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THE DEBATES
ON THE
GRAND REMONSTRANCE,
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THE DEBATES
ON THE
GRAND REMONSTRANCE,
NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1 64 1.
AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY On Englijlo Freedom under Plantagenet & Tudor Sovereigns.
FC
BY JOHN TORSTER, LL.D.
LONDON : JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
i860.
[The right ofTranJlation is referred.]
LONDON: BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.
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CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON ENGLISH FREEDOM UNDER PLANTAGENET AND TUDOR SOVEREIGNS, pp. i — 109.
PAGE
§ I. The Plantagenets 1 — 64
Purpofe of this EfTay. Pofition taken up by Charles the Firft's opponents. Records and Titles of Englifh freedom, 1. Burke on our hiftory. Precedents in older time. Charter of Henry the Firft (1100). Difficulty of fuppreffing a charter, 2. Henry the First. Royal conceffions not refumable. Imperfect judg- ments in hiftory. Strength and weaknefs of Norman kings, 3. Bafis of Saxon conftitution. Adopted by the Conqueror and his Ions. Origin of Feudality. Its burdens and modes of tenure, 4. Natural confequences of Feudal System. Its development. He- reditary Succeffion. Extinction of Vaftalage. The Crufades, 5. Feudal Inftitutions improved. Influences of Chriftianity. Seeds of Commerce and Literature. Henry II, 6. Firft Plantagenet King (11 54). Gains to civil freedom. Difpute of Henry II and his Primate. Becket's fcheme, 7. Henry's oppofition. What the ftruggle involved. Character of Henry. Complete victory to either not defirable, 8. What was due to the Church. What Henry II gained. Ranulf de Glanville, Traflatus de Le- gibus et Consuetudinibus Regni Anglia. Appointment of circuits for judges (1176), 9. Richard I (1189). New relations between throne and barons. Independent oppofition to Crown. Beginning of ftruggles of party, 10. Arthur's claim to the iuccefTion : fought only in French provinces. The Englifh Crown not heritable property. Sovereignty elective. Nor- mans defer to Saxon principle, 11. Coronation oi John (1 199). Trealbns the feed-plot of Liberty. Legitimacy or Election ? Why John preferred to Arthur, 12. Henry II's policy unfettled by his Ions. Monarchy and ariftocracy in conflict. People choole their fide alternately, 13. Character of John. Hisdefer- tion of both fides. Ufes of a bad king. What the triumph of the Barons involved, 14. Party fpirit and its refults. Englifh King ftripped of French conquefts. Conduct of the Barons.
Contents.
PAGE
Growth of national feeling, 1 5. Common caufe againft foreign- ers. Alliance of lords and citizens. King's furrender to Pope (1213). Freedom's debt to John, 16. Confederacy againft King. Character of Langton. His fervices to Engliih freedom. Firft day at Runnymede (Tuefday 16th of June, 1215), 17. Faith in Langton. Fourth day : Charter figned. Its general character. Confirmation of exifting liberties. Principles latent in it, 18. Remedial provifions. Guarantees of franchifes. Re- drefs of perfonal wrongs, 19. Central courts of law. Levies of aid limited. Conftitution of Great Council. Forms of fum- mons thereto : hateful to fucceeding princes, 20. Minor pro- vifions. Securities for liberty and property. Juftice not to be denied or fold. " Nullus liber /wmo," 21. All freemen to be tried by their peers, 21, 22. Extenfion of relief to fub-vaffals. Effect of Charter in later times. Its power of expanfion, 22. Subftance fhaping Forms. Violations and reaffertions of Char- ter. Henry III (1216), 23. Earliest Council named as a Parliament. Supply conditional on redrefs. Control of money by Parliament. Appeal of Henry III to People. Similar appeal from Barons, 24. Jealoufy of French favourites. Struggle for power transformed to war of principles. Rife of merchants and tradefmen. Guilds and Charters, 25. Privileges and rights ceded to middle clafs. King's fummons for parliament not obeyed (1233). Political ballads. Attack upon the Favourite, 26. General difcontent. Grievances reported and Redrefs de- manded (February, 1234). Parliament affembled and Favourite difmiffed (April, 1234). Ministerial refponfibility and Parlia- mentary control, 27. Diftrefs, Redrefs, and Supply. Securities for public faith. Law fyftematifed (Brafion, 1250). Curia Regis, 28. Cabinet of the King. A memorable affembly (2nd of May, 1258). The Great Council under Normans: not a Houfe of Lords: not hereditary, but reprefentative, 29. Germs therein of larger fyftem. Break-up of elements of Council. Diftinctions and grades of rank. Varieties in writs of fummons, 30. Peculiarities of feudal reprefentation. Aid for Protection. Leffer tenants reprefented by larger, 31. Tranfition from feudal to real rights, 31, 32. Languageof writs of fummons. Fictions foreshadowing truths. Forms conveying Subftance, 32. Com- miffions of inquiry in fhires. Old inftitution adapted to new ufes(i223). County reprefentation begins. Collection of taxes (in 1207 and 1220), 33. Beginning of the end. Vague for- mation of authority of Commons. Gradual fteps thereto (1214). Scheme to obtain money from ihires (1254), 34. Knights to anlwer for their counties. Reprefentatives to impofe taxes. One chamber at Weftminfter : feparate fittings elfewhere, 35. Ad- miffion of third eftate, 35, 36. Knights fit with Lords. Lords pay, fitting in their own right. Knights are paid, fitting for others. County rates, 36. Wages of knights levied on entire county. Election by full County Court. All freeholders com-
Contents.
prifed : and reprefented by knights of (hire, 37. Refults of iuch reprefentation. Ages prepare what the hour produces. Six eventful years. Writs for First House of Commons (14th of December, 1264), 38. Rights gained once, gained always. Power of Commons ever growing. Edward I (1271). Election of Sheriffs, 39. Great Statute of Winchefter (1284), 39, 40. Edward II (1307). Creation of Royal Boroughs. Equal power claimed for Commons. Provifion for affembling of Parliaments, 40. Confirmations of Great Charter. Attempts to impofe taxes without Parliament. Money fupplies made con- ditional. Edward III (1327). Statute of Treafons. Acts againfl Confcription, 41. No forced p retting of Soldiers. Cha- racter of Edward III. Victorious in peace as well as war. Firft man in the realm. Intellectual influences of his reign, 42. Chaucer (1328). Improvement of the language. Englifh adopted in Parliament rolls. Richard II (1377). Refults of Richard's depofition, 43. People's power to alter the fucceffion: sole claim of Houfe of Lancafter. Terms of Richard's fubmif- fion. His abdication made compulfory, 44. Popular principle accepted. Adhefion of the people. Soliciting the Throne. Shakefpeare's Bolingbroke. Henry IV [(1399), 45. King Bo- lingbroke. Elevation of the people. Parliamentary aflump- tions. Precedent for Hanoverian succeffion (1406), 46. No judge to plead King's orders. Claim to make supplies condi- tional on redrefs (1401). Officers of Houfehold removed (1404). Law for regulating County Elections, 47. All Freeholders to vote. The lack-learning Parliament (1406). Accumulation of Church property. Its unequal diftribution, 48. Propofal to feize it for better appropriation. Failure of attempt. Thirty articles for regulation of King's affairs. Minifterial refponfibi- lity eftablifhed (1410), 49. Interference with Taxation by the Lords refifted. Changes fince the Conqueft. Petitions and Bills. Royal evalion of Parliamentary control, 50. Bills fubfti- tuted for Petitions. Henry V (141 3). Good out of evil. Advantage to Commons from Henry V's wars. Further re- ftraints on the prerogative, 51. Admiffion of rights of legis- lature. Law againfl; tampering with petitions. Exemptions claimed for members of the Commons, 52. Privilege of Parliament. Thorpe's cafe. Eftablifhed againfl: the courts. Right of Impeachment won. Liberal gains intercepted, 53. Freedom outraged but not loft, 53, 54. Conceffions to force. Henry VI (1422). Differences in quarter of a century, 54. Voting of all freeholders in counties: limited to forty-fhilling freeholders, 54, 55. Greater importance of the people. Feud- ality declining. Villenage paffed away. Changes in Society, 55. Higher developments of feudal principle. A contraft. Tyler's Rebellion: Popular demands (1381). Cadets Rebellion; Popular demands (1450), 56. Rapid fall of Feudal Syftem : as the People rofe. Levelling of diftinctiohs. Comforts of labour-
Contents.
ing clafles, 57. Refpective condition of England and of France, 57, 58. Contrails of the two Nations. Teftimony of Sir John Fortefcue : and of Philip de Comines, 58. De Laudibus Legum Anglits (1465). Reftraints on prerogative. Conftitution of Par- liament. Rights of the fubject. Refponfibility of the Crown, 59. Encroachments of Executive. Checks of Parliament. Control of the purfe. Loans and Benevolences, 60. Source of ftrength to Commons : derived from other powers. Aflifted from above and from below. The People the fupreme force. Expedients to keep it down, 61. Wars of the Rofes. Ed- ward IV: Edward V: Richard III (1461 — 1483). Le- gislation during Civil Wars. Richard Ill's ftatute againft forced loans, 62. Advances in commerce, learning, and the arts. Lofs of the French provinces. War on furface of the land, Peace beneath. Commercial guilds replacing great families, 63. Break-up of fyftem of Middle Ages. Kingcraft fucceeds. Its chief profefTors. French, Spanifli, and Englifh kings. Refults in England, 64.
II. The Tudors 65 — 92
Henry VII (1485). Uneafinefs as to fuccefTion. Parliamen- tary fettlement, 65. Pope's refcript on Henry's title : tranflated for the people : and firft printed in broadfide by Caxton, 65, 66. Lord Bolingbroke's view of the reign. Lories to public liberty. Defection of parliament, 66. Maintenance of legal forms. Peculiarity of Tudor defpotifm. Indications of focial change. Power changing hands, 67. NecefTity for a Poor Law. Houfe of Lords : 29 in number. Commons weakened by weaknefs in Lords. Influences unfeen, 68. Unconfcious law-making. Star Chamber created. A keen but narrow virion. Lord Bacon's character of Henry VII, 69. Leading acts of his fovereignty. What was intended by his legislation. What was effected beyond his intention, 70. Interval between feudal and popular agencies. Firft Expedition to America (1496). Vifit of Eraf- mus to England. Sebaftian Cabot in the New World, 71. Erafmus in Oxford. Revival of ftudy of Homer. Greek Pro- feffbrfhip at Oxford (1497). Diflike of the new learning, 72. A good old Englifh complaint : againft Letters and Poverty. Part taken by Erafmus. Dilciples of Aquinas, 73. Syftem of the Schoolmen doomed. Language an enflaver as well as libe- rator. Connection of words and things. Erafmus's great weapon. " A Second Lucian," 74. Firft pure text of the Teftament. The way prepared for Luther. Complaint againft Erafmus. Harbinger of the Reformation. Titles of Erafmus to refpect, 75. His example. His achievements. His connec- tion with Oxford. Henry's Statutes. Commerce and learning indirectly aflifted, 76. Ufes of the Printing Prefs. Legiflating for the future. Disfavour to nobles. Favour to Churchmen and Lawyers, 77. Throne guarded from Treafon : and enriched
Contents.
by Forfeitures, 77, 78. New methods of extortion. Empfon and Dudley. Ufes to which they were put, 78. Plunder under forms of law. Henry VIII (1509). Execution of Empfon and Dudley. Tudor characleriftics, 79. Caufes of fuccefs : yielding to people, repreffing nobles. Talk of each fovereign, 80. Henry's (1509). Edward's (1547). Mary's (1553). Elizabeth's (1558), 80, 81. Tudor deipotifm exceptional. Its checks and limits, 81. Elizabeth's conceffions. Mary's weaknefs. Pofition of Houfe of Commons. A6ls of parliament edged tools. Parliamentary refiftance to Mary, 82. Three diffolutions in two years. Privileges won from Henrv VIII. Thirty members added to Commons. Safeguards of an armed people, 83. Obli- gation for martial exercife. Power beyond the Sovereign. All legiflation in name of Commons. Subftance as well as form claimed by them, 84. Elizabeth's reign. Character of the Queen : a fovereign demagogue. Advantages of the people. Remits of the Reformation. Oxford leffons complete, 85. Change impending. Rife of religious difcontent. The newly eftablifhed Church. Impulfes of Reformation reftrained. A danger overlooked, 86. Cartwright's Leclures at Cambridge (1570). Puritan Party formed. Its leaders in Houfe of Commons. Vain attempts to fubdue them, 87. Laft aft of the greateft Tudor. Elizabeth's antipathy to Puritans : Puritan fympathy with Elizabeth, 88. Champion and leader of the Reformation. Puritanifm in a new form : joined with political difcontent. A Queen's Serjeant coughed down, 89. Cecil's warning to Commons. Elizabeth's laft appearance in Parlia- ment. James I (1603). Two kingdoms united under the Stuarts, 90. Opportunity loft by Cecil. No conditions made at Acceffion. No check on overftrained prerogative. Provocation to Rebellion, 91. Penalties to be paid, 92.
§ III. First Stuart King 92 — 109
Character of James. His learning. His cunning and fhrewd- nefs, 92. Wifeft fool in Chriftendom. What he did with learning. Ufes of his knowledge. Too confident an affump- tion, 93. Early career in Scotland. His excufes. A fchool for king-craft. His pofition between Puritan and Papift, 94. For- mation of his character. His attachments. Family of James. Princefs Elizabeth born (1596). Prince Charles born (1600), 95. The Gowrie Confpiracy. Prince Charles's boyhood. Phyfical defecls, 96. Profpe6l of Englifh throne. Joy of laity in Scot- land. Indignation of clergy. Elizabeth's death announced, 97. Journey fouthward begun (April, 1603), 97, 98. Novelty of a King after half a century of a Queen. Perfonal charac- terises of the new monarch. Face and figure. Slobbering fpeech, 98. Shuffling gait. Abfence of felf-fupport. A fence to monarchy thrown down. Courtiers confounded. Royal pro- grefs to London, 99. Entertainments. At Hinchinbrook :
Contents.
PAGE
Oliver Cromwell (set. 4) firft fees a king. Interview with Francis Bacon. Arrival in land of promiie, 100. Interview with Cecil: at Theobald's (3rd May), 100, 101. Unfavourable imprefiion on the minifter. Foreign policy. Death of Cecil (1612). Rife of Somerfet, 101. King's manner to favourites. Somerfet's fall. Rife of Villiers, 102. A prime minifter at a mafque. Scenes and a<5f.ors in the Court. Unreftrained indul- gences. Bribes taken by women, 103. Sports of the Cockpit. Profligate expenditure. Debts of the King. Shameful necef- fities, 104.. Buckingham's extravagance. Expedients for money. Benevolences and fines. Patents and monopolies. Knighthood exhaufted. Baronetcies invented. Peerages put up to fale, 105. Tariff of titles. James's theological difplays. Hampton Court Conference. King's conduct to Puritans, 106. Delight of the Bifhops. Chancellor Ellefmere's ideal. James's religious per- fecutions, 107. Retribution in ftore. A parallel to James's creed. Alleged darker traits : not eftablifhed. Lambeth MSS. (930,/! 91), 108. Innocent as to Overbury and Prince Henry. Opinions of the people. Contempt of the perfon of the fove- reign. Legacy to Charles I, 109.
THE DEBATES ON THE GRAND REMONSTRANCE, NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1641. pp. no— 421.
Facsimile ofT-ivo Pages of Si)- Simonds VExvess Journal of the Parliament, begun November i,rd, 1640. From the Original MS. in the Britifli Mufeum .... To face the Title-page
§ I. Prefatory . ....... no — 114
Moft exciting incident before the war. Moft neglected by hif- torians, no. Remonftrance printed in RuJJiuuorth. Mifleading of Clarendon. Faliification of Debates. Misftatements followed by all, in. Sir Philip Warwick's account. Extraordinary fcene. Hampden's influence, 112. Various references to Great Remonftrance. Clarendon generally followed. Purpofe of the prefent work. Written from MS. records, 113.
§ II. What the Great Remonstrance was . . 114 — 117
Cafe of the Parliament againll the King. Moft complete jufti- fication of Great Rebellion. Religion and Politics in union, 1 14. Hume's falfe diftinftions : refuted by the Remonftrance, 114, 115. Character of its contents. Warnings againft Court. Appeal to the country, 1x5. No difiefpe£t to King or Church. States what the war put in iffue. Occupies 15 folio pages in Rufliworth. Difficulty of reproducing it, 116. Its various and minute detail. Purpofed illuftration by MS. records. Teft for Clarendon's honefty, 117.
Contents.
§ III. Sir Simonds D'Ewes and his Manuscript Journal
of the Long Parliament .... 117 — 125
Text. Authority for new fa&s in this work, 117. Journal by D'Ewes in Harleian MSS. Writers acquainted with it, 118. Neceflity of ftudying the original MS. Account of D'Ewes. Born (1602). At Cambridge (1618), 119. Leaves Cam- bridge, 1620-1. Quits Weftminfter Hall. Delight in old records. Marriage (1626). Buys his rank, 120. Projects aHiftory. High Sheriff of Suffolk (1639). Sympathy with Puritans. Returned to Long Parliament for Sudbury, 121. Lodgings at Weihninfter. Firlt fpeech in Houfe. Affiduous attendance. Takes Notes of debates, 122. Fruit thereof: in five volumes of Journal, 122, 123. Condition ot the original MS. Pages fac-fimilied. Component Parts of MS., 123. Confufcd prefent ftate, 124. Example of im- portance of their contents. Why not earlier made ufe of, 125. Notes. Notes by D'Ewes charatterifed. Edinburgh Review (July, 1846), 118. Self-painted portrait. Jealoufy of Note-taking. Old Vane objects, and D'Ewes replies, 1 24.
§ IV. Attainder of the Earl of Strafford . 126 — 152 Text. The Attainder made a teft of opinions. A fallacious one. Unwife companions and contrails, 126. The " Pro- teftation" to defend Parliament and Religion, 127. Royalift fuppotters of Attainder. Falkland, Culpeper, Capel? and Hyde, 128. Danger of believing in Clarendon. Conduct of Hyde. Why he declined office. Strange felf-expofure, 129. Hyde chairman of a committee. Encounters a " tempeft- uous" perfon. Mr. Cromwell "in a fury." Sir Ralph Verney's Notes, 130. Reports debate on Strafford. Speech by Hampden: on queftion not material to the Bill, 131. Attainder not in difpute. Hampden fuppofed favourable to it, 132. Corre£ter judgment by Macaulay : EJfays (i. 467), 132, 133. Line really taken by Hampden. Evidence of D'Ewes. Doubts fet at reft. Procedure by Bill originally propofed. Pym and Hampden forlmpeachment, 133. Dii- pute of the 10th April. Diffatisfaclion with the Lords. Bill of Attainder revived. Oppofed by Pym and Hampden, 134. Elder Vane's Notes of Council, 134, 13 5. Objection to their production. Excitement thereon. Conference with Lords pro- pofed, 135. Pym and Hampden outvoted. Sittingot the 12th April, 1 641. Reported in D'Ewes's MS. Two pages in fac-iimile, 136. Pym and Hampden acling together. Why they oppofed Attainder. Pym iuggefts conference. Maynard recites points for fettlement, 137. Houfe will make facrifices to prevent delay. Others guilty with Strafford. Their guilt not to be infilled on. The Notes of Council, 138. Laud
Contents.
and Cottington involved. Hotham for Attainder. Pym againft. Maynard for. Rudyard doubtful. Tomkins for,
139. Culpeper for. D'Ewes againft. Urges judgment on Impeachment. Explanation afked from old Vane. Refufed,
140. Glyn explains. Marten for Attainder. Hampden againft. Vane and his Son. Subfequent courfe of fupporters of Attainder. Conduit, of Glyn and Maynard, 141. Line taken by Falkland: excufed by Clarendon. What excufe for Mr. Hyde? 142. Takes fame line as Falkland. Too much faith in fhort memories. Pym and Hampden confiftent throughout, 143. Their belief in Strafford's guilt. Quef- tion raifed whether to hear his counfel t Refifted by Falk- land and Culpeper. Supported by Hampden and Pym, 144. Speech of Maynard againft. Pym in reply. Advocates Strafford's claim to hearing. His appeal fuccefsful, 145. His fuggeftions as to Attainder. Englifti compared to French Revolution. Folly and falfehood of companion, 146. Obfolete views. Opinions of the better informed. Agree- ment up to Arreft of Five Members. Parliament's juftifica- tion, 147. General character of the ftruggle. More wealth with the Commons than with the King. No terrorifm,
148. Origin of the intereft ftill infpired by the war, 148,
149. A war without an enemy. D'Ewes as to acts and motives, 149. Strafford. Greateft man on the King's fide, 149, 150. Where his ftatefmanfhip fucceeded. Where it failed. His fyftem in Ireland, 151. The good implied in it. The danger that proved fatal. Bad faith of the King, 151^. Moral of Strafford's government, 152.
Notes. "Story of Corfe Caftle," 126. D'Ewes to Lady D'Ewes. King's ill-fated ftep. Agitation in the Houfe and in the City, 127. "Proteftation"drawn up. Takenby all, 128. Verney's Notes, 130. As to fac-fimile, 140. Strafford's contempt for old Falkland, 142. Hyde and Falk- land's agreement. Sitting as well as voting together, 143.
§ V. Reaction after Strafford's Death . . 152 — 163
Text. Parties altered after Strafford's death. Remonftrance a freih ftarting-point, 152. What Cromwell faid to Falkland, 152, 153. Alleged narrow efcape for Charles. Hyde's new policy. Reaction for the King, 153. Chances of fuccefs. Old pofitions reverfed. Daily defections from Popular ranks, 154. Character of the King. His view as to invalidity of ftatutes. Affenting with purpofe to revoke. Hyde's com- plaint. Sources of danger to Parliament, 155. Signs of wavering. Abatement of Popular enthufiaim, 156. Charles's advantages. A warning needed. Threatenings of force, 157. Freedom or Defpotifm ? Refolution to appeal to the People. Origin of the " Remonftrance." Firft moved by Lord Digby, 158. The King receives Warning: on Eve of
Contents. x;n
PAGE
journey to Scotland, 158, 159. Bifhop Williams advifes conciliation. King confents. Scheme baffled. Intended diftribution of offices, 159. 'Friday, 30th July, 1641. : New Miniftry expected. Saturday, 7th Auguft : Remonftrance formally brought forward, 160. Bifhop Williams's labour loft. Remonftrance openly difcufled. King quits London : 9th Auguft. Hyde's previous interview, 161. Why Charles was grateful to him. His fervice againft Epifcopacy Bill. Engagement to defeat it, 162. Hopes from the Scottifh journey. Hyde's promife, 163.
Notes. Miftake of Richard Baxter, 153. Only lawyers fe- ceded on the Attainder, 154. The Clergy and Univer- fities. Ficklenefs of the people, 156. Impatience of waiting. Cure more painful than difeafe, 157. Excite- ment as to Scotch journey, 160.
<§ VI. Reassembling of Parliament, October, 1641 . 163 — 168
Text. 20th of October, 1641. Houfes meet. Defaulters from the Commons, 163. Strode' s proposition againft the abfent with- out leave, 163, 164. Liberal party weakened. Forebodings coming true. Report from the Recefs Committee, 164. Another plot. Letters produced from Hampden. The " Incident," 165. Hyde and Falkland outvoted. Pym's refolutions carried, 166. Alarm of Secretary Nicholas. 'King's friends difheartened. Arrival of Hampden, 167. Bifhops' Bill under difcuffion. Speakers for and againft. Hampden's furprife. Falkland's avowal, 168.
Notes. Charge againft Montrofe. 30th October. Pym's fpeech on Army defigns, 165. Confpiracy tracked out, 166. Character of Edward Nicholas, 166, 167. In- direct ways of the Court, 167.
§ VII. Lord Falkland 169 — 181
Text. Beliefs as to Falkland's character. Suppofed type of moderation. Errors and misjudgment, 169. Never zealous for the King, 170. Clarendon's delcription, 171, Opinions held by Falkland : as to Court and Parliament. Influ- ence of Hyde. Faith of the old Cavalier, 172. Sentiment not judgment. Eafy prey to Hyde's perluaiion. Falk- land's ftronghold, 173. View taken by Macaulay, 174. Objections thereto. Excitability of temper. Anecdote by Clarendon. Emphafis overdone, 175. Similar trait of Danton. Strange reiemblances. Stranger contrafts, 176. Diflike of the war. Laft appearance in Houfe of Com- mons. More like delinquent than Minifter. Regret or felf- reproach ? 177. Falkland's nobler qualities. Services to men of wit, 178. Open houfe at Oxford : to men of all opinions, 179. A college in purer air, 180. Three fpecial
xiv Contents.
PAGE characteriftics : love of truth ; hatred offpies ; reverence for private letters, 180, 181.
Notes. Tribute by Hyde. Gratitude of the Poets to Falk- land. His Eclogue on Jonfon's death, 170. On Jon- fon's learning. His vogue in theatres. His felf-raifed fortune, 171. As to lawfulnefs of refiftance, 172. Mac- aulay's EJfays (i. 160). A public man unfit for public life. What if he had lived to Revolution, 174. Hyde's happy eulogy, 178. Exquifite delicacy. Picture of Falk- land's houfe. Intolerant only of intolerance. Difcourfes againft Popery, 179.
§ VIII. The Secession and its Dangers . . 181 — 190
Text. Falkland's new leader: not Hampden but Hyde, 181. Liberal phalanx broken up. Its achievements, 182. Defer- tion by ieceders : never accounted for, 182, 183. The King unaltered. Old caufe ftill hateful to him. Danger of lofing all, 183. Reappearance of plague, 183, 184. King's defire for adjournment of Houfes. Pym's refinance. Attempt on Pym's life, 184. Letter delivered by the Serjeant, 184, 185. Handed to Mr. Rufhworth. Its contents. Mr. Ruftiworth's alarm. Further attempts againft Pym, 185. His afiailants in the Houfe, 186. Refolution moved: againft King's appointments to office, 186, 187. Strode's violence, 189. Hyde's opportunity. Irifti Rebellion. Pym's opportunity, 190.
Notes. A Judge arrefted on the bench, 182. Allufions to Pym in Queen's letters. Attempts to bring him into fuf- picion. Caules of his popularity. Tribute by Covenanter Baillie, 186. Clarendon's attack on Strode: not applic- able to Strode of James's reign, 187. Probable confu- fion between two Strodes, 187, 188. The later Strode a young man. Evidence of D'Ewes's Journal. Scene at Arreft of Five Members, 188. Counter teftimony in favour of identity, 188, 189. The other view ftrength- ened : in letter to Lady D'Ewes. Another Hyde: more decidedly royalift than Edward, 189.
§ IX. The New Party and the Old . . . 190 — 200
Text. 5th November, I641. Pym's fpeech on Evil Counfellors, 190. Excitement in Houfe. Edmund Waller's reply. Compares Pym to Strafford, 191. Pym rifes to order. Cries for Waller. Reparation made, 192. Dramatic changes: reported to the King : Royal thanks to managers. Hyde fent for by Nicholas, 193. Is ftiown a letter from the King. Old leaders unmoved. Majority ftill fufficient, 194. Mea- fures againft Biftiops : propofal to make five new ones, 194, 195. Cromwell's counter motion. Bifliops' demurrer.
Contents. xv
PAGE
Holborne fupports Bifhops, 195. D'Evves replies to Hol- borne : raifing laugh againft him. Beginning of the end, 196. Moves and counter moves. Prudence and fagacity of Pym. Gives effect to fuggeftion of St. John, 197. Pofi- tion of Houfe as to Irifh Rebellion, 197, 198. Hope of the King thereon. Baffled by Pym. Speech to the Lords againft Evil Counfels, 198. Refolution parted. A Motion by Oliver Cromwell. Germ of the Parliamentary Army. Ominous claim put forth, 199. Ordinances minus the King. Alarm thereat. Preparations for conflict, 200.
Notes. Value of preparation in Oratory, 191. Commons' Journals, 5th November. Waller's apology, 192.
§ X. Confljj£t Begun 200—202
Text. 8th November (164.1). Rough Draught of Remon- ftrance fubmitted, 200, 201. Nicholas writes to the King. Mr. Secretary's trouble, 201. Urges King's inftant return, 201,202. King's anfwer : Stop the Remonftrance ! Forces organized for the ftruggle, 202.
§ XI. The Opening Debates: 9TH, ioth, 12TH, 15TH,
and i6th November .... 202 — 210
Text. Firft Debate : Tuefday, 9th November, 202. Pro- cedure fettled. Movers of amendments. Report of Nicholas to King. King's order thereon, 203. Second Debate : ioth November. No copies to be given out. nth November, Speech by Strode. Deftination of Remonftrance avowed: to go to the people, 204. To be printed and circulated. Third Debate: 12th November, Motion for Candles, 205. D'Ewes in favour of Candles. Private reports to the King, 206. Tenacity of his Majefty's oppofition. Fourth Debate : 15th November. As to Bifhops favouring idolatry. Speech by Dering, 207. Falkland's former attack on Bifhops. Prefent vehement defence. Fifth Debate: 16th November, 208. Claufe againft Bifhops carried. Compromife as to Liturgy. Concefhons to Oppofition. Unauthorifed reports. SupprefTion of printed and MS. diurnals, 209. Refolutions to Second Army Plot, 210.
Notes. Strode's manner of fpeech. Avowal as to Scotch Army, 205. Shilling fines. Orders as to bufinefs : as to reading of Bills, 206. Dering fneered at by Clarendon, 207.
§ XII. Preparations for the Final Vote, 19TH Novem- ber and 20TH November . . . 210 — 215 Text. Nicholas's fear for the King. Progrefs of Remon- ftrance reported, 210. Nicholas as to printing: the defign avowed. Sixth Debate: 19th November, 211. Amend-
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merits and verbal changes, 211, 212. Hyde's urgent appeal. Pym's reply : and vindication. A home thruft, 212. Order for engroflment. Complaint of Mr. Speaker. Lenthal relieved. Seventh Debate : 20th November. Final Debate fixed. Cromwell and Falkland, 213. Preparations for laft Debate. Remonftrance lying on table, 214.. Propofed hil- torical illuftrations. Dering on the Remonftrance, 215.
Notes. A bold Mechanick, 211. Statement by Clarendon : charge againft Pym : a mifreprefentation, 214.
ABSTRACT OF THE GRAND REMONSTRANCE . 215 273
1 . The Preamble : Purpofe aimed at . . . A. 2 1 5 — 2 1 8
Text. Struggle of paft twelve months, 215. Why Remon- ftrance introduced. NecelTary to completion of Reforms, 216. Court Confpiracy : to iubvert laws; to degrade Pro- teftantifm ; to difcredit Parliament, 216, 217. Upholders of right nick-named Puritans, 217. Popery the chief Con- fpirator, 218. Notes. Falkland againft Laud. Propofed Pope at Lambeth, 217. Englifh livings and Romifh opinions, 218.
2. Firft, Second, and Third Parliaments of Charles . 218 — 223
Text. Claufes 1 — 6. Incidents of Firft Parliament, 218. Claufes 7 — 10. Incidents of Second Parliament, 219. Claufes 11 — 16. Incidents of Third Parliament, 220. Violation of Petition of Right. Imprifonment of Members, 222. Heavy Fines. Sufferings and death of Eliot. His blood crying for vengeance, 223.
Notes. Billeting grievances. Lifts of recufants. Yonge's Diary, 219. Proceedings to get money. How fpent. Amendments by J. C, 220. Addition by Strode. Moundiford MSS. Billeting foldiers. Sheriffs and fhip- money. Projects for plunder of fubjecl, 221. Atro- cities of the Court. Authors of Amendments, 222. Eliot's ufage in Tower, 223.
3 . Go<vernme?2t by Prerogative : from Third Parliament to Pacifi-
cation of Berwick ..... 224 — 244
Text. Claufes 17 — 60. Government by Prerogative. Claufes 17, 21, 22, 31,44,45, and 49. Revival of feudal ftatutes, 224. Ancient Charters broken, 225. Packed juries and robberies bylaw. Claufes 18, 19, 20, and 24. Monftrous taxation of commerce. Pretence of guarding feas, 226. Ship-money, 227. Seas wholly unguarded, 228. No laws to appeal to. Cafe of Richard Chambers, 229. Claufes 27, 28, 29, 30, 33, 34, and 35. Monopolies revived : allneceftaries of life pro-
Contents,
tested and debafed. Reftraints on enterprife, 230. Debale- ment of currency. Courts of law become courts of Royal revenue, 231. Claufes 23, 24, 25, 26, and 32. Gunpowder monopoly: Trained Bands dificouraged thereby, 232. Favours to Papift projectors. Seizures under Crown Com- miffions. Commons taken from people, 233. Claufes 3S, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, and 47. Patents of the Judges altered. Juftice intercepted, 234. Law and lawyers degraded. Old jurildiclions abufed, 235. New courts created. Rules of law unfet tied, 236. Claufes 37, 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55. Ecclefiaftical tyranny, 236, 237. Star Chamber. High Commifnon and Council Table. Bifhops' Courts. People driven beyond feas. Extent of the Emigration, 238. Claufes 48, 50, 56, 57, 58, 59, and 60. Church preferments. Pulpit doctrines. Ufe and abufe of fheriffs, 239. Treat- ment of Patriots: excluded from offices and honours, 240, 241. Terrorifm and corruption, 241. Strafford's and Laud's predominance at Council, 241, 242. Claufes 61 — 67. De- fign of the Court. Puritans the partition againft Rome : to be flung down, 242. Scotch Rebellion. Claufes 68 — 75. Strafford at the Council Board. His reafons for a Parlia- ment, 243. His Irifih levies againft the Scots, 244.
Notes. Proclamation againft talking of a Parliament, 224. Wardfhip extortions. Coat and conduct money. Schedule of grievances (April 1640), 225. The tax leaft fupporta- ble, 226. Hardfliips of Ship-money affeffment. Piifons filled. Hampden one of many recufants. Lord Saye's refiftance : decifion in his cafe, 227. Pym on Ship- money. Not a light tax. Piracies in the Channel. In- fults to Englifh flag, 228. Captures by Turks. Popular fympathy for Judge Hutton. Hyde's fpeech againft the Judges, 229. Bulftiode Whitelocke, 230. Project for brafs money, 1638. Falkland's reference thereto. Grim- ifton on denials of juftice, 231. Culpeper on protection of gunpowder, 232. Wilde and Clotworthy. Plunder of the poor, 233. Commiffions. Alleged defects in title deeds. Anecdote of a Judge, 234. Council Board tyranny. Policy of Keeper Finch. Courts of the houfehold. Verney Papers, 235, Death for ftealing . Royal difh. Notices for infertions in Remonftrance, 236. Tragedies of Baftwick, Burton, and Prynne, 236, 237. Mutilations for confidence' fake. Rous's Diary. Cafe •of a hat, 237. Wentworth ou political fermons. Royalift preachers, 239. Hyde on the Council of the North, 239, 240. Anecdote of Hyde at York. Trouble at his lodgings. Landlady curfes and abufies him. The myfi- tery explained, 240. Travelling between London and York, 241. Who were called Puritans, 242. Diary of J8.ous (March 1639). Prayers for a Parliament, 243.
i
cviii Contents.
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4. The Short Parliament and the Scottifli In'vafion . 244 — 253
Text. Claufes 76 — 78. Claufes 79 — 84. Strafford's fatal Counfel, 244. Its refults. Diffolution of Short Parliament, 245. Claufes 85 — 87. Laud (till moving to Rome, 246. Crown above the laws: Mitre above Crown, 246, 247. Church oppreffion, 247. Claufes 88 — 94. Defigns and power of Papilts, 247, 248. Secret meetings, 248. Agencies at Court and in Council. Imperium in imperio, 249. Claufes 95, 104. Prifons full. Non-parliamentary fupply exhaufted, 250. Dif- content of Lords: petitions for Parliament, 250, 251. The Scotch invafion. Parliament fummoned (3rd November, 1640), 253.
Notes. Strafford's advice (5th May, 1640), 244. Arrefts of Parliament men. Riots at Southwark and Lambeth. Allufions by Clarendon, 245. An honeft Judge. Sir Benjamin Rudyard, 21.6. Grimiton. Falkland, 247. Mafs connived at : conventicles made criminal, 247, 248. Favour to Papifts. Matters fubjecl: to monopoly, 248. Speech by Rudyard. State and Church grievances infepa- rable, 249. Ruin of Old Monarchy. Yonge's Diary,
250. The York Declaration. Dangers to State and Church. Grievances of fubjecl:. Innovations in religion,
251. Taxation without reprefentation. Parliament the only remedy. Story by Shafteibury, 252. Firft refolve of the Court : fecond thoughts. Shafteibury Papers, 253.
5. Ails of the Long Parliament ..... 253 — 258
Text. Claufes 105 and no. Heroes of .the Long Parliament, 253,254. Their talk. Claufes 106 — 9 and in — 124. Two armies paid. Twelve fublidies railed. Grievances redreffed, 254. Monopolies abolifhed, 255. Taxation reftored to Commons. Delinquents punifhed, 256. Claufes 127 — 136, 125 and 126, and 137 — 142. Overthrow of tyranny: eccle- liaftical and civil, 256, 257. How accomplilhed, 257. Two famous ftatutes. Other acls prepared : titles and objects thereof, 258.
Notes. Culpeper againft projectors. Swarm of monopolift vermin. Speech by Pym : fmall gain to King from large lofs to fubject, 255. Ralph Verney to James Dillon (1634), 256. Prynne's punifliment defcribed. Court of Requefts divifion, 257. Horror of impreffment, 258.
6. PraBices of the Court Party 259 — 265
Text. Claufes 143 — 153. Obftru&ions expecled. Preferment of evil Counfellors. Reproach againft Houfe : of refufingto fupport the Crown, 259. A million and a half voted for the King. Claufes 154 — 161. Popular Bills paffed by King.
Contents. x;x
PAGE
Four great Acls recited, 260. No intention to weaken Crown by them. Reftraints neceflary to fafety, 261. Claufes 162 — 168. Slanders againft the Parliament, 261, 262. Dan- ger of hafty judgments. Comparifon with former Parlia- ments. Alleged excefs of privilege, 262. Claufes 169 — 1S0. The party hoftile to Parliaments. Intriguers with army. Promoters of Rebellion, 263. The Irifh tragedy, 264. In- tended prologue to tragedy in England, 265.
Notes. Privileges from fuits at law, 262. MafTacres of Irifh Proteftants. Narrative by May, 264. Narrative by Rufhworth. Clarendon's account, 265.
7. Defence of the Popular Leaders . . . . 265 — 269
Text. Claufes 181 — 191. Hopes of Leaders of Commons, 265, 266. Reply to their aflailants, 266. Champions of Epifcopacy : their flanders, 266, 267. Defign of the Eifhops' Bill. No intention to relax juft difcipline, 267. Conformity defired, 268. Suggeftion for a Synod: to fettle Church Government, 269 Defire to advance Learning : by reforming Univerfities, 269.
Notes. Idolatry in the Church, 267. Authorfhip of Remon- ftrance. Afcribed to Pym. Parallel paffages from Pym's Vindication, 268.
8. Remedial Meafures demanded .... 269 — 273,
Text. Claufes 192 — 206. Demands made, 269, 270. Settle- ment of Monarchy with limitations, (i.) Safeguards againft Roman Catholic Religion, 270. Suggefted Commiffion, 271. (ii.) Securities for adminiftration of laws, (iii-) Protection againft evil Counfellors. Parliament to be coniulted in choice of minifters, 272. Minifters to be made fubjecT: to laws. Clofing prayer of Remonftrance, 273.
Notes. Pym's view as to Popery : diflike of the Statefman, not the Bigot, 270. The King's tendencies to Rome. Compact for reftoration of Epifcopacy. Propofed invi- tation to the French, 271. Englifh Statelmen : and foreign penfions, 273, 274.
§ XIII. The House and its Members : 22ND November,
1641 273—285
Text. Monday, 22nd November. King approaching London, 273, 274. Ten o'clock a.m. Speaker late. Petition from Moniers, 274. Diftin&ion between Commonwealth and King. Pym on Ireland. Twelve o'clock a.m. Dinner- hour. Cries for Order of the Day, 275. Hyde's motion to gain time. The Old Houfe of Commons. Weftminfter
b 2
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Hall. Famous Aflociations, 276. Pym and Hyde. Shops in the Hall. Place of re fort: for M.P.'s, lawyers and clients, 277. St. Stephen's Chapel. Its old interior. Officers of Houfe. Honourable Members, 278. Pofition of Mr. Speaker. Richard King's attack on Lenthal, 279. Hon. Mr. John Digby : his difrefpect to Houfe : rebuked by Lenthal, 279, 280. Mr. Speaker's powers, 280. Lenthal's weaknefs, 281. Magifler Venter. Houfe emptied by dinner-bell, 282. Where leading Members fit. Sir Simonds D'Ewes : taking his notes, 283. Marten and Pym, Culpeper, Hyde, Falkland and Palmer. Vane and King's Minifters, 284. Independent Members. Hampden, Waller, Cromwell, Hollis, and Selden. The lawyers, 285.
Notes. Efcape of Weftminfter Hall from fire, 277. Selden and the Digbys. Digby on his ladder and the ape on houfe-top. D'Ewes and Lenthal, 280. A quarrel on point of order. D'Ewes lectures Mr. Speaker. Len- thal's fubmiffion, 281. Pym's dinner parties. An even- ing ride, 282. Places of Members in Houfe, 283. Mode of referring to Members, 284, 285.
XIV. Speeches of Hyde, Falkland, Dering, Rudyard,
and Bagshaw ...... 286 — 299
Text. Eighth Debate: Monday, 22nd November. Hyde fpeaks. Doubts Houfe's right to remonftrate, 286. Objec- tions to form and language: unjuft to King, 286, 287. Lord Falkland fpeaks. King's right to name his own Minifters, 287. Defends Laud, Dangers of Remonltrance, 288. Apology for Bifhops : and Popifh Lords, 288, 289. Sir Edward Dering fpeaks: not difcreetly, 289,290, 291. Urges importance of Remonftrance.. But why carry it to the peo- ple ? People want only good laws, 291. Remonftrate to King : but not downward to people. Agrees with Falk- land. Church regulation no fubjecl for Parliament, 292. Advocates Prizes in Church. Would not fplit moons into ftars. Final reafons for adverfe vote, 293. Rudyard fpeaks. His Character by May. Favourable to a Declaration, 294. Great acts of the Parliament. Neceftity to defend it againft libels. States one objection to Remonltrance, 295. Would only mention Acls pafted : not Bills in progrefs or intended. Subfequent attacks on Rudyard. A poet and friend of poets, 296. Joins the Parliament. Unfit for all its duties, 297. Sayings and doings. Conduct in old age. No apoftate, 298. Acting in Houfe till his death (set. 87). Mr. Baglhaw fpeaks: againlt the Remonftrance, 299.
Jfotes. Hyde's wordinefs in fpeaking, 286. Allufion to Eliot in Remonftrance : incorrectly quoted by Hyde, 287. Dering's publication of his fpeeches. Ordered to be
Contents. xx;
PAGE burnt. Origin of penny-a-lining, 289. Reported fpeeches never fpoken : Royalift petitions forged : work of poor fcholars in ale-houfes. Verney's Notes, 290. Sydney Smith anticipated, 293. Poem to Rudyard by Ben Jonfon, 296. Epigrams addreffed by Jonfon, 297.
XV. Speeches of Culpeper, Pym, Bridgman, Waller,
and Hampden 300 — 308
Text. Sir John Culpeper fpeaks. Manner of fpeaking, 300. Objects to Remonftrance : not necefTary: and dangerous in form. People not to be addrelTed alone. Pym fpeaks, 301. Anfwers preceding fpeakers, 301, 302. Replies (o Hyde: replies to Falkland. Claim of Parliament to advife King, 302. Right to control Minifters. Replies to Culpeper. Replies to Dering. Slanders againft Parliament, 303. As to Church Prizes. Remarks on Rudyard. Replies to Bag- fhaw. Oppofes Lords' claim to (hare in Remonftrance, 304. An act of Commons, not of Lords or King. Appeal to people from reprelentatives. Orlando Bridgman fpeaks. Replies to Pym, 305. Edmund Waller fpeaks. Laws not to yield to Orders. Why control the King ? John Hampden fpeaks, 307. Why object to declaration? Replies to Dering. Quotes and applies Revelations, 307.
Notes. Character of Culpeper. Remark by Hyde : more ap- plicable to Pym, 300. Hampden's quotation, 307.
§ XVI. The Speeches up to Midnight . . . 30S — 313
Text. Hampden refumes feat (9 o'clock p.m.). Why D'Ewes had left at 4 o'clock. Attempts at compromife refilled, 308. Two divifions, 309. (i.) 187 to 123. (ii.) 161 to T47. Denzil Hollis fpeaks. People to be influenced. Power of Houfe to declare lingly, 310. Right to control King's advi- fers. Glyn fpeaks. Precedents for Remonftrance. Reafons in its favour, 3 11. Mr. Coventry fpeaks. Geoffrey Palmer fpeaks. Maynard fpeaks, 312. Midnight approaching. Secretary Nicholas retires. Writes to the King. Reveals Hyde's purpofe, 313.
Notes. Subject of firft divifion. Remark by D'Ewes. Tel- lers, 309. Second divifion, 310. Speaker's eye, rule of pre- cedence, 311.
§ XVII. Question put, and Palmer's Protest . 314 — 322
Text. Refiftance to putting queftion. Which fide gained by delay, 314. Hyde's ftatement : Whitelocke's : reafons to the contrary, 315. Truth of the cafe. Numbers on fit/ft divifion (310) : on fecond divifion (308), 316. Numbers on third divifion (307). New queftion railed. Clarendon's
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Narrative, 317. As to Hyde's proteft : as to Palmer's : as to others : as to clofe of debate : as to incidents in its pro- grefs, A tiffiie of misftatements, 318, 319. Real mover of printing, 319. Mr. Peard, 320. True object of " Protefters." To divide and deftroy authority of Houfe, 321. Why fo refolutely refifted. Exiftence of Houfe involved. Unex- ampled icene, 322. Notes. Whitelocke's Memorials: not reliable, 315. Numbers commonly prefent in Houfe, 316. Change by Claren- don's firft editors, 317. Hyde and Hampden. D'Ewes on Hampden. Art of making ufe of others : open to misjudgment, 320. Clarendon's character of Hampden. A governor of men, 321.
§ XVIII. Valley of the Shadow of Death . 322 — 327
Text. Remonflrance carried (by 159 to 148), 322. Denzil Hollis aclingr with Pym. Peard moves printing. Hyde op- pofes. Con fufed debate. Members protefting, 323. Palmer moves to take down names : of all claiming to proteft, 323, 324. Cries of "All, all." Palmer protefts for "All." Sudden fury of excitement. " I thought we had all fat in " the Valley of the Shadow of Death " (Philip Warwick), 324. Swords ready for mifchief. Parallel from Saul's Wars. Calmnefs of Hampden. Shows Palmer's prefumption, 325. How fhould he anfwer for "all." The Houfe calmed. Printing to be left unfettled, 326. Fourth divifion : 124 to 101. Houfe rifes (2 a.m.), 326, 327. What Cromwell laid of the Vote. Turning-point of freedom or defpotifm, 327.
§ XIX. Sitting of Tuesday, the 23RD November . 327 — 331
Text. Tuefday, 23 rd November. Houfe meets at 10 o'clock, 327, 328. Bufinefs in hand. Four, p.m. Pym refers to laft night's fcene, 328. Mifchievous claim put forward : to be difcuffed next day, 328, 329. The truth, and Clarendon's verfion of it. As to party counfels. Impoffible as ftated, 329. As to a purpofe againft himfelf : rejected by Northern men. As to difputes among the leaders. Not confirmed by D'Ewes or Verney, 330. Why not credible. Refuted by MS. of D'Ewes, 331. Notes. D'Ewes corrects Clarendon, 329. Clarendon's dif- tinction between himfelf and Palmer, 330, 331.
§ XX. Debate on Palmer's Protest . . . 331 — 343
Text. Ninth Debate : Wednefday, 24th November. Pym de- nounces fcandalous prints, 331. Complaints of Pamphleteers. Referred to Committee for abufes of printing. Pym fpeaks againft " Proteft," 332. Shows its danger. Hyde defends it:
Contents.
amid clamour. Why not Commons as well as Lords ? 333. Repeats proteft againft printing. Suggeftion by Strode : dif- regarded. Mr. Hotham fpeaks, 334. Attacks Palmer: as leader of a mutiny, 334, 335. Moves to have him lent for. Palmer enters. Conflict of friends and foes, 335. Hyde fupports Palmer. Too late to require him to anfwer. Cul- peper on fame fide. Members to be queftioned only at fpeaking, 336. Denzil Hollis makes new charge. D'Ewes fpeaks. Replies to Hyde. Exhibits precedents, 337. Mem- bers not questionable elfewhere : but by the Houfe at any time. Judgment of Houfe never avoidable. Error in Cul- peper's argument, 338. Future parliament may queftion part. Houfe unchanged by abfence of members. D'Ewes's own abfence at midnight of Monday, 339. Would have Palmer fpeak. D'Ewes proud of his logic. Palmer's friends prevent his riling. A divifion called for, 340. Hyde moves addition to queftion, 340, 341. Defeated by 192 to 146. Original queftion carried by 190 to 142. Palmer required to fpeak, 341. His defence. Hampden's queftion. Apology. Whitelocke fuppoits Palmer. Mr. Speaker cannot fee hon. members. Subjecl to be relumed to- morrow. Adjournment at dark (4*30), 343.
Notes. Clarendon's account of opening of debate, 332. Hyde and Palmer, 333. Hyde reported by himfelf, 336. A correction not legible, 337. Pym's vigilance, 343.
§ XXI. Palmer's Punishment and Submission . 343 — 355
Text. Tenth Debate : Thurfday, 25th November, 343. Petition to accompany Remonftrance, 343, 344. Referred to Com- mittee. Tonnage and Poundage Bill. Palmer's Debate called for, 344. Speeches on either fide. In aggravation of offence. Scene it had occafioned. In extenuation of offence, 345. Interference of Hampden. Palmer's previous fervice. Delays reforted to. Refolution of majority to punifh, 346. Gravity of the a<St attempted : to place minority above majority, 346, 347. Puniihment demanded. Hotham and others for expullion, 347. Speeches by friends of Palmer: Strangways and Bagfhaw, Crew comes to refcue, 348. Suggefts reprimand by Mr. Speaker. Reminds Houfe of Palmer's fervices. Waller on fame fide : lefs difcreet, 349. Too many penalties for fmall offences. Do not punifh tem- perance. Anger of Hotham. Suggeftion by Sir Ralph Hopton, 350. Replied to by D'Ewes. Ufages of the Houfe. Q^ueftions put, 351. Shall Palmer be fent to Tower? Yes: by 169 to 128. Shall he be expelled? No: by 163 to 131. Houfe adjourns, 351, 352. Friday 26th Nov. Palmer appears at Bar, 352. Is committed. 8th December fends in petition and is releafed. Refults of Palmer's puniihment.
xxiv . Contents.
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Clarendon's Htftory (ii. 61-2). Series of misftatements, 353. Alleged ground of hoftility to Palmer. No truth therein, 354. Fall'e averment as to printing, 354, 355. Notes. Clarendon " letting himfelf loofe," 347. Pembroke
Lord Steward. Crew at Uxbridge, 348. Clarendon's
account of Palmer's committal, 354.
§ XXII. Petition to accompany Remonstrance . 355 — 366 Text. Eleventh Debate: 27th November. King's arrival. Impolitic acls. Order as to religion, 355. Guard to Par- liament difmiiTed. Excitement in Houle. Hampden fpeak- ingj 3 56- Oliver Cromwell. Suggeftion for defence of kingdom. Referred to Committee, 357. Remonftrance Petition brought in. Abftracl of its contents. Why King's prefence defired. Zeal of evil Counfellors, 359. Declara- tion prepared : to point out dangers to State and King. Whyfuch warnings neeeffary, 360. Three clofing requefts : (i.) To abridge Bifhops' power, (ii.) To remove ill Coun- fellors. (iii.) To apply Iriih forfeitures to public needs, 360, 361. Pym anfwers objections. A point of order. Hamp- den reftores quiet. D'Ewes explains ufage of Houfe, 362. Culpeper in fault, not Pym. "Well moved." Pym anfwers Culpeper. Petition read again: and debated in detail, 364. D'Ewes attacks Biihops. Houfe adopt his views. Further objections by Hyde: and Mr. Coventry, 364. Replied to by D'Ewes. Urges ltudy of Rolls. Pym's moderation, 365. Notes. Queftion as to Guard. King's meffage, 356. Tuef- day, 20th November. King's defign as to Guard, 357. Perfonal reafons. Pym's counter reafons. Plots in pro- grefs. Attack on Parliament expected, 358. Unfafe without their own Guard, 358, 359. Changes propofed in Petition, 361. Unaltered Petition fent to Courc, 365. Secret communication with the King, 366.
§ XXIII. The King Receives Remonstrance and Pe- tition ....... 366 — 372
Text. Tuefday, 30th November. Petition engrofled. Com- mittee named to wait on King, 366. Its members. Seve- ral King's friends. Pym withdraws his name. Dering to read Petition to King, 367. Declines, and Hopton chofen. Thurfday, 2nd December. Hopton's report. Reception by Charles. Hopton reading Petition, 368. Interruptions by King. The Bear and the Bear's ikin. Com- mittee queltioned : " Do you mean to publijli ? " King s anfwer to Petition, 369. Clofe of interview. Meflage before de- parture. No pledge not to publifh. Incitements to publica- tion, 370. Hoftile acts againft Houfe. King's purpofe unmalkcd. Hyde and friends invited to office, 371. Notes. D'Ewes's remark on deputation, 368.
Contents. xxv
PAGE
§ XXIV. Retaliation and Revenge . . . 372 — 375
Text. Tamperings with command of Tower. Popular com- motion, 372. New King's Guard. People fired upon. 30th November, a.m. Houfes difmifs King's Guard, 373. Omi- nous precaution. The end approaching. Witty remark by Selden, 374. Doctor Chillingworth's difclofure, 375. Notes. Preparing for acl of violence, 372. Lord Dorfet, 373. Commons'1 'Journals (30th November). Selden's Table Talk, 374..
§ XXV. Alleged Intimidation of Parliament . 375 — 384.
Text. Hyde's plot. Parliament " not free." King's plea of coercion, 375. Minority againft majority. 30th November, P.M. Charge againft Citizens. Charge againft Members. Shall we not give votes freely? 376. Strangways aflcs for committee. Is required to ftate complaint. Story of an apprentice, 377. Some members to be overawed by others. "Name! Name!" Kirton names Ven. Houfe prevents Ven's anfwer, 378. Pym's queftion to the Speaker. 2nd and 3rd December. Debates on popular gatherings. Waller, Strode, and Culpeper. D'Evves defends the citizens. Culpeper interrupts, 379. Earle and D'Ewes to order. Culpeper explains. D'Ewes replies. Houfe fup- ports D'Ewes, 380. Culpeper fdenced. Pym's motion againft Upper Houfe. Stoppage of ufeful bills, 381. Will minority of Lords join majority of Commons in a proteft ? Counter propofition by Godolphin, 382. Hopes of Court party. Views of Mr. Speaker, 383. Monday, 6th Decem- ber. Cromwell on breach of Privilege, 383, 384. Peers' interference with elections. Tuefday, 7th December. A ftartling propofal, 384.. Dangers from army intrigues. Dii- truft of the King, 385. Notes. D'Ewes's MS. A fcene in " Gracious " Street, 377.
Obftruclions in Upper Houfe, 381. Pym's appeal to
Lords: Do not leave us to fave the country alone, 382.
Commons'1 Journals (3rd December and 7th December),
383- § XXVI. An Ominous Proposal .... 385 — 393
Text. Tuefday, 7th December. Bill prefented by Hafelrig : for fettling the Militia, 385. Account in the D'Ewes MS. Bill angrily received. Culpeper moves its rejection. Bar- rington againft. Strode and D'Ewes for. Cook cites pre- cedent againft, 386. Mallory would have bill burnt. Cook called up : ordered to withdraw. Had miiquoted precedent, 387. D'Ewes expofes and laughs at him, 387, 388. Cook admonifhed. Bill read a firft time (158 to 125), 388. Same
xxvi Contents.
PAGE incident told with ftrange variations, 388, 389. Clarendon's Hijlory (ii. 76, 80). Motion made as to Militia: how treated, 389. Hyde replied to by Solicitor General. St. John brings in a bill, 390. Clarendon's Hijlory (i. 4.86): fame incident again told, 390, 391. Quke different account of fame facls, 391. Bill brought in by Hazelrig : drawn by St. John: who defends and explains it, 391, 392. Never read fecond time. Alleged rejection. Error as to firft reading. Carried (by 158 to 125), 392- Miftakes and confuiion. Hiftorians milled. Nalfon no authority, 393.
Notes. Commons'" Journals (ii. 334.). Verney's Notes (p. 132), 388.
§ XXVII. The City Petition 393—401
Text. Wednefday, 8th Dec. Friday, 10th. New Guard on Houfes, 393, 394. Agitation thereat. By whom placed. Writ from Lord Keeper, 394. Voted breach of privilege. Halberdiers removed. Lords ftartled as well as Commons, 395. "Shut the door!" Member quits Houfe without leave, 395, 396. Rebuked by Pym. nth Dec: Sheriff and Magift rates reprimanded. The City petition, 396. Its arrival announced. Brought by twelve citizens, 397. Re- ceived by Clerk. Its dimenfions. Addrefs to the Chief of Deputation. Reply of Mr. Speaker, 398. Debate as to Ireland. Queftion of printing Remonftrance revived. Re- folve thereon, 399. Tuefday, 14th Dec, Meffage from King: refpecling bill under difcuffion, 399, 400. Voted breach of privilege. Proteft carried to King, 400. Refolve taken, 401.
Notes. Points of form and order, 393, 394. Commons'1 "Journals (ii. 338), 395. The City 220 years ago, 396. Source of its power. Its fupport of popular caufe, 397. Charge againft St. John. Not credible, 400. Curious notices from the D'Ewes MS., 400, 401. Deputation prefent proteft. Archbifhop Williams reads it, 401. Kind's anfwer : read by Nicholas, 401, 402. Anger of the King, 402.
XXVIII. The Last Debate 402—408
Text. Twelfth and laft Debate: 15th Dec. Purefoy moves printing. A great filence, 402. Argument for printing: will recover People to Houfe, 402, 403. Surprife of D'Ewes and others. Peard feconds Purefoy. Waller oppofes, 403. Debate prolonged to evening. Candles called for. Sir Nicholas Slanning oppofes. An eager royalift, 404. Forces divifion : on queftion for candles, 405, 406. Candles brought (152 to 53). Divifion for printing. Carried (135 to 83"), 406. Printing ordered. Slanning revives claim to
Contents. xxvu
PAGE
proteft. Storm allayed by Pym, 407. Monday, 20th Dec. Debate on right to proteft, 407, 408. Ominous remark by Holborne. Resolution againft Hyde's party, 408.
Notes. Great men of little fize. Hales of Eton. Chilling- worth. Sidney Godolphin. Falkland, 405. Picture by Clarendon {Life, i. 43, 44), 405, 406. Right to pro- teft rejected, 408.
§ XXIX. Impossibility of Compromise . . . 408 — 414
Text. Refult of Remonftrance Debates. Popular leaders averfe to war. Indecifion of Charles. Bankes (C.J.) attempts to mediate with King, 409. Like attempts of leaders in both Houfes. Lord Wharton. Denzil Hollis. Lord Say and Seale, 410. Lord Effex. Lord Northumberland. Objects of Court party. To weaken and degrade Parliaments, 411. Small part in a great fcene : creditably played. Character of Bankes (C.J.) unwiiely compared with Coke (C.J.), 412. Coke's claims. The Inititutes and the Petition of Right. Party views for and againft Charles. A plain cafe up to the war, 413. A cafe more perplexing, 414.
§ XXX. Conclusion 414 — 421
Text. Limited fcope of prefent work : to reftore an effaced page in Hiltory, 414. Object of Notes appended. Clarendon's Kijlory. Its beauties. Its demerits, 415. Its author con- fronted with contemporaries. Refult decifive againft him. Miftatements no longer pofllble. Ludicrous errors, 416. D'lfraeli's Commentaries (ii. 294). Effect of Remonftrance on the people : its vindication : and meafure of its import- ance, 417. Its fubfequent influence. Confefled by Hyde. Recruiting-ferjeant for Civil War. Motives of its authors : in lb appealing to the people. To fave the ancient monarchy, 418,419. Civil and religious freedom not Separable. Rights demanded by' Remonftrance. Leaders of the Long Parlia- ment, 419. Their genius and greatnefs. Their patience and enduiance. Their refpect for old precedents and laws, 420. Reverence due to them, 421.
Index ........... 423
THE DEBATES
ON THE
GRAND REMONSTRANCE.
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY.
§ i. The Plantagenets.
I propose to introduce an attempt to re- ^rP°^of defcribe, with greater fullnefs and accuracy, fome leading events in the political ftruggle of the Seventeenth Century, by a fketch of the earlier efforts for freedom in the Plantagenet andTudor reigns. From the circumftances that attended the gradual growth of our liberties, were drawn ever the moft powerful arguments for their maintenance and defence : and it is impoffible p°htlon
J. t3.fCCn UD
clearly to underfland thepofition in this refpect byCharles taken up by Charles the Firft's opponents, the Fhft's without fome knowledge of the grounds on °pp01 which they refted their claim to connect with the old laws and ufages of England, their refiftance to the tyranny of the Stuarts.
One of the nobleft images in the writings ^°[deS of Burke, is that in which he fays of the fpirit of-Englifh of Englifh Freedom that, always acting as if in Freedom- the prefence of canonifed forefathers, it carries
2 IntroduElory EJfay.
Burke on an impofing and majeftic afpect. "It has to* ' cc a pedigree and illustrating anceftors. It has cc its bearings and its enfigns armorial. It has li its gallery of portraits, its monumental in- cc fcriptions, its records, evidences, and titles." For collecting and producing them, Selden was thrice imprifoned by James the Firft and his Son ; and the part which they played in that ftruggle with the Stuarts, was but the revival, in more powerful form, of an influence they had exerted over the Plantagenets and the Tudors. As in later, fo it had been in the Precedents earl}er time. The Petition of Right, enacted
in older
Time. m Charles the FirfVs reign, was but the affir- mation and re-enactment of the precedents of three foregoing centuries ; and in the reign of John, when the Barons were in treaty for the Great Charter, Langton put forward, as the bafis and title of their claims, a charter of a hundred years' earlier date. Charter of That was the enactment of the firft year of woo7"1' Henry Beauclerc, the firft of the name, and the third of our Norman kings. It was fup- pofed to be the only copy then in exiftence ; fo affiduous Henry's officers had been, in the more fecure years of his reign, to deftroy the evidence of his recognition of popular rights at Difficulty the outfet of his ufurpation. But he could not preffin^ a deprefs the people for his pleafure, when already Charter, he had raifed them for his gain. They are edged tools, thefe popular compacts and con- ceffions ; and not fo fafe to play the game of diflimulation with, as a friendly nod or greet- ing to the friend you purpofe to betray. (c Does he fmile and fpeak well of me ?" faid
§ I. The Tlantagenets : Henry I. 3
one of the chief jufticiaries of this King. Henry I. <c Then I am undone. I never knew him ic praife a man whom he did not intend to cc ruin." It was truly faid, as the fpeaker foon had occafion to know ; but it is more difficult fo to deal with a people. A charter Royal of relief from onerous and unreafonable bur- <;oncef-
. , . 1 r j 'ions not
dens, once granted, is never more to be relumed refUmable. as a mere wafte piece of parchment. The pro- vifions of which men have loft the memory, and are thought to have loft the proof, reappear at the time of vital need ; and the prince into whofe violent keeping a people's liberties have fallen, is made fubject to a fharp refponfibility. For the moft part, unhappily, hiftory is read imperfea as imperfectly as it is written. Beneath the judgments furface to which the obfcurity of diftant records in Hlitoi7- too commonly reftricts us, there lies material to be yet brought to light, lefs by laborious refearch than by patient thought and careful induction. Conceding to the early chroni- clers their particular cafes of oppreflion, fub- jection, and acquiefcence, let us well affure ourfelves that thefe will not prevail for any length of time againft an entire and numerous people. If ever rulers might have- hoped to strength meafure their immunities and rights by theandweak- temper and ftrength of their fwords, it mould Norman have been thefe early Norman princes ; yet at Kings. every turn in their ftory, at every cafualty in their chequered fortunes, they owe their fafety to the fact of flinging down their fpoil. A fomething which, under various names, repre- fents the People, is ftill upon their track ; and thus, over our rudeft hiftory, there lies at
E 2
4 Introductory EJfay.
leaSt a Shadow of the fubftance which fills our
later and nobler annals. Bafisof The ban's of the Saxon Constitution refted
Saxon wholly on the mutual correction, and relative fuf-
Conihtu- J . - ~ r
tion. tainment and lupport, or two oppolite powers ; that of the King exerted through a prerogative jurisdiction, and that of the People expreSTed through their various courts and guilds. Nor does it admit of queStion that, Substantially, Adopted the Conqueror and his fons adopted the Saxon Conqueror jurifprudence , and that it continued to be the and his baSis of the common law. Every fubfequent ons* alteration operated upon it ; and though the action of time and circumStance made thofe alterations considerable, there was little direct change by pofitive enactment. The notion which long prevailed that the Feudal SyStem was firSt introduced into England at the Con- queSt has been difproved by modern inquiry. Origin of ^11 tne rudiments and germs of the feudal fervices existed in the Germanic nations ; and whether thefe were grown in their foreSts, or had been derived in any degree from what they faw of the fyStem of the Empire, is not very material. As early as Tacitus, every chieftain had his band of retainers, who ho- noured him in peace, and followed him in war ; and that an artificial connection Should gradually have arifen, reciprocally binding the lord to his vaSTal, and the vaiTal to his lord, renders it eafy to understand the growth of Its bur- the entire fyStem of feudality. In what way dens and jts more onerous incidents and obligations tenure. arofe opens up wider considerations. But there is reafon to believe that even thefe had made
§ i. The Plantagenets : Henry I. 5
confiderable advance under the Saxons, though not to the exclufion of other modes of tenure, before the fubtle and elaborate Norman devices were grafted on them. The Saxon king cer- Natural tainly claimed the right of wardfhip, though confe- lefs often, and in fimpler and lefs oppreffive the Feudal form, than in the Norman time ; and the Syftem. acknowledgment, by oath, of the obligation in a feud as reciprocal and binding on both parties, is known as early as Alfred's reign. As that obligation took more fettled fhape, the fyftem developed itfelf in largely civilifing r and humanifing forms. The compact implied develop- on both fides fixed rights and fettled duties, ment" and made Protection as facred as Service. It led gradually, in fhort, to the feud becoming a life-eftate ; from which, as an almoft natural confequence, the principle of hereditary fuc- cefTion arofe ; every new occupant making Heredi- ftill his acknowledgment of vafTalage, and Ceff10nuc" binding himfelf as fully as the firft grantee. Nor did it require much forethought to dif- cern, that the perfect development of this fyftem would end in a mutual arrangement of legally binding obligations and legally maintainable rights, in the courfe and action of which the Extin&ion very life of the relation of vafTalage would oi Vaffal*
J. ° age.
expire.
Contemporaneous with Henry the Firft's The Cru- charter were the firft great victories of the lades* Crufades, which led to the facrifice of many millions of lives, and had the effect not only greatly to increafe the temporal power and ecclefiaftical domination of the Popedom, but to begin the terrible fhory of religious wars. Yet
Introductory EJfay.
Feudal Inftitu- tions im- proved.
Influences of Chrift- ianity.
Seeds of Commerce and Lite- rature.
Henry II.
they had alfo good refults, to which the exifting condition of the world gave a preponderating influence. What there was of merit in the feudal inftitutions had here taken a higher and more fpiritual character, largely abating their ferocity and fomewhat leiTening their injustice. A troubadour of the century now begun called Jerufalem a fief of Jefus Chrift ; and in the exprefTion may be traced the origin of the Crufader's fenfe of his bond and vaflalage to the Son of God. To his fancy, he was now firmly eftabliihing a reciprocity of obedience and protection between himfelf and heaven. The union alfo, which the Crufades effected, of different countries in a common object, had a tendency to diffipate many narrow hindrances to a common civilifation ; and the intercourfe of eaftern and weftern nations by degrees intro- duced into religion, as well as into government, larger and more humane views. The pecu- niary obligations incurred by the feudal chiefs, led at the fame time to a wider circulation of money, and made further gradual but fure encroachment on the ftricter domains of feudal- ifm. Finally, we owe it mainly to the Cru- fades, that the enrichment of the ports of Italy, by fuch fudden avenues to trade, became an important element in the advance to a higher and more refined fyitem of fociety ; and that, fcattered through the wandering paths of Troubadour or Dominican, the feeds of elo- quence and fong fprang up in later days, and in many countries, into harvefts of national literature. jW +
Some of thefe advantages began to be felt
§ i. The Plant agenets: Henry II. j
even fo early as under the fir ft and greater! of Filft Plan- the PJantagenet kings. It was in Henry the ^™ Second's reign that perfonalfer vices of the feudal 1154.. vaffals were exchanged for pecuniary aids ; that, by the iflue of a new coinage of ftandard weight and purity, confidence was given to towns and cities, then flruggling into import- ance by the help of charters and fifcal exemp- tions ; that it was made the duty of the itinerant judges to fee that all free men were provided with competent arms and means of defence ; that the moft oppreflive baronial Gains to tyrannies received a check from the Crown ; ^^ and that further fettled guarantees for internal tranquillity v/ere given by a more orderly, equal, and certain adminiftration of the laws. Yet even fuch fervices to civilifation yield in importance to that which was rendered by this great prince in refifting the ufurpations of the Church. His difpute with his Primate in- DU'puteof volved effentially little lefs than the ultimate Hen'T IL
n . r . J . c , and his
queltion or the entire arrangement or human primate. fociety. Not feventy years had paffed fince the voice of Hildebrand had declared the papal throne to be but the temporal emblem of a univerfal fpiritual authority, holding abfolute feudal jurifdiclion over the lelTer authority of kings and nobles ; and Becket flood upon the claim fo put forth by Hildebrand. Like him, Becket's he would have turned human government into lcheme- a theocracy, placing the Church at its head, unqueftioned and fupreme. He would have drawn together the whole of Chriftian Europe under one fole Suzerain authority, and, through all the wide and various extent of civilifed
8 Introductory EJj'ay.
nations, would have made thefpiritual tyranny of Rome the centre and metropolis of dominion. To Henry Plantagenet, on the other hand, it feemed that any fuch centralifation of ecclesias- tical power would be fatal to the peace, the Henry's happinefs, and the liberty of the world. He oppofi- hacl laboured hard, with his Chancellor Becket, to reduce all autocracies and tyrannies within his kingdom ; and againft his Primafe Becket, he now refolutely declared that this work mould ftill go on. Whether fpiritual interefts were, or were not, of higher importance than temporal interefts, was not necefTarily the queftion im- plied ; any more than whether a firm belief in Chriftianity mould involve a total Subjection of the understanding, of the heart and the will, of the active and the intellectual powers, what the to eccleSiaftical domination. Not fo, happily ftruggle for the pe0ple whom he governed, was
involved •
this refolute prince difpofed to renounce
his focial and civil duties. In events that
arofe as the conteft went on, he was rude,
paffionate, and overbearing ; and perhaps much
of the work he was called to do, by more
Chara&er delicate ways could hardly have been done :
of Henry. Dut^ ^^g^ what he had nobly gained was
thus at times in danger of being ignobly loft,
there feldom fails to be visible, throughout all
the recklefs impulfes of that really majeftic
though ill-regulated nature, a ftrong compre-
henfion of the vital truth which was afterwards
wrought out with fuch breadth and potency
Complete }n England. And on the whole it was cer-
either^not tam^Y we^ tnat Henry the Second's triumph
defirable. fhould not have been on all points complete.
§ i. The "Plant agenets : Henry II. 9
Notwithstanding the fpiritual defpotifm which What was the Church would fain have eftablifhed, we can- 4^e to,the not forget what the Church in thofe rude times reprefented and embodied ; and for the utter difcomfiture and overthrow of which, any abfolute fupremacy of the State and the fword would have been but a poor compenfation. What it was well that the King mould retain, what he did not lofe ; and though neither did Ht;nry II. Becket entirely forfeit what his arrogance too & ramly put in peril, fubftantially the victory remained with Henry. Aflerting the neceflary rights of temporal princes, and upholding the independent vigour of civil government, he defended and maintained, in effect, religious liberty and equal laws ; and the foil was not. unprepared to receive that wholefome feed, even fo early as the reign of the firft Plantagenet.
The moft diftinguifhed afTociate of Henry Ranuif de in his civil labours was the famous Ranulf de Glanvile, Glanvile, in whofe name is written the moft ^^JL^, ancient and memorable treatife of the laws and et Confuc- cuftoms of England; and the greateft act they t"dim.bus jointly performed was to give authority, uni- Anglia. verfality, and fettled form and circumftance, to a practice which was only very imperfectly introduced in the time of Henry Beauclerc, and had been, fince then, carried out (till lefs perfectly. In a Great Council at Northampton, 6 Henry formally divided the kingdom into fix Appoint- diftricts, to each of which he arligned three itine- n?ent of
, ^ circuits
rant judges, and from that time circuits have forjudges. never ceafed in England : carrying gradually with them (in confequence of other improve- ments introduced by this great and fagacious
io Introductory EJfay.
prince) the general adoption of juries, an elevation of the character of the judges, and other fettled advantages in jurifprudence as well as in legal adminiftration, felt to this hour. Richard I. The reign of the fecond of the Piantagenet Il89- family fupplies to our conftitutional hiftorian, in the fentence paffed on the Chancellor of the abfent King by the convention of barons, the earlieft authority on record for the refponfi- bility of Minifters to Parliament. The incident, however, important as it is, feems rather to take its place with others in the fame reign, New rela- which mark the fpringing up of a new condi- tions be- tjon 0f relations between the baronage and
twccn ^
throne and the throne. In the obftinate ab fence of Cceur-
barons. de-Lion on his hair-brained enterprifes, the
inaptitude and imbecility of his brother had
thrown all the real duties of government into
the hands of a council of barons ; thefe again
independ- were oppofed by men of their own clafs, as well
ent oppo- for felf-intereft as on general and independent
lition to grounds ; and the refult of a feries of quarrels
Crown. & > i
thus conducted between equals, as it were, in ftation, between forces to a great degree inde- pendent of each other — the Crown ftriving to maintain itfelf on the one hand, but no longer with the preftige of power it had received from the ftronger kings ; the Ariftocracy advancing claims on the other, no longer overborne or overawed by the prefent prefTure of the throne Beginning — jecj t0 what, in modern phrafe, might be °les'of called a fyftem of unfcrupulous party ftruggle, party. in which royalty loft the exclufive pofition it had been the great aim of the Conqueror's family to fecure to it, and became an unguarded
§ i. The Plantagenets : Arthur. 1 1
object of attack, thereafter, to whatever hoftile confederacy might be formed againft it.
What there was of evil as well as of good in the conteft became ftrongly manifeft in the two fucceeding reigns.
In the ftri£t order of hereditary fucceffion Arthur's the crown, which on Richard's death was con- ^^cto ferred on John, would have fallen to Arthur, cefllon : the orphan of John's elder brother. But though the fubfequent misfortunes and forrow- ful death of this young prince largely excited fympathy in England, there was never any formidable ftand attempted, here, on the ground of his right to the throne. The battle was fought fought in the foreign provinces. In England, p"e„^ while fome might have thought his hereditary provinces. claim fuperior to his uncle's, there was hardly a man of influence who would at this period have drawn the fword for him, on any fuch prin- ciple as that the crown of England was heritable property. The genius of the country had been The repugnant to any fuch notion. The Anglo- Qrownnot Saxon fovereignty was elective ; that people heritable never fanctioning a cuftom by which the then P1'°Perty- perfonal and moft arduous dutiesof fovereignty, both in peace and war, might pafs of right to an infant or imbecile prince; and to the ftrength Sove- of this feeling in the country of their conqueft, r?,f£ty the Normans heretofore had been obliged to yield. At each fucceffive coronation following the defeat of Harold, including that of the Conqueror, the form of deferring to the peo- Normans pie's choice had been religioufly adhered to ; defer to nay, of the five Norman kings on whom the principle. Englifh crown had now defcended, four had
1 2 Introductory EJfay.
been constrained to reft their ftrongeft title on that popular choice or recognition : but its mod decifive confirmation was referved for the coronation of John. Till after the cere- mony, his right was in no particular admitted. Corona- He was earl, until he afTumed the ducal coro- tion of net; and he was duke, until the Great Council, 1 199. fpeaking through the primate, invefted him at Weftminfler with the Englifh crown, accom- panying it with the emphatic declaration that it was the nation's gift, and not the property of any particular perfon. Speed, with his patient induftry and narrow virion, calls this latter condition, cc a fecond feed-plot of trea- <c fons ; " but for the moft part it has happened, Treafons throughout our Englifh hiStory, that treafons the feed- nave been tne fecont[ feed-plot of liberty.
plot or r\ \- T-n-i •• • • t 1
Liberty. <Jtner niitorical critics imagine Johns corona- tion to have been a mere arrangement of con- ditional fealty Specially restricted to him ; the fole temptation to elect him, in preference to his nephew, being the confideration that lefs was to be looked for in the way of civil reffci- tution from a legitimate monarch, than from L ;ti_ one who held by elective tenure. But thefe macy or reafoners overlook, not only the fact that the on? law of fuccefTion as between a living brother and a dead brother's child was by no means fettled at this time, but that, as has juft been pointed out, the choice of a monarch on grounds exclusively hereditary would have been Whyjohn t^ie excepti°n and not the rule. If anything preferred beyond the objection to entrusting fovereignty to Arthur. to R cnjicl and a woman, induced the preference of John, it very probably was fome anticipation
§ I. The Plant agenets : John. 13
of a poffible and not diflant flruggle between the throne and its feudal dependencies, and the fenfe of how much the latter would be flrengthened by an incompetent and feeble King. For, how flood the government of England, when placed in John's keeping ?
The balance of power between the various Henry grades of feudal fociety, as in a great degree ,.s
o j j o d _ policy un-
eflablifhed by the difcreet and powerful policy fettled by of Henry the Second, had been wholly relaxed k's loifs- and unfettled by the lawlefs adminiflration in Cceur- de-Lion's abfence. The powers which Henry centered in the throne for good pur- pofes, were proftituted to evil by both his fons. The weaknefs which an able king, for wife and prudent purpofes, had fought to introduce into the ariftocratic element of the kingdom, had fince been ufed for the fuppreflion of all restraint upon monarchical tyranny. If fuch a Monarchy fovereign as Henry could have continued to and * .
•1 r 1 rr r 1 1 -1 -ocracy in
reign, until a rorced reprefiion or the baronial conflict, feuds might have permitted a gradual and free reaction of the popular on the kingly power, the eflablifhment of rational liberty would have been haftened by at leaft two centuries. But even as it was, there flood the People between the two oppofing forces ; alternately recognifed in the neceffities of each, and by both made confcious of their power. In the Church queflions, and People that of refiflance to invafion, which arofe in ^oo1^,
r 1 • 1 their lide
the earlier portion of the reign, they took part alter- with John ; in the queflions of civil freedom nately- which immortalifed its clofe, they joined the grand confederacy of his enemies. Of the character of this prince it is needlefs to fp'eak.
14 Introductory EJfay.
Character It belongs to the few in hiftory or in human JO "' nature of which the infamy is altogether black and unredeemed. The qualities which de- graded his youth grew with his years ; com- bined with them, he had jufl enough of the ambition of his race to bring forth more flrongly the pufillanimity of his fpirit ; and thus he was infolent and mean, at once the moft abject and the mod arrogant of men. The pitilefs cruelties recorded of him furpafs belief; and the recklefs madnefs with which he rufhed into his quarrels, was only exceeded by his impotent cowardice when refinance fhowed His defer- its front. He deferted the people when the both fid people joined him againfl the church, and he deferted the church when the church joined him againfl the people. Yet, what refulted from the very vice and falfehood of fo des- picable a nature was in itfelf the reverfe of evil. A man more able, though with an equal love of tyranny, would have hufbanded, Ufesofa ancj kept, his power ; this man could only feel &' that he exifled when he knew that he was trampling on his fellow-men, and, making his power intolerable, he Hiked and loft it. The conclufion which would infer that with the barons, and not with the people, the fubftantial benefit remained, is far too haftily formed. What the What, in its beginning, was the claim of one oftheP1 powerful faction in the realm as againfl its Barons feudal lord, became in the end a demand for involved, rights to be guaranteed to the general com-
D ^ ID iD
munity. It was but a month before the gathering at Runnymede that an unavailing attempt was made to detach the greater barons
§ I. The Tlantagenets : John. 1 5
from the national confederacy, by offering to themfelves and their immediate followers what the Great Charter was to fecure to every free- man.
I have fhown that party fpirit had now arifen party in England. From it have fprung fcenes andfPintand compromifes often neither juft nor honourable ; but with it have been afTociated, in very memor- able periods of hiftory, the liberties and poli- tical advances of the Englifh people. The determined wifh of a large fection of the nobles to degrade the pofition and humble the pride of their fovereign, became obvious at the outfet of John's reign. When he began his continental Englifh wars, he was mafter of the whole French coaft, japped Gf from the borders of Flanders to the foot of the French Pyrenees ; when three years had pafTed, the conclue beft portion of that territory was irrevocably loft to him, and, after a feparation of three hundred years, Normandy, Anjou, Maine, and Touraine, were reannexed to the French crown. Nor were any of his complaints fo loud and bitter, during the progrefs of thefe events, as that which was implied in his reproach that the Englifh nobles had forfaken him. They cer- Conduft tainly faw pafs into fubjection to France thofe °f the large and opulent provinces fo long won and guarded by the fwords of their fathers, and they made no fign of refiftance. But this had alfo a deeper fignifkance than mere difguft with John. They had elected their country. They were no longer foreign proprietors on a Growth foil which was not their own ; they were Eng- f^"^'0"* lifhmen, refolved to caft their fortunes and their fate with England. Soon after this,
1 6 Introductory EJJay.
indeed, they raifed a counter-cry to that of
their recreant King, accufing him of foreign
favouritifm. With the name, opprobrious
now, of foreigner, they branded the Angevin,
the Norman, and the Poitevin nobles whom
he had brought into England at the clofe of
Common his French wars ; and whom he now delighted
caufe f-0 para(ie about his perfon, to load with
foreigners, dignities and wealth, and to encourage in their
vigorous efforts to plunder and opprefs the
native population. Even the French hiftorian of
the Norman Conqueft is here fain to admit that
the conquering lord and the conquered peafant
had found a point of contact and a common
fympathy. He can no longer refift the con-
clufion, that in the foil of England there was
at length germinating a national fpirit common
to all who traverfed it. Without doubt it
Alliance was fo. Nor was there a new fine now levied
0 ,or- ? on one of the old domains, or a new toll on
and citi- i ■ j i •
zens. one of the old bridges or highways, that did not bring the Engliih baron and lord of the manor nearer in his interests and rights to the Englifh farmer and citizen. King's The next ftep in John's degradation com-
fun-ender pleted the rupture with his barons and carried i2i3°pe" over tne people to their fide. From the attempted overthrow of all government, by the furrender of England to the Pope, dates the firft fenfible advance in our annals to any- thing like a government under general and equitable forms of law. There is not an Englifh freeman living in this nineteenth cen- Freedom s tury, who may not trace in fome degree a por- john. tion of the liberty he enjoys to the day when
§ i. The Plantagenets : The Great Charter. i 7
King John did his beft to lay his country at the feet of a foreign prieft, and make every one of her children as much a ftave as himfelf. From that day the grand confederacy againft Confede- the King took its really formidable, becaufe racX „ now unwavering lhape ; and what was belt in King. England joined and ftrengthened it. The concentration of its purpofes was mainly the work of Stephen de Langton, and forms his claim to eternal memory. Rome never clad Chara&er in her purple a man of nobler nature, or one °on ang" who more refolutely, when he left the councils of the Vatican, feemed to have left behind him alfo whatever might impinge upon his obliga- tions as an Englishman. No name (lands upon our records worthier of national honour. In an unlettered age, he had cultivated with fuccefs not alone the higher! learning, but the accomplifhments and graces of literature ; and at a time apparently the moft unfavourable to His fer- tile growth of freedom, he impelled exifting dif- ^^ contents, which but for him might have wafted freedom, themfelves in cafual conflict, to the eftablifh- ment of that deep and broad diftinction between a free and a defpotic monarchy, of which our hiftory, through all the varying fortunes and difafters that awaited it, never afterwards loft the trace. Even while he perfonally controlled the treacherous violence of the King, he gave fteady direction to the ftill wavering defigns of the Barons ; and among the fecurities obtained ^ufldry on the firft day at Runnymede for due obfer- junCj vance of the bond or deed which the King j^s- was to be called upon to fign, probably none atRunny- infpired greater confidence than that which mede.
1 8 Introductory EJfay.
Faith in configned for a certain fpecified time to Lang- angton* ton's cuftody the Tower and the defences of London. This and other guarantees conceded, the various heads of grievance and propofed means of redrefs were one by one difcuffed ; and, the document in which they were reduced to legal fhape having Fourth been formally admitted by the Sovereign, on *&: _ the fourth day from the opening of the figned. conference, Friday the 19th of June, 1215, there was unrolled, read out aloud, and fubfcribed by John, the instrument which at laft embodied, in fifty -feven chapters, the completed demands of the confederacy, and is immortalifed in hiftory as the Great Charter. Its general The Great Charter, it is hardly neceffary to character. ^ ^ad nothjng to &Q wjth the creation of our liberties. Its inexprefTible value was, that Confirma- it corrected, confirmed, and re-eftablifhed an- eSi c*ent an^ indifputable, though continually liberties, violated, public rights ; that it abolifhed the . worft of the abufes which had crept into exifVing laws ; that it gave an improved tone, by giving a definite and fubftantial form, to future po- pular defires and afpirations ; that, without attempting to frame a new code, or even to inculcate any grand or general principles of legiflation, it did in effect accomplifh both, becaufe, in infifting upon the juft difcharge of Principles fpecial feudal relations, it affirmed a principle latent in it. Q^ eqUjty which was found generally applicable far beyond them ; that it turned into a tangi- ble pofTeiTion what before was fleeting and undetermined ; and that, throughout the cen-
§ i . The Plantagenets : The Great Charter. 1 9
turies which fucceeded, it was violated by all our kings and appealed to by every ftruggling fection of our countrymen. *Jr%.
To very many of its provifions no reference needs to be made, beyond the mention that they redreffed grievances of the military tenants, hardly intelligible fince the downfall of the fyftem -of feuds, but then very feverely felt. Reliefs were limited to a certain fum, Remedial as fixed by ancient precedent ; the wafte com- provifions. mitted, and the unreafonable fervices exacted, by guardians in chivalry, were reftrained ; the difparagement in matrimony of female wards was forbidden ; and widows were fecured from compulfory marriage and other wrongs. Its remedies on thefe points were extended not to the vaffals only, but to the fub-vaflals of the Crown. At the fame time the franchifes, the Guaran- ancient liberties and free cuftoms, of the City tees of
4-' 1 'C
of London, and of all towns and boroughs, ranc'n es- were declared to be inviolable. Freedom of commerce was alfo guaranteed to foreign mer- chants, with a provifo to the King to arrefU them for fecurity in time of war, and keep them until the treatment of our own merchants in the enemy's country mould be known. The tyranny exercifed in connection with the Royal Forefts was effectively controlled ; and a remedy was applied to that double grievance of expenfe and delay, long bitterly felt, to Redrefs of which private individuals were fubjected when Perfonal
r ■ r •• i T7-- 1 1 i wrongs.
proiecuting iuits in the King s court, by the neceffity of following the King in his perpe- tual progreffes. <c Common Pleas mall not cc follow our court," faid this memorable pro-
20
Introductory EJJay.
Central Courts of Law.
Levies of aid limited.
Conftitu- tion of Great Council.
Forms of fummons thereto :
hateful to fucceed- ing princes.
virion of Magna Charta, " but mall be held " in fome certain place."
As Striking a provifion had relation to the levy of aids and fcutages, and this, which was not in the articles firft Submitted to the King, appears to have originated during the four days' conference at Runnymede. The fre- quency of foreign expeditions • had given a very onerous character to thefe aids ; always liable to be farmed out with peculiar circum- stances of hardfhip, and lately become of nearly annual recurrence. But the provifion in queStion now limited the exaction of them to the three acknowledged legal occafions — the King's perfonal captivity, the knighthood of his eldeSt fon, and the marriage of his eldeft daughter ; and in cafe aid or fcutage mould be required on any other grounds, it rendered neceSTary the previous confent of the Great Council of the tenants of the crown. It pro- ceeded then to enumerate the constituent parts of this Council, as to confift of archbifhops, #bifhops, abbots, earls, and greater barons, who mould be fummoned perfonally by writ ; and of all other tenants in chief of the crown, who mould be fummoned generally by the IherifF: and it ordered the iSTue of fummons forty days beforehand, with fpecification of time and place, and intended Subject of difcufTion. Nor did anything in the Charter, notwith- standing the careful limitation of the article to royal tenants and to purpofes of fupply, prove fo hateful to fucceeding princes as this latter Stipulation. It was foon formally expunged, and was never formally reStored ; yet in its
§ i. The Plantagenets : The Great Charter. 21
place arofe filently other and larger privileges, fuch as no one was found daring enough in later years to violate openly.
Upon many fmaller though very falutary Minor provisions which, relating to the better admi- Provifions- niftration of juftice, to the ftricter regulation of affize, to mitigation of the rights of pre- emption po/TefTed by the Crown, and to the allowance of liberty of travel to every free- man excepting in time of war, took a com- paratively narrow and local range, it is not neceffary to dwell. I proceed to name thofe grander provifions which proved applicable to all places and times, and were found to hold within them the germ of our greateft confti- tutional liberties.
Thefe were the claufes which protected the Securities perfonal liberty and property of all freemen, a°d 'rolt} by founding acceffible fecurities againft arbi- perty. trary imprifonment and arbitrary fpoliation. "We will not fell, we will not refufe, we will Juftice not "not defer, right or juftice to any one," was ^°edeore~ the fimple and noble proteft againft a cuftom fold. never thenceforward to be practifed without fecret crime or open fhame. In the fame great fpirit, the thirty-ninth claufe, beginning with that rude latinity of nullus liber homo which Lord Chatham thought worth all the daffies, « N ,lu ftipulated that no freeman fhould be arrefted liber or imprifoned, or diffeifed of his land, or out- homo- lawed, or deftroyed in any manner ; nor mould the King go upon him, nor fend upon him, but by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land. And a fupplementary A11 free- claufe, not lefs worthy, provided that earls and
22 Introductory EJJay.
tried by barons mould be amerced by their peers only, their and according to the nature of their offence ; that freemen mould not be amerced heavily for a fmall fault, but after the manner of the default, nor above meafure for a great tranf- greffion ; and that fuch amerciaments — faving always to the freeholder his freehold, to the merchant his merchandife, and to a villein his implements of hufbandry— mould be impofed by the oath of the good men of the neigh- bourhood. It was at the fame time provided that every liberty and cuftom which the King had granted to his tenants, as far as concerned him, mould be obferved by the clergy and laity towards their tenants, as far as concerned Extenfion them ; thus extending the relief generally, as fub-vaf- ° Def°re remarked, to the fub-vaffals as well as fals. vaffals, but reftricting it ftill to the freeman.
Manifeft as were fuch reftriclions and omif- fions in the Charter, however, and limited as the bearing feemed to be even of its greateft remedial claufes, thefe did not avail againft its mighty and refiftlefs effect through the fucceed- Effe<ft of ing centuries. Its framers might have paufed, Charter m could they wholly have forefeen or known what it involved ; and that under words in- tended only to be applicable to the relations of feudal power, lay concealed the moft extended truths of a juft and equitable polity. By the very right they claimed to deny protection to ferfs, the bonds of ferfdom were for ever Its power broken. By the authority they affumed of of expan- protefting againft the power of taxation in a prince, they forfeited the power of taxation in a like cafe which they believed they had re-
§ i. The Plant agenets : Henry III. 23
ferved to themfelves. They could not affert Subftance a principle, and reflnd its operation and con- ^IrmF fequences. They could not infill upon regular meetings of the Great Council with the pur- pofe of controlling the King, and prevent the ultimate admiffion into it of forms of popular election which were mod effectually to control the Nobility. If required to convey by a fingle phrafe the truth embodied in the Great Charter, it might be fimply and fufficiently exprefTed as refinance to irrefponfible tyranny; and this fubftantially is the fame, under the fluff jerkin of the peafant and under the coat of mail of the baron. In all the ftruggles of Violations freedom, therefore, which filled the centuries ^rti^ ~f after Runnymede, it played the moil confpi- charter. cuous part ; and from the folid vantage ground it eftabli fried, each frefh advance was always made. Never, at any new effort, were its watchwords abfent, or its provifions vainly ap- pealed to ; although, when old Sir Edward Coke arofe to fpeak in the third parliament of James the Firft, the neceffity had arifen no lefs than thirty-two times to have them folemnly reaffirmed and re-eftablifhed. Thirty-two feveral times had they then been deliberately violated by profligate minifters and faithlefs kings.
Already twice had this wrong been fuffered Henry III. in the reign fucceeding John's, when, fix years I21 " after the Regent Pembroke's death, and while the perfon of the young King was under the guardianfhip of a Poitevin bifhop, Peter des Roches, formerly a tool of John's, there was fummoned the earliefl Great Council which
24 Introductory EJJay.
Earlieft bore the ominous name of Parliament. The council Court's urgent neceflities had called it together :
named as a , o . p >
Parlia- out, upon the demand for a iubfidy, frelh viola-
ment- tions of the Charter were made broadly the
ground for refufing to give ; and it was only at
length conceded, in the fhape of a fifteenth of
Supply all movables, upon receipt of guarantees for
alodnti0n" a more ftri61 obfervance of the Charter, and
redrefs. "with the condition that the money fo raifed
mould be placed in the treafury, and none of it
taken out before the King was of age, unlefs
for the defence of the realm, and in the pre-
Control fence 0f flx bifhops and fix earls. As far as I
or money .r
by parlia- am aware, this is the nrit example of parlia- ment, mentary control brought face to face with the royal prerogative, and the tranfaction contained in the germ whatever has been worthieft of a free people in our hiftory. Appeal of Indirectly may be traced to it, among other to people." incidents very notable, that proclamation from Henry the Third, fummoning his people to take part with him againft the barons and great lords, which was one of the moil; memorable of the precedents unrolled by Sir Robert Cotton and Sir Edward Coke when the ftruggle with the Stuarts began. It was then late in the reign ; but Henry was only feeking to better the inftruction received in his nonage Similar from appeals exactly iimilar addrefTed to the frorrT people by the Barons, while their conflict ftill Barons, continued with Peter des Roches. The wily Poitevin, galled by the conditions attached to the fubfidy, precipitated the young King into further difputes ; in the courfe of which, offices of truft were gradually taken from the Englifh
§ i. The Plant agenets : Henry III. 25
barons and filled by foreigners brought over Jealoufy into England. The men of old family, wedded °f Fre?ch now to the land of their fathers as jealoufly as the Saxon had been, faw themfelves difplaced for the French jefter, tool, or pander; and thefe fo-called Norman chiefs turned for fym- pathy and help to a people no longer exclusively either Norman or Saxon, but united infeparably on their Englifh foil.
Hiftorians have been very reluctant to admit fo early an intrufion of the popular element into the government of the Plantagenets ; and it is {till the cuftom to treat of this particular reign as a mere ftruggle for the predominance Struggle of ariftocracy or monarchy. But beneath the |°an^°wei furface, the other and more momentous power formed to is vifible enough, as it heaves and ftirs the w^r °f outward agencies and figns of authority ; and what might elfe have been a paltry ftruggle, eafily terminable, for court favour or military predominance, was by this converted into a war of principles, awful and irreconcilable, which ran its courfe with varying fortune through all fubfequent time. The merchants Rife of and tradefmen of the towns are now firft recog- ^ c^el nifable as an independent and important clafs. men. They have been enriched by that very inter- courfe with foreigners which was fo hateful to the clafs above them. They are invefted with privileges wrung from the poverty of their lords. They are no longer liable to individual fervices, but in place of them are paying com- mon rents. They have guilds and charters Guilds inviolable as the fees of the great proprietors ; cnhdarters and, incident to thefe, the right, as little now
Introduclory EJfay.
Privileges and rights ceded to middle clafs.
King's fummons for parlia- ment not obeyed, 1233.
Political
ballads.
Attack upon the Favourite.
to be difputed as that of the feudal fuperior had been, to hold fairs and demand tolls, to choofe their own magiftrates and enact their own laws. On the hearing of fuch men, the provifions of the Great Charter, read aloud from time to time in their County Courts, could not have fallen as a mere empty found. What was fo proclaimed might be but half- enfranchifement ; it could indeed be little more, while ferfdom remained in the clafTes directly beneath them ; but it pointed to where freedom was, accuftomed them to its claims and forms, and helped them onward in the direction where it lay. They joined the Barons againft the foreign favourite.
The conflict had continued fome time, and Henry was twenty-fix years old, when his neceflities again compelled him to call together a parliament ; but twice his bidding was re- fused, and the mefTengers who bore the refufal might have added the unwonted tidings, that fongs fung againft the favourite, and filled with warnings to the fovereign, might daily be heard in the ftreets. Amid other figns and portents of focial change had now arifen the political ballad. In it fhone forth the firft vera effigies of the Poitevin bifhop of Win- chefter ; nimble at the counting of money as he was flow in expounding the gofpel ; fitting paramount, not in Winchefter, but in Ex- chequer ; pondering on pounds, and not upon his holy book; postponing Luke to lucre; and fetting more {lore by a handful of marks than by all the doctrines of their namefake faint. Would the King avoid the fhipwreck
§ i. The Plant agenets: Henry 111. 27
of his kingdom ? afked the finger. Then let him fhun for ever the ftones and rocks (Roches) in his way. Quickly, too, were thefe warn- ings followed up. By no lefs a perfon than Pembroke's fon, the flandard of rebellion was let loofe in the Welfh diftridts ; the clergy, General opprefled by tax and tallage from Rome, began dlicon- to take part in the general difcontent ; and in midft of a feaft at the palace, Edmund of Canterbury (Langton's fuccefTor) prefented himfelf with a ftatement of national grievances and a demand for immediate redrefs. He Griev- reminded the King that his father had well- p"rtedand nigh forfeited his crown ; he told him that Redrefs the Englifh people would never fubmit to be ?™ltf', trampled upon by foreigners in England ; and 1234. for himfelf he added that he mould excom- municate all who any longer refufed, in that criiis of danger, to fupport the reform of the government and the welfare of the nation. That was in February, 1234. In April, a Parlia- parliament had alTembled, Peter and his Poi- ^e"tlbled tevins were on their way home acrofs the fea, andFavou- the minifters who had made themfelves hateful »t« : dif- were difmiiTed, and the oppofition barons were April,' in power. "34.
This will read like the language of a modern day ; but if fuch events have any hiftoric fig- nificance, they eftablifh what in the modern phrafe can only properly be defcribed as minif- terial refponfibility and parliamentary control. Minifteri- Nor were they the folitary or ifolated events ^mtyand of their clafs which marked the feeling of the Parlia- time. Again and again, during this prolonged ™ennt^ reign, the fame incidents recur, in precifely
-8 IntroduBory EJfay.
the fame circle of refiftance and fubmiflion.
There is an urgent requeft for money, which
is contemptuoufly refufed ; but on a promife
to redrefs grievances, the fubfidy is given.
Then, Court coffers being full, Court pledges
Diflxefs are violated ; until again diftrefs brings round
Redrefs, the old piteous petition, and, with new condi-
and Sup- tjons Qf refl-ra;nt ancj conftitutional fafeguards
before undemanded, afTiftance is rendered again. In five years from the incident I have named, the money fo granted by Parliament was paid into the hands of felected Barons, with as ftricT: provifo for account as modern parliaments have claimed over public expenditure ; and in Securities two years more, on the payment of certain faith? 1C monies to the Exchequer, the City of London exacted a ftipulation that the Judiciary, Chan- cellor, and Treafurer might thereafter be ap- pointed with the confent of Parliament, and hold their offices only during good behaviour. And, at the very time when public faith was thus beginning to be exacted and recognifed, Law fyf- iaw was taking; the form of a fyftem. It was Braaon, ' now that Bracton produced that treatife which 1250. went far in itfelf to eftablifh uniformity of legal practice, and fo create our common law ; nor had the reign for which this might have fufficed as the fole diftinction, reached its clofe, before the fame great lawyer found himfelf able to reckon as fuperior to the King " not <c only God and the law by which he is made Curia " king, but his Great Court (Curia Regis) ; Regis : cc fo t^at jf jie were without a bridle, that is,
" the law, they ought to put a bridle upon tc him." This Court, this Curia Regis, con-
$ i. The Plant agenets : Firjl Houfe of Commons. 29
fitting of Chief Judiciary, Chancellor, Con- Cabinet of ftable, Marfhal, Chamberlain, Steward, and the KinS- Treafurer, was what in modern time might be called the Cabinet of the King.
But the achievement which moft connects this thirteenth century with the ftruggles of the feventeenth, and with the affociations of modern time, remains to be commemorated. Beyond doubt or queftion, and after due allow- ance for differences in a difculTion where the moft learned and calm of antiquarians have not been able wholly to diveft themfelves of A memo- party zeal, in the Great Council which met at )^mbi Weftminfter on the 2nd of May, 1258, ori- 2nd May, ginated the Houfe of Commons as a feparate I258, branch of the State.
Under the earlieft Norman kings, what was The Great called the Great Council appears to have been u °jenrci only another form of the Saxon Witan. A Normans: greater mifapprehenfion of our conftitutional hiftory can hardly exift than that which would affect to difcover in it any actual commence- ment of our modern Houfe of Lords. The idea of an hereditary Houfe of Lords did not Not a at that time exift in England. A barony j?°"?.of confifted of fo many knights' fees ; in other words, of fo many eftates from which the fervices of a knight were due ; and a baron claimed his barony not as a lord (even the coronet was not worn until much later), but as a proprietor. The Council, in fhort, was Not h diftinctly reprefentative. The dignity was ditary» bl territorial, refulting from the poffefnon of fiefs [ativef of land ; and if thofe fiefs were forfeited, alienated, or loft, the dignity departed with
ere- ut
3° Introductory EJfay.
them. But it is not difficult to difcern how a larger parliamentary fyftem would almoft necefTarily arife out of fuch baronial tenures. Germs Through all the differences and diffenfions of o/kra-er ^e manY learned perfons by whom thefe fyftem. matters have been difcufTed, and without touching the vexed queftions which their learn- ing has left {till unfolved, it feems tolerably clear that, whether or not tenure by knight's fervice in chief was originally diftinct from tenure by barony, they had become fo feparated fome time before the reign of John. Tenants Break-up in chief appear to have comprifed, in the firft ments'of mftance> onty the King's immediate vaffals ; Council, but as time wore on they could not fo be reftricted. Many of the greater baronies fplit up and became divided ; while the name of baron, no matter what number of fees it repre- fented, or for the feudal fervice of how few or how many knights it may have been refponfible, was ftill retained. Diftinc- But this led to a natural iealoufy on the part
tions and r ,i j • •
grades of °* tne greater proprietors ; and in time to a
rank. broad diftinction, in name' at leaft, between
the more important of thofe barons who held
by their honours or baronies, and the leffer
proprietors whom grants of efcheated honours
might newly have created, or whofe ancient
rights had been reduced by efcheat or decay.
A tenant in chief was now not necefTarily a
baron ; or he might be a baron of inferior
Varieties grade. It is more difficult to determine what
fummons regu^ateci tne iffuz of writs of fummons ; but
it feems probable that the fame jealoufy to
which allufion has been made, brought about
§ i. The Plantagenets: Firft Houfe of Commons. 31
the diftinction firft obfervable in John's reign, between the greater baron fummoned by his fpecial writ, and the inferior tenants in chief called together by a fummons directed to their fheriff. It is clear alfo, that, though all were entitled to fummons, the mere right of tenure could not difpenfe with its forms ; and an unfummoned tenant, without reforting to fuch remedies as might compel the iffue of the writ, could not take his place in the Council.
Up to this point, it will be obferved, the Pecullari- principle is diftinctly that of feudal reprefenta- !-ies,°[ tion. The immediate vaffals of the Crown, reprefen- reprefenting certain land, poffefs the perfonal tat'on. right to be prefent in parliament. They are the liegemen of the Sovereign ; and by the univerfal feudal compact, though aid could be afked of the liegeman, the man's confent was Aid for necefTary to legalife the aid ; while the fame Cor- relation, implying protection from the lord, conveyed a further right to infift upon corre- fponding guarantees. In this view, the prefence of both larger and leffer tenants was required, and was even exacted by the Crown as needful to the authority and execution of a law. But, Leffer as the inferior tenants increafed in number, the reprefent- tax for parliamentary attendance on men ofed by fmaller fortunes became intolerable ; and their larSer- confent and attendance came to be implied in that of the greater barons. Still, they were fuppofed to be in the Council ; and it feems to me that to the mere form and legal fiction thus reforted to, may be traced the gradual tranfition from a feudal to a real representation. The fure though iilent power, with which a Tranfition
32 Introductory EJJay.
from feu- growing fociety of men will modify and adapt dal to real 0]j inftitutions to new neceflities, at once widening and ftrengthening their foundations, is for the moft part happily unknown to thofe who might otherwife not unfuccefsfully ftrive to control it.
As the inferior tenants in chief withdrew gradually from the Council, its component members became reftricted to the bifhops and abbots, the earls and barons, the minifters and judges, and neighbouring knights holding of Language the Crown. But the language of the writs iummons continued to imply a much larger attendance. When, for example, the Great Charter was con- firmed in the ninth year of Henry's reign, the roll informs us that at the fame time a fifteenth had been granted in return by the bifhops, Fictions ear^sj barons, knights, free tenants and all of forefha- the kingdom {et omnes de regno noftro Anglice) ; truths2 anc^ wnen a fortieth was granted feven years later, there is put forth, as having concurred in the grant, the ftrange and ominous combina- tion of bifhops, earls, barons, knights, freemen and villeins. This was indeed a fiction, but with an expanding germ of truth. The con- fent of particular clafTes was to be underftood, as a matter of courfe, to have been included in Forms that of others. But the very emptieft acknow- conveymg ]e^gment; 0f a right is precious. The right itfelf waits only its due occafion to aflume the fubftance and importance of reality.
Nor had the Englifh freeman, even under his earlieft Norman kings, been wholly with- out the means of knowing what reprefentation meant. When the Conqueror or his fons had
§ i. The Plantagenets: Firjl Houfe of Commons. 33
any fpecial reafon to make inquiry into their own rights ; when particular wrongs of the people reached them, or when peculations were charged againft their barons or officers ; no- Commif- thing was more common than a commiffion i°™-°, ;n of knights in each mire, not limply named by (hires, the Sovereign (as when the Conqueror iffiied an inquiry into the details of the Saxon law), but quite as frequently elected in the County Court, whofe bufinefs it was to proceed from hundred to hundred, to make the investigation upon oath, and to lay its refult before the King in council. The Great Charter contained a provifion for the election of twelve knights in the next court of each county to inquire into foreft abufes. In the feventh year of the ?.ld '.n~
J . ititution
reign now under notice, every lhenff was adapted to ordered to inquire, by means of twelve lawful nevv ufes- and difcreet knights, what fpecial privileges exifted in his fhire on the day of the firrt out- break between John and his barons. And in the year of the affembling of the Great Council to which thefe remarks apply, a commiffion of four knights in each county received it in charge to inquire into certain exceffies com- mitted by men in authority. In relation to County the levy of fublidies alfo, the fame rule came ^eP.refen"
j j t-h n • tation
to be adopted. The molt ancient example on begins. record of a fublidy (that of 1207) is found to have been collected by the itinerant judges ; but only thirteen years later, the office of col- Collection lection is feen to be deputed to the meriff, in IZ0? e*n™ conjunction with two knights to be chofen in 122°. a full court of the county, with the confent of all the fuitors. ~:
34
Introductory EJay.
Begin- ning of the end.
Vague formation of autho- rity of Commons,
Gradual fteps thereto. 1214.
Scheme
to obtain
money
from
(hires.
1254.
Was it not obvious that fuch ufage as this muff grow as the people grew ? Were not the collection of taxes, and reports of grievances, manifeft fteps to a power over the money collected, and to a right of petition againft the grievances expofed ? Is it difficult to difcern, throughout thefe efforts of Norman royalty to check the excefs of its ministers, and obtain the co-operation of its people, the vague formation of that authority and houfe of the Commons, which was to prove more formidable than either of the powers it was called into exiftence to control ?
Soon what was vague became more diftinct. It wanted yet two years of the date of the Great Charter, when a writ was iffued marking the firft undoubted transition towards the change fo vaft and (o memorable. This contained a fummons for military fervice, with an order that four difcreet knights of the county mould be fent to Oxford without arms to treat with the King concerning the affairs of the kingdom. In other words, it was a fummons to Par- liament, in terms the fame as thofe of a later period ; and it was followed, after an interval of forty years, by another and more decifive inftance. While Henry the Third was on the continent in 1254, his Oueen and Regents fummoned the tenants in chief to fail to his affiftance ; and gave order, in the fummons, that "befides thefe, two lawful and difcreet " knights mould be chofen by the men of " every county, in the place of all and each cc of them, to affemble at Weft.minft.er, and " to determine with the knights of the other
§ i. The Plantagenets : Firfi Houfe of Commons. 2S
" counties what aid they would grant to their cc Sovereign in his prefent neceffity, To that cc the fame knights might be able to anfwer, " in the matter of the faid aid, for their cc refpective counties."
Of the meaning of fuch a writ and its return, Knights there cannot furely be a queftion ; nor is it eafy f°ra^«kr to underftand the difcuffion it has provoked, counties. Call it lingular, anomalous, or by what name may raoft fuitably exprefs its irregular character; except it from ordinary parliaments, and call it a convention ; ftill the undeniable fact remains, that it was a fcheme to obtain money from the Commons of the various counties, and that to this end it prefcribed the election of Reprefen- reprefentatives whofe deliberation and afTent -J^fe ° mould control thofe of their constituents. The taxes, language of the writ connects itfelf undoubt- edly with that of its predecefTor in the fifteenth of John ; and it is quite immaterial whether or not the barons, and higher tenants in chief, were fummoned to lit with thefe knights. Enough that the Commons of the {hires were thus admitted to a co-ordinate fhare in the impofition and voting of taxes ; for, whatever One antiquarians may urge as to Parliament's ufe ![t ^eft. of one chamber at Weftminfter up to the minfter : middle of the third Edward's reign (abundant j.eP.arate
o \ fittings
proof exifts of feparate fittings in other parts dfewhere. of England), it is fufficiently clear that the voting muft always have been by each order feparately, and without interference from each other. The mere circumftance of the different proportions of taxation would eftablifh this.
In the thirty-eighth of Henry the Third, Admiffion
D 2
36 Introductory EJfay.
of third then, the principle of a real reprefentation had
eftate. become part of the conflitution of England,
and the third eftate of the realm took a direct
fhare in its government. Yet, momentous as
the conceflion was, it had been obtained by no
violent effort, but {imply as the unavoidable
refult of the increafing importance of the
people. From leffer they had rifen quietly to
Knights higher duties. The knight, whofe bufinefs
ionLlth '* ^ keen to afTefs fubfidies, had found gradual
admiftion by the fide of the earls and barons,
to help in thedifpofition and diftribution of the
money obtained ; and that he and his fellows
were fo received diftinctly as the deputies
of others, appeared even in the remuneration
Lords pay, fet apart for them. Great men, fuch as earls
fitting m an^ Darons who attended in their own right,
tneir own o ^
right. paid their own charges ; but men of fmaller fubftance, who had undertaken merely to tranfacl bufinefs for others, were held to have a title to compenfation from thofe in whofe behalf they acted. As they were paid for their labour in afTefiment, fo for their facrifice of time and labour in reprefentation they were Knights paid. Wherefore a rate levied on the county are paid, d;fcharpred their expenfes for fo many fpecified
fitting for . .& . X • j • }i
others. days, in " going, itaying, and returning.
On another branch of this inquiry, too, which has been fadly encumbered with needlefs learn- ing and mifplaced vehemence of difcuflion, the
County countv rate would feem to have an important bearing. It has been affumed, by thofe anti- quarians who would narrow as much as poffible the bafis on which our freedom is built, that the reprefentative knights, as reprefenting
§ i. The Plant agenets : Firji Houfe of Commons. 37
fimply the inferior tenants in chief from whofe reluctance to attend in Parliament they fir ft derived importance, are not to be taken to have had relation to the county at large. But this afTumption is negatived by every reafon- able fuppofition. The wages of the knights Wages of were levied on the whole county (de communi- knights tate comitates) ; and the mefne tenant could entire hardly have been denied a right, to the fupport county. of which he was obliged to contribute. That what concerned all lhould be approved by all, was a maxim not unufed by even Norman kings. The language of the writs of election, alfo, cited with pardonable exultation by Prynne in the early fittings of the Long Parlia- ment, is clear and fpecific. The tenants in chief are never mentioned in them ; while tenants of the Crown implied tenants both by free and by military fervice. The condition Election required of the candidate, was to be difcreet by ful1 and lawful; of the electors, to be fuitors of court/ the county ; and of the election, to be made in a full court. A full County Court was always the leait feudal of the modified feudality that lingered in England. It comprifed all All free- freeholders ; whether of the King, of a mefne holder.s
, j , ... r Dr j compnled:
lord, or by military or any tree lervice ; and
in the reign of Henry the Third therefore, not
lefs certainly than in that of Victoria the Firft,
the knights of the fhire reprefented, without And rc-
regard to the quality of tenure, the whole body panted
r -r 1 1 1 by knights
or freeholders, of fhire.
Still, they were knights. Their ftation affociated them with the earls and barons. They were part of what in feudal institution was
38 Introductory EJfay.
held to be a lower nobility. They ranked
Refults above the ordinary burgefs or citizen. They
offuch reprefented the power of the Commons, but
tation!"" ^ey were not commoners ; even when the
commoners fat apart, they continued to fit with
the barons ; and as yet no man feems to have
dreamt that the clafs even lower than theirs
could ever be raifed to the national councils,
whether in feparate, co-ordinate, or fubordi-
nate rank. Though the principle which by
eafieft preflure expanded to admit them, had
been winning its gradual way for centuries to
the acknowledgment it had at laft obtained,
Ages pre- yet that lower clafs were ftill fhut out. But,
theehourat w^iat ages and generations are needed to pre-
produces. pare, the man and the hour accomplifh ; and
both were at hand when the Great Council,
having met at Weftminfter on the 2nd of
May, 1258, yielded to the demand of Simon
de Montfort that a parliament mould meet at
Six event- Oxford in June. The ftruggle which then
began, filled more than fix eventful years ;
but at laft the day arrived, never to be forgotten
in Englifh. ftory, and on the 14th December,
1264, writs went forth calling together re-
prefentatives from the counties, cities, and
boroughs, to meet the prelates and great
lords : and the firft enactment of that moft
Writs for memorable afTemblage, giving folemn confir-
firft Houfe mation to charters and ordinances, ran as by
°12?m~ common confent c<of the King, his fon Ed-
mons, d'
14th Dec. (f ward, the prelates, earls, barons, arid com- 1264. (( monaity 0f {fa realm.''>
That, from the pofition thus gained, the com- monalty never again were diflodged, is the fuffi-
§ i. The Plant agenets : Edward I. 39
cient anfwer to thofe who would afcribe the victory lefs to the caufes I have retraced than to the fudden needs of a faction of the barons. As of right the commonalty took, and they Rights kept, the place to which they were called ; and Sained we may difmifs as of the leaft poffible import- gained ance the queftion whether the power was always, ufurped that called them. Their exiftence once recognifed, no man was found to gain- fay it ; their pofition and place once difcovered, everything helped to make it more decifively plain. In the reigns of the firft and fecond Power of Edwards, and their fuccefTors, we find them in
evergrow-
actual efficiency as a branch of the State ; and im in fpite of the weaker princes, as with the help of the wifer and ftronger, their power was ftill to grow.
Edward the Firft had not occupied his Edward 1. father's throne three years, when a ftatute was 12?I' paffed that forafmuch as election ought to be free, no man by force of arms, nor by malice or menacing, mould difturb any to make free election. It was in this reign alfo (when fo many great improvements in the laws were effected that to Edward has been afcribed the too lofty title of the Englifh. Juftinian) that Ele&ion the refidents of the various counties, in which of sheriffs, the Jury Syftem had been finally confolidated, obtained the power, afterwards furrendered and loft, of electing their own fheriffs. In the thirteenth of the fame prince, what proved to be one of the heavieft blows to the fyftem it was meant to guard was ftruck by the arm- ing of all clafles : for then was paffed the Great Great Statute of Winchefter, by which every man in Statute of
4-0 Introductory EJfay.
Winehef- the kingdom, according to the quantity of his ter, 1*84. ]ancjs and goods, was afTefTed and fworn to carry weapons. The leflbn had now been taught to two eftates of the realm, that in the third, as yet unknown to itfelf, the fupreme force Jay ; and the ability or power mod effec- tively to make common caufe with the third, was hereafter to be the meafure of gain or lofs to either of the other two. A curious example Edward prefents itfelf in the fucceeding reign. Under Edward the Second, when beyond all queftion the Commons fat, as well as voted, apart from the temporal and fpiritual Barons, numerous Creation boroughs were expreffly created with the defign of Royal 0f ftrengthening the regal as oppofed to the ' ariftocratic influences ; and it was alfo then that, in a very remarkable ftatute, equal legis- lative power with the other eftates was claimed for the commonalty, not as a new pretention, Equal but as a fundamental ufage of the realm. power « The matters," they faid, " to be eftablifhed for Com- <f f°r ^ie eftate of the king and of his heirs, mons. cc and for the eftate of the realm and of the cc people, fhall be treated, accorded, and eftab- cc limed in parliament, by the king, and by the " afTent of the prelates, earls, and barons, cc and the commonalty of the realm, according Provision " as hath been before accuftomed." Then, too, for affem- the Great Charter was again confirmed, with Parlia- the ftriking addition of cc forafmuch as many merits. " people be aggrieved by the king's minifters u againft right, in refpect of which grievances cc no one can recover without a common par- " liament, we do ordain that the king lhall " hold a parliament once in the year, or twice,
§ i. "The Plant agenets : Edward III. 41
"if need be." In the fucceeding reign fix Confirm- different ftatutes confirmed and frill more a^°?s enlarged its provifions ; and when both the charter, firft and the third Edward, in the plenitude of their power and their fuccefs, attempted without direct authority from Parliament to impofe taxes on the people, they both had to fuffer defeat. Edward the Firft ftruggled Attempts long to reverfe that decifion ; and in the end t°Xensipo had but to enter into more fpecial covenants without
• • "Pi*
that he would never again levy aid without ^™a" the afTent and good-will of the eftates of the realm. From the weak government of his fon and fuccefTor, the power was decifively wrefted ; and money fupplies were almoft always after- Money wards, or at leaf! with rare exceptions, made made'^ conditional, not merely that the fpecific fervices condi- for which they were voted might be fecured, tlonal- but that, as the voluntary gift of lords and commons, they fhould not by any pretence be drawn into precedents as of right or force.
The long and remarkable reign of Edward Edward the Firft's grandfon is the date of the Statute m- I32y- of Treafons, one of the greateft gains to con- ftitutional freedom. It limited the crime, Statute of before vague and uncertain, to three principal Treafons- heads; the confpiring the King's death, the levying war againft him, and the adhering to his enemies ; and, if any other cafes for queftion fhould arife, it prohibited the judges from in- flicting the penalty of treafon without applica- tion to Parliament. Then alfo were paffed thofe memorable acts againft arbitrary con- Acts fcription and compulfory prefling of foldiers, *£*"}". fo repeatedly cited in the conflict with Charles t;on>
42 Introductory EJJay.
the Firft, which faved to every man, except
upon i( the fudden coming of ftrange enemies
No forced cc into the realm," the obligation to arm him-
Snl!T:prgof felf onlY withIn hIs own mIre- Without a
ooidieis. J
rtruggle or which our records have kept the trace, thefe popular gains were won. What weaker fovereigns would have perilled life to Character hold, the third Edward conceded freely. He ward ill. was to° clear-lighted to grafp at a fhadow when already he held the fubftance, and he was too powerful to fear concefTions that had a tendency without danger to the throne to con- ciliate the other authorities of the realm, victorious Peace had her victories for him, therefore, not weiieaCe 3S ^s renowned than thofe which he obtained in war. war. He could compofe or amufe his reftless Lords by a politic foundation of the order of the Garter, as he propitiated his difcontented Commons by a frank redrefs of the complaint or grievance. No manlier prince, and none more prudent or fuccefsful, ever occupied the Englifh throne. No influence from the throne having plainer tendencies to popular cultiva- tion, was ever left to a fucceeding age. He had played with confummate genius the part of Firft man ^e firft man in the realm. He had interefted
in the i r i r n
realm. men in himfelf for no apparently iemlh reafons,
had juftified his own ambition by the ambition
of a common country, and had aggrandifed his
own glory as the fummit of the nation's greater
Intel- glorv' Even his palaces gave the feeling of
leftual in- elevation to his people. The magnificent
fluencesofftrucTures of Weftminfter Hall and Windfor
Ins reign.
rank juftly with the intellectual influences that were then difTufed ; and, as though an era of
§ I. The Plantagenets: Depofition of Richard II. 43
fo much that was great mould not pafs with- out a mark to diftinguifh it among even the greateft of all future time, the poet Chaucer Chaucer : arofe to charm and inftruct his countrymen, 132 and, by the purification of their native tongue, to complete the national fame. Nor was this improve- (perhaps the higheft distinction of Edward the ment of Third's reign) to pafs without leaving traces ngl in his ftatute-book. With much appropriate- nefs it was enacted, in the thirty-fixth year of his government, that the Englifh language Adopted
which had been thus ennobled, mould in future in Parllf- . . , . , r 1 • n ■ ment ro'Is-
be uied as the language or legillation.
The greateft of the Edwards governed Eng- land for fifty years, and called together feventy parliaments. He was fucceeded by a prince of qualities in all refpects the reverfe of his, and whom Parliament depofed. Yet not more Richard certainly in the enforced refignation of the IJ- J377- crown which clofed the reign, than in the rebellion of the ferf-clafs which fignalifed its commencement, did Richard the Second's rule bear teftimony to the ftrength and efficacy of principles promoted equally by the rule of Edward. Placed even on the inferior ground Refults of of a conflict between the higher powers of the ^lchar.d s
o ii- • • & f rr- 1 depofition.
state ; calling it mere gain to the King when he broke down the exclufive pretentions of the great lords by forcing their Houfe to recognife his writs of fummons, and counting it but as a new privilege to the Barons when they led Henry of Lancafter to the throne ; the confe- quences of this reign were momentous. With at leaft the nominal co-operation of the con- ftituted authorities of his empire, a legitimate
44. Introduftory EJfay.
People's King had been depofed ; and never was it power to afterwards difputed, that the folid and fingle fuccef- claim of the dynafty which took his place, fion: refted upon the ability of Parliament, or of the power which thofe Lords and Barons with Sole claim all England armed behind them reprefented, of Houfe fo to ajter the fuccemon. By the wording of
or Lan- rr . J . °
caiter. the acts or fettlement connected with tne change, that molt efTential principle of popular right was fully admitted ; and from them were derived the hiftorical and legal precedents which, down to our own time, have proved moft: advantageous to the people.
The people's political importance was in fact eftablifhed by it. It ftruck out from the dic- tionary of the State the terms of c divine right,' Terms of and ' indefeafible power.' CCI confefs," faid the Richard s humbled prince to the men who had withdrawn
iubmil- . . it • t t j r
fion. their allegiance, cc 1 recognile, and, from cer-
' c tain knowledge, confcientioully declare, that
ci I confider myfelf to have been, and to be,
cc infufficient for the government of this king-
<c dom, and for my notorious demerits not
" undeferving of depofition." Nor was the
voluntary abdication held fufficient. The
Houfes of Lords and Commons, in folemn
conclave in the hall at Weftminfter, made
His abdi- Richard the Second's renunciation of his crown
madecom- tne^r own compulfory act, and, amid the fhouts
pulfory. of the common people who had there alTem-
bled, Henry of Lancalter was conducted to
the vacant throne.
Hardly at any preceding period, even among the Saxons, had the popular principle taken more vifible fhape than on that momentous
§ i. The Plant agenets : Henry IV. 45
occafion. It was only fome few years before Popular that the exclufive pretentions of the barons j£JS|t had been invaded, by admiffion of regal writs of fummons into their houfe ; and here they were now themfelves inducting a new fovereign to the feat of fupreme power, with lefs gua- rantee that he would found his future preten- tions on the fidelity of their fwords, than that he would reft it rather on the adhefion of the people. From thofe approving (bouts, in Adhefion which the old Saxon liberty might again feem ° * f pealing through the air, there doubtlefs fell more fafety on the ear of Bolingbroke, than from the mailed tread of the barons who led him to Richard's chair. May we not even Solicit- accept the fancy of the poet whofe genius takes ^Lone rank with hiftory, and fuppofe the new fove- reign of the houfe of Lancafter, for years before this crowning day, a fuppliant candidate for the popular cries that at length hailed the downfall of the family of York ?
Ourfelf, and Bufhy, Bagot here, and Green, Shake-
Obferv'd his courtfhip to the common people. fpeare's
How he did feem to dive into their hearts, Boling-
With humble and familiar courtefy ; broke.
What reverence he did throw away on Haves,
Wooing poor craftfmen with the craft of fmiles,
And patient underbearing of his fortune,
As 't were to banifh their affects with him.
Off goes his bonnet to an oyfter wench ;
A brace of draymen bid . . God fpeed him well. .
And had the tribute of his fupple knee,
With . . ' Thanks, my countrymen ! my loving friends !'
As were our England in reverfion his,
And he our fubjects' next degree in hope.
Nor did thefe crafty courtefies ceafe, on Henry iv. attainment of their firft great object. Every J399* popular limitation of his right was accepted
46 IntroduBory EJfay.
ungrudgingly by the firft prince of the houfe King Bo- of Lancaster. Wary as he was bold, the policy lmgbioke. Qf Bolingbroke continued to be the policy of Henry the Fourth. The parliamentary autho- rity which had given him power, and the popular fympathies which had confirmed his title, were in every poffible way promoted by him during the fourteen years of his great though ftill difputed rule ; and no one who examines the preambles and other wording of the ftatutes that were pafTed in his reign, can Elevation fail to be ftruck with the fenfe of how much pcopfe. t^ie commoneft orders of the people muft have rifen fince the date of the reign of John, in all that, with the feeling of perfonal power, brings the hankering after political privilege, gradual means to eflimate freedom at its value, and ftrength ultimately to win it. Henry's firft Houfe of Commons re-afferted the right on which his title was bafed, by taking on itfelf to recognife his fon as prince of Wales and heir apparent to the throne. This proceeding was mentary revived and confirmed in the year 1404, when affump- the fovereign obtained from the parliament a formal permiffion that the right of fucceftion to the crown fhould be vefted in the prince's brothers, if he himfelf mould die without heirs. In 1406 another and greater ftep was taken, the Commons themfelves in that year carrying up a petition to Henry, to limit the Precedent fuccefTion to his fons and their heirs male. for Hano- This was in effect a precedent for the fettle- ceffion UC~ ment °f tne crown in after years on the houfe 1406. of Hanover.
Other precedents, fcarcely lefs important,
§ I. The Plantagenets : Henry IV. 47
date from this reign. In the firft feffion of No judge Henry the Fourth, a law was patted that no £;j!^d judge mould be releafed from the penalty orders, affixed to the fanction of an iniquitous ad, by pleading the orders of the king, or even danger to his own life from the fovereign's menaces. In the fecond year of the reign, the practice which was afterwards one of the ftrongeft bulwarks of popular privilege, and which had now been for fome time fubftan- tially operative, was formally infilled on as a right ; and a neceffary fupply was propofed to cla'm t0 be withheld from the prince until he had an- pi;es con. fwered a petition of the fubject. The Com- ditionalou mons in perfon, headed by their Speaker Sir \e^™*' Arnold Savage, formally proffered this bold claim. Three years later, the king was defired to remove from his houfehold four officers, one of them his own confefTor, who had given offence to the Commons ; and Henry complied officers with the requeft, that he might not, as he faid, Houfe- leave the willies of his faithful fubjects unfa- Jj^J" tisfied. At the fame time he informed them 1404. that he knew of no offence which the perfons complained of had committed. In the fixth year of the fame reign, while the Commons voted the king fupplies, they appointed trea- furers of their own to make fure that the money was difburfed for the purpofes intended. In that year, alfo, new laws to regulate par- liamentary elections attefted the rapidly in- creafing ftrejpgth of the third eftate. A ftatute Law for on cc the grievous complaints of the Commons regulating " againft undue elections for fhires from the Elections. " partiality of fheriffs," and directing " that in
48
Introductory Ejjay.
All Free- holders to vote.
The lack- learning Parlia- ment. 1406.
Accumu- lation of Church property.
Its un- equal dis- tribution.
fC the next County Court, after writs for par- <c liament are delivered, proclamation mall be f { made of the day and place of the parliament, cc and that all they that be there prefent, as Cf well fuitors duly fummoned as others, mail " proceed to the election freely and indiffer- <f ently, notwithstanding any requeft or com- cc mand to the contrary" — bears date in the year 1406.
That was the year, too, in which the Houfe of Commons having been afked to grant fup- plies, fr.arr.led the King with a plain propofal that he mould feize all the temporalities of the Church, and employ them as a fund referved for the exigencies of the State. It is needlefs to defcribe what the Church was then, or the extent to which the ill-gotten wealth of the regular clergy had attained. Its accumulation had been checked by ftatutes of mortmain under the firft and third Edwards, but thefe again were eluded by licences of alienation ; and the competent evidence of Bifhop Burnet permits us to add that the hand of a church- man is not very ready to let go what once it has firmly grafped. Even more objectionable than the extent of this wealth, was its unequal ap- portionment. While fuch abbots as thofe of Reading, Glaftonbury, or Battle, lived with the riotous pomp of princes and pafTed their days in feafting, thoufands of monks, learned and laborious, were ftruggling with fordid poverty in its loweft and mod degrading foVms. The project of the Commons included, therefore, a general and reafonable endowment of all the clergy, to precede any ftate appropriation of
§ i . The Plantagenets : Henry IV. 49
the enormous furplus of ecclefiaftical revenues. Proposal The argument they urged for it, and again and £° /"" * again repeated, was, that fuch exorbitant riches appropria- no lefs than fuch too fcanty earnings could tend tlon- only to difqualify all fections of the Church for the due difcharge of ministerial functions ; and though they failed in their immediate purpofe, and had a heretic or two burned in their faces by way of archiepifcopal revenge, and were Failure of dubbed by the higher clergy in fcorn a lack- attempt, learning parliament, they might have felt that, by the very agitation of fuch a queftion, the feeds were fown of no partial gain forpofterity. The Church itfelf had moft reafon to regret its immediate failure. But it led to fome im- portant checks on clerical privilege ; and the Thirty thirty articles which, two years later, were not artlcles/°r only propofed but conceded, for the regulation of King's of the King's houfehold and government, have affairs, been declared by Mr. Hallam, an authority well entitled to refpedt, to form a noble fabric of conftitutional liberty, hardly inferior to the petition of right. The Sovereign was required to govern by the advice of a permanent council ; and this council, together with all the judges and the officers of the royal houfehold, were bound by folemn oath to parliament to obferve and defend the amended institutions. It efta- blifhed in effect the principle of ministerial Minifter- refponfibility ; and it is a remarkable evidence ^jf/"^"" of the fame fpirit, and of the Strong popular tablifhed. impulfe favoured, if not created, by the acccf- I*10- fion of the Houfe of Lancafter, that an attempt made by the Lords to interfere with the taxation of the people, in the year after the
50 Introductory EJJay.
inter- County Elections Bill pafTed, was Strongly fei-ence refented and reSiSted by the Lower Houfe,
with Tax- . . , . J . . . - , .
ation by as in great prejudice and derogation or their
the Lords liberties.
To this, then, had been brought, at the opening of the fifteenth century, that claim of a Sovereign Authority which in the older time had certainly been conceded to the Norman King. For it would be as idle to doubt in what division of the State the ConqueSt tem- porarily veSted fuch authority, as to deny that
Changes many forms of it Still were retained long after
fincethe its fubStance and vitality had departed. Still,
Conquelt. - , r r ^ -n • i
tor example, the courle or legislative procedure retained veStige of exclusive kingly rule. Peti- tions were Still prefented by the Commons, considered by the Lords, and replied to by the Petitions King ; which, being entered on the parliament and Bills. roUj formed the bafis of legislation by the monarch himfelf. Even down to Henry the Fifth, indeed, on the authority of a fomewhat remarkable remonStrance found on the roll, we find it alleged as a not unufual practice for the King, taking advantage of the cuftom which had fo arifen of leaving Statutes to be drawn up by the judges from the Petition and Anfwer during the parliamentary recefs, to Royal induce or compel the judges to mifreprefent evaiion of an0< falfify the intentions of parliament, by mentary producing Statutes to which it had not given control. afTent. But how Strikingly it proves that the fovereign authority, as a real working power, had declined, and that the Houfes, reprefenting the power which Stood in arms behind them, had rifen, when fuch artifices were thought
§ i. The Plant agenets : Henry V, 51
worth reforting to ; and how fignificant the Bills fub- fadt that in the very next reign even thej1^*^. form difappeared altogether, and, in place tions. of the old Petitions, the introduction of complete ftatutes under the name of Bills was effected. ' —
What the fword had won the fword mould Henry v. keep, faid Henry the Fifth on his accerTion ; ws- but what was meant by the faying has its comment in the fact that in the year which witneffed his victory at Agincourt, he yielded to the Houfe of Commons the moft liberal meafure of legiflative power which until then it had obtained. The dazzling fplendour of Good out his conquefts in France had for the timeofevi1- cart into made every doubt or queftion of his title, but the very extent of thofe gains upon the French foil eftablifhed only more decifively the worfe than ufeleflhefs of fuch acquifitions to the Englifh throne. It is Advan- a rtriking example of the good which is ^§e to
ox o C>ommons
wrought out of evil by an all-wife and over- from ruling Providence, that the very mifchiefs inci - HenryV.'s dent to thefe wars, the neceflity for unufual fupplies, and the unavoidable burdens thrown upon the people, led to fuch legiflative con- ceflions of a popular kind as till then had not been obtained. The neceffities of the fovereign were fupplied, but the full equivalent was demanded and received in a maintenance of the reftraints upon his prerogative. The dif- Further tinction of Henry's reign in conflitutional reftraints hiftory will always be, that from it dates a prero^a_ power, indifpenfable to a free and limited tive. monarchy, of which not only were the leading
E 2
52 Introduftory EJfay.
fafeguards now obtained, but at once fo firmly
eftablifhed, that againft the mock of inceflant
refiftance in later years they flood perfectly
unmoved.
Admiflion They had followed, as a kind of inevitable
ofielifla- con^ecluenceJ from that formal admiflion of
mre. legislative rights in the Commons, juft adverted
to, which led to the change from Petitions to
Bills. An Act had been parted, providing
that "from this time forward, by complaint
<f of the Commons afking remedy for any mif-
(C chief, there be no law made thereupon, which
cc mould change the meaning by addition or
" by diminution, or by any manner of term
<c or terms ;" and a formal grant, in the name
of the King, was at the fame time appended
Law to it, Hating that from thenceforth, nothing
agamft fc j-,e enacted to be petitions of his Commons
tampering i • n •
with peti- " that be contrary to their afking, whereby tions. cc ^y fhouJd be bound without their aflent." It was hardly to be expected, therefore, that when fubfequently, in the fame reign, the Commons claimed certain rights and exemp- tions needful to the difcharge of their trufr., to lafr. as long as the truft laded, and to ceafe when it was laid down, fuch a demand could fafely Exemp- be refitted. Among other things, they required tions perfonal releafe from fuch judicial proceedings for'mem- as might impede parliamentary functions. They bers of afTerted the right to an abfolute defpotifm concerning every thing that parted within their own walls. They exacted the exclufive juris- diction of offences which tended to impair their powers or obftruct their public duties. In a word, they achieved what was thenceforward
the Com- mons.
§ i. The Plantagenets : Henry V. 53
known by the formidable name of Privilege Privilege of Parliament; the mield and buckler under of Parlia- which all the battles of liberty and good government were fought in the after time. An attempt to drag the adjudication of the privilege into courts of law followed ; when, in the famous cafe of Thorpe the Speaker, the Thorpe's judges declared "that they would not deter- cafe. {C mine the privilege of the High Court of fC Parliament, of which the knowledge be- <£ longeth to the Lords of Parliament, and not £C the juftices." Nor will it be hazardous to Efta- predict that when this privilege is in any mate- bllfhed rial point abandoned, political freedom is at an Courts. end. When deputed rights are fuccefsfully afTailed, abfolute rights are no longer fafe ; and parliaments without parliamentary liberties, as Pym nobly faid, will be but a fair and plaufible way into bondage. Not many years after- Right of wards, another moll momentous claim was impeach- conceded, for which the prefent right had ferved to herald the way. This was the awful power of Impeachment, which, alfo won in the fame reign, was never again loft.
For let it not be thought that all the fruits of the hard-fought liberal victories were at once gathered in and ftored for peaceful and Liberal uninterrupted enjoyment. What moil im- gains prelTes the careful ftudent of early Englifh rented, hiftory, is the marked distinction he finds it necefTary to keep before him, between the fecurities of civil freedom as generally exift- ing and in fubftance recognifed, and their violation as frequently and flagrantly permitted. Freedom Still the violation, when it occurred, was {q&i outraged
54 Introductory EJfay.
but not to be fuch. "So when the Lion preyeth," as brave old Sir Edwin Sandys told the Houfe of Commons early in James the FirfVs reign, Concef- ff no caufe to think it his right." So when fions to James claimed a privilege of the Plantagenets as a flower of the Crown, <c the flower hath had " a long winter, then," quaintly interpofed Sir James Whitelocke, the father of Bulftrode, <c fince it hath not budded thefe two hundred Cf years ! " Of a mingled character in this refpecl were the refults of the long and bloody conteft, now about to begin, between the rival branches of the Plantagenet family ; but it does not admit of doubt that the final pre- dominance of the houfe of Lancafter was, like its accefTion, favourable to popular liberty. HenryVi. The influence from which it firft derived 1422 authority, ftill imparted power. The right of parliament to alter the fucceflion was the title on which that houfe refted, and in its continu- Differ- ance the popular fanclion was implied. The encesm Jegiflation of Henry the Sixth was lefs popular a centmy. tnan tnat of Henry the Fourth, but the very facl: marks the progrefs which had been made in the interval. Henry the Fourth's ftatute fC againft undue Elections for Shires from cc the partiality of Sheriffs," gives the power of Voting of voting to every one prefent at the place of all free- election, as well fuitors duly fummoned as
holders in TT , _. . . £ _
counties, others. Henry the bixth s ltatute (C for the fc due Election of Members of Parliament in " Counties," limits the right to fuch as pof- fefTed forty millings a year in land free from all burthens within the county, but offers pricelefs proof, in the very terms of its pre-
§ i. The Plantagenets : Henry VI. $$
amble, of how great had been, meanwhile the Limited advance among the commoner! orders of the to forty- people in at leaf! a knowledge of their ftrength f^hofd- and their pretentions to power. (i Whereas," ers. it ran, f ' the election of knights has of late, Ci in many counties of England, been made <e by outrageous and exceffive numbers of " people, many of them of fmall' fubftance " and value, yet pretending to a right equal ec to the beft knights and efquires, &c." As the period of the acceffion of the family Greater of Tudor approaches, the full effect of in- ^ce^} fluences that had led to fuch legiflation is the people. diflinctly feen.
The heavieft blow had been {truck uncon- fcioufly at the feudal fyftem in England when the third eftate of the realm obtained a formal place in the legiflature, and with the acceffion of Edward the Firft the feudal tenures and privileges had begun rapidly to decline. Feudality Domeftic and prasdial fervitude had alfo been declining, abolifhed, or had fallen to difufe ; and though villenage was never repealed by any regu- lar enactment, the peafantry had 'gradually been emerging from it into the ftate of hired Villenage labourers and copyholders. During the interval P d
* J . a away.
up to the wars of the Rofes, without exprefs external aid, fociety had been finding for itfelf a more eafy level throughout its various gradations. The few ariftocratic privileges Ch3nges that remained were no peculiar burden on the in Society. knight, the gentleman, or the yeoman, the burgefs, or the labourer ; and, what is very important to keep in mind, thefe feveral par- ticular claffes had obtained their form and
$6 Introductory EJJay.
place in fimple obedience to the working of
general laws. Servitude or villenage was no
Higher Part °f feudal ifm ; and the tendency of the
develop- feudal fyftem itfelf was to decay, in proportion
feudal °f t0 t^ie n^gner development of that principle of
principle, mutual rights and duties, and of the correfpond-
ing obligations thereby engendered, on which
feudalifm was founded.
A more ftriking illuftration of this truth
could not perhaps be afforded than by the
contraft, which has not efcaped obfervation,
A con- between the insurrections of Wat Tyler and
traft. Jack Cade. It is the remark of Sir Frederick
Eden, in his excellent book on The Poor, that
in the earlier of thefe popular tumults, which,
notwithstanding the atrocities that attended it,
1 38 1. very materially contributed towards the extinc-
JXhr ti°n of fervitude, the language of the rebels,
Rebellion. . o o 3
Popular who were chiefly villeins, befpeaks men not demands, unacquainted with the efTential requifites of rational liberty. They required the abolition of flavery, freedom of commerce in market towns without tolls or impofts, and a fixed rent on lands inftead of fervices due by villen- age. But more remarkable and worthy of notice is the advance which, after the com- paratively fhort interval of three quarters of a century, Jack Cade's rebellion proclaimed. Here there is nothing to connect the move- 1450. ment with any forms of ferfdom. What R^ll' reDe^s now claimed with arms in their hands, Popular was the redrefs of fuch public wrongs as the demands. King's profligate expenditure, and the Subject's expofure to illegal exactions in order to main- tain it ; the preference of foreigners over
§ i. The Plant agenets: Henry VI. 57
Englishmen in the offices of State ; the grofs wrongs committed by fheriffs and the col- lectors of taxes ; the imperfect and uncertain adminiftration of juftice ; and finally (moft memorable grievance of all) the unwarrantable interference of the nobles in elections for the Houfe of Commons. Nothing could more Rapid fall ftrongly mow how rapid muft have been the gfZeud.al fall of the feudal fyftem when once the change began ; or how naturally the clafTes imme- diately below the noble, had become parties to a league orTenfive and defenfive againft him. The good old Fuller fo hated all rebellions, as the except rebellions againft popery, that he finds people in thefe popular infurrections a reafon why the better fort of people, to avoid being con- founded with levellers and rabble, fet up a variety of nice focial diftinctions : but the truth lies exactly the other way. Lefs and lefs were the diftinctions marked, as the Tudor time came on. Commerce and intelligence level by Levelling exalting. And Mr. Hallam has pointed attention to the very unpleafing remark, which everyone who attends to the fubject of prices will be difpofed to think not ill-founded, that the labouring clafTes engaged in agricul- ture were generally better provided with the Comforts means of fubfiftence in the reign of Henry oflaDOUr- the Sixth than at the period when he wrote. clafTes.
Evidence more direct and pofitive, indeed, is not wanting, of the comparative happinefs and freedom of the people generally under the latter years of the Plantagenet rule. Two Refpec- very truftworthy writers have fketched, from t!veco"dl" perfonal obfervation, the refpective condition England
of diftinc- tions.
58
Introductory EJJby.
and of France.
Contrafts of the two nations.
Tefti- mony of Sir John Forteicue
and of Philip de Comines.
of England and of France at this time ; and both have directed attention to the fact that while, in France, there exifled only the two divisions of a powerful governing noblefTe and a fervile peafant population, in England, on the other hand, a third and middle clafs had been able to make good its independence, becaufe the nobles wifely had retained no privileges that prevented their mixing and marrying freely with other claffes of the realm. So while in France the principle of the Civil Code, that the will of the monarch is law, prevailed, the people in England lived under protection of laws of their own .enacting ; while the French people were plundered at the fole difcretion of their Prince, who gave immu- nity only to the nobles, the Englifh people paid taxes of their own impofmg ; and while an Englifhman upon any charge of crime had the benefit of trial by a jury of his peers, con- feffion was extorted from a Frenchman by the rack. When thus, twenty years before Henry the Seventh afcended the throne, Sir John Fortefcue wrote in praife of the Englifh laws, he placed all thefe advantages on the diflinct ground of the fpecial limitation of the power of the Sovereign, and of the non-exclufive character of the privileges of the Lords ; and when his yet more travelled and experienced contemporary, Philip de Comines, turned to England from the contemplation of other States, as the country where the common- wealth was befl governed, it was becaufe he had reafon to believe that there the People were cc leaft oppreffed."
§ i. The Plant agenets : Henry VI. 59
What the main guarantees againft oppref- De Lau- fion were, Henry the Sixth's learned Chan- dlbus cellor enables us to ftate in detail with tolerable Anali*. exactnefs. In the firft place, the " fole will of J465- cc the prince " could not enact a law, nor make alterations in exifting laws, nor " burthen men (C againft their wills with ftrange impofitions," nor cc lay taxes or fubfidies of what kind Cf foever upon the fubject,'' but with the con- Restraints current confent of the whole kingdom through on Prer0" their reprefentatives in Parliament. Thefe reprefentatives confifted of the lords fpiritual (bifhops and mitred abbots), and lords tem- poral (in* right of property, by hereditary Conftitu- claim, or, after Richard the Second, by fum- p0n..of mons), who voted in the upper houfe ; and of ment. individuals chofen by the freeholders of coun- ties, and the burgeffes of towns, who formed the lower houfe. In the next place, no man Rights of could be thrown into prifon, but under fane- *he iub- tion of a legal warrant which fpecified hisje offence, and with the right of demanding fpeedy trial. That trial, moreover, muft be heard in a public court, in the diftricl where the alleged offence was committed, and be determined conclusively by the verdict of twelve men ; which in like manner decided queftions of fact, as affecting the civil rights of the fubject. Finally, the fervants and officers of the Crown were liable to actions of damage, Refpon- or to criminal procefs, when the fubject fuf- f»blJ^y of
rj • m i-i 1 r theCrown.
rered unjuitly at their hands in perlon or
eftate ; nor could they plead in anfwer or jufti-
fication, even the direct order of the Sovereign.
How far thefe guarantees, and efpecially the
ment.
60 Introductory EJfay.
Encroach- laft, were reduced or evaded in practice, it ments of would not be difficult to fhow. Lord Macau-
IjXCCU tivc
'lay has remarked on the 'facility with which a prince who referved to himfelf a pardoning power might overftep the limits that feparate executive from legiflative functions, by fo remitting or fo enforcing penalties as virtually to annul or create the ftatute impofing them. But, in theory at leaft, no one ventured to difpute the law ; and when judges were honeft, and juries intelligent and brave, an effective restraint was not feldom put upon the Crown. Checks of The checks of Parliament had invariable re- cognition. In affairs of peace and war, in the marriages of princes, in control of the domeftic government, Parliament had now for centuries claimed and obtained the privilege of advifing, and not feldom of reftraining, the Sovereign ; and in one momentous queftion, it had com- pletely fucceeded, as we have feen, in eftablifh- Controlofing its paramount authority. The formal the purie. tenure and abfolute control of the public purfe had at length been finally yielded by the Crown. The ftruggle lafted long ; but more than a century before the firft Tudor, no prince had even attempted to impofe a tax without the confent of Parliament. Happily for the prince, indeed, when fuch confent involved any great difficulty, he had the mow of begging and bor- rowing to refort to ; but the very name of the Loans and Loan or the Benevolence, the mere pretence that Benevo- j^ wouy borrow and beg, kept alive his formal
lenccs. • ^ *■ * « «*
abandonment of the right to take, and at laft ftrengthened the people to deftroy it for ever. One confederation mould be added, which in
§ I. The Plantagenets : Henry VI. 61
every retrofpect of EnglifTi constitutional hiftory it is fafe not to lofe fight of. In reviewing source of the courfe of events through which the Com- ftrength to mons' houfe of parliament obtained recognition, ominons- it is important not to attach too great a weight to their fingle unaflifted authority. They Derjveci profited lefs by power to which they could of from other themfelves lay claim, than by power or weak- Powers- nefs in other fections of the State. They were ftronger after the rebellion of the ferfs, which ftruck the blow at villenage ; they were ftronger after the rebellion of the barons, which crowned the firft Lancaftrian king. Deriving help Aflifted alternately from the powers above and below a™ ™e and themfelves, it would have fared ill with the from third branch of the legislature at any difficult below- crifis, if, unfupported by the people, they had been unaflifted by the lords. Nor might it be unjuft to meafure the relative value of fuch fupport and of fuch afiiftance, by a comparifon of the lefs perfect maintenance of the national liberties, with the abfolute victory in taxation. In the firft, the Commons were often deferted The by the Barons ; in the laft, they were never PeoPlethe deferted by the People. force#
There the fupreme force lies. None exifts that can be compared with it, when moved into action. The bodily fetters of the feudal fyftem, Expe- the mental bondage of the Roman Catholic dients to priefthood, were expedients to keep the People down! at reft ; but they could not laft for ever. The doom of feudalifm had gone forth, before the preaching of WicklifFe began. It only remained that the ariftocratic factions fhould throw themfelves into a felf-exhaufting ftrug-
62 Introductory EJfay.
gle, and, underneath the very ftorm, provide
for thofe principles which they muff, elfe have
refitted, and might have overthrown, an un-
confcious but efficient fhelter.
Wars of During the wars of the Rofes there was no
Rofes. leifure to perfecute the Lollards ; and corn- Edward . r, , n o j 1 • .
iv. merce and the arts, unobitructed by any inter-
Edward v. meddling, were left to their natural develop- jjj ar ment. Even when there was intermeddling, it 1461. mowed how Commerce had been rifing. The I483' fewlegiflative enactments of this fingular period, pafTed when parliaments were at leifure from railing or putting down the rival fovereigns, fufficiently prove its importance, and that of L -/i its cultivators. It was a parliament of Edward tion the Fourth, which, after confirming the ftatutes
£?"."£ of the fourth, fifth, and fixth Henries (with wars. the impolitic and dangerous diftinction of " late, in fact, but not of right, kings of fc England") prohibited the importation of foreign corn ; it was in parliaments of Edward the Fourth and Richard the Third, that impor- tations of foreign manufacture were forbidden, where the like articles could be produced at Richard home ; and it was by Richard the Third him- III. 's fejf (who had the ftrong inducement of all
ftatute _ v . . 1 • r r \
againft ufurpers to invite popularity from every iource) forced that the practice of extorting money from merchants and citizens, on pretence of loans and benevolences, was abolifhed, for which the ufurper has obtained the praife of Lord Bacon as <( a prince in militar virtue approved, jealous ff of the honour of the Englifh nation, and ie likewife a good law maker, for the eafe and "folace of the common people." Thus the
§ I. The Plantagenets : Richard III. 63
marked increafe and growing refpect of com- Advances merce, the fudden reawakening of learning, ad- in com" vances made in the ufeful arts, and the earlier! learning, great endowments for the foundation of gram- and the mar-fchools and places of popular education (after the 25th of Henry the Sixth, thefe foundations increafed rapidly everywhere), — are the incidents which alfo fignalife the time, when the chiefs of the great families, ejected finally from thofe provinces of France which Lofs of had fed their appetites for plunder and power, the had been impelled to that conflict with each provinces. other, on their own foil, of which all the fuffer- ings and all the retribution were to fall upon themfelves alone. For though this was a ftrife which laded incelTantly for thirty years, though twelve great pitched battles were fought in it, though eighty princes of the blood were flain, it raged only on the furface of the land, War on and the peaceful current beneath was free to furface of run on as before. The defolation of the bloody p e ,~ '
/■ ■ 1111 /*i JrC3.CC DC~
conflict never reached the heart of the towns, neath. except in awakening fuch inftincts of danger as are the primary fources of fafety. Hence, on the one hand, for precaution and defence, Com. guilds, commercial brotherhoods, and muni- mercial cipal fafeguards iilently arofe, to grow more §J"C;^ re~ hardy and to flourifh ; while, on the other, great ancient baronies, all-powerful families, names families- that had overawed the crown and overfhadowed the people, fank in the conflict, never to rife again. The rtorm thatfwept the lofty, fpared the low. It was the beginning of a vaft focial change, now accomplished apparently without the aid of thofe whom principally it was to
64 Introductory EJfay.
Break-up affed: ; and not limited to England. Over
of Middle ^e wn°le continent of Europe its manifefta-
Ages. tions might be feen. The fyftem of the Middle
Ages was everywhere breaking up. The fway
of a feudal chiefdom, in all modifications of
its form ftill fitful and turbulent, was ending ;
Kingcraft and there was rifing, to take its place, a pre-
uccee s. dominance 0f kingfhip in perfonal attributes,
a calm concentrated individual cunning, or, as
it was called in after years, when it had loft
the fubtle qualities that juftified the name, a
Kingcraft, which in two great monarchies was
deftined to overpower Freedom, and in the
third to fall before it.
Its chief The tres magi of kings, renowned for pofTef-
pro e 01s. £Qn q£ t^.g fUpreme craftj nave Deen celebrated
by Lord Bacon. Louis the Eleventh had arifen in France, and Ferdinand in Spain ; yet the leflbn for which Machiavelli waited was incom- plete, until Henry Tudor took posTeffion of the French, Englifh throne. To the French and Spanifh Spamfli, kings, with ftandins armies at their back to lifh kings, silence their States General and their Cortes, the tafk of tyranny was not very difficult ; but an infular kingdom, protected from its neighbours by the fea, had no pretence to indulge in fuch a fovereign luxury as the professional Soldier, and the more difficult problem awaited our Englifh king of predominating over parliament by fheer Refults in force of the prerogative. Favoured by circum- England. fl-anceSj [t fUCCeeded for a time ; but it left to a later time that forced readjustment of the balance, which, by raising parliament far above the prerogative, preferved for us finally the old Constitution of the realm.
§ ii. The Tudor s: Henry VII. 6$
§ ii. The Tudors.
Though the laft living reprefentative of the Henry
houfe of Lancafter, Henry Tudor was not its VI0L ... . . . r } . ., 1485-
legitimate heir; but from his marriage with
the heirefs of the houfe of York, he derived
a ftrong title. His own difTatisfaction with Uneafi-
it neverthelefs, and his uneafy defire to fur- "efs *]L to
.... J , lucceihon.
round it with other guarantees, are among the indications of a ftate of feeling in England, at the time, which further diftinguifhes the pofi- tion of Henry the Seventh from that of the other of the tres magi. The act of fettlement pafTed by the two Houfes upon his acceiTion, taking great pains to avoid either the affertion or con- tradiction of any pretenfions of lineal defcent, had created ftrictly a parliamentary title ; but parlia- he afterwards obtained a refcript from Pope mentary
r r fettle -
Innocent the Third, fetting forth all the other ment conditions on which he defired it to be known that the crown of England alfo belonged to him. It was his, according to this document, by right of war, by notorious and indifputable hereditary fucceflion, by the wifri and election of all the prelates, nobles, and commons of the realm, and by the act of the three eftates in Parliament afTembled ; but neverthelefs, to put an end to the bloody wars caufed by the Pope's rival claims of the houfe of York, and at the refcript on urgent requeft of the three eftates, he hadt;t^e!ys confented to marry the eldeft daughter and true heir of Edward the Fourth : and now, therefore, the fupreme Pontiff, being called to confirm the difpenfation neceffary to fuch mar-
66 Introductory EJfay.
riage, declared the meaning of the act of
fettlement paffed by Parliament to be, that
Henry's ifTue, whether by Elizabeth, or, in
cafe of her death, by any fubfequent marriage,
tranf- were to inherit the throne. More remarkable
lated for than the refcript itfelf, however, were the
epeop e. means taken to carry it directly to the clafTes
it was meant to addrefs. It is the firft fimilar
document of which we have any evidence that
it was tranflated into Englifh and circulated
and firft m a P°Pular form throughout England. A
printed in broadfide containing it, printed by Caxton, is
broadfide one 0£ ^ moQ. interefting of modern difco-
byCaxton. . . . Q
veries in matters or this kind.
Such indications may at leaft fatisfy us that
Henry Tudor would not very gravely have
refented the defcription which has been given
Lord of him by Lord Bolingbroke, as a creature of
Bohng- ^g pe0pje raifed to the throne to cut up the
view of roots of faction, to reftore public tranquillity,
the reign. anc[ to eftablifh a legal government on the
ruins of tyranny. The fame writer, however,
who doubts if he fucceeded in this defign, is
undoubtedly wrong when he fuppofes that he
Lofles to failed in eftablifhing what by all the cuftoms
public of historical courtefy muft be called a legal
1 eity' government. It is not of courfe to be dif-
guifed that in fpite of many great principles
afferted in it, and advantages achieved, his
reign was not. in its immediate courfe favour-
Defeaion a^e to liberty. But the fact, as little to be
of parlia- queftioned, that during its continuance, rifings
ment. jn tj-e Commonalty were far more frequent
than remonftrances in the Commons, and that
upon queftions where the people proved mofl:
§n. The Tudor s : Henry VII. 6j
Stubborn, parliament generally was moft com- pliant, fufficiently mows that the defection did not fo much lie with the people themfelves, as with their proper leaders in the State. It Mainte- was nevertheless the peculiarity of Henry's ,nanCje of defpotifm, as distinguished from that of his forms. more violent predeceSTbrs, that he bottomed it Strongly on the precedents and language of law, fcreening the violation of liberty by artful employment of its forms ; and though this may have made the defpotifm more odious while it laSted, it eftabliShed more certainly a limit to its duration. Relatively to what is peculi- called the State, circumstances had thrown anarityof overbalance of power into the hands of Henry ; defpotifm. but to the mafs of the people, thefe very cir- cumftances rendered him unconfcioufly the instrument of great focial and political change. The pofition he occupies in hiftory, and the rights he exercifed, began and ended with his race.
Everything at once mowed Signs of deep incj;ca_ and permanent alteration. The immediate tions of refult of the battle of Bofworth, which left JJJJJ|L victory in the hands of Henry and the fmaller baronial faction of the Lancafters, was the commencement of a fyftem by which the more numerous nobles of the oppoSite faction were as much as poflible depreSTed, by which fevere ftatutes againft the further prevalence of armed retainers were frefhly enacted or revived, restrictions on the deviSing of land in effect removed, and all things directed towards Power an ultimate transfer of the old baronial Strength £ha "| ins into entirely new channels. Poverty itfelf
68 Introductory EJfay.
became the herald and forerunner of change. While large numbers of the baronial vafTals took refuge in the towns, increafing their power and privileges, large numbers unhappily Neceffky fl-ju remained upon the foil ; and thefe, no Lawf longer necefTary for the mows of pomp or the realities of war, fuffered the worft horrors of destitution, were driven to its larr. refources, became incendiaries or thieves, overran the land as beggars, and, in the end, rendered necefTary that great focial revolution, which took the name of a Poor Law in the reign of Elizabeth. Houfe of Of the mattered ariftocracy of England only Lords: twenty-nine reprefentatives prefented them- number, felves when Henry called his firft Parliament, and feveral of thefe were recent creations. Doubtlefs it was well, for the ultimate advance of liberty, that the old feudal power had thus been fo completely fubdued, and the way by fuch means prepared for the decifive ftruggle with the Stuarts ; but for the immediate pro- grefs of liberty, it was certainly lefs beneficial. Commons The Houfe of Commons, fuddenly wanting weakened \n an 0\d and habitual fupport, was too ready nefsTn " an inftrument for the mere ufe and convenience Lords. of the King ; and to avail themfelves, in fuch circumftances, of every attainable advan- tage and turn it to the beft account, in each cafe holding it for religion that craft might fuperfede force, conftituted the very art and Influences genius of the tres magi. But though fuch unfeen. circumftances worked well for the Mage upon the Englifh throne, he did not, with all his craft, penetrate influences around him that were
§ ii. The Tudor s : Henry VII. 69
lefs obvious ; nor fufpect that, by a purely Uncon- felfifh. legiflation, he might yet be advancing ^lous higher hopes and more comprehenfive defigns. making. Surrounded, and no longer affailable, by the impoverifhed and broken power of the paft, he was unconfcious of a more formidable power which was fdently and infenfibly replacing it. He thought only of himfelf and his fuccefTion. When, by the ftatute enlarging and extending the old Confilium Regis, and creating the Star star Chamber, he raifed the judicial authority ofcham^er the King in Council to a height at which the fiercer! of his Norman predecefTors would not have dared to aim, he did it to fupport the Throne. That a rallying cry againft the Star Chamber might one day bear the Throne into duft was not to him within the fphere of pof- fibility. What was near him, in fhort, he A keen never miftook or marred, and no man fo but n.a/~
1111 •! n rowviiion.
clearly law what would help or might obitruct himfelf. As Lord Bacon fays, he went fub- ftantially to his own bufinefs ; and, to the extent of not fuffering any little envies or any great paffions to {land in its way, he was a practical and fagacious flatefman. But he was not a great king, though he might be called an able, a crafty, and a prudent one.
So much, even in the midft of eulogy that Lord might itfelf have preferved his name, would Bacon's feem to be admitted by his incomparable bio- 0f Henry grapher. i( His wifdom," fays Lord Bacon, VII. <c by often evading from perils, was turned <c rather into a dexterity to deliver himfelf from il dangers when they preffed him, than into a
7° Introductory EJJay.
(C providence to prevent and remove them afar <l off. And even in nature, the fight of his " mind was like fome fights of eyes; rather <c Strong at hand, than to carry afar off. For <c his wit increafed upon the occafion ; and fo <f much the more, if the occafion were Sharp- Leading " ened by danger." It will be a Sufficient afts of comment on thefe pregnant fentences merely vereignty. to enumerate his leading aits of fovereignty. Herefy he thought dangerous, and he burnt more followers of Wycliffe than any fince the firft Lancastrian king. Winner of a fuccefsful flake in battle, he knew the chances of war to be dangerous, and he favoured ftrenuoufly the arts of peace. Served by men whom his death or difcomflture might Suddenly attaint with rebellion, he thought it dangerous to leave thofe friends without fecurity again ft the What was pofTible vengeance of future faction ; and he
byehised Paffed a law which made poffeffion of the
legifla- throne the fubject's obligation to allegiance,
tion. andjuftifiedrefiftance to all who mould difpute
it. IncefTant fuits for alienated lands he thought
dangerous, in a country torn with revolutionary
quarrel ; and his famous ftatute of fines barred,
after certain conditions, all claims of ancient
heritage. But not to him, therefore, belongs
any part of the glory of thofe greater refults
which flowed indirectly from thefe meafures of
What was precaution. It was with no intended help
efFeded from fcm t^zt ^ Wycliffe herefy Struck
beyond his , J . J
intention, deeper root ; that more eager welcome was given to the Studies which in England marked the revival of learning ; that the civil duties of allegiance were placed on a juft foundation ;
§u. The Tudors : Henry F II. 71
and that the feudal reftriclions of landed pro- perty were finally broken.
On the other hand, with relation to the interval progrefs of conftitutional freedom, or to the ^JSwid prevalence of juft views in government and popular legiflation, this reign of Henry the Seventh asencies- muft be regarded as the opening of a middle or tranfitional ftate. The feudal ftrength had been broken, and the popular ftrength had not made itfelf felt ; power was changing hands, and confcience was about to be fet free, and both were to be meanwhile committed, almoft unrefervedly, into the keeping of the Tudors. The intereft of the fucceeding reigns, up to the very middle of Elizabeth's great career, is lefs political than focial ; and it is not in the ftatute book or the parliament roll that we are to look for what fmoothed and made ready the way. Early in the fummer of the eleventh M Ex- year after Henry the Seventh's acceflion, a ^ Ame- Venetian feaman and pilot who had fettled in rica. Briftol during the impulfe given to Englifh I496# commerce in the wars of the Rofes, fet fail from that city, accompanied by his three fons, with the firft European expedition that ever reached the American continent. Later in vifit of the fame fummer, Lord Mountjoy brought Erafmus over Erafmus into England, to take part in J°ndng" the new ftudy of which Oxford had become the unaccuftomed fcene. Of commerce, as of learning, it was the reawakening time. The Cabots difcovered the Ifland of Newfoundland Sebaftian and St. John, and, with their five mips under the New the Englifh flag, crept along the coaft of World. Florida ; while Erafmus, in the Greek clafs at
72
Introductory EJfay.
Erafmus in Oxford.
Revival of ftudy of Homer.
Greek Profeffor fhip at Oxford. 1497.
Diflike of the new learning.
Oxford, was making difcoveries not lefs rich or ftrange. " The world," exclaimed the ftudent-fcholar, fCis recovering the ufe of its ct fenfes, like one awakened from the deeper! " fleep." The civilifation fo beginning, what- ever ftruggle it had ftill to encounter, was to reft finally on freer intercourfe and interchange of the labours of men's hands as well as thoughts ; and Angularly rare was the felicity that befel the great Greek poet, whofe glory, identified with nigh two thoufand years of the hiftory of the paft, was to be alfo moft promi- nently afibciated with a frefh dawning and reawakening of the world. As with the old, fo with the new civilifation, which, through all its heats and vicifiitudes of quarrel, civil and religious, was to find him ftill, as at firft, driving along the Sigaean plain his temperate and indefatigable horfes, making the Gods themfelves his charioteers and minifters, and keeping them, alike in the ardour of combat and the tranquillity of Olympus, obedient to his will.
That Greek Clafs at Oxford was formed, and in healthy vigorous action, when the fecond fovereign of the Tudor race, to whom even learned and intelligent inquirers have exclufively attributed the improvement in lite- rary ftudies and purfuits which was one of the redemptions of his reign, was barely fix years old. It is wonderful with what alarm it was viewed at the very outfet. Thus early public attention directed itfelf to what were called the growing Oxford herefies. Lovers of exifting fyftems and inftitutions lifted warning voice
§ ii. The Sudors : Henry VII. 73
againft them. Grave mifgivings found utter- A good
ance in many quarters ; and for the mod part °i(h co"^
in the tone of that good old Englifh gentle- plaint:
man whofe lamentations found later record
in one of the writings of Richard Pace.
" Thefe foolifh letters will end in fome bad
" bufinefs. I fairly wifh all this learning at
Cf the devil. All learned men are poor ; even againft
cc the mod: learned Erafmus, I hear, is poor, ^p*.
<( and in one of his letters calls the vile hag verty.
iC Poverty his wife. By'r Lady, I had rather
' c my fon were hanged than that he mould be -
cc come a man of letters. We ought to teach
<c our fons better things."
Happily it was too late, for the mifchief was done, and " the raoft learned Erafmus" had been its principal promoter. His brief fojourn at Oxford in his youth prefigures almoft the whole of his illuftrious career. The revival t*£n , of learning — the re-awakening of the great Erafmus. writers of Greece and Rome — was to bring with it the downfall of the fchoolmen ; to whom the word corruptions of the Church, and a large fhare of the vice and barbarifm of monkery, were due. They had long baniihed from the ftudies of churchmen all pretence to a fcriptural foundation. The honeft purfuit Difiapks
r- i ii 111 r . or Aqui-
of truth, they had replaced by argumentative nas fubtlety ; by methodical niceties of difputation ; by fcholaftic diftin&ions, to the reft of the world unintelligible ; by foul-killing lies, and " truths that work fmall good." It was the fecret of the fierce oppofition to the new learning, that it boded the ruin of this fyftem fooner or later ; and on the day when Erafmus
74
Introductory EJfay.
Syftem of the School- men doomed.
Lan- guage an enflaver as well as liberator.
Connec- tion of words and things.
Erafmus's
great
weapon.
"A Se- cond Lucian."
and Colet met at Oxford, its doom had been pronounced. With the jargon of the old learning frill dominant around them, with perhaps audible founds of hideous difpute from monks and friars beneath their college windows, it was natural (though all to which it would eventually lead might not be feen) that their firft, interchange of thought Should have been on language and flyle. Language has been called the liberator of mankind, but has alfo proved itfelf hardly lefs their enflaver ; for almoSt as often as it has freed them from ignorance, it has handed them over to prejudice, or rebound them in the chains of cuftom. If the fuccefs of the fchool- men, and their Strength in the Romifh church, had arifen out of the confufion and imperfect understanding of language which their bar- barous difputations engendered, it was fairly to be inferred that out of clearer and correcter notions of words would follow clofer infight into things.
Even if not at firft, however, the entire intention of Erafmus, it is not the lefs his chief exploit and glory. With the mere weapon of Style he was enabled to fcourge the Dominicans from one end of Germany to the other. His expofure of the frauds and credulities of his age would have paSTed with comparatively little heed, if made lefs grace- fully ; and the printing-prefs of his friend Frobenius would have worked but heavily, if his eafy and familiar wit had not lent it wings. Cf Beware a fecond Lucian ! " cried the Startled monks ; " the fox is abroad that layeth wafte
§n. The Tudor s : Henry VII. 75
ic the vineyard of the Lord." And if that
was the vineyard of the Lord, it was indeed
laid wafte by Erafmus. " He prefumes to
" correct the Holy Spirit ! " was the next note Firft pure
of alarm, as he prefented to the world the ^xlof the
firft pure Greek text of the New Teftament. ment#
But his gift was beyond recall ; and what was
thus by Erafmus made familiar to the learned,
a ftronger and more refolute fpirit was at hand
to make familiar to the people. The great
fcholar, in a word, taught by Grocyn and The way
advifed by Colet, was now, during the reign {^i^u-
of our firft Tudor fovereign, preparing minds ther.
at Oxford for the work which, even more than
the unexampled compafs of his learning and
the vaft number of his writings, immortalifed
his name. " Erafmus knows very well how to Complaint
<f point out errors," faid Luther in after years, of Eraf-
i( but he knows not how to teach the truth.
" He can do nothing but cavil and flout," he
added ; when in temper even lefs tolerant of
that friend and fellow-workman, whom not
long before he had called his glory and his
hope, decus nojirum et /pes noftra. It might
be fo ; but the cavilling, and flouting, and
rooting out of error, were in thefe early days
the fowing of the feeds of truth. He who is Harbinger
to gather in the harveft, is as yet but a poor ofthe Re-
Francifcan fchoolboy at Madgeburg, finging
fongs in the ftreet for bread ; and, meanwhile,
this devotion fo Angle hearted, this real hatred
of hypocrify and ignorance, this pure love of
learning, this exalted fpirit of labour, facrifice,
and felf-denial, which made Erafmus the har- J111" of
,. r 1 1 r 1 11 kraimus
Dinger or a change whole extent he could not torefpeft
76
Introductory EJfay.
His
achieve- ments.
HIs meafure, and by which he conftituted others,
lmP e' men Qf knowledge and eminence, unconfcious agents in a democratic revolution which of themfelves they would ftrenuoufly have refitted, are furely entitled to large veneration and refpect. It avails little againft the claim, that the man who outran his time in thought, lagged behind it in action ; and that, having borne the heat of a conteft, he fhrank from the re- fponfibilities of a victory. What work was appointed him to do, he did with a Angular fuccefs. Superftition and barbarifm had their firft refolute foe in him ; the Scriptural foun- dations of truth and of morality had in him their great reftorer ; and it mould be matter of pride to Englifhmen that it was here in Oxford, and by intercourfe with their country- men, thefe glorious undertakings were can- vafled, begun, and cherifhed.
The ftatute-book of Henry the Seventh, however, will be vainly fearched for any attempt to ftrengthen, govern, or direct fuch agencies, whether material or moral. It was his policy to favour commerce for his own advan- tage ; but moft affuredly his provifions againft lending money on intereft, againft letting in foreign commodities, and for the fuppofed enrichment of the country by over-enrichment of himfelf, would have altogether failed to promote it. Among his legislative exploits none will be found to favour learning, nor did merce and any °f his acts of State fuggeft toleration for learning the new opinions ; but neverthelefs he could aififted. y not burn a Lollard, without more widely diffuf- ing what men were fo readily found calmly
His con- nexion with Ox ford.
Henry's Statutes
§n. The Tudor s : Henry VII. 77
and even cheerfully to die for. To print an ufes of occafional pope's bull, or one of the acts of*he ?nnt~
• inj? lr re is.
his own parliament, was the fole ufe to which he cared to put the types of Caxton or Wynkin de Worde ; but there was fitting at the time, in thofe beggarly roomsof Oxford colleges, another parliament compofed of fuch men as Grocyn, Linacre, Colet, More, Wolfey, and Erafmus, on whom that printing prefs was to confer an irrefiftible power, and who were legiflating for Legif- the reign of his fucceflbr. Indeed, to that !f inAfor
r • • 1 • 1 • 1 1 j the future.
following reign, everything which marked out this from its predeceflbrs had a fingular and fpecial reference ; and not an opportunity in it, improved or not by Henry for himfelf, failed with tenfold increafe to reach his fon. Upon his two moft prominent defigns, of fencing the throne again ft confpiracy, and mak- ing it rich and independent, he fuffered no doubt to reft. Of the few great nobles that Disfavour remained, not one ever found favour from to nobles- him ; out of churchmen and lawyers exclufively, he chofe his friends and counfellors ; and i( ever," as Bacon fays, "having an eye to " might and multitude," there was not a gather- _,
0 .,.*?. Favor to
ing of common men, whether with the citizen's church- cap or the peer's badge, which was not men aml watched by him fo clofely and unceafingly, and with fo much caution, adroitnefs, and fuccefs, that of all the thick brood of treafons which Throne marked the opening of the reign, not one guarded exifted at its clofe to vex its fucceifor. That, Treafon : even without his aid, the revenues of the Crown ftiould at the fame time have largely increafed, was one of the confequences of the civil wars,
thods of Extortion
78 Introduttory EJfay.
which had difperfed the annuitants and cre- ditors who previouily crowded the door of the and en- Exchequer ; but thefe revenues were handed riched by down not merely unimpaired, but free from tures61" incumbrances, increafed by forfeitures, and with the enormous addition of his own ill- gotten exactions.
Cf Belike he thought to leave his fon," fug-
gefts Lord Bacon apologetically, " fuch a
<c kingdom and fuch a mafs of treafure, as he
cf might choofe hisgreatnefs where he would:"
but nothing can palliate the iniquity by which
New me- fuch wealth was amafled. Every means of
extortion tried by the Plantagenet kings having
been exhaufted, he fought out other and more
fcandalous methods ; and when, in his Courts
at Weftminfter, he had found two learned
lawyers fufficiently able, fupple, eloquent, and
unfcrupulous, he was in poffefTion of what he
Empfon fought. <c As kings," fays James the Firft's
and Dud- experienced Chancellor, " do more eafily find
tc inftruments for their will and humour than
" for their fervice and honour, he had gotten
IC for his purpofe, or beyond his purpofe, two
lc inftruments, Empfon and Dudley." Thefe
men revived dormant claims of the Crown,
founded on obfolete pretenfions of feudal tenure,
and made them a means of frightful oppreflion.
Ufes to They difcovered forgotten cafes of forfeiture ;
which invented falfe charges againft innocent men,
nut WerC fr°m which releafe was only given on payment
of what were termed mitigations ; dragged
forward arrears of old amercements, alleged to
be unfatisfied ; and, with the help of a fort of
informers and plaintiffs who were called " pro-
§ ii. The Tudor s : Henry Fill. 79
" moters," made the ordinary courfe of law an enormous engine of plunder. Unremembered penal flatutes of profligate times were revived, to the end that, by intolerable exactions for Plunder offences unknown, unconfcious offenders might "n(ler
o torms or
be dragged into the Exchequer; where Empfon law. and Dudley fat as barons, where packed de- pendents of the Crown difcharged the functions of juries, where juries with any fenfe of mame were made docile by imprifonment and fine, and from whofe clutches the unhappy victims could only efcape by exorbitant composition or hopelefs imprifonment. But, horrible as all this was, not a little was it owing to fuch atrocities that Henry the Eighth fucceeded to a better yjjly filled exchequer than any of his predeceffors I509.' fince the Conqueft, and to fo many greater facilities for the work it was appointed him to do.
They did not indeed pafs without fome retribution. Though new honours had been largely heaped upon their perpetrators in the laft year of Henry the Seventh's reign, in the firft year of Henry the Eighth's both Empfon Execution and Dudley were led to the fcaffold. The and £>puj. popular wrath demanded them as victims ; ley. and, it being more convenient that death mould wipe out their debt, than that by any worfe accident the royal exchequer mould be called to make reftitution, the new King gave them up to the executioner. Strong-willed as the Tudor Tudors were, they were generally able to put j^ics. a prefent rein upon their paffions, when by fuch means they could make more fure of their ultimate fafe indulgence. They reigned in
80 Introductory EJfay.
Caufesof England, without a fuccefsful rifing againft
them, for upwards of a hundred years : but
not more by a ftudied avoidance of what might
fo provoke the country, than by the moft
refolute repreffion of every effort, on the part
of what remained of the peerage and great
families, to make head againft the Throne.
yielding They gave free indulgence to their tyranny
to peopie, only within the circle of the court, while they
nobles. & unceafingly watched and conciliated the temper
of the people. The work they had to do, and
which by more fcrupulous means was not pof-
fible to be done, was one of paramount necef-
fity ; the dynafty uninterruptedly endured for
only fo long as was requifite to its thorough
Talk of completion ; and to each individual fovereign
Sovereign. t^ie particular tafk might feem to have been
fpecially affigned. It was Henry's to fpurn,
renounce, and utterly caft off, the Pope's
authority, without too fuddenly revolting the
people's ufages and habits ; to arrive at bleffed
Henry's, refults, by ways that abetter man might have
I5°9- held to be accurfed; during the momentous
change in progrefs, to keep in neceffary check
both the parties it affected ; to perfecute with
an equal hand the Romanift and the Lutheran ;
to fend the Proteftant to the ftake for refilling
Popery, and the Roman Catholic to the fcaffold
for not admitting himfelf to be Pope ; while
he meantime plundered the monafteries, rooted
out and hunted down the priefts, alienated the
abbey lands, and glutted his creatures and his
Edward's, own coffers with that enormous fpoil. It was
IS47- Edward's to become the ready and undoubting
inftrument of Cranmer's defign ; to accept the
§ii. The Tudor s : Henry VIII. 8 1
Reformation as it was fo prefented to him; in his brief reign, really to efiablifh Proteftantifm on our Englifh foil ; but, with all the inexperience and more than the obftinacy of youth, fo harfhly, unfparingly, and precipitately to force upon the people Cranmer's compromife of doctrine and obfervance, as to render poflible, even perhaps unavoidable, his elder fitter's reign. It was Mary's to undo the effect of Mary's. fuch precipitate eagernefs of the Reformers, I553" by lighting the fires of Smithfield; and oppor- tunely to arreft the waverers from Protertant- ifm, by exhibiting in their excefs the very word vices, the cruel bigotry, the hateful intolerance, the fpiritual flavery, of Rome. It was Elizabeth's finally and for ever to uproot Eliza- that flavery from amongft us, to champion all "g6' over the world a new and nobler faith, and immovably to eftablifh in England the Pro- tectant religion.
But though the talks thus appointed to this Tudor imperious and felf-willed family, had the effect ^cva- '" of imparting an exceptional character to their tional. ftyle and courfe of government, it is not to be inferred that even they dared openly to violate thofe old fundamental Englifh laws of which it has ever been the nature, in all cafes, adopting the fine expreffion of Fortefcue, Cf to declare " in favour of liberty." Henry fent to the its checks fcaffold whomever he pleafed, from within the andlimits- precincts of the Court; but when, without the intervention of parliament, he would have taken the money of the people, he had to retreat before the refinance offered, and publicly to difavow the intention of breaking the laws
82
Introductory EJfay.
Eliza- beth's con ceffions.
Mary's weaknefs.
Houfe of Com- mons.
of the realm. Elizabeth's rule had been not lefs imperious than her father's, yet one of her lateft a6ls was freely to furrender to the Houfe of Commons her demand for certain mono- polies, which had raifed a fierce refiftance in that houfe. Mary was able to burn, at her pleafure, the alienators of the abbey lands ; but over the lands themfelves, inverted by forms of law in their new proprietors, fhe difcovered that fhe was powerlefs. Unworthy as the pofition was, indeed, in which the Houfe of Commons confented to place itfelf in thefe reigns, what furvived of independence and courage ftill was able to find exprefTion there ; Pofition of and the meaneft-fpirited of its affembl ages had yet gleams of popular daring, which mow how little might have ferved, even then, to put fubftance into the forms of liberty, and how ready was even a Tudor King, <f as he would <c fometimes {train up his laws to his preroga- " tive," to let down not the lefs, as Lord Bacon faid of the founder of the race, " his " prerogative to his parliament." In truth it can never be too often repeated that tyranny can only reign in England through the pre- tences of freedom. Acts of Parliament are, with us, the weapons of defpotic rule ; and at times they will recoil with danger to the ufer, or break in the defpot's hand.
Of this the unhappy Mary had painful experience when fhe faw the very Houfe fhe had packed with her creatures turn againft her in the matter fhe had moft at heart. They m£atary went with her in re-eftablifhing over the king- to Mary, dom the authority of Rome ; but when (he
Aclsof parlia- ment edged tools.
Parlia-
§u. The Tudor s : Mary. 83
would have had them concede to her hufband an authority within the realm that might involve danger to the native privileges and laws, thofe very tools and creatures defer ted her. Within Three two years fhe had to fummon and diiTolve d.l(rolV"
, ' -p, ,. , . r . tions in
three .Parliaments, and informations were two years, pending againft recufant members at the time of her death. Nor will the fame kind of inci- dents fail to be noted in her ftronger father's reign. He found it not pofTible to reduce the lower Houfe to the utterly dependent con- dition in which a conftant reaction of hope and dread (the choice between confifcation and Privileges the fcaffold, or church property and royal Henry0™ favour), foon placed what remained of the vui. upper Houfe. The difficulty was not efTen- tially very great, indeed, in dealing with the lower, but certain forms had to be obferved ; and it is curious that in Henry the Eighth's reign, not only (in the cafe of Ferrers) was one of the moft valuable confirmations of privilege obtained by the Commons, but up- Thirty wards of thirty members were added to their m,e,mjers
i r J ~. . . added to
noule, upon the principle exprened in the pre- Commons, amble to the a6l for fo extending reprefentation to the principality of Wales, that it is difad- vantageous to any place to be unreprefented, and that thofe who are bound by the laws are entitled to have a voice in their enaclment. Thus, whatever ufes the Houfe of Commons might lend itfelf to, the idea of that higher func- tion of reprefentation was at leaft never loft ; and even the Tudors had to remember, in Safeguards common with all princes to whom as yet the armed luxury of a {landing army was unknown, that people.
a 2
84
Obliga- tion for martial exercife.
Power
beyond the So- vereign.
All legis- lation in name of Com- mons.
Subftance as well as form claimed by them.
Introductory EJfay.
the people To reprefented, being freemen, were trained univerfally to bear arms, and were under penalties to prefent themfelves, at ftated periods, for martial exercife in their counties and fhires. Only becaufe he wielded an authority, therefore, not ftrictly his, and for the ufe of which he was not directly refponfible, could the fovereign in fuch cafe ever afTume to be all-powerful. There was a power beyond, which the people had now for two centuries uniformly recognifed, and which alone could be the instrument, whoever might be the immediate agent, of changes affecting them- felves. They faw the lower Houfe continue to grant fubfidies, not to be raifed by any other means ; and they faw it continued to be ufed in the propofal of Statutes, which without its confent could never become binding. It gave their fole validity to the bills of attainder which {truck down the guilty, or lhed the blood of the innocent ; and only by its Sanction had one-fifth of the landed property of the nation been transferred fuddenly to new pro- prietors. As the times of the Tudors wore on, too, and left the character of their work, and its refults, more vifible, the members of that Houfe began to claim for it worthier affociations. " I have heard of old Parlia- " ment men," faid" Peter Wentworth from his place there, in the latter half of Elizabeth's reign, '* that the banifhment of the Pope and " Popery, and the reftoring of true Religion, <c had their beginning from this houfe, and ic not from the bifhops."
Few were the opportunities directly obtained
§ ii. The Sudors: Elizabeth. 85
by the people, however, either through them- felves or their reprefentatives, in this great reign. The authority of the two Houfes had Jp'fJ- been reduced, at her acceffion, to a point fo re;gIli low that not a barrier any longer interpofed itfelf between the fovereign authority and the popular allegiance. But in placing herfelf Character freely amongft her fubjects, in making their ^^n . interefts hers, in condescending to their amufe- ments and their prejudices, as if they were her children, they were yet made to feel that they muft fubmit themfelves to the difci- pline of children. Defiring rather the fame of A fo- a fovereign demagogue than a fovereign prince, j""a^n the afpiring tendencies found no countenance gogue. from her, and the mayor and the alderman had better chances of her favour than the man of literature or genius. But the people had their Advan- Spenfers and their Shakefpeares, in her defpite ; tages they had their tranflation of the Bible, with pe^e its lefTons of charity and brotherhood ; they had as free accefs to the literature of the ancient writers as to that of the living and furpaffing genius which furrounded them; adventure and chivalry moved, in well-known forms and living realities, through the land ; Rel-ult f and the commonefl people might lift caps, as the Re- they palTed along the Streets, to Drake, to formation. Sidney, or to Raleigh. "The work was thus far accomplished which Erafmus and his friends at Oxford had begun ; and it was only neceflary that thofe riling influences that had oxford marked the acceffion of the Tudor family leflbns fhould appear in full and active operation on comp ete* the minds of the Engliih people, to fentence to
86
Introductory EJfay.
Change impend- ing.
Rife of religious difcon- tent.
The
newly
efta-
blifhed
Church.
Impulfes of Refor- mation reftrained.
A danger over- looked.
a gradual but certain downfall the half-political half-patriarchal fyftem of this famous woman, by far the greater!; of her race. The fons and daughters of the Arcadia were the parents of the men of Charles and Cromwell.
The Queen had been twelve years upon the throne when difcontent took an ominous and threatening form. An effential feature in the Tudor fyftem had been that the framework of the ancient hierarchy of Rome mould be left untouched. At a time when politics were fuddenly become fubordinated to religion, the idea of unlimited fpiritual dominion was too valuable to be furrendered, carrying with it, as it did by a very fimple analogy, unlimited temporal dominion alfo. This dominion had moreover been placed, by the aids of fupremacy and uniformity, at the abfolute ufe and difpofal of the fovereign ; and in thus formally alTuming the caft-off robes of the Pope, Elizabeth rivalled her father in the even partiality of her perfecutions. Indeed, her antagonifm to the Romanift was in fome refpects lefs keen and perfonal than to th*e Proteftant non-con- formift. She loved to the lateft moment of her life the gorgeous ceremonials of religion, as fhe cherifhed all that placed in Subjection to authority the fenfes and the faith of men ; and while, with this feeling, me adhered to forms and ceremonies which her mafculine fenfe would elfe have put afide in fcorn, and clothed her own bifhops with the fupreme authority fhe had ftruck down from thofe of Rome, fhe unhappily overlooked altogether the poflibility of danger from fuch restraints to the impulfes
bl-id^
57°-
§11. 'The Sudors: Elizabeth. S7
of the Reformation. But this danger was now at hand.
In the year 1570, the institution of epif- Ca.rt- j copacy in the ProteStant church was openly Le'aures affailed by the Lady Margaret's profefTor of at Cam- divinity at Cambridge. There had been an active difcuSTion going on for fome years, on matters of minor consideration. Tippets had been violently contested, and fad and ferious had been difputes upon the furplice. But now, to the amazement of the imperious Parker, who had declared that he would maintain to the death thefe efTentials of the new religion, all further mention of fuch matters ceafed, and the archbifhop was fummoned to maintain to the death neither tippet nor furplice, but the whole ecclefiaftical hierarchy of England. Cart- Puritan wright's lectures were as a match to a train, ?arty,
j r r • n j formed.
and a formidable party of puritans Started up in England. It is not, however, neceSTary to dwell on the Struggle that enfued. It was fo far conducted with Spirit by individual mem- bers of the Houfe of Commons, as to achieve Its iea(]ers feveral folid acceffions «to the privileges of that in Houfe houfe, and to leave on laiting record a valuable Com-
n • n i rr» r n ■ mons.
protelt againit the Tudor lyitem as one which centuries of Englifh liberty rejected and dis- claimed. Indeed, if Elizabeth had been lefs wife and prudent, if her perfonal expenditure had been waSteful or her exchequer ill fupplied, it might have gone hardly with her. In vain She Vain at- packed the houfe with placemen, and flooded the ^P^ to
1 * 1 i r r- lubdue
country party with upwards or hxty new mem- them. bers. Still the Stricklands and the Wentworths remained, and Still in every feSHon there was
88 Introductory EJfay.
at leaft placed on record the duty and right of parliament to inquire into every public matter and to remedy every proved abufe. The cry of Englifh liberty was never raifed more piercingly, though it remained for later days to fend back to it a louder and more terrible echo. Laftatt of Elizabeth herfelf, in the clofing years of her e^TucT" re*&n> mowed that ihe had not remained un- confcious or unmoved by the vehemence and fharpnefs of that cry. Greater!: of the Tudors as fhe unqueftionably was, it was when her authority might feem to have been moft weakened, that me bequeathed to the race which fucceeded hers, by her laft ac~t of fove- reignty, an example which might have faved them the throne, if they could have profited by it. Unhappily they could only imitate her in the qualities which provoked, and not in thofe which fubdued or turned afide, refiftance. Ehza- Jt js a finking fact in the career of this great
beth s "
ami- Queen, that me could put afide her hatred and
pathy to contempt even of Puritanifm itfelf, when fhe
n ans. £lw ^ j^ j-,ecc)rne f0 traasfufed with the defires
and wants of the people as to reprefent no
longer a religious difcontent alone. While
fhe believed it to be confined within that limit,
the prifon and the rack were the only replies
Puritan fhe made to it : becaufe fhe knew that from
fympathy an ferious attacks to maintain it, the caufe fhe
Eliza. championed then protected her moft effect-
beth. ually ; and that from the very dungeons into
which fhe might throw the Puritan leaders,
they would yet be ready to offer up, as they
did, their prayers for the fafety of herfelf and
§ ii. The Tudor s : Elizabeth. 89
the {lability of her government. For to all
the world it had become notorious, that the
deftinies and fate of the Reformation had
for the time fallen exclufively into her hands ;
and that not in England only did fhe animate Champion
every effort connected with the new faith, but qJ^3^
that, in her, centred not lefs the hopes of all Reforma-
who were carrying on the ftruggle, againft tlon-
overwhelming numbers, in other lands. Of
the movement, however, of which fhe was
thus the heroine, fhe unhappily never recog-
nifed the entire meaning and tendency ; and
inftead of difarming Puritanifm by conceffton,
fhe had ftrengthened and cherifhed it by
perfecution.
But, towards the clofe of her reign, when, Puritan-
after that fubduement of the Roman Catholic llm m a
. . 1 • 1 n 1 J new form :
power on the continent to which lhe had
devoted fo many glorious years, fhe found
leifure to investigate patiently the domeftic
concerns of her kingdom, the old Puritan
remonftrance prefented itfelf to her under a new
form, and in ominous conjunction with very
wide-fpread political difTatisfaction. Every- joined
where voices had become loud againft royal W1*h
r i- 3,i 1 political
patents or monopolies ; ana not only was her difcontent. firft minifter's coach mobbed in the ftreets when he went to open her parliament of 1601, but, when Mr. Serjeant Heyle rofe in that parlia- ment to exprefs his amazement that a fubfidy fhould be refufed to the Queen, feeing that fhe had no lefs a right to the lands and goods of the Subject than to any revenue of her A Queen's crown, the Houfe univerfally " hemmed and SelJeant
* coughed
"laughed and talked" down the learned down.
90 Introductory EJfay.
Serjeant. Nor was the afpect of affairs become
lefs grave or ftrange, when, a little later in that
Cecil's fame affembly, Cecil thought it right to warn
warning to ^ ]ower Houfe of dangers which had par- Commons. . £> i • ■ j ticularly declared themfelves to his ripe and
experienced judgment. cc I muft needs give
f< you this for a future caution, that whatfo-
" ever is fubject to public expectation cannot
ic be good, while the parliament matters are
iC ordinary talk in the ftreet. I have heard
cc myfelf, being in my coach, thefe words
u fpoken aloud : God prof per thofe that further
Eliza- "the overthrow of thefe monopolies!" It had not
beth's laft tjien feemecj poffible to the Secretary's experi-
appear- , ^ i r \r • i i • i •
ance in ence, that the Oueen herielr might think it Parlia- fafer (-0 attract this prayer to her own profperity than to let any one elfe reap the benefit of it ; but a very few days undeceived him. Eliza- beth in perfon went to the Houfe, withdrew all claim to the monopolies which had excited refiftance, redreffed other grievances complained of, and quitted Weftminfter amid the iliouts and prayers of the people that God might profper their Queen. Within two more years fhe died, bequeathing the Crown to her coufin of Scotland. James I. To this point, then, the Tudor fyftem had l6°3* been brought, when Scotland and England became united under one fovereignty, and the noble inheritance fell to a race, who, compre- hending not one of the conditions by which Two alone it was poffible to be retained, profligately kingdoms mifufed until they completely loft it. The deTthe"11" calamity was in no refpect forefeen by the Stuarts, ftatefman, Cecil, to whofe exertion it was mainly
§n. The Sudors : Elizabeth's Succejfor. 91
due that James was feated on the throne ; yet in regard to it he cannot be held blamelefs. Right he undoubtedly was, in fo far as the courfe he took fatisfied a national defire, and brought under one crown two kingdoms that Opportu- could not feparately exift with advantage to I"1^10 ^ either ; but it remains a reproach to his name that he let flip the occafion of obtaining for the people fome fettled guarantees which could not then have been refufed, and which might have faved half a century of bloodfhed. None No condi- fuch were propofed to tames. He was allowed tionsmade
f • • • T.t Accef-
to feize a prerogative, which for upwards of f10n> fifty years had been {trained to a higher pitch than at any previous period of the Englifh hiftory ; and his clumfy grafp clofed on it without a fign of remonftrance from the lead- ing ftatefmen of England. tc Do I mak the Cf judges ? Do I mak the bifhops ? " he exclaimed, as the powers of his new dominion dawned on his delighted fenfe : tc then, God's <c wauns ! I mak what likes me, law and gof- cc pel!" It was even fo. At a time when it was manifeft that the prerogative had outgrown n0 check even the power of the greatefl of the Tudors °n pver- to retain it, when the conflict long provoked p™ota_ was about to begin, when the balance of popu- tive. lar right had to be redrefTed or the old confti- tution to be utterly furrendered, this licenfe to make gofpel and law was given, with other far more queftionable powers, to a man whofe perfonal appearance and qualities were as fug- geftive of contempt, as his public acts were provocative of rebellion. It is neceflary to Provoc£-
jii 1 "■ r i r 1 ■ ,-. r • • tiontoRe-
dwell upon this part of the iubjecT: ; for it is bellion.
92 IntroduElory EJfay.
only juft to his lefs fortunate fon and fuccefTbr Penalties to fay, that in it lies the fource of not a little to be paid. for vvhich the penalty was paid by him. What is called the Great Rebellion can have no com- ment fo pregnant as that which is fuggefted by the character and previous career of the firft of the Stuart kings. Upon this, therefore, and upon the court with which he furrounded him- felf in England, though they do not othefwife fall ftrictly within my purpofe, I mall offer a few remarks before doling this Effay.
§. in. First Stuart King.
Charafter That James the Firft had a decidedly more
of James, than fair fhare of learning is not to be denied;
but it was of no ufe to anyone, and leaft of all
to himfelf. George Buchanan was reproached
for having made him a pedant, and replied that
it was the befthe could make of him. Learn-
His learn- ing the great teacher could communicate, but
ing* neither objects nor methods for its ufe, nor even
a knowledge of its value. Probably no fuch
foolifh man, in ways of fpeech and life, as James
the Firft, was ever in fairnefs entitled, before
or fi nee, to be called a really learned one. Never-
thelefs the greater marvel is, that not only,
being thus foolifh in language and conduct, was
he undoubtedly a fcholar, but that he had alfo
His cun- an amount of native Ihrewdnefs which fcholar-
ning and fl^jp nac| neither taught him, nor tamed in him.
fnrewd- T t rr rr i • • *i
nefs# He pollened, to a quite curious extent, a quick natural cunning, a native mother wit, and the art of circumventing an adverfary ; and it was to this Henri Quatre alluded when he called
§ in. Fir ft Stuart King. ^
him the wifeft fool in Chriftendom. That Wifeft what he had acquired ever helped him to a chriiten- ufeful thought, or a fuggeftion of practical dom. worth, it is impomble to difcover. Myftically to define the prerogative as a thing fet far above the law ; to exhibit king-craft as his own par- ticular gift, directly vouchsafed from heaven ; to denounce Prefbytery as the offfpring of the devil ; to blow with furious vehemence what he called counterblafts to tobacco ; to deal What he damnation to the unbelievers in witchcraft, fld ™lth and to pour out the wrath of the Apocalypie upon Popery ; were its hig*heft exploits. He had been bufy torturing and burning old women for the imaginary crime of witchcraft, while Elizabeth was preparing a fcaffold for his mother ; and it was to make the reft of the world as befotted with fuperftition as him- felf, that he wrote his Demonologie. Before he Ufesofhis was twenty, with an aftonifhing difplay ofk"ow_ erudite authorities, he had conclulively mown to ' St. Peter's defcendant to be Anti-Chrift ; but his real objection to the Pope was his holi- nefs's inconvenient rivalry to the royal fupre- macy, and James, who at other times feems to have contemplated even the fetting up of a Scotch Cardinal, was not more eager to fet fire to a witch than to burn feditious priefts who might prefume againft his own Anti-Chrift to rebel. To him it was, in all conditions, the climax of fin to refift any fettled authority. He would have been right if fettled authority had found in himfelf, as he appears to have Too con- verily believed it had, its higheft exponent and fijlent an nobleft reprefentative that the earth could ti0„.
94 Introductory EJJay.
afford. But it was far from being fo ; and
his conduct, with all its grofs inconfiftencies,
Early finks to the mere felfifh level. To feditious
Sare(jr 'h Pr^e^s ne owed his Scotch throne, there could
be no doubt ; but as little had he the courage
to take open part againft them, as the honefty
to refrain from intrigues with his mother's
turbulent faction. The only allegiance he was
always true to, was that which he gloried in
avowing he implicitly owed to himfelf.
His ex- It may neverthelefs not be denied that, at
cufes. jeafj. -m t|lat; outfet 0f his Ufea ne had fome
excufe for fuch felf-faving inftincts, in the ftraits through which he then paffed. Alter- nately fwayed between the two contending forces; his perfon now feized by the Nobles, and the Prefbytery now governing by his name ; he fell into the habit of making unfcrupulous ufe of either, as occafion happened to ferve. A fchool And hence the fkill in outwitting people, for king- tne fly Ways of temporifing, the ftudied deceit and cunning, which he formed gradually into a fyftem under the mifufed name of kingcraft, and in which his whole idea of government con- fided. Of courfe neither party could truft His pofi- him. The condition of king de faElo he owed to the prefbyterians who placed him on the
tvveen
Puritan throne, but it was only from the papifts he an Papift. CQU\^ obtain concefTion of the title of king de jure which he coveted hardly lefs ; and if he detefted anything more than the Jefuit who preached the pope's right to releafe fubjects from their allegiance, it was the Prefbyter who claimed a power to control the actions of his prince. And fo his character was formed :
§ in. Fir ft Stuart King. 95
without an opinion to reft upon, or a principle Forma- to guide it ; devoid utterly of ftraightforward- tl]°noihl'5 nefs or felf- reliance ; incapable, in any manly fenfe, of either friendfhip or enmity ; and, above and in fpite of all, with a fort of intel- lectual a&ivity, real in itfelf and often of a confummate mrewdnefs, which threw only into greater relief and more mifchievous prominence thofe grave defects of character. He never Hisattach- formed an attachment which was perfedtly ments- creditable to him, or provoked a conteft from which he did not run away. In this refpect he was always the fame, and the early Scotch days of Arran but prefigured the later Englifh ones of Somerfet and Buckingham.
Before he inherited the Englifh throne, Family of James had three fons and two daughters born James- to him. Of thefe, two fons and a daughter died before they reached maturity ; but to the furviving daughter and fon, a memorable part in Englifh hiftory was afligned. At Falkland, eJJ"0,^, in the autumn of 1596, was born Elizabeth, born,' afterwards Queen of Bohemia: whofe name J596- became identified on the continent with the Proteftant caufe, and through the youngeft of whofe ten children, the Ele&refs Sophia of Hanover, the Houfe of Brunfwick finally dis- placed the Houfe of Stuart. At Dumferline, in November 1600, was born Charles, his Prince fecond fon, who fucceeded him as Charles the bom" Firft : and fhortly before whofe birth, Sir Henry 1600. Neville had written to Sir Ralph Winwood that out of Scotland rumours were abounding of no good agreement between the King of Scots and his wife; and that "the difcovery
96
Introductory EJfay.
The Gow lie con- fpiiacy.
Prince
Charles's boyhood.
Phyfical defecls.
<c of fome affection between her and the Earl IC of Gowrie's brother, who was killed with cc him, was believed to be the trueft caufe and fc motive of all that tragedy." The tragedy referred to was the murder, in their own cattle, of the grandfon of the Ruthven who firft ftruck at David Rizzio ; and the condition of James's mother, when fhe witnelTed the afTaffination of her favourite, was the fame as that of his wife, when fhe heard the fate of Alexander Gowrie. Not even in the blood- ftained Scottifh annals is an incident to be found more dark or myflerious than this ; and, on the day when the bodies of the two brothers were fentenced to ignominious expofure, the fecond fon of James and Anne was born. His baptifm was fudden, for he was hardly expected to outlive the day ; and it was through an infancy and boyhood of almoft hopelefs feeblenefs, he ftruggled on to his ill-fated manhood. There is a complexional 'weaknefs imparted at birth, which nothing afterwards will cure ; and this, difqualifying alike for refolved refinance or for manly fubmiffion, was unhappily a part of Charles the Firft's moft fad inheritance. He was nearly fix years old before he could ftand or fpeak, his limbs being weak and diftorted, and his mouth mal-formed ; nor did he ever walk quite without difficulty, or fpeak without a ftammer. Who ihall fay how far thefe phyfical defects carried alfo with them the moral weak- nefTes, the vacillation of purpofe and obftinacy of irrefolution, the infincerity and bad faith, which fo largely helped to bring him to the fcaffold ?
§ in. Fir ft Stuart King. 97
James's laft year as the King of Scots was Profpea probably the quieted he had pafled in that °f Enslifil
x j i> -i throne
troubled fovereignty. As his fucceffion to the Englifh throne drew nearer, his authority in his hereditary kingdom grew more ftrong. Many of his enemies had periihed, others had Joy of become impoverished ; and all began to think s^dtiand it more profitable game to join their king in a foray on the incalculable wealth of England, than to continue a ftruggle with him for the doubtful prizes of his barren and intractable Scotland. But his difputes with his fubjects furvived his dangers from them. What Indigna- tamed the laity, had made more furious thetl1onot clergy ; who already, in no diftant virion, faw their fovereign feated on the Englifh throne furrounded by the pomps of prelacy, and armed newly with engines of oppreffion againft themfelves. Never was Kirk fo re- bellious, in flaming up, fynod after fynod, againft the fovereign's unprincelinefs and un- godlinefs ; and never was King fo abufive, in protefting before the great God that highland caterans and border thieves were not fuch liars and perjurers as thefe "puritan pefts in " the church." He was in the thickeft fury Eliza- of the contention, when the fycophants who ^eth's had bribed Elizabeth's waiting-woman for nounced. earlieft tidings of her laft breath, hurried head- long into Scotland to falute him as Englifh King. Quieting, then, fome ill-temper of his wife's by fhrewdly bidding her think of nothing but thanking God for the peaceable pofTeflion they had got, James fet out upon his journey Journey fouthward on the 5th of April, 1603. fouthward
98
Introductory EJfay.
begun :
April,
1603.
Novelty of a King after half a century of a Queen.
Perfonal charafter- iftics of the new monarch.
Face and figure.
Slobber- ing fpeech.
It was indeed fomething to be thankful for, that peaceable poiTeffion of the land to which his very progrefs was a fort of popular triumph. Doubly wonderful had Kings grown to us, fays old Stowe, fo long had we, fifty years or more, been under Queens. Racing againft each other as for life or death, ruined flatefmen and courtiers, lawyers, doctors, and clergy, civic corporations, mayoralties, officialities of every defcription and kind, all claries and conditions of public men, — eager to be fhone upon by the new-rifen fun. And furely never from ftranger luminary darted beams of hope or promife upon expectant courtiers.
The fon of a moil: unhappy mother, by a miferable marriage, and even before birth ftruck by the terror of the murder of Rizzio, James was born a coward, and through life could never bear even the fight of a drawn fword. He was of middle ftature, and had a tendency to corpulence, which the faihion of his drefs greatly exaggerated. He had a red complexion and fandy hair, and a fkin fofter, it was faid, than taffeta farfenet, becaufe he never tho- roughly wafhed himfelf, but was always rubbed flightly with the wet end of a napkin. His fanguine face had only the fcantieft growth of beard ; and his large eye rolled about unceaf- ingly with fuch fufpicious vigilance, that it put fairly out of countenance all but the moil experienced courtiers. He had a big head, but a mouth too fmall for his tongue, fo that he not only ilobbered his words when he talked, but drank as if he were eating his drink, which leaked out on either fide again
§ in. Fir ft Stuart King. 99
into the cup. His clothes formed a woollen rampart around him, his breeches being in large plaits and full fluffed, and his doublets quilted for fliletto proof; and fo weak and Shuffling ricketty were his legs that his fteps became §ait- circles, and he was well-nigh helplefs when he would walk alone. cc He likes," fays the aftonifhed chaplain of the Venetian embaffy, cc in walking, to be fupported under the arms Abfence " by his chief favourites." It was in truth a of felf- neceffity, as the favourites were. His body had upp01 as little in itfelf to fuftain it, as his mind. Both muffled on by circular movements, and both had need of fupports from without.
But, if the time has now come in England A fence to for any ferious conflict between the Subject monarchy
j j thrown
and the Crown, where any longer is that fence down. or barrier to the monarchy which the perfonal qualities and bearing of Englim fovereigns have heretofore thrown up ; and which in part years, even when its privileges were mofr. onerous, has been no inconfiderable protection to it ? This clumfy, uncouth, fhambling Courtiers figure, with its goggle eyes, muffling legs, and coniound- flobbering tongue, confounded even an eager congregation of courtiers ; and by the time it reached London, a witnefs not prejudiced takes upon himfelf to avouch, cc the admiration of (c the intelligent world was turned into con- " tempt."
Up to the clofe of the journey, neverthelefs, Royal the contempt had been decently difguifed. At {JJ°£jj|! Newcaftle and York, magnificent civic enter- don. tainments awaited his Majefty. With fplen- dour not lefs profufe, Sir Robert Cary received
ioo Introdufiory EJJay.
Entertain- him at Widdrington, the Bifhop of Durham at Durham, Sir Edward Stanhope at Grimflon, Lord Shrewfbury at Workfop, Lord Cumber- land at Belvoir Cattle, Sir John Harrington at Exton, the Lord Burghley at Burghley, and Sir Thomas Sadler at Standen. With princely AtHinch. hofpitality, Sir Oliver Cromwell regaled him mbrook : at Hinchinbrook ; and, there, the fturdy little nephew and namefake of Sir Oliver received Oliver probably his firft imprefTion of a king, and of (Jt?A)Ve t'ie Something lefs than divinity that hedged firft lees a him round. At Broxbourne, too, where Sir King. Henry Cox had provided noble entertainment, greeting as memorable was in ftore for him ; for here the greateft man then living in this univerfe, fave only one, waited to offer him interview homage. <c Methinks," faid Francis Bacon Francis a^ter the interview, cc his Majefty rather aiks Bacon. <c counfel of the time paft than of the time iC to come ; " and, clofing up againll; the time to come his own prophetic virion, that wonder- ful genius took his employment in the fervice of the time pail. Nearer and nearer London, meanwhile, the throng fwelled more and more ; and on came the King, hunting daily as he came,incelTantly feafting and drinking, creating knights by the fcore, and everywhere receiving Arrival in worfhip as the fountain of honour. Vifions land of 0f levelling clergy and factious nobles, which had haunted him his whole life long, now pafTed for ever from him. He turned to his Scotch followers, and told them they had at laft arrived in the land of promife. interview But he had yet to fee the moft important man in this promifed land. He was waiting
withCecil:
§ in. Firji Stuart King. 101
the royal advent at his feat of Theobalds, At The°- within a few miles of London, on the 3rd of „*a May. May : and ftrange muft have been the firft meeting, at the gate of that fplendid manfion, between the broad, fhambling, muffling, gro- tefque monarch, and the fmall, keen, crook- backed, capable minifter ; between the fon of Mary Queen of Scots, and the fon of her chief executioner. We are not left to doubt the Unfayour- nature of the impreflion made upon Cecil. preflion During the years he afterwards pafTed in on the James's fervice, he withdrew as far as pofTible raim er" from the control he might have claimed to exercife, and the refponfibility he muft have arTumed, over the home adminiftration ; and did his beft, to the extent of his means, by a fagacious policy abroad, to keep England ftill Foreign refpecled and feared in her place amid foreign p°licy- nations. No one ferved the King fo ably, or, there is reafon to believe, defpifed him fo much. In her latter years, Elizabeth had exacted of her minifters that they mould addrefs her kneeling, and fome one congratu- lated Cecil that thofe degrading conditions were pafTed away. "Would to God," he replied, £c I yet fpake upon my knees ! "
On the death of Cecil, in the tenth year of Death of the reign, James found himfelf firft free to ^^ indulge, unchecked, his lufts of favouritifm. Though already the Ramfays, Humes, and Marrs, had contrived to fatten themfelves upon him, it is not until Cecil has parTed away that we get full right of the Somerfets and Buckinghams. Robert Car was a poor but Rife of handfome young Scot, younger fon of one of Somerfet.
102 IntroduElory EJJay.
the fmall lairds of Teviotdale, ftraight-limbed, well-favoured, ftrong-ihouldered, and fmooth- faced, when the King's eye fell upon him. Within a few weeks he was created Knight, Lord-treafurer, Vifcount, Knight of the Gar- King's ter, and Earl ; and everywhere about the Sprites" Court> acc°rding to Lord Thomas Howard, the King was to be feen leaning upon him, pinching his cheek, fmoothing his ruffled gar- ment, and, while directing his difcourfe to others, looking ftill at him. He attended him at his rooms in illnefs, taught him Latin, beg- gared the beft to enrich him ; and, when the wife of Raleigh knelt at his feet to implore him not to make deftitute the hero he had imprifoned, fpurned her from him with the words, cc I mun ha' the land ! I mun ha' it for Somerfet's <c Car." On the eve of Car's arraignment as fal1- a murderer, the king is defcribed, by one
who was prefent at their parting interview, to have hung lolling about his neck, flobbering his cheeks with kifTes ; and their Arrange connection was not even unloofed by Car's conviction of the crime. The life of Over- bury's murderer was fpared ; he had fub- fequent glimpfes of favour; and he received no lefs a penfion than 4000/. a year when his offices were transferred to a fuccefibr certainly better entitled to favour than himfelf, and a man of greater ability, but whofe rife had been hardly more honourable. Never any Rife of man, exclaims Clarendon of George Villiers, in any age, or in any country or nation, rofe in fo fhort a time to fo much greatnefs of honour, fame, or fortune, upon no other ad-
Villiers.
§m. Fir ft Stuart King, 103
vantage or recommendation than of the beauty and gracefulnefs of his perfon. Nor was it in a J^iSTat lefs degree the amazement of the grave fignors a mafque. and ambafTadors of Venice, when received at a court mafque, to fee the prime minifter Buck- ingham, for the delectation of the King, cut a fcore of lofty and very minute capers, and the King, for the reward of his prime minifter, pat him on both cheeks with an extraordinary affection.
Such entertainment had of courfe little to recommend it to Italian vifitors, who feem rightly to have judged, of all the ordinary actors in it, that not only were they odious Scenesand and profligate, but in fome {qr(q or other ^J^ defpicable. The likings of James's court were indeed thofe of Comus and his crew ; and even the genius it engaged in its fervice, it degraded to that level. Nakedly to indulge every grofs propenfity, became the daily pur- fuit and higheft qualification of all admitted to its precincts. The circle that furrounded Elizabeth had been no very exact model of decency ; but there was ftrength of under- Unre- ftandins: in the Queen, and it conftrained the ^ned
° e*s * w inaul-
vices of thofe around her, as it veiled her gences. own. When James became chief of the revels, this check paffed wholly away. Everything was in wafteful excefs ; and in the foul corruption which alone could fatisfy it, the men were not more eagerly engaged than the women, who drank alfo freely as they, and played as deep. Lady Glenham took a bribe of a hundred Bribes pounds for fome diihonourable work to be vvomen ^ done by her father ; and even the King's
104 Introductory Ejfay.
coufin, poor Arabella Stuart, intrigued to get one of her uncles a peerage, for a certain fum to be paid to herfelf. The dead Queen had gradually difufed, and at laft ftrictly prohibited. Sports of the brutal fports of the cockpit ; but her fuc- jt# cefTor revived, and at leaft twice every week
took part in them. Daily, from morning until evening in the chafe, the bear-garden, or the cockpit, and from evening until night in grofs fenfual pleafures, the Court paffed its life ; and to what extent fuch life took pre- cedence of every other, may be partly meafured Profligate by the fad that the fee of the Matter of the expendi- Cocks exceeded the united falaries of two Secretaries of State. The fecond year of the reign had not paffed, when Cecil had to write to Lord Shrewfbury that the expenfe of the royal houfehold, which till then had not ex- ceeded thirty -thoufand a year, had rifen to a hundred thoufand ; cc and now think," added the minifter of Elizabeth, "what the Country cc feels ; and fo much for that." In the feventh year of the reign, the furplus of outlay above revenue continued, and, according to Debts of tne then value of money, James's debts were the King, half a million ; or at our prefent value, fome- thing more than a million and a half. The mame of his neceffities became flagrant. His treafurer, Buckhurft, was feized in the ftreet for wages due to his fervants ; the very pur- veyors flopped the fupply to his table ; and Shameful fome years afterwards, when the embafly from neceflities. yenjce came to London, fuch wants of the royal houfehold were flill common talk. They went on increafing further. The hungry and
§iii. Firji Stuart King. 105
numerous family of the favourite had to be provided for as well as himfelf, and of all the Bucking- favourites none had been fo profufe as Buck- liam's
, . 1 • 1 extrava-
lngham. As yet among rare luxuries was the CTance. coach, unheard of till the preceding reign, and then with two horfes only ; but James's prime minilter, to the general amazement of men, drove fix, and even eight horfes. Hard Expedi- would it be to fay which was moll degrading, ents tor
1 • r 1 n 1 1 r • money.
the extremity or the waite, or the deiperation of the means of meeting it. Benevolences were tried, and exorbitant fines were impofed by the Star Chamber on thofe who refitted them or who counfelled refiftance. Impo- Benevo- fitions by prerogative were laid in every form, fie"cses and were backed by fuborned and fcandalous decifions in the courts. Patents were granted Patents on all fides to greedy projectors, creating mo- and n!°"
o j r j } o nopolies.
nopolies the moft intolerable, and eating the life out of trade. Fees had been got from knighthood, until nobody more would incur the coil ; men of gentle birth had been ex- hausted, till, as the faying went, not an untitled Knight- Yorkfhire fquire was left to uphold the race ; hood ex- and Lord Bacon, at even his wits' end after Lord Montgomery's barber and the hufband of the Queen's laundrefs had been knighted, fug- gefled knighthood with fome new difference and precedence. Hereupon baronetcies were Baronet- thought of ; and, being offered for a thoufand cies in- pounds each to any who confented to be pur- ventec • chafers, for a time they made the King richer by fome hundred thoufand pounds. This new peerases branch of induftry turning out fo well, the put up to peerage had been next put up to fale, and not e#
io6
Introductory EJfay.
Tariff of titles.
James's theolo- gical dis- plays.
Hampton Court Con ference.
King's conduct to Puritans.
lefs openly. For fix thoufand pounds a man became a baron ; for twenty thoufand an earl ; and, if Mr. John Hampden, of Great Hampden in Bucks, had not preferred a lefs perifhable title, his mother would have given ten thoufand pounds to make a vifcount of him.
Yet the fcenes of extravagance and riot which fo marked the Court of the firfr. of our Stuart kings, may be characterized as even decent and refpectable, by the fide of thofe more detectable exhibitions in which its chief actor claimed to be regarded as furnifhed forth with fparkles of divinity, and the lieutenant and vicegerent of God. James had written a treatife to prove that inafmuch as Monarchy was the true pattern of the Godhead, it could in no refpect be bound to the law ; for as it was atheifm and blafphemy to difpute what God could do, fo it was prefumption and high contempt to difpute what a King could do, or fay that a King could not do this or that: and an unimpeachable witnefs, who was prefent at the Hampton Court Conference, has fhown with what peculiar emphafis, upon occafion, he could recommend thefe principles by his graces of fpeech. At that Conference (a memorable one, for in it the thing called Englifh Puritan- ifm firft openly made good its claims to obtain a hearing from majefty itfelf) he affected to fit in judgment as moderator between the High Church Party and the Puritans ; and it was after having heard the high churchmen at great length, and with much gracioufnefs, that he interpofed with fcurrilous abufe as foon as the
§iii. Fir ft Stuart King. 107
Puritans began to fpeak. He fC bid them
<c awaie with their fnivellinge ; moreover, he
<f wifhed thofe who would take away the fur-
cc plice might want linen for their own breech.
cc The bifhops," it is added naively, " feemed Delight
<f much pleafed, and faid his maieftie fpake by °f. *he
... r ~ . - . . „ J „ r - ,J Bifhops.
cc the power or lnlpiration. One or the bifhops prefent, indeed, Bancroft of London, flung himfelf on his knees, and protefted his heart melted for joy cc that Almighty God had, <c in his flngular mercy, given them fuch a <c King as had not been {e.tn fince Chrift's cc time." Chancellor Ellefmere cried out that Chan- for his part he had now feen what he had never ^^ hoped to fee, King and Prieft united fully in mere's one perfon ; and Archbifhop Whitgift affeve- ldeal- rated that his Majefty fpoke by the Spirit of God. cc I wift not what they mean," adds the reporter of the Conference, fCbut the fpirit cc was rather foul-mouthed." It was cruel alfo ; for the character in which this deified Scotch pedant next prefented himfelf was one that might well have been fuggefted and justified by fuch obfequious blafphemy. He James's fent two Unitarian ministers, Bartholomew religious Legat and Edward Wrightman, to periih by [ions# the ftake at SmitMeld ; he fent to the fcaf- fold, after torturing, the white-haired old puritan Peachem ; and he perfecuted to the death the Dutch reformer Vorftius, againft whofe tolerant and pious teaching he had penned the memorable declaration which was infcribed to "our Lord and Saviour Jefus fC Chrift by his moil humble and moft obliged cc fervant James." In the prefence of fuch
io8
Introductory EJfay.
Retribu- tion in (tore.
A parallel to James's creed.
Alleged darker traits :
Not eita- bliflied.
Lambeth
MSS.930,
f.91.
acts and utterances, and of the utter impoffi- bility of difcovering for them any reafonable mitigation or excufe, it is not harm to James's memory to fay that the blood of his unhappy fon only half expiated thefe and fimilar fins. The records of civilifed life, and of rational men, offer no other inftance of fuch pretentions. We have to turn for a parallel to the peflilen- tial fwamps of Africa, where one of thofe pro- digious princes whom we bribe with rum to affift us in fuppreffmg the flave-trade, announced lately to an Englifh officer, " God made me cc after His image: I am all the fame as God: <c and He appointed me a King." This was James's creed precifely; and after delivering it to his fubjects in words exactly fimilar, he might be publicly feen of them, as Harrington defcribes him at a mafque given by Cecil, fC wallowing in beaftly delights."
It will neverthelefs be barely juft to add, even of this revolting picture, that it has been darkened by touches of a more infamous com- plexion of which there is no proof. In the Overbury proceedings much muft ever remain inexplicable ; but agitation under threat of an accufation unnamed, confifts unfortunately with innocence quite as much as with guilt. A weak man is even likelier than a guilty one to be difturbed as James was, when Somerfet's dark threats were brought to him by the Lieutenant of the Tower ; and there exifts a letter of his at Lambeth, replying to the Earl's remonftrance againft inquiry into the murder, which, though earlier than the dif- clofures of the Lieutenant, renders incredible
§ in. Firfl Stuart King. 109
the inference they might elfe have led to. In plain words I believe James to have had as little to do with Overbury's death as with Prince Henry's, and that fufpicions even more innocent deteftable reft upon no fair evidence. Enough ^t0°vt^~ otherwife has here been faid to explain the Prince contempt and diflike, which, feveral years be- Henr>- fore his death, had fattened upon his name, and were the inheritance of his race.
Let an intelligent foreigner defcribe for opinion;-. us the opinion of their ruler, which had be-°fthe come generally prevalent among the Englifh peop e people. fC Confider for pity's fake," fays M. de Beaumont, in one of his defpatches, <c what muft be the ftate and condition of a ci prince, whom the preachers publicly from " the pulpit aflail ; whom the comedians ofContempt cc the metropolis covertly bring upon the ftage; of the cc whofe wife attends thofe reprefentations in ^ ^_° <c order to enjoy the laugh againft herhufband; vereign. <c whom the Parliament braves and defpifes; <f and who is univerfally hated by the whole <f people." The Frenchman's great mafter, Henri Ouatre, fhortly before he fell by the hand of an affaffin, had fpoken of the effects of fuch contempt when directed againft the perfon of a Sovereign, as marvellous and horrible: and in this cafe alfo they were £e„acy to deftined to prove marvellous and horrible, in Charles I. thefecond generation.
THE DEBATES ON THE GRAND REMONSTRANCE.
November and December, 1641.
§ 1. Prefatory.
Moft ex- If the queftion were put to any thoroughly citing informed ftudent of our Great Civil War, before" the mto wnat fingle incident of the period before war. the actual outbreak would appear to have been
concentrated the larger! amount of party paf- fion, he could hardly fail at once to fingle out the Grand Remonftrance. And if he were then afked to name, out of all the party en- counters of the time, that of which the fubjecl: matter and antecedents have been moil unac- countably flurred over by hiftorians, he muft M ft perforce give the fame anfwer. It follows gle&ed by that the writers of hiftory have in this cafe hiftorians. thought of fmall importance what the men whofe deeds they record accounted to be of the greateft, and it will be worth inquiring how far the later verdict is juft.
Happily, the means exift of forming a judgment as to the particular fubjecl:, on grounds not altogether uncertain or unfafe. The Grand Remonftrance itfelf remains.
§ I. Prefatory. 1 1 1
Under mafTes of dull and lifelefs matter heaped Remon- up in Rufhworth's ponderous folios, it has A™™eed -m lain undifturbed for more than two centuries ; RujJi- but it lives ftill, even there, for thofe who care w»**. to ftudy its contents, and they who fo long have turned away from it unftudied, may at leaft plead the excufe of the dreary and deter- ring companionfhip around it. The truth, however, is, that to the art and difingenuouf- nefs of Clarendon it is really due, in this inftance as in fo many others, that thofe who Miflead- have written on the conflict of parties before '"S of the civil war broke out, have been led off to don. a falfe ifTue. He was too near the time of the Remonftrance when he wrote, and he had played too eager a part in the attempt to obftruct and prevent its publication to the people, not to give it prominence in his Hif- tory ; but he found it eafier to falfify and FaJfifica- mifreprefent the debates concerning it, of which Debates. there was no publi fried record, than to pafs altogether in filence the ftatements made in it, diffufed as they had been, fome fcore of years earlier, over the length and breadth of the land. Indeed it alfo better ferved the purpofe he had, fo to garble and mifquote thefe ; and Mifftate- from the fragment of a fummary he gave, fill- j^^ b° ~ ing fome fix pages of the octavo edition of his all. book, Hume and the hiftorians of the laft century derived manifeflly the whole of what they knew of the Grand Remonftrance. But even the more careful and lefs prejudiced hif- torians of our own century have not fhown that they knew much more.
Upon the debate in the Houfe before it was
I 12
The Grand Remonfi ranee.
put to the vote, as referred to by Hyde, all writers have dwelt ; and of courfe every one has copied and reproduced thofe graphic Sir Philip touches of Philip Warwick, the young courtier wick's anc^ follower of Hyde, afterwards the faithful account, fervant of the King, in which he gives his verfion of what the Remonftrance was, how it originated, and what an exciting debate it led to. How fome leading men in the Houfe, as he fays, jealous of the propofed entertainment to be given by the City to the King on his return from Scotland, had got up an entertainment of their own in the fhape of a libel (the Remon- ftrance, that is), than which fouler or blacker could not be imagined, againft his perfon and government; and how it parTed fo tumultu- oufly, two or three nights before the king came to town, that at three o'clock in that Novem- ber morning when they voted it, he thought they would all have fat in the Valley of the Shadow of Death : for they would, like Joab's and Abner's young men, all have catched at each other's locks, and fheathed their fwords in each other's bowels, had not the fagacity and great calmnefs of Mr. Hampden, by a fhort fpeech, prevented it, and led them to defer their angry debate until the next morn- ing.* Doubtlefs a fcene to be remembered, and which naturally has attracted all attentions fince ; but that out of the many who have fo adopted it, and, from the mere reading it, felt fome fhare in the excitement it pourtrays, not one mould have been moved to make clofer
Extraoi
dinary fcene.
Hamp- den's in fluence.
* Memoir es of the Reign of King Charles the Firft, by Sir Philip Warwick, Knight, (Ed. 1702) 201-a.
§ I. Prefatory. 1 13
inquiry into what the fo-called "libel" really Various was that fo had roufed and maddened the par- ref^ences tifans of the King, may fairly be matter of Remon- furprife. Hallam is content to give fome ftfance. eight or nine lines to it, in which its contents are not fairly reprefented. Lingard difpofes of it in fomething lefs than a dozen lines. Macaulay has only occafion incidentally to introduce it, and a fimple mention of it is all that falls within the plan of Carlyle. Godwin pafTes over it in filence ; and fuch few lines as Difraeli (in his Commentaries) vouchfafes to it, are an entire mif-ftatement of its circum- ftances and falsification of its contents. It is Clarendon not necelTary to advert fpecifically to other hif- f^l^eJ tories and writings connected with the period ; but the affertion may be confidently made, that in all the number there is not one, what- ever its indications of refearch and originality in other directions may be, which prefents reafonable evidence of any better or more inti- mate knowledge of the Grand Remonftrance than was derivable from the garbled page of Clarendon. The purpofe of this work is toPurpofeof remove that reproach from the ftudy of this ^he Pre", period of hiftory ; not merely by endeavouring to prefent in fome detail, and with explanatory illustration from manufcript and contemporary papers, an abftract of the contents of the Remonftrance, but by reproducing, from records as yet untouched, fuch accurate and detailed descriptions of the debates that at- tended its paffage through the Houfe, as may Written perhaps alfo reproduce, and reanimate with from MS. their old truth and vividnefs, the actual circum- recor s'
1 14 The Grand Remonfirance.
stances of the time. Only fo may the eagernefs and passion difplayed on both fides become again intelligible to the modern reader.
§11. What the Grand Remonstrance Was.
Cafe of This moft memorable State Paper, com-
the Parlia- monly fo garbled and almoft invariably fo mifre-
againftthe prefented as I have had occafion to remark,
King. remains neverthelefs a fact living and accessible
to us; a folid piece of actual history, retaining the
form which its authors gave to it, and breathing
ftill fome part of the life which animated them.
It embodies the cafe of the Parliament againft
the Ministers of the King. It is the moft
authentic ftatement ever put forth of the
Moft com- wrongs endured by all clafTes of the Englifh
P1^ j^ftl^ people, during the firft fifteen years of the
Great reign of Charles the Firft ; and, for that reafon,
Rebellion, the moft complete justification upon record of
the Great Rebellion. It posTesTes, for the
ftudent of that event, the fpecial intereft which
arifes from the fact, that it demonstrates more
clearly than any other paper of the time, by its
Religion clofe and powerful reafoning, how infeparable
Religion and Politics had become, and how
each was to be stabbed only through the fide
of the other. If we would fatisfy ourfelves
that wherever any writer fuch as Hume has
fought to put a distinction between the modes
of regarding thefe fubjects purfued by the
ftatefmen of this Parliament, and that where
Hume's he has contrasted their profound capacity,
f^-dlf". undaunted courage, and largeness of view in
Civil Affairs, with their fuppofed narrownefs
and Poli tics in
of its con- tents.
§ ii. What the Grand Remonfirance Was. 1 1 5
and bigotry in Religion, he has fimply fhown refuted how imperfect and narrow had been his own *?y the ftudy and preparation for the talk of doing ftrance# juftice to fuch men, we have but to turn to the Grand Remonftrance. For the prefent I can only dwell upon it briefly.
It defcribes, then, the condition of the three kingdoms at the time when the Long Parlia- ment met, and the meafures taken thereon to redrefs ftill remediable wrongs, and deal out juftice on their authors. Enumerating the Charafter ftatutes pafTed at the fame time for the good of the fubject, and his fafety in future years, it points out what yet waited to be done to com- plete that necefTary work, and the grave obftruc- tions that had arifen, in each of the three kingdoms, to intercept its completion. It warns the people of dangerous and defperate intrigues to recover afcendancy for the court faction ; hints not obfcurely at ferious defec- Warnings tions in progrefs, even from the popular agamft phalanx ; accufes the bifhops of a defign to Romanize the Englifh Church ; denounces the effects of ill counfels in Scotland and Ire- land ; and calls upon the King to difmifs evil counfellors. It is, in brief, an appeal to the country ; confirming, on the one hand, of a dignified afTertion of the power of the Houfe of Commons in re-eftablifhing the public liber- ties, and, on the other, of an urgent reprefen- tation of its powerlefThefs either to protect the future or fave the paft, without immediate Appeal prefent fupport againft papifts and their to the favourers in the Houfe of Lords, and their cc unfcrupulous partizans near the throne. There
1 2
n6
The Grand Remonftrance.
States what the war put in iffue,
No dii- is in it, neverthelefs, not a word of difrefpect refpeft to to the perfon or the juft privileges of royalty ; Church. a°d nothing that the fair fupporters of a found Church Eftablifhment might not frankly have approved and accepted. Of all the State . Papers of the period, it is in thefe points much the moft remarkable ; nor, without very care- fully reading it, is it eafy to underftand rightly, or with any exactnefs, either the iflue challenged by the King when he unfurled his ftandard, or the objects and defires of the men who led the Houfe of Commons up to the actual breaking out of the war.
EfTential as the ftudy of it is, however, to any true comprehenfion of this eventful time, the difficulty of reproducing it in modern hif- tory muff, doubtlefs be admitted. It is not merely that it occupies fifteen of Rufhworth's clofely printed folio pages, but that, in fpecial portions of its argument, it paffes with warmth and rapidity through an extraordinary variety of fubjects, of which the connection has ceafed to be always immediately apparent. Matters are touched too lightly for eafy comprehenfion now, which but to name, then, was to ftrike a Difficulty chord that every breaft refponded to. Some duciXTt mDje&s a^° nave a large place, to which only a near acquaintance with party names and themes can affign their juft importance, either as affecting each other, or making ftronger the ultimate and wider appeal which by their means was defigned. The very heat and urgency of tone, the quick impatience of allufion, the minute fubdivifion of details, the pafiionate iteration of topics, everything that made its
Occupies 15 folio pages in Rufh- worth.
§ in. Sir Simonds D'Ewes and his MS. Journal, 1 1 7
narrative fo intenfe and powerful once, and Its varI- gives to it in a certain knfe its vividnefs and minute reality ftill, conftitutes at the fame time the detail, difficulty of prefenting it in fuch an abftrad, careful and connected, not without detail and yet comprefled, as would admit of reproduc- tion here. It will be well worth while, never- thelefs, to make the trial ; which, however fhort it may fall of fuccefs in the particular matter, may have fome historical value inde- pendently. For, by the ufe of thoie manu- Purpofed fcript records to which I have referred, as yet L"^" °n unemployed by any writer or hiftorian, it will records. at leaft be poffible to illuftrate the abftracl to be given by an account of the Debates refpeft- ing it in the Houfe of Commons, and thefe with relation as well to itfelf as to its antece- dents and confequences, far more interesting, becaufe more minute and faithful, than any heretofore given to the world. And in this will be the undoubted additional advantage, that thereby will be fupplied a not inefficient teft for Clarendon's accuracy and honefty of Teft for ftatement in the mod critical part of his nar- Claren- rative of thefe affairs. honefty.
§ in. Sir Simonds D'Ewes and his Manuscript Journal of the Long Parliament.
One preliminary to the talk I have under- Authority taken feems to be required of me. To eftab- f^"6;^ liih for myfelf the claim to authenticity of this work, ftatement which it is propofed to difpute in others, it will be neceffary to defcribe the
1 1 8 The Grand Remonftrance.
authority from which the moft part of the facts given in this paper are derived, and now firft contributed to hiftory. They are the refult of much tedious and painful refearch into the blotted manufcripts of Sir Simonds D'Ewes, preferved in five bound volumes in journal by the Britifh Mufeum,* and entitled, cc A Journal p Ewes cc 0f trie Parliament begun November 3d, leianMSS. <f Tuefday, Anno Domini 1640." To the exiftence of fuch a journal attention has been lately drawn more than once by allufions in Mr. Carlyle's writings in connection with Cromwell ;f and from a manufcript abftract made for him when he contemplated writing a Hiftory of the Puritans (a project which it is a matter of great regret that he aban- doned), a very interefting notice of D'Ewes, Writers with fome account of his Journal, was pub- acquaint- ]jfhed feveral years ago in the Edinburgh ' Review.^ Mr. Carlyle kindly placed this
* Harleian MSS. Nos. 162, 163, 164, 165, 166.
-f- " We call thefe Notes the moft interefting of all manu-
" fcripts. To an Englifh foul who would underftand what
'* was really memorable and godlike in the Hiftory of his
" country, diftinguifhing the fame from what was at bottom
Notes by " «»-memorable and devil-like : who would bear in everlafting
D'Ewes " remembrance the doings of our noble heroic men, and fink
character- " into everlafting oblivion the doings of our low ignoble
ifed. " quacks and fham-heroes, — what other record can be fo
" precious ?" — Carlyle's Mifcellanies, iv. 338-9.
X For July, 1846. I do not betray any confidence in
ftating that this paper was by that very learned and agreeable
writer, Mr. John Bruce, whofe defcription of D'Ewes's
original manufcript may here be fubjoined, in confirmation of
what is faid in the text. " For fome part of the time, the
Edinb. " Notes have been copied and written out in a narrative form,
Review, " in a refpectable hand ; in other places, we have nothing
July, " but the rough jottings-down of D'Ewes's own pen. At
1846. " firft, when we begin to read them, all is obfcurity, as dull
" and denfe as that which overclouds the pages of Ruftiworth,
§ in. Sir Simonds D'Ewes and his MS. Journal. 1 1 9
manufcript at my difpofal on my commencing fome years fince, at the requeft of the MeiTrs. Longman, what I have found to be the not very eafy talk of preparing for a library edition, and making lefs unworthy of the favour ex- Neceffity tended to it, a work entitled The State/men ^ pi ftudy- the Commonwealth written feveral years before, original On comparing, however, its abftract of D'Ewes MS. with the original, it proved to be fo entirely imperfect and deficient even as an index to the larger collections, that there was no alternative but to begin the refearch anew. I will preface what I have to relate as the refult of fuch more careful inquiry with a brief account of the writer. J
Simonds D'Ewes was the elded fon of Paul Account D'Ewes, one of the Six Clerks of the Court °f of Chancery, who had married the daughter of his chamber-fellow in the Temple, Richard Simonds, whofe Dorfetfhire eftate, inherited by his daughter, went afterwards to enrich her fon. He was born in December 1602 ; and, Born after a childhood pafTed with his mother's l6°2- family in Dorfetfhire, lived with his father alternately in Suffolk and in Chancery Lane ; went in his fourteenth year to Bury School, and in his fixteenth to St. John's in Cambridge, from which, after a refidence of little more than two years, he was very glad to get back At Cam- to his father, out of, as he tells us, the fwear- b"dge, ' ' 1618.
" Nalfon, and the Journals ; but as we go on, the mift " gradually grows lefs denfe, — rays of light dart in here and " there, illuminating the palpable obfcure ; and in the end, " after much plodding, and the exercife of infinite patience, " we may come to know the Long Parliament as thoroughly " as if we had fat in it."
1 20 The Grand Remonftrance.
Leaves ing, drinking, rioting, and luftful indulgence,
Cam- abounding generally in Cambridge at that time.
1620-/. So long previously as his ninth year he had
been entered of his father's Inn, fo that now, on
going into commons at the Temple, he found
himfelf, lad as he was, "ancient" to above
two hundred elder Templars. But, though
deftined for a working lawyer, he did not take
kindly to the practical ftudy of the profeffion.
True to his firft childiih affociations with the
Chancery Rolls and Records in his father's
houfe, he went fuddenly back to the purfuit
Quits thus favoured moft, and became a confirmed
w.e%~ Antiquary. He had not mis-fpent his time at
minlter „ 1 • j Tt r • J 1T-, ,.n
Hall. Cambridge. He was a fair clamcal and Englilh fcholar, had got himfelf well up in Ariftotle, and was accuftomed to recreate his leifure with Spenfer's Fairy Queen. But the grand purpofe of all ftudy now prefented itfelf in other and Delight more abforbing fhapes ; and from this to the in old, . clofe of his life he found tc in records and other
records. .
Cf exotic monuments of antiquity, the moft cc ravifhing and fatisfying part of human Cf knowledge." '
Fortune befriended him. As his father had married an heirefs, he thought he might look out for one himfelf; and he found one. In Marriage, his twenty-fourth year he married a Suffolk heirefs who had not quite completed her four- teenth, and fiveyears later he added greatly to her eftate by inheriting his father's. He bought a Buys his knighthood and afterwards a baronetcy, worked rank. nard at the tranfcription of records, collected valuable manufcripts and parchment rolls, amafled materials for what he flattered himfelf
§ in. Sir Simonds UEwes and his MS. Journal. 1 2 1
would be " a more exact hiftory of Great Projefts u Britain that remaineth of any nation in theaHlftoiT- c< Chriftian world," compiled his really valu- able Journals of Elizabeth's Parliaments, and brought together a library of fome rarity and worth. The growth of his importance had i*1^ c
1 1 1 & t -i 1 1 • • Sheriff of
been marked meanwhile by his nomination as Suffolk, High Sheriff of Suffolk in 1639. He nad l639- not in former years been unmindful of public affairs, nor had the ftudy of antiquity dulled a fomewhat fharp fight for what was actually pafiing around him ; but not until the time of his official experience had he realifed all the wrongs under which his country- men were labouring. He was not long now in publicly declaring himfelf of the Puritan party, his natural leaning to which had been further ftrengthened by his affection for his wife's coufin, Sir Nathaniel Barnardifton, after- wards member for the county ; and the end Sympathy of it was that upon his humbly bringing pur|tans# before the Council, in his character of High Sheriff, certain ancient records mowing the illegality of fhip money, and proving other acts of the Board to be unwarrantable, Laud incontinently made a determined patriot of him by flinging him into the Star Chamber. Refolved upon this to get a hearing for his records in Parliament, flnce elfewhere they were filenced, he offered himfelf twice before he fecured a feat, but was at length returned Returned to the Long Parliament for Sudbury. He paj££s came up to London laden with the manufcripts, ment for books, and parchment rolls, that were to pro- Sudbury, claim his knowledge of the ancient liberties ;
122
The Grand Remonftrance.
Lodgings at Weft- minfter.
Firft
fpeech in Houfe.
Afliduous attend- ance.
Takes Notes of debates.
Fruit thereof:
took a lodging firft in Millbank Lane, and then in fC Goate's Alley, a little beyond the (( White Lyon Taverne, near the Pallace Yard"; took his feat on the day when the committee of feven were appointed to fearch for prece- dents in the contemplated proceedings againft Strafford ; and on that night wrote off to his wife, whom he had left behind him in Suffolk, " I fpake thrice this morning in the Houfe, fC and at my fecond fpeech vouched a record, ci which not onelie gave great fatisfaction, but tl ended a waightie and perplexed difpute it was fC then controverting."
Daily from that day onward, for upwards of four years, Sir Simonds D'Ewes attended in the place he had felected for himfelf, on the front bench at the left of Mr. Speaker, juft oppofite the end of the Clerk's table, with the regularity and precifion of one of his own precedents. <c Vouching" them almoft every day thenceforward, having fome- thing to fay from them on almoft every queftion, and, what is moft to our prefent pur- pofe, never failing for a fingle day, when not {peaking himfelf, to be feen bufily writing in a note-book as others fpoke around him, there fat the learned and felf-fatisfied member for that fmall Suffolk borough, taking no unimportant part in the making of hiftory. His love for ftudying records had fortunately extended to a paffion for creating them, and the fruit of his daily taking of notes was the manufcript cc Journal of the Parliament begun November " 3d, Tuefday, Anno Domini 1640," which ftill continues for us, as I have ftated, a record
§ in. Sir Simonds D'Ezves and his MS. Journal. 1 23
of inappreciable value. Even as Sir Simonds in five had actually written them in the Houfe, with flumes note-book on his knee and ink-bottle hanging journal, at his bread, great portions of them remain, confufedly bound up with duplicate copies and other portions more fairly tranfcribed ; and hence, arifing from their very claim to implicit acceptance, the impoiTibility of accepting them from any but the original manufcript.
I foon found, indeed, on beginning the en- condition quiry before adverted to, that without ftriclly of the honed and earned examination of D'Ewes's ^'f ina actual handwriting, it was impoflible to make anything of the Journal. Whatever in it is mod valuable, is in the roughed blurred condition ; written often on the backs of letters, mere difjefta membra of Notes for a Diary, often all but illegible, now and then entirely fo ; and the reader will better under- dand the full force of this remark who turns to the careful facfimile made for me of two of Pages fac- its pages, and given as an illudration to the imi e prefent volume. Many portions, certainly, are more legibly written, a fecretary or tran- fcriber having been called in for the purpofe ; but thefe are found upon examination to be alfo the lefs valuable, confiding often of illus- trations drawn from contemporaneous printed records, of prodigioufly lengthy expanfions of fomewhat pedantic orations by D'Ewes him- felf, or of extracts from the Journals or other documents fupplied by the Clerk of the Houfe., Other parts, again, appear in duplicate, as Compo- mere expanfions of preceding notes. On the "f"^^* other hand, wherever the blotted writing of
124
The Grand Remonftrance.
D'Ewes recurs, there fprings up again the actual and ftill living record of what he had himfelf heard, and himfelf noted down, with pen and ink, as he fat in that memorable par- liament;* and thefe Notes, extending from Confufed 1640 to 1 645, and in which the fourth or prefent ftfth Qf ti10fe vears }s found jumbled up with
the firft, fecond, or third, the one perhaps written on the reverfe of the other, have been thrown together and bound with fuch equally fmall regard to fuccindt arrangement, that the
Self- painted portrait.
Jealoufy of Note- taking :
Old Vane
objects,
and
D'Ewes
replies.
* I quote a paflage from the original manufcript under date November 13th, 164.1. The plea and demurrer put in by the bifhops was then in debate, and Mr. Holbome, member for St. Michaels, was fpeaking. " I was then about to with- " draw a little out of the houfe, and went down as far as the "place where he was fpeaking; and finding a feat empty " almoft juft behind him, I fat down, thinking to have heard " him a little, before I had gone out. But finding him en- " deavour to juftify the plea and demurrer, I drew out again " my pen and ink, and took notes, intending to anfwer him " again as foon as he had done." Between four and five months later (March 5, 1641-2) a fpecial inftance occurred of the jealoufy very frequently exhibited by members of the houfe in regard to the practice of note-taking. Sir Edward Alford, member for Arundel, had been obferved taking notes of a propofed Declaration moved by Pym. Sir Walter Earle, member for Weymouth, upon this objected that he had feen " fome at the lower end comparing their notes, and one of " them had gone out." Alford was thereupon called back, and his notes required to be given up to the Speaker. D'Ewes then continues: " Sir Henry Vane fenr. fitting at that time " next me, faid he could remember when no man was allowed " to take notes, and wifhed it to be now forbidden. Which " occalioned me, being the principal note-taker in the houfe, " to fay, &c. That the practice exifted before he was born. " For I had a Journal, 13th Elizabeth. For my part I Ihall " not communicate my journal (by which I meant the entire " copy of it) to any man living. If you will not permit us " to write, we mult go to fieep, as fome among us do, or go " to plays, as others have done." For further illufirations I may perhaps refer the reader to the Arrejl of the Fi<ve Members, § xxiii.
§ in. Sir Simonds D 'Ewes and his MS. Journal. 1 25
record of the fame week's debates may occa- sionally have to be fought through more than one, or even two volumes. The pages in facfimile prefixed to this work, which exprefs fairly the condition of the reft, were felected not for that reafon, but becaufe they were found to contain a fact of fuch great hiftorical Example
, r n ' r or impor-
importance, and to let at reit, in a manner 10 tance 0f flartling and unexpected, difcuftions relating their to it which have divided the writers of hiftory, conten s' that it feemed defirable to prefent them in a fpecially authentic form. Yet the very pages fo containing it were found entirely feparated from the main part of the debates of which they form the connected portion, and mixed up, in a different volume of the MS., with the quite difconnected records of three years later. All this, at the fame time, while it why not explains the obfcurity in which D'Ewes's Notes earlier have until now been permitted to reft, gives ™ eiie us alfo ftriking proof of the genuinenefs of the record. Its extraordinary value and ex- actnefs will appear in the fection I am a*bout to devote to the fubject of Strafford's Attainder, as well for more detailed explanation of the new fact referred to, as for the better under- ftanding of the pofition of parties during the Remonftrance debates. The reader, who afterwards purfues with me the fubject of the Great Remonftrance itfelf, will have lefs reafon to doubt the fcrupulous veracity of what is here about to be contributed to its illuftration.
126
The Grand Remonjirance.
The
Attainder made a teft of opinions.
A falla- cious one.
Unwife compan- ions and contrails.
§ iv. Attainder of the Earl of Strafford.
The Bill for Strafford's Attainder has been generally employed as a teft of opinion upon the occurrences of this great period. To have oppofed, or to have fupported it, is even to this day put forth for proof, in either partizan, of the temperate love of freedom or of the unreafoning paflion for revolution. The folly of adopting fuch a teft, and the grave contra- dictions it involved, have been often pointed out ; but it has neverthelefs been ftill re- peated and infifted on, with no abatement of confidence.
The laft perfon of any pretention who made ufe of it, a privy councillor and county mem- ber, himfelf a lineal defcendant of Charles the Firft's Chief Juftice of the Pleas,* clalTes the Attainder with what he calls the revolutionary, the " fatal " act, for perpetuation of the Par- liament, to which the royal afTent was given on the fame day ; and he contrafts the reck- lefs fupporters of fuch legiflative abominations in the perfon of Mr. Pym, with the confti- tutional fupporters of a limited monarchy reprefented by my lord Clarendon. It is neverthelefs more than doubtful whether Mr. Edward Hyde did not vote for the attainder,
" Story * The late Mr. George Bankes of Dorfetfliire, who made
of Corfe ufe of the expreiTions quoted in the text, in remarking on fome Caftle." family papers of his anceftor Sir John Bankes, Charles the
Firft's Chief Juftice of the Common Pleas, which he publifhed
a few years ago.
fy iv. Attainder of the Earl of Strafford. 127
and it is very certain that he did vote for the bill to perpetuate the parliament. The fame ingenuous admirer of Clarendon ftrongly de- nounces the celebrated Proteftation on behalf The of Parliamentary liberty and the Reformed t;onr° \Q a" religion, brought forward at the time by Pym defend with fo furprifing an effect upon the people, ^arn'a" . without appearing to be in the leaft aware Religion. that the fecond name affixed to the Proteft- ation was Edward Hyde's.* He can find nothing better than Robefpierre's Reign of Terror wherewith to compare the excitements and "pretended" plots that forced on Straf- ford's execution ; though it refts on authority
* In a letter to Lady D'Ewes, Sir Simonds thus defcribes D'Ewes the ill-fated interference of the King which dire&ly led to the to Lady Proteftation, and deftroyed the laft hope entertained by D'Ewes. Strafford. " On Saturday morning wee underftood that the " King was come to the Upper Houfe and expe&ed us. Some " feared a diffolution ; but Mr. Maxwell came in with his " white fticke, and looking cheerfullie, faied, Feare not ; noe " harme, I warrant you. But trulie wee heard there what King's " aftonifht us all ; for in fumme the King told us, that the ill-fated " Earle of Strafford was not guiltie of treaibn in his confcience, ftep. " but of miidemeanors onlie, and foe would not have him " fuffer death, but onlie bee removed from his places. — Upon " our returne to the Houfe, wee refufed to proceede in anie " bufinefs, but fate lilent, yet fome fpake Ihortelie of our " calamitie. When I dreamt of nothing but horror and " defolation within one fortnight, the coniideration ofyour- " felfe and my innocent children drew teares from mee. At " laft, manye having often cried Rife, Rife, betweene eleven " and twelve wee role. Sunday was paffed over with much " affliction and fadnefs. On Monday morning, the third day of " this inftant May, fome feven thoufand citizens came downe Agitation " to Weftminfter ; manie of them Captaines of the Cittie and jn tne " men of eminent ranke. They ftaied each Lord almoft as hee Houfe " came by, and defired they [might have fpecdie execution and in the " upon the Earle of Strafford, or they were all undone, their City. " wives and children. Wee (hut upp ourdoores, and though " fome went in and out, yet kept private what wee weere " about, and ftaied from eight in the morning till eight at
128 The Grand Remonfirance.
Royalift beyond difpute that the man who carried up
ers of*" to tne Lords the firft meffage as to the
Attain- army plot which precipitated the execution,
der- was no other than Edward Hyde. Its refolute
promoter to the laft, by fpeeches as well as
votes, was Falkland, Hyde's deareft friend.
Culpeper, his other confidential and intimate
ally, fupported eagerly every ftep that led to
it. The laft thing his aflbciate Lord Capel
recalled, as he laid his own head down upon
Falkland, the fcaffold raifed by Cromwell, was his vote
Capelf61' m favour of it. And Hyde himfelf was the
and Hyde, man who expofed and defeated the final defpe-
rate attempt of Strafford's perfonal friends, by
means of an efcape from the Tower, to avert
what Clarendon had afterwards the face to call
Strafford's " miferable and never to be enough
<c lamented ruin." Such are the inconfift-
encies and contradictions incident to almoft
every attempt, founded on the hitherto recog-
nifed fources which alone were open to the
ftudent, to adjuft and apportion correctly the
fhare taken in thefe momentous proceedings
by the leading men in the Commons.
Much of the confufion is undoubtedly due to Clarendon, the afliduous efforts of whofe later life, to blacken the characters of the
"Protef- " n'ght, and fo concluded of a Proteftation for the defence tation " " of the true religion, the King's perfon, the Priviledges of drawn up. " Parliament and our Liberties. The Speaker read the Pro- " teftation firft, and then everie man in the Houle, even the " Trealurer of the King's Houfehold himfelf, lpoke to this " effect, holding the laid Proteftation in his hande. — 'Mr. " 'Speaker, I, — , doe willinglie make the fame Proteftation Taken " ' that you have made before me, according to what is con- by all. " ' tained in this paper, with all my heart.' "
§ iv. Attainder of the Earl of Strafford. 129
leading men of the parliament, are read with Danger implicit belief by fo many to whom it never ° ;niev" occurs to remember that at the outfet of his life Claren- Mr. Hyde had acted cordially with thofe men. don- The privy councillor I have quoted at once fatisfied himfelf that Clarendon could not have had any poffible complicity with the Attainder, becaufe in that cafe his language to Lord EfTex, fet down in his own memoirs, would involve an incredible inconfiftency. But un- happily the entire conduct of Hyde at this Conduft period is now proved to have been an incon- of Hyde» fiflency (to ufe no ftronger word), deliberately as well as elaborately planned, and carried out with a view to the ufes to be made of it towards the fervice of the King. When he declined to take office with Culpeper and Falkland, it was becaufe tc he mould be able to WH he " do much more fervice in the condition he 0^ce_ fC was in, than he mould be if that were im- <c proved by any preferment." In other words, he flayed as an independent member among the patriots, to make the better royalift ufe of his knowledge of their plans. Even in his own hiftory he does not fcruple to fay as much, though his firft editors had not the filial courage to print it. By the favour of more authentic editing it ftands there now, a lhamelefs avowal, on the fame page which perpetuates his fame. When he had himfelf afTented to a particular ftate paper iffued by the Houfe of Commons, he strange does not hefitate to inform us that the anfwer, leIf~ iffued fome days later by the King, was copied from a draft prepared and privately forwarded
130 The Grand Remonftrance.
byhimfelf ; and when, in grand committee on Hyde the bill againft epifcopacy, he was chofen chair- ofacom- man, he expreflly tells us that he ufed the mittee. advantage it gave him to "enfnare" and " perplex" the advocates of the meafure. Somewhat earlier, it may not here be out of place to add, he had fat alfo as chairman of a committee to hear witneffes in fupport of cer- tain complaints brought before the CommonSj on which occafion he feems to have found it extremely difficult to enfnare or perplex a particular member who fat with him. This Encoun- was a gentleman whom he had " never before" ters a tem- heard fpeak in the Houfe, but whofe whole
peftuous l • , • r n
perfon. carriage in the committee was io tempeit- uous, and his behaviour fo infolent, that Mr. Hyde found himfelf under the painful neceffity of reprehending him. A rebuke which neverthelefs appears to have had fmall effect on the honourable member, who "in " great fury reproached the chairman for being '* partial ;" which, having regard to the confef- fion juft made in a precifely fimilar cafe, I am difpofed to think that the chairman de- Mr. cidedly may have been. The honourable Cromwell member who came fo tempeftuoufly on this "fury." occafion between the witneffes ("who were a " very rude kind of people ") and Mr. Hyde's fenfe of decorum, was Mr. Cromwell, lately returned for the town of Cambridge. Sir Ralph But a more reliable reporter than Mr. Hyde Jj™7* was at length found when the Notes of Sir Ralph Verney were difcovered.* Among them
* Quoted originally by Serjeant Onflow, and afterwards by Mr. Hallam, they were firft pubiiflied in detail by Mr. Bruce.
§ iv. Attainder of the Earl of Strafford. 131
was one of a fpeech by Hampden, in debate Reports upon the propriety or otherwife of the Com- ^}ebai.e °.n
r r i- 1 tt r 1 Strafford.
mons attending the upper Home to hear Strafford's counfel on the matter of law, which, on being made public by Serjeant Onflow, was thought generally to have eftablifhed the fact that Hampden had feparated himfelf, as to the Attainder, from the friends with whom he ufually acted, and had been againft proceed- ing by bill. Verney's words are thefe. " Hampden, The bill now pending doth not Speech by " tie us to goe by bill. Our Councill hath Hamp- cc been heard; ergo, in juftice, we rauft hear cc his. Noe more prejudice to goe to hear " Councill to matter of law, than 'twas to <c hear Councill to matter of fact." No doubt the implication feemed to be that Hampden would rather not have been tied to go by bill. On the other hand it was to be remarked that the refolution to which Verney's note relates, was upon a queftion in no refpect vital to the Bill of Attainder. Culpeper voted with St. John againft it, Sir Benjamin Rudyard joining with Lord Digby for it ; and Hamp- on quei- den, in voting- as he is fuppofed to have done, tlon n.ot,
ij 1 r • rir • 'material
would have ieparated himfelf quite as much to the Bill. from the Hyde and Culpeper party as from the friends with whom he invariably acted. Nor was there really fufficient ground for fuppofing that up to this point any grave dis- pute or difTenfion had arifen in the lower Houfe upon the courfe to be purfued againft Strafford. As yet he had few friends there : his hotteft enemy, Lord Digby, not having yet become his friend. And it is entirely a
K 2
1 3 1 The Grand Remonftrance.
mifapprehenfion to argue as though the alter- native were raifed by the point to which Attainder Hampden fpoke, either to hear Strafford's not in counfel at the bar, or to proceed with the bill ; and for this plain reafon, that both were ulti- mately done. Hampden's opinion arid vote prevailed, and the Bill of Attainder neverthelefs proceeded.
It appeared to me, for thefe reafons, that nothing had been fettled conclufively by Ver- ney's note beyond the fact of his having defired that Strafford's counfel mould be heard in the manner propofed, with full fanction of the Houfe : both becaufe it contained no opinion Hampden diftinclily adverfe to the Attainder, and alio
iuppoled l . . .
favourable becaufe, believing Pym to have originated that t0 lU meafure, I found it difficult to imagine that in a proceeding of fuch importance Hampden could have feparated himfelf from the friend with whom, through the whole courfe of thefe eventful times, he certainly had no other known difference. I was, however, but partly right ; and to the great hiftorian whofe lofs we Corrcfter ajj depl0re, to Lord Macaulav alone, of all who
judgment • n tr
by Ma- have vanoully commented on Verney's note, cauley. muft be given the praife of having conftrued it, not indeed altogether correctly as to the fpecial matter in debate, but, as to the general and more important queftion of a defire dill to ftand on the Impeachment, with a Angular correctnefs. " The opinion of Hampden," he had re- marked, not permitting himfelf to be influ- enced, in the plain conftruclion of the words, by any confideration of the courfe which Pym might have preferred to take, "as far as it
§ iv. Attainder of the Earl of Strafford. 133
" can be collected from a very obfcure note Effhys, i. " of one of his fpeeches, feems to have been 467> u that the proceeding by Bill was unnecefTary, " and that it would be a better courfe to 6b- li tain judgment on the Impeachment." This, I mall proceed to mow, was exactly the opinion Line which Hampden had formed ; and it is yet x^rJn b more ftartling to add that in adopting it he Hampden, was only following Pym's lead. Not to Macaulay, or to any one, had it occurred as within reafonable probability, that Pym him- felf, upon the mere ground of policy, might alfo have oppofed the Attainder. Such never- thelefs was the fact. The evidence of D'Ewes Evi- ls decifive. It fets at reft, at once and for d"£e ot ever, fuch perfonal ftatements and charges connected with this great fact in hiftory as have been variouftv difputed and long con- tested by hiftorians ; and it apportions at laft, Doubts with fome degree of correctnefs, the refpon- let at reft- fibilities of blame and praife incurred by the men who abandoned the way of Impeachment they had themfelves originated, in order to proceed by Bill."+~
That mode of procedure, it feems, had Procedure been canvaffed at the opening of the feflion ; JjJ Anally and having been itrongly advocated by St. propofcd. John, Glyn, and Maynard, a Bill of Attainder was actually prepared. But Pym and Hamp- den were fo bent the other way, and fo con- vinced that their proofs would eftablifh the charge of treafon under the ftatute of Edward, p and that the Impeachment went on. Nor in this Hampden belief did they ever waver for an inftant. Up for Im> to the clofe of the proceedings on the trial, ment>
1 3 4 The Grand Remonftrance.
they had an invincible perfuafion that in the
feveral hearings before the upper Houfe both
the fa&s and the law had been eftablifhed ; and
when the fitting of the thirteenth day, Satur-
Difpute day the ioth of April, had clofed abruptly
April, m violent diflatisfaclion at a decifion of the
peers which allowed Strafford to reopen the
evidence on other articles provided the demand
of the Commons to give additional proofs of
the twenty-third article were conceded, they
returned to their houfe, not to throw up the
Impeachment, but to prepare the heads of a
Diflktif- conference with the Lords for fettlement of
with°n ^uc'1 matters or* difference as had arifen. But
Lords. with them returned a more difcontented fection,
numbering among its members not only fuch
men as Hafelrig and Henry Marten, Oliver
St. John and Glyn, but alfo a group com-
prifed of Falkland, Culpeper, the Hothams,
Tomkins (member for Weobly), and others,
all of whom afterwards either openly embraced
the caufe of the King, or fecretly confpired
to further it. And by thefe men it was that
the project of proceeding by Bill, formerly
laid afide, was now fuddenly revived and
prefTed. " Divers," fays D'Ewes, " fpake
ived. cc whether we fhould proceed by way of Bill
" of Attainder, or as we had begun ; but
" moll inclined that we mould go by Bill."
Oppofed The principal opponents were Pym and
byPym Hampden.
Hampden. The additional evidence fought to be given
before theLords, upon the twenty-third article,
was that copy of the Notes taken at the
Elder Council Board by the elder Vane on the day
Vane's ' J
Bill of Attainder
rev
§ iv. Attainder of the Earl of Strafford. 135
of the diflblution of the Short Parliament, Notes of which had been abstracted from his cabinet by Counci1- the younger Vane, and by him given to Pym, who had founded the twenty-third article upon them. They were publicly read for the firft time, after the tumultuous return of the Com- mons to their own houfe on that Saturday afternoon ; and from them it appeared, not Objection only that Strafford had given the King fuch Zofac- traitorous advice as the article in queftion tion. charged him with (that, having been denied fupply by his Parliament, the Sovereign was abfolved and loofe from all rule of govern- ment, and that he had an army in Ireland which he might employ to reduce " this king- " dom" to obedience), but that Laud and Lord Cottington alfo had taken part in the dan- gerous counfel. Amid the excitement con- Exdte- lequent thereon, the Bill of Attainder was nient produced ; and the propofal by which it was met on the part of thofe who objected to its introduction, was, that a narrative of the cir- cumstances attending the difcovery and pro- duction of Vane's important Notes of Council mould be drawn up and fubmitted to the Lords at a conference ; and that if, upon delibera- Confer- tion, the Lords decided not to receive it except "ice with
,. . c • • , r i Lords
upon condition or permitting the acculed to pr0p0fed. reopen the evidence upon other articles, then that it mould be waived, and immediate fteps taken to fum up the cafe on both fides, and demand judgment. Any other courfe, they argued, would involve not only the certainty of delay, but a ftrong probability of difagree- ment with the Houfe of Lords. So decided
J
6 The Grand Remonjlrance.
was the feeling for the Bill, however, that for once thefe great leaders were outvoted, and it was introduced and read a firft time ; a fug- Pym and geftion of Hampden's, for refuming at Mon- Hampden day's fitting the preparation of heads for a conference with the upper Houfe, being at the fame time afTented to. Sitting of What occurred in the latter part of this the 12th Monday's fitting (the early part was occupied 1 641.' by tne fpeeches of Pym and young Vane in reference to the Minutes of Council, and by the examination of the elder Vane's fecretary as to their abstraction from his cabinet), the reader who turns to the facfimile given at the open- ing of this volume may Study from D'Ewes's Reported blotted record, taken down while yet the fitting %v , went on, and while the men named in it were
D Ewes s / .
MS. bufy talking and writing around him. He
will probably, however, elect to avail himfelf of the labour I have already given to the talk of decyphering it, and prefer to read it in the plain print fubjoined. Nor, having fo enabled him to understand the existing condition of D'Ewes's manufcript, and the caufes which will continue to keep it a fealed book from all but the moft determined Student, Shall I think it necefTary to recur to the Subject in the frequent further references I am about to make, and in which everything required to render my extracts intelligible will be Silently fupplied. Two The report now to be quoted is of the
pages in rounrheSt kind, as will be obferved : paSTing
tac-lmnle. . D . r ' . K &
abruptly from one point to another without explanation, and leaving upon record things fubfequently laid afide. But its evidence is
§ iv. Attainder of the Earl of Strafford. 137
decifive as to the perfonal matters for which alone Pym and it is here introduced ; and never more can be ^™p,ien raifed the queftion, fo long and eagerly debated, together. of whether or not Hampden quitted Pym's fide during the difcuffion of the Bill of Attainder, and temporarily joined with the party whom he afterwards very determinedly oppofed. Upon this, as upon every other great incident of the time, the two friends held, their courfe together, from firft to laft. It muft be kept ever in view, however, that they why they did not oppofe the introduction of the Bill of ^tpt°;^_ Attainder as having any doubt either of Straf- der. ford's guilt, or of the fufficiency of the proofs againft him. They oppofed it for the exprefs reafon that they held the proofs already placed before the Lords to be fufficient ; and their fubfequent affent to it, when the majority finally determined on that courfe, involved no inconfiftency.
<c Mr. Pymme fhewed that the Committee pym fug. " appointed for the managing of the evidence gelts con-
rarence
(i agft the Earle of Strafford had prepared cer- ' ' taine heads for a conference with the Lords.
" Mr. Maynard begann where Mr. Pymme " ended & furth [further] fhewed that wee " were to defire a conference.
" 1 . A Narrative of the evidence concerning Maynard ic the triall againft the Earle of Strafford, rec.ltes
r i-i-i 11 points for
" tor which evidence wee had two mem- fettle- " bers of the houfe readie to bee depofed ment- " & for wch the Committee advized with 11 the houfe & intended to have pre- " fented the fame to their Lorpps on " Saturday laft.
138
The Grand Remonftrance.
Houfe will make fa- ciihces to prevent
delay.
Others guilty with Strafford.
Their guilt not to be in- filled on.
The
Notes of Council.
<c 2. The houfe having taken confideration
" thereof doe conceive it verie materiall :
" yet in regard of the danger & diftrac-
" tion of the kingdome being verie great
cc & will admit noe delay, they are re-
<c folved to come to a generall replie &
" to waive the faied evidence, if the
" Lords fhall not permitt it to bee
tl examined unlefTe the Earle of Straf-
*c ford [have] libertie to examine wit-
" neffes to other Articles ; wch the houfe
cc doth doe to avoid delay, which is now
cc of extreame dangerous confequence.
"3. Others confederated. Archbp & Lord
" Cottington are difcovered: when rao-
" tion to bring in Irifh armie was made
Cf by Earle of Strafford: by this paper
11 will appeare, if their Lorpps will have
cc the paper read."
At this point, as will be {etn in the fac-
fimile, D'Ewes puts a note in the margin,
refpecling that third head of the propofed
conference to which the preceding not very
clear fentences, and the two following not
much more luminous paragraphs, relate.
" This 3d head thus penned was rejected, tc and a new one brought in.
" Defire the Lds to joine with us to prevent cc danger : which might enfue upon fuch coun- « fels.
" Thofe Councellors removed.
"3. That upon occafion of dilcoverie of
iS this evidence a paper was read in the
cc houfe by wch it appeared that at the
l< fame time when the Earle of Strafford
§ iv. Attainder of the Earl of Strafford. 139
tc gave that dangerous counfell of bring- Laud and " ing in the Irifh armie into England £°"ing' cc others were prefent, deciphered by involved. (C thefe letters Arch. & L. Cott. whome <c wee conceive Lord Arch. & L. Cott. cc verie full of pernicious counfell to the <c King & flanders to the Commons 'c houfe afTembled in the laft Parliament. " Mr. Hotham moved to have the bill of Hotham 1 the Earle of Strafford's attainder read. tainder"
" Mr. Pymme would not have the bill read, c but to goe the other way : becaufe this is c the fafer, to mew that wee & the Lords are pym c reconciled & not fundred : & foe we mail asain(l- c proceed the more fpeedilie by demanding ' judgment.
Cf Mr. Maynard one way doth not croffe c another, but wee may goe by bill of attain- c der if wee will, or by demanding judgment : Maynard c wch wee may beft refolve upon when wee fee for- ' the end of the triall.
" Sir Benjamin Rudier [Rudyard] fhewed c the great treafon of the Earle of Strafford, c & yet faied that one full third parte of the Rudyard 4 evidence was not heard, & that divers of ou tlU ' f the Lords who weere prefent at the open- c ing thereof weere not fatisfied that it was c treafon."
So ends the firft page of the facsimile. On the reverfe page the debate is continued, the firft two fpeakers being men notorious after- wards for their royalift fervices, and the third being D'Ewes himfelf.
" Mr. Tomkins for bill of attainder to bee Tomkins Cf read, for it is the old way.
140
The Grand Remonfirance.
Culpeper for.
D'Ewes
agfainft.
Urges judgment on Im- peach- ment.
Explana- tion afked from old Vane.
Refufed.
cc Sir John Culpepper not to lay bill afide : the fafeft & the fpeedieft way to proceede by bill : yet for the conference now. " I faied that I was verie gladd of the motion for a conference. NecefTitie to complie with Ls [Lords] for timor bonorum fpes malorum & the diffraction now foe great in the king- dome as it threatens much hazard. Firft to demand Judgment the moft ancient way in evident cafes : Bill, when men dead, or fledd, or cafes difficult. This the fhorte way. For nothing now but to demand judgment. A bill will be long in paffing ; & all delaies incident to that as to this. For the fumming upp, a narrative may bee omitted or proceeded in. This the fafe way. Bpps in bill ought to have voices. Divers faied No. But I tolde them that I fpake not by rote or tradition but what I knew. That I had this morning been fearching in the office of the dark of the Lordes houfe touching the bill of attainder of Sir Thomas Seymour Lord Sudeley, as in paper pinned.*
" Divers moved that Mr. Treafurour might explaine himfelfe, whome hee meant by L. Cott. whether hee did not meane Lord Cottington.
fC Mr. Treafurour [Vane] denied to make any other or further explanation till he had well advized therupon, though wee fent him to the Tower.
* All that remains now of that " paper pinned," however, the i'pace it once occupied. The page fimply proceeds and lofes as in the text.
§ iv. Attainder of the Earl of Strafford. 1 4 1
" Mr. Glynne fhewed reafon, why the com- Glyn tc mittee named the Lord Cottington becaufe exPla,ns- " [he] had fworne hee was there.
" Mr. Martin [Henry Marten] fpake to Marten " have bill of attainder read againe and tofo!"^-t_
D tainder.
<f proceede that way.
" Mr. Hamden anfwered him & moved " the merTage might goe upp fpeedilie.
" Mr. Hamden fent with the meffage about Hampden 11 12 of the clocke, but the Lords weere agamlt- " rifen.
" Being returned wee fell into debate to " vote the heads for the conference.
"Upon the firft head before fett downe Vane and " being read and debated, Mr. Treafurour h,s Son- tC upon fome motions, was twice drawen to <f declare concerning the faied paper found by " his fonne, that hee firft moved his Matie that " hee might burne it, & foe he commanded cc him to doe it : & fecondly, that hee was not " poffiblie able to fpeake further to it, till hee " had confidered deliberated of it."
Of the men who, on that 12th of April, Subfe- thus fupported the Attainder, Hotham was ^"fe of afterwards executed for betraying the truft fupporteis repofed in him by the Houfe, Tomkins was Jjer^"31"' expelled for fimilar bad faith, and Culpeper entered into the fervice of the King. Glyn and Maynard feem not to have committed themfelves on that day, but in the fub- fequent debates they proved to be as eager for the Attainder as St. Johnhimfelf; though Condua both lived to take part at the Reftoration, oi pb;n
,. ...r .... , and May-
to their eternal inramy, in bringing to the ^d. fcaffold men fuch as Henry Vane, whofe
142
The Grand Remonftrance.
Line taken by Falkland
excufed by Cla- rendon.
only crime was to have borne a fhare, not more marked than their own, in thefe tranf- actions. Of Falkland, in relation to the Attainder, it is needlefs to fpeak. Such was what Clarendon calls his fharpnefs of tone upon this fubject altogether, " fo contrary," he adds, " to his natural gentlenefs and temper," that his friend fays thofe who knew him but imperfectly were wont to account for it by recalling the memory of fome unkindnefles, not without a mixture of injuftice, from Strafford to his father ;* while Clarendon himfelf, with the ufual difingenuoufnefs, attributes it to his having been "miAed by the authority of thofe (f who, he believed, underftood the laws per- " fectly." If this indeed had been the fact, it is a pity that fo accomplished a lawyer as Mr. Hyde was already become did not take the neceffary pains to enlighten fo intimate a friend, gone aftray on a matter of fuch great importance ; but ftill more is it to be regretted that very confiderable grounds mould exift for believing that they actually went aftray refpecting it in each other's company. For if it be alfo true, as in his hiftory he distinctly informs us, that upon no queftion had they ever had a fingle difference,! or given votes
Strafford's * Strafford had undoubtedly a great contempt for the elder contempt Falkland, his predeceffor in the Government of Ireland j and for old when the King referred to the new Lord Deputy fundry ap- Falkland. plications from Falkland for favours to be beftovved on rela- tives or connections of his own, Strafford always refolutely fet his face againft them. See Letters and Difpatckes, paffim.
f This is repeatedly faid or implied in what is remarked of Falkland throughout the hiftory, and when it occurs to the hiftorian to defcribe the difagreement between himfelf and Falkland on the debate of the bill for taking away the
What excufe for Mr. Hyde ?
§ iv. Attainder of the Earl of Strafford. 143
oppofed to each other, until the day when, after Strafford's execution, the bill for taking Takes away the bifhops' votes was firft debated, ^me
• r • • r r\-\ ttj l 'lne as
the inference is irrefiftible that Hyde, who Falkland. affuredly did not at any time vote againft, muft have voted for, the Attainder. Certainly what he fays refpecting it in his book is an entire falsification of the facts, and could only have been written under the perfuafion that the erafure from the journals of both Houfes, at the Restoration, of every trace of the pro- Too much ceedings connected with it, had equally obli- jjjlth in terated them alfo from the recollections of
memories.
men. He might have fhrunk from fuch con- fident mifitatement, if any vifion of D'Ewes's Notes had prefented itfelf, as likely ever to rife again.
So clear and Straightforward, on the other Pym and hand, was the courfe taken by Pym and Ha"?Pden
tt 1 • r 1 comment
Hampden, that even by their fubfequent through- adoption of the Attainder not a Shadow of out" inconiiftency was thrown on their previous refiftance. They refitted it, becaufe, believing
bifhops' votes, brought forward after Strafford's execution, he Hyde and expreffly notes it as memorable that there arofe in this debate, Falkland's " between t-zvo per funs --who had never been known to differ in a°ree- " the houfe" a difference of opinion (i. 412). Now nothing ment. is fb certain as that Falkland ftrenuoufly, by votes and ipeeches, fupported the Attainder in eveiy ftage ; and it is utterly impoflible that Hyde could have made the remark jult. quoted, which was written two years after his friend's death, with anything fo recent and lb marked in his memory as a difference on the Attainder muft have been. The friends fat, too, as they voted, together. "The Lord Falkland Sitting as " always fat next Mr. Hyde, which was fo much taken notice well as " of, that it they came not into the Houfe together, as voting " ufually they did, everybody left the place for him that was together. " abfent" (i. 413).
144- The Grand Remonftrance.
Their be- the guilt of Strafford to have been proved,
Strafford's ^ey contmued to have faith in the Impeach-
guilt. ment ; and afterwards they adopted it, becaufe,
the Houfe having finally determined againft
the Impeachment, the fame conviction as to
Strafford's guilt left them only that alternative.
Until the very laft, however, they clung to the
Impeachment, and to the obligations it had
impofed. St. John, Glyn, and Maynard, as
Queftion foon as the bill was introduced, would have
whether made it the pretext for refitting what had pre-
to hear his vioufly been refolved as to hearing counfel for
Strafford before the Lords upon the matter of
law ; and this point was ftrenuoufly debated
for two days. It was in relation to it that the
fpeech was fpoken by Hampden of which Sir
Ralph Verney kept the note. Both Falkland
and Culpeper, as well as St. John, Maynard,
and Glyn, infifted ftrongly that it would com-
promife both the dignity and the power of the
Commons, if, at a time when they propofed
to make themfelves judges in the cafe, they
confented to hear or reply to counfel anywhere
but at their own bar ; and Culpeper went fo
byFaTk- far as to affert his belief, that, by attending fo
land and to hear and reply before the Lords, they would
Culpeper. jmperji their right to affume fubfequent legif-
lative action in the matter. But Pym and
byPHamp- Hampden were not to be moved from the
den and ground on which they flood refolutely as to
ym' this part of the cafe. Why mould not the
lawyers of the Houfe, fuggefted Hampden in
reply to Culpeper, fpeak to the points of law
before the bar of the Lords, and then come
back to their feats among the members of their
§> iv. Attainder of the Earl of Strafford. 145
own Houfe, and afterwards fpeak again at the Lords' bar if neceffary ? To which Maynard Speech ot fomewhat hotly replied, that he fhould hold Maynard
r 1 1 j r 1 againit.
Juch a running up and down rrom one place
to another to be nothing lefs than a difhonour
to the Commons. The word called up Pym, Pym in
who appears to have made one of his raoft reS^'
effective appeals. He fubmitted to the Houfe
that the queftion before it, of hearing and
replying to Strafford's counfel before the Lords,
did not bind them either to continue, or to
abandon, the proceeding by bill. That might
hereafter be fettled, according to the wifdom
and pleafure of the Houfe ; but what they Advo-
had now to confider was the queftion, really catesStraf-
involving honour, whether the pledge was to claim to
be kept or to be broken, which, at the time hearing.
when their counfel firft rofe before the Lords to
fpeak againft Strafford, they then undoubtedly
gave that Strafford's counfel fhould be heard
in his behalf before the fame tribunal. cc If,"
continued Pym, according to the report in
D'Ewes's manufcript of this remarkable fpeech,
" if we did not go this way to have it heard
" publickly in matter of law as well as it had
" been heard for matter of fact, we fhould
" much difhonour ourfelves, and hazard our
" own fafeguards."
To this appeal the Houfe yielded, and the His ap- fame fpirit which fuggefted it prevailed in the j?eal f,f , fubfequent proceedings. It was upon Pym's motion, when the Impeachment was finally abandoned, that all its raoft material articles were imported into the Bill ; that the facts, under each article, were voted feparately ; and
146 The Grand Remonjlrance.
His fug- that, before the third reading paffed to a quef- §efti°ns as tion, the Houfe firft heard the " Gentlemen tainder. " °f the l0ng r°be " argue at great length the feveral points of law, and then proceeded judicially to vote upon them. It would tax a greater ingenuity, I think, than that of the privy councillor and county member to whom reference has been made, to difcover in all this anything of Barrere or Fouquier Tinville. It is a fchool of comparifon, how- ever, to which recourfe is ever readily found by unreafoning afTailants of the parliamentary Englifh leaders ; and Mr. Bankes has not fcrupled to compared declare that " while the Englifh are thought
to r rcncli /* • .
Revolu- " to be lefs fanguinary in their days of political tion. « frenzy than the French, undoubtedly the cc hiftory of London in 1641 bears very many <f points of iimilarity with the hiftory of Paris "from the year 1791 to 1793." Not the lefs is it to be faid, of all fuch attempts at parallel, that they are fimply and utterly falfe. For a moment to fet up the afTertion that the hiftory of London, during the year when the Commons impeached and beheaded the moft capable minifter of the King, and the King made a fimilar but lefs fuccefsful attempt Folly and againft the moft capable members of the
fallehood ^ i x • , c /» •! ■
of com- Commons, bears even any points or limiJanty parifon. with the hiftory of Paris at the time when its guillotine reeked with the execution of its harmlefs inoffenfive King and its poor fallen Queen, while women and men were taken daily by waggon loads to death, and while the fwollen gutters of the wicked city foamed over into the Seine with the beft blood of
§ iv. Attainder of the Earl of Strafford. 147
France, is to infult the fenfe of the reader to Obfolete whom fuch folly is addreffed. Happily, few vievvs- are now found to repeat it. It belongs to a hardihood of affertion that has long been parTed away, to compare the frenzied wretches who bore aloft the mangled body of the PrincefTe de Lamballe with the calm felf-refolute men who kept the fword quietly fheathed till it flamed out at Edgehill and Marfton Moor. It is now for the moft part the declared belief Opinions of every writer who has mown himfelf fami- of t!.ie bet" liar with this period of Englifh hiftory, that formed. with anything approaching to its temper under wrong, its patience in long fuffering before the fword was drawn, its moderation in victory when the fword was finally fheathed, no fimilar movement in the world was ever begun and carried to its clofe.
Upon this earlier portion of the ftory of our civil wars, indeed, nearly all intelligent inquirers might be thought to have laid afide their differences long ago. From whatever Agree- oppofite points of view, the faireft judgments ment UP have been able of late years to arrive ator-F;ve fubftantially the fame conclufion, on this firft Members, ftage of the conflict, ; and, up to the Arreft of the Five Members at leaft, to agree that a power to difcriminate between good and bad faith is really all the investigation requires. That the Long Parliament had no defire per- manently to ftrip the Crown of any of its eflential prerogatives, and did abfolutely no- Parlia- thing, before the fword was drawn, which was ™i"t's not juftified by the King's perfonal character, tbn. or of which the fufficient reafon is not difcern-
L 2
148
"The Grand Remon ft ranee.
General character of the ftruggle.
More wealth with the Commons than with the King.
No terrorifm.
Origin
of the intereft
ible in a necefTary abfence of all belief or truft in his promifes, is an opinion which the mod uncompromifing high-church reafoners have not been afhamed to adopt from the late Mr. Coleridge ; and it was the fcrupu- lous regard for truth and right by which the ftruggle was fo characterifed at its beginning, that imparted to it mainly what bore it in fuch honour and credit to its end. We have alfo to remember that much more of the real wealth of the kingdom was committed on behalf of the Parliament than at any time remained with the King, and that this alone would have ren- dered it impoffible that Janjculottifm mould have got the upper hand amongft us. Some lives were fternly exacted, becaufe held to have been neceflarily forfeited ; but no blood was ruthleflly or caufeleflly fpilt upon the fcaffold. No monftrous or unnational innovations dif- graced the progrefs, and no infamous profcrip- tions marked the termination, of the war. The palaces of England flood throughout as unrifled as its cottages ; and, except where fortified refiftance had been offered, the man- fions and manor-houfes remained as of old, through the length and breadth of the land. While the conflict continued, no fervile paf- fions inflamed or difgraced it ; and when all was over, the vanquifhed fat down with the victors in their common country, and no man's property was unjuftly taken from him. '. For thefe reafons it is that the various inci- dents and characters in the civil wars of the feventeenth century continue to be regarded with a living and active fympathy. Other
§ iv. Attainder of the Earl of Strafford. 140
events, hardly lefs momentous at the time of fall their occurrence, have left but a local and partial l£ P|^d ftamp upon our annals ; while even yet the war. intereft of thefe is national and univerfal. They do not concern particular neighbour- hoods only, but addrefs themfelves frill to every family and firefide in the kingdom ; for under Heaven we owe it mainly to them that all Englifh homes are now protected and fecure. The refult has anfwered to their origin. They began in no fordid encounter of felf- ifhnefs or faction, they involved no vulgar difputes of family or territory, and perfonal enmities formed no neceflary part of them. They were a war, as one of their leaders faid, A war without an enemy. In the principles they put wlthout
. .„ .- - , r r , J \ r an enemy.
to liiue, we continue ourlelves to be not lels interested than were our forefathers ; and hardly a queftion of government has arifen fince, affecting human liberty or the national welfare, which has not included a reference to this great conflict, and fome appeal to the pre- cedents it eftablifhed. Nothing can be unim- portant that relates to it, therefore, nor any fervice fmall that may explain the motives of D'Ewes its leaders ; and it is well that the record by as *° a(5ts D'Ewes, to which we are about to befo largely motives. indebted, fhould have enabled us firft to difcern clearly the courfe they took upon the greateft queftion that arofe before the war began.
One word as to Strafford himfelf may be Strafford, added at this outfet of my narrative. Believing that juftice remained with the Parliament, I think not the lefs that high and noble qualities were engaged on the fide of the King ; and man on
150 The Grand Remonji ranee.
the King's beyond all queftion they found their moft con- fpicuous example, as, but for the event I have been defcribing, they would have found their moft formidable development, in Strafford. His Irifh adminiftration is the fignal proof that in fome of the nobleft qualities of ftates- manfhip, and eminently in the fupreme art of turning the refources of a country to profitable Where account, he flood alone in his age. But what his ftatef- fhouJd nave Deen to fucn a mari tne higheft
manihip . .rri&
fucceeded. object or ambition, he unhappily mifled alto- gether ; and, tried as it was in moft advan- tageous circumftances in Ireland, and backed as it was by his own confummate power, his whole fyftem of government broke down. It could not have fuftained itfelf, indeed, without Where overthrowing the public liberties, becaufe it it failed. was an attempt to eftablilh the royal pre- rogative above them. Neverthelefs it alfo included much that had no unpopular af- pecft, for it was the defign of a man of courage and genius. He would have cleared the land, by foul means or fair, of the native pofTeffors ; he would have rooted out the idle, improvident, beggarly proprietor ; and he would have planted everywhere Englifri wealth and Englifh enterprife. It is remarkable that a fcheme which in its final development brought its author to well-merited ruin, fhould yet have involved fo much that, in other hands, and with other ultimate aims, might His fyftem have faved and regenerated Ireland. Every in Ire- petty oligarchy would have been reduced by it to fubjeclion before the monarchy, and it would have ftruck down all the tyrannies but
§ iv. Attainder of the Earl of Strafford. j 5 1
its own. The mere forms of parliament would univerfally have been retained and refpected by Strafford, became he knew that defpotifm has no fuch efficient ally as parliaments de- prived of parliamentary power. While he The good made the Irilh Cufhoms more profitable by ;mPlied four times their annual amount, he would fo have employed this enormous increafe as again and again to multiply itfelf, through enlarged refources of commerce and trade. While he eftablifhed vaft monopolies for the Crown, he would have abolimed private monopolies that had fimply gorged its fervants. And in the very act of impoiing taxes arbitrarily, and levying them by military force, he fell with fo heavy a hand on wrongdoers of high rank, as made the oppreffed commonalty grudge lefs what they, too, had to endure. But here lay the The dan- danger that proved fatal to him. He created ger th? t
or m proved
numerous enemies whofe power he defpifed, fatal, and he failed to fecure the Angle friend whofe conftancy and courage might have baffled them. Strafford's Irifh. adminiftration had no fuch dire foe as the monarch whom it was meant to fave. Charles intrigued againft it himfelf, Bad faith and favoured all the intrigues of others. Even °^.the the fervices it rendered to him were hateful for ■ their connection with the reftraints it would have impofed upon him. It became thus of the very effence of Strafford's defign, com- prehenfive as it was, that the good it might have wrought mould perifh by the evil it could not but inflict. The fword he had provided for fafety turned and broke in his hand. A too vaft ambition, joined with a too
152 The Grand Remonjirance.
narrow aim, deftroyed him. And his Irifh Moral of adminiftration is now chiefly memorable, not Strafford's for t^Q revenues and refources it fo largely
govern- . o J
ment. developed and his matter as miferably wafted ; not for the linen trade it eftablifhed, which {truck root and has faved the land ; but becaufe it has mown, by one of the greateft examples on record, of what fmall account is the ftatefmanihip mod fuccefsful in providing for material wants, which yet refufes to recog- nife the moral neceflities of the people it aiTumes to govern.
§ v. Reaction after Strafford's Death.
Parties The altered pofition of parties after Straf-
altered ford's death was firft publicly fixed and de-
Elite r _
Strafford's clared by the Grand Remonftrance. The death. Debates refpecting it are the commencement of the ftruggle which divided into two hoftile camps the very party heretofore impregnable in their unity and ftrength, and which directly Remon- brought on the war. It is natural, there- iirance forej that me author of the Hijiory of the Re~ ftarting- bellion mould nowhere affecl; more particu- point. larity of detail than in defcribing the various incidents and circumftances of the difcufTion relating to it. It was, indeed, to the party of which he then firft aflumed the lead in the Houfe, as to their opponents, the critical mo- ment of their career. It was, to both, the turning point of all they had done heretofore, What or might hope to do hereafter. Falkland told Cromwell his friend Hyde, that, as he and Cromwell left
§ v. Reaction after Strafford's Death. 1 53
the houfe together immediately after the laft faid to divifion, the member for Cambridge faid to Falkland- him, that, if it had gone againft them in that vote, he and many other honeft men he knew would have fold all they had the next morning, and never have {qqr England more; and, without too readily accepting this anecdote, Alleged or thinking cc the poor kingdom," as Mr. tf™°™fOI Hyde phrafes it, to have been half fo near to Charles, its deliverance in that particular as he affects to believe, it would be impoffible to overftate the gravity, to both parties, of the iffue depending on the vote which had juft been taken.
Immediately after the execution of Strafford, Hyde's which Hyde and his affociates, as we have ne|y thus feen, helped more largely than any other feclion of the Houfe to accomplish, they began fleadily and fecretly to employ every artifice, and all the advantages which their pofition in the Commons gave them, to bring about a reaction favourable to the King. The one formidable obftacle had been removed, by Strafford's death, to their own entry into Charles's counfels ; and without further gua- Reaftion rantees for the fecurity of any one conceffion tor the
IK" ino*
they had wrefted from the Crown, they were a" prepared to halt where they flood, or even (as in the cafe of the Epifcopacy Bill) to recede from ground they had taken up.* Nor was
* Richard Baxter (Reliq. Baxt. 19) has attributed "the Miftakg " firft breach among themfelves" to the defire on the part of 0f Rjchard " Lord Falkland, the Lord Digby, and divers other able gaxter " men," to gratify the King " by lparing Strafford's life." But Baxter wrote long after the event, and was very imper- fectly informed. Neither Falkland nor Hyde had at any time a friendly feeling to Lord Digby, and though a difference
154 The Grand Remonjlrance.
it to be doubted that the plan had fome chances of fuccefs, in the particular time when Chances lt was tried- From the moment the Impeach- of fuccefs. ment was carried againft Strafford, thofe old relative pofitions of King and Houfe of Com- mons, which in the memory of living men, had exifted as if unchangeably, were fuddenly reverfed. There was not a Parliament in the preceding reign that James had not lectured, as a fchoolmafter his refractory pupils ; nor any in the exifting reign that Charles had not old pofi- bullied, as a tyrant his refractory flaves. But tions this was gone. The King was now, to all appearance, the weaker party, and the Houfe of Commons was the ftronger ; and how readily fympathy is attracted to thofe who are weak, however much in the wrong, and how apt to fall away from the ftrong, however clearly in the right, it does not need to fay. Da;iy The popular leaders became confcious of daily defections defections from their ranks : the Houfe of Popular Lords unexpectedly deferted them, on quef- ranks. tions in which they had embarked in unifon ; the Army was entirely unfafe ; and opinions began to be bufily put about, that enough had
no doubt arofe as to the Bill of Attainder, the principal
feceders who went with Digby on that queftion were lawyers,
Only law- fuch as Selden, Holborne, and Bridgman, who went with him
yers fe- on no other ; and undoubtedly the men who took afterwards
ceded on the lead in forming a king's party, fuch as Falkland and
the At- Culpeper (whom Selden refufed to join), had taken the lead
tainder. in promoting the Bill of Attainder. The evidence adduced
in the preceding feclion (hows that when the liberal leaders,
who to this hour are fuppofed to have originated and moil
hotly urged forward the Bill, were in reality oppoling it, and
bent only on continuing and clofing by way of Impeachment,
Culpeper and Falkland ftrenuoufly advocated the procedure
by Bilk
§ v. Reaction after Strafford's Death. 155
been conceded by the King, and that the demand for more would be ungenerous.
Never had a great caufe been in peril more Chara&tr extreme. For molt thoroughly was the cha- ?/.the
o J Ivin°".
racier of their adverfary known to its chiefs, and that not a Single meafure of redrefs had been extorted from him which was not yielded in the fecret hope of finding early occafion to reclaim it. It was notorious that Charles the His view Firft entertained a belief of the invalidity ast.Vn~ of the moft important of the meafures already 0f Stat- paffed by the Long Parliament, on the ground utes- that his own aSTent, having been given by compulsion, was iffo fatlo void. His Attor- ney-General had encouraged him in this notion;* and Hyde himfelf cannot help con- Affenting demning the facility with which he affented to W1*h Pur_ aits requiring grave deliberation, in reliance revoke, on this dangerous opinion that the violence and force ufed in procuring them rendered them abfolutely invalid and void. This, fays Hyde,f made the confirmation lefs consi- dered, as not being of Strength to make that Hyde's act good which was in itfelf null. One of comPlaint- thofe great acts indeed could not fo be dealt with. Strafford could not be raifed from the dead, and therefore only had the concef- fion in his cafe been obtained with greater difficulty than in the reft. Now, every- thing promifed fairly for a refumption of all elfe. The Army had been widely tarn- Sources of pered with ; to fave the bifhops and their f0a p^. bifhopricks, the Universities were moving merit.
* Clarendon: Life and Continuation, i. 206-211. t HiJI. ii. 252.
i56
The Grand Remonft ranee.
heaven and earth ;* reliance could no longer Signs of be placed upon the Lords ; concurrently with wavering. many £gns Qf treachery among the Commons themfelves, in which Mr. Edward Hyde nota- bly took part, were feen evidences elfewhere dangerous of the return of an unreafoning confidence in the King ; even in the City, the ftronghold of liberal councils, a promi- nent royalift had been able to carry his election as lord mayor ; and the patriots could not hope that their power, or their oppor- tunities, would furvive any real abatement of zeal or enthufiafm in the people. It is more wearing to the patience to wait for the redrefs that is really near, than for what is wholly uncertain and remote; and thofe who had bravely and filently endured the wrongs of fifteen years without a parliament, were ready to refent a delay of half as many months in the reliefs which parliament had promifed them.f What Charles gained by
Abate- ment of popular enthu- fiafm.
The * " Bi/hops had been much lifted at," fays May (lib. i.
clergy cap. ix), " though not yet taken away, whereby a great party
and uni- " whole livelihood and fortunes depended on them, and far
verfities. " more whofe hopes of preferment looked that way (moft of
" the Clergy, and both the Univeriities), began to be daily
" more difaffe&ed to the Parliament j complaining that all
" rewards of learning would be taken away. Which wrought
" deeply in the hearts of the young and moft ambitious of
" that coat."
Ficklenefs f This point is admirably touched by the hiftorian May.
of the people.
" Some are taken off" (weaned from Parliament, he means) " by time and their own inconftancy, when they have looked " for quicker redrefs of grievances than the great concurrence " of lb many weighty bufinefles can poflibly admit in a long " difcontinued and reforming Parliament, how induftrious " foever they be, diftracled with fo great a variety. Thofe " people, after fome time fpent, grew weary again of what " before they had fo long wiflied to fee ; not confidering that
§ v. Reaction after Strafford's Death. 157
fecrecy, the popular leaders loft. It was im- poflible that they mould make public all the reafons and motives for their proceedings, while yet fuch enforced concealment on their part told ftrongly to the advantage of the King. If ever warning for future guidance were needed, Charles's the time for it was now come ; and there advan- was neverthelefs no way, confiftent with fafety, a§es' of mowing the people in whofe caufe they were labouring, the prefent perils and pitfalls that befet them, without turning frankly and boldly to the leflbns of the paft. With even A ™n- fo much femblance of amended adminiftration, nnefded and fuch pretences of half popular meafures, as the ingenuity of Hyde could furnifh (if Charles could be brought to concede only fo much), there was yet the means, in the abfence of that indifpenfable warning againft repofing confidence in the fovereio-n, of ftriking a heavy blow for recovery of the old preroga- tive. Nor were nearer dangers wanting. Pym's life had been aimed at repeatedly ; and Threaten- more than one attempt had been tried to *.nss of
. torcc.
overawe deliberation by the difplay of force.
' a prince, if he be averfe from fuch a Parliament, can find
! power enough to retard their proceedings, and keep off for
' a long time the cure of the State. When that happens, lmDa_
' the people, tired with expectation of fuch a cure, do ufually tience
' by degrees forget the fharpnefs of thofe difeafes which before waitine
' required it; or elfe — in the redrefiing of fo many and long
' diforders, and tofecure them for the future, there being for
' themoft part a neceflity of laying heavy taxes, and draining
' of much money from the people — they grow extremely
' fenfible of that prefent fmart ; feeling more pain by the
' cure, for a time, than they did by the lingering difeafe Cure
' before; and not confidering that the caufes of all which morepain-
' they now endure were precedent, and their prefent fuffering ful than
' is for their future fecurity." Lib. i. cap. ix. 1 15. difeafe.
of
158 The Grand Remonjlrance.
Freedom Something was in peril beyond the abftract or drei\ freedom of parliament or debate : nor was it
potiim ? r } r -r
more to lecure the permanence or provisions already achieved for the public liberty, than to guard againft fudden fubftitution of a naked defpotifm, that the parliamentary chiefs were now called to alTert and defend their por- tion, or to abandon it for ever. Refolu- They were not men to hefitate, and they
non to refolved upon an Appeal to the People in a to the more direct form than had ever yet been People, attempted. Within a week after the Houfe firft met in November, a committee had been moved for by Lord Digby, in a moft paflion- Origin ate fpeech, to " draw up fuch a Remonstrance °f *he t( to the Kino; as mould be a faithful and ftrance." tc lively reprefentation of the deplorable ftate fC of the kingdom, and fuch as might difcover " the pernicious authors of it ; " and the pro- Firft pofal had been adopted in a modified and moved by more moderate form, wherein it will be found
jyjabv on tne Journa^s (ii« 25)j °f "fome fuch way " of Declaration as may be a faithful repre- " fentation to this Houfe of the eftate of the " kingdom ; " all the leading men of the houfe being members of the committee, and Lord Digby its chairman. Thisdefign, fuper- feded for the time by matters of more prefTing moment, and whofe originator had in the interval become the hotteft partizan of the receives King, was revived in the fummer. Charles warning -. received warning of it before he departed for Scotland, on that mirTion which has fince been mown to have had no object fo eagerly defired as to gather fuppofed proofs on which to build
§ v. Reaction after Strafford's Death. 159
a charge of treafon againft Pym and Hampden, on eve of and fuch acceffions from the undifbanded j°urney to
-, , . r . r , Scotland.
Scotch army to the conipirators or the army of the North as to render fafe the profecution of fuch a charge. Bifhop Williams, for pur- pofes of his own, had intercourfe with a fer- vant of Pym's, and did not fcruple to tell the King how that he had learned, from this worthy, what had been going on in his matter's houfe. Some of the Commons were preparing a Declaration to make the actions of his Ma- Bifhop jetty's government odious, and he had better ^Tlli1riams try to conciliate them before he went. The concilia- King was as ready to accept the fuggeftion as tlon- the wily prelate to offer it, and negotiations were opened for a revival of the fcheme of giving office to the leaders of the popular party, fet on foot a few months before. What King con- had then for its object to fave Strafford's life fents- was now defigned to fave the King, by giving him time to ruin the very men he was mean- while to invite to ferve him.
The continued hoftility of Pym and Hamp- den to the Scottifh vifit, and their calm deter- mination to bring forward the Remonftrance, baffled the plan. There can be no doubt that Scheme for a time the Court party believed their baffled- opponents to be on the point of taking office. The rumour firft went that Hampden was to be Secretary of State. Then it was announced, intended with more confidence, and by no lefs a perfon d.iftnbu- than Mr. Nicholas, {o foon himfelf to aflume offices. that high office and who meanwhile was ex- ercifing its functions, that the feals were to be taken by Denzil Hollis, that Hampden was
1 60 The Grand Remonft ranee.
Friday, to be Chancellor of the Duchy, that Lord 30th of gay ancj seale was to be Lord Treasurer, and, as in all the previous propofed arrangements, that Pym was to be Chancellor of the Exchequer. The date of the letter in which fuch intended distribution of the offices is mentioned by New Nicholas is the 29th of July ; and on the day Miniftry following, an Under Secretary in his depart- ment writes to a friend that Mr. Treafurer has warned him to be in readinefs for the expected change.* Neverthelefs it came to nothing. Within the next feven days, the differences between the King and the leaders of the majo- rity in the Houfe had deepened ; in the teeth of all their reprefentations, inftant departure for Scotland was perfifted in, and the propo- rtion for a viceroy during the royal abfence Saturday, overruled ; and on the firft Saturday in Auguft 7th Aug: a portion of the King's retinue had already fet forth upon the journey, while the Houfe were {till in the midft of a confufed debate which lafted till nearly midnight, and in the courfe Remon- Qf whicn had been brought forward the fubjeel formally of (( A Remonstrance to be made, how brought « wee found the Kingdome and the Church,
forward. „ ^ ^ ^ ftate of ^ nQW ftan(Js<»|
* I have printed thefe various letters, from MSS. in the State Paper Office, in my Arreft of the Five Members, % v.
f I quote Sir Ralph Vemey's Notes of the Long Parliament
(p. 113): Saturday, 7th Auguft, 1641. It occurs after allu-
fion to the facl of an extraordinary fitting of the Houfe having
. been appointed for the following (Sunday) morning, and after
e" mention made of an order taken for a "peremptory" call of
ment as tjie Houfe on t^e next Wedncfday " in regard of the great
to Scotch e( and wejgjlty affaires that import the faifty of the kingdome."
journey, ^jj ^^ are indications 0f the great appreheniion prevailing
at the moment as to the King's obftinate periiftence in going
to Scotland. And on this Saturday, as I remark in the text,
§ v. ReaElion after Strafford's Death. 161
All the pains and labour of the intriguing Bifliop Bifhop, therefore, might clearly have been fpared. ^ , He needed not to have bribed Mr. Pym's fer- labour vant, nor was it neceflary to have fet on his loft- matter to bribe Mr. Pym himfelf. The Declara- tion, or, as Lord Digby had fuggefted it mould be called, the Remonftrance, appears to have been revived openly, and direction given that it mould take its place among the orders of the Houfe, as part of the bufmefs of the feflion remaining to be done. Portions of it certainly came under difcuffion before the Remon- members rofe for the recefs ; and we have evi- ftrance dence that after the King's departure, amid the difcuifed. excitements of the inquiry into the army plot, the committee to whom it had been referred had it under deliberation as "the Remon- <f {trance of the ftate of the Kingdom and the " Church. "* What its promoters prudently concealed, or, to fpeak perhaps more correctly, had not yet finally fettled, was the particular man- ner in which they propofed to make ufe of it.
The King quitted London on Monday the King 9th Auguft ; with what hopes of returning, <lluts Lon- after his abfence, better able to cope with his Augurt. antagonists in the Houfes, an anecdote related by Mr. Hyde may in fome degree enable us to judge. He defcribesf the furprife with which, fome little time before, he had received an invitation to wait privately on the King ; Hyde's how he had fuppofed it was fome miftake, -Jterview
both Houfes fat until after 10 at night, unable to fettle upon any fatiffa&ory courfe.
* So ftyled in the Commons' Journals (ii. 234).
f In his Life and Continuation, i. 92-93.
1 6 2 The Grand Remonflrance.
te for that he had not the honour to be known
l< to the King, and that there was another of the
" fame name, of the Houfe ;" but how that it
proved to be no miflake, and he accordingly
faw the King alone in the " fquare room " at
Why Whitehall. On which occafion his Majefty told
Charles j^m <c tjlat j^ neard from all hands how much
ful to him. " he was beholden to him ; and that when all
" his fervants in the Houfe of Commons
" either neglected his fervice, or could not
ff appear ufefully in it, he took all occasions
" to do him fervice; for which he thought fit
<c to give him his own thanks, and to aiTure
" him that he would remember it to his
c< advantage." For his affection to the Church
in particular, Mr. Hyde proceeds to tell us,
his Majefty thanked him more than for all the
reft ; and then he difcourfed of what he called
His fervice the paflion of the Houfe } and of the bill lately
againft brought in againft Epifcopacy, and afked
paPcyCBill. Hyde whether he thought they would be able
to carry it, to which the other anfwered he
believed they could not, at leaft that it would be
very long firft. ." Nay," replied Charles, "If
u you will look to it that they do not carry it
Engage- " before I go to Scotland, which will be at
mentto " fuch a time, when the armies fhall be dif-
defeat it. cc j^^gj^ / w/// undertake for the Church after
" that time."
Plainly one great hope on which Charles built in this expedition to his Northern dominions, was, by means of perfonal inter- courfe on his way with the mutinous Northern army, and by fimilar influences exerted in Edinburgh over the leaders of the yet undif-
§ vi. Reaffembling of Parliament : Oct. 1641. 163
banded Scottifh force, to be able to achieve Hopes fome plan for getting certain regiments into gro™ti^e the fouth with a view to his defign againft the journey. Parliament itfelf in the perfons of its leading members. Does your Majefty fay, then, exclaimed Hyde, that you can undertake for the Church after your return ? " Why, then, Hyde's " by the Grace of God, it will not be in much Promife- " danger." What Mr. Hyde meant by this will foon more fully appear.
§ vi. Reassembling of Parliament : October, 1641.
The parliamentary recefs, during which Pym 20th of
fat as chairman of a committee having abfolute oftober>
0 . 1641.
powers to conduct bufinefs in the interval, Houfes
lafted from the 9th of September, when the meet-
Houfe had not rifen until nine o'clock at
night, to the morning of the 2.0th of October.
On that day the members reaffembled ; but
great gaps were feen in their ranks, and it Defaulters
became obvious, as week followed week with- c°™ * nS
out fupplying thefe deficiencies, that the
average of attendance had confiderably dimin-
ifhed. Lord Clarendon, though he hefitates
expreflly to fay fo, would have us afTume that
the King's party fuffered moft by this falling
off ; but the afTumption is hardly reconcileable
with the ftrenuous exertions of the patriots to
compel a more full attendance. It appears
from the D'Ewes manufcript that Strode went Strode's
even fo far, fome two months after the recefs, ProPofi-
as to propofe to fine a member £50, or expel againft the
him, if he perfifted in abfence without leave ; abrent
M 2
164
The Grand Remonfirance.
without leave.
Liberal party- weakened,
Forebod- ings com- ing true.
Report from the Recels Com- mittee.
and when fuggeftion was made on the King's behalf from Edinburgh, for the ifTue of a proclamation requiring full attendance of all the members of the Houfe, the Lord Keeper and Chief Juftice Bankes were againft it^as unfeafonable. The truth feems to have been, that the defection comprifed generally the clafs of not very fettled opinions which had hitherto fided moftly with the ftrongeft ; and that its manifestation at this critical time, bringing new proof of influences at work as well within as without the Houfe, to weaken the power of its leaders, furnifhed alfo a more complete juftification, if that were needed, of the courfe on which they had refolved.
Nor had they affembled many hours before darker warnings gathered in upon them. The Scottifh journey had borne its fruits. The entire diibanding of the Northern army at the time appointed had been intercepted by the King's order, under the hand of Vane ; there had been communications with it, during the King's progrefs to Edinburgh ; and the in- trigues in Edinburgh itfelf had been fo far partially fuccefTful, that a fchifm had been effected among the leaders of the Covenant of a character precifely fimilar to that which Hyde had undertaken for England. It was Pym's duty now, as chairman of the com- mittee appointed to fit during the recefs, after narrating the difcovery of Goring's plot, to place before the Commons certain evidences exifting of another widely fpread army confpi- racy in England, of the weight or importance to be attached to which, and of its poflible
§ vi. Reajfembling of Parliament ; Oft. 1641. 165
connection with matters then tranfpiring in Another Scotland, the Houfe would judge. Falkland Plot- and Hyde attempted to turn the debate into another direction, and the refult was flill dqubtful when Pym, in the midft of the fitting, produced letters which the committee had received from Hampden. Hampden was Letters flill in Edinburgh, nominally (with Fiennes Produced and Stapleton) as acommiffioner on the Scotch Hampden, debt, but really to watch the King's proceed- ings there ; and the letters now handed in from the member for Bucks, and which had reached the committee by an exprefs, detailed the fcheme jufl difcovered at Edinburgh for the afTaflination of the leaders of the Cove- The "In- nant.* The entire contents of thefe letters cident,"
# Clarendon fays explicitly that Montrofe, while profeffing Charge to be able to fatiffy the King of the treaibn of Argyle and againlt the Hamiltons, advifed the more certain and expeditious mode Montrofe. of difpoling of them by affafTination, which he " frankly "undertook to do" (Hi/l. ii. 17). The noble hiftorian adds that the King " abhorred that expedient," but unhappily even he is not able to deny that the King continued his regard and confidence to the man who (as at any rate he appears himfelf to have believed, at the clofe of his life, when the beft opportunities had meanwhile prefented them- felves for maturing his knowledge and judgment of the facts) had aclually fuggefted aflaffination. The fubject is fur- ther purfued in my Arreft of the Five Members, § xxviii. From the manufcript records of thefe proceedings of the Long Parliament which are before me as I write, I find that Pym, 30th Oc- as early as ten days after the prefent date, namely, on the 30th tober. October, appears to have been thoroughly conicious of what Pym's had been going on in Edinburgh. In the courfe of the more ipeech on elaborate itatementhe then gave of the circumftances (adverted Army to in his fpeech ten days before) of " a new defign now lately, defigns. " again to make ufe of the army againft us," he has occafion to advert alio to the fact that "fecret forces were ready in " fome places, and fecret meetings had been in Hamplhire by " fundry great recufants;" and with this he couples a warn- ing "that the Prince" (afterwards Charles II.) "who was " appointed to be at Richmond, was often at Oatlands with
1 66 7 'he Grand Remonjlrance.
were not divulged : but, on the further ftate- ment then made by Pym, a propofition by Hyde (which Falkland fupported) for leaving the bufinefs of Scotland to the Parliament Hyde and there, and paffing to confideration of the Falkland pay Qf t^Q £ve undifbanded troops of the
outvoted. *■ J
Northern army, was ftrenuoufly refilled, and at laft fuccefTfully. Then, upon the motion of Sir Benjamin Rudyard fupported by Sir Walter Earle and others, among whom Sir Simonds D'Ewes diftinguifhed himfelf by a highly metaphorical and ingenious addrefs in which he enlarged upon a wholefome bar- barous cuftom prevailing in Africa of hanging up one Lion to fcare the reft, refolutions were paffed for immediate conference with the Lords on the fafety of the parliament and kingdom ; Pym's re- instructions were given for occupation, with a carried, ftrong force, of all the military ports of the city; the trained-bands of London were ordered up to guard the two Houfes by night as well as by day ; and thefe troops, with the fimilar force enrolled in Weftminfter, were fubfe- quently turned into a regular parliamentary guard acting under direction of the Earl of Effex. All this had paffed during the day of the 20th of October ; and in the evening, Edward Nicholas,* already named as fo foon
" the Qjaeen, and away from the Marquis of Hertford his
" Governor, for whom there were no convenient lodgings at
£ " Oatlands." Then, after a certain break, thefe remarkable
f ' a" words follow : "That he feared the con/piracy ivent round,
tracked " anc* 'was *n ^cot^a?1^ as 'we^ as England."''
* An able and a moderate man, who ferved his mailer faithfully, and (rareft of qualities in a King's fervant then) not urvwifely. Clarendon defcribes him, in one of the iup-
Charaaer puffed paffages of his Hiftory, as " one of the Clerks of the
§ vi. Reajfembling of Parliament : 0£l. 1641. 167
to be knighted and made Secretary of State in place of Windebank, and who now fat for Newton in Hants, keeping the fignet during Charles's abfence in Edinburgh, wrote to Alarm of the King that fome well-affected parliament ^hola! men had been with him that day in great trouble, in confequence of news from Scotland, and that he had not been able to calm their anxiety.* As the days pafTed on, and new light was thrown on the equivocal polition of the King with the promoters of the league againft Argyle and the Hamiltons, this caufe for trouble to the " well-affected " did not diminifh. In a fecond letter, his Majefty is King's told how much his fervants in the Houfe are difheart- difheartened to be kept fo long in darknefs. ened. In a third, he has further notification of the great pain which is caufed by his filence. Nevertheless, that mofl: fignifkant filence continued.
Hampden followed foon after his letters, Arrival of leaving his fellow-commiffioners f in Edin- HamPden- burgh, and arrived in London while the newly introduced bill to take away the bifhops' votes in the other Houfe was under difcuffion.
" Council, who had been Secretary to the Duke of Bucking- of Edward " ham for the Maritime Affairs, a man of good experience, Nicholas. " and of a very good reputation" (ii. 600). The King made him Secretary of State as foon as he returned from Scotland. See Clarendon's Life, i. 94.
* " The next day after the receipt of the letters," fays Indirect Clarendon (ii. 579), " the Earls of Effex and Holland fadly ways of " told me, that I might clearly difcern the indirect way of the Court. " the Court, and how odious all honeft men grew to them."
f The Hon. Nathaniel Fiennes, Lord Say and Seale's fecond fon, member for Banbury ; and Sir Philip Stapleton, member for Boroughbridge.
168 The Grand Remonjirance.
Bjfhop's Hyde had kept faithfully his promife to the difcuffio" King. Upon this bill being reproduced, Falk- land rofe, and, to the general amazement, retracted the views he had formerly been fo deeply pledged to, and declared his determina- tion to vote againft it. D'Ewes, and other ftaunch holders of Puritan opinions, appear to have been completely unprepared for this demonstration ; but very fpeedily others joined in it, among whom Sir Edward Dering, the member for Kent, notably diftinguifhed him- felf. Thus Hyde's fcheme was thriving ; and Speakers the well-affected Parliament-men, as Secretary for and Nicholas calls them, were now acting as a com- pact body, and not fcrupling to avow the new tactics that governed them. "1 am forry," faid Hampden, <c to find a noble lord has Hamp- « changed his opinion fince the time the lafr. priie! Ur" il bill to this purpofe pafTed the Houfe ; for <c he then thought it a good bill, but now he fC thinketh this an ill one." cc Truly," replied Lord Falkland, Cf I was perfuaded at that time, " by the worthy gentleman who hath fpoken, " to believe many things which I have fince <c found to be untrue ; and, therefore, I have Falk- " changed my opinion in many particulars, as land's cc wejj as to things as perfons." It was the firlt frank bold announcement of the rup- ture in the Parliamentary party, and it may be interefting to paufe and confider the character of the man from whom it came.
§ vii. Lord Falkland. 169
§ vii. Lord Falkland.
The fudden and impetuous break-off from Beliefs as the party with whom he had acted To zealoufly *° ^,alk" in matters requiring no common nerve and chara&er. refolution, characteriftic as it was of the real Falkland, jars with the popular impreffions that arife at mention of his name. But merely to compare it with the courfe we have feen him adopt upon fuch queftions as Strafford's Attainder, may well fuggeft fome doubt as to the entire correctnefs of the eftimates ordinarily formed of the political character and opinions of this celebrated man. He is generally affumed to have been the incarnation of moderate and temperate counfels. It is but a few years Suppofed fince his example was publicly pleaded by a firft ^P*: oi minifter of the Crown to juftify the fincerity tion. with which he might be profecuting a war in the midft of continual proteftations of a defire for peace. We were afked to remember that the raoft virtuous and felf-reftrained character in our great rebellion, and the man moft devoted to the Royalift caufe, ftill murmured and f c in- geminated " -peace, peace, even whilft arming for the combat. But the allufion was unfortunate in turning wholly on that alleged circumftance in Falkland's career which is moft capable of clear difproof. He was by no means devoted to the caufe he fought for ; and he cried out peace, peace, folely becaufe he detefted the war.
No doubt, however, he is the man of all Errors and others of our civil conflict who is moft gene- m,sJudS- rally fuppofed to have reprefented therein the
170 The Grand Remonjirance.
monarchical principle ; and upon this ground his ftatue was among thofe voted earlieft for the hiftorical adornment of the new Palace at Weftminfter. But the real truth is, that Falkland was far more of an apoftate than Strafford, for his heart was really with the Parliament from the flrft, which Strafford's never was ; and never, to the very end, did Never he fincerely embrace the caufe with which his zealous for gal]ant and mournful death at the age of ing' thirty-four * has eternally connected him. I have no wifh to fay anything to unfettle the admiring thoughts which muft always clufter round the memory of one whom Lord Claren- don has celebrated not fimply as a flatefman and foldier, but as a patriot, poet,f and philofo-
Tribute * " Thus fell that incomparable young man, in the four-
by Hyde. " and-thirtieth year of his age, having lb much dilpatched
" the bulinefs of life, that the oldeft rarely attain to that
" immenfe knowledge, and the youngeft enter not into the
' ' world with more innocence. Whofoever leads fuch a life,
" need not care upon how fhort a warning it be taken from
" him." Hijl. iv. 257. For " need not care" the flrft
editors had fubftituted " needs be the lefs anxious."
Gratitude t To the gratitude of the poets themfelves, — to the eternal
of the remembrance with which fuch men as Ben Jonfon, Suckling,
Poets to Waller, and Cowley, can pay richly back in their loving verfe
Falkland. a1^ kinds and degrees of loving fervice, — Falkland rather owes
his title than to any achievements of his own. But there are
yet a fufncient number of good lines in his occafional poetical
pieces to juftify Suckling's having placed him in his ' Sefllon
' of the Poets.' There are many manly verfes in his Eclogue
on Jonfon's death.
ji;s " Alas ! that bard, that glorious bard is dead,
Eclogue Who, when I whilome cities vifited,
on Hath made them feem but hours which were full days,
Jonfon,s Whilft he vouchfaft me his harmonious lays ;
death. And when I lived, I thought the country then
A torture ; and no manfion, but a den."
Falkland puts this into the mouth of Hylas, and it may
§ vii. Lord Falkland. 171
pher, in fentences that will be immortal. But it is impoflible to become familiar with the details of this period of our hiftory, and with
remind us of what Clarendon fays of the writer's own paf- fionate fondnefs for London. Melyboeus rejoins :
" Jonfon you mean, unlefs I much do err I know the perfon by the character."
The fame fpeaker continues :
" His learning fuch, no author, old or new, On Jon-
Elcaped his reading that deferv'd his view, *on s_
And fuch his judgment, fo exaft his teft learning.
Of what was beft in books, as what books beft, That, had he joined thole notes his labours took From each moft praifed and praife-deferving book, And could the world of that choice treafure boaft, It need not care though all the reft were loft."
Of his great art he then fpeaks, fo that what he pleafed to His write— vogue in
" Gave the wife wonder and the crowd delight. theatres.
Each fort as well as fex admir'd his wit, The hes and ihes, the boxes and the pit ; And who lefs liked, within did rather chufe To tax their judgments than fufpeft his mule. Nor no fpeftatorhis chafte ftage could call The caufe of any crime of his, but all With thoughts and wills purg'd and amended rife From the ethick leftures of his Comedies : Where the fpeftators aft, and the fham'd Age Blufhes to meet her follies on the ftage ; Where each man finds fome light he never fought, And leaves behind fome vanity he brought. Whofe Politicks no lefs the mind direft Than thofe the Manners, nor with lefs effeft, When his majeftic Tragedies relate All the diforders of a tottering ftate." . . .
It was to be remembered alio, Melyboeus adds, that of all His felf- this old Ben was himfelf " fole workman and fole architeft," raifed as to which he concludes : fortune.
" And furely what my friend did daily tell,
If he but afted his own part as well
As he writ thofe of others, he may boaft
The happy fields hold not a happier ghoft ! "
Thefe are not only good lines, but very valuable perfonal notices of rare old Jonfon.
172 The Grand Remonftrance.
Opinions Falkland's mare in what preceded the Debates Falkland ■ on ^ Remonftrance, and to doubt in what fpirit alone he could have taken the part which he fubfequently played. Over and over again does Clarendon himfelf find it neceflary to remark of him, that he never had any venera- tion for the Court, but only fuch a loyalty to the King as the law required from him ; and as t0 as often is he conftrained to admit, on the Court and other hand, that he had naturally a wonderful mcnt?" reverence for Parliaments, as believing them moft folicitous for juftice, the violation whereof, in the leaft degree, he could not forgive any mortal power*
But the friend who has done fo much to preferve and endear his fame flnce his death, had unhappily influence enough, while he Influence lived, to lead him into a poiition which made of Hyde. tke exzQ reverfe 0f thofe opinions an official neceffity ; and Falkland was eminently a man who, finding himfelf fo placed, however unex- pectedly, was ready to facriflce everything to the punctilio of honour. In his opinions, if not in his perfonal antecedents, he was like the Faith of old cavalier Sir Edmund Verney, whofe doubts CaVa°iier were expreffed to Hyde, the tempter of all thefe men. " I have eaten the King's bread, " and ferved him near thirty years, and I v/ill " not do fo bafe a thing as to forfake him. I " choofe rather to lofe my life (which I am " fure I mail do) to preferve and defend thofe
* This pafTage is of courfe meant to convey, as Bifliop Warburton has remarked, that Falkland thought refiftance lawful, which Hyde himfelf did not. And the fame feeling is expreffed in other paflages, as ii. 94 j iv. 244, &c.
§ v 1 1 . L ord Falkland. 1 7 3
£c things which are againft my confcience to " preferve and defend; for, I will deal freely " with you, I have no reverence for the <c bifhops for whom this quarrel fubfifts." There was only this important difference in sentiment Falkland, that the bread which he had eaten, not Jud§- and the fervice to which he was vowed, before he made his final election, was that of the Parliament and not of the King. And it is not difficult to difcern that his ftrongeft feeling remained in this direction throughout : even when he feemed, as it will be my duty to fhow him in this party ftruggle of the Remon- ftrance, moft deeply to have committed him- felf againft its leaders. His convictions never £afy prCy ceafed to be with the opinions which the to Hyde's Parliament reprefented, though his perfonal ^rnua" habits, his elegant purfuits, his faftidious taftes, his thorough-going fenfe of friendfhip, and even his fhynefs of manner and impatient impulfivenefs of temper, made him an eafv prey to the perfuafive arts that feduced him to the fervice of the King. Nor will it be unjuft to add that it is the admiration thus attracted to his perfonal character and habits, rather than any fenfe of his public fervices, which conftitutes the intereft of his name. It is not therefore in parliament, nor on the field of Falkland': battle, that they mould feek for Falkland who ftrong- would cheriih him moft, but rather in that private home to which his love and patronage of letters lent infinite graces and enjoyments, and where the man of wit and learning found himfelf invariably welcomed as to "a college " fituated in a purer air."
174
The Grand Remonjlrance.
Macaulay.
view Lord Macaulay has remarked that he was
taken by too faftidious for public life, and never em- ir < -1, .. - ..,
barked in a caufe that he did not ipeedily difcover fome reafon for growing indifferent or hoftile to.* There is fomething in that ; but we mould prefer to fay that his fpirit in all things was too much on the furface — too quick, impetuous, and impatient ; and hence both his ftrength in impulfe, and his weaknefs in action. He carried about with him a painful fenfe of perfonal difadvantages which he was
Macau- lay's EJfays i. 160.
A public man unfit for public life.
What if he had lived to Revo- lution ?
* The subjoined paffage is fo happy a fpecimen of the manner of the writer, that I cannot reiift appending it. " He did not perceive that in fuch times as thofe on which his lot had fallen, the duty of a ftateiman is to choofe the better caufe and to ftand by it, in l'pite of thofe exceffes by which every caufe, however good in itfelf, will be difgraced. The prefent evil always feemed to him the worft. He was always going backward and forward ; but it mould be remembered to his honour that it was always from the ftronger to the weaker fide that he deferted. While Charles was oppreffing the people, Falkland was a refolute champion of liberty. He attacked Strafford. He even concurred in ftrong meafures againft Epifcopacy. But the violence of his party annoyed him, and drove him to the other party, to be equally annoyed there. Dreading the fuccefsof the caufe which he had efpoufed, difgufted by the courtiers of Oxford, as he had been difgufted by the patriots of Weftminfter, yet bound by honour not to abandon the caufe for which he was in arms, he pined away, neglected his peri'on, went about moaning for peace, and at lalt rulhed defperately on death, as the beft refuge in fuch miferable times. If he had lived through the fcenes that followed, we have little doubt that he would have condemned himfelf to fhare the exile and beggary of the royal family ; that he would then have returned to oppoi'e all their meafures ; that he would have been fent to the Tower by the Commons as a ftifler of the Popifh Plot, and by the King as an accomplice in the Rye Houfe Plot ; and that if he had efcaped being hanged, firft by Scroggs, and then by Jefferies, he would, after manfully oppofing James the Second through years of tyranny, have been feized with a fit of companion at the very moment of the Revolution, have voted for a Regency, and died a Non- juror." (Ed. 1843.)
§ vii. Lord Falkland. 175
eager to overcome, and his very impetuofity objeaions was often but another form of fhynefs. But thereto- to whatever caufe attributable, it is certain that what he would do in public life, he was apt to overdo ; and there cannot be a greater miftake than that which fo often reprefents him, and which voted him the firft ftatue among Englifh worthies in the palace at Weftminfter, as the incarnate fpirit of the moderation of our ftruggle in the feventeenth century. His temperament had in it as little as poffible of calmnefs or moderation. He fought a duel Excita- before he was nineteen ; and while yet in his blllty of minority, he had defied his father's authority emper and made a runaway match. What his friend Hyde calls a " notable vivacity " was always expreffing itfelf in him, by words or deeds ; whether the matter was great enough to impel him fuddenly into the allegiance for which he died, or only fmall enough to bring down " his clafped hands tightly on the crown of his cf hat " where another man would have thought it enough quietly to fit covered. Mentioning Anecdote a vote of the Commons for fome certain fpecial by Claren- fervice, by which the Speaker was inftrucled in the name of the whole Houfe to give thanks to him who had rendered it, and every member was alfo defired as a teftimony of his particular acknowledgment "to ftir or move his hat," Hyde tells us that, believing the fervice itfelf not to be of that moment, and that an honourable and generous perfon would not have ftooped to it for any recompenfe, "in- Emphafis " ftead of moving his hat, he ftretchcd both overdone. Cf his arms out and clafped his hands together
176
Similar trait of Danton.
Strange
refem-
hlances.
Stranger contrafts.
The Grand Remonjl ranee.
<c upon the crown of his hat, and held it cloje " down to his head, that all men might fee <c how odious that flattery was to him, and <c the very approbation of the perfon though cc at that time mod popular." The action might for once have excufed the ftrange defire of the privy councillor before named, to compare his countrymen in thefe wars to very different actors in a very different revolution. <c Firm as the hat of Servandony ! " fhouted Danton, with happy allufion to one of the towers of St. Sulpice fo named, as he crufhed down and held his hat immovably over his great broad face, when threatened with chaftife- ment if he would not uncover while he fat in the pit of the Fran^ais on the eve of the Convocation of the States-General. And certainly, however unlike the men, a fudden, indignant, too impatient fpirit, was common to both. It largely contributed to what was right as well as to what was wrong in Falkland, and might equally have juftified his felection as the reprefentative, not of the moderation of the ftruggle, but of either of its extremes. The artift who received the commimon for his ftatue might have fculptured him as on the 8th of February (1 640-1), the vehement affailant of the Bifhops, or as on the 25th of October (1641), the vehement fupporter of the Church. He might have been taken in 1640 as eager for Strafford's life, as in 1643 he had become recklefs of his own in the fame ill-fated fervice as Strafford's. /
Very certain it is, at any rate, that he is the laft perfon to take for a model of devotion to
§ vii. Lord Falkland. 177
the caufe he was kft engaged in. Hyde expreflly tells us that <c from the entrance into " this unnatural war his natural cheerfulnefs Cf and vivacity grew clouded;" that only "when Diflike of lc there was any overture or hope of peace, he war* fc would be more erect and vigorous;" and that fuch, in fhort, was his friend's diflike of the war that he invited and fought death merely to get himfelf fairly out of it. Before war was actually entered on, indeed, we have proof that this dejection and fadnefs of fpirit had ftolen upon him. When, for inltance, on the Laftap- 5th of September, 1642, he delivered to the f*^J Houfe of Commons, as minifter to the King, of Com- the laft meflage fent by Charles to the repre- mons- fentatives of his people, he is defcribed in the Manufcript Journal of D'Ewes, who witnefTed the fcene, to have flood bareheaded at the bar, even as Culpeper had flood but ten days before, looking fo dejectedly as if he had been a delinquent rather than a member of the More like parliament, a privy councillor, and mefTenp;er " ,
r 1 w-« ttt 1 1 • 1 • 1 ° quentthan
from the King. Was he thinking, then, of Miniftei. that old reverence he bore to Parliaments, infomuch that he thought it really impofTible they could ever produce mifchief or incon- venience to the kingdom, or that the kingdom could be tolerably happy in the intermilTion of them ? * As he furveyed the old familiar benches, was he forrowful with the fad mif- ?,e#ret or giving that he had elfewhere now transferred his proach ? allegiance, and that it was no longer permitted him to hold the exalted opinion he once held
* Clarendon, Hiji. iv. 244.
178 The Grand Remonjirance.
of the uprightnefs and integrity of the leading men who fat there, especially of Mr. Hampden ? *
But whatever fuch doubts or felf-queftion- ings may have been, they need not now over- fhadow or cloud a memory that Englifhmen of all opinions may well be proud to cherifh. If we defire to reclaim Falkland to the Parlia- ment, it is that we would gladly, for ourfelves, aflbciate with that fide in the ftruggle thofe Falk- prodigious parts of learning and knowledge, land's that inimitable fweetnefs and delight in con- qualities. verfati°n> that flowing and obliging humanity and goodnefs to mankind, that primitive fim- plicity and integrity of life. But it is doubtlefs the wifer courfe to feparate from all mere party alTociations fuch qualities as thefe, and rather to think of them as vouchfafed to fuftain and fweeten our common nature under all its con- Services ditions of conteft and trial. He afked no )f man's opinion, fays Clarendon, whom he de- fired to ferve ; it was enough that he found a man of wit, family, or good parts, clouded with poverty or want ; and fuch was his gene- rality and bounty for all worthy perfons of that kind needing fupplies and encouragement (whofe fortunes required, and whofe fpirits made them fuperior to, ordinary obligations),!
* HiJI. iv. 245.
Hyde's t " As," Clarendon takes occafion to fay (Life, i. 46),
happy "Ben Jonfon, and many others of that time." "Which
" yet," he adds, " they were contented to receive from him, " becaufe his bounties were fo generoufly distributed, and lb " much without vanity and orientation, that, except from " thofe few perfons from whom he lbmetimes received the " character of fit objeft for his benefits, or whom he intruded " for the more fecret deriving them to them, he did all he
wit
happy eulogy
§ vii. Lord Falkland. 179
that he feemed to have his eftate in truft for fuch alone. To that generous home which he Open kept open to his friends near Oxford, no man oxford* had to pay toll or tax of opinion at entering.* There, without queftion afked, men of all opinions in Church and State alTembled ; find- ing in their hoft fuch an immenfenefs of wit and fuch a folidity of judgment, fo infinite. a to men fancy bound in by a mod logical ratiocination, o{ . .
r \ ni 11 11 • opinions.
iuch a vait knowledge that he was not ignorant in anything, with fuch an exceffive humility as if he had known nothing, that the place was
" could that the perfons themfelves who received them mould
" not know from what fountain they flowed; and when that Exquifite
" could not be concealed, he fuftained any acknowledgment deljcacv
" from the perfons obliged with fo much trouble and baftiful-
" nefs, that they might well perceive, that he was even
" afhamed of the little he had given, and to receive fo large
" a recompenfe for it."
* " Who all found their lodgings there," fays Clarendon, Picture of " as ready as in the colleges ; nor did the lord of the houfe Falk- " know of their coming or going, nor who were in his houfe, land's " till he came to dinner, or fupper, where all ftill met : other- houfe. " wife there was no troublefome ceremony or conftraint, to " forbid men to come to the houfe, or to make them weary of " flaying there ; fo that many came thither to ftudy in a better " air, finding all the books they could defire in his library, " and all the perfons together whole company they could " wifh, and not find in any other fociety." Life, i. 48. In his hiflory Clarendon adds that upon one fubjeft only was Falkland intolerant in refpeft of thofe whom he received, and Intolerant he attributes it to the fail that the Papifls had corrupted his only of two younger brothers (his mother was a Catholic) " being intole- " both children, and ftolen them from his houfe, and tranfported ranee, "beyond leas;" and that they had alio "perverted his " fillers :" upon which occaiion, Clarendon mentions, " he " writ two large difcourfes againft the principal pofitions of " that religion, with that fharpnefs and flyle, and full weight " of reafon, that the Church is deprived of great jewels in the " concealment of them, and that they are not publifhed to the " world." Hift. iv. 244. Some curious letters having Difcourfes reference to thefe incidents in Falkland's family will be found againft in the Clarendon State Papers, ii. 535 — 538. Popery.
n 2
180 The Grand Remonfirance.
A college to them as a college fituated in a purer
in purer o|j- *
Were it poflible that a time might come when all recollection mould have pafled away of the momentous quarrel in which Falkland threw down his life, thofe things might yet continue his name and memory with profit and advantage to all men. And even above Three them we would place the three particular cha- fpecial racteriftics which the affection of his friend iftics: " cannot help recording, while he qualifies them as niceties with which he was reproached during life as unfuited to f(the neceffity and {< iniquity of the time." Holding, on the other hand, that were it only pofTible to find men pure enough to practife them, they would abate the neceffity and iniquity of every time, I mail clofe the feet ion by placing them on record here as the higheft human eulogy to be pronounced on Falkland. The firft was, love of that fo feverely did he adore truth that he truth 5 could as eafily have given himfelf leave to fteal as to dilTemble. In other words, to fuffer any man to think that he would do anything which he was refolved not to do, he thought a far more mifchievous kind of lying than any pofitive averring of what could eafily be con- tradicted. The fecond was, that he would hatred of never give the remoteft countenance or enter- fpiesj tainment to the employing of fpies. Such inftruments, he held, muft be fo void of all ingenuoufnefs and common honefty before they could be of ufe, that afterwards they
* Clarendon, Hi/}, iv. 243.
§ viii. The SeceJJion and its Dangers. 1 8 1
could never be fit to be credited ; and he could account no fingle prefervation to be worth fo general a wound and corruption of human fociety as the cherifhing fuch perfons would carry with it. The third was, that he de- reVerence nounced ever with vehement indignation the f°r p"- liberty of opening private letters, upon fufpi- J^^ cion that they might contain matter of dan- gerous confequence ; thinking it fuch a violation of the law of nature that no qualification by office could juftify a fingle perfon in the trefpafs.
Such and fo great that lafl particular tref- pafs, indeed, that it may in fome cafes be a moot queftion whether any lapfe of time abfolves the refponfibility of keeping private letters, which the writers of them never meant to be laid open, ever ftrictly and facredly clofed.
§ viii. The Secession and its Dangers.
There was certainly no kind of conceal- Falk- ment or referve, and no diffembling, in what lanci's Falkland told the Houfe upon Hampden's "eea^er . return from Scotland. So far he fhowed the ftrength of his character even in a confeffion of the weaknefs of his conduct. He was no longer difpofed to accept or act upon the counfels of the member for Buckinghamfhire, and he avowed at once that, upon the queftion where they molt widely diverged, he meant to follow Hyde's counfels. He had changed his r>ot opinion in many particulars, as well as to d^but things as perfons, and he chofe frankly to fay Hyde, fo. This was at leaft fair warning. On which-
182
The Grand Remonftrance.
Liberal ever fide might be found to lie ultimately the broker^ ri&nt or tne wrong> here was at any rate an end up. to that phalanx which had brought Strafford
to the fcaffold, lodged Laud in the Tower, and driven Finch and Windebank into exile ; which had condemned fhip-money, impeached the judges who gave it their fanction, and dragged one of them in open court from the feat his injustice had polluted ; * which had paffed the triennial bill, and voted as un- lawful every tax upon the fubject impofed without confent of the Houfe of Com- mons ; which had abolifhed all j'urifdiclions that reared themfelves above the law ; and before whofe unfhrinking, compact array, alike the petty and the mighty instrument of wrong had fallen, the Stannary Courts and the Court of York, the Star Chamber and the High CommilTion. In not one of thefe retri- butive or reformatory acts, had the party of Hyde and Falkland wavered in the leaft : in Defertion many, they had outstripped even Denzil Hollis, Cromwell, Hampden, and Pym. But they now did not hefitate to give out, as in Falkland's reproach to Hampden, that un- founded inducements had been addreffed to them ; and that this juftified their inftant
Its
achieve
merits.
by fe ceders
A Judge arretted on the Bench.
* I quote from Whitelocke's Memorials (p. 40, Ed. 1732). " February 13, 1640. Sir Robert Berkley, one of the Judges " of the King's Bench, who gave his opinion for Ship money, " was impeached by the Commons of High Treafon, in the " Lords' Houfe, and, by their command, Maxwell, the Ufher " of the Black Rod, came to the King's Bench when the " Judges were fitting, took Judge Berkley from off the Bench, " and carried him away to prifon, which ttruck a great terrour " in the reft of his brethren then fitting in Weftmintter Hall, " and in all his profefTion."
§ viii. The Seceffion and its Dangers. 183
defertion, as well of the principles they had acted on, as of the men they fo long had acted with. What the alleged mifreprefentations never were, has never been explained. But it is for certain that not an attempt was made by them, before they paffed into opposition againft their old afTociates, to obtain a fingle fecurity for the King's better faith as to any one tranfaction of the year during which they had ranked as his opponents. Still in all refpects unaltered, n^t j8 fave that Strafford flood no longer by his fide, at leaft Charles the Firft cannot be accufed of having tempted thefe men. Their names, and their exertions in debate, are fubmitted by Secretary Nicholas to his matter, with a re- queft for due encouragement to fuch fervice, in the very letters which bear evidence of Charles's continued hatred of the Caufe of Oldcaufe which they had been the defenders, and were f^i to him. now the betrayers. There is hardly an inter- change of confidence at this date between Edinburgh and Whitehall, in which there is not either news of fome frefh fuppofed danger to the parliamentary leaders, received with unconcealed fatisfaction ; or the fuggeftion of fome plot or intrigue againit them, thrown out with eager hope. If they had flinched or wavered for a moment, all that they had gained Danger 01 rauft at once have paffed from their keeping. ° ing a Happily for their own fame, more happily for our peaceful enjoyment of the fruits of their defperate druggie, they ftood quiet and un- difmayed under every danger and every form of temptation.
Some days before the realTembling of the Reappear-
i84
The Grand Remonfirance.
ance of plague.
King's defire for adjourn- ment of Houfes.
Pym's refiilance.
Attempt on Pym's life.
Letter delivered
Houfe, great ficknefs had broken out in London ; the plague had reappeared in fome quarters ; and the occafion had been feized for an intrigue to ftay the reaflembling, or to pro- cure at Jeaft an adjournment of place if not of time. It is a leading topic in feveral letters from Secretary Nicholas to the King. At firft he is full of hope, defcribing the fpread of the plague and the fhutting up of infected houfes around Weftminfter, and confidently anticipating that adjournment in fome form muft be reforted to, fo rife and dangerous the ficknefs grows. But after three days he has to change his tone, and to tell the King that 11 Mr. Pym " and thofe of his party will not hear that parliament fhall not be held, or fhalJ meet anywhere but in London or Weftminfter. It met, as we have feen ; and Mr. Pym, five days after the meeting, received very decifive intimation of the temper with which the King's partizans out of doors now regarded him.
He was fitting in his ufual place, on the right hand beyond the members' gallery, near the bar, on the 25th of October, when, in the midft of debate on a proposition he had fub- mitted for allowance of " powder and bullet " to the City Guard, a letter was brought to him. The Serjeant of the Houfe had received it from a meftenger at the door, to whom a gentleman on horfeback in a grey coat had given it that morning on Fifh-ftreet-hill ; with a gift of a milling, and injunction to deliver it with great care and fpeed. As Pym opened the letter, fomething dropped out of it on the
§ viii. The SeceJJlon and its Dangers. 185
floor ; but without giving heed to this he read hY *he
. do m Serieant
to himfelf a few words, and then, holding up the paper, called out that it was a fcandalous libel. Hereupon it was carried up to the lately- Handed appointed Clerk's Affiftant, Mr. John Rufh- £ J^- worth, who, in his unmoved way, read aloud its worth, abufe of the great leader of the Houfe, and its affeveration that if he mould efcape the pre- fent attempt, the writer had a dagger .prepared for him. At this point, however, young Mr. Rufhworth would feem to have loft his coolnefs, for he read the next few lines in an agitated way. They explained what had dropped from the letter. It was a rag that had covered a plague- its con- wound, fent in the hope that infection might by tents' fuch means be borne to him who opened it. " Whereupon," fays the eye-witnefs, from whofe report the incident is now flrft related as it really happened, "the faid clerk's affiftant Mr. Rufh- ** having read fo far, threw down the letter ^°^ s " into the houfe ; and fo it was fpurned away <c out of the door." Its threats, however, could not fo be fpurned away, and were not mere empty brutalities. Nicholas's report of it to the King was dated but a few days after the occurrence, yet, in the brief interval, not only had another attempt upon Pym's life Further been difcovered, but a perfon miftaken for atteniPts
so- 3_i nit
him had been {tabbed in Weftminfter Hall. pym. Charles made no comment on the particular fubject reported upon by his correfpondent. But, if fo minded, his Majefty might have told him that he and his Queen had their plots alfo, againft the foremoft man of the parlia- ment ; and that Pym's name, for purpofes of
i86
The Grand Remonjlrance.
Houfe.
their own, was become a word of familiar found in their letters to each other.* Hisaflail- Pym had affailants in the Houfe itfelf, too, ants in the more open, but hardly more honourable. The firft direct refult of the dark rumours from Scotland inculpating the King, was a proposition moved in the Commons for a vote affirming the King's right to nominate all officers, councillors, ambaffadors, and minifters ; but demanding that the power of approving them mould in future reft with the parliament. It was brought forward by Mr.
Refolu
tion
moved
Allufions to Pym in Queen's letters.
Attempts to bring him into fulpicion.
Caufes of his popu- larity.
Tribute by Cove- nanter Baillie.
* " I received yelterday a letter from Pym, by which he " fends me word that he fears I am offended with him, becaufe " he has not had a letter from me for a long time. I beg you " tell him that that is not the cafe, and that I am as much " his friend as ever, but I have lb much bulinefs, that I have " not been able to write by expreffes, and by the poft it is not " fafe." So wrote Henrietta Maria to her hufband the King ; and the intention of courfe was to damage Pym, if poffible, by letting fuch expreffions, in themfelves a pure invention, carnally be feen. Again me fays, in another letter: " As to the thirty thoufand pieces which Pym lends " me word have been promifed a long time ago, and not fent, " you will alio be Ihown how they have been employed moft " ufefully for your fervice." Again, artfully naming him with a known agent and minilter of Charles : " I have lb " much bufmefs that I have not leifure to write to Pym nor " to Culpeper. Remember me to them, and tell them I am " returned to England as much their friend as when I " left, &c." ThefubjecT: of Pym's extraordinary popularity, and its caufes, is treated in more detail in my Arrejl of the Five Members, § v, but I will here fubjoin the ltriking tefti- mony borne by Covenanter Baillie to the qualities which had fingled out this great man for thofe onerous duties of leader- fliip under which he lank exhaulted in the fecond year of the war. Baillie is writing to his friend Spang on the ioth Auguft, 1644: "Since Pym died, not a State Head amongft " them : many very good and able fpirits, but not any of fo " great and comprehenfive a braine, as to manage the multi- " tude of fo weightie affaires as lyes on them. If God did " not fit at their helme, for any good guiding of theirs long " ere this they had been gone." Journals, ii. 216.
§ vin. The Secejjion and its Dangers. 187
Robert Goodwin, the member for Eaft Grin- ftead, in a fpeech levelled at the new party in the Houfe. He dilated on the difafters under- againft gone from former advifers and minifters of™"Jj^t_ the Sovereign ; and argued that all they had ments gained would now be loft, if they could nottooffice- guard againft poftible dangers from new coun- sellors as unworthy, and who might perhaps become as powerful, as the old. The matter was debated on both fides with vehemence, and Mr. William Strode,* who fat for Beer-
* What Clarendon fays of Strode, that he was " one of Claren- " thofe ephori who moft avowed the curbing and fupprefung dori's " of Majeliy " (i. 253), and further (ii. 23), that he was attackon " one of the fierceft men of the party, and of the party only Strode: " for his fiercenels," is coloured always by ftrong peribnal dil- like, but it had probably foine foundation. Only he forgets to ftate that Strode had precifely the fame claims to popular fympathy and confidence of which he does not withhold the credit from other leading men, in fo far as fuch might fairly reft on former lufrerings, and long imprifonments, tor inde- pendent conduct in preceding parliaments. And indeed, coniidering the ftrong claim which, in every other cafe, fuch fufferings conftituted — the title which the mere fa£l of having fo fuffered gave, to popularity out of the Houfe, to authority within it, and to continued diflike and jcaloufy from the Court — it is perfectly inexplicable to me that Clarendon, in not ap- remarking on the arreft of the five members, fhould bring plicable to himfelf to talk of a man who had fat in the laft two Parlia- Strode of ments of James and in all the Parliaments ot Charles, who James's had been a foremoft actor in the great fcene of the diflblution reign, of the Third Parliament, and who for his fpirited and manly conduct that day had fuffered perfecution and long imprifon- ment, as he fpeaks of Strode. After obfeiving that three of the five members impeached were really diftinguifhed men, he adds (vol. ii. 161), " Sir Arthur Halelrig and Mr. Strode were " peribns of too low an account and efteem ; and though " their virulence and malice was as confpicuous and tranfcen- " dent as any man's, yet their reputation, and intereft to do " any mifchief, otherwife than in concurring in it, was fo " fmall, that they gained credit and authority by being " joined with the reft, who had indeed a great influence."
I had written thus far when it occurred to me to make Probable further inquiry, and the remit is a conviction to my mind confufion
i38
The Grand Remonfirance.
between
two
Strodes.
The later Strode a young man.
Evidence of
D'Ewes's Journal.
Scene at Arreft of Five Members,
Counter tefti- mony in
alfton, appears to have given the member for
that the Strode of the Parliaments of James and the early Parliaments of Charles, and the Strode of the Long Parlia- ment, in whofe identity every hiftorian and writer upon thefe times, fo far as I am aware, has hitherto implicitly believed, and by whom, as one and the fame fpeaker, a large place is filled in both Editions of the Parliamentary Hiftory, were two diftinff. perfons. That fo extraordinary a miftake fhould have been made as to aperfon whom the King's fatal attempt was calcu- lated to render notorious, may ferve to mow, among other things, how much has yet to be learned refpe&ingthe incidents and aftors in thefe momentous times. The proof as to Strode confifts in the fact of repeated references to him as a young man, in the manufcript reports of the proceedings of the houfe which I have had before me while writing. Rufhvvorth had already drily noticed {Colleclions, Part iii. Vol. I. 477) his obftinacy in refufing, when the King's intention was made known, to leave the houfe with the other members, until his ancient acquaintance Sir Walter Earle forced him out: but I fubjoin an ampler account of the fcene, until now unpublifhed, which is interefting in itfelf, and appears decifive as to the miftake hitherto made. " But Mr. William Strode, " the laft of the five, being a young man and unmarried, " could not be perfuaded by his friends for a pretty while to " go out 5 but laid that knowing himfelf to be innocent, he " would ftay in the houfe, though he fealed his innocency " with his blood at the door: nor had he been at laft over- " come by the importunate advice and entreaties of his friends, '* when the van or fore-front of thole ruffians marched into " Weftminfter Hall. Nay, when no perfuafions could prevail " with the faid Mr. Strode, Sir Walter Earle, his entire " friend, was fain to take him by the cloak, and pull him " out of his place, and fo get him out of the houfe." From the fact of his reprefenting Beeralfton, and of the connection between the family of the elder Strode and Sir Walter Earle, young Strode was in all probability the fon ; but both the Editions of the Parliamentary Hiftory, and all other bio- graphies and hiftories relating to him, beginning with the very pofitive account in the Second Imprefllon of the Athena Oxonienfes (iii. 176-8, Edit. 1817), muft now be altered, if what I have here advanced be correct.
[The difpute of Strode's identity was reflated, and the view here exprefted further enforced, in my Arrejl of the Fi<ve Members, § xxi, in reply to fome remarks which the prefent note had elicited in a very able book {Illujlratiom of the Great Rebellion, by Mr. Langton Sanfoid) publifhed after my EJfays. But, in now leaving as it ftands this curious hirtoric doubt, I am bound frankly to fay that the counter teftimony
§ vni. The SeceJJiun and its Dangers. 189
Saltafh, Mr. Edward Hyde*, fome advantage, strode'* by the unufual violence of tone with which he violence, broadly infifted on the right of the Houfe to a negative voice in placing great officers of ftate. " I think moft he faid was premedi- " tated," fays a member who was prefent ; u but it was fo extreme in ftrain, as Mr. " Hyde did, upon the fudden, confute moft
in favour of identity, though far from decifive, is ftronger favour of than I fuppofed. A Refolution of the Houfe is reported, vot- identity, ing a tribute after the death of Strode of the Long Parlia- ment, which would feem to recognife, not only his attempted arreft by Charles, but his former fufferings under James. On the other hand, this vote belongs to a period when a con- fuiion between perfons of the fame family was quite poflible The other in a refolution having for its objecl to exprefs the public grati- view tude. And I l'ubjoin, in further corroboration of doubts ftrength- which I ftill hold to predominate, an extrafl from a private ened : letter of D'Ewes to his wife defcribing the introduction of the Triennial Bill, unquestionably the a6t of the man affociated afterwards with Hampden and Pym in the King's attempted Arreft. " My dear Love," writes D'Ewes, "I had thought " to have written at large unto you this weeke, but multitude " of buiinefs hinders mee. I heere enclofed fend you a copie " of an Aft of Parliament which was firft brought into the in lettei " Houfe by one Mr. William Stroud, a young man.'''' Is it to Lady conceivable that D'Ewes, one of the moftpun&iliouuy accurate D Ewes, of writers, would thus have delcribed a man who had obtained diftin£tion as a reprefentative of the people before the clofe of the preceding reign, when D'Ewes himfelf was little more than a lad from college ? And as he thus firft defcribed the Strode of the Long Parliament, fo, after nearly twelve months had pafled, we have feen that he continued to defcribe him. i860.]
* I call him by either name indifcriminately, Hyde or Another Lord Clarendon, in the courle of this work ; but he was not Hyde: the only Hyde who fat in the Long Parliament. There was a Robert Hyde, alfo a lawyer and a royalift, who fat for Salif- bury ; commonly called Serjeant Hyde. Robert voted againft Strafford's attainder, and has occasionally been miftaken for Edward in the lift of " Straffordians." When Edward firft more received the King's melfage for an interview before he fet decidedly forth to Scotland, he affecled to believe the meffenger had Royalift committed a miftake, and that his royalift namefake was than intended. Much more likely he, than one who had taken Edward, fuch part on the other fide ! See Life, i. 92.
190 The Grand Remonft ranee.
Hyde's cc of it." Eagerly was Mr. Hyde now plying
oppor- n;s chofen office of King's defender ; but he
doubtlefs found his talk more difficult after
the interval of a week, during which the
ftartling news had arrived (received in the
Houfe, fays Clarendon, with deep filence and
Irifh Re- a kind of confternation) of that rebellion and
bellion. moft appalling mafTacre by the Irifh papifts,
from fome connivance with whofe abettors the
memory of Charles the Firft has never yet
been cleared. Pym then faw his advantage.
He put the matter of evil counfellors in a
more practical form, and brought fuddenly
into open clafh and collifion the two parties
Pvm's into which the Houfe had become divided.
oppor- And the fame great name of Strafford which
had formerly united them, re-appeared now
but as the fignal to mow how completely they
were riven afunder.
§ ix. The New Party and the Old.
5th No- On Friday, the 5th of November, upon vember, the qUeftion 0f the fupply neceffary for the Pym's forces to be fent into Ireland, and whether or ipeech on not affiftance mould be afked from the Scotch, fellors. " Pyni arofe, and after remarking that no man fhould be readier or more forward than himfelf to engage his eftate, his perfon, his life, for the fuppreffion of this rebellion in Ireland, there was yet another queftion alfo to be con- fidered. All that they there did would be vain, as long as the King gave ear to the coun- fellors about him. His Majefty muft be told, faid the member for Taviftock, that Parliament
§ ix. The New Party and the Old. 191
here finds evil counfels to have been the caufe of all thefe troubles in Ireland ; and that unlefs the Sovereign will be pleafed to free himfelf from fuch, and take only counfellors whom the kingdom can confide in, Parliament will Excite- hold itfelf abfolved from giving afliftance in ment in
Houfe
the matter. cc Well moved ! Well moved !"
cried many members ; and <f divers," fays
D'Ewes, " would have had it fpeedily affented
cc unto, but Mr. Hyde flood up, and firft
" oppofed it, and faid, amongft other things,
iC that by fuch an addition we mould as it
tc were menace the King." Upon this hint Edmund
up fprang fuddenly the member for St. Ives, * ers
Mr. Edmund Waller, coufin to Hampden and
to Cromwell, yet one of Hyde's mofl eager
recruits, nor more defpifed for his abject,
veering, vacillating fpirit, than he was popular
for his wit, vivacity, and genius.* Thefe he
had now placed entirely at the King's difpofal.
He begged the Houfe to obferve what Mr. Compares
Pym had juft faid, and to remember what for- ^j^
merly had been faid by the Earl of Strafford.
Where in effect was the difference between
fuch counfel to a King, as that he was abfolved
from all laws of government, on Parliament
* " He had a graceful way of fpeaking; and by thinking Value of " much upon feveral arguments, he feemed often to fpeak prepara- " upon the fudden, when the occafion had only administered t;on jn " the opportunity of faying what he had thoroughly con- oratory. " fidered, which gave a great luftre to all he faid ; which yet " was rather of delight than weight. There needs no more " be faid to extol the excellence and power of his wit, and " pleafantnefs of his converfation, than that it was of magni- " tude enough td cover a world of very great faults ; that is, " fo to cover them, that they were not taken notice of to his " reproach." Clarendon, Life, i. 5+.
\gz The Grand Remonftrance.
refufing his unjuft demands ; and fuch advice to a Parliament, as that it mould hold itfelf abfolved from affifting the State, on the King's non-compliance with demands perhaps not more juft ? The too ingenious fpeaker was Pvm rifes not permitted to fay more. Pym rofe imme- to order, diately and fpoke to order. If the advice he had given were indeed of the fame nature as Lord Strafford's, then he deferved the like punifhment ; and he craved, therefore, the juftice of the Houfe, either to be fubmitted to its cenfure, or that the gentleman who fpoke laft be compelled to make reparation. Many Cries for and loud were the cries for Waller which fol- Waller. lowed this grave and dignified rebuke ; but a ftrong party fupported him in his refufal to give other than fuch modified explanation as he at firft tendered, and it was not until after long debate that he was ordered into the committee cham- ber, and had to make fubmifTion in the required Repara- terms. It was near five o'clock on that November evening, when Mr. Waller tf pub- cc lickly afked pardon of the Houfe and Mr. " Pym." *
Com- * All, until now, revealed of this affair, is contained in the
mons' . fubjoined entry from the Commons' Journals (ii. 306), under Journals: head of Friday, 5th Nov. 164.1: 5th Nov. " Exceptions were taken at words fpoken by Mr. Waller,
" which reflected upon Mr. Pym in a high way: for which
" he was commanded to withdraw.
" And he being withdrawn, the Buiinefs was a while de-
" bated : And then he was commanded to return to his place. " And then the Speaker told him, that the Houfe held it
" fit, that, in his place, he mould acknowledge his offence
" given by his words, both to the Houfe in general, and Mr.
" Pym in particular. Waller's " Which he did ingenuoufly, and exprefled his forrow
apology. " for "•"
The fpecial caufe of offence is now firft made known.
tion made.
§ ix. The New Party and the Old. 193
But the Houfe, or Mr. Pym, was little now to Mr. Waller and his friends, in comparifon with their new and late-found allegiance to the other matter whom till now they had deter- minedly oppofed. So quick and complete the Dramatic change, it was as the fhifting of a fcene upon chanSes : the ftage. The men who had always been courtiers were feen fuddenly depofed from what importance they had, and an entirely new fet of characters promptly filled their place. " I may not forbear to let your Majefty reported " know," writes Nicholas immediately before !?. . the fcene juft named, and defcribing the de- bates which led to it, "that the Lord Falkland, <c Sir John Strangways, Mr. Waller, Mr. ff Edward Hyde, and Mr. Holborne, and u divers others, ftood as champions in mainte- Ci nance of your prerogative, and mowed for " it unanfwerable reafon and undeniable prece- " dents, whereof your Majefty mail do well " to take fome notice, as your Majefty mail " think beft, for their encouragement." Eagerly Royal did the King refpond, that his good Nicholas thanks to
1 r r 1 • 1 • managers.
was commanded to do fo much at once in his name, and to tell thofe worthy gentlemen that he would do it himfelf at his return. The Secretary was ill when that meffage reached him, but it was not a matter that admitted of delay. Hyde was fent for to King Street, Hyde fent where Nicholas lived ; was mown up to his Nicolas, bed-room, in which he lay very fick ; and the bufinefs was wholly, Mr. Hyde informs us with a modeft fatisfaction, " to fhow Mr. <f Hyde a letter from the King to Mr. Nicholas, " in which he writ to him, that he underftood,
94
'The Grand Remonftrance.
Is fhown a letter from the King.
Old
leaders unmoved.
Majority ftill Effi- cient.
Meafures
againft
Biftiops:
<c by feveral hands, that he was very much " beholden to Mr. Hyde for the great zeal cc he mowed to his fervice ; and therefore tc commanded him to fpeak with him, and to " let him know the'fenfe he had of it; and " that when he returned, he would let him cc know it himfelf." * Through Mr. Hyde paffed doubtlefs feveral fimilar meflages, and thereupon clofely had followed Mr. Waller's affault on Mr. Pym, and the rebuke at Weftminfter winning him frefh favour at Whitehall.
Each incident that had manifefted thus, how- ever, the fpirit and purpofe of the new oppofi- tion, ferved only to knit more clofely what was left of the old liberal phalanx. No word was breathed of any kind of concefTion. Their fpeech had not been more decifive, or their action more vigorous, while Strafford flood at bay. Broken as were their ranks, their majo- rity was fufficient and decifive ; and they had a fupreme force in referve to which they were about to appeal. Wherever Hyde and his friends, therefore, might be expected to mufter ftrongeft, there they {truck ever them- felves the firft, and ftill the heavieft.
Before the recefs, thirteen bifhops had been impeached for an attempt to override the law by afferting a legiflative authority in new Canons which they claimed to impofe ; after the Houfe again met, as we have (tcn} a bill had been introduced for taking away their votes in the upper Houfe ; fubfequently there
Life and Continuation, i. 94 (Ed. 1827).
§ ix. The New Party and the Old. 195
had been feveral fharp debates on a propofal to fequefter them from giving votes on the difabling bill, becaufe they mould not thereby be at once parties and judges : yet this was the time felected by Charles for prefling with characteriftic vehemence the in- veftiture of five new bifhops, of whom four had fat in the Convocation which impofed the difputed Canons ! In writing to Edinburgh, propofal Nicholas had been careful to recount the furprife *° make
five new
he heard exprefTed that any man mould move ones< his Majefty for making of bifhops in thofe times, to which his Majefty wrote inftantly back that on no account was there to be any delay ; and at the very moment thefe letters were thus interchanged, Mr. Oliver Cromwell Cr°™~ had carried in the Commons, by a majority of counter eighteen, a motion for a conference with the motion. Lords to ftay the inveftiture. cc This bu/i- iC nefs," fays D'Ewes, " was debated with as fC great earneftnefs almoft as I ever faw in the " Houfe."
The earneftnefs had certainly not abated a few days later, when, the time limited for pleading to the impeachment having arrived, the impeached bifhops were to put in their Bifhops' anfwer ; and a demurrer was entered on their demurrer behalf fo fkilfully drawn up, that the curiofity was great to afcertain its author. It came on for difcuftion in the Houfe ; and the one of Hampden's counfel who had argued with moft confummate ability againft fhip-money, and who had not heretofore been very friendly to bifhops, Mr. Holborne, member for St. J?olborne
n/i- 1 i» 1 r \ • 1 1 1 -i supports
Michael s, and or late entirely leagued with bifhops.
0 2
Holborne :
1 96 'The Grand Remonftrance.
Hyde, got up to fupport it. Hereupon Sir Simonds D'Ewes, that wealthy and refpected country gentleman and collector of prece- dents and records, who now fat for Sudbury, ex-high- fheriff of Suffolk but formerly ftu- dent and barrifter of the Middle Temple, D'Ewes made a lucky hit. He complimented his replies to learned friend ; recalled the days when they ufed to meet at mootes in Lincoln's Inn, and admitted that, of all men, he was wont to get deepeft into the points of a cafe ; but, truly, he had this day fo ftrongly maintained the plea and demurrer of the bifhops, that he could not have performed it more exactly if he himfelf had drawn the fame. Something here perhaps in Holborne's manner betrayed him, but a loud laugh burft forth which was ifing kept up fome time. fC All the Houfe laughed laugh a f0 long," fays D'Ewes, cc as I was fain to h?m. fC remain fllent a good while ; for I believe
ic many in the Houfe did fufpect, as well as <( myfelf, that either the faid Mr. Holborne <c had wholly drawn them, or at leafl: had " given his affiftance therein." It was quite true ; but the great fhip-money lawyer took little for his pains in having thus come to the Begin- refcue. Upon the fuccefs of the demurrer, tl'ngnd Pym headed a conference with the Lords ; de- manded, in the name of the Commons, that the votes of the bifhops mould be fufpended until the fate of the bill under difcuffion was decided ; and fo began the conflict with the Right Reverend Bench which ended in their committal to the Tower.
In like manner it fared with the two other
rai
counter moves.
§ ix. The New Party and the Old. 197
questions, control of his Army and choice of his Counfellors, on which the King was himfelf moll fenfitive, and his friends in the Houfe moft bufy and eager. Every move they made Moves was outmoved. Vehement as were the excite- and ments, and grave the dangers, of the Iriih Rebellion, of the doubtful allegiance of the force under arms in England, and of the attempts in Scotland againft Argyle and the Hamiltons, Pym feized and turned to inftant advantage, as already we have {qqr on one fubject, the equivocal pofition regarding all in which ill counfels had placed the King.
At the fame time, being far the moft practi- Prudence cal man in the Houfe, he never infifted upon ^ 0jp " any propofition, however in itfelf defirable, Pym. which carried with it the danger of dividing his party ;* fetting himfelf to difcover, in all fuch cafes, a lefs objectionable mode of effecting the fame object; and Oliver St. John, who con- tinued to hold the office of Solicitor-General, having pointed out the ill confequence, to many members, of fuch a refolution as that objected to by Waller, abfolving the Houfe under any conditions from its necelTary engagement to Gives affift in reducing the Irifh Rebellion, Pym at effe£l to once recaft his refolution, and brought it for- QlfgJ^ ward in its new form on the 8th of November. John. Subftantially it was the fame as at firft ; but fo expreffed, that while it met the objection of St. John, it alfo met with greater directnefs what was known to be the purpofe of the King. Affuming that his Majefty fhould not Pofition
* See other illuftrations of this in my Arreft of the Five Members, § xxiii.
198
The Grand Remonfirance.
of Houfe as to Irifh Rebellion.
Hope of the King thereon.
Baffled by Pym.
Speech to the Lords againft evil coun- fels.
be gracioufly pleafed to difmifs his evil coun- fellors, it declared that, while the Houfe would neverthelefs continue in the obedience and loyalty due by the laws of God and the king- dom, yet they would take fuch a courfe for the fecuring of Ireland as might likewije Jecure them/elves. " I hope this ill news of Ireland," Charles had curtly written to Nicholas, in the midft of the fudden public horror at that appal- ling news, tc I hope this ill news of Ireland may Cf hinder fome of thefe follies in England ! " Small chance of fuch hope finding realization if a refolution worded like Pym's might pafs the Houfe ! Charles would have ufed the neceffity for an armed force fo as to direct it againft Eng- li/h as well as Irifh <c follies. " Pym faw what was meant, and rendered the fcheme impoffible.
Orlando Bridgman led the oppofition, and after a long and fierce debate Pym's refolution pafTed by a majority of 151 to 110. Then, at a conference with the Lords the following day, every ftep to which had been hotly con- tended in the Commons, he obtained their confent to the introduction of a fimilar claufe againft evil counfellors into the inftructions for requesting help from the Scotch Parliament for fuppreftion of the Irifh Rebellion ; and this after a fpeech confummate in its power and efFect, and remarkable for the fubtlety of its argument againft the Roman Catholic religion as in its full indulgence incompatible with the exiftence in a State, not only of any other form of religion, but of any form what- ever of political government and freedom. It is alfo a fact full of fignificance that on the
§ ix. The New Party and the Old. 199
fame day when the refolution embodied in this Refolu- claufe had patted the lower Houfe by a majority tl0£ of forty-one, and the conference with the Lords was obtained, which was only two days later than that of the fierce refiftance of Hyde, Culpeper, and Falkland, and of Waller's high- flying parallel between Strafford and Pym, I difcover that <c Mr. Cromwell " moved and carried an addition to the fubjects for con- ference : cc that we mould defire the Lords that Amotion tc an Ordinance of Parliament might pafs to ^ ollver
o r (Jromwell.
cc give the Earl of Effex power to aflemble, at <c all times, the trained bands of the kingdom on ff this fide Trent, for the defence thereof, till {c further orders therein taken by the Houfes."
Therein lay the ominous germ and begin- Germ ning of the victorious army of the parliament ! pJi^. Such power as Cromwell thus obtained for mentary Effex, during the pleafure and under the autho- ArmY- rity of Parliament, the King had given him before his departure, with a limit of its duration to the period of his abfence in Scotland. But even more pregnant of difafter to the King's defigns than the power thus inverted in the moft popular member of the Houfe of Lords, was the character of the authority by which the right fo to give or to withhold fuch power was affumed.
Then for the firfl: time had appeared the ill- Ominous boding claim of authority for an Ordinance of fo^ pU both Houfes in the abfence of the King. Nicholas haftened to inform the King of the portent. A great lord had objected, he faid, and expreffed doubts whether men might be raifed without warrant under the Great Seal ; whereupon, this doubt being made known in
200
The Grand Remonflrance.
Ordi- nances minus the Kinsr.
Alarm thereat
the Commons' Houfe, it had been declared that an Ordinance of both Houfes was a fufficient warrant for levying of volunteers by beating of the drum, cc and an entry of fuch their cc declaration was accordingly made in the <c Register of that houfe." The letter of Nicholas is dated the ioth November, only two days later than Cromwell's refolution. Meanwhile, however, the Queen appears to have fent, upon this all important point, even earlier tidings to the King; for, in a letter dated the 1 2th November, only two days later than the communication to Nicholas, fhe thus writes to him : "I fend you a letter for Milord fC Keeper, that the King did fend to me to c c deliver if I thought it fit. T'hejubjecl of it Js t( to make a Declaration againft the Orders of (C Parliament which are made without the King. " If you believe a fit time give it him, if not <c you may keep it till I fee you." In the fame letter fhe tells Nicholas that the King will certainly be in London by the 20th of the month, and that he is therefore to advertife the Lord Mayor of London of the fact. Prepara- The chief magiftrate was duly informed, and conflict" haflened to make good ufe of the time fo given him : but the leaders of the Commons had already made provifion for turning to ftill better ufe the opportunity afforded by the time.
8th Nov, 1641.
§ x. Conflict Begun.
In the afternoon of the fame Monday the 8th of November when Pym's modified
§ x. ConfiiB Begun. 201
refolution againft evil coimfels paffed, the Rough "Declaration and Remonftrance " was fub-draftof mitted in its firft rough draft for difcuffion by fiance ' the Houfe. Never before was prefented to it, fubmitted. never fince has it received, fuch a State Paper as that ! — Immediately upon its production, it. was read at the clerk's table ; whereupon feveral notices of motions for additions and amendments were given, and order was taken for commencing the difcuffion upon its feveral claufes, Jeriatim, on the following morning at nine o'clock.
The character of the impreffion at once Nicholas made by it will be inferred from the inftant ^Kfoe communication of Secretary Nicholas to the King. On the evening of the fame day, he wrote off to Scotland that there had been that afternoon brought into the Commons' houfe, and there read, a Declaration of the State of Affairs of the kingdom, which related all the mifgovernment and all the unpleafing things that had been done by ill counfels ("as they cc call it ") fince the third year of the reign until now. The further confederation of it was to be had the next day in the Houfe ; and Mr.Secre- fo much was it likely to reflect to the prejudice J^y- of his Majefty's Government, that Mr. Secre- tary fC troubled " to think what might be the iffue if his Majefty came not inftantly away from Edinburgh. Every line in the letter fhowed the fore perplexity the writer was in. He could not poffibly account for this Remon- ftrance fatisfactorily as a party demonstration. cc Surely if there had been in this," he fays, {f nothing but an intention to have justified Kind's
L02
The Grand Remonjirance.
inftant return :
King's anfwer :
Stop the Remon- ftrance !
Forces organifed for the ftruggle.
" the proceedings of this Parliament, they cc would not have begun fo high." He en- treated the King to burn his letter, or he, Nicholas, might be loft ; and at its clofe he again made urgent and anxious reprefentation to his Majefty, that he could not poffibly fo much prejudice himfelf by at once leaving Edinburgh and all things there unfinifhed, as by delaying his return to London even one day. The King's anfwer, avoiding the queftion of the immediate return, as to which he had already communicated with the Queen, was not lefs urgent. " You muft needs fpeak with " fuch of my fervants that you may beft truft, " in my name, that by all means poflible this cf Declaration may be flopped."
Alas ! this was not by any means poflible. All that could now be done, by earneft recruit- ing for the royal fervice, was to aroufe and league firmly together, in defperate oppofition to the Remonftrance and its authors, a band of members of the lower Houfe, even more fierce and only lefs determined than the other indiflbluble league already pledged to fupport it, and bent upon carrying it to the people. And fo the ftruggle began.
§ xr. The Opening Debates : 9TH,
IOTH, I2TH, I5TH, AND 1 6th NOVEM- BER.
Firft On Tuefday, the 9th of November, the
ShNov ^r^- debate was taken. The hour appointed
for it was nine o'clock, but it did not begin till
about twelve o'clock, and it continued until a
§ xi. The Opening Debates : gth Nov. 203
late hour. The order of procedure was firft fettled. The Declaration was to be read claufe by claufe ; every member was to fpeak to each claufe, if he would ; and if any fpoke to have Procedure the claufe amended, and that the Houfe gave fettled- leave, then it was to be amended, and the claufe with the amendments put to the quef- tion. Cromwell and Strode were among thofe who moved the firft amendments. At this firft fitting alfo, Bulftrode Whitelocke, who Movers fat for Marlow, Serjeant Wylde, the member ^mend. for Worcefterfhire, Mr. Henry Smith, the ments. member for Leicefterfhire and afterwards one of the King's judges, Sir John Clotworthy, who fat for Maiden, Mr. Wingate, the member for St. Albans, and Mr. Geoffrey Palmer, the member for Stamford, and formerly one of the managers of Strafford's impeachment, moved and carried infertions and additions ; all of them, with exception of the laft, defigned to make it more ftringent and fevere in tone. On the following day, Nicholas reported as Report of ufual to the King. A fourth part had been Nicholas
, , & . r / rc , r to King,
gone through, comprmng nearly fifty clauies ;
and the reft of it, Mr. Secretary had learnt,
was to be voted in the fame way, as faft as
might be ; after which it was to be tranfmitted
ftraightwav to the Lords. The latter informa- K'"g's
o .; m order
tion was inaccurate ; but the King's inftant thereon, order to act upon it, though deftined to be of no avail as to the upper Houfe, was a new incentive to activity in the lower. cf Com- " mand the Lord Keeper in my name," he wrote, " that he warn all my fervants to oppofe " it in the Lords' houfe."
204 The Grand Remonjirance.
Second On Wednefday, the ioth of November,
icJhNov ^S a mem^er w^° t0°k Part m tne debate, " we proceeded with the Remonftrance where ** we left off yefterday." Infertlons and addi- tions were again made, among them one having reference to flavifh doctrines again ft the fubjecVs property in his eftate, very generally preached from pulpits before the King ; and a peremptory order, ifTued at this fitting, to the No copies effect that the clerk fhould on no account give given out out copies °f tne Declaration until the Houfe had fully perfected it, may ferve to fhow how intereft was gathering around it from day to day. nth Nov. The Irifh Rebellion, and provision for the Strod levies and expenditure it had fuddenly rendered necefTary, occupied the Houfe fo inceffantly during the fitting of the 1 1 th of November, that the order for renaming the Remonftrance had to be laid afide ; but a remarkable allufion was thrown out in reference to it, by Strode, in the courfe of the debate on the railing money for fupply of his Majefty's wants in Ireland. He fpoke of the difTatisfaction of the people, and of the injuftice of laying further burdens on Deitina- them, until fomething were done to reaffure tion of them under their prefent fears and mifgivings, ftranc"" an<^ to g^ve them hope that what with fo much avowed: toil and facrifice had been lately gained was not again to be completely loft. " Sir," faid the member for Beeralfton, cc I move againft <f the order of the committee that we fhould Ct not admit of the giving of money till the ic Remonftrance be pafTed this Houfe, and gone thepeople. " into the country to fatisfy them." This at
§ xi. The Opening Debates : \ith Nov. 205
any rate was plain fpeaking.* Thus early in. the debates, the defire and the defign of the promoters of the Remonftrance were frankly avowed. It was to be to them fome guar- antee that the army about to be raifed for the To be fuppreffion of Irifn rebellion, fhould not here- Pn"te.d after be ufed for the fuppreffion of Englifh culated. liberty. It was to be printed and circulated among the people.
That was on Thurfday, the 1 ith of Novem- Third ber. On the day following, the Remonftrance ^^nVv was proceeded with, and every part fo obfli- nately difputed, that the Houfe fat far into that November afternoon. A motion for rifing having been refifted fuccefsfully, another member moved that candles mould be brought. Motion This was a proceeding as yet very rarely Jjj™an~ reforted to ; it having been only during the proceedings on the Attainder of Strafford that the order of the Houfe had been fo far relaxed as to admit of new motions made, except with fpecial permiffion, after noon.j" <cSir,"faid
* Strode feems to have had the habit of blurting out in Strode's words, in a Hidden impulfive way, what the more referved of manner or the party more prudently were content to leave as matter of fpeech. inference from their acts. As to the queftion of difbanding the Scotch army, for inftance, he frankly avowed : " We " cannot yet fpare the Scotch. The fons of Zeruiah are too ic ftrong for us ;" for which, being called to order, the Houfe refufed to exact any apology. (Journals, Feb. 6, 1 640-1.) What he thus openly declared had till then (according to May, lib. i. cap. viii.) been afTerted principally by the ill- Avowal affecled, who not only in difcourfe but written libels taxed the as to Parliament with it, imputing it to them as a crime of too Scotch much diftruft of the King, and accufing them of having kept armV- up a foreign army to overawe their own Prince.
f I find, from the D'Ewes manufcript before me, that on the 4th December 1640, on the motion of Strode, an order was made that " every one upon coming into the Houfe who did
206
The Grand Remonftrance.
D'Ewes
in favour of candles,
Private reports to the King.
Shilling fines.
Orders as to bufinefs
as to
reading
Bills.
the advocate for candles, who was no other than D'Ewes himfelf, ccwe have now been <c fitting in the houfe near upon feven hours " (the ordinary hour of meeting was eight o'clock in the morning, but of late, in confequence of the prolonged fittings, the hour had been generally nine, fometimes even ten o'clock), <c and we do not now think fit to rife, but " we will ftill fit. I defire that we may fit (c according to the ancient ufe of parliaments, <c having the ufe as well of our eyes as of our " ears ; and that lights may be brought in."
On this very day, Nicholas had written fome- what more hopefully to the King that the Houfe had been the day before fo employed about Irifh affairs, that they meddled not with their Declaration : but after a very few days he has, lefs eagerly, to report that they have been making up for loft time. <c The Houfe <c of Commons," he wrote, cc haftens by all tc means the finifhing of the Declaration or ''Remonftrance; and for the more fpeedy " expediting of it, they have at the committee
" not take his place, or did, after taking his place, talk Co " loud as to interrupt the bufinefs of the Houfe from being " heard, mould pay a milling fine, to be divided between the " ferjeant and the poor." And to this order, on the motion of Sir John Strangways, the member for Weymouth, it was added " that after twelve o'clock no new bufinefs be entered " into, or moved, without the leave of the Houfe." More formally it was refolved a few days later, upon the motion of
: Sir Walter Earle, the other member for Weymouth, " that u the ancient order of the Houfe be obferved : namely, that " no bills be read the fecond time but between the hours of " nine and twelve." To which it was added, at the fuggeftion of Mr. Speaker (Lenthal), that all bills might be read a fiift
0f time, early in the morning. For further notices of fuch orders and modes of proceeding in the Houfe, fee Arreji of Five Members, § xxiii.
§ xi. The Opening Debates : i^thNov. 207
li parted by many particulars to avoid the 'c delay of long debates."
In thofe few words were alfo exprefTed the Tenacity fteady perfeverance and tenacity of what was Majefty's truly to be called His Majefty's Oppofition. oppofi- Every inch of the ground was fo contefted, tl0n* indeed, that only the moft watchful and refo- lute determination could avail to maintain any part of it unimpaired ; and all the forms of the Houfe were exhausted in pretences for delay. The whole of the fitting of Monday, Fourth the 15th of November, was taken up with the ^ e^ov difcuffion of the fingle claufe which ultimately flood as the hundred and ninetieth. In this, adverting to the charges brought by the ill- afFected party againft the leaders of the Houfe of Commons, it was affirmed, in contradiction of thofe charges, that not the meddling of the Commons with the power of epifcopacy, but the idolatry and popifh ceremonies introduced As to into the Church by command of the bifhops bifhops* themfelves, were the caufes why fectaries and idolatry, conventicles abounded in England, and why Englifhmen, feeking liberty of worfhip, had been driven into exile. A debate of extra- ordinary vehemence arofe upon this word command. It was led by Sir Edward Der- Speech by ing, the member for Kent, * who but a DermS-
* Poor Sir Edward Dering got himfelf only laughed at for his pains in going fuddenly over to Hyde's party on this and the other queftion of the Bifhops. He loft his feat in the Houfe ihortly after, and failed toobtain any ftandingwiththe Royalifts. Yet he feems to have been an eloquent and on the whole a well- Dering meaning man, and hardly to havedeferved the fneers of Claren- fneered don; who in his Hijiory (i. 416) characlerifes him as a man of at by levity and vanity, eafdy flattered by being commended ; and Claren- goes fo far as to aflert that his "greateft motive" in moving the don.
208
Falk- land's former attack on Bifhops.
Prefent
vehement
defence.
Fifth Debate : 1 6th Nov.
The Grand Remonfirance.
little while before had moved the reading of a bill for extirpating bifhops, deans, and chap- ters ; and it was fupported by Lord Falkland, who, on the 8 th of the preceding February, had diftinctly charged the bifhops with having deftroyed unity under pretence of unifor- mity, with having brought in fliperftition and fcandal under the titles of reverence and decency, with having defiled the Church by adorning the churches, and deftroyed of the gofpel as much as they could without bringing themfelves into danger of being deftroyed by the law. With a pettifogging worthier of Hyde than of himfelf, Falkland now joined Dering in afking where proof was to be found that the bifhops had iflued any <c command " for the introduction of idolatry. Who hath read this command? they afked. "Who hath cc heard it ? Who hath feen this commanded <f idolatry ? " The day clofed while yet the debate had not ; an order being made that the Remonftrance fhould be refumed the next day at ten o'clock, and that meanwhile the claufe which had then been debated fo much, fhould be recommitted to the committee that originally drafted it, to prepare it in fuch a manner as might be agreeable to the fenfe of the Houfe.
On Tuefday, the 16th, the debate was re- fumed accordingly ; but the obnoxious word remained in the claufe as again introduced,
trenchant bill againft the Bifhops, was that he might have the opportunity of applying the two lines from Ovid,
Cuncfa prius tentanda, fed immedicabile vulnus Enfe reddendum eft, ne pars fincera trahatur !
§ xi. 'The Opening Debates : 16 th Nov. 209
and after further hot debate, the queftion of whether it fhould ftand pafled to a divifion. It was carried in the affirmative by a majority ciaufe of 25, Sir Thomas Barrington, the member l?iinft for Colchefter, and Sir Martin Lumley, the carried, member for EfTex, being tellers for the 124 ayes, and Sir Edward Dering, with Sir Hugh Cholmley, the member for Scarborough, for the 99 noes. The difcuflion on this day again occupied nearly all the fitting, and was only at laft clofed by the compromife of laying afide Compro- fome claufes in which exception had been taken Liturgy.0 to parts of the Liturgy as favouring of fuper- ftition. Other changes, comprifing fome addi- tions, were alfo affented to ; and thefe, with the Declaration as amended thus far, were referred to " the fame committee that was <c appointed for penning of it, and they are to cc bring it back to the Houfe with all convenient cc fpeed." A further conceflion to the Oppofi- Concef- tion was at the fame time made, in the addition oVf?- to that committee of the names of Culpeper tion. and Falkland.
The two following days, Wednefday and Unautho- Thurfday, the 17th and 1 8th of November, polts. were filent as to the Remonftrance, but filled with matters of grave import having a direct bearing upon it. Complaints had been made of unauthorifed and exaggerated accounts fent abroad of the recent proceedings of the Houfe, and after debate an order was iflued for peremp- tory fuppreffion of all prefent printing, cc or Suppref- cc venting in manufcript," of the Diurnal Oc- p°"n°efd currences of parliament. The examinations as and MS. to the new army plot were alfo completed, the Dlurnals-
2 1 o The Grand Remonftrance.
evidence leaving little doubt as to the defign
having been known to the King ; and Pym
Refolu- moved and carried a refolution, cc that, in the
tion as to u examinations now read unto us, we did con-
lecond . r . . 3
Army " ceive there was iufticient evidence for us to Plot. « believe that there was a fecond defign to " bring up the army to overawe the delibera- <c tions of this Houfe." That was the moft direct avowal yet made of a confcioufnefs on the part of the Commons, not merely of what had taken the King to Scotland, but of what ftill kept him there. The alarm and difmay it carried with it, mowed how unerringly the mark had been hit.
§ xii. Preparations for the Final Vote. 19TH Nov. and 20th Nov.
Nicholas's On the day after Pym's refolution had been
fwc°r Pafl"ed} Friday the 19th, Secretary Nicholas
wrote with unconcealed alarm and mifgiving
to his matter. "The worft in all thatbufinefs
if is, that it reflects on your Majefty, as if
Cf you had given fome inftructions concerning
" the ftirring up the army to petition the
" Parliament. I hope it will appear that your
<c Majefty 's intentions were only to retain the
i( army in their duty and dependance on your
" Majefty." After which, in the fame letter, Mr.
Secretary went on to fay, that there had been
nothing done thefe two days by the Commons
touching the Declaration remonftrating the
Progrefs bad effects of ill counfels ; but it was thought
ofRemon- that tne fame WOuld be finiihed that week.
reported. There were, he added, divers well affected
§ xii. Preparations for Final Vote. ill
fervants of his Majefty in the Houfe who had continued to oppofe the Remonftrance with Nicholas unanfwerable arguments : but it was verily as.t0.
D , . J printing:
thought that it would pafs notwithstanding, and that it would be cc ordered to be printed" without tranfmiffion to the Lords. Upon which it is to be obferved as beyond queition, that manifestly there was no longer any con- cealment of the ultimate defign of the leaders of the Houfe of Commons. Thus early, the destination of the Remonftrance was known. Strode had already, indeed, argued upon the afTumption of its being printed and the de';sn
« civowed.
diffufed among the people, as a thing to be admitted; and any fubfequent complaint, there- fore, of being taken by furprife when the pro- portion for the printing was formally made, could have been but a lheer pretence on the part of its opponents.
"While Nicholas was writing to the King, it sixth had been brought back to the Houfe from the I9thNov. committee, purfuant to the laft order ; certain amendments to it had been violently debated, having reference to portions of the fervice- book ; * thefe ultimately, upon conceflion by the majority, had been read and afTented to, and certain other verbal alterations made ; and Amend. another lengthened debate had given further ments and
* I fubjoin achara&eriftic paflage from a fpeech of Dering's delivered in this debate, as reported and preferved by himfelf. " Why, Sir, at one of your committees I heard it publicly " afferted by one of the committee that fome of our Articles " do contain fome things contrary to Holy Scripture ... I " ftarted with wonder and anger to hear a bold mechanick A bold V tell me that my creed is not my creed. He wondered at mecha- " my wonder, and faid, I hope your ^worjtiip is too n.vife to nick. " believe that nxihich you call your creed."
p 2
2 1 1 The Grand Remonftrance.
verbal opportunity for the <c unanfwerable " argu- changes. ments on the one fide, and the quiet and refolved anfwers on the other, which had now- occupied the Houfe, with fmall intermifiion, fince the 9th of November. Why mould you pafs this unneceffarv and unfeafonable Declara- tion ? urged Hyde and his friends once more. Hyde's It is unneceffary to detail grievances, moft of urgent which are already fully redrelTed ; and it is unfeafonable to welcome home from Scotland, with fuch a volume of reproaches, the very author of that redrefs, and to affail his Majefty the King for what others have done amifs, and for what he himfelf hath reformed. We pro- pofe to pafs it, was the determined anfwer of Pym's Pym and his affociates, becaufe we hold it to reP y : De neceffary for the prefervation and main- tenance of the conceffions which have fo been made. We believe ourfelves in danger of being deprived of all the good acts we have gained, if great care and vigilance be not ftill ufed to difappoint malignant counfels. They who moft exalt the grace and bounty of the King in regard to thofe good acts, have been and vindi- moft bufy to pervert the affections of the people from ourfelves in regard to the fame matter. For our own acquittal, therefore, we would let the kingdom know in what ftate we found it at our firfr. convention, what fruit it hath received by our counfels, wherein we think the fecurities obtained are not yet fuffi- cient, and fuch further meafures as in our confciences we believe to be called for. Be- , caufe, though the prime evil counfellors have
J\ home 1 11 1 • •
thruft. been removed, there are others growing up in
cation.
§ xii. Preparations for Final Vote. 213
their places like to do quite as much mifchief. — To which laft home thruft, reply could not have been very eafy ! — It was late in the after- noon, when at the clofe of this debate, the order was moved and carried that the Declara- Order for tion mould be duly engroffed, and again er>gr°3- brought in at two o'clock the next day. All which having been accomplifhed, the Houfe was about to pafs to other bufinefs, when D'Ewes informs us that Mr. Speaker Lenthal Com- made an appeal ad mifericordiam for himfelf. ^Tm He mowed that he had been fitting very late speaker, yefterday (Thurfday 1 8th), that it was now paft four o'clock, and that he really could not hold out daily to fit kvcn or eight hours. Whereon the indefatigable Mr. Pym, admit- Lenthal ting the appeal, fuggefted that the Houfe relieved- mould rife, and that a grand committee mould prefently fit.
On Saturday, the 20th of November, at Seventh two o'clock, the Remonftrance, engrafted and debate : finifhed, was laid upon the table. Doubtlefs it was then expected by its fupporters, and with fome mow of reafon, that after having flood the brunt of (o many prolonged debates, it might be voted without further refifhmce. A refolution was accordingly moved upon its p;na] introduction, ci that it be read and finifhed to- debate " night;" which was met, however, by fuch determined oppofition, that Pym was obliged to yield, and the final debate was fixed for ten o'clock on the morning of Monday the 22nd. ct Why would you have it flill put Cromwell " off," afked Cromwell of Falkland, as they and left the Houfe ; " for this day would quickly
214
The Grand Remonftrance.
Prepara- tions for Laft Debate.
Remon ftrance lying on table.
Statement by Cla- rendon :
charge againft Pym :
a mifre-
prefenta-
tion.
<f have determined it." To which Falkland made reply that there would not have been time enough, for fure it would take fome further debate. Oliver rejoined, "A very cc forry one."*
Cromwell was miftaken, no doubt. He was not in Hyde's confidence, and could not know of the defperate party-move to be attempted on the occafion of the laft debate. But before this is defcribed, and while the Remonftrance, ready engrofTed, is lying on the table of the houfe, the time would feem to have arrived for the endeavour to prefent it to the reader, at once with fufficient fulnefs for accurate re- flection of all its ftatements and in fuch form as to render juftice to the ftriking narrative they embody, yet at the fame time fo compreffed as to bring it within the limits of ordinary hiftories. There, it fhould long ago have had the place, from which it may hardly be too much to believe now, with fome degree of
* Hiji. ii., 42. Clarendon tells the anecdote, however, in a fenfe quite different from that which it derives from an authentic ftatement of the circumftances. It was in the ordinary courfe of the bufinefs of the Houfe that Pym had propofed at once to bring the matter to a conchdion, but Clarendon (ii. 41) would have us believe that he made that proportion in direct forfeiture of a previous engagement. " And by theie and the like arts, they promifed themfelves " that they fliould eafily cany it ; fo that, the day it <ivas to be " refumed, they entertained the Houfe all the morning with " other debates, and towards noon called for the Remon- " ftrance," &c, upon which they were forced to go back to the firft underftanding of giving an entire day to the debate. Accordingly, he continues, " the next morning, the debate " being entered upon about nine of the clock," &c. Now, no fuch incidents occurred. On the day fixed for the refump- tion of the debate, it nvas refumed, and at the hour precifely which before had been arranged ; namely, twelve o'clock. Clarendon's ftatement is an entire mifreprefentation.
Abflracl : The Preamble. 1 1 5
confidence, that it never more can be excluded. In which expe&ation are here appended to it Propofed fome notes of matters not lying on the furface J]j^"ac_al of ordinary books, which will be found to tions. illuftrate and completely corroborate the moft ftartling of its averments.
And fo to modern readers is committed that Great Vindication of the riling of their ancef- tors againft the Sovereign in the feventeenth century, as to which one who oppofed it elo- quently through all its ftages thus frankly confeffed the fecret of his oppofition : " Sir, Dering ff this Remonjlrance, whenfoever it pajfeth, ^'//^ne]^oen_ " makefuch an imprejfion, and leave Juch a cha- ftrance. cc racier behind, both of his Majefty, the People, fC and the Parliament, and of this prejent Church cc and State, as no time Jhall ever eat it out, iC while hijlories are written, and men have eyes cc to read them /"
abstract: of the grand remonstrance. 1 . The Preamble : Purpofe aimed at.
The Preamble, confining of twenty not Struggle numbered claufes, and opening in the name of of Paft {C the Commons in the prefent Parliament months. " affembled," begins by declaring that for the paft twelve months they had been carrying on a ftruggle of which the objecl; was to reft ore and eftablifh the ancient honour, greatnefs, and fecurity, of the Nation and the Crown. That during this time they had been called to wreftle
2 1 6 T'he Grand Remonft ranee.
with dangers and fears, with miferies and calamities, with diftempers and diforders To various, great, and preffing, that for the time the entire liberty and profperity of the kingdom had been extinguished by them, and the foun- Why dations of the throne undermined. And that Remon- now^ finding great afperfions caft on what intro- had been done, many difficulties raifed for duced. the hindrance of what remained to do, and jealoufies everywhere bufily fomented betwixt the King and Parliament, they had thought it good in this manner to declare the root and growth of the defigns by which fo much mif- chief had been caufed ; the heighth to which thefe had reached before the beginning of the prefent Parliament ; the means that had been Neceffary ufed for extirpating thofe mifchievous defigns; to com- and, together with the progrefs made therein, Reforms. t^ie ways °f obstruction by which fuch progrefs had been interrupted, and thefteps ftill remain- ing to be taken as the only courfe whereby the obftacles at prefent intervening could be finally removed. Courtcon- Then, in exprefs terms, they ftate the gene- fpnacy : raj pjan or fcneme of the authors of thofe evils, as a confpiracy to fubvert the fundamental laws and principles of government on which alone the religion and juftice of the kingdom can firmly reft ; and they denounce the confpirators to fubvert as threefold, (i) the jefuited papifts, (2) the Laws: bifhops and ill-affected clergy, and (3) fuch counfellors, courtiers, and officers of ftate, as had preferred their private ends to thofe of his Majefty and the Commonwealth. All three claffes of confpirators, they continued,
Abfiract : The Preamble. 217
had principles and counfels in common ; and thefe were to keep up continual differences to degrade betwixt the King and People, and to lower Pr<*eft; and degrade the Proteftant religion through the fides of thofe befl affected to it. To the end that fo, on the one hand, fetting up the prerogative whenever a queftion of liberty was mooted, difcrediting the claims and authority of Parliament, and ever pretending to hzfiding to dif- with the King, they might get to themfelves ^etjlt the places of greater!: trull and power, putting ment. him upon other than the ancient and only legitimate ways of fupply; and, on the other hand, by cherifhing to the utmoft fuch views of church doctrine and difcipline as would eftablifti ecclefiaftical tyranny, by fowing dif- fenfions between the common Proteftants and thofe whom they called Puritans, and by Upholders including under the name of Puritans all who °Jc£f l defired to preferve unimpaired the public laws named and liberties and the purity and power of the Puntans- true religion, they might be able ultimately to introduce fuch opinions and ceremonies as would neceffarily end in accommodation with Popery.* For, of the three elements of the
* " It feemed that their work," faid Falkland, in one of Falkland his admirable fpeeches againrt Laud and his afibciates (already againlt fpoken of, a?ite, 208), " was to try how much of a Papiit Laud. " might be brought in without Popery ; and to deftroy as " much as they could of the Gofpel without bringing them- " felves into danger of being deftroyed by the Law. . . . " The defign has been to bring in an Englifh though not a " Roman Popery : I mean, not only the outlide and drefs of " it, but an equally abfolute and blind dependence of the " people upon the clergy, and of the clergy upon themfelves. " They have oppofed the papacy beyond the feas that they Propofed " might fettle one beyond the water." [He means at Lam- Pope at beth.] " Nay, common fame is more than ordinarily falfe, if Lambeth.
2l8
The Grand Remonjirance.
Popery the chief confpira- tor.
confpiracy, that was the ftrongeft. And as in all compounded bodies, fo in this, the opera- tions had been qualified and governed through- out by the predominating element.
Such in fubftance was the preamble to the Great Remonftrance ; of which all that fol- lowed was in the form of practical proofs and illuftrations. Thefe were contained in two hundred and fix numbered claufes ; each claufe, as we have feen, having been put feparately to the Houfe, and fo voted.
Claufes i—6.
Incidents of firft Parlia- ment.
En glim
livings
and
Romifh
opinions.
2. Firft) Second, and Third Parliaments of Charles.
The firft fix had relation to the Firft Par- liament of the reign, and to the recovery of ftrength by the Popifh party after their dif- comfiture by the breach with Spain at the clofe of the reign of James. Two fubfidies had been given by that parliament, yet it was dif- folved without the relief of a fingle grievance ; and then followed the difafters of Rochelle, the defertion of the Proteftant party in France, the difcreditable attempt on Cadiz, the aban- donment of the Palatinate and of the Protef- tant ftruggle in Germany, the wrongs inflicted on merchants and traders, the prefling and billeting of foldiers * in all parts of the king-
" none of them have found a way to reconcile the opinions of " Rome to the preferments of England ; and to be fo abfo- " lutely, direclly, and cordially papifts, that it is all that " fifteen hundred pounds a year can do to keep them from " confeffing it."
* The intolerable wrong and mifery implied in this griev- ance will be better underftood by reminding the reader of the pafllonate fpeech of Wentworth (afterwards Earl of Strafford)
Abjiratl: Firfi and Second Parliamts- of Charles. 1 1 9
dom, and the endeavour, happily fruftrated, to introduce therein large bodies of mercenary- troops.
The next four claufes defcribed the Second Clauie* Parliament, its diflblution after a declared intention to grant five fubfidies, and the fub- fequent levy of thofe fubfidies, not by parlia- mentary authority, but by the fole order of the King. Commiffions of loan were ifTued, and all incidents who refufed were imprifoned ; many contract- °f Second ing ficknefTes in prifon from which they never ment. recovered. Privy feals went forth, raifing enormous fums. Court wafte and profufion were fpoken of on all fides, while the people were unlawfully impoverifhed.* And a com-
in the debates on the Petition of Right, in which, referring Billeting to the billeting of foldiers, he exclaims, " They have rent grie- " from us the light of our eyes ! enforced companies of vances. " guefts worfe than the ordinances of France ! vitiated our " wives and daughters before our faces !" In the Verney Papers, Mr. Bruce prints the fubjoined veiy curious return of recufant parifhes in the three hundreds of Aftiindon.
" A retorne of thofe parifhes that doe refufe to paye for " the billiting of foldiers in my diuiiion with in the three " hundreds of Afhindon.
li. s. d. " Cherfly. Mr. Thomas Britwell, John Winter,
" with the reft 113 3 Lifts of
" Brill. George Carter, Mr. John Pirn, Mr. Wil- recufants.
" liam Pirn, Mr. John Cafwell, with the reft .240 " Ilmor. Thomas Lyeborn, Edmon Brooks, with
" the reft 160
" Lurgefall. The whole parifli . . . . 1 18 3
" Borltall. The whole parifh . . . . 1 13 6
" Per me, Edward Bulitrod,"
The two Pyms named in this return, if not connections or relatives of the great ftatelman, at leaft were worthy of the name they bore.
* In the Diary of Walter Yonge, from 1604 to 1628, edited Yonge's by Mr. Roberts for the Camden Society (1848) with an Diary. interefting and well-informed introduction about the leading
220
<The Grand Remonftrance.
Claules ii — 16.
Incidents of third Parlia- ment.
Proceed- ings to get money.
How
ipent.
Amend- ments by J.C
million under the great feal exacted payments from the fubject by way of excife, to an extent and in a manner before unheard of.*
The Third Parliament ; the attempt, by a furreptitious declaration, to evade its enact- ment of the Petition of Right; its forcible diiTolution ; the imprifonment and perfecution of its moft diftinguifhed members ; and the Royal Declaration printed and difperfed among the people to difcredit and difavow its pro-
weftern families (Yonge was a Devonfhire magiftrate and member for Honiton), the two following notices occur in clofe juxtapofition (p. 98) :
(1) "December, 1626. The King having determined " heretofore to demand of all his fubjefts fo much money by " way of loan as they are fet in fublidy, viz. : he that's fet " at 20/. in fublidy to lend unto the King 20/., the judges "were urged to fubfcribe. They paid their money, but re- M fufed to fubfcribe the fame as a legal courfe : for which Sir "Randall Crewe, Chief Juftice of England, had his patent " taken from him, and he was difplaced Ter. Michael. 1626, " anno 2 Caroli. The privy council fubfcribed ; the lords " and peers fubfcribed, all except fourteen, whereof fix were " Earls : viz. Earl of Effex, Earl of Warwick, Earl of Clare, " Earl of Huntington, Earl of Lincoln, and the Earl of " Bolingbroke, being Lord St. John."
(2) " The Duke of Buckingham feafted the King, Queen, " and French Ambaffador, and bellowed 4000/. in a banquet. " The fweet water which coft him 200/. came down the room " as a fhower from heaven ; the banquet let down in a (heet " upon the table, no man feeing how it came ; with other " pompous vanities to wafte away and confume money, the " country being in poverty, and more necelfary occafions for " it."
Any one who cares to purfue this fubjecl will find many important illuftrations of it among the Clarendon State Papers.
* Among the notices for additions to the original draft of the Remonftrance, entered on the Journals, the fubjoined appear with the initials J. C. and may doubtlefs be affigned to Sir John Clotworthy.
" The laft expedition into Germany.
" The loans upon Privy Seal.
" The Commiflion of Excife."
Ab fir a 51 : Third Parliament of Charles. 2 1 1
ceedings,* and give colour or excufe for the violence ufed to its chiefs ; form the fubjecl:
* It was on the motion of Strode, member for Beeralfton, Addition when the Remonftrance was before the Houfe, that there was by Strode, ordered to be inferted therein a mention of
" The Declaration fet forth upon the breach of both <( Parliaments."
Some remarkable illuftrations of the exciting incidents which immediately preceded and very fhortly followed the ill-fated dif- iblution of this great Parliament, have been found among the Mounde- family papers of the Moundefords ot Norfolk. I felect one or ford MSS. two out of many paffages which furnifh traits and character- iftics of the lawlefs time, and throw a furprifingly vivid light upon the allufions in the Great Remonftrance. From Lon- don, the 14th April, 1628, Sir Edmund Moundeford, mem- ber for Thetford in the Third Parliament then fitting, and who fat for Norfolk in the Long Parliament, writes: " We " went this afternoon with our Speaker to the King to deliver " him a petition for the billeted fouldiers, what anfwer we Billetin°- " (hall have is not known. Our houfe proceeds not with that foldiers. " calm it did. God grant a good end." On the 5th of the following month he writes : " Sorrye am I to be a meflenger " of fadd tidings. The feares of an ill ending of this Parlia- " ment are now growne fo great as they command beliefe. " Our laft day is appointed to-morrow feven-night, and we " are as farre from ending our worke as when wee began." In the interval between the Third and the Long Parliament, he writes : " We have no new fheriffs pricked, nor fhall not ciierjfr " (it is faid) untill the now fheriffs have accounted for this 1 n,:D_ " fhip-money : in fome counties they pay, in others not, and monev " many make the flieriffs take diftrefs. New impofitions are " fet upon fruit, filver, pewter, pines, and divers other things " to the value 80,000 li. pr ann. There is a patent to be " granted for making Salt, which will make us all fmarte.u From Drury Lane, on the 13th of November 1632, he writes: " On Wednefday laft, one Mr. Palmer was cenfured 1,000 li. " in the Star Chamber for living in London contrary to the Projects " Proclamation, and yet he was a Batchelor, and never had for plun- " family, and lately had his man/ion houfe burnt in the countrie. der of " There is diligent fearch made by the co?iflables of eyerie fubject. il ward, and the names taken of allfuch lodgers as lay in towne " the laft 'vacation.'"'' The allufion in this laft letter is to one of the moft fcandalous of all the projects for the plunder of the fubjecl fet on foot by this recklefs government to enrich the exhaufted treafury of the King. A Proclamation came forth from the Council Table commanding all who could not fhow their ftay in London to be abfolutely neceffary, to go within forty days and refide in their refpeclive counties and at
222
The Grand Remonjlrance.
of the fix following claufes.* Strenuous as had been the ftruggle to pafs the Great Peti- tion, its only ufe had been to fhow with what recklefs prefumption, by wicked and daring violation ministers, the Jaws had been broken and ofPetition the liberties fupprerTed which therein were fo lg " folemnly and recently declared. And what, meanwhile, had been their fufFerings, whofe only crime was to affert the laws, and who could be punifhed only by their entire fubver- fion ? The reprefentatives of the people had been flung into prifon, and there treated like felons for words fpoken in parliament. All the comforts of life, all means of prefervation of health, all more neceflary means of fpiritual Imprifbn- confolation, were denied to them. Not fuffered ment of to g0 abroad to enjoy God's ordinances in God's
JVlcmbcrs ...
houfe, His minifters not permitted to minifter comfort in their prifons, the liberty of reading
Atroci- ties of the Court.
Authors of
Amend- ments.
their manfion houfes, " in order to hinder them from wafting " their eftates" (!) ; and by the example which Sir Edward Moundeford here furnifties, fome idea may be formed of the atrocities perpetrated under cover of this Proclamation. How truly fays Bifhop Warburton (Notes on Hijh of Reb. vii. 579) that every now and then a ftory comes out which ftiows the Court to have been fo exceedingly tyrannical as to abate all our wonder at the rage of thole who had been opprefled by it.
* Several of thefe claufes appear to have received additions in the Houfe ; and to feveral notices of motions in the Journals that the confidcration of fuch and luch particulars fhould be added, are appended fometimes initials, fometimes the abbre- viated name, more rarely the name in full. One name is thus given :
" Pal. The additional explanation to the Petition of " Right."
Which may ftand for Geoffrey Palmer, the Member for Stamford, who took a leading part in the debates ; or it may be intended for Sir Guy Palmes, member for Rutlandfhire : the former is the more probable.
AbftraEl : 'Third Parliament of Charles. 223
and of writing taken from them ; in fuch miferable durance, years upon years had pafTed. Towards the clofe of the fecond year, indeed, fome had been releafed, yet not without heavy Heavy fines, and the fhame of being enforced to give fecurity for good behaviour : but others might have wearied out their lives in imprifonment, if, eighteen months ago, a parliament had not come ; and to one, the moft diftinguifhed of them all, after four years' tedious mifery, there had come a mightier friend. In the laft days Sufferings of November, 16^2, the brave and dauntlefs arjd death
01 .hfiiot
Eliot died in the Tower. Petition after petition had been fent up for his releafe ; ap- plication had been made for but a few months' freedom, even to give him ftrength to bear further imprifonment ; without fuch temporary change, his phyfician had teftified that he muft perim ; but a cold and ftern refufal was the only anfwer vouchfafed, and the end came which was paft remedy, and never to be redreffed. His blood cried for vengeance His blood ftill ; * or for repentance of thofe Minifters of crying State who had fo obftructed the courfe alike geance. of his Majesty's juftice and his Majefty's mercy.
* There was no wrong which Pym appears more deeply to Eliot's have refented than this murder (for fuch it really amounted ufage in to) of his great affociate in the former parliaments of the Tower, reign. The little parliament (which met in April, 164.0) had not affembled many days when Pym moved " that it be " referred to the committee of the Tower to examine after " what manner Sir John Eliot came to his death, his ufage in " the Tower, and to view the rooms and places where he was " imprifoned and where he died, and to report the fame to " the Houfe."
224 The Grand Remonji ranee.
3 . Government by Prerogative : from Third Parliament to Pacification of Berwick.
cl r The long and terrible interval which fuc-
17—60. ceeded, and which only Laud's mad refolve to impofe the fervice-book on Scotland at laft abruptly clofed, during which no parliament met, and the people were forbidden even to fpeak of parliaments,* — forbidden merely to look back to their ancient liberty, — fills forty- Govern- f°ur claufes> UP to tne fiftieth inclufive. Then ment by parTed over the land a net-work of tyranny fo Preroga- eiaDorate and comprehenfive, that, excepting only its agents and projectors, not a fingle clafs of the community efcaped it. Nearly all men fuffered alike, in lands, goods, or perfon ; nor was there left to any one that which fafely he could call his, except the wrong, and the too patient endurance. nl r Obfolete laws and fervices which it was
Clauies , .
17,21,22, hoped had been extinguilned for ever, con-
31,44, 45, fronted fuddenly all families of reafonable
' 49" condition. Old laws of knighthood were
revived ; and fuch fums exacted for default,
as, whether in refpect of the perfons charged,
the fines demanded, or the modes of exaction,
Revival were entirely monftrous. By fines and com-
of feudal pofitions for wardfhips alone,f eftates were
ftatutes.
* During the firft difcuffion of the Remonftrance, Mr. Wingate, member for St. Alban's, moved that theie fliould be named therein
" The Proclamation fet forth, forbidding people fo much " as to talk of a parliament."
f Some notion of the advantage taken, for purpofes of extortion, of thofe obfolete feudal ftatutes, may be derived
Abfiracl: Government by Prerogative. 225
weakened pair, help. Coat and conducl: money,* and other military charges, were either preffed as due, or, failing that claim of right, were required as loans. Without a Ancient fhadow of pretence, either in fad: or law, the fnarters ancient lecunties and charters or real property were everywhere violated ; and from forefts where never any deer fed, from depopulations where never any farm was decayed, and from enclofures where never any hedges were fet, charges unceafing and infatiable were drawn againft the land.f When flaws in title were
from the documents in the Verney Papers relating to Mrs. Wardfhip Mary Blacknall, who had the misfortune, on her father's extor- death, to become a ward of the Crown, and four of whofe tions. maternal relations, " Anthony Blagrove the elder, Anthony " Blagrove the younger, both of Bulmarih, Richard Libb " efquire of Hardwick in the county of Oxford, and Charles " Wileman efquire of Steventon in Berks," are obliged to purchale from the Court of Wards (that is, the Government) freedom from opprefTion, and mere ordinary rights of citizen- fhip, by payment to the Crown of a fine of 2000/, half of which is paid down, and a bond given for the remainder.
* This oppreffive tax was afTeffed on the feveral hundreds Coat and feparately, each being obliged to fupply its quota of men by conduct prefling or enliilment, in proportion to its fize and the number money, demanded j one (hilling being paid to each man, fourteen (hillings levied for the coft of his " coat," and two other pay- ments made feverally, as remuneration to the conftable who took him to the place of embarkation, and as fine or charge for his " conduct," or expenfes on the way.
-f- From a Schedule of Grievances largely circulated through the country before April 1640, I felect one or two items :
" The new taxe of Coate and Conduct Mony, with undue Schedule " meanes ufed to inforce the payment of it, by meffengers of Griev- " from the counfell table." ances.
" The infinite number of Monopolies upon everything the April, " countryman mull buy." 1640.
" The rigid execution of the Forreft laws in theire extre- mity."
" The exaction of immoderate fees by fome officers under " the Lord Chief Juftice in Eyre."
226 The Grand Remonjlrance.
Packed alleged, they were judged by packed juries ; Ju"£s . and when commiffions of inquiry into exceffes by law. of fees or fines were ifTued, they were made but additional means of increafing and confirming the grievance. They ended, for the moft part, in compofitions with the delinquents them- felves ; fo that offences to come were com- promifed as well as the offences part, and a complete impunity eftablifhed for future wrongs. To thefe matters were devoted the 17th, 2 1 ft, 22nd, 31ft, 44th, 45th, and 49th claufes. Claufes Nor was the lot of the merchant and trader,
18,19,20, jn tnjs difaftrous interval, more to be envied than that of any owner of a moderate eftate. In the very teeth of the Petition of Right, tonnage and poundage were again levied, with many other fimilar impofitions, of which fome were in a difproportion fo monftrous, that the amount of the charge exceeded the entire Monftrous value of the goods. The book of rates gene- taxation raUy was ajf0 enhanced to fuch an extent that
or com- it r o • r 1
merce. tne ordinary tranlacnons or commerce became impofTible. And though, for thefe violent afTeiTments, there was fet up the notable pre- tence of duly guarding the feas ; and though Pretence there was fuddenly added thereto that new and of guard- unheard of tax of fhip-money,* by which, for
Finch was at this time Chief Juftice of the Common Pleas,
and no part of his conducl in the circuit in Eyre more exaf-
perated the people than his extending the boundaries of the
forefts in Effex, and annihilating the ancient perambulations.
The tax * ^n t^le above-named " Schedule of fuch Grievances as
]eafi " moft oppreffe this country," largely circulated in the early
funport- Part °^ 1^4°» ftands firft "The illegall and infupportable
a]Jje " charge of (hip-money, now the fifth yeere impofed as high
" as ever, though the fubject was not able to pay the laft
Abjlracl: Government by Prerogative. il~]
many years, with the help of the book of SmP- rates, near upon 700,000/. was yearly taken by the Crown ; the feas meanwhile were left
" yeer, beeing a third." The Lord Deputy Wentworth's
newfwriter gives us curious notices of this memorable tax,
" word of lading found in the memory of this kingdom ;"
but even his gofliping letters lofe fomething of their carelefs
tone in talking of it, and mow that he alfo winces and fmarts Hardfhips
under the prelTure no one can efcape. In one year, Mr. of fhip-
Garrard fays, "it will coft the city at leaft 35,000/." He money
names particular aiTefhnents to the amount of 360/. and 300/: affeflment.
" great fums to pay at one tax, and we know not how often
" it may come. It reaches us in the Strand, being within
" liberties of Weftminfter, which furnifheth out one fhip —
" nay lodgers, for I am let at 40J; but I had rather give and
" pay ten fubfidies in parliament than \os. this new-old way
" of dead Noy's." And as in the cities, fo in the country.
" Mr. Speaker," faid Sir John Culpeper, "this tax of fhip-
" money is the grievance which makes the farmers faint, and Prifons
" the plough to go heavy." So intolerable was it everywhere, fiHedt
indeed, that the prifons were literally filled with thofe who
had refufed and refilled payment, before the Crown (which,
through the judges on circuit, had -refilled every former
attempt to bring the queftion into the courts as refilling even
to admit a doubt of its legality) confented to appear to
Hampden's plea. The Court lawyers had felefled Hampden Hampden
as a better man to fight it out with, than the lefs affable and one of
apparently more obdurate Lord Saye; but here, as everywhere, many re-
they were fated to difcover their miftake. I give a curious cufants.
note (not otherwife reported) as to Lord Saye's fubfequent
proceedings :
" March 19, 1638-9. Shipmoney, determined for the " king by his prerogative, argued Eafter and Trinity Term. " In Michaelmas term, the lord Saye brought his aclion £or(j " about it to the King's Bench barre. Mr. Holborne, plead- gaye>s " ing llrongly for him, was rebuked by Judge Bartlet refiftance. " [Berkeley], hecaufe it was determined as before. He " alleged a president when fuch determinings have been " againe quellioned. Judge Crooke alledged prefidents. " Judge Joanes laid they were not like. Sir Jo. Brampton " [Bramfton] alledged that they had no prefident like this, " viz. to call the thing in queftion the next terme, and before " the judges' faces that did determine it. The lord Saye " affirmed, that if their Lordfhips wold fay it were lawe, then decifion " he wold yeeld ; but otherwife not, to the wronging of his in his " country. He hath time to confider until the next terme." cafe.
Pym, in his great fpeech in the little parliament, ftruck at
Q 2
221
The Grand Remonjlrance.
Seas fo utterly unguarded that the Turkifh pirates
wholly un- ranged through them uncontrolled, repeatedly taking great imps of value, and conngning to flavery many thoufands of Englifh fubjecls.*
guarded.
Pym on ihip-
money.
Not a light tax.
Piracies in the Channel.
Infults to
Englifh
flag.
the root of the extraordinary and univerfal refiftance provoked by this tax when he pointed out, that it extended to all per- fons and to all times, that it fubjected goods to diftrefs and the perfon to imprilbnment, that, the King being ible judge of the occafion, there was no poflibility of exception or relief, and that there were no rules or limits for the proportion, fo that no man, under it, knew what eftate he had, or how to order his courfe or expenfes. It is quite a miftake to fuppofe, as fome have reprefented, that it was a light tax ; and that Hampden, well able to afford it, oppofed it only on principle. No man, not the wealthier! in that day, was able to afford it. It muff, fooner or later, have broken him down.
* " About the end of March, 1627, Sir William Courtenay " his houfe of Ilton, near Salcomb, in Devon, was robbed ; " and much of his pewter plate and houfehold fluff carried " away. It was done by certain pirates, which came up in " boats from Salcomb, and fled the fame way they came " without apprehenfion " — Diary of Walter Yonge : to which paflage a valuable note is appended by the editor. The fovereignty of the fea was as yet but the emptieft of claims. Pirates of all lands fwept our coafts during the whole of this period of government by the fole will of the King. Piracy had become indeed fo much more profitable than honeft trading that many Englifhmen turned Turks and lived at Tunis. Sir Francis Verney is fuppofed to have been among them 3 and Mr. Bruce (in his moft interefting collection of Verney Papers, printed for the Camden Society, 95-102) does not effectually rebut the fuppofition. " Affifled by Englifh- " men," fays the editor of Yonge's Diary, "the Barbary " corfairs not only fcoured the Englifh and St. George's " Channels, but even difembarked, pillaged the villages, and " carried the inhabitants into flavery, to the number of feveral " thoufands. . . . One veffel the Algerines captured was worth " 260,000/. The Dutch refumed their fifhing without a " licence, and captured two rich Eaft Indiamen. France, " Spain, and Holland violated the neutrality, and infulted " the Englifh flag. The French fcoured the Severn in " 1628 ... So late as the year 1633, Lord Wentworth, ap- " pointed lord-deputy of Ireland, names noted pirate veffels' " off the coaft of Ireland, and their captures. The Turks " carried off a hundred captives from Baltimore in Ireland, " in 163 1. They landed their poor captives at Rochelle and " marched them in chains to Marfeilles. And in 1645, the
Abjlracl, : Government by Prerogative. 229
It was in vain that the leading merchants would have appealed to the law. The ordinary No laws courfe of juftice, the common birthright 0ftoapPeal the fubject of England, was clofed to them. The moft diftinguifhed of their number who made the trial was dragged into the Star Chamber, fined 2000/, kept twelve years in Cafe of prifon, and releafed a beggar.* Thefe things ^lchard are the fubject of claufes 18th, 19th, 20th and bers. part of the 34th.
Other wrongs, too, equally grave, the mer-
" Turks carried off twenty-fix children at one time from Captures " Cornwall. The editor has a curious bill of expenfes for by Turks. " fending pirates with their hands tied behind them on horfe- " back to Dorchefter gaol."
* A man had but to queftion the moft profligate decifions of the Courts to be dragged into the Star Chamber. One inftance of a different kind, fhowing the deep refentment of the people at fuch proceedings, is well worthy of prefervation. Of the twelve judges who pronounced on' fhip money, three diffented, of whom Hutton was one ; and a clergyman named Harrifon was brought before a jury for having charged Judge Hutton with treaion, in having denied the King's prerogative in the matter of fhip money. The jury gave 10,000/. damages Popular againft him ; a judgment difallowed, but evincing unmiftake- fynmafhv ably the feeling of the people. That was in 1638-9. I may fQr jujg.e add, not lefs as a valuable illuftration of this part of the fjutton^ fubjecl, than as a good fpecimen of Hyde's tone in the Houfe at this time, a few fentences from his fpeech upon the mif- doings of the Bench of Judges. " The great refolution in " fhip money was a crime of fo prodigious a nature, that it " could not be eafily fwallowed and digefted by the con- " fciences even of thefe men ; but as they who are to wreftle, ** or run a race, by degrees prepare themfelves by diet and " leffer effays for the main exercife, fo thefe judges enter " themfelves, and harden their hearts, by more particular jrvcje's " trefpaffes upon the law — by impofition and taxes upon the fopl-i,' " merchant in trade, by burdens and preffure upon the gentry ap-ainftthe " by knighthood — before they could arrive at that univerfal judo-ps " deftruclion of the kingdom by fhip money ; which promifed ° " them reward and fecurily for all their former fervices, by " doing the work of a parliament to his Majefcy in fupplies 5 " and feemed to elude juftice in leaving none to judge them, " by making the whole kingdom party to their oppreffion."
230 The Grand Remonjirance.
Claufes chant fhared with the mafs of his countrymen. 27,28,29, Ag wj(.j1 the Petition of Right, which had been and 35. folemnly enacted only eight months before, fo it fared with the ftatutes againft monopolies and projectors, won by as hard a ftruggle in the fourth parliament of James, and which now had been the law for many years. Again Mono- had monopolies and protections of every kind revived: fprung up into existence, and the whole com- munity fmarted and groaned under them. There were monopolies of foap, of fait and faltpetre, of wine, of leather, of coals; literally, of everything in moft common and neceffary all necef- ufe ; and, as the immediate and univerfal con- life pro- fequence, not merely were the moft extravagant teded and prices required to be paid for everything fo debaied. protected, but articles of the worft quality, and fubject to the bafeft adulterations, were fure to be fupplied. Purveyors, clerks of the markets, faltpetre men,:;: became bye-words of petty oppreffion. Not only a man's unavoid- able daily wants, but his trade, his employment, his habitation, anything, ferved as the pretext for fome vexatious reftraint to his liberty. If Reftraints he would build near London, he found fuch on enter- building was adjudged a nuifance, and had to pay fome projector for permiflion to inflict the nuifance on his neighbours. If he would trade at fea, he was furprifed, even there, by the projector, as by a foreign enemy. Merchants commonly were prohibited from unlading their goods in ports for their own advantage, and
* Bulftrode Whitelocke moved and carried, in the Houfe itfelf, this addition of " the abides of Purveyors and balt- " petre men."
Abjiracl : Government by Prerogative . 231
compelled to unlade in places for the advantage
of monopolifers and projectors. There was Debafe-
alfo a fcheme of brafs money fet on foot * ment of
* currency.
which would have had the effecl; of beggaring the whole kingdom at a ftroke, by fummary and Simultaneous procefs. And when fome foiitary citizen was occasionally moved to refin- ance, it was but to difcover that what he had imagined to be courts of law for the determi- nation of the fubjec^:s, rights, were now become courts of revenue to fupply the treafury of the King. The common refult of fuch refiftance Courts of was long and hard imprifonment ; lofs oflawbe~ health to many, lofs of life to fome ; and theirs courts 0f was an enviable lot, who efcaped with the mere royal breaking up of their eftablifhments and the levenue- feizure of their goods. j~ The points fo dwelt
* " About the month of July, 1638, there was a project Project " on foot for brafle money. It was folemnly debated whether for brais " it be for his Majefty's l'ervice to coine brafle money, and to money, " make the fame currant within his dominions." — Diary 0/163%. Rous, p. 95. Of the confequences that mull immediately have enured upon this wicked propofal to debate the coin of the realm, it is needlefs to fpeak ; but fome of them are de- tailed in a paper printed by Rous, pp. 95—98. Lord Falk- land made a happy allufion to the brafs project in one of his refolute fpeeches againft the bifhops, while yet he acted on that queftion with Hampden and Pym. " As fome ill paijj._ " minifters in our State firft took away our money from us, ]antps " and after endeavoured to make our money not worth the reference " taking by turning it into Brafs by a kind of anti-philofo- tnereto# " pher's ftone — fo thefe men ufed us in this point of preach- " ing : firft deprefling it to their power, and next labouring " to make it fuch as the harm had not been much if it had " been deprefled."
f The ftate to which in this refpeft the kingdom had been Grimfton brought was briefly and forcibly exprefled by Mr. Harbottle on denials Grimfton, the member for Colchefter, fubfequently Mafter of of juftice. the Rolls and Speaker of the Parliament that welcomed back Charles the Second, in one of the great debates on grievances. " Sir," he faid, " by fome judgments lately obtained in
232 The Grand Remonjirance.
upon were in the 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 33rd, part of the 34th, and the 35th claufes. Claufes From the private wrong the public grievance
2fi'24a»-' *s °^ cour^"e rarely Teparable ; but here it hap- 3"' pened frequently that the one received peculiar exafperation from the other, and a finking inftance was alleged in the monopoly of gun- powder. So high was the rate fet upon gun- Gun- powder, that the poorer fort of people were mrao-1 unable to buy it ; fo ftrict was the protection, poly: that without a licenfe it was not procurable at all ; and, befides the unlawful advantages thus permitted to individuals, many parts of the kingdom were left in confequence utterly with- out defence.* It refulted, in fact, in one of Trained ^e neavieft wrongs inflicted on the common- bands dif- wealth. The Trained Bands were generally couraged difcouraged in their exercifes, the country began to lofe its martial fpirit, and feveral bodies of militia in the counties had their arms taken away. Belonging alfo to the fame clafs of
" courts of juftice, and by fome new ways of government " lately ftarted up amongft us, the law of property is fo much " maken that no man can fay he is mailer of anything. All "that we have, we hold but as tenants by courtefy and at " will, and may be ftripped of at pleafure."
* It was moved by J. C. (Sir John Clotworthy) in the
Houfe that the gunpowder monopoly mould be fpecially
entered " as it was a project for difarming of the kingdom."
Culpeper Another J- C. (Sir John Culpeper), unhappily now the
on pro- fierceft opponent of the Remonltrance, had ftrongly prefTed
teclion of i^lis as a grievance at the opening of the Long Parliament.
„un. " However little it may item prima facie, fir," he faid, with
powder. admirable fenfe and fhrewdnefs, " upon due examination it
" will appear a great grievance, that enhancing of the price
" of gunpowder whereby the Trained Bands are much dif-
" couraged in their exercifing . . . Mr. Speaker, the Trained
" Band is a Militia of great ftrength and honour, without
" charges to the King, and deferves all due encouragement."
AbftraR : Government by Prerogative. 233
grievances, were fuch incidents as the breaking
up of the foreft of Dean, and the alignment
to projectors, for fupply of temporary needs,
of the royal timber therein. One of the beft Favours
ftore-houfes of the kingdom for maintenance to PaPlft
r • n • 1 1 n 1 projectors.
of its lhipping was thus loft ; nor was the r grief of good fubjects abated, when they faw it leafed and fold to papifts. And as public pof- feffions were feized by private projectors, fo was private land appropriated under pretences of public or royal title. The Crown lawyers Seizures put in claims incefTantly to portions of eftates "nder between high and low water marks, againft commif- which the owners had no remedy ;* and com- »ons. miffions were granted under vexatious and all but obfolete ftatutes, by which, for the fole benefit of the rich, the poor were moft heavily burthened.f Large quantities of Common, Commons alfo, and feveral public grounds, were taken *aken from the fubject under colour of the ftatute of peop]e. improvement, and by abufe of the commiflion of fewers. The 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, and 32nd claufeswere thus occupied, the laft having
* Mr. Serjeant Wilde had moved in the Houfe as to " the Wilde " Deftruftion of Timber, efpecially in the Foreft of Deane, and Clot- " by Recufants 5" and confederation was moved to be added worthy, by J. C. (Sir John Clotworthy) of " the Entitling the King " to the lands between the high-water and low-water mark."
f " Here is at this prefent," writes Garrard to the Lord Deputy Wentworth, " a Commiflion in execution againft " cottagers who have not four acres of ground laid to their " houfes, upon a ftatute made the 31 Rliz. which vexeth the " poor people mightily, all for the benefit of the Lord Mor- " ton, and the Secretary of Scotland, the Lord Sterling; p]unc]er " much crying out there is againft it, efpecially becaufemean, 0f t}ie " needy, and men of no good fame, prifoners in the Fleet, poor# " are ufed as principal Commiflioners to call the people before " them, to fine and compound with them."
234
The Grand Remonjlrance.
been fpecially inferted at the urgent reprefenta- tion of Cromwell.*
The fteps by which the ordinary courts of
4^42'43!Juc^cature had become meanwhile fo degraded,
46,and47. as to render poflible the prolongation of this
lawlefs time, are fuccin&ly detailed in the 38th,
39th, 40th, 41ft, 42nd, 43rd, 46th, and 47th
claufes. The patents of the judges were
altered; and the condition of abfolute fervility,
durante bene placito, took the place of that which
might imply at lean; moderate independence,
the quamdiu Je bene gejjerit. Some few judges
were difplaced for refufing to betray their oaths
and their confciences ;f nearly all the reft were
Juftice in- overawed into treachery to both ; the ordinary
tercepted. approaches to juftice were interrupted or fore-
clofed;^ and they who fhould have been as
dogs to defend the fheep, became the very
Claufes
Patents of the Judges altered.
Commif- fions.
Alleged defeats in title deeds,
Anecdote of a Judge.
* " The CommifTion of Sewers to be farther explained" are the terms of a notice given in the Houle by Cromwell. This, and the Commiffion for Depopulations, were often indignantly recurred to, both by Pym and Cromwell.
f The opportunities for violating both were unceafing. Under the pretext of curing defects in titles of land, a pro- clamation was iffued propoiing to grant new titles on pay- ment of a reafonable composition ; the alleged flaws to be tried by judges empowered, without appeal, to eftablifh the objections; and whoever declined to avail himielf of this facility for being plundered, was threatened in no meafured terms with the feizure and utter lofs of all belonging to him.
% " Sir," faid Mr. Harbottle Grimfton, in one of his able fpeeches on grievances at the opening of this parliament, " I " will tell you a paflage I heard from a judge in the King's " Bench. There was a poor man committed by the Lords, " for refufing to fubmit to a project; and having attended a " long time at the King's Bench bar upon his habeas corpus, " and at laft prefling very earneftly to be bailed, the judge " faid to the reft of his brethren, ' Come, brothers,' faid he, " ' let us bail him; for they begin to lay in the town, that " ' the judges have overthrown the Law, and the bifhops the " < Gofpel.' "
AbftraEl : Government by Prerogative. 13$
wolves to worry them. If a lawyer mowed fidelity to his client in any queftion affecting the Crown, he was marked by the court dif- favour. Solicitors and attornies were repeatedly Law and threatened, and not feldom were punifhed, for lawyejS profecuting the moft lawful fuits. New oaths were forced upon the fubject. Undue influences were employed to make juries find for the King. Men found themfelves fuddenly, in their freeholds and eftates, their fuits and actions, bound and overruled by orders from the Council Table.* Old judicatories, as the old jurif- Chancery, the Exchequer Chamber, the Courts ahu|°jS of the Houfehold,f the Court of Wards, and
* " The Council Table bit like a ferpent ; the Star Council " Chamber like fcorpions. Two or three gentlemen could Board " not ftir out, for fear of being committed for a riot. Our tyranny. " fouls and coniciences were put on the rack by the Arch- " bifhop. We might not fpeak of Scripture or repeat a " fermon at our tables. Many godly minifters were lent to " find their bed in the wildernefs. The opprefiion was little " lefs in the lower courts and in the lpecial courts." — Speech by Sir Arthur Hafelrig in Richard Cromwell's parliament, Feb. 1658-9. Clarendon reports it as not merely an ordinary faying but a regular principle of conduft with Finch, fworn in to the high office of Lord Keeper in January, 1639-40, Policy of that while he was Keeper, no man lhould be lb faucy as to Keeper difpute orders of the Council Board ; but that the wifdom of Finch, that Board mould be always ground enough for him to make a decree in Chancery. Hift. i. 131.
f Of the kind of courts thus recklelfly allowed to override Courts or fuperfede the ordinary courts of judicature, a remarkable of the inftance occurs in the Verney Papers, where a reprieve ap- Houfe- pears ligned by Secretary Windebank for " one Elizabeth hold. " Cottrell, condemned to death at the Verge holden on " Thurfday laft for Healing one of his Majefty's dimes," and ferving notice to the Treasurer and Comptroller of the Houfe- hold to ftay the execution. But moft undoubtedly no autho- rity exifted, even in the two infamous Tudor ftatutes creating criminal courts within the royal precinifs, by which Charles the Firft's Treafurer or Comptroller was empowered to try, Verney convicl, and capitally fentence any Englifti lubjeft. Mr. Papers., Bruce has properly pointed out that the only criminal cafes p. 182.
236
The Grand Remonjirance.
New the Star Chamber, were enlarged fo as griev- C°Ufd ou^y t0 exceed their proper jurifdiction ; and new judicatories, fuch as the Court of the Earl Marfhal, were created without a pretence of legality. No man who was in favour at White- hall, any longer cared or needed to feek juftice Rules of except where juftice might be fitted to his own defire; and the rules of common law, which had furvived through centuries of comparative barbarifm, began to lofe their certainty and efficacy in this brief term of twelve miferable years.*
The 37th claufe dealt with the Star Cham-
37, 51) 52. ber, and recited the fines, imprifonments,
55' ' ' baniihments, ftigmatifings, whippings, gags,
pillories, and mutilations,*)" which it adminif-
law un
fettled.
Claufes
Death for Heal- ing royal difh.
Notices for infer- tions in Remon- strance.
Tragedies of Bait- wick,
to which the limited jurifdiclion of the Tudor Courts could poflibly apply, were thofe of members of the royal houfehold confpiring to kill the King or any great officer of the Itate, or fhedding blood within the limits of the palace. To punifh capitally the theft of one of his Majefty's dimes, even though committed by a fervant of the royal houfehold (which Eliza- beth Cottrell prefumably was), is a notion that could only have entered into the projects and arrangements of the molt lawlefs government that England had ever known.
* Several notices of motion for additions to the Remon- ftrance, given after its introduction into the Houfe, had reference to thefe fubje6ts. I fubjoin a few fuch notices :
"The Courts of Wards."
" The Jurifdiction of the Council of the Marches." " The Council Table, as they take cognizance of me " andte."
" The Buying and Selling of Honours and Dignities."
Smyth, the fignature attached to the firft, was doubtlefs Henry Smyth, the member for Leiceftermire, who furvived the vicilfitudes of the eight following years, and fat on the trial of the King.
t The bloody tragedies of Baftwick, of Burton, and of Prynne, — men of fpotlefs reputation in their feveral learned callings, and whofe offence was limply to have claimed the commoneft right of freemen, — are well known, and cannot to
Abfiracl : Government by Prerogative. 237
tered to cafes of confcience. Nothing was too Ecclefi- trivial, nor anything too grave, to efcape its altical tyranny ;* and they were fortunate who, once within its clutches, were again reftored fafely
this day be read without a burning fenfe of irritation and Burton, amazement that even the much-enduring Englifh people and could have poffeffed their fouls in patience, under fo many Prynne. years of fuch a government. Thomas May, the hiftorian of the Parliament, has a pregnant remark upon the fubjecl:. " It " feemed, I 'remember, to many gentlemen (and was accord - " ingly difcourfed of), a fpeftacle no lefs ftrange than fad, " to fee three of feveral profeflions, the nobleft in the king- " dom, Divinity, Law and Phyfick, expofed at one time to " fuch an ignominious punifhment, and condemned to it by " proteftant magiftrates, for fuch tenets in religion as the Mutila- " greateft part of proteftants in England held, and all the tions for " reformed churches in Europe maintained." (Lib. i.cap. 7.) confcience And this feeling it was, ftored up in the minds and hearts of lake. the people, that found afterwards fuch terrible vent. Yet the few leading names, fuch as Leighton's and theirs, which live in the hiltory of fuch perfecutions, are of courfe but the type of countlefs others, the record of whole fufferings has perifhed. Here is a marginal notice from Rous's Diary as of one of the commoneft incidents of the time. " Many great " cenfures in the Starre Chamber. Tubbing's cafe. Tubbing " loft one eare at Weftmintter, and, ere he loft the other in " Norfolk, he died in prilbn in London." Rous was a clergy- R , , man of Suffolk ; a man apparently of fupreme fillinefs and ^ ■ dulnefs, and who had no opinions worth mention on any fub- „> ' jecl, to trouble either himfelf or his neighbours with. The "' only merit of his Diary (and this but fcant) is to collecl: pieces of goffip, and fo preferve evidences of popular fails or feel- ings, quite above the colour of fufpicion on the ground of any popular fympathies in the gofliper himfelf.
* " When," laid Mr. Bagfhaw, member for Southwark, in his fpeech at the meeting of the Long Parliament, " I " call my eyes upon the High Commiffion and other Eccle- " fiaftical Courts, my foul hath bled for the wrong and " preffure which I have obferved to have been done and com- " mitted in thefe Courts againft the King's good people. I Cafe of " have fome reafon to know this, that have been an attendant a hat. " to the Court thefe five years, for myfelf and a dear friend of " mine, fometime knight of our fhire, for a mere trivial bufi- " nefs. The molt that could be proved againft him was the " putting on his hat in the time of fermon." But, alas ! Mr. Bagfhaw yielded afterwards to Hyde's temptations, and joined the party of the King.
23 8
The Grand Remonftrancc.
Star
Chamber,
High _ Commif- fion and Council Table.
Bifhops' Courts.
People driven beyond feas.
Extent of the emi- gration.
to their friends and to their callings ; thrice happy, if not feparated for ever from the ftudies they cherimed and the aflbciates they loved. Yet, even fo adminiftered, the Star Chamber ftill fell fhort of the perfect tyranny which the Primate fought to eftablifh over opinion and confcience throughout England. It was not until the feverity of the High Commiflion, yet further fharpened by the rigour of the Council Table, had brought the Star Chamber at laft into the form and ufes of a Romim Inquifi- tion, that Archbifhop Laud at length feemed fatisfied (51, 52, $3, 54, and 55). And while its fufpenfions, excommunications, de- privations, and degradations, fell daily upon learned and pious ministers, whofe zeal marked them out in its metropolitan jurisdiction, Bifhops' Courts were eftablifhed throughout the country on a flmilar model, which, though not reaching fo high in extremity of punifh- ment, made themfelves more generally grievous by the multiplicity of their vile perfecutions. No man was now fo poor as not to know what ecclefiaftical domination meant. It lighted upon the meaner fort of tradefmen. It flruck the induftrious artificer. It impoverished by thoufands large clafles of the people. And thofe whom in that refpect it fpared, it yet fo afflicted and troubled, that great numbers departed, with all that they pofTeffed, into Holland, into New England, into whatfoever land or wafte beyond the fea the opprefTed con- fcience might hope for freedom. Such was the extent of this emigration, that it was felt in that fpring and fountain of Engliih wealth, the
AbftraEl: Government by Prerogative. 239
woollen-cloth manufacture, as well by the tranf- port abroad as by diminution of the flock at home.
The claufes remaining to be enumerated in claufes this fection of the Remonftrance, the 48th, *%, 5°, 5*, 50th, 56th, 57th, 58th, 59th, and 60th, fpokeand6o. of appointments to offices; of distributions of preferments ; of tamperings with the magif- tracy ; and of the predominance at the Council Table of one or two favoured Ministers, by whofe counfels all others were negatived or overruled. The divines Selected for promotion in the Church were thofe in whofe pulpits the Church prerogative had been preached above the law, ^nts" fuperftitious formalities elevated above religion, and the property and rights of the fubject moSt decried ;* and it became quite the fafhion to Pulpit put forth thefe doctrines in public and folemn d°armes- fermons before the King.f The Sheriffs in the feveral counties were no longer named in the ufual courfe ; but, when they efcaped being the victims of oppreffion, were made its instruments. They were either pricked for Sheriffs as a punifhment and charge, or as R^^f mere agents or commiffioners \ to execute sheriffs.
* " Minifters in their pulpits," laid Wentworth, talking, in his days of patriotism, of the Sovereign's monftrous claim to the fubjecYs eftate, "have preached it as gofpel, and damned " the refufers of it."
\ I find in the Journals of the ioth of November, a notice Royalift of motion for insertion in the Remonftrance, to which no preachers, name is attached, of " The fermons preached in divers places " before the King that the Subject had no property in his " eftate."
\ Adverting to the common and ordinary instructions of the Council to the various Commiffions they iffuecl againft the jjvcje on Subject, that they (hould " proceed according to their difcre- t^ coun_ " tion" it had been well faid in the Houfe by Hyde himfelf :
240
The Grand Remonjirance.
Treat- ment of patriots :
what the Council would have to be done. So, no lefs, it fared with the magiftracies and places of great truft in the counties. Whofoever had mown the wifh to maintain religion, liberty,
cil of the " Such a confufion hath this ' difcretion' produced, as if dii- North. " cretion were only one remove from rage and fury. No in- " convenience, no mifchief, no difgrace, that the malice, or " infolence, or animofity of thefe commiffioners had a mind to " bring upon that people [he is fpeaking of the affirmed jurifdiftion of the Court of York], but, thro' the latitude and " power of this 'difcretion,' the poor people have felt. This " ' difcretion' hath been the quickfand which hath fwallowed " up their property, their liberty. I befeech you, refcue Anecdote " them from this 'difcretion.'" Mr. Hyde took great pride to of Hyde himfelf in after years for his patriotic exertions in this matter, at York. and with infinite felf-complacency tells us how, on his joining the King at York on the eve of the war, he became curioufly aware of the imprelfion which his expofure of the " Council of " the North" had made in that ancient city. One of the King's fervants had taken a lodging for him before his arrival, which he found to be an excellent lodging ; and, in the greateft good humour therewith, he was undreffingfor bed, when his own fer- Trouble vant came up to him from a lower room in much alarm, pro- at his tefted that the people of the houfe mull be mad, and entreated
lodgino-s. him to leave the place at once. By no means difpofed to quit haftilyfuch comfortable quarters, he infiited upon the why and wherefore, to which the man replied that nothing could be more civil than the conduft of the people at firft ; and that he was himfelf made welcome in the room below, occupied by the miftrefs of the houfe ; and that, fitting together there quite pleafantly, " (he alked him what his mailer's name was, which "he told her. What ! faid (lie: That Hyde that is of the Landlady "Houfe of Commons! And he anfwering Yes, fhe gave curfes and " a great fhriek, and cried out that he fhould not lodge in abufes " her houfe: curfing him with many bitter execrations. Upon
him. " fhe n°iieJ her hufband came in ; and when fhe told him who
" it was that was to lodge in the chamber above, he fwore a " great oath that he fhould not ; and that he would rather fet " his houfe on fire than entertain him in it. . . . He knew " him well enough : he had undone him, and his wife, and " his children !" Such was the fervant's account, with more oaths, and flamming of doors, than may here be dwelt on j and for which, on Mr. Hyde's refolving neverthelefs to wait till morning to try and find out fome rational explanation, The the next day brought reafon enough. " The man of the
myftery " houfe had been an Attorney in the Court of the Prefident explained, "and Council of the North, in great reputation and pra£tice
Abfiracl : Government by Prerogative. 241
and the laws, were weeded out of the commif- excluded fion of peace, and all employments of influence h'2.m
* . . • *•* ornccs and
in their diftri£ts ; which afterwards paffed, by honours.
fecret bribery or open purchafe, into the leaft
worthy hands. Titles of honour, ferjeantfhips
of law, and places affecting the common juftice
of the kingdom, were made matters of open
bargain in this way, parTing to men of the
weakeft parts ; and of courfe what were ill
gotten were ill administered and ill ufed. Nor
did the courfe of terrorifm and corruption, thus Terrorifm
taking in the middle and higher grades, and ruption"
already ftretching down, as we have feen, to
the loweft, flop upward until the higheft were
reached. It had its confummation only at the
very council-table of the King. There fat
councillors, who were councillors only in name;
and whofe fole ufe was to confirm, in a few,
the real power and authority. Though other- Strafford's
wife perfons of never fo great abilities and Laud's
honour, whofoever oppofed thofe few were
" there ; and thereby got a very good livelihood, with which
" he had lived in fplendour ; and Mr. Hyde had fat in the chair
" of that Committee, and had carried up the votes of the Com-
" mons againft that Court, to the Houfe of Peers, upon which
" it was diflblved." {Life, i. 149-152.) Another trait of
the time worth preferving may be taken from the fame part
of Clarendon's recollections. Rapidity of communication
had then become of vital neceffity to the king's fervice, and
he takes occafion to mention the marvellous fpeed wherewith
it had become polfible to accomplifh the journey between
London and York. It is (even to us in thefe days) remarkable.
" It was a wonderful expedition that was then ufed between ■pravel-
" York and London, when gentlemen undertook the fervice, ij
"as enough were willing to do; infomuch as when they between
" defpatched a letter on Saturday night, at that time of the Lon(jon
" year (end of April), about twelve at night, they received ancj York
" always the King's anlwer, Monday by ten of the clock
" in the morning.'" Life i. 135.
242
The Grand Remonfirance.
predomi- nance at council.
Claufes 61-67.
Defign of the Court.
Puritans the par- tition againft Rome:
to be flung down.
marked out for difcountenance and neglect ; and the refolutions of ftate which were brought to the table, were not offered for debate and deliberation, but merely for coun- tenance and execution.
Such being the ftate of the kingdom in the clofing months of 1639 (J now Proceed to ftate the fubftance of the next 1 5 claufes, from the 6 1 ft to the 75th inclusive), all things appeared ripe for putting the finifhing touches to the great defign of the leading men, the few juft named, which, as was now made fufficiently obvious, had three diftinct parts. A folemn adjudication of fhip- money had been lately obtained ; and the Government was to be fet free from all reftraint of laws in regard to perfons and eftates. There muft be an identi- fication (only not as yet to be called Popery) betwixt Papifts and Proteftants, in doctrine, difcipline, and ceremonies. And the Puritans,* who remained ftill as the Englifh wall or par- tition flung up againft Rome, muft be either rooted out of the kingdom with force, or driven out by fear (61, 62, 6$, 64). The main ftumbling-block to the entirenefs of the plan was Scotland ; and Laud, bent on doing the work thoroughly, now ftruck in there with his fervice book, his new canons, and his liturgy. The Scots refifted ; the Archbifhop
Who were called Puritans.
* " Whofoever fquares his actions by any rule, either divine (t or human, he is a Puritan ; whofoever would be governed " by the King's laws, he is a Puritan ; he that will not do " whatfoever other men would have him do, he is a Puritan. " Their great work, their mafterpiece, now is, to make all " thofe ot the true religion to be the fufpecled party of the " kingdom." — Sir Benjamin Rudyard, Nov. 7, 1640.
Abftracl : Government by Prerogative. 243
would not recede ; and, occupying filently Scotch either fide of the Tweed, two armies gradually Rebelllon- arofe (65, 66, 67).
But, when they were ready to encounter, ciaufes counfels of fear, if not of prudence, led to 6^-7S- the pacification of Berwick ; which had how- ever hardly been completed, when Strafford Strafford refiimed his place at the council board, con- at the demned the courfe that had been taken, and Board, advifed what he declared to be the Crown's laft and beft refource, the fummoning of a parlia- ment.* Not indeed to give counfel and advice, but to reftricr. itfelf to the giving of countenance and fupply ; for, to men who had corrupted and diftempered the whole frame and government of the kingdom, the attempt His rea- alfo to corrupt what alone could reftore all to lonsforri a right frame again, was become matter ofment. fafety and neceffity. If the plan mould fucceed, and parliament be pliant, the feffion would be continued, and mifchief eftablifhed by a law. If it mould fail, and parliament be ftubborn, the feffion would at once be broken, and the Crown abfolved for ufing foul means by the
* The fubjoined is chara£teriftic of the feeling of the time.
u The 27 of March, 15 Car. 1639, his Majeftie rode jy'tary Gf " through Roifton to Yorkeward, there to meete his army, Rous " &c. It was told me, April 1, that whereas it is an ufe to March " deliver billes to the ficke to be praid for in this manner; 1639. " one from the church dore, perhaps in the throng, pulles " another by the moulder, and gives him the note or bill, he " another &c. untill it come to [the] clerke ; the clerke, at " the preacher's comming into the pulpit, delivers them to " him, &c. Some one had put up a bill which the preacher " wold not reade, but let it fall. The bill was thus: John Prayers " Commonwealt/i's-man of Great Britaine, being ficke of the for a par- " Scottijli difeafe, defires the -prayers of this congregation for a liament. '■'■parliament!'' — Diary of Rous, 88.
244 ^he Grand Remonji ranee.
pretence of having endeavoured to ufe fair (68, 69, 70, 71, 72). Simultaneoufly with the iflue of writs, went forth levies for a new army, with frefh acts of violence againft the His Irifli Scots. At the fame time, Strafford, pafling .sa over into Ireland, called together a parliament
againit . ' o. tr
the Scots, in Dublin; wrefted from it four fubfidies; and, without concealing the purpofe for which they were defigned, fummoned levies of eight thoufand foot and one thoufand horfe from the well-appointed army, chiefly of Papifts, which he had been able to raife in that kingdom
(73, 74, 75)-
4. The Short Parliament and the Scottijli Invajion.
Ckufes -pH£ meetjng 0f the Houfes at Weftminfter
on the 13th April, 1640; the demand of twelve fubfidies for the releafe of fhip-money alone ; the temperate tone of both the Com- mons and. the Lords, and the fudden and intemperate difTblution ; occupy claufes 76, 77, and 78. The next twenty-fix, from the 79th to the 104th inclufive, defcribe the momentous interval before the afTembling of the Long Parliament. Claufes On the very day of the diffolution of the
79— 4- parliament of April, the King's moft powerful Counfellor advifed that he was now abfolved from all rule of government, and entitled to fcSff°rd'S ^PPty himfelf out of his fubjecls' eftates counfel: without their confent.* A vigorous levy of
* This memorable advice, which coft Strafford his head, was given on the 5th May 1640; and it was from the notes
Abftra£l : Short Parliament & Scotti/Ii Invqfion. 245
fhip-money was accordingly ordered ; a forced its refults. loan was fet on foot in the city of London ; a falfe and fcandalous Declaration againft: the Houfe of Commons was iffued in the King's name ; on the day following the dilTolution, fome members of both houfes had their ftudies and cabinets, 'f yea, their pockets," fearched;* and foon after, for having maintained the Diffolu- • privilege of parliament, one of the members shortPar- of the lower Houfe was committed from the liament. Council Table. Harfher courfes were contem- plated, and the report of them went abroad ; but the ficknefs of the Earl of Strafford, and a tumultuous riling in Southwark and about Lambeth,j" were fuppofed to have intercepted
of the elder Vane, taken that day at the Council Table, and fubfequently found by his lbn and handed to Pym, that the evidence was obtained againft him.
* "Sir William Beecher was committed to the ufher of Arrefts of " the blacke rod for not difclofing his warrant to ferche the Parlia- " pockets of Erie of Warwicke, Lord Say, Lord Brooke, ment men. " prefently after the laft parliament broken up. It was done " the next morne to the Lord Say and Lord Brooke in bedde; " the Lord Brooke's lady being in bedde with him. The " King at length affirming that he commanded it, he was ■'■' releal'ed." — Diary of John Rous, p. 101.
t " Upon the diflblution of the parliament (5th May, 1640) R;ots at " prefently were two infurreclions in one weeke, at South- gouth- " wark and Lambeth; in the firft the White Lion prylbn war^ and " was broken and prifoners fet free, &c. ; in the fecond, Lam- LamDeth. " beth Houfe in hazard, &c. One man was taken, and " hanged and quartered." — Diary ofjohn Rous, p. 90. Cla- rendon tells us, (Hiji. i. 253) that the reference to the Lam- beth riots in the Remonftrance received modification during the debates. What he fays is chara£teriftic, as well for its difhoneft reference to thofe riots (for which one man fuffered execution), as for its allufion to Mr. Strode. "Thisinfa- Allufions " mous, fcandalous, headlefs infurreclion, quafhed by the by Cla- " deferved death of that one varlet, was not thought to be rendon. " contrived or fomented by any perfons of quality, yet it was " difcovered after in the Houfe of Commons by Mr. Strode " (one of thofe Ephori who moft avowed the curbing and
2 4-6
The Grand Remonjirance.
Claufes 85-87.
the execution of them. (79, 80, 81, 82,
%3> 84.)
Neverthelefs they failed to turn afide the Archbifhop from his eager and unfwerving advance to Rome. Undaunted and undeterred by difcontents and tumults, never did he and Laud ftill the other bifhops follow up that purpofe more moving to actively than in thofe fix memorable months. If any before could have doubted what they aimed at, now it was made plain to all. For now it was that, with the authority of a fo-called provincial fynod, canons were put forth declaring things lawful which had no warrant of law ; justifying altar- worfhip, and other fuperflitious innovations ;* fetting at defiance the ufages and the Statutes of the realm ; trampling alike on the property and liberty of the fubject, the rights of Parliament, and the prerogative of the King ; and mowing that they who would fet the Crown above the
Crown above the Laws :
" iuppreffing of Majefty) with much pleafure and content ; " and it was mentioned in the firft draught of the firft Re- " monftrance (when the fame was brought in by Mr. Pym) " not without a touch of approbation, which was for that " reafon fomewhat altered, though it ftill carried nothing of " cenfure [judgment] upon it in that piece." It is quite true, as Clarendon alleges, that only one man fuffered death for this difturbance, but it was not the clemency of the Govern- ment, but of one of the few upright judges of the day, which An honeft had prevented other capital profecutions. " Judge Reeve," judge. fays Rous, November, 1640, "this fummer affizes did in
" Southwarke refufe to proceede upon the inditement of one " of the Lambeth tumult, faying he wold have no hand in " any man's bloud ; but, becaufe the fellow had been bufie, " &c. remitted him to prifon againe." Diary, 101.
* " They would evaporate and difpirit the power and '* vigour of religion by drawing it out into folemn fpecious " formalities, into obfolete anticmated ceremonies new fur- " bifhed up." — Sir Benjamin Rudyard, 7th Nov. 1640.
Sir Ben, Rudyan
AbftraSt : Short Parliament & Scottijh Invafion. 24.J
Jaws, would alfo fet themfelves above the Crown. They impofed new oaths; they taxed the great mafs of the clergy for the King's fupply ; * they fomented the quarrel with Mitre Scotland, which they fondly fly led Bellum ^bove Epjcofale ;f they compofed, and enjoined to be read in the churches, a prayer againft the Scots as rebels, of which the obje£t was to drive the two nations to irreconcileable blood- fhed ; and, above all, upon authority of their pretended canons and conftitutions, they pro- ceeded to fuch extremities of fufpenfion, ex- Church communication, and deprivation againft good °PPref- minifters and well-affedted people, as left the pafTage eafier than it yet had feemed to their defign of reconciliation with Rome. (85, 86,
87.)
For it was part of the defign that the Papifts ciauies at this time fhould receive peculiar exemptions 88-94. from the penal laws, befides many other en- couragements and court favours. J They
* "Sir, imagine it!" exclaimed Mr. Harbottle Grimfton. Grimfton. " See what a pitch they have flown ! A fynod called together " upon pretence of reconciling and fettling controverfies in '* religion, take upon themfelves the boldnefs, out of parlia- " ment, to grant fubiidies and to meddle with men's free- " holds ! I fay, the like was never heard of before ; and " they that durft do this will do worfe, if the current of their " raging tyranny be not flopped in time."
f In the laft great debate on the Remonftrance, Falkland Falkland, (of all men in the world) took objection fpecially to this pafTage ; feeble and faint tranfcription as it is, of what, fome few months earlier, he was never himfelf wearied of urging and repeating in fiery and paflionate fpeeches.
J The celebration of mafs, though illegal, was openly Mafs con- connived at ; but woe to the Proteftant who declined attend- nived at : ance at his parifh church becaufe he would not bow to the altar ! He was punifhed firft by fine, and, on a repetition of his refufal, by tranlportation. " It hath been more dangerous,"
24S
The Grand Remonftrance.
Secret
meetings.
conven- ticles made cri- minal.
Defigns pofTefTed, in the King's fecretary of ftate, Sir andpower Franc}s Windebank, a powerful agent for s" fpeeding all their defires.* They had a refi- dent Pope's Nuncio, by whofe authority, under direct instructions and influences from Rome itfelf, all the moil influential of the nobility, gentry, and clergy of that perfuafion held fecret convocations after the manner of a par- liament. So led and Strengthened, they erected
exclaimed Falkland, in his fpeech upon grievances in the Short Parliament, " for men to go to fome neighbour's parifli " when they had no iermon in their own, than to be obitinate " and perpetual recufants. While maffes have been faid in " fecurity, a conventicle hath been a crime ; and, which is " yet more, the conforming to Ceremonies hath been more " exacted than the conforming to Chriftianity." In like manner the Roman Catholics were fingled out for ipecial conceffions of monopolies. " They grew," fays Clarendon, " not only fecret contrivers but public profeffed promoters " of, and minifters in, the moil grievous projects ; as that of " foap, formed, framed, and executed by almoft a corporation " of that religion, which, under that licenfe and notion, " might be, and were fufpecled to be, qualified for other " agitations" (i. 262). Fancy the monopoly of fuch a necef- fity as foap in the hands of a corporation of Roman Catholics, ufing it to impofe the worft articles at the higheft price upon all claffes of the people! "Continual complaints rife up," writes Garrard to Lord Deputy Wentworth, " that it burns " linen, fcalds the laundreis's fingers, and waftes infinitely in " keeping, being full of lime and tallow." And fancy the fame fort of thing going on with refpecl: to every conceivable thing on which a tax could be laid, or out of winch a mono- poly could be formed ! Salt, ftarch, coals, iron, wine, pens, cards, dice, beavers, belts, bone-lace, meat drefied in taverns (the vintners of London gave the King 6000/. for freedom from this horrible impofition), tobacco, wine caflcs, game, lamprons, brewing and diftilling, weighing of hay and ftraw in London, guaging of red herrings, butter-calks, kelp and feaweed, linen cloth, rags, hops, buttons, hats, gut-firing, fpeftacles, combs, tobacco-pipes, fedan chairs, and hackney coaches (now firft invented), faltpetre, gunpowder, down to the privilege of gathering rags exclufively — all thefe things were fubje£t to monopolies, and all heavily taxed !
* For proof in all refpecls confirmatory of this ftatement, fee Clarendon's Hijforj, i. 3 n- 12.
Favour to Papifls
Matters fubjeff. to mono- poly.
Abftratl : Short 'Parliament & Scottijh Invafion. 249
new jurifdictions of Romifh Archbifhops ; levied taxes ; fecretly ftored up arms and munition ; and were able to fet in motion fuch powerful agencies, at the Court and in Agencies the Council, that it actually there became at ^?urt matter of debate whether or not to iflue to council, fome great men of the party, under private conditions and inftructions, a commiffion for the raifing of foldiers. And thus there was imperium moulded within the Englifh State another State « i*frr»> independent in Government, oppofed in affec- tion and intereft, fecretly corrupting the carelefs, actively combining againfl the vigilant, and in this pofture waiting the opportunity to deftroy thofe whom it could not hope to feduce.* (88 to 94 inclufive.)
* Let me illuftrate what is faid in the text by one of the ~ h bv moft mafterly expofitions ever made of the true ftate of the Jt , ? cafe, and of the real iflue that was then to be determined. '
" Sir," faid Sir Benjamin Rudyard, in perhaps the moft eloquent of all the fpeeches delivered in the great debates of November 1640, " if we fecure our Religion, we mail " cut ofF and defeat many plots that are now on foot by " them and others. Believe it, Sir, Religion hath been for a " long time, and ftill is, the great defign upon this kingdom. " It is a known and praftifed principle, that they who would " introduce another religion into the Church, mult firft trouble ot~te anc) " and diforder the government of the State, that fo they may r->],nrri1 " work their ends in a confufion : which now lies at the n-rievancs
" door I have often thought and faid, that it muft ^jfeDara_
" be fome great extremity that would recover and rectify this 11 " State ; and when that extremity did come, it would be a " great hazard whether it might prove a Remedy or Ruin. " We are now, Mr. Speaker, upon that vertical turning " point, and therefore it is no time to palliate, to foment our
" own undoing To difcover the difeafes of the State is
" (according to fome) to traduce the Government; yet others
" are of opinion that this is the half-way to the cure
" Men that talk loudly of the King's fervice and yet have " done none but their own, that fpeak highly of the King's " power yet have made it a miferable power producing nothing " but weaknefs, thefe are they who have always peremptorily
250
The Grand Remonftrance.
Claufes 95-104.
Prifons full.
Non- parlia- mentary fupply exhaufted,
Difcon- tent of Lords :
Ruin of
old mon- archy.
Yonge's Diary.
But a crifis came unexpectedly. At the moment when any further illegal prefTure on the fubjecT: feemed hopelefs, his Majefty's treafure was found to be confumed, and his entire revenue to be anticipated. Though the prifons were filled with commitments from the Council Table,* yet "multitudes" who had refufed illegal payments ftill hung in attendance at its doors. Several of the fheriffs had been dragged up into the Star Chamber from their refpective counties, and fome had been im- prifoned for not having levied fhip-money with fufficient vigour. In a word, the fource of non-parliamentary fupply was exhaufted. The people, with no vifible hope left but in defpe- ration, languifhed, beginning to feem pafTive under grief and fear; and the King's chief advifers fuggefted a fubfcription to fupply his wants, to which they made very large perfonal contribution. But the example was loft on the clafs to which alone, with any effect, the appeal could be made. For now the Nobility themfelves, weary of their filence and patience, began to be fenfible of the duty and truft which belonged to them as hereditary counfel-
1 purfued one obftinate pernicious courfe. Firlt, they bring ' things to an extremity ; then they make that extremity, of ; their own making, the reafon of their next a&ion, feven ' times worfe than the former. And there, Sir, we are at this ' inftant. They have almoft lpoiled the beft inftituted Govern- ' ment in the world, for fovereignty in a king, for liberty to ' the fubjeft ; the proportionable temper of both which, ' makes the happier! State for power, for riches, for duration." * " Many are daily imprilbned for refilling to lend the ' King, fo that the prifons in London are full ; and it's ' thought they mail be fent and imprilbned in divers ' gaols in the country, remote from their own dwellings." — Walter Yonge 's Diary, p. 105.
AbftraR : Short Parliament &? Scottijlo Invafion. 25 1
lors of the Crown ; and fome of the mofr. petition ancient of them petitioned his Majefty for the [°r 1 redrefs to which his fubjects were entitled.''
lament.
* This memorable Petition, which was afterwards the fub- The York jecTt of fpecial thanks in both Houles, which bore attached to Declara- it the names of the Earls of Bedford, Briftol, Hertford, EfTex, tion. Mulgrave, Paget, Warwick, and Bolingbroke,ofthe Vifcounts Say and Seale, and Mandeville, and of the Lords Brook, and Howard of Efcrick, has never been lb correctly printed as in the copy now fubjoined. Every word has its weight and value.
" The humble Petition of your Majefty's moll loyal fub- " jecls, whole names are here underwritten, in behalfe of " themfelves and many others. ' Moll: Gracious Sovereign :
' The lenfe of that duty and fervice which we owe unto ' your Majefty, and our earned affection to the good and ' welfare of this your realm of England, have moved us, in ' all humility, to befeech your Majefty to give us leave to ' offer unto your molt princely wildom, the apprehenfion Dangers ' which we, and other your faithful fubjefts, have conceived, to State ' of the great diftempers and dangers now threatening the and ' Church and State, and your Royal Perfon, and of the iitteft Church. ' means by which they may be removed and prevented.
' The Evils and Dangers whereof your Majefty may be ' pleal'ed to take notice are thefe :
' 1. That your Majefty's facred perfon is expofed to hazard c and danger in the prelent expedition againft the Scotilh ' armie : and by the occailon of this war, your revenues much ' wafted j your fubjecls burthened with Coat and Conduit Griev- ' money, with Billeting of Souldiers and other Military ances of ' Charges, with divers rapines and diforders committed in fubjecl:. ' leveral parts in this your realm by the fouldiers railed for ' that fervice ; and your whole kingdom become full of care ' and dilcontent.
' 2. The fundry innovations in matters of Religion, the Innova- ' Oath and Canons lately impofed upon the clergy, and other tions in ' your Majefty's lubjefts. relio-ion.
' 3. The great Increafe of Popery ; and Employing of ' Popilh Recufants, and others ill-affefted to the Religion by ' Law eftablilhed, in places of power and truft, efpecially in ' commanding of Men and Armes both in the Field and in ' fundry Counties of this your realm : whereas, by the Laws, ' they are not permitted to have Armes in their own houles.
' 4. The great mifchief which may fall upon this king- ' dom, if the Intention, which hath been credibly reported,
252
Taxation without reprefen- tation.
Par- liament the only remedy.
Story by Shaftef- bury.
Firft re- folve of the Court
T/ie Grand Remonjirance.
Which Petition had yet borne no fruit, when the Scots, oppreiTed in their confciences, re- strained in their trades, impoveriihed by the
' of bringing in of Irifh and foreign forces fhould take 1 effect.
' 5. The urging of Ship-money, and profecution of fome ' fheriffs in the Star-chamber for not Levying of it.
1 6. The heavy charges upon Merchandize, to the dif- ' couraging of Trade. The multitude of Monopolies, and ' other Patents, whereby the Commodities and Manufactures ' of the Kingdom are much burthened, to the great and ' univerfal Grievance of your people.
1 7. The great grief of your fubjecls by the long Intermii- ' fion of Parliaments, and the late and former Diffolving of ' fuch as have been called, without the happy effects which ' otherwife they might have produced.
' For remedy whereof, and prevention of the danger that ' may enfue to your Royal perfon, and to the whole State,
' We do, in all humility and faithtulnefs, befeech your ' moft excellent Majefly, that you will be pleafed to fummon ' a Parliament within fome fhort and convenient time, where - ' by the caufe of thefe and other great greivances which your ' people and your poor Petitioners now lye under, may be ' taken away, and the Authours and Councellours of them ' may be there brought to fuch Legal Tryal and condign ' punifhment as the nature of their feveral offences fhall require ; ' and that the prefent War may be compofed by your Ma- ' jellies wiidom without effufion of blood, in fuch manner as 1 may conduce to the honour and fafety of your Majefties ' perfon, the content of your people, and the unity of both of ' your realms againft common enemies of the Reformed ' Religion.'
" And your Majefty's Petitioners mail always pray, &c."
A lingular anecdote is told of this petition on no lels autho- rity than that of the firft Lord Shaftefbury. It occurs with his fignature in Locke's Common Place Book (King's Life, 1. 222), and other undoubted references by Shaftelbuiy to the fame ltory (Marty n's Life, i. 115, 119), eftablifti the author- fhip : " This petition," he fays, " was prefented to the King " at York by the hands of the Lord Mandeville and the Lord " Howard. The King immediately called a Cabinet Council, " wherein it was concluded to cut off both the lords' heads " the next day ; when the Council was up, and the King " gone, Duke Hamilton and the Earl of Strafford, general of " the army, remaining behind, when Duke Hamilton, alking ' " the Earl of Strafford whether the army would ftand to them, " the Earl of Strafford anfwered he feared not, and protefted
Abftracl : Affs of the Long Parliament. 253
feizure of their mips in Englifh and Irifh ports, and hopelefs of fatisfying the King by any naked unfupported fupplication, forced The the pafTage of the Tyne at Newburn with a inc°.Jlon powerful army; and having pofTefTed themfelves of Newcastle, there, out of brotherly love to the Englifh nation, ftayed their march, and gave the King leifure to entertain better coun- fels. A ceffation of arms was determined upon for a certain fixed period, and all differ- ences were referred in the interval to the wif- Parlia- dom and care of the Ancient Council of the ,nent Jum_
t-» r moned:
nation. A Parliament was fummoned to meet 3d Nov. on the 3rd November, 1640. (95 to 104 l64°- inclusive.)
5. Acls of the Long Parliament.
The great deeds done by this memorable Claufes affembly during the firft. twelve months 0fI05&II°- its exiftence, are then, in no boaftful or vain- glorious fpirit, detailed by their authors. Hif- tory fpeaks to us, here, while yet in the very procefs of creation ; and, by a rare privilege, H of records the actions of her heroes in language the Long
" he did not think of that before then. Hamilton replied, if " we are not fure of the army, it may be our heads inftead of " theirs 5 whereupon they both agreed to go to the King and fecond " alter the Council, which accordingly they did." There are thoughts, fome probabilities againftthe ltory, but at leaft it vividly reflects the popular belief of the Angularly dangerous and critical turning point to which public affairs, and all aftors in them, had then unquestionably come. I take the opportunity of Shaftef- referring to the Papers refpecling the firft Lord Shafteibury's bury life, of which a portion has been lately publifhed by Mr. Papers. Chriftie, as extremely interefting in themfelves, and not un- likely to clear off fome mifts of exaggeration and prejudice from a famous hiftoric name.
254
The Grand Remonjirance.
Parlia- ment.
Their talk.
Claufes 106-109. and 111-124.
Two
armies paid.
Twelve iubfidies raifed.
Griev- ances redrefled.
they have themfelves Jeft to us. They do not understate the work they had to do ; nor do they exaggerate their own power, in doing it. All opposition, they remark, feemed to have vanifhed when firft they met. So evident were the mifchiefs, To manifeSt the evil of the counfellors refponfible for them, that no man ftood up to defend either. Yet very arduous was the work of reformation. The difficulties feemed to he infuperable, which by the Divine Providence they overcame : the contrarieties incompatible, which yet in a great meafure they reconciled. (105 and 110.)
It was not only that the multiplied evils and corruption of Sixteen years Strengthened by authority and cuftom, and that the powerful delinquents whofe interests were identified with their continuance, were together to be brought to judgment ; but that two armies were to be paid, at a coft of near 80,000/. a month ; that the King's houfehold was to be fupplied, in even its ordinary and neceflary expenfes ; and that the people were yet to be tenderly charged, as already exhausted by unjuft and grofs exactions (106, 107, 108, and 109). And all this was done. During the year, twelve Subsidies had been raifed, to the amount of 600,000/. ; yet had the kingdom been fubftantially no lofer by thofe charges. Ship-money, which drew fup- plies almoft without limit from the Subject, was abolifhed. Coat and conduct-money, and other military afTefTments, in many counties amounting to little lefs than Ship-money, were declared illegal and removed. Monopolies, of which but the leading few, fuch as foap, wine,
AbJiraB : Ads of the Long Parliament, 255
leather, and fait, prejudiced the common people to the amount of nearly a million and a half polies ~ yearly, were univerfally fupprefTed.* And, abolifhed. what was more beneficial than all, the root of thefe intolerable evils had been extirpated.
* No one was more eager againft the Remonftrance, Culpepper or fought every ftage of it with a more impaffioned refift- a«ainlt ance, than Sir John Culpeper, fo foon to be appointed projectors. " for life " Chancellor of the Exchequer (until Hyde was ready to affume that office, when Culpeper became a lord and Mailer of the Rolls) : yet it was he who, at the meeting of the Long Parliament, had fpolcen that memorable fpeech againft monopolies and projeclors which might have iupplied Sydney Smith with his famous diatribe on the univerfality of Britifh taxation two hundred years later. " It is a neft of wafps, or fwarm of vermin, which " have overcrept the land; I mean the monopolers and polers " of the people. Like the frogs of Egypt, they have gotten Swarm of " the poffeffion of our dwellings, and we have fcarce a room mono- " free from them. They fup in our cup, they dip in our polift " difh, they fit by our fire. We find them in the dye-fat, the vermin. " wafh-bowl, and the powdering-tub. They fhare with the " butler in his box. They have marked and fealed us from " head to foot. Mr. Speaker, they will not bait us a pin. We " may not buy our own clothes without their brokage." To illuftrate theopeiation of forae of thefe monopolies, a ftriking pafTage may alio be taken from a fpeech of Pym's, in which he undertook to fliow that the gain of the King was wonder- fully dilproportioned to the lofs of the Subject. " In France, Sneech bv " not long fmce, upon a furvey of the King's revenue, it was r>vm . " found that two parts in three never came to the King's " purfe, but were diverted to the profit of the officers and " minifters of the Crown; and it was thought a very good " fervice and reformation to reduce two parts to the King, " leaving ftill a third part to the inftruments that were em- " ployed about getting it in. It may well be doubted if the " King have the like or worfe fuccefs in England. For firiall " inftance, he hath referved upon the monopoly of wines „ajn to " thirty thoufand pound rent a year ; the vintner pays forty Kino- " fhillings a tun, which comes to ninety thoufand pounds ; frorrflarge " the price upon the fubjecl: by retail is increafed twopence a j0fs to " quart, which comes to eight pounds a tun, and for forty- Subject. " five thoufand tun brought in yearly amounts to three " hundred and fixty thoufand pounds; which is three hundred " and thirty thoufand pounds lofs to the kingdom, above the " King's rent ! "
256 The Grand Remonft ranee.
Taxation The judgment of both Houfes, fubfequently Com-ed t0 emD°died in a ftatute, had put an end for ever mons. to the arbitrary power pretended to be in the King, of taxing the fubjecl, or charging their eftates, without confent of their representatives in parliament. Judgment had been dealt, alfo, upon the living grievances ; upon the evil counfellors, and actors, of treafon to the com- Delin- monwealth. The Earl of Strafford had pe- punifhed. rifhed on the fcaffold. Lord Finch, the Lord Keeper, and Sir Francis Windebank, the Secre- tary of State, had taken flight into ignominious exile. Archbifhop Laud and Judge Berkeley were lodged in the Tower. And fuch was the report ■ gone forth of thefe memorable ads of retribution, that not the prefent only, but all future times, were like to find fafety and prefervation therein. (111 to 124 inclufive.) Claufo Through ten fucceeding claufes the great
i^'and' recital continued. The abolition of the Star 126, and Chamber, of the High Commiflion, and of 1 37-142. trie Courts of the Prefident and Council in the North, as of fo many forges of opprefTion, mifery, and violence,* was exultingly detailed.
Ralph * To what extent thefe courts might be, and were, made
Verney to minifter to opprefTion, could only be fhown by a relation
to James too particular for this place ; but there is a letter from Ralph
Dillon : Verney to his friend James Dillon, describing Prynne's fine
1634.. and punifhment, which remarkably illultrates the recklefs
liberty of indulgence to private fjdeen and pafiion, on which
they were all baled, and by which all were governed. The
judgment for a fine, as will be obferved, was taken on the
average of the various rams fuggelted.
1633 — 4. February 26th. " I did but even now receave a " letter from you, wherein you defire an account of Mr. " Prinn's cenfure. To fatisfie you therein. He is to be " degraded in the Univerfitie, difbarred at the Innes of Court ;
AbfiraB : Amis of the Long Parliament. 257
And thofe votes of both Houfes were re- Over- counted, which had taken away the immoderate tyranny • power of the Council Table ; had blafted for ever the defign of overriding gofpel and law by canons of the Church ; had {truck down the exorbitances of Bifhops and their courts; Eccle- had punifhed fcandalous minifters ; had re- ^d civil formed the foreft laws ; had put an end to the encroachments and oppreflions of the Stannary Courts ; had abolifhed the extortions of the Clerk of the Market ; had relieved the fubjecl of the vexations of the old laws of knighthood; and, of all thefe and other as grievous public How wrongs, left no more trace or veftige than pi^f might fuffice to tell to future generations the {lory of the miferies they had occafioned.* (127 to 136 inclufive.) In the fame recital, but ftanding apart from the general ftatement of redrefs, was the mention made (125 and
" he was fined in foure thoufand pounds by fome, by others
" in 5,oooh-, in 6,oooh-, in io,oooh; but which or" thefe does
" now ftand I cannot refolve you, becaufe I counted not in
'•' which of thefe fummes moft of the Lords did agree ; but I
" believe it was in 4oooh\ He was withall condemned to the prvrmp> .
" lofle of his ears, whereof he is to part with one at Weftmin- ,n-fu
" fter, with the other at Cheapfide, where, whileft an officer ilen(.
" doeth execution on him felf, the hangman is to doe execu- defcr'bed
" tion on his booke, and burne it before his face. He is
" withall to fuffer perpetuall imprifonment by the decree of
" the Starr Chamber. There were of the lords, that counted
' ' this not enough ; they would have his nofe Jlitt, his arme
" cutt off, andpenn and inke for ever withheld from him ; but
" thefe were butfewe, and their cenfure flood not."
* A claufe introduced in the courfe of this fummary, hav- pourt Qc ing reference to the Court of Requefts, was fubfequently Reaue^ objected to by the liberal leaders, and on adivifion was rejected j:v;j:on by 187 to j 23 (this was the firlt divifion on the great day when the final vote was taken), Sir John Clotworthy and Sir Thomas Barrington being tellers for the majority, and for the minority, Mr. Stanhope and Sir F. Cornwallis.
258 The Grand Remonjirance.
126) of the two memorable ftatutes, for tri- ennial parliaments, and for prevention of any Two abrupt diflblution of the exifting parliament, famous as constituting not only a remedy for the pre- Statutes. fen^ b^ a perpetual fpring of remedies for the future ; and, clofing the Statement (137 to 142 inclufive), was a brief Sketch or intima- tion of other contemplated meafures, which the existence of thofe two fafeguards had ena- bled them to prepare with fome reafonable Other ads certainty of enactment even before the clofe prepared: 0£ ^q feflion. Among them were laws and provisions for defining and fettling the powers of the biShops ; for abating pride and idlenefs in the clergy ; for earing the people of needlefs and fuperftitious ceremonies ; for removing unworthy, and maintaining godly, preachers ; titles and for fo establishing the King's revenue, as both there* f to cut °^ Superfluities, and make more certain all neceffary payments ; for fo regulating courts of juStice as to abridge both the delays and the cofts of law; for better fettling of the currency, and equality of exchanges ; for increafing manufactures and facilitating trade ; for put- ting an end to the iniquities of prefs- money;* and for fo improving the herring fiihery on their own coaSts, as not only to give large employment to the poor, but to create and cherifh a plentiful nurfery of feamen.
* In the Schedule of* Grievances, before referred to, appears
" the compelling fome free-men, by imprisonment and threat-
" ening, to take preiTe-money ; and others, for feare of the
Horror of " like imprifonment, to forfake their place of habitation, hid-
impreff- " i-ng themfelves in woods, whereby their families are left to
ment. " yc charge of the parifh, and harveft worke undone for want
" of labourers." Diary of John Rous, p. 92.
AbfkraEl : Practices of the Court Party. 259
6. Practices of the Court Party.
Then arofe, in connection with this men- claufes tion of laws fo defirable to be panned, the con- I43-IS3- fideration of fuch and fo many obftructions and difficulties then lying acrofs the path to their accomplishment, as might ftill prove ftrong enough, and obftinate enough, to defy removal. The heart of the Remonftrance lay here ; and obftmc- its authors made no fecret of their aim in tl0"s ^x" fo fhaping and directing it. The malignant party, they frankly declared, reprefenting ftill the authors and promoters of all the miferies and wrongs therein defcribed, had taken heart again. Even during the prefent parliament, Prefer- that party had been enabled again to prefer to m^ft
c 1 r n j ev coun~
degrees or honour, and to places of truft and fellors. employment, fome of its own factors and agents ; and had ufed this influence to work, in the King, ill impreflions and opinions of the proceedings of the Houfe of Commons : as if its members had altogether done their Reproach own work and not his, and had obtained from againft him many things very prejudicial to the Crown, ou e : both in refpect of prerogative and profit. To wipe out which laft-named flander, they thought it good to declare, that, — in voting 25,000/. a month for the relief of the Northern Coun- ties, in voting 300,000/. by way of brotherly affiftance to the Scots, and in voting above of re- 50,000/. a month for the charge of the army, r"finfr[0 — all thefe fums, which, with the addition of theCrown. monies yielded by afTeffments on merchandize, amounted to a million and a half fterling, had
-6o The Grand Remonjlrance.
been contributed to the greatnefs, the honour, and the fupport of the King. He was bound to protect his fubjects ; and his fubjects might well have claimed exemption from contributing to the relief of burthens, created by the very A million wrongs inflicted on themfelves. Yet, out of voted for t^r Purfe ^nc.e tne prefent parliament met, the King, had this million and a half been voted to his Majefty, by thofe very members of the Houfe of Commons whom the ill-affected were now fo " impudent " as to reproach with having done nothing for the King! (143 to 153 inclufivec) Claufes As to the other reproach put forth to juftify
154.-161. tjle flanc[er, ancj touching mainly the queftion of prerogative, it was met with challenge as frank and refolute. While they acknowledged with thankfulnefs, and in the moft impreffive Popular language, that the King had given his confent, b 1Kinffed during the preceding ten months, to more good bills for the advantage of the fubject than had been in many previous ages, they yet claimed to remember the venomous coun- cils which had flnce gone far to obftruct and Fourgreat hinder the benefits from thefe good acts. They aftsre- proceeded to inftance, one by one, the four ftatutes, — the Triennial Bill, the Bill for Con- tinuance of the Parliament, and the two Bills for Abolition of the Star Chamber and High CommifTion, — fingled out to eftablifh the charge of having prejudiced the Crown in pre- rogative as well as profit (in none other could be found fo much as the fhadow of pretence for fuch a charge) ; and they declared themfelves content to reft, upon no other than thefe four,
AbJiraEl : PraSlices of the Court Party. 261
the ifTue whether or not they had been careful, No inten- ever, to avoid deSiring anything that fhould tl0n ,to weaken the Crown in its juft profit or its down by neceSTary power. The Star Chamber and High them- CommifTion had ceafed, for fome time before their abolition, to bring in any considerable fines ; and, fruitful to the laft in oppreffion, were fo no longer in revenue. The Triennial Bill had fallen Short of what the ancient law, existing ftill in two unrepealed Statutes appoint- ing parliaments each year, would have justified them in demanding. And though there might indeed feem to have been, in the Bill againft putting an end without its own confent to the Parliament then fitting, fome restraint of the Reftraints royal power in diffolving parliaments, it was neceffary to be remembered that the defign of that Statute was by no means to take the authority out of the Crown, but Simply to fufpend its operation for the fpecific time and occafion. Without it, the great pecuniary charges here- tofore defcribed could never have been under- taken : the firSt confequence whereof muff, have been, the giving up of both armies to confufion and of the kingdom to plunder ; and the firft and greateft facrifice, that of the public peace and of the King's own fecurity. (154 to 161 inclusive.)
Thus far the Slander of the ill-affe&ed had ciaufes reached, in relation to the King. But it had l62-168- taken alfo a wider range ; and, — by fuch afper- lions as that the Houfe of Commons had fpent much time and done little work, efpecially in the grievances concerning religion ; and that „, ... it preffed itfelf upon the kingdom with peculiar againft
262 The Grand Remonftrance.
the Par- burthens, not only by the voting of many fub- fidies heavier than any formerly endured, but by excefs in the protections againft fuits and debts granted to its members, — the attempt had been made to damage, with the people, the reputation of their reprefentatives, and to bring the Englifh nation out of love with Parlia- Danger of ments. Yet was there truly a ready anfwer, mems" S "^ tnev to whom fuch. {lander was addreffed would but look back and forward. Before they judged this Parliament, let them look back to the long growth and deep root of the Grievances it had removed, to the powerful fupports of the Delinquents it had ftruck down, to the great neceffities of the Common- wealth for which it had provided, — let them look forward to the many advantages which not the prefent only but future ages would reap, from the laws it had palTed and the work Compari- it had accomplifhedy — and where was the in- fon with different judgment, to which its burthen laid
former J i? 3
parlia- upon the fubject would not feem lighter than ments. m any former example, and to which its time fpent in deliberation would not appear to have been better employed than a far greater pro- portion of time in many former parliaments Alleged Put together ? In the only direction where it excels of was polTible that juft reafon for complaint might pim ege* exift, already a bill was under difcuffion to provide a remedy ; and any undue ftretching of thofe protections * from fuit and arrelt which were neceffary to the difcharge of the
* " By which the debts from parliament men, and their " followers, and dependants, were not recoverable." Claren- don, Hift, ii. 55.
AbJlraEl : Practices of the Court Party. 263
functions of a legiflator, would now very fpeedily be removed. (162 to 168, inclu- five.)
But what was the character of the men, and Claufes what their daily practices and efforts, by l69-l8°- whom thefe {landers had been bufily difperfed ? They were the fame men who mofl bufily had fown divifion between the fifter kingdoms, and ftriven to incenfe againft each other the fub- jects of one Crown : Who had been able fo The party to influence the bifhops, and a party of Popifh parna_ lords in the upper Houfe, as to create thofe ments. very obstructions and delays for which the lower Houfe was afTailed : Who had laboured, not unfuccefsfully, to feduce and corrupt fome even of the reprefentatives of the people, and to draw them into combinations againft the liberty of parliament : Who, by their inftru- ments and agents, had tampered with the King's army for the fame wicked and traitor- intr;„uers ous purpofe, and had twice engaged in plots with to bring up a force to overawe the delibera- Army- tions of the Houfe of Commons, and to feize the perfons of its leaders: Whofe defigns with this view, as well in Scotland as in England, had frill been defeated, before ripe for execution, by the vigilance of the well- affected ; but who had been fo far more fuc- cefsful in Ireland, that not till the very eve of the day when the main enterprife mould have Promoters been executed at Dublin, was difcovery made, f^6"" by God's wonderful providence, of their fcheme to pofTefs themfelves of that whole country, to fubvert totally its government, to root out and deftroy the Proteftant religion, and to
264 The Grand Remonft ranee.
mafTacre all, without exception, of whatever fex or age, who were bred in it, or likely to The irifli be faithful to it. Which devilifh defign was tragedy. £Q far pUrfuec[ notwithftanding, that open re- bellion had broken out in other parts of the Irifri kingdom, many towns and caftles had been furprifed, many murders and villanies unutterable perpetrated,* all bonds of obe- dience to the King and the laws fhaken
* It has been referved for our own time, after fuch a lapfe of years as might have feemed to render wholly incredible the poflibility of a recurrence of fuch horrors, to furnifh a parallel to the unfpeakable cruelties perpetrated in this Irifli Rebellion. " The innocent Proteftants" (I quote the hiftorian Maflacres May, no vehement or exaggerated writer) "were upon a of Irifh " fudden diffeifed of their eftates, and the perfons of above Proteft- " two hundred thoufand men, women, and children murthered, ants. " many of them with exquifite and unheard of tortures, with-
" in the fpace of one month. . . Dublin was the fanttuary of " all the defpoiled Proteftants, . . and what mifchiefs foever " were a&ed in other parts, were there difcovered and lamented. " Their eyes were fad witnefles of the rebels' cruelty, in fuch " wretched fpeclacles as daily from all parts prefented them- " felves : people of all conditions and qualities, of every age " and fex, fpoiled and ftripped . . . And befides the miferies " of their bodies, their minds tortured with the lofte of all " their fortunes, and fad remembrance of their hulbands, " wives, or children, moft barbaroufly murdered before their " faces . . . But that part of this woful tragedy prefented to " the eyes was the leaft, and but the fhadow of that other " which was related to their ears, of which the readers and all " pofterity may fhare the forrow. Many hundreds of thofe Narrative " which had elcaped, — under their oaths lawfully taken upon by May. " examination, and recorded with all particulars, — delivered " to the Councill what horrid maflacres the bloody villains " had made of men, women, and children ; and what cruel " inventions they had to torture thofe whom they murdered ; " fcarce to be equalled by any the moft black and baleful " ftory of any age. Many thoufands of them at feveral places " (too many to be here inferted), after all defpites exercifed " upon them living, were put to the worft of deaths : fome " burned on fet purpofe, others drowned for fport and paftime ; " and if they fwam, kept from landing with poles, or fhot or " murdered in the water : many were buried quick, and fome " let into the earth breaft high, and there left to famifh. But
Abjlracl: Defence of the Popular Leaders. 16$
off, and fuch a fire in general kindled, as nothing but God's infinite bleffing upon the meafures and endeavours now at this time in progrefs would be able to quench. And to that fo miferable tragedy in Ireland, but Intended for the great mercy of Providence in con- Prolosue
o j to tragedy
founding former plots, this country of Eng- ;n Eng- land would have been made to furnifh the land- lamentable prologue. (169 to 180 inclu- five.)
7. Defence of the Popular Leaders,
"And now," proceeded this memorable ciaufes
181-191.
" molt barbarous (as appears in very many examinations) was " that cruelty which was lhowed to pregnant women, whom
" the villains were not content to murder, but . But I
" am loath to dwell upon fo lad a narrative." Lib. 2, cap. i. 14. Let a brief paffage from the authentic RuJ/i-zvort/i (Part III. vol. i. p. 416-7) complete the horror, and with it the appalling parallel to incidents which have plunged this living generation into mourning. " For fuch of the Englifh as flood upon their guard, and had gathered together, though but in fmall numbers, the Irifh fairly offered unto them good Narrative conditions of quarter, affured them their lives, their goods, by Rufh- and free paffage, and as foon as they had them in their worth, power, held themfelves difobliged from their promifes, and left their foldiers at liberty to defpoil, ftrip, and murder them at pleafure . . . Their fervanrs were killed as they were ploughing in the fields, hulbands were cut to pieces in the prefence of their wives, their children's brains were dalhed out before their faces . . their goods and cattle feized and carried away, their houfes burnt, their habita- tions laid wafte, and all as it were at an inftant, before they could fufpecl the Irifh for their enemies, or any ways imagine that they had it in their hearts, or in their power, to offer fo great violence, or do fuch mifchief." Claren- Claren- don's own touching account (viii. 9, and elfewhere) of the don's ac- barbarous circumftances of cruelty with which, in the fpace of count, lefs than ten days, an incredible number of proteftants, '* men, " women, and children promifcuoufly, and without diftinclion " of age and fex," were murdered, mull be familiar to every reader of his Hiftory.
i66
The Grand Remonjirance.
Hopes of leaders of Commons.
Reply to their af- iailants.
Cham- pions of Epifco- pacy :
Declaration, in language which its authors might fairly have claimed to be appealed to on all occafions afterward when their deeds or their motives mould be called in queftion — fC And now, what hope have we but in God ? The only means of our fubfiftence, and power of Reformation, is, under Him, in the Parlia- ment ; but what can we, the Commons, with- out the conjunction of the Houfe of Lords ? and what conjunction can we expect there, when the Biihops and recufant [Lords are fo numerous and prevalent, that they are able to crofs and interrupt our beft endeavours for Reformation, and by that means give advantage to this malignant party to traduce our proceedings ?
<c They infufe into the people that we mean to abolifh all Church Government, and leave every man to his own fancy for the fervice and worfhip of God, abfolving him of that obedience which he owes under God to his Majefty ; whom we know indeed to be in- trufted with the ecclefiaftical law as well as with the temporal, to regulate all the mem- bers of the Church of England — though by fuch rules of order and difcipline only as are eftablifhed by Parliament ; which is his great council in all affairs, both in Church and State.
<c They have {trained to blaft our proceed- ings in parliament by wrefting the interpre- tations of our Orders from their genuine intentions. They tell the people that our meddling with the power of Epifcopacy hath caufed fectaries and conventicles, when it is
Abjiratl : Defence of the Popular Leaders. 267
c Idolatry,* and the Popifh Ceremonies intro-
c duced into the Church by command of the
c Bifhops, which have not only debarred the their
c people from them, but expelled them from uanders-
c the kingdom. And thus, with Eliab, we are
f called by this malignant party the troublers
c of the State ; and frill, while we endeavour
f to reform their abufes, they make us authors
f of thofe mifchiefs we ftudy to prevent.
cc We confefs our intention is, and our en- Defign c deavours have been, to reduce within bounds gimps' c that exorbitant power which the Prelates Bill. c have aflumed unto themfelves, fo contrary f both to the word of God and to the laws of c the land : to which end we pafTed the Bill f for the removing them from their temporal f power and employments, that fo the better f they might with meeknefs apply themfelves c to the difcharge of their functions ; which Bill c they themfelves oppofed, and were the prin- c cipal inftruments of croffing.j*
1 ' And we do here declare that it is far from n0 inten- c our purpofe or defire to let loofe the golden tion to 1 reins of difcipline and government in the ^fchjiine c Church, leaving private perfons or particular
* No expreflion was fo hotly contefted in the Houfe as this Idolatry of Idolatry. It was debated, as the reader has been already jn the told, with extraordinary vehemence ; the claufe containing it Church, was recommitted twice ; Falkland and Culpeper were added to the Committee appointed " to prepare the claufe in fuch a " manner as may be agreeable to the fenfe of the Houfe ;" and after a divifion taken on the queftion of whether it mould ftand, which was carried by a majority of twenty-five, it was again, on the final debate, vehemently difcuffed.
f This claufe alfo was ftrenuoufly contefted to the laft, and on the day when the final divifion on the Remonftrance was taken, as will hereafter be feen, it was again put to the vote.
268
The Grand Remonftrance.
Confor- mity de- fired.
Sugges- tion for Synod :
congregations to take up what form of divine fervice they pleafe : for we hold it requifite that there lhould be, throughout the whole realm, a conformity to that order which the Laws enjoin according to the word of God. But we defire to unburden the con- fciences of men of needlefs and fuperftitious ceremonies, to fupprefs innovations, and to take away the monuments of idolatry.* " The better to effect which intended Re- formation, we defire there may be a General Synod of the moft grave, pious, learned,
Author- * Clarendon more than once imputes the main authorfhip
ftiip of or" r'ie Remonftrance to Pym ; but the fhare taken in it by
Remon- tnat great ftateiman is yet more fatisfaclorily eftablifhed by the
ftrance. extraordinary number of paffages in it, identical in ftyie, in
manner, and often in the moft- precife expreffion, with his
printed fpeeches. The paffages on Church government
quoted above are among the many fuch proofs from internal
evidence. In themfelves they are remarkable, and they agree
exactly with the tone and terms of the brief but impreffive
" Declaration and Vindication'" which the maligned leader of
Afcribed the popular party put forth, with his own name, againft the
to Pym. calumnies of the royalifts during the year preceding his death.
" That I am, ever was, and fo will die, a faithful fon of the
" Proteftant Religion, without having the leaft relation, in
" my belief, to the grofs errors of Anabaptifm, Brownifm, or
" any other revolt from the orthodox doctrine of the Church
" of England, every man that hath any acquaintance with
" my converfation can bear me righteous witnefs. Thefe are
" but afperfions call upon me by fome of the difcontented
Parallel " clergy, and their factors and abettors ; becaufe they might
paffages " perhaps conceive that I had been a main inftrument in ex-
rrom " tenuating the haughty power and ambitious pride of the
Pym's " bifhops and prelates . . And was it not high time to feek
Vtndica- " to regulate their power, when, inftead of looking to the
tion. " cure of men's fouls (which is their genuine office), they
" infli<Sled punifhment on men's bodies, banifhing them to
" remote and defolate places, bringing in papiftical cere-
" monies by unheard of canons into the Church, impoling
" burdens upon men's confciences which they were not able
" to bear, and introducing the old aboliffied fuperftition of
" bowing to the altar ?"
AbftraEi : Remedial Meafures demanded. 16^
ci and judicious divines of this ifland, affifted <c with fome from foreign parts, profefling the cc fame religion with us ; who may conflder of cc all things neceffary for the peace and good "government of the Church, and reprefent to fettle cf the refults of their confutations unto the Church cc Parliament. There, to be allowed of, and menti (C confirmed ; and to receive the ftamp of au- (c thority whereby to find pafTage and obedience <( throughout the kingdom.
" We have been malicioufly charged with Defire to cc the intention to deftroy and difcouraee ^Ivan?e
t • 1 •• ■ 1 • r n 1 -Learning :
cc Learning, whereas it is our chiereit care and
(f defire to advance it, and to provide fuch
<c competent maintenance for confcientious and
Cf preaching minifters throughout the realm as
<c will be a great encouragement to fcholars,
cc and a certain means whereby the want, mean-
{( nefs, and ignorance to which a great part of
" the clergy is now fubject, will be prevented.
(c And we have intended likewife to reform by re-
cc and purge the Fountains of Learning, the forming
ic two Univerfities, that the ftreams flowing t;ensiverl1"
ic from thence may be clear and pure, and an
<c honour and comfort to the whole land."
So ran the claufes of the Great Remon- ftrance from the 181ft to the 191ft inclufive, memorable always for their plain vindication of the motives and meaning of its authors.
8. Remedial Meafures demanded.
Fourteen claufes more, from the 192nd to Claufes the 206th, carried theRemonftrance to its clofe. I92" In thefe were frankly indicated the meafures
270
The Grand Remonfirance.
Demands made.
Settlement of Monar- chy with limita- tions.
which the people were entitled to demand, as their only fafe or fufficient guarantee againft the recurrence, at any moment, of the wrongs and fufferings of the pad fixteen years. The groundwork of thefe meafures, I may remark, was precifely that which formed afterwards the baiis of the fettlement by which alone the Mo- narchy was again firmly eftablifhed in England. It comprifed fafeguards againft the Roman Catholic religion; fecurityfor the better admi- niftration of the laws ; and conditions for the future felection of only fuch counfellors and minifters by the King, as the Parliament might have reafon to confide in.
For the firft, it was laid down broadly that the principles of thofe who profefTed the Ro- man Catholic religion fo certainly tended to the deftruction and extirpation of all Pro- teftants, whenever they mould have oppor- tunity to effect it, that it was abfolutely necef- fary to keep them in fuch condition, as that they might not be able to do any hurt ; * and
p , * The expreffion is exactly that which Pym had employed
y s in his fpeech on grievances in the Short Parliament, in a
pie _ paflage which vindicates his memory from any imputation or
°Pel> ' intolerance. It is always with the prudent fpirit of the ftatef-
man, and never with the unreafoning hatreds of the bigot,
that this great fpeaker adverts to the Roman Catholic religion.
diflike of " ^e ^'^ not defire anv new ^aws aga>nft Popery, or any
the ftatef- " r'gorous courfes in the execution of thofe already in force. " He was far from feeking the ruin of their perlbns or eftates ; " only he wimt they might be kept in fuch a condition as " fliould reftrain them from doing hurt . . . The principles " of Popery are fuch as are incompatible with any other " religion. Laws will not reftrain them. Oaths will not. " The Pope can difpenfe with both thefe ; and where there is " occafion, his command will move them to the difturbance " of the realm, againft their own private dilpofition, yea againft " their own reafon and judgment, not only in fpiritual matters
Safe- guards againft Roman Catholic Religion.
man, not the bigot,
AbfiraB : Remedial Meaf tires demanded. i~ji
that fuch connivance. and favour, therefore, as had theretofore been mown to them, mould thereafter be avoided.* With this view his Majefty was moved to grant a {landing com- million to fome choice men named in Parlia- Suggefted ment, who might take watch of their increafe, 9ommii" report upon their counfels and proceedings, and ufe all due means, by execution of the laws, to prevent mifchievous defigns, from that quarter, againft the peace and fafety of the
" but in temporal. Henry III and Henry IV of France " were no Proteftants themfelves, yet were murthered becaufe 11 they tolerated the Proteftants. The King and the king- tl dom can have no fecurity but in their weaknefs and dif- " abilitie to do hurt."
* It is not neceflary to multiply illustrations of the thorough The underftanding of the character of the King, which appears in, Kind's and juftifies, the various urgent warnings of the Remonftrance tendencies againft his dangerous tendency to intercourfe with Rome. t0 Rome. But let me refer the reader to one of the lateft and moll decifive evidences on this point, furnilhed in the very curious and interefting volume of Letters written by Charles to his Queen in 1646, publilhed by the Camden Society in 1856, and moft carefully edited by Mr. John Bruce. In thefe letters will be found the moft fatisfaclory of all evidence, under his own hand, of the otherwife incredible and utterly infane fcheme by which he propofed, lo that congenial helpmate who did more than all the reft of his advifers to bring about the tragedy of his death, that (lie fhould " invite the Pope Compact " and other Roman Catholics to help me for the reftitution of for reftora- " Epifcopacy in England, upon condition of giving them free t|on 0f " liberty of confeience, and convenient places for their devo- Epifco- " tions. . . I defne thee not," he adds, " to communicate pacy. " this motion to any of the French minifters of ftate, but I " would have thee to acquaint the Cardinal with it, requiring " his afliftance, for certainly France is as much obliged to " afllft me as honour can make it." p. 42. The intended mode of doing it was worthy of the thing to be done. The Propofed Queen was to get the French government to invade England Invitation with 6000 men, and with thefe, and double the number of to the Irifti Roman Catholics, Charles propofed to provide for the French ! fafe re-eftablilhment of the Englifh Proteftant Church and his own royal authority! Letters in 1646, p. 24 and 25. And fee Clarendon's State Papers, ii. 262.
272 The Grand Remonftrance.
realm. And it was further fuggefted, that fome fufficient tefts mould be applied to that counterfeit and falfe conformity of Papifts to the Englifh Church, by colour of which per- . fons greatly difaffected to the true religion had been admitted into places of higheft authority and truft in the kingdom. 11. por the fecond, Stipulation was made, that,
rities for for the better prefervation of the liberties and Adminif- laws, all illegal grievances and exactions mould Laws be prefented and punifhed at the feffions and affizes ; that judges and juftices mould be very careful to give this in charge to the grand juries ; and that both the fheriff and the juf- tices mould be fworn to the due execution of the Petition of Right and other laws. in. por trie third, a feries of precautions were
teaion fuggefted to meet thofe cafes of not infrequent againft occurrence, when the Commons might have Counfel- juft caufe t0 take exceptions at particular men lors. for being felected to advife the King, and yet
have no juft caufe to charge them with crimes. Seeing that there were grounds of diffidence which lay not in proof, and others which, though proveable, were yet not legally crimi- nal (as, to be a known favourer of Papifts, or to have been very forward in countenancing Parlia- and fupporting great offenders questioned in merit tobe Parliament, or to have become notorious for a
conlulted 3
in choice ftudied contempt of Parliamentary proceed- ofMimi- ings), the moft cogent reafons might exift to be earned with the King not to put his great affairs into fuch hands, though the Commons might be unwilling to proceed againft them in any legal way of impeachment. It was then
§ xiii. The Hotife and its Members : 1641. 273
plainly ftated that fupplies for fupport of the King's own eftate could not be given, nor fuch afliftance provided as the times required for the Proteftant party beyond the fea, unlefs Minifters fuch Counfellors, Ambafladors, and other *°^ fub_ Minifters only were in future employed as jeft to Parliament could give its confidence to ; and laws- unlefs all Counfellors of State were fworn, as well to avoid receiving, in any form, reward or penfion from any foreign prince,* as to obferve ftrictly thofe laws which concerned the fubjecl: at home in his liberty.
And fo this famous Declaration ended, with a prayer that his Majefty might ever have a0'"gof caufe to be in love with good counfel and Remon- good men ; and, profiting by the humble and ftrance- dutiful reprefentations therein made, might acknowledge how full of advantage it would be, to himfelf, to fee his own eftate fettled in a condition fufHcing to fupport his honour, to fee his people united in ways of duty to him and in endeavours for the public good, and, by the influence of his own power and govern- ment, to fee derived to his own kingdom, and procured to thofe of his allies, Happinefs, Wealth, Peace, and Safety.
§ xiii. The House and its Members : 22nd Nov. 1641.
Such was the Declaration, the Great Re- Monday, monftrance, which lay engrafted on the table *g" ov"
* On Friday the nth of December 1640, I find from a manufcript report of the proceedings of that day, Pym handed Englifh in feveral petitions, and among them one from " Jofeph ftatefmen :
T
274
King approach- ing London.
10 o'cloc
A.M.
Speaker late.
Petition
from
moniers.
and
foreign penfions.
The Grand Remonjirance.
of the houfe on Monday the 22nd of November 1 641, waiting the final vote. The King, eager at laft to reach London before that vote could be taken, was now haftening with all fpeed back from Edinburgh ; and the fact that he was only diftant a two days' journey was doubtlefs known to Pym, Hampden, and Cromwell, when they paiTed into the houfe that morning.
The Speaker was late, probably in expecta- tion that he mould have to fit long ; and prayers were not over until a little after ten. There is then fome bufinefs eiTential to be done, and honourable members eager for the great debate are fain to curb their impatience. Mr. Wheeler, the member for Weftbury, has to report concerning a delinquent involved in the recent confpiracies. Sir John Price, the member for Montgomeryshire, has ill report to make of a Mr. Blany, a Welfh juftice of peace. Mr. Strode has to complain of an order of the Houfe as to a cafe in the Ex- chequer tending to throw difcredit on himfelr, and to obtain correction of the fame. Mr. Speaker has to prefer a petition from fome hundred or fo of the Moniers of the mint, claiming to be exempt, by the precedents of four centuries, from contributing to the pay- ment of the laft fix fubfidies voted by the Commons ; which petition, having been pre- fented to the King, his Majefty had commended
" Hawes and other merchants touching the wrongs done them " at fea by the Spaniards ;" and moved that it mould be re- ferred " to the fame committee appointed to confider of the " Turkifh pirates and Algiers, and to enquire what minifters " of our State do receive penfions from foreign States."
§ xiii. The Hoiife and its Members : 1641. 275
to Mr. Speaker for prefentation this day, and piftinc- by the Houfe was now ordered to be referred between to the committee for poll-money, fome not Common- very courtly members remarking that Cf thefe wealth and tc fubfidies were given to the Commonwealth " and not to the King, and therefore they were " not freed by any charter of exemption." But, above all, Mr. Pym has to report the refult of a conference with the Lords the pre- ceding Saturday on Irifh affairs, and fundry important matters relating thereto. He has evidence to offer that {C this defign of Ireland " was hatched in England." He has a petition bearing on thefe affairs to prefent from Sir ?Y™ °n
o 1 m Ireland.
Faithful Fortefcue. He has to make an im- portant fuggeftion for the tranfport, to Ireland, of the magazine at Hull ; to get authority for the neceflary eftimates, from the officers of ordnance, as to the number of mips required for fuch tranfport ; to take order for the immediate provifion thereof; and to obtain means, by a vote of 4000/. to Mr. Crane, the victualler of the Navy, for the hardening away of other mips to guard the coaft of Ireland.
So the time paffed until the clock had {truck I2 °'clock twelve, when, as the members began to hurry D'jnner_ out for dinner, cries became loud for the hour. debate on the Remonftrance. Thereupon, order having been made (fo little in fome quarters, even then, was any debate of unufual duration expected) that the Irilh bufinefs mould be refumed as foon as the debate on the Deck- or1d1". o°r ration was done, and the order of the day for day. refumption of the latter fubject having been read, Mr. Hyde rofe and defired that the
276
Hyde's motion to sain time.
The old Houfe of Com- mons.
Weft-
minlter
Hall.
Famous
affocia-
tions.
The Grand Remonftrance.
Serjeant might be fent with his mace to call up fuch members of the houfe as were then walking in Weftminfter Hall. It was a device to gain time, Mr. Hyde, we may prefume, not liking to fpeak to thinly occupied benches ; but, on the other hand, the liberal leaders were interested to have no time loft, and many refitted the propofal. After fome debate, how- ever, the objectors gave way, and the Serjeant with his mace departed accordingly.
The old Houfe of Commons, it may be well here to remind the reader, now that a generation has grown up who never faw the narrow, ill-lighted, dingy room, in which for three centuries fome of the moft important bufinefs of this world was tranfacted, ran exactly at right angles with Weftminfter Hall, having a paffage into it at the fouth-eaft angle. The Hall itfelf, in thofe days, fhared in all the excitements of the Houfe ; and nothing of intereft went on in the one, of which vifible and eager indications did not prefent themfelves in the other.
It was here, in the Hall, within an hour after the diffolving of the Short Parliament, that the cheerful and fanguine Mr. Hyde, with deeply defpondent face, deplored gloomily that rafh. ftep to the dark and referved Mr. St. John, who, with laughter lighting up features rarely known to fmile, rejoined brifkly that all was well, and it mutt be worfe before it would be better. It was here, upon the affembling of the Long Parliament, that Mr. Hyde had walked up and down conferring on the ftate of affairs with Mr. Pym, when that worthy and
§ xiii. The Ho life and its Members : 1641. 277
diftinguifhed member told him they muft now Pym and be of another temper than they had been here- Hyde' tofore, and muft not only fweep the houfe clean below, but muft pull down all the cob- webs which hung in the top and corners, that they might not breed duft, and fo make a foul houfe hereafter. It was here the King himfelf was fo foon to enter on his ill-fated errand againft the Five Members, ftriking fuch a fear and terror, according to a manufcript report now before me, Cf into all thofe that kept mops sho-is in ic in the faid Hall, or near the gate thereof, as the Hal1- <c they inftantly fhut up their fhops." * For here alfo fuch trades as thofe of bookfellers, law-ftationers, fempftreffes, and the like, found cuftomers among the variously idle, bufy, or curious people, continually drawn together ; place °* and under the roof of the noble old Hall, whatever the bufinefs in progrefs might be within the Courts adjoining or in the Chapel beyond, might be heard the old city cry of What d'ye lack ? addrefTed to lawyers walking up and down till their cafes in the Bench or for M.p.'s Exchequer come on, to clients in attendance la™yers> to confult with their lawyers, to politicians clients. anxious for news, and to members of either Houfe efcaping from committees or debates. — As thofe of the lower Houfe, however, for whom Mr. Hyde fent the Serjeant and his mace, have doubtlefs by this time been col-
* Bookfellers, law-ftationers, fempftrefles — thefe and other LaucJ's trades akin to thefe, now and for fome time later, plied their /)/#,-« callings in the place ; and Laud notices in his Diary a narrow efcape of the Hall from being burnt down, owing to a fire in one of the flails.
278 The Grand Remonfirance.
lected, it is our bufinefs to enter St. Stephen's with them and obferve the afpecl; it prefents. st. The entire length of the room in which the
Stephen's members fat was fomething lefs than the chaPel- breadth of Weftminfter Hall ; and, handfome as it originally had been, with its rich archi- tecture and decorated paintings of the thir- teenth century, it had loft all trace of thefe under boards and whitewafh immediately after its old the Reformation, when alfo a new floor above,
interior. ancj a n£w YQQ£ uncJerj tne Q\^ ft\\\ more
abridged its proportions. At the weftern end, the entrance was between rows of benches, paf- fing the bar, and underneath a gallery into which members mounted by a ladder on the right-hand corner, near the fouthern window. At the eaftern end, a little in advance of a large window looking on the river, ftood the officers of Speaker's chair ; and again, a little lefs in ad- Houfe. vance of that, towards the middle of the floor, ftood the Cleik's table, at which fat Henry Elfyng, and John Rufhworth his lately ap- pointed aftiftant, with their faces to the mace and their backs to the Speaker. Then, on right and left of the Speaker, in benches ftretching along and fpringing up as in an amphitheatre on either hand, were affembled Honour- tne Honourable Members. There they fat, able mem- puritan and courtier, the pick and choice of the gentlemen of England ; with bearded faces clofe-cut and ftern, or here and there more gaily trimmed with peak and ruff; faces for the moft part worn with anxious thoughts and fears, heavy with toil, weary with refponfibility and care, often with long imprifonment ; there
§ xni. The Houfe and its Members : 1641. 279
they fat, in their fteeple hats and Spanifh cloaks, with fwords and bands, by birth, by wealth, by talents, the firft affembly of the world. And there, prefiding in his great chair furmounted by the arms of England, fat Mr. Speaker ; alfo hatted, cloaked, and fworded Pofition like the reft ; but not always treated by them, speaker. nor in footh always treating them, with the refpect which has gathered to his office in later time.
It was but a few weeks, for example, before the late recefs, that that honourable barrifter and member for Melcombe Regis, Mr. Richard Richard King, took upon himfelf to declare, that, in a *~JjJ^s n particular rebuke which Mr. Speaker had ad- Lenthal. drefTed to another honourable member, he had Cf tranfgreffed his duty in ufing fo difgraceful fC a fpeech to fo noble a gentleman ;" and though the Houfe interfered to protect their Speaker, and Mr. King was commanded to withdraw into the Committee Chamber, the matter ended in but " a conditional apology " with which the Houfe was not fatiffied but <c the Speaker was." The noble gentleman whom it vexed Mr. King to fee treated with Hon. difrefpect was the younger brother of Lord D£j°in Digby, Mr. John Digby, member for Milborn Port ; who, on the day when his brother would have been expelled the Houfe of Commons if the King's letters-patent had not ifTued the night before calling him to the Houfe of Lords, <c came into the houfe, and getting upon the his dif- " ladder that ftands at the door of the houfe gjPe£ to ei by which the members thereof ufually go up {C to thofe feats which are over the fame door
280
The Grand Remonjl ranee.
rebuked
by
Lenthal.
Cf under the gallery, he fat ftill upon the faid u ladder;"* whereupon the Speaker, doubt- lefs coupling the aft, as a fign of difrefpect, with a difplay of infubordination by the fame young gentleman on difcuffion of his brother's cafe the previous day, cc called out to him, and cc defired him to take his place, and not to fit cc upon the faid ladder as if he were going to <c be hanged : at which many of the Houfe <c laughed," and Mr. King, as aforefaid, was indignant. The incident leaves us at leaft no room for doubt, that, though the Speaker's powers were in their infancy as yet, and his claim to proper confideration only grudgingly admitted, he had neverthelefs as unruly an Speakers affemblage to deal with, as the powers and powers, confideration conceded to him in modern par- liaments have found themfelves barely equal to govern. f Incefiant certainly were the rebukes
Mr.
Selden and the Digbys.
Digby on his ladder and the ape on houle-top,
D'Ewes
and
Lenthal.
* Selden has a note in his Table Talk referring to this affair of the Digbys, and comparing the new-made lord, lafe from the wrath of the Commons, to an ape on the houle-top grin- ning at the whip below, of which the farcaftic humour might probably enough have been fuggefted by the incident D'Ewes has preferved for us. If the learned member for Oxford Univerfity, as is moft likely, aclually faw the younger Digby fneering at Mr. Speaker from the top of his ladder, the other image of the ape might naturally prefent itfell. " My lord " Digby having fpoken fomething in the Houfe of Com- " mons, for which they would have queftioned him, was " prefently called to the Upper Houfe. He did by the Par- " liament, as an ape when he hath done fome waggery: his " mafter fpies him, and he looks for his whip, but before "he can come at him, 'whip,' fays he to the top of the " houfe I"— Table Talk, p. 175. (Ed. Irving, 1854..)
T Even Sir Simonds D'Ewes himfelf, one of the moft prim and precife of men, and a very Grandifon of propriety in regard to all cuftoms, orders, records, and authorities of the Houfe, in which he was a marvellous proficient, yet indulges himfelf without fcruple, when any occafion ariles, in a fneer-
§ xnr. The Houfe and its Members : 1641. 281
offered, and the rebuffs received, by Mr. Lenthal's Speaker Lenthal ; who, fetting afide the one weaknefs. notable a£t of his career, had but commonplace qualities of his own to fuftain him ; and who, in efpecial, feems often to have found (herein perhaps not differing from later experiences in
ing difrefpect to Mr. Speaker. On the fecond of December 1 641, for example, there is quite a paffage of arms between them. It begins with D'Ewes, " fitting in my ufual place " near his chair," correcting Mr. Speaker on a point of order A quarrel connected with a fummons to conference with the Lords, on point Then, upon D'Ewes moving to have the Londoners' petition of order, read over again, Mr. Speaker takes his turn by interpofing that it is the worthy member's own fault to have been abfent at the reading on the previous day ; but has to ciy D'Ewes mercy, on the latter pleading his abfence that day at Hampton Court, by order of the Houfe itfelf, to affift in prefenting the Great Remonftrance to the King. Then Mr. Waller gets up to fpeak, and handles both the points ftarted, as well the conference with the Lords as the Londoners' petition. To him fucceeds D'Ewes, who alfo enlarges upon both fubjects under various heads, until Mr. Speaker becomes manifeftly uneafy. " Having proceeded thus far or a little further, I " perceived the Speaker often offering to rife out of his chair " as if he intended to interrupt me." An explanation fol- lows. Mr. Speaker thinks D'Ewes out of order in not taking points feparately, firft the matter of conference with the Lords, and then the Londoners' petition afterwards. " Whereupon D'Ewes " I flood up again and faid, ' Truly, fir, I am much behold- lectures " ' ing to you for admonifhing me, but if you had been but Mr. " * pleafed to have informed the gentleman who fpoke laft Speaker. " ' before to both the particulars, you would have faved me " ' my labour, for I did but follow his method ; ' at which " the Houfe laughed ; and the Speaker being half afhamed " of what he had done, flood up again and confefled that he " did permit Mr. Waller &c. and now he left it to the Lenthal's " Houfe, &c." Other fimilar inftances might be quoted. submif- One had occurred in reference to a point on the palling of {ion# the Subfidy Bill, on the previous 13th of February, 1640-1, when the Speaker had predicted all forts of ill confequences from a particular courfe of procedure, and D'Ewes is careful to inform him (and us) that " no inconvenience had fol- " lowed." Another involved a very fharp encounter (26th Feb. 1 641-2) with Sir Arthur Hafelrig. And any one who cares to purfue the fubject will find additional illuflrations in my Arrefi of Five Members, § xxiii.
282 The Grand Remonftrance.
Magijler the fame feat) the dinner-hour an almoft infu- perable difficulty. As it has been with many a modern Mr. Speaker between the hours of feven and eight in the evening, fo fared it with Mr. Lenthal between twelve and one mid-day.* Not a great many days before the prefent fit- ting, the rum of members out of the Houfe at that hour, during a debate on fupply, had been fuch that he was fain flatly to tell them <c they Houfe << were unworthy to fit in this great and wife by dinner " afl~embly in a parliament that would fo run bell. " forth for their dinners." j- And now, though
the Serjeant has returned with feveral members from the Hall, fo many more continue abfent from the Houfe at this clamorous hour, that Mr. Hyde ft ill waits and defers to fpeak.
* There is a pleafant paflage in Clarendon's Life (i. 90),
where he expreffly excepts certain leading members from this
habit of milling out at the time of dinner, and defcribes what
plan they adopted. When their hours had become very dif-
orderly, he fays, the Houfe feldom riling till after four of the
clock in the afternoon, he ufed to be frequently invited
("importuned " he calls it) to dine with the party of whom
Pym's Pym was the leader, and often went with them accordingly
dinner to "Mr. Pym's lodging, which was at Sir Richard Manly's
parties. " houfe, in a little court behind Weftminfter Hall, where he,
" and Mr. Hampden, Sir Arthur Hafelrig, and two or three
" more, upon a ftock kept a table, where they tranfacled
" much buiinefs, and invited thither thofe of whofe conver-
" fion they had any hope." It was after one of thefe dinners,
the fummer evening being fine, that Nathaniel Fiennes having
propofed to Mr. Hyde to ride into the fields and take a little
An even- a'r' ^^ tvvo ^ent *or their horfes, and, while riding in the
ino- ride fi^ds between Weftminfter and Chelfea, Mr. Fiennes did
his beft to convert Mr. Hyde from his notions as to the
government of the Church.
+ This will explain a faying of Lord Falkland's reported in one of the fupprelTed paffages of Lord Clarendon's Hiftory, recently reftored (ii. 595, Appendix F), " that they who " hated bilhops, hated them worle than the devil ; and they " who loved them, loved them not fo well as they did their " dinners."
§ xin. The Houfe and its Members : 1641. 283
While he does this yet a few minutes longer, let us feize the occafion to obferve where fome of the prominent people fit. The member whofe manufcript record chiefly has been where quoted, Sir Simonds D'Ewes, will guide us to „^Jfrs the knowledge here and there, in jotting down fit. his own fpeeches ; for, as it was then the cuftom to avoid mention as well of the place repre- fented as of the member's name, the principal mode of indicating a previous fpeaker was by fome well known perfonal quality, or by his pofition in the houfe.* Sir Simonds himfelf fat ufually by the Speaker's chair, on the lowermoft form clofe by the fouth end of the clerk's table ; Sir and there, whatever the fubjecl; of debate might pl^jj. be, or the excitement going on around him, the precife felf-fatiffied puritan gentleman fat, writing-apparatus forming part of his equip- ment, his eyes clofe to the paper (for their fight was defective), and ever bufily taking his taking Notes : but it was his cuftom, when he fpoke, hls notes-
* Thus old Sir Harry Vane, referring to D'Ewes himfelf (June 26, 1641) " is forry to mils the gentleman out of his " place who is fo well verled in records j" and in like manner Sir Robert Pye characlerifes him (July 1,164.1) as "that learned " gentleman who was fo well Ikilled in records — and then he <l looked at me." Sir John Evelyn is (4 March, 1641-2) " my very worthy friend on the other fide." Sir Arthur Hafelrig is (26 February 1641-2) " that worthy gentleman in " the gallery." Sir Ralph Hopton is " that ancient parlia- " ment man." Mr. Cage, member for Ipfwich, is, " my old Places of *' neighbour behind me," or, " an old gentleman who ufed members " to fit here behind me." Sir Thomas Barrington, member in Houfe. for Colchefter, is, " as ancient a parliament man as Mr. Cage, " though not of as many years." " No man did more honour " and love that worthy member that fpake laft than myfelf," are words in which an allufion to Pym is conveyed. And Mr. Denzil Hollis is "the worthy gentleman whom I very " much refpecl:."
2.84 The Grand Remonftrance.
Marten to go up two fteps higher, that he might more
ym* eafily be heard by the whole Houfe. In this
pofition, Mr. Harry Marten, the member for
Berkfhire, was "the gentleman below." Mr.
Pym, the acknowledged chief of the majority
of the Commons, is ever in his <c ufual place
<c near the Bar," juft beyond the gallery on the
fame right-hand fide of the houfe at entering.
Sir John Culpeper, member for Kent, and fo foon
to be Chancellor of the Exchequer, is " the
Culpeper, (C gentleman on the other fide of the way."*
Falkland ^e **at uPon tne left-hand fide ; and near him,
and moft generally together, fat Hyde and Falk-
Palmer. jancj . jy[r> Qeoffrey Palmer, the member for
Stamford, and Sir John Strangways, fitting near. On the fame fide at the upper end, on the Speaker's right, fat the elder Vane, mem- ber for Wilton, for a few days longer Secre- tary of State and Treafurer of the Houfehold ; near whom were other holders of office. Sir Vane and Thomas Jermyn, his Majefty's Comptroller, KIns's who fat for Bury St. Edmund's ; Sir Edward Herbert, the Attorney-General, who fat for Old Sarum ; Oliver St. John, the Solicitor- General, member for Totnefs, ftill holding the office in the King's fervice which had failed to draw him over to the King's fide ; Mr. Coven- try, member for Evefham and one of the King's houfehold ; f and young Harry Vane, mem- ber for Hull, and as yet Joint-treafurer of the Navy ; all fat in this quarter, on the Speaker's
* " I defired that the gentleman on the other fide of the " way — and then I looked on Sir John Culpeper, ©Y."
f " For if the gentleman on the other fide who laft prefled " it — and then I looked towards Mr. Coventrie, SV."
§ xni. The Houfe and its Members : 1641. 285
right. Near them fat alfo Mr. Edward Ni- cholas, Clerk of the Council, loon to be Sir Edward and Secretary of State in place of Windebank, now an anxious auditor and fpec- tator of this memorable debate, which he was there to report to the King. Between thefe indepen- members and Hyde, on the fame fide of the ent,
J 3 members'.
houfe, fat the member for Wilton, Sir Ben- jamin Rudyard ; Sir Walter Earle ; William Strode ; and lawyer Glyn, the member for Weftminfter. Mr. Herbert Price, the mem- ber for Brecon, with Mr. Wilmot, member for Tamworth, and a knot of young courtiers, fat at the lower end of the houfe on the fame fide, immediately on the left at entering. John Hampden, Hampden fat on the other fide, behind Pym ; Cromwell and between him and Harry Marten, fat Ed- Hollis.and mund Waller ; on one of the back benches, Selden- Cromwell ; not far from him, Denzil Hollis ; and under the gallery, the member for Oxford Univerfity, the learned Mr. Selden.* Near him fat lawyer Maynard, the other member The for Totnefs ; and over them, in the gallery lawyers- itfelf, that fuccefsful lawyer, Mr. Holborne ; Sir Edward Dering ; and the member for Leicefterfhire, Sir Arthur Hafelrig. But our lift muft come to a clofe. The reader has been detained too long from the debate on the Great Remonftrance.
* " I faid that I did prize whatfoever mould fall from the " pen or tongue of that learned gentleman under the gallery " — a?idthen I looked towards Mr. Selden, &c."
286
The Grand Remonjlrance.
Eighth Debate : 2zd Nov.
Hyde
fpeaks.
Doubts Houfe' s right to remon- ftrate.
Objections to form and lan- guage :
Hyde's wordinefs,
§ xiv. Speeches of Hyde, Falkland, Dering, Rudyard, and Bagshaw.
Hyde opened this remarkable debate in a fpeech of great warmth* and great length. The general ground of objection he took was that a Declaration fo put forth was without precedent ; and he queftioned the power of the Houfe, in fo far as this was defined by the words ufed in the writs of election, to make, alone, a remonftrance to the people, without the concurrence of the Lords. Arguing from this, he afTerted that the form of the Declara- tion touched the honour of the King, and that it ought not, for that reafon, to be made public or be circulated among the people. Such a publication could only bejuflified by having peace for its end, and here every fuch object would be fruftrated. In the Remonftrance itfelf, apart from thefe confiderations, he did not deny that there might be a propriety. The members of the Houfe were accufed to have done nothing either for King or kingdom. It was right to repel that charge. But if a parliament muft make an apology, let them mow what they had done without looking too far back. They may defire themfelves to fee, but they mould not divulge, their own infir- mities, any more than a general the defects
* Mr. Philip Warwick, young courtier as he was, and admirer of all things courtly, could yet detect the points in which the King's principal advocate in the Houfe was weak, as well for himfelf as his caul'e. " Mr. Hyde's language " and ftyle," he remarks, " were very fuitable to bufinefs, if "not a little too redundant." Memoires, p. 196.
§ xiv. Speeches of Hyde and Falkland. 2S7
of his army to the enemy. All was true, if expreffed modeftly. But fuch pafTages as Sir unjuft to John Eliot's imprifonment under the King's * ie Kms* own hand, and his wanting bread,* were ill— exprefTed. Let them be chary of Majefty. They flood upon their liberties even, for the Sovereign's fake : left he mould be King of mean fubjects, or they fubjects of a mean King.
Lord Falkland rofe immediately after Hyde, Lord„ and, as his wont was, fpoke with greater paflion fp^j,*11 in his warmth and earneftnefs ; his thin high- pitched voice breaking into a fcream, and his little, fpare, flight frame trembling with eager- nefs. He ridiculed the pretenfion fet up in the Declaration to claim any right of approval King's over the councillors whom the King mould n§ht ^ name ; as if prieft and clerk fhould divide own nomination and approval between them. He minifters
* In Sir Ralph Verney's Note of the debate (p. 121), this paffage Itands " Sir John Eliot's imprifonment, under the Allufion " King's own hand, and the Kings wanting bread, ill ex- to Eliot " preffed." It is clear, however, that the words marked in inRemon- italics are a repetition by miftake from the previous line, flrance : Clarendon in his Hiftory (ii. 51) affects to quote, in the exa6l words of the Remonftrance as it parted ("after many unbe- " coming expreffions were call out "), the paffage refpecling Eliot ; and he quotes it in inverted commas, thus : " One of " which died in prifon, for ivant of ordinary refrejliment, " whofe blood ftill cried for vengeance." The " want of " ordinaiy refreshment" in the hiftory, is clearly the fame as " wanting bread " in the fpeech ; yet certainly the Remon- ftrance as printed fays no fuch thing, and the words, if ever :ncor_ there, muft have been among the unbecoming expreftions caft re£\\y out. The paffage really runs thus : " Of whom one died by quoted by " the cruelty and harfhnefs of his imprifonment, which would pjyc[e " admit of no relaxation, notwithftanding the imminent " danger of his life did fufficiently appear by the declaration " of his phyfician. And his releafe, or at leaft his refrefli- " ment, was fought by many humble petitions. And his " blood ftill cries, &c."
2S8
The Grand Remonftrance.
Defends Laud.
Dangers of * Remon- ftrance.
Apology for bifhops :
denounced it as unjuft that the concealing of delinquents mould be caft upon the King. He faid (forgetting a former fpeech of his own going directly to this point)* it was not true to allege that Laud's party in the Church were in league with Rome ; for that Arminians agreed no more with Papifts than with Pro- teftants. And, with the power to make laws, why mould they refort to declarations ? Only where no law was available, were they called to fubftitute orders and ordinances to com- mand or forbid. Reminding them of the exifting [ftate of Ireland, and of the many difturbances in England, he warned them that it was of a very dangerous confequence at that time to fet out any remonftrance : at leafb fuch a remonftrance as this, contain- ing many harm expreffions. Above all, it was dangerous to declare what they intended to do hereafter, as that they would petition his Majefty to take advice of his parliament in the choice of his privy council ; and it was of the very word example to make fuch allufion as that wherein they declared that already they had committed a bill to take away bifhops' votes. He pointed out the injuftice of im- puting to the bifhops generally the defcription of the Scotch war as bellum epifcopale, which he afTerted had been fo ufed by only one of them. He very hotly condemned the ex- preffion of lc bringing in idolatry," which he characlerifed as a charge of a high crime againft all the bifhops in the land. And he
See ante, p. 217
§ xiv. Speeches of Falkland and Dering. 289
denounced it as a manifeft contradiction and abfurdity, that after reciting, as they had and Pop- indeed fufficient caufe to do, the many good lfil Loids- laws parTed by a parliament of which bifhops and Popim lords were component members, they mould end by declaring that while bifhops and Popifh lords continued to fit in parlia- ment no good laws could be made.
Falkland was followed by Sir Edward Dering, Sir who was fo well pleafed himfelf with the fpeech j^^L he proceeded to deliver, that he afterwards fpeaks: committed it, with another fpoken in the preliminary debates, to print, with a preface which cofl him his feat in the Houfe ; * and
* Under date the 2nd February, 1 641-2, D'Ewes gives curious and amufing evidence in his Journal of* the anger Derino-'s awakened in wife grave men by this very filly publication of publica- Sir Edward Dering's. Oliver Cromwell takes the lead in rion of his vehemently denouncing the book. D'Ewes himfelf chimes fpeeches. in as violently, for that "in this fcandalous, feditious, and " vain-glorious volume," he does " fo overvalue himfelf as if " able of himfelf to weigh down the balance of this Houfe " on either fide, &c. &c." Then Sir Walter Earle moves to call in the book. But to this D'Ewes very fenfibly objects, " for that by fo doing the price of it would rife from fourteen " pence to fourteen fhillings, and haften a new impreffion." Finally, Cromwell moves and carries that the obnoxious Ordered volume fhall be burnt "next Friday:" on which occafion to be doubtlefs Palace-yard was duly illuminated by the fmall bon- burnt, fire. See this matter further treated in Arrefl of Five Mem- bers, § xxiii. But perhaps there was really more reafon than lies immediately on the furface for the refentment with which the Houfe regarded the publication by its members of their fpeeches, unauthorifed by itfelf. It gave fome fort of fanc- tion to another publication of a ftill more unauthorifed des- cription, which had lately become not uncommon, and by which many members fuffered not a little. I quote one of the entries of D'Ewes in his Journal under date the 9th Feb- ruary, 1641-2. " After prayers I laid that much wrong was Origin of " offered of late to feveral members by publifhing fpeeches in penny-a- " their names which they never fpake. I had yefternight a Unincr. " fpeech brought me by a ftationerto whom one John Bennet, " a poet lodging in Shoe-lane, fold it for half-a-crown to be
u
'.go
The Grand Remonftrance.
until very recently, this publication by the member for Kent was fuppofed to be the only fragment which had furvived of the debates on the Grand Remonftrance.* Nor
Reported fpeeches never fpoken :
Royalift petitions forged :
work of
poor
fcholars
in ale- houfes.
Verney's Notes.
" printed. He gives it as my fpeech at a conference when " there was no conference." This is probably one of the firft glimpfes to be got in our hiftory of the now ancient and important penny-a-lining fraternity. The danger and the annoyance, however, were greater from the interpolated and falfified verfions, now alfo abundantly put forth, of fpeeches really fpoken in the houfe, than from the pure inventions of which D'Ewes complained. I may add that the inventions were not limited to fpeeches only. Petitions affecting to reprefent the feeling of large claffes of people were got up in the fame way ! On the 25th of January, 1 641-2, the matter of a Royalift petition from Hertford/hire was before the houfe, and the fubjoined curious entry is made in D'Ewes's Notes. " Thomas Hulbert, one of the framers of the Hert- ' fordfhire petition, fent for as a delinquent, alfo Martin ' Eldred, one of the penners of the fame. The faid Martin ' Eldred, being called into the houfe, did acknowledge that ' Thomas Hulbert, a young fcholar of Cambridge, did draw ' the faid falfe petition of Hertfordfhire in his prefence ; and ' that they fold it to the faid John Greenfmith, a ftationer, ' for half-a-crown, which the faid Greenfmith, being called ' in, did likewife confefs ; and that he printed it. I faid ' there were now abiding in, and about London, certain loofe ' beggarly fcholars who did in ale-houfes invent fpeeches, ' and make fpeeches of members in parliament, and of other ' paffages fuppofed to be handled in, or prefented unto, this ' houfe. That the licenfe of printing thefe fcandalous ' pamphlets is grown to a very great heighth, &c." Where- fore the indignant Sir Simonds would have Mr. Thomas Hulbert, and Mr. Martin Eldred, and Mr. John Greenfmith forthwith conveyed to the Gate-houfe.
* The gloom was broken by fuch additional brief notices as were fupplied by the appearance, a few years ago, of Sir Ralph Verney's valuable Notes of Proceedings in the Long Parliament, moft intelligently edited by Mr. Bruce ; but the exiftence of the manufcript materials which have fupplied me with the main portions of the account now laid before the reader in this Work, was not fufpecled, even fo late as Mr. Bruce's publication. The report fupplied in my text of the particular debate now in progrefs, is the refult of a careful companion of the notes of Verney and D'Ewes, each having been ufed to correct and complete the other. Fragments of
§ xiv. Speech of Sir Edward Dering. igi
was it by any means a bad fpeech, though for not dif. the interests of his party it was hardly a dif- creet y* creet one. They would fain indeed have prevented his rifing fo early in the debate, but as yet Pym refolutely kept his place, and the field was open to all comers.
Dering began by enlarging on the impor- Urges tance of the matter in difcuflion as far tran- imP°r- fcending any mere bill or act of parliament. Rem0n- Of what was fo put forth, he warned them, ftrance. the three kingdoms were but the immediate or firfb fupervifors ; for all Christendom would be attracted by the glafs therein fet up, and would borrow it to view their deformities. Then let them not difmifs in hafte what others would fcan at leifure. It was to be con- sidered, firft, whether their constituents were But wny looking for fuch a Declaration. If not, tocan7it: what end did the Houfe fo decline ? Where- p°e0pie ? fore fuch defcenSion from a parliament to a people ? The people looked not up for any fo extraordinary courtefy. The better fort thought beft of that Houfe ; and why mould its members be told that the people were expectant for a Declaration. <c My conftitu- <c ents," continued Sir Edward, "don't want cc it. They do humbly and heartily thank <c you for many good laws and Statutes, and cc pray for more. That is the language beft People ci understood of them and moft welcome to wan^ oruy <c them. They do not expect to hear any laws. £f other Stories of what you have done, much
Verney's notes, I have already remarked, were known to Mr. Serjeant D'Oyley and Mr. Hallam fome years before their publication by Mr. Bruce.
v 2
igi 'The Grand Remonji ranee.
" lefs promifes of what you will do. Mr.
cc Speaker," he added, "when I firft heard of
(c a Remonftrance, I prefently imagined that,
(C like faithful counfellors, we mould hold up
<f a glafs unto his Majejiy. I thought to
Remon- cf reprefent, unto the King, the wicked coun-
ftrat^to cc ^ejs 0£ pernicious counfellors; the reftlefs
cc turbulency of practical papifts; the treachery
<c of falfe judges ; the bold innovations, and
" fome fuperftition, brought in by fome prag-
cc matical bifhops and the rotten part of the
cc clergy. I did not dream that we mould
li remonftrate downward, tell ftories to the
but not (c people, and talk of the King as of a third
downward cc perforK" The orator was here upon delicate
to .People •
' ground, and had perhaps fome warning as he fpoke that his footing was unfafe. He did not difpute, he already had remarked, the excellent ufe and worth of many pieces of the Declara- tion ; but what was that to him, if he might not have them without other parts that were both doubtful and dangerous ? He felt Agrees ftrongly, with the noble learned Lord who JmJi j fpoke laft (Falkland), that to attribute an introduction of idolatry to the command of the bifhops was to charge thofe dignitaries with a high crime. He did not deny that there had been fome fuperftition in doctrines and in prac- tices by fome bifhops, but flat idolatry intro- duced by exprefs command was quite another thing. He objected that to refer to the decifion Church of Parliament the order and difcipline that were regulation to rep-ulate the Church, would be to encourage
no sub eel: . .
for Par- fectarianifm ; and he further objected that thefe, liament. and other fimilar pafTages, appeared to have been
§ xiv*. Speech of Sir Edward Dering. 293
introduced by the Committee without being firfr. difcuffed and recommended to them from the Houfe. Then, taking up the doling averments in the Declaration as to the defire of its promo- ters for the advancement of learning by a more general and equal diftribution of its rewards, he avowed his opinion that this object would Advocates be defeated if the great prizes in the Church P*Izes in were abolifhed. " Great rewards," he faid, "do beget great endeavours; and certainly, cc Sir, when the great Bafin and Ewer are taken cc out of the lottery, you mail have fewadven- cc turers for fmall plate and fpoons only.* It £C any man could cut the moon out all into Would cc little ftars, — although we might ftill have not $lit
' r 11 moons
<c the fame moon, or as much in imall pieces, into ftars. cc yet we mould want both light and influence." Much beyond this flight even the member for Kent could not be expected to foar ; and forcible and lively as many parts of his fpeech had been, its general tone and tendency had alfo been fuch, that the impatience and fears of party friends muft greatly have been relieved by his preparation to refume his feat, Final rea- after fome further enlargements of his argu- lons f°r ment for the patronage and diffufion of learn- vote. ing. He ended by ftating, that becaufe he neither looked for cure of complaints from the common people, nor did defire to be
* There is no new thing under the fun ; and it hardly Sydney needs to remind the reader that Sydney Smith's famous argu- Smith an- ment in defence of the "prizes in the Church," in thofe ticipated. three letters to Archdeacon Singleton which rank among the wittieft profe compofitions in the language, had been exaflly and almoft literally reproduced from this fpeech of Sir Edward Dering's.
294 ^he Grand Remonji 'ranee.
cured by them ; becaufe the Houfe had not recommended all the heads of the Remon- ftrance to the Committee which brought it in ; and becaufe they paffed his Majefty, and remonftrated to the people ; he mould give his vote with Mr. Hyde. Rudyard When Dering relumed his feat, Sir Ben- fpeaks. jamm Rudyard rofe. It could hardly fail but that much intereft mould be felt as to the part he would take on this occafion. He was not a leader in the Houfe ; but his fpeeches had the influence derived from Angularly eloquent expreffion, from his age and charac- ter, from that long experience of parliaments His cha- in which he rivalled even Pym himfelf, and rafter by from njs gravity, courtefy, and moderation of tone. In thefe qualities the Hiftorian of the parliament reports him as pre- eminent. " Cujus <c erant mores," he fays, " qualis facundia ; " inftancing his oration at the opening of the fefTion as Cf a perfect exemplar" at once of the unfparing expofure of grievances, and of <f the Cf way of fparing the King."* His known defire in this latter refpecl gave peculiar fignifi- cance to what mould now fall from him. Favour- He began by ftating that in his opinion it Declare- was absolutely requifite that the Houfe mould tion. publifh a Declaration, becaufe this parliament had been flandered by fo many. Of the ilan- derers he then fpoke, as confirming of the papifts, to whom all parliaments were hateful, but this worft of all ; of the delinquents, whom the parliament had punifhed ; and of
* May's Hiflory : lib. i. chap. vii. Rudyard was now verging on his 70th year, having been born in 1572.
§ xiv. Speech of Sir Benjamin Ritdyard. 295
the recklefs clafs of libertines, who fought ever
to throw off the reitraints of parliament and
law. Next he commented on the malignancy
of the libels they had propagated fo bufily. Great
Neverthelefs, he continued, " whatfoever they aeCts of..
cc traduce, by God's affiftance we have done ment.
" great things this parliament — things of the
tc firft magnitude. We have vindicated the
fc liberty of our perfons, the freedom of our
<f eftates. We have gotten, by the King's
<f grace and favour, a triennial, a perpetual
<c parliament, wherein all other remedies and
<f liberties are included. We have done fome-
cc thing, too, for religion ; though I reckon
" that laft, becaufe, I am forry to fpeak it,
cc we have done lead in that." Then, as if to Neceffity
guard himfelf from a too decisive tone againft *° e ^na
o _ 0 it aganilt
Hyde and his party, with whom he was never libels. on unfriendly terms, he defired Mr. Speaker not to imagine that he approved ordinarily of parliament putting forth what might be called an apology. Truly he thought it went hard with a parliament when it was put to make an apology for itfelf, becaufe apologies were com- monly accounted fufpicious ; but the malignity and machinations of the times had here en- forced it, in this inftance had made it necefTary. To the particular Declaration before the Houfe, states one however, he had yet one objection to make, objection
t-,. r 1 • 1 1 • /•toReraon-
jrlis vote went freely with the narrative part or ftrance. it ; but he muft object to what he would call the prophetical part. He meant thofe claufes which fet forth acts that were waiting to be palTed, and meafures intended hereafter. In that, it appeared to him, there was danger ;
296 The Grand Remonjlrance.
Would and he doubted if there was precedent for only men- \tm ft was to forefee the whole work of this patted :C b parliament to come, and to bind it up by- anticipation and engagement of votes before- hand. And he would humbly wiih the Houfe to coniider, whether, if they failed in perform- not Bills ing fome few of the things they fo promifed mprogrefs ancj ^e world would expecl, they might not tended, lofe more by non-performance of thofe few than they would be likely to get by all the reft of the Declaration. He refumed his feat with the remark that in any of thefe his doubts he mould be glad to be refolved by better judgments.
This fpeech, moderate and temporifing as it
quent was, was made matter of fuch grave reproach
attacks on afterwards; and one of chronicler Heath's bafe
yar " inventions, which reprefented its fpeaker dying
of remorfe as foon as the firft blood of the war
was drawn, and complaining on his death-bed
that Mr. Pym and Mr. Hampden always told
him they thought the King fo ill-beloved by
his fubj eels that he would never be able to raife
an army to oppofe them, has obtained fuch wide
belief; that I paufe for a moment, before clofing
the fection, to difpofe finally of that flander.
A poet Rudyard had in his time played no undiftin-
o?d oetsnd guimed part among the patriots, and he had
talents and graces of mind, that, as they juftly
entitled him to fuch praife at Jonfon's,*
Poem by " Rudyard, as letter dames to great ones ufe,
J3en My lighter, comes to kifs thy learned, mule ,•
Tonfon. Whole better ftudies while fhe emulates,
J She learns to know long difference of their ftates. Yet is the office not to be defpis'd, If only love fhould make the aclion prized ;
§ xiv. Speech of Sir Benjamin Rudyard. 297
would have given any caufe new luftre. He was a mafterly orator, and no contemptible poet ; and though, as I have faid, he was never a leader among thefe remarkable men, they might well boaft of the acceffion they received when fo courtly and accompli fried a gentleman left his fafliionable haunts upon town and took his place among them. But Joins the his part was played out when the war of words J™{.a" became fo fharp as to forefhadow the fiercer conflict. He was in truth too good a fpeaker for the fervice which alone in other refpects he could render when the ftruggle took its graveft afpect. Shakefpeare knew a kind of men in- capable even of their diftrefs, and Sir Benjamin was not altogether capable of his excellent oratory. His temperament was too delicate, u". anxious, and irrefolute, for all the tendencies duties, and confequences of his own brave fpeech.
Nor he for friendship can be thought unfit, That ftrives his manners fliould precede his wit."
And again :
" If I would wifh for truth, and not for mow, Epigrams
The aged Saturn's age and rites to know ; addreiled
If I would ftrive to bring back times and try to Rud-
The world's pure gold, and wile fimplicity ; yard.
If I would virtue fet as flie was young,
And hear her fpeak with one, and her firft tongue ;
If holieft friendfhip, naked to the touch,
I would reftore, and keep it ever fuch ;
I need no other arts, but ftudy thee :
Who prov'ft all thefe were, and again may be."
And ftill again — this grand and brave old Jonfon could never fay too much for the men he loved and honoured :
" Writing thyfelf, or judging others writ, I know not which thou'ft moft, candor, or wit ; But both thou haft fo, as who affecls the ftate Of the bed writer and judge, mould emulate."
Ben Jonfon's Epigrams.
298 The Grand Remonftrance.
Sayings " He fhould be very glad," he faid on one ^ occafion, " to fee that or>od old decrepit law
doings. .0 *
(C Magna Charta, which hath been kept fo long tc bedrid as it were, walk abroad again with fC new vigour and luftre ;" but nobody, not Charles himfelf, was fo much alarmed as Sir Benjamin, when that good old law did in reality get upon its legs again. Yet in this he was no traitor ; no renegade. It was the effect of timidity and of time. When thefe debates began, he had paffed his feventieth year ; and thus in all probability he found himfelf finking bedwards, at the very time when the gigantic ftatute before named was rifing out of its long fleep. Though he continued (till to act with the parliament, therefore, it is no very grave reproach to him that during the progrefs of the war he mould have cried out Condua inceffantly (as indeed it became old age when in old age. fenfible of the grave's approach) for peace, for peace ; and he is even fuppofed to have gone fo far as to entitle himfelf to the (in that day) equivocal praife, recorded on the title-page of one of his publifhed fpeeches, of having fC nobly defended the Bifhops." But, convert to the defire for compromife as he fo became, he at Ieafl did not defert, or malign, the men with whom he had acted in riper years. The No apof- good old knight, to fay nothing of his honefty, tate. was too mucri 0f a gentleman for that. Nor
is there the remoteft reafon to infer, much as he difliked the conflict, that he was killed by it. He remained in his place in the Houfe of Commons as long as he could ; ftill, however feebly, acting with Pym and with his fucceffors
§ xiv. Speeches of Rudyard and Bagflmw. 299
(as for example in his fpeech againft the Court of Wards as late as '45); ftill inceffantly defiring a compromife; and, though he never regained any eminence in public affairs, not paffing from the fcene till he was eighty-feven. Afting in It feems quite clear, therefore, that the writers or ^ou.re tl)1
.. . . t- , 1 c , j r Ins death:
politicians who want a precedent tor the deler- a*. 87. tion and abufe of a great caufe, or a fet of great principles, muft not go to the life of the very eftimable Sir Benjamin Rudyard. They muft be fatisfled with the ftudy of the life of Hyde, which will mow them, perhaps better than any other piece in hiftory, how it is poffible to act in intimate union with the principles and policy of a particular party at the commencement of a life, and to employ its clofe in fteadily blackening the characters and opinions of the men with whom one had fo acted cordially in earlier days.
When Rudyard refumed his feat, he was Mr. fucceeded by Mr. Bagfhaw, the member for ^ag£iaw Southwark, whofe effective fpeech on griev- ances at the opening of the feffion had for a time given him a place in the Houfe which he failed to make good. He had now joined Hyde's party, but did them fmall fervice in this difcurlion. All that has furvived of his fpeech are two objections to a paffage in the Declaration as to the abufes of the law courts ; and againft the tendency of one expreffion, againft Cf the reft of the clergy," to comprehend and Remon. blame the whole of that profeffion. But he ftrance. was followed by a more powerful fpeaker. ^
300 The Grand Remonjlrance.
§ xv. Speeches of Culpeper, Pym, Bridg- maNj Waller, and Hampden.
Sir John Sir John Culpeper, Dering's colleague in ibeik?61 ^e representation of Kent, and, after Falk- land, Hyde's Strength and reliance in the debate, fpoke next after Bagfhaw ; and we may well fuppofe the fpeech, from the frag- ment of it that remains, to have been highly characteristic of the man.* With a ready elocution, he had a rough and hafly temper ; and though, when he pleafed, few were fo qualified by memory and quicknefs to feize Manner of and reproduce all the points in a difcuffion, he pea mg. f^om faw^ or cared to fee, more than that fingle point to which he chofe to addrefs him- felf. At all times in fpeaking, Hyde admits, he was warm and pofitive, uncourtly and un- graceful in his mien and motion, andfomewhat indifferent to religion. His firft objection now
Character * " He feldom made an entire judgment of the matter in
of Cul- " queftion, for his appreheniion was commonly better than
peper. " ms refolution ; and he had an eagernefs or ferocity that
" made him lels fociable than his other colleagues ; (for his
" education and converfe in the world had been in part
" military) and his temper hafty." — Sir Philip Warwick's
Memoires, p. 196. " He might very well be thought a man
" of no very good breeding; having never facrificed to the
" Mules, or converfed in any polite company." — Clarendon's
Remark Life, i. 106-8. In his Hijlory (ii. 94), he fays that he could
by Hyde : upon occafion, when he fpoke at the end of a debate, as his
cuftom often was, recollect all that had been faid of weight
on all fides with great exaftnefs, and exprefs his own fenfe
with much clearnefs and fuch an application to the Houfe,
that no man more gathered a general concurrence to his
more opinion than he. This defcription, however, from other
applicable accounts, would feem to be much more applicable to the
to Pym. peaking of Pym.
§ xv. Speeches of Culpeper and Pym. 301
to the Remonftrance was that it fpoke of alter- Objeas to ing the government of the Church, and would ^emon"
fc> d itrance :
therefore offend the people ; an argument which certainly no other fpeaker would have had the boldnefs to put in that form. He then declared his oppofition to reft upon two grounds. The firft was, that the Declaration was unneceffary. The parliament had not "ot necef~ been <c fcandaled" by any public act, and therefore needed not to fend out any declara- tion to clear themfelves. The fecond was, that if this were not fo, it was yet both uncon- stitutional and dangerous in its prefent form. Going but from that Houfe, he faid, it went but on one leg. All remonftrances mould beanddan- addreffed to the King, and not to the people, gjj°us in becaufe it belonged to the King only to redrefs grievances. Their writs of election did not warrant them to fend any declaration to the People people, but only to treat with the King and n°j toJ^
1 1 j 1 j • 1 1 1 addrefled
the lords : nor had it ever been done by any alone, parliament heretofore. It would be moft dangerous for the public peace.
The member for Taviftock rofe after him, and delivered a fpeech which in the manufcript record of the debate before me is characlerifed pym as an anfwer to what had been faid by the pea various members who preceded him ; and of which the fragment remaining, fcanty as it is, mows that this was indeed its character. Even here its maffive and equal proportions are manifeft ; and we may trace again the calm power and felf-pofTefTion with which the veteran leader of the Parliament appears to have paffed in review the previous fpeakers, as his cuftom Anfwers
302
The Grand Reraonftrance.
preceding ipeakers.
Replies to Hyde
replies to Falkland.
Claim of Parlia- ment to advife King.
was in the great debates, and to have anfwered each. The boldnefs and plain fpeaking of his reference to the King was even for him re- markable.
To Hyde's appeal that the Houfe mould be chary above all things of the King's honour, Pym replied that the honour of the King lay in the fafety of the people, and that the mem- bers of that Houfe had no choice now but to tell the truth. They had narrowly efcaped great dangers, and the time was parTed for con- cealment. The Plots had been very near the King. All had been driven home to the Court and the Popifh party. To what the noble lord (Falkland) had objected againft the alleged neceflity of difallowing the votes of the Popifh lords and their abettors the bifhops, he anfwered that good laws parTed in fpite of thofe votes formed no anfwer to the afTertion that the con- tinued prefence of fuch voters would prevent the future enactment of fimilar necefTary laws. That debate itfelf might help to mow how their dangers were increafing upon them ; and <f will any one deny," afked Pym, cc that the <c Popifh lords and the bifhops do now obftruct "us?" Nor could he fee any breach of privilege in naming them ; for had they not heretofore often complained of particular lords being away, and of mifcarriages that lords had occafioned ? Where alfo, he defired to know, mould be the danger apprehended by ic the cc noble learned lord" in the recommendation to his Majefty not to choofe fuch counfellors as that Houfe might be unable to approve ? " We have fuffered fo much by counfellors of
§ xv. Speech of John Pym. 303
cc the King's choofing," faid Pym, " that we Right to <f defire him to advife with us about it." He co.nt">ul
, , , . r n. . . miniiters.
maintained that this courie was conttitutional, and where was the objection to it ? Many of the King's fervants were known to have moved him about fuch counfellors, and why may not the parliament ? He enlarged upon this ; and illustrated the mifchief of difregarding fuch advice by that quarrel with the firft parliament upon the unwife treaty of peace with Spain, which had been fraught with fo many evils. The fame worthy lord, and the knight who Replies to fpoke after him in the debate, had objected to Culpeper. the expreffion idolatry. But for himfelf, he declared his opinion that altar-worfhip was idolatry ; and fuch worfhip had undoubtedly been enjoined by the biihops in all their ca- thedrals. Coupling afterwards Sir John Cul- peper's affertion as to the danger of disturbing Replies to the exifting Church government, with Sir DennS' Edward Dering's urgent appeal againft the danger of permitting feclarianifm to intrude into the liturgy or fervice, Pym avowed his readinefs to join in a law againft fectaries, and remarked that they would moft furely prevent the evil by going to the root of what caufed it. Let them take care, then, that no more of fuch pious and godly minifters as were now feparatifts beyond the fea, fhould be driven out of England for not reading the Book of Sports. Adverting next to what had fallen slanders from opponents of the Declaration in admiffion jpjj1*1 of the flanders thrown out againft parliament, ment." Pym challenged them to fhow that anything but a Declaration could take away the accufa-
304 ^he Grand Remonfirance.
tions that had fo been laid upon the members As to of that Houfe. To Dering's remark againft Church the fuprp-eftion of a more equal provifion for ' miniftersof the Church, that it would interfere
with the great prizes, he replied that he held it beft that learning mould be better provided for in the general than extravagantly rewarded in Remarks the particular. Another learned knight on the on Rud- oppofite benches (Sir Benjamin Rudyard) had objected to what he termed the prophetical part of the Declaration ; but he would remind the worthy member that the Declaration did not prophefy, but faid fimply that which it believed to be fit, and might eafily be done. The member who followed him (Mr. Bagfhaw) had Replies to queftioned the propriety of afTerting that the Bagfhaw. Court of Chancery had grown arbitrary and unjuft in their jurisdiction, but to this he re- plied that not the Chancery alone but every Englifh court had of late years ufurped unjuft and arbitrary jurifdiction. To the worthy knight oppofite (Sir John Culpeper) who averred that a declaration going from this Oppofes Houfe alone, without having defired the lords Lords' tQ •• went but upon one leg he anfwered
claim to J ' r . » J * ,
mare in that the matter or this particular Declaration Remon- was [n no refpe<5t fit for the lords. Many of the lords were accufed in it. It alfo dealt throughout with fubjects which had been agi- tated only in that Houfe. The afiertions made by the fame honourable perfon, that all remon- ftrances fhould be addrefTed to the King, and that their writs of election did not warrant them to fend any declarations to the people, were not borne out by the practice. Remonftrances
§ xv. Speeches of Pym and Bridgman.
iu3
were not in truth directed either to the King An aft of or the people, but mowed the acts of the Houfe. Com- If it were defired to prefent the Declaration 0f Lords now before them to the King, it muft be done or King. by Petition prefixed to it ; and for his own part he inclined that fuch mould be the courfe. Honourable fpeakers had complained of a direction to the people in this cafe, but where was it ? Such had not been the purpofe, nor was it neceffary. It would fufBce that its con- Appeal to tents mould reach the people, and be read by people them. And when, by means of the Declara- preienta- tion, it became known throughout England tives. how matters ftood, and how the members of the Houfe had been flandered, it would bind and fecure to them the people's hearts.
It was late in that November evening before Pym refumed his feat, but candles had been brought long ago, and the debate ftill went on. Orlando Bridgman, member for Wigan, fo Orlando foon to be Sir Orlando and law dignitary to Bridgman the King, rofe next from among the group of lawyers feated near Hyde, and questioned Pym's view of the Houfe's right to remon- ftrate or declare alone. They could only confent, counfel, and petition ; and it was expreffly faid, in the indemnity of the Lords and Commons, that nothing mould be reported out of either Houfe, without confent of both Houfes. As for what had been faid of the £ePJies t0 feparatifts driven beyond fea, he thought them a condition of men to be taken away, being they were not at all moderate. To the right of approval fought by the Houfe for ever over all counfellors felected by the King, he ob-
306 The Grand Remonjirance.
jected ; and he thought the temporary ground
alleged, of the neceffity fo to obtain fecurity
for a proper ufe of the money to be voted for
the affairs of Ireland, a reafon too particular
to juftify fo general a demand.
Edmund Edmund Waller flarted up and fpoke after
Waller Bridgman, and with ingenious and lively turns
of expreffion, as his cuftom was. He thought
the Declaration ill-named, he faid. It was
aimed more at the future than the part, and
expoftulated lefs with what had been done than
with what was expected to be done. He
thought it mould be called, not a i^fmonftrance,
but a Prnnonftrance. And how unnatural
were all fuch expedients for expreffing the will
Laws not of that Houfe. Laws were the children of
to yield to tj-ie parliament, and it did not become them to
deftroy their offspring by means of orders and
declarations. By what authority, too, did they
claim the right to control the King in the
choice of his counfellors ? Freeholders had
power to choofe freely the members of the
Why con- Houfe of Commons to make laws, and yet the
trolthe King muft not choofe counfellors to advife
ang' according to law without the approbation of
the Houfe. In one fenfe it might indeed be a
Remonftrance, but it was a Remonftrance
againft the laws, f
John Jonn Hampden now rofe. Little remains
Hampden of what he faid, but fufficient proof that he
fpeaks. muft have fpoken, as he did ever, with calm
decifion, yet with that rare temper univerfally
attributed to him in debate, and which even to
a difcuffion fo angry and paffionate as this,
could bring its portion of affability and cour-
§ xv. Speech of John Hampden. 307
tefy. What were the objections, he afked, to this Declaration? When that Houfe difco- vered ill counfels, might it not fay there were ill counfellors, and complain of them ? When Why any man was accufed, might he not fay he had °^f to done his endeavour ? cc And," continued the tion ? member for Bucks, fC we fay no more in this." The party oppofed to the members of the Houfe was prevalent, and it was therefore neceffary for them to fay openly that they had given their beft advice. That was declared in the Remonftrance, and no counter remon- ftrance could come againft them, being it was wholly true. Quiet and merely fuggeftive, however, as Hampden's general tone in this fpeech feems to have been, yet, once at leaft, in the courfe of it, he rofe to a higher ftrain. We have {qqii that Dering enforced his argu- Replies to ment againft ufing the power and revenues of Derms- the bifhops in any attempt to ftrengthen the Church by fo giving influence and increafe to the general body of the clergy, by remarking that if any man could cut the moon out all into little ftars, although the fame amount of moon might ftill remain in fmall pieces, both light and influence would be gone. Taking up this extravagant illuftration, Hampden claimed to apply it differently. He afked the Quotes Houfe to remember what authority they had andH for believing that the ftars were more ufeful to Revela- the Church than the moon. And then hetions- quoted from the Book of Revelations the paffage * under which the perfect Church, the
* " And there appeared a great wonder in Heaven : A " Woman clothed with the fun, and the moon under her
x 2
308 The Grand Remonjirance.
fpoufe of Chrift, is figured, and warned them that when the woman mould be clothed with the fun, the moon would be under her feet, and her head would be circled with ftars.
§ xvi. The Speeches up to Midnight.
Hampden The Houfe had now been fitting, without
renames interval or reft, for a length of time unex-
o'clock, ampled in any one s experience. It was nearly
P-M- nine o'clock before Hampden refumed his feat,
yet ftill the cries for adjournment were refifted
amid excitement and agitation vifibly increaf-
ing. D'Ewes had himfelf left the Houfe foon
after four in the afternoon. He forefaw, as he
tells us, that the debate in the iiTue would be
long and vehement; and having been informed
by Sir Chriftopher Yelverton, member for
Bofliney, that thofe who wifhed well to the
Declaration did intend to have it paiTed with-
Wh out the alteration of any one word, he did the
D'Ewes rather abfent himfelf (cc being alfo fomewhat
Wclock1 " iH of a cold taken yefterdaY ") becaufe there were fome particulars therein which he had formerly fpoken againft, and could not in his confcience aiTent unto, although otherwife his heart and vote went with it in the main. His relation of what followed in his abfence, there- fore, was derived by him from other members of the Houfe. Attempts The refolution of which Yelverton informed at com- D'Ewes, though relaxed upon a few points,
promife , ° , •1, • /i _ri
refifted. appears to have been in the main iteadily
" feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve ftars.'' — Reve- lations, xii. 1.
§ xvi. The Speeches up to Midnight. 309
adhered to ; and it was this refolved deter- mination to refift all attempts at any material compromife, which tended more than anything elfe to prolong and exafperate the oppofition. Several fuch attempts were made, but without fuccefs. Though verbal changes were aiTented Two divi- to,* and one claufe was omitted, it may be 10ns' inferred, from the two divifions which imme- diately preceded thofe taken upon the main queftion, that fuch few previous changes were not made under the prefTure of any adverfe vote. The firft. was upon a proposition by ; the promoters of the Declaration to remove a 18710123. claufe to which they had found reafon to object, and this they carried, in a Houfe of three hundred and ten members, by a majority of fixty-four.j- The fecond divifion, which was taken on the claufe avowing the neceflity
* I fubjoin what appears as to this in the Journals of the Subject of Houfe. " Refolved, That the Courts of Chancery, Exchequer nrft divi- " Chamber, &c. are arbitrary and unjujl in their proceedings, flon> " to be left out ; and to be added inftead thereof, 'which " have been grievous in exceeding their jurifdiclion. ' Loofe " ' perfons" to be made ' Libertines? Refolved upon the quef- " tion, that thefe words which authority fliall enjoin, be made " which the law enjoins. Refolved, For to him they are beft " known, that thefe words to be left out. Refolved, that the " word Firft be left out; and that the claufe beginning with " the word which, and ending kingdom, be left out." This omitted claufe, which had relation to the Court of Requefts, was probably that to which D'Ewes referred when, after the remark quoted in the text, he added, " But thofe who defired Remark "the declaration might pafs, were compelled, contrary toby " their refolution of which Sir Chriftopher Yelverton had in- D'Ewes. " formed me, to fuffer many particulars to be altered, and " amongft the reft that which I could not have aflented " unto." See Ante, p. 257.
f Sir Thomas Barrington and Sir John Clotworthy were Tellers, tellers for the ayes, Sir Frederick Cornwallis (member for Eye in Suffolk) and Mr. Stanhope (member for Tamworth, and fourth fon of Lord Chefterfield) for the noes.
3 1 o The Grand Remonfirance.
». and intention to reduce the exorbitant power 16H0147. Qf ^g biihops, ran clofer, for, though in the interval, two members only had left the Houfe, the liberal majority was only fourteen.*
Still it fufficed ; and no figns of receding were mown. More firmly than ever, there- fore, as 'the night went on, the debate con- Denzil tinued to rage ; and what remains of the fpeak^. fpeech of Denzil Hollis gives proof of a lefs tolerant and more defiant temper than any previous fpeaker had exhibited. He plainly avowed with what belief and expectation he was there to fupport the Declaration. The kingdom, he faid, confifted of three forts of men, the bad, the good, and the indifferent. People to The indifferent could turn the fcales, and that be influ- \r\n^ 0f men it was their hope to fatisfy by publifhing this Remonfirance. In denial of what had been averred by Culpeper, Bridgman, and other fpeakers, he declared the Houfe to be expreflly empowered, by their writs of election, to do this ; and he quoted, in proof, the language of the writ by which they were called ad traftandum de arduis negotiis, &c. Power of -A-s to the ability refiding in either branch of Houfe to the legillature to make Declarations without twl]^ ^e concurrence of the other, he faid that it refted on grounds not to be aflailed. The Lords had often made Declarations without the Commons, as about the Irifh nobility ; and the Commons without them, as about the
Second * The numbers were 161 to 147, Sir Walter Earle and
divifion Mr- Arthur Goodwyn (Hampden's colleague in the repre- fentation of Bucks) telling for the majority, and Sir F. Corn- wallis and Mr. Strangways for the minority.
§ xvi. The Speeches up to Midnight, 311
Duke of Buckingham. It had been objected that there were fubjects on which they of that Houfe were not entitled to advife his Majefty, but all neceffary truths muft be told. If kings Right to were mifled by their counfellors, the people's c^xo} reprefentatives may, nay they muft, tell them adviiers. of it. It was a duty which refted within fafe limits. They only befeeched the King to choofe good counfellors, for againft fuch the Houfe would never except.
Many members rofe after Hollis, but Speaker Lenthal's eye (a rule of precedence only lately adjudged to be fettled)* refted fir ft on lawyer Glyn, the member for Weftminfter, Glyn foon to be recorder for London. There had lpea s' been fome doubt as to the line he would take, but he fpeedily removed it. It was againft nature, he faid, not to have liberty to anfwer a calumny, and there was no way but by Remonftrance to repel what had been laid upon them. They had made a Remonftrance preCe- in the firft year of the reign, and that without dents for the Lords ; and in the third year, if the ft™°cne~ Speaker of the Houfe had fat ftill in his chair, a Remonftrance would have been voted, and no fault found with it. The right was unques- tionable. Both the Lords temporal and the Bifhops had often feverally protefted without the Commons. He approved alfo of the Reafons matter of the Declaration. It was an honour J.n ^
* " Then," fays D,Ewes(in the courfe of his note defcrib- ing the debate on the Canons, 26th November, 164.0, after Speaker's Glyn had done fpeaking), " long difpute eniued who mould eye rule " fpeak, divers ftood up, and at laft ruled for Mr. White, of pre- " and the Speaker's eye adjudged to be the rule." cedence.
12
The Grand Remonjlrance.
Mr.
Coventry fpeaks.
Geoffrey
Palmer
fpeaks.
Maynard fpeaks.
to let the world fee that in one twelvemonth they could reduce the diftempers of twelve years. The people trufted that Houfe, and it was therefore no difhonour to flrive to fatisfy them.
From the anxious group of members who fat near Hyde, among whom were now gathered feveral fervants and officers of the King, Mr. Coventry, member for Evefham and fecond fon of the deceafed Lord Keeper, rofe after Glyn, and appealed to the Houfe at leaft to addrefs the Declaration to the King, if they mould perfifl in voting it. Though men build their monuments in their own time, he faid, yet a chronicle of any King's reign had never, until now, been written in his life-time, without his own confent. After him ftarted up Mr. Geoffrey Palmer, the well- known lawyer (he was Attorney-General at the Reftoration), member for Stamford, and Hyde's intimate friend and counfellor, who afTerted with much vehemence that the Houfe could not declare without Lords and King, nor had ever done it, and that the beft way for the Commons to anfwer a fcandal was to neglect it. As to his friend's law, however, fC honeft Jack Maynard " at once rofe and protefted, when Palmer refumed his feat. It was fully competent to the Houfe to declare to the people, for, he continued, if they fhould do nothing but what was ordained and fettled with the other branches of the State, they would afTuredly fit ftill. They petitioned only for liberty to approve, they did not dic- tate the choice of, the counfellors of the King. *
J
§ xvi. The Speeches up to Midnight. 313
Meanwhile, as the debate thus continued to Midnight rage towards midnight, one counfellor of the aPProach- King had filently and fadly withdrawn. His Majefty's correfpondent Nicholas, under pro- mife to inform him that night of the refult of the difcuffion, had waited and watched until nearly worn out with fatigue, and had then of necefiity repaired to Whitehall to clofe and forward his difpatch. He firft added to it the Secretary fubjoined words, little fuppofing that they Nicholas would be rendered very memorable by what occurred in the Houfe after his departure. f The Commons have been in debate about ' their Declaration touching the ill effects of c bad councils ever fince twelve at noon, and ' are at it ftill, it being near twelve at mid- e night. I flayed this difpatch in hope to Writes to f have fent your Majefty the refult of that the KinS- c debate, but it is fo late, as I dare not (after f my ficknefs) adventure to watch any longer c to fee the ifTue of it : only I affure your c Majefty there are divers in the Commons' i Houfe that are refolved to ftand very ftiff 1 for rejecting that Declaration, and if they f prevail not then to proteft again/lit." So thoroughly had Hyde's party previoufly re- Reveals folved upon, and fo unrefervedly communi- Hydes
■ . purpolc
cated to the ministers of the King, the ftep which they afterwards declared was quite un- premeditated, and indeed rendered fuddenly neceffary by the tactics of their opponents. But Nicholas would hardly have repeated it, even to his matter, could he have (ctn the turn that affairs were to take.
314 The Grand Remonftrance.
% xvii. Question Put, and Palmer's Protest.
Mr. Secretary Nicholas had not long left the Houfe when, a little after twelve o'clock, the main queftion whether the Remonftrance fhould Refiftance pafs was at laft allowed to be put. In his t0uePftionng Hiftory, Clarendon admits that it was the party led by Mr. Hyde (himfelf) which fo long had refitted the inceffant calls for a divifion ; and that they hoped to profit in numbers by fo wearing out their opponents, is the plain and irreiiftible inference. Neverthelefs, he pro- ceeds to tell his readers that when midnight arrived, many were gone home to their lodgings out of pure indifpofition of health, having neither eat nor drank all the day ; and Which others had withdrawn themfelves, that they fide might neither confent to it, as being againft
deb ed by tneir reafon and confcience, nor difoblige the other party by refufing ;* leaving it to be inferred, that the gain from delay was entirely to the other party, not his own. In another paflage t he conveys a fimilar impreffion, in- forming us that candles having been called for when it grew dark " (neither fide being very cc defirous to adjourn it till the next day, <f though it was evident very many withdrew iC themfelves out of pure faintnefs and dif- Hyde's <£ ability to attend the conclusion), the debate ftatement: cc continued till it was after twelve of the cc clock, with much pafTion." And again he
* Hijl. ii. 595. f Ibid. ii. 42.
§ xvn. £h(eJlion Put, and Palmer's Proteft. 315
fays, in a third pafTage,""* that the party led by- Mr. Pym knew well enough that the Houfe had not, at that time, half its members prefent, though they had provided that not a man of their party was abfent ; and that they had even then carried it by the hour of the night, which drove away a greater number of old and infirm oppofers, than would have made thofe of the negative fuperior in number. AfTum- White- ing for a moment that this was fo ; that the locke s : hour of the night did really carry it ; and that it was, as Whitelocke affirms Sir Benjamin Rudyard compared it to, the verdict of a ftarved jury ;j" finely it is inexplicable that from Pym and his friends, who were to profit reafons by the exactly oppofite courfe, fhould have to tlle proceeded all the efforts that were made to force on the divifion at an earlier hour. But the firft thing to fettle, in difputes of this kind, is the authenticity of the point in difpute. We commonly are at li What's the reafon ff of it," as Selden fays, before we are fure of the thing ; and he interpofes an excellent
* Hift. ii. 44-
f " The fitting up all night caufed many through weak- " nefs or wearinefs to leave the Houfe, and Sir B. R. to com- " pare it to the verdict of a ftarved jury " (Memorials, 51, ed. White- 1732). In reading the Memorials, however, valuable as locke's they are, it is always neceflary to keep in mind not only the Memo- faft that they were compiled at a time not very favourable to rials. the caufe which the author had once ftrongly fupported, and that great portions of them confift of paragraphs taken not very difcriminatingly from Journals and Newfpapers, but the fufpicion which there is good ground for entertaining that Not reij. they were very greatly interpolated before publication. The ^hXt. publication took place in Charles the Second's reign, twenty- two years after the reftoration, feven after Whitelocke's death.
3 16 The Grand Remonfirance.
queftion of my Lady Cotton's, fC when Sir
cc Robert was magnifying of a fhoe, which
cc was Mofes's or Noah's, and wondering at
Truth of tc the ftrange fhape and fafhion of it, but, Mr.
the cafe. <c Qotton, fayS me> arg y0U Jure // js a J]-,oe ? "
The real truth in this cafe appears to be, that
there is no fhoe. The evidence difproves the
aflertion that a number of "old and infirm
Cf oppofers " had been driven away before the
Numbers v°te by the latenefs of the hour. Very few
on firft indeed, and thofe only occasional ftragglers,
m ion . j^acj qUjttec^ tjie jjoufe before the great divifion.
Two divisions on minor points preceded it,
as we have feen, with fome interval interpofed;
yet upon the firft, three hundred and ten
members divided, and upon the fecond, three
On fecond hundred and eight ; and thefe, being more
divifion: than three fifths of the entire Houfe, were
certainly as large an aflemblage as had been
muftered fince the Recefs within its walls.*
What, then, were the numbers on the third and moft important divifion ? They had been reduced by fimply one vote, and this in all probability the vote of Secretary Nicholas. I quote the entry from the Journals, j* cf The
* This point has already been adverted to ante, 163-4;
and I will only add that in a debate reported by D'Ewes on the
Numbers T3*^ °^ the month following that in which the Remonftrance
commonly was Pa^e<^> 'f appears that the exaft number abfent on the latter
prefent occafion were abfent ftill. The expreffion ufed is, " 200
" members ftill abfent after our recefs." And in this particular
debate, " Sir John Evelyn of Surrey" undertook to fliow that
that number " had not been here fince this fecond meeting."
On this fame occafion it was that Strode made the propofition,
already referred to, to fine a member 50/. or expel him, if he
quitted town without leave. "It was," faysD'Ewes, "much
" debated, but laid afide."
-f- Commons'" Journals: ii. 322.
§ xvii. Queftion Put, and Palmer's Prot eft. 317
tc queftion being propofed, whether this De- claration, thus amended, fhall pafs; the if queftion was put, whether this queftion cf mould be firft put ? and it went with the <c Yeas : And then the queftion was put, 0n third ct whether this Declaration, thus amended, divifion : <c fhall pafs ? The Houfe was divided. Sir 3°7' ff Frederick Cornwallis and Mr. Strangways, " tellers for the Noe, 148 ; Sir John Clot- fc worthy and Mr. Arth. Goodwyn tellers for "the Yea, 159. Refolved, upon the quef- <( tion, that this Declaration, thus amended, "fliallpafs."
The queftion fo long and defperately de- bated had hardly thus been fettled, however, when that new queftion arofe which was to create a new and worfe agitation, and to carry New quef- almoft to the pitch of frenzy the excited ti0.n paffions of the Houfe. As foon as the vote was declared, Clarendon proceeds to fay in his Hiftory, "Mr. Hampden moved that there C£ might be an order entered for the prefent <c printing it, which produced a fharper debate " than the former. It appeared then" (as if this had not been avowed all through the debate), " that they did not intend to fend it ciaren- tcup to the houfe of peers for their concur- dor}'sNar- "rence ; but that it was upon the matter an Hijj.Vi " appeal to the people, and to infufe jealoufies 42- cc into their minds. It had never* been the "cuftom to publifh any debates or deter-
* The firft editors of Clarendon feem to have been fo ftartled by his ufe of this word, in dire6l contradiction of a well-known faft, that they fubftituted "feldom" for it. The genuine text was only reftored in 1826-7.
3i8
The Grand Remonjirance.
As to Hyde's proteft. :
as to Palmer's
as to others
as to clofe of debate :
fc urinations of the Houfe, which were not cc regularly firft tranfmitted to the houfe of "peers; nor was it thought, in truth, that " the Houfe had authority to give warrant if for the printing of anything ; all which iC was offered by Mr. Hyde, with fome cc warmth, as foon as the motion was made for " the printing it: and he said, che did believe <c c the printing it in that manner was not (C f lawful; and he feared it would produce " ' mifchievous effects; and therefore defired " ' the leave of the Houfe, that if the queftion c< c mould be put, and carried in the affir- <( fmative, that he might have liberty to " f enter his proteftation ;' which he no fooner " faid than Geoffrey Palmer (a man of great lc reputation, and much efteemed in the Houfe) <c flood up, and made the fame motion for " himfelf, c that he might likewife proteft.' <c When immediately together, many after - cc wards, without diftinclion, and in some 'c diforder, cried out, 'They did proteft:' <c fo that there was after fcarce any quiet cc and regular debate. But the Houfe by (C degrees being quieted, they all confented, " about two of the clock in the morning, to " adjourn till two of the clock the next <c afternoon." J'*
So did the chief actor in a very memorable fcene, writing deliberately in his exile a few years after the event, when nothing of the dignities, the refponfibilities, or the trials in- cident to his later life, had occurred to impair or preoccupy his memory, defcribe the clofe of a ftormy debate in which he had taken fo
§ xvii. Queftion Put, and Palmer's Proteft. 319
prominent a part. We fhall fhortly be able to tell its accuracy. With how much accu- racy the fame writer had before defcribed its commencement, has already been feen.* Of the fimilar fpirit in which its progrefs had alfo been narrated, the reader who has here had all its details before him will be able to judge, as to when he is further informed, ftill on Lord !nc.^en^s Clarendon's authority,f that {C the debate held grefs. Cf many hours, in which the framers and con- ff trivers of the Declaration faid very little, cf nor anfwered any reafons that were alleged (i to the contrary : the only end of pafTing it, cc which was to incline the people to fedition, fC being a reafon not to be given : but ftill cc called for the queftion, prefuming their " number, if not their reafon, would ferve to cc carry it; and after two of the clock in the Cf morning (for fo long the debate continued, <c if that can be called a debate where thofe " only of one opinion argued), when many had ec gone home, &c. &c." It may be doubted A tiflue if hiftory contains fuch another inftance ofj^™1" flagrant and deliberate falfification of the truth, ments. committed by one to whom the truth was per- fonally known.
Nor unworthy to rank befide it are the fen- tences firft quoted, defcriptive of what fol- lowed as to his own and Palmer's proteftation when the Remonftrance had pafled. It was Real not Hampden who moved the order for the m?ve.r of printing, J but Mr. Peard, the member for pr"
* See ante, p. 214. f Hift.u, 594-5.
\ It is ibmewhat ftrange that this particular misftatement fliould have been made by ^Clarendon, whofe habit it is to
3
20 The Grand Remonftrance.
Mr.Peard. Barnftaple, a lawyer of the Middle Temple in good repute in his profeffion, and who had fat in the laft as well as the present parlia- ment. It was not then announced for the
reprefent Hampden as invariably, on fuch occafions, referving himfelf in the background and putting others in the front. I am bound to add that Clarendon feems to have fliared with others this habit, which I once thought peculiar to himfelf. Hyde and For, as it is one of the objects of this Work to mow how en- Hampden. tirely untruftworthy is his authority for any ftatement adverfe to the leaders againft Charles I, it is the more neceffary not to omit any inftance in which fuch ftatements made by him find unexpected fupport. Thus, in an entry of D'Ewes's Journal relating to the debate of " the Bill of Epifcopacy," on the ioth June, 1641, after mentioning that the bill was moved by Sir Robert Harley,the member for Herefordfhire, Sir D'Ewes Simonds adds: " Mr. Pym, Mr. Hampden, and others, with on Hamp- " Mr. Stephen Marfhall, parfon ofFinchingfield in the county den. " °f EfTex, and fome others, had met yefternight and appointed
" that this bill fliould be proceeded withal this morning, and " the faid Sir Robert Harley moved it firft in the Houfe : for " Mr. Hampden, out of his ferpentine fubtlcty, did ftill put " others to move thofe bufineffes that he contrived." It is impofTible not to compare this with what Clarendon fays (Hiji. iv. 93) of Hampden's moderation during the firft year of the Long Parliament, "that wife and difpafTioned men Art of "plainly difcerned that that moderation proceeded from pru- making «< dence, and obfervation that the feafon was not ripe, rather ufe of " than that he approved of the moderation ; and that he be-
others : " gat many opinions and notions, the education whereof he " committed to other men, fo far difguifing his own defigns, " that he feemed feldom to wifh more than was concluded." The reader will at the fame time not too haftily conclude, that, even afluming the feeling reflected in thefe paflages to have been entertained by members on both fides of the Houfe, it is neceflarily the true one. Hampden's was a character, more than moil men's, open to mifconception. He was pecu- liarly felf-reliant and felf-contained, and in a remarkable de- gree he had the faculty of fdence. Until the time arrived for fpeaking, he had never the leaft difpoiition to utter what lay within the depths of his breaft — alta mente repoftum. On no man of this great period is fo unmiftakeably imprefled the *•» . qualities which fet apart the high-bred Englifh gentleman, t °" calm, courteous, reticent, felf-pofTefled ; yet with a perfuafive force fo irrefiftible, and a will and energy fo indomitable, lying in thofe filent depths, that all who came within their reach came alfo under their control. Clarendon, though he ftill
§ xvn. Que/Hon Put, and Palmer's Proteft. 321
firft time, but had fubftantially been confefTed all through the debate, that the Declaration was meant as an appeal to the people. And True fo far from the defire to Cf proteft " having °bJeft ot arifen naturally and fuddenly out of that an- tellers." nouncement, we have feen, by the irrefragable evidence unconfcioufly afforded in Secretary Nicholas's letter to the King, that the proteft had been concerted as a party move, and made known to the King's fervants before the Declaration was voted. The intention was obvious. It was meant to divide, and To divide by that means deftroy, the authority of the *"^ Houfe of Commons. It was a plan delibe- authority rately devifed to exhibit, before the face of Houre- of the country, the Minority as in open con- flict againft the Majority, and as poffefled of rights to be exercifed independently. The
imparts his own colour to the feeling, gives it fairer expreffion
in the pafTages where he fpeaks of his poffeiTing "that iteming
" humility and fubmiffion of judgment as if he brought no Claren-
" opinion of his own with him, but a defire of information and don : Hiji.
" initruclion ; yet had fo fubtle a way of interrogating, and, iv. 92.
" under the notion of doubts, infinuating his objections, that
" he left his opinions with thofe from whom he pretended to
" learn and receive them." And again he fays : " He was
" not a man of many words, and rarely begun the difcourfe,
" or made the firft entrance upon any bufinefs that was
" affirmed; but a very weighty fpeaker, and after he had
" heard a full debate, and obferved how the Houfe was like
" to be inclined, took up the argument, and fhortly, and
" clearly, and craftily, fo ftated it, that he commonly con-
" dueled it to the conclufion he d'efired ; and if he found he A go-
" could not do that, he was never without the dexterity to vernor of
" divert the debate to another time, and to prevent the deter- men.
" mining anything in the negative which might prove incon-
" venient in the future." Hiji. i. 323-4. Here we have again
the craft and the fubtlety, but it is lefs " ferpentine." I have
enlarged upon this theme in my Arreft of the Five Members,
§ xvii.
Y
322
The Grand Remonftrance.
Why fo
refolutely
refilled.
Exlftence of Houfe involved.
Unex- ampled fcene.
balance would be thus redrefTed; and the King's party, outvoted in the Houfe, would yet be a recognifed power without its walls, and would carry thenceforward a fhare of its authority. Happily, the leaders faw the inten- tion, and on the inftant met and defeated it. The right to proteft, they faid, never had been, and never could be, admitted there. The Houfe of Commons was indivifible. It acted with one will, and one power; and it exercifed rights with which individual claims were incompatible. Its authority derived from the people, its privilege to addrefs them, its power to tax them, refted upon a foundation that would at once be undermined and over- thrown by what Hyde and his friends had afked for.
To ufe merely the language of Clarendon in giving account of what followed thereupon, and fimply to fay that many members role to fpeak without diftinction and in fome dif- order, fo that there was after fcarce any quiet and regular debate, were to offer a faint verfion indeed of the truth. Never had thofe walls witneffed fuch a fcene as now, from the report of eye-witnefles lefs prejudiced and partial, waits to be defcribed.
H
§ xviii. Valley of the Shadow of Death.
Remon- Hardly had announcement been made of ftran" the divifion which carried the Remonftrance i sg'to y by a majority of eleven votes, when one more !4-8- ftrenuous effort was made to have it addreffed
§ xviii. Valley of the Shadozv of Death. 32?
to the King. This was fuccefsfully refitted; Denzil Hollis expreffing his intention to move, Pojl, 34.3. on another occafion, that it mould be referred to a committee to give effect to the modified fuggeftion already thrown out by Pym. Mr. Peard then moved that the Declaration might Peard be printed, which was oppofed with the greater!; m?v" warmth and vehemence by Hyde and Culpeper; Hyde again giving utterance to the extraordi- nary opinion he had ventured to exprefs in the debate, that the Houfe of Commons had no Hyde, right to print without the Lords' concurrence. °PPofes- Wherefore, he added, if the motion were per- flated in, he fhould afk the leave of the Houfe to have liberty to enter his proteft. Cul- peper's fpeech in the fame ftrain, replying to the determined objection made upon this, firft Confufed very calmly by Pym, and then more excitedly debate- by Denzil Hollis, carried the excitement ftill higher; and in the midft of it were now heard feveral voices, and among them very con- fpicuoufly that of Palmer, crying out that they alfo protected. Some one then rofe, and moved that the names of the protefters might Members be taken ; but this, being declared againft the Protefting- forms and orders, was not at the moment preffed. cc So," according to D'Ewes's account, derived from Sir Chriftopher Yelverton, <f this <l matter was underftood to be laid afide until " a further time of debate, when everybody cc thought the bufinefs had been agreed upon, <c and that the Houfe mould have rifen, it " being about one of the clock of the morning Palmer Cf enfuing, when Mr. Geoffrey Palmer, a 1T1°V" t0 " lawyer of the Middle Temple, flood up." names
Y 2
324
The Grand Remonjirance .
of all claiming to protelh
Cries of
"All!
All!"
Palmer protefts for " all.
Sudden fury of excite- ment.
" I
thought we had all fat in the Valley of the Sha- dow of Death."
He fhould not be fatisfied, he faid, for himfelf or thofe around him, unlefs a day were at once appointed for difcuflion of whether the right to proteft did not exift in that Houfe; and mean- while he would move, with reference to fuch future difcuflion, that the Clerk fhould now enter the names of all thofe whofe claim to proteft would then have to be determined. At thefe words the excitement broke out afrefh; loud cries of "All! All!" burft from every fide where any of Hyde's party fat; and Palmer, carried beyond his firft intention by the paflion of the moment, cried out unex- pectedly that he did for himfelf then and there proteft, for himfelf and all the reft — f< of his " mind," he afterwards declared that he meant to have added, but for the ftorm which fud- denly arofe.
The word All had fallen like a lighted match upon gunpowder. It was taken up, and pafled from mouth to mouth, with an exafperation bordering on frenzy ; and to thofe who in after years recalled the fcene, under that fudden glare of excitement after a fitting of fifteen hours, — the worn-out weary aflem- blage, the ill-lighted dreary chamber, the hour founding One after midnight, confufed loud cries on every fide breaking forth unexpectedly, and ftartling geftures of violence accompanying them, — it prefented itfelf to the memory as a very Valley of the Shadow of Death. " All ! c< all ! " fays D'Ewes, was cried from fide to fide ; " and fome waved their hats over their " heads, and others took their fwords in their <c fcabbards out of their belts, and held them by
§ xviii. Valley of the Shadow of Death. 325
cc the pummels in their hands, fetting the lower Swords Cf part on the ground; fo, as if God had notre^[.f°|" cc prevented it, there was very great danger <c that mifchief might have been done. All <c thofe who cried All> all, and did the other <c particulars, were of the number of thofe <f that were againft the Remonftrance." And among them was the promifing young gentle- man of the King's houfe, Mr. Philip Warwick, the member for Radnor, who bethought him, as we have feen, of that brief fcriptural com- parifon from the wars of Saul and David,* parallel his application of which comprifed all that, from until now, was known to us of this extraordi- J^J nary fcene. He thought of what Abner faid to Joab, and Joab to Abner, when they met on either fide of the pool of Gibeon ; and how, having arifen at the bidding of their leaders to make trial of prowefs, their young men caught every one his fellow by the head, and thruft his fword in his fellow's fide, and fo fell down together ; a refult which might have followed Calm- here, had not the fagacity and great calmnefs of nds oi Mr. Hampden, by a fhortfpeech, prevented it^. (^? e
It is not perhaps difficult to imagine, from what D'Ewes goes on to fay of the fhort but memorable fpeech, with what exquifite tact and felf-control this profound matter of debate calmed down the paffions of that dangerous hour. He faw at once that the motion for shows printing could not then with fafety be perfifted Palmer's in ; and, reminding the Houfe that there might P;on"mp~ be many who, having fupported the Remon-
* Samuel 11. Chap. ii. v. 12-16. And feeante, p. 112.
i6
The Grand Remonfirance.
How fhould he anfwer for " all.'
The
Houfe
calmed.
Printing to be left nnfettled.
Fourth Divifion :
I24tOIOI,
ftrance, might yet be oppofed to the printing of it, he afked how any one could fo far know the minds of fuch as to prefume to enter a proteft for them ? cc Some who were againft <f the printing of the Remonftrance," fays D'Ewes, cc yet difavowed Mr. Palmer's defiring " to have a proteftation entered in their names; ' t( and Mr. Hampden demanded of him how he ce could know other men's minds? To whom cc Mr. Palmer anfwered, having leave of the u Houfe to fpeak, that he having once before " heard the cry f All, AH,' he had thereupon <c defired to have the faid proteftation entered " in all their names."
The mere queftion and anfwer had quelled the unnatural excitement, and brought the Houfe again, as Hampden anticipated, within government and rule. Agreement was then come to, that the queftion as to the printing of the Declaration fhould for the prefent be left undetermined, with the understanding that it was not to be printed without fpecial leave. Hyde's party would further have reftricted this order, by introducing the word "publifhed" into it ; but Pym, refufing to confent to that addition, divided the Houfe once more, and carried the original propofal, tc that this Decla- 11 ration fhall not be printed without the par- fC ticular order of the Houfe," by a majority of twenty-three : thus leaving the publication free, and reftraining the printing only until further order. The numbers were 1 24 to 10 1 ; Sir Edward Dering and Sir Robert Crane, D'Ewes's colleague in the reprefentation of Sudbury, being tellers for the minority ;
§ xix. Sitting of Tuefday, the 13rd Nov. 327
and for the majority, Sir Walter Earle and Mr. Richard Knightly, the member for North- ampton. Between the laft divifion and the prefent, thirty-five of Pym's party and forty- feven of Hyde's had quitted the Houfe. And Houfe fo, fays D'Ewes, "the Houfe arofe juft rifes s AM- tc when the clock {truck two the enfuing tc morning."
In the rufh to the door after their weary fitting of eighteen hours, Falkland and Crom- well parted out together ; and Hyde afterwards reported, on the relation of his friend, that even the member for Cambridge, ufually fo <c tempeftuous " in behaviour, mowed no ex- ultation at the victory his party had gained. Not as of a triumph won, but as of a danger what narrowly efcaped, was Cromwell's reference to Cromwell the vote which had clofed this momentous t^e v° te debate. If it had gone againft them in that vote, he faid, he and many other honeft men he knew would have fold all they had this very morning, and never have feen England more. And though the fpeaker is not, per- haps, likely in exprefs terms to have faid this, any more than to have acted in any fuch fafhion, the anecdote doubtlefs reprefents what fub- ftantially was not untrue. The turning point Turning of freedom or defpotifm for two more cen- Point ot turies in England was probably pafTed that defpotifm. night.
§ xix. Sitting of Tuesday, the 23RD November. Clarendon fixes as late as three o'clock the Tuefday, hour of meeting on the day following the 23R ov"
328 The Grand Remonjlrance.
famous fitting of which I have thus, for the Houfe firft time, given all the impreflive details. ™"os But in reality the Houfe afTembled only a o'clock, little later than the ufual hour. Much im- portant bufinefs, not admitting of delay, was in hand ; and the further loan of fifty thoufand pounds from the City for the Irifh affairs, to bear interefr. at eight per cent., had this day to be completed. A little incident marked the temper of the Houfe. Early in the month the Queen's confeifor, Father Philips, had for contumacious conduct been committed by the Bufinefs Lords to the Tower, and no order was to be m hand. gjven for njs re]eafe without the knowledge of the Commons. He had now made fubmirTion, and in deference to an urgent meffage from the Queen, the Lords had ordered his releafe ; but on their meffenger bringing this intimation to the Commons, a peremptory refufal was fent back, and Father Philips had to return to the Tower. This incident had paffed, and it Four p.m. was nearly four o'clock in the afternoon, when toy!afteferS -^ym aro^e3 and made allufion to the fcene of night's the night before. He lamented the diforder fcene. on that occafion, which, he faid, might pro- bably have engaged the Houfe in blood. It proceeded principally, he continued, by the offering a proteflation, which had never before been offered in that affembly ; and was a tranf- grefTion that ought to be feverely examined, that mifchief hereafter might not refult from Mif- the precedent. He therefore propofed that the chievous j-joufe mould the next morning; enter upon
claim put . . o t x
forward : that examination : and in the meantime he advifed that men might recollect themfelves,
§ xix. Sitting ofTuefday, the 23rd Nov. 329
and they who ufed to take notes might perufe to be their memorials ; to the end that the perfons dlicufl"ed who were the chief caufers of the diforder might be named, and defend themfelves the beft they could. "And with this refolution," adds Clarendon, " the Houfe rofe ; the vex- <c ation of the night before being very vifible " in the looks and countenances of many."*
How far the further ftatement made herein The truth, by Clarendon is to be believed, muft be judged and Co- upon the facts. He fays, as we have feen, verfionof that the Houfe did not meet till three in it. the afternoon : But the ftatement in D'Ewes's Notes (and this is borne out by the Journals) leaves no doubt that the Houfe was in debate foon after ten o'clock. He alTerts that the As to moft part of the day had been paffed by the j^ffels leading men in private confutations, having for their object how to chaftife fome of thofe who moft offended them the night before, and how to punifh the attempt to introduce the dangerous and unheard-of precedent of pro- tefting againft the fenfe of the Houfe : But the private confultations muft in that cafe have Impoffible been held during the open fitting, for the as ftated- leading men on Pym's fide were unquestionably engaged, in public, upon the bill for deter- mining parliamentary privilege, upon the Committee of Irifh affairs, upon the bill of tonnage and poundage, upon the City loan, and upon the cafe of the Queen's confeflbr. He explains that the fubject of private conful-
* Hi/i. ii. 46. D'Ewes fimply fays of the rifing of the Houfe, that " they appointed to meet to-morrow at ten, and " rofe between four and five of the clock."
23° The Grand Remonfirance.
tation was all the more grateful to the c< leading ft violent men who bore the greateft fway," As to a becaufe they mould thereby take revenge upon againft' Mr- HYde (himfelf), whom they perfectly himfelf: hated above any man, and to whofe activity they imputed the trouble they had fuftained the day before ; only they encountered an un- expected difficulty from an important fection of their fupporters, the Northern men as they re'ededb were called, led by Sir John Hotham, Sir Northern Hugh Cholmondeley, and Sir Philip Staple- men. tonj members for Beverley, Scarborough, and Boroughbridge, who were fo grateful to Mr. Hyde for his fervices in overthrowing the monftrous oppreflion of the Court of York, that they refufed to join againft him, though very eager to make others refponfible ; As to and he adds that this difpute, which broke out difputes m trie private council in the morning;, occupied
a.mon°" the
leaders. aU that day and night, and was only termi- nated by the compromife of felecting another perfon, Palmer, to bear the brunt of punifh- ment : But if all this were fo, it is ftrange that neither Sir Simonds D'Ewes nor Sir Ralph Verney, in Notes ftill preferved exactly as they Not con- were taken at the moment, mould in any form firmed by conf]rm or make allufion to it; and ftill more or Vemey. ftrange that the leaders fhould have propofed to make Hyde refponfible for the minor offence of afking leave to proteft, which had led to no disturbance, and to pafs by the real offence of Palmer, who reopened the queftion that had been laid afide, did actually proteft without afking leave,* and brought on the fcene that
* Clarendon is obliged to admit this diftin&ion, even where
§ xx. Debate on Palmer's Protefl. 331
followed. It will be perhaps the more natural, why not and certainly no unfair, conclufion to form, credlble- that the writer who deliberately had mifrepre- fented and mifftated every fingle fucceffive incident in thefe memorable debates, has mif- reprefented this alfo. Happily the means of Refuted refutation are at hand ; and from records ^y MS. of taken at the moment, and quite above fufpi- cion, the account given by Clarendon can be corrected, and the ftory of the Grand Remon- ftrance be faithfully carried to its clofe. It is but another chapter of the fame great theme that prefents itfelf in the Debate on Palmer's Proteft.
§. xx. Debate on Palmer's Protest.
On Wednefday, the 24th of November, Ninth the Speaker arrived at the Houfe at about ten ^bfte; o'clock, when, after prayers were read, certain day, 24th neceffary bufinefs of no great intereft was done, Nov- and Pym moved the appointment of fome committees. He then, producing a printed pamphlet, purporting to be Articles of Accu- fation preferred againft: Father Philips, and containing matters of fcandal againft the French Pym de- Ambaffador, pointed out the grave offence of "ou"c" diffeminating fuch falfehoods, and called the prints. printer to the bar. Hereupon Mr. Ralph Goodwin, the member for Ludlow (he who
he is doing his beft to exaggerate the caufe of offence he had Claren- himlelf given. " He was the firft " (he is fpeaking of himfelf ) don : " who made the proteftation, that is, ajked leave to do it ,• #j/?.ii. 45. •* which produced the other fubfequent clamour, that was " indeed in fome diforder."
2^1 'The Grand Remonjirance.
was afterwards fecretary to Prince Rupert), took the fame opportunity of complaining, that a pamphlet fcandalous to the King himfelf had alfo juft been printed, purporting to be the account of a duel between Sir Kenelm Com- Digby and a French Lord, as to which he
plaints o J *
ofPam- moved that the printer thereof might alfo be phleteers. queftioned. To whom, with a flmilar com- plaint of unauthorifed printing, fucceeded Mr. Robert Reynolds, who fat for Hindon in Wiltfhire, and was afterwards one of the King's judges, and who brought before the Houfe the fact, that the examination of a delinquent prieft, taken by one of their committees, flill remain- ing in his own porTeffion, and not yet reported f to the Houfe, had been fuddenly iflued in
to Com- print; an offence which alfo called for punifh- mitteefbr ment. " Upon all which motions," D'Ewes printing. adds, " it was ordered that the former com- <c mittee for printing (of which I was one) <f mould meet to-morrow morning at feven " of the clock, in the Inner Court of Wards, cc and mould examine thefe abufes now <c complained of, and all other abufes of the (c kind, and to confider of fome way for the <c preventing thereof." Pym Then fucceeded the more interefting bufinefs
fpeaks of the day, introduced as ufual by the member "Sproteft " f°r Taviftock. He called the attention * of
* This opening of the proceedings, down to the appear- ance of Hotham in the debate, is taken from Clarendon. It Hill. ii. is here given becaufe, although neither in the notes of D'Ewes, . 6- nor thoie of Vernty, is there any mention of it, — both begin-
ning their account with Hotham's fpeech, — it is not only quite poflible that Hyde may have ipoken what he here attri- butes to himfelf, but it is even likely that he fo endeavoured
§ xx. Debate on Palmer's P rot eft. 333
the Houfe to the offence which had been com- Shows its mitted on Monday night. He enlarged upon anger* the mifchief it was then like to have produced, and which would unavoidably be produced, if the cuftom or liberty of individuals protefting againft the fenfe of the Houfe mould ever be ad- mitted. That was the firft time it had ever been offered there, and care ought to be taken that it mould be the laft, by fevere judgment upon thofe who had begun the prefumption. Where- Hyde upon Hyde rofe and faid, that it concerned e en Slt: him to juftify what he had done, being the firft man who mentioned the proteftation. But he was interrupted by a general noife and clamour, one half the Houfe crying to him amid cla- to <c withdraw," and the other half to " fpeak." mour- He waited awhile, and then renamed. He was not old enough, he faid, to know the ancient cuftoms of that Houfe ; but he well knew it was a very ancient cuftom in the Houfe of Peers. Leave was never denied Why not there to any man who afked that he might pro- Com™ons
ii-vrr • n • i as well as
teft, and enter his dilient, againlt any judgment Lords? of the Houfe to which he would not be under- ftood to have given his confent ; and he did not understand any reafon why a commoner fhould not have the fame liberty, if he defired not to be involved in any vote which he thought might poftibly be inconvenient to him. He had not offered his proteftation againft the Remonftrance, though he had oppofed it all he
to put himfelf forward, when he found that his friend Palmer Hyde and was to be called to account. The matter of the fo-called Palmer, private difpute raifed as between Hyde and Palmer, which I altogether difbelieve in, is not affected by it either way.
334
The Grand Remonfirance.
Repeats proteft againft printing.
Suggef- tion by Strode:
difre- garded.
Mr.
Hotham
fpeaks.
Attacks Palmer:
as leader
could, becaufe it remained ftill within thofe walls. He had only defired leave to proteft againft the printing it ; which, he thought, was in many refpects not lawful for them to do, and might prove very pernicious to the public peace.
This was liftened to with fome impatience ; and at its clofe the member for Beeralfton, always impetuous and forward on fuch occa- fions, was for having the Houfe to call upon Mr. Hyde to withdraw, fince he confefTed that he firft propofed the proteftation ; but Mr. Strode's fuggeftion was difregarded, and not the leaft notice appears to have been taken of Mr. Hyde's own propofal to make a martyr of himfelf.
Mr. Hotham, the member for Scarborough, familiarly called Jack Hotham, the fon of Sir John, and fo foon to periih with him on a public fcafFold for treafon to the Parliament, rofe now and faid that the offence committed on Monday night which the Houfe was called to vifit with its fevereft cenfure, was committed by Mr. Geoffrey Palmer, the member for Stamford. A gentleman on that occafion had offered, with the leave of the Houfe, to make a proteftation, and another had feconded him ; upon which the faid Mr. Palmer had without leave cried out, / do proteft ^ and, further en- couraging men to cry out every man the fame, had faid that he protefted " for himfelf and " the reft." Many voices here interrupted Hotham, fhouting out that Palmer's words were "all the reft." The fpeaker proceeded, and fhowed that fuch words in the mouth of
§ xx. Debate on Palmer's Proteji. 335
any member, tended to draw on a mutiny ; of a mu- and that if this were permitted in the Houfe, tiny' any one might make himfelf the head of a faction therein, and there would foon then be an end of the liberty and privileges of Parlia- ment, and they might fhut up their doors. Moves to He therefore defired that Mr. Palmer, not have him being in the Houfe, might be fent for.
Several members of Hyde's party next rofe, and objected to Palmer's being fent for ; and fome wiihed to know by what right Mr. Hotham had applied the word "faction" to any fection of members in that Houfe. But, adds D'Ewes, iC whilft we were in debate about Palmer " fending for him, Mr. Palmer came in ; enters- " and then Mr. Hotham laid the fame charge " againft him which he had done before, for £f the fubftance thereof." Hereon, he con- tinues, fome would have had Mr. Palmer to make his anfwer, and then to withdraw into the Committee Chamber, that fo they might proceed to cenfure ; but others faid, that either he had committed no fault to which he was to anfwer, or, if he had fpoken anything amifs, he was to have been queftioned for it at the time when he fpake it, and not at this time, Conflict which was two days fince the pretended words of friends were uttered. cc And this was maintained," fays D'Ewes, {i with great vehemence by thofe <f who fpake for Mr. Palmer."
Hyde and Culpeper were as ufual the moll vehement. Speaking to the orders of the Houfe, Hyde faid * the charge againft Palmer
* Clarendon's own account of his fpeech is, that, upon Mr. Palmer being called upon to explain, " Mr. Hyde (who
336 The Grand Remonfirance.
Hyde was againft the orders, being he was only fupports cliargeci vvith words, not with any ill carriage. This being fo, and the words not having been excepted againft at the time they were fpoken, it was now no orderly charge. For, in that cafe, Too late a man might be queftioned for words fpoken a to require month or a year ago, as well as for thofe fpoken anfJve?. on Monday laft. Words might be forged, too, and then how could a man anfwer for himfelf ? It would take away the great privilege of free- dom of fpeech. Culpeper went ftill further. Alfo fpeaking to the orders of the Houfe, he took the objection, that the members afTembled Culpeper on that day, Wednefday the 24th, could not be on iame competent judges of words fpoken on Monday the 22nd, becaufe divers were on this occa- fion prefent who en the former were abfent; although he did not deny that the Houfe was the fame in refpeci of the power of it. And what could be more dangerous than for a man to be queftioned for words fpoken in the Members Houfe after the time he mould fpeak them ; tobequef- for might he not in fuch cafe be alfo queftioned
tioned °. ,. r 3
only at M another parliament alter r fpeaking. Thefe confident opinions appear to have fhaken fome of the members prefent; the
" loved him much, and had rather have fuffered himfelf,
" than that he mould) (poke to the order of the Houfe, and
" laid that it was againft the orders and practice of the Houfe
" that any man mould be called upon to explain, for anything
" he laid in the Houie two days before ; when it could not be
" prelumed that his own memory could recollect all the words
14 he had ufed ; or, that anybody ell'e could charge him with
Hyde " them ; and appealed to the Houfe whether there was any
reported " precedent of the like — and there is no doubt there never had
by him- " been ; and it was very irregular." The account of the
felf: Hift. fpeech in the text, however, is manifeftly more correct than
ii. 48. this notice of it pieferved by its author.
§ xx. Debate on Palmer's Proteji. 337
debate went on with increafing heat ; and three hours had been To pafTed, when Denzil Hollis Denzil got up, and declared that he would charge Ho!lls
a .. -pf5, . . & makes
Mr. Palmer with a new charge, in making a new pernicious motion. But now, Sir Simonds charge- D'Ewes, fortified with precedents, advanced to the refcue ; undertaking to prove that the original proportion to make Palmer refpon- fible for the words he had uttered, was ftriclly in accordance with the ufage, and no violation of the orders, of the Commons.
He began by faying he was forry, with all D'Ewes his heart, that the Houfe mould already have pea s" loft fo much time about this bufinefs, and the more becaufe it concerned a gentleman whom he had long known, and knew to be learned in his profeflion. But he wondered to fee any Replies to member of that Houfe, and much more Hyde- (alluding to Hyde) any of the long robe, affirm that they could not queftion words fpoken therein any day after they were fpoken, unlefs exception to the words were taken at the time of fpeaking. "I dare be bold to fay," continued Sir Simonds, warming into confidence, as his well-beloved records and precedents came to him at need, " there " are almofl precedents in every Journal we Exhibits " have of the Houfe of Commons. Some Pre"_
dents.
" I can remember upon the fudden, as Mr. iC Copley, in the time of Queen Mary; Mr. " Peter Wentworth, in 35th Elizabeth ;* and, li in 43d and 44th of the fame Queen, either
* " I was miftaken in the year," notes the particular D'Ewes in the margin of his Journal, "for it was in — " but alas ! the correction is not legible to me.
33% The Grand Rem onjl ranee.
<c one Haftings took exception at Mr. Francis
" Bacon, or he to Haftings, for I dare not
<c truft an ill memory with the exact relation
Members cc of it upon the fudden. And all thefe were
not quel- cc queftioned in this House after the day was
elfewhere: " paffed in which the words were fpoken.
cf This, indeed, is the true, ancient, funda-
Cf mental right of parliament, that we ihould
cc not be queftioned anywhere elfe for things
cc fpoken within thefe walls. But that we
Cf mould not have power here to queftion our
" own members for words fpoken within thefe
" walls, either at the time when the faid words
cc were fpoken, or at any time after alfo, were
but by the << to deftroy thofe very liberties and rights of
fny^me. " parliament/'
Having laid down thus clearly and boldly the undoubted parliamentary rule, D'Ewes went on to apply it to Palmer's cafe. Pre- miflng that the words fpoken, and matter of fact in iffue, muft be ftated exactly, he fhewed that to refift any propofal to queftion the fame, Judgment whether at the moment of delivery, or at any of Houfe time after, would be to decline the juftice of avoidable. tne Houfe ; which for his part he fhould never do, but fhould always be ready to anfwer, at any prefent or future time, to anything he fhould there fay. As for that which was ob- jected, he continued, by the gentleman on the other fide (and he pointed to Sir John Cul- peper), that it were a dangerous thing for them to admit that a fucceeding parliament might Error in queftion what was done in a former, there was CuI,Pe" nothing more ordinary or more ufual. There
per s o J ,
argument, was no doubt whatever but that a fucceeding
§ xx. Debate on Palmer's Proteft. 339
parliament might not only queftion any par- Future ticular thing done by them, as, for example, Parlia-
, 9 r \ l ment may
what was in progrels at that moment, but qUeftk>n might alfo revoke and repeal all the acts and Paft- ftatutes which they had parTed. And the rea- fon thereof was evident and plain. For they fat not there in their own right, but were fent thither, and entrufted by the whole kingdom ; the knights being chofen by the feveral coun- ties, and the reft by the feveral cities and towns. And, for that which was objected by the fame worthy gentleman oppofite, that, there being divers others in the Houfe who were not there when the words were fpoken, therefore the Houfe un- Houfe was not the fame, he (Sir Simonds ^abftnce D'Ewes) faid confidently that the Houfe wasormem- the fame to all intents and purpofes, not only bers- quoad pot 'eft 'at em , but quoad notionem alfo; for of courfe he affumed there muft be a perfect agreement as to what the words were that were fpoken, before they could proceed to a cenfure of them. Whereupon, as though remember- ing his own abfence at the extraordinary fcene, he thus proceeded :
" And truly they may well be excufed that D'Ewes's <c were abfent out of this Houfe at midnight, awLce at <f for it was about that time on Monday night midnight " laft when thefe words were fpoken; and I°fMon" iC do as much wonder that fo many in this " Houfe mould object that the fpeaking of <c words is not an action, when that old verfe ic affures us of the contrary — c Quatuor et fC c dentes et duo labrafimul, &c.' And more " ftrange it feems to me alfo, that when this " worthy gentleman himfelf (and I pointed to
34°
The Grand Remonfirance.
Would have Palmer fpeak.
D'Ewes proud of his logic.
Palmer's friends prevent his riling.
A divilion called for.
Hyde moves addition
" Mr. Palmer) hath fo often flood up, him- "felf, to fpeak, fo many fhould hinder him ; " for if they will not let him fpeak by way of " anfwering, yet let him fpeak by way of " fpeaking. — Some laughed at this, thinking I " had been miftaken ; but I proceeded and <f told them, that I mould be forry to fpeak " anything in that Houfe which I could not <fmake good logic of; and therefore I ftill u prefTed, that if we would not let him fpeak tc by way of anfwering, that is by coacliion <c and as a delinquent, then let him fpeak by " way of fpeaking, that is Jermoni libero et/pon- " taneo. And who knows," concluded the precife and learned orator, u but that he may <c give much fatisfaction to this Houfe by his " fpeaking ? And therefore, Sir, I defire that " he may be heard."
The defire of the worthy SirSimonds, how- ever, failed to convince Mr. Palmer's friends of the expediency of yielding thereto. In vain the Speaker renewed the proportion that the member for Stamford mould be heard. In vain was it urged that no man was entitled to object becaufe none knew what he would fay. The objectors flood fo firm, that it became clear it would have to come to a division, and Hyde and Culpeper violently called out to divide. Palmer withdrew into the Committee Chamber, and the Speaker put the queftion — As many as are of opinion that Mr. Palmer fhall be required to anfwer to the charge laid againfl him, let them fay Aye. "But then," interpofes D'Ewes, " Mr. Palmer's friends " would have had thefe words to have been
§ xx. Delate on Palmer s Prolefi. 341
<f added to the queftion, namely, c for words t? quef- (C f by him fpoken on Monday night laft;' " but we that thought Mr. Palmer deferved <c to be queftioned, would not agree to that <c addition. Whereupon it came to a divifion ic upon the queftion."
The tellers appointed on the one fide were Hyde and Sir Frederick Cornwallis, and on the other Sir Thomas Barrington and Sir Martin Lumley, the member for Eflex. The Ayes went out, and proved to be but 146 ; the Defeated Noes (of whom D'Ewes was one) fat ftill, and^^2 were 192. It being directed, upon this, that Hyde's addition mould not be made, Sir Robert Hatton, the member for Cattle Rifing, and a determined royalift, jumped up to fpeak againft: the other queftion ; but Mr. Speaker interrupted and told him he was out of order, for he could not now fpeak until the queftion had been put. It was put accordingly, the fame tellers being original appointed on both fides; and the Ayes (of queftion whom D'Ewes was one) going out, were 1 90, "r"te0 Y whereas the Noes, fitting ftill, were but 142. 14*- It was thereupon immediately ordered, that Mr. Palmer fhould be required to fpeak ; and being called down from the Committee Cham- ber, in which he had remained fince before the firft divifion, he was informed by the Speaker Palmer that the Houfe required him to make anfwer required to the charge laid againft him. ° pe
He prefently arofe, and, profefling his inno- cency as to the particular matter alleged, made relation of fome foregoing pafifages. That when, upon the vote being determined that the Declaration fhould pafs, a motion was
342. The Grand Remonftrance .
His de- made by Mr. Peard that it fhould be printed, fence. divers protected againft it ; and that himfelf defired alio to have his proteftation entered, againft the printing but not the paffing ; and that when, afterwards, it was moved that the names of fuch as had protected might be entered, he being unfatisfied, and defiring it might be debated firft whether fuch a proteftation might be made or not, wifhed a day to be appointed for that end, and thereupon defired that his own name, and the names of the reft who had protefted, might be entered by the Clerk. And that, Mr. Hampden thereupon afking him, den's how he knew other men's minds, he anfwered, queftion. becaufe he had heard others defire their names to be entered, and heard them cry " All, all." But for the other words charged upon him, that he had protefted cc in the name of himfelf and fc the reft," he declared he did not remember that he had fpoken them. But he was very Apology, fenfible of his own misfortune, and forry for having given that occasion to the Houfe to quef- tion him. And fo, having ended, he withdrew again into the Committee Chamber. White_ Bulftrode Whitelocke, member for Marlow,
locke and a perfonal friend of Palmer's, though him-
Palmer5 ^ a ^*uPPorter °f ^Q Remonftrance, rofe immediately after to confirm generally, by his own recollection, the fubftance of the ftatement juft made : but the hour was now late, it hav- ing long ftruck four, and it had grown fo dark Mr. that the Speaker was no longer able to difcern
Speaker wj10 fj-00d up# Cries from both fides became
cannot lee ■> , r r ,. ,1
hon. loud for an adjournment, and order was accor- members. dingly made that the further confideration of
§ xxi. Palmer's Punijloment and SubmiJJion. 343
Mr. Palmer's offence mould be renamed at tti\ Subjeft o'clock the next morning. Dark as it was, torbe ,
._ relumed
however, the Houfe was not allowed to rue to- until the indefatigable Mr. Pym had obtained morrow, direction for a committee, confiding of him- felf, Mr. Denzil Hollis, and others, to take examinations of divers Irifhmen* then in the ferjeant's cuftody, fufpected of privity in the late horrible defign ; and his purpofe in fo demanding this immediate committee was, that thofe who on examination might be found not fairly obnoxious to fufpicion might at once be difmilTed. Through all the frequent con- Adjourn- fpiracies and dangers of this troubled time, the ™e^ at reins of authority feized by the Houfe were 4-3o! held with a firm, yet wife and temperate, hand ; and no {train upon the liberty of the fubject that could be fafely fpared, was countenanced or permitted by its great leader %
h
§ xxi. Palmer's Punishment and Submission.
On Thurfday, the 25th of November, the Tenth ^ Speaker took the chair at ten o'clock ; but Mr. Thurfday, Solicitor St. John interpofed before the re-25thNov- fumption of Palmer's bufinefs, to obtain leave to bring in a fhort bill for the levy of tonnage and poundage, and after him Denzil Hollis rofe to remind the Houfe of that fuereeftion of Petl
op to a^
the worthy member fitting below him by the pany
* " He hoped alfo," the liberal leader told the Houfe on this occafion, " that they had the woman in hold who had " conveyed letters into Ireland."
tion to accom-
544
T/ie Grand Remonftrance .
Remon- itrance.
Referred to Com- mittee.
Tonnage and
Poundage bill.
Palmer's debate called for.
bar (defignating Pym) which had found favour on Monday night, to accompany the Remon- ftrance by a Petition to his Majefty ; as to which he moved accordingly that fome might be appointed to draw this Petition, in fuch manner as to mow what had neceffitated them to make their Declaration. Some little debate enfued hereon, and ended in the adoption of Hollis's motion that the Petition mould be prepared and prefented by the fame committee that had drawn the Declaration ; to which was added an order, on the motion of Sir Gilbert Gerrard, member for Middlefex, that they mould include in the faid Petition a form of congratulation for his Majefty's fafe return from Scotland, which mould alfo be prefented to him in the name of the Houfe.
D'Ewes had left his place while Hollis was fpeaking, and when he returned to it, between eleven and twelve o'clock, he found the Solici- tor-General preffing his bill of tonnage through the neceffary ftages to obtain its enactment before the exifting bill mould expire. After this, fome other bufinefs of moment prefented itfelf, but members grew impatient for the conclufion of the debate refpecting Palmer; and on the motion of Sir Robert Cook, who fat for Tewkefbury, and who urged with fome vehemence the propriety of not delaying cen- fure in a matter affecting the high privileges of the Houfe, that fubjecl: was refumed. <f We <c then," fays D'Ewes, <c proceeded before c< twelve of the clock with the debate and <f confederation touching Mr. Palmer's offence. 11 .That held till about three of the clock in
§ xxi. Palmer's Punifhment and Submijfion. 345
cc the afternoon, before we proceeded to debate " of his punifhment."
The fubftance of the fpeeches on either fide will fufficiently indicate the character of the early part of the debate. In aggravation it Speeches was infifted on, that as to the particular °*j either matter, Palmer's great ability in his profeffion, his very temperatenefs of nature in the general, and the fact of his being a gownfman, much increafed his offence. " That after the firft " diftemper of the Houfe was well pacified " which arofe about the proteftation-making, " he, by his new motion to have a protefta- <c tion entered in his own name and the name cc of all the reft, did again raife the flame to in aggra- <c fuch an heighth, as, if God had not pre- va*10n ol
offence
iC vented it, murder and calamity might have
(C followed thereupon, and this parliament
<c with our pofterity and the kingdom itfelf
cc might have been deftroyed. For, upon
<c Mr. Palmer's faid motion, fome waved their scene it
IC hats, and others took their fwords with the had occa-
<c fcabbards out of their belts and held them
cc in their hands." On the other fide, in
extenuation, it was urged, that Palmer had in
no refpect forfeited his reputation as a fober,
learned, and moderate man. That his only
intent in the motion he made was to put an
end to the particular night's debate, it being
fo far fpent ; and to put off to a further day in ex-
the difpute of the queftion whether the mem- tenuation
, V 1 tt r • 1 n or ortence.
bers or that Houie might protelt or not. There had been an earneft offer to proteft on the part of Mr. Hyde, then a motion to take names by others, and then Palmer moved in
346
The Grand Remonftrance.
Inter- ference of Hampden,
Palmer's previous fervice.
Delays reforted
Refolu- tion of majority to punilh.
Gravity of the aft at- tempted ;
the name of himfelf and all others of his mind ; but whether this was to proteft, or to take names, was yet a queftion. Afterwards, in- deed, Palmer was questioned by Mr. Hampden, and he flood up, and the Houfe cried, "All, cc all." But there was no proof that he had an intention to raife any heat or combultion. He had done very good fervice in the Houfe, and particularly in the enquiries into foreft abufes, where he occupied the chair ; and he was entitled to have that remembered now. Some, however, went ftill further in extenua- tion, and others even juftified what he had done to be no offence at all.
The afternoon wore away in fuch debate, but it was in vain that Palmer's friends ex- hausted every refource to avert what they too plainly felt muft inevitably come. The popu- lar leaders were not to be turned from their purpofe. The offence committed, and the perfon committing it, were of no ordinary kind. The offence {truck at the very fource and foundation of the power of the Houfe, breaking down all the barriers which old ufage and cuftom had thrown up, to keep before the people fole and intact:, no matter what their internal divifions might be, the authority and influence of the Commons. The offender in himfelf reprefented a new and powerful party, bred within the Houfe itfelf, who would have entered through the breach fo made, and turned that very influence and authority to the fecret fervice of the King. Palmer's fuccefs would have divided the Houfe againft itfelf; into a Minority claiming to be free from undue {train
§ xxi. Palmer's Puni/Jmient and Submijfion. 347
and prefTure upon their conferences, oppofed to place to a Majority claiming predominance incom- ™°"2- patible with the exercife of individual rights, jority. and coercing free deliberation. Once admit fuch division, all the votes of the part year would lofe their claim to continued refpect,* and the Sovereign would again be uncontrolled. No jot would Pym and Hampden confent to abate, therefore, from what was ftrictly necef- fary to fingle out and fet aiide what Palmer had done, as matter of high and weighty cenfure. But they did not go beyond it. Punifh- Thev demanded his committal to the Tower menjd,e" until due fubmiffion and retractation were made.
Some indeed were eager to have gone farther, demanding his expulfion ; but none of the great names on the liberal fide appear among thefe, who were in truth led by the very man, Sir John Hotham, whom Claren- H°tha™ don reprefents as moft oppofed to what the f(
tor ex-
leading men defired as to himfelf. Sir Robert puliion.
'£>
Cook, the member for Tewkefbury, would
* Clarendon occafionally, to \ife an expreffion of his own, Clarendon " lets himfelf" loofe" {Hift. i. 7 : as if, to quote Warburton's " letting Ihrewd comment on the phrafe, he were fpeaking againft his himfelf duty when he cenfures the Crown) ; and there is a remarkable loofe." and moft weighty paffage in his Hijlory (ii. 252), in which he Hijl. ii. diftinclly admits that it was the King's habit to confent to 252. particular meafures (in this cafe he is lpeaking of the bill for taking away the legiflative power of the bifhops) from an opinion that what he held to be the violence and force ufed in procuring them, rendered them abfolutely invalid and void, and " made the confirmation of them lefs confidered, as not " being of ftrength to make that acl: good, which was in "itfelf null. And I doubt," he adds, " this logic had an " influence upon other a£ts of no lefs moment than thefe." Thofe are furely very fignificant and pregnant words. See ante, p. 155.
of Palmer.
Strang
348 The Grand Remonftrance.
have had the offender not only fentenced to Speeches the Tower, but turned out of the Houfe as by friends well : whereupon Sir John Strangways got up and reminded that worthy member, that as he had been fworn fince the laft Lord Steward fur-rendered his ftaff, fome doubts exifted how far there was any legal commiflion to fwear him,* and perhaps he might himfelf, by the ftatute 2 1 ft of James, be turned out of the Houfe before Mr. Palmer. The member for ways and Southwark, Mr. Bagfhaw, rofe next, and, as a Bagmaw. brother barrifter of Palmer's, took the liberty to doubt whether, having denied the fadt charged, he was fit to be fentenced ; feeing that the charge had really not yet been proved by any one man, and all judges mould go Jeciindum allegata et -probata. But Palmer found a more effective advocate in Mr. John Crew, the member for Brackley. Crew Crew, a man of great fortune, and of prin-
ciple as firm and unaffailable as he was gene- rally moderate in fpeech (it was by his help chiefly that Vane and Cromwell were able fubfequently to pafs the Self-Denying Ordi- nance), had voted uniformly with Pym and Hampden throughout the debates on the Remonftrance,-)- and he now thought that the
Pembroke * Three days fubfequent to this, an order was made to
Lord move the Lords to join with the Commons in moving his
Steward. Majefty " to appoint the Earl of Pembroke Lord Steward of
" his Majefty's houfehold : for that this Houfe is deprived of
" certain members, by reafon there is no Lord Steward, to
" give or authorife the giving of the oaths of allegiance and
" iupremacy."
Crew at f ^ 's worth mention, perhaps, that in the famous treaty
Uxbridee. °^ Uxbridge, nearly four years after this date, Crew was one
of the commiflioners on the fide of the Parliament, with
comes to rescue
§ xxi. Palmer's Punifhment and Submijfion. 349
juftice of the cafe, which he considered to have Suggefts been fully admitted, would be fatisfied fuffi- beyp^riand ciently by fuch admonimment as the Speaker Speaker, {landing in his place might then and there adminifter. For himfelf, he would interpret things doubtful ever in the beft fenfe ; and he could not forget fuch fervice as Mr. Palmer had heretofore rendered to the caufe which in this late matter had received fome offence from him. " Sir," continued this difcreet and temperate advocate, "though none can plead fc his merits to excufe a fault, yet if I have Reminds "received many favours from a man that p7wr\f u now doth me injury, I fhall not forget fervices. cc thofe benefits, but be the willinger to for- " get the injury, and the rather in this place, <c becaufe we have power to punifh our own cc members when they offend, but not to cf reward them when they do well." It was impoffible that fuch an appeal as this fhould fail of effect ; but the effect was in a great degree removed by a fpeech in which Waller Waller meant to have followed up the advantage, but, °,^elame in his lively audacious way, feeking to pleafe both fides, fatisfied neither, and almoft wholly loft what Crew had gained. He de/ired the Houfe not to permit a man's fuccefs to be lefs d;f the proof of his delinquency. All their punimments were but the Tower and the Bar, and thofe were great punimments, when they were inflicted for great offences. But the cuf- tom had arifen, both within and without thofe
Geoffrey Palmer oppofed to him on the King's fide. See Clarendon, Hift. iii. 37, 76, and 90.
creet.
35°
The Grand Remonftrance.
Too many penalties for {mail offences.
Do not punifli temper- ance.
Anger of Hotham.
Suggef- tion by- Sir Ralph Hopton.
walls, of punifhments difproportioned to the offence. In former days, while Queen Eliza- beth reigned, a check from the Council Table, or a fentence in the Star Chamber, was of fuch repute that none efteemed men who were fo checked or fentenced : but what was it their Remonftrance had juftly taken exception to ? Of late thefe punifhments had been in- flicted for fuch fmall offences, that all men did rather value and efteem thofe as martyrs who fuffered in that way, than difefteem them for it. He adjured them, therefore, to let no man be punifhed for temperance, left they fhould feem to punifh virtue. — The refult of which homily, by one whofe great wit and parts had brought Rimfelf fuch fmall efteem, may perhaps be meafured by what followed immediately after. Sir John Hotham declared that if by the rules of the Houfe any greater cenfure than expulfion and the Tower could be laid upon the offender, he would gladly go higher than even thofe. Happily the ma- jority were not of that opinion.
"This laft debate," fays D'Ewes, "held <c till paft four, at which time I withdrew out " of the Houfe. When I returned again, the cc debate was, which of the two queftions " fhould be put firft : whether for his fending iC to the Tower, or for his being expelled " out of the Houfe." Upon this, Sir Ralph Hopton, member for Wells, afterwards fo confpicuous on the King's fide in the war as <{ Hopton of the Weft," appears to have taken the lead. He moved that the queftion of fending to the Tower fhould be firft put ;
§ xxi. Palmer's Punifliment and Submiflion. 351
becaufe, he argued, if that for expulfion were put firft, being the greater, the judgment of the Houfe would be paffed by it, and then the leffer queftion could not be put. Such a point Replied mooted as this rarely failed to call up D'Ewes. J?,ty He rofe accordingly, and craved leave rather to fpeak to the orders of the Houfe than to the order of putting the queftions. In refpect of the remarks which had been laft made, he wondered to hear fuch from an ancient parlia- ment man ; for it was not the putting and voting of one, two, three, or four queftions there, that made the judgment of the Houfe. ce That, Sir," continued the precife SirSimonds, ufages of <c is to be pronounced by yourfelf, our Speaker, theHoufe. cc to whom we direct our fpeeches ; and then, cc and not till then, is the judgment of this " Houfe pad." He added that, if they could not agree which of the two queftions fhould be parTed firft, for his part he fhould be content to have them parTed together.
The refult is thus fuccinctly recorded by the fame veracious and confcientious witnefs. " Others fpake after me, and the contention Queftions " which queftion fhould be firft put was again Put: cc fet on foot : till at laft it was refolved, by " queftion, that the matter touching Mr. <c Palmer's going to the Tower fhould be firft tc determined; and thereupon the Speaker did <c firft put this queftion — As many as are of shall " opinion that Mr. Palmer fhould be fent to Palmer be "the Tower, there to remain during the Tower ? <c pleafure of the Houfe, let them fay Aye. <c Upon which followed a great affirmative ; cc and the queftion being put negatively, there
3 $2 The Grand Remonji 'ranee.
" were many Noes : whereupon there followed
et a divifion of the Houfe, and the Speaker
<f appointed Sir Thomas Barrington and Sir
Yes: by <c John Clotworthy tellers for the Ayes, of
169 to << which I was one, and we went out and were
tc in number 169 ; the tellers appointed for
" the Noes, who flayed in the Houfe, being
" the Lord Falkland and Mr. Strangways"
(the member for Bridport), "and the number
(C of them was 128. Then the Speaker put
<f the fecond queftion, namely — As many as
" are of opinion that Mr. Palmer mail be
" expelled from being a member of this Houfe
l( during this parliament, let them fay Aye.
Shall he " Upon which followed a lefTer affirmative
be ex" <( than formerly; and upon the negative, a
" greater number of Noes. The Houfe was
cc again divided, and the fame tellers appointed
<c both for the Ayes and Noes as before. I
" was an Aye, and the Ayes went out again,
cc and were in number 131. The Noes that
No: by {< continued in the Houfe were 163. And fo
163 to cc jyrr> palmer efcaped expulfion out of the
Cf Houfe, which his offence had defer ved in a
<c high meafure. We appointed to meet to-
Houi'e c< morrow morning by ten of the clock, and
adjourns, << {Q t[ie Houfe rofe between fix and feven of
" the clock at night."
On the next day, Friday the 26th of No- vember, Palmer, "in his barrifter's gown," Friday, appeared at the Bar to receive fentence ; and, 26th Nov. kneeling there, was informed by Mr. Speaker fppTareat tnat the judgment awarded to his offence was Bar. committal to the Tower during the pleafure of the Houfe. To the Tower he was com-
§ xxi. Palmer's Punifhment and SubmiJJion. 353
mitted accordingly, and there remained until is com- Wednefday the 8th of December; on the mitted- morning of which day "the humble petition " of Geoffrey Palmer was read, wherein he ff did acknowledge his offence and the juftice 1 c of the Houfe, and his forrow that he had 8th Dec. cc fallen into its difpleafure ; " upon which an Sei?d.s In order paffed for the difcharge of Mr. Palmer ^jd j° from his imprifonment in the Tower. releafed.
As to this fubmiffion of his friend, Claren- don is wholly filent ; and, in fo far as the fin of fuppreffion may be lefs than that of deliberate falfification, the circumftance fhould perhaps be mentioned to his praife. He alfo uncon- Refults of fcioufly renders tribute to the fagacity and Pa'mer's fteadinefs of purpofe with which the leaders ^ent. had purfued and obtained their object in thefe long and paffionate debates, when he fays, that, having compaffed their main end, they found the fenfe of the Houfe more at their devotion from that time, and admits that the minority grew fo caft down and dejected, that the lead- ing men ever after met no equal oppofition ciaren- within its walls. But in every other point of 4°"'s.. thefe later, as of the earlier proceedings, every 61-62. fingle fentence he utters is a misftatement. He fays there was not the leafl doubt that there never had been any precedent for calling series of a member to account for words fpoken except misftate- at the moment of their utterance : Whereas mer D'Ewes's precedents have been feen. He fays that, after two hours' debate, additional delays and bitternefs were only fpared by Palmer's own voluntary offer that to fave the Houfe farther trouble he might anfwer and withdraw :
354
The Grand Remonfirance.
Whereas the anfwer was only given upon com-
pulfion, after a formal divifion had left no
Alleged alternative. He fays that the real fecret of
ground of the hoftility difplayed to Palmer, and the reafon
hoftihtyto , . J * J rr i • i 11 i •
Palmer. wrly tne angry men preiied with all their power
that he might be expelled the Houfe, was that
they had borne him a long grudge for the
civility he mowed as one of the managers in
the profecution of the Earl of Strafford, in
that he had not ufed the fame reproachful
language which the others had done : Whereas
No truth the men mofl eager to protect Palmer were
t erem. notorioufly thofe who, like Culpeper, Falkland,
and even Hyde himfelf, had mown lead mercy
or forbearance to Strafford. Finally he fays,*
that in the clofe of the day, when the divifion
was taken againft Palmer, and on the rifing of
the Houfe, an order was obtained, without
much oppofition, for the printing of the Remon-
Falfe ftrance : Whereas two days were occupied by
averment the Palmer debate, and not even an attempt was
* I give the entire paffage, taking it up from where the paffage previously quoted (ante, p. 336) ends. As he there mentions, he had appealed to the Houfe whether there was Clarendon any precedent of the like : " and there is no doubt," he con- HiJI. ii. tinues, " there never had been ; and it was very irregular. 48-9. " But they were too pofitively refolved to be diverted ; and,
" after two hours debate, he himfelf defired, ' that to fave the " ' Houfe farther trouble, he might anfwer and withdraw' — M which he did. When it drew towards night, after many " hours debate, it was ordered that he mould be committed " to the Tower ; the angry men preifing with all their power, " that he might be expelled the Houfe : having borne him a " l°.ng gnidge, for the civility he mowed in the profecution " of the Earl of Strafford ; that is, that he had not ufed the " fame reproachful language which the others had done . . . " And in the clofe of that day, and the rifing of the Houfe, " without much oppofitidh, they obtained an order for the " printing their Remonfirance."
§ xxn. Debate on Petition. 35 c
made during either to fmuggle in any order for as to the printing. When it was done, it was done PnntinS- openly, butthe time for it was even yet not come. Such are the deliberate averments of Cla- rendon ; and fuch in each cafe the complete difproof which a fimple statement of the fad: enables me to give.
3i '
xxn. Petition to accompany Remon- strance.
Saturday, the 27th of November, was the Eleventh day named for reception of the report of the ^ thNov Committee appointed to draw the Petition to the King ; defigned, in accordance with Pym's fuggeftion, to accompany the Remonftrance. It was ufhered in by threatening omens. Charles was now arrived from Scotland, and had King's been received with magnificent entertainment arrival, in the City, on the previous Thurfday. He had returned afterwards to Whitehall in fuch elation and excitement as rarely was witneffed in him ; between that evening and the following day, when he proceeded to Hampton Court, had given Nicholas the feals which were held by impolitic Windebank ; had deprived old Vane (whofe a<5ls- Treafurer's ftafF had been taken from him at York) of his Secretaryfhip ; had feen privately Culpeper, Falkland, and "Ned Hyde;" had directed a proclamation to be ifTued for more Order as implicit obedience to the laws eftablifhed for ^° Reh" the exercife of religion ; and had given order for the immediate difmiflal of thofe Trained Bands employed upon guard at the twoHoufes, which, as we have feen, upon the receipt or
A A 2
356
The Grand Remonjirance.
ment difmified
Excite- ment in Houfe.
Guard to Hampden's difpatch out of Scotland an- nouncing the plots againft the leaders of the Covenant, had been ordered up for their pro- tection, and fince had guarded them by night and day.* He had alfo taken the refolution, though the act was deferred for yet a few days, to remove Col. Balfour from the command of the Tower, and to appoint Col. Lunsford in his place. The temper of the Houfe at fuch report as had reached them of thefe incidents was not flow in revealing itfelf.
Prayers had juft been faid when Hampden rofe in his place ; made a ftatement as to a Buckinghamfhire papift, one Adam Courtney, fufpecled of connivance in the plot now proved againft the King's officers to bring up the Hampden Army to overawe the Parliament ; and, pro- fpeakmg. Cueing the minute pieces and fragments of certain letters which Courtney had torn up on his arreft, defired that they mould be deciphered by the army committee then fit- ting, by whom alfo the delinquent could be
Queftion * The order had been given by the King on the evening
as to of his arrival, Thurfday, the 25th. Early on Friday morning
Guard. Pym reported to the Houfe that, whereas, heretofore, a Guard had been fet, at the defire of the Commons, in refpecl of the multitude of foldiers, and other loofe perfons, infefting the precinfrs of Weftminfter, and was afterwards continued by both Houfes, and the Lord Chamberlain [EfTex], who had a commiflion to be Lord General on this fide Trent, took a care concerning the fame ; but now, upon His Majefty's return, he hath furrendered his commiflion, and the Lords have re- ceived a meflage from his Majefty, to be communicated to King's both Houfes, " that the Guard, that had been let in his ab- meflao-e, " fence, perhaps was done upon good grounds, but now his " prefence is a furhcient guard to his people ; and therefore " it is his pleafure they lhould be difcharged ; and, if need be " to have a Guard hereafter, his Majelty will be as glad to " have a Guard as any other,"
§ xxii. Petition to accompany Remonjlrance. 357
brought up from Aylefbury gaol and ex- amined. After him rofe Mr. Oliver Crom- Oliver well, to call attention to a grofs flander againft Cromwe11- the Houfe of which he held the proofs in his hand, and by which it feemed that <{ one " whom he named not left he mould with- li draw himfelf " had given out that the principal members had been alarmed on feeing the intended City entertainment to his Majefty announced, and had fent privately to the faid City to induce them not to entertain him. After Cromwell, Mr. Strode prefented himfelf, to move that fome courfe might be Suggeftion taken for putting the kingdom in a pofture !-or c
• i*ii r ill r>- *ence °*
of defence, in which he was feconded by Sir kingdom. Thomas Barrington and Sir Walter Earle ; and, upon the fuggeftion of the fame active member, a committee of feven was named to draw up the whole proof of the firft defign to bring up the Army to overawe the Houfe, and to prepare for introduction at the next lifting a bill for the "future commanding of " the Arms and the Trained Bands of the "kingdom." The member for Beeralfton Referred alfo moved that reafons mould at once be pre- toCom- fented to his Majefty for the continuance of the Guard over both Houfes,* and that thefe
* This was on Saturday ; and on the morning of the fol- Tuefday,, lowing Tuefday, the 30th of November, Pym prefented thofe 20thNov. reafons in a remarkable report which fliows how thoroughly exifting dangers were appreciated, and how much was thus early fufpefted of the King's moft cherifhed defign. Already, in a fecond reply to a further petition on the fubjecl: of the con- Kind's tinuance of the Guard, his Majefty had all but confeffed his cJefia-n as purpofe of gathering an armed force around his perfon. So to Guard, tender was he of the Parliament's fafety, he protelted, "that to " fecure them, not only from real, but even imaginary dangers,
358 The Grand Remonftrance.
mould be drawn by the fame committee to whom it had been referred to prepare the Petition to accompany the Remonftrance.
Perfonal " lie had commanded the Earl of Dorfet to appoint fome of reafons. " the Trained Bands to wait upon the Parliament for a few " days; in which time, if he mould be fatisfied that there is " jult reafon, he would continue them, and likewife take l'uch " a courfe for the fafety of his own perfon as mould be fit." Qmetly dilregarding this intimation, Pym's report was an elaborate expofition of reafons for continuing the exifting Pym's Guard, under their own officers. It adverted to the great counter number of diforderly, fufpicious, and defperate peribns, reafons elpecially of the Irifh nation, lurking in obfcure alleys and victualling houfes in the fuburbs and other places near Lon- don and Weftminfter. It defcribed the jealoufy conceived upon difcovery of the defign in Scotland, for the furpriiing of the perfons of divers of the nobility, members of the parlia- ment there, which had been spoken of here, fome few days before it broke out, not without fome whifpering intimation that the like was intended againjl divers perfons of both Houfes : which had found the more credit, by reafon of the former attempt of bringing up the army, to difturb and enforce this Plots in parliament. It enlarged upon the confpiracy in Ireland, and pro°refs. indicated the alarming evidence exifting that fomething of the like was defigned in England and Scotland. It hinted at divers advertifements coming at the fame time from beyond fea, " that there fliould be a great alteration of religion in England " in a few days, and that the necks of both the parliaments " fhould be broken." It inftanced the recent divers examina- tions and dangerous fpeeches of the popifh and difcontented party ; and the fecret meetings and consultations of the papifts in feveral (hires and diftricts. And its authors con- cluded that for thefe considerations a Guard was neceflary ; for they did conceive there was juft caufe to apprehend that there was fome wicked and mifchie<vous praclice fill in hand Attack on to interrupt the peaceable proceedings of the parliament. Nor Parlia- lefs neceflary did they coniider it that the Earl of EiTex fliould ment be continued in the command. " For preventing whereof it
expected. " is fit the Guard fliould be continued under the fame com- u mand, or fuch other as they fliould choofe; but to have it " under the command of any other, not chofen by themfelves, " they can by no means confent to ; and will rather run any " hazard, than admit of a precedent fo dangerous both to this " and future parliaments. And they humbly leave it to his " Majefty to confider whether it will not be fit to fuffer his Unfafe " High Court of parliament to enjoy thatprivilege of providing without " for their own fafety, which was never denied other inferior
§ xxii. Petition to accompany Remonftrance. 359
After this the Houfe went into committee on the Tonnage and Poundage bill, with Mr. Lifle, the member for Winchester (he who afterwards fat on the King's trial), in the Clerk's chair ; and on the Speaker's refump- Remon- tion of his feat, between one and two o'clock ftrance mid-day, Pym entered with the Petition juft brought named in his hand. He craved permiffion in. at once to be permitted to read it ; and hav- ing done this, it was handed over to the Clerk, who " loudly and deliberately " read it over again.
It was to the effect that his Maiefty's faith- Abftraft ful Commons did with much thankfulnefs and contents. joy acknowledge the great mercy and favour of God, in giving his Majefty a fafe and peaceable return out of Scotland into his king- dom of England, where the preffing dangers and diftempers of the State had caufed them, with much earneftnefs, to defire the comfort of his gracious prefence, to help the endea- Why^ vours of his Parliament for the averting of '";fn^e that ruin and difafter with which his king- defired. doms at this time were threatened. For having convinced themfelves of the existence of a malignant party who had accefs to his perfon and councils, and whofe unceafing en- Zeal of deavours were to difcredit his Parliament and ™} coun"
r 1 • 1 u lellors.
to create a faction among his people, they had, for the prevention thereof, and the better
" Courts : and that he will be pleafed gracioufly to believe, their own " that they cannot think, themfelves fafe under any Guard, of Guard. " which they (hall not be allured that it will be as faithful in " defending his Majefty's fafety as their own; whereof they " lhall always be more careful than of their own."
360 The Grand Remonjirance.
information in fundry important particulars of Declara- his Majefty, the Peers, and all other his fub- tionpre- je(5];Sj been neceffitated to make a Declaration of the ftate of the kingdom as well before as after the meeting of the parliament now afTembled. Before fubmitting which, they to point defired frankly to point out with what danger out dan- to the country, and grievous affliction to all state and loyal dwellers therein, the practice was at- King. tended of placing in employments of truft and nearnefs about his Majefty, the Prince, and the reft of his Royal children, active members of the malignant party before mentioned, favourers in all refpects of popery, and mere engineers or factors for Rome ; fince it was by fuch, to the fore difcontent of his loyal fubjects, that divers of his bifhops, and others in prime places of the Church, had been cor- rupted. They juftified their right to give this warning, by the diftractions and fuffer- Why fuch ings fo caufed ; by the continual tamperings necefiuv Wlt^ tne army m England ; by the miferable incidents and jealoufies in Scotland ; by the papift infurrection, and moft bloody maflacre, in Ireland ; and by the great necefTities which had in confequence arifen for the King's fer- vice, impofing upon themfelves the talk of burdening the fubject for contributions to the extent of a million and a half fterling. Not diftantly pointing at the Queen, they then urgently entreat his Majefty not to fuffer any folicitation to the contrary " how power- Three t{ ful and near foever," to turn afide the three doling requefts with which they concluded. — (1.) That for the preferving the kingdom's peace
§ xxii. Petition to accompany Remonftrance. 361
and fafety from the defigns of the popifh party, his Majefty will, in regard to the bifhops,* concur with and fecond his people's -u humble defires in a parliamentary way f to To abridge their immoderate power ufurped over bifhopV the clergy ; to deprive them of their tern- power, poral jurisdiction in parliament ; to take away fuch opprefhons £ in religion, church govern- ment, and difcipline, as had been brought in and fomented by them ; and to abate their prefiure upon weak confciences by removing thofe oppreffions and unnecefTary ceremonies. n. (2). That the malignant and ill-affected be To re; removed from their places of influence, and counfei_ that in future his Majefty vouchfafe to em- lors. ploy near him, and in great public offices, only fuch perfons as his parliament had caufe to confide in. (3). That fuch lands in Ire- "i. land as may be forfeit to the Crown in J^fo?- confequence of the Rebellion, be not alienated feitures to from it, but applied to the public neceffities. Publlc — Which humble defires being fulfilled, the authors of the Remonftrance undertook, by the bleffing and favour of God,§ moft cheer- fully 4o undergo the hazard and expenfes of the war againft the Irifti rebels, and to apply themfelves to fuch other courfes and counfels
* A great attempt was made, as ftated in the text, but un- fuccefsfully, to limit the expreffion here to " divers of the " bifhops," as in a previous paffage.
f Thele words, " in a parliamentary way," were moved to be added after the Petition was brought in.
X The word "oppreffions" had originally flood " corrup- Changes " tions," and feems to have been changed on Mr. Coventry's propoied fuggcftion. in Peti-
§ " By the bleffing and favour of God " were words added, tion. upon fpecial motion, during the debate.
362 The Grand Remonjirance.
as might, with honour and plenty at home, with power and reputation abroad, support the Royal eftate, and, by their loyal affec- tions, obedience, and fervice, lay a fure and lafting foundation for the greatnefs of the King, and the happinefs of his pofterity in future times. Pym After the Clerk had fmifhed his reading,
aniwers fevera} members of Hyde's party ftated ob-
objections. . . ' *1 J
jechons ; "to whom," fays D'Ewes, "Mr. " Pym anfwered. Then Sir John Culpeper tc anfwered much of that Mr. Pym had faid, <f and made fome new objections. Mr. A point Cf Pym flood up again." But he was not of order, permitted to fpeak. Mr. Strangways rofe to order, many others rofe to order, and the inter- ruption was long and vehement. Hampden's Hampden authority at length again reftored fome quiet, quiet. upon his fuggefting that it would probably be found within the rules of the Houfe that Mr. Pym, being the reporter from the com- mittee which prepared the Petition, might fpeak more than once, and might anfwer all objections, Here was opportunity made for D'Ewes ; and that great matter of precedents, and voucher of records, was not flow to take D'Ewes advantage of it. He got up and faid that it explains was very true that the worthy gentleman at the Bar (indicating Mr. Pym), being the re- porter, might fpeak as often as occafion mould ferve ; and yet it was as true, alfo, that he might fpeak out of order. For, though he was at liberty to anfwer new objections that were made, yet, if thofe anfwers of his were replied upon, he was not at liberty to fpeak
ufage of Houfe
§ xxn. Petition to accompany Remonfirance. 363
again to thofe particular points to which he had fpoken before, by way of mere anfwer to him that did reply upon him. There was, however, no queftion but that the gentleman Culpeper on the other fide who firft interrupted him, did „not p ^ himfelf break the orders of the Houfe in doing fo ; becaufe it did not then appear whether the gentleman at the Bar would have anfwered any new objection, or would fimply have fpoken again to any of thofe particulars whereto <? * he had formerly fpoken. • <c The distinction I gave/' continues D'Ewes, " Well^ fC being well approved by the Houfe, and fome move 'c few having fpoken after me, the Speaker " directed Mr. Pym to fpeak again to any 'c new objection, but not to touch upon any <c thing to which he had formerly fpoken. " And fo he fpake again, and anfwered thofe pym <c new objections Sir John Culpeper had made. Culpeper. <c Others fpake alfo, after him, to the faid " Petition in general. Then others moved <c that it might be read over again, that fo " every particular might be debated ; which <c was at length agreed unto. So the Clerk <c read it again, and ftaid at every claufe Petition "awhile; and fo fome claufes were fpoken *";n . cc againft, and others were agreed unto without " any oppofition. In one part of it, we " alleged that the popifh and malignant party <c had corrupted divers of the bifhops with <c popery. In another part, that all the bifhops cc had exercifed ufurped authority. Where- J"^ jej" <l upon it was moved, by one or two, that we detail. " would not make the crimination general " here, but that we would put in the word
3^4
The Grand Remonjlrance.
D'Ewes
attacks bifhops.
Houfe adopt his views.
Further objections by Hyde :
and Mr. Coventry.
f c divers ' as we had done in the former place. f To which I flood up and anfwered, that c though fome of the bifhops were of them- 1 felves fo corrupt and bad as they could not c well be made worfe, yet the word ' divers ' c was necefTarily added in that claufe, becaufe c they were not all fo : this being but a per- c fonal crimination. But in the other claufe, f the complaint having reference to their pre- c latical jurifdiction, which was equally exer- f cifed by them all and defended and main- f tained by them all, we mould as much err c on the other hand to add the word f divers ' f in this place, as we ihould have done to c omit it in the former place."
This lucid argument of the correct and learned baronet was doubtlefs very favourably received, for the word fo much defired by Hyde and his friends was not allowed to limit the force of the fentence. But a further fland was attempted to be made againft the ufe of the words "corruptions" and " unnecefTary te ceremonies," in fpeaking of the neceffity of abating the immoderate power of the bifhops ; Hyde urging ftrongly that fuch words laid a fcandal upon the law itfelf, in fo characterizing a church difcipline it had eftablifhed. His friend Mr. Coventry alfo put another objec- tion, whether, feeing the intention was to have thofe particulars in the difcipline of the church altered by law, it was not quite out of rule to <( preoccupate " his Majefty with it beforehand. Surely, when the new church-regulation acts ihould have once parTed both Houfes, then it would be feafonable, and not before, to move
§ xxii. Petition to accompany Remonjirance. 365
his Majefty about it. This, however, again called up D'Ewes. He could not admit the Replied force of the objection taken. It was an old, p'Ewes. and he thought a wife ufage, when the means offered, to move the fovereign beforehand as to particulars propofed to be paffed by act of parliament. For, if the gentleman on the other fide who laft preffed it (c< and then I looked <f towards Mr. Coventry "), had but had time to perufe the Parliament Roll de an0. 2do. Ul'ges H. IV. no. 23, he would have found that the rq^0 fame courfe was then advifed upon : to the end that fo, by knowing the King's inclination beforehand, they might fave much time in avoiding to treat of particulars which there was no hope of obtaining his affent unto. And, holding that if it were ever needful to take that courfe to gain time, it was fo at this moment, he thought the word cc corruption " might very well fland. On the whole, how- ever, Pym feems to have thought differently ; Pym's whether or not from fome feeling of diftafte to modera- the logic employed, or to the fentiments ex- prefTed, by Sir Simonds : and "corruption"*
* Nevcrthelefs, and notwithstanding the change of this word, it is remarkable that in the anfwer which the King fent to the Petition (in which he ftigmatifes the Remonftrance as IT , "unparliamentary," and intimates his furprife that " our !,. fe " exprefs intimation by our Comptroller to that purpose," ^e ' 10n mould not have rellrained them from the publifhing of it till ~n fuch time as they mould have received his anfwer), he quotes, 0Ul ' not from the Petition as amended, but from fome copy of it which he had received in its original form. " Unto that " claufe," he fays, " which concerneth Corruptions (as you " ftyle them), in Religion, in Church Government, and in " Difcipline, and the removing of fuch unneceffary cere- " monies, &c." Again he fays, " We are very forry to hear " in fuch general terms, Corruption in religion objecled, &c."
366
The Grand Remonftrance.
having been withdrawn, and <c oppreffion " fubftituted, the Petition palled.
Tuefday, 30th Nov Petition engroffed.
Com- mittee named to wait on King.
Secret commu- nication with the Kincr.
§ xxiii. The King receives Remon- strance and Petition.
It now remained to prefent the Petition, and with it the Remonftrance it was defigned to accompany, to the King ; and with this view it was ordered to be engrofTed : direction being given that the Clerk mould alfo caufe two copies of the Remonftrance itfelf to be fair written, one for his Majefty to be prefented with the Petition, the other for the Lords ; and that the Committee for prefentingit fhould be named at the next fitting but one. On Tuefday, the 30th, it was accordingly moved that this committee fhould confift of twelve members ; and the twelve felected were, Sir Simonds D'Ewes ; Sir Arthur Ingram, mem- ber for Kellington ; Sir James Thinne, who
Now, in the Petition as published by the Houfe, it will be found that the claufe (lands expreflly as concerning " Oppreflions in " Religion, Church Government and Difcipline," and again as referring to " fome Oppreflions and unneceflary cere- " monies ;" bearing out and confirming exactly the narrative given in my text. This clearly exhibits that fecret communi- cation between the King and his friends in the Houfe which is the fubjecl of frequent allufion by D'Ewes. So, in a fubfe- quent debate in reference to the King's complaint of certain exprefllons in one of Pym's publifhed fpeeches (on Thurfday 24th March, 1641-2), Sir Edward Bainton, member for Chip- penham, who had been one of a deputation to the fovereignto prefent a meifage from the Houfe, " flared that he had gathered " from fome exprefTions of his Majefty that he had feen the " faid meflage before they gave it him." For further proofs on this point fee Arrejl of the Five Members, § xxii. The member of the Houfe to whom fuch unauthorifed communi- cations with the Court were brought molt directly home, was undoubtedly Mr. Edward Hyde.
$ xxiii. King Receives Remonftrance & Petition. 367
fat for Wiltshire ; Mr. Henry Bellafis, and Its mem- Lord Fairfax (Ferdinando), who both fat for Yorkshire ; Lord Grey of Groby, member for Leicefter, Earl Stamford's fecond fori, and here- after to fit among the regicides ; Sir Christo- pher Wray, who reprefented Great Grimfby, father-in-law of the younger Vane ; Sir John Corbet, member for Shropshire; Sir Richard Wynne, member for Liverpool, who held an office in the King's houfe ; and Sir Ralph Hopton, Sir Edward Dering, and Sir Arthur Hafelrig. There was here a liberal apportion- Several ment of thofe who, being known to have fr/enndss. oppofed the Declaration, were lefs likely to be unwelcome to the King ; and that the fame tendernefs on this point determined Pym to withdraw his own name, which appeared Pym among thofe firft felecled,* hardly admits of a^na^s doubt. The fame deference to the feelings of the Sovereign feems alfo to have fuggefted a refolution moved the next morning (when the Committee were in waiting in the Houfe to receive the Petition and Remonftrance, and repair therewith to Hampton Court) to the effect cc that Sir Edward Dering mould prefent Dering < f and read the Petition unto his Majefty." *°t^ to The Petition only was to be read, after which King. the Remonftrance was to be placed in his hands. Sir Edward Dering, however, pro- bably fufpecling that into much consideration for the King in this matter had entered not a little want of consideration for himfelf, quietly withdrew from the Houfe while the refolution
* See RuJJivuortk, vol. i. part iii. 4S6.
:68
The Grand Remonftrance.
Declines, and
Hopton chofen.
Thurfday, 2nd Dec. Hopton's report.
Reception
by
Charles.
Hopton reading Petition.
was in hand ; and upon difcovery of his ab- fence another order had to be fubftituted, cc that " Sir Ralph Hopton, in the abfence of Sir cf Edward Dering, fhall read the Petition and u prefent that and the Declaration unto his cc Majefty."
And fo, the Speaker calling to Sir Simonds D'Ewes to receive Petition and Remonftrance, to which Sir Simonds refponds by advancing from the lower end to the table, making three congees as he moves along, the Committee get pofleftion of their important charge, and betake themfelves to Hampton Court.
The next day, Thurfday the 2nd, Sir Ralph Hopton reported to the Houfe what had palTed at the interview. "With the exception of Sir Edward Dering, all the deputation affem- bled ;* and on arrival at the palace, the member for Liverpool, who had familiar entrance there- in, having announced them, they had to wait but a quarter of an hour before the King invited them to his chamber. Here they fank upon the knee, and in this pofture Sir Ralph began to read the Petition. But Charles would not have it fo ; and, making them all rife, liftened attentively as Sir Ralph proceeded; until he came to the paffage charging the ma- lignant party with a delign to change the efta- blifhed religion, when his Majefty fuddenly interrupted him, exclaiming with a great deal of fervency, ic The Devil take him, whom-
* D'Ewes has fubfequent occafion to refer in his Journal to the Remonftrance " prefented at Hampton Court by my- " felf and ten other members of the Houfe," which mows that the only defaulter in attendance, out of the twelve named, was Sir Edward Dering.
§ xxin. King Receives Remonftrance & Petition. 369
<c foever he be, that hath a defign to change interrup- " our religion ! " Then Sir Ralph refumed ; ^sby but, juft after reading the fentence towards the clofe about referving the difpofal of the rebels' lands in Ireland, his Majefty again broke in and was pleafed to fay, cc We muft not difpofe tc of the Bear's fkin till the Bear be dead." The Bear His Majefty, in fhort, was in excellent fpirits ; #^c fhowed none of his ufual fhort fharp ways ; (kin. and, after they had finifhed reading the Peti- tion and had placed the Remonftrance before him, feemed entirely difpofed to have fome familiar talk with the Committee. Its object, Commit- however, fpeedily revealed itfelf on his defiring ^oned- merely to alk the worthy members a few queftions touching this Remonftrance and the Petition they had read. Royalift as he was, Sir Ralph Hopton faw the danger, and made reply refpectfully that they had no commifTion to fpeak anything concerning the bufinefs. <c Then," the King quickly rejoined, cc you " may fpeak as particular men. Doth the"D°y°u 'c Houfe intend to -publijh this Declaration? " pubUfli?" But not fo were thofe ancient parliament men to be thrown off their guard ; and they an- fwered limply that they could give no anfwer to it. " Well then," faid the King, " I fuppofe <c you do not expect me to anfwer now to fo 4C long a Petition. But this let me tell you, I 'c have left Scotland well, and in peace; they are King's " all fatisfied with me, and I with them ; and anfwer to " though I flayed longer there than I expected, " yet I think, if I had not gone, you had not <c been rid fo foon of the army. And as to <{ this bufinefs of yours, I fhall give you an
37° The Grand Remonft ranee.
Clofeof cc anfwer with as much fpeed as the weighti- interview. cc nefs of the bufmefs will permit." With
which he gave them his hand to kifs ; commit- ting them to the entertainment of his comp- troller, and the lodgment of his harbinger ; both being of the worthier!:. And Sir Ralph craved to conclude his report with faithful re- petition of the royal meflage which, juft as they were on the point of leaving the palace, Meflage was brought to them with requeft for its imme- departure. diate delivery to the Houfe of Commons : " That there might be no piblijliing of the De- <e claration till the Houfe had received his Ma- ' c jefiy ' s Anfwer. ' '
The reader will now judge to what extent the facts juftify Clarendon in itating, that, when it was finally refolved to publifh the Re- monftrance, this was done in violation of a compact or underftanding againft any fuch ftep until the King's anfwer was received. On the No pledge one ^e there was a ftrong wifh exprefled un- not to doubtedly, but on the other this wifh was met pu ' ' by neither compact nor underftanding. If indeed there were any violation in the cafe, it might more fairly be charged upon the King. He told the Committee that he did not at that time defign to anfwer their Remonftrance, yet there was hardly an act at this moment con- templated by him, or to which he had fet his Incite- hand fince his arrival in London, which did ments to not prac^jcally exprefs his anfwer. It was in
publica- r / r
tion. ins proclamation for obedience to the Jaws regulating worfhip ; in his order for the dif- mifTal of the City Guard over the Houfes ; in his direction that they mould in future be
§ xxiii. King Receives Remonftrance 13 Petition. 37 1
guarded by the bands of Weftminfter and Middlefex, officered by his own fervants ; and in his propofed removal of Balfour from the command of the Tower. Already he had ended all doubt as to the temper in which he had re- Hoftile turned ; and many to whom even the voting afts. of the Remonftrance had appeared of doubtful Houfe. expediency, now faw and admitted theneceffity of publishing it to the people. Manifestly had its promoters Succeeded in its firft defign at leaft ; for the challenge it threw down had been promptly taken up. If the King had been Sincere in his former profeffions of an in- tention to govern for the future within the limits of the laws he had himfelf afTented to, there was nothing in the Remonftrance to de- feat that intention ; but if he had any other deflre or purpofe as yet mafked, fuch was no King's longer maintainable. He never had a better purpofe opportunity than the prefent for betaking him- unma felf to parliamentary ways of aSTerting his power and prerogatives, but events were fpeedily to mow with what far other views he was now inviting into office two out of thofe three of the Houfe of Commons (calling alfo into fecret council the third) who had organifed and led Hyde and the new party of his friends within its walls, friends Something lefs than twelve days are to pafs 0^ce- before the debate which is to put finally before the people the Grand Remonftrance, and if the wifh ftill lingered with Hampden or with Pym to have been faved, if poffible, the necef- fity of that appeal, each day Supplied its argu- ment againft fuch a poffibility. I will felect but a few, from the manufcript records before
37 2 The Grand Remon ft ranee.
me, to mow with what refiftlefs march, as day followed day, the crifis came on.
§ xxiv. Retaliation and Revenge.
Tamper- The rumoured removal of Balfour from the command corrimand of the Tower was the firft direct of To^er. challenge to the Houfe. Balfour flood high in their confidence for his unfhaken fidelity in preventing the efcape of Strafford, whereas Clarendon himfelf admits * that Lunsford, felected to replace him, was a man of no edu- cation, of ill character, and of decayed and defperate fortune, who had been obliged, but a few years before, to avoid by flight into France the penalty of punifhment for a grave mifde- meanour. Such indeed was the feeling in the City aroufed by his appointment when, in lefs than three weeks from this time, it actually Popular took place, that under the prefTure of very commo- alarming indications of riot, the King had to tlon* withdraw it. Even already, a certain uneafy
feeling in the City connected itfelf with a fenfe of the infecurity of the Tower ; and the report of Balfour's removal led to fome tumultuous
Preparing * Though of courfe, as with all the acls of the King for acl of which had immediately difaftrous ilTue, he makes Lord Digby violence, the fcapegoat, and charges the ill counll-1 upon him. Hift. ii. 123. The King's object, as Clarendon frankly admits, was, that having now fome fecret reafon to fill the place with a man who might be fruited, he feltcled Lunsford as one who would be faithful to him for this obligation, and execute any- thing he fliould defire or direcL In other words, as is remarked by Warburton (vii. 547), who puts in plain fpeech Clarendon's laboured periphrafis, " to keep the fii>e Members " fc'fe <vjhctn it *was determined to arrcjt." This lubjeel: is treated in detail in my Arrejl of the Five Members.
§ xxiv. Retaliation and Revenge. 373
gatherings on the Monday after the King's return, and fpread great alarm among the well- affected.
That was on the 29th of November. On New the morning of that fame day, the new Guard q^Jj to the Houfes was fent under the command of Lord Dorfet by the King, by way of reply to the reafons drawn up by Pym'::" and prefented in the name of both Houfes ; and before the day had clofed, fwords were drawn and mufkets People fired upon the people.f It was thus faft com- fireduPon- ing to an iffue outfide the walls of parliament, upon the fuggeftion or incitement of the fovereign ; invitations were going out to the people, to throw on either fide their weight into the fcale ; and foon perforce the queftion muft arife, to which of the contending parties that power would mod freely lend itfelf, to uphold monarchical pretenfion, or to ftrengthen and eftablifh parliamentary privilege.
On the morning of the 30th of November, 3°thNov. Pym, Hampden, and Hollis went up to the £^'res Lords with a melTage for the difcharge of the difraifs trained-bands which the King had fo fubfti- *Sing's
j r 1 • a /->i 1 • Guard.
tuted for their own. As Clarendon puts it, fc fince they could not have fuch a guard as <c pleafed them, they would have none at all. "J And fo, the Peers confenting, Lord Dorfet and his followers were difmifTed ; the Commons
* See ante, p. 357-8.
f "The Earl of" Dorfet' s indifcreet rafhnefs this day," Lorci writes D'Ewes, on the 29th, " might have occafioned the Dorfet. " fhedding of much blood — he commanded fome or the " guard to give fire upon fome of the citizens of London in " the Court of Requefts or near it."
% Hift. ii. 86.
374 The Grand Remonjirance.
Ominous at the fame time declaring that it mould be tion. U lawful, in the abfence of a Guard duly ap- pointed, for every member to bring his own fervants to attend at the door, armed with fuch weapons as they thought fit.* No needlefs or unprovoked precaution ; for the danger, and the direction it would take, were now not dif- The end tantly revealing themfelves. What fecretly was approach- already refolved upon could not much longer jns"# be concealed. As Selden wittily puts it in his
Table Talk (and a calmer or lefs partial witnefs of the events now rapidly moving to their ifTue could not be named), t{ the King was lc ufing the Houfe of Commons in Mr. Pym iC and his company, that is, charging them with " treafon becaufe they charged my lord of Witty " Canterbury and Sir George RatclifFe, with remark by Cf juft as much logic as the boy that would have Selden. a ]ajn wjtn j^s grandmother ufed to his father : Cf You lay with my mother, why mould not I " lie with yours ? " f Thus early were people talking of his purpofe, almoft openly. On this very day (the 30th), when the Commons difmirTed Lord Dorfet and his band, DEwes tells us cc upon Mr. Pury's motion, that cc one William Chillingworth, doctor of divi- Cf nity, had faid that fome members of this
Com- * Such is Clarendon's account (Hi/I. ii. 86), but the notice
mans* m tne journals limply fays : " Ordered that the Guard fliall
Journals: " be dii'mifled ; and that Mr. Glyn and Mr. Wheeler do 30th Nov. " require the High Conftable of Weftminfter to provide a " ftrong and fufficient watch in their fteads."
f Table Talk, p. 96. The fubftitution of Ratcliffe for Strafford, in this report by Selden of the plea or pretence of the Court party, is highly chara&eriilic. Strafford could not in decency be put forward, with lb many who had perfecuted him to the death now ranged on the fide of the King.
§ xxv. Alleged Intimidation of Parliament. 375
" Houfe were guilty of treafon, and that they J?.0^or cc fhould be accufed within a day or two, it was woJth>ss cc ordered that the ferjeant's deputy fhould difclofure. <c bring him forthwith to the Houfe, and if he cc fhould refufe to come, then to apprehend (c him as a delinquent, and bring him." So rapidly were the lifts clofing up on both fides, and fo narrowed the opportunities on either for efcaping a fatal iffue.
§ xxv. Alleged Intimidation of
Parliament.
The next move in the perilous game was Hyde's made by Hyde and his party, bent upon effect.- p ' ing fome diverfion from the fufpicions and agitations let loofe by Doclor Chillingworth's difclofure, and to whom the popular riot of Monday offered good pretence for complaint of fuch prefTure and coercion as cc confided cc not with the freedom of parliament." In parj;a_ that exprefiion their whole policy revealed it- merit' "not felf ; its entire aim and end lay there ; and, in tree- the fame temper which had now fupplied the occafion, it was eagerly followed up. It is not, I think, pofiible to doubt, that, from the day when Charles had left for Scotland in the autumn, his cherifhed and fteadily purfued purpofe was to find ground for revoking what- ever had been done that was unpalatable to King's him during the paft year ; and fuch ground ^lea ?*
u 1 r -n 11 1 1 • i« coercion.
would be furnifhed by the pretence that parlia- ment had not been free, but that coercion had been put upon it by certain leading members, by whom penalties of treafon to the State had
376
The Grand Remonfirance.
Minority
againft
Majority.
30th Nov
P.M. Charge againft citizens.
Charge again it members.
Shall we not give votes freely ?
otherwife alfo been incurred. Every act ofhim- felf or his partizans, therefore, afTumed now that fpecific form and direction. The cafe of the protefters againft the Grand Remonftrance he took where they left it, and made his own. Not they who patted it, but they who protefted againft it, were his faithful Commons. But they were under a tyranny both within and without the Houfe which prevented fair expref- fion of opinion.
On the return of the leaders to their feats after removal of Lord Dorfet's men, in the after- noon of the 30th of November, Hyde rofe, and craving leave to advert again to the inci- dent of the Guard, taxed the London citizens and apprentices with having come on the pre- vious day armed with fwords and ftaves to Weftminfter, fpecially to overawe particular members from voting as they wifhed. He was interrupted by the demand for inftances ; upon which Sir John Strangways faid afide to thofe who fat near him, that he could extinguifh fome loud talkers and interrupters in that Houfe perhaps, were he to tell what he knew. <c Tell " it, then," was the cry of one who overheard him ; and the member for Weymouth rofe, nothing loath. He wifhed Mr. Speaker to inform him whether the privilege of parliament was not utterly broken if men might not come in fafely to give their votes freely ? Well, then, he muft tell them that he had received information of a plot or confpiracy for the deftruction of fome of the members of that Houfe, which he conceived to be little lefs than treafon ; and he had moreover grounds
§ xxv. Alleged Intimidation of Parliament. 377
to believe that fome other of the members of
that Houfe were either contrivers of it, or had
con fen ted to it ; and he therefore defired that
the Lord Falkland, Sir John Culpeper, and Strang-
fome three others, might be appointed a felect ways a(ks
' .& , rr TT for com-
committee to examine the matter. Upon mittee. which not very impartial propofal arofe, not unnaturally, great murmurs ; ending in a pe- remptory order that Sir John mould prefently declare the whole matter in particulars, and not lay fufpicion and charge indifcriminately upon is required members of the Houfe. Authority for the t0 ft;l[e.
n 1 j j • i-i j complaint.
itatement was nandea in accordingly ; and proved to be to the effect* that a certain " Jufty young man," a haberdamer's apprentice in Diftaff Lane, had boafted to certain parties of having been one among a thoufand or fo, who with fwords and ftaves had betaken them- story felves to Weftminfter Palace Yard ; his mafter, of an ap- who was a conftable, having given him a fword p'en lce' and ordered him to go ; in fact, that fome parlia-
* I furnilh thefe curious details from the Journal fo often T)'Ewes's referred to ; the paper produced by Strangways being entitled iyjc " A brief of the Difcourfe had between one Cole, an appren- " tice to Mr. Mansfield, an haberdafher in Diflaff Lane, and " one John Nicholfon, DD, in the prefence of Stephen " Tirrett, uncle to the laid Cole, and John Derivale, both " Chelmsford men." The Rev. Doclor is the informant, and appears to have been fitting converfing with the faid Tirrett and Derivale, probably on theological fubjecls, " in " his lodgings in Gracious [Gracechurch] Street, between " nine and ten of the clock," when that very refpeftable lad, f* i°ene Stephen, came in fomewhat elatedly to tell his uncle the news in ,,ra" above mentioned. Mr. Kirton's respeclable citizen, on the C10us other hand, whofe man came to him when he was fmoking Street, with his friend Mr. Fallow of Wood Street, was one Mr. Lavender ; and the witneffes who figned the relation averred that when Mr. Lavender heard what his man told him. he inftantly departed, " and the reft of the company were much " troubled."
37 8 'The Grand Remonftrance.
Some ment men had fent for them ; and that the members intent 0f their going; was becaufe of news of
to be over- & &
awed by lome certain chviiion among the members or others. the lower Houfe, in which the beft- affected party, whom they were to a (lift, were likely to be overborne by the others ; but that finding all quiet, and both fides agreeing well together, they had come home again.
Yes, well, and is this all ? became the cry when Sir John Strangways' relation was ended. " Name! Where, then, is the evidence againft members "Name! of this Houfe, and who are the members im- pugned ? cc That / can anfwer,'' cried an active partizan of Hyde's, Mr. Kirton, the member for Milborn Port ; who thereupon handed in a further piece of evidence, to the effect that a worthy London citizen, being in Wood Street taking tobacco with fome friends Kirton on tne ^ay m queftion, there came his man to names him and brought him word that a mefTage was en- arrived from Captain Ven (member for Lon- don, he who afterwards fat on the trial of the King) to defire him to come away fpeedily armed to the Houfe of Commons, for fwords were there drawn, and the well-affected party was like to be overborne by the others. During the reading of this paper, Captain Ven came into his place, and would at the moment have Houfe anfwered to it ; but the Houfe thought it not prevents fit till fomewhat were proved, and, as to the preceding relation, conceived that Sir John Strangways had confiderably overftated him- felf, and had ventured upon an accufation which his information in no refpect warranted. On which Pym, rifing with unufual gravity ot
Ven' anfwer.
§ xxv. Alleged Intimidation of Parliament. 279
manner, put this very fignificant queftion to Mr. Speaker : <c Whether, though the worthy Pym's " member had failed to prove his charge of queft1011
r • • i -j r j t0 Mr-
tc a conlpiracy, either contrived or coniented speaker.
Cf to by members unnamed, for the deftruc-
ce tion of other members more plainly referred
cc to, he had yet not fucceeded in proving very
Cf fully, that there was a con/piracy by Jome
<c members of this Houfe to accufe other members
tc of the fame of Treafon ? "
On the fecond of December, and on the 2nd & 3d third, the fubject of thefe out-of-door demon- J^. ^ne~ fixations continued ftill under debate. Edmund popular Waller inveighed much againft the Londoners gather- for coming to Weftminfter in fo tumultuous a ' manner and crying openly, No Bifhops ! No Bifhops ! and boldly juftified the Earl of Dorfet in the courfe he had taken, faying he had done nothing but what he was neceflitated unto. Strode took the other fide as warmly, Waller, declaring that the citizens had not come in any Strode, tumultuous or unlawful manner. Culpeper peper. anfwered him, and in rough overbearing fpeech reiterated the charge that there had been a very unjuftifiable tumult. To him fucceeded D'Ewes, who declared himfelf of Mr. Strode's ?'Ew.es
. . j r derends
opinion, and that it was matter for grave the inquiry that the Lord Dorfet mould have ad- citizens, vifed his mufqueteers to moot the citizens, and his pikemen to run them through, when they came fimply, with all afFeclion and faithfulnefs to the Houfe, to attend the iiTue of their peti- tions to the high court of Parliament. Where- upon again ftarted up Sir John Culpeper, Culpeper fpeaking to order, and calling upon Sir Simonds interrupts.
33o
The Grand Remonjlrance.
Earle and D'Ewes to order.
Culpeper explains.
D'Ewes
replies.
Houfe fup ports D'Ewes.
D'Ewes to explain what he meant by talking
of But then Sir Walter Earle rofe to
order from the other fide, and faid that no in- dividual had the right, except with authority of the whole Houfe, to take exceptions to what had fallen from any member. Culpeper hereon refumed his feat, and D'Ewes himfelf was heard to the point of order. He fimply defired the gentleman on the other fide of the way might be allowed to fpeak, and to name the words he would except againft. On which Culpeper flood up again and faid, more mildly, that what he intended to have remarked was out of a great deal of refpect to the worthy member who had juft fpoken, well knowing he had no ill intention, whatever words might flip from him. But, what did he mean by mentioning the citizens' <: loyalty" to that Houfe ? Was loyalty due, and to be paid, there or elfewhere ? <c Which very words," interpofes D'Ewes in his Journal, " I either certainly fpake not at <( all, or not in one common claufe together." (In his own report, in the fame manufcript record, the words are " affection and faithful- " nefs," not loyalty.) fc Wherefore I ftood up (< myfelf, not one man calling on me, to ex- " plain ; and I faid c For the words themfelves, <c ' I do not remember that I fpake them, i( c and for that I appeal to the whole Houfe ' cc (upon which there followed a great filence, " and I did not hear one man fecond Sir John cc Culpeper's charge). ' But if I had fpoken iC ' the words, I conceive that gentleman would <c c take no exception to them if he will but ic c perufe Littleton in his chapter of Homage,
§ xxv. Alleged Intimidation of Parliament. 381
'c c where he will find that one fubjecl: may owe
Cf ' loyalty to another without breach of his
" f loyalty to the King.' Whereupon the Culpeper
C( Houfe refted fatisfied. Sir John Culpeper menced*
ct fat filent ; and many laughed at the imperti-
" nence of his exception, hearing how fully I
" had anfwered him upon the fudden. In
cc which," adds the good Sir Simonds in
parenthefis, " I did very much acknowledge
" God's affiftance in furnifhing me with fo apt
" and prefent a reply."
The temper of the Majority of the Houfe, Pym's in clofe iuxtapofition and contraft with that of mot.10"
■tut' ' r ^•n • ■ agamft
its Minority or royalilt oppontion, appears in upper thefe curious and valuable records ; and flill Houfe- more unmiftakeably was it mown in the after- noon of that fame 3d of December, when Pym rofe and called attention to the ftoppage of all legiflative bufinefs by the rejection of, or refufal of the Lords to proceed with, various bills that Stoppage had been fent to the upper Houfe. He moved g^*111 for a committee to review what bills the Com- mons had pafTed and the Lords had rejected, and the reafons why ; and, if the Lords would not join with them,* then let them go to the
* It was but a few weeks after this that Pym fummed up Obftruc- thefe and fimilar obftruclions made by the Lords, at a confer- tions in ence with that Houfe, and clofed his lpeech in thefe very upper memorable words : Houfe.
" We have often fuffered under the mifinterpretation of " good actions, and falfe imputation of evil ones whicli we " never intended ; fo that we may juftly purge ourfelves from " all guilt of being authors of this jealoufy and mifunder- " Handing. We have been, and are ftill, ready to lerve his " Majefty with our lives and fortunes, with as much cheer- " fulnefs and earneftnefs of affection as ever any fubjefts " were ; and we doubt not but our proceedings will fo mani-
382
Will mi- nority of Lords join majority of Com- mons in a proteft.
Counter propofi- tion by Godol- phin.
Pym's appeal to Lords :
Do not leave ns to fave the country alone.
The Grand Remonftrance.
King ; having firft put their Declaration before the people, which would enable them to fee where the obftructions lay. cf We may have " our part in the mifery occafioned," he faid, c< let us be careful that we have no part in the c< guilt or the dishonour." Fie further threw out the fuggeftion, that, fince the Lords pof- feffed the undoubted right to proteft in their individual capacity, and were not conftitution- ally involved by the major part, it would be well that they fhould take thofe protefting Lords with them, and reprefent jointly to the King the caufes of obstruction. A propofal which called forth inftantly a retort from the quarter where Hyde's party fat ; for, up fprang Mr. Francis Godolphin, Edmund Waller's colleague in the reprefentation of St. Ives, and afked Mr. Speaker to inform him, whether, if the majority of that Houfe went to the King with the lefTer part of the Lords, iC the greater tc -part of the Lords might not go to the King
" feft this, that we fhall be as clear in the apprehenfion of the " world, as we are in the teftimony of our own confciences. " lam now come to a conclufion. I have nothing to pro- " pound to your Lordfhips by way of requeft or defire from " the Houfe of Commons. I doubt not but your judgments "will tell you what is to be done : your conlciences, your " honours, your interefts, will call upon you for the doing of " it. The Commons will be glad to have your concurrence " and help in laving of the kingdom ; but if they fail in it, " it fhall not difcourage them in doing their duty. And " whether the kingdom be loft or laved, (but I hope, through " God's bleihng, it will be laved!) they fhall be lorry that " the ftory of this prefent parliament fhould tell pofterity, " that in lb great a danger and extremity the Houfe of Com- " mons fhould be enforced to fave the kingdom alone, and " that the Peers fhould have no part in the honour of the " prefervation of it ; having fo great an intereft in the good " luccefs of thofe endeavours, in refpect of their great eftates " and high degrees of nobility."
§ xxv. Alleged Intimidation of Parliament. 383
ff with the lejfer part of us" Mr. Godolphin's fuggeftion was ftartling, and he was repri- manded and had to make due fubmiffion for it ;* but nothing could more perfectly have revealed all that at this time filled the minds Hopes of and hopes of the King and his friends. If the °"" right blow could only be aimed, at the right time, againft the leaders of the Commons, the way to its accomplifhment feemed not remote. And what view Lenthal himfelf, the Speaker views of of the Commons, feems now to have been dif- ^r- ,
1 T7-' t-» i- speaker.
poted to take, as between King and .Parlia- ment, of the fide to which victory was likely to incline, is expreffed by a fervile letter he wrote privately on this very third, of December to the King's new Secretary of State, Sir Edward Nicholas, praying to be relieved of the too onerous dignity of the Chair, and to be fuffered to become, once more, the meaner!; fubjecl: of the beft of fovereigns.f
That was on Friday, the day of Godolphin's ftartling propofal to piece out the minority of the Commons by a majority in the Lords. On ^I]°nT^ay' Monday the 6th, Cromwell brought forward a Cromwell
* " Ordered that on Tuefday next the Houfe mail take into Qom_ " confideration the offence now given by words fpoken by monf "Mr. Godolphin." The offence is not further fpecified. journa\s . On the Tuefday named, an order appears "that the Houfe . p£C " do take into confideration, on Thurfday next, fuch words " fpoken by members of this Houfe, to which formerly ex- " ception hath been taken." Alas! however, on the Thurf- day named (the 1 6th), occurred the King's great breach of and privilege in taking notice of a Bill while in progrefs ; and 7th Dec. the matter was again deferred. I have not cared to purfue it further.
f See Arreft of the five Members, § iii. I have fince found, however, that Nalfon had anticipated me in printing {Colleclions, ii. 713), alfo from the State PaperOffice, this letter of Lenthal.
3H
The Grand Remonjlrance.
on breach of pri- vilege.
Peers' inter- ference with elec- tions.
Tuefday, 7th Dec.
A flatt- ing propofal.
cafe of interference by a peer with Houfe of Commons privileges, which had no tendency to abate the prevailing excitement. He charged Lord Arundel with having fought unduly to influence and intimidate burgeffes of the borough of Arundel in regard to new elections. This appears to have raifed an animated debate, in the courfe of which a doctrine laid down by Hyde and Culpeper, to the effect that Lords might lc write commendatory letters " during the progress of an election, was fomewhat roughly handled. But Tuefday the 7th faw a ftill more ftartling proportion launched from the other fide ; a proportion fo notable indeed, that Clarendon in his Hiitory is difpofed to fingle it out, and fet it apart, as the fole caufe and ground of all the mifchiefs which enfued. Neverthelefs it will probably feem to us, after watching the courfe of events immediately be- fore and fince the return of the King, but as an advance or ftep onward, hardly avoidable, in the hazardous path which had been entered. The neceffity of greatly increasing the forces of the realm was not more obvious, than the danger of entrusting to an executive in whom no con- fidence was placed, the uncontrolled power of difpofing thofe forces. The difaffected fpirit of the army, as now officered, and in themidft of a frightful rebellion raging in one of the three kingdoms, was no longer matter of doubt. Irrefragable proofs of the fecond army plot had been completed ; and refolutions were at this time prepared, to take effedt on the day after that to which my narrative has arrived, dis- abling four of thofe officers (men high in the
§ xxvi. An Ominous Propofal, 385
King's confidence and to whom he afterwards Dangers gave peerages") from their feats in the lower from
o r d m j m army
Houfe, as guilty of mifprifion of treafon , by intrigues. name Wilmot, Pollard, Afhburnham, and Percy, members for Tamworth, Beeralfton, Ludgermall (Wilts), and Northumberland. The diftruft felt by the Commons on the King's removal of their Guard, and the refolu- tions as to the defence of the kingdom which they paffed on that troubled Saturday after his Diftruft of return, receive only their full explanation from °'
keeping fuch facts in view ; and they led, aim oft unavoidably, to the more momentous ftep now waiting to be detailed.
§ xxvi. An Ominous Proposal.
ONTuefday,the 7 th of December, Sir Arthur Tuefday, Hafelrigrofe in hisufual place in the gallery of g^ "' the Houfe, and prefented a Bill for fettling the fented by- Militia of the kingdom by fea and land, under a HafelnS : Lord General and a High Admiral, to whom it gave great powers to raife and levy forces. It was ftyled An Act for the making of (Blank) Lord General of all the forces within the kingdom of England and dominion of Wales, and (Blank) Lord High Admiral of England. Clarendon fays for fettling that this bill had been privately prepared by Militia. the King's folicitor, St. John ; and that his in- fluence as a lawyer, on his declaring the exifting law to have been fo unfettled by difabling votes of the two Houfes that a fpecial enactment was become abfolutely necefTary, mainly led to the bill being permitted to be read. But, while his ftatements here are to be taken with even more
386
The Grand Remonjirance,
Account in the D'Ewes
MS.
Bill
angrily
received.
Culpeper moves its rejection.
Barring- ton againft :
Strode and
D'Ewes for.
Cook cites pre- cedent againft.
than the ufual caution, it is to be remarked that D'Ewes, though he fays nothing abfolutely inconfiftent therewith, does not expreffly con- firm them ; and D'Ewes's account, of which I proceed to give an abftract from his manufcript, is the only other on record, fo far as I am aware, of this memorable debate.
Hafelrig had fcarcely named the provisions of the bill, when a great many members cried, cc Away with it ! " and others, that they mould cc Cart it out ! " Sir John Culpeper ftarted up on the inftant of Hafelrig's renaming his feat; and, after wondering that the gentleman in the gallery mould bring in fuch a bill, moved that it be at once rejected. Sir Thomas Barrington, though he had voted with the majority in all the Remonftrance debates, regretted that he could not fupport the par- ticular meafure, and wifhed it might be thrown out ; but he thought another lefs objectionable mould be brought in with fimilar defign. Strode " and others " fpoke for it ftrongly ; and then D'Ewes hirnfelf rofe and made a lengthy fpeech in its favour, duly felf-reported, but with which the reader need not be troubled. Divers followed him, fpeaking on either fide, fome for, and others againft the bill, and many ufing violent expreffions againft it. Mr. Thomas Cook, for example, the member for Leicefter, declared that one Hexey in Richard the Second's time, for introducing, in the twentieth year of that reign, a bill againft the King's prerogative of far lefs confequence than this, had been condemned as a traitor. Nor did Mr. Mallory, the member for Ripon,
§ xxvi. An Ominous Propqfal. 387
fpeak lefs violently on the fame fide. He denounced the bill as fit to be burned in Weft- Mallory minfter Palace Yard, and the gentleman who roul(!.„
o # nave bill
brought it in as deferving to be questioned, burnt. On the other hand, feveral rofe and excepted againft Mr. Mallory's fpeech, as rather think- ing it more worthy to be questioned ; but thereupon Strode got up and remarked that he thought Mr. Mallory's fpeech in fome fort excufable, as having been occafioned by the fpeech of a gentleman that fat near him (alluding to Mr. Cook), who had once before cited in that Houfe a highly dangerous pre- Cook cedent. Great cries of affent followed this called UP : remark, and many rofe in fucceflion to enforce it, until, in fpite of diffentients, Mr. Cook was called up to explain. But, what he faid not fatisfying the Houfe, he was ordered to ordered to withdraw, while fome would have had his withdraw. further attendance fufpended. Meanwhile a fudden thought had occurred to D'Ewes, which he had immediately proceeded to execute. <c During this debate," he fays, fC I retired <f out of the Houfe to my lodging in Goats- <f alley, near the Palace, and there fearched " out the precedent. On my return, I faid cc that the gentleman now withdrawn was a Had mif- <c young man, and a man of hope, and there- quoted <c fore I defired that he be not too much dis- pre <c heartened. I thought him more punifhable <c for mis-reciting than for citing precedents. <c The precedent in queftion was not againft <c the King's prerogative, but againft the <c exceffive expenfes of the King's houfehold ; „,_ <c and though Hexey was fentenced, he was expofes
388
The Grand Remonjirance.
and laughs c< afterwards cleared by Parliament. There- at him. <c fore tjie greatefl; cenfure I would have laid
cc upon this gentleman is, that he would cite cc no more records till he mail have ftudied <f them better. At which divers of the Houfe <c laughed;" and Cook having been called in, Cook ad- and admonifhed by Mr. Speaker,* Hafelrig's monimed. bill palled to a divifion. Sir John Culpeper and Sir Frederick Cornwallis were tellers for the Yeas, which were 125, to reject it; and Denzil Hollis and Sir William Armyn, mem- ber for Grantham, for the majority of 158 in its favour : and the bill was read a firft time. And now let me append to this truftworthy account, taken from the notes of a member prefent while the debate was in progrefs, the narrative of the fame incident as related by Clarendon. Perhaps no more remarkable warning could be given of the fcrupulous care with which his Hijiory fhould be read, and of
Bill read a firft time : 158 to 125.
Same in cident :
Commons* Journals. "• 334-
Verney's Notes, p. 132.
* The only notices hitherto given of this incident appear in the Journals and in Verney's Notes. " Some exceptions " were taken to Mr. Coke for the mifalleging of precedents; " and after he had explained himfelf, he was, according to " the order of the Houfe, commanded to withdraw. Refolved " upon the queftion, That Mr. Coke mail be called down, " and in his place, have an admonition for the words that fell " from him. The Speaker told him in his place that he was " commanded to admonifh him, that he mould take a care " hereafter, how he did allege or apply precedents in this " Houfe." Verney fays in his Notes : " Sir Arthur Hafelrig " did bring in a bill to dilpofe all the Militia of England " into two generals for life. This bill was thought fit by " fome to be rejected, and Mr. Thomas Cook laid, it was in " his judgment worfe than the bill brought in by Hexam in " Richard the Second's time, by which he was accufed of " high treafon. For this fpeech he was queftioned and taxed, " for citing but half the precedent, for Hexam was atterwards- " cleared by parliament. For this offence he received an " admonition in his place, by the Speaker."
§ xxvi. An Ominous Propofal. 389
the danger of trufting to its ftatements even told with where there is no fufpicion of bad faith, than va^^0DS is afforded by the manner in which he recounts the firfr. introduction of this Bill for putting the power of the Militia fubftantially into the hands of the Houfe of Commons.
In his Fourth Book, fpeaking of the exact Claren- period to which reference already has been^s.. made, he fays that there was " at this time, 76-8o. or thereabout," a debate ftarted in the Houfe, as if by mere chance, which pro- duced many inconveniences thereafter, and indeed, if there had not been too many concurrent caufes, might be thought the fole caufe and ground of all the mifchiefs which enfued. And then he defcribes " an obfcure Motion " member " moving unexpectedly c< that the mz.^e. as to
o r J militia :
fe Houfe would enter upon the confederation 6C whether the Militia of the kingdom was fo " fettled by law that a fudden force, or army, <c could be drawn together for the defence of <f the kingdom, if it mould be invaded, or to " fupprefs an infurrection or rebellion, if it tc mould be attempted." He goes on to fay that the Houfe kept a long filence after the motion, the newnefs of it amazing (until the edition of 1826, this word had been printed " amufing ") moft men, and few in truth un- how derftanding the meaning of it ; until fundry treated- other members, not among the leading men, appeared to be fo moved by the weight of what had been faid, that it grew to the propofition of a committee for preparing fuch a bill, where- upon Mr. Hyde fo ftrongly oppofed it as en- croaching on the royal prerogative, that the
390 The Grand Remonftrance.
Houfe appeared fatisfied to take up another
fubject : when the King's Solicitor, St. John,
" and the only man in the Houfe of his
(c learned council," got up and difputed Mr.
Hyde re- Hyde's law, obferving that the queftion was
Solicitor- not about taking away power from the King
General, (which it was his duty always to oppofe),
but to inquire if the fufficient and necefTary
power exifted at all. This he regretted to fay
he did not believe, fupporting his opinion by
the many adverfe votes which that Houfe had
pafTed againft the ordinary modes of levy in
the King's name, by means of commifTions to
Lord Lieutenants and their fubordinates ; and
the refult of his difplay of learning was, that
in the end he was himfelf requested to introduce
fuch a bill, which, within a few days after, was
actually brought in, enacting Cf that hencefor-
St. John " ward the Militia, and all the powers thereof,
brings in « mould be vetted in ; " and then a large
a bill . . .
blank was left for inferting names, in which blank, the Solicitor urged, they might for aught he knew infert the King's, and he hoped it would be fo. This bill, Clarendon con- cludes, not withftanding all oppofition, was read, <f they who had contrived it being well <c enough contented that it was once read ; c< not defiring to profecute it, till fome more " favourable conjuncture fhould be offered ; cc and fo it retted." Clarendon Now, having proceeded fo far, let the reader i/l. i. turn back; to the Third Book of the fame Hiftory, and he will there find that the fame hiftorian, profefling to fpeak of the period im- mediately before the King's departure for Scot-
§ xxvi. An Ominous Propqfal. 391
land, antedates the whole of the tranfaction juft Same in- defcribed ; and narrates quite differently, and "de-nttolj> as though impelled by motives and inducements altogether different, events precifely the fame. His object now is to mow that the leaders of the Houfe were anxious to prevent the King's departure by warning him that he was leaving affairs in a dangeroufly unfettled ftate, and without fufficient powers inherent in the laws and conftitution to meet the danger. cc And Quite ff therefore," he continues, <c one day Sir Ar- dltferent ,.
* nccount ot
c< thur Hafelrig (who, as was faid before, was fame fa&s. cc ufed by the leading men, like the dove out fc of the ark, to try what footing there was) cc preferred a bill for the fettling the Militia of cc the kingdom both by fea and land in fuch 11 perfons as they mould nominate." He adds that there were in the bill no names, but blanks Bill to receive them, when the matter mould be ^°^llt paffed ; and that when the mere title of the Hafelrig : bill was read, it gave fo general an offence to the Houfe that they feemed inclined to throw it out, without fuffering it to be read : not without fome reproach, to the perfon that brought it in, cc as a matter of fedition : " till Mr. St. John, the King's Solicitor, rofe up and fpake to it, and ("having in truth himfelf drawn b "drawn the bill") defended its provifions, st. John : declaring his belief as a lawyer, that the power it propofed to fettle was not yet by law vefted in any perfon or in the Crown itfelf, the Houfe by their votes having blafted the former modes of proceeding by the ordinary royal commif- fions to Lord Lieutenants and their deputies ; wh that fuch a bill therefore was neceffary ; and defends
391
The Grand Remonftrance.
and ex- plains it.
Never read fecond time.
Alleged rejection.
Error as to firft reading.
Carried by
158 tOI25.
that for the nomination of perfons under it, this was a matter not requiring to be fettled on the reading of the bill, for if it feemed too great for any fubject it might be devolved upon the Crown. cc Upon which difcourfe," Clarendon concludes, <{ by a perfon of the ic King's fworn council, the bill was read ; <c but with fo univerfal a diflike, that it was <c never called upon the fecond time, but flept, fc till, long after, the matter of it was digefted cc in ordinances." *
Great of courfe has been the confufion, to readers, confequent on thefe two verfions of the fame incident, dated at different times, and having objects quite diffimilar ; and it has been further increafed by a ftatement of Nal- fon's,j- that Hafelrig's bill was rejected indig- nantly on its introduction, by a majority of 1 58 to 105. But the one point on which Claren- don is not inaccurate is, in affirming, in both narratives, that the bill was read. The error in this refpect has arifen from a too hafty read- ing of the Journals, J where the Yeas at the divifion appear undoubtedly as 125 (not 105), and the Noes as 158 ; but it has been over- looked that the divifion was taken not on the queftion whether the bill mould be read, but whether it mould be rejected. The names of the tellers are quite decifive, Culpeper and Cornwallis being for the Yeas, and Denzil Hollis and Sir Wm. Armyn (member for Grantham, and afterwards a king's judge) for the Noes. Even that generally accurate and
* Hi/}, i. 486-8. f Nalfon's ColleSiions, ii. 719.
J Commons1 Journals, ii. 334.
§ xxvii. The City Petition. 393
reliable writer, Mr. Bruce, has fallen into error Miftakes on this point,* and fuppofes the bill to have f1} con" been rejected. Mr. Hallam alio has been led into fome confufion f from not examining Clarendon's text with fufficient minutenefs. I Hiftorians take the opportunity of adding that Nalfon's milled. Collections, which, by fome extraordinary chance in the fortunes of books, has been too com- monly accepted as an authority on thefe times, is an utterly untruftworthy gathering of the moft violent party pamphlets and libels, got together towards the clofe of Charles the Second's reign for the fpecial delectation of his Majefty and as an antidote to Rufhworth, by ^ority! a compiler who had himfelf no perfonai know- ledge of the men or the events, over which he exercifed an unlimited right of the groffeft abufe and moft unwearied mifreprefentation.
§ xxvii. The City Petition.
On the day following Hafelrig's introduc- Wednef- tion of the Militia Bill, Wednefday the 8th, ^y. 8th Geoffrey Palmer made his fubmifTion and was releafed from the Tower. The day following, the expulfion of the officers convicted of com- plicity in the fecond army-plot took place ; and on the morning after, Friday the ioth of Friday, December,;}: the members were ftartled, on Ioth:
* See Verney's Notes, p. 132. f Conjl. Hift. ii. 128, 9.
X On the fame morning I find a point of order and reverence fettled by Mr. Denzil Hollis. "On Mr. Hollis' motion," fays D'Ewes's Manufcript, " it was declared the ancient order Points of
394 The Grand Remonftrance.
New coming to take their feats, to find a new Guard Houf"es°n °^ Halberdiers fet upon the doors. A debate upon the report as to the Public Debt handed in by Sir John Hotham the previous day, and upon the immediate neceflity of raifing men and money for the requirements of the Iriih Rebellion, was in progrefs, when Sir Philip Stapleton flood up and called attention to the fact that there was a new Guard fet upon the Houfe of two hundred men with halberts. Agitation Much agitation enfued upon this, the bufinefs thereat, immediately in hand was dropped, and fome fear and trouble found expreflion. Upon par- ticular inquiry it was difcovered, that the plea for fuch new fhow or threatening of force was a report which had gone abroad of a great Peti- tion coming from the City again ft the Bifhops' By whom votes, and againft the obitruction by the Lords placed. Qf other- matters whereof the fettlement was much to be defired, which Petition, accom- panied by large numbers of citizens, was to be prefented the following day. " Then we were ic informed," fays D'Ewes, <c from feveral " hands, that the original ground of thofe men <c afTembling was upon a writ from the Lord Wnt from a Keeper pretended to be warranted by the Keeper. " ftatute of Northampton (13 Henry IV.) for " the better fupprefting of Routs and Riots :" in obedience to which writ the under-fheriff and magiftrates of Middlefex had iftued order
form and " of the Houfe that when men came in and went out of the
order. " Houfe, they ought to make three reverences; and that if
" any were fpeaking on the lower form, they ought to go
" about, and not to come up towards the table" — interrupting
honorable fpeakers !
§ xxvii. The City Petition. 295
for the placing of the Halberdiers. The matter was debated with unufual gravity and earned- Voted nefs ; and, upon the motion of Pym, not only breadi of was a refolution palTed that the placing of fuch a Guard without confent of the Houfe was a breach of privilege, but orders were iiTued for bringing before them at nine o'clock on the following morning the various magistrates by whom the warrants had been iigned. Inftant fteps were at the fame time taken for removal Halber- of the Halberdiers ;* and while thefe were in moved, progrefs, at about two o'clock in the afternoon, Sir Christopher Yelverton entered, and faid that divers of the Lords were now come, know- ing nothing at all of the fetting of this new Guard, and were Startled at it " as much as Lords fc ourfelves." A characteristic incident of the J^rjjled as debate, as related in D'Ewes's manufcript, Commons fhould not be omitted. One of Hyde's party, Mr. Francis Newport, the member for Shrewf- bury, " during our debate offered to go out fC of the Houfe, and there was great cry, <f f Shut the door! Shut the door!' and yet ^Jf,?16 <c he would go away. The Serjeant not being
* The fubjoined order and refolutions appear upon the Commons Journals, " Ordered that the ferjeant mall require fome of the journalsl ** Halberdiers, or fome of thole that have the command ot j; ,,g " them, to come hither to the bar. The bailiff of the Duchy " of Lancafter being called in, was demanded by what au- " thority he brought down men armed: He faid the Sheriff " received a writ from the Lord Keeper, and that the Under- ' ' fheriff gave him warrant to do it. . . . Refolved upon the 11 queftion, That the fetting of any guards about this Houfe, " without the confent of this Houfe is a breach of the privi- u lege of the Houfe: And that therefore fuch guards ought " to be difcharged. Refolved upon the queftion, That this " Guard fhall be immediately dilcharged by the command of " this Houfe."
396
The Grand Remonjlrance.
Member
quits
Houfe
without
leave.
Rebuked by Pym.
nth Dec,
Sheriff and Ma- giftrates repri- manded.
The City petition.
cc in the Houfe, Mr. Rufhworth, the clerk's tc afliftant, was fent after him ; who called him " back. He being come into the Houfe, the " Speaker declared to him that when the fenfe <f of the Houfe was that the door mould be (hut, cc no member ought to go out. Mr. New- " port faid he knew of no order that had been " made to that end : but Mr. Pym mowed, £c that, befides the general fenfe of the Houfe, " expreffed by fo many calling out to have the Cf door fhut, the greatnefs and weight of the <c agitation might perfuadeany man to forbear " gonig out."
The next morning, Saturday the iith of December, the under-fheriff and Weftminfter juftices appeared, and, having been duly ex- amined and reprimanded, and the under-fheriff having been committed to the Tower, there fhortly afterwards arrived, at the Houfe, the Petition upon whofe prefentation the King had been fo eager to impofe that check of armed men. The intention of its originators had been to difabufe his Majefty of the fatal notion which feems to have been fuddenly engendered in him by his recent grand entertainment in the City, and by the eager royalift tendencies of the Lord Mayor, that there was any real defection from the popular caufe in that its moft powerful ftronghold ;* and fo eagerly had it been figned
* I venture here to fubjoin a paffage from my Arreji of the
Five Members (§ xxiv.), in explanation of what the City at
this time reprefented and was. " Of the power and the im-
" portance of the City of London at this time, it is needlefs
The City " to fpeak. It reprefented in itfelf the wealth, the ftrength,
^20 years " and the independence which had made England feared and
ago. " honoured throughout the world. Within its walls, and
§ xxvii. The City Petition. 397
by all clafles with this view, that, up to that date in the world's hiftory, no petition of equal fize and dimensions had yet been feen. One of the members for London, Alderman Pen- its ar- nington, who afterwards fat as one of the King's nval anT judges, announced its arrival. He faid that divers able and grave citizens were waiting without, to prefent the Houfe with that for- midable Petition of which they had been told that ten thoufand perfons were coming to pre- fent it ; but a fmall number only had come with it, and in a humble and peaceable manner. To avoid all pofTibility of commotion or un- due excitement in connection with it, it had Brought been brought by twelve leading citizens. Upon b.y twelve
d j o 1 citizens.
this the Houfe laid afide all other bufinefs ; the Speaker called in the deputation ; and Mr.
" under the fhadow and protection of its franchifes, flept
" nightly between three and four hundred thoufand citizens.
" The place of bufinefs of the merchant in thofe days, was
" alio his refidence and home. The houfes then recently
" built by nobles beyond its precincls, along the Strand of the
" magnificent river, fcarcely tranfcended in extent or fplen-
J< dour thofe palaces of its merchant princes, which lurked
" everywhere behind its bufy wharves and crowded counting-
" houfes. But, beyond every fuch fource of aggrandifement, Source of
" its privileges were its power. From its guilds, charters, its power.
" and immunities, wrefted from the needs, or beftowed by the
" favour, oflucceflive princes; from its own regulation of its
" military as well as civil affairs ; from its complete and
" thoroughly organifed democracy, governed and governing
" by and within itfelf; it derived an influence which made it
" formidable far beyond its wealth and numbers To
" its honour, be it faid, that from the hour when the caufe of Its fup- " public freedom was in peril, the City of London caft in its port of " fortunes unrelervedly with the oppofition to the Court. Its popular " refolute refufal to join the league againft the Scottifh Cove- caufe. " nant, had baffled the counfels and wafted the energies of "Strafford; and its Trained Bands, under Skippon, were " deftined largely to contribute to the final defeat of the " King."
398 The Grand Remonjlrance.
Fouke, a merchant dwelling in Mark-lane, appeared at their head, and prefented it as the humble Petition of Aldermen, Common Councilmen, Subfidymen, and other inhabit- ants of the City of London and fuburbs there- Received of. Then, fays the precife Sir Simonds by clerk. D'Ewes, " the Clerk of the Houfe did there- Cf upon go down to the bar, and received it of cc him, and brought it up, and laid it on the " table. The faid Petition was not very long, " but there were fome fifteen thoufand names fc fet to it. It was about three-quarters of a *tsdunen" tf yard in breadth, and twenty-four yards in " length." Nor did it feem that even thefe unufual proportions had quite fatisfied its pro- moters ; for the worthy citizen at the head of the Deputation, having liberty to addrefs the Houfe, informed them that they mould have got before that day many thoufand hands more Addrefs to it, but that they found many obstructions °vhf f an<^ mucn oppofition from the Lord Mayor, Deputa- and others. And fuch, faid Mr. Fouke in tion. conclufion, was the feeling excited by thefe difficulties interpofed, that it was God's mercy the petitioners had not come in numbers yefter- day, when the Halberdiers were affembled, and when there muft have been bloodfhed. To Reply of which Mr. Speaker replied with gracious words, Speaker telling the citizens of London, through the worthy gentlemen then {landing at their bar, that the Houfe gave them thanks for their readinefs on all occafions to comply with fup- plies for the public ; that they would take into confideration, in due time, the particulars defired in the Petition ; and that they hoped to
§ xxvii. The City Petition. 399
bring things to fuch refult as would give them fatisfaction.
When the Deputation left, a debate arofe as Debate to the neceffity for immediate provifion of the ij.e5°nd. fupplies which had been voted for Ireland, and as to the beft mode of providing fuch fatisfac- tion for the people as had juft been promifed to the London petitioners : and again the de- bate pointed in the old direction, which was that of printing, and circulating through the Queflkm countrv, their Grand Remonftrance. The ot. .
r 1 1 1 tr' ■> J T • J J Prlnting
courle taken by the King s advilers, indeed, Remon- had fo far gone in the fame direction, that even ftrance fome royal partizans among the members had been conflrained to admit the unlawfulnefs of the recent attempt to put external prefTure on the Houfes by means of armed watches and guards. The refult of the prefent deliberation, therefore, appears to have been a kind of filent or unoppofed underftanding, that the printing of the Remonftrance mould be confidered as Refolve foon as the bill then depending for the preffing* ereon" of foldiers to ferve againft the Irifh Rebellion mould have been difpofed of.
But again the ill-advifed monarch precipi- tated this determination. The bill for raifing fuch foldiers by ImprefTment was under debate on the morning of Tuefday the 14th of De- Tuefday, cember, when a meffage was unexpectedly it4^- brought in, to the effect that his Majefty deflred from & the Commons to attend him in the Lords' King : Houfe. There, in brief intemperate phrafe, he adverted to the ImprefTment bill which they were then difcuffing ; warned them that, in the event of its pafling, he mould give his confent
400
The Grand Remonftrance.
refpecling bill under difcufiion.
Voted breach of privilege.
Proteft carried to King.
to it only with an exprefs faving of his prero- gative ; and fignificantly added, that he was little beholding to " him whoever at this time " began this difpute." The Commons imme- diately returned to their Houfe ; voted it, upon the motion of Pym, a breach of all the ancient privileges both of Lords and Commons that his Majefty mould fo have taken notice of a bill whilft in progrefs ; demanded a conference with the Lords ; and, before the day clofed, had obtained their full co-operation in drawing up cc a declaratory Proteftation " of their privi- leges and liberties, and lc a petitionary Remon- " (trance"* againft his Majefty 's violation of them. Eighteen of the Lords, and double the number of the Commons, went at once with this Proteftation to Whitehall ;t and on tne
Charge againft St. John.
Not credible.
Curious notices
* The petitionary Remonftrance further requires that " his " Majefty will be pleafed to difcover the parties by whofe " information and evil counfel his Majefty was induced to " this breach of privilege, that fo they may receive condign " punifhment for the fame." In the face of which, Clarendon neverthelefs hazards the ftatement in his Hiftory (ii. 70-1) that the man who had advifed this breach of privilege, was, ot all men in the world, Mr. Solicitor St. John ! As if, fuppofing this were fo, the King, who hated no one fo much, would not thereon have been eager to give him up as his advifer in fo direct an attack upon his own party ! From the account of the matter I find in D'Ewes's Journal, I am convinced, on the other hand, that the perfons fufpe&ed were Culpeper and Hyde, and that the claufe requiring the King to furrender the names of his ill advifers was directed fpecially at them. D'Ewes would have had the claufe rejected, on the ground that it was " very pofiible that his Majefty received his in- " formation and ill counfel from fome third perfon and from " no member of either Houfe ;" but Pym ftrongly oppofed this, and the claufe was retained.
-f- D'Ewes attended, as one of the Deputation of the Com- mons, both on the occafion of the prefenting of the Protefta- tion, and on that of receiving the King's Anfwer, and his notices of both are highly curious and interefting. I quote
§ xxvii. The City Petition. 401
day following the King's churlim reception of Refolve them, the flep was taken from which no further retreating was poflible, and the Remonftrance was committed to the people.
from his manufcript Journal. " I departed with divers others from the
" to the Court at Whitehall, being one of the felecl commit- D'Ewes
" tee of thirty-fix appointed by the Houfe of Commons to MS.
" attend his Majefty there this afternoon at two o'clock, with
" a felecl: committee of eighteen of the Lords' Houfe, with
" that petitionary Remonftrance. The eighteen Lords were
" at Whitehall before us ; and having ftaid awhile in the
" Privy Chamber, the Earl of EfTex, Lord Chamberlain of Deputa-
" his Majefty's houfehold, came out to us, and told us that tion pre-
" the Kingexpecled our coming to him. Whereupon divers of fent
" the Lords, and we of the Houfe of Commons, followed him Proteft.
" in through two or three rooms, into a fair inward chamber
" where the King was. Dr. Williams, Archbifhop of York,
" was appointed to read the faid Petition or Remonftrance.
" He, palling from the lower end of the room towards the
" King, made three reverences, as moft of us alfo did with
" him ; and then he, coming near the King, kneeled down,
" and Ihowed his Majefty that he had a Petition or Remon-
" ftrance from both Houfes to be prefented to him. The
*' King then caufed him to ftand up, and fo he read the faid
" Petition. I ftood all the while clofe to him on his left
" hand. After he had read it, he kneeled again, and pre- a t
" fented it to his Majefty, being fairly engroffed in parchment. 'Williams
" The King fpake fo low as I could not hear him ; but the rea(js :t
" Archbifhop of York told me after we were come out 'that
" ' he would take fome time to advife,' &c. And fo, making
" like reverence at our going out as we did at our coming in,
" we departed." In like manner he defcribes the more ftriking
fcene of receiving the King's Anfwer. Between the two
occafions the reader will remember, the Commons had not
only voted the printing of their Grand Remonftrance, but
had iffued it in print ; a circumftance which may account for
the increafed fharpnefs of the King's manner. " Went to
" Whitehall," fays D'Ewes, " to receive the King's Anfwer.
" We were admitted into the fame room again (being a fair
" chamber within the privy gallery) where we had delivered
" the faid Petition. The King, looking about, alked to
" whom he mould deliver his Anfwer; becaufe he faw not King's
11 the Lord there from whom he received our Petition. But it anfwer :
" was anfwered his Majefty, that he, being to preach before the
" Lords at the Faft on Wednefday next, was now abfent on
" that occafion. His Majefty demanded further to what other
" Lord in his abfence it was to be delivered ? It was an-
402
The Grand Remonftrance.
Twelfth and laft Debate : 15th Dec
Purefoy
moves
printing.
A great iilence.
Argu- ment for printing :
read by Nicholas.
Anger of the King
§ xxviii. The Last Debate.
On Wednefday morning, the 15th of De- cember, an unufual number of members were in attendance at an early hour in the Houfe of Commons, and a fupprefled excitement mowed itfelf, as of fome undertaking of weight in hand as yet not generally known. Then Mr. Purefoy, the member for Warwick, who after- wards fat upon the trial of the King, flood up and faid, that they did now ftand forely in need of money, and he conceived that any propo- rtion for the bringing in of money would be very feafonable and acceptable. " Whereupon," fays D'Ewes, <c there enfued a great filence." Mr. Purefoy then proceeded, and faid he conceived that there was but one mode of obtaining what they deflred in this refpect, and that was by imparting to their constituents, and the people generally, fome ground for greater confidence than they could derive from recent and exifting events. He pointed out that all men's minds were unfettled by the many flanders which had freely gone abroad,
" fwered, to the chief of the Lords who were prefent. His " Majefty then calling to Sir Edward Nicholas, lately made " Secretary of State, delivered to him his Anfwer written on " a meet of paper, which the faid Sir Edward received kneel- " ing, and then, (landing up again, read it ; and his Majefty, " after the delivery of it to the faid Earl (Briftol), juft as we " were all making reverences and departing forth, parted " through the midrt of us with a confident and feveie look, " and fo went into the privy gallery, where he ftood looking " towards us, as we came forth and made our obeifances to " him."
§ xxviii. The Laft Debate. 403
and that if, as a worthy member had faid on a wil1 re- former occafion, it was defirable to recover and °Jto bind to that Houfe the hearts of the people, Houfe. now was the time and the opportunity. In a word, he conceived there were no readier means to bring in money than to caufe their Declaration to be printed; that fo they might fatisfy the whole kingdom. At this there were loud cries of agreement ; but upon feveral even of the majority the propofal fell with a furprife, and D'Ewes was one of them. <c It " feems," he fays, " that many members were . " privy to this intended motion, which I con- D'Ewes " fefs feemed very ftrange to me; for they and others. "cried Order it! Order it!" Then the Speaker rofe, and, as if to fhow that he at any rate had been no party to the preparing of the motion, afked the member who had fpoken, what Declaration he meant, for (alluding to the declaration as to breach of privilege voted the preceding day) there were two. This called up Mr. Purefoy again, who faid he Peard meant the Declaration that had been prefented ^con°s to the King, the great Remonftrance ; and he was feconded by Mr. Peard, who had firft moved the printing on the memorable night of the 22d November, and who now moved that the Petition accompanying it might alfo be printed: to which again refponded loud cries of Order it! Order it! Edmund Waller next Waller took the lead in a defperate attempt to pro- °PPoks- tract and delay the vote, which in fo much was fuccefsful that it lafted far into the after- noon ; but of which, unfortunately, fmall record remains, for in the midft of it D'Ewes,
404 The Grand Remonftrance.
apparently in fome dudgeon at the want of
confidence in him difplayed by the leaders, left
the Houfe for fome time. Then the putting
Debate of the Refolution having been fought off
prolonged until daylight began to decline, the coming
inffVen" on °f dark was made the excufe for a further
attempt to prevent its being put at all.
So dark it became, that the Clerk could no
longer fee to read ; but, on a propofal for
Candles bringing in candles, Sir Nicholas Slanning,
called for. trie member for Penryn, made urgent repre-
fentation of the propriety of adjourning the
debate, reminded the Houfe of the fcene
which had been witneffed when this queftion
was before difcufled in the night, and threw
out warnings of fome fimilar danger now.
Sir Againft any poffible recurrence of that danger,
Nicholas the majority was on this occafion thoroughly
oppoies. guarded ; but, if it had not been fo, few were better entitled than Slanning to give the warning. Himfelf one of thofe who early and eagerly expofed and loft their lives in the war, he was alfo ever at the head of the young and ardent fpirits of the Houfe of Commons, with whom it was matter of chivalry to refent every encroachment on the power and pretentions of the fovereign ; and Clarendon (in one of thofe charming character An eager pieces of his Hiftory which will furvive to Royalift. ke£p -t fl.;u tjie mofl. delightful reading in the
world, long after the conviction of its untruft- worthinefs and bad faith mail have entered into every mind) has celebrated his youth, his fmall but handfome perfon, his lovely counte- nance, his admirable parts, and his courage
xxvirr. The haft Delate. 405
" fo clear and keen." * He failed for the Forces prefent, however, to turn the Houfe from clm"on : their purpofe, though not till he had forced on a divifion.
* See Hiflory, iv. 150, and 612-13. Slanning was one of Great men the little men : " and it was an age," fays Clarendon, " in of little " which there were many great and wonderful men of that fize. " fize" (Life, i. 62), among the men of learning as well as of action. One of the leaft men in the kingdom he cele- brates as one of the greateft fcholars of Europe, in the perfon of the ever to be remembered Mr. Hales of Eton — " who ** would often fay that he would renounce the religion of the Hales of " Church of England to-morrow, if it obliged him to believe Eton. " that any other Chriftians mould be damned ; and that " nobody would conclude another man to be damned, who " did not wifh him fo ; — than whom no man was more " ftricl and fevere to himfelf, yet to other men fo charitable " as to their opinions, that he thought that men not erring " were more in fault for their carriage towards men who " erred, than the men themfelves were ; — and who thought " that pride and paflion, more than confcience, were the " caufe of all feparation from each other's communion ; and " frequently faid, that that only kept the world from agreeing " upon fuch a liturgy as might then bring them into One " communion" (Life, i. 60-1). Chillingworth was another ^'"'"g" of the very little men. Sidney Godolphin, alfo belonging to wortl1- the fame diminutive clafs, amazed the tall and well-formed Mr. Hyde by prefenting fo large an underftanding and fo unreftrainedafancyin fo extremely fmallabody as he poffeffed: Sidney the fmalleft indeed of all, as it would feem, for Falkland Godol- ufed merrily to fay that he thought what charmed him moft phin. to be fo much in Godolphin's company was the fenfe of find- ing himfelf there "the properer man." But the prince of the little men was Falkland himfelf. Obferve with what exquifite art Clarendon puts forward his difadvantages of perfon limply to make more lovable the attractions of his mind. " His ftature was low, and fmaller than moft men ; jr^]^,^ " his motion not graceful; and his afpect fo far from inviting, " that it had fomewhat in it of fimplicity ; and his voice the " worft of the three, and fo untuned, that inftead of recon- " ciling, it offended the ear, fo that nobody would have " expected mufic from that tongue : and fure no man was " lefs beholden to nature for its recommendation into the " world. But then no man fooner or more difappointed this " general and cuftomary prejudice. That little perfon and Picture by " fmall ftature was quickly found to contain a great heart, a Claren- " courage fo keen, and a nature fo fearlefs, that no compofi- don:
406 The Grand Remonjlrance.
on quef- D'Ewes returned to his feat juft as they
candlel were a^out to divide on the queftion for
candles, and by the very found, he fays, the
Ayes declared themfelves to be far more than
the Noes; but the Noes perfifted in dividing,
and "fitting ftill" in the Houfe with Sir Robert
Hatton and Mr. John Ruflell (who had fuc-
ceeded Lord William on the old Earl's death,
1 52 to 53. aS Pym's colleague in the reprefentation of
brou °-ht. Taviftock) for tellers, proved to be only 53
in number, whereas the Ayes who went out,
with Denzil Hollis and Sir John Clotworthy
as tellers, were 152. Upon this, candles were
brought; and again the debate went on, not
lefs warmly than before. For more than two
hours longer, fays D'Ewes, it was argued with
Divifion great vehemence pro and con ; until at laft the
iSLprmt" queftion was put for the printing. Then
went forth the Yeas, in number 135, with
Denzil Hollis and Sir Walter Earle for tellers;
the tellers for the Noes, who flayed in the
Houfe, being Sir John Culpeper and Mr. John
. , Amburnham, the member for Haftings, and
135 to 83. their numbers 83. Amid considerable excite-
' tion of the ftrongeft limbs, and moft harmonious and pro- ' portioned preience and ftrength, ever more difpofed any ' man to the greateft enterprife, it being his greateft weaknels ' to be too fblicitous for fuch adventures ; and that untuned ' tongue and voice eafily difcovered itfelf to be fupplied and Life i. " governed by a mind and underftanding fo excellent, that
43.4. " the wit and weight of all he faid carried another kind of
' luftre and admiration in it, and even another kind of ac- ' ceptation from the perfons prefent, than any ornament of ' delivery could reafonably promife itfelf, or is ufually ' attended with ; and his dilpofition and nature was fo gentle ' and obliging, lb much delighted in courtefy, kindnels, and ' generofity, that all mankind could not but admire and love ' him."
§ xxviii. The Laji Debate. 407
ment, the order was then given for immediate Printing printing of the Remonftrance concerning the ordered- ftate of the kingdom ; the Grand Remon- ftrance, as thereafter it came to be called, to diftinguifh it from the many other fimilar State Papers of lefs importance, and lefs intereft for the people, which were ifiued during the war. Even now, however, it required all the temper and control of the leaders to avoid a mutiny. The claim to proteft was, at this Slanning point, once more revived; and Sir Nicholas ^;'^est0 Slanning, heading the protefters, did his beft proteft. to bring his own warning true. Some fixty members having joined him, they formally demanded that their proteftation might be entered by order of the Houfe; but the grow- ing excitement was happily allayed by the art with which Pym, in appearing to yield to that propofal, in reality yielded nothing. The demand was turned into an order for an Storin adjournment tc to take into confideration the Pya^c y " matter touching proteftations in this Houfe ;" and, the following Friday having been fixed for the purpofe of fuch confideration, the Houfe rofe at feven o'clock.
So clofed the laft debate on the Grand Re- monftrance, which then found its way, after a fucceflion of fcenes and ftruggles as worthy of remembrance, though not until now remem- bered, as any in our hiftory, to the audience for whom it was defigned. Neither Hampden nor Pym fpoke further, when the day for dif- Monday, cuflion of the right of protefting came.* They 20t
* The Friday originally fixed was changed to the follow- ing Monday, when the three principal fpeakers were Hyde,
408 The Grand Remonjirance.
Debate on left it to the King's ex-fecretary, old Sir Henry right to Vane, to point out how irreconcileable any fuch. right would be with the precedents, the ufages, and the proceedings of the Commons' Houfe. They liftened without replying to a long fpeech from Hyde, who, admitting there was no pre- cedent for the claim, yet urged that neither was there a precedent for the printing of a Declara- tion, and that, a precedent in a cafe unpre- cedented being nothing to the purpofe, they Ominous muft act according to reafon. They liftened, remark by ftill unmoved^ to the fignificant allufion of Mr. ' Holborne, who, putting the cafe of an order having pafled the Houfe which might carry grave confequences, enlarged upon the hard pofition of thofe who, having no right to pro- teft, would be involved in fuch confequences, " and perhaps lofe their heads in the crowd fc when there was nothing to fhow who was Refolu- "innocent." Their part in the affair was done, againft their weapon thrown, and none of thofe con- Hyde's tingent or poffible events had any alarms for party. them. They called upon the Speaker to put the Refolution, that in no circumftances (hould a proteftation be defired in that Houfe, or admitted if defired ; and they voted and car- ried it.
§ xxix. Impossibility of Compromise.
The incident too furely fhadowed forth in that allufion of Holborne, the blow which fo
Holborne, and Vane, and it was finally " refolved upon the Right to " queftion, That in no cafe a Proteftation ought to be proteft " defired by any member of this Houfe, or admitted by this rejected. " Houfe, being defired."
§ xxix. Impoffibility of Compromise. 409
foon was levelled at the heads of the five lead- Refult of" ing men in thefe debates, and which was but ftrance " the natural and legitimate fequel to the proceed- Debates, ings in connection with them here detailed, clofed all further legitimate difcuflion, and rendered civil war inevitable. But before concluding this Work I may paufe to mow, by fome brief extracts from letters lately difcovered,* that the fame honourable good faith, abfence of mere perfonal animofity, and honefr. defire for a fettlement within the limits of the Conftitu- ££" tion, which had characterifed the Remonftrance averfe to Debates, continued to animate leading men in war- the Parliamentary Party up to the hour when the fword was drawn.
The letters were written to Charles the Firft's Attorney-General, who had become his Chief Juftice of the Pleas, and, upon the very eve of the unfurling the ftandards, had inter- pofed his good offices to mediate in the quarrel. indecifion The attempt was unfortunate ; yet he frankly ofCharles. admits that it might have had other iffue, but for the fatal indecifion of the King. <f I have c£ adventured far," writes the well-meaning Chief Juftice, " to fpeak my mind freely, tc according to my confcience, and what hazard? <c I have runne of the King's indignation in a Bankes "high meafure you will heare by others; all (c- J-) at'
. . tempts to
" men give not the fame advice.'' Among mediate the remarkable men, high in the councils of wI.th the popular party, who perfifted in a final ' s' effort to keep the fword ftill fheathed, were
* Publifhed by the late Mr. George Bankes of Dorfetfliire, delcendant of Charles the Firft's Chief Juftice, in a book entitled Corfe Cajlle.
4io
The Grand Remonftrance.
Like
attempts of leaders in both Houfes.
Lord
Wharton.
Denzil Hollis.
Lord Say and Seale
Lords Northumberland and Wharton ; Denzil Hollis, one of the five members who were the object of the King's fatal attempt ; Lord Say and Seale, leader of the Puritans ; and even the fubfequent leader of the Parliamentary Armies, Lord EfTex. None of thefe men viewed with other than a fad reluctance the ftrife which was about to begin; none of them was eager to exaggerate or precipitate the quarrel. But their frank and unreferved exprefTions elicited no return.
In a letter of Angular earneftnefs, Lord Whar- ton warns Sir John Bankes that he is intimate with many popular leaders, cc and I do ferioufly <c profefs, I dare not in my private thoughts Cf fufpecl; or charge any of them for having " difloyal hearts to his Majefty, or turbulent " hearts to this State." In a letter written from that very place in the Houfe of Commons which he occupied in clofe vicinity with Pym and Hampden, Denzil Hollis tells the Chief Juftice that the Houfe of Commons only waits " the firfb appearance of change in his Majefty (c that he will forfake thofe councils which " would divide him from his Parliament and cc people, and make them deftroy one another," to return in duty and affection to his perfon. In reply to a letter from the Chief Juftice foliciting his opinion, Lord Say and Seale more fternly warns him tf that your cavaliers <f (as they are called) do much miftake in per- cc fuading themfelves or others, that there is <c any fear among thofe who defire the King's " wealth and greatnefs as it may ftand with (C their own rights and liberty, and the end of
§ xxix. Impojfibility of Compromise. 411
<c his government." In rough and unlettered
but manly phrafe, Lord EfTex communicates Lord
thus to Sir John Bankes the grief with which Effex-
he is about to unfheathe his fword : cc The great
cc misfortunes that threaten this kingdom, none
" looks upon with a fadder heart than I ; for
cc in my particular, my confcience aflures me I
cc have no ends of my own, but what may tend
" to the public good of the King and the
" kingdom." And finally, in two as impreffive
fentences as were ever written on the caufes of
the conflict, Lord Northumberland tells Sir Lord
John Bankes, that Parliament is arrayed againft {^f^}"1"
the King becaufe of the peril of <( lofing that
" liberty which freeborn Subjects ought to en-
tc joy, and the laws of the land do allow ; and
c< becaufe thofe perfons who are moft power-
<c ful with the King, do endeavour to bring objefts of
<f parliaments to fuch a condition that they Court
cc mail only be made instruments to execute par y'
ct the commands of the King."
That laft remark is the finking and fufficient comment upon the fcenes which have been defcribed in thefe pages. The continued feries of efforts herein prefented were the prelude to yet another, a more defperate, and a final en- deavour, to bring parliaments to fuch a condi- To weak- tion that they mould be made only instruments en and to execute commands of the King. Happily p^l^f for us, this laft attempt fucceeded no better ments. than its fore-runners ; and it might have be- come the Chief Juftice's defcendant to remem- ber, as he ftudied thefe letters before giving them to the world, that it mainly had arifen from the failure of the King which apparently
412 The Grand Remonjl ranee.
he fo much deplores, that he found himfelf indebted for the liberty he has not very gene- roufly employed in exalting his anceftor as unduly as he depreciates unworthily the greater men who baffled the King's defign. The Small part part allotted to Sir John Bankes in the mo- in a great mentous fcene was in reality a very fmall one, though he played it creditably. He was a refpectable lawyer of honefl intentions and very limited views, who interfered occafionally with creditably good effect to moderate both parties, until played. b0th became committed to extremes ; but when the fword flamed out as arbitrator, he turned afide helplefs and ufelefs, and, dying while yet the victory neither way inclined, he feems to have died in the perfuafion that the disfavour of Heaven muft fall heavily on both, and that both would be deferving of overthrow. There is always much to be faid for a temper fuch as this, even when mod unfitted to its Charaaer occafions ; and undoubtedly a difpofition in of Bankes itfelf fo kindly and pleafing might, at any other (C. JO time than one of neceflary conflict, have done even ufeful public fervice. Sir John's de- fendant was quite entitled to refer to him, therefore, as a favourable fpecimen of a lawyer in that age : but it was lefs difcreet, as well as lefs generous, to contraft his alleged upright afcent to worldly rank, with the 'c unfeemly " intrigues and courtly ftruggles " by which unwifely ^ir Edward Coke is declared to have clambered compared thither. Allufions not ftrictly untrue may Ck yet convey an impreflion fingularly falfe. (C. J.) Whatever his former failings may have been, to the ftudent of our Civil Wars the Lord
§ xxix. ImpoJJibility of Com-promife. 413
Chief Juftice Coke prefents himfelf in one Coke's afpect only. So far, his age redeems his youth and his manhood. It was he who gave to the opening of the ftruggle that ftamp of ancient precedent and legal right, of which it never afterwards, in all its varying fortunes, loft the trace ; and, in the prefence of any attempt to compare fuch a man difadvantageoufly with one immeafurably his inferior, it is impoflible not to remember that while, in the Petition of The Right, Sir Edward Coke has left a monument inftitutes of his exertions for Englifh liberty as impe- tion of ~ rifhable as that which the Inftitutes contain of Right, his knowledge of Englifh law, Sir John Bankes has left no more durable record of either than an elaborate argument againft Hampden in the cafe of fhip-money.
Let me fimply repeat in this place what I have formerly hinted,* that to renew anything Part like the vehemency of the old Civil War dif- views for putes, maintained with unhefitatino- and unin- and. a
. . . & - againft
quiring zeal while yet the authority of Claren- Charles, don was implicitly accepted, it is now become needful to pafs to a Cf more removed ground" than that which preceded the war. Sir John Bankes was in his grave, and his correfpondents A PIa!n diverfely and fadly fcattered ; my Lord North- thVwar. ° umberland was fulking at his country-houfe, Mr. Denzil Hollis was fretting that he had ever fo largely helped to turn out the Stuarts, and my Lord Eflex had been borne in fu- neral pomp to the Abbey of Weftminfter ; be- fore that greater and fterner figure had fully
* See ante, p. 14.7.
4*4
The Grand Remonjlrance.
A cafe more per- plexing.
emerged, whofe {f rude tempeftuous " quali- ties, perplexing in early days to Mr. Hyde, were hardly lefs to perplex and trouble all future hiftorians. And it is lefs with the hope of contributing anything to its iiluftration that mould be entirely worthy of the fubject, than to confefs how much in former years it per- plexed and troubled myfelf, that I have lately taken occafion to exprefs* to what extent the views I once held have fuffered change in regard to the conduct and character of Cromwell.
Limited fcope of prefent work :
to reftore an effaced page in Hiftory.
§ xxx. Conclusion.
The confequences hinted at by Holborne (in the debate of the 20th December on the right of the Minority on the Remonftrance to proteft againft the decifion of the Majority), which had fo fatal a recoil upon the King, do not fall within the fcope of this work. The Arreft of the Five Members is a fubject too large in itfelf to be treated as a portion of that theme which I now bring to a clofe. My object was to reftore a page of the Englifti hiftory of fome importance, which time had been permitted to efface ; and this has been accomplished. It is for the reader to apply the details here given to their further ufe, in iiluftration of already exifting records, and determination of their value. It would lead the writer too far from
* In the Edinburgh Review, January, 1856. See Bio- graphical Effays (Oliver Cromwell, Daniel De Foe, Sir Richard Steele, Charles Churchill, and Samuel Foote), now published by Mr. Murray in a feparate volume.
§ xxx. Conclufion. 415
the defign to which he had purpofely reftricted himfelf, to attempt in this place any fuch appli- cation. Every one may do it, within the range of his acquaintance with the general hiftory of Obje&of the time ; and to help to extend this range for note* *P" all, fome pains have here been taken to render the notes appended to the Abftract of the Re- monftrance, as well as to the Debates, both a guide to refearch out of the common track of hiftories, and a warning againfl: too ready or implicit belief in the moft refpected authorities. It is not defirable, even if it were poflible, that Clarendon's Hiftory of the Rebellion mould be ciaren- depofed from the place it holds in our literature. do.n's Its rare beauties of thought and charm of ftyle, * or^' the profound views of character and life which it clothes in language of unfurpaffed variety and richnefs, its long line of noble and death- lefs portraits through which its readers move as through a gallery of full-lengths by Vandyke and Velafquez, have given and will afTure to Jts beau_ it its place as long as literature remains. But, ties. for the purpofe to which it has mainly been applied by many party writers fince Clarendon's death, as well as by writers not prejudiced or partial, it mould never have been ufed. The authority of its writer is at no time fo worth- jts de_ lefs, as when taken upon matters in which he merits. played himfelf the moft prominent part ; and his imputations againfl; the men with whom he was once leagued as clofely as he was after- wards bitterly oppofed to them, are never to be fafely relied upon. With the very fads he laboured to mifreprefent, he has been here con- fronted ; and with the antagonifts to whom he
416
The Grand Remonftrance.
Its author confront- ed with contempo- raries.
Refult decifive againft him.
Misftate- ments no longer poflible.
Ludicrous errors.
flood actually oppofed upon the floor of the Houfe of Commons, he has been here again brought face to face. The Grand Remonftrance has itfelf been heard after long and unmerited oblivion, and Sir Simonds D'Ewes has fpoken to us after a filence of more than two centuries. The refult is decifive againft Clarendon. It is not merely that he turned King's evidence againft his old aflbciates, but that his evidence is completely difproved.
An opinion has been exprefled, in the courfe of this Work, upon the importance of the Grand Remonftrance merely as a contribution to hiftory, and upon the improbability of its being again difplaced from the pofition here afligned to it. Certainly it is impoflible that any one fhould fpeak of it hereafter as it has been defcribed heretofore. In Mr. D'Ifraeli's Commentaries , for example, a book which after his death was with final and fcrupulous cor- rection republifhed by his fon, it is characler- ifed as an hiftorical memoir of all the infelici- ties of the reign, <f with a very cautious omijjion " that all thofe capital grievances had no longer f( any exiftence."* That fuch an affertion fhould be hazarded again is at leaft not con- ceivable. Amid much, too, that in the fame book is as gravely pafled off for truth, the Remonftrance is faid to have been fmuggled through the Houfe of Commons by a trick. Its authors, we are informed, tc aflured the " moderate men that its intention was purely
* Commentaries on the Reign of Charles I. By Ifaac D'Ifraeli. Ed. 1851, ii. 290.
§ xxx. Conclufion. 417
<c prudential ; it was to mortify the Court, " and nothing more ; after having been read, " it would remain in the hands of the Clerk, tc and never afterwards be called for; and fo, D'ifraeli's " when it was brought forward, to give it the Commen- " appearance of a matter of little moment, \\. 294. <c the morning was fuffered to elapfe on ordi- " nary bufinefs, and it was produced late ; but <c they overfhot the mark," &c. &c. with much more to the fame incredible purport ! Surely not again can Clarendon lead his fol- lowers into fuch a quickfand of " hiftory " as that ; nor, with the Remonftrance itfelf in evidence, can the fignal mifreprefentation he left of its contents, and of the conduct and ^ffe<a of objects of its authors, be in future accepted ftrance on againft his own frequent and unconfcious tefti- the people: mony to its deep and ineradicable imprerTion upon the mafs of the Englifh people.
That, after all, is its final and lading vindi- its vindi- cation. It had become a neceflity fo to make catlon : appeal to the people. It may be true, or it may be falfe, that Cromwell would have fold all he had the next morning if the Remon- ftrance had been rejected, and would never have feen England more : but that Falkland heard him fay fo would feem to be undoubted, and the fact is a Angular proof of the gravity of the conjuncture which had arifen. Meafured and mea- alfo by the effects produced, the fame conclu- fure oflU fion is forced upon us ; though in the prefence ance. of the document itfelf, thefe may well appear lefs furprifing. To do Clarendon juftice, he never affects to conceal the momentous influ- ence exerted by the Remonftrance over the
4 1 8 The Grand Remonftrance.
Its fubfe- fubfequent courfe of affairs. He puts it in quent m- ^jg own language indeed : but when he refers to "that dreadful," "that fatal," Remon- ftrance ; when he fpeaks of it as having li poi- " foned the heart of the people ; " when he recurs to it as " the firft inlet to the inunda- " tions that overwhelmed " his party; when again and again he dwells upon it, as "the firft Confeffed " vifible ground and foundation of that rage by Hyde. " and madnefs in the people of which they cc could never fince be cured;" no glofs or comment is needed for fuch expreflions. They are fo many tributes to the vigour and capacity of his opponents, and to the largenefs and Recruit- wifdom of the outlook they had taken when ing-fer- they launched that Great Remonftrance. Par- cm" war. liament had no fuch recruiting-fergeant through the after years of civil war. It might have fallen, indeed, comparatively without effect, if Charles the Firft had been able at any time to accept honeftly the confequences of his own acls ; but its authors knew that this was not in his nature, and if we would condemn in Motives that refpect their policy, we muft have fatisfied of' its ourfelves, that, with a man fo effentially and deliberately falfe as the King was to all the engagements made with him, it was in any manner poftible, without direct appeal to the People as a part of the State, to bring about a in ro lafting adjuftment of right relations between pealing the Commons and the Crown. The Remon- to thf ■ ftrance conftituted that appeal ; and not the
people . . \ * .
leaft of the claims which in my judgment it poffeffes to the attention and refpect of all ftudentsof hiftory, is the proof which it affords
§ xxx. Conclufion. 419
that Englifh Puritanifm had in itfelf no necef- fary antagonifm to Englifh Institutions and Government. The ancient limited monarchy, and a reformed church eftablifhment, would To fove have fatisfied its authors. They were devout, an^ent religious men, who claimed free exercife for monarchy, their religion ; but infeparable from the Pro- teftant Reformation, and its overthrow of Roman Catholic bondage, to whofe immediate infpiration they owed their greatnefs, was the paffion for civil freedom no lefs than for religious liberty. The writers who would feparate the religious from the political move- Civil and ment in the feventeenth century, and fo ftrive j;el,g10us to underrate the earneftnefs . of the effort it not included for political as well as religious Sparable, emancipation, have their anfwer in the Grand Remonftrance. Liberty of confcience and of worfhip has its leading place therein, but only as the very bails and condition of fuch other claims, constituting civil government, as the right not to be taxed without con fen t, the Rights right to enjoyment of what is lawfully poileiTed, demanded the right to petition, the right to choofe repre- Remon- fentatives, the right of thofe reprefentatives to ftrance. freedom of debate, the right to pure adminif- tration ofjuftice, the right to individual freedom under protection of the laws.
Of the men by whom thefe great rights were fo afTerted in the old Englifh houfe of legif- lature, and to whofe exertions and facrifices in the Long Parliament, their ultimate though t^Lon ° lefs complete acceptance by the Convention Parlia- Parliament is due, perhaps a nearer view is raent afforded in this Work than hitherto has been
420 The Grand Remonftrance.
attainable in any printed record. It might indeed have been too near if the men had been lefs great. But they do not fuffer by that clofer infpection. Their greatnefs, too, is a (Turned fo eafily and fo naturally exerted, Their as to raife no feeling of furprife but that in an genius and age which produced them fuch a tyranny g ' '' mould have been poflible. To find, in the party druggies of two hundred years ago, a full and perfect anticipation of parliamentary conflicts of more modern days, may probably aftonifh not a few ; but ftill more ftartling is it to reflect, that, during the whole fifteen years defcribed in the Grand Remonftrance, while England lay gagged, imprifoned, mutilated, Their and plundered, under the moft vexatious and patience intolerable tyranny that ever tortured body durance. an<^ ^ou^ at once, me yet contained thefe men. But they had profoundly ftudied her hiflory; and they had an immovable faith that her civil conftitution, outraged as it was, yet held within itfelf the fufficing means of recovery and retri- bution. Nor, happily for us, did they quite lofe this patient belief, until the fword was Their re- a<^ua^y drawn ; and hence it was that all the lpeclfbr old laws and ufages of the land, all the old old pre- Ways and precedents of parliament, all the and laws, ancient traditions of the rights of the three eftates, fucceffively drawn forth from their refting-place in records, charters, old books, and parchment rolls, were appealed to on either fide, were claimed by both fides, were tried, tefted, and made familiar to all, in fuch debates and conflicts in the Houfe of Com- mons as thefe pages have defcribed. It was
§ xxx. Conclufion. 42 1
for later generations to enjoy what thus was toiled for fo gallantly, and only with infinite fuffering, and terrible drawbacks, won at laft. But the Leaders of the Long Parliament have Reverence had their reward in the remembrance and theem° gratitude of their defendants ; and it will bode ill to the free institutions of England, when honour ceafes to be paid to the men whom Bifhop Warburton truly characlerifed as the band of greater! geniufes for govern- ment that the world ever faw leagued together in one common caufe.
INDEX.
Abbots.
Abbots feafting and Monks fad- ing, 48.
A'Becket, Thomas. See Becket.
Agricultural Labourers, condition of, under Henry VI, 57.
Alfred, feudal inftitutions in the reign of, 5.
Alford, Sir Edward (Arundel), a note-taker, 124 note. Ordered to give up his notes, ibid.
America, firft expedition to, 71. Its fruits, ibid.
Anglo-Saxon ibvereignty not he- ritable, 11. See Saxons.
Anne, Queen of James I, and her hulband, 95. " Some affection " between her and Gowrie's bro- ther, 96.
Aquinas, difciples of, 73.
Argyle and the Hamiltons (Cove- nant leaders), propofed affaifina- tion of, 165. Implication of the King in the plot, 165 note. 167. The incident turned to account by Pym, 197.
Ariftocracy of England, flare of, on acceflion of Henry VII, 68.
Ariftotle, ftudied by D'Ewes, 120.
Army not to be depended on by Parliament, 1 54. Tampered with by Charles's party, 155. 263. Diibanding of troops in the North prevented by Charles, 164. Hyde's motion relative to undifbanded troops, 166. Germ contained in Cromwell's refolu- tion, 199. Ordinances minus the King, 200. Refolution as to fecond army plot, 210. Nicho-
AJliburnham. las's fear on this head, ibid. Billeting grievances, 218. 221 note. 251 note. Wentworth's paflionate fpeech thereon, 218, 219 notes. Monthly pay of the two armies, 254. 259. Plot in which Courtney was implicated, 356. Suggeftion for defence of kingdom, 357. 385. King's de- fign, 357 note. Proof ot dif- affecied fpirit and of fecond army plot, 384. Refolution for dif- ablement of officers implicated therein, 384, 385. Their expul- fion, 393. Confequences of King's interference with Im- preffment Bill, 399, 400. See Militia . Trained Bands .
Armyn, Sir William (Grantham), Teller on Militia Bill Divifion, 388. 392.
Arran, Lord, 95. «
Arreft of the Five Members. See Forjier.
Arthur, Prince, not entitled to Crown as of mere right, 1 1 . Why John was preferred, 12.
Arundel, Lord, Cromwell's charge againft, 384.
Amburnham, John (Haftings), Teller in laft Remonftrance de- bate, 406.
Afliburnham, William (Ludger- fhall), and Percy, Pollard, and Wilmot, members of Houfe and army officers, why difabled from their feats, 384, 385. How re- warded by the King, 385. Ex- pelled the Houfe, 393.
F F 2
4-4
Bacon.
Bacon, Francis, Lord, character of Richard III by, 62. The tres magi celebrated by him, 64. His character of Henry VII 6<?> 70- 77- 78. 82. His firft interview with James I, 100. His fuggeftion to James for railing money, 105. Referred to by D'Ewes, 338.
Bagfhaw, Edward (Southwark), denounces Ecclefialtical Courts, 237 note *. His fubfequent de- fection, ibid. His fpeech againft the Remonftrance, 299. Pym's reply thereto, 304. Defends Palmer, 348.
Bainton. See Baynton.
Balfour, Col. SirW., Tower Go- vernor, fuperfeded by Charles, 356. 371. Why difplaced, 372 and note.
Ballads, Political. See Political Ballads.
Baltimore, Ireland, Turkiih man- ftealing at, 228 note.
Bancroft, Bifhop of London, adu- lation of James I by, 107.
Bankes, George, Privy Council- lor, unwife comparifons and con- trafts of, in his Story of Corfe Cajlle, 126 and note, 127. His mifreading of Clarendon's doings, 137. 129. His extrava- gant parallel, 146. Inftance in which the parallel fits, 176. Reference to letters printed by him, 409 and note. Reflection which fhould have occurred to him while compiling his book, 411, 412. Indifcreet in pitting his anceftor againft Sir E. Coke, 412, 413.
Bankes, Sir John, Chief Juftice, 126 note. Oppofed to procla- mation for call of Houle, 164. Attempts to mediate between King and parliament, 409. Letters to him from popular leaders, 410. 411. Manner in which he played his part, 412.
Index.
Baxter. His character, ibid. Unwife comparifon between him and Sir E. Coke, 412, 413. His moft memorable a6t, 41 3.
Barbary corfairs in Englifh waters, 228 note.
Barere, no parallel in Englifh Re- volution to, 146.
Barnardifton, Sir N., affection of D'Ewes for, 121.
Baronetcies invented to raife money, 105. D'Ewes a purchafer, 120.
Barons, new relations between the throne and the (temp. Ric. I), 10. Source of their increafed ftrength, ibid. What their tri- umph over John involved, 14, 15. Caufe of their indifference to John's lofs of his French pof- feflions, 1 5. Growth of national feeling in them, 15, 16. 25. Make common caufe with the citizens, 16. What brought the people over to them, ibid. Their difputes with Peter des Roches, 24, 25. Knights of fhires affo- ciated with them, 37, 38. Royal boroughs created to combat their influence, 40. Their fliare in depofing Richard II, 43, 44. Commons often deferted by them, 61. Their pofition after Bofworth fight, 67. 68. See Lords, Houfe of.
Barrington, Sir Thomas (Colchef- ter), an " ancient parliament man," 283 note. Divifions on which he was a teller, 209. 257. note. 309 note. 341. 352. Sup- ports motion for defending the kingdom, 357. Oppofes Hafel- rig's Militia Bill, 386.
Baftwick, Burton, and Prynne, brutal treatment of, 236 notef. May's comment on their mutila- tions, 237 note.
Battle, ftyle of living of the Ab- bot of, 48.
Baxter, Richard, miftake of, rela-
Baynton. tive to Strafford's attainder, 1 53, 154, notes.
Baynton, Sir Edward (Chippen- ham), complains of furreptitious communications to King, 366 note.
Beaumont, M. de, on pofition of James I in his people's eyes, 109.
Becket, Thomas si, theocratical fcheme contended for by, 7, 8. His conflicts with Henry II, 8. Their ultimate refult, 9.
Bedford, Earl of, joins in Lords' petition for a parliament, 251 note.
Beecher, Sir William, why com- mitted to Black Rod's cuftody, 245 note.
Bellafis, Henry (Yorkfhire), named on Remonftrance prefentation committee, 367.
Benevolences tried by James I, 105. See Loans.
Bennet, one John, " a Poet," fa- bricates a fpeech in D'Ewes's name, 289 note.
Berkley, or Berkeley, Sir Robert, Judge, taken from the Bench to prifon, 182 and note. Rebukes Holborne for pleading againft Ship-money, 227 note. In the Tower, 256.
Bible brought within reach of the people, 85.
Billeting grievances. See Army.
Bills in Parliament, how originally dealt with, 50. Evafions of the Sovereign in regard thereto, ibid. Abandonment of the fyf- tem, 51. Enactment on the oc- cafion, 52. Order of Commons as to reading them, 206 note.
Bifhops. See Church.
Blacknall, Mrs. Mary, and her relatives fubjecled to Wardihip extortions, 225 note.
Blany, Mr., ill-reported of, 274.
Bolingbroke, Henry Plantagenet Earl of. See Henry W.
Index. 425
Buckingham.
Bolingbroke, Henry St. John, Lord, views of, regarding Henry VII, 66.
Bolingbroke, Oliver St. John, Earl of, refufcs to fubfcribe to loan to Charles I, 220 notes. Joins in Lords' petition for a parliament, 251 note.
Book of Sports, 303.
Bofworth, lbcial condition of Eng- land after battle of, 67, 68.
Braclon on the limits to kingly power, 28.
Bramfton, Sir John, on Ship- money, 227 note.
Bridgman, Orlando (Wigan), a feceder from Strafford's attain- der, 154 note. Heads oppofition againft Pym, 198. His fpeech in Remonftrance Debate, 305, 306. His pofitions combated by Hollis, 310.
Briltol, Earl of, joins in Lords' petition for a parliament, 251 note. Receives King's anfwer to Proteft of Lords and Commons, 402 note.
Brooke, Lord, pockets of, fearched by King's order, 245 note. Joins in Lords' petition for a parlia- ment, 251 note.
Bruce, John, on value of D'Ewes's MSS, 118, note %. Sir R. Verney's Notes edited by him, 130 note. 219 note. 228 note. 235 note. 290 note. His erro- neous inference on Militia Bill divifion, 393 and note.
Buchanan, George, and his pupil James I, 92.
Buckhurft, Lord, feized for wages due by James I, 104.
Buckingham, George Villiers, Duke of, James's favourite, 95. 101. 311. Caule of his rile to royal favour, 102, 103. His antics how rewarded by the King, 103. His extravagance, 105. His late fecretary, 167 note. Coft and luxurious inci-
426 Index.
Building.
dents of a banquet given by
him, 220 note. Building in London, extortionate
interferences with, 230. Burghley, Lord, entertains James
I, 100. Burke, Edmund, on the fpirit of
Englifh freedom, 1. 2. Burnet, Bifhop, on Chureh covet-
oufnefs, 48. Burton. See Bajl-ivick.
Cabots, expedition and difcove- ries of the, 71.
Cade's Rebellion contrafted with . Wat Tyler's, 56.
Cage, Mr. (Ipfwich), " My old neighbour," 283 note.
Cambridge Univerfity character- ifed by D'Ewes, 119, 120. Firft appearance of the town's M.P. 130.
"Candles called for," 205. D'Ewes thereon, 206.
Capel, Arthur Lord, laft remem- brance of on the fcaffold, 128.
Car, Earl Somerfet. See Somerfet.
Carlyle, Thomas, 113. Ufe in- tended to be made by him of D'Ewes's MSS. 118. Teftifies to their value, ibid, note f .
Cartwright's Cambridge Lectures, Puritan zeal kindled by, 87.
Cary, Sir Robert, entertains James I, 99.
Catholics, Roman. See Papijis.
Caxton, William, dilcovery of Broadfide printed by, 66. How employed by Henry VII, 77.
Cecil, Robert Earl of Salifbury. His Coach mobbed, 89. His warning to the Commons, 90. His fervices in feating James on the throne, 90, 91. Oppor- tunity then loft by him, 91. His firft interview with James I, 100, 10 1. ImprefTion then made upon him, 101. Exclamation uttered by him at a later period, ibid. His complaint as to
Charles I. James's lavilh expenditure, 104. James at a Mafque given by him, 108.
Chambers, Richard, Star Chamber perfecution of, 229.
Charles the Firft, preliminaries to due underftanding of pofition taken up by opponents of, 1. Why he imprilbned Selden, 2. Anti-confcription Statutes cited during conflicts with him, 41. Anceltors of the men of his day, 86. Rumours antecedent to his birth, 95. His infirmities in in- fancy, 96. Their poffible in- fluence on his after career, ibid. Sir P. Warwick on refult of propofed City entertainment to him, 1 12. Grand Remonftrance a Juftification of Rebellion againft him, 114. His interfer- ence a death-blow to Strafford's hopes, 127 note. Clarendon's ftrategy in his behalf, 129. When Culpeper entered into his fervice, 141. Parliament's
A6ls prior to war juftified by his character, 147. Condition of England during war between Commons and him,"' 148. Greateft man on his fide, 149, 1 50. Intrigued againft his own viceroy, 151. Policy adopted by his friends after Strafford's death, 153. Caufe of rea&ion in his favour, 153, 154. Pretext on which he was prepared to revoke his own acts, 155. Points which toldin his favour, 156,1 57. Warning of intention of Parlia- mentary Leaders given him, 158, 159. Bifhop Williams's advice to him, 159. His fcheme how baffled, 159. 160. Differences between him and Parliament deepened, 160. Remonftrance againft him taking fhape, 161. Departs for Scotland, ibid. His fignificant interview with Hyde, 161, 162. Hopes bafed
Charles I.
on his Scottifh journey, 162. 163. Prevents difbanding of Northern army, 164. His im- plied toleration of Montrofe's Affaffination plot, 165 note. iGj. Falkland's loyalty to him bafed on the law, 172. Secederswon over to him by no amendment on his part, 183. His hopes from reappearance of the Plague, 184. Plots of himfelf and Queen againft Pym, 185, 186. Mixed up with abettors of Irifli Rebel- lion, 190. What Pym would have told to him, 190, 191. His fupporters recommended to him, 193. His thanks to Hyde, 193, 194. Infills on inveftiture of new Bifhops, 195. Recep- tion of his fcheme by the Com- mons, ibid. Other queftions on which his views were thwarted by the Commons, 197. Hopes infpired by Irifh Rebellion, 198. Interim power over Army given by him to EfTex, 199. Claim of both Houfes to make ordi- nances during his abfence, ibid. Correfpondence of Nicholas and Queen thereon, 199. 200. Re- ceives news of introduction of Remonftrance, 201, 202. Im- portunities of his Secretary, ibid. His commands to his " Serv- ants," 202. 203. Effect of Pym's Relblution as to fecond Army plot, 210. Nicholas's fears hereon, and on the Re- monftrance, 210, 211. Appeal of his friends in the Houfe, 212. Loan demanded in 1 626 by him, 220 note. Projects for plunder- ing his fubjects, 221 note. Straf- ford's fatal advice, 243, 244. Ride through Royfton, 243 note. Subfcriptions for his aid, why ineffectual, 250. People imprifoned for refufing loans to him, ibid, note *. Nobility's petition to him for a parliament,
Index* 427
Charles 1. 250 — 252 and notes. His flrft refolve on receivingthe petition, 252 note. His fcheme for fet- ting up his own church by Popifh aid, 271 note. What the Commons required of him refpecting Popery, 271, 272. And as to removal of evil counfellors, 272, 273. Final prayer of the Remonftrants to and for him, 273. Why lb anx- ious to be back from Edin- burgh, 274. Objection taken to his indorfement of Moniers' petition, 274, 275. In Weft- minfter Hall, 277. Informed of Royalift tactics for im- peding Remonftrance, 313. Congratulated by Commons on his return from Scot- land, 344. Clarendon's fignifi- cant remark on his "logic," 347 note. His reception and acts on his return, 355, 356. Plot proved againft his officers, 356. His meffage for difmiffal of Trained Bands, ibid. note. Proceedings of Commons there- on? 357- 357—359 notes' Re- monftrance petition to be pre- fented to him, 359. Abftract of its contents, 359 — 362. Proofs of furreptitious commu- nication of fame to him, 365, 366 notes. Deference to hir. feelings in the matter, 367. Petition and Remonftrance pre- fented, 368. His exclamation at claufe relating to religion, ibid. His pleafantries on the occafion, 369. His infinuating queftions, ibid. Meffage re- turned by him, 370. Acts fhowing his hoftile intents, 370, 371. His admitted object in appointing Lunsford Tower Go- vernor, 372 and note. Con- fequences of his giving com- mand of guard to Dorfet, 373 and note. Selden on ufe made
4^8
Index.
Charles II.
by him of " Pym and his com- pany," 374 and note f. Plea for his intended revocation of unpalatable parliamentary a£ts, 375, 376. Taftics, towards that end, of his party in the Houfe, 376 — 378. Godolphin's novel l'uggeftion in fame direction, 382, 383. Breach of privilege by Charles himfelf, 383 note. Allufions to him and his rights in Eighth Debate on Grand Remonftrance, 287. 292. 294, 295. 301. 302. 303. 304. 305. 311. 312.321. His Queen. — See Henrietta Maria.
Charles II when Prince, 165 note.
Charter, Great. See Great Char- ter.
Charter of Henry I a precedent for the Great Charter, 2.
Charters and royal conceflions difficult to fupprefs, 2, 3. Vio-
" lations under Charles I, 225.
Chatham, Lord, on " Nullus liber homo," 21.
Chaucer, the Poet, rife of, 43.
Chillingworth, Dr. William, omi- nous difclofure made by, 374. Refolution of Houfe thereon, 375. Sufpicions let loofe thereby, ibid. One of Clarendon's great little men, 405 and note.
Cholmley, or Cholmondeley, Sir Hugh (Scarborough), teller on claufe againft Bifhops, 209. Why grateful to Hyde, 330.
Chriftianity and the Crufades, 6.
ChrilHe, Mr. Shafteibury Papers publifhed by, 253 note.
Church, ufurpations of, refilled by Henry II, 7. Seizure of its temporalities propofed by the Commons, 48. Its luxurious Abbots and ftarved Monks, ibid. Grounds of propofed feizure, 48, 49. Revenge taken by its dig- nitaries, 49. Failure of projecl: a fource of regret, ibid. Bifhops and Bishopries in danger, 155.
Church. Hiftorian May on this topic, 156 note. Hyde's fervices and promife in relation thereto, 162, 163. Anti-Epifcopacy Bill un- der difcumon, 167. 195. De- fection of its previous fupporters, 168. Thirteen Bifhops im- peached, 194. King's pro- pofal for inveftiture of new Bifhops, 195. How received by the Commons, ibid. Debate on Bifhops' demurrer to im- peachment, 195, 196. Confer- ence with the Lords demanded, 196. Altered views of Dering and Falkland regarding Bifhops, 207, 208. Divifion on claufe againft Bifhops, 209. Falk- land's Speech on Laud's pro- papift experiments, 217 note. Ecclefiaftical tyranny, 237 and notes. Enormities of Laud's proceedings, 238. 239. Relult of Epifcopal Perfecutions, 238, 239. PafTports to Preferment, 239. What was preached as Gofpel, ibid, notes. Attempt to force Liturgy on Scotland, 242. 247. Unuiiial Prayer for the Sick, 243 note. Continued obftinacy of Laud and the Bifhops, 246. Clergy taxed for King's fupply, 247. Harbottle Grimflon thereon, ibid, note *. Abfence from Church more heinous than attendance at Mafs, ibid, note %. Lord Falk- land on this grievance, 248 note. ReprefTive meafures of Long Parliament, 257. Re- forms introduced, 258. Reply of Commons' Leaders to their flanderers on Church matters, 266, 267. What their real de- figns were, 267 — 269. Struggles and divifions on the Bifhops' Bill, 267 notes. Papift help invoked to fet up Proteftant Church, 271 note. Divifion on Bifhops' claufe in Remonftrance,
Index.
429
Circuits.
309, 310. Proclamation of King on return from Scotland, 355- 37°- Further on abridg- ment of Bifhops' power, 361.
363. What D'Ewes laid thereon,
364. 365. Mr. Coventry's fug- geftions, 361. note 364. Q_uef- tion raifed by King's ufe of words not in " Religious Oppref- fions" claufe, 365, 366, notes.
Circuits of Judges appointed, 9.
City, alleged counter-projefts to entertainment of Charles I by, 112.357. Indication of its tem- porary lukewarmnefs in popular caufe, 156. Train-bands or- dered to guard Houfes of Par- liament, 166. One year's Ship Money, 227 note. City loan for Irifh exigencies, 328. 329. En- tertains the King, 355. Uneafy feeling of Citizens, 372. Citi- zens fired on by King's Guard, 373, and note. Unconftitutional plea grounded on expected City Petition, 394. Intention of ori- ginators of petition, 396. AfpecT: of City 220 years ago, ibid. note. Arrival of petition at Houfe of Commons, 397. Deputation with fame called in, 397, 398. Dimenfions of petition and number of figners, 398. Ad- drefs of deputation, and Speak- er's reply, ibid.
Civil War. See Great Civil War.
Clare, Earl of, refufes to fublcribe to loan to Charles I, 220, note.
Clarendon, Edward Hyde Earl of, on rife of Villiers, 102. His miueading account of Debates on Grand Remonftrance, m, 113. Pifture drawn by his friend Sir P. Warwick, 112. Teft for his honefty, 117. His votes on Strafford's Attainder and Parliament Perpetuation Bill, 126, 127. Signed the Pro- teftation, 127. His fliare and afTociates in Strafford's deftruc-
Clarendon.
tion, 128. Himfelf the caufe of the confufion hitherto exifting on this fubje6l, 128, 129. His reafons for declining office, 129. Duplicities confefTed to by him, 129, 130. His firft encounter with Cromwell, 130. Hisdifin- genuoufnefs relative toFalkland's lupport of Strafford's attainder, 142. What excufe for himfelf ?
142, 143. Inference deducible from his only difagreement with Falkland, ibid, note f. What emboldened him to falfify fa£r.s,
143. A6r.s of Charles con- demned by him, 155. Among the traitors to the Commons, 156. Ready to counfel decep- tive courfes to the King, 157. Surprifed at being fent for by Charles, 161. His account of the interview, 162. His pro- mife to the King, 163. On abfence of Members from the Commons, ibid. Attempts to turn debate on plots againft Parliament, 165. What he fays on Montrofe's afTaflination plot, ibid. note. Outvoted on his propofition, 166. His charac- ter of Secretary Nicholas, ibid, note *. On complaints of " in- direct way of the Court," 167 note * . His tribute to Falkland, 170 and note. Effect of his in- fluence over him, 172. Sir E. Verney's reply to him, 172, 173. Anecdote told by him of Falkland, 175, 176. On Falk- land's charities and hofpitalities, 178, 179 &ndnotes. Chofen by Falkland as his new leader, 181. His party no waverers originally, 182. Their defer- tion never accounted for, 182, 183. His low eftimate of Strode and Hafelrig, 187 note. Ad- vantage taken by himofStrode's violence, 189, 190. Another Hyde more Royalift than he,
430 Index,
Clarendon. 189, note. Check to his eager- nefs in the King's dt fence, 190. His reply to Pym s ipeech on evil counsellors, 191. Recom- mended to the King for "en- couragement," 193. King's thanks communicated to him, 193,194. His fneer at Dering: the Ovid Story, 207, 208 notes. His urgent appeal againft theRe- monftrance, 212. Pym's home- thruft reply, 212, 213. Charge made by him againft Pym, 214. His fpeech againft the Judges on Ship Money, 229, note. On Rule of conduct at the Council Board, 235 note. How Com- miffions interpreted the " discre- tion " permitted to them, 239 note. In trouble at York, 240, 241 notes. Another fling at Strode and at South wark Rioters, 245 note. Right in his fact, but wrong in his inference, 246 note. On favours granted to Papifts, 248 note. On Maflacre of Proteftants in Ireland, 265 note. On authorlhip of Re- monftrance, 268 note. A de- vice to gain time, 275, 276. His conversations in Weftmin- fter Hall, 276. Still waiting to fpeak, 282. At Pym's dinner parties, 282 note. Fiennes' at- tempt to convert him, ibid. His place in the Houfe, 284. His Ipeech in eighth debate on Re- monftrance, 286, 287. His wordinefs, 286 note. His in- correct quotation of paftage re- lating to Eliot, 287 note. On Culpeper's manner and charac- ter, 300 and note. Pym's reply to his fpeech, 302. Tactics of his Party communicated to Charles, 313. His ftatements as to how the Remonftrance was carried, 314, 315. His mifftate- ment relative to Hampden, 317. Protefts againft printing of Re-
Clarendon. monftrance, 318, 323. Other milftatements of his, 319. Point in his eftimate of Hampden Sup- ported by D'Ewes, 320 note. Further paflage from his Hiftory on fame Subject, 321 note. On Cromwell's words to Falkland at clofe of Debate, 327. Wrong as to time of HouSe's next meeting, 327. 329. His charge againft Pym and party in connection therewith, 329, 330. Why the " Northern Men " refufed to join againft him, 330. Reafons for di/believing his ftatements, 330,331. Distinction admitted by himfelf, ibid, notes. Alleged diSpute between him and Palmer, 333 note. His Speech in defence of theProteft, 333, 334. Strode's fuggeftion regarding him, 334. His defence of Palmer, 335, 336 and notes. Calls for a divi- fion, 340. Teller thereon, 341. " Lets himfelf loofe," 347 . note : His Significant admifllon relative to Charles's " logic," ibid. Re- futation of his milftatements re- lative to treatment of Palmer, 353 — 355. His ftatements ver- batim, 354 note. Sees the King privately, 355. His objections to Remonftrance-Petition, 364. Discreditable acls brought di- rectly home to him, 366 note. His charge of violation of com- pact againft Remonftrants, 370. Taken into King's Secret coun- cil,371. His admifllon of Lunf- ford's evil antecedents, 372. And of Charles's object in Select- ing him, ibid. note. His obser- vation on Commons' diSmiflal of King's Guard, 373. His doctrine on Peers' interference at elections, 384. His mil- ftatements and lelf-contradictions concerning Hafelrig's Militia Bill, 385. 389 — 392. Point on which he was right, 392. His
Index.
43 l
Clergy.
text miiread by Hallam, 393. His charge againft St. John, 400. His character of Slanning, 404. His pictures of great men of little fize, 405, 406 notes. Speaks on right of proteft, 408. Merits and demerits of his Hif- tory, 415. His contemporaries and himfelf brought face to face, 416. Remit thereof, ibid. His eftimate of the Grand Remon- ftrance, 417, 418. See alfo, 199. 208. 237 note. 262 note. 271 note. zjj. 285. 317 note. 322. 362. 374 note f. 407 note. 413. 414.
Clergy, why difaffecled to Parlia- ment, 156 note *. See Church.
Clerk of the Market extortions
abolifhed, 257. Clotworthy, Sir John (Maiden), takes part in Grand Remon- ftrance, 203. Amendments on Remonftrance by " J. C", 220 note *. On gunpowder mono- poly, 232 note. On lands be- tween high-water and low-water mark, 233 note. Divifions on which he was atelier, 257 note. 309 note f. 317. 352. 406.
Coat and Conduct money extor- tions, 225 and note. 251 note. Abolifhed, 254.
Cockpit fports revived by James I, 104. One Mafter of the Cocks equal to two Secretaries of State, 104.
Coinage, projected debafement of the, 231 and note.
Coke, Sir Edward, Chief Juftice, 23. 24. Contrafted with Sir John Bankes, 412. Services of his later days, 413. His Infti- tutes and the Petition of Right, ibid.
Cole, the haberdafher's apprentice in DiftaffLane, 377 and note.
Coleridge, S. T., opinion of, re- lative to war with Charles,
Commons.
Colet afTociated with Erafmus, 74.
75- 77-
Comines, Philip de, why England the belt governed ftate, 58.
Commerce, feeds of, lbwn by the Crufades, 6. Rife of merchants and tradefmen, 25. Rights and privileges infured to them by guilds and charters, 25, 26. Effect of commerce on focial diftinclions, 57. Its condition during the wars of the Rofes, 62, 63. Growth of guilds, 63. Effect of Charles's opprefhve extortions, 226. Defenceleffnefs of merchant fhips in the Channel, 226 — 228 and note. Effect of Star Chamber perfecution, mo- nopolies and reftraints on enter- prife, 229 — 231.
Commiffions of Inquiry under the Norman Kings and their fucceffors, 33. Set Cottagers. De- populations. High Commijfion. Se-ujers.
Commonalty, pofition gained by the, 38. A recognifed power in the State, 39. Ill-fupported by the Commons under Henry VII,'66. See Commons ,Houfe of. Parliament. People.
Common, poor deprived of their rights of, 233 and note +.
Commons, Houfe of, origination of the, 29. Vague formation of its authority, 34. Knights of Shires fummoned, 34, 35. Writs iffued for firft Houfe, 38. Gradual growth of power of Commons, 39. Statutory re- cognition of their legiflative equality, 40. Bearing of Ed- ward III towards them, 42. Courfe taken by them on depo- fition of Richard II, 44. Their demands on Henry IV relative to the fucceffion, 46. Condi- tions annexed by them to fup- plies granted to him, 47. They compel him to change his offi-
43 2
Index.
Commons.
cers, ibid. Their propofal to him refpecling Church Tempo- ralities, 4.8, 49. Advantages derived from neceflities of Henry V, 51. Further rights and ex- emptions gained, 52, 53. Their privilege afTerted in Thorpe's cafe, 53. Source of their ftrength, 61. Their neglect of the people's interefts under Henry VII, 66, 67. What made them his inftrumenr, 68. Their pofition under the Tudors, 82. Concefiions by Henry VIII, 83. Powers ex- clulively their own, 84. Peter Wentworth's declaration, ibid. Reduction of their authority by Elizabeth, 85. Puritan leaders in the Houfe, 87. A preroga- tive-loving ferjeant filenced, 89. Cecil's warning and its fequel, 90. What took place when the " Proteftation," was drawn up, 1 27 notes. Confufion hitherto prevailing as to their conduit on Strafford's attainder, 128. Verney's report of debate thereon, and queftion thence arif- ing, 130 — 132. Difpute of 10th April, 134. Sitting of 12th April, 136, 137. D'Ewes's re- port of fame, 137 — 141. Side on which moft wealth was ranged, 148. Deferters from the popular fide, 163, 164. Strode's propofition for enforc- ing attendance, 163. Report laid before Houfe by Pym, 1 64. Proceedings thereon, 165, 166. City train-bands ordered up to guard Houfe, 166. Deferters ontheBifhops' Bill, 168. Break up of the Liberal phalanx, 182. SecefTion of fupporters never ac- counted for, 182, 183. Effect of threats againft Pym, 185. Waller's unparliamentary efca- pade and its refult, 191, 192. Journal entry thereof, 192 note.
Commons. Debates about the Bifhops, 194 — 196. About evil counfellors, 197 — 199. About command of Army, and levying of Volun- teers, 199. 200. Proceedings on Grand Remonftrance, 201 et feq. [See Grand Remonftrance, ] Candles moved for, 205, 206. Shilling fines : Procedure on Bills, ibid, note -f-. Unautho- rised reports fuppreffed, 209. Refolution as to fecond army Plot, 210. Imprifonment and maltreatment of members com- plained of, 222, 223. Slanders levelled againft the Houfe, 261, 262. Reply of its leaders to their affailants, 266, 267. What they contemplated in their deal- ings with Church abufes, 267 — 269. Their intentions relative to learning, 269. The old Commons Chamber, 276. Aver- age number of Members prefent during Debates on Remon- ftrance, 316 and note. Attacks on authority of Houfe contem- plated, 321. 323. Scene occa- iioned by Palmer's Proteft, 323 — 326. 345. [See Palmer\ King's Guard under Dorfet difmifled, 373. Members to bring their own fervants armed, 374. Selden on King's ufe of Pym and Party, ibid. Dr. Chil- lingworth'sdifclofure, 374, 375. Charges againft Members .by Strangways and Kirton, 376, 377 note, 378. Pym's fignifi- cant queftion to Speaker, 379. Strode, Waller, and Culpeper's altercation, ibid. Difpute be- tween D'Ewes and Culpeper, 380, 381. Pym's complaint of the Lords, 381, 382 and notes. Godolphin's retaliatory fuggef- tion and reprimand, 382, 383, and note. Mr. Speaker defponds, 383 and note. Cromwell on breach of privilege by a Peer,
Index.
433
Comus.
383, 384. Hyde's defenfive re- joinder, 384. Apprehended dan- gers, 384, 385. Scene on intro- duction of Hafelrig's Militia Bill, 385, 386. Cook's way of citing precedents, 386. His blunder expofed by D'Ewes, 387. Admonifhed by Mr. Speaker, 388 and notes. Hafel- rig's Bill read firft time, 388. Divifions thereon and confuiion relative to fame, 388. 392. Cla- rendon's mifftatements and felf- contradictions on this fubjecl, 385. 389 — 392. Hollis's mo- tion as to the " three reverences," 393 » 394 notes. New guard of Halberdiers placed at door of houfe, 394. Alleged grounds for fuch guard, ibid. Their in- ftant difmiffal refolved on, 395. Text of order for same, ibid, note. A "fliut the door " inci- dent, 395, 396. Punifhment of underfheriff andmagiftrates, 396. Arrival of City Petition, 396. 397. Deputation therewith called in, 397, 398. Dimen- fions of petition and number of petitioners, 398. Mr. Speaker's reply to the deputation, ibid. Houfe fummoned before the King, 399. Unconftitutional courie taken by him, 399, 400. Refolve of Houfe thereon, 400. Proteftation of Lords and Com- mons carried to King, ibid. His reception of and anfwer to their deputation, 400, 401 notes. See Grand Remonjlrance. Long Parliament. Parliament. Saint Stephen's Chapel.
Comus and his crew, James's court likened to, 103.
Conceflions not refumable, 3.
Confcription for military fervices, a£ts againft, 41, 42. See Army.
Cook, Sir Robert (Tewkefbury) would expel Palmer, 347. Liable to expulfion himfelf, 348.
County Courts.
Cook, or Coke, Thomas (Leices- ter) cites precedent againft Hafel- rig, 386. Ordered to withdraw, 387. D'Ewes makes merry with him, 387, 388. Admonifhed by Mr. Speaker, 388. Record of the incident from Commons Journals and Verney, ibid, note.
Corbet,Sir John (Shropfhire) named on Remonftrance Prefentation Committee, 367.
Corn, foreign, importation pro- hibited under Edward IV, 62.
Cornwall, children carried off by Turks from, 229 note.
Cornwallis, Sir F. (Eye) teller on important divifions, 257 note. 309 note. 310 note. 317. 341.388.392.
Cottagers, object of Commiffion againft, 233 note.
Cottington, Francis Lord, im- plicated in Strafford's Treafon, 135. 138. 139. 140. 141.
Cotton, Sir Robert, 24. Story told of him and his lady, 316.
Cottrell, Elizabeth, capital con- viction of, 235 note. How brought about, 236 note.
Council, Great. See Great Council.
Council of the North, or Court of York, 182. Hyde's fpeech on its indifcreet ' difcretion,' 239, note. How the Court brought him into trouble, 240 note. Abolifhed, 256.
Council Table, abominations of the, 235. 238. 239. 245. 250. Hafelrig's recollection of its vagaries, 235 note. Character of thofe who fat at it, 241. Not Councillors but Countenancers, 242. Deprived of its powers, 257. Effect: of its fentences in Elizabeth's days, 350.
County Courts, 26. Had power to iffue Commiffions of Inquiry, 33. Leaft feudal remnant of modified Feudality, 37. Of whom comprifed, ibid.
434
Index.
County.
County rates as connected with county reprefentation, 36, 37.
County reprefentation, beginning of, 33. Statutes for regulating elections, 47. 54, 55. See Eleilions. Parliament.
Court of the North. See Council of the North.
Court of Requefts Divifion, 257 n.
Courts of Law degraded into Courts of extortion, 231. See Council Table. High Commiffion. Houfe- hold. Judges. Jujlice. Star Chamber.
Courtenay, Sir William, houfe of, robbed by pirates, 228 note.
Courtney, Adam, charged with participation in army plot, 356.
Coventry, John (Evemam), place in the Houfe of, 284 and note. His fpeech in debate on Remon- ftrance, 312. Suggeftion of his adopted, 361 note. Ob- jection raifed by him, 364. D'Ewes " looks towards" him, 365.
Cowley, the poet, and Lord Falk- land, 170 note.
Cox, Sir Henry, entertains James I, 100.
Crane, Mr., Victualler of the Navy,
275-
Crane, SirRobert (Sudbury), teller in Remonftrance Debate, 326.
Cranmer, Edward VI an inftru- ment in the hands of, 80, 81.
Crew, John (Brackley), pofition and principles of, 348. His conciliatory Ipeech on Palmer's cafe, 348, 349. His million at Uxbridge, 348 note.
Crewe, Sir Randall, Chief Juftice of England, caufe of displace- ment of, 220 note.
Cromwell, Oliver (Cambridge Town), 86. His firft fight of James I, 100. His firft en- counter with Clarendon, 130. His coufin Waller, 191. Carries refolution againft inveftiture of
Cru fades.
new Bifhops, 195. His fignifi- cant addition to Pym's refolu- tion, 199. Moves amendment on Grand Remonftrance, 203. His queftion to Falkland, 213. His rejoinder to Falkland's re- ply, 214. Clarendon's deduc- tions from the anecdote, 214 note. Claufe in Remonftrance inferted on his reprefentation, 234. Notice given by him, ibid. note. His place in the Houfe, 285. Carries refolution to burn Dering's Book, 289 note. His deportment and alleged expreffions at clofe of debate on Remonftrance, 327. 417. Complains of (lander againft the Houfe, 357. His charge againft Lord Arundel, 383,384. His " greater and fterner figure," 41 3. Perplexing features of his character, 414. Change of author's views in regard to him, ibid, and note. See alfo 182. 274. 348. Cromwell, Sir Oliver, regales
James I, 100. Crooke, Judge, on Ship Money,
227. Crown, oppofition of the Barons to the (temp. Ric. I), 10. Not heritable property, 1 1. Prin- ciple on which the Norman kings received it, 11, 12. Same confirmed on John's coronation, 12. Bracton's enumeration of powers fuperior to it, 28. Power of the people to difpofe of it, 44. Amenability of its officers to the Laws, 59. Evafions and encroachments poflible, 60. Con- trol over the public purle yielded by it, ibid. Long Parliament not defirous permanently to abolifh its Prerogatives, 147. Crufades, injurious effects of the, 5. Their redeeming features, 6. Their influence on commerce and literature, ibid.
Culpeper.
Culpeper, Sir John (Kent), an eager fupporter of Strafford's attainder, 128. 134. 154. note. Why Clarendon declined to take office with him, 129. Againft hearing Strafford's Counfel, 131. Why, 144. Ad- vocated conference with Lords, 140. His courfe after Strafford's death, 141. His afpe£l at the Commons' bar, 177. How the Queen joined his name with that of Pym, 186 note. Added to Remonftrance Committee, 209. 267 note. His denunciation of Ship Money, 227, note. On the Gunpowder Monopoly, 232 note. His characleiiftic fpeech on monopolies, 255 note. His place in the Houfe, 284 and note. His manner of fpeaking, 300. Hyde and Warwick on his character, ibid. note. His fpeech in eighth debate on Remon- ftrance, 301. Pym's replies there- to, 303. 304. His pofitions com- bated by Hollis, 310. Oppofes printing of Remonftrance, 323. Claims leave to proteft, ibid. Againft calling Palmer to ac- count for his Proteft, 335, 336. Clamorous for divifion thereon, 340. Sees the King privately, 355. Objects to Pym's rea- fons, 362. Anfwered by Pym, 363. Reiterates charge againft citizens, 379. Interrupts Sir S. D'Ewes, ibid. Proved to be in the wrong, 380, 381. His doctrine on Peers' interference with elections, 384. Moves re- jection of Haielrig's Militia Bill, 386. Teller on divifions, 388. 392. 406. See alfo 199. 354. 376.
Cumberland, Lord, entertains James I, 100.
Curia Regis — the King's Cabinet — how conftituted, 28, 29.
Index. 43 5
D'E-ives.
Danton and Falkland, parallel traits of character in, 176.
Dean Foreft, public lofs by break up of, 233 and note.
Depopulations, Commiffion for, 234 note.
Dering, Sir Edward (Kent), joins the King's party, 168. His change of tactics regarding Bifhops, 207, 208. His Ovidian motive for oppofing them, ibid, notes. Divifions on which he was a teller, 209. 326. Cha- rafteriftic paffage from a fpeech of his, 211 7iote. His prophecy relative to Grand Remonftrance, 215. His place in the Houfe, 285. His fpeech in eighth de- bate on Remonftrance, 289. Confequences of his printing fame ibid, and note. Character of the fpeech, 290, 291. What his conftituents wanted, 291. His views on church matters, 292, 293. Spoon and moon fimiles, 293. Sydney Smith's debt to him, ibid. note. Final reafon for his adverfe vote, 293, 294. His colleague's fpeech, 300, 301. Pym's reply to his fpeech, 303. His moon fimile difpofed of, 307, 308. Named on Remonftrance Prefentation Committee, 367. Evades an honour intended for him, 367,368. D'Ewes's con- firmatory entry, 368 note.
Deri vale, John, and the " Gra- cious" ftreet fcene, 377 note.
D'Ewes, Paul, father of Sir Si- monds, 1 19. 120.
D'Ewes, Sir Simonds (Sudbury), defcription of MS Journal of, 117,118. Mr. Carlyle and Mr. Bruce on its hiftorical value, 118 notes. His parentage and education, 119. His ftudies : What he deemed the '' moft ra- vilhing " part of knowledge, 120. Marries: buys a baron- etcy, ibid. Why Laud put him
436
Index.
D'Eaves.
into the Star Chamber, 121. Elected M.P., ibid. Renders good fervice with his Records : his full fpeech, 121, 122. Fruit of his love for note-taking, 122, 123. How he took his notes, 123. Condition or his original MS. 123, 124. Confufed pre- fent ftate thereof, 124, 125. His reply to an objector to note- taking, 124 note. Character of pages felected for fac-fimile, 125.136. His account of what led to the Proteftation, 127, 128 notes. His evidence deci- five as to pre fumed difagree- ment between Pym and Hamp- den, 133. 136,137. His minute on procedure againft Strafford, 134. His notes of fitting of 12th April (pages in fac fimile fet out) 137 — 141. His own fpeech on that occafion, 140. His notes a corrective of Cla- rendon's fal fine at ions, 143. Re- ports Pym's fpeech, 145. Acts and motives of parliamentary leaders firft difcernible from his notes, 149. On Strode's pro- pofal for fining abient members, 163. 316 note. His zoological parable, 166. His portraiture of Falkland at the Commons' bar, 177. His allufions to Strode as a young man, 188. 189 notes. Terrifies to earneft- nels of debate on Bifhops' in- veftiture, 195. How he raifed a laugh at Holborne's expenfe, 196. On Strode's motion for a milling fine, 205 notef. Sup- ports motion for candles, 206. Not over-refpectful to Mr. Speaker, 280 note t- Lectures Mr. Speaker on point of order, 281 note. His feat and deport- ment in the Houfe, 283, 284. How referred to there, 283 note. His opinion of, and fenfible ob- jection to calling in Dering's
D^Enves.
book, 289 note. On publica- tion of fabricated and falfified fpeeches, ibid. On forged Roy- alift petitions, 289 note. Why he left Houfe during debate on Remonltrance, 308. His remark on Yelverton's commu- nication, 309 note. On rule of precedence in debates, 311 note. On number of members abfent from Houfe, 316 note. On Hampden's " ferpentine fub- " titty," 320 note. On Palmer's motion to take down proteflers' names, 323. Defcribes excite- ment which followed, 324, 325. On Hampden's conciliatory fuggeflion, 326. On rifing of Houfe, 327. On time of meet- ing next day, 329 and note. Inference from his filence on matters made much of by Clar- endon, 330. Named on com- mittee for abufes of printing, 332. On vehemence of Palmer's friends, 335. His fpeech in de- bate on Palmer's Proteft, 337 — 340. On addition propofed by Palmer's friends, 340, 341. His votes in the two divifions there- on, 341. Further notes on the Palmer difpute, 344. 345. 350. On ufages of Houfe in reference thereto, 351. On final divifion thereon, 351. 352. Settles point of order in Debate on Remon- flrance Petition, 362, 363. His notes of the debate, 363. De- fends claufe relating to Bifhops, 364. His views adopted, ibid. Suggeftion of his not agreed to by Pym, 365. Named on Re- monftrance prefentation Com- mittee, 366. Receives Petition and Remonftrance from Speaker, 378. His Journal Entry, ibid, note. On Dorfet's " indilcreet ralhnefs," 373 note. On Chil- lingworth's difclofure, 374, 375. On the " Gracious"
Digby.
ftreet fcene, 376 note. On Dorfet's order to fire on citizens, 379. Called to account by Cul- peper, ibid. About what? 380. How he difpofed of Culpeper's explanation, 3S0, 381. His notes of debate on Hafelrig's Militia Bill, 386. Speaks in iupport of bill, ibid. Chuckles over Cook's mif-cita- tion of a precedent, 387, 388. His minute of Hollis's motion on form of entering and leaving Houfe, 393, 394 notes. On Newport's attempt toquit Houfe without leave, 395, 396. On dimenfions and number of figna- tures to City Petition, 398. Named on deputation with pro- teft to King, 400 note. His account of King's reception of and aniwer to fame, 401, note. " Great Silence" in the Houfe, 402. His furprife at Purefoy's propofal, 403. Leaves Houfe in midft of debate, 403, 404. Returns in the nick of time, 406. Refult of his confronta- tion with Clarendon, 416. 213. 331 margin, 332 note. 400 note*.
Digby, George Lord (Dorfet),vote of, on a refolution relative to Strafford, 131. Not yet Straf- ford's friend, ibid. A feceder on queftion of attainder, 153, note. His principal fellow fe- ceders, 154 note. Firft mover of a Remonftrance, 158. 161. Goes over to the King, 158. His convenient elevation to the peerage, 279. Selden thereon, 280 note. Made a fcapegoat by Clarendon, 372 note.
Digby, Hon. John (Milborne Port), guilty of difrefpecl to the Houfe, 279. Rebuked by Mr. Speaker, 280. Selden's farcafm on his conduct, 280 note.
Digby, Sir Kenelm, 332.
Difraeli, Ifaac, character of his
Index. 437
Edxvard I. notice of Grand Remonftrance, 113. His mifftatement regard- ing it, 416, 417.
Diftaff Lane, haberdafher's appren- tice of, 377 and note.
* Divine Right,' death-blow given to, 44.
Dorfet, Earl of, command laid by King on, 358 note. 373. Him- felf and guard difmifled, 373. His " indifcreet rafhnefs," ibid, note. What followed on his difmifTal, 374. 376. His con- duel juftified by Waller, 379. Blamed by D'Ewes, ibid.
Drake, Sir Francis, 85.
Dudley and Empfon. See Emp- fon and Dudley.
Durham, biihop of, entertains James I, 100.
Dutch, ftiips taken in Englifh Channel by the, 228 note.
Earle, Sir Walter (Weymouth), complains of note-takers, 124 note. Supports motion for con- ference, 166. Drags Strode out of Houfe, 188 note. His refolu- tion on bufmefs of Houfe, 208 note. His place in the Houfe, 285. Moves to call in Dering's book, 289 note. Supports mo- tion for defence of kingdom, 357. Defends D'Ewes on point of order, 380. Divifions in which he was a teller, 310. 327. 406.
Eden, Sir Frederick, on diftinclion between demands of Wat Tyler and Jack Cade, 56.
Education, popular, endowments for, temp. Henry VI, 63. Im- petus given by labors of Erafmus and his aflbciates. See Erafmus.
Edward I, important ftatutes pafled in reign of, 39. 40. Foiled in attempts to impofe taxes inde- pendently of parliament, 41. Decline of feudal tenures with his acceflion, 55.
G G
438
Index.
Ednuard II.
Edward II, royal boroughs cre- ated by, 40. Conditions an- nexed to fupplies granted to him, 41.
Edward III foiled in attempts to impofe taxes without parlia- mentary fanftion, 41. Statutes of conititulional import patted in his reign, 41, 42. His cha- rafter: Intellectual influences of his reign, 42. Chaucer his con- temporary, 43. Length of his reign and number of his parlia- ments, ibid.
Edward IV, commercial reftric- tions impofed under, 62. For- malities on his daughter's mar- riage, 65, 66.
Edward VI the inftrument of Cranmer, 80. Confequences of his forcing on Cranmer's de- fign, 81.
Eldred, M., a"penner" of forged Royalift petitions, 290 note.
Election, Statute of Edw. I for fecuring freedom of, 39. Sta- tute of Henry IV for regulating county elections, 47, 54. Sta- tute of Henry VI, 54, 55. Peers' interference complained of, 384. See Parliament.
Eliot, Sir John, fufferings of, 223. 287. Pym's refentment at his fate, ibid. note. References thereto in Verney's Notes and Grand Remonftrance, 287 note.
Elizabeth, Queen, 68. 71. Her affigned talk, 81. Direction in which (he gave way, 82. What Peter Wentworth faid in her reign, 84. Authority of Par- liament reduced by her, 85. fpirit in which (he treated the people, ibid. Influences needed to infure downfall of her fyftem, 85,86. Even partiality of her religious perfecutions, 86. Dan- gers of her repreflive fyftem, 86, 87. Refult of her attempts to Jubdue Puritan leaders in the
Eraftnus. Commons, 87. Extent of her antipathy to Puritanifm, 88. Fate of the Reformation in her hands, 89. Her mifapprehen- fion of Puritanifm, ibid. Views of her Minifters as to monopo- lies, 89, 90. Her laft appearance in Parliament and final aft there, 90. Her death, 90. 97. Her court contrafted with that of James, 103. Cruel fports pro- hibited by her, 104.
Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, birth of, 95. Caufe identified with her name, ibid.
Ellefmere, Chancellor, on union of prieft and king, 107.
Ellyng, Henry, clerk of Houfe of Commons, 278.
Empfon and Dudley, extortioners for Henry VII, 78. Means reforted to by them, 78, 79. Their fate, 79.
England contrafted with France, temp. Henry VI, 58. Its ftate during Wars of Rofes, 62, 63. Free from influences po- tent in France and Spain, 64. Social changes confequent on Battle of Bolworth, 68, 69. Its condition during war between Charles I and the Commons, 148.
Englifh language adopted in Par- liamentary Rolls, 43.
Englifh laws, Sir John Fortefcue on the, 58, 59.
Englifh Revolution compared to French Revolution, 146. Folly of the companion, 146, 147.
Erafmus brought into England,
71. His ftudies at Oxford, 71,
72. Quaint mention of his po- verty, 73. His part in the downfall of the fchoolmen, 73, 74. Source of his power, 74. Luther on his cavilling and flouting, 75. His title to re- fpeft, 75, 76. What he accom- plished: England's obligation to him, 76. 85.
EJfex.
Effex, Robert, Earl of, Lord Cham- berlain, 129. Parliamentary guard placed underhim, 166. On "indirect wayof the Court," 167 note. Cromwell's motion for in- veiling him with command, 199. Chara6lerof the power thus given to him, ibid. Refufes to fub- fcribe to loan to Charles I, 220 note. Joins in Lords' petition for a Parliament, 251 note. Sur- renders command of guard, 356 note. His continuance in com- mand infilled on, 358 note. Writes to Sir John Bankes, 410. Impreflive paflagefrom his letter, 4.1 1. His end, 413.
Evelyn, Sir John (Bletchingley) "my very worthy friend," 283 note. On number of members attending the Houfe, 316 note.
Exchequer Chamber, 235.
Fairfax, Ferdinando, Lord, named on Remonftrance Prefentation Committee, 367.
Falkland, Lucius Cary, Lord (Newport, Hants) a refolute promoter of Strafford's attainder, 128. 134. 143 note. 154 note. Why Clarendon did not take office with him, 129. Suppofed motive for his animofity to Strafford, 142 and note *. Cla- rendon's untenable llatements on this head, 142, 143. Why he objected to hear counfel for Strafford, 144. Baxter's mil- take relative to feceders from the attainder, 153 note. Attempts (with Hyde) to turn debate on Pym's motion, 165. Outvoted, 166. Changes fides in the Houfe, 168. His rejoinder to Hampden's expreffion of fur- prife, ibid. Popular mifappre- henfion as to his character, 169. Why more of an apoftate than Strafford, 170. Clarendon's tribute to his memory, ibid, note.
Index. 439
Farloiv. Specimens of his eclogue on Ben Jonfon, 170, 171 notes. Hyde's influence over him, 172. War- burton's remark on him, ibid, note. Source of admiration fur- rounding his name, 173. Lord Macaulay's eftimate of his cha- racter, 1 74 and note. Inllances of excitability of temper, 175. Anecdote told by Clarendon, 175, 176. Refemblances and contrails, 176. His lafl appear- ance in the Houfe of Commons, 177. His poflible reflections at that time, 177, 178. Nobler fide of his character, 178. Cla- rendon's happy eulogy, ibid, notef. 405, 406 notes. His unfeclarian holpitality, 179 and note *. Special cliaraclerillics entitling him to highell eulogy, 180, 181. Defertion of him- felf and party never accounted for, 182, 183. Recommended to the King, 193. His former attack on and prefent defence of Bilhops, 208. 288. Added to Remonftrance Committee, 209. 267 note. His dialogue with Cromwell, 213, 214. De- duction therefrom, 417. His fpeech againft Laud, 217 note. Speech on brafs coinage, 231 note. Objects to paffage in Re- monftrance, 247 note f. On encouragement to papifts and perfecution of proteftants, 248 note. On large hate and little love for Bilhops, z%z note. His place in the Houfe, 284. His fpeech in eighth debate on Re- monftrance, 287 — 289. Pym's reply, 302. Cromwell's words to him at clofe of Remonftrance debate, 327. Teller on Palmer punifhment divifion, 352. Sees the King privately, 355. See alfo, 199. 292. 300. 354. 377. Farlow, Mr., ftory told by Kirton of, 377 note. 37?.
a a 2
44° Index.
Ferdinand of Spain.
Ferdinand of Spain, 64.
Ferrers, cafe of, 83
Feudal Syftem, origin of the, 4. Its progrefs under the Saxons, 4, 5. Its development under the Normans, 5. Vaffalage ex- tinguished, 5. 7. Effect of the Crufades on Feudalifm, 6. Its condition at acceffion of Edward I, 55. Villenage no part of it, 56. Its tendency to decay, ibid. Its rapid fall, 57. Doomed before Wickliffe's preaching began, 61. Revival of feudal Statutes under Charles I, 224, 225 and notes.
Fiennes, Nathaniel, (Banbury) Commifiioner on Scotch affairs with Hampden, 165. 167 and notef. His evening ride with Hyde, 282 note.
Finch, John, Lord, C.J. in Eyre and Lord Keeper, againft pro- clamation for call of Houfe,
164. Driven into exile, 182, 256. His opprefllve conduct, 226 note. His rule of conduit at Council Board, 235 note. Unconftitutional writ iffued by him, 394. 395 note.
Florida coafted by the Cabots, 71.
Foreft of Dean broken up, 233 and note.
Foreft Laws, complaint againft rigid execution of, 225 and note . 226 note. Reformed, 257.
Forfter's Arrejl of the Five Mem- bers, references to, 124. 160.
165. 185. 188. 197. 206. 281. 289. 321. 366. 372. 383. 396, 397 notes. St at ef men of the Common-wealth, 119. Biogra- phical EJ/ays, 414 note .
Fortefcue, Sir Faithful, Pym pre-
fents petition of, 275. Fortefcue, Sir John, on fpirit of
Englifh Laws, 58. 59. 81. Fouke, Mr., heads deputation with
City Petition to Commons, 398.
His addrefs to the Houfe, ibid.
Godolphin.
Fouquier-Tinville, not paralleled in Englifh Revolution, 146.
France, violation of neutrality by, 228 note.
Freedom frequently outraged but not loft, 53, 54.
Freeholders, elective rights exer- cifed by, temp. Henry III, 37. Limit put on their rights by ftarute of Henry VI, 54, 55.
French and Englifh governmental fyftems contrafted, 58.
French Revolution, See Englifli Revolution.
Frobenius, 74.
Fuller, Thomas, fallacious deduc- tion of, 57.
Garrard, Mr., (Strafford's News- letter writer) fet at 40J. for fhip money, 227 note. On plunder of the poor, 233 note. On enor- mities of foap monopoly, 248 note.
Gerrard, Sir Gilbert (Middlefex) moves to congratulate King on fafe return from Scotland, 344.
Glanvile, Ranulf de, fervice ren- dered to Henry II by, 9.
Glaftonbury, ftyle of living of the Abbot of, 48.
Glenham, Lady, confideration for bribe taken by, 103.
Glyn, John (Weftminfter), mode of procedure againft Strafford advocated by, 133. 134. On Lord Cottington's complicity, 141. His treachery towards Vane at the Reftoration, ibid. His place in the Houfe, 285. His fpeech in favour of the Re- monftrance, 311,1 312. Houfe's requeft to him and Wheeler rela- tive to guard, 374 note.
Godolphin, Francis (St. Ives), ftartling fuggeftion of, 382. Reprimanded, 383. Entry from Commons' Journals, ibid. note.
Godolphin, Sidney, one of Claren- don's great little men, 405 note.
Godwin.
Godwin, William, Grand Remon- ftrance paffed over by, 113.
Goodwin, Ralph (Ludlow), com- plains of a fcandalous pamphlet,
33i>332-
Goodwin, Robert (Eaft Grinftead), moves refolution for fupervifion of King's appointments, 186, 187.
Goodwyn, Arthur (Bucks), teller on divifions, 310 note. 317.
Goring, Geo. (Portfmouth) Plot of, discovered, 164.
Gowrie Confpiracy and its ante- cedents, 96.
" Gracious " ftreet, a fcene in, 377 note.
Grammar Schools, rife of, 63.
Grand Remonftrance, moft excit- ing and moft neglected incident before the Great Civil War, 1 10. Means for forming judg- ment thereon, 1 10, 1 11. Effect of Clarendon's mifftatements, in. Sir Philip Warwick's animated account, 112. Relults of Hampden's influence, ibid. References of previous hiftorians to the fubject, 113. Clarendon generally followed, ibid. Pur- pole and fource of this Work, 113, 114. What the Remon- ftrance was, 114. Character of its contents, 115, 116. Its length: difficulty of reproducing it, 116, 117. Clarendon's hon- efty tefted by it, 117. Its origin, 158. Formally brought for- ward, 160. Extent to which it was openly dilcuffed, 161. Its firft fubmiffion to the Houfe, 30i. Troubles of Nicholas and commands of his mafter thereon, 201, 202. 203. Its progrefs in the Commons, 203, 204. Im- peded by Irifh Rebellion neceffi- ties, 204. Its ultimate deftina- tion, 204, 205. Fight on Claufe againft Bifhops, 207 — 209. 310. Preparations for final vote, 210
Index. 44 1
Grand Remonftrance. — 213. Engroffed : final debate fixed, 213, 214. Mifftatement of Clarendon on this point, 214 note. Dering's prophecy, 215.
Abftratl of Remonftrance : 1. Pre- amble : Purpofe aimed at, 215 — 218. 2. Firft, fecond, and third parliaments of Charles, 218 — 223. 3. Government by Prerogative : Third parliament to pacification of Berwick, 224 — 244. 4. Short Parliament and Scottish in valion, 244 — 253. 5. Acts of Long Parliament, 253 — 258. 6. Practices of the court party, 559 — 265. 7. De- fence of popular leaders, 265 — 269. 8. Remedial mea lures de- manded, 269 — 273.
Speeches on Eighth Debate : Sup- porters : fee Glyn, Hampden, Hollis, Maynard, Pym, Rudyard. Opponents: fee Bag/lia--w, Bridg- man, Clarendon, Coventry, Cul- peper, Dering, Falkland, Palmer, Waller. Members calling for refumption of debate, 275. Hyde's motion to gain time, 275, 276. Authorities for re- port of eighth debate, 290, note. Divifions on verbal al- terations and on Bifhops' claufe, 309, 310. Precedents for Re- monftrance, 311. Nicholas communicates Royalift tactics to the King, 313. Which fide gained by protraction of debate? 314, 315 and note. 316 andtfcte. Numbers on final divifions, 316. 317. Debate on printing, 317, 318. Protefting members, 318. Clarendon's mif- ftatements thereon, 319. Real mover of the printing, 319, 320. 323. True object of " Proteft- ers,"32i,322. Excitement con- fequent on *their proceedings, 323, 324. 'D'Ewes's Memoranda of the fcene, 324, 325. War- wick's Old Teftament parallel,
442
Grand Kemonflrance. 325. Hampden's pacificatory fpeech, 325, 327. Divifion as to poftponement of printing, 326. Houfe up at laft, 327. Crom- well's deportment and alleged expreflions, ibid.
Petition tc accompany Remcnjlrance agreed on, 343, 344. Referred to committee to prepare, 344. Report ready, 355. Petition brought in, 359. AbftracT: of its contents, 559 — 362. Ob- jections by Hyde's party, 362. Queftion raifed as to Pym's right to anfwer fame, ibid. Ufage of Houfe explained by D'Ewes, 362, 363. Petition read again, 363. Claufes im- pugning Bifhops' conduct, dif- cuffed, ibid. .D'Ewes's views adopted, 364. Stand made by Hyde and Coventry, ibid. Pre- cedent cited by D'Ewes, 365. Moderate courle taken by Pym, 365, 366. Proof of unauthor- ifed communication of Petition to the King, ibid, notes. Ar- rangements made for prefenta- tion to King, 366 — 368. Re- ception of deputation by Charles, 368. His queftions parried by Hopton, 369. King's anfwer and dimiflbry meffage, 369, 370.
Lajl Debate. Motion for print- ing Remonftrance, 402 — 405. Numbers on divifion, 406. Re- vival of claim to proteft, 407. Remit of adjourned debate thereon, 408 and note. Import- ance of Grand Remonftrance as a contribution to hiftory,
416. How characlerifed by Ifaac Difraeli, 416, 417. Cla- rendon's opinion of its influence,
417, 418. Its effect on the Civil War, 418.' The onenefs of civil and religious freedom proved by it, 419. Rights demanded by it, ibid.
Index.
Grievances.
Great Charter, precedent adduced by Langton for the, 2. Lang- ton's fervices in obtaining lame, 17, 18. Points conftituting its great value, 18. Principles latent in it, 18, 19. Its re- medial provifions and gua- rantees, 19. Hatefulnefs to fuc- ceeding princes of its provifions for Great Council, 20. Lord Chatham's appreciation of its " nullus liber homo " claufe, 21. Its effects in later times, 22. Expanfivenefs of its provifions unforefeen by its framers, 22, 23. Great truth embodied in it, 23. Number of its viola- tions and reaflertions, ibid. Boons fecured by it to the middle claries, 26. Its confir- mation 9 Henry III, 32. Its provifion for inquiring into foreft abufes, 33. Confirma- tions and additions under Ed- ward II and III, 40, 41.
Great Civil War, moft exciting incident prior to the, 1 10. How it was conducted, 148. Its real character, 149.
Great Council, part borne by the, in the beftowal of the crown, 12. Its memorable meeting in May 1258, 29. Its conftitution under the early Norman kings, 29, 30. Break-up of its ele- ments, 30. Writs of fummons, how regulated, 30, 31. Pecu- liarities of feudal reprefentation, 31, 32. Compofition of Coun- cil on gradual withdrawal of inferior tenants in chief, 32. Its initiation of county repre- fentation, 33.
Greenfmith, John, alleged forger of Royalift petitions, 290 note.
Grey of Groby, Lord (Leicefter), named on Remonftrance Prefen- tation Committee, 367.
Grievances leading to Grand Re- monftrance, famples of, 220 —
Grimjlon. 222 notes. 224, 225 notes. See Ship-money. WardJJiips.
Grimfton, Harbottle (Colchefter), on denials of juftice, 231 note, 234. note \. On lynodical med- dlings with taxation, 247 note.
Grocyn aflbciated with Erafmus. 75, 77-
Guilds and Charters, 25, 26, 63. See Charters. Commerce. Great Charter.
Gunpowder monopoly, effects of, 232. Clotworthy and Cul- peper's protefts, ibid. note.
Hales, Mr., of Eton, eftimable character of, 405 note.
Hallam, Henry, on articles for regulation of King's affairs, 49. On condition of agricul- tural labourers under Henry VI, 57. Character of his notice of Grand Remonftrance, 1 13. Ver- ney's notes ufed by him, 130 note. 291 note. In error on Hafelrig's militia bill, 393.
Hamilton, Duke of, and Lord Strafford, ftory told by iff. Lord Shaftefbury of, 252, 252 notes.
Hamiltons, the. See Argyle.
Hampden, John (Bucks), efcapes a purchafed Peerage, 106. His influence in debate on Grand Remonftrance,' 112. Queftion raifed by a fpeech of his in the Strafford debates, 131. Lord Macaulay's interpretation, 132. Line really taken by him, 133. Courfe advocated by himielf and Pym, 133, 134. Outvoted on propofed Conference with the Lords, 135, 136. Suppofed dilagreement between himfelf and Pym fet at reft by D'Ewes's notes, 137. Sent with meffage to the Lords, 141. Confiftencyof courfe taken by him and Pym 143, 144. Point on which his, fpeech (in Verney's notes) was made, 144. Stands his ground,
Index. 443
Hanoverian fuccejjion. ibid. His fuggeftion relative to the lawyers, 144, 145. Oppofes Charles's Scottifh vifit, 159. Offices with which he was to be tempted, 159. 160. Communi- cates difcovery of aflaffination plot, 165. His return from Scotland, 167. 181. His leader- fhip difowned by Falkland, 168. 181. 182. His coufin Waller, 191. Miftake of court lawyers in felecting him for fhip money fight, 227 note. Oppofed fhip money not as a light grievance, 228 note. At Pym's dinner- parties, 282 note. His place in the Houfe, 285. His fpeech in eighth debate on Grand Remon- ftrance, 306, 307. Difpofes of Dering's moon fimile, 307, 308. State of Houfe at his fitting down, 308. Alleged mover of order for printing Remonftrance, 317. Proof of this allegation's untruth, 319. Reafons for wonder at Claren- don's fo alleging, 319,320 notes. What Clarendon and D'Ewes fay as to his " ferpentine fub- tlety," 320 note. Why he was likely to be miljudged, ibid. His character further analyfed by Clarendon, 321 note. How he quelled ftorm raifed by pro- tefters, 325, 326. His queftion to Palmer, 326. 342. Extent to which he would punifh Pal- mer, 347. Brings charge againft Adam Courtney, 356, Defends Pym on point of order, 362. Joined in meffage to Lords for difcharge of King's guard, 373. See alfo, 178. 195.* 231.J 274. 296. 348. 371. 407. 410.
Hampton Court, Conference under James I at, 106, 107. Remon- ftrance prefented to Charles there, 367 — 370.
Hanoverian fucceflion, precedent for the, 46.
444 Index.
Harley.
Harley, Sir Robert (Herefordlhiie), follows Hampden's bidding. 320 note.
Harold, beftowal of the Crown after defeat of, 11.
Harrington, Sir John, entertains James I, 100. Defcribes the King at a mafque, 108.
Harrifon's libel on Judge Hutton, 227 note.
Hafelrig, Sir Arthur, (Leicefter- fhire), 354. Clarendon's eftimate of him, 187 note. His lpeech on the tyranny of the Council table, 235 note. Encounter with Lenthal, 281. His place in the Houfe, 285. Named on Remonftrance Prefentation Com- mittee, 367. Introduces Mili- tia Bill, 385. Reception given to it, 386, 387. Divifion on firft reading, 388 — 392. Simile applied to him by Clarendon, 391.
Hat, Servandony's, 176. Bag- fhaw's ftory, 237 note.
Hatton, Sir Robert (Caftle Ril- ing), out of order, 341. Teller for adjournment of laft Remon- ftrance Debate, 406.
Hawes, Jofeph, Prayer of Petition of, 273 note.
Heath, Chronicler, Rudyard libel- led by, 296.
Henri Q^uatre, epithet beftowed on James I by, 92, 93. On effecl; of contempt on a King, 109. Caufe of his murder, 271 note.
Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles I, unauthoriled vihts of Prince Charles to, 165 note. Plots of herfelf and the King againft Pym, 185, 186. Stratagem adopted by her towards that end, 186 note. Her communication relative to parliamentary ordi- nances, 200. Scheme for ob- taining Papift help to let up the Proteftant Church, 271 note.
Henry W. Her confeffor in trouble, 328. [See Philips, Father.} Pointed at in Remonftrance Petition, 360.
Henry I, (Beauclerc) Charter of, a precedent for the Great Charter, 2. Futility of his fub- fequent attempts to deprefs the people, ibid. His chief jufti- ciary's appreciation of his com- mendations, 2, 3. Judicatory fyftem initiated by him, 9.
Henry II, advance of civilization under 7. His refiftanee to Beclcet's Church-aggrandizing fchemes, ibid. Interefts involved in the ftruggle, 8. Character of Henry, ibid. Ultimate re- fultsofthe conflict, 8. 9. His aflbciate in legal adminiltration, 9. Enduring character of the judicatory fyftem eftablilhed by him, 9. 10. His policy unfettled by his fons, 13.
Henry III, Great Charter violated by guardian of, 23, 24. His appeal to the people, 24. Refu- fal of parliament to aflemble at his bidding, 26. Difmiflal of his favourite and minifters, 27. Confirmation of Great Charter, 32. Knights of the fliire fum- moned by his Queen, 34. Lan- guage of the writ, 34, 35. Year of his reign in which the prin- ciple of reprefentation became part of the conftitution, 35, 36.
Henry IV, of Lancafter (Bcling- broke), 43. Share of the people in his elevation to the throne, 44, 45. Shakefpeare on his "crafty courtelies;' to the peo- ple, 45. His politic coniultation of popular feelings, 46. Prece- dent of luccefiion to the Crown agreed to by him, ibid. Condi- tions annexed to liipplies granted to him, 47. Seizure of church temporalities propoied to him, 48, 49. Articles prefcribing
Henry V, mode of government to him, 49. His legiflation contracted with that of Henry VI, 54.
Henry V, 50. Advantages of his wars to the Commons, 51. Dis- tinction of his reign in conftitu- tional hiftory, 51, 52.
Henry VI, legiflation of, con- trailed with that of Henry IV, 54. ObjecT: of his County Elections Statute, 54, 55. Com- forts of labouring dalles in his reign, 57. Condition of Eng- land and its laws, 58, 59. See alfo pages 62. 93.
Henry VII, fteps taken to confirm fucceflion of, 65. Inducements to his marriage with Elizabeth of York, ibid. Pope's refcript, and life made of fame, 65, 66. Dilcovery of the Caxton broad- fide, 66. Lord Bolingbroke's defcription of him, ibid. His defpotifm, how achieved, 67. Social refults of his victory at Bofworth, 67, 68. Scantinefs of his firft Houfe of Lords, 68. His motive in creating the Star Chamber, 69. Confequences then unfeen by him, ibid. Lord Bacon's eftimate of his charac- ter, 69, 70. 77. 78. 82. Lead- ing acls of his reign : Per- fecutes Wycliffe's followers, 70. Characlieriftics of his reign, 71. An equivocal friend to com- merce and learning, 76, 77. Nobles disfavoured by him, 77. ClafTes from which he chofe his friends, ibid. Caufe of the in- creafe of his revenues, 77, 78. His extortioners, their devices, and their fate, 78, 79.
Henry VIII, ftate of exchequer at acceffion of, 79. His appointed talk, 80. His religious perfe- ctions and confiscations, ibid. Direction in which he met with checks, 81. Privileges won from him, 83.
Index. 445
I Hollis.
Henry, fon of James I, 109.
Henry III of France, why mur- dered, 271 note.
Henry IV of France. See Henri Quatre.
Herbert, Sir Edward, Attorney- General (Old Sarum), perni- cious notion inftilled into Charles by, 155. His place in the Houfe, 284.
Herefy, confequences of perfec- tion of, 70.
Hertford, W. Seymour, Marquis of, 166 note. Joins in peti- tion for a parliament, 251 note.
Hexey's cafe cited as a precedent, 386. 387. 3S8 note.
Heyle, Queen's Serjeant, coughed down by the Commons, 89.
High Commiffion Court abolifhed, 182. 256. 260. Confequences of its enormities, 238. Barren of revenue, fruitful in oppref- fion, 261.
Hildebrand's definition of Papal authority, 7.
Hiftory, imperfect judgments in, 3.
Holborne, R. (St. Michael's), fpeech of, minuted by D'Ewes, 124 note. A feceder from Straf- ford's attainder, 1 54 note. Re- commended to the King, 193. Supports the biffi-ops' demurrer, 195. Laugh railed againft him by D'Ewes, 196. Pleads againft Ship-money, 227 note. His place in the Houfe, 285. Speaks on right to proteft, 408 note. Hard cafe put by him, 408. 414.
Holland, Englifh flag infulted by, 228 note.
Holland, Earl of, complains of " indirecl: way of the Court," 167 note *.
Hollis, Denzil (Dorchefter), defig- nated for office, 159. A "wor- thy gentleman," 283 note. His place in the Houfe, 285. His fiery fpeech in favour of Remon- ftrance, 310, 311. Further on
446
Index.
Homer. fame fubje£t, 323. His charge againft Palmer, 337. On Pym's Irifh Committee, 343. His re- minder to the Houfe, ibid. His motion adopted, 344. Joined in meflage to Lords for difcharge of King's guards, 373. Teller in divisions, 388. 392. 406. Motion carried by him as to points of form and order, 393, 394 notes, Corref ponds with Sir John Bankes, 410. Paffage from his letter, ibid. A glance at him in later days, 413. See 182.
Homer, revival of ftudy of, 72.
Hopton, Sir Ralph (Wells), an " ancient parliament man," 283 note. How he would have the Palmer punifhment queftions put, 350, 351. Replied to by D'Ewes, 351. Named on Re- monftrance Prefentation Com- mittee, 367. Deputed to read it to the King, 368. How he performed his talk, 368, 369. Parries the King's queftions, 369. Reports King's meflage to Houfe, 370.
Hotham, Sir John (Beverley), courfe taken on Strafford's at- tainder by, 134. Why grate- ful to Hyde, 330. His ultimate fate, 334. For expulfion of Palmer, 347. 350. Hands in report on public debt, 394.
Hotham, John (Scarborough), courfe taken on Strafford's at- tainder by, 134. 139. His ulti- mate fate, 141. 334. His fharp attack on Palmer, 334. His motion on the fubjecT:, 335. Re- peats his charge, ibid.
Houlehold, Court of the, 235. Cafe reported in the Verney papers, ibid note f, 266 note .
Howard, Lord Thomas, on James's manner towards his favourites, 102.
Howard of Efcrick, Lord, joins in
Ireland. Peers' petition for a parliament, 251 note. Danger incurred in prefenting fame, 252 note.
Hulbert, T., a fabricator of forged Royalift petitions, 290 note.
Hume, David, his fource of infor- mation on Grand Remonftrance, in. His falfe diftinclions re- futed by the document itfelf, 114, 115.
Huntingdon, Earl of, refufes to fubfcribe to loan to Charles I, 220 note.
Hutton, Judge, libelled for oppo- fing Ship-money, 229.
Hyde, Edward (Saltafh). See Cla- rendon.
Hyde, Robert (Salifbury), fome- times miftaken for Edward Hyde, 189 note.
Impeachment, right of, won by parliament, 53.
Impreffment, horror induced by fear of, 258 note. See Army.
Ingram, Sir Arthur (Kellington, now Callington), named on Re- monftrance Prefentation Com- mittee, 366.
Innocent III, Pope, Refcript of, to Henry VII, 65, 66.
Ireland, character of Strafford's government of, 150 — 152. Re- ferences in Commons' debates to Irifh rebellion, 190. 191. 197. 204. 205. King's hopes as to " this ill news of Ireland," 198. Irifh levies raifed againft the Scots, 244. Difcovery of intended maffacre of Proteftants in Dublin, 263. Extent of maflacres in other parts of Ire- land, 264. May and Rufh- worth's narratives thereof, 264, 265 notes. Irifh bufinefs in Pym's hands, 575., City loan, 328, 329. Committee obtained for examination of fufpecled perfons, 343. Defperate Irifh in London, 358 note. NecefTity
Italy. for men and money, 394. De- bate on immediate provifion for Ireland, 399. Bill for impreffing foldiers againft rebellion, ibid. King's unconftitutional conduit with regard thereto, 399. 400. Italy, confequences of enrichment of ports of, 6.
James I, ground of imprifonment of Selden by, 2. Sir J. White- locke's comment on claim made by him, 54. His acceflion to the throne, 90. Evil of feating him without exacting guaran- tees, 91. His delight on learn- ing the extent of his prerogative, ibid. Effect of his abufe thereof, 91, 92. Singularities of his mental conftitution, 92. Ufes to which he put his acquire- ments, 93. What he regarded as the climax of fin, ibid. His early career in Scotland, 94. Circumftances under which his character was formed, 94, 95. His children. [See Elizabeth of Bohemia : Charles /.] Rumours of dilagreements between him and his wife, 95, 96. Circum- ftances attending birth of his fon Charles, 96. Effect on his Scottifh fubjects of his near fuc- ceflion to the Englifh throne, 97. Starts to take poffeffion, 97, 98. Rufh of courtiers on the occafion, 98. His peribnal characteriftics : face, figure, fpeech, and walk, 98, 99. Ef- fect: of his appearance on the courtiers, 99. His progrefs to London and reception by the way, 99, 100. His interview with Cecil, 100, 101. Cecil's fervices and feeling towards him, 101. Rife of his favourite Car, 101, 102. [See Somerfet.~\ Re- pulies Raleigh's wife, 102. His favourite Villiers, ibid. [See Buckingham.^ Afpect of his
Index. 447
Jonfon. Court, 103. Revives brutalities prohibited by Elizabeth, 104. Straits to which his extravagance reduced him, ibid. His difcre- ditable expedients for raifing money, 105. Sale of monopo- lies and honours, 105, 106. His theological affumptions, 106. How he difpofed of a conference between Churchmen and Puri- tans, 106, 107. Adulations of Church dignitaries thereon, 107. His religious perfecutions : de- dicates a book to the Saviour, ibid. An African parallel to his creed, 108. His alleged complicity in deeper crimes con- troverted, 108, 109. Affailed in the pulpit, caricatured on the ftage, 109. Henri Quatre's dic- tum how verified, ibid. How he ufed his parliaments, 154.
Jermyn, Sir Thomas (Bury Saint Edmunds), 284.
Joanes, Judge, on Ship-money, 227 note.
John, King, refults of ill perform- ance of his viceregal duties by, 10. His nephew not entitled to the crown as of right, 11. Important principle confirmed at his coronation, 12. Points in the difcuffion overlooked by fome critics, ibid. Why he was probably preferred to Arthur, 12, 13. Alternately fupported and oppofed by the people, 13. His character, 14. Deferts both fides, ibid. How the Barons regarded his lofs of his French poffeffions, 15. Conduct of the people on his furrender to the Pope, 1 6. Freedom's debt to him on this occafion, 16.17. Lang- ton's (hare in compelling him to grant the Great Charter, 17, 18. See alfo, 23. 30. 31. 33.
Jonfon, Ben, extracls from Falk- land's eclogue on, 170, 171 notes. His eulogies on Sir
443
Inde>
Judges. Benjamin Rudyavd, 296, 297 notes. (
Judges prohibited from pleading King's orders, 47. Degrading meaiures of Charles I, 234. Confequences of upright con- duel, ibid. Anecdote of a judge, ibid, note \.
Jury fyftem, 39. Helpleffhefs of juries under Henry VII, 79. Packed under Charles I, 226.
Juftice, denial of, under Charles I, 229. 234. and note \. Abufe and enlargement of old judica- tories, 235, 236. See Council Table. High CommiJJion Court. Houfehold. Star Chamber.
King, regulations for council of the, 49.
King Richard (Melcombe Regis), attacks Speaker Lenthal, 279. 210.
Kirton, Mr. (Milborn Port), and his reipeclable citizen, 377 note. ftory told by him, 378.
Kingcraft in England, France and Spain, 64.
Knighthood, money raifed by grants of, 105. Extortions un- der Charles I, 224.
Knights of the (hire under the Plantagenets, 34 — 37. Not commoners but reprefentatives of the Commons, 38. See Par- liament.
Knightly, Richard (Northamp- ton), teller in divifion on Re- monfrrance, 327.
Lacklearning parliament, 48.
Lancafter, houfe of, evidence of popular impulfe favoured by acceflion of, 49. Its final pre- dominance favourable to po- pular liberty, 54. Its laft living reprefentative, 65. See Henry IF. Henry V. Henry VI.
Land, excels and variety of charges upon, 225. How alleged flaws
Lenthal. in titles were judged, 225, 226. proclamation for curing fame, 234 note \.
Langton, Stephen de, precedent for the great Charter adduced by, 2. His character and fer- vices to Englifli freedom, 17. His (hare in wrefting the Great Charter from John, 17. 18. Prefentment of national griev- ances by his fucceflbr, 27.
Laud, William, Archbifhop of Canterbury, D'Ewes put into Star Chamber by, 121. Im- plicated in Strafford's treafon, 135. 138. 139. Lodged in the Tower, 182. Falkland's charge againft him, 217 note. " Souls put on the rack" by him, 235 note. Transforms Star Cham- ber into an inquifition, 238. Refults of his attempts to im- pofe liturgical yoke on Scot- land, 242, 243. Still moving towards Rome, 246. In the Tower, 256.
Laundrefs's huiband knighted, 105.
Lavender, Mr. ftory told by Kirton of, 377 note. 378.
Law and lawyers degraded, 235.
Legat, Bartholomew, fent to the ftake by James I, 107.
Leighton's perfecution only a type of others, 237.
Lenthal, William (Woodftock), Commons' fpeaker, on bufinefs of Houfe, 208 note. Pleads for refpite from hard work, 213. His feat in the Houfe, 278, 279. Richard King's attack upon him, 279. Incident which led to his rebuke of John Digby, 279, 280. Seidell's account of fame, 280 note. Unruly lpirits he had to deal with, 280, 281. His altercations with D'Ewes and other members, ibid, notes. Scolds thole who " run forth for their dinners," 282. Pre-
Linacre.
cedence in debate ruled by
fpeaker's eye, 311 and ?iote. In
an unquiet ftate of mind, 383.
His letter to Nicholas, ibid.
and note. Linacre, 77. Lincoln, Earl of, refufes to fub-
fcribe to loan to Charles I, 220
note. Lingard, fmall notice taken of
Grand Reinonftrance by, 113. Lifle,John ( Winchefter), chairman
on tonnage and poundage bill,
359- .
Literature, and Learning : feeds i'ovvn by the crufades, 6. Re- vival of learning, 70. Alarms thereat, 72. Old Englifh gen- tleman's condemnation of it, 73.
Littleton, on loyalty from fubjeft to fubjecl, 380, 381.
Loans and Benevolences, 60. Sta- tute of Richard III, againft forced loans, 62. Penalty of refufing obedience to Charles's demands, 219, 250 note. In- ftances of, (1) getting, and (2) fquandering, 220 note. Country gentlemen fined for living in London, 221 note. Coat conduct: money required loans, 225.
Locke's Common-Place Book Lord Shaftefbury, 252 note.
Lollards, (followers of Wickliffe), let alone during the wars of the Rofes, 62. Perfecuted bv Henry VII, 70. 76.
London. See City.
London and Paris in revolutionary periods, 146, 147.
London and York, inftance of fait journeys between, 241 note.
Long Parliament, 37. Not deiir- ous to ftrip the Crown of its prerogatives, 147. 261. Spirit in which it carried on the conflict: with the King, 148. Charles's intent to repudiate its meafures, 155. Its acts during firft twelve
Index. 449
Lunsford. months of its exiftence, 253 — 258. Reproached with having done nothing for the King, 260. Its defence of its meafures, 260, 261. Comparifon between it and former parliaments, 262. Cha- racter and antecedents of its flanderers, 263. Character of its leaders, 419, 420. Their genius, greatnefsand endurance, 420. Their refpe£t for law and precedent, ibid. Reverence due to them, 421. Lords, Houfe of, fhare of, in depo- fition of Richard II, 44. Their interference with taxation re- fitted by the Commons, 49, 50. Their reduced number at ac- ceflion of Henry VII, 68. Theirdefection from the popular caufe, 154. 156. Conferences with the Commons, 195. 196. 198. Molt popular member of the Houfe, 199. Peers' petition to the King for a parliament, 251. Copy of the petition, 251, 252 twtes. Alleged murderous refolve of the court on its pre- fentation, 252. 2*53 notes. Pym's complaint of their obftructive conduct, 381, 382. Clofe of his fpeech, ibid, notes. Godol- phin's propofal as to Commons and Lords, 382, 383 note. Their furprife at the fetting of the new guard, 395. They join Commons in proteft to King, 400. Account of pre- fentation thereof by joint depu- tation, 401 note. See Barons. Commons. Parliament. Louis XI, of Fiance, 64. Lumley, Sir Martin (Effex), teller on claufe againft bifhops, 209. On Palmer's proteft, 341. Lunsford, Col. Sir T., defignated for Tower Governorfhip, 356. His character and antecedents, 372. King's objecl in appoint- ing him, ibid. note.
and
and
45° Index.
Luther. Luther, way prepared for, 75. His complaint of Erafmus, ibid.
Macaulay, Lord, on facility of en- croachments by the executive, 60. His mention of Grand Re- monftrance, 113. His con- ftruclion of Sir R.Verney'sNote, 132,133. Point not noticed by him. 133. His eftimate of Falkland, 174 and note.
Machiavelli, 64.
Magdeburg Singing boy, the 75.
Magna Charta. See Great Char- ter.
Mallory, Mr. (Ripon), 386. What he would have done with Haf- elrig's Militia Bill, 387.
Mandeville, Lord, joins in Peers' petition for a parliament, 251 note. Danger incurred by him in prefenting fame, 252 note.
Manly, Sir Richard, 282 note.
Mansfield of Diftaff Lane and his apprentice, 377 and note.
Marshall, Stephen, Parfon of Fin- chingfield, 320 note.
Marten, Henry (Berkfhire), courfe taken by, in proceedings againft Strafford, 134. 141. His place in the Houfe, 284. 285.
Mary, Queen, fhare in the talks affigned to the Tudors, 81. Where fhe failed, 82. Indo- cility of her Parliaments, 82,
S3-
Mary Qu_een of Scots (James's mother), 93. Rizzio's murder, 96. 98. Her chief executioner and her fon, 10 1.
Maxwell, Mr., no comfort in com- forting words of, 127 note. Takes Judge Berkley into cuf- tody, 182 note.
May, Thomas, parliamentary hif- torian, on caule of clerical ani- mofity to Parliament, 156 note*. On ficklenefs and impatience of the people, ibid, note f. On perfections for confcience' fake,
Monks.
237 note. On maffacre of Irifh proteftants, 264 note. On Sir B. Rudyard's character, 294 and note.
Maynard, John (Totnefs) courfe taken by, in proceedings againft Strafford, 133. Recites points requiring fettlement, 137 — 139. Shows what may be done, 139. Eager for the attainder, 141. His treachery towards Vane at the Reftoration, ibid. Oppofes Strafford's right to be heard by counfel, 144. How he met Hampden's fuggeftion, 145. His place in the Houfe, 285. Controverts Palmer's law in Re- monftrance Debate, 312.
Merchants. See Commerce.
Middle Ages, break-up of fyftem of, 64.
Middle claffes, privileges and rights conceded to the, 26.
Militia, Hafelrig's Bill for fettle- ment of, 385. Scene in Houfe on its introduction, 386 — 3S8. Read firft time, 388. Claren- don's mifftatements and felf- contradiftions, 385, 389 — 393. Errors of other writers due thereto, 393.
Military fervices, acls palled againft confcription for, 41, 42. See Army.
Minifterial refponfibility to Par- liament, earlieft record of, 10. Further advancement of the principle, 27. Its effectual ef- tablifhment, 49. Infilled on in Grand Remonltrance, 272, 273. Receipt of foreign penfions pe- titioned againft, 273 note.
Money, unconftitutional fchemes for raifing. See Wardjhips, Ship Money, Loans, Monopolies.
Moniers, exemption from taxation claimed by the, 274. Remark made on their petition, 275.
Monks, poverty-ftricken condition of the, 48.
Monopolies.
Monopolies, public outcry againft, 89. " God profper thofe that " further their overthrow," 90. Abandoned by Elizabeth, ibid. Multiplied by James I, 105. Re- vived wholeiale under Charles I, 225720^.230. Papiftmonopolifts, 248 note. Enumeration of mat- ters fubject to monopoly, ibid. Petitioned againft by Peers, 252 note. Abolifhed, 254, 255. Cul- peper's ipeech on their univer- fality, 2 5 5, note. Pym on folly of railing revenue byfuch means, ibid.
Montfort, Simon de, demands a parliament, 38.
Montgomery, Lord, barber of, knighted, 105.
Montrofe's affaffination plot and Charles I, 165 note.
More, Sir Thomas, 77.
Morton, Lord, poor plundered for benefit of, 233 note.
Moundeford, Sir Edmund (Thet- ford and Norfolk), illuftrations furnifhed by family papers of, 221 notes.
Mountjoy, Lord, brings Erafmus to England, 71.
Mulgrave, Earl of, joins in Peers' petition for a parliament, 251 note.
Nalson, John, the collector, 119 note. Lenthal's letter printed by him, 383 note. His mifread- ing of diviiion on Haielrig's Militia Bill, 329. General cha- racter of his ColleSiions.
Neville, Sir Henry, purport of let- ter of, 95, 96.
Newcaftle taken by the Scots, 253.
Newfoundland difcovered, 71.
Newport, Francis (Shrewibury), quits Houfe without leave, 395. Fetched back and rebuked, 396.
New Teftament, alarm of the monks at Erafmus's publication of the, 74, 75.
Index. 45 1
Norman. Nicholas, Sir Edward (Newton, Hants) on distribution of offices,
1 59. Date of his announcement,
160. His wife fidelity to the King, 166 note. " Well affiled " Parliament men " in trouble, 167, 168. When made Secre- tary of State, 167 note. Sub- mits names of feceders to Charles, 183. Hopes derived from re- appearance of the Plague, 184. Reports attempt on Pym's life, 185. Recommends Hyde and his party, 193. His interview with Hyde, 193, 194. Informs Charles of impreffion made by his New Bifhop fcheme, 195. Hopes expreffed to him by the King, 198. Sends tidings of Remonftrance to Charles, 199, 200. Written to by the Queen on fame fubject, 200. Sends news of introduction of Grand Remonftrance, 201. His per- plexities and fears concerning fame, 201, 202. King's futile reply, 202. Reports further progrefs of Remonftrance, 203. 206. 211. His fears as to effect of Pym's Army Refolution, 210. His place in the Houfe, 285. Informs Charles of tactics of Royalift party for defeat of Re- monftrance, 313. What paffed after he left the Houfe, 314. Abfent from divifion, 316. Ap- pointed to office, 355. Lenthal's fervile letter to him, 383 and note. Reads King's anfwer to Lords' and Commons' Proteft, 402 note.
Nicholfon, John, D.D., difcourfe of, with a haberdalher's appren- tice, 377 and note.
Norman Kings of England, fafety how purchafed by the, 3. Saxon jurifprudence adopted by the Conqueror, 4. Forms deferred to by them at their coronations, 1 1 . Conftitution of their Great
45 2 Index.
North. Council, 29. Extent to which re- prefentation exifted under them, 32, 33. Conftitutional maxim fometimes ufed by them, 37.
North, Court and Council of the. See Council of the North.
Northampton, Great Council at (temp. Hen. II), 9.
Northampton, ftatute of, 394.
Northern Counties, votes by Long Parliament for relief of, 259.
Northumberland, Lord, a corre- fpondent of Sir John Bankes, 410. ImprefTive fentences from his letter, 411. A glance at him in later days, 413.
Noy's "new-old way " 227 note.
Onslow, Serjeant (notD'Oyley), Verney's notes ufed by, 130, note. 131. 291 note.
Oratory value of preparation in, 191 note.
Overbury, Sir Thomas, Car, Earl of Somerfet, convicted for mur- der of, 102. James no party to the crime, 108, 109.
Ovid's lines and Dering's oppofi- tion to the Bifhops, 207, 208 notes.
Oxford, Erafmus at, 71. 72. 73. Greek Profefforfhip founded, 72. Accomplifhment of Erafmus's work, 85.
Pace, Richard, quaint complaint quoted from, 73.
Paget, Earl, joins in Peers' peti- tion for a parliament, 251 note.
Palmer, Geoffrey (Stamford), part taken in Strafford's Impeach- ment and in Grand Remon- ftrance by, 203. 222 note. His feat in the Houfe, 284. His fpeech againft the Remonftrance, 312. Protefts againft printing it, 323. Uproar created by his conduct, 324. Debate on his proteft, 332 — 334. Hotham's attack upon him, 334, 335.
Papijls. Defended by Hyde, 335, 336 and note. Hollis's charge againft him, 337. Precedents cited againft him by D'Ewes, 337 — 339. D'Ewes would have him fpeak, 340. Divifions called thereon, 340, 341. Required to fpeak, 341. Speaks accord- ingly and withdraws, 341, 342. "What took place after his withdrawal, 342, 343. Re- fumption of debate, 344. Points urged in aggravation, 345. Ex- tenuatory confiderations, 345, 346. Reafon for punifhing him, 346, 347. Extent of punifti- ment defired by Pym and Hampden, 347. Severer Mea- fures demanded by Hotham and others, 347, 348, 350. Bag- ihaw's argument, 348. Crew's fpeech and admonitory fuggef- tion, 348, 349. Waller's lefs difcreet harangue, 349, 350. Hopton and D'Ewes on points of order, 350, 351. Tower or Expulfion ? Queftions put, 351, 352. Receives fentence at Bar of Houfe, 352. His committal and fubfequent releafe, 353. 393. Mifltatements of Claren- don on this topic, 353, 354, and note.
Palmer, " one Mr.," plundered by royal proclamation, 221 note.
Palmes, Guy (Rutlandftiire), 222 ' note.
Pamphlets, fcandalous, com- plained of in Houfe, 331, 332.
Papifts, reafons for Falkland's dif- like of, 179 note. Favours and monopolies granted to projectors profeffing their creed, 233. 247 and note J. 248, note. Defign for affimilating Romifti and Angli- can Churches, 242. 246. 247. Their fecret meetings and pre- parations, 248, 249. Their en- couragement petitioned againft by the Peers, 251 note. Need
Index.
453
Paris.
■ for curbing their power to do hurt, 270, 271. Meafures re- quired by Pym, ibid, notes. Falfe conformifts to Englifh Church for place fake, 272. Their known favourers how to be dealt with, ibid. See Pope.
Paris and London in revolutionary periods, 146, 147.
Parker, Archbilhop of Canter- bury, put on his mettle, 87.
Parliament, earlieft recorded autho- rity for refponfibility of Minif- ters to, 10. Its refufal to meet on fummons of Henry III, 26. Its meafures when affembled proof of its control over Minis- ters, 27. Uniformity of its exercife of fuch control, 27, 28. Securities for public faith ex- acted by the city of London, 28. Braclon's diclum in favour of fame principle, ibid. Origina- tion of the Houfe of Commons, 29. [See Commons, Houfe of]. What the Great Council really was, 29, 30. [See Great Council], Parliamentary attendance of in- ferior tenants how difpenfed with, 31. Phafes of Reprefen- tation under the Norman Kings, 32, 33. Beginning of County Reprefentation, 33. Knights of Shires fummoned, 34, 35. Separate voting of each order a needful condition, 35. When principle of Reprefentation be- came part of the Conftitution,
36. Why Knights of Shires were paid, ibid. Their wages how levied, 37. How and by whom elected, ibid. Their fta- tion and privileges while fitting,
37, 38. Refult of Simon de Montfort's demand, 38. Addi- tional provifions for affembling parliaments, 40. Refult of royal attempts to impofe taxes without its ianclion, 41. Eng- lish language adopted in its
Peachem.
Rolls, 43. Its (hare in depofition of Richard II and elevation of Henry IV, 43, 44. And in the fettlement of the Crown, 46. The "lack-learning Parlia- ment," 48. Original mode of procedure with refpect to bills, 50. Abandonment of fuch pro- cedure, 51. Privilege of par- liament gained and afferted, 53. Right of Impeachment won, ibid. Conftitution of parlia- ment under Henry VI, 59. Recognition of its checks by the Crown, 60. Its acts on acceffion of Henry VII, 65. Its neglect of the people during his reign, 66, 67. Obftinacy of Mary's parliaments, 83. Effect of Elizabeth's domination, 85. Debates on Grand Remon- ftrance, no, 156 et feq. [See Grand Remonjlrance]- On
Strafford's Attainder, 126 — 152 [See Strafford]. Reaffembling of Houles in Oct. 1641. 163 — 168. Claim of both Houfes for ordinance during King's abfence, 199, 200. Incidents of Charles's firft parliament, 218, 219. The like of his fecond parliament, 219, 220. The like of his third parlia- ment, 220—223. Parliaments a forbidden topic of talk, 224 and note. Its reaffembly peti- tioned for by the nobility, 251, 252 and notes. Bill for its con- tinuance paifed, 258. 260. Ob- ject of the bill, 261. Character of the party hoftile to parlia- ments, 263. Alleged intimida- tion of parliament, 375 — 385. See Commons, Houfe of. Long Parliament. Lords, Houfe of.
Party ftruggles, beginning of, 10.
Patents and Monopolies. See Monopolies.
Peachem, the puritan, tortured and martyred, 107
H H
454
Peard.
Peard, George (Barnftaple), moves printing of Remonftrance, 319. 323. 342. 403. His focial pofi- tion, 320.
Peerages put up to fale, 105. Price of each grade, 106.
Peers' interference with elections complained of, 384.
Pembroke, William Earl of, re- gent, 23. Standard of rebellion raifed by his fon, 27.
Pembroke, Philip Earl of, ap- pointment of as Lord Steward demanded, 348 note.
Pennington, Aid. Ii'aac (London), introduces the city petitioners,
Penny-a-lining, origin of, 289 n.
People, Royal Charters and con- ceffions to the, not refumable, 2, 3. Always on the track of their rulers, 3. Sides alternately taken by them in John's reign, 13. Their gain in the Barons' triumph, 14. What carried them over to the Barons, 16. Eftabliftiment of their power to alter the fucceffion, 44. Ac- knowledgment of their influence by Henry IV (Bolingbroke), 45. Shakeipeare's reading of his demeanour towards them, ibid. Their advance as gauged by the Statutes of the time, 46. Their condition, temp. Henry VI, 58. 59. Their fidelity to the Com- mons, 61. Expedients to keep them at reft, ibid. Lels at fault than their representatives under the Tudors, 66, 67. Martial duties impoled upon them, 83, 84. Their power through the Commons, 84. Their polition under Elizabeth, 85. Their ficklenefs and impatience during ftruggle with Charles, 1 56 and note\. Robbed of their right of common, 233. Fired on by Charles's guards, 373 and note. See Commonalty. Commons,
Index.
Privilege.
Percy. Henry (Northumberland). See Ajhburnham, William.
Petition of Right, an affirma- tion of old time precedents, 2. Violated by Charles I, 220. 222. 226. 230. Securities required for its due obfervance, 272. Coke's fervices in regard to it, 413.
Petitions, enactment againft tampering with, 52.
Philips, Father, Queen's Confeflbr, conflict of Lords and Commons relative to, 328. 329. Articles of accufation againft him, 331.
Plague, appearance of the, 184.
Plantagenets, political ftruggles under the, 1 — 64. See Henry I. Henry II. Richard I. John. Arthur. Henry III. Ed-ward I. Edward II. Edward HI. Edward IV. Richard II. Henry IV. Henry V. Henry VI. Richard III. Commons, Houfe of. Great Charter. Great Council. Par- liament.
Plunder of the fubje6t, oppreifive fcheme for, 221 note.
Political Ballads, 26.
Pollard,Mr. (Beeralfton). See A(h- burnham, William.
Poor, rights of common taken from the, 233 and notef.
Poor Law, how neceffitated, 68.
Pope, Nuncio from, refident in England, 248. Terms on which Charles required help, 271 note.
Prerogative, reftraints on the, 51. 59/lts temporary predominance, 64. How abufed by Charles I and his advifers, 224 — 244. See Charles I. Council of the North. Council Table. Crown. High Commiffion. Laud. Monopolies. Star Chamber. Strafford.
Price, Herbert (Brecon), 285.
Price, Sir John (Montgomery- fhire), complaint by, 274.
Privilege of Parliament, when achieved, 52, 53. Eftablifhed againft the Courts, 53. Invaded
Index,
455
Proclamations.
by forgeries and unauthorifed printings, 289, 290 notes.
Proclamations, extortionate and defpotic, againft living in Lon- don, 221 note. Againft fpeaking of Parliaments, 224 and note.
Proteft, royalift party in Commons contend for right of, 323 — 326. Debate thereon, 331 — 343. Finally rejected, 408 and note. See Palmer Geoffrey.
Proteftantifm, vicilfitudes of, under the Tudors, 80, 81. 86. Proteftanta more rigidly dealt with than papifts under Charles I, 247 and note\. Defign of the Irifh Rebellion, 263. Maf- facres of Proteftants in Ireland, 264, 265. Narratives of May and Rufhworth, ibid, notes.
Proteftation for parliament and religion, 127. Signed by Clarendon, ibid. D' Ewes' s ac- count of its origin, 127, 128, notes.
Prynne, William, 37. Detail of cruelties inflicted on him, 256, 257, notes. Further mutilations defired by fome of the Lords, 257 note. See Bajlivick.
Purefoy, William (Warwick), on need of money and how beft to bring it in, 402, 403. Moves printing of Remonftrance, 403.
Puritan party formed, 87. Eliza- beth's attempts to fubdue its leaders in the Commons, ibid. Extent of her antipathy to Pu- ritans, 88. Light in which their leaders regarded her, 88, 89. Puritanifm and political difcontent, 89. Conference with churchmen at Hampton Court, 106. James's abule of the Pu- ritans, 107. Mr. Carlyle's aban- doned project, 118. The party joined by D'Ewes, 121. Up- holders of right nicknamed Puritans, 217. To be rooted out by force or fear, 242. Rud-
Pym. yard's characterise definition of a Puritan, ibid, note.
Pury,Thomas(Gloucefter), motion of relative to Dr. Chillingworlh's difclofure, 374, 375.
Pye, Sir Robert (Woodftock), on Sir S. D'Ewes, 283 note.
Pym, John (Taviftock),on Par- liaments without Parliamentary liberties, 53. Notes taken of a fpeech of his, 124 note. How fpoken of by Privy Councillor Bankes, 126. Followed by Clarendon in the Proteftation, 127. His alleged difagree- ment with Hampden in the Strafford bufineis, 132. Lord Macaulay's interpretation of Verney's Note, 132, 132. Evi- dence of D'Ewes decifive on the point, 133. 136, 137. Mode of procedure againft Strafford ad- vocated by the two friends, 133. 134, Both outvoted thereon,
136. He fuggefts a conference,
137. Why he objects to attain- der, 139. Advocates Strafford's claim to hearing, 145. Refult of his appeal, 145, 146. His life threatened, 157. His fervant tampered with by Bifhop Wil- liams, 159. 161. Effect of his oppofition to Charles's Scottifh vifit, 159. Not to be won over by office, 160, 161. Chairman of Vigilance Committee during recefs, 163. Reports difcovery of Goring's plot, 164. Produ- ces Hampden's letter, 165. Traces out project . of confpi- rators, 165/zote. DefeatsHyde's propofition, 166. Secefllon of Falkland from his party, 168. 182. Will not poftpone Parlia- ment for the Plague, 184. Further attempts upon his life, 184, 185. Plots of King and Queen againft him, 185, 186, Queen's artful ufe of his name, 186 note. Covenanter Baillie's
h h 2
456
Index.
Pym.
tribute to his powers as a leader, ibid. EffecT: produced by his fpeech on evil counfellors, 190, 191. Waller's parallel between him and Strafford, 191, 192. Waller ordered to apologife, 1 92 and note. Heads conference with the Lords on the Bifhops' demurrer, 196. Defeats all the Royalift moves, 197. Evidence of his prudence and fagacity, ibid. Baffles King's hopes from Irifh Rebellion, 198. Divifion on his Refolution, ibid. Steps taken fubfequent thereto, 198, 199. What followed his Reib- lution, 200. Carries a Refolu- tion as to a fecond army plot, 210. His vindication of courfe taken by himfelf and affociates,
212. A homethruft, 212, 213. His courtefy to Speaker Lenthal,
213. Yields a point to his op- ponents, ibid. Charge insinu- ated againft him by Clarendon,
214. note. His refentment of Eliot's murder, 223 note. His denunciation of Ship Money, 227, 228 notes. On folly of railing revenue by monopolies, 255 note. Authorfhip of Re- monftrance afcribed to him, 268 note. His confefflon of faith, ibid. Requires fafeguards againft popery, 270, 271 notes. Hands full of Irifh bufinefs, 275. His Weftminfter Hall converfation with Hyde, 276, 277. His feffionaldinner-parties,282 note. Refpeclful mention of him in the Houfe, 283 note. His place in the Houfe, 284. Clarendon's remark on Culpeper more appli- cable to him, 300, note. His fpeech in Eighth debate on Re- monftrance, 301 — 305. How he and his party carried the Remonftrance, 314 — 316. How their propofal to print it was met, 323, 324. Refolution ul-
Raleigh.
timately carried by him, 326. Bids the " Protefters " prepare to defend themfelves, 328, 329. Clarendon's imputations againft him and his party, 329, 330. Produces accufation againft Fa- ther Phillips, 331. His fpeech againft " Proteft," 332, 333. Obtains committee to examine fufpefted Irifhmen, 343. His regard for the liberty of the Subject, ibid. Extent to which he would punifh Palmer, 347. Suggefts Petition to accompany Remonftrance, 355. Hisreport to Houfe concerning diimilfal of guard, 356 note. Prefents rea- fons for continuance of guard, 357 note. Summary of fame, 358> 3 59 notes. Brings in Re- monftrance Petition, 359. An- fwers objections to fame, 362. His interrupters filenced by D'Ewes, 362', 363. Anfwers Culpeper's objections, 363. Point yielded by him, 365. Why he was not one of the Remonftrance Prefentation Committee, 367. Joined in meffage to Lords for difcharge of King's guards, 373. His fignificant queftion to Mr. Speaker, 378, 379. His com- plaint againft the Lords, 381, 382. Memorable clofe of his fpeech, ibid, notes. His motion relative to guard of halberdiers, 395 and note. Rebukes Fran- cis Newport, 396. His motion on King's interference with Im- preflment Bill, 400. Claufe infilled on by him, ibid, note. Allays a riling ftorm, 407. See alfo 194. 231 note. 234 note. 245 note. 274. 285. 296. 298. 320 note. 327. 343 note. 348. 371.406. Pym, John and W. recufants, 219.
Raleigh, Sir Walter, 85. His wife repulled by James I, 102.
Index,
Ratcliffe.
Ratcliffe, Sir George, in Seidell's ftory, 374 and note f.
Reading, ftyle of living of the Abbot of, 48.
Recufants, lilt of, from the Verney Papers, 219. Hampden a re- cufant, 227.
Reeve, Judge, uprightnefs and humanity of, 246 note.
Reformation, made way for by Erafmus, 75. Elizabeth its champion, 81. Begun in the Commons, 84. Its remits, 85. Its impulfes reftrained, 86.
Remonftrance, Grand. See Grand Remonjlrance.
Reprefentation, Parliamentary. See Parliament.
Reynolds, R. (Hindon), complains of unauthoriled printing, 332.
Richard I, minifterial refponfi- bility eftablifhed in the reign of, 10. Advantage taken by Barons during John's vice- royalty, ibid. Queftion of fuc- cefllon to throne at his death, 11, 12. Confequences of lavv- lefs adminiftration during his abfence, 13.
Richard II, conftitutional princi- ples recognifed in the depofi- tion of, 43, 44. Strengthening of popular rights on the occa- iion, 44,45. See alio p. 59.
Richard III, forced loans abolifhed by, 62. Lord Bacon's eulogium on him, ibid.
Rizzio, David, parallel to circum- ftances connected with murder of, 96. Influence of the murder on James, 98.
Roberts, Mr., Diary of Walter Yonge, edited by, 219 note. His account of piracies on Eng- lifh fea and foil, 228 note.
Robefpierre's Reign of Terror, Bankes's parallel to, 127. 146.
Roches, Peter des, Poitevin Bi- ftiop of Winchefter, guardian of Henry III, 2^. Precipitates
457
RuJJi-worth. the King into difputes with the Barons, 24. Political ballads made againft him, 26, 27. Sent away from England, 27.
Roman Catholics. See Papifls.
Rofes, ftate of the nation during wars of the, 62, 63.
Rous, John, extracts from diary of: brafs money, 231 note. Tubbing's cafe, 237 note. Cha- racter of diary, ibid. John Com- monwealthVman's ficknefs, 243 note. Parliament men's pockets fearched, 245 note.* Lambeth and Southwark riots, ibid, notef. 246 note. On the impreffment grievance, 258 note.
Royalift Party. See Clarendon. Culpeper. Dering. Falkland. Nicholas. Protejl. Strafford. Warwick, Sir Philip.
Royalift Petitions, forged, 290 n.
Rudyard, Sir Benjamin (Wilton), part taken in debate on Straf- ford's attainder by, 131. 139. Moves for conference with the Lords, 166. Defines a Puritan, 242 note. Noble words on re- ligious matters, 246 note. 249, 2 50, notes. His feat in theHoufe, 285. Character given him by May, 294 and note. His fpeech in eighth debate on Remon- ftrance, 294 — 296. Chronicler Heath's libel on him, 296. Poet as well as orator, 296,297. Ben Jonfon's poems in his praife, ibid, notes. Weak points in his character, 297. His fayings and doings, 298. Wifhing for com- promife but (till of Pym's party, 298, 299. No pattern for de- ferters, 299. Pym's reply to his objection, 304. His comparifon of divifion on Grand Remon- ftrance, 315 and note.
Runnymede, 14. 17. 20. 23. See Great Charter.
Rupert, Prince, 332.
Rufliworth, John, Grand Remon-
458
Index.
Rufell. ftrance printed in collections of, m. Number of pages occu- pied by it, 1 1 6. Alarmed by enclofure in threatening letter to Pym, 185. His feat in the Houfe, 278. See 118 note J. 188 note. 393.
RufTell, J. (Taviftock), teller on laft Remonftrance debate, 406.
Ruthven (Rizzio's affaflln), murder of grandibn of, 96.
Sadler, Sir Thomas, entertains James I, 100.
Saint John, Oliver, Solicitor-Ge- neral (Totneis), mode of pro- cedure againft Strafford advo- cated by, 131. 133. 134. 141. 144 Suggestion of his adopted by Pym, 197. His confolation to Hyde, 276. His feat in the Houfe, 284. Brings in bill on Tonnage and poundage, 343. Preffes it on, 344. Draftfman of Hafelrig's Militia Bill, 385. 390. 391. Clarendon's charge againft him, 400 note.
Saint Stephen's Chapel (old Houfe of Commons), afpecl of, 276. 278. Coftume of members and fpeaker, 278, 279.
Salifbury, Earl of. See Cecil.
Salt, patent for, "which will make "us all fmart," 221 note.
Sanford, J. Langton, 188 note.
Sandys, Sir Edwin, courageous re- mark by, 54.
Savage, Sir Arnold, Speaker, heads the Commons in carrying com- plaints to Henry IV, 47.
Saxons, bafis of Constitution of the, 4. Their jurifprudence adopted by the Norman kings, ibid. No ftrangers to feudalifm, 4. 5. Feudal rights claimed by their Kings, 5.
Saye and Seale, Wm. Lord, refills Ship Money, 227 note. His challenge to the Judges, ibid. His pockets fearched by royal order,
Ships. 245 note. Joins in petition for a parliament, 251 note.
Schoolmen, downfall ofthe, 37, 74.
Scotland and the Scots : Refult of Laud's attempt to force Liturgy on them, 242, 243. Strafford's levies againft them, 244. Prayed againft as rebels, 247. Their invafion of England, 252, 253. Sum voted by Long Parliament for their relief, 259. "Well " and in peace," 369.
Selden, John (Oxford Univerfity), why thrice imprifoned, 2. A feceder on Strafford's attainder, 1 54 note. His farcafm on Digby, 280 note. His place in the Houfe, 285 and note. "What's the reafon of it ? " appofite ftory told by him, 315, 316. On King's ufe of Pym and party, 374 and note \.
Separatists, Pym on forced exile of, 303. Bridgman's reply, 305.
Servandony,firmasthe hat of, 176.
Sewers Commiffion, notice given by Cromwell about, 234 note.
Shaftefbury, Lord, ftory of, relative to prefentation of Peers' petition to Charles I, 252, 253 notes.
Shakefpeare, 45. 85. 297.
Sheriff's office, when elective, 39. Sheriffs and Ship Money, 221 note. 250. 252 note. Nefarious lyltem of feleftion under Charles I, 239.
Ships and Ship Money : D'Ewes produces evidence of illegality of Ship Money, 121. Judges impeached for fanclioning it, 182 and note. Pretence under which it was levied, 226. Its enormity and hardfhip, 227 note. Cafes of Hampden and Lord Saye, ibid. Pym's denun- ciation of it, 227, 228 notes. Englifh fhips at the mercy of pirates, 228. Cafes of piracy and infults to our flag, 228 note. Confequences of Judge Hutton's
Index.
459
S hre-TvJbury .
declaration againft Ship Money, 229 note. Sheriffs imprifoned for not raifing enough, 250. Pe- tioned againft by the Lords, 252 note. Abolifhed, 254.
Shrewsbury, Lord, entertains James I, 100. Cecil's note to him on James's expenditure, 104.
Sidney, Sir Philip, 85.
Simonds, Richard, 119.
Singleton, Archdeacon, 293 note.
Skippon and his Trained Bands, 397 note.
Slanning, Sir Nicholas (Penryn), moves adjournment of laft Re- monftrance debate, 404.. Cla- rendon's portraiture of him, 404, 405 and note. Revives claim to Proteft, 407.
Smith, or Smyth, Henry (Leicef- terfhire), takes part in Grand Remonftrance, 203. Notices given by him, 236 note *. Sat on Charles's trial, ibid.
Smith, Rev. Sydney, precedent for Taxation Diatribe of, 255 note. Prototype of his defence of " Prizes in the Church," 293 note.
Soap, monopoly of, granted to Pa- pifts, 248 note. Complaints of its quality, ibid.
Soldiers, A£ls againft compulfory prefling of, 41, 42. See Army.
Somerfet, Car Earl of, James's fa- vourite, 95. His rife, 101. Honours lavished on him : James's manner towards him, 102. Caufe of his fall, ibid. James no accomplice in his crimes, 108, 109.
Sophia, Ele&refs of Hanover, 95.
^Southwark and Lambeth Riots,
how brought about, 245. Rous's
diary thereon, ibid. note. Judge
Reeve's uprightnefs, 246 note.
Spain, Englifh flag infulted by,
228. See Ferdinand. Speaker, Mr. and the Commons in Charles's days, 279. 311 and note. See Lenthal.
Strafford.
Speeches, fabrications, fabrica- tions, and unauthorifed publi- cation of, 289, 290 notes.
Speed, the Hiftorian, on feed-plots of Treafon, 12.
Spenfer, Edmund, 85, 120.
Spies, Falkland's hatred of, 180.
Stanhope, Mr. (Tamworth), teller ondivifions, i$jnote, 309 note f.
Stanhope, Sir Edward, entertains James I, 100.
Stannary Courts, 182. Abolifhed,
*57-
Stapleton, Sir Philip (Borough- bridge), fellow commifTioner with Hampden, 165. 167 and note f. Why grateful to Hyde, 330. Calls attention to new guard at doors of Houle, 394.
Star Chamber Court created, 69. Abolifhed, 182. 256. 260. Sam- ple of enormities pradtifed by it, 229 and note. 236, 237 and notes. How Laud aggravated its powers, 238. Sheriffs dragged before it, 250. Its monltrous fentence on Prynne, 256, 257 notes. Fruitful in oppreffion when barren of revenue, 261. Effect of its fentences in Eliza- beth's days, 350.
Statutes of conftitutional import- ance paffed under the Planta- genets. See Election. Ireafons. Winchefter.
Sterling, Lord, poor plundered for benefit of, 233 note.
Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, Earl of, 125. Folly of adopt- ing his attainder as a teft of opinion, 126. Mr. Bankes's extravagant comparifons, 127. 146, 147. His laft hopes de- ftroyed by the King's inter- ference, ibid, note. Royalift fupporters of his attainder, 128. Clarendon's fhiftinefs in con- nection herewith, 128, 129. Difpute railed by Verney's re- port of debate on a collateral
460
Index.
Strafford. queftion, 131. Debate as to mode of procedure againft him, J33 — J37- D'Ewes's notes thereof let out, 137 — 141. Sub- fequent courfe of fome of the fupporters of the attainder, 141. Prelumed caufe of Falkland's animofity, 142 and note. Pym and Hampden's courfe of a£tion, 143, 144. His right to be heard by counfel inhfted on by them, 144, 145. Himfelf the greateft man on the King's fide, 149. Character of his ad- miniftration in Ireland, 150. Charles's bad faith towards him, 151. Moral of courfe taken by him, 152. Pofition of parties after his death, 152, 153. Rich- ard Baxter's miftake relative to feceders from his attainder, 153, 1 54 notes. Why lefs an apoftate than Falkland, 170. His name a fignal of difunion, 190. Waller's indifcreet parallel be- tween him and Pym, and its refults, 191. 192. Innovation on forms of Houfe during his attainder, 205. His fpeech on billeting grievances, 218, 219 notes. Piracies on Irifti coaft, 228 note. Denounces Royalift preachers, 239 note -f-. The Crown's laft and beft refource, 243. How he propofed to ufe it, 243, 244. Wrefts fubfidies from Irifh Parliament, 244. Colt to himfelf of his advice to the King, ibid, note. His fick- nefs a foftener of harih mea- fures, 245. Story told by Lord Shaftefbury, 252,253 notes. Strafford's end, 256. His efcape prevented by Balfour, 372. Why Selden fubftituted Ratcliffe's name for his, 374 notef . See alio 176. 182. 183. 199. 227 note. 233 n. 241. 248 n. 354 and note. Strangways, Giles (Bridport), teller on diviiions, 310 note. 317. 352.
Stuart. Interrupts Pym on point of order, 362. Rebuked by D'Ewes, 363.
Strangways, Sir John (Weymouth), recommended to the King, 193. His motion on bufinefs of Houfe, 206 note. His place in the Houfe, 284. His reminder to Sir R. Cook, 348. Charge brought by him againft the Citi- zens, 376. Story of the " lufty "young man," 377 and note. Houfe's opinion of his ftatement, 378.
Stricklands and Wentworths, 87.
Strode, William (Beeralfton), pro- pofes fine for abfent Members, 163. 316 note. Gives Hyde the advantage, 187 — 189. His ante- cedents no warrant for Claren- don's low eftimate of him,
187 note. Poffible confufion between two Strodes, 187, 188 notes. Refufes to leave the Houfe with his accufed friends,
188 note. D'Ewes's allufions to him as a young man, 188. 189 notes. Part taken by him in Grand Remonftrance, 203. 204. His blunt avowal as to Scotch army, 205 note *. His motion for fining diforderly Members, ibid, note f. Addition to Re- monftrance propofed by him, 221 note. Venomous alluiion by Clarendon, 245 note. Com- plains of an Order of the Houfe, 274. His place in the Houfe, 285. His fuggeftion relative to Hyde, 336. Moves for putting kingdom in pofture of defence, 357. Alfo for con- tinuance of guard over Houfes, ibid. Defends Citizens againft Waller's attack, 379. Sup- ported by D'Ewes, ibid. Sup- ports Hafelrig's Militia Bill, 386. His opinion of Mallory and Cook's fpeeches, 387.
Stuart, Arabella, bribed to intrigue for a peerage, 1 04.
Indew
461
Stuarts.
Stuarts, grounds of refiftance to tyranny of the, 1. Influence of earlier records on the ftruggles with them, 2. Preparative for the decifive ftruggle, 68.
Subfidies, collection of, under Plan- tagenet Kings,to whom entrufted, 33. Amount raifed in firft year of Long Parliament, 254.
Suckling, Sir John, and Lord Falkland, 170 note f.
Supplies, ftipulations for control over, 28. Made conditional, 41. 47.
Tacitus, feudalifm exifting in
the time of, 4. Taxation, interference with by
Lords refilled, 49, 50. Reftored
to Commons, 256. Thinne, Sir James (Wiltfhire),
named on Remonftrance Pre-
fentation Committee, 366. Thorpe, Speaker, privilege alTerted
in cafe of, 53. Timber Grievance, 233. Tirrett, Stephen, his nephew Cole,
and Dr. Nicholfon, 377 note. Titles and title-deeds, how made
fubjecl: of extortion, 225, 226.
234 note f. Tomkins, Mr. (Weobly), courfe
taken on Strafford's attainder by,
134. 139. Why expelled, 141. Tonnage and poundage, 226. 328.
Bill for levy thereof brought in,
343. PrefTed on by St. John,
344. Bill in committee, 359. Tower of London, City fear of
infecurity of, 372. Its govern- ors. See Balfour. Lumford. Trained Bands of London ordered to guard Houfes of Parliament, 166. Cromwell's motion, 199. Effect of gunpowder monopoly, 232. King orders their dif- miflal, 355, 356. 370. Pym communicates King's melTage to Commons, 356 note. Bill for their future command, 357.
Vane.
Reafons to be fubmitted to King, 357, 358. Subftance of report embodying reafons, 357 — 359 notes. King's Trained Band difcharged, 373.
Treafons the feed-plot of liberty, 12. Conftitutional value of Statute of Treafons, 41 .
Ires Magi, the, 64. 65. 68.
Triennial Bill palled, 258. 260. Not a ftretch of power on the part of the Parliament, 261.
Tubbing's mutilation, 237 note.
Tudor, Henry, 60. 64. 65. See Henry VII.
Tudors, peculiarity of defpotifm of the, 67. 81. Influence of their reigns, 71. Their cha- rafleriftics, 79. Limits to which they confined their tyranny, 80. Their bearing towards the peo- ple, ibid. Talk of each fove- reign of the race, 80, 81. Feature of their fyltem relative to Romanifm, 86. Point ar- rived at by the fyftem at James's acceflion, 90. See Henry VII. Henry VIII. EdvoardVI. Mary, Queen. Elizabeth, Queen.
Turks, piracies committed in Englifh waters by, 228. Their Englifh emulators, 228 note.
Tyler, Wat, and Jack Cade, in- furreclions of, contrafted, 56.
Unitarians fent to the ftake, 107. Univerfities hard at work againft the Parliament, 155. 156 note *. Uxbridge, treaty of, 348 note f .
Vane, Sir Henry, the elder (Wilton), objects to note-taking, 1 24 note. Notes taken by him- felf, 1 34. Ufe made of them by the Houfe, 135. 245 note. His Secretary examined concerning them, 136. Refufes to explain when called on, 140. Requires time for deliberation, 141. In- tercepts dilbanding of army by
462
Index.
Vane.
King's orders, 164. His refe- rence to D'Ewes, 283 note. His place in the Houfe, 284. Deprived of office, 355. Op- pofes right to proteft, 408 note.
Vane, Sir Henry, the younger (Hull), hands his father's notes to Pym, 135, 245. Speaks with reference thereto, 136. Treachery by which he was brought to the fcaffold, 141. His place in the Houfe, 284. Self-denying Ordinance, 348.
Vaffals and vafTalage, 4. 5. 7. Effect of the Wars of the Rofes, 68. See Feudal Syflem.
Ven, Captain John (London), accufation againft, 378.
Verney, Sir E. loyalty of, 172.
Verney, Sir Francis, an alleged Turkifh pirate, 228 note.
Verney, Sir Ralph (Aylefbury), a more reliable reporter than Hyde, 1 3. His notes publifhed, ibid, note. O^ueftion raifed on his report of a l'peech of Hamp- den, 131, 132. 144. His note on excitement as to Charles's Scottifli Journey, 160 note -f. Lift of recufants from his papers, 219 note. On wardfliip extor- tions, 225 note. Elizabeth Cor- nell's cafe, 235 note t. 236 note. Defcribes Prynne's punifhment, 256, 257 notes. Error relative to Sir John Eliot, 287 note. Ufe made of his notes in this work, 290 note. Inference from his nonallufion to matters dwelt on by Clarendon, 330. Proceed- ings not mentioned by him. 332 note. On Cook's mif-cita- tion of a precedent, 388 note.
Victoria, O^ueen, 37.
Villenage, 55. 56. 61. See Feudal Syflem.
Villiers. See Buckingham, Duke of.
Vintners of London, l'um paid by the, for freedom from monopoly, 248, note.
Warwick. Vorftius perfecuted to the death by James I, 107.
Wales, principle enunciated in giving reprefentatives to, 83.
Waller, Edmund (St. Ives), 170 note f. Clarendon's eftimate of his oratorical powers, 191, note. His indifcreet parallel between Pym and Strafford and its re- mits, 191, 192. 199. Commons' journals entry of the incident, 192 note. His new allegiance : recommended to the King, 193. Objects to form of Pym's refolution, 197. Caufe of D'Ewes's leclure to Speaker, 281 note. His place in the Houfe, 285. His fpeech on the Remonftrance, 306. His defence of Palmer, 349, 350. Inveighs againft citizens of London, 379. Oppofes printing of Remon- ftrance, 403. His colleague in the Houfe, fee Godolp/iin.
War between Charles and Parlia- ment. See Great Civil War.
Warburton, Bifhop, on a feature in Falkland's character, 172 note. On atrocities of the Court, 222 note. On an expreffion of Clarendon's, 347 note. On ob- ject of Lunsford s appointment, 372 note. On the leaders of the Long Parliament, 421.
Wardfliip, right of, claimed by Saxon kings, 5. Opprefllvely exercifed under Charles I, 224, 225. Inftances of extortion, ibid, notes. Court of Wards, 235.
Warwick, Earl of, refufes to fub- fcribe to loan to Charles I, 220 note. His pockets fearched by King's order, 245 note. Joins in Lords' petition for a Parlia- ment, 251 note.
Warwick, Sir Philip (Radnor Town), picture of Debate on Grand Remonftrance by, 112. His criticifm on Hyde, 286 note.
Index.
463
Wenfivorth.
On Culpeper, 300 note. His Old Teftament parallel, 325.
Wentworth, Peter, declaration in the Commons by, 84- Unfub- duable, 87.
Wentworth, Thomas Lord, See Strafford.
Weftminfter Hall, 42. 44. Its afpeft and occupants in Charles's days, 276, 277. Incident noticed in Laud's Diary, 277 note.
Wharton, Lord, a correfpondent of Sir John Bankes, 410. Ear- ned paffage from his letter, ibid.
Wheeler, Mr. (Weftbury), fubjeft of report by, 274. Watch duty impofed upon him, 374 note.
White, Mr. catches the Speaker's eye, 311 note.
Whitelocke, Sir James, quaint obfervation of, 54.
Whitelocke, Bulftrode (Marlow), on Judge Berkley's arreft, 182 note. Takes part in Grand Remonftrance, 203. Amend- ment carried by him, 230 note. What he fays as to how the Remonftrance was carried, 315. Why his " Memorials " are not entirely truftworthy, ibid, note. His plea for Palmer, 342.
Whitgift, Archbifhop, fulfome compliment to James I by, 107.
Wickliffe, John, 61. Burning of his followers, 70. Their in- creafe, ibid.
Wilde. See Wylde.
William the Conqueror, Saxon inftitutions adopted by, 4. See Norman Kings. Saxons.
Williams, John , Bifhop of Lincoln, afterwards Archbifhop of York, tampers with Pym's fervant, 159. His advice to the King, ibid. His labour loft, 161. Reads Lords' and Commons' proteft to the King, 401 note.
Wilmot, Mr. (Tamworth), 285. See AJliburnham, William.
Winchefter, ftatute of, 39, 40.
York.
Windebank, Sir Francis, 285.
Driven into exile, 182. 256.
Object of reprieve figned by
him, 235 note. Apt agent for
the Papifts, 248. His office
given to Nicholas, 355. Windfor Cattle, 42. Wingate, Mr. (St. Albans), 203.
224 note. Winwood, Sir Ralph, purport of
Neville's letter to, 95, 96, Witan, the Saxon, 29. Wolfey, Cardinal, 77. Worde, Wynkyn de, 77. Wray, Sir C. (Great Grimihy),
named on Remonftrance Pre-
fentation Committee, 367. Wrightman, Edward, fent to the
ftake, 107. Writs of fummons, varieties in,
3°, 31-
Wycliffe. See Wickliffe.
Wylde, Serjeant (Worcefterftiire), 203. On deftru6f.ion of timber in Dean Foreft, 233 note.
Wynne, Sir Richard (Liverpool), named on Remonftrance Pre- fentation Committee, 367. In- troduces his colleagues, 368.
Yelverton, Sir Chriftopher Boffiney), communications to D'Ewes by, 308. 323. Extract from D'Ewes's journal relative thereto, 309 note. On feeling of Lords as to new guard, 395.
Yonge, Walter, Diary of, zi 9 note. Extract fhowing how moneys were raifed and fquandered, 220 note. Cafe of land piracy, 228 notes. Imprifonmentsforrefufing loans to the King, 250 note.
"Young Man," ufe of the term as marking identity or diverfity in Strode's cafe, 188, 189 notes.
York and London, rapid travel- ling between, 241 note.
York, Court of, 182. See Council of the North.
THE END.
ERRATA.
Page 47. Third marginal note. After " Officers" infert " of."
75. Line 7 from bottom. For " Maa^eburg" read "Magdeburg." 132. Third marginal note. For " Macauky" read " Macaulay." 255. Second marginal note. For " Culpepper " read " Culpeper." 291. Note. For " D'Oyley " read " Onflow." 363. Firjl marginal note. For " Culpeper" read " Strangways." 367. Line 4. For " Second son" read " Son and heir." 377. Note, eight lines from bottom. For " Stephen came in . . to tell his uncle" read " came in , . .to tell his uncle Stephen."
BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFR1ARS.
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