dubious, if the bishops -themselves (I speak of course with such limitations as the nature of -the case requires) had been at all times sufficiently studious to -maintain a character of political independence, or even to conceal a -spirit of servility, which the pernicious usage of continual -translations from one see to another, borrowed, like many other parts -of our ecclesiastical law, from the most corrupt period of the church -of Rome, has had so manifest a tendency to engender. - -The spirit of ecclesiastical, rather than civil, democracy, was the -first sign of the approaching storm that alarmed the Hertfords and -Southamptons, the Hydes and Falklands. Attached to the venerable -church of the English reformation, they were loth to see the rashness -of some prelates avenged by her subversion, or a few recent -innovations repressed by incomparably more essential changes. Full of -regard for established law, and disliking the puritan bitterness, -aggravated as it was by long persecution, they revolted from the -indecent devastation committed in churches by the populace, and from -the insults which now fell on the conforming ministers. The Lords -early distinguished their temper as to those points by an order on the -16th of January for the performance of divine service according to -law, in consequence of the tumults that had been caused by the heated -puritans under pretence of abolishing innovations. Little regard was -shown to this order;[198] but it does not appear that the Commons went -farther on the opposite side than to direct some ceremonial novelties -to be discontinued, and to empower one of their members, Sir Robert -Harley, to take away all pictures, crosses, and superstitious figures -within churches or without.[199] But this order, like many of their -other acts, was a manifest encroachment on the executive power of the -Crown.[200] - -_Schism in the constitutional party._--It seems to have been about the -time of the summer recess, during the king's absence in Scotland, that -the apprehension of changes in church and state far beyond what had -been dreamed of at the opening of parliament, led to a final schism -in the constitutional party.[201] Charles, by abandoning his former -advisers, and yielding, with just as much reluctance as displayed the -value of the concession, to a series of laws that abridged his -prerogative, had recovered a good deal of the affection and confidence -of some, and gained from others that sympathy which is seldom withheld -from undeserving princes in their humiliation. Though the ill-timed -death of the Earl of Bedford in May had partly disappointed an -intended arrangement for bringing the popular leaders into office, yet -the appointments of Essex, Holland, Say, and St. John from that party -were apparently pledges of the king's willingness to select his -advisers from their ranks; whatever cause there might be to suspect -that their real influence over him would be too inconsiderable.[202] -Those who were still excluded, and who distrusted the king's -intentions as well towards themselves as the public cause, of whom Pym -and Hampden, with the assistance of St. John, though actually -solicitor-general, were the chief, found no better means of keeping -alive the animosity that was beginning to subside, than by framing -the Remonstrance on the state of the kingdom, presented to the king -in November 1641. This being a recapitulation of all the grievances -and misgovernment that had existed since his accession, which his -acquiescence in so many measures of redress ought, according to the -common courtesy due to sovereigns, to have cancelled, was hardly -capable of answering any other purpose than that of re-animating -discontents almost appeased, and guarding the people against the -confidence they were beginning to place in the king's sincerity. The -promoters of it might also hope from Charles's proud and hasty temper -that he would reply in such a tone as would more exasperate the -Commons. But he had begun to use the advice of judicious men, -Falkland, Hyde, and Colepepper, and reined in his natural violence so -as to give his enemies no advantage over him. - -The jealousy, which nations ought never to lay aside, was especially -required towards Charles, whose love of arbitrary dominion was much -better proved than his sincerity in relinquishing it. But if he were -intended to reign at all, and to reign with any portion either of the -prerogatives of an English king, or the respect claimed by every -sovereign, the Remonstrance of the Commons could but prolong an -irritation incompatible with public tranquillity. It admits indeed of -no question, that the schemes of Pym, Hampden, and St. John, already -tended to restrain the king's personal exercise of any effective -power, from a sincere persuasion that no confidence could ever be -placed in him, though not to abolish the monarchy, or probably to -abridge in the same degree the rights of his successor. Their -Remonstrance was put forward to stem the returning tide of loyalty, -which not only threatened to obstruct the further progress of their -endeavours, but, as they would allege, might, by gaining strength, -wash away some at least of the bulwarks that had been so recently -constructed for the preservation of liberty. It was carried in a full -house by the small majority of 159 to 148.[203] So much was it deemed -a trial of strength, that Cromwell declared after the division that, -had the question been lost, he would have sold his estate, and retired -to America. - -_Suspicions of the king's sincerity._--It may be thought rather -surprising that, with a House of Commons so nearly balanced as they -appeared on this vote, the king should have new demands that -annihilated his authority made upon him, and have found a greater -majority than had voted the Remonstrance ready to oppose him by arms; -especially as that paper contained little but what was true, and might -rather be censured as an ill-timed provocation than an encroachment on -the constitutional prerogative. But there were circumstances, both of -infelicity and misconduct, which aggravated that distrust whereon -every measure hostile to him was grounded. His imprudent connivance at -popery, and the far more reprehensible encouragement given to it by -his court, had sunk deep in the hearts of his people. His ill-wishers -knew how to irritate the characteristic sensibility of the English on -this topic. The queen, unpopular on the score of her imputed arbitrary -counsels, was odious as a maintainer of idolatry.[204] The lenity -shown to convicted popish priests, who, though liable to capital -punishment, had been suffered to escape with sometimes a very short -imprisonment, was naturally (according to the maxims of those times) -treated as a grievance by the Commons, who petitioned for the -execution of one Goodman and others in similar circumstances, perhaps -in the hope that the king would attempt to shelter them. But he -dexterously left it to the house whether they should die or not; and -none of them actually suffered.[205] Rumours of pretended conspiracies -by the catholics were perpetually in circulation, and rather -unworthily encouraged by the chiefs of the Commons. More substantial -motives for alarm appeared to arise from the obscure transaction in -Scotland, commonly called the Incident, which looked so like a -concerted design against the two great leaders of the constitutional -party, Hamilton and Argyle, that it was not unnatural to anticipate -something similar in England.[206] In the midst of these -apprehensions, as if to justify every suspicion and every severity, -burst out the Irish rebellion with its attendant massacre. Though -nothing could be more unlikely in itself, or less supported by proof, -than the king's connivance at this calamity, from which every man of -common understanding could only expect, what actually resulted from -it, a terrible aggravation of his difficulties, yet, with that -distrustful temper of the English, and their jealous dread of popery, -he was never able to conquer their suspicions that he had either -instigated the rebellion, or was very little solicitous to suppress -it; suspicions indeed, to which, however ungrounded at this particular -period, some circumstances that took place afterwards gave an apparent -confirmation.[207] - -It was, perhaps, hardly practicable for the king, had he given less -real excuse for it than he did, to lull that disquietude which so many -causes operated to excite. The most circumspect discretion of a prince -in such a difficult posture cannot restrain the rashness of eager -adherents, or silence the murmurs of a discontented court. Those -nearest Charles's person, and who always possessed too much of his -confidence, were notoriously and naturally averse to the recent -changes. Their threatening but idle speeches, and impotent -denunciations of resentment, conveyed with malignant exaggeration -among the populace, provoked those tumultuous assemblages, which -afforded the king no bad pretext for withdrawing himself from a -capital where his personal dignity was so little respected.[208] It is -impossible, however, to deny that he gave by his own conduct no -trifling reasons for suspicion, and last of all by the appointment of -Lunsford to the government of the Tower; a choice for which, as it -would never have been made from good motives, it was natural to seek -the worst.[209] But the single false step which rendered his affairs -irretrievable by anything short of civil war, and placed all -reconciliation at an insuperable distance, was his attempt to seize -the five members within the walls of the house; an evident violation, -not of common privilege, but of all security for the independent -existence of parliament in the mode of its execution, and leading to a -very natural though perhaps mistaken surmise, that the charge itself -of high treason made against these distinguished leaders, without -communicating any of its grounds, had no other foundation than their -parliamentary conduct. And we are in fact warranted by the authority -of the queen herself to assert that their aim in this most secret -enterprise was to strike terror into the parliament, and regain the -power that had been wrested from their grasp.[210] It is unnecessary -to dwell on a measure so well known, and which scarce any of the -king's advocates have defended. The only material subject it affords -for reflection is, how far the manifest hostility of Charles to the -popular chiefs might justify them in rendering it harmless by wresting -the sword out of his hands. No man doubtless has a right, for the sake -only of his own security, to subvert his country's laws, or to plunge -her into civil war. But Hampden, Hollis, and Pym might not absurdly -consider the defence of English freedom bound up in their own, -assailed as they were for its sake and by its enemies. It is observed -by Clarendon that "Mr. Hampden was much altered after this accusation; -his nature and courage seeming much fiercer than before." And it is -certain that both he and Mr. Pym were not only most forward in all the -proceedings which brought on the war, but among the most implacable -opponents of all overtures towards reconciliation; so that although -both dying in 1643, we cannot pronounce with absolute certainty as to -their views, there can be little room to doubt that they would have -adhered to the side of Cromwell and St. John, in the great separation -of the parliamentary party. - -The noble historian confesses that not Hampden alone, but the -generality of those who were beginning to judge more favourably of the -king, had their inclinations alienated by this fatal act of -violence.[211] It is worthy of remark that each of the two most -striking encroachments on the king's prerogative sprung directly from -the suspicions roused of an intention to destroy their privileges: the -bill perpetuating the parliament having been hastily passed on the -discovery of Percy's and Jermyn's conspiracy, and the present attempt -on the five members inducing the Commons to insist peremptorily on -vesting the command of the militia in persons of their own nomination; -a security, indeed, at which they had been less openly aiming from the -time of that conspiracy, and particularly of late.[212] Every one -knows that this was the grand question upon which the quarrel finally -rested; but it may be satisfactory to show more precisely than our -historians have generally done, what was meant by the power of the -militia, and what was the exact ground of dispute in this respect -between Charles I. and his parliament. - -_Historical sketch of the military force in England._--The military -force which our ancient constitution had placed in the hands of its -chief magistrate and those deriving authority from him, may be classed -under two descriptions; one principally designed to maintain the -king's and the nation's rights abroad, the other to protect them at -home from attack or disturbance. The first comprehends the tenures by -knight's service, which, according to the constant principles of a -feudal monarchy, bound the owners of lands thus held from the Crown, -to attend the king in war, within or without the realm, mounted and -armed, during the regular term of service. Their own vassals were -obliged by the same law to accompany them. But the feudal service was -limited to forty days, beyond which time they could be retained only -by their own consent, and at the king's expense. The military tenants -were frequently called upon in expeditions against Scotland, and last -of all in that of 1640; but the short duration of their legal service -rendered it of course nearly useless in continental warfare. Even when -they formed the battle, or line of heavy armed cavalry, it was -necessary to complete the army by recruits of foot-soldiers, whom -feudal tenure did not regularly supply, and whose importance was soon -made sensible by their skill in our national weapon, the bow. What -was the extent of the king's lawful prerogative for two centuries or -more after the conquest as to compelling any of his subjects to serve -him in foreign war, independently of the obligations of tenure, is a -question scarcely to be answered; since, knowing so imperfectly the -boundaries of constitutional law in that period, we have little to -guide us but precedents; and precedents, in such times, are apt to be -much more records of power than of right. We find certainly several -instances under Edward I. and Edward II., sometimes of proclamations -to the sheriffs, directing them to notify to all persons of sufficient -estate that they must hold themselves ready to attend the king -whenever he should call on them, sometimes of commissions to -particular persons in different counties, who are enjoined to choose -and array a competent number of horse and foot for the king's -service.[213] But these levies being of course vexatious to the -people, and contrary at least to the spirit of those immunities which, -under the shadow of the great charter, they were entitled to enjoy, -Edward III., on the petition of his first parliament, who judged that -such compulsory service either was, or ought to be rendered illegal, -passed a remarkable act, with the simple brevity of those times: "That -no man from henceforth shall be charged to arm himself, otherwise than -he was wont in the time of his progenitors the kings of England; and -that no man be compelled to go out of his shire, but where necessity -requireth, and sudden coming of strange enemies into the realm; and -then it shall be done as hath been used in times past for the defence -of the realm."[214] - -This statute, by no means of inconsiderable importance in our -constitutional history, put a stop for some ages to these arbitrary -conscriptions. But Edward had recourse to another means of levying men -without his own cost, by calling on the counties and principal towns -to furnish a certain number of troops. Against this the parliament -provided a remedy by an act in the 25th year of his reign: "That no -man shall be constrained to find men at arms, hoblers, nor archers, -other than those who hold by such service, if it be not by common -consent and grant in parliament." Both these statutes were recited -and confirmed in the fourth year of Henry IV.[215] - -The successful resistance thus made by parliament appears to have -produced the discontinuance of compulsory levies for foreign warfare. -Edward III. and his successors, in their long contention with France, -resorted to the mode of recruiting by contracts with men of high rank -or military estimation, whose influence was greater probably than that -of the Crown towards procuring voluntary enlistments. Their pay, as -stipulated in such of those contracts as are extant, was extremely -high; but it secured the service of a brave and vigorous yeomanry. -Under the house of Tudor, in conformity to their more despotic scheme -of government, the salutary enactments of former times came to be -disregarded; Henry VIII. and Elizabeth sometimes compelling the -counties to furnish soldiers: and the prerogative of pressing men for -military service, even out of the kingdom, having not only become as -much established as undisputed usage could make it, but acquiring no -slight degree of sanction by an act passed under Philip and Mary, -which, without repealing or adverting to the statutes of Edward III. -and Henry IV., recognises, as it seems, the right of the Crown to levy -men for service in war, and imposes penalties on persons absenting -themselves from musters commanded by the king's authority to be held -for that purpose.[216] Clarendon, whose political heresies sprang in a -great measure from his possessing but a very imperfect knowledge of -our ancient constitution, speaks of the act that declared the pressing -of soldiers illegal, though exactly following, even in its language, -that of Edward III., as contrary to the usage and custom of all times. - -It is scarcely perhaps necessary to observe that there had never been -any regular army kept up in England. Henry VII. established the yeomen -of the guard in 1485, solely for the defence of his person, and rather -perhaps, even at that time, to be considered as the king's domestic -servants, than as soldiers. Their number was at first fifty, and seems -never to have exceeded two hundred. A kind of regular troops, however, -chiefly accustomed to the use of artillery, was maintained in the -very few fortified places where it was thought necessary or -practicable to keep up the show of defence; the Tower of London, -Portsmouth, the castle of Dover, the fort of Tilbury, and, before the -union of the crowns, Berwick and some other places on the Scottish -border. I have met with very little as to the nature of these -garrisons. But their whole number must have been insignificant, and -probably at no time equal to resist any serious attack. - -We must take care not to confound this strictly military force, -serving, whether by virtue of tenure or engagement, wheresoever it -should be called, with that of a more domestic and defensive character -to which alone the name of militia was usually applied. By the -Anglo-Saxon laws, or rather by one of the primary and indispensable -conditions of political society, every freeholder, if not every -freeman, was bound to defend his country against hostile invasion. It -appears that the alderman or earl, while those titles continued to -imply the government of a county, was the proper commander of this -militia. Henry II., in order to render it more effective in cases of -emergency, and perhaps with a view to extend its service, enacted, by -consent of parliament, that every freeman, according to the value of -his estate or movables, should hold himself constantly furnished with -suitable arms and equipments.[217] By the statute of Winchester, in -the 13th year of Edward I., these provisions were enforced and -extended. Every man, between the ages of fifteen and sixty, was to be -assessed, and sworn to keep armour according to the value of his lands -and goods; for fifteen pounds and upwards in rent, or forty marks in -goods, a hauberk, an iron breastplate, a sword, a knife, and a horse; -for smaller property, less expensive arms. A view of this armour was -to be taken twice in the year, by constables chosen in every -hundred.[218] These regulations appear by the context of the whole -statute to have more immediate regard to the preservation of internal -peace, by suppressing tumults and arresting robbers, than to the -actual defence of the realm against hostile invasion; a danger not at -that time very imminent. The sheriff, as chief conservator of public -peace and minister of the law, had always possessed the right of -summoning the _posse comitatus_; that is, of calling on all the king's -liege subjects within his jurisdiction for assistance, in case of any -rebellion or tumultuous rising, or when bands of robbers infested the -public ways, or when, as occurred very frequently, the execution of -legal process was forcibly obstructed. It seems to have been in the -policy of that wise prince, to whom we are indebted for so many signal -improvements in our law, to give a more effective and permanent energy -to this power of the sheriff. The provisions, however, of the statute -of Winton, so far as they obliged every proprietor to possess suitable -arms, were of course applicable to national defence. In seasons of -public danger, threatening invasion from the side of Scotland or -France, it became customary to issue commissions of array, empowering -those to whom they were addressed to muster and train all men capable -of bearing arms in the counties to which their commission extended, -and hold them in readiness to defend the kingdom. The earliest of -these commissions that I find in Rymer is of 1324, and the latest of -1557. - -The obligation of keeping sufficient arms according to each man's -estate was preserved by a statute of Philip and Mary, which made some -changes in the rate and proportion as well as the kind of arms.[219] -But these ancient provisions were abrogated by James in his first -parliament.[220] The nation, become for ever secure from invasion on -the quarter where the militia service had been most required, and -freed from the other dangers which had menaced the throne of -Elizabeth, gladly saw itself released from an expensive obligation. -The government again may be presumed to have thought that weapons of -offence were safer in its hands than in those of its subjects. -Magazines of arms were formed in different places, and generally in -each county:[221] but, if we may reason from the absence of documents, -there was little regard to military array and preparation; save that -the citizens of London mustered their trained bands on holidays, an -institution that is said to have sprung out of a voluntary -association, called the artillery company, formed in the reign of -Henry VIII. for the encouragement of archery, and acquiring a more -respectable and martial character at the time of the Spanish -armada.[222] - -The power of calling into arms, and mustering the population of each -county, given in earlier times to the sheriff or justices of the peace -or to special commissioners of array, began to be entrusted, in the -reign of Mary, to a new officer, entitled the lord lieutenant. This -was usually a peer, or at least a gentleman of large estate within the -county, whose office gave him the command of the militia, and rendered -him the chief vicegerent of his sovereign, responsible for the -maintenance of public order. This institution may be considered as a -revival of the ancient local earldom; and it certainly took away from -the sheriff a great part of the dignity and importance which he had -acquired since the discontinuance of that office. Yet the lord -lieutenant has so peculiarly military an authority, that it does not -in any degree control the civil power of the sheriff as the executive -minister of the law. In certain cases, such as a tumultuous -obstruction of legal authority, each might be said to possess an equal -power; the sheriff being still undoubtedly competent to call out the -_posse comitatus_ in order to enforce obedience. Practically, however, -in all serious circumstances, the lord lieutenant has always been -reckoned the efficient and responsible guardian of public -tranquillity. - -From an attentive consideration of this sketch of our military law, it -will strike the reader that the principal question to be determined -was, whether, in time of peace, without pretext of danger of invasion, -there were any legal authority that could direct the mustering and -training to arms of the able-bodied men in each county, usually -denominated the militia. If the power existed at all, it manifestly -resided in the king. The notion that either or both houses of -parliament, who possess no portion of executive authority, could take -on themselves one of its most peculiar and important functions, was so -preposterous that we can scarcely give credit to the sincerity of any -reasonable person who advanced it. In the imminent peril of hostile -invasion, in the case of intestine rebellion, there seems to be no -room for doubt that the king who could call on his subjects to bear -arms for their country and laws, could oblige them to that necessary -discipline and previous training, without which their service would be -unavailing. It might also be urged that he was the proper judge of the -danger. But that, in a season of undeniable tranquillity, he could -withdraw his subjects from their necessary labours against their -consent, even for the important end of keeping up the use of military -discipline, is what, with our present sense of the limitations of -royal power it might be difficult to affirm. The precedents under -Henry VIII. and Elizabeth were numerous; but not to mention that many, -perhaps most of these, might come under the class of preparations -against invasion, where the royal authority was not to be doubted, -they could be no stronger than those other precedents for pressing and -mustering soldiers, which had been declared illegal. There were at -least so many points uncertain, and some wherein the prerogative was -plainly deficient, such as the right of marching the militia out of -their own counties, taken away, if it had before existed, by the act -just passed against pressing soldiers, that the concurrence of the -whole legislature seemed requisite to place so essential a matter as -the public defence on a secure and permanent footing.[223] - -_Encroachments of the parliament._--The aim of the houses, however, in -the bill for regulating the militia, presented to Charles in February -1642, and his refusal to pass which led by rapid steps to the civil -war, was not so much to remove those uncertainties by a general -provision (for in effect they left them much as before), as to place -the command of the sword in the hands of those they could -control;--nominating in the bill the lords lieutenant of every county, -who were to obey the orders of the two houses, and to be irremovable -by the king for two years. No one can pretend that this was not an -encroachment on his prerogative.[224] It can only find a justification -in the precarious condition, as the Commons asserted it to be, of -those liberties they had so recently obtained, in their just -persuasion of the king's insincerity, and in the demonstrations he had -already made of an intention to win back his authority at the sword's -point.[225] But it is equitable, on the other hand, to observe that -the Commons had by no means greater reason to distrust the faith of -Charles, than he had to anticipate fresh assaults from them on the -power he had inherited, on the form of religion which alone he thought -lawful, on the counsellors who had served him most faithfully, and on -the nearest of his domestic ties. If the right of self-defence could -be urged by parliament for this demand of the militia, must we not -admit that a similar plea was equally valid for the king's refusal? -However arbitrary and violent the previous government of Charles may -have been, however disputable his sincerity at present, it is vain to -deny, that he had made the most valuable concessions, and such as had -cost him very dear. He had torn away from his diadem what all monarchs -would deem its choicest jewel, that high attribute of uncontrollable -power, by which their flatterers have in all ages told them they -resemble and represent the Divinity. He had seen those whose counsels -he had best approved, rewarded with exile or imprisonment, and had -incurred the deep reproach of his own heart by the sacrifice of -Strafford. He had just now given a reluctant assent to the extinction -of one estate of parliament, by the bill excluding bishops from the -house of peers. Even in this business of the militia, he would have -consented to nominate the persons recommended to him as lieutenants, -by commissions revocable at his pleasure; or would have passed the -bill rendering them irremovable for one year, provided they might -receive their orders from himself and the two houses jointly.[226] It -was not unreasonable for the king to pause at the critical moment -which was to make all future denial nugatory, and enquire whether the -prevailing majority designed to leave him what they had not taken -away. But he was not long kept in uncertainty upon this score. The -nineteen propositions tendered to him at York in the beginning of -June, and founded upon addresses and declarations of a considerably -earlier date,[227] went to abrogate in spirit the whole existing -constitution, and were in truth so far beyond what the king could be -expected to grant, that terms, more intolerable were scarcely proposed -to him in his greatest difficulties, not at Uxbridge, nor at -Newcastle, nor even at Newport. - -These famous propositions import that the privy council and officers -of state should be approved by parliament, and take such an oath as -the two houses should prescribe; that during the intervals of -parliament, no vacancy in the council should be supplied without the -assent of the major part, subject to the future sanction of the two -houses; that the education and marriages of the king's children should -be under parliamentary control; the votes of popish peers to be taken -away; the church government and liturgy be reformed as both houses -should advise; the militia and all fortified places put in such hands -as parliament should approve; finally, that the king should pass a -bill for restraining all peers to be made in future from sitting in -parliament, unless they be admitted with the consent of both houses. A -few more laudable provisions, such as that the judges should hold -their offices during good behaviour, which the king had long since -promised,[228] were mixed up with these strange demands. Even had the -king complied with such unconstitutional requisitions, there was one -behind, which, though they had not advanced it on this occasion, was -not likely to be forgotten. It had been asserted by the House of -Commons in their last remonstrance, that, on a right construction of -the old coronation oath, the king was bound to assent to all bills -which the two houses of parliament should offer.[229] It has been -said by some that this was actually the constitution of Scotland, -where the Crown possessed a counterbalancing influence; but such a -doctrine was in this country as repugnant to the whole history of our -laws, as it was incompatible with the subsistence of the monarchy in -anything more than a nominal pre-eminence. - -_Discussion of the respective claims of the two parties to -support._--In weighing the merits of this great contest, in judging -whether a thoroughly upright and enlightened man would rather have -listed under the royal or parliamentary standard, there are two -political postulates, the concession of which we may require: one, -that civil war is such a calamity as nothing but the most -indispensable necessity can authorise any party to bring on; the -other, that the mixed government of England by King, Lords, and -Commons, was to be maintained in preference to any other form of -polity. The first of these can hardly be disputed; and though the -denial of the second would certainly involve no absurdity, yet it may -justly be assumed where both parties avowed their adherence to it as a -common principle. Such as prefer a despotic or a republican form of -government will generally, without much further enquiry, have made -their election between Charles the First and the parliament. We do not -argue from the creed of the English constitution to those who have -abandoned its communion. - -_Faults of both._--There was so much in the conduct and circumstances -of both parties in the year 1642, to excite disapprobation and -distrust, that a wise and good man could hardly unite cordially with -either of them. On the one hand, he would entertain little doubt of -the king's desire to overthrow by force or stratagem whatever had been -effected in parliament, and to establish a plenary despotism; his -arbitrary temper, his known principles of government, the natural -sense of wounded pride and honour, the instigations of a haughty -woman, the solicitations of favourites, the promises of ambitious men, -were all at work to render his new position as a constitutional -sovereign, even if unaccompanied by fresh indignities and -encroachments, too grievous and mortifying to be endured. He had -already tampered in a conspiracy to overawe, if not to disperse, the -parliament; he had probably obtained large promises, though very -little to be trusted, from several of the presbyterian leaders in -Scotland during his residence there in the summer of 1641; he had -attempted to recover his ascendancy by a sudden blow in the affair of -the five members; he had sent the queen out of England, furnished with -the Crown-jewels, for no other probable end than to raise men and -procure arms in foreign countries;[230] he was now about to take the -field with an army, composed in part of young gentlemen disdainful of -a puritan faction that censured their licence, and of those soldiers -of fortune, reckless of public principle, and averse to civil control, -whom the war in Germany had trained, and partly of the catholics, a -wealthy and active body devoted to the Crown, from which alone they -had experienced justice or humanity, and from whose favour and -gratitude they now expected the most splendid returns. Upon neither of -these parties could a lover of his country and her liberties look -without alarm; and though he might derive more hope from those better -spirits who had withstood the prerogative in its exorbitance, as they -now sustained it in its decline, yet it could not be easy to foretell -that they would preserve sufficient influence to keep steady the -balance of power, in the contingency of any decisive success of the -royal arms. - -But, on the other hand, the House of Commons presented still less -favourable prospects. We should not indeed judge over severely some -acts of a virtuous indignation in the first moments of victory,[231] -or those heats of debate, without some excesses of which a popular -assembly is in danger of falling into the opposite extreme of -phlegmatic security. But, after every allowance has been made, he must -bring very heated passions to the records of those times, who does not -perceive in the conduct of that body a series of glaring violations, -not only of positive and constitutional, but of those higher -principles which are paramount to all immediate policy. Witness the -ordinance for disarming recusants passed by both houses in August -1641, and that in November, authorising the Earl of Leicester to raise -men for the defence of Ireland without warrant under the great seal; -both manifest encroachments on the executive power;[232] and the -enormous extension of privilege, under which every person accused on -the slightest testimony of disparaging their proceedings, or even of -introducing new-fangled ceremonies in the church, a matter wholly out -of their cognisance, was dragged before them as a delinquent, and -lodged in their prison.[233] Witness the outrageous attempts to -intimidate the minority of their own body in the commitment of Mr. -Palmer, and afterwards of Sir Ralph Hopton, to the Tower, for such -language used in debate as would not have excited any observation in -ordinary times;--their continual encroachments on the rights and -privileges of the Lords, as in their intimation that, if bills thought -by them necessary for the public good should fall in the upper house, -they must join with the minority of the Lords in representing the same -to the king;[234] or in the impeachment of the Duke of Richmond for -words, and those of the most trifling nature, spoken in the upper -house;[235]--their despotic violation of the rights of the people, in -imprisoning those who presented or prepared respectful petitions in -behalf of the established constitution,[236] while they encouraged -those of a tumultuous multitude at their bar in favour of -innovation;[237]--their usurpation at once of the judicial and -legislative powers in all that related to the church, particularly by -their committee for scandalous ministers, under which denomination, -adding reproach to injury, they subjected all who did not reach the -standard of puritan perfection to contumely and vexation, and -ultimately to expulsion from their lawful property.[238] Witness the -impeachment of the twelve bishops for treason, on account of their -protestation against all that should be done in the House of Lords -during their compelled absence through fear of the populace; a protest -not perhaps entirely well expressed, but abundantly justifiable in its -argument by the plainest principles of law.[239] These great abuses of -power, becoming daily more frequent, as they became less excusable, -would make a sober man hesitate to support them in a civil war, -wherein their success must not only consummate the destruction of the -Crown, the church, and the peerage, but expose all who had dissented -from their proceedings, as it ultimately happened, to an oppression -less severe perhaps, but far more sweeping, than that which had -rendered the star-chamber odious. - -But it may reasonably also be doubted whether, in staking their own -cause on the perilous contingencies of war, the House of Commons did -not expose the liberties for which they professedly were contending, -to a far greater risk than they could have incurred even from peace -with an insidious court. For let any one ask himself what would have -been the condition of the parliament, if by the extension of that -panic which in fact seized upon several regiments, or by any of those -countless accidents which determine the fate of battles, the king had -wholly defeated their army at Edgehill? Is it not probable, nay, in -such a supposition, almost demonstrable, that in those first days of -the civil war, before the parliament had time to discover the extent -of its own resources, he would have found no obstacle to his triumphal -entry into London? And, in such circumstances, amidst the defection -of the timid and lukewarm, the consternation of the brawling -multitude, and the exultation of his victorious troops, would the -triennial act itself, or those other statutes which he had very -reluctantly conceded, have stood secure? Or, if we believe that the -constitutional supporters of his throne, the Hertfords, the Falklands, -the Southamptons, the Spencers, would still have had sufficient -influence to shield from violent hands that palladium which they had -assisted to place in the building, can there be a stronger argument -against the necessity of taking up arms for the defence of liberties, -which, even in the contingency of defeat, could not have been -subverted? - -There were many indeed at that time, as there have been ever since, -who, admitting all the calamities incident to civil war, of which this -country reaped the bitter fruits for twenty years, denied entirely -that the parliament went beyond the necessary precautions for -self-defence, and laid the whole guilt of the aggression at the king's -door. He had given, it was said, so many proofs of a determination to -have recourse to arms, he had displayed so insidious an hostility to -the privileges of parliament, that, if he should be quietly allowed to -choose and train soldiers, under the name of a militia, through hired -servants of his own nomination, the people might find themselves -either robbed of their liberties by surprise, or compelled to struggle -for them in very unfavourable circumstances. The Commons, with more -loyal respect perhaps than policy, had opposed no obstacle to his -deliberate journey towards the north, which they could have easily -prevented,[240] though well aware that he had no other aim but to -collect an army; was it more than ordinary prudence to secure the -fortified town of Hull with its magazine of arms from his grasp, and -to muster the militia in each county under the command of lieutenants -in whom they could confide, and to whom, from their rank and personal -character, he could frame no just objection? - -These considerations are doubtless not without weight, and should -restrain such as may not think them sufficient from too strongly -censuring those, who, deeming that either civil liberty or the ancient -constitution must be sacrificed, persisted in depriving Charles the -First of every power, which, though pertaining to a king of England, -he could not be trusted to exercise. We are, in truth, after a lapse -of ages, often able to form a better judgment of the course that ought -to have been pursued in political emergencies than those who stood -nearest to the scene. Not only we have our knowledge of the event to -guide and correct our imaginary determinations; but we are free from -those fallacious rumours, those pretended secrets, those imperfect and -illusive views, those personal prepossessions, which in every age warp -the political conduct of the most well-meaning. The characters of -individuals, so frequently misrepresented by flattery or party rage, -stand out to us revealed by the tenor of their entire lives, or by the -comparison of historical anecdotes, and that more authentic -information which is reserved for posterity. Looking as it were from -an eminence, we can take a more comprehensive range, and class better -the objects before us in their due proportions and in their bearings -on one another. It is not easy for us even now to decide, keeping in -view the maintenance of the entire constitution, from which party in -the civil war greater mischief was to be apprehended; but the election -was, I am persuaded, still more difficult to be made by -contemporaries. No one, at least, who has given any time to the study -of that history, will deny that among those who fought in opposite -battalions at Edgehill and Newbury, or voted in the opposite -parliaments of Westminster and Oxford, there were many who thought -much alike on general theories of prerogative and privilege, divided -only perhaps by some casual prejudices, which had led these to look -with greater distrust on courtly insidiousness, and those with greater -indignation at popular violence. We cannot believe that Falkland and -Colepepper differed greatly in their constitutional principles from -Whitelock and Pierpoint, or that Hertford and Southamption were less -friends to a limited monarchy than Essex and Northumberland. - -There is, however, another argument sometimes alleged of late, in -justification of the continued attacks on the king's authority; which -is the most specious, as it seems to appeal to what are now -denominated the Whig principles of the constitution. It has been said -that, sensible of the maladministration the nation had endured for so -many years (which, if the king himself were to be deemed by -constitutional fiction ignorant of it, must at least be imputed to -evil advisers), the House of Commons sought only that security which, -as long as a sound spirit continues to actuate its members, it must -ever require--the appointment of ministers in whose fidelity to the -public liberties it could better confide; that by carrying frankly -into effect those counsels which he had unwisely abandoned upon the -Earl of Bedford's death, and bestowing the responsible offices of the -state on men approved for patriotism, he would both have disarmed the -jealousy of his subjects and ensured his own prerogative, which no -ministers are prone to impair. - -Those who are struck by these considerations may not, perhaps, have -sufficiently reflected on the changes which the king had actually made -in his administration since the beginning of the parliament. Besides -those already mentioned, Essex, Holland, Say, and St. John, he had, in -the autumn of 1641, conferred the post of secretary of state on Lord -Falkland, and that of master of the rolls on Sir John Colepepper; both -very prominent in the redress of grievances and punishment of -delinquent ministers during the first part of the session, and whose -attachment to the cause of constitutional liberty there was no sort of -reason to distrust. They were indeed in some points of a different way -of thinking from Pym and Hampden, and had doubtless been chosen by the -king on that account. But it seems rather beyond the legitimate bounds -of parliamentary opposition to involve the kingdom in civil war, -simply because the choice of the Crown has not fallen on its leaders. -The real misfortune was, that Charles did not rest in the advice of -his own responsible ministers, against none of whom the House of -Commons had any just cause of exception. The theory of our -constitution in this respect was very ill-established; and, had it -been more so, there are perhaps few sovereigns, especially in -circumstances of so much novelty, who would altogether conform to it. -But no appointment that he could have made from the patriotic bands of -parliament would have furnished a security against the intrigues of -his bed-chamber or the influence of the queen. - -The real problem that we have to resolve, as to the political justice -of the civil war, is not the character, the past actions, or even the -existing designs, of Charles; not even whether he had as justly -forfeited his crown as his son was deemed to have done for less -violence and less insincerity; not even, I will add, whether the -liberties of his subjects could have been absolutely secure under his -government; but whether the risk attending his continuance upon the -throne with the limited prerogatives of an English sovereign were -great enough to counterbalance the miseries of protracted civil war, -the perils of defeat, and the no less perils, as experience showed, -of victory. Those who adopt the words spoken by one of our greatest -orators, and quoted by another, "There was ambition, there was -sedition, there was violence; but no man shall persuade me that it was -not the cause of liberty on one side, and of tyranny on the other," -have for themselves decided this question.[241] But, as I know (and -the history of eighteen years is my witness) how little there was on -one side of such liberty as a wise man would hold dear, so I am not -yet convinced that the great body of the royalists, the peers and -gentry of England, were combating for the sake of tyranny. I cannot -believe them to have so soon forgotten their almost unanimous -discontent at the king's arbitrary government in 1640, or their -general concurrence in the first salutary measures of the parliament. -I cannot think that the temperate and constitutional language of the -royal declarations and answers to the House of Commons in 1642, known -to have proceeded from the pen of Hyde, and as superior to those on -the opposite side in argument as they were in eloquence, was intended -for the willing slaves of tyranny. I cannot discover in the extreme -reluctance of the royalists to take up arms, and their constant -eagerness for an accommodation (I speak not of mere soldiers, but of -the greater and more important portion of that party), that zeal for -the king's re-establishment in all his abused prerogatives which some -connect with the very names of a royalist or a cavalier.[242] - -It is well observed by Burnet, in answer to the vulgar notion that -Charles I. was undone by his concessions, that, but for his -concessions, he would have had no party at all. This is, in fact, the -secret of what seems to astonish the parliamentary historian, May, of -the powerful force that the king was enabled to raise, and the -protracted resistance he opposed. He had succeeded, according to the -judgment of many real friends of the constitution, in putting the -House of Commons in the wrong. Law, justice, moderation, once ranged -against him, had gone over to his banner. His arms might reasonably be -called defensive, if he had no other means of preserving himself from -the condition, far worse than captivity, of a sovereign compelled to a -sort of suicide upon his own honour and authority. For, however it may -be alleged that a king is bound in conscience to sacrifice his power -to the public will, yet it could hardly be inexcusable not to have -practised this disinterested morality; especially while the voice of -his people was by no means unequivocal, and while the major part of -one house of parliament adhered openly to his cause.[243] - -It is indeed a question perfectly distinguishable from that of the -abstract justice of the king's cause, whether he did not too readily -abandon his post as a constitutional head of the parliament; whether, -with the greater part of the peers, and a very considerable minority -in the Commons, resisting in their places at Westminster all violent -encroachments on his rights, he ought not rather to have sometimes -persisted in a temperate though firm assertion of them, sometimes had -recourse to compromise and gracious concession, instead of calling -away so many of his adherents to join his arms as left neither numbers -nor credit with those who remained. There is a remarkable passage in -Lord Clarendon's life, not to quote Whitelock and other writers less -favourable to Charles, where he intimates his own opinion that the -king would have had a fair hope of withstanding the more violent -faction, if, after the queen's embarkation for Holland in February -1642, he had returned to Whitehall; admitting, at the same time, the -hazards and inconveniences to which this course was liable.[244] That -he resolved on trying the fortune of arms, his noble historian -insinuates to have been the effect of the queen's influence, with -whom, before her departure, he had concerted his future proceedings. -Yet, notwithstanding the deference owing to contemporary opinions, I -cannot but suspect that Clarendon has, in this instance as in some -other passages, attached too great an importance to particular -individuals, measuring them rather by their rank in the state, than by -that capacity and energy of mind, which, in the levelling hour of -revolution, are the only real pledges of political influence. He -thought it of the utmost consequence to the king that he should gain -over the Earls of Essex and Northumberland, both, or at least the -former, wavering between the two parties, though voting entirely with -the Commons. Certainly the king's situation required every aid, and -his repulsive hardness towards all who had ever given him offence -displayed an obstinate unconciliating character, which deprived him of -some support he might have received. But the subsequent history of -these two celebrated earls, and indeed of all the moderate adherents -to the parliament, will hardly lead us to believe that they could have -afforded the king any protection. Let us suppose that he had returned -to Whitehall, instead of proceeding towards the north. It is evident -that he must either have passed the bill for the militia, or seen the -ordinances of both houses carried into effect without his consent. He -must have consented to the abolition of episcopacy, or at least have -come into some compromise which would have left the bishops hardly a -shadow of their jurisdiction and pre-eminence. He must have driven -from his person those whom he best loved and trusted. He would have -found it impossible to see again the queen, without awakening distrust -and bringing insult on them both. The royalist minority of parliament, -however considerable in numbers, was lukewarm and faint-hearted. That -they should have gained strength so as to keep a permanent superiority -over their adversaries, led as they were by statesmen so bold and -profound as Hampden, Pym, St. John, Cromwell, and Vane, is what, from -the experience of the last twelve months, it was unreasonable to -anticipate. But, even if the Commons had been more favourably -inclined, it would not have been in their power to calm the mighty -waters that had been moved from their depths. They had permitted the -populace to mingle in their discussions, testifying pleasure at its -paltry applause, and encouraging its tumultuous aggressions on the -minority of the legislature. What else could they expect than that, so -soon as they ceased to satisfy the city apprentices, or the trained -bands raised under their militia bill, they must submit to that -physical strength which is the ultimate arbiter of political -contentions? - -Thus, with evil auspices, with much peril of despotism on the one -hand, with more of anarchy on the other, amidst the apprehensions and -sorrows of good men, the civil war commenced in the summer of 1642. I -might now perhaps pass over the period that intervened, until the -restoration of Charles II., as not strictly belonging to a work which -undertakes to relate the progress of the English constitution. But -this would have left a sort of chasm that might disappoint the reader; -and as I have already not wholly excluded our more general political -history, without a knowledge of which the laws and government of any -people must be unintelligible, it will probably not be deemed an -unnecessary digression, if I devote one chapter to the most -interesting and remarkable portion of British history. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[164] 4 E. 3, c. 14. It appears by the Journals, 30th Dec. 1640, that -the Triennial Bill was originally for the yearly holding of -parliaments. It seems to have been altered in the committee; at least -we find the title changed, Jan. 19. - -[165] _Parl. Hist._ 702, 717; Stat. 16 Car. I, c. 1. - -[166] C. 14. - -[167] C. 8. The king had professed, in Lord-Keeper Finch's speech on -opening the parliament of April 1640, that he had only taken tonnage -and poundage _de facto_, without claiming it as a right, and had -caused a bill to be prepared, granting it to him from the commencement -of his reign. _Parl. Hist._ 533. See preface to Hargrave's _Collection -of Law Tracts_, p. 195, and Rymer, xx. 118, for what Charles did with -respect to impositions on merchandise. The long parliament called the -farmers to account. - -[168] 16 Car. I, c. 10. The abolition of the star-chamber was first -moved (March 5th, 1641) by Lord Andover, in the House of Lords, to -which he had been called by writ. Both he and his father, the Earl of -Berkshire, were zealous royalists during the subsequent war. _Parl. -Hist._ 722. But he is not, I presume, the person to whom Clarendon -alludes. This author insinuates that the act for taking away the -star-chamber passed both houses without sufficient deliberation, and -that the peers did not venture to make any opposition; whereas there -were two conferences between the houses on the subject, and several -amendments and provisos made by the Lords, and agreed by the Commons. -Scarce any bill, during this session, received so much attention. The -king made some difficulty about assenting to the bills taking away the -star-chamber and high-commission courts, but soon gave way. _Parl. -Hist._ 853. - -[169] Coke has strongly argued the illegality of fining and -imprisoning by the high commission. 4th Inst. 324. And he omitted this -power in a commission he drew, "leaving us," says Bishop Williams, -"nothing but the old rusty sword of the church, excommunication." -Cabala, p. 103. Care was taken to restore this authority in the reign -of Charles. - -[170] 16 Car. I, c. 11. - -[171] Hyde distinguished himself as chairman of the committee which -brought in the bill for abolishing the court of York. In his speech on -presenting this to the Lords, he alludes to the tyranny of Strafford, -not rudely, but in a style hardly consistent with that of his -_History_. _Parl. Hist._ 766. The editors of this, however, softened a -little what he did say in one or two places; as where he uses the word -_tyranny_, in speaking of Lord Mountnorris's case. - -[172] C. 15. - -[173] C. 19, 20. - -[174] C. 16. - -[175] C. 28. - -[176] Journals, 16th Dec.; _Parl. Hist._ 968; Nalson, 750. It is -remarkable that Clarendon, who is sufficiently jealous of all that he -thought encroachment in the Commons, does not censure their explicit -assertion of this privilege. He lays the blame of the king's -interference on St. John's advice; which is very improbable. - -[177] "A greater and more universal hatred," says Northumberland in a -letter to Leicester, Nov. 13, 1640 (_Sidney Papers_, ii. 663), "was -never contracted by any person than he has drawn upon himself. He is -not at all dejected, but believes confidently to clear himself in the -opinion of all equal and indifferent-minded hearers, when he shall -come to make his defence. The king is in such a straight that I do not -know how he will possibly avoid, without endangering the loss of the -whole kingdom, the giving way to the remove of divers persons, as well -as other things that will be demanded by the parliament. After they -have done questioning some of the great ones, they intend to endeavour -the displacing of Jermyn, Newcastle, and Walter Montague." - -[178] Clarendon, i. 305. No one opposed the resolution to impeach the -lord lieutenant, save that Falkland suggested the appointment of a -committee, as more suitable to the gravity of their proceedings. But -Pym frankly answered that this would ruin all; since Strafford would -doubtless obtain a dissolution of the parliament, unless they could -shut him out from access to the king. - -_The Letters of Robert Baillie_, Principal of the University of -Glasgow (two vols. Edinburgh, 1775), abound with curious information -as to this period, and for several subsequent years. Baillie was one -of the Scots commissioners deputed to London at the end of 1640, and -took an active share in promoting the destruction of episcopacy. His -correspondence breathes all the narrow and exclusive bigotry of the -presbyterian school. The following passage is so interesting that, -notwithstanding its length, it may find a place here:-- - -"The lieutenant of Ireland came but on Monday to town late, on Tuesday -rested, on Wednesday came to parliament, but ere night he was caged. -Intolerable pride and oppression cries to Heaven for a vengeance. The -lower house closed their doors; the speaker kept the keys till his -accusation was concluded. Thereafter Mr. Pym went up, with a number at -his back, to the higher house; and, in a pretty short speech, did, in -the name of the lower house, and in the name of the commons of all -England, accuse Thomas Earl of Strafford, lord lieutenant of Ireland, -of high treason; and required his person to be arrested till probation -might be heard; so Mr. Pym and his back were removed. The Lords began -to consult on that strange and unexpected motion. The word goes in -haste to the lord lieutenant, where he was with the king; with speed -he comes to the house; he calls rudely at the door; James Maxwell, -keeper of the black rod, opens: his lordship, with a proud glooming -countenance, makes towards his place at the board head: but at once -many bid him void the house; so he is forced, in confusion, to go to -the door till he was called. After consultation, being called in, he -stands, but is commanded to kneel, and on his knees to hear the -sentence. Being on his knees, he is delivered to the keeper of the -black rod, to be prisoner till he was cleared of these crimes the -House of Commons had charged him with. He offered to speak, but was -commanded to be gone without a word. In the outer room, James Maxwell -required him, as prisoner, to deliver his sword. When he had got it, -he cries with a loud voice, for his man to carry my lord lieutenant's -sword. This done, he makes through a number of people towards his -coach; all gazing, no man capping to him, before whom, that morning, -the greatest of England would have stood discovered, all crying, 'What -is the matter?' He said, 'A small matter, I warrant you.' They -replied, 'Yes, indeed, high treason is a small matter.' Coming to the -place where he expected his coach, it was not there; so he behoved to -return that same way, through a world of gazing people. When at last -he had found his coach, and was entering, James Maxwell told him, -'Your lordship is my prisoner, and must go in my coach;' so he behoved -to do."--P. 217. - -[179] The trial of Strafford is best to be read in Rushworth or -Nalson. The account in the new edition of the _State Trials_, I know -not whence taken, is curious, as coming from an eye-witness, though -very partial to the prisoner; but it can hardly be so accurate as the -others. His famous peroration was printed at the time in a loose -sheet. It is in the _Somers Tracts_. Many of the charges seem to have -been sufficiently proved, and would undoubtedly justify a severe -sentence on an impeachment for misdemeanours. It was not pretended by -the managers, that more than two or three of them amounted to treason; -but it is the unquestionable right of the Commons to blend offences of -a different degree in an impeachment. - -It has been usually said that the Commons had recourse to the bill of -attainder, because they found it impossible to support the impeachment -for treason. But St. John positively denies that it was intended to -avoid the judicial mode of proceeding. Nalson, ii. 162. And, what is -stronger, the Lords themselves voted upon the articles judicially, and -not as if they were enacting a legislative measure. As to the famous -proviso in the bill of attainder, that the judges should determine -nothing to be treason, by virtue of this bill, which they would not -have determined to be treason otherwise (on which Hume and many others -have relied, to show the consciousness of parliament that the measure -was not warranted by the existing law), it seems to have been -introduced in order to quiet the apprehensions of some among the -peers, who had gone great lengths with the late government, and were -astonished to find that their obedience to the king could be turned -into treason against him. - -[180] They were confirmed, in a considerable degree, by the evidence -of Northumberland and Bristol, and even of Usher and Juxon. Rushw. -Abr. iv. 455, 559, 586; Baillie, 284. But are they not also exactly -according to the principles always avowed and acted upon by that -minister, and by the whole phalanx of courtiers, that a king of -England does very well to ask his people's consent in the first -instance, but, if that is frowardly refused, he has a paramount right -to maintain his government by any means? - -It may be remarked, that Clarendon says: "the law was clear that less -than two witnesses ought not to be received in a case of treason." Yet -I doubt whether any one had been allowed the benefit of that law; and -the contrary had been asserted repeatedly by the judges. - -[181] Lords' Journals, May 6; _Parl. Hist._ 757. This opinion of the -judges which is not mentioned by Clarendon, Hume, and other common -historians, seems to have cost Strafford his life. It was relied on by -some bishops, especially Usher, whom Charles consulted whether he -should pass the bill of attainder, though Clarendon puts much worse -casuistry into the mouth of Williams. Parr's _Life of Usher_, p. 45; -Hacket's _Life of Williams_, p. 160. Juxon is said to have stood alone -among five bishops, in advising the king to follow his conscience. -Clarendon, indeed, does not mention this; though he glances at Usher -with some reproach (p. 451); but the story is as old as the _Icon -Basilike_, in which it is alluded to. - -[182] The names of the fifty-nine members of the Commons, who voted -against the bill of attainder, and which were placarded as -Straffordians, may be found in the _Parliamentary History_, and -several other books. It is remarkable that few of them are -distinguished persons; none so much so as Selden, whose whole -parliamentary career, notwithstanding the timidity not very fairly -imputed to him, was eminently honourable and independent. But we look -in vain for Hyde, Falkland, Colepepper, or Palmer. The first, -probably, did not vote; the others may have been in the majority of -204, by whom the bill was passed. Indeed, I have seen a MS. account of -the debate, where Falkland and Colepepper appear to have both spoken -for it. As to the Lords, we have, so far as I know, no list of the -nineteen who acquitted Strafford. It did not comprehend Hertford, -Bristol, or Holland, who were absent (Nalson, 316), nor any of the -popish lords, whether through fear or any private influence. Lord -Clare, his brother-in-law, and Lord Saville, a man of the most -changeable character, were his prominent advocates during the trial; -though Bristol, Hertford, and even Say, desired to have had his life -spared (Baillie, 243, 247, 271, 292); and the Earl of Bedford, -according to Clarendon, would have come into this. But the sudden and -ill-timed death of that eminent peer put an end to the negotiation for -bringing the parliamentary leaders into office, wherein it was a main -object with the king to save the life of Strafford; entirely, as I am -inclined to believe, from motives of conscience and honour, without -any views of ever again restoring him to power. Charles had no -personal attachment to Strafford; and the queen's dislike of him -(according to Clarendon and Burnet, though it must be owned, that -Madame de Motteville does not confirm this), or at least his general -unpopularity at court, would have determined the king to lay him -aside. - -It is said by Burnet that the queen prevailed on Charles to put that -strange postscript to his letter to the Lords, in behalf of Strafford, -"If he must die, it were charity to reprieve him till Saturday;" by -which he manifestly surrendered him up, and gave cause to suspect his -own sincerity. Doubts have been thrown out by Carte as to the -genuineness of Strafford's celebrated letter, requesting the king to -pass the bill of attainder. They do not appear to be founded on much -evidence; but it is certain, by the manner in which he received the -news, that he did not expect to be sacrificed by his master. - -[183] _Parliamentary History_, ii. 750. - -[184] See some judicious remarks on this by May (p. 64), who generally -shows a good deal of impartiality at this period of history. The -violence of individuals, especially when of considerable note, -deserves to be remarked, as characteristic of the temper that -influenced the house, and as accounting for the disgust of moderate -men. "Why should he have law himself?" said St. John, in arguing the -bill of attainder before the peers, "who would not that others should -have any? We indeed give laws to hares and deer, because they are -beasts of chase; but we give none to wolves and foxes, but knock them -on the head wherever they are found, because they are beasts of prey." -Nor was this a mere burst of passionate declamation, but urged as a -serious argument for taking away Strafford's life without sufficient -grounds of law or testimony. Rushworth Abr. iv. 61; Clarendon, i. 407. -Strode told the house that, as they had charged Strafford with high -treason, it concerned them to charge as conspirators in the same -treason all who had before, or should hereafter, plead in that cause. -Baillie, 252. This monstrous proposal seems to please the presbyterian -bigot. "If this hold," he observes, "Strafford's council will be -rare." - -[185] Clarendon and Hume, of course, treat this as a very trifling -affair, exaggerated for factious purposes. But those who judge from -the evidence of persons unwilling to accuse themselves or the king, -and from the natural probabilities of the case, will suspect, or, -rather, be wholly convinced, that it had gone much farther than these -writers admit. See the accounts of this plot in Rushworth and Nalson, -or in the _Parliamentary History_. The strongest evidence, however, is -furnished by Henrietta, whose relation of the circumstances to Madame -de Motteville proves that the king and herself had the strongest hopes -from the influence of Goring and Wilmot over the army, by means of -which they aimed at saving Strafford's life; though the jealousy of -those ambitious intriguers, who could not both enjoy the place to -which each aspired, broke the whole plot. _Mem. de Motteville_, i. -253. Compare with this passage, Percy's letter, and Goring's -deposition (Nalson, ii. 286, 294), for what is said of the king's -privity by men who did not lose his favour by their evidence. Mr. -Brodie has commented in a long note (iii. 189) on Clarendon's apparent -misrepresentations of this business. But what has escaped the -acuteness of this writer is, that the petition to the king and -parliament drawn up for the army's subscription, and asserted by -Clarendon to have been the only step taken by those engaged in the -supposed conspiracy (though not, as Mr. Brodie too rashly conjectures, -a fabrication of his own), is most carelessly referred by him to that -period or to the agency of Wilmot and his coadjutors; having been, in -fact, prepared about the July following, at the instigation of Daniel -O'Neale, and some others of the royalist party. This is manifest, not -only from the allusions it contains to events that had not occurred in -the months of March and April, when the plot of Wilmot and Goring was -on foot, especially the bill for triennial parliaments, but from -evidence given before the House of Commons in October 1641, and which -Mr. Brodie has published in the appendix to his third volume, though, -with an inadvertence of which he is seldom guilty, overlooking its -date and purport. This, however, is of itself sufficient to display -the inaccurate character of Clarendon's history; for I can scarcely -ascribe the present incorrectness to design. There are, indeed, so -many mistakes as to dates and other matters in Clarendon's account of -this plot, that, setting aside his manifest disposition to suppress -the truth, we can place not the least reliance on his memory as to -those points which we may not be well able to bring to a test. - -[186] Journals; _Parliamentary Hist._ 784; May, 67; Clarendon. -According to Mrs. Hutchinson (p. 97) this bill originated with Mr. -Pierpoint. If we should draw any inference from the Journals, Sir John -Colepepper seems to have been the most prominent of its supporters. -Mr. Hyde and Lord Falkland were also managers of the conference with -the Lords. But in Sir Ralph Verney's manuscript notes, I find Mr. -Whitelock mentioned as being ordered by the house to prepare the bill; -which seems to imply that he had moved it, or at least been very -forward in it. Yet all these were moderate men. - -[187] Neal (p. 632) has printed these canons imperfectly. They may be -found at length in Nalson, i. 542. It is remarkable that the seventh -canon expressly denies a corporal presence in the eucharist, which is -quite contrary to what Laud had asserted in his speech in the -star-chamber. His influence does not seem to have wholly predominated -in this particular canon, which is expressed with a moderation of -which he was incapable. - -[188] Clarendon; _Parl. Hist._ 678, 896; Neal, 647, 720. These votes -as to the canons, however, were carried _nem. con._ Journals, 16th -Dec. 1640. - -[189] Neal, 709. Laud and Wren were both impeached Dec. 18: the latter -entirely for introducing superstitions. _Parl. Hist._ 861. He lay in -the Tower till 1659. - -[190] Neal says that the major part of the parliamentarians at the -beginning of the war were for moderated episcopacy (ii. 4), and -asserts the same in another place (i. 715) of the puritans, in -contradiction of Rapin. "How this will go," says Baillie, in April -1641, "the Lord knows; all are for the creating of a kind of -presbytery, and for bringing down the bishops in all things spiritual -and temporal, so low as can be with any subsistence; but their utter -abolition, which is the only aim of the most godly, is the knot of the -question."--i. 245. - -[191] Neal, 666, 672, 713; Collier, 805; Baxter's _Life_, p. 62. The -ministers' petition, as it was called, presented Jan. 23, 1641, with -the signatures of 700 beneficed clergymen, went to this extent of -reformation. Neal, 679. - -[192] _Parl. Hist._ 673; Clarendon, i. 356; Baillie's _Letters_, 218, -etc. Though sanguine as to the progress of his sect, he admits that it -was very difficult to pluck up episcopacy by the roots; for this -reason they did not wish the house to give a speedy answer to the city -petition. P. 241. It was carried by 36 or 37 voices, he says, to refer -it to the committee of religion. P. 245. No division appears on the -Journals. - -The whole influence of the Scots commissioners was directed to this -object; as not only Baillie's _Letters_, but those of Johnstone of -Wariston (Dalrymple's _Memorials of James and Charles I._, ii. 114, -etc.) show. Besides their extreme bigotry, which was the predominant -motive, they had a better apology for interfering with church-government -in England, with which the archbishop had furnished them: it was the -only sure means of preserving their own. - -[193] Rushworth; Nalson. - -[194] _Parl. Hist._ 814, 822, 828. Clarendon tells us, that being -chairman of the committee to whom this bill was referred, he gave it -so much interruption, that no progress could be made before the -adjournment. The house came, however, to a resolution, that the taking -away the offices of archbishops, bishops, chancellors, and -commissaries out of this church and kingdom, should be one clause of -the bill. June 12. Commons' Journals. - -[195] Lord Hertford presented one to the Lords, from Somersetshire, -signed by 14,350 freeholders and inhabitants. Nalson, ii. 727. The -Cheshire petition, for preserving the Common Prayer, was signed by -near 10,000 hands. _Id._ 758. I have a collection of those petitions -now before me, printed in 1642, from thirteen English and five Welsh -counties, and all very numerously signed. In almost every instance, I -observe, they thank the parliament for putting a check to innovations -and abuses, while they deprecate the abolition of episcopacy and the -liturgy. Thus it seems that the presbyterians were very far from -having the nation on their side. The following extract from the -Somersetshire petition is a good sample of the general tone: "For the -present government of the church we are most thankful to God, -believing it in our hearts to be the most pious and the wisest that -any people or kingdom upon earth hath been withal since the apostles' -days; though we may not deny but, through the frailty of men, and -corruption of times, some things of ill consequence, and other -needless, are stolen or thrust into it; which we heartily wish may be -reformed, and the church restored to its former purity. And, to the -end it may be the better preserved from present and future innovation, -we wish the wittingly and maliciously guilty, of what condition soever -they be, whether bishops or inferior clergy, may receive condign -punishment. But, for the miscarriage of governors, to destroy the -government, we trust it shall never enter into the hearts of this wise -and honourable assembly." - -[196] The house came to a vote on July 17, according to Whitelock (p. -46) in favour of Usher's scheme, that each county should be a diocese, -and that there should be a governing college or presbytery, consisting -of twelve, under the presidency of a bishop: Sir E. Dering spoke in -favour of this, though his own bill went much farther. Nalson, ii. -294; Neal, 703. I cannot find the vote in the journals; it passed, -therefore, I suppose, in the committee, and was not reported to the -house. - -[197] _Parl. Hist._ 774, 794, 817, 910, 1087. The Lords had previously -come to resolutions, that bishops should sit in the House of Lords, -but not in the privy council, nor be in any commission of the peace. -_Id._ 814. - -The king was very unwilling to give his consent to the bill excluding -the bishops from parliament, and was, of course, dissuaded by Hyde -from doing so. He was then at Newmarket on his way to the north, and -had nothing but war in his head. The queen, however, and Sir John -Colepepper, prevailed on him to consent. Clarendon, _History_, ii. 247 -(1826); _Life_, 51. The queen could not be expected to have much -tenderness for a protestant episcopacy; and it is to be said in favour -of Colepepper's advice, who was pretty indifferent in ecclesiastical -matters, that the bishops had rendered themselves odious to many of -those who wished well to the royal cause. See the very remarkable -conversation of Hyde with Sir Edward Verney, who was killed at the -battle of Edgehill, where the latter declares his reluctance to fight -for the bishops, whose quarrel he took it to be, though bound by -gratitude not to desert the king. Clarendon's _Life_, p. 68. - -This author represents Lord Falkland as having been misled by Hampden -to take an unexpected part in favour of the first bill for excluding -the bishops from parliament. "The house was so marvellously delighted -to see the two inseparable friends divided in so important a point, -that they could not contain from a kind of rejoicing; and the more -because they saw Mr. Hyde was much surprised with the contradiction, -as in truth he was, having never discovered the least inclination in -the other towards such a compliance."--i. 413. There is, however, an -earlier speech of Falkland in print, against the London petition; -wherein, while objecting to the abolition of the order, he intimates -his willingness to take away their votes in parliament, with all other -temporal authority. _Speeches of the Happy Parliament_, p. 188 -(published in 1641). Johnstone of Wariston says there were but four or -five votes against taking away civil places and seats in parliament -from the bishops. Dalrymple's _Memorials_, ii. 116. But in the -journals of the Commons (10th March 1640-1) it is said to be resolved, -after a long and mature debate, that the legislative power of bishops -is a hindrance to their function. - -[198] "The higher house," says Baillie, "have made an order, which was -read in the churches, that none presume of their own head to alter any -customs established by law: this procured ordinance does not -discourage any one."--P. 237. Some rioters, however, who had pulled -down rails about the altar, etc., were committed by order of the Lords -in June. Nalson, ii. 275. - -[199] _Parl. Hist._ 868. By the hands of this zealous knight fell the -beautiful crosses at Charing and Cheap, to the lasting regret of all -faithful lovers of antiquities and architecture. - -[200] _Parl. Hist._ 907; Commons' Journals, Sept. 1, 1641. It was -carried at the time on a division by 55 to 37, that the committee -"should propound an addition to this order for preventing all contempt -and abuse of the book of Common Prayer, and all tumultuous disorders -that might arise in the church thereupon." This is a proof that the -church party were sometimes victorious in the house. But they did not -long retain this casual advantage. For, the Lords having sent down a -copy of their order of 16th January above mentioned, requesting the -Commons' concurrence, they resolved (Sept. 9) "that the house do not -consent to this order; it being thought unreasonable at this time to -urge the severe execution of the said laws." They contented themselves -with "expecting that the Commons of this realm do, in the meantime, -quietly attend the reformation intended, without any tumultuous -disturbance of the worship of God and peace of the realm." _See_ -Nalson, ii. 484. - -[201] May, p. 75. See this passage, which is very judicious. The -disunion, however, had in some measure began not long after the -meeting of parliament; the court wanted, in December 1640, to have -given the treasurer's staff to Hertford, whose brother was created a -peer by the title of Lord Seymour. Bedford was the favourite with the -Commons for the same office, and would doubtless have been a fitter -man at the time, notwithstanding the other's eminent virtues. _Sidney -Letters_, ii. 665, 666. See also what Baillie says of the introduction -of seven lords, "all commonwealth's men," into the council, though, as -generally happens, he is soon discontented with some of them. P. 246, -247. There was even some jealousy of Say, as favouring Strafford. - -[202] Whitelock, p. 46. Bedford was to have been lord treasurer, with -Pym, whom he had brought into parliament for Tavistock, as his -chancellor of the exchequer; Hollis secretary of state. Hampden is -said, but not perhaps on good authority, to have sought the office of -governor to the Prince of Wales; which Hume, not very candidly, brings -as a proof of his ambition. It seems probable that, if Charles had at -that time (May 1641) carried these plans into execution, and ceased to -listen to the queen, or to those persons about his bed-chamber, who -were perpetually leading him astray, he would have escaped the -exorbitant demands which were afterwards made upon him, and even saved -his favourite episcopacy. But, after the death of the Earl of Bedford, -who had not been hostile to the church, there was no man of rank in -that party whom he liked to trust; Northumberland having acted, as he -thought, very ungratefully, Say being a known enemy to episcopacy, and -Essex, though of the highest honour, not being of a capacity to retain -much influence over the leaders of the other house. Clarendon -insinuates that, even as late as March 1642, the principal patriots, -with a few exceptions, would have been content with coming themselves -into power under the king, and on this condition would have left his -remaining prerogative untouched (ii. 326). But it seems more probable -that, after the accusation of the five members, no measure of this -kind would have been of any service to Charles. - -[203] Commons' Journals, 22nd November. On a second division the same -night, whether the remonstrance should be printed, the popular side -lost it by 124 to 101. But on 15th December the printing was carried -by 135 to 83. Several divisions on important subjects about this time -show that the royalist minority was very formidable. But the -attendance, especially on that side, seems to have been irregular; and -in general, when we consider the immense importance of these debates, -we are surprised to find the house so deficient in numbers as many -divisions show it to have been. Clarendon frequently complains of the -supineness of his party; a fault invariably imputed to their friends -by the zealous supporters of established authority, who forget that -sluggish, lukewarm, and thoughtless tempers must always exist, and -that such will naturally belong to their side. I find in the short -pencil notes taken by Sir Ralph Verney, with a copy of which I have -been favoured by Mr. Serjeant D'Oyly, the following entry on the 7th -of August, before the king's journey to Scotland: "A remonstrance to -be made how we found the kingdom and the church, and how the state of -it now stands." This is not adverted to in Nalson, nor in the Journals -at this time. But Clarendon says, in a suppressed passage (vol. ii. -Append. 591) that "at the beginning of the parliament, or shortly -after, when all men were inflamed with the pressures and illegalities -which had been exercised upon them, a committee was appointed to -prepare a remonstrance of the state of the kingdom, to be presented to -his majesty, in which the several grievances might be recited; which -committee had never brought any report to the house; most men -conceiving, and very reasonably, that the quick and effectual progress -his majesty made for the reparation of those grievances, and -prevention of the like for the future, had rendered that work -needless. But as soon as the intelligence came of his majesty being on -his way from Scotland towards London, that committee was, with great -earnestness and importunity, called upon to bring in the draft of such -remonstrance," etc. I find a slight notice of this origin of the -remonstrance in the Journals, Nov. 17, 1640. - -In another place, also suppressed in the common editions, Clarendon -says: "This debate held many hours, in which the framers and -contrivers of the declaration said very little, or answered any -reasons that were alleged to the contrary; the only end of passing it, -which was to incline the people to sedition, being a reason not to be -given; but called still for the question, presuming their number, if -not their reason, would serve to carry it; and after two in the -morning (for so long the debate continued, if that can be called a -debate, when those only of one opinion argued), etc., it was put to -the question." What a strange memory this author had! I have now -before me Sir Ralph Verney's MS. note of the debate, whence it appears -that Pym, Hampden, Hollis, Glyn, and Maynard, spoke in favour of the -remonstrance; nay, as far as these brief memoranda go, Hyde himself -seems not to have warmly opposed it. - -[204] The letters of Sir Edward Nicholas, published as a supplement to -Evelyn's _Diary_, show how generally the apprehensions of popish -influence were entertained. It is well for superficial pretenders to -lay these on calumny and misrepresentation; but such as have read our -historical documents, know that the royalists were almost as jealous -of the king in this respect as the puritans. See what Nicholas says to -the king himself, pp. 22, 25, 29. Indeed he gives several hints to a -discerning reader, that he was not satisfied with the soundness of the -king's intentions, especially as to O'Neale's tampering with the army, -p. 77. Nicholas, however, became afterwards a very decided supporter -of the royal cause; and in the council at Oxford, just before the -treaty of Uxbridge, was the only one who voted according to the king's -wish, not to give the members at Westminster the appellation of a -parliament. P. 90. - -[205] The king's speech about Goodman, Baillie tells us, gave great -satisfaction to all; "with _much humming_ was it received."--P. 240. -Goodman petitioned the house that he might be executed, rather than -become the occasion of differences between the king and parliament. -This was earlier in time, and at least equal in generosity, to Lord -Strafford's famous letter; or perhaps rather more so, since, though it -turned out otherwise, he had greater reason to expect that he should -be taken at his word. It is remarkable, that the king says in his -answer to the Commons, that no priest had been executed merely for -religion, either by his father or Elizabeth, which, though well meant, -was quite untrue. _Parl. Hist._ 712; Butler, ii. 5. - -[206] See what Clarendon says of the effect produced at Westminster by -the Incident, in one of the suppressed passages. Vol. ii. Append, p. -575, edit. 1826. - -[207] Nalson, ii. 788, 792, 804; Clarendon, ii. 84. The queen's -behaviour had been extraordinarily imprudent from the very beginning. -So early as Feb. 17, 1641, the French ambassador writes word: "La -reine d'Angleterre dit publiquement qu'il y a une treve arrestee pour -trois ans entre la France et l'Espagne, et que ces deux couronnes vont -unir leurs forces pour la defendre et pour venger les catholiques." -Mazure, _Hist. de la Revol. en 1688_, ii. 419. She was very desirous -to go to France, doubtless to interest her brother and the queen in -the cause of royalty. Lord Holland, who seems to have been the medium -between the parliamentary chiefs and the French court, signified how -much this would be dreaded by the former; and Richelieu took care to -keep her away; of which she bitterly complained. This was in February. -Her majesty's letter, which M. Mazure has been malicious enough to -print verbatim, is a curious specimen of orthography. _Id._ p. 416. -Her own party were equally averse to this step, which was chiefly the -effect of cowardice; for Henrietta was by no means the high-spirited -woman that some have fancied. It is well known that a few months -afterwards she pretended to require the waters of Spa for her health; -but was induced to give up her journey. - -[208] Clarendon, ii. 81. This writer intimates that the Tower was -looked upon by the court as a bridle upon the city. - -[209] Nalson, ii. 810, and other writers, ascribe this accusation of -Lord Kimbolton in the peers, and of the five members, as they are -commonly called, Pym, Hollis, Hampden, Haslerig, and Strode, to secret -information obtained by the king in Scotland of their former intrigues -with that nation. This is rendered in some measure probable by a part -of the written charge preferred by the attorney-general before the -House of Lords, and by expressions that fell from the king; such as, -"it was a treason which they should all thank him for discovering." -Clarendon, however, hardly hints at this; and gives, at least, a hasty -reader to understand that the accusation was solely grounded on their -parliamentary conduct. Probably he was aware that the act of oblivion -passed last year afforded a sufficient legal defence to the charge of -corresponding with the Scots in 1640. In my judgment, they had an -abundant justification in the eyes of their country for intrigues -which, though legally treasonable, had been the means of overthrowing -despotic power. The king and courtiers had been elated by the applause -he received when he went into the city to dine with the lord mayor on -his return from Scotland; and Madame de Motteville says plainly, that -he determined to avail himself of it in order to seize the leaders in -parliament (i. 264). - -Nothing could be more irregular than the mode of Charles's proceedings -in this case. He sends a message by the serjeant-at-arms to require of -the speaker that five members should be given up to him on a charge of -high treason; no magistrate's or counsellor's warrant appeared; it was -the king acting singly, without the intervention of the law. It is -idle to allege, like Clarendon, that privilege of parliament does not -extend to treason; the breach of privilege, and of all constitutional -law, was in the mode of proceeding. In fact, the king was guided by -bad private advice, and cared not to let any of his privy council know -his intention, lest he should encounter opposition. - -The following account of the king's coming to the house on this -occasion is copied from the pencil notes of Sir R. Verney. It has been -already printed by Mr. Hatsell (_Precedents_, iv. 106), but with no -great correctness. What Sir R. V. says of the transactions of Jan. 3 -is much the same as we read in the Journals. He thus proceeds: -"Tuesday, January 4, 1641. The five gentlemen which were to be accused -came into the house, and there was information that they should be -taken away by force. Upon this, the house sent to the lord mayor, -aldermen, and common council to let them know how their privileges -were like to be broken, and the city put into danger, and advised them -to look to their security. - -"Likewise some members were sent to the inns of court to let them know -how they heard they were tampered withal to assist the king against -them, and therefore they desired them not to come to Westminster. - -"Then the house adjourned till one of the clock. - -"As soon as the house met again, it was moved, considering there was -an intention to take these five members away by force, to avoid all -tumult, let them be commanded to absent themselves; upon this the -house gave them leave to absent themselves, but entered no order for -it. And then the five gentlemen went out of the house. - -"A little after the king came with all his guard, and all his -pensioners, and two or three hundred soldiers and gentlemen. The king -commanded the soldiers to stay in the hall, and sent us word he was at -the door. The speaker was commanded to sit still with the mace lying -before him, and then the king came to the door, and took the palsgrave -in with him, and commanded all that came with him upon their lives not -to come in. So the doors were kept open, and the Earl of Roxburgh -stood within the door, leaning upon it. Then the king came upwards -towards the chair with his hat off, and the speaker stepped out to -meet him; then the king stepped up to his place, and stood upon the -step, but sat not down in the chair. - -"And after he had looked a great while, he told us he would not break -our privileges, but treason had no privilege; he came for those five -gentlemen, for he expected obedience yesterday, and not an answer. -Then he called Mr. Pym and Mr. Hollis by name, but no answer was made. -Then he asked the speaker if they were here, or where they were? Upon -this the speaker fell on his knees, and desired his excuse, for he was -a servant to the house, and had neither eyes nor tongue to see or say -anything, but what they commanded him: then the king told him he -thought his own eyes were as good as his, and then said his birds were -flown, but he did expect the house should send them to him; and if -they did not, he would seek them himself, for their treason was foul, -and such a one as they would all thank him to discover: then he -assured us they should have a fair trial; and so went out, pulling off -his hat till he came to the door. - -"Upon this the house did instantly resolve to adjourn till to-morrow -at one of the clock, and in the interim they might consider what to -do. - -"Wednesday, 5th Jan. 1641.--The house ordered a committee to sit at -Guildhall in London, and all that would come had voices. This was to -consider and advise how to right the house in point of privilege -broken by the king's coming yesterday with a force to take members out -of our house. They allowed the Irish committee to sit, but would -meddle with no other business till this were ended; they acquainted -the Lords in a message with what they had done, and then they -adjourned the house till Tuesday next." - -The author of these memoranda in pencil, which extend, at intervals of -time, from the meeting of the parliament to April 1642, though -mistaken by Mr. Hatsell for Sir Edmund Verney, member for the county -of Bucks, and killed at the battle of Edgehill, has been ascertained -by my learned friend, Mr. Serjeant D'Oyly, to be his brother Sir -Ralph, member for Aylesbury. He continued at Westminster, and took the -covenant; but afterwards retired to France, and was disabled to sit by -a vote of the house, Sept. 22, 1645. - -[210] _Mem. de Motteville_, i. 264. Clarendon has hardly been -ingenuous in throwing so much of the blame of this affair on Lord -Digby. Indeed, he insinuates in one place, that the queen's -apprehension of being impeached, with which some one in the confidence -of the parliamentary leaders (either Lord Holland or Lady Carlisle) -had inspired her, led to the scheme of anticipating them (ii. 232). It -has been generally supposed that Lady Carlisle gave the five members a -hint to absent themselves. The French ambassador, however, Montereuil, -takes the credit to himself. "J'avois prevenu mes amis, et ils -s'etoient mis en surete." Mazure, p. 429. It is probable that he was -in communication with that intriguing lady. - -[211] Pp. 159, 180. - -[212] The earliest proof that the Commons gave of their intention to -take the militia into their hands was immediately upon the discovery -of Percy's plot, 5th May 1641, when an order was made that the members -of each county, etc., should meet to consider in what state the places -for which they serve are in respect of arms and ammunition, and -whether the deputy lieutenants and lord lieutenants are persons well -affected to the religion and the public peace, and to present their -names to the house, and who are the governors of forts and castles in -their counties. Commons' Journals. Not long afterwards, or at least -before the king's journey to Scotland, Sir Arthur Haslerig, as -Clarendon informs us, proposed a bill for settling the militia in such -hands as they should nominate, which was seconded by St. John, and -read once, "but with so universal a dislike, that it was never called -upon a second time." Clarendon, i. 488. I can find nothing of this in -the Journals, and believe it to be one of the anachronisms into which -this author has fallen, in consequence of writing at a distance from -authentic materials. The bill to which he alludes must, I conceive, be -that brought in by Haslerig long after (7th Dec. 1641), not, as he -terms it, for settling the militia, but for making certain persons, -leaving their names in blank, "lords general of all the forces within -England and Wales, and lord admiral of England." The persons intended -seem to have been Essex, Holland, and Northumberland. The Commons had -for some time planned to give the two former earls a supreme command -over the trained bands north and south of Trent (Journals, Nov. 15 and -16); which was afterwards changed into the scheme of lord lieutenants -of their own nomination for each county. The bill above mentioned -having been once read, it was moved that it be rejected, which was -negatived by 158 to 125. Commons' Journals, 7th Dec. Nalson, ii. 719, -has made a mistake about these numbers. The bill, however, was laid -aside, a new plan having been devised. It was ordered (31st Dec. 1641) -"that the house be resolved into a committee on Monday next (Jan. 3), -to take into consideration the militia of the kingdom." That Monday -(Jan. 3) was the famous day of the king's message about the five -members; and on Jan. 13 a declaration for putting the kingdom in a -state of defence passed the Commons, by which "all officers, -magistrates, etc., were enjoined to take care that no soldiers be -raised, nor any castles or arms given up, _without his majesty's -pleasure, signified by both houses of parliament_." Commons' Journals; -_Parl. Hist._ 1035. The Lords at the time refused to concur in this -declaration, which was afterwards changed into the ordinance for the -militia; but 32 peers signed a protest (_Id._ 1049), and the house not -many days afterwards came to an opposite vote, joining with the -Commons in their demand of the militia. _Id._ 1072, 1091. - -[213] Rymer, sub Edw. I. et II. _passim_. Thus, in 1297, a writ to the -sheriff of Yorkshire directs him to make known to all, qui habent 20 -libratas terrae et reditus per annum, tam illis qui non tenent de nobis -in capite quam illis qui tenent, ut de equis et armis sibi provideant -et se probarent indilate; ita quod sint prompti et parati ad veniendum -ad nos et eundum cum propria persona nostra, pro defensione ipsorum et -totius regni nostri praedicti quandocunque pro ipsis duxerimus -demandandum. ii. 864. - -[214] Stat. 1 Edw. III. c. 5. - -[215] 25 Edw. III. c. 8. 4 H. IV. c. 13. - -[216] 4 and 5 Philip and Mary, c. 3. The Harleian manuscripts are the -best authority for the practice of pressing soldiers to serve in -Ireland or elsewhere, and are full of instances. The Mouldys and -Bullcalfs were in frequent requisition. See vols. 309, 1926, 2219, and -others. Thanks to Humphrey Wanley's diligence, the analysis of these -papers in the catalogue will save the enquirer the trouble of reading, -or the mortification of finding he cannot read, the terrible scrawl in -which they are generally written. - -[217] Wilkins's _Leges Anglo-Saxonicae_, p. 333; Lyttleton's _Henry -II._, iii. 354. - -[218] Stat. 13 E. I. - -[219] 5 Philip and Mary, c. 2. - -[220] 1 Jac. c. 25, Sec. 46. An order of council, in Dec. 1638, that -every man having lands of inheritance to the clear yearly value of -L200 should be chargeable to furnish a light-horse man, every one of -L300 estate to furnish a lance, at the discretion of the lord -lieutenant, was unwarranted by any existing law, and must be reckoned -among the violent stretches of the prerogative at that time. Rushw. -Abr. ii. 500. - -[221] Rymer, xix. 310. - -[222] Grose's _Military Antiquities_, i. 150. The word artillery was -used in that age for the long-bow. - -[223] Whitelock maintained, both on this occasion, and at the treaty -of Uxbridge, that the power of the militia resided in the king and two -houses jointly. Pp. 55, 129. This, though not very well expressed, can -only mean that it required an act of parliament to determine and -regulate it. - -[224] See the list of those recommended, _Parl. Hist._ 1083. Some of -these were royalists; but on the whole, three-fourths of the military -force of England would have been in the hands of persons, who, though -men of rank, and attached to the monarchy, had given Charles no reason -to hope that they would decline to obey any order which the parliament -might issue, however derogatory or displeasing to himself. - -[225] "When this bill had been with much ado accepted, and first read, -there were few men who imagined it would ever receive further -countenance; but now there were very few who did not believe it to be -a very necessary provision for the peace and safety of the kingdom. So -great an impression had the late proceedings made upon them, that with -little opposition it passed the Commons, and was sent up to the -Lords." Clarend. ii. 180. - -[226] Clarendon, ii. 375; _Parl. Hist._ 1077, 1106, etc. It may be -added, that the militia bill, as originally tendered to the king by -the two houses, was ushered in by a preamble asserting that there had -been a most dangerous and desperate design on the House of Commons, -the effect of the bloody counsels of the papists, and other -ill-affected persons, who had already raised a rebellion in Ireland. -Clar. p. 336. Surely he could not have passed this, especially the -last allusion, without recording his own absolute dishonour: but it -must be admitted, that on the king's objection they omitted this -preamble, and also materially limited the powers of the lords -lieutenant to be appointed under the bill. - -[227] A declaration of the grievances of the kingdom, and the remedies -proposed, dated April 1, may be found in the _Parliamentary History_, -p. 1155. But that work does not notice that it had passed the Commons -on Feb. 19, before the king had begun to move towards the north. -Commons' Journals. It seems not to have pleased the House of Lords, -who postponed its consideration, and was much more grievous to the -king than the nineteen propositions themselves. One proposal was to -remove all papists from about the queen; that is, to deprive her of -the exercise of her religion, guaranteed by her marriage contract. To -this objection Pym replied that the House of Commons had only to -consider the law of God and the law of the land; that they must resist -idolatry, lest they incur the divine wrath, and must see the laws of -this kingdom executed; that the public faith is less than that they -owe to God, against which no contract can oblige, neither can any bind -us against the law of the kingdom. _Id._ 1162. - -[228] _Parl. Hist._ 702. - -[229] Clarendon, p. 452. Upon this passage in the remonstrance a -division took place, when it was carried by 103 to 61. _Parl. Hist._ -1302. The words in the old form of coronation oath, as preserved in a -bill of parliament under Henry IV., concerning which this -grammatico-political contention arose, are the following: "Concedis -justas leges et consuetudines esse tenendas, et promittis per te eas -esse protegendas, et ad honorem Dei corroborandas, _quas vulgus -elegerit_, secundum vires tuas?" It was maintained by one side that -_elegerit_ should be construed in the future tense, while the other -contended for the praeterperfect. But even if the former were right, as -to the point of Latin construction, though consuetudines seems -naturally to imply a past tense, I should by no means admit the -strange inference that the king was bound to sanction all laws -proposed to him. His own assent is involved in the expression, "quas -vulgus elegerit," which was introduced, on the hypothesis of the word -being in the future tense, as a security against his legislation -without consent of the people in parliament. The English coronation -oath, which Charles had taken, excludes the future: Sir, will you -grant to hold and keep the laws and rightful customs, _which the -commonalty of this your kingdom have_? - -[230] See what is said as to this by P. Orleans, iii. 87, and by -Madame de Motteville, i. 268. Her intended journey to Spa, in July -1641, which was given up on the remonstrance of parliament, is highly -suspicious. The house, it appears, had received even then information -that the Crown jewels were to be carried away. Nalson, ii. 391. - -[231] The impeachments of Lord Finch and of Judge Berkeley for high -treason are at least as little justifiable in point of law as that of -Strafford. Yet, because the former of these was moved by Lord -Falkland, Clarendon is so far from objecting to it, that he imputes as -a fault to the parliamentary leaders their lukewarmness in the -prosecution, and insinuates that they were desirous to save Finch. See -especially the new edition of Clarendon, vol. i. Appendix. But they -might reasonably think that Finch was not of sufficient importance to -divert their attention from the grand apostate, whom they were -determined to punish. Finch fled to Holland; so that then it would -have been absurd to take much trouble about his impeachment: Falkland, -however, opened it to the Lords, 14 Jan. 1641, in a speech containing -full as many extravagant propositions as any of St. John's. Berkeley, -besides his forwardness about ship-money, had been notorious for -subserviency to the prerogative. The house sent the usher of the black -rod to the court of King's Bench, while the judges were sitting, who -took him away to prison; "which struck a great terror," says -Whitelock, "in the rest of his brethren then sitting in Westminster -Hall, and in all his profession." The impeachment against Berkeley for -high treason ended in his paying a fine of L10,000. But what appears -strange and unjustifiable is, that the houses suffered him to sit for -some terms as a judge, with this impeachment over his head. The only -excuse for this is, that there were a great many vacancies on that -bench. - -[232] Journals, Aug. 30 and Nov. 9. It may be urged in behalf of these -ordinances, that the king had gone into Scotland against the wish of -the two houses, and after refusing to appoint a _custos regni_ at -their request. But if the exigency of the case might justify, under -those circumstances, the assumption of an irregular power, it ought to -have been limited to the period of the sovereign's absence. - -[233] _Parl. Hist._ 678, _et alibi_; Journals, _passim_. Clarendon, i. -475, says this began to pass all bounds after the act rendering them -indissoluble. "It had never," he says, "been attempted before this -parliament to commit any one to prison, except for some apparent -breach of privilege, such as the arrest of one of their members, or -the like." Instances of this, however, had occurred before, of which I -have mentioned in another place the grossest, that of Floyd, in 1621. -The Lords, in March 1642, condemned one Sandford, a tailor, for -cursing the parliament, to be kept at work in Bridewell during his -life, besides some minor inflictions. Rushworth. A strange order was -made by the Commons, Dec. 10, 1641, that, Sir William Earl having -given information of some dangerous words spoken by certain persons, -the speaker shall issue a warrant to apprehend _such persons as Sir -William Earl should point out_. - -[234] The entry of this in the journals is too characteristic of the -tone assumed in the Commons to be omitted. "This committee (after -naming some of the warmest men) is appointed to prepare heads for a -conference with the Lords, and to acquaint them what bills this house -hath passed and sent up to their lordships, which much concern the -safety of the kingdom, but have had no consent of their lordships unto -them; and that, this house being the representative body of the whole -kingdom, and their lordships being but as particular persons, and -coming to parliament in a particular capacity, that if they shall not -be pleased to consent to the passing of those acts and others -necessary to the preservation and safety of the kingdom, that then -this house, together with such of the lords that are more sensible of -the safety of the kingdom, may join together and represent the same -unto his majesty." This was on December 3, 1641, before the argument -from necessity could be pretended, and evidently contains the germ of -the resolution of February 1649, that the House of Lords was useless. - -The resolution was moved by Mr. Pym; and on Mr. Godolphin's objecting, -very sensibly, that if they went to the king with the lesser part of -the Lords, the greater part of the Lords might go to the king with the -lesser part of them, he was commanded to withdraw (Verney MS.); and an -order appears on the journals, that on Tuesday next the house would -take into consideration the offence now given by words spoken by Mr. -Godolphin. Nothing further, however, seems to have taken place. - -[235] This was carried Jan. 27, 1642, by a majority of 223 to 123, the -largest number, I think, that voted for any question during the -parliament. Richmond was an eager courtier, and perhaps an enemy to -the constitution, which may account for the unusual majority in favour -of his impeachment, but cannot justify it. He had merely said, on a -proposition to adjourn, "Why should we not adjourn for six months?" - -[236] _Parl. Hist._ 1147, 1150, 1188; Clarendon, ii. 284, 346. - -[237] Clarendon, 322. Among other petitions presented at this time, -the noble author inserts one from the porters of London. Mr. Brodie -asserts of this, that "it is nowhere to be found or alluded to, so far -as I recollect, except in Clarendon's _History_; and I have no -hesitation in pronouncing it a forgery by that author, to disgrace the -petitions which so galled him and his party. The journals of the -Commons give an account of every petition; and I have gone over them -_with the utmost care_, in order to ascertain whether such a petition -ever was presented, and yet cannot discover a trace of it."--iii. 306. -This writer is much too precipitate and passionate. No sensible man -will believe Clarendon to have committed so foolish and useless a -forgery; and as to Mr. B.'s diligent perusal of the journals, this -petition is fully noticed, though not inserted at length, on the 3rd -of February. - -[238] Nalson, ii. 234, 245. - -[239] The bishops had so few friends in the House of Commons, that in -the debate arising out of this protest, all agreed that they should be -charged with treason, except one gentleman, who said he thought them -only mad, and proposed that they should be sent to Bedlam instead of -the Tower. Even Clarendon bears rather hard on the protest; chiefly, -as is evident, because it originated with Williams. In fact, several -of these prelates had not courage to stand by what they had done, and -made trivial apologies. _Parl. Hist._ 996. Whether the violence was -such as to form a complete justification for their absenting -themselves, is a question of fact which we cannot well determine. -Three bishops continued at their posts, and voted against the bill for -removing them from the House of Lords. See a passage from Hall's "Hard -Measure," in Wordsworth's _Eccles. Biogr._ v. 317. The king always -entertained a notion that this act was null in itself; and in one of -his proclamations from York, not very judiciously declares his -intention to preserve the privileges of the _three_ estates of -parliament. The Lords admitted the twelve bishops to bail; but, with -their usual pusillanimity, recommitted them on the Commons' -expostulation. _Parl. Hist._ 1092. - -[240] May, p. 187, insinuates that the civil war should have been -prevented by more vigorous measures on the part of the parliament. And -it might probably have been in their power to have secured the king's -person before he reached York. But the majority were not ripe for such -violent proceedings. - -[241] These words are ascribed to Lord Chatham, in a speech of Mr. -Grattan, according to Lord John Russell, in his _Essay on the History -of the English Government_, p. 55. - -[242] Clarendon has several remarkable passages, chiefly towards the -end of the fifth book of his _History_, on the slowness and timidity -of the royalist party before the commencement of the civil war. The -peers at York, forming, in fact, a majority of the upper house, for -there were nearly forty of them, displayed much of this. Want of -political courage was a characteristic of our aristocracy at this -period, bravely as many behaved in the field. But I have no doubt that -a real jealousy of the king's intentions had a considerable effect. - -They put forth a declaration, signed by all their hands, on the 15th -of June 1642, professing before God their full persuasion that the -king had no design to make war on the parliament, and that they saw no -colour of preparations or counsels that might reasonably beget a -belief of any such designs; but that all his endeavours tended to the -settlement of the protestant religion, the just privileges of -parliament, the liberty of the subject, etc. This was an ill-judged, -and even absurd piece of hypocrisy, calculated to degrade the -subscribers; since the design of raising troops was hardly concealed, -and every part of the king's conduct since his arrival at York -manifested it. The commission of array, authorising certain persons in -each county to raise troops, was in fact issued immediately after this -declaration. It is rather mortifying to find Lord Falkland's name, not -to mention others, in this list; but he probably felt it impossible to -refuse his signature, without throwing discredit on the king; and no -man engaged in a party ever did, or ever can, act with absolute -sincerity; or at least he can be of no use to his friends, if he does -adhere to this uncompromising principle. - -The commission of array was ill-received by many of the king's -friends, as not being conformable to law. Clarendon, iii. 91. -Certainly it was not so; but it was justifiable as the means of -opposing the parliament's ordinance for the militia, at least equally -illegal. This, however, shows very strongly the cautious and -constitutional temper of many of the royalists, who could demur about -the legality of a measure of necessity, since no other method of -raising an army would have been free from similar exception. The same -reluctance to enter on the war was displayed in the propositions for -peace, which the king, in consequence of his council's importunity, -sent to the two houses through the Earl of Southampton, just before he -raised his standard at Nottingham. - -[243] According to a list made by the House of Lords, May 25, 1642, -the peers with the king at York were thirty-two; those who remained at -Westminster, forty-two. But of the latter, more than ten joined the -others before the commencement of the war, and five or six afterwards; -two or three of those at York returned. During the war there were at -the outside thirty peers who sat in the parliament. - -[244] _Life of Clarendon_, p. 56. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -FROM THE BREAKING OUT OF THE CIVIL WAR TO THE RESTORATION - - -PART I - -Factions that, while still under some restraint from the forms at -least of constitutional law, excite our disgust by their selfishness -or intemperance, are little likely to redeem their honour when their -animosities have kindled civil warfare. If it were difficult for an -upright man to enlist with an entire willingness under either the -royalist or the parliamentarian banner, at the commencement of -hostilities in 1642, it became far less easy for him to desire the -complete success of one or the other cause, as advancing time -displayed the faults of both in darker colours than they had -previously worn. Of the parliament--to begin with the more powerful -and victorious party--it may be said, I think, with not greater -severity than truth, that scarce two or three public acts of justice, -humanity, or generosity, and very few of political wisdom or courage, -are recorded of them from their quarrel with the king to their -expulsion by Cromwell. - -Notwithstanding the secession from parliament before the commencement -of the war, of nearly all the peers who could be reckoned on the -king's side, and of a pretty considerable part of the Commons, there -still continued to sit at Westminster many sensible and moderate -persons, who thought that they could not serve their country better -than by remaining at their posts, and laboured continually to bring -about a pacification by mutual concessions. Such were the Earls of -Northumberland, Holland, Lincoln, and Bedford, among the peers; -Selden, Whitelock, Hollis, Waller, Pierrepont, and Rudyard, in the -Commons. These however would have formed but a very ineffectual -minority, if the war itself, for at least twelve months, had not taken -a turn little expected by the parliament. The hard usage Charles -seemed to endure in so many encroachments on his ancient prerogative -awakened the sympathies of a generous aristocracy, accustomed to -respect the established laws, and to love monarchy, as they did their -own liberties, on the score of its prescriptive title; averse also to -the rude and morose genius of puritanism, and not a little jealous of -those upstart demagogues who already threatened to subvert the -graduated pyramid of English society. Their zeal placed the king at -the head of a far more considerable army than either party had -anticipated.[245] In the first battle, that of Edgehill, though he did -not remain master of the field, yet all the military consequences were -evidently in his favour.[246] In the ensuing campaign of 1643, the -advantage was for several months entirely his own; nor could he be -said to be a loser on the whole result, notwithstanding some reverses -that accompanied the autumn. A line drawn from Hull to Southampton -would suggest no very incorrect idea of the two parties, considered as -to their military occupation of the kingdom, at the beginning of -September 1643; for if the parliament, by the possession of Glocester -and Plymouth, and by some force they had on foot in Cheshire, and -other midland parts, kept their ground on the west of this line, this -was nearly compensated by the Earl of Newcastle's possession at that -time of most of Lincolnshire, which lay within it. Such was the -temporary effect, partly indeed of what may be called the fortune of -war, but rather of the zeal and spirit of the royalists, and of their -advantage in a more numerous and intrepid cavalry.[247] - -It has been frequently supposed, and doubtless seems to have been a -prevailing opinion at the time, that if the king, instead of sitting -down before Glocester at the end of August, had marched upon London, -combining his operations with Newcastle's powerful army, he would have -brought the war to a triumphant conclusion.[248] In these matters men -judge principally by the event. Whether it would have been prudent in -Newcastle to have left behind him the strong garrison of Hull under -Fairfax, and an unbroken though inferior force, commanded by Lord -Willoughby and Cromwell in Lincolnshire, I must leave to military -critics; suspecting however that he would have found it difficult to -draw away the Yorkshire gentry and yeomanry, forming the strength of -his army, from their unprotected homes. Yet the parliamentary forces -were certainly, at no period of the war, so deficient in numbers, -discipline, and confidence; and it may well be thought that the king's -want of permanent resources, with his knowledge of the timidity and -disunion which prevailed in the capital, rendered the boldest and most -forward game his true policy. - -_Efforts by the moderate party for peace._--It was natural that the -moderate party in parliament should acquire strength by the untoward -fortune of its arms. Their aim, as well as that of the constitutional -royalists, was a speedy pacification; neither party so much -considering what terms might be most advantageous to their own side, -as which way the nation might be freed from an incalculably protracted -calamity. On the king's advance to Colnbrook in November 1642, the two -houses made an overture for negotiation, on which he expressed his -readiness to enter. But, during the parley, some of his troops -advanced to Brentford, and a sharp action took place in that town. The -parliament affected to consider this such a mark of perfidy and -blood-thirstiness as justified them in breaking off the treaty; a step -to which they were doubtless more inclined by the king's retreat, and -their discovery that his army was less formidable than they had -apprehended. It is very probable, or rather certain, even from -Clarendon's account, that many about the king, if not himself, were -sufficiently indisposed to negotiate; yet, as no cessation of arms had -been agreed upon, or even proposed, he cannot be said to have waived -the unquestionable right of every belligerent, to obtain all possible -advantage by arms, in order to treat for peace in a more favourable -position. But, as mankind are seldom reasonable in admitting such -maxims against themselves, he seems to have injured his reputation by -this affair of Brentford. - -_Treaty at Oxford._--A treaty, from which many ventured to hope much, -was begun early in the next spring at Oxford, after a struggle which -had lasted through the winter within the walls of parliament.[249] But -though the party of Pym and Hampden at Westminster were not able to -prevent negotiation against the strong bent of the House of Lords, and -even of the city, which had been taught to lower its tone by the -interruption of trade, and especially of the supply of coals from -Newcastle; yet they were powerful enough to make the houses insist on -terms not less unreasonable than those contained in their nineteen -propositions the year before.[250] The king could not be justly -expected to comply with these; but, had they been more moderate, or if -the parliament would have in some measure receded from them, we have -every reason to conclude, both by the nature of the terms he proposed -in return, and by the positive testimony of Clarendon, that he would -not have come sincerely into any scheme of immediate accommodation. -The reason assigned by that author for the unwillingness of Charles to -agree on a cessation of arms during the negotiation, though it had -been originally suggested by himself (and which reason would have been -still more applicable to a treaty of peace), is one so strange that it -requires all the authority of one very unwilling to confess any -weakness or duplicity of the king to be believed. He had made a solemn -promise to the queen on her departure for Holland the year before, -"that he would receive no person who had disserved him into any favour -or trust, without her privity and consent; and that, as she had -undergone many reproaches and calumnies at the entrance into the war, -so he would never make any peace but by her interposition and -mediation, that the kingdom might receive that blessing only from -her."[251] Let this be called, as the reader may please, the -extravagance of romantic affection, or rather the height of -pusillanimous and criminal subserviency, we cannot surely help -acknowledging that this one marked weakness in Charles's character, -had there been nothing else to object, rendered the return of cordial -harmony between himself and his people scarce within the bounds of -natural possibility. In the equally balanced condition of both forces -at this particular juncture, it may seem that some compromise on the -great question of the militia was not impracticable, had the king been -truly desirous of accommodation; for it is only just to remember that -the parliament had good reason to demand some security for themselves, -when he had so peremptorily excluded several persons from amnesty. -Both parties, in truth, were standing out for more than, either -according to their situation as belligerents, or even perhaps -according to the principles of our constitution, they could reasonably -claim; the two houses having evidently no direct right to order the -military force, nor the king, on the other hand, having a clear -prerogative to keep on foot an army which is not easily -distinguishable from a militia without consent of parliament. The most -reasonable course apparently would have been for the one to have -waived a dangerous and disputed authority, and the other to have -desisted from a still more unconstitutional pretension; which was done -by the bill of rights in 1689. The kingdom might have well dispensed, -in that age, with any military organisation; and this seems to have -been the desire of Whitelock, and probably of other reasonable men. -But unhappily when swords are once drawn in civil war, they are seldom -sheathed till experience has shown which blade is the sharper. - -_Impeachment of the queen._--Though this particular instance of the -queen's prodigious ascendancy over her husband remained secret till -the publication of Lord Clarendon's life, it was in general well -known, and put the leaders of the Commons on a remarkable stroke of -policy, in order to prevent the renewal of negotiations. On her -landing in the north, with a supply of money and arms, as well as with -a few troops she had collected in Holland, they carried up to the -Lords an impeachment for high treason against her. This measure (so -obnoxious was Henrietta) met with a less vigorous opposition than -might be expected, though the moderate party was still in considerable -force.[252] It was not only an insolence, which a king, less uxorious -than Charles, could never pardon; but a violation of the primary laws -and moral sentiments that preserve human society, to which the queen -was acting in obedience. Scarce any proceeding of the long parliament -seems more odious than this; whether designed by way of intimidation, -or to exasperate the king, and render the composure of existing -differences more impracticable. - -_Waller's plot._--The enemies of peace were strengthened by the -discovery of what is usually called Waller's plot, a scheme for making -a strong demonstration of the royalist party in London, wherein -several members of both houses appear to have been more or less -concerned. Upon the detection of this conspiracy, the two houses of -parliament took an oath not to lay down arms, so long as the papists -now in arms should be protected from the justice of parliament; and -never to adhere to, or willingly assist, the forces raised by the -king, without the consent of both houses. Every individual member of -the Peers and Commons took this oath; some of them being then in -secret concert with the king, and others entertaining intentions, as -their conduct very soon evinced, of deserting to his side.[253] Such -was the commencement of a system of perjury, which lasted for many -years, and belies the pretended religion of that hypocritical age. -But we may always look for this effect from oppressive power, and the -imposition of political tests. - -The king was now in a course of success, which made him rather hearken -to the sanguine courtiers of Oxford, where, according to the -invariable character of an exiled faction, every advantage or reverse -brought on a disproportionate exultation or despondency, than to those -better counsellors who knew the precariousness of his good fortune. He -published a declaration, wherein he denied the two houses at -Westminster the name of a parliament; which he could no more take from -them, after the bill he had passed, than they could deprive him of his -royal title, and by refusing which he shut up all avenues to an equal -peace.[254] This was soon followed by so extraordinary a political -error as manifests the king's want of judgment, and the utter -improbability that any event of the war could have restored to England -the blessings of liberty and repose. - -_Secession of some peers to the king's quarters._--Three peers of the -moderate party, the Earls of Holland, Bedford, and Clare, dissatisfied -with the preponderance of a violent faction in the Commons, left their -places at Westminster, and came into the king's quarters. It might be -presumed from general policy as well as from his constant declarations -of a desire to restore peace, that they would have been received with -such studied courtesy as might serve to reconcile to their own mind a -step which, when taken with the best intentions, is always equivocal -and humiliating. There was great reason to believe that the Earl of -Northumberland, not only the first peer then in England as to family -and fortune, but a man highly esteemed for prudence, was only waiting -to observe the reception of those who went first to Oxford, before he -followed their steps. There were even well-founded hopes of the Earl -of Essex, who, though incapable of betraying his trust as commander of -the parliament's army, was both from personal and public motives -disinclined to the war-party in the Commons. There was much to expect -from all those who had secretly wished well to the king's cause, and -from those whom it is madness to reject or insult, the followers of -fortune, the worshippers of power, without whom neither fortune nor -power can long subsist. Yet such was the state of Charles's -council-board at Oxford that some were for arresting these proselyte -earls; and it was carried with difficulty, after they had been -detained some time at Wallingford, that they might come to the court. -But they met there with so many and such general slights that, though -they fought in the king's army at Newbury, they found their position -intolerably ignominious; and after about three months, returned to the -parliament with many expressions of repentance, and strong testimonies -to the evil counsels of Oxford.[255] - -The king seems to have been rather passive in this strange piece of -impolicy, but by no means to have taken the line that became him, of -repressing the selfish jealousy or petty revengefulness of his court. -If the Earl of Holland was a man, whom both he and the queen, on the -score of his great obligations to them, might justly reproach with -some ingratitude, there was nothing to be objected against the other -two, save their continuance at Westminster, and compliance in votes -that he disliked. And if this were to be visited by neglect and -discountenance, there could, it was plain, be no reconciliation -between him and the parliament. For who could imagine that men of -courage and honour, while possessed of any sort of strength and any -hopes of preserving it, would put up with a mere indemnity for their -lives and fortunes, subject to be reckoned as pardoned traitors who -might thank the king for his clemency, without presuming to his -favour? Charles must have seen his superiority consolidated by -repeated victories, before he could prudently assume this tone of -conquest. Inferior in substantial force, notwithstanding his transient -advantages, to the parliament, he had no probability of regaining his -station, but by defections from their banner; and these, with -incredible folly, he seemed to decline; far unlike his illustrious -father-in-law, who had cordially embraced the leaders of a rebellion -much more implacable than the present. For the Oxford counsellors and -courtiers who set themselves against the reception of the three -earls, besides their particular animosity towards the Earl of -Holland,[256] and that general feeling of disdain and distrust which, -as Clarendon finely observes, seems by nature attached to all -desertion and inconstancy, whether in politics or religion (even among -those who reap the advantage of it, and when founded upon what they -ought to reckon the soundest reasons), there seems grounds to suspect -that they had deeper and more selfish designs than they cared to -manifest. They had long beset the king with solicitations for titles, -offices, pensions; but these were necessarily too limited for their -cravings. They had sustained, many of them, great losses; they had -performed real or pretended services for the king; and it is probable -that they looked to a confiscation of enemies' property for their -indemnification or reward. This would account for an averseness to all -overtures for peace, as decided, at this period, among a great body of -the cavaliers as it was with the factions of Pym or Vane. - -_The anti-pacific party gain the ascendant at Westminster._--These -factions were now become finally predominant at Westminster. On the -news that Prince Rupert had taken Bristol, the last and most serious -loss that the parliament sustained, the Lords agreed on propositions -for peace to be sent to the king, of an unusually moderate tone.[257] -The Commons, on a division of 94 to 65, determined to take them into -consideration; but the lord mayor Pennington having procured an -address of the city against peace, backed by a tumultuous mob, a small -majority was obtained against concurring with the other house.[258] -It was after this that the Lords above-mentioned, as well as many of -the Commons, quitted Westminster. The prevailing party had no thoughts -of peace, till they could dictate its conditions. Through Essex's -great success in raising the siege of Glocester, the most -distinguished exploit in his military life, and the battle of Newbury -wherein the advantage was certainly theirs, they became secure against -any important attack on the king's side, the war turning again to -endless sieges and skirmishes of partisans. And they now adopted two -important measures, one of which gave a new complexion to the quarrel. - -Littleton, the lord keeper of the great seal, had carried it away with -him to the king. This of itself put a stop to the regular course of -the executive government, and to the administration of justice within -the parliament's quarters. No employments could be filled up, no writs -for election of members issued, no commissions for holding the assizes -completed without the indispensable formality of affixing the great -seal. It must surely excite a smile, that men who had raised armies, -and fought battles against the king, should be perplexed how to get -over so technical a difficulty. But the great seal in the eyes of -English lawyers, has a sort of mysterious efficacy, and passes for the -depository of royal authority in a higher degree than the person of -the king. - -_The parliament makes a new great seal._--The Commons prepared an -ordinance in July for making a new great seal, in which the Lords -could not be induced to concur till October. The royalists, and the -king himself, exclaimed against this as the most audacious treason, -though it may be reckoned a very natural consequence of the state in -which the parliament was placed; and in the subsequent negotiations, -it was one of the minor points in dispute whether he should authorise -the proceedings under the great seal of the two houses, or they -consent to sanction what had been done by virtue of his own. - -The second measure of parliament was of greater moment and more fatal -consequences. I have already mentioned the stress laid by the bigoted -Scots presbyterians on the establishment of their own church -government in England. Chiefly perhaps to conciliate this people, the -House of Commons had entertained the bill for abolishing episcopacy; -and this had formed a part of the nineteen propositions that both -houses tendered to the king.[259] After the action at Brentford they -concurred in a declaration to be delivered to the Scots commissioners, -resident in London, wherein, after setting forth the malice of the -prelatical clergy in hindering the reformation of ecclesiastical -government, and professing their own desire willingly and -affectionately to pursue a closer union in such matters between the -two nations, they request their brethren of Scotland to raise such -forces as they should judge sufficient for the securing the peace of -their own borders against ill-affected persons there; as likewise, to -assist them in suppressing the army of papists and foreigners, which, -it was expected, would shortly be on foot in England.[260] - -This overture produced for many months no sensible effect. The Scots, -with all their national wariness, suspected that, in spite of these -general declarations in favour of their church polity, it was not much -at heart with most of the parliament, and might be given up in a -treaty, if the king would concede some other matters in dispute. -Accordingly, when the progress of his arms, especially in the north, -during the ensuing summer, compelled the parliament to call in a more -pressing manner, and by a special embassy, for their aid, they -resolved to bind them down by such a compact as no wavering policy -should ever rescind. They insisted therefore on the adoption of the -solemn league and covenant, founded on a similar association of their -own, five years before, through which they had successfully resisted -the king, and overthrown the prelatic government. The covenant -consisted in an oath to be subscribed by all sorts of persons in both -kingdoms, whereby they bound themselves to preserve the reformed -religion in the church of Scotland, in doctrine, worship, discipline, -and government, according to the word of God and practice of the best -reformed churches; and to endeavour to bring the churches of God in -the three kingdoms to the nearest conjunction and uniformity in -religion, confession of faith, form of church-government, directory -for worship, and catechising: to endeavour, without respect of -persons, the extirpation of popery, prelacy (that is, church -government by archbishops, bishops, their chancellors and -commissaries, deans and chapters, archdeacons, and all other -ecclesiastical officers depending on that hierarchy), and whatsoever -should be found contrary to sound doctrine and the power of godliness -to preserve the rights and privileges of the parliaments, and the -liberties of the kingdoms, and the king's person and authority, in the -preservation and defence of the true religion and liberties of the -kingdoms: to endeavour the discovery of incendiaries and malignants, -who hinder the reformation of religion, and divide the king from his -people, that they may be brought to punishment: finally, to assist and -defend all such as should enter into this covenant, and not suffer -themselves to be withdrawn from it, whether to revolt to the opposite -party, or to give in to a detestable indifference or neutrality. In -conformity to the strict alliance thus established between the two -kingdoms, the Scots commissioners at Westminster were intrusted, -jointly with a committee of both houses, with very extensive powers to -administer the public affairs.[261] - -_The parliament subscribes to the covenant._--Every member of the -Commons who remained at Westminster, to the number of 228, or perhaps -more, and from 20 to 30 Peers that formed their upper house,[262] -subscribed this deliberate pledge to overturn the established church; -many of them with extreme reluctance, both from a dislike of the -innovation, and from a consciousness that it raised a most formidable -obstacle to the restoration of peace; but with a secret reserve, for -which some want of precision in the language of this covenant -(purposely introduced by Vane, as is said, to shelter his own schemes) -afforded them a sort of apology.[263] It was next imposed on all civil -and military officers, and upon all the beneficed clergy.[264] A -severe persecution fell on the faithful children of the Anglican -church. Many had already been sequestered from their livings, or even -subjected to imprisonment, by the parliamentary committee for -scandalous ministers, or by subordinate committees of the same kind -set up in each county within their quarters; sometimes on the score of -immoralities or false doctrine, more frequently for what they termed -malignity, or attachment to the king and his party.[265] Yet wary men -who meddled not with politics, might hope to elude this inquisition. -But the covenant, imposed as a general test, drove out all who were -too conscientious to pledge themselves by a solemn appeal to the Deity -to resist the polity which they generally believed to be of his -institution. What number of the clergy were ejected (most of them but -for refusing the covenant, and for no moral offence or imputed -superstition) it is impossible to ascertain. Walker, in his -_Sufferings of the Clergy_, a folio volume published in the latter end -of Anne's reign, with all the virulence and partiality of the -high-church faction in that age, endeavoured to support those who had -reckoned it at 8000; a palpable over-statement upon his own showing, -for he cannot produce near 2000 names, after a most diligent -investigation. Neal, however, admits 1600, probably more than -one-fifth of the beneficed ministers in the kingdom.[266] The -biographical collections furnish a pretty copious martyrology of men -the most distinguished by their learning and virtues in that age. The -remorseless and indiscriminate bigotry of presbyterianism might boast -that it had heaped disgrace on Walton, and driven Lydiat to beggary; -that it trampled on the old age of Hales, and embittered with insult -the dying moments of Chillingworth. - -_Impeachment and execution of Laud._--But the most unjustifiable act -of these zealots, and one of the greatest reproaches of the long -parliament, was the death of Archbishop Laud. In the first days of the -session, while the fall of Strafford struck every one with -astonishment, the Commons had carried up an impeachment against him -for high treason, in fourteen articles of charge; and he had lain ever -since in the Tower, his revenues, and even private estate sequestered, -and in great indigence. After nearly three years' neglect, specific -articles were exhibited against him in October 1643, but not proceeded -on with vigour till December 1644; when, for whatever reason, a -determination was taken to pursue this unfortunate prelate to death. -The charges against him, which Wild, Maynard, and other managers of -the impeachment, were to aggravate into treason, related partly to -those papistical innovations which had nothing of a political -character about them, partly of the violent proceedings in the -star-chamber and high-commission courts, wherein Laud was very -prominent as a counsellor, but certainly without any greater legal -responsibility than fell on many others. He defended himself, not -always prudently or satisfactorily, but with courage and ability; -never receding from his magnificent notions of spiritual power, but -endeavouring to shift the blame of the sentences pronounced by the -council on those who concurred with him. The imputation of popery he -repelled by a list of the converts he had made; but the word was -equivocal, and he could not deny the difference between his -protestantism and that of our reformation. Nothing could be more -monstrous than the allegation of treason in this case. The judges, on -a reference by the Lords, gave it to be understood, in their timid -way, that the charges contained no legal treason.[267] But, the -Commons having changed their impeachment into an ordinance for his -execution, the Peers were pusillanimous enough to comply. It is said -by Clarendon that only seven Lords were in the house on this occasion: -but the Journals unfortunately bear witness to the presence of -twenty.[268] Laud had amply merited punishment for his tyrannical -abuse of power; but his execution at the age of seventy, without the -slightest pretence of political necessity, was a far more -unjustifiable instance of it than any that was alleged against him. - -_Decline of the king's affairs in 1644._--Pursuant to the -before-mentioned treaty, the Scots army of 21,000 men marched into -England in January 1644. This was a very serious accession to -Charles's difficulties, already sufficient to dissipate all hopes of -final triumph, except in the most sanguine minds. His successes, in -fact, had been rather such as to surprise well-judging men than to -make them expect any more favourable termination of the war than by a -fair treaty. From the beginning it may be said that the yeomanry and -trading classes of towns were generally hostile to the king's side, -even in those counties which were in his military occupation; except -in a few, such as Cornwall, Worcester, Salop, and most of Wales, where -the prevailing sentiment was chiefly royalist;[269] and this -disaffection was prodigiously increased through the licence of his -ill-paid and ill-disciplined army. On the other hand, the gentry were, -in a great majority, attached to his cause, even in the parts of -England which lay subject to the parliament. But he was never able to -make any durable impression on what were called the associated -counties, extending from Norfolk to Sussex inclusively, within which -no rising could be attempted with any effect:[270] while, on the other -hand, the parliament possessed several garrisons, and kept up -considerable forces in that larger portion of the kingdom where he -might be reckoned superior. Their resources were far greater; and the -taxes imposed by them, though exceedingly heavy, more regularly paid, -and less ruinous to the people, than the sudden exactions, half -plunder, half contribution, of the ravenous cavaliers. The king lost -ground during the winter. He had built hopes on bringing over troops -from Ireland; for the sake of which he made a truce, then called the -cessation, with the rebel catholics. But this reinforcement having -been beaten and dispersed by Fairfax at Namptwich, he had the -mortification of finding that this scheme had much increased his own -unpopularity, and the distrust entertained of him even by his -adherents, without the smallest advantage. The next campaign was -marked by the great defeat of Rupert and Newcastle at Marston Moor, -and the loss of the north of England; a blow so terrible as must have -brought on his speedy ruin, if it had not been in some degree -mitigated by his strange and unexpected success over Essex in the -west, and by the tardiness of the Scots in making use of their -victory. Upon the result of the campaign of 1644, the king's affairs -were in such bad condition that nothing less than a series of -victories could have reinstated them; yet not so totally ruined as to -hold out much prospect of an approaching termination to the people's -calamities. - -_Factions at Oxford._--There had been, from the very commencement of -the war, all that distraction in the king's councils at Oxford, and -all those bickerings and heart-burnings among his adherents, which -naturally belong to men embarked in a dangerous cause with different -motives and different views. The military men, some of whom had served -with the Swedes in Germany, acknowledged no laws but those of war; and -could not understand that, either in annoying the enemy or providing -for themselves, they were to acknowledge any restraints of the civil -power. The lawyers, on the other hand, and the whole constitutional -party laboured to keep up, in the midst of arms, the appearances at -least of legal justice, and that favourite maxim of Englishmen, the -supremacy of civil over military authority, rather more strictly -perhaps than the nature of their actual circumstances would admit. At -the head of the former party stood the king's two nephews, Rupert and -Maurice, the younger sons of the late unfortunate elector palatine, -soldiers of fortune (as we may truly call them), of rude and imperious -characters, avowedly despising the council and the common law, and -supported by Charles, with all his injudiciousness and incapacity for -affairs, against the greatest men of the kingdom. Another very -powerful and obnoxious faction was that of the catholics, proud of -their services and sacrifices, confident in the queen's protection, -and looking at least to a full toleration as their just reward. They -were the natural enemies of peace, and little less hated at Oxford -than at Westminster.[271] - -_Royalist lords and commoners summoned to Oxford._--At the beginning -of the winter of 1643 the king took the remarkable step of summoning -the peers and commoners of his party to meet in parliament at Oxford. -This was evidently suggested by the constitutionalists with the -intention of obtaining a supply by more regular methods than forced -contribution, and of opposing a barrier to the military and popish -interests.[272] Whether it were equally calculated to further the -king's cause may admit of some doubt. The royalist convention indeed, -which name it ought rather to have taken than that of parliament, met -in considerable strength at Oxford. Forty-three peers, and one hundred -and eighteen commoners, subscribed a letter to the Earl of Essex, -expressing their anxiety for a treaty of peace; twenty-nine of the -former, and fifty-seven of the latter, it is said, being then absent -on the king's service, or other occasions.[273] Such a display of -numbers, nearly double in one house, and nearly half in the other, of -those who remained at Westminster, might have an effect on the -nation's prejudices, and at least redeem the king from the charge of -standing singly against his parliament. But they came in no spirit of -fervid loyalty, rather distrustful of the king, especially on the -score of religion, averse to some whom he had injudiciously raised to -power, such as Digby and Cottington, and so eager for pacification as -not perhaps to have been unwilling to purchase it by greater -concessions than he could prudently make.[274] Peace however was by -no means brought nearer by their meeting; the parliament, jealous and -alarmed at it, would never recognise their existence; and were so -provoked at their voting the Lords and Commons at Westminster guilty -of treason, that, if we believe a writer of high authority, the two -houses unanimously passed a vote on Essex's motion, summoning the king -to appear by a certain day.[275] But the Scots commissioners had force -enough to turn aside such violent suggestions, and ultimately obtained -the concurrence of both houses in propositions for a treaty.[276] They -had begun to find themselves less likely to sway the councils of -Westminster than they had expected, and dreaded the rising ascendancy -of Cromwell. The treaty was opened at Uxbridge in January 1645. But -neither the king nor his adversaries entered on it with minds -sincerely bent on peace: they, on the one hand, resolute not to swerve -from the utmost rigour of a conqueror's terms, without having -conquered; and he, though more secretly, cherishing illusive hopes of -a more triumphant restoration to power than any treaty could be -expected to effect.[277] - -The three leading topics of discussion among the negotiators at -Uxbridge were, the church, the militia, and the state of Ireland. -Bound by their unhappy covenant, and watched by their Scots -colleagues, the English commissioners on the parliament side demanded -the complete establishment of a presbyterian polity, and the -substitution of what was called the directory for the Anglican -liturgy. Upon this head there was little prospect of a union. The king -had deeply imbibed the tenets of Andrews and Laud, believing an -episcopal government indispensably necessary to the valid -administration of the sacraments, and the very existence of a -christian church. The Scots, and a portion of the English clergy, were -equally confident that their presbyterian form was established by the -apostles as a divine model, from which it was unlawful to depart.[278] -Though most of the laity in this kingdom entertained less narrow -opinions, the parliamentary commissioners thought the king ought -rather to concede such a point than themselves, especially as his -former consent to the abolition of episcopacy in Scotland weakened a -good deal the force of his plea of conscience; while the royalists, -even could they have persuaded their master, thought episcopacy, -though not absolutely of divine right (a notion which they left to the -churchmen), yet so highly beneficial to religion, and so important to -the monarchy, that nothing less than extreme necessity, or at least -the prospect of a signal advantage, could justify its abandonment. -They offered however what in an earlier stage of their dissensions -would have satisfied almost every man, that limited scheme of -episcopal hierarchy, above-mentioned as approved by Usher, rendering -the bishop among his presbyters much like the king in parliament, not -free to exercise his jurisdiction, nor to confer orders without their -consent, and offered to leave all ceremonies to the minister's -discretion. Such a compromise would probably have pleased the English -nation, averse to nothing in their established church except its -abuses; but the parliamentary negotiators would not so much as enter -into discussion upon it.[279] - -They were hardly less unyielding on the subject of the militia. They -began with a demand of naming all the commanders by sea and land, -including the lord lieutenant of Ireland and all governors of -garrisons, for an unlimited time. The king, though not very willingly, -proposed that the command should be vested in twenty persons, half to -be named by himself, half by the parliament, for the term of three -years, which he afterwards extended to seven; at the expiration of -which time it should revert to the Crown. But the utmost concession -that could be obtained from the other side was to limit their -exclusive possession of this power to seven years, leaving the matter -open for an ulterior arrangement by act of parliament at their -termination.[280] Even if this treaty had been conducted between two -belligerent states, whom rivalry or ambition often excite to press -every demand which superior power can extort from weakness, there yet -was nothing in the condition of the king's affairs which should compel -him thus to pass under the yoke, and enter his capital as a prisoner. -But we may also remark that, according to the great principle, that -the English constitution, in all its component parts, was to be -maintained by both sides in this contest, the question for parliament -was not what their military advantages or resources for war entitled -them to ask, but what was required for the due balance of power under -a limited monarchy. They could rightly demand no further concession -from the king than was indispensable for their own and the people's -security; and I leave any one who is tolerably acquainted with the -state of England at the beginning of 1645, to decide whether their -privileges and the public liberties incurred a greater risk, by such -an equal partition of power over the sword, as the king proposed, than -his prerogative and personal freedom would have encountered by -abandoning it altogether to their discretion. I am far from thinking -that the acceptance of the king's propositions at Uxbridge would have -restored tranquillity to England. He would still have repined at the -limitations of monarchy, and others would have conspired against its -existence. But of the various consequences which we may picture to -ourselves as capable of resulting from a pacification, that which -appears to me the least likely is, that Charles should have -re-established that arbitrary power which he had exercised in the -earlier period of his reign. Whence, in fact, was he to look for -assistance? Was it with such creatures of a court as Jermyn or -Ashburnham, or with a worn-out veteran of office, like Cottington, or -a rash adventurer, like Digby, that he could outwit Vane, or overawe -Cromwell, or silence the press and the pulpit, or strike with panic -the stern puritan and the confident fanatic? Some there were, beyond -question, both soldiers and courtiers, who hated the very name of a -limited monarchy, and murmured at the constitutional language which -the king, from the time he made use of the pens of Hyde and Falkland, -had systematically employed in his public declarations.[281] But it is -as certain that the great majority of his Oxford parliament, and of -those upon whom he must have depended, either in the field or in -council, were apprehensive of any victory that might render him -absolute, as that Essex and Manchester were unwilling to conquer at -the expense of the constitution.[282] The catholics indeed, generally -speaking, would have gone great lengths in asserting his authority. -Nor is this any reproach to that body, by no means naturally less -attached to their country and its liberties than other Englishmen, but -driven by an unjust persecution to see their only hope of emancipation -in the nation's servitude. They could not be expected to sympathise in -that patriotism of the seventeenth century, which, if it poured warmth -and radiance on the protestant, was to them as a devouring fire. But -the king could have made no use of the catholics as a distinct body -for any political purpose, without uniting all other parties against -him. He had already given so much offence, at the commencement of the -war, by accepting the services which the catholic gentry were forward -to offer, that instead of a more manly justification, which the temper -of the times, he thought, did not permit, he had recourse to the -useless subterfuges of denying or extenuating the facts, and even to a -strangely improbable recrimination; asserting, on several occasions, -that the number of papists in the parliament's army was much greater -than in his own.[283] - -It may still indeed be questioned whether, admitting the propositions -tendered to the king to have been unreasonable and insecure, it might -not yet have been expedient, in the perilous condition of his affairs, -rather to have tried the chances of peace than those of war. If he -could have determined frankly and without reserve to have relinquished -the church, and called the leaders of the presbyterian party in both -houses to his councils, it is impossible to prove that he might not -both have regained his power over the militia in no long course of -time, and prevailed on the parliament to consent to its own -dissolution. The dread that party felt of the republican spirit rising -amongst the independents, would have induced them to place in the -hands of any sovereign they could trust, full as much authority as our -constitution permits. But no one who has paid attention to the history -of that period, will conclude that they could have secured the king -against their common enemy, had he even gone wholly into their own -measures.[284] And this were to suppose such an entire change in his -character, and ways of thinking, as no external circumstances could -produce. Yet his prospects from a continuance of hostilities were so -unpromising that most of the royalists would probably have hailed his -almost unconditional submission at Uxbridge. Even the steady Richmond -and Southampton, it is said, implored him to yield, and deprecated his -misjudging confidence in promises of foreign aid, or in the successes -of Montrose.[285] The more lukewarm or discontented of his adherents -took this opportunity of abandoning an almost hopeless cause; between -the breach of the treaty of Uxbridge and the battle of Naseby, several -of the Oxford peers came over to the parliament, and took an -engagement never to bear arms against it. A few instances of such -defection had occurred before.[286] - -_Miseries of the war._--It remained only, after the rupture of the -treaty at Uxbridge, to try once more the fortune of war. The people, -both in the king's and parliament's quarters, but especially the -former, heard with dismay that peace could not be attained. Many of -the perpetual skirmishes and captures of towns which made every man's -life and fortune precarious, have found no place in general history; -but may be traced in the journal of Whitelock, or in the Mercuries and -other fugitive sheets, great numbers of which are still extant. And it -will appear, I believe, from these that scarcely one county in England -was exempt, at one time or other of the war, from becoming the scene -of this unnatural contest. Compared indeed with the civil wars in -France in the preceding century, there had been fewer acts of -enormous cruelty, and less atrocious breaches of public faith. But -much blood had been wantonly shed, and articles of capitulation had -been very indifferently kept. "Either side," says Clarendon, "having -somewhat to object to the other, the requisite honesty and justice of -observing conditions was mutually, as it were by agreement, for a long -time violated."[287] The royalist army, especially the cavalry, -commanded by men either wholly unprincipled, or at least regardless of -the people, and deeming them ill affected, the princes Rupert and -Maurice, Goring and Wilmot, lived without restraint of law or military -discipline, and committed every excess even in friendly quarters.[288] -An ostentatious dissoluteness became characteristic of the cavalier, -as a formal austerity was of the puritan; one spoiling his neighbour -in the name of God, the other of the king. The parliament's troops -were not quite free from these military vices, but displayed them in a -much less scandalous degree, owing to their more religious habits and -the influence of their presbyterian chaplains, to the better example -of their commanders, and to the comparative, though not absolute, -punctuality of their pay.[289] But this pay was raised through -unheard-of assessments, especially an excise on liquors, a new name in -England, and through the sequestration of the estates of all the -king's adherents; resources of which he also had availed himself, -partly by the rights of war, partly by the grant of his Oxford -parliament.[290] - -A war so calamitous seemed likely to endure till it had exhausted the -nation. With all the parliament's superiority, they had yet to subdue -nearly half the kingdom. The Scots had not advanced southward, content -with reducing Newcastle and the rest of the northern counties. These -they treated almost as hostile, without distinction of parties, not -only exacting contributions, but committing, unless they are much -belied, great excesses of indiscipline; their presbyterian gravity not -having yet overcome the ancient national propensities.[291] In the -midland and western parts the king had just the worse, without having -sustained material loss; and another summer might pass away in marches -and counter-marches, in skirmishes of cavalry, in tedious sieges of -paltry fortifications, some of them mere country houses, which nothing -but an amazing deficiency in that branch of military science could -have rendered tenable. - -_Essex and Manchester suspected of lukewarmness._--This protraction of -the war had long given rise to no unnatural discontent with its -management, and to suspicions, first of Essex, then of Manchester and -others in command, as if they were secretly reluctant to complete the -triumph of their employers. It is indeed not impossible that both -these peers, especially the former, out of their desire to see peace -restored on terms compatible with some degree of authority in the -Crown, and with the dignity of their own order, did not always press -their advantages against the king, as if he had been a public -enemy.[292] They might have thought that, having drawn the sword -avowedly for the preservation of his person and dignity as much as for -the rights and liberties of the people, they were no farther bound by -their trust than to render him and his adherents sensible of the -impracticability of refusing their terms of accommodation. - -_Self-denying ordinance._--There could however be no doubt that -Fairfax and Cromwell were far superior, both by their own talents for -war and the discipline they had introduced into their army, to the -earlier parliamentary commanders, and that, as a military arrangement, -the self-denying ordinance was judiciously conceived. This, which took -from all members of both houses their commands in the army, or civil -employments, was, as is well known, the first great victory of the -independent party which had grown up lately in parliament under Vane -and Cromwell.[293] They carried another measure of no less importance, -collateral to the former; the new-modelling, as it was called, of the -army; reducing it to twenty-one or twenty-two thousand men; -discharging such officers and soldiers as were reckoned unfit, and -completing their regiments by more select levies. The ordinance, after -being once rejected by the Lords, passed their house with some -modifications in April.[294] But many joined them on this occasion for -those military reasons which I have mentioned, deeming almost any -termination of the war better than its continuance. The king's -rejection of their terms at Uxbridge had disgusted some of the more -moderate men, such as the Earl of Northumberland and Pierrepont; who, -deeming reconciliation impracticable, took from this time a different -line of politics from that they had previously followed, and were -either not alive to the danger of new-modelling the army, or willing -to hope that it might be disbanded before that danger could become -imminent. From Fairfax too, the new general, they saw little to fear -and much to expect; while Cromwell, as a member of the House of -Commons, was positively excluded by the ordinance itself. But, through -a successful intrigue of his friends, this great man, already not less -formidable to the presbyterian faction than to the royalists, was -permitted to continue lieutenant-general.[295] The most popular -justification for the self-denying ordinance, and yet perhaps its real -condemnation, was soon found at Naseby; for there Fairfax and Cromwell -triumphed not only over the king and the monarchy, but over the -parliament and the nation. - -It does not appear to me that a brave and prudent man, in the -condition of Charles the First, had, up to that unfortunate day, any -other alternative than a vigorous prosecution of the war, in hope of -such decisive success as, though hardly within probable calculation, -is not unprecedented in the changeful tide of fortune. I cannot -therefore blame him either for refusing unreasonable terms of -accommodation, or for not relinquishing altogether the contest. But, -after his defeat at Naseby, his affairs were, in a military sense, so -irretrievable that in prolonging the war with as much obstinacy as the -broken state of his party would allow, he displayed a good deal of -that indifference to the sufferings of the kingdom and of his own -adherents, which has been sometimes imputed to him. There was, from -the hour of that battle, one only safe and honourable course -remaining. He justly abhorred to reign, if so it could be named, the -slave of parliament, with the sacrifice of his conscience and his -friends. But it was by no means necessary to reign at all. The sea was -for many months open to him; in France, or still better in Holland, he -would have found his misfortunes respected, and an asylum in that -decent privacy which becomes an exiled sovereign. Those very hopes -which he too fondly cherished, and which lured him to destruction, -hopes of regaining power through the disunion of his enemies, might -have been entertained with better reason, as with greater safety, in a -foreign land. It is not perhaps very probable that he would have been -restored; but his restoration in such circumstances seems less -desperate than through any treaty that he could conclude in captivity -at home. - -Whether any such thoughts of abandoning a hopeless contest were ever -entertained by the king during this particular period, it is -impossible to pronounce; we should infer the contrary from all his -actions. It must be said that many of his counsellors seem to have -been as pertinacious as himself, having strongly imbibed the same -sanguine spirit, and looking for deliverance, according to their -several fancies, from the ambition of Cromwell or the discontent of -the Scots. But, whatever might have been the king's disposition, he -would not have dared to retire from England. That sinister domestic -rule, to which he had so long been subject, controlled every action. -Careless of her husband's happiness, and already attached probably to -one whom she afterwards married, Henrietta longed only for his -recovery of a power which would become her own.[296] Hence, while she -constantly laid her injunctions on Charles never to concede anything -as to the militia or the Irish catholics, she became desirous, when no -other means presented itself, that he should sacrifice what was still -nearer to his heart, the episcopal church-government. The queen-regent -of France, whose sincerity in desiring the king's restoration there -can be no ground to deny,[297] was equally persuaded that he could -hope for it on no less painful conditions. They reasoned of course -very plausibly from the great precedent of flexible consciences, the -reconciliation of Henrietta's illustrious father to the catholic -church. As he could neither have regained his royal power, nor -restored peace to France without this compliance with his subjects' -prejudices, so Charles could still less expect, in circumstances by no -means so favourable, that he should avoid a concession, in the eyes of -almost all men but himself, of incomparably less importance. - -_The king throws himself into the hands of the Scots._--It was in -expectation of this sacrifice, that the French envoy, Montreuil, -entered on his ill-starred negotiation for the king's taking shelter -with the Scots army. And it must be confessed that several of his best -friends were hardly less anxious that he should desert a church he -could not protect.[298] They doubted not, reasoning from their own -characters, that he would ultimately give way. But that Charles, -unchangeably resolved on this head,[299] should have put himself in -the power of men fully as bigoted as himself (if he really conceived -that the Scots presbyterians would shed their blood to re-establish -the prelacy they abhorred), was an additional proof of that delusion -which made him fancy that no government could be established without -his concurrence; unless indeed we should rather consider it as one of -those desperate courses, into which he who can foresee nothing but -evil from every calculable line of action will sometimes plunge at a -venture, borrowing some ray of hope from the uncertainty of its -consequences.[300] - -It was an inevitable effect of this step, that the king surrendered -his personal liberty, which he never afterwards recovered. Considering -his situation, we may at first think the parliament tolerably -moderate, in offering nearly the same terms of peace at Newcastle -which he had rejected at Uxbridge; the chief difference being, that -the power of the militia which had been demanded for commissioners -nominated and removable by the two houses during an indefinite period, -was now proposed to reside in the two houses for the space of twenty -years; which rather more unequivocally indicated their design of -making the parliament perpetual.[301] But in fact they had so abridged -the royal prerogative by their former propositions, that, preserving -the decent semblance of monarchy, scarce anything further could be -exacted. The king's circumstances were however so altered that, by -persisting in his refusal of those propositions, he excited a natural -indignation at his obstinacy in men who felt their own right (the -conqueror's right), to dictate terms at pleasure. Yet this might have -had a nobler character of firmness, if during all the tedious parleys -of the last three years of his life, he had not, by tardy and partial -concessions, given up so much of that for which he contended, as -rather to appear like a pedlar haggling for the best bargain, than a -sovereign unalterably determined by conscience and public spirit. We -must, however, forgive much to one placed in such unparalleled -difficulties. Charles had to contend, during his unhappy residence at -Newcastle, not merely with revolted subjects in the pride of conquest, -and with bigoted priests, as blindly confident in one set of doubtful -propositions as he was in the opposite, but with those he had trusted -the most, and loved the dearest. We have in the _Clarendon State -Papers_ a series of letters from Paris, written, some by the queen, -others jointly by Colepepper, Jermyn, and Ashburnham, or the two -former, urging him to sacrifice episcopacy, as the necessary means of -his restoration. We have the king's answers, that display, in an -interesting manner, the struggles of his mind under this severe -trial.[302] No candid reader, I think, can doubt that a serious sense -of obligation was predominant in Charles's persevering fidelity to the -English church. For, though he often alleges the incompatibility of -presbyterianism with monarchy, and says very justly, "I am most -confident that religion will much sooner regain the militia than the -militia will religion,"[303] yet these arguments seem rather intended -to weigh with those who slighted his scruples, than the paramount -motives of his heart. He could hardly avoid perceiving that, as -Colepepper told him in his rough style, the question was, whether he -would choose to be a king of presbytery or no king. But the utmost -length which he could prevail on himself to go was to offer the -continuance of the presbyterian discipline, as established by the -parliament, for three years, during which a conference of divines -might be had, in order to bring about a settlement. Even this he would -not propose without consulting two bishops, Juxon and Duppa, whether -he could lawfully do so. They returned a very cautious answer, -assenting to the proposition as a temporary measure, but plainly -endeavouring to keep the king fixed in his adherence to the episcopal -church.[304] - -Pressed thus on a topic, so important above all others in his eyes, -the king gave a proof of his sincerity by greater concessions of power -than he had ever intended. He had some time before openly offered to -let the parliament name all the commissioners of the militia for seven -years, and all the officers of state and judges to hold their places -for life.[305] He now empowered a secret agent in London, Mr. William -Murray, privately to sound the parliamentary leaders, if they would -consent to the establishment of a moderated episcopacy after three or -five years, on condition of his departing from the right of the -militia during his whole life.[306] This dereliction of the main -ground of contest brought down the queen's indignation on his head. -She wrote several letters, in an imperious and unfeeling tone, -declaring that she would never set her foot in England as long as the -parliament should exist.[307] Jermyn and Colepepper assumed a style -hardly less dictatorial in their letters,[308] till Charles withdrew -the proposal, which Murray seems never to have communicated.[309] It -was indeed the evident effect of despair and a natural weariness of -his thorny crown. He now began to express serious thoughts of making -his escape,[310] and seems even to hint more than once at a -resignation of his government to the Prince of Wales. But Henrietta -forbade him to think of an escape, and alludes to the other with -contempt and indignation.[311] With this selfish and tyrannical woman, -that life of exile and privacy which religion and letters would have -rendered tolerable to the king, must have been spent in hardly less -bitterness than on a dishonoured throne. She had displayed in France -as little virtue as at home; the small resources which should have -been frugally dispensed to those who had lost all for the royal cause -were squandered upon her favourite and her French servants.[312] So -totally had she abandoned all regard to English interest, that Hyde -and Capel, when retired to Jersey, the governor of which, Sir Edward -Carteret, still held out for the king, discovered a plan formed by the -queen and Jermyn to put that island into the hands of France.[313] -They were exceedingly perplexed at this discovery, conscious of the -impossibility of defending Jersey, and yet determined not to let it be -torn away from the sovereignty of the British Crown. No better -expedient occurred than, as soon as the project should be ripe for -execution, to despatch a message "to the Earl of Northumberland or -some other person of honour," asking for aid to preserve the island. -This was of course, in other words, to surrender it into the power of -the parliament, which they would not name even to themselves. But it -was evidently more consistent with their loyalty to the king and his -family, than to trust the good faith of Mazarin. The scheme, however, -was abandoned; for we hear no more of it. - -It must, however, be admitted at the present day, that there was no -better expedient for saving the king's life, and some portion of -royal authority for his descendants (a fresh renunciation of -episcopacy perhaps only excepted), than such an abdication; the time -for which had come before he put himself into the hands of the Scots. -His own party had been weakened, and the number of his well-wishers -diminished, by something more than the events of war. The last -unfortunate year had, in two memorable instances, revealed fresh -proofs of that culpable imprudence, speaking mildly, which made wise -and honest men hopeless of any permanent accommodation. At the battle -of Naseby, copies of some letters to the queen, chiefly written about -the time of the treaty of Uxbridge, and strangely preserved, fell into -the hands of the enemy, and were instantly published.[314] No other -losses of that fatal day were more injurious to his cause. Besides -many proofs of a contemptible subserviency to one justly deemed -irreconcilable to the civil and religious interests of the kingdom, -and many expressions indicating schemes and hopes inconsistent with -any practicable peace, and especially a design to put an end to the -parliament,[315] he gave her power to treat with the English -catholics, promising to take away all penal laws against them as soon -as God should enable him to do so, in consideration of such powerful -assistance, as might deserve so great a favour, and enable him to -effect it.[316] Yet it was certain that no parliament, except in -absolute duress, would consent to repeal these laws. To what sort of -victory therefore did he look? It was remembered that, on taking the -sacrament at Oxford some time before, he had solemnly protested that -he would maintain the protestant religion of the church of England, -without any connivance at popery. What trust could be reposed in a -prince capable of forfeiting so solemn a pledge? Were it even supposed -that he intended to break his word with the catholics, after obtaining -such aid as they could render him, would his insincerity be less -flagrant?[317] - -_Discovery of Glamorgan's treaty._--These suspicions were much -aggravated by a second discovery that took place soon afterwards, of a -secret treaty between the Earl of Glamorgan and the confederate Irish -catholics, not merely promising the repeal of the penal laws, but the -establishment of their religion in far the greater part of -Ireland.[318] The Marquis of Ormond, as well as Lord Digby who -happened to be at Dublin, loudly exclaimed against Glamorgan's -presumption in concluding such a treaty, and committed him to prison -on a charge of treason. He produced two commissions from the king, -secretly granted without any seal or the knowledge of any minister, -containing the fullest powers to treat with the Irish, and promising -to fulfil any conditions into which he should enter. The king, -informed of this, disavowed Glamorgan; and asserted in a letter to the -parliament that he had merely a commission to raise men for his -service, but no power to treat of anything else, without the privity -of the lord lieutenant, much less to capitulate anything concerning -religion or any property belonging either to church or laity.[319] -Glamorgan however was soon released, and lost no portion of the king's -or his family's favour. - -This transaction has been the subject of much historical controversy. -The enemies of Charles, both in his own and later ages, have -considered it as a proof of his indifference at least to the -protestant religion, and of his readiness to accept the assistance of -Irish rebels on any conditions. His advocates for a long time denied -the authenticity of Glamorgan's commissions. But Dr. Birch -demonstrated that they were genuine; and, if his dissertation could -have left any doubt, later evidence might be adduced in -confirmation.[320] Hume, in a very artful and very unfair statement, -admitting the authenticity of these instruments, endeavours to show -that they were never intended to give Glamorgan any power to treat -without Ormond's approbation. But they are worded in the most -unconditional manner, without any reference to Ormond. No common -reader can think them consistent with the king's story. I do not, -however, impute to him any intention of ratifying the terms of -Glamorgan's treaty. His want of faith was not to the protestant, but -to the catholic. Upon weighing the whole of the evidence, it appears -to me that he purposely gave Glamorgan, a sanguine and injudicious -man, whom he could easily disown, so ample a commission as might -remove the distrust that the Irish were likely to entertain of a -negotiation wherein Ormond should be concerned; while by a certain -latitude in the style of the instrument, and by his own letters to the -lord lieutenant about Glamorgan's errand, he left it open to assert, -in case of necessity, that it was never intended to exclude the -former's privity and sanction. Charles had unhappily long been in the -habit of perverting his natural acuteness to the mean subterfuges of -equivocal language. - -By these discoveries of the king's insincerity, and by what seemed his -infatuated obstinacy in refusing terms of accommodation, both nations -became more and more alienated from him; the one hardly restrained -from casting him off, the other ready to leave him to his fate.[321] - -_The king delivered up by the Scots._--This ill opinion of the king -forms one apology for that action which has exposed the Scots nation -to so much reproach--their delivery of his person to the English -parliament. Perhaps if we place ourselves in their situation, it will -not appear deserving of quite such indignant censure. It would have -shown more generosity to have offered the king an alternative of -retiring to Holland; and from what we now know, he probably would not -have neglected the opportunity. But the consequence might have been -his solemn deposition from the English throne; and, however we may -think such banishment more honourable than the acceptance of degrading -conditions, the Scots, we should remember, saw nothing in the king's -taking the covenant, and sweeping away prelatic superstitions, but the -bounden duty of a christian sovereign, which only the most perverse -self-will induced him to set at nought.[322] They had a right also to -consider the interests of his family, which the threatened -establishment of a republic in England would defeat. To carry him back -with their army into Scotland, besides being equally ruinous to the -English monarchy, would have exposed their nation to the most serious -dangers. To undertake his defence by arms against England, as the -ardent royalists desired, and doubtless the determined republicans no -less, would have been, as was proved afterwards, a mad and culpable -renewal of the miseries of both kingdoms.[323] He had voluntarily come -to their camp; no faith was pledged to him; their very right to retain -his person, though they had argued for it with the English parliament, -seemed open to much doubt. The circumstance, unquestionably, which has -always given a character of apparent baseness to this transaction, is -the payment of L400,000 made to them so nearly at the same time that -it has passed for the price of the king's person. This sum was part of -a larger demand on the score of arrears of pay, and had been agreed -upon long before we have any proof or reasonable suspicion of a -stipulation to deliver up the king.[324] That the parliament would -never have actually paid it on any other consideration, there can be, -I presume, no kind of doubt; and of this the Scots must have been -fully aware. But whether there were any such secret bargain as has -been supposed, or whether they would have delivered him up, if there -had been no pecuniary expectation in the case, is what I cannot -perceive sufficient grounds to pronounce with confidence; though I am -much inclined to believe the affirmative of the latter question. And -it is deserving of particular observation, that the party in the House -of Commons which sought most earnestly to obtain possession of the -king's person, and carried all the votes for payment of money to the -Scots, was that which had no further aim than an accommodation with -him, and a settlement of the government on the basis of its -fundamental laws, though doubtless on terms very derogatory to his -prerogative; while those who opposed each part of the negotiation were -the zealous enemies of the king, and, in some instances, at least, of -the monarchy. The Journals bear witness to this.[325] - -_Growth of the independents and republicans._--Whatever might have -been the consequence of the king's accepting the propositions of -Newcastle, his chance of restoration upon any terms was now in all -appearance very slender. He had to encounter enemies more dangerous -and implacable than the presbyterians. That faction, which from small -and insensible beginnings had acquired continued strength, through -ambition in a few, through fanaticism in many, through a despair in -some of reconciling the pretensions of royalty with those of the -people, was now rapidly ascending to superiority. Though still weak in -the House of Commons, it had spread prodigiously in the army, -especially since its new-modelling at the time of the self-denying -ordinance.[326] The presbyterians saw with dismay the growth of their -own and the constitution's enemies. But the royalists, who had less to -fear from confusion than from any settlement that the Commons would be -brought to make, rejoiced in the increasing disunion; and fondly -believed, like their master, that one or other party must seek -assistance at their hands.[327] - -_Opposition to the presbyterian government._--The independent party -comprehended, besides the members of that religious denomination,[328] -a countless brood of fanatical sectaries, nursed in the lap of -presbyterianism, and fed with the stimulating aliment she furnished, -till their intoxicated fancies could neither be restrained within the -limits of her creed nor those of her discipline.[329] The presbyterian -zealots were systematically intolerant. A common cause made toleration -the doctrine of the sectaries. About the beginning of the war, it had -been deemed expedient to call together an assembly of divines, -nominated by the parliament, and consisting not only of clergymen, -but, according to the presbyterian usage, of lay members, peers as -well as commoners, by whose advice a general reformation of the church -was to be planned.[330] These were chiefly presbyterian; though a -small minority of independents, and a few moderate episcopalians, -headed by Selden,[331] gave them much trouble. The general imposition -of the covenant, and the substitution of the directory for the common -prayer (which was forbidden to be used even in any private family, by -an ordinance of August 1645), seemed to assure the triumph of -presbyterianism; which became complete, in point of law, by an -ordinance of February 1646, establishing for three years the Scots -model of classes, synods, and general assemblies throughout -England.[332] But in this very ordinance there was a reservation which -wounded the spiritual arrogance of that party. Their favourite tenet -had always been the independency of the church. They had rejected, -with as much abhorrence as the catholics themselves, the royal -supremacy, so far as it controlled the exercise of spiritual -discipline. But the House of Commons were inclined to part with no -portion of that prerogative which they had wrested from the Crown. -Besides the independents, who were still weak, a party called -Erastians,[333] and chiefly composed of the common lawyers, under the -guidance of Selden, the sworn foe of every ecclesiastical usurpation, -withstood the assembly's pretensions with success. They negatived a -declaration of the divine right of presbyterian government. They voted -a petition from the assembly, complaining of a recent ordinance as an -encroachment on spiritual jurisdiction, to be a breach of privilege. -The presbyterian tribunals were made subject to the appellant control -of parliament; as those of the Anglican church had been to that of the -Crown. The cases wherein spiritual censures could be pronounced, or -the sacrament denied, instead of being left to the clergy, were -defined by law.[334] Whether from dissatisfaction on this account, or -some other reason, the presbyterian discipline was never carried into -effect, except to a certain extent in London and in Lancashire. But -the beneficed clergy throughout England, till the return of Charles -II., were chiefly, though not entirely, of that denomination.[335] - -This party was still so far predominant, having the strong support of -the city of London and its corporation,[336] with almost all the peers -who remained in their house, that the independents and other sectaries -neither opposed this ordinance for its temporary establishment, nor -sought anything farther than a toleration for their own worship. The -question, as Neal well observes, was not between presbytery and -independency, but between presbytery with a toleration, and without -one.[337] Not merely from their own exclusive bigotry, but from a -political alarm by no means ungrounded, the presbyterians stood firmly -against all liberty of conscience. But in this again they could not -influence the House of Commons to suppress the sectaries, though no -open declaration in favour of indulgence was as yet made. It is still -the boast of the independents that they first brought forward the -great principles of religious toleration (I mean as distinguished from -maxims of political expediency) which had been confined to a few -philosophical minds; to Sir Thomas More, in those days of his better -judgment when he planned his republic of Utopia, to Thuanus, or -L'Hospital. Such principles are indeed naturally congenial to the -persecuted; and it is by the alternate oppression of so many different -sects, that they have now obtained their universal reception. But the -independents also assert that they first maintained them while in -power; a far higher praise, which however can only be allowed them by -comparison. Without invidiously glancing at their early conduct in New -England,[338] it must be admitted that the continuance of the penal -laws against catholics, the prohibition of the episcopalian worship, -and the punishment of one or two anti-trinitarians under Cromwell, are -proofs that the tolerant principle had not yet acquired perfect -vigour. If the independent sectaries were its earliest advocates, it -was the Anglican writers, the latitudinarian school of Chillingworth, -Hales, Taylor, Locke, and Hoadley, that rendered it victorious.[339] - -The king, as I have said, and his party cherished too sanguine hopes -from the disunion of their opponents.[340] Though warned of it by the -parliamentary commissioners at Uxbridge, though in fact it was quite -notorious and undisguised, they seem never to have comprehended that -many active spirits looked to the entire subversion of the monarchy. -The king in particular was haunted by a prejudice, natural to his -obstinate and undiscerning mind, that he was necessary to the -settlement of the nation; so that, if he remained firm, the whole -parliament and army must be at his feet. Yet during the negotiations -at Newcastle there was daily an imminent danger that the majority of -parliament, irritated by his delays, would come to some vote excluding -him from the throne. The Scots presbyterians, whatever we may think of -their behaviour, were sincerely attached, if not by loyal affection, -yet by national pride, to the blood of their ancient kings. They -thought and spoke of Charles as of a headstrong child, to be -restrained and chastised, but never cast off.[341] But in England he -had absolutely no friends among the prevailing party; many there were -who thought monarchy best for the nation, but none who cared for the -king. - -This schism nevertheless between the parliament and the army was at -least in appearance very desirable for Charles, and seemed to afford -him an opportunity which a discreet prince might improve to great -advantage, though it unfortunately deluded him with chimerical -expectations.[342] At the conclusion of the war, which the useless -obstinacy of the royalists had protracted till the beginning of -1647,[343] the Commons began to take measures for breaking the force -of their remaining enemy. They resolved to disband a part of the army, -and to send the rest into Ireland.[344] They formed schemes for -getting rid of Cromwell, and even made some demur about continuing -Fairfax in command.[345] But in all measures that exact promptitude -and energy, treachery and timidity are apt to enfeeble the resolutions -of a popular assembly. Their demonstrations of enmity were however so -alarming to the army, who knew themselves disliked by the people, and -dependent for their pay on the parliament, that as early as April, -1647, an overture was secretly made to the king, that they would -replace him in his power and dignity. He cautiously answered, that he -would not involve the kingdom in a fresh war, but should ever feel the -strongest sense of this offer from the army.[346] Whether they were -discontented at the coldness of this reply, or, as is more probable, -the offer had only proceeded from a minority of the officers, no -further overture was made, till not long afterwards the bold -manoeuvre of Joyce had placed the king's person in their power. - -_The parliament yield to the army._--The first effect of this military -violence was to display the parliament's deficiency in political -courage. It contained, we well know, a store of energetic spirits, not -apt to swerve from their attachments. But, where two parties are -almost equally balanced, the defection, which external circumstances -must produce among those timid and feeble men from whom no assembly -can be free, even though they should form but a small minority, will -of course give a character of cowardice and vacillation to counsels, -which is imputed to the whole. They immediately expunged, by a -majority of 96 to 79, a vote of reprehension passed some weeks before, -upon a remonstrance from the army which the presbyterians had highly -resented, and gave other proofs of retracing their steps. But the -army was not inclined to accept their submission in full discharge of -the provocation. It had schemes of its own for the reformation and -settlement of the kingdom, more extensive than those of the -presbyterian faction. It had its own wrongs also to revenge. Advancing -towards London, the general and council of war sent up charges of -treason against eleven principal members of that party, who obtained -leave to retire beyond sea. Here may be said to have fallen the -legislative power and civil government of England; which from this -hour till that of the restoration had never more than a momentary and -precarious gleam of existence, perpetually interrupted by the sword. - -Those who have once bowed their knee to force, must expect that force -will be for ever their master. In a few weeks after this submission of -the Commons to the army, they were insulted by an unruly, tumultuous -mob of apprentices, engaged in the presbyterian politics of the city, -who compelled them by actual violence to rescind several of their late -votes.[347] Trampled upon by either side, the two speakers, several -peers, and a great number of the lower house, deemed it somewhat less -ignominious, and certainly more politic, to throw themselves on the -protection of the army. They were accordingly soon restored to their -places, at the price of a more complete and irretrievable subjection -to the military power than they had already undergone. Though the -presbyterians maintained a pertinacious resistance within the walls of -the house, it was evident that the real power of command was gone from -them, and that Cromwell with the army must either become arbiters -between the king and parliament, or crush the remaining authority of -both.[348] - -_Mysterious conduct of Cromwell._--There are few circumstances in our -history which have caused more perplexity to inquirers than the -conduct of Cromwell and his friends towards the king in the year 1647. -Those who look only at the ambitious and dissembling character of that -leader, or at the fierce republicanism imputed to Ireton, will hardly -believe that either of them could harbour anything like sincere -designs of restoring him even to that remnant of sovereignty which the -parliament would have spared. Yet, when we consider attentively the -public documents and private memoirs of that period, it does appear -probable that their first intentions towards the king were not -unfavourable, and so far sincere that it was their project to make use -of his name rather than totally to set him aside. But whether by -gratifying Cromwell and his associates with honours, and throwing the -whole administration into their hands, Charles would have long -contrived to keep a tarnished crown on his head, must be very -problematical. - -_Imprudent hopes of the king._--The new gaolers of this unfortunate -prince began by treating him with unusual indulgence, especially in -permitting his episcopal chaplains to attend him. This was deemed a -pledge of what he thought an invaluable advantage in dealing with the -army, that they would not insist upon the covenant, which in fact was -nearly as odious to them as to the royalists, though for very -different reasons. Charles, naturally sanguine, and utterly incapable -in every part of his life of taking a just view of affairs, was -extravagantly elated by these equivocal testimonies of good-will. He -blindly listened to private insinuations from rash or treacherous -friends, that the soldiers were with him, just after his seizure by -Joyce. "I would have you to know, sir," he said to Fairfax, "that I -have as good an interest in the army as yourself;" an opinion as -injudiciously uttered as it was absurdly conceived.[349] These strange -expectations account for the ill reception which in the hasty -irritation of disappointment he gave to the proposals of the army, -when they were actually tendered to him at Hampton Court, and which -seems to have eventually cost him his life. These proposals appear to -have been drawn up by Ireton, a lawyer by education, and a man of much -courage and capacity. He had been supposed, like a large proportion of -the officers, to aim at a settlement of the nation under a -democratical polity. But the army, even if their wishes in general -went so far, which is hardly evident, were not yet so decidedly -masters as to dictate a form of government uncongenial to the ancient -laws and fixed prejudices of the people. Something of this tendency is -discoverable in the propositions made to the king, which had never -appeared in those of the parliament. It was proposed that parliaments -should be biennial; that they should never sit less than a hundred and -twenty days, nor more than two hundred and forty; that the -representation of the Commons should be reformed, by abolishing small -boroughs and increasing the number of members for counties, so as to -render the House of Commons, as near as might be, an equal -representation of the whole. In respect of the militia and some other -points, they either followed the parliamentary propositions of -Newcastle, or modified them favourably for the king. They excepted a -very small number of the king's adherents from the privilege of paying -a composition for their estates, and set that of the rest considerably -lower than had been fixed by the parliament. They stipulated that the -royalists should not sit in the next parliament. As to religion, they -provided for liberty of conscience, declared against the imposition of -the covenant, and by insisting on the retrenchment of the coercive -jurisdiction of bishops and the abrogation of penalties for not -reading the common prayer, left it to be implied that both might -continue established.[350] The whole tenor of these propositions was -in a style far more respectful to the king, and lenient towards his -adherents, than had ever been adopted since the beginning of the war. -The sincerity indeed of these overtures might be very questionable, -if Cromwell had been concerned in them; but they proceeded from those -elective tribunes called Agitators, who had been established in every -regiment to superintend the interests of the army.[351] And the terms -were surely as good as Charles had any reason to hope. The severities -against his party were mitigated. The grand obstacles to all -accommodation, the covenant and presbyterian establishment, were at -once removed; or, if some difficulty might occur as to the latter, in -consequence of the actual possession of benefices by the presbyterian -clergy, it seemed not absolutely insuperable. For the changes -projected in the constitution of parliament, they were not necessarily -injurious to the monarchy. That parliament should not be dissolved -until it had sat a certain time, was so salutary a provision, that the -triennial act was hardly complete without it. - -It is, however, probable, from the king's extreme tenaciousness of his -prerogative, that these were the conditions that he found it most -difficult to endure. Having obtained, through Sir John Berkley, a -sight of the propositions before they were openly made, he expressed -much displeasure; and said that, if the army were inclined to close -with him, they would never have demanded such hard terms. He seems to -have principally objected, at least in words, to the exception of -seven unnamed persons from pardon, to the exclusion of his party from -the next parliament, and to the want of any articles in favour of the -church. Berkley endeavoured to show him that it was not likely that -the army, if meaning sincerely, should ask less than this. But the -king, still tampering with the Scots, and keeping his eyes fixed on -the city and parliament, at that moment came to an open breach with -the army, disdainfully refused the propositions when publicly tendered -to him, with such expressions of misplaced resentment and preposterous -confidence as convinced the officers that they could neither -conciliate nor trust him.[352] This unexpected haughtiness lost him -all chance with those proud and republican spirits; and, as they -succeeded about the same time in bridling the presbyterian party in -parliament, there seemed no necessity for an agreement with the king, -and their former determinations of altering the frame of government -returned with more revengeful fury against his person.[353] - -_Charles's flight from Hampton Court._--Charles's continuance at -Hampton Court, there can be little doubt, would have exposed him to -such imminent risk that, in escaping from thence, he acted on a -reasonable principle of self-preservation. He might probably, with due -precautions, have reached France or Jersey. But the hastiness of his -retreat from Hampton Court giving no time, he fell again into the -toils, through the helplessness of his situation, and the unfortunate -counsels of one whom he trusted.[354] The fortitude of his own mind -sustained him in this state of captivity and entire seclusion from his -friends. No one, however sensible to the infirmities of Charles's -disposition, and the defects of his understanding, can refuse -admiration to that patient firmness and unaided acuteness which he -displayed throughout the last and most melancholy year of his life. He -had now abandoned all expectation of obtaining any present terms for -the church or Crown. He proposed, therefore, what he had privately -empowered Murray to offer the year before, to confirm the presbyterian -government for three years, and to give up the militia during his -whole life, with other concessions of importance.[355] To preserve the -church lands from sale, to shield his friends from proscription, to -obtain a legal security for the restoration of the monarchy in his -son, were from henceforth the main objects of all his efforts. It was, -however, far too late, even for these moderate conditions of peace. -Upon his declining to pass four bills, tendered to him as -preliminaries of a treaty, which on that very account, besides his -objections to part of their contents, he justly considered as unfair, -the parliament voted that no more addresses should be made to him, and -that they would receive no more messages.[356] He was placed in close -and solitary confinement; and at a meeting of the principal officers -at Windsor it was concluded to bring him to trial, and avenge the -blood shed in the war by an awful example of punishment; Cromwell and -Ireton, if either of them had been ever favourable to the king, -acceding at this time to the severity of the rest. - -Yet in the midst of this peril and seeming abandonment, his affairs -were really less desperate than they had been; and a few rays of light -broke for a time through the clouds that enveloped him. From the hour -that the Scots delivered him up at Newcastle, they seem to have felt -the discredit of such an action, and longed for the opportunity of -redeeming their public name. They perceived more and more that a -well-disciplined army, under a subtle chief inveterately hostile to -them, were rapidly becoming masters of England. Instead of that -covenanted alliance, that unity in church and state they had expected, -they were to look for all the jealousy and dissension that a complete -discordance in civil and spiritual polity could inspire. Their -commissioners, therefore, in England, Lanerk, always a moderate -royalist, and Lauderdale, a warm presbyterian, had kept up a secret -intercourse with the king at Hampton Court. After his detention at -Carisbrook, they openly declared themselves against the four bills -proposed by the English parliament; and at length concluded a private -treaty with him, by which, on certain terms quite as favourable as he -could justly expect, they bound themselves to enter England with an -army, in order to restore him to his freedom and dignity.[357] This -invasion was to be combined with risings in various parts of the -country; the presbyterian and royalist, though still retaining much of -animosity towards each other, concurring at least in abhorrence of -military usurpation; and the common people having very generally -returned to that affectionate respect for the king's person, which -sympathy for his sufferings, and a sense how little they had been -gainers by the change of government, must naturally have excited.[358] - -_The presbyterians regain the ascendant._--The unfortunate issue of -the Scots expedition under the Duke of Hamilton, and of the various -insurrections throughout England, quelled by the vigilance and good -conduct of Fairfax and Cromwell, is well known. But these formidable -manifestations of the public sentiment in favour of peace with the -king on honourable conditions, wherein the city of London, ruled by -the presbyterian ministers, took a share, compelled the House of -Commons to retract its measures. They came to a vote, by 165 to 99, -that they would not alter the fundamental government by King, Lords, -and Commons;[359] they abandoned their impeachment against seven -peers, the most moderate of the upper house, and the most obnoxious to -the army,[360] they restored the eleven members to their seats:[361] -they revoked their resolution against a personal treaty with the -king, and even that which required his assent by certain preliminary -articles.[362] In a word, the party for distinction's sake called -Presbyterian, but now rather to be denominated constitutional, -regained its ascendancy. This change in the counsels of parliament -brought on the treaty of Newport. - -_Treaty of Newport._--The treaty of Newport was set on foot and -managed by those politicians of the House of Lords, who, having long -suspected no danger to themselves but from the power of the king, had -discovered, somewhat of the latest, that the Crown itself was at -stake, and that their own privileges were set on the same cast. -Nothing was more remote from the intentions of the Earl of -Northumberland or Lord Say, than to see themselves pushed from their -seats by such upstarts as Ireton and Harrison; and their present -mortification afforded a proof how men reckoned wise in their -generation become the dupes of their own selfish, crafty, and -pusillanimous policy. They now grew anxious to see a treaty concluded -with the king. Sensible that it was necessary to anticipate, if -possible, the return of Cromwell from the north, they implored him to -comply at once with all the propositions of parliament, or at least to -yield in the first instance as far as he meant to go.[363] They had -not, however, mitigated in any degree the rigorous conditions so often -proposed; nor did the king during this treaty obtain any reciprocal -concession worth mentioning in return for his surrender of almost all -that could be demanded. Did the positive adherence of the parliament -to all these propositions, in circumstances so perilous to themselves, -display less unreasonable pertinacity than that so often imputed to -Charles? Or if, as was the fact, the majority which the presbyterians -had obtained was so precarious that they dared not hazard it by -suggesting any more moderate counsels, what rational security would -the treaty have afforded him, had he even come at once into all their -requisitions? His real error was to have entered upon any treaty, and -still more to have drawn it out by tardy and ineffectual -capitulations. There had long been only one course either for safety -or for honour, the abdication of his royal office; now probably too -late to preserve his life, but still more honourable than the treaty -of Newport. Yet though he was desirous to make his escape to France, I -have not observed any hint that he had thoughts of resigning the -crown; whether from any mistaken sense of obligation, or from an -apprehension that it might affect the succession of his son. - -There can be no more erroneous opinion than that of such as believe -that the desire of overturning the monarchy produced the civil war, -rather than that the civil war brought on the former. In a peaceful -and ancient kingdom like England, the thought of change could not -spontaneously arise. A very few speculative men, by the study of -antiquity, or by observation of the prosperity of Venice and Holland, -might be led to an abstract preference of republican politics; some -fanatics might aspire to a Jewish theocracy; but at the meeting of the -Long Parliament, we have not the slightest cause to suppose that any -party, or any number of persons among its members, had formed what -must then have appeared so extravagant a conception.[364] The -insuperable distrust of the king's designs, the irritation excited by -the sufferings of the war, the impracticability, which every attempt -at negotiation displayed, of obtaining his acquiescence to terms -deemed indispensable, gradually created a powerful faction, whose -chief bond of union was a determination to set him aside.[365] What -further scheme they had planned is uncertain; none probably in which -any number were agreed: some looked to the Prince of Wales, others -perhaps, at one time, to the elector palatine;[366] but necessity -itself must have suggested to many the idea of a republican -settlement. In the new-modelled army of 1645, composed of independents -and enthusiasts of every denomination, a fervid eagerness for changes -in the civil polity, as well as in religion, was soon found to -predominate. Not checked, like the two houses, by attachment to forms, -and by the influence of lawyers, they launched forth into varied -projects of reform, sometimes judicious, or at least plausible, -sometimes wildly fanatical. They reckoned the king a tyrant whom, as -they might fight against, they might also put to death, and whom it -were folly to provoke, if he were again to become their master. Elated -with their victories, they began already in imagination to carve out -the kingdom for themselves; and remembered that saying so congenial to -a revolutionary army, that the first of monarchs was a successful -leader, the first of nobles were his followers.[367] - -_Gradual progress of a republican party._--The knowledge of this -innovating spirit in the army gave confidence to the violent party in -parliament, and increased its numbers by the accession of some of -those to whom nature has given a fine sense for discerning their own -advantage. It was doubtless swollen through the king's letters, and -his pertinacity in clinging to his prerogative. And the complexion of -the House of Commons was materially altered by the introduction at -once of a large body of fresh members. They had at the beginning -abstained from issuing writs to replace those whose death or expulsion -had left their seats vacant. These vacancies, by the disabling votes -against all the king's party,[368] became so numerous that it seemed a -glaring violation of the popular principles to which they appealed, to -carry on the public business with so maimed a representation of the -people. It was however plainly impossible to have elections in many -parts of the kingdom, while the royal army was in strength; and the -change, by filling up nearly two hundred vacancies at once, was likely -to become so important that some feared that the cavaliers, others -that the independents and republicans, might find their advantage in -it.[369] The latter party were generally earnest for new elections; -and carried their point against the presbyterians in September 1645, -when new writs were ordered for all the places which were left -deficient of one or both representatives.[370] The result of these -elections, though a few persons rather friendly to the king came into -the house, was on the whole very favourable to the army. The -self-denying ordinance no longer being in operation, the principal -officers were elected on every side; and, with not many exceptions, -recruited the ranks of that small body, which had already been marked -by implacable dislike of the king, and by zeal for a total -new-modelling of the government.[371] In the summer of 1646, this -party had so far obtained the upper hand that, according to one of our -best authorities, the Scots commissioners had all imaginable -difficulty to prevent his deposition. In the course of the year 1647, -more overt proofs of a design to change the established constitution -were given by a party out of doors. A petition was addressed "to the -supreme authority of this nation, the Commons assembled in -parliament." It was voted upon a division, that the house dislikes -this petition, and cannot approve of its being delivered; and -afterwards, by a majority of only 94 to 86, that it was seditious and -insolent, and should be burned by the hangman.[372] Yet the first -decisive proof, perhaps, which the journals of parliament afford of -the existence of a republican party, was the vote of 22nd Sept. 1647, -that they would once again make application to the king for those -things which they judged necessary for the welfare and safety of the -kingdom. This was carried by 70 to 23.[373] Their subsequent -resolution of Jan. 4, 1648, against any further addresses to the king, -which passed by a majority of 141 to 91, was a virtual renunciation of -allegiance. The Lords, after a warm debate, concurred in this vote. -And the army had in November 1647, before the king's escape from -Hampton Court published a declaration of their design for the -settlement of the nation under a sovereign representative assembly, -which should possess authority to make or repeal laws, and to call -magistrates to account. - -We are not certainly to conclude that all who, in 1648, had made up -their minds against the king's restoration, were equally averse to all -regal government. The Prince of Wales had taken so active, and, for a -moment, so successful a share in the war of that year, that his -father's enemies were become his own. Meetings however were held, -where the military and parliamentary chiefs discussed the schemes of -raising the Duke of York, or his younger brother the Duke of -Glocester, to the throne. Cromwell especially wavered, or pretended to -waver, as to the settlement of the nation; nor is there any evidence, -so far as I know, that he had ever professed himself adverse to -monarchy, till, dexterously mounting on the wave which he could not -stem, he led on those zealots who had resolved to celebrate the -inauguration of their new commonwealth with the blood of a victim -king.[374] - -_Scheme among the officers of bringing Charles to trial._--It was -about the end of 1647, as I have said, that the principal officers -took the determination, which had been already menaced by some of the -agitators, of bringing the king, as the first and greatest delinquent, -to public justice.[375] Too stern and haughty, too confident of the -rightfulness of their actions, to think of private assassination, they -sought to gratify their pride by the solemnity and notoriousness, by -the very infamy and eventual danger, of an act unprecedented in the -history of nations. Throughout the year 1648, this design, though -suspended, became familiar to the people's expectation.[376] The -commonwealth's men and the levellers, the various sectaries (admitting -a few exceptions) grew clamorous for the king's death. Petitions were -presented to the Commons, praying for justice on all delinquents, from -the highest to the lowest.[377] And not long afterwards, the general -officers of the army came forward with a long remonstrance against any -treaty, and insisting that the capital and grand author of their -troubles be speedily brought to justice, for the treason, blood, and -mischief, whereof he had been guilty.[378] This was soon followed by -the vote of the presbyterian party, that the answers of the king to -the propositions of both houses are a ground for the house to proceed -upon for the settlement of the peace of the kingdom,[379] by the -violent expulsion, or as it was called, seclusion of all the -presbyterian members from the house, and the ordinance of a wretched -minority, commonly called the Rump, constituting the high court of -justice for the trial of the king.[380] - -A very small number among those who sat in this strange tribunal upon -Charles the First were undoubtedly capable of taking statesman-like -views of the interests of their party, and might consider his death a -politic expedient for consolidating the new settlement. It seemed to -involve the army, which had openly abetted the act, and even the -nation by its passive consent, in such inexpiable guilt towards the -royal family, that neither common prudence nor a sense of shame would -permit them to suffer its restoration. But by far the greater part of -the regicides such considerations were either overlooked or kept in -the background. Their more powerful motive was that fierce fanatical -hatred of the king, the natural fruit of long civil dissension, -inflamed by preachers more dark and sanguinary than those they -addressed, and by a perverted study of the Jewish scriptures. They had -been wrought to believe, not that his execution would be justified by -state-necessity or any such feeble grounds of human reasoning, but -that it was a bounden duty, which with a safe conscience they could -not neglect. Such was the persuasion of Ludlow and Hutchinson, the -most respectable names among the regicides; both of them free from all -suspicion of interestedness or hypocrisy, and less intoxicated than -the rest by fanaticism. "I was fully persuaded," says the former, -"that an accommodation with the king was unsafe to the people of -England, and unjust and wicked in the nature of it. The former, -besides that it was obvious to all men, the king himself had proved, -by the duplicity of his dealing with the parliament, which manifestly -appeared in his own papers, taken at the battle of Naseby and -elsewhere. Of the latter I was convinced by the express words of God's -law; 'that blood defileth the land, and the land cannot be cleansed of -the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.' -(Numbers, c. xxxv. v. 33.) And therefore I could not consent to leave -the guilt of so much blood on the nation, and thereby to draw down the -just vengeance of God upon us all, when it was most evident that the -war had been occasioned by the invasion of our rights and open breach -of our laws and constitution on the king's part."[381] "As for Mr. -Hutchinson," says his high-souled consort, "although he was very much -confirmed in his judgment concerning the cause, yet being here called -to an extraordinary action, whereof many were of several minds, he -addressed himself to God by prayer, desiring the Lord, that, if -through any human frailty, he were led into any error or false -opinion in those great transactions, he would open his eyes, and not -suffer him to proceed, but that he would confirm his spirit in the -truth, and lead him by a right-enlightened conscience; and finding no -check, but a confirmation in his conscience, that it was his duty to -act as he did, he, upon serious debate, both privately and in his -addresses to God, and in conferences with conscientious, upright, -unbiassed persons, proceeded to sign the sentence against the king. -Although he did not then believe but it might one day come to be again -disputed among men, yet both he and others thought they could not -refuse it without giving up the people of God, whom they had led forth -and engaged themselves unto by the oath of God, into the hands of -God's and their enemies; and therefore he cast himself upon God's -protection, acting according to the dictates of a conscience which he -had sought the Lord to guide; and accordingly the Lord did signalise -his favour afterward to him."[382] - -_Question of Charles's execution discussed._--The execution of Charles -the First has been mentioned in later ages by a few with unlimited -praise, by some with faint and ambiguous censure, by most with -vehement reprobation. My own judgment will possibly be anticipated by -the reader of the preceding pages. I shall certainly not rest it on -the imaginary sacredness and divine origin of royalty, nor even on the -irresponsibility with which the law of almost every country invests -the person of its sovereign. Far be it from me to contend that no -cases may be conceived, that no instances may be found in history, -wherein the sympathy of mankind and the sound principles of political -justice would approve a public judicial sentence as the due reward of -tyranny and perfidiousness. But we may confidently deny that Charles -the First was thus to be singled out as a warning to tyrants. His -offences were not, in the worst interpretation, of that atrocious -character which calls down the vengeance of insulted humanity, -regardless of positive law. His government had been very arbitrary; -but it may well be doubted whether any, even of his ministers, could -have suffered death for their share in it, without introducing a -principle of barbarous vindictiveness. Far from the sanguinary -misanthropy of some monarchs, or the revengeful fury of others, he had -in no instance displayed, nor does the minute scrutiny since made into -his character entitle us to suppose, any malevolent dispositions -beyond some proneness to anger, and a considerable degree of -harshness in his demeanour.[383] As for the charge of having caused -the bloodshed of the war, upon which, and not on any former -misgovernment, his condemnation was grounded, it was as ill -established as it would have been insufficient. Well might the Earl of -Northumberland say, when the ordinance for the king's trial was before -the Lords, that the greatest part of the people of England were not -yet satisfied whether the king levied war first against the houses, or -the houses against him.[384] The fact, in my opinion, was entirely -otherwise. It is quite another question whether the parliament were -justified in their resistance to the king's legal authority. But we -may contend that, when Hotham, by their command, shut the gates of -Hull against his sovereign, when the militia was called out in -different counties by an ordinance of the two houses, both of which -preceded by several weeks any levying of forces for the king, the -bonds of our constitutional law were by them and their servants -snapped asunder; and it would be the mere pedantry and chicane of -political casuistry to enquire, even if the fact could be better -ascertained, whether at Edgehill, or in the minor skirmishes that -preceded, the first carbine was discharged by a cavalier or a -roundhead. The aggressor in a war is not the first who uses force, but -the first who renders force necessary. - -But, whether we may think this war to have originated in the king's -or the parliament's aggression, it is still evident that the former -had a fair case with the nation, a cause which it was no plain -violation of justice to defend. He was supported by the greater part -of the Peers, by full one-third of the Commons, by the principal body -of the gentry, and a large proportion of other classes. If his -adherents did not form, as I think they did not, the majority of the -people, they were at least more numerous, beyond comparison, than -those who demanded or approved of his death. The steady deliberate -perseverance of so considerable a body in any cause takes away the -right of punishment from the conquerors, beyond what their own safety -or reasonable indemnification may require. The vanquished are to be -judged by the rules of national, not of municipal, law. Hence, if -Charles, after having by a course of victories or the defection of the -people prostrated all opposition, had abused his triumph by the -execution of Essex or Hampden, Fairfax or Cromwell, I think that later -ages would have disapproved of their deaths as positively, though not -quite as vehemently, as they have of his own. The line is not easily -drawn, in abstract reasoning, between the treason which is justly -punished, and the social schism which is beyond the proper boundaries -of law; but the civil war of England seems plainly to fall within the -latter description. These objections strike me as unanswerable, even -if the trial of Charles had been sanctioned by the voice of the nation -through its legitimate representatives, or at least such a fair and -full convention as might, in great necessity, supply the place of -lawful authority. But it was, as we all know, the act of a bold but -very small minority, who having forcibly expelled their colleagues -from parliament, had usurped, under the protection of a military -force, that power which all England reckoned illegal. I cannot -perceive what there was in the imagined solemnity of this proceeding, -in that insolent mockery of the forms of justice, accompanied by all -unfairness and inhumanity in its circumstances, which can alleviate -the guilt of the transaction; and if it be alleged that many of the -regicides were firmly persuaded in their consciences of the right and -duty of condemning the king, we may surely remember that private -murderers have often had the same apology. - -_The character of Charles._--In discussing each particular transaction -in the life of Charles, as of any other sovereign, it is required by -the truth of history to spare no just animadversion upon his faults; -especially where much art has been employed by the writers most in -repute to carry the stream of public prejudice in an opposite -direction. But when we come to a general estimate of his character, we -should act unfairly not to give their full weight to those peculiar -circumstances of his condition in this worldly scene, which tend to -account for and extenuate his failings. The station of kings is, in a -moral sense, so unfavourable, that those who are least prone to -servile admiration should be on their guard against the opposite error -of an uncandid severity. There seems no fairer method of estimating -the intrinsic worth of a sovereign, than to treat him as a subject, -and to judge, so far as the history of his life enables us, what he -would have been in that more private and happier condition, from which -the chance of birth has excluded him. Tried by this test, we cannot -doubt that Charles the First would have been not altogether an amiable -man, but one deserving of general esteem; his firm and conscientious -virtues the same, his deviations from right far less frequent, than -upon the throne. It is to be pleaded for this prince that his youth -had breathed but the contaminated air of a profligate and servile -court, that he had imbibed the lessons of arbitrary power from all who -surrounded him, that he had been betrayed by a father's culpable -blindness into the dangerous society of an ambitious, unprincipled -favourite. To have maintained so much correctness of morality as his -enemies confess, was a proof of Charles's virtuous dispositions; but -his advocates are compelled also to own that he did not escape as -little injured by the poisonous adulation to which he had listened. Of -a temper by nature, and by want of restraint, too passionate, though -not vindictive; and, though not cruel, certainly deficient in -gentleness and humanity, he was entirely unfit for the very difficult -station of royalty, and especially for that of a constitutional king. -It is impossible to excuse his violations of liberty on the score of -ignorance, especially after the petition of right; because his -impatience of opposition from his council made it unsafe to give him -any advice that thwarted his determination. His other great fault was -want of sincerity--a fault that appeared in all parts of his life, and -from which no one who has paid the subject any attention will pretend -to exculpate him. Those indeed who know nothing but what they find in -Hume may believe, on Hume's authority, that the king's contemporaries -never dreamed of imputing to him any deviation from good faith; as if -the whole conduct of the parliament had not been evidently founded -upon a distrust, which on many occasions they very explicitly -declared. But, so far as this insincerity was shown in the course of -his troubles, it was a failing which untoward circumstances are apt to -produce, and which the extreme hypocrisy of many among his adversaries -might sometimes palliate. Few personages in history, we should -recollect, have had so much of their actions revealed, and commented -upon, as Charles; it is perhaps a mortifying truth that those who have -stood highest with posterity, have seldom been those who have been -most accurately known. - -The turn of his mind was rather peculiar, and laid him open with some -justice to very opposite censures--for an extreme obstinacy in -retaining his opinion, and for an excessive facility in adopting that -of others. But the apparent incongruity ceases, when we observe that -he was tenacious of ends, and irresolute as to means; better fitted to -reason than to act; never swerving from a few main principles, but -diffident of his own judgment in its application to the course of -affairs. His chief talent was an acuteness in dispute; a talent not -usually much exercised by kings, but which the strange events of his -life called into action. He had, unfortunately for himself, gone into -the study most fashionable in that age, of polemical theology; and, -though not at all learned, had read enough of the English divines to -maintain their side of the current controversies with much dexterity. -But this unkingly talent was a poor compensation for the continual -mistakes of his judgment in the art of government and the conduct of -his affairs.[385] - -_Icon Basilike._--It seems natural not to leave untouched in this -place, the famous problem of the _Icon Basilike_, which has been -deemed an irrefragable evidence both of the virtues and the talents of -Charles. But the authenticity of this work can hardly be any longer a -question among judicious men. We have letters from Gauden and his -family, asserting it as his own in the most express terms, and making -it the ground of a claim for reward. We know that the king's sons were -both convinced that it was not their father's composition, and that -Clarendon was satisfied of the same. If Gauden not only set up a false -claim to so famous a work, but persuaded those nearest to the king to -surrender that precious record, as it had been reckoned, of his dying -sentiments, it was an instance of successful impudence which has -hardly a parallel. But I should be content to rest the case on that -internal evidence, which has been so often alleged for its -authenticity. The _Icon_ has to my judgment all the air of a -fictitious composition. Cold, stiff, elaborate, without a single -allusion that bespeaks the superior knowledge of facts which the king -must have possessed, it contains little but those rhetorical -common-places which would suggest themselves to any forger. The -prejudices of party, which exercise a strange influence in matters of -taste, have caused this book to be extravagantly praised. It has -doubtless a certain air of grave dignity, and the periods are more -artificially constructed than was usual in that age (a circumstance -not in favour of its authenticity); but the style is encumbered with -frigid metaphors, as is said to be the case in Gauden's acknowledged -writings; and the thoughts are neither beautiful, nor always exempt -from affectation. The king's letters during his imprisonment, -preserved in the _Clarendon State Papers_, and especially one to his -son, from which an extract is given in the _History of the Rebellion_, -are more satisfactory proofs of his integrity than the laboured -self-panegyrics of the _Icon Basilike_.[386] - - -PART II - -_Commonwealth_--_Abolition of the monarchy, and of the house of -lords._--The death of Charles the First was pressed forward rather -through personal hatred and superstition, than out of any notion of -its necessity to secure a republican administration. That party was -still so weak, that the Commons came more slowly, and with more -difference of judgment than might be expected, to an absolute -renunciation of monarchy. They voted indeed that the people are, under -God, the original of all just power; and that whatever is enacted by -the Commons in parliament hath the force of law, although the consent -and concurrence of the king or House of Peers be not had thereto; -terms manifestly not exclusive of the nominal continuance of the two -latter. They altered the public style from the king's name to that of -the parliament, and gave other indications of their intentions; but -the vote for the abolition of monarchy did not pass till the seventh -of February, after a debate, according to Whitelock, but without a -division. None of that clamorous fanaticism showed itself, which, -within recent memory, produced, from a far more numerous assembly, an -instantaneous decision against monarchy. Wise men might easily -perceive that the regal power was only suspended through the force of -circumstances, not abrogated by any real change in public opinion. - -The House of Lords, still less able than the Crown to withstand the -inroads of democracy, fell by a vote of the Commons at the same time. -It had continued during the whole progress of the war to keep up as -much dignity as the state of affairs would permit; tenacious of small -privileges, and offering much temporary opposition in higher matters, -though always receding in the end from a contention wherein it could -not be successful. The Commons, in return, gave them respectful -language, and discountenanced the rude innovators who talked against -the rights of the peerage. They voted, on occasion of some rumours, -that they held themselves obliged, by the fundamental laws of the -kingdom and their covenant, to preserve the peerage with the rights -and privileges belonging to the House of Peers, equally with their -own.[387] Yet this was with a secret reserve that the Lords should be -of the same mind as themselves. For, the upper house having resented -some words dropped from Sir John Evelyn at a conference concerning the -removal of the king to Warwick Castle, importing that the Commons -might be compelled to act without them, the Commons vindicating their -member as if his words did not bear that interpretation, yet added, in -the same breath, a plain hint that it was not beyond their own views -of what might be done; "hoping that their lordships did not intend by -their inference upon the words, even in the sense they took the same, -so to bind up this house to one way of proceeding as that in no case -whatsoever, though never so extraordinary, though never so much -importing the honour and interest of the kingdom, the Commons of -England might not do their duty, for the good and safety of the -kingdom, in such a way as they may, if they cannot do it in such a way -as they would and most desire."[388] - -After the violent seclusion of the constitutional party from the House -of Commons, on the 6th of December 1648, very few, not generally more -than five, peers continued to meet. Their number was suddenly -increased to twelve on the 2nd of January; when the vote of the -Commons that it is high treason in the King of England for the time -being to levy war against parliament, and the ordinance constituting -the high court of justice, were sent up for their concurrence. These -were unanimously rejected with more spirit than some, at least, of -their number might be expected to display. Yet, as if apprehensive of -giving too much umbrage, they voted at their next meeting to prepare -an ordinance, making it treasonable for any future king of England to -levy war against the parliament--a measure quite as unconstitutional -as that they had rejected. They continued to linger on the verge of -annihilation during the month, making petty orders about writs of -error, from four to six being present: they even met on the 30th of -January. On the 1st of February, six peers forming the house, it was -moved, "that they would take into consideration the settlement of the -government of England and Ireland, in this present conjuncture of -things upon the death of the king;" and ordered that these Lords -following (naming those present and three more) be appointed to join -with a proportionable number of the House of Commons for that purpose. -Soon after, the speaker acquainted the house that he had that morning -received a letter from the Earl of Northumberland, with a paper -enclosed, of very great concernment; and for the present the house -ordered that it should be sealed up with the speaker's seal. This -probably related to the impending dissolution of their house; for they -found next day that their messengers sent to the Commons had not been -admitted. They persisted, however, in meeting till the 6th, when they -made a trifling order, and adjourned "till ten o'clock to-morrow."[389] -That morrow was the 25th of April 1660. For the Commons, having the -same day rejected, by a majority of forty-four to twenty-nine, a -motion that they would take the advice of the House of Lords in the -exercise of the legislative power, resolved that the House of Peers -was useless and dangerous, and ought to be abolished.[390] It should -be noticed that there was no intention of taking away the dignity of -peerage; the Lords, throughout the whole duration of the commonwealth, -retained their titles, not only in common usage, but in all legal and -parliamentary documents. The Earl of Pembroke, basest among the base, -condescended to sit in the House of Commons as knight for the county -of Berks; and was received, notwithstanding his proverbial meanness -and stupidity, with such excessive honour as displayed the character -of those low-minded upstarts, who formed a sufficiently numerous -portion of the house to give their tone to its proceedings.[391] - -Thus by military force, with the approbation of an inconceivably small -proportion of the people, the king was put to death; the ancient -fundamental laws were overthrown; and a mutilated House of Commons, -wherein very seldom more than seventy or eighty sat, was invested with -the supreme authority. So little countenance had these late -proceedings even from those who seemed of the ruling faction, that, -when the executive council of state, consisting of forty-one, had been -nominated, and a test was proposed to them, declaring their -approbation of all that had been done about the king and the kingly -office, and about the House of Lords, only nineteen would subscribe -it, though there were fourteen regicides on the list.[392] It was -agreed at length, that they should subscribe it only as to the future -proceedings of the Commons. With such dissatisfaction at -head-quarters, there was little to hope from the body of the -nation.[393] Hence, when an engagement was tendered to all civil -officers and beneficed clergy, containing only a promise to live -faithful to the commonwealth, as it was established without a king or -House of Lords (though the slightest test of allegiance that any -government could require), it was taken with infinite reluctance, and, -in fact, refused by very many; the presbyterian ministers especially -showing a determined averseness to the new republican organisation.[394] - -This, however, was established (such is the dominion of the sword) far -beyond the control of any national sentiment. Thirty thousand veteran -soldiers guaranteed the mock parliament they had permitted to reign. -The sectaries, a numerous body, and still more active than numerous, -possessed, under the name of committees for various purposes appointed -by the House of Commons, the principal local authorities, and -restrained by a vigilant scrutiny the murmurs of a disaffected -majority. Love, an eminent presbyterian minister, lost his head for a -conspiracy, by the sentence of a high court of justice, a tribunal -that superseded trial by jury.[395] His death struck horror and -consternation into that arrogant priesthood, who had begun to fancy -themselves almost beyond the scope of criminal law. The cavaliers were -prostrate in the dust; and, anxious to retrieve something from the -wreck of their long sequestered estates, had generally little appetite -to embark afresh in a hopeless cause; besides that the mutual -animosities between their party and the presbyterians were still too -irreconcilable to admit of any sincere co-operation. Hence, neither -made any considerable effort in behalf of Charles on his march, or -rather flight, into England; a measure, indeed, too palpably -desperate for prudent men who had learned the strength of their -adversaries; and the great victory of Worcester consummated the -triumph of the infant commonwealth, or rather of its future master. - -_Schemes of Cromwell._--A train of favouring events, more than any -deep-laid policy, had now brought sovereignty within the reach of -Cromwell. His first schemes of ambition may probably have extended no -farther than a title and estate, with a great civil and military -command in the king's name. Power had fallen into his hands because -they alone were fit to wield it; he was taught by every succeeding -event his own undeniable superiority over his contemporaries in -martial renown, in civil prudence, in decision of character, and in -the public esteem, which naturally attached to these qualities. -Perhaps it was not till after the battle of Worcester that he began to -fix his thoughts, if not on the dignity of royalty, yet on an -equivalent right of command. Two remarkable conversations, in which -Whitelock bore a part, seem to place beyond controversy the nature of -his designs. About the end of 1651, Whitelock himself, St. John, -Widdrington, Lenthall, Harrison, Desborough, Fleetwood, and Whalley, -met Cromwell, at his own request, to consider the settlement of the -nation. The four former were in favour of monarchy, Whitelock -inclining to Charles, Widdrington and others to the Duke of Glocester; -Desborough and Whalley were against a single person's government, and -Fleetwood uncertain. Cromwell, who had evidently procured this -conference in order to sift the inclinations of so many leading men, -and to give some intimation of his own, broke it up with remarking, -that, if it might be done with safety and preservation of their rights -as Englishmen and Christians, a settlement of somewhat with -monarchical power in it would be very effectual.[396] The observation -he here made of a disposition among the lawyers to elect the Duke of -Glocester, as being exempt by his youth from the prepossessions of the -two elder brothers, may, perhaps, have put Cromwell on releasing him -from confinement, and sending him to join his family beyond sea.[397] - -Twelve months after this time, in a more confidential discourse with -Whitelock alone, the general took occasion to complain both of the -chief officers of the army and of the parliament; the first, as -inclined to factious murmurings, and the second, as ingrossing all -offices to themselves, divided into parties, delaying business, guilty -of gross injustice and partiality, and designing to perpetuate their -own authority. Whitelock, confessing part of this, urged that having -taken commissions from them as the supreme power, it would be -difficult to find means to restrain them. "What," said Cromwell, "if a -man should take upon him to be king?" "I think," answered Whitelock, -"that remedy would be worse than the disease." "Why," rejoined the -other, "do you think so?" He then pointed out that the statute of -Henry VII. gave a security to those who acted under a king, which no -other government could furnish; and that the reverence paid by the -people to that title would serve to curb the extravagances of those -now in power. Whitelock replied that their friends having engaged in a -persuasion, though erroneous, that their rights and liberties would be -better preserved under a commonwealth than a monarchy, this state of -the question would be wholly changed by Cromwell's assumption of the -title, and it would become a private controversy between his family -and that of the Stuarts. Finally, on the other's encouragement to -speak fully his thoughts, he told him "that no expedient seemed so -desirable as a private treaty with the king, in which he might not -only provide for the security of his friends, and the greatness of his -family, but set limits to monarchical power, keeping the command of -the militia in his own hands." Cromwell merely said, "that such a step -would require great consideration;" but broke off with marks of -displeasure, and consulted Whitelock much less for some years -afterwards.[398] - -These projects of usurpation could not deceive the watchfulness of -those whom Cromwell pretended to serve. He had on several occasions -thrown off enough of his habitual dissimulation to show the -commonwealth's men that he was theirs only by accident, with none of -their fondness for republican polity. - -_Unpopularity of the parliament._--The parliament in its present wreck -contained few leaders of superior ability; but a natural instinct -would dictate to such an assembly the distrust of a popular general, -even if there had been less to alarm them in his behaviour.[399] They -had no means, however, to withstand him. The creatures themselves of -military force, their pretensions to direct or control the army could -only move scorn or resentment. Their claim to a legal authority, and -to the name of representatives of a people who rejected and abhorred -them, was perfectly impudent. When the house was fullest, their -numbers did not much exceed one hundred; but the ordinary divisions, -even on subjects of the highest moment, show an attendance of but -fifty or sixty members. They had retained in their hands, -notwithstanding the appointment of a council of state, most of whom -were from their own body, a great part of the executive government, -especially the disposal of offices.[400] These they largely shared -among themselves or their dependents; and in many of their votes gave -occasion to such charges of injustice and partiality as, whether true -or false, will attach to a body of men so obviously self-interested.[401] -It seems to be a pretty general opinion that a popular assembly is -still more frequently influenced by corrupt and dishonest motives in -the distribution of favours, or the decision of private affairs, than -a ministry of state; whether it be that it is more probable that a man -of disinterestedness and integrity may in the course of events rise to -the conduct of government than that such virtues should belong to a -majority; or that the clandestine management of court corruption -renders it less scandalous and more easily varnished, than the -shamelessness of parliamentary iniquity. - -The republican interest in the nation was almost wholly composed of -two parties, both off-shoots deriving strength from the great stock of -the army; the levellers, of whom Lilburne and Wildman are the most -known, and the anabaptists, fifth monarchy-men, and other fanatical -sectaries, headed by Harrison, Hewson, Overton, and a great number of -officers. Though the sectaries seemed to build their revolutionary -schemes more on their own religious views than the levellers, they -coincided in most of their objects and demands.[402] An equal -representation of the people in short parliaments, an extensive -alteration of the common law, the abolition of tithes, and indeed of -all regular stipends to the ministry, a full toleration of religious -worship, were reformations which they concurred in requiring, as the -only substantial fruits of their arduous struggle.[403] Some among the -wilder sects dreamed of overthrowing all civil institutions. These -factions were not without friends in the Commons. But the greater part -were neither inclined to gratify them, by taking away the provision -of the church, nor much less to divest themselves of their own -authority. They voted indeed that tithes should cease as soon as a -competent maintenance should be otherwise provided for the -clergy.[404] They appointed a commission to consider the reformation -of the law, in consequence of repeated petitions against many of its -inconveniences and abuses; who, though taxed of course with -dilatoriness by the ardent innovators, suggested many useful -improvements, several of which have been adopted in more regular -times, though with too cautious delay.[405] They proceeded rather -slowly and reluctantly to frame a scheme for future parliaments; and -resolved that they should consist of 400, to be chosen in due -proportion by the several counties, nearly upon the model suggested by -Lilburne, and afterwards carried into effect by Cromwell.[406] It was -with much delay and difficulty, amidst the loud murmurs of their -adherents, that they could be brought to any vote in regard to their -own dissolution. It passed on November 17, 1651, after some very close -divisions, that they should cease to exist as a parliament on November -3, 1654.[407] The republicans out of doors, who deemed annual, or at -least biennial, parliaments essential to their definition of liberty, -were indignant at so unreasonable a prolongation. Thus they forfeited -the good-will of the only party on whom they could have relied. -Cromwell dexterously aggravated their faults; he complained of their -delaying the settlement of the nation; he persuaded the fanatics of -his concurrence in their own schemes; the parliament, in turn, -conspired against his power, and, as the conspiracies of so many can -never be secret, let it be seen that one or other must be destroyed; -thus giving his forcible expulsion of them the pretext of -self-defence. They fell with no regret, or rather with much joy of the -nation, except a few who dreaded more from the alternative of military -usurpation or anarchy than from an assembly which still retained the -names and forms so precious in the eyes of those who adhere to the -ancient institutions of their country.[408] - -_Little parliament._--It was now the deep policy of Cromwell to render -himself the sole refuge of those who valued the laws, or the regular -ecclesiastical ministry, or their own estates, all in peril from the -mad enthusiasts who were in hopes to prevail.[409] These he had -admitted into that motley convention of one hundred and twenty -persons, sometimes called Barebone's parliament, but more commonly the -little parliament, on whom his council of officers pretended to -devolve the government, mingling them with a sufficient proportion of -a superior class whom he could direct.[410] This assembly took care -to avoid the censure which their predecessors had incurred, by passing -a good many bills, and applying themselves with a vigorous hand to the -reformation of what their party deemed the most essential grievances, -those of the law and of the church. They voted the abolition of the -Court of Chancery, a measure provoked by its insufferable delay, its -engrossing of almost all suits, and the uncertainty of its decisions. -They appointed a committee to consider of a new body of the law, -without naming any lawyer upon it.[411] They nominated a set of -commissioners to preside in courts of justice, among whom they with -difficulty admitted two of that profession;[412] they irritated the -clergy by enacting that marriages should be solemnised before justices -of the peace;[413] they alarmed them still more, by manifesting a -determination to take away their tithes, without security for an -equivalent maintenance.[414] Thus having united against itself these -two powerful bodies, whom neither kings nor parliaments in England -have in general offended with impunity, this little synod of -legislators was ripe for destruction. Their last vote was to negative -a report of their own committee, recommending that such as should be -approved as preachers of the gospel, should enjoy the maintenance -already settled by law; and that the payment of tithes, as a just -property, should be enforced by the magistrates. The house having, by -the majority of two, disagreed with this report,[415] the speaker, two -days after, having secured a majority of those present, proposed the -surrender of their power into the hands of Cromwell, who put an end to -the opposition of the rest, by turning them out of doors. - -It can admit of no doubt that the despotism of a wise man is more -tolerable than that of political or religious fanatics; and it rarely -happens that there is any better remedy in revolutions which have -given the latter an ascendant. Cromwell's assumption, therefore, of -the title of Protector was a necessary and wholesome usurpation, -however he may have caused the necessity; it secured the nation from -the mischievous lunacy of the anabaptists, and from the more -cool-blooded tyranny of that little oligarchy which arrogated to -itself the name of commonwealth's men. Though a gross and glaring -evidence of the omnipotence of the army, the instrument under which he -took his title, accorded to him no unnecessary executive authority. -The sovereignty still resided in the parliament; he had no negative -voice on their laws. Until the meeting of the next parliament, a power -was given him of making temporary ordinances; but this was not, as -Hume, on the authority of Clarendon and Warwick, has supposed, and as -his conduct, if that were any proof of the law, might lead us to -infer, designed to exist in future intervals of the legislature.[416] -It would be scarcely worth while, however, to pay much attention to a -form of government which was so little regarded, except as it marks -the jealousy of royal power, which those most attached to Cromwell, -and least capable of any proper notions of liberty, continued to -entertain. - -In the ascent of this bold usurper to greatness, he had successively -employed and thrown away several of the powerful factions who -distracted the nation. He had encouraged the levellers and persecuted -them; he had flattered the long parliament and betrayed it; he had -made use of the sectaries to crush the commonwealth; he had spurned -the sectaries in his last advance to power. These, with the royalists -and the presbyterians, forming, in effect, the whole people, though -too disunited for such a coalition as must have overthrown him, were -the perpetual, irreconcilable enemies of his administration. Master of -his army, which he well knew how to manage, surrounded by a few deep -and experienced counsellors, furnished by his spies with the -completest intelligence of all designs against him, he had no great -cause of alarm from open resistance. - -_Parliament called by Cromwell._--But he was bound by the instrument -of government to call a parliament; and in any parliament his -adversaries must be formidable. He adopted in both those which he -summoned, the reformed model already determined; limiting the number -of representatives to 400, to be chosen partly in the counties, -according to their wealth or supposed population, by electors -possessing either freeholds, or any real or movable property to the -value of L200; partly by the more considerable boroughs, in whose -various rights of election no change appears to have been made.[417] -This alteration, conformable to the equalising principles of the age, -did not produce so considerable a difference in the persons returned -as it perhaps might at present.[418] The court-party, as those -subservient to him were called, were powerful through the subjection -of the electors to the army. But they were not able to exclude the -presbyterian and republican interests; the latter headed by Bradshaw, -Haslerig, and Scott, eager to thwart the power which they were -compelled to obey.[419] Hence they began by taking into consideration -the whole instrument of government; and even resolved themselves into -a committee to debate its leading article, the protector's authority. -Cromwell, his supporters having lost this question on a division of -141 to 136, thought it time to interfere. He gave them to understand -that the government by a single person and a parliament, was a -fundamental principle, not subject to their discussion; and obliged -every member to a recognition of it, solemnly promising neither to -attempt nor to concur in any alteration of that article.[420] The -Commons voted, however, that this recognition should not extend to the -entire instrument, consisting of forty-two articles; and went on to -discuss them with such heat and prolixity, that after five months, the -limited term of their session, the protector, having obtained the -ratification of his new scheme neither so fully nor so willingly as he -desired, particularly having been disappointed by the great majority -of 200 to 60, which voted the protectorate to be elective, not -hereditary, dissolved the parliament with no small marks of -dissatisfaction.[421] - -_Intrigues of the king and his party._--The banished king, meanwhile, -began to recover a little of that political importance which the -battle of Worcester had seemed almost to extinguish. So ill supported -by his English adherents on that occasion, so incapable with a better -army than he had any prospect of ever raising again, to make a stand -against the genius and fortune of the usurper, it was vain to expect -that he could be restored by any domestic insurrection, until the -disunion of the prevailing factions should offer some more favourable -opportunity. But this was too distant a prospect for his court of -starving followers. He had from the beginning looked around for -foreign assistance. But France was distracted by her own troubles; -Spain deemed it better policy to cultivate the new commonwealth; and -even Holland, though engaged in a dangerous war with England, did not -think it worth while to accept his offer of joining her fleet, in -order to try his influence with the English seamen.[422] Totally -unscrupulous as to the means by which he might reign, even at the -moment that he was treating to become the covenanted king of Scotland, -with every solemn renunciation of popery, Charles had recourse to a -very delicate negotiation, which deserves remark, as having led, after -a long course of time, but by gradual steps, to the final downfall of -his family. With the advice of Ormond, and with the concurrence of -Hyde, he attempted to interest the pope (Innocent X.) on his side, as -the most powerful intercessor with the catholic princes of -Europe.[423] For this purpose it was necessary to promise toleration -at least to the catholics. The king's ambassadors to Spain in 1650, -Cottington and Hyde, and other agents despatched to Rome at the same -time, were empowered to offer an entire repeal of the penal laws.[424] -The king himself, some time afterwards, wrote a letter to the pope, -wherein he repeated this assurance. That court, however, well aware of -the hereditary duplicity of the Stuarts, received his overtures with -haughty contempt. The pope returned no answer to the king's letter; -but one was received after many months from the general of the -jesuits, requiring that Charles should declare himself a catholic, -since the goods of the church could not be lavished for the support of -an heretical prince.[425] Even after this insolent refusal, the -wretched exiles still clung, at times, to the vain hope of succour, -which as protestants and Englishmen they could not honourably -demand.[426] But many of them remarked too clearly the conditions on -which assistance might be obtained; the court of Charles, openly or in -secret, began to pass over to the catholic church; and the contagion -soon spread to the highest places. - -In the year 1654, the royalist intrigues in England began to grow more -active and formidable through the accession of many discontented -republicans.[427] Though there could be no coalition, properly -speaking, between such irreconcilable factions, they came into a sort -of tacit agreement, as is not unusual, to act in concert for the only -purpose they entertained alike, the destruction of their common enemy. -Major Wildman, a name not very familiar to the general reader, but -which occurs perpetually, for almost half a century, when we look into -more secret history, one of those dark and restless spirits who -delight in the deep game of conspiracy against every government, seems -to have been the first mover of this unnatural combination. He had -been early engaged in the schemes of the levellers, and was exposed to -the jealous observation of the ruling powers. It appears most probable -that his views were to establish a commonwealth, and to make the -royalists his dupes. In his correspondence however with Brussels, he -engaged to restore the king. Both parties were to rise in arms against -the new tyranny; and the nation's temper was tried by clandestine -intrigues in almost every county.[428] Greater reliance however was -placed on the project of assassinating Cromwell. Neither party were by -any means scrupulous on this score: if we have not positive evidence -of Charles's concurrence in this scheme, it would be preposterous to -suppose that he would have been withheld by any moral hesitation. It -is frequently mentioned without any disapprobation by Clarendon in his -private letters;[429] and, as the royalists certainly justified the -murders of Ascham and Dorislaus, they could not in common sense or -consistency have scrupled one so incomparably more capable of -defence.[430] A Mr. Gerard suffered death for one of these plots to -kill Cromwell; justly sentenced, though by an illegal tribunal.[431] - -_Insurrectionary movements in 1655._--In the year 1655, Penruddock, a -Wiltshire gentleman, with a very trifling force, entered Salisbury at -the time of the assizes; and, declaring for the king, seized the judge -and the sheriff.[432] This little rebellion, meeting with no -resistance from the people, but a supineness equally fatal, was soon -quelled. It roused Cromwell to secure himself by an unprecedented -exercise of power. In possession of all the secrets of his enemies, he -knew that want of concert or courage had alone prevented a general -rising, towards which indeed there had been some movements in the -midland counties.[433] He was aware of his own unpopularity, and the -national bias towards the exiled king. Juries did not willingly -convict the sharers in Penruddock's rebellion.[434] To govern -according to law may sometimes be an usurper's wish, but can seldom be -in his power. The protector abandoned all thought of it. Dividing the -kingdom into districts, he placed at the head of each a major-general -as a sort of military magistrate, responsible for the subjection of -his prefecture. These were eleven in number, men bitterly hostile to -the royalist party, and insolent towards all civil authority.[435] -They were employed to secure the payment of a tax of 10 per cent., -imposed by Cromwell's arbitrary will on those who had ever sided with -the king during the late war, where their estates exceeded L100 per -annum. The major-generals, in their correspondence printed among -Thurloe's papers, display a rapacity and oppression beyond their -master's. They complain that the number of those exempted is too -great; they press for harsher measures; they incline to the -unfavourable construction in every doubtful case; they dwell on the -growth of malignancy and the general disaffection.[436] It was not -indeed likely to be mitigated by this unparalleled tyranny. All -illusion was now gone as to the pretended benefits of the civil war. -It had ended in a despotism, compared to which all the illegal -practices of former kings, all that had cost Charles his life and -crown, appeared as dust in the balance. For what was ship-money, a -general burthen, by the side of the present decimation of a single -class, whose offence had long been expiated by a composition and -defaced by an act of indemnity? or were the excessive punishments of -the star-chamber so odious as the capital executions inflicted without -trial by peers, whenever it suited the usurper to erect his high court -of justice? A sense of present evils not only excited a burning desire -to live again under the ancient monarchy, but obliterated, especially -in the new generation, that had no distinct remembrance of them, the -apprehension of its former abuses.[437] - -_Cromwell's arbitrary government._--If this decimation of the -royalists could pass for an act of severity towards a proscribed -faction, in which the rest of the nation might fancy themselves not -interested, Cromwell did not fail to show that he designed to exert an -equally despotic command over every man's property. With the advice of -his council, he had imposed, or, as I conceive (for it is not clearly -explained), continued, a duty on merchandise beyond the time limited -by law. A Mr. George Cony having refused to pay this tax, it was -enforced from him, on which he sued the collector. Cromwell sent his -counsel, Maynard, Twisden, and Wyndham, to the Tower, who soon -petitioned for liberty, and abandoned their client. Rolle, the chief -justice, when the cause came on, dared not give judgment against the -protector; yet, not caring to decide in his favour, postponed the case -till the next term, and meanwhile retired from the bench. Glyn, who -succeeded him upon it, took care to have this business accommodated -with Cony, who, at some loss of public reputation, withdrew his suit. -Sir Peter Wentworth, having brought a similar action, was summoned -before the council, and asked if he would give it up. "If you command -me," he replied to Cromwell, "I must submit;" which the protector did, -and the action was withdrawn.[438] - -Though it cannot be said that such an interference with the privileges -of advocates or the integrity of judges was without precedents in the -times of the Stuarts, yet it had never been done in so public or -shameless a manner. Several other instances wherein the usurper -diverted justice from its course, or violated the known securities of -Englishmen, will be found in most general histories; not to dwell on -that most flagrant of all, the erection of his high court of justice, -by which Gerard and Vowel in 1654, Slingsby and Hewit in 1658, were -brought to the scaffold.[439] I cannot therefore agree in the praises -which have been showered upon Cromwell for the just administration of -the laws under his dominion. That, between party and party, the -ordinary civil rights of men were fairly dealt with, is no -extraordinary praise; and it may be admitted that he filled the -benches of justice with able lawyers, though not so considerable as -those of the reign of Charles the Second; but it is manifest that, so -far as his own authority was concerned, no hereditary despot, proud in -the crimes of a hundred ancestors, could more have spurned at every -limitation than this soldier of a commonwealth.[440] - -_Cromwell summons another parliament._--Amidst so general a hatred, -trusting to the effect of an equally general terror, the protector -ventured to summon a parliament in 1656. Besides the common -necessities for money, he had doubtless in his head that remarkable -scheme which was developed during its session.[441] Even the despotic -influence of his major-generals, and the political annihilation of the -most considerable body of the gentry, then labouring under the -imputation of delinquency for their attachment to the late king, did -not enable him to obtain a secure majority in the assembly; and he was -driven to the audacious measure of excluding above ninety members, -duly returned by their constituents, from taking their seats. Their -colleagues wanted courage to resist this violation of all privilege; -and, after referring them to the council for approbation, resolved to -proceed with public business. The excluded members, consisting partly -of the republican, partly of the presbyterian factions, published a -remonstrance in a very high strain, but obtained no redress.[442] - -_Cromwell designs to take the crown._--Cromwell, like so many other -usurpers, felt his position too precarious, or his vanity ungratified, -without the name which mankind have agreed to worship. He had, as -evidently appears from the conversations recorded by Whitelock, long -since aspired to this titular, as well as to the real, pre-eminence; -and the banished king's friends had contemplated the probability of -his obtaining it with dismay.[443] Affectionate towards his family, he -wished to assure the stability of his son's succession, and perhaps to -please the vanity of his daughters. It was indeed a very reasonable -object with one who had already advanced so far. His assumption of the -crown was desirable to many different classes; to the lawyers, who, -besides their regard for the established constitution, knew that an -ancient statute would protect those who served a _de facto_ king in -case of a restoration of the exiled family; to the nobility, who -perceived that their legislative right must immediately revive; to the -clergy, who judged the regular ministry more likely to be secure under -a monarchy; to the people, who hoped for any settlement that would put -an end to perpetual changes; to all of every rank and profession who -dreaded the continuance of military despotism, and demanded only the -just rights and privileges of their country. A king of England could -succeed only to a bounded prerogative, and must govern by the known -laws; a protector, as the nation had well felt, with less nominal -authority, had all the sword could confer. And, though there might be -little chance that Oliver would abate one jot of a despotism for which -not the times of the Tudors could furnish a precedent, yet his life -was far worn, and under a successor it was to be expected that future -parliaments might assert again all those liberties for which they had -contended against Charles.[444] A few of the royalists might perhaps -fancy that the restoration of the royal title would lead to that of -the lawful heir; but a greater number were content to abandon a nearly -desperate cause, if they could but see the more valuable object of -their concern, the form itself of polity, re-established.[445] There -can be, as it appears to me, little room for doubt that if Cromwell -had overcome the resistance of his generals, he would have transmitted -the sceptre to his descendants with the acquiescence and tacit -approbation of the kingdom. Had we been living ever since under the -rule of his dynasty, what tone would our historians have taken as to -his character and that of the house of Stuart? - -The scheme however of founding a new royal line failed of -accomplishment, as is well known, through his own caution, which -deterred him from encountering the decided opposition of his army. -Some of his contemporaries seem to have deemed this abandonment, or -more properly suspension, of so splendid a design rather derogatory to -his firmness.[446] But few men were better judges than Cromwell of -what might be achieved by daring. It is certainly not impossible that, -by arresting Lambert, Whalley, and some other generals, he might have -crushed for the moment any tendency to open resistance. But the -experiment would have been infinitely hazardous. He had gone too far -in the path of violence to recover the high road of law by any short -cut. King or protector, he must have intimidated every parliament, or -sunk under its encroachments. A new-modelled army might have served -his turn; but there would have been great difficulties in its -formation. It had from the beginning been the misfortune of his -government that it rested on a basis too narrow for its safety. For -two years he had reigned with no support but the independent sectaries -and the army. The army or its commanders becoming odious to the -people, he had sacrificed them to the hope of popularity, by -abolishing the civil prefectures of the major-generals,[447] and -permitting a bill for again decimating the royalists to be thrown out -of the house.[448] Their disgust and resentment, excited by an artful -intriguer, who aspired at least to the succession of the -protectorship, found scope in the new project of monarchy, naturally -obnoxious to the prejudices of true fanatics, and who still fancied -themselves to have contended for a republican liberty. We find that -even Fleetwood, allied by marriage to Cromwell, and not involved in -the discontent of the major-generals, in all the sincerity of his -clouded understanding, revolted from the invidious title, and would -have retired from service had it been assumed. There seems therefore -reason to think that Cromwell's refusal of the crown was an inevitable -mortification. But he undoubtedly did not lose sight of the object for -the short remainder of his life.[449] - -The fundamental charter of the English commonwealth under the -protectorship of Cromwell, had been the instrument of government, -drawn up by the council of officers in December 1653, and approved -with modifications by the parliament of the next year. It was now -changed to the petition and advice, tendered to him by the present -parliament in May 1657, which made very essential innovations in the -frame of polity. Though he bore, as formerly, the name of lord -protector, we may say, speaking according to theoretical -classification, and without reference to his actual exercise of power, -which was nearly the same, that the English government in the first -period should be ranged in the order of republics, though with a chief -magistrate at its head; but that from 1657 it became substantially a -monarchy, and ought to be placed in that class, notwithstanding the -unimportant difference in the style of its sovereign. The petition and -advice had been compiled with a constant respect to that article, -which conferred the royal dignity on the protector;[450] and when this -was withdrawn at his request, the rest of the instrument was -preserved with all its implied attributions of sovereignty. The style -is that of subjects addressing a monarch; the powers it bestows, the -privileges it claims, are supposed, according to the expressions -employed, the one to be already his own, the other to emanate from his -will. The necessity of his consent to laws, though nowhere mentioned, -seems to have been taken for granted. An unlimited power of appointing -a successor, unknown even to constitutional kingdoms, was vested in -the protector. He was inaugurated with solemnities applicable to -monarchs; and what of itself is a sufficient test of the monarchical -and republican species of government, an oath of allegiance was taken -by every member of parliament to the protector singly, without any -mention of the commonwealth.[451] It is surely, therefore, no paradox -to assert that Oliver Cromwell was _de facto_ sovereign of England, -during the interval from June 1657, to his death in September 1658. - -The zealous opponents of royalty could not be insensible that they had -seen it revive in everything except a title, which was not likely to -remain long behind.[452] It was too late however to oppose the first -magistrate's personal authority. But there remained one important -point of contention, which the new constitution had not fully settled. -It was therein provided that the parliament should consist of two -houses; namely, the Commons, and what they always termed, with an -awkward generality, the other house. This was to consist of not more -than seventy, nor less than forty persons, to be nominated by the -protector, and, as it stood at first, to be approved by the Commons. -But before the close of the session, the court party prevailed so far -as to procure the repeal of this last condition;[453] and Cromwell -accordingly issued writs of summons to persons of various parties, a -few of the ancient peers, a few of his adversaries, whom he hoped to -gain over, or at least to exclude from the Commons, and of course a -majority of his steady adherents. To all these he gave the title of -Lords; and in the next session their assembly denominated itself the -Lords' house.[454] This measure encountered considerable difficulty. -The republican party, almost as much attached to that vote which had -declared the House of Lords useless, as to that which had abolished -the monarchy, and well aware of the intimate connection between the -two, resisted the assumption of this aristocratic title, instead of -that of the other house, which the petition and advice had sanctioned. -The real peers feared to compromise their hereditary right by sitting -in an assembly where the tenure was only during life; and disdained -some of their colleagues, such as Pride and Hewson, low-born and -insolent men, whom Cromwell had rather injudiciously bribed with this -new nobility; though, with these few exceptions, his House of Lords -was respectably composed. Hence, in the short session of January 1658, -wherein the late excluded members were permitted to take their seats, -so many difficulties were made about acknowledging the Lords' house by -that denomination, that the protector hastily and angrily dissolved -the parliament.[455] - -It is a singular part of Cromwell's system of policy, that he would -neither reign with parliaments nor without them; impatient of an -opposition which he was sure to experience, he still never seems to -have meditated the attainment of a naked and avowed despotism. This -was probably due to his observation of the ruinous consequences that -Charles had brought on himself by that course, and his knowledge of -the temper of the English, never content without the exterior forms of -liberty, as well as to the suggestions of counsellors who were not -destitute of concern for the laws. He had also his great design yet to -accomplish, which could only be safely done under the sanction of a -parliament. A very short time, accordingly, before his death, we find -that he had not only resolved to meet once more the representatives of -the nation, but was tampering with several of the leading officers to -obtain their consent to an hereditary succession. The majority however -of a council of nine, to whom he referred this suggestion, would only -consent that the protector for the time being should have the power of -nominating his successor; a vain attempt to escape from that regal -form of government which they had been taught to abhor.[456] But a -sudden illness, of a nature seldom fatal except to a constitution -already shattered by fatigue and anxiety, rendered abortive all these -projects of Cromwell's ambition. - -_Cromwell's death, and character._--He left a fame behind him -proportioned to his extraordinary fortunes and to the great qualities -which sustained them; still more perhaps the admiration of strangers -than of his country, because that sentiment was less alloyed by -hatred, which seeks to extenuate the glory that irritates it. The -nation itself forgave much to one who had brought back the renown of -her ancient story, the traditions of Elizabeth's age, after the -ignominious reigns of her successors. This contrast with James and -Charles in their foreign policy gave additional lustre to the era of -the protectorate. There could not but be a sense of national pride to -see an Englishman, but yesterday raised above the many, without one -drop of blood in his veins which the princes of the earth could -challenge as their own, receive the homage of those who acknowledged -no right to power, and hardly any title to respect, except that of -prescription. The sluggish pride of the court of Spain, the -mean-spirited cunning of Mazarin, the irregular imagination of -Christina, sought with emulous ardour the friendship of our -usurper.[457] He had the advantage of reaping the harvest which he had -not sown, by an honourable treaty with Holland, the fruit of -victories achieved under the parliament. But he still employed the -great energies of Blake in the service for which he was so eminently -fitted; and it is just to say that the maritime glory of England may -first be traced from the era of the commonwealth in a track of -continuous light. The oppressed protestants in catholic kingdoms, -disgusted at the lukewarmness and half-apostasy of the Stuarts, looked -up to him as their patron and mediator.[458] Courted by the two rival -monarchies of Europe, he seemed to threaten both with his hostility; -and when he declared against Spain, and attacked her West India -possessions with little pretence certainly of justice, but not by any -means, as I conceive, with the impolicy sometimes charged against him, -so auspicious was his star that the very failure and disappointment of -that expedition obtained a more advantageous possession for England -than all the triumphs of her former kings. - -Notwithstanding this external splendour, which has deceived some of -our own, and most foreign writers, it is evident that the submission -of the people to Cromwell was far from peaceable or voluntary. His -strong and skilful grasp kept down a nation of enemies that must -naturally, to judge from their numbers and inveteracy, have -overwhelmed him. It required a dexterous management to play with the -army, and without the army he could not have existed as sovereign for -a day. Yet it seems improbable that, had Cromwell lived, any -insurrection or conspiracy, setting aside assassination, could have -overthrown a possession so fenced by systematic vigilance, by -experienced caution, by the respect and terror that belonged to his -name. The royalist and republican intrigues had gone on for several -years without intermission; but every part of their designs was open -to him; and it appears that there was not courage or rather temerity -sufficient to make any open demonstration of so prevalent a -disaffection.[459] - -The most superficial observers cannot have overlooked the general -resemblances in the fortunes and character of Cromwell, and of him -who, more recently and upon an ampler theatre, has struck nations with -wonder and awe. But the parallel may be traced more closely than -perhaps has hitherto been remarked. Both raised to power by the only -merit which a revolution leaves uncontroverted and untarnished, that -of military achievements, in that reflux of public sentiment, when the -fervid enthusiasm of democracy gives place to disgust at its excesses -and a desire of firm government. The means of greatness the same to -both, the extinction of a representative assembly, once national, but -already mutilated by violence, and sunk by its submission to that -illegal force into general contempt. In military science or the renown -of their exploits, we cannot certainly rank Cromwell by the side of -him, for whose genius and ambition all Europe seemed the appointed -quarry; but it may be said that the former's exploits were as much -above the level of his contemporaries, and more the fruits of an -original uneducated capacity. In civil government, there can be no -adequate parallel between one who had sucked only the dregs of a -besotted fanaticism, and one to whom the stores of reason and -philosophy were open. But it must here be added that Cromwell, far -unlike his antitype, never showed any signs of a legislative mind, or -any desire to fix his renown on that noblest basis, the amelioration -of social institutions. Both were eminent masters of human nature, and -played with inferior capacities in all the security of powerful minds. -Though both, coming at the conclusion of a struggle for liberty, -trampled upon her claims, and sometimes spoke disdainfully of her -name, each knew how to associate the interests of those who had -contended for her with his own ascendancy, and made himself the -representative of a victorious revolution. Those who had too much -philosophy or zeal for freedom to give way to popular admiration for -these illustrious usurpers, were yet amused with the adulation that -lawful princes showered on them, more gratuitously in one instance, -with servile terror in the other. Both too repaid in some measure this -homage of the pretended great by turning their ambition towards those -honours and titles which they knew to be so little connected with -high desert. A fallen race of monarchs, which had made way for the -greatness of each, cherished hopes of restoration by their power till -each, by an inexpiable act of blood, manifested his determination to -make no compromise with that line. Both possessed a certain coarse -good nature and affability that covered the want of conscience, -honour, and humanity; quick in passion, but not vindictive, and averse -to unnecessary crimes. Their fortunes in the conclusion of life were -indeed very different; one forfeited the affections of his people, -which the other, in the character at least of their master, had never -possessed; one furnished a moral to Europe by the continuance of his -success, the other by the prodigiousness of his fall. A fresh -resemblance arose afterwards, when the restoration of those royal -families, whom their ascendant had kept under, revived ancient -animosities, and excited new ones; those who from love of democratical -liberty had borne the most deadly hatred to the apostates who had -betrayed it, recovering some affection to their memory, out of -aversion to a common enemy. Our English republicans have, with some -exceptions, displayed a sympathy for the name of Cromwell; and I need -not observe how remarkably this holds good in the case of his mighty -parallel.[460] - -_Cromwell's son succeeds him_--The death of a great man, even in the -most regular course of affairs, seems always to create a sort of pause -in the movement of society; it is always a problem to be solved only -by experiment, whether the mechanism of government may not be -disordered by the shock, or have been deprived of some of its moving -powers. But what change could be so great as that from Oliver Cromwell -to his son! from one beneath the terror of whose name a nation had -cowered and foreign princes grown pale, one trained in twenty eventful -years of revolution, the first of his age in the field or in council, -to a young man fresh from a country life, uneducated, unused to -business, as little a statesman as a soldier, and endowed by nature -with capacities by no means above the common. It seems to have been a -mistake in Oliver that with the projects he had long formed in his -eldest son's favour, he should have taken so little pains to fashion -his mind and manners for the exercise of sovereign power, while he had -placed the second in a very eminent and arduous station; or that, if -he despaired of Richard's capacity, he should have trusted him to -encounter those perils of disaffection and conspiracy which it had -required all his own vigilance to avert. But, whatever might be his -plans, the sudden illness which carried him from the world left no -time for completing them. The Petition and Advice had simply empowered -him to appoint a successor, without prescribing the mode. It appeared -consonant to law and reason that so important a trust should be -executed in a notorious manner, and by a written instrument; or, if a -verbal nomination might seem sufficient, it was at least to be -expected that this should be authenticated by solemn and indisputable -testimony. No proof however was ever given of Richard's appointment by -his father, except a recital in the proclamation of the privy council, -which, whether well founded or otherwise, did not carry conviction to -the minds of the people; and this, even if we call it but an -informality, aggravated the numerous legal and natural deficiencies of -his title to the government.[461] - -This very difference however in the personal qualifications of the -father and the son, procured the latter some friends whom the former -had never been able to gain. Many of the presbyterian party began to -see the finger of God, as they called it, in his peaceable accession, -and to think they owed subjection to one who came in neither by -regicide, nor hypocrisy, nor violence.[462] Some cool-headed and -sincere friends of liberty entertained similar opinions. Pierrepont, -one of the wisest men in England, who had stood aloof from the -protector's government till the scheme of restoring monarchy came into -discussion, had great hopes, as a writer of high authority informs us, -of settling the nation in the enjoyment of its liberties under the -young man; who was "so flexible," says that writer, "to good counsels, -that there was nothing desirable in a prince which might not have been -hoped in him, but a great spirit and a just title; the first of which -sometimes doth more hurt than good in a sovereign; the latter would -have been supplied by the people's deserved approbation." Pierrepont -believed that the restoration of the ancient family could not be -effected without the ruin of the people's liberty, and of all who had -been its champions; so that no royalist, he thought, who had any -regard to his country, would attempt it: while this establishment of -monarchy in Richard's person might reconcile that party, and compose -all differences among men of weight and of zeal for the public -good.[463] He acted accordingly on those principles; and became, as -well as his friend St. John, who had been discountenanced by Oliver, a -steady supporter of the young protector's administration. These two, -with Thurloe, Whitelock, Lord Broghill, and a very few more, formed a -small phalanx of experienced counsellors around his unstable throne. -And I must confess that their course of policy in sustaining Richard's -government appears to me the most judicious that, in the actual -circumstances, could have been adopted. Pregnant as the restoration of -the exiled family was with incalculable dangers, the English monarchy -would have revived with less lustre in the eyes of the vulgar, but -with more security for peace and freedom, in the line of Cromwell. -Time would have worn away the stains of ignoble birth and criminal -usurpation; and the young man, whose misfortune has subjected him to -rather an exaggerated charge of gross incapacity, would probably have -reigned as well as most of those who are born in the purple.[464] - -But this termination was defeated by the combination of some who knew -not what they wished, and of some who wished what they could never -attain. The general officers who had been well content to make -Cromwell the first of themselves, or greater than themselves by their -own creation, had never forgiven his manifest design to reign over -them as one of a superior order, and owing nothing to their pleasure. -They had begun to cabal during his last illness. Though they did not -oppose Richard's succession, they continued to hold meetings, not -quite public, but exciting intense alarm in his council. As if -disdaining the command of a clownish boy, they proposed that the -station of lord general should be separated from that of protector, -with the power over all commissions in the army, and conferred on -Fleetwood; who, though his brother-in-law, was a certain instrument in -their hands. The vain ambitious Lambert, aspiring, on the credit of -some military reputation, to wield the sceptre of Cromwell, influenced -this junto; while the commonwealth's party, some of whom were, or had -been, in the army, drew over several of these ignorant and fanatical -soldiers. Thurloe describes the posture of affairs in September and -October, while all Europe was admiring the peaceable transmission of -Oliver's power, as most alarming; and it may almost be said that -Richard had already fallen when he was proclaimed the lord protector -of England.[465] - -_A parliament called._--It was necessary to summon a parliament on the -usual score of obtaining money. Lord Broghill had advised this measure -immediately on Oliver's death,[466] and perhaps the delay might be -rather prejudicial to the new establishment. But some of the council -feared a parliament almost as much as they did the army. They called -one, however, to meet Jan. 27, 1659, issuing writs in the ordinary -manner to all boroughs which had been accustomed to send members, and -consequently abandoning the reformed model of Cromwell. This Ludlow -attributes to their expectation of greater influence among the small -boroughs; but it may possibly be ascribed still more to a desire of -returning by little and little to the ancient constitution, by -eradicating the revolutionary innovations. The new parliament -consisted of courtiers, as the Cromwell party were always denominated, -of presbyterians, among whom some of cavalier principles crept in, and -of republicans; the two latter nearly balancing, with their united -weight, the ministerial majority.[467] They began with an oath of -allegiance to the protector, as presented by the late parliament, -which, as usual in such cases, his enemies generally took without -scruple.[468] But upon a bill being offered for the recognition of -Richard as the undoubted lord protector and chief magistrate of the -commonwealth, they made a stand against the word recognise, which was -carried with difficulty, and caused him the mortification of throwing -out the epithet undoubted.[469] They subsequently discussed his -negative voice in passing bills, which had been purposely slurred over -in the Petition and Advice; but now everything was disputed. The -thorny question as to the powers and privileges of the other house -came next into debate. It was carried by 177 to 113, to transact -business with them. To this resolution an explanation was added, that -it was not thereby intended to exclude such peers as had been faithful -to the parliament, from their privilege of being duly summoned to be -members of that house. The court supporting this absurd proviso, which -confounded the ancient and modern systems of government, carried it by -the small majority of 195 to 188.[470] They were stronger in rejecting -an important motion, to make the approbation of the Commons a -preliminary to their transacting business with the persons now sitting -in the other house as a house of parliament, by 183 voices to 146. But -the opposition succeeded in inserting the words "during the present -parliament," which left the matter still unsettled.[471] The sitting -of the Scots and Irish members was also unsuccessfully opposed. Upon -the whole, the court party, notwithstanding this coalition of very -heterogeneous interests against them, were sufficiently powerful to -disappoint the hopes which the royalist intriguers had entertained. A -strong body of lawyers, led by Maynard, adhered to the government, -which was supported also on some occasions by a part of the -presbyterian interest, or, as then called, the moderate party; and -Richard would probably have concluded the session with no loss of -power, if either he or his parliament could have withstood the more -formidable cabal of Wallingford House. This knot of officers, -Fleetwood, Desborough, Berry, Sydenham, being the names most known -among them, formed a coalition with the republican faction, who -despaired of any success in parliament. The dissolution of that -assembly was the main article of this league. Alarmed at the notorious -caballing of the officers, the Commons voted that, during the sitting -of the parliament, there should be no general council, or meeting of -the officers of the army without leave of the protector and of both -houses.[472] Such a vote could only accelerate their own downfall. -Three days afterwards, the junto of Wallingford House insisted with -Richard that he should dissolve parliament; to which, according to the -advice of most of his council, and perhaps by an overruling necessity, -he gave his consent.[473] This was immediately followed by a -declaration of the council of officers, calling back the Long -Parliament, such as it had been expelled in 1653, to those seats which -had been filled meanwhile by so many transient successors.[474] - -It is not in general difficult for an armed force to destroy a -government; but something else than the sword is required to create -one. The military conspirators were destitute of any leader whom they -would acknowledge, or who had capacity to go through the civil labours -of sovereignty; Lambert alone excepted, who was lying in wait for -another occasion. They might have gone on with Richard, as a pageant -of nominal authority. But their new allies, the commonwealth's men, -insisted upon restoring the Long Parliament.[475] It seemed now the -policy, as much as duty, of the officers to obey that civil power they -had set up. For to rule ostensibly was, as I have just observed, an -impracticable scheme. But the contempt they felt for their pretended -masters, and even a sort of necessity arising out of the blindness and -passion of that little oligarchy, drove them to a step still more -ruinous to their cause than that of deposing Richard, the expulsion -once more of that assembly, now worn out and ridiculous in all men's -eyes, yet seeming a sort of frail protection against mere anarchy, and -the terror of the sword. Lambert, the chief actor in this last act of -violence, and indeed many of the rest, might plead the right of -self-defence. The prevailing faction in the parliament, led by -Haslerig, a bold and headstrong man, perceived that, with very -inferior pretensions, Lambert was aiming to tread in the steps of -Cromwell; and, remembering their negligence of opportunities, as they -thought, in permitting the one to overthrow them, fancied that they -would anticipate the other. Their intemperate votes cashiering -Lambert, Desborough, and other officers, brought on, as every man of -more prudence than Haslerig must have foreseen, an immediate -revolution that crushed once more their boasted commonwealth.[476] -They revived again a few months after, not by any exertion of the -people, who hated alike both parties, in their behalf, but through the -disunion of their real masters, the army, and vented the impotent and -injudicious rage of a desperate faction on all who had not gone every -length on their side, till scarce any man of eminence was left to -muster under the standard of Haslerig and his little knot of -associates.[477] - -_Impossibility of establishing a republic._--I can by no means agree -with those who find in the character of the English nation some -absolute incompatibility with a republican constitution of government. -Under favouring circumstances, it seems to me not at all incredible -that such a polity might have existed for many ages in great -prosperity, and without violent convulsion. For the English are, as a -people, little subject to those bursts of passion which inflame the -more imaginative multitude of southern climates, and render them both -apt for revolutions, and incapable of conducting them. Nor are they -again of that sluggish and stationary temper, which chokes all desire -of improvement, and even all zeal for freedom and justice, through -which some free governments have degenerated into corrupt oligarchies. -The most conspicuously successful experiment of republican -institutions (and those far more democratical than, according to the -general theory of politics, could be reconciled with perfect -tranquillity) has taken place in a people of English original; and -though much must here be ascribed to the peculiarly fortunate -situation of the nation to which I allude, we can hardly avoid giving -some weight to the good sense and well-balanced temperament, which -have come in their inheritance with our laws and our language. But -the establishment of free commonwealths depends much rather on -temporary causes, the influence of persons and particular events, and -all those intricacies in the course of Providence which we term -accident, than on any general maxims that can become the basis of -prior calculation. In the year 1659, it is manifest that no idea could -be more chimerical than that of a republican settlement in England. -The name, never familiar or venerable in English ears, was grown -infinitely odious; it was associated with the tyranny of ten years, -the selfish rapacity of the Rump, the hypocritical despotism of -Cromwell, the arbitrary sequestrations of committee-men, the -iniquitous decimations of military prefects, the sale of British -citizens for slavery in the West Indies, the blood of some shed on the -scaffold without legal trial, the tedious imprisonment of many with -denial of the habeas corpus, the exclusion of the ancient gentry, the -persecution of the Anglican church, the bacchanalian rant of -sectaries, the morose preciseness of puritans, the extinction of the -frank and cordial joyousness of the national character. Were the -people again to endure the mockery of the good old cause, as the -commonwealth's men affected to style the interests of their little -faction, and be subject to Lambert's notorious want of principle, or -to Vane's contempt of ordinances (a godly mode of expressing the same -thing), or to Haslerig's fury, or to Harrison's fanaticism, or to the -fancies of those lesser schemers, who in this utter confusion and -abject state of their party, were amusing themselves with plans of -perfect commonwealths, and debating whether there should be a senate -as well as a representation; whether a given number should go out by -rotation; and all those details of political mechanism so important in -the eyes of theorists?[478] Every project of this description must -have wanted what alone could give it either the pretext of legitimate -existence, or the chance of permanency, popular consent; the -republican party, if we exclude those who would have had a protector, -and those fanatics who expected the appearance of Jesus Christ, was -incalculably small; not, perhaps, amounting in the whole nation to -more than a few hundred persons. - -_Intrigues of the royalists._--The little court of Charles at Brussels -watched with trembling hope these convulsive struggles of their -enemies. During the protectorship of Oliver, their best chance -appeared to be, that some of the numerous schemes for his -assassination might take effect. Their correspondence indeed, -especially among the presbyterian or neutral party, became more -extensive;[479] but these men were habitually cautious: and the -Marquis of Ormond, who went over to England in the beginning of 1658, -though he reported the disaffection to be still more universal than he -had expected, was forced to add that there was little prospect of a -rising until foreign troops should be landed in some part of the -country; an aid which Spain had frequently promised, but, with an -English fleet at sea, could not very easily furnish.[480] The death of -their puissant enemy brightened the visions of the royalists. Though -the apparent peaceableness of Richard's government gave them some -mortification, they continued to spread their toils through zealous -emissaries, and found a very general willingness to restore the -ancient constitution under its hereditary sovereign. Besides the -cavaliers, who, though numerous and ardent, were impoverished and -suspected, the chief presbyterians, Lords Fairfax and Willoughby, the -Earls of Manchester and Denbigh, Sir William Waller, Sir George Booth, -Sir Ashley Cooper, Mr. Popham of Somerset, Mr. Howe of Glocester, Sir -Horatio Townshend of Norfolk, with more or less of zeal and activity, -pledged themselves to the royal cause.[481] Lord Fauconberg, a -royalist by family, who had married a daughter of Cromwell, undertook -the important office of working on his brothers-in-law, Richard and -Henry, whose position, in respect to the army and republican party, -was so hazardous. It seems, in fact, that Richard, even during his -continuance in power, had not refused to hear the king's agents,[482] -and hopes were entertained of him: yet at that time even he could not -reasonably be expected to abandon his apparent interests. But soon -after his fall from power, while his influence, or rather that of his -father's memory, was still supposed considerable with Montagu, Monk, -and Lockhart, they negotiated with him to procure the accession of -those persons, and of his brother Henry, for a pension of L20,000 a -year, and a title.[483] It soon appeared however that those prudent -veterans of revolution would not embark under such a pilot, and that -Richard was not worth purchasing on the lowest terms. Even Henry -Cromwell, with whom a separate treaty had been carried on, and who is -said to have determined at one time to proclaim the king at Dublin, -from want of courage, or, as is more probable, of seriousness in what -must have seemed so unnatural an undertaking, submitted quietly to the -vote of parliament that deprived him of the command of Ireland.[484] - -_Conspiracy of 1659._--The conspiracy, if indeed so general a concert -for the restoration of ancient laws and liberties ought to have so -equivocal an appellation, became ripe in the summer of 1659. The -royalists were to appear in arms in different quarters; several -principal towns to be seized: but as the moment grew nigh, the courage -of most began to fail. Twenty years of depression and continual -failure mated the spirits of the cavaliers. The shade of Cromwell -seemed to hover over and protect the wreck of his greatness. Sir -George Booth, almost alone, rose in Cheshire; every other scheme, -intended to be executed simultaneously, failing through the increased -prudence of those concerned, or the precautions taken by the -government on secret intelligence of the plots; and Booth, thus -deserted, made less resistance to Lambert than perhaps was in his -power.[485] This discomfiture, of course, damped the expectations of -the king's party. The presbyterians thought themselves ill-used by -their new allies, though their own friends had been almost equally -cautious.[486] Sir Richard Willis, an old cavalier, and in all the -secrets of their conspiracy, was detected in being a spy both of -Cromwell and of the new government; a discovery which struck -consternation into the party, who could hardly trust any one else with -greater security.[487] In a less favourable posture of affairs, these -untoward circumstances might have ruined Charles's hopes; they served, -as it was, to make it evident that he must look to some more -efficacious aid than a people's good wishes for his restoration. - -The royalists in England, who played so deep a stake on the king's -account, were not unnaturally desirous that he should risk something -in the game, and continually pressed that either he or one of his -brothers would land on the coast. His standard would become a -rallying-point for the well-affected, and create such a demonstration -of public sentiment as would overthrow the present unstable -government. But Charles, not by nature of a chivalrous temper, shrunk -from an enterprise which was certainly very hazardous, unless he could -have obtained a greater assistance of troops from the Low Countries -than was to be hoped.[488] He was as little inclined to permit the -Duke of York's engaging in it, on account of the differences that had -existed between them, and his knowledge of an intrigue that was going -forward in England, principally among the catholics, but with the -mischievous talents of the Duke of Buckingham at its head, to set up -the duke instead of himself.[489] He gave, however, fair words to his -party, and continued for some time on the French coast, as if waiting -for his opportunity. It was in great measure, as I suspect, to rid -himself of this importunity, that he set out on his long and very -needless journey to the foot of the Pyrenees. Thither the two monarchs -of France and Spain, wearied with twenty years of hostility without a -cause and without a purpose, had sent their minister to conclude the -celebrated treaty which bears the name of those mountains. Charles had -long cherished hopes that the first fruits of their reconciliation -would be a joint armament to place him on the English throne: many of -his adherents almost despaired of any other means of restoration. But -Lewis de Haro was a timid statesman, and Mazarin a cunning one: there -was little to expect from their generosity; and the price of -assistance might probably be such as none but desperate and -unscrupulous exiles would offer, and the English nation would with -unanimous indignation reject. It was well for Charles that he -contracted no public engagement with these foreign powers, whose -co-operation must either have failed of success, or have placed on his -head a degraded and unstable crown. The full toleration of popery in -England, its establishment in Ireland, its profession by the sovereign -and his family, the surrender of Jamaica, Dunkirk, and probably the -Norman Islands, were conditions on which the people might have thought -the restoration of the Stuart line too dearly obtained. - -It was a more desirable object for the king to bring over, if -possible, some of the leaders of the commonwealth. Except Vane, -accordingly, and the decided republicans, there was hardly any man of -consequence whom his agents did not attempt, or, at least, from whom -they did not entertain hopes. There stood at this time conspicuous -above the rest, not all of them in ability, but in apparent power of -serving the royal cause by their defection, Fleetwood, Lambert, and -Monk. The first had discovered, as far as his understanding was -capable of perceiving anything, that he had been the dupe of more -crafty men in the cabals against Richard Cromwell, whose complete fall -from power he had neither designed nor foreseen. In pique and -vexation, he listened to the overtures of the royalist agents, and -sometimes, if we believe their assertions, even promised to declare -for the king.[490] But his resolutions were not to be relied upon, nor -was his influence likely to prove considerable; though from his post -of lieutenant-general of the army, and long accustomed precedence, he -obtained a sort of outward credit far beyond his capacity. Lambert was -of a very different stamp; eager, enterprising, ambitious, but -destitute of the qualities that inspire respect or confidence. Far -from the weak enthusiasm of Fleetwood, he gave offence by displaying -less show of religion than the temper of his party required, and still -more by a current suspicion that his secret faith was that of the -church of Rome, to which the partiality of the catholics towards him -gave support.[491] The crafty unfettered ambition of Lambert rendered -it not unlikely that--finding his own schemes of sovereignty -impracticable, he would make terms with the king; and there were not -wanting those who recommended the latter to secure his services by the -offer of marrying his daughter;[492] but it does not appear that any -actual overtures were made on either side. - -_Interference of Monk._--There remained one man of eminent military -reputation, in the command of a considerable insulated army, to whom -the royalists anxiously looked with alternate hope and despondency. -Monk's early connections were with the king's party, among whom he had -been defeated and taken prisoner by Fairfax at Namptwich. Yet even in -this period of his life he had not escaped suspicions of disaffection, -which he effaced by continuing in prison till the termination of the -war in England. He then accepted a commission from the parliament to -serve against the Irish; and now falling entirely into his new line of -politics, became strongly attached to Cromwell, by whom he was left in -the military government, or rather viceroyalty of Scotland, which he -had reduced to subjection, and kept under with a vigorous hand. -Charles had once, it is said, attempted to seduce him by a letter from -Cologne, which he instantly transmitted to the protector.[493] Upon -Oliver's death, he wrote a very sensible letter to Richard Cromwell, -containing his advice for the government. He recommends him to obtain -the affections of the moderate presbyterian ministers, who have much -influence over the people, to summon to his House of Lords the wisest -and most faithful of the old nobility and some of the leading gentry, -to diminish the number of superior officers in the army, by throwing -every two regiments into one, and to take into his council as his -chief advisers Whitelock, St. John, Lord Broghill, Sir Richard Onslow, -Pierrepont, and Thurloe.[494] The judiciousness of this advice is the -surest evidence of its sincerity, and must leave no doubt on our minds -that Monk was at that time very far from harbouring any thoughts of -the king's restoration. - -But when, through the force of circumstances and the deficiencies in -the young protector's capacity, he saw the house of Cromwell for ever -fallen, it was for Monk to consider what course he should follow, and -by what means the nation was to be rescued from the state of anarchy -that seemed to menace it. That very different plans must have passed -through his mind before he commenced his march from Scotland, it is -easy to conjecture; but at what time his determination was finally -taken, we cannot certainly pronounce.[495] It would be the most -honourable supposition to believe that he was sincere in those solemn -protestations of adherence to the commonwealth which he poured forth, -as well during his march as after his arrival in London; till -discovering, at length, the popular zeal for the king's restoration, -he concurred in a change which it would have been absurd, and perhaps -impracticable, to resist. This however seems not easily reconcilable -to Monk's proceedings in new-modelling his army, and confiding power, -both in Scotland and England, to men of known intentions towards -royalty; nor did his assurances of support to the republican party -become less frequent or explicit at a time when every one must believe -that he had taken his resolution, and even after he had communicated -with the king. I incline therefore, upon the whole, to believe that -Monk, not accustomed to respect the Rump Parliament, and incapable, -both by his temperament and by the course of his life, of any -enthusiasm for the name of liberty, had satisfied himself as to the -expediency of the king's restoration from the time that the Cromwells -had sunk below his power to assist them; though his projects were -still subservient to his own security, which he was resolved not to -forfeit by any premature declaration or unsuccessful enterprise. If -the coalition of cavaliers and presbyterians, and the strong bent of -the entire nation, had not convinced this wary dissembler that he -could not fail of success, he would have continued true to his -professions as the general of a commonwealth, content with crushing -his rival Lambert, and breaking that fanatical interest which he most -disliked. That he aimed at such a sovereignty as Cromwell had usurped -has been the natural conjecture of many, but does not appear to me -either warranted by any presumptive evidence, or consonant to the good -sense and phlegmatic temper of Monk. - -At the moment when, with a small but veteran army of 7000 men, he took -up his quarters in London, it seemed to be within his arbitrament -which way the scale should preponderate. On one side were the wishes -of the nation, but restrained by fear; on the other, established -possession, maintained by the sword, but rendered precarious by -disunion and treachery. It is certainly very possible that, by keeping -close to the parliament, Monk might have retarded, at least for a -considerable time, the great event which has immortalised him. But it -can hardly be said that the king's restoration was rather owing to him -than to the general sentiments of the nation and almost the necessity -of circumstances, which had already made every judicious person -anticipate the sole termination of our civil discord which they had -prepared. Whitelock, who, incapable of refusing compliance with the -ruling power, had sat in the committee of safety established in -October 1659 by the officers who had expelled the parliament, has -recorded a curious anecdote, whence we may collect how little was -wanting to prevent Monk from being the great mover in the restoration. -He had for some time, as appears by his journal, entertained a -persuasion that the general meditated nothing but the king's return, -to which he was doubtless himself well inclined, except from some -apprehension for the public interest, and some also for his own. This -induced him to have a private conference with Fleetwood, which he -enters as of the 22nd December 1659, wherein, after pointing out the -probable designs of Monk, he urged him either to take possession of -the Tower, and declare for a free parliament, in which he would have -the assistance of the city, or to send some trusty person to Breda, -who might offer to bring in the king upon such terms as should be -settled. Both these propositions were intended as different methods of -bringing about a revolution, which he judged to be inevitable. "By -this means," he contended, "Fleetwood might make terms with the king -for preservation of himself and his friends, and of that cause, in a -good measure, in which they had been engaged; but, if it were left to -Monk, they and all that had been done would be left to the danger of -destruction. Fleetwood then asked me, 'If I would be willing to go -myself upon this employment?' I answered, 'that I would go, if -Fleetwood thought fit to send me.' And after much other discourse to -this effect, Fleetwood seemed fully satisfied to send me to the king, -and desired me to go and prepare myself forthwith for the journey; and -that in the meantime Fleetwood and his friends would prepare the -instructions for me, so that I might begin my journey this evening or -to-morrow morning early. - -"I going away from Fleetwood, met Vane, Desborough, and Berry in the -next room, coming to speak with Fleetwood, who thereupon desired me to -stay a little; and I suspected what would be the issue of their -consultation, and within a quarter of an hour Fleetwood came to me and -in much passion said to me, 'I cannot do it, I cannot do it.' I -desired his reason why he could not do it. He answered, 'Those -gentlemen have remembered me; and it is true, that I am engaged not to -do any such thing without my Lord Lambert's consent.' I replied, 'that -Lambert was at too great a distance to have his consent to this -business, which must be instantly acted.' Fleetwood again said, 'I -cannot do it without him.' Then I said, 'You will ruin yourself and -your friends.' He said, 'I cannot help it.' Then I told him I must -take my leave, and so we parted."[496] - -Whatever might have been in the power of Monk, by adhering to his -declarations of obedience to the parliament, it would have been too -late for him, after consenting to the restoration of the secluded -members to their seats on February 21, 1660, to withstand the -settlement which it seems incredible that he should not at that time -have desired. That he continued, for at least six weeks afterwards, -in a course of astonishing dissimulation, so as to deceive, in a great -measure, almost all the royalists, who were distrusting his intentions -at the very moment when he made his first and most private tender of -service to the king through Sir John Grenville about the beginning of -April, might at first seem rather to have proceeded from a sort of -inability to shake off his inveterate reservedness, than from -consummate prudence and discretion. For any sudden risings in the -king's favour, or an intrigue in the council of state, might easily -have brought about the restoration without his concurrence; and, even -as it was, the language held in the House of Commons before their -dissolution, the votes expunging all that appeared on their journals -against the regal government and the House of Lords,[497] and, above -all, the course of the elections for the new parliament, made it -sufficiently evident that the general had delayed his assurances of -loyalty till they had lost a part of their value. It is however a full -explanation of Monk's public conduct, that he was not secure of the -army, chiefly imbued with fanatical principles, and bearing an -inveterate hatred towards the name of Charles Stuart. A correspondent -of the king writes to him on the 28th of March: "the army is not yet -in a state to hear your name publicly."[498] In the beginning of that -month, many of the officers, instigated by Haslerig and his friends, -had protested to Monk against the proceedings of the house, insisting -that they should abjure the king and House of Lords. He repressed -their mutinous spirit, and bade them obey the parliament, as he should -do.[499] Hence he redoubled his protestations of abhorrence of -monarchy, and seemed for several weeks, in exterior demonstrations, -rather the grand impediment to the king's restoration, than the one -person who was to have the credit of it.[500] Meanwhile he silently -proceeded in displacing the officers whom he could least trust, and -disposing the regiments near to the metropolis, or at a distance, -according to his knowledge of their tempers; the parliament having -given him a commission as lord general of all the forces in the three -kingdoms.[501] The commissioners appointed by parliament for raising -the militia in each county were chiefly gentlemen of the presbyterian -party; and there seemed likely to be such a considerable force under -their orders as might rescue the nation from its ignominious servitude -to the army. In fact, some of the royalists expected that the great -question would not be carried without an appeal to the sword.[502] The -delay of Monk in privately assuring the king of his fidelity is still -not easy to be explained, but may have proceeded from a want of -confidence in Charles's secrecy, or that of his counsellors. It must -be admitted that Lord Clarendon, who has written with some minuteness -and accuracy this important part of his history, has more than -insinuated (especially as we now read his genuine language, which the -ill faith of his original editors had shamefully garbled) that Monk -entertained no purposes in the king's favour till the last moment; but -a manifest prejudice that shows itself in all his writings against the -general, derived partly from offence at his extreme reserve and -caution during this period, partly from personal resentment of Monk's -behaviour at the time of his own impeachment, greatly takes off from -the weight of the noble historian's judgment.[503] - -_Difficulties about the restoration._--The months of March and April -1660 were a period of extreme inquietude, during which every one spoke -of the king's restoration as imminent, yet none could distinctly -perceive by what means it would be effected, and much less how the -difficulties of such a settlement could be overcome.[504] As the -moment approached, men turned their attention more to the obstacles -and dangers that lay in their way. The restoration of a banished -family, concerning whom they knew little, and what they knew not -entirely to their satisfaction, with ruined, perhaps revengeful, -followers; the returning ascendancy of a distressed party, who had -sustained losses that could not be repaired without fresh changes of -property, injuries that could not be atoned without fresh severities; -the conflicting pretensions of two churches, one loth to release its -claim, the other to yield its possession; the unsettled dissensions -between the crown and parliament, suspended only by civil war and -usurpation; all seemed pregnant with such difficulties that prudent -men could hardly look forward to the impending revolution without some -hesitation and anxiety.[505] Hence Pierrepont, one of the wisest -statesmen in England, though not so far implicated in past -transactions as to have much to fear, seems never to have overcome his -repugnance to the recall of the king; and I am by no means convinced -that the slowness of Monk himself was not in some measure owing to his -sense of the embarrassments that might attend that event. The -presbyterians, generally speaking, had always been on their guard -against an unconditional restoration. They felt much more of hatred to -the prevailing power than of attachment to the house of Stuart; and -had no disposition to relinquish, either as to church or state -government, those principles for which they had fought against Charles -the First. Hence they began, from the very time that they entered into -the coalition, that is, the spring and summer of 1659, to talk of the -treaty of Newport, as if all that had passed since their vote of 5th -December 1648, that the king's concessions were a sufficient ground -whereon to proceed to the settlement of the kingdom, had been like an -hideous dream, from which they had awakened to proceed exactly in -their former course.[506] The council of state, appointed on the 23rd -of February, two days after the return of the secluded members, -consisted principally of this party. And there can, I conceive, be no -question that, if Monk had continued his neutrality to the last, they -would, in conjunction with the new parliament, have sent over -propositions for the king's acceptance. Meetings were held of the -chief presbyterian lords, Manchester, Northumberland, Bedford, Say, -with Pierrepont (who finding it too late to prevent the king's return, -endeavoured to render it as little dangerous as possible), Hollis, -Annesley, Sir William Waller, Lewis, and other leaders of that party. -Monk sometimes attended on these occasions, and always urged the most -rigid limitations.[507] His sincerity in this was the less suspected, -that his wife, to whom he was notoriously submissive, was entirely -presbyterian, though a friend to the king; and his own preference of -that sect had always been declared in a more consistent and -unequivocal manner than was usual to his dark temper. - -These projected limitations, which but a few weeks before Charles -would have thankfully accepted, seemed now intolerable; so rapidly do -men learn, in the course of prosperous fortune, to scorn what they -just before hardly presumed to expect. Those seemed his friends, not -who desired to restore him, but who would do so at the least sacrifice -of his power and pride. Several of the council, and others in high -posts, sent word that they would resist the imposition of unreasonable -terms.[508] Monk himself redeemed his ambiguous and dilatory -behaviour by taking the restoration, as it were, out of the hands of -the council, and suggesting the judicious scheme of anticipating their -proposals by the king's letter to the two houses of parliament. For -this purpose he had managed, with all his dissembling pretences of -commonwealth principles, or, when he was (as it were) compelled to lay -them aside, of insisting on rigorous limitations, to prevent any -overtures from the council, who were almost entirely presbyterian, -before the meeting of parliament, which would have considerably -embarrassed the king's affairs.[509] The elections meantime had taken -a course which the faction now in power by no means regarded with -satisfaction. Though the late House of Commons had passed a resolution -that no person who had assisted in any war against the parliament -since 1642, unless he should since have manifested his good affection -towards it, should be capable of being elected; yet this, even if it -had been regarded, as it was not, by the people, would have been a -feeble barrier against the royalist party, composed in a great measure -of young men who had grown up under the commonwealth, and of those -who, living in the parliamentary counties during the civil war, had -paid a reluctant obedience to its power.[510] The tide ran so -strongly for the king's friends, that it was as much as the -presbyterians could effect, with the weight of government in their -hands, to obtain about an equality of strength with the cavaliers in -the convention parliament.[511] - -It has been a frequent reproach to the conductors of this great -revolution, that the king was restored without those terms and -limitations which might secure the nation against his abuse of their -confidence; and this, not only by contemporaries who had suffered by -the political and religious changes consequent on the restoration, or -those who, in after times, have written with some prepossession -against the English church and constitutional monarchy, but by the -most temperate and reasonable men; so that it has become almost -regular to cast on the convention parliament, and more especially on -Monk, the imputation of having abandoned public liberty, and brought -on, by their inconsiderate loyalty or self-interested treachery, the -misgovernment of the two last Stuarts, and the necessity of their -ultimate expulsion. But, as this is a very material part of our -history, and those who pronounce upon it have not always a very -distinct notion either of what was or what could have been done, it -may be worth while to consider the matter somewhat more analytically; -confining myself, it is to be observed, in the present chapter, to -what took place before the king's personal assumption of the -government on the 29th of May 1660. The subsequent proceedings of the -convention parliament fall within another period. - -We may remark, in the first place, that the unconditional restoration -of Charles the Second is sometimes spoken of in too hyperbolical -language, as if he had come in as a sort of conqueror, with the laws -and liberties of the people at his discretion. Yet he was restored to -nothing but the bounded prerogatives of a king of England; bounded by -every ancient and modern statute, including those of the long -parliament, which had been enacted for the subjects' security. If it -be true, as I have elsewhere observed, that the long parliament, in -the year 1641, had established, in its most essential parts, our -existing constitution, it can hardly be maintained that fresh -limitations and additional securities were absolutely indispensable, -before the most fundamental of all its principles, the government by -King, Lords, and Commons, could be permitted to take its regular -course. Those who so vehemently reprobate the want of conditions at -the restoration would do well to point out what conditions should have -been imposed, and what mischiefs they can probably trace from their -omission.[512] They should be able also to prove that, in the -circumstances of the time, it was quite as feasible and convenient to -make certain secure and obligatory provisions the terms of the king's -restoration, as seems to be taken for granted. - -_Plan of reviving the treaty of Newport inexpedient._--The chief -presbyterians appear to have considered the treaty of Newport, if not -as fit to be renewed in every article, yet at least as the basis of -the compact into which they were to enter with Charles the -Second.[513] But were the concessions wrested in this treaty from his -father, in the hour of peril and necessity, fit to become the -permanent rules of the English constitution? Turn to the articles -prescribed by the long parliament in that negotiation. Not to mention -the establishment of a rigorous presbytery in the church, they had -insisted on the exclusive command of all forces by land and sea for -twenty years, with the sole power of levying and expending the monies -necessary for their support; on the nomination of the principal -officers of state and of the judges during the same period; and on the -exclusion of the king's adherents from all trust or political power. -Admit even that the insincerity and arbitrary principles of Charles -the First had rendered necessary such extraordinary precautions, was -it to be supposed that the executive power should not revert to his -successor? Better it were, beyond comparison, to maintain the -perpetual exclusion of his family than to mock them with such a -titular crown, the certain cause of discontent and intrigue, and to -mingle premature distrust with their professions of affection. There -was undoubtedly much to apprehend from the king's restoration; but it -might be expected that a steady regard for public liberty in the -parliament and the nation would obviate that danger without any -momentous change of the constitution; or that, if such a sentiment -should prove unhappily too weak, no guarantees of treaties or statutes -would afford a genuine security. - -_Difficulty of framing conditions._--If, however, we were to be -convinced that the restoration was effected without a sufficient -safeguard against the future abuses of royal power, we must still -allow, on looking attentively at the circumstances, that there were -very great difficulties in the way of any stipulations for that -purpose. It must be evident that any formal treaty between Charles and -the English government, as it stood in April 1660, was inconsistent -with their common principle. That government was, by its own -declarations, only _de facto_, only temporary; the return of the -secluded members to their seats, and the votes they subsequently -passed, held forth to the people that everything done since the force -put on the house in December 1648 was by an usurpation; the -restoration of the ancient monarchy was implied in all recent -measures, and was considered as out of all doubt by the whole kingdom. -But between a king of England and his subjects no treaty, as such, -could be binding; there was no possibility of entering into -stipulations with Charles, though in exile, to which a court of -justice would pay the slightest attention, except by means of acts of -parliament. It was doubtless possible that the council of state might -have entered into a secret agreement with him on certain terms, to be -incorporated afterwards into bills, as at the treaty of Newport. But -at that treaty his father, though in prison, was the acknowledged -sovereign of England; and it is manifest that the king's recognition -must precede the enactment of any law. It is equally obvious that the -contracting parties would no longer be the same, and that the -conditions that seemed indispensable to the council of state, might -not meet with the approbation of parliament. It might occur to an -impatient people, that the former were not invested with such legal or -permanent authority as could give them any pretext for bargaining with -the king, even in behalf of public liberty. - -But, if the council of state, or even the parliament on its first -meeting, had resolved to tender any hard propositions to the king, as -the terms, if not of his recognition, yet of his being permitted to -exercise the royal functions, was there not a possibility that he -might demur about their acceptance, that a negotiation might ensue to -procure some abatement, that, in the interchange of couriers between -London and Brussels, some weeks at least might be whiled away? -Clarendon, we are sure, inflexible and uncompromising of his master's -honour, would have dissuaded such enormous sacrifices as had been -exacted from the late king. And during this delay, while no legal -authority would have subsisted, so that no officer could have -collected the taxes or executed process without liability to -punishment, in what a precarious state would the parliament have -stood! On the one hand, the nation almost maddened with the -intoxication of reviving loyalty, and rather prone to cast at the -king's feet the privileges and liberties it possessed than to demand -fresh security for them, might insist upon his immediate return, and -impair the authority of parliament. On the other hand, the army, -desperately irreconcilable to the name of Stuart, and sullenly -resenting the hypocrisy that had deluded them, though they knew no -longer where to seek a leader, were accessible to the furious -commonwealth's men, who, rushing as it were with lighted torches along -their ranks, endeavoured to rekindle a fanaticism that had not quite -consumed its fuel.[514] The escape of Lambert from the Tower had -struck a panic into all the kingdom; some such accident might again -furnish a rallying point for the disaffected, and plunge the country -into an unfathomable abyss of confusion. Hence, the motion of Sir -Matthew Hale, in the convention parliament, to appoint a committee who -should draw up propositions to be sent over for the king's acceptance, -does not appear to me well timed and expedient; nor can I censure Monk -for having objected to it.[515] The business in hand required greater -despatch. If the king's restoration was an essential blessing, it was -not to be thrown away in the debates of a committee. A wary, -scrupulous, conscientious English lawyer, like Hale, is always wanting -in the rapidity and decision necessary for revolutions, though he may -be highly useful in preventing them from going too far. - -It is, I confess, more probable that the king would have accepted -almost any conditions tendered to him; such at least would have been -the advice of most of his counsellors; and his own conduct in Scotland -was sufficient to show how little any sense of honour or dignity would -have stood in his way. But on what grounds did his English friends, -nay some of the presbyterians themselves, advise his submission to -the dictates of that party? It was in the expectation that the next -free parliament, summoned by his own writ, would undo all this work of -stipulation, and restore him to an unfettered prerogative. And this -expectation there was every ground, from the temper of the nation, to -entertain. Unless the convention parliament had bargained for its own -perpetuity, or the privy council had been made immovable, or a -military force, independent of the Crown, had been kept up to overawe -the people (all of them most unconstitutional and abominable -usurpations), there was no possibility of maintaining the conditions, -whatever they might have been, from the want of which so much mischief -is fancied to have sprung. Evils did take place, dangers did arise, -the liberties of England were once more impaired; but these are far -less to be ascribed to the actors in the restoration than to the next -parliament, and to the nation who chose it. - -I must once more request the reader to take notice that I am not here -concerned with the proceedings of the convention parliament after the -king's return to England, which, in some respects, appear to me -censurable; but discussing the question, whether they were guilty of -any fault in not tendering bills of limitation on the prerogative, as -preliminary conditions of his restoration to the exercise of his -lawful authority. And it will be found, upon a review of what took -place in that interregnum from their meeting together on the 25th of -April 1660, to Charles's arrival in London on the 29th of May, that -they were less unmindful than has been sometimes supposed, of -provisions to secure the kingdom against the perils which had seemed -to threaten it in the restoration. - -On the 25th of April, the Commons met and elected Grimston, a moderate -presbyterian, as their speaker, somewhat against the secret wish of -the cavaliers, who, elated by their success in the elections, were -beginning to aim at superiority, and to show a jealousy of their late -allies.[516] On the same day, the doors of the House of Lords were -found open; and ten peers, all of whom had sat in 1648, took their -places as if nothing more than a common adjournment had passed in the -interval.[517] There was, however, a very delicate and embarrassing -question, that had been much discussed in their private meetings. The -object of these, as I have mentioned, was to impose terms on the king, -and maintain the presbyterian ascendancy. But the peers of this party -were far from numerous, and must be outvoted, if all the other lawful -members of the house should be admitted to their privileges. Of these -there were three classes. The first was of the peers who had come to -their titles since the commencement of the civil war, and whom there -was no colour of justice, nor any vote of the house to exclude. To -some of these accordingly they caused letters to be directed; and the -others took their seats without objection on the 26th and 27th of -April, on the latter of which days thirty-eight peers were -present.[518] The second class was of those who had joined Charles the -First, and had been excluded from sitting in the house by votes of the -long parliament. These it had been in contemplation among the -presbyterian junto to keep out; but the glaring inconsistency of such -a measure with the popular sentiment, and the strength that the first -class had given to the royalist interest among the aristocracy, -prevented them from insisting on it. A third class consisted of those -who had been created since the great seal was taken to York in 1642; -some by the late king, others by the present in exile; and these, -according to the fundamental principle of the parliamentary side, were -incapable of sitting in the house. It was probably one of the -conditions on which some meant to insist, conformably to the articles -of the treaty of Newport, that the new peers should be perpetually -incapable; or even that none should in future have the right of -voting, without the concurrence of both houses of parliament. An order -was made therefore on May 4 that no lords created since 1642 should -sit. This was vacated by a subsequent resolution of May 31. - -A message was sent down to the Commons on April 27, desiring a -conference on the great affairs of the kingdom. This was the first -time that word had been used for more than eleven years. But the -Commons, in returning an answer to this message, still employed the -word nation. It was determined that the conference should take place -on the ensuing Tuesday, the first of May.[519] In this conference, -there can be no doubt that the question of further securities against -the power of the Crown would have been discussed. But Monk, whether -from conviction of their inexpedience or to atone for his ambiguous -delay, had determined to prevent any encroachment on the prerogative. -He caused the king's letter to the council of state, and to the two -houses of parliament, to be delivered on that very day. A burst of -enthusiastic joy testified their long repressed wishes; and, when the -conference took place, the Earl of Manchester was instructed to let -the Commons know that the Lords do own and declare that, according to -the ancient and fundamental laws of this kingdom, the government is -and ought to be by King, Lords, and Commons. On the same day, the -Commons resolved to agree in this vote; and appointed a committee to -report what pretended acts and ordinances were inconsistent with -it.[520] - -It is however so far from being true that this convention gave itself -up to a blind confidence in the king, that their journals during the -month of May bear witness to a considerable activity in furthering -provisions which the circumstances appeared to require. They appointed -a committee, on May 3rd, to consider of the king's letter and -declaration, both holding forth, it will be remembered, all promises -of indemnity, and everything that could tranquillise apprehension, and -to propose bills accordingly, especially for taking away military -tenures. One bill was brought into the house, to secure lands -purchased from the trustees of the late parliament; another, to -establish ministers already settled in benefices; a third, for a -general indemnity; a fourth, to take away tenures in chivalry and -wardship; a fifth, to make void all grants of honour or estate, made -by the late or present king since May 1642. Finally, on the very 29th -of May, we find a bill read twice and committed, for the confirmation -of privilege of parliament, magna charta, the petition of right, and -other great constitutional statutes.[521] These measures, though some -of them were never completed, proved that the restoration was not -carried forward with so thoughtless a precipitancy and neglect of -liberty as has been asserted. - -There was undoubtedly one very important matter of past controversy, -which they may seem to have avoided, the power over the militia. They -silently gave up that momentous question. Yet it was become, in a -practical sense, incomparably more important that the representatives -of the Commons should retain a control over the land forces of the -nation than it had been at the commencement of the controversy. War -and usurpation had sown the dragon's teeth in our fields; and, instead -of the peaceable trained bands of former ages, the citizen soldiers -who could not be marched beyond their counties, we had a veteran army -accustomed to tread upon the civil authority at the bidding of their -superiors, and used alike to govern and obey. It seemed prodigiously -dangerous to give up this weapon into the hands of our new sovereign. -The experience of other countries as well as our own demonstrated that -public liberty could never be secure, if a large standing army should -be kept on foot, or any standing army without consent of parliament. -But this salutary restriction the convention parliament did not think -fit to propose; and in this respect I certainly consider them as -having stopped short of adequate security. It is probable that the -necessity of humouring Monk, whom it was their first vote to -constitute general of all the forces in the three kingdoms,[522] with -the hope, which proved not vain, that the king himself would disband -the present army whereon he could so little rely, prevented any -endeavour to establish the control of parliament over the military -power, till it was too late to withstand the violence of the -cavaliers, who considered the absolute prerogative of the Crown in -that point the most fundamental article of their creed. - -_Conduct of Monk._--Of Monk himself it may, I think, be said that, if -his conduct in this revolution was not that of a high-minded patriot, -it did not deserve all the reproach that has been so frequently thrown -on it. No one can, without forfeiting all pretensions to have his own -word believed, excuse his incomparable deceit and perjury; a -masterpiece, no doubt, as it ought to be reckoned by those who set at -nought the obligations of veracity in public transactions, of that -wisdom which is not from above. But, in seconding the public wish for -the king's restoration, a step which few perhaps can be so much in -love with fanatical and tyrannous usurpation as to condemn, he seems -to have used what influence he possessed, an influence by no means -commanding, to render the new settlement as little injurious as -possible to public and private interests. If he frustrated the scheme -of throwing the executive authority into the hands of a presbyterian -oligarchy, I, for one, can see no great cause for censure; nor is it -quite reasonable to expect that a soldier of fortune, inured to the -exercise of arbitrary power, and exempt from the prevailing religious -fanaticism which must be felt or despised, should have partaken a -fervent zeal for liberty, as little congenial to his temperament as it -was to his profession. He certainly did not satisfy the king even in -his first promises of support, when he advised an absolute indemnity, -and the preservation of actual interests in the lands of the Crown and -church. In the first debates on the bill of indemnity, when the case -of the regicides came into discussion, he pressed for the smallest -number of exceptions from pardon. And, though his conduct after the -king's return displayed his accustomed prudence, it is evident that, -if he had retained great influence in the council, which he assuredly -did not, he would have maintained as much as possible of the existing -settlement in the church. The deepest stain on his memory is the -production of Argyle's private letters on his trial in Scotland; nor -indeed can Monk be regarded, upon the whole, as an estimable man, -though his prudence and success may entitle him, in the common -acceptation of the word, to be reckoned a great one. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[245] May, p. 165. - -[246] Both sides claimed the victory. May, who thinks that Essex, by -his injudicious conduct after the battle, lost the advantage he had -gained in it, admits that the effect was to strengthen the king's -side. "Those who thought his success impossible began to look upon him -as one who might be a conqueror, and many neuters joined him."--P. -176. Ludlow is of the same opinion as to Essex's behaviour and its -consequences: "Our army, after some refreshment at Warwick, returned -to London, not like men that had obtained a victory, but as if they -had been beaten."--P. 52. This shows that they had not in fact -obtained much of a victory; and Lord Wharton's report to parliament -almost leads us to think the advantage, upon the whole, to have been -with the king. _Parl. Hist._ ii. 1495. - -[247] May, 212; Baillie, 373, 391. - -[248] May, Baillie, Mrs. Hutchinson, are as much of this opinion as -Sir Philip Warwick and other royalist writers. It is certain that -there was a prodigious alarm, and almost despondency, among the -parliamentarians. They immediately began to make entrenchments about -London, which were finished in a month. May, p. 214. In the _Somers -Tracts_, iv. 534, is an interesting letter from a Scotsman then in -London, giving an account of these fortifications, which, considering -the short time employed about them, seem to have been very -respectable, and such as the king's army, with its weak cavalry and -bad artillery, could not easily have carried. Lord Sunderland, four -days before the battle of Newbury wherein he was killed, wrote to his -wife, that the king's affairs had never been in a more prosperous -condition; that sitting down before Gloscester had prevented _their -finishing the war that year_, "which nothing could keep us from doing, -if we had a month's more time." _Sidney Letters_, ii. 671. He alludes -in the same letters to the divisions in the royal party. - -[249] _Parl. Hist._ iii. 45, 48. It seems natural to think that, if -the moderate party were able to contend so well against their -opponents, after the desertion of a great many royalist members who -had joined the king, they would have maintained a decisive majority, -had these continued in their places. But it is to be considered, on -the other hand, that the king could never have raised an army, if he -had not been able to rally the peers and gentry round his banner, and -that in his army lay the real secret of the temporary strength of the -pacific party. - -[250] _Parl. Hist._ iii. 68, 94; Clarendon; May; Whitelock. If we -believe the last (p. 68), the king, who took as usual a very active -part in the discussions upon this treaty, would frequently have been -inclined to come into an adjustment of terms; if some of the more -war-like spirits about him (glancing apparently at Rupert) had not -over persuaded his better judgment. This, however, does not accord -with what Clarendon tells us of the queen's secret influence, nor -indeed with all we have reason to believe of the king's disposition -during the war. - -[251] _Life of Clarendon_, p. 79. This induced the king to find -pretexts for avoiding the cessation, and was the real cause of his -refusal to restore the Earl of Northumberland to his post of lord -admiral during this treaty of Oxford, which was urged by Hyde. That -peer was, at this time, and for several months afterwards, inclining -to come over to the king; but, on the bad success of Holland and -Bedford in their change of sides, he gave into the opposite course of -politics, and joined the party of Lords Say and Wharton, in determined -hostility to the king. - -Dr. Lingard has lately thrown doubts upon this passage in Clarendon, -but upon grounds which I do not clearly understand. _Hist. of Engl._ -x. 208, note. That no vestige of its truth should appear, as he -observes, in the private correspondence between Charles and his -consort (if he means the letters taken at Naseby, and I know no -other), is not very singular; as the whole of that correspondence is -of a much later date. - -[252] I cannot discover in the Journals any division on this -impeachment. But Hollis inveighs against it in his memoirs as one of -the flagrant acts of St. John's party; and there is an account of the -debate on this subject in the _Somers Tracts_, v. 500; whence it -appears that it was opposed by Maynard, Waller, Whitelock, and others; -but supported by Pym, Strode, Long, Glynn, and by Martin with his -usual fury and rudeness. The first of these carried up the impeachment -to the House of Lords. - -This impeachment was not absolutely lost sight of for some time. In -January 1644, the Lords appointed a committee to consider what mode of -proceeding for bringing the queen to trial was most agreeable to a -parliamentary way, and to peruse precedents. _Parl. Hist._ 194. - -[253] _Parl. Hist._ 129. - -[254] _Parl. Hist._ 133, June 20; Clarendon, iv. 155. He published, -however, a declaration soon after the taking of Bristol, containing -full assurances of his determination to govern by the known laws. -_Parl. Hist._ 144. - -[255] Clarend. iv. 192, 262; Whitelock, 70. They met with a worse -reception at Westminster than at Oxford, as indeed they had reason to -expect. A motion that the Earl of Holland should be sent to the Tower -was lost in the Commons by only one voice. _Parl. Hist._ 180. They -were provoked at his taking his seat without permission. After long -refusing to consent, the Lords agreed to an ordinance (June 29, 1644) -that no peer or commoner who had been in the king's quarters, should -be admitted again to sit in either house. _Parl. Hist._ 271. This -severity was one cause of Essex's discontent, which was increased when -the Commons refused him leave to take Holland with him on his -expedition into the west that summer. Baillie, i. 426; Whitelock, 87. -If it be asked why this Roman rigour was less impolitic in the -parliament than in the king, I can only answer, that the stronger and -the weaker have different measures to pursue. But relatively to the -pacification of the kingdom, upon such terms as fellow-citizens ought -to require from each other, it was equally blamable in both parties, -or rather more so in that possessed of the greater power. - -[256] It is intimated by Clarendon that some at Oxford, probably -Jermyn and Digby, were jealous of Holland's recovering the influence -he had possessed with the queen, who seems to have retained no -resentment against him. As to Bedford and Clare, they would probably -have been better received, if not accompanied by so obnoxious an -intriguer of the old court. This seems to account for the unanimity -which the historian describes to have been shown in the council -against their favourable reception. Light and passionate tempers, like -that of Henrietta, are prone to forget injuries; serious and -melancholic ones, like that of Charles, never lose sight of them. - -[257] Baillie deplores at this time "the horrible fears and confusions -in the city, the king everywhere being victorious. In the city, a -strong and insolent party for him."--P. 391. "The malignants stirred a -multitude of women of the meaner and more infamous rank to come to the -door of both houses, and cry tumultuously for peace on any terms. This -tumult could not be suppressed but by violence, and killing some three -or four women, and hurting some of them, and imprisoning many."--P. -300. - -[258] Lords and Commons' Journals; _Parl. Hist._ 156, etc.; Clarendon, -iv. 183; Hollis's _Memoirs_. Hollis was a teller for the majority on -this occasion; he had left the war-like party some months (Baillie, i. -356); and his name is in the journals repeatedly, from November 1642, -as teller against them, though he is charged with having said the year -before, that he abhorred the name of accommodation. Hutchinson, p. -296. Though a very honest, and to a certain extent, an able man, he -was too much carried away by personal animosities; and as these -shifted, his principles shifted also. - -[259] The resolution, that government by archbishops, bishops, etc., -was inconvenient, and ought to be taken away, passed both houses -unanimously September 10, 1642; _Parl. Hist._ ii. 1465. But the -ordinance to carry this fully into effect was not made till October -1646. Scobell's _Ordinances_. - -[260] _Parl. Hist._ iii. 15. - -[261] This committee, appointed in February 1644, consisted of the -following persons, the most conspicuous, at that time, of the -parliament: the Earls of Northumberland, Essex, Warwick, and -Manchester; Lords Say, Wharton, and Roberts; Mr. Pierrepont, the two -Sir Henry Vanes, Sir Philip Stapylton, Sir William Waller, Sir Gilbert -Gerrard, Sir William Armyn, Sir Arthur Haslerig; Messrs. Crew, Wallop, -St. John, Cromwell, Brown, and Glynn. _Parl. Hist._ iii. 248. - -[262] _Somers Tracts_, iv. 533. The names marked in the _Parliamentary -History_ as having taken the covenant, are 236. - -The Earl of Lincoln alone, a man of great integrity and moderation, -though only conspicuous in the Journals, refused to take the covenant, -and was excluded in consequence from his seat in the house: but on his -petition next year, though, as far as appears, without compliance, was -restored, and the vote rescinded. _Parl. Hist._ 393. He regularly -protested against all violent measures; and we still find his name in -the minority on such occasions after the Restoration. - -Baillie says, the desertion of about six peers at this time to the -king, was of great use to the passing of the covenant in _a legal -way_. Vol. i. p. 390. - -[263] Burnet's _Mem. of Duke of Hamilton_, p. 239. I am not quite -satisfied as to this, which later writers seem to have taken from -Burnet. It may well be supposed that the ambiguity of the covenant was -not very palpable; since the Scots presbyterians, a people not easily -cozened, were content with its expression. According to fair and -honest rules of interpretation, it certainly bound the subscribers to -the establishment of a church-government conformed to that of -Scotland; namely, the presbyterian, exclusive of all mixture with any -other. But Selden, and the other friends of moderate episcopacy who -took the covenant, justified it, I suppose, to their consciences, by -the pretext that, in renouncing the jurisdiction of bishops, they -meant the unlimited jurisdiction without concurrence of any -presbyters. It was not, however, an action on which they could reflect -with pleasure. Baxter says that Gataker, and some others of the -assembly, would not subscribe the covenant, but on the understanding -that they did not renounce primitive episcopacy by it. _Life of -Baxter_, p. 48. These controversial subtleties elude the ordinary -reader of history. - -[264] After the war was ended, none of the king's party were admitted -to compound for their estates, without taking the covenant. This -Clarendon, in one of his letters, calls "making haste to buy damnation -at two years' purchase." Vol. ii. p. 286. - -[265] Neal, ii. 19, etc., is fair enough in censuring the committees, -especially those in the country. "The greatest part [of the clergy] -were cast out for malignity [attachment to the royal cause]; -superstition and false doctrine were hardly ever objected; yet the -proceedings of the sequestrators were not always justifiable; for, -whereas a court of judicature should rather be counsel for the -prisoner than the prosecutor, the commissioners considered the king's -clergy as their most dangerous enemies, and were ready to lay hold of -all opportunities to discharge them their pulpits."--P. 24. But if we -can rely at all on White's _Century of Malignant Ministers_ (and I do -not perceive that Walker has been able to controvert it), there were a -good many cases of irregular life in the clergy, so far at least as -haunting alehouses; which, however, was much more common, and -consequently less indecent, in that age than at present. See also -Baxter's _Life_, p. 74; whose authority, though open to some -exceptions on the score of prejudice, is at least better than -Walker's. - -The king's party were not less oppressive towards ministers whom they -reckoned puritan; which unluckily comprehended most of those who were -of strict lives, especially if they preached calvinistically, unless -they redeemed that suspicion by strong demonstrations of loyalty. -Neal, p. 21; Baxter's _Life_, p. 42. And, if they put themselves -forward on this side, they were sure to suffer most severely for it on -the parliament's success; an ordinance of April 1, 1643, having -sequestered the private estates of all the clergy who had aided the -king. Thus the condition of the English clergy was every way most -deplorable; and in fact they were utterly ruined. - -[266] Neal, p. 93. He says it was not tendered, by favour, to some of -the clergy who had not been active against the parliament, and were -reputed Calvinists. P. 59. Sanderson is said to be one instance. This -historian, an honest and well-natured man at bottom, justly censures -its imposition. - -[267] "All the judges answered that they could deliver no opinion in -this case, in point of treason by the law; because they could not -deliver any opinion in point of treason, but what was particularly -expressed to be treason in the statute of 25 E. III., and so referred -it wholly to the judgment of this house." Lords' Journals, 17th -December 1644. - -[268] Lords' Journals, 4th January. It is not said to be done _nem. -con._ - -[269] "The difference in the temper of the common people of both sides -was so great that they who inclined to the parliament left nothing -unperformed that might advance the cause; whereas they who wished well -to the king thought they had performed their duty in doing so, and -that they had done enough for him, in that they had done nothing -against him." Clarendon, pp. 3, 452. "Most of the gentry of the county -(Nottinghamshire)," says Mrs. Hutchinson, "were disaffected to the -parliament; most of the middle sort, the able substantial freeholders -and the other commons, who had not their dependence upon the malignant -nobility and gentry, adhered to the parliament."--P. 81. This I -conceive to have been the case in much the greater part of England. -Baxter, in his _Life_, p. 30, says just the same thing in a passage -worthy of notice. But the Worcestershire populace, he says, were -violent royalists, p. 39. Clarendon observes in another place (iii. -41), "There was in this county (Cornwall), as throughout the kingdom, -a wonderful and superstitious reverence towards the name of a -parliament, and a prejudice to the power of the court." He afterwards -(p. 436) calls "an implicit reverence to the name of a parliament, the -fatal disease of the whole kingdom." So prevalent was the sense of the -king's arbitrary government, especially in the case of ship-money. -Warburton remarks, that he never expressed any repentance, or made any -confession in his public declarations, that his former administration -had been illegal. Notes on Clarendon, p. 566. But this was not, -perhaps, to be expected; and his repeated promises to govern according -to law might be construed into tacit acknowledgments of past errors. - -[270] The associated counties, properly speaking, were at first -Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertford, Cambridge; to which some others -were added. Sussex, I believe, was not a part of the association; but -it was equally within the parliamentary pale, though the gentry were -remarkably loyal in their inclinations. The same was true of Kent. - -[271] Clarendon, _passim_; May, 160; Baillie, i. 416. See, in the -_Somers Tracts_, v. 495, a dialogue between a gentleman and a citizen, -printed at Oxford, 1643. Though of course a royalist pamphlet, it -shows the disunion that prevailed in that unfortunate party, and -inveighs against the influence of the papists, in consequence of which -the Marquis of Hertford is said to have declined the king's service. -Rupert is praised, and Newcastle struck at. It is written, on the -whole, in rather a lukewarm style of loyalty. The Earl of Holland and -Sir Edward Dering gave out as their reason for quitting the king's -side, that there was great danger of popery. This was much -exaggerated; yet Lord Sunderland talks the same language. _Sidney -Papers_, ii. 667. Lord Falkland's dejection of spirits, and constant -desire of peace, must chiefly be ascribed to his disgust with the -councils of Oxford, and the greater part of those with whom he was -associated. - - E quel che piu ti gravera le spalle - Sara la compagnia malvagia e ria, - Nella quel tu cadrai in questa valle. - -We know too little of this excellent man, whose talents, however, and -early pursuits do not seem to have particularly qualified him for -public life. It is evident that he did not plunge into the loyal cause -with all the zeal of his friend Hyde; and the king doubtless had no -great regard for the counsels of one who took so very different a view -of some important matters from himself. _Life of Clarendon_, 48. He -had been active against Strafford, and probably had a bad opinion of -Laud. The prosecution of Finch for high treason he had himself moved. -In the Ormond _Letters_, i. 20, he seems to be struck at by one -writing from Oxford, June 1, 1643: "God forbid that the best of men -and kings be so used by some bad hollow-hearted counsellors, who -affect too much the parliamentary way. Many spare not to name them; -and I doubt not but you have heard their names." - -[272] It appears by the late edition of Clarendon, iv. 351, that he -was the adviser of calling the Oxford parliament. The former editors -omitted his name. - -[273] _Parl. Hist._ 218. The number who took the covenant in September -1643, appears by a list of the long parliament in the same work (vol. -ii.) to be 236; but twelve of these are included in both lists, having -gone afterwards into the king's quarters. The remainder, about 100, -were either dead since the beginning of the troubles, or for some -reason absented themselves from both assemblies. Possibly the list of -those who took the covenant is not quite complete; nor do I think the -king had much more than about sixty peers on his side. The parliament, -however, could not have produced thirty. Lords' Journals, Jan. 22, -1644. Whitelock, p. 80, says that two hundred and eighty appeared in -the House of Commons, Jan. 1644, besides one hundred absent in the -parliament's service; but this cannot be quite exact. - -[274] Rushworth Abr. v. 266, and 296; where is an address to the king, -intimating, if attentively considered, a little apprehension of popery -and arbitrary power. Baillie says, in one of his letters, "The first -day the Oxford parliament met, the king made a long speech; but many -being ready to give in papers for the removing of Digby, Cottington, -and others from court, the meeting was adjourned for some days."--i. -429. Indeed, the restoration of Cottington, and still more of -Windebank, to the king's councils, was no pledge of protestant or -constitutional measures. This opposition, so natural to parliaments in -any circumstances, disgusted Charles. In one of his letters to the -queen, he congratulates himself on being "freed from the place of all -mutinous motions, his mongrel parliament." It may be presumed that -some of those who obeyed the king's summons to Oxford were influenced -less by loyalty than a consideration that their estates lay in parts -occupied by his troops; of course the same is applicable to the -Westminster parliament. - -[275] Baillie, 441. I can find no mention of this in the Journals; -but, as Baillie was then in London, and in constant intercourse with -the leaders of parliament, there must have been some foundation for -his statement, though he seems to have been inaccurate as to the fact -of the vote. - -[276] _Parl. Hist._ 299, _et post_; Clarendon, v. 16; Whitelock, 110, -etc.; Rushw. Abr. v. 449, etc. - -[277] It was impossible for the king to avoid this treaty. Not only -his Oxford parliament, as might naturally be expected, were openly -desirous of peace, but a great part of the army had, in August 1644, -while opposed to that of Essex in the west, taken the extraordinary -step of sending a letter to that general, declaring their intentions -for the rights and liberties of the people, privileges of parliament, -and protestant religion against popish innovations; and that on the -faith of subjects, the honour and reputation of gentlemen and -soldiers, they would with their lives maintain that which his majesty -should publicly promise in order to a bloodless peace; they went on to -request that Essex, with six more, would meet the general (Earl of -Brentford) with six more, to consider of all means possible to -reconcile the unhappy differences and misunderstandings that have so -long afflicted the kingdom. Sir Edward Walker's _Historical -Discourses_, 59. The king was acquainted with this letter before it -was sent, but after some hands had been subscribed to it. He -consented, but evidently with great reluctance, and even indignation; -as his own expressions testify in this passage of Walker, whose -manuscript here, as in many other places, contains interlineations by -Charles himself. It was doubtless rather in a mutinous spirit, which -had spread widely through the army, and contributed to its utter ruin -in the next campaign. I presume it was at the king's desire that the -letter was signed by the general, as well as by Prince Maurice, and -all the colonels, I believe, in his army, to take off the appearance -of a faction; but it certainly originated with Wilmot, Percy, and some -of those whom he thought ill affected. See Clarendon, iv. 527, _et -post_; Rushw. Abr. v. 348, 358. - -[278] The king's doctors, Steward and Sheldon, argued at Uxbridge that -episcopacy was _jure divino_; Henderson and others that presbytery was -so. Whitelock, 132. These churchmen should have been locked up like a -jury, without food or fire, till they agreed. - -If we may believe Clarendon, the Earl of Loudon offered in the name of -the Scots, that if the king would give up episcopacy, they would not -press any of the other demands. It is certain, however, that they -would never have suffered him to become the master of the English -parliament; and, if this offer was sincerely made, it must have been -from a conviction that he could not become such. - -[279] Rushworth, Whitelock, Clarendon. The latter tells in his life, -which reveals several things not found in his history, that the king -was very angry with some of his Uxbridge commissioners, especially Mr. -Bridgman, for making too great concessions with respect to episcopacy. -He lived, however, to make himself much greater. - -[280] Whitelock, 133. - -[281] The creed of this party is set forth in the _Behemoth_ of -Hobbes; which is, in other words, the application of those principles -of government which are laid down in the _Leviathan_, to the -constitution and state of England in the civil war. It is republished -in Baron Maseres's _Tracts_, ii. 565, 567. Sir Philip Warwick, in his -_Memoirs_, 198, hints something of the same kind. - -[282] Warburton, in the notes subjoined to the late edition of -Clarendon, vii. 563, mentions a conversation he had with the Duke of -Argyle and Lord Cobham (both soldiers, and the first a distinguished -one) as to the conduct of the king and the Earl of Essex after the -battle of Edgehill. They agreed it was inexplicable on both sides by -any military principle. Warburton explained it by the unwillingness to -be _too victorious_, felt by Essex himself, and by those whom the king -was forced to consult. Father Orleans, in a passage with which the -bishop probably was acquainted, confirms this; and his authority is -very good as to the secret of the court. Rupert, he says, proposed to -march to London. "Mais l'esprit Anglois, qui ne se dement point meme -dans les plus attaches a la royaute, l'esprit Anglois, dis-je, -toujours entete de ces libertez si funestes au repos de la nation, -porta la plus grande partie du conseil a s'opposer a ce dessein. Le -pretexte fut qu'il etoit dangereux pour le roy de l'entreprendre, et -pour la ville que le Prince Robert l'executast, jeune comme il etoit, -emporte, et capable d'y mettre le feu. La vraie raison etoit qu'ils -craignoient que, si le roy entroit dans Londres les armes a la main, -il ne pretendist sur la nation une espece de droit de conquete, qui le -rendist trop absolu." _Revolut. d'Angleterre_, iii. 104. - -[283] Rushworth Abr. iv. 550. At the very time that he was publicly -denying his employment of papists, he wrote to Newcastle, commanding -him to make use of all his subjects' services, without examining their -consciences, except as to loyalty. Ellis's _Letters_, iii. 291, from -an original in the Museum. No one can rationally blame Charles for -anything in this, but his inveterate and useless habit of falsehood. -See Clarendon, iii. 610. - -It is probable that some foreign catholics were in the parliament's -service. But Dodd says, with great appearance of truth, that no one -English gentleman of that persuasion was in arms on their side. -_Church History of Engl._ iii. 28. He reports as a matter of hearsay, -that, out of about five hundred gentlemen who lost their lives for -Charles in the civil war, one hundred and ninety-four were catholics. -They were, doubtless, a very powerful faction in the court and army. -Lord Spencer (afterwards Earl of Sunderland), in some remarkable -letters to his wife from the king's quarters at Shrewsbury, in -September 1642, speaks of the insolency of the papists with great -dissatisfaction. _Sidney Papers_, ii. 667. - -[284] It cannot be doubted, and is admitted in a remarkable -conversation of Hollis and Whitelock with the king at Oxford in -November 1644, that the exorbitant terms demanded at Uxbridge were -carried by the violent party, who disliked all pacification. -Whitelock, 113. - -[285] Baillie, ii. 91. He adds, "That which has been the great snare -to the king is the unhappy success of Montrose in Scotland." There -seems indeed great reason to think that Charles, always sanguine, and -incapable of calculating probabilities, was unreasonably elated by -victories from which no permanent advantage ought to have been -expected. Burnet confirms this on good authority. Introduction to -_Hist. of his Times_, 51. - -[286] Whitelock, 109, 137, 142; Rushw. Abr. v. 163. The first _rat_ -(except indeed the Earls of Holland and Bedford, who were rats with -two tails) was Sir Edward Dering, who came into the parliament's -quarters, Feb. 1644. He was a weak man of some learning, who had -already played a very changeable part before the war. - -[287] A flagrant instance of this was the plunder of Bristol by -Rupert, in breach of the capitulation. I suspect that it was the -policy of one party to exaggerate the cruelties of the other; but the -short narratives dispersed at the time give a wretched picture of -slaughter and devastation. - -[288] Clarendon and Whitelock _passim_; Baxter's _Life_, pp. 44, 55. -This license of Maurice's and Goring's armies in the west first led to -the defensive insurrection, if so it should be called, of the -club-men; that is, of yeomen and country people, armed only with -clubs, who hoped, by numbers and concert, to resist effectually the -military marauders of both parties, declaring themselves neither for -king nor parliament, but for their own liberty and property. They were -of course regarded with dislike on both sides; by the king's party -when they first appeared in 1644, because they crippled the royal -army's operations, and still more openly by the parliament next year, -when they opposed Fairfax's endeavour to carry on the war in the -counties bordering on the Severn. They appeared at times in great -strength; but the want of arms and discipline made it not very -difficult to suppress them. Clarendon, v. 197; Whitelock, 137; _Parl. -Hist._ 379, 390. - -The king himself, whose disposition was very harsh and severe, except -towards the few he took into his bosom, can hardly be exonerated from -a responsibility for some acts of inhumanity (see Whitelock, 67, and -_Somers Tracts_, iv. 502, v. 369; Maseres's _Tracts_, i. 144, for the -ill-treatment of prisoners); and he might probably have checked the -outrages which took place at the storming of Leicester, where he was -himself present. Certainly no imputation of this nature can be laid at -the door of the parliamentary commanders; though some of them were -guilty of the atrocity of putting their Irish prisoners to death, in -obedience, however, to an ordinance of parliament. _Parl. Hist._ iii. -295; Rushworth's Abridgement, v. 402. It passed October 24, 1644, and -all remissness in executing it was to be reckoned a favouring of the -Irish rebellion. When we read, as we do perpetually, these violent and -barbarous proceedings of the parliament, is it consistent with honesty -or humanity to hold up that assembly to admiration, while the faults -on the king's side are studiously aggravated? The partiality of -Oldmixon, Harris, Macauley, and now of Mr. Brodie and Mr. Godwin, is -full as glaring, to say the very least, as that of Hume. - -[289] Clarendon and Baxter. - -[290] The excise was first imposed by an ordinance of both houses in -July 1643 (Husband's _Collection of Ordinances_, p. 267), and -afterwards by the king's convention at Oxford. See a view of the -financial expedients adopted by both parties in Lingard, x. 243. The -plate brought in to the parliament's commissioners at Guildhall, in -1642, for which they allowed the value of the silver, and one shilling -per ounce more, is stated by Neal at L1,267,326, an extraordinary -proof of the wealth of London; yet I do not know his authority, though -it is probably good. The university of Oxford gave all they had to the -king; but could not of course vie with the citizens. - -The sums raised within the parliament's quarters from the beginning of -the war to 1647 are reckoned in a pamphlet of that year, quoted in -Sinclair's _Hist. of the Revenue_, i. 283, at L17,512,400. But, on -reference to the tract itself, I find this written at random. The -contributions, however, were really very great; and, if we add those -to the king, and the loss by waste and plunder, we may form some -judgment of the effects of the civil war. - -[291] The independents raised loud clamours against the Scots army; -and the northern counties naturally complained of the burthen of -supporting them as well as of their excesses. Many passages in -Whitelock's journal during 1645 and 1646 relate to this. Hollis -endeavours to deny or extenuate the charges; but he is too prejudiced -a writer, and Baillie himself acknowledges a great deal. Vol. ii. pp. -138, 142, 146. - -[292] The chief imputation against Manchester was for not following up -his victory in the second battle of Newbury, with which Cromwell -openly taxed him; see Ludlow, i. 133. There certainly appears to have -been a want of military energy on this occasion; but it is said by -Baillie (ii. 76) that all the general officers, Cromwell not excepted, -concurred in Manchester's determination. Essex had been suspected from -the time of the affair at Brentford, or rather from the battle of -Edgehill (Baillie and Ludlow); and his whole conduct, except in the -celebrated march to relieve Gloucester, confirmed a reasonable -distrust either of his military talents, or of his zeal in the cause. -"He loved monarchy and nobility," says Whitelock, p. 108, "and dreaded -those who had a design to destroy both." Yet Essex was too much a man -of honour to enter on any private intrigues with the king. The other -peers employed under the parliament, Stamford, Denbigh, Willoughby, -were not successful enough to redeem the suspicions that fell upon -their zeal. - -All our republican writers, such as Ludlow and Mrs. Hutchinson in that -age, Mrs. Macauley and Mr. Brodie more of late, speak acrimoniously of -Essex. "Most will be of opinion," says Mr. B. (_History of British -Empire_, iii. 565), "that as ten thousand pounds a year out of the -sequestered lands were settled upon him for his services, he was -rewarded infinitely beyond his merits." The reward was doubtless -magnificent; but the merit of Essex was this, that he made himself the -most prominent object of vengeance in case of failure, by taking the -command of an army to oppose the king in person at Edgehill: a command -of which no other man in his rank was capable, and which could not, at -that time, have been intrusted to any man of inferior rank without -dissolving the whole confederacy of the parliament. - -It is to be observed, moreover, that the two battles of Newbury, like -that of Edgehill, were by no means decisive victories on the side of -the parliament; and that it is not clear whether either Essex or -Manchester could have pushed the king much more than they did. Even -after Naseby, his party made a pretty long resistance, and he was as -much blamed as they for not pressing his advantages with vigour. - -[293] It had been voted by the Lords a year before, Dec. 12, 1643, -"That the opinion and resolution of this house is from henceforth not -to admit the members of either house of parliament into any place or -office, excepting such places of great trust as are to be executed by -persons of eminency and known integrity, and are necessary for the -government and safety of the kingdom." But a motion to make this -resolution into an ordinance was carried in the negative. Lords' -Journals; _Parl. Hist._ 187. The first motion had been for a -resolution without this exception, that no place of profit should be -executed by the members of either house. - -[294] Whitelock, pp. 118, 120. It was opposed by him, but supported by -Pierrepont, who carried it up to the Lords. The Lords were chiefly of -the presbyterian party; though Say, Wharton, and a few more, were -connected with the independents. They added a proviso to the ordinance -raising forces to be commanded by Fairfax, that no officer refusing -the covenant should be capable of serving, which was thrown out in the -lower house. But another proviso was carried in the Commons by 82 to -63, that the officers, though appointed by the general, should be -approved by both houses of parliament. Cromwell was one of the tellers -for the minority. Commons' Journals, Feb. 7 and 13, 1645. - -In the original ordinance the members of both houses were excluded -during the war; but in the second, which was carried, the measure was -not made prospective. This, which most historians have overlooked, is -well pointed out by Mr. Godwin. By virtue of this alteration, many -officers were elected in the course of 1645 and 1646; and the effect, -whatever might be designed, was very advantageous to the republican -and independent factions. - -[295] Whitelock, p. 145. - -[296] Whether there are sufficient grounds for concluding that -Henrietta's connection with Jermyn was criminal, I will not pretend to -decide; though Warburton has settled the matter in a very summary -style. See one of his notes on Clarendon, vol. vii. p. 636. But I -doubt whether the bishop had authority for what he there says, though -it is likely enough to be true. See also a note of Lord Dartmouth on -Burnet, i. 63. - -[297] Clarendon speaks often in his _History_, and still more -frequently in his private letters, with great resentment of the -conduct of France, and sometimes of Holland, during our civil wars. I -must confess that I see nothing to warrant this. The States-General, -against whom Charles had so shamefully been plotting, interfered as -much for the purpose of mediation as they could with the slightest -prospect of success, and so as to give offence to the parliament -(Rushworth Abridged, v. 567; Baillie, ii. 78; Whitelock, 141, 148; -Harris's _Life of Cromwell_, 246); and as to France, though Richelieu -had instigated the Scots malcontents, and possibly those of England, -yet after his death, in 1642, no sort of suspicion ought to lie on the -French government; the whole conduct of Anne of Austria having been -friendly, and both the mission of Harcourt in 1643, and the present -negotiations of Montreuil and Bellievre, perfectly well intended. That -Mazarin made promises of assistance which he had no design, nor -perhaps any power, to fulfil, is true; but this is the common trick of -such statesmen, and argues no malevolent purpose. But Hyde, out of his -just dislike of the queen, hated all French connections; and his -passionate loyalty made him think it a crime, or at least a piece of -base pusillanimity, in foreign states, to keep on any terms with the -rebellious parliament. The case was altered, after the retirement of -the regent Anne from power: Mazarin's latter conduct was, as is well -known, exceedingly adverse to the royal cause. - -The account given by Mr. D'Israeli of Tabran's negotiations in the -fifth volume of his _Commentaries on the Reign of Charles I._, though -it does not contain anything very important, tends to show Mazarin's -inclination towards the royal cause in 1644 and 1645. - -[298] Colepepper writes to Ashburnham, in February 1646, to advance -the Scots' treaty with all his power. "It is the only way left to save -the Crown and the kingdom; all other tricks will deceive you.... It is -no time to dally on distinctions and criticisms. All the world will -laugh at them when a crown is in question." _Clar. Papers_, ii. 207. - -The king had positively declared his resolution not to consent to the -establishment of presbytery. This had so much disgusted both the Scots -and English presbyterians (for the latter had been concerned in the -negotiation), that Montreuil wrote to say he thought they would rather -make it up with the independents than treat again. "De sorte qu'il ne -faut plus marchander, et que V. M. se doit hater d'envoyer aux deux -parlemens son consentiment aux trois propositions d'Uxbridge; ce -qu'etant fait, elle sera en surete dans l'armee d'Ecosse" (15th Jan. -1646) P. 211. - -[299] "I assure you," he writes to Capel, Hopton, etc., Feb. 2, 1646, -"whatever paraphrases or prophecies may be made upon my last message -(pressing the two houses to consent to a personal treaty), I shall -never part with the church, the essentials of my crown, or my -friends."--P. 206. Baillie could not believe the report that the king -intended to take refuge in the Scots army, as "there would be no -shelter there for him, unless he would take the covenant, and follow -the advice of his parliament. Hard pills to be swallowed by a wilful -and an unadvised prince." Vol. ii. p. 203. - -[300] Not long after the king had taken shelter with the Scots, he -wrote a letter to Ormond, which was intercepted, wherein he assured -him of his expectation that their army would join with his, and act in -conjunction with Montrose, to procure a happy peace and the -restoration of his rights. Whitelock, page 208. Charles had bad luck -with his letters, which fell, too frequently for his fame and -interests, into the hands of his enemies. But who, save this most -ill-judging of princes, would have entertained an idea that the Scots -presbyterian army would co-operate with Montrose, whom they abhorred, -and very justly, for his treachery and cruelty, above all men living? - -[301] _Parl. Hist._ 499; Whitelock, 215, 218. It was voted, 17th June, -that after these twenty years, the king was to exercise no power over -the militia without the previous consent of parliament, who were to -pass a bill at any time respecting it, if they should judge the -kingdom's safety to be concerned, which should be valid without the -king's assent. Commons' Journals. - -[302] P. 248. "Show me any precedent," he says in another place, -"wherever presbyterian government and regal was together without -perpetual rebellions, which was the cause that necessitated the king -my father to change that government in Scotland. And even in France, -where they are but on tolerance, which in likelihood shall cause -moderation, did they ever sit still so long as they had power to -rebel? And it cannot be otherwise; for the ground of their doctrine is -anti-monarchical."--P. 260. See also p. 273. - -[303] "The design is to unite you with the Scots nation and the -presbyterians of England against the anti-monarchical party, the -independents.... If by conscience it is intended to assert that -episcopacy is _jure divino_ exclusive, whereby no protestant, or -rather Christian church, can be acknowledged for such without a -bishop, we must therein crave leave wholly to differ. And if we be in -an error, we are in good company, there not being, as we have cause to -believe, six persons of the protestant religion of the other -opinion.... Come, the question in short is, whether you will choose to -be a king of presbytery, or no king, and yet presbytery or perfect -independency to be?"--P. 263. They were, however, as much against his -giving up the militia, or his party, as in favour of his abolishing -episcopacy. - -Charles was much to be pitied throughout all this period; none of his -correspondents understood the state of affairs so well as himself; he -was with the Scots, and saw what they were made of, while the others -fancied absurdities through their own private self-interested views. -It is very certain that by sacrificing episcopacy he would not have -gained a step with the parliament; and as to reigning in Scotland -alone, suspected, insulted, degraded, this would perhaps just have -been possible for himself; but neither Henrietta nor her friends would -have found an asylum there. - -[304] Juxon had been well treated by the parliament, in consequence of -his prudent abstinence from politics, and residence in their quarters. -He dates his answer to the king from his palace at Fulham. He was, -however, dispossessed of it not long after by virtue of the ordinance -directing the sale of bishops' lands. Nov. 16, 1646. _Parl. Hist._ -528. A committee was appointed (Nov. 2, 1646) to consider of a fitting -maintenance to be allowed the bishops, both those who had remained -under the parliament, and those who had deserted it. Journals. I was -led to this passage by Mr. Godwin, _Hist. of Commonwealth_, ii. 250. -Whether anything farther was done, I have not observed. But there is -an order in the Journals, 1st May 1647, that whereas divers of the -late tenants of Dr. Juxon, late Bishop of London, have refused to pay -the rents or other sums of money due to him as Bishop of London at or -before the 1st of November last, the trustees of bishops' lands are -directed to receive the same, and pay them over to Dr. Juxon. Though -this was only justice, it shows that justice was done at least in this -instance, to a bishop. Juxon must have been a very prudent and -judicious man, though not learned; which probably was all the better. - -[305] Jan. 29, 1646. _Parl. Hist._ 436. Whitelock says, "Many sober -men and lovers of peace were earnest to have complied with what the -king proposed; but the major part of the house was contrary, and the -new-elected members joined those who were averse to compliance."--P. -207. - -[306] _Clar. Papers_, p. 275. - -[307] _Id._ 294, 297, 300. She had said as much before (_King's -Cabinet Opened_, p. 28); so that this was not a burst of passion. -"Conservez vous la militia," she says in one place (p. 271), "et -n'abandonnez jamais; et _par cela tout reviendra_." Charles, however, -disclaimed all idea of violating his faith in case of a treaty (p. -273); but observes as to the militia, with some truth, that "the -retaining of it is not of so much consequence--I am far from saying, -none--as is thought, without the concurrence of other things; because -the militia here is not, as in France and other countries, a formed -powerful strength; but it serves more to hold off ill than to do much -good. And certainly, if the pulpits teach not obedience (which will -never be, if presbyterian government be absolutely settled), the Crown -will have little comfort of the militia."--P. 296. - -[308] P. 301. - -[309] P. 313. - -[310] Pp. 245, 247, 278, 314. In one place he says, that he will go to -France _to clear his reputation to the queen_. P. 265. He wrote in -great distress of mind to Jermyn and Colepepper, on her threatening to -retire from all business into a monastery, in consequence of his -refusal to comply with her wishes. P. 270. See also Montreuil's memoir -in Thurloe's _State Papers_, i. 85, whence it appears that the king -had thoughts of making his escape in Jan. 1647. - -[311] "For the proposition to Bellievre (a French agent at Newcastle -after Montreuil's recall), I hate it. If any such thing should be made -public, you are undone; your enemies will make a malicious use of it. -Be sure you never own it again in any discourse, otherwise than as -intended as a foil, or an hyperbole, or any other ways except in sober -earnest," etc. P. 304. The queen and her counsellors, however, seem -afterwards to have retracted in some measure what they had said about -his escape; and advised that if he could not be suffered to go into -Scotland, he would try Ireland or Jersey. P. 312. - -Her dislike to the king's escape showed itself, according to -Clarendon, vi. 192, even at a time when it appeared the only means to -secure his life, during his confinement in the Isle of Wight. Some may -suspect that Henrietta had consoled herself too well with Lord Jermyn -to wish for her husband's return. - -[312] P. 344. - -[313] P. 279. - -[314] Clarendon and Hume inveigh against the parliament for this -publication; in which they are of course followed by the whole rabble -of Charles's admirers. But it could not reasonably be expected that -such material papers should be kept back; nor were the parliament -under any obligation to do so. The former writer insinuates that they -were garbled; but Charles himself never pretended this (see Supplement -to Evelyn's _Diary_, p. 101); nor does there seem any foundation for -the surmise. His own friends garbled them, however, after the -restoration; some passages are omitted in the edition of King -Charles's Works; so that they can only be read accurately in the -original publication, called _The King's Cabinet Opened_, a small -tract in quarto; or in the modern compilations, such as the -_Parliamentary History_, which have copied it. Ludlow says he has been -informed that some of the letters taken at Naseby were suppressed by -those intrusted with them, who since the king's restoration have been -rewarded for it. _Memoirs_, i. 156. But I should not be inclined to -believe this. - -There is, however, an anecdote which may be mentioned in this place: A -Dr. Hickman, afterwards Bishop of Derry, wrote in 1690, the following -letter to Sprat, Bishop of Rochester, a copy of which, in Dr. Birch's -handwriting, may be found in the British Museum. It was printed by him -in the Appendix to the _Inquiry into the Share K. Charles I. had in -Glamorgan's Transactions_, and from thence by Harris, in his _Life of -Charles I._, p. 144. - -"MY LORD,--Last week Mr. Bennet [a bookseller] left with me a -manuscript of letters from King Charles I. to his queen; and said it -was your lordship's desire and Dr. Pelling's, that my Lord Rochester -should read them over, and see what was fit to be left out in the -intended edition of them. Accordingly, my lord has read them over, and -upon the whole matter says he is very much amazed at the design of -printing them, and thinks that the king's enemies could not have done -him a greater discourtesy. He showed me many passages which detract -very much from the reputation of the king's prudence, and something -from his integrity; and in short he can find nothing throughout the -whole collection, but what will lessen the character of the king and -offend all those who wish well to his memory. He thinks it very unfit -to expose any man's conversation and familiarity with his wife, but -especially that king's; for it was apparently his blind side, and his -enemies gained great advantage by showing it. But my lord hopes his -friends will spare him; and therefore he has ordered me not to deliver -the book to the bookseller, but put it into your lordship's hands; and -when you have read it, he knows you will be of his opinion. If your -lordship has not time to read it all, my lord has turned down some -leaves where he makes his chief objections. If your lordship sends any -servant to town, I beg you would order him to call here for the book, -and that you would take care about it." - -Though the description of these letters answers perfectly to those in -the _King's Cabinet Opened_, which certainly "detract much from the -reputation of Charles's prudence, and something from his integrity," -it is impossible that Rochester and the others could be ignorant of so -well-known a publication; and we must consequently infer that some -letters injurious to the king's character have been suppressed by the -caution of his friends. - -[315] The king had long entertained a notion, in which he was -encouraged by the attorney-general Herbert, that the act against the -dissolution of the parliament without its own consent was void in -itself. _Life of Clarendon_, p. 86. This high monarchical theory of -the nullity of statutes in restraint of the prerogative was never -thoroughly eradicated till the Revolution, and in all contentions -between the Crown and parliament destroyed the confidence, without -which no accommodation could be durable. - -[316] "There is little or no appearance but that this summer will be -the hottest for war of any that hath been yet; and be confident that, -in making peace, I shall ever show my constancy in adhering to bishops -and all our friends, not forgetting to put a short period to this -perpetual parliament." _King's Cabinet Opened_, p. 7. "It being -presumption, and no piety, so to trust to a good cause as not to use -all lawful means to maintain it, I have thought of one means more to -furnish thee with for my assistance, than hitherto thou hast had: it -is, that I give thee power to promise in my name, to whom thou -thinkest most fit, that I will take away all the penal laws against -the Roman catholics in England as soon as God shall enable me to do -it; so as by their means, or in their favours, I may have so powerful -assistance as may deserve so great a favour, and enable me to do it. -But if thou ask what I call that assistance, I answer that when thou -knowest what may be done for it, it will be easily seen, if it deserve -to be so esteemed. I need not tell thee what secrecy this business -requires; yet this I will say, that this is the greatest point of -confidence I can express to thee; for it is no thanks to me to trust -thee in anything else but in this, which is the only point of -difference in opinion betwixt us: and yet I know thou wilt make as -good a bargain for me, even in this, as if thou wert a protestant." -_Id. ibid._ "As to my calling those at London a parliament, I shall -refer thee to Digby for particular satisfaction; this in general--if -there had been but two, besides myself, of my opinion, I had not done -it; and the argument that prevailed with me was, that the calling did -no ways acknowledge them to be a parliament, upon which condition and -construction I did it, and no otherwise, and accordingly it is -registered in the council books, with the council's unanimous -approbation." _Id._ p. 4. The one counsellor who concurred with the -king was Secretary Nicholas, Supplement to Evelyn's _Memoirs_, p. 90. - -[317] The queen evidently suspected that he might be brought to -abandon the catholics. _King's Cabinet Opened_, pp. 30, 31. And, if -fear of her did not prevent him, I make no question that he would have -done so, could he but have carried his other points. - -[318] _Parl. Hist._ 428; _Somers Tracts_, v. 542. It appears by -several letters of the king, published among those taken at Naseby, -that Ormond had power to promise the Irish a repeal of the penal laws -and the use of private chapels as well as a suspension of Poyning's -law. _King's Cabinet Opened_, pp. 16, 19; Rushw. Abr. v. 589. -Glamorgan's treaty granted them all the churches with the revenues -thereof, of which they had at any time since October 1641 been in -possession; that is, the re-establishment of their religion: they, on -the other hand, were to furnish a very large army to the king in -England. - -[319] Rushw. Abr. v. 582, 594. This, as well as some letters taken on -Lord Digby's rout at Sherborn about the same time, made a prodigious -impression. "Many good men were sorry that the king's actions agreed -no better with his words; that he openly protested before God with -horrid imprecations that he endeavoured nothing so much as the -preservation of the protestant religion and rooting out of popery; yet -in the meantime, underhand, he promised to the Irish rebels an -abrogation of the laws against them, which was contrary to his late -expressed promises in these words, 'I will never abrogate the laws -against the papists.' And again he said, 'I abhor to think of bringing -foreign soldiers into the kingdom,' and yet he solicited the Duke of -Lorrain, the French, the Danes, and the very Irish, for assistance." -May's "Breviate of Hist. of Parliament" in Maseres's _Tracts_, i. 61. -Charles had certainly never scrupled (I do not say that he ought to -have done so) to make application in every quarter for assistance; and -began in 1642 with sending a Col. Cochran on a secret mission to -Denmark, in the hope of obtaining a subsidiary force from that -kingdom. There was at least no danger to the national independence -from such allies. "We fear this shall undo the king for ever, that no -repentance shall ever obtain a pardon of this act, if it be true, from -his parliaments." Baillie, ii. 185. Jan. 20, 1646. The king's -disavowal had some effect; it seems as if even those who were -prejudiced against him could hardly believe him guilty of such an -apostasy, as it appeared in their eyes. P. 175. And, in fact, though -the catholics had demanded nothing unreasonable either in its own -nature or according to the circumstances wherein they stood, it threw -a great suspicion on the king's attachment to his own faith, when he -was seen to abandon altogether, as it seemed, the protestant cause in -Ireland, while he was struggling so tenaciously for a particular form -of it in Britain. Nor was his negotiation less impolitic than -dishonourable. Without depreciating a very brave and injured people, -it may be said with certainty that an Irish army could not have had -the remotest chance of success against Fairfax and Cromwell; the -courage being equal on our side, the skill and discipline incomparably -superior. And it was evident that Charles could never reign in England -but on a protestant interest. - -[320] Birch's _Inquiry into the Share which King Charles I. had in the -Transactions of the Earl of Glamorgan_, 1747. Four letters of Charles -to Glamorgan, now in the British Museum (Sloane MSS. 4161), in Birch's -handwriting, but of which he was not aware at the time of that -publication, decisively show the king's duplicity. In the first, which -was meant to be seen by Digby, dated Feb. 3, 1646, he blames him for -having been drawn to consent to conditions much beyond his -instructions. "If you had advised with my lord lieutenant, as you -promised me, all this had been helped;" and tells him he had commanded -as much favour to be shown him as might possibly stand with his -service and safety. On Feb. 28 he writes by a private hand, Sir John -Winter, that he is every day more and more confirmed in the trust that -he had of him. In a third letter, dated April 5, he says, in a cipher, -to which the key is given, "you cannot be but confident of my making -good all instructions and promises to you and nuncio." The fourth -letter is dated April 6, and is in these words: "Herbert, as I doubt -not but you have too much courage to be dismayed or discouraged at the -usage like you have had, so I assure you that my estimation of you is -nothing diminished by it, but rather begets in me a desire of revenge -and reparation to us both (for in this I hold myself equally -interested with you), whereupon not doubting of your accustomed care -and industry in my service, I assure you of the continuance of my -favour and protection to you, and that in deeds more than in words I -shall show myself to be your most assured constant friend. C. R." - -These letters have lately been republished by Dr. Lingard, _Hist. of -Eng._ x. note B, from Warner's _Hist. of the Civil War in Ireland_. -The cipher may be found in the _Biographia Britannica_, under the -article Bales. Dr. L. endeavours to prove that Glamorgan acted all -along with Ormond's privity; and it must be owned that the expression -in the king's last letter about revenge and reparation, which Dr. L. -does not advert to, has a very odd appearance. - -The controversy is, I suppose, completely at an end; so that it is -hardly necessary to mention a letter from Glamorgan, then Marquis of -Worcester, to Clarendon after the restoration, which has every -internal mark of credibility, and displays the king's unfairness. -_Clar. State Pap._ ii. 201, and Lingard, _ubi supra_. It is remarkable -that the transaction is never mentioned in the _History of the -Rebellion_. The noble author was, however, convinced of the -genuineness of Glamorgan's commission, as appears by a letter to -Secretary Nicholas. "I must tell you, I care not how little I say in -that business of Ireland, since those strange powers and instructions -given to your favourite Glamorgan, which appear to be so inexcusable -to justice, piety, and prudence. And I fear there is very much in that -transaction of Ireland, both before and since that you and I were -never thought wise enough to be advised with in. Oh! Mr. Secretary, -those stratagems have given me more sad hours than all the misfortunes -in war which have befallen the king, and look like the effect of God's -anger towards us." _Id._ p. 237. See also a note of Mr. Laing, _Hist. -of Scotland_, iii. 557, for another letter of the king to Glamorgan, -from Newcastle, in July 1646, not less explicit than the foregoing. - -[321] Burnet's _Mem. of Dukes of Hamilton_, 284. Baillie's letters, -throughout 1646, indicate his apprehension of the prevalent spirit, -which he dreaded as implacable, not only to monarchy, but to -presbytery and the Scots nation. "The leaders of the people seem -inclined to have no shadow of a king, to have liberty for all -religions, a lame Erastian presbytery, to be so injurious to us as to -chase us hence with the sword."--148. March 31, 1646. "The common word -is, that they will have the king prisoner. Possibly they may grant to -the prince to be a duke of Venice. The militia must be absolutely, for -all time to come, in the power of the parliament, alone," etc.--200. -On the king's refusal of the propositions sent to Newcastle, the Scots -took great pains to prevent a vote against him. 226. There was still, -however, danger of this. 236, Oct. 13, and p. 243. His intrigues with -both parties, the presbyterians and independents, were now known; and -all sides seem to have been ripe for deposing them. 245. These letters -are a curious contrast to the idle fancies of a speedy and triumphant -restoration, which Clarendon himself as well as others of less -judgment seem to have entertained. - -[322] "Though he should swear it," says Baillie, "no man will believe -that he sticks upon episcopacy for any conscience."--ii. 205. And -again: "It is pity that base hypocrisy, when it is pellucid, shall -still be entertained. No oaths did ever persuade me, that episcopacy -was ever adhered to on any conscience."--224. This looks at first like -mere bigotry. But, when we remember that Charles had abolished -episcopacy in Scotland, and was ready to abolish protestantism in -Ireland, Baillie's prejudices will appear less unreasonable. The -king's private letters in the _Clarendon Papers_ have convinced me of -his mistaken conscientiousness about church government; but of this -his contemporaries could not be aware. - -[323] Hollis maintains that the violent party were very desirous that -the Scots should carry the king with them, and that nothing could have -been more injurious to his interests. If we may believe Berkley, who -is much confirmed by Baillie, the presbyterians had secretly engaged -to the Scots that the army should be disbanded, and the king brought -up to London with honour and safety. "Memoirs of Sir J. Berkley," in -Maseres's _Tracts_, i. 358; Baillie, ii. 257. This affords no bad -justification of the Scots for delivering him up. - -"It is very like," says Baillie, "if he had done any duty, though he -had never taken the covenant, but permitted it to have been put in an -act of parliament in both kingdoms, and given so satisfactory an -answer to the rest of the propositions, as easily he might, and -sometimes I know he was willing, certainly Scotland had been for him -as one man: and the body of England, upon many grounds, was upon a -disposition to have so cordially embraced him, that no man, for his -life, durst have muttered against his present restitution. But -remaining what he was in all his maxims, a full Canterburian, both in -matters of religion and state, he still inclined to a new war; and for -that end resolved to go to Scotland. Some great men there pressed the -equity of Scotland's protecting of him on any terms. This untimeous -excess of friendship has ruined that unhappy prince; for the better -party finding the conclusion of the king's coming to Scotland, and -thereby their own present ruin, and the ruin of the whole cause, the -making the malignants masters of church and state, the drawing the -whole force of England upon Scotland for their perjurious violation of -their covenant, they resolved by all means to cross that design."--P. -253. - -[324] The votes for payment of the sum of L400,000 to the Scots are on -Aug. 21, 27, and Sept. 1; though it was not fully agreed between the -two nations till Dec. 8. Whitelock, 220, 229. But Whitelock dates the -commencement of the understanding as to the delivery of the king about -Dec. 24. P. 231. See Commons' Journals. Baillie, ii. 246, 253; -Burnet's _Memoirs of Hamiltons_, 293, etc.; Laing, iii. 362; and Mr. -Godwin's _History of the Commonwealth_, ii. 258; a work in which great -attention has been paid to the order of time. - -[325] Journals, Aug. and Sept.; Godwin, _ubi supra_; Baillie, ii. -_passim_. - -[326] Baillie, who, in Jan. 1644, speaks of the independents as rather -troublesome than formidable, and even says: "No man, I know, in either -of the houses of any note is for them" (437); and that "Lord Say's -power and reputation is none at all;" admits, in a few months, the -alarming increase of independency and sectarianism in the Earl of -Manchester's army; more than two parts in three of the officers and -soldiers being with them, and those the most resolute and confident; -though they had no considerable force either in Essex's or Waller's -army, nor in the assembly of divines or the parliament, ii. 5, 19, 20. -This was owing in a great degree to the influence, at that period, of -Cromwell over Manchester. "The man," he says, "is a very wise and -active head, universally well beloved, as religious and stout; being a -known independent, and most of the soldiers who love new ways put -themselves under his command."--60. - -[327] The independent party, or at least some of its most eminent -members, as Lord Say and Mr. St. John, were in a secret correspondence -with Oxford, through the medium of Lord Saville, in the spring of -1645, if we believe Hollis, who asserts that he had seen their -letters, asking offices for themselves. _Mem. of Hollis_, sect. 43. -Baillie refers this to an earlier period, the beginning of 1644 (i. -427); and I conceive that Hollis has been incorrect as to the date. -The king, however, was certainly playing a game with them in the -beginning of 1646, as well as with the presbyterians, so as to give -both parties an opinion of his insincerity. _Clarendon State Papers_, -214; and see two remarkable letters written by his order to Sir Henry -Vane, 226, urging an union, in order to overthrow the presbyterian -government. - -[328] The principles of the independents are set forth candidly, and -even favourably, by Collier, 829; as well as by Neal, ii. 98. For -those who are not much acquainted with ecclesiastical distinction, it -may be useful to mention the two essential characteristics of this -sect, by which they differed from the presbyterians. The first was, -that all churches or separate congregations were absolutely -independent of each other as to jurisdiction or discipline; whence -they rejected all synods and representative assemblies as possessing -authority; though they generally admitted, to a very limited degree, -the alliance of churches for mutual counsel and support. Their second -characteristic was the denial of spiritual powers communicated in -ordination by apostolical succession; deeming the call of a -congregation a sufficient warrant for the exercise of the ministry. -See Orme's _Life of Owen_, for a clear view and able defence of the -principles maintained by this party. I must add, that Neal seems to -have proved that the independents, as a body, were not systematically -adverse to monarchy. - -[329] Edwards's _Gangraena_, a noted book in that age, enumerates one -hundred and seventy-six heresies, which, however, are reduced by him -to sixteen heads; and these seem capable of further consideration. -Neal, 249. The house ordered a general fast, Feb. 1647, to beseech God -to stop the growth of heresy and blasphemy. Whitelock, 236; a -presbyterian artifice to alarm the nation. - -[330] _Parl. Hist._ ii. 1479. They did not meet till July 1, 1643. -Rushw. Abr. v. 123; Neal, 42; Collier, 823. Though this assembly -showed abundance of bigotry and narrowness, they were by no means so -contemptible as Clarendon represents them (ii. 423); and perhaps equal -in learning, good sense, and other merits, to any lower house of -convocation that ever made a figure in England. - -[331] Whitelock, 71; Neal, 103. Selden, who owed no gratitude to the -episcopal church, was from the beginning of its dangers a steady and -active friend, displaying, whatever may have been said of his -timidity, full as much courage as could reasonably be expected from a -studious man advanced in years. Baillie, in 1641, calls him "the -avowed proctor of the bishops" (i. 245); and when provoked by his -Erastian opposition in 1646, presumes to talk of his "insolent -absurdity" (ii. 96). Selden sat in the assembly of divines; and by his -great knowledge of the ancient languages and of ecclesiastical -antiquities, as well as by his sound logic and calm clear judgment, -obtained an undeniable superiority, which he took no pains to conceal. - -[332] Scobell; Rushw. Abr. v. 576; _Parl. Hist._ iii. 444; Neal, 199. -The latter says, this did not pass the Lords till June 6. But this is -not so. Whitelock very rightly opposed the prohibition of the use of -the common prayer, and of the silencing episcopal ministers, as -contrary to the principle of liberty of conscience avowed by the -parliament, and like what had been complained of in the bishops. 226, -239, 281. But, in Sept. 1647, it was voted that the indulgence in -favour of tender consciences should not extend to tolerate the common -prayer. _Id._ 274. - -[333] The Erastians were named from Erastus, a German physician in the -sixteenth century. The denomination is often used in the present age -ignorantly, and therefore indefinitely; but I apprehend that the -fundamental principle of his followers was this: That in a -commonwealth where the magistrate professes Christianity, it is not -convenient that offences against religion and morality should be -punished by the censures of the church, especially by excommunication. -Probably he may have gone farther, as Selden seems to have done (Neal, -194), and denied the right of exclusion from church communion, even -without reference to the temporal power; but the limited proposition -was of course sufficient to raise the practical controversy. The -Helvetic divines, Gualter and Bullinger, strongly concurred in this -with Erastus; "Contendimus disciplinam esse debere in ecclesia, sed -satis esse, si ea administretur a magistratu." Erastus, _de -Excommunicatione_, p. 350; and a still stronger passage in p. 379. And -it is said, that Archbishop Whitgift caused Erastus's book to be -printed at his own expense. See one of Warburton's notes on Neal. -Calvin, and the whole of his school, held, as is well known, a very -opposite tenet. See _Erasti Theses de Excommunicatione_, 4to, 1579. - -The ecclesiastical constitution of England is nearly Erastian in -theory, and almost wholly so in practice. Every sentence of the -spiritual judge is liable to be reversed by a civil tribunal, the -court of delegates, by virtue of the king's supremacy over all causes. -And, practically, what is called church discipline, or the censures of -ecclesiastical governors for offences, has gone so much into disuse, -and what remains is so contemptible, that I believe no one, except -those who derive a little profit from it, would regret its abolition. - -"The most part of the House of Commons," says Baillie, ii. 149, -"especially the lawyers, whereof there are many, and divers of them -very able men, are either half or whole Erastians, believing no church -government to be of divine right, but all to be a human constitution -depending on the will of the magistrate." "The pope and king," he says -in another place (196), "were never more earnest for the headship of -the church than the plurality of this parliament." See also p. 183; -and Whitelock, 169. - -[334] _Parl. Hist._ 459 _et alibi_; Rushw. Abr. v. 578 _et alibi_; -Whitelock, 165, 169, 173, 176 _et post_; Baillie's _Letters_, -_passim_; Neal, 23, etc., 191 _et post_; Collier, 841. The assembly -attempted to sustain their own cause by counter votes; and, the -minority of independents and Erastians having withdrawn, it was -carried with a single dissent of Lightfoot, that Christ had -established a government in his church independent of the civil -magistrate. Neal, 223. - -[335] Neal, 228. Warburton says, in his note on this passage, that -"the presbyterian was _to all intents and purposes_ the established -religion during the time of the commonwealth." But, as coercive -discipline and synodical government are no small intents and purposes -of that religion, this assertion requires to be modified, as it has -been in my text. Besides which, there were many ministers of the -independent sect in benefices, some of whom probably had never -received ordination. "Both baptists and independents," says a very -well informed writer of the latter denomination, "were in the practice -of accepting the livings, that is, the temporalities of the church. -They did not, however, view themselves as parish ministers, and bound -to administer all the ordinances of religion to the parish population. -They occupied the parochial edifices, and received a portion of the -tithes for their maintenance; but in all other respects acted -according to their own principles." Orme's _Life of Owen_, 136. This -he thinks would have produced very serious evils, if not happily -checked by the Restoration. "During the commonwealth," he observes -afterwards (245), "no system of church government can be considered as -having been properly or fully established. The presbyterians, if any, -enjoyed this distinction." - -[336] The city began to petition for the establishment of presbytery, -and against toleration of sectaries, early in 1646; and not long after -came to assume what seemed to the Commons too dictatorial a tone. This -gave much offence, and contributed to drive some members into the -opposite faction. Neal, 193, 221, 241; Whitelock, 207, 240. - -[337] Vol. ii. 268. See also 207, and other places. This is a remark -that requires attention; many are apt to misunderstand the question. -"For this point (toleration) both they and we contend," says Baillie, -"tanquam pro aris et focis."--ii. 175. "Not only they praise your -magistrate" (writing to a Mr. Spang in Holland), "who for policy gives -some secret tolerance to divers religions, wherein, as I conceive, -your divines preach against them as great sinners, but avow that by -God's command the magistrate is discharged to put the least -discourtesy on any man, Jew, Turk, Papist, Socinian, or whatever, for -his religion."--18. See also 61, and many other passages. "The army" -(says Hugh Peters in a tract, entitled "A Word for the Army, and Two -Words to the People," 1647) "never hindered the state from a state -religion, having only wished to enjoy now what the puritans begged -under the prelates; when we desire more, blame us, and shame us." In -another, entitled "Vox Militaris," the author says: "We did never -engage against this platform, nor for that platform, nor ever will, -except better informed; and therefore, if the state establisheth -presbytery, we shall never oppose it." - -The question of toleration, in its most important shape, was brought -at this time before parliament, on occasion of one Paul Best who had -written against the doctrine of the trinity. According to the common -law, heretics, on being adjudged by the spiritual court, were -delivered over to be burned under the writ de haeretico comburendo. -This punishment had been inflicted five times under Elizabeth; on -Wielmacker and Ter Wort, two Dutch anabaptists, who, like many of that -sect, entertained Arian tenets, and were burned in Smithfield in 1575; -on Matthew Hammond in 1579, Thomas Lewis in 1583, and Francis Ket in -1588; all burned by Scambler, Bishop of Norwich. It was also inflicted -on Bartholomew Legat and Edward Wightman, under James, in 1614; the -first burned by King, Bishop of London, the second by Neile of -Litchfield. A third, by birth a Spaniard, incurred the same penalty; -but the compassion of the people showed itself so strongly at Legat's -execution that James thought it expedient not to carry the sentence -into effect. Such is the venomous and demoralising spirit of bigotry, -that Fuller, a writer remarkable for good nature and gentleness, -expresses his indignation at the pity which was manifested by the -spectators of Legat's sufferings. _Church Hist._ part ii. p. 62. In -the present case of Paul Best, the old sentence of fire was not -suggested by any one; but an ordinance was brought in, Jan. 1646, to -punish him with death. Whitelock, 190. Best made, at length, such an -explanation as was accepted (Neal, 214); but an ordinance to suppress -blasphemies and heresies as capital offences was brought in. Commons' -Journals, April 1646. The independents gaining strength, this was long -delayed; but the ordinance passed both houses, May 2, 1648. _Id._ 303. -Neal (338) justly observes, that it shows the governing presbyterians -would have made a terrible use of their power, had they been supported -by the sword of the civil magistrate. The denial of the trinity, -incarnation, atonement, or inspiration of any book of the Old or New -Testament, was made felony. Lesser offences, such as anabaptism, or -denying the lawfulness of presbyterian government, were punishable by -imprisonment till the party should recant. It was much opposed, -especially by Whitelock. The writ de haeretico comburendo, as is well -known, was taken away by act of parliament in 1677. - -[338] "In all New England, no liberty of living for a presbyterian. -Whoever there, were they angels for life and doctrine, will essay to -set up a different way from them [the independents], shall be sure of -present banishment." Baillie, ii. 4, also 17. I am surprised to find a -late writer of that country (Dwight's _Travels in New England_) -attempt to extenuate at least the intolerance of the independents -towards the quakers, who came to settle there; and which, we see, -extended also to the presbyterians. But Mr. Orme, with more judgment, -observes that the New England congregations did not sufficiently -adhere to the principle of independency, and acted too much as a body; -to which he ascribes their persecution of the quakers and others. -_Life of Owen_, 335. It is certain that the congregational scheme -leads to toleration, as the national church scheme is adverse to it, -for manifold reasons which the reader will discover. - -[339] Though the writings of Chillingworth and Hales are not directly -in behalf of toleration, no one could relish them without imbibing its -spirit in the fullest measure. The great work of Jeremy Taylor, on the -_Liberty of Prophesying_, was published in 1647; and, if we except a -few concessions to the temper of the times, which are not reconcilable -to its general principles, has left little for those who followed him. -Mr. Orme admits that the remonstrants of Holland maintained the -principles of toleration very early (p. 50); but refers to a tract by -Leonard Busher, an independent, in 1614, as "containing the most -enlightened and scriptural views of religious liberty."--P. 99. He -quotes other writings of the same sect under Charles I. - -[340] Several proofs of this occur in the _Clarendon State Papers_. A -letter, in particular, from Colepepper to Digby, in Sept. 1645, is so -extravagantly sanguine, considering the posture of the king's affairs -at that time, that, if it was perfectly sincere, Colepepper must have -been a man of less ability than has generally been supposed. Vol. ii. -p. 188. Neal has some sensible remarks on the king's mistake in -supposing that any party which he did not join must in the end be -ruined. P. 268. He had not lost this strange confidence after his very -life had become desperate; and told Sir John Bowring, when he advised -him not to spin out the time at the treaty of Newport, that "any -interests would be glad to come in with him." See Bowring's _Memoirs_ -in Halifax's _Miscellanies_, 132. - -[341] Baillie's letters are full of this feeling, and must be reckoned -fair evidence, since no man could be more bigoted to presbytery, or -more bitter against the royalist party. I have somewhere seen Baillie -praised for his mildness. His letters give no proof of it. Take the -following specimens: "Mr. Maxwell of Ross has printed at Oxford so -desperately malicious an invective against our assemblies and -presbyteries, that, however I could hardly consent to the hanging of -Canterbury or of any jesuit, yet I could give my sentence freely -against that unhappy man's life."--ii. 99. "God has struck Coleman -with death; he fell in an ague, and after three or four days expired. -It is not good to stand in Christ's way."--P. 199. - -Baillie's judgment of men was not more conspicuous than his -moderation. "Vane and Cromwell are of horrible hot fancies to put all -in confusion, but not of any deep reach. St. John and Pierrepont are -more stayed, but not great heads."--P. 258. The drift of all his -letters is, that every man who resisted the _jus divinum_ of -presbytery was knave or fool, if not both. They are, however, -eminently serviceable as historical documents. - -[342] "Now for my own particular resolution," he says in a letter to -Digby, March 26, 1646, "it is this. I am endeavouring to get to -London, so that the conditions may be such as a gentleman may own, and -that the rebels may acknowledge me king; being not without hope that I -shall be able so to draw either the presbyterians or independents to -side with me for extirpating the one or the other, that I shall be -really king again." Carte's _Ormond_, iii. 452; quoted by Mr. Brodie, -to whom I am indebted for the passage. I have mentioned already his -overture about this time to Sir Henry Vane through Ashburnham. - -[343] Clarendon, followed by Hume and several others, appears to say -that Ragland Castle in Monmouthshire, defended by the Marquis of -Worcester, was the last that surrendered; namely, in August 1646. I -use the expression _appears to say_, because the last edition, which -exhibits his real text, shows that he paid this compliment to -Pendennis Castle in Cornwall, and that his original editors (I suppose -to do honour to a noble family), foisted in the name of Ragland. It is -true, however, of neither. The North Welsh castles held out -considerably longer; that of Harlech was not taken till April 1647, -which put an end to the war. Whitelock. - -Clarendon, still more unyielding than his master, extols the long -resistance of his party, and says that those who surrendered at the -first summons obtained no better terms than they who made the stoutest -defence; as if that were a sufficient justification for prolonging a -civil war. In fact, however, they did the king some harm; inasmuch as -they impeded the efforts made in parliament to disband the army. -Several votes of the Commons show this; see the Journals of 12th May -and 31st July 1646. - -[344] The resolution to disband Fairfax's regiment next Tuesday at -Chelmsford passed 16th May 1647, by 136 to 115; Algernon Sidney being -a teller of the noes. Commons' Journals. In these votes the house, -that is, the presbyterian majority, acted with extreme imprudence; not -having provided for the payment of the army's arrears at the time they -were thus disbanding them. Whitelock advised Hollis and his party not -to press the disbanding; and on finding them obstinate, drew off, as -he tells us, from that connection, and came nearer to Cromwell. P. -248. This, however, he had begun to do rather earlier. Independently -of the danger of disgusting the army, it is probable that, as soon as -it was disbanded, the royalists would have been up in arms. For the -growth of this discontent, day by day, peruse Whitelock's Journal for -March and the three following months, as well as the _Parliamentary -History_. - -[345] It was only carried by 159 to 147, March 5, 1647, that the -forces should be commanded by Fairfax. But on the 8th, the house voted -without a division, that no officer under him should be above the rank -of a colonel, and that no member of the house should have any command -in the army. It is easy to see at whom this was levelled. Commons' -Journals. They voted at the same time that the officers should all -take the covenant, which had been rejected two years before; and, by a -majority of 136 to 108, that they should all conform to the government -of the church established by both houses of parliament. - -[346] _Clar. State Papers_, ii. 365. The army, in a declaration not -long after the king fell into their power, June 24, use these -expressions: "We clearly profess that we do not see how there can be -any peace to this kingdom firm or lasting, without a due provision for -the rights, quiet, and immunity of his majesty, his royal family, and -his late partakers."--_Parl. Hist._ 647. - -[347] Hollis censures the speakers of the two houses and others who -fled to the army from this mob; the riot being "a sudden tumultuous -thing of young idle people without design." Possibly this might be the -case; but the tumult at the door of the house, 26th July, was such -that it could not be divided. Their votes were plainly null, as being -made under duress. Yet the presbyterians were so strong in the Commons -that a resolution to annul all proceedings during the speaker's -absence was lost by 97 to 95, after his return; and it was only voted -to repeal them. A motion to declare that the houses, from 26th July to -6th August, had been under a force, was also lost by 78 to 75. -Journals, 9th and 17th August. The Lords, however, passed an ordinance -to this effect; and after once more rejecting it, the Commons agreed -on August 20, with a proviso that no one should be called in question -for what had been done. - -[348] These transactions are best read in the Commons' Journals, and -_Parliamentary History_, and next to those, in Whitelock. Hollis -relates them with great passion; and Clarendon, as he does everything -else that passed in London, very imperfectly. He accounts for the Earl -of Manchester and the Speaker Lenthal's retiring to the army by their -persuasion that the chief officers had nearly concluded a treaty with -the king, and resolved to have their shares in it. This is a very -unnecessary surmise. Lenthal was a poor-spirited man, always -influenced by those whom he thought the strongest, and in this -instance, according to Ludlow (p. 206) persuaded with difficulty by -Haslerig to go to the army. Manchester indeed had more courage and -honour; but he was not of much capacity, and his parliamentary conduct -was not systematic. But upon the whole it is obvious, on reading the -list of names (_Parl. Hist._ 757), that the king's friends were rather -among those who staid behind, especially in the Lords, than among -those who went to the army. Seven of eight peers who continued to sit -from 26th July to 6th of August 1647, were impeached for it afterwards -(_Parl. Hist._ 764), and they were all of the most moderate party. If -the king had any previous connection with the city, he acted very -disingenuously in his letter to Fairfax, Aug. 3, while the contest was -still pending; wherein he condemns the tumults, and declares his -unwillingness that his friends should join with the city against the -army, whose proposals he had rejected the day before with an -imprudence of which he was now sensible. This letter, as actually sent -to Fairfax, is in the _Parliamentary History_, 734, and may be -compared with a rough draught of the same, preserved in _Clarendon -Papers_, 373, from which it materially differs, being much sharper -against the city. - -[349] Fairfax's "Memoirs" in Maseres's _Collection of Tracts_, vol. i. -p. 447. "By this," says Fairfax, who had for once found a man less -discerning of the times than himself, "I plainly saw the broken reed -he leaned on. The agitators had brought the king into an opinion that -the army was for him." Ireton said plainly to the king, "Sir, you have -an intention to be the arbitrator between the parliament and us; and -we mean to be so between your majesty and the parliament."--Berkley's -"Memoirs," _ibid._ p. 360. - -This folly of the king, if Mrs. Hutchinson is well informed, alienated -Ireton, who had been more inclined to trust him than is commonly -believed. "Cromwell," she says, "was at that time so incorruptibly -faithful to his trust and the people's interest, that he could not be -drawn in to practise even his own usual and natural dissimulation on -this occasion. His son-in-law Ireton, that was as faithful as he, was -not so fully of the opinion, till he had tried it, and found to the -contrary, but that the king might have been managed to comply with the -public good of his people, after he could no longer uphold his own -violent will; but upon some discourses with him, the king uttering -these words to him, 'I shall play my game as well as I can,' Ireton -replied, 'If your majesty have a game, you must give us also the -liberty to play ours.' Colonel Hutchinson privately discoursing with -his cousin about the communications he had had with the king, Ireton's -expressions were these: 'He gave us words, and we paid him in his own -coin, when we found he had no real intention to the people's good, but -to prevail, by our factions, to regain by art what he had lost in -fight.'"--P. 274. - -It must be said for the king that he was by no means more sanguine or -more blind than his distinguished historian and minister. Clarendon's -private letters are full of strange and absurd expectations. Even so -late as October 1647, he writes to Berkley in high hopes from the -army, and presses him to make no concessions except as to persons. "If -they see you will not yield, they must; for sure they have as much or -more need of the king than he of them."--P. 379. The whole tenor, -indeed, of Clarendon's correspondence demonstrates that, -notwithstanding the fine remarks occasionally scattered through his -history, he was no practical statesman, nor had any just conception, -at the time, of the course of affairs. He never flinched from one -principle, not very practicable or rational in the circumstances of -the king; that nothing was to be receded from which had ever been -desired. This may be called magnanimity; but no foreign or domestic -dissension could be settled, if all men were to act upon it, or if all -men, like Charles and Clarendon, were to expect that Providence would -interfere to support what seems to them the best, that is, their own -cause. The following passage is a specimen: "Truly I am so unfit to -bear a part in carrying on this new contention [by negotiation and -concession], that I would not, to preserve myself, wife, and children -from the lingering death of want by famine (for a sudden death would -require no courage), consent to the lessening any part, which I take -to be in the function of a bishop, or the taking away the smallest -prebendary in the church, or to be bound not to endeavour to alter any -such alteration."--_Id._ vol. iii. p. 2, Feb. 4, 1648. - -[350] _Parl. Hist._ 738. Clarendon talks of these proposals as worse -than any the king had ever received from the parliament; and Hollis -says they "dissolved the whole frame of the monarchy." It is hard to -see, however, that they did so in a greater degree than those which he -had himself endeavoured to obtain as a commissioner at Uxbridge. As to -the church, they were manifestly the best that Charles had ever seen. -As to his prerogative and the power of the monarchy, he was so -thoroughly beaten, that no treaty could do him any substantial -service; and he had, in truth, only to make his election, whether to -be the nominal chief of an aristocratical or a democratical republic. -In a well-written tract, called "Vox Militaris," containing a defence -of the army's proceedings and intentions, and published apparently in -July 1647, their desire to preserve the king's rights, according to -their notion of them, and the general laws of the realm, is strongly -asserted. - -[351] The precise meaning of this word seems obscure. Some have -supposed it to be a corruption of adjutators, as if the modern term -adjutant meant the same thing. But I find agitator always so spelled -in the pamphlets of the time. - -[352] Berkley's _Memoirs_, 366. He told Lord Capel about this time -that he expected a war between Scotland and England; that the Scots -hoped for the assistance of the presbyterians; and that he wished his -own party to rise in arms on a proper conjuncture, without which he -could not hope for much benefit from the others. Clarendon, v. 476. - -[353] Berkley, 368, etc. Compare the letter of Ashburnham, published -in 1648, and reprinted in 1764, but probably not so full as the MS. in -the Earl of Ashburnham's possession; also the Memoirs of Hollis, -Huntingdon, and Fairfax, which are all in Maseres's Collection; also -Ludlow, Hutchinson, Clarendon, Burnet's _Memoirs of Hamilton_, and -some despatches in 1647 and 1648, from a royalist in London, printed -in the appendix to the second volume of the _Clarendon Papers_. This -correspondent of Secretary Nicholas believes Cromwell and Ireton to -have all along planned the king's destruction, and set the levellers -on, till they proceeded so violently, that they were forced to -restrain them. This also is the conclusion of Major Huntingdon, in his -Reasons for laying down his Commission. But the contrary appears to me -more probable. - -Two anecdotes, well known to those conversant in English history, are -too remarkable to be omitted. It is said by the editor of Lord -Orrery's _Memoirs_, as a relation which he had heard from that noble -person, that in a conversation with Cromwell concerning the king's -death, the latter told him, he and his friends had once a mind to have -closed with the king, fearing that the Scots and presbyterians might -do so; when one of their spies, who was of the king's bedchamber, gave -them information of a letter from his majesty to the queen, sewed up -in the skirt of a saddle, and directing them to an inn where it might -be found. They obtained the letter accordingly, in which the king -said, that he was courted by both factions, the Scots presbyterians -and the army; that those which bade fairest for him should have him; -but he thought he should rather close with the Scots than the other. -Upon this, finding themselves unlikely to get good terms from the -king, they from that time vowed his destruction. Carte's _Ormond_, ii. -12. - -A second anecdote is alluded to by some earlier writers, but is -particularly told in the following words, by Richardson, the painter, -author of some anecdotes of Pope, edited by Spence. "Lord Bolingbroke -told us, June 12, 1742 (Mr. Pope, Lord Marchmont, and myself), that -the second Earl of Oxford had often told him that he had seen, and had -in his hands, an original letter that Charles the First wrote to his -queen, in answer to one of hers that had been intercepted, and then -forwarded to him; wherein she had reproached him for having made those -villains too great concession, viz. that Cromwell should be lord -lieutenant of Ireland for life without account; that that kingdom -should be in the hands of the party, with an army there kept which -should know no head but the lieutenant; that Cromwell should have a -garter, etc.: That in this letter of the king's it was said, that she -should leave him to manage, who was better informed of all -circumstances than she could be; but she might be entirely easy as to -whatever concessions he should make them; for that he should know in -due time how to deal with the rogues, who, instead of a silken garter, -should be fitted with a hempen cord. So the letter ended; which answer -as they waited for, so they intercepted accordingly; and it determined -his fate. This letter Lord Oxford said he had offered L500 for." - -The authenticity of this latter story has been constantly rejected by -Hume and the advocates of Charles in general; and, for one reason -among others, that it looks like a misrepresentation of that told by -Lord Orrery, which both stands on good authority, and is perfectly -conformable to all the memoirs of the time. I have, however, been -informed, that a memorandum nearly conformable to Richardson's -anecdote is extant, in the handwriting of Lord Oxford. - -It is possible that this letter is the same with that mentioned by -Lord Orrery; and in that case was written in the month of October. -Cromwell seems to have been in treaty with the king as late as -September; and advised him, according to Berkley, to reject the -proposals of the parliament in that month. Herbert mentions an -intercepted letter of the queen (_Memoirs_, 60); and even his story -proves that Cromwell and his party broke off with Charles from a -conviction of his dissimulation. See Laing's note, iii. 562; and the -note by Strype, therein referred to, on Kennet's _Complete Hist. of -England_, iii. 170; which speaks of a "constant tradition" about this -story, and is more worthy of notice, because it was written before the -publication of Lord Orrery's _Memoirs_, or of the _Richardsoniana_. - -[354] Ashburnham gives us to understand that the king had made choice -of the Isle of Wight, previously to his leaving Hampton Court, but -probably at his own suggestion. This seems confirmed by the king's -letter in Burnet's _Mem. of Dukes of Hamilton_, 326. Clarendon's -account is a romance, with little mixture probably of truth. -Ashburnham's _Narrative_, published in 1830, proves that he suggested -the Isle of Wight, in consequence of the king's being forced to -abandon a design he had formed of going to London, the Scots -commissioners retracting their engagement to support him. - -[355] _Parl. Hist._ 799. - -[356] Jan. 15. This vote was carried by 141 to 92. _Id._ 831. And see -Append. to 2nd vol. of _Clar. State Papers_. Cromwell was now vehement -against the king, though he had voted in his favour on Sept. 22. -Journals, and Berkley, 372. A proof that the king was meant to be -wholly rejected is, that at this time, in the list of the navy, the -expression "his majesty's ship," was changed to "the parliament's -ship." Whitelock, 291. - -The four bills were founded on four propositions (for which I refer to -Hume or the _Parliamentary History_, not to Clarendon, who has -mis-stated them) sent down from the Lords. The lower house voted to -agree with them by 115 to 106; Sidney and Evelyn tellers for the ayes, -Martin and Morley for the noes. The increase of the minority is -remarkable, and shows how much the king's refusal of the terms offered -him in September, and his escape from Hampton Court, had swollen the -commonwealth party; to which, by the way, Colonel Sidney at this time -seems not to have belonged. Ludlow says, that party hoped the king -would not grant the four bills (i. 224). The Commons published a -declaration of their reasons for making no further addresses to the -king, wherein they more than insinuate his participation in the murder -of his father by Buckingham. _Parl. Hist._ 847. - -[357] Clarendon, whose aversion to the Scots warps his judgment, says -that this treaty contained many things dishonourable to the English -nation. _Hist._ v. 532. The king lost a good deal in the eyes of this -uncompromising statesman, by the concessions he made in the Isle of -Wight. _State Papers_, 387. I cannot, for my own part, see anything -derogatory to England in the treaty; for the temporary occupation of a -few fortified towns in the north can hardly be called so. Charles, -there is some reason to think, had on a former occasion made offers to -the Scots far more inconsistent with his duty to this kingdom. - -[358] Clarendon; May, "Breviate of the Hist. of the Parliament," in -Maseres's _Tracts_, i. 113; Whitelock, 307, 317, etc. In a conference -between the two houses, July 25, 1648, the Commons gave as a reason -for insisting on the king's surrender of the militia as a preliminary -to a treaty, that such was the disaffection to the parliament on all -sides, that without the militia they could never be secure. Rush. Abr. -vi. 444. "The chief citizens of London," says May, 122, "and others -called presbyterians, though the presbyterian Scots abominated this -army, wished good success to these Scots no less than the malignants -did. Whence let the reader judge of the times." The fugitive sheets of -this year, such as the "Mercurius Aulicus," bear witness to the -exulting and insolent tone of the royalists. The chuckle over Fairfax -and Cromwell, as if they had caught a couple of rats in a trap. - -[359] April 28, 1648; _Parl. Hist._ 883. - -[360] June 6. These peers were the Earls of Suffolk, Middlesex, and -Lincoln, Lords Willoughby of Parham, Berkley, Hunsdon, and Maynard. -They were impeached for sitting in the house during the tumults from -26th of July to 6th of August 1647. The Earl of Pembroke, who had also -continued to sit, merely because he was too stupid to discover which -party was likely to prevail, escaped by truckling to the new powers. - -[361] June 8. - -[362] See _Parl. Hist._ 823, 892, 904, 921, 924, 959, 996, for the -different votes on this subject, wherein the presbyterians gradually -beat the independent or republican party, but with very small and -precarious majorities. - -[363] Clarendon, vi. 155. He is very absurd in imagining that any of -the parliamentary commissioners would have been satisfied with "an act -of indemnity and oblivion." - -That the parliament had some reason to expect the king's firmness of -purpose to give way, in spite of all his haggling, will appear from -the following short review of what had been done. 1. At Newmarket, in -June 1642, he absolutely refused the nineteen propositions tendered to -him by the Lords and Commons. 2. In the treaty of Oxford, March 1643, -he seems to have made no concession, not even promising an amnesty to -those he had already excluded from pardon. 3. In the treaty of -Uxbridge, no mention was made on his side of exclusion from pardon; he -offered to vest the militia for seven years in commissioners jointly -appointed by himself and parliament, so that it should afterwards -return to him, and to limit the jurisdiction of the bishops. 4. In the -winter of 1645, he not only offered to disband his forces, but to let -the militia be vested for seven years in commissioners to be appointed -by the two houses, and afterwards to be settled by bill; also to give -the nomination of officers of state and judges _pro hac vice_ to the -houses. 5. He went no farther in substance till May 1647; when he -offered the militia for ten years, as well as great limitations of -episcopacy, and the continuance of presbyterian government for three -years; the whole matter to be afterwards settled by bill on the advice -of the assembly of divines, and twenty more of his own nomination. 6. -In his letter from Carisbrook, Nov. 1647, he gave up the militia for -his life. This was in effect to sacrifice almost everything as to -immediate power; but he struggled to save the church lands from -confiscation, which would have rendered it hardly practicable to -restore episcopacy in future. His further concessions in the treaty of -Newport, though very slowly extorted, were comparatively trifling. - -What Clarendon thought of the treaty of Newport may be imagined. "You -may easily conclude," he writes to Digby, "how fit a counsellor I am -like to be, when the best that is proposed is that which I _would not -consent unto to preserve the kingdom from ashes_. I can tell you worse -of myself than this; which is, that there may be some reasonable -expedients which possibly might in truth restore and preserve all, in -which I could bear no part."--P. 459. See also p. 351 and 416. I do -not divine what he means by this. But what he could not have approved -was, that the king had no thoughts of dealing sincerely with the -parliament in this treaty, and gave Ormond directions to obey all his -wife's commands, but not to obey any further orders he might send, nor -to be startled at his great concessions respecting Ireland, for they -would come to nothing. Carte's _Papers_, i. 185. See Mr. Brodie's -remarks on this, iv. 143-146. He had agreed to give up the government -of Ireland for twenty years to the parliament. In his answer to the -propositions at Newcastle, sent in May 1647, he had declared that he -would give full satisfaction with respect to Ireland. But he thus -explains himself to the queen: "I have so couched that article that, -if the Irish give me cause, I may interpret it enough to their -advantage. For I only say that I will give them (the two houses) full -satisfaction as to the management of the war, nor do I promise to -continue the war; so that, if I find reason to make a good peace -there, my engagement is at an end. Wherefore make this my -interpretation known to the Irish." _Clar. State Papers._ "What -reliance," says Mr. Laing, from whom I transcribe this passage (which -I cannot find in the book quoted), "could parliament place at the -beginning of the dispute, or at any subsequent period, on the word or -moderation of a prince, whose solemn and written declarations were so -full of equivocation?" _Hist. of Scotland_, iii. 409. It may here be -added that, though Charles had given his parole to Colonel Hammond, -and had the sentinels removed in consequence, he was engaged during -most part of his stay at Carisbrook in schemes for an escape. See Col. -Cooke's "Narrative," printed with Herbert's _Memoirs_; and in Rushw. -Abr. vi. 534. But his enemies were apprised of this intention, and -even of an attempt to escape by removing a bar of his window, as -appears by the letters from the committee of Derby House, Cromwell, -and others, to Col. Hammond, published in 1764. - -[364] Clarendon mentions an expression that dropped from Henry Martin -in conversation, not long after the meeting of the parliament: "I do -not think one man wise enough to govern us all." This may doubtless be -taken in a sense perfectly compatible with our limited monarchy. But -Martin's republicanism was soon apparent; he was sent to the Tower in -August 1643, for language reflecting on the king. _Parl. Hist._ 161. A -Mr. Chillingworth had before incurred the same punishment for a like -offence, December 1, 1641. Nalson, ii. 714. Sir Henry Ludlow, father -of the regicide, was also censured on the same account. As the -opposite faction grew stronger, Martin was not only restored to his -seat, but the vote against him was expunged. Vane, I presume, took up -republican principles pretty early; perhaps also Haslerig. With these -exceptions, I know not that we can fix on any individual member of -parliament the charge of an intention to subvert the constitution till -1646 or 1647. - -[365] Pamphlets may be found as early as 1643 which breathe this -spirit; but they are certainly rare till 1645 and 1646. Such are -"Plain English," 1643; "The Character of an Anti-malignant," 1645; -"Last Warning to all the Inhabitants of London," 1647. - -[366] Charles Louis, elector palatine, elder brother of the Princes -Rupert and Maurice, gave cause to suspect that he was looking towards -the throne. He left the king's quarters where he had been at the -commencement of the war, and retired to Holland; whence he wrote, as -well as his mother, the Queen of Bohemia, to the parliament, -disclaiming and renouncing Prince Rupert, and begging their own -pensions might be paid. He came over to London in August 1644, took -the covenant, and courted the parliament. They showed, however, at -first, a good deal of jealousy of him; and intimated that his affairs -would prosper better by his leaving the kingdom. Whitelock, 101; Rush. -Abr. xv. 359. He did not take this hint, and obtained next year an -allowance of L8000 per annum. _Id._ 145. Lady Ranelagh, in a letter to -Hyde, March 1644, conjuring him by his regard for Lord Falkland's -memory to use all his influence to procure a message from the king for -a treaty, adds: "Methinks what I have informed my sister, and what she -will inform you, of the posture of the prince elector's affairs are in -here, should be a motive to hasten away this message." _Clar. State -Papers_, ii. 167. Clarendon himself, in a letter to Nicholas, Dec. 12, -1646 (where he gives his opinion that the independents look more to a -change of the king and his line than of the monarchy itself, and would -restore the full prerogative of the Crown to one of their own choice), -proceeds in these remarkable words: "And I pray God they have not such -a nose of wax ready for their impression. This it is makes me tremble -more than all their discourses of destroying monarchy; and that -towards this end, they find assistance from those who from their -hearts abhor their confusions." P. 308. These expressions seem more -applicable by far to the elector than to Cromwell. But the former was -not dangerous to the parliament, though it was deemed fit to treat him -with respect. In March 1647, we find a committee of both houses -appointed to receive some intelligence which the prince elector -desired to communicate to the parliament of great importance to the -protestant religion. Whitelock, 241. Nothing farther appears about -this intelligence; which looks as if he was merely afraid of being -forgotten. He left England in 1649, and died in 1680. - -[367] Baxter's _Life_, 50. He ascribes the increase of enthusiasm in -the army to the loss of its presbyterian chaplains, who left it for -their benefices, on the reduction of the king's party and the -new-modelling of the troops. The officers then took on them to act as -preachers. _Id._ 54; and Neal, 183. I conceive that the year 1645 is -that to which we must refer the appearance of a republican party in -considerable numbers, though not yet among the House of Commons. - -[368] These passed against the royalist members separately, and for -the most part in the first months of the war. - -[369] "The best friends of the parliament were not without fears what -the issue of the new elections might be; for though the people durst -not choose such as were open enemies to them, yet probably they would -such as were most likely to be for a peace on any terms, corruptly -preferring the fruition of their estates and sensual enjoyments before -the public interest," etc. Ludlow, i. 168. This is a fair confession -how little the commonwealth party had the support of the nation. - -[370] C. Journals; Whitelock, 168. The borough of Southwark had just -before petitioned for a new writ, its member being dead or disabled. - -[371] That the House of Commons, in December 1645, entertained no -views of altering the fundamental constitution, appears from some of -their resolutions as to conditions of peace: "That Fairfax should have -an earldom, with L5000 a year; Cromwell and Waller baronies, with half -that estate; Essex, Northumberland, and two more be made dukes; -Manchester and Salisbury marquises, and other peers of their party be -elevated to higher ranks; Haslerig, Stapylton, and Skippon to have -pensions." _Parl. Hist._ 403; Whitelock, 182. These votes do not speak -much for the magnanimity and disinterestedness of that assembly, -though it may suit political romancers to declaim about it. - -[372] Commons' Journals, May 4 and 18, 1647. This minority were not, -in general, republican; but were unwilling to increase the irritation -of the army by so strong a vote. - -[373] Commons' Journals; Whitelock, 271; _Parl. Hist._ 781. They had -just been exasperated by his evasion of their propositions. _Id._ 778. -By the smallness of the numbers, and the names of the tellers, it -seems as if the presbyterian party had been almost entirely absent; -which may be also inferred from other parts of the Journals. See -October 9, for a long list of absentees. Haslerig and Evelyn, both of -the army faction, told the Ayes, Martin and Sir Peter Wentworth the -Noes. The house had divided the day before on the question for going -into a committee to take this matter into consideration, 84 to 34; -Cromwell and Evelyn telling the majority, Wentworth and Rainsborough -the minority. I suppose it is from some of these divisions that Baron -Maseres has reckoned the republican party in the house not to exceed -thirty. - -It was resolved on Nov. 6, 1647, that the King of England, for the -time being, was bound in justice and by the duty of his office, to -give his assent to all such laws as by the Lords and Commons in -parliament shall be adjudged to be for the good of the kingdom, and by -them tendered unto him for his assent. But the previous question was -carried on the following addition: "And in case the laws, so offered -unto him, shall not thereupon be assented unto by him, that -nevertheless they are as valid to all intents and purposes as if his -assent had been thereunto had and obtained, which they do insist upon -as an undoubted right."--Com. Jour. - -[374] Ludlow says that Cromwell, "finding the king's friends grow -strong in 1648, began to court the commonwealth's party. The latter -told him he knew how to cajole and give them good words, when he had -occasion to make use of them; whereat, breaking out into a rage, he -said they were a proud sort of people, and only considerable in their -own conceits."--P. 240. Does this look as if he had been reckoned one -of them? - -[375] Clarendon says that there were many consultations among the -officers about the best mode of disposing of the king; some were for -deposing him, others for poison or assassination, which, he fancies, -would have been put in practice, if they could have prevailed on -Hammond. But this is not warranted by our better authorities. - -It is hard to say at what time the first bold man dared to talk of -bringing the king to justice. But in a letter of Baillie to Alexander -Henderson, May 19, 1646, he says, "If God have hardened him, so far as -I can perceive, this people will strive to have him in their power, -and make an example of him; _I abhor to think what they speak of -execution_!"--ii. 20. Published also in Dalrymple's _Memorials of -Charles I._, p. 166. Proofs may also be brought from pamphlets by -Lilburne and others in 1647, especially towards the end of that year; -and the remonstrance of the Scots parliament, dated Aug. 13, alludes -to such language. Rushw. Abr. vi. 245. Berkley indeed positively -assures us, that the resolution was taken at Windsor in a council of -officers, soon after the king's confinement at Carisbrook; and this -with so much particularity of circumstance that, if we reject his -account, we must set aside the whole of his memoirs at the same time. -Maseres's _Tracts_, i. 383. But it is fully confirmed by an -independent testimony, William Allen, himself one of the council of -officers and adjutant-general of the army, who, in a letter addressed -to Fleetwood, and published in 1659, declares that after much -consultation and prayer at Windsor Castle, in the beginning of 1648, -they had "come to a very clear and joint resolution that it was their -duty to call Charles Stuart, that man of blood, to an account for the -blood he had shed, and mischief he had done to his utmost, against the -Lord's cause and people in these poor nations." This is to be found in -_Somers Tracts_, vi. 499. The only discrepancy, if it is one, between -him and Berkley, is as to the precise time, which the other seems to -place in the end of 1647. But this might be lapse of memory in either -party; nor is it clear, on looking attentively at Berkley's narration, -that he determines the time. Ashburnham says, "For some days before -the king's remove from Hampton Court, there was scarcely a day in -which several alarms were not brought him by and from several -considerable persons, both well affected to him and likely to know -much of what was then in agitation, of the resolution which a violent -party in the army had to take away his life. And that such a design -there was, there were strong insinuations to persuade." See also his -_Narrative_, published in 1830. - -[376] _Somers Tracts_, v. 160, 162. - -[377] Sept. 11. _Parl. Hist._ 1077; May's "Breviate" in Maseres's -_Tracts_, vol. i. p. 127; Whitelock, 335. - -[378] Nov. 17. _Parl. Hist._ 1077; Whitelock, p. 355. A motion, Nov. -30, that the house do now proceed on the remonstrance of the army, was -lost by 125 to 58 (printed, 53 in _Parl. Hist._). Commons' Journals. -So weak was still the republican party. It is indeed remarkable that -this remonstrance itself is rather against the king, than absolutely -against all monarchy; for one of the proposals contained in it is that -kings should be chosen by the people, and have no negative voice. - -[379] The division was on the previous question, which was lost by 129 -to 83. - -[380] No division took place on any of the votes respecting the king's -trial. - -[381] Ludlow, i. 267. - -[382] Hutchinson, p. 303. - -[383] The king's manners were not good. He spoke and behaved to ladies -with indelicacy in public. See Warburton's _Notes on Clarendon_, vii. -629, and a passage in Milton's _Defensio pro populo Anglicano_, quoted -by Harris and Brodie. He once forgot himself so far as to cane Sir -Henry Vane for coming into a room of the palace reserved for persons -of higher rank. Carte's _Ormond_, i. 366, where other instances are -mentioned by that friendly writer. He had in truth none who loved him, -till his misfortunes softened his temper, and excited sympathy. - -An anecdote, strongly intimating the violence of Charles's temper, has -been rejected by his advocates. It is said that Burnet, in searching -the Hamilton papers, found that the king, on discovering the -celebrated letter of the Scots covenanting lords to the King of -France, was so incensed that he sent an order to Sir William Balfour, -lieutenant-governor of the Tower, to cut off the head of his prisoner, -Lord Loudon; but that the Marquis of Hamilton, to whom Balfour -immediately communicated this, urged so strongly on the king that the -city would be up in arms on this violence, that with reluctance he -withdrew the warrant. This story is told by Oldmixon, _Hist. of the -Stuarts_, p. 140. It was brought forward on Burnet's authority, and -also on that of the Duke of Hamilton, killed in 1712, by Dr. Birch, no -incompetent judge of historical evidence; it seems confirmed by an -intimation given by Burnet himself in his _Memoirs of the Duke of -Hamilton_, p. 161. It is also mentioned by Scott of Scotstarvet, a -contemporary writer. Harris, p. 350, quotes other authorities, earlier -than the anecdote told by Burnet; and upon the whole, I think the -story deserving credit, and by no means so much to be slighted as the -Oxford editor of Burnet has thought fit to do. - -[384] Clement Walker, _Hist. of Independency_, Part II. p. 55. - -[385] Clarendon, Collier, and the high church writers in general, are -very proud of the superiority they fancy the king to have obtained in -a long argumentation held at Newcastle with Henderson, a Scots -minister, on church authority and government. This was conducted in -writing, and the papers afterwards published. They may be read in the -King's Works, and in Collier, p. 842. It is more than insinuated that -Henderson died of mortification at his defeat. He certainly had not -the excuse of the philosopher who said he had no shame in yielding to -the master of fifty legions. But those who take the trouble to read -these papers, will probably not think one party so much the stronger -as to shorten the other's days. They show that Charles held those -extravagant tenets about the authority of the church and of the -fathers, which are irreconcilable with protestantism in any country -where it is not established, and are likely to drive it out where it -is so. - -[386] The note on this passage, which, on account of its length, was -placed at the end of the volume in the two first editions, is -withdrawn in this, as relating to a matter of literary controversy, -little connected with the general objects of this work. It is needless -to add, that the author entertains not the smallest doubt about the -justness of the arguments he had employed.--_Note to the Third -Edition._ - -[387] _Parl. Hist._ 349. The council of war more than once, in the -year 1647, declared their intention of preserving the rights of the -peerage. Whitelock, 288, and Sir William Waller's _Vindication_, 192. - -[388] Commons' Journal, 13th and 19th May 1646. - -[389] Lords' Journals. - -[390] Commons' Journals. It had been proposed to continue the House of -Lords as a court of judicature, or as a court of consultation, or in -some way or other to keep it up. The majority, it will be observed, -was not very great; so far was the democratic scheme from being -universal even within the house. Whitelock, 377. Two divisions had -already taken place; one on Jan. 9, when it was carried by thirty-one -to eighteen, that "a message from the Lords should be received;" -Cromwell strongly supporting the motion, and being a teller for it; -and again on Jan. 18, when, the opposite party prevailing, it was -negatived by twenty-five to eighteen, to ask their assent to the vote -of the 4th instant, that the sovereignty resides in the Commons; which -doubtless, if true, could not require the Lords' concurrence. - -[391] Whitelock, 396. They voted that Pembroke, as well as Salisbury -and Howard of Escrick, who followed the ignominious example, should be -added to all committees. - -[392] Commons' Journals; Whitelock. It had been referred to a -committee of five members, Lisle, Holland, Robinson, Scott, and -Ludlow, to recommend thirty-five for a council of state; to whose -nominations the house agreed, and added their own. Ludlow, i. 288. -They were appointed for a year; but in 1650 the house only left out -two of the former list, besides those who were dead. Whitelock, 441. -In 1651 the change was more considerable. _Id._ 488. - -[393] Six judges agreed to hold on their commissions, six refused. -Whitelock, who makes a poor figure at this time on his own showing, -consented to act still as commissioner of the great seal. Those who -remained in office affected to stipulate that the fundamental laws -should not be abolished; and the house passed a vote to this effect. -Whitelock, 378. - -[394] Whitelock, 444 _et alibi_. Baxter's _Life_, 64. A committee was -appointed, April 1649, to enquire about ministers who asperse the -proceedings of parliament in their pulpits. Whitelock, 395. - -[395] _State Trials_, v. 43. Baxter says that Love's death hurt the -new commonwealth more than would be easily believed, and made it -odious to all the religious party in the land, except the sectaries. -_Life of B._, 67. But "oderint dum metuant" is the device of those who -rule in revolutions. Clarendon speaks, on the contrary, of Love's -execution triumphantly. He had been distinguished by a violent sermon -during the treaty of Uxbridge, for which the parliament, on the -complaint of the king's commissioners, put him in confinement. -Thurloe, i. 65; _State Trials_, 201; though the noble historian, as -usual, represents this otherwise. He also misstates Love's dying -speech. - -[396] Whitelock, 516. - -[397] The parliament had resolved, 24th July 1650, that Henry Stuart, -son of the late king, and the Lady Elizabeth, daughter of the late -king, be removed forthwith beyond the seas, out of the limits of this -commonwealth. Yet this intention seems to have been soon changed; for -it is resolved, Sept. 11, to give the Duke of Glocester L1500 per -annum for his maintenance, so long as he should behave himself -inoffensively. Whether this proceeded from liberality, or from a vague -idea that they might one day make use of him, is hard to say. -Clarendon mentions the scheme of making the Duke of Glocester king, in -one of his letters (iii. 38, 11th Nov. 1651); but says, "Truly I do -believe that Cromwell might as easily procure himself to be chosen -king as the Duke of Glocester; for, as none of the king's party would -assist the last, so I am persuaded both presbyterians and independents -would have much sooner the former than any of the race of him whom -they have murthered." - -[398] _Id._ p. 548. Lord Orrery told Burnet that he had once mentioned -to Cromwell a report that he was to bring in the king, who should -marry his daughter, and observed, that he saw no better expedient. -Cromwell, without expressing any displeasure, said, "the king cannot -forgive his father's blood;" which the other attempted to answer. -Burnet, i. 95. It is certain, however, that such a compromise would -have been dishonourable for one party, and infamous for the other. - -[399] Cromwell, in his letter to the parliament, after the battle of -Worcester, called it a _crowning mercy_. This, though a very -intelligible expression, was taken in an invidious sense by the -republicans. - -[400] Journals, _passim_. - -[401] One of their most scandalous acts was the sale of the Earl of -Craven's estate. He had been out of England during the war, and could -not therefore be reckoned a delinquent. But evidence was offered that -he had seen the king in Holland; and upon this charge, though he -petitioned to be heard, and, as is said, indicted the informer for -perjury, whereof he was convicted, they voted by 33 to 31 that his -lands should be sold; Haslerig, the most savage zealot of the whole -faction, being a teller for the ayes, Vane for the noes. Journals, 6th -March 1651, and 22nd June 1652. _State Trials_, v. 323. On the 20th of -July in the same year, it was referred to a committee to select thirty -delinquents, whose estates should be sold for the use of the navy. -Thus, long after the cessation of hostility, the royalists continued -to stand in jeopardy, not only collectively but personally, from this -arbitrary and vindictive faction. Nor were these qualities displayed -against the royalists alone: one Josiah Primatt, who seems to have -been connected with Lilburne, Wildman, and the levellers, having -presented a petition complaining that Sir Arthur Haslerig had -violently dispossessed him of some collieries, the house, after voting -every part of the petition to be false, adjudged him to pay a fine of -L3000 to the commonwealth, L2000 to Haslerig, and L2000 more to the -commissioners for compositions. Journals, 15th Jan. 1651-2. There had -been a project of erecting an university at Durham, in favour of which -a committee reported (18th June 1651), and for which the chapter lands -would have made a competent endowment. Haslerig, however, got most of -them into his own hands; and thus frustrated, perhaps, a design of -great importance to education and literature in this country. For had -an university once been established, it is just possible, though not -very likely, that the estates would not have reverted, on the king's -restoration, to their former, but much less useful possessors. - -[402] Mrs. Hutchinson speaks very favourably of the levellers, as they -appeared about 1647, declaring against the factions of the -presbyterians and independents, and the ambitious views of their -leaders, and especially against the unreasonable privileges claimed by -the houses of parliament collectively and personally. "Indeed, as all -virtues are mediums and have their extremes, there rose up after in -that house a people who endeavoured the levelling of all estates and -qualities, which those sober levellers were never guilty of desiring; -but were men of just and sober principles, of honest and religious -ends, and were therefore hated by all the designing self-interested -men of both factions. Colonel Hutchinson had a great intimacy with -many of these; and so far as they acted according to the just, pious, -and public spirit which they professed, owned them and protected them -as far as he had power. These were they who first began to discover -the ambition of Lieut.-Gen. Cromwell and his idolaters, and to suspect -and dislike it."--P. 285. - -[403] Whitelock, 399, 401. The levellers rose in arms at Banbury and -other places; but were soon put down, chiefly through the energy of -Cromwell, and their ringleaders shot. - -[404] It was referred to a committee, 29th April 1652, to consider how -a convenient and competent maintenance for a godly and able ministry -may be settled, in lieu of tithes. A proposed addition, that tithes be -paid as before till such maintenance be settled, was carried by 27 to -17. - -[405] Journals, 19th Jan. 1652. Hale was the first named on this -commission, and took an active part; but he was associated with some -furious levellers, Desborough, Tomlinson, and Hugh Peters, so that it -is hard to know how far he concurred in the alterations suggested. -Many of them, however, seem to bear marks of his hand. Whitelock, 475, -517, 519, 820, _et alibi_. There had been previously a committee for -the same purpose in 1650. See a list of the acts prepared by them in -_Somers Tracts_, vi. 177; several of them are worthy of attention. -Ludlow indeed blames the commission for slowness; but their delay -seems to have been very justifiable, and their suggestions highly -valuable. It even appears that they drew up a book containing a -regular digest or code, which was ordered to be printed. Journals, -20th Jan. 1653. - -[406] A committee was named, 15th May 1649, to take into consideration -the settling of the succession of future parliaments and regulating -their elections. Nothing more appears to have been done till Oct. -11th, when the committee was ordered to meet next day, and so _de die -in diem_, and to give an account thereof to the house on Tuesday come -fortnight; all that came to have voices, but the special care thereof -commended to Sir Henry Vane, Colonel Ludlow, and Mr. Robinson. We find -nothing farther till Jan. 3rd, 1650, when the committee is ordered to -make its report the next Wednesday. This is done accordingly, Jan. 9, -when Sir H. Vane reports the resolutions of the committee, one of -which was, that the number in future parliaments should be 400. This -was carried, after negativing the previous question in a committee of -the whole house. They proceeded several days afterwards on the same -business. See also Ludlow, pp. 313, 435. - -[407] Two divisions had taken place, Nov. 14 (the first on the -previous question), on a motion, that it is convenient to declare a -certain time for the continuance of this parliament, 50 to 46, and 49 -to 47. On the last division, Cromwell and St. John were tellers for -the ayes. - -[408] Whitelock was one of these; and being at that time out of -Cromwell's favour, inveighs much against this destruction of the power -from which he had taken his commission. Pp. 552, 554. St. John appears -to have concurred in the measure. In fact, there had so long been an -end of law that one usurpation might seem as rightful as another. But, -while any House of Commons remained, there was a stock left from which -the ancient constitution might possibly germinate. Mrs. Macauley, -whose lamentations over the Rump did not certainly proceed from this -cause, thus vents her wrath on the English nation: "An acquiescence -thus universal in the insult committed on the guardians of the infant -republic, and the first step towards the usurpation of Cromwell, fixes -an indelible stain on the character of the English, as a people basely -and incorrigibly attached to the sovereignty of individuals, and of -natures too ignoble to endure an empire of equal laws."--Vol. v. p. -112. - -[409] Harrison, when Ludlow asked him why he had joined Cromwell to -turn out the parliament, said, he thought Cromwell would own and -favour a set of men who acted on higher principles than those of civil -liberty; and quoted from Daniel "that the saints shall take the -kingdom and possess it." Ludlow argued against him; but what was -argument to such a head? _Mem. of Ludlow_, p. 565. Not many months -after, Cromwell sent his coadjutor to Carisbrook Castle. - -[410] Hume speaks of this assembly as chiefly composed of the lowest -mechanics. But this was not the case. Some persons of inferior rank -there were, but a large proportion of the members were men of good -family, or, at least, military distinction, as the list of the names -in the _Parliamentary History_ is sufficient to prove; and Whitelock -remarks, "it was much wondered at by some that these gentlemen, many -of them being persons of fortune and knowledge, would at this summons, -and from those hands, take upon them the supreme authority of this -nation."--P. 559. With respect to this, it may be observed, that those -who have lived in revolutions find it almost necessary, whether their -own interest or those of their country are their aim, to comply with -all changes, and take a greater part in supporting them, than men of -inflexible consciences can approve. No one felt this more than -Whitelock; and his remark in this place is a satire upon all his -conduct. He was at the moment dissatisfied, and out of Cromwell's -favour, but lost no time in regaining it. - -[411] Journals, August 19. This was carried by 46 to 38 against -Cromwell's party. Yet Cromwell, two years afterwards, published an -ordinance for regulating and limiting the jurisdiction of chancery; -which offended Whitelock so much that he resigned the great seal, not -having been consulted in framing the regulations. This is a rare -instance in his life; and he vaunts much of his conscience -accordingly, but thankfully accepted the office of commissioner of the -treasury instead. Pp. 621, 625. He does not seem, by his own account, -to have given much satisfaction to suitors in equity (p. 548); yet the -fault may have been theirs, or the system's. - -[412] 4th October. - -[413] This had been proposed by the commission for amendment of the -law appointed in the long parliament. The great number of dissenters -from the established religion rendered it a very reasonable measure. - -[414] Thurloe, i. 369; iii. 132. - -[415] Journals, 2nd and 10th Dec. 1653; Whitelock. See the sixth -volume of the _Somers Tracts_, p. 266, for a long and rather able -vindication of this parliament by one of its members. Ludlow also -speaks pretty well of it (p. 471); and says, truly enough, that -Cromwell frightened the lawyers and clergy, by showing what the -parliament meant to do with them, which made them in a hurry to have -it destroyed. See also _Parl. Hist._ 1412, 1414. - -[416] See the instrument of government in Whitelock, p. 571; or -_Somers Tracts_, vi. 257. Ludlow says, that some of the officers -opposed this; but Lambert forced it down their throats. P. 276. -Cromwell made good use of this temporary power. The union of Scotland -with England was by one of these ordinances, April 12 (Whitelock, -586); and he imposed an assessment of L120,000 monthly, for three -months, and L90,000 for the next three, instead of L70,000, which had -been paid before (_Id._ 591), besides many other ordinances of a -legislative nature. "I am very glad," says Fleetwood (Feb. 1655, -Thurloe, iii. 183), "to hear his highness has declined the legislative -power, which by the instrument of government, in my opinion, he could -not exercise after this last parliament's meeting." And the parliament -of 1656, at the Protector's desire, confirmed all ordinances made -since the dissolution of the long parliament. Thurloe, vi. 243. - -[417] I infer this from the report of a committee of privileges on the -election for Lynn, Oct. 20, 1656. See also Journals, Nov. 26, 1654. - -[418] It is remarkable that Clarendon seems to approve this model of a -parliament, saying, "it was then generally looked upon as an -alteration fit to be more warrantably made, and in a better time." - -[419] Bordeaux, the French ambassador, says, "some were for Bradshaw -as speaker, but the Protector's party carried it for Lenthall. By this -beginning one may judge what the authority of the lord protector will -be in this parliament. However it was observed that as often as he -spoke in his speech of liberty or religion, the members did seem to -rejoice with acclamations of joy." Thurloe, v. 588. But the election -of Lenthall appears by Guibbon Goddard's Journal, lately published in -the Introduction to Burton's _Diary_, to have been unanimous. - -[420] Journals, 14th and 18th Sept.; _Parl. Hist._ 1445, 1459; -Whitelock, 605, etc.; Ludlow, 499; Goddard's Journal, 32. - -[421] This division is not recorded in the Journals, in consequence, I -suppose, of its having been resolved in a committee of the whole -house. But it is impossible to doubt the fact, which is referred to -Oct. 19 by a letter of Bourdeaux, the French ambassador (Thurloe, ii. -681), who observes, "Hereby it is easily discerned that the nation is -nowise affected to his family, nor much to himself. Without doubt he -will strengthen his army, and keep that in a good posture." It is also -alluded to by Whitelock, 609. They resolved to keep the militia in the -power of the parliament, and that the Protector's negative should -extend only to such bills as might alter the instrument; and in other -cases, if he did not pass bills within twenty days, they were to -become laws without his consent. Journals, Nov. 10, 1654; Whitelock, -608. This was carried against the court by 109 to 85. - -Ludlow insinuates that this parliament did not sit out its legal term -of five months; Cromwell having interpreted the months to be lunar -instead of calendar. Hume has adopted this notion; but it is -groundless, the month in law being always of twenty-eight days, unless -the contrary be expressed. This seems, however, not to have been -generally understood at the time; for Whitelock says that Cromwell's -dissolution of the parliament, because he found them not so pliable to -his purposes as he expected, caused much discontent in them and -others; but that he valued it not, esteeming himself above those -things. P. 618. He gave out that the parliament were concerned in the -conspiracy to bring in the king. - -[422] Exiles are seldom scrupulous: we find that Charles was willing -to propose to the States, in return for their acknowledging his title, -"such present and lasting advantages to them by this alliance as may -appear most considerable to that nation and to their posterity, and a -valuable compensation for whatever present advantages the king can -receive by it." _Clarendon State Papers_, iii. 90. These intrigues -would have justly made him odious in England. - -[423] Ormond wrote strongly to this effect, after the battle of -Worcester, convinced that nothing but foreign assistance could restore -the king. "Amongst protestants there is none that hath the power, and -amongst the catholics it is visible." Carte's _Letters_, i. 461. - -[424] _Clarendon State Papers_, ii. 481 _et saepe alibi_. The -protestant zeal of Hyde had surely deserted him; and his veracity in -one letter gave way also. See vol. iii. p. 158. But the great -criminality of all these negotiations lay in this, that Charles was by -them soliciting such a measure of foreign aid as would make him at -once the tyrant of England and the vassal of Spain; since no free -parliament, however royalist, was likely to repeal all the laws -against popery. "That which the king will be ready and willing to do, -is to give his consent for the repeal of all the penal laws and -statutes which have been made in the prejudice of catholics, and to -put them into the same condition as his other subjects." Cottington to -Father Bapthorpe. _Id._ 541. These negotiations with Rome were soon -known; and a tract was published by the parliament's authority, -containing the documents. Notwithstanding the delirium of the -restoration, this had made an impression which was not afterwards -effaced. - -[425] _Clarendon State Papers_, iii. 181. - -[426] "The pope very well knows," says Hyde to Clement, an agent at -the court of Rome, 2nd April 1656, "how far the king is from thoughts -of severity against his catholic subjects; nay, that he doth desire to -put them into the same condition with his other subjects, and that no -man shall suffer in any consideration for being a Roman catholic." -_Id._ 291. - -[427] Clarendon's _History of the Rebellion_, b. 14; _State Papers_, -iii. 265, 300, etc. Whitelock observes at this time, "Many sober and -faithful patriots did begin to incline to the king's restoration;" and -hints, that this was his opinion, which excited Cromwell's jealousy of -him. P. 620. - -[428] Clarendon's _History_, vii. 129; _State Papers_, iii. 265, etc. -These levellers were very hostile to the interference of Hyde and -Ormond, judging them too inflexibly attached to the ancient -constitution; but this hostility recommended them to others of the -banished king's court who showed the same sentiments. - -[429] Pp. 315, 324, 343; Thurloe, i. 360, 510. In the same volume (p. -248) we find even a declaration from the king, dated at Paris, 3rd May -1654, offering L500 per annum to any one who should kill Cromwell, and -pardon to any one who should leave that party, except Bradshaw, -Lenthall, and Haslerig. But this seems unlikely to be authentic: -Charles would not have avowed a design of assassination so openly; and -it is strange that Lenthall and Haslerig, especially the former, -should be thus exempted from pardon, rather than so many regicides. - -[430] See what Clarendon says of Ascham's death. _State Papers_, ii. -542. In another place he observes: "It is a worse and a baser thing -that any man should appear in any part beyond sea under the character -of an agent from the rebels, and not have his throat cut." _Id._ iii. -144. - -[431] _State Trials_, 518; Thurloe, ii. 416. Some of the malecontent -commonwealth men were also eager to get rid of Cromwell by -assassination; Wildman, Saxby, Titus. Syndercome's story is well -known; he was connected in the conspiracy with those already -mentioned. The famous pamphlet by Titus, "Killing no Murder," was -printed in 1657. _Clarendon State Papers_, 315, 324, 343. - -[432] A very reprehensible passage occurs in Clarendon's account of -this transaction (vol. vii. p. 140), where he blames and derides the -insurgents for not putting Chief Justice Rolle and others to death, -which would have been a detestable and useless murder. - -[433] Whitelock, 618, 620; Ludlow, 513; Thurloe, iii. 264, and through -more than half the volume, _passim_. In the preceding volume we have -abundant proofs how completely master Cromwell was of the royalist -schemes. The "sealed knot" of the king's friends in London is -mentioned as frequently as we find it in the _Clarendon Papers_ at the -same time. - -[434] Thurloe, iii. 371, etc. "Penruddock and Grove," Ludlow says, -"could not have been justly condemned, if they had as sure a -foundation in what they declared for, as what they declared against. -But certainly it can never be esteemed by a wise man to be worth the -scratch of a finger to remove a single person acting by an arbitrary -power, in order to set up another with the same unlimited -authority."--P. 518. This is a just and manly sentiment. Woe to those -who do not recognise it! But is it fair to say that the royalists were -contending to set up an unlimited authority? - -[435] They were originally ten, Lambert, Desborough, Whalley, Goffe, -Fleetwood, Skippon, Kelsey, Butler, Worseley, and Berry. Thurloe, iii. -701. Barkstead was afterwards added. "The major-generals," says -Ludlow, "carried things with unheard-of insolence in their several -precincts, decimating to extremity whom they pleased, and interrupting -the proceedings at law upon petitions of those who pretended -themselves aggrieved; threatening such as would not yield a ready -submission to their orders with transportation to Jamaica, or some -other plantations in the West Indies," etc.--P. 559. - -[436] Thurloe, vol. iv. _passim_. The unpopularity of Cromwell's -government appears strongly in the letters of this collection. -Duckinfield, a Cheshire gentleman, writes: "Charles Stuart hath 500 -friends in these adjacent counties for every one friend to you amongst -them." Vol. iii. 294. - -[437] It may be fair towards Cromwell to give his own apology for the -decimation of the royalists, in a declaration, published 1655. "It is -a trouble to us to be still rubbing upon the old sore, disobliging -those whom we hoped time and patience might make friends; but we can -with comfort appeal to God, and dare also to their own consciences, -whether this way of proceeding with them hath been the matter of our -choice, or that which we have sought an occasion for; or whether, -contrary to our own inclinations and the constant course of our -carriage towards them, which hath been to oblige them by kindness to -forsake their former principles, which God hath so often and so -eminently bore witness against, we have not been constrained and -necessitated hereunto, and without the doing whereof we should have -been wanting to our duty to God and these nations. - -"That character of difference between them and the rest of the people -which is now put upon them is occasioned by themselves, not by us. -There is nothing they have more industriously laboured in than this; -to keep themselves distinguished from the well-affected of this -nation: To which end they have kept their conversation apart; as if -they would avoid the very beginnings of union, have bred and educated -their children by the sequestered and ejected clergy, and very much -confined their marriages and alliances within their own party, as if -they meant to entail their quarrel, and prevent the means to reconcile -posterity; which with the great pains they take upon all occasions to -lessen and suppress the esteem and honour of the English nation in all -their actions and undertakings abroad, striving withal to make other -nations distinguish their interest from it, gives us ground to judge -that they have separated themselves from the body of the nation; and -therefore we leave it to all mankind to judge whether we ought not to -be timely jealous of that separation, and to proceed so against them -as they may be at the charge of those remedies which are required -against the dangers they have bred." - -[438] Ludlow, 528; Clarendon, etc. Clarendon relates the same story, -with additional circumstances of Cromwell's audacious contempt for the -courts of justice, and for the very name of magna charta. - -[439] _State Trials_, vi.; Whitelock advised the protector to proceed -according to law against Hewit and Slingsby; "but his highness was too -much in love with the new way."--P. 673. - -[440] The late editor of the _State Trials_, v. 935, has introduced a -sort of episodical dissertation on the administration of justice -during the commonwealth, with the view, as far as appears, of setting -Cromwell in a favourable light. For this purpose he quotes several -passages of vague commendation from different authors, and among -others one from Burke, written in haste, to serve an immediate -purpose, and evidently from a very superficial recollection of our -history. It has been said that Cromwell sought out men of character -from the party most opposite to his designs. The proof given is the -appointment of Hale to be a puisne judge. But Hale had not been a -royalist, that is, an adherent of Charles, and had taken the -engagement as well as the covenant. It was no great effort of virtue -to place an eminent lawyer and worthy man on the bench. And it is to -be remembered that Hale fell under the usurper's displeasure for -administering justice with an impartiality that did not suit his -government; and ceased to go the circuit, because the criminal law was -not allowed to have its course. - -[441] Thurloe writes to Montague (Carte's _Letters_, ii. 110) that he -cannot give him the reasons for calling this parliament, except in -cipher. He says in the same place of the committal of Ludlow, Vane, -and others, "There was a necessity not only for peace sake to do this, -but to let the nation see those that govern are in good earnest, and -intend not to quit the government wholly into the hands of the -parliament, as some would needs make the world believe."--P. 112. His -first direct allusion to the projected change is in writing to Henry -Cromwell, 9th Dec. 1656. _Thurl. Papers_, v. 194. The influence -exerted by his legates, the major-generals, appears in Thurloe, v. 299 -_et post_. But they complained of the elections. _Id._ 302, 341, 371. - -[442] Whitelock, 650; _Parl. Hist._ 1486. On a letter to the speaker -from the members who had been refused admittance at the door of the -lobby, Sept. 18, the house ordered the clerk of the commonwealth to -attend next day with all the indentures. The deputy clerk came -accordingly, with an excuse for his principal, and brought the -indentures; but on being asked why the names of certain members were -not returned to the house, answered that he had no certificate of -approbation for them. The house on this sent to inquire of the council -why these members had not been approved. They returned for answer, -that whereas it is ordained by a clause in the instrument of -government that the persons who shall be elected to serve in -parliament shall be such and no other than such as are persons of -known integrity, fearing God, and of good conversation; that the -council, in pursuance of their duty, and according to the trust -reposed in them, have examined the said returns, and have not refused -to approve any who have appeared to them to be persons of integrity, -fearing God, and of good conversation; and those who are not approved, -his highness hath given order to some persons to take care that they -do not come into the house. Upon this answer, an adjournment was -proposed, but lost by 115 to 80: and it being moved that the persons, -who have been returned from the several counties, cities, and boroughs -to serve in this parliament, and have not been approved, be referred -to the council for approbation, and that the house do proceed with the -great affairs of the nation; the question was carried by 125 to 29. -Journals, Sept. 22. - -[443] _Clar. State Papers_, iii. 201, etc. - -[444] The whole conference that took place at Whitehall, between -Cromwell and the committee of parliament on this subject, was -published by authority, and may be read in the _Somers Tracts_, vi. -349. It is very interesting. The lawyers did not hesitate to support -the proposition, on the ground of the more definite and legal -character of a king's authority. "The king's prerogative," says Glyn, -"is known by law; he (King Charles) did expatiate beyond the duty; -that's the evil of the man: but in Westminster Hall the king's -prerogative was under the courts of justice, and is bounded as well as -any acre of land, or anything a man hath, as much as any controversy -between party and party: and therefore the office being lawful in its -nature, known to the nation, certain in itself, and confined and -regulated by the law, and the other office not being so, that was a -great ground of the reason why the parliament did so much insist upon -this office and title, not as circumstantial, but as essential."--P. -359. See also what Lenthall says (p. 356) against the indefiniteness -of the protector's authority. - -Those passages were evidently implied censures of the late course of -government. Cromwell's indistinct and evasive style in his share of -this debate betrays the secret inclinations of his heart. He kept his -ultimate intentions, however, very secret; for Thurloe's professes his -ignorance of them, even in writing to Henry Cromwell. Vol. vi. p. 219 -_et post_. This correspondence shows that the prudent secretary was -uneasy at the posture of affairs, and the manifest dissatisfaction of -Fleetwood and Desborough, which had a dangerous influence on others -less bound to the present family; yet he had set his heart on this -mode of settlement, and was much disappointed at his master's ultimate -refusal. - -[445] Clarendon's _Hist._ vii. 194. It appears by Clarendon's private -letters that he had expected to see Cromwell assume the title of king -from the year 1654. Vol. iii. pp. 201, 223, 224. If we may trust what -is here called an intercepted letter (p. 328), Mazarin had told -Cromwell that France would enter into a strict league with him, if he -could settle himself in the throne, and make it hereditary; to which -he answered, that he designed shortly to take the crown, restore the -two houses, and govern by the ancient laws. But this may be -apocryphal. - -[446] Clar. vii. 203. - -[447] Ludlow, p. 581. The major-generals, or at least many of them, -joined the opposition to Cromwell's royalty. _Id._ p. 586; _Clar. -State Papers_, 332. - -[448] This appears from the following passage in a curious letter of -Mr. Vincent Gookin to Henry Cromwell, 27th Jan. 1657. "To-morrow the -bill for decimating the cavaliers comes again into debate. It is -debated with much heat by the major-generals, and as hotly almost by -the anti-decimators. I believe the bill will be thrown out of the -house. In my opinion those that speak against the bill have much to -say in point of moral justice and prudence; but that which makes me -fear the passing of the bill is, that thereby his highness's -government will be more founded in force, and more removed from that -natural foundation which the people in parliament are desirous to give -him; supposing that he will become more theirs than now he is, and -will in time find the safety and peace of the nation to be as well -maintained by the laws of the land as by the sword. And truly, sir, if -any others have pretensions to succeed him by their interest in the -army, the more of force upholds his highness living, the greater when -he is dead will be the hopes and advantages for such a one to effect -his aim, who desires to succeed him. Lambert is much for decimations." -Thurloe, vi. 20. He writes again, "I am confident it is judged by some -that the interest of the godly cannot be preserved but by the -dissolution of this, if not all, parliaments; and their endeavours in -it have been plainly discovered to the party most concerned to know -them; which will, I believe, suddenly occasion a reducing of the -government to kingship, to which his highness is not averse. Pierpoint -and St. John have been often, but secretly, at Whitehall, I know, to -advise thereof."--P. 37. Thurloe again to the same Henry Cromwell, on -February 3, that the decimation bill was thrown out by a majority of -forty: "Some gentlemen do think themselves much trampled upon by this -vote, and are extremely sensible thereof; and the truth is, it hath -wrought such a heat in the house, that I fear little will be done for -the future." _Id._ p. 38. No such bill appears, _eo nomine_, in the -journals. But a bill for regulating the militia forces was thrown out, -Jan. 29, by 124 to 88, Col. Cromwell (Oliver's cousin) being a teller -for the majority. Probably there was some clause in this renewing the -decimation of the royalists. - -[449] Whitelock, who was consulted by Cromwell on this business, and -took an active part as one of the committee of conference appointed by -the House of Commons, intimates that the project was not really laid -aside. "He was satisfied in his private judgment that it was fit for -him to take upon him the title of king, and matters were prepared in -order thereunto; but afterwards, by solicitation of the commonwealth's -men, and fearing a mutiny and defection of a great part of the army, -in case he should assume that title and office, his mind changed, and -many of the officers of the army gave out great threatenings against -him in case he should do it; he therefore thought it best to attend -some better season and opportunity in this business, and refused it at -this time with great seeming earnestness."--P. 656. The chief advisers -with Cromwell on this occasion, besides Whitelock, were Lord Broghill, -Pierrepont, Thurloe, and Sir Charles Wolseley. Many passages in -Thurloe (vol. vii.) show that Cromwell preserved to the last his views -on royalty. - -[450] Whitelock, 657. It had been agreed, in discussing the petition -and advice in parliament, to postpone the first article requesting the -protector to assume the title of king, till the rest of the _charter_ -(to use a modern but not inapplicable word) had been gone through. One -of the subsequent articles, fixing the revenue at L1,300,000 per -annum, provides that no part thereof should be raised by a land-tax, -"and this not to be altered without the consent of the _three estates -in parliament_." A division took place, in consequence, no doubt, of -this insidious expression, which was preserved by 97 to 50. Journals, -13th March. The first article was carried, after much debate on March -24, by 123 to 62. It stood thus: "Resolved, That your highness will be -pleased to assume the name, style, dignity, and office of king of -England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the respective dominions and -territories thereunto belonging; and to exercise the same according to -the laws of these nations." On Cromwell's first demurring to the -proposal, it was resolved to adhere to the petition and advice by the -small majority of 78 to 65. This was perhaps a sufficient warning that -he should not proceed. - -[451] Journals, 21st June. This oath, which effectually declared the -parliament to be the protector's subjects, was only carried by 63 to -55. Lambert refused it, and was dismissed the army in consequence, -with a pension of L2000 per annum, instead of his pay, L10 a day. So -well did they cater for themselves. Ludlow, 593. Broderick wrote to -Hyde, June 30, 1657, that there was a general tranquillity in England, -all parties seeming satisfied with the compromise; Fleetwood and -Desborough more absolutely Cromwell's friends than before, and Lambert -very silent. _Clar. State Papers_, 349. - -[452] Thurloe, vi. 310. - -[453] Compare Journals, 11th March with 24th June. - -[454] Whitelock, 665. They were to have a judicial power, much like -that of the real House of Lords. Journals, March. - -[455] Whitelock; _Parl. Hist._ The former says this was done against -his advice. These debates about the other house are to be traced in -the Journals, and are mentioned by Thurloe, vi. 107, etc.; and Ludlow, -597. Not one of the true peers, except Lord Eure, took his seat in -this house; and Haslerig, who had been nominated merely to weaken his -influence, chose to retain his place in the Commons. The list of these -pretended lords in Thurloe, vi. 668, is not quite the same as that in -Whitelock. - -[456] This junto of nine debated how they might be secure against the -cavaliers. One scheme was an oath of abjuration; but this it was -thought they would all take: another was to lay a heavy tax on them: -"a moiety of their estates was spoken of; but this, I suppose, will -not down with all the nine, and least of all will it be swallowed by -the parliament, who will not be persuaded to punish both nocent and -innocent without distinction." 22nd June, Thurloe, vol. vii. p. 198. -And again, p. 269: "I believe we are out of danger of our junto, and I -think also of ever having such another. As I take it, the report was -made to his highness upon Thursday. After much consideration, the -major part voted that succession in the government was indifferent -whether it were by election or hereditary; but afterwards some would -needs add that it was desirable to have it continued elective; that -is, that the chief magistrate should always name his successor; and -that of hereditary avoided; and I fear the word 'desirable' will be -made 'necessary,' if ever it come upon the trial. His highness finding -he can have no advice from those he most expected it from, saith he -will take his own resolutions, and that he can no longer satisfy -himself to sit still, and make himself guilty of the loss of all the -honest party and of the nation itself." - -[457] Harris, p. 348, has collected some curious instances of the -servility of crowned heads to Cromwell. - -[458] See Clarendon, vii. 297. He saved Nismes from military execution -on account of a riot, wherein the Huguenots seem to have been much to -blame. In the treaty between England and France, 1654, the French, in -agreeing to the secret article about the exclusion of the royalists, -endeavoured to make it reciprocal, that the commissioners of rebels in -France should not be admitted in England. This did not seem very -outrageous--but Cromwell objected that the French protestants would be -thus excluded from imploring the assistance of England, if they were -persecuted; protesting, however, that he was very far from having any -thought to draw them from their obedience, as had been imputed to him, -and that he would arm against them, if they should offer frivolously -and without a cause to disturb the peace of France. Thurloe, iii. 6. -In fact, the French protestants were in the habit of writing to -Thurloe, as this collection testifies, whenever they thought -themselves injured, which happened frequently enough. Cromwell's noble -zeal in behalf of the Vaudois is well known. See this volume of -Thurloe, p. 412, etc. Mazarin and the catholic powers in general -endeavoured to lye down that massacre; but the usurper had too much -protestant spirit to believe them. _Id._ 536. - -[459] Ludlow, 607; Thurloe, i. and ii. _passim_. - -[460] Mrs. Macauley, who had nothing of compromise or conciliation in -her temper, and breathed the entire spirit of Vane and Ludlow, makes -some vigorous and just animadversions on the favour shown to Cromwell -by some professors of a regard for liberty. The dissenting writers, -such as Neal, and in some measure Harris, were particularly open to -this reproach. He long continued (perhaps the present tense is more -appropriate) to be revered by the independents. One who well knew the -manners he paints, has described the secret idolatry of that sect to -their hero-saint. See Crabbe's _Tale of the Frank Courtship_. - -Slingsly Bethell, an exception perhaps to the general politics of this -sect, published in 1667 a tract, entitled "The World's Mistake in -Oliver Cromwell," with the purpose of decrying his policy and -depreciating his genius. Harleian Miscellany, i. 280. But he who goes -about to prove the world mistaken in its estimate of a public -character has always a difficult cause to maintain. Bethell, like Mrs. -Macauley and others, labours to set up the Rump parliament against the -soldier who kicked them; and asserts that Cromwell, having found -L500,000 in ready money, with the value of L700,000 in stores, and the -army in advance of their pay (subject, however, to a debt of near -L500,000); the customs and excise bringing in nearly a million -annually, left a debt which, in Richard's parliament, was given in at -L1,900,000, though he believes this to have been purposely exaggerated -in order to procure supplies. I cannot say how far these sums are -correct; but it is to be kept in mind, that one great resource of the -parliament, confiscation, sequestration, composition, could not be -repeated for ever. Neither of these governments, it will be found on -inquiry, were economical, especially in respect to the emoluments of -those concerned in them. - -[461] Whitelock, 674; Ludlow, 611, 624. Lord Fauconberg writes in -cipher to Henry Cromwell, on Aug. 30, that "Thurloe has seemed -resolved to press him in his intervals to such a nomination (of a -successor); but whether out of apprehensions to displease him if -recovering, or others hereafter, if it should not succeed, he has not -yet done it, nor do I believe will." Thurloe, however, announces on -Sept. 4, that "his highness was pleased before his death to declare my -Lord Richard successor. He did it on Monday; and the Lord hath so -ordered it, that the council and army hath received him with all -manner of affection. He is this day proclaimed, and hitherto there -seems great face of peace; the Lord continue it." _Thurloe State -Papers_, vii. 365, 372. Lord Fauconberg afterwards confirms the fact -of Richard's nomination. P. 375; and see 415. - -[462] "Many sober men that called his father no better than a -traitorous hypocrite, did begin to think that they owed him [R. C.] -subjection," etc. Baxter, 100. - -[463] Hutchinson, 343. She does not name Pierrepont, but I have little -doubt that he is meant. - -[464] Richard's conduct is more than once commended in the -correspondence of Thurloe, pp. 491, 497; and in fact he did nothing -amiss during his short administration. - -[465] Thurloe, vii. 320 _et post_, _passim_, in letters both from -himself and Lord Fauconberg. Thus, immediately on Richard's accession, -the former writes to Henry Cromwell, "It hath pleased God hitherto to -give his highness your brother a very easy and peaceable entrance upon -his government. There is not a dog that wags his tongue, so great a -calm we are in.... But I must needs acquaint your excellency that -there are some secret murmurings in the army, as if his highness were -not general of the army as his father was," etc. P. 374. Here was the -secret: the officers did not like to fall back under the civil power, -by obeying one who was not a soldier. This soon displayed itself -openly; and Lord Fauconberg thought the game was over as early as -Sept. 28. P. 413. It is to be observed that Fauconberg was secretly a -royalist, and might hope to bring over his brother-in-law. - -[466] _Id._ 573. - -[467] Lord Fauconberg says, "the commonwealth men in the parliament -were very numerous, and beyond measure bold, but more than doubly -overbalanced by the sober party; so that, though this make their -results slow, we see no great cause as yet to fear."--P. 612. And Dr. -Barwick, a correspondent of Lord Clarendon, tells him the republicans -were the minority, but all speakers, zealous and diligent--it was -likely to end in a titular protector without militia or negative -voice. P. 615. - -According to a letter from Allen Broderick to Hyde (_Clar. St. Pap._ -iii. 443) there were 47 republicans, from 100 to 140 neuters or -moderates (including many royalists), and 170 court lawyers, or -officers. - -[468] Ludlow tells us, that he contrived to sit in the house without -taking the oath, and that some others did the same. P. 619. - -[469] Whitelock, _Parl. Hist._ 1530, 1541. - -[470] The numbers are differently, but, I suppose, erroneously stated -in Thurloe, vii. 640. It is said, in a pamphlet of the time, that this -clause was introduced to please the cavaliers, who acted with the -court; _Somers Tracts_, vi. 482. Ludlow seems also to think that these -parties were united in this parliament (p. 629); but this seems not -very probable, and is contrary to some things we know. Clarendon had -advised that the royalists should try to get into parliament, and -there to oppose all raising of money, and everything else that might -tend to settle the government. _Clar. State Papers_, 411. This of -course was their true game. - -It is said that, Richard pressing the Earl of Northumberland to sit in -the other house, he declined, urging that when the government was such -as his predecessors had served under, he would serve him with his life -and fortune. _Id._ 433. - -[471] _Parl. Hist._; Journals, 27 Jan., 14, 18 Feb., 1, 8, 21, 23, 28 -March. The names of the tellers in these divisions show the -connections of leading individuals: we find indifferently presbyterian -and republican names for the minority, as Fairfax, Lambert, Nevil, -Haslerig, Townshend, Booth. - -[472] There seems reason to believe that Richard would have met with -more support both in the house and among the nation, if he had not -been oppressed by the odium of some of his father's counsellors. A -general indignation was felt at those who had condemned men to death -in illegal tribunals, whom the republicans and cavaliers were -impatient to bring to justice. He was forced also to employ and to -screen from vengeance his wise and experienced secretary Thurloe, -master of all the secret springs that had moved his father's -government, but obnoxious from the share he had taken in illegal and -arbitrary measures. Petitions were presented to the house from several -who had been committed to the Tower upon short written orders, without -any formal warrant, or expressed cause of commitment. In the case of -one of these, Mr. Portman, the house resolved that his apprehension, -imprisonment, and detention in the Tower was illegal and unjust. -Journals, 26 Feb. A still more flagrant tyranny was that frequently -practised by Cromwell of sending persons disaffected to him as slaves -to the West Indies. One Mr. Thomas petitioned the House of Commons, -complaining that he had been thus sold as a slave. A member of the -court side justified it on the score of his being a malignant. -Major-General Browne, a secret royalist, replied that he was -nevertheless an Englishman and free-born. Thurloe had the presumption -to say that he had not thought to live to see the day, when such a -thing as this, so justly and legally done by lawful authority, should -be brought before parliament. Vane replied that he did not think to -have seen the day, when free-born Englishmen should be sold for slaves -by such an arbitrary government. There were, it seems, not less than -fifty gentlemen, sold for slaves at Barbadoes. _Clarendon State -Papers_, p. 447. The royalists had planned to attack Thurloe for some -of these unjustifiable proceedings, which would have greatly -embarrassed the government. _Ibid_, 423, 428. They hoped that Richard -would be better disposed towards the king, if his three advisers, St. -John, Thurloe, and Pierrepont, all implacable to their cause, could be -removed. But they were not strong enough in the house. If Richard, -however, had continued in power, he must probably have sacrificed -Thurloe to public opinion; and the consciousness of this may have led -this minister to advise the dissolution of the parliament, and perhaps -to betray his master, from the suspicion of which he is not free. - -It ought to be remarked what an outrageous proof of Cromwell's tyranny -is exhibited in this note. Many writers glide favourably over his -administration, or content themselves with treating it as an -usurpation, which can furnish no precedent, and consequently does not -merit particular notice; but the effect of this generality is, that -the world forms an imperfect notion of the degree of arbitrary power -which he exerted; and I believe there are many who take Charles the -First, and even Charles the Second, for greater violators of the laws -than the protector. Neal and Harris are full of this dishonest -bigotry. Since this note was first printed, the publication of -Burton's _Diary_ has confirmed its truth, which had rashly been called -in question by a passionate and prejudiced reviewer. See Vol. iv. p. -253, etc. - -[473] Richard advised with Broghill, Fiennes, Thurloe, and others of -his council, all of whom, except Whitelock, who informs us of this, -were in favour of the dissolution. This caused, he says, much trouble -to honest men; the cavaliers and republicans rejoiced at it; many of -Richard's council were his enemies. P. 177. The army at first intended -to raise money by their own authority; but this was deemed impossible, -and it was resolved to recall the Long Parliament. Lambert and -Haslerig accordingly met Lenthall, who was persuaded to act again as -speaker; though, if Ludlow is right, against his will, being now -connected with the court, and in the pretended House of Lords. The -parliament now consisted of 91 members. _Parl. Hist._ 1547. Harris -quotes a manuscript journal of Montagu, afterwards Earl of Sandwich, -wherein it is said that Richard's great error was to dissolve the -parliament, and that he might have over-ruled the army, if he would -have employed himself, Ingoldsby, Lord Fauconberg, and others, who -were suspected to be for the king. _Life of Charles II._ 194. He -afterwards (p. 203) quotes Calamy's _Life of Howe_ for the assertion -that Richard stood out against his council, with Thurloe alone, that -the parliament should not be dissolved. This is very unlikely. - -[474] This was carried against the previous question by 163 to 87. -Journals Abr. III. Some of the protector's friends were alarmed at so -high a vote against the army, which did in fact bring the matter to a -crisis. Thurloe, vii. 659 _et post_. - -[475] The army according to Ludlow, had not made up their minds how to -act after the dissolution of the parliament, and some were inclined to -go on with Richard; but the republican party, who had coalesced with -that faction of officers who took their denomination from Wallingford -House, their place of meeting, insisted on the restoration of the old -parliament; though they agreed to make some provision for Richard. -_Memoirs_, pp. 635-646. Accordingly it was voted to give him an income -of L10,000 per annum. Journals, July 16. - -[476] Journals, Sept. 23 _et post_; Whitelock, 683; _Parl. Hist._ -1562; Thurloe, vii. 703 _et post_. Ludlow's account of this period is -the most interesting part of his _Memoirs_. The chief officers, it -appears from his narrative, were soon disgusted with their republican -allies, and "behaved with all imaginable perverseness and insolence" -in the council of state, whenever they came there, which was but -seldom, scrupling the oath to be true to the commonwealth against -Charles Stuart or any other person. P. 657. He censures, however, the -violence of Haslerig, "a man of a disobliging temper, sour and morose -of temper, liable to be transported with passion, and in whom -liberality seemed to be a vice. Yet to do him justice, I must -acknowledge that I am under no manner of doubt concerning the -rectitude and sincerity of his intentions."--P. 718. Ludlow gave some -offence to the hot-headed republicans by his half compliance with the -army; and much disapproved the proceedings they adopted after their -second restoration in December 1659, against Vane and others. P. 800. -Yet, though nominated on the committee of safety, on the expulsion of -the parliament in October, he never sat on it, as Vane and Whitelock -did. - -[477] Journals, and other authorities above cited. - -[478] The Rota Club, as it was called, was composed, chiefly at least, -of these dealers in new constitutions, which were debated in due form. -Harrington was one of the most conspicuous. - -[479] Thurloe, vi. 579; _Clarendon State Papers_, 391, 395. - -[480] Carte's _Letters_, ii. 118. In a letter of Ormond to Hyde about -this time, he seems to have seen into the king's character, and speaks -of him severely: "I fear his immoderate delight in empty, effeminate, -and vulgar conversations, is become an irresistible part of his -nature," etc. _Clarendon State Papers_, iii. 387. - -[481] _Clarendon Papers_, 391, 418, 460 _et post_. Townshend, a young -man who seems to have been much looked up to, was not, in fact, a -presbyterian, but is reckoned among them as not being a cavalier, -having come of age since the wars, and his family neutral. - -[482] This curious fact appears for the first time, I believe, in the -_Clarendon State Papers_, unless it is anywhere intimated in Carte's -collection of the Ormond letters. In the former collection we find -several allusions to it; the first is in a letter from Rumbold, a -royalist emissary, to Hyde, dated Dec. 2, 1658, p. 421; from which I -collect Lord Fauconberg's share in this intrigue; which is also -confirmed by a letter of Mordaunt to the king, in p. 423. "The Lord -Falconbridge protests that Cromwell is so remiss a person that he -cannot play his own game, much less another man's, and is thereby -discouraged from acting in business, having also many enemies who -oppose his gaining either power or interest in the army or civil -government, because they conceive his principles contrary to theirs. -He says, Thurloe governs Cromwell, and St. John and Pierrepont govern -Thurloe; and therefore is not likely he will think himself in danger -till these tell him so, nor seek a diversion of it but by their -councils." Feb. 10, 1659. These ill-grounded hopes of Richard's -accession to their cause appear in several other letters, and even -Hyde seems to have given in to them. 434, 454, etc. Broderick, another -active emissary of the royalists, fancied that the three -above-mentioned would restore the king if they dared (477); but this -is quite unlikely. - -[483] P. 469. This was carried on through Colonel Henry Cromwell, his -cousin. It is said that Richard had not courage to sign the letters to -Monk and his other friends, which he afterwards repented. 491. The -intrigues still went on with him for a little longer. This was in May -1659. - -[484] _Clarendon State Papers_, 434, 500 _et post_; Thurloe, vi. 686. -See also an enigmatical letter to Henry Cromwell, 629, which certainly -hints at his union with the king; and Carte's _Letters_, ii. 293. - -[485] _Clarendon State Papers_, 552, 556, etc. - -[486] Clarendon confesses (_Life_, p. 20) that the cavaliers disliked -this whole intrigue with the presbyterians, which was planned by -Mordaunt, the most active and intelligent agent that the king -possessed in England. The former, doubtless, perceived that by -extending the basis of the coalition, they should lose all chance of -indemnity for their own sufferings: besides which, their timidity and -irresolution are manifest in all the Clarendon correspondence at this -period. See particularly 491, 520. - -[487] Willis had done all in his power to obstruct the rising. -Clarendon was very slow in believing this treachery, of which he had -at length conclusive proofs. 552, 562. - -[488] _Id._ 514, 530, 536, 543. - -[489] _Clarendon Papers_, 425, 427, 458, 462, 475, 526, 579. It is -evident that the catholics had greater hopes from the duke than from -the king, and considered the former as already their own. A remarkable -letter of Morley to Hyde, April 24, 1659, p. 458, shows the suspicions -already entertained of him by the writer in point of religion; and -Hyde is plainly not free from apprehension that he might favour the -scheme of supplanting his brother. The intrigue might have gone a -great way, though we may now think it probable that their alarm -magnified the danger. "Let me tell you," says Sir Antony Ashley Cooper -in a letter to Hyde, "that Wildman is as much an enemy now to the king -as he was before a seeming friend; yet not upon the account of a -commonwealth, for his ambition meets with every day repulses and -affronts from that party; but upon a finer spun design of setting up -the interest of the Duke of York against the king; in which design I -fear you will find confederated the Duke of Bucks, who perhaps may -draw away with him Lord Fairfax, the presbyterians, levellers, and -many catholics. I am apt to think these things are not transacted -without the privity of the queen; and I pray God that they have not an -ill influence upon your affairs in France."--475. Buckingham was -surmised to have been formally reconciled to the church of Rome. 427. -Some supposed that he, with his friend Wildman, were for a republic. -But such men are for nothing but the intrigue of the moment. These -projects of Buckingham to set up the Duke of York are hinted at in a -pamphlet by Shaftesbury or one of his party, written about 1680. -_Somers Tracts_, viii. 342. - -[490] Hyde writes to the Duke of Ormond: "I pray inform the king that -Fleetwood makes great professions of being converted, and of a -resolution to serve the king upon the first opportunity." Oct. 11, -1659. Carte's _Letters_, ii. 231. See _Clarendon State Papers_, 551 -(Sept. 2) and 577. But it is said afterwards, that he had "not courage -enough to follow the honest thoughts which some time possess him" -(592, Oct. 31), and that Manchester, Popham, and others, tried what -they could do with Fleetwood; but "though they left him with good -resolutions, they were so weak as not to continue longer than the next -temptation."--635 (Dec. 27). - -[491] _Id._ 588; Carte's _Letters_, ii. 225. - -[492] Lord Hatton, an old royalist, suggested this humiliating -proposition in terms scarcely less so to the heir of Cerdic and -Fergus. "The race is a _very good gentleman's family_, and kings have -condescended to marry subjects. The lady is pretty, of an -extraordinary sweetness of disposition, and very virtuously and -ingenuously disposed; the father is a person, set aside of his unhappy -engagement, of very great parts and noble inclinations."--_Clarendon -State Papers_, 592. Yet, after all, Miss Lambert was hardly more a -mis-alliance than Hortense Mancini, whom Charles had asked for in -vain. - -[493] _Biogr. Brit._ art. Monk. The royalists continued to entertain -hopes of him, especially after Oliver's death. _Clarendon Papers_, -iii. 393, 395, 396. In a sensible letter of Colepepper to Hyde, Sept. -20, 1658, he points out Monk as able alone to restore the king, and -not absolutely averse to it, either in his principles or affections; -kept hitherto by the vanity of adhering to his professions, and by his -affection to Cromwell, the latter whereof is dissolved both by the -jealousies he entertained of him, and by his death, etc. _Id._ 412. - -[494] Thurloe, vii. 387. Monk wrote about the same time against the -Earl of Argyle, as not a friend to the government. 584. Two years -afterwards he took away his life as being too much so. - -[495] If the account of his chaplain, Dr. Price, republished in -Maseres' _Tracts_, vol. ii., be worthy of trust, Monk gave so much -encouragement to his brother, a clergyman, secretly despatched to -Scotland by Sir John Grenvil, his relation, in June 1659, as to have -approved Sir George Booth's insurrection, and to have been on the -point of publishing a declaration in favour of it. P. 718. But this is -flatly in contradiction of what Clarendon asserts, that the general -not only sent away his brother with no hopes, but threatened to hang -him if he came again on such an errand. And, in fact, if anything so -favourable as what Price tells us had occurred, the king could not -fail to have known it. See _Clarendon State Papers_, iii. 543. This -throws some suspicion on Price's subsequent narrative (so far as it -professes to relate the general's intentions); so that I rely far less -on it than on Monk's own behaviour, which seems irreconcilable with -his professions of republican principles. It is, however, an obscure -point of history, which will easily admit of different opinions. - -The story told by Locke, on Lord Shaftesbury's authority, that Monk -had agreed with the French ambassador to take on himself the -government, wherein he was to have the support of Mazarin, and that -his wife, having overheard what was going forward, sent notice to -Shaftesbury, who was thus enabled to frustrate the intrigue (Locke's -Works, iii. 456), seems to have been confirmed lately by Mr. -D'Israeli, in an extract from the manuscript memoirs of Sir Thomas -Browne (_Curiosities of Literature_, N. S. vol. ii.), but in terms so -nearly resembling those of Locke, that it seems to be an echo. It is -certain, as we find by Phillips's continuation of Baker's _Chronicle_ -(said to be assisted, in this part, by Sir Thomas Clarges, Monk's -brother-in-law), that Bourdeaux, the French ambassador, did make such -overtures to the general, who absolutely refused to enter upon them; -but, as the writer admits, received a visit from the ambassador on -condition that he should propose nothing in relation to public -matters. I quote from Kennet's _Register_, 85. But, according to my -present impression, this is more likely to have been the foundation of -Shaftesbury's story, who might have heard from Mrs. Monk the -circumstance of the visit, and conceived suspicions upon it, which he -afterwards turned into proofs. It was evidently not in Monk's power to -have usurped the government, after he had let the royalist -inclinations of the people show themselves; and he was by no means of -a rash character. He must have taken his resolution when the secluded -members were restored to the house (Feb. 21); and this alleged -intrigue with Mazarin could hardly have been so early. - -It may be added that in one of the pamphlets about the time of the -exclusion bill, written by Shaftesbury himself or one of his party -(_Somers Tracts_, viii. 338), he is hinted to have principally brought -about the restoration; "without whose courage and dexterity some men, -the most highly rewarded, had done otherwise than they did." But this -still depends on his veracity. - -[496] Whitelock, 690. - -[497] The engagement was repeated March 13. This was of itself -tantamount to a declaration in favour of the king; though perhaps the -previous order of March 5, that the solemn league and covenant should -be read in churches, was still more so. Prynne was the first who had -the boldness to speak for the king, declaring his opinion that the -parliament was dissolved by the death of Charles the First; he was -supported by one or two more. _Clar. Papers_, 696; Thurloe, vii. 854; -Carte's _Letters_, ii. 312. Prynne wrote a pamphlet advising the peers -to meet and issue writs for a new parliament, according to the -provisions of the triennial act; which in fact was no bad expedient. -_Somers Tracts_, vi. 534. - -A speech of Sir Harbottle Grimston before the close of the parliament, -March 1660, is more explicit for the king's restoration than anything -which I have seen elsewhere; and as I do not know that it has been -printed, I will give an extract from the Harleian MS. 1576. - -He urges it as necessary to be done by them, and not left for the next -parliament, who all men believed would restore him. "This is so true -and so well understood, that we all believe that whatsoever our -thoughts are, this will be the opinion of the succeeding parliament, -whose concerns as well as affections will make them active for his -introduction. And I appeal then to your own judgments whether it is -likely that those persons, as to their particular interest more -unconcerned, and probably less knowing in the affairs of the nation, -can or would obtain for any those terms or articles as we are yet in a -capacity to procure both for them and us. I must confess sincerely -that it would be as strange to me as a miracle, did I not know that -God infatuates whom he designs to destroy, that we can see the king's -return so unavoidable, and yet be no more studious of serving him, or -at least ourselves, in the managing of his recall. - -"The general, that noble personage to whom under God we do and must -owe all the advantages of our past and future changes, will be as far -from opposing us in the design, as the design is removed from the -disadvantage of the nation. He himself is, I am confident, of the same -opinion; and if he has not yet given notice of it to the house, it is -not that he does not look upon it as the best expedient; but he only -forbears to oppose it, that he might not seem to necessitate us, and -by an over early discovery of his own judgment be thought to take from -us the freedom of ours." - -In another place he says, "That the recalling of our king is this only -way (for composure of affairs), is already grown almost as visible as -true; and, were it but confessed of all of whom it is believed, I -should quickly hear from the greatest part of this house what now it -hears alone from me. Had we as little reason to fear as we have too -much, that, if we bring not in the king, he either already is, or -shortly may be, in a capacity of coming in unsent for; methinks the -very knowledge of this right were enough to keep just persons, such as -we would be conceived to be, from being accessary to his longer -absence. We are already, and but justly, reported to have been the -occasion of our prince's banishment; we may then, with reason and -equal truth, for ought I know, be thought to have been the contrivers -of it; unless we endeavour the contrary, by not suffering the mischief -to continue longer which is in our power to remove." - -Such passages as these, and the general tenor of public speeches, -sermons, and pamphlets in the spring of 1660, show how little Monk can -be justly said to have restored Charles II.; except so far that he did -not persist in preventing it so long as he might have done. - -[498] _Clarendon State Papers_, 711. - -[499] _Id._ 696. - -[500] _Id._ 678 _et post_. He wrote a letter (Jan. 21) to the gentry -of Devon, who had petitioned the speaker for the re-admission of the -secluded members, objecting to that measure as likely to bring in -monarchy, very judicious, and with an air of sincerity that might -deceive any one; and after the restoration of these secluded members, -he made a speech to them (Feb. 21), strongly against monarchy; and -that so ingenuously, upon such good reasons, so much without invective -or fanaticism, that the professional hypocrites, who were used to -their own tone of imposture, were deceived by his. Cromwell was a mere -bungler to him. See these in Harris's _Charles II._ 296, or _Somers -Tracts_, vi. 551. It cannot be wondered at that the royalists were -exasperated at Monk's behaviour. They published abusive pamphlets -against him in February, from which Kennet, in his _Register_, p. 53, -gives quotations. "Whereas he was the common hopes of all men, he is -now the common hatred of all men, as a traitor more detestable than -Oliver himself, who, though he manacled the citizens' hands, yet never -took away the doors of the city," and so forth. It appears by the -letters of Mordaunt and Broderick to Hyde, and by those of Hyde -himself in the _Clarendon Papers_, that they had no sort of confidence -in Monk till near the end of March; though Barwick, another of his -correspondents, seems to have had more insight into the general's -designs (Thurloe, 852, 860, 870), who had expressed himself to a -friend of the writer, probably Clobery, fully in favour of the king, -before March 19. - -[501] Clar. 699, 705; Thurloe, vii. 860, 870. - -[502] A correspondent of Ormond writes, March 16: "This night the -fatal long parliament hath dissolved itself. All this appears well; -but I believe we shall not be settled upon our ancient foundations -without a war, for which all prepare vigorously and openly."--Carte's -_Letters_, ii. 513. It appears also from a letter of Massey to Hyde, -that a rising in different counties was intended. Thurloe, 854. - -[503] After giving the substance of Monk's speech to the house, -recommending a new parliament, but insisting on commonwealth -principles, Clarendon goes on; "There was no dissimulation in this, in -order to cover and conceal his good intentions to the king; for -without doubt he had not to this hour entertained any purpose or -thought to serve him, but was really of the opinion he expressed in -his paper, that it was a work impossible; and desired nothing but that -he might see a commonwealth established on such a model as Holland -was, where he had been bred, and that himself might enjoy the -authority and place which the Prince of Orange possessed in that -government." - -[504] The _Clarendon_ and _Thurloe Papers_ are full of more proofs of -this than can be quoted, and are very amusing to read, as a -perpetually shifting picture of hopes and fears, and conjectures right -or wrong. Pepys's _Diary_ also, in these two months, strikingly shows -the prevailing uncertainty as to Monk's intentions, as well as the -general desire of having the king brought in. It seems plain that, if -he had delayed a very little longer, he would have lost the whole -credit of the restoration. All parties began to crowd in with -addresses to the king in the first part of April, before Monk was -known to have declared himself. Thurloe, among others, was full of his -offers, though evidently anxious to find out whether the king had an -interest with Monk. P. 898. The royalists had long entertained hopes, -from time to time, of this deep politician; but it is certain he never -wished well to their cause, and with St. John and Pierrepont, had been -most zealous, to the last moment that it seemed practicable, against -the restoration. There had been, so late as February 1660, or even -afterwards, a strange plan of setting up again Richard Cromwell, -wherein not only these three, but Montagu, Jones, and others were -thought to be concerned, erroneously no doubt as to Montagu. -_Clarendon State Papers_, 693; Carte's _Letters_, ii. 310, 330. "One -of the greatest reasons they alledged was, that the king's party, -consisting altogether of indigent men, will become powerful by little -and little to force the king, whatever be his own disposition, to -break any engagement he can now make; and, since the nation is bent on -a single person, none will combine all interests so well as Richard." -This made Monk, it is said, jealous of St. John, and he was chosen at -Cambridge to exclude him. In a letter of Thurloe to Downing at the -Hague, April 6, he says, "that many of the presbyterians are alarmed -at the prospect, and thinking how to keep the king out without joining -the sectaries."--vii. 887. This could hardly be achieved but by -setting up Richard. Yet that, as is truly said in one of the letters -quoted, was ridiculous. None were so conspicuous and intrepid on the -king's side as the presbyterian ministers. Reynolds preached before -the lord mayor, Feb. 28, with manifest allusion to the restoration; -Gauden (who may be reckoned on that side, as conforming to it), on the -same day much more explicitly. Kennet's _Register_, 69. Sharp says, in -a letter to a correspondent in Scotland, that he, Ash, and Calamy had -a long conversation with Monk, March 11, "and convinced him a -commonwealth was impracticable, and to our sense sent him off that -sense he hath hitherto maintained, and came from him as being -satisfied of the necessity of dissolving this house, and calling a new -parliament."--_Id._ p. 81. Baxter thinks the presbyterian ministers, -together with Clarges and Morrice, turned Monk's resolution, and -induced him to declare for the king. _Life_, p. 2. This is a very -plausible conjecture, though I incline to think Monk more disposed -that way by his own judgment or his wife's. But she was influenced by -the presbyterian clergy. They evidently deserved of Charles what they -did not meet with. - -[505] The royalists began too soon with threatening speeches, which -well nigh frustrated their object. _Id._ 721, 722, 727; Carte's -_Letters_, 318; Thurloe, 887. One Dr. Griffith published a little book -vindicating the late king in his war against the parliament, for which -the ruling party were by no means ripe; and, having justified it -before the council, was committed to the Gate-house early in April. -_Id. ibid._ These imprudences occasioned the king's declaration from -Breda. _Somers Tracts_, vi. 562. Another also was published, April 25, -1660, signed by several peers, knights, divines, etc., of the royalist -party, disclaiming all private passions and resentments. Kennet's -_Register_, 120; Clar. vii. 471. But these public professions were -weak disguises, when belied by their current language. See Baxter, -217. Marchmont Needham, in a tract entitled, "Interest will not lye" -(written in answer to an artful pamphlet ascribed to Fell, afterwards -Bishop of Oxford, and reprinted in Maseres's _Tracts_, "The Interest -of England stated"), endeavoured to alarm all other parties, -especially the presbyterians, with representations of the violence -they had to expect from that of the king. See Harris's _Charles II._ -268. - -[506] Proofs of the disposition among this party to revive the treaty -of the Isle of Wight occur perpetually in the Thurloe and Clarendon -Papers, and in those published by Carte. The king's agents in England -evidently expected nothing better; and were, generally speaking, much -for his accepting the propositions. "The presbyterian lords," says Sir -Allen Broderic to Hyde, "with many of whom I have spoken, pretend -that, should the king come in upon any such insurrection, abetted by -those of his own party, he would be more absolute than his father was -in the height of his prerogative. Stay therefore, say they, till we -are ready; our numbers so added will abundantly recompense the delay, -rendering what is now extremely doubtful morally certain, and -establishing his throne upon the true basis, liberty and property." -July 16, 1659. _Clar. State Papers_, 527. - -[507] Clarendon, _Hist. of Rebellion_, vii. 440; _State Papers_, 705, -729. "There is so insolent a spirit among some of the nobility," says -Clarendon, about the middle of February, "that I really fear it will -turn to an aristocracy; Monk inclining that way too. My opinion is -clear, that the king ought not to part with the church, crown, or -friends' lands, lest he make my lord of Northumberland his equal, nay, -perhaps his superior."--P. 680. - -[508] Downing, the minister at the Hague, was one of these. His -overtures to the king were as early as Monk's, at the beginning of -April; he declared his wish to see his majesty restored on good terms, -though many were desirous to make him a doge of Venice. Carte's -_Letters_, ii. 320. See also a remarkable letter of the king to Monk -(dated May 21; but I suspect he used the new style, therefore read May -11), intimating what a service it would be to prevent the imposition -of any terms. Clar. 745. And another from him to Morrice of the same -tenor, May 20 (N. S.), 1660, and hinting that his majesty's friends in -the house had complied with the general in all things, according to -the king's directions, departing from their own sense, and restraining -themselves from pursuing what they thought most for his service. -Thurloe, vii. 912. This perhaps referred to the indemnity and other -provisions then pending in the Commons, or rather to the delay of a -few days before the delivery of Sir John Grenvil's message. - -[509] "Monk came this day (about the first week of April) to the -council, and assured them that, notwithstanding all the appearance of -a general desire of kingly government, yet it was in nowise his sense, -and that he would spend the last drop of his blood to maintain the -contrary."--Extract of a letter from Thurloe to Downing. Carte's -_Letters_, ii. 322. "The council of state are utterly ignorant of -Monk's treating with the king; and surely, as the present temper of -the council of state is now, and may possibly be also of the -parliament, by reason of the presbyterian influence upon both, I -should think the first chapman will not be the worst, who perhaps will -not offer so good a rate in conjunction with the company, as may give -to engross the commodity." Clar. 722, April 6. This sentence is a clue -to all the intrigue. It is said soon afterwards (p. 726, April 11) -that the presbyterians were much troubled at the course of the -elections, which made some of the council of state again address -themselves to Monk for his consent to propositions they would send to -the king; but he absolutely refused, and said he would leave all to a -free parliament, as he had promised the nation. Yet, though the -elections went as well as the royalists could reasonably expect, Hyde -was dissatisfied that the king was not restored without the -intervention of the new parliament; and this may have been one reason -of his spleen against Monk. Pp. 726, 731. - -[510] A proposed resolution, that those who had been on the king's -side, _or their sons_, should be disabled from voting at elections, -was lost by 93 to 56, the last effort of the expiring Rump. Journals, -13 March. The electors did not think themselves bound by this -arbitrary exclusion of the cavaliers from parliament; several of whom -(though not perhaps a great number within the terms of the resolution) -were returned. Massey, however, having gone down to stand for -Glocester, was put under arrest by order of the council of state. -Thurloe, 887. Clarendon, who was himself not insensible to that kind -of superstition, had fancied that anything done at Glocester by Massey -for the king's service would make a powerful impression on the people. - -[511] It is a curious proof of the state of public sentiment that, -though Monk himself wrote a letter to the electors of Bridgenorth, -recommending Thurloe, the cavalier party was so powerful, that his -friends did not even produce the letter, lest it should be treated -with neglect. Thurloe, vii. 895. - -[512] "To the king's coming in without conditions may be well imputed -all the errors of his reign." Thus says Burnet. The great political -error, if so it should be termed, of his reign, was a conspiracy with -the king of France, and some wicked advisers at home, to subvert the -religion and liberty of his subjects; and it is difficult to perceive -by what conditions this secret intrigue could have been prevented. - -[513] _Clarendon Papers_, p. 729. They resolved to send the articles -of that treaty to the king, leaving out the preface. This was about -the middle of April. - -[514] _Life of Clarendon_, p. 10. - -[515] "This," says Burnet somewhat invidiously, "was the great service -that Monk did; for as to the restoration itself, the tide ran so -strong, that he only went into it dexterously enough to get much -praise and great rewards."--P. 123. - -[516] Grimston was proposed by Pierrepont, and conducted to the chair -by him, Monk, and Hollis. Journals; _Parl. Hist._ The cavaliers -complained that this was done before they came into the house, and -that he was partial. Mordaunt to Hyde, April 27. _Clarendon State -Papers_, 734. - -[517] These were the Earls of Manchester, Northumberland, Lincoln, -Denbigh, and Suffolk; Lords Say, Wharton, Hunsdon, Grey, Maynard. -Lords' Journals, April 25. - -[518] _Id._ Lords' Journals. - -[519] "It was this day (April 27) moved in the House of Commons to -call in the king; but it was deferred till Tuesday next by the king's -friends' consent, and then it is generally believed something will be -done in it. The calling in of the king is now not doubted; but there -is a party among the old secluded members, that would have the treaty -grounded upon the Isle of Wight propositions; and the old lords are -thought generally of that design. But it is believed the House of -Commons will use the king more gently. The general hath been highly -complimented by both houses, and, without doubt, the giving the king -easy or hard conditions dependeth totally upon him; for, if he appear -for the king, the affections of the people are so high for him, that -no other authority can oppose him." H. Coventry to Marquis of Ormond. -Carte's _Letters_, ii. 328. Mordaunt confirms this. Those who moved -for the king were Colonel King and Mr. Finch, both decided cavaliers. -It must have been postponed by the policy of Monk. What could -Clarendon mean by saying (_History of Rebellion_, vii. 478) that "none -had the courage, how loyal soever their wishes were, to mention his -majesty?" This strange way of speaking has misled Hume, who copies it. -The king was as generally talked of as if he were on the throne. - -[520] Lords' and Commons' Journals. _Parl. Hist._ iv. 24. - -[521] Commons' Journals. - -[522] Lords' Journals, May 2. Upon the same day, the house went into -consideration how to settle the militia of this kingdom. A committee -of twelve lords was appointed for this purpose, and the Commons were -requested to appoint a proportionate number to join therein. But no -bill was brought in till after the king's return. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -FROM THE RESTORATION OF CHARLES THE SECOND TO THE FALL OF THE CABAL -ADMINISTRATION - - -_Popular joy at the restoration._--It is universally acknowledged that -no measure was ever more national, or has ever produced more -testimonies of public approbation, than the restoration of Charles II. -Nor can this be attributed to the usual fickleness of the multitude. -For the late government, whether under the parliament or the -protector, had never obtained the sanction of popular consent, nor -could have subsisted for a day without the support of the army. The -king's return seemed to the people the harbinger of a real liberty, -instead of that bastard commonwealth which had insulted them with its -name; a liberty secure from enormous assessments, which, even when -lawfully imposed, the English had always paid with reluctance, and -from the insolent despotism of the soldiery. The young and lively -looked forward to a release from the rigours of fanaticism, and were -too ready to exchange that hypocritical austerity of the late times -for a licentiousness and impiety that became characteristic of the -present. In this tumult of exulting hope and joy, there was much to -excite anxious forebodings in calmer men; and it was by no means safe -to pronounce that a change so generally demanded, and in most respects -so expedient, could be effected without very serious sacrifices of -public and particular interests. - -_Proceedings of the convention parliament._--Four subjects of great -importance, and some of them very difficult, occupied the convention -parliament from the time of the king's return till their dissolution -in the following December; a general indemnity and legal oblivion of -all that had been done amiss in the late interruption of government; -an adjustment of the claims for reparation which the Crown, the -church, and private royalists had to prefer; a provision for the -king's revenue, consistent with the abolition of military tenures; and -the settlement of the church. These were, in effect, the articles of a -sort of treaty between the king and the nation, without some -legislative provisions as to which, no stable or tranquil course of -law could be expected. - -_Act of indemnity._--The king, in his well-known declaration from -Breda, dated the 14th of April, had laid down, as it were, certain -bases of his restoration, as to some points which he knew to excite -much apprehension in England. One of these was a free and general -pardon to all his subjects, saving only such as should be excepted by -parliament. It had always been the king's expectation, or at least -that of his chancellor, that all who had been immediately concerned in -his father's death should be delivered up to punishment;[523] and, in -the most unpropitious state of his fortunes, while making all -professions of pardon and favour to different parties, he had -constantly excepted the regicides.[524] Monk, however, had advised in -his first messages to the king, that none, or at most not above four, -should be excepted on this account;[525] and the Commons voted that -not more than seven persons should lose the benefit of the indemnity, -both as to life and estate.[526] Yet, after having named seven of the -late king's judges, they proceeded in a few days to add several more, -who had been concerned in managing his trial, or otherwise forward in -promoting his death.[527] They went on to pitch upon twenty persons, -whom, on account of their deep concern in the transactions of the last -twelve years, they determined to affect with penalties, not extending -to death, and to be determined by some future act of parliament.[528] -As their passions grew warmer, and the wishes of the court became -better known, they came to except from all benefit of the indemnity -such of the king's judges as had not rendered themselves to justice -according to the late proclamation.[529] In this state the bill of -indemnity and oblivion was sent up to the Lords.[530] But in that -house, the old royalists had a more decisive preponderance than among -the Commons. They voted to except all who had signed the death-warrant -against Charles the First, or sat when sentence was pronounced, and -five others by name, Hacker, Vane, Lambert, Haslerig, and Axtell. They -struck out, on the other hand, the clause reserving Lenthall and the -rest of the same class for future penalties. They made other -alterations in the bill to render it more severe;[531] and with these, -after a pretty long delay, and a positive message from the king, -requesting them to hasten their proceedings (an irregularity to which -they took no exception, and which in the eyes of the nation was -justified by the circumstances), they returned the bill to the -Commons. - -The vindictive spirit displayed by the upper house was not agreeable -to the better temper of the Commons, where the presbyterian or -moderate party retained great influence. Though the king's judges -(such at least as had signed the death-warrant) were equally guilty, -it was consonant to the practice of all humane governments to make a -selection for capital penalties; and to put forty or fifty persons to -death for that offence, seemed a very sanguinary course of proceeding, -and not likely to promote the conciliation and oblivion so much cried -up. But there was a yet stronger objection to this severity. The king -had published a proclamation, in a few days after his landing, -commanding his father's judges to render themselves up within -fourteen days, on pain of being excepted from any pardon or indemnity, -either as to their lives or estates. Many had voluntarily come in, -having put an obvious construction on this proclamation. It seems to -admit of little question, that the king's faith was pledged to those -persons, and that no advantage could be taken of any ambiguity in the -proclamation, without as real perfidiousness as if the words had been -more express. They were at least entitled to be set at liberty, and to -have a reasonable time allowed for making their escape, if it were -determined to exclude them from the indemnity.[532] The Commons were -more mindful of the king's honour and their own than his nearest -advisers.[533] But the violent royalists were gaining ground among -them, and it ended in a compromise. They left Hacker and Axtell, who -had been prominently concerned in the king's death, to their fate. -They even admitted the exceptions of Vane and Lambert; contenting -themselves with a joint address of both houses to the king, that, if -they should be attainted, execution as to their lives might be -remitted. Haslerig was saved on a division of 141 to 116, partly -through the intercession of Monk, who had pledged his word to him. -Most of the king's judges were entirely excepted; but with a proviso -in favour of such as had surrendered according to the proclamation, -that the sentence should not be executed without a special act of -parliament.[534] Others were reserved for penalties not extending to -life, to be inflicted by a future act. About twenty enumerated -persons, as well as those who had pronounced sentence of death in any -of the late illegal high courts of justice, were rendered incapable of -any civil or military office. Thus after three months' delay, which -had given room to distrust the boasted clemency and forgiveness of the -victorious royalists, the act of indemnity was finally passed. - -_Execution of regicides._--Ten persons suffered death soon afterwards -for the murder of Charles the First; and three more who had been -seized in Holland, after a considerable lapse of time.[535] There can -be no reasonable ground for censuring either the king or the -parliament for their punishment; except that Hugh Peters, though a -very odious fanatic, was not so directly implicated in the king's -death as many who escaped; and the execution of Scrope, who had -surrendered under the proclamation, was an inexcusable breach of -faith.[536] But nothing can be more sophistical than to pretend that -such men as Hollis and Annesley, who had been expelled from parliament -by the violence of the same faction who put the king to death, were -not to vote for their punishment, or to sit in judgment on them, -because they had sided with the Commons in the civil war.[537] It is -mentioned by many writers, and in the Journals, that when Mr. -Lenthall, son of the late speaker, in the very first days of the -convention parliament, was led to say that those who had levied war -against the king were as blamable as those who had cut off his head, -he received a reprimand from the chair, which the folly and dangerous -consequence of his position well deserved; for such language, though -it seems to have been used by him in extenuation of the regicides, was -quite in the tone of the violent royalists.[538] - -_Restitution of crown and church lands._--A question, apparently far -more difficult, was that of restitution and redress. The Crown lands, -those of the church, the estates in certain instances of eminent -royalists, had been sold by the authority of the late usurpers; and -that not at very low rates, considering the precariousness of the -title. This naturally seemed a material obstacle to the restoration of -ancient rights, especially in the case of ecclesiastical corporations, -whom men are commonly less disposed to favour than private persons. -The clergy themselves had never expected that their estates would -revert to them in full propriety; and would probably have been -contented, at the moment of the king's return, to have granted easy -leases to the purchasers. Nor were the House of Commons, many of whom -were interested in these sales, inclined to let in the former owners -without conditions. A bill was accordingly brought into the house at -the beginning of the session to confirm sales, or to give indemnity to -the purchasers. I do not find its provisions more particularly stated. -The zeal of the royalists soon caused the Crown lands to be -excepted.[539] But the house adhered to the principle of composition -as to ecclesiastical property, and kept the bill a long time in -debate. At the adjournment in September, the chancellor told them, his -majesty had thought much upon the business, and done much for the -accommodation of many particular persons, and doubted not but that, -before they met again, a good progress would be made, so that the -persons concerned would be much to blame if they received not full -satisfaction; promising also to advise with some of the Commons as to -that settlement.[540] These expressions indicate a design to take the -matter out of the hands of parliament. For it was Hyde's firm -resolution to replace the church in the whole of its property, without -any other regard to the actual possessors than the right owners -should severally think it equitable to display. And this, as may be -supposed, proved very small. No further steps were taken on the -meeting of parliament after the adjournment; and by the dissolution -the parties were left to the common course of law. The church, the -Crown, the dispossessed royalists, re-entered triumphantly on their -lands; there were no means of repelling the owners' claim, nor any -satisfaction to be looked for by the purchasers under so defective a -title. It must be owned that the facility with which this was -accomplished, is a striking testimony to the strength of the new -government, and the concurrence of the nation. This is the more -remarkable, if it be true, as Ludlow informs us, that the chapter -lands had been sold by the trustees appointed by parliament at the -clear income of fifteen or seventeen years' purchase.[541] - -_Discontent of the royalists._--The great body however of the -suffering cavaliers, who had compounded for their delinquency under -the ordinances of the Long Parliament, or whose estates had been for a -time in sequestration, found no remedy for these losses by any process -of law. The act of indemnity put a stop to any suits they might have -instituted against persons concerned in carrying these illegal -ordinances into execution. They were compelled to put up with their -poverty, having the additional mortification of seeing one class, -namely, the clergy, who had been engaged in the same cause, not alike -in their fortune, and many even of the vanquished republicans -undisturbed in wealth which, directly or indirectly, they deemed -acquired at their own expense.[542] They called the statute an act of -indemnity for the king's enemies, and of oblivion for his friends. -They murmured at the ingratitude of Charles, as if he were bound to -forfeit his honour and risk his throne for their sakes. They conceived -a deep hatred of Clarendon, whose steady adherence to the great -principles of the act of indemnity is the most honourable act of his -public life. And the discontent engendered by their disappointed hopes -led to some part of the opposition afterwards experienced by the king, -and still more certainly to the coalition against the minister. - -_Settlement of the revenue._--No one cause had so eminently -contributed to the dissensions between the Crown and parliament in the -two last reigns, as the disproportion between the public revenues -under a rapidly increasing depreciation in the value of money, and the -exigencies, at least on some occasions, of the administration. There -could be no apology for the parsimonious reluctance of the Commons to -grant supplies, except the constitutional necessity of rendering them -the condition of redress of grievances; and in the present -circumstances, satisfied, as they seemed at least to be, with the -securities they had obtained, and enamoured of their new sovereign, it -was reasonable to make some further provision for the current -expenditure. Yet this was to be meted out with such prudence as not to -place him beyond the necessity of frequent recurrence to their aid. A -committee was accordingly appointed "to consider of settling such a -revenue on his majesty as may maintain the splendour and grandeur of -his kingly office, and preserve the Crown from want, and from being -undervalued by his neighbours." By their report it appeared that the -revenue of Charles I. from 1637 to 1641 had amounted on an average to -about L900,000, of which full L200,000 arose from sources either not -warranted by law or no longer available. The house resolved to raise -the present king's income to L1,200,000 per annum; a sum perhaps -sufficient in those times for the ordinary charges of government. But -the funds assigned to produce this revenue soon fell short of the -parliament's calculation.[543] - -_Abolition of military tenures. Excise granted instead._--One ancient -fountain that had poured its stream into the royal treasury, it was -now determined to close up for ever. The feudal tenures had brought -with them at the conquest, or not long after, those incidents, as they -were usually called, or emoluments of signiory, which remained after -the military character of fiefs had been nearly effaced; especially -the right of detaining the estates of minors holding in chivalry, -without accounting for the profits. This galling burthen, incomparably -more ruinous to the tenant than beneficial to the lord, it had long -been determined to remove. Charles, at the treaty of Newport, had -consented to give it up for a fixed revenue of L100,000; and this was -almost the only part of that ineffectual compact which the present -parliament were anxious to complete. The king, though likely to lose -much patronage and influence, and what passed with lawyers for a high -attribute of his prerogative, could not decently refuse a commutation -so evidently advantageous to the aristocracy. No great difference of -opinion subsisting as to the expediency of taking away military -tenures, it remained only to decide from what resources the -commutation revenue should spring. Two schemes were suggested; the -one, a permanent tax on lands held in chivalry (which, as -distinguished from those in socage, were alone liable to the feudal -burthens); the other, an excise on beer and some other liquors. It is -evident that the former was founded on a just principle; while the -latter transferred a particular burthen to the community. But the -self-interest which so unhappily predominates even in representative -assemblies, with the aid of the courtiers who knew that an excise -increasing with the riches of the country was far more desirable for -the Crown than a fixed land-tax, caused the former to be carried, -though by the very small majority of two voices.[544] Yet even thus, -if the impoverishment of the gentry, and dilapidation of their estates -through the detestable abuses of wardship, was, as cannot be doubted, -very mischievous to the inferior classes, the whole community must be -reckoned gainers by the arrangement, though it might have been -conducted in a more equitable manner. The statute 12 Car. II. c. 24. -takes away the court of wards, with all wardships and forfeitures for -marriage by reason of tenure, all primer seisins, and fines for -alienation, aids, escuages, homages, and tenures by chivalry without -exception, save the honorary services of grand sergeanty; converting -all such tenures into common socage. The same statute abolishes those -famous rights of purveyance and pre-emption, the fruitful theme of so -many complaining parliaments; and this relief of the people from a -general burthen may serve in some measure as an apology for the -imposition of the excise. This act may be said to have wrought an -important change in the spirit of our constitution, by reducing what -is emphatically called the prerogative of the Crown, and which, by its -practical exhibition in these two vexatious exercises of power, -wardship, and purveyance, kept up in the minds of the people a more -distinct perception, as well as more awe, of the monarchy, than could -be felt in later periods, when it has become, as it were, merged in -the common course of law, and blended with the very complex mechanism -of our institutions. This great innovation however is properly to be -referred to the revolution of 1641, which put an end to the court of -star-chamber, and suspended the feudal superiorities. Hence, with all -the misconduct of the two last Stuarts, and all the tendency towards -arbitrary power that their government often displayed, we must -perceive that the constitution had put on, in a very great degree, its -modern character during that period; the boundaries of prerogative -were better understood; its pretensions, at least in public, were less -enormous; and not so many violent and oppressive, certainly not so -many illegal, acts were committed towards individuals as under the two -first of their family. - -_Army disbanded._--In fixing upon L1,200,000 as a competent revenue -for the Crown, the Commons tacitly gave it to be understood that a -regular military force was not among the necessities for which they -meant to provide. They looked upon the army, notwithstanding its -recent services, with that apprehension and jealousy which becomes an -English House of Commons. They were still supporting it by monthly -assessments of L70,000, and could gain no relief by the king's -restoration till that charge came to an end. A bill therefore was sent -up to the Lords before their adjournment in September, providing money -for disbanding the land forces. This was done during the recess; the -soldiers received their arrears with many fair words of praise, and -the nation saw itself, with delight and thankfulness to the king, -released from its heavy burthens and the dread of servitude.[545] Yet -Charles had too much knowledge of foreign countries, where monarchy -flourished in all its plenitude of sovereign power under the guardian -sword of a standing army, to part readily with so favourite an -instrument of kings. Some of his counsellors, and especially the Duke -of York, dissuaded him from disbanding the army, or at least advised -his supplying its place by another. The unsettled state of the kingdom -after so momentous a revolution, the dangerous audacity of the -fanatical party, whose enterprises were the more to be guarded -against, that they were founded on no such calculation as reasonable -men would form, and of which the insurrection of Venner in November -1660 furnished an example, did undoubtedly appear a very plausible -excuse for something more of a military protection to the government -than yeomen of the guard and gentlemen pensioners. General Monk's -regiment, called the Coldstream, and one other of horse, were -accordingly retained by the king in his service; another was formed -out of troops brought from Dunkirk; and thus began, under the name of -guards, the present regular army of Great Britain.[546] In 1662 these -amounted to about 5000 men; a petty force according to our present -notions, or to the practice of other European monarchies in that age, -yet sufficient to establish an alarming precedent, and to open a new -source of contention between the supporters of power and those of -freedom. - -So little essential innovation had been effected by twenty years' -interruption of the regular government in the common law or course of -judicial proceedings, that, when the king and House of Lords were -restored to their places, little more seemed to be requisite than a -change of names. But what was true of the state could not be applied -to the church. The revolution there had gone much farther, and the -questions of restoration and compromise were far more difficult. - -_Clergy restored to their benefices._--It will be remembered that such -of the clergy as steadily adhered to the episcopal constitution had -been expelled from their benefices by the long parliament under -various pretexts, and chiefly for refusing to take the covenant. The -new establishment was nominally presbyterian. But the presbyterian -discipline and synodical government were very partially introduced; -and, upon the whole, the church, during the suspension of the ancient -laws, was rather an assemblage of congregations than a compact body, -having little more unity than resulted from their common dependency on -the temporal magistrate. In the time of Cromwell, who favoured the -independent sectaries, some of that denomination obtained livings; but -very few, I believe, comparatively, who had not received either -episcopal or presbyterian ordination. The right of private patronage -to benefices, and that of tithes, though continually menaced by the -more violent party, subsisted without alteration. Meanwhile the -episcopal ministers, though excluded from legal toleration along with -papists, by the instrument of government under which Cromwell -professed to hold his power, obtained, in general, a sufficient -indulgence for the exercise of their function.[547] Once, indeed, on -discovery of the royalist conspiracy in 1655, he published a severe -ordinance, forbidding every ejected minister or fellow of a college to -act as domestic chaplain or schoolmaster. But this was coupled with a -promise to show as much tenderness as might consist with the safety of -the nation towards such of the said persons as should give testimony -of their good affection to the government; and, in point of fact, this -ordinance was so far from being rigorously observed, that episcopalian -conventicles were openly kept in London.[548] Cromwell was of a really -tolerant disposition, and there had perhaps, on the whole, been no -period of equal duration wherein the catholics themselves suffered so -little molestation as under the protectorate.[549] It is well known -that he permitted the settlement of Jews in England, after an -exclusion of nearly three centuries, in spite of the denunciations of -some bigoted churchmen and lawyers. - -_Hopes of the presbyterians from the king._--The presbyterian clergy, -though co-operating in the king's restoration, experienced very just -apprehensions of the church they had supplanted; and this was in fact -one great motive of the restrictions that party was so anxious to -impose on him. His character and sentiments were yet very imperfectly -known in England; and much pains were taken on both sides, by short -pamphlets, panegyrical or defamatory, to represent him as the best -Englishman and best protestant of the age, or as one given up to -profligacy and popery.[550] The caricature likeness was, we must now -acknowledge, more true than the other; but at that time it was fair -and natural to dwell on the more pleasing picture. The presbyterians -remembered that he was what they called a covenanted king; that is, -that, for the sake of the assistance of the Scots, he had submitted to -all the obligations, and taken all the oaths, they thought fit to -impose.[551] But it was well known that, on the failure of those -prospects, he had returned to the church of England, and that he was -surrounded by its zealous adherents. Charles, in his declaration from -Breda, promised to grant liberty of conscience, so that no man should -be disquieted or called in question for differences of opinion in -matters of religion which do not disturb the peace of the kingdom, and -to consent to such acts of parliament as should be offered for him for -confirming that indulgence. But he was silent as to the church -establishment; and the presbyterian ministers, who went over to -present the congratulations of their body, met with civil language, -but no sort of encouragement to expect any personal compliance on the -king's part with their mode of worship. - -_Projects for a compromise._--The moderate party in the convention -parliament, though not absolutely of the presbyterian interest, saw -the danger of permitting an oppressed body of churchmen to regain -their superiority without some restraint. The actual incumbents of -benefices were, on the whole, a respectable and even exemplary class, -most of whom could not be reckoned answerable for the legal defects of -their title. But the ejected ministers of the Anglican church, who had -endured for their attachment to its discipline and to the Crown so -many years of poverty and privation, stood in a still more favourable -light, and had an evident claim to restoration. The Commons -accordingly, before the king's return, prepared a bill for confirming -and restoring ministers; with the twofold object of replacing in their -benefices, but without their legal right to the intermediate profits, -the episcopal clergy who by ejection or forced surrender had made way -for intruders, and at the same time of establishing the possession, -though originally usurped, of those against whom there was no claimant -living to dispute it, as well as of those who had been presented on -legal vacancies.[552] This act did not pass without opposition of the -cavaliers, who panted to retaliate the persecution that had afflicted -their church.[553] - -This legal security however for the enjoyment of their livings gave no -satisfaction to the scruples of conscientious men. The episcopal -discipline, the Anglican liturgy and ceremonies having never been -abrogated by law, revived of course with the constitutional monarchy; -and brought with them all the penalties that the act of uniformity and -other statutes had inflicted. The nonconforming clergy threw -themselves on the king's compassion, or gratitude, or policy, for -relief. The independents, too irreconcilable to the established church -for any scheme of comprehension, looked only to that liberty of -conscience which the king's declaration from Breda had held -forth.[554] But the presbyterians soothed themselves with hopes of -retaining their benefices by some compromise with their adversaries. -They had never, generally speaking, embraced the rigid principles of -the Scottish clergy, and were willing to admit what they called a -moderate episcopacy. They offered, accordingly, on the king's request -to know their terms, a middle scheme, usually denominated Bishop -Usher's Model; not as altogether approving it, but because they could -not hope for anything nearer to their own views. This consisted, -first, in the appointment of a suffragan bishop for each rural -deanery, holding a monthly synod of the presbyters within his -district; and, secondly, in an annual diocesan synod of suffragans and -representatives of the presbyters, under the presidency of the bishop, -and deciding upon all matters before them by plurality of -suffrages.[555] This is, I believe, considered by most competent -judges as approaching more nearly than our own system to the usage of -the primitive church, which gave considerable influence and -superiority of rank to the bishop, without destroying the -aristocratical character and co-ordinate jurisdiction of the -ecclesiastical senate.[556] It lessened also the inconveniences -supposed to result from the great extent of some English dioceses. -But, though such a system was inconsistent with that parity which the -rigid presbyterians maintained to be indispensable, and those who -espoused it are reckoned, in a theological division, among -episcopalians, it was, in the eyes of equally rigid churchmen, little -better than a disguised presbytery, and a real subversion of the -Anglican hierarchy.[557] - -The presbyterian ministers, or rather a few eminent persons of that -class, proceeded to solicit a revision of the liturgy, and a -consideration of the numerous objections which they made to certain -passages, while they admitted the lawfulness of a prescribed form. -They implored the king also to abolish, or at least not to enjoin as -necessary, some of those ceremonies which they scrupled to use, and -which in fact had been the original cause of their schism; the -surplice, the cross in baptism, the practice of kneeling at the -communion, and one or two more. A tone of humble supplication pervades -all their language, which some might invidiously contrast with their -unbending haughtiness in prosperity. The bishops and other Anglican -divines, to whom their propositions were referred, met the offer of -capitulation with a scornful and vindictive smile. They held out not -the least overture towards a compromise. - -The king however deemed it expedient, during the continuance of a -parliament, the majority of whom were desirous of union in the church, -and had given some indications of their disposition,[558] to keep up -the delusion a little longer, and prevent the possible consequences of -despair. He had already appointed several presbyterian ministers his -chaplains, and given them frequent audiences. But during the recess of -parliament he published a declaration, wherein, after some compliments -to the ministers of the presbyterian opinion, and an artful expression -of satisfaction that he had found them no enemies to episcopacy or a -liturgy, as they had been reported to be, he announces his intention -to appoint a sufficient number of suffragan bishops in the larger -dioceses; he promises that no bishop should ordain or exercise any -part of his spiritual jurisdiction without advice and assistance of -his presbyters; that no chancellors or officials of the bishops should -use any jurisdiction over the ministry, nor any archdeacon without the -advice of a council of his clergy; that the dean and chapter of the -diocese, together with an equal number of presbyters, annually chosen -by the clergy, should be always advising and assisting at all -ordinations, church censures, and other important acts of spiritual -jurisdiction. He declared also that he would appoint an equal number -of divines of both persuasions to revise the liturgy; desiring that in -the meantime none would wholly lay it aside, yet promising that no one -should be molested for not using it till it should be reviewed and -reformed. With regard to ceremonies, he declared that none should be -compelled to receive the sacrament kneeling, nor to use the cross in -baptism, nor to bow at the name of Jesus, nor to wear the surplice, -except in the royal chapel and in cathedrals, nor should subscription -to articles not doctrinal be required. He renewed also his declaration -from Breda, that no man should be called in question for differences -of religious opinion, not disturbing the peace of the kingdom.[559] - -Though many of the presbyterian party deemed this modification of -Anglican episcopacy a departure from their notions of an apostolic -church, and inconsistent with their covenant, the majority would -doubtless have acquiesced in so extensive a concession from the ruling -power. If faithfully executed, according to its apparent meaning, it -does not seem that the declaration falls very short of their own -proposal, the scheme of Usher.[560] The high churchmen indeed would -have murmured, had it been made effectual. But such as were nearest -the king's councils well knew that nothing else was intended by it -than to scatter dust in men's eyes, and prevent the interference of -parliament. This was soon rendered manifest, when a bill to render the -king's declaration effectual was vigorously opposed by the courtiers, -and rejected on a second reading by 183 to 157.[561] Nothing could -more forcibly demonstrate an intention of breaking faith with the -presbyterians than this vote. For the king's declaration was repugnant -to the act of uniformity and many other statutes, so that it could not -be carried into effect without the authority of parliament, unless by -means of such a general dispensing power as no parliament would -endure.[562] And it is impossible to question that a bill for -confirming it would have easily passed through this House of Commons, -had it not been for the resistance of the government. - -_Convention parliament dissolved._--Charles now dissolved the -convention parliament, having obtained from it what was immediately -necessary, but well aware that he could better accomplish his objects -with another. It was studiously inculcated by the royalist lawyers -that as this assembly had not been summoned by the king's writ, none -of its acts could have any real validity, except by the confirmation -of a true parliament.[563] This doctrine being applicable to the act -of indemnity left the kingdom in a precarious condition till an -undeniable security could be obtained, and rendered the dissolution -almost necessary. Another parliament was called of very different -composition from the last. Possession and the standing ordinances -against royalists had enabled the secluded members of 1648, that is, -the adherents of the long parliament, to stem with some degree of -success the impetuous tide of loyalty in the last elections, and put -them almost upon an equality with the court. But, in the new assembly, -cavaliers, and the sons of cavaliers, entirely predominated; the great -families, the ancient gentry, the episcopal clergy, resumed their -influence; the presbyterians and sectarians feared to have their -offences remembered; so that we may rather be surprised that about -fifty or sixty who had belonged to the opposite side found places in -such a parliament, than that its general complexion should be -decidedly royalist. The presbyterian faction seemed to lie prostrate -at the feet of those on whom they had so long triumphed, without any -force of arms or civil convulsion, as if the king had been brought in -against their will. Nor did the cavaliers fail to treat them as -enemies to monarchy, though it was notorious that the restoration was -chiefly owing to their endeavours.[564] - -_Different complexion of the new parliament._--The new parliament gave -the first proofs of their disposition by voting that all their members -should receive the sacrament on a certain day according to the rites -of the church of England, and that the solemn league and covenant -should be burned by the common hangman.[565] They excited still more -serious alarm by an evident reluctance to confirm the late act of -indemnity, which the king at the opening of the session had pressed -upon their attention. Those who had suffered the sequestrations and -other losses of a vanquished party, could not endure to abandon what -they reckoned a just reparation. But Clarendon adhered with equal -integrity and prudence to this fundamental principle of the -restoration; and, after a strong message from the king on the subject, -the Commons were content to let the bill pass with no new -exceptions.[566] They gave indeed some relief to the ruined -cavaliers, by voting L60,000 to be distributed among that class; but -so inadequate a compensation did not assuage their discontents. - -_Condemnation of Vane._--It has been mentioned above, that the late -House of Commons had consented to the exception of Vane and Lambert -from indemnity on the king's promise that they should not suffer -death. They had lain in the Tower accordingly, without being brought -to trial. The regicides who had come in under the proclamation were -saved from capital punishment by the former act of indemnity. But the -present parliament abhorred this lukewarm lenity. A bill was brought -in for the execution of the king's judges in the Tower; and the -attorney-general was requested to proceed against Vane and -Lambert.[567] The former was dropped in the House of Lords; but those -formidable chiefs of the commonwealth were brought to trial. Their -indictments alleged as overt acts of high treason against Charles II. -their exercise of civil and military functions under the usurping -government; though not, as far as appears, expressly directed against -the king's authority, and certainly not against his person. Under such -an accusation, many who had been the most earnest in the king's -restoration might have stood at the bar. Thousands might apply to -themselves, in the case of Vane, the beautiful expressions of Mrs. -Hutchinson, as to her husband's feelings at the death of the -regicides, that he looked on himself as judged in their judgment and -executed in their execution. The stroke fell upon one, the reproach -upon many. - -The condemnation of Sir Henry Vane was very questionable even -according to the letter of the law. It was plainly repugnant to its -spirit. An excellent statute enacted under Henry VII., and deemed by -some great writers to be only declaratory of the common law, but -occasioned, no doubt, by some harsh judgments of treason which had -been pronounced during the late competition of the house of York and -Lancaster, assured a perfect indemnity to all persons obeying a king -for the time being, however defective his title might come to be -considered, when another claimant should gain possession of the -throne. It established the duty of allegiance to the existing -government upon a general principle; but in its terms it certainly -presumed that government to be a monarchy. This furnished the judges -upon the trial of Vane with a distinction, of which they willingly -availed themselves. They proceeded however beyond all bounds of -constitutional precedents and of common sense, when they determined -that Charles the Second had been king _de facto_ as well as _de jure_ -from the moment of his father's death, though, in the words of their -senseless sophistry, "kept out of the exercise of his royal authority -by traitors and rebels." He had indeed assumed the title during his -exile, and had granted letters patent for different purposes, which it -was thought proper to hold good after his restoration; thus presenting -the strange anomaly, and as it were contradiction in terms, of a king -who began to govern in the twelfth year of his reign. But this had not -been the usage of former times. Edward IV., Richard III., Henry VII., -had dated their instruments either from their proclamation, or at -least from some act of possession. The question was not whether a -right to the Crown descended according to the laws of inheritance; but -whether such a right, divested of possession, could challenge -allegiance as a bounden duty by the law of England. This is expressly -determined in the negative by Lord Coke in his third Institute, who -maintains a king "that hath right, and is out of possession," not to -be within the statute of treasons. He asserts also that a pardon -granted by him would be void; which by parity of reasoning must extend -to all his patents.[568] We may consider therefore the execution of -Vane as one of the most reprehensible actions of this bad reign. It -not only violated the assurance of indemnity, but introduced a -principle of sanguinary proscription, which would render the return of -what is called legitimate government, under any circumstances, an -intolerable curse to a nation.[569] - -The king violated his promise by the execution of Vane, as much as the -judges strained the law by his conviction. He had assured the last -parliament, in answer to their address, that, if Vane and Lambert -should be attainted by law he would not suffer the sentence to be -executed. Though the present parliament had urged the attorney-general -to bring these delinquents to trial, they had never, by an address to -the king, given him a colour for retracting his promise of mercy. It -is worthy of notice that Clarendon does not say a syllable about -Vane's trial; which affords a strong presumption that he thought it a -breach of the act of indemnity. But we have on record a remarkable -letter of the king to his minister, wherein he expresses his -resentment at Vane's bold demeanour during his trial, and intimates a -wish for his death, though with some doubts whether it could be -honourably done.[570] Doubts of such a nature never lasted long with -this prince; and Vane suffered the week after. Lambert, whose -submissive behaviour had furnished a contrast with that of Vane, was -sent to Guernsey; and remained a prisoner for thirty years. The -royalists have spoken of Vane with extreme dislike; yet it should be -remembered that he was not only incorrupt, but disinterested, -inflexible in conforming his public conduct to his principles, and -averse to every sanguinary or oppressive measure: qualities not very -common in revolutionary chiefs, and which honourably distinguished him -from the Lamberts and Haslerigs of his party.[571] - -_Acts replacing the Crown in its prerogatives._--No time was lost, as -might be expected from the temper of the Commons, in replacing the -throne on its constitutional basis after the rude encroachments of the -long parliament. They declared that there was no legislative power in -either or both houses without the king; that the league and covenant -was unlawfully imposed; that the sole supreme command of the militia, -and of all forces by sea and land, had ever been by the laws of -England the undoubted right of the Crown; that neither house of -parliament could pretend to it, nor could lawfully levy any war -offensive or defensive against his majesty.[572] These last words -appeared to go to a dangerous length, and to sanction the suicidal -doctrine of absolute non-resistance. They made the law of high treason -more strict during the king's life in pursuance of a precedent in the -reign of Elizabeth.[573] They restored the bishops to their seats in -the House of Lords; a step which the last parliament would never have -been induced to take, but which met with little opposition from the -present.[574] The violence that had attended their exclusion seemed a -sufficient motive for rescinding a statute so improperly obtained, -even if the policy of maintaining the spiritual peers were somewhat -doubtful. The remembrance of those tumultuous assemblages which had -overawed their predecessors in the winter of 1641, and at other times, -produced a law against disorderly petitions. This statute provides -that no petition or address shall be presented to the king or either -house of parliament by more than ten persons; nor shall any one -procure above twenty persons to consent or set their hands to any -petition for alteration of matters established by law in church or -state, unless with the previous order of three justices of the county, -or the major part of the grand jury.[575] - -_Corporation act._--Thus far the new parliament might be said to have -acted chiefly on a principle of repairing the breaches recently made -in our constitution, and of re-establishing the just boundaries of the -executive power; nor would much objection have been offered to their -measures, had they gone no farther in the same course. The act for -regulating corporations is much more questionable, and displayed a -determination to exclude a considerable portion of the community from -their civil rights. It enjoined all magistrates and persons bearing -offices of trust in corporations to swear that they believed it -unlawful, on any pretence whatever, to take arms against the king, and -that they abhorred the traitorous position of bearing arms by his -authority against his person, or against those that are commissioned -by him. They were also to renounce all obligation arising out of the -oath called the solemn league and covenant; in case of refusal, to be -immediately removed from office. Those elected in future were, in -addition to the same oaths, to have received the sacrament within one -year before their election according to the rites of the English -church.[576] These provisions struck at the heart of the presbyterian -party, whose strength lay in the little oligarchies of corporate -towns, which directly or indirectly returned to parliament a very -large proportion of its members. Yet it rarely happens that a -political faction is crushed by the terrors of an oath. Many of the -more rigid presbyterians refused the conditions imposed by this act; -but the majority found pretexts for qualifying themselves. - -_Repeal of the triennial act._--It could not yet be said that this -loyal assembly had meddled with those safeguards of public liberty -which had been erected by their great predecessors in 1641. The laws -that Falkland and Hampden had combined to provide, those bulwarks -against the ancient exorbitance of prerogative, stood unscathed; -threatened from afar, but not yet betrayed by the garrison. But one of -these, the bill for triennial parliaments, wounded the pride of -royalty, and gave scandal to his worshippers; not so much on account -of its object, as of the securities provided against its violation. If -the king did not summon a fresh parliament within three years after a -dissolution, the peers were to meet and issue writs of their own -accord; if they did not within a certain time perform this duty, the -sheriffs of every county were to take it on themselves; and, in -default of all constituted authorities the electors might assemble -without any regular summons to choose representatives. It was manifest -that the king must have taken a fixed resolution to trample on a -fundamental law, before these irregular tumultuous modes of redress -could be called into action; and that the existence of such provisions -could not in any degree weaken or endanger the legal and limited -monarchy. But the doctrine of passive obedience had now crept from the -homilies into the statute-book; the parliament had not scrupled to -declare the unlawfulness of defensive war against the king's person; -and it was but one step more to take away all direct means of -counteracting his pleasure. Bills were accordingly more than once -ordered to be brought in for repealing the triennial act; but no -further steps were taken till the king thought it at length necessary -in the year 1664 to give them an intimation of his desires.[577] A -vague notion had partially gained ground that no parliament, by virtue -of that bill, could sit for more than three years. In allusion to -this, he told them, on opening the session of 1664, that he "had often -read over that bill; and, though there was no colour for the fancy of -the determination of the parliament, yet he would not deny that he had -always expected them to consider the wonderful clauses in that bill, -which passed in a time very uncareful for the dignity of the Crown or -the security of the people. He requested them to look again at it. For -himself, he loved parliaments; he was much beholden to them; he did -not think the Crown could ever be happy without frequent parliaments. -But assure yourselves," he concluded, "if I should think otherwise I -would never suffer a parliament to come together by the means -prescribed by that bill."[578] - -So audacious a declaration, equivalent to an avowed design, in certain -circumstances, of preventing the execution of the laws by force of -arms, was never before heard from the lips of an English king; and -would in any other times have awakened a storm of indignation from the -Commons. They were however sufficiently compliant to pass a bill for -the repeal of that which had been enacted with unanimous consent in -1641, and had been hailed as the great palladium of constitutional -monarchy. The preamble recites the said act to have been "in -derogation of his majesty's just rights and prerogative inherent in -the imperial Crown of this realm for the calling and assembling of -parliaments." The bill then repeals and annuls every clause and -article in the fullest manner; yet, with an inconsistency not unusual -in our statutes, adds a provision that parliaments shall not in future -be intermitted for above three years at the most. This clause is -evidently framed in a different spirit from the original bill, and may -be attributed to the influence of that party in the house, which had -begun to oppose the court, and already showed itself in considerable -strength.[579] Thus the effect of this compromise was, that the law of -the long parliament subsisted as to its principle, without those -unusual clauses which had been enacted to render its observance -secure. The king assured them, in giving his assent to the repeal, -that he would not be a day more without a parliament on that account. -But the necessity of those securities, and the mischiefs of that false -and servile loyalty which abrogated them, became manifest at the close -of the present reign; nearly four years having elapsed between the -dissolution of Charles's last parliament and his death. - -Clarendon, the principal adviser, as yet, of the king since his -restoration (for Southampton rather gave reputation to the -administration than took that superior influence which belonged to his -place of treasurer), has thought fit to stigmatise the triennial bill -with the epithet of infamous. So wholly had he divested himself of the -sentiments he entertained at the beginning of the long parliament that -he sought nothing more ardently than to place the Crown again in a -condition to run into those abuses and excesses against which he had -once so much inveighed. "He did never dissemble," he says, "from the -time of his return with the king, that the late rebellion could never -be extirpated and pulled up by the roots till the king's regal and -inherent power and prerogative should be fully avowed and vindicated, -and till the usurpations in both houses of parliament, since the year -1640, were disclaimed and made odious; and many other excesses, which -had been affected by both before that time under the name of -privileges, should be restrained or explained. For all which -reformation the kingdom in general was very well disposed, when it -pleased God to restore the king to it. The present parliament had done -much, and would willingly have prosecuted the same method, if they had -had the same advice and encouragement."[580] I can only understand -these words to mean that they might have been led to repeal other -statutes of the long parliament, besides the triennial act, and that -excluding the bishops from the House of Peers; but more especially, to -have restored the two great levers of prerogative, the courts of -star-chamber and high-commission. This would indeed have pulled up by -the roots the work of the long parliament, which, in spite of such -general reproach, still continued to shackle the revived monarchy. -There had been some serious attempts at this in the House of Lords -during the session of 1661-2. We read in the Journals[581] that a -committee was appointed to prepare a bill for repealing all acts made -in the parliament begun the 3rd day of November 1640, and for -re-enacting such of them as should be thought fit. This committee some -time after[582] reported their opinion, "that it was fit for the good -of the nation, that there be a court of like nature to the late court -called the star-chamber; but desired the advice and directions of the -house in these particulars following: Who should be judges? What -matters should they be judges of? By what manner of proceedings should -they act?" The house, it is added, thought it not fit to give any -particular directions therein, but left it to the committee to proceed -as they would. It does not appear that anything further was done in -this session; but we find the bill of repeal revived next year.[583] -It is however only once mentioned. Perhaps it may be questionable -whether, even amidst the fervid loyalty of 1661, the House of Commons -would have concurred in re-establishing the star-chamber. They had -taken marked precautions in passing an act for the restoration of -ecclesiastical jurisdiction, that it should not be construed to -restore the high-commission court, or to give validity to the canons -of 1640, or to enlarge in any manner the ancient authority of the -church.[584] A tribunal still more formidable and obnoxious would -hardly have found favour with a body of men, who, as their behaviour -shortly demonstrated, might rather be taxed with passion and -vindictiveness towards a hostile faction, than a deliberate -willingness to abandon their English rights and privileges. - -The striking characteristic of this parliament was a zealous and -intolerant attachment to the established church, not losing an atom of -their aversion to popery in their abhorrence of protestant dissent. In -every former parliament since the reformation, the country party (if I -may use such a word, by anticipation, for those gentlemen of landed -estates who owed their seats to their provincial importance, as -distinguished from courtiers, lawyers, and dependents on the -nobility), had incurred with rigid churchmen the reproach of -puritanical affections. They were implacable against popery, but -disposed to far more indulgence with respect to nonconformity than the -very different maxims of Elizabeth and her successors would permit. -Yet it is obvious that the puritan Commons of James I. and the high -church Commons of Charles II. were composed, in a great measure, of -the same families, and entirely of the same classes. But, as the -arrogance of the prelates had excited indignation, and the sufferings -of the scrupulous clergy begotten sympathy in one age, so the reversed -scenes of the last twenty years had given to the former, or their -adherents, the advantage of enduring oppression with humility and -fortitude, and displayed in the latter, or at least many of their -number, those odious and malevolent qualities which adversity had -either concealed or rendered less dangerous. The gentry, connected for -the most part by birth or education with the episcopal clergy, could -not for an instant hesitate between the ancient establishment, and one -composed of men whose eloquence in preaching was chiefly directed -towards the common people, and presupposed a degree of enthusiasm in -the hearer which the higher classes rarely possessed. They dreaded the -wilder sectaries, foes to property, or at least to its political -influence, as much as to the regal constitution; and not unnaturally, -though without perfect fairness, confounded the presbyterian or -moderate nonconformist in the motley crowd of fanatics, to many of -whose tenets he at least more approximated than the church of England -minister. - -_Presbyterians deceived by the king._--There is every reason to -presume, as I have already remarked, that the king had no intention -but to deceive the presbyterians and their friends in the convention -parliament by his declaration of October 1660.[585] He proceeded, -after the dissolution of that assembly, to fill up the number of -bishops, who had been reduced to nine, but with no further mention of -suffragans, or of the council of presbyters, which had been announced -in that declaration.[586] It does indeed appear highly probable that -this scheme of Usher would have been found inconvenient and even -impracticable; and reflecting men would perhaps be apt to say that the -usage of primitive antiquity, upon which all parties laid so much -stress, was rather a presumptive argument against the adoption of any -system of church-government, in circumstances so widely different, -than in favour of it. But inconvenient and impracticable provisions -carry with them their own remedy; and the king might have respected -his own word, and the wishes of a large part of the church, without -any formidable danger to episcopal authority. It would have been, -however, too flagrant a breach of promise (and yet hardly greater than -that just mentioned) if some show had not been made of desiring a -reconciliation on the subordinate details of religious ceremonies and -the liturgy. This produced a conference held at the Savoy, in May -1661, between twenty-one Anglican and as many presbyterian divines: -the latter were called upon to propose their objections; it being the -part of the others to defend. They brought forward so long a list as -seemed to raise little hope of agreement. Some of these objections to -the service, as may be imagined, were rather captious and -hypercritical; yet in many cases they pointed out real defects. As to -ceremonies, they dwelt on the same scruples as had from the beginning -of Elizabeth's reign produced so unhappy a discordance, and had become -inveterate by so much persecution. The conference was managed with -great mutual bitterness and recrimination; the one party stimulated by -vindictive hatred and the natural arrogance of power; the other -irritated by the manifest design of breaking the king's faith, and -probably by a sense of their own improvidence in ruining themselves by -his restoration. The chief blame, it cannot be dissembled, ought to -fall on the churchmen. An opportunity was afforded of healing, in a -very great measure, that schism and separation which, if they are to -be believed, is one of the worst evils that can befall a christian -community. They had it in their power to retain, or to expel, a vast -number of worthy and laborious ministers of the gospel, with whom they -had, in their own estimation, no essential ground of difference. They -knew the king, and consequently themselves, to have been restored with -(I might almost say by) the strenuous co-operation of those very men -who were now at their mercy. To judge by the rules of moral wisdom, or -of the spirit of Christianity (to which, notwithstanding what might be -satirically said of experience, it is difficult not to think we have a -right to expect that a body of ecclesiastics should pay some -attention), there can be no justification for the Anglican party on -this occasion. They have certainly one apology, the best very -frequently that can be offered for human infirmity; they had sustained -a long and unjust exclusion from the emoluments of their profession, -which begot a natural dislike towards the members of the sect that had -profited at their expense, though not, in general, personally -responsible for their misfortunes.[587] - -The Savoy conference broke up in anger, each party more exasperated -and more irreconcilable than before. This indeed has been the usual -consequence of attempts to bring men to an understanding on religious -differences by explanation or compromise. The public is apt to expect -too much from these discussions; unwilling to believe either that -those who have a reputation for piety can be wanting in desire to find -the truth, or that those who are esteemed for ability can miss it. And -this expectation is heightened by the language rather too strongly -held by moderate and peaceable divines, that little more is required -than an understanding of each other's meaning, to unite conflicting -sects in a common faith. But as it generally happens that the disputes -of theologians, though far from being so important as they appear to -the narrow prejudices and heated passions of the combatants, are not -wholly nominal, or capable of being reduced to a common form of words, -the hopes of union and settlement vanish upon that closer enquiry -which conferences and schemes of agreement produce. And though this -may seem rather applicable to speculative controversies than to such -matters as were debated between the church and the presbyterians at -the Savoy conference, and which are in their nature more capable of -compromise than articles of doctrine; yet the consequence of -exhibiting the incompatibility and reciprocal alienation of the two -parties in a clearer light was nearly the same. - -A determination having been taken to admit of no extensive -comprehension, it was debated by the government whether to make a few -alterations in the liturgy, or to restore the ancient service in every -particular. The former advice prevailed, though with no desire or -expectation of conciliating any scrupulous persons by the amendments -introduced.[588] These were by no means numerous, and in some -instances rather chosen in order to irritate and mock the opposite -party than from any compliance with their prejudices. It is indeed -very probable, from the temper of the new parliament, that they would -not have come into more tolerant and healing measures. - -_Act of uniformity._--When the act of uniformity was brought into the -House of Lords, it was found not only to restore all the ceremonies -and other matters to which objection had been taken, but to contain -fresh clauses more intolerable than the rest to the presbyterian -clergy. One of these enacted that not only every beneficed minister, -but fellow of a college, or even schoolmaster, should declare his -unfeigned assent and consent to all and everything contained in the -book of common prayer.[589] These words, however capable of being -eluded and explained away, as such subscriptions always are, seemed to -amount, in common use of language, to a complete approbation of an -entire volume, such as a man of sense hardly gives to any book, and -which, at a time when scrupulous persons were with great difficulty -endeavouring to reconcile themselves to submission, placed a new -stumbling-block in their way, which, without abandoning their -integrity, they found it impossible to surmount. - -The malignity of those who chiefly managed church affairs at this -period displayed itself in another innovation tending to the same end. -It had been not unusual, from the very beginnings of our reformation, -to admit ministers ordained in foreign protestant churches to -benefices in England. No re-ordination had ever been practised with -respect to those who had received the imposition of hands in a regular -church; and hence it appears that the church of England, whatever -tenets might latterly have been broached in controversy, did not -consider the ordination of presbyters invalid. Though such ordinations -as had taken place during the late troubles, and by virtue of which a -great part of the actual clergy were in possession, were evidently -irregular, on the supposition that the English episcopal church was -then in existence; yet, if the argument from such great convenience -as men call necessity was to prevail, it was surely worth while to -suffer them to pass without question for the present, enacting -provisions, if such were required, for the future. But this did not -fall in with the passion and policy of the bishops, who found a -pretext for their worldly motives of action in the supposed divine -right and necessity of episcopal succession; a theory naturally more -agreeable to arrogant and dogmatical ecclesiastics than that of -Cranmer, who saw no intrinsic difference between bishops and priests; -or of Hooker, who thought ecclesiastical superiorities, like civil, -subject to variation; or of Stillingfleet, who had lately pointed out -the impossibility of ascertaining beyond doubtful conjecture the real -constitution of the apostolical church, from the scanty, inconclusive -testimonies that either Scripture or antiquity furnish. It was -therefore enacted in the statute for uniformity, that no person should -hold any preferment in England, without having received episcopal -ordination. There seems to be little or no objection to this -provision, if ordination be considered as a ceremony of admission into -a particular society; but, according to the theories which both -parties had embraced in that age, it conferred a sort of mysterious -indelible character, which rendered its repetition improper.[590] - -_Ejection of nonconformist clergy._--The new act of uniformity -succeeded to the utmost wishes of its promoters. It provided that -every minister should, before the feast of St. Bartholomew, 1662, -publicly declare his assent and consent to everything contained in the -book of common prayer, on pain of being _ipso facto_ deprived of his -benefice.[591] Though even the long parliament had reserved a fifth -of the profits to those who were ejected for refusing the covenant, no -mercy could be obtained from the still greater bigotry of the present; -and a motion to make that allowance to nonconforming ministers was -lost by 94 to 87.[592] The Lords had shown a more temperate spirit, -and made several alterations of a conciliating nature. They objected -to extending the subscription required by the act to schoolmasters. -But the Commons urged in a conference the force of education, which -made it necessary to take care for the youth. The upper house even -inserted a proviso, allowing the king to dispense with the surplice -and the sign of the cross; but the Commons resolutely withstanding -this and every other alteration, they were all given up.[593] Yet next -year, when it was found necessary to pass an act for the relief of -those who had been prevented involuntarily from subscribing the -declaration in due time, a clause was introduced, declaring that the -assent and consent to the book of common prayer required by the said -act should be understood only as to practice and obedience, and not -otherwise. The Duke of York and twelve lay peers protested against -this clause, as destructive to the church of England as now -established; and the Commons vehemently objecting to it, the partisans -of moderate councils gave way as before.[594] When the day of St. -Bartholomew came, about 2000 persons resigned their preferments rather -than stain their consciences by compliance--an act to which the more -liberal Anglicans, after the bitterness of immediate passions had -passed away, have accorded that praise which is due to heroic virtue -in an enemy. It may justly be said that the episcopal clergy had set -an example of similar magnanimity in refusing to take the covenant. -Yet, as that was partly of a political nature, and those who were -ejected for not taking it might hope to be restored through the -success of the king's arms, I do not know that it was altogether so -eminent an act of self-devotion as the presbyterian clergy displayed -on St. Bartholomew's day. Both of them afford striking contrasts to -the pliancy of the English church in the greater question of the -preceding century, and bear witness to a remarkable integrity and -consistency of principle.[595] - -No one who has any sense of honesty and plain dealing can pretend that -Charles did not violate the spirit of his declarations, both that from -Breda, and that which he published in October 1660. It is idle to say -that those declarations were subject to the decision of parliament, as -if the Crown had no sort of influence in that assembly, nor even any -means of making its inclinations known. He had urged them to confirm -the act of indemnity, wherein he thought his honour and security -concerned: was it less easy to obtain, or at least to ask for, their -concurrence in a comprehension or toleration of the presbyterian -clergy? Yet, after mocking those persons with pretended favour, and -even offering bishoprics to some of their number, by way of purchasing -their defection, the king made no effort to mitigate the provisions of -the act of uniformity; and Clarendon strenuously supported them -through both houses of parliament.[596] This behaviour in the minister -sprung from real bigotry and dislike of the presbyterians; but Charles -was influenced by a very different motive, which had become the secret -spring of all his policy. This requires to be fully explained. - -_Hopes of the catholics._--Charles, during his misfortunes, had made -repeated promises to the pope and the great catholic princes of -relaxing the penal laws against his subjects of that religion--promises -which he well knew to be the necessary condition of their assistance. -And, though he never received any succour which could demand the -performance of these assurances, his desire to stand well with France -and Spain, as well as a sense of what was really due to the English -catholics, would have disposed him to grant every indulgence which -the temper of his people should permit. The laws were highly severe, -in some cases sanguinary; they were enacted in very different times, -from plausible motives of distrust, which it would be now both absurd -and ungrateful to retain. The catholics had been the most strenuous of -the late king's adherents, the greatest sufferers for their loyalty. -Out of about 500 gentlemen who lost their lives in the royal cause, -one-third, it has been said, were of that religion.[597] Their estates -had been selected for confiscation, when others had been admitted to -compound. It is however certain that after the conclusion of the war, -and especially during the usurpation of Cromwell, they declined in -general to provoke a government which showed a good deal of connivance -towards their religion by keeping up any connection with the exiled -family.[598] They had, as was surely very natural, one paramount -object in their political conduct, the enjoyment of religious liberty; -whatever debt of gratitude they might have owed to Charles I. had been -amply paid; and perhaps they might reflect that he had never scrupled, -in his various negotiations with the parliament, to acquiesce in any -prescriptive measures suggested against popery. This apparent -abandonment however of the royal interests excited the displeasure of -Clarendon, which was increased by a tendency some of the catholics -showed to unite with Lambert, who was understood to be privately of -their religion, and by an intrigue carried on in 1659, by the -machinations of Buckingham with some priests, to set up the Duke of -York for the Crown. But the king retained no resentment of the general -conduct of this party; and was desirous to give them a testimony of -his confidence, by mitigating the penal laws against their religion. -Some steps were taken towards this by the House of Lords in the -session of 1661; and there seems little doubt that the statutes at -least inflicting capital punishment would have been repealed without -difficulty, if the catholics had not lost the favourable moment by -some disunion among themselves, which the never-ceasing intrigues of -the Jesuits contrived to produce.[599] - -There can be no sort of doubt that the king's natural facility, and -exemption from all prejudice in favour of established laws, would have -led him to afford every indulgence that could be demanded to his -catholic subjects, many of whom were his companions or his -counsellors, without any propensity towards their religion. But it is -morally certain that, during the period of his banishment, he had -imbibed, as deeply and seriously as the character of his mind would -permit, a persuasion that, if any scheme of Christianity were true, it -could only be found in the bosom of an infallible church; though he -was never reconciled, according to the formal profession which she -exacts, till the last hours of his life. The secret however of his -inclinations, though disguised to the world by the appearance, and -probably sometimes more than the appearance, of carelessness and -infidelity, could not be wholly concealed from his court. It appears -the most natural mode of accounting for the sudden conversion of the -Earl of Bristol to popery, which is generally agreed to have been -insincere. An ambitious intriguer, holding the post of secretary of -state, would not have ventured such a step without some grounds of -confidence in his master's wishes; though his characteristic -precipitancy hurried him forward to destroy his own hopes. Nor are -there wanting proofs that the protestantism of both the brothers was -greatly suspected in England before the restoration.[600] These -suspicions acquired strength after the king's return, through his -manifest intention not to marry a protestant; and still more through -the presumptuous demeanour of the opposite party, which seemed to -indicate some surer grounds of confidence than were yet manifest. The -new parliament in its first session had made it penal to say that the -king was a papist or popishly affected; whence the prevalence of that -scandal may be inferred.[601] - -_Resisted by Clarendon and the parliament._--Charles had no assistance -to expect, in his scheme of granting a full toleration to the Roman -faith, from his chief adviser Clarendon. A repeal of the sanguinary -laws, a reasonable connivance, perhaps in some cases a dispensation--to -these favours he would have acceded. But, in his creed of policy, the -legal allowance of any but the established religion was inconsistent -with public order, and with the king's ecclesiastical prerogative. -This was also a fixed principle with the parliament, whose implacable -resentment towards the sectaries had not inclined them to abate in the -least of their abhorrence and apprehension of popery. The church of -England, distinctly and exclusively, was their rallying-point; the -Crown itself stood only second in their affections. The king therefore -had recourse to a more subtle and indirect policy. If the terms of -conformity had been so far relaxed as to suffer the continuance of the -presbyterian clergy in their benefices, there was every reason to -expect from their known disposition a determined hostility to all -approaches towards popery, and even to its toleration. It was -therefore the policy of those who had the interests of that cause at -heart, to permit no deviation from the act of uniformity, to resist -all endeavours at a comprehension of dissenters within the pale of the -church, and to make them look up to the king for indulgence in their -separate way of worship. They were to be taught that, amenable to the -same laws as the Romanists, exposed to the oppression of the same -enemies, they must act in concert for a common benefit.[602] The -presbyterian ministers, disheartened at the violence of the -parliament, had recourse to Charles, whose affability and fair -promises they were loth to distrust; and implored his dispensation for -their nonconformity. The king, naturally irresolute, and doubtless -sensible that he had made a bad return to those who had contributed so -much towards his restoration, was induced, at the strong solicitation -of Lord Manchester, to promise that he would issue a declaration -suspending the execution of the statute for three months. Clarendon, -though he had been averse to some of the rigorous clauses inserted in -the act of uniformity, was of opinion that, once passed, it ought to -be enforced without any connivance; and told the king likewise that it -was not in his power to preserve those who did not comply with it from -deprivation. Yet, as the king's word had been given, he advised him -rather to issue such a declaration than to break his promise. But, the -bishops vehemently remonstrating against it, and intimating that they -would not be parties to a violation of the law, by refusing to -institute a clerk presented by the patron on an avoidance for want of -conformity in the incumbent, the king gave way, and resolved to make -no kind of concession. It is remarkable that the noble historian does -not seem struck at the enormous and unconstitutional prerogative which -a proclamation suspending the statute would have assumed.[603] - -_Declaration for indulgence._--Instead of this very objectionable -measure, the king adopted one less arbitrary, and more consonant to -his own secret policy. He published a declaration in favour of liberty -of conscience, for which no provision had been made, so as to redeem -the promises he had held forth at his accession. Adverting to these, -he declared that, "as in the first place he had been zealous to settle -the uniformity of the church of England in discipline, ceremony, and -government, and should ever constantly maintain it; so as for what -concerns the penalties upon those who, living peaceably, do not -conform themselves thereto, he should make it his special care, so far -as in him lay, without invading the freedom of parliament, to incline -their wisdom next approaching sessions to concur with him in making -some such act for that purpose as may enable him to exercise with a -more universal satisfaction that power of dispensing, which he -conceived to be inherent in him."[604] - -The aim of this declaration was to obtain from parliament a mitigation -at least of all penal statutes in matters of religion, but more to -serve the interests of catholic than of protestant nonconformity.[605] -Except however the allusion to the dispensing power, which yet is -very moderately alleged, there was nothing in it, according to our -present opinions, that should have created offence. But the Commons, -on their meeting in February 1663, presented an address, denying that -any obligation lay on the king by virtue of his declaration from -Breda, which must be understood to depend on the advice of parliament, -and slightly intimating that he possessed no such dispensing -prerogative as was suggested. They strongly objected to the whole -scheme of indulgence, as the means of increasing sectaries, and rather -likely to occasion disturbance than to promote peace.[606] They -remonstrated, in another address, against the release of Calamy, an -eminent dissenter, who, having been imprisoned for transgressing the -act of uniformity, was irregularly set at liberty by the king's -personal order.[607] The king, undeceived as to the disposition of -this loyal assembly to concur in his projects of religious liberty, -was driven to more tedious and indirect courses in order to compass -his end. He had the mortification of finding that the House of Commons -had imbibed, partly perhaps in consequence of this declaration, that -jealous apprehension of popery, which had caused so much of his -father's ill fortune. On this topic the watchfulness of an English -parliament could never be long at rest. The notorious insolence of the -Romish priests, who, proud of the court's favour, disdained to respect -the laws enough to disguise themselves, provoked an address to the -king, that they might be sent out of the kingdom; and bills were -brought in to prevent the further growth of popery.[608] - -Meanwhile, the same remedy, so infallible in the eyes of legislators, -was not forgotten to be applied to the opposite disease of protestant -dissent. Some had believed, of whom Clarendon seems to have been, that -all scruples of tender conscience in the presbyterian clergy being -faction and hypocrisy, they would submit very quietly to the law, when -they found all their clamour unavailing to obtain a dispensation from -it. The resignation of 2000 beneficed ministers at once, instead of -extorting praise, rather inflamed the resentment of their bigoted -enemies; especially when they perceived that a public and perpetual -toleration of separate worship was favoured by part of the court. - -_Act against conventicles._--Rumours of conspiracy and insurrection, -sometimes false, but gaining credit from the notorious discontent both -of the old commonwealth's party, and of many who had never been on -that side, were sedulously propagated, in order to keep up the -animosity of parliament against the ejected clergy;[609] and these are -recited as the pretext of an act passed in 1664 for suppressing -seditious conventicles (the epithet being in this place wantonly and -unjustly insulting), which inflicted on all persons above the age of -sixteen, present at any religious meeting in other manner than is -allowed by the practice of the church of England, where five or more -persons besides the household should be present, a penalty of three -months' imprisonment for the first offence, of six for the second, and -of seven years' transportation for the third, on conviction before a -single justice of peace.[610] This act, says Clarendon, if it had -been vigorously executed, would no doubt have produced a thorough -reformation.[611] Such is ever the language of the supporters of -tyranny; when oppression does not succeed, it is because there has -been too little of it. But those who suffered under this statute -report very differently as to its vigorous execution. The gaols were -filled, not only with ministers who had borne the brunt of former -persecutions, but with the laity who attended them; and the hardship -was the more grievous, that the act being ambiguously worded, its -construction was left to a single magistrate, generally very adverse -to the accused. - -It is the natural consequence of restrictive laws to aggravate the -disaffection which has served as their pretext; and thus to create a -necessity for a legislature that will not retrace its steps, to pass -still onward in the course of severity. In the next session -accordingly held at Oxford in 1665, on account of the plague that -ravaged the capital, we find a new and more inevitable blow aimed at -the fallen church of Calvin. It was enacted that all persons in holy -orders who had not subscribed the act of uniformity, should swear that -it is not lawful, upon any pretence whatsoever, to take arms against -the king; and that they did abhor that traitorous position of taking -arms by his authority against his person, or against those that are -commissioned by him, and would not at any time endeavour any -alteration of government in church or state. Those who refused this -oath were not only made incapable of teaching in schools, but -prohibited from coming within five miles of any city, corporate town, -or borough sending members to parliament.[612] - -This infamous statute did not pass without the opposition of the Earl -of Southampton, lord treasurer, and other peers. But Archbishop -Sheldon, and several bishops, strongly supported the bill, which had -undoubtedly the sanction also of Clarendon's authority.[613] In the -Commons, I do not find that any division took place; but an -unsuccessful attempt was made to insert the word "legally" before -commissioned; the lawyers, however, declared that this word must be -understood.[614] Some of the nonconforming clergy took the oath upon -this construction. But the far greater number refused. Even if they -could have borne the solemn assertion of the principles of passive -obedience in all possible cases, their scrupulous consciences revolted -from a pledge to endeavour no kind of alteration in church and state; -an engagement, in its extended sense, irreconcilable with their own -principles in religion, and with the civil duties of Englishmen. Yet -to quit the towns where they had long been connected, and where alone -they had friends and disciples, for a residence in country villages, -was an exclusion from the ordinary means of subsistence. The church of -England had doubtless her provocations; but she made the retaliation -much more than commensurate to the injury. No severity, comparable to -this cold-blooded persecution, had been inflicted by the late powers, -even in the ferment and fury of a civil war. Encouraged by this easy -triumph, the violent party in the House of Commons thought it a good -opportunity to give the same test a more sweeping application. A bill -was brought in imposing this oath upon the whole nation; that is, I -presume (for I do not know that its precise nature is anywhere -explained), on all persons in any public or municipal trust. This -however was lost on a division by a small majority.[615] - -It has been remarked that there is no other instance in history, where -men have suffered persecution on account of differences, which were -admitted by those who inflicted it to be of such small moment. But, -supposing this to be true, it only proves, what may perhaps be alleged -as a sort of extenuation of these severe laws against nonconformists, -that they were merely political, and did not spring from any -theological bigotry. Sheldon indeed, their great promoter, was so free -from an intolerant zeal that he is represented as a man who considered -religion chiefly as an engine of policy. The principles of religious -toleration had already gained considerable ground over mere bigotry; -but were still obnoxious to the arbitrary temper of some politicians, -and wanted perhaps experimental proof of their safety to recommend -them to the caution of others. There can be no doubt that all laws -against dissent and separation from an established church, those even -of the inquisition, have proceeded in a greater or less degree from -political motives; and these appear to me far less odious than the -disinterested rancour of superstition. The latter is very common among -the populace, and sometimes among the clergy. Thus the presbyterians -exclaimed against the toleration of popery, not as dangerous to the -protestant establishment, but as a sinful compromise with idolatry; -language which, after the first heat of the reformation had abated, -was never so current in the Anglican church.[616] In the case of these -statutes against nonconformists under Charles II., revenge and fear -seem to have been the unmixed passions that excited the church party -against those, whose former superiority they remembered, and whose -disaffection and hostility it was impossible to doubt.[617] - -_Dissatisfaction increases._--A joy so excessive and indiscriminating -had accompanied the king's restoration, that no prudence or virtue in -his government could have averted that reaction of popular sentiment, -which inevitably follows the disappointment of unreasonable hope. -Those who lay their account upon blessings, which no course of -political administration can bestow, live, according to the poet's -comparison, like the sick man, perpetually changing posture in search -of the rest which nature denies; the dupes of successive revolutions, -sanguine as children with the novelties of politics, a new -constitution, a new sovereign, a new minister, and as angry with the -playthings when they fall short of their desires. What then was the -discontent that must have ensued upon the restoration of Charles II.? -The neglected cavalier, the persecuted presbyterian, the disbanded -officer, had each his grievance; and felt that he was either in a -worse situation than he had formerly been, or at least than he had -expected to be. Though there were not the violent acts of military -power which had struck every man's eyes under Cromwell, it cannot be -said that personal liberty was secure, or that the magistrates had not -considerable power of oppression, and that pretty unsparingly -exercised towards those suspected of disaffection. The religious -persecution was not only far more severe than it was ever during the -commonwealth, but perhaps more extensively felt than under Charles I. -Though the monthly assessments for the support of the army ceased soon -after the restoration, several large grants were made by parliament, -especially during the Dutch war; and it appears, that in the first -seven years of Charles II. the nation paid a greater sum in taxes than -in any preceding period of the same duration. If then the people -compared the national fruits of their expenditure, what a contrast -they found, how deplorable a falling off in public honour and dignity -since the days of the magnanimous usurper![618] They saw with -indignation, that Dunkirk, acquired by Cromwell, had been chaffered -away by Charles (a transaction justifiable perhaps on the mere balance -of profit and loss, but certainly derogatory to the pride of a great -nation); that a war, needlessly commenced, had been carried on with -much display of bravery in our seamen and their commanders, but no -sort of good conduct in the government; and that a petty northern -potentate, who would have trembled at the name of the commonwealth, -had broken his faith towards us out of mere contempt of our -inefficiency. - -_Private life of the king._--These discontents were heightened by the -private conduct of Charles, if the life of a king can in any sense be -private, by a dissoluteness and contempt of moral opinion, which a -nation, still in the main grave and religious, could not endure. The -austere character of the last king had repressed to a considerable -degree the common vices of a court which had gone to a scandalous -excess under James. But the cavaliers in general affected a profligacy -of manners, as their distinction from the fanatical party, which -gained ground among those who followed the king's fortunes in exile, -and became more flagrant after the restoration. Anecdotes of court -excesses, which required not the aid of exaggeration, were in daily -circulation through the coffee-houses; those who cared least about the -vice, not failing to inveigh against the scandal. It is in the nature -of a limited monarchy that men should censure very freely the private -likes of their princes, as being more exempt from that immoral -servility which blinds itself to the distinctions of right and wrong -in elevated rank. And as a voluptuous court will always appear -prodigal, because all expense in vice is needless, they had the -mortification of believing that the public revenues were wasted on the -vilest associates of the king's debauchery. We are however much -indebted to the memory of Barbara, Duchess of Cleveland, Louisa, -Duchess of Portsmouth, and Mrs. Eleanor Gwyn. We owe a tribute of -gratitude to the Mays, the Killigrews, the Chiffinches, and the -Grammonts. They played a serviceable part in ridding the kingdom of -its besotted loyalty. They saved our forefathers from the -star-chamber, and the high-commission court; they laboured in their -vocation against standing armies and corruption; they pressed forward -the great ultimate security of English freedom, the expulsion of the -house of Stuart.[619] - -_Opposition in parliament._--Among the ardent loyalists who formed the -bulk of the present parliament, a certain number of a different class -had been returned, not sufficient of themselves to constitute a very -effective minority, but of considerable importance as a nucleus, round -which the lesser factions that circumstances should produce, might be -gathered. Long sessions, and a long continuance of the same -parliament, have an inevitable tendency to generate a systematic -opposition to the measures of the Crown, which it requires all -vigilance and management to hinder from becoming too powerful. The -sense of personal importance, the desire of occupation in business (a -very characteristic propensity of the English gentry), the various -inducements of private passion and interest, bring forward so many -active spirits, that it was, even in that age, as reasonable to expect -that the ocean should always be tranquil, as that a House of Commons -should continue long to do the king's bidding, with any kind of -unanimity or submission. Nothing can more demonstrate the -incompatibility of the tory scheme, which would place the virtual and -effective, as well as nominal, administration of the executive -government in the sole hands of the Crown, with the existence of a -representative assembly, than the history of this long parliament of -Charles II. None has ever been elected in circumstances so favourable -for the Crown, none ever brought with it such high notions of -prerogative; yet in this assembly a party soon grew up, and gained -strength in every successive year, which the king could neither direct -nor subdue. The methods of bribery, to which the court had largely -recourse, though they certainly diverted some of the measures, and -destroyed the character, of this opposition, proved in the end like -those dangerous medicines which palliate the instant symptoms of a -disease that they aggravate. The leaders of this parliament were, in -general, very corrupt men; but they knew better than to quit the power -which made them worth purchase. Thus the House of Commons matured and -extended those rights of enquiring into and controlling the management -of public affairs, which had caused so much dispute in former times; -and, as the exercise of these functions became more habitual, and -passed with little or no open resistance from the Crown, the people -learned to reckon them unquestionable or even fundamental; and were -prepared for that more perfect settlement of the constitution on a -more republican basis, which took place after the revolution. The -reign of Charles II., though displaying some stretches of arbitrary -power, and threatening a great deal more, was, in fact, the -transitional state between the ancient and modern schemes of the -English constitution; between that course of government where the -executive power, so far as executive, was very little bounded except -by the laws, and that where it can only be carried on, even within its -own province, by the consent and co-operation, in a great measure, of -the parliament. - -_Appropriation of supplies._--The Commons took advantage of the -pressure which the war with Holland brought on the administration, to -establish two very important principles on the basis of their sole -right of taxation. The first of these was the appropriation of -supplies to limited purposes. This indeed was so far from an absolute -novelty, that it found precedents in the reigns of Richard II. and -Henry IV.; a period when the authority of the House of Commons was at -a very high pitch. No subsequent instance, I believe, was on record -till the year 1624, when the last parliament of James I., at the -king's own suggestion, directed their supply for the relief of the -Palatinate to be paid into the hands of commissioners named by -themselves. There were cases of a similar nature in the year 1641, -which, though of course they could no longer be upheld as precedents, -had accustomed the house to the idea that they had something more to -do than simply to grant money, without any security or provision for -its application. In the session of 1665, accordingly, an enormous -supply, as it then appeared, of L1,250,000, after one of double that -amount in the preceding year, having been voted for the Dutch war, Sir -George Downing, one of the tellers of the exchequer, introduced into -the subsidy bill a proviso, that the money raised by virtue of that -act should be applicable only to the purposes of the war.[620] -Clarendon inveighed with fury against this, as an innovation -derogatory to the honour of the Crown; but the king himself, having -listened to some who persuaded him that the money would be advanced -more easily upon this better security for speedy repayment, insisted -that it should not be thrown out.[621] That supplies, granted by -parliament, are only to be expended for particular objects specified -by itself, became, from this time, an undisputed principle, recognised -by frequent and at length constant practice. It drew with it the -necessity of estimates regularly laid before the House of Commons; -and, by exposing the management of the public revenues, has given to -parliament, not only a real and effective control over an essential -branch of the executive administration, but, in some measure, rendered -them partakers in it.[622] - -_Commission of public accounts._--It was a consequence of this right -of appropriation, that the House of Commons should be able to satisfy -itself as to the expenditure of their monies in the services for which -they were voted. But they might claim a more extensive function, as -naturally derived from their power of opening and closing the public -purse, that of investigating the wisdom, faithfulness, and economy -with which their grants had been expended. For this too there was some -show of precedents in the ancient days of Henry IV.; but what -undoubtedly had most influence was the recollection, that during the -late civil war, and in the times of the commonwealth, the house had -superintended, through its committees, the whole receipts and issues -of the national treasury. This had not been much practised since the -restoration. But in the year 1666, the large cost and indifferent -success of the Dutch war begetting vehement suspicions, not only of -profuseness but of diversion of the public money from its proper -purposes, the house appointed a committee to inspect the accounts of -the officers of the navy, ordnance, and stores, which were laid before -them, as it appears, by the king's direction. This committee after -some time, having been probably found deficient in powers, and -particularly being incompetent to administer an oath, the house -determined to proceed in a more novel and vigorous manner; and sent up -a bill, nominating commissioners to inspect the public accounts, who -were to possess full powers of enquiry, and to report with respect to -such persons as they should find to have broken their trust. The -immediate object of this enquiry, so far as appears from Lord -Clarendon's mention of it, was rather to discover whether the -treasurers had not issued money without legal warrant than to enter -upon the details of its expenditure. But that minister, bigoted to his -Tory creed of prerogative, thought it the highest presumption for a -parliament to intermeddle with the course of government. He spoke of -this bill as an encroachment and usurpation that had no limits, and -pressed the king to be firm in his resolution never to consent to -it.[623] Nor was the king less averse to a parliamentary commission of -this nature, as well from a jealousy of its interference with his -prerogative, as from a consciousness which Clarendon himself suggests, -that great sums had been issued by his orders, which could not be put -in any public account; that is (for we can give no other -interpretation), that the monies granted for the war, and appropriated -by statute to that service, had been diverted to supply his wasteful -and debauched course of pleasures.[624] It was the suspicion, or -rather private knowledge of this criminal breach of trust, which had -led to the bill in question. But such a slave was Clarendon to his -narrow prepossessions, that he would rather see the dissolute excesses -which he abhorred suck nourishment from that revenue which had been -allotted to maintain the national honour and interests, and which, by -its deficiencies thus aggravated, had caused even in this very year -the navy to be laid up, and the coasts to be left defenceless, than -suffer them to be restrained by the only power to which thoughtless -luxury would submit. He opposed the bill therefore in the House of -Lords, as he confesses, with much of that intemperate warmth which -distinguished him, and with a contempt of the lower house and its -authority, as imprudent in respect to his own interests as it was -unbecoming and unconstitutional. The king prorogued parliament while -the measure was depending; but in hopes to pacify the House of -Commons, promised to issue a commission under the great seal for the -examination of public accountants;[625] an expedient which was not -likely to bring more to light than suited his purpose. But it does not -appear that this royal commission, though actually prepared and -sealed, was ever carried into effect; for in the ensuing session, the -great minister's downfall having occurred in the meantime, the House -of Commons brought forward again their bill, which passed into a law. -It invested the commissioners therein nominated with very extensive -and extraordinary powers, both as to auditing public accounts, and -investigating the frauds that had taken place in the expenditure of -money, and employment of stores. They were to examine upon oath, to -summon inquests if they thought fit, to commit persons disobeying -their orders to prison without bail, to determine finally on the -charge and discharge of all accountants; the barons of the exchequer, -upon a certificate of their judgment, were to issue process for -recovering money to the king's use, as if there had been an immediate -judgment of their own court. Reports were to be made of the -commissioners' proceedings from time to time to the king and to both -houses of parliament. None of the commissioners were members of either -house. The king, as may be supposed, gave way very reluctantly to this -interference with his expenses. It brought to light a great deal of -abuse and misapplication of the public revenues, and contributed -doubtless in no small degree to destroy the house's confidence in the -integrity of government, and to promote a more jealous watchfulness of -the king's designs.[626] At the next meeting of parliament, in October -1669, Sir George Carteret, treasurer of the navy, was expelled the -house for issuing money without legal warrant. - -_Decline of Clarendon's power._--Sir Edward Hyde, whose influence had -been almost annihilated in the last years of Charles I. through the -inveterate hatred of the queen and those who surrounded her, acquired -by degrees the entire confidence of the young king, and baffled all -the intrigues of his enemies. Guided by him, in all serious matters, -during the latter years of his exile, Charles followed his counsels -almost implicitly in the difficult crisis of the restoration. The -office of chancellor and the title of Earl of Clarendon were the -proofs of the king's favour; but in effect, through the indolence and -ill-health of Southampton, as well as their mutual friendship, he was -the real minister of the Crown.[627] By the clandestine marriage of -his daughter with the Duke of York, he changed one brother from an -enemy to a sincere and zealous friend, without forfeiting the esteem -and favour of the other. And, though he was wise enough to dread the -invidiousness of such an elevation, yet for several years it by no -means seemed to render his influence less secure.[628] - -Both in their characters, however, and turn of thinking, there was so -little conformity between Clarendon and his master, that the -continuance of his ascendancy can only be attributed to the power of -early habit over the most thoughtless tempers. But it rarely happens -that kings do not ultimately shake off these fetters, and release -themselves from the sort of subjection which they feel in acting -always by the same advisers. Charles, acute himself and cool-headed, -could not fail to discover the passions and prejudices of his -minister, even if he had wanted the suggestion of others who, without -reasoning on such broad principles as Clarendon, were perhaps his -superiors in judging of temporary business. He wished too, as is -common, to depreciate a wisdom, and to suspect a virtue, which seemed -to reproach his own vice and folly. Nor had Clarendon spared those -remonstrances against the king's course of life, which are seldom -borne without impatience or resentment. He was strongly suspected by -the king as well as his courtiers (though, according to his own -account, without any reason) of having promoted the marriage of Miss -Stewart with the Duke of Richmond.[629] But above all he stood in the -way of projects, which, though still probably unsettled, were floating -in the king's mind. No one was more zealous to uphold the prerogative -at a height where it must overtop and chill with its shadow the -privileges of the people. No one was more vigilant to limit the -functions of parliament, or more desirous to see them confiding and -submissive. But there were landmarks which he could never be brought -to transgress. He would prepare the road for absolute monarchy, but -not introduce it; he would assist to batter down the walls, but not to -march into the town. His notions of what the English constitution -ought to be, appear evidently to have been derived from the times of -Elizabeth and James I., to which he frequently refers with -approbation. In the history of that age, he found much that could not -be reconciled to any liberal principles of government. But there were -two things which he certainly did not find; a revenue capable of -meeting an extraordinary demand without parliamentary supply, and a -standing army. Hence he took no pains, if he did not even, as is -asserted by Burnet, discourage the proposal of others, to obtain such -a fixed annual revenue for the king on the restoration, as would have -rendered it very rarely necessary to have recourse to parliament,[630] -and did not advise the keeping up any part of the army. That a few -troops were retained, was owing to the Duke of York. Nor did he go the -length that was expected in procuring the repeal of all the laws that -had been enacted in the long parliament.[631] - -These omissions sank deep in Charles's heart, especially when he found -that he had to deal with an unmanageable House of Commons, and must -fight the battle for arbitrary power; which might have been achieved, -he thought, without a struggle by his minister. There was still less -hope of obtaining any concurrence from Clarendon in the king's designs -as to religion. Though he does not once hint at it in his writings, -there can be little doubt that he must have suspected his master's -inclinations towards the church of Rome. The Duke of York considered -this as the most likely cause of his remissness in not sufficiently -advancing the prerogative.[632] He was always opposed to the various -schemes of a general indulgence towards popery, not only from his -strongly protestant principles and his dislike of all toleration, but -from a prejudice against the body of the English catholics, whom he -thought to arrogate more on the ground of merit than they could claim. -That interest, so powerful at court, was decidedly hostile to the -chancellor; for the Duke of York, who strictly adhered to him, if he -had not kept his change of religion wholly secret, does not at least -seem to have hitherto formed any avowed connection with the popish -party.[633] - -_Loss of the king's favour_--_Coalition against Clarendon_.--This -estrangement of the king's favour is sufficient to account for -Clarendon's loss of power; but his entire ruin was rather accomplished -by a strange coalition of enemies, which his virtues, or his errors -and infirmities, had brought into union. The cavaliers hated him on -account of the act of indemnity, and the presbyterians for that of -uniformity. Yet the latter were not in general so eager in his -prosecution as the others.[634] But he owed great part of the -severity with which he was treated to his own pride and ungovernable -passionateness, by which he had rendered very eminent men in the House -of Commons implacable, and to the language he had used as to the -dignity and privileges of the house itself.[635] A sense of this -eminent person's great talents as well as general integrity and -conscientiousness on the one hand, an indignation at the king's -ingratitude, and the profligate counsels of those who supplanted him, -on the other, have led most writers to overlook his faults in -administration, and to treat all the articles of accusation against -him as frivolous or unsupported. It is doubtless impossible to justify -the charge of high treason, on which he was impeached; but there are -matters that never were or could be disproved; and our own knowledge -enables us to add such grave accusations as must show Clarendon's -unfitness for the government of a free country.[636] - -1. _Illegal imprisonments._--It is the fourth article of his -impeachment, that he "had advised and procured divers of his majesty's -subjects to be imprisoned against law, in remote islands, garrisons, -and other places, thereby to prevent them from the benefit of the law, -and to produce precedents for the imprisoning any other of his -majesty's subjects in like manner." This was undoubtedly true. There -was some ground for apprehension on the part of the government from -those bold spirits who had been accustomed to revolutions, and drew -encouragement from the vices of the court and the embarrassments of -the nation. Ludlow and Algernon Sidney, about the year 1665, had -projected an insurrection, the latter soliciting Louis XIV. and the -pensionary of Holland for aid.[637] Many officers of the old army, -Wildman, Creed, and others, suspected, perhaps justly, of such -conspiracies, had been illegally detained in prison for several years, -and only recovered their liberty on Clarendon's dismissal.[638] He had -too much encouraged the hateful race of informers, though he admits -that it had grown a trade by which men got money, and that many were -committed on slight grounds.[639] Thus Colonel Hutchinson died in the -close confinement of a remote prison, far more probably on account of -his share in the death of Charles I., from which the act of indemnity -had discharged him, than any just pretext of treason.[640] It was -difficult to obtain a habeas corpus from some of the judges in this -reign. But to elude that provision by removing men out of the kingdom, -was such an offence against the constitution as may be thought enough -to justify the impeachment of any minister. - -2. The first article, and certainly the most momentous, asserts, -"That the Earl of Clarendon hath designed a standing army to be -raised, and to govern the kingdom thereby, and advised the king to -dissolve this present parliament, to lay aside all thoughts of -parliaments for the future, to govern by a military power, and to -maintain the same by free quarter and contribution." This was -prodigiously exaggerated; yet there was some foundation for a part of -it. In the disastrous summer of 1667, when the Dutch fleet had -insulted our coasts, and burned our ships in the Medway, the exchequer -being empty, it was proposed in council to call together immediately -the parliament, which then stood prorogued to a day at the distance of -some months. Clarendon, who feared the hostility of the House of -Commons towards himself, and had pressed the king to dissolve it, -maintained that they could not legally be summoned before the day -fixed; and, with a strange inconsistency, attaching more importance to -the formalities of law than to its essence, advised that the counties -where the troops were quartered should be called upon to send in -provisions, and those where there were no troops to contribute money, -which should be abated out of the next taxes. And he admits that he -might have used the expression of raising contributions, as in the -late civil war. This unguarded and unwarrantable language, thrown out -at the council-table where some of his enemies were sitting, soon -reached the ears of the Commons, and, mingled up with the usual -misrepresentations of faction, was magnified into a charge of high -treason.[641] - -3. _Sale of Dunkirk._--The eleventh article charged Lord Clarendon -with having advised and effected the sale of Dunkirk to the French -king, being part of his majesty's dominions, for no greater value than -the ammunition, artillery, and stores were worth. The latter part is -generally asserted to be false. The sum received is deemed the utmost -that Louis would have given, who thought he had made a hard bargain. -But it is very difficult to reconcile what Clarendon asserts in his -defence, and much more at length in his Life (that the business of -Dunkirk was entirely decided before he had anything to do in it, by -the advice of Albemarle and Sandwich), with the letters of d'Estrades, -the negotiator in this transaction on the part of France. In these -letters, written at the time to Louis XIV., Clarendon certainly -appears not only as the person chiefly concerned, but as representing -himself almost the only one of the council favourable to the measure, -and having to overcome the decided repugnance of Southampton, -Sandwich, and Albemarle.[642] I cannot indeed see any other -explanation than that he magnified the obstacles in the way of this -treaty, in order to obtain better terms; a management, not very -unusual in diplomatical dealing, but, in the degree at least to which -he carried it, scarcely reconcilable with the good faith we should -expect from this minister. For the transaction itself, we can hardly -deem it honourable or politic. The expense of keeping up Dunkirk, -though not trifling, would have been willingly defrayed by parliament; -and could not well be pleaded by a government which had just -encumbered itself with the useless burthen of Tangier. That its -possession was of no great direct value to England must be confessed; -but it was another question whether it ought to have been surrendered -into the hands of France. - -4. This close connection with France is indeed a great reproach to -Clarendon's policy, and was the spring of mischiefs to which he -contributed, and which he ought to have foreseen. What were the -motives of these strong professions of attachment to the interests of -Louis XIV. which he makes in some of his letters, it is difficult to -say, since he had undoubtedly an ancient prejudice against that -nation and its government. I should incline to conjecture that his -knowledge of the king's unsoundness in religion led him to keep at a -distance from the court of Spain, as being far more zealous in its -popery, and more connected with the Jesuit faction, than that of -France; and this possibly influenced him also with respect to the -Portuguese match, wherein, though not the first adviser, he certainly -took much interest; an alliance as little judicious in the outset, as -it proved eventually fortunate.[643] But the capital misdemeanour that -he committed in this relation with France was the clandestine -solicitation of pecuniary aid for the king. He first taught a lavish -prince to seek the wages of dependence in a foreign power, to elude -the control of parliament by the help of French money.[644] The -purpose for which this aid was asked, the succour of Portugal, might -be fair and laudable; but the precedent was most base, dangerous, and -abominable. A king who had once tasted the sweets of dishonest and -clandestine lucre would, in the words of the poet, be no more capable -afterwards of abstaining from it, than a dog from his greasy offal. - -_Clarendon's faults as a minister._--These are the errors of -Clarendon's political life; which, besides his notorious concurrence -in all measures of severity and restraint towards the nonconformists, -tend to diminish our respect from his memory, and to exclude his name -from that list of great and wise ministers, where some are willing to -place him near the head. If I may seem to my readers less favourable -to so eminent a person than common history might warrant, it is at -least to be said that I have formed my decision from his own recorded -sentiments, or from equally undisputable sources of authority. The -publication of his life, that is, of the history of his -administration, has not contributed to his honour. We find in it -little or nothing of that attachment to the constitution for which he -had acquired credit, and some things which we must struggle hard to -reconcile with his veracity, even if the suppression of truth is not -to be reckoned an impeachment of it in an historian.[645] But the -manifest profligacy of those who contributed most to his ruin, and the -measures which the court took soon afterwards, have rendered his -administration comparatively honourable, and attached veneration to -his memory. We are unwilling to believe that there was anything to -censure in a minister, whom Buckingham persecuted, and against whom -Arlington intrigued.[646] - -A distinguished characteristic of Clarendon had been his firmness, -called indeed by most pride and obstinacy, which no circumstances, no -perils, seemed likely to bend. But his spirit sunk all at once with -his fortune. Clinging too long to office, and cheating himself against -all probability with a hope of his master's kindness when he had lost -his confidence, he abandoned that dignified philosophy which ennobles -a voluntary retirement, that stern courage which innocence ought to -inspire; and hearkening to the king's treacherous counsels, fled -before his enemies into a foreign country. Though the impeachment, at -least in the point of high treason, cannot be defended, it is -impossible to deny that the act of banishment, under the circumstances -of his flight, was capable, in the main, of full justification. In an -ordinary criminal suit, a process of outlawry goes against the accused -who flies from justice; and his neglect to appear within a given time -is equivalent, in cases of treason or felony, to a conviction of the -offence; can it be complained of, that a minister of state, who dares -not confront a parliamentary impeachment, should be visited with an -analogous penalty? But, whatever injustice and violence may be found -in this prosecution, it established for ever the right of impeachment, -which the discredit into which the long parliament had fallen exposed -to some hazard; the strong abettors of prerogative, such as Clarendon -himself, being inclined to dispute this responsibility of the king's -advisers to parliament. The Commons had, in the preceding session, -sent up an impeachment against Lord Mordaunt, upon charges of so -little public moment, that they may be suspected of having chiefly had -in view the assertion of this important privilege.[647] It was never -called in question from this time; and indeed they took care during -the remainder of this reign, that it should not again be endangered by -a paucity of precedents.[648] - -_Cabal ministry._--The period between the fall of Clarendon in 1667, -and the commencement of Lord Danby's administration in 1673, is -generally reckoned one of the most disgraceful in the annals of our -monarchy. This was the age of what is usually denominated the Cabal -administration, from the five initial letters of Sir Thomas Clifford, -first commissioner of the treasury, afterwards Lord Clifford and high -treasurer, the Earl of Arlington, secretary of state, the Duke of -Buckingham, Lord Ashley, chancellor of the exchequer, afterwards Earl -of Shaftesbury and lord chancellor, and lastly, the Duke of -Lauderdale. Yet, though the counsels of these persons soon became -extremely pernicious and dishonourable, it must be admitted that the -first measures after the banishment of Clarendon, both in domestic and -foreign policy, were highly praiseworthy. Bridgeman, who succeeded the -late chancellor in the custody of the great seal, with the assistance -of Chief Baron Hale and Bishop Wilkins, and at the instigation of -Buckingham, who, careless about every religion, was from humanity or -politic motives friendly to the indulgence of all, laid the -foundations of a treaty with the nonconformists, on the basis of a -comprehension for the presbyterians, and a toleration for the -rest.[649] They had nearly come, it is said, to terms of agreement, so -that it was thought time to intimate their design in a speech from -the throne. But the spirit of 1662 was still too powerful in the -Commons; and the friends of Clarendon, whose administration this -change of counsels seemed to reproach, taking a warm part against all -indulgence, a motion that the king be desired to send for such persons -as he should think fit to make proposals to him in order to the -uniting of his protestant subjects, was negatived by 176 to 70.[650] -They proceeded, by almost an equal majority, to continue the bill of -1664, for suppressing seditious conventicles; which failed however for -the present, in consequence of the sudden prorogation.[651] - -_Triple alliance._--But whatever difference of opinion might at that -time prevail with respect to this tolerant disposition of the new -government, there was none as to their great measure in external -policy, the triple alliance with Holland and Sweden. A considerable -and pretty sudden change had taken place in the temper of the English -people towards France. Though the discordance of national character, -and the dislike that seems natural to neighbours, as well as in some -measure the recollections of their ancient hostility, had at all times -kept up a certain ill-will between the two, it is manifest that before -the reign of Charles II. there was not that antipathy and inveterate -enmity towards the French in general, which it has since been deemed -an act of patriotism to profess. The national prejudices, from the -accession of Elizabeth to the restoration, ran far more against Spain; -and it is not surprising that the apprehensions of that ambitious -monarchy, which had been very just in the age of Philip II., should -have lasted longer than its ability or inclination to molest us. But -the rapid declension of Spain, after the peace of the Pyrenees, and -the towering ambition of Louis XIV., master of a kingdom intrinsically -so much more formidable than its rival, manifested that the balance of -power in Europe, and our own immediate security, demanded a steady -opposition to the aggrandisement of one monarchy, and a regard to the -preservation of the other. These indeed were rather considerations for -statesmen than for the people; but Louis was become unpopular both by -his acquisition of Dunkirk at the expense, as it was thought, of our -honour, and much more deservedly by his shuffling conduct in the Dutch -war, and union in it with our adversaries. Nothing therefore gave -greater satisfaction in England than the triple alliance, and -consequent peace of Aix la Chapelle, which saved the Spanish -Netherlands from absolute conquest, though not without important -sacrifices.[652] - -_Intrigue with France._--Charles himself meanwhile by no means partook -in this common jealousy of France. He had, from the time of his -restoration, entered into close relations with that power, which a -short period of hostility had interrupted without leaving any -resentment in his mind. It is now known that, while his minister was -negotiating at the Hague for the triple alliance, he had made -overtures for a clandestine treaty with Louis, through his sister the -Duchess of Orleans, the Duke of Buckingham, and the French ambassador -Rouvigny.[653] As the King of France was at first backward in meeting -these advances, and the letters published in regard to them are very -few, we do not find any precise object expressed beyond a close and -intimate friendship. But a few words in a memorial of Rouvigny to -Louis XIV. seem to let us into the secret of the real purpose. "The -Duke of York," he says, "wishes much for this union; the Duke of -Buckingham the same: they use no art, but say that nothing else can -re-establish the affairs of this court."[654] - -_King's desire to be absolute._--Charles II. was not of a temperament -to desire arbitrary power, either through haughtiness and conceit of -his station, which he did not greatly display, or through the love of -taking into his own hands the direction of public affairs, about which -he was in general pretty indifferent. He did not wish, as he told Lord -Essex, to sit like a Turkish sultan, and sentence men to the -bowstring, but could not bear that a set of fellows should enquire -into his conduct.[655] His aim, in fact, was liberty rather than -power; it was that immunity from control and censure, in which men of -his character place a great part of their happiness. For some years he -had cared probably very little about enhancing his prerogative, -content with the loyalty, though not quite with the liberality, of his -parliament. And had he not been drawn, against his better judgment, -into the war with Holland, this harmony might perhaps have been -protracted a good deal longer. But the vast expenditure of that war, -producing little or no decisive success, and coming unfortunately at a -time when trade was not very thriving, and when rents had considerably -fallen, exasperated all men against the prodigality of the court, to -which they might justly ascribe part of their burthens, and, with the -usual miscalculations, believed that much more of them was due. Hence -the bill appointing commissioners of public account, so ungrateful to -the king, whose personal reputation it was likely to affect, and whose -favourite excesses it might tend to restrain. - -He was almost equally provoked by the licence of his people's tongues. -A court like that of Charles is the natural topic of the idle, as well -as the censorious. An administration so ill-conducted could not escape -the remarks of a well-educated and intelligent city. There was one -method of putting an end to these impertinent comments, or of -rendering them innoxious; but it was the last which he would have -adopted. Clarendon informs us that the king one day complaining of the -freedom, as to political conversation, taken in coffee-houses, he -recommended either that all persons should be forbidden by -proclamation to resort to them, or that spies should be placed in them -to give information against seditious speakers.[656] The king, he -says, liked both expedients; but thought it unfair to have recourse to -the latter till the former had given fair warning, and directed him to -propose it to the council; but here, Sir William Coventry objecting, -the king was induced to abandon the measure, much to Clarendon's -disappointment, though it probably saved him an additional article in -his impeachment. The unconstitutional and arbitrary tenor of this -great minister's notions of government is strongly displayed in this -little anecdote. Coventry was an enlightened, and, for that age, an -upright man, whose enmity Clarendon brought on himself by a marked -jealousy of his abilities in council. - -Those who stood nearest to the king were not backward to imitate his -discontent at the privileges of his people and their representatives. -The language of courtiers and court-ladies is always intolerable to -honest men, especially that of such courtiers as surrounded the throne -of Charles II. It is worst of all amidst public calamities, such as -pressed very closely on one another in a part of his reign; the awful -pestilence of 1665, the still more ruinous fire of 1666, the fleet -burned by the Dutch in the Medway next summer. No one could reproach -the king for outward inactivity or indifference during the great fire. -But there were some, as Clarendon tells us, who presumed to assure -him, "that this was the greatest blessing that God had ever conferred -on him, his restoration only excepted; for the walls and gates being -now burned and thrown down of that rebellious city, which was always -an enemy to the Crown, his majesty would never suffer them to repair -and build them up again, to be a bit in his mouth and a bridle upon -his neck; but would keep all open, that his troops might enter upon -them whenever he thought it necessary for his service; there being no -other way to govern that rude multitude but by force."[657] This kind -of discourse, he goes on to say, did not please the king. But here we -may venture to doubt his testimony; or, if the natural good temper of -Charles prevented him from taking pleasure in such atrocious -congratulations, we may be sure that he was not sorry to think the -city more in his power. - -It seems probable that this loose and profligate way of speaking gave -rise, in a great degree, to the suspicion that the city had been -purposely burned by those who were more enemies to religion and -liberty than to the court. The papists stood ready to bear the infamy -of every unproved crime; and a committee of the House of Commons -collected evidence enough for those who were already convinced, that -London had been burned by that obnoxious sect. Though the house did -not proceed farther, there can be no doubt that the enquiry -contributed to produce that inveterate distrust of the court, whose -connections with the popish faction were half known, half conjectured, -which gave from this time an entirely new complexion to the -parliament. Prejudiced as the Commons were, they could hardly have -imagined the catholics to have burned the city out of mere -malevolence; but must have attributed the crime to some far-spreading -plan of subverting the established constitution.[658] - -The retention of the king's guards had excited some jealousy, though -no complaints seem to have been made of it in parliament; but the -sudden levy of a considerable force in 1667, however founded upon a -very plausible pretext from the circumstances of the war, lending -credit to these dark surmises of the court's sinister designs, gave -much greater alarm. The Commons, summoned together in July, instantly -addressed the king to disband his army as soon as peace should be -made. We learn from the Duke of York's private memoirs that some of -those who were most respected for their ancient attachment to liberty, -deemed it in jeopardy at this crisis. The Earls of Northumberland and -Leicester, Lord Hollis, Mr. Pierrepont, and others of the old -parliamentary party, met to take measures together. The first of these -told the Duke of York that the nation would not be satisfied with the -removal of the chancellor, unless the guards were disbanded, and -several other grievances redressed. The duke bade him be cautious what -he said, lest he should be obliged to inform the king; but -Northumberland replied that it was his intention to repeat the same to -the king, which he did accordingly the next day.[659] - -This change in public sentiment gave warning to Charles that he could -not expect to reign with as little trouble as he had hitherto -experienced; and doubtless the recollection of his father's history -did not contribute to cherish the love he sometimes pretended for -parliaments. His brother, more reflecting and more impatient of -restraint on royal authority, saw with still greater clearness than -the king, that they could only keep the prerogative at its desired -height by means of intimidation. A regular army was indispensable; but -to keep up an army in spite of parliament, or to raise money for its -support without parliament, were very difficult undertakings. It -seemed necessary to call in a more powerful arm than their own; and, -by establishing the closest union with the King of France, to obtain -either military or pecuniary succours from him, as circumstances -might demand. But there was another and not less imperious motive for -a secret treaty. The king, as has been said, though little likely, -from the tenor of his life, to feel very strong and lasting -impressions of religion, had at times a desire to testify publicly his -adherence to the Romish communion. The Duke of York had come more -gradually to change the faith in which he was educated. He describes -it as the result of patient and anxious enquiry; nor would it be -possible therefore to fix a precise date for his conversion, which -seems to have been not fully accomplished till after the -Restoration.[660] He however continued in conformity to the church of -England; till, on discovering that the catholic religion exacted an -outward communion, which he had fancied not indispensable, he became -more uneasy at the restraint that policy imposed on him. This led to a -conversation with the king, of whose private opinions and disposition -to declare them he was probably informed, and to a close union with -Clifford and Arlington, from whom he had stood aloof on account of -their animosity against Clarendon. The king and duke held a -consultation with those two ministers, and with Lord Arundel of -Wardour, on the 25th of January 1669, to discuss the ways and methods -fit to be taken for the advancement of the catholic religion in these -kingdoms. The king spoke earnestly, and with tears in his eyes. After -a long deliberation, it was agreed that there was no better way to -accomplish this purpose than through France; the house of Austria -being in no condition to give any assistance.[661] - -_Secret treaty of 1670._--The famous secret treaty, which, though -believed on pretty good evidence not long after the time, was first -actually brought to light by Dalrymple about half a century since, -began to be negotiated very soon after this consultation.[662] We -find allusions to the king's projects in one of his letters to the -Duchess of Orleans, dated 22nd March 1669.[663] In another of June 6, -the methods he was adopting to secure himself in this perilous -juncture appear. He was to fortify Plymouth, Hull, and Portsmouth, and -to place them in trusty hands. The fleet was under the duke, as lord -admiral; the guards and their officers were thought in general well -affected;[664] but his great reliance was on the most christian king. -He stipulated for L200,000 annually, and for the aid of 6000 French -troops.[665] In return for such important succour, Charles undertook -to serve his ally's ambition and wounded pride against the United -Provinces. These, when conquered by the French arms, with the -co-operation of an English navy, were already shared by the royal -conspirators. A part of Zealand fell to the lot of England, the -remainder of the Seven Provinces to France, with an understanding that -some compensation should be made to the Prince of Orange. In the event -of any new rights to the Spanish monarchy accruing to the most -christian king, as it is worded (that is, on the death of the King of -Spain, a sickly child), it was agreed that England should assist him -with all her force by sea and land, but at his own expense; and should -obtain, not only Ostend and Minorca, but, as far as the King of France -could contribute to it, such parts of Spanish America as she should -choose to conquer.[666] So strange a scheme of partitioning that vast -inheritance was never, I believe, suspected till the publication of -the treaty; though Bolingbroke had alluded to a previous treaty of -partition between Louis and the Emperor Leopold, the complete -discovery of which has been but lately made.[667] - -_Differences between Charles and Louis as to the mode of the execution -of the treaty._--Each conspirator, in his coalition against the -protestant faith and liberties of Europe, had splendid objects in -view; but those of Louis seemed by far the more probable of the two, -and less liable to be defeated. The full completion of their scheme -would have re-united a great kingdom to the catholic religion, and -turned a powerful neighbour into a dependent pensioner. But should -this fail (and Louis was too sagacious not to discern the chances of -failure), he had pledged to him the assistance of an ally in -subjugating the republic of Holland, which, according to all human -calculation, could not withstand their united efforts; nay, even in -those ulterior projects which his restless and sanguine ambition had -ever in view, and the success of which would have realised, not indeed -the chimera of an universal monarchy, but a supremacy and dictatorship -over Europe. Charles, on the other hand, besides that he had no other -return to make for the necessary protection of France, was impelled by -a personal hatred of the Dutch, and by the consciousness that their -commonwealth was the standing reproach of arbitrary power, to join -readily in the plan for its subversion. But, looking first to his own -objects, and perhaps a little distrustful of his ally, he pressed that -his profession of the Roman catholic religion should be the first -measure in prosecution of the treaty; and that he should immediately -receive the stipulated L200,000, or at least a part of the money. -Louis insisted that the declaration of war against Holland should -precede. This difference occasioned a considerable delay; and it was -chiefly with a view of bringing round her brother on this point, that -the Duchess of Orleans took her famous journey to Dover in the spring -of 1670. Yet, notwithstanding her influence, which passed for -irresistible, he persisted in adhering to the right reserved to him in -the draft of the treaty, of choosing his own time for the declaration -of his religion, and it was concluded on this footing at Dover, by -Clifford, Arundel, and Arlington, on the 22nd of May 1670, during the -visit of the Duchess of Orleans.[668] - -A mutual distrust, however, retarded the further progress of this -scheme; one party unwilling to commit himself till he should receive -money, the other too cautious to run the risk of throwing it away. -There can be no question but that the King of France was right in -urging the conquest of Holland as a preliminary of the more delicate -business they were to manage in England; and, from Charles's -subsequent behaviour, as well as his general fickleness and love of -ease, there seems reason to believe that he would gladly have receded -from an undertaking of which he must every day have more strongly -perceived the difficulties. He confessed, in fact, to Louis's -ambassador, that he was almost the only man in his kingdom who liked a -French alliance.[669] The change of religion, on a nearer view, -appeared dangerous for himself, and impracticable as a national -measure. He had not dared to intrust any of his protestant ministers, -even Buckingham, whose indifference in such points was notorious, with -this great secret; and, to keep them the better in the dark, a mock -negotiation was set on foot with France, and a pretended treaty -actually signed, the exact counterpart of the other, except as to -religion. Buckingham, Shaftesbury, and Lauderdale were concerned in -this simulated treaty, the negotiation for which did not commence till -after the original convention had been signed at Dover.[670] - -The court of France having yielded to Charles the point about which he -had seemed so anxious, had soon the mortification to discover that he -would take no steps to effect it. They now urged that immediate -declaration of his religion, which they had for very wise reasons not -long before dissuaded. The King of England hung back, and tried so -many excuses, that they had reason to suspect his sincerity; not that -in fact he had played a feigned part from the beginning, but his zeal -for popery having given way to the seductions of a voluptuous and -indolent life, he had been led, with the good sense he naturally -possessed, to form a better estimate of his resources and of the -opposition he must encounter. Meanwhile the eagerness of his ministers -had plunged the nation into war with Holland; and Louis, having -attained his principal end, ceased to trouble the king on the subject -of religion. He received large sums from France during the Dutch -war.[671] - -This memorable transaction explains and justifies the strenuous -opposition made in parliament to the king and Duke of York, and may be -reckoned the first act of a drama which ended in the revolution. It is -true that the precise terms of this treaty were not authentically -known; but there can be no doubt that those who from this time -displayed an insuperable jealousy of one brother, and a determined -enmity to the other, had proofs, enough for moral conviction, of their -deep conspiracy with France against religion and liberty. This -suspicion is implied in all the conduct of that parliamentary -opposition, and is the apology of much that seems violence and -faction, especially in the business of the popish plot and the bill of -exclusion. It is of importance also to observe that James II. was not -misled and betrayed by false or foolish counsellors, as some would -suggest, in his endeavours to subvert the laws, but acted on a plan, -long since concerted, and in which he had taken a principal share. - -It must be admitted that neither in the treaty itself nor in the few -letters which have been published by Dalrymple, do we find any -explicit declaration, either that the catholic religion was to be -established as the national church, or arbitrary power introduced in -England. But there are not wanting strong presumptions of this design. -The king speaks, in a letter to his sister, of finding means to put -the proprietors of church lands out of apprehension.[672] He uses the -expression, "retablir la religion catholique;" which, though not quite -unequivocal, seems to convey more than a bare toleration, or a -personal profession by the sovereign.[673] He talks of a negotiation -with the court of Rome to obtain the permission of having mass in the -vulgar tongue and communion in both kinds, as terms that would render -his conversion agreeable to his subjects.[674] He tells the French -ambassador, that not only his conscience, but the confusion he saw -every day increasing in his kingdom, to the diminution of his -authority, impelled him to declare himself a catholic; which, besides -the spiritual advantage, he believed to be the only means of restoring -the monarchy. These passages, as well as the precautions taken in -expectation of a vigorous resistance from a part of the nation, appear -to intimate a formal re-establishment of the catholic church; a -measure connected, in the king's apprehension, if not strictly with -arbitrary power, yet with a very material enhancement of his -prerogative. For the profession of an obnoxious faith by the king, as -an insulated person, would, instead of strengthening his authority, -prove the greatest obstacle to it; as, in the next reign, turned out -to be the case. Charles, however, and the Duke of York deceived -themselves into a confidence that the transition could be effected -with no extraordinary difficulty. The king knew the prevailing laxity -of religious principles in many about his court, and thought he had -reason to rely on others as secretly catholic. Sunderland is mentioned -as a young man of talent, inclined to adopt that religion.[675] Even -the Earl of Orrery is spoken of as a catholic in his heart.[676] The -duke, who conversed more among divines, was led to hope, from the -strange language of the high-church party, that they might readily be -persuaded to make what seemed no long step, and come into easy terms -of union.[677] It was the constant policy of the Romish priests to -extenuate the differences between the two churches, and to throw the -main odium of the schism on the Calvinistic sects. And many of the -Anglicans, in their abhorrence of protestant nonconformists, played -into the hands of the common enemy. - -_Fresh severities against dissenters._--The court, however, -entertained great hopes from the depressed condition of the -dissenters, whom it was intended to bribe with that toleration under a -catholic regimen, which they could so little expect from the church of -England. Hence the Duke of York was always strenuous against schemes -of comprehension, which would invigorate the protestant interest and -promote conciliation. With the opposite view of rendering a union -among protestants impracticable, the rigorous episcopalians were -encouraged underhand to prosecute the nonconformists.[678] The Duke of -York took pains to assure Owen, an eminent divine of the independent -persuasion, that he looked on all persecution as an unchristian thing, -and altogether against his conscience.[679] Yet the court promoted a -renewal of the temporary act, passed in 1664 against conventicles, -which was reinforced by the addition of an extraordinary proviso, That -all clauses in the act should be construed most largely and -beneficially for suppressing conventicles, and for the justification -and encouragement of all persons to be employed in the execution -thereof.[680] Wilkins, the most honest of the bishops, opposed this -act in the House of Lords, notwithstanding the king's personal -request that he would be silent.[681] Sheldon and others, who, like -him, disgraced the church of England by their unprincipled policy or -their passions, not only gave it their earnest support at the time, -but did all in their power to enforce its execution.[682] As the -king's temper was naturally tolerant, his co-operation in this severe -measure would not easily be understood, without the explanation that a -knowledge of his secret policy enables us to give. In no long course -of time the persecution was relaxed, the imprisoned ministers set at -liberty, some of the leading dissenters received pensions, and the -king's declaration of a general indulgence held forth an asylum from -the law under the banner of prerogative.[683] Though this is said to -have proceeded from the advice of Shaftesbury, who had no concern in -the original secret treaty with France, it was completely in the -spirit of that compact, and must have been acceptable to the king. - -But the factious, fanatical, republican party (such were the usual -epithets of the court at the time, such have ever since been applied -by the advocates or apologists of the Stuarts), had gradually led away -by their delusions that parliament of cavaliers; or, in other words, -the glaring vices of the king, and the manifestation of designs -against religion and liberty, had dispossessed them of a confiding -loyalty, which, though highly dangerous from its excess, had always -been rather ardent than servile. The sessions had been short, and the -intervals of repeated prorogations much longer than usual; a policy -not well calculated for that age, where the growing discontents and -suspicions of the people acquired strength by the stoppage of the -regular channel of complaint. Yet the House of Commons, during this -period, though unmanageable on the one point of toleration, had -displayed no want of confidence in the king nor any animosity towards -his administration; notwithstanding the flagrant abuses in the -expenditure, which the parliamentary commission of public accounts had -brought to light, and the outrageous assault on Sir John Coventry; a -crime notoriously perpetrated by persons employed by the court, and -probably by the king's direct order.[684] - -_Dutch war._--The war with Holland at the beginning of 1672, so -repugnant to English interests, so unwarranted by any provocation, so -infamously piratical in its commencement, so ominous of further -schemes still more dark and dangerous, finally opened the eyes of all -men of integrity. It was accompanied by the shutting up of the -exchequer, an avowed bankruptcy at the moment of beginning an -expensive war,[685] and by the declaration of indulgence, or -suspension of all penal laws in religion; an assertion of prerogative -which seemed without limit. These exorbitances were the more -scandalous, that they happened during a very long prorogation. Hence -the court so lost the confidence of the House of Commons, that, with -all the lavish corruption of the following period, it could never -regain a secure majority on any important question. The superiority of -what was called the country party is referred to the session of -February 1673, in which they compelled the king to recall his -proclamation suspending the penal laws, and raised a barrier against -the encroachments of popery in the test act. - -_Declaration of indulgence._--The king's declaration of indulgence -had been projected by Shaftesbury, in order to conciliate or lull to -sleep the protestant dissenters. It redounded, in its immediate -effect, chiefly to their benefit; the catholics already enjoying a -connivance at the private exercise of their religion, and the -declaration expressly refusing them public places of worship. The plan -was most laudable in itself, could we separate the motives which -prompted it, and the means by which it was pretended to be made -effectual. But in the declaration the king says, "We think ourselves -obliged to make use of that supreme power in ecclesiastical matters, -which is not only inherent in us, but hath been declared and -recognised to be so by several statutes and acts of parliament." "We -do," he says, not long afterwards, "declare our will and pleasure to -be, that the execution of all and all manner of penal laws in matters -ecclesiastical, against whatsoever sort of nonconformists or -recusants, be immediately suspended, and they are hereby suspended." -He mentions also his intention to license a certain number of places -for the religious worship of nonconforming protestants.[686] - -It was generally understood to be an ancient prerogative of the Crown -to dispense with penal statutes in favour of particular persons, and -under certain restrictions. It was undeniable, that the king might, by -what is called a "noli prosequi," stop any criminal prosecution -commenced in his courts, though not an action for the recovery of a -pecuniary penalty, which, by many statutes, was given to the common -informer. He might of course set at liberty, by means of a pardon, any -person imprisoned, whether upon conviction or by a magistrate's -warrant. Thus the operation of penal statutes in religion might in a -great measure be rendered ineffectual, by an exercise of undisputed -prerogatives; and thus, in fact, the catholics had been enabled, since -the accession of the house of Stuart, to withstand the crushing -severity of the laws. But a pretension, in explicit terms, to suspend -a body of statutes, a command to magistrates not to put them in -execution, arrogated a sort of absolute power, which no benefits of -the indulgence itself (had they even been less insidiously offered) -could induce a lover of constitutional privileges to endure.[687] -Notwithstanding the affected distinction of temporal and -ecclesiastical matters, it was evident that the king's supremacy was -as much capable of being bounded by the legislature in one as in the -other, and that every law in the statute-book might be repealed by a -similar proclamation. The House of Commons voted that the king's -prerogative, in matters ecclesiastical, does not extend to repeal acts -of parliament; and addressed the king to recall his declaration. -Whether from a desire to protect the nonconformists in a toleration -even illegally obtained, or from the influence of Buckingham among -some of the leaders of opposition, it appears from the debates that -many of those, who had been in general most active against the court, -resisted this vote, which was carried by 168 to 116. The king, in his -answer to this address, lamented that the house should question his -ecclesiastical power, which had never been done before. This brought -on a fresh rebuke; and, in a second address they positively deny the -king's right to suspend any law. "The legislative power," they say, -"has always been acknowledged to reside in the king and two houses of -parliament." The king, in a speech to the House of Lords, complained -much of the opposition made by the Commons; and found a majority of -the former disposed to support him, though both houses concurred in an -address against the growth of popery. At length, against the advice of -the bolder part of his council, but certainly with a just sense of -what he most valued, his ease of mind, Charles gave way to the public -voice, and withdrew his declaration.[688] - -There was indeed a line of policy indicated at this time, which, -though intolerable to the bigotry and passion of the house, would best -have foiled the schemes of the ministry; a legislative repeal of all -the penal statutes both against the catholic and the protestant -dissenter, as far as regarded the exercise of their religion. It must -be evident to any impartial man that the unrelenting harshness of -parliament, from whom no abatement, even in the sanguinary laws -against the priests of the Romish church, had been obtained, had -naturally, and almost irresistibly, driven the members of that -persuasion into the camp of prerogative, and even furnished a pretext -for that continual intrigue and conspiracy, which was carried on in -the court of Charles II., as it had been in that of his father. A -genuine toleration would have put an end to much of this; but, in the -circumstances of that age, it could not have been safely granted -without an exclusion from those public trusts, which were to be -conferred by a sovereign in whom no trust could be reposed. - -The act of supremacy, in the first year of Elizabeth, had imposed on -all, accepting temporal as well as ecclesiastical offices, an oath -denying the spiritual jurisdiction of the pope. But, though the -refusal of this oath, when tendered, incurred various penalties, yet -it does not appear that any were attached to its neglect, or that the -oath was a previous qualification for the enjoyment of office, as it -was made by a subsequent act of the same reign for sitting in the -House of Commons. It was found also by experience that persons -attached to the Roman doctrine sometimes made use of strained -constructions to reconcile the oath of supremacy to their faith. Nor -could that test be offered to peers, who were accepted by a special -provision. - -_Test act._--For these several reasons a more effectual security -against popish counsellors, at least in notorious power, was created -by the famous test act of 1673, which renders the reception of the -sacrament according to the rites of the church of England, and a -declaration renouncing the doctrine of transubstantiation, preliminary -conditions without which no temporal office of trust can be -enjoyed.[689] In this fundamental article of faith, no compromise or -equivocation would be admitted by any member of the church of Rome. -And, as the obligation extended to the highest ranks, this reached the -end for which it was immediately designed; compelling, not only the -lord-treasurer Clifford, the boldest and most dangerous of that party, -to retire from public business, but the Duke of York himself, whose -desertion of the protestant church was hitherto not absolutely -undisguised, to quit the post of lord admiral.[690] - -It is evident that a test might have been framed to exclude the Roman -catholic as effectually as the present, without bearing like this on -the protestant nonconformist. But, though the preamble of the bill, -and the whole history of the transaction, show that the main object -was a safeguard against popery, it is probable that a majority of both -houses liked it the better for this secondary effect of shutting out -the presbyterians still more than had been done by previous statutes -of this reign. There took place however a remarkable coalition between -the two parties; and many who had always acted as high-church men and -cavaliers, sensible at last of the policy of their common adversaries, -renounced a good deal of the intolerance and bigotry that had -characterised the present parliament. The dissenters, with much -prudence or laudable disinterestedness, gave their support to the test -act. In return, a bill was brought in, and, after some debate, passed -to the lords, repealing in a considerable degree the persecuting laws -against their worship.[691] The upper house, perhaps insidiously, -returned it with amendments more favourable to the dissenters, and -insisted upon them, after a conference.[692] A sudden prorogation very -soon put an end to this bill, which was as unacceptable to the court -as it was to the zealots of the church of England. It had been -intended to follow it up by another, excluding all who should not -conform to the established church from serving in the House of -Commons.[693] - -It may appear remarkable that, as if content with these provisions, -the victorious country party did not remonstrate against the shutting -up of the exchequer, nor even wage any direct war against the king's -advisers. They voted, on the contrary, a large supply, which, as they -did not choose explicitly to recognise the Dutch war, was expressed to -be granted for the king's extraordinary occasions.[694] This -moderation, which ought at least to rescue them from the charges of -faction and violence, has been censured by some as servile and -corrupt; and would really incur censure, if they had not attained the -great object of breaking the court measures by other means. But the -test act, and their steady protestation against the suspending -prerogative, crushed the projects and dispersed the members of the -cabal. The king had no longer any minister on whom he could rely, and, -with his indolent temper, seems from this time, if not to have -abandoned all hope of declaring his change of religion, yet to have -seen both that and his other favourite projects postponed without much -reluctance. From a real predilection, from the prospect of gain, and -partly, no doubt, from some distant views of arbitrary power and a -catholic establishment, he persevered a long time in clinging secretly -to the interests of France; but his active co-operation in the schemes -of 1669 was at an end. In the next session of October 1673, the -Commons drove Buckingham from the king's councils; they intimidated -Arlington into a change of policy; and, though they did not succeed in -removing the Duke of Lauderdale, compelled him to confine himself -chiefly to the affairs of Scotland.[695] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[523] _Life of Clarendon_, p. 69. - -[524] _Clar. State Papers_, iii. 427, 529. In fact, very few of them -were likely to be of use; and the exception made his general offers -appear more sincere. - -[525] _Clar. Hist. of Rebellion_, vii. 447. Ludlow says that Fairfax -and Northumberland were positively against the punishment of the -regicides (vol. iii. p. 10); and that Monk vehemently declared at -first against any exceptions, and afterwards prevailed on the house to -limit them to seven. P. 16. Though Ludlow was not in England, this -seems very probable, and is confirmed by other authority as to Monk. -Fairfax, who had sat one day himself on the king's trial, could hardly -with decency concur in the punishment of those who went on. - -[526] Journals, May 14. - -[527] June 5, 6, 7. The first seven were Scott, Holland, Lisle, -Barkstead, Harrison, Say, Jones. They went on to add Coke, Broughton, -Dendy. - -[528] These were Lenthall, Vane, Burton, Keble, St. John, Ireton, -Haslerig, Sydenham, Desborough, Axtell, Lambert, Pack, Blackwell, -Fleetwood, Pyne, Dean, Creed, Nye, Goodwin, and Cobbet; some of them -rather insignificant names. Upon the words that "twenty and no more" -be so excepted, two divisions took place, 160 to 131, and 153 to 135; -the presbyterians being the majority. June 8. Two other divisions took -place on the names of Lenthall, carried by 215 to 126, and of -Whitelock, lost by 175 to 134. Another motion was made afterwards -against Whitelock by Prynne. Milton was ordered to be prosecuted -separately from the twenty; so that they already broke their -resolution. He was put in custody of the serjeant-at-arms, and -released, December 17. Andrew Marvell, his friend, soon afterwards -complained that fees to the amount of 150 pounds had been extorted -from him; but Finch answered that Milton had been Cromwell's -secretary, and deserved hanging. _Parl. Hist._ p. 162. Lenthall had -taken some share in the restoration, and entered into correspondence -with the king's advisers a little before. _Clar. State Papers_, iii. -711, 720. Kennet's _Register_, 762. But the royalists never could -forgive his having put the question to the vote on the ordinance for -trying the late king. - -[529] June 30. This was carried without a division. Eleven were -afterwards excepted by name, as not having rendered themselves. July -9. - -[530] July 11. - -[531] The worst and most odious of their proceedings, quite unworthy -of a christian and civilised assembly, was to give the next relations -of the four peers who had been executed under the commonwealth, -Hamilton, Holland, Capel, and Derby, the privilege of naming each one -person (among the regicides) to be executed. This was done in the -three last instances; but Lord Denbigh, as Hamilton's kinsman, -nominated one who was dead; and, on this being pointed out to him, -refused to fix on another. Journal, Aug. 7; Ludlow, iii. 34. - -[532] Lord Southampton, according to Ludlow, actually moved this in -the House of Lords, but was opposed by Finch, iii. 43. - -[533] Clarendon uses some shameful chicanery about this (_Life_, p. -69); and with that inaccuracy, to say the least, so habitual to him, -says, "the parliament had published a proclamation, that all who did -not render themselves by a day named should be judged as guilty, and -attainted of treason." The proclamation was published by the king, on -the suggestion indeed of the Lords and Commons, and the expressions -were what I have stated in the text. _State Trials_, v. 959; _Somers -Tracts_, vii. 437. It is obvious that by this mis-representation he -not only throws the blame of ill faith off the king's shoulders, but -puts the case of those who obeyed the proclamation on a very different -footing. The king, it seems, had always expected that none of the -regicides should be spared. But why did he publish such a -proclamation? Clarendon, however, seems to have been against the other -exceptions from the bill of indemnity, as contrary to some expressions -in the declaration from Breda, which had been inserted by Monk's -advice; and thus wisely and honourably got rid of the twenty -exceptions, which had been sent up from the Commons. P. 133. The lower -house resolved to agree with the Lords as to those twenty persons, or -rather sixteen of them, by 197 to 102, Hollis and Morrice telling the -Ayes. - -[534] Stat. 12 Car. II. c. 11. - -[535] These were, in the first instance, Harrison, Scott, Scrope, -Jones, Clement, Carew, all of whom had signed the warrant, Cook, the -solicitor at the high court of justice, Hacker and Axtell, who -commanded the guard on that occasion, and Peters. Two years -afterwards, Downing, ambassador in Holland, prevailed on the states to -give up Barkstead, Corbet, and Okey. They all died with great -constancy, and an enthusiastic persuasion of the righteousness of -their cause. _State Trials._ - -Pepys says in his _Diary_, 13th October 1660, of Harrison, whose -execution he witnessed, that "he looked as cheerful as any man could -do in that condition." - -[536] It is remarkable, that Scrope had been so particularly favoured -by the convention parliament, as to be exempted, together with -Hutchinson and Lascelles, from any penalty or forfeiture by a special -resolution. June 9. But the Lords put in his name again, though they -pointedly excepted Hutchinson; and the Commons, after first resolving -that he should only pay a fine of one year's value of his estate, came -at last to agree in excepting him from the indemnity as to life. It -appears that some private conversation of Scrope had been betrayed, -wherein he spoke of the king's death as he thought. - -As to Hutchinson, he had certainly concurred in the restoration, -having an extreme dislike to the party who had turned out the -parliament in Oct. 1659, especially Lambert. This may be inferred from -his conduct, as well as by what Ludlow says, and Kennet in his -_Register_, p. 169. His wife puts a speech into his mouth as to his -share in the king's death, not absolutely justifying it, but, I -suspect, stronger than he ventured to use. At least, the Commons voted -that he should not be excepted from the indemnity, "on account of his -signal repentance," which could hardly be predicated of the language -she ascribes to him. Compare Mrs. Hutchinson's _Memoirs_, p. 367, with -Commons' Journals, June 9. - -[537] Horace Walpole, in his _Catalogue of Noble Authors_, has thought -fit to censure both these persons for their pretended inconsistency. -The case is, however, different as to Monk and Cooper; and perhaps it -may be thought, that men of more delicate sentiments than either of -these possessed, would not have sat upon the trial of those with whom -they had long professed to act in concert, though innocent of their -crime. - -[538] Commons' Journals, May 12, 1660. - -[539] _Parl. Hist._ iv. 80. - -[540] _Id._ iv. 129. - -[541] _Memoirs_, p. 229. It appears by some passages in the _Clarendon -Papers_, that the church had not expected to come off so brilliantly; -and, while the restoration was yet unsettled, would have been content -to give leases of their lands. Pp. 620, 723. Hyde, however, was -convinced that the church would be either totally ruined, or restored -to a great lustre; and herein he was right, as it turned out. P. 614. - -[542] _Life of Clarendon_, 99. L'Estrange, in a pamphlet printed -before the end of 1660, complains that the cavaliers were neglected, -the king betrayed, the creatures of Cromwell, Bradshaw, and St. John -laden with offices and honours. Of the indemnity he says, "That act -made the enemies to the constitution masters in effect of the booty of -three nations, bating the Crown and church lands, all which they might -now call their own; while those who stood up for the laws were -abandoned to the comfort of an irreparable but honourable ruin." He -reviles the presbyterian ministers still in possession; and tells the -king that misplaced lenity was his father's ruin. Kennet's _Register_, -p. 233. See too, in _Somers Tracts_, vii. 517, "The Humble -Representation of the Sad Condition of the King's Party." Also p. 557. - -[543] Commons' Journals, 4 September 1660. Sir Philip Warwick, -chancellor of the exchequer, assured Pepys that the revenue fell short -by a fourth of the L1,200,000 voted by parliament. See his _Diary_, -March 1, 1664. Ralph, however, says, the income in 1662 was -L1,120,593, though the expenditure was L1,439,000. P. 88. It appears -probable that the hereditary excise did not yet produce much beyond -its estimate. _Id._ p. 20. - -[544] 21 Nov. 1660, 151 to 149. _Parl. Hist._ - -[545] The troops disbanded were fourteen regiments of horse and -eighteen of foot in England: one of horse and four of foot in -Scotland, besides garrisons. Journals, Nov. 7. - -[546] Ralph, 35; _Life of James_, 447; Grose's _Military Antiquities_, -i. 61. - -[547] Neal, 429, 444. - -[548] _Id._ 471; Pepy's _Diary_, ad init. Even in Oxford, about 300 -episcopalians used to meet every Sunday with the connivance of Dr. -Owen, dean of Christ Church. Orme's _Life of Owen_, 188. It is -somewhat bold in Anglican writers to complain, as they now and then -do, of the persecution they suffered at this period, when we consider -what had been the conduct of the bishops before, and what it was -afterwards. I do not know that any member of the church of England was -imprisoned under the commonwealth, except for some political reason; -certain it is that the gaols were not filled with them. - -[549] The penal laws were comparatively dormant, though two priests -suffered death, one of them before the protectorate. Butler's _Mem. of -Catholics_, ii. 13. But in 1655 Cromwell issued a proclamation for the -execution of these statutes; which seems to have been provoked by the -persecution of the Vaudois. Whitelocke tells us he opposed it. 625. It -was not acted upon. - -[550] Several of these appear in _Somers Tracts_, vol. vii. The king's -nearest friends were of course not backward in praising him, though a -little at the expense of their consciences. "In a word," says Hyde to -a correspondent in 1659, "if being the best protestant and the best -Englishman of the nation can do the king good at home, he must prosper -with and by his own subjects." _Clar. State Papers_, 541. Morley says -he had been to see Judge Hale, who asked him questions about the -king's character and firmness in the protestant religion. _Id._ 736. -Morley's exertions to dispossess men of the notion that the king and -his brother were inclined to popery, are also mentioned by Kennet in -his _Register_, 818: a book containing very copious information as to -this particular period. Yet Morley could hardly have been without -strong suspicions as to both of them. - -[551] He had written in cipher to Secretary Nicholas, from St. -Johnston's, Sept. 3, 1650, the day of the battle of Dunbar, "Nothing -could have confirmed me more to the church of England than being here, -seeing their hypocrisy." Supplement to Evelyn's _Diary_, 133. The -whole letter shows that he was on the point of giving his new friends -the slip; as indeed he attempted soon after, in what was called the -Start. Laing, iii. 463. - -[552] 12 Car. II. c. 17. It is quite clear that an usurped possession -was confirmed by this act, where the lawful incumbent was dead; though -Burnet intimates the contrary. - -[553] _Parl. Hist._ 94. The chancellor, in his speech to the houses at -their adjournment in September, gave them to understand that this bill -was not quite satisfactory to the court, who preferred the -confirmation of ministers by particular letters patent under the great -seal; that the king's prerogative of dispensing with acts of -parliament might not grow into disuse. Many got the additional -security of such patents; which proved of service to them, when the -next parliament did not think fit to confirm this important statute. -Baxter says (p. 241), some got letters patent to turn out the -possessors, where the former incumbents were dead. These must have -been to benefices in the gift of the Crown; in other cases, letters -patent could have been of no effect. I have found this confirmed by -the Journals, Aug. 27, 1660. - -[554] Upon Venner's insurrection, though the sectaries, and especially -the independents, published a declaration of their abhorrence of it, a -pretext was found for issuing a proclamation to shut up the -conventicles of the anabaptists and quakers, and so worded as to reach -all others. Kennet's _Register_, 357. - -[555] Collier, 869, 871; Baxter, 232, 238. The bishops said, in their -answer to the presbyterians' proposals, that the objections against a -single person's administration in the church were equally applicable -to the state. Collier, 872. But this was false, as they well knew, and -designed only to produce an effect at court; for the objections were -not grounded on reasoning, but on a presumed positive institution. -Besides which, the argument cut against themselves: for, if the -English constitution, or something analogous to it, had been -established in the church, their adversaries would have had all they -_now_ asked. - -[556] Stillingfleet's _Irenicum_; King's _Inquiry into the -Constitution of the Primitive Church_. The former work was published -at this time, with a view to moderate the pretensions of the Anglican -party, to which the author belonged, by showing: 1. That there are no -sufficient data for determining with certainty the form of -church-government in the apostolical age, or that which immediately -followed it. 2. That, as far as we may probably conjecture, the -primitive church was framed on the model of the synagogue; that is, a -synod of priests in every congregation having one of their own number -for a chief or president. 3. That there is no reason to consider any -part of the apostolical discipline as an invariable model for future -ages, and that much of our own ecclesiastical polity cannot any way -pretend to primitive authority. 4. That this has been the opinion of -all the most eminent theologians at home and abroad. 5. That it would -be expedient to introduce various modifications, not on the whole much -different from the scheme of Usher. Stillingfleet, whose work is a -remarkable instance of extensive learning and mature judgment at the -age of about twenty-three, thought fit afterwards to retract it in a -certain degree; and towards the latter part of his life, gave into -more high-church politics. It is true that the _Irenicum_ must have -been composed with almost unparalleled rapidity for such a work; but -it shows, as far as I can judge, no marks of precipitancy. The -biographical writers put its publication in 1659; but this must be a -mistake; no one can avoid perceiving that it could not have passed the -press on the 24th of March 1660, the latest day which could, according -to the old style, have admitted the date of 1659, as it contains -allusions to the king's restoration. - -[557] Baxter's _Life_; Neal. - -[558] They addressed the king to call such divines as he should think -fit, to advise with concerning matters of religion. July 20, 1660. -Journals and _Parl. Hist._ - -[559] _Parl. Hist._; Neal, Baxter, Collier, etc. Burnet says that -Clarendon had made the king publish this declaration; "but the bishops -did not approve of this; and, after the service they did that lord in -the Duke of York's marriage, he would not put any hardship on those -who had so signally obliged him." This is very invidious. I know no -evidence that the declaration was published at Clarendon's suggestion, -except indeed that he was the great adviser of the Crown; yet in some -things, especially of this nature, the king seems to have acted -without his concurrence. He certainly speaks of the declaration as if -he did not wholly relish it (_Life_, 75), and does not state it -fairly. In _State Trials_, vi. 11, it is said to have been drawn up by -Morley and Henchman for the church, Reynolds and Calamy for the -dissenters; if they disagreed, Lords Anglesea and Hollis to decide. - -[560] The chief objection made by the presbyterians, as far as we -learn from Baxter, was, that the consent of presbyters to the bishops' -acts was not promised by the declaration, but only their advice; a -distinction apparently not very material in practice, but bearing -perhaps on the great point of controversy, whether the difference -between the two were in order or in degree. The king would not come -into the scheme of consent; though they pressed him with a passage out -of the _Icon Basilike_, where his father allowed of it. _Life of -Baxter_, 276. Some alterations, however, were made in consequence of -their suggestions. - -[561] _Parl. Hist._ 141, 152. Clarendon, 76, most strangely observes -on this: "Some of the leaders brought a bill into the house for the -making that declaration a law, which was suitable to their other acts -of ingenuity to keep the church for ever under the same indulgence and -without any settlement; which being quickly perceived, there was no -further progress in it." The bill was brought in by Sir Matthew Hale. - -[562] Collier, who of course thinks this declaration an encroachment -on the church, as well as on the legislative power, says, "For this -reason it was overlooked at the assizes and sessions in several places -in the country, where the dissenting ministers were indicted for not -conforming pursuant to the laws in force." P. 876. Neal confirms this, -586, and Kennet's _Register_, 374. - -[563] _Life of Clarendon_, 74. A plausible and somewhat dangerous -attack had been made on the authority of this parliament from an -opposite quarter, in a pamphlet written by one Drake, under the name -of Thomas Philips, entitled "The Long Parliament Revived," and -intended to prove that by the act of the late king, providing that -they should not be dissolved but by the concurrence of the whole -legislature, they were still in existence; and that the king's demise, -which legally puts an end to a parliament, could not affect one that -was declared permanent by so direct an enactment. This argument seems -by no means inconsiderable; but the times were not such as to admit of -technical reasoning. The convention parliament, after questioning -Drake, finally sent up articles of impeachment against him; but the -Lords, after hearing him in his defence, when he confessed his fault, -left him to be prosecuted by the attorney-general. Nothing more, -probably, took place. _Parl. Hist._ 145, 157. This was in November and -December 1660: but Drake's book seems still to have been in -considerable circulation; at least I have two editions of it, both -bearing the date of 1661. The argument it contains is purely legal; -but the aim must have been to serve the presbyterian or -parliamentarian cause. - -[564] Complaints of insults on the presbyterian clergy were made to -the late parliament. _Parl. Hist._ 160. The Anglicans inveighed -grossly against them on the score of their past conduct, -notwithstanding the act of indemnity. Kennet's _Register_, 616. See, -as a specimen, South's sermons, _passim_. - -[565] Journals, 17th of May 1661. The previous question was moved on -this vote, but lost by 228 to 103; Morice, the secretary of state, -being one of the tellers for the minority. Monk, I believe, to whom -Morice owed his elevation, did what he could to prevent violent -measures against the presbyterians. Alderman Love was suspended from -sitting in the house July 3, for not having taken the sacrament. I -suppose that he afterwards conformed; for he became an active member -of the opposition. - -[566] Journals, June 14, etc.; _Parl. Hist._ 209; _Life of Clarendon_, -71; Burnet, 230. A bill discharging the loyalists from all interest -exceeding three per cent. on debts contracted before the wars passed -the Commons; but was dropped in the other house. The great discontent -of this party at the indemnity continued to show itself in subsequent -sessions. Clarendon mentions, with much censure, that many private -bills passed about 1662, annulling conveyances of lands made during -the troubles. Pp. 162, 163. One remarkable instance ought to be -noticed, as having been greatly misrepresented. At the Earl of Derby's -seat of Knowsley in Lancashire a tablet is placed to commemorate the -ingratitude of Charles II. in having refused the royal assent to a -bill which had passed both houses for restoring the son of the Earl of -Derby, who had lost his life in the royal cause, to his family estate. -This has been so often reprinted by tourists and novelists, that it -passes currently for a just reproach on the king's memory. It was, -however, in fact one of his most honourable actions. The truth is, -that the cavalier faction carried through parliament a bill to make -void the conveyances of some manors which Lord Derby had voluntarily -sold before the restoration, in the very face of the act of indemnity, -and against all law and justice. Clarendon, who, together with some -very respectable peers, had protested against this measure in the -upper house, thought it his duty to recommend the king to refuse his -assent. Lords' Journals, Feb. 6 and May 14, 1662. There is so much to -blame in both the minister and his master, that it is but fair to give -them credit for that which the pardonable prejudices of the family -interested have led it to mis-state. - -[567] Commons' Journals, 1st July 1661. A division took place, -November 26, on a motion to lay this bill aside, in consideration of -the king's proclamation, which was lost by 124 to 109: Lord Cornbury -(Clarendon's son) being a teller for the Noes. The bill was sent up to -the Lords Jan. 27, 1662. See also _Parl. Hist._ 217, 225. Some of -their proceedings trespassed upon the executive power, and infringed -the prerogative they laboured to exalt. But long interruption of the -due course of the constitution had made its boundaries indistinct. -Thus, in the convention parliament, the bodies of Cromwell, Bradshaw, -Ireton, and others, were ordered, Dec 4, on the motion of Colonel -Titus, to be disinterred, and hanged on a gibbet. The Lords concurred -in this order; but the mode of address to the king would have been -more regular. _Parl. Hist._ 151. - -[568] 3 Inst. 7. This appears to have been held in Bagot's case, 9 -Edw. 4. See also Higden's _View of the English Constitution_, 1709. - -[569] Foster, in his _Discourse on High Treason_, evidently intimates -that he thought the conviction of Vane unjustifiable. - -[570] "The relation that has been made to me of Sir H. Vane's carriage -yesterday in the Hall is the occasion of this letter, which, if I am -rightly informed, was so insolent, as to justify all he had done; -acknowledging no supreme power in England but a parliament, and many -things to that purpose. You have had a true account of all; and if he -has given new occasion to be hanged, certainly he is too dangerous a -man to let live, if we can honestly put him out of the way. Think of -this, and give me some account of it to-morrow, till when I have no -more to say to you. C." Indorsed in Lord Clarendon's hand, "The king, -June 7, 1662." Vane was beheaded June 14. Burnet (note in Oxford -edition), p. 164; Harris's _Lives_, v. 32. - -[571] Vane gave up the profits of his place as treasurer of the navy, -which, according to his patent, would have amounted to L30,000 per -ann. if we may rely on Harris's _Life of Cromwell_, p. 260. - -[572] 13 Car. 2, c. 1 and 6. A bill for settling the militia had been -much opposed in the convention parliament, as tending to bring in -martial law. _Parl. Hist._ iv. 145. It seems to have dropped. - -[573] C. 1. - -[574] C. 2. The only opposition made to this was in the House of Lords -by the Earl of Bristol and some of the Roman catholic party, who -thought the bishops would not be brought into a toleration of their -religion. _Life of Clarendon_, p. 138. - -[575] C. 5. - -[576] 13 Car. 2, sess. 2, c. i. This bill did not pass without a -strong opposition in the Commons. It was carried at last by 182 to 77 -(Journals, July 5); but, on a previous division for its commitment the -numbers were 135 to 136. June 20. Prynne was afterwards reprimanded by -the speaker for publishing a pamphlet against this act (July 15); but -his courage had now forsaken him; and he made a submissive apology, -though the censure was pronounced in a very harsh manner. - -[577] Journals, 3rd April 1662; 10th March 1663. - -[578] _Parl. Hist._ 289. Clarendon speaks very unjustly of the -triennial act, forgetting that he had himself concurred in it. P. 221. - -[579] 16 Car. 2, c. 1. We find by the Journals that some divisions -took place during the passage of this bill, and though, as far as -appears, on subordinate points, yet probably springing from an -opposition to its principle. March 28, 1664. There was by this time a -regular party formed against the court. - -[580] P. 383. - -[581] Lords' Journals, 23rd and 24th Jan. 1662. - -[582] 12th Feb. - -[583] 19th March 1663. - -[584] 13 Car. 2, c. 12. - -[585] Clarendon, in his _Life_, p. 149, says, that the king "had -received the presbyterian ministers with grace; and did believe that -he should work upon them by persuasions, having been well acquainted -with their common arguments by the conversation he had had in -Scotland, and _was very able to confute them_." This is one of the -strange absurdities into which Clarendon's prejudices hurry him in -almost every page of his writings, and more especially in this -continuation of his _Life_. Charles, as his minister well knew, could -not read a common Latin book (_Clarendon State Papers_, iii. 567), and -had no manner of acquaintance with theological learning, unless the -popular argument in favour of popery is so to be called; yet he was -very able to confute men who had passed their lives in study, on a -subject involving a considerable knowledge of Scripture and the early -writers in their original languages. - -[586] Clarendon admits that this could not have been done till the -former parliament was dissolved. 97. This means, of course, on the -supposition that the king's word was to be broken. "The malignity -towards the church," he says, "seemed increasing, and to be greater -than at the coming in of the king." Pepys, in his _Diary_, has several -sharp remarks on the misconduct and unpopularity of the bishops, -though himself an episcopalian even before the restoration. "The -clergy are so high that all people I meet with do protest against -their practice." August 31, 1660. "I am convinced in my judgment, that -the present clergy will never heartily go down with the generality of -the commons of England; they have been so used to liberty and freedom, -and they are so acquainted with the pride and debauchery of the -present clergy. He [Mr. Blackburn, a nonconformist] did give me many -stories of the affronts which the clergy receive in all parts of -England from the gentry and ordinary persons of the parish." November -9, 1663. The opposite party had recourse to the old weapons of pious -fraud. I have a tract containing twenty-seven instances of remarkable -judgments, all between June 1660, and April 1661, which befell divers -persons for reading the common prayer or reviling godly ministers. -This is entitled _Annus Mirabilis_; and, besides the above -twenty-seven, attests so many prodigies, that the name is by no means -misapplied. The bishops made large fortunes by filling up leases. -Burnet, 260. And Clarendon admits them to have been too rapacious, -though he tries to extenuate. P. 48. - -[587] The fullest account of this conference, and of all that passed -as to the comprehension of the presbyterians, is to be read in Baxter, -whom Neal has abridged. Some allowance must, of course, be made for -the resentment of Baxter; but his known integrity makes it impossible -to discredit the main part of his narration. Nor is it necessary to -rest on the evidence of those who may be supposed to have the -prejudices of dissenters. For Bishop Burnet admits that all the -concern which seemed to employ the prelates' minds, was not only to -make an alteration on the presbyterians' account, but to straiten the -terms of conformity far more than before the war. Those, however, who -would see what can be said by writers of high-church principles, may -consult Kennet's _History of Charles II._ p. 252, or Collier, p. 878. -One little anecdote may serve to display the spirit with which the -Anglicans came to the conference. Upon Baxter's saying that their -proceedings would alienate a great part of the _nation_, Stearne, -Bishop of Carlisle, observed to his associates: "He will not say -_kingdom_, lest he should acknowledge a king." Baxter, p. 338. This -was a very malignant reflection on a man who was well known never to -have been of the republican party. It is true that Baxter seems to -have thought, in 1659, that Richard Cromwell would have served the -turn better than Charles Stuart; and, as a presbyterian, he thought -very rightly. See p. 207, and part iii. p. 71. But, preaching before -the parliament, April 30, 1660, he said it was none of our differences -whether we should be loyal to our king; on that all were agreed. P. -217. - -[588] _Life of Clarendon_, 147. He observes that the alterations made -did not reduce one of the opposite party to the obedience of the -church. Now, in the first place, he could not know this; and, in the -next, he conceals from the reader that, on the whole matter, the -changes made in the liturgy were more likely to disgust than to -conciliate. Thus the puritans having always objected to the number of -saints' days, the bishops added a few more; and the former having -given very plausible reasons against the apocryphal lessons in the -daily service, the others inserted the legend of Bel and the Dragon, -for no other purpose than to show contempt of their scruples. The -alterations may be seen in Rennet's _Register_, 585. The most -important was the restoration of a rubric inserted in the communion -service under Edward VI., but left out by Elizabeth, declaring against -any corporal presence in the Lord's supper. This gave offence to some -of those who had adopted that opinion, especially the Duke of York, -and perhaps tended to complete his alienation from the Anglican -church. Burnet, i. 183. - -[589] 13 and 14 Car. 2, c. iv. Sec. 3. - -[590] _Life of Clarendon_, 152; Burnet, 256. Morley, afterwards Bishop -of Winchester, was engaged just before the restoration in negotiating -with the presbyterians. They stuck out for the negative voice of the -council of presbyters, and for the validity of their ordinations. -_Clar. State Papers_, 727. He had two schemes to get over the -difficulty; one to pass them over _sub silentio_; the other, a -hypothetical re-ordination, on the supposition that something might -have been wanting before, as the church of Rome practises about -re-baptization. The former is a curious expedient for those who -pretended to think presbyterian ordinations really null. _Id._ 738. - -[591] The day fixed upon suggested a comparison which, though severe, -was obvious. A modern writer has observed on this, "They were careful -not to remember that the same day, and for the same reason, because -the tithes were commonly due at Michaelmas, had been appointed for the -former ejectment, when four times as many of the loyal clergy were -deprived for fidelity to their sovereign." Southey's _Hist. of the -Church_, ii. 467. That the day was chosen in order to deprive the -incumbent of a whole year's tithes, Mr. Southey has learned from -Burnet; and it aggravates the cruelty of the proceeding--but where has -he found his precedent? The Anglican clergy were ejected for refusing -the covenant at no one definite period, as, on recollection, Mr. S. -would be aware; nor can I find any one parliamentary ordinance in -Husband's Collection that mentions St. Bartholomew's day. There was a -precedent indeed in that case, which the government of Charles did not -choose to follow. One-fifth of the income had been reserved for the -dispossessed incumbents. - -[592] Journals, April 26. This may perhaps have given rise to a -mistake we find in Neal, 624, that the act of uniformity only passed -by 186 to 180. There was no division at all upon the bill except that -I have mentioned. - -[593] The report of the conference (Lords' Journals, 7th May) is -altogether rather curious. - -[594] Lords' Journals, 25th and 27th July 1663; Ralph, 58. - -[595] Neal, 625-636. Baxter told Burnet, as the latter says (p. 185), -that not above 300 would have resigned, had the terms of the king's -declaration been adhered to. The blame, he goes on, fell chiefly on -Sheldon. But Clarendon was charged with entertaining the presbyterians -with good words, while he was giving way to the bishops. See also p. -268. Baxter puts the number of the deprived at 1800. _Life_, 384. And -it has generally been reckoned about 2000; though Burnet says it has -been much controverted. If indeed we can rely on Calamy's account of -the ejected ministers, abridged by Palmer under the title of _The -Nonconformist's Memorial_, the number must have been full 2400. -Kennet, however (_Register_, 807), notices great mistakes of Calamy in -respect only to one diocese, that of Peterborough. Probably both in -this collection, and in that of Walker on the other side, as in all -martyrologies, there are abundant errors; but enough will remain to -afford memorable examples of conscientious suffering; and we cannot -read without indignation Rennet's endeavours, in the conclusion of -this volume, to extenuate the praise of the deprived presbyterians by -captious and unfair arguments. - -[596] See Clarendon's feeble attempt to vindicate the king from the -charge of breach of faith. 157. - -[597] A list of these, published in 1660, contains more than 170 -names. Neal, 590. - -[598] Sir Kenelm Digby was supposed to be deep in a scheme that the -catholics, in 1649, should support the commonwealth with all their -power, in return for liberty of religion. Carte's _Letters_, i. 216 -_et post_. We find a letter from him to Cromwell in 1656 (Thurloe, iv. -591) with great protestations of duty. - -[599] See Lords' Journals, June and July 1661, or extracts from them -in Kennet's _Register_, 469, etc., 620, etc., and 798, where are -several other particulars worthy of notice. Clarendon, 143, explains -the failure of this attempt at a partial toleration (for it was only -meant as to the exercise of religious rites in private houses) by the -persevering opposition of the Jesuits to the oath of allegiance, to -which the lay catholics, and generally the secular priests, had long -ceased to make objection. The house had voted that the indulgence -should not extend to Jesuits, and that they would not alter the oaths -of allegiance or supremacy. The Jesuits complained of the distinction -taken against them; and asserted, in a printed tract (Kennet, _ubi -supra_), that since 1616 they had been inhibited by their superiors -from maintaining the pope's right to depose sovereigns. See also -Butler's _Mem. of Catholics_, ii. 27; iv. 142; and Burnet, i. 194. - -[600] The suspicions against Charles were very strong in England -before the restoration, so as to alarm his emissaries: "Your master," -Mordaunt writes to Ormond, Nov. 10, 1659, "is utterly ruined as to his -interest here in whatever party, if this be true." Carte's _Letters_, -ii. 264, and _Clar. State Papers_, iii. 602. But an anecdote related -in Carte's _Life of Ormond_, ii. 255, and Harris's _Lives_, v. 54, -which has obtained some credit, proves, if true, that he had embraced -the Roman catholic religion as early as 1659, so as even to attend -mass. This cannot be reckoned out of question; but the tendency of the -king's mind before his return to England is to be inferred from all -his behaviour. Kennet (_Complete Hist. of Eng._ iii. 237) plainly -insinuates that the project for restoring popery began at the treaty -of the Pyrenees; and see his _Register_, p. 852. - -[601] 13 Car. 2, c. 1. - -[602] Burnet, i. 179. - -[603] _Life of Clarendon_, 159. He intimates that this begot a -coldness in the bishops towards himself, which was never fully -removed. Yet he had no reason to complain of them on his trial. See, -too, Pepys's _Diary_, Sept. 3, 1662. - -[604] _Parl. Hist._ 257. - -[605] Baxter intimates (429) that some disagreement arose between the -presbyterians and independents as to the toleration of popery, or -rather, as he puts it, as to the active concurrence of the protestant -dissenters in accepting such a toleration as should include popery. -The latter, conformably to their general principles, were favourable -to it; but the former would not make themselves parties to any -relaxation of the penal laws against the church of Rome, leaving the -king to act as he thought fit. By this stiffness it is very probable -that they provoked a good deal of persecution from the court, which -they might have avoided by falling into its views of a general -indulgence. - -[606] _Parl. Hist._ 260. An adjournment had been moved, and lost by -161 to 119. Journals, 25 Feb. - -[607] 19 Feb. Baxter, p. 429. - -[608] Journals, 17 and 28 March 1663; _Parl. Hist._ 264. Burnet, 274, -says the declaration of indulgence was usually ascribed to Bristol, -but in fact proceeded from the king, and that the opposition to it in -the house was chiefly made by the friends of Clarendon. The latter -tells us in his _Life_, 189, that the king was displeased at the -insolence of the Romish party, and gave the judges general orders to -convict recusants. The minister and historian either was, or pretended -to be, his master's dupe; and, if he had any suspicions of what was -meant as to religion (as he must surely have had), is far too loyal to -hint them. Yet the one circumstance he mentions soon after, that the -Countess of Castlemaine suddenly declared herself a catholic, was -enough to open his eyes and those of the world. - -The Romish partisans assumed the tone of high loyalty, as exclusively -characteristic of their religion; but affected, at this time, to use -great civility towards the church of England. A book, entitled -_Philanax Anglicus_, published under the name of Bellamy, the second -edition of which is in 1663, after a most flattering dedication to -Sheldon, launches into virulent abuse of the presbyterians and of the -reformation in general, as founded on principles adverse to monarchy. -This indeed was common with the ultra or high-church party; but the -work in question, though it purports to be written by a clergyman, is -manifestly a shaft from the concealed bow of the Roman Apollo. - -[609] See proofs of this in Ralph, 53; Rapin, p. 78. There was in 1663 -a trifling insurrection in Yorkshire, which the government wished to -have been more serious, so as to afford a better pretext for strong -measures; as may be collected from a passage in a letter of Bennet to -the Duke of Ormond, where he says, "The country was in a greater -readiness to prevent the disorders than perhaps were to be wished; but -it being the effect of their own care, rather than his majesty's -commands, it is the less to be censured." Clarendon, 218, speaks of -this as an important and extensive conspiracy; and the king dwelt on -it in his next speech to the parliament. _Parl. Hist._ 289. - -[610] 16 Car. 2, c. 4. A similar bill had passed the Commons in July -1663, but hung some time in the upper house, and was much debated; the -Commons sent up a message (an irregular practice of those times) to -request their lordships would expedite this and some other bills. The -king seems to have been displeased at this delay; for he told them at -their prorogation, that he had expected some bills against -conventicles and distempers in religion, as well as the growth of -popery, and should himself present some at their next meeting. _Parl. -Hist._ 288. Burnet observes, that to empower a justice of peace to -convict without a jury, was thought a great breach on the principles -of the English constitution. 285. - -[611] P. 221. - -[612] 17 Car. 2, c. 2. - -[613] Burnet; Baxter, Part III. p. 2; Neal, p. 652. - -[614] Burnet: Baxter. - -[615] Mr. Locke, in the "Letter from a Person of Quality to his Friend -in the Country," printed in 1675 (see it in his works, or in -_Parliamentary History_, vol. iv. Appendix, No. 5), says it was lost -by three votes, and mentions the persons. But the numbers in the -Journals, October 27, 1665, appear to be 57 to 51. Probably he meant -that those persons might have been expected to vote the other way. - -[616] A pamphlet, with Baxter's name subscribed, called "Fair Warning, -or XXV Reasons against Toleration and Indulgence of Popery," 1663, is -a pleasant specimen of this _argumentum ab inferno_. "Being there is -but one safe way to salvation, do you think that the protestant way is -that way, or is it not? If it be not, why do you live in it? If it be, -how can you find in your heart to give your subjects liberty to go -another way? Can you, in your conscience, give them leave to go on in -that course in which, in your conscience, you think you could not be -saved?" Baxter, however, does not mention this little book in his -life; nor does he there speak violently about the toleration of -Romanists. - -[617] The clergy had petitioned the House of Commons in 1664, _inter -alia_, "That for the better observation of the Lord's day, and for the -promoting of conformity, you would be pleased to advance the pecuniary -mulct of twelve pence for each absence from divine service, in -proportion to the degree, quality, and ability of the delinquent; that -so the penalty may be of force sufficient to conquer the obstinacy of -the nonconformists." Wilkin's _Concilia_, iv. 580. Letters from -Sheldon to the commissary of the diocese of Canterbury, in 1669 and -1670, occur in the same collection (pp. 588, 589) directing him to -inquire about conventicles; and if they cannot be restrained by -ecclesiastical authority, to apply to the next justice of peace in -order to put them down. A proclamation appears also from the king, -enjoining magistrates to do this. In 1673, the archbishop writes a -circular to his suffragans, directing them to proceed against such as -keep schools without licence. P. 593. - -See in the _Somers Tracts_, vii. 586, a "true and faithful narrative" -of the severities practised against nonconformists about this time. -Baxter's _Life_ is also full of proofs of persecution; but the most -complete register is in Calamy's account of the ejected clergy. - -[618] Pepys observes, 12 July 1667, "how everybody nowadays reflect -upon Oliver and commend him, what brave things he did, and made all -the neighbour princes fear him." - -[619] The _Memoires de Grammont_ are known to everybody; and are -almost unique in their kind, not only for the grace of their style and -the vivacity of their pictures, but for the happy ignorance in which -the author seems to have lived, that any one of his readers could -imagine that there are such things as virtue and principle in the -world. In the delirium of thoughtless voluptuousness they resemble -some of the memoirs about the end of Louis XV.'s reign, and somewhat -later; though I think, even in these, there is generally some effort, -here and there, at moral censure, or some affectation of sensibility. -_They_, indeed, have always an awful moral; and in the light portraits -of the court of Versailles (such, sometimes, as we might otherwise -almost blush to peruse) we have before us the handwriting on the wall, -the winter whirlwind hushed in its grim repose, and expecting its -prey, the vengeance of an oppressed people and long-forbearing Deity. -No such retribution fell on the courtiers of Charles II.; but they -earned in their own age, what has descended to posterity, though -possibly very indifferent to themselves, the disgust and aversion of -all that was respectable among mankind. - -[620] This was carried on a division by 172 to 102. Journals, 25 -November 1665. It was to be raised "in a regulated subsidiary way, -reducing the same to a certainty in all counties, so as no person, for -his real or personal estate, be exempted." They seem to have had some -difficulty in raising this enormous subsidy. _Parliamentary History_, -305. - -[621] 17 Car. II. c. 1. The same clause is repeated next year, and has -become regular. - -[622] _Life of Clarendon_, p. 315; Hatsell's _Precedents_, iii. 80. - -[623] _Life of Clarendon_, p. 368. Burnet observes it was looked upon -at the time as a great innovation. P. 335. - -[624] Pepys's _Diary_ has lately furnished some things worthy to be -extracted. "Mr. W. and I by water to Whitehall, and there at Sir -George Carteret's lodgings Sir William Coventry met; and we did debate -the whole business of our accounts to the parliament; where it appears -to us that the charge of the war from Sept. 1, 1664, to this -Michaelmas will have been but L3,200,000, and we have paid in that -time somewhat about L2,200,000, so that we owe about L900,000; but our -method of accounting, though it cannot, I believe, be far wide from -the mark, yet will not abide a strict examination, if the parliament -should be troublesome. Here happened a pretty question of Sir William -Coventry, whether this account of ours will not put my lord treasurer -to a difficulty to tell what is become of all the money the parliament -have given in this time for the war, which hath amounted to about -L4,000,000, which nobody there could answer; but I perceive they did -doubt what his answer could be." Sept. 23, 1666.--The money granted -the king for the war he afterwards (Oct. 10) reckons at L5,590,000, -and the debt L900,000. The charge stated only at L3,200,000. "So what -is become of all this sum, L2,390,000!" He mentions afterwards (Oct. -8) the proviso in the poll-tax bill, that there shall be a committee -of nine persons to have the inspection on oath of all the accounts of -the money given and spent for the war, "which makes the king and court -mad; the king having given order to my lord chamberlain to send to the -play-houses and brothels, to bid all the parliament men that were -there to go to the parliament presently; but it was carried against -the court by thirty or forty voices." It was thought, he says (Dec. -12) that above L400,000 had gone into the privy purse since the war. - -[625] _Life of Clarendon_, p. 392. - -[626] 19 and 20 Car. II. c. 1. Burnet, p. 374. They reported -unaccounted balances of L1,509,161, besides much that was questionable -in the payments. But, according to Ralph, p. 177, the commissioners -had acted with more technical rigour than equity, surcharging the -accountants for all sums not expended since the war began, though -actually expended for the purposes of preparation. - -[627] Burnet, p. 130. Southampton left all the business of the -treasury, according to Burnet, p. 131, in the hands of Sir Philip -Warwick, "a weak but incorrupt man." The king, he says, chose to put -up with his contradiction rather than make him popular by dismissing -him. But in fact, as we see by Clarendon's instance, the king retained -his ministers long after he was displeased with them. Southampton's -remissness and slowness, notwithstanding his integrity, Pepys says, -was the cause of undoing the nation as much as anything; "yet, if I -knew all the difficulties he has lain under, and his instrument Sir -Philip Warwick, I might be of another mind." May 16, 1667.--He was -willing to have done something, Clarendon tells us (p. 415) to gratify -the presbyterians; on which account, the bishops thought him not -enough affected to the church. His friend endeavours to extenuate this -heinous sin of tolerant principles. - -[628] The behaviour of Lord Clarendon on this occasion was so -extraordinary, that no credit could have been given to any other -account than his own. The Duke of York, he says, informed the king of -the affection and friendship that had long been between him and the -young lady; that they had been long contracted, and that she was with -child; and therefore requested his majesty's leave that he might -publicly marry her. The Marquis of Ormond by the king's order -communicated this to the chancellor, who "broke out into an immoderate -passion against the wickedness of his daughter; and said, with all -imaginable earnestness, that as soon as he came home, he would turn -her out of his house as a strumpet to shift for herself, and would -never see her again. They told him that his passion was too violent to -administer good counsel to him; that they thought that the duke was -married to his daughter, and that there were other measures to be -taken than those which the disorder he was in had suggested to him. -Whereupon he fell into new commotions; and said, If that were true, he -was well prepared to advise what was to be done; that he had much -rather his daughter should be the duke's whore than his wife: in the -former case, nobody could blame him for the resolution he had taken, -for he was not obliged to keep a whore for the greatest prince alive; -and the indignity to himself he would submit to the good pleasure of -God. But, if there were any reason to suspect the other, he was ready -to give a positive judgment, in which he hoped their lordships would -concur with him, that the king should immediately cause the woman _to -be sent to the Tower and cast into a dungeon_, under so strict a guard -that no person living should be admitted to come to her; and then that -_an act of parliament should be immediately passed for cutting off her -head, to which he would not only give his consent, but would very -willingly be the first man that should propose it_. And whoever knew -the man, will believe that he said all this very heartily." Lord -Southampton, he proceeds to inform us, on the king's entering the room -at the time, said very naturally, that the chancellor was mad, and had -proposed such extravagant things that he was no more to be consulted -with. This, however, did not bring him to his senses; for he repeated -his strange proposal of "sending her presently to the Tower, and the -rest;" imploring the king to take this course, as the only expedient -that could free him from the evils that this business would otherwise -bring upon him. - -That any man of sane intellects should fall into such an extravagance -of passion, is sufficiently wonderful; that he should sit down in cool -blood several years afterwards to relate it, is still more so; and -perhaps we shall carry our candour to an excess, if we do not set down -the whole scene to overacted hypocrisy. Charles II., we may be very -sure, could see it in no other light. And here I must take notice, by -the way, of the singular observation the worthy editor of Burnet has -made: "King Charles's conduct in this business was excellent -throughout; that of Clarendon _worthy an ancient Roman_." We have -indeed a Roman precedent for subduing the sentiments of nature rather -than permitting a daughter to incur disgrace through the passions of -the great; but I think Virginius would not quite have understood the -feelings of Clarendon. Such virtue was more like what Montesquieu -calls "l'heroisme de l'esclavage," and was just fit for the court of -Gondar. But with all this violence that he records of himself, he -deviates greatly from the truth: "The king (he says) afterwards spoke -every day about it, and told the chancellor that he must behave -himself wisely, for that the thing was remediless, and that his -majesty knew that they were married; which would quickly appear to all -men who knew that nothing could be done upon it. In this time the -chancellor had conferred with his daughter, without anything of -indulgence, and not only discovered that they were unquestionably -married, but _by whom, and who were present at it, who would be ready -to avow it_; which pleased him not, though it diverted him from using -some of that rigour which he intended. And he saw no other remedy -could be applied but that which he had proposed to the king, who -thought of nothing like it." _Life of Clarendon_, 29 _et post_. - -Every one would conclude from this, that a marriage had been -solemnised if not before their arrival in England, yet before the -chancellor had this conference with his daughter. It appears, however, -from the Duke of York's declaration in the books of the privy council, -quoted by Ralph, p. 40, that he was contracted to Ann Hyde on the 24th -of November 1659, at Breda; and after that time lived with her as his -wife, though very secretly; he married her 3rd Sept. 1660, according -to the English ritual, Lord Ossory giving her away. The first child -was born Oct. 22, 1660. Now whether the contract were sufficient to -constitute a valid marriage, will depend on two things; first, upon -the law existing at Breda; secondly, upon the applicability of what is -commonly called the rule of the _lex loci_, to a marriage between such -persons according to the received notions of English lawyers in that -age. But, even admitting all this, it is still manifest that -Clarendon's expressions point to an actual celebration, and are -consequently intended to mislead the reader. Certain it is, that at -the time the contract seems to have been reckoned only an honorary -obligation. James tells us himself (Macpherson's _Extracts_, p. 17) -that he promised to marry her; and "though when he asked the king for -his leave, he refused and dissuaded him from it, yet at last he -opposed it no more, and the duke married her privately, and owned it -some time after." His biographer, writing from his own manuscript, -adds, "it may well be supposed that my lord chancellor did his part, -but with great caution and circumspection, to soften the king in that -matter which in every respect seemed so much for his own advantage." -_Life of James_, 387. And Pepys inserts in his diary, Feb. 23, 1661, -"Mr. H. told me how my lord chancellor had lately got the Duke of York -and duchess, and her woman, my Lord Ossory and a doctor, to make oath -before most of the judges of the kingdom, concerning all the -circumstances of their marriage. And, in fine, it is confessed that -they were not fully married till about a month or two before she was -brought to bed; but that they were contracted long before, and [were -married] time enough for the child to be legitimate. But I do not hear -that it was put to the judges to determine so or not." He had said -before that Lord Sandwich told him (17th Oct. 1660) "the king wanted -him [the duke] to marry her, but he would not." This seems at first -sight inconsistent with what James says himself. But at this time, -though the private marriage had really taken place, he had been -persuaded by a most infamous conspiracy of some profligate courtiers -that the lady was of a licentious character, and that Berkeley, -afterwards Lord Falmouth, had enjoyed her favours. _Life of -Clarendon_, 33. It must be presumed that those men knew only of a -contract which they thought he could break. Hamilton, in the _Memoirs -of Grammont_, speaks of this transaction with his usual levity, though -the parties showed themselves as destitute of spirit as of honour and -humanity. Clarendon, we must believe (and the most favourable -hypothesis for him is to give up his veracity), would not permit his -daughter to be made the victim of a few perjured debauchees, and of -her husband's fickleness or credulity. - -[629] Hamilton mentions this as the current rumour of the court, and -Burnet has done the same. But Clarendon himself denies that he had any -concern in it, or any acquaintance with the parties. He wrote in too -humble a strain to the king on the subject. _Life of Clar._ p. 454. - -[630] Burnet says that Southampton had come into a scheme of obtaining -L2,000,000 as the annual revenue; which was prevented by Clarendon, -lest it should put the king out of need of parliaments. This the king -found out, and hated him mortally for it. P. 223. It is the fashion to -discredit all Burnet says. But observe what we may read in Pepys: "Sir -W. Coventry did tell me it as the wisest thing that was ever said to -the king by any statesman of his time; and it was by my lord treasurer -that is dead, whom, I find, he takes for a very great statesman, that -when the king did show himself forward for passing the act of -indemnity, he did advise the king that he would hold his hand in doing -it, till he had got his power restored that had been diminished by the -late times, and his revenue settled in such a manner as he might -depend upon himself without resting upon parliaments, and then pass -it. But my lord chancellor, who thought he could have the command of -parliaments for ever, because for the king's sake they were awhile -willing to grant all the king desired, did press for its being done; -and so it was, and the king from that time able to do nothing with the -parliament almost." March 20, 1669. Rari quippe boni! Neither -Southampton nor Coventry make the figure in this extract we should -wish to find; yet who were their superiors for integrity and -patriotism under Charles II.? Perhaps Pepys, like most gossiping men, -was not always correct. - -[631] Macpherson's _Extracts from Life of James_, 17, 18. Compare -Innes's _Life of James_, published by Clarke, i. 391, 393. In the -former work it is said that Clarendon, upon Venner's insurrection, -advised that the guards should not be disbanded. But this seems to be -a mistake in copying: for Clarendon read the Duke of York. Pepys, -however, who heard all the gossip of the town, mentions the year -after, that the chancellor thought of raising an army, with the duke -as general. Dec. 22, 1661. - -[632] _Ibid._ - -[633] The Earl of Bristol, with all his constitutional precipitancy, -made a violent attack on Clarendon, by exhibiting articles of treason -against him in the House of Lords in 1663; believing, no doubt, that -the schemes of the intriguers were more mature, and the king more -alienated, than was really the case; and thus disgraced himself at -court instead of his enemy. _Parl. Hist._ 276; _Life of Clar._ 209. -Before this time Pepys had heard that the chancellor had lost the -king's favour, and that Bristol, with Buckingham and two or three -more, ruled him. May 15, 1663. - -[634] A motion to refer the heads of charge against Clarendon to a -committee was lost by 194 to 128; Seymour and Osborne telling the -noes, Birch and Clarges the ayes. Commons' Journals, Nov. 6, 1667. -These names show how parties ran, Seymour and Osborne being -high-flying cavaliers, and Birch a presbyterian. A motion that he be -impeached for treason on the first article was lost by 172 to 103, the -two former tellers for the ayes: Nov. 9. In the Harleian MS. 881, we -have a copious account of the debates on this occasion, and a -transcript in No. 1218. Sir Heneage Finch spoke much against the -charge of treason; Maynard seems to have done the same. A charge of -secret correspondence with Cromwell was introduced merely _ad -invidiam_, the prosecutors admitting that it was pardoned by the act -of indemnity, but wishing to make the chancellor plead that: Maynard -and Hampden opposed it, and it was given up out of shame without a -vote. Vaughan, afterwards chief justice, argued that counselling the -king to govern by a standing army was treason at common law, and seems -to dispute what Finch laid down most broadly, that there can be no -such thing as a common law treason; relying on a passage in Glanvill, -where "seductio domini regis" is said to be treason. Maynard stood up -for the opposite doctrine. Waller and Vaughan argued that the sale of -Dunkirk was treason, but the article passed without declaring it to be -so; nor would the word have appeared probably in the impeachment, if a -young Lord Vaughan had not asserted that he could prove Clarendon to -have betrayed the king's councils, on which an article to that effect -was carried by 161 to 89. Garraway and Littleton were forward against -the chancellor; but Coventry seems to have taken no great part. See -Pepys's _Diary_, Dec. 3rd and 6th, 1667. Baxter also says that the -presbyterians were by no means strenuous against Clarendon, but rather -the contrary, fearing that worse might come for the country, as giving -him credit for having kept off military government. Baxter's _Life_, -part iii. 21. This is very highly to the honour of that party whom he -had so much oppressed, if not betrayed. "It was a notable providence -of God, he says, that this man, who had been the great instrument of -state, and done almost all, and had dealt so cruelly with the -nonconformists should thus by his own friends be cast out and -banished; while those that he had persecuted were the most moderate in -his cause, and many for him. And it was a great ease that befel the -good people throughout the land by his dejection. For his way was to -decoy men into conspiracies or to pretend plots, and upon the rumour -of a plot the innocent people of many countries were laid in prison, -so that no man knew when he was safe. Whereas since then, though laws -have been made more and more severe, yet a man knoweth a little better -what he is to expect, when it is by a law that he is to be tried." -Sham plots there seem to have been; but it is not reasonable to charge -Clarendon with inventing them. Ralph, 122. - -[635] In his wrath against the proviso inserted by Sir George Downing, -as above mentioned, in the bill of supply, Clarendon told him, as he -confesses, that the king could never be well served, while fellows of -his condition were admitted to speak as much as they had a mind; and -that in the best times such presumptions had been punished with -imprisonment by the lords of the council, without the king's taking -notice of it. 321. The king was naturally displeased at this insolent -language towards one of his servants, a man who has filled an eminent -station, and done services, for a suggestion intended to benefit the -revenue. And it was a still more flagrant affront to the House of -Commons, of which Downing was a member, and where he had proposed this -clause, and induced the house to adopt it. - -Coventry told Pepys "many things about the chancellor's dismissal, not -fit to be spoken; and yet not any unfaithfulness to the king, but -_instar omnium_, that he was so great at the council-board and in the -administration of matters there was no room for anybody to propose any -remedy for what was amiss, or to compass anything, though never so -good for the kingdom, unless approved of by the chancellor; he -managing all things with that greatness which now will be removed, -that the king may have the benefit of others' advice." Sept. 2, 1667. -His own memoirs are full of proofs of this haughtiness and -intemperance. He set himself against Sir William Coventry, and speaks -of a man as able and virtuous as himself with marked aversion. See too -_Life of James_, 398. Coventry, according to this writer (431), was -the chief actor in Clarendon's impeachment, but this seems to be a -mistake; though he was certainly desirous of getting him out of place. - -The king, Clarendon tells us (438), pretended that the anger of -parliament was such, and their power too, as it was not in his power -to save him. The fallen minister desired him not to fear the power of -parliament, "which was more or less, or nothing, as he pleased to make -it." So preposterous as well as unconstitutional a way of talking -could not but aggravate his unpopularity with that great body he -pretended to contemn. - -[636] _State Trials_, vi. 318; _Parl. Hist._ - -[637] Ludlow, iii. 118, 165 _et post_; Clarendon's _Life_, 290; -Burnet, 226; _Oeuvres de Louis XIV._ ii. 204. - -[638] Harris's _Lives_, v. 28; _Biogr. Brit._ art. Harrington; _Life -of James_, 396; _Somers Tracts_, vii. 530, 534. - -[639] See Kennet's _Register_, 757; Ralph, 78 _et post_; Harris's -_Lives_, v. 182, for proofs of this. - -[640] _Mem. of Hutchinson_, 303. It seems, however, that he was -suspected of some concern with an intended rising in 1663, though -nothing was proved against him. _Miscellanea Aulica_, 319. - -[641] _Life of Clarendon_, 424. Pepys says, the parliament was called -together "against the Duke of York's mind flatly, who did rather -advise the king to raise money as he pleased; and against the -chancellor, who told the king that Queen Elizabeth did do all her -business in 1588 without calling a parliament, and so might he do for -anything he saw." June 25, 1667. He probably got this from his friend -Sir W. Coventry. - -[642] Ralph, 78, etc. The overture came from Clarendon, the French -having no expectation of it. The worst was that, just before, he had -dwelt in a speech to parliament on the importance of Dunkirk. This was -on May 19, 1662. It appears by Louis XIV.'s own account, which -certainly does not tally with some other authorities, that Dunkirk had -been so great an object with Cromwell, that it was the stipulated -price of the English alliance. Louis, however, was vexed at this, and -determined to recover it at any price: il est certain que je ne -pouvois trop donner pour racheter Dunkerque. He sent d'Estrades -accordingly to England in 1661, directing him to make this his great -object. Charles told the ambassador that Spain had made him great -offers, but he would rather treat with France. Louis was delighted at -this; and though the sum asked was considerable, 5,000,000 livres, he -would not break off, but finally concluded the treaty for 4,000,000, -payable in three years; nay, saved 500,000 without its being found out -by the English, for a banker having offered them prompt payment at -this discount, they gladly accepted it; but this banker was a person -employed by Louis himself, who had the money ready. He had the -greatest anxiety about this affair; for the city of London deputed the -lord mayor to offer any sum so that Dunkirk might not be alienated. -_Oeuvres de Louis XIV._ i. 167. If this be altogether correct, the -King of France did not fancy he had made so bad a bargain; and indeed, -with his projects, if he had the money to spare, he could not think -so. Compare the _Memoires d'Estrades_, and the supplement to the third -volume of _Clarendon State Papers_. The historians are of no value, -except as they copy from some of these original testimonies. - -[643] _Life of Clar._ 78; _Life of James_, 393. - -[644] See Supplement to third volume of _Clarendon State Papers_, for -abundant evidence of the close connection between the courts of France -and England. The former offered bribes to Lord Clarendon so frequently -and unceremoniously, that one is disposed to think he did not show so -much indignation at the first overture as he ought to have done. See -pp. 1, 4, 13. The aim of Louis was to effect the match with Catharine. -Spain would have given a great portion with any protestant princess, -in order to break it. Clarendon asked, on his master's account, for -L50,000, to avoid application to parliament. P. 4. The French offered -a secret loan, or subsidy perhaps, of 2,000,000 livres for the succour -of Portugal. This was accepted by Clarendon (p. 15); but I do not find -anything more about it. - -[645] As no one, who regards with attachment the present system of the -English constitution, can look upon Lord Clarendon as an excellent -minister, or a friend to the soundest principles of civil and -religious liberty; so no man whatever can avoid considering his -incessant deviations from the great duties of an historian as a moral -blemish in his character. He dares very frequently to say what is not -true, and what he must have known to be otherwise; he does not dare to -say what is true. And it is almost an aggravation of this reproach, -that he aimed to deceive posterity, and poisoned at the fountain a -stream from which another generation was to drink. No defence has ever -been set up for the fidelity of Clarendon's history; nor can men, who -have sifted the authentic materials, entertain much difference of -judgment in this respect; though, as a monument of powerful ability -and impressive eloquence, it will always be read with that delight -which we receive from many great historians, especially the ancient, -independent of any confidence in their veracity. - -One more instance, before we quit Lord Clarendon for ever, may here be -mentioned of his disregard for truth. The strange tale of a fruitless -search after the restoration for the body of Charles I. is well known. -Lord Southampton and Lindsey, he tells us, who had assisted at their -master's obsequies in St. George's chapel at Windsor, were so overcome -with grief, that they could not recognise the place of interment; and, -after several vain attempts, the search was abandoned in despair. -_Hist. of Rebellion_, vi. 244. Whatever motive the noble historian may -have had for this story, it is absolutely incredible that any such -ineffectual search was ever made. Nothing could have been more easy -than to have taken up the pavement of the choir. But this was -unnecessary. Some at least of the workmen employed must have -remembered the place of the vault. Nor did it depend on them; for Sir -Thomas Herbert, who was present, had made at the time a note of the -spot, "just opposite the eleventh stall on the king's side." Herbert's -_Memoirs_, 142. And we find from Pepys's _Diary_, Feb. 26, 1666, that -"he was shown, at Windsor, where the late king was buried, and King -Henry VIII. and my Lady Seymour." In which spot, as is well known, the -royal body has twice been found, once in the reign of Anne, and again -in 1813. - -[646] The tenor of Clarendon's life and writings almost forbids any -surmise of pecuniary corruption. Yet this is insinuated by Pepys, on -the authority of Evelyn, April 27 and May 16, 1667. But the one was -gossiping, though shrewd; and the other feeble, though accomplished. -Lord Dartmouth, who lived in the next age, and whose splenetic humour -makes him no good witness against anybody, charges him with receiving -bribes from the main instruments and promoters of the late troubles, -and those who had plundered the royalists, which enabled him to build -his great mansion in Piccadilly; asserting that it was full of -pictures belonging to families who had been despoiled of them. "And -whoever had a mind to see what great families had been plundered -during the civil war, might find some remains either at Clarendon -House or at Cornbury." Note on Burnet, 88. - -The character of Clarendon, as a minister, is fairly and judiciously -drawn by Macpherson, _Hist. of England_, 98; a work by no means so -full of a tory spirit as has been supposed. - -[647] _Parl. Hist._ 347. - -[648] The Lords refused to commit the Earl of Clarendon on a general -impeachment of high treason; and in a conference with the lower house, -denied the authority of the precedent in Strafford's case, which was -pressed upon them. It is remarkable that the managers of this -conference for the Commons vindicated the first proceedings of the -long parliament, which shows a considerable change in their tone since -1661. They do not, however, seem to have urged, what is an apparent -distinction between the two precedents, that the commitment of -Strafford was on a verbal request of Pym in the name of the Commons, -without alleging any special matter of treason, and consequently -irregular and illegal; while the 16th article of Clarendon's -impeachment charges him with betraying the king's counsels to his -enemies; which, however untrue, evidently amounted to treason within -the statute of Edward III.; so that the objection of the Lords -extended to committing any one for treason upon impeachment, without -all the particularity required in an indictment. This showed a very -commendable regard to the liberty of the subject; and from this time -we do not find the vague and unintelligible accusations, whether of -treason or misdemeanour, so usual in former proceedings of parliament. -_Parl. Hist._ 387. A protest was signed by Buckingham, Albemarle, -Bristol, Arlington, and others of their party, including three bishops -(Cosins, Croft, and another), against the refusal of their house to -commit Clarendon upon the general charge. A few, on the other hand, of -whom Hollis is the only remarkable name, protested against the bill of -banishment. - -"The most fatal blow (says James) the king gave himself to his power -and prerogative, was when he sought aid from the House of Commons to -destroy the Earl of Clarendon: by that he put that house again in mind -of their impeaching privilege, which had been wrested out of their -hands by the restoration; and when ministers found they were like to -be left to the censure of the parliament, it made them have a greater -attention to court an interest there than to pursue that of their -princes, from whom they hoped not for so sure a support." _Life of -James_, 593. - -The king, it is said, came rather slowly into the measure of -impeachment; but became afterwards so eager, as to give the -attorney-general, Finch, positive orders to be active in it, observing -him to be silent. Carte's _Ormond_, ii. 353. Buckingham had made the -king great promises of what the Commons would do, in case he would -sacrifice Clarendon. - -[649] Kennet, 293, 300. Burnet; Baxter, 23. The design was to act on -the principle of the declaration of 1660, so that presbyterian -ordinations should pass _sub modo_. Tillotson and Stillingfleet were -concerned in it. The king was at this time exasperated against the -bishops for their support of Clarendon. Burnet, _ibid._; Pepys's -_Diary_, 21st Dec. 1667. And he had also deeper motives. - -[650] _Parl. Hist._ 421; Ralph, 170; Carte's _Life of Ormond_, ii. -362. Sir Thomas Littleton spoke in favour of the comprehension, as did -Seymour and Waller; all of them enemies of Clarendon, and probably -connected with the Buckingham faction: but the church party was much -too strong for them. Pepys says the Commons were furious against the -project; it was said that whoever proposed new laws about religion -must do it with a rope about his neck. Jan. 10, 1668. This is the -first instance of a triumph obtained by the church over the Crown in -the House of Commons. Ralph observes upon it, "It is not for nought -that the words church and state are so often coupled together, and -that the first has so insolently usurped the precedency of the last." - -[651] _Parl. Hist._ 422. - -[652] France retained Lille, Tournay, Douay, Charleroi, and other -places by the treaty. The allies were surprised, and not pleased at -the choice Spain made of yielding these towns in order to save Franche -Comte. Temple's _Letters_, 97. In fact, they were not on good terms -with that power; she had even a project, out of spite to Holland, of -giving up the Netherlands entirely to France, in exchange for -Rousillon, but thought better of it on cooler reflection. - -[653] Dalrymple, ii. 5 _et post_. Temple was not treated very -favourably by most of the ministers on his return from concluding the -triple alliance: Clifford said to a friend, "Well, for all this noise, -we must yet have another war with the Dutch before it be long." -Temple's _Letters_, 123. - -[654] Dalrymple, ii. 12. - -[655] Burnet. - -[656] _Life of Clarendon_, 357. - -[657] _Life of Clarendon_, 355. - -[658] _State Trials_, vi. 807. One of the oddest things connected with -this fire was, that some persons of the fanatic party had been hanged, -in April, for a conspiracy to surprise the Tower, murder the Duke of -Albemarle and others, and then declare for an equal division of lands, -etc. In order to effect this, the city was to be fired, and the guards -secured in their quarters and for this the 3rd of September following -was fixed upon as a lucky day. This is undoubtedly to be read in the -_London Gazette_ for April 30, 1666; and it is equally certain that -the city was in flames on the 3rd of September. But, though the -coincidence is curious, it would be very weak to think it more than a -coincidence, for the same reason as applies to the suspicion which the -catholics incurred; that the mere destruction of the city could not -have been the object of any party, and that nothing was attempted to -manifest any further design. - -[659] Macpherson's _Extracts_, 38, 49; _Life of James_, 426. - -[660] He tells us himself that it began by his reading a book written -by a learned bishop of the church of England to clear her from schism -in leaving the Roman communion, which had a contrary effect on him; -especially when, at the said bishop's desire, he read an answer to it. -This made him inquisitive about the grounds and manner of the -reformation. _After his return_, Heylin's _History of the -Reformation_, and the preface to Hooker's _Ecclesiastical Polity_, -thoroughly convinced him that neither the church of England, nor -Calvin, nor any of the reformers, had power to do what they did; and -he was confident, he said, that whosoever reads those two books with -attention and without prejudice, would be of the same opinion. _Life -of James_, i. 629. The Duchess of York embraced the same creed as her -husband, and, as he tells us, without knowledge of his sentiments, but -one year before her death in 1670. She left a paper at her death -containing the reasons for her change. See it in Kennet, 320. It is -plain that she, as well as the duke, had been influenced by the -Romanising tendency of some Anglican divines. - -[661] Macpherson, 50; _Life of James_, 441. - -[662] De Witt was apprised of the intrigue between France and England -as early as April 1669, through a Swedish agent at Paris. Temple, 179. -Temple himself, in the course of that year, became convinced that the -king's views were not those of his people, and reflects severely on -his conduct in a letter, December 24, 1669. P. 206. In September 1670, -on his sudden recall from the Hague, De Witt told him his suspicions -of a clandestine treaty. 241. He was received on his return coldly by -Arlington, and almost with rudeness by Clifford. 244. They knew he -would never concur in the new projects. But in 1682, during one of the -intervals when Charles was playing false with his brother Louis, the -latter, in revenge, let an Abbe Primi, in a history of the Dutch war, -publish an account of the whole secret treaty, under the name of the -Count de St. Majolo. This book was immediately suppressed at the -instance of the English ambassador; and Primi was sent for a short -time to the Bastile. But a pamphlet, published in London just after -the Revolution, contains extracts from it. Dalrymple, ii. 80; _Somers -Tracts_, viii. 13; _Harl. Misc._ ii. 387; _Oeuvres de Louis XIV._ -vi. 476. It is singular that Hume should have slighted so well -authenticated a fact, even before Dalrymple's publication of the -treaty; but I suppose he had never heard of Primi's book. The original -treaty has lately been published by Dr. Lingard, from Lord Clifford's -cabinet. - -[663] Dalrymple, ii. 22. - -[664] _Id._ 23; _Life of James_, 442. - -[665] The tenor of the article leads me to conclude, that these troops -were to be landed in England at all events, in order to secure the -public tranquillity without waiting for any disturbance. - -[666] P. 49. - -[667] Bolingbroke has a remarkable passage as to this in his _Letters -on History_ (Letter VII.): it may be also alluded to by others. The -full details, however, as well as more authentic proofs, were -reserved, as I believe, for the publication of _Oeuvres de Louis -XIV._, where they will be found in vol. ii. 403. The proposal of Louis -to the emperor, in 1667, was, that France should have the Pays Bas, -Franche Comte, Milan, Naples, the ports of Tuscany, Navarre, and the -Philippine Islands; Leopold taking all the rest. The obvious drift of -this was, that France should put herself in possession of an enormous -increase of power and territory, leaving Leopold to fight as he could -for Spain and America, which were not likely to submit peaceably. The -Austrian cabinet understood this; and proposed that they should -exchange their shares. Finally, however, it was concluded on the -king's terms, except that he was to take Sicily instead of Milan. One -article of this treaty was, that Louis should keep what he had -conquered in Flanders; in other words, the terms of the treaty of Aix -la Chapelle. The ratifications were exchanged 29th Feb. 1668. Louis -represents himself as more induced by this prospect than by any fear -of the triple alliance, of which he speaks slightingly, to conclude -the peace of Aix la Chapelle. He thought that he should acquire a -character for moderation which might be serviceable to him, "dans les -grands accroissemens que ma fortune pourroit recevoir." Vol. ii. p. -369. - -[668] Dalrymple, 31-57. James gives a different account of this; and -intimates that Henrietta, whose visit to Dover he had for this reason -been much against, prevailed on the king to change his resolution, and -to begin with the war. He gained over Arlington and Clifford. The duke -told them it would quite defeat the catholic design, because the king -must run in debt, and be at the mercy of his parliament. They answered -that, if the war succeeded, it was not much matter what people -suspected. P. 450. This shows that they looked on force as necessary -to compass the design, and that the noble resistance of the Dutch, -under the Prince of Orange, was that which frustrated the whole -conspiracy. "The duke," it is again said (p. 453), "was in his own -judgment against entering into this war before his majesty's power and -authority in England had been better fixed and less precarious, as it -would have been, if the private treaty first agreed on had not been -altered." The French court, however, was evidently right in thinking -that, till the conquest of Holland should be achieved, the declaration -of the king's religion would only weaken him at home. It is gratifying -to find the heroic character of our glorious deliverer displaying -itself among these foul conspiracies. The Prince of Orange came over -to England in 1670. He was then very young; and his uncle, who was -really attached to him, would have gladly associated him in the -design; indeed it had been agreed that he was to possess part of the -United Provinces in sovereignty. But Colbert writes that the king had -found him so zealous a Dutchman and protestant, that he could not -trust him with any part of the secret. He let him know, however, as we -learn from Burnet, 382, that he had himself embraced the Romish faith. - -[669] Dalrymple, 57. - -[670] P. 68; _Life of James_, 444. In this work it is said that even -the Duchess of Orleans had no knowledge of the real treaty; and that -the other originated with Buckingham. But Dalrymple's authority seems -far better in this instance. - -[671] P. 84, etc. - -[672] P. 23. - -[673] P. 52. The reluctance to let the Duke of Buckingham into the -secret seems to prove that more was meant than a toleration of the -Roman catholic religion, towards which he had always been disposed, -and which was hardly a secret at court. - -[674] Pp. 62, 84. - -[675] P. 81. - -[676] P. 33. - -[677] "The generality of the church of England men was not at that -time very averse to the catholic religion; many that went under that -name had their religion to choose, and went to church for company's -sake." _Life of James_, p. 442. - -[678] _Life of James_, ibid. - -[679] Macpherson's _Extracts_, p. 51. - -[680] 22 Car. 2, c. 1; Kennet, p. 306. The zeal in the Commons against -popery tended to aggravate this persecution of the dissenters. They -had been led by some rascally clergymen to believe the absurdity that -there was a good understanding between the two parties. - -[681] Burnet, p. 272. - -[682] Baxter, pp. 74, 86; Kennet, p. 311. See a letter of Sheldon, -written at this time, to the bishops of his province, urging them to -persecute the nonconformists. Harris's _Life of Charles II._, p. 106. -Proofs also are given by this author of the manner in which some, such -as Lamplugh and Ward, responded to their primate's wishes. - -Sheldon found a panegyrist quite worthy of him in his chaplain Parker, -afterwards Bishop of Oxford. This notable person has left a Latin -history of his own time, wherein he largely commemorates the -archbishop's zeal in molesting the dissenters, and praises him for -defeating the scheme of comprehension. P. 25. I observe, that the late -excellent editor of Burnet has endeavoured to slide in a word for the -primate (note on vol. i. p. 243), on the authority of that history by -Bishop Parker, and of Sheldon's Life in the _Biographia Britannica_. -It is lamentable to rest on such proofs. I should certainly not have -expected that, in Magdalen College, of all places, the name of Parker -would have been held in honour; and as to the _Biographia_, laudatory -as it is of primates in general (save Tillotson, whom it depreciates), -I find, on reference, that its praise of Sheldon's virtues is grounded -on the authority of his epitaph in Croydon church. - -[683] Baxter, 87. - -[684] This is asserted by Burnet, and seems to be acknowledged by the -Duke of York. The court endeavoured to mitigate the effect of the bill -brought into the Commons, in consequence of Coventry's injury; and so -far succeeded, that instead of a partial measure of protection for the -members of the House of Commons, as originally designed (which seemed, -I suppose, to carry too marked a reference to the particular -transaction), it was turned into a general act, making it a capital -felony to wound with intention to maim or disfigure. But the name of -the Coventry act has always clung to this statute. _Parl. Hist._ 461. - -[685] The king promised the bankers interest at six per cent., instead -of the money due to them from the exchequer; but this was never paid -till the latter part of William's reign. It may be considered as the -beginning of our national debt. It seems to have been intended to -follow the shutting up of the exchequer with a still more -unwarrantable stretch of power, by granting an injunction to the -creditors who were suing the bankers at law. According to North -(_Examen_, pp. 38, 47), Lord-Keeper Bridgman resigned the great seal -rather than comply with this; and Shaftesbury himself, who succeeded -him, did not venture, if I understand the passage rightly, to grant an -absolute injunction. The promise of interest for their money seems to -have been given instead of this more illegal and violent remedy. - -[686] _Parl. Hist._ 515; Kennet, 313. - -[687] Bridgman, the lord-keeper, resigned the great seal, according to -Burnet, because he would not put it to the declaration of indulgence, -and was succeeded by Shaftesbury. - -[688] _Parl. Hist._ 517. The presbyterian party do not appear to have -supported the declaration, at least Birch spoke against it: Waller, -Seymour, Sir Robert Howard in its favour. Baxter says, the -nonconformists were divided in opinion as to the propriety of availing -themselves of the declaration. P. 99. Birch told Pepys, some years -before, that he feared some would try for extending the toleration to -papists; but the sober party would rather be without it than have it -on those terms. Pepys's _Diary_, Jan. 31, 1668; _Parl. Hist._ 546, -561. Father Orleans says, that Ormond, Arlington, and some more -advised the king to comply; the duke and the rest of the council -urging him to adhere, and Shaftesbury, who had been the first mover of -the project, pledging himself for its success; there being a party for -the king among the Commons, and a force on foot enough to daunt the -other side. It was suspected that the women interposed, and prevailed -on the king to withdraw his declaration. Upon this, Shaftesbury turned -short round, provoked at the king's want of steadiness, and especially -at his giving up the point about issuing writs in the recess of -parliament. - -[689] 25 Car. II. c. 2; Burnet, p. 490. - -[690] The test act began in a resolution (February 28, 1673) that all -who refuse to take the oaths and receive the sacrament, according to -the rites of the church of England, shall be incapable of all public -employments. _Parl. Hist._ 556. The court party endeavoured to oppose -the declaration against transubstantiation, but of course in vain. -_Id._ 561, 592. - -The king had pressed his brother to receive the sacrament, in order to -avoid suspicion, which he absolutely refused; and this led, he says, -to the test. _Life of James_, p. 482. But his religion was long pretty -well known, though he did not cease to conform till 1672. - -[691] _Parl. Hist._ 526-585. These debates are copied from those -published by Anchitel Grey, a member of the Commons for thirty years; -but his notes, though collectively most valuable, are sometimes so -brief and ill expressed, that it is hardly possible to make out their -meaning. The court and church party, or rather some of them, seem to -have much opposed this bill for the relief of protestant dissenters. - -[692] Commons' Journals, 28 and 29 March 1673; Lords' Journals, 24 and -29 March. The Lords were so slow about this bill that the lower house, -knowing an adjournment to be in contemplation, sent a message to -quicken them, according to a practice not unusual in this reign. -Perhaps, on an attentive consideration of the report on the conference -(March 29) it may appear that the Lords' amendments had a tendency to -let in popish, rather than to favour protestant, dissenters. Parker -says that this act of indulgence was defeated by his great hero, -Archbishop Sheldon, who proposed that the nonconformists should -acknowledge the war against Charles I. to be unlawful. _Hist. sui -temporis_, p. 203 of the translation. - -[693] It was proposed, as an instruction to the committee on the test -act, that a clause should be introduced, rendering nonconformists -incapable of sitting in the House of Commons. This was lost by 163 to -107; but it was resolved that a distinct bill should be brought in for -that purpose. 10 March 1673. - -[694] Kennet, p. 318. - -[695] Commons' Journals, 20 Jan. 1674; _Parl. Hist._ 608, 625, 649; -Burnet. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -EARL OF DANBY'S ADMINISTRATION--DEATH OF CHARLES II. - - -The period of Lord Danby's administration, from 1673 to 1678, was full -of chicanery and dissimulation on the king's side, of increasing -suspiciousness on that of the Commons. Forced by the voice of -parliament, and the bad success of his arms, into peace with Holland, -Charles struggled hard against a co-operation with her in the great -confederacy of Spain and the empire to resist the encroachments of -France on the Netherlands. Such was in that age the strength of the -barrier fortresses, and so heroic the resistance of the Prince of -Orange, that, notwithstanding the extreme weakness of Spain, there was -no moment in that war, when the sincere and strenuous intervention of -England would not have compelled Louis XIV. to accept the terms of the -treaty of Aix la Chapelle. It was the treacherous attachment of -Charles II. to French interests that brought the long congress of -Nimeguen to an unfortunate termination; and, by surrendering so many -towns of Flanders as laid the rest open to future aggression, gave -rise to the tedious struggles of two more wars.[696] - -_Opposition in the commons._--In the behaviour of the House of Commons -during this period, previously at least to the session of 1678, there -seems nothing which can incur much reprehension from those who reflect -on the king's character and intentions; unless it be that they granted -supplies rather too largely, and did not sufficiently provide against -the perils of the time. But the House of Lords contained unfortunately -an invincible majority for the court, ready to frustrate any -legislative security for public liberty. Thus the habeas corpus act, -first sent up to that house in 1674, was lost there in several -successive sessions. The Commons therefore testified their sense of -public grievances, and kept alive an alarm in the nation by -resolutions and addresses, which a phlegmatic reader is sometimes too -apt to consider as factious or unnecessary. If they seem to have dwelt -more, in some of these, on the dangers of religion, and less on those -of liberty, than we may now think reasonable, it is to be remembered -that the fear of popery has always been the surest string to touch for -effect on the people; and that the general clamour against that -religion was all covertly directed against the Duke of York, the most -dangerous enemy of every part of our constitution. - -_Corruption of the parliament._--The real vice of this parliament was -not intemperance, but corruption. Clifford, and still more Danby, were -masters in an art practised by ministers from the time of James I. -(and which indeed can never be unknown where there exists a court and -a popular assembly), that of turning to their use the weapons of -mercenary eloquence by office, or blunting their edge by bribery.[697] -Some who had been once prominent in opposition, as Sir Robert Howard -and Sir Richard Temple, became placemen; some, like Garraway and Sir -Thomas Lee, while they continued to lead the country party, took money -from the court for softening particular votes;[698] many, as seems to -have been the case with Reresby, were won by promises, and the -pretended friendship of men in power.[699] On two great classes of -questions, France and popery, the Commons broke away from all -management; nor was Danby unwilling to let his master see their -indocility on these subjects. But, in general, till the year 1678, by -dint of the means before mentioned, and partly no doubt through the -honest conviction of many that the king was not likely to employ any -minister more favourable to the protestant religion and liberties of -Europe, he kept his ground without any insuperable opposition from -parliament.[700] - -_Character of the Earl of Danby._--The Earl of Danby had virtues as an -English minister, which serve to extenuate some great errors and an -entire want of scrupulousness in his conduct. Zealous against the -church of Rome and the aggrandisement of France, he counteracted, -while he seemed to yield to, the prepossessions of his master. If the -policy of England before the peace of Nimeguen was mischievous and -disgraceful, it would evidently have been far more so, had the king -and Duke of York been abetted by this minister in their fatal -predilection for France. We owe to Danby's influence, it must ever be -remembered, the marriage of Princess Mary to the Prince of Orange, the -seed of the revolution and the act of settlement--a courageous and -disinterested counsel, which ought not to have proved the source of -his greatest misfortunes.[701] But we cannot pretend to say that he -was altogether as sound a friend to the constitution of his country, -as to her national dignity and interests. I do not mean that he wished -to render the king absolute. But a minister, harassed and attacked in -parliament, is tempted to desire the means of crushing his opponents, -or at least of augmenting his own sway. The mischievous bill that -passed the House of Lords in 1675, imposing as a test to be taken by -both houses of parliament, as well as all holding beneficed offices, a -declaration that resistance to persons commissioned by the king was in -all cases unlawful, and that they would never attempt any alteration -in the government in church or state, was promoted by Danby, though it -might possibly originate with others.[702] It was apparently meant as -a bone of contention among the country party, in which presbyterians -and old parliamentarians were associated with discontented cavaliers. -Besides the mischief of weakening this party, which indeed the -minister could not fairly be expected to feel, nothing could have been -devised more unconstitutional, or more advantageous to the court's -projects of arbitrary power. - -It is certainly possible that a minister who, aware of the dangerous -intentions of his sovereign or his colleagues, remains in the cabinet -to thwart and countermine them, may serve the public more effectually -than by retiring from office; but he will scarcely succeed in avoiding -some material sacrifices of integrity, and still less of reputation. -Danby, the ostensible adviser of Charles II., took on himself the just -odium of that hollow and suspicious policy which appeared to the -world. We know indeed that he was concerned, against his own judgment, -in the king's secret receipt of money from France, the price of -neutrality, both in 1676 and in 1678, the latter to his own -ruin.[703] Could the opposition, though not so well apprised of these -transactions as we are, be censured for giving little credit to his -assurances of zeal against that power; which, though sincere in him, -were so little in unison with the disposition of the court? Had they -no cause to dread that the great army suddenly raised in 1677, on -pretence of being employed against France, might be turned to some -worse purposes more congenial to the king's temper?[704] - -_Connection of the popular party with France--Its motives on both -sides._--This invincible distrust of the court is the best apology for -that which has given rise to so much censure, the secret connections -formed by the leaders of opposition with Louis XIV., through his -ambassadors Barillon and Rouvigny, about the spring of 1678.[705] They -well knew that the king's designs against their liberties had been -planned in concert with France, and could hardly be rendered effectual -without her aid in money, if not in arms.[706] If they could draw -over this dangerous ally from his side, and convince the King of -France that it was not his interest to crush their power, they would -at least frustrate the suspected conspiracy, and secure the disbanding -of the army; though at a great sacrifice of the continental policy -which they had long maintained, and which was truly important to our -honour and safety. Yet there must be degrees in the scale of public -utility; and, if the liberties of the people were really endangered by -domestic treachery, it was ridiculous to think of saving Tournay and -Valenciennes at the expense of all that was dearest at home. This is -plainly the secret of that unaccountable, as it then seemed, and -factious opposition, in the year 1678; which cannot be denied to have -served the ends of France, and thwarted the endeavours of Lord Danby -and Sir William Temple to urge on the uncertain and half-reluctant -temper of the king into a decided course of policy.[707] Louis, in -fact, had no desire to see the King of England absolute over his -people, unless it could be done so much by his own help as to render -himself the real master of both. In the estimate of kings, or of such -kings as Louis XIV., all limitations of sovereignty, all co-ordinate -authority of estates and parliaments, are not only derogatory to the -royal dignity, but injurious to the state itself, of which they -distract the councils and enervate the force. Great armies, prompt -obedience, unlimited power over the national resources, secrecy in -council, rapidity in execution, belong to an energetic and enlightened -despotism: we should greatly err in supposing that Louis XIV. was led -to concur in projects of subverting our constitution from any jealousy -of its contributing to our prosperity. He saw, on the contrary, in the -perpetual jarring of kings and parliaments, a source of feebleness and -vacillation in foreign affairs, and a field for intrigue and -corruption. It was certainly far from his design to see a republic, -either in name or effect, established in England; but an unanimous -loyalty, a spontaneous submission to the court, was as little -consonant to his interests; and, especially if accompanied with a -willing return of the majority to the catholic religion, would have -put an end to his influence over the king, and still more certainly -over the Duke of York.[708] He had long been sensible of the advantage -to be reaped from a malcontent party in England. In the first years -after the restoration, he kept up a connection with the disappointed -commonwealth's men, while their courage was yet fresh and unsubdued; -and in the war of 1665 was very nearly exciting insurrections both in -England and Ireland.[709] These schemes of course were suspended, as -he grew into closer friendship with Charles, and saw a surer method of -preserving an ascendancy over the kingdom. But, as soon as the -Princess Mary's marriage, contrary to the King of England's promise, -and to the plain intent of all their clandestine negotiations, -displayed his faithless and uncertain character to the French -cabinet, they determined to make the patriotism, the passion, and the -corruption of the House of Commons minister to their resentment and -ambition. - -The views of Lord Hollis and Lord Russell in this clandestine -intercourse with the French ambassador were sincerely patriotic and -honourable: to detach France from the king; to crush the Duke of York -and popish faction; to procure the disbanding of the army, the -dissolution of a corrupted parliament, the dismissal of a bad -minister.[710] They would indeed have displayed more prudence in -leaving these dark and dangerous paths of intrigue to the court which -was practised in them. They were concerting measures with the natural -enemy of their country, religion, honour, and liberty; whose obvious -policy was to keep the kingdom disunited that it might be powerless; -who had been long abetting the worst designs of our own court, and who -could never be expected to act against popery and despotism, but for -the temporary ends of his ambition. Yet, in the very critical -circumstances of that period, it was impossible to pursue any course -with security; and the dangers of excessive circumspection and -adherence to general rules may often be as formidable as those of -temerity. The connection of the popular party with France may very -probably have frustrated the sinister intentions of the king and duke, -by compelling the reduction of the army, though at the price of a -great sacrifice of European policy.[711] Such may be, with -unprejudiced men, a sufficient apology for the conduct of Lord -Russell and Lord Hollis, the most public-spirited and high-minded -characters of their age, in this extraordinary and unnatural alliance. -It would have been unworthy of their virtue to have gone into so -desperate an intrigue with no better aim than that of ruining Lord -Danby; and of this I think we may fully acquit them. The nobleness of -Russell's disposition beams forth in all that Barillon has written of -their conferences. Yet, notwithstanding the plausible grounds of his -conduct, we can hardly avoid wishing that he had abstained from so -dangerous an intercourse, which led him to impair, in the eyes of -posterity, by something more like faction than can be ascribed to any -other part of his parliamentary life, the consistency and -ingenuousness of his character.[712] - -_Doubt as to the acceptance of money by the popular party._--I have -purposely mentioned Lord Russell and Lord Hollis apart from others who -were mingled in the same intrigues of the French ambassador, both -because they were among the first with whom he tampered, and because -they are honourably distinguished by their abstinence from all -pecuniary remuneration, which Hollis refused, and which Barillon did -not presume to offer to Russell. It appears however from this -minister's accounts of the money he had expended in this secret -service of the French Crown, that, at a later time, namely about the -end of 1680, many of the leading members of opposition, Sir Thomas -Littleton, Mr. Garraway, Mr. Hampden, Mr. Powle, Mr. Sacheverell, Mr. -Foley, received sums of 500 or 300 guineas, as testimonies of the King -of France's munificence and favour. Among others, Algernon Sidney, -who, though not in parliament, was very active out of it, is more than -once mentioned. Chiefly because the name of Algernon Sidney had been -associated with the most stern and elevated virtue, this statement was -received with great reluctance; and many have ventured to call the -truth of these pecuniary gratifications in question. This is certainly -a bold surmise; though Barillon is known to have been a man of -luxurious and expensive habits, and his demands for more money on -account of the English court, which continually occur in his -correspondence with Louis, may lead to a suspicion that he would be in -some measure a gainer by it. This however might possibly be the case -without actual peculation. But it must be observed that there are two -classes of those who are alleged to have received presents through his -hands; one, of such as were in actual communication with himself; -another, of such as Sir John Baber, a secret agent, had prevailed upon -to accept it. Sidney was in the first class; but, as to the second, -comprehending Littleton, Hampden, Sacheverell, in whom it is as -difficult to suspect pecuniary corruption as in him, the proof is -manifestly weaker, depending only on the assertion of an intriguer -that he had paid them the money. The falsehood either of Baber or -Barillon would acquit these considerable men. Nor is it to be reckoned -improbable that persons employed in this clandestine service should be -guilty of a fraud, for which they could evidently never be made -responsible. We have indeed a remarkable confession of Coleman, the -famous intriguer executed for the popish plot, to this effect. He -deposed in his examination before the House of Commons, in November -1678, that he had received last session of Barillon L2500 to be -distributed among members of parliament, which he had converted to his -own use.[713] It is doubtless possible that Coleman having actually -expended this money in the manner intended, bespoke the favour of -those whose secret he kept by taking the discredit of such a fraud on -himself. But it is also possible that he spoke the truth. A similar -uncertainty hangs over the transactions of Sir John Baber. Nothing in -the parliamentary conduct of the above-mentioned gentlemen in 1680 -corroborates the suspicion of an intrigue with France, whatever may -have been the case in 1678. - -I must fairly confess however that the decided bias of my own mind is -on the affirmative side of this question; and that principally because -I am not so much struck, as some have been, by any violent -improbability in what Barillon wrote to his court on the subject. If -indeed we were to read that Algernon Sidney had been bought over by -Louis XIV. or Charles II. to assist in setting up absolute monarchy in -England, we might fairly oppose our knowledge of his inflexible and -haughty character, of his zeal, in life and death, for republican -liberty. But there is, I presume, some moral distinction between the -acceptance of a bribe to desert or betray our principles and that of a -trifling present for acting in conformity to them. The one is, of -course, to be styled corruption; the other is repugnant to a generous -and delicate mind, but too much sanctioned by the practice of an age -far less scrupulous than our own, to have carried with it any great -self-reproach or sense of degradation. It is truly inconceivable that -men of such property as Sir Thomas Littleton or Mr. Foley should have -accepted 300 or 500 guineas, the sums mentioned by Barillon, as the -price of apostasy from those political principles to which they owed -the esteem of their country, or of an implicit compliance with the -dictates of France. It is sufficiently discreditable to the times in -which they lived, that they should have accepted so pitiful a -gratuity; unless indeed we should in candour resort to an hypothesis -which seems not absurd, that they agreed among themselves not to -offend Louis, or excite his distrust, by a refusal of this money. -Sidney indeed was, as there is reason to think, a distressed man; he -had formerly been in connection with the court of France,[714] and had -persuaded himself that the countenance of that power might one day or -other be afforded to his darling scheme of a commonwealth; he had -contracted a dislike to the Prince of Orange, and consequently to the -Dutch alliance, from the same governing motive: is it strange that one -so circumstanced should have accepted a small gratification from the -King of France which implied no dereliction of his duty as an -Englishman, or any sacrifice of political integrity? And I should be -glad to be informed by the idolaters of Algernon Sidney's name, what -we know of him from authentic and contemporary sources which renders -this incredible. - -_Secret treaties of the king with France._--France, in the whole -course of these intrigues, held the game in her hands. Mistress of -both parties, she might either embarrass the king through parliament, -if he pretended to an independent course of policy, or cast away the -latter, when he should return to his former engagements. Hence, as -early as May 1678, a private treaty was set on foot between Charles -and Louis, by which the former obliged himself to keep a neutrality, -if the allies should not accept the terms offered by France, to recall -all his troops from Flanders within two months, to disband most of his -army and not to assemble his parliament for six months; in return he -was to receive 6,000,000 livres. This was signed by the king himself -on May 27; none of his ministers venturing to affix their names.[715] -Yet at this time he was making outward professions of an intention to -carry on the war. Even in this secret treaty, so thorough was his -insincerity, he meant to evade one of its articles, that of -disbanding his troops. In this alone he was really opposed to the -wishes of France; and her pertinacity in disarming him seems to have -been the chief source of those capricious changes of his disposition, -which we find for three or four years at this period.[716] Louis again -appears not only to have mistrusted the king's own inclinations after -the Prince of Orange's marriage, and his ability to withstand the -eagerness of the nation for war, but to have apprehended he might -become absolute by means of his army, without standing indebted for it -to his ancient ally. In this point therefore he faithfully served the -popular party. Charles used every endeavour to evade this condition; -whether it were that he still entertained hopes of attaining arbitrary -power through intimidation, or that, dreading the violence of the -House of Commons, and ascribing it rather to a republican conspiracy -than to his own misconduct, he looked to a military force as his -security. From this motive we may account for his strange proposal to -the French king of a league in support of Sweden, by which he was to -furnish fifteen ships and 10,000 men, at the expense of France, during -three years, receiving six millions for the first year, and four for -each of the two next. Louis, as is highly probable, betrayed this -project to the Dutch government; and thus frightened them into that -hasty signature of the treaty of Nimeguen, which broke up the -confederacy and accomplished the immediate objects of his ambition. No -longer in need of the court of England, he determined to punish it for -that duplicity, which none resent more in others than those who are -accustomed to practise it. He refused Charles the pension stipulated -by the private treaty, alleging that its conditions had not been -performed; and urged on Montagu, with promises of indemnification, to -betray as much as he knew of that secret, in order to ruin Lord -Danby.[717] - -_Fall of Danby_--_His impeachment._--The ultimate cause of this -minister's fall may thus be deduced from the best action of his life; -though it ensued immediately from his very culpable weakness in aiding -the king's base inclinations towards a sordid bargaining with France. -It is well known that the famous letter to Montagu, empowering him to -make an offer of neutrality for the price of 6,000,000 livres, was not -only written by the king's express order, but that Charles attested -this with his own signature in a postscript. - -This bears date five days after an act had absolutely passed to raise -money for carrying on the war; a circumstance worthy of particular -attention, as it both puts an end to every pretext or apology which -the least scrupulous could venture to urge in behalf of this -negotiation, but justifies the whig party of England in an invincible -distrust, an inexpiable hatred, of so perfidious a cozener as filled -the throne. But as he was beyond their reach, they exercised a -constitutional right in the impeachment of his responsible minister. -For responsible he surely was; though, strangely mistaking the -obligations of an English statesman, Danby seems to fancy in his -printed defence that the king's order would be a sufficient warrant to -justify obedience in any case not literally unlawful. "I believe," he -says, "there are very few subjects but would take it ill not to be -obeyed by their servants; and their servants might as justly expect -their master's protection for their obedience." The letter to Montagu, -he asserts, "was written by the king's command, upon the subject of -peace and war, wherein his majesty alone is at all times sole judge, -and ought to be obeyed not only by any of his ministers of state, but -by all his subjects."[718] Such were, in that age, the monarchical or -tory maxims of government, which the impeachment of this minister -contributed in some measure to overthrow. As the king's authority for -the letter to Montagu was an undeniable fact, evidenced by his own -handwriting, the Commons in impeaching Lord Danby went a great way -towards establishing the principle that no minister can shelter -himself behind the throne by pleading obedience to the orders of his -sovereign. He is answerable for the justice, the honesty, the utility -of all measures emanating from the Crown, as well as for their -legality; and thus the executive administration is, or ought to be, -subordinate, in all great matters of policy, to the superintendence -and virtual control of the two Houses of Parliament. It must at the -same time be admitted that, through the heat of honest indignation and -some less worthy passions on the one hand, through uncertain and crude -principles of constitutional law on the other, this just and necessary -impeachment of the Earl of Danby was not so conducted as to be exempt -from all reproach. The charge of high treason for an offence -manifestly amounting only to misdemeanour, with the purpose, not -perhaps of taking the life of the accused, but at least of procuring -some punishment beyond the law,[719] the strange mixture of articles, -as to which there was no presumptive proof, or which were evidently -false, such as concealment of the popish plot, gave such a character -of intemperance and faction to these proceedings, as may lead -superficial readers to condemn them altogether.[720] The compliance of -Danby with the king's corrupt policy had been highly culpable, but it -was not unprecedented; it was even conformable to the court standard -of duty; and as it sprung from too inordinate a desire to retain -power, it would have found an appropriate and adequate chastisement in -exclusion from office. We judge perhaps somewhat more favourably of -Lord Danby than his contemporaries at that juncture were warranted to -do; but even then he was rather a minister to be pulled down than a -man to be severely punished. His one great and undeniable service to -the protestant and English interests should have palliated a multitude -of errors. Yet this was the mainspring and first source of the -intrigue that ruined him. - -_Questions arising on the impeachment_--_Danby's commitment to the -Tower._--The impeachment of Lord Danby brought forward several -material discussions on that part of our constitutional law, which -should not be passed over in this place. 1. As soon as the charges -presented by the Commons at the bar of the upper house had been read, -a motion was made that the earl should withdraw; and another -afterwards, that he should be committed to the Tower: both of which -were negatived by considerable majorities.[721] This refusal to commit -on a charge of treason had created a dispute between the two houses in -the instance of Lord Clarendon.[722] In that case, however, one of the -articles of impeachment did actually contain an unquestionable -treason. But it was contended with much force on the present occasion -that, if the Commons, by merely using the word traitorously, could -alter the character of offences which, on their own showing, amounted -only to misdemeanours, the boasted certainty of the law in matters of -treason would be at an end; and unless it were meant that the Lords -should pass sentence in such a case against the received rules of law, -there could be no pretext for their refusing to admit the accused to -bail. Even in Strafford's case, which was a condemned precedent, they -had a general charge of high treason upon which he was committed; -while the offences alleged against Danby were stated with -particularity, and upon the face of the articles could not be brought -within any reasonable interpretation of the statutes relating to -treason. The House of Commons faintly urged a remarkable clause in the -act of Edward III., which provides that, in case of any doubt arising -as to the nature of an offence charged to amount to treason, the -judges should refer it to the sentence of parliament; and maintained -that this invested the two houses with a declaratory power to extend -the penalties of the law to new offences which had not been clearly -provided for in its enactments. But, though something like this might -possibly have been in contemplation with the framers of that statute, -and precedents were not absolutely wanting to support the -construction, it was so repugnant to the more equitable principles of -criminal law which had begun to gain ground, that even the heat of -faction did not induce the Commons to insist upon it. They may be -considered however as having carried their point; for, though the -prorogation and subsequent dissolution of the present parliament -ensued so quickly that nothing more was done in the matter, yet when -the next House of Commons revived the impeachment, the Lords voted to -take Danby into custody without any further objection.[723] It ought -not to be inferred from hence, that they were wrong in refusing to -commit; nor do I conceive, notwithstanding the latter precedent of -Lord Oxford, that any rule to the contrary is established. In any -future case it ought to be open to debate, whether articles of -impeachment pretending to contain a charge of high treason do -substantially set forth overt acts of such a crime; and, if the House -of Lords shall be of opinion, either by consulting the judges or -otherwise, that no treason is specially alleged, they should, -notwithstanding any technical words, treat the offence as a -misdemeanour, and admit the accused to bail.[724] - -2. _Pardon pleaded in bar._--A still more important question sprung -up as to the king's right of pardon upon a parliamentary impeachment. -Danby, who had absconded on the unexpected revival of these -proceedings in the new parliament, finding that an act of attainder -was likely to pass against him in consequence of his flight from -justice, surrendered himself to the usher of the black rod; and, on -being required to give in his written answer to the charges of the -Commons, pleaded a pardon, secretly obtained from the king, in bar of -the prosecution.[725] The Commons resolved that the pardon was illegal -and void, and ought not to be pleaded in bar of the impeachment of the -Commons of England. They demanded judgment at the Lords' bar against -Danby, as having put in a void plea. They resolved, with that culpable -violence which distinguished this and the succeeding House of Commons, -in order to deprive the accused of the assistance of counsel, that no -commoner whatsoever should presume to maintain the validity of the -pardon pleaded by the Earl of Danby without their consent, on pain of -being accounted a betrayer of the liberties of the Commons of -England.[726] They denied the right of the bishops to vote on the -validity of this pardon. They demanded the appointment of a committee -from both houses to regulate the form and manner of proceeding on this -impeachment, as well as on that of the five lords accused of -participation in the popish plot. The upper house gave some signs of a -vacillating and temporising spirit, not by any means unaccountable. -They acceded, after a first refusal, to the proposition of a -committee, though manifestly designed to encroach on their own -exclusive claim of judicature.[727] But they came to a resolution -that the spiritual Lords had a right to sit and vote in parliament in -capital cases, until judgment of death shall be pronounced.[728] The -Commons of course protested against this vote;[729] but a prorogation -soon dropped the curtain over their differences; and Danby's -impeachment was not acted upon in the next parliament. - -_Votes of bishops._--There seems to be no kind of pretence for -objecting to the votes of the bishops on such preliminary questions as -may arise in an impeachment of treason. It is true that ancient custom -has so far ingrafted the provisions of the ecclesiastical law on our -constitution, that they are bound to withdraw when judgment of life or -death is pronounced; though even in this they always do it with a -protestation of their right to remain. This, once claimed as a -privilege of the church, and reluctantly admitted by the state, -became, in the lapse of ages, an exclusion and badge of inferiority. -In the constitutions of Clarendon, under Henry II., it is enacted, -that the bishops and others holding spiritual benefices "in capite" -should give their attendance at trials in parliament, till it come to -sentence of life or member. This, although perhaps too ancient to have -authority as statute law, was a sufficient evidence of the -constitutional usage, where nothing so material could be alleged on -the other side. And, as the original privilege was built upon nothing -better than the narrow superstitions of the canon law, there was no -reasonable pretext for carrying the exclusion of the spiritual lords -farther than certain and constant precedents required. Though it was -true, as the enemies of Lord Danby urged, that by voting for the -validity of his pardon, they would in effect determine the whole -question in his favour, yet there seemed no serious reasons, -considering it abstractedly from party views, why they should not thus -indirectly be restored for once to a privilege, from which the -prejudices of former ages alone had shut them out. - -The main point in controversy, whether a general or special pardon -from the king could be pleaded in answer to an impeachment of the -Commons so as to prevent any further proceedings in it, never came to -a regular decision. It was evident that a minister who had influence -enough to obtain such an indemnity, might set both houses of -parliament at defiance; the pretended responsibility of the Crown's -advisers, accounted the palladium of our constitution, would be an -idle mockery, if not only punishment could be averted, but enquiry -frustrated. Even if the king could remit the penalties of a guilty -minister's sentence upon impeachment, it would be much, that public -indignation should have been excited against him, that suspicion -should have been turned into proof, that shame and reproach, -irremissible by the great seal, should avenge the wrongs of his -country. It was always to be presumed that a sovereign, undeceived by -such a judicial inquiry, or sensible to the general voice it roused, -would voluntarily, or at least prudently, abandon an unworthy -favourite. Though it might be admitted that long usage had established -the royal prerogative of granting pardons under the great seal, even -before trial, and that such pardons might be pleaded in bar (a -prerogative indeed which ancient statutes, not repealed, though gone -into disuse, or rather in no time acted upon, had attempted to -restrain), yet we could not infer that it extended to cases of -impeachment. In ordinary criminal proceedings by indictment the king -was before the court as prosecutor, the suit was in his name; he might -stay the process at his pleasure, by entering a "noli prosequi;" to -pardon, before or after judgment, was a branch of the same -prerogative; it was a great constitutional trust, to be exercised at -his discretion. But in an appeal or accusation of felony, brought by -the injured party, or his next of blood, a proceeding wherein the -king's name did not appear, it was undoubted that he could not remit -the capital sentence. The same principle seemed applicable to an -impeachment at the suit of the Commons of England, demanding justice -from the supreme tribunal of the other house of parliament. It could -not be denied that James had remitted the whole sentence upon Lord -Bacon. But impeachments were so unusual at that time, and the -privileges of parliament so little out of dispute, that no great -stress could be laid on this precedent. - -Such must have been the course of arguing, strong on political, and -specious on legal grounds, which induced the Commons to resist the -plea put in by Lord Danby. Though this question remained in suspense -on the present occasion, it was finally decided by the legislature in -the act of settlement; which provides that no pardon under the great -seal of England be pleadable to an impeachment of the Commons in -parliament.[730] These expressions seem tacitly to concede the Crown's -right of granting a pardon after sentence; which, though perhaps it -could not well be distinguished in point of law from a pardon -pleadable in bar, stands on a very different footing, as has been -observed above, with respect to constitutional policy. Accordingly, -upon the impeachment of the six peers who had been concerned in the -rebellion of 1715, the House of Lords after sentence passed, having -come to a resolution on debate that the king had a right to reprieve -in cases of impeachment, addressed him to exercise that prerogative as -to such of them as should deserve his mercy; and three of the number -were in consequence pardoned.[731] - -3. _Abatement of impeachments by dissolution._--The impeachment of -Danby first brought forward another question of hardly less magnitude, -and remarkable as one of the few great points in constitutional law, -which have been discussed and finally settled within the memory of the -present generation: I mean the continuance of an impeachment by the -Commons from one parliament to another. Though this has been put at -rest by a determination altogether consonant to maxims of expediency, -it seems proper in this place to show briefly the grounds upon which -the argument on both sides rested. - -In the earlier period of our parliamentary records, the business of -both houses, whether of a legislative or judicial nature, though often -very multifarious, was despatched, with the rapidity natural to -comparatively rude times, by men impatient of delay, unused to doubt, -and not cautious in the proof of facts or attentive to the subtleties -of reasoning. The session, generally speaking, was not to terminate -till the petitions in parliament for redress had been disposed of, -whether decisively or by reference to some more permanent tribunal. -Petitions for alteration of the law, presented by the Commons, and -assented to by the Lords, were drawn up into statutes by the king's -council just before the prorogation or dissolution. They fell -naturally to the ground, if the session closed before they could be -submitted to the king's pleasure. The great change that took place in -the reign of Henry VI., by passing bills complete in their form -through the two houses instead of petitions, while it rendered -manifest to every eye that distinction between legislative and -judicial proceedings which the simplicity of older times had half -concealed, did not affect this constitutional principle. At the close -of a session, every bill then in progress through parliament became a -nullity, and must pass again through all its stages before it could be -tendered for the royal assent. No sort of difference existed in the -effect of a prorogation and a dissolution; it was even maintained that -a session made a parliament. - -During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, writs of error from -inferior courts to the House of Lords became far less usual than in -the preceding age; and when they occurred, as error could only be -assigned on a point of law appearing on the record, they were quickly -decided with the assistance of the judges. But, when they grew more -frequent, and especially when appeals from the chancellor, requiring -often a tedious examination of depositions, were brought before the -Lords, it was found that a sudden prorogation might often interrupt a -decision; and the question arose, whether writs of error, and other -proceedings of a similar nature, did not, according to precedent or -analogy, cease, or in technical language abate, at the close of a -session. An order was accordingly made by the house on March 11, 1673, -that "the Lords committees for privileges should inquire whether an -appeal to this house either by writ of error or petition, from the -proceedings of any other court being depending, and not determined in -one session of parliament, continue in statu quo unto the next session -of parliament, without renewing the writ of error or petition, or -beginning all anew." The committee reported on the 29th of March, -after mis-reciting the order of reference to them in a very remarkable -manner, by omitting some words and interpolating others, so as to make -it far more extensive than it really was,[732] that upon the -consideration of precedents, which they specify, they came to a -resolution that "businesses depending in one parliament or session of -parliament have been continued to the next session of the same -parliament, and the proceedings thereupon have remained in the same -state in which they were left when last in agitation." The house -approved of this resolution, and ordered it accordingly.[733] - -This resolution was decisive as to the continuance of ordinary -judicial business beyond the termination of a session. It was still -open to dispute whether it might not abate by a dissolution. And the -peculiar case of impeachment, to which, after the dissolution of the -long parliament in 1678, every one's attention was turned, seemed to -stand on different grounds. It was referred therefore to the committee -of privileges, on the 11th of March 1679, to consider whether -petitions of appeal which were presented to this house in the last -parliament be still in force to be proceeded on. Next day it is -referred to the same committee, on a report of the matter of fact as -to the impeachments of the Earl of Danby and the five popish lords in -the late parliament, to consider of the state of the said impeachments -and all the incidents relating thereto, and to report to the house. On -the 18th of March Lord Essex reported from the committee, that, "upon -perusal of the judgment of this house of the 29th of March 1673, they -are of opinion, that in all cases of appeals and writs of error they -continue, and are to be proceeded on, in statu quo, as they stood at -the dissolution of the last parliament, without beginning de novo.... -And, upon consideration had of the matter referred to their lordships -concerning the state of the impeachments brought up from the House of -Commons the last parliament, etc.... they are of opinion that the -dissolution of the last parliament doth not alter the state of the -impeachments brought up by the Commons in that parliament." This -report was taken into consideration next day by the house; and after a -debate, which appears from the journals to have lasted some time, and -the previous question moved and lost, it was resolved to agree with -the committee.[734] - -This resolution became for some years the acknowledged law of -parliament. Lord Stafford, at his trial in 1680, having requested that -his counsel might be heard as to the point, whether impeachments could -go from one parliament to another, the house took no notice of this -question; though they consulted the judges about another which he had -put, as to the necessity of two witnesses to every overt act of -treason.[735] Lord Danby and Chief-Justice Scroggs petitioned the -Lords in the Oxford parliament, one to have the charges against him -dismissed, the other to be bailed; but neither take the objection of -an intervening dissolution.[736] And Lord Danby, after the -dissolution of three successive parliaments since that in which he -was impeached, having lain for three years in the Tower, when he -applied to be enlarged on bail by the court of king's bench in 1682, -was refused by the judges, on the ground of their incompetency to -meddle in a parliamentary impeachment; though, if the prosecution were -already at an end, he would have been entitled to an absolute -discharge. On Jefferies becoming chief justice of the king's bench, -Danby was admitted to bail.[737] But in the parliament of 1685, the -impeached lords having petitioned the house, it was resolved, that the -order of the 19th of March 1679 be reversed and annulled as to -impeachments; and they were consequently released from their -recognisances.[738] - -The first of these two contradictory determinations is not certainly -free from that reproach which so often contaminates our precedents of -parliamentary law, and renders an honest man reluctant to show them -any greater deference than is strictly necessary. It passed during the -violent times of the popish plot; and a contrary resolution would have -set at liberty the five catholic peers committed to the Tower, and -enabled them probably to quit the kingdom before a new impeachment -could be preferred. It must be acknowledged, at the same time, that it -was borne out, in a considerable degree, by the terms of the order of -1673, which seems liable to no suspicion of answering a temporary -purpose; and that the court party in the House of Lords were powerful -enough to have withstood any flagrant innovation in the law of -parliament. As for the second resolution, that of 1685, which reversed -the former, it was passed in the very worst of times; and, if we may -believe the protest, signed by the Earl of Anglesea and three other -peers, with great precipitation and neglect of usual forms. It was not -however annulled after the revolution; but, on the contrary, received -what may seem at first sight a certain degree of confirmation, from an -order of the House of Lords in 1690, on the petitions of Lords -Salisbury and Peterborough, who had been impeached in the preceding -parliament, to be discharged; which was done after reading the -resolutions of 1679 and 1685, and a long debate thereon. But as a -general pardon had come out in the meantime, by which the judges held -that the offences imputed to these two lords had been discharged, and -as the Commons showed no disposition to follow up their impeachment -against them, no parliamentary reasoning can perhaps be founded on -this precedent.[739] In the case of the Duke of Leeds, impeached by -the Commons in 1695, no further proceedings were had; but the Lords -did not make an order for his discharge from the accusation till five -years after three dissolutions had intervened; and grounded it upon -the Commons not proceeding with the impeachment. They did not however -send a message to enquire if the Commons were ready to proceed, which, -according to parliamentary usage, would be required in case of a -pending impeachment. The cases of Lords Somers, Orford, and Halifax, -were similar to that of the Duke of Leeds, except that so long a -period did not intervene. These instances therefore rather tend to -confirm the position, that impeachments did not ipso facto abate by a -dissolution, notwithstanding the reversal of the order of 1679. In the -case of the Earl of Oxford, it was formally resolved in 1717, that an -impeachment does not determine by a prorogation of parliament; an -authority conclusive to those who maintain that no difference exists -in the law of parliament between the effects of a prorogation and a -dissolution. But it is difficult to make all men consider this -satisfactory. - -The question came finally before both houses of parliament in 1791, a -dissolution having intervened during the impeachment of Mr. Hastings; -an impeachment which, far unlike the rapid proceedings of former ages, -had already been for three years before the House of Lords, and seemed -likely to run on to an almost interminable length. It must have been -abandoned in despair, if the prosecution had been held to determine by -the late dissolution. The general reasonings, and the force of -precedents on both sides, were urged with great ability, and by the -principal speakers in both houses; the lawyers generally inclining to -maintain the resolution of 1685, that impeachments abate by a -dissolution, but against still greater names which were united on the -opposite side. In the end, after an ample discussion, the continuance -of impeachments, in spite of a dissolution, was carried by very large -majorities; and this decision, so deliberately taken, and so free from -all suspicion of partiality (the majority in neither house, -especially the upper, bearing any prejudice against the accused -person), as well as so consonant to principles of utility and -constitutional policy, must for ever have set at rest all dispute upon -the question. - -_Popish plot._--The year 1678, and the last session of the parliament -that had continued since 1661, were memorable for the great national -delusion of the popish plot. For national it was undoubtedly to be -called, and by no means confined to the whig or opposition party, -either in or out of parliament, though it gave them much temporary -strength. And though it were a most unhappy instance of the credulity -begotten by heated passions and mistaken reasoning, yet there were -circumstances, and some of them very singular in their nature, which -explain and furnish an apology for the public error, and which it is -more important to point out and keep in mind, than to inveigh, as is -the custom in modern times, against the factitiousness and bigotry of -our ancestors. For I am persuaded that we are far from being secure -from similar public delusions, whenever such a concurrence of -coincidences and seeming probabilities shall again arise, as misled -nearly the whole people of England in the popish plot.[740] - -_Coleman's letters._--It is first to be remembered that there was -really and truly a popish plot in being, though not that which Titus -Oates and his associates pretended to reveal--not merely in the sense -of Hume, who, arguing from the general spirit of proselytism in that -religion, says there is a perpetual conspiracy against all -governments, protestant, Mahometan, and pagan, but one alert, -enterprising, effective, in direct operation against the established -protestant religion in England. In this plot the king, the Duke of -York, and the King of France were chief conspirators; the Romish -priests, and especially the jesuits, were eager co-operators. Their -machinations and their hopes, long suspected, and in a general sense -known, were divulged by the seizure and publication of Coleman's -letters. "We have here," he says, in one of these, "a mighty work upon -our hands, no less than the conversion of three kingdoms, and by that -perhaps the utter subduing of a pestilent heresy, which has a long -time domineered over this northern world. There were never such hopes -since the death of our queen Mary as now in our days. God has given -us a prince, who is become (I may say by miracle) zealous of being the -author and instrument of so glorious a work; but the opposition we are -sure to meet with is also like to be great; so that it imports us to -get all the aid and assistance we can." These letters were addressed -to Father la Chaise, confessor of Louis XIV., and displayed an -intimate connection with France for the great purpose of restoring -popery. They came to light at the very period of Oates's discovery; -and though not giving it much real confirmation, could hardly fail to -make a powerful impression on men unaccustomed to estimate the value -and bearings of evidence.[741] - -The conspiracy supposed to have been concerted by the jesuits at St. -Omers, and in which so many English catholics were implicated, chiefly -consisted, as is well known, in a scheme of assassinating the king. -Though the obvious falsehood and absurdity of much that the witnesses -deposed in relation to this plot render it absolutely incredible, and -fully acquit those unfortunate victims of iniquity and prejudice, it -could not appear at the time an extravagant supposition, that an eager -intriguing faction should have considered the king's life a serious -obstacle to their hopes. Though as much attached in heart as his -nature would permit to the catholic religion, he was evidently not -inclined to take any effectual measures in its favour; he was but one -year older than his brother, on the contingency of whose succession -all their hopes rested, since his heiress was not only brought up in -the protestant faith, but united to its most strenuous defender. -Nothing could have been more anxiously wished at St. Omers than the -death of Charles; and it does not seem improbable that the atrocious -fictions of Oates may have been originally suggested by some actual, -though vague, projects of assassination, which he had heard in -discourse among the ardent spirits of that college. - -_Murder of Sir Edmondbury Godfrey._--The popular ferment which this -tale, however undeserving of credit, excited in a predisposed -multitude, was naturally wrought to a higher pitch by the very -extraordinary circumstances of Sir Edmondbury Godfrey's death. Even at -this time, although we reject the imputation thrown on the catholics, -and especially on those who suffered death for that murder, it seems -impossible to frame any hypothesis which can better account for the -facts that seem to be authenticated. That he was murdered by those who -designed to lay the charge on the papists, and aggravate the public -fury, may pass with those who rely on such writers as Roger -North,[742] but has not the slightest corroboration from any evidence; -nor does it seem to have been suggested by the contemporary libellers -of the court party. That he might have had, as an active magistrate, -private enemies, whose revenge took away his life, which seems to be -Hume's conjecture, is hardly more satisfactory; the enemies of a -magistrate are not likely to have left his person unplundered, nor is -it usual for justices of the peace, merely on account of the discharge -of their ordinary duties, to incur such desperate resentment. That he -fell by his own hands was doubtless the suggestion of those who aimed -at discrediting the plot; but it is impossible to reconcile this with -the marks of violence which are so positively sworn to have appeared -on his neck; and, on a later investigation of the subject in the year -1682, when the court had become very powerful, and a belief in the -plot had grown almost a mark of disloyalty, an attempt made to prove -the self-murder of Godfrey, in a trial before Pemberton, failed -altogether; and the result of the whole evidence, on that occasion, -was strongly to confirm the supposition that he had perished by the -hands of assassins.[743] His death remains at this moment a problem -for which no tolerably satisfactory solution can be offered. But at -the time, it was a very natural presumption to connect it with the -plot, wherein he had not only taken the deposition of Oates, a -circumstance not in itself highly important, but was supposed to have -received the confidential communications of Coleman.[744] - -Another circumstance, much calculated to persuade ordinary minds of -the truth of the plot, was the trial of Reading, a Romish attorney, -for tampering with the witnesses against the accused catholic peers, -in order to make them keep out of the way.[745] As such clandestine -dealing with witnesses creates a strong, and perhaps with some too -strong a presumption of guilt, where justice is sure to be uprightly -administered, men did not make a fair distinction as to times when the -violence of the court and jury gave no reasonable hope of escape; and -when the most innocent party would much rather procure the absence of -a perjured witness than trust to the chance of disproving his -testimony. - -_Injustice of judges on the trials._--There was indeed good reason to -distrust the course of justice. Never were our tribunals so disgraced -by the brutal manners and iniquitous partiality of the bench as in the -latter years of this reign. The _State Trials_, none of which appear -to have been published by the prisoners' friends, bear abundant -testimony to the turpitude of the judges. They explained away and -softened the palpable contradictions of the witnesses for the Crown, -insulted and threatened those of the accused, checked all -cross-examination, assumed the truth of the charge throughout the -whole of every trial.[746] One Whitbread, a jesuit, having been -indicted with several others, and the evidence not being sufficient, -Scroggs discharged the jury of him, but ordered him to be kept in -custody till more proof might come in. He was accordingly indicted -again for the same offence. On his pleading that he had been already -tried, Scroggs and North had the effrontery to deny that he had been -ever put in jeopardy, though the witnesses for the Crown had been -fully heard before the jury were most irregularly and illegally -discharged of him on the former trial. North said he had often known -it done, and it was the common course of law. In the course of this -proceeding, Bedloe, who had deposed nothing explicit against the -prisoner on the former trial, accounted for this by saying, it was not -then convenient; an answer with which the court and jury were -content.[747] - -It is remarkable that, although the king might be justly surmised to -give little credence to the pretended plot, and the Duke of York was -manifestly affected in his interests by the heats it excited, yet the -judges most subservient to the court, Scroggs, North, Jones, went with -all violence into the popular cry, till, the witnesses beginning to -attack the queen, and to menace the duke, they found it was time to -rein in, as far as they could, the passions they had instigated.[748] -Pemberton, a more honest man in political matters, showed a remarkable -intemperance and unfairness in all trials relating to popery. Even in -that of Lord Stafford in 1680, the last, and perhaps the worst, -proceeding under this delusion, though the court had a standing -majority in the House of Lords, he was convicted by fifty-five peers -against thirty-one; the Earl of Nottingham, lord chancellor, the Duke -of Lauderdale, and several others of the administration voting him -guilty, while he was acquitted by the honest Hollis and the acute -Halifax.[749] So far was the belief in the popish plot, or the -eagerness in hunting its victims to death, from being confined to the -whig faction, as some writers have been willing to insinuate. None had -more contributed to rouse the national outcry against the accused, and -create a firm persuasion of the reality of the plot, than the clergy -in their sermons, even the most respectable of their order, Sancroft, -Sharp, Barlow, Burnet, Tillotson, Stillingfleet; inferring its truth -from Godfrey's murder or Coleman's letters, calling for the severest -laws against catholics, and imputing to them the fire of London, nay, -even the death of Charles I.[750] - -_Exclusion of Duke of York proposed._--Though the Duke of York was not -charged with participation in the darkest schemes of the popish -conspirators, it was evident that his succession was the great aim of -their endeavours, and evident also that he had been engaged in the -more real and undeniable intrigues of Coleman. His accession to the -throne, long viewed with just apprehension, now seemed to threaten -such perils to every part of the constitution, as ought not supinely -to be waited for, if any means could be devised to obviate them. This -gave rise to the bold measure of the exclusion bill, too bold indeed -for the spirit of the country, and the rock on which English liberty -was nearly shipwrecked. In the long parliament, full as it was of -pensioners and creatures of court influence, nothing so vigorous would -have been successful. Even in the bill which excluded catholic peers -from sitting in the House of Lords, a proviso, exempting the Duke of -York from its operation, having been sent down from the other house, -passed by a majority of two voices.[751] But the zeal they showed -against Danby induced the king to put an end to this parliament of -seventeen years' duration; an event long ardently desired by the -popular party, who foresaw their ascendancy in the new elections.[752] -The next House of Commons accordingly came together with an ardour -not yet quenched by corruption; and after reviving the impeachments -commenced by their predecessors, and carrying a measure long in -agitation, a test[753] which shut the catholic peers out of -parliament, went upon the exclusion bill. Their dissolution put a stop -to this; and in the next parliament the Lords rejected it.[754] - -The right of excluding an unworthy heir from the succession was -supported not only by the plain and fundamental principles of civil -society, which establish the interest of the people to be the -paramount object of political institutions, but by those of the -English constitution. It had always been the better opinion among -lawyers, that the reigning king with consent of parliament was -competent to make any changes in the inheritance of the Crown; and -this, besides the acts passed under Henry VIII. empowering him to name -his successor, was expressly enacted, with heavy penalties against -such as should contradict it, in the thirteenth year of Elizabeth. The -contrary doctrine indeed, if pressed to its legitimate consequences, -would have shaken all the statutes that limit the prerogative; since, -if the analogy of entails in private inheritances were to be resorted -to, and the existing legislature should be supposed incompetent to -alter the line of succession, they could as little impair as they -could alienate the indefeasible rights of the heir; nor could he be -bound by restrictions to which he had never given his assent. It -seemed strange to maintain that the parliament could reduce a king of -England to the condition of a doge of Venice, by shackling and taking -away his authority, and yet could not divest him of a title which they -could render little better than a mockery. Those accordingly who -disputed the legislative omnipotence of parliament did not hesitate to -assert that statutes infringing on the prerogative were null of -themselves. With the court lawyers conspired the clergy, who pretended -these matters of high policy and constitutional law to be within their -province; and, with hardly an exception, took a zealous part against -the exclusion. It was indeed a measure repugnant to the common -prejudices of mankind; who, without entering on the abstract -competency of parliament, are naturally accustomed in an hereditary -monarchy to consider the next heir as possessed of a right, which, -except through necessity, or notorious criminality, cannot be justly -divested. The mere profession of a religion different from the -established, does not seem, abstractedly considered, an adequate -ground for unsettling the regular order of inheritance. Yet such was -the narrow bigotry of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which -died away almost entirely among protestants in the next, that even the -trifling differences between Lutherans and Calvinists had frequently -led to alternate persecutions in the German states, as a prince of one -or the other denomination happened to assume the government. And the -Romish religion, in particular, was in that age of so restless and -malignant a character, that unless the power of the Crown should be -far more strictly limited than had hitherto been the case, there must -be a very serious danger from any sovereign of that faith; and the -letters of Coleman, as well as other evidences, made it manifest that -the Duke of York was engaged in a scheme of general conversion, which, -from his arbitrary temper and the impossibility of succeeding by fair -means, it was just to apprehend, must involve the subversion of all -civil liberty. Still this was not distinctly perceived by persons at a -distance from the scene, imbued, as most of the gentry were, with the -principles of the old cavaliers, and those which the church had -inculcated. The king, though hated by the dissenters, retained the -affections of that party, who forgave the vices they deplored, to his -father's memory and his personal affability. It appeared harsh and -disloyal to force his consent to the exclusion of a brother in whom he -saw no crime, and to avoid which he offered every possible -expedient.[755] There will always be found in the people of England a -strong unwillingness to force the reluctance of their sovereign--a -latent feeling, of which parties in the heat of their triumphs are -seldom aware, because it does not display itself until the moment of -reaction. And although, in the less settled times before the -revolution, this personal loyalty was highly dangerous, and may still, -no doubt, sometimes break out so as to frustrate objects of high -import to the public weal, it is on the whole a salutary temper for -the conservation of the monarchy, which may require such a barrier -against the encroachments of factions and the fervid passions of the -multitude. - -_Schemes of Shaftesbury and Monmouth._--The bill of exclusion was -drawn with as much regard to the inheritance of the Duke of York's -daughters as they could reasonably demand, or as any lawyer engaged -for them could have shown; though something different seems to be -insinuated by Burnet. It provided that the imperial crown of England -should descend to and be enjoyed by such person or persons -successively during the life of the Duke of York, as should have -inherited or enjoyed the same in case he were naturally dead. If the -Princess of Orange was not expressly named (which, the bishop tells -us, gave a jealousy, as though it were intended to keep that matter -still undetermined), this silence was evidently justified by the -possible contingency of the birth of a son to the duke, whose right -there was no intention in the framers of the bill to defeat. But a -large part of the opposition had unfortunately other objects in view. -It had been the great error of those who withstood the arbitrary -counsels of Charles II. to have admitted into their closest -confidence, and in a considerable degree to the management of their -party, a man so destitute of all honest principle as the Earl of -Shaftesbury. Under his contaminating influence their passions became -more untractable, their connections more seditious and democratical, -their schemes more revolutionary, and they broke away more and more -from the line of national opinion, till a fatal reaction involved -themselves in ruin, and exposed the cause of public liberty to its -most imminent peril. The countenance and support of Shaftesbury -brought forward that unconstitutional and most impolitic scheme of the -Duke of Monmouth's succession. There could hardly be a greater insult -to a nation used to respect its hereditary line of kings, than to set -up the bastard of a prostitute, without the least pretence of personal -excellence or public services, against a princess of known virtue and -attachment to the protestant religion. And the effrontery of this -attempt was aggravated by the libels eagerly circulated to dupe the -credulous populace into a belief of Monmouth's legitimacy. The weak -young man, lured on to destruction by the arts of intriguers and the -applause of the multitude, gave just offence to sober-minded patriots, -who knew where the true hopes of public liberty were anchored, by a -kind of triumphal procession through parts of the country, and by -other indications of a presumptuous ambition.[756] - -_Unsteadiness of the king._--If any apology can be made for the -encouragement given by some of the whig party (for it was by no means -general) to the pretensions of Monmouth, it must be found in their -knowledge of the king's affection for him, which furnished a hope that -he might more easily be brought in to the exclusion of his brother for -the sake of so beloved a child than for the Prince of Orange. And -doubtless there was a period when Charles's acquiescence in the -exclusion did not appear so unattainable as, from his subsequent line -of behaviour, we are apt to consider it. It appears from the recently -published life of James, that in the autumn of 1680 the embarrassment -of the king's situation, and the influence of the Duchess of -Portsmouth, who had gone over to the exclusionists, made him seriously -deliberate on abandoning his brother.[757] Whether from natural -instability of judgment, from the steady adherence of France to the -Duke of York, or from observing the great strength of the tory party -in the House of Lords, where the bill was rejected by a majority of 63 -to 30, he soon returned to his former disposition. It was long however -before he treated James with perfect cordiality. Conscious of his own -insincerity in religion, which the duke's bold avowal of an obnoxious -creed seemed to reproach, he was provoked at bearing so much of the -odium, and incurring so many of the difficulties, which attended a -profession that he had not ventured to make. He told Hyde, before the -dissolution of the parliament in 1680, that it would not be in his -power to protect his brother any longer, if he did not conform and go -to church.[758] Hyde himself, and the duke's other friends, had never -ceased to urge him on this subject. Their importunity was renewed by -the king's order, even after the dissolution of the Oxford parliament; -and it seems to have been the firm persuasion of most about the court -that he could only be preserved by conformity to the protestant -religion. He justly apprehended the consequences of a refusal; but, -inflexibly conscientious on this point, he braved whatever might arise -from the timidity or disaffection of the ministers and the selfish -fickleness of the king. - -In the apprehensions excited by the king's unsteadiness and the -defection of the Duchess of Portsmouth, he deemed his fortunes so much -in jeopardy, as to have resolved on exciting a civil war, rather than -yield to the exclusion. He had already told Barillon that the royal -authority could be re-established by no other means.[759] The -episcopal party in Scotland had gone such lengths that they could -hardly be safe under any other king. The catholics of England were of -course devoted to him. With the help of these he hoped to show himself -so formidable that Charles would find it his interest to quit that -cowardly line of politics, to which he was sacrificing his honour and -affections. Louis, never insensible to any occasion of rendering -England weak and miserable, directed his ambassador to encourage the -duke in this guilty project with the promise of assistance.[760] It -seems to have been prevented by the wisdom or public spirit of -Churchill, who pointed out to Barillon the absurdity of supposing that -the duke could stand by himself in Scotland. This scheme of lighting -up the flames of civil war in three kingdoms, for James's private -advantage, deserves to be more remarked than it has hitherto been at a -time when the apologists seem to have become numerous. If the designs -of Russell and Sidney for the preservation of their country's liberty -are blamed as rash and unjustifiable, what name shall we give to the -project of maintaining the pretensions of an individual by means of -rebellion and general bloodshed? - -It is well known that those who took a concern in the maintenance of -religion and liberty, were much divided as to the best expedients for -securing them; some, who thought the exclusion too violent, dangerous, -or impracticable, preferring the enactment of limitations on the -prerogatives of a catholic king. This had begun in fact from the -court, who passed a bill through the House of Lords in 1677, for the -security, as it was styled, of the protestant religion. This provided -that a declaration and oath against transubstantiation should be -tendered to every king within fourteen days after his accession; that, -on his refusal to take it, the ecclesiastical benefices in the gift of -the Crown should vest in the bishops, except that the king should name -to every vacant see one out of three persons proposed to him by the -bishops of the province. It enacted also, that the children of a king -refusing such a test should be educated by the archbishop and two or -three more prelates. This bill dropped in the Commons; and Marvell -speaks of it as an insidious stratagem of the ministry.[761] It is -more easy, however, to give hard names to a measure originating with -an obnoxious government, than to prove that it did not afford a -considerable security to the established church, and impose a very -remarkable limitation on the prerogative. But the opposition in the -House of Commons had probably conceived their scheme of exclusion, and -would not hearken to any compromise. As soon as the exclusion became -the topic of open discussion, the king repeatedly offered to grant -every security that could be demanded consistently with the lineal -succession. Hollis, Halifax, and for a time Essex, as well as several -eminent men in the lower house, were in favour of limitations.[762] -But those which they intended to insist upon were such encroachments -on the constitutional authority of the Crown, that, except a title and -revenue, which Charles thought more valuable than all the rest, a -popish king would enjoy no one attribute of royalty. The king himself, -on the 30th of April 1679, before the heats on the subject had become -so violent as they were the next year, offered not only to secure all -ecclesiastical preferments from the control of a popish successor, but -to provide that the parliament in being at a demise of the Crown or -the last that had been dissolved, should immediately sit and be -indissoluble for a certain time; that none of the privy council, nor -judges, lord lieutenant, deputy lieutenant, nor officer of the navy, -should be appointed during the reign of a catholic king, without -consent of parliament. He offered at the same time most readily to -consent to any further provision that could occur to the wisdom of -parliament for the security of religion and liberty consistently with -the right of succession. Halifax, the eloquent and successful opponent -of the exclusion, was the avowed champion of limitations. It was -proposed, in addition to these offers of the king, that the duke, in -case of his accession, should have no negative voice on bills; that he -should dispose of no civil or military posts without consent of -parliament; that a council of forty-one, nominated by the two houses, -should sit permanently during the recess or interval of parliament, -with power of appointing to all vacant offices, subject to the future -approbation of the Lords and Commons.[763] These extraordinary -innovations would, at least for the time, have changed our -constitution into a republic; and justly appeared to many persons more -revolutionary than an alteration in the course of succession. The Duke -of York looked on them with dismay; Charles indeed privately declared -that he would never consent to such infringements of the -prerogative.[764] It is not however easy to perceive how he could have -escaped from the necessity of adhering to his own propositions, if the -House of Commons would have relinquished the bill of exclusion. The -Prince of Orange, who was doubtless in secret not averse to the latter -measure, declared strongly against the plan of restrictions, which a -protestant successor might not find it practicable to shake off. -Another expedient, still more ruinous to James than that of -limitations, was what the court itself suggested in the Oxford -parliament, that the duke retaining the title of king, a regent should -be appointed, in the person of the Princess of Orange, with all the -royal prerogatives; nay, that the duke, with his pageant crown on his -head, should be banished from England during his life.[765] This -proposition, which is a great favourite with Burnet, appears liable to -the same objections as were justly urged against a similar scheme at -the revolution. It was certain that in either case James would attempt -to obtain possession of power by force of arms; and the law of England -would not treat very favourably those who should resist an -acknowledged king in his natural capacity, while the statute of Henry -VII. would, legally speaking, afford a security to the adherents of a -_de facto_ sovereign. - -Upon the whole, it is very unlikely, when we look at the general -spirit and temper of the nation, its predilection for the ancient -laws, its dread of commonwealth and fanatical principles, the tendency -of the upper ranks to intrigue and corruption, the influence and -activity of the church, the bold counsels and haughty disposition of -James himself, that either the exclusion, or such extensive -limitations as were suggested in lieu of it, could have been carried -into effect with much hope of a durable settlement. It would, I should -conceive, have been practicable to secure the independence of the -judges, to exclude unnecessary placemen and notorious pensioners from -the House of Commons, to render the distribution of money among its -members penal, to remove from the protestant dissenters, by a full -toleration, all temptation to favour the court, and, above all, to put -down the standing army. Though none perhaps of these provisions would -have prevented the attempts of this and the next reign to introduce -arbitrary power, they would have rendered them still more grossly -illegal; and, above all, they would have saved that unhappy revolution -of popular sentiment which gave the court encouragement and temporary -success. - -_Names of Whig and Tory._--It was in the year 1679, that the words -Whig and Tory first were heard in their application to English -factions; and, though as senseless as any cant terms that could be -devised, they became instantly as familiar in use as they have since -continued. There were then indeed questions in agitation, which -rendered the distinction more broad and intelligible than it has -generally been in later times. One of these, and the most important, -was the bill of exclusion; in which, as it was usually debated, the -republican principle, that all positive institutions of society are in -order to the general good, came into collision with that of monarchy, -which rests on the maintenance of a royal line, as either the end, or -at least the necessary means, of lawful government. But, as the -exclusion was confessedly among those extraordinary measures, to which -men of tory principles are sometimes compelled to resort in great -emergencies, and which no rational whig espouses at any other time, we -shall better perhaps discern the formation of these grand political -sects in the petitions for the sitting of parliament, and in the -counter addresses of the opposite party. - -_New council formed by Sir William Temple._--In the spring of 1679, -Charles established a new privy council, by the advice of Sir William -Temple, consisting in great part of those eminent men in both houses -of parliament, who had been most prominent in their opposition to the -late ministry.[766] He publicly declared his resolution to govern -entirely by the advice of this council and that of parliament. The -Duke of York was kept in what seemed a sort of exile at Brussels.[767] -But the just suspicion attached to the king's character prevented the -Commons from placing much confidence in this new ministry; and, as -frequently happens, abated their esteem for those who, with the purest -intentions, had gone into the council.[768] They had soon cause to -perceive that their distrust had not been excessive. The ministers -were constantly beaten in the House of Lords; an almost certain test, -in our government, of the court's insincerity.[769] - -_Long prorogation of parliament._--The parliament was first prorogued, -then dissolved; against the advice, in the latter instance, of the -majority of that council by whom the king had pledged himself to be -directed. A new parliament, after being summoned to meet in October -1679, was prorogued for a twelve-month without the avowed concurrence -of any member of the council. Lord Russell, and others of the honester -party, withdrew from a board where their presence was only asked in -mockery or deceit; and the whole specious scheme of Temple came to -nothing before the conclusion of the year which had seen it -displayed.[770] Its author, chagrined at the disappointment of his -patriotism and his vanity, has sought the causes of failure in the -folly of Monmouth and perverseness of Shaftesbury. He was not aware, -at least in their full extent, of the king's intrigues at this period. -Charles, who had been induced to take those whom he most disliked into -his council, with the hope of obtaining money from parliament, or of -parrying the exclusion bill, and had consented to the Duke of York's -quitting England, found himself enthralled by ministers whom he could -neither corrupt nor deceive; Essex, the firm and temperate friend of -constitutional liberty in power as he had been out of it, and Halifax, -not yet led away by ambition or resentment from the cause he never -ceased to approve. He had recourse therefore to his accustomed refuge, -and humbly implored the aid of Louis against his own council and -parliament. He conjured his patron not to lose this opportunity of -making England for ever dependent upon France. These are his own -words, such at least as Barillon attributes to him.[771] In pursuance -of this overture, a secret treaty was negotiated between the two -kings; whereby, after long haggling, Charles, for a pension of -1,000,000 livres annually during three years, obliged himself not to -assemble parliament during that time. This negotiation was broken off, -through the apprehensions of Hyde and Sunderland who had been -concerned in it, about the end of November 1679, before the long -prorogation which is announced in the _Gazette_ by a proclamation of -December 11th. But, the resolution having been already taken not to -permit the meeting of parliament, Charles persisted in it as the only -means of escaping the bill of exclusion, even when deprived of the -pecuniary assistance to which he had trusted. - -Though the king's behaviour on this occasion exposed the fallacy of -all projects for reconciliation with the House of Commons, it was very -well calculated for his own ends; nor was there any part of his reign -wherein he acted with so much prudence, as from this time to the -dissolution of the Oxford parliament. The scheme concerted by his -adversaries, and already put in operation, of pouring in petitions -from every part of the kingdom for the meeting of parliament, he -checked in the outset by a proclamation, artfully drawn up by -Chief-Justice North; which, while it kept clear of anything so -palpably unconstitutional as a prohibition of petitions, served the -purpose of manifesting the king's dislike to them, and encouraged the -magistrates to treat all attempts that way as seditious and illegal, -while it drew over the neutral and lukewarm to the safer and stronger -side.[772] Then were first ranged against each other the hosts of whig -and tory, under their banners of liberty or loyalty; each zealous, at -least in profession, to maintain the established constitution, but the -one seeking its security by new maxims of government, the other by an -adherence to the old. - -_Petitions and addresses._--It must be admitted that petitions to the -king from bodies of his subjects, intended to advise or influence him -in the exercise of his undoubted prerogatives, such as the time of -calling parliament together, familiar as they may now have become, had -no precedent, except one in the dark year 1640, and were repugnant to -the ancient principles of our monarchy. The cardinal maxim of toryism -is, that the king ought to exercise all his lawful prerogatives -without the interference, or unsolicited advice, even of parliament, -much less of the people. These novel efforts therefore were met by -addresses from most of the grand juries, from the magistrates at -quarter sessions, and from many corporations, expressing not merely -their entire confidence in the king, but their abhorrence of the -petitions for the assembling of parliament; a term which, having been -casually used in one address, became the watchword of the whole -party.[773] Some allowance must be made for the exertions made by the -court, especially through the judges of assize, whose charges to grand -juries were always of a political nature. Yet there can be no doubt -that the strength of the tories manifested itself beyond expectation. -Sluggish and silent in its fields, like the animal which it has taken -for its type, the deep-rooted loyalty of the English gentry to the -Crown may escape a superficial observer, till some circumstance calls -forth an indignant and furious energy. The temper shown in 1680 was -not according to what the late elections would have led men to expect, -not even to that of the next elections for the parliament at Oxford. A -large majority returned on both these occasions, and that in the -principal counties as much as in corporate towns, were of the whig -principle. It appears that the ardent zeal against popery in the -smaller freeholders must have overpowered the natural influence of the -superior classes. The middling and lower orders, particularly in -towns, were clamorous against the Duke of York and the evil -counsellors of the Crown. But with the country gentlemen, popery was -scarce a more odious word than fanaticism; the memory of the late -reign and of the usurpation was still recent, and in the violence of -the Commons, in the insolence of Monmouth and Shaftesbury, in the bold -assaults upon hereditary right, they saw a faint image of that -confusion which had once impoverished and humbled them. Meanwhile the -king's dissimulation was quite sufficient for these simple loyalists; -the very delusion of the popish plot raised his name for religion in -their eyes, since his death was the declared aim of the conspirators; -nor did he fail to keep alive this favourable prejudice by letting -that imposture take its course, and by enforcing the execution of the -penal laws against some unfortunate priests.[774] - -_Violence of the Commons._--It is among the great advantages of a -court in its contention with the asserters of popular privileges, that -it can employ a circumspect and dissembling policy, which is never -found on the opposite side. The demagogues of faction, or the -aristocratic leaders of a numerous assembly, even if they do not feel -the influence of the passions they excite, which is rarely the case, -are urged onwards by their headstrong followers, and would both lay -themselves open to the suspicion of unfaithfulness and damp the spirit -of their party, by a wary and temperate course of proceeding. Yet that -incautious violence, to which ill-judging men are tempted by the -possession of power, must in every case, and especially where the -power itself is deemed an usurpation, cast them headlong. This was the -fatal error of that House of Commons which met in October 1680; and to -this the king's triumph may chiefly be ascribed. The addresses -declaratory of abhorrence of petitions for the meeting of parliament -were doubtless intemperate with respect to the petitioners; but it was -preposterous to treat them as violations of privilege. A few -precedents, and those in times of much heat and irregularity, could -not justify so flagrant an encroachment on the rights of the private -subject, as the commitments of men for a declaration so little -affecting the constitutional rights and functions of parliament.[775] -The expulsion of Withens, their own member, for promoting one of these -addresses, though a violent measure, came in point of law within their -acknowledged authority.[776] But it was by no means a generally -received opinion in that age that the House of Commons had an -unbounded jurisdiction, directly or indirectly, over their -constituents. The lawyers, being chiefly on the side of prerogative, -inclined at least to limit very greatly this alleged power of -commitment for breach of privilege or contempt of the house. It had -very rarely, in fact, been exerted, except in cases of serving legal -process on members or other molestation, before the long parliament of -Charles I.; a time absolutely discredited by one party, and confessed -by every reasonable man to be full of innovation and violence. That -the Commons had no right of judicature was admitted; was it compatible -to principles of reason and justice, that they could, merely by using -the words contempt or breach of privilege in a warrant, deprive the -subject of that liberty which the recent statute of habeas corpus had -secured against the highest ministers of the Crown? Yet one Thompson, -a clergyman at Bristol, having preached some virulent sermons, wherein -he had traduced the memory of Hampden for refusing the payment of -ship-money, and spoken disrespectfully of Queen Elizabeth, as well as -insulted those who petitioned for the sitting of parliament, was sent -for in custody of the serjeant to answer at the bar for his high -misdemeanour against the privileges of that house; and was afterwards -compelled to find security for his forthcoming to answer to an -impeachment voted against him on these strange charges.[777] Many -others were brought to the bar, not only for the crime of abhorrence, -but for alleged misdemeanours still less affecting the privileges of -parliament, such as remissness in searching for papists. Sir Robert -Cann, of Bristol, was sent for in custody of the serjeant-at-arms, for -publicly declaring that there was no popish, but only a presbyterian -plot. A general panic, mingled with indignation, was diffused through -the country, till one Stawell, a gentleman of Devonshire, had the -courage to refuse compliance with the speaker's warrant; and the -Commons, who hesitated at such a time to risk an appeal to the -ordinary magistrates, were compelled to let this contumacy go -unpunished. If indeed we might believe the journals of the house, -Stawell was actually in custody of the serjeant, though allowed a -month's time on account of sickness. This was most probably a -subterfuge to conceal the truth of the case.[778] - -These encroachments under the name of privilege were exactly in the -spirit of the long parliament, and revived too forcibly the -recollection of that awful period. It was commonly in men's mouths, -that 1641 was come about again. There appeared indeed for several -months a very imminent danger of civil war. I have already mentioned -the projects of the Duke of York, in case his brother had given way to -the exclusion bill. There could be little reason to doubt that many of -the opposite leaders were ready to try the question by arms. Reresby -has related a conversation he had with Lord Halifax immediately after -the rejection of the bill,[779] which shows the expectation of that -able statesman, that the differences about the succession would end -in civil war. The just abhorrence good men entertain for such a -calamity excites their indignation against those who conspicuously -bring it on. And, however desirous some of the court might be to -strengthen the prerogative by quelling a premature rebellion, the -Commons were, in the eyes of the nation, far more prominent in -accelerating so terrible a crisis. Their votes in the session of -November 1680 were marked by the most extravagant factiousness.[780] - -_Oxford parliament._--Their conduct in the short parliament held at -Oxford in March 1681, served still more to alienate the peaceable part -of the community. That session of eight days was marked by the -rejection of a proposal to vest all effective power during the Duke of -York's life in a regent, and by an attempt to screen the author of a -treasonable libel from punishment under the pretext of impeaching him -at the bar of the upper house. It seems difficult not to suspect that -the secret instigations of Barillon, and even his gold, had -considerable influence on some of those who swayed the votes of this -parliament. - -_Impeachment of commoners for treason constitutional._--Though the -impeachment of Fitzharris, to which I have just alluded, was in itself -a mere work of temporary faction, it brought into discussion a -considerable question in our constitutional law, which deserves -notice, both on account of its importance, and because a popular -writer has advanced an untenable proposition on the subject. The -Commons impeached this man of high treason. The Lords voted, that he -should be proceeded against at common law. It was resolved, in -consequence, by the lower house, "that it is the undoubted right of -the Commons in parliament assembled, to impeach before the Lords in -parliament any peer or commoner for treason, or any other crime or -misdemeanour: and that the refusal of the Lords to proceed in -parliament upon such impeachment is a denial of justice, and a -violation of the constitution of parliament."[781] It seems indeed -difficult to justify the determination of the Lords. Certainly the -declaration in the case of Sir Simon de Bereford, who having been -accused by the king, in the fourth year of Edward III. before the -Lords, of participating in the treason of Roger Mortimer, that noble -assembly protested, with the assent of the king in full parliament, -that, albeit they had taken upon them, as judges of the parliament in -the presence of the king, to render judgment, yet the peers, who then -were or should be in time to come, were not bound to render judgment -upon others than peers, nor had power to do so; and that the said -judgment thus rendered should never be drawn to example or consequence -in time to come, whereby the said peers of the land might be charged -to judge others than their peers, contrary to the laws of the land; -certainly, I say, this declaration, even if it amounted to a statute, -concerning which there has been some question,[782] was not -necessarily to be interpreted as applicable to impeachments at the -suit of the Commons, wherein the king is no ways a party. There were -several precedents in the reign of Richard II. of such impeachments -for treason. There had been more than one in that of Charles I. The -objection indeed was so novel, that Chief-Justice Scroggs, having been -impeached for treason in the last parliament, though he applied to be -admitted to bail, had never insisted on so decisive a plea to the -jurisdiction. And if the doctrine, adopted by the Lords, were to be -carried to its just consequences, all impeachment of commoners must be -at an end; for no distinction is taken in the above declaration as to -Bereford between treason and misdemeanour. The peers had indeed lost, -except during the session of parliament, their ancient privilege in -cases of misdemeanour, and were subject to the verdict of a jury; but -the principle was exactly the same, and the right of judging commoners -upon impeachment for corruption or embezzlement, which no one called -in question, was as much an exception from the ordinary rules of law -as in the more rare case of high treason. It is hardly necessary to -observe, that the 29th section of Magna Charta, which establishes the -right of trial by jury, is by its express language solely applicable -to the suits of the Crown. - -This very dangerous and apparently unfounded theory, broached upon -the occasion of Fitzharris's impeachment by the Earl of Nottingham, -never obtained reception; and was rather intimated than avowed in the -vote of the Lords, that he should be proceeded against at common law. -But after the revolution, the Commons having impeached Sir Adam Blair -and some others of high treason, a committee was appointed to search -for precedents on this subject; and after full deliberation, the House -of Lords came to a resolution, that they would proceed on the -impeachments.[783] The inadvertent position therefore of -Blackstone,[784] that a commoner cannot be impeached for high treason, -is not only difficult to be supported upon ancient authorities, but -contrary to the latest determination of the supreme tribunal. - -_Proceedings against Shaftesbury and College._--No satisfactory -elucidation of the strange libel for which Fitzharris suffered death -has yet been afforded. There is much probability in the supposition -that it was written at the desire of some in the court, in order to -cast odium on their adversaries; a very common stratagem of -unscrupulous partisans.[785] It caused an impression unfavourable to -the whigs in the nation. The court made a dexterous use of that -extreme credulity, which has been supposed characteristic of the -English, though it belongs at least equally to every other people. -They seized into their hands the very engines of delusion that had -been turned against them. Those perjured witnesses, whom Shaftesbury -had hallooed on through all the infamy of the popish plot, were now -arrayed in the same court to swear treason and conspiracy against -him.[786] Though he escaped by the resoluteness of his grand jury, -who refused to find a bill of indictment on testimony, which they -professed themselves to disbelieve, and which was probably false; yet -this extraordinary deviation from the usual practice did harm rather -than otherwise to the general cause of his faction. The judges had -taken care that the witnesses should be examined in open court, so -that the jury's partiality, should they reject such positive -testimony, might become glaring. Doubtless it is, in ordinary cases, -the duty of a grand juror to find a bill upon the direct testimony of -witnesses, where they do not contradict themselves or each other, and -where their evidence is not palpably incredible or contrary to his own -knowledge.[787] The oath of that inquest is forgotten, either where -they render themselves, as seems too often the case, the mere -conduit-pipes of accusation, putting a prisoner in jeopardy upon such -slender evidence as does not call upon him for a defence; or where, as -we have sometimes known in political causes, they frustrate the ends -of justice by rejecting indictments which are fully substantiated by -testimony. Whether the grand jury of London, in their celebrated -ignoramus on the indictment preferred against Shaftesbury, had -sufficient grounds for their incredulity, I will not pretend to -determine.[788] There was probably no one man among them, who had not -implicitly swallowed the tales of the same witnesses in the trials for -the plot. The nation however in general, less bigoted, or at least -more honest in their bigotry, than those London citizens, was -staggered by so many depositions to a traitorous conspiracy, in those -who had pretended an excessive loyalty to the king's person.[789] Men -unaccustomed to courts of justice are naturally prone to give credit -to the positive oaths of witnesses. They were still more persuaded, -when, as in the trial of College at Oxford, they saw this testimony -sustained by the approbation of a judge (and that judge a decent -person who gave no scandal), and confirmed by the verdict of a jury. -The gross iniquity practised towards the prisoner in that trial was -not so generally bruited as his conviction.[790] There is in England a -remarkable confidence in our judicial proceedings, in part derived -from their publicity, and partly from the indiscriminate manner in -which jurors are usually summoned. It must be owned that the -administration of the two last Stuarts was calculated to show how -easily this confiding temper might be the dupe of an insidious -ambition. - -_Triumph of the court._--The king's declaration of the reasons that -induced him to dissolve the last parliament, being a manifesto against -the late majority of the House of Commons, was read in all churches. -The clergy scarcely waited for this pretext to take a zealous part for -the Crown. Every one knows their influence over the nation in any -cause which they make their own. They seemed to change the war against -liberty into a crusade. They re-echoed from every pulpit the strain of -passive obedience, of indefeasible hereditary right, of the divine -origin and patriarchal descent of monarchy. Now began again the loyal -addresses, more numerous and ardent than in the last year, which -overspread the pages of the _London Gazette_ for many months. These -effusions stigmatise the measures of the three last parliaments, -dwelling especially on their arbitrary illegal votes against the -personal liberty of the subject. Their language is of course not -alike; yet amidst all the ebullitions of triumphant loyalty, it is -easy in many of them to perceive a lurking distrust of the majesty to -which they did homage, insinuated to the reader in the marked -satisfaction with which they allude to the king's promise of calling -frequent parliaments and of governing by the laws.[791] - -The whigs, meantime, so late in the heyday of their pride, lay, like -the fallen angels, prostrate upon the fiery lake. The scoffs and gibes -of libellers, who had trembled before the resolutions of the Commons, -were showered upon their heads. They had to fear, what was much worse -than the insults of these vermin, the perjuries of mercenary informers -suborned by their enemies to charge false conspiracies against them, -and sure of countenance from the contaminated benches of justice. The -court, with an artful policy, though with detestable wickedness, -secured itself against its only great danger, the suspicion of popery, -by the sacrifice of Plunket, the titular archbishop of Dublin.[792] -The execution of this worthy and innocent person cannot be said to -have been extorted from the king in a time of great difficulty, like -that of Lord Stafford. He was coolly and deliberately permitted to -suffer death, lest the current of loyalty, still sensitive and -suspicious upon the account of religion, might be somewhat checked in -its course. Yet those who heap the epithets of merciless, inhuman, -sanguinary, on the whig party for the impeachment of Lord Stafford, in -whose guilt they fully believed, seldom mention, without the -characteristic distinction of "good-natured," that sovereign, who -signed the warrant against Plunket, of whose innocence he was -assured.[793] - -_Forfeiture of the charter of London, and of other places._--The -hostility of the city of London, and of several other towns, towards -the court, degenerating no doubt into a factious and indecent -violence, gave a pretext for the most dangerous aggression on public -liberty that occurred in the present reign. The power of the democracy -in that age resided chiefly in the corporations. These returned, -exclusively or principally, a majority of the representatives of the -commons. So long as they should be actuated by that ardent spirit of -protestantism and liberty which prevailed in the middling classes, -there was little prospect of obtaining a parliament that would -co-operate with the Stuart scheme of government. The administration of -justice was very much in the hands of their magistrates; especially in -Middlesex, where all juries are returned by the city sheriffs. It was -suggested therefore by some crafty lawyers that a judgment of -forfeiture obtained against the corporation of London would not only -demolish that citadel of insolent rebels, but intimidate the rest of -England by so striking an example. True it was, that no precedent -could be found for the forfeiture of corporate privileges. But general -reasoning was to serve instead of precedents; and there was a -considerable analogy in the surrenders of the abbeys under Henry -VIII., if much authority could be allowed to that transaction. An -information, as it is called, _quo warranto_, was accordingly brought -into the court of king's bench against the corporation. Two acts of -the common council were alleged as sufficient misdemeanours to warrant -a judgment of forfeiture; one, the imposition of certain tolls on -goods brought into the city markets, by an ordinance or by-law of -their own; the other, their petition to the king in December 1679 for -the sitting of parliament, and its publication throughout the -country.[794] It would be foreign to the purpose of this work to -enquire whether a corporation be in any case subject to forfeiture, -the affirmative of which seems to have been held by courts of justice -since the revolution; or whether the exaction of tolls in their -markets, in consideration of erecting stalls and standings, were -within the competence of the city of London; or, if not so, whether it -were such an offence as could legally incur the penalty of a total -forfeiture and disfranchisement; since it was manifest that the Crown -made use only of this additional pretext, in order to punish the -corporation for its address to the king. The language indeed of their -petition had been uncourtly, and what the adherents of prerogative -would call insolent; but it was at the worst rather a misdemeanour for -which the persons concerned might be responsible than a breach of the -trust reposed in the corporation. We are not however so much concerned -to argue the matter of law in this question, as to remark the spirit -in which the attack on this stronghold of popular liberty was -conceived. The court of king's bench pronounced judgment of forfeiture -against the corporation; but this judgment, at the request of the -attorney-general, was only recorded: the city continued in appearance -to possess its corporate franchises, but upon submission to certain -regulations; namely, that no mayor, sheriff, recorder, or other chief -officer, should be admitted until approved by the king; that in the -event of his twice disapproving their choice of a mayor, he should -himself nominate a fit person, and the same in case of sheriffs, -without waiting for a second election; that the court of aldermen, -with the king's permission, should remove any one of their body; that -they should have a negative on the elections of common councilmen, and -in case of disapproving a second choice, to have themselves the -nomination. The corporation submitted thus to purchase the continued -enjoyment of its estates, at the expense of its municipal -independence; yet, even in the prostrate condition of the whig party, -the question to admit these regulations was carried by no great -majority in the common councils.[795] The city was of course -absolutely subservient to the court from this time to the revolution. - -After the fall of the capital, it was not to be expected that towns -less capable of defence should stand out. Informations _quo warranto_ -were brought against several corporations; and a far greater number -hastened to anticipate the assault by voluntary surrenders. It seemed -to be recognised as law by the judgment against London, that any -irregularity or misuse of power in a corporation might incur a -sentence of forfeiture; and few could boast that they were -invulnerable at every point. The judges of assize in their circuits -prostituted their influence and authority to forward this and every -other encroachment of the Crown. Jefferies, on the northern circuit in -1684, to use the language of Charles II.'s most unblushing advocate, -"made all the charters, like the walls of Jericho, fall down before -him, and returned laden with surrenders, the spoils of towns."[796] -They received instead, new charters, framing the constitution of these -municipalities on a more oligarchical model, and reserving to the -Crown the first appointment of those who were to form the governing -part of the corporation. These changes were gradually brought about in -the last three years of Charles's reign, and in the beginning of the -next. - -_Projects of Lord Russell and Sidney._--There can be nothing so -destructive to the English constitution, not even the introduction of -a military force, as the exclusion of the electoral body from their -franchises. The people of this country are, by our laws and -constitution, bound only to obey a parliament duly chosen; and this -violation of charters, in the reigns of Charles and James, appears to -be the great and leading justification of that event which drove the -latter from the throne. It can therefore be no matter of censure, in a -moral sense, that some men of pure and patriotic virtue, mingled, it -must be owned, with others of a far inferior temper, began to hold -consultations as to the best means of resisting a government, which, -whether to judge from these proceedings, or from the language of its -partisans, was aiming without disguise at an arbitrary power. But as -resistance to established authority can never be warrantable until it -is expedient, we could by no means approve any schemes of insurrection -that might be projected in 1682, unless we could perceive that there -was a fair chance of their success. And this we are not led, by what -we read of the spirit of those times, to believe. The tide ran -violently in another direction; the courage of the whigs was broken; -their adversaries were strong in numbers and in zeal. But from hence -it is reasonable to infer that men, like Lord Essex and Lord Russell, -with so much to lose by failure, with such good sense, and such -abhorrence of civil calamity, would not ultimately have resolved on -the desperate issue of arms, though they might deem it prudent to form -estimates of their strength, and to knit together a confederacy which -absolute necessity might call into action. It is beyond doubt that the -supposed conspirators had debated among themselves the subject of an -insurrection, and poised the chances of civil war. Thus much the most -jealous lawyer, I presume, will allow might be done, without risking -the penalties of treason. They had however gone farther; and by -concerting measures in different places as well as in Scotland, for a -rising, though contingently, and without any fixed determination to -carry it into effect, most probably (if the whole business had been -disclosed in testimony) laid themselves open to the law, according to -the construction it has frequently received. There is a considerable -difficulty, after all that has been written, in stating the extent of -their designs; but I think we may assume, that a wide-spreading and -formidable insurrection was for several months in agitation.[797] But -the difficulties and hazards of the enterprise had already caused Lord -Russell and Lord Essex to recede from the desperate counsels of -Shaftesbury; and but for the unhappy detection of the conspiracy and -the perfidy of Lord Howard, these two noble persons, whose lives were -untimely lost to their country, might have survived to join the banner -and support the throne of William. It is needless to observe that the -minor plot, if we may use that epithet in reference to the relative -dignity of the conspirators, for assassinating the king and the Duke -of York, had no immediate connection with the schemes of Russell, -Essex, and Sidney.[798] - -But it is by no means a consequence from the admission we have made, -that the evidence adduced on Lord Russell's trial was sufficient to -justify his conviction.[799] It appears to me that Lord Howard, and -perhaps Rumsey, were unwilling witnesses; and that the former, as is -frequently the case with those who betray their friends in order to -save their own lives, divulged no more than was extracted by his own -danger. The testimony of neither witness, especially Howard, was given -with any degree of that precision which is exacted in modern times; -and, as we now read the trial, it is not probable that a jury in later -ages would have found a verdict of guilty, or would have been advised -to it by the court. But, on the other hand, if Lord Howard were really -able to prove more than he did, which I much suspect, a better -conducted examination would probably have elicited facts unfavourable -to the prisoner, which at present do not appear. It may be doubtful -whether any overt act of treason is distinctly proved against Lord -Russell, except his concurrence in the project of a rising at Taunton, -to which Rumsey deposes. But this depending on the oath of a single -witness, could not be sufficient for a conviction. - -Pemberton, chief justice of the common pleas, tried this illustrious -prisoner with more humanity than was usually displayed on the bench; -but, aware of his precarious tenure in office, he did not venture to -check the counsel for the Crown, Sawyer and Jefferies, permitting them -to give a great body of hearsay evidence, with only the feeble and -useless remark that it did not affect the prisoner.[800] Yet he -checked Lord Anglesea, when he offered similar evidence for the -defence. In his direction to the jury, it deserves to be remarked that -he by no means advanced the general proposition, which better men have -held, that a conspiracy to levy war is in itself an overt act of -compassing the king's death; limiting it to cases where the king's -person might be put in danger, in the immediate instance, by the -alleged scheme of seizing his guards.[801] His language indeed, as -recorded in the printed trial, was such as might have produced a -verdict of acquittal from a jury tolerably disposed towards the -prisoner; but the sheriffs, North and Rich, who had been illegally -thrust into office, being men wholly devoted to the prerogative, had -taken care to return a panel in whom they could confide.[802] - -The trial of Algernon Sidney, at which Jefferies, now raised to the -post of chief justice of the king's bench, presided, is as familiar to -all my readers as that of Lord Russell.[803] Their names have been -always united in grateful veneration and sympathy. It is notorious -that Sidney's conviction was obtained by a most illegal distortion of -the evidence. Besides Lord Howard, no living witness could be produced -to the conspiracy for an insurrection; and though Jefferies permitted -two others to prepossess the jury by a second-hand story, he was -compelled to admit that their testimony could not directly affect the -prisoner.[804] The attorney-general therefore had recourse to a paper -found in his house, which was given in evidence, either as an overt -act of treason by its own nature, or as connected with the alleged -conspiracy; for though it was only in the latter sense that it could -be admissible at all, yet Jefferies took care to insinuate, in his -charge to the jury, that the doctrines it contained were treasonable -in themselves, and without reference to other evidence. In regard to -truth, and to that justice which cannot be denied to the worst men in -their worst actions, I must observe that the common accusation against -the court in this trial, of having admitted insufficient proof by the -mere comparison of handwriting, though alleged, not only in most of -our historians, but in the act of parliament reversing Sidney's -attainder, does not appear to be well founded; the testimony to that -fact, unless the printed trial is falsified in an extraordinary -degree, being such as would be received at present.[805] We may allow -also that the passages from this paper, as laid in the indictment, -containing very strong assertions of the right of the people to depose -an unworthy king, might by possibility, if connected by other evidence -with the conspiracy itself, have been admissible as presumptions for -the jury to consider whether they had been written in furtherance of -that design. But when they came to be read on the trial with their -context, though only with such parts of that as the attorney-general -chose to produce out of a voluminous manuscript, it was clear that -they belonged to a theoretical work on government, long since perhaps -written, and incapable of any bearing upon the other evidence.[806] - -The manifest iniquity of this sentence upon Algernon Sidney, as well -as the high courage he displayed throughout these last scenes of his -life, have inspired a sort of enthusiasm for his name, which neither -what we know of his story, nor the opinion of his contemporaries seem -altogether to warrant. The crown of martyrdom should be suffered -perhaps to exalt every virtue, and efface every defect in patriots, as -it has often done in saints. In the faithful mirror of history, Sidney -may lose something of this lustre. He possessed no doubt a powerful, -active, and undaunted mind, stored with extensive reading on the -topics in which he delighted. But having proposed one only object for -his political conduct, the establishment of a republic in England, his -pride and inflexibility, though they gave a dignity to his character, -rendered his views narrow and his temper unaccommodating. It was -evident to every reasonable man that a republican government, being -adverse to the prepossessions of a great majority of the people, could -only be brought about and maintained by the force of usurpation. Yet -for this idol of his speculative hours, he was content to sacrifice -the liberties of Europe, to plunge the country in civil war, and even -to stand indebted to France for protection. He may justly be suspected -of having been the chief promoter of the dangerous cabals with -Barillon; nor could any tool of Charles's court be more sedulous in -representing the aggressions of Louis XIV. in the Netherlands as -indifferent to our honour and safety. - -Sir Thomas Armstrong, who had fled to Holland on the detection of the -plot, was given up by the States. A sentence of outlawry, which had -passed against him in his absence, is equivalent, in cases of treason, -to a conviction of the crime. But the law allows the space of one -year, during which the party may surrender himself to take his trial. -Armstrong, when brought before the court, insisted on this right, and -demanded a trial. Nothing could be more evident, in point of law, than -that he was entitled to it. But Jefferies, with inhuman rudeness, -treated his claim as wholly unfounded, and would not even suffer -counsel to be heard in his behalf. He was executed accordingly without -trial.[807] But it would be too prolix to recapitulate all the -instances of brutal injustice, or of cowardly subserviency, which -degraded the English lawyers of the Stuart period, and never so -infamously as in these last years of Charles II. From this -prostitution of the tribunals, from the intermission of parliaments, -and the steps taken to render them in future mere puppets of the -Crown, it was plain that all constitutional securities were at least -in abeyance; and those who felt themselves most obnoxious, or whose -spirit was too high to live in an enslaved country, retired to Holland -as an asylum in which they might wait the occasion of better -prospects, or, at the worst, breathe an air of liberty. - -Meanwhile the prejudice against the whig party, which had reached so -great a height in 1681, was still farther enhanced by the detection of -the late conspiracy. The atrocious scheme of assassination, alleged -against Walcot and some others who had suffered, was blended by the -arts of the court and clergy, and by the blundering credulity of the -gentry, with those less heinous projects ascribed to Lord Russell and -his associates.[808] These projects, if true in their full extent, -were indeed such as men honestly attached to the government of their -country could not fail to disapprove. For this purpose, a declaration -full of malicious insinuations was ordered to be read in all -churches.[809] It was generally commented upon, we may make no -question, in one of those loyal discourses, which, trampling on all -truth, charity, and moderation, had no other scope than to inflame the -hearers against nonconforming protestants, and to throw obloquy on the -constitutional privileges of the subject. - -_High tory principles of the clergy._--It is not my intention to -censure, in any strong sense of the word, the Anglican clergy at this -time for their assertion of absolute non-resistance, so far as it was -done without calumny and insolence towards those of another way of -thinking, and without self-interested adulation of the ruling power. -Their error was very dangerous, and had nearly proved destructive of -the whole constitution; but it was one which had come down with high -recommendation, and of which they could only perhaps be undeceived, as -men are best undeceived of most errors, by experience that it might -hurt themselves. It was the tenet of their homilies, their canons, -their most distinguished divines and casuists; it had the apparent -sanction of the legislature in a statute of the present reign. Many -excellent men, as was shown after the revolution, who had never made -use of this doctrine as an engine of faction or private interest, -could not disentangle their minds from the arguments or the authority -on which it rested. But by too great a number it was eagerly brought -forward to serve the purposes of arbitrary power, or at best to fix -the wavering protestantism of the court by professions of -unimpeachable loyalty. To this motive, in fact, we may trace a good -deal of the vehemence with which the non-resisting principle had been -originally advanced by the church of England under the Tudors, and was -continually urged under the Stuarts. If we look at the tracts and -sermons published by both parties after the restoration, it will -appear manifest that the Romish and Anglican churches bade, as it -were, against each other for the favour of the two royal brothers. The -one appealed to its acknowledged principles, while it denounced the -pretensions of the holy see to release subjects from their allegiance, -and the bold theories of popular government which Mariana and some -other Jesuits had promulgated. The others retaliated on the first -movers of the reformation, and expatiated on the usurpation of Lady -Jane Grey, not to say Elizabeth, and the republicanism of Knox or -Calvin. - -_Passive obedience._--From the aera of the exclusion bill especially, -to the death of Charles II., a number of books were published in -favour of an indefeasible hereditary right of the Crown, and of -absolute non-resistance. These were however of two very different -classes. The authors of the first, who were perhaps the more numerous, -did not deny the legal limitations of monarchy. They admitted that no -one was bound to concur in the execution of unlawful commands. Hence -the obedience they deemed indispensable was denominated passive; an -epithet which, in modern usage, is little more than redundant, but at -that time made a sensible distinction. If all men should confine -themselves to this line of duty, and merely refuse to become the -instruments of such unlawful commands, it was evident that no tyranny -could be carried into effect. If some should be wicked enough to -co-operate against the liberties of their country, it would still be -the bounden obligation of Christians to submit. Of this, which may be -reckoned the moderate party, the most eminent were Hickes in a -treatise called "Jovian," and Sherlock in his case of resistance to -the supreme powers.[810] To this also must have belonged Archbishop -Sancroft, and the great body of non-juring clergy who had refused to -read the declaration of indulgence under James II., and whose conduct -in that respect would be utterly absurd, except on the supposition -that there existed some lawful boundaries of the royal authority. - -_Some contend for absolute-power._--But besides these men, who kept -some measures with the constitution, even while, by their slavish -tenets, they laid it open to the assaults of more intrepid enemies, -another and a pretty considerable class of writers did not hesitate to -avow their abhorrence of all limitations upon arbitrary power. Brady -went back to the primary sources of our history, and endeavoured to -show that Magna Charta, as well as every other constitutional law, -were but rebellious encroachments on the ancient uncontrollable -imprescriptible prerogatives of the monarchy. His writings, replete -with learning and acuteness, and in some respects with just remarks, -though often unfair and always partial, naturally produced an effect -on those who had been accustomed to value the constitution rather for -its presumed antiquity, than its real excellence. But the author most -in vogue with the partisans of despotism was Sir Robert Filmer. He had -lived before the civil war, but his posthumous writings came to light -about this period. They contain an elaborate vindication of what was -called the patriarchal scheme of government, which, rejecting with -scorn that original contract whence human society had been supposed to -spring, derives all legitimate authority from that of primogeniture, -the next heir being king by divine right, and as incapable of being -restrained in his sovereignty, as of being excluded from it. "As -kingly power," he says, "is by the law of God, so hath it no inferior -power to limit it. The father of a family governs by no other law than -his own will, not by the laws and wills of his sons and -servants."[811] "The direction of the law is but like the advice and -direction which the king's council gives the king, which no man says -is a law to the king."[812] "General laws," he observes, "made in -parliament, may, upon known respects to the king, by his authority be -mitigated or suspended upon causes only known to him; and by the -coronation oath, he is only bound to observe good laws, of which he is -the judge."[813] "A man is bound to obey the king's command against -law, nay, in some cases, against divine laws."[814] In another -treatise, entitled "The Anarchy of a Mixed or Limited Monarchy," he -inveighs, with no kind of reserve or exception, against the regular -constitution; setting off with an assumption that the parliament of -England was originally but an imitation of the States General of -France, which had no further power than to present requests to the -king.[815] - -These treatises of Filmer obtained a very favourable reception. We -find the patriarchal origin of government frequently mentioned in the -publications of this time as an undoubted truth. Considered with -respect to his celebrity rather than his talents, he was not, as some -might imagine, too ignoble an adversary for Locke to have combated. -Another person, far superior to Filmer in political eminence, -undertook at the same time an unequivocal defence of absolute -monarchy. This was Sir George Mackenzie, the famous lord advocate of -Scotland. In his "Jus Regium," published in 1684, and dedicated to the -university of Oxford, he maintains, that "monarchy in its nature is -absolute, and consequently these pretended limitations are against the -nature of monarchy."[816] "Whatever proves monarchy to be an excellent -government, does by the same reason prove absolute monarchy to be the -best government; for if monarchy be to be commended, because it -prevents divisions, then a limited monarchy, which allows the people a -share, is not to be commended, because it occasions them; if monarchy -be commended, because there is more expedition, secrecy, and other -excellent qualities to be found in it, then absolute monarchy is to be -commended above a limited one, because a limited monarch must impart -his secrets to the people, and must delay the noblest designs, until -malicious and factious spirits be either gained or overcome; and the -same analogy of reason will hold in reflecting upon all other -advantages of monarchy, the examination whereof I dare trust to every -man's own bosom."[817] We can hardly, after this, avoid being -astonished at the effrontery even of a Scots crown lawyer, when we -read in the preface to this very treatise of Mackenzie, "Under whom -can we expect to be free from arbitrary government, when we were and -are afraid of it under King Charles I. and King Charles II.?" - -_Decree of the university of Oxford._--It was at this time that the -university of Oxford published their celebrated decree against -pernicious books and damnable doctrines, enumerating as such above -twenty propositions which they anathematised as false, seditious, and -impious. The first of these is, that all civil authority is derived -originally from the people; the second, that there is a compact, tacit -or express, between the king and his subjects: and others follow of -the same description. They do not explicitly condemn a limited -monarchy, like Filmer, but evidently adopt his scheme of primogenitary -right, which is incompatible with it. Nor is there the slightest -intimation that the university extended their censure to such praises -of despotic power as have been quoted in the last pages.[818] This -decree was publicly burned by an order of the House of Lords in 1709: -nor does there seem to have been a single dissent in that body to a -step that cast such a stigma on the university. But the disgrace of -the offence was greater than that of the punishment. - -We can frame no adequate conception of the jeopardy in which our -liberties stood under the Stuarts, especially in this particular -period, without attending to this spirit of servility which had been -so sedulously excited. It seemed as if England was about to play the -scene which Denmark had not long since exhibited, by a spontaneous -surrender of its constitution. And although this loyalty were much -more on the tongue than in the heart, as the next reign very amply -disclosed, it served at least to deceive the court into a belief that -its future steps would be almost without difficulty. It is uncertain -whether Charles would have summoned another parliament. He either had -the intention, or professed it in order to obtain money from France, -of convoking one at Cambridge in the autumn of 1681.[819] But after -the scheme of new-modelling corporations began to be tried, it was his -policy to wait the effects of this regeneration. It was better still, -in his judgment, to dispense with the Commons altogether. The period -fixed by law had elapsed nearly twelve months before his death; and we -have no evidence that a new parliament was in contemplation. But -Louis, on the other hand, having discontinued his annual subsidy to -the king in 1684, after gaining Strasburg and Luxemburg by his -connivance, or rather co-operation,[820] it would not have been easy -to avoid a recurrence to the only lawful source of revenue. The King -of France, it should be observed, behaved towards Charles as men -usually treat the low tools by whose corruption they have obtained any -end. During the whole course of their long negotiations, Louis, though -never the dupe of our wretched monarch, was compelled to endure his -shuffling evasions, and pay dearly for his base compliances. But when -he saw himself no longer in need of them, it seems to have been in -revenge that he permitted the publication of the secret treaty of -1670, and withdrew his pecuniary aid. Charles deeply resented both -these marks of desertion in his ally. In addition to them he -discovered the intrigues of the French ambassadors with his malcontent -Commons. He perceived also that by bringing home the Duke of York from -Scotland, and restoring him in defiance of the test act to the privy -council, he had made the presumptive heir of the throne, possessed as -he was of superior steadiness and attention, too near a rival to -himself. These reflections appear to have depressed his mind in the -latter months of his life, and to have produced that remarkable -private reconciliation with the Duke of Monmouth, through the -influence of Lord Halifax; which, had he lived, would very probably -have displayed one more revolution in the uncertain policy of this -reign.[821] But a death, so sudden and inopportune as to excite -suspicions of poison in some most nearly connected with him, gave a -more decisive character to the system of government.[822] - - -THE TEMPLE PRESS, PRINTERS, LETCHWORTH - -FOOTNOTES: - -[696] Temple's _Memoirs_. - -[697] Burnet says that Danby bribed the less important members, -instead of the leaders; which did not answer so well. But he seems to -have been liberal to all. The parliament has gained the name of the -pensioned. In that of 1679, Sir Stephen Fox was called upon to produce -an account of the monies paid to many of their predecessors. Those who -belonged to the new parliament, endeavoured to defend themselves; and -gave reasons for their pensions; but I observe no one says he did not -always vote with the court. _Parl. Hist._ 1137. North admits that -great clamour was excited by this discovery; and well it might. See -also Dalrymple, ii. 92. - -[698] Burnet charges these two leaders of opposition with being bribed -by the court to draw the house into granting an enormous supply, as -the consideration of passing the test act; and see Pepys, Oct. 6, -1666. Sir Robert Howard and Sir Richard Temple were said to have gone -over to the court in 1670 through similar inducements. Ralph. Roger -North (_Examen_, p. 456) gives an account of the manner in which men -were brought off from the opposition, though it was sometimes -advisable to let them nominally continue in it; and mentions Lee, -Garraway, and Meres, all very active patriots, if we trust to the -parliamentary debates. But, after all, neither Burnet nor Roger North -are wholly to be relied on as to particular instances; though the -general fact of an extensive corruption be indisputable. - -[699] This cunning, self-interested man, who had been introduced to -the house by Lord Russell and Lord Cavendish, and was connected with -the country party, tells us that Danby sent for him in Feb. 1677, and -assured him that the jealousies of that party were wholly without -foundation; that, to his certain knowledge, the king meant no other -than to preserve the religion and government by law established; that, -if the government was in any danger, it was from those who pretended -such a mighty zeal for it. On finding him well disposed, Danby took -his proselyte to the king, who assured him of his regard for the -constitution, and was right loyally believed. Reresby's _Memoirs_, p. -36. - -[700] "There were two things," says Bishop Parker, "which, like -Circe's cup, bewitched men and turned them into brutes; viz. popery -and French interest. If men otherwise sober heard them once, it was -sufficient to make them run mad. But, when those things were laid -aside, their behaviour to his majesty was with a becoming modesty." P. -244. Whenever the court seemed to fall in with the national interests -on the two points of France and popery, many of the country party -voted with them, though more numerous than their own. Temple, p. 458. -See too Reresby, p. 25 _et alibi_. - -[701] The king, according to James himself, readily consented to the -marriage of the princess, when it was first suggested in 1675; the -difficulty was with her father. He gave at last a reluctant consent; -and the offer was made by Lords Arlington and Ossory to the Prince of -Orange, who received it coolly. _Life of James_, 501. When he came -over to England in Oct. 1677, with the intention of effecting the -match, the king and duke wished to defer it till the conclusion of the -treaty then in negotiation at Nimeguen; but "the obstinacy of the -prince, with the assistance of the treasurer, who from that time -entered into the measures and interests of the prince, prevailed upon -the flexibility of the king to let the marriage be first agreed and -concluded."--P. 508. - -[702] Kennet, p. 332; North's _Examen_, p. 61; Burnet. This test was -covertly meant against the Romish party as well as more openly against -the dissenters. _Life of James_, p. 499. Danby set himself up as the -patron of the church party and old cavaliers against the two opposing -religions; trusting that they were the stronger in the House of -Commons. But the times were so changed that the same men had no longer -the same principles, and the house would listen to no measures against -nonconformists. He propitiated, however, the prelates, by renewing the -persecution under the existing laws, which had been relaxed by the -cabal ministry. Baxter, 156, 172; Kennet, 331; Neal, 698; _Somers -Tracts_, vii. 336. - -Meanwhile, schemes of comprehension were sometimes on foot; and the -prelates affected to be desirous of bringing about an union; but -Morley and Sheldon frustrated them all. Baxter, 156; Kennet, 326; -Parker, 25. The bishops, however, were not uniformly intolerant. -Croft, Bishop of Hereford, published, about 1675, a tract that made -some noise, entitled "The Naked Truth," for the purpose of moderating -differences. It is not written with extraordinary ability; but is very -candid and well designed, though conceding so much as to scandalise -his brethren. _Somers Tracts_, vii. 268; _Biogr. Brit._ art. Croft; -where the book is extravagantly over praised. Croft was one of the few -bishops who, being then very old, advised his clergy to read James -II.'s declaration in 1687; thinking, I suppose, though in those -circumstances erroneously, that toleration was so good a thing, it was -better to have it irregularly than not at all. - -[703] Charles received 500,000 crowns for the long prorogation of -parliament, from Nov. 1675 to Feb. 1677. In the beginning of the year -1676, the two kings bound themselves by a formal treaty (to which -Danby and Lauderdale, but not Coventry or Williamson, were privy), not -to enter on any treaties but by mutual consent; and Charles promised, -in consideration of a pension, to prorogue or dissolve parliament, if -they should attempt to force such treaties upon him. Dalrymple, p. 99. -Danby tried to break this off, but did not hesitate to press the -French cabinet for the money; and L200,000 was paid. The Prince of -Orange came afterwards through Rouvigny to a knowledge of this secret -treaty. P. 117. - -[704] This army consisted of between twenty and thirty thousand men, -as fine troops as could be seen (_Life of James_, p. 512): an alarming -sight to those who denied the lawfulness of any standing army. It is -impossible to doubt, from Barillon's correspondence in Dalrymple, that -the king and duke looked to this force as the means of consolidating -the royal authority. This was suspected at home, and very justly: -"Many well-meaning men," says Reresby, "began to fear the army now -raised was rather intended to awe our own kingdom than to war against -France, as had at first been suggested."--P. 62. And in a former -passage (p. 57) he positively attributes the opposition to the French -war in 1678, to "a jealousy that the king indeed intended to raise an -army, but never designed to go on with the war; and to say the truth, -some of the king's own party were not very sure of the contrary." - -[705] Dalrymple, p. 129. The immediate cause of those intrigues was -the indignation of Louis at the Princess Mary's marriage. That event -which, as we know from James himself, was very suddenly brought about, -took the King of France by surprise. Charles apologised for it to -Barillon, by saying, "I am the only one of my party, except my -brother."--P. 125. This, in fact, was the secret of his apparent -relinquishment of French interests at different times in the latter -years of his reign; he found it hard to kick constantly against the -pricks, and could employ no minister who went cordially along with his -predilections. He seems too at times, as well as the Duke of York, to -have been seriously provoked at the unceasing encroachments of France, -which exposed him to so much vexation at home. - -The connection with Lords Russell and Hollis began in March 1678, -though some of the opposition had been making advances to Barillon in -the preceding November. Pp. 129, 131. See also _Copies and Extracts of -some Letters written to and from the Earl of Danby_, published in -1716; whence it appears that Montagu suspected the intrigues of -Barillon, and the mission of Rouvigny, Lady Russell's first cousin, -for the same purpose, as early as Jan. 1678; and informed Danby of it. -Pp. 50, 53, 59. - -[706] Courtin, the French ambassador who preceded Barillon, had been -engaged through great part of the year 1677 in a treaty with Charles -for the prorogation or dissolution of parliament. After a long -chaffering, the sum was fixed at 2,000,000 livres; in consideration of -which the King of England pledged himself to prorogue parliament from -December to April 1678. It was in consequence of the subsidy being -stopped by Louis, in resentment of the Princess Mary's marriage, that -parliament, which had been already prorogued till April, was suddenly -assembled in February. Dalrymple, p. 111. It appears that Courtin had -employed French money to bribe members of the Commons in 1677 with the -knowledge of Charles; assigning as a reason, that Spain and the -emperor were distributing money on the other side. In the course of -this negotiation, he assured Charles that the King of France was -always ready to employ all his forces for the confirmation and -augmentation of the royal authority in England, so that he should -always be master of his subjects, and not depend upon them. - -[707] See what Temple says of this (p. 460): the king raised 20,000 -men in the spring of 1678, and seemed ready to go into the war; but -all was spoiled by a vote, on Clarges's motion, that no money should -be granted till satisfaction should be made as to religion. This -irritated the king so much that he determined to take the money which -France offered him; and he afterwards almost compelled the Dutch to -sign the treaty; so much against the Prince of Orange's inclinations, -that he has often been charged, though unjustly, with having fought -the battle of St. Denis after he knew that the peace was concluded. -Danby also, in his vindication (published in 1679, and again in 1710; -see _State Trials_, ii. 634), lays the blame of discouraging the king -from embarking in the war on this vote of the Commons. And the author -of the _Life of James II._ says very truly, that the Commons "were in -reality more jealous of the king's power than of the power of France; -for, notwithstanding all their former warm addresses for hindering the -growth of the power of France, when the king had no army, now that he -had one, they passed a vote to have it immediately disbanded; and the -factious party, which was then prevalent among them, made it their -only business to be rid of the duke, to pull down the ministers, and -to weaken the Crown."--P. 512. - -In defence of the Commons it is to be urged that, if they had any -strong suspicion of the king's private intrigues with France for some -years past, as in all likelihood they had, common prudence would teach -them to distrust his pretended desire for war with her; and it is, in -fact, most probable, that his real object was to be master of a -considerable army. - -[708] The memorial of Blancard to the Prince of Orange, quoted by -Dalrymple (p. 201) contains these words: "Le roi auroit ete bien fache -qu'il eut ete absolu dans ses etats; l'un de ses plus constants -maximes depuis son retablissement ayant ete, de le diviser d'avec son -parlement, et de se servir tantot de l'un, tantot de l'autre, toujours -par argent pour parvenir a ses fins." - -[709] Ralph, p. 116; _Oeuvres de Louis XIV._ ii. 204, and v. 67, -where we have a curious and characteristic letter of the king to -d'Estrades in Jan. 1662, when he had been provoked by some high -language Clarendon had held about the right of the flag. - -[710] The letters of Barillon in Dalrymple (pp. 134, 136, 140) are -sufficient proofs of this. He imputes to Danby in one place (p. 142) -the design of making the king absolute, and says: "M. le duc d'York se -croit perdu pour sa religion, si l'occasion presente ne lui sert a -soumettre l'Angleterre; c'est une entreprise fort hardie, et dont le -succes est fort doutex." Of Charles himself he says: "Le roi -d'Angleterre balance encore a se porter a l'extremite; son humeur -repugne fort au dessein de changer le gouvernement. Il est neanmoins -entraine par M. le duc d'York et par le grand tresorier; mais dans le -fond il aimeroit mieux que la paix le mit en etat de demeurer en -repos, et retablir ses affaires, c'est a dire, un bon revenu; et je -crois qu'il ne se soucie pas beaucoup d'etre plus absolu qu'il est. Le -duc et le tresorier connoissent bien a qui ils ont affaire, et -craignent d'etre abandonnes par le roi d'Angleterre aux premiers -obstacles considerables qu'ils trouveront au dessein de relever -l'autorite royale en Angleterre." On this passage it may be observed, -that there is reason to believe there was no co-operation, but rather -a great distrust at this time between the Duke of York and Lord Danby. -But Barillon had no doubt taken care to infuse into the minds of the -opposition those suspicions of that minister's designs. - -[711] Barillon appears to have favoured the opposition rather than the -Duke of York, who urged the keeping up of the army. This was also the -great object of the king, who very reluctantly disbanded it in Jan. -1679. Dalrymple, 207, etc. - -[712] This delicate subject is treated with great candour as well as -judgment by Lord John Russell, in his _Life of William Lord Russell_. - -[713] _Parl. Hist._ 1035; Dalrymple, 200. - -[714] Louis XIV. tells us, that Sidney had made proposals to France in -1666 for an insurrection, and asked 100,000 crowns to effect it; which -was thought too much for an experiment. He tried to persuade the -ministers, that it was against the interest of France that England -should continue a monarchy. _Oeuvres de Louis XIV._ ii. 204. - -[715] Dalrymple, 162. - -[716] His exclamation at Barillon's pressing the reduction of the army -to 8000 men is well known: "God's fish! are all the King of France's -promises to make me master of my subjects come to this! or does he -think that a matter to be done with 8000 men!" Temple says, "He seemed -at this time (May 1678) more resolved to enter into the war than I had -ever before seen or thought him." - -[717] Dalrymple, 178 _et post_. - -[718] _Memoirs relating to the Impeachment of the Earl of Danby_, -1710, pp. 151, 227; _State Trials_, vol. xi. - -[719] The violence of the next House of Commons, who refused to -acquiesce in Danby's banishment, to which the Lords had changed their -bill of attainder, may seem to render this very doubtful. But it is to -be remembered that they were exasperated by the pardon he had -clandestinely obtained, and pleaded in bar of their impeachment. - -[720] The impeachment was carried by 179 to 116, Dec. 19. A motion -(Dec. 21) to leave out the word traitorously was lost by 179 to 141. - -[721] Lords' Journals, Dec. 26, 1678. Eighteen peers entered their -protests; Halifax, Essex, Shaftesbury, etc. - -[722] _State Trials_, vi. 351 _et post_; Hatsell's _Precedents_, iv. -176. - -[723] Lords' Journals, April 16. - -[724] "The lord privy seal, Anglesea, in a conference between the two -houses," said, "that, in the transaction of this affair, were two -great points gained by this House of Commons: the first was, that -impeachments made by the Commons in one parliament continued from -session to session, and parliament to parliament, notwithstanding -prorogations or dissolutions: the other point was, that in cases of -impeachments, upon special matter shown, if the modesty of the party -directs him not to withdraw, the Lords admit that of right they ought -to order him to withdraw, and that afterwards he ought to be -committed. But he understood that the Lords did not intend to extend -the points of withdrawing and committing to general impeachments -without special matter alleged; else they did not know how many might -be picked out of their house on a sudden." - -Shaftesbury said, indecently enough, that they were as willing to be -rid of the Earl of Danby as the Commons; and cavilled at the -distinction between general and special impeachments. Commons' -Journals, April 12, 1679. On the impeachment of Scroggs for treason, -in the next parliament, it was moved to commit him; but the previous -question was carried, and he was admitted to bail; doubtless because -no sufficient matter was alleged. Twenty peers protested. Lords' -Journals, Jan. 7, 1681. - -[725] Lords' Journals, April 25; _Parl. Hist._ 1121, etc. - -[726] Lords' Journals, May 9, 1679. - -[727] Lords' Journals, May 10 and 11. After the former vote 50 peers, -out of 107 who appear to have been present, entered their dissent; and -another, the Earl of Leicester, is known to have voted with the -minority. The unusual strength of opposition, no doubt, produced the -change next day. - -[728] May 13. Twenty-one peers were entered as dissentient. The -Commons inquired whether it were intended by this that the bishops -should vote on the pardon of Danby, which the upper house declined to -answer, but said they could not vote on the trial of the five popish -lords, May 15, 17, 27. - -[729] See the report of a committee in Journals, May 26; or Hatsell's -_Precedents_, iv. 374. - -[730] 13 W. III. c. 2. - -[731] _Parl. Hist._ vii. 283. Mr. Lechmere, a very ardent whig, then -solicitor-general, and one of the managers on the impeachment, had -most confidently denied this prerogative. _Id._ 233. - -[732] Instead of the words in the order, "from the proceedings of any -other court," the following are inserted, "or any other business -wherein their lordships act as in a court of judicature, and not in -their legislative capacity." The importance of this alteration as to -the question of impeachment is obvious. - -[733] Lords' Journals. - -[734] Lords' Journals. Seventy-eight peers were present. - -[735] _Id._ 4th Dec. 1680. - -[736] Lords' Journ. March 24, 1681. The very next day the Commons sent -a message to demand judgment on the impeachment against him. Com. -Journ. March 25. - -[737] Shower's _Reports_, ii. 335. "He was bailed to appear at the -Lords' bar the first day of the then next parliament." The catholic -lords were bailed the next day. This proves that the impeachment was -not held to be at an end. - -[738] Lords' Journals, May 22, 1685. - -[739] Upon considering the proceedings in the House of Lords on this -subject, Oct. 6 and 30, 1690, and especially the protest signed by -eight peers on the latter day, there can be little doubt that their -release had been chiefly grounded on the act of grace, and not on the -abandonment of the impeachment. - -[740] Bishop Parker is not wrong in saying that the House of Commons -had so long accustomed themselves to strange fictions about popery, -that, upon the first discovery of Oates's plot, they readily believed -everything he said; for they had long expected whatever he declared. -_Hist. sui temp._ p. 248 (of the translation). - -[741] _Parl. Hist._ 1024, 1035; _State Trials_, vii. 1; Kennet, 327, -337, 351; North's _Examen_, 129, 177; Ralph, 386; Burnet, i. 555. -Scroggs tried Coleman with much rudeness and partiality; but his -summing up in reference to the famous passage in the letters is not -deficient in acuteness. In fact, this not only convicted Coleman, but -raised a general conviction of the truth of a plot--and a plot there -was, though not Oates's. - -[742] _Examen_, p. 196. - -[743] R. v. Farwell and others; _State Trials_, viii. 1361. They were -indicted for publishing some letters to prove that Godfrey had killed -himself. They defended themselves by calling witnesses to prove the -truth of the fact, which, though in a case of libel, Pemberton -allowed. But their own witnesses proved that Godfrey's body had all -the appearance of being strangled. - -The Roman catholics gave out, at the time of Godfrey's death, that he -had killed himself; and hurt their own cause by foolish lies. North's -_Examen_, p. 200. - -[744] It was deposed by a respectable witness, that Godfrey -entertained apprehensions on account of what he had done as to the -plot, and had said, "On my conscience, I believe I shall be the first -martyr." _State Trials_, vii. 168. These little additional -circumstances, which are suppressed by later historians, who speak of -the plot as unfit to impose on any but the most bigoted fanatics, -contributed to make up a body of presumptive and positive evidence, -from which human relief is rarely withheld. - -It is remarkable that the most acute and diligent historian we possess -for those times, Ralph, does not in the slightest degree pretend to -account for Godfrey's death; though, in his general reflections on the -plot (p. 555) he relies too much on the assertions of North and -l'Estrange. - -[745] _State Trials_, vii. 259; North's _Examen_, 240. - -[746] _State Trials_, vol. vii. _passim_. On the trial of Green, -Berry, and Hill, for Godfrey's murder, part of the story for the -prosecution was, that the body was brought to Hill's lodgings on the -Saturday, and remained there till Monday. The prisoner called -witnesses who lodged in the same house, to prove that it could not -have been there without their knowledge. Wild, one of the judges, -assuming, as usual, the truth of the story as beyond controversy, said -it was very suspicious that they should see or hear nothing of it; and -another, Dolben, told them it was well they were not indicted. _Id._ -199. Jones, summing up the evidence on Sir Thomas Gascoigne's trial at -York (an aged catholic gentleman, most improbably accused of accession -to the plot), says to the jury: "Gentlemen, you have the king's -witness on his oath; he that testifies against him is barely on his -word, and he is a papist" (_Id._ 1039): thus deriving an argument from -an iniquitous rule, which, at that time, prevailed in our law, of -refusing to hear the prisoner's witnesses upon oath. Gascoigne, -however, was acquitted. - -It would swell this note to an unwarrantable length, were I to extract -so much of the trials as might fully exhibit all the instances of -gross partiality in the conduct of the judges. I must, therefore, -refer my readers to the volume itself, a standing monument of the -necessity of the revolution; not only as it rendered the judges -independent of the Crown, but as it brought forward those principles -of equal and indifferent justice, which can never be expected to -flourish but under the shadow of liberty. - -[747] _State Trials_, 119, 315, 344. - -[748] Roger North, whose long account of the popish plot is, as usual -with him, a medley of truth and lies, acuteness and absurdity, -represents his brother, the chief justice, as perfectly immaculate in -the midst of this degradation of the bench. The _State Trials_, -however, show that he was as partial and unjust towards the prisoners -as any of the rest, till the government thought it necessary to -interfere. The moment when the judges veered round, was on the trial -of Sir George Wakeman, physician to the queen. Scroggs, who had been -infamously partial against the prisoners upon every former occasion, -now treated Oates and Bedloe as they deserved, though to the -aggravation of his own disgrace. _State Trials_, vii. 619-686. - -[749] _State Trials_, 1552; _Parl. Hist._ 1229. Stafford, though not a -man of much ability, had rendered himself obnoxious as a prominent -opposer of all measures intended to check the growth of popery. His -name appears constantly in protests upon such occasions; as, for -instance, March 3, 1678, against the bill for raising money for a -French war. Reresby praises his defence very highly. P. 108. The Duke -of York, on the contrary, or his biographer, observes: "Those who -wished Lord Stafford well were of opinion that, had he managed the -advantages which were given him with dexterity, he would have made the -greatest part of his judges ashamed to condemn him; but it was his -misfortune to play his game worst, when he had the best cards."--P. -637. - -[750] I take this from extracts out of those sermons, contained in a -Roman catholic pamphlet printed in 1687, and entitled "Good Advice to -the Pulpits." The protestant divines did their cause no good by -misrepresentation of their adversaries, and by their propensity to -rudeness and scurrility. The former fault indeed existed in a much -greater degree on the opposite side, but by no means the latter. See -also a treatise by Barlow, published in 1679, entitled, "Popish -Principles pernicious to Protestant Princes." - -[751] _Parl. Hist._ 1040. - -[752] See Marvell's "Seasonable Argument to persuade all the grand -Juries in England to petition for a new Parliament." He gives very bad -characters of the principal members on the court side; but we cannot -take for granted all that comes from so unscrupulous a libeller. Sir -Harbottle Grimstone had first thrown out, in the session of 1675, that -a standing parliament was as great a grievance as a standing army, and -that an application ought to be made to the king for a dissolution. -This was not seconded; and met with much disapprobation from both -sides of the house. _Parl. Hist._ vii. 64. But the country party, in -two years' time, had changed their views, and were become eager for a -dissolution. An address to that effect was moved in the House of -Lords, and lost by only two voices, the Duke of York voting for it. -_Id._ 800. This is explained by a passage in Coleman's _Letters_; -where that intriguer expresses his desire to see parliament dissolved, -in the hope that another would be more favourable to the toleration of -catholics. This must mean that the dissenters might gain an advantage -over the rigorous church of England men, and be induced to come into a -general indulgence. - -[753] This test, 30 Car. 2, stat. 2, is the declaration subscribed by -members of both houses of parliament on taking their seats, that there -is no transubstantiation of the elements in the Lord's supper; and -that the invocation of saints, as practised in the church of Rome, is -idolatrous. The oath of supremacy was already taken by the Commons, -though not by the Lords; and it is a great mistake to imagine that -catholics were legally capable of sitting in the lower house before -the act of 1679. But it had been the aim of the long parliament in -1642 to exclude them from the House of Lords; and this was of course -revived with greater eagerness, as the danger from their influence -grew more apparent. A bill for this purpose passed the Commons in 1675, -but was thrown out by the peers. Journals, May 14, Nov. 8. It was -brought in again in the spring of 1678. _Parl. Hist._ 990. In the autumn -of the same year it was renewed, when the Lords agreed to the oath of -supremacy, but omitted the declaration against transubstantiation, so -far as their own house was affected by it. Lords' Journals, Nov. 20, -1678. They also excepted the Duke of York from the operation of the -bill; which exception was carried in the Commons by two voices. _Parl. -Hist._ 1040. The Duke of York and seven more lords protested. - -The violence of those times on all sides will account for this -theological declaration; but it is more difficult to justify its -retention at present. Whatever influence a belief in the pope's -supremacy may exercise upon men's politics, it is hard to see how the -doctrine of transubstantiation can directly affect them; and surely he -who renounces the former, cannot be very dangerous on account of his -adherence to the latter. Nor is it less extraordinary to demand, from -many of those who usually compose a House of Commons, the assertion -that the practice of the church of Rome in the invocation of saints is -idolatrous; since, even on the hypothesis that a country gentleman has -a clear notion of what is meant by idolatry, he is, in many cases, -wholly out of the way of knowing what the church of Rome or any of its -members believe or practise. The invocation of saints, as held and -explained by that church in the council of Trent, is surely not -idolatrous, with whatever error it may be charged; but the practice at -least of uneducated Roman catholics seems fully to justify the -declaration; understanding it to refer to certain superstitions, -countenanced or not eradicated by their clergy. I have sometimes -thought that the legislator of a great nation sets off oddly by -solemnly professing theological positions about which he knows -nothing, and swearing to the possession of property which he does not -enjoy. [1827.] - -[754] The second reading of the exclusion bill was carried, May 21, -1679, by 207 to 128. The debates are in _Parliamentary History_, 1125 -_et post_. In the next parliament it was carried without a division. -Sir Leoline Jenkins alone seems to have taken the high ground, that -"parliament cannot disinherit the heir of the Crown; and that, if such -an act should pass, it would be invalid in itself."--_Id._ 1191. - -[755] While the exclusion bill was passing the Commons, the king took -the pains to speak himself to almost every lord, to dissuade him from -assenting to it when it should come up; telling them, at the same -time, let what would happen, he would never suffer such a villainous -bill to pass. _Life of James_, 553. - -[756] Ralph, p. 498. The atrocious libel, entitled, "An Appeal from -the Country to the City," published in 1679, and usually ascribed to -Ferguson (though said in _Biogr. Brit._ art. L'Estrange, to be written -by Charles Blount), was almost sufficient of itself to excuse the -return of public opinion towards the throne. _State Tracts_, temp. -Car. II.; Ralph, i. 476; _Parl. Hist._ iv. Appendix. The king is -personally struck at in this tract with the utmost fury: the queen is -called Agrippina, in allusion to the infamous charges of Oates; -Monmouth is held up as the hope of the country. "He will stand by you, -therefore you ought to stand by him. He who hath the worst title, -always makes the best king." One Harris was tried for publishing this -pamphlet. The jury at first found him guilty of selling; an equivocal -verdict, by which they probably meant to deny, or at least to -disclaim, any assertion of the libellous character of the publication. -But Scroggs telling them it was their province to say guilty or not -guilty, they returned a verdict of guilty. _State Trials_, vii. 925. - -Another arrow dipped in the same poison was a "Letter to a Person of -Honour concerning the Black Box." _Somers Tracts_, viii. 189. The -story of a contract of marriage between the king and Mrs. Waters, -Monmouth's mother, concealed in a black box, had lately been current; -and the former had taken pains to expose its falsehood by a public -examination of the gentleman whose name had been made use of. This -artful tract is intended to keep up the belief of Monmouth's -legitimacy, and even to graft it on the undeniable falsehood of that -tale; as if it had been purposely fabricated to delude the people by -setting them on a wrong scent. See also another libel of the same -class, p. 197. - -Though Monmouth's illegitimacy is past all question, it has been -observed by Harris that the Princess of Orange, in writing to her -brother about Mrs. Waters, in 1655, twice names her as his wife. -Thurloe, i. 665, quoted in Harris's _Lives_, iv. 168. But though this -was a scandalous indecency on her part, it proves no more than that -Charles, like other young men in the heat of passion, was foolish -enough to give that appellation to his mistress; and that his sister -humoured him in it. - -Sidney mentions a strange piece of Monmouth's presumption. When he -went to dine with the city in October 1680, it was remarked that the -bar, by which the heralds denote illegitimacy, had been taken off the -royal arms on his coach. _Letters to Saville_, p. 54. - -[757] _Life of James_, 592 _et post_. Compare Dalrymple, p. 265 _et -post_. Barillon was evidently of opinion that the king would finally -abandon his brother. Sunderland joined the Duchess of Portsmouth, and -was one of the thirty peers who voted for the bill in November 1680. -James charges Godolphin also with deserting him. P. 615. But his name -does not appear in the protest signed by twenty-five peers; though -that of the privy seal, Lord Anglesea, does. The Duchess of Portsmouth -sat near the Commons at Stafford's trial, "dispensing her sweetmeats -and gracious looks among them."--P. 638. - -[758] _Life of James_, p. 657. - -[759] Il est persuade que l'autorite royale ne se peut retablir en -Angleterre que par une guerre civile. Aug. 19, 1680. Dalrymple, 265. - -[760] Dalrymple, 277. Nov. 1680. - -[761] Marvell's "Growth of Popery," in _State Tracts_, temp. Car. II. -p. 98; _Parl. Hist._ 853. The second reading was carried by 127 to 88. -Serjeant Maynard, who was probably not in the secrets of his party, -seems to have been surprised at their opposition. An objection with -Marvell, and not by any means a bad one, would have been, that the -children of the royal family were to be consigned for education to the -sole government of bishops. The Duke of York, and thirteen other -peers, protested against this bill, not all of them from the same -motives, as may be collected from their names. Lords' Journals, 13th -and 15th March 1679. - -[762] Lords Russell and Cavendish, Sir W. Coventry and Sir Thomas -Littleton, seem to have been in favour of limitations. Lord J. -Russell, p. 42; Ralph, 446; Sidney's _Letters_, p. 32. Temple and -Shaftesbury, for opposite reasons, stood alone in the council against -the scheme of limitations. Temple's _Memoirs_. - -[763] Commons' Journals, 23rd Nov. 1680, 8th Jan. 1681. - -[764] _Life of James_, 634, 671; Dalrymple, p. 307. - -[765] Dalrymple, p. 301; _Life of James_, 660, 671. The duke gave -himself up for lost when he heard of the clause in the king's speech -declaring his readiness to hearken to any expedient but the exclusion. -Birch and Hampden, he says, were in favour of this; but Fitzharris's -business set the house in a flame, and determined them to persist in -their former scheme. Reresby says (p. 19, confirmed by _Parl. Hist._ -132) it was supported by Sir Thomas Littleton, who is said to have -been originally against the bill of exclusion, as well as Sir William -Coventry. Sidney's _Letters_, p. 32. It was opposed by Jones, -Winnington, Booth, and, if the _Parliamentary History_ be right, by -Hampden and Birch. - -[766] Temple's _Memoirs_. He says their revenues in land or offices -amounted to L300,000 per annum; whereas those of the House of Commons -seldom exceeded L400,000. The king objected much to admitting Halifax; -but himself proposed Shaftesbury, much against Temple's wishes. The -funds in Holland rose on the news. Barillon was displeased, and said -it was making "des etats, et non des conseils;" which was not without -weight, for the king had declared he would take no measure, nor even -choose any new counsellor, without their consent. But the extreme -disadvantage of the position in which this placed the Crown, rendered -it absolutely certain that it was not submitted to with sincerity. -Lady Portsmouth told Barillon the new ministry was formed in order to -get money from parliament. Another motive, no doubt, was to prevent -the exclusion bill. - -[767] _Life of James_, 558. On the king's sudden illness, Aug. 22, -1679, the ruling ministers, Halifax, Sunderland, and Essex, alarmed at -the anarchy which might come on his death, of which Shaftesbury and -Monmouth would profit, sent over for the duke; but soon endeavoured to -make him go into Scotland, and, after a struggle against the king's -tricks to outwit them, succeeded in this object. _Id._ p. 570 _et -post_. - -[768] Temple; Reresby, p. 89. "So true it is," he says, "that there is -no wearing the court and country livery together." Thus also Algernon -Sidney, in his letters to Saville, p. 16. "The king certainly inclines -not to be so stiff as formerly in advancing only those that exalt -prerogative; but the Earl of Essex, and some others that are coming -into play thereupon, cannot avoid being suspected of having intentions -different from what they have hitherto professed." He ascribed the -change of ministry at this time to Sunderland: "if he and two more -[Essex and Halifax] can well agree among themselves, I believe they -will have the management of almost all businesses, and may bring much -honour to themselves and good to our nation." April 21, 1679. But he -writes afterwards (Sept. 8) that Halifax and Essex were become very -unpopular. P. 50. "The bare being preferred," says Secretary Coventry, -"maketh some of them suspected, though not criminal." Lord J. -Russell's _Life of Lord Russell_, p. 90. - -[769] See the protests in 1679, _passim_. - -[770] Temple's _Memoirs_; _Life of James_, 581. - -[771] Dalrymple, pp. 230, 237. - -[772] See Roger North's account of this court stratagem. _Examen of -Kennet_, 546. The proclamation itself, however, in the _Gazette_, 12th -Dec. 1679, is more strongly worded than we should expect from North's -account of it, and is by no means limited to _tumultuous_ petitions. - -[773] _London Gazettes_ of 1680, _passim_. - -[774] David Lewis was executed at Usk for saying mass, Aug. 27, 1679. -_State Trials_, vii. 256. Other instances occur in the same volume; -see especially pp. 811, 839, 849, 587. Pemberton was more severe and -unjust towards these unfortunate men than Scroggs. The king, as his -brother tells us, came unwillingly into these severities to prevent -worse. _Life of James_, 583. - -[775] Journals, _passim_; North's _Examen_, 377, 561. - -[776] They went a little too far, however, when they actually seated -Sir William Waller in Withens's place for Westminster. Ralph, 514. - -[777] Journals, Dec. 24, 1680. - -[778] _Parl. Hist._ i. 174. - -[779] Reresby's _Memoirs_, 106. Lord Halifax and he agreed, he says, -on consideration, that the court party were not only the most -numerous, but the most active and wealthy part of the nation. - -[780] It was carried by 219 to 95 (17th Nov.), to address the king to -remove Lord Halifax from his councils and presence for ever. They -resolved, _nem. con._, that no member of that house should accept of -any office or place of profit from the Crown, or any promise of one, -during such time as he should continue a member; and that all -offenders herein should be expelled. 30th Dec. They passed resolutions -against a number of persons by name, whom they suspected to have -advised the king not to pass the bill of exclusion. 7th Jan. 1680. -They resolved unanimously (10th Jan.), that it is the opinion of this -house, that the city of London was burnt in the year 1666 by the -papists, designing thereby to introduce popery and arbitrary power -into this kingdom. They were going on with more resolutions in the -same spirit, when the usher of the black rod appeared to prorogue -them. _Parl. Hist._ - -[781] Commons' Journals, March 26, 1681. - -[782] _Parl. Hist._ ii. 54. Lord Hale doubted whether this were a -statute. But the judges, in 1689, on being consulted by the Lords, -inclined to think that it was one; arguing, I suppose, from the words -"in full parliament," which have been held to imply the presence and -assent of the Commons. - -[783] Hatsell's _Precedents_, iv. 54, and Appendix, 347; _State -Trials_, viii. 236, and xii. 1218. - -[784] _Commentaries_, vol. iv. c. 19. - -[785] Ralph, 564 _et post_; _State Trials_, 223, 427; North's -_Examen_, 274. Fitzharris was an Irish papist, who had evidently had -interviews with the king through Lady Portsmouth. One Hawkins, -afterwards made Dean of Chichester for his pains, published a -narrative of this case full of falsehoods. - -[786] _State Trials_, viii. 759. Roger North's remark on this is -worthy of him; "having sworn false, as it is manifest some did before -to one purpose, it is more likely they swore true to the contrary." -_Examen_, p. 117. And Sir Robert Sawyer's observation to the same -effect is also worthy of him. On College's trial, Oates, in his -examination for the prisoner, said, that Turberville had changed -sides; Sawyer, as counsel for the Crown, answered, "Dr. Oates, Mr. -Turberville has not changed sides, you have; he is still a witness for -the king, you are against him." _State Trials_, viii. 639. - -The opposite party were a little perplexed by the necessity of -refuting testimony they had relied upon. In a dialogue, entitled -"Ignoramus Vindicated," it is asked, why were Dr. Oates and others -believed against the papists? and the best answer the case admits is -given: "Because his and their testimony was backed by that undeniable -evidence of Coleman's papers, Godfrey's murder, and a thousand other -pregnant circumstances, which makes the case much different from that -when people, of very suspected credit, swear the grossest -improbabilities." But the same witnesses, it is urged, had lately been -believed against the papists. "What! then," replies the advocate of -Shaftesbury, "may not a man be very honest and credible at one time, -and six months after, by necessity, subornation, malice, or twenty -ways, become a notorious villain?" - -[787] The true question for a grand juror to ask himself seems to be -this: Is the evidence such as that, if the prisoner can prove nothing -to the contrary, he ought to be convicted? However, where any -considerable doubt exists as to this, as a petty juror ought to -acquit, so a grand juror ought to find the indictment. - -[788] Roger North, and the prerogative writers in general, speak of -this inquest as a scandalous piece of perjury, enough to justify the -measures soon afterwards taken against the city. But Ralph, who, at -this period of history, is very impartial, seems to think the jury -warranted by the absurdity of the depositions. It is to be remembered -that the petty juries had shown themselves liable to intimidation, and -that the bench was sold to the court. In modern times, such an -ignoramus could hardly ever be justified. There is strong reason to -believe, that the court had recourse to subornation of evidence -against Shaftesbury. Ralph, 140 _et post_. And the witnesses were -chiefly low Irishmen, in whom he was not likely to have placed -confidence. As to the association found among Shaftesbury's papers, it -was not signed by himself, nor, as I conceive, treasonable, only -binding the associators to oppose the Duke of York, in case of his -coming to the crown. _State Trials_, viii. 786. See also 827 and 835. - -[789] If we may believe James II., the populace hooted Shaftesbury -when he was sent to the Tower. Macpherson, 124; _Life of James_, 688. -This was an improvement on the _odit damnatos_. They rejoiced, -however, much more, as he owns, at the ignoramus. P. 714. - -[790] See College's case in _State Trials_, viii. 549, and Hawles's -remarks on it, 723; Ralph, 626. It is one of the worst pieces of -judicial iniquity that we find in the whole collection. The written -instructions he had given to his counsel before the trial were taken -away from him, in order to learn the grounds of his defence. North and -Jones, the judges before whom he was tried, afforded him no -protection. But besides this, even if the witnesses had been credible, -it does not appear to me that the facts amounted to treason. Roger -North outdoes himself in his justification of the proceedings on this -trial. _Examen_, p. 587. What would this man have been in power, when -he writes thus in a sort of proscription twenty years after the -revolution! But in justice it should be observed that his portraits of -North and Jones (_Id._ 512 and 517) are excellent specimens of his -inimitable talent for Dutch painting. - -[791] _London Gazettes_, 1681, _passim_. Ralph, 592, has spoken too -strongly of their servility, as if they showed a disposition to give -up altogether every right and privilege to the Crown. This may be true -in a very few instances, but is by no means their general tenor. They -are exactly high tory addresses, and nothing more. - -[792] _State Trials_, viii. 447. Chief-Justice Pemberton, by whom he -was tried, had strong prejudices against the papists, though well -enough disposed to serve the court in some respects. - -[793] The king, James says in 1679, was convinced of the falsehood of -the plot, "while the seeming necessity of his affairs made this -unfortunate prince, for so he may well be termed in this conjuncture, -think he could not be safe but by consenting every day to the -execution of those he knew in his heart to be most innocent; and as -for that notion of letting the law take its course, it was such a -piece of casuistry as had been fatal to the king his father," etc. -562. If this was blamable in 1679, how much more in 1681? - -Temple relates, that having objected to leaving some priests to the -law, as the House of Commons had desired in 1679, Halifax said he -would tell every one he was a papist, if he did not concur; and that -the plot must be treated as if it were true, whether it was so or not. -P. 339 (folio edit.). A vile maxim indeed! But as Halifax never showed -any want of candour or humanity, and voted Lord Stafford not guilty -next year, we may doubt whether Temple has represented this quite -exactly. - -In reference to Lord Stafford, I will here notice that Lord John -Russell, in a passage deserving very high praise, has shown rather too -much candour in censuring his ancestor (p. 140) on account of the -support he gave (if in fact he did so, for the evidence seems weak) to -the objection raised by the sheriffs, Bethell and Cornish, with -respect to the mode of Stafford's execution. The king having remitted -all the sentence except the beheading, these magistrates thought fit -to consult the House of Commons. Hume talks of Russell's seconding -this "barbarous scruple," as he calls it, and imputes it to faction. -But, notwithstanding the epithet, it is certain that the only question -was between death by the cord and the axe; and if Stafford had been -guilty, as Lord Russell was convinced, of a most atrocious treason, he -could not deserve to be spared the more ignominious punishment. The -truth is, which seems to have escaped both these writers, that if the -king could remit a part of the sentence upon a parliamentary -impeachment, it might considerably affect the question whether he -could not grant a pardon, which the Commons had denied. - -[794] See this petition, _Somers Tracts_, viii. 144. - -[795] _State Trials_, viii. 1039-1340; Ralph, 717. The majority was -but 104 to 86; a division honourable to the spirit of citizens. - -[796] North's _Examen_, 626. - -[797] Lady Russell's opinion was, that "it was no more than what her -lord confessed--talk; and it is possible that talk going so far as to -consider, if a remedy for supposed evils might be sought, how it could -be formed." _Life of Lord Russell_, p. 266. It is not easy, however, -to talk long in this manner about the _how_ of treason, without -incurring the penalties of it. - -[798] See this business well discussed by the acute and indefatigable -Ralph, p. 722, and by Lord John Russell, p. 253. See also _State -Trials_, ix. 358 _et post_. There appears no cause for doubting the -reality of what is called the Ryehouse plot. The case against Walcot -(_Id._ 519) was pretty well proved; but his own confession completely -hanged him and his friends too. His attainder was reversed after the -revolution, but only on account of some technical errors, not -essential to the merits of the case. - -[799] _State Trials_, ix. 577. Lord Essex cut his throat in the Tower. -He was a man of the most excellent qualities, but subject to -constitutional melancholy which overcame his fortitude; an event the -more to be deplored, as there seems to have been no possibility of his -being convicted. A suspicion, as is well known, obtained credit with -the enemies of the court, that Lord Essex was murdered; and some -evidence was brought forward by the zeal of one Braddon. The late -editor of the _State Trials_ seems a little inclined to revive this -report, which even Harris (_Life of Charles_, p. 352) does not venture -to accredit; and I am surprised to find Lord John Russell observe, "It -would be idle, at the present time, to pretend to give any opinion on -the subject."--P. 182. This I can by no means admit. We have, on the -one side, some testimonies by children, who frequently invent and -persist in falsehoods with no conceivable motive. But, on the other -hand, we are to suppose, that Charles II. and the Duke of York caused -a detestable murder to be perpetrated on one towards whom they had -never shown any hostility, and in whose death they had no interest. -Each of these princes had faults enough; but I may venture to say that -they were totally incapable of such a crime. One of the presumptive -arguments of Braddon, in a pamphlet published long afterwards, is, -that the king and his brother were in the Tower on the morning of Lord -Essex's death. If this leads to anything, we are to believe that -Charles the Second, like the tyrant in a Grub Street tragedy, came to -kill his prisoner with his own hands. Any man of ordinary -understanding (which seems not to have been the case with Mr. Braddon) -must perceive that the circumstance tends to repel suspicion rather -than the contrary. See the whole of this, including Braddon's -pamphlet, in _State Trials_, ix. 1127. - -[800] _State Trials_, 615. Sawyer told Lord Russell, when he applied -to have his trial put off, that he would not have given the king an -hour's notice to save his life. _Id._ 582. Yet he could not pretend -that the prisoner had any concern in the assassination plot. - -[801] The act annulling Lord Russell's attainder recites him to have -been "wrongfully convicted by partial and unjust constructions of -law." _State Trials_, ix. 695. Several pamphlets were published after -the revolution by Sir Robert Atkins and Sir John Hawles against the -conduct of the court in this trial, and by Sir Bartholomew Shower in -behalf of it. These are in the _State Trials_. But Holt, by laying -down the principle of constructive treason in Ashton's case, -established for ever the legality of Pemberton's doctrine, and indeed -carried it a good deal further. - -[802] There seems little doubt, that the juries were packed through a -conspiracy of the sheriffs with Burton and Graham, solicitors for the -Crown. _State Trials_, ix. 932. These two men ran away at the -revolution; but Roger North vindicates their characters, and those who -trust in him may think them honest. - -[803] _State Trials_, ix. 818. - -[804] _Id._ 846. Yet in summing up the evidence, he repeated all West -and Keeling had thus said at second-hand, without reminding the jury -that it was not legal testimony. _Id._ 899. It would be said by his -advocates, if any are left, that these witnesses must have been left -out of the question, since there could otherwise have been no dispute -about the written paper. But they were undoubtedly intended to prop up -Howard's evidence, which had been so much shaken by his previous -declaration, that he knew of no conspiracy. - -[805] This is pointed out, perhaps for the first time, in an excellent -modern law-book, Phillipps's _Law of Evidence_. Yet the act for the -reversal of Sidney's attainder declares in the preamble, that "the -paper, supposed to be in his handwriting, was not proved by the -testimony of any one witness to be written by him, but the jury was -directed to believe it by comparing it with other writings of the said -Algernon." _State Trials_, 997. This does not appear to have been the -case; and though Jefferies is said to have garbled the manuscript -trial before it was printed (for all the trials, at this time, were -published by authority, which makes them much better evidence against -the judges than for them), yet he can hardly have substituted so much -testimony without its attracting the notice of Atkins and Hawles, who -wrote after the revolution. However, in Hayes's case, _State Trials_, -x. 312, though the prisoner's handwriting to a letter was proved in -the usual way by persons who had seen him write, yet this letter was -also shown to the jury, along with some of his acknowledged writing, -for the purpose of their comparison. It is possible, therefore, that -the same may have been done on Sidney's trial, though the circumstance -does not appear. Jefferies indeed says, "comparison of hands was -allowed for good proof in Sidney's case." _Id._ 313. But I do not -believe that the expression was used in that age so precisely as it is -at present; and it is well known to lawyers that the rules of evidence -on this subject have only been distinctly laid down within the memory -of the present generation. - -[806] See Harris's _Lives_, v. 347. - -[807] _State Trials_, x. 105. - -[808] The grand jury of Northamptonshire, in 1683, "present it as very -expedient and necessary for securing the peace of this country, that -all ill affected persons may give security for the peace;" specifying -a number of gentlemen of the first families, as the names of Montagu, -Langham, etc., show. _Somers Tracts_, viii. 409. - -[809] Ralph, p. 768; Harris's _Lives_, v. 321. - -[810] This book of Sherlock, printed in 1684, is the most able -treatise on that side. His proposition is that "sovereign princes, or -the supreme power in any nation, in whomsoever placed, is in all cases -irresistible." He infers from the statute 13 Car. II. declaring it -unlawful, under any pretence, to wage war, even defensive against the -king, that the supreme power is in him; for he who is unaccountable -and irresistible, is supreme. There are some, he owns, who contend -that the higher powers mentioned by St. Paul meant the law, and that -when princes violate the laws, we may defend their legal authority -against their personal usurpations. He answers this very feebly. "No -law can come into the notion and definition of supreme and sovereign -powers; such a prince is under the direction, but cannot possibly be -said to be under the government of the law, because there is no -superior power to take cognisance of his breach of it, and a law has -no authority to govern where there is no power to punish."--P. 114. -"These men think," he says (p. 126), "that all civil authority is -founded in consent, as if there were no natural lord of the world, or -all mankind came free and independent into the world. This is a -contradiction to what at other times they will grant, that the -institution of civil power and authority is from God; and indeed if it -be not, I know not how any prince can justify the taking away the life -of any man, whatever crime he has been guilty of. For no man has power -of his own life, and therefore cannot give this power to another; -which proves that the power of capital punishments cannot result from -mere consent, but from a superior authority, which is lord of life and -death." This is plausibly urged, and is not refuted in a moment. He -next comes to an objection, which eventually he was compelled to -admit, with some discredit to his consistency and disinterestedness. -"'Is the power of victorious rebels and usurpers from God? Did Oliver -Cromwell receive his power from God? then it seems it was unlawful to -resist him too, or to conspire against him; then all those loyal -subjects who refused to submit to him when he had got the power in his -hands were rebels and traitors.' To this I answer, that the most -prosperous rebel is not the higher powers, while our natural prince, -to whom we owe obedience and subjection, is in being. And therefore, -though such men may get the power into their hands by God's -permission, yet not by God's ordinance; and he who resists them does -not resist the ordinance of God, but the usurpations of men. In -hereditary kingdoms, the king never dies, but the same minute that the -natural person of one king dies, the crown descends upon the next of -blood; and therefore, he who rebelleth against the father, and murders -him, continues a rebel in the reign of the son, which commences with -his father's death. It is otherwise, indeed, where none can pretend a -greater title to the crown than the usurper, for there possession of -power seems to give a right."--P. 127. - -Sherlock began to preach in a very different manner as soon as James -showed a disposition to set up his own church. "It is no act of -loyalty," he told the House of Commons, May 29, 1685, "to accommodate -or compliment away our religion and its legal securities." _Good -Advice to the Pulpits._ - -[811] P. 81. - -[812] P. 95. - -[813] Pp. 98, 100. - -[814] P. 100. - -[815] This treatise, subjoined to one of greater length, entitled the -"Freeholder's Grand Inquest," was published in 1679; but the -"Patriarcha" not till 1685. - -[816] P. 39. - -[817] P. 46. - -[818] Collier, 902; _Somers Tracts_, viii. 420. - -[819] Dalrymple, appendix 8; _Life of James_, 691. He pretended to -come into a proposal of the Dutch for an alliance with Spain and the -empire against the fresh encroachments of France, and to call a -parliament for that purpose, but with no sincere intention, as he -assured Barillon. "Je n'ai aucune intention d'assembler le parlement; -ces sont des diables qui veulent ma ruine." Dalrymple, 15. - -[820] He took 100,000 livres for allowing the French to seize -Luxemberg; after this he offered his arbitration, and on Spain's -refusal, laid the fault on her, though already bribed to decide in -favour of France. Lord Rochester was a party in all these base -transactions. The acquisition of Luxemberg and Strasburg was of the -utmost importance to Louis, as they gave him a predominating influence -over the four Rhenish electors, through whom he hoped to procure the -election of the dauphin as king of the Romans. _Id._ 36. - -[821] Dalrymple, appendix 74; Burnet; Mazure, _Hist. de la Revolution -de 1688_, i. 340, 372. This is confirmed by, or rather confirms, the -very curious notes found in the Duke of Monmouth's pocket-book when he -was taken after the battle of Sedgemoor, and published in the appendix -to Welwood's _Memoirs_. Though we should rather see more external -evidence of their authority than, so far as I know, has been produced, -they have great marks of it in themselves; and it is not impossible -that, after the revolution, Welwood may have obtained them from the -secretary of state's office. - -[822] It is mentioned by Mr. Fox, as a tradition in the Duke of -Richmond's family, that the Duchess of Portsmouth believed Charles II. -to have been poisoned. This I find confirmed in a letter read on the -trial of Francis Francia, indicted for treason in 1715. "The Duchess -of Portsmouth, who is at present here, gives a great deal of offence, -as I am informed, by pretending to prove that the late King James had -poisoned his brother Charles; it was not expected, that after so many -years' retirement in France, she should come hither to revive that -vulgar report, which at so critical a time cannot be for any good -purpose." _State Trials_, xv. 948. It is almost needless to say that -the suspicion was wholly unwarrantable. - -I have since been informed, on the best authority, that Mr. Fox did -not derive his authority from a tradition in the Duke of Richmond's -family, that of his own mother, as his editor had very naturally -conjectured, but from his father, the first Lord Holland, who, while a -young man travelling in France, had become acquainted with the Duchess -of Portsmouth. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND, -HENRY VII TO GEORGE II, VOLUME II*** - - -******* This file should be named 42179.txt or 42179.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/2/1/7/42179 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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